FWD The Forum For Retail Brands

Join Brent Niemuth, President, as he jet-sets across Europe's cultural highlights in a journey through the French Riviera, Italy, the Swiss Alps, and Spain. At each destination, Brent draws from the local landmarks to reveal a unique facet of branding. From Cinque Terre, Italy, Brent asks us, "What makes brands 'sticky'?" and outlines how brand assets can make or break your brand perception, using examples of iconic Italian brands. Watch video at: https://jschmid.com/branding-abroad-italy/

Disrupt. Delight. Drive. Three words that, together, form a mandate for our catalogs. From crowded mailboxes our books need to stand out and garner attention; pay off that attention with content that creates desire, and – ultimately – compel our customers to click, call or visit. It’s a tall order. And that first piece, Disrupt, is the 1st priority. If it doesn’t happen, the other two won’t. We could mail an 11” x 17” oversized book. That will get noticed. So would a ‘scratch and sniff’ cover? But most of us don’t have budget to add a bunch of bells and whistles just to make us louder than the other guys. I’m particularly mindful of this as I wade through the current flood of women’s clothing catalogs in my own mailbox, most of them conveying the long-suffering Spring + Early Summer + Mother’s Day mashup: covers graced with women pouring each other glasses of Rosé, or bikes with flower-filled baskets. Make no mistake: this is not a judgement, but a shared burden. What can we do—any of us—to stand out in a sea of perpetual sameness, when all we have to work with is the traditional, two-dimensional real estate of a catalog cover? For the rest of the story, go to: https://www.jschmid.com/blog/stand-out-in-a-sea-of-sameness/

LocaliQ, Gannett Co., Inc.’s Digital Marketing Solutions business, successfully achieved Service Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II audit and certification, which validates LocaliQ’s robust controls, effective risk management and adherence to industry best practices. LocaliQ is an all-in-one marketing platform used by local businesses across the country to attract, convert and retain customers. The certification provides a greater level of trust for both current and prospective business partners and customers after an extensive review which evaluated LocaliQ’s control design, implementation and operating effectiveness. Designed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the SOC 2 Type II auditing procedure examines a company’s commitment to data privacy and information security standards through five key criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. Obtaining SOC 2 Type II certification demonstrates rigorous safeguards protecting clients’ sensitive information and reassures stakeholders that client data is in capable hands.