Shop Talk

RadioShack ditching Radio in favor of The Shack

RadioShack is giving itself a new, shorter nickname – The Shack.

The gadget retailer is introducing a new ad campaign and intends to refer to itself as The Shack – something it says customers have already been doing.

“Our customers, associates and even the investor community have long referred to RadioShack as ‘THE SHACK,’ so we decided to embrace that fact and share it with the world,” said Lee Applbaum, RadioShack’s Chief Marketing Officer, in a statement.

While consumers often think to go to RadioShack to buy cables or batteries, the retailer said it is “critically important” that customers also think to go to it for mobile products.

“You will see a real focus on mobility and wireless products from leading brands in our new advertising,” Applbaum said.

The branding change brings to mind a switch made by former rival Circuit City.  Circuit City began calling its stores “The City” not long before it filed for bankruptcy protection and then liquidated it stores.

Cola truce? Coke and Pepsi trade niceties on Twitter

Cola rivals Coke and Pepsi gave their long-standing feud a rest last week after a user-provoked experiment on Twitter prompted the two pop makers to trade friendly greetings on the popular social networking service.

Coca-Cola responded first to a clever user’s message suggesting that the two make nice on Twitter, offering “A gracious (yet competitive) hello” to Pepsi. In return, Pepsi extended a Twitter-style olive branch of sorts to its competitor: “Can rivals and tweeps coexist? We’re willing to find out. ” Tweeps, for those unversed in the lingo, is a cutesy term for Twitter users.

The whole episode began with the single Twitter message sent by a digital media consultant from a web marketing firm called Amnesia Razorfish based in Sydney, Australia, but quickly grew as other users got in on the fun and repeated (or “retweeted”) the message to their own friends and followers across the social network.

Within three hours of the original message being sent, Coke had fired off its friendly response and even decided to add Pepsi to its Twitter network. Pepsi took a bit longer to respond but wasn’t far behind in returning the virtual handshake.

Considering both companies’ long-standing commitment to the whole cola-war marketing scheme, such a quick decision to take part in the digital truce may come as a bit of a surprise. But what’s probably more illuminating about the viral affair is that it shows two companies with deeply established brands adapting their marketing strategies to the world of social networking.

Whether the whole incident actually compelled anyone on Twitter to go out and buy a bottle of Coke or Pepsi is less important than the essential message it sends to consumers – namely, that their brands are still fun and youthful.

Moreover, as people increasingly turn to the Internet for information and entertainment, companies are being forced to accept that they have less control over what information gets to consumers. In such an organic environment, top-down brand management no longer seems to be a sustainable strategy.

Macy’s celebrates the next 150 years

Macy’s is still finding ways to celebrate in what could be a dark winter for retail this year. Customers entering Macy’s flagship store in New York City’s Herald Square it opened today were met by the pounding beats of the Soul Tigers Marching Band, lots of red balloons and a barrel full of exploding ribbons.  

CEO Terry Lundgren was there cutting a ribbon promising another 150 years for the department store, to tack onto its current 150th birthday. A gaggle of employees sang “Happy Birthday Macy’s!”, threw confetti and danced.

Macy’s birthday celebration comes at the same time most retailers are struggling with flagging sales as consumers pressured by a global financial crisis, a housing market crash, rising food prices and a credit crunch cut back spending on non-essential items.   

Macy’s recently cut its own forecasts, but is also reaching out to a bit more investors. Last week, it announced it will temporarily reinstate monthly reports of its sales to keep the market updated during uncertain times.

Rowland Hussey Macy opened his first store in 1858 at 6th Avenue and 14th Street in New York and made $11.06 in sales its first day, or around $345 in today’s dollars. The company reported 2007 sales of $26.32 billion and operates more than 850 stores including both Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s.   

(Photo/Reuters)

In your face, Wheaties!

Michael Phelps, the  U.S. swimmer who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics (perhaps you have heard of him), is taking his rightful place amongl U.S. sports stars: on a cereal box.   But not on a box of Wheaties, the General Mills cereal that began putting athletes on the box of “The Breakfast of Champions” in 1934 with Lou Gehrig.   Phelps, instead, will appear on rival Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes boxes.   Kellogg said that Phelps will be featured on boxes that are expected to hit store shelves in mid-September. The announcement came in a news release that also told us “He’s Gr-r-r-eight!”    Marta Cyhan, Kellogg’s ice President, global promotions, said in the release that Kellogg sponsors both the U.S. Olympic team and Phelps.   A spokeswoman also said that company has also featured past U.S. Olympians like Peggy Fleming, Bonnie Blair and Kristi Yamaguchi on its boxes.   By the way, the first swimmer shown on  a Wheaties box on the Wheaties website? Esther Williams on a 1959 box that promoted the opportunity to win an Esther Williams Swimming Pool.

 (Reuters photo)