Kelly Mooney's blog about the online shopping experience from the customer's point of view -- MooneyThinks.com

Gain & Mandy Moore -- Live from Chicago

The great scent of Gain detergent is such a great source of joy to the people who use it that many of them remember their first sniff, the moment they fell in love with Gain. It's true!

We were thrilled to work with the Gain brand and partner agencies on a contest and promotion that celebrates first sniff stories. Consumers shared their stories on the Gain site and then a winner was chosen--Stephanie from Chicago (yes, that's her on stage singing with Mandy). Her prize was a free, intimate concert with Mandy Moore (another passionate Gain user) in her town--at the new Lasalle Power Company.

So in addition to the 300+ fans who enjoyed the concert in person last night, we aired it live on Ilovegain.com, where we could engage Gain fans across the country with an entertaining, inspiring experience. In addition to singing songs off her new album, Amanda Leigh, she spoke at length about her own personal, genuine LOVE for Gain. 

(Check out the first sniff stories across the country!)

All New at Tide.com

I'm a Tide user...have been for years. Matter of fact, I was one of those geeks you might have questioned back in 2000 that downloaded the Tide Stain Detective onto my Palm -- to solve those quirky stain problems like "How do I get lipstick off my favorite cotton sweater? Hot water? Cold? Or, how do I get grass stain out of my son's nylon baseball pants?" I could never remember and this little tool saved me in the laundry room more than once. So as a marketer, I've followed Tide online for years. Naturally, I checked out their latest redesign. Hmmm. Seems like good intentions overall, but as a brand fan, the execution just gives me one big question of my own: What happened to Tide?

Consider the large search box in the center of the page. A key insight might have been that consumers come to the site to search for stuff, but why not address it in a Tide way (versus trying to be like Google)? I mean, if you're going to call that much attention to it, why not show some real searches, popular terms? Give it more attention without moving it around and making it so horsey.

Then of course, there's the big question at the top of the page. How smart that Tide is bringing consumer comments (answers to the big question) to the homepage, but when you ask a question so boldly, I expect a box or link to click on where I can answer it first. Sure I want to know what other people think, but set it up. The first question is "What do you think about Tide Total Care?" -- but they don't even tell you first what Tide Total Care is. The product is featured on the page, but its connection with the question wasn't obvious and it doesn't really say what it is.

Even the language feels off..."Check out what these people have to say." These people? Ouch.

And, then there's the product page. Partially I'm bummed because I liked the old one. It used to look like the store shelves. More than just cute, it gave you the in-store perspective you'll be facing when you actually want to get the product...which I still find overwhelming when shopping at Target, for example. Who knew there were so many formulations of Tide? Or, that we actually want that many choices? That's why Method is onto something.

This new product arrangement opens with a line-up that looks like it has holes in it. And the section says "Find the Tide that's Right for You" but doesn't tell you how to know which one's right. Fortunately the search feels pretty powerful, however when I typed in "no scent," (because that's what my husband prefers) the product recommendation was Tide with Febreze Freshness, which comes in Spring Renewal and Pedals & Rain scents. It did not bring up Tide Free. Guess, I'm off the hook for laundry this weekend. ;)

Kodak Proves to Be Timely, Not Just Timeless

Consumers  snap up pictures with their cameras or their phones wherever and whenever (remember when people just took pictures on special occasions???), so it's great to see Kodak recognizing that and supporting our need to capture every moment.

In sync with what's on a lot of our minds today, Kodak released the bi-partisan winners of its request for 2008 presidential election photos. The email also alerts readers to a photo of the day (just in case monthly wasn't enough for you). Of course you can sign up for the RSS feed if you like the daily inspiration to come right to you.

It's hard to deny the occasion that this nearly 2-year campaign has become, so I like how Kodak is using it to lead picture takers into a longer-term engaging experience with the brand.

Clinique Brings Personalization to Packaging

As the first of the holiday gift ideas start floating into our email boxes, I thought this was a great one to showcase. (At least, I thought so until I tried to buy one, but I'll get to that in a minute.)

It's pretty self-explanatory--upload a picture and Clinique puts it on a bottle of Happy perfume. It looks easy, it's not a bad price, only takes 10 business days, and voila, what a hot gift. Which gets me to the down-side. I tried lots of pics and they were either to big or too small for the site's requirements--according to all the error messages I kept getting. An associate here at RI had a little more success. She was able to upload an image, see it on a bottle and order it. They even offered her the opportunity to "showcase" her bottle design online. I'm anxious to see this OPEN experience and find out what Clinique customers are Happy about.

Robitussin Leverages a Healthy Dose of Personalization

How many times have you heard that personalization is key to your online marketing efforts?

But how much is enough?

And how much is too much?

I get so tired of those generic promotional emails that have my name in the subject line. And likewise, I get frustrated with retailers who try too hard to act like they know me--either asking me too many questions too early in our "relationship" or making uninformed assumptions about what I'd like.

It's just that "personalization" isn't a blank check to do whatever you want in the name of acting like we're friends when we may not even be acquaintances.

And that's why I thought this Robitussin email, forwarded to me from a friend, was so interesting. The funny thing is, the only personalization is the name of the town where she lives, but it's really appropriate--the email is an urgent alert, saying that doctors in her area are reporting more cases of flu and cold. And, of course, it lets her know that there's a Robitussin formula for her. Not sure if flu and cold is up in every neighborhood or if this is a fact provided by a legitimate health source. What's your take?

Gloss Email Campaign Lacks Creative Luster

I was making my weekly tromp through my spam filter this morning, weeding through the real trash and seeing what sales I missed last week, when I came across a handful of emails from Gloss.com.

It appears last week they had a 4-day, 4-offer summer event. I love that kind of thing. The Container Store did one a few months back. Usually these mini-campaigns mean a good sale and helpful content.

I found three of the four emails, forwarded them to my mail box and opened them up. I already had several windows open, so I got really confused as I tried to find these emails on my screen. I kept switching windows to see different emails (I thought) and kept coming back to the same one--then I realized, I had them all open, but they looked almost identical.

Now most people probably opened them when they arrived (on different days), but that might be equally confusing. It's great that (some of) the content changed each day, but with such a prominent image that stayed the same each day, I know I would have recognized the photo and tossed it out without reading it.

At the rate at which I comb through email, there's not a whole lot of time for the discerning eye. Sometimes I think email marketers need to think more like outdoor marketers. Of course email I can see up a lot closer than a billboard on the road, but they're similar in that my attention span is often just as limited. If I can't catch the gist (or the difference in this case) immediately, you've lost me.

I've got screenshots of emails #1 and #2. Now granted, I cropped them, (what's below the crop is a little different), but I cropped them at what I could see in my window, which would have been enough for me to think that it was just a duplicate email and delete.


The model is beautiful and it's a nice shot, but come on! There's enough stock photography in this world to get around a mistake like this one.

Amazon Gets Authentic With Customer Images

Imagine yourself shopping online, finding a product that kind of appeals to you, and wanting to get a closer look--maybe see that makeup in a different color, see that shirt on a person (who isn't a model), see the photos taken with that camera. And I'm not talking about the often-underwhelming ZOOM functionality.

Now Amazon is trying to leverage the energy behind the Consumer Generated Media craze to help its shoppers get more information before they buy--and letting its community of Amazonians do the heavy lifting. The site even points out in its reason why you should do it--manufacturers' images don't always work hard enough.

It's actually an interesting take on what Tahoe got so much flak about -- letting consumers have some control of the brand. With Amazon it's about letting them have some control of the experience. And, as you might expect, the consumer-supplied images aren't generally of a very high quality, but if it's giving other shoppers decision support, perhaps Amazon's letting go a bit will have a high payoff.

Here's a great example: An eye shadow sold in 32 colors...the manufacturer has supplied no more than a spec of a swatch of each color, but thanks to "wildfire68," we can see what the Sierra Leone shade REALLY looks like.

Bath & Body Works is Ready for the Perfect Christmas

Check out the new e-commerce experience at Bath & Body Works -- launched yesterday after an intensive team effort among the direct folks at Bath & Body Works as well as our staff and GSI. Not only can consumers shop (and purchase!) by Brand, Collection, and Category, but also by Solution -- such as Chapped Lips, Cracked Skin, Stress Relief, and my personal favorite – Shoppers Fatigue!

I have 6 sisters dispersed around the country (each with different lifestyles), so I was thrilled to find one section dedicated to my annual gifting dilemma – Create Your Own Perfect Gift. Here I can choose products from topics like The Perfect Bath, Ultimate Body Care, and Home Spa Treatment. And it's easy to add a gift card to an item (because every woman likes to receive them, but it's much more personal when they're attached to a small gift – wouldn't you agree?).

Gift presentation is the icing on the cake. I know my gifts will look beautiful when I choose the $4 Signature Gift Wrap and a personalized message. I can even send each gift to a different address, although that functionality is communicated a little late in the shopping process.

If your lunch hour permits the indulgence, check out the Tips and Trends sections. Kind of makes me wish the holidays would arrive sooner. Is that possible?!

A Lesson from Bounce: Be Careful What You Wish For

The funny part about this entry is that when I first went to write it earlier this week, it was about how great it was that Bounce (or P&G) was acknowledging that consumers use the product for things other than the traditional toss-it-in-the-dryer-to-eliminate-static-cling use, and how it was even leveraging this to get these consumers engaged on its site and help other people find new uses for this product that doesn't seem to have changed in decades.

That thought lasted about 5 seconds until I clicked through the Adrants link and found myself on BounceEverywhere.com reading entry after entry after entry about alternative uses for the product that go beyond the "non-traditional" labeling. Adult. Crude. R-rated. And funny. Use your imagination--because someone else obviously did. (In case you haven't clicked through yet, the site owners were fast to exercise their "right to remove a comment at any time.")

So what's the moral of the story?

Our clients ask all the time about community sections or interactive features, or other ways to get visitors to engage online and stay a few minutes longer. And I'll just repeat what I tell them: consumers who are interested enough in your product or company to come to your web site may really want to engage. So don't waste the opportunity. Begin a conversation with them. Let them go deep. Let them contribute. But make sure you're comfortable with all possible outcomes. If you give them full access, you have to be prepared for what they might come back with. And if you're a bit gun shy about it, establish the kind of controls that will enable you to sleep at night.

New Infusium 23 Site Helps Women with Problem Hair

With traditional ad spending dropping, many companies are looking to the web to educate consumers and inspire action. It works for cars, financial services, and, now, for shampoo.

Surprised?

Don't be...I'm psyched that we've had an opportunity to work with the folks at Procter & Gamble. This winter we embarked on a challenge from them: to create an engaging online experience for the line of well-established yet lesser-known shampoos, conditioners and treatments for problem hair, Infusium 23.

One of our primary tasks was to help cement the brand's positioning as the problem-hair experts.

So in addition to a creative overhaul to help elevate the look and feel of the brand to super-premium, we made sure the site would help serve the needs of women with damaged, flat, dry, dull or frizzy hair.

If your hair's thirsting for help, check it out.