Talk about consumption

Politics as consumer goods

2011-05-02T06:57:00.003-04:00

This is the English version of a blog post published yesterday in French. I apologize for the short delay.

This morning, electoral circumstances dictate that I deal with all of this is political, that is to say, public affairs, government practices, ways of governing, not forgetting the electoral process itself, in a consumption perspective.

You are of course aware that our governments, without exception and at all levels, now manage public affairs, not with a view of ensuring the well-being of the many, but rather to make sure that they are re-elected.

Also in view of ensuring their election, political parties, both the one in power and the opposition, support the interests of marginal ideological groups whose ideas are not shared by a vast majority of population. For a moment at least, those ideas are favoured by the media and consequently also, seemingly, supported by many people, but not necessarily be the majority of people.

This does not correspond to what democracy should be, that is to say the free expression of the will of the people in electing their representatives to exercise political power and, by extension, to exercise it according to the well-being of a majority of people. In Western democracies, this majority has always been the middle class, heavily battered for at least twenty years.

This said, how and why did this happen? In my analysis of politics as an object of mass consumption, I will focus today on a tool used to make marketing a product, the opinion poll.

This exploration technique of expectations, beliefs, feelings and attitudes, was first used in the commercial sphere in the United States, with the obvious aim to develop markets. In the 1930s, the idea of using this technique in the political world begins to emerge and, on for the presidential election of 1936, George Horace Gallup founds the American Institute of Public Opinion. This will be starting point of the now famous Gallup Polls.

If the information collected by surveys were then, and still are very useful, to develop new products and make advertising claims amongst other things, it quickly became clear that the technique could also assist in the communication effort. Indeed, the disclosure of survey results through traditional media, social networks and even advertising can influence people's opinions by means of what I would call a chameleon effect.

But in the political sphere, this chameleon effect influences the free choice of the voter. That is why France created a Commission of surveys. Unfortunately, if this commission originally prohibited the publication of poll results in the last week before the election, this constraint has been reduced to a single day in 2002. In such circumstances we cannot truly speak of democracy but rather of a semblance or perversion of democracy.

In the context of the current election, we have seen a craze emerge for Jack Layton and, by extension, for the New Democratic Party. This enthusiasm has been fuelled amongst other things by the publication of poll results on a daily basis and a favourable coverage in most media for whom this phenomenon is a windfall.

I was also swept away by this wave of sympathy and am therefore well placed to appreciate its power. This said, let us get back to democracy.

Tonight, it is essential that a party which truly represents the will of Canadians be elected, with a minority or a majority of seats. Furthermore, in addition, it is important that this forty-first Parliament has within it a strong and responsible opposition, capable of representing the interests of all constituents, from coast to coast.

Excluding marginal formations without representation in parliament, four parties are running: Conservatives, Liberals, New Democratic Party and Bloc Quebecois. As publicly admitted by many of its supporters, the Bloc Québécois has lost its "raison d'être" in Ottawa. Like many, I thus exclude that party of my choices and hope that the vast majority of Quebecers will do the same. The presence of this party in Ottawa is one of the reasons for the political instability plaguing Canada since 2004. Even if you want the creation of an independent Quebec, which is not my case, it is not in Ottawa that you must send members of parliament. It is even in your interest that Canada be politically stable.

This leaves three parties. Depending on the issues, I have affinities with all three and am aware of the fact that none of the three is perfect. To determine which of the three overall best represented my position, I used CBC’s Vote Compass. I found this tool to be very useful to restore some rationality in what has become an emotional debate without major issues.

Today, I will vote for the party ideologically closest to my beliefs.

I thus first urge you all to vote. It is not only your right, but an important responsibility. Furthermore, I encourage you not to vote for a political party in view of blocking one party or another, the Conservatives or the Bloc in today’s context. This kind of "strategic" vote is harmful to democracy and may also produce undesirable results that you may not have anticipated. I invite you to vote for one of three pan Canadian parties, the one with which you are the closest in terms of ideas and orientations. This is the only way democracy will prevail.

Human slavery to technology

2010-09-04T14:06:00.000-04:00

In the conclusion of Consumption and New Technologies – In the Hyper World, I wrote:

«Technological tools can nonetheless be very useful to humanity, provided that we properly direct their development and use. Humans are too often made to serve machines, or at least forced to adjust their life or behaviour to them, whereas machines should adapt to humans and be useful to mankind. »

Here is an example of what can happen when humans become enslaved to technology.

On Monday, August 30, I made a purchase for which I had a $5 coupon, but did not have my coupon with me. I still bought the item because the dealer assured me I had to return to the store to get coupon refunded, without specifying a precise date to do so.

On Friday, September 3, I phoned the store to inquire about opening hours that evening, and specify the object of my visit (coupon refund). I was then told that it was impossible to refund the coupon, its expiration date being September 1st.

I then explained that the purchase having been made on August 30, the coupon’s validity date had been respected. The clerk answered that there was absolutely no recourse, because the coupon’s bar code having been disabled in the computer, the cash register’s scanner could no longer read it.

Well aware of the fact that manual procedures can often work around this kind of technical difficulty, I asked to speak to the store manager. On a rather arrogant tone, inappropriate with a client, he dryly replied that he couldn’t do anything because that’s the way the computer system had been programmed.

In the end, I mentioned the fact that I had been a loyal customer for many years and informed him that I would buy elsewhere from now on if I did not get satisfaction. He responded that I'd probably be better served in another store. This response is mind-boggling when you realize how difficult it is to acquire new customers.

You’ll notice that I deliberately omitted to mention the type of product and store name. This incident could likely have happened elsewhere, given retailers’ heavy reliance on technology. The crucial point here is that the inflexibility of a technology should never hinder a merchant from satisfying a customer, provided the latter has good reason to be dissatisfied, and manual procedures should always exist to circumvent technological flaws.

Do you know your rights regarding price accuracy?

2010-06-27T08:20:00.000-04:00

The following applies in the province of Quebec (Canada).

In principle, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) requires merchants to label the price on each article, but allows for exceptions. For example, because of the increasingly popular use of optical scanners, retailers are no longer required to label each article; several avail themselves of this exemption, but are still subjected to a number of constraints that include, amongst others, mandatory display of each article’s price on the shelf and of a sign about the Price Accuracy Policy.

This policy includes measures to compensate the consumer in the event of any inconsistency between the price on the shelf, and that charged by the register.

If the product price is $10 or less, the merchant must give you the item for free.

If the product price is more than $10, the retailer must sell you product at the price displayed on the shelf and further give you a $10 discount.

Buyers beware!

Successes and pitfalls of technology

2010-06-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

Technology has invaded workplaces, homes, vehicles, portable devices of all kinds, etc. Many will say it has freed man. This is true, from one point of view; appliances greatly facilitate household chores. It has also allowed man to express his creativity far more easily; inexpensive software now allows people with limited aptitude for drawing to create dazzling presentations and websites. The illustrations they create compete with those drawn by professional designers before the personal computer era. Cars have enabled the development of North America as we know it today, by giving greater freedom of movement to the middle class. Quick and relatively inexpensive air transport has brought continents closer and allowed people with average incomes to discover exotic and distant lands, a privilege once reserved to the elite.

But the effects of technology are not always positive. Increased individualism and selfishness often results from its use. It also induces a form of addiction, which sometimes almost amounts to slavery: millions of people, staring at a computer screen, line up thousands of lines of code to teach computers how to process vast amounts of information, day after day, in many cases night after night. More simply, remember your dismay when your computer crashes or a power outage occurs. Also think about the violations of privacy and all forms of viruses and other malware. Moreover, technology has contributed to widen the gap between rich and poor nations and even between well-off and underprivileged people in Western societies, in short, it has created a digital divide.

In conclusion, we must exercise discernment in the use of technology and keep in mind that they are not omnipotent; they will never confer eternal youth, let alone immortality, on humanity, and will not redefine our values for us. They are inanimate and as such without values; they simply fall within the system of values that we privilege. Technological tools can however be very useful to humanity, provided that we direct their development and use. Mankind is too often made to serve machines, or at least forced to adjust his life or his behaviour to them, whereas machines should be made to adapt to humans and be useful to mankind.

To learn more about these issues, see «Consommation et nouvelles technologies — Au monde de l’hyper» (Consumption and New Technologies — In the Hyper world), soon to be translated in English.

Over-the-counter DNA tests

2010-05-15T11:31:00.004-04:00

Here is a summary of my column of Thursday May 13 on Radio Ville-Marie (91.3 FM in Montreal) for those who have missed it.

Tuesday May 11, Pathway Genomics announced its intention of selling an over-the-counter DNA test in 6000 Walgreen stores in the United States. Two days later, Walgreen announced the cancellation of this agreement following an intervention by the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the US organization «responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation ».

I welcome the FDA’s and Walgreen’s decision, because immoderate use of such tests by an uninformed public could lead to serious abuses. First and foremost, we can think of the dangers associated with the interpretation of results, which can easily lead to anxiety or distress, or on the contrary falsely reassure a person while a severe illness is underlying. Also think about the dangers of discrimination against people identified as being at risk of contracting certain diseases (cancer, Alzheimer's ...) when they apply for a job or want to buy life insurance.

Finally, think about all the swindlers who inevitably arise to take advantage of people’s disarray when a test revealed the possibility of contracting a serious disease. «Your genes indicate that you are in danger of contracting breast, or prostate, cancer? Don’t worry, our researchers have discovered an elixir that will decrease your risk! Available in all good pharmacies and online ». It would be the resurgence of a form of advertising as rowdy as misleading intended to exploit people's worries. Many have without doubt already envisioned the possibility of making profits totalling billions.

Let professionals advise us about our health and keep in mind this reasoning: if a disease is incurable anyway, perhaps you are better off not knowing that you have a 54% probability of getting it.

Quebec’s Budget and consumption: Minister Bachand’s miscalculation

2010-04-03T08:32:00.001-04:00

Further to my radio column of Thursday, April 1 on the same subject, here are a few thoughts.

Minister Bachand deludes himself thinking that an increase of QST and the gas tax will bring more money into the coffers of the state; it’s a mistake governments often make.

In reality, many consumers already have a very tight budget; unable to pay the excess expenditure of hundreds of dollars per year incurred by these tax increases, they will adopt tactics to lower their expenses: 1. Reducing the purchase of certain goods and services; 2. Buying outside Quebec; 3. Purchasing goods and services on the black market to avoid paying taxes.

I do not advocate the use of these tactics, some of which are illegal; I only report what happens every time the government unduly increases the tax burden, especially in Quebec where the citizen is already the most taxed in North America. Ultimately, you can safely bet that Quebec will see its fiscal revenues decline.

Furthermore, the economic crisis has been severe and the recovery is still fragile; in fact, there is virtually no job creation. All these tax and tariffs increases will likely nip recovery in the bud.

The solution to Quebec’s deficit does not lie in increased state revenues but in a substantial reduction of the bill incurred for social programs, which amounts to 16 billion dollars more than the neighboring province, Ontario. We can no longer afford these privileges. For example, the $7 a day child care program alone, whose real cost is $45, represents an expenditure of over $2 billion for Quebec. Sheer nonsense!

For this program, I propose that access to child care be free for the poorest people, such as single mothers with incomes nearing poverty; others should pay the actual cost of the service. In any case, it really benefits only the richest.

Besides, if states want to increase their income, they can easily impose a surtax on speculative gains, but this requires concerted international action. Will our leaders have the political courage to confront the sometimes shady world of financiers and speculators?

Towards responsible capitalism

2010-03-15T11:54:00.003-04:00

Confronted to the speculation we observe in financial markets, I began a series of columns on the ravages of financial capitalism. In the first, I demonstrated the harms of speculation, especially the relationship between it and the economic and financial crisis raging on the planet since summer 2007. In the second, I talked about the birth and evolution of capitalism and oft he stock market, and compared two forms of investment in a high tech company. In the third column, I presented the financing needs of companies involved in technology. In this fourth and last column, I will introduce a new mode of economic organization to focus on, responsible capitalism.

To be beneficial to all mankind, development, technological or otherwise, must be based on a new paradigm called responsible capitalism, a concept we have already discussed in 2007 in Consommation et luxe. We define responsible capitalism as a socio-economic system based on free circulation of trade, business, industry and finance, in a perspective of respect for the interests of all stakeholders: the ordinary citizen, the State, financial institutions, businesses themselves their customers, employees, suppliers and investors.

Derived from the very world that gave birth to it, that of business, responsible capitalism is part of an evolution of capitalism, from Venice’s merchant capitalism to industrial Revolution’s industrial capitalism in the XIXth century, the to modern day financial capitalism (For these three forms of capitalism, see K. Galbraith, The Economics of Innocent Fraud, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004, p. 8.).

Aware of their responsibilities in society, more and more business men and women can only subscribe to a more humane vision of commercial, industrial and financial practices. To those who might think me naive, keep in mind that I have worked in the business world for over 25 years and still am very much involved in it; I can assure you that it is not populated solely by gangsters, swindlers, tyrants and speculators. As evidence of this, I present organizations such as BSR (Business for Social Responsibility), «A leader in corporate responsibility since 1992», whose mission is to «work with business to create a just and sustainable world».

Amongst the most fervent advocates of responsible capitalism, there are also influential politicians such as Nicolas Sarkozy and Barack Obama. Thus, during the campaign that led him to the presidency of France in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a «family type» capitalism, based on more human values, which is within the context of social responsibility we have described: «I believe in the creative force of capitalism, but I am convinced that capitalism cannot survive without ethics, without respect for a number of spiritual values, moral values, without humanism, without culture. […] Capitalism must serve a certain idea of man. I believe in the ethics of capitalism. I do not accept, nor do thousands of entrepreneurs, for paid work and entrepreneurship to be violated by the excessive remuneration and privileges benefiting a small minority of CEOs. I do not accept that, around the world, for reasons of pure profit, some people toy with employees and plants as one moves pieces on a board game. […] I will reinforce «family type» capitalism. »

One must admit, even without outrageously speculative practices, the nature of the stock market is forcing companies to engage in a race for profitability, which often forces them to make decisions contrary to harmonious long term development and some contrary to the interests of their employees and customers. From its initial public offering of shares (IPO), a company loses some of its freedom of action and is from then on subject to the profit demands of mutual fund managers, large investors and speculators. This denatures the company, which explains why Guy Laliberté has always refused to list his company on the stock exchange. Cirque du Soleil would probably not be what it is today if the company was publicly traded, because Mr. Laliberté would not have had the flexibility to choose its partners, artists, shows, and more. I also believe that we must see in Toyota’s recent setbacks the effect of a race to profitability, which had a negative impact on the quality of its products.

Some CEOs of large companies refuse to follow the whims of investors. Thus, here's what Nick Hayek, CEO of Swatch, said on March 21, 2009 further to a decline in earnings of the company he heads: «For a company listed on the stock market, announcing a decline in profit, a10% reduction in the workforce can bring the share value back up. Such is not the case in our company. There will be no layoffs or reduced investment at Swatch. We accept having diminished earnings and not to be the darlings of the stock market. » Refusal to play the stock market game to appeal to investors is a good example of responsible capitalism.

On December 3, 2008, the United States, columnist Ray Williams published an article in which he argued that the current business paradigm was no longer viable, encouraging entrepreneurs to adopt responsible capitalism. Capitalist societies have initiated evolutionary transformation of who we are, what we value and how we behave. This requires social and environmental responsibility, to which CEOs must actively participate. This transformation requires a model that focuses on more than the sole profitability (bottom line) objective. It considers a creation of wealth that adds personal, social and ecological gains to the bottom line. (R. Williams, «CEOs need to adopt responsible capitalism», Financial Post, 3 décembre 2008)

US President Barack Obama’s position fits into this perspective. For instance, in a speech pronounced on February 24, 2009, he defended a vision of capitalism in which prosperity benefits to all. Although he did not himself named this new capitalism, others have done for him, Responsible Capitalism. Williams goes on saying that President Barack Obama’s speech was peppered with phrases and ideas outlining his vision of his government's responsibility to not only promote a strong economy, but also to ensure that ordinary people were taking advantage of this economy . He [Obama] has not yet fully articulated his economic philosophy, and has not given it a name either. But we can see in this speech outlines a new approach that could be called "responsible capitalism" in contrast with the "crony capitalism" of the Bush era. […] More accurately, he redefines the meaning of a "healthy business climate" — a widely shared prosperity for workers, an economy that creates good jobs, allows access to the middle class to the poorest, provides first rate schools, decent health care, and housing that families can afford, while protecting the environment.

President Obama also criticizes abuses, including those of the industry and the financial world; in his opinion, government must exert tighter control in these areas.

In short, the need for a reform of capitalism no longer need to be demonstrated; countless leading actors agree on the need for international collaboration to define actions to take, world economies being so interrelated that unilateral action by one country would have no effect. To put in place measures to curb speculation, on raw materials for instance, must necessarily involve all major states.

Link between stock market speculation and corporate bankruptcies

2010-02-15T11:51:00.000-05:00

Speculation: The origins of capitalism and the stock market

2010-02-07T09:25:00.003-05:00

Confronted to the abuses that we witness daily in the world of finance, I began last week a series of columns on the ravages of financial capitalism. In the first, I demonstrated the harms of speculation, especially the relationship between it and the economic and financial crisis raging on the planet since summer 2007. In this column, I’ll talk about the birth and evolution of capitalism and oft he stock market, and compare two forms of investment in a high tech company.

Mumford situates «the birth of capitalism and the transition from a barter economy - facilitated by a local and variable currency – to a monetary system with an international credit structure (Mumford, 1950) », in the fourteenth century in Northern Italy. Regarding the stock market, he tells us that «two centuries later, existed in Antwerp, an international stock exchange intended for speculation on vessel armament in foreign ports and on currency. » Others trace the birth of this financial institution at an even earlier time. Some, for instance, report the existence of «courratiers» (ancient form of the French word courtiers), brokers, in Paris in the twelfth century, «concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks» in France, then for the exchange of state debts by Lombard bankers in the thirteenth century. A first stock exchange is said to have existed in Bruges in the fourteenth century. According to many, According to many, the term «bourse» (stock exchange) origins from the name of the Van Der Beurze (De La Bourse in Walloon) family, the house in which Bruges commodity traders met. However interesting, all these socio-historical references are however little importance in light of speculation, inherent to the stock market.

On this subject, Mumford wrote «international stock exchange intended for speculation »; his use of «stock exchange» and «speculation» within a short sentence and of the adverb «intended» to link both terms and point out the purpose of this financial institution, demonstrates the indissolubility he sees between «stock exchange» and «speculation». Mumford goes on to say that with the advent of financial capitalism, «all business took an abstract form. They did not deal in goods, but in imaginary futures and hypothetical gains (Mumford, 1950). » He continues with the mining industry, stressing that the expansion of operations and use of machinery using the latest technologies of the time, required an injection of capital that the workers could not provide: «This led to the admission of associates who brought capital instead of work: they were silent partners [...] This capitalist development was further stimulated as early as the fifteenth century by the rampant speculation on shares. Landowners and merchants practiced this new game (Mumford, 1950). »

This said, to base human and technological development on a capitalist form of economic organization does not inevitably entail speculation. This practice is not inherent to capitalism, but to human greed; of all times, it has been the doing of a few. It has now reached dizzying heights; creating no real wealth, it only allows a handful of individuals to get revoltingly rich to the point of destroying the system that allowed them to accumulate their wealth. It could be otherwise.

Consider two $100,000 investments made in high technology, the first in a small startup company involved in software development for data security, and the second in a mutual fund speculating on the prices of metals, a critical resource in computer manufacturing. For purposes of this comparison, assume that two investments are worth $ 500,000 after 5 years and that both investors liquidate their respective investment, cashing in a profit of $400,000. Both these investments were equally profitable and will receive the same fiscal treatment, i.e. a tax on only 50% of the capital gain. However, which of these two investments has been most beneficial to society? Which has created real value?

In the first instance, programmers, salespeople and other employees were hired, thus creating collective wealth; furthermore, these people have paid taxes on their incomes to various government and their consumption has fuelled other economic sectors. The value of the small business has increased from $100,000 to 500,000, a value based on tangible assets, although some proportion may be intangible, such as the software developed. Said software has allowed other companies to protect their data and hence operate more efficiently and securely. We should also not forget the fact that the investor will probably not liquidate his investment after 5 years, especially if he owns the business. Even if he did so, the company would not liquidate its assets; under the direction of a new owner, it would continue to prosper, to hire staff and create collective wealth.

In the second case, we can see only a small positive impact on society; as in the first case, merely the imposition of a tax on 50% of the $400,000 capital gain. Quite the contrary, the impacts on society are rather negative. For instance, the rising price of metals affects the development of several companies, raising the prices of several products they need. If the value of investment increased from $100,000 to $500,000, this gain represents no real increase in value, only an increase in the perceived value of metals, the result of speculation on their price. Is the imposition of an identical fiscal treatment to these two investments fair if one considers the benefits to society? Let’s keep this question open for now ... but we will get back to it.

In my next column, I will discuss the financing needs of companies involved in technology.

The ravages of financial capitalism

2010-01-30T09:40:00.004-05:00

Consumption, technology and finance are intimately related; exceeded by the abuses that I witness daily in the world of finance, I begin today a series of columns on the ravages of financial capitalism.

Technological development, the driving force of consumption, is linked to available funding, especially since the 19th century’s industrial revolution; however, it was not always so. In «Consommation et nouvelles technologies — Au monde de l’hyper», a book I published in November 2009, I write: «Capitalism and technological development can exist without the other: "Capitalism has existed in other civilizations whose technical development was relatively low. Technique made steady progress from the tenth to the fifteenth century without needing the nudge of capitalism (Mumford, 1950)." But the nature of current technological development and the speed with which it takes place requires a concentration of capital available only to States and large investors (Ellul, 1990). » A source of funding is needed for technological progress; it can be public or private.

This said, State communism has shown its limits; capitalism has thus proved to be the least evil form of economic organization, despite the fact that it gave birth to the consumer society, then to hyperconsumption, and is undermined by speculation. This is why Robert Rochefort said: «The consumer society is the least evil form of society tested so far (Rochefort, 1995). »

Consequently, as I wrote in «Consommation et luxe – La voie de l’excès et de l’illusion» in 2007: «It is not my intention to criticize capitalism or the stock market as a whole. This mode of financing is necessary for the operation and growth of businesses. » I was then content to denounce the greed of a few large investors that feeds a speculation phenomenon. Two years have passed, and, if I still strongly believe in the merits of one form of capitalism, responsible, my opinion of the stock market has further deteriorated since then, because, more than ever, speculation is raging on Wall Street, Bay Street and all stock exchanges.

Speculation is a phenomenon which is inherent to stock market trading, because it is rooted in human desires for power, money being a form of power. Extremely harmful to our societies, it is responsible for the subprime mortgages crisis, which arose in summer 2007, then degenerated into an economic and financial crisis a year later; speculation is also responsible for most preceding crisis and for the bad reputation that many have made to capitalism: «Later, and more destructive to the reputation of capitalism in the United States, was the visibly insane Florida real estate speculation, the rising corporate and industrial voice and, most important, the stock market explosion of the late 1920s. Then came the world resonating crash of 1929 and, for ten long years, The Great Depression. (Galbraith, 2004). »

Closer to us, take for example high-frequency trading, a practice that is now spreading on Wall Street: « Powerful computers, some housed right next to the machines that drive marketplaces like the New York Stock Exchange, enable high-frequency traders to transmit millions of orders at lightning speed and, their detractors contend, reap billions at everyone else’s expense. These systems are so fast they can outsmart or outrun other investors, humans and computers alike. And after growing in the shadows for years, they are generating lots of talk. Nearly everyone on Wall Street is wondering how hedge funds and large banks like Goldman Sachs are making so much money so soon after the financial system nearly collapsed. High-frequency trading is one answer (Stock Traders Find Speed Pays, in Milliseconds). »

Thus, it is likely that much of the gains on the stock market in 2009 may be attributed to speculation and market manipulation. Such practices create no tangible value, only a hypothetical value based on an imaginary future, hence the creation of speculative bubbles, technological, real estate or other; those inevitably burst sooner or later, causing the usual parade of economic and social problems. Said practices will ultimately destroy our economies and our societies if we do not put an end to them.

Speculation and market manipulation, which have flared up after the stock market crisis of fall 2008, will inevitably lead to an even worse crisis, from which Western economies may not recover, if States do not exercise tighter control over these practices.

In my next column, I’ll talk about the birth and evolution of capitalism and oft he stock market, and compare two forms of investment in a high tech company.

Response site to Haiti crisis

2010-01-17T13:29:00.002-05:00

Here's a site developed by Google to find a person or supply information about a missing person.

Poken, the latest way to network

2010-01-10T07:49:00.006-05:00

Have you been pokened recently? Yes, not poked, pokened! It is far less painful and far more amusing. Pokening will shortly have to be added to our vocabulary. One may describe the practice as the mating of two palm-held digital devices the size of a USB key «to share your contact details and online social networks in the real world. ». Think of it as a Web 2.0 era business card and of a new way of shaking hands. Although there are more «serious» looking models, the poken you’ll want as an ice-breaker in a party is the pokenSPARK TM, a smiling figurine not unlike the famed smileys, offered in a variety of designs and colours.

Even if you don’t own a poken yet, you may still sign up and create an account in the pokenverse to explore some of the features of this latest social network.

You can order one from an authorized online reseller. More about this latest techno-gadget in coming columns, after I receive the ones I’ve ordered and had a chance to use it.

My initial reaction: a brilliant idea that will soon catch on.

Consumption and health: Morgan Farms

2009-12-12T06:52:00.001-05:00

I publish this column as a favour to John Bastian, a long-time friend who devoted much of his life to organic agriculture and livestock breading. He wishes to address you the message below.

«Dear friends and customers,

For over 20 years now, my dream retirement project has been to grow organic healthy food for as many people as possible. And it has been quite a journey, a wonderful journey—and as all journeys are, they come to an end of some sort. This project grew a little larger than I planned. Almost all of you tell us that you appreciate Morgan Farms as a place where you can get a good variety of organic meats and baked goods from our freshly ground whole flour. And we sincerely thank you for your support and feedback these past years.

However, with me turning 70 next year, and my wife Janice getting busy again with her Chiropractic practice, we are approaching a different path in our lives. With the world’s economy as it is, and the absolute need for local, organic foods, we find this painfully sad that unless we find a solution, we may have to close down almost all of the farm operations. Our participation at the yearly organic markets and our availability here at the store would come to an end.

We are writing to you, our valued friends and customers, to inform you of our situation and the possible consequences of what may happen next year. These past years we have looked at different solutions to keep the farm operation up and running, but so far have not come up with anything viable. We therefore want to get the word out and ask people like you who have been close to the farm, if you know anyone who may have the dream of becoming involved and continuing this type of venture. The farm has grown to where several individuals could make a good living from the farming, food processing and distribution activities. Among all the buildings we have, there are three houses that would be available for rent to people settling on the farm. The farm has a big infrastructure.

South of the border we heard of consumers grouping themselves together to operate their own farm to ensure a good quality food supply. There is an interest already at Morgan Farms to open a Co-op for which there would have to be many consumers who want to become members, with either an active or passive contribution.

If you are interested in any kind of participation, want to share ideas or have questions, please e-mail us at john@fermemorgan.com or call us at 819-687-9021. We plan to set up information sessions here on the farm and would welcome your presence and participation.

We have come to a point where having tried many different options, we feel we don’t have many solutions left at our disposal to keep the farm open for another year. Therefore, any interest or creative ideas are welcome. We want very much for our dream of the farm to live on, to continue providing healthy and sustainable food alternatives, and we hope that new fresh solutions come our way for Morgan Farms to continue its journey!

In appreciation, »

Janice and John

Consumption, a form of compensation

2009-11-01T06:40:00.001-05:00

The following are extracts of « Consommation et image de soi, Dis-moi ce que tu achètes… » (Consumption and compensation, Tell me what you buy...), a book I published in 2005 (pages 108 to 110); it's in French only... for now. In it, I demonstrate that consumption is a form of compensation for some people.

Continuing the reflection on the relationship between product image and self-image, I would like to demonstrate the compensatory role consumption may play for people whose self-image is negative, established by their low self-esteem. I propose to call «compensatory self-incongruity» the relationship between a product’s positive image and negative self-image of a person who nevertheless buys the product, despite the incongruity between both images.

My demonstration involves six types of products (goods or services): perfumes, luxury products (cruises, renowned hotels, designer clothing, etc.), art objects, eating out in a restaurant, cosmetics and clothing. To establish this compensatory self-incongruity, it is mandatory to demonstrate that the image of said products is positive, something confirmed by three facts.

Firstly, those who mention said products deem those to be representative of them; to classify as representative products whose image is negative would violate the self-image enhancing principle. Secondly, the foremost symbolisms associated with these products are all positive. Thirdly, consumption of these products generates positive emotions, such as the feeling of well-being mentioned by all interviewees. Moreover, the persons in question have a negative self-image, as evidenced by their low self-esteem.

Therefore, according to Sirgy, the relationship between the (positive) image of those products and the (negative) self-image of said persons is an example of positive self-incongruity. Consequently, the latter should not purchase the former because the incongruity between images initiates a conflict. However, such in not the case since, on the contrary, these people actually buy these products. I see a form of compensation in this phenomenon; through their consumption, these people want to express something positive about their image, project a more positive image of themselves. This is thus an example of compensatory self-incongruity.

This assertion is supported by the existence of significant differences between those whose self-esteem is weak or very weak and those whose self-esteem is strong or very strong. Thus, an analysis of the level of consumption reveals that 60% of people whose self-esteem is very weak consider that they consume more than most people; this proportion is only 24% for those whose self-esteem is very strong. Significant differences also exist in terms of representativeness of products. Thus, 80% of people whose self-esteem is very weak mention perfumes as products representative of themselves, against 38.5% of those whose self-esteem is very strong; this difference is maintained for luxury products (66.7% against 38.3%), for art objects (60% against 7.7%), for eating out in a restaurant (40% against 21.3 %) and for cosmetics (71.4% against 28.6%).

These results demonstrate unequivocally that consumption as a whole, especially of the products mentioned, is much more important for people whose self-esteem is low; in their case, consumption seems to me to be a form of compensation.

From the Consumer Society to a Society of Hyperconsumption

2009-10-11T15:34:00.000-04:00

Technology improves everyday life, producing useful, many would say indispensable, consumer items. Think of how easy it is to wash dishes or clothing. Machines, at the heart of which are microprocessors programmable at the touch of a few buttons, carry out tasks our grandmothers took hours to perform. Like it or not, material comfort is neither a flaw nor a shame, it is one of the small pleasures of life. The phenomenon is universal: when a country becomes economically richer, we immediately see its people turn to consumption of all kinds of products and services that make their existence more enjoyable. What is wrong is not consumption per se, but excesses which lead to a society of hyperconsumption. These excesses can be found amongst consumers as well as producers.

In the book «Consommation et technologie» (Consumer and technology – in French only for now) that will be published shortly, you will discover what these excesses are and how technology has contributed to the emergence of a society of hyperconsumption.

Origins of the digital computer

2009-09-19T06:04:00.001-04:00

I'm finished writing Consommation et technologie (Consumption and technology); the book will be published this fall before Montreal's book fair. I now have a little more time for my blog's column which I hope to resume presenting more regularly.

In my last regular column, Sunday July 19, I've begun exploring the origins of the computer, presenting the analog calculator. Let’s pursue with the digital computer.

Most people consider the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) to be the first digital, electronic programmable computer. Conceived by engineers John Mauchly and Presper Eckert assisted by mathematician John von Neumann, this 30 ton monster used 18,000 vacuum tubes; its design was funded by the U.S. military who wanted to use it to calculate ballistic firing tables (P. Breton et S. Proulx, L’Explosion de la communication, La naissance d’une nouvelle idéologie, 3e édition, Montréal, Les éditions du Boréal, 1994, p. 87). The two engineers later leave University of Pennsylvania and join to form the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation; by lack of sufficient funds, the company will not succeed in commercially exploiting the concepts developed with ENIAC. The honor of producing the first commercial computer is bestowed to Remington Rand; the company acquires Eckert-Mauchly Computer in 1950 and produces the first line of business computers, the UNIVAC series.

During World War II, IBM also works on the design of a computer in collaboration with Harvard University. In 1946 it produces the Mark I, a much smaller computer; it weighs only 5 tons. At about the same time as Remington Rand, 1n 1952, IBM also launches a commercial computer, the IBM 701.

These events mark the beginning of a digital revolution that will transform methods of production and business management before spreading to the private sphere and weave around the world a communications network that allowed the emergence of the online social networks we know today. In the book I will soon present, I explore the different facets of this major transformation of our world.

Apollo 11 Moon Walk, a giant leap for Mankind

2009-07-20T14:22:00.003-04:00

This is not a regular column and thus doesn't follow the one published yesterday. Its purpose is to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Mankind’s first footstep on the Moon and inspire all generations to follow in kind.

I will always remember where I stood at 10H56 PM EDT on July 20 1969. Only 18 at the time, I had just finished my evening shift as a lifeguard at St-Helen Island pools. With a few friends, I walked to the nearby Man and his World exposition, the aftermath of EXPO 67. On Notre-Dame Island, between the British and French pavilions, expo authorities had erected a giant screen for visitors to witness live Mankind’s first step on the Moon.

Then and there, it struck me that a generation 20 years younger had brought Mankind to the Moon. I was overwhelmed by the feeling that I was part of new generation, the baby-boomers, for which the sky was literally the limit. I’m proud to be from a generation that had, and still has, the feeling we could do anything and, above all, the will to go ahead and do it.

Yes there are problems in our world today; but there were problems in the world then, the Vietnam War and the Cold War’s nuclear sword of Damocles to name but these two. We have overcome these problems, not because we were lucky, not because we were smarter, but because we never gave up. Another world for problem is challenge. We have our creativity, we have the know-how, we have the technology, and what we do not have we can invent. So just go ahead and do it and don’t stop trying until you’ve either succeeded or deceased.

Origins of the computer, the analog calculator

2009-07-19T06:08:00.001-04:00

Absorbed by my next book, Consommation et technologie (Consumption and Technology), due out this fall (in French only for now), by my daily microblog on Twitter and by other publishing activities, amongst which an article titled « Le luxe de 1950 à 2020 : une nouvelle géoéconomie des acteurs » (Luxury from 1950 to 2020: a new geo-economics of actors) in the GÉOÉCONOMIE journal, I am forced to space out the columns of my blog, through lack of sufficient time. I beg you to forgive me.

Contrary to what I wrote at the end of my last column, this one will not be devoted to technological development of air weaponry in the United States. Pursuit of a series such as the one about war technologies, which began June 6, must be more sustained; I must interrupt it. I may take it up again one day.

Today I will give you a glimpse of my next book’s content, by talking about the origins of the computer. Two very different types exist: analog and digital. Let us begin with the analog computer.

It’s a mechanical data management device «expressed through physical measurements (for example, intensities, tensions or hydraulic pressures) », whose gear work is driven by electric motors or hydraulic pistons. The Chinese abacus and the slide rule formerly used by engineers are examples of manually operated analog «computers». Vannevar Bush, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was the first to develop the first functional analog computer in 1931; he called it «continuous integraph», later renamed «differential analyzer».

The «differential analyzer» is a huge machine that uses the ten digits of the decimal system rather than the binary system of today’s computers; it’s one of Bush’s student, Claude Shannon, who suggests in his master dissertation the practical application of Boolean algebra and binary arithmetic to electrical circuits, work on the «differential analyzer» having led him to look for ways to improve the device, by replacing the wheels with electric circuits amongst others.

During World War II, the Norden bombsight which equipped USAF bombers uses an analog computer to calculate the point of impact of bombs. Until the 1960s, perhaps even the 1970s, banks have used electromechanical calculators using Bush’s analog computer concept. Digital machines subsequently relegated these first computers to history’s oubliettes.

Bush is nonetheless visionary. In «As We May Think» an article published in 1945 in «The Atlantic», he foresees the dominance of digital programmable computers over their analog cousins: «The advanced arithmetical machines of the future will be electrical in nature, and they will perform at 100 times present speeds, or more [...] they will select their own data and manipulate it in accordance with the instructions thus inserted. » Bush recognizes the advantages of digital calculators and programming languages developed during the Second World War.

In my next column, I will continue with digital computers.

War technologies: the Royal Air Force

2009-06-28T07:38:00.001-04:00

1940: The Blitzkrieg allows Hitler to conquer France in 6 weeks. In May, France capitulates and in June the British Expeditionary Force withdraws hastily at Dunkirk, abandoning most of its military equipment. England is alone, but luckily for her, has an ace up her sleeve: the Royal Air Force (RAF).

In the 1930s, England worries about maintaining an air force capable of defending the kingdom against all attack from the European continent, a sort of air parity. It draws on expertise developed by aircraft manufacturers while participating to the Schneider Cup events: «Jacques Schneider, one of the legendary Le Creusot dynasty, was among those who, in the inter-war years, strongly believed in the future of seaplanes. Convinced that the seaplane was the aircraft best suited to long range air travel, he sought to stimulate development through a cup that will remain the symbol of an era in aviation history. The Schneider Cup will not only be responsible for the creation of legendary aircraft, with superb lines and dazzling performances, such as the Bernard HV-220, the Macchi MC 72 or the Supermarine S6. It will also greatly contribute to significant progress. Besides the development of V-engines, it will impose the low-wing monoplane design for fast aircraft. There is no doubt that the experience gained by Reginald Mitchell and Henry Royce in their quest for the Schneider Cup has been profitable in the creation of an aircraft that will later become well known: the Supermarine Spitfire. » (Aerostories Web site)

The Luftwaffe's (German Air Force) demise during the famous Battle of Britain, from July 10 to October 31 1940, forces Hitler to abandon his plan of an amphibious assault on the English coast; the excellence British fighter aircraft, the Hurricane and the most recent Spitfire, coupled to the courage of RAF pilots saves England from German invasion. In a speech to the House of Commons on 20 August 20 1940, these events led Prime Minister Winston Churchill to say: «Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. »

In my next column, I'll review technological development of air weaponry in the United States.

War technologies: the Blitzkrieg

2009-06-14T08:06:00.000-04:00

If at the end of the First World War, France has a powerful air force, such is not the case in September 1939; inconsistencies in government policies, misunderstanding of aviation's strategic and tactical importance by the high command and insufficient production capacity of national aircraft manufacturers prevents France from rebuilding an air force capable of facing the challenges of the day (T. Vivier, La politique aéronautique militaire de la France, Janvier 1933 – Septembre 1939, Paris , L’Harmattan, 1997). The fighter plane most used by the French Air Force is the Morane-Saulnier 406, inferior to the German Messerschmitt 109. Despite their heroic efforts, French aviators are unable to effectively oppose bombing from the Luftwaffe's (German Air Force) attack aircraft, the drearily notorious Stukas. It is one of the factors that explains the success of the «lightning war» (Blitzkrieg) developed by Hitler's High Command : «The combination of Stuka dive bombers and Panzer [German tank) forces quickly secured victory» (D. Mondey (dir. publ.), J. Liron, J.W. Dennison, K. Munson et P. Pletschacher pour l’édition originale 1977, A. Hérubel (dir. publ.) et J.A. Rabet pour l’adaptation française, Encyclopédie de l’aviation, Compagnie internationale du livre, 1980, p. 151). This is what allowed invasion of Poland in a month and later of France in six weeks.

«Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, it was forbidden for Germany to maintain an air force, but she was entitled to a Ministry of Defence which featured a small air staff. German aircraft manufacturers designed a range of airliners and of training and liaison aircraft which later served as prototypes for bombers, fighters and assault planes. The national airline, the Lufthansa, provided flight training and spirit was maintained through air sports: gliding and motor flight. When Hitler came to power in 1933, he launched a massive rearmament starting with the Luftwaffe» (Ibid., p. 150).

War technologies: introduction

2009-06-06T07:59:00.000-04:00

Today, we celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Normandy landings (D-Day) which mark the beginning of the reconquest of Europe by the Allies. I believe it is only fitting, indeed essential, to have a thought for the thousands of women and men who have given their lives to repel the invader and to reconquer occupied territories. It is also the opportunity for me to begin a series of columns on the technologies of war. But first, let's begin with a bit of history.

The late thirties see the Great Depression, which lasted for the better part of the decade, subside little by little. Western democracies focus on how to kick start their respective economies; therefore they primarily aim to maintain peace in Europe and, in doing so, show tolerance for Hitler. The annexation of Austria resulting from the 1938 Anschluss, is Germany's first step to expand the boundaries imposed by the Treaty of Versailles that ended the First World War. At a conference in Munich in September 1938, in an effort to appease of the German Führer, English and French leaders endorse the Munich Agreement which conceded to Germany annexation of the Sudetes Mountains in Czechoslovakia. On September 1st 1939, Germany invaded Poland; two days later, the United Kingdom, France and other countries declare war on Germany. It will last six long years and spread to several continents and oceans.

Like all conflicts, the Second World War accelerated technological development; periods of crisis are favourable to new inventions, in part because the sense urgency promotes creativity and also because funds allocated to technological development by Governments are, if not unlimited, at least greatly increased. I will not attempt to exhaustively list all technologies of war. For these chronicles, I have chosen to cover aviation and space.

I will begin next week with the Blitzkrieg period, the concept of lightning war which allowed Hitler to invade the Europe, then Africa.

Buyer beware!

2009-05-30T08:57:00.000-04:00

What we have all noticed in supermarkets has been confirmed by Statistics Canada; for the period of 12 months ending in April, the price of food bought in stores has increased significantly. The average increase is 8.3%, but this statistic hides another reality; the price of some foods has increased much more. Such is the case of fresh vegetables (+26.0%) and fresh fruits (+16.8%), of which Health Canada recommends between 7 and 10 portions daily for adults. For these products, the consumer must absolutely compare prices in different stores, because differences are important and prices vary considerably from week to week.

The consumer must also be vigilant with respect to changes in product sizes, a phenomenon that manifests itself in recent years, but gains momentum it would seem. Thus, I have recently noticed that the large size of cheese bar of a well known brand has recently diminished from 600 g to 500 g... while its price increased.

Why abandon the Pontiac brand?

2009-05-01T08:23:00.002-04:00

April 27 2009, GM announced that it will phase out the Pontiac brand as part of a restructuring effort to reduce costs. Is this decision wise? Consider this.

Pontiac is a grand and old brand to which millions of people were and are still loyal. Introduced in 1906 by Pontiac Spring & Wagon Works, it derives its name from the famous Native American Chief Pontiac (Obwandiyag, 1712-1769) who led a rebellion against British occupation of the Great Lakes (1763-1766).

Over the years many distinguished cars have appeared. Amongst other the Star Chief with its rounded shapes (1955), the Bonneville with its rear fins (1959), the famous Firebird (1967) introduced to compete with the Ford Mustang, the GTO (1969), the Gran Am (1973), the Trans Am (1985) descendant of the Firebird, and the two-seater Fiero Coupe (1985), to mention but these few.

I understand the necessity for GM to cut its costs; its survival is at stake. However, I believe that the same savings could be achieved while keeping the Pontiac brand whose value is not only sentimental and cultural, but economical; in fact, if GM abandons it, I would not be at all surprised to see investors propose to buy it.

Pontiac’s problem originates from the duplication of several models with the Chevrolet brand; this leads to excess costs as much for manufacturing than for marketing. Those costs could easily be reduced by eliminated Pontiac models for which a corresponding Chevrolet model already exists; doing so would reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, sales of Chevrolet and Pontiac product lines, now complementary, could be grouped under one banner, thus reducing marketing costs.

Obviously, Pontiac and Chevrolet models will need to be adapted to present economic and environmental requirements, and of course to customer expectations.

Are you a Pontiac fan? If so, I would really like to read your comments on the subject.

The economic crisis and the consumer

2008-12-02T14:50:00.004-05:00

Around the planet, a vast majority of people have reduced their discretionary spending, both with regards to consumer goods, such as clothing, and for major purchases such as home appliances, a vehicle or a house. As reported in a Washington Post article, Economist Peter Morici from University of Maryland states that «What consumers are not spending on gas, they are not taking to the mall».

One could have indeed thought that the significant decrease in fuel prices could lead to a reallocation of the money saved to discretionary spending. However, let’s recall that the disproportionate increase in fuel prices has forced many consumers to cut everyday spending, food for example; it’s likely that the money they now save on fuel is first being allocated to a form of recuperation for basic expenses before being used on discretionary consumption.

In most parts of Canada and the United States, consumption is down. A Global and Mail daily Poll performed in the last week of November reveals that a majority of people plan to reduce their Christmas expenses. Although the sample was not selected scientifically, the survey nevertheless features 13 160 people. Of these, 68% plan to reduce expenses, a result that corroborates what one can observe in stores.

In the United States, «Black Friday», the day on which retailers traditionally turn from losses (red ink) to profits (black ink), has been disappointing. A Washington Post article reports that consumers only buy items on which they get an exceptional deal.

It would appear that things MAY BE different in Quebec… FOR NOW. Indeed, according to a survey unveiled on November 12, performed by Altus Géocom on behalf of the «Conseil québécois du commerce de détail» (CQCD – Association of Quebec Retailers), 64% of Quebecers say that they intend to spend as much as last year for their Holiday purchases; 7% of our citizens intend to spend even more. For my part, the GOOD news in all this is that these percentages are still lower than in 2007 when they were respectively 69% and 12%. There thus seems to be only 29% of us, 10% more than in 2007 thank God, who want to reduce their consumption for the Holiday season. I am one of those.

This denial of the crisis by many Quebecers was confirmed to me during an interview on Christiane Charette’s talk show on November 25th. I was amazed to hear callers say that the economic and financial crisis was amplified by the media to «scare people». I wondered what planet I was on. If those people are representative of Quebec's population, this may explain, at least in part, the results of CQCD’s survey.
Those reactions are rather shocking, considering what is happening elsewhere in Canada and the United States.

Bursting of the consumption bubble

2008-11-25T17:42:00.000-05:00

This column is subsequent to two radio interviews broadcasted today, Tuesday November 25 2008:

the first with host Christiane Charette on Radio-Canada (95.1 FM),
the second with host Michel Gailloux on Radio Ville-Marie (91.3 FM).

The rise of luxury leads to excess both from the consumer and the producer. This is the central theme of «Consommation et luxe», a book published in November 2007. My analysis helps understand that buyers’ and sellers’ excessive behaviour is in fact partly responsible for the economic and financial crisis which started in the summer of 2007.

Various bubbles have developed over the last decades and they all ultimately erupted: technology, real estate, stock market ... we must now talk of a consumption bubble.

Hyperconsumption, a phenomenon which appear at the turn of the 20^th century, is characterized by:

consumption focused more on pleasure than on image,
an increase in the quantity of goods and services purchased,
an escalation of luxury, «luxurization» in some way of goods and services offered.

This rise of luxury is easily explained by considering the motivations and behaviour of the consumer and producer.

From the consumer’s standpoint, it should be noted that consumption itself is inflationary, not the economic sense, but in the sense of an ever-increasing purchases, day after day, year after year. Abraham Maslow rightly said: «Man is practically always desiring something».

Luxury only exacerbates this impulse: Man always desires something… better. This translates into an inflation of features in goods and services. Take a car for example: if I just bought a car with power windows, an accessory my previous car was lacking, this feature is a form of luxury for me. However, the luxury effect is short-lived; when I buy my next car, power windows have become my «standard» and I will need to add another accessory or upgrade to a higher end car to satisfy my desire for luxury.

While the consumer wants to buy luxury goods and services, the producer is also enticed to sell such products, because the profit margin on those is much greater than on mid or low range products. Furthermore, investors’ demands ever hungrier for profits force companies to follow this path.

It’s an illusive path, as the main car manufacturers in North America can well testify, having originally built their respective empires selling affordable products to the middle class. In this industry, a financial ploy, leasing, has allowed dealers to retail, for some time, high end vehicles to people whose income level was insufficient to purchase this type of good. This business model was doomed to failure.

Current economic and financial conditions favour the bursting of the consumption bubble. Having suffered financial losses, perhaps lost his job, deprived of savings, no longer having access to easy credit and seeing payment options for luxury goods disappear (i.e. leasing), the consumer must curb his consumption.

This is true in all social classes. The difference between the richest and poorest is that the latter are even more deprived to the extent that some can not even buy the bare minimum.

Where is consumption heading in the coming months and years? I’ll answer this question in future columns.

National Do Not Call List

2008-10-13T08:20:00.000-04:00

If, like a good many people, you are exasperated by unwanted telemarketing calls, a solution is now available. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has established a National Do Not Call List (DNCL) ().

Since September 30, you may register your residential, wireless, fax or VoIP telephone number directly on the DNCL Web site. Your registration is valid for three years, after which you must reapply.

Consumption of financial products: Caution!

2008-10-02T18:45:00.002-04:00

I wish to make it clear right away that what follows strictly applies to stock market investments. According to experts, Canadian banks are strong and amounts invested in bonds, bank accounts, guaranteed investment certificates and other similar tools are safe. If you are unsure about the nature of your investment, contact your financial institution or advisor.

The purchase of financial products is a form of consumption. Today, given the recent fluctuations of financial markets I want to share with you my experience with these products.

Despite my knowledge of economics, finance and investments, I do not pretend to be a financial expert. However, my business career taught me to exercise utmost caution in the management of moneys under my responsibility. My governance principle has always been very simple: «To manage my employer’s assets as cautiously as if they were my own, perhaps even more so. » And I take great care of our assets.

Let’s go back in time. At the end of August 2008, world stocks markets had already substantially declined; this signal and others before, was a clear invitation to sell stock investments on which a fair profit had already been gained. Yet most investors, I for one, have ignored this warning, anesthetised by the gains made, amongst others from 2004 up to summer 2007’s «subprime» mortgages crisis. We were all convinced of the transient nature of the crisis and confident in an eventual recovery in medium if not the short term: it was a mistake!

Worse still, between September 15 and 29, a Monday as «black» as October 19 1987, markets have alternated between gains and setbacks; most of us still have not considered protecting our backs. Yet, the most basic investment principles advise to sell a stock investment after garnering a fair profit, many arbitrarily set at 20-25%.

During this period, I must admit, however, to have followed our investments’ evolution on a daily basis and devised an exit strategy to protect the invested capital, plus a minimum net annual return which I then set at 3%. Our financial advisor, with whom I discussed this strategy, confirmed its merits, for us anyway.

Friday September 26, I long hesitated to implement my strategy... finally deciding to wait a little; reassured by the comments of American leaders optimistic about the approval by Congress and then by the Senate, of the proposed rescue plan, I once again entertained the illusion that recovery was imminent. I also found it a pity to sacrifice the huge profits achieved... on paper.

I regretted this decision all weekend. Sunday, I decided that, whatever the vote of Congress and whatever happened on financial markets the next day, I would liquidate all our stock investments, namely rather conservative mutual funds. That's exactly what I did.

Of course, with the brutal drop of the markets, 840 points for the S&/TSF in Toronto and 777 points for the Dow Jones in New York, our investment portfolio decreased by 5.2% that day. I am nevertheless convinced that this was the right decision.

Despite the huge virtual loss, since our gains were only on paper, we managed to preserve the invested capital, our main objective; subsequent performance analysis revealed that we had even averaged a 6.2% annual gain between March 31 2003 and September 29 2008.

Since last Monday’s collapse, the markets have significantly increased on Tuesday, and then slightly decreased on Wednesday. Thursday October 2, although the Senate approved a modified rescue plan, the S&P/TSF crashed again closing down another 813 points, while the Dow Jones lost another 348 points.

Markets may increase tomorrow, or decrease again; no one knows. They will wildly fluctuate for a period impossible to foresee. They could also collapse without warning. Such a volatile context calls for the utmost caution, particularly from small investors.

I therefore urge you to make a detailed analysis of your investments with respect to their nature, their performance thus far and the invested capital. If you've turned a profit despite all the cumulative losses, perhaps it is time to cash in? If you no longer turn a profit but have not yet suffered a loss, perhaps it is time to at least preserve your invested capital? Finally, if you suffered losses, perhaps it is time to cut those losses?

Most financial advisors will disagree with me and instead advise not sell in a period such as the one we now live in. But it’s YOUR, hard-earned, money; it’s up to you to decide what to do with it.

Analyze your portfolio and markets’ outlook for recovery, assess your risk tolerance, consult with a cautious and experienced financial adviser... then decide. All I did was telling you what I decided.

Also read «Mutual funds suffer record redemptions».

Hyperconsumption and the global financial crisis

2008-09-28T09:10:00.000-04:00

For many years, I have warned people against the misdeeds of hyperconsumption; for many, daily life is centered on purchasing increasingly luxurious goods and services, first of all for one’s pleasure, a fleeting satisfaction. In fact, the evanescence of contentment procured by consumption is also what has allowed excessive consumption to rise.

Once purchased, the new object integrates with existing possessions and the pleasure of ownership quickly fades; a new desire swiftly surfaces, exacerbated by the omnipresent advertising. Abraham Maslow rightly said: «Human beings always want something. » In addition, when one lusts for a new object, it is invariably a little more luxurious than the one it replaces, since the characteristics of the latter are taken for granted, they no longer procure the expected pleasure. This is what I call inflation of consumption.

To feed this limitless flow of consumption, people must either draw on their income or their savings, or get into debt. The very rich, the ones middle class people wish to emulate, can more easily satisfy their cravings without getting into debt, to a degree; the inflation of consumption phenomenon also applies to them.

As for the middle class, consumption’ main engine and banks’ key clientele, a recent Léger Marketing survey shows that it has become impoverished, worse indebted. In a report published September 15 2008 by Statistics Canada one can read : «Households had 19.6 cents of debt for every dollar of net worth and $1.25 of debt for every dollar of personal disposable income.» And the situation is worse in the United States. This is precisely what has caused the global financial crisis that we now live.

To fuel their craving for consumption, people have borrowed on the added value of their property, at often excessive interest rates and without the lender verifying the borrower’s ability to repay. It is understandable that the budget balance is fragile; it may be compromised by the slightest glitch, illness, job loss, etc., resulting in even a slight decrease of income flow, or by inflation in the price of an essential commodity, gasoline for example. This is what happened in the United States.

In 2007, many people were unable to meet financial obligations, especially the repayment of loans contracted, the sadly notorious subprime mortgages. This payment default, multiplied millions of times, has undermined several U.S. financial institutions. Unable to recover the money lent, they in turn were unable to repay their creditors, much less guarantee their depositors’ money, thus causing a rush to withdraw invested savings before banks, they fear, run out of cash. This has created a liquidity crisis and the «domino» effect did the rest.

Evidently, other factors have made the crisis worse, many investors borrowing to create leverage being one and speculation another, but those are subjects on which I will not dwell today; my goal was to demonstrate the link between hyperconsumption and the global financial crisis ... which I have now achieved.

Wild fluctuations in the price of gasoline

2008-09-12T16:12:00.001-04:00

In Le prix de l’essence laisse songeur, an article published Thursday September 11 in La Presse, journalist Hélène Baril states: «During the last week, the price of a litre of regular gasoline has fallen by almost 4 cents in Toronto and only 0.6 cent in Montreal. » The article goes on reporting justifications from various industry representatives, which you can read by clicking on the above hyperlink.

Nonetheless, I believe that the consumer is tired of these explanations, particularly in the wake of the scandal which has hit the oil industry last summer, as reported in a column entitled Quebec gas companies charged with price fixing published by CTV Thursday June 12: « Gasoline retailers in four Quebec regions have been accused of price fixing, the federal Competition Bureau announced Thursday. The alleged scheme involved 13 people and 11 companies in the Quebec regions of Sherbrooke, Magog, Victoriaville and Thetford Mines, Commissioner of Competition Sheridan Scott told reporters at a Montreal news conference. » Other media have reported that the scheme could also involve other regions: Les prix étaient discutés pour d’autres marchés.

It is pointless to endlessly rehash our constant frustration vis-à-vis those facts; appointed authorities have done a good job, let justice take its course, hoping that the Court judgement will deter such dishonest and illegal practices.

To give consumers a tool, some small form of protection, against the perpetual yo-yo that has become the price of gasoline at the pump, I will instead reveal the existence of a resource and make two suggestions.

I have recently discovered a Web site, Essence Montréal , « a real-time forum where consumers can post current gasoline prices in the city of Montreal and its suburbs. »

This site needs our collaboration to convey accurate and reliable information to people. I invite you to take a few minutes of your time every day to report the price of gasoline at the pump in one or two service stations in your neighbourhood.

On the home page, you can also subscribe to a newsletter by entering your email address: « The Essence Montreal newsletter will consist of e-mail alerts which will be sent out to our subscribers whenever there is a suspected large increase in gas prices in the city of Montreal and its suburbs. » Thus, you will at least be able to fill up before being surprised by a swift and unexpected price increase.

Consumers often underestimate their collective power. Yet, if my suggestions bear fruit, in the long run, surges in gasoline prices could translate into an equally sudden desertion of service stations, until the price decreases. I won’t pretend that our efforts would lower the price of gas, but they could at least put an end to wild fluctuations.

Consumption and technology

2008-09-07T07:36:00.001-04:00

My next book, whose publishing (in French at first) is planned for winter of 2009, will focus on consumption and technology; here’s a glimpse of its content.

In our hyperconsumption society, technological development is essentially dictated by commercial considerations, the first of which being the necessity for manufacturers to differentiate their products from their competitors’.

The iPhone, launched in Canada in July 2008, is a fitting example of this assertion. Far be it from me to denigrate this gadget which obviously appeals to a very specific market segment; otherwise, how can one explain the endless launch day queues in front of stores for the privilege of being among the first to own this marvel? Its design undoubtedly meets aesthetic expects and its many functions, too numerous in fact for the average user, allow its users to justify their purchase from a utilitarian standpoint (functional expects).

The iPhone’s appeal lies elsewhere. It has to do with the image, the myth I should say, Apple built around its latest creation, as it did for other products, the iPod for instance; as the latter, the iPhone is a cult object, a status symbol (symbolic expects), yet even, for some people, a possession which allows them to enhance a somewhat weak self-esteem (aspirational expects).

Despite the fact that competing products, such as the Touch Diamond (HTC) and the Instinct (Samsung), offer very similar designs, features and functionalities, the iPhone’s exclusive image allows Apple to sell it at a price slightly higher than competing products’, because the unconditional, the true aficionados, are less sensitive to price, as long as said price remains within a range whose boundaries Apple has undoubtedly pinpointed (financial expects). One can therefore say that technological development has shifted to a commercial exchange paradigm.

Comparing the price of gasoline between Montreal and Paris

2008-08-30T13:46:00.000-04:00

I wish that with each new rise in the price of gasoline, some people would cease to comfort consumers telling them that gasoline is still much less expensive in Canada than in Europe.
On August 30 in Paris, one could find regular gasoline (SP95) at 1,399 € per litre (French Ministry of economy) while on August 29 in Montreal, the price of the same fuel ranged between $1.389 and $1.394 (Quebec’s Régie de l’énergie)
Using the August 30 conversion factor, 1.5996 dollar for 1 euro (Royal Bank of Canada), some might say that the price in Paris is actually $2.24; this calculation is completely wrong and misleads people.
The $2.24 is only valid for a Canadian visiting Paris, whose salary is paid in Canadian dollars, buying gasoline for a rental car. The French are paid in euros; 1,40 € is for them what $1.40 is for us.
In other words, the price of gasoline is exactly the same in Paris and Montreal, apart from the daily variations which exacerbate so many Montrealers.

Consumption and commerce are essential

2008-04-03T08:11:00.002-04:00

In my writings and my public position, I criticize several aspects of consumption, especially excesses on the part of consumers and speculation on the part of sellers. However, I am in no way against the consumption and I do not preach in favour of self deprivation or hard core simple living. These solutions are so extreme that they can do nothing but put off most consumers… rather than encourage them to consume more sensibly. On the contrary, I believe that, subject to responsible practices on both sides, consumption and commerce are essential in two ways. They are first of all mandatory from an economic perspective. In fact, strong domestic consumption is what has so far saved Canada from the recession in the United States since the summer of 2007. According to the Conference Board of Canada, «Consumers Help Canadian Economy Overcome the U.S. Twin Shocks».

Consumption is just as essential from a human standpoint. Everyone wants to have fun, consume, acquire goods and use services that make life more enjoyable, things that go beyond the strict necessities of life.

In my most recent book, « Consommation et luxe, La voie de l’excès et de l’illusion » (Consumption and luxury, The path of excess and illusion), I stress the essential, universal and anthropological nature of luxury consumption, resting my argument on Shakespeare and Lipovetsky.

Trade and consumption have been an essential part of human development, they have existed for millennia. It would be idealistic to attempt stopping such activities in the twenty-first century.

The shopping center was born in the 1950s. Much like motorways, population migration to the suburbs made essential construction of this new mode of distribution: the shopping mall. Mega shopping centers are simply an evolution of retailing; they are increasingly places both of necessity and pleasure.

Doesn’t the Quartier Dix30 plan to open a Mega private health care clinic, something many Quebecers feel to be a necessity? Furthermore, their commercial offer goes well beyond the traditional commercial function; these new commercial centers are referred to as Life Style Shopping Centers.

The Quartier Dix30 , the largest Life Style Shopping Center in Canada, recreates the illusion of a Main Street in old days villages, an artery mainly intended to be functional, as it centralized shops people needed. These new malls’ main function is symbolic; it is also designed to give you a sensory experience.

Apart from «Main Street» and the Theatre, many other shopping malls incorporate all other aspects of Quartier Dix30: free indoor and outdoor parking, a variety of restaurants, cinemas, and so on. What is so special about a Life Style Shopping Center? As for a perfume or a luxury restaurant, packaging and communication make the product.

Positioning and selling Quartier Dix30 as an entertainment center is inspired by Lipovetsky’s pleasure-purchase logic: «Today, even the consumption of material goods tends to switch to an experiential logic, shopping in general bathing in a recreational and hedonic atmosphere» (G. Lipovetsky, Le bonheur paradoxal. Essai sur la société d’hyperconsommation, Paris, Gallimard, 2006, p. 60).

Some will say that architects of this project only encourage consumption, and they will be right. However, we are not victims but accomplices of the consumer society; it’s up to us to consume better and less. Furthermore, these promoters help make people dream in a world that really needs; Quartier Dix30, it’s not a shopping mall, it’s a recreotouristic center in which rich people and less affluent ones can find what they want.

Purchasing behaviour in open-type Mega shopping malls is not the same as in a traditional closed-type mall. The latter promotes shopping, walking, often without a specific purchase in mind, even walking for health purposes, as some walking clubs practise this activity in winter. People who spend time in malls say that they get pleasure from these visits; they will even stop for coffee at one of many indoor terraces found in these places. Some people living in the city cannot understand what pleasure there is in this activity; as far as I’m concerned, I see no difference between having coffee and mingling with people in such places or doing so one of Montreal’s many cafes.

This type of behaviour can also be observed on the «main street» of a Life Style Shopping center such as Quartier Dix30. However, behaviour changes radically in shops that stand away from this central point. People who go into these shops often have a specific purchase in mind, they have made their choice of product and point of sale on the Internet or in a promotional brochure; they go directly to selected store, do their shopping and then often leave the mall.

In large cities such as Montreal, trade has rather developed in a linear fashion, Ste-Catherine Street for instance; much like a mall, some of these commercial streets even feature a canopy that protects consumers from bad weather while shopping, Plaza St-Hubert for instance. More recently, commercial spaces have flourished in Montreal’s underground, Montreal’s Indoor City.

Consider this map of Montreal’s Indoor City.

According to the Observatoire de la Ville intérieure, «The indoor city is a set of buildings connected by interior walkways, belonging to distinct owners, offering a diversity of functions, namely public transportation, shopping malls, office space and leisure activities, where the use of public space has been settled by an agreement with the municipal authorities». As of December 31 2004, Montreal’s Indoor City featured 1,366 shops of all types and 477 restaurants of all categories.

What difference is there really between Montreal’s Indoor City, Plaza St-Hubert, Ste-Catherine Street, a portion of which is to be pedestrianized in summer 2008, and the Quartier Dix 30? The answer is simple: NONE!

Why then criticize Mega shopping malls?

Results of the mini survey about Mega shopping centers

2008-03-18T13:16:00.002-04:00

Since the televised debate on «Il va y avoir du sport», on the theme «For or against Mega shopping centers», some expressed their surprise seeing me present the positive aspects of Mega shopping centers.

It is rather curious because I have never been moralizing towards consumption; as I write in my blog presentation, «I claim myself to be a moderate critic of consumption. While I recognize the benefits, even the necessity, of a measured and responsible consumption, I want to denounce its pernicious effects and questionable practices. »

I am thus especially pleased to have participated in this show because it was an opportunity for me to clarify my position with regards to consumption.

One must also not forget that this kind of televised debate is planned to polarize the debate… to better entertain the audience; the producer most certainly does not want participants in the debate to present the pros and cons of an issue, which would have been my preferred position.

Finally, the debate having been focused on issues related to the environment, ecology and urban development, little analysis was made of the shopping center itself.

In my next column, I will thus further clarify my position on consumption and Mega shopping centers. For now, here are the results of last week’s mini survey.

Results take into account responses from the English and French blogs, 82 people in all; statistically speaking, this number of respondents is low. The error margin is thus higher than the norm: 11% at a 95% confidence level, the proverbial 19 times out of 20. As with all such «question of the day» type surveys, now found in several media, the sample has not been selected according using a probabilistic methodology.

Clicking here will allow you to see a graph presenting, in percentages, responses obtained, as well as the minimum and maximum based on the error margin.

Given this 11% error margin, one can say that people are almost equally divided on the question «For or against Mega shopping centers? » Nothing wondrous!

In the midst of those "Against", one can find amongst others druids of the environment and hard core apostles of simple living, for whom shopping malls, Mega or not, are dens of vice. There are however a number of people who do not like the concept of «Mega Center», as I was saying in Nathalie Villeneuve’s excellent article «Les limites de la démesure» (The limits of excessiveness).

Climate is obviously a drawback and purchase behaviour is different from what one can observe in traditional closed mall type centers.

In my next column, I will elaborate on this issue in addition to clarifying my position on consumption and Mega shopping centers.

For or against Mega shopping centers?

2008-03-07T08:41:00.000-05:00

Vous pouvez lire cette chronique en français.

In anticipation of my participation in the IL VA Y AVOIR DU SPORT show, I submit a question on the selected theme:

FOR OR AGAINST MEGA SHOPPING CENTERS?

The show will be broadcasted on Tele-Quebec Friday, March 14 at 7:30 PM, Saturday, March 15 at 2:30 PM and Sunday, March 16 at 6:30 PM.

The «Quartier Dix 30» is an example of Mega shopping center.

Purchasing a vehicle: price, fuel consumption and style before the environment

2008-02-07T16:10:00.000-05:00

In a chronicle published January 26, 2008 (French only), I reported the results of a mini-survey concerning the criteria deemed to be the most important when purchasing or leasing a vehicle. Clicking here will allow you to see a graph showing the number of responses received for the five assertions I considered the most important, having been chosen either by a majority, or by a minority of people who participated in the study.

Highlights are as follows. Three elements are considered among the most important by at least half of respondents [answers/total]: price (purchase) or monthly payment (lease) [29/32], fuel consumption [27/32] and vehicle aestheticism (style and color) [17/32]. Conversely, an item is considered important by only a small number of respondents: an ecological engine [3/32].

Now, The Globe and Mail recently published a survey involving 38,500 Canadians that the importance of 26 criteria involved in purchasing or leasing a vehicle. Clicking here will allow you to see the results of this study.

The five criteria deemed to be the most important are the following (% responses): Value for the money (30.7%), Fuel economy (28.4%), Reliability/dependability (27.5%), Price/cost to buy (21.5%) and Exterior styling (19.5%). Environmental friendliness is relegated to the 23^rd rank, out of 26, with a meagre proportion of votes (2.2%).

In my January 26, 2008 chronicle (French only), I wrote that “an exploratory study is indicative of trends that need to be confirmed by other studies or supported by known facts”. The fact that three elements identified in my mini-survey are amongst the top five in the national poll shows the usefulness of exploratory studies. Without featuring the accuracy or statistical reliability of studies involving a large number of respondents (≥ 1000) selected through probability sampling, they are nevertheless indicative of major trends.

As for the fact that environmental considerations as a criteria for purchasing a vehicle only concern a very small minority of people in both studies, it strengthens the view that I supported in several columns of this blog, particularly that of June 7, 2007. I am more than ever sceptical about the willingness of Quebecers, and citizens of other Canadian provinces, to radically change their lifestyle to reduce polluting emissions.

MINI: the pleasure of accessible luxury

2007-12-17T09:20:00.000-05:00

Next to the Hummer, the juggernaut I mentioned in several October and November 2007 columns, the MINI is Lilliputian. How can one not love its friendly face; according to surveys conducted by MINI

Canada

in 2007, its appearance is the most important factor in the purchase decision. Its remarkable sobriety, thanks to its 1.6 litre engine, is also very appealing (Note: Unless otherwise specified, all information about the MINI, slogans and advertising arguments cited are taken from the MINI’s Canadian website, consulted August 16 2007) ; in fact, it’s eligible to a $1,000 rebate from the ecoAUTO rebate program created by the Canadian government in 2006 (ecoAUTO Web site, consulted August 16 2007). This is another advantage, since the MINI buyer is price-sensitive; polls show that this factor is the second in order of importance (Note: this information is taken from survey results obtained from MINI Brossard whom I thank for its collaboration).

However, its sobriety does not prevent it from featuring a sporty behaviour, compared to that of a kart. Having performed a road test, I can vouch that this claim is not misleading; it’s easy for me to compare, since I drive a Honda CB900F, a nervous and agile motorcycle, now renamed the 919. I am not the only one to love the MINI: «Even in its wildest dreams, BMW could not expect any better: 800,000 units of the Mini produced in five years. That’s 700,000 more than the Bavarian manufacturer estimated when launching this model». (É. Lefrançois, « Mini Cooper S, Évoluer sans révolutionner », La Presse, July 16 2007, cahier L’auto, p. 10)

The company has found a market segment, which consists of people from all age groups, as evidenced by the polls, willing to pay slightly more to get a fun car. The manufacturer did not seek to solve a lower revenue problem by selling a more expensive product, but deliberately targeted a slightly higher-end market after having verified its existence. I don’t think we can accuse the company of chasing chimeras. For BMW, owner of the brand, it is a product line descent strategy; this strategy can be harmful for a brand, as selling lower priced products can affect the image of a luxury brand. Such is not the case here, since BMW protects its image by selling the MINI under another banner, with a unique logo and a dealer network independent from BMW’s.

The MINI personality, or «MINI Concept», articulates around driving pleasure: «Never has holding a steering wheel been so much fun». A wide range of accessories, some of which are very inexpensive, allow the buyer to customize his MINI, which in itself is another pleasure, because some form of exclusivity is one the attractions of luxury.

Its selling price starting at more than $ 25000, MINI is a luxury car, popular that is, not upper end. A form of luxury accessible to a large number of middle class people, sufficient to give one pleasure, without making a hole in one’s wallet. Obviously, it is beyond the reach of the poor. Some may accuse me of using the term «accessible» for a car sells for $ 25,900 and more. As absurd as this may seem, $ 25,900 is a price that most vehicles offered to the middle class today can reach, indeed exceed, except for some sub-compacts.

The brand’s personality, its image and its correspondence with the prospective buyer’s self-image may influence the choice of a vehicle. The values of society and the dominant concerns of the moment can also promote the adoption of a vehicle, for instance, the high price of gasoline and the hype surrounding the Kyoto Protocol are positive influences for the purchase of a vehicle featuring lesser consumption and pollution levels, such as MINI.

Boxing Day

2007-12-13T11:39:00.000-05:00

In anticipation of my presence on RDI en direct Wednesday, December 26, I perform a mini-quiz on Boxing Day; you may answer up to 6 PM Monday, December 24. I hope many of you will participate. It will be my pleasure to comment on the results with host Louis Lemieux. If you have any comments about this issue, you can send them to me at benoit.duguay@gmail.com

A question of self-image

2007-11-27T06:55:00.000-05:00

The existence of a link between a person’s self-image and the image of the vehicle she buys, analyzed in a previous column, shows that the Hummer’s militaristic and aggressive personality fits the image the buyer of this vehicle wants to project. In fact, research conducted by Keith Bradsher at Honda demonstrates that SUV buyers are more concerned about their image in the eyes of others than by practical considerations, something confirmed by Thomas Elliot, executive vice president of Honda’s North American automobile sector and Fred J. Schaafsma, GM’s Senior Engineer for the initial planning stages of new vehicles (K. Bradsher, High and Mighty, SUVs – The world’s most dangerous vehicles and how they got that way, New York, Public Affairs, 2002, p. 103).

However, the warrior image of the Hummer inevitably influences the buyer’s behaviour, especially because, as I said in an earlier column, in some people's instinct prevails over reason and emotions, and that they suffer from a lack of confidence, are selfish and have little concern for others, as demonstrated in studies mentioned by Bradsher. The resulting road domineering, even intimidating, sometimes belligerent, driving behaviour feeds the fear of other drivers and helps create a detestable image of the Hummer. Ultimately, therefore, the reasons why some like the Hummer and other dislike it are the same; the latter’s hatred is nothing but the love of the first thwarted by something. That «something» is the driver’s self-image, constructed by the Hummer, unacceptable to those who do not like this vehicle.

Irresponsible Consumption

2007-11-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

On Thursday, November 29, I am pleased to be the guest speaker of the « Groupe de recherche en droit international et comparé de la consommation (Gredicc) » (Research Group on International and Comparative Law of consumption). The theme of my conference is « Modes de consommation irresponsables: Comment en est-on arrivé là? » (Irresponsible consumption: How did we get to this point?)

Interview on RDI live

2007-11-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

This morning I had the pleasure of being Louis Lemieux’s guest on « RDI en direct (weekend) » (RDI live week-end edition); it can be viewed on the programme’s website.

We have chatted about my recent book « Consommation et luxe – La voie de l’excès et de l’illusion » (Consumption and luxury – The path of excess and illusion) and about current events reported in three magazines, amongst which a special on perfumes in ELLE Québec, the Airbus 380 in a special issue of Science & Vie and in cell phone packages in Protégez-vous.

My next column will focus on the link between a vehicle and self-image; it will be published Tuesday, November 27.

See you then on my blog.

Publication of Consumption and luxury

2007-11-07T07:08:00.000-05:00

Monopolized by the publication of my book, « Consommation et luxe – La voie de l’excès et de l’illusion » (Consumption and luxury – The path of excess and illusion), planned in the coming days, I will not publish chronicles in the next few weeks; I shall resume in December. To receive word of my chronicles’ resumption, I invite you to subscribe to the RSS feed (http://benoit-consumption.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default).

If you want to meet me, come to the « Salon du livre de Montréal » (Montreal Book Fair); I will be at the Dimedia/Liber booth (# 531-532) Friday, November 16 from 6 pm to 7 pm and Saturday, November 17 from 3 pm to 4 pm . It will be a pleasure for me to meet you.

Why do some people detest the Hummer?

2007-10-30T11:26:00.000-04:00

The Hummer’s high fuel consumption and concerns for global warming are the main reasons mentioned by critics of this vehicle. Although these factors are not totally unrelated to this negative sentiment, they are not the real reasons; the truth lies elsewhere. What people detest is not its gluttony for fuel, nor really its size, since other vehicles, such as the Lincoln Navigator and Cadillac Escapade, consume just as much gas and are almost as large. Given the international community’s contempt to the American intervention in Iraq and the opposition of a majority of Americans to it, the military origin of the vehicle is an aggravating factor, yet still insufficient to justify a feeling of hatred; the Jeep is also of military origin and nobody hates it. We thus have to look elsewhere.

Alexander Sutherland Neill tells us that love and hate are in fact one and the same thing: Love and hate are not opposites. The opposite of love is indifference. Hatred is another side of love-a love thwarted. Hatred always contains an element of fear (A. S. Neill, Summerhill, A radical approach to education, Londres, Victor Gollancz, 7e impression, 1973, p. 301). What some people detest has more to do with the Hummer’s personality, most likely because it scares them somewhat, rightly so when one considers the appearance of the vehicle, the advertising slogans and arguments used to sell it, and sometimes even the aggressive behaviour of some Rambo randomly crossed on the road!

Wheels whose size allows the Hummer to “clamber over a 40 cm vertical barrier”, a ground clearance which places its grille at nose level, said grille evoking the gaping mouth of an animal with sharp teeth. Agreeably, those are elements that can intimidate most people. Marketing experts tell us that advertising is designed for a specific market segment; people who are not targeted can be indifferent to it, find it offensive even. Nevertheless, advertising has an impact on them! Do you really that the aggressive advertising arguments quoted in a recent blog, the best example of which being “Move in for the thrill”, can leave people that are not targeted indifferent? On the contrary, they can easily create a sense of instinctive aversion or worry, or even fear in people who are more sensitive than others.

Finally, without maintaining that all Hummer drivers are Rambos of the road, it is impossible to believe that the advertising arguments used have influence over them. The mere fact that they have purchased a Hummer contradicts this hypothesis.

The Hummer’s identity

2007-10-23T17:06:00.000-04:00

Last February I received an email from an owner of a Cadillac CTS, saying that to buy a vehicle he must “first fall in love” with it. In a PBS interview, Clotaire Rapaille concurs: “The PT Cruiser is a car [that] when people see it, they say, "Wow, I want it." Some people hate it; we don't care. There is enough people that say, "Wow, I want it," to make a big success […] What is it that make[s] the PT Cruiser a reptilian car? First, the car has a strong identity. What people told us is that "We're tired of these cars that have no identity. I have good quality, good gas mileage, good everything else, but when I see the car from a distance, I have to wait till the car gets close to know what it is, and I have to read the name." When you go to see your mother, she doesn't need to read your name to know who you are, you see? We want this reptilian connection. And so this notion of identity, absolutely key, was very reptilian for a car.”

The PT Cruiser is a break (station wagon) type vehicle whose design is somewhat retro; it has pleased a market segment so much, that General Motors felt the need to produce a similar vehicle, the Chevrolet HHR, which GM classifies as an SUV. The Hummer is also a vehicle with a strong personality. Here is what Rapaille thinks of it and of advertising used to promote it: “the Hummer is a car with a strong identity. It's a car in a uniform. I told them, put four stars on the shoulder of the Hummer, you will sell better. If you look at the campaign, brilliant. I have no credit for it, just so you know, but brilliant. They say, "You give us the money, we give you the car, nobody gets hurt." I love it! It's like the mafia speaking to you […] They’re not telling you, "Buy a Hummer because you get better gas mileage." You don't. This is cortex things. They address your reptilian brain.” This is a somewhat special conception of sales and marketing, to which I do not subscribe. However, I must bow before the evidence; this approach works with a segment of the population.

As we have just seen, the fact that some people detest the Hummer does not overly concern General Motors. At most, the managers of this GM subsidiary intend to focus on the H3 model, which has a lesser appetite for gas, and offer a slightly smaller model, the H4, in 2010. (Hummer’s Web site, consulted August 15 2007). However, I se this strategy more as a strategy to lower the product line (B. Duguay, Consommation et luxe, La voie de l’excès et de l’illusion, Montréal: Liber, 2007) rather than an attempt to seduce the Hummer’s opponents, a reaction to the decline in the sales of the H2 model of 22% in 2005 and 27% in 2006 (N. Bérubé, « Le Hummer sur une voie de garage », La Presse, 30 mai 2007, p. A24). Yet, I do not see the H2 disappear because, for some, its gas consumption alone is not sufficient reason to do without it; Gasoline consumption is a rational factor that may discourage some people, but not the true aficionados. Moreover, if the price of gasoline decreases a little, as it appears to be the case in the summer and fall of 2007, I would not be at all surprised to see sales of the H2 bounce back, or at least stop dropping.

SUV buyers

2007-10-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

Who are SUV buyers? Based on large scale market surveys performed yearly for the automobile industry, Keith Bradsher describes them as having little self-confidence and being conceited. They are often insecure about their marriage and uncomfortable with parenthood. They often lack assurance in their driving abilities. They are above all “self-centered” and “self-absorbed”, with little interest for their neighbours and communities (K. Bradsher, High and Mighty, SUVs – The world’s most dangerous vehicles and how they got that way, New York, Public Affairs, 2002, p. 101.)

It would thus be the survival instinct and expects for maximum safety without consideration for consequences to others that drive people to prefer SUVs, especially the Hummer whose military origin confers a particularly robust image. The vehicle’s disproportionate size, particularly in the case of the Hummer H2, also allows those driving it to literally and figuratively dominate the road. Now, in « Consommation et luxe, La voie de l’excès et de l’illusion » (Consumption and luxury, The way to excess and illusion - in libraries November 13, in French only for the time being) I mention the fact that one finds in luxury a desire to dominate others, making the Hummer an object of power.

Advertising for the Hummer contributes to create this feeling of domination by putting greater emphasis on the vehicle’s warrior image. Upon entering the Hummer’s home page (Hummer’s English version of the Canadian Web site, consulted August 15 2007), you are presented with a cloud of black smoke very suggestive of a battlefield, behind which hides the new Hummer H3 Limited Edition, and the slogan “Move in for the thrill”; this is a very aggressive pun on the expression “Move in for the kill” , which implies killing an enemy. Another advertising line “48 units are now standing by” reinforces the vehicle’s militaristic image. Advertising being a major cultural influence, should one be surprised to occasionally meet a somewhat aggressive Hummer driver? In such a case, Rapaille may be right; the reptilian brain dominates, wild instinct supersedes reason and emotions.

Hummer VS MINI

2007-10-09T12:36:00.000-04:00

In the following weeks, I invite you to a series of seven chronicles on the theme: Why do we love… or hate a vehicle? To shed light on this question, I will use two vehicles whose philosophies are a world apart: the Hummer and the MINI. Let us begin with the largest one.

The Hummer is in a class of vehicles commonly known as Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV), or 4X4; they are derived from the Jeep, a vehicle which has known its hours of glory on all theatres of operations of the Second World War. Originally conceived by the American Bantam Car Company, the US Army signed manufacturing contracts with Willys-Overland and Ford in 1941. After the war, Willys-Overland continued production alone, Ford no longer being interested; the company is sold to Kaiser in 1953, who continued production. Kaiser is bought by AMC in 1970, which got into a partnership with Renault in 1979; in 1987, Renault sold its stake to Chrysler, attracted by AMC’s Jeep division (4wheelz Web Site).

The Hummer leaves no one indifferent; some love it intensely, others hate it just as much. In fact, few vehicles, maybe none, give rise to such passion; have you ever heard someone say that he detests a Jeep, a Land Rover, a Ford Explorer, a Chevy Suburban…? Yet, they are SUV type vehicles! How should one understand these reactions?

First of all, let us consider those who love the hummer. SUVs became very popular in North America in the 1990s. Clotaire Rapaille teaches us that the reason of this popularity rests in the structure of the brain, which comprises three parts: the cortex, the limbic system and the reptilian brain. The first takes care of logic, learning, abstract thought and creativity. The second is the center of our emotions, which often take precedence over reason. The third is a remnant of the reptiles’ brain; this zone harbours the survival and reproduction instincts. Survival being more crucial to our existence than “feeling well” or “making sense” the reptilian brain always prevails. Instinct always wins over logic and emotion. Rapaille maintains that this happens to be the case for personal well-being, purchase decisions and even the choice of leaders (C. Rapaille, The Culture Code, New York, Broadway Books, 2006, p. 74).

I am not quite so definite; I would say rather than in some people, in certain circumstances, instinct prevails over reason and emotions. In others, in a different context, logic or emotions will triumph. In fact, intuition tells me that there is a close link between the predominance of one facet of the brain or another and self-image. Unfortunately, I have no empirical evidence to support my intuitive hypothesis for the moment.

I would like to know what you think of the reptilian brain theory.

Expects revisited

2007-09-24T12:14:00.000-04:00

Chapter 3 of my next book, Consommation et luxe (Consumption and luxury), is devoted to the study of expects (this a contraction of expectancies or expectations, a catchy term I have coined to best translate the French notion of «attentes». Here is an excerpt.

The theory of the needs, still used today as the basis of marketing by the vast majority of theorists of this discipline, must be replaced by a theory of expects, which better renders the complexity of purchase behaviour. (See B. Duguay, Consommation et image de soi, Montréal Liber, 2005. Also see R. Rochefort, La société des consommateurs, Paris, Odile Jacob, 1995.) Here is a graphical representation of this concept, which I refer to as the «Ring of expects» (PDF format). To better understanding the notion of expect, let us consider the purchase of a car. One may buy a specific model for various reasons: its low fuel consumption (makes functional expect), its reputation (symbolic expect), the image one wishes to project (aspirational expect), the driving pleasure (sensory expect), its reasonable price (financial expect), the dealer’s or salesman’s warm welcome (relational expect), the use of recycled materials in its construction (societal expect), the unique look of this model (aesthetic expect), the detailed and user-friendly information supplied by the manufacturer (informational expect), the speed of delivery (temporal expect). The final choice will undoubtedly take into account several factors, perhaps even all, each being weighted on a scale unique to each buyer.

An expect must be seen as a requirement the consumer wants to satisfy. It clarifies the hazy notion of need without translating immediately and obligatorily into a desire. If one’s most important expects with regards to a product are satisfied, this person may develop a desire for this good or service, desire which may later materialize in a want followed by a purchase. Contrary to needs, which marketing claim to be inborn and thus firmly anchored in the human being, expects are determined by countless elements; in the very first place, advertising and all other commercial communication actions, but also values of the society to which an individual belongs, his personal evolution, the product of technological development, largely broadcasted by all information channels … in short all stimuli to which a person is exposed. It is essential to understand that to each consumer expect corresponds an element, in the broadest sense, of the product; thus, to answer the functional expect of a durable garment, the product will have to call for a material which will ensure this durability, while communications will have to take part in building an image of durability.

Consumption and luxury

2007-09-10T10:09:00.001-04:00

Today, I start publishing my blog anew with the following three paragraphs drawn from a first version of Consommation et luxe (Consumption and luxury), my next book, to be published this fall (in French only for the time being).

« These Romans are crazy! » Many remember Obelix’s trademark phrase in the famed adventures of Asterix the Gaul (Uderzo and Goscinny, Book series, Paris: Dargaud editor). Confronted to the, strange to him, culture of the Roman people, he was thus expressing his dismay. I believe we will soon hear similar words from people to whom the consumer society culture will appear just as strange. « Cute baby » one could read on the front page of La Presse, one of Montreal’s daily French newspapers, on Thursday December 8, 2005. This catchy title referred to a series of articles relating to luxury products for babies, in the « Actuel » section of the day. « Luxury products for babies? », may some say to me. Well, yes! Our little ones have discovered a craving for luxury! The time is over when all babies were content with the same brand of soap, shampoo or powder, Johnson's in Quebec or Mustela in France; although these two brands are still very popular, in some circles the baby’s beauty of baby calls for Anthony, Kiehl's, Klorane and many others.

How did we get to there? Consumption has become an activity of foremost importance for most people in industrialized countries. Moreover, if branding, this business philosophy which emphasizes brand production, allowed said brands to experience stunning growth, it has also democratized, sometimes even damaged, them. Consequently, wearing brands does not allow one to sufficiently distinguish oneself, to project a unique image. What the hell, how can one appear to be different if everyone wears Nike or Tommy Hilfiger? What can people eager for differentiation do when brands no longer suffice? Luxury! Only luxury now allows some to distinguish from others, to rise, so they believe, above masses.

This said, don’t believe that I condemn all luxury goods and services. Luxury is necessary… even for those who are penniless, perhaps even more so for them since they, above all people, need a few pleasures in life. In fact, even Gilles Lipovetsky, famous critic of consumption, writes: « For a long time, the best minds have emphasized the universal, anthropological nature of luxury », supporting his words with this quotation from Shakespeare, « The poorest beggar always has superfluous little things! Reduce nature to the needs of nature and man is an animal », and concludes « Luxury is a dream, that which embellishes life’s decor, perfection made good by human genius. » (G. Lipovetsky, Le luxe éternel, De l’âge du sacré au temps des marques, Paris, éditions Gallimard, 2003, p. 19) If, for a rich person, luxury is the buying a condo in the

Bahamas

, for a less fortunate person it can be a treat such as an occasional dinner in a prestigious restaurant. To each his own luxury!

Respite

2007-06-13T07:18:00.001-04:00

Monopolized by the drafting of my book, « Consommation et luxe » (Consumption and luxury), to be published next fall, it is impossible for me to continue publishing a weekly chronicle. I will thus take a short break and begin anew in September. To receive word of my chronicles’ resumption, I invite you to subscribe to the RSS feed .

In the meantime, if you wish to communicate with me, use the email address accessible in my profile; I’ll gladly answer you.

Have a great summer!

Beyond Kyoto

2007-06-07T09:24:00.000-04:00

The G8 summit is an occasion for me to make a return on the chronicle «Kyoto and consumption» chronicle, published on April 27, 2007, in which I wrote: «Are those highly virtuous citizens, allegedly worried about the environment, truly willing to make an effort to change their habits and reduce their consumption?»

I was then, and still remain, with good reason, sceptic about the will of Quebecers, like citizens of other provinces and countries, to make an effort to reduce polluting emissions. True, a minority of citizens is willing to radically change their way of life to safeguard the planet, but such is not the case of the majority. Evidence of this can be found in the article « Environnement : oui aux mesures indolores » (Environment: yes to painless measures), published on Wednesday May 30 2007 in La Presse daily newspaper. Journalist François Cardinal wrote: «A very large majority of Quebecers are ready to act to counter climatic changes provided that this action does not require any sacrifice on their part.»

This article is based on the «Changements climatiques au Québec méridional: perceptions de la population générale et suggestions d'adaptations futures» (Climatic changes in southern Quebec: perceptions of the population at large and suggestions for future adaptations) survey from the «Institut national de santé publique du Québec» (Quebec national institute of public health). Here is an eloquent extract (page VIII): «Besides, it would seem that a majority of citizens would support national and international initiatives in as far as they do not require a significant change in their life style or sacrifice of their comfort for collective well being and in as much as that does not cost them a penny. Lastly, the majority would also have a strong attachment to status quo and would risk more to avoid a loss than to obtain a benefit.»

For millennia, the earth has gone through several cycles of warming and cooling; the current one is undoubtedly more pronounced due to human activity. This is not a reason to panic the population, set unattainable objectives and propose impracticable solutions. Obviously, it is imperative to act… intelligently. I favour setting perhaps less ambitious, but realistic objectives. Privileged solutions must be simple to implement and not constitute an obstacle to the population’s way of life, a position supported by Mario Roy.

In an editorial published on Monday February 5 207 in La Presse (page A15) this journalist wrote: «Quebecers talk big about being world champions of the environment. […] Why are Quebecers opposed are to a rise in electricity tariffs and to exploitation of hydraulic power? […] Why have sales of the largest and most luxurious sports utility vehicles (SUV) progressed by 17% and 6% respectively in Canada in 2006?» Amongst other things, he attributes this apparent contradiction to the fact «that the citizen indicates he will not sacrifice comfort and freedom which modernity gives him.» He looks upon technological development as a promising way to find solutions to climate warming: «Like the industrialist, the citizen will put a price on his sacrifices. Better still, he will prefer new clean technologies to them, new green processes, correct ecological behaviours… as long as they are without pain.»

Humans have shown their inventiveness at the time of humanity’s greatest crises; science has the made colossal progress. Think of antibiotics, technologies of communications, data processing and nuclear energy, which have resulted from research undertaken during the Second World War.

The same will be true today, provided that we devote resources and energies needed, rather than remaining locked up us in sterile polemics.

What do you think it?

Ecology and marketing: beware of scams

2007-05-29T09:34:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, wanting to eradicate undesirable weeds that invade our terrace, I went to a gardening centre to buy an herbicide; I accept the fact that dandelion be part of our lawn's ecological balance but refuse to see it invade the patio. On the other hand, concerned to use a weed killer without any toxicity for humans and animals when applied, and which doesn't leave any toxic residue in the environment, I wanted a so called ecological product. The one recommended by the merchant satisfied these criteria; its label mentioned the active element, acetic acid, in a proportion of 62,5 g per litre. I figured that it was an acetic acid solution a little more concentrated than vinegar. I thus bought a one litre spray bottle costing of 7,97 $ Can.

I applied the product; there was indeed a strong vinegar odour. I must admit its effectiveness; after an hour or two, the plants already started to desiccate. On the other hand, curiosity pushed me to search the Internet; I learned that commercial vinegar was usually a 5% acetic acid solution, that is to say 1,01 g per millilitre, therefore 101 g per litre. Vinegar sold in grocery stores is thus a solution 1,6 TIMES more CONCENTRATED than the product I bought. Pursuing my investigation further, I consulted the manufacturer's Web site; the detailed descriptive product leaflet indeed mentions as active ingredients acetic acid mainly (5-10 Wt.%), and in a lesser proportion, citric acid (3-7 Wt.%).

I was surprised, indeed shocked. Would it be a less concentrated solution of vinegar to which a small amount of citric acid was added? Save that the presence of a small proportion of lemon juice is the key of the effectiveness of this product? Being neither a chemist, nor a horticulturist, I cannot pass judgement with certainty on this question. On the other hand, if such is NOT the case, perhaps I was swindled! I bought vinegar at 7,97 $ Can. a litre, when I could have bought 4 litres for 2,59 $ Can. in a supermarket (Loblaws, «no name» brand)! I hate to admit this, but I fear this may be the case. The Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has tested vinegar, including the household variety, as a weed killer; you can read the results for yourself.

Ecological products are popular. Motivated by easy and quick profit, several companies undoubtedly will try to exploit the consumer with various «environmentally safe» products whose effectiveness is doubtful, or which could be replaced by inexpensive solutions.

Once again, the Latin expression «Caveat emptor», buyer beware, makes a lot of sense. I would very much like that people who have precise information concerning the product mentioned, or ecological products in general, post this information on the blog.

Consumption and narcissism

2007-05-15T05:34:00.000-04:00

Absorbed with grading student papers and exams, I present a shorter than usual chronicle today. While briefer, it will nonetheless be interesting, because I know the subject to be highly controversial and that my comments will leave no one indifferent. Some will applaud my intervention, but others, perhaps a majority, will disagree with me. I nevertheless allow myself this criticism. As I recently wrote a reader of this blog: «If I did not want to be criticized, I need only not publicize my opinions».

Some of us have seen advertising or a newspaper article concerning the «Body Worlds 2» exhibition presented at the Montreal Science Centre, from May 10 to September 16 2007. Thanks to the plastination process, those wishing to do so may now preserve their body indefinitely, and even display it publicly after their death. I agree that it is an innovative and useful technology to train scientists, doctors for instance. However, I have yet to be convinced about the allegedly educational and artistic use proposed; I don't understand why some reporters praise the genius of exhibiting corpses. I see nothing brilliant about exposing artificially preserved human bodies in grotesque postures.

In faculties of Medicine, respect is demanded for bodies donated to science by people wanting to contribute to the advancement of knowledge. Where is respect in such a display of human flesh?

If the consumer society has favoured the emergence of a fundamentally individualistic, indeed selfish, world, we have now reached a summit in narcissism for people who thus display themselves after their death. For those paying to see this gruesome show, it is more appropriate to talk about a voyeurism-like phenomenon. Moreover, it is truly revolting to see some get rich using such dubious methods.

Egocentricity in some, voyeurism or craving for profit in others; it is quite sad to see people thus forgetting human’s divine nature!

I'm eager to read your comments… whether you agree with me or not.

The use of fear in SAAQ’s advertising

2007-05-08T06:58:00.000-04:00

Again this year, the SAAQ (Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec) displays a lack of discernment in its choice of advertising theme. Confronted with a degrading road safety record, it chooses to use fear and guilt to induce an attitude change in faulty drivers. The chosen theme for 2007 is «Accidents hurt… a lot of people» and the setting is dramatic not to say plainly morbid. You may watch those ads on the SAAQ Web site.

Now, for a long time, studies show that the use of fear and guilt is not without danger. In fact, this strategy may induce a reaction opposite to the one intended (D. Cohen, Advertising, 1972, p. 418): «However, studies in the communication process have indicated that where people are highly anxious, the fear approach may not be successful, but in fact may boomerang so that the highly anxious individual would not accept the message». Furthermore, studies by Janis and Feshbach (1961) and Terwilliger (1963) have shown that a message calling upon fear, used for already anxious people, stimulates a person’s defences and impedes the change of attitude wished for. This phenomenon is confirmed by recent studies (K. E. Clow et D. Baack, Integrated Advertising, Promotion, & Marketing Communications, 2002, p. 308): «On the other hand, an advertisement with a high level of fear can be detrimental. A message that is too strong causes feelings of anxiety. This leads viewers to avoid watching the ad, by changing the channel or muting the sound».

It is surprising to see the SAAQ use this type of advertising again in 2007, since their use did not succeed in improving the road safety record; on the contrary, based on this organization’s own survey, it has worsened if anything, thus showing the low utility of the concept.

In addition to the risk of seeing those ads not allowing the SAAQ to meet its commendable objectives of reducing accidents and deaths on the roads, one must also consider another perverse effect: that of traumatizing sensitive people, in no way targeted by this advertising.

Completely on the other hand, the CSST (Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) understands that intense fear and shocking scenes are useless, even harmful. If the 2002 advertising «Do not let death do its work» called upon really gruesome scenes, the 2007 campaign «Do everything so that nothing happens» is on the contrary very positive; it illustrates the benefits of safety, using a subtle level of fear, which suggests dangers without causing negative reactions.

What do you think of SAAQ and CSST advertising?

Do you believe that SAAQ ads are too shocking? Too gruesome?

Do you agree with the use of the fear and the guilt in advertising from governmental or paragovernmental agencies?

Kyoto and societal expects

2007-05-01T12:48:00.000-04:00

The media storm surrounding the Kyoto protocol, subsequent to Minister Baird’s announcement of a plan to reduce greenhouse gases, is a wonderful occasion for me to present the notion of societal expects.

A growing number people seem to surround their consumption with concerns based on fundamental values of social equity and environmental safeguard. For example, statistics from Ipsos indicate that, between 2000 and 2002, the proportion of French people «having heard about equitable trade» almost quadrupled, reaching 32% (Plate-Forme pour le Commerce Équitable). In the United Kingdom, the Fairtrade Foundation reports that in 2005 «50% of the adult population can now identify the certification mark, up from 25% in 2003 and 39% last year». In France, fair trade products are already very popular, to the point of finding whole sections offering such products in Leclerc, Carrefour and Champion supermarkets. Thus the appearance of the «Fairtrade» label to certify equitable trade products.

True consumer requirements, societal expects are involved in all sectors and are impossible to ignore by companies. For instance, low consumption vehicles to reduce environmental pollution harmful and preserve oil, a limited resource. Also think of raw material recycling such as paper, glass, etc. Societal expects also concern recovery of dangerous material, those of the information technology industry for instance, whose products contain toxic metals. The service sector is also affected; several stakeholders in tourism have ecological (ecotourism) and social (sustainable tourism) concerns. One can also mention cultural heritage conservation, a major stake for several town planners, architects and other stakeholders in urban planning.

The highly mediated outburst around the Kyoto protocol and the ensuing political hijacking demonstrate that expects, societal and other, can often be emotive rather than strictly rational. Minister Baird’s plan is rational; it proposes a balanced solution between economic and environmental constraints. I’m quite certain that Premier Harper’s government will do more when it CAN. Criticisms are more of an emotive and symbolic nature; Kyoto has become a symbol and the warhorse of irreducible environmentalists. This illustrates particularly well the fact that societal expects may be related to, indeed become themselves, symbolic or aspirational expects.

What do you think?

Is the alarmist talk of some people more emotive than rational?

Must the Kyoto protocol be a statement of principles that guide human activities or a set of constraining environmental norms?

Are you personally satisfied with the plan suggested last week by Minister Baird?

What other concrete and achievable measures would you like to propose to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases?

Kyoto and consumption

2007-04-27T10:11:00.000-04:00

In the last couple of weeks, we have been entitled to the professions of faith of citizens, politicians and journalists, towards the dogma of the Kyoto protocol. Hand on the heart, they all proclaim their everlasting support for the norms of this agreement. This is only so much hypocrisy.

It is well known that several interest groups, encouraged by politicians whose good faith can be questioned, succeeded in creating, with the complicity of a few journalists, a psychosis around this question; a Globe and Mail survey reveals that more than 60% of Canadians wish to see the Kyoto objectives respected.

Environmental changes caused by human activity are very alarming; it is essential to take measures to control polluting emissions. Since such is the case, why has nothing been done in the last 10 years? That I know, Mr Harper’s government was not in power in 1998, neither in 2000, nor in 2004… It seems to me that several people who howl today did nothing to ensure the attainment of objectives when they had the capacity to do so.

Are those highly virtuous citizens, allegedly worried about the environment, truly willing to make an effort to change their habits and reduce their consumption? WE have created the consumer society and we all are its accomplices; nobody forces us to consume so much and so badly. Can one ignore the fact that consumption requires production, and that said production causes polluting emissions?

I’ll believe that people are serious about reducing those emissions when I see them consuming less and better. Buying smaller cars, not washing them every Saturday letting water flow for over an hour, not letting the engine idle for ten minutes, often more, in the winter to avoid boarding a cold vehicle, not overheating their houses in the winter and air-conditioning them to excess in the summer, etc.

For the first time, we have a plan and it is realistic. Of course, one can fault Minister Baird for not respecting the letter of the Kyoto protocol; his plan is nevertheless credible and pragmatic. My experience in business taught me that it is preferable to set lower objectives and reach them rather than to have too ambitious a target and miss it. If the opposition parties believe that they can do better, they should overthrow the current government, it is after all a minority government, get elected, propose a better plan and above all that that this plan be more than a theoretical program to get elected, in other words wishful thinking!

I have many other points to develop; I keep them for a forthcoming chronicle. For the moment, I would like to know your opinion on these various questions.

How worried are you about environmental changes?

Are Kyoto objectives attainable?

Are you willing to modify your consumption habits to reduce polluting emissions?

Are you ready to pay more for a product it the company that manufactures it uses more expensive, but less polluting, processes?

Relational expects

2007-04-17T10:38:00.000-04:00

Relational expects refer to a consumer’s wish for personal interactions. The most typical example of this type of expects is that of a client expecting advice from a salesperson when purchasing clothing, cosmetics, a car, etc. For that matter, not wanting the assistance of a salesperson is also a form of relational expect, which explains the existence of «warehouse» type stores in which customers help themselves. Even in traditional type stores that offer sales assistance to customer, salespeople must be sufficiently shrewd to detect clients who wish to choose without assistance. In this category of expects, one must also consider personal interactions with other users of a brand, within user groups such as AUG (Apple User Groups – Canada – United States – United Kingdom ), Miata (Okanagan Valley – Worldwide sites), Mini (Vancouver – United Kingdom) et HOG (Harley Owners Group – Canada – Worldwide sites). These groups are components of a brand; as such, they incite purchase.

Tourism provides many examples of products that appeal to relational expects, home exchange associations for instance. Belonging to such clubs of exchangers allows one to meet new people, to develop friendships and to maintain privileged personal relationships. The various travel classes featured by airlines are also a response to the diversity of expects travellers have regarding their preferred quality of service.

Financial expects

2007-04-10T09:37:00.000-04:00

Financial expects refer to the consumer’s demands regarding price, what it costs to purchase and use goods or services. Several factors influence those expects, particularly available financial resources and the consumer’s values. Some prefer to buy the least expensive product; others may be willing to pay a slightly higher price to reduce expenses related to product use. Wanting to pay a higher price may also often relate to image concerns.

There is a very close link between financial expects and those of other categories, particularly functional and symbolic. Thus, one may accept to pay a higher price, if convinced that the product is of a higher quality (functional expect) or for a prestigious brand (symbolic expect); some people systematically buy the most expensive products because they associate price to excellence. Those with a sharp social conscience will also accept to pay a slightly higher price for a product whose production process is respectful of the environment; the same is true of products distributed through fair trade. For example, «Fairtrade Coffee» is a more expensive product, but which «prevents the exploitation of coffee workers and growers. It ensures they earn a decent living and supports environmentally friendly growing practices».

In many cases, financial expects result in a compromise. For example, the buyer who would like to get the top-of-the-line model with all available options, but must be content with a less expensive model featuring fewer options. For that matter, leasing plans offered by manufacturers can be seen as another form of compromise: allowing the consumer to get a luxurious vehicle while avoiding a massive purchase expense. The fact that this type of contract is often more expensive in the long run is of lesser importance for the consumer.

Tourist products are also offered in a wide range of prices corresponding to a variety of functional, symbolic, relational, etc. expects. In my opinion, in the field of tourism, the most interesting phenomenon concerning financial expects is the offer of plane tickets at bargain prices on Internet sites, for last minute reservations; for example, «ebookers.com» in the United Kingdom, «CheapTicketsCanada.Com» in Canada and «Cheapflights.com» in the United States. If in Canada airlines such as «WestJet» offer low cost regular flights, in Europe, «easyJet» and «Ryanair» offer incredibly low airfares for flights to the United Kingdom and continental Europe. This relatively new distribution network fully answers expects of consumers whose main concern is to pay the minimum price.

What have your financial expects been for your last important purchase?

Sensory expects

2007-04-03T08:15:00.000-04:00

Sensory expects first relate to the pleasure, or rather the pleasures, of consumption itself, to the satisfaction of getting what one wants. They also express pleasure of the senses driven from the use products purchased. Finally, the pleasure can relate to pleasant memories associated to a product or a brand.

Advertising in general suggests the satisfaction obtained merely from consumption itself; the increasingly frequent use of sensual, even of sexual, images, texts or scenarios, to sell anything and everything, reinforces this aspect. Regarding sensual bliss, one can think of the gustatory pleasure associated with food, the tactile pleasure linked with the feel of a silky fabric, the pleasant sensation of cleanliness experienced using such a body soap, the olfactory pleasure triggered by perfume, etc. To understand the pleasure involving memories, merely think about vacationers or tourists: having returned home, they seek to prolong pleasant memories of their trip by consuming products either imported from the country they visited or whose symbolism evokes their journey.

Hedonism is often used to sell tourist products; in fact, a chain of super vacation resorts chose the name Hedonism II. In 2005, its web site featured devotion to pleasure, particularly pleasure of the senses, «a non-stop flat out party», «an active vacation for the mind, body, spirit and soul». In 2007, the chain created the «Hedonistic Delights» product line, «amenities & services to suit all your guilty pleasures».

Does the search for sensory pleasures influence your purchase decisions?

Does the search for pleasure drive you to consume more?

IGOR and the law: who’s to blame?

2007-03-27T10:40:00.000-04:00

Under the terms of the Consumer Protection Act, the « Office de la protection du consommateur » (Consumer Protection Agency) issues 36 violation reports against Saputo; the company may be subject to fines totalling $60,000. These accusations are made in response to a complaint lodged last month by the « l’Union des consommateurs » (Union of consumers) and the « Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids » (Quebec coalition about problems of the weight); both organizations demanded that Saputo’s promotional campaign for IGOR muffins in day care centres be stopped. The company did not react to these accusations yet; if it decides to dispute them, a judge will ultimately have to decide on their cogency.

Besides the legal aspect of these commercial actions, one must also question the day care centres’ responsibility in this matter. Obviously, their collaboration was necessary to implement this promotional campaign. Now, I don’t hear anybody admonishing in the least the managers of these organizations; yet, they agreed to collaborate in the launching of this product of a questionable health value in return for some compensation, financial or other. Keep in mind that article 5 of the Educational Childcare Act states an obligation to develop healthy eating habits in children.

Do Saputo’s promotional actions for IGOR muffins shock you?

Was the Consumer Protection Agency’s intervention necessary to protect children?

Was the Consumer Protection Agency’s reaction overly severe?

Should Saputo solely bear responsibility?

Is the accommodating stance of day care centres open to criticism?

Should the government intervene with day care centres under the terms of the Educational Childcare Act?

I would really like to know your opinion on these questions!

Aspirational expects

2007-03-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Aspirational expects address another form of symbolism, one which is much more deeply rooted. They reflect the consumer’s fundamental aspirations: personal values, self-image, self-esteem, etc. Aspirational expects are amongst the most influential elements on consumption.

Cosmetics and perfumes offer excellent examples of products that appeal to the consumer’s aspirational expects; the image of femininity, very much apparent in Lancôme’s advertising for its Trésor fragrance, is a response to such an aspiration amongst some women; other perfumes may use the image of a very active professional woman to answer aspirations of a different group. Cosmetics pledge to fulfil the wishes of those aspiring to beauty, and to be a Fountain of Youth for those seeking eternal youth.

In the field of tourism, several products aim to answer aspirational expects. Religious tourism notably: all countries that feature several churches, basilicas, cathedrals, mosques, temples, attract thousands of visitors each year. Some seek spiritual inspiration, others a form of sacred art, others still cultural exoticism.

Various destinations propose a unique experience, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain for instance. Each year, pilgrims journey on foot, cycling or by car, the routes that lead to it, through Spain, France and at time from further still. In fact, it is so popular that associations exist to promote the routes and site: the Société française des amis de Saint Jacques de Compostelle, established in Paris in 1950, and the Confraternity of Saint James, founded in the United Kingdom in 1983. The motives that drive people to live this experience are complex: spiritual, religious, cultural, artistic, physical, etc.

Do you know what your deeply rooted aspirations are?

Do you think that they influence your consumption?

In retrospect, in the light of what precedes, what are the aspirational expects that have influenced your last important purchase?

Symbolic expects

2007-03-13T08:07:00.001-04:00

Marketing specialists are very much aware of the fact that goods and services are often purchased more for their symbolic than functional value. Symbolic expects aim at associating the product to a symbol the consumer wants: fashion, status, life style, social class, wealth, power, technological modernity, etc. One seeks an image, a given life style for instance. Thus, the practice of many sports «requires» wearing such and such equipment and clothing that have become symbols, almost fetishes, of this practice; even beginners will want to be thus equipped to meet the standard the image. In very much the same way, many tourists seek prestige products to answer their symbolic expects: luxurious hotels, exclusive destinations, a sporting life style featured by large vacation resorts, etc.

Symbolic expects answer the consumer’s concern regarding the opinion of others about him. Well-known brands of clothing, accessories, cosmetics, perfumes... are then bought as prestige symbols. Symbolism attached to these brands (wealth, prestige, social class, etc.) is often synonym of durability; brand awareness developed by their owners often has an enormous financial value. Conversely, some eccentric clothing fashions are, by nature, short-lived; however, this is often what people are seduced by, because such garments procure exclusiveness to those wearing them. Once a fashion is adopted by a large number of people, it loses its attractiveness.

Some consumers systematically buy only one well-known brand, because it is a symbol of dependability; to some extent, they buy the image of security products of this brand feature. This is especially true with new technologies. A manager may thus want to convey a favourable image to the company. In the event of a problem, he will protect his reputation by maintaining that if the «best» could not fulfill their expectations, no one else could have.

Therefore, in a whole series of cases, symbolic expects largely supersede functionality; however, many will nevertheless seek a compromise between both aspects. In your opinion, does advertising call upon symbolism too much? To what extent do you believe to be influenced by these symbolic appeals?

Functional expects

2007-03-06T11:31:00.000-05:00

Functional expects refer to consumer requirements regarding the utilitarian aspects of a product; goods or services must fulfil the function for which one buys them. They express benefits sought by clients: safety, durability, ease of use or maintenance, performance, etc. They influence the physical characteristics of the product, technology used, etc.

Clothing, childrenswear in particular, provide good illustrations of functional expects. In order to satisfy a safety benefit, they must be manufactured with a fireproofed fabric. To offer a durability benefit, the material must also be resistant to wear. A wear-out guarantee, already offered by some manufacturers, is another component related to durability. Fast-drying underwear, advertised by a well-known brand of travel clothing, is another example of product that appeals to functional expects.

In the field of tourism, booklets of various tour operators provide many illustrations of functional expects. For people seeking effortlessness, as much in the choice of destination as in the course of their journey, one finds fixed price, all inclusive, package deals. For those seeking to see much during a short vacation, a benefit related to performance, one finds tours featuring travel by night and visits in the daytime, in several cities or even several countries.

But the best example of formally stated functional expects is without a doubt the request for proposal process based on an often very elaborate statement of work; this document contains numerous characteristics suppliers must respect. This procedure often aims a performance benefit. For instance, with regards to information technology related purchases, respect of specifications insure sufficient storage capacity, a response time lower than an established standard, compatibility with existing equipment or software, etc.

To give rise to new expects, differentiate a product and inflate the unit profit margin, several companies incorporate so many new features in their products that those lose some functionality. Such is the case of several cellular phones and some motor vehicles. It is absolutely impossible to use certain functions or accessories without consulting a user manual often counting hundreds of pages, a daunting and often unfruitful ordeal.

Talk to me about your experience with a product that has lost its functionality.

What is it that really makes you buy?

2007-03-02T12:37:00.000-05:00

Contrary to what marketing theoreticians would have us believe, one does not buy to satisfy inborn needs, but to build and maintain an image. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is useful to understand the consumer’s fundamental motivation, why he wants to consume — the human being has limitless desires. However, my field experience in marketing and sales, leads me to conclude to this concept’s uselessness for product development of and the construction of an argumentation aiming to convince customers. Neither does this concept allow us consumers to become aware of the fact that we consume too much and we consume badly. We buy because we believe to be fulfilling a need, without understanding what has driven us to buy.

To supplement the needs concept, as a foundation of consumption, I propose to use the notion of expects (this is a contraction of expectancies or expectations, a catchy term I have coined to best translate the French notion of « attentes »), used by Rochefort to describe the immaterial value the consumer wishes to see built-in a product; this concept allows a better understanding the consumer’s unsatisfied wants, commonly, and wrongly, called needs.

The concept of expects has the advantage of translating well the expression of needs, something marketing researchers achieve using the concept of wants. However, whereas wants convey a will to possess, expects express an expectancy to obtain certain benefits. Thus, expects better renders the idea of requirement to satisfy without adding the dimension of imminence of the decision attached to wants. In other words, if a consumer’s expects with respect to a product are satisfied, he may develop a desire for this product; this desire may then concretize in the form of a want.

The theory of expects takes into account both the product and the consumer, each expect of whom must necessarily correspond to a product component, for the latter to become « desirable ». The term component should not be taken in the strict sense of physical characteristic of the product but in the broader sense of constituent element. Thus, the name of the product, its packaging, the image created around it using advertising, and other elements, are deemed to be product components.

Countless elements influence expects, above all society’s dominant values, significant events, the evolution of a person’s concerns and aspirations, marketing efforts, etc. New expects and even of new categories of expects may thus appear at any moment. Hence, it is relatively easy to generate new expects for the consumer by offering products with original components; in fact, this is the method used by manufacturers to differentiate their respective products. Memory chips, faster, with increased capacity, and less expensive, well illustrate this phenomenon in the case of technology based products.

Consumer expects are multidimensional; a purchase may involve only one, several or all categories of expects. To account for requirements prevailing in a purchase situation I propose a non exhaustive list of ten types of expects — a list obviously subjected to social and historical variations — that can explain in a more detailed manner what the concept of expects covers. I propose a graphical representation of this list, which I refer to as the « Ring of expects » (PDF format).

To better understand the notion of expect, let us consider the purchase of a car. One may buy a specific model because of its low gas consumption (functional expect), because the brand is well rated (symbolic expect), because the vehicle is associated with an image of youth which this person seeks (aspirational expect), because of the pleasure of driving it (sensory expect), because of its reasonable price (financial expect), because the sales person’s warm welcome (relational expect), because construction makes use of recycled materials (societal expect), because the person likes the unique color of this model (aesthetic expect), because the manufacturer’s Web site features detailed and user friendly information (informational expect) and because the car may be delivered within a few days (temporal expect). I will detail each type of expect in forthcoming chronicles.

What do you think of IGOR?

2007-02-26T07:45:00.000-05:00

IGOR is a sympathetic mascot, a small gentle gorilla, created by the Vachon Company to sell new Gorilla shaped muffins, obviously intended for children. IGOR even has his own Web site, whose evocative name is « Igor and me ».

To sell its product, Vachon setup a promotional campaign, well described on the Infopresse portal: « The promotional campaign sets Igor the gorilla in the limelight. Over 1000 Early Years Centres in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes are targeted. Those day care centres will receive a CD of Igor’s dance, posters illustrating the mascot’s dance, bags from children containing a booklet relating to the history of Igor and his jungle friends, advocating good nutrition and physical activity, stickers and two Igor muffins from Vachon, as well as rebate coupons.

Also, 20 participating day care centres will win a group daytrip of their choice, a $3000 value, including animation with the gorilla spokesperson. » Promotional bags in question are also distributed to selected households; I got one at home. Perhaps you did too? This is nothing new; this method is often used to launch new products.

The campaign shocked the « l’Union des consommateurs » (Union of consumers) and the « Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids » (Quebec coalition about problems of the weight). In a press release, founding their claim on article 248 of the Consumer Protection Act, these two organizations ask the « Office de la protection du consommateur » (Consumer Protection Agency) to order the withdrawal of the promotional material from day care centres.

Now, at first glance, Vachon’s commercial practices do not seem to contravene article 248 of the Consumer Protection Act, which has historically been applied to advertising in traditional media, mainly television. A stated in article 90 of the Regulation respecting the application of the Consumer Protection Act, the use of advertisement directed at children is allowed on a container, a wrapping or a label. As far as the mascot is concerned, its use is clearly authorized by paragraph « l » of article 91 of said regulation, which states that « a character created expressly to advertise goods or services is not considered a character known to children if it is used for advertising alone ». Companies have been using mascots for ages to sell foodstuff to children. For instance, Tony the Tiger, Snap, Crackle and Pop, and Toucan Sam, mascots which are still used today as depicted in Kellogg’s Canada’s Web site.

On the other hand, one can question the conformity of the booklet relating to IGOR’s history. Indeed, to me, this promotional material seems to be an « advertising insert », under the terms of article 88 of the application regulation; it is stated that advertisement may be exempt from the application of article 248 of the Act if it appears « in a magazine or insert directed at children » (paragraph « a ») AND if this insert is « FOR SALE or inserted in a publication which is FOR SALE » (paragraph « b »), which does not seem to e the case here. However, being neither jurist nor lawyer, I cannot pass judgment with certainty on these questions. We shall see; the « Office de la protection du consommateur » inquires into the matter.

In any case, lets look into the « health » content of the message instead, a must, given the population’s preoccupations in this respect for many years; presenting sweets as healthy food and especially affixing the « Health Check » logo, of the Hearth and Stroke Foundation of Canada, to the packaging and promotional material, amounts to shameless cynicism. One must question the product certification criteria that must be met to display this logo; would our toddlers be threatened of cardiopathy? Perhaps this foundation should be a little more selective with respect to the products on which it authorizes the display of its logo or revise its certification criteria. But again, Vachon is not the only producer of foodstuffs to promote the nutritional aspect of a product, for instance the fact that it contains whole grains, while avoiding granting too much importance to undesirable nutrients, such as sugar, salt and fats. Why then suddenly condemn the IGOR campaign so harshly?

What one should rather question is the opportunism of day care centres participating to the IGOR campaign. There is something shocking about a government sponsored organization accepting advantages, financial or other, in exchange for its help to market a product. This is particularly true when the product is sweets and the organization devoted to the well-being of children. In addition to this moral responsibility of the organization, let us not forget its legal responsibility, since article 5 of the Educational Childcare Act states an obligation to enforce an educational program « providing an environment conducive to the development of a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating habits and behaviour that have a positive effect on the children's health and well-being. »

I am not opposed to the fact that a child may, occasionally, eat sweets; we all did as a child, and most of us still indulge now and then. Besides, I may be wrong; IGOR muffins may be healthy food? But, if such is the case, why is the « Coalition québécoise sur la problématique du poids » opposed to their promotion in day care centres? Are the group daytrips and animation from which children will benefit sufficient reasons to tolerate the IGOR promotion in day care centres? Does the IGOR campaign shock you? If so, what is it that shocks you, Vachon's promotional actions or the complicity of day care centres? Talk to me! I'm eager to read your comments!

Do you really need it?

2007-02-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

We consume too much and we consume badly. « Consumption has become the main activity of our society. Other eras left us cathedrals or other monuments indicating the importance of certain values, religious or not; the temples of the current era are these immense shopping centres that allow people to regularly pay homage to the god of consumption (S. Mongeau, La simplicité volontaire, plus que jamais…, Montréal, Écosociété, 1998, p. 45). »

This excerpt from Consommation et image de soi’s introduction depicts my position on the consumer society admirably well; indeed, it was cited in a television interview at simondurivage.com. I conclude the book with a question to ask oneself before buying: « Do I really need it? ».

In a general way, and more specifically within industrialized societies, people must consume products daily to satisfy the necessities of life. Both consumers and marketing theoreticians call these necessities needs. For consumers, needs are an evidence. Don’t we often say « I need it » to justify a purchase? For the manufacturer, producer or entrepreneur, who conceives products with the aim of selling them, identifying consumer needs appears essential. Marketing taught him that he must first discover unsatisfied needs in potential customers and then develop products with suitable characteristics to fulfill those needs.

Thus, the consumer experiences needs and makes every effort to satisfy them. For manufacturers, needs are operational realities: identifying market needs allows them to sell products to millions of people. Nevertheless, marketing theoreticians could not be satisfied with this observation: they conceptualized needs. They have used Maslow’s theory of motivation to define the motives behind purchasing decisions (A. H. Maslow, Motivation and Personality, New York, Harper & Row, 1954).

A review of marketing literature from the 1970s onward reveals six principles underlying the concept of needs:

needs are inborn to the consumer;
marketing efforts cannot create a need;
marketing efforts may create a desire (or want);
advertising only associates a product with an existing consumer need;
needs may be functional or symbolic;
consumers seek to satisfy symbolic needs more than functional needs.

The most important weakness of this theory resides in considering needs to be inherent to the consumer. Let’s consider the purchase of a car for instance. Some may justify it by an inborn need for transportation; others may see in it the satisfaction of an inborn need for prestige, in the case of a luxury model from a reputable manufacturer. In both cases, the inborn nature of the need may appear obvious. Yet, neither of these needs existed at birth; nor did they appear without reason or influence. What has given rise to them? The needs concept recognizes the existence a symbolic dimension; moreover, it admits the primacy of symbolic needs over functional needs. Consequently, it implicitly acknowledges the existence of a social influence on needs, which contradicts the inborn nature of consumer needs.

This incoherence is resolved by establishing a radical distinction between needs and desires (or wants). Some may say that needs are human requirements, while desires (or wants) result from cultural and marketing influences. For instance, an American may need a means of transportation, which translates into a desire and demand for a North-American make. On the other hand, a Frenchman may feel the same need, but satisfy it with a European make. Yet, in his theory of motivation, on which the needs marketing theory is based, Maslow makes no such difference. He uses the terms needs, drives and desires as though they were interchangeable.

Thus, if marketing can influence wants, it can promote the emergence of needs. Moreover, this task is largely simplified by the fact that, according to Maslow, the satisfaction of needs can only be transitory.

Maslow’s theory of the motivation is, seemingly, attractive to support the needs concept presented in marketing theory. Understandably, it appealed to specialists seeking letters of nobility at the time of the original theoretical development of this science. Yet, I do not share their interpretation of Maslow’s theory. On the contrary, far from presenting needs as inborn, I believe that his work shows needs’ social nature and the ease with which they may be created, given the transitory contentment drawn from their satisfaction, especially by the consumption of a product or service.

In a forthcoming chronicle, I will present the theory of « expects » I have developed; based on my business experience, and on recent writings in sociology and psychology, it provides a better understanding of consumer motivations and requirements.