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CSSC volleyball champs! Great season! Love playing with this team! @kai.hoch @kt87photography https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq9IbgrhzbgZxenSFaEYogb_bDKtwkIHifBJMo0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1niwetv0goshw

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Date Day with the wife. It's been a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend surrounded by family and friends! @amanfelt (at The Calgary Zoo) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bos38Z5AaEN7AO3DAiifB_ZOspfyMXRFf3Fr0g0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2mp5o4v6am0w

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What does Alberta's new minimum wage mean to you?

Today, Alberta raises its minimum wage to $15/hour.  This is a 47% increase over the past 3 years.  There has been a large debate whether or not this was a good idea put forth by the NDP government.  Each view has its pro's and con's however what we do know is that Alberta businesses are being impacted by this change.

With paying employees $15/hour, business are expecting "skilled" workers for that wage.  Some believe that paying teenagers $15/hour is too much for someone that still lives with their parents and does not need the same necessities as others or adults that have families or provide for more than just themselves.  

Currently, the calculated actual living wage for Alberta is $17.70/hour.  Franco Savoia of Vibrant Communities Calgary said there is a common misconception that most minimum wage earners are teenagers living at home.  

He said the majority of the 122,000 minimum wage workers in Alberta are adults trying to support their own children

“I understand their frustration but when you have a whole whack of people who are working full time and have to go to the food bank, some of them, because they don’t earn enough or they have to have a second job or go to their family… I just don’t think that’s the right business model in our kind of society,” he said.  Taken from (https://globalnews.ca/news/4496844/new-minimum-wage-alberta-october-1/)

Other business owners say that the NDP have it right with raising the minimum wage to be more in line with actual living wage for Alberta BUT the government needs to make an adjustment.  The adjustment being a "youth differential" wage for those under the age of 18.  As of now, the only province to do this is Ontario.  Alberta had a differential youth wage up until 1998.  The consensus is if a business owner is forced to pay a teenager $15/hour, they simply won't hire them.  These business owners say having a youth differential wage will make hiring youth more palatable.

Alberta's Labour Minister (Christina Gray) has said that the NDP government decided not to include a youth rate as part of their new minimum wage policy because they are in the mindset that all workers work hard for their money.

The Fraser Institute released a new report this past week saying that raising the minimum wage can produce unintended economic consequences for younger and/or inexperienced workers.  This consequences can include less job opportunities, fewer available hours and possibilities of current positions being automated.  Take McDonald's for example, customers now have the option of using touch screen in the lobby to place their orders, further eliminating the need for extra cashiers.

I know this, if it wasn't for my first minimum wage job(s), there are skills I definitely gained working at these places that I still value and use to this day.  Employing today's youth is important, but at what cost to the economy?

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Nike’s Controversial Kaepernick Ad

It’s been a few weeks since Nike selected Colin Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary of “Just do it” campaign.  If you don’t know who Colin Kaepernick is, let me give you some background to this story...

In 2016, Colin Kaepernick was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49er’s in the National Football League.  During the American national anthem, Kaepernick decided to use the moment and take a knee to bring attention to the issue of police brutality against minority and racial inequality.  All though many people say he was disrespecting the US flag and the military that fight for their freedoms, Kaepernick has insisted from the beginning it wasn’t about the disrespect.

Kaepernick later opted out of the final year of his contract knowing he’d be released by the 49er’s.  Since then, he has not been employed by the NFL.  For the most part, teams will not sign him to avoid the drama.  He is now in a collusion lawsuit with the NFL.

In essence, Colin Kaepernick has not been employed since 2016 because he took a stand on what he believed in.  Nike saw this as a great opportunity.  They believe the tagline “Believe in something.  Even if it means sacrificing everything.” aligns perfectly with their 30 year slogan of “Just do it.”  

Since the announcement of Nike’s new campaign, those who believe Kaepernick disrespected his country and flag, have started their own campaign of boycotting Nike.  Thus #NikeBoycott was born online.  There have been many posts of people cutting up, throwing away and even burning their Nike product.

At this point, Nike could have pulled their ads and even stop the airing of their new commercial during the first game of the NFL season.  This was not the case.  Nike pushed forward.

Many think this would be a PR and Marketing nightmare.  Again, not the case.  Since the airing of Nike’s commercial on September 6th, Nike sold out items has risen 61%.  In fact, Nike is expected to report earnings up to 62 cents per share compared to 57 cents per share at the same time last year.  Source: https://on.mktw.net/2zmGXJf

By taking this stand with Colin Kaepernick, Nike is standing up for the racial injustices in America.  Where do you stand?

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Target the Right Consumer

Consumers now are no longer the consumers of 20 years, even 10 years ago. How long your customers stay on your site can be in your control.  Poor content and images make a difference!

When looking at websites, whether it is social media or e-commerce, I want to know details.  I want the whole story.  My work associate on the other hand, completely different story.  He is 21 years old.  A millennial.  Me, I’m 37.  I believe I fall in the Xennial generation.  Quite a difference in how we view our websites.  I’ll get into that more later on.

Knowing your target audience is key when developing your website or better yet, your content.  If you are marketing or selling a product that is targeting the millennial generation, ensure you use image rich content.  For Xennials or Generation X, using descriptive content and stories will draw your consumers in. Take Instagram and Facebook for example.  It is said that Facebook “is for old people” and Instagram “is for the younger generation”.  Facebook has much more written content as opposed to Instagram which is rich with images that people upload.  Typically, you will find the younger crowd surfing Instagram and the older generations using Facebook.  All though this is not true in every case, it is something to consider when developing your content.

Back to my work associate I mentioned earlier.  I asked him why he prefers Instagram over Facebook.  He responded by saying that there is too much to read on Facebook.  He mentioned that he preferred to look at Instagram because he would rather look at pictures.  Like the old saying goes “pictures can tell a thousand words.”  As for me, I want to use my imagination.  Tell me your stories and let me imagine it for myself.

So, who are you trying to reach?  What is your target audience?  Increase your conversions and brand awareness by knowing your customer.