Fresh and Not So Easy

Tweet

Have you ever been to a Fresh & Easy? They are located in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Currently this 200 store supermarket chain is owned by Tesco which is headquartered in England. Their core food store business is in the UK and they have a presence in several countries, including China, India, Hungary, and Poland. 


         
Tesco has been around since the 1920’s; they have over 300,000 employees and over 3,000 stores! Tesco even has its own bank, located in their UK stores. 



And they've been mentioned in this 2006 hit song by Lily Allen:

They are not small potatoes.

Five years ago Tesco sought bigger fish to fry and launched Fresh & Easy in the states. In all other countries they've used the name Tesco. Not here.  I visited one of their stores soon after it opened in my area. It was small, messy, and boxes were piled up everywhere. Nothing was pleasing to the eye. 

I selected a few items and proceeded to check out. The cashier yelled at me about something; I don’t recall what. I later told a friend that this must be the equivalent to shopping in Russia (Have never been; it’s just a perception). I haven’t been back to a Fresh & Easy since.

And now there’s another reason not to visit. Happened to have the radio on the other day and heard an ad that could contribute to their demise even faster. Oh, you haven’t heard? Tesco is leaving the U.S. and their 200 stores are up for sale. They have a message regarding their situation to loyal shoppers on their website, dated April 17. 

Their “last blast” of advertising to promote the brand isn't going to win over too many people. Sure “F’in Easy” is supposed to sound cute and people have been using the term to refer to their stores. But hey, did “FCUK” work all that well for a certain British brand?  French Connection went back to their original name after a few years.

In the radio spot a little ditty tells us about the lack of things you can’t pronounce that presumably are not included in the fine wares sold by Fresh & Easy. Is this an attempt to compete with Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Sprouts? Well, it isn't because the "cutesy" tune with it's "F'in" references is  directed to a younger audience and not the alfalfa eating boomer crowd.  Aha! 

What IS this brand anyway? There's a lack of identity here. From my one visit I gauged that they were trying to be a discount grocery that provided no assistance to the shopper whatsoever.  At any rate, it’s an odd moment to try to relaunch a brand when it’s up for sale. 

The fine folks at Fresh & Easy have a video version of the ad that they have dubbed "a musical". That video is a "must see" otherwise what I've wrote above makes no sense. Let me know your thoughts on it! Click here (sorry could not embed it!).

Marketing isn't easy if you're doing it on your own. Need some strategy? Stop by our website, or visit us on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+.        

Branding: Lessons from Anthony Bourdain

Tweet

A few years ago, a friend mentioned a show called No Reservations and touted the originality of the show’s star.


Intrigued, I checked it out. In one of the first episodes I watched, Anthony Bourdain visited dive hot dog grilles in New Jersey. I completely identified with that (being a product of that fine state) as I marveled at his audacity. He was brutally honest and upfront with everything he said and I was impressed that he had no issues with dining under $10. 


Hello, not everyone goes to La Bernadin every week! And there’s nothing like a good old fashioned hot dog, laden with cheese, chili, onions, or whatever your fancy is.


Bourdain’s show included some world travel too which was just as fascinating as his romps in the states. Wisely, he would rely on a local accomplish for help with language barriers and to show him the ropes. 
Together, they’d explore street markets and cheap places that are unlikely to be listed in Fodor’s. 


While he was never outright rude on the show, his cocky attitude suggested he could be. After all, he’s a New Yawker who attended high school in New Jersey (double whammy). 


He is an industry. 


For Christmas, one of my gifts was a book, Kitchen Confidential. This is the book that put him on the map; it documents his life “in the trenches”. Sounds kinda boring, right? Nope. It’s Sex and Drugs and Rock ‘n Roll: Full Throttle! The term screwing is about more than a cap on a bottle of olive oil here. Who knew about the shenanigans going on behind those kitchen doors?


The read is blunt, honest, entertaining, and may make you squiggle in your seat. Get used to the “F” word being used often as both a verb and an adjective. It may be there as a noun too.


Oh, but there’s more! If you’re involved in the food industry, in particular a restaurant owner, all those “little secrets” are laid out on the table. So that’s how you make a profit off of five day old fish? And now I know how twenty cents worth of garnish aids in charging an additional three to four dollars for a plate of food. 


Who knew?


So, what IS it about this guy? He’s not in his thirties sporting rugged good looks, he’s showing signs of wear and tear, smokes like a chimney, has attire that suggests “I don’t give a crap about anything" (because he doesn't), and heck, most of us had no clue who he was five years ago. How does he get away with that?


He is himself.


And that teaches us all a valuable lesson. Your brand’s foundation stems from you. It is created by you, it is guided by you, and it evolves because you do. It’s not something that you aspire to: It’s what you are today. It projects your personality.  It grows from your passions for the product or service. So let it show.


No compromises!


Now excuse me while I log in to Amazon to order his latest book.


Anthony Bourdain likes listening to LOUD music while cooking, including this band (I like the Ramones too)...

 Say Hello! There's the website, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+  

Okay, I’ve got a Facebook Page…What now?

Tweet

Congrats! You’ve made a big step in the world of social media. But, oh dear. Don’t tell me you’ve started a Facebook Page without having a strategy. If that’s the case, do yourself a favor and delete it now. Harsh? Yes. But I’ve seen so many businesses wallowing out there, posting lots of spammy looking stuff and subsequently doing a great job of making themselves look BAD. Why would you do that? Perhaps some of these reasons sound like your rationale for starting a page:

•    Everyone else has a Facebook page so I have to have one too.
•    I’ll make sales. All I have to do is post my product or service.
•    I heard that other media forms are dying, like newspaper ads and direct mail.
•    It’s keeping up with the times.
•    It’s free.
•    I can get all my friends to like it, and I’ll have hundreds of people on there!

First of all, a Facebook page isn’t for everyone. It depends on a combination of factors, including what your industry is, if you’re B to C or B to B, where your audience is (or isn't) and how successful you’ve been with other media. For example, if you are a service provider and clients are coming in from your newspaper ad, and you’re turning people away, that may be enough, for now. But do revisit the thought down the road. Your clientele may be newspaper readers, and not Facebook frequenters.

Facebook pages are not about spamming the public with advertising by constantly posting hard selling come-ons on your page. If that’s your mindset, you will fail. This is social media, not hard hitting in the face, advertising. And yes, while some methods of reaching people are dying out, such as newspapers, it doesn’t mean they don’t work today for your target audience.

Myth: Facebook pages are free. That’s just not true! They require a lot of time. You can do it yourself, however, if you’re offering a service that bills at $200 an hour, is it worth taking the time to do those posts? Do you place ads in newspapers yourself? Probably not beyond making a phone call and writing a check. If you do go ahead with a Facebook page think about outsourcing so you can concentrate on your business at hand. And ramping up by growing fans rapidly via a Facebook ad will set you back a pretty penny. If you are a one person show and posting all day, what does that say about the amount of work you really do?

A Facebook business page is not about your friends; many of your friends, while interested in you, will not have much interest in the services or the products you offer. On a positive note, they may like your page, and, while they never participate there they may pass along your page to people they know that will have an interest. But do get yourself set up for rejection, and do not be offended when your friends “like” your page, then “unlike” it a couple of days later.

All the wrong reasons are posted above. Now, I don’t want to give away all my trade secrets, but I highly recommend conversing with someone who can help you determine the reasons why YOU should have a Facebook page, what the expectations are, the best way for you to go about it, content, how to handle conflict and negativity, how to project the essence of your brand, and I could go on.

Wish I didn’t have to say this: It’s not that simple. Strategy and Planning is the key. Winging it is not a substitute. Best to you!

Crafty Food?

Tweet

Artisan Bread. Check. Artisan Cheese. Artisan Lettuce. Ok. Excuse me, did you say Artisan LETTUCE?

Yes, now there’s even lettuce boasting how artisan it is in all its glory, unlike the bug eaten leaves in my garden, but lovingly grown by a skilled craftsperson. I can just imagine this him or her, let’s just say it’s a she, with Ferragamo flats, a Vera Wang lab coat, and glasses from Juicy Couture, meandering through rolling green central California fields, occasionally bending down, examining a picturesque leaf close up with a magnifying glass and perhaps selecting a sample or two for further analysis back in the lab.

Am I’m exaggerating here? Perhaps this seasoned, highly knowledgeable artisan is wearing a well-worn, well-loved thread bare lab coat, practical Rockport shoes, and spectacles that are a bit nerdy, much like Buddy Holly’s, but a bit more subdued. And yes, this time the artisan is a man.

And what does the notion of a product being artisan mean to a consumer? As far as that artisan lettuce is concerned, Well, those luscious leaves are certainly going to get some serious scrutiny. Will it taste better? It sure does look downright pretty, so maybe so. Ah, but will it justify the added cost? IF there is an added cost; the artisan lettuce I purchased was NOT from an upscale regional market. Nor was it from Whole Foods. Are you sitting down? Costco, $3.49! Complete with a quantity large enough to feed 50 salad-loving guests, if I choose to do so.

Mixed message, perhaps? Did I EXPECT such exceptionally fancy, quality-encrusted lettuce from Costco? Heck NO. But as a consumer, I feel that I got a great deal. If some of that fine fine artisan lettuce wilts before I can get around to eating it, well, it’s STILL a good deal. Does this raise my opinion of Costco? Absolutely!

Marketing at its finest: Artisan. Artisan. Artisan. Consumers can and will be seduced by this word. Looking forward to seeing "Artisan" brilliantly displayed on a box of cous cous or brown rice, my favorite Trader Joe’s dark chocolate (you guys listening?) and perhaps some of those wonderful soups in tetra paks that I love. And uh, if you choose the right price point and your product is truly on an artisan level, you will, indeed, raise my level of expectations. And that raises the likelihood of me coming back for more. So what’s it going to be?