What makes you shop online?

The rate of online shopping is increasing dramatically with eBay and ASOS, as well as bricks and mortar retailers taking their stores online. I personally love shopping online, its generally cheaper, easier and is you don't have to leave the house!

Do you ever walk into a store and not purchase something because the shop assistants are rude, in-attentive, or un-helpful? I have. I walked into a store (which will remain unnamed) was not greeted, and when I asked a question, they shop assistant responded in a condescending 'you're an idiot for asking that' kind of way. This is not to say I don't enjoy shopping in store, I love walking around the shops for hours, but customer service does influence whether I purchase or not. Has customer service always been like this?

Or has the rise in online stores compromising the in-store experience and customer service?
A recent Choice survey says yes.
They put 10 retailers to the test including department stores, specialty retailers, discount department stores and franchises. The conducted a 'shadow shop' to observe customer service. Here are the results:

In-store experience comprises of a number of things including store layout, atmosphere, smells, sounds, colours and customer service. Customer service is a key component missing from online shopping, so it is vital for in-store retailers to master to ensure they do not loose customers to competing online retails. Many negatives of customer service have been outlined in the above survey including poor product knowledge and customer engagement. If you ask a shop assistant a question, you expect them to know the answer, is it really that hard to know about the products you are selling? In other industries workers are expected to have in-depth knowledge about their job, for example builders must know about tools, hairdressers must know how to cut hair, bartenders need to know in-depth knowledge about wine, and of course marketers must understand principles behind creating consumer value!
Why should people in retail be excused from knowing details about their job?

Have you ever not purchased from a store due to the in-store experience or customer service?
Do you think the rise in online stores is compromising customer service?

The Next Big Thing - Rivalry Ads

The Next Big Thing... Is it already here?

Samsung has released a new campaign ‘The Next Big Thing’ inattempt to combat the hype around the new iPhone 5. It follows the recent failof a series of Apple ads involving the Apple ‘Geniuses’.

http://adland.tv/content/apple-genius-ads-basically-telling-you-youre-not-genius

The Samsung ‘The Next Big Thing’ ad features a mock up of a typicalscene outside an Apple store before an iPhone release – deck chairs, longlines, excited nerds. The ad shows people discussing the new features of theiPhone (without specifically stating the word iPhone). Passers by are seenwalking with the latest Samsung Galaxy phone, and people in the line begin totalk, and ask questions. For those of you that haven’t seen it, here it is:

This advertising technique is common amongst rival brands,and can be both very effective and damaging to a brands image. Mentioninganother brand in your advertisement is always a risk, because it puts yourcompetitors brand in the mind of consumers. Unless done well, it can be asource of free advertising for your competitors. Brands often use rivalryadvertising as a means to emphasise the competitor’s flaws. It is a way for onebrand to challenge another.

Another common rivalry is Coke and Pepsi. There are a numberof ads that go back and forth between the two brands, where Coke makes fun ofPepsi, and vice versa. This is one of my favourite ads between Coke and Pepsi:

The Pepsi ad can be seen as more risky than the Samsung one,as it physically shows the competitors products. In the Samsung ad, it simplymakes reference to the line of people, which is assumed to be for the iPhone 5, the Applebrand is never mentioned.

Do you think this type of advertising is effective? or have any other examples. 

Is it more risky mentioning your competitor’s brand inyour ad?

Coke and Social Media

The Masters of Social Media

Coca Cola is a brand that has used social media very effectively. Aimee and I chose to do our instructional video on Coke's use of social media throughout their 'Share a Coke' promotion. The promotion began without any explanation, bottles began to have 1 of 150 names printed on the label, which created hype around the brand. People began asking questions on Twitter and Facebook. Coke then released a TVC promoting the campaign. They used Facebook to allow fans to create custom Coke cans, and both Facebook and Twitter lit up with excitement around the campaign. 

                       

Now, rather then me keep writing about what is in the video...

why don't you just watch it? here it is:

Let us know what you think!!

It's almost here.

The long awaited iPhone 5 is almost here. Apple sent out invitations last week for the latest keynote speech due to be held on September 12. Apple is well known for their secrecy with product releases, keeping consumers on their toes. It is rumored the new smart phone will have a bigger screen than previous iPhones as well as 4G connectivity. 

There has been numerous video and photo leeks circulating the internet, however nobody knows for sure what the new iPhone will look like. This is one of the videos circling, showing the new iPhone compared to the iPhone 4S, fake or not? you can decide: 

The hype around this new phone is crazy in the social media world, with the video above getting over 3 million views. Just 2 days to go and we will all know for sure. Lets hope nobody has just locked into a 2 year contract with an old iPhone!