Buying a Laptop? Beware of the Canadian Multilingual Keyboard

Last week, I bought a new laptop computer.  I did my research thoroughly, read all the reviews, set a budget, and eventually choose an Acer V5-571G-6401.  Through my research, I was surprised and confused that for all manufacturers, model numbers are different in Canada and the US.  This made it especially hard to comparison shop.  I have since learned that there is a real difference between Canadian and American models, and that difference lies in the keyboard.

I had glanced at the computer in the store and everything seemed fine, but when I started using it, I was encountering constant typos.  The cause was  the "Canadian bilingual keyboard."

Through extensive Google searches, I have learned that most computers in Canada now come with this keyboard.

Take a look and note that the left shift key is very small and is one space further to the left than on traditional "American" keyboards, and the return/enter key is one space further to the right.  Extra[neous] keys have been inserted.  

extra keys adjacent to left shift and return/enter

(click to enlarge)

For people who look at the keys when they type, this is unlikely to be an issue, but I learned to touch type when I was in high school and I generally don't look at the keys.

Fortunately, I found a website called notavailablein.ca with this very helpful blog post entitled "Death to the Canadian Multilingual Keyboard."  It directed me to pressshift.ca, where I download a small free program called "Key Tweak" that let me remap the offending keys.

Press Shift also offers two stickers to put on the remapped keys.  With my experience developing and marketing stickers for kids, I couldn't bring myself to pay $4.00 for two tiny stickers.

Now, I can touch type without errors, as I am doing now.  While I no longer have a backslash key, I'm glad to have found a solution.

If you're thinking of buying a computer in Canada and actually know how to type, consider getting it in the US to avoid frustration and confusion.

Target welcomes itself to Canada

With already high awareness and approval, Target's March 2013 entry to Canada is being welcomed by many Canadians.  After this debut commercial, which aired during last night's Oscars, Target will no doubt be welcomed with open arms by even more Canadians.  Well done!

Quebec is different, even for dogs

As a Canadian marketer, I’m aware of the importance of understanding the environment in Quebec.  For many years, I’ve been reminded that “Quebec is different.”  It took me a minute to recognize that this CBC Radio interview, “Montreal bylaw requires dogs understand commands in both official languages,” is a parody, and a really funny one at that.  If you understand the humor in it, you’re probably Canadian.  If not, then you need someone who understands Canada to manage your Canadian marketing programs.

It's definitely worth listening to the clip!

Backwards licensing?

Camaro die-cast cars were always top sellers when I managed the Hot Wheels brand at Mattel and the Matchbox brand at Tyco.  As toy companies, we paid royalties to General Motors for the use of the Camaro trademark and were always excited when new models were released.  In an unusual twist, it’s now working the other way as License Magazine reports that “Chevrolet and Mattel have teamed up to bring the Hot Wheels brand to life with the new Camaro Hot Wheels Edition car, the first full-size Hot Wheels car ever to be offered for sale.”

Coincidentally, I appeared with the Matchbox design team on an episode of the PBS series "Reading Rainbow," where I used a Chevrolet Camaro to demonstrate how we used the concept of scale to make mini vehicle replicas of real cars.  Here's an image from the episode.  If you really want to see the episode, you can search YouTube.

The Hot Wheels license on a Camaro is a great idea!  Kudos to GM and Mattel.

Dogs like toys too!

This summer, I wrote about a university study that "revealed" that kids like toys, as demonstrated by the fact that toys impact their choices in promotional fast food meals.  In equally shocking news, another university study published a scientific look at “Why Dogs Find SomeToys Boring,” with Discovery News reporting that “at least one of the many reasons why dogs make such good pets is that they are renowned for routinely engaging in play, even as adults.” 

I have been fortunate to work with institutes of higher learning to conduct research, assess play patterns, and learn about kids.  Scientific study in these areas can be genuinely worthwhile.  This dog toy study...not so much.

Read the story here.

Do 1.2 million YouTube views matter?

Just over a year ago, I posted my best commercials on YouTube and wrote about it here.  My main goal was to have an online point of reference for my clients and prospective clients in toys and kids’ entertainment.  Since then, Purple Husky’s YouTube channel has had an astonishing 1.2 million views, vastly exceeding my expectations. 

As I work on social media programs for my clients’ brands, I’m always careful to emphasize that it’s crucial that they reach their true target consumers to create awareness or tune in or product sales.  While I’m grateful that Purple Husky’s YouTube presence has generated big traffic, it reinforces how important it is to pay attention to the quality of interactions, not just the quantity.

News Flash -- Kids Like Toys!

The National Post reports that

Children are far more likely to pick a healthier fast-food meal when promotional toys are offered only with those menu options and not with less nutritional fare like burgers, fries and a pop, a study has found.

Read the full article here, including the suggestions that legislation be enacted that would give kids toys only with healthy kids' meals and McDonald's Canada's thoughtful response.

In a statement, McDonald’s Canada said it is “proud of our Happy Meal program. The toy is a fun and engaging part of the Happy Meal experience for kids and parents alike, and we have no plans to change it.”

Disturbingly, it seems like it took a full year for this study, conducted by the University of Waterloo, to be published.  I would be embarassed telling my clients that it would take a year to publish survey results.  Maybe there's more to this than what has been reported.

Presentation Magic with Technology

I take pride in my ability to develop and deliver outstanding presentations and to teach and mentor others in presentation skills.  Despite the fact that I have won awards for my presentation skills, I have to admit that this presentation is among the coolest, most effective, and most inspring I have ever seen.

New iPad magic.

On behalf of Stockholm -- The Capital of Scandinavia and Step2 Communication.

Performed at MIPIM in Cannes by Charlie Caper and Erik Rosales.

Magic with technology.

TED Conference - a speaker's worst nightmare

Everyone's posting TED videos lately, but this one is short, sweet, and entertaining as  NYC group Improv Everywhere becomes a speaker's worst nighmare.

Five Things I Learned at Toy Fair

1.  Dozens of companies, large and small, are launching lines of collectibles.  Most incorporate some form of blind packaging, where consumers don't know exactly what they'll be getting inside.  Some are based on existing properties while others are completely new.  With so much competition in this space, there are bound to be more casualties than successes.  Attractive product, strong marketing (with a social media focus) and a lot of luck will be key to success.

Warner Bros. was handing out this promotional Scooby Doo blind pack at the door to Javits Center.

This is what I found inside.

I don't know the world of Scooby Doo very well, and have no idea who this character is.

2.  Traditional entertainment licensing models for toys based on movies and TV series remain valid, but new models are emerging based on social media properties and apps like Annoying Orange, Moshi Monsters, and Angry Birds, which are all poised to be significant in the world of kids' licensing.  Unlike the traditional movie/TV properties that are quick to be deemed successes or failures, online properties build at different rates.  Hopefully, retailers will judge them differently and not declare them to be immediate failures if they don't perform in the first few weeks on the shelf.

3.  I met many entrepreneurs launching great products at Toy Fair.  One key challenge they face, however, is that they don't know their competition, and don't even know that they should know their competition.  At the risk of sounding self-serving, I know they could benefit enormously by working with someone like me to help them position their brands/products against competition and secure placement at retail.

4.  Most consultants, inventors, and agents with whom I spoke said that 2010 and 2011 were both tough years, but are optimistic that things will be stronger in 2012.

5.  Finally, I used the Toy Fair official website to plan my days at Javits Center.  The tools on the website were quite cumbersome, but I learned that by planning my appointments and booth visits according to booth location, I minimized the amount of times I had to walk back and forth through the five block long convention center, making me less tired and more productive.

Maurice Sendak brilliant on Colbert Report

Maurice Sendak appeared in a two part feature on The Colbert Report this week, and I have to say that he is one of the most entertaining and insightful guests I have ever seen.

In case you don't know, Maurice Sendak is best known as author and illustrator of the 1963 book Where the Wild Things Are.  He was illustrator of the book series Little Bear by Else Holmelund Minarik, which inspired the Nelvana-produced Little Bear animated series.  I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be responsible for the merchandise licensing program for Little Bear at Nelvana, and was thrilled to see 84 year old Sendak on The Colbert Report.

For his take on kids' literature and more, watch here:

Comedy Central (US) part 1

Comedy Central (US) part 1

Comedy Network (Canada) part 1

Comedy Network (Canada) part 2

This is What Happens When You Give Thousands of Stickers to Thousands of Kids

Working in the Sticker business, I have seen a lot of cool concepts, but never anything quite like this, which comes from Australia:

H/T Colossal Art and Design via Sasha Boersma.

Online Toy Shopping Painful in Canada

Yesterday, I set out to buy gifts for my niece and nephew.  I spent almost two painful hours in front of my computer and was appalled by how awful it is to buy toys online in Canada.  With poor selection, high shipping charges, and broken websites, the whole experience was miserable.

My niece and nephew live in Whistler, British Columbia, which is a small city and considered "rural" (meaning "expensive") by many delivery services, including Canada Post.

I was looking for an Activity Toy for my niece and a Toolbox for my nephew.

Toys "R" Us
I started at toysrus.ca, looking for Lite Brite, a Hasbro classic that I had as a child.  They had refills but did not have the basic toy available.  Eventually, I selected another activity toy and a Toolbox, only to learn that shipping on a $14.99 Toolbox was $22.52.

toysrus.ca

click to enlarge

Chapters/Indigo
Frustrated, I went to chapters.ca (aka Indigo).  Using the advanced search tool on their website, I searched for an "Activity Toy" for "6-8 Year Old Kids".  While my years in the toy industry make me more knowledgeable and pickier about product categories than the average consumer, it was disheartening to see items like "Baby's First Blocks", Beyblade, and Nerf Supersoaker are listed as "Activity Toys" for "6-8 Year Old Kids".

chapters.indigo.ca

click to enlarge

I browsed through dozens of pages, eventually finding an Activity Toy suitable for my niece and a Toolbox for my nephew.  Shipping from Chapters/Indigo was free because my order was over $25.00, and I did a Google search for coupons to get an additional $5.00 discount.

While the experience was painful, I was satisfied with my purchase.

Walmart and Amazon
As I started this blog post, I thought to check out walmart.ca.  They do sell toys online and appear to have reasonable shipping charges, though I didn't complete an order to be sure.  It's unfortunate that amazon.ca doesn't carry toys, as amazon.com is a great place for US consumers to buy toys.

Hopefully, Canadian online retailers will get their act together to enhance the toy buying experience for consumers.  For the first time in many years, I even paid retail for toys, but reminisce fondly about having easy access to "the employee store".

And I hope the kids like the toys!

Commercials: AdAge's Best. My Best.

This week, Adweek published its list of the top ten commercials of 2011.  There were many that I had never seen before, and I really enjoyed this one, for Snickers Peanut Butter Squared:



Thinking about excellent commercials, I have been inspired to post some of my commercials on my Purple Husky YouTube page.  I thrive on the process of developing creative for advertising, and have worked with many talented people to create great commercials.  With dozens of ads under my belt, my favorite is still this commercial for the Spectracolor drawing pad, an activity toy that was a little ahead of its time.  The commercial achieved its objective and sold a lot of toys.

Don't Worry, It's Smartstrand

I love this ad!

click to enlarge

Dog Directed TV Advertising

With dozens of toy commercials under my belt, I've learned a lot about kid-directed TV advertising.  The idea of advertising products directly to kids, who then nag their parents to buy them, has been around almost as long as TV itself.

Now I've seen something completely different.  Nestlé's Purina brand has aired a commercial for its Beneful dog food that's they believe is the first TV commercial designed especially for dogs.

The commercial aired this year in Germany and Austria.  According to Nestlé, the commercial uses a different sounds to capture the attention of dogs.

The first is a 'squeak' which is similar to the sound dog's toys make.  Both dogs and people can hear this.  The next sound is a high frequency tone, similar to a dog whistle, which humans can barely hear.  And the third sound is a soft, high-pitched 'ping' which can be heard by dogs and people. 

From a marketing point of view, Nestlé is doing a great job reinforcing the position of the Purina Beneful brand as one which understands the unique relationship between owners and their dogs.

Unfriendly and Gross Websites

I'm glad nobody has reviewed the websites that I have worked on my with clients as "Mostly Gross, Unfriendly, Not Worth a Return Visit".  On the other hand, Torontoist took a look at local restaurant websites, and their take is pretty accurate.

“Shut it down!”
Gordon Ramsay usually reserves his famous catchphrase for the chefs who foul up dinner service on Hell’s Kitchen, but we’d like to propose another fitting application. After spending a few sanity-testing days evaluating Toronto’s ego-driven, Flash-laden restaurant websites, borrowing his words seems like a good way to slap some sense into this city’s restaurateurs.

While I'm always glad to provide constructive criticism, I do aim for delivery that's a little softer than Torontoist.  Read the full article here.

Safe Toys - Easier When You Own the Lab

Beyond my work in marketing, licensing,and product development in toys for kids, I have spent a great deal of time working on toys for dogs during the last few years.  This ad, which I found in a consumer publication for dog owners, raised a perplexing question.

How could it be cost effective for a specialty pet toy company to put all their items through the rigorous testing that's required of children's toys?  Smaller toy companies often struggle to cost effectively test their products for small parts, heavy metals, and phtalates, and the tests are required by many governments as well as large retailers.

After doing a little digging on Google and LinkedIn, I learned that the owners of the pet toy company are in the product testing business.  Unlike Mattel, a toy manufacturing company that tests its own toys, this seems to be the case of a toy testing company that's gone into manufacturing, a great  way to vertically integrate and grow a business.

For Safe Made Pet Products, it's a clever and unique position in a crowded marketplace.  In the pet toy business, just like in kids' toys, product is king, and while I've only seen Safe Made's toys on their website, they do appear to be pretty good products.

Who Cares About Facts?

I do!

Apparently, a lot of people don't.

Earlier today, I wrote about Marketing Magazine's Survey that drew conclusions that inflated the popularity of mobile banking apps.

Seth Godin says it best in his blog:

The facts

A statement of fact is insufficient and often not even necessary to persuade someone of your point of view.

[I was going to end the post just like that, but then I realized that I was merely telling you a fact, one that might not resonate. Here's the riff:

Politicians, non-profits and most of all, amateur marketers believe that all they need to do to win the day is to recite a fact. You're playing Monopoly and you say, "I'll trade you Illinois for Connecticut." The other person refuses, which is absurd. I mean, Illinois costs WAY more than Connecticut. It's a fact. There's no room for discussion here. You are right and they are wrong.

But they still have the property you want, and you lose. Because all you had was a fact.

On the other hand, the story wins the day every time. When the youngest son, losing the game, offers to trade his mom Baltic for Boardwalk, she says yes in a heartbeat. Because it feels right, not because it is right.

Your position on just about everything, including, yes, your salary, your stock options, your credit card debt and your mortgage are almost certainly based on the story you tell yourself, not some universal fact from the universal fact database.

Not just you, everyone.

Work with that.]

 According to our local media in Toronto, disputes over facts are also coloring  [City Councillor] Doug & [Mayor] Rob Ford's controversial waterfront shopping mall, monorail, and ferris wheel plans.

          Spacing Toronto:  It ain't about the monorail or Ferris Wheel
     
As for me, I'll stick with the facts.  As a marketer, have always believed that within the truth lie sufficiently compelling facts to effectively communicate a marketing message.

Mobile Banking Apps -- Do We Care Yet?

Last year, I questioned the appeal of mobile banking apps for smartphones amid all the hoopla that CIBC generated for their app launch, the first mobile banking app from a major Canadian financial institution.

Like many marketers, my work in the last year has taken me to the world of mobile apps.  Much of my work and learning has revolved around how kids, especially preschoolers, use mobile apps, but I do stay on top of trends among grownups too.  Like many people, I become a proud first time owner of an iPhone, though I have not downloaded any banking apps.

This summer, Marketing Magazine blared the headline "CANADIANS RAPIDLY ADOPTING MOBILE BANKING".

A new study from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group(SRG) has found that Canadians are increasingly doing their banking on the go, and suggests that paying by plastic – whether debit or credit card – is destined to become obsolete.

The 2011 “Mobile Money & Banking Report” found that more than a third (38%) of all Canadian smartphone users currently use a banking app, including more than half (54%) of all iPhone users.

According to the report, the number of Canadians using a mobile banking app has shot up from zero just 14 months ago to more than 2.5 million today. The TD Canada Trust app is the most popular with Canadians, followed by CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank and BMO.

I was ready to retract my initial skepticism, but then saw that the study to which Marketing Magazine refers surveyed only 419 people, making me question its statistical validity.

Based on a survey of 419 smartphone users 18+, the study found that 63% of banking app users are “very satisfied” with the mobile banking product and an additional 33% are “somewhat satisfied.”

 Meanwhile, The Financial Post's Jonathan Chevreau reported last week that "while two thirds of us prefer online banking to pay bills...only 8% [of Canadians] use mobile banking."  The Financial Post's Environics survey was based on a more meaningful sample size of 1,000.

I have no doubt that it won't be long before smartphone owners (including me) are using our phones to pay for items at retail, and that credit card and debit card use will decline as a result.  But paying for stuff with your phone isn't the same as "doing your banking" with your smartphone, just as paying for stuff with credit or debit cards isn't the same as "doing your banking" with credit or debit cards.  Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but when I identify and promote a trend, I like it to be backed up with solid facts.