BRotD - Entry 0232 McDonald's Franchisees

Best Reading of the Day

The folks over at Bloomberg have a great read on the challenges confronting McDonald's and their franchisees.  I especially like the context provided by proving the interview with a longtime franchisee (just short of 50 years).

Great read:

http://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-mcdonalds-franchises/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Al Jarvis was 16 when he started working at a McDonald’s in Saginaw, a city in Michigan, in 1965. His first customer ordered an All-American: a burger, fries, and shake for 52¢. Soon Jarvis was working 50 hours a week and catching up on sleep at school. He skipped college to manage restaurants. By 1977 he was advising McDonald’s franchisees and helping with store openings across the state. One day in 1980, as he was unpacking his garment bag, his young son asked, “Daddy, where do you live?” So the next year he bought a McDonald’s in Hastings, southeast of Grand Rapids. Over the years he hired hundreds of employees, saw dozens of menu items come and go, and spent four or five hours a day, five or six days a week, watching over the counter and grills from his vantage at the fry station.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Starbucks Loyalty and Mobile Payments

Good update from Starbucks and a good, but quick, read on the subject.

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/starbucks-streamlines-app-to-continue-dominance-in-mobile-payments

Here is a snippet from the piece:

As a leader in mobile payments, Starbucks is raising the bar for streamlined smartphone experiences with an update to its application that moves rewards front-and-center and makes scanning easier.

The beverage retailer seems to be the model to follow when it comes to mobile loyalty and payments, and maintains this spot by continually listening to users and making adjustments along the way. Its customers have easily taken to its app for a more convenient checkout process and greater rewards, and its recent upgrade makes the process even smoother with features such as showcasing rewards on the pay screen and a lower bar code for easier scanning.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple's September Event

This is the day Apple announces all of the new goodies in its hardware product lineup.  Awesome right?!!?

Not so fast.

The expectations by those following the leaks are painting an unhappy picture.  What will the day actually bring?  Time to find out.

Apple Watch
Apple is following up on the release of the Apple Watch by announcing ... new bands.  New colors.  Fancy (and expensive) new partnerships.  Etc.

Next one up will be big right?

iPad Pro
We've been hearing about a large size iPad for some time now and Microsoft is seeing increasing success with its Surface lineup of tablet/PCs.  Apple has to respond right?  And they will amaze us right?

Not so fast.

At 12.6" vertical this tablet is huge and is quite powerful.  Plus you have the option to buy more goodies to go with it!  Like ... a pencil.  Or ... a keyboard.

Wait isn't that the Microsoft Surface Pro 3?

This thing is expensive.  It starts at $799 for the 32GB version, and you can add $99 for the pencil and another $169 for the keyboard.  Wow.  Will the war for the Enterprise be won be a pure tablet?  This is positioned head to head with the Surface lineup so we are going to find out.  The biggest surprise however was ... Microsoft on the stage with Apple to show you MS Office.  Wow!  Didn't see that coming.

So, something huge will come right?

Apple TV
Finally an update to Apple TV. Do I really care at this point?  My smart TV does everything I can imagine, including cook my dinner.  Do I need to shell out more for this new widget from Apple?

Maybe.  Improved apps.  A solid UI.  A good looking and seemingly intuitive remote control that can be a game controller as well.  Games.  Hmmm.  They might sell a bunch of these.  It'll use tvOS instead of iOS.  That means it is now its own platform, just like the Watch or the Phone, or even the iPad.  More software sales for Apple, but they make almost all of their money on hardware anyway. Another plus for the Apple TV is integration with Siri for voice control ... assuming it works okay since Siri doesn't seem to provide value for many folks on their iPhone or Apple Watch.

I do think MLB is doing great work in the digital streaming space. The app for Apple TV is excellent looking.  Marrying data to live game coverage is awesome.  But I don't watch sports anymore anyway so this means nothing to me.

Starts at $149 for 32GB or get the 64GB version for $199. This will sell.

iPhone Update
iPhone 6S and 6S Plus.  Basically the same as last year's but with big changes inside.

A new color: Rose Gold.  A new screen called Ion-X, not the Sapphire screen on the more expensive Apple Watches.  Still, anything to help the screen's toughness is good.

3D Touch - As expected Apple has taken the 'Force Touch' screen interaction from the Apple Watch and brought it to the iPhone. They didn't get good press for the use of "Force".  A friend of mine described this as essentially "right-click" for all you Windows users out there.  That seems right to me.  You can interact with apps without opening them through 3D Touch.  I like that new layer of interaction.  They've worked hard to embed this in the OS so it impacts many things you are familiar with. Now you just have to figure out when you can use the feature.  "Can I right-click this?  Left-click?  Oh, okay."

Haptic touch engine to allow the phone to essentially vibrate and interact with you.  Another feature on the Watch.

Big performance updates which also means improved performance for games.

The camera is much better at 12 megapixels but there are others far better on the market today. The dern camera lens still protrudes from the back of the phone.  I have disliked that a LOT with my iPhone 6 and have cracked lens already as well. Nice software updates for the camera.  Only pros need a dedicated camera now.  Seriously.  Of course, 12 megapixels mean the pictures will be much bigger and require much more storage on your phone.  It will take 4K video, that is 2160p resolution.  Also a huge drain on storage.

Pricing: Still starts at $199 for the 16GB model.  For $299 you can get 64GB.  They are pushing you to spend ridiculous rates on memory.  As usual.  However, they've created an installment plan so you can endlessly upgrade, and endlessly give Apple more money.  Okay, that last bit might have been harsh.  But wait!  You can use iCloud storage to handle your memory needs.  At an additional cost.

Overall I find myself laughing at this non-event event.  Will there be one more thing?

The band is playing.  I think we are at the end.  Only 2 hours too.

Heartland Wants Open-Platform Mobile Wallets

Heartland is developing a mobile wallet that is open platform.

http://www.paymentssource.com/news/retail-acquiring/open-platform-mobile-wallet-the-only-answer-heartland-carr-3022237-1.html

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Heartland is working on a mobile wallet model that would emphasize an open platform available to all merchant apps, loyalty programs and cross-merchant rewards programs...

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Digital Marketing Stats

I like this monthly blog post over on Econsultancy so much I regularly link to it and share through social media.

Be sure to check it out:

https://econsultancy.com/blog/66883-eight-most-enlightening-us-digital-marketing-stats-from-the-past-week/

Here is a snippet from the post:

Mobile will account for more than half of digital ad spend in 2015

According to predictions by eMarketer, mobile spending will surpass desktop for the first time this year and account for 51.9% of total digital spend in 2015.

Desktop's share of advertising revenue is set to slowly decline through 2019, while mobile’s share will significantly increase. eMarketer also expects mobile advertising to grow by 59% in 2015.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Apple Watch Usage Survey

This is the best survey of usage of the Apple Watch I've seen or heard of.  Though it leaves out a lot, we can begin to see how people are using the watch and what they are doing.

http://watchaware.com/post/14889/imores-apple-watch-survey

Here is a snippet from the piece:

iMore has done what appears to be the largest Apple Watch survey to date. For two weeks in July, iMore was able to get over 8000 Apple Watch owners to take a survey to understand the usage of their newest wearable. Some of the findings have been truly amazing. Here are a few along with a graphic below.

Models purchased:

• 48% got space gray aluminum.
• 26% got polished stainless steel.
• 20% got silver aluminum.
• 4% got space black.
• Below 1% got yellow gold.
• Below 1% got rose gold.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Generation Z - Advertising for the New Generation

We've been hearing about Millennials, and nothing but Millennials (seemingly) for years now (a rub for me as a part of Gen X), but now the next generation is stepping up.  We are soon going to experience 4 generations in the workforce: Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z.  Marketers aren't waiting to get started however.

Here is the story on the Boston Globe:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/08/31/brands-turn-attention

Here is a snippet from the piece:

Believe it or not, millennials are aging out of their privileged position as the nation’s most sought-after consumers, the ones advertisers want to influence. Their replacement? The nation’s teenagers, also known as Generation Z.

The Gen Zers, loosely defined as those 20 and younger, are starting to spend their own money and are developing habits that could influence their buying through adulthood. As a result, companies from the video streaming service Netflix Inc. to retailer Target Inc. to athletic shoe maker Converse Inc. are trying to get on the Gen Z radar.

“It’s the new, next hot thing,” said Amanda Fraga, director of strategy, insights, and innovation at C Space, a Boston market research firm.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant