In an attempt to make their messages stand out in increasingly cluttered online mailboxes this holiday season, a number of retailers are using digital greeting cards to entice customers into their stores. For the fourth year in a row, OfficeMax has teamed up with JibJab with the “Elf Yourself” (http://www.elfyourself.com/) holiday card promotion. About 35 million “Elf Yourself” cards were sent in 2008, according to OfficeMax (2009). Since 2006, the seasonal site has attracted 284 million visits in what some consider the most successful social-media marketing campaign that the Web has seen so far (McCarthy, 2009).
“ElfYourself” allows visitors to the Web site to affix their head, their family members' or even their boss’s to a dancing elf body put to music, ranging from hip and hop and disco to country and holiday classics. This year, Facebook and Twitter have joined in, allowing fans to tweet a link to their video creations or share them on their Facebook profile, or e-mail or embed the videos on their own Web sites. In addition, the site allows users to sign-in with Facebook Connect to find headshots from their own photo albums or their friends' (McCarthy, 2009). Those happy with their creations, can order merchandise featuring the elfin video for $4.99 to play back after the holidays or transfer it to an iPhone. Otherwise, the video expires once the holiday season has ended. Such changes promise to attract even more visits this year (Warren, 2009).
Check out this card on YouTube:
The concept of animated digital greeting cards is one that Deb Shops could use as well. But instead of elves dancing around in traditional red and green regalia, site visitors could create videos with characters wearing Deb formal wear, holiday favorites or other select fashions. Such a site would particularly appeal to Deb’s target audience, young women ages 13 to 25. The video would allow want-to-be models to try out the runway in a non-threatening, fun way.
Animation adds a sense of whimsy to holiday shopping that will attract young and older buyers alike. It adds movement to an otherwise static object. At holiday time, Deb shoppers will include many shopping for young friends and relatives, shoppers who normally may not find themselves among Deb customers. This is one way to garner attention and help Deb stand out among the clutter.
At a time when budgets are especially tight, animated e-cards and videos like "Elf Yourself" are proving more popular than ever. ComScore data recently reported that the category received a seasonal boost in traffic in October, thanks to Halloween, Boss's Day and Sweetest Day. The sector attracted 21.9 million Americans, a 15 percent increase from September, making e-cards the top-gaining category for the month (MarketingVox, 2009).
Deb could benefit from such a popular social media tool as "Elf Yourself," which has proven it can attract millions of visitors, many of whom also become customers.
References:
McCarthy, C. (2009, November 9). “Elf Yourself” Returns with Facebook and Twitter Power. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10393998-36.html.
MarketingVox.com (2009, November 23). Retailers Enlist E-card to Cut Through Crowded Inboxes. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://www.marketingvox.com/retailers-enlist-e-cards-to-cut-through-crowded-inboxes-045574.
Warren, C. (2009, November 10). Elf Yourself Returns for 2009 with Easy Twitter and Facebook Sharing. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://mashable.com/2009/11/10/elf-yourself-2009.
YouTube.com (2008, November 20). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cc1BzHMsmpM&feature=related.
No comments:
Post a Comment