Lights, camera... action!
DURING THE FIRST HALF of March, the National Retail Federation will be accepting submissions for its "Best Retail Story in America" video contest. On April 2, the top 20 videos (selected by a judging panel of retail executives) will be announced and posted online for public voting. In mid-May, three finalists will be flown to the NRF's Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., where the winners of the top prizes, $25,000, $15,000 and $10,000, will be announced.
"We're on a hunt to find the best retail stories in America - from marketing geniuses to customer service superstars to small business owners - who are the fabric of every local community," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said of the contest, which is part of an organizational campaign to raise awareness of the retail industry's economic impact. 
To enter, retailers will submit a two-minute video sharing their retail story, highlighting how their company positively impacts shoppers or the community, their store's role in the creation of a new product or technology, or how an initiative will generate new jobs to boost the economy.
At Home Accents Today, we come across great retailers with great stories on a daily basis. But, in addition to being marketing geniuses, customer service superstars, job creators and community assets, we've also noticed that home accents retailers have a propensity for being early adopters of the latest and greatest technologies, especially when it comes to audio/visuals.
Take, for example, The Garden Gates in Metairie, La., profiled in our June 2010 issue. The online upgrades put into place by owners Chad and Beth Harris caught the attention of Internet Retailer's editors and earned the store's website a spot on the magazine's 2012 Hot 100 list. An independent retailer, The Garden Gates shares the list's "Housewares/Home/Hardware" category with retail giants Fab.com, Overstockart.com, Roomandboard.com, Rugsdirect.com, Surlatable.com, Tempurpedic.com and Williams-Sonoma.com.
Internet Retailer's editors applauded The Garden Gates' website and emails for photography that draws in shoppers "with beautiful imagery well suited to its high-end products and affluent customer base."
"About two years ago I decided that in order for us to compete with the large retailers, The Garden Gates n
Click on photo for link to YouTube video.
eeded to have all the same artillery," Chad Harris said of his strategy, which has included major investments in e-commerce, digital technology and video/photography. "We redesigned our web portfolio and launched 15 additional sites. We did all the research, all the late nights of comparison between platforms and decided to buy Znode, which allows us to customize the product 100%. We now have several websites that operate as one.
"We met a great videographer who came over one day and basically put a mic on me and we started filming. No script, just capturing raw passion for our business. We loved the first one so much we did a second one. The cost is pretty reasonable, ranging from $800 to $1,600, depending on what you need and the amount of editing. And our photography - no matter how good we thought it was, it needed to be better. So, we did the research and bought all the equipment and built a 2,000-sq.-ft. photo studio with a cyclorama, shooting tables and a lot more. This allows us to be in control of all the content and to make changes quickly."
Some of Harris's results are viewable on YouTube (search: TheGardenGatesNOLA), where they highlight store events, promotions, employees and new products. "We capture events in digital (slideshow format) and video to get customers to interact with us in our virtual world," Harris said. "We created a video about our Christmas Tree Program, and about an event we hosted promoting area business. We plan to film two to three videos a month for the next 24 to 36 months."
Twin Falls, Idaho-based franchisor Real Deals on Home Décor is another example of a home accents retailer 
that's finding success with video. Real Deals was founded in 2003, began franchising in 2006, and was named to Entrepreneur magazine's 2012 Franchise 500 list. Jeff Humphrey, vice president of marketing and development, said the videos were initially created to help sell franchises. Now they're also helping the franchisees communicate to their customers the uniqueness of the Real Deal shopping experience.
"I literally just threw my camera in a bag and hopped on a plane and went out to see a few of our stores," Humphrey said. "I wanted to capture what makes us special - we don't just sell home décor, we sell an incredible shopping experience. A unique, local, mom-and-pop, community-driven, customer service experience. A discovery every week."
Humphrey did the camera work and said the process was driven by his own curiosity. "The plan was to just make some fun, comfortable, inexpensive videos that capture who we are. People appreciate the honesty of the videos, and love seeing that we don't take ourselves too seriously. They understand it's the Real Deals way." Broadcasting is done via YouTube, Real Deals' main Facebook page and the Facebook pages of the individual franchisee stores.
"Facebook is the ultimate mom-and-pop advertising tool, and it's free. With the national account I can communicate with almost 16,000 fans any time I want. They get to see the store, the changes, the back room, the promotions, and they participate in tons of great contests. One customer told us that our Facebook page for our store in Jefferson, Ga., is talked about periodically in advertising classes at the University of Georgia."
Like Harris, Humphrey also plans to keep filming. "I have lots of video ideas in mind. I just need the time to do them."
For more information on the "Best Retail Story in America" video contest, visit retailmeansjobs/contest. If you're chosen as one of the 20 finalists for public viewing and voting, let us know -- post the link in the Comments section below.
Dulce commented:
With two pilots on the way, I was not able to aetntd. Which brings me to the following suggestion to build on your own. I was following tweets and news from the show but was disappointed by how little information was ultimately available to those not in aetntdance. In this age of Tele-presence, it would be great to get more screencasts and transcripts from the various presentations. I'd happily pay for this material if it were made available by the show's organizers. Reply
Ellen Davis, NRF commented:
"Content Caution" - All great points. The terms of the contest are posted here: RetailMeansJobs.com/legal. We certainly encourage all submitters to understand the terms before deciding whether to enter the contest.
Content Caution commented:
A wonderful idea, but I think there are a few unknowns here that AWARENESS is key;
1) Who will own the rights to use the submitted videos? Or what are the terms to use the video content once submitted? (i.e., can they be used indefinitely by the publication? Or for one week by the publication & then taken down?) Forever free content is great for those who are on the receiving end, but where does the line end? Be careful. There should be a reasonable timeline so submitted work isn’t a free for all, FOREVER!
2) Even if a participant doesn’t win, a contributor and their supporters must agree to “giving the rights” for the named publication(s) to use it. Make sure all who are involved in the video project are aware, with agreements in place, that they will receive no monetary compensation for their work even if the publication uses them for content in their publication(s). This important agreement should be created by the retailer for its technical, creative suppliers and anyone involved in this production.
3) Retailers should be aware that most professional photographers, videographers, graphics designers/ technical participants in a video, may want a fair portion of the prize regardless if they are paid for their services and will always spell out a timeline of usage allowed. Intellectual property producers have different prices & rates based on the usage of their creation. (retailers must have this spelled out in your agreement upfront!) or if it isn’t presented upfront for what this video is being used for or how it is being submitted, and a timeline permitted and that there is prize money involved, you could be creating some serious liability to your business.
This isn’t just copying a chair, with a small change and hope no one notices. This is original content being used by others. The rights to the content, usage rights of the content, duration of usage of the content and by whom, are important details. This is important so no parties ever feel taken advantage of and you don’t leave yourself open. Be careful, wise and honest.
