Wednesday’s presentation from the Ben & Jerry’s founders was certainly a popular event (I guess free icecream trumps the pain for many of us standing for an hour+). They told some fantastic tales of their almost accidental rise to fame and fortune.

The main message of their talk was how a business can be run in a socially responsible fashion. They offered some intriguing examples of (as they put it) “improving the quality of life in our community” without necessarily contradicting the usual modus operandi of business (i.e. pursuing customers with an attractive product).

It was great to see how they had leveraged their existing value chain and capabilities to deliver genuine social benefits.

At the supplier end they discussed their involvement with Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York. This bakery offers training and employment opportunities for socially-disadvantaged folks. Rather than just throwing these guys some money to keep up their good work, Ben & Jerry’s designed an ice-cream (Chocolate Fudge Brownie) using the Bakery’s output. They said this now sends around $4m worth of business the bakery’s way each year. See more on this here (including a cool video).

At the distribution end the firm has awarded a number of their retail franchises free to not-for-profits in various locations. Again, these NGOs usually offer training and employment opportunities for at-risk youth. These Partnershops look and feel like the for-profit stores, and the charities presumably seek to make surpluses in just the same fashion, equipped with the processes and expertise transferred to all franchisees.

Both of these approaches embrace the power of the firm’s core competitive advantages (designing, marketing and delivering fancy ice-cream) so as to achieve a financially and socially profitable result. It’s a great model for others to follow and adapt.

Oh, and the free Chunky Monkey Ice-cream tasted great. See a brief snippet from Jerry here.

Hot on the heels of Woolworth’s announced entrance into the Australian hardware retailing space, it would seem that fellow grocery player Metcash wants to follow suit.

Metcash, who run all the back-office (and sales and marketing) for the independent supermarkets group IGA has launched a bid for Mitre 10, a cooperative group of over 400 hardware stores.

This would mean the three largest supermarket brands, Coles, Woolworths and IGA would now be the dominant players in the Australian hardware market.

In a strategic sense, this opens a significant likelihood of an outcome referred to as mutual forbearance. This has been defined as

“tacit collusion as a consequence of firms competing in many markets and the resulting increase in their interdependence” (Jayachandran, Gimeno & Varadarajan, 1999: 51 as cited here)

Put simply, operating in to parallel competitive spaces means these firms may well realise the futility of excessive competition and seek some stable détente (a.k.a. a Mexican standoff).

It will be interesting to what the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have to say about this one (although it is hard once the horse has bolted).

Back in February I suggested that an element of the “cost of advertising/building a brand” barrier to entry has been eroded considerably by the increasing ability to film and post advertisements online (and then hope like hell for some viral takeup thereof).

I used an example from my cousin’s Rentoid startup to demonstrate how a home video camera, a few brave mates, a funny idea and a Youtube might be equally as effective as engaging a creative agency and a film crew.

Well, technology is racing ahead. The Rentoid lads have moved very hi-tech on a similar budget (i.e. pretty much free), with this Pixar-like gem:

As Steve explains, this is all done via Xtranormal (i.e. some folks who’ve done all the hard work for you).

Clearly technology is racing ahead here for budding entrepreneurs seeking an audience.

Of course, making the ad is only one piece of the puzzle. Reaching an audience is harder. The February ad looks like it had 1200 views. One in March got almost 2000. Will this vid be the breakthrough? I guess if its close to costless there isn’t much downside risk.

You may recall that a few months back I heralded the arrival of Ben & Jerry’s icecream to our shores. Next week (on my birthday no less) the founders of said icecream purveyors will be in my building discussing their experiences.

The public lecture is billed as
Doing well by doing good – a seminar about sustainable and community friendly business practices.

Here’s the blurb:

Back in 1978, close friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, armed with a $5 correspondence course in ice cream making, opened their first Scoop Shop in a dilapidated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Whilst they occasionally disagreed on the size of the chunks going into the ice cream, one thing they did agree on was having fun. As Jerry put it, “ if it’s not fun, why do it?”. They also decided from the start that business has a responsibility to give back to the community in which it operates, a philosophy that is still important to the business today. 30 years on, with a continued focus on sourcing the finest ingredients to create euphoric chunks & swirls, Ben & Jerry’s now operates in over 30 countries, spreading joy for the belly and soul across the globe with a mission to make the best possible ice cream in the nicest possible way, using business as a tool for social and environmental change.

The seminar is open to the public and on 25 November, 12 – 1pm, Level 5, The Spot (198 Berkeley St, Parkville, Victoria).

I’ll be there to report back for all of you blog readers.