DISQUS

Hi Chris,

Such a succinct and thought-provoking post! Thank you for this.

Concepts and wording are so important and can't be left open to interpretation when you want to stay on message. Recently, we experimented with inviting our customers to re-brand Voices.com in a slogan contest which yielded 354 comments and even more suggestions. In the end, we chose "Voices.com: We Say It For You" and are now using it site wide to quickly share what we do with anyone who is visiting in a friendly, concise manner.

Clarity is everything. I think the signage you identified in your post could have been interpreted in a number of ways (both positive and negative) depending on who was looking at it. Perhaps the gas station in question should try having an advertising contest with their customers (the ones who actually purchase their coffee) and see what they may suggest to put a new spin on things.

On another note, I would say that long lines are indicative of either perceived value or proven fact. People don't line up at Starbucks because line ups are cool. They line up because they know (or have heard) that they'll be catered to by a barista, receive a wider variety of choices, that the beverages are potentially superior, may have a more fulfilling consumer experience, and also benefit from the ambiance and company of other like minded people. It's a lifestyle choice, not merely a primal urge to follow the herd.

The same can be said for why people may opt to go to Tim Horton's instead of Starbucks, especially in Canada. It's about the culture that the company has established and brand loyalty. I'm not sure how much brand loyalty a gas station can muster around selling coffee, but it must be challenging considering that there are other services in the industry that specialize in doing just that.

Best wishes,

Stephanie Ciccarelli
Co-founder of Voices.com
"We say it for you" :)

Hi Paul,

Thank you for this great review! I'm honoured by your words.

Best wishes,

Stephanie Ciccarelli
Co-founder of Voices.com

Very cool!

Keep us all posted on your blog if you can :)

Cheers,

Stephanie

Hi there,

That was quite clever, you got me on that one!

Great blog post nonetheless,

Stephanie

Hi Robert,

Thanks for such a great post! Before I found your article, I wrote a post in our blog today about business cards.

I've just added a post script to your blog post about the best practices.

http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2006/07/busine...

Great article :)

Stephanie Ciccarelli