Yucky Shopping

I don't know what it is that these plastic baskets in convenience stores don't seem to ever get cleaned. And don't people complain about that when they put their fresh produce in them? While this is one of the trolley bins in a shop, the same can be observed at night markets where I am being asked to put my fruits into a basket for the vendor to ring up the bill. Once a week under hot water should do the trick, right?

Yes, I could name the location of this mart, but no need. Ask me and I tell you, but I am not going to put this out here publicly. 

A Space with a View

While eating (Breakfast), you would want to enjoy the view. 
Here, we are reading the fine print. 

Abolishment of Diesel Subsidies

 You know something is going down when the forklift driver is taking his ride to the petrol station to filler' up.

Ribbed

 

I like to BBQ. Obviously. The attraction is in the fact that you need to know what you are doing. Planning. Tinkering. Refining. It is not as easy as simply cranking up the heat on the stove. It is a little like playing Golf, where you strategise your moves from the flag backwards to the tee.

This is 5kg of ribs, that barely fit, after 4 hours of cooking. Slow. Steady. In the heat for that time, monitoring the temperature with 2 thermometers. Will need to do this again, using a different path. Awesome, yet to be improved. 

A touch of Branding

 Everything communicates your brand and packaging has more purpose than just wrapping your product. Here an example from the world of Whisk(e)y.

The explicit labelling with resulting perceptions may have implications. This has been discussed using comparable products and research methods (Bruwer and Buller, 2012). As a communications tool, labelling has been identified as signifier of quality (Kilani et al., 2020). Impacts of visual design elements, such as colour and shape and the impact of packaging on perceptions of taste and quality are discussed in depth (Chitturi et al., 2021; Adams et al., 2014). Extensive research is available, even dealing with the impact of labelling highlighting the year of the establishment of (Japanese) businesses (Maezawa and Kawahara, 2021). Age of Whisk(e)y is an important label in establishing quality. Further empirical research reviewed also highlights the difficulties to convey product qualities using language (Croijmans et al., 2020), which would need to be considered. Tactile characteristics can be incorporated into the product design, which other brands have adopted too. While research suggests that product adaptation may be required, findings are to demonstrate that limited adaptation is needed in cases where even packaging has its own name, such as "The Tround" used for Glenfiddich, a signifier for the characteristics of the product (Russel, undated).

Beyond tangible product features, the perceived, augmented value of a product will be considered by consumers (Dibb et al., 2019). Perception needs to be studied in connection with country of origin effects. The direction of the perception is important: origin of the product and buyer impact perceptions and may differ if the origins are reversed (Kamins and Nagashima, 1995). Purchasing decisions are influenced by perceptions (YI CHEN et al., 2014) to the extent that additional perceived features may impact willingness to pay (Ruso et al., 2021).

Here I am with a bottle of recently acquired "The Deacon", whereby the purchasing decision was made purely based on the bottle design, mainly its tactile characteristics. The goggles thrown in as a merchandising gift were an added bonus as I can use them to style my photos.

hashtag#Brand hashtag#Communication hashtag#Thoughts hashtag#Research hashtag#Countryoforigin hashtag#Whisky hashtag#Product hashtag#Excitement hashtag#Photo hashtag#Styling hashtag#Tround hashtag#Packaging hashtag#Branding hashtag#Marketing hashtag#PurchaseDecision hashtag#DrinkResponsibly hashtag#Tactile

Dazed and Confused

I see these more and more often now, replacing the motion sensors on the entrances / exits to malls and shops. And I am confused.

All through the pandemic we were told that touching stuff is not a good idea. The Covid virus would sit on surfaces, waiting to get us infected. And now we are going to fumble everything? I can bet any amount that these buttons to open the doors host the biggest collection of germs. Sometimes I see cooks leaving toilets without washing their hands. And if these people can't display basic hygienic behaviour, i don't want to know about normal shoppers. 

Thought of the Day: Are PR agencies our enemies? We love some of you!

 Contributed by: Juergen Steinmetz, CEO & Publisher, TravelNewsGroup

This morning I received a forwarded message. The content "spoke to me" as I am finding myself in a similar situation. I thought this is a good message that needs to be pushed. The following represents the opinion of the owner. 

Dear Friends of eTurboNews,

I need your cooperation!

For 25 years, eTurboNews has been proud to serve the travel and tourism industry with time-sensitive, relevant news and reports you can only find here. But enough is enough!

eTurboNews content is drastically changing!

This is good news for our readers and bad news for those who push "earned media" to us in the expectation of tricking our hard-working team into publishing free promotional news without us having a chance of being on the earning side.

It's bad news for those pushing mass news items to us, calling our hard-working team "Dear All,"

My promise! We will ignore those sending press releases to us that are already searchable on Google because they are circulated by mass distribution networks such as PR Newswire and other wire services.

Such services are in business to push thousands of news items on the back pages of AP, Yahoo Finance, and other name-brand news publications. Inflated distribution reports for articles they claim were "picked up", will justify the high amount such services charge.

The truth is that most pick-ups are often restricted to non-indexed back pages of news publications no real reader will ever see. We will not have a part in this.

What makes us different?

Our independent state-of-the-art news portals are published in 102 languages and reach more than 2 million followers worldwide, including email updates as news is posted to 180,000 travel and tourism industry professionals and close to 7,000 journalists and bloggers. Social media and push notifications to more than 100,000 web users who are alerted to our articles will increase the expected visibility a million or more times a day. Many articles are included on our vast social media network and chat groups.

What is changing at eTurboNews?

We invite regular readers to contribute unique news tips and trend stories you won't find on wire services or competing publications.

We invite PR Agencies and PR representatives to play ball and cooperate with us!

Please stop pushing "earned media" on us, unless you're prepared to make us part of this earning process.

eTurboNews and our hard-working global team are ready to work with you, promote your services, and treat you and your clients as our partners and friends once you are prepared to do the same and show respect. We will always honor PR agencies' important roles before contacting their clients directly.

PR Agencies and PR representatives: How to partner with us?

·        Sign up for our PR trial subscription before pushing press releases to us - there is a free trial!

·        Utilize our commercial options

·        Become an advertiser

·        Contact us to discuss other options

We love you - but let's become a team here.