Wear-Dated Brand Evolution

The fun of this digital age is that you never know when the unexpected might crop up - especially via google alerts.

This delicious blast from the past showcases how the Wear-Dated brand has evolved over the years. It comes from an ebay posting for 1971 Wear-Dated slacks by Monsanto. I missed the bidding, but love what the image captures. Note the logo which -it just so happens since I'm a visual packrat- I have a color close-up of.

A different place in time.

In those days, Monsanto was in the polyester business [remember polyester double knit suits, even for men?] and polyester captured a look and style that absolutely signaled hip, with-it and totally in.

My friend, Gary Petersen, who hired me into Monsanto, would regale us young ones with tales of the days when seriously suited men in St. Louis would prognosticate about the inevitable adoption across corporate America of polyester menswear. He alone had the temerity to stand up and ask all those around the boardroom table whether they intended to adopt polyester, for they were the target audience!

These, too, were the times when Wear-Dated had taken over the Macy's Times Square mezzanine level with the trendiest polyester womenswear.

My, how times change.

When I joined Monsanto in 1993, we had long exited the polyester business, as well as menswear. We were still, though, in the womenswear and childrenswear business with Wear-Dated [i.e., acrylic fleece and knits] Acrilan acrylic fiber. I inherited a dated look [see logo with blue square], that I had the unique privilege of updating several times - for apparel, and then later on more dramatically for the Acrilan acrylic upholstered fabric business.


Here you see the updated childrenswear version.

The logo update for the Wear-Dated upholstered fabric business went far beyond a cosmetic retouch. Rather, we took the opportunity to reinvent the business and the new logo embodied the thought process and repositioning.

Wear-Dated has always been about reassuring the consumer that those elements [namely contents and construction] that are downright difficult to evaluate fully from inside a store will perform. It represents peace-of-mind.

A product made with Wear-Dated fiber - to be considered Wear-Dated [i.e., think seal of approval] - undergoes rigorous testing to determine how well it meets performance standards and whether it has been constructed to certain parameters.

Once successfully "tough-tested", it can then carry the Wear-Dated brand and a warranty on the finished product to the consumer [even though we only make the fiber, not the finished product].

When I inherited the Wear-Dated upholstery business in 1997, we had successfully established ourselves as a player in the residential upholstery industry - especially for "motion" furniture [i.e., reclining chairs and sofas]. Our industrial look worked well. We learned, though, that the industry was rapidly transitioning beyond performance [and motion] to very fashionable stationary furniture. And, we just didn't exude fashion.

After a great deal of research and market exploration, we chose this look for the Wear-Dated upholstery business:

It worked well until we shut the business down early on in our bankruptcy process.

Luckily, the story doesn't end there as we have a very successful Wear-Dated nylon carpet fiber business - of which I am a part.

The Wear-Dated logo for carpet fiber has been through some changes as you can see from Signs of Another Brand Trail [and a few beyond that photo]. The most current version, here, also gets beyond the original industrial look and feel. Indeed, fashion is absolutely the name of the game for carpet and anything else going into our shopper's home.

In case you missed the story of how Wear-Dated came about, read Creation Stories. It will take you to a different time in New York City.

I bet you have an amazing story that captures your evolution since starting out. Do you share that story? Some companies, like La-Z-Boy, make a point of showcasing that story in their stores, even though they have progressed beyond the original category that brought them to the marketplace.

How has your brand evolved since its beginnings?

How do you share your brand story?

Technorati Tags: wear-dated brand experience
Del.icio.us Tags: wear-dated brand experience

Tony Schiano, Giant Food: Stores As New Media

Sadly, TREX NYC is a thing of the past [it's been combined into the In-Store Marketing Expo in Chicago]. I miss having in my backyard so many high-caliber executives [e.g., Linda Fargo and Michael Cape] sharing their passion for and perspectives on retail.

From the December 2006 show come the following comments from Tony Schiano, former [he retired January 2007] President and CEO of Giant Food, part of the Ahold organization, in which he discusses stores becoming the new medium for reaching consumers.

During Schiano's tenure, Giant grew to $6B and 260 stores in 6 states. Not too shabby! I'm familiar with Giant, having lived in McLean, VA as a kid. Giant was the store to go to for everything: groceries, back-to-school, paper goods, flip flops, even clothes. As the marketplace evolved, Giant launched a high end store - fondly referred to as 'Gucci Giant' - across the street.

Schiano's presentation, titled "In-Store Marketing - It's All About Solutions," reexamines not only the retail store experience, but it also takes a fresh look at consumers and their lives.

The retail environment is evolving, rapidly becoming the newest and best medium for reaching consumers when they actively seek information and interaction from retailers. Retailers need to leverage this to sell more goods, as these major trends converge:

+ the consumer is time starved; although health focused, lacks information and knowledge, behaves in a bipolar manner, and differs greatly from generation to generation.

+ at the retail level, channels are blurring; the format is expanding and the retail base consolidating expansion. Who will survive?

+ consumer packaged goods manufacturers are also consolidating. Too busy introducing product extensions; their marketing effectiveness is questionable. They aren't as sure about where and how to spend marketing dollars.

Retailers face a major marketing challenge stemming from segmentation, fragmentation, and the Internet, not to mention economically, socially and politically! In fact, Schiano describes the situation using US Army War College terms: Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous [Vuca].

How to make sense of it all? Accept that the world is different! Competition is stronger, channels are blurring and fragmenting at an increasing rate. Consumers face information overload. We're seeing significant population and demographic shifts, changing consumer buying trends [where cheap is chic], and much faster product life cycles [concept to maturity].

Supercenters in 6 years have doubled their share of the market compared to traditional grocery stores. And food manufacturers are more concentrated. Lack of consumption is not good. Therefore, need to work to keep everyone healthy.

Some major trends that are not fads:
+ Consumer focus on health and well being. Increasingly concerned about health, but don't have what need despite best intentions. They want simplicity, guidance and choices to make decisions.
+ Aging boomers want to remain healthy. But, they face barriers: not enough time, too busy and too much conflicting information.
+ Meal planning has decreased from 49% in 1986 to 32% in 2006.
+ The definition of wellness differs per customer. NO 1 size fits all.

Given these trends, Giant decided to start with the customer and figure out how to get better information into his/her hands, how to be faster, provide value and ideas, and help him/her deal with conflicting information. A challenge when mass research isn't as relevant, and cable and Internet have replaced network television, but one that can be addressed in-store.
Both retailer and manufacturer share mutual goals: they want to sell more stuff so both need to cooperate to motivate the consumer to spend and grow category demand, using effective and efficient marketing efforts, thereby keeping supermarkets healthy and advancing innovative concepts.

The opportunity, then, exists to collaborate sooner in the process. Currently, the two parts gather so late in the process that objectives never align and resources become wasted when the store has become the medium and the point for media convergence. It's more critical than ever before to cooperate and coordinate efforts.

Looking at the grocery landscape, it extends from hard discount [e.g., Aldi] to superstores and supermarkets in the middle [e.g., Giant offering value, organic products and solutions] to the opposite extreme with Whole Foods and A&P Fresh markets.

In the middle space, stores bring together collections of brands, becoming a brand in their own right. Critical though to have excellent consumer insight to optimize the right offering/service, better satisfy needs, create an emotional bond and generate trust, improve the value equation, and generally be consistent.

How to leverage this medium? Certainly not with more signs, sweepstakes or competitive coupons. Customers absolutely want solutions; they respond well to category/store focus and to good communications.

How to leverage the consumer relationship with food? Think of all of the life events that take place where food plays an important role in offering a solution: anniversaries, funerals, birthdays, baby showers, even the day-to-day food need. Important then to offer solution focused communication.

Schiano described the new Giant test store in Camp Hill, PA where many of the concepts resulting from solution-focused merchandising and messaging comes together in the medium of the store. At 91,625 sq. feet, it's quite a large store and reinvents the notion of grocery shopping.
From Retail Spotlight's Grocery Headquarters, this article abstract titled "King of Camp Hill: Giant Food Stores' huge new prototype not only makes shopping simpler and more pleasant, it's a feast for the senses from 12/01/2005 by Richard Turcsik gives you a sense of the possibilities inherent to using stores as new media:

"...The store is chock full of amenities, including a 50-seat cooking school, Panda Express Chinese fast-food counter, Hampden Dry Cleaners, Wifi Internet Cafe, Cook's Corner kitchenware shop and demonstration kitchen, Bucks County Coffee Co. outpost, Toy Zone, a complete Hallmark shop, and three upstairs meeting rooms that community and civic associations can rent at a nominal cost. There are over 43,000 SKUs, about 9,000 more than typically found in Giant's larger units. The store is so packed with extras that it boasts a new banner: Giant Super Food Store."

Schiano says in the article: "It's all about solutions. Our objective here is to really provide our customers with an experience that's going to give them really anything and everything they need related to health and nutrition and convenience under one roof."

So not only does Camp Hill offer traditional solutions [e.g., produce and prepared foods], but it reexamines the whole notion of this destination. I love the idea of community meeting rooms which Schiano said are free for charitable organizations, available at a low cost for civic groups, and can also be catered for private events. How about a daycare center? or valet service? Or nutritionists who can recommend low sodium or gluten free diets? What a way to make healthier living real for people.

Many of the ideas and concepts are ones that Giant has adopted from other retailers. "The in-store Staples department was first seen in Stop & Shop; the illuminated aisle directories in Giant Food of Landover; the cooking school is from Giant Carlisle's own Tops Markets division."

Furthermore, "the superstore is part of a new hub-and-spoke strategy. [Per Schiano, "Giant] will put stores like this in major geographic areas that could support a big store, and then we'll plug and play the most popular elements into our other new stores going forward, and retroactively when we remodel."

Per Ahold's Camp Hill, a Healthy Experience From Giant, the store also provides exercise and weight-watcher classes for all ages, a fully equipped cooking school for lessons in healthy, nutritional cooking, and a health food store within a store - called Nature's Promise Marketplace that offers over 3,400 natural and organic products, including GIANT's own Nature's Promise range. Health & Beauty becomes part of the "Relax, Renew, Revive" prototype, done in collaboration with P&G.

Technology supports the new prototype store and delivers the solutions: easy shop handheld scanners, easy weigh [I've seen in French supermarkets], kiosks throughout the store offering solutions, customer bonus cards with special offers, express orders, recipe print outs... The ability to compare shopping cart items, interactive services in the wifi area. It all ties together for an enhanced customer offering and experience.

All of it based on behavior-based customer segmentation from bonus card data tracking. Uncovered 7 segments; the last four respond to targeted communications in-store: quick fixins, thrifty expressers, active families, transactional families, traditional checkers, empty nesters, and golden socials.

These are the categories of grocery trip 'occasions': household replenishment, food replacement, meals in need, weekly fresh fill in, fresh complements pickup, quick needs, cherry picking, and emergencies. [How do these relate to the carpet category?]

Giant feels strongly about customer centric retailing. Customers have responded well to umbrella programs like gas rewards, extra rewards, and A+ school rewards, and are buying more at Giant as a result. [What kinds of rewards resonate with your flooring customers?]

His closing comments: it's important to work collaboratively. Focus on growing the total category. Figure out how to measure performance and action. Continue improving upon the solution. But, above all start with the customer!

In-store in critical and it's where retailers and manufacturers can really connect with customers. In-store is the new medium.

Note: here is a brief writeup from this presentation titled Healthy Habits Mega Trend: A Tidbit from Store Expo 2006.

If you receive HFN Magazine, check out the 09/17/2007 issue with an article on the front cover titled "Grocery Goes Home" by Barbara Thau. It discusses the trend of grocery stores getting into the housewares, home decor and gourmet kitchenware business... It lists Pathmark, Stop & Shop, Wegmans and Whole Foods as examples. All part of going more upscale and offering total solutions in-store while consumers are shopping.

Technorati Tags: Tony Schiano Giant Food retail experience customer focus
Del.icio.us Tags: Tony Schiano Giant Food retail experience customer focus

Highlights MProfs Business-To-Business Forum 2007 - Synopsis

In MarketingProfs Business To Business Forum 2007, I promised to share more. Here follow highlights and key learnings.

First, just about every discussion made some reference to searches starting with Google, rather than with your website's home page.

I consider this both obvious - don't you start from a search page? - and profound, as you think about the implications associated with your customers searching and maybe coming across your website or mention of your brick/mortar store [see Target Grand Opening Riverdale, NJ].

Second, interactions are definitely moving away from a monologue [i.e., one-way push traditional advertising] to a dialog or two-way interaction with customers. The more open you are to listening to your visitors and customers, the more likely you are to develop a strong relationship with them.

I attended:
+ Email 360 [see Email 360: Hot to Boost Response] - email has a role to play across the sales life cycle. Always focus on your subscriber [or visitor, or customer] first. The traditional online sales funnel is not linear; it's also much messier than we ever imagined, which means that the more consistent you are with your message, the more successful you will be. Think about your subscriber's experience; demonstrate value; offer options for frequency. Note that visitors are NOT interested in profiling themselves to get information; so ask only for the basics - like an email address. Content matters!

+ Is you website getting the job done? [see Coming In For A Landing] Strong websites offer excellent usability, useful content and appeal to the emotions [in many ways, similar to a physical store: it must engage the shopper, be easy to navigate through and offer terrific value within]. Customer experience must be embraced! Obsess about customer needs. Optimize, test, test again, evaluate, test....

+ Bringing B2B Blogging to the New Level, moderated by Josh Hallett who had literally just arrived from his BlogOrlando program. What a terrific discussion!
- Deborah Franke, e-Marketing Manager for Emerson Process Management, described how blogs enable Emerson to raise the visibility of Emerson experts and efficiently tell the company's story.
- Phil Gomes from Edelman passionately illustrated how conversation is happening all around us, and it's up to us to participate in the relationship and community building and NOT pitch.

+ When buyers are looking, will you be found? Karen Breen Vogel, President/CEO of ClearGauge urges being 'found' online sooner rather than later in the buyer purchase cycle to establish relationships as early as possible.

+ David Armano’s Social Media in a B2B World panel discussion showcased Todd Andrlik's [aka Todd And], Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Leopardo Companies, Inc., powerful and vibrant newsroom, Leopardo Construction News, created using a blogging platform. Very cool. Chris Yeh explained Ustream.tv which offers a simple solution for broadcasting live video.

David's comments:
- Web 2.0 is about people.
- People are now empowered. Technology enables; humanity rules.
- People demand good experiences.
- People are flocking to social networks, creating user generated content. They are also gravitating toward mobile.
This is not going away.

+ In "Leveraging digital channels to create buzz" Paul Dunay and Robert Lesser shared the results of their web 2.0 tools survey which you can participate in at Web 2.0 Tool Survey.

General sessions [not mentioned in my previous post] include:
+ Chip Heath [note Chip and Dan Heath now have a column in Fast Company] discussed the importance of Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional Stories and building these properties into ideas from the start. If you haven't read Made To Stick, you should definitely do so as the concepts and examples are not only sticky, but also force you to think about your business and how to overcome the Curse of Knowledge, that ubiquitous tendency we have to forget that our brains and experiences are not transparently visible to others.

+ William Arruda, the reason for the "have you googled yourself video", focused on building an individual's personal brand. The advice, though, is as relevant to a product or store brand as it is to an individual:
- Your brand represents an unique promise of value.
- It's what others think that matters [how your customers perceive you matters more than how you perceive your self].

So, Extract your unique value proposition which includes your vision, purpose, values and passion. What point of difference can you own that is meaningful to a target audience.

Express your value proposition message clearly, consistently and constantly.

Exude authenticity, relevance and differentiation through everything you do.

+ In case you missed it earlier, you can get a sense for Roy Young and Laura Ramos via Policy or Blog - Which Comes First? at Marketing Profs.

+ Graham Weston from Rackspace described how he came to the realization that "fanatical support is the difference" thereby creating a loyalty cycle that has generated tremendous growth. Committing to delivering fanatical service means that Rackspace puts its employees [rackers] first, its customers second and its shareholders third. Marketing has defined the business model and set the tone.

Finally,
+ I really enjoyed my conversations with Allen Weber, founder of Marketing Profs. He's a real business school professor and knows many of my Columbia Business School professors! Very cool.

+ Thanks to Matt Dickman for turning me onto the flip video.

+ I learned firsthand about PRWeb, and have since registered, taken their webinar and intend to experiment with them shortly.

+ I appreciate the amazing enthusiam of Chris Yeh, Phil Gomes and Deb Franke.

If you aren't actively engaging - virtually and in real life - in community building, then please get started. Remember not to pitch, but rather to engage your visitors and consumers and encourage them to participate in a conversation with you. Make your experience as sticky, memorable and fun as possible. Express your brand consistently and constantly.

Technorati Tags: Marketing Profs B2B Forum social media marketing retail buying experience
Del.icio.us Tags: Marketing Profs B2B Forum social media marketing retail buying experience

Announcing Bathroom Blogfest 2007!

It's happening again!

What? you ask.

The Bathroom Blogfest, that's what! It's an amazing week long blog celebration addressing the topic of ladiesrooms and how they affect the customer experience. From October 28 through November 2, 2007.

Not only has the National Kitchen and Bath Association graciously accepted the challenge [see Bathroom Blogfest '07 to Run during National Kitchen and Bath Month by Ed Pell who says: "As a tribute to National Kitchen and Bath Month, this group of female bloggers will be posting on Bathroom Blogfest '07 their observations about "ladies rooms" they encounter and their importance in creating great customer experiences. ..."] to participate [ thanks, Ed!], but we also have twenty-one amazing women contributing their perspectives.

No surprise - we're so excited about the coming Blogfest, that Maria Palma has already gotten word out [see Two Customer Service Events You Don't Want to Miss!], as has Iris Shreve Garrott [see The Public Library Potty Experience] and -of course- Stephanie Weaver [see Upcoming Bathroom Blogfest 2007]!

Stephanie has even created a really neat group blog Bathroom Blogfest Blog which includes some very funny video clips. She says: "Last year, a small group of female bloggers took on the challenge of bathrooms and their role in the customer experience. We had so much fun that we decided to repeat it this year and invited more women to take part. We currently have 22 bloggers signed up to participate, including the blogger for the National Kitchen and Bath Association (Ed Pell)."

Be prepared for amazing perspectives and observations from these bloggers during Bathroom Blogfest 2007:

• Kate Rutter—Adaptive Path


• Laurence Helene Borel—Blog Till You Drop


• Iris Shreve Garrott—checking out and checking in


• Susan Abbott—Customer Experience Crossroads


• Maria Palma—Customers Are Always


• Becky Carroll—Customers Rock!


• Toby Bloomberg—Diva Marketing


• Stephanie Weaver—Experienceology


• Linda Tischler—Fast Company Now


• C.B. Whittemore—Flooring the Consumer


• Ed Pell—K+B DeltaVee


• Helene Blowers—Library Bytes


• Claudia Schiepers—Life and its little pleasures


• Katie Clark—Practical Katie


• Sandra Renshaw—Purple Wren


• Reshma Anand—Qualitative Research


• Marianna Hayes—Results Revolution


• Carolyn Townes—Spirit Women


• Sara Cantor—The Curious Shopper


• Anna Farmery—The Engaging Brand


• Dee McCrorey—The Ultimate Corporate Entrepreneur


• Katia S. Adams—Transcultural

For a taste of last year's event, read Flooring The Consumer's 2006 Bathroom Blogfest posts. If you have any stories you'd like included here, just let me know!

Technorati Tags: customer experience customer service ladiesrooms Bathroom Blogfest 2007 marketing to women retail experience

Del.icio.us Tags: customer experience customer service ladiesrooms Bathroom Blogfest 2007 marketing to women retail experience

Blog Action Day For The Environment

Perfect pink flower originally uploaded by Darkpatator.

What an amazing undertaking!

Today, October 15th, 2007 is Blog Action Day. Around the entire globe, an unbelievable 15,000 blogs and websites reaching 12 million subscribers are ALL uniting to address and call attention to one single important issue on everyone’s mind: The environment.

Each blog participating relates the environment to the blog's area of focus. In so doing, we all - bloggers and readers alike - get thinking and "talking towards a better future."

Ever since hearing about Blog Action Day from my friend in Oman, Arun Rajagopal - who heard it from Faris Yakob, another fellow Age of Conversation author, I've been thinking about the topic and how my actions affect my environment:

I went grocery shopping at my local Pathmark and forgot the beautiful reusable canvas bags that I've placed in the front seat of my car to not forget them. I'm asking my daughter to remind me about them so I can actively stop using new plastic bags at the store. I used to be diligent about this, but got out of the habit. Today, I change that.

I immediately forwarded Arun's post to Mary Hunt from In Women We Trust. Mary intends to change the world and her passion is contagious. Read her posts and be inspired to take action.

Mary directed me to The Big Green Purse which encourages women - as the primary purchasers and influencers responsible for $.85 of every dollar spent - to use that purchasing power "in a way that can't be ignored... encouraging A MILLION WOMEN to shift at least $1,000 of money they already spend for an initial $1 billion Big Green Purse impact." Wow!

Did you know that October is also about walking? Check it out on Do The Green Thing where every month visitors can try a new green thing [and download tunes to put a green spring in your step]. Thanks, Gareth Kay, for urging us to do the green thing.

My husband and I routinely take 40 minute walks around our community. Each time we are out and notice trash, we remember that we wanted to bring a trash bag with us to pick up litter. Today, I change that.

In a recent Columbia Business School alumni email, I noticed a writeup on an alumna - Catherine Billon ’89 - who decided to "simplify the enormous amount of information available on sustainability and the environment" and created "an eco-friendly multimedia and social networking site that went live earlier this year in beta and will launch officially later this fall." It's called RiverWired. Check it out. Not only does it offer original content, but it also connects to relevant web content on sustainability. How cool and green is that?

Catherine says that "green changes of any size can deliver big returns in the aggregate. “It can be as simple as turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth,” she says matter-of-factly, “but getting started on a greener path is the main thing.” "

Just getting started can make a difference!

In that case, what if....
- you could banish Styrofoam cups from your store, replacing them with recycled cups or even ceramic mugs?
- you had a recycle bin and encouraged everyone in your organization to use it?
- you found an alternative to plastic bags? If you can't, how might you reuse the ones you have?
- you turned off the lights when you're not in a room?
- you adjusted your thermostat to be less cool in the summer, and less warm in the winter?
- you checked out the cleaning products you use to determine if they the safest ones around? Consider Green Cleaning as recommended by the EPA.
- you enabled the hibernate mode on all your computers?
- you picked up the trash outside your store and around your neighborhood?
- you moderated your driving? Check out the EPA's employee driving guidelines for tips on saving fuel.
- you took the Energy Star Pledge and replaced existing lightbulbs with CFLs?

Today is Blog Action Day focusing on the environment. What will you do? How will you take a first step on the greener path?

Technorati Tags: Blog Action Day environment cause marketing retail experience
Del.icio.us Tags: Blog Action Day environment cause marketing retail experience

Reaching People Who Move

Fascinating article in the September 24, 2007 issue of AdAge by Megan McIlroy titled "Pre-Moving Targets. Study: Consumers spend big before they change residences" that got me thinking about the purchasing dynamics associated with a move.

According to the article, 40 million people move every year. Per a survey, you are better off targeting those people BEFORE they move rather than after.

Now - no surprise - the publisher of the Official Mover Savings Guide, which ERA 1, Coldwell Banker and Century 21 send out to over 2 million movers every year, conducts the survey.

The article details the following points:

+ In the 3 months before and after a move, people spend more than those not moving will spend over 5 years.

+ That represents a little over $100 billion per year, or on average approx. $10k in the first six months.

+ 40 million consumers move per year [approx. 16 to 17 million households].

+ 66% of households moving make most of their big purchase decisions BEFORE they move.

+ Approaching movers before they move is 10 to 20 times more likely to generate a purchase decision than doing so after the move.

In thinking over the information, I'm not hugely surprised, although I've never stopped and thought through the implications.

I remember behaving similarly the last time I moved: planning, preparing, measuring, anticipating, considering and buying before moving. We ordered carpet for four different rooms, a new sofa for the family room. We reupholstered existing furniture. Once we moved, it was unpacking, rearranging, organizing and identifying a few unmet needs, but very few major ones.

I suggest that these dynamics are applicable to any major life event: before you adopt a pet, don't you rush off and find carriers and beds and dishes and toys? What about before a baby is born? Isn't there a flurry of activity buying furniture, redoing a room, putting in new carpet, acquiring strollers, car carriers, accessories, toys and clothing?

Carpet and flooring decisions represent major purchase decisions, decisions that take place BEFORE a move as the soon-to-be-home-owners imagine possibilities for their new home, try ideas on for size, and make those glorious purchasing decisions to turn that piece of property into their own unique, personal statement of individual style.

How do you connect with people who move in your community - before their move? Are realtors your best friends? What about moving companies? What works best to connect with people who move?

For that matter, how do you connect with people anticipating not just a move, but any major event?

Technorati Tags: marketing reaching pre-movers carpet flooring
Del.icio.us Tags: marketing reaching pre-movers carpet flooring

Target Grand Opening - Riverdale, NJ

Today -- Wednesday, October 10, 2007 -- represents a momentous day in this part of Northern New Jersey: Target has come to town, opening today.

Actually, today is the soft opening. The Grand Opening takes place Sunday, October 14, 2007. Sadly, I won't be in town.

It's been very interesting trying to track the progress of the store to determine when the big day would be. Tidbits [like these photos from July] have been few and far between. Surprisingly so when you think how large an organization Target is, and how major a presence the store represents in this neck of the woods.

It's even more surprising when relevant news immediately pops up [e.g., Wal-Mart opened its doors] for very similar search terms [e.g., "walmart riverdale nj" vs. "target riverdale nj"].

My friends - Andi, Dina, Jill, Karen, Lisa and Regina - and I formed an email distribution list to track news of the Target opening. We resorted to old-fashioned means, not that we learned much. A call to Minneapolis in early September gave us the October 10 date [thank you, Lisa!]; local calls went to a wrong number; another store said the opening was October 14th.

The rest we gleaned by voraciously absorbing every detail as we drove by the construction site to and from work, home and errands:

+ training center notices appeared,
+ landscaping going in
+ the red Target sign appeared
+ construction on the exit ramps started
+ and ended

We have looked closely for banners or posters or signs announcing the upcoming opening. Nothing! What a disappointment, especially when Lowe's and Bed, Bath & Beyond effectively used banner signs on the main drag announcing when to expect their grand openings.

Dropping off my daughter this morning, Jill relayed her most recent observation: she saw cars entering the
parking deck. I told her that today, armed with my camera, I intended to check the scene out and get the cold hard facts...

So, I went. And I parked. And I entered.

It was delicious!

I went immediately to the customer service desk to ask questions and request permission to take photos - not allowed in-store. However, I met the manager [Angie?], got her approval to take a picture of the new shopping basket that you see here:

Did you notice that it is not rectangularly shaped? The curve on each side makes for very comfortable walking around the store basket in hand. It doesn't bang into your legs, knees or hips. Notice, too, the handle: much more ergonomic than traditional baskets.

The manager mentioned that the basket was so innovative that it had been featured on Oprah [I tried searching google and Oprah for mentions, without success].

Regardless, I like the basket and I used it.

I mentioned to the manager how much trouble we [and I have to assume countless other avid Target shoppers] had getting hard information about the store and its opening. She expressed surprise. Seems that a local paper might have done an article, but as you can see from the search above, it certainly isn't showing up online.

She confirmed that the Grand Opening takes place Sunday, and that flyers would go out on Saturday announcing the big event [hmmm, wouldn't you like a bit more notice?].

Interestingly, my friends Jill and Dina received Target coupons in the mail three weeks ago. I didn't. We live within the same zipcode. Jill has graciously offered to split the $5 coupon with me, but why hasn't everyone received one? Bed, Bath & Beyond does a great job distributing coupons by mail.

While at Target, I searched for an elusive yet delicious clipboard [pictured here] by Isaac Mizrahi that I found at a Target in Texas. No such luck [clipboards are my newest and most effective organizational tool], although I did find a more generic one. I can't have too many clipboards.

This Target will feature our first local Starbucks. Sadly, it wasn't yet open for business today.

I expect that it will be ready for my next visit, though. That will be a treat.

By the way, the store has no hours listed...

So, there you have it: an exciting event in this part of Northern New Jersey. I hope Steve Woodruff gets word [this post should help :)].

Retailers, as you consider how potential customers learn about you and your store, don't forget to pay attention to your presence online. Make sure that someone can find you when they search [especially in google]. Make sure that news about you gets out, not just in traditional press, but also in digital publications.

My advice to Target: improve your online presence and consider asking Wal-Mart for advice!

Technorati Tags: target target riverdale nj retail experience walmart
Del.icio.us Tags: target target riverdale nj retail experience walmart

Policy or Blog - Which Comes First? at MarketingProfs

Exciting news! My first contribution to Marketing Profs and the MP Daily Fix.

It's titled "Which Comes First: The Policy or the Blog?" and was inspired by Roy Young, President of MarketingProfs, and Laura Ramos, Senior Analyst with Forrester Research, discussing “What’s New for B2B Marketers” on Day 2 of the inaugural MarketingProfs B2B Forum in Chicago.

From the article:

"Laura expressed her take on corporate blogging: that it should only take place after a corporation has its policies in place.

What an interesting conundrum, I thought. Should a marketer simply start blogging or wait instead until all of the blogging policies and procedures are established before beginning?

Although the absolute answer is that it depends on the organization, the industry, the product or service, I suggest strongly that the blog come before the policy."

I include two examples from the conference illustrating the possibilities...

+ Deborah Franke, e-Marketing Manager for Emerson Process Management, and

+ Todd Andrlik, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Leopardo Companies, Inc., who shared the powerful and vibrant newsroom, Leopardo Construction News, he created using a blogging platform.

You'll find many more details supporting my position in the full article "Which Comes First: The Policy or the Post?".

You can also add your take on the subject via MarketingProfs Daily Fix blogpost "Which Comes First....".

We're having a lively discussion around this new marketing medium, and how best to get started. Comments are most welcome!

Technorati Tags: MarketingProfs marketing social media Leopardo Construction Emerson Process Management

Del.icio.us Tags: MarketingProfs marketing social media Leopardo Construction Emerson Process Management

Thom Filicia: Last Stop Seattle - Oct.12 and Phoenix Notes

Thom Filicia just completed the third stop on his national tour: Phoenix, AZ, and it was terrific! Possibly even the best yet [sorry, Boston and Chicago!].

The next and last stop for 2007 for “Decorating from the Floor Up” will be at the Seattle Home Show 2, Quest Field Event Center, 1000 Occidental Avenue S., in Seattle, WA on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are available at the door or at Karastan's website. General admission to the Home Show is $9 and an additional $10 ticket is required for Filicia’s “Decorating From the Floor Up” seminar. All proceeds from seminar ticket sales will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists.

Don't miss it!

Observations from the Phoenix event:

First, what a great crowd of designers, realtors and individuals simply looking for design project ideas and inspiration.

I overheard many afterwards expressing surprise at how much fun they had had [some dragged in not-so-enthused significant others!]. Thom's manner is so engaging and enthusiastic that you just can't help but become interested in what he's describing. And, yes, he likes to invite participants onstage to help out with the design decisions.

This being my third Designing From The Floor Up event, I appreciated how Thom customizes the presentation to the location. He brought up Taliesin West, The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation where approximately 70 students intensely study architecture [read more about Taliesin West in Frank Lloyd Wright's Spirit Lives On at Taliesin West by Judy Hedding] and The Arizona Biltmore - two remarkable architectural masterpieces in the immediate vicinity.

Did I mention that Thom is warm and engaging? And he LOVES design related questions. The tougher the question, the better! Uncannily, with each question,
he seemed to immediately visualize the design challenge and the architecture of the space without needing a great deal of detailed description. You could see him become 'uber-designer', internalizing the situation being described, and then peppering the individual with questions before offering his suggestions.

According to his manager, Thom has a photographic memory for floor plans; from a verbal description, he can immediately conjure up a three-dimensional visualization of a space. Pretty amazing to see that in action!

Here are some of the notes I took:

Your house should look just like you; it shouldn't be impersonal. Your space should look good and tell the story of the person who lives there. [I love the notion of story coming up for one's home.]

For inspiration, consider starting with something unique that captures meaning for you or inspires you; use that to make the color and texture decisions to decorate that space. It's important, too, to mix pieces as you do when you dress yourself.

[The Style Network’s Dress My Nest takes that premise, using clothing choices as inspiration.]

The notion of balancing material choices came up repeatedly during this session. Phoenix houses capture almost uniformly the Southwestern design motif.... with lots of hard materials like tile. Balancing the choices means not having a monotonous feel to the whole space.

Think of the times you have been in a hotel where all of the furniture pieces match; they're part of a set. Does that seem interesting? Or, is it more intriguing to have a mix of pieces and styles? Thom suggests that pieces create a relationship, rather than compete with one another. The way to do that is by NOT having the same of everything.

If you have too many cold elements -- e.g., stone, tile or granite throughout the house, plain sheet rock with paint on the walls -- then add warm elements like wood, rugs, carpet, woven wall coverings. Definitely select a primary floor surface product to unify the overall look and feel of the house, but create points of difference in each of the individual spaces. He urged decorative vs. architectural changes, using the walls or the rugs to add decorative elements rather than automatically making architectural changes.

Many questions, too, about how to adapt a timeless or timely design - his two themes - to a Southwestern motif.

If you're interested in seeing the timely and timeless rooms Thom created, visit Vee One Studios. They created the visualization tool to help illustrate Thom's design scenarios and some of those scenes are available online. It was powerful.

If you can get to Seattle, don't miss Thom!

Previous stories about “Decorating from the Floor Up” include:
- Come Decorate From the Floor Up With Thom Filicia in Boston
- Time For Decorating From The Floor Up
- Thom Filicia Is Coming to Phoenix

I also located this article titled Fashion designers focus their stylish ideas on rugs by Fran Golden, Apr. 27, 2007 which talks about Thom and Designing From the Floor Up.

Disclaimer: Wear-Dated is a sponsor.

Technorati Tags: Wear-Dated Karastan Thom Filicia Decorating From The Floor Up Seattle Solutia

Del.icio.us Tags: Wear-Dated Karastan Thom Filicia Decorating From The Floor Up Seattle Solutia

Marketing Profs Business-To-Business Forum 2007

I'm just back from an exhiliarating time at the Marketing Profs inaugural Business To Business Forum in Chicago... before taking off again for Phoenix for Thom Filicia Is Coming To Phoenix.

The learnings were so intense that I'm still digesting them. That's what happens when close to 300 marketers show up and you become totally engrossed in listening to brilliant panel discussions and then discussing the learnings with the participants over meals.

I'm an active MarketingProfs user, having learned more from the online seminars, the newsletters and the Daily Fix than from any other resource - all of it relevant and timely given that marketing is literally changing before our eyes.

Which made this Forum so wonderful. MarketingProfs extended the tone and content of the online learning environment to this physical Forum. Furthermore, having attended so many webinars, I was familiar with Roy Young's, Val Frazee's and Shelley Ryan's voices. Meeting them in person meant connecting with old friends.

And, from NYC Blogger Meetup: Night of the Iguana, I had briefly met Ann Handley, and got to know her much better! [Do view Matt Dickman's fun Video: 'Have You Googled Yourself?' of some of the attendees answering the question "What have you found when you Googled yourself?" Ann's there, and I helped with one of the interviews.]

In terms of making meaning [as Lois Kelly says], the general sessions, intensives and concurrent sessions absolutely delivered and I'll share those highlights in a separate post.

In the meantime, do check out MarketingProfs Daily Fix for coverage of many of the events. Here are a few to whet your appetite:

+ Podcast: Making Your Message 'Stick,' With Author Chip Heath by Paul Dunay. As author Chip Heath told the audience, "In a market where it is difficult to be heard - only the sticky messages will break through."

+ Social Media and B2B Marketing by Matt Dickman. These are his takeaways of the panel on emerging media and B2B marketing had the audience truly engaged.

+ Why Corporations Should Blog (Hint, It's Not SEO) by Josh Hallett. He says: "Yes we all know that Google loves blogs, but if your only reason for blogging is SEO, then you're going to fail. "

+ Kronos Branding and the Bottom Line by Christian Gulliksen. He says: "When Stuart Itkin became the CMO of Kronos, the company had an identity problem. "People in the market knew the company for what we had been, not what we were," he says."

+ The Quality of the People by Roy Young explaining that "The "user-generated" content from conference attendees was as valuable as the content from featured speakers. "

Thank you, MarketingProfs!

Technorati Tags: MarketingProfs Business To Business Forum marketing social media Del.icio.us Tags: MarketingProfs Business To Business Forum marketing social media