The New E-Commerce Experiences Driving Results
Whether it’s leveraging marketing expenses with AR tools that go viral, using AR to convert more and reduce returns, deepening engagement to sell more via VR, developing fruitful long-term relationships by connecting 1:1 or livestreaming to connect with the masses, there’s more consumer openness and more business need than ever before for new e-commerce experiences.
Why Nike + The Infatuation is a Fantastic Collab
The multi-platform, multi-venue, multi-product program I’ve now seen over several weeks appears to be the result of the proven creativity of The Infatuation team and the risk-taking for which Nike has become admired.
Retail Experience & the Purpose of a Pop-up
While I’m all for the product-free pop-up, I’m looking for more of a tie between brand and experience than this one.
Beauty Shopping When No Tech is the Best Tech
A new Barneys beauty brand gives customers an effective takeaway.
When New Marketing Becomes Old & Gets New Again
Four brands took an Instagram marketing tactic that’s become stale and created a cross-brand customer experience in Soho
Xcel Brands: A Media Company Doing Fashion
Earlier this month, I got the chance to sit down with Robert D'Loren, Chairman & CEO of Xcel Brands. I'm so glad I took it because Bob isn't just another garment district leader and Xcel is anything but another apparel manufacturer. Below is what I learned and why I think Xcel and its brands are ones to watch -- if you can keep track of them as well as they keep track of global trends.
SXSW Highlights
I packed about 17 experiences into my one day (Saturday, 3/11/17) in Austin, not including all the mind-expanding conversations I had along the way. The global, truly interdisciplinary nature of the crowd this event continues to draw is beyond impressive.
Millennial 20/20: Experience + Photo Required
If there's no picture, did it even happen? For brands, it may as well not have. And for millennials, if there's no picture to be taken, the experience may not happen for them at all. But it better be an experience you're selling, and not just an item.
For Retail, It's Not Politics As Usual
As social media took off, brands aspired to be our friends. And now they are. As with our other friends, we want to know what they think. And we hope they're on our side. It's awkward for companies to say they won't take a political stance for two reasons.
Why Marketers & Store Managers Should Care About In-store Wi-Fi
When I’m in a store and I don’t have good cell service, I’m always surprised by how often I find the retailer doesn’t have public Wi-Fi. The reason I’m surprised is there are so many good reasons for stores to offer customers free Wi-Fi.
Worm-Topped Ice Cream & As-Seen-On-TV Coffee (aka Experiential Marketing)
Over the course of my retail career, I've been able to build brands and invest in customer experience. At other times, I've run businesses where I had to pull out the discounts to make a sale and put cash in the bank "today" at the expense of long-term strategy. It continues to be physical experiences that raise and re-frame brand profiles that excite me. I've seen two recently.