citizenbay

The perfect retail experience?

I think I have discovered retail heaven.

The place is called You Don't Bring Me Flowers and it is found in south London right near to Hither Green train station.

I had to meet my friend Gauti Sigthorssen to discuss our on-going research project on the rise of DIY culture in music (you can find more on this over at the citizensound blog).

He insisted I made the trip to Hither Green ('where?' was my first response).

The place is fabulous. Flowers on sales outside.

Inside the walls covered in an eclectic mix of fair trade jewellery and interesting objects. They serve all sorts of tea, coffee and cakes. Cups and saucers don't match. Chairs and tables are a stunning mix of tastes and eras.

For me though the icing on the retail cake so to speak is the 1950's dansette on top of the old fridge. With a rack of LPs to choose from (Ella, Nina Simone amongst others) you can just go ahead, choose a record, and put it on the dansette yourself. I sat back and enjoyed my tea and toast listening to Ella Live in Berlin.

Oh and no wifi.

If you live in London, please make the trek there. It is truly an oasis.

A Retailer thinks like a shopper...

Over the Christmas period, I ventured into a supermarket for the first time in about 2 years. Not because I don't eat or too lazy, but because I prefer to support local shops and farmers markets.

After getting over the expected horror of seeing apples from the other side of the world rather than Kent, I ran round the place, picked up the one thing I had to get and headed for the check-out.

On my way around, I did check out what the fuss is all about supermarkets. Lots of bargains clearly, and very convenient, whilst it seems that many of us like to see our faces in fruit - so shiny!

I did find one thing I liked though...

It seems that supermarkets are thinking of the shopper. No really. For decades we have had the isles neatly laid out...washing powder there, biscuits here. Yet, shoppers shop not just by category, but also by task (kids packed lunch, that special dish, family party).

So it was great to see the supermarket put the nutcrackers next to the nuts...genius... and saved people a trolley mile or two to find them.

Walt Freese Chief Euphoria Officer Ben & Jerry's

I have to admit I was totally inspired by Walt Freese of Ben & Jerry’s. At the FBM Summit, he was an engaging yet modest speaker who spoke eloquently of the Ben & Jerry success story.

Earlier in the day, a number of delegates had grilled Jamie Mitchell of innocent drinks about whether good brand citizenship can continue if innocent drinks were to be bought out by a larger company.

Listening to Walt Freese quickly dispelled many doubters as to whether this is possible. Here is a business that is built on three pillars: Great Product; a Sustainable Financial basis of profitable growth; Innovative ways to improve the Quality of Life locally, nationally and internationally. Plus a slice of fun thrown in.

Since begin taken over by Unilever, the three pillars are still in place at Ben & Jerry’s, all with equal importance.

It was fascinating to see how a number of delegates struggled to come to terms with successful businesses that put citizenship at it’s heart, rather than as an add-on.

Rather than expect citizen brands to switch sometime back into the ‘real world’, it would be nice to celebrate such good business practice as a progressive business model and learn from them ourselves. So I will be celebrating more companies like Ben & Jerry's on the blog.

After all, woudn’t we all want to work for a company where Euphoria and fun is critical to business success?

Ben & Jerry's Shake Things Up

Walt Freese, Chief Euphoria Officer of Ben & Jerry’s, shared this little quote which lies at the heart of the Ben & Jerry company philosophy.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. It’s the only thing that ever has”

(Margaret Mead)

Like this.

Smart thinking

Whilst presenting at the FBM Summit, Ton Christiaanse of Farm Frites mentioned a project that the company has undertaken.

Farm Frites is the 4th largest potato processing company, so has a whole load of potato by-products to dispose of.

So what could they do with tonnes of potato peel and potato starch?

Convert it into green electricity, that's what.

Farm Frites set up a business with Group Machiels called BioEnergy, built a new installation that processes 100,000 tonnes of by-product every year which gets converted into green electricity that feeds into the public grid.

The business also purifies 'hard to treat' water, so saving on tap water in the Farm Frites boilers. There are also plans for the remaining product of the process to be used as a biological fertilizer. Transportation costs are also estimated to be saved.

All in all, sound investment and sound business practice.

Transformational ideas don't only come from the famous brands you know

Are brands born good citizens or can they become one over time?

Body Shop, then Ben & Jerry's, now innocent drinks...

These three became more than just another company, but proof that strong commitment to the community and business can go hand in hand.

Yet these companies started out being built upon the ideas and principles of the founders.

Can existing companies transform themselves placing ethics and social values at the heart of their business? Do they want to or are we destined for more Annual Reports which has cost more to print than the investment in brand citizenship?

Some companies ignore the consumer demands for good business citizenship at their peril. Kevin Roberts maybe right that the brand is not the company's brand, but the consumers. Brands need to face up to this.

Companies can be transformed as long as their true desire is to transform. Sounds pretty obvious, but I have seen the Annual Reports where one sentence on some good deed in a far off country is the single sliver of good citizenship. It's the "hey Fred, have a look around the business for a CSR story, so we can tick that box off. I have to get a nice photo of the CEO done" approach.

Brand citizenship must be one of the cornerstones of the company values. This thought needs to be lived by the head of the company, not just rattled out when it suits them; hiring smart PR companies to add a social sheen to their business practices can only go so far.

More companies are moving in the right direction, some faster than others admittedly, but the momentum is the right one. The realisation is hitting home that good citizenship and a profitable business is not mutually exclusive.

However, as much as CEOs can lead by example, it is not just down to them; the responsibility and opportunity lies with every person in the company. And I am not talking about the responsibilities that appear on the spreadsheet alongside 'Roles', 'Accountabilities' and other such wonderful contributions by management consultancies to make working such an uninspiring and unproductive place.

Individuals can transform companies, just as consumers are doing. So many of us have to deal with the 'politics' of an organisation. This negative energy needs to be turned into something positive. Let's call it the new workplace politics: citizenship in the workplace. Little ideas to transform the culture of a company. There are already so many great examples; let's make the list longer.

Iconic logo from Chupa Chups

Salvador Dali designed this in 1969. Try to fault it...then fail!

We Rule Point of Sale... suckers...

Juli Iborra Perez, Visibility Manager of Chupa Chups shared the company approach to getting stand out at Point of Sale.

The Chupa Chups Point of Sale really is a great example of Transformation Idea. Location is clearly crucial in POS, yet you can have the best position in store and still not get noticed... (which chewing gum do you go for?). Stunning design at Point of Sale can make or break a brand.

Chupa Chups is an example of functional,simple and democratic design. Living in Barcelona for three years, and now in London with my young son, I know only too well the effectiveness of their in-store displays!

PS Watermelon is by far the best flavour...

Double chocolate truffle please

Hugues Despres, New Business Development Director of Mars, shared the story of ethel's, the premium chocolate.

I liked the positioning of the brand as 'Everyday Premium' chocolate. Not so premium that seems distant and overly exclusive, yet exclusive enough to encourage consumers to indulge on a more regular basis. Tricky balancing act though.

Made even more so by the decision to open up ethel's chocolate lounges. The brand positioning is embodied in the store, where the staff are not cold or overly formal, yet the store itself suggests more than a box of choccies.
It encourages the private enjoyment of chocolate (for yourself or as a gift) yet also provides the opportunity for chocolate as a shared moment. A place where people can sit and enjoy the chocolate with friends and a cup of tea sounds a great idea.

Will this be the chocolate Starbucks or is will this inevitably fail as people look for something other than chocolate with their tea? One thing is for sure, the experience in other chocolate stores is either not special enough or too pompous for my liking. The thinking behind ethel's seems risky and brave, yet right. It will be very interesting to see how this brand develops.

Brand Alliances

Jordi Ferre, VP Sales & Marketing at Tate & Lyle, spoke eloquently about the opportunities when Brands build strategic alliances.

Drawing upon Tate & Lyle's success with Splenda in the U.S., he suggested a number of things to consider when entering such alliances. One tip was to accept that one partner may gain a little more than the other. It is rare for a brand partnership to see both parties gaining equally. Secondly, he suggested that brands need to be complementary, whilst barriers may arise if the objectives of the two brands are divergent.

He called brands such as Intel, Dolby and Splenda, ingredient brands. I like that one. Trouble is, the marketing of the cake is often left to the marketing team of the brand partner. Hence the need for the ingredient brand to have a clear focused strategy on how their ingredient is to be used. Without it, poor execution by the partner brand could leave the consumers uninspired and tasteless cake.