High-resolutions scans + motion sensors = virtual fitting room

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High-resolutions scans + motion sensors = virtual fitting room

The Soda Report vol 1 2013 Digital Marketing Outlook

The SoDA Report (Volume 1, 2013) from Society of Digital Agencies

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The Soda Report vol 1 2013 Digital Marketing Outlook

Do We Forgive Television Characters for their Bad Actions?

When watching a television show, the bad decisions that characters make are more likely to be forgiven if you think they have a good reason for their behavior, according to a study out of the University of Colorado.

The article, published in the March 2013 issue of Mass Communication and Society, analyzes why individuals still cheer for a character, even when that character has made a wrong decision. The authors found that people were more likely to morally disengage, which occurs when someone justifies the immoral actions of a character, if a character’s motivation was seen as selfless rather than selfish.

“We want people to know that in many ways, we respond to entertainment characters as we would to individuals in real life,” Dr. Maja K. Krakowiak, the article’s author said. “That is, we judge characters and their actions based on the character’s intentions, and to a lesser degree, on the outcomes that the character’s actions produce. However, our tolerance for immorality is likely greater in entertainment than it is in real life.”

Over 120 participants were surveyed after reading different stories containing the same characters. The stories varied on the choices one of the main characters made and the outcomes these decisions had. The research may help to explain why characters from shows such as Breaking Bad and Dexter may be breaking the law, but audiences still tune in every week. Viewers may be more likely to morally disengage from Breaking Bad’s Walter White because he is making and selling drugs, but is doing so to ensure his family is taken care of after he passes away from his terminal illness.

“So many characters in entertainment content behave immorally yet people seem to love these characters and root for them to succeed,” Krakowiak said. “We conducted this study to better understand how people are able to justify these immoral actions and how this may impact their perceptions of characters.”

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Do We Forgive Television Characters for their Bad Actions?

Why gamification is serious business

By using the mechanics of digital gaming, companies in a wide range of industries are boosting innovation, building more effective marketing campaigns and driving value. Download the article by Accenture by clicking here .

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Why gamification is serious business

The ultimate guide to successful marketing and advertising

Ultimate guide to successful marketing and advertising from André Skagervik

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The ultimate guide to successful marketing and advertising

Marketing In 2020

Get ready for Marketing 2020 from steven van belleghem

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Marketing In 2020

Survival of the Most Adaptable: Becoming a change-ready culture

Download the pdf by clicking here.o

Survival of the Most Adaptable: Becoming a change-ready culture

New Research Shows How Consumers Use and Value Online and Social Media During Purchases

Marketers continue to grapple with how to optimize the role of online and social media in their media mix. A new study from leading market research firm Radius Global Market Research (Radius GMR) sheds light on the matter by asking consumers about how they use online and social media as they consider purchases within a number of key product categories.

“While marketers understand the importance of managing their brands online, there’s still uncertainty as to the proper weight to put behind digital media channels, especially social media, to optimize return on investment,” says Chip Lister, Managing Director of Radius GMR. “Our study put the question to consumers, and results yield some important insights that may impact marketing strategies.”

Social media is used less often than traditional channels for informing purchase decisions, but its influence is still meaningful.
Radius GMR’s study shows that consumers remain much more likely to obtain or share information via more traditional online channels (typically used 50% of the time or more, depending on product or service category) than they are via social media when considering a new purchase. However, social media still has an influence over anywhere from 9% to 39% of purchases, depending on the product or service category. 

Consumers turn to online resources most often for big ticket and emotional purchases.
Consumers surveyed by Radius GMR indicted that they are most likely to use online information to inform purchase decisions around big-ticket purchases, such as travel (76% used during last purchase), electronics (73%), automobiles (67%), baby care equipment (66%), and household appliances (64%). Social networking is most often used around baby care equipment (39%), electronics (35%), automobiles (28%), Toys and games (23%), and household appliances (23%). Online sources and social media are less often used around several CPG and personal care categories including makeup/personal care, home care products, OTC pharmaceuticals, beverages, and packaged foods.

“It’s apparent that social media is more influential in those more emotionally connected service and product categories like baby care,” adds Lister. “From our survey results it appears that mothers tend to seek out via social media the opinion of other mothers and are influenced by them fairly often.”

Consumers are less likely to engage online about brands after making a purchase.
As a general rule, purchasers across all categories are most likely to utilize online sources before making a purchase vs. sharing information about their experience with the product after purchase. Two categories are an exception to this rule. Purchasers of personal care and makeup products are more likely to gather or share information after purchasing than they are while making a purchase.

And smartphone purchasers are almost as likely to utilize an online source after a purchase as they are during a purchase. o

New Research Shows How Consumers Use and Value Online and Social Media During Purchases

Social CRM

Chill out dude, it’s only Social CRM from Nicolas Moerman

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Social CRM

Big Data

Big data is big business nowadays.

A Primer on Big Data for Business from Leslie Bradshaw

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Big Data

Social Media Landscape 2013

CMO has updated the guide to the social media landscape by cutting out the clutter from earlier years and has focused on "six key social sites that are of real use to CMOs and their digital marketing plans."

Download it by clicking here or watch the interactive version here.

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Social Media Landscape 2013

Thank God for Showrooming!

Showrooming takes place when a consumer examines a product in a traditional offline store, but then chooses to buy it from an online retailer at a lower price.

Showrooming is percieved as a threat by many traditional retailers. Their side of the story is that consumers research online to come down to a shortlist of products, and then go to a brick and mortar store in order to see and touch the products to help them make a decision, after which they go home and order it online, or while instore by using their smartphone.

So how can I thank God for showrooming???

Well, you could look at it from another standpoint. The fact that consumers inspired by some internet retailer that have invested good marketing money and made them come to your store, with an intention to buy a product that you carry. That is that someone else has triggered a buying process that has led to that you get visitors eager to examine your merchanise. After all, life could be worse.

The trick is to make them shop while in the store instead of letting them out with empty hands. 

1.Sob, sob. Stop whining about the good old pre-internet days. Online retailing is not to blame if you loose business. You are, for not keeping pace with development. If online shopping wouldn´t kill you, another competitor will. New concepts and offerings has been a part of retailing the last 200 years. Products and categories flows in and out of

2.They are in your store. Why not make them buy?! Focus on what online is not.

 - Touching and feeling the products is the key to trigger sales. That is why Apple store have everything on easy to touch displays.

- Human touch is a winner no matter if you are a sales person or recruiter for the Marine Corps. People that touches others are percieved as warmer, and more trustworthy than others. An online retailer could never do that.

- The product is available right away. No shipping, no charges and no delay. Even if there is a minor price difference between you and the online retailer, the odds are on your side.

- Even if they leave without having bought the object of desire that originally triggered the visit, there are still hundreds of possibilities that they end up shopping something else. If not, your store probably was´nt so tempting and you will soon be out of business anyway.

3. No, you probably can´t beat online when it comes to price. But if the price difference is to big, you will have to compete with something else:

-       Extended guarantees

-       Home delivery

-       Payment solutions

-       Store environment

-       Service package

4. Make your own online presence in synk with your offline experience. Easy to search, easy to choose, easy to buy.

5. Experiment, invent and re-invent. Retail has never been an easy business. New competitors have taken market shares from the old ones since the dawn of retailing and there is only one way to react. By constant change and re-invention. Lift would have been that way even if the internet would´nt have been invented. 

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Thank God for Showrooming!

Why Are Consumers More Willing to Take Risks When They Can Compare Products?

Consumers are more willing to take risks and accept delays in exchange for greater benefits when they are able to compare products, according to a new study in
the Journal of Consumer Research.
“Rationally speaking, consumer preferences should be the same whether their product choices are presented side-by-side and evaluated comparatively or presented one at a time and evaluated in isolation, but it makes a remarkable difference in consumer decision-making,” write authors Christopher K. Hsee (University of Chicago Booth School of Business), Jiao Zhang (University of Miami), Liangyan Wang, and Shirley Zhang (both Shanghai Jiaotong University).
Consumers regularly face decisions such as whether to buy a current iPhone model today or wait six months for a newer and better model (a time preference dilemma), or whether to invest retirement money in a risk-free savings account or a risky mutual fund with higher expected returns (a risk preference dilemma).
In one study, consumers had to choose between two internet service plans. One featured a higher speed but wouldn’t be available for three months; the other featured a lower speed but was available immediately. When both options were presented side-by-side, consumers were willing to pay significantly more for faster service with delayed installation. When they were presented with only one of the two options, there was a stark “preference reversal” and consumers were willing to pay significantly more for slower service with immediate installation.
Consider a financial services company offering both safe (lower expected return) and risky (higher expected return) investments. All investment options should be presented side-by-side to allow comparison if the company wants to encourage investors to choose riskier products with higher expected returns, while options should be featured individually to encourage investors to choose safe products.
“When consumers can compare products, they tend to prefer delayed or riskier options with greater potential benefits, but tend to value certain and immediate benefits when product comparison is not possible,” the authors conclude. 

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Why Are Consumers More Willing to Take Risks When They Can Compare Products?

Product Promotion: When Do Emotional Appeals Trump Celebrity Spokespeople?

Emotional appeals could be more effective than celebrities when promoting products related to a consumer’s identity, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.
“Specific emotions can help consumers strengthen their identities by providing information about how to feel a particular identity, especially when emotions are associated with distinct patterns of action. Consumers tend to choose products that bolster emotions associated with a particular identity,” write authors Nicole Verrochi Coleman (University of Pittsburgh) and Patti Williams (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania).
Imagine you are selling a new energy drink targeted at two different groups of consumers—athletes and business people. Each group might respond very differently to the same upbeat and energetic appeal consistent with the product’s benefits.
In one study, athletes chose to listen to “angry” music and indicated they would pay more to see “angry” bands in concert, while volunteers chose to listen to “sad” music and were willing to pay more to attend “sad” concerts. In another study, athletes found an advertisement more persuasive when the model’s face in the ad expressed anger, while volunteers were more persuaded by a model with a sad face, and environmentalists by a model expressing disgust.
Consumers can benefit from matching their emotional experiences to their identity. For example, turning up some angry head banging music on the way to the gym might make you a better athlete, or listening to sad love songs on the way to the soup kitchen might make you a better volunteer.
“Identity-based marketing has generally used spokespeople but poor performance or personal issues can undermine a spokesperson’s reputation and reflect poorly on a brand. However, companies can employ identity-based marketing without directly mentioning an identity by simply incorporating emotions related to that identity,” the authors conclude. 

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Product Promotion: When Do Emotional Appeals Trump Celebrity Spokespeople?