Marketing With a Global Purpose

This month marks our annual European Conference issue with editorial content that highlights a global theme.

Beginning with the cover story on page 38, writer Jack Gordon speaks one-on-one with French retailer Fnac to learn more about how the company tailored its e-mail marketing campaign to better serve its clientele.

For 50 years, Fnac has positioned itself as a high-end brick-and-mortar retailer that sells computer hardware and software, electronics, televisions, DVDs, CDs, books and more-a far cry from the U.S.’s Best Buy, which brands itself as a discount retailer.

Yet, when Fnac launched its e-commerce division in 1999, Fnac.com, the original business model created quite the marketing dilemma. While online shoppers are generally price conscious, the Fnac.com team realized it could not undermine the brick-and-mortar stores by offering deep discounts over the Internet. The idea was to contribute to the flagship company’s overall sales revenue, rather than putting itself in direct competition with it.

Fnac’s e-commerce arm had to engage online shoppers enough to convince them to pay higher price points than those offered by its e-tail competitors. Fnac.com decided to reach them via e-mail, specifically with an e-newsletter. However, the e-mail campaign proved ineffective until the marketing team learned that it needed a personal touch. Fnac.com looked to its customer database to find out what type of products customers were buying and then tailor certain e-mail campaigns around those preferences. With the help of Neolane, an enterprise marketing software developer, the retailer was able to easily create these personalized newsletters and other mailings. What were the results? Today, Fnac.com is the number-one retail website in France.

Another feature article that should not be overlooked is “Making Sense of European E-commerce” (see page 46). Executive Editor Tom Dellner offers excellent insight into this thriving marketplace with expert analysis from eMarketer’s Jeffrey Grau and Karin von Abrams. Some of the most interesting research findings addressed Europe’s top three e-commerce markets, which include the UK, Germany and France.

According to Abrams, “the UK as a single nation accounts for more than 40 percent of European e-commerce. We see that continuing, and it’s borne out by recent research. The UK’s e-commerce sales volume is more than twice that of France at more than 56 billion Euros.” What’s more, the UK market is the largest in the region, with France and Germany following closely behind.

I recently had an opportunity to speak with Kodak’s chief business development officer and vice president, Jeff Hayzlett, about one of the most recognized brands in the world. Beginning on page 42, the Kodak executive opens up about the importance of creating a blended marketing campaign to effectively build brand awareness. Hayzlett also addresses the fact that the company uses multichannel marketing throughout all of its global operations, which include Europe and Asia. The key, however, is finding the marketing channels that will complement each global market’s strengths.

Lastly, be sure to read the “Global Outlook” section that starts on page 68. Marketing experts provide valuable information on expanding your marketing efforts into global regions such as Europe, China and Latin America.

Vitisia Paynich
Editor-in-Chief

Marketing With a Global Purpose

This month marks our annual European Conference issue with editorial content that highlights a global theme.

Beginning with the cover story on page 38, writer Jack Gordon speaks one-on-one with French retailer Fnac to learn more about how the company tailored its e-mail marketing campaign to better serve its clientele.

For 50 years, Fnac has positioned itself as a high-end brick-and-mortar retailer that sells computer hardware and software, electronics, televisions, DVDs, CDs, books and more-a far cry from the U.S.’s Best Buy, which brands itself as a discount retailer.

Yet, when Fnac launched its e-commerce division in 1999, Fnac.com, the original business model created quite the marketing dilemma. While online shoppers are generally price conscious, the Fnac.com team realized it could not undermine the brick-and-mortar stores by offering deep discounts over the Internet. The idea was to contribute to the flagship company’s overall sales revenue, rather than putting itself in direct competition with it.

Fnac’s e-commerce arm had to engage online shoppers enough to convince them to pay higher price points than those offered by its e-tail competitors. Fnac.com decided to reach them via e-mail, specifically with an e-newsletter. However, the e-mail campaign proved ineffective until the marketing team learned that it needed a personal touch. Fnac.com looked to its customer database to find out what type of products customers were buying and then tailor certain e-mail campaigns around those preferences. With the help of Neolane, an enterprise marketing software developer, the retailer was able to easily create these personalized newsletters and other mailings. What were the results? Today, Fnac.com is the number-one retail website in France.

Another feature article that should not be overlooked is “Making Sense of European E-commerce” (see page 46). Executive Editor Tom Dellner offers excellent insight into this thriving marketplace with expert analysis from eMarketer’s Jeffrey Grau and Karin von Abrams. Some of the most interesting research findings addressed Europe’s top three e-commerce markets, which include the UK, Germany and France.

According to Abrams, “the UK as a single nation accounts for more than 40 percent of European e-commerce. We see that continuing, and it’s borne out by recent research. The UK’s e-commerce sales volume is more than twice that of France at more than 56 billion Euros.” What’s more, the UK market is the largest in the region, with France and Germany following closely behind.

I recently had an opportunity to speak with Kodak’s chief business development officer and vice president, Jeff Hayzlett, about one of the most recognized brands in the world. Beginning on page 42, the Kodak executive opens up about the importance of creating a blended marketing campaign to effectively build brand awareness. Hayzlett also addresses the fact that the company uses multichannel marketing throughout all of its global operations, which include Europe and Asia. The key, however, is finding the marketing channels that will complement each global market’s strengths.

Lastly, be sure to read the “Global Outlook” section that starts on page 68. Marketing experts provide valuable information on expanding your marketing efforts into global regions such as Europe, China and Latin America.

Vitisia Paynich
Editor-in-Chief