International : At Last, the Reviews Are in: Wal-Mart Wakes Up to the Power of the People
Retail Giant Makes a Big, if Belated, Push Into the Social Web

The road to online retail dominance, as Wal-Mart is finally figuring out, is paved with customer content.
The company's announcement that it's allowing consumers to review and rate products on its website is a big, if belated, push by the stodgy giant into the social web, following scores of other retailers who have realized the power of crowdsourcing and co-creation. But all Web 2.0 good vibes aside, the real benefit may turn out to be how it affects the performance of the Wal-Mart online store and the goods its sells in search-engine rankings, a crucial factor in the performance of online retailers.
The reviews give Wal-Mart thousands of additional pages of content to be indexed by major search engines, which look favorably on unique content, such as reviews, compared with pages with basic product details that any retailer could have.
"Searches related to product reviews typically get a high volume of queries, so Wal-Mart could see a material increase in organic search traffic to its site," said Peter Hershberg, managing partner at the search-marketing firm Reprise Media.
Fifth place
Better search performance on sites such as Google and Yahoo brought on by all that additional content created by consumers could help bridge the gap with some of its competitors. Wal-Mart is the largest bricks-and-mortar retailer by some stretch, but it has lagged a bit in the e-commerce race. In June it was the fifth-largest retail site based on unique visitors, trailing eBay, Amazon, Apple and its smaller, hipper bricks-and-mortar rival Target, according to ComScore. While Target's online lead is narrow, its site traffic is growing faster.
Wal-Mart's previous forays into social media have been disastrous. A shot at creating a MySpace-like offering for teens missed the mark, causing the company to pull it just months after launch. Later, in an effort to soften its image, Wal-Mart hatched a travelogue blog scheme that blew up when it was revealed the blog was created and paid for by its PR firm. It would seem a little interaction with the masses would help, right?
"It gives an aura of objectivity," said Nielsen Buzzmetrics Chief Marketing Officer Pete Blackshaw. "It enhances the consumer experience, and it elevates the trust level as well. Plus, consumer-generated media is sticky content."
Customer-to-customer
Wal-Mart executives said reviews and ratings were the feature most requested by customers, bearing out other indications of the importance of peer-to-peer approval. A study by Bazaarvoice, the Austin, Texas, company hired to power Wal-Mart's reviews, and the market-research company Vizu, found that 80% of shoppers have more trust in brands that feature reviews and that 75% of shoppers say it's extremely or very important to read customer reviews before making a purchase. Peer reviews, the study found, are preferred over expert reviews by a margin of 6-to-1.
The boon to both retailers and manufacturers is that positive reviews outnumber negative ones by a factor of eight, according to a separate study by Bazaarvoice late last year. "We are seeing a 'rating J-curve' across many clients in diverse industries," said Sam Decker, VP-marketing and products, in a release from last October. "The distribution looks like a J on a graph, where you see a low volume of one-star reviews, fewer two- and three-star reviews, and a huge jump in four- and five-star ratings."
That seems to be the case early on at Wal-Mart.com, which kicked off a test phase in June. As of Friday, of the 23 products reviewed, 22 had average scores of four or five, the highest ranking. The lowest score was for an inflatable swimming pool that had three-and-a-half stars out of five. But even that product had sold out of stock.
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E4M Our strategy is to target younger audiences through Sports: Rajiv Dubey, Dabur
The Head of Media at Dabur India spoke exclusively to exchange4media on the World Cup, associating with Indian Idol, the company’s digital spending and much more
With quirky campaigns, memes and moment marketing, timed with the ongoing World Cup and particularly the India-Pakistan matches, Dabur India has got considerable consumer attention for its popular brands – Red Paste, Cool King Hair Oil, Chyawanprash, Dabur Vita and the recently launched Bae Fresh Gel toothpaste.
The 140-year-old company is going big on key sporting events, World Television Premiere (WTP) movies and reality shows. It is now gearing up to become the title sponsor of popular talent show ‘Indian Idol’ on Sony TV for the first time, shared Rajiv Dubey, who leads the media strategy at Dabur.
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Swapan Seth's new book 'COOL' is out
The book is a reflection of the author's 'eclectic taste across categories'
Advertising professional and art collector Swapan Seth has announced the launch of his new book COOL. The book is described as "a ready reckoner to the hip and the happening, of the known and the very unknown."
The book is a reflection of the author's "eclectic taste across categories: from boltholes to exotic hideaways."
COOL has been published by Simon & Schuster India and is available on Amazon.
Seth is an ad veteran with a long and illustrious career in the industry. He became the youngest-ever Creative Director at Clarion at age 24. He was VP at 26 at Trikaya Grey. Two years later, he started his agency Equus.
He writes for publications such as The Economic Times, Hindustan Times and India Today. This is his second book and he has previously published THIS IS ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
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Disney Star signs 9 sponsors for Asia Cup PAK
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up come on board
e4m Staff Disney Star has signed nine broadcast and digital streaming sponsors for the upcoming Asia Cup.
Charged by Thums Up, Nerolac Paint+, Amazon Pay, Jindal Panther, My11Circle, MRF, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip5, Wild Stone and Thums Up have come on board for the upcoming tournament.
As reported earlier by exchange4media, Disney Star has sought Rs 26 crore for the co-presenting sponsorship on TV and Rs 30 crore for Disney+ Hotstar.
According to industry sources, the associate sponsorship on Star Sports has been priced at Rs 19.66 crore, whereas for the ‘powered by’ sponsorship on Disney+ Hotstar, the broadcaster is seeking Rs 18 crore.
As per the information available with exchange4media, Disney+ Hotstar has three sponsorship tiers-- co-presenting (Rs 30 crore), powered by (Rs 18 crore) and associate sponsorship (Rs 12 crore). The broadcaster is offering an estimated reach of 120-140 million for co-presenting sponsors, 90-100 million for powered by and 60-70 million for associate sponsorship.
A spot buy for 10 seconds has been priced at Rs 25 lakh for the India vs Pakistan matches, while for the non-India matches, the ad rate for 10 second is Rs 2.3 lakh. The India matches plus the final for ODIs has been priced at Rs 17 lakh per 10 seconds.
Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from 30 August, 2023, to September 17, 2023.
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Sorted 360 wins creative & social media mandate of Reliance Mall
The agency will manage offline and online campaigns for Reliance Mall
Sorted 360, an integrated creative and social media agency, has won the mandate to providing brand solutions for Reliance Malls across India.
“Sorted 360 is set to enhance Reliance Malls' market presence with their unparalleled creative prowess and strategic thinking,” read a press release.
“Sorted 360's commitment to pushing the boundaries of creative communication aligns perfectly with Reliance Malls' ethos. With a pan-India presence spanning across 19 cities and growing, Reliance Malls has consistently captivated customers by offering an array of Reliance brands and third-party fashion & lifestyle brands. The mall has established an unparalleled connection with its patrons through superior quality, a remarkable value proposition, and an unmatched shopping experience,” it read further.
"We are thrilled to welcome Sorted 360 as our trusted partner in advancing our brand presence across the nation," said the Head of Marketing at Relaice Malls. "Their proven expertise in retail, shopping center management, and innovative creative strategies make them the perfect fit for our vision."
"Partnering with Reliance Malls is a testament to our commitment to shaping extraordinary brand experiences," remarked Prerana Anatharam, Co-founder of Sorted 360. "We are excited to leverage our strategic and creative acumen to further elevate Reliance Malls as the epitome of convenience, choice, and excellence."
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KlugKlug onboards Hemang Mehta as Country Manager for Indias
Mehta was most recently Head of Agency Relationships at Network 18 Media & Investments
KlugKlug has appointed Hemang Mehta as its Country Manager for India.
Mehta will play a pivotal role in driving KlugKlug's growth and expansion within the Indian market and be responsible for Sales & GTM Strategy
Prior to that, he has also represented organisations like Exponential (now VDX.tv), India Today Digital and Rediff.com. His expertise spans various domains including digital media sales, mobile marketing, media planning, and buying, social media marketing, and more.
Hemang Mehta expressed his enthusiasm about joining KlugKlug, saying, "I am thrilled to be a part of KlugKlug, a forward-thinking platform that is reshaping the influencer marketing landscape. As much as I look forward to collaborating with the exuberant team at KlugKlug, I am super excited to interact with the brands to deliver powerful data-backed Influencer solutions that will guarantee business outcomes."
Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO of KlugKlug, stated, "We are excited to welcome Hemang Mehta to our team as the Country Manager for India. His extensive experience in digital media sales and marketing will be instrumental in driving our efforts to provide influencer marketing solutions to our clients. We believe Hemang's leadership will be key in scaling our operations and expanding our reach within the Indian market."
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