Where is the Maple?
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Time to read 3 min
I awoke this last day of 2011 to discover something interesting about syrup and the marketing and advertising of such a simple product. I have always been in the retail game room business and have a strong understanding of marketing and advertising. However, I think we are either getting more gullible, stupid, or just plain lazy when it comes to reading the ingredients and taking the first marketing impression for granted.
I was about to sit down and enjoy my favorite syrup on some pancakes when it occurred to me, as I looked at two bottles of famous brand syrups (my wife's favorite and mine differ). Both bottles are labeled "original," but one says "No High Fructose Corn Syrup." This, of course, just happened to be my wife's favorite brand, so I thought to myself, "What is High Fructose Corn Syrup?" and "If my favorite does not advertise this, then what does it have?" So I turn the bottle over and start reading the ingredients. I always assumed both of these were made with maple syrup.
They use fancy names, and you would just assume they are maple. As it turns out,t they are not what they are marketed and advertised as at all. They are both corn syrups, but I wonder how well they would sell if the distributor or manufacturer labeled them prominently with the actual ingredients. Would you buy Pure Corn Syrup, or would you rather buy Original Syrup? Neither is advertised as Maple Syrup, yet you would imply or believe they are not simply corn syrup. So I pulled out a couple of small bottles from Vermont and Canada, both 100 percent pure maple syrup. I think I am going to make the switch from now on to do my due diligence, read the ingredients, and dig deeper into the company or product's marketing message before I buy, like this Syrup here from Michigan.
This brings me to shuffleboard tables. I would suspect that many consumers believe that the boards are maple because many are advertised as maple. Well, with imports, if your translator is told it is China Maple and he tells you it is Maple, are you justified in bringing it back to America to market and advertise it as Maple? Many of the Shuffleboard distributors and names you see on the Internet do advertise boards as Maple that are not, and consumers do not know the difference.
McClure shuffleboard tables are all handcrafted in Michigan at our own factory. We do not buy boards, tops, or cabinet components and then assemble them. We manufacture every aspect of our shuffleboard tables with pure Michigan hard maple. We know what quality maple looks like, what it feels like to work with the wood in your hands, and how stable it is for making shuffleboard tops. It is upsetting to know that many competitors advertise their products as something less than what their marketing messages suggest. Just like the syrup, it looks like maple, smells like maple, and the salesman said it was maple, so it must be.
I suggest that for 2012, we all make a vow to be more diligent in our marketing messages if you are an advertiser. If you are a consumer, then I would suggest you do your research. Call the company several times to see if you get the same information each time. If they say 'made in the USA,' ask them where the factory is and whether you can visit. We believe in the quality, ingenuity, and craftsmanship of the American worker, and we will put our shuffleboard tables up against any built anywhere in the world. As long as you play fair, the materials, ingredients, and workmanship are of equal quality. If you bottle corn syrup and market it as maple syrup, then do not ask me to compare the quality of an original to a fake imitation shuffleboard.
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