Rumours and things

Canada has been talking about them since they were introduced as a special souvenir that Canadians want for themselves from the Winter Olympics. The red mittens have become a hit with the citizens and have become difficult to find because of their popularity but they keep coming into stock at The Bay and Zellers stores.

It is expected that three million pairs will be sold at $10 and four of those dollars to the athlete’s fund. When I checked the numbers last week 1.5 million had been sold and it is expected that it will top 3 million in sales.

Total sales of the merchandise at this time have reached $500 million. By the end of the games, who knows? Official Team Canada Olympic clothing items represent 46 per cent of the total sales. More than 500,000 clothing items including sweaters, toques, hoodies and scarves have been sold.

A total of 4,500 official programs have been sold for $20 and I saw those at Chapters Books the other day. It is a useful tool for the TV games as well a fine souvenir.
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The government have said that they know the new ruling in the province, banning the use of hand-held phones while behind the wheel, makes it difficult for truckers who own at least two popular push-to-talk or mike models.

Even if the RCMP were to give truckers a break until more of the accessories become available, know one seems to know if the officers could tell the difference between the mike models and a regular cell phone. These trucking companies know there are changes to make but are having some troubles in getting the necessary equipment.

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Reed's Inc., one of the top-selling sodas in natural food stores across the United States, have a strategic new partnership with Vancouver-based Indigo Marketing, Inc. Food Brokers (Western Canada Natural Products Broker).

Indigo Marketing represents many of the most recognizable and successful natural brands in North America throughout Western Canada. Reed's partnership with Indigo will help the Reed's, Virgil's, China Cola and Sonoma Sparkler brands gain a stronger foothold in some of the largest western Canadian grocery retailers, including Safeway, Federated Co-op, Real Canadian Food Superstores, Sobey's, and more.

Indigo owners Gail Mountain, Debbie Hollett and Gordon Truscott, stated, "This is an extremely exciting opportunity for our company to represent the Reed's, Inc. brands in western Canada. We recognize that the Reed's brands are clear leaders within the natural soft drink category and have watched their successes throughout the years. We are fortunate to be able to develop a strategic alliance with the Reed's team."

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Front Row Analytics, which measures the value of sponsorships, said Coca-Cola received exposure valued at nearly $12 million in the premiere episode of "American Idol". The company is believed to spend up to $60 million on product placements and ads for the season, making the sponsorship an excellent investment.
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It has been a controversy of sorts on Walmart wanting to establish a Supercentre in Salmon Arm. It has been going on for years and years and every move the Walmart developers tried to get the right location for a store they were stymied by the politics of the situation. Now there is a new report from Urbantics Consultants Ltd. saying that basically the message should be for all those years and years the road blocks have sent Salmon Arm shoppers to places like Vernon, Kelowna and Kamloops to shop at the big box stores in those cities. That of course means that money is flowing out of the local shopping market and will continue to do so. The study said that as much as 55 per cent of the shopping dollars are leaving Salmon Arm. Now it's decision time again for the people of the district.

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It’s Reader’s Digest time again and there it is my chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars and I have the cheques already and a chance to win a Lexus sedan. Also those scary envelopes that say “No” and “Yes” and you wonder what happened to the “No” mail.

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Kraft Canada, as part of its effort to chart its marketing course, sent its president and other executives to a dozen diverse households to observe how they included or didn't use (in at least one case) the company's products. The effort isn't expected to yield immediate changes to Kraft's marketing, but is likely to influence future campaigns, according to this article.

Canadians eat more Kraft Dinner per capita that any other country in the world. Twenty-five per cent of them eat it right out of the cooking pot. It is only called Kraft Dinner in Canada everywhere else Macaroni & Cheese.