The idea that never materialized

Three summers ago i was taking my lunch break on a patio that we were working on. For lunch i had a turkey sandwich with plain chips and some Frito Lay con caso chip dip. As i was nearing the bottom of the dip jar i was getting frustrated with the amount of cheese i kept getting on my knuckles every time i would go in for more. After finishing lunch i got back to work. About an hour later i had one of those eureka moments. For some reason at that point of time i cam up with idea of having a threaded jar that would allow you to twist the bottom of the jar and push the contents inside the jar to the top. I thought this was a genius idea. When i got home i did a little research and found nothing like it. A weekend later i started doing research on how to thread the inside of a glass jar. This turned out to be a difficult process without having the necessary tools to do so. I wanted to make a prototype of the twist-able jar so that i could take the necessary steps at introducing my idea after getting it patented. With working 50 hours a week and taking a summer class my whole twisted jar idea put off to a later time and forgot about. This past fall i started thinking about it again and found out that someone had just patented a very similar idea. The product is called "Jar with a twist". Im still mad at myself for not getting on it sooner because this could have turned out to be a great opportunity. Next time i have another, eureka moment, i wont sit on it.

Cause v. Purpose

What is the difference between cause and purpose marketing? Never really gave much thought to this until it was brought up in class and it is important to be able to distinguish between the two. Cause marketing is more of a company deciding out of the blue to donate to a charity for whatever reason to help boost sales. Purpose marketing deals with a cause that is already "baked in" to what the company is all about. In the article Cause v. Purpose by Max Lenderman, Traction found that a majority of people support brands with a cause attached. Those same people are realizing that everybody is starting to do it which raises the question of the authenticity of it. Are those companies supporting different causes just to push their product? Or do they truly support something for the long run. As a consumer, it is always important to be aware of the different tactics businesses may use to draw you in.

Here is a different view point of a cause v. purpose related example. Steven Rinella is an avid outdoorsmen who hunts and fishes for a living by producing a television show on the sportsmens channel called meat eater and is also a writer who has published a number of books. Rinella is an advocate for raising the awareness of hunting and its importance to conservation and is a strong supporter of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP). The TRCP is a powerful group whose main purpose is to protect critial habitat and our public lands. Although Rinella is not a brand, he is in some regards a spokesman for the hunting community who believes in a cause that is directly related to everything he does in his show and writings.

Cost of Social Norms

Chapter 4 in the book predictably irrational is an interesting topic and is very true in my everyday life. We all operate under certain norms weather they are social or market (financially) oriented. Norms are what give us order and direction but both social and market norms can be taken very differently depending on the situation. Social norms have to do with what we personally believe is the right thing to do that is based on our values. Market norms are basically what you are willing to do for a certain amount of money.

The other day i helped a friend move from gateway to Bozeman. It was in the later afternoon and i had nothing going on so i was more than happy to help him out. The move only took us one trip and had all of his stuff moved into the new house. When we finished with the move he treated us to pizza and beer which is more than i could ask for in such a small task that took only took an hour or so. If he would of told me before hand that he was going to pay me $12 an hour, or whatever the rate, i would have immediately been thrown off by the money offer because i am acting under a social norm rather than a market norm and changes the whole reason of why i am helping him in the first place. The gesture of feeding me pizza and beer far outweighed the value of cash i could have made in this scenario.

Our perceptions can change dramatically depending on the situation at hand. If this were someone i was helping move on Craigslist my mind set would be totally different. I would be taking it as more of a "work" job rather than a "fun" job. When you are acting under a social norm you are less likely to consider it work and receiving things like dinner or a simple thank you are sufficient.

Re-Branding

Ride snowboards has been around for over 20 years. They have seen it all when it comes to the many different trends snowboarding has gone over the years. One of the main reason Ride has been able to stick around unlike many other companies that began around that time was their ability to adapt to changing times. When i say trends in snowboarding im talking about the technologies in snowboards, graphics, and the overall team that represents their brand. Ride has recently gone through a major re brand in their company. They are now taking on a whole new look to their brand. They have incorporated a whole new team of young street riders that are up and coming and well known by the snowboard community. This has been successful so far with Ride. More people are talking about how they can't believe so and so switched from one company to Ride snowboards. They are really pushing to get themselves back out on top in the snowboard industry and are taking the right steps in doing so. With this years videos coming out in the spring and next fall, i believe Ride will see a great return on their investment.