I sometimes brainstorm about the next greatest advancements in technology. Internet in the car was something I considered a real possibility, but I just didn’t realize the advancement would come so soon. This week at the Consumer Electronics Show a number of car manufacturers are showing off their dashboards equipped with the Internet.
Retailers and manufacturers would likely consider me their ideal holiday customer. I spent 8 hours with my mom and sister shopping for deals on Black Friday, and the day after Christmas I was at it again. To my surprise, I didn’t find much at all the day after Christmas and was rather disappointed.
This morning I opened my Retailing Today Email Newsletter and was shocked to find the following headlines: “Target extends store hours in areas hit by blizzard” “Borders extends store hours in snow-affected cities” “Online retailers extend shipping date in wake of snowstorm” “Kmart to open for 64 hours, celebrities offer gift ideas” “Macy’s to open 12 stores 24/7 for holiday shopping” Certainly this is not an extension of hours and online shipping dates to help consumers snowed in. Rather it is a way for retailers to bring in some extra sales during what was expected to be a fair holiday shopping season.
Today is the last day for most retailers/manufacturers to provide free shipping and delivery guaranteed by Christmas Eve.
Two new product announcements caught my attention this week. First, Martha Stewart Clean, a new green cleaning line that features 10 new products, will be hitting Home Depot selves in January. The products will carry the DfE and Home Depot Eco Options labels. Second, P&G launched Tide Swash – a product line targeting college students and young professionals who want to put off doing laundry. The product line includes products that remove small stains, wrinkles and odors. To my surprise, Tide Swash is only available online at the moment.
With the weather getting colder, I just had to rave about my favorite Burt’s Bees product – Lemon Butter Cuticle Crème. It is hands down the best cuticle cream I have ever used. In fact, I keep it in my desk and apply it at least once daily when I’m chatting on the phone.
Just last Monday SC Johnson launched a new web site (www.whatsinsidescjohnson.com) that discloses all the ingredients in the company’s cleaning products. Having worked in the cleaning products industry for many years, this is an excellent step in the right direction. Rather than having the government regulate the industry, leading companies like SC Johnson and Seventh Generation are taking matters into their own hands.
If you’re a Leggo my Eggo fan, you better stock up now because Kellogg’s is experiencing a shortage and is rationing Eggos to retailers based on past business. The waffle shortage occurred because of flooding at the Atlanta bakery during a fall rain storm and equipment problems at a Tennessee plant.
The day after Halloween, I started seeing Walmart and Kohl’s holiday television ads. Pottery Barn already distributed its 1st holiday catalog, Target featured a toy guide in Sunday’s paper, Santa is already appearing in the malls, and just this week I started seeing direct response televisions ads for holiday music CDs. It is like we skipped Thanksgiving and went straight to the holiday season.
With interactive/social media gaining in popularity for marketing messages, do you think traditional marketing mediums will ever disappear completely? How do you think this shift in media has affected the way we market our brands? Will traditional marketing ever be at the forefront of marketing again?
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