Category Archives: Modern Marketing

Food, Modern Marketing

Coles’ fishy environmentalist claims

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On page 8 of their Winter Magazine 2011, Coles makes the rather patronising claim that they are “encouraging their customers to try different types of seafood in an effort to address the issue of dwindling stocks in our oceans.”


Well, who takes any notice of the Duopoly when it comes to this stuff, anyway? We all know it’s only branding. It’s stating the bleeding obvious that neither Coles nor Woolworths give a shit about anything other than their bottom line. Environmentalism is the new black, innit? And therefore, highly marketable. But really, if you’re gonna come out with the sort of preachy-toned claims Coles have made above, better be sure you don’t betray yourself as the bullshitters we all know you are. Check out the following ad in their current sales brochure (Thursday 23rd June to Wednesday 29th June 2011): Continue reading Coles’ fishy environmentalist claims →

Food, Modern Marketing, Popular Culture, TV

MasterChef Australia In Review (Now That The Cake Is Almost Baked)

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During the early elimination rounds of MasterChef Australia, I suggested in my post entitled ‘MasterChef Australia’ – Egos in Aprons, Seeking Celebrity that this was just another ‘reality TV’ show, and therefore all about entertainment and ratings, rather than determining which of the contestants was the best cook. A fake, in other words. I predicted that the final 20 would be selected not solely on cooking prowess, but on other criteria to do with maximising the appeal of the show. My punt, ignoring the cooking ability factor altogether, was that the finalists would fit into the following categories: Continue reading MasterChef Australia In Review (Now That The Cake Is Almost Baked) →

Blogging & Internet, Modern Marketing

After binoculars or a camera? Try www.camerastore.com.au

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A positive piece to finish the week.

I’ve been looking for a pair of good quality binoculars as a birthday present for my partner. A couple of weeks ago I embarked on the usual research fest that precedes any significant purchase of mine, and after much to-ing and fro-ing, concluded that the Nikon Travelite V 8×25 CF best fitted the brief.

The hard stuff done (I thought), I moved on to Phase 2: comparing prices at local retail outlets. Annoyingly, forays to department stores and a multitude of camera outlets scattered around the Perth CBD were fruitless. Ditto the nearby suburbs. The ranges were generally poor, prices high, and none of them had the Nikon Travelite Vs.

Camerahouse in Leederville had the best choice of binoculars, but again, not the Nikon Travelites! These had been well reviewed and widely recommended on various web forums – I assumed they would be readily available locally.

Slightly daunted and running out of time, I hit Google and found a few Australian-based online stores that looked promising. I noticed their prices varied considerably, but were generally much lower on a model-for-model basis than those the Perth retail outlets were offering – and the range available online was far better. Continue reading After binoculars or a camera? Try www.camerastore.com.au →