Interesting news! It looks like J.Crew acquired an impressive talent from Vogue. I am looking forward to what Diego Scotti's marketing strategy will be. I am also curious what "customer experience seamless from social media to direct mail to the in-store experience" will be. Does it mean my catalog from J.Crew will arrive, and on-time? Because I will be happy to see that. ;)J.Crew Names Diego Scotti New Marketing Head
By Jean E. Palmieri
October 13, 2011
J.Crew Group Inc. has turned to Vogue magazine for its new head of marketing.
The New York-based specialty store has named Diego Scotti to the newly created post of senior vice president/chief marketing officer. He will report to chief executive officer Millard “Mickey” Drexler as well as creative director Jenna Lyons, and will oversee all retail and direct marketing initiatives for both the J.Crew and Madewell divisions. He takes over duties formerly performed by Margot Fooshee, senior vice president of marketing and public relations, who left the company in August. He will start in early November.
Most recently, Scotti has been executive director of marketing for Vogue, where he was responsible for the overall strategic vision and the marketplace positioning of the magazine. Prior to that, he spent 15 years with American Express where he held several domestic and international positions, including head of global advertising and brand management.
In an internal memo to the J.Crew staff on Thursday, Drexler said: “Diego’s business and fashion experience will be instrumental in building brand awareness, developing integrated marketing plans and making the customer experience seamless from social media to direct mail to the in-store experience.”
What are your thoughts on this news? What changes do you think Mr. Scotti will bring to J.Crew?
Might I suggest actually conducting some marketing research (read: read JCA)? He may find out that people want a)free shipping b)a CC with real benefits c)some consistency between B&M and web chnnels so customers don't feel like they're constantly getting screwed d)the ability to view the catalog online e)etc.
ReplyDeleteIt's not good enough to just say "we're obsessed" or my new favorite "we want it in every color" (seriously, it's on the copy of so many pieces this season) - especially when there are less expensive versions of most of the items elsewhere. They've got a ways to go to improve the customer experience.
What actually happened at Vogue?
ReplyDeleteWell it's about DAMN time they hired SOMEONE to be in charge of it!
ReplyDeleteI'm dubious, though. I don't like the sound of his background. It's very rare for anyone in marketing to stay in one position for so long -- it doesnn't bode well for fresh, new ideas. and I have trouble believing that time spent at Vogue, of all places, prepares you well for retail, mass-market fashion marketing.
Time will tell. I hope I'm wrong, but something tells me Dear Leader was more impressed with this guy's pedigree than with his actual accomplishments in strategic marketing.
Now.....marketing can't fix customer service. Who's in charge there? Whoever it is should get the axe and be replaced by someone who actually wants to keep the customer J Crew has and oh, I don't know, get some new ones maybe?
*huffs*
Or they could work on quality, consistency, fair pricing, and reliable inventory control, and the products would market themselves. Effortlessly.
ReplyDeleteOh Fred, go on with your crazy talk. :P
ReplyDeleteExactly, Elaine and WFF! I have a feeling we're in for more lipstick on a pig. JC has been been coasting on being "darlings" of mass-market retail for a long time - but now the declining quality is starting to catch up with them. Wonder what the spin is going to be this time...
ReplyDeleteI see this as more evidence of creating and marketing "celebrity" management (Mickey, Jenna, Marisa, et al) to move merch than focusing on product quality and the customer experience.
ReplyDeleteSo is this why I didn't receive my October catalog? Phhhht.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that the "seamless experience" bit means that j.crew will finally get its pricing, promotions, cadence of merchandise flow, etc. in sync across all distribution channels (store, online, catalog, etc.)...!!!
ReplyDeleteditto to all...I would like to see for online, the option to put a "wish list" so you can save items and a review section so people can see through the website directly. It also would be nice if JCREW did more for their regular customers (i.e. get names, etc) and let them in on specials that are not tied to "reward points" from CC use. There are many of us who really are JCREW diehards. They should learn to treat those customers a little better.
ReplyDeletemaking the customer experience seamless from social media to direct mail to the in-store experience...
ReplyDeleteMaybe we'll be able to order right off a link on a blog or our Facebook. ;)
funny, I thought at DL's age he would have learned how to diagram a sentence.
ReplyDeleteI believe I can help JCrew increase sales and improve their online presence. I have some very specific ideas that are relatively easy to implement. I am a software developer with a background in psychology and a keen interest in marketing. How would one go about presenting ideas to Diego/marketing/sales division?
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, promoting a business is quite simple now thanks to a large number of marketing tools, but at the same time, competition in the market is very high, and you constantly need to come up with something new to stand out. Well, printed products will be a cool solution. Services such as printsafari allow you to use not only ready-made templates, but also customize paper products.
ReplyDelete