13 minute read
Solutions Innovations:
by ensembleiq
From Twitter Ads to Al Activations
A roundup of technology-driven tools that drive consumer understanding, engagement and conversion on every step of the path to purchase.
BY BILL SCHOBER
In early April, Twitter announced it was testing three new formats it hopes to add to its advertising suite. “Interactive Text Ads” will present ads in a user’s timeline using a typeface that’s larger and bolder than the standard Twitter font. Additionally, a marketer can highlight (in 10 di erent colors) up to three words in the ad copy that, when clicked by scrollers, will drive them to a speci c landing page. Mondelez International’s Oreo, Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light and Wendy’s are among brands currently testing this format in the U.S. “Product Explorer Ads” will let advertisers showcase products in a form of 3D, enabling a user to swipe and rotate an image to see it from di erent angles. “Collection Ads” are designed around storytelling, enabling a brand to display a primary hero image with up to ve smaller thumbnail visuals below. The Product Explorer and Collection Ad formats are being tested by New Balance, Lexus and Bose, among others, in the U.S. In late
March, Perfect Corp., a beauty-tech solutions provider, partnered with the Mineral Fusion brand to launch a virtual try-on tool powered by its AI/AR technology. The tool will be available in
Whole Foods
stores, where shoppers can access the chain’s virtual try-on landing page through a QR code on in-store displays. Shoppers can try on shades using a preselected model image, by uploading a photo or even via live cameras. Trying on color cosmetics virtually is considered safer than onshelf testers.
Tangiblee, a Chicagobased immersive shopping and AR e-commerce platform, has been adding features to its “easy-to-deploy, no-code solution.” In 2021, it added Virtual Try-On capabilities for jewelry and watches, wall-art AR (to aid in room visualization), and the ability to process and onboard more than 5,000 new SKUs a day. This year Tangiblee is adding features that will auto-adjust product lighting and bundle furniture and home decor SKUs.
This spring, DeepBrain AI began showcasing its AI Humanimbedded “AI Kiosks,” which employ human-based AI avatars that can guide users through thousands of possible scenarios and real-time interactions. Seoul-based DeepBrain AI, which has o ces in San Mateo, California, recently deployed a rst-of-its-kind AI “Store Klerk” in Korea’s rst unmanned 7-Eleven. Built with deep-learningbased video synthesis and voicesynthesis-source technologies, the AI Human shop assistant can interact with shoppers conversationally, inform them about methods of payment, products and discounts, and can also respond to general inquiries.
Bill Schober is Editor Emeritus of Path to Purchase IQ. He’s been associated with the Institute since 1994, covering all aspects of consumer marketing with a special emphasis on the shopping experience. He welcomes any questions, comments, requests or pitches about Solutions & Innovations, and can be reached at bschober@ensembleiq.com.
Solutions & Innovations
This spring, Buymie, a mobile app operating in the U.K., began a test in Asda stores that lets customers ordering grocery delivery talk with their Buymie personal shopper out in the aisles. The customer can share preferences, make extra requests and, probably most important, give a thumbs up or down on substitutions in real time. The trial, built around onehour delivery, is limited to areas within a three-mile radius of the store. Until February 2021, Asda was a wholly owned subsidiary of Walmart, which still retains an equity investment and holds a seat on Asda’s board.
In April, Miami-based consumer branding group 100.co announced that a new skincare brand, Cay Skin by Winnie Harlow, is available at Sephora. Cay Skin was incubated using 100.co’s AI platform, which it says analyzes millions of retail data signals (such as product reviews), maps out connections and identi es market trends, brand sentiment and consumer preferences. In formulating Cay Skin, 100.co’s analysis revealed consumer preferences for a product that’s silicone-free, noncomedogenic, vegan, cruelty-free, certi ed CarbonNeutral, reef-friendly, dermatologist-tested and packaged in recycled materials.
In mid-April, San Francisco-based Instacart debuted Caper Counter, an AI-powered point-of-sale system at Boston’s Fenway Park. This system uses visual recognition and AI technology for contact-free scanning of packaged food and beverages and a frictionless checkout. The company claims it reduces transaction times by as much as 65%. The AI, which combines computer vision and “Sensor Fusion” technologies, visually detects and identi es items based on shape, color, key features and sizes. Caper Counter, which is designed for retailers with a small physical footprint and low SKU counts, is one of several in-store technologies being introduced by Instacart as it evolves into a full- edged “retail enablement platform.”
In January, Shopic introduced an AIpowered clip-on device that it claims turns standard shopping carts into “smart carts.” The New York-based AI provider (with headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel) says the detachable clip-ons turn a cart into a “sensor” that travels around the store collecting data on shelf analytics, heat maps, real-time planograms and active inventory feeds. Shopic says that because the clip-on always stays in the store, carts can be rolled out into parking lots. The clip-on charges on its stand so it doesn’t run out of power.
Tel Aviv, Israel-based Oriient recently announced that it is partnering with Google Cloud on in-store navigation and proximity marketing. Oriient’s IndoorGPS system is unusual because it requires no beacons or Wi-Fi, instead integrating with a business’ mobile app using magnetic sensors that already exist in every smartphone. In March, Instacart began adding Oriient’s in-store navigation to its platform, testing it with 15 retail partners at 80 store locations in 17 states. Oriient claims its software-only solution can pinpoint smartphones and smart carts to speci c locations in a store within 3 feet of accuracy.
In mid-March, San Antonio, Texas-based Vericast introduced a “Universal Coupon solution” that enables shoppers to download savings on their phones and redeem them at any retailer. This new “Universal Coupon Standard” was developed by The Coupon Bureau, a nonpro t working with the Association of Coupon Professionals, as a more secure and traceable format for manufacturers and retailers to counter coupon fraud. Vericast says it will deliver its Universal Digital Coupons on behalf of clients through its digital marketing portfolio, which includes display and video advertising, dynamic mobile and connected TV. Using the Valassis Consumer Graph, Vericast says it will integrate predictive intelligence to understand consumer behavior, making up to ultimately 7 trillion daily model calculations to optimize delivery targeting via a base map of 120 million U.S. households.
In March, Pathr.ai, an AI-powered “spatial intelligence platform,” introduced three new analytics tools. (A spatial intelligence system measures shopper movement via existing cameras.) Pathr’s “CPG Display Tool” analyzes dwell times, combines it with store-level data and generates data related to marketing promotions and overall categorymanagement e orts. The “True Conversion Rate Tool” analyzes groups (i.e., is it a family, a couple, random singles, etc.), so buyer-conversion rates are more accurate. The “Brand E ect vs. Location Tool” helps retailers assess how store-within-a-store brands are performing.
In late February, Zip, a “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) payment processor, launched a new feature on its app that lets retailers showcase their newest deals. The feature, a “carousel” of o ers and discounts, sits on the app’s home screen, enabling retailers to promote seasonal deals and campaigns. Sydney, Australiabased Zip, previously known as Quadpay, operates in 14 countries and lists Walmart, Amazon, The Home Depot, Best Buy, Apple and Nike on its roster of o cial “Zip Stores.” The app enables shoppers to buy an item now and pay for it in four installments, with the rst being paid up front and the rest paid over six weeks. The app gives the shopper a level of “spending power” on Zip app orders (based on credit history and other factors), but it is not an open line of credit as each transaction is reviewed and approved separately.
Insider Intel
New Kleenex Packaging Celebrates Conversations
BY CYNDI LOZA
Facial tissue boxes, typically designed in neutral or simple patterns, have long been items that blended into the background. Kimberly-Clark’s (K-C) Kleenex sought to challenge this perception with the launch of a Target-exclusive tissue pack aimed at celebrating and sparking conversation about design, diversity, women and the planet.
The Kleenex “Celebrate the World Around Us” SKUs rolled out to Target stores and Target.com in January, encompassing four 120-count tissue boxes in one of eight designs created by: • Nerissa Thomas, creator of Rose
Merry Designs, from Niagara
Falls, Ontario, Canada; • Sara Alfaraj, an artist of British and Middle Eastern heritage; and • Shruti Shyam, a visual designer currently based in New York.
Varying by pack, designs in the collection depict vibrant images and scenes, such as a chameleon in a lush, green jungle background; multiple people with di erent skin and hair colors; and hands with henna tattoos or vitiligo. Appleton, Wisconsin-based Kay James Design helped the brand nd the designers to create the packaging.
Launching the pack in the rst half of the year made sense for the brand as it coincided with Black History Month in February, Women’s History Month in March and Earth Month in April. “We wanted to nd something that could really celebrate all of those moments,” says K-C’s Leah Boileau, associate brand manager, shopper marketing, adding that the pack will be available through June.
Considering the mass merchant’s shoppers and its exclusive apparel launches, Target felt like the natural retailer partner for this endeavor. “Target is kind of known for their exclusive launches, their design-centric collections,” Boileau says. “Their [shoppers] are looking for that elevated style. And typically, their [shoppers] are also a little bit more aware, socially conscious, [and] looking for their purchase to mean a little bit more and have a purpose behind it.”
The brand’s target shoppers when developing the program were Millennials and Gen Xers who “fall into that style-seeker category,” Boileau says. “So by elevating our designs to stand out and work as ... [pieces] of artwork displayed in the homes or their spaces, we’re speaking to those style-seekers.”
The retailer also was involved in selecting and narrowing down the nal eight designs. “Target is really good at pushing their vendors to think outside the box and do something di erent. Do something exciting,” Boileau notes. “How are you going to change and grow the category?”
INFLUENCER SUPPORT
To drum up support for the packs, the brand teamed up with Target’s Roundel to tap the retailer media network’s In uencers by Roundel solution, powered by in uencer marketing platform LikeToKnowIt (LTK), to identify 10 female Instagram in uencers who could promote the packs in March, April and May. In uencers also were sent Target- and Kleenex-branded kits lled with a tissue box, coasters mirroring the designs on the boxes, and conversation cards asking questions, such as “Where do you nd inspiration?”
“Our theme is #TissueSessions, and it’s kind of like the name that we’re giving these conversations that people are having. You know, grab your pack of Kleenex, set it on the table, get into these discussions,” Boileau says. The brand also enlisted Instagram in uencers Target Does It Again to promote the packs and host a giveaway awarding kits to followers. “We are super proud of this,” she adds.
Elsewhere online, a brand page within Target.com plugged the designers and employed an animated leaderboard ad that spotlighted various designs in the collection. In terms of creative, Boileau says the page was “some of our best work. The way that Roundel was able to pull those elements o of the packs and integrate them into the brand page — into our [online ads] — was really cool.”
The marketing plan also included an in-store endcap stocking the Celebrate the World pack and other Kleenex SKUs, an Instagram post from Kleenex, and a Target Circle digital offer in April. Minneapolis-based VMLY&R Commerce provided shopper marketing agency support from concept to execution. IQ
2022 WEBINAR TOPICS
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The Store as a Community Hub
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Beer, buds and brew — how BevAlc, cannabis and coffee are changing the retail game
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