A China milk scare and a whole new market opens up

Sydney International Airport yesterday. The fact that our milk producers can be trusted has opened up a whole new market for us. There is value in maintaining a clean, positive image.

Dissonance reduction in the Tattoo Studio

Someone I know recently got a tattoo done. As they were on the table a second artist came over and said "wow that looks good".

Sure the tattoo does look good but I can't help but think that this is just standard procedure. When the customer is just wondering "is this a clever thing" they received a positive affirmation. In marketing theory this is called dissonance reduction.

The staff probably don't even know that that's what they are doing - just that it makes their life easier. Or perhaps the other artist really just did think it was a nice tatt.

A cinnamon bun shop: great idea but not for Australia

It's lucky for me that I am leaving the USA right now. If left with these Temptations for too much longer I would be 120 kilograms. And as I buy my cinnamon buns for breakfast I love this shop. But a cinnamon roll breakfast Shoppe probably would not roll so to speak in Australia.

The US has a population that preferred to buy rather than make, it likes donuts for breakfast and it loves cinnamon. So as a potential startup business one needs to consider not just if it's a great idea but will the idea travel?

Is there what we call "category demand" for the product before we begin to try to win market share? and how do you define "category"? It's one of those marketing "red wine conversations" I refer to so frequently.

Motel 6: A good brand story

Americans love a road trip. And to support that there has emerged a very strong motel industry over the last 50 years. But some of these properties are getting old.

On my road trip I have been booking hotel rooms at the drop of a hat thanks to the internet and booking.com.

I've stayed in some shady places and I've stayed in some good value ones. I have pretty much decided to choosing Motel 6 because they are everywhere and I can have some assurance that things will be okay.

That's branding. A promise that you will get some level of quality. No wonder Ocean Breeze Inn came into the Motel 6 family. They haven't even got around to replacing their signage yet. But I still got what I expected; a great value bundle.

Skyhawk, Sidewinders and Huey

Aboard the USS Midway in San Diego. One hell of a war machine. Up to 4500 men on board when operational. As a military aircraft groupie in my teen years I found this amazing.

In California, bacon wins the day and Corona is cheap.

I haven't tried it but sometimes the Americans come up with some amazing stuff, by listening and going with it. Bacon sundaes, bacon shakes anyone?

I couldn't have thought sweet pumpkin pie would be so good until a year or so ago I made some. You never know.

On a different, but related, note. Corona is dirt cheap. Branded very well around the world as a premium beer it's considered cheap Mexican here in California. Fun fact - the lemon/lime was originally a means to sterilise the neck, because people didn't trust the bottles to be clean.

Ribs are so darn cheap

In the US meat in general is inexpensive but ribs in particular are way cheap. In Australia you can buy pork ribs for around $16 per kilo.

In the US it netts out to around half that.

I know it's a complex interaction of government subsidies, wages competition, and production techniques but man I wish I had access to cheap meat.

I also recognise that it's very bad for the environment but man I skydive! People in glass houses should not throw stones.