Content is King? Visual is King

Visual appeal, it’s an art form and it makes a big impact. There is no branding without focusing on visual appeal, because visual appeal is a critical part of branding. For example, the colors you pick for buttons and text determine how many clicks you get and ultimately how much engagement you receive (think sign-up or purchase links). Many will say that content is key, but visual content dominates just as much if not more of the content field. All you have to do is look at Pinterest or Instagram to see that we’re a visual culture and visual matters. Don’t believe me or know where to start?

A good place to start is identifying what type of company you are and what you’re trying to project. Understanding that and having a clear vision of current and future direction will help inform your choices here. Take a look at the infographics in this article http://bit.ly/Z4mx1b. There is one midway down the page that shows arcs of brands delineated by their common colors. There are even key words that are implicated by each color, and the kinds of words that these colors evoke that you need to consider when you’re identifying what type of company you are and what you’re trying to project.

The next thing to consider is your objective, what is your goal? If it’s a deliverable, what is the desired outcome you are trying to effect? The infographic with the series of “Buy” buttons in different colors is a good indicator for matching goal and desired outcome to color choice. Additionally, another infographic detailing an experiment with color choice for a “Get started now” button is also a good resource. Then you need to consider your audience, which is what their next infographic tackles. There are certain colors that attract women and men, just men, or just women. Knowing your audience is not an option, it’s a requirement.

If these don’t convince you that visuals are important, just check out the statistics on Pinterest http://bit.ly/Z4mEtO. Pinterest is all about identifying key influencers and tapping into their likes to spread your content. Most of Pinterest activity is user-generated (from repins) as compared to brand-driven (a small percentage pertaining to what you pin to start with). There are also certain times of the day that work better for certain industries to pin at and the fact that Pinterest draws a mostly female audience to consider.

There’s also Instagram, which Facebook purchased and has started to transform to adapt it for its use (to the delight and disgust of others)http://nyr.kr/18TQLWr. Instagram seems to be on the right track with one thing if nothing else, and that’s adding in a tagging element where the person posting the image can tag everyone in the photo. There’s also a “Photos of You” the collects photos you’ve been tagged in, much like how Facebook compiles a photo section of you. Everyone likes to see themselves in a photo, relate to what’s in a photo and share what’s in a photo. Whether it’s Pinterest or Instagram, it’s important to develop a strategy for making the most of it with your brand.

So there you have, an argument for why visual is king. It’s a type of content, it’s just as if not more important than verbal content and it deserves the same type of consideration. How does your visual appeal measure up? What is your visual appeal doing for you? Become more visually appealing and see where it takes you.

The Brand Experience

Brand experience. What does it mean when you say you’ve had a positive or negative brand experience? What is a brand experience? Well, I’m here to answer that question. A brand experience is about a brand’s engagement with its fans, simply put. A Jim Joseph article breaks it down into two categories in particular, totality and tonality http://bit.ly/119d3Dp. Joseph insists that you need both of these to create a complete experience. Totality and tonality are two halves of a whole, the yin and the yang, in other words both are essential to creating a complete brand experience.

Totality is defined by Joseph as the “completeness and consistency across your various marketing elements.” This means you need to engage with them at various points within the way they live their life.  For example, on social media it’s important to have a presence that spans a few channels and connects all of those channels together. In other words, you’re reaching out to fans every place they are at and linking them to other ways to connect with you as well. Building these interconnections forms a brand relationship and a brand relationship leads to brand loyalty. The more customized the relationship the better, and that’s where tonality comes in. Joseph describes tonality as the “spirit of the experience” or the “emotional connection,” “brand personality or voice.” Totality and tonality individually draw fans into the mix but it’s their combination that keeps the connection strong.

I stumbled across two ways in which brands are putting these concepts to work in new and interesting ways. One of them is Domino’s, who has realized the importance of online ordering and has pioneered a tracker that is now being expanded into a live experience test http://onforb.es/10efYsz. When you order online from Domino’s their Domino’s Tracker shows what’s happening in real-time and names the person who’s creating your pizza. It’s a way to connect you to the process from start to finish, and it also offers up transparency, which is a priceless ingredient to a brand relationship. Recently Domino’s decided to take its “Tracker” to the next level and offer a live experience. Hence, a one store test at a Salt Lake City Domino’s through the end of May. The live test uses five cameras to capture the live, uncut making of your pizza in real-time. Building connection to the brand as a whole and not just the end result, this experience connects the dots and is sure to build brand loyalty by doing what no other pizza shop has done before.

Taco Bell is also breaking new ground, inviting it’s Twitter friends to Snapchat, a photo messaging application that allows you to add text and drawings to customize photos you can send directly to your friends http://tcrn.ch/18or0gF. Thus far they’ve used it to announce their new Beefy Crunch Burrito. Billy Gallagher’s article shows a picture of the dish at the bottom that was sent by Taco Bell to its Snapchat friends. The picture has a message drawn on it that reads “hi friend” and at the bottom the launch date 5/23/13 is written. It’s kind of a take off on the success of Pinterest in a way, except it’s sharing personal photos and enhancing them, then sending them directly to friends. Socializing the photo sharing process in a new way, this is sure to add personality that bonds fans to the brand through building a relatable identity.

Now that you have examples of both, I’m sure you are thinking of all the ways these can be utilized and combined to create a complete experience. If you’re not, you should be. Providing a complete brand experience makes you more than just another product, it humanizes your brand and makes it a trusted friend. When your brand takes on qualities that make it more than an inanimate object it becomes harder to ignore and easier to connect to. This is the ultimate goal of a brand relationship, and it’s the kind of thing that builds brand loyalty for life.

Putting the New in News

When you look at journalism it’s hard to say what will happen to it. There’s always those who think they know and call it one way or the other. In reality there are positives and negatives so I’m going to call it a mixed bag. All anyone seems to know for sure is that a change is needed. With the fluidity of media all forms are always in a state of flux. It’s a necessary part of the cycle. What’s important to know is how to adapt at any stage. Here’s what journalists and newspapers should be doing as these times roll through the presses.

Rick Edmonds cites 2012 as a good year for newspaper stocks, and shares what investors liked about what they saw http://bit.ly/WH9pad. I am choosing a few to spotlight as they relate to what newspapers should be pursuing. One of his points is that those with investments in digital companies, or those launching digital/social marketing agencies for local businesses, are seeing great returns. This is a trend that must continue. It’s not enough to be involved with social media, you have to invest and merge with those practices. Even going as far as to launch them for others.  Another point of his is that companies with local TV operations had better than expected revenue and profit gains (especially with political advertising returning this year). My conclusion? If you tie yourself to a local TV station you’re forming a mutually beneficial partnership that can help keep you in the black. Sunday inserts holding up and Sunday circulation stabilizing or growing is another point that stands out to me. Publishers can’t afford to drop Sundays. If anything they should increase their inserts then and take advantage of the opportunity to increase circulation on that day.

As for journalists, more of the sources I found focused on what journalists should do if their job options continue to shrink. Yet, Hamilton Nolan wrote about what they can do now http://gaw.kr/USQoYn. Become better storytellers. The point being that journalism is not about you. You and your byline are a major sidenote compared to the reason people are reading, to hear the interesting stories others have to tell. Perhaps the best thing journalists can do is focus on telling the interesting stories of the people around them. This may be the best way to reclaim and maintain readers. It’s about the only counterpoint to having the edge on breaking news (which they don’t always have anymore in today’s media landscape). Another thing to focus on is how your skills translate to other jobs. In other words, you have to focus on building those transferable skills so that you are always ready for what comes next. Erik Gunn’s article goes into more detail about why this is so, and I will leave it at that http://bit.ly/WVrzWo. Going back to what comes next, already there’s a demand for marketers who think more like journalists. Sam Slaughter discusses how brands are having to become content producers and mimic a newsroom-like format and process to engage and entertain customers http://bit.ly/UPyd1W. How can marketers become better storytellers? By employing journalists. Journalists are storytellers and what better way to transfer your skills to an area with a real need for them?

Now I’m not a journalist and I’m not saying marketers shouldn’t learn to become storytellers. Rather a fusion needs to take place and more blending of these two subsets of communication would benefit both sides. Much like media draws upon other media to complement and support it, so should journalism and marketing do the same with each other. The first is a model of what works.  The latter? It’s ripe with possibility.

And A Social New Year

Two years ago, location-based apps ruled the night. Foursquare teamed up with Bravo for its Watch What Happens Live: Andy’s New Year’s Eve Party with Andy Cohen http://on.mash.to/TGHCfF. Facebook Places joined with Times Square Alliance using a One Times Square billboard, urging people to check in using the service. Meanwhile, SCVNGR formed a partnership with American Eagle promising a $10 donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters for every social challenge consumers completed. Flash forward two years and social has stolen all the thunder. Social media is 2010′s location-based apps. This year’s New Year’s Eve has officially become a social New Year’s Eve.

Even the Times Square ball is getting in on the act. Waterford’s final release in the “World of Celebrations” series is peace. Each year they introduce a new signature cut crystal pattern to become part of the current series of crystal sentiments. This year’s features a dove surrounded by a burst of sunlight. In honor of all this, Waterford and Times Square New Year’s Eve are inviting people worldwide to share what peace means to them http://bit.ly/W8pt5h. Select sentiments will be included in a Waterford toast given during the live ceremony in Times Square on-site and online via the official webcast. Even Yoko Ono’s getting in on it with her IMAGINE PEACE message, which will be featured nightly during the three minutes leading up to midnight during the month of December http://bit.ly/W8pt5h. Yoko’s effort is part of the Times Square Moment: A digital gallery, a presentation of the Times Square Advertising Coalition and Times Square Arts. On the 21st, the song Imagine was played on billboards. All part of the social domination.

Then there’s Dunkin’ Donuts. Not as big West coast fixture but certainly big in the East where Times Square is, and does make, a big impression. Dunkin’ Donuts is offering its fans the chance to get their photo or video on the billboard http://on.mash.to/YSFenb. Launched at the beginning of this month, their campaign asks fans to send in their photos and/or videos wishing friends and relatives a happy new year. Winners will be chosen in video and photo categories. The top prize is that each winner gets a Times Square billboard placement and two round-trip travel certificates on Jet Blue. 10 top first prize winners from each category will also get $50 in Dunkin’ Donuts cards.

These may all be different ventures but they all have two things in common, they’re tapping into social and they’re all using billboards. Billboards being a form of traditional media and social being a form of new media brings about an interesting intersection between the two. One that recalls social media’s link back to traditional print media. In fact, you could say that most traditional media has links to and/or relies on new media and vice versa. Today, no media stands alone. All of it is one big intersection that supports and upholds the existence of the other forms. This year old media will meet new media as an old year meets a new one. If 2012 was indeed the year of mobile, 2013 is looking to be the year of social. Before, I wished you a Merry Christmas. Until next time, I bid you adieu and wish you a social new year.

Be Ready for December 23rd

December 23, a day like any other day. Two days before Christmas, and…oh yeah, the biggest day of December for retailers receiving traffic from their email campaigns. It’s only 13 days away, yes that’s almost two weeks, and yet it’s never too early and never too late to apply the tips I’m about to share here. Here’s how to prepare for one of the biggest days of the year. First, lets talk about what’s going to get people to open your emails.

A 2011 Experian Hitwise study shows that the highest open rates during Christmas can be achieved with a combination of  ‘sale’ and ’Christmas’ or ‘New Year’ http://bit.ly/SSuOQz. The next most popular will be a combination of  ‘% off’ and ’Christmas’ or ’New Year’. Additionally, dropping the word ‘free’ in your subject line leads to 12% higher read rates than those without. This could be free shipping or free gift with purchase, anything is fair game. Nate Goodman also specifies that those mentioning a deal will see a higher sales conversion rate http://bit.ly/SSuS2T. People are looking for deals, not only for Christmas, but after Christmas and to start their New Year off right. According to Goodman subject line positioning is also important, and placing the discount at the far left of the subject line could net you up to a 35% higher read rate. Other benefits for placing it there are subscribers are four times less likely to register a spam complaint, they are twice as likely to not classify it as spam and spam filtering levels are about 50% less.  

Just be careful when determining your discount. Goodman also notes that larger discounts tend to get spammed and smaller discounts usually generate higher average read rates http://bit.ly/SSuS2T. If for some reason you have a really large discount, it’s better to use a blanket term like clearance and direct them to your website. You can reveal those kind of discounts there. Another tactic that could come in handy is that Wednesdays see 1/3 as much spam filtering as other days. Sending your offer on a Wednesday means it’s that much more likely to reach your audience in the first place. Once they open it, how you word the content of your email is just as important. Think about focusing on gift idea campaigns http://bit.ly/SSuOQz. When people aren’t sure what to get they tend to focus on an age segment, interest segment or people segment. This also shortens a customer’s search, making it more convenient and building sales. People are looking for quick, easy and informative. This doesn’t mean taking the blanket approach, as depending on your sector, product and target audience you’ll want to stay relevant.

Once they commit, there’s only one last piece of advice. Perhaps it’s the most important one, because it can make or break the sale. In the weeks leading up to December 23rd, and especially the day of, it’s important to have a guaranteed delivery date listed at the bottom of your email. People want to make sure their gifts arrive on time, whether it’s supposed to arrive at the recipient’s address or the giver’s for wrapping and hand-delivery. If you don’t have a guaranteed shipping date, you won’t be guaranteed a large percentage of sales. It’s as simple as that. So be there or beware, December 23rd is coming. Are you ready?

Email Marketing to Make Profits Ring

Hear that? No, it’s not bells jingling. It’s cash registers ringing. What’s going to help put you in the black this holiday season? Not Black Friday, that’s over, now it’s all about email marketing. This is the big push, customers are on second screens now and to catch them you have to do more than land a clever jingle on the radio or a catchy commercial on the air. So how do you go about this and what does the essential email marketing piece need? Let’s find out.

First, the core of your email (or its tone) should utilize emotion, education and/or trust. These are proven psychological marketing tools that do a lot of the selling for you if you use them correctly. Here’s the breakdown of what they are and why they work. Julie Robert writes that emotional selling is the easiest way to entice people to buy your products or services http://bit.ly/11YgJUt. Emotional selling is about inspiration, whether through stories or ideas, that leads to action (buying). Education is another tactic, by empowering your customers with knowledge they are enticed and excited to buy. A decision based on knowledge also appeals to the more rational thinker. With education you’re giving them new information that demonstrates what your product or service can do for them and this is one of the most persuasive appeals. Then there’s trust, whether it’s 24-hour customer service, positioning yourself as an expert or promoting yourself through industry endorsements. Anything that a customer can rely on inspires trust and a more personal kind of trust builds long-lasting customers.

The rest of your email should include some or all of the following. According to Jordan Cohen, countdown clocks, embedded email location maps, showing how inventory’s dwindling and leveraging social media are potentially your best friends http://bit.ly/Up6J2a. Countdown clocks in emails showcase the days, hours, minutes and maybe even seconds left and make special sales more compelling. Embedding email location maps that show the nearest location from where your customer is currently at, rather than their home zip code, inspires more immediate action and nets you more customers and more sales. Showcasing a limited quantity of a hot item is sure to have customers coming to you quickly to reserve or purchase theirs before you run out. Leveraging social media is more than social media links now, streaming social media comments and tweets is sure to be much more effective. Customers gravitate to real-time logistics.

Finally, here are the other ways to stand out and make yourself more accessible. Have a mobile site, more people are accessing you from their phone and there’s nothing more discouraging than not being able to view a web page. Chad White agrees that smartphone and tablet viewing of emails is necessary, especially on active tech shopping days http://bit.ly/TGEIFP. Experimenting with Pinterest is something he also advises. Link to your Pinterest content and promote it in your emails, promote a Pinterest contest and include a Pin It button at the bottom of your email so your special deals can be shared. Finally, offer a competitive shipping edge. It’s not enough to offer free shipping anymore, most offer that in some form now and it’s seen as expected (not a bonus). For this you have to tap into a little something extra, free hassle-free returns, free return shipping, etc. If you go above and beyond the amount of customers you have will exceed your expectations.

Alright, those are the tricks of the trade. Now the only challenge is can you use them more effectively, more timely, and with more of an edge than your competitors. It’s time to find out.

Deck the Halls with Tech Black Friday

Get out your smartphone or iPad and set that alarm…it’s time for the Black Friday edition of this blog! This year Black Friday is all about smartphones and other technology. Not just online sales through these or even shopping apps, this year it’s about getting customers to engage with smartphones and other technology to enhance and streamline the purchase process. Here are a few that you might see this year (if you’re a shopper) or think about for next year (if you’re a retailer).

Mobile checkout: No more cash registers? That’s right. Some stores are phasing out cash registers in favor of customers making mobile purchases from anywhere in the store. According to Hadley Malcolm, Finish Line will deploy this tactic in time for the holidays while stores like JC Penney and Nordstrom phase out cash registers in favor of the same http://usat.ly/Y5jOCD. How does this work? Well it’s already a reality for one store. C. Wonder is a women’s apparel and accessories shop. All stores have a concierge desk in the center, which include cash drawers, but the majority of checkouts happen at smaller mobile checkout units around the store. In fact all employees carry around mobile checkout devices.  Depending on store size, 15 to 30 mobile checkout units can be in effect. The smaller mobile checkout units have gift wrap, bags and receipt printers. This kind of technology is sure to be met with more buyers. If there’s anything Americans value it’s convenience, and this will allow more shoppers to be met at their point of purchase decision than ever before.

QR Codes: According to Mark Walsh, Target has 20 top toys located in the main aisles of its stores that have QR codes on them http://bit.ly/Tdu59X. In order to purchase these toys, all the customer has to do is scan the toy’s QR code and it will be shipped free within the U.S. Free shipping and no lines? Yes. I hear more sales. Do you? This could also be a rebranding and reintroduction of sorts for QR codes, which have been slow to take off under their current uses. If customers learn to scan a QR code to purchase an item, they will be more willing to scan one in the future. QR codes could come to have a whole new meaning. Whether that happens or not, what better way to build awareness and more use value into QR codes? It might be just what they need.

Tablet Trends: This appeals to the customer’s need for increased interaction and focuses on the psychology of it all. Selling the experience that ultimately results in a purchase. At Aéropostale, iPads in dressing rooms let customers choose their music. At stations throughout the rest of the store customers can use them as ‘look books’. They can look at style guides, build outfits to email to themselves or friends or just surf the store’s website. Throughout Guess and PacSun they are not just ‘look books’, but sources of additional items and an alternative way to purchase items. Tablets might be the way to win online shoppers back to the brick and mortar stores.

Social Shopping: Facebook is anxious to prove that social shopping works. Samantha Murphy notes it has added more retail partnerships, with babyGap, Fab, Brookstone, Lindt and ProFlowers http://on.mash.to/UUmi0r. Subscriptions to Hulu Plus, Pandora and Rdio can also be sent. Just in time for Black Friday, Facebook is rolling out a way to measure this impact more effectively. Its new tool will allow businesses to track purchases by those who’ve viewed their ads http://reut.rs/Qwlcwl. Marketers will also be able to aim their ads at segments that share attributes with those who have bought similar items in the past. Perhaps a win is possible for social. On the other hand, it could also result in Social Sunday. Then we’d have Black Friday, Small-Business Saturday, Social Sunday and Cyber Monday. As McDonalds used to say, it could happen.

Hopefully now you’re ready for Black Fridays of Christmas present and future. Stay tuned in the following weeks for more holiday-themed posts. This is only the beginning.

Reinventing Retail, Reinventing Media

There may be something to that saying about reinventing the wheel, but it doesn’t apply to retail. In order to grow, retail must evolve with the times. Retail is an industry that is constantly adapting to the interactive climate around it. This point in time is no exception, with TV, mobile and online all focusing on developing consumer-friendly junctions where interactive and retail meet. In the process, not only is retail being changed but advertising itself is being changed forever.

Take TV for example, traditionally one associates TV with commercial advertising. TV is no longer a one-dimensional advertising medium, it’s a multi-dimensional advertising medium. The latest development continuing this trend is American Express and NBC Universal’s television commerce partnership http://bit.ly/Tr91xq. With this partnership, consumers can purchase items “inspired by” NBC Universal programs directly from their mobile device during the show’s airing. This process uses the Zeebox app, which works on certain tablets and smartphones. The app lets users converse in real-time with friends about programs they’re both watching and follow related Twitter and Facebook feeds. Through this it gives users information about how they can purchase show-related items. NBC Universal’s DailyCandy website will select products that might appeal to users, and American Express cardholders get $35 back when they use an eligible card, synced with their Facebook or Twitter account, to purchase a product.

Meanwhile, Apple’s Passbook is transforming retail by changing the way we receive and use coupons. Ad Age’s Krishna Subramanian describes Passbook as “an app for receiving, managing and using offers, tickets and loyalty points” http://bit.ly/UwSzjJ. Users can receive these items, called passes, via web, email, SMS, or directly into Passbook via a brand-specific, Passbook-capable app available through the App store. To use a pass, all you have to do is click on it. A barcode appears, the merchant scans it and you can redeem loyalty points, accept tickets, etc. Fandango, Walgreens and Target already have Passbook-enabled apps that see heavy use. Ticketmaster, American Airlines, United and Live Nation follow close behind. Additionally, geo-sensing allows passes to be sent according to time and location-specific triggers. Passbook also makes it easier to track the performance of offers pushed to consumers, resulting in increased analytics and increased ROI.

Interactive ads online are also serving the retail market and someday will hopefully generate enough revenue to keep content free online http://bit.ly/ScTU97. Video is still the premium of online advertising, but paying for advertising based on clicks is going by the wayside. Rates hover around 0.09% according to Double Click and MediaMind, and research from ComScore shows ad clickers are a rare and distinct demographic. What’s holding interactive media back is finding a way to measure it that fairly equates it with other types of media. One thing that does connect all of these interactive retail mediums is a close margin between media consumption time and ad spending. Kleiner Perkins’ Mary Meeker analyzed the time spent percentage for each media and compared it to ad spending. Customers spend 26% of their time online, where marketers spend 22% of their ad budgets. TV is also close, with consumers spending 43% of their media time with TV and marketers spending 42% of their ad budgets. Mobile consumers spend 10% of their time with mobile but marketers spend only 1% of their ad budgets here. Print is the biggest loser with consumers spending 7% of their media consumption time with print and advertisers spending 25% of their ad budgets there. However, this does not account for the fact that a lot of these traditional mediums are bridging  into interactive formats. Interactive formats of these traditional mediums can be lumped into  interactive consumption and interactive spending categories, the latter of which is predicted to be hot on the heels of TV by 2016.

Reinventing media is reinventing retail, and reinventing retail is reinventing media. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, one that’s in a constant state of development from any angle. It’s hard to say where exactly one will take the other, but the result will be that each will be changed forever.

Retail Gamification: The Next Level

Does anyone remember the game show Supermarket Sweep? With pairs of contestants running through grocery aisles trying to get the most expensive cart totals to win cash? This same concept became a competition for deals, which also earn you cash by saving you cash, and can be seen today in this aspect of our culture. If you think about it, it’s not so surprising that retail has become associated with gamification. According to Gary Belsky, gamification is about “fun, play, transparency, design and challenge” as well as “competition, reward, easy-to-track progress and an enjoyable user experience” http://ti.me/OeYPtT. What are examples of these? Social media games for cereals have been a fixture for quite some time, Albertson’s offers a yearly contest with a year’s worth of groceries as its top prize, and shows like Extreme Couponers celebrate the deal hunters. Gamification is a fixture of retail shopping already, and it’s looking to expand.

Eric Schwamberger calls this next phase “shopification” and claims it’s about “inserting game dynamics into shopping behaviors to make thinking about shopping a regular activity that puts products top of mind and makes the shopping experience more rewarding” http://bit.ly/QqxkLZ. This involves motivation, which he deems a result of “solving meaningful challenges, gaining and demonstrating status, getting special access and expressing individuality”. All of these are principles of gaming that’re easily applied to shopping. Although, between daily deals sites, coupons and Foursquare deals it may seem like that’s all that retail gamification is about. The deals. Yet there are signs that it’s advancing beyond that concept and building upon the gamification aspect to increase customer loyalty and participation. An example of the first comes from Schwamberger’s reference to Bird’s Eye’s “Here’s One, Share One” program. Imagine, a program where you can spread your good fortune by sharing savings with your closest companion. With “Here’s One, Share One”, members receive one coupon for themselves and another to grant to someone else on Facebook. Not only does this spread the deal, it spreads brand loyalty (to the store and to the brand featured in the deal) and customer loyalty. Basically it’s like reinventing the “Telephone” game, although this is the reinvention of the “word-of-mouth” concept. Passing coupons along generates more followers and customers and that translates to sales going up. 

The second part of this is increasing participation, or in this case competition. I’m not talking about the type of competition between stores and brands. This is competition between shoppers, and not just for deals. Enter in Lucky Magazine’s new user-generated section http://bit.ly/NPWTbf. Fashion bloggers have slowly become a threat to print fashion, but Lucky is transforming them into a benefit by giving them a voice and a place to compare and compete in their Lucky Community. The process begins by analyzing fashion bloggers via Appinions, a platform that helps identify the most influential voices  by looking at comments, retweets, etc. These voices are offered a place in the Lucky community, which pits them right up against each other. Belsky notes this in his third point, titled “Technology makes all things easier, especially competition”. Here this could not be more true. Thus, this phase marks a transition for retail gamification that is important to note. The top concern is no longer who gets the best deal. It’s about generating customer loyalty and participation, for it’s these two concepts that will ensure the longevity of retail and sustain sales. Retail gamification’s next level is here, and it’s coming to more than a store near you.

TV’s Second Screen: Connected or Disconnected?

Major networks are gearing up for fall premieres that are just around the corner. Guys eagerly anticipate the start of the NFL football season and women eagerly await the premiere of their favorite sitcom’s new season. Ah yes, fall programming is in the air, and second screens are in viewers hands. For better or worse, the new reality of TV viewing seems to be with smartphone or iPad in hand. Connected TV, as they call it, has a couple of categories, one of which is the device or devices the viewer engages with while watching shows. The second is the device used to watch connected TV.

Kit Eaton discusses the first one, referencing the trend to watch TV with smartphone or iPad in hand http://bit.ly/OeRwOS. He cites a Pew survey of 2,200 US adults showing 52% of adult cell phone users incorporate their cell phone into their TV viewing habits. What does this mean? Well the statistics of the survey showed that 6% voted for a reality show result in the last 30 days, 11% checked to see what people online were saying about the show they were viewing, 11% commented online about what they were watching, 22% checked to see if something on TV was true and 23% texted someone they knew watching the same show elsewhere. 20% visited a website they saw on TV and 38% amused themselves with their phone during commercial breaks. As for the iPad, a January 2011 survey shows iPad usage corresponding with prime-time TV slots. Although these show interest gaining, it’s a slow gain, as connected TV is in its infancy. Case in point, these are not high percentages. Yet, connected viewers are connected viewers and its all got to start somewhere.

eMarketer’s article explores the second part of the equation: connected TVs http://bit.ly/OeRJSf. Popular consoles being Nintendo’s Wii, Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. According to DFC Intelligence, 24 million North American households own a connected TV. In general, viewers have positively engaged with video ads on their connected TV’s. 38% visited a website mentioned in a connected TV ad, 36% considered purchasing a product or service mentioned in a connected TV ad, and 34% went on to look for a mentioned product in a store or online. Also, a survey by Tremor Video had consumers stating they watched 12 hours through their connected device per week. Although these statistics show more promise than the last set, they still leave something to be desired. A study by Adap.tv and DIGIDAY indicate that interest in connected TV by advertisers grew slowly between 2010 and 2012. Now nearly a third of advertisers support the channel, but maybe they’re right to be cautious. Robert Andrews reports, via a Deloitte UK survey of 2,000 people, that nearly half of 16-24-year-olds use email and social networks but only 1 in 10 second-screeners actually browse the Internet for information about shows they’re watching http://bit.ly/OhPITS. It may be smart for them not to jump the gun too quickly. However, this kind of viewing is deemed distractive viewing and there’s also a movement towards extensions of viewing like TV Guide’s Watchlist app http://bit.ly/SCVWUn.

If anything, it’s advantage is that TV Guide’s already established as something you use while watching TV. Their app is simply a digital extension of what they’re already known for, making it a natural transition for a second-screen viewer. Watchlist includes “New Tonight Trending,” a social hot list based on what TV Guide users are watching, as well as offering better filtering features, social check-ins, video search and more. The app itself allows you to add your shows to a list, and tells you what’s new on TV, OnDemand, Streaming and on DVD with each show. It also shows you how many people are watching them in a screen where you can set reminders that let you know your show is starting. Watchlist definitely makes a good companion to the TV viewing experience if nothing else, and holds the advantage of being something people are already used to using when watching TV. But which will win out? Companion apps or engagement on smartphones and iPads? Will viewers grow more connected, or disconnected? All interesting questions that will be answered in due time. There’s still a lot of speculation and trial and error where connected TV is concerned. The verdict? Connected TV is something to keep an eye on, but don’t get too excited yet.