Wix, Captain Marvel Team Up On Turbo Campaign https://ift.tt/2IBjafg Marvel Studios’ first female-led superhero, Captain Marvel, emerged Monday not only to save the universe, but possibly also Wix’s 147 million users worldwide. Omer Shai, CMO at WiX, said her characteristics — strength, speed, endurance and stamina — won’t save Wix’s more than 145 million customers, but they are found in updates of the latest Wix Turbo platform. “We like the strong female character,” he said. “The character goes with our brand’s message about strong entrepreneurs.” This is the first time the Wix and Marvel Studios have worked together. “Captain Marvel is unique,” he said. "She’s bad. She’s quick." The movie, "Captain Marvel," is scheduled to hit theaters on March 8, with Brie Larson as the hero. Wix’s internal creative team built the video ad in-house by working with the Marvel creative team. The ad will run on desktop and mobile devices across Facebook, YouTube, and other sites. advertisement advertisement Shai declined to discuss the campaign budget and the licensing agreement with Marvel Studios, but said Wix marketers will split the budget based on the metrics being measured and the “basic plan and will adjust according to the results.” The spot comes in several lengths. The narrator in the 60-second video spot says the changes to the platform are turbo fast like Captain Marvel — the fastest, the strongest and the most powerful. “Wix Turbo is so mind blowing you’ll think it’s developed by engineers from the future,” says the narrator. “But it’s not. It’s here, now. So, stop blaming slow internet for your sluggish site.” Wix developers built technology that optimizes browser rendering time without compromising functions or user experience. The product enhancements, which help images and video load and run faster, aim to change the way Wix websites perform and increase load times. This translates to higher publisher revenue and better advertiser return on investment, Shai said. “If you’re in cities like New York, a lot of our sites will load in about a second or second in a half,” he said. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 25, 2019 at 07:29AM
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D2C Models Grab Onto Local Marketing Services https://ift.tt/2H3mygj Uberall made updates to its Location Marketing Cloud platform that allow marketers to manage interactions per location in real-time on all digital platforms such as websites, mobile apps, store locators, search engines, maps, social media, and voice assistants. As brands build out direct-to-consumer business models in multiple locations, Florian Huebner, Uberall co-founder, believes the demand for location services will continue to increase. The goal is to turn online digital marketing clicks into offline foot traffic. The announcement was made at this year’s LSA19 in Dana Point, California. Local marketing services help consumers find and purchase goods and services from nearby brands and retailers. eMarketer estimates marketers will spend nearly $40 billion by 2022 on location services to build relationships with local consumers. Uberall, which focuses on content and search engine optimization, also supports digital marketing agencies. advertisement advertisement Uberall’s December 2018 study on holiday shopping and searches suggests that more than three-quarters of shoppers did a “near me” search during the holidays. Looking at U.S. versus UK shoppers, “near me” searches were more prevalent in the United States, at 83% versus 75%. In the U.S., leaving a review online for a store or location was more common than in the UK. Among U.S. holiday shoppers, one-third had left a review, versus 26% in the UK. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 25, 2019 at 07:29AM How Brands Like Walgreens Use Employee Communication Platforms To Optimize Customer Service2/25/2019
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How Brands Like Walgreens Use Employee Communication Platforms To Optimize Customer Service https://ift.tt/2Uewl6Y In the digital age, brick-and-mortar stores are not only continually reinventing themselves and finding new ways to better serve retail strategy, but also upping their game to deliver high-caliber experiences that incentivize foot traffic. Delivering high-touch, personalized and one-to-one service from optimally educated employees is one tactic retailers are employing to give customers more reason to visit their stores as well as streamlining their online experience, increasing their value to shoppers. Accordingly, here’s how three top retailers are investing in fluid communication platforms that allow employees to share real-time information with each other or across organizations to ensure better customer service and more informed assistance: H&M Walgreens Kohl’s These are just a few examples of retailers who are investing in their store associates by enabling a networked knowledge exchange. For the full list, download PSFK’s report, Enhancing Service Based Experiences Through Automation. In the digital age, brick-and-mortar stores are not only continually reinventing themselves and finding new ways to better serve retail strategy, but also upping their game to deliver high-caliber experiences that incentivize foot traffic. Delivering high-touch, personalized and one-to-one service from optimally educated employees is one tactic retailers are employing to give customers more reason to visit their stores as well as streamlining their online experience, increasing their value to shoppers. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ February 25, 2019 at 05:36AM
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Can’t-Miss Sessions at 2019’s B2B Marketing Exchange Conference #B2BMX https://ift.tt/2IAzDQQ The post Can’t-Miss Sessions at 2019’s B2B Marketing Exchange Conference #B2BMX appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing via Hubspot https://ift.tt/2wiHYzh February 25, 2019 at 05:35AM Interview: How The Container Store Is Reinventing The Big Box Experience For The Next Generation2/24/2019
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Interview: How The Container Store Is Reinventing The ‘Big Box’ Experience For The Next Generation https://ift.tt/2VlJaNj Increasingly, the physical store is functioning as a tool for brands and retailers to interact with shoppers, engaging and entertaining them, in order to build strong, emotional connections in a way that they cannot do online. Retailers are experimenting with new, flexible retail formats, developing fresh visual identities that tell a brand story through design, implementing in-store technology to make the store experience more responsive and dedicating less floor space to inventory and more to offering services that add value and support ecommerce operations. In this excerpt from the Store Experience Design Debrief, PSFK talks to Brandon Avery, creative managing director for FRCH Design Worldwide, about his work developing a new physical retail concept for The Container Store . PSFK: Could you describe the trends affecting the retail space today, and that you’re leveraging in your work? Brandon Avery: My area of focus within FRCH is retailers who have fairly big spaces—folks like Target, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Whole Foods. We’re seeing that people are using these stores differently than they have in the past, thanks to the on-demand nature of today’s retail climate, and transforming the store into more than just a pickup point. Retailers are forced to think differently about the front of the store, as well as how much space to dedicate to service checkouts versus a more automated process, as customers become more adapted to self-service technology. People want to get in and get out of the store much quicker, which is a challenge when you’re dealing with large spaces. We’re breaking down that space down into more digestible chunks that make the consumer experience of shopping that store not so overwhelming and daunting. We’re also making it more engaging in key moments without diminishing the other side of the coin, which is the need for certain items to be replenished quickly. FRCH recently worked with The Container Store to develop a prototype known as the Next Generation Store. Could you explain how you approached this challenge and what led to the brand wanting to rethink its physical presence? The Container Store wanted to reinvent itself, but wasn’t quite sure what that meant or how to do it. It had a long legacy of being known for great customer service and having a high-quality product, yet it was stagnating. The retailer wanted to recreate its North Park Dallas location, transforming it into a test-and-learn store, where it could drop new ideas in an incubator and experiment with new ideas or fixtures before rolling them out into all of its chains. With that in mind, FRCH set off on a process to spend a lot of time in the retailer’s stores, understand its competition and spend time with its customers to figure out what their overall perceptions were of the brand. We set out to understand what customers felt was working, what they felt like was missing and why they choose other brands for certain items versus The Container Store. We uncovered a handful of opportunities. One was to drive shopper frequency by bringing some of the great products the brand has out of the shadows. All of its stores with the exception of one were presented in a big-box format, which didn’t align with the brand’s image of being an expert in a more niche market. It was presented in an almost warehouse-style manner. We wanted to redesign the store so that all those great products including the more unique ones have a place to shine within the store. There were also key categories that were ripe for reinvention, specifically kitchen, office and closets. We tried to make the rest of the store efficient, so that somebody could get in and get out easily, but also recreate the experiences of those categories to be much more inviting and engaging. We worked with an agency partner on the digital side to help to bridge the physical and digital store experience, enabling a custom closet experience that was much more engaging and much more complete. In addition to the custom closets, are there any new services or experiences that the store offers? We redesigned the checkout experience. Before, the checkouts were right at the front. We said, “You’re kind of leading the entry experience with the exit experience by doing that. Your customers are walking into registers, bags.” That was a lightbulb moment. They gave us permission to shift that part of the experience to the side. Then that allowed us to create a single queue that everybody goes into so you’re not constantly fighting over which lane you’re in. By shifting that checkout experience away from the front door, we took advantage of the opportunity to let the front of the store play a different role. What do you think about the role technology should play in the store? It needs to be helpful. It needs to go beyond entertainment. It should actually be a tool, not just a big flashy screen in the space. We focused on a few different elements for improvement: Integrating screens into key categories like kitchen, office and closets, to enable inspiration. Then we also created a tool called Organization Studio, which is intended to be a very functional but also engaging feature that helps customers get started on their organizational journey. Are there any plans to extend this concept to other stores? Yes. The idea was that The Container Store could take elements like the new checkout experience and deploy them in either existing stores as part of a retrofit program or incorporate certain elements into new stores. This is just one example of many inspiring innovations in store experience and design in the digital age. For the full list, download PSFK’s Store Experience Design Debrief now. Increasingly, the physical store is functioning as a tool for brands and retailers to interact with shoppers, engaging and entertaining them, in order to build strong, emotional connections in a way that they cannot do online. Retailers are experimenting with new, flexible retail formats, developing fresh visual identities that tell a brand story through design, implementing in-store technology to make the store experience more responsive and dedicating less floor space to inventory and more to offering services that add value and support ecommerce operations. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ February 24, 2019 at 06:04AM Facebook Accused On More Privacy Violations, Investigations Underway https://ift.tt/2E52pU8 In light of a new report accusing Facebook of spying on consumers’ most sensitive information, lawmakers are calling for new investigations into the company. Leading the charge, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday he was directing state agencies to investigate what he called “the invasion of consumer privacy.” “I also call on relevant federal regulators to step up and help us put an end to this practice and protect the rights of consumers,” Cuomo stated. Published by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, the report in question found Facebook gathers sensitive information that consumers share with apps -- even when consumers are not logged into the social network. advertisement advertisement This is possible because many apps send data use Facebook’s software-development kit (SDK), which offers an analytics service among other features. The information that Facebook was never intended to see ranges from people’s blood pressure to their menstrual cycles, WSJ reports. “This practice, which in some cases clearly violates Facebook’s own business terms, is an outrageous abuse of privacy,” Cuomo accused. In response, Facebook said the sharing of such information was a common industry practice. “Sharing information across apps on your iPhone or Android device is how mobile advertising works,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. This is just the latest privacy scandal to hit Facebook. Already this week, two Senate Democrats requested the Federal Trade Commission review claims that Facebook mislead minors into using their parents’ credit cards to make purchases in games. Earlier this week, U.K. policymakers accused Facebook of blatantly misleading them. In a report released on Monday, the UK Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee concludes that Facebook “intentionally and knowingly violated both data privacy and anti-competition laws.” Among other sins, Facebook ignored users’ privacy settings in order to transfer data to app developers, the committee claims, citing evidence obtained from court documents. “Companies like Facebook should not be allowed to behave like ‘digital gangsters’ in the online world, considering themselves to be ahead of and beyond the law,” the committee wrote. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 22, 2019 at 04:38PM Verizon Ads During Oscars Tell Some True Stories https://ift.tt/2H0n1Qv Verizon will use this Sunday’s Oscar telecast to debut six new spots that emphasize how the wireless network giant’s technology touches real lives. The spots, from McCann and The Community agencies, are first-person testimonials, voiced on an unadorned sound stage, seemingly raw and unscripted. They don’t mention Verizon much, and though viewers may catch a glimpse of a smartphone, it almost seems by accident. But the message -- Verizon’s network is reliable -- gets delivered. Two of the commercials are partially delivered in Spanish, and without subtitles -- but cleverly, understandable to anybody. “The sentiment around the campaign is that these are real stories,” explains Andrew McKechnie, Verizon’s chief creative officer. “As the stories come to life, it’s to show we have 130 million customers and they all have a reasons they chose us.” advertisement advertisement He adds, “In the past we used to focus a lot on promotion and pricing and we always thought those were the table stakes for the category." Now, he adds, "I think what we’re trying to do is contextualize what we mean by reliability. Of course it’s about the assurance your call will go through when it matters most, but also reliability has different textures to it. . . .Reliability means different things to different people.” These ads are a far cry from the recent run of humorous Verizon commercials featuring HBO’s “Silicon Valley” star Thomas Middleditch. Instead, a long-distance truck driver explains how Verizon helps him stay in touch with his family -- and, with video calls, lets him be a good dad to his boys. “I’m 3,000 miles away and, here I am, laughing with my kids,” he says. Another Verizon customer is a military wife who called her husband to tell him she was going into labor while he was deployed, laughing about how all of his buddies in the unit were cheering her on from the other side of world, chanting, “Push!” Another spot features a familiar face to baseball fans. Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost relates the story of his 22-foot fall from a tree stand deep in the woods at his home in in 2017, and how a panicked call to his wife was a real lifesaver. He shattered his pelvis, but it could have been worse. “I talked on this phone through the happiest times of my life and the saddest times of my life,” he says. “But I never in a thousand years thought it would save my life.” McKechnie says Verizon thought the Oscars telecast would be a “big cultural moment” to debut the spots, “an opportunity to kick off the campaign with people who do and appreciate storytelling. We’re bringing a filmic quality to this audience that we think they’ll appreciate.” Google Assistant will also show off new spots on the Oscars telecast, using the device to pay homage to movies like “Lady Bird,” “2001: Space Odyssey” and “Jerry Maguire.” Actors Ed Helms and Drew Barrymore will also show up in Google-related bits. At home during the telecast, if you ask, Google Assistant will offer his/her/its opinions of the best-dressed at the Oscars -- and, just for the asking, will give you your very own “award.” Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 22, 2019 at 03:54PM 3% Of Mobile Connections Projected To Be 5G by 2022 https://ift.tt/2IJo1ez With the mega-mobile conference MWC opening in Barcelona next week, even more attention is about to be drawn to the popular promises of 5G. Samsung started the ball rolling earlier this week by including a 5G phone in its latest rounds of product introductions. For some down-to-earth perspective, Cisco just released its annual Visual Network Index with projections on how 5G will really arrive and based on its take, don’t expect any mass consumer action this year. By 2022, 5G will comprise 3% of connections and 12% of total traffic, according to the forecast. This means that 3% of devices will have 5G capability by then. The highest share of connections in 2022 by region are projected to be North America (9%) followed by Western Europe (6%), Asia Pacific (4%) and Latin America (1%). The top countries based on percentage of devices and connections on 5G are expected to be Japan (12%), Sweden (11%) and the United States (10%). The number of 5G connections will grow several thousand percent from this year until 2022, reaching more than 400 million connections by 2022. For perspective, during that same period, 4G connections will grow from 3 billion in 2017 to 6.7 billion by 2022. The promises of 5G include high bandwidth, broader coverage, ultra-low latency, enhanced power efficiency and dynamic allocation of resources based on awareness of content, user and location, according the study. The catch is the market will have to wait for it. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 22, 2019 at 01:20PM Retailers: Avoid Shiny-Object Syndrome https://ift.tt/2E27Inj Retailers, like most humans, have short attention spans and are easily distracted when the next big thing, especially in technology, comes along. Shiny-object syndrome can lead to a retailer’s demise. Instead of using the latest developments in technology or social media just because they exist, retailers should improve the consumer experience by getting to know their consumers. When retailers remap a store or change a layout, they begin by testing a handful of stores to gauge consumer feedback and make improvements prior to a nationwide rollout. It’s exactly how Sam’s Club is testing a cashier-less and mobile-only payment experience, mentioned in my last column. Is your company’s top goal to increase sales? Shouldn’t customers come first? Technology can add efficiency and lead to an increase in profit. But is this your motivation? If you don’t have customers, this proposition is out the window. advertisement advertisement Let’s look at some ways to improve a consumer’s retail experience, both online and offline, creating a deeper relationship between store and consumer. Know your audience. JC Penney’s CEO in 2012 decided to revamp stores to mimic the successful Apple Store models. This effort to target a millennial audience was a case of too much too soon. The idea was far ahead of where the brand’s customers were at the time. Retailers can’t drive growth on their terms. It must be on the consumer’s terms. Testing 1,2,3. Technology makes a customer’s life better. No argument here. But before brands implement new tech updates, see if customers want it. A company shouldn’t upgrade technology for technology’s sake. Look at technology through the lens of shoppers’ eyes, and embrace tech that enhances your customer’s experience. As with the aforementioned Sam’s Club, test the waters before bombarding unsuspecting consumers with new tech advances. Redefine success. Let go of quarter-to-quarter growth strategies and replace with a long-tail view. Like it or not, retail and online shopping intertwine. New metrics need to reflect that. Retail stores drive online shopping, and vice versa. It can be as simple as buying a product online via mobile app and picking up the product in-store. Sync marketing strategies for both. Work together, not separately. There’s a fine line between authenticity and gimmicky. Retailers have become creative at getting customers to visit brick-and-mortar stores. In-store, Instagrammable experiences can appear artificial. Use technology when needed. Augmented reality and virtual reality sound intriguing, but do your customers know enough about the technology to want to interact with it? In the long run, what does it buy your brand? Above all, be authentic. Stand for something. As a brand, what role do you play in your customers’ lives? A National Retail Federation study found almost 60% of consumers would quit shopping a favorite brand or retailer if they found out the company’s values didn't match their own. How do you pay it forward? Brands like Coyuchi, Everlane, Patagonia and The North Face offer consumers new items in exchange for recycling used products. Do you immediately implement the latest technology — or do you familiarize yourself first and educate the consumer on benefits of use before making significant changes? Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 22, 2019 at 12:36PM Marriott Unveils New Rewards Program In Oscars Ad https://ift.tt/2VeTzKi Marriott International is using the Oscars telecast on Sunday to unveil the hotel company’s Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program. The new effort merges and rebrands the Marriott Rewards, Ritz-Carlton Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) programs under one umbrella. The creative, developed with Observatory Marketing and Independent Media, highlights various properties, including the JW Marriott Nashville and W Verbier, while guests proclaim "Bonvoy" during activities, like drinking wine or playing golf. The campaign’s tagline: "Rewards Reimagined." advertisement advertisement Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile https://ift.tt/2oB2PsH February 22, 2019 at 10:24AM |
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