*Oh Mr Postman, give me a sign!*

The Holiday season this year has been highly disrupted with slushy snow, "arctic" temperatures and angry travellers. This year, I have decided to stay in London for Christmas and New Year's eve, to prepare for the lovely January exams. But for Christmas I decided to take a day off and join my best friend's house.

The Christmas preparation is actually going well, we have decided upon the way we wanted the turkey to be cooked, the Yorkshire puddings, the vegetables and other sides (and of course the millions of well-hidden snacks!). The Christmas tree is beautifully up in the corner of the room, with pretty shiny and colourful decorations and the lights are on almost every night (energy saving!!). Our Disney DVDs are all lined up for Christmas morning, as well as other classic Christmas movies (Miracle on 34th Street, It's a wonderful life, Jack Frost, etc.) Everything is READY!

Buuuuut wait a minute. Something is missing, right? Something that most of us would pretend to be "secondary" to Christmas, but really can't go without at Christmas. Where. are. the. presents?
This year, it seems like everyone around me decided to shop online. In appearance, it seemed more convenient: I simply refuse to fight my way through  the hassle of Christmas shopping for a pair of gloves.

Shopping online, removes all the undesirable "store effects": rapid stock depletion, huge crowds on Oxford Circus, longest queues in the world and irritated staff. For instance, in the case of Amazon, the products are stored in a massive warehouse, or are sold by individual sellers across the world and the only interaction between the seller and buyer is virtual, completed with a succinct online payment and rapid shipment of the products.
The most convenient part of this whole process, is that Mr Postman delivers it all to your doorsteps. However, this year, Mr Weatherman and Mr Postman are in a mood with each other. Planes are not taking off, trains are stuck, cars are not moving. What is this madness?

The sheer disorganisation caused by heavy snowfalls in Europe caused Supermarkets to fully stop online food shopping 2 weeks before Christmas. Many online stores - like ASOS who promised "next day deliveries" - are still facing heavy transport disruptions. They are helpless, and our anger is not groundless: evidently these events will be reflected in plummeting customer satisfaction rates. So, really, who should be blamed? Should fingers be pointed at anybody?
In the U.S, UPS forecast December 22nd to be their busiest day of the year, with 24 million parcels promised to be delivered across the world (Source: Wall Street Journal). Christmas temps and volunteers have been hired during the busiest time of the year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and 37,000 people were hired. UPS is one of the very few companies who would go out of their ways to deliver: "best services and lower rates". The UK's Royal Mail has a LOT to learn from private mail and package delivery companies, but also from past experiences; fair enough, we have not had this much snow in over so many years. Still, planning with contingencies, especially for a Holiday season that is always expected to be busy can only be beneficial.
Is the blame only on these companies we always rely on? Not really, maybe we should plan ahead when shopping online for our loved ones. However, in a time when airports have been turned into camping grounds and people are stranded thousands of miles away from home, the spirit of Christmas feels even more jeopardised.
Here's hoping that everyone gets home safe and warm; Christmas is nothing without the ones you love.

Image: ShopsLand.org

The day I discovered Mintcleaner - a little product review prior to usage

Although I am a freak about clean teeth and fresh breath, this is not yet another consumer product promising longer-lasting fresh breath and whiter teeth (although I did fall for it at first). In fact, this genius little gadget has nothing to do with teeth OR breath, it's more about the feet. And technology (another one of my little obsessions).

Mintcleaner, is a revolutionary automatic floor cleaner which only requires you to invest $249 (+ a little extra for the accessories) and never worry again about dust bunnies and annoying breadcrumbs on the floor.
My best friend and I suffer from what we like to exaggeratedly call hair loss and balding contemporary disease. I can't really tell you how many times I have changed my shampoo, serum or curl cream in the past 3 years, because truthfully, all I can remember is the amount of hair I have had to sweep or hoover off the floor (don't be grossed out, it's natural!).

So when I saw the ad for Mint, I started reconsidering my Christmas wish list. This, in simple terms, is AWESOME. . It combines every advancements and technologies which have been incrementally introduced in household cleaning products: it's silent, compact, intelligent and practical.

In a nutshell, we've come a long way from here:


This is also genius because, unlike this 1970s Hoover which glides on the surface, it is self-oriented by a technology usually employed in Marine electronics and sonar sounders.
So, ladies (and gentlemen), are you ready to spare some time? I sure am. Bring on Christmas 2011 already!!




Images from Mint

Ad of the day!

What a stunning commercial.

Every time I see Emily DiDonato's (that's her name) eyes, I melt. I don't think I have ever seen anyone with azure-coloured eyes, and I can officially announce that her - unnameable - color is natural! God I'm jealous...

I have been reading and studying some academic articles for my Marketing Research class and I am currently finishing Reynolds et al's (1998) article on laddering. Without boring you with the 30 pages of the article, it relates to the qualitative in-depth interviews designed to understand what motivates consumers' choices and purchases of a product or a brand. Although the article was published 22 years ago, it is still incredibly contemporary to understand consumers and start "classifying" or segmenting consumers, according to the values they derive from product attributes.

Well, that's the end of me showing off I did understand the article. But really, how does it relate to the Giorgio Armani ad? I wanted to test the theory on myself, to try and understand what drives my purchase of perfumes.

Although I am a huge fan of their adverts, I am not exactly a fan of the Aqua di Gioa perfume. I Actually have been spraying 5 magical drops of Nina Ricci's Nina everyday for the past 3 years. It was a beautiful gift from my father and I have become addicted to the red apple-shaped flacon.

The innocent-looking actress/model in the Nina ads casts the image of "Temptation". Ahhh... perfumes and their relentless drive to call upon the power of Myths to convince us! It's fairly simple, isn't it? We are presented with a modern version of Eve, captivated only by the apple-shaped glass flask hanging from a bare tree. The rest doesn't matter.

According to the above-mentioned theory, by looking into the product attributes, the consequences of these attributes on consumers and finally deriving the personal values attached, Marketers are able to understand our motivations. The article, however, fails to mention Maslow's Hierarchy of needs from his "Theory of Human motivation" (1943).

Ok, so enough theory for now. Hmmmm, so what do I like about Nina?

1) Well first of all, it smells nothing like an apple. I love the delicate and distinct the wood scent.

2) Nina isn't a strong perfume. When I compare it to fragrances like Dior Addict or Pure Poison, I like how "younger" it is.

3) After 3 years, I love that my friends and family recognise me with my perfume, and that whenever they smell it somewhere they let me know that they are thinking of me.

So what's the take-away? I think it's important to understand what each of us looks for in a product, and what benefits we derive from it. Most of the time, when asked "why does this product matter to you?", a common answer is "I don't know, I just like how it makes me feel".

I personally love to know what makes me tick, simply because it helps me understand what motivates me to spend (my scarce, student budgeted) money.

Beavis and Butthead, the name says it all!

I was watching episodes from Beavis and Butt-head, in remembrance of the days my brothers used to watch it on MTV. I did not speak a single word of English at the time, and all I could understand was their goofy teenage laugh, and it can get kind of irritating when you're the one with no power whatsoever over the remote control!

In all honesty, I can see now why my brothers used to love this show; it's cliche, funny and so relevant to their younger selves. Beavis and Butthead are the stereotype of the last row student, disrupting the class and always in trouble (kind of like my brothers?)

I just thought I'd share with you all this amazing episode where every innuendo propels them into their legendary laugh!

Challenge accepted!

Good grief, the past month has been absolutely insane and I have failed at sparing five minutes to write a post. So much for my promise!
But with a new year in perspective, I have started thinking about my 2011 resolutions. Blogging is DEFINITELY at the top of my list, simply because I need to start channeling all the ideas and thoughts in my little ladybird brain. I will not bore you, reader, with my Senior year struggle through exams, dissertation and job search (however, I cannot promise not to complain about it a little).
Here's to my first resolution, the upcoming post is a fresh new page! (and may I never break off again)