When I moved back to Canada in 2010, I had a new commuting challenge: to regularly travel 220 return kilometres, from west Toronto to Waterloo, ON. For my wife and two kids, I needed comfortable seating and trunk space too. Since I would be parking on the street in my more urban-than-suburban neighbourhood, I didn’t want to get […]
Nearing the end of weekend trip to Montreal with some old friends, the three guys left were having a lazy Sunday at a pool (billiards) bar a few hours ahead of our 7:45pm flight. Just before 2pm we get simultaneous emails from Porter Airlines with this message: IMPORTANT – Flight Change Notification Porter Airlines […]
Hello again world. It’s been a crazy couple of months, culminating in my realization that Canada doesn’t actually have that many companies that think they need a helpful brand strategy guy like me. I’ve decided to take Interbrand’s list of the top 25 Canadian brands, and count down some basic brand-brain impressions, things I like, […]
I walked into a Best Buy store in Toronto a few weeks ago, and asked a sales assistant: “How do I get all of the main US stations (ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, PBS) and the main Canadian ones for free, in HD?” He told me you couldn’t. The only way to view High Definition television […]
Canada is a big and small country; big in size, comparably small in population. People drive in biggish cars, live in biggish houses and malls are not that crowded. England is a small and big country; small in size, comparably very populous. People drive in smallish cars, live in small houses, and malls are very […]
Like any good Canadian, I have an appreciation for Kraft Dinner. Otherwise known as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner, it is so important to Canadians that we don’t even have to say “Macaroni and Cheese” anymore. It’s obvious. I’ve loved it for over 30 years. Imagine my concern when I had the pasta portion already […]
My return to Ontario driving (especially busy Highway 401 driving) has been quite terrifying. In the Ontario Drivers Handbook, it looks like the approach is the same as European driving – slow traffic stays on the right, faster cars pass on the left. The reality on highway 401 is very different, annoying and scary. My […]
Last week, I told you about my Hilton Best Rate Guarantee debacle. After booking a room at the Toronto airport location, Hilton’s most senior customer service agents told me they: (a) wouldn’t be able to match a better price ($127 vs $152) for the same room on the same night that included breakfast too… BECAUSE […]
Car Dealer: This brand new Audi A3 is only $35,000 it has all the bells and whistles. Don’t bother going anywhere else. I guarantee you I will match the price if someone else offers you the same car for less in the next 24 hours. Consumer: Ok I’ll buy it. Fast forward to next day, […]
In the old days (2007), companies used to generate potential names for new products and features, test them against various Intellectual Property / trademark registers in various countries, filter out the “red light” names, check URL availability and pick whatever was left from a (usually very) short list. After the launch of iPhone 4 today, […]