BRotD - Entry 0215 Google Now News from I/O

Best Reading of the Day

Very good read over on Wired.com about Google's strategy to free people from apps (and lock them in to the web where google is king).

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/google-now-io/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

What makes Google Now’s pull away from apps even more compelling is that it was joined at I/O by a series of gentle pushes in the same direction. Google’s doing everything it can to get us all back to the web.

“One of the subtle undertones that we got throughout this morning was, ‘Look at all these things you can do on the web,'” Facemire says. “The web is the underlying architecture behind everything Google is doing, even on Android.”

The web-positive tweaks at I/O were too numerous to list comprehensively; they permeated the presentation.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Eye Popping Valuation for Snapchat

Snapchat, previously the little txting (sxting) app for teenagers, has just raised another $573M as it heads towards an inevitable initial public offering.

Wow!

That funding creates a valuation for the private company at $16B, yes that is a 'B' for Billion, that is in the stratosphere for app companies.  This is a really big deal folks and will change the way brands interact with its customers.

Here is the story:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/250924/snapchat-raises-573m-eyes-ipo.html?edition=83247

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Having officially shed its fad status, Snapchat is redefining the way young consumers communicate, posting some serious usership figures.

Snapchat has 100 million users who watch an astonishing 2 billion videos per day, according to internal figures. That’s half the volume of videos viewed on Facebook, even though the latter is far larger in size.

In addition, Snapchat now claims that 60% of smartphone users aged 13 to 34 are active on the service.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Amazon Launches Private Label Food

Amazon looks more and more like a traditional retailer.  Some rumors previously mentioned opening physical brick & mortar stores, something I think Amazon will do in large numbers eventually, or try to do.  Today is private label food to help their margins vs. the large national brand CPGs (big food).

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/05/28/amazon-plans-to-expand-private-label-food-products/28088855/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Amazon is expanding the grocery business by broadening its private-label brand, Elements, into food items, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

In December, Amazon launched the Elements brand by selling baby diaper wipes, which are sourced from a vendor, to Amazon Prime members. By paying $99 a year, Prime customers get expedited shipping and access to streamed movies and TV shows.

At the time, company watchers speculated that the brand will be used to launch other products, mirroring the private-label strategy used by other large retailers.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Android Pay by Google Revealed

Big news in mobile and payments worlds as Google rolled out a new iteration of its mobile payments mechanism.  Google Wallet had not taken off so this is a new effort, a new brand, a new approach to payments in Android devices.

Here is one story on the reveal:

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/google-pay-n366091

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Google fans scoffed when Apple unveiled its mobile payment service Apple Pay to great fanfare last fall, pointing out that Google Wallet has offered similar technology since 2011. But Google Wallet never really took off -- and now Google is largely replacing that service with the new "Android Pay."

Google unveiled the new service Thursday morning at its annual I/O developers' conference in San Francisco. Like Apple Pay -- and Google Wallet -- Android Pay works by using a near-field communication, or NFC, chip. Link a major credit card to Android Pay, wave the phone near a merchant's special NFC reader at a store checkout and confirm the purchase.

Re/Code has an excellent piece on the overall Android announcement that is a very good read.

http://recode.net/2015/05/28/google-launches-android-m-and-android-pay/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Android Pay, Google’s competitor to Apple’s mobile payment offering, is here. As is a revamped version of Google Wallet: The product, which has struggled to catch on since its 2011 debut, is converting to a peer-to-peer payment service, facing off against Facebook’s Messenger and apps like Venmo.

Pichai briefly teased Android Pay in March. Basically, it’s an app and application layer with three basic functions. First, like Apple Pay, it allows users to buy at NFC terminals. Second, users can make purchases within apps with a single tap; Google is integrating loyalty offers into this feature, courtesy of its recent acquisition of the technology from Softcard, the carrier-backed mobile wallet.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0214 The War on Big Food

Best Reading of the Day

Very good article over on Fortune.com that is your best read today.

http://fortune.com/2015/05/21/the-war-on-big-food/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Major packaged-food companies lost $4 billion in market share alone last year, as shoppers swerved to fresh and organic alternatives. Can the supermarket giants win you back?

Try this simple test. Say the following out loud: Artificial colors and flavors. Pesticides. Preservatives. High-fructose corn syrup. Growth hormones. Antibiotics. Gluten. Genetically modified organisms.

If any one of these terms raised a hair on the back of your neck, left a sour taste in your mouth, or made your lips purse with disdain, you are part of Big Food’s multibillion-dollar problem. In fact, you may even belong to a growing consumer class that has some of the world’s biggest and best-known companies scrambling to change their businesses.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mad Scramble in QSR Continues with Wendy's

The mobile world opens up new opportunities for quick service restaurants that are always looking for ways to gain an advantage over the competition by speeding up service delivery or adding conveniences.

Wendy's is making more news with a new innovation lab:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/wendys-foreshadows-mobile-ordering-features-with-innovation-lab-rollout

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The Wendy’s Company is opening a series of innovation labs in Columbus, OH, as it looks to mobile and digital to help shore up its recent sales successes and pull further ahead of the competition by continuing to innovate how younger consumers interact with the fast-food burger chain.

The labs will provide a collaborate environment for its employees to explore digital enhancements, and will also be a testing ground for the brand’s continuation of mobile innovation such as ordering and payment functionalities, suggesting that these features will become requisite for all fast-food chains in the near future. Wendy’s is opening up the facility near The Ohio State University’s campus, and will provide accommodations for 25 information technology and operations employees, who will put effort towards enhancing digital experiences.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Memorial Day 2015

Please take a moment on Monday to honor those veterans of U.S. service who did not return.  I'll be travelling Tuesday and Wednesday but should follow with more posts later next week.

Have a great and a long weekend.

J.W. Gant

Kellogg Pop-Tarts Mobile Campaign Success

The big national food brands are not sitting still.  Rather they are increasingly embracing the digital & mobile landscape of marketing to interact with their consumers and share in the maintenance of their brands.

Kellogg is doing it very well with Pop-Tarts.

Here is the article:

http://www.mobilemarketer.com/cms/news/advertising/20502.html

Here is a snippet from that piece:

In answer to the question of whether mobile advertising is effective at driving sales, Kellogg Co. gives a resounding “Yes,” with the analysis of a recent campaign showing that mobile delivered more than three dollars in incremental sales for every dollar invested.

An analysis of the campaign for Kellogg’s Pop-Tarts brand by Nielsen Catalina Solutions sheds light on mobile advertising’s effectiveness at driving sales for consumer packaged goods brands, with mobile determined to be the most effective channel for driving sales compared to tablets and desktop for the campaign in question. The Pop-Tarts campaign was delivered across multiple devices in conjunction with Pandora, with audio and display ads encouraging younger consumers to listen to a branded playlist.

To see the results from that campaign click above to read the entire story.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

eBay Plus

Amazon Prime

Walmart [Prime] or whatever they call it when it is made generally available.

Now eBay Plus

Things are moving along in the eCommerce world and loyalty is an important part of the near future plans for major players.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/21/8633515/ebay-plus-amazon-prime-competitor

Here is a snippet from that piece:

eBay is testing a customer loyalty program to rival Amazon's Prime initiative, offering buyers speedy delivery and free returns on items for an annual fee. The program reportedly dubbed eBay+ is currently being trialled in parts of Germany, with plans to roll out the service to the whole of the country scheduled for the second half of the year. The loyalty program is being tested with a handful of top-rated sellers, and although pricing has yet to be announced, it's thought that the annual subscription fee for buyers could be somewhere between €15 and €20 (around $17 to $22).

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Mobile Work Tools

There is one fellow blogger I follow regularly over on ZDNet who covers all things mobile named James Kendrick.  His latest post is very cool for all things mobile.  Take a look:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/travel-with-a-surface-3-and-an-ipad-for-unrivaled-productivity/#ftag=RSSbaffb68

Here is a snippet from his post:

The Surface 3 can stand alone on trips quite well, but don't overlook the benefit of taking a second screen. That doesn't sound very portable but it can be if you use a late model iPad, either size, with the Duet Display app.

Duet Display enables users to set up an iPad as a second monitor for Macs and recently for Windows PCs. It supports connecting the iPad to the Surface either via Wi-Fi or by a USB connection.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

KFC Bluetooth Keyboard Placemats

Do you have that nagging feeling you are missing something on your smartphone as you down a bucket of fried chicken at KFC?

Thought so, and so did KFC.  Therefore they've crafted a solution. They've transformed their place-mats in to bluetooth keyboards.  Problem solved!

http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/19/8624295/kfc-tray-typer-wireless-bluetooth-keyboard

Here is a snippet from that piece:

It's a first world solution to a first world problem: a super-thin, rechargeable Bluetooth keyboard that arrives with your tray of fast food, connects to your smartphone, and lets you text with sticky fingers without messing up your screen. The KFC Tray Typer — part of an advertising campaign for the fast food chain in Germany — is a high-tech replacement for the usual grease-absorbing paper slip that's served up on fast food trays. Presumably, it's durable enough to get wiped down and re-used — although the advert's creator, Serviceplan, claims the smart paper trays were so popular when handed out during the opening week of new restaurants that "every single one ... was taken home."

The Tray Typer may sound far-fetched, but technologically it's cutting edge — not science fiction.

Happy Fried Chicken,

J.W. Gant

Walmart Prime?

Amazon Prime is possibly the world's best loyalty program.  The folks I know who use it swear by it and do everything they can within it.

Now Walmart wants a piece of that action.

http://www.canadiangrocer.com/worth-reading/walmarts-new-shipping-service-beats-amazon-53344

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Walmart Stores will test a new unlimited shipping service for online shoppers this summer in the U.S. that will be priced below Amazon’s US$99 per year Prime service.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the shipping subscription service will cost customers US$50 a year. Products will arrive in three days or less.

Personally I detest paying for the right to go buy stuff.  I'm far more interested in paying directly for that which I choose to buy.  I've also started to notice "Prime Only" products at Amazon that keeps me out of their garden.  Very annoying.  Could I allow myself to pay $50 for free shipping all year?  Maybe, but not likely, for me.  However this seems like a very good play for Walmart.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Digital and Mobile Now Influences $2.2T

That is a "T".

Massive shift still underway in retail. Read more here:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/249890/digital-mobile-impact-on-retail-hits-22-trillio.html?edition=82859#

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Deloitte Digital reports that digital interactions now influence 64 cents of every retail dollar...

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Conversational Commerce

What is Conversational Commerce?  You know of eCommerce and the omnichannel concept.

Read on for more on this topic:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/walmart-tango-and-alibaba-bring-conversational-commerce-into-fruition

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Mobile messaging application Tango is partnering with Walmart and Alibaba Group to move into the mobile message shopping frontier, driving sales in what promises to be a more convenient way for consumers while bringing the idea of conversational commerce to the forefront.

The partnership and new feature introduces big names into the mobile messaging commerce sphere, and with consumer demands for simpler, personal ways of shopping increasing, this could mean a giant leap for messaging purchase services. Many believe that brands have not yet unlocked the potential of mobile commerce and this may be that big next step, especially with consumers looking more and more toward the fastest, easiest and most individualized experience available.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Beacons in Malls

Beacons continue to charge through retail.  I've been expecting huge growth in adoption this year and haven't been disappointed.

Here is a story of how one mall is using them:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mobiquity-increases-mall-based-beacon-network-with-macerich-deal

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Mall operator Macerich, which has a strong presence in many affluent and densely populated markets, is partnering with Mobiquity Neworks for beacon-enabled advertising, in a move that will further connect retailers, brands and shoppers at all of the company’s properties through customized offers, tailored information and personalized, real-time experiences.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Changing Landscape in News Publications

Do you remember Time Magazine?  I bet there is an age test associated with legacy media such as that.  Think a 20 year old reads Time Magazine?  I find it unlikely and so do the executives over there.

According to a story at AdAge.com the revenues at Time, Inc. are now 20% digital and growing.  The world is changing.  Here is the story:

http://adage.com/article/media/a-time-s-ad-revenue-digital/298501/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Time Inc., the nation's largest magazine publisher, now generates 20% of its ad revenue through digital sales, the company said today.

The company sold $73 million worth of digital ads in the first quarter, up 1% over the quarter a year earlier, Time Inc. executives told Wall Street investors as it reported its most recent results. The increase would be 20% if you exclude digital ad sales in the first quarter of 2014 from CNNMoney.com, which until last June was home to the digital content for Time Inc.'s Fortune and Money magazines, and Grupo Editorial Expansión, a group of Mexican magazines that Time Inc. sold last June.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Facebook Advertising Now Much More Powerful

Great little piece of information over on TechCrunch about Facebook's work on in-app advertising.  They do a great job explaining the pain points and the solution Facebook has just launched.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/07/in-app-purchase-install-ads/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Facebook is combining its lucrative app install ads with deep linking so a specific in-app purchase page opens once the app downloads. The result is a powerful new tool for direct marketers that sell products and services through apps.

Direct marketing is popular on the web where users can see an ad for a specific product and quickly open it in a new browser tab to make a purchase. But on mobile if a merchant sells through an app, it first must convince people to download their app, then hope customers follow through by digging into the app for the purchase highlighted by the ad.

I originally located this story over on Fortune.com.  They link to the TechCrunch article referenced above.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0213 Rhetoric for Copy

Best Reading of the Day

I really enjoyed reading this eConsultancy story on classical rhetorical approaches to writing copy.

https://econsultancy.com/blog/66411-three-classical-rhetorical-devices-to-optimise-your-digital-copy/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

To the ancients, rhetoric was a wide-ranging, multi-disciplinary mindset that encompassed the art of public speaking, logical argument, literary composition and much more.

It went without saying that winning a debate in the senate, getting a case settled in your favour, or winning supporters to your cause (classical conversions, if you will) relied not just on having good information or reasoning, but on understanding how best to arrange and present your material to most persuasive effect.

Things were pretty much the same come the Renaissance, with its love of all things ancient. Shakespeare and his contemporaries would have studied rhetoric extensively, learning how to deploy the classical figures or devices, and practising how to argue for and against the same point at school.

...

Here are three classical rhetorical devices that strike me as particularly relevant to digital copywriting…

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

In-Store Mobile Payments

Pretty good article over on Mobile Commerce Daily regarding mobile payments in the store:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/road-to-in-store-mobile-payments-is-bumpy-for-apple-pay-mcx

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Bringing contactless mobile payments to bricks-and-mortar stores continues to be a challenging process plagued with technology difficulties, inexperienced store associates and an evolving landscape.

Enabling in-store mobile payments at scale is viewed as a key goal but one that has proven to be elusive over the past few years for a variety of reasons. The latest setbacks include reports of Apple Pay not working at Home Depot stores, Best Buy switching allegiance from MCX to Apple Pay as well as the departure of MCX CEO Dekkers Davidson.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Enjoy is Launching

Ron Johnson, the Apple Store master who led JC Penney for a time, has launched his latest brain child: Enjoy. It is online shopping for technology with helpful assistance.  Available in San Francisco and New York initially.

Here is the story:

http://www.cnet.com/news/former-apple-retail-exec-launches-enjoy-for-new-shopping-experience/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Former Apple retail executive and J.C. Penney CEO Ron Johnson has launched a new online gadget shopping site with an offline twist.

The new venture, called Enjoy, launched on Wednesday in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. Enjoy calls itself a "personal commerce platform" that allows users to buy products online and then enlists the help of technology experts that set up the purchased product for customers at no charge.

"Enjoy Experts will hand deliver technology products to customers at a place and time of their choosing, and spend an hour helping them get up and running," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0212 CPGs and the Digital Opportunities

Best Reading of the Day

Progressive Grocer has a good piece via Accenture on a subject I've spent considerable time researching: Consumer Packaged Goods companies and the new Digital Era, what I refer to as the Participation Age.

http://www.progressivegrocer.com/departments/technology/digital-technologies-key-coping-evolving-grocery-industry

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The groceries market is changing at a rapid pace: new consumer behaviors, mounting competition, rising cost pressures and digital disruption. All of these threaten to overwhelm consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies that do not rise to meet the challenge.

This transformation is consumer-led. For example, a recent DunnHumby study of seven million shoppers in 18 countries revealed that shoppers are abandoning the large weekly shop: the number of shopping trips people make has risen by almost 20 percent over the past five years, with price-sensitive customers 16 percent more likely to make small basket purchases.

I feel this article is just a tease for more Accenture work as it is too brief. One question to answer is the potential risks and opportunities for Store Brands given the shifting marketing landscape, and overall digital transformations. That is a topic I address in a white paper to be released shortly.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

PS I've had considerable trouble accessing the web pages related to this article so far this morning.  Hit or miss, and mostly miss.

Beacons News from McDonald's and GameStop

Two retailers are in the news around beacons.

First up is McDonald's, looking to grasp at technology to solve all of their other problems:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/mcdonalds-beacon-strategy-pushes-in-store-conversion-rate-to-20pc-mobile-marketer

Here is a snippet from that piece:

McDonald’s recently leveraged a new proximity marketing strategy at 15 McD Cafés in Istanbul, Turkey, sending beacon-enabled promotions to customers within its venues via a mobile application, resulting in a conversion rate of 20 percent.

Next is GameStop:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/gamestop-exec-beacons-augment-in-store-experience-rewards-usage

Here is a snippet from that piece:

A GameStop executive at the Mcommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2015 revealed that in-store beacons, alongside augmented reality, are enhancing the in-store shopping process by offering a personalized experience and supporting the PowerUp Rewards loyalty program.

One of the key takeaways from the “GameStop’s PowerUp Rewards Loyalty Program: The Real Driver Behind a Mobile Channel Strategy” session is the heavy role that the brand’s mobile loyalty program plays in driving both in-store and online sales.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Amazon Rival Jet.com in the News

The still not released eCommerce site Jet.com, rival to Amazon, is in the news a bit.

First up is a Re/Code story on the offering:

http://recode.net/2015/05/01/jet-com-first-look-prices-are-fantastic-but-amazon-prime-shoppers-wont-switch-over/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Two days ago, Jet.com gave me access ahead of yesterday’s private launch to 10,000 people who had signed up early. I played around with the site for a few hours, which was enough time to get a feel for how it worked and to do some price comparisons. It’s important to note that this is a first look, and that Re/code’s stellar reviews team will likely do a thorough review in the coming months. That said, here are a few thoughts.

Next is news from Forbes that Alibaba, the Chinese Amazon, invested in Jet.com.  "The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2015/04/29/alibaba-set-to-invest-in-amazon-challenger-jet-com/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba Group recently invested in Jet.com, a soon-to-launch online retailer that hopes to challenge Amazon.com, multiple sources confirmed to FORBES.

Alibaba’s previously undisclosed investment came as part of Jet’s $140 million round in February, which was led by Bain Capital Ventures and joined by the likes of Accel Partners, New Enterprise Associates and others. The Montclair, N.J.-based company also raised about $5 million last month in a filing disclosed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Now they just need to launch right?

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant