Questions? Comments? Interested in contributing content? If so, please
contact Pat Cauley, eMedia editor, at (703) 908-1030 or via e-mail at
pcauley@retailing.org
Growing up I had the pleasure of attending both public and Catholic school. I went to public school for kindergarten through third grade, and switched to Catholic school from third grade through high school. In second grade, I recall crystal-clear memories of coloring in pictures of dreidels and menorahs for Hanukkah along with Christmas trees and stars. What a difference a year makes.
It’s 1993 and I’m sitting in an uncomfortable desk as Sister Mary Clifford commands attention from the front of the classroom. “Sparkle Season,” is all she could muster from her mouth as a tight grimace formed across her face. She took a deep breath, and then explained to us that she was disgusted with the city of Pittsburgh for its crusade against Christmas with the marketing campaign for Sparkle Season. My holiday run-ins didn’t stop there. I still remember being on student council in 8th grade, planning for the big school dance. Since it was in October, one would think that a Halloween theme was an obvious route. Well, not for our bishop. That year, I had a great time dancing to the Macarena at our “Fall Harvest.” Avoiding Halloween decorations like the plague at Party City became somewhat of a laborious task. It seemed fickle to me that they’d want to control the marketing messages of retailers for one holiday, while completely striking another from the record books.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved my Catholic school upbringing as much as the next guilty-conscious Catholic you know, but all these debates about how retailers should configure their December marketing tactics are getting old. The statement “Happy Holidays” does not personally offend me much like “Merry Christmas” does not offend my good Jewish friend Molly. When groups like the American Family Association and the Catholic League decided to boycott Wal-Mart when it changed its greeting to Happy Holidays, one can see the economic impact these decisions can have on a retailer’s bottom line. The following year, Wal-Mart’s advertising was back touting the “reason for the season,” as it switched to Merry Christmas. Could everyone just lighten up and enjoy the CHRISTMAS YouTube video at the top of this post?
Do you think it’s fair that marketers must walk the tight rope of including all Americans while trying not to offend Bill O’Reilly?
-Pat
Electronic Retailer’s eMedia editor Pat Cauley gets in the holiday spirit with his Jewish friend Molly.
As a merchant account provider, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a high-potential campaign coming to an untimely death. Anyone who’s survived managing a successful DR campaign can offer some sage advice about running the next one. Most of these lessons learned involve some variation of an “If I’d only…” story. Since there are no “do-overs” in DR, you better make the best of each and every opportunity. The trick then is learning what to look for when the next one presents itself. To that end, I’d like to share one of the more common pitfalls encountered by untested DR marketers in hopes of helping others avoid similar fates.
Imagine you just launched a homerun direct response campaign. You’re getting a 4:1 MER (media efficiency ratio). You have thousands of units flying out of your fulfillment house. You’ve just spent a million dollars for more media and are getting ready to order more units. Everything’s running perfectly. STOP. Your local business bank, which you’ve banked with for years and gave you a great deal on your merchant account, just notified you that it placed a hold on that transaction because you have exceeded your merchant account limit and it is uncomfortable with your recent merchant processing activity. WHAT?! (more…)
It was bad enough when a large brick-and-mortar retailer told members of Congress at last week’s hearing on Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) that online retailers have an unfair advantage over companies like his. Indeed, the entire argument surrounding SST is one of evenhandedness across selling channels. The debate is complex and often touches on seemingly contradictory or ambiguous points. But what really floored me was when a Congressman in support of this retailer’s testimony remarked that he missed the days when he could walk into a store and yep, you guessed it, “everyone knew his name.”
If Congress is really concerned about a level playing field, then perhaps they should recognize that the Internet allows that small main street retailer to compete against the larger retailers through direct-to-consumer tools. Electronic retailers use these tools to create a conversation with their customers. In fact, when I log onto my skin care provider’s site, they greet me by name, know my preferences and assist me in learning about products relevant to my skin. Now that Congressman harkens back to the old days when a retailer knew their customer on a first-name basis; today the Internet provides this experience.
As technology permits a myriad of consumer shopping options, and if the argument is that remote retailers should collect sales tax to level the playing field, then I encourage Congress to ensure that Internet retailers have unfettered access to their consumers with a free and open Internet. But that’s another posting…
In my role as editor of the e-weekly news from ERA, I end up reading a lot of articles about retailing statistics (I know, heady, glamorous stuff) and there are two things that keep popping up: retail sales generally are growing at around 4.8 percent while online purchases are making up a bigger percentage of sales this holiday season (20 percent to $39 billion, according to Jupiter Research). If you extrapolate that to figure out total holiday sales, we know that Americans will be spending $195 billion. But there is one factor that is lurking in the background that throws the whole equation into turmoil. Thirty-three percent of consumers planned to buy gift cards to the tune of a staggering total of $26.3 billion
You may be asking yourself, “Why should that matter?” Well, for one thing, $26.3 billion is not being recorded as part of the holiday shopping season, because that revenue is not recognized until the gift cards are redeemed. Or to look at it another way, the actual total collected by retailers if you throw in the gift card number will be $221.3 billion. So if $195 billion without gift cards represents a 4.8 percent increase, the math says that $221.3 billion represents a 19 percent increase in revenues over last year. Of course, that doesn’t include gift cards from last year. So while the analysis of the holiday shopping season is all glum and foreboding, the nay saying should be taken with a $26.3 billion grain of salt. (more…)
First they give us a vegan with Alicia Silverstone swimming naked in a pool in support of animal rights. Now they’ve gone on the attack against Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for wearing fur. Dubbing them the “Trollsen Twins,” and more specifically, “Hairy-Kate and Trashley,” PETA has seriously stepped up its provocative awareness tactics. But, is this effective?
We know that celebrities can help sell products, such as Guthy-Renker’s Proactiv. But do we really care whether or not they wear fur or support animal rights? Are Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as instrumental in halting the production of fur garments as those who actually make the business and distribution deals in the fur industry? The billboards featuring the Olsen twins that read, “Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people” debuted yesterday in L.A., and will also run in magazines. In addition, PETA has launched a microsite with videos and interactive games, as well as a MySpace page for its “Trollsen Twins” campaign.
Has PETA gone too far? Or will this multichannel marketing effort prove effective?
ERA Chairman Ed Garrubbo of Creative Commerce, CEO of IAC Retailing, which includes HSN, Mindy Grossman and ERA’s President and CEO Barbara Tulipane pose with Internet and political icon, Arianna Huffington at ERA’s Annual Leadership Dinner.
IFS’ Andy Arvidson takes a candid shot with ERA’s Robin Greenspan
Fellow electronic retailers, direct marketers, distributors, inventors, entrepreneurs, brick-and-mortar retailers and, last but now not least, online retailers: People of all selling platitudes lend me your ears and your wisdom. Let me share something that I have noticed happening over the past year. It has to do with the way consumers are buying the stuff that we sell. It has everything to do with the way we “tell” or “convince” them to buy something. I know what I’m saying is true, because it has been backed up with research results I have received from focus groups that have seen two variations using different selling methods of a campaign I created.
OK, enough suspense. Here’s the observation: Since the beginning of the modern day infomercial, consumers have been yelled at, told what to buy and forced to act quickly to get a great deal. Well folks, for the most part, the suspense and excitement of missing out on something extraordinary is wearing off. However, it’s not wearing off because the products aren’t great or the offer isn’t enticing. The motivation to buy is not wearing off because of a lack of trust, market saturation or boredom either. The number one reason why consumers are not buying now is because they do not like being told what to do! The intent to buy has never been stronger. Consumers are smarter than ever and are more educated. They’re not as gullible as they used to be. What I have found is that consumers are more than willing to buy your product and even replace the same categorical products they already own if you can convince them that your product is better; not tell them that it is. It’s so very subtle. Anybody else see this happening?
Jeff Meltzer, president of Meltzer Media Production
Yes, the way we young folks consume our media has changed. On a recent Sunday evening with friends, I watched in awe as my MacBook became the center of attention in the room. “Press mute on the TV,” Steve said commandingly. It was only a matter of seconds before he had the YouTube homepage on the screen. He played songs and videos that he liked. He even played a sports-themed video on the site as we all ignored the actual live sporting event that played in the background on my television. Right as it seemed we were done with YouTube and ready to go back to the TV, next thing you know, my friend Melissa asked Steve if he was on Facebook or MySpace. Like everyone else in the room, he was a member of both.
Along with ignoring the sporting event, we were also ignoring the advertisements you paid such a dear price from your media budget. Are you happy with your return on investment? If my friends and I are anything like the norm, then media loyalty and viewing habits are rapidly shifting. Are you prepared to engage the Gen Y consumer on our turf?
Home furnishings giant IKEA clearly has a grip on its segment of retail. IKEA, originating in Sweden, has grown into an international fixture over the years. However, cultures around the world are very different, and therefore, the marketing and advertising that makes sense to consumers in different countries can vary greatly. Knowing that most Europeans are typically harder to offend than most Americans when it comes to sexuality, would this kind of advertising work in United States? Would this be harmful to the IKEA brand? Electronic Retailer reached out to Dan Akalou, IKEA’s general manager, to get his input on this thought-provoking issue.
“This commercial, which aired in Scandinavia, reflects both the impact of divorce on home life (the tag-line reads ‘A better divorce for everyone’), as well as the versatility of the IKEA range of home furnishings solutions. It’s unlikely that we would run advertising like this in the United States. That said, the sentiment of versatile products that allow adults to have an adult home even when they are parents, is consistent across national borders. IKEA is known for doing edgy commercials in many of its markets. Breakthrough communication creates awareness quicker and at a lower cost than the usual informative approach to advertising.” —Dan Akalou, IKEA general manager.
As a merchant account provider, there’s nothing more heartbreaking than seeing a high-potential campaign coming to an untimely death. Anyone who’s survived managing a successful DR campaign can offer some sage advice about running the next one. Most of these lessons learned involve some variation of an “If I’d only…” story. Since there are no “do-overs” in DR, you better make the best of each and every opportunity. The trick then is learning what to look for when the next one presents itself. To that end, I’d like to share one of the more common pitfalls encountered by untested DR marketers in hopes of helping others avoid similar fates.
It was bad enough when a large brick-and-mortar retailer told members of Congress at last week’s hearing on Streamlined Sales Tax (SST) that online retailers have an unfair advantage over companies like his. Indeed, the entire argument surrounding SST is one of evenhandedness across selling channels. The debate is complex and often touches on seemingly contradictory or ambiguous points. But what really floored me was when a Congressman in support of this retailer’s testimony remarked that he missed the days when he could walk into a store and yep, you guessed it, “everyone knew his name.”
In my role as editor of the e-weekly news from ERA, I end up reading a lot of articles about retailing statistics (I know, heady, glamorous stuff) and there are two things that keep popping up: retail sales generally are growing at around 4.8 percent while online purchases are making up a bigger percentage of sales this holiday season (20 percent to $39 billion, according to Jupiter Research). If you extrapolate that to figure out total holiday sales, we know that Americans will be spending $195 billion. But there is one factor that is lurking in the background that throws the whole equation into turmoil. Thirty-three percent of consumers planned to buy gift cards to the tune of a staggering total of $26.3 billion
First they give us a vegan with Alicia Silverstone swimming naked in a pool in support of animal rights. Now they’ve gone on the attack against Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for wearing fur. Dubbing them the “Trollsen Twins,” and more specifically, “Hairy-Kate and Trashley,” PETA has seriously stepped up its provocative awareness tactics. But, is this effective?
Fellow electronic retailers, direct marketers, distributors, inventors, entrepreneurs, brick-and-mortar retailers and, last but now not least, online retailers: People of all selling platitudes lend me your ears and your wisdom. Let me share something that I have noticed happening over the past year. It has to do with the way consumers are buying the stuff that we sell. It has everything to do with the way we “tell” or “convince” them to buy something. I know what I’m saying is true, because it has been backed up with research results I have received from focus groups that have seen two variations using different selling methods of a campaign I created.
Yes, the way we young folks consume our media has changed. On a recent Sunday evening with friends, I watched in awe as my MacBook became the center of attention in the room. “Press mute on the TV,” Steve said commandingly. It was only a matter of seconds before he had the YouTube homepage on the screen. He played songs and videos that he liked. He even played a sports-themed video on the site as we all ignored the actual live sporting event that played in the background on my television. Right as it seemed we were done with YouTube and ready to go back to the TV, next thing you know, my friend Melissa asked Steve if he was on Facebook or MySpace. Like everyone else in the room, he was a member of both.