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Headspace, for FREE

Our friends at Headspace are offering a free one year subscription for those in the US who find themselves unemployed.  A bit of mindfulness and meditation to help calm your mind in trying times.  

A new series of meditations specifically for these circumstances are going live soon.  

What amazing generosity. 

Sign up at https://lnkd.in/giQkE5X. 

What's Possible Bitesize: Connected TV

We at Connections by TSW are eagerly awaiting the second installment of What's Possible Bitesize. This week's curated webinar is entitled A New Age: Connected TV Advertising. 

Connected TV is the fastest growing form of AV media. Where has this surge come from? And what does it mean for paid advertising?

Get your questions answered live by Jamie Clilverd this Wed 13th May | 2pm BST (7am EST)

Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3dA6G1Q  

#whatspossible

THG sends PPEs to Manchester

Connections by TSW retailer The Hut Group have used its global supply chain to bring 3.5million pieces of Personal Protective Equipment to their local healthcare system of Greater Manchester.  Masks, Gloves, Shields, and gowns will be delivered to frontline NHS workers.  

Read the full article here: https://www.retailgazette.co.uk/blog/2020/05/the-hut-group-donates-25-tonnes-of-ppe-to-greater-manchester-nhs/?utm_campaign=the-hut-group-donates-25-tonnes-of-ppe-to-greater-manchester-nhs&utm_medium=rss&utm_sour

What's Possible Bitesize Debut

The What’s Possible Bitesize debut HOW TO BUILD BRAND TRUST WITH SPEED AND CONFIDENCE was a complete hit!   

Sally Weavers and Jen Smith from Craft brought amazing insight into the components of trust building.  Brands are judged by their Competence, Dependability and Integrity, and in this current climate, by their Focus of Motivation.   

See for yourself at: https://www.workcast.com/AuditoriumAuthenticator.aspx?cpak=8294397166865138&pak=122939842798958

We can’t wait for next week’s installment A New Age: Connected TV Advertising with TSW’s Jamie Cliverd.  Register here: https://www.workcast.com/register?cpak=6678821163728538 

Sam’s Club Concierge Services

They say that necessity is the mother of invention.  For Sam's Club, members’ wellbeing is the impetus for innovation. 

As we read in Forbes Magazine, Sam’s Club now offers Concierge Shopping for seniors and at-risk members.  A staff member comes to the car, gets the list of necessities, brings the items back to the vehicle, loads them, and payment is made on the spot.  At risk members never have to leave the safety of their car.

Read the full article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherwalton/2020/04/30/sams-clubs-new-concierge-shopping-service-for-seniors-sets-a-high-bar-for-retail-innovation/#4d8d63c45203

Sam’s Club $1mm Donation 

We love seeing stories about generosity in times of uncertainty. Sam’s Club is donating $1 million for Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) to use supporting businesses impacted by COVID19. 

Grants of up to $10,000 will go to small businesses in underserved communities.  

Read the full article here: https://talkbusiness.net/2020/04/sams-club-makes-1-million-donation-to-small-business-support-fund/?utm_campaign=sams-club-makes-1-million-donation-to-small-business-support-fund&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss 

In Support of Good Wine

This week we came across an uplifting item about Naked Wines.  In support of small vintners being hit hard by restaurant closures, Naked Wines has set aside $5 million to spend on stock that was previously intended for temporarily shuttered venues.   

Independent winemakers from the US, UK and Australia have a chance at a new business opportunity, and Naked Wine’s customers will have an opportunity to try new wines.  A win-win in these trying times.  Cheers! 

Read the complete article here: https://www.essentialretail.com/news/naked-wines-5m-support-package/ 

Print Innovation – Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Print is one of the longest-standing and trusted medias available and it continues to prove effective for brands across categories. While the media has long existed, there is a lot of new & exciting innovation with print. You have probably experienced some of this as a consumer… Maybe you have come across magazines that release a smell when they are opened or have seen an ad that changes color in different lighting - it is all amazing and somewhat MIND-BLOWING! Connections by The Specialist Works is taking the power of print media a step further and has found success in using word-of-mouth marketing to drive incremental response and brand loyalty.

Brands including The White Company, Graze, Celtic & Co and Charles Tyrwhitt have utilized our innovative print services to bring this opportunity to life. We have effectively leveraged word-of-mouth marketing by utilizing a format most commonly known as the “Double Pop-Out,” which can be utilized in direct mail, event marketing & inserts. The “Double Pop-Out” format has two pop-out cards (similar in size to a gift card) imbedded into the printed piece. Utilizing perforation on a flat sheet of paper means that this format can typically run through feeders for inserting or withstand expected wear and tear through the postal system without deterioration. In short, it is an extremely versatile and robust print format. 

As mentioned above, the “Double Pop-Out” has two pop-out areas which presents a brand a larger opportunity. We suggest and have seen success when utilizing the first pop-out to share an offer with the targeted consumer, and then utilizing the second pop-out for that consumer to share with a friend. If you are targeting the right audience and reaching them at the right time, this format has proven to be incredibly effective - in some cases even doubling response rates! Giving consumers an opportunity to share amazing offers with their friends is a great example of word-of-mouth marketing, as consumers are now doing the work for your brand.

Word-of-mouth is THE most powerful form of marketing because of how much we trust our friends and family. Word-of-mouth marketing is also essentially free (e.g. in the example above, you are simply dedicating space on a piece you were already running), which makes it very efficient and scalable.

At Connections by The Specialist Works, we love creative, new, and engaging formats. Creating new opportunities for brands to connect with their current and potential customers is what we live for!

New Program Launch - SchoolKidz Package Inserts

The Connections Team is extremely happy to announce our newest retail partner: Schoolkidz! 

Schoolkidz, also known as Teacher Tailored, has provided millions and millions of school supply kits to parents, and has been servicing thousands upon thousands of schools nationwide for the last 25 years. The Teacher Tailored team works with Parent Teacher Organizations and Parent Teacher Associations to develop customized lists of school supplies.

A package insert program of 230,000 volume.  For more information: https://www.connectionsbytsw.com/media/schoolkidz

Insights on Working From Home

One of our team member has reviewed her first week of WFH, amazing insights from Desiree Metzger.

Working from home has made me realize that a home office is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Apart from eating all the snacks the first few days, emotional eater over here, I am working at the dinner table. This is away from the television and closer to the modem.

My first few video calls proved, working from downstairs isn’t going to be possible. It is probably for the best, the man cave equipped with it’s 75” TV would not have been the most productive space.

The first few days last week, proved productive I got quick replies to emails. As we got closer to the end of the week, those responses started to dry up. Tough to take and created some anxious feelings

At Connections we have a variety of programs that will help clients navigate these uncertain times. E-commerce brands will see an increase in sales as brick and mortars experience a decrease. We can help brands ‘piggyback’ those E-Commerce sales with an implied endorsement to the new potential customers.