Archive for December 2nd, 2011

GM: The Volt isn’t about how many you sell … say, what?

December 2, 2011

According to the WSJ:

  • The company sold 1,139 Volts in November, bringing sales to 6,142 this year.
  • GM will miss a target to sell 10,000 Volts in 2011.
  • GM has 134 day’s supply of the Volt, while the Nissan has a 21 day supply of the Leaf, the only other electric car on sale in the U.S. mass market.

GM’s reaction: “The Volt isn’t just about how many cars we sell …. This car is revolutionary.”

Speaking of revolutionary …

GM offered to buy back Volts from any owner who fears the car is a fire risk amid a U.S. safety investigation of its lithium-ion battery.

Not exactly a textbook example of Crossing the Chasm …

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Creative marketing: Mickey D goes from “free” to “almost free” …

December 2, 2011

San Fran parents said kids were pressuring them to buy non-nutritious happy meals to get the free toys.

So, the San Fran city council passed a  law making it illegal for fast food chains to include free toys in happy meals.

According to the Wash Post, McDonald’s crafted a creative workaround: for 10 cents, patrons can buy a toy to go along with a happy meal.

10 cents isn’t “free” it’s “almost free”.

The kicker: all the dimes all go to charity – the Ronald McDonald Houses.

The downside: consumer behavior is such that there’s a big fall off in demand when a price is raised from free to almost free.

So, Ronald McDonald Houses probably won’t get much money from the program

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Now what happens at the club … really stays at the club.

December 2, 2011

TakeAway: Norte, a South American beer, is taking a new approach to protect its brand by protecting its customers from being in unbecoming pictures that could end up on the web.

* * * * *

Excerpt From AdAge: “An ‘Intelligent Beer Cooler’ Will Destroy Dangerous Photos of You”

To protect its consumers from being branded as “dirty old men” or “floozies,” Norte Beer and agency Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi recently handed out “intelligent beer coolers” throughout bars in Argentina.

The beer cooler is equipped with Photoblocker, a camera-flash sensor that triggers its own flash in response when a picture is being taken. The larger flash, in effect, destroys the picture. And the evidence.

Edit by ARK

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Posted in Beer & Liquor, Beverages - Soft Drinks, Mktg - Product & Innovation | Leave a Comment »