Influx Insights Tag Feed: retail

retail experience: nokia vs. apple

Influx Insights — 2008-04-10T00:35:02Z

John Dodds over at Make Marketing History has a nice post about the differences between Nokia and Apple in their retail experience.

He compares two stores in Oxford St, London and concludes;

The Nokia store is a gallery.
The Apple store is alive.
The Nokia store staff are tech sellers.
The Apple store staff are tech users.
The Nokia store is a place where you browse.
The Apple store is a place where you use.
The Nokia store is about surface.
The Apple store is about corporate DNA

In essence, it's clear that Apple has a brand and Nokia doesn't. This was fine for Nokia when they had the mobile world to themselves, but it looks like they need some serious brand work to prevent Apple from taking some major share in this space.

Posted by Ed Cotton

ralph lauren creates a nostalgic dream for jc penny

Influx Insights — 2008-02-12T16:05:03Z

Department stores have been trying for years to turn their private label offerings into real brands.

Most attempts have failed because they are just names with no deeper meanings making it impossible for them to compete with the genuine article.

JC Penny clearly understood the weakness in this approach and went outside to the brand master, Ralph Lauren to create its latest offering, American Living.

What's interesting about this concept, is although it has touches of Lauren's style all over it, he's created another world for the department store. Lauren's past success has been driven by the clever balancing act between present and past, His ideas were classical, but they were always believable in a contemporary context.

American Living is different, it's unabashed in highlighting the past as its inspiration. The web site suggests that the concept is anchored around the General Store and is rooted in a time when American's were practical, had a sense of humor and dreamed of a better life. This is no daily commute from the suburbs.

It's fascinating to see such a shift to the past in a country that's usually so wrapped up in the future.

Something has changed and perhaps the future no longer looks so bright.

In such a world, we are going to cling to the icons of the past for re-assurance and confirmation of who we are and where we stand.

American Living is just one example of the nostalgia for the past that America is now craving in everything from its cars to its politicians.

It's a force that cannot be ignored.

Posted by Ed Cotton

the new way to develop a global brand-open shops

Influx Insights — 2008-01-16T16:44:30Z

At the end of the last century, every brand was rushing to participate in a new form of commerce, e-commerce.

With everyone shopping online is there now more of a value on the real shopping experience? Is the retail-shopping environment, one of the most popular pastimes of global consumers, the place you need to be establishing your brand?

This isn't about participating in the retail business as a retailer, but using it as a core part of your branding strategy.

With media costs escalating out of control and reach becoming increasingly questionable, the retail store is fast becoming the branding tool of choice for brands that are looking for global reach and to leave an indelible mark in consumer's minds.

Brands that aren't tradtionally retailers are making the leap across into this space.

Obviously, it also helps if you have something to sell, but it's especially interesting to see some surprising new entrants.

The global soccer organization FIFA has just opened its first store in Singapore airport and plans to open others in London, Tokyo and Los Angeles.

Then there's Ferrari, who many would have expected to be the last brand to open stores, are using stores as a branding tool and a revenue generator. The company is opening them at a fast pace. In 2007, it opened Beijing, Los Angeles, Shenyang, Barcelona, Al Kobar, Abu Dhabi and Macao and this year will see openings in San Francisco, Miami and Honolulu.

While opening retail outlets might seem strange in a world dominated by technology. However, it's clear that certain areas of specific cities- Rodeo Drive in LA for example or Las Vegas are quickly becoming experience retail centers. Places where people spend time and indulge themselves in experiences. This is not shopping as chore, but shopping as entertainment and it certainly makes sense for certain brands to be present in this emerging media channel.

Retail allows brand to create a media that performs two functions; a brand experience and if done correctly and with the right partners, a revenue generator that allows the brand to recoup some of its expenses.

It will be interesting to see the role agencies and media buying companies will play here, but I somehow can't imagine anyone putting global store openings as a line item on the media plan.

Perhaps, it would be the mark of true integration, if one of the large holding companies could make this type of cross-functional thinking happen

Posted by Ed Cotton

sears on the rocks

Influx Insights — 2007-12-02T04:08:36Z

Back in March, Influx suggested the charismatic Mr.Lampert might lack the skills to turn around the ailing Sears brand.

Now Fortune magazine has written a detailed story on the topic and seems to agree.

"The litany of problems at Sears looks to be getting worse, not better. Sears is neglecting many of the basic strategies that attract shoppers, including renovating stores, stocking the right merchandise and taking timely markdowns. Though a pullback in consumer spending has compounded the company's problems, people who know Sears well say many of the company's troubles are self-inflicted. (Neither Sears nor Lampert's office responded to questions for this story.)

Conversations with several of Sears' suppliers, who spoke on condition they not be named, paint a picture of a company adrift, hobbled by high turnover in the merchandising ranks, and veering from one idea to another. "Sears does everything it can to chase away the customer," said one of its apparel suppliers. Company executives, he said, have become disproportionately focused on the numerical side of retailing, obsessing over profit margins and inventory turns, at the expense of larger merchandising issues - such as stocking products that consumers want to buy."

Posted by Ed Cotton

a trip inside tesco's new us grocery store-fresh & easy

Influx Insights — 2007-11-04T19:21:06Z

The folks at Tesco just posted a video of a quick tour through one of its new Fresh & Easy stores.

From the fleeting video, it looks like a brand with values, not perhaps as extreme as Whole Foods, but a step-up from your average grocery chain.

The same can be said for the overall experience.

Posted by Ed Cotton

the power of brand voice

Influx Insights — 2007-10-05T03:59:45Z

Brand voice has the power to transform how people see your brand, especially if you use it in the right places.

In 2006, Barclays Bank in the UK undertook an interesting experiment to try and transform the branch experience.

While most typical branch enhancements revolve around design, this transformation was all about language.

The objective was to use the materials in branch to forge a new conversation based on new language. The goal was to move from the old world of bank as powerful, but patronizing to a bank that's more approachable and human.

The whole exercise was illustrated by the shift from chained black pens to free pens with slogans.

Posted by Ed Cotton

crocs set to open brand stores

Influx Insights — 2007-09-25T12:00:36Z

Seen in London's Covent Garden last week.

Posted by Ed Cotton

what do brands mean to cfos?

Influx Insights — 2007-09-11T15:17:19Z

Consolidation is happening everywhere and it's always assumed that brands get brought and sold.

Although the whole notion of branding is based on making strong emotional connections with consumers, I wonder if many CFOs really understand branding.

Perhaps they see branding as a tool for operational efficiency- a way to make everything the same, so there don't have to be multiple versions or ad, signage and training binders.

Most of the time this consoldiation happens and it goes un-noticed, consumers have come to expect it, especially in categories like banking and teleommunications.

However, once in a while, consumers get upset when they see one of their beloved brands crushed by another, It looks like Macy's might be under attack in Chicago for getting rid of Marshall Field's.

"It’s been a year since Marshall Field’s vanished to make way for Macy’s. To mark the occasion, dozens of protesters gathered outside Macy’s huge State Street store, suggesting shoppers boycott the retailer and demanding a return of the Field’s imprint.

Chants of “Field’s is Chicago, Boycott Macy’s!” were heard and signs reading “Macy’s Go Home!” fluttered in the air. Protesters wore the green that distinguished Marshall Field’s shopping bags -- and a handful of women decked out in colorful 1890s-style dresses and hats -- marched around the square-block store, and drew honks from passing cars.

The store is one of about 400 properties nationwide converted last year to the Macy’s nameplate by Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores Inc., which acquired them when it bought May Department Stores Co. in 2005. The move gave Federated more than 800 Macy’s stores in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. Federated then changed its name to Macy’s Inc."

Via Pantagraph

One would think that Macy's did a little bit of research before they made the decision, perhaps a survey and some focus groups. They also would know that authenticity is an important consumer trend and that brands with heritage and history have considerable value. Perhaps they did all this and ignored the findings, because in the end, operational efficiency trumps brand meaning.

Finally, if anyone knows of any research on CFOs attitudes to brands and branding, please share.

Posted by Ed Cotton

how to research an idea

Influx Insights — 2007-06-29T05:32:36Z

"We built the store inside a warehouse. We claimed it was a movie set so that people would deliver all these goods and not think it was us. We had to borrow products from other retailers because we hadn't at that stage developed any products. We took ordinary people in, and they really, really liked it."

Sir Tim Leahy-Tesco (on his company's research for the US launch)

Posted by Ed Cotton

influx factoid- 1.6 pieces of marketing material per second

Influx Insights — 2007-06-14T22:50:51Z

A new pilot study from POPAI looks at how UK shoppers engage in retail marketing at Morrisons and ASDA/Wal-Mart stores.

It reveals just how challenging the battle for consumer attention has become.

"534 shoppers enter the store per hour; shoppers are exposed to 1.6 pieces of marketing materials per second as they navigate the stores; shoppers' eyes are drawn to 17.8 percent of the marketing materials..."

Over 80% of materials get ignored.

The battle for attention is real.

Posted by Ed Cotton

brand experience: apple's personal trainers

Influx Insights — 2007-05-12T20:30:48Z

A couple of days ago, Influx discussed the potential for brands and retailers to add experiences to their offering.

In the piece we incorrectly classified Apple as a pure brand retailer with no brand experience elements. We are wrong most of the stores have classes and group training. Which adds an educational experience element to retail. Apple also has its One 2 One Personal Training program which allows people to get personal training in a range of skills from photography to web development.

For just $99 a year, it's a great deal and a clever way for Apple to enhance its relationship with its customers.

brands and retailers need to sell experiences

Influx Insights — 2007-05-09T05:47:15Z

In 1999, when Pine and Gilmore wrote the “Experience Economy”, marketers rushed to bring more experience to their brands and especially their retail environments.

NikeTown’s evolution exemplified the movement, starting off as celebration of the brand, more like a museum and then shifting emphasis to become more of a traditional retailer, with specks of experience.

Brands moved into retail experiences because they liked the idea of control and they saw an opportunity to immerse consumers in the brand.

Today, the concept appears to have evolved into two strains.

a.    Pure branded retail- Apple Stores- are the best example and in fact deliver the highest sales/sqft of any retailer in the US. These are stores; they don’t deliver much in the way of experience or celebrating the legacy and history of the brand. Apple is very much about the latest and the now, its stores don’t need to dwell on the past.

b.    Museums-Brands that have equity in the past are using brand experiences as an additional arm of their brand communication strategies. Mercedes is a great example of a brand that’s building museums to communicate its history and heritage.

Yesterday, Sharper Image announced it was selling flights with the Zero Gravity Corp.

“The experience starts with a brief training session followed by a 90-minute flight aboard G-Force One, a Boeing 727, during which parabolic maneuvers are performed. The controlled ascent and descent of the plane allows flyers to experience apparent Martian gravity (1/3 Earth's gravity), Lunar gravity (1/6 Earth's gravity), and weightlessness.

ZERO-G flights depart from Las Vegas and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.”

This announcement moves Sharper Image into the experience selling game.

Yankelovich has been telling us for years that consumers value experiences more than material possessions, but it’s taken ages for retailers and traditional brands to get in on the act.

However, the potential is boundless for those that get it right, just imagine:

-    The Container Store should be selling “life simplification” courses and consulting
-    BevMo could sell wine tours and wine tasting classes
-    Pottery Barn could package interior design courses
-    Car dealers should be aggressively selling courses for performance racetrack driving and rallying
-    PF Chang’s could be selling cooking experience tours to China
-    Target could sell overseas trips to accompany their buyers

Consumers want to these things, if only brands and retailers could find a way to sell them. Beyond the obvious revenue benefits, these experiences would generate greater loyalty for brands.

Influx believes we are likely to see a shift towards “experience selling” that will demand imagination and ingenuity. It offers an interesting opportunity for retailers and brands that are bold enough to make the leap and prepared to experiment and develop new ways to sell experience.

Eight years on, the “Experience Economy” is finally becoming a reality.

the world's fastest growing brands

Influx Insights — 2007-06-06T23:46:45Z

Millward Brown has just published its 2007 ranking of the world’s largest brands from the BrandZ study.

Influx thought it would be good to look at the ranking of the fastest growing brands from the study.

BrandZ Millward Brown Top 10 Fastest Growing Brands

1. Marks and Spencer +192% (68)
2. Best Buy +113% (86)
3. Target +88% (52)
4. Google +77% (1)
5. ABN Amro +72 (95)
6. Apple +55% (16)
7. Gucci +49% (89)
8. Starbucks +45% (35)
9. Hermes +44% (85)
10. Cingular Wireless +39%(70)

()= Brand value ranking

Interesting to see three retailers leading the ranking, the leader, Marks and Spencer a UK retailer experienced one of the most incredible turnarounds, thanks to some great advertising.

america's ready for muji's simplcity

Influx Insights — 2007-06-14T18:16:32Z

Last month, Japanese retailer Muji, announced that it’s setting-up shop in the US, opening a New York store in the Fall of 2007.

One store is hardly going threaten the domestic players, but it will provide them with an interesting glimpse into one possible future.

It’s likely that Target, will put Muji under the microscope; they share a love of design and designer contributors, but that’s where the similarities end.

While Target, celebrates and shows off their designers, Muji prides itself in its no brand status, most of the products have no logos or branding. In addition, Muji’s interpretation and use of design, is single-mindedly focused around a traditional Japanese minimalist aesthetic.

Here’s how Muji describes its vision.

"Lower priced for a reason."

This phrase encapsulates how we can provide our Muji products at lower prices. We launched our Muji brand by designing and developing products that might almost be regarded as substandard if based on traditional criteria, although they are, of course, actually of good quality. Through the careful selection of materials, streamlining manufacturing processes, and simplifying our packaging, we have continually introduced high quality Muji brand products onto the market, at lower than usual prices. Presently there are more than 7,000 items sold as Muji products. Muji's natural and simple design proposes rational lifestyles for today's world. Muji products - there is a reason why we can provide such good quality products at lower prices."

While the brand has been toiling away for 20 years in Japan and making the occasional excursion to Europe and Asia, the move to the States, is a signal that the temperature is right here for Muji.

While many of Muji’s products are made from recycled paper and fabrics, it doesn’t market itself environmental leader, instead its focus is on simplicity. A concept the brand has extended to over 7,000 products including bicycles, cars and most recently, homes.

Muji's US target will be an active group of Americans who seek alternatives to showy brand consumerism; those who are looking to pursue higher goals in their consumption habits, but importantly, want to show and share those goals to others. Carrying around and being seen with a Muji notebook conveys a certain status.

Note: Toyota's Prius is outselling other hybrids, because its owners want the benefit of other people noticing that they own a "hybrid", sales of competitor models, lack this benefit, because they look exactly the same as their non-hybrid siblings.

Muji has done some great marketing in Japan, including this 2003 campaign developed by Kenya Hara that nicely articulated the brand's vision of "simplicity". Hopefully, Muji won't compriomise its brand vision for the US market and adopt the same strategy and similar executions in the US, even if local advertising agencies suggest otherwise.

target continues to be innovative with media

Influx Insights — 2007-03-31T16:10:04Z

Target is incredibly consitent in everything it does and especially in its innovative use of media.

Here's the latest example from the BART subway in San Francisco.

Via SFist