Marobella's Branding SoapBox

Awesome Retail Creative: Old Navy Supermodelquins

Having spent a good part of my career developing creative strategies for retailers, I am always in awe of how Old Navy continues to reinvent a boring, staid marketing category. They aren't afraid to take risks, maintain an integrated brand personality and have genius promotions. Today's retail promotion and activation campaign take that creativity to new levels. I love the supermodelquins for a couple of reasons. 

1. I've never seen it done before. They aren't normal, boring mannequins. They seem like the type of mannequins that you'd see in those old nuclear testing videos that were inside of the houses when the government was testing the A-bomb in Nevada. They seem like their normal models, just calcified. 

2. No model fees. With these mannequins there are no model fees, royalties or usage fees. In this economy, this is a brilliant way to cut costs. 

3. They create a magazine-type format rather than just a boring preprint. Hold this preprint up to a Sears or Kohls preprint and the delta in creativity will astonish you. They also created a multimedia video of the mannequins in an in-store environment doing crazy things. Good, but not great. 

Couple of thoughts that could make this campaign even better. 

1. Allow kids to share not just the entire site, but each piece of clothing on the promotional website. Tweens, especially girls, seek their friends' approval and being able to post this to their social profile or SMS a jpeg would go a long way in helping to move the product. Also, it can give the brand some sense of the hottest products so when merchandising future issues of the preprint, they can allocate the space to the hottest product. 

2. Create Supermodelquin avatars and take beyond the Old Navy properties - the video is a valiant attempt at creating a fun, engaging video. I imagine that the creative team could think of a million viral ways to show these mannequins that would create a momentum effect in sharing the videos around the social web. 

3. Allow people to customize their supermodelquins creating an engagement model - whether dragging and dropping clothes onto mannequins of their choice, uploading their face onto a mannequin or any other personalization feature. Then, allow them to share it with the world. 

Great job, Old Navy. Your creative today has activated my wife to visit your store for your one-day sale, today. However, her exact words were "Old Navy is going to be a zoo, today."

Clearly, We Can't Be Surprised. Right?

I've always marveled at the statistic conveyed by this graphic. The mere fact that we are about 7x higher than the next closest nation in terms of retail square footage per American is astounding. We Americans love our retail, we demand new concepts, new more immersive experiences, new fashion brands and something to pique our interests. We are bored easily and highly-fickle consumers. I mean, can anyone be surprised by the article in the Wall Street Journal today that declared "Retailers Brace For Major Change" Retail has long been homogenized, pasteurized and any other word with the -ize suffix you can imagine. The malls have sprawled with concepts that cater to Boomer men, Boomer women, Millenial Goths, Millenial Skateboarders, tech-hungry geeks, power-hungry business people and everyone in between. The difference between a Kohl's Sunday ad and a Sears' Sunday ad is only in the size of the font and the predictable model poses perperated by some hack art director.

I mean, are we really surprised that the weakest retailers that did nothing to differentiate except proclaim sales like "Lowest Prices of the Season", "Stock Up And Save" or my personal fave The BOGO. All these sprawling, faceless retailers have done is force mediocrity and leave no room for creativity. But you know what? You know who is to blame for that vanilla, retail horror? You. Me and Us. That's right, we the consumer are at fault for not rewarding retailers for creativity. We are a vanilla culture that has forced their hand in making sure we buy boring shit.

Also, I've always thought that Wall Street and subsequently the CEO's of the retailers always made inflated projections around the holiday season and I can't remember one time in the recent history where people were actually happy with the sales that did occur. Someone was always bummed out about something. It  is either sales that is the depressing news or because of deep discounting, their margin.

I think that this retail natural selection is healthy. Yes, I am bummed that people will lose their jobs up and down the supply chain - but maybe this will teach us a lesson about guns and butter, again. Or, maybe we will learn that the differentiated will survive and resist the temptation to paste the front of ads with big yellow letters (yellow is the official color of the retail sale) 300% off everytime we have something to say. The consumer is over it. I'm over it. 

Who's Sears?

Great "Would You Miss?" series from John Moore and Brand Autopsy. Love the comment that asks "Who's Sears?"

I keep hearing the Cinderella song "You Don't Know What Got, Til It's Gone!"

The answer for me, is yes.

Can Sears Do It This Time?

I think so. I really do. With the hiring of Richard Gerstein , they've stepped out of the retail box and hired a CPG veteran that will help Sears get closer to their core customers and develop products and retail experience that accommodates their different segments. He even looks a little like Eddie Lampert, they could be brothers.

I must stay, lately I've been going back to Sears. After a youth of buying everything we owned there from our lawnmower to my Toughskins, I've re-sparked my interest in the store. Sometimes they surprise me with cool merchandise and sometimes I'm let down by the in-store experience. I recently bought a very cool bistro set for my new home and it is high-quality and was a good bargain. But, while buying it, I was stalked by a Sears Home Services salesman that wanted me to commit to a free in-home estimate for new windows, doors or whatever I needed.

I do like their new advertising that integrates their pre-print on Sundays into their TV. They spend a great deal of their budget driving impressions and awareness of the brand through the newspaper, it only made sense to make the Sears Book more useful and a consumer tool, rather than a paper rag full of the same shit week over week. And, sears.com is a great site. There are great features on the site and I truly think it is a best-in-class retail site.

For the sake of my memories of Sears, I really hope the brand can make it this time. Develop a powerful in-store experience, bring their product brands to life and hire people in-store that can speak english and I think they will be good.

Good Idea, Bad Execution

Much has been written about Wal-mart's recent "failure" to offer "upscale" apparel under the Metro7 brand name. The focus of the discussions have revolved around them straying too far from their core of value and low prices. That their customer base wouldn't respond to upscale merchandise and that high-income people wouldn't come into Wal-mart to buy clothes. And, indications point to the fact that customers didn't respond to their efforts.

First, even a company like Wal-mart has to find ways to grow their business, find new areas of revenue creation and offer new products. They can't squeeze their suppliers to growth for the rest of their lives, they need to innovate. With that said, who can blame them for taking a chance. I think it is a good idea. But, with poor execution.

Wal-mart developed some new apparel lines that for all intent and purposes,aren't too bad. The designs are trend right and not too far away from center. And, relatively  speaking not expensive. So why didn't it work out? And, why is the retailer retreating from the strategy?

I believe that like Sears with Lands End, Wal-mart thought they could squeeze in the new line between the same ol' merchandise and same ol' shopping experience and that people would come flocking. It just doesn't work that way. Specialty retailers like A&F, American Eagle, Hollister and others are offering great experiences and cool merchandise. Wal-mart might have had a chance if they invested in creating an experience within their store. A destination that had four walls around it to house this merchandise with different sales associates, different lighting and music. I'm not talking huge square footage, but something distinctive enough to merchandise the products in a cooler way.

The same goes for Sears with Lands End. What's another $100M in build-out expenses when you've just paid $1.2B for the brand? Don't be pennywise and pound foolish, finish the experience for people - they will reward you for it.

I Told You So.

On December 11th, I predicted that retailers would whine about how they missed the mark on sales this holiday season, We're Cheaper Than You.  Well, I hate to say it, but it is happening. Sales are not even close to what was predicted for 2006 Holiday season. None of the big retailers are excited about their results and of course are pointing to their reduction in prices to be competitive, weather, energy prices and the fact that Santa's sleigh wasn't flying fast enough.

Flat screen TV's, Game consoles, Ipod's and other electronics were the hot sellers again this year. Hey, who is talking about this big fat elephant in the room? None of these big retailers have merchandise that differentiates or excites consumers? All of their shopping experiences suck beyond belief and they all have trained consumers to wait until the last minute during the holiday season for the biggest discounts eroding their margins. Is it any wonder that Tiffany and Coach executives are sitting pretty after this holiday? They had great seasons - they offer very cool merchandise at full price within a compelling store experience. Their brands have cache and their merchandise evolves with trends while staying true to their core product lines. They simply get it.

Brands are driving retail sales and innovation, the new Vizio TV brand, Apple, Sony and Nintendo. The retailers that simply carry this merchandise sits between the consumer and the brand. They are adding no value for innovation. When are we as marketers going to hear the bell? Every single year the price battle happens, every single year prices drop like clockwork on bad merchandise, while the cool stuff stays steady. Did you see a PS3 below $599? I think not.

Ok, off to the store to buy stuff at 75% off.

We're Cheaper, No We're Cheaper - Retail Advertising Gone Wild

Great article in Ad Age today about the spiral of Retail Advertising by the one and only Al Ries Retailers Make Same Marketing Mistake as Airlines . I love Al. He talks about brands that zagged when most zigged. The my price is lower than your price is sustainable only so long. And all the 'we can't be beat' mantras! How about a little differentiation in the merchandise? How about a pleasant shopping experience. My Kohls experience on Black Friday had to be one of the worst retail experiences I've ever had. Awful. But hey, they had the Scene It DVD Game for 24.99! I guess thats worth a couple points on my blood pressure.

I have to admit though, even though they all suck - I do like looking through the 40-50 inserts each retailer had in the newspaper. I like laughing at their suckiness and over my coffee wonder how they hell they think people really care about the shit they have in their preprints. Trust me, I have made a few of those in my advertising days and care to forget the experience. It is the most expensive and narcisstic experience that a retailer goes through month after month.

The only brand that I feel does it right on discounting is Old Navy. Why? Because they make it fun, they make it cool and their store makes you feel like you are having fun. Their clothes are trendy but still cheap. Their identity is integrated not only in look and feel, but in attitude. They get it.

No wonder why retail results lag every year. When are they going to get it? I mean even Wal-Mart can't get it right.  If you remember, last year they didnt discount as much and they didnt have any advertising  in the  printed paper in December. This year, they discounted, advertised in December but moved away from their core audience with higher fashion apparel. I think that is a cop out. Their apparel is not "higher fashion" by the way. What makes them think that people that make lower incomes dont want to look cool?

Remember this, there is always an excuse for the retailers. Where do I get the job as CEO making millions and year after year I can just crank up the excuse-o-rama machine and explain the Wall Street why we missed our forecasts. I can hear them now: Warmer than expected weather, Gas prices rose, The Salvation Army guys rang their bells too loud, Julie Roehm was sleeping with her direct report and on and on.

Why Retail Advertising Sucks.

I always find myself wondering why retail brands and marketers cannot break out of the box and be innovative. Save for Target, almost all retail brands just do not understand the power of seducing and keeping people engaged in their offering. However, I will add that Target while the best of retail marketers is a little like being the world's tallest midget. They stand out in a sea of sameness that exists in retail. Don't believe me? This Sunday, pick up your favorite Sunday newspaper and take a peek at the Sears Circular. Honestly, the stuff in this ad is the same from week to week. Or, how about Kohls'? I call Kohls' the king of 50% off and brands by the ton. There is absolutely no differentiation in their marketing, messaging and brand. For Sears, their brand is their brands - Kenmore, Diehard, Craftsman and maybe someday Lands End. Here is why I think that retail marketers are so afraid or unwilling to break out of the box:

1. Merchants Rule, Not Marketers - Like in software or high tech companies where the engineers believe that if they build the best mousetrap, people will buy it - in retail, the merchants are the rulers of the land. They believe if they just "buy right" that people will keep coming back. Sorry, with the millions of choices both on and off line people have, having merchandise that is incrementally different than the guy next door isnt going to cut it.

2. The Same Factories in China - I would bet that when the merchants from the sea of sameness go into China on a buying mission, they share the same hotels and bump into each other in the conference rooms of the major manufacturers. Outsourcing has forced the sea of sameness, keep costs down and that limits innovation.

3. No Collaboration - In major retailers the key decision makers work in silos with very little collaboration. Merchandising, Marketing, Store Operations, Web, Retail etc. They all have their own agendas and they all have their own perspective on what needs to happen. There is no way you can drive a brand in a 360degree way with no collaboration. This is something that Best Buy does the best. Even though their campaign ideas are lame, the integration is seamless. I suspect this is because their horizontal collaboration is great vs. working vertically.

4. The Reliance on FSI's - Retailers can spend anywhere from 30% -100% of their marketing budgets on what is called "the heroin" of retail marketing. Retailers believe that people actually want their preprints every Sunday. While this might be true, it is true because retailers have trained them to expect it. And, more importantly haven't given them any other relevant method of habit.

Is it any wonder why specialty retailers and niche retailers are hitting home runs? They understand their customers better than anyone and as a result provide a store environment that they actually enjoy being in and more importantly buy merchandise that appeals to them. And, last buy not least understand how they consume media and market directly to them in a relevant, efficient way. Big box retailers should stop covering their ass and taking the safe route and take some risks. If the risks are grounded in solid insights and are calculated they will pay off.

And another thing, challenge your ad agencies to come up with some better ideas and campaigns. I suspect they want to create something for your brand that breaks through, is different and breaks away from the pack. Let them do it. Please.