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The fact that a major fashion brand like Gucci is investing in Roblox underscores how, in recent months, retail brands have increasingly been eyeing ways to build out a presence on the platform.
Modern Retail spoke to Becca Sawyer, head of small business and operations at TikTok, about how the company is pitching itself to small businesses. Sawyer, who has worked at the company since May 2020, is leading an effort to expand TikTok’s offering to the business world.
As the country opens up again and Sweetgreen continues its expansion into new markets, the fast-casual salad chain is starting to invest more in out-of-home advertising. Doing so is meant to “amplify the marketing we’re doing online,” according to Nathaniel Ru co-founder and co-CEO of Sweetgreen.
Many brands see immense potential in YouTube's new video unit Shorts. And while Shorts is often cast as a mere TikTok doppelgänger, its unique infrastructure, and especially its search tools, might make it an especially appealing home for brands looking to create content that retains longer-term relevance.
Streaming and CTV have taken on new importance over the past year, both as people are watching more TV during the pandemic, and amidst an upheaval in digital marketing. As a result, DTC brands are speeding up their efforts to test out TV advertising, to break up their reliance on Facebook and Google.
Petco's next marketing strategy includes a major foray into video commerce. Starting this week, the pet-focused retailer will run shoppable live streams via Facebook Shops. According to the company, the idea is to engage highly engaged pet parents via social media feed, in hopes of driving more real-time sales.
When Walmart's chief marketing officer William White joined the company last May, America's largest retailer was in rapid response mode. During a video chat at the Modern Retail Summit last week, White spoke about how the company had to shift its marketing strategy during the coronavirus pandemic last year, as well as how his team is trying to make Walmart a "culturally and emotionally relevant brand.
The chain has hiked its TV investment by 275% year-over-year and has plans to advertise on TV for the rest of 2021 across network and cable in the 22 markets where it has a footprint.
At last week's Modern Retail Summit, professionals came together and spoke about how they're thinking about some of the industry's most pertinent problems, like how to stand out on Amazon and preparing for a post-cookie landscape. Leaders from top brands described the trials and tribulations they faced over fireside chats, and attendees shared persistent thorns in their sides at break out working groups.
OnlyFans is increasingly becoming an appealing platform for brands looking to stand out. Unlike Facebook, Instagram and other marketing channels, the subscription-based app lends itself to more boundary-pushing content. It's why some brands are adding OnlyFans accounts to their roster in hopes of growing their digital presence.
While Reddit has 52 million daily active users whose passions span anything from stocks to skincare, brands and marketers alike have been scared to use it. But more companies are testing it out and seeing promising results.
Over half a dozen ad platforms -- including Bidstack, Frameplay, AdInMo and InMobi -- offer some version of an in-game ad service, and they are increasingly attracting the attention of major companies. In the past few months, Postmates, Burberry, Axe, Burger King, Asda and 7 Eleven have all run ads within video games like Off the Rails 3D and Gravity Zero -- suggesting that in-game advertising, while still very niche, is becoming a real consideration in retail marketing.
Williams-Sonoma-owned homewares brand West Elm announced a program called the West Elm Collective. The company described it as an ambassador program that lets West Elm work with both bigger and smaller online celebrities, giving them their own storefronts to feature select items.
The messages app is starting to replace the email inbox as the most sought-after piece of digital real estate among brands and retailers. Using text messages to promote sales or new product launches are the most popular tactics, but marketers are still trying to figure out what kinds of text messages people would actually want to receive from them.
Major brick-and-mortar players have begun investing in live-stream shopping -- with Walmart testing out TikTok livestreams and Nordstrom beginning to roll out their own livestream platforms. But the phenomenon is not new in the U.S. -- small businesses have been building sizable livestream audiences for years, especially on Facebook. Yet the reaction from businesses has been mixed -- and some remain leery of selling directly on the platform, opting instead to let third-party apps handle their sales.
Tehmina Haider is the head of Harry's Lab, which both builds new CPG brands as well as invests in and acquires existing ones. Haider described the operation as being a "diversification engine." She joined the Modern Retail Podcast and explained how she's built out the program over the last three years.
Read MoreAt the Modern Retail Marketing Leaders Forum, we’ll bring together senior retail marketers to discuss the challenges they’re facing and the solutions they’re seeking in the era of smarter retail.
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