Where is the OUTIN portable espresso machine manufactured?

From a marketing standpoint, the OUTIN brand has all the hallmarks of a high-budget playbook: heavy ad spend, social media content and ads, retargeting, search, display, advertorial, influencer, website, testimonials, discounting/ incentives, content, SEO, online communities and forums, user-generated content, overtly positive commenting, and even the promise of what appears to be real-time customer support.

It's extremely well-constructed theatre that follows most of the modern marketer's playbook—except for one thing. Consumers still appear to care about where the goods they purchase are manufactured. Of course, this nomenclature is so prone to misuse and abuse today that it's nearly meaningless.

As is demonstrated by the customer service interactions below, companies like Outin often use creative or misleading language when communicating where their products are manufactured, attempting to obscure or gloss over certain details to appeal to consumer preferences. Here are some of the tactics or “tricks” Outin used when we enquired about where their product was made.

The Outin Customer Support response:

1. Outin's “Made in” vs. “Assembled in"

   - Misleading Labels: Companies may label products as “Made in [Country]” when, in reality, only the final assembly occurs in that country. The components or materials may come from other places, but companies use this to appeal to consumers who prefer products from certain regions, like "Made in USA" or "Made in Germany."

   - Assembled in: Some companies say "Assembled in [Country]" to avoid disclosing that the product’s components were manufactured elsewhere, often in countries with lower labour standards or production costs.

2. Outin's Vague Language

   - Global Sourcing: Some companies use terms like "global components" or "sourced from worldwide" to mask the specific origin of parts or labor. This keeps consumers in the dark about whether the components were made in countries with poor labour standards or inferior quality regulations.

   - Word Games: Terms like "crafted," "designed," or "inspired" are used in place of "manufactured" to make it seem as though the product has a higher quality or specific origin, even if it was produced elsewhere.

3. Outin's Partial or Selective Disclosure

   - Origin of Components: Some companies will say "components sourced from multiple countries" without listing them, which may include countries where manufacturing is cheap but lacks quality control. Consumers may assume the product is mainly from one place, when only a small part is.

   - “Final Touches” Claim: Products may have their final steps (like labelling or packaging) done in a desirable country while the actual production happens in a lower-cost region. The product is then labelled as being from the place where those final steps took place.

4. Outin's Use of Visual Symbols

   - Visual Manipulation: Companies may use a country’s flag, national colours, or cultural symbols on packaging to suggest the product originates from there. For example, products covered in American flags but produced in China may give a false sense of domestic production.

   - Cultural Branding: Even using language like "authentic Italian," "classic French," or "British quality" can give the impression that a product is made in these countries when it may only have loose associations with their traditions.

5. Outin's Strategic Use of Regulations

   - Labelling Loopholes: Some regions have looser regulations about what qualifies as "made in" a country. For example, a product could be made in China but undergo a minor adjustment in the U.S., qualifying it for a "Made in USA" label under certain laws.

   - Minimal Processing Claims: Companies might claim a product is “Made in [Country]” if only minimal work (such as packaging or small adjustments) is done in a particular country, even if the bulk of manufacturing occurred elsewhere.

6. Outin's Blurring the Lines Between Design and Manufacturing

   - Designed in vs. Manufactured in: Tech companies especially use phrases like "Designed in [Country]" while the manufacturing is outsourced to a country with cheaper labour. This gives the consumer an impression of high standards (associated with the design country) even if the actual product isn't made there.

   - Emphasis on R&D Location: Companies highlight that their research and development occurs in a certain country, which can mislead consumers into thinking the product is manufactured there too.

7. Outin's Greenwashing 

   - Environmental Responsibility Claims: Some companies imply that a product is sustainably sourced or manufactured by labelling it with "eco-friendly" tags without providing details. They might highlight where the product is “assembled” in a country with good environmental standards while not disclosing that key manufacturing steps took place in places with lax environmental laws.

8. Outin's Component vs. Finished Product Labelling

   - Component Transparency: Some companies mention that certain high-quality components (like specific chips or fabrics) are from reputable countries, while not disclosing that most of the assembly or other parts are produced in low-cost countries.

   - Partially Finished Goods: Items like clothing may be partially made in one country but undergo finishing in another to justify labels like "Finished in Italy," even though most of the garment was produced elsewhere.

 9. Outin Potentially Hiding Outsourced Labour

   - Contract Manufacturing: Many companies contract manufacturers in other countries but may not clearly state this. They may mention only the headquarters or design locations in marketing, obscuring where most of the work happens.

OUTIN's practices exploit consumer preferences for locally produced or higher-quality goods, while hiding the true origins and conditions under which the product is made. To avoid falling for these tricks, consumers can look for more specific certifications (e.g., "Fair Trade," "Certified Organic"), detailed labelling, or independent reviews.

According to Amazon's Outin Store - Outin manufactures, assembles, and ships its final product from Shounan Street Urban Industrial Park Room 1741, No.298 Mingguang, Road Ningbo Yinzhou District 315012, Zhejian Province, CHINA. 

So, why the deception? In the end all we wanted was a decent espresso. 

Have you ever heard of the "Streisand effect"? It's an unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove, or censor information, where the effort instead increases public awareness of the information.

Let's only hope that many concerted attempts to conceal your product's country of origin don't cause more harm than good. 

Kudos to you though on masquerading as what could have easily been mistaken for a Scandinavian brand? It's extremely well coordinated and executed - demonstrating yet again that China is the greatest cover band in the world. More - https://outin.com/

#Outinnano #outin #outinorigin

Planning Dirty Strategy Academy Free Resources

 

 

 

 

Planning Dirty Strategy Academy Free Resources

·      Free creative briefing course.

·      Short Sharp Strategy (Write better strategy) 

·      Strategy Mate (Key tools needed for a strategist)

·      10 Best Strategy Papers (Learn from the best)

·      Giving Creative Feedback (Learn to give great feedback)

·      Creative Brief Template (Created the Frankenstein brief template)

·      Politics 101 (Hot to deal with office politics)

·      The Cogs Of Marketing Effectiveness (How marketing works) 

·      100 Creative Ideas on Tiny Budgets (Budget shouldn't be a limitation) 

·      Comms Planning Stats (Key statistics for the value of comms planning)

·      How to work with creatives (Essential to being a successful strategist)

 

Supplemental Reading

“Planning Guide” by JWT London

“Truth, Lies and Advertising” by Jon Steel

“At the heart of an effective creative philosophy is the belief that nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature, what compulsions drive a human, what instincts dominate their action (even though their language so often camouflages what really motivates them.) For if you know these things you can touch them at the core of their being." - Bill Bernbach

BRANDS CANNOT BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE

It was once said that a brand could only be one of three things – better, different or cheaper. That said, a brand can also be ‘new’, which is helpful but, of course, only temporary.  In the service economy ‘faster’ can also be brand positioning. Lastly, if a brand fits into none of these categories it could be considered “doomed.”

 

Admittedly this seems overly simplistic. But for every contested brand category, the dominant brands clearly fits into this classification.  Take airlines for example. Emirates and Virgin are positioned as better. Spirit and West Jet are cheaper and Southwest is different. 

 

As demonstrated in the adjacent Venn diagram, brand positioning can overlap. There are indeed well crafted power brands that occupy two circles. As consumers, it takes us minimally two planes of improvement in order to choose a particular brand or business for its value proposition. Think Tesla, which many see as both better and different. Or, Old Navy, which may be seen by many as both cheaper and different.  While certainly possible, there are few examples of better and cheaper.

 

What is impossible is to occupy all three circles simultaneously. Moreover, why would a brand want to be all three?  If, for example, your brand is perceived as both better and different you can charge a premium price so it would be foolish to throw away this well-earned margin by also claiming to be cheaper.  Let us also agree that (in most cases) “cheaper” positioning is a ‘race to the bottom’ with increasing commoditization and diminishing returns. 

 

“Better” might entail a high level of expectations surrounding design as it relates to your product. It might also represent a superior service professional who is providing the direct client interface. It could mean that it’s the “full service,” highest value package to all customers and that you drop the lower-range product offerings. It could factor in a seamless user experience in your app, or perhaps even a customization level that was previously unavailable.

 

Figure out what “better” means to you, as well as to the customers you serve – because this will mean different things to different people.  Your answer just has to arrive at the fact that it’s far superior to your current version, your competitors, and to the status quo.  This, if you’d like to change any sort of consumer behavior by offering a better option.

 

In today's world the pace of innovation, change and growth have gotten so much faster, that even if you checked all three boxes (of, faster, better, and cheaper) these are no longer sufficient to guarantee success in the on-demand economy.  Especially as new D2C brands are shaking up the landscape.

 

No matter which position you choose– figure out what your brand is, internalize it, and then stick with that plan to continuously surprise and delight your clients. Ultimately, while you may not be able to dictate brand positioning to your potential customers you can still influence your audiences with a strategic brand narrative to mold their opinion over time.  Need some help crafting you perfect positioning?  We can help. 

 

HOW TO PERSUADE PEOPLE TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOUR

Government and public health organizations have been tasked with the challenge of changing behavior — getting people to not only practice social distancing and shelter in place but also do it for weeks and potentially months. Not surprisingly, almost everyone is relying on the standard approach to drive change:  Tell people what to do.  Issue demands like: “Don’t go out,” “Stay six feet apart,” Wash your hands,” and “Wear face masks.”

While a lot of us are following recommendations so far, making sure everyone sticks with them for the long haul is a tougher ask. Some people are still or have resumed congregating in groups. Some churches, with support from their local leaders, are flouting stay-at-home orders. And protesters have begun to demand that businesses reopen sooner than experts suggest.

Directives aren’t particularly effective in driving sustained behavior change because we all like to feel as if we are in control of our choices. Why did I buy that product, use that service, or take that action?  Because I wanted to. So when others try to influence our decisions, we don’t just go along, we push back against the persuasive attempt. We get together with a friend, shop more than once a week, and don’t wear a mask. We avoid doing what they suggested because we don’t want to feel like someone else is controlling us.

Our innate anti-persuasion radar raises our defenses, so we avoid or ignore the message or, even worse, counter-argue, conjuring up all the reasons why what someone else suggested is a bad idea. Sure, the governor said to stay home but they’re overreacting. 

Maybe the virus is bad in some part of the country, but I don’t know a single person who’s gotten it.  And besides, many people who get it are fine anyway, so what’s the big deal?  Like an overzealous high school debater, they poke and prod and raise objections until the persuasive power of the message crumbles.

So if telling people to do doesn’t work, what does? Rather than trying to persuade people, getting them to persuade themselves is often more effective.  Here are three ways to do that.

1. Highlight a gap 

You can increase people’s sense of freedom and control by pointing out a disconnect between their thoughts and actions, or between what they might recommend for others versus do themselves.

Take staying at home. For young people who might resist, ask what they would suggest an elderly grandparent or a younger brother or sister do. Would they want them out, interacting with possibly infected people?  If not, why do they think it’s safe for them to do so?

People strive for internal consistency. They want their attitudes and actions to line up.  Highlighting misalignment encourages them to resolve the disconnect.

Health officials in Thailand used this approach in anti-smoking campaign.  Rather than telling smokers their habit was bad, they had little kids come up to smokers on the street and ask them for a light.  Not surprisingly, the smokers told the kids no. Many even lectured the little boys and girls about the dangers of smoking. But before turning to walk away, the kids handed the smokers a note that said, “You worry about me … but why not about yourself?” At the bottom was a toll-free number smokers could call to get help.  Calls to that line jumped more than 60% during the campaign.

2. Pose questions

Another way to allow for agency is to ask questions rather than make statements.  Public health messaging tries to be direct: “Junk food makes you fat.” “Drunk driving is murder.” “Keep sheltering in place.” But being so forceful can make people feel threatened. The same content can be phrased in terms of a question: “Do you think junk food is good for you?” If someone’s answer is no, they’re now in a tough spot. By encouraging them to articulate their opinion, they’ve had to put a stake in the ground — to admit that those things aren’t good for them. And once they’ve done that, it becomes harder to keep justify the bad behaviors.

Questions shift the listener’s role. Rather than counter-arguing or thinking about all the reasons they disagree, they’re sorting through their answer to your query and their feelings or opinions on the matter.  And this shift increases buy-in. It encourages people to commit to the conclusion, because while people might not want to follow someone else’s lead, they’re more than happy to follow their own.  The answer to the question isn’t just any answer; it’s their answer, reflecting their own personal thoughts, beliefs, and preferences. That makes it more likely to drive action.

In the case of this crisis, questions like “How bad would it be if your loved ones got sick?” could prove more effective than directives in driving commitment to long-term or intermittent social distancing and vigilant hygiene practices.

3. Ask for less

The third approach is to reduce the size of the ask.

As an example, a doctor was dealing with an obese trucker who was drinking three liters of Mountain Dew a day.  She wanted to ask him to quit cold turkey, but knew that would probably fail, so she tried something else. She asked him to go from three liters a day to two.  He grumbled, but after a few weeks, was able to make the switch.  Then, on the next visit, she asked him to cut down to one liter a day. Finally, after he was able to do that, only then did she suggest cutting the soda out entirely. The trucker still drinks a can of Mountain Dew once in a while, but he’s lost more than 25 pounds.

Especially in times of crisis, health organizations want big change right away. Everyone should continue to stay at home, by themselves, for two more months.  But asks this big often get rejected.  They’re so different from what people are doing currently that they fall into what scientists call “the region of rejection” and get ignored.

A better approach is to dial down the initial request. Ask for less initially, and then ask for more. Take a big ask and break it down into smaller, more manageable chunks. Government officials responding to the pandemic are already doing this to some extent by setting initial end dates for social distancing measures, then extending them. But there might be more opportunities, for example when experts allow for some restrictions to be lifted — say, on small gatherings — but insist that others, such as concerts or sporting events, continue to be banned.

Whether we’re encouraging people to socially distance, shop only once a week, thoroughly wash hands and wear face masks, or change behavior more broadly, too often we default to a particular approach: Pushing.  We assume that if we just remind people again or give them more facts, figures, or reasons, they’ll come around.  But, as recent backlash against the Covid-19 -related restrictions suggests, this doesn’t always work over the long term, especially when your demands have no fixed end date.

If we instead understand the key barriers preventing change, such as reactance, and employ tactics designed to overcome them, we can change anything.

SIGNAL IN THE NOISE: ADVERTISING IN THE AGE OF DATA

Advertising is the quintessential example of an industry known for creatively embracing what’s new and next. From emerging technologies, channels, and formats to bold, go-to-market media strategies that are guided by evolving customer expectations for personalised, seamless, and omnichannel experiences, the most successful brands, agencies, and vendors just keep moving forward. 

This topic has been discussed for a number of years now from “Talking to Ourselves”, “Lee Chow Will Only Say This Once”, CP+B’s “Woodshed”, and “the Disruptor Series” and many others. What is absolutely clear is that the agency model has shifted. We all know it’s shifted. We can feel it. Our relationship with the client has shifted. Our value proposition (and perceived value) has shifted. The culprit? For the sake of brevity – is “Data”.

The introduction of “data” into our business has shifted the perception that what, once upon a time was considered alchemy, is now quantifiable. The pendulum that swings between art and science in advertising has decidedly taken a step towards science. Why? Well, for one, it’s the natural course of human progress. 

We humans have a history of decoupling and commoditizing our once lofty constructs. You may remember years ago the arduous task (and associated costs) of building a website? Today, we have Squarespace for $16 per month. 

Moreover, with the dollars attached to advertising at large, you can bet that any number of intelligent people will attempt to commoditize any number of its functions. To this end, the advent of this “Age of Data” has put all advertising practices under scrutiny.

But the backlash today being witnessed (against the traditional ad agencies of the world) is palpable. The problem appears to be that this “Age of Data” promised far more than it has delivered.

It is the natural and inevitable course of human evolution. However, being able to quantify and benchmark every consumer transaction along the customer journey is not tantamount to success. We now, arguably, have access to every metric under the sun but the data is largely meaningless. We are still pressed daily to find the signal in the noise.

This harsh reality has manifested in plateaued CX performance, digital transformations that did not deliver the expected returns, and early efforts to capitalize on new technologies and models that took a technical, rather than operational, viability path.

The larger risk may be market-based. While taking a step back to build foundation, those firms may have missed a closing window of good economic times and deferred more aggressive strategies to an economic climate that is at best mixed and, at worst, recessionary.

At the same time AI and robotics move deeper into the organization, closer to the customer, and, more profoundly, into the very makeup and operations of the company. This presents the best mechanism to drive growth - a strategically planned ecosystem that delivers value to customers throughout their life cycle. To establish a successful ecosystem, CMO's will need to thread the needle between employee experience, customer experience, brand purpose, creative, and technology, imbuing all these crucial areas with customer obsession.

Smart CMOs will undoubtedly begin pulling back on strategies that drive short-term gains at the expense of customer affinity, including dark patterns —design patterns that manipulate customers against their own interests. Meanwhile, spend will flow back into creative as the importance of differentiated branding becomes apparent in a world of digital sameness.

At the same time, technology-driven innovation — the ability to deliver new business results through opportunities discovered by continuously experimenting with technology, both emerging and established — will soon be table stakes for leading organizations.

Today, deep learning is sorting pictures posted on Snapchat, natural language processing is providing the backbone for customer service chatbots, and machine learning is helping companies accelerate product development by handling tasks from forecasting the effect of cancer drugs to helping to edit Hollywood movies.

Just imagine an advert that dynamically changes the tone of the voiceover based on the unique preferences of the viewer. The convergence of AI with human creativity and insight will transform advertising, and we’re just beginning to see what’s possible.

Artificial Intelligence allows machines to be able to carry out tasks in a way that we would consider “smart”. And, Machine Learning is based around the idea that we should just be able to give machines access to data and let them learn for themselves. Employing both, however, despite their infinite promise, has also not yet delivered real, tangible value (at least at scale or en masse.)

Yet, we are still pressed daily to find the signal in the noise. Moreover, we are still dealing with error-laden legacy data in disparate silos and clients are ill-equipped and the speed of technological change (which means we are always catching up.)

As a result, somewhere between ‘what is infinitely possible’ and ‘what is possible today’ lies the ad agency paradox today. Selling the promise of data-driven creative and personalisation at scale to clients whose platform simply will not get them there.

This paradigm shift also extends its own vernacular – now also far more focused on return on investment and short-term results. And herein lies the problem du jour. But, in the short term, humans are still the ultimate software. 

It is as if, metaphorically, someone had just invented the paintbrush. Despite, potentially, never using one, you can still see the infinite possibilities in its premise. But you can see (in this example) that the paint brush’s promise far exceeds its current application. Ultimately, this is simply the ebb and flow of all human endeavour. 

The agency of the future will undoubtedly be consumer centric, automated, transparent, collaborative, intelligent, nimble, experiential, and focused on a sprint versus a marathon approach. They can champion creative but will undoubtedly have deep expertise in strategy, consumer insights, and measurement.

Moreover, this heightened focus on the measurement will allow agencies to not just understand campaign performance, but to also understand how a brand is moving people through a journey and how advertising is fostering that movement.

With a heightened level of insight about what people think, feel, and do (after they interact with a brand’s advertising) we are simultaneously entering an advertising landscape with more immersive experiences that engage consumers on a deeper emotional level. 

One thing we do know? The importance of data and how it’s used to make changes that put consumers first cannot be understated. Agencies that pay attention to this now are sure to set themselves up for success in the years to come.