What Do You Think About This New Chipotle Campaign?

Posted on September 21, 2013 by bermanevansretail
Chipotle has just introduced a new marketing campaign (“The Scarecrow from Chipotle”), complete with the video below and a related game (available here): “Join Chipotle and the Scarecrow on a journey to bring real food back to the people. Play the game, watch the animated short film, and find out how to take action.”
Consider these observations about the campaign from Hallie Steiner, writing for the JWT Anxiety Index: “While many are praising the film’s message, others have called it fear marketing that takes advantage of urban consumers’ ideological anxieties. While the film does stoke anxieties, it’s likely targeted at consumers already harboring concerns about their food and looking for alternatives.”
Watch the video and tell us what YOU think. 

 

 

Posted in Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

FTC Becoming More Active in Fight Against Spam

Posted on September 20, 2013 by bermanevansretail
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is picking up its pace in the battle against spamming. On the whole, retailers are very supportive of these efforts because legitimate firms generally do not spam — yet, their messages are often lost/ignored in the blizzard of spam. Estimates of spam as a percentage of all E-mail range from 60% to much higher.
These are some of the actions being undertaken by the FTC:
  • There is a dedicated E-mail address for spam complains — “Forward unsolicited commercial email (spam), including phishing messages, directly to the FTC at spam@uce.gov. These messages will be stored in a database law enforcement agencies use in their investigations.”
  • There is a text message spam site for consumers: “Text message spam is a triple threat: It often uses the promise of free gifts or product offers to get you to reveal personal information; it can lead to unwanted charges on your cell phone bill; and it can slow cell phone performance. It’s illegal to send unsolicited commercial email messages to wireless devices, including cell phones and pagers, unless the sender gets your permission first.”
  • There are more investigations involving spam, such as this one — “The Federal Trade Commission has moved to shut down an international network of scammers that sent millions of unwanted text messages to consumers, using the lure of “free” gift cards and electronics to entice consumers into an elaborate scheme designed to take their money and target them for illegal robocalls. In its complaint, the FTC alleges that scammers sent unwanted text messages to consumers, many of whom had to pay for receiving the texts. The messages promised consumers free gifts or prizes, including gift cards worth $1,000 to major retailers such as Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Target.”
  • It has an easy-to-use site to file a complaint.
Click the image for an FTC video on spamming.

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Privacy and Identity Theft Issues, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What Is Market Fairness with Sales Tax?

Posted on September 19, 2013 by bermanevansretail
As we discussed last year, the fairness of Internet-only firms not collecting sales tax remains a hot topic. Both bricks-and-clicks firms and retailers not doing business online are at a significant price disadvantage.
That is why store retailers are still pushing for passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act. And the National Retail Federation is leading those efforts.
Consider these comments from one small retailer: According to Bruce Pieratt, owner and CEO of Pieratt’s Appliances, Television, Bedding and Furniture, his store is at a “six percent [tax] disadvantage to Internet sellers who don’t have a brick-and-mortar presence.” He was alluding to the fact that an online retailer does not have to collect sales tax in a state where it does not have a physical presence.

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments