JC Penney announced it’s new strategy on Wednesday.At a highly anticipated, star-studded presentation, new CEO Ron Johnson promised to reinvent the “6 Ps” of retail (product, place, presentation, price, promotion and personality).Will it work?
In a world of seamlessly integrated, omnichannel, open commerce platforms, critics may fault this predominately bricks & mortar approach for being old-fashioned and stuck in the past.
However, this refreshingly honest, back-to-basics approach may be just what retail needs right now – a reliable, relevant, and easy experience.
From their spirited manifesto to their tongue-in-cheek TV ads, the JCP crew seems to be very in touch with who their customer is and what they need:
·In response to a growing distrust of institutions, JC Penney’s voice is human, honest and direct
·In a world where consumers demand more transparency and authenticity, their pricing strategy is simplified and predictable
·And during a time when our nation’s role in the world is at question, their Main Street and Town Square in-store strategy conveys a distinctive American pride and point of view
If nothing else, this strategy speaks to the promise of a visionary leadership. In stark contrast to last year’s logo “bake-off” which resulted in an identity redesign from a 3rd year graphic design student, JC Penney’s new strategy is decisive and bold – not to just be America’s favorite department store, but to be America’s favorite store.
The track records of the brand architects are hard to dispute.CEO Ron Johnson, former head of retail at Apple, did the unthinkable by translating the magic of Macs and iPods into over 300 worldwide stores and transforming our expectations of a good retail experience.And President Michael Francis, former CMO of Target, built a brand that turned a Midwestern mass merchandiser into a seductive, exciting cultural tastemaker.
Beyond their credentials, the speed at which they brought the strategy to life is also a tribute to their vision and focus.Johnson’s arrival was announced in June 2011 and madeofficial in November 2011. Francis came on board in October 2011.In less than three months, they were able to crystallize their thought, mobilize a huge internal and external team of partners, and captivate the retail industry with their announcement.
Initial reactions are mixed.Stock prices fell slightly after the announcement. But if anyone can do this, Ron Johnson is a good bet.Especially since he has financial skin in the game - $50 million to lose but hundreds of millions to win.
However, success depends on a lot of “ifs.”
IF the merchandising and in-store experience can deliver on the promise of the advertising.
IF the vendor community will play by their new pricing rules.
IF the customer understands and embraces the new promotional calendar.
This will be fun to watch – if they can really pull it off, the streets will be singing their praises as prescient retail gurus. If not, sadly there will be one more once-great retail giant put out to pasture.
Last Thursday night, I was invited by Tim Murray, Target’s Creative Director, to join him at an AIGA event. The theme was “Collaboration: Target’s New Target” and I had the privilege of sharing the stage with Michael Ian Kaye from Mother, and Joe Stewart from Huge.
Tim reviewed work from all three agencies. Mother’s never-been-done-before marketing extravaganzas. Huge’s guest-centric e-commerce experience that deftly balances the love of shopping and satisfaction of buying. Wolff Olins’ creation of up&up, a blockbuster owned brand that boldly delivers Target-ness without saying Target.
In addition to the fact these were all collaborations with Target, what else did each of these projects have in common? They are each game changing.
What are the conditions for game changing work? It starts with an ambitious leader who has a clear vision and a desire to make a difference – both for the business and in people’s lives.
From there, game changing work requires a keen understanding of the cultural zeitgeist – tapping into what matters most to people and making a credible connection between that spirit and the business.
And lastly, game changing work must make a positive impact – change for good. Each of the examples that Tim shared certainly had a positive financial impact for Target, ranging from the most successful store opening ever to double-digit growth for one of their biggest owned brands. And as importantly, each example also made a positive impact in people’s lives. A celebration of community and creativity for Target’s Harlem store opening. The ability to get basic products, from diapers to shampoo to garbage bags, that provide both amazing value and awesome design. An online shopping experience that re-writes the e-commerce rules and reflects everything you love about wandering the aisles at Target.
What sets Target apart from the crowd is their ability to consistently expect, recognize and enable game changing work from and with their creative agencies. And that commitment benefits us all.
Last week in Chicago, over 1,500 bloggers attended the BlogHer ’09 conference. A bunch of marketers also attended, and when brands and people who write about those brands are in the same room, swag bags inevitably appear. (For the uninitiated, a swag bag is - not surprisingly - a bag filled with free goodies and handed out at events. Kinda like Halloween without having to go door to door.) There were reports of swag bags mysteriously disappearing, some saying they were stolen from a luggage cart and others claiming people were taking more than one.
The backdrop to this event is two different attempts to monitor blogger integrity. At one end of the spectrum, the Federal Trade Commission is considering an update to testimonial guidelines that would require bloggers to disclose any connections they have to marketers – including products they receive for free. This stipulation is more than a bit controversial, as it would put different requirements on bloggers than it does on newspaper journalists, who are not expected to claim relationships they have to products or brands.
The grassroots counterpart to the FTC standards is an online movement initiated by four bloggers, called BlogWithIntegrity.com. Claiming to have received 200 signatures in the first 24 hours, this voluntary community involves signing a pledge consisting of promises like:
“I disclose my material relationships, policies and business practices. My readers will know the difference between editorial, advertorial, and advertising, should I choose to have it. If I do sponsored or paid posts, they are clearly marked.”
“When collaborating with marketers and PR professionals, I handle myself professionally and abide by basic journalistic standards.”
“I always present my honest opinions to the best of my ability.”
Those who sign the pledge can also download a “badge” that they can proudly display on their blogs, and the founders hope that this badge will eventually represent the equivalent of the blogosphere’s Good Housekeeping “Stamp of Approval.” In an interview with Ad Age, one of the founders shared that she was tired of mom blogs being portrayed as “shills” and “whores” taking “blogola” and created this pledge to combat that perception.
A fundamental question lies at the heart of this activity: Are bloggers, once thought to represent the purest form of brand advocacy, merely just another sales channel for marketers? Is the promise of free product and paid advertising luring bloggers to the dark side? If you can’t trust Mom-101.com and MotherhoodUncensored.com to offer an unbiased opinion, who can you trust?
The Internet theoretically represents the marketplace at its best – unfiltered, democratic and self-regulated. However, the need for standards like the FTC guidelines and the BlogWithIntegrity.com pledge suggest that the enticement of endorsements may be more powerful than the constitutional right of an impartial opinion.
