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Business Monitor


This month, marketing expert, Paul Clapham, outlines how you can use the rise of virtuous habits to cash in on sales.


Cash is back Y


ou may have noticed that the French have got their underwear in a twist over a recent export of ours to their shores, namely Dry January. The nicest thing our Gallic neighbours have had to say on the subject is that this is typical Anglo Saxon puritanical madness. Because motorways stop at Calais, they couldn’t respond in their time-honoured fashion, i.e. parking their tractors in the fast lane, but I bet it was considered.


The reaction was heavy, with sports stars, chefs and actors getting stuck in. Indeed, President Macron was dragged into the fight as a wine drinker at lunch and dinner and he said the idea would not be copied in France. Wrong. It was. Since we Brits like little better than upsetting the French, any cross-Channel visitors are morally obligated to sport printwear reading ‘I do Dry January’. Sales stalls should be set up at Dover. Apparently, it hasn’t been translated so it’s another example of where French uses an English term, which no doubt bugs them even more.


Serious problem


I don’t have the stats but apparently France has a serious problem with wine fuelled domestic violence which is particularly prevalent among the middle class. We aren’t virtue-filled on this one but at least we react by creating Dry January, rather than trying to ban it and please note that alcohol consumption in France is far higher than here – 50 litres a head per year. Anything this industry can do to help reduce alcohol abuse has to be worth it.


Apparently, the booze problem has been made much worse by COVID as people are doing their drinking at home and alone. That applies both sides of the Channel and, I don’t doubt, elsewhere. If Dry January is such a nightmare the same must surely apply to Veganuary. Top restaurants around the world are going down the ‘plants only’ route and the Vegan Society claims a rise of 40% in vegan numbers i.e. to 1.5 million. Every first year student I hear of comes home at Christmas a vegan. It is certain that a vegan diet does far less harm to the planet than the traditional. This is definitely a potential market for


| 18 | August 2021


printwear. Vegetarians and vegans want everybody to know about their virtuous diet and would surely love to wear the message on their chests. The big retailers are supporting Veganuary – it is so much easier to support a new better habit than be involved with any form of ban, voluntary or otherwise, on a poor habit and I predict this will reach many other outlets.


My own experience says that creating plant-based meals demands more time and skill than, say, preparing a roast chicken dinner. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it doesn’t become an excuse for back-sliding.


Just as important in terms of climate change is how our vegan foodstuffs reach us. Alongside all the hullabaloo about switching to electric cars, very quietly businesses have been switching to electric vans with £16 billion being spent this year, a 50% increase on last year. Word is that this is being driven by commitment from both management and shareholders to environmental targets, with the significant growth in home delivery during the pandemic a key factor. Unfortunately, some operators are finding a single charge isn’t enough to match the job of a diesel van, so there’s work to do in the vehicle market. I also think that printwear offers a fine opportunity for companies to boast about their virtuous fuel.


The biggest issue in achieving save the world targets is a major change in how


we perceive ‘normal’ behaviour. Eating meat every day, maybe three times? Oh, come on grandad, you’re not serious. What, you mean you actually eat dead animals? Your first car didn’t even have seat belts?? This is going to be just like drinking and driving, and smoking in trains or pubs – a genuine shock to the rising generation.


Cash is king


Cash is king; ok not in shops but in the Treasury, definitely. Chancellor Rishi Sunak says that during the pandemic we collectively – households and businesses – built up reserves of £240 billion. I don’t think I pulled my weight. That represents consumer confidence and promises a spending spree. There are plenty of commentators saying it all adds up to inflation. I’m less worried because everyone is being cautious, something we’ve learned this past year or so.


I also see real potential for printwear businesses in that pile of money. The £100 billion that is lying in corporate bank accounts (and earning damn all while doing so) needs to be put to work. ‘I haven’t got any budget’ just won’t wash as an excuse now. Anybody with some sort of sales skills ought to be able to come up with a decently valid argument for their product. The boat is about to sail, with or without them is a tough pitch, but right now it’s true.


www.printwearandpromotion.co.uk


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