Consistent message applies to Web, too

Discount Store News, Feb 7, 2000 by Peter J. Gallanis

The consumer market is flooded with thousands of advertising messages across a wide variety of media each day, and this creates an almost irresistible temptation among retailers--especially on-line retailers--to try to reach their core demographic with a shock-value, hit-and-run message. But as dot-coms and traditional bricks-and-mortar companies attempt to distinguish themselves through the clutter of a new market, companies' advertising advisors are steering them toward the old reliable message of honesty and consistency--a notion that is slowly resurfacing as a cornerstone of effective advertising.

One such advisor, Doug Raymond, ceo of the Retail Advertising & Marketing Association Intl. (RAMA), says advertisers must avoid the as-seen-on-TV, dot-com advertising, and instead present customers with a message that emphasizes a company's honest image.

"Dissemination of information in a consistent, honest method," should be any company's top priority, Raymond said. "If you don't follow through on your promises, success will be short term and counter productive."

This rebirth of humble-pie, mass-market advertising is a direct consequence of a change in the market. With the sudden wave of Internet advertisers to have hit the market in the last few years, companies everywhere are entertaining the idea of enlivening their marketing campaigns with a radical, seat-of-the-pants departure from convention. But advisors like Raymond see through that temptation.

"Technology is changing so rapidly that everybody has to be primed, positioned and willing to change the way they advertise," Raymond said. "But [the Internet] must blend with the core business and execute the mission of the company and the corporate strategy of the bricks-and-mortar entity."

The smart companies are taking their time to create a strategy for their dot-com extensions, and those that realize the Internet transcends the ability to only become a revenue generator will become the most successful. "The Internet may also be used for community, research, database development and information exchange," Raymond said.

Wal-Mart, Sears, Petsmart, Lands End, The Gap and Old Navy are among the companies who are doing it right. "These are very customer-friendly Web sites who deliver on their promises."

During the holiday season, Lands End didn't just focus on e-commerce, but blended community into its site. The retailer offered real-time, on-line consumer help (in the form of chat rooms) that proved to be successful. DSN research showed that the average time to have an on-line question answered was approximately two to three minutes. Consumers post questions about anything from how to make a purchase on the site to the available forms of payment and delivery.

Lands End also enjoyed success by marketing to its core consumer base to limit the number of catalogs they mailed for the holiday season, and Raymond said they were able to maintain sales levels.

Others, such as Sears, limits its offerings on the Web to products they believe will drive its core business. Sears heavily advertises and markets its Kenmore line of home appliances on the Web and while Sears won't comment on Internet sales, one Sears's executive said on-line appliance sales were "exceeding expectations." Sears has also added its popular Craftsman line of tools to the site. By focusing on sales that serve them best on the brick and mortar side of the business, Sears has stayed consistent with its marketing plan.

Wal-Mart, the nation's number one retailer, views the Internet and e-commerce as a compliment to its brick and mortar stores. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa Barryhill said Wal-Mart's competitive advantage is blending its marketing and advertising into its e-commerce strategy. Wal-Mart uses its in-store signage to advertise its on-line presence and vice versa. "We include our web address not only on our in-store signage, but our circulars, television advertising and even on our delivery trucks. Our key focus is to be where we need to be for our customers," Barryhill said.

Among the strategies that work best are those that use the Internet as a tool to accomplish a company's marketing and advertising goals. "The net has been and will continue to be the most exciting and complicated tool that has been invented," Raymond said. "Any provider of services that doesn't recognize the net as the number one tool to come along in our lifetime is foolhardy." The goals and strategies must blend seamlessly between the bricks-and-mortar and dot-corn sides of the business.

Wal-Mart, like all brick and mortar stores, are limited by physical space that limits the amount of available skews. But on-line, the offerings are limitless. "In our stores we may offer up to 100,000 skews, but on the net we offer 600,000," Barryhill said.

Additionally, Wal-Mart's site is organized similar to its brick and mortar counterparts, complete with an on-line "greeter." "The site can even welcome you by name," Barryhill said. Like many retail sites, Wal-Mart has a search function so customers may find the nearest store. Wal-Mart also offers a registration process so customers may receive advertisements from store nearest the consumer.