Shopping Apps Strengthen Retailer/Consumer Relationships

It's impossible to ignore the importance of mobile these days, particularly within the realm of shopping and retail. A new study by Adobe shows the extent to which mobile and tablet shopping applications, which most people discover using the app store, on a retailer's website, or via recommendations from friends, can strengthen the relationship between retailers and customers.

Surprisingly, the study finds that apps not only strengthen relationships with those that are already loyal customers, but can also create a connection with those who have little to no awareness of the brand. Alternatively, retailers without mobile apps are often perceived as old fashioned, and caring less about customer service.

Those who may not have time visit a retail location and discern which products a retailer provides will often opt to download the mobile app to find out. This can help create a relationship with a new customer who might be browsing their phone looking for a particular type of product, but has no loyalty to any particular brand yet. Without no mobile presence, retailers will miss out on this frequent opportunity to speak to new audiences.

Shopping apps also offer valuable utility in the areas of price comparison and in-store deals. Geo-tagging technology can send push notifications to consumers who might be nearby particular sales, helping to drive in-store sales and increase brand awareness.    

Vibram Launches "Get Grounded" Contest on Pinterest

  

Vibram is using Pinterest as the social hub for their "Get Grounded" contest, which asks contestants to engage with images that speak to their personal fitness goals and inspire them to stay fit.  

To enter the contest, participants visit the #GetGrounded board on Vibram's Pinterest page and comment on any photo that motivates them to lead an active lifestyle. They must then re-pin the photo to one of their own boards and include the #GetGrounded hashtag, which has been proliferating across the web on other social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook.

The contest is just one element of a larger campaign initiative to encourage their community to get outside and stay active. Vibram has also created an inspirational video piece to augment the contest, as seen below.

                                 

I think Pinterest is the perfect platform to host this contest due to its functionality and visual nature. Whereas Facebook requires the user to click through a photo album and view user photos and comments separately, the Pinterest interface allows the user to see many photos and their accompanying comments all at once, as shown below. By requiring that the contestant re-pin the photo to their own page, Vibram is also helping to extend the contest to a larger community. 

Add "Snapchat" to Your Marketing Lexicon

If you're above the age of 16, you probably aren't familiar with Snapchat. But some experts are speculating the application could be the next big thing in mobile marketing.

Snapchat is a mobile messaging service that allows you to send fellow Snapchat users photo messages that self-destruct after a period of 10 seconds or less. The service has gained major traction since its initial launch in September 2011, and the app receives approximately 50 million snaps a day. It even inspired Facebook to launch a copy-cat app a few weeks ago.

Snapchat's popularity amongst a younger, mobile savvy demographic has recently attracted the attention of marketers. New York frozen yogurt chain 16 Handles made headlines this week as the first brand to conduct a marketing campaign through the service.

Their "Snappy New Year" campaign encouraged the company's Facebook fans to send a Snapchat photo of their frozen yogurt purchase while in the store to the company's Snapchat account. In exchange, participants immediately received a coupon for 16 to 100% off via Snapchat which could then be redeemed at the register. So far the company has shared more than 1,4000 snaps with those engaging with the campaign, according to Ad Age.

Digital media pundits have responded to the campaign with mixed reviews. Some applaud 16 Handles for an effort to connect authentically with its target using a new form of media, while others offer criticism for leveraging the program in its infancy.

Regardless of the app's potential for future growth, I think the 16 handles campaign showed sound strategy in that it reached the company's target at an ideal consumer aperture moment. Snapchat's unique functionality also required immediate action from the user, depriving customers of the opportunity to use the coupon at a later time and therefore delay the purchase.

Facebook Unveils Plans for Video Advertising

Facebook unveiled plans this week for a new app that will offer video advertisers the opportunity to target Facebook users. The product is expected to launch in the first half of 2013 and will add an advertising element largely unfamiliar to the Facebook interface: video ads.

According to AdAge, the ads will show up in users' news feeds on both the desktop and mobile version of Facebook. Advertisers will be able to show the same video to a single user up to three times a day. Facebook will also likely cap the length of these videos at 15 seconds, which may add a challenging layer of content creation for advertisers accustomed to scripting the traditional 30 spot.

This is not the first time Facebook has served video ads to users. In 2010, Facbeook experimented with video advertising in the bottom right of the screen, as seen below, but later removed the premium video ad feature.

This time, the ads will be much more intrusive in that they'll likely be set up to auto play. Therefore the ads will expand out of the news feed and into the left and right hand columns of the interface without any action from the user.

The new feature is expected to incite outrage from Facebook users, and loud applause from advertisers and investors. In addition to raking in millions of dollars, the new feature will also present a massive opportunity for brands to extend their reach to a new web audience by leveraging Facebook's existing targeting tools.  It will also be a great place for advertisers to extend their campaign story with additional content that might not necessarily have made it to TV.

The details around targeting are still in the works. While it's certain that advertisers will use information in a Facebook user's profile to serve ads, it's still unclear as to whether or not that user, or anyone in their network, needs to have "liked" the advertiser's brand page in order to see the ad in their feed.

Though many are speculating this could have negative implications on Facebook membership, I have a feeling that Zuckerberg will be just fine. According to the Facebook newsroom, the site had about one billion monthly active users as of October 2012. Just as we've gotten accustomed to static ads on the site, we'll get used to the TV ads. And just as we've gotten used to a couple seconds of ad pre-roll before any Youtube video, we'll get used to this. If anything, it might discourage users, myself included, from checking Facebook eight times a day, which wouldn't be the worst thing to ever happen.

Foot Locker Opens Premium Retail Store for Women

As a female I have become accustomed to walking into athlete destinations like Finish Line and Champs to find a meager selection of women's shoes and apparel hidden in the back corner of the store. And though niche brands like Lululemon have latched on to the burgeoning female athletic population, there still exists no one-stop-shop for females of multiple athletic disciplines...until now. It looks like Footlocker has become the first athletic company to offer an elevated retail experience devoted entirely to women.

This holiday season, three new stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Texas open their doors to female athletes. The retail concept is called SIX:02, and it will be the first to offer females a wide variety of top athletic brands (such as Nike, adidas, ASICS, and Under Armour) in an environment created specifically for them. SIX:02 features dedicated fitting zones, comfortable lounge areas and knowledgeable staff to assist customers in finding the correct fitness pants, sports bras, tops, and footwear for their specific body type, activity, and style. Women will also be inspired throughout their shopping experience with relevant imagery, verbiage, and music within the store.

According to Stacy Cunningham, EVP of Marketing at Foot Locker, the project stems from the idea that today's woman "deserves a place to find premium fitness and athletic gear that allows her to combine her personal style and versatility with performance features." Footlocker has long been a proponent of enhancing the shopping experience for athletic women (read: Lady Footlocker) and now they've taken the idea to an entirely new level.

Timberland Footwear Embraces Gore-Tex Technology

This winter, Timberland has joined the ranks of outdoor brands working with Gore-Tex to provide  customers with a quality waterproof lining in their favorite Timberland products. Gore-Tex technology is now available in Timberland's winter hiking boots such as the Gannon Mid Hiker and Washington Summit Mid, as well as day wear items like the Traditional Handsen Oxford.

For those that aren't privy to Gore-Tex's flagship technology, the brand offers an internal, permeable waterproof membrane that keeps feet dry and protected, but also allows moisture vapor from sweat to pass through to prevent leaks.

Gore-tex technology is also available in other outerwear and footwear products from brands like Under Armour, Vasque, The North Face, Salomon, Patagonia, Nike, Marmot, Merrell, L.L. Bean, and Garmont. Of these, however, Timberland arguably offers the strongest blend of high quality outdoor gear and high fashion apparel on par with current trends. Timberland's adoption of Gore-tex reflects the increasing consumer need for hybrid gear that can perform both out in the elements and on the street.

Instagram Moves to the Web

Instagram announced on Monday that it will begin rolling out online profiles for its users this week, a group that now tops over 100 million. The new web feature showcases a selection of the user's recently shared photos in what looks like a more dynamic version of the Facebook cover photo, perhaps the first subtle integration we've seen of the two platforms since since the Facebook acquisition several months ago.

The online profile incorporates all functions provided by the mobile platform, and easily enables the user to follow other users, comment and like photos, and edit their profile from their desktop. It's also a simpler way to discover and connect with new users, given that it's now possible to post your Instagram profile on Facebook and Twitter and share your photos with a wider audience.

Which of course, is good news for brands. The new web profile provides yet another platform on which to drive online traffic and invite user engagement. Community managers can manage their Instagram community right from a computer and seamlessly integrate it with other profiles on Facebook and Twitter.