Compiled by John Kelly

Wednesday September 21, 2016

Is Kmart Slimming Down Or Wasting Away?

It looks like Kmart is going on yet another diet amid whispers that it could be wasting away.

The discounter will reportedly close 64 stores by mid-December — adding to the 68 slated to shutter this year — according

to Business Insider, citing Kmart employees and filings by parent company Sears Holdings SHLD -3.08%.

Kmart has been hemorrhaging market share and sales for years. A decade ago, the chain boasted 1,400 stores; 870 stand

today. Sears did not respond for comment by press time.

Just last week, the retailer dismissed an earlier Business Insider report that Sears, and in particular, Kmart, are facing their

imminent demise. “We disagree with the opinions stated in the Business Insider report,” Sears spokesman Howard Riefs

told FORBES. The story cited a note from Moody’s Investor Service downgrading Sears’ liquidity rating.

Until the early aughts, Kmart was routinely mentioned in the same breath as Wal-Mart and Target TGT -0.39% as the

country’s big three national discounters. By sheer store expansion and economies of scale, the trio helped put regional

discounters like Bradlees, Caldor and Ames out of business.

But Kmart failed to keep pace with its discount-store brethren.

While Wal-Mart owned the low-price leader/world’s biggest retailer niche, and Target secured its spot at the nation’s only

mass-merchant couturier, Kmart’s reason for being became increasingly nebulous amid focused competitors and a retail

landscape upended by Amazon and online shopping.

The retailer has since suffered from a lack of investment in stores, a revolving door of senior ranks and an undifferentiated

merchandise mix.

For over a decade, Martha Stewart’s Everyday home line was the crown jewel of Kmart’s product mix. The two parted ways

in 2009, and Stewart has since said she regrets not buying the chain.

It lost what was once the crown jewel of its product assortment in 2009 when it parted ways with domestic doyenne Martha

Stewart, whose groundbreaking Everyday line of home goods lined its shelves for more than a decade.

Stewart since regrets not buying Kmart. “We thought about buying it, but we didn’t do it, and we should have,” Stewart told

The Associated Press last year. “That could have been our store — KMartha!”

Who’s Minding The Stores?

Meanwhile, Eddie Lampert, Sears Holdings CEO and majority shareholder, has been slammed for cutting costs as opposed

to minding the stores. Since the hedge fund guru orchestrated Kmart’s $11 billion merger with Sears in 2004, he has been

spinning off divisions, unloading real estate, and closing locations to boost the retailer’s liquidity.

In recent years, Lampert has defended its commitment to the business by citing investment in its Shop Your Way loyalty

rewards program, whose members generate most of Sears and Kmart’s sales. But even Lampert conceded this spring that

the program has failed to compel those core customers to shop more frequently.

In August, Kmart unveiled a new “store of the future,” in Des Plaines, Ill. dubbed, a “Whole Lotta Awesome,” with features

like “Shoparazzi,” a free personal concierge service whereby store associates do the shopping for you. The concept store is

part of a marketing and rebranding effort to provide enhanced, exclusive offers to Shop Your Way members and woo

millennials.

But scattershot revival efforts (anyone remember Sears Essentials, the ill-fated Kmart/Sears hybrid format?) have not

amounted to a sustainable retail strategy to keep shoppers coming and cash registers ringing. Kmart’s sales have

plummeted from $37 billion in 2005, to $10 billion today.

While Lampert, who as the founder of hedge fund ESL Investments, earned a reputation “as one of the investing world’s

savviest money managers,” he had zero retail chops when he purchased Kmart — and has said as much. “When people say

I don’t know anything about retail, I tell them, ‘talk to my mother, and she will corroborate that,’” Lampert said at a Sears

shareholders meeting I attended back in 2007, pointing to his mother in the audience, ironically, a Saks Fifth Avenue

veteran.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2016/09/20/is-kmart-slimming-down-or-wasting-

away/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix#122a5ed9b063

Market Track Study: Shoppers Expected to “Fall” for Early Discounts This 2016 Holiday

Season

Gone are the days where shoppers would anxiously wait for the big Black Friday circular unveiling—they now have access to the Black Friday sales well in advance of the event. New survey data from Market Track, LLC, the leading provider of advertising, promotional, brand protection and pricing intelligence solutions in North America, suggests that by the time the last slice of pumpkin pie gets consumed this upcoming Thanksgiving, nearly half of U.S. shoppers will already have completed the majority of their holiday purchases. In a nationwide survey of 1,000 consumers, 27% of the respondents stated that they plan to do the bulk of their holiday shopping before the calendar hits November—a stat that is up eight percentage points from 2015. Competitive pricing throughout the season combined with fabricated shopping events have trained consumers to shop earlier, with a total of 49% planning to do the majority of their holiday shopping before the big feast. “Beating other retailers to the punch by taking demand out of the market early is nothing new,” explains Traci Gregorski, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Market Track. “Look for early digital sales to kick off the season in earnest with compelling deals in October to entice consumers to shop early. In addition, there will be heightened competition for online shoppers with significant online discounting extending to the Saturday before Christmas. Last year we saw discounts on many hot holiday items at 40% below the Black Friday sale price toward the end of the season.” For shoppers who are planning to wait until after the big turkey dinner, 52% intend to shop online on Black Friday, while 61% said they would wait until Cyber Monday to shop for the holidays. Respondents also cited overwhelmingly that e-retail giant Amazon will be their top online shopping destination and where they plan to allocate a majority of their online budget for holiday this year. The implications of online commerce extend far beyond the transaction data—the survey indicates that digital interactions influence 66% of shoppers on their in-store purchases. Regardless of when consumers are shopping, the survey indicates that 73% of shoppers plan on researching prices online ahead of shopping in-store this season.

Based on the survey, the researchers at Market Track predict the following trends to watch for this 2016 holiday shopping season: Mobile’s impact throughout the purchase journey: Mobile’s influence cannot be downplayed—mobile enables consumers to interact from the planning stage to the trip, while they are in the moment, and post-purchase. Whether it is through price or stock status research, SMS offers or app-specific sales and alerts, or people using their mobile phones to transact, mobile will play a significant role in influencing decisions throughout the purchase journey. Strategically complicated offers: To make it challenging to do straight price comparisons across retailers, look for product and service bundles in addition to specialty products with limited availability. Differentiation through experience/service: Driving traffic in-store is still imperative to profitability due to the propensity of shoppers to add additional items to their cart as they walk through the store—the online shopping experience is much more linear, with less opportunity for add-on items. In order to drive traffic in-store this season, retailers will host events and will do more promotion around service and expertise to lure shoppers in. Competitive pricing throughout the season: Retailers are being forced to discount throughout the duration of the season on all categories, but especially on those that are highly researched and purchased online like toys, electronics, wearables, and TVs. Direct to consumer: More manufacturers are initiating a relationship with the online shopper—many are commerce-enabled and actively looking to sell directly to consumers. About the Survey Market Track conducted a survey of 1,000 shoppers in August 2016. Shoppers were asked about their own holiday shopping behaviors. Survey respondents represented even distribution across gender and representative sampling across age groups. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160919005196/en/Market-Track-Study-Shoppers-Expected-%E2%80%9CFall%E2%80%9D-Early

J.C. Penney Plans to Hire for the Holidays Like it's, Umm, Christmas J.C. Penney has some big plans for holiday hiring, while a big shift is happening throughout the industry of more temporary

jobs offered on the e-commerce side.

The Plano-based department store chain said it plans to hire 40,000 seasonal workers: 38,000 in stores and the rest to help

handle jcp.com orders. That compares to 30,000 seasonal hires in 2015.

The biggest change in retail's annual hiring surge in the last 10 years is the number of workers added to fill warehouse and

transportation jobs needed for e-commerce, said John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.

"We continue to move from brick-and-mortar toward click-and-order. "

UPS alone is adding 95,000 workers this holiday season, up from 93,000 last year. Almost 3,500 of those jobs will be in

Dallas-Fort Worth. And FedEx hired 55,000 temporary workers last year. Government data last year showed that

transportation and warehousing employment increased by 200,500 workers in November and December. That compares

with just 42,400 a decade earlier, Challenger said.

Overall, retail hiring this holiday season is forecast to be about the same as last year, according to an analysis of

government employment data Challenger.

The firm forecast a total of 738,000 seasonal jobs during the final three months of the year. Last year, holiday hiring fell 1.4

percent from 749,100 in 2014. It was the second year in a row seasonal hiring fell in the last three months of the year.

But nothing quite like the Great Recession years of 2008 and 2009:

Target has been hiring about the same number of seasonal workers over the past few years. It plans to hire more than

70,000 seasonal employees this year for its 1,800 stores, including about 6,600 in Texas.

Target said it will also needs about 7,500 seasonal workers for its distribution and fulfillment centers nationwide. That's

about 1,000 more than last year.

Toys R Us plans to hire 1,000 seasonal employees for its stores in North Texas and its Midlothian distribution center.

Overall, it expects to hire about 3,000 extra workers in Texas.

Penney's 40,000 hiring goal is a big jump, but there are a couple good reasons, said spokeswoman Daphne Avila. Penney,

which is the second year of a three-year turnaround plan, is increasing the number of seasonal part-time positions to give

store managers more flexibility in scheduling and to have enough people in stores for peak times, she said.

Some of the increase in seasonal hiring, she said, also is due to Penney's new merchandise added to its online business

from new plus-size brands in apparel to 1,200 kitchen and laundry appliances and an expanded selection of window

coverings. There's more furniture from a new partnership with Ashley Furniture.

A temporary holiday job can be a great foot in the door.

Penney also is planning to convert many of its seasonal hires into permanent positions after the holidays, Avila said. "Stores

are in the process of identifying a bench strength of supervisors. As those promoted associates move from hourly to exempt

positions, we want to have the talent pool in place to fill any gaps."

Penney plans to hire 1,000 people for its 17 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth.

Last year, about 15 to 20 percent of seasonal workers at Toys R Us transitioned into permanent jobs.

In the past three year, UPS has hired more than a third of its workers after the rush is over in January as returns tail off.

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/retail/20160916-j.c.-penney-plans-to-hire-for-the-holidays-like-it-s-umm-christmas.ece

Dunkin’ Donuts Opens Milestone Store It’s 12,000 stores and counting for Dunkin’ Donuts.

The chain on Tuesday opened its 12,000th restaurant worldwide, in Riverside, California. The new location is part of

Dunkin’s strategic westward expansion.

It plans to open more than 30 new restaurants in California this year with plans for about 300 new locations total to be

developed in the state over the coming years.

The new Dunkin' Donuts location in Riverside is owned and operated by franchisee Parag Patel, who opened two Southern

California Dunkin' Donuts this summer. He plans to open about 20 new Riverside and Orange County locations in the

coming years.

Additionally, the Riverside Dunkin' Donuts is a “DD Green Achievement” location, designed with energy efficient and

sustainable elements. The establishment features specialty lighting to reduce energy use, high-performance windows, low-

flow faucets and more. http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/dunkin-donuts-opens-milestone-store

Now You Can Buy Burberry Stuff Straight Off the Runway

Today, in London, the fashion house Burberry sends its newest collection down the runway. Immediately afterward, any

shopper with access to a browser (and a few thousand bucks) will be able to purchase what she’s just seen. Which is neat, if

you’re the kind of person who obsesses about clothes—because six months used to sit between you, runway shows, and

the mannequins in your local department store.

This is the “see-now, buy-now” model, and it—more than any silhouette, textile, or oblique cultural reference—is the reigning

innovation of the 2016 fashion season. Ralph Lauren staged his New York Fashion Week show outside his Madison Avenue

store, which turned out to be fully stocked with the day’s runway designs. Tom Ford made his new collection available in his

stores, department stores like Bergdorf Goodman, and online. And now Burberry, which announced the plan in February, is

equally on trend.

See-now, buy-now upends the business of fashion in more ways than one. Traditionally, fashion brands designed their

collections according to reports from trend forecasters and the availability of materials from collaborating textile mills. Models

would trot those collections down a runway, in front of an audience of buyers and editors who acted like a focus group.

Consumers, in turn, learned from the buyers and editors which fashions were in, and which were out. Six months later, the

consecrated pieces would show up in stores and on newsstands.

Well, forget all that. Now some fashion houses are offering customers what they want as soon as they possibly can.

If that sounds good, thank the fashion bloggers. “All of a sudden the brands are realizing, we don’t have to wait for an editor

to anoint this item as a best-seller,” says Shawn Grain Carter, a business management professor at the Fashion Institute of

Technology. Bloggers show designs right away, stoking an appetite to purchase immediately. And brands don’t exactly

mind. “If they can whet consumers’ appetites and get them to buy now, that’s brilliant. The key is to manufacture quickly

enough.”

But without the fashion industry’s take on a given collection, brands have fewer informed ideas about what might sell.

Preparing for an onslaught of orders without any period of critique or reflection means that Burberry could wind up with a

massive overstock of some pieces, and a Birkin bag-like waiting list for others.

If you’re a national chain store like H&M or Zara, that’s a risk you can afford to take. These and other so-called fast-fashion

companies have succeeded in large part due to their nimble supply chains. A streamlined manufacturing process allows

them to imitate the designs of larger, more expensive fashion houses at much lower prices. And their turnaround is quick;

fast-fashion brands sometimes release their derivative designs before the originals have even hit the market.

That’s why getting rid of the six-month waiting period is in Burberry’s best interests. But it’s not without its challenges. The

company’s vaguely Victorian and Napoleonic collection includes pieces like a military-style jacket bedecked with intricately

woven thread and silver buttons. These designs cost a lot to make; manufacturing them ahead of time—even in a limited

run, to slake the thirst of early adopters—is a pricey gamble.

Still, it’s not a total crapshoot. A decade ago, when Angela Ahrendts was still the company’s CEO (she’s now designing

Apple’s retail), she and current CEO Christopher Bailey said that Burberry was a digital luxury company. Then they launched

crowdsourced ad campaigns, aired its runway show live online, and embraced platforms like Snapchat, Periscope, and

Instagram. Today, before Burberry’s show even kicked off, fans could view renderings and materials of the new pieces

through Facebook Messenger.

These digital initiatives work a lot like the editors and buyers of old, driving demand by engaging with consumers. Carter

says that engagement, combined with increasingly sophisticated predictive analytics, helps explain the success of

campaigns like Burberry’s. “To have that information at your fingertips, that’s what transformed the industry.” Get enough

data from your fans, and maybe you don’t need six months of opinions from industry insiders. It’s not the most popular

business model (the direct-to-stores trend has drawn harsh criticism this past week), but it’s certainly innovative—a fact that

should win it points in a trendsetting industry like fashion. https://www.wired.com/2016/09/now-can-buy-burberry-stuff-straight-off-runway/

Facebook’s Newest Ads Aim to Help Retailers Drive In-Store Sales

Facebook Inc. today rolled out dynamic ads for retail, a new mobile ad unit that retailers can use to drive in-store traffic and

sales.

The ads enable a retailer to dynamically showcase products available in a store that’s nearby the consumer seeing the ad.

The ads build on Facebook’s more broadly focused dynamic ads, which let retailers and other advertisers serve shoppers

ads based on the products they looked at on the merchant’s site or app.

Retailers that have tested the ads include Abercrombie & Fitch Co., No. 58 in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide;

Argos Ltd.; Macy's Inc. (No. 5); Target Corp. (No. 22); and Williams-Sonoma Inc. (No. 21).

Using the ads, a fashion retailer can advertise a nationwide sales event happening at every store but only showcase the

products that are in-stock at a nearby store and display the price found at that location. Because the ads are linked to a

retailer’s local product catalog, if a product sells out in one store the campaign automatically adjusts so that consumers in

that region will no longer see it advertised. Retailers can optimize the product selection for each ad based on consumers’

online and mobile shopping behaviors.

“We want to enable retailers to show the right person an ad showing her what’s available and in-stock at a nearby store,”

says Joe Devoy, Facebook product manager. “We built this in reaction to feedback from the market. Most retailers don’t care

where their customers shop—whether it is online or offline—but they need tools to connect the two. We’re trying to build a

bridge between online and offline.”

Facebook research suggests that 49% of in-store purchases are influenced by digital interactions—more than half of which

take place on mobile devices.

That data suggest why the ads, while not original—Google offers a similar ad with its local inventory ads—could prove

valuable to retailers, says Rebecca Lieb, an independent media analyst. “It’s not original or unique, but it is an important

addition to Facebook’s arsenal of tools,” she says. “It could very effectively close the gap between online and offline

attribution.”

Facebook also is introducing “store visits” as the primary reporting metric for the dynamic ads for retail ads. The metric,

which was first offered in June, is estimated based on information from shoppers with location services enabled on their

phone, as well as from merchants that use Facebook’s beacons that it began giving away last summer. The metric can

focus on consumers who saw the Facebook ad within one day, seven days or 28 days before coming into the store.

The ads are a clear sign that Facebook wants to compete more directly with Google for advertiser dollars, says Cathy Boyle,

eMarketer Inc.’s principal analyst, mobile. “This is clearly a sign that Facebook is going after the lower-funnel investments

that Google has long captured. By giving retailers better tools, Facebook may steal some of those dollars that might have

otherwise gone to Google.”

However, she notes that the majority of the dollars that will likely flow to Facebook will from retailers shifting ad dollars from

offline ads to digital ads. She points to eMarketer’s latest projection, which predicts that digital advertising will account for

38.4% of North American advertisers’ ad budgets next year, up from 35.9% this year. That reflects retailers such as Ulta

Beauty (No. 153), Kirkland’s Inc. (No. 508) and Williams-Sonoma shifting more of their ad spending to digital from print.

“New dollars are coming from traditional media channels,” she says. “And there’s still more money to move, which benefits

both Facebook and Google.”

https://www.internetretailer.com/2016/09/20/facebooks-newest-ads-aim-help-retailers-drive-store-sales

Consumers More Likely To Shop In-Store This Holiday Season

It’s good news for brick and mortar: Consumers may go online to research, but they plan to pound the pavement and make

more purchases in-store this holiday season, according to Epsilon.

The company’s 2016 holiday shopping survey asked consumers how they intend to approach the upcoming holiday

shopping season. A full 87% of respondents are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase at brick-and-mortar stores this

year, with 55% of respondents “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to look at a product online and then go to a store to buy.

Conversely, 76% of respondents are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to purchase online this holiday season, with 54% of

respondents “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to look in-store for a product and go online to find the best deal.

These findings further signify the importance of personalizing communications both online and offline and creating a

seamless customer journey across marketing channels, says Tom Edwards, chief digital officer, agency for Epsilon.

“Where consumers are shopping for the upcoming holiday season is less important than how they are getting there,”

Edwards said in a release. “This study shows that digital channels continue to steer consumers on their non-linear path-to-

purchase and influence buying decisions, identifying a huge opportunity for marketers to reach consumers in the moments

that matter most.”

Leading up to the holiday season, retailers need to continue to focus on creating consistent and contextually relevant

experiences for consumers across devices, time and media, Edwards says.

“If they’re not engaging in this manner they risk losing out on their share of holiday shopping budgets,” he adds.

The online study of nearly 2,300 U.S. consumers 25 years of age or older was conducted by Epsilon in April 2016.

Throughout the report, findings from the company’s 2015 shopping survey are compared for year-over-year changes.

Results were weighted based on age of responder.

Respondents prefer brick-and-mortar stores because of their ability to assess products in person. Respondents also show a

propensity toward offline advertising, with 77% of respondents stating that advertisements received by mail will have at least

“some influence” on their buying decisions this holiday shopping season. This compared to 41% of respondents who feel

banner advertisements when searching online will have at least “some influence” on their buying decisions. Respondents

indicated they are influenced by direct mail because it usually contains an offer or discount and the format allows for

leisurely review time.

“To improve the level of influence from online advertising efforts, retailers need to leverage offline and online insights to

create personalized experiences that take into account consumers’ desire for offers or discounts,” Edwards said. “Utilizing a

more targeted approach to online advertising will also create a more compelling and engaging cross-channel experience for

consumers.”

A huge majority — 90% of respondents — plan to access online sites or emails to learn about the best deals before starting

their shopping journey, compared to 88% of respondents in 2015. Notably, 47% of respondents said they will do this

regularly during the 2016 holiday shopping season, compared to 37% in 2015.

Social media’s role in the path-to-purchase is increasing too. Of those who are “very likely” to use Facebook, Pinterest and

Instagram for gift ideas, 65% of respondents indicate they use Pinterest because the ideas that they see are relevant to

them, higher than Facebook (32%) and Instagram (37%).

Email remains relevant as well with 73% of respondents saying an email sent directly from a brand will have “a lot of” or

“some” influence on their buying decisions this holiday season. Respondents report being influenced by this type of

advertising because they find it personal and the emails they receive are from brands they like.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/284944/consumers-more-likely-to-shop-in-store-this-

holida.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=96520

Macy’s to Host First National Holiday Hiring Day

Macy’s is the latest retailer to announce it will hire roughly the same amount of holiday employees as last year.

This holiday season, the department store giant plans to hire approximately 83,000 associates for positions across its

Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide.

To streamline the process, Macy’s will host its first national holiday hiring day on Friday, Sept. 30, when candidates can

apply at any Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s Backstage store locations.

Specifically, Macy’s is allocating 15,000 associates in direct-to-consumer fulfillment facilities that support sales generated by

the company’s omnichannel business strategy. This is an increase of 3,000 positions compared to 2015.

These positions are located in Macy’s “mega-centers” in Arizona, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia, as

well as in product-specific fulfillment centers in California, N.J., and Maryland. Another 1,000 associates will support

telephone, e-mail and online chat at customer service centers in Ohio, Florida and Arizona.

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/macys-host-first-national-holiday-hiring-day

Mercedes Vies for One-on-One Engagement with WhatsApp Newsletters

German automaker Mercedes-Benz is seeking to increase its visibility in China by curating content specifically for Chinese

messaging application WhatsApp.

In January, WhatsApp announced that it would begin allowing businesses to communicate directly with its approximately 1

billion users. The new development served as a reflection of how popular messaging apps are as well as how messaging

platforms are reshaping traditional marketing to unlock one-to-one engagement opportunities for brands (see story).

Chatting with Mercedes

Through the WhatsApp newsletter, Mercedes enthusiasts will be notified of product launches, motorsport updates and

general information about the automaker’s models in real time.

Subscribers to the Mercedes newsletter on WhatsApp will be able to customize the content received to ensure that the user

only receives relevant information for their needs and lifestyle.

At time of launch, WhatsApp users can pick from the six channel categories. The “Best of Benz” category, for instance, is a

“daily Daimler dose” where Mercedes will dispense all brand news through text, photos and video.

The automaker’s “Formula 1” channel will give up-to-date coverage for Mercedes’ motorsport team. On WhatsApp,

consumers will have the most recent news for the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team right at their fingertips.

Similarly, the DTM channel will follow race weekends for the Mercedes AMG DTM team. The Mercedes-AMG channel will

educate on driving performance with the latest information on Mercedes’ AMG products, topics and events.

Mercedes has also included a newsletter dedicated to its innovations in the automotive space. Subscribers to Mercedes’

Taubenheim 13 newsletter can follow along as the automaker “build[s] the future.”

Lastly, “She’s Mercedes” WhatsApp news feed will keep female Mercedes enthusiasts in the-know with inspiring stories and

live event notifications. This content will be pushed on a weekly basis.

To register, users must add Mercedes channels and message the brand’s WhatsApp account with “start.” Unsubscribing is

done by messaging the world “stop,” while “pause” puts Mercedes’ push on hold. https://www.luxurydaily.com/mercedes-vies-for-one-on-one-engagement-with-whatsapp-newsletters/

4As Steps Up Transparency, Threatens To 'Annul' Agencies That Don't Practice It

In an effort to put more teeth into its so-called media “transparency” initiatives, the 4As today called on its members to put

the association’s principles into practice, not just treat them as recommendations for best practices. In addition, the 4As

unveiled plans to conduct a series of member meetings to discuss how to put the principles into practice.

“It is our strong belief that transparency is a core principle and the cornerstone of the agency and client relationship,” 4As

President Nancy Hill wrote in a letter sent to the association’s membership today, calling on them to adopt the 4As’ recently

ratified “Transparency Guiding Principles of Conduct," and threatening “annulment of membership” for agencies that violate

them.

The 4As said it has scheduled nine meetings with members around the country beginning with last week’s Advertising Legal

Affairs Committee meeting at the 4As headquarters in New York and running through its Western Region Finance

Committee meeting Nov. 16 in Las Vegas.

The stepped-up efforts come as some industry sources -- especially the Association of National Advertisers -- have been

critical of the 4As' slow and tepid response to ANA-commissioned studies and aggressive recommendations to improve the

transparency of media-buying principles, especially rebates and kickbacks from media suppliers paid to agencies.

The ANA in August called on the 4As to clarify its position on media transparency and invited its board to meet with the ANA

board to discuss it at its upcoming annual conference -- Masters of Marketing -- Oct. 19 in Orlando.

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/284979/4as-steps-up-transparency-threatens-to-annul-

ag.html?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline&utm_campaign=96520

Out-Of-Home Advertising Experiencing A Renaissance

When the Detroit Red Wings want to sell more tickets, celebrate marquis moments, or thank fans, the ice-hockey team turns

to digital billboards.

According to Rob Mattina, vice president of marketing for the Red Wings, these out-of-home (OOH) assets play an important

role in the Red Wings’ marketing mix because the brand can easily change messaging to accommodate needs.

“Sports isn’t a consistent product,” Mattina told CMO.com. “It changes on a daily basis, and you can’t predict winning or

losing streaks.”

And while digital billboards give the Red Wings flexibility, they also illustrate how OOH assets broadly–and billboards,

specifically–are evolving.

A Brief History

According to OOH trade organization Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), OOH has a storied history that

can be traced to obelisks in Egypt, but also includes circus posters in the 19th century and a holiday campaign from Coca-

Cola in the early 20th century that gave rise to our modern interpretation of Santa.

Insiders now say these once static assets are undergoing profound change, which means OOH is poised to thrive in an era

of data, analytics, and micro-moments. In fact, according to OAAA, OOH revenue was up 4.6% in 2015 from the previous

year for a total of $7.3 billion, which marks an all-time high after 23 quarters of growth.

Miko Rahming, senior vice president of innovation and creative at media and tech company Intersection, went as far as

calling the evolution underway a “renaissance.”

“The physical world is becoming more and more connected, and as digital screens, mobile devices, free high-speed Wi-Fi,

proximity networks, and so on continue to become ubiquitous, your journey through the world will become more and more

like a web browsing experience, with access to information and opportunity based on time, place, and contextual data,”

Rahming told CMO.com. “Just like the virtual online experience, this means brands will find incredible new ways to engage

the public in meaningful ways.”

‘Renaissance’ At Play

Here’s a closer look at how experts told us this so-called renaissance is playing out–and why the

seemingly underappreciated OOH sector is more relevant than ever.

1. Until teleportation is an option, consumers will go outside: Unlike mediums like TV, radio, and newspapers, which have

seen drastic changes in consumption, OOH will endure because consumers–unless they have reality-show-caliber phobias–

are never going to stay home 24 hours a day, said Jeff Tan, vice president of strategy at OOH communications agency

Posterscope, in an interview with CMO.com.

“We are creatures of habit. We drive down the same highways, we take the same trains, and we pass the same billboards,”

Tan said.

2. Consumers can try to ignore billboards, but they’re always there: OOH is the only medium consumers have to interact

with as soon as they go outdoors, said Arthur Ceria, CEO of digital marketing and media relations firm CreativeFeed.

“There is a choice about whether or not to check your phone, go online, or hop on social media, but an OOH ad will just be

there–displayed next to you at a bus stop [or] on a billboard while you wait for the traffic light to change,” Ceria said.

3. Billboards and digital/social/mobile are better together: New media channels don’t tend to replace older ones, but, rather,

they find “a happy form of co-existence,” said Mark Mulhern, president of the East region at digital marketing agency

iCrossing.

Indeed, the integration of data and technology means advertisers can tap into OOH like never before. “And it’s really shifting

into bringing back the things that digital has kind of lost–the sensory experiences, feelings, and interactions,” Ceria added.

And with the rise of connected and driverless cars, expect to see much more interaction between physical outdoor assets

and mobile devices. In fact, said Dan Hight, senior vice president of channel partnerships at mobile location platform xAd,

marketers can extend the reach of OOH placements by geofencing place-based ads and delivering display ads on mobile

phones when consumers are in proximity to a given billboard.

“We call it the ‘priming effect’–the power of the billboard plus a mobile ad [yields] higher performance of the ad than a mobile

ad alone, and being able to have an ad that is reinforced by mobile is producing higher results than the industry average,”

Hight told CMO.com.

4. Advertisers are getting really creative–and including some truly whiz-bang features: Take the Xbox Survival billboard, for

example, in which eight Lara Craft fans attempted to outlast each other on a billboard while exposed to extreme conditions.

Other memorable executions in recent history include BA’s Look Up campaign, which displayed real-time information about

flights overhead, and Coke Zero’s drinkable billboard at the 2015 Final Four.

Examples also include an increasing number of contextually relevant executions from brands such as Dannon Yogurt, which

is adjusting its messaging on billboards in Toronto and Montreal based on real-time traffic. What’s more, earlier this year,

Posterscope worked with Chevrolet on billboards in Dallas, Chicago, and New Jersey for its Malibu model, which used

vehicle-recognition technology to identify the front grills of oncoming cars from 1,000 feet and to display conquesting

messaging when it identified a Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, or Hyundai Sonata.

“We needed a way to stand out from the crowd,” Posterscope’s Tan said. “Think about the midsize sedan market: It’s pretty

crowded and competitive. We needed to win in key markets ... [and delivered] a personalized dynamic message, like ...

comparing their car’s safety record or ... a message comparing fuel efficiency.”

According to Tan’s figures, an ensuing measurement study found consumers were 50% more likely to recall the ad as a

result of this quasi-personalization.

Ian Dallimore, director of digital innovation and sales strategy at outdoor advertising company Lamar Advertising, agreed

that contextually relevant creative helps break through the clutter. It can be as simple as weather-triggered messaging for

raincoats from the Gap when it starts to drizzle or heated steering wheels for GM when it’s cold outside, he told CMO.com.

“It’s using innovations and technology to be a part of a consumer’s life pattern,” Dallimore added.

5. OOH can tap into data now, too: According to Tan, billboards are only getting smarter thanks, in large part, to audience

data derived from on- and offline sources, such as the websites a consumer visits, where he or she is likely to live, and

social sentiment.

“OOH has always been treated as the redheaded stepchild of media because it was not measurable in many ways,” xAd’s

Hight added. “But we’re now ... getting some intelligent data around physical location [and] we can ... build real profiles

rather than say, ‘Buy this billboard at this intersection.’”

To that end, insight generated by proximity technology, which enables marketers to tap into mobile data to monitor how

many people walk by a given location, as well as how frequently they do so–and even what types of phones they have–can

be folded into brand experiences, said Manolo Almagro, senior managing director of retail technology and innovation at

marketing agency TPN.

This also allows marketers to deliver better messages than simply erecting a billboard based on a theoretical number of

eyeballs.

“It has to be more than that,” Almagro told CMO.com. “People are used to the multisensory experiences they can get with

their phones. It’s all about what they’re interested in versus what you want them to see, so it’s turning the tables to become

more of a ‘talking to you because I understand your mindset in this location’ scenario.”

Indeed, consumers have certain expectations when it comes to personalization in marketing, and OOH is no exception, said

Wade Forst, senior director of emerging experiences at interactive agency Razorfish. Ergo, advertisers may not be able to

get as one-to-one with a billboard as, say, an email, but they can still use OOH data to speak to demographics, time of day,

or events to deliver memorable content.

6. With data comes measurement and optimization: While measurement and attribution have lagged in OOH, Cindy

Gustafson, chief strategy officer at media and marketing services firm Mindshare, noted partnerships between OOH asset

providers such as Clear Channel and measurement companies such as Placed or PlaceIQ allow marketers to explore

behavior after consumers have been exposed to certain messages.

For its part, Tan said Posterscope also partners with mobile panel providers, which, in turn, incentivize consumers to

download apps that share information about their whereabouts. This enables Posterscope to track who is driving by its

billboards as well as what content is displayed at that precise moment–or what Tan called “the OOH industry’s version of a

viewed impression.”

7. Programmatic is coming: Further, Tan said, OOH is catching up in terms of how it buys inventory in real time, like its

online cousins. However, OOH has a long way to go, in part because the supply of physical assets is finite, but also because

the industry does not have audience data integrated with available offerings, and it lacks a common set of standards, he

noted.

Indeed, Andrew Sriubas, executive vice president of strategic planning and development at OOH media company Outfront

Media, said his company’s billboards can be bought in an automated fashion, although not necessarily with real-time bidding

just yet.

http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2016/7/19/outofhome-advertising-experiencing-a-renaissance.html#gs.vsc826U

USA TODAY Network Fast-Forwards Video Innovation

It is no coincidence USA TODAY Network announced that it doubled down on its commitment to digital video production at

virtually the same time eMarketer released its forecast of double digit growth in 2016 video ad spending, as both companies

have been anticipating this marketplace trend. In fact, eMarketer now projects that in 2016 video ad spending will reach

$10.3 billion or 14.3% of total digital, a number that is expected to grow to 15.1% in 2017.

To capitalize on this momentum, USA TODAY Network is poised grow audience and ad revenue based on its unique access

to content and its vast community connection. To ensure that USA TODAY Network’s video product competes effectively in

this “always on” marketplace, Chief Content Officer and Editor-in-Chief Joann Lipman recently hired Russ Torres, a NAACP

award winning broadcast news producer and former head of Yahoo! Studios to lead its Digital Video Content and Strategy

unit reporting to her.

"Russ is a leader in the video industry, and we are delighted that he is bringing his vision to the USA TODAY Network.

Investing in top talent is key to success in building a best-in-class video organization," Lipman said. “As our footprint

continues to expand, it is crucial to have a leader who can drive video innovation across our 109 newsrooms, working with

multiple platforms and maximizing opportunity to create top-of-the-line video content that touches the lives of more than

100MM people every month.”

USA TODAY Network continues to bolster its commitment to all digital media (including video) in order to broaden the reach

of its original newspaper content. This strategy is consistent with the recent rebranding of the Newspaper Association of

America to the News Media Alliance. The NAA rebrand (announced earlier this month) is a culmination of a larger strategic

plan by the association to highlight the news media industries evolution to multi-platform digitally savvy businesses and

premium content providers.

To provide perspective to the scope of this investment, USA TODAY Network’s editorial team currently publishes an

average of 110 original videos daily across channels and platforms, which is competitive with Buzzfeed, The Wall Street

Journal and The New York Times. In July, 2016 USA TODAY Network’s For the Win social news franchise, reached a new

milestone when its Foot Darts video exceeded 50 million views on Facebook. This viral success can be attributed to its bold

open, featuring never been seen before images, and the fact that it was produced specifically for the Facebook experience,

with fast load times and the option to view it with or without sound.

At its current rate of production, the company will hit 1.2 billion video views across all demos and platforms in 2016. This

number is expected grow exponentially in 2017 as online video will be distributed from virtually every media touchpoint to

meet increasing consumer demand across devices.

USA TODAY Network is integrating the best of all media channels (traditional, digital and emerging) to create a platform that

appeals to a diverse array of demographic audiences across verticals including News, Life, Money, Tech, Travel and Sports

and through innovative applications of technology. Its VR News Show VRtually is a good example of where it is headed.

With Advertising Week around the corner we will learn more about how the best and the brightest traditional, digital and

emerging leaders are preparing for the future. OMMA Video and others will be discussing potential game changers for the

medium including brand storytelling: live broadcasting, social distribution and mobility. They will also explore the evolving

rules of video creation, scale, aesthetics and measurement when everyone has a streaming story to tell. USA TODAY

Network should be at front and center of the conversation among forward-thinking innovative multi-media companies.

https://www.mediavillage.com/article/usa-today-network-fast-forwards-video-innovation/?utm_campaign=nl-

daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=USA+TODAY+Network+Fast-Forwards+Video+Innovation

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