No Turn On Red

Some stories that are on my radar this morning:

McDonald’s is testing no-brand marketing in Japan by opening a store without any of the colors, logos, or branding of their traditional stores. Supported through non-traditional marketing such as hand outs, viral campaigns, and a unique website, the store offers two menu choices and that is it. Intriguing concept and I wonder how long it is until we see that more often in the United States. Jon Sykes also shares his thoughts on this campaign.

Linda at Get Elastic has a very informative post about the benefits of pushing educational content, rather than sales promotions, in e-mail. In Should Retail Email Sell or Inform? An A/B Split Test Case Study, she provides a look into an study into different types of e-mails that were sent out from a retailer and provides concrete information on ROI, conversion rates, and sales results. Summary is, content is king and the e-mails that were focused on educational content and information performed better than the sales oriented e-mails. Good information for all retailers.

Over at CNBC, Cindy Perman writes about the impact the economy is having on second hand and consignment shops. Some intriguing sales numbers from Goodwill and quotes from consignment store owners that reflect the uptick in sales and traffic they are seeing this holiday season. At least someone is seeing positive gains this season.

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As the Gulf Coast of the United States makes preparations for the impact of Hurricane Gustav, I have to say that I am very impressed by the way Home Depot is using Twitter to communicate preparation tips and store information. The Home Depot Twitter account, which is generally filled with helpful home improvement tips, has switched gears to provide information targeted to Gulf Coast residents and those who are in the path of the storm.

Recent updates today have included general hurricane preparation tips about moving appliances, the danger of carbon monoxide from emergency generators, and reminding people to locate their main water and electric shut off switches. There has also been information about store closings and the availability of water.

This is a great use of Twitter by a retailer. They’re using the service to focus communication on information related to this very dangerous storm. I see this as a way for the retailer to assist the community that it serves. Good job by Home Depot.

My thoughts go out to everyone in the path of the storm.

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A few of the stories I’m reading and wanted to share today:

John Zogby’s got a very insightful look into the political trends of retail consumers and dives behind the numbers to make sense of it all. He looks at presidential election polling numbers, the retailers the customers shop at, and how this relates to the retailers’ branding.

J.Crew’s website has had their share of mistakes and downtime lately. Church of the Customer is talking about the apology e-mail that the retailer sent out to their customers and what this means for the company.

Matt at A New Marketing presents a clean, easily digestable definition of what social media is.

.. and finally – Starbucks is offering a $2 discount on iced beverages in the afternoon when you buy a drink in the morning. I think this is a smart move that should drive repeat business throughout the day. Besides that, I’m selfish and now look forward to saving a little bit of money on my second trip to Starbucks every day.

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Today, JCPenney has announced the launch of a new activewear line called Xersion. The line, developed, sourced, and designed by the retailer, fits in the “better” pricepoint of Womens activewear. This is one of the six brands JCPenney is launching with this back to school season.

More details are available in their own press release.

Timing of this launch is interesting as Kohl’s readies to launch their exclusive licensing agreement for activewear with Fila. Makes sense that JCPenney would want to ramp up their private label activewear offerings.

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As always, I’m looking at a ton of e-commerce sites lately. Decided to run through some of the landing pages that I am seeing around the web right now to show off the variety of promotions and marketing going on. Though it’s not as denim-centric as it was two years ago, it’s obvious denim is still the #1 push in the back to school season.

Continue reading this entry

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Almost one year ago, I discussed the number of reasons why Gap, Inc. should integrate all of their brands online. Today, they’ve taken the first steps to doing exactly this. They’ve announced upgrades to their website that integrates their brand websites into one shopping session. Now, the customer is able to shop all four brands (Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Piperlime) using one shopping cart, one checkout process, and one shipping method. Kudos to Gap for making it easier for the user to shop their brands all at once.

I would still like Gap to recommend products across brands – Sell me a pair of Old Navy shorts with my Gap hoodie. I would still like to see them blog about new fashion items and offer ways to mix and match items across brands. But an integrated shopping and checkout experience is a positive step forward for this retailer.

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In what I think is one of the most brilliant move marketing campaigns of the past few years, 7-Eleven has turned 11 of their stores into Kwik-E-Marts, the fictional convenience store from the Simpsons. This is to promote the upcoming release of the Simpsons movie. 11 stores across the country have been outfitted in Kwik-E-Mart branding, complete with brands featured in the show that never actually existed before (Buzz Cola, Squishees, and KrustyOs cereal).

What makes this interesting is that 7-Eleven is putting up the bulk of the cost associated with this promotion. They’ve put out the money (”somewhere n the single millions”) to outfit their stores with the new look for the month. They believe this will show that they have a sense of humor about themselves and attract new customers.

It is a big gamble for the company, but the press they will generate from this will probably be great. The important thing is that they didn’t half-ass this – this is a company who took an idea and ran full force from it. The level of detail is impressive and will attract die-hard Simpsons fanatics, as well as casual viewers and non-fans alike.

The messageboard the No Homers Club has a thread with tons of photos of the interior and exterior of one of these converted locations while the Associated Press has more on the business end of things.

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I don’t often use my own site to solicit anything of a commercial nature. But looking at my server logs, it is obvious that I get a lot of traffic from some pretty major retailers. So I’d like to put this out there:

I’m working with a client on a relaunch of a sports-focused community-based website. It’s pretty specific to one geographic area, but it currently has some pretty solid traffic behind it and a very loyal community behind it. With this relaunch, I am actively looking for retailers who may want to create a co-branded marketing strategy and reach out to this highly targeted demographic. I think it’s a great opportunity for a retailer, especially a sports or outdoor orientated retailer.

I’d really like to create a dialogue with retailers or businesses who may be interested in this type of opportunity. In addition to this client, I’ve got other clients that I consult and work with on an ongoing basis and I am interested in helping retailers connect with their market.

For more information, contact me via e-mail at [ts AT robotictom.com] or use my contact form.

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This week, I’ve been talking about the retail growth in Atlantic City. The recently completely Nike Factory store is another fantastic example of how great retail in that city is looking:

The store opened within the past two months and is reportedly the first store of it’s kind for Nike.

The location of the store is unbelievable. Situated in the median of the Atlantic City Expressway, right as you get to the beachfront/casino area, it is one of the most visible, non-casino properties in the city. The exterior of the building has floor to ceiling windows, filling the interior with natural light. I was there on a beautiful, sunny Summer day and I couldn’t believe how bright the interior was.

Merchandise is presented well, with the full range of Nike products shown. Mannequins and innovative fixturing, mixed with huge (over 10 feet tall) graphics showing their products in action, lead to a great shopping experience. Sneakers are presented in a self-serve format, with a range of products offered.

There is also an separate, smaller store that is dedicated to the Converse brand. Same level of excitement, innovation, and merchandising excellence.

I was really surprised to see how nice this store looked. It compliments the rest of the Walk outlets. Atlantic City is becoming a destination shopping experience, with a great mix of high and low-end retailers. If you are in New Jersey and looking for a great place to shop, check out Atlantic City.

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Looking at the Old Navy website to see what’s new, I noticed a box on the side of the main page advertising Crocs from Piperlime. Piperlime is the online footwear website that Gap launched last year. Carrying a range of styles and brands, this website is a very interesting endeavor by Gap.

Up until now, I don’t remember seeing much advertising for Piperlime on the other Gap Inc. properties. I could be wrong on that, but nothing has jumped out at me in the past. After seeing this integration on the Old Navy website, I checked and it is also on the main page for Gap and Banana Republic.

This is a great way to leverage their own brand through multiple channels. I’d venture to guess that a large segment of the shoppers of Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic, are not aware of the Piperlime brand. It is very smart to see them expose the brand this way.

I would love to see them take another step and integrate Piperlime even further into their brands. Why not include Piperlime shoes as recommendations to outfits on Gap.com? I realize all three of their brands have footwear selections of their own, but they are very limited compared to what Piperlime is offering.

In order for Gap to continue their turnaround efforts, they need to focus on three different consumer segments for their three brands. It is something they are working on already. But I’m imagine that there is still going to be some overlap between the brands. Why not take things even further and integrate all of the brands? Not one website, exactly, but recommend a Gap sweater to go with a pair of Banana Republic khakis and shoes from Piperlime.

Customers who bought this Gap shirt also bought these Old Navy jeans. I know I’m not the only one shopping at all three of their stores.

A great way for Gap Inc. to do all of this would be with a blog. Put a human face on the company and show off the newest fashions. Show me the new collection coming into my local Gap store and show me how I can dress that up with items from Banana Republic. Using already available technology, like blogging, could be a cornerstone of Gap’s continued regrowth efforts.

Again, I don’t think Gap should combine all of their brands into one. They need to have distinct plans for all of them. But there will be overlap and, I just have to wonder, if there is opportunity to leverage that online.

More Piperlime images:

What do you think? Am I crazy to think this or Gap Inc strengthen their overall brands by integrating them somehow online?

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