While walking along one of the arty streets in The Hague (Den Haag) my attention was grabbed by a rather interesting window display.
Lots of water bottles were placed randomly throughout the window space, each with a different label.
Oh which one to drink?
Anyone fancy a swig of ‘sex’? How about some ‘chi’ to calm your inner self?
Which one would you like to try?
I was in for a surprise when I drove to Ikea the other evening. A few modifications had been made to the underground car park at Ikea Delft. Lights and sensors in a car park! Clever parking. I loved it.
It may not sound like much (okay, I know it’s not the most exciting post), but it really was useful. Most times that you visit car parks you drive up and down the rows, especially when it is busy. Finding a car parking spot can take time.
In Ikea there were rows and rows of lights mounted to the ceiling. The lights had a sensor pointing left and right and were placed facing all parking spots. If both the parking spaces were occupied then the light would turn from green to red. Clever!
Parking sensor lights, Ikea Delft.
The moment I drove into the aisle I would see where a space was (right from the other end). I didn’t know that such technology existed. I am hoping to see this system in many more car parks soon.
Everyone needs a nerdy post. This was mine.
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You can another post of mine about Ikea here.
When it comes to driving remember the 10 Driving Commandments.
I was always under the impression that marketing teams worked tirelessly in their offices, around boardroom tables and in a variety of other ‘creative spaces’ when they had that spark of genius.
Are they not the ones who are paid mega-bucks to come up with fantastic product names? I have some questions I would love to ask the people who came up with the product below:
I just planned on doing a little window shopping. I didn’t expect to be faced with this window display!
Erm....what is that I see? Take a closer look.
Yes, I think you’ll find that on the top shelf there are some lovely fake breasts for sale. Underneath, for the more conservative shopper, you can purchase a framed picture of the lovely Lord Jesus Christ!
Perfect: One shop to get all your family gifts sorted!
Image via Wikipedia
Christmas was wonderful. Christmas without the mayhem was divine. I didn’t feel the need to wake at 4am in order to be in the Boxing Day Sale queues. The madness of the people obsessed with claiming their bargains. I was sleeping in the warmth of my bed as thousands of crazed people ran through shopping centres all across the country. Why? If they really wanted whatever they were buying, why not buy it at the normal price to make sure you get it.
I did head out for post-Christmas shopping (yesterday, mind you, so that’s okay in my book). We wandered for 5 hours from shop to shop. I was very controlled. I didn’t abuse the credit card and left at 19:00 (quite early for me) with only two bags of goodies.
My family were out in numbers…My niece who was obsessed with finding £5 pants got her wish. (She’ll kill me for posting that about her, but I doubt she’ll notice). It’s always hard to shop when there are nine of you trying to look for your own things. We managed! I do feel the urge to go out shopping again, while I’m in England. I have to make the most of it. I won’t be back for months…. Oh, what to buy?
Shopping…..(let me just sit back and think about it)….Yes, I love it. I love shopping. I just zoned out for a second to think about what I could be buying right now. Oh, to have that credit card with the endless limit (and the paid-balance every month).
I enjoy a good trip into the city to shop around, but most of all to be lured in to each and every shop (store, my American friends) by the tempting window displays. Some window displays, especially at Christmas time, are amazing. The effort and time put into making them perfect in every way is clear to all. The shops clearly make a lot of money from them. Lure the customer in and they’ll be hooked, searching for anything they remember from the window.
Shopping in Cyprus was not like this. Well, that’s rather unfair actually as most of Cyprus is wonderful. I did venture to the capital city of this lovely Meditteranean island when I visted one summer. I thought I would take in some of the sights, do a spot of exotic shopping…….and came across these window displays!
Well,... "Hello Ladies!"
Image via Wikipedia
Yes, it’s true. There are plans for London’s largest toy shop (and one of the largest in the world), Hamleys, to have a pool installed where real penguins will be able to swim around for visitors to watch. The penguins and reindeer will form part of the shop’s Christmas promotion.
There has already been outrage from animal protection groups claiming that the promotion is against animal rights as the experience will be extremely stressful for the penguins and reindeer during their time in the shop .
Facebook already has a campaign to stop the use of live animals at Hamleys this December and there are bound to be more protesters jumping on the bandwagon as news spreads.
The penguin advert on the Hamleys website said “Take a trip to Hamleys after school on Monday to visit our real life Penguin Pool! To go alongside the penguins there is a planned reindeer show where Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen will feature… Yes, that’s all of Santa’s reindeer (Rudolf is busy!).
The RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) has ruled the promotion is not illegal as Hamleys have planned for the correct and careful treatment of each ‘guest’ during their stay.
What do you think? Is it all part of the festive fun and well worth a visit? Do you think it is taking the Christmas display idea too far? Is it against animal rights? Will you be going there for a peek or avoiding Hamleys for ever more?
Names are so important. When it comes to brands, the name should reflect the product and inform customers. When I published the story about the Freitag shop that I visited in Zürich this summer a friend messaged me saying that a friend of his had also visited an equally interesting shop. I looked at the picture and agree that it is definitely worth sharing with you all.
What do you think they sell in a place like this?
This cannot be good marketing. I doubt they have a rush on to sell products. What happens when it comes to SALE time?
‘Sale on now. All shit must go!’. Well, that’s my idea. I don’t think that I am one for working in marketing, but even I know that they got it wrong here.
I also came across another shop name which made me laugh a little.
Oh, oh no! It’s too bad for words. What a strange world it is out there. This next shop sounds no better.
I'm sure it's lost in translation.
To go add to the bunch, I thought I’d share a picture from my travels around Europe. This was a little place near Bern, Switzerland’s capital city. It really exists…and my TomTom (satellite navigation system) confirmed it.
Names really are so important! 
)
I was just thinking back to my summer holiday from this August and came across this picture on my computer. I went travelling around Europe in the summer and during the trip I stayed over in Zürich. As mentioned in my previous blog, I am a bit of a shopper. When it comes to shops I had never seen one quite like this one. The Freitag store in Zürich is amazing!!
Forget your normal High Street shop (store to my American friends). This shop was created from nineteen of those huge metal containers normally used for freight. Standing tall, in a stack of nine, the shop immediately caught my eye. Inside they have gone for the ultra-industrial look. Floor after floor was packed with bags, wallets and other really cool stuff. It’s a great brand – I just wish I had the money to spend, spend, and spend some more.
Would love to see any pictures you might have of shops that stick out from the crowd.
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