The Greening of Peet’s

I was at Peet’s Coffee & Tea today, (same as every day…), and noticed the garbage cans outside the store, stuffed with Peet’s paper cups, plastic cups, water bottles–all that could have been recycled, but were probably destined for regular trash. I asked the barista if they had recycling bins inside the store, (actually I knew the answer, but thought I would ask anyway). She said they didn’t. She explained the only thing recycled at that particular store were the large containers of syrups. Could that be right??

Granted, the garbage cans outside the store are not under the actual jurisdiction of Peet’s, they are provided by the strip mall management company. But come on, how smart would it be for Peet’s to place recycling bins outside their doors–nice looking containers that reinforce their branding–one for plastic cups and bottles, and one for paper cups?

Just last month, Peet’s had an in-store Earth Day promotion, featuring bamboo coffee canisters, re-usable jute shopping bags, and discounts for bringing your own mug. I like the direction, but wouldn’t encouraging customers to recycle –by actually making it easy and convenient to recycle–be a stronger way to demonstrate their commitment to green?

I’m pretty sure just about every customer would use them, wouldn’t you? So perhaps by next Earth Day, if they get the message, they will be launching a 200-store recycling effort. One can only hope.

Tiny URLs are cool

Webinars are great for lead generation, and especially for moving prospects to the next stage of the evaluation or purchase process. One way to make sure that registration goes smoothly is to use a shortened link to the reg page. This is my favorite new trick.

This was our registration URL, before:

http://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=144304&sessionid=1&mode=preview

This is our registration URL, after:

http://tinyurl.com/d4l4av

To make your own tiny URLS, visit www.tinyurl.com

And, if you know of any software developers that could benefit by hearing from the experts on tips to avoid security vulnerabilities, join Intel and SpikeSource on May 21, 2009, at Noon PST. Register here, using my tiny URL!

Missed marketing opportunity?

I could have been a tweeter!
It’s not often that I feel strongly about a consumer purchase, let alone want to spread the word on behalf of a vendor or manufacturer. But I guess there’s a first for everything. I’m referring to a pair of pants I recently purchased from Lucy. Lucy is an upscale clothing company for the female athlete—and features clothing primarily for gym, yoga, and running. I was sort of disappointed that I didn’t find a section in the store dedicated to women’s golf, but then, I guess I should have been at Golfsmith. (But I REALLY dislike the attitude of the “dudes” at Golfsmith). I found a section called –Explore-and tried on the pants, thinking they might be suited for golf. Did I under estimate these little jewels. From the minute I tried them on, I knew we were going to be inseparable. The perfect fit, (not like your typical baggy golf pants), the perfect hug in the butt, stretchy enough to handle golf balls and tees in the pocket, and a waterproof yet breathable fabric that just rejects spills, tested and proven at the bar when after a round of golf, my friend gestured across the table and dumped an entire drink into my lap.

I have a couple of suggestions for the VP Marketing at Lucy. When I made my purchase, I provided my email address. Wouldn’t it have been convenient, and quite smart of Lucy, if they had sent me a thank you email, with an image of the pants I purchased? And to help me express my enthusiasm for these pants, provide a button next to the pants that said: “Tweet This”. And boom, just like that. My entire network of female golfers could have been clicking and buying, or heading into the nearest Lucy, to check out the perfect golf pants. Now that would have been a great marketing opportunity.

Check out the pants here.