Big Ideas and Things We Like

Big Ideas & Things We Like (Plus Bacon)
Photo by Cayusa (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cayusa/981372736/)

Explore. Listen. Reflect.
- don’t wait for the bump
1 Unleash the Power of Free
―Most transactions have an upside and a downside, but

when something is FREE! We forget the downside.‖
―Free! Gives us such an emotional charge that we perceive what

is being offered as immensely more valuable than it really is.‖
— Dan Ariely, author

Predictably Irrational

1 Unleash the Power of Free
Why do Free?
 Free engenders a sense of surprise, delight & excitement to your customers
 Free is a welcomed invitation to generations of shoppers weary of price promotions
 Free is the most powerful strategy to help your customers feel better during difficult times
 Free also triggers powerful cultural norms regarding reciprocity
• At minimum, your customer will feel they owe you the favor of returning
Activation
 Deploy free as an alternative to traditional price and promotion programs
• Free is always unilateral
• Free should never be predictable (e.g. every Monday)
• Free should never be tied to any other promotion (e.g. Purchase $10 worth of X and get a free Y)
Google recently announced a plan to sponsor free Wi-Fi to holiday travelers in 47 airports
across America until January 15th. This is the best kind of FREE - something unexpected,
very useful, and entirely unilateral.
+ Source:
Hartman Group New Value Paradigm report: September 2009
2 The New Frugality is a Myth
―Even after the worst recession of the past seventy years, retail
sales this year will be about where they were in 2005‖
―There’s a palpable longing among pundits for

Americans to become more frugal…‖
— James Surowiecki, journalist

The New Yorker
―Much of the decrease in consumption since early 2008
can be traced to a drop in spending in just two categories:
gasoline (thanks to lower prices) and cars‖

2 The New Frugality is a Myth
We’ve seen and heard it all before…

 Toward the end of the 1990-91 recession Fortune forecasted the “Death of conspicuous
consumption” and claimed that Americans would finally “come to their senses”
 Time ran yet another cover story in 1991 on the return of the simple life noting “after a 10-year
bender of gaudy dreams and godless consumerism, Americans are starting to trade down…”
 Ditto for the combined whammy of the bursting of the internet bubble and 9/11, wherein we
were supposedly ready to hunker down, cocoon, and live more soberly and simply…
 …So we fabricated financial instruments nobody understood, began selling mortgages to the
unemployed and went on an 8 year credit-induced spending bender
Bottom Line…
We are not observing any long-term shifts in consumer spending habits in CPG
 Current frugality habits (i.e. channel shifting) are near-term responses to a climate of anxiety
 CPG manufacturer median sales increased 10 percent last year, down just slightly from 2007
median sales figures*
 Compared to a year ago, sales over the Internet rose 15.5%**
*Source: “The 2009 Financial Performance Report: Focusing on Today, Envisioning Tomorrow”
by GMA & PwC Explore. Listen. Reflect.
**Source: MasterCardAdvisors SpendingPulse
3 Who, Precisely is a Value Shopper?
―The New Value Shopper is not only price

sensitive, but also price vigilant!‖ – Newswire
―We need to see the 'value' shopper come back to

the mall, and retailers need to empower their people
to go the extra mile for them‖
— PR-Insider
Precisely who is this value shopper?
And how do they define value?

3 Who, Precisely is a Value Shopper?
How important are each of the following when trying to

evaluate a given product or service’s value ?
Relevant Importance to One’s Value Equation Top Two %+
Product works well/tastes good 81%
Can use it fully without waste 69%
Just the right amount that I need 67%
Despite the fact that I prefer lower prices, quality still matters w/r to value 66%
Assurance of hassle-free returns if I'm not satisfied with the product 64%
Getting the absolute lowest price possible 62%
It makes my life simpler and less complicated 58%
+Source: Hartman Group New Value Paradigm report, September 2009 (n=1000) Explore. Listen. Reflect.
3 There is No Value Shopper…
―For the better part of the past fifty years, the only lever most food and
mass retailers have ever seemed capable of pulling was price‖
— Harvey Hartman
We all seek value, so the question is actually about

what role price really plays in our value equation?
Bottom Line: The consumer’s notion of value is a complex equation only

marginally concerned with getting the absolute lowest price possible

4 Science is a Bummer Man…
―Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A,

and vitamin E may increase mortality.‖
— JAMA
―Reality is nothing but a collective hunch‖

— Lily Tomlin
―Why Exercise Won’t Make you Thin‖
— Time Magazine
―The largest study ever to ask whether a low-fat diet reduces the risk of
getting cancer or heart disease has found that the diet has no effect.‖
— The New York Times

4 Science is a Bummer Man…
The emerging pattern of scientific evidence suggests that most of what we have
assumed as common sense is, in fact, dead wrong
 Exercise doesn’t appear to help with weight loss
 Diet (especially a low-fat diet) doesn’t appear to be an effective treatment for coronary
disease, high cholesterol or hypertension
 Vitamins and antioxidants—especially in supplement form—appear to potentially do
more harm than good
Implications
 This knowledge may take considerable time to filter into the consumer community
 The role of food in illness prevention and treatment will face increasing scrutiny
 Health-based diets could become increasingly irrelevant
 We expect supplements to encounter the biggest challenges over the long term

5 There is No Traditional Family
"Whenever people begin speaking about the traditional family, I always

suggest that they pick a ballpark date for the family they have in mind.‖
Who is this idealized American Family?
“Leave It to Beaver" was not a documentary…neither the

1950s nor any other moment from our past presents
workable models of how to conduct our personal lives
today.‖
— Stephanie Koontz, author
The Way We Never Were
What about today?

5 Think You Know Stay-at-Home Moms?
Trendspotters claim battle-weary professional women everywhere have discovered

they can't have it all and are quitting the rat race to stay home with their rug rats
It's called "the opting-out revolution”
And it’s simply a myth
Let’s take a look at the most recent census data*

 Approximately 25% of child bearing households feature stay-at-home moms
 27% of stay-at-home moms are Latino
 34% of stay-at-home moms were foreign born
 25% of stay-at-home moms never finished high school
 65% of stay-at-home moms have a household income under $75,000
Bottom Line
 When marketing to stay-at-home moms, think carefully about who you are talking to
 The idealized portrait of the upper middle class family with a stay-at-home mom is just that
*Source: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/003118.html Explore. Listen. Reflect.

4 Local The
6 Local: : The Real
Real Story
Story
―Rampaging locavores angrily devour herd of trendspotters!‖

Rampaging locavores devour frightened herd of trendwatchers!!
―Locavore trend takes root!‖

―LOCAVORE was the 2007 Word
- CBSofNews
the Year for
the Oxford American Dictionary!‖ — Wikipedia
In late 2007, the New Oxford American Word Dictionary

crowned ―locavore‖ as its word of the year.
―Sustainability, Local and Nutrition Top List of Hottest

Menu Trends for 2010!‖ - National Restaurant Association

6 Local : The Real Story
Analysts and marketers alike misunderstand the consumer’s perspective on local

 Consumers rarely invoke a literal interpretation of local
 Very, very few consumers care—or speak about—“food miles”
 Consumers are rarely looking for local products to replace preferred
brands
 Local is about much more than farmers’ markets
Here is how local actually works…

 While local is a welcomed of means of generating community for alienated
consumers, it is not seen as a replacement for traditional CPG products
 Consumers rely on narratives of people, places and locales to frame the
emotional resonance around local
 Bank of America channels local by inviting customers to display pictures
of their pets in neighborhood bank branches

7 Listening is Not Enough…
―Creativity comes first; then comes the customer‖

— Ferran Adria, elBulli
Innovation requires a new way of doing as well as a

certain spirit of the times to validate this new way…Your
customers cannot help in this process

7 Listening is Not Enough…
(1) We have long counseled our clients to

listen to their customers…
(2) We still do…
(3) But customers can only speak of what they know…
(4) Impassioned geeks and wackos pounding at the doors of convention

and the fringes of culture are the source of truly innovative ideas…
(5) The iPhone bridged the gap between consumer need, the reimagination
of cultural communication practices, and well executed design
Innovation = consumer need + reimagined culture + butt-kicking design

8 The Demise of the Common Sense Shaman
―The single most important thing a city can do

is provide a community where interesting, smart
people want to live with their families.‖
— Malcolm Gladwell
―Our research shows that your name has no

effect on your life outcome.‖
— Stephen Dubner (Freakanomics)
All we can say is…―uh, yeah…‖

8 The Demise of the Common Sense Shaman
Increasingly, analysts and trendsetters have made names for themselves by adopting the
role of the counterintuitive contrarian (CC)
Seen through the eyes of the CC, everything we thought we knew is wrong, and the correct
answer is always a simplistic, common sense truth that only the CC shaman can see
Alas, their days are numbered
Writing in The NY Times, Paul Krugman slams the coffin shut:
―Clever snark like this can get you a long way in career terms — but the trick is knowing
when to stop. It’s one thing to do this on relatively inconsequential media or cultural issues.
But if you’re going to get into issues that are both important and the subject of serious study,
like the fate of the planet, you’d better be very careful not to stray over the line between
being counterintuitive and being just plain, unforgivably wrong.‖
— Paul Krugman

9 Stop Infantilizing Your Customer…
Common Marketing Misperceptions…

 Your busy, time-starved customer is in desperate need of your help
 Most consumers dread having to shop for food and household goods
 Solving “problems” or simplifying the shopping experience will drive revenue
 Americans have forgotten how to cook
 Consumers strongly desire technological solutions to the grocery shopping
experience

9 Stop Infantilizing Your Customer…
09 Percent of Americans dislike or hate grocery shopping**
47 Percent of Americans report cooking new or interesting

meals in the past 12 months ++
67 Percent of Americans report cooking more often in the

past 12 months ++
84 Percent of Americans have little to no interest in high-

tech shopping devices designed to make the shopping
experience more interesting or more convenient ++
85 Percent of Americans have little to no interest in media

content broadcast over TV screens in-store ++
** Source: Neilsenwire press release, 12/2009

++ Source: Hartman Group New Value Paradigm report, September 2009 (n=1000)
10 Loyalty Programs are in Disrepair
―Since nearly every store has one, it seems like a hoop you have to
jump through just to get the normal prices‖
— Janine, 38, Atlanta
―I’m so tired of having a pocketbook full of these silly cards‖

— Laura, 52, Dallas
―At my local Dominick’s, every single wine is ―on sale‖

with the Fresh Values card…I’m not kidding!‖
— Matt , 31, Chicago

10 Loyalty Programs are in Disrepair
How important are each of the following with regard to store loyalty programs? Top Two %+
Retailers need new and better ways of rewarding loyal customers 74%
Most grocery loyalty programs make it seem like you are getting a better deal than you really are 57%
I get good deals at my local grocery store with their loyalty card 54%
I try to take advantage of store loyalty programs more than ever 53%
I dislike having to carry so many different loyalty cards 45%
When you join a loyalty program you receive too much marketing offers & junk-mail 44%
Many benefits of loyalty programs do not relate to me or have value to me personally 40%
+ Source: Hartman Group New Value Paradigm report, September 2009 (n=1000)
11 Enough with the Pantry to Pantry!
Don’t be a walk in pantry, be a place where food is enjoyed!
Square. Stacked. Organized. Efficient. Rational.

…Where’s the Fun and Enjoyment!?!?
The symbolic connection between the organization of grocery

stores and household pantries encourages your customers to
approach food with a mundane, utilitarian perspective

11 Enough with the Pantry to Pantry!
Your brands or stores should signal cooking and eating & not food storage…
Contemporary consumers have redefined ideas of quality

 Quality is less about pantry eating and much more about food enjoyment
 While a few retailers have made strides in this area, most have not
 Brand manufacturers have likewise done little to break the pantry connection
Shatter the tradition... Smash the habit… Strengthen your margins…

12 Management is a One-Word Oxymoron
―In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his or her level of incompetence.‖
— The Peter Principle
Italian scientists working with computer simulations recently found that firms which promoted
people at random functioned more efficiently than those that promoted based on merit **
Stay Nimble. Stay Agile. Stay Flat.
* * Source: New York Times 9th Annual Year in Ideas Explore. Listen. Reflect.
13 Don’t Take the Plunge into Social Media Yet
Remember AOL?
Remember Friendster? Remember Second Life?
Image credit: Darren Barefoot Explore. Listen. Reflect.

13 Think You Know Social Media/Social Networking?
The answers to these questions represent a base level fluency in social media…
If you cannot answer at least 3 of the following, you shouldn’t be doing social media...
 Are you familiar with 4chan, one of the internet’s most trafficked websites which has been characterized as “at
once, lunatic, juvenile, brilliant, ridiculous, alarming and dangerous”?
 Did you know 4chan managed to deliver a pizza to balloon guy on live television?
 Did you know that 4chan members have been responsible for several national security threats
 Did you know its founder, Christopher Poole, will be speaking at the TED conference alongside Bill Gates?
 Can you explain the differences between Twitter, Mashable, Vimeo, YouTube and Facebook?
 Are you reasonably well acquainted with the Electronic Frontier Foundation?
 Are you fluent in the nuances of DRM, Intellectual Property and the Public Domain?
 Were you watching closely as the Mommy blog invasion decimated Motrin’s MotrinMom campaign?
 Are you familiar with arguably the biggest viral sensation of 2009, the Three Moon Wolf T-shirt?
 How did this viral sensation begin?

13 Don’t Take the Plunge into Social Media Yet
8 Reasons to Put a Hold on Social Media Marketing…

 There is no first mover advantage
 This is an institution still under construction
 This domain is subject to radical fluctuations (2nd Life?)
Apple Rejects…
 If you don’t get it just right, you fail loudly
…Tweeting
 “Me too” approaches signal lack of creativity
…Blogging
 Thus far, most organizations do it poorly
…Myspacing
 There are few demonstrable success stories
…Facebooking
 No clear and obvious benefits
…Creating communities

14 The Increasing Importance of Culture
Culture: A shared, learned, symbolic system of values, beliefs and attitudes
that shapes, influences and drives our perception and behavior
1) Culture compels us to stand at attention when our national anthem is played
2) Culture also reminds us to serve (and eat!) cake on the occasion of a birthday
3) Culture has determined that it is no longer acceptable to smoke in an office
4) Finally, culture reminds us to eat hot dogs at a baseball game…

…but if you serve them for breakfast or dessert, you might encounter a revolt

14 The Increasing Importance of Culture
So why in the heck would marketers want to include culture in their toolkit?
Like many other analysts and clients alike, we have been charting consumers’ individual
preferences for a very, very long time
Most CPG companies and retailers know everything about their consumer—their likes
and dislikes, their demographics, as well as their attitudes and beliefs
Culture Adds to the Story by Considering…

Contexts and Settings
Occasions
Rituals and Practices
Universally Held Beliefs
―We believe culture is the most potent tool in the marketer’s arsenal‖
—Harvey Hartman

15 2009 | The Year We Lost Our Institutions
Institutions: Structures and mechanisms of social order governing the behavior of

individuals within a community or society…
… Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence

transcending individual human lives and intentions…
…Institutions are also found in formal organization of private

enterprise, government and public service
When institutions disappear, so goes our faith in the

assumed order of natural, everyday life …
…This leaves us confused at best and frightened at worse,

a feeling which may take many years to resolve itself

15 2009 | The Year We Lost Our Institutions
Bankrupt Companies Companies & Brands R.I.P.

1) Charter Communications 1) Circuit City
2) Eddie Bauer 2) Saturn
3) Filenes Basement 3) Seattle Post Intelligencer
4) Chrysler 4) Pontiac
5) General Motors 5) Merrill Lynch
6) Muzac 6) Gourmet Magazine
7) Reader’s Digest 7) Lehman Brothers
8) Samsonite Company 8) Washington Mutual
9) Star Tribune Companies 9) Max Factor
10) Trump Entertainment 10) Countrywide Financial
The net effect of these losses will surely be felt by consumers for many years to come…
…What isn’t so certain is how consumers will respond to this situation

16 The Holy Trinity | Artisanal, Heirloom, Heritage
―Still, there will come a time, here in Brooklyn, and all over America, when
nothing will be of more interest than authentic reminiscences of the past.‖
— Walt Whitman, 1865
Artisanal, Heirloom and Heritage are...

…Not Trends
…Not Fads
…Not New
Those in the traditional CPG business will face increasing,

permanent competition from these food designations

17 Are MBA’s Responsible for the Loss of Manufacturing?
Since 1965, the percentage of MBA graduates of highly-ranked

business schools who go into consulting and financial services
has doubled, from about one-third to about two-thirds**
…Some of these consultants and financiers end up in the

manufacturing sector, in some respects that’s the problem…
… Most of GM’s top executives in recent decades hailed

from a finance rather than an operations background….
… These executives are frequently numb to the sorts of innovations that enable high-
quality production at low cost. ―That’s how you end up with the likes of GM...‖ **
* * Source: Harvard business professor Rakesh Khurana Explore. Listen. Reflect.

18 Cultural Occasion Marketing
Deploy a model which anchors eating and shopping occasions into the broader cultural
context of the world of food, for example:
By grounding eating and shopping occasions into the culture of food—rather than the
consumer’s preferences, dayparts, or trip types—we arrive at deeper, more actionable insights
Armed with these insights, companies can take action that will increase both
shopping trips as well as consumer interest in higher growth categories

19 Welcome The Return of the Butcher
Butchery skills began to recede in the 1960s, when beef and pork, already
cut and boxed, started arriving at supermarkets
The neighborhood butcher, the one who could be relied upon to save
the best cuts for preferred customers, began to evaporate
There has been a resurgence of interest in the neighborhood butcher—

the kind that offer customization from whole carcass beef & pork

19 The Dawn of the Rock Star Butcher
With the renewed emphasis on neighborhood butchers comes a whole new

generation of ―rock star‖ butchers…
As The New York Times observes: With their swinging scabbards, muscled forearms
and constant proximity to flesh, butchers have the raw, emotional appeal of an indie
band. They turn death into life, in the form of a really good skirt steak…
The net effect is a revived interest in offal—what many have termed

the ―nasty bits‖—as these new butchers explore long forgotten cuts
of meat for curious omnivores and gastro pubs alike

Ordinary people do not eat ingredients or nutrients or platforms or mission statements—they eat food
! Isty Bitsy (smaller) Ideas

! Itsy Bitsy (Potentially Big) Ideas
When will marketers stop treating so-called "millennials" as an alien

species waiting to be fleeced by clever marketing campaigns?
We must all immediately refrain from the overuse of metaphors

from movies, sports, and pop culture as lessons to inform
branding and business practices…It’s just plain annoying
Ordinary people do not eat ingredients or nutrients or platforms

or mission statements—they eat food
13.2 – Percentage of US consumers who have purchased

a gluten-free product in the past three months
Soup should never be packaged in clear jars; it

looks too much like baby food—or worse!

Quit worrying about plastic vs. paper bags, the vast, vast
majority of consumers have no interest regarding this issue
To the degree that consumers care about sustainability,

its nearly always a personal or local thing…Higher-order
issues fail to register for most consumers
Between The Shake Shack and Five Guys Burgers,

consumers have demonstrated they are more than willing to
pay a premium price for a quality burger experience
Generational marketing is overrated, there are far,
far more similarities than differences in purchasing
behavior by generational cohorts
The wants of yesterday are the needs of tomorrow


What ever happened to Generation X? There are about 25 million of them
at the height of their lifestage spending patterns, but they seem to get
ignored by marketers chasing millennials—many of whom have very little
discretionary spending money at the moment
Outside of a few categories (youth culture, fashion, automobiles, etc.)

consumers do not feel that the brands they buy communicate or
express important elements of their identity or social status
Even in this struggling economy, consumers continue to

justify their indulgent needs in most categories
Despite the rise of the urban chicken phenomenon, whereby consumers

have begun raising their own chickens, this trend will subside once the
misery of tending to chickens—a most vile and filthy of creatures—sets in

! And More Pesky Thoughts
Where one goes to college—including elite colleges—

has no correlation to entrepreneurial success
A recent study by Yale psychologists found that food

advertising can trigger unconscious snacking by
leading our thoughts toward hunger and food
A poll conducted by Time magazine found that John Stewart—who hosts a

comedy show—was America’s most trusted newscaster by a wide margin
A study published in the New York Times found that adding calorie
counts to menus has no affect on diner’s food decisions

Up and Coming Hits | Ten Things We Really Like**
**Plus Bacon
“If you do things well, do them better. Be daring,
be first, be different, be just.”
— Anita Roddick
one Happy Pills | A Candy Store
What
 Candy Store in Barcelona relies on clever design and branding imagery to reimagine a tired
concept
 Riffs on the longstanding cultural truth that laughter and sweets can often be the best medicine
 Ostensibly should make children less frightened of visiting their doctor’s office
Aha
 Reworking a tired concept often requires mashing together two seemingly disparate products,
ideas or institutions
 Candy vs. Medicine, Store vs. Hospital

two Steven Smith Teamaker
Stephen Smith is no stranger to tea…

…..having created Stash & Tazo
Smith's teas are bagged on a made-to-order basis…
Each box of tea contains a number, which you

can enter on the company's website to find out
where each leaf was grown, when it was
harvested and who packed your blend

three ROOTFRUIT | Snack Chips
What
 Snack chips made from real food—parsnips, beets and potatoes—and flavored with on trend
ingredients
 How can you not want to crunch away on “almond potato & sea salt”?
 Innovative package choices drive freshness cues (i.e. see in) while still allowing for striking
packaging (cues quality)
Aha
 Snacks made from real food, named after the food’s indigenous category (roots), flavored with
trend forward ingredients and cleverly packaged and presented—a clear winner.

four Anson Mills Polenta
Anson Mills harvests and mills near-extinct varieties of

heirloom corn, rice, and wheat and re-creates ingredients
that were in the Southern larder before the Civil War
His polenta is ground weekly –by hand – to ensure an

optimal polenta experience
His pedigreed polenta can be found on the tables

of the greatest restaurants in the world
Who could have imagined that a humble grain could

engender such a resonant emotional experience ?

five Hotchocspoon | Hot Chocolate & More
What
 Luxury quality, portable hot chocolate on a stick—stir into hot milk and away you go…
 Available in a dizzying array of flavors (46!) including strawberry & pink pepper, sea salt & honey
and praline & nougat.
 Are you sure you’ve reached the point in your life where you can taste the difference between
nougat and filler?
 Some are even available with small amounts of liqueur thrown in for good measure
Aha
 What else is there to say. If you don’t get it by the words and descriptions alone, there’s not much
that can be done.

six Kika’s Treats
Kika's Treats are a line of fresh shortbreads and graham

crackers distinguished by a crisp, buttery texture
Their small portion sizes and clever packaging make a

perfect match for those permissible indulgence moments
We have an office pool going on who will

eventually acquire this fledgling upstart

seven Perricone M.D. | Supplement Rebranding
What
 Dr. Perricone, a name familiar to many in the Health & Wellness community, recently
freshened it’s product line
 Note the clean, understated look of a modern apothecary, a design cue that is bolstered by
the iconic apothecary image
 We are also smitten with the decision to visually depict as many of the natural ingredients as
possible
Aha
 Even in a visually flat category such as supplements, where very little has changed or evolved
in the past 30 years, it just isn't that difficult to rewrite the rules from the bottom up
 Now many are left wondering, ”how we could have ever settled for brown plastic bottles with
lame wrappers for so long?”
eight Happy Bites Macaroni and Cheese
Though aimed at toddlers and kids, the kid in all

of us can’t help but to swoon at the thought of a
macaroni and cheese patty
This is one of the rare examples of convenience done

right…the prepared macaroni and cheese in an easy to
hold patty for little chubby hands hits the sweet spot
The strict reliance on organic ingredients and lack of

preservatives allow mom and dad to rest at ease
Jury is still out as to whether or not the flavor profiles win with
the tykes…our resident 16 month-old taster, Mo, isn’t yet sold.

nine People’s Pops | Local, Seasonal Treats
What
 A trio of creative locals have been reimagining popsicles with local, seasonal ingredients for the
Brooklyn Flea Market
 Unusual fruits—and an occasional vegetable—are combined to craft innovative flavors such as peach,
chamomile and honey; watermelon, cucumber and hyssop; tri-star strawberries and cream;
blackberry, yogurt and honey; and sugar plum and mint.
 They are currently planning for something called “Popsicle World Domination 2010”
Aha
 Further proof that no category is an exception to creative forces of reimagination
 We remain flummoxed that as of yet nobody has snapped them up
ten Q Tonic | A Different Breed
The tonic revolution is in full force, with many bars

choosing to rely only on their own hand brewed tonics
We’ve had specialty Gin for years…why no

interest in specialty tonics??
Q Tonic arrives as the first ultra luxe tonic in the marketplace
Q Tonic tastes clean and crisp with a quick sharpness

and a gently rounded sweetness that Gourmet Magazine
describes as ―simply astounding‖

! Unclear on the Concept: Brands Needing Work
This three inch, 1.7

ounce container of
whipped cream looks
like it should be in the
HBA aisle rather than Combining Guarana &
the dairy case…and caffeine with beef jerky is
besides, who wants just too much of a
only 1.7 ounces of stretch…even in the
whipped cream? name of functionality.
As dedicated vegetarian
fans we can attest that
The product is described veggie patties for grilling
as Chardonnay hydration are a great idea …but
for the daytime... Women vegi scallops in a can?
take their skin care very This is so ghastly on so
seriously—just like their many levels that mere
chardonnay—but not at words cannot do this
the same time, or on the justice
same occasion…
! Competitor's 2010 Trends for Which we Offer a Few Comments
“Chefs have discovered that simple sells.”

―Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication‖ – Leonardo da Vinci, 1478
“Beer’s star is still rising at restaurants, with operators sourcing craft and seasonal labels,
promoting menu pairings and themed dinners, and opening beer-centric pubs and eateries. ”
We thought that whole craft beer revolution deal has been going strong ever since the mid
1990s—last century and what not
“Grocery stores will grow, particularly as private label assumes prominence. Grocery stores are
also doing things such as upgrading delis and fresh take-out sections. ”
―In-store delis and fresh meat sections are stocking chilled prepared meals as a more-
convenient and better-quality solution to frozen meals.‖ – Mintel, 2004
!
“Call it what you will—nutritional, healthful, good-for-you—but this trend toward beneficial foods
is growing at a pretty big rate. ”
―Marketing to the New Natural Consumer: Consumer Trends Forming the Wellness Category‖ –
Harvey Hartman, 1999
!
 Doing Culture Can Also be Fun!
Christmas tree made from Heineken Bottles
The Hugo Hotel, where defenestration is the norm
Just Relax and Enjoy…

 Doing Culture Can Also be Fun!
More Fun 
! Finally, The Long Awaited, Much Appreciated, Bacon
―The pig is a magical animal !!‖ –Homer Simpson

—Anthony Bourdain
~ Happy New Year
For more specific strategic guidance or implications, please

do not hesitate to contact us….
… 425.452.0818
We thank Flikr for the sourcing of fabulous imagery throughout this deck.

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Big Ideas & Things We Like (Plus Bacon)

Photo by Cayusa (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cayusa/981372736/)

―Most transactions have an upside and a downside, but

―Free! Gives us such an emotional charge that we perceive what

— Dan Ariely, author

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

• Free should never be predictable (e.g. every Monday)

―There’s a palpable longing among pundits for

— James Surowiecki, journalist

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

We’ve seen and heard it all before…

―The New Value Shopper is not only price

―We need to see the 'value' shopper come back to

Precisely who is this value shopper?

And how do they define value?

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

How important are each of the following when trying to

Relevant Importance to One’s Value Equation Top Two %+

Product works well/tastes good 81%

Can use it fully without waste 69%

Just the right amount that I need 67%

Getting the absolute lowest price possible 62%

It makes my life simpler and less complicated 58%

We all seek value, so the question is actually about

Bottom Line: The consumer’s notion of value is a complex equation only

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

―Treatment with beta carotene, vitamin A,

―Reality is nothing but a collective hunch‖

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

"Whenever people begin speaking about the traditional family, I always

Who is this idealized American Family?

“Leave It to Beaver" was not a documentary…neither the

What about today?

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

Trendspotters claim battle-weary professional women everywhere have discovered

It's called "the opting-out revolution”

And it’s simply a myth

Let’s take a look at the most recent census data*

*Source: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/families_households/003118.html Explore. Listen. Reflect.

―Rampaging locavores angrily devour herd of trendspotters!‖

―Locavore trend takes root!‖

In late 2007, the New Oxford American Word Dictionary

―Sustainability, Local and Nutrition Top List of Hottest

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

Analysts and marketers alike misunderstand the consumer’s perspective on local

Here is how local actually works…

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

―Creativity comes first; then comes the customer‖

Innovation requires a new way of doing as well as a

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

(1) We have long counseled our clients to

(3) But customers can only speak of what they know…

(4) Impassioned geeks and wackos pounding at the doors of convention

Innovation = consumer need + reimagined culture + butt-kicking design

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

―The single most important thing a city can do

―Our research shows that your name has no

— Stephen Dubner (Freakanomics)

All we can say is…―uh, yeah…‖

Explore. Listen. Reflect.

Alas, their days are numbered

Writing in The NY Times, Paul Krugman slams the coffin shut: