Mindful Marketing
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Mindful Meter & Matrix
    • Leadership
  • Mindful Matters Blog
  • Engage Your Mind
    • Mindful Ads? Vote Your Mind!
  • Expand Your Mind
  • Contact

Silencing the Slurp

11/17/2017

14 Comments

 
Picture

by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

What do you like most about your favorite food: the enticing appearance, the alluring smell, the delicious taste?  How about the intriguing noise?  Of course, most foods don’t make significant sounds when eaten, and if they do, they’re generally not pleasing ones.  Such a sound problem, however, is exactly what a Japanese company has purposed to fix for one of its nation’s staple foods.
 
Japan is a country of great cuisine that includes sushi, tempura seafood, miso soup, and ramen noodles.  So, what Japanese fare is responsible for emitting unpleasant sounds?  The noise is in the noodles.

The world is home to all kinds of pasta and noodle-eating techniques from twirling, to stabbing, to scooping.  In Japan, the preferred method is slurping, which basically means using chopsticks to start the noodles into one’s mouth, then inhaling.
 
That approach works well, both in terms of eating efficiency and enjoyment—many Japanese believe slurping is the best way to appreciate the full flavor of the noodles.  With slurping, however, comes sounds that some people, namely Westerners, find unsavory.  That’s where Nissin’s “noise-cancelling” fork comes in.
 
That’s right, this Japanese company has developed a piece of flatware, called Otohiko, that aims to eliminate the noise of slurping noodles.  How is it possible to silence such a sound?  Well, the fork has a highly directional microphone inside its electric toothbrush-looking handle that senses the slurping, then signals an app-connected smartphone to play “a loud, electronic noise that sounds like waves washing ashore combined with futuristic space sounds.”

But, does this technique really eliminate the slurping noise, or does it just cover it up, the way some people try to mask their post-workout pungency with a few swipes of a deodorant stick?  As Nissin’s video shows, it’s a little bit of both.  Apparently, the company has conducted extensive research of slurps, which has led to the creation of the aforementioned sounds that strategically conceal the slurping beneath the louder swooshes and swishes of the app.

It’s not surprising that a firm found in a nation known for its technological leadership would identify an electronic answer to an ancient eating issue.  One might wonder, though, whether the problem is significant enough to warrant such a sophisticated and expensive solution, not to mention whether it really works.
 
Nissin expects each utensil to retail for 14,800 yen, or $130, which certainly isn’t cheap compared to most flatware.  The fork will not be found in any stores, however, unless the company hits a goal of 5,000 pre-orders.  Only then will manufacturing begin.

On one hand, Nissin can be commended for its broad cultural sensitivity.  Here’s a Japanese company that’s trying to respect the sound sensibilities of Westerners, while allowing its own citizens to enjoy one of their favorite foods to the fullest.  The intentions seem noble.
 
Of course, we also know “the road to . . . is paved with . . .”  That’s not to suggest that anything about Nissin’s product is immoral, but rather that consumers’ response to the fork may not be as favorable as the company would hope.  Here are three questions that suggest concern about the product’s mass market potential:

1)  Will users of the fork be satisfied with a sound cover-up?  True, those within earshot, will no longer discern the slurping, but they’ll hear other noises that may also be irritating.  Plus, if one connects the new noises to the slurping, ala Pavlov’s classical conditioning, suddenly the manufactured sounds carry the same negative associations.

2)  Is the fork a practical solution?  Most people don’t want to carry around their own utensils, especially one as big as an electronic toothbrush, to restaurants, etc.  Transporting becomes an even greater inconvenience after the fork has been used.  Where do you stash a dirty fork?  There’s also the issue that if the user’s phone, which generates the camouflaging sounds, is going to be heard, it needs to be placed in the open, with volume turned up, which adds unexpected phone calls and text messages to the list of possible dining distractions.
 
3)  Is the product worth the price?  One hundred and thirty dollars is considerable cash to plunk down on an implement that may get very little use.  Along those lines, one also might suspect that the same Japanese consumers who prefer to slurp their noodles may want to eat them with chopsticks, not a fork.  Maybe, then, Nissin should make noise-cancelling chopsticks instead.
 
It’s great when people care enough about others to alter their own behavior in order to make someone from another culture feel more comfortable.  Nissin certainly seems to have that intent, but unfortunately it’s unlikely that its innovative flatware with find significant success.  For that reason, the firm’s noise-canceling fork should be considered “Simple-Minded Marketing.”


Picture
Picture
Subscribe to Mindful Matters blog.
Learn more about the Mindful Matrix and Mindful Meter.
Check out Mindful Marketing Ads
 and Vote your Mind!
14 Comments

Breathing Easier

11/2/2017

13 Comments

 
Picture

by David Hagenbuch, founder of Mindful Marketing & author of Honorable Influence

When thinking of things you do most often each day, working, eating, and checking your cellphone may come to mind.  However, there’s another essential activity we tend to forget that everyone does with even greater frequency—breathing.  Unfortunately, that involuntary behavior is becoming more dangerous for a greater number of people.  It’s good, therefore, that a German company has developed an innovative device to make for better breathing.  
 
It’s tempting to think that what we don’t see can’t hurt us, but that belief couldn’t be more misleading when it comes to air quality.  In 2012, over 6.5 million people died from diseases related to air pollution worldwide.  That 11.6% of all global deaths, making air pollution “the fourth-largest threat to human health, behind high blood pressure, dietary risks and smoking.”  Or, to frame it differently, more people died from air pollution-related diseases in 2012 than died from tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and road injuries combined.
 
We might think those risks belong to others because the air we breathe seems fine, but “more than nine out of 10 of the world’s population – 92% – lives in places where air pollution exceeds safe limits, according to research from the World Health Organization (WHO).”  So, air pollution should be everyone’s concern.

One company that has made better breathing its mission is Green City Solutions.  The Berlin-based company has developed “The world’s first bio-tech filter to quantifiably improve air quality.”  When you think “air filter” you might picture what’s under your car’s hood or in your home’s HVAC system; however, Green City’s “CityTree” filters look more like a piece of lawn than layers of ribbed paper.
 
Each filter, which is about 3.5 square meters in size (9.84 ft. wide x 13.12 ft. high x 7.19 ft. deep), contains an inner layer of moss that “binds particulate matter, produces oxygen and cools the air.”  However, moss’s unique ability to permanently integrate pollution particles into its own biomass comes with a limitation:  The low-profile plant needs amble water and shade to survive, which are noticeably missing in many urban areas.
 
Fortunately, Green City has developed a solution.  An outer layer of shade-giving plants protects the moss from direct sun, while an automated water supply keeps the all of the plant-life hydrated.  In addition, built-in solar panels provide the energy needed for each CityTree to function, and integrated IoT technology transmits environmental and performance data in real time.  In sum, CityTree is a both a natural and intelligent air filter.
 
As a result, each CityTree can provide “the same environmental benefit 275 actual trees would. It’s able to absorb some 250 grams of particles per day, removing 240 metric tons of carbon dioxide every year.”  The key is the moss’s larger leaf structure, which allows the ‘lowly’ plant to absorb more pollutants than any other vegetation.

But, air filtering isn’t the only thing that a CityTree offers.  An installation can also include a built-in bench in a variety of woods, offering a pleasing place for people to lounge.

So, what do CityTrees cost?  They average about $25,000, installed.  That’s considerable cash for an air filter, but they seem to be well-worth the price when one considers the deadly outcomes of air pollution mentioned above and each CityTree's unique purification potential.

Also, the cost can be offset by an optional advertising display.  If a city persuades a company to underwrite an installation, that firm can have its name or other promotional message placed tastefully on the giant filter.

However, an important concern is the efficacy of Green City’s post hoc air-cleaning versus more preemptive pollution control.  As Gary Fuller, an air effluence expert at King's College London, suggests, there’s no way to route automobile emissions and other urban pollution to CityTrees the way the air in a house is channeled through the home’s AC filter.  The best solution, therefore, is to stop pollution before it’s made, rather than trying to capture it after the fact.

Fuller’s point is a good one.  By way of analogy, driver-assistance technology that can help avoid car accidents, like a lane departure warning, is more ideal than devices that lessen injury after accidents happen or as they occur.  Still, automobile manufacturers shouldn’t stop installing airbags and mounting seatbelts.  At least at this point, saving lives in car accidents should continue to be a multipronged, before-and-after approach.

The same is true for pollution control.  Until air pollution is no longer produced, it’s important to try to reduce what’s already been made.  However modest it may be, that reduction will also save lives.

As of this past June, Green City had installed about 20 CityTrees in many major metropolitan areas around the world, including Brussels, Hong Kong, Oslo, and Paris.  The company’s sales success is helping our world breathe a little easier, which deserves to be called “Mindful Marketing.”


Picture
Picture
Subscribe to Mindful Matters blog.
Learn more about the Mindful Matrix and Mindful Meter.
Check out Mindful Marketing Ads
 and Vote your Mind!
13 Comments
    Subscribe to receive this blog by email

    Editor

    David Hagenbuch,
    founder of
    Mindful Marketing    & author of Honorable Influence

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    + Decency
    + Fairness
    Honesty7883a9b09e
    * Mindful
    Mindless33703c5669
    > Place
    Price5d70aa2269
    > Product
    Promotion37eb4ea826
    Respect170bbeec51
    Simple Minded
    Single Minded2c3169a786
    + Stewardship

    RSS Feed

    Share this blog:

    Subscribe to
    Mindful Matters
    blog by email


    Illuminating
    ​Marketing Ethics ​

    Encouraging
    ​Ethical Marketing  ​


    Copyright 2020
    David Hagenbuch

Proudly powered by Weebly