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Exclusive Video Interview: Ellen Davis of Shop.org

Ellen Davis of Shop.org, speaks with Bill Bass on Shop.org TV:

Ellen Davis joined the National Retail Federation in 2002 and was named Vice President in 2008. She is responsible for helping shape NRF’s communications strategy, acting as a primary NRF spokesperson, and conducting analysis of NRF consumer research and industry trends.
In 2007, Davis was named [...]

In-Stream Video Ads — a consumer’s perspective

Here’s a thought: maybe online video ads will be a little different than TV ads!  The online TV world is slowly figuring out what that means.  The tantalizing possibility, of course, is that online TV ads will work better than regular TV commercials — not just for the advertiser, but also for the viewer.
Here’s one [...]

The Marketer’s Cheat Sheet to Viral Video (as taught by a YouTube superstar)

Kevin Nalts has earned more than 25 million views on YouTube. How can you get visibility like that? Nalts has some tips for you in his excellent blog post, The Marketer’s Cheat Sheet to Viral Video.
Here is Kevin Nalts’ eight-step summary of how to do viral video (slightly condensed):
Step 1: Determine if your [...]

Online Sellers Discover the Power of Video Clips

For your reading pleasure, and oldie-but-goodie: an excellent article by Bob Tedeschi in the New York Times last year surveyed the state of video in online retail. He reports on early innovations from 1-800-Flowers, Blendtec, and Golfsmith.
I found this article interesting because, about a year ago when it was written, Tedeschi noted that “Whether [...]

Google and the trademark brou-ha-ha

Google’s coming under more fire from large advertisers over trademark issues, reports Emily Steel in the Wall Street Journal.  Watch for more automated trademark blacklists from Google and other major search providers.
 The problem is a tactic known as “piggybacking,” in which smaller advertisers use major players’ brand names, slogans or other trademarked words in the [...]

JupiterResearch: 2007 holiday sales were strong online, despite offline weakness

A quick update on the 2007 holiday shopping season from JupiterResearch, courtesy of Phyllis Korkki of the New York Times:
A report from JupiterResearch indicates that retailers may want to take extra care with their online holiday marketing. The report found that even though overall holiday sales were sluggish in 2007, online sales remained strong. For [...]

The Neuroscience of Retailing: Shopping is about Emotions

Why do people shop?
It’s not just to acquire things they want or need. People shop because it makes them feel good.
Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan has an intriguing article in the Wall Street Journal called The Neuroscience of Retailing: Research Shows Shopping Can Make People Euphoric:
Research shows that people often do get a high from shopping [...]

Proclivity CEO Sheldon Gilbert featured in the New York Times

The good people at Proclivity have gotten a nice bit of PR in the NYT tomorrow: Guessing the Online Customer’s Next Want, interviewing Proclivity’s CEO Sheldon Gilbert. Congratulations to Sheldon and the team!
SilverDock interviewed Sheldon Gilbert about Proclivity at last year’s Shop.org Annual Summit. Sheldon shared his thoughts on Proclivity’s behavioral targeting technology. [...]

The YouTube Top 10 Brands

Social Media Influence has compiled an entertaining summary of the Top 10 corporate brands on YouTube. If you don’t want to read/watch the whole thing, InternetRetailing.net has a helpful summary of the Top 10 Brands on YouTube.
Note that only 5 of the top 10 brand videos were actually produced by the brand (and one [...]

NYTimes: To Raise Shopper Satisfaction, Web Merchants Turn to Videos

Bob Tedeschi of the New York Times reports on how e-commerce retailers are using video to increase customer satisfaction. Some highlights:
Gordon Magee, head of Internet marketing for Drs. Foster & Smith, based in a Rhinelander, Wis., said a transition to video “will be seamless for us.” The company, Mr. Magee said, has in recent [...]

Creating Content that Turns Browsers into Buyers

Michelle Megna has an exellent article on “Creating Content that Turns Browsers into Buyers” in ECommerce Guide. It’s a summary of a webinar hosted by Lauren Freedman of the e-tailing group inc. and Scott Todaro of DemandWare.
Lauren Freedman of the e-tailing group shares this advice:
the product page… now functions the way home pages used [...]

Targeted content: consumers say it’s “creepy”

A new Harris Interactive study reveals that 60% of American Internet users find it “creepy” when websites target content to users based on their personal profiles.  As the Wall Street Journal puts it:

 Conventional wisdom holds that customizing a Web site for individual visitors is a good way to boost business. Turns out all you’re doing [...]

Department stores feel the pain of private-labels

Department stores have been aggressively pushing private-label brands over the past decade, depriving independent brands of floor space and promotional muscle. However we may be approaching a turning point.
The Wall Street Journal points out (Exclusive Lines May Prove Risky in Cool Economy) that several major department stores have put a LOT of eggs into [...]

Online Fashion Retailers Tackle the Gender Gap

Female shoppers are the default target for most apparel retailers, and that’s just as true online. Increasingly, though, online fashion retailers are targeting men — and generating surprisingly positive results.
In his analysis of male online shopping behavior, Ray Smith writes in the Wall Street Journal that “recent research by analysts and retailers has turned [...]

How much does YouTube charge for a video campaign? For Toyota: $4 million. For H&R Block: $0.

Emily Steel reports in Friday’s Wall Street Journal that Toyota has launched a new video marketing campaign on YouTube. Essentially, YouTube is creating a high-end microsite that offers contests and culls appropriate content from the YouTube’s user-generated videos.
The result is one of the most intricate and expensive campaigns ever on YouTube; Toyota is paying [...]