  July 11, 2008Richard & Friends Petition
From: Delta Air LinesSubject Line: An Open Letter to All Airline Customers Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008 This is interesting...Airlines CEOs are "taking the extraordinary step of writing (a) joint letter" to make a case against oil speculators. It packs a punch to see all those signatures in one place, doesn't it? ...And they used HTML text ;)... Have a wonderful weekend! April 08, 2008A Clear Invitation to the Dance
From: Starbucks.comSubject Line: Starbucks is doing something big in Seattle. Date: Friday, April 4, 2008 From: Jamba Juice Subject Line: Jamba Breakfast – On Us Date: Monday, April 7, 2008 Is this the world's biggest coincidence, or did Jamba hear about Starbucks and go head-to-head with them on the morning of April 8!?!? Looks like "a clear invitation to the dance*" if you ask me. I'd love to know if anyone has info ;). * Quote quiz: Name that movie! January 02, 2008You are not an idiot :)!
From: Email Marketing Reports
Subject Line: Video message with a message + am I an idiot? Date: Monday, December 31, 2007 Here's another fun holiday-themed video from Mark Brownlow at Email Marketing Reports: check it out! The Twelve Days of Email
From: Chad White of the eec
Subject Line: A special holiday greeting from Chad White Date: Monday, December 24, 2007 In looking back at the marketing emails we received over the course of Q4, I think Chad White & family did a great job putting the content to song! Check out "The Twelve Days of Email" here. Happy New Year! November 16, 2007Oprah Opens
From: Cole HaanSubject Line: As seen on Oprah: Boots with Nike Air Date: Thursday, November 8, 2007 From: Borders Rewards Subject Line: 30% Coupon & Oprah's New Pick Date: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 These are just two examples of the many "Oprah's Pick"-themed emails I've seen over the past few weeks. Chad White also highlighted a Target example back in October. I'm assuming that Oprah's product picks - like her book club selections - fly off the shelves, and that her name alone opens emails. After all, Oprah is awesome. Maybe Oprah should run for president. On a totally unrelated note, Borders emails are so tall and so heavy! They must be an absolute bear to produce. I'm wondering if numerous graphics equal numerous sales for Borders, or whether they've tested simpler creative options. They've obviously considered the scroll-factor, as they include what they're calling a "Shortlist index" at the very top of the email, similar to a table of contents. Problem is, if a recipient with disabled images clicks one of these anchor-tagged links, they'll be directed to a big empty white box. May 02, 2007Natural's Not In It
"Natural" is clearly the buzzword in home furnishings this spring. Who does it best? And do you think that by mailing a few days earlier, CB brands detracted from PB sales? Do we need to reconsider our messages in the context of our competitors'?
From: CB2Subject Line: cool earthy things Date: Monday, February 26, 2006 From: Crate and Barrel Subject Line: Spring Collection Preview Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2006 From: Pottery Barn Subject Line: Introducing the Natural Home Date: Thursday, March 1, 2006 April 10, 2007Make it Personal
From: fredflare.comSubject Line: BEEP BOOP BEEP at fredflare.com Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Lately there's been lots of talk about making email more personal. But usually we're referring to dynamically dropping a customer's name into a "Welcome" field. I'd like to stress the importance of making emails more personal meaning human. In a virtual landscape increasingly dominated by customized avatars and tricked-out social network profiles, it makes more and more sense to make a conscious effort to inject personality and authenticity into our electronic communications. Fredflare.com does it here! Instead of just featuring a half-naked model surrounded by an array of merchandise a la Abercrombie, they congratulate their employee of the month by featuring her in an email and allowing her to showcase her picks. This has so much more meaning for me as a consumer. I actually feel happy for Julie. How often do you feel happy for someone when you open a marketing message? Ain't that nice? What can you do to inject a little happiness into your email campaigns? December 09, 2006Look mommy what I did!
I am all for innovation, but this is ridiculous. To start, Neiman Marcus appears to be exceedingly proud of the "unfolding magic" which is possibly the crappiest video ever made. Come on! What the heck is that!?
And then there's Crate & Barrel. They're so excited about their first TV commercial that they sent an ad about an ad. Wow! A TV ad? Amazing! Finally, we've got Bergdorf Goodman selling CDs. Maybe I just don't grasp their greater "live-in-our-brand-bubble" vision, but how does a Bergdorf Goodman CD collection make any sense? And who buys CDs anymore anyway? 
From: Neiman MarcusSubject Line: The Christmas Book is here! Date: Tuesday, October 3, 2006 From: Crate and Barrel Subject Line: Preview our new TV ad Date: Thursday, October 5, 2006 From: Bergdorf Goodman Subject Line: Volume: Preview & own the music of Bergdorf Goodman Date: Friday, October 27, 2006 December 08, 2006"It's Deluxe, son. It's Deluxe."
With all this talk of "luxury" lately I thought I'd do me some research. I happened across three very interesting reads:
"Living It Up: America's Love Affair with Luxury", by James B. Twitchell "Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses - as well as the Classes", by Pamela N. Danziger "Trading Up (Revised and Updated): Why Consumers Want New Luxury Goods...And How Companies Create Them", by Michael Silverstein, Neil Fiske & John Butman So gift yourself a little market research this holiday season. In addition to upping your on-da-job skeelz, you may also gain some insight into your own consumer behavior. Enjoy! October 02, 2006At a Store Near You...
From: Crate and BarrelSubject Line: Join us for a store fall preview Date: Thursday, September 7, 2006 From: Lacoste Subject Line: Friends and Family Date: Monday, October 2, 2006 As online traffic increases and brick-and-mortar retail store visits dwindle, retailers in home furnishings and apparel are leveraging online marketing to drive in-store sales. Here, Crate and Barrel and Lacoste try two different approaches: an in-store event, and a print-out coupon. I am fascinated by the growing interplay between the virtual and "real" worlds of commerce. Just last week I saw an actual "I Bought it On EBay" retail location on Long Island, a la "The 40 Year-Old Virgin," and recently learned about the thriving marketplace of Second Life. "Residents of one of the Internet's most populous virtual worlds shop, attend class—even run businesses. Soon you may do the same." Read the story in Popular Science. July 31, 2006Consumer in Control
From: Polo.comSubject Line: Create Your Own: Introducing the Team Polo Date: Thursday, June 29, 2006 From: MINIUSA Subject Line: Let's be small with huge imaginations Date: Thursday, July 20, 2006 
From: Room & BoardSubject Line: Furniture Designed by You, Built by Us Date: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 From: NIKEiD.com Subject Line: Back to School at NIKE iD Date: Friday, July 28, 2006 MINI's personalized car roof is probably the most extreme example I've seen: from clothing to furniture, personalization is showing up on ecommerce sites web-wide. Now, we're not just consumers; we're clothing designers and interior decorators as well. While I enjoyed "expressing myself" at NIKEiD.com and "creating my own style" at polo.com, I pause to consider the social and cultural implications of the personalization craze. If you're curious about what makes something like personalization popular with the young'ns, if you're marketing to the "coveted 18-24" shopper, or even if you're just looking for an interesting read, check out Generation Me by Jean Twenge. It keys into the general characteristics of Americans born after 1980. It's a fascinating read. July 20, 2006Mini-Me
From: J.CrewSubject Line: Crewcuts has arrived. Date: Friday, March 31, 2006 From: online@luckybrand.com Subject Line: New Lucky Kid for Summer from Lucky Brand Jeans - Plus Free Shipping Date: Wednesday, June 7, 2006 I understand experts have observed a cultural phenomenon wherein American parents are casting their children more and more in their own images, right down to the $120 designer denim. Here, two national retailers jump on the "Mini-Me" bandwagon. The forecast: 1) J.Crew: What TOOK you so long? I forsee success and many mini-polo-wearing babies. (I heard from a retail associate that Crewcuts merchandise is flying off the shelves.) 2) Lucky Brand Jeans: I anticipate a more uncertain future. While I don't know for sure, I would imagine Lucky's target demographic falls into a pre-marriage pre-baby-making age bracket. I see folks in tie-dyed Janis Joplin t-shirts balking at the thought of matching kiddies in Skull & Crossbones onesies. On an unrelated note, Lucky Brand Jeans puts so much effort into their retail stores - the look, the displays, the whole experience is very unique and well-done. While their website and email campaigns integrate some of the retail location feeling successfully, the overall production quality is disappointing in comparison. July 19, 2006The Human Touch
From: katespade.com Subject Line: we're helping you say "thank you" Date: Thursday, June 8, 2006 From: FreePeople.com Subject Line: Are Your Friends on the List to Get Our Catalog? Are You? Date: Friday, June 9, 2006 From: UrbanOutfitters.com Subject Line: So awesome, you bought them all. (We made more!) Date: Friday, July 7, 2006 My penmanship has degenerated into an illegible scrawl; my atrophied muscles cramp over a single "thank you" note. Notes, postcards and post-its: as snail mail goes the way of the dinosaur, handwriting has been showing up all over the web. Here, Kate Spade, Free People and Urban Outfitters use handwriting to convey the sense that we're part of an intimate person-to-person dialogue: accepting Mr. Oliver Oh-So-Right's marriage proposal on monogrammed stationery; participating in what appears to be a coke-snorting boho correspondence; receiving cavalier notes "heart, us". I feel more authentic already. July 18, 2006The Grid of Desire
From: CB2Subject Line: new...the affordable modern catalog Date: Tuesday, July 18, 2006 While I appreciate CB2's "all modern eyes" campaign for it's novel kaleidoscopic display of product, I am most interested in it's implications when read as a cultural document. Here, the Buddha is purely decorative, time costs just $29.95, and the mandala - a ritualistic geometric design symbolic of the universe, used in Hinduism and Buddhism as an aid to meditation - features the most important components of our modern universe: merchandise, which we subconsiously believe that, when purchased, will bring us consumer nirvana. University of Washington Asian Languages & Literature Professor Collet Cox often refers to a mental construct she terms "the grid of desire" wherein we separate and fixate upon objects outside of ourselves, hoping to find completion in union with these objects. Expanding upon that idea, we can see the EDM is a virtual "grid of desire," uniting customers with Gaucho Side Chairs, inducing a temporary shopper's high. Whenever I make an especially unnecessary or expensive purchase, I like to joke: "Now, I am complete." |
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