Ken Cassar, Vice President, Industry Insights, Online Division
I was very interested to hear the news yesterday that Amazon had acquired Zappos for $847 million in cash and stock. Since Zappos founder Tony Hsieh asked and answered some of his own questions about the deal in a letter to employees so I thought it’d be useful to engage in a Q&A with myself about the deal.
1. Why did Amazon buy Zappos?
A: Two numbers answer that succinctly: About 5 percent of Amazon’s sales are apparel/footwear sales, compared …

Joshua Hammond, Nielsen Online
Social media can be a great equalizer. Periodically we see a new consumer generated media (CGM) item that breaks barriers and demands a deeper dive. This month, we saw a true “David vs. Goliath” moment play out online for one of the most widely recognized brands in America.
In the spring of 2008, Dave Carroll and his band, the Sons of Maxwell, were traveling to Nebraska from Chicago on United Airlines. What should have been a routine journey turned into yet another cautionary tale for customer …

By Jennifer Volz and Joe Colacurcio
On the eve of General Motor’s bankruptcy, New York Times blog writer, James G. Cobb, asked consumers to share their experiences with GM vehicles. His personal contribution relates to family vehicles, from deep pride in his parents’ first new Chevy to a later Biscayne exhibiting various quality issues that would ultimately be cited as a reason neither he nor his family have owned GM products since.
This experiential theme resonates among consumers responding to the blog post. Within the 57 percent of consumers expressing mixed to …

How might the media and marketing landscape change next year?  In his latest Ad Age column, Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President, ventures a few predictions.
1. Consumers Go On Social Media “Diets”
“[In 2008] we impulsively adopted everything from hastily assembled Facebook friends and Twitter followers to groups, apps and widgets, yet rarely revisited them.  In 2009, less may well become the new more,” Blackshaw notes.

2. Marketers Return To Media Basics
“TV will remain a focus because viewership in aggregate is actually going up, so continuing to understand how social media extends and …

If attentive customer service is the hottest new marketing strategy, then a company’s employees are the key to brand building, Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President, argues in his latest Ad Age column. 
Blackshaw cites the example of online shoe retailer Zappos.com, which makes customer service a priority.  The company is betting its customer-friendly ways will attract and retain loyal shoppers.
The benefits of that approach are evident, Blackshaw notes — though he warns that overhauling customer service strategies is no easy task.
“Getting this right is easier said than done. You …

With online consumer forums and personal blogs in ascendence, communications strategies are being redefined — and PR firms, for one, have to adapt. 
That’s the message Pete Blackshaw emphasized in a recent discussion with the editors of The Council of Public Relations Firms’ The Firm Voice. 
Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, is the author of a new book, “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), which examines marketing in the era of empowered consumers. 
“I think PR firms are going to have to get much smarter and savvier about …

In the next in a regular series of Ad Age columns, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President Pete Blackshaw examines how Canadian fast-food chain Tim Horton’s benefits from the unusually intense loyalty of its customers.
While Starbucks has struggled with store closings and customer-service failings, this coffee competitor from the North has quietly expanded, banking on its mission, its people, and its community ethos.
“Even though it’s a chain, the brand…comes across as uniquely authentic,” Blackshaw writes.  “There’s an important story behind this Tim Hortons brand. Great food, good value, strong community support …

On Monday, The Nielsen Company announced the release of “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000” (Doubleday), by Pete Blackshaw, Executive Vice President of Digital Strategic Services, Nielsen Online.  The book, which arrives in bookstores July 8, provides guidance for marketing in the era of Consumer Generated Media (i.e. empowered consumers).
Nielsen will host a webinar preview of the book on July 9.  To register for that event, visit: http://www.netratings.com/resources.jsp?section=event&nav=2.
For more details on the book, visit www.tell3000.com, or read a synopsis of the book in USA Today.

Is attentive customer service the hottest new marketing strategy? 
In the first of a regular series of Ad Age columns, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President Pete Blackshaw examines how Apple uses in-store “concierges” to both greet and direct shoppers—thus blurring the line between marketing and service. 
“Whether explicitly acknowledged or not, there’s an unmistakable ‘service is marketing’ mantra pervading every aspect of the Apple Store,” Blackshaw writes.  “That’s something every brand, even those not as shiny as Apple’s, can learn from. The opportunity to solve problems, find solutions and even address ‘the …