Postscript #1

Rick Stanton, Creative Director / Managing Partner, Stanton & Everybody Advertising + Design

If there is a better poster child for why newspapers are essentially irrelevant than the Seattle Times, I would like someone to point it out.
If it weren’t for the New York Times Crossword and being stuck on a ferry for forty minutes … ah, you’ve heard this rant before.
But to follow up on my last about the importance of emotions in brand building and an earlier blog on staying aggressive in a recession, on page A10 & 12 Business* this morning in the Seattle Fish Wrapper there is an article about how Nordstrom is looking pretty good despite the nature of things.
There is a quote from Joshua Schulman, CEO of London-based Jimmy Choo shoes.
He notes that Nordstrom sold 135 pairs of $650 metallic pumps in the last two weeks.
He also added, “When the product is right and it makes an emotional connection, the customer is willing to buy.”
In the same article, Peter Nordstrom stated that the company sold a million pairs of Ugg shoes in November and December. For the month of December he said the company sold 22,000 pairs a day or 1,800 an hour, 30 a minute.
Important note: Nordstrom didn’t stop advertising. And they looked for ways to connect with the right merchandise and emotional experience.
Quoting Blake Nordstrom, “We think that when this thing does turn around, we have an opportunity to gain market share.” Duh.
I started preaching that sermon a year ago. Stay aggressive. Be part of the solution not the problem. And create reasons for people to do business with you and not your competition.

* Why does a newspaper that eliminated its business section and moved it to the last pages of main news have to split a relatively short article from page 10 to page 12? It can’t be because of the need for ad space.

Worth Reading: Seattle Times Article