The Contata @ RM880 from CBTL and the Piccolo @ RM 399 from Nestle

Entry level CBTL capsule machine CONTATA @ RM880

Weight & Dimension & Pressure

Now both machines have very big difference in terms of size and weight. CBTL’s CONTATA have a certain heft to it  – i would like to state the weight of the machine but was unable to find it on their website.If you plan to have this machine in your office, you really need to have a large space dedicated for it (take into account space needed when you fill in the water tank, throw out the capsule…, cleaning of machine) -

Nestle’s PICCOLO have a very small footprint and it weighs in at 2.4kg (probably 2.8kg when the water tank is filled) and it nestles’ (Pun intended) itself nicely at any environment its put at.

Both machines are rated at 15bar and yes, it does sound loud when its squeezing out all the great coffee from the capsules. If you plan to use this in office – make sure you make a free cup to your neighbour so they can learn to  bear with the noise level

Capsules System and Pricing

Lets start with CBTL’s capsules – currently there are 8 different espresso flavours and 4 tea variations. Each flavours are sold in a box of 10 @ RM21. I have to say CBTL did the right thing by offering so many variations to the customers here!

Nestle’s have 4 different coffee flavours available – Each box retails for RM27.99. Each box (except espresso) serves 8 cups – it contains both 8 capsules for milk and 8 capsules for coffee. If you browse this thing call the internet, you will see that the nestle system have a lot of different coffee varieties that you may order online. Hopefully Nestle can bring in more to the local market soon.

So whats the difference here ?

1 – CBTL Pricing : Costs of capsule is really cheap but if you want to make real latte/mocha/cappucino, you will have to spend some money for your own milk frother (RM280.00) 

and also supply your own milk – so a bit of hidden cost here :

Nestle Pricing :Nestle capsules may seem to cost more but dont forget that you do not need to buy an additional milk frother to make your latte/cappucino/mocha.

Performance , Tasting AND 3 months long review

CBTL Contata

CBTL Contata is a great machine – i love the fact that the water tank is huge and there is a fix serving for each capsule. Just pop in the capsule, press a button and you are done. no fuss and no muss. The Contata even have a storage place for discarded capsules – This came as a bonus to me until i realised that the added responsibility of cleaning and clearing the container! (This is just me la) . However, i did face a few “false” start and even low pressure  problems before and as a result, i wasted quite a few capsules too. The variety of flavours now available really does make a difference -and at the low low price of RM2.10 per cup, you will find yourself drinking at least 2-3 cups a day….Downside ? well, i cant really drink espresso everyday and to pay for additional milk frother…..kinda hits my pocket a bit.

PLUS : Great variety, sturdy construction and simple operation.

MINUS: cost of mik frother, maintenance of storage bin.

Nestle Piccolo

Had this baby for almost 4 months i think and till today, am still surprised at its small little size chugging out 15bar of pressure everytime i make coffee. the construction quality is great -  it feels and looks like it costs way more than RM399 The low low entry price for this capsule machine is what makes it great – coupled with a built in frother to make drinks like latte, mocha and cappucino, you will find yourself drinking less at the outlets and more at home/office. One thing that a lot of people DONT KNOW about this Dolce Gusto capsule system is that they are exactly a “single serve” one button operations- the machine allows you to control the amount of water you let into the capsule for your milk and coffee seperately. So some people may be put off by this and some may like it ( like me, dreaming im a world class barista) bcos each cup of coffee WILL taste different depending on how much water you let in.

PLUS: low low entry price – built in milk frother and the coffee taste great.

MINUS : Only 4 flavours available now. The piccolo water tank is really small…so you will end up refilling it a lot

Conclusion

Two great capsule system with lot of potential to grow and if you are planning to get either system, the time is now. I have already seen some offers already in the market for both CBTL and Nestle!

Over the years, i have learnt that managing and maintaining customer service level are two very different matters.

While some of us try hard to maintain high quality customer service level score through consumer focus group, consumer brand affinity and loyalty rating (via social media, blogs), – the hard part is actually “managing” your employee output/service to YOUR customers.

One such example was when GSC customers experienced a 10min movie problem – normally in these circumstances, the cinema in question will refund the moviegoers with either another ticket or $$ back AND sincere apologies from the management. The customers at GSC Gurney (Penang) experienced the blackout and was offered the refund AND something extra…. read the story below or the link HERE to GSC Facebook Fanpage

Coffee Bean vs Nescafe - who will win ?

If you drink 10 cups of coffee everyday like me, you will probably be thinking of investing in your own little heaven – Of course, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf launched their one cup coffee machines early this year and it was flying off the shelves.  Now, with Nescafe in the fray with their own one cup serving machine, a lot of people have been caught in between their purchases.

Which machines can feed my coffee addiction ? How much do they cost? how do they work ?

Do wait for an indepth review and comparison between these two lovely coffee machine soon!

For now, if you would like to find out more about these machines…..

NESCAFE ( CLICK HERE )

COFFEE BEAN AND TEA LEAF (CLICK HERE)

i think its the frame that holds the glass panel, it fell and pretty much destroyed the bikes parked there and also the retaining wall.

imagin if the item fell at the pedestrian walkway

see how close is the LRT station near the inciden

Now i have been informed that this is NOT the first incident and there were actually also one incident as such last year. If you take LRT at Ampang Park, do be careful . I hope this post will help spread awareness and perhaps the authorities to look into this.

UPDATE :

Decided to go to the spot and see the cleanup. here it is

Taken on 25th Aug 2011

Look at the latest story they published today

Yeah, do we really need a feng shui master to “predict” that the awfully popular, good looking and rich Nicholas Tse will have a partner in a few months time? DUH….. maybe i should consult the same master as to when i will pass motion today….maybe ….2pm?

Link to the story here

On another note, the online folks in the staronline malaysia REALLY should consider taking out the annoying pop up survey window- its been on going for months! am i pissed off ? yes. what do i do about it ? i blog and bitch to the world.

Every marketer should create a fully integrated campaign – this encompasses print, web , ground events, radio & TV ( if you have the budget that its) that is seamless and communicates one single messaging.

Sounds simple enough right ? Lately i have seen many advertisers starting to use QR codes in their campaigns : What is QR CODES? well you better read this here and now

A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a specific matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is machine readable and designed to be read by smartphones. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background. The information encoded may be text, a URL, or other data.

Common in Japan, where it was created by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. The QR code was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.^[1]

The technology has seen frequent use in Japan and South Korea; the United Kingdom is the seventh-largest national consumer of QR codes.^[2]
So there you have it. To be frank, QR code is not really popular but for some reason, its gaining ground in Malaysia

Here are some of the recent QR codes in ATL that i have come across

QR code is not only restricted to print. I have also seen a quite interesting deployment on QR code here

Yes, pretty interesting!

But the main GRIPE that i have with most of the marketing campaigns that include QR code is that , advertisers DO NOT HAVE A MOBILE WEBSITE! Yup. a lot of the sites leading from the QR code are normal websites that is not optimized for mobile. Consumer experience is just terrible :

1. You see an ad with a QR Code
2. You scan the QR code with your smartphone
3. Your QR code reader leads you the the advertisers website
4. You cant navigate or even see the promo as the the fonts are too small in a smartphone!!

There are a few advertisers that have gotten it right : FORD recently launched their TURBO Boost campaign leading to A MOBILE site.AirAsia also have done it right. Kudos guys!

Perhaps it is still too early and advertisers and agencies alike are still learning the best way to implement QR codes into marketing campaigns and in managing the customer experience

what about you ? what is YOUR experience with QR codes?

Who is MARTIN LINDSTORM AH?

Martin Lindstrom is a 2009 recipient of TIME Magazine’s “World’s 100 Most Influential People” and author of Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy (Doubleday, New York), a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best–seller. His latest book, Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy, will be released in September. A frequent advisor to heads of numerous Fortune 100 companies, Lindstrom has also authored 5 best-sellers translated into 30 languages. More at martinlindstrom.com.

Highly recommended read (Click here)

I am still looking for this book. Hope i can find it at borders or kinokuniya or even MPH?

Most of my peers (marketing folks) alike from client and even agency who have read the article really relate to it. Far too often, especially in these trying economic times, every penny we spend on marketing is scrutinize and even dissected to dollar and cents ( how much sales can i get? how can i optimize my budget). Far too often we lose out on the BIG PICTURE – marketing is more than just driving sales – its how we influence purchasing behaviour and also how we build a positive brand association and association with the customers.

I can already hear some of you shout “Get realistic mate! we don’t have millions of $$ to spend like Virgin!”- Yes, i am being realistic too- while all of us have very limited budget to spend, we always have to think :- are we doing the same thing as the market or competitors ? Whats our marketing advantage ? If every marketer is only focusing on using $$ to increase sales and sales alone, what is your value to your organization, as  a marketer ?

hmn….would love to hear from you folks out there.

Little did i know that my previous post on Old Town White Coffee ( i love their hazelnut white coffee by the way!) would generate so comments instead about the quality of food, drinks, service and even retail outlet hygiene!Having said that, i do relate to the complaints i see on the previous post. The service level at Old Town really needs to improve in order to retain customers and to compete with their competitors such as PAPA RICH or even the dreaded STATION 1.

Now here are just some background to Old Town outlets :

• Retail outlets: some are owned by Old Town and some are franchised out.
• They have Quality Assurance folks that travel to different outlets every week to ensure the taste and quality of food is consistent ( yeah, its true!)
• Outlets at airports are self service ( LCCT, KLIA)
• It is listed on the main board on KLSE.

If you do have a complain, please do send directly to wecare@oldtown.com.my

PS: Me? i stop going to old town white coffee outlets for a looooong time but i still enjoy their 3 in 1 instant white coffee…which is awesome….

Since i was in the market for an android tablet— i clicked on it to find out more…

sleek looking site i must say

Aafter looking through the site , i decided to buy online. Clicked on the buy now button (see screenshot above) and it took me here

Yeah. exactly. WTF right ? there is nothing wrong with the page but it was more of a problem that digital marketers don’t think of or choose to ignore today. Folks like us that access the internet at office, have social media sites such as facebook, linkedin, and even online email services blocked. I really implore digital planners and creative designers to STOP linking your campaigns to FACEBOOK please. FB is not the mother of all digital campaigns.

So if you think about all the potential customers that samsung is pissing off now are folks with high disposable income and with intention to purchase NOW, how many do you think they are VS those that will access the site from home and elsewhere? hmn…..

on another note….Celcom is planning a big nationwide launch for the galaxy tab,

Read more here (from lowyat.net)

When

Thursday, 8 September 2011, 1.30pm – 6.20pm

Where

Hilton Sentral Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Level 6

3 Jalan Stesen Sentral, 50470, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (see map)

REGISTER ME TODAY!

Visit our site to view the event programme and find out more about our speakers.

Anyone of you interested to go…please register

BTW  : i dont work for google or their agency.