Thursday 27 December 2012

Marketing almost-new electronics

Refurbished products--returned to the manufacturer or store because of physical or functional defects--are increasingly popular with price-conscious consumers. The manufacturer (or a third party repair specialist) fixes the blemish or replaces the defective part, cleans the item up and repackages it with a full warranty, ready for purchase at a price lower than the identical new item.

Most of the time, 'refurbs' are marketed online, mainly by the manufacturer selling directly to customers but sometimes by retailers. For example:

  • The Apple Store UK has a special online section devoted to refurbished Macs, iPads and other electronics. This is one of the very few ways to buy a product that ordinarily isn't discounted by Apple or its channel partners. Another channel is through Apple's eBay presence, where refurbs are featured (see above).
  • Curry's offers refurbished laptops from Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Apple and other manufacturers.
  • Staples sells refurbished laser printers, desktop computers and other equipment for home or office use.
Even after the economy returns to vigorous growth, refurbs are likely to remain popular among consumers who want gadgets that work as well as brand-new items but cost significantly less.

Wednesday 26 December 2012

Japan's many brand mascots

Mascots from Fukushima prefecture
Hello Kitty is only the tip of the cute brand iceberg in Japan. Many prefectures, cities, companies and causes have their own cuddly mascots, adding brand personality with a high cuteness factor much appreciated in Japan. Mascots can attract attention and encourage positive attitudes, paving the way for marketing places, ideas and activities.

Recently the fifth annual mascot competition was held, with 244 mascots from around Japan (including the two shown above) competing to be named the cutest. More than 70,000 attendees posed for photos with their favourite mascots and enjoyed the festivities.

Japan's national tax agency has its own cuddly mascot, designed to promote electronic filing of tax forms. The Liberal Democratic Party is about to introduce a mascot designed for the country's new prime minister. Train lines have their own mascots, too.

Japan is home to what is possibly the only mascot school in the world, where people inside costumes learn to interact with children, how to walk and how to project kindness or evoke other feelings.

Cute may be, well, cute, but it also leaves audiences smiling, and that's a good marketing approach for any product or brand.

Saturday 22 December 2012

Marketing the Wiggles: A new era begins

Do you remember the Wiggles? Twenty-one years ago, four young men from Down Under writing happy music that brought kids (of all ages) to their feet with a smile on their faces.

I saw them a few years ago during one of their world tours--the theater was sold out, of course--and everybody had a rollicking good time! I was most enchanted by Captain Feathersword and Wags the Dog, not to mention the energy of the guys in blue, red, yellow, and purple.

This month marks the retirement of the original Wiggles. (Click here to see a gallery of Wiggles history.) After entertaining youngsters on every continent, performing 7,000 shows, broadcasting a highly popular pre-school TV series in Australia, and selling 23 million DVDs and videos, the founders want time to be with their own families. Before retiring, they auctioned their famous Big Red Car for charity.

The Wiggles have made mostly smart business decisions during their career, starting with hiring pros to manage their brand, working hard to break into the big time, making succession plans to replace members as needed, trying to plan for a life outside the business and being honest with customers. The brand continues on in 2013 with new Wiggles joining the group. Watch for more shows, more merchandise, and more apps (such as the learn-your-alphabet app already available on iTunes). 

Thursday 20 December 2012

Wallace and Gromit Hang Out at Google+

Wallace and Gromit and their friends are starring in a new online ad promoting Google+ as a way to be together with friends and family (in a virtual way) on Christmas.


Heartwarming and a wee bit sentimental, the video is available in English (either UK or US versions), French, German and Portuguese. Not your usual holiday campaign, and a fun way to promote the service.

Thursday 13 December 2012

Social Media Marketing, Starring the Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones performed a 50th anniversary concert in London last month . . . and now this global phenomenon continues to roll along with enthusiastic fan involvement via skillful, broadly based social media marketing.

The official Rolling Stones website features links to the band's Facebook page (11,500,000 likes), Twitter (248,000 followers), Tumblr, Google+, YouTube (29 million views), Pinterest, Instagram (4,700 followers), RSS feed, and a free newsletter.

Plus plenty of social media mentions from the Stones' participation in the giant Superstorm Sandy Concert at New York City's Madison Square Garden. 

A band from the 60s is very smart about cutting-edge marketing. Want official merchandise? The Stones have their own online store. Pay-per-view concerts on your mobile? In the testing stages. Happy anniversary to the Stones!


Friday 7 December 2012

Save the planet by recycling old clothes

For sustainability reasons, Marks & Spencer and H&M are both inviting customers to donate old or unwanted clothing and receive a discount on new purchases. The stores (or their partners) handle behind-the-scenes logistics of getting old clothes to the next step in the recycling process.

From H&M, recycled polyester
This is part of a broader movement to keep usable materials away from landfills and make better use of the world's resources. Popular retailers like M&S (927,000 Facebook likes) and H&M (13 million Facebook likes) can make a real difference when they communicate this message and reward customers for participating.
  • H&M, the Swedish fast-fashion retailer with a global presence, already markets products made from recycled materials, such as this top made from recycled polyester. Now H&M has a deal with Germany's I:Collect to collect shopper-donated clothing from the retailer's stores and repurpose the textiles for other uses. From February 2013, shoppers who donate will receive an H&M voucher.
From M&S, shwopping
  • M&S has been partnering with the charity Oxfam to promote Shwopping: Shoppers drop off unwanted clothes at the retailer's branches and pick up a discount voucher. The latest twist is that employers are signing up to host drop boxes in their offices, to make it more convenient than ever for consumers to do something positive with their unwanted garments.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Tesco's troubles with Fresh & Easy

In 2006, Tesco announced it would enter the US market with a new chain of fresh-food stores, Fresh & Easy, to open in 2007. Tesco's strategy experts had noticed a gap in the retail market between small convenience stores and large supermarket outlets. Fresh & Easy was designed to fill the need for an easy-to-navigate store with a wider variety of farm-fresh fruits, vegetables and freshly prepared foods for shopping convenience.

Unfortunately, the US venture has caused Tesco endless headaches. Fresh & Easy has struggled to attract and retain loyal customers, to position itself in a way that's meaningful to customers and to build a well-differentiated brand. Early on, it established an expandable logistical operation to serve hundreds of stores, only to discover that the model needed to be adjusted to the retail reality of the market.

Year after year, the losses mounted. At the start of 2012, Fresh & Easy was 'temporarily' closing some underperforming stores. Its parent then postponed the projected break-even date to 2013 . . . and later postponed the projected break-even into 2014.

Now, at the end of 2012, Tesco has announced it will give Fresh & Easy and its 199 remaining stores a strategic review. In other words, Fresh & Easy will probably be sold or closed. 'It's likely, but not certain, that our presence in America will come to an end', the CEO told reporters.

What happened? Well, the global financial crisis, for one thing. When Tesco opened Fresh & Easy, 'not even the brightest economists in the world could foresee the unprecedented crisis in the markets about to engulf the world', writes Tesco's CEO, Philip Clarke, in a blog post today. And it's true that the states where Fresh & Easy had stores were hard-hit by economic woes.

Yet the economy is only one factor in the challenge that has cost Tesco dearly. Early on, retail experts warned that Fresh & Easy would have difficulty capturing sales and profits from very well-known competitors like Trader Joe's, Costco, Walmart and Whole Foods Markets. A major Tesco investor stated publicly that he doubted Tesco would be able to reach its financial goals for Fresh & Easy. Tesco initially budgeted very little for advertising that would build brand recognition, another decision it later reversed in an attempt to build its name and build a following.

What's next for Fresh & Easy?

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Christmas toys 2012 (with ghosts of Christmas past)

This year's lists of top toys for Christmas include a number of favourites from the past, including Legos, Furby (a hit in 1998 for the first time) and Cabbage Patch Kids (30 years after their debut under this brand).
  • The Toy Retailers Association's 2012 list of Dream Toys includes a mix of traditional and electronic toys like LeapPads and Legos.  
  • Hamley's list of top toys includes Subbuteo, Moshi Monsters and some of the popular toys from the Dream Toys list.
Zhu Zhu Pets, hot toys from previous years, aren't on the lists for 2012, and their lack of popularity is one reason that toy company Character Group is seeing sales decrease. Character Group's Peppa Pig, Scooby Doo and Fireman Sam toys are still selling in Europe, but Zhu Zhu Pets have fallen out of favour this year.

Will Zhu Zhu Pets return to the Dream Toys list in 2013, 2014 or beyond? What about Furby, Cabbage Patch Kids and Moshi Monsters?