Social Media Are Giving a Voice to Taste Buds

STEPHANIE CLIFFORD July 30, 2012 Ravi Raj, standing, of @WalmartLabs with Pankaj Risbood and Ken Turner examining social media data. Now, it uses Facebook. Visitors to the new Lay’s Facebook app are asked to suggest new flavors and click an “I’d Eat That” button to register their preferences. So far, the results show that a beer-battered onion-ring flavor is popular in California and Ohio, while a churros flavor is a hit in New York. “It’s a new way of getting consumer research,” said Ann Mukherjee, chief marketing officer of Frito-Lay North America. “We’re going to get a ton of new ideas.” While consumers may think of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare as places to post musings and interact with friends, companies like Wal-Mart and Samuel Adams are turning them into extensions of market research departments. And companies are just beginning to figure out how to use the…

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Police find 33 tonnes of fake white OMO washing powder

MARK MORRI July 31, 2012 The Daily Telegraph A MASSIVE quantity of counterfeit washing powder has been found in Sydney’s south-west today. Police found 33 tonnes of the fake white powder in storage units in south west Sydney at an industrial estate in Chipping Norton. Officers found 3760 nine-kilo buckets of washing detergent inside the premises. The square pails were labelled as OMO, but police will allege they contain an inferior counterfeit powder. Two men are currently assisting police with their inquiries and are expected to be charged with possess/sell goods with false trademark. It will be alleged the men imported bags of detergent and OMO-branded buckets separately from China. They then filled the buckets and allegedly sold them to convenience stores in south-west Sydney and holders of market stalls. Unilever, the registered owner of the OMO brand in Australia, advises consumers that if they come across a bucket of…

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Cardiologist’s polite letter of concern

Samantha Townsend August 01, 2012 The Daily Telegraph FED up with constant delays on his regular trips to country NSW, cardiologist Charles Thorburn fired off a letter to regional airline Rex to express his concern about the deterioration of its service. The airline’s “offensive and arrogant” response was not what the doctor ordered. Dr Thorburn was dumbstruck when, in response to his complaint, Regional Express – which is majority owned by a group of wealthy Singapore investors – questioned whether he would reimburse patients “who did not get well after seeing you”. The letter, sent by Rex’s corporate services general manager Irwin Tan on behalf of company chairman Lim Kim Hai, went on to say: “Perhaps in the medical profession you are used to dispensing information on how long you make your patients wait or how often you misdiagnosed.” Yesterday, Dr Thorburn said he was outraged by the airline’s sarcastic…

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Genesis fitness centre fined for blaming carbon tax for price rises

Phillip Hudson August 01, 2012 Herald Sun A GYM has become the first business to be penalised for wrongly blaming the carbon tax for price rises. The Genesis Fitness Club in Berwick, 45km southeast of Melbourne, has been issued with a $6600 infringement notice on the one-month anniversary of the introduction of the carbon tax. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said the gym sent a letter to 2122 members in April promoting a “rate freeze” to beat the carbon tax. It claimed a lengthy contract extension would save between 9 and 15 per cent. “The ACCC believes that GFC Berwick did not have a reasonable basis for claiming the carbon price would increase the cost of gym memberships by 9-15 per cent,” Mr Sims said. “We understand that over 200 members took up the offer and extended their contract. We are concerned that the false claims about…

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Woolworths…The Movie?

Michael Baker August 1, 2012 The Age Some retailers resonate so well with multiple generations of shoppers that they can appeal to grandmas and at the same time have musicals made in the their honour by high school performing arts groups. Other retailers can be successful with one generation but connect so poorly with the next that they are sliding into irrelevance. What’s the secret to being in the first group and not the second? The fate of all retailers ultimately hangs on the answer, including Australia’s department stores, discount department stores and scores of brands that were important to Gen X and baby boomers. One of the commonalities that consumer experts believe they know about Millenials is that they are readier than any prior consumer group to reward and reject companies on the basis of their social and environmental values. And you can’t just cook up a corporate marketing…

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Crowds walk down supermarket aisles in afternoon rush hour

Wes Hosking Herald Sun August 02, 2012 SUPERMARKET rush hour starts at 5pm, when up to nine times more shoppers cram stores than earlier in the day. New data also shows the best day to avoid the hordes is Tuesday. The Woolworths figures show the peak shopping periods statewide – plus the little-known times when customers can shop in peace. Saturday is the busiest day, especially between 5pm and 6pm when there are nine times more customers than before 9am. Between noon and 2pm is the other daily peak. The trend is similar on weekdays but customer traffic is far lower. The rush lasts until 7pm as customers hit stores after school and work. Woolworths spokesman Benedict Brook said many people wrongly thought mid-afternoons were the best time to go shopping. “Although it is quieter you are probably better to go early to mid-morning or later at night – you…

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