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Interview: How Fur Established A New Personal Care Category By Embracing Inclusivity & Self-Acceptance http://bit.ly/2Zy1uWo ![]() Before Fur, the intimate hair care category was essentially nonexistent. Wisely predicting the changing desires and needs of its target consumer, Fur co-founders Laura Schubert and Lillian Tung rode a wave of changing millennial standards for everything from body hair to gender identity. The brand’s products, which are gender-neutral, inclusive of all body hair preferences, and feature thoughtful packaging design, sit at a unique intersection of function and luxury. Since launching with an oil in 2016, the product line has expanded, been touted by celebrities and influencers including Emma Watson, and even made it onto the shelves and ecommerce sites of major retailers including Ulta, Neiman Marcus, and Net-a-Porter. PSFK spoke to Schubert and Tung about how they’re out to change consumer behavior by promoting self-acceptance, and what expansion Fur has planned for the future. Could you describe any trends you’re seeing in the intimate hair and personal care space, and how you’re leveraging them in your work? When we told people we wanted to create the first line of pubic hair care and skin care, we were hung up on, laughed at and told it was a terrible idea. It’s been great to see that now the market is starting to respond to women wanting higher-quality options in their routines—and we think that Fur played a huge role in opening up that door. We try to oppose a lot of the old trends in our industry. For so long in the body care market, all the products were both hair removal-centric and very stereotypically “feminine”, e.g. floral scents and pink packaging—almost juvenile in a way. We wanted Fur to stand in opposition to that, to find the timeless elegance of being honest about our bodies and body hair without being condescending. While other brands in the market take the niche approach, we always wanted to make our products inclusive to a wider range of people, which is why we try to keep our branding very gender neutral. We also wanted to make sure our products could be used in any grooming regimen, whether you choose to shave, wax, laser or keep all your hair. Who are Fur’s target consumers and how do you speak to them? Our entire product line was specifically designed work on anybody and every body! Everyone grows hair, which means everyone has some type of haircare routine, whether that’s waxing, laser, shaving or leaving it all. That’s why we had our products dermatologically and gynecologically tested to be safe enough to use around the pubic area, but also made sure they are effective enough to work on any hair and skin type. We like to say it works great anywhere on the body where hair meets skin. We always try to be as inclusive as possible in both the copy on our packaging, and with the body and hair types we highlight on our social channels. Do you feel like you speak largely to a millennial audience? Do you have any strategies for reaching across demographics? Our primary audience is definitely people ages 18-34, so millennials are a huge part of our community, and some of our loudest supporters online. However, because of our consistent outreach to salons and retailers, we’re able to reach across a variety of demographics. Being stocked in retailers like Free People and Urban Outfitters introduces us to a younger audience, while retailers like Neiman Marcus and Net-a-Porter have allowed us to tap into a much wider range of age groups. It’s all about having a good variety of stock-ists! How does Fur work to change consumer behavior and create new demand within an existing personal care market? There really isn’t any product in the market that achieves quite what Fur does. We’re the only brand that uses the term “pubic” both in our messaging and directly on our packaging. It was important to us to fight the stigma surrounding that word, in the hopes that normalizing it would inspire more inclusivity and body positivity. What sets us apart is that we’re not trying to change consumer behavior: We’re normalizing and validating the choices they’re already making about their bodies and body hair, but the products we offer can elevate that routine and further empower their choices. Now, so many brands that pledge to never go wholesale end up at Nordstrom, Ulta and similar. Was your plan always to work with retail partners, rather than stay DTC? We’ve valued our wholesale partnerships since launch. In fact, back in 2016 the majority of our revenue came from retailers! It’s important when creating a new category to partner with trusted beauty experts, and this is why we value the wholesale channel, whether it’s upscale salons and spas, green beauty retailers or the biggest beauty retailers. Retailers can add a lot of credibility to a new brand, and as a brand with a line of products meant for sensitive areas of the body like the pubic region, it’s important to build that trust with your customer base. What does the placement at Ulta give Fur that it might not have had either pure DTC or stocked with smaller retailers? Fur’s placement at Ulta has brought us more reach, and introduced us to people who may not have found us before. By broadening our reach through Ulta, it’s helped democratize the mission by sharing it with even more consumers, while proving that body hair care and self care is not a niche category, but something everyone can use no matter what gender, hair type, or skin type they may be. How do you maintain a sense of intimacy and community with your customers as you expand? We really pride ourselves on having created a space that feels inclusive in large part because we extended the conversation around body hair past just removal, and allowed people to discuss body hair and grooming without judgment. Since we’re not a company that sells razors or other hair removal tools, we’re really able to honor everyone’s decision around their body hair without it seeming inauthentic. Any plans to increase reach to male consumers? 30% of our consumers are men! This is in large part because of our efforts to maintain a gender-neutral stance in both our packaging and general messaging. However, we’d still love to grow that base and are making efforts to include men in our social imagery as well as on our site. Finally, how do you envision the future of the millennial startup/DTC brand? The future of the millennial startup will definitely continue to be more inclusive, more gender neutral, and less reliant on photoshop or other gimmicks that feel inauthentic. I also think we may begin to see brands having to move away from just social media to convince consumers to buy, as the social media landscape gets more and more oversaturated. Fur is catering to consumer values with an inclusive and empowering dialogue around a once-taboo topic. For more from similar inspiring brands, see PSFK’s reports and newsletters. Before Fur, the intimate hair care category was essentially nonexistent. Wisely predicting the changing desires and needs of its target consumer, Fur co-founders Laura Schubert and Lillian Tung rode a wave of changing millennial standards for everything from body hair to gender identity. The brand’s products, which are gender-neutral, inclusive of all body hair preferences, and feature thoughtful packaging design, sit at a unique intersection of function and luxury. Since launching with an oil in 2016, the product line has expanded, been touted by celebrities and influencers including Emma Watson, and even made it onto the shelves and ecommerce sites of major retailers including Ulta, Neiman Marcus, and Net-a-Porter. PSFK spoke to Schubert and Tung about how they’re out to change consumer behavior by promoting self-acceptance, and what expansion Fur has planned for the future. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ April 25, 2019 at 06:33AM
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Interview: How Fashion E-Tailer And Recommendation Platform Suggesty Is Enabling Next-Generation International Commerce http://bit.ly/2GB53SM ![]() Ecommerce changed the fashion retail industry in many ways, but efficiency was perhaps the greatest outcome: Instead of browsing rack after rack, shoppers can refine their search with an endless array of filters all on one centralized platform. Ideally, this should cut shopping time in half. Yet as of 2018, 80% of apparel and shoe purchases were occurring in traditional brick-and-mortar stores. One possible explanation for this paradox is the lack of human element on the internet; consumers still crave the personalized attention and style advice from in-store assistance. Enter Suggesty, an online fashion retailer and recommendation platform. Using a human-driven and AI-assisted strategy, Suggesty evaluates customers’ individual information and provides tailored selections based on that data. The Korea-based website and mobile app analyzes consumer preference, physical appearance and geographical location, and curates its corresponding recommendations from an extensive list of international designer brands. PSFK caught up with founder Sangwoo Kang to learn more about the virtual stylist platform, and how the ecommerce industry can benefit from a human-oriented approach: PSFK: Could you describe some of the trends that you’re seeing in retail today? Sangwoo: I have the fortunate chance to compare the retail spaces in Korea, in Asia and in the U.S. There’s definitely a temperature change and the market spaces are very different. For example, the space I’m in, which is the fashion ecommerce sector in Korea and Asia, is huge compared to what it was a decade ago. We are probably almost at the saturation point. However, In the U.S., fashion ecommerce has been growing in double digits year after year for the last 10 years. We still think the market is somewhat premature. That’s the biggest difference between the two. We can see that with major U.S. department stores across the country. They’re closing down and focusing more online. The second trend that I see with fashion ecommerce in the U.S. is that the customers are still more hesitant to make online purchases for more than $200. However, in Asia, consumers are more used to having a higher-priced digital transaction. I think consumers need more time to adjust to a new way of shopping, and they’re used to finding only cheap items online versus high-quality and proper designer items. That’s the major difference. Could you explain what led you to found Suggesty and what got you noticed in the U.S. marketplace? In the U.S., the fashion retail supply chain was owned by all the major brands. They dictated what was designed, what was supplied, what was produced, where it was sent and how much it cost. They owned the real estate in department stores. They dictated the entire industry. But in Asia, especially in Korea, the big brands never really had a hold on the entire market. It was always about grassroots brands, personal designers. It was never about big vertical brands owning the entire supply chain. It was more about small brands and retailers just selling their own merchandise in these little markets. That was a huge portion of the industry. Due to that climate, individuals were used to buying clothes and selling online. That’s why the ecommerce in Asia started really early on and started with small businesses. There were so many of them, which saturated the market. In the U.S., it was totally different: It was giant brands. They were very slow to adapt. That’s why I believe ecommerce in U.S. was slightly slower for the fashion business. That’s where Suggesty came in. I got my first idea for Suggesty three years ago when I was working in New York. I decided I needed some new clothes—I’m one of the worst dressers out there. I went online with the intent to buy and the money, but I just didn’t know how to search. I didn’t know what to choose. I was basically paralyzed. That’s when I thought, the way we search for fashion items online should change. It can’t be the way Amazon enabled us to buy books 20 years ago—we don’t buy clothes like we buy books. It should be different. I thought the search engine should be human‑oriented versus product‑oriented. Could you explain what you mean by saying Suggesty’s recommendation platform is more human‑oriented? Let me give an example. When you enter “blue shirt” into a search engine, you would get maybe 2,000 results. Those 2,000 hits have nothing to do with you. It’s just shirts that are blue. It doesn’t care what kind of body shape you have. It doesn’t care what kind of skin tone you have. The fact that you’re searching for “blue shirts” means you’re already brainwashed to this product‑oriented search. The fact is, in fashion, you shouldn’t search for “blue shirt.” In fashion, you should search, “You know who I am. I’m going clubbing this Friday night with my friends in SoHo. Tell me what to wear.” Accordingly, Suggesty quickly analyzes your style, your wants and needs through a very Tinder‑esque style profiling. Do your consumers input their sizes and age or other criteria, or is the curation based on their aesthetic preferences? We try not to judge our customers based on their age. We do count some of their factors like that, especially the region—customers from the East Coast are vastly different from those on the West Coast. I think that’s one of the things that Amazon is doing wrong in the fashion industry. They’re very good at customer clustering. That’s why they’re number one in the ecommerce market. They own 56% of the market, but they only own 7% of the fashion market. They try to stereotype a customer into a certain group, which is correct most of the time. But when it comes to fashion, it has to be unique. That is why our approach is treating customers as uniquely as possible. Every customer in our service receives a tailored collection, as opposed to suggestions like “a customer who bought this blouse also bought these jeans.” We never do that. How are the recommendations generated? Is it driven by AI or is there a human element with associates pulling some of the looks? We did experiment with AI, but at the end of the day, AI and fashion don’t go together. There is a big human element in it. Every item on our platform is indexed and categorized. It’s given a certain number of fashion points for various aspects by our fashion analysts. It’s AI‑assisted. The AI that we developed guesses what kind of clothing an item is and what it should be used for based on its color, size, type, etc. It does the basic categorization like that, but the final approval is done by a human. That is why we can’t do 50,000 different kinds of clothes. We are very focused on international designer brands. We only have roughly 8,000 items on our site, only very high quality. Could you describe your curation process and how you decide which designers and items to carry? This relates back to the current U.S. market situation. The fashion industry here is polarized. Everyone in the middle has died out. They couldn’t keep up with the cost or they couldn’t keep up with the designs. That’s where our international designer brands come in. The design quality is comparable to the high‑end brands in the U.S, but on the price side, we are comparable to smaller brands. We are slightly more expensive than they are, at about 15% more. However, the quality is definitely comparable to the high‑end brands, which creates this niche market that works for us. And because they’re Asian designers, the product is cheaper—design cost in Asia is cheaper than in the U.S. or Europe. How do you incorporate data and consumer feedback in order to improve the offerings that you carry? We do the same basic analysis that everyone else does—who clicked on what, who bought what. My background is big data analysis in the online advertisement industry. I’m very familiar with how to track and analyze big data. What we actually do is analyze trends, and we give them back to the designers for them to prepare for the next season. It’s more of a feedback loop to help designers understand U.S. customers. How do you handle the delivery and returns process and make that as seamless as possible given that it’s international? As I’m sure you know, delivery & logistics is the nightmare of ecommerce, especially with fashion because it has such a high return rate. So far, we have seen surprisingly low return rates. We believe that’s to do with our recommendation and curation support. As far as timing and shipping, we have the time zones to our advantage: We’re about 16 hours ahead. When we go to work, we’ve got all the orders ready for us. At that point, we’re basically about one business day ahead. Since our items are all somewhere between $80 to $250, we use expedited shipment. Customers are fine with that. If a customer is buying a $20 item and the shipping cost is $15, it doesn’t make sense. If they’re buying a $200 coat with another $100 bag, then $15-shipping costs start to make sense. I think that’s one of the reasons customers are happy with our shipment method. Do you have plans to expand to other markets besides your current ones? Currently, we’re open in the U.S., Canada, U.K., France, Hong Kong and Singapore. Hopefully by end of the year, we’ll be open in China. Those six countries that we’re currently open in are chosen because of the language barrier and credit card issues and international tax or tariffs issues. Because we’re an online platform, we’re very flexible. As long as they accept credit cards and we can ship to them, we are very easy to open to new markets. Will you offer designers from other markets besides Korea? We already do. We’re already carrying a couple of the U.S. designers that we knew. We are working on what we call a consignment business model, which basically means we don’t pre‑buy, or we don’t buy from the designers and sell it to the customers. We do it like a spot resale: Basically, when a customer orders something, we give that information to these brands, and then they will send the item to us. Then, we will ship the item to the customer. This kind of business model is very familiar in Korean markets, but U.S. designers are not used to this. It will take some time to get used to, but hopefully when people are more used to this kind of consignment model, we should be able to expand to other markets, especially if it’s a designer. Finally, what are your plans for the next, say, three to five years? How do you hope to grow and expand? Our immediate future goal is to attend New York Fashion Week. Hopefully the coming September one or the one after that. We want to make our debut as a unique platform that introduces obscure international brands that shipping may change the circulation of globally. On the fashion side, we are the pioneers. We discover new brands. On the customer side, we provide professional‑level curation service. That’s the position we want to take in the fashion world. Suggesty is riding the wave of next-generation ecommerce, combining the best of AI and human input to enable lower-cost, curated premium apparel retail for a global market. For more from similar inspiring retailers, see PSFK’s reports and newsletters. Mobile Marketing via PSFK http://www.psfk.com/ April 25, 2019 at 06:05AM
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Optimize Your B2B Content Performance with an SEO Audit http://bit.ly/2GEXWdf The post Optimize Your B2B Content Performance with an SEO Audit appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®. Mobile Marketing via Hubspot http://bit.ly/2V5eKQ7 April 25, 2019 at 05:33AM Connecting With The Global Market: Q&A With Kantar's Heath Greenfield http://bit.ly/2GxB8Lf ![]() Keeping up with new research technologies is no mean feat. To help, Kantar recently launched the Kantar Marketplace, a “one-stop, research and insights store that includes key offerings across Kantar’s portfolio of solutions, self-serve or with the Kantar consultancy,” according to Heath Greenfield, Kantar’s executive vice president of global strategy and corporate development. Charlene Weisler: What does the Marketplace offer? Heath Greenfield: It is a platform that meets the evolving needs of our clients who need data, insights and consulting faster and more affordably. Custom projects on the platform can be delivered in as little as six hours, and Quick Polls delivered in under an hour. As data and research continue to become more real-time in nature, these speeds will move closer to becoming table stakes. Kantar Marketplace was initially launched with several elements. With the first element, Expert Solutions, clients gain access to a self-serve or serviced version of our Link pre-testing solutions and a serviced version of Ad Now that measures in-market advertising performance. advertisement advertisement Currently available in beta, Quick Polls and DIY Surveys will provide clients faster, more cost-effective ways to meet their needs. Weisler: How can it be used with different media platforms? Greenfield: Link Now, Link Express and Ad Now can be used to evaluate multiple forms of media including TV, digital video, digital display, print and out-of-home. Our Link Now for Digital solutions show ads in fully functioning live contexts (Facebook and YouTube) and provides a reflection of people’s mindsets, distractions and interactions, and an evaluation of ad performance. Weisler: What data do you collect and use? Greenfield: Kantar collects survey responses using validated solution frameworks and proven survey questions. For example, our Link solution is validated to both short-term and long-term sales. Further, we often collect behavioral data, such as facial-coding data and clickstream data, using proven techniques to provide additional insight and value to our clients. These behavioral data sets will be available soon in the platform. Weisler: What is the profile of Kantar’s base of consumer respondents? Greenfield: Kantar has access to over 80 million respondents across dozens of countries worldwide. Within this reach of 80 million, Kantar has both discrete and direct access to the largest globally connected sample sources available. This will benefit our clients in that we will maximize the feasibility of low-incidence targets, as well as the speed and quality of data collection. Weisler: How do you collect the sample? Greenfield: Generally speaking, Kantar collects data according to the objectives of the study and the sample resources available in the relevant country. Initially, for solutions on Kantar Marketplace, we will leverage online samples for data collection across multiple devices, such as desktop and mobile. Weisler: Do you match the results with other datasets — and if so, which ones? Greenfield: Through our partnership with CINT, Kantar will have the ability to connect to over 20 million permissioned profile attributes. Connecting additional profile attributes will enable our teams to analyze the data along a variety of dimensions to provide more insights to our clients. Weisler: Give me some examples of the insights you have found from the sample. Greenfield: Our Link Now for Digital solution helps client in several ways including: Optimizing their digital ads to avoid the skip and maximize in-market success, confirming which of several ads will best achieve their goals, seeing if an effective ad in one country will work in another and finding out how their competitor’s ads are performing. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 11:49PM Facebook Braces For Billions In FTC Fines http://bit.ly/2IUSIf5 ![]() Overshadowing an otherwise strong first quarter, Facebook said on Wednesday it expects to be fined billions of dollars by the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC has been investigating Facebook since the Cambridge Analytica scandal erupted last year. Of particular interest to the FTC is whether the company violated a 2011 agreement it made regarding the sharing of user data. In response to the inquiry, Facebook has taken a $3 billion charge; it is estimating that the fine could approach $5 billion. “The matter remains unresolved, and there can be no assurance as to the timing or the terms of any final outcome,” Facebook noted in its first-quarter earnings release. On the bright side, Facebook’s quarterly earnings and user growth both beat analyst expectations. During the first quarter, the social giant boasted just over $15 billion in revenue, which was up about 25% year-over-year. advertisement advertisement Analysts were not surprised by Facebook’s strong performance. “Advertisers continue to be stuck on Facebook, despite its many challenges,” according to eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “What they care most about is its vast user base and its targeting capabilities. Both are continuing to provide strong performance for them.” “While marketers may say privately they do worry about Facebook’s problems with fake news, election meddling, privacy and more, they worry about their own financial health. Facebook is still a major partner in that regard,” Williamson added. Yet, Williamson said that there is no downplaying the looming FTC fine. “This is a significant development, and any settlement with the FTC may impact the ways advertisers can use the platform in the future,” she said. During an average day during the quarter, daily active users (DAUs) reached 1.56 billion, which were up 8% year-over-year. On average, monthly active users (MAUs) reached 2.38 billion as of March 31, 2019, were also up 8% year-over-year. Mobile advertising revenue now represents about 93% of all ad revenue, which was up from 91% during the same period last year. All together, Facebook now estimates more than 2.1 billion consumers use Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, or its flagship app on a daily basis, and around 2.7 billion people use at least one of its family of services each month. Facebook recorded earnings per share of $0.85 compared to estimates of $1.63 EPS. However, that’s because Facebook has set aside $3 billion to cover a potential FTC fine that it’s still resolving. Without that fine, it would have had an EPS of $1.89. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 05:55PM AT&T Has So-So Q1, But WarnerMedia, Wireless Hold Their Own http://bit.ly/2Pq1zqe
The AT&T cellphone business added 80,000 customers, a much better outcome than the decline of 44,000 analysts had predicted. The wireless division makes up 40% of AT&T’s total operating revenue, but its $17.57 billion in revenue fell slightly short of projections, apparently because of heavy promotions during the quarter, which included the new ”Just OK is not OK” and controversial “5GE” campaigns. WarnerMedia, the new name for AT&T’s newly acquired division that includes HBO, CNN and other cable networks, also showed gains in all its units and a 11.6% increase in operating income, to $2.2 billion. advertisement advertisement With the acquisition of Time Warner, AT&T took on massive debt, now totaling $169 billion. It’s now focused on reducing that amount. Among cost-cutting measures, the company is selling its stake in Hulu for $1.43 billion, and getting rid of its new skyscraper in New York’s Hudson Yards development for $2.2 billion. Revenue was up nearly 18%, to $44.83 billion. That was slightly below analysts’ expectations of $45.11 billion. “Our first-quarter results show that we’re delivering on what we promised,” said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “We’re on plan to meet our de-leveraging goals with strong free cash flow and asset sales. We grew Entertainment Group EBITDA in the quarter and are confident we’ll meet or exceed our full-year target.” But AT&T shares were trading down 4.86 at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, showing some investors are not convinced. "Altogether, AT&T's collection of assets remains challenged," wrote Jonathan Chaplin, an analyst with New Street Research, according to Yahoo. He called the results “just okay,” tweaking the AT&T wireless campaign tagline. The problem, as it has been for a while, is at DirecTV and U-Verse, which lost 544,000 subscribers in the quarter. The digital virtual cable product, DirecTV Now, is not much better. It lost 83,000 subscribers, which actually sounds better than the 267,000 it lost in 2018’s Q4. DirecTV Now competes with Playstation Vue, Hulu TV and YouTube TV in a digital business that appeals to cable (and satellite) cord-cutters who still want network channels. Though that’s a growing number, it appears that growth is slowing down, with more consumers concluding that they can live without “old” television fare, from broadcast networks like CBS and cable outlets like USA. DirecTV Now recently raised its rates, possibly reminding consumers, sourly, of their experience with cable operators in the past. AT&T wireless and Verizon are locked in a battle for supremacy in the still (very) nascent 5G competition for customers, but the cellphone market is saturated, making growth problematic. AT&T’s 5GE campaign, which tried to repackage its improved 4G phone service as 5GE (the “E” standing for Evolution, a fact the company mentioned only here and there), shows the cutthroat nature of competition in the mobile market, which of course includes Sprint and T-Mobile. Sprint, in fact, sued to stop the ads, and in its own ads said AT&T was peddling “fake 5G.” The suit is on the way to be being settled “amicably,” both sides reported on Tuesday. The fate of the ads hasn’t been announced. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 04:05PM Brit+Co. Lays Off Most Staffers After Traffic Declines http://bit.ly/2GIuIdP ![]()
Brit + Co
has let go of a majority of its staff, after acquisition talks fell through. According to Recode, which first reported the news, the digital media brand with DIY and lifestyle content for millennial women employs about 50 people. In 2017, that number was closer to 100. Several Brit + Co employees took to Twitter this afternoon to announce they were available for hire. Traffic to Brit + Co’s desktop and mobile site dipped in the last six months from just over 4 million in October 2018, to 2.44 million in March, according to SimilarWeb data. In a Medium post published yesterday, CEO Brit Morin referred to the company’s “next chapter” as a “reboot.” “While Brit + Co has always had diverse revenue streams across advertising, ecommerce, classes and ticketed events, we have not been immune to the struggles of the industry,” she wrote in the post, citing industry challenges for “independent, digital publishers with advertising-centric models.” advertisement advertisement Morin continued: “The next model will see larger media conglomerates continuing to serve advertising and streaming services at scale, while smaller publishers may begin to look more like direct to consumer brands: brokering distribution deals with larger platforms; launching subscription services; and bolstering ad revenue with e-commerce, licensing deals and other consumer services.” Morin told staff Monday that the company is dealing with financial issues. “We see the Brit + Co brand being valuable as a brand and less as a digital publishing business,” Morin told Recode. In addition to the lifestyle content on Brit + Co’s website, the company hosts online classes and live events, with speakers like "Girls" actress Allison Williams and American Ballet female principal dancer Misty Copeland. Last summer, the company's #CreateGood events were expanded to Los Angeles, after the successful launch of its first event in the series in New York City in 2017, which drew 10,000 people over five days and over 1,200 for the six ticketed events. At the time, Morin told Publishers Daily event-based revenue had doubled every year since since 2013, when Brit + Co launched its first event, the Re:Make conference in San Francisco. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 02:37PM One Mistake And You're Toast: Consumers Are Quick To Dump Brands http://bit.ly/2IVElr4 ![]() Consumers demand flawless service — and will bolt if they get anything less, according to the New Rules Of Customer Engagement, a global study by Freshworks. Of the individuals polled, 56% have stopped doing business with a brand or changed over to a competitor alter a single bad experience in the last 12 months. U.S. customers are the most likely to split — 69% have done so. French shoppers are least likely — only 40% have walked out on a brand after an aggravating experience. Overall, 60% will report a bad experience, either in person or online on peer sites, review forums or social media. And here’s the takeaway for email teams: Email is the most likely channel to cause a mishap — because it’s by far the most widely used. Of those surveyed, 77% regularly interact with brands via email, compared to 54% who use the telephone. Another 42% utilize mobile apps, and 39% use live chat. This shows that brands better have their automation in place for sending transactional emails and fast responses to queries. advertisement advertisement In addition, 36% choose email for service interactions with a brand, compared with 29% who prefer voice and 21% who prefer live chat. Email largely wins across the globe — 36% in the U.S. prefer it and 44% in the UK. But two countries prefer voice — India and Germany. Email comes up second in both cases. Not that email stands alone. Of the consumers polled across the globe, 70% globally prefer brands that provide service via multiple channels — i.e., email, chat, social. In India, 90% feel that way, compared with 73% in Germany, 68% in the U.S., 65% in France and 63% in the UK. Worldwide, 67% use three or more channels, and 39% use five or more. Freshworks surveyed 3,000 consumers across several countries and regions. The study shows that 47% of consumers have higher expectations rom their favorite brands than they did two years ago. For 15%, those hopes have increased significantly. But watch out for the 11% whose expectations have decreased. The study also found that 31% of consumers across the globe are willing to pay more for a great customer service experience. But don’t try to make a profit center out of this just yet — 31% strongly disagree with that proposition, and 16% demur to an extent. Only 14% strongly concur, 17% somewhat agree and 22% are neutral. Finally, here’s a handy checklist of what to correct. The most common customer frustrations, most of which concern phone interactions, are:
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 02:16PM
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Verizon Deal Promotes YouTube TV's Goal: More Marketshare http://bit.ly/2GzceLe YouTube TV and Verizon say they are partnering to make the streaming TV bundle more widely available to customers of the telecom giant. YouTube TV is in the midst of a major push for marketshare, inking key sponsorship deals to build brand awareness. YouTube TV is the presenting sponsor of both the MLB World Series and the NBA Finals. It and was the presenting sponsor of the NFL Super Bowl pregame show this year. The Verizon deal marks something of a next phase of that effort. Under the terms of the deal, Verizon’s mobile, Fios and 5G home customers will add YouTube TV to their bundle through Verizon. Consumers will pay for YouTube TV in the same bill they pay Verizon each month, reducing subscription fatigue. Most significantly, the deal will also result in special offers for Verizon customers, perhaps reducing the cost of YouTube TV. Verizon stated it will “offer unique, high-value YouTube TV promotions to customers across platforms.” advertisement advertisement Verizon customers may be able to subscribe to YouTube TV at a special rate, or with a special introductory offer. Currently, YouTube costs $50 per month, with a seven-day free trial. Verizon’s competitors in the space offer special video bundles already, with AT&T offering an HBO subscription to certain wireless customers, as well as access to AT&T Watch TV, a skinny bundle of streaming channels. T-Mobile offers a free Netflix subscription to certain subscribers and is developing its own streaming video service, based on technology from Layer3 TV, which it acquired last year. Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 09:29AM Restaurants Fear Future Mobile Disruption http://bit.ly/2GzVKmf ![]() Keeping up with the future can be challenging. A good example of this in in the restaurant industry. Consumers armed with mobile phones can check reviews in real time and be swayed to skip the restaurant they were heading to and be diverted to another. It turns out that the leaders running such establishments are aware of a potentially rocky road ahead. While nearly half (48%) of executives in the food and beverage industry feel prepared to capitalize on future innovations, more than half (59%) say their company faces the threat of disruption from more mobile-enabled competitors. The findings, based on an Oracle survey of 280 senior executives in the food and beverage industry who use mobile technology, highlight the need to continually keep up with the pace of technology. Restaurant execs also see the need for speed, with 86% of operators saying branded mobile apps increase their speed of service and revenue and almost all (93%) say their guest-facing apps promote loyalty and drive repeat business. advertisement advertisement Placing advance mobile orders, making payments and reserving tables, such as through the Yelp app, already is well established, and looks to continue. Most (82%) say partnerships with third-party services such as Uber Eats and GrubHub will grow their business and 89% expect it will increase average charges. On the downside, fewer than half (48%) say they have the tools they need to meet the mobile demands of tomorrow. And for restaurant managers, tomorrow is coming.
Mobile Marketing via MediaPost.com: mobile http://bit.ly/2oB2PsH April 24, 2019 at 09:29AM |
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