r3think Rethinking Sustainability, Marketing, Lifestyle, and Other Stuff

[Photo via Michael Mistretta]

Hi I’m back from slacking off.

A lot had happened in 2008: the Olympics, the elections (yes, there were more than one), and the market going apeshit. I’d say 2009 will be an in-between year though. It’s not quite 2010, another symbolic coming of a new decade and the much anticipated Winter Olympics here in Vancouver.

Instead, if the predictions are correct, 2009 will be one crappy year to live through. People worry about how long the recession is going to last and more signs of trouble in environment front.

I remain hopeful though. Could it be that we are in a healthy state of fear?

In 2001, after the dotcom bust and 9/11 attack, people were fearful, governments were able to push through major decisions. Well.. that didn’t go so well. At the same time it showed that, in crisis, people are more willing to cooperate or compromise. If the leader leads, people will follow because the status quo is not working.

Now in 2009, I really really hope Obama and, more importantly, the big brains around him don’t screw up. They have the golden opportunity to make big changes and push through the necessary policies for future generations.

Thomas Friedman says the best. We need a Reboot.

I was in Tim Horton’s.

Something interesting happened. When I was about to order my coffee, two little girls walked in and asked everyone if they could sing us Christmas Carols.

After their 10 seconds huddle, off they go. I didn’t know what they were singing (It’s just me. I have problem catching lyrics), but it sure was lovely.

Someone was saying how we don’t know our neighbours anymore. I don’t know. I grew up in the age of not-knowing-neighbours. I don’t think it’s that bad. Maybe we just like the idea of having good neighbours. Sure it’d be nice, but it’s also never been easier to get in touch with friends and families.

Consider the following questions:

Do you think the government should do something about climate change?
Yes

Do you think industries should adopt sustainable business practices?
Yes

Do you think we should drive less and drive more fuel efficient vehicles?
Yes

Do you think we should keep gas price low?
Yes

People consume less when price is high, and consume more when price is low. I don’t see how low price and low consumption would be magically compatible in this case, but apparently plenty of people do (or wish it is).

All of us drive less in response to high gas price, by planning our routes carefully, carpool, taking public transit, driving a smaller car.

When price drops, we may not consciously drive more. Instead, we’ll just “not drive less”, and maybe get back to our old habits.

Why would anyone drive less when bus fare cost as much as gas price? Why would industries do anything different in turbulent times if the old ways cost much less again? Why would the government do anything if voters oppose long term solutions?

To illustrate, consider the following questions:

DO you agree that polluters should pay tax?
Yes

Do you agree that carbon dioxide is a major pollutant that causes climate change?
Yes

Would you support carbon tax on gasoline?
HELL NO!

It pisses me off when people blindly oppose carbon tax, saying that it will push up gas price. Hmm.. No shit! That’s the whole point. How else would everyone drive less?
 
 
Perhaps now is the best time to implement brave carbon tax policies, before people start whining about gas price again.

I don’t drive, so I’m probably not in the position to judge this. But even if I do, I don’t think I would be thrilled to get a gift card from Esso for Xmas.

Wonders if the marketing people from Esso actually think it’s a good gift idea.

I hate getting junk mails, especially those fake personal junk mails.

They usually use handwriting typography, but it’s pretty easy to tell that they are not actually hand written. I understand that they want to make it more “personal”, but you can’t fake a personal touch. They are completely incompatible. Sometimes I even feel insulted as they try to fool me this way. (Also applies to Twitter’s automatic direct messages, and others alike.)

On the other hand, if you run a local business, it makes sense to invest in genuine personal invitations (note that if you make it personal, it becomes an invitation, not unsolicited junk mail). If I ever get a handwritten invitation, I would be 100 times more responsive to the message.

Maybe a handwritten mail is too much to ask (or it might look, but at least sign it for real? It doesn’t take that much time. If you are too busy, you can scribble. In fact, you can just let someone else do it. Who knows what your signature looks like?

The point is to show that your message comes from a human being instead of a Xerox machine. It’s so easy to standout this way, but I have yet to receive anything like it.

Starbucks has just launched a campaign. Here is a paragraph taken directly from the (RED) campaign website.

The much anticipated Starbucks Holiday beverages will turn (RED)™ from November 27 through January 2. Customers’ daily visit to Starbucks can directly help saves lives in Africa. For every purchase of a (STARBUCKS)RED EXCLUSIVE beverage - Peppermint Mocha Twist, Gingersnap Latte and Espresso Truffle - at participating stores in the U.S. and Canada, Starbucks will contribute five cents to the Global Fund to invest in AIDS programs in Africa. Additionally, in honor of the 20th Anniversary of World AIDS Day, on Monday, December 1, Starbucks will extend the five cent contribution to every hand-crafted beverage purchased at participating stores as a continued way to save lives in Africa.

Every company should be very careful when they do cause related marketing (CRM). Doing it wrong would be counterproductive. Here is consumers’ perception: “I pay $4 or $5 for your (overpriced) coffee, and you are only giving out 5 cents? That’s only 1%. I might as well donate money to charity myself!” (but probably end up forgetting it)

Now consider this: Starbucks is in a crisis mode now. Their net income has dropped 97% due to economic slowdown and store closures. Their operating profit margins is now at 0.6%, comparing to 10.2% last year. Yet they still decided to push this campaign forward. Some say it’s just a marketing ploy in an effort to boost sales and get good publicity. I don’t know. Maybe Howie really wants to help Africa, and he can, considering in 2007 their revenue was $9.4 billion, and even 0.5% of that in one month is $4 million.

But I think they got it all wrong. Starbucks should be helping customers to do the right thing, instead of asking customers to help them do the right thing.

People might have an unreasonable expectation toward Starbucks, and they can never be generous enough. At the same time, we probably don’t want to put our retirement fund in a company that donates 100% of its profit. Therefore, the responsibility for generosity should be placed on customers, not Starbucks.

So how could Starbucks do differently?

Starbucks can have their cashiers ask customers if they would like to donate their change. For example, $4.10 could be round up to $4.50 or even $5.00, that is 10% and 22% respectively. MUCH better than 1% right? Most people would do it. I mean, who doesn’t care about Africa, especially when we are asked to donate only few cents for the world’s most underprivileged.

This is an old tactic, and it has a few drawbacks. First, it might be too intrusive. Second, it will slow down the line because it takes time for cashiers to explain the whole thing. Third, it’s only good for a short period of time. Having it last too long could create donors’ fatigue. Lastly, it’s not effective in boosting sales.

So I have an even better idea. Why not issue a new line of Starbucks Card called “Round for the World” or something.

When you use this card, every time it automatically rounds up for donation. On the receipt it will say how much you have donated to date. You can register the card online to enter the hall of fame (of philanthropist / coffee addict) or vote on what projects to support. It could be a gift that carries more significance than a regular gift card. I am no accountant, but perhaps the interest of the unearned revenue from these cards could be donated as well?

Most importantly, this program would be on-going. It will be part of the Starbucks brand, and the center piece of the company’s social responsibility effort.

Of course, I am not just talking about Starbucks here.

Do you think this will work? Any drawback I overlooked? Other ideas?
 
 
Update [Dec. 7, 2008]: Just submitted the idea to Starbucks Idea website. I’m hoping it doesn’t get buried by suggestions about mug designs or installing fish tanks. So if you like the idea, go bump it up! I actually want to see this happen and not just talk about it.

After years and years of English classes, essays, papers, and exams, I still couldn’t imagine myself as a writer. That is, before I started realizing what writing means in the real world. The kind of writing we’ve been taught in school is academic writing. The thing is, I am not very good at it, and it doesn’t work so well in the real world either.

I found this article on blogging. It’s a great read.

The biggest mistake we can make is not putting our readers first. I am learning this in the process of writing this post. I was going to post my personal reflection on the points he raised, but I realized I didn’t really add anything useful. It’s a (bad) habit I picked up from school I suppose, the urge of trying to paraphrase everything and assume someone would want to read that.

In the real world, our readers are not our professors or TAs.

[Photo via david ॐ]

Spam hardly get to my inbox anymore, but in the early days they were VERY annoying. I still remember having to sort through dozens of emails everyday only to find 2 chain letters (remember those?? I wonder if I could make a chain blog post.. spread this link or you will not get internet connection for one week!!). Anyways, some bright CS students from Berkley actually did a study on spam email’s conversion rates. In conclusion, of the 350 million spams they observed, only 28 resulted in sales, so the conversion rate is under 0.00001%.

[crazy high number of junk mail] x [crazy low conversion rate] = [a few crazy people buying] => [profit]

The result is not really that surprising. The fact that they are still sending out spams means they make money out of it. I am nonetheless very curious who these buyers are..

Interesting read. [Spamalytics: An Empirical Analysis of Spam Marketing Conversion via Karl Long]

I’ve been using stickK for a week now (via Freakonomics), and I think it’s pretty interesting. So what does it do? Here is a short excerpt from their FAQ section:

stickK helps you achieve your personal goals through “Commitment Contracts.”

After signing up with stickK, you will be able to create a contract obliging you to achieve a specific goal within a particular time-frame. By creating a contract to meet one of your goals, you´re actually testing yourself and saying, “Hey, I can do this”. Not only are you challenging yourself, you´re also putting your reputation at stake.

Every week I’m asked to report if I’ve achieved my goals. It’s working great for me so far, because I constantly remind myself to keep up with it.

Right now my daily goals are:
1. Exercise (anything)
2. Spend at least 30 minutes on writing

I wonder how effective money stakes actually are, because people can simply lie to get out without paying. Would the incentive be any different without money stake?

Take-out is one of the greatest achievements of industrialization thank to division of labour.

It’s fast, it’s convenient, it’s delicious. Heck, it’s pretty cheap too.

I can order a bento box from the Japanese restaurant just a few blocks away for just 6 to 10 bucks. I’ll get teriyaki beef (or chicken), California roll, tempura, salad, and miso soup. Good deal if you ask me.

One thing bothers me though: the heap of Styrofoam boxes I have to throw away. There’s a big box for teriyaki, roll, and tempura. A smaller box for salad. A bowl for miso soup, and a smaller one for tempura sauce, and a even smaller one for soy sauce (how considerate).

I keep wondering if there is a better way. I could just eat in the restaurant, but I like watching movies while eating. Plus I wouldn’t get the take-out discount (some are as high as 25%), and I’d have to pay 10% more for tips. So in a way I am financially rewarded for producing all these garbage. The volume of Styrofoam containers are many times of plastic bags, so how come we are only talking about phasing out plastic bags?

Let’s think about the alternatives. Asking people to bring their own plates for take-outs is not possible (or is it?), so how about changing to reusable plastic containers, like the Tupperware kind. Customers will pay a hefty deposit for each container they take away, and they can return them on next visit. I think this can actually increase customer loyalty and work to the advantage of restaurants. The containers, of course, should be made of highly recyclable materials and could be cleaned easily.

Has anyone done a life-cycle analysis on Styrofoam vs. reusable plastic container?