Tag Archives: direct marketing

by | Wednesday, January 3, 2024 · 7:01 am

Rom-Com now means Romance-Commerce for Walmart

Product placement has maxed out with Walmart’s new shoppable show.  Released in December, the 23-episode video series combines romantic comedy with shopping – two of our favorite things in one place!

The series, named “Add to Heart,” is available on TikTok, Roku, and YouTube. While watching, viewers can buy more than 330 featured items directly from Walmart. Each video is about three-minutes and has at least 10 shoppable items.

The plot? Well, it’s a typical romantic-comedy where girl and guy meet and fall in love. The series follows Jessica, who after losing her luggage while traveling, visits Walmart and bumps into an old flame. There are some twists of course. If this sounds like a Hallmark movie to you, you are right on track.

Almost every item in the videos – including fashion, furniture, and décor – can be found and shopped at Walmart. The company calls it a “fun, unique way for customers to be entertained while shopping for the great deals on top brands that they expect from Walmart.”

According to Walmart, nearly half of U.S. consumers say they have made a purchase through social media. This video series hopes to capitalize on that trend, as well as watching the series as a family for entertainment.

Sshhh… the show is on…

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Show series videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOM80Etqef8&list=PLs6zAwIMDe3POfn2wEXb5mOLmLwaJ1M0u
  2. Wall Street Journal video analysis: https://www.wsj.com/video/series/news-explainers/rom-com-meets-shopping-why-walmart-launched-a-shoppable-series/24941BEA-E081-41FB-A4C9-376446B54FA2
  3. OPTIONAL: Instructors might show an episode and buy an item in class. Students could also participate.
  4. Then, evaluate the entire process from viewing to receipt of products.
  5. What other companies might try this?
  6. Divide students into teams. Have each team select a brand and develop a one-paragraph pitch on how a similar tactic might be used.

Source: Riley, C. (1 December 2023). Walmart launches shoppable ‘Romcommerce’ series. Supermarket News.; Wall Street Journal. (4 December 2023). Rom-com meets shopping? Why Walmart launched a shoppable series. (Video.) Wall Street Journal.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | Thursday, June 15, 2023 · 6:54 am

Netflix Ends DVD Service

It’s been a long time coming, but Netflix has announced that after 25 years and 5.2 billion discs, it is ending its DVD-by-mail business segment.

We can still remember how innovative Netflix was when it started its mail movie rental business using its trademarked red envelopes. Just select a movie and add it to your queue, get in the mail, and return it whenever you want. No late fees. No postage required. No driving to stores. Genius.

Netflix truly was a pioneer, first in mailing DVDs directly to homes, then in recognizing that viewers would move to Internet streaming services. At its peak in 2003, there were an estimated 20 million Netflix subscribers receiving movies in the mail.

Today, Netflix has 232.5 million subscribers around the world and is the market-leader in streaming entertainment. The company continues to evolve services, adding a tiered payment system that lowers the price for viewers willing to watch advertisements. It also plans to crackdown on password sharing starting the new tier in four markets – Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain. Netflix has stated that the revenue growth in Canada is faster than in the U.S.

Netflix also attributes its growth to new seasons of existing shows, plus original series such as “The Night Agent” along with original films  such as “Murder Mystery.”

How do you watch movies?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Review Netflix in class. https://about.netflix.com/en
  2. Poll students: What streaming services do they have?
  3. Pick the top services named by students. Divide students into teams and have each team research a service, including company history, revenue, types of services, prices, number of subscribers.
  4. NOTE: As an alternative, teams could prepare a SWOT analysis for each company.
  5. Next, discuss the components of a situation analysis: company, general industry, trends, key competitors, technology, legal, etc.
  6. Ask students what data they would want in order to make a marketing decision for Netflix services. What data was used to determine it was time to cancel mailing DVDs?
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team use laptops to do general research to answer the questions above. (ex: overview of industry, size, growth, new technologies, environmental impact, etc.)
  8. Debrief the exercise. What will be the next chapter in the entertainment streaming industry.

Source:  Sperling, N. (18 April 2023). Netflix will end its DVD service, 5.2 billion discs later. New York Times.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

by | Thursday, March 23, 2023 · 6:01 am

Membership Programs: Barnes & Noble

Most of us have a number of memberships and subscriptions. We have Amazon Prime, Walmart+, Netflix, Disney+, ESPN+, Apple, Spotify, and more. We might also have subscription food services plans as well. It just seems like every business is working on a subscription or membership, trying to capture that elusive recurring revenue stream – and of course lock us in to its services to the exclusion of other services.

When will it end? Well, it certainly won’t be ending soon. In fact, more and more services, memberships, and subscriptions are offered every day.

Barnes & Noble has entered the fray as it continues to compete with Amazon and its very popular Amazon Prime program. Of course Barnes & Noble’s membership is focused around book sales only (mostly). The company is now offering a $40-per-year membership program that offers customers 10% discounts, free shipping, a yearly tote bag, and size upgrades on drinks.

If the $39.99 program is too pricey, the company has also launched a lower-tier membership program – for free. That program rewards customers with virtual stamps for every $10 spent; 10 stamps equals a $5 credit towards purchase.

The big benefit to Barnes & Noble is to learn more about its customers so that it can provide more products and services to them. If companies learn what we are buying, marketing programs can be tailored to each the consumers more effectively. Barnes & Noble can incent specific purchases using new information gained from the memberships.

What memberships do you have?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss membership programs. Include subscriptions in the discussion.
  2. Poll students – how many memberships or subscriptions do they have? What is the monthly/yearly cost in total?
  3. Show Barnes & Noble website for membership program: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/membership/
  4. Discuss the various promotional tactics that can be used for launching a new service or product.
  5. Have students come up with tactics and list all the tactics on the white board (ex: billboards, print, direct mail, etc.).
  6. Divide students into groups to work on this exercise.
  7. For Barnes & Noble Premium Membership, have each team select three different tactics to use for promotion. For each tactic, explain why it was selected and how it will be used.
  8. Debrief by putting together the entire suggested lists on the white board. As a final step, have the entire class vote on the top three tactics to use.

Source:  Trachtenberg, J. (17 February 2023). Barnes & Noble takes page from Amazon with $40-a-year membership program. New York Times.

Leave a comment

Filed under Classroom Activities

Tagged as , , , ,