If you’re handing out labels, 2009 was arguably the year of social media (in the Internet world, at least). Everyone and anyone seem to be climbing on the bandwagon at the speed of light. If you don’t believe, check out this nifty social media counter to see exactly what’s going on in the space in real time.

This was the year it became clear to all savvy marketers that if you want to have any sort of online presence, then you need to be across as many forms of social media as possible. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikipedia, Flickr, blogging – all these platforms and more will help you engage consumers and therefore boost your brand.

Now we’re into 2010 – and it’s crunch time. Your aim for this year should be to raise the bar and not only do social media, but to do it well. A half-hearted effort such as a Twitter account that is only updated once a month will not only do you no favours, but it could actually damage your brand.

There were many social media campaigns that stood out for me this year, some for the right reasons and some for the wrong reasons. A couple of the better ones were:

The Fun Theory: Volkswagen built this site to prove that “something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”

People were able to submit entries demonstrating how they would creatively solve various problems. At the time of writing, submissions were closed but you could still vote on your favourite entries and leave comments. Make sure you watch the video for the Piano Staircase – guaranteed to make more people take the stairs over the escalator!

Bring It Back!: This is a local campaign devised for medical hair centre Ashley and Martin. In a similar way to the Fun Theory website, users can submit videos, pictures and info about things they’d like to bring back (as the name suggests). The campaign was devised by agency Thinq – you can read more about the process behind Bring It Back here.

Beat Cancer Everywhere: Proving that short and sharp campaigns are often the most effective, the Beat Cancer Everywhere initiative involved a one-day push exclusively on Twitter in October 2009. Each time a Twitter user mentioned the #beatcancer tag in their Tweet, eBay/PayPal and Millers Coor donated one cent to breast cancer research. In the space of 24 hours, nearly 700,000 Twitter users tweeted the tag, proving that social media campaigns work just as well for non-profit organisations (not to mention the goodwill created for the sponsors).

(Dis)honourable mentions should go Witchery Man, Toyota and, of course, the Vegemite iSnack 2.0 fiasco. Yes, these were all social media campaigns that attracted negative feedback and therefore failed dismally… or did they? Well, it depends on how you define success. At the very least, most people are aware of these campaigns and were talking about the brands behind them. It comes back to the “is any publicity good publicity?” debate.

Of course, these campaigns should provide you with inspiration, not a template for creating your own social media strategy. As they say, lightning never strikes twice and what worked for these brands won’t necessarily work for others – in fact, launching a “me too” or copycat attempt will most likely damage your credibility. The best strategy is to be bold, be creative and think outside the box to engage your customers.

Paul Marshall

Lasoo.com.au

There are some interesting technology applications which link traditional campaign media, such as catalogues, to mobile phones and the internet. Two worth keeping a watching brief on are Augmented Reality and QR codes. Both are in the early stages of both business trial and consumer take-up, but the benefits for marketers may not be too far away.

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is where information from a physical item (such as a catalogue or even a street view) is merged with (or augmented by) computer-generated information. The best way to understand this is with a few examples.

Best Buy and Wal-Mart have both used Augmented Reality to provide additional information experiences to their catalogue readers. The reader can take a special section of the printed catalogue and after going online to a certain URL, they are able to hold up the catalogue to their webcam and see additional information unfold. It’s quite cool, and the possibilities are ex(t, p)ensive.

To try it yourself print this out and then go here.

Australian company Insqribe is using the camera on a smart phone to look around a shopping strip and have information “tags” come up. These could include current offers or specials etc. See a video here to get an understanding of how this might look.

Augmented Reality is still new and there is plenty happening overseas. It would be wise to keep a lookout for strong examples in retail and possibly look to incorporate in your future plans.

QR Codes

QR codes are 2D barcodes which can we read by most phone cameras (after the reader application is installed). They can contain information such as addresses and URLs. The codes can appear in catalogues, magazines, newspapers, on outdoor advertisements, business cards or almost anything that users might need information about.

Users can then use their camera phone (with reader software) to scan the QR code. This will then typically launch the phone’s internet browser and go straight to the programmed URL for that code to give the information back to the user.

For example, QR codes may sit in your printed catalogue to bring the reader to additional offers or information. Starbucks is using the QR codes to enable payment via the phone; Marks & Spencer is using them to provide product information; JCPenney uses them for coupons; and Kidrobot for promotional campaigns.

QR codes are not mainstream and there are some arguing they will not make it into mainstream marketing. But like Augmented Reality, it is important to be aware of what is available and ensure you remain on top of the applications, uses and results. They may be cool technology that goes away or they may turn into serious marketing tools. Either way - bets to keep an eye on them.

Paul Marshall

Lasoo

If you have added, or are about to add, online shopping to your business, your multichannel journey has only just begun. You need to now move to cross-channel retailing. What is the difference?

Multi-channel is simply that; running more than one channel to sell, market, service or deliver. Cross-channel however is “the coordinated use of multiple channels to gain market share, grow revenue and profits, create a differentiated experience and increase customer loyalty.” It is where the real business benefits are delivered.

The evolution from Multichannel to cross-channel can be broken into three phases:

Phase one – Multi-channel development.

This is really about having a portfolio of channels in which to sell, service, market or distribute. For example you may have an eCommerce website, or you may have a call centre to take orders over the phone. In this phase however there is no synchronisation between the channels. The channels operate in silos, the business is product focussed and channel focussed and the marketing is campaign focussed.

Phase two – Multichannel coordination – cross-channel retailing

Here the links start being made. Marketing campaigns are beginning to be synchronised across channels. Testing and measuring multi-touch media and communication strategies are a regular occurrence and you start to build up a picture of your customer across channels. You may be coordinating across channels in areas of delivery and customer service. For example buying online, picking up in store. Channels evolve to start collaborating at a technology level and a job/responsibility level.

Phase three – Cross-channel optimisation

This is where you will truly have one business, one view of your customer, one overarching strategy; played out through a well synchronised set of strategies and tactics using the many channels (and their unique advantages) available to you. This phase is all about customer focus; a single, holistic and heuristic customer view, regardless of the communication channel. You will be creating unique customer experiences through the cross-channel value proposition and providing unique benefits through the use of integrated channels.

While this is definitely a journey and will take time and resources, you should be planning for it today. In your technology, your internal communications, your staff roles, responsibilities and performance measures. It will pay big dividends and there is a bigger prize for those that get to the end faster. Where are you today?

Paul Marshall - CEO

Lasoo.com.au

I have been looking into the vast number of options available for retailers to move into the ecommerce space. It is a daunting task to understand your businesses requirements, let alone who will best meet them. even choosing between a licensed, hosted or SaaS model requires some significant forsignt into the future of your eCommerce business.

From the chair of the marketer, the key things to evaluate are:

1. Content management capability - content is still king
2. Site tools - you must have to tools (or at least be able to integrate them in) to engage the customer in order to convert
3. Site optimisation - your site must have a platofrm that works for optimisation and not against
4. Customer understanding & relevance -
5. Conversion - ensure you can improve the end game
6. Social media integration - it’s not going away so plan for it
7. Performance marketing tools - search, email etc need to be fully integrated into the platform
8. Cross channel -  synchronicity and integration with your other channels
9. Flexibility & integration - the key to longevity and performance and true multi-channel integration

Thoughs?

Paul

Surviving and Thriving in Today’s Retail Climate was the theme for eTail 2009, the largest and longest-running online marketing and commerce conference for retailers. Held in Phoenix, Arizona and in its 10^th year, eTail 2009 delivered three and a half days of key learnings, case studies, research and technology. I was lucky to attend.

Amidst the difficulties facing retailers in the US, online marketing and online commerce have emerged as two channels that continue to perform strongly. Online commerce remains a strong growing sales channel for retailers, providing an exception to other channels. Online marketing offers retailers the opportunity to better understand their customers and in turn provides a cost effective tool to communicate with these customers.

So why do we care about retail technologies and trends from the US? Well, because they are in many ways a prediction of the future for Australian retailers. Certainly the American shopper is very similar to the Australian shopper in regard to their online behaviour. The difference is that Australian retailers are many years behind the US in their marketing and commerce strategies to meet this evolved consumer. And this is where the opportunity lies. Over the past ten years US retailers have made many mistakes in their digital marketing and commerce strategies and technologies have since matured. Learning what works and what does not, and adopting mature technologies and proven strategies with real ROIs is an enormous opportunity for Australian retailers.

eTail 2009 covered the following key themes:

· The power of cross-channel (marketing and commerce). The conference was more about cross-channel retailing than multi-channel retailing. The difference is that a customer should have a unified view of your brand and not a channel specific version of it. The benefits of a unified strategy leveraging the benefits of all channels were well illustrated by many success stories and real returns.

· Understanding your customer. Smart retailers have moved well beyond segmentation and profiling data, even beyond behavioural data, to gain a better understanding of their customers. Understanding intent and context are now a reality with a new third contributor to the customer uber data set.

· ROI. There was an intense focus on continuing to deliver real and attractive returns through the digital channel. There was a great deal of information offered around strategies, technology, programs and processes that had proven to further increase ROI across both marketing and sales.

· Marketing tools. The conference had good coverage of all possible digital tools and strategies. This included search, email, display, affiliates, mobile and more.

· Commerce strategies. There was a big focus on how to better cater for a customer who is on your site rather than focusing on attracting a new customer. Traffic to a site is easy; engagement and conversion were the key topics.

· User generated content (UGC) and social media. There is no denying the increasing power and influence the social consumer has online, not only over their own decision- making and purchasing, but also over others, thousands of others. This was explored from all angles in the context of how can retailers utilise this reality to make more sales.

· Technology. The conference had an associated exhibition, which showcased a large number of technology vendors and service organisations. Here we found the people, companies and technologies that can help provide all of the above.

The presentations, case studies and key learnings at the conference came from some of the world’s leading retailers and suppliers, including eBay, JCPenney, Home Depot, Coca Cola, Sears, Borders and Lego (did you know they are the world’s largest manufacturer of tyres…itty bitty ones though).

Overall the mood was upbeat, with an understanding that digital media as both a marketing and commerce channel presents all retailers with a real opportunity for positive returns, despite the economic climate.

The content and context of the conference was applicable for retailers from around the world. While I found some New Zealand retailers in attendance, I don’t believe there were any Australian retailers in attendance, which is a sign of the times, or a sign of the times to come.

Salmat will be running a series of Webinars over the next six-months focussing on many of the trends and case studies from eTail but bringing a very Australian flavour to it. Look out for information at www.salmatdigitalforce.com.au