Runway of the Future

By Ben Haber

This is a guest post by Mandy Miller. Follow her on Twitter at@MandyMayM.

No, it’s not a tarmac full of juiced-up jets or a platform where models walk in spacesuits. After New York Fashion Week, London Fashion Week and now Milan Fashion Week, all the talk has been of the social future of fashion. Soon, designers and buyers won’t have to dress up to go out. They can just kick it in some (high-dollar) fashionable sweats and view shows from the comfort of their own homes.

Currently, we’re all aware of the streaming Twitter feeds and communities raving about the trends, colors, patterns, etc. out of the fashion shows. Consumers are more involved in the runway, and we’re sharing and exchanging information on trends and topics faster than ever. However, before we know it, you will be able to view all angles of the show (perhaps even behind the scenes?), getting an experience like never before.

TIME recently reported that KCD introduced the first of its online-only shows with designer Prabal Gurung’s collaboration with Japanese retailer ICB label. The shows are translated into different languages for overseas editors and have been designed for over-booked editors and buyers by invite-only (I knew there was a catch!). Editors get a pre-taped runway show with online-embedding capabilities, high-resolution photos, interviews of the designer and behind-the-scenes footage of hair and makeup.

While still in its infancy, I believe platforms like this will be the future of fashion. Let’s admit it, editors and buyers are dealing with volumes of information they never have before, as are consumers. On top of that, budgets are tight, especially for travel. While the ‘modeling’ part of the runway won’t cease to exist, the pressures to coordinate shows and attend/view them on time are on their way out. Fashion will literally be tailored (pun intended) to you. You can view what you want, at many angles, when you want and interact with the show in so many more ways than at an ‘old school’ fashion show.

I also see this beginning to mold in with the trends we are seeing very broadly with eCommerce and more specifically with eRetailing. As consumers, we drive retailers and their decisions, especially online. Although we are shopping more online, that doesn’t eliminate our demand for the best shopping and customer service experience. There is still a presentation pressure that we place on retailers – urging them to provide the best shopping experience, even out of the bricks and mortar store. Situations such as the Target’s release of the Missoni line and resulting lack of store inventory and crashed server is a prime example of a shopping experience gone wrong. As our apparel industry becomes more digital and online, we will be able to not only exchange information at high-speed levels, but we will also be able to track it much faster.  Not to worry, though – models will still appear to be terrifying with their hairsprayed craniums and funeral makeup (or a barcode on their forehead).

What other trends are you seeing for the future of fashion? How do you think this will integrate in with eCommerce and eRetailing?

3 comments February 29th, 2012

Twitter vs. The Virus

By Taylor Pepe

If the ‘90s taught us anything, it’s that disease is dangerous and moves very quickly, as evident in the 1995 thriller Outbreak. If you are unfamiliar with the plot, it goes something like this: a super dangerous virus is discovered in Africa in the late ‘60s, covered up by the government and forgotten until the mid-‘90s when it resurfaces. A lab test monkey which is being brought to the United States is infected with the disease, unbeknownst to Patrick Dempsey, who tries to sell the animal on the black market. As you can probably surmise, the monkey affects one person, is released into the wild, and before long California has a town quarantined, people are sick and dying, and Dustin Hoffman is trying his best to catch a monkey the size of a housecat before said California town is destroyed.

Now, imagine if that was real and if Twitter was around. I can already see the monkey’s novelty account.

The Hollywood scenario outlined above recently played out in real life at the Archipelago Journalism Conference in Alberta, Canada. Granted there were no monkeys, Dustin Hoffman, or death, but there was an outbreak of Norovirus (another term for stomach flu). Of the 360 conference participants, 150 became ill, but thanks to quick thinking by the organizers and Twitter, that number could have been much higher.

Twitter is proving to be a valuable tool in the wake of disasters and major events. After the earthquake in Turkey, survivors used the platform to let others know they were alive. During the incident at Virginia Tech back in December, students and police used Twitter to communicate what was going on as the campus sat under lock-down.  Using a high-speed social media platform is becoming the norm when dealing with events, and the conference in Canada proved to be no different.

The first few days of the conference went along as planned. There were speakers, new learning experiences, and new friends to be made.  And then, it happened.

During the final keynote, organizers were notified of an attendee vomiting. As they responded, they became aware of another person getting sick. Then another, and another.  Cue the domino effect.

As participants rode on the bus heading back to their hotel, more attendees became ill. Then came the tweets. As attendees began posting updates on who was getting sick, conference organizers began checking the stream and sharing information as quickly as possible. Participants had been posting updates to #nash74 and as the people in charge noticed the magnitude of tweets surrounding sickness, someone made the conscious decision to cancel the rest of the evening events and send everyone back to the hotel.

The scene at the hotel began to resemble something out of 28 Days Later. More and more people became ill and before long, Twitter was serving as a guide as to what areas of the hotel were the most infected.

Organizers leveraged Twitter to let conference-goers know they would be coming around with fluids and medicine, and left instructions as to where they would be and when. Twitter also served as a virtual meeting place where the healthy could pass information on to their fellow attendees.

Having Twitter was beneficial to the attendees as well as the staff. By using a social platform, information was able to reach a wide audience in a short amount of time. Additionally, everyone involved was able to stay on top of information in real time, a comforting fact to many of the people who were sick. Social media platforms are evolving and soon may be the default method of contact during major events.

The ill attendees stayed at the hotel a few days longer before finally heading home.

30 comments February 24th, 2012

Pinterest, Schminterest! Part 3

By Guest Author

This is a guest post by Nate Towne. Follow him on Twitter @Fancy_Lad.

You came back (By the gods, you need a hobby.)!  But I’m glad you did return, because here’s where the rubber really meets the road when it comes to using Pinterest for business. Got a great product? A smashing storefront? The world’s biggest/largest/bestest thing ever, yet nobody seems to know or care about your brand? Pinterest to the rescue! Your brand can use the power of Pinterest to see and be seen, here are a few tips to get your Pinterest juices flowing…

1. Crowdsourcing! Creating a new logo? Designing a new package? Frosting a cupcake? Share your designs with the world and ask your fellow Pinheads to pick ‘em apart. By providing a range of options, you can see which designs get the most love. It’s just one more way to milk the feedback machine for all it’s worth. And oh, it’s worth it, believe you me. It’s like harnessing the commenting power of Facebook, but it’s interesting and not about a stupid farming game. Yes, THAT game. Ugh.
2. Give Props: Do you have a customer or client you just love? Pin their stuff and show them the love. They’ll see that you’re pimping them and will likely pimp you in return. You already do this in the real world (it’s called a “referral”) but I swear it’s much more fun on Pinterest. (User tip: if you add a “@” in front of a Pinhead’s name, the user will receive a notification of your love. Now that’s special!)
3. Play Well With Others: You can lighten the load on yourself by adding contributors to your pinboards. It’s the perfect way to showcase your intern’s quirkiness or highlight one of your favorite business partners. It’s super easy to collaborate on Pinterest, far easier than Facebook.
4. Recon: What the heck is that florist down the street doing that you’re not? How come THAT cupcake shop has crazy sales? Follow the boards of your competitors and others your brand aspires to become and “borrow” the best of the best – and leave the rest.

Okay, that’s enough for you to get started I think. But before you do, you need to ask yourself:

1. It’s cool, but is it appropriate for my business?
2. It’s cool, but is there a return on investment for all my hard work?
3. It’s cool (sense a theme?), but do I have the time?

If you answered “Yes! YES! OMG YES!” to questions #1 and #2, you’re ready to jump in (You’re also way too excited, so settle down.). If you’re on the fence with #3, you can still dip a toe in the water by creating a personal account first, and see what all the fuss is about. Then after you’re hooked, you can do a deeper dive. If you “set it and forget it” it’s probably not for you. Which is sad. ‘cause it’s REALLY cool. That is all – carry on.

3 comments February 10th, 2012

Pawngo Train-Wreck Continues with A Product-Pitch Apology

By Ben Haber

UPDATE: While writing this post, Pawngo closed the comment section of the blog, erasing 60+ negative comments. Since dumping the pile of Butterfingers, they have also disallowed posting on the company Facebook page and taken down Todd Hills’ phone number from their website.

As the anger over Pawngo’s ill-advised PR stunt in Boston yesterday continued, Pawngo’s CEO, Todd Hills, decided it was time to stop posting sarcastic tweets, and issue a real apology. Unfortunately, this is when it was Hills’ turn to drop the ball (perhaps he should receive a giant heap of Butterfingers).

In what appears to be an “oh crap – this really backfired!” moment, Hills wrote an apology on Pawngo’s blog, which came across as insincere, especially to New England residents. Why is it not being taken seriously? It’s all in the third paragraph…

Pawngo has been changing the world of providing credit to individuals and small businesses, and our business has grown dramatically in the past year.  In the process of growing, we have received lots of attention from the press, talking about how we are opening up new financial options for many otherwise un-bankable people.  However, this incident in Boston produced some press that we would rather not have.

Yes, you read that correctly. In an apology for a mean-spirited PR stunt, Hills thought it would be appropriate to pitch his company and their services. As anyone can imagine, the post was not well received by Patriots fans, who have left comments on the post. Many of these comments suggest that if Hills were serious about his apology, he should make a sizable donation to the Wes Welker Foundation.

In addition to attacking Pawngo, angry New Englanders have been targeting Groupon (who shares investors with Pawngo). Groupon has been issuing statements to everyone on Twitter individually, and even Nestle Butterfinger has been making it clear they had nothing to do with the lame stunt.

6 comments February 8th, 2012

Pawngo PR Stunt Grabs Attention, Insults Customers

By Ben Haber

Today online pawn show Pawngo thought it would be funny to pour salt in the wounds of New England Patriots fans, and dropped off a massive pile of Butterfingers in Copley Square. Then an employee stood behind the pile with a sign that read, “Thank you Wes Welker.”

While the saying, any press is good press, is often true, this moment is one of those exceptions. Just 36 hours after a heartbreaking loss in the Superbowl, a company headquartered in Denver (remember that 45-10 first round playoff game?) thought that for some reason, it would be a good idea to throw a low ball at six states of potential customers. After this move, is there any Patriots fan that would seriously consider purchasing something on Pawngo in the near future? I think not.

There are always certain events that PR and marketing people should stay away from, and many of these are obvious. But Pango’s PR stunt showed that the company has very little class. Instead of reminding Patriots fans about Welker’s missed catch, go join in on New York’s parade. Quite simple, this is an example of a PR or marketing idea not being well thought out. Sure, it will grab national attention for a day, but at what price? Do you really want to be the company that upsets its own customers?

The only good thing for New Englanders (besides some free Butterfingers) is that Mayor Menino is apparently going to fine Pawngo for commercial dumping.

If you want to share your own thoughts with Pawngo, their Facebook page is Facebook.com/pawngo, and their Twitter handle is @pawngo.

7 comments February 7th, 2012

Pinterest, Schminterest! Part 2

By Guest Author

This is a guest post by Nate Towne. Follow him on Twitter @Fancy_Lad.

So you’re considering Pinterest for your business are you? Well you’re not alone! As my last Pinterest post propounded, Pinterest has more than four million users and is growing each and every day. It’s the “hot new shiny toy” of the social media sites – which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right for your brand. After all, thousands of people get their naughty bits pierced each year – that doesn’t mean you should, too (Or does it?). So if you are considering jumping on the Pinterest bandwagon for business, here are some insights to help you make an informed decision.

We can all agree Pinterest is pretty darn cool, but as responsible marketers, we must ask: is it right for your brand? If you’ve got some awesome visuals or products to share with the world, the answer is: yes. Whole Foods, Martha Stewart Living (R.I.P!), Better Homes & Gardens, Bergdorf Goodman – they all have Pinterest accounts, and more brands are joining each day. While the wedding , fashion and design industries appear to be leading the charge, there are many uses for any business – provided it sells something that is visually compelling, provided you want people to share your stuff online and provided you have the time to handle building and maintaining a Pinterest account (That’s a post for another time my dears.).

Pinterest is easy to use, which is yet another reason it’s great for businesses (Why, even my mother could figure it out, if she could put down her glass of wine.). It’s a website, it’s a search engine browser button, it’s an app – it’s everything you want it to be and everywhere your customers like to hang. You can login using Facebook or Twitter, you can take pictures and upload them to your pinboards – which can be customized according to your tastes. Yes Virginia, you can have a pinboard dedicated to burnt toast art. Whatever floats your boat!

So to make a long blog even longer, let’s cut to the chase. How can brands use Pinterest to boost the bottom line? Here are some thoughts to discuss amongst yourselves at the water cooler:

1. Share Your Look for Less: Creating virtual “Look Books” or reference boards to share with other Pinheads. Launching a new line of toiletries? Create a board! Pitching a big landscaping project to your local bank? Show them exactly the types of plants and materials you’d use – paint them a picture, that’s what Pinterest is all about. And if they share your boards, all the better!
2. Sell Product: While you can’t BUY anything on Pinterest, if you pin your products and link to the website within your Pin, your fellow Pinheads can easily jump to your ecommerce site. An added bonus: if you add a “$” to your Pins description, Pinterest will automatically add a price banner to the photo AND your Pin will appear in the Pinterest “Gifts” category. Sweeeet.
3. Demonstrate Subject Matter Expertise: You’re SMART and creative, damn it, so showcase your awesome sauce with pinboards! If you’re a company that sells shoes – own it. Create a board for your products, but also create boards for other shoe-related visuals. Like great places to hike or jog if you’re in the sports apparel game. Or pictures of celebrities who wear your shoes – or who should wear your shoes. Best dressed? Worst dressed? World’s most unappealing cankles? Pin it and become a SME superstar!

23 comments February 7th, 2012

Stephen Colbert’s #preparethem Hash Tag Takes Over Twitter

By Ben Haber

On his show last night, Stephen Colbert introduced a new hash tag, #preparethem. The hash tag was in response to Mitt Romney claiming that the negativity in the Republican primary was good, because it will prepare the winning candidate for the general election. Colbert decided the candidates needed some help in this area, and posted two tweets “live” during his show, and others since:

Since introducing the hash tag on last night’s show, Twitter using have been posting their own creative lines throughout the entire day. Some are pretty well thought out and entertaining. You check them out here.

5 comments February 2nd, 2012

Pinterest, Schminterest! Part 1

By Guest Author

This is a guest post by Nate Towne. Follow him on Twitter @Fancy_Lad.

Pinterest, schminterest! What’s with all the buzz about this new social media channel? Is it worth your precious web surfing time? And how can you use it to build your business so you can feel less guilt about surfing boards on Pinterest on the company dime? Read on, fearless reader – you might just learn something (I swear it’s not my fault if you do.).

Our good pals at Mashable report Pinterest is currently enjoying the limelight as one of the top 10 social networks – and it’s still (technically) invite only. Though getting an invite is pretty easy if you’re on Twitter or Google+ – heck, just ask me and I’ll invite you. Or you can ask Pinterest for an invite –I’m betting dollars to donuts they’re not going to turn you down. I’m a sharing kinda guy. The premise behind Pinterest is pretty basic, it’s a cloud-based social media network that lets you organize and share all the cool discoveries you find on the web. Pinheads (yes, I’m coining that term) use pinboards to showcase their mad style, plan vacation shenanigans, organize their favorite recipes, share gifting ideas, and among other things, drive traffic to ecommerce sites – *gasp!*

What makes Pinterest a social network? It allows Pinheads (see? I’m running with it!) to browse pins and boards created by other Pinheads. Trust me, you could spend days browsing other Pinhead’s pinboards – they are a constant source of amusement, amazement and discovery. And if you’re an entrepreneurial kind of person, the two words that stand out here are “discover” and “share.” Who wouldn’t want Pinheads to discover and share your coolness on this hotter than hot internet destination?

Let’s face it – if you build it, and it’s cool, and it reaches MILLIONS of potential customers, businesses will come. But should your business jump on the bandwagon? According to ComScore’s recent data on Pinterest, the site has nearly five million users and shows no signs of stopping in its race to the top. Data from Google Ad Planner reports nearly 1.5 million unique users are visiting Pinterest daily, and spending more than 14 minutes on the site per visit (If you ask me, this number is a little low – Pinterest is *that* addictive!). If that data isn’t enough to get you thinking, digest this new insight from Shareaholic via GigaOM: Pinterest is now driving more web traffic referrals than Google+ (not surprising), on par with Twitter referrals (rather surprising!). But juicy and compelling data aside, is Pinterest right for your business?

27 comments February 2nd, 2012