Local

You all know Macy’s, right? Y’know, the folks behind the Thanksgiving Day parade and corporate mergers and “Miracle on 34th Street”? They’re a 150-year old retailer, as “bricks and mortar” as you can get.

But, for an old dog, they’ve got some new tricks. They’re starting to get in front of 21st-century customers with a local, mobile, social web presence, complete with video.

Here’s what I mean.

I was walking past the retailer’s flagship 34th Street store yesterday and saw this clever graphic on their window:

Cute, right? A nice, clever way of embedding a mobile QR code into the company’s logo. But, without instructions for its use, will any of their customers know what it’s about? Smarty-pants that I am, I sent the following tweet:

A few minutes later, @Macys (the Macy’s Twitter account) responded with:

Note the embedded link in Macy’s tweet to a YouTube video displaying how the company’s “Backstage Pass” works. Another Twitter user also let me know that the company is heavily promoting these “Backstage Passes” in the free “AM New York” newspaper.

So, think about this for a second:

• Macy’s—a 150-year-old retailer—uses QR codes in their store windows,a clear marriage of local and mobile marketing.
• This “old dog” reinforces their message via print advertising in a free local daily.
• This “dinosaur” monitors the social web on Twitter for use of their brand terms—and responds to their customers there.
• This “traditional bricks-and-mortar” store shares videos on YouTube explaining both their value to consumers and how this new feature works.
• And, as one last social play, they’re gaining interest among early adopters (i.e., me and @JonKagan) who, no doubt, will pass the word along to their friends and family. Just like I’m doing now.

Oh. Even better, each of these efforts directs consumers to Macy’s website.

While I think the company can do a better job on specific elements (for instance, an explanation of what a QR reader is in the video wouldn’t be such a bad thing and their calls-to-action are a bit weak), it’s still a great example of using social, mobile, local and video to create an engaging, integrated web presence to promote your web site.

For a company that got it’s start in the 19th century, that’s some awfully modern marketing. During the many decades they’ve been around, the corporation hasn’t always gotten it right. But is it possible this kind of thinking is why they’re still in business after 150 years? And, is it possible for you to do the same thing?

---

Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your business via the web, every day. Get more than just news. Get understanding. Add thinks to your feed reader today.

Or subscribe via email.

And while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow Tim on Twitter.

Technorati Tags:
call-to-action, E-commerce, e-commerce, E-commerce strategy, e-marketing, ecommerce, internet business, internet marketing, iphone, marketing, marketing best practices, mobile, online marketing, social, social commerce, social marketing, social media, social strategy, strategy, twitter, video, YouTube

Tagged as: Local, local search, Mobile, mobile commerce, mobile internet, mobile marketing, mobile web, social, social commerce, social marketing, Social Media, social media marketing, social network, social networking, social networks, social search, social strategy, video, youtube

{ 0 comments }