Posted:
(cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog)

People love saving money. According to eMarketer, almost 88.2 million people--or half of all U.S. adults who use the Internet--redeemed an online coupon in 2011, and this number should increase to 96.8 million by 2013. So it’s no wonder why so many companies, big and small, are using discounts, in the form of daily deals, to drive increases in sales.

In November 2011 Google Offers partnered with REI, the nationally loved outdoor retailer, to run REI’s first-ever daily deal and Google’s first-ever national offer: $15 for $25 worth of outdoor gear from REI.


Co-branded landing page used with marketing campaign to increase awareness of the offer
“REI was looking for ways to learn how we can use daily deals to drive the business during a non-promotional period, both within our stores and online, and a partnership with Google was a great fit,” said Teresa Harting, REI’s Marketing Manager. “We wanted to partner with a company that understood our brand and could manage it appropriately in the midst of a large-scale promotional announcement.”

In the weeks leading up to the offer, REI and Google worked closely to develop an offer that accurately reflected the REI brand. The companies also worked hand in hand to craft a well-executed pre-offer campaign that would drive interest and awareness among REI customers. The campaign, which ended on the date the offer ran, included the following tactics:

      • A 10 day teaser campaign on Google’s GDN, which drove people to a co-branded landing page for the offer. 
      • An email campaign sent to REI’s opted-in subscriber base and to Google Offers opted-in subscribers on the day of the offer. 
      • REI Facebook and Twitter posts were published the day before the offer and the day of the offer.
      • Facebook promotion on the REI brand page, including real-time interaction with customers to answer any questions about the offer.

REI.com site promotion on the day of the offer
Beginning on November 3rd, the REI Google Offer ran for 24 hours and was purchased by nearly 90,000 people across the U.S. The one-day deal has driven a significant amount of sales, both online and offline, and the average order value exceeded REI’s already high expectations. Further analysis will continue through the end of the redemption period to understand the total business impact, but it’s clear that REI will continue to see a benefit from their Google Offer.

“Our objective in running a Google Offer was to understand if we could attract new REI customers and increase traffic to our stores and to our website. Additionally, we wanted to gain a better understanding around how daily deals work for REI and if it would yield similar or higher average order values across both new and loyal customers. We have seen strong redemption and are continuing to track the results through the end of the redemption period. Overall, we are happy with the results of our very first daily deal with Google Offers,” said Harting.

If you’re a merchant and are interested in running a Google Offer, please visit: google.com/offers/business

Posted by Robin Lien, Google U.S. Retail Team

Posted:
(cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog)

SXSW Interactive 2012 starts tomorrow and we’re excited to be a part of this year’s festivities in Austin! As we announced last week, we’re transforming Rainey St. into the “Google Village” on March 10-11. Only a few steps away from the Austin Convention Center, the “Google Village” will consist of four houses packed full of demos and fun, drinks and music. The Commerce team will be at the Google Village too, and here’s what we got going on:

Google Offers
Google Offers will be set up throughout Google Village and our goal is to connect you to our product by allowing you to experience great Austin businesses that we’ve partnered with to run Google Offers.

Your journey begins at the Maps House, where you can pick up a Google Offers passport. This passport gets you access to all the Google Offers carts outside every house in the village:
  • Developer House: Get a taste of local favorite Frank’s unique artisan hot dogs
  • Discovery House: Play our record toss game for a chance to win swag from Waterloo Records
  • Android House: Whip up a refreshing drink while burning some calories by testing out blender bikes courtesy of Jack and Adam’s Bicycles
Like what you see? Then sign up for Google Offers at www.google.com/offers or download our mobile app to purchase offers from our featured businesses in your city.

Google Wallet
As you walk through the Google Village, stop by the Android House to try out Google Wallet. You can play the Google Wallet-enabled claw and pinball games to win prizes, and Google Wallet team members will be on hand to demo the app and answer any questions you might have.

If you’re not able to stop by, find out how you can get Google Wallet here: http://www.google.com/wallet/get.html

Commerce Developer Hangouts
Have technical questions around In-App Payments or other Commerce APIs? Sign up for 15 minutes of one-on-one time with a member of the Google Developer Relations team on March 11th at the Developer House. Get answers and insights from Googlers who are experts on these products.

Posted by Artem Chetverykov and Teresa Jung, Commerce Marketing Team

Posted:
(cross-posted on the Inside AdWords Blog)

At Google, one of our goals is to help make the web work for your business. Today we’re introducing the Learn with Google webinar program that does just that, by sharing best practices and tips across a variety of products, including search ads, mobile ads, display ads, YouTube and Google Analytics.

We’re kicking off the program with eight live webinars in March:
  • March 13 at 10am PDT: 5 Tips to Start Marketing your Business with Video
  • March 14 at 10am PDT: Introduction to the Google Display Network
  • March 15 at 10am PDT: GoMo: Mobilize your Site and Maximize your Advertising
  • March 20 at 10am PDT: Understanding Mobile Ads Across Marketing Objectives
  • March 21 at 10am PDT: Reaching Your Goals with Google Analytics
  • March 22 at 10am PDT: GoMo for Publishers
  • March 27 at 10am PDT: Manage Large AdWords Campaigns with Less Effort
  • March 28 at 10am PDT: 3 Tips to Get More out of your Video Advertising Campaigns
Check out our new webinar page to register for any of the sessions or to access on-demand webinars. We’ll be adding new webinars as they’re scheduled, so check back regularly for updates. You can also stay up-to-date on the schedule by downloading our Learn with Google Webinar calendar to automatically see upcoming webinars in your Google Calendar.

Whether your goal is to engage the right customers at the right time, make better decisions faster, or get the most from your marketing dollars, we hope that you’ll use these tips and how-to’s to maximize the impact of digital and grow your business. We’re looking forward to having you join us!

Posted by Erica Tsai, Product Marketing Manager