Where are Brands Headed in the Amazon Era?

Aug 7, 2018

We have a really fascinating and informative interview today with David Katz, of Randa Accessories. He shares with us a lot of his knowledge about brands, where they come from and where they are  in the Amazon era. As a result of David's abundant history in direct marketing, he has a really unique perspective on this topic. On the show today he talks about how his direct marketing has evolved and why he believes that brands are becoming more important, even with the seeming migration of consumers away from brands and towards private labels.

David is the alchemist and Chief Marketing Officer at Randa Accessories, a leading multinational consumer products company and also the largest men's accessories business worldwide. He is also the co-author of the bestselling book Design for Response- Creative Direct Marketing That Works a frequent public speaker referred to by the press as a retail industry expert.

As a company, Randa is still very involved with the Amazon ecosystem. As both a seller and a vendor on Amazon, the company continues to have a robust partnership with Amazon, despite the fact that Amazon is moving powerfully forward into private label brands in the accessory space. Tune in to find out what David has to share about brands and where they fit in today's consumer ecosystem.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

 

• David talks about how his more than 200 on-air appearances as a show host came about in the early stages of his direct marketing career.
• How David started out with direct marketing.
• The kinds of lessons and techniques that David has taken from his experience in the world of direct marketing.
• Selling to the emotional needs of the customer.
• David's background in neuroscience.
• The knowledge of serving a customer's needs as it changes has really been the most valuable lesson that David carries forward.
• David discusses working with all the different brands, retailers and the different value propositions at Randa.
• What brands actually represent for people.
• Randa really wants to serve all the different segments of customers, in all the channels of distribution, in various lifestyles and geographies.
• How Randa's brand portfolio covers the needs and perceptions of all their customers.
• The change in the way that people are looking at brands, as a result of social media and influencer networks.
• The way that marketing is also changing as a result of social media and influencer networks.
• How David sees the future of brands, with the recent emergence of non-brand products and the movement towards private labels.
• What it would mean for the vendor or the retailer if they were to 'win the race to the bottom'.
• The value that brands are supplying to consumers with their curated lists of choices that they have on Amazon.
• David's big-picture outlook on the omnichannel environment, and where Randa fits into that picture.
• The really interesting collaborative concordance between the effect of online shopping on in-store customers and the effect of in-store shopping on online customers.
• The importance for Randa of having really great digital content on all their products and brands.
• The way that Randa is harnessing the awesome power of online reviews.
• The one seamless, commercial, commerce experience, which ultimately benefits the consumer.

 

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

 

Connect with David on LinkedIn