It’s no secret mobile devices and social media have changed consumers’ TV habits and opened opportunities for marketers. Some retailers and networks have flirted with campaigns that allow consumers to buy products directly from their TVs, and yet the so-called t‑commerce industry remains uncharted territory or, at the very least, has yet to take off in a meaningful way. Panelists at Advertising Week who were involved in some of these previous efforts said there still isn’t a seamless path, but noted their t‑commerce exposure to date has made for good learning experiences.
It’s a feeling many consumers can relate to: They’re watching their favorite TV shows and suddenly see a must-have product. In this day and age, if they’re ready and willing to buy, they should be able to. Networks and brands are certainly aware of the opportunity. According to Jill Toscano, vice president of U.S. media at American Express, 9 out of 10 consumers watch TV with other screens on hand. “If you think about ‘Friends’ years ago and Rachel’s hair – that was the old school days when you had to talk on the phone,” she said. “Now we’re tweeting about it.” Similarly, if Jennifer Aniston wore a cute dress on the show, it was unlikely consumers would be able to find it for themselves without a whole lot of luck. TV today has a whole new crop of fashionable stars like Zooey Deschanel of “New Girl” and Mindy Kaling of “The Mindy Project”.
According to Toscano, these women also wear very desirable dresses that consumers would love to buy, which means there’s still a real consumer need no one has solved. Some players have taken steps, “yet to be enabling of that commerce behavior at scale, that’s a huge opportunity and a huge frontier we’re exploring and no one has planted a flag,” Toscano said. That’s not to say no one has tried. In 2012, American Express announced a number of media partnerships, which it said were designed to “create seamless and engaging shopping experiences for consumers that in turn curated content into commerce.” This included a partnership with Fox Broadcasting Company that allowed consumers to shop for fashion and household items seen on shows like “New Girl” via the Fox Now apps, as well as a partnership with NBCUniversal, which similarly enabled consumers to purchase products “inspired by” shows, including Bravo’s “Life After Top Chef”, E!‘s “Fashion Police”, and Style’s “Tia & Tamera”.
The latter products were curated by NBCUniversal’s women’s digital brand Daily Candy and powered by zeebox, a companion TV viewing platform for iOS and Android devices. “As a content company, we have to think about ways to evolve engagement with consumers and [to find] another conduit to engaging consumers in a new way,” said Shari Cohen, executive director at advertising media company GroupM, of the zeebox partnership. “We have to indulge them beyond content and create new levels of relationships. We learned so much by doing it.” Toscano described these partnerships and American Express’ first move into the advanced TV space as “a labor of love.” “If we put success on sales, that’s probably the wrong KPI,” Toscano said. “But if we [frame it in terms of] bringing experiences that card members wouldn’t expect, I think it was a success.”
But they certainly aren’t the only players here. Retailer H&M partnered with interactive commerce firm Delivery Agent to use the latter’s t‑commerce platform to shop-enable its 2014 Super Bowl ad with David Beckham. Consumers were able to use their remote controls to engage with the ad and opt-in to purchase products. More recently, Delivery Agent announced a deal with online retailer Overstock.com to allow viewers to purchase products directly from television commercials. In a press release, Delivery Agent said insight from this so-called Overstocktober campaign will enable the partners to build a roadmap for future consumer-brand engagements via television. The success of Overstock’s effort remains to be seen, but, for her part, Toscano shared her own tips about what American Express has learned about t‑commerce so far.
Tip 1: Price Points Matter
Products and cost absolutely matter when it comes to t‑commerce, Toscano said. A $400 to $600 Jason Wu dress worn by Deschanel or Kaling may be highly desirable, but it’s inaccessible to most consumers. And that means that no matter how desirable the dress may be, it’s not the right product for a t‑commerce program. Cohen agreed. It still isn’t clear how to take t‑commerce to the next level and pick the right products. Consumers will say, “‘I love that dress and need to have it,’ but they don’t know how much it costs,” she said.
But, on the plus side, her team learned that there are some products that are impulse buys and others that require more thought, which she said she plans to apply to future iterations. “It’s a work in progress. There’s no playbook for it,” she added.
Tip 2: Keep It Simple
In order to get consumers to buy products via t‑commerce, the journey from desire to purchase must be as simple as possible. “It cannot be one that takes steps 1 to 10 or they’ll drop off,” Toscano said. “One click is always key.”
Tip 3: Think Impulse Buys
In addition, Toscano said the products that really sell are the inspirational of-the-moment products that pop up as must haves and are “a great example of real-time marketing.” For her part, Alison Tarrant, executive vice president of the client solutions group at NBCUniversal, said NBCUniversal will continue to explore t‑commerce, particularly with properties like Fandango. “Love it, buy it, own it. It’s the right commerce message in the right environment and a very quick experience,” Tarrant said. “It’s finding those right opportunities where it’s successful.”