Disney Is Bringing Back Tangled

Yes! Rapunzel and her long, golden hair are back in an all new Disney original series called Tangled: Before Ever After, set to come out in March. We have long waited for the comeback of Rapunzel and her squad, or at least I have. I am sure plenty of fans will be delighted that the story will continue in one way or another. I cannot wait for this series!! Can you read my excitement? Now, we all know at the end of the first movie, Eugene cut Rapunzel's long blond hair, in an effort to save her from Gothel. Remember? The vain woman who stole her as a baby so that she could remain young and beautiful? Alright, we are all caught up.  So, the big question is, how is her "magic hair that glows when she sings" back? See what I did there? We will have to stay tuned to have that mystery revealed. Great news is, we will have Mandy Moore as the voice of Rapunzel and Zachary Levi as the voice of Eugene aka Flynn Rider. Our magic duo will be back for the series. There is nothing I love more than to have an original cast back for a series or a sequel. I am positive the series will be full of adventure because if there is one thing Disney knows best is how to tell a story. The release date of Tangled: Before Ever After will be the Best Day Ever! Now, picture yourself running through a field of grass as you keep on yelling, "best day ever!"

NYX Cosmetics: E-mail Marketing Success

I sure am loving NYX Cosmetics, aren't you? Their e-mail marketing strategy has a way of keeping me engaged, aside from their rewards program. An e-mail from NYX Cosmetics is one I do not swipe left and delete. Once I see the sender is from NYX, I know they will not disappoint me. From their subject line to their email content, it is so catchy and sparkly. Not only do they show me what is on sale, but they also give me recommendations on other things I may like, based on this one email. I feel like they just get my style. Another thing I love from their email marketing is that I am not bombarded with two to three emails per day, every day of the week. That type of email marketing calls me to UNSUBSCRIBE, and believe me, I do! NYX Cosmetics complies with the CAN-SPAM act, you know, that law that requires them to meet a set of requirements to avoid phishing? Yes, that one! Their emails are entirely user friendly and give you all sorts of different methods to stay connected. Once you click on one of the photos, it directs you to their website and straight to the promo they had provided for you in their email. Pretty simple right? I think so. 

They recently sent me an email and the subject line read, "Everything you need for PERFECT brows!" From the moment you open the email, it provides you with their new brow pencils and to make it even better, they give you a "follow these simple steps to achieve full natural brows," with pictures and all. Once again, if you click on the picture, it directs you to the page featuring these brow pencils. NYX knows how to use the internet to their full advantage. Their email and website design correlates so nicely and they are easy on the eyes. I am sure they are making good use of their metrics to send me target and product specific emails. Their email marketing will keep producing results by following their target audience and continuing to recommend products, based on previous purchases and trending looks.    

DSW: Their Profitable Business Model

DSW, Inc, the Designer Shoe Warehouse, continues to fulfill the needs of shoeaholics everywhere! Their combination of designer shoes and low prices, makes them the ultimate winner. Their goal is to provide consumers with access to everything they could possibly want and that involves closeouts, special makeups and in-line products (Bell, 2016). It does not stop there, in an effort to reach the young parent demographic, DSW introduced their DSW Kids concept, making their stores a one-stop shop for dad, mom and kids. They are no stranger to the Merchant Model, providing goods and services from business to consumer. Their continued effort to bring good quality, low-priced shoes, to as many consumers possible has allowed them to cover about 70% of the U.S. population, by placing a DSW store within 20 miles of their home (Bell, 2016). If you can't see the value in that, I'm not sure what you are looking at. They also provide customers with a buy-online and pickup-in-store service, which has you dodging the shipping and handling fee most of us hate to pay, since that is practically the price of another item. This added option has made the company even more profitable.

DSW could also benefit from the Advertising Model. If you subscribe or create an account on their site, you will become a victim of their daily e-mail communication and promotions. They currently take advantage of the advertising model, but there is always room for improvement. As Roberts and Zahay (2013) mentioned, the more people you reach, the better chances of maintaining a website, or in this case, their business. Placing banner ads on major platforms such as Google or Facebook will definitely broaden their audience and target specific consumers based on customer demographics. In turn, the company will continue to profit from their marketing efforts. I would like to see a more personalized approach to their site. They could make use of a blog and provide daily inspirations or a "how to" section on how to pair different shoes with different styles. With the DSW rewards program, they obtain knowledge on past purchases made by the consumer. DSW can use that information to make e-mail suggestions on specific new items, rather than sending an e-mail with all their new styles. Take note DSW.

References:
Bell, J. (2016, October 3). How DSW is innovating to secure its future. Footwearnews. Retrieved from http://footwearnews.com/2016/business/retail/dsw-executives-plan-future-retail-innovation-ebuys-263835/

Roberts, M. L. & Zahay, D. (2013). Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

NYX Cosmetics: Creating Value

NYX Cosmetics knows how to engage consumers by use of social media. Their regular use of Instagram and Twitter allows their audience to connect with their brand. They sure know how to engage and use online technologies to create value for their customers, but an area they could make a little more of an effort is the use of offline technologies. Their line of cosmetics are great, especially when you know they are not being tested on animals, it makes you feel good about yourself for contributing to this company. They have a great rewards program, in-store, once you accumulate a certain amount of points, you get discounts AND you get $5 OFF on your birthday! Woohoo! Way to make me feel special, I mean, who doesn't like a lovely gesture. Their use of social media channels and interactive channels constantly remind us of their existence. For a brand that is growing, I don't see a lot of offline channel movement. They announce their grand openings on their sites and social media accounts, but they could spend a little on what some of us call "junk mail," a little goes a long way.