We wrote this morning about OpenStack founder Rick Clark leaving Rackspace over concerns about the openness of the its cloud computing initiative.
On its face, OpenStack appears to be quite open. Clark’s concern is about Rackspace not being transparent enough. The issues stems from recent changes made to governance policies for the organization.
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After making Duke Nukem fans happy by announcing a specific launch date, and showing a solid, playable version of the game to the press in Las Vegas, Take-Two Interactive has announced that Duke Nukem Forever has been delayed. Again. Duke Nukem Forever will now be released on PC, the Xbox 360, and PS3 on June 10, 2011 internationally and June 14, 2011 in North America. The original date was May 3 in North America, May 6 worldwide. Hey, we waited this long, right?
In its 2010 annual report (PDF), recorded music’s global trade body said that the industry would “struggle to survive unless we address the fundamental problem of piracy.” Just how “fundamental” a problem is that piracy? Not very, as new research suggests that only 9 percent of US Internet users even use peer-to-peer networks at all, down substantially from 2007.
Market research firm NPD Group, which tracks music acquisition, said today that P2P use has dropped from 16 percent of all US Internet users to 9 percent over the last three years. The latest data comes from the fourth quarter of 2010, when a federal judge shut down LimeWire; that may have depressed the numbers a bit, though NPD notes that other P2P programs saw more usage as a result.
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These days, it’s rare to hear of a successful retail startup that isn’t trying to reinvent ecommerce — but that’s exactly what J. Hilburn, a three-year-old brand that focuses on made-to-measure dress shirts and other men’s apparel, is doing.
The Dallas-based startup was founded in 2007 by former Wall Street retail analyst Hil Davis, who functions as its CEO. He saw an opportunity to cut the retailer — and its markup — from the sale and distribution of menswear apparel.
“A Zegna shirt costs $35 to make, is sold to a retailer for $125, and then sells for $325 at Neiman Marcus,” Davis explains. “We go to the same Italian mills, the same factories, wrap a personal touch and service into the product, and sell it directly, without the retail markup,” he says. J. Hilburn’s custom-fitted shirts typically cost about $100.
Instead of a retail store or ecommerce website, J. Hilburn recruited a salesforce of 800 personal style advisors who operate in 43 states and every metropolitan market. Style advisors meet with clients at their homes and offices, record measurements and offer style advice, taking a significant cut of sales generated in the process. The company also uses its referral program to reach new customers, rewarding $20 to clients whose referrals spend more than $100 with the company.
J. Hilburn sold 60,000 custom-tailored shirts and 12,000 custom trousers through these methods last year, more than doubling its revenue from $3.25 million to $8 million, says Davis.
This year, the company plans to bring in $20 million in revenue, driven in part by its new ecommerce offering, launched Wednesday. Jhilburn.com will make it easier for existing clients to refill orders, as well as place new orders that harmonize with their existing purchases.
The company is working to develop a “My Closet” feature that keeps track of previous acquisitions and suggests new items that complement the cuts, colors, patterns and textures of a customer’s existing wardrobe.
New customers will be able to learn more about the brand, design shirts using the company’s web app (above), schedule a consultation with a style advisor, and order items from J. Hilburn’s line of ready-to-wear cashmere sweaters, polos and accessories, which currently make up about a third of sales.
The company does not plan to start aggressively marketing online until the fall, when it will optimize the site for customer acquisition through search, and leverage its network of style advisors to build and maintain customer relationships through social media.
Still, the emphasis will continue to be on the offline relationship. “The world is going custom, and now there is a great opportunity to build a great ecommerce platform with a personal touch. A style advisor is so important to our ecommerce business, allowing trust to be developed between not just a website and a customer, but between two people, and that trust level goes a long way,” Davis says.
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Aflac is attempting to make the best of its most recent social media faux pas with a national casting call to replace the exiting Gilbert Gottfried as the voice of its duck mascot.
Later today, the insurer plans to update quackaflac.com, a site where prospective voiceover actors can go to submit audio and video files of themselves. Aflac will also hold auditions in six cities. The brand will promote the effort on its Facebook Page and Twitter feed, says spokesman Jon Sullivan.
“We’re handling it like a job interview,” says Sullivan. “This is not a contest.” Sullivan declined to say what the job pays. Aflac, whose advertising is handled by New York ad agency Kaplan Thaler Group, will also advertise the posting on Monster.com. The brand hopes to start shooting new commercials in a few months. Sullivan adds that the brand is going with a national casting call rather than a Hollywood talent agent because “in this day and age, talent can be found anywhere.” But the spokesman acknowledges that there’s also a social media benefit from taking this approach.
Aflac sacked Gottfried, who was the voice of the duck since 2000, when he tweeted some offensive thoughts on his Twitter stream about the recent earthquake in Japan including “Japan called me. They said ‘maybe those jokes are a hit in the U.S., but over here, they’re all sinking’” and “I was talking to my Japanese real estate agent. I said ‘Is there a school in this area.’ She said, ‘Not now, but just wait.’”
Gottfried has since deleted the offending tweets and offered the following sort-of apology in a statement: “I was born without a censor button. My mouth and now email will continue to get me into trouble.”
Aflac, clearly chastened by the experience, now has a link on its Facebook Page that lets consumers contribute money to the Red Cross’s relief effort in Japan. Sullivan’s comments also make it sound as though the brand is steering clear of anyone who might be remotely edgy. “We are looking for the best person to represent our brand,” he says, adding that the new voice talent must align with Aflac’s image as “philanthropic with high ethical standard.”
More About: advertising, Aflac, gilbert gottfried, MARKETING, twitter
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