Every Company Needs a Good Map

Reuters is reporting to day that Pepsi will begin adding to their Aquafina brand labels that the water comes from a "Public Water Source" but it will not say which. The water is filtered beyond what the public facility provides, so it is not just tap water in the strict sense. Pepsi argues that it will not make a difference in sales since this has been common knowledge for some time.

Are the Ad Men and Women that Good?

Is the reason people are willing to pay a dollar, or 3 in the airport, for something that can be obtained for much less, one of ignorance, confidence, or suspicion? It may be all three or maybe something else. Have the marketing geniuses finally demonstrated that they really can sell ice to Eskimos? It this carrying coal to Newcastle and getting them to buy it? Is it really something we can have for a penny? Perhaps the filter you use at home could never be as good as what Pepsi provides.

Our disbelief in the ability, or willingness, of our public works to provide us anything beyond minimal safety certainly helps the water bottlers. In some cases, they don't even do that - In Cary N.C., "someone" accidentally connected one household water supply to the wrong line - the reclaimed water line used for yards. This follows an event just last year, where several houses in Cary had to boil water for days until uncontaminated drinking water could be restored. We have a sense that the bottled water is probably cleaner that what comes out of our tap because it tastes better. If you install a filtration system, then you may get the same result, but there is no guarantee whereas there is one on the bottle.

Is it trust?

One of the issues here is trust. We just don't trust people when there is no accountability. In some ways, we probably shouldn't. When dealing with our children over issues of behavior and accountability we have always tried to get them to understand that when we make a rule, there is a reason and a punishment for the violation of that rule. If there is no punishment then why have the rule? The same goes for laws, office policies, and business procedures. If there are no consequences then people will be less motivated to follow the rules.

Maybe I am all wrong on this. Is this like televised wrestling - people know it's fake but they watch it anyway? We don't care that we are buying the same water we can get at home - perhaps filtered a bit better. Maybe we need to start to look at the real value of the bottle of water. Maybe the people who put the water in the bottles are just that good at convincing us that we don't want to question it. Maybe the feel-good factor is just too convenient.

Am I wrong here? Will people really pay 100X because of trust?

BTW - this is post #100! Just 2 months in. Yesterday visit #3000 occurred. and Technorati Rating was 292 - well beyond the 250 goal for the month. Now I just need to sell a few more books...