Shopping Season Retail Staff Shortage - An Opportunity?

How crazy is this...

We have all heard about the problems that Retailers in the Canadian Province of Alberta have had with regard to hiring staff, but not having product on your shelves because there is nobody to put it out there or closing your doors early in the day at the busiest shopping time of the year because you have nobody to service your customers takes this to a whole new level!

See this clip for more:

Shopping Season Retail Staff Shortage

Should Canadian E-shops be exploiting this in their creative value proposition? ie, "shop online and avoid the frustration of experiencing zero in-store service!". We talk about the convenience of shopping online, yet perhaps the message has to be stronger than that. Communicating a compelling emotional message about how an online experience can truly be better than an offline one because of what our retail environment has become just might be the way forward. After all, isn't a Retailers primary function about ensuring that they have inventory for their customers?

SMS Direct Marketing and Marketing Partnerships

As some of you know, I had the privilege of speaking at this years CMA Direct Marketing Conference in Toronto on November 21st, 2006. It was a truly great day, and I am looking forward to more great CMA events in the months ahead.

After my session, I was interviewed by Arieh Singer of OneDegree.ca on the how Marketing Partnerships will play a key role in SMS Direct Marketing campaigns in the years to come. Arieh recently posted my interview at One Degree, so check it out if you are interested. Would love your comments on this topic...

SMS Direct Marketing and Marketing Partnerships with Ron Kunitzky

Non Linear Creations wants you to Improve Your Bottom Line with Search Marketing

Non Linear Creations is holding a seminar on how to “Improve Your Bottom Line with Search Marketing” on Nov. 29th/06 in downtown Toronto. Basically, the seminar is designed for business executives, managers, and corporate marketers who are used to traditional marketing practices and want to gain more knowledge on tactics and strategies used in SEM/SEO.

Just might check it out...

Here are the event details !

Renee's Bundles Tangy Thai Sauce with Maple Leaf Fully Cooked Meat Strips

I purchased a pack of Maple Leaf Fully Cooked Grilled Sirloin Steak Strips last week and when I got home and started to cook them, I noticed a mini-packet of Renee's Tangy Thai Sauce floating around inside the packaging. Great way for Renee's to get people sampling their new sauces by bundling them with another food product that adds value to their proposition, yet just like the examples of 'ingredient branding partnerships', where we see a product leverage another product in it's ingredients to complete itself, this product-bundle provides exposure for one brand (Renee's) and helps the other brand increase sales (Maple Leaf). Having said that, I wonder if the program actually increasing sales for MapleLeaf?

Ron Kunitzky to speak at CMA Direct Marketing Conference on November 21st

I was recently asked by Robin Whalen to speak at the 2006 CMA Direct Marketing Conference.

The event is called "Illumination 2006... Ideas for the new age of Direct Marketing" and will happen at the Holiday Inn on King Street in Toronto on November 21st.

Looks like a great line-up of speakers and lots of interesting sessions planned. Glad to be taking part in this event and sharing my thoughts on how you can leverage Marketing Partnerships to Acquire New Customers & Monetize your Customer Base.

Hope you can make it for a great day of Direct Marketing learnings!