Tuning Out

Maybe it's just me, but does anyone actually pay attention to advertising displays at the mall? I ask because a great deal of companies happen to think we do and spend tons of cash trying to entice us. Recently, Adspace Networks Inc., owner of the largest in- mall digital advertising network in the country, announced the expansion of its Adspace Mall Network to include the North Point, Southlake, and Cumberland Malls in the Atlanta market.

A press release from the company said that the digital advertising network features programming called “Today’s Top Ten,” which showcases a mall’s top 10 sales items each week. Retailers in the mall compete to be featured on the screens by submitting their best deals including original prices and total savings, then Adspace chooses the 10 best deals and  produces each one into a 12-second spot, which is free to retailers. Each week, there are typically 10-featured specials running in a six-minute loop of local and national advertising and mall events. This sounds like a pretty cool idea to me. But it doesn't matter how great of an idea it is if no one is paying attention.

Evidently, the company debuted the Adspace Mall Network--a national network of digital displays called “Smart Screens” located throughout 45 upscale shopping malls in 14 top DMAs across the United States--in the Atlanta market on Black Friday. Well I braved North Point Mall in search of deals on Black Friday and didn't notice anything new or different. Maybe I was too busy elbowing my ways through the throng of rabid shoppers to notice. Then again, maybe it just isn't noticeable because consumers have learned to "tune out" most of the stuff being thrown at them to avoid constant bombardment. Do consumers ignore displays the way they ignore a TV or radio on in the background at home? If so, how much are they really ignoring and how much is seeping through?

So I'll ask again: What good do digital displays do if no one bats an eye? And, how do you really measure the effectiveness of at-retail media? Most importantly, how do you get consumers to start paying attention? Come on! The Diva wants to know!

--Jessie Bove

I Want to Speak with Your Supervisor

Anytime you hear "This call is being recorded for quality assurance purposes," chances are a company called NICE Systems is recording that call (at least that's what a press release from NICE said). Well apparently, a new Emotion Detection technology from NICE promises to make those often unpleasant customer service calls a little less frustrating. NICE Systems' call monitoring system will issue an alert to call center managers that there's a problem when your voice hits a certain decibel level or if you use harsh or foul language (or, gasp, the name of a competitor).

So the next time you call a company using this service to complain, a manager on the other end will intervene before your anger hits its peak. This system boasts speedier intervention and swifter resolution of your issue. Your angry call will be digitized and stored on a server, where it can be batched with other angry calls, searched by keyword (such as #@!*) and e-mailed as a sound file among company managers. Ideally, the point is to find out what makes callers angry (here's a hint: having to repeat the same story five different times usually doesn't help) and address it system-wide. Gone are the days when the only way to escape inept service reps was to ask to speak with their supervisors. Now the cable company will be able to "sense" when you're getting ticked off. And, if you want really speedy service, just start yelling expletives into the phone as soon as someone picks up. That should do the trick (provided that you don't get hung up on first).

--Jessie Bove

No Dummy

When most people think of mannequins, they think of retail. Well, that isn't the case in a new city center near Atlanta's Buckhead neighborhood.

With an "art" installation of more than 100 mannequins on the property, the new mixed-use development, named Lindbergh City Center, recently launched a campaign to promote its residential element, eon at Lindbergh. The mannequins were positioned alongside a busy street, standing in a somewhat zombie-like pose that could double as a scene from the horror flick "Night of the Living Dead." Each mannequin donned a black T-shirt that read "Bring Lindbergh to life," and a pair of khaki shorts.  Orlando, Fla.-based marketing agency PUSH headed up the campaign, stating, "The mannequins at eon at Lindbergh are on the edge of the New Urbanism trend. They establish their own community and invite people to join them and ultimately, replace them."

The temporary display, lasting only 72 hours, definitely made a statement and even stopped traffic (not hard to do in Atlanta because most of the time it's not moving.) According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, not all the mannequins survived the night; two were carted off, while one that had fallen to the ground received CPR by one of the locals. And many couldn't resist posing with the mannequins for an interesting photo.

The mannequins are expected to make encore appearances throughout Atlanta, in various bars and public places to promote the new condos. Although those mannequins are pretty cool, let's hope eon's campaign recruits some live bodies to the area. After all, someone has to pay the bills.

--Rachel Brown

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Diva wishes everyone a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. She'll be back Monday (Hello Black Friday! You didn't think the Diva would pass that up did you?) blogging about an interesting--and odd--mannequin installation in Atlanta. Happy Thanksgiving!

Not the Best Way to Wait for a Sale...

David Blaine, street magician, illusionist and all-around creepy guy, strikes again, this time with a giving spirit. Diva supposes it was a bit too cold to spend a week underwater in New York this time of year, so the daredevil has opted for his latest stunt to involve hanging from a crane 50 ft. above Times Square. By one arm. In November. Much warmer up there, Diva's sure.

Now here's the kicker. This lovely tempt of fate is all brought to you by Target Corp., who has challenged Blaine to escape from his shackles in time for the Target 2-Day Sale, which begins at 6 a.m. this Friday. If he succeeds, he'll take 100 needy kids from the The Salvation Army on a Target shopping spree. If he doesn't, well, Times Square might never be the same.

Diva says, let the crazy man do his thing, but be sure he's taking his vertigo meds.

--Diva

Will Someone Please Find My Husband a PS3?

The long-awaited release of Sony's PlayStation 3 game console finally hit U.S. store shelves Friday, and not without a bang. Literally. Shots were fired. Wallets were stolen. Cars were broken into. All over this illustrious new game console, which is marketing around $500-$600 in stores...and up to $5,000 on eBay.

After a mad-dash release in Japan the week before, retailers were expecting only 400,000 units to be delivered to U.S. stores, which successfully created the "I have to get one" hype that Sony was looking for. (My husband is a prime example--he's been salivating over the system since last Christmas, reading the almost daily reports and spouting off all the new technologies every morning as I work diligently on my latest Sudoku and sip on my coffee. That being said, I have no idea what the new PlayStation has to offer.) So what makes this gaming console any different than its many predessesors? Got me. Apparently the unit (which is double the size of its PS2 counterpart), features a Blu-ray enabled DVD player and enough memory to allow you to store pictures, play music and watch streaming video on your TV with ease, in addition to the games of course. We already have a DVD player, laptop and PS2, so I'm a little lost as to why we need this gigantic console in my house. As a sidenote, I have no idea what Blu-ray means, except that apparently it's "really, really cool," quoth my techie husband.

According to new reports, Sony may have fell short of its 400,000 delivery target last week, heightening demand even further. New shipments are due in weekly up through the holidays, but some retailers have said they haven't even received enough units to cover the pre-orders. After hearing a couple electronics retailers near our house "may be" receiving "an undetermined amount" of units this morning, my husband was out the door at 6:30 a.m. to make the rounds on his PlayStation 3 quest. It's like a game in itself. Find the console, slay the dragon, and let the princess go back to her coffee and Sudoku. Please!

--Alison Embrey Medina

 

 

Top 10 Retail Trends for the Holiday Season

Top 10 Retailing Trends Shoppers Will See This Holiday Season:

1) Scent Marketing: It’s beginning to “smell” a lot like shopping. Scent, the most powerful memory tool, will be permeating retail environments this holiday season and beyond. Verizon will smell like chocolate, Hard Rock Café like waffle cones and Bloomingdale's like baby powder.

2) Christmassier: It’s okay for retailers to market “Christmas” this year--just ask Wal-Mart. 

3) Webbier: Shopping on the Web is in! Almost every major retail outlet now has an e-commerce component as the buying shifts from “bricks & mortar” to “clicks & mortar.” Is Black Friday morphing into Cyber Monday?

4) Screenier: Digital media, the in-store marketing technique of the year with an 120 percent increase over last year, is predicted to see continued growth through the season. With interesting ties to scent marketing and new measurement tools--the digital age in retail marketing is here.

5) Faster Check-outs: Nothing makes the public happier during the shopping season than shorter lines and faster check-out times. From self-checkouts to EasyPay and FastPay.

6) The Great Outdoors: Is the mega mall headed for extinction? Twenty-five million sq. ft. of retail space is slated for development in 2007, and no enclosed, traditional shopping malls planned.

7) More Endcaps: The average shopper may not notice, but store aisles are getting shorter. Retailers are hoping shorter aisles and more perimeters mean bigger sales. 

8) Stockier: No need to take a raincheck this holiday season, with retailers keeping more product in-stock this year. 

9) Storemediagration: Retailers are working to integrate their online stores, catalogs and advertising to tie into the theme and feel of in-store marketing and displays. 

10) Interactive-activity: In today’s technology-driven world, consumers want to know as much as possible about a product before they buy it! With improved, more reliable touchscreen technology, shoppers can learn about and find the right bed, car or bathroom design through digital in-store media. You can actually expect twice as many stores to use touchscreens this year in comparison to last.

--Doug Hope

Photo: Christmas trees and décor (trend No. 2) will be part of the festivities in more retail stores this year. 

EatZi’s Cancels Thanksgiving

I was shocked when eatZi’s suddenly closed its two Atlanta stores this week--right before Thanksgiving, leaving hundreds of customers who had placed orders for their upcoming holiday meal, looking around for alternatives. According to reports, customers received phone calls telling them that their Thanksgiving meal order would not be available. eatZi’s is evidently having difficulties, because they also are shuttering stores in Houston and near Washington, D.C.

I chatted with entrepreneur Phil Roman, then working with Brinker International, the company that launched the eatZi's enterprise, in its first Texas store about eight years ago--and fell in love with the concept. (I also visited the short-lived eatZi’s that opened in Macy’s Herald Square store some years back--and didn’t make it.)

Being a regular shopper at the eatZi’s in Atlanta--their raspberry grilled salmon and chocolate decadence dessert are without equals anywhere--in my opinion, their presence will be missed. While the Whole Foods Market and Fresh Market stores just down the road on Peachtree Street have reasonable equivalents for most eatZi's food categories (and this, no doubt was part of the problem), there are things that eatZi's does much better. EatZi's bakery was the best source in Atlanta for cakes and pastries (better quality) and their take-out meal selections had more inventive recipes. The overall ambiance at eatZi's was truer gourmet, with more upscale and unique products. It was also a much more appealing hangout, stay-and-eat place than Whole Foods. Dining on the open-air patio of their Dunwoody, Atlanta, store was always an enjoyable experience.

Atlanta has never been known for supporting high-end retail. The list of failed ventures is long and sad--especially in the food and gourmet categories. Atlantans tend to be mall shoppers, more so than specialty store shoppers, and freestanding shops of any kind have always had difficulties. Dean & Deluca had plans to enter Atlanta a few years ago, but then decided not to. As much as I hate to admit it, that was probably a smart move. (I was recently in New York and bought an incredible jar of caramelized figs at Dean & Deluca to top off my Thanksgiving dessert--along with toasted walnuts--of pumpkin ice cream). Now there is a store I love.

I hope those folks who were depending on eatZi's for Thanksgiving dinner come up with other solutions. I hear Whole Foods has offered to fill their orders--and will hold a job fair for exiting eatZi's employees. Thanks, Whole Foods, for stepping up to the plate. And yes, I am a huge fan and shop Whole Foods too.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone--and good eating! But you won’t be shopping at eatZi's in Atlanta anymore.

--RoxAnna Sway

Fried chicken in the Twilight Zone

As of this week, there are three things on the Earth that are visible from outer space: the Great Wall of China, a huge strip mine in the American Midwest--and KFC’s Colonel Sanders. Now, Diva has an ego, but plastering your face all over half of Nevada, that’s what I call really self-serving.

The image of Colonel Sander’s face, made of tiles and measuring a monumental 87,500 sq. ft., is tied to the re-launch of KFC’s brand. According to KFC, the Colonel is a global icon, recognizable worldwide--and, apparently, KFC wants to be sure it is known in outer space as well. The company is launching a new logo, new restaurant designs and new advertising throughout its global chain. This is the fourth time in 50 years that the logo has been updated, and the Colonel’s white suit jacket has been replaced with a bright red apron, symbolizing home-style cooking. A spokesperson for the brand says: “This is why KFC is boldly going where no brand has gone before.” Indeed, they are plowing new territory. The colossal image is in Rachel, Nevada--smack in the middle of Area 51--well known to UFO fans and dubbed the “UFO Capital of the World.” (Maybe Martians will drop by for some take-out.)

If you want to check out KFC’s new brand image, go to www.kfc.com to gaze upon the new Colonel’s Sander’s logo. The new look will be installed in more than 14,000 KFC outlets in 80 countries around the world in the next five years, starting in Canada.

--Diva

Photo: The colonel as seen from space.

Fragrance Tasters

Ever said "This tastes the way (blank) smells!" and received odd looks in return? (okay, maybe it's just me.) Well, that observation won't sound strange at all if you happen to stop by one of several lucky Macy's stores in upcoming weeks. Macy's is collaborating with James Beard's 2006 Outstanding Pastry Chef of the Year, Johnny Iuzzini of Restaurant Jean Georges in a series of "Food and Fragrance" events that promise to blur the boundaries between scent and taste.

According to a press release, Chef Iuzzini will explore the relationship between perfumery, science and the senses through in-store chef demonstrations by pairing prestige fragrance brands with original dessert recipes inspired by the fragrances' sweet notes. This multi-sensory program evolved from a joint culinary effort between Iuzzini and celebrated New York chef Bill Yosses in partnership with Macy's fragrances.

The "Feast Your Senses" tour will offer one-hour demonstrations that will begin with an introduction to the select notes that make up the "recipe" of the fragrance and the corresponding dessert or cocktail, and exposure to the same notes will happen again during the demonstration when the actual fragrance is revealed to the audience. Final exposure to the notes will take place during the dessert tasting. Macy's is hoping this sensory triad will "create an unconventional and memorable connection to the featured fragrance." So every time you smell the new Vera Wang perfume you'll instantly think of yummy, warm spiced apple cake. Same goes for the other perfumes and whatever other delectable concoctions they decide to pair them with. Oh so tricky, and yet, how very delicious.

The program will launch in four markets, showcasing different fragrances in each Macy's--Miss Dior Cherie at Chicago's State Street store on Nov.14; Vera Wang Princess at New York's Herald Square store on Dec. 12; Angel by Thierry Mugler at San Francisco's Union Square store on Feb. 6, 2007; and Juicy Couture at Miami's Aventura store on March 4, 2007. Time and in-store location details can be found on www.macys.com/foodandfragrance. The cost is $25 per person with the fee being redeemable for fragrance purchases post event. Registration can be made at the Fragrance Counter in the host store and space will be limited. For added fun, Bill Yosses' special collection of dessert recipes are available on the Macy's Food and Fragrance Web site. 

--Jessie Bove