One Kings Lane CEO Doug Mack

Backcountry.com: User-Contributed Merchandising

• Backcountry.com relies on their online community to contribute  to merchandising efforts by taking photos of their products being used.
• Summit crowd response: overwhelmingly positive.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs up. This particular technology will work for some companies and not others. Retailers need to think about their customers and how they’ll use the product to see if this is a good fit. For Backcountry.com, this effort was a total home run because of the nature of the products they sell. Doug also noted that Backcountry.com does an excellent job of moderating the customer submissions.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up. It’s not a showcase for the brand, it’s trying to help consumers making product decisions. Kelly pointed out this is a great no-cost way to showcase products in use.

Wet Seal: Social Shopping

• The goal of the “shop with friends” interface, similar to Facebook, is to allow consumers to shop and chat with friends online.
• Crowd response: mixed.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up. Kelly gave huge props to Wet Seal for this initiative based on the fact that they integrated a platform that their customer was already a part of. Definitely a worthy experiment.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs up. A lot of retailers are having a hard time figuring out how to use Facebook, but Wet Seal identified the perfect way to reach their consumer. Doug also liked the notion that this technology is used in real-time; bringing that aspect into the online retail experience is notable.

Resource Interactive's Kelly Mooney

Burberry: The Art of the Trench campaign

• The Art of the Trench campaign was basically an invitation to consumers to take a picture in the Burberry trench and share it with the company. Along with famous photographers, ordinary people could submit their photos, which essentially became a showcase gallery.
• Crowd response: Almost 100% loved it.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs up. The engagement with Burberry users is unbelievably “on brand.” There’s great marketing, imagery and encouragement for other users to submit. Every one of the Facebook Likes goes on someone’s Facebook page, which gives the campaign a face. Any brand could pull this off if they think it through, he said.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up.  This campaign made Burberry cool and could potentially live on forever. It’s very proper, but also gave the trench a street appeal and made it more hip. This campaign made people feel like a part of the brand, instead of just talking at them.

Tobi Fashionista: Virtual Try-on

• The Fashionista technology literally brings the store to the consumer with virtual fitting rooms.
• Crowd response: Pretty popular.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs down. In this case, the customer has to know how to use technology to play and it feels a little bit like a showoff of technology. Perhaps too much work for the consumer.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up. The technology is a little clunky, but it solves a real problem for real women. Women want to purchase the correct item the first go-round, not waste time with returns. In this case, our homes have become our fitting rooms. Kelly also loved the ratings and reviews based on body types. This may not be a perfect execution, but it solves a problem.

Tiffany & Co.: Digital Layering

• The functionality of this app includes a ring-sizer functioning for use on the iPad.
• Crowd response: Pretty popular.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs up. This was a discreet problem to solve, but it was executed perfectly. This brand found a thoughtful implementation for a common problem.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up. Compared to the alternative other brands recommended to find ring size, which includes a cut-out piece of paper wrapped around your finger, the Tiffany app is great. Kelly loved the simplicity of the goal: helping somebody make a choice.

Sears QR Codes: cross-over and mobility

• This app allows consumers to snap a pic of QR code and then find deeper product information, adding mobility to the in-store experience.
• Crowd response: Overwhelming like.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs up. For Doug, this one is a really big deal because it solves real world customer problems. It allows customers to have the resource of the best merchant in the company, and ask for their opinion. The technology can of course be augmented by knowledgeable staff in store, as well. Soon this technology will include payment functionality so customers can bypass checkout lines. It’s truly transformative technology.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up. This technology is going to become so normal, we won’t be able to have shopping experiences without a digital layer, she said. Kelly shared her experience of shopping in Target, price comparing with her mobile device, and then purchasing from Amazon.com while standing in Target.

Shopkick: Passive Geolocation

• As customers walk into a physical store, this app is a location based service that acts like “a dog-whistle for mobile” – tracking where you go.
• Crowd response: Mixed. A little over half don’t like it.
• Doug’s take: Thumbs up. The next big thing online will be (and is) the game-ification of the web and the entertainment value of shopping together without physically being with your friends. Retailers have already started using game theory – you don’t just shop, you win. It’s a very powerful force. And it’s going to be a mega-trend.
• Kelly’s take: Thumbs up. Kudos to Best Buy and Macy’s for trying it out in-store. Kelly doesn’t believe the “active check-in” apps like Foursquare will last long but she does believe the passive check-in is going to transform our experience. Recently, Apple was awarded a patent for temporary apps – apps that allow mobile to update automatically as customers walk into a venue, automatically updating with the appropriate app to make the most of the experience, and then disappearing after you leave.

You’ve made a business at, and written several successful books about, helping retailers and consumer product companies leverage the Internet and social media to tell their stories. Tell me a few really cool things happening right now at your company.

One of our main tenets is that social media is the new gateway to the brand. We’re continually researching, innovating, beta testing—all in the interest of innovating and pushing our work. We’ve created the RI:Lab, which is our R&D laboratory that’s focused in innovation, futuring and emerging platforms. We’re amidst a big push into mobile—WAP sites, couponing, etc. and our first iPhone app is launching any day now, with many more in the works. And soon we’ll begin testing The OPEN Hub, a private and secure social network for our clients. 2009 has been very good to us—not just through internal innovations; we’ve also had the great fortune of adding some really exciting new brands to our client roster.

You talk frequently about “open brands.” How can a retailer open its brand and why would they want to?

Open brands are strategically opened, emphasizing one or two consumer experiences that represent the most value. O.P.E.N. (On-demand, Personal, Engaging and Networked) is a framework for creating such experiences. Ultimately, an open brand is relevant and participatory—driven by consumer expectations and unmet needs and desires.

Brands have to find their sweet spot through a careful assessment to determine what’s right for them. For example, one retailer may highlight the Engaging experience (ENOP) and another might call out the Personal experience (PONE). We use an Open Brand Scorecard to evaluate brands and determine the best approach.

As for why brands should open up—there are 5 simple reasons, that we refer to as the “5 R’s”: Revenue, ROI, R&D, Relevance and Relationships. Recruiting is a bonus.

What recommendation would you give to a company trying to understand how to use Facebook or Twitter to communicate with customers?

There’s no one-size-fits-all prescription. Do your homework. Understand how your customers want to communicate. Look for opportunities to support, connect or delight consumers. There are lots of great case studies emerging. Use your agencies to get smart or network with peers to share…experiment, test and learn.

You talk a lot with consumers to try to get their insights on shopping and understand their behaviors. Based on those conversations, how you think customers have changed since the recession and when will retailers start to see spending rebound?

Consumer confidence is paramount in any downturn. They are weighing their options a little more heavily, searching harder for the best prices. Ultimately, they need more decision support. Retailers will surely see spending rebound, but if they really want to move the consumer off the dime, it’s time for true innovation.

The real question on everyone’s mind is whether consumer behavior has changed for good. We’re actually further researching this topic for the Annual Summit—are consumers recession-rewired or is their frugality temporary?—so stay tuned. My Shop.org Summit keynote will shine a spotlight on how urgently retailers need innovative new solutions that lower barriers to buying.

Do you see retailers missing any opportunities online? If so, what are they?

Well, we need to start viewing the destination website as akin to the flagship store for a brand. It’s the dispersed experiences that do the heavy lifting. Think about how digital can enable, create and connect the consumer journey.

That being said, I think retailers haven’t even scratched the surface of the potential social networks or mobile. Both channels are claiming their share of consumers’ time and no one has truly tapped into their power…yet.

If you had to make a list of three “retailers to watch,” what companies would you list?

As I mentioned before, it’s about social media and mobile integration. The ones to watch are the ones who are beginning to unravel the secrets…Apple, QVC, Amazon, and Victoria’s Secret PINK.

I also like how outdoor retailers like REI and Backcountry.com are integrating social media into their online experiences. I just received a printed “catalog-like” publication from Backcountry.com that was highlighting some of their most popular products, but all content, ratings and reviews, articles, etc. were repurposed from ONLINE community members.

In a recent blog post you wrote about paying attention, not only to what you do in a given workday but who you’re surrounded by. It seems you’ve worked with some pretty incredible people throughout your career. What can potential employees look for that will provide insight on “who” a company really is? On the flip side, how can people and hiring managers get it “right”?

Potential employees should really seek to understand the culture, the values, of an organization and how decisions are made (and empowered). Does the company have an ambitious vision—beyond revenue growth? Is there passion in the ranks?

Hiring managers need to look way beyond the resume. Seek attitude over aptitude. Is this person a self starter, leader AND a team player and can I learn from him or her? At the end of the day, can I trust this person, can I travel with this person, can I be confident that he/she will care about doing great work?

To have incredible people around you, you have to seek them out and always raise the bar–-and you will continue to upgrade talent naturally.

Tell me three goals you have over the next twelve months.

-More deeply understand the new (frugal) consumer—globally
-Strengthen our agency’s long-term competitive advantage
-Continue to find ways to uniquely connect with my kids, Luke (he’s 13) and my daughter Riley. She’s 10.

Several months ago, USA Today featured photos from the Resource Interactive headquarters in a story about pet-friendly workplaces. Can you talk about how this culture got started and your philosophies about pets at work?

We have always had a culture of inclusion, and that includes associates’ pets…I can’t remember a time we didn’t have them in the office. Pets are an important part of people’s lives – we respect that. Not to mention, they bring such a lively dimension to the workplace. Interestingly, we’ve never had issues with barking or messes or major distractions—it all just works out.

You always seem to be going a mile a minute. How do you unwind?

I’ve learned to compartmentalize, to draw boundaries. When Friday comes to a close, you have to claim your weekend for yourself and your family. Step away from the email, and close the door to work for awhile.

During the week, I run in the morning when my family is sleeping. It clears my head and psyches me up for the day. I also go to bed by 9:30 on Friday night, and wake up for yoga on Saturday morning. I typically nap on Sunday afternoon or flip through mindless magazines. It’s great.

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