Consumer Misconceptions

It wasn't until I watched Car/Business on CTV, that I realized how important it is to find out the myths surrounding a product. Of course it's always important to dispel the myths or misconceptions, but being able to discern what these misunderstandings are can be a harder task.

The segment on Car/Business was talking about the engine behind the Toyota Prius Hybrid and how they were partnering with competitors to improve hybrid car technology and advance the industry as a whole, and dispel some myths. I'm not a car junkie, but the last I heard about hybrid electric motor cars, you have to plug them in. Run out of juice and your car runs like a regular car. Correct? Apparently not so. Surprised as I was, I realized that most new technologies live under whatever stereotypes established by their initial introduction.

When marketing new technology it's always important to understand and administer:

1. Advantages - What does this mean for the industry or your technology in particular?
2. Disadvantages - What are the direct disadvantages of your technology?
3. Customer Reservations - What's preventing them from buying your technology?
4. Dispelling the Myths - What have you done to change the disadvantages and does the consumer KNOW about these changes?

What a Wicked Web We Weave

Oh poor misguided Rockstar... You tried to squeeze it by and lie about it, and now you've got a crap load of problems to deal with. If you haven't already heard, Rockstar Games, maker of the popular title Grand Theft Auto series, is being investigated for having a hidden sex game in their software (unlocked by an extra download). They've had their ESRB rating booted to Adult, and now have to work with developing a new version that's as clean as GTA can be.

Fallout from this is going to affect their sales, their publisher, and most likely the gaming industry as a whole.

1. Don't push the envelope. The Grand Theft Auto series was always on the borderline of being "Adult-only" but despite that, did very well in sales. Last thing you need is to push the product overboard to the point where retailers won't even sell it. I'm sure development teams were all aware of the "Hot Coffee" mod, because it's not a complete re-coding of the software, it's just a simple unlocking feature to an Easter Egg program already residing in the software.

2. More lies, less credibility. It's nice to try and cover your tracks with excuses that are semi-plausible, but the fallout disaster only increases with the more lies that are uncovered.

Let's be honest people, if you know the youth are your target and parents still tell them when to go to bed, they'll still watch what they're doing. They might overlook good ol' violence, but I don't think the masses are ready for simulated sex yet... They have enough trouble dealing with it in real-life.

Gay Marriage Must Mean Dogs Are Cats

I know this doesn't have anything to do with marketing, but I felt compelled to write something on this.

First of all, I'm a Christian. I don't believe that being gay is morally right. I don't agree with the lifestyle. This is not something up for debate, but I do regard them as people and people have rights, and I'm all for equal rights for everyone. However, I'm disppointed in the government's position in not listening to the majority democracy in even finding some way to amend the law, and I'm only going to be talking about the definition portion of this controversial topic and not all the juicy stuff like incest, splintered church groups, or gay rights.

Every person has the right to love and choose someone to be with BUT, the definition of marriage has always been "the legal union of a man and a woman".

Canada has decided to change that definition to be the legal union of a man and a woman, man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Take your pick. I would have rather called same-sex marriage to be a same-sex union or something else at least and have the same rights.

Let's say someone suddenly comes up to you and says "The Canadian government has decided to change that fact that all dogs are now cats legally under the law". Dogs have always been known as dogs, and cats have always been cats, but now the definition has changed and now we're calling dogs, cats. Messed up?

Regardless of the Canadian goverment's supposed stand on not imposing on relgious institutions, they've basically set the precedent in saying "Your definition of marriage must be revised. You don't have to like it and you don't have to take part in actually doing ceremonies, but that's what it is. Tough bananas." The goverment can now interfere with religious institutions, and I expect it will only increase. If a gay person attending some religious institution decides that he/she wants to be a cleric, priest, etc. and is denied, can they then file a human rights claim? Is the government going to interfere and say, your definition of a religious figure is wrong and you must let this person through?

At the very least, this definition will most likely get me into awkward conversations at cocktail parties.

Me: Are you married?
Man: Yes, I am.
Me: Oh that's great to hear. How's your wife?
Man: Oh, you must mean my husband.
Me: Err... I think I need another drink...

Design for Success

I'm always amazed at the designs people come up with for standard products. Apple has always done that with their products, but here's an interesting design for a keyboard that a friend sent me. It's a customizable keyboard but still looks very clean. It'll probably give me Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but at least it'll look nice... in my room... that nobody ever goes into...



Sweeeeet! Prepare to be fragged while I'm pasting my head onto Brad Pitt's body in Photoshop.

Stay Strong In The UK

My condolences and best wishes to all those affected by the bombings in London.

Like Watching an Accidents?

Hope everyone in Canada had a great Canada Day! I was on vacation in Vancouver, which has great scenery and even better food. The traffic system there always bothers me, but I guess there's only so much you can do. Traffic is bottlenecked at bridges and gridlock is bound to happen with rush-hour and car accidents. But what about clogged traffic from none of the above?

While trying to make my way to Port Coquitlam (where I was staying), we had to travel on the highway from Vancouver headed east. It was around 4:00 and traffic was backed up assumingly because of the conditions mentioned above. As we kept moving, we noticed an accident scene (no one was hurt luckily) on the other side of the median. It wasn't blocking traffic since the mangled auto shop courtesy car had been pulled into the median barrier, but right after we passed that accident, everything started moving swiftly again. It turns out that the flow of cars was slowed because everyone was gawking at the accident! About 5 minutes from where we were, everything slowed to a crawl again. Hoping that this time, it'd be a credible reason for this catepillar movement, we were proved wrong once again. Traffic only started to flow normally once we passed a scene where police had pulled over two young hooligans driving a Corvette. Ridiculous! How can some event that doesn't physically impede traffic, actually impede traffic? Don't people care how their momentary inaction affected everyone else?

Sounds a bit angry doesn't it? But looking at it from a marketing perspective, that's phenomenal! 3 lanes of traffic in opposite directions during rush-hour were all looking at these scenes to the point where it slows everyone else down (which essentially makes them look). It's human nature to look, hence the old train wreck cliché. My co-worker has told me of an effective use in the past where a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) campaign placed two wrecked vehicles in drunk driving accidents by the side of the road with the message "Don't Drink and Drive". If only we could harness this better than the traditional billboard.