by Michael Chass

I was honored to represent OwnerIQ at the 15th Annual Consumer Electronics Association’s CEO Summit. The CEO Summit is an invitation only gathering of top consumer electronics retailers and manufacturers providing a rare opportunity to network in an executive-only environment, garner insight helpful to an individual’s business and focus on the issues most critical to the industry. Notable attendees included Mike Vitelli, President Americas – Best Buy; Joe Hartsig, SVP and GM –Sam’s Club; Stan Glasgow, Chairman – Sony; Noel Lee, Head Monster – Monster Cable; Pat Lavelle, President & CEO – Audiovox; Henry Juskiewicz, CEO – Gibson Guitar; Eliott Peck, SVP & GM – Canon, as well as several other notable senior executives from companies including ESPN, BMW, Wal-Mart, Intel, IBM, HSN, Newegg, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Netflix, Vizio, Dolby, Ingram Micro, and many others.

This year the Summit took place from October 1st thru October 3rd against the picturesque backdrop of Lake Maggiore in Stresa, Italy. Topics at the summit ranged from dealer-vendor relationships, branding and merchandising of products, and achieving customer satisfaction. Through roundtable discussions, presentations by key industry leaders and organized activities, the Summit facilitates relationship- building and encourages open dialogue among attendees.

OwnerIQ has an extremely strong presence within the consumer electronics ecosystem and attending the summit provided an excellent opportunity for us to nurture our current relationships as well as foster new ones.

by Michael Chass

CES 2011 was an exciting show. Attendance was up, optimism was in the air and the manufacturers were out in full force with all of the latest and greatest “i” products. But I do not mean iPhone, iPod, or iPad. That’s yesterday’s news and boooring.

The “i” I’m referring to is “i”nternet connected devices. And I am not talking about just set top boxes. Integrated devices that connect a TV, Blu-Ray player, stereo, etc. to the internet is nothing new. What is new seems to be the marketing push put behind such features, as well as significant enhancements to the platforms. Read the rest of this entry »

by Jay Habegger and Michael Chass

Still have doubts that the path to purchase is really shifting online? How about an 89% increase in product research traffic to manufacturer and retailer web sites in the week from Monday, 22 November through Sunday, the 28 of November?

Yep, you read that right. The number of unique consumers visiting the websites of the retailer and manufacturer partners where we acquire data on consumer ownership and considered purchase intent almost doubled in a seven day period.
You can see this growth in the graph below.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Michael Chass

Looking back into our industrialized past, the most defining moments for growth and prosperity occurred with increases in our ability to connect with each other. From smoke signals to the Pony Express, the railroad, the automobile, the modern highway system, the telephone, the fax machine, cell phone, internet and now the smart phone – humans strive to connect with each other in faster and more efficient ways. Every time there is advancement in connection, there is a rapid change in productivity, growth and prosperity.

So what does this have to do with manufacturers, retailers and selling more products? It reminds me of the millions of dollars per account I would spend on CO-OP and/or MDF. The process seemed right. As a manufacturer, I would spend advertising money nationally and rely 100% on retailers to handle the local advertising. For the retailers, I would pay out relevant percentages of gross sales back to the retailer to be used to market and develop my brand within their stores and local areas. Read the rest of this entry »

by Michael Chass

While focusing on ways to help our manufacturer partners for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, I started to reminisce about the times in my career where I was accountable for the marketing of a brand(s) for a manufacturer. Back then, the formula for success was tried and true yielding consistent results:

- Focus 20-30% of total marketing dollars on national advertising campaigns to build/reinforce the brand(s) in enthusiast magazines, create high quality literature for your dealers, and attend the top trade shows.

- Spend the remaining 70-80% of the money by giving retailers CO-OP/MDF money to help them win “the last 3 feet” of the sales battle as they place local ads for the products, merchandise POP displays, and train their employees on the product’s unique selling position.

Times have changed and we must reevaluate the formula. Over the past 5-7 years the retail landscape has been transformed with many retailers going out of business while the remaining retailers have branched out online. Read the rest of this entry »