Robert Rosenblatt Consulting

I just finished a new blog post about my favourite coffee shop, Grinder cafe, and their campaign. Check it out and leave any comments you have.

Idris Elba, Coffee, and the Little Cafe that Could Grinder Café is a cute little coffee shop near the corner of Pape and Gerrard in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It’s the type of place where the owner, Joelle, will step out from behind the counter, eye…

Exciting news today as I met a new potential client. Cabbagetown is being good to me.

If you're a small business looking to up your social media game, it's always important to refresh yourself with the facts on social media. And, as always, Pew Research Centre has a handy little fact sheet to check out.

Social Media Fact Sheet Today around seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves. Explore the demographic patterns and trends shaping the social media landscape.

Dear FB friends,

Over the past few months, It's become clearer and clearer that money and profit has been the driving factor for innovations in marketing strategy and tools. Ideas are driven by the bottom line. We're letting the ends justify the means. I don't remember the last time I read a post asking how someone could increase their value offering. Instead, it's all about how to maximize revenue while minimizing costs, instead of seeking a profitable and healthy relationship. Altruism and cooperation are falling way behind greed and profit>people thinking. I don't see the intrinsic value in helping rich people get richer.

Isn't it time to search for and reward those who prioritize positive change? Can we change the corporate mindset that rewards the top at the expense of everything else? For instance, I'd love to see a company tie their bonuses to the completion of projects with societal and environmental goals. Companies that actively support and promote women in tech programs should receive extra consideration when awarding government contracts. Why should the lowest bid win the contract when there's a constant stream of news stories about large government projects going over budget?

We support companies who are green and ecofriendly. They're relatively easy to find as the government takes steps to promote and publicly recognize companies that go above and beyond.

In the future, It would be amazing to see companies have a rating posted similar to Zagats ratings for restaurants with scores for things like environmental initiatives, promoting positive change, people>profit score, etc.

This type of change needs to come from all of us working together. Push your local representatives to consider changes to the way they do business with companies. Seek out companies you support and promote them to others...and tell them why you support them.

Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

~r

In Toronto, we have two annual food festivals called Summerlicious and Winterlicious that are run by the City of Toronto. They were started in 2003 after the SARS scare to encourage people to get back into the vibrant dining and nightlife that Toronto had. The prices are set by the city, advertised as part of the festival, and fall into 3 categories for dinner...$28, $38, and $48.

To my knowledge, the 3-course, set menus for 'licious' rarely pay for themselves. There is very little profit, if any, to be made during this festival and many restauranteurs don't look forward to participating but feel it's a necessity to stay competitive.

Do promotions like Summerlicious/Winterlicious work as they were intended or should they be discontinued?

Your thoughts?
http://torontoist.com/2015/07/an-inside-look-at-summerlicious/

An Inside Look at Summerlicious Torontoist contributor and restauranteur Samira Mohyeddin gives an industry view on the mixed emotions that come with Summerlicious and Winterlicious.