Interaction people! How is NYC? Chicago is lovely, we're taking advantage of the City's natural resources (read: nightlife), having some great and creative sessions with our friends here at Mindshare, and are very much looking forward to kicking ass on Wed., 5/9, day of the final meeting.Do we need to create a co-branded experience with a broadcast partner, should we be the exclusive retailer of a specific product, is there a celeb personality we should think about being the face/voice of the brand, like Rachel Ray or Giada de Laurentiis for Sears home appliances, do we become the official sponsor of Holiday events for Kmart?
With that said, please think about what big ideas we can add into the mix of what we're presenting, discussing and proposing. Think BIG - partnerships, sponsorships, creation of TV shows or content with magazines or sites... here's an example from Liz of what we'd love to see more of:
Gallo
Opportunity to promote (or develop) a line of wine refrigerators where Gallo has a wine 101 series that could include winemakers, tours of the vineyards, education courses. Gallo has extensive content and assets that would be available to Sears. Gallo brands become wine brands integrated in all sears in store product displays, ads, etc. Could be sweeptakes oriented where winner can tour sonoma, napa and santa barbara wineries (all Gallo). For Gallo, could promote on - going wine club with purchase of refridgerator for 6 months or personal wine tasting lesson from Gina Gallo. Cross promotion in both 15,000 grocery store chains AND sears.
Also, Gallo will be launching a wine with Martha Stewart next year. I know of MS connect to Kmart - not sure what to do with this info - but maybe opportunity to cross pollenate sears idea with kmart (introduce a line of wine entertaining products (wine glasses (gallo partners with Reidel), napkins/table cloths, etc.
Campbell's
Opportunity to connect Campbell's with home kitchen appliances? Every year we do a home remodelling promotion that includes all new appliances. is Kenmore a good fit? It would need to be the highest end products. We partner with HGTV to sponsor Kitchen Week on-air and online, as well as with Better Home and Garden in print/web/broadband.
Please post your ideas to the comment section... if you don't know how to do that, ask someone!
Thx,
A & A (& J)
10 comments:
yo check it dont wreck it.
what if there was a sponsorship with kitchen appliances on an online cooking show with a personality like tyler florence. at the same time, the products that he uses like the fridge, stove knives, cutting board, can be hot spotted in the video and when clicked on give a brief description of what it is and a link to goto the product page. more ideas to come...possibly.
what about an online cooking show that was more interactive, to the point where viewers can make comments/suggestions/etc through a live chat room. you could run it with a contest to come onto the show and cook whatever recipe. submit recipes and photos using sears stuff as part of the submission. could even tie in the yahoo junk to have a dedicated forum for it to live on to post your recipes and pictures.
meh.
some of the most popular cooking shows these days are contests, or challenges. the foodnetwork has iron chef, or bravo with top chef. maybe there is a way to activate these online with exclusive "webisodes" - only to be viewed online. all sears/kmart appliances will be used and the hosts/judges will be celebrities within the food world.
also - alton brown from the foodnetwork is really techy, so maybe he can do "alton's picks" of appliances or best kitchen tools, sponsored by sears/kmart. it could be featured in a virtual kitchen and everytime you go into a cabinet, or drawer you see sears and kmart products with pricing and click to buy. a contest tie-in would be a kitchen makeover with all the top accessories. maybe alton can even create his own line of kitchen accessories?
How about in-store cooking contests with the appliances, (promoted online to get ppl in the store to watch/participate) and have the celeb help facilitate/judge. Then, tape them and put the webisodes of the contests online. They could be set up in many locations across the country, and if the word was out ppl would get excited about the event and go to compete w/their dish. Not sure how easy it would be to get the contests in the actual stores...but just a thought
2 ideas. One is pretty basic: leveraging Scripps dream home giveaway with product integration. Online is actually the only channel where they really allow this in depth product integration with Sears/Kmart representatives providing commentary on their products as well as tie ins to the show. This would be a good way to position Sears as the leader in Dream home appliances and products.
The second idea is to create a virtual home where users can either create a mock up of their space and drag and drop sears products into the space to visualize how it will look in their home. Or the site could have templated design formats where users can mock up their dream room/house. All products that are dropped into the home can be activated with a click to purchase button, print functionality to bring in store or click to call a sales rep for more info.
East Coast West Coast Pimp My House
How about an 'East coast / West coast - furnish a families newly moved in home' brought to you buy Sears (excuse the awful title). The uniqueness of this program is that it can be covered by all media types, print, on-air, online, billboard, bus stop postings etc. It’ll kind of be like a Pimp my ride, but on a much more wholesome way.
Enroll 2 spokespersons to be the host and face of this contest, ones that have a Regional affinity; maybe Regis for East Coast and Ellen West Coast.
It first launches with a contest to find a family moving into a new home the two families would have to be interested in allowing the Nation’s opinion to their homes.
Users can influence what’s chosen via votes online and for each product that makes it into the house, those who’ve selected that product for the family will be enrolled into a sweepstakes for that product. Those who win that product will be invited to receive their prize at their local Sears and have their photo taken and posted to the Sears.com website. Those who don’t win that product line, won’t be disappointed, because for their participation they will receive a 10% off coupon redeemable for that product or any other product at sears, it’s a win win win proposition.
To prolong the campaign program, it could be designed as a monthly program for multiple months; maybe the participating audience could furnish/vote on a specific room at a time or rooms at a time. This could help generate more unique participation and or virally or via marketing efforts participation could increase as time goes on.
Once a one room is furnished with the voted on appliances, products etc, a before and after virtual walk through could be provided with our host’s Regis and Ellen. You could use the spokes people to describe the products with a technology that can display our spokesperson incorporated into the background of the video (the background in this case being the virtual newly furnished room of the house). http://onlinespokesperson.com/dnn/ this is a site with an example of that technology.
Value to Sears:
Sears showcases a lot of product lines to the participating viewers in an entertaining way
Discount coupons offered will get participation and recipients in the stores
Winners of product line will be pleasantly surprised
Winners of each contest gets to be promoted on the Sears.com site, (national publicity-kinda); celebrity type of notoriety.
Endless viral opportunities, since those who vote the same as your vote will boost your chances of getting coupon and winning a prize.
Did I mention Regis?
The dual regional adds a certain spin I haven’t seen often. The rational is, Sears is national, and specific regions of the country have different styles and taste. Etc, etc, etc… ;)
Best of Luck!
B.
KMart
Online game or rich media unit- a virtual world for shopper to actually do their online shopping within, the shopper can be a cool santa character, etc. so they're basically doing there holiday shopping online but in a very cool and fun environment
Or some form of casual games- huge among adults and moms/working-women- game can be a santa-es simulators sledding through the store
Rich media units highlighting current sale items in real time- Staples has done this w/ Proll, Ebay does this with real time items on auction, can include the store locater, coupons, design of ads can convey/address the perception of premium products
In-store "playground" that double serves as a babysitting center- can drop kids off while they go shopping, kids are entertained with all sorts of cool stuff in a holiday themed environment
Gets to showcase cool products available for purchase
Strong takeover presence in key parenting sites- Nick Jr, Club Mom, Parenting, etc.
Reward the shopper/mom- depending on money spent she gets a gift certificate for something exclusively for her
Sears- feels like a lot of education is needed to consumers
Offer free "fix it yourself" classes for people that want to learn about doing home repairs- host it at the store, that way if they need to buy anything they're already there
Mobile education tour- educate people on standard life of varying appliances, how to check if something needs repairing (before it's too late)
What about an online show about someone that actually lives in a Sears store, push viral to multiple sites via Broadband enterprises or Roo TV??
Person sleeps in the mattress section, cooks where the kitchen set up is, does their laundry with the washer/drier- a little weird but something offbeat to showcase all the offerings from Sears (pod mentioned there's a movie; "Where the Heart Is" that's basically this idea)
1. Holiday Club
- Reintroduce the idea of a Holiday / Christmas Club - a way for families to save money throughout the year for the Holiday season
How you build your account
- Customer has straight contribution of money into the account throughout the year
- Earn points by buying items from K-Mart and/or Sears throughout the year
* Can have double-points for seasonal items - ie. Mother's Day, summer items, back-to-school, spring cleaning, etc
* If hit certain amounts ($100 / $200 / $300, etc), K-Mart / Sears could contribute certain percent (2%, 5%??)
- Within their Christmas Club account have an area where family members can add their wish list
* Could have a calculator that works with the wish list - how much they need to contribute monthly, how buying certain items can give them points, etc
* Interaction gives them a reason to come back and visit account
- Benefits to Sears / K-mart
* Ongoing interaction with customers giving them a reason to buy through-out the year
* Promotes doing all Holiday Shopping at Sears / Kmart
2. Forecast on newest toys / the new "got to have it" list
- local TV sponsorships
- Embed with TV shows (Today Show, GMA, etc)
- This should be done in October
- Have area on website with these items and prices are listed
3. Viral holiday list
- Able to send an email to friends/family that will have a link for them to update their 'wish list'
- The list is saved on your Kmart / Sears account to make it easier for you holiday shopping
4. College Education
-- A kick-back towards a college fund / savings program (ie. UPromise) based on what parents spend either during holiday season or throughout the year
5. Events at 6:00 AM (Walmart does this)
-- Give out coffee to Mom's
-- Hand out shoppping card lists that are branded Kmart / Sears (maybe they have the most popular gifts on it?)
-- Chair massages
6. Free shipping for busy Mothers
7. Partnership with Weight Watchers (these members are very loyal....)
-- Meeting in the stores
-- Special discounts to WW members
8. Lifestage Marketing / New Movers for Sears Home Appliances
- FYI, Tracey and Lisa specifically worked on DRTV for Sears HVAC which was widely successful
- Also, we have tons of lifestage marketing work from Citi Alt Channels and Brinks. The new mover target is reachable via Imagitas Mover's Guide (booklet at Post office as well as online version) and Welcome Homeowner USA. If you need info, on this we can share all the lifestage vehicles from Brinks and Citi.
I'll try to keep mine open, so there is room to fill in / expand through other media channels:
* Digitize the whole Sears/Kmart circular for big holidays online. This way, a user can scroll over the product, click on it, and find its avail in their area (enter zip code). Easy to flip pages, clickable coupons, and an interactive sales host that can lead you in the right direction
* Building off bullet #1 - We create a virtual Sears and/or Kmart store. We make it VERY basic to navigate, yet highly interactive. Sell or encourage products already in store to come on board our virtual home
* Bring back the Silvertone and Brooks jacket phenom. Very few know, that Sears was the first store to sell silvertone guitars, Brooks, and Reed leather jackets (Kurt Cobain / Omar Rodriguez - Mars Volta favorite store for clothes & instruments). The clothing and instrument of choice for everyone's favorite rock musician gracing the modern airwaves. We can have a mini Hard Rock meets Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in a select store to house this rock & fashion legacy
* Craftsman 'drifting' game for Sony and XBox
* Meet The Boss: Sears / Kmart blog from the top. Partner with the consumerist.com and take advantage of any negative store / in house brand feedback.
* "K-munity Network" house all these great ideas coming in through the blog, in a controlled, online to offline, local-feel experience. Think of the die hard Craftsman users. I am sure they want to show off their tool precision, live!
* DRTV and/or On Demand Sears program and/or channel. Partner with Ripe, so the content skews male. Partner with Oxygen, so the content skews female
* Bluecast the inside of a sears store for select brands
K MART. Why don't we become the sponsor of opening day. Gives you an excuse to do something around multiple sports and multiple cities and a good overarching promotion theme. BIG media events on the opening days of Baseball, Football and Basketball.
Here's a few to chew on:
XEROX:
Why not create a store within a store? If Sears or Kmart needs a business center, then Xerox can become it's unofficial Kinkos/ Office Depot.
SEARS, KMART, MARTHA, DIRTY LAUNDRY & THE GARAGE:
Too much time is spent on cooking & kitchens. The latest trend is to make the laundry room & garage hipper, cleaner & trendy. So why shouldn't Sears be at the forefront? Lots of organization shows on TV, but not much of it is focused on the washroom. The front-loading, color-coordinated washer & dryer with additional shelving & storage cabinets should be more front & center. I know I was looking at the new Kenmore line in this month's Consumer Reports - isn't everyone? So why not build these into shows & promotions? Add a touch of Martha through Kmart and it's a home run. More importantly, why not create the content yourself? Why ask Scripps to do it and have it cost a bundle? Maybe TLC can do it a little cheaper, but there's an alternative - Use online syndication partners like Broadband Enterprises (who can also produce it for you) to get the content out or have it made available through portal video players (AOL Video, MSN Video) as well. Maybe even develop a YouTube channel about home improvement and ask users to post their latest projects. If it's going that badly, Sears/Kmart can send them a "care package" of sorts.
Of course, I think this is a killer idea and will win us the biz on it's own. But hey, I don't want to take all the credit :)
Happy apartment living, gentlemen.
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