Molander Reports in: eTail 2005 in Philly
The eTail 2005 show is off and running with day one complete and day two just beginning to warm up as seen below in a keynote address.
Shelley Nandkeolyar, President of Home Depot Direct Brands, speaks on how his company offers continual value and convenience to keep customers coming back.
Today’s agenda includes a track dedicated to affiliate marketing featuring Figleaves.com, Shefinds.com, The Food Network and Ice.com. Pattiann McAdams of Avon is also slated to speak on globalization techniques and operating affiliate programs at the international level. It remains unclear as to who will give the “Chairperson’s opening remarks” for this track. Hmmmm…
Tuesday Happenings
Here’s a quick recap of some (not all) of the sessions I was able to attend yesterday:
Christine Lacazi addresses the crowd in her presentation on Re-Structuring Your Company to Support Multi-Channel Initiatives.
I find it noteworthy that free and endless supplies of ice cream(I’ve never seen this before… Shawn Collins, are you listening?), cookies, assorted desserts and oppressive summer heat outside make eTail a dieters worst nightmare.
Scott Sanborn, VP Marketing at HSN.com, gave advice on creating a cross-functional team to support SEO search strategies. In essence, the presentation was fairly typical in terms of the approach HSN.com took – needing to first secure executive buy-in (massage egos, throw around a bunch of research stats that suggest one needs to be involved in search, etc.), select a neutral (yet internal) third party to head up SEO… all the action plan building blocks.
Panel Discussion Includes Sparks
After Sanborn’s solo gig, the crowd stuck around for more discussion in the form of a panel.
HSN.com’s Scott Sanborn, QVC.com’s Carol Steinberg, Tommy Hilfiger’s Jarad Blank and Jeffrey Glueck of Travelocity get ready to gab it up.
Things (thankfully… gosh, conferences can be a snooze sometimes) got good when the very candid Glueck introduced himself and mentioned the company spends $40 million on search and affiliate initiatives annually. Glueck wasn’t done yet, though, and at one point admitted that their purchase of what amounted to be a large group of affiliate sites under the name of WTC (who?) was a sign that they were done trying to dance (compete) with their affiliates in the search realm – they wanted to be an affiliate. In his words, it was a “if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em” strategy. The affiliate envy (of SEO mastery) was over.
Thankfully (always good when other panelists have a pulse), this drew a jab from Hilfiger’s Blank who, almost needless to say, doesn’t really get into that whole wild-and-free affiliate thing that Travelocity, Orbitz and similar new/less dominant brands typically do. Blank wondered (directly at Glueck) if companies like his simply refuse to outsource the dirtywork (implied) to affiliates or actually become an affiliate (via owning them) where does that leave them… especially over the long term?
I was in the front row and, at this point, had a hard time not charging the stage. It was refreshing to see someone ask such a question but let’s face it Hilfiger and Travelocity? Lifestyle fashions and travel? Pretty different concerns and business models there and competitive pressures are vastly different. In the end, the two bonded over the nightmares presented by emerging (i.e. Kayak.com) aggregators that aggregate comparison engines.
Mezi Media Exhibits
When’s the last time you saw an affiliate booth at eTail… or any high profile e-marketing conference? I’m impressed. Where’s the FatWallet booth, Tim Storm? The hall is filled by a wide variety of firms courting small and large e-tailers alike. Doubleclick/Performics and Kowabunga don’t seem to be around but Commission Junction and Linkshare have a front door position.
Buzz Check: Show Floor Snips
Official Mixer
Tuesday night: The eTail Express cocktail hour was a success with strong attendance and a variety of food and beverages themed as a tour of the historic neighborhoods of Philadelphia.
