Who would have guessed you could learn so much from a crayon, a double ended one at that. Over the last two weeks, we’ve discussed the marketing mix. Familiar to many, foreign to some. Today, let’s knock out the last two Ps, promotion and placement. product price promotion placement Last week, I again left you with a…
In last week’s posting, I put a question before you. If you can get a 24 ct box of crayons for about 50 cents or less, why would the crayon maker in our example price the 6 ct double ended crayons at $2? I mean, it’s fewer crayons so how do they get away with that? Well, it’s simple…
On a recent excursion to a mass retailer, with my child in tow, we, of course, found ourselves facing the crayon aisle.  We start the slow walk down the aisle, packed with so many things to see, feel and knock over. And as I pick up the last victim of her play, it actually held my interest.  It was a six count package…
Edwin Binney, along with his cousin, C. Harold Smith, formed Binney & Smith in 1885. The company created many things, like a new type of black coloring used to make black car tires and later school supplies. But at the gentle nudge of Edwin’s wife, a school teacher, Binney & Smith did the unthinkable. In 1903, they created…
Well, it’s back to school time.  I find myself, for the first time, standing in a sea of parents, buggy to buggy, slightly pushing and nudging,  all reading a slip of paper with a common theme – the school supply list for the upcoming year. This is a long list and I wonder that if I’m buying all…
Of the vast selection of crayon options available to both young and old, I would have to say that the cool triangular ones are one of my favorites. Not only don’t they roll off the table when my daughter insists on pouring them all out. But, per the box, they help the little ones develop their fine motor…
Being that buying a new box of  crayons on a weekly basis has become the new norm in my household, I’ve taken the time to ask myself a question. Are all crayons created equal? To the average crayon user, the answer would probably be yes – a crayon is a crayon, right? Well, not exactly. You…
Have you ever tried to color a large space with a marker? What happens? Right…it may start off ok but the more you color, the wetter the paper gets and that marker starts running a little bit dry. Now, if you’d started with a crayon, chances are, you would have ended up with the perfect picture. Why?…
When you first open a brand new box of 64 count crayons, the first thing you notice is how each crayon is placed. All the variations of each color are strategically positioned next to a similar color – its intentional. Why? So when my daughter wants a red crayon, she doesn’t have to sift through…
So, if you open your standard box of crayons today, what do you see? I can tell you what you rarely see – the basic eight primary colors of yesterday. Did you know that there are 120 beautifully unique crayon colors? I know, right! That’s 1-2-0 and they range in colors from your standard red, yellow…
Despite the fact that there are hundreds of broken, partially wrapped crayons lurking in the nooks and crannies of my house, my daughter insists on buying a new box of crayons every time we go to Target. Now, I know that all those crayons back at home stuffed in the sofa cushions are perfectly capable of  getting…
If you had to name one event that could ruin your entire day, what would it be? I’ll throw one out for free – having a bad customer service experience. Whether its your coveted morning latte being made with bitter coffee (yuck!)or having to wait in the doctor’s office an hour past your appointment time,  a poor customer service…