Retail
Standing out from the shelf to create long-lasting loyalty
Amidst an aisle of choices, differentiation is crucial. And in such hyper-competitive, price-sensitive marketplace, making your product stand out involves more than a pretty package and extra shelf space.
True differentiation goes beyond moving the sales needle to move people. Our retail marketing makes them feel valued by tapping into their insights, behaviors and trends. Why? To create long-term relationships that spawn customer loyalty. It’s not just different for the sake of being different, but for the sake of doing lasting business.
Our Thoughts
Online marketing has long been the playground for more risque pitches. But how far is too far to push the brand envelope?
On Wednesday, the fast food giant, Wendy's kicked off a new marketing campaign in support of their Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich. The seasonal offering (popular during the lenten period) is being heavily promoted through print, tv, outdoor and in-store advertising. For their social media messaging, however, Wendy's took a somewhat risky approach. Some might say that it pushes the envelope of taste, and I don't mean flavor. Their social campaign in support of the popular lenten menu item is themed, "Oh My Cod" or #OMC for those who tweet. Really, Wendy's?
Social media marketing has created new opportunities for brands of many sizes to deepen relationships with their customers, broaden their reach, and engage loyal fans with witty and genuine dialog. When executed well, the brand's presence in the social sphere should echo their branding and persona in other media. Certainly there is room to loosen up, let your hair down and have a little more fun with social media marketing.
But how far is too far to push the branding envelope? I just have a hard time imagining sweet ole Dave Thomas saying "Oh My Cod" to his daughter Wendy. Will super conservative Wendy's catch flack for this potentially blasphemous tactic? Or will it be accepted with open arms from the social savvy? It's too early to tell, but I'm keeping an eye on this trending topic.
Mar 9, 2011by Elizabeth AndersonGoing exclusive? Chances are "own brand" is the only way. In our ever-increasingly cookie-cutter world, retailers are finding it harder to stand out. So they are looking to two avenues: designer exclusivity and own-brand product lines. After all, you can only compete on price for so long. You need something more sustainable to build loyalty.
When you get the right exclusivity at the right time, the impact can help the bottom line: Macy's? 42 percent of total sales were from exclusives. J.C. Penney? 50 percent from exclusive product arrangements with celebrities.
Department store retailers are not alone. Grocery and drug stores have tried to differentiate for years with their private labels. Branded better than the old black and white generics, own brands usually carry product guarantees and give consumer packaged good companies headaches as their trusted brands compete for shelf space with the store's own-brand knock offs.
Walgreens is upping the own-brand game with a full court press campaign with warm, fuzzy images showing how their products are identical to the major labels but with a smaller price tag. The campaign hits multiple touch points: an advocacy marketing campaign with a penny from each purchase going towards the Walgreens Way to Well fund for low-income health education and outreach, and in-store signage.
As margins and selection get slimmer, you can count on more stores heading in this direction as they chase the recovery dollar.
Feb 21, 2011by Michele BrownVerizon announced they will now sell the iPhone. What does that mean for your business?
Let's look at the numbers: 91% of the country has a mobile phone. Nielsen estimates that 20% of the market now uses smartphones. That's about 60 million users. Nielsen says by the end of 2011, 50% will be smartphone users.
Smartphones are a retail gamechanger. I can stand in one store at a shelf looking at one price, scan the UPC and check all the other retailers in my area to see if I am getting a deal with a series of different phone apps. The next evolution is payment. IE Market Research estimates cellphone payments in the US will jump from $1.61 billion in 2009 to $6.74 billion in 2011.
What does this mean to your business? More iPhones in the market mean more smartphone usage. Is your company ready to maximize your presence on SMARTPHONES? Here is a checklist:
Is your website mobile compatible? The site you show for a desktop computer or even an iPad needs to be much different on a smaller smartphone screen. A critical eye can help remove unnecessary features and get to the meat of what your customers need.
Who is your customer? Customer profiles are critical in designing a system that a customer will not only view but use and incorporate into their lives.
Are you ready to be nosy? You need a competitive analysis of the market. Don't forget to check the sites that are pushing the envelope outside of your industry. Where are the sites your customers like to visit? This can give you great insight into where you should be now and where to go in the future.
Can you break it? Just like a website, you want to perform user testing and try to break it, hack it and then use the site for what is intended. Better you find the gaps than others.
Launch and leverage, don't launch and leave. Continue to monitor how your site is used and not used and make adjustments along the way.
Think not all your customers could afford smartphones? Think again. Verizon recently launched a pay-as-you-go model. That levels the playing field and makes the smartphone available to all.
Jan 11, 2011by Michele BrownIs the business model for network television dead? If you have followed the saga of Conan O'Brien, it leaves you wondering. Monday night "Conan" jumps back into late-night TV on TBS. When he was kicked to the curb by NBC, he was "legally prohibited from being funny on network television." But the network dinosaurs never envisioned what Conan would do next: he went to social media Tweeting daily to more than 1.8 million followers. Then parlayed his 140 character observations to a sold-out summer tour. Next up? The deal with TBS.
Conan is a disruptive force and AT&T, GM, Diet Coke and others are falling all over themselves to create custom content to run on TBS to align with Team Coco.
Marketers are watching to see how social media will continue to play into a television show, if sponsors get a solid ROI once launch week is past and how the celebrities who typically do the talk-show circut will bypass NBC and Leno to hit TBS which now number one with viewers 18-34.
Nov 8, 2010by Michele Brown"Does this make me look phat?" Some shoppers can ask friends and family that very question as Walmart tests virtual mirrors in 40 US stores. EZface is a kiosk that, in this case, sits in the cosmetics department complete with touch screen, camera, bar code scanner and printer. A customer grabs a beauty item - say, lipstick or hair color - scans the item at the kiosk, and the system shows the customer what they would look like with the product applied. Better yet, customers can link their look to a Facebook account or email a friend for faster feedback.
Brilliant if you are a retailer, like big box chains, who don't offer in-store samples but want to capture the impulse buyer.
The Wall Street Journal story where this concept was illustrated quoted a Walmart spokesperson saying it was too early to tell if the kiosk had an impact on sales. What might help is if the device could encourage trial with a coupon... or direct the customer to a similar color of a brand offering a promotion. That way, tracking sales directly to the virtual mirror would be better... reflected.
Oct 5, 2010by Michele BrownAre you an Android fan-boy yet? If not, you may want to look at the facts…
The Android mobile operating system isn’t just slowly gaining momentum, its taking market share from RIM and Apple at an amazing rate. According to recent comScore data, Android was the only mobile operating system to gain market share from April to June of this year. Source: comScore
Sep 16, 2010by Michele Brown
