Blog Archives
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Grass Roots Movement Brings Healthy Vending To Minnesota School; Are We As An Industry On Board With Our New Relevance?
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday May 30, 2012In researching my article on school vending for the May Automatic Merchandiser, I came across a situation that demonstrates the important role that today’s versatile vending machines are playing in people’s lives, particularly young people. I couldn’t help but wonder how many vending industry members recognize the difference their industry can make. I also wondered if there isn’t some way vending operators can take advantage of the growing interest in vending among both students and school officials. The article on school vending in the May Automatic Merchandiser reports that foodservice directors are finding vending machines helpful in promoting nutrition. In the course of my research, I learned about a school where a... -
Micro Markets’ Full Benefit Extends Far Beyond The Obvious, Challenging Us In How To Report It
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday May 23, 2012In doing his research for his article in the May Automatic Merchandiser on what operators must consider before investing in micro markets, contributing editor Allen Weintraub came across a very interesting piece of information that demonstrates what may be the most important benefit that micro markets provide to operators. That benefit is being able to learn individual customer needs and market to them accordingly. In his research, Weintraub found an article in The New York Times about how Target, using its customer data, discovered that a teenage customer was pregnant even before that teenager’s father knew about it. The newspaper reported that the father, unaware that his teenage daughter was expecting, complained to the store that... -
Facebook Brouhaha: Social Media Even Challenges General Motors
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday May 16, 2012Facebook’s initial public offering last week has raised a lot of questions about how the social media Website will raise revenue. A headline in today’s Wall Street Journal reports General Motors plans to stop advertising on Facebook because the ads don’t pay off. This is an important story for everyone in business, but it requires reading beyond the headline. General Motors spent about $10 million on Facebook ads last year, The Wall Street Journal notes. It further notes the company spends about $30 million on content created for Facebook. GM is one of many companies trying to learn how to best utilize the marketing potential of social media. Companies of all sizes and in all industries realize that social media has taken center... -
Investing In Technology Requires Ongoing Supplier/Operator Partnerships
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday May 9, 2012There are more operators looking for new technology solutions today than any time in the vending industry’s history. This bodes well for the industry’s future. It also calls on operators to put their best decision making skills to use in selecting a supplier. After the OneShow, I received calls from operators looking to invest in new technology asking my opinion about the different providers that exhibited their wares. I told them investing in technology requires more of a partnership than buying product or equipment. I suggested they spend more time getting to know prospective partners before deciding who to partner with. I can safely say that most technology providers that exhibit at vending trade shows regularly have good... -
OneShow Offered A Glimpse Of An Exciting Future; Will You Be Part Of It?
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday May 2, 2012As predicted, last week’s National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) OneShow was the most dynamic gathering for automatic merchandising in many years. Some credit the excellent turnout to the show’s move to Las Vegas. But I think the bigger reason is more operators are realizing they need to get on board with the technology revolution that is reshaping their industry and the world at large. Many operators came to see the interactive media that has emerged on all types of vending machines. They also came to see new products in every product and equipment category. Not that there was any shortage of business management education, which is always important. NAMA deserves credit for organizing such a powerful event. The... -
Reflections En Route To OneShow: No Such Thing As ‘Business As Usual’ Anymore
By Elliot Maras - Tuesday April 24, 2012En route to Las Vegas for this week’s NAMA OneShow, I shared a plane with a veteran product broker I’ve gotten to know over the years. He lamented the challenging state of vending sales. He welcomes new technology, but he questions the average operator’s ability to make these investments when the return needed to justify such outlays is not certain in many situations. He welcomes the self checkout micro markets, but he thinks it will be several years before they are numerous enough to bolster operators’ sales. Later in the day, at the Gratitude Tour at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, I spoke with a veteran Midwestern vending operator. When I asked him what his main goals are in attending this year’s OneShow, he said he wants... -
OneShow Will Showcase A Changing Industry; More Operators Will Hopefully Get The Message
By Elliot Maras - Tuesday April 17, 2012Next week’s OneShow promises to be a knockout experience. Attendee and exhibitor registration are ahead of last year. This year’s show will showcase even more exciting technologies than last year’s show, which was the most exciting show in more than a decade, thanks to all the video touchscreens, self checkout micro markets, social media applications and other promising features. This year, even more exhibits will feature interactive media, anonymous video analytics and video intense graphics. Some of the top name technology companies in the country, such as Google, Intel and Cisco, will be in attendance. I’ve spoken to lots of operators planning to attend just to have a chance to hear from colleagues in other, non-competing... -
Undaunted By Previous Effort, PepsiCo Inc. Comes Out Of The Gate With NEXT Internet Taste Test
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday April 11, 2012It wasn’t long ago that the marketing industry was harrumphing about PepsiCo Inc.’s “Pepsi Refresh” social media campaign as a big failure. Some critics were astute enough to realize there were some important lessons in that high profile endeavor – whereby 80 million votes for favorite charities were registered, including 60,000 Twitter followers and 4 million Facebook “likes”. “Pepsi Refresh” was deemed a failure because PepsiCo eventually lost 5 percent of its U.S. market share and its number two soda spot to Diet Coke. Marketing pundits said “Pepsi Refresh” focused too much on a movement as opposed to products. I dissented from this viewpoint, stating in an editor’s comment on 01/31/11 that the “Pepsi... -
Auto-Analytics: New Tools For Better Productivity And Personal Development
By Elliot Maras - Wednesday April 4, 2012In most organizations, work responsibilities have become increasingly diverse, and not just for managers. We work in a changing industry. New tools are being introduced for people at all levels of every organization. As a result, more people throughout the organization have to learn how to use more tools. Most of us have to multi-task. If you find you’re having a harder time gauging your productivity than you did in the past, you’re not alone. Most of your colleagues, subordinates and supervisors probably feel the same way. I can remember not too long ago how much easier it was to gauge my productivity when all of my work pertained to publishing a print magazine. Those days are gone forever. I now edit a daily email news feed... -
Retired OCS Operator Tom Williams Of Coffee Butler Services Sees Prosperity Ahead For U.S. Business
By Tom Williams - Friday March 30, 2012
(Editor's Note: Tom Williams, a retired coffee service operator, believes the American electorate will seek a change in policies that will unleash a new era of prosperity for American business, including vending and refreshment services. Williams founded Coffee Butler Services Inc. in 1967 in Washington, D.C., grew it into one of he nation’s largest OCS companies and sold it to U.S. Office Products Inc. in 1995. Williams has always been an astute observer of government affairs. He wrote the following blog explaining his optimism exclusively for VendingMarketWatch.) By sometime in 2012 or early 2013, a 10- to 15-year run will begin that just may dwarf all other growth periods in American history. We are now, and have been for a few...
