Opinions And Ramblings By Adam Kmiec On All Things Media

Follow Our CMO

Written on April 6, 2010 by Adam Kmiec in Marketing & Advertising

I came across this the other day on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. It struck me and obviously made me pause. I’ve seen other brands integrate calls to action for social into their in-store signage and point of sale collateral. But, I’ve yet to see anything this large and in your face.

I love the direction that Express is taking, but I think they made a minor mistake. Does the average customer know what a CMO is or who the CMO is? I don’t think so. But, people know what a president, vice president, stylist or designer are.

When you consider they’re in the fashion business, I thin they’ve missed an opportunity. What do you think?

Tags: Express, Facebook, Signage, Social Media, Twitter

http://twitter.com/GenaMazzeo Gena Mazzeo

Not sure it's that big of a miss, actually. I think it reflects a variety in strategy toward the two different communities. Twitter, to me, is an opportunity to influence the influencer, rather than reach the masses directly. Look at the statistics that detail how only 20% of users are active, or how many of the tweets come from a core group of users, or that many users have 10 or fewer followers. The core/heavy users are the voices both in Twitter and in other spaces – they're influencers. Many of those influencers (while they may be not be in a traditional office environment) have professional degrees, marketing experience, and/or a deeper awareness of how business is conducted. Facebook, on the other hand, *is* an opportunity to reach the masses and develop 1:1 consumer relationships. I think it's a smart split in their social media strategy.
http://twitter.com/torchio torchio

I think this is a perfect example of marketing not to sell stuff but marketing to get attention from other marketers. I would say that >50% of express shoppers don't know what a CMO is.

And I think those that do will have a problem with her feed. I was going to follow her but then I looked at her feed and it looks like just a brand feed for Express. There is no effort to connect or share with the community. I see a disconnect between target and content.
http://www.thekmiecs.com adamkmiec

If Healthy Choice wanted to connect with shoppers would they be better off pushing Chef XYZ or Joan Chow

About

Head of Social Media at Walgreens. Interactive marketer, innovator, boat rocker, continuous learner, movie lover, risk taker, dad and all around good guy. I'm always up for a spirited conversation. These are my thoughts and ramblings, not those of my employer.
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