Since we have clients that are consumer-focused, I love his example of Walmart.  In this instance when the “Big Box” store made its shopping carts bigger, sales of microwave ovens jumped 50%! A small thing, but they were making an investment in letting the customer think “BIG”! For the consumer today with dollars to stretch, mouths to feed, and time an extravagance, it only makes sense that retailers should look for the small things that show care for the customers and that retailers are intuitively thinking of them.

Tom Peters has over 163 ways to pursue excellence in this book—from having candy in a dish at the reception desk to making sure the restrooms are clean and tidy. Sometimes it takes a step backward out of the office comfort zone to see the office as the client does. I also believe the “gatekeeper” at the reception desk is a very important part of a company’s success. She/he can set the tone and temperature of the atmosphere and also make the caller or visitor believe they are important and affirmed. When you’re premium, you’ve got to meet or surpass expectactions at every brand interaction. Look for those moments when your customer could interact with your brand, and seize that opportunity to make each of those interactions a premium experience.

I believe this new invention—although it’s basically a larger iPod Touch—could revolutionize print advertising as we know it today. Truth be told, when I’m reading news online in a traditional web-browser format, ads are too often easy to ignore. Online, I don’t get the same level of marketing impact as I do when I’m flipping through the pages of the printed form of a magazine, looking at full-page ad after full-page ad. That printed form, however, makes the metrics of my intake of that marketing message tough to measure. How long did I stare at the ad? Did the pages stick together, making me miss it altogether? Did this ad’s call-to-action (visit www.companywebsite.com) prompt me to do something? Wouldn’t marketers like to know!

The middle ground the iPad could occupy between the PDA and the laptop could be just the remedy that publishers and marketers have been waiting for, especially if the technology will allow users to earn their subscriptions by agreeing to view the ads measurably. People want free content. Publishers want to sell ads AND charge for the content. Looks to me like the paradigm could soon shift to an online format where consumers could choose: view ads and let us measure your interaction for free content, or just look at everything at your leisure and pay for all the content. Either way, advertising still drives the financial model. That’s good for ad agencies, and that’s good for the publishers.

Boy, I’d hate to be Kindle right now.

I thought I was alone in my hum-drum outlook on this season of spending, but it turns out I’m not. According to a new Ad Age article I’m actually pretty intuitive. The economy is wreaking havoc on Christmas. The recession has caused people to be more judicious on discretionary spending, but they are willing to spend—especially on the cool new “it items.”

The problem is this year there aren’t any “it items.” The recession has kicked everyone into survival mode—not only consumers, but manufacturers and retailers. Manufactures are inclined to refrain from producing new “innovative” items, and retailers won’t by them. Everyone is sticking with the “safe” products that sold great last season.

This Christmas innovation is DOA and us consumers are left uninspired to spend. Right or wrong, no one is taking risks. The Catch 22 here is the economy won’t get stronger without it.

Zmuda, Natalie. “Where Are the Must-Have Items This Holiday?” AdAge.com, December 10, 2009.

These fond memories, however, are just that this year—memories. Because the 2009 holiday season is rife with new and larger opportunities to get the latest on Black Friday deals with minimal effort through my favorite information-sharing platform—Social Media.

From Facebook to Twitter to specialized web sites and splash pages, this thing we lovingly call the “inter-web” has revolutionized even the biggest in-store selling opportunity of the year. Some of my favorite, yet not necessarily new, uses of SM to promote Black Friday sales are below:

• Toys ‘R Us Fan Page – These geniuses have become the fastest-growing brand on Fbook simply by developing a custom Black Friday Preview application which lets Facebook fans find out what deals are available before the rest of the masses.
• Blackfriday.info – This site compiles and organizes all those pesky inserts and mini-catalogs into one place. You can also add items to a customizable list as well as check store open and closing times.
• @blackfriday on Twitter – This user lists deals, stories and tips to get the most out of your Black Friday. My favorite tip is a link to a page where JCPenney-sponsored Cindy Crawford will send you a wake-up call to get up and get shopping!
• BF Deals App – While not technically social media, and not free, this app lets you see a map of other users at stores so you can find a less crowded one, and it sends your deals to your Twitter account – there really is “an app for that,” too.

So, while these developments, and the many others like them, don’t necessarily mean greater sales or margin growth for retailers, they do provide further evidence of the power of real-time and easily accessible information, even when it comes to advertising. Because, let’s face it, Black Friday is the one day a year when people are actually CLAMORING to hear what retailers have to say and now there are a plethora of options and avenues for them to reach that information. And, in a world where the marketing dollar doesn’t quite go as far as we’d like, what could possibly be wrong with that?

Macy’s brilliantly capitalized on its status as a pop-culture icon last year as it celebrated its 150th anniversary. The TV spot is a montage of classic U.S. films and TV shows that all mention shopping at Macy’s with obvious pride in their voices. Some shots are black and white, while others are in color, but they vividly show how deeply woven Macy’s is into the fabric of America.

Macy’s is now leveraging social media to carry the warm-hearted and personable brand even further. It has its own Facebook page and this week is really promoting it’s Thanksgiving sales. Becoming a Macy’s fan gives you exclusive access to preview all the great “Black Friday” specials—it’s for “Special VIPs Only.” Unlike many brands on Facebook who never participate in the discussion, Macy’s stays actively engaged, responding to fan posts several times a day.

Every time I go to Macy’s it’s clean and bright. The associates are always knowledgeable, polite and helpful. If being treated like a human being weren’t enough to keep me coming back—sadly, these days it usually is—Macy’s sends me great discount cards regularly because I’m a Macy’s card holder. I’m happy to spend money with Macy’s because they make me feel valuable. As I always suspected, it’s a special place.

And does Macy’s really bring the magic? Oh, yeah, it does—premium magic!

I’m definitely not getting a holiday season job at a Microsoft store …

http://bubble-cast.com

To read more about why brands should be themselves and not fail at pretending to be others, read this blog blast from the past.

Why would a premium brand like Starbucks go to all this trouble? They claim that slow foot traffic and declining sales inspired the transformation, but I think there are better ways to be a good community citizen than apologetically relinquishing the brand identity that has become a household name. Perhaps they’ve oversaturated the market with too many locations. Perhaps they’re too accessible, and now not as special as they used to seem. But they’re still a great brand, and I think they make a great cup of coffee.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m picking on Starbucks, but I think they’re making a big mistake. They’re abandoning the premium brand they’ve worked for decades to build. I’m actually a big fan of the brand, and of their coffee. When I travel, that backlit green circle in the distance is a beacon of comfort and familiarity; I can know what to expect when I order my grande no-whip mocha and cranberry orange muffin. Isn’t that what a premium brand is supposed to do? Create expectation, leverage familiarity, and inspire loyal purchase behavior?

Don’t apologize, Starbucks. You’ve built a great brand, but don’t try to appease consumers by saying you’re someone you’re not. Let your brand adapt and stay relevant, but don’t abandon it. What you’ll find you’re creating in these “unique,” unbranded locations is something that’ll be hard to take ownership of from a branding perspective. Not to mention the fact that you’re leaving yourself wide open for consumers to accuse you of lacking authenticity.

I’ll stick with Starbucks. And my grande mocha. And when I’m feeling like an extra treat, that iced lemon poundcake.