Shopping 2.0: Shopping in Stores But Buying Online Versus
17.1 Real-Time Marketing: Engaging Consumers in the Moment
Marketing
A funny thing happened during Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. Early in the third quarter, the lights in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome suddenly went out. As 71,000 attendees and 106 million viewers restlessly bided their time and scratched their heads, engineers worked feverishly for a full 34 minutes to repair the power outage and bring the lights back on.
But whereas the blackout was a disaster for Superdome management and CBS Sports, and an annoyance for players and fans, at least one marketer saw it as an opportunity. Shortly after the blackout began, Nabisco’s Oreo brand tweeted out a simple message: “Power out?
No problem. You can still dunk in the dark.”
That now-famous single tweet, conceived and approved within just minutes, grabbed more attention for Oreo than the brand’s extrav- agant first-quarter “cream versus cookie” spot.
Within an hour, the “dunk in the dark” message was retweeted nearly 16,000 times and racked up more than 20,000 Facebook likes, resulting in tens of millions of favorable exposures. In the following days, Oreo received tons of media coverage, hailing it as “The Brand that Won the Blackout Bowl.” Those were pretty impressive results for a one-off joke by a cookie maker.
Oreo’s successful Super Bowl one-liner trig- gered a surge in real-time marketing. Brands of all kinds are now trying to create their own “Oreo moments” by aligning marketing content with real-world events and trending topics through timely tweets, videos, blog entries, and social media posts. Done right, real-time marketing can engage consumers in the moment and make a brand more relevant. Done poorly, how- ever, it can come off as little more than an awk- ward or inappropriate interruption. According to one observer, “Like Mother Goose’s girl with the curl on her forehead, real-time marketing can be very, very good—but when it’s bad, it’s horrid.”
Too often, brands simply toss standalone, last-minute ads or messages into social chan- nels, “hoping to catch lightning in a bottle.” But hastily prepared or self-serving real-time mes- sages can easily backfire, painting the brand as opportunistic or out of touch. For example, when Hurricane Sandy devastated America’s east coast, retailer American Apparel blasted out an e-mail proclaiming a “Hurricane Sandy Sale” (“In case you’re bored during the storm, 20% off everything for the next 36 hours”).
As might be expected, the Twittersphere lit up with disgust at the retailer’s opportunistic pitch, and the company’s sentiment scores dropped from 67 to 7 overnight.
Isolated minute-by-minute marketing strikes rarely succeed. Instead, to be consistently suc- cessful, real-time marketing must be part of a broader, carefully conceived strategy that makes the brand itself an engaging and relevant part of consumers’ lives. According to one market- ing strategist, brands must “evolve their entire plan to marketing in a real-time world.” Today’s smartphone-wielding, social media-saturated customers “are no longer just second-screen viewing—they are second-screen living.” Smart brands build agile, ongoing real-time marketing programs that listen in on the social space and respond with relevant marketing content that blends smoothly with the dynamics of custom- ers’ real-time social sharing.
For example, although the Oreo “dunk in the dark” tweet might have seemed off-the- cuff, it was only the latest
in a long series of real-time marketing efforts designed to make Oreo a part of consumers’ daily con- versations. In the months preceding the Super Bowl, Oreo had successfully car- ried out its “Daily Twist”
campaign. Each day for 100 days, the brand posted consumer-inspired Oreo cookie art tied to a relevant event. There was a Mars Rover Landing Oreo (an open-face cookie with tire tracks through its red crème filling), a Shin Shin Oreo (a tribute to the Tokyo Zoo’s newly born Panda cub), an Elvis Week Oreo (with an Oreo profile of The King of Rock ‘n Roll), and a Shark Week Oreo (with a jagged bite taken out of it, of course). Among other results of the groundbreak- ing Daily Twist campaign, Oreo saw a four-fold in- crease in Facebook shares
and watched its Instagram following shoot from 2,200 to more than 85,000.
Starbucks, a social media powerhouse with nearly 37 million Facebook fans and 6 million Twitter followers, has long and systematically used real-time marketing to link the brand and what it stands for to cur- rent events important to its customers. For example, after Winter Storm Nemo hit the Northeastern United States with heavy snow- fall and hurricane-force winds in early 2013, Starbucks Twitter and Facebook promotions offered free coffee to customers in affected ar- eas. “We wanted to make a grand [and timely]
gesture,” said a Starbucks digital marketer.
On an even grander stage, in the fall of 2013, shortly after bipartisan bickering in Washington resulted in a partial shutdown of the U.S. federal government—furloughing hundreds of thousands of federal employees, closing national parks, reducing many public health services, and much more— Starbucks
Real-time marketing: Oreo’s spectacularly successful “You can still dunk in the dark” tweet triggered a surge in real-time marketing, as brands of all kinds are now trying to create their own “Oreo moments” by aligning marketing content with real- world events and trending topics.
© Ian Dagnall / Alamy
538 PART 3| Designing a Customer Value-Driven Strategy and Mix
years, however, a dazzling new set of digital direct marketing tools has burst onto the mar- keting scene, including online marketing (Web sites, online ads and promotions, e-mail, online videos, and blogs), social media marketing, and mobile marketing. We’ll begin by examining the new direct digital and social media marketing tools that have received so much attention lately. Then, we’ll look at the still heavily used and very important tradi- tional direct marketing tools. As always, however, it’s important to remember that all of these tools—both the new digital and the more traditional forms—must be blended into a fully integrated marketing communications program.
Digital and Social Media Marketing
As noted earlier, digital and social media marketing is the fastest-growing form of di- rect marketing. It uses digital marketing tools such as Web sites, online video, e-mail, blogs, social media, mobile ads and apps, and other digital platforms to directly engage consum- ers anywhere, anytime via their computers, smartphones, tablets, Internet-ready TVs, and other digital devices. The widespread use of the Internet and digital technologies is having a dramatic impact on both buyers and the marketers who serve them.
Marketing, the Internet, and the Digital Age
Much of the world’s business today is carried out over digital networks that connect people and companies. These days, people connect digitally with information, brands, and each other at almost any time and from almost anywhere. The digital age has fundamentally changed customers’ notions of convenience, speed, price, product information, service, and brand interactions. As a result, it has given marketers a whole new way to create customer value, engage customers, and build customer relationships.
Digital usage and impact continues to grow steadily. More than 85 percent of all U.S.
adults use the Internet, and the average U.S. Internet user spends more than five hours a day using digital media. Moreover, more than 60 percent of smartphone owners access the Internet via their devices. In fact, Americans now use their smartphone and tablet apps more than their PCs to go online. Worldwide, 40 percent of the population has Internet personal situation, or something else, the es- sential concept behind successful real-time marketing is pretty simple. Find or create ongoing connections between the brand and what’s happening and important in consum- ers’ lives, then engage consumers genuinely in the moment. One marketing executive suggests that real-time marketers should equate the practice to “meeting somebody in a social gathering—you don’t accost them, instead you try to find a commonality of interest.”
and bring them to their local Starbucks. Within a day of sending the first tweet, the company had collected more than 1 million signed peti- tions; only five days later, it tweeted a photo showing an apron-clad Starbucks team mem- ber delivering nearly 2 million petitions to the Capitol Building. In all, the #ComeTogether campaign engaged the Starbucks brand com- munity in positive conversations and actions over an important real-time issue.
Whether connected to a social cause, a trending topic or event, a consumer’s
Sources: Georgia Wells, “Real-Time Marketing in a Real-Time World,” Wall Street Journal, March 24, 2014, p. R3; Rachel VanArsdale, “Starbucks Real-Time Marketing Asks America to Come Together,” October 17, 2013, http://themrsite.com/blog/2013/10/starbucks-real-time-marketing-asks-america-to-come-together//; Jeff Dachis,
“Stop Whining about Real-Time Marketing,” Advertising Age, October 10, 2013, http://adage.com/print/ /244665;
Christopher Heine, “Ads in Real Time, All the Time,” Adweek, February 18, 2013, p. 9; Lucia Moses, “Real-Time Marketing,” Adweek, October 14, 2013, p. 17; Tim Nudd, “Real-Time Rules: Eight Opportunities for Marketing in the Moment, and the Brands that Got It Right,” Adweek, September 9, 2013, pp. 22–25; and www.360i.com/work/
oreo-daily-twist/, accessed September 2014.
launched a #ComeTogether campaign. It be- gan with tweets and Facebook postings by CEO Howard Schultz asking “How can we
#cometogether to take care of each other?”
and announcing that Starbucks would give a free tall brewed coffee to anyone kind enough to #payitforward and buy the next person in line their favorite beverage. That effort had customers flocking to Starbucks, and tweet- ing messages like this one: “Bought coffee for the stranger in front of me @Starbucks. Got mine for free. Feels good to #payitforward.”
In the next phase of the #ComeTogether campaign, Starbucks distributed a petition via e-mail, social media, and national newspapers urging government officials to reopen govern- ment, pay national debts on time, and pass a long-term budget deal. In a single 24-hour period, Starbucks issued two tweets, a Face- book post, an Instagram video, and an e-mail urging customers to sign copies of the petition
Direct digital and social media are surging and grabbing all the headlines these days, so we’ll start with them. But the traditional direct marketing tools are still heavily used. We’ll dig into them later in the chapter.
Author Comment
Digital and social media marketing Using digital marketing tools such as Web sites, social media, mobile apps and ads, online video, e-mail, and blogs that engage consumers anywhere, anytime via their digital devices.
CHAPTER 17 | Direct, Online, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing 539
access. And 22 percent have access to the mobile Internet, a number that’s expected to dou- ble over the next five years as mobile becomes an ever-more-popular way to get online.6
As a result, more than half of all U.S. households now regularly shop online, and digi- tal buying continues to grow at a healthy double-digit rate. U.S. online retail sales were an estimated $225 billion last year and are expected to grow 10 percent each year to $370 bil- lion by 2017 as consumers shift their spending from physical to digital stores. Perhaps even more important, it’s estimated that nearly half of all U.S. retail sales were either transacted directly online or influenced by Internet research.7 And a growing number of consumers armed with smartphones and tablets use them as they shop in stores to find better deals and score price-matching offers.
To reach this burgeoning market, most companies now market online. Some companies operate only online. They include a wide array of firms, from e-tailers such as Amazon.com and Expedia.com that sell products and services directly to final buyers via the Internet to search engines and portals (such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing), transaction sites (eBay, Craig- slist), content sites (the New York Times on the Web, ESPN.com, and Encyclopổdia Britannica), and online social media (Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instragram, Twitter, and Flickr).
Today, however, it’s hard to find a company that doesn’t have a substantial online pres- ence. Even companies that have traditionally operated offline have now created their own online sales, marketing, and brand community channels. In fact, multichannel marketing companies are having more online success than their online-only competitors. A recent ranking of the world’s 10 largest online retail sites contained only three online-only retail- ers (Amazon.com, which was ranked number one, Netflix, and CDW). All the others were multichannel retailers.8
For example, number two on the list of online retail sites is Staples, the $23 billion office supply retailer. Staples operates more than 2,000 superstores worldwide. But you might be surprised to learn that almost half of Staples’ sales are generated online, from its Web site and mobile app; its presence on social media such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn; and its own Staples.com community.9
Selling online lets Staples build deeper, more person- alized relationships with customers large and small.
A large customer, such as GE or P&G, can create lists of approved office products at discount prices and then let company departments or even individuals do their own online and mobile purchasing. This reduces order- ing costs, cuts through the red tape, and speeds up the ordering process for customers. At the same time, it encourages companies to use Staples as a sole source for office supplies. Even the smallest companies and in- dividual consumers find 24/7 online ordering via the Web, Staples mobile app, or social media sites easier and more efficient.
In addition, Staples’ online, mobile, and social media efforts complement store sales by engaging cus- tomers, enlarging product assortments, offering hot deals, and helping customers find a local store and check stock and prices. In return, local stores promote online buying through in-store kiosks. If customers don’t find what they need on the shelves, they can Multichannel marketing
Marketing both through stores and other traditional offline channels and through digital, online, social media, and mobile channels.
Multichannel marketing: More than 43 percent of Staples’ sales come from its online marketing operations, including its Web site and mobile app, its presence on social media, and its own Staples.com community.
Courtesy of Staples the Office Superstore, LLC & Staples, Inc.
FIGURE | 17.1 Forms of Direct and Digital Marketing
Build direct customer engagement
and community
Traditional direct marketing Face-to-face selling Direct-mail marketing
Catalog marketing Telemarketing Direct-response TV marketing
Kiosk marketing Digital and social media marketing
Online marketing (Web sites, online advertising,
e-mail, online videos, blogs) Social media marketing
Mobile marketing We’ll begin with the
exciting new digital forms of direct marketing. But remember that the traditional forms are still heavily used, and that the new and old must be integrated for maximum impact.
540 PART 3| Designing a Customer Value-Driven Strategy and Mix
quickly order it via the kiosk. Thus, Staples backs its “make more happen” positioning by of- fering a full range of contact points and delivery modes—online, social media, mobile, catalogs, phone, and in the store. No online-only or store-only seller can match that kind of call, click, or visit convenience and support. “We’re offering more products, more ways to buy, and more great value,” summarizes Staples’ vice president of global marketing.
Direct digital and social media marketing takes any of the several forms shown in Figure 17.1. These forms include online marketing, social media marketing, and mobile marketing. We discuss each in turn, starting with online marketing.
Online Marketing
Online marketing refers to marketing via the Internet using company Web sites, online advertising and promotions, e-mail marketing, online video, and blogs. Social media and mobile marketing also take place online and must be closely coordinated with other forms of digital marketing. However, because of their special characteristics, we discuss the fast- growing social media and mobile marketing approaches in separate sections.
Web Sites and Branded Web Communities
For most companies, the first step in conducting online marketing is to create a Web site.
Web sites vary greatly in purpose and content. Some Web sites are primarily marketing Web sites, designed to engage customers and move them closer to a direct purchase or other marketing outcome.
For example, GEICO operates a marketing Web site at www.geico.com. Once a potential customer clicks in, GEICO wastes no time trying to turn the in- quiry into a sale, and then into a long-term relation- ship. A bold headline urges potential customers to
“Get a quote,” and the site provides all the information and tools needed to do just that, complete with an auto insurance calculator to help buyers estimate the right insurance coverage, rates, and savings. The straight- forward site also makes it easy for current customers to manage their accounts and policies, add or replace ve- hicles, and make and view claims, all under the watch- ful eye of the familiar GEICO Gecko. Customers can also use GEICO’s mobile app to access the brand’s mo- bile Web site, where they can pay bills, get account and coverage information, view their ID cards, and even watch the latest GEICO ads and chat with Lily, their GEICO insurance voice assistant.
In contrast, branded community Web sites don’t try to sell anything at all. Instead, their primary purpose is to present brand content that engages con- sumers and creates customer-brand community. Such sites typically offer a rich variety of brand information, videos, blogs, activities, and other features that build closer customer relationships and generate engage- ment with and between the brand and its customers.
For example, consider ESPN’s Web site. You can’t buy anything at ESPN.com. Instead, the site creates a vast branded sports community:10
At ESPN.com, sports fans can access an almost overwhelming repository of sports information, statistics, and game updates. They can customize site content by sport, team, players, and au- thors to match their own special sports interests and team preferences. The site engages fans in contests and fantasy games (everything from fantasy football, baseball, and basketball to hockey and poker). Sports fans from around the world can participate in discussions with other fans and celebrities before, during, and after sporting events. They can friend and message other users and post comments on message boards and blogs. By downloading various widgets and apps, fans can customize their ESPN experience and carry it with them wherever they go. In all, ESPN’s Web site creates a virtual brand community without walls, a must-have experience that keeps fans coming back again and again.
Marketing Web sites: Once a potential customer clicks in, GEICO’s Web site wastes no time trying to turn the inquiry into a sale, and then into a long-term relationship.
GEICO
Online marketing
Marketing via the Internet using company Web sites, online ads and promotions, e-mail, online video, and blogs.
Marketing Web site
A Web site that engages consumers to move them closer to a direct purchase or other marketing outcome.
Branded community Web site A Web site that presents brand content that engages consumers and creates customer community around a brand.