December 4, 2012 Digital in Merchandising – A classic mistake in blended marketing Retail Share this post: On and Offline … in harmony The House of Fraser on Oxford Street (London) broadcast over a two-day period that it was doing an in store (offline) and online promotion. By all appearances, it seemed like a perfect case of blended marketing. So, I was happy to test the waters. Below was the call out at the entrance of the store: “2 Day Brand Event… In Store and Online.” Very clear. I went in to the store and came across the very fashionable Mary Portas line. I found a charming little handbag (bottom left of the photo below) that was priced at 40% off. Rather than the list price of £39.00, you could buy it on shelf for £27.85 (you can’t see the sticker which is tucked behind the 40% off sign). It seemed to me a veritable steal? Coordinate with Search Engine Marketing (SEM) But, in the spirit of the blended promotion that was both in store and online, I just thought I’d check what was going on at the House of Fraser web site. As it turned out, they had done a very good job with their SEM, making sure that House of Fraser was on top at the same time as the promotion was going on (see right). I thought that was jolly well played. Naturally, I wanted to find the Mary Portas handbag as well… So, I clicked through and found a dedicated section on the promoted items and, in particular, the exact same bag. Here is what I found… Can you spot the problem? Well, yes, the online price was £23.40, rather than the £27.85 in store. In other words, someone had not remembered how to calculate 40% off. In store, they had used 39/1.40 (incorrect) which equated to less than 30% off. Online, they had done 39×0.60 (correct). When I went back to the store on Day 2 of the Sale, the price in store had been corrected and aligned with the price online. The store personnel had had to rip off the original tags and create new in store pricing (hence why I wasn’t able to snag a photo of the wrong ticket price). It wasn’t a very elegant solution, but I’m sure someone in HQ got an earful. Blended Marketing – in pursuit of the seamless on and offline experience Blended marketing should be a natural reflex. In the near future, we will no longer differentiate between digital marketing and “traditional” marketing, at least no more than we would distinguish between TV and magazine advertising. Obviously, we still have a way to go before teams are aligned with that concept, otherwise we would have pricing that is aligned, especially for a promotion that is broadcast as being online and in store! Consumers are checking online as a reflex. Shouldn’t all store personnel have the same reflex (or be guided to have it)? Have you spotted other such blunders? NEWSletter Subscribe to Minter’s Bi-Weekly NEWSletter and receive a free copy of the exclusive and updated 8 Golden Rules of an eReputation Your Gift For Signing Up 8 Golden Rules of an eReputation SUBSCRIBE! You have Successfully Subscribed! blended marketing, business, digital display, digital merchandising, House of Fraser, Mobile, online promotion, retail Minter Dial Minter Dial is an international professional speaker, author & consultant on Leadership, Branding and Digital Strategy. After a successful international career at L’Oréal, Minter Dial returned to his entrepreneurial roots and has spent the last ten years helping senior management teams and Boards to adapt to the new exigencies of the digitally enhanced marketplace. He has worked with world-class organisations to help activate their brand strategies, and figure out how best to integrate new technologies, digital tools, devices and platforms. Above all, Minter works to catalyse a change in mindset and dial up transformation. Minter received his BA in Trilingual Literature from Yale University (1987) and gained his MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau (1993). His books include Heartificial Empathy, Putting Heart into Business and Artificial Intelligence, bowed in December 2018 and won the Book Excellence Award 2019 as well as being shortlisted for the Business Book Awards 2019. It's available in Audiobook, Kindle and Paperback. He is also co-author of Futureproof (Pearson, Sep 2017) and sole author of The Last Ring Home (Myndset Press, Nov 2016), a book and documentary film, both of which have won awards and critical acclaim. Minter's newest book on leadership, You Lead, How being yourself makes you a better leader, published by Kogan Page, was released January 2021. It's easy to inquire about booking Minter Dial here. View all posts by Minter Dial Previous post Next post
mokhtaron December 6, 2012 at 10:33 am Hi Minter, Thanks again for this interesting case study. 🙂 I think this kind of mistakes happen because some brands are still having 2 separate marketing departments: one that deals with the in store marketing, and another one for the digital marketing. So when brands want to have sales on both channels, it’s no surprise that blunders like that happen… Fortunately for House of Fraser, they’re having people checking on both channels! But it’s not always the case… I remember, for instance, some brands in France who had sales during the month of January: you could find a product with a 20% discount in store, and get it with a 40% discount on their website (and it was exactly the same product). But I don’t think this was a blunder, I think it was more a deliberate strategy to get people to buy online instead of going in store and to get more sales on the website. In order to avoid this kind of blunder, brands should integrate their digital strategy in their global marketing strategy and get their teams working together and talking to each other, especially for a short sales period like House of Fraser did. And like you said, when the digital would be fully integrated in brands marketing strategies, we won’t make any difference between the in store and the digital marketing. Maybe marketers should (re)watch the movie “Minority Report” to keep in mind what kind of blended marketing they can dream of… 🙂 Thanks for reading my comment!
mokhtaron December 6, 2012 at 10:33 am Hi Minter, Thanks again for this interesting case study. 🙂 I think this kind of mistakes happen because some brands are still having 2 separate marketing departments: one that deals with the in store marketing, and another one for the digital marketing. So when brands want to have sales on both channels, it’s no surprise that blunders like that happen… Fortunately for House of Fraser, they’re having people checking on both channels! But it’s not always the case… I remember, for instance, some brands in France who had sales during the month of January: you could find a product with a 20% discount in store, and get it with a 40% discount on their website (and it was exactly the same product). But I don’t think this was a blunder, I think it was more a deliberate strategy to get people to buy online instead of going in store and to get more sales on the website. In order to avoid this kind of blunder, brands should integrate their digital strategy in their global marketing strategy and get their teams working together and talking to each other, especially for a short sales period like House of Fraser did. And like you said, when the digital would be fully integrated in brands marketing strategies, we won’t make any difference between the in store and the digital marketing. Maybe marketers should (re)watch the movie “Minority Report” to keep in mind what kind of blended marketing they can dream of… 🙂 Thanks for reading my comment!
Martin Black March 19, 2013 at 3:37 am This is the perfect example why there should be perfect coordination or synchronization between online and in-store mediums. Confusion is one big turn off for potential customers.
Martin Black March 19, 2013 at 3:37 am This is the perfect example why there should be perfect coordination or synchronization between online and in-store mediums. Confusion is one big turn off for potential customers.
James Thorne May 14, 2013 at 4:07 am Is it really that hard to coordinate the information? It won't matter how low the actual price is. Having customers play a virtual "The Price is Right" all the time is not a very good idea.
James Thorne May 14, 2013 at 4:07 am Is it really that hard to coordinate the information? It won't matter how low the actual price is. Having customers play a virtual "The Price is Right" all the time is not a very good idea.