History of Toothpaste.

Why do we brush our teeth? Who says brushing leads to better oral care? Why do we wake up every morning and head to the bathroom cabinet?

Obviously, now it is all a subconscious act. I wonder what was the situation with our ancestors? How and when did we start brushing?

Came across this rather interesting article on the secret of creating a habit and routine which I thought worth sharing.

Read it here

Key consumer drivers that influence grocery buying.

This info-graphic is based on our experience, over the past few years, of influencing grocery buying using the unique hybrid model of AaramShop.  The hybrid model of AaramShop allows us to view both the online and offline buying behavior of consumers.

This info-graphic is focused on the process of buying.

The Flight From Conversation.

Sherry Turkle, a psychologist and professor at M.I.T wrote this wonderful article in the NYT where she says that we’ve become accustomed to a new way of being “alone together.” Technology-enabled, we are able to be with one another, and also elsewhere, connected to wherever we want to be. We want to customize our lives. We want to move in and out of where we are because the thing we value most is control over where we focus our attention. We have gotten used to the idea of being in a tribe of one, loyal to our own party.

We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection. 

At home, families sit together, texting and reading e-mail. At work executives text during board meetings. We text (and shop and go on Facebook) during classes and when we’re on dates. My students tell me about an important new skill: it involves maintaining eye contact with someone while you text someone else; it’s hard, but it can be done.

Read more of her insightful article here.

Related articles

• Are We Lonelier on Facebook, Online?
• Connectivity through 'digital saturation' may comes at the expense of conversation
• Suddenly, the problem is supposed to be that people are reading and writing too much.
• When was the last time you went out without your phone?

Feedback 2.0

Here is a good example of a brand encouraging its customers to ‘put down their wishes & ideas’ & share the ideas with a like minded and passionate community. These are further filtered by the community & the most needed & workable solutions are put on the implementation route. Simple!

So how is this different from the regular “feedback form” which all of us have an option to fill. Very different indeed! The brand here is creating trust and a bond with its community of users by just being open and alive to customer responses, as against secretly analyzing feedback within its dark office cabins and implementing only what it wants to do. The intention to listen attentively to the customer is the key. I also believe that the willingness to put the “action being taken” upfront is a great way to show that they care.

While it appears that the guys at Starbucks are generating some great ideas and trying to implement them for the consumers’ benefit, what they are really additionally generating is a lot of positive spin around the brand and a database of truly passionate Starbucks customers. The campaign also highlights Starbucks willingness to listen to its key constituent – the customer.

Very simple but awesome viral thought. Visit My Starbucks Idea.