As I prepare for this year’s ERA Annual Awards Show under the call to arms “Retailers Rock,” I’ve been on an iTunes download binge worthy of Barry, Jack Black’s dogmatic record clerk character in the movie “High Fidelity.” A few classic gems from the Stones and The Who, a nice sprinkling of three-chord bliss from the likes of X and the Ramones, even a download of The Tubes’ first gem, which provided the soundtrack for my first job as a pump jockey at 16. Maybe this latter disc was prescient for what I would go on to do for a living for it contained the Zappa-esque, “What Do You Want From Life?” Sample lyrics:

“What do you want from life?
To get cable TV and watch it every night…
Well, you can’t have that, but if you’re an American citizen you are entitled to:
A heated kidney shaped pool,
A microwave oven—don’t watch the food cook,
A Dyna-Gym—I’ll personally demonstrate it in the privacy of your own home,
A king-size titanic unsinkable Molly Brown waterbed with polybendum,
A foolproof plan and an airtight alibi,
Real simulated Indian jewelry,
A Gucci shoetree,
A year’s supply of antibiotics…”

You get the idea. Yes, this was the ’70s and drugs were prevalent in the workplace. But it also points out how personal each person’s quest for nostalgia is and why, despite the best efforts to tap into a collective consciousness for the good ‘old days, advertisers so frequently fail in their attempts to reference music in television advertising.

Personally, I don’t care if I ever hear another cut from Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors” in this lifetime. That “Now dare you go again, you say you want your freedom” thing has been warbling on the radio ad naseum since both Steve Nicks and I actually had abdominal muscles. Nor is Led Zeppelin going to make me ever buy a Cadillac. And please spare me the Ameriprise and Cialis ads with well-heeled, frisky Centrum Silver Surfer-types frolicking on the beach (Psst: they’re havin’ sex tonight!) I’m an American. I want something new. And shiny.

Nobody serves this up better than Apple that consistently introduces new candied-like objects of desire accompanied by fresh cuts that springboard out of their commercials to become the soundtrack of our lives—today. Whether it’s introducing U2’s “Vertigo” or breaking Yael Naim’s “New Soul, “ they’ve got it down. Heck, my mother—who is in her 70s—bought the new Coldplay as a result of their most recent ad.

I imagine the younger generation—the one I’m a guest speaker to annually who have informed me that the Geico caveman spots are the apex of good advertising—would site U2 and Coldplay as contemptible examples of sellout bands. Meanwhile, my son listens to Tom Petty, while I favor Snow Patrol. Bottom line: With easy access to an infinite catalogue, tidy generational generalities don’t work anymore. I lived through the Gerald Ford Presidency, disco and “Family Feud” once and it was enough, thank you. So, even though the juice in my gin may be of the joint variety, I need it to move to Amy Winehouse, not April Wine. Hit me.

Rick Petry is ERA’s interim-CEO

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If you’re reading this blog, chances are that you already know how important it is for consumers to be able to view videos online. Online videos help sell products because they let consumers have a “virtual test drive” of a product before they buy it. These videos get consumers excited about new products and make them want to learn more about emerging trends. Today, the same is increasingly true of political candidates and issues. Long before votes are cast in November, millions of Americans will participate in the political process by watching videos on the Internet. According to a recent Pew poll, as many as a quarter of adults have already watched political videos online. That number is expected to grow. Perhaps the more exciting news is that the Internet appears to be getting more people involved and informed. The United States has historically had some of lowest voter turnout among developed democracies, and much of this apathy occurs when voters do not feel informed about the issues. It is difficult to “accidentally” read a newspaper or tune into the evening news, but it is quite easy to come across political information online by mistake. More than half of those who reported viewing political videos online said they did not go on the Internet for the purpose of learning about politics. That means the availability of videos online is helping to strengthen participation in the political process.

Aside from political videos, the Internet is also ripe with funny videos we share with our family and friends.

Then you see this charming cartoon you half remember from elementary school, and you learn about a threat to the freedom of the Internet.

Click here to learn more about the threat to the Internet’s viability and freedom.

Tomi Turner works in ERA’s government affairs department

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ERA and Electronic Retailer were on the road last week attending Internet Retailer, DM Days, Mobile Marketing Forum and the INPEX show. We also managed to have an awesome reception in Times Square at the offices of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. ERA would like to thank its reception sponsors: Manatt, Litle & Co., O’Currance Teleservices, Dream Team Direct Inc. and Media Funding Corporation. Below are some photos from the various events. Enjoy!

ERA’s Katie White awaits the guests…

InfoTech’s Cole Van Heel, Dream Team’s Mike Moreau and SF Video’s Steve Feinberg

The goods…

ERA’s Robin Greenspan with Andrea Rose

Networking…

Power Direct’s Bret Butterfield, Liquid Focus’ Ken Osborn and MFLS’s Scott Swanson

INPEX took place at Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center- the largest green building in the world.

Inventors were able to pitch their products for possible inclusion on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”

Electronic Retailer’s Pat Cauley with PurBlu’s Eva Lorini

C Spot Run Productions’ Wendi Cooper with Product Strategies’ Michael Planit

Save the date: ERA Santa Monica reception on July 16th! Email Katie White at kwhite@retailing.org for more information!

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June 18th was a big day. Mozilla Firefox (the open-source web browser which has been gradually stealing market share from Internet Explorer) launched their 3.0 browser as well as its Guinness Book of World Records attempt for the most downloads in a 24-hour period. Yes, you may laugh off the attempt at claiming a spot in the GBWR (after all, they’ll be right up there with the man with the longest ear hair), but the greater subtext to this story is really the broader reach of Firefox and other movements to change the Internet.

Over the past few years the Internet has become more open, more accessible and more robust. Small start-up companies have been able to take a concept and reach millions of people with minimal barriers; programmers have been able to deploy their web-based apps across multiple browsers and operating systems through a seamless and consistent user experience; and ultimately, end users have benefited tremendously. It’s often overlooked or misunderstood by the average consumer, but a main reason that this has been possible is because of standards. Organizations like the W3C have essentially laid out the frameworks that have made many of these cross-browser, cross-platform communications possible. Companies can choose to ignore those standards (which players like Microsoft have at times tried), but oftentimes market forces will come to bear and even the big guys will be coaxed into support of the standards. In Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat,” he talks about one the ten “flatteners” (or economic game-changers) of the 21st century being the shift from proprietary closed systems, to open and inter-operable systems that can freely communicate with other systems. All of this can happen because of standards.

So what does this have to do with electronic retailing? A lot, actually. If you’ve been a marketer or service provider in this space you know the pains of trying to pass files between fulfillment houses, call centers, web providers and media agencies. If you’ve been around long enough you probably also remember the times when getting YOUR data out of YOUR fulfillment provider was more difficult than getting a penny out of Fort Knox. Fortunately, good things are on the horizon. The ERA Technology Council has been steadily at work and over the next several months we hope to release some standards documentation for e-retailing marketers and service providers in our space. We’ve already begun forming a committee of big and small players in the space and first up on the docket is a fulfillment transmission standard. What does this mean for you? Well, if you are a marketer, web provider, call center or fulfillment provider that supports the standard spec, it means quicker integrations, lower costs, fewer mistakes and hopefully more opportunities for everyone to compete. That’s right, LOWER COSTS AND MORE BUSINESS—kind of makes you want to go out and download Firefox doesn’t it?

If you have in interest in participating in the standards formation process please contact Tom Quash at tquash@retailing.org.

Joel Iverson heads up the Technology Practice at KPI Direct—an outsourced strategy and management firm serving the direct-to-consumer industry. He is also a member of the ERA Technology Council.

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With Senator Barack Obama as the presumptive 2008 Democratic Presidential nominee, now is an interesting time to examine his policy positions on the Internet and the growing political influence of electronic retailing. Interestingly, Obama has received relatively little of his funding from the traditional fundraising bulwarks, telecom service providers. Senator Hillary Clinton raised the most money from telecom service providers, coming in with a little more than half-a- million dollars*. Even so, in a strong demonstration of the growing political power of the Internet industry, contributions by the Internet and software industry were higher for Clinton, Obama and McCain than each of their corresponding totals in the telecom services industry*. Senator Obama alone has received $2.7 million from the Internet and software industry*. These donations come from industry PACs, as well as from donations by employees and their families, and include contributions from software developers.

Obama’s fundraising potential in the Internet industry is definitely linked to the strong policy stances. His campaign website includes a section on the importance of “protecting the openness of the Internet” by preventing network providers from charging fees “to privilege the content of applications of some websites and Internet applications over others.” He has voiced his stance on Net Neutrality in a podcast that is featured on his website. It is by no means clear who will be the next president, but it is certain the influence of the Internet industry is increasingly significant in Washington.

Tomi Turner works in ERA’s government affairs department

*Center for Responsive Politics

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The following are a few photo highlights from ERA’s recent Government Affairs Fly-In in Washington.

Upcoming ERA Networking Receptions:

June 10: NYC

July 16: Santa Monica

Email Katie White for more information at kwhite@retailing.org

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It was supposed to be perfect. It was my birthday week and I had friends flying into D.C. so that we could go see Radiohead live at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia. The concert was Sunday, May 11 and I had Monday off. Nothing could go wrong…until Mother Nature stepped in. Cell phone rings. “Are you guys even still going?” Claudia asks cautiously as I maneuver my way around the grocery store picking up last-minute tailgating items. “Of course we’re still going,” I say, somewhat irritated at the mere suggestion of skipping out. Sure, I had heard rumors of some rain, but I was fully prepared with my hooded sweatshirt—it was May!

Flash-forward two hours. We’re situated in lot B. Our other friends are over in lot A. No one in my car wants to get out. People in the cars around us are not getting out. “But Leikin flew here from Cleveland,” I plead, trying to motivate my peers. We finally manage to open the trunk door of Josh’s Toyota 4Runner. We’re happier once the beers start flowing, but it’s imperative to stay underneath the trunk door unless your drink of choice happens to be half Coors Light/half acid rain. It was at this point that things began to get delusional, yet laughable.

“Oh my God! It is seriously raining harder now,” Amber stammers as we watch the rain grow thicker and hear the pounding on the roof grow louder. Another concertgoer runs over to our car. “Can I make a quick call under here?” Yes, it was THAT bad. I begin to think about different products that would make the scenario easier. That’s the beauty of the direct response industry, solving a common problem that a consumer doesn’t typically think about. There was an extreme need for ponchos. What about an invention to protect your beer from the rain so you could still enjoy it? I couldn’t help but remember the umbrella hat I saw last September at ERA’s annual convention. I kind of mocked it then, but I would love having it right now! As we packed up our things to walk to lot A, we decide to leave all electronic items in Josh’s car. No cameras anymore, no cell phones, no iPods—only a credit card and license are deemed reasonable. Josh makes his last phone call, informing our friends that we’re on our way before closing and locking the doors.

During the walk, the sky only gets darker, the rain harder and the temperature colder. We’re literally soaked from head to toe. Amber’s umbrella breaks because of the wind’s severity. As we approach lot A, we realize we can’t keep walking straight because a river has begun to flow right in front of our walking path. We manage to work our way around the river. Walking in jeans becomes arduous as the denim plasters itself to our thighs and calves. Where are our friends? We couldn’t call or text. We just had to keep searching.

“What the hell am I doing here? I don’t belong here…” ~ Creep, Radiohead

“Why didn’t you guys buy ponchos?” our friends in lot A scream, alarmed that we’re so drenched. “They haven’t made it over our way yet,” Josh explains, sounding like a movie line straight from a disaster flick. Byron lights a cigarette under their car roof, which they too were all huddled under. As soon as he steps out to greet me, the rain pounds his cigarette off of its filter and onto the ground. Jokes about Vietnam begin to seem appropriate. We’re now shivering. My entire body begins to shake. Then, out of nowhere, I hear Claudia’s voice. She approaches the group, umbrella in hand, raincoat on. “I have plastic bags wrapped around my feet under my boots and I also have a change of clothes in the car for the ride home,” she says. We all stare at her with jealousy. Some of the girls express interest in just going home. No way. We paid a lot of money and we’ve come this far. The worst of it had to be over, right? Let’s just hear one song and decide.

Onward towards will-call we go. We try to walk faster, but our legs are like liquorice in our soaked jeans. Toby tries to take his ticket out, only to realize his printed ticket is ruined—unrecognizable. Only those in sealed plastic bags will work. Our group unintentionally splits up. We can’t see anything in front of us. “Bruce?! Claudia?!” They’re nowhere to be found, but Bruce has my ticket! Even if someone around me does have their BlackBerry or iPhone, it is no help; no one else has their phones. Byron luckily has an extra ticket, so I make it inside the gates. Off to the lawn we go. People are falling down the lawn’s sloped hill left and right. Radiohead begins playing. The large screens are turned off for electrical reasons, obviously. Shiver, dance, shiver, dance, shiver, dance…

Back at the car everyone strips to their underwear, turning the heat up full blast in an effort to thaw out. What the hell just happened for the past six hours? Was this the worst concert experience ever? Was it the best? It was memorable none-the-less. I began to think of the concert in terms of being a product we bought. It was marketed to us as a rain or shine event, after all. The band had to be fully aware of the conditions outside. As they played one hit after the next, it seemed to me like they were simply using an age-old direct response format: But wait, there’s more!

It’s ironic that the same band that broke technology and industry barriers last year by allowing its new album “In Rainbows” to be downloaded for free on the Internet held a concert that reduced us back to the 1980s technology-wise. Without Byron’s extra ticket, I would have been wandering back to the car before hearing one song. We were all thrown for a loop without the gadgets we’ve become so dependent on. However, for as much as my generation is sometimes too reliant on technology, elements of our parent’s generation were clearly evident as we continued the simple pursuit of live music, much to the detriment of our comfort and health.

“For a minute there, I lost myself…” ~ Karma Police, Radiohead

Pat Cauley is Electronic Retailer magazine’s eMedia Editor

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The home shopping networks we all know and love have sold numerous products over the years using detailed, well thought out demonstrations. However, with live television, mistakes are bound to happen. Robin Barr put together “The 7 Greatest Home Shopping Screw Ups of All Time” for Cracked.com. Enjoy!

Katie White is ERA’s retailer relations manager

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