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Yup, it's that time again - award time! Recently the finalists of the 6th annual Canadian New Media Awards -- which recognizes the achievements of individuals and companies in the Canadian new media-- were announced. Good luck to all! Visit here to see the complete list: http://cnma.ca/index_e/06finalists.html
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In its non-stop bid to integrate itself in every touch-point of modern life, Google has now released a calendar software system that scans emails and Web sites for dates and times and --presto!-- transfers them onto a personal online calendar. Read more in this Washington Post article by Yuki Noguchi.
The SEO world is abuzz today with the news that Google has bought a new search algorithm. The algorithm is designed to make search more relevant by judging the text as well as the quality of the site! Yippeee!! Hopefully, this will help get rid of the scamming and the poor quality sites designed only to try to trick the search engines.
I admit it, I love small town commercials. There's something so refreshing about the unslickness of it - the man in his Sunday best, shilling the advantages of his car dealership, the employees nervously smiling in the background, and the boom dipping in and out of the frame. Even some big city commercials play on this sort of "honest" advertising -- the low-budget kitsch of Bad Boys and Honest Ed's springs to mind. There is something so bad about two guys mugging for the camera while extoling "Nooobody!" that makes it good.
But sometimes bad is just bad. Take the current Leon's Furniture commercial... the one that says, "We're having a sale so big, we could only call it The Big One." C'mon. Earth to Leon's: Invest in a copywriter!
A while ago I was recounting my early memories of the LCBO to a friend and we talked about the drab outlets and how much they have changed over the years. When I was a kid, I would tag along with my Dad. The way the transaction was done in the early '70s was that you would:
- enter these little depots of East Germany scattered throughout the province
- go up to a counter where there were black binders --chained to the counter!-- of products and prices (no descriptions)
- find what you were looking for
- use the supplied stubby pencil to write it down on a supplied scrap of paper
- hand it to the unsmiling man dressed in gulag grey behind the counter.
This all came back to me again when I picked up March's edition of Strategy Magazine. In it there was a fascinating article about Andy Brandt the chair and CEO of the LCBO, covering how he did a spectacular overhaul of the Ontario behemoth - turning it from these horrible, un-consumer-friendly retail outlets to a rather upscale retailer of Canadian and world wines and spirits.
Today, whenever I go back to Toronto I love to stop by and peruse the aisles. The staff are friendly and helpful and the selection is tremendous. It's a wonderful beginning-to-end consumer experience, which is probably why the LCBO, under Andy Brandt's leadership, has received over 200 awards for marketing, innovative retailing, communications, staff training and social responsibility.
Mr. Brandt is now retiring after his 15 year tenure with the LCBO. Perhaps he would consider a position at Hydro Quebec? (Please??!!)
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