The Method Pop-up Retail Experience

I had my first pop-up retail experience this weekend courtesy of Method. It started with excitement as I thought perhaps the store was the newest fixture on Newbury Street. But upon entering, the salesperson who greeted me explained that the store would be gone April 28th. It was a temporary disappointment as I knew this would still mark an opportunity to stock up on my favorite cleaning supplies, and of course there were special offers to be had. It also presented an opportunity to experience pop-up retail first hand.

The store was beautiful, it was well thought out with lots of greenery, my favorite being a toilet bowl filled with daffodils and grass. There was a photo booth to add to the playful mood and the signage was a challenge to the city's residents - Detox Your Home Boston.

The products were displayed on clear shelving, by scent making it easy to pick up all the products in a single scent family and there were scent bottles to involve the senses even more. Jars of colorful gumballs helped tie the color pallet together and there were dog treats on hand for any four-legged visitors (as a dog owner I can tell you I'm much more loyal to brands that keep dog treats on hand). Reusable bags made of recycled plastic were given to shoppers to tote their purchases home in, helping to drive home the "green" message. My only complaint was that the full spectrum of products was not available, making it hard to take advantage of the 5 for 20 dollar special without purchasing duplicates.

If I was reader of the Method blog I would have benefited from knowing that I could bring in my chemical based cleaners and trade them in for Method cleaners. Though readers of the blog are probably already Method customers and might not have any chemical based cleaners in their homes, hmmm, perhaps the blog wasn't the best place for that message...And if I had mentioned "beantown is a green town" I would have received an extra 10 percent off my purchase. But I'm not a reader of the Method blog so I missed out on the incentives. I did visit the blog after visiting the pop-up store to learn more about their tour.

Boston was Method's first stop, NYC will be the next. I'd be curious to see how at the end of the travels pop-up retail helps Method to convert people to its biodegradable, earth friendly cleaners and what kind of ROI it produces, if one can be determined.

The Boston stop was maestroed perfectly. The store popped up on a high traffic (with equal parts local and visitor traffic) street around Earth Day. The message was succinct and the scents produced by the store were intoxicating. Staff was friendly and they were will trained in the message of the brand. As for myself, I now have enough All Surface Cleaner and Wood For Good Surface Cleaner to last a year. However, I'll need to make the trip to Target to pick up some more Wood For Good Floor Cleaner as that's the one thing I really needed.

Image taken from the Method Blog.

Is it time to change your positioning?

If you agree with Jack Trout and Al Ries’ definition of positioning you would agree that positioning lies within the minds of your customers. So is it a cause for concern when your product is positioned in the minds of your customers in the same way a competing product is positioned in the minds of its customers? That’s the surprise that just revealed itself in a research project I was perusing. And to me that says the positioning is not a differentiator it’s an expectation of the product and so, not a position at all. If the same research was conducted five years ago it would have been likely that only one company would have claimed the position, but this particular product is easily replicated within a short cycle (names being withheld to protect the guilty). And the competition has worked hard over the past few years to turn all points of distinction into points of parity. My question is, what’s the smartest move? As I see it there are three options:

1. Scream louder and push the message harder than the competitors
2. Figure out a point of distinction that supports the positioning, but isn’t easily replicated by the competition
3. Reposition
   

The first option is obviously the worst. If there’s one thing that’s apparent in today’s world of marketing it’s that screaming doesn’t work – at least not as a sustainable option. The second option is viable. But I worry that the company would continue to support a positioning that is shared, not by one competitor, but by all competitors and is no longer a distinct feature of one. It would require a lot of innovation to align the positioning back to a singular product or company. The third option requires more research. It would be important to understand if there was another aspect of the product that stands as a point of distinction between the competing products. It could be an enlightening process that would further support that a company has little control over its positioning. In the end, it’s your customers and prospects that will determine it for you. It’s an option that would require a new way of thinking, so it would be important to have a corporate atmosphere that would support a change in direction. I think it’s an important option to explore, keeping in mind that in the end you might be lead back to option 2.

photo credit: jamespuckey

The American Express Plum Card

American Express has always been the leader in creating exclusivity around credits cards. Their best example of this is the Centurion Card (a.k.a. the black card) which was once available by invitation only. Now you can apply directly for the card, but you have to be a big spender (at least $250k annually) to be approved. American Express’ newest attempt at massclusivity is their Plum Card. Designed for small businesses, this card gives the card holder access to trade terms and/or deferred interest for two months on purchases. In order to give the Plum card that infamous American Express allure American Express is limiting the initial offering to 10,000 cards and using the tag line “Who is getting one?” in their advertising. I’m not sure how American Express landed on the number 10,000, but I’d argue it’s a number that doesn’t create demand. 5,000 maybe, but 10,000 is just too large. If I said you were 1 in 10,000 would you feel special? Probably not. My guess is American Express set the limit at 10,000 to see how many people take advantage of the trade terms, a potentially costly offering. If after six months of experience American Express notices there’s not a lot of uptake on the trade terms you can bet there will be another “offering” on the table. On the other hand if there is a big uptake on the trade terms American Express may decide to stick with their original 10,000 plum card members (provided they get 10,000 plum card members), maybe even create a wait list (one card member gives up his or her card another person gets in). If that should happen American Express would have 10,000 plum card members with no easy way of entry for non-plum card holders. And because nobody likes to be told no that’s the strategy that would give the plum card the allure that I suspect American Express is looking for.

Valerie Conyngham