November 16, 2009
This is a personal perspective, but I wonder how many others are thinking like this. And, though it may be late to react, if this is something retailers might want to consider in positioning gifts they offer.
First, the mind-set: I’m still a little shell-shocked from the economy of the past year. So I’m not buying anybody anything huge at retail this holiday season. Everybody’s computer still works. The TV’s have decent pictures. Everyone has an MP3 player that plays music. Got an Xbox; don’t really need a Wii. Combo pool/ping pong/air hockey table will gather dust after a few months use. Radio-controlled helicopter? Last one broke after second flight. Archery set… well, not a great basement activity.
So, this holiday season, I’m shopping retailers for two kinds of things for the people on my list:
Necessities. Yes, socks (white, black, maybe a fancy pair or two). And pajamas. A belt. Gloves. Even towels. Stuff that I know has worn out or worn down and needs to be replaced. But I’m also adding a gasoline gift card for my college-attending, part-time-working daughter. And a gift certificate for an oil change at Jiffy Lube (she’ll be less susceptible to them selling her a bunch of unnecessary repairs like they did last time if she only has the value of an oil change). My son’s headphones are Scotch-taped together, so I’m thinking their replacement fits the necessity category.
Small indulgences. Gift cards to Caribou coffee, In-‘n-Out Burger, Taco Bell, the local D’Agostino’s pizzeria. A certificate good for two movie tickets at the local Kerasotes theater (they’re on their own for Goobers and Raisinets). Another certificate for bowling at the local Brunswick Zone. Tickets to a Chicago Wolves hockey game. Another one for Teavana (I have a tea freak on the list).
None of these are “Here’s a gift certificate to Amazon/Best Buy/Target/Macy’s” that suggest I don’t have a clue as to what the people on my list would like. They are all well-considered for the recipient.
Ok, there won’t be a pony to wake up to. But with some thoughtful packaging (everything gets its own re-usable box or envelope), I think the people on my list are going to think this was a great holiday. I just wonder if, when all is said and done, if retailers will be thinking the same thing.
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Retail Branding, Retail Promotions | Tagged: Caribou Coffee, Chicago Wolves, D'Agostino's pizza, Dave Hamel, Ebel Signorelli Welke, esw partners, In-n-Out Burger, Jiffy Lube, Kerasotes, Retail Branding, retail holiday sales, retail marketing, Taco Bell, Teavana, we play in traffic | 
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Posted by eswpartners
October 12, 2009
Here are the brands: Nine West, Ferragamo, Marc Jacobs, Allen-Edmonds and Geox. Only one has a functional point of difference. Yet you’d hardly know it if you went into their retail stores.
All these brands are sold through other retailers but also have their own retail stores. They all sell shoes and other fashion items that are arguably more expensive than the average price point in their category. And they are all positioned differently in the market.
The first three brands are what I would call fashion brands. Yes, you’re buying a quality shoe. But you can get a quality product from DSW. With these brands you’re buying into the brand name as a fashion statement and a particular style.
With Allen-Edmonds, there is a fashion statement, but you’re really buying into the idea that their shoes are constructed to provide lasting (albeit expensive upfront) value. They’ll never go out of style and they’ll last forever. I think you could even pass them on to your kids in your will.
But Geox has a functional point of difference. Yet, at retail, they don’t really act much different from these other brands. Oh, their stores are a little less the trappings of wealth and more Euro-modern in appearance. But they really do little to point out the “breathe-ability” of their shoes in-store. In fact, they look like most other regular shoe stores when you enter them. Shoes on wall displays: women’s over here, men’s over there, kid’s in the back. I could spend 30 minutes looking at their shoes and walk out never knowing why Geox shoes are different. There’s little in the stores to describe that, and nothing attached to the shoes themselves. I pick each pair up and look it over, or I handle the price tag to see the cost, and I still don’t know about how these shoes breathe. Yes, they have funny holes on the soles. I don’t know why.
Wait, there’s a poster over there that shows steam coming out of the bottom of one of their shoes. Huh?
I rant. But here’s the point: so few products have real, functional points-of-differences that when they do, retailers need to really take advantage of them. We ad people spend agonizing hours divining positions and identifying audiences with whom to create a perceptual alignment. When a brand has a real advantage, we break out the good beer.
If you have a retail brand that has a point of difference, scream it. Put it in the store windows. Add it to in-store displays. Have your sales people start every conversation with the difference. Make sure no one enters or leaves your store without knowing the difference. They may not buy something, but make sure that’s not because they missed the reason why.
1 Comment | Retail Branding, Retail Interactive | Tagged: Allend Edmonds, Dave Hamel, Ebel Signorelli Welke, esw partners, Ferragamo, GEOX, Marc Jacobs, Nine West, Retail Branding, Retail Interactive, retail marketing | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
September 8, 2009
If the meta title on your website is how you want search spiders (and searchers) to understand what you are – your “headline” – does your website then tell users the same story or something completely different? In other words, does your website reflect the brand statement in the title?
I’ve been watching three retail brands that arguably have similarities: Cost Plus World Market, Crate and Barrel, and Pier 1. Two have sites well-aligned with their brand idea. The third is way off.
Crate and Barrel. Meta title: Contemporary Furniture, Housewares, and Gift Registry. I look at their site. Yep. Contemporary furniture (the home page features a fall upholstery sale), housewares, and a gift registry. And the C&B contemporary look. Check.
World Market. Meta title: Home Furnishings, Home Décor and Living Room Furniture at World Market. Their site seems to match pretty well with the title, right now featuring 50% off on dining tables, chairs, benches and more. World Market adds a tag line that seems to drive their personality: “Unique, authentic, and always affordable.”
Their site reflects the tag line with a rough hewn look to it, “torn” paper and “staples” holding the main visual in place that act as subliminal reminders of both the unique/authentic (looks like it was only posted recently and won’t be there long) and the affordable.
Pier 1. Meta title: Unique, Imported Décor, Gifts, Furniture, Glassware & more. That’s how I think of Pier 1 the physical store – a bit of a bazaar from some unidentifiable country, with too narrow aisles like I would find at that foreign market, unique smells, and things to discover throughout the store. Unique and imported feel like they are significant part of the physical store brand idea.
Now to the Pier 1 website. Warning, danger Will Robinson. The new home page has a floral pattern armchair surrounded by autumn leaves and faux pine trees in the background, with call outs, and a squirrel that has a thought balloon – “squirrels can have rewards too.” Their recent back-to-school home page was equally off-brand with a juvenile Elvis hawking their “classics.” Unique? Imported? How does a brand with such as clear (and strong) store idea go so far astray on its website? I’ve never seen a major retail brand whose brand seems so conflicted between their stores and their website.
So, what does your website meta title say? And does your website reflect that? If the title and site don’t match, one of them needs to change. Hello, Pier 1.
Leave a Comment » | Retail Branding, Retail Interactive | Tagged: Cost Plus, Cost Plus World Market, Crate & Barrel, Crate and Barrel, Dave Hamel, online branding, online retailing, Pier 1, Pier One, Retail Branding, Retail Interactive, retail websites, World Market | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 29, 2009
Target just replaced its Target brand of core commodities with the Up & Up brand. I’m a believer in the benefits of private label, but I don’t get this one.
Private label at retail can do so many things. It can allow a retailer to capture a higher margin than a “store brand.” It can help a retailer sell in a category where its core brand may not have the cache the target wants to display (Target does this well with Merona). It can create a competitive difference because your store is the only place to get the private label brand.
But to replace a store brand that is highly regarded in a category where that brand likely has positive meaning with a brand that has no meaning (and an odd-although-I’m-sure-they-have-research-that-says-its-great name) seems risky. Maybe even foolish.
In its press release, Target suggests that this move helps them reintroduce 130 products that have been reformulated or enhanced of 800 they sell in this category. Up & Up will “deliver low prices and great quality with an expanded product selection and a unique new design.” Take away the unique new design and isn’t that what I expect of the Target brand?
Let’s assume I’m a Target shopper, and I have bought Target branded products for some time. Now I go in the store and those products are gone, replaced by this unknown thing called Up & Up. What is it? Are the prices the same as the Target product (which is now gone, so I can’t compare)? Is it the product that has performed well for me in the past (I don’t know because it’s an unknown brand)? Up & Up? Isn’t that a phrase that suggests something that is trying to overcome deception (as in “being on the up and up”)? And, am I going to prefer Up & Up products in these categories anymore than I preferred the Target brand; if I didn’t buy private label to start with, I’m probably not going to buy this new, unknown private label?
So, now what does Target sell under the Target brand? Anything?
This feels a bit like “new Coke” to me, when some people preferred Pepsi over Coke and the solution seemed to be to throw out Coke and introduce a new brand. Throw out Target because… its baby wipes weren’t up to snuff? Its paper plates weren’t quite good enough?
They folks in Minneapolis are smarter than me. They must be; they’ve created successes I’ve only written about. But this one has me stymied. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out.
1 Comment | Retail Branding | Tagged: Dave Hamel, new Coke, private label marketing, Retail Branding, retail private label, Target, Up & Up brand | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 26, 2009
I have always been a believer that value is defined by “what I get for what I pay.” And needs to be portrayed as that: tell me how great what you’re selling is, and then tell me how little I will pay for it.
This economy has changed my belief. The new value equation is “what I pay for what I get.” More so than ever, consumers are starting with a dollar amount in mind, and then looking for who has the best “value” for that.
I’m reading retail ads again, and what’s striking me is that the price points seem more dominant than ever and the brands more recessive. Almost as if it doesn’t matter what the brand is, as long as the retailer has some kind of item at that price.
This makes price-pointing even more important. Understanding both what price points are motivating to consumers and where competition is priced for similar offers.
Shoppers are buying with the view – “I only have or want to spend this much money. What can I get for it?” – believing that they’ll get something quite acceptable for the amount they will spend, or they just won’t buy until something acceptable hits their price range.
I have a hotel client in Detroit that offers an amazing room for as little as $149 a night. This hotel wants to sell “stay-cations.” The problem is that other hotels in the area (that are not quite as amazing, but pretty darn good) sell a night for $99 to $119. My client wants to convince shoppers that they will get “so much more” for $149. But the consumer doesn’t want to pay $149, even if they get so much more. The consumer wants to pay closer to $100. The price point issue is both competitive and attitudinal.
For any retailer, understanding what the consumer is willing to pay nowadays is mission critical. And hitting price points that tap into that understanding equally important. So, more so than ever, to offer the consumer real value, flip the value equation upside down: start with the price and then determine how much you can offer for that price.
Leave a Comment » | Retail Branding, Retail Promotions | Tagged: Dave Hamel, retail price points, retail pricing, Retail Promotions, retail sales, value pricing | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 10, 2009
Quick, name the brick & mortar retailer that has over 700,000 followers on Twitter (and only slightly fewer than Miley Cyrus).
Give up? It’s Whole Foods.
Big deal, you say. Or, maybe, that fits them. Or, perhaps, wow. But let me explain how Whole Foods, or any retailer using Twitter the way they are, may kick your butt.
Okay, this may be a slight dramatization, but the reality is that the vast information of the blogosphere is being cut and compounded by Twitter to deliver exactly what consumers want: quick and easy, localy targeted information (to satisfy even those with the worst case of ADHD).
Whole Foods is able to compete with Britney Spears for attention, without baring their midriff. Their headquarters acts as the main Twitter account (like others); which provides a link not to their main retail site (like others), but to another website dedicated to contact information for local metropolitan areas and certain individual store Twee
ts. (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/twitter/). Whole Foods has an array of information on Twitter for different locations from West LA to Honolulu to Glenview, IL.
Whole Foods can be followed on Twitter just like the local Mom and Pop stores (or Mom and Pop themselves). They’ve broken down their company and consumers by store, allowing their message to be specific to the consumers of that area. In other words, the store that each consumer shops. Whole Foods is taking advantage of the key retail aspect that Twitter offers: a personal message from retailer to buyer. They inform followers of events like ‘Tea 101’ class, Happy Hour at the WF hot bar, BOGO pizza promotions, and everything else that could promote traffic in their store. They even recommend recipes to make for dinner, of course using Whole Foods products. Sometimes Tweets are just to wish you a Happy (insert holiday)! How sweet.
Unlike many forms of advertising, this one isn’t a one way street. Not only does the retailer save time, money, and face by not annoying an uninterested party with “advertising,” the retailer also gets direct feedback regarding their brand and a means to develop a relationship with the consumer. The individual consumer chooses which accounts to follow and is given a voice – which is actually heard. Consumers can Tweet questions about local store events, promotional deals, and goods, whether the topics are posted already or not, and get a response from an individual within the company directly to them, but for all others to see. I’ve even noticed complaints posted by customers, to which a representative replies positively with an apology and explanation. Talk about customer engagement.
Yes, building this personal relationship with a broad audience takes time and effort. But if you have retail brand that has a natural constituency – a bit of a following already – it may be a terrific way to get engagement with, and traffic to, your business. Trader Joe’s? What are you waiting for?
Leave a Comment » | Retail Branding, Retail Interactive | Tagged: Dave Hamel, local retail marketing, retail online, social media, Twitter, Whole Foods | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 8, 2009
If the medium is the mobile phone, what’s the message?
Now, what if the mobile phone has texting, music, camera, video, and all that the Internet has to offer?
It feels like human evolution is heading towards bionics, with Bluetooths replacing ears, and mobile apps popping up faster than bad habits. Waiting too long to get on board with mobile media could result in Darwin placing you with the dinosaurs. Here are some ways how it’s being done:
Mobile Sites: In order to have somewhere to send mobile traffic, retailers need a website for mobile access – a version of what you have, but made for mobile. Try accessing your current website from a mobile device and see what it looks like. I wanted a local location for Jennifer Convertibles from my BlackBerry last weekend. I got a hard-to-use version of their web site and they lost a sale.
Mobile Banners: Just like banners on a computer, they’re a means to grab a visitor. Animated mobile banners for McDonalds increased online visits through the use of a mobile app store locator. Mobile advertising is great for fast food considering those customers are, by definition, on the go.
SMS: Text messaging has been a main mobile tool for retailers. Jaguar recently motivated consumers to text the brand in their latest print and TV campaign (yet they forgot to build a good mobile website).
Apps: Downloading applications has become a popular way to get information and entertainment. And for retailers to reach their audience. Creating or sponsoring an app that fits your brand well can have a truly lasting effect if they application has sticking power. And in-game opportunities for retail branding are unlimited.
What’s next: The new 3G phones will change mobile even more. Their speed will allow more downloads and more elaborate advertising. The new iPhone 3G S will use Safari’s web browser to track the user’s location. Sending a message to someone 100 feet from your store is pretty wild to think about.
Like other technology, the more of this that is sold, the less expensive it will be for all consumers. But for many, like my 21-year old daughter, they want it and they what it can do now. Are you ready for her?
Leave a Comment » | Mobile Media, Retail Branding, Retail Interactive | Tagged: 3G phones, Dave Hamel, mobile apps, mobile banners, mobile marketing, mobile web sites, new media, Retail Branding, SMS, text messaging | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 5, 2009
It’s no secret that newspapers are in trouble. As I re-read this Sunday’s paper for the ads, I wondered whether the number of bad retail ads are contributing to a lack of reasons to read a newspaper.
I live in Chicago and get the Sunday Chicago TRIBUNE (have they “dumbed down” the crossword in the TRIB magazine just for me?). This weekend, the main news section has 33 ads on 28 pages: 12 full page ads, 6 between ½ page and a page, and rest some kind of fractional (Macy’s almost 3 pages, Target has 2 plus a strip ad on the front page). A lot of ads.
But what really struck me is the number of ads that I had to read hard to figure out. One promotes the artwork of such rock legends as John Lennon, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, yet buried is that it’s an ad for the grand opening of a new hotel. I had to read it twice to figure that out. Another says “Celebration by Hastens” in a really hard-to-read script. Maybe I’m supposed to know who Hastens is, but I had to read it twice to know they are selling Queen Bed mattresses (starting at $7,530. Oh, my). There’s another one where the store name – Sonus – is the headline (appears they are in the hearing aid business). Another one has a lot of type with a headline “Reforming Medical Education.” I had to read several paragraphs to know they’re selling a book by that title. Here’s my favorite: a snapshot of an angry grizzly bear with the headline “Notes to Self:” The two notes are “Grizzly bears do NOT make good housepets” and “Perma-Seal offers more than waterproofing.” Beyond being a gratuitous use of a bear, I didn’t know Perma-Seal even offered waterproofing in the first place.
So, amid the editorial and its attempts at direct, pithy headlines are these indirect, hard-to-figure out retail ad messages. As with other media, the newspaper is really an advertising vehicle that attracts consumers through both news, and advertising. I think the news part is trying to get its act together. But the advertising part, for many retail brands, still seems to be a problem.
Retail advertisers: get with the program. Make the advertising interesting. But don’t make it hard-to-figure out or assumptive. You’ll waste your money, my time, and maybe even contribute to the demise of an advertising medium you rely on.
1 Comment | Retail Branding, Retail Promotions | Tagged: Dave Hamel, local advertising, newspaper advertising, retail advertising | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 2, 2009
The Internet’s social networks are there for retailers to take advantage of, in good times and bad. Even though most retailers have greater reason to connect on an off-day (or month, or year), building this community can mean greater benefits later on.
It sometimes seems there are too many new Internet applications and networks to keep up with (Facebook, Gwave, Twitter); the fact is, consumers ARE keeping up. Tweens to young adults are physically and mentally attached to their popular media and communications tools. Plus, they know how to use them. Though it’s painful to see a kid texting at a family dinner, it’s the truth of where were heading in communication.
This market had their parents’ money at disposal as young adults, and now their own as they enter the workforce. To put it in perspective: recent college graduates were the first to have Facebook accounts, back when it was only available for college students, free of ads or any applications (did you know that time existed?) Today, with this audience, if your retail business doesn’t have a Facebook page, users will not only notice your absence if they search for you, it will tell them you’re 5 years late and counting.
A benefit in being involved with these networks, besides linkage to customers: if harder-times hit, you’ve already got a support system. In the recent times of a slow economy, with people unwilling to pay what they u
sed to for goods, Target is losing customers to the often lower priced Wal-Mart. Target’s response has been to sell the higher value of its merchandise and shopping experience.
Recently, to promote these values of the people and company, Target held a charitable contest through their Facebook “fan” page. They listed 10 charities and put 3 million dollars on the line. Then it was up to the fans to choose who received the money.
In the end St. Jude’s Hospital and the American Red Cross were the biggest winners with almost $800,000 a piece. But they weren’t the only winners. Target made 97,000 new fans (they now have over 400,000) to send promotions and news to (for free), as well as increased daily page views to their information. Maybe most important of all, Target became the topic of conversations that didn’t involve losing customers to Wal-Mart, but instead, their value in giving to others. The money donated by Target was a great sum, but the spread of its message may ultimately be cheap because of the community of fans they built.
Though these social networks seem like new news, they’re not. If they are new to your retail brand, that’s a concern. Because they’re not going away anytime soon, and the faster you join, the better. Sometimes it’s cool for a retailer not to do the cool thing, this isn’t one of those times.
Leave a Comment » | Retail Branding, Retail Interactive | Tagged: Dave Hamel, Facebook, Gwave, social media, social networks, Target, Twitter | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
June 1, 2009
Sounds good, huh?
It’s the new campaign for Wal-Mart, who has switched their focus from generating new store sales to a strong bond with their existing locations and current customers.
Wal-Mart’s in a predicament that not many retailers are finding themselves. Their experience lately has been a profitable one in that they’ve won over and in some cases won back customers, who in better economic times went elsewhere. The low prices of Wal-Mart have never looked so good. But the trend is plateauing and they might have reached their high point.
Instead of basking in their own glory, Wal-Mart’s getting hard to work and focusing energy where it matters- the consumer. They have gone back to the nowadays neglected market research team and are learning all they can.
How well do you know your former, present, and future consumer?
Wal-Mart’s situation may be somewhat an exception to the average state of retailers in this country- they’re trying to keep their new and old customers. Many stores are just trying to win them back. With the unemployment rate at around 9+% it doesn’t seem like things can get much worse. And that’s exactly the point. What are you doing to prepare if the scenario changes? Ex relationships are famously something you don’t go back to. Their exes for a reason. If the economy is the main reason consumers broke up with you, the question is now- do they miss you?
They may have just forgotten how great your bond was. If the opportunity does arise to win them back, without preparation you could miss your window.
Putting the money into market research may be a benefit later on. Get to know your consumer by seeing who has stuck around and, most importantly, why. Also, look at your competitor’s traffic and what they’re doing to accelerate or contain it. According to Adeage.com, Wal-Mart is polling more than a million customers monthly. They’ve revamped their marketing tactics as well as the people who make up the marketing department.
Besides the marketing scheme, they’re also giving their stores a face-lift, making the shopping experiences more appealing and easier. They’re also focusing on selling their private brands as opposed to just the national ones while they still have everyone’s attention. All in all, they’re increasing the value of their goods and services, or making it seem that way. With the recession, emphasis on value has shifted from consumers wanting the best product on the block to the best product for a limited amount of bucks. Now Wal-Mart’s angle is continuing the low cost, but associating it with high value. Save money, live better.
What’s your motto?
Leave a Comment » | Retail Branding | Tagged: Dave Hamel, recession marketing, Retail Branding, Wal-Mart | Permalink
Posted by eswpartners
Welcome to "We Play in Traffic," by Dave Hamel Managing Director, ESW Partners: insights, thoughts and tips for driving traffic and sales using retail branding and advertising.
