Electronic Retailer - November 2011 - 27

Cecilia Turner: One of the most significant services that ERA provides is advocacy for our industry on Capitol Hill. Whether most members are aware or not, and whether they feel it affects them directly, there are always issues on the Hill that threaten the future of our industry and the way we all conduct business. When legislation is passed that has a negative impact on one of us, all of us are affected in some way. The board will continue to work with ERA so that they can remain a strong advocate for all of us. ER: As the new ERA Chairman, what are some of your objectives for the coming year? Steven Feinberg: As ERA Chairman, I’m working vigorously with the board to create value for the membership with a focus in four areas: 1. Expand ERA’s global footprint. The more markets we operate in, the more opportunity there will be for our members. This is something we started a little over a year ago, by strengthening our relationship with ERA Europe through enhanced board communication. Further, the return of our Asia networking event has been the lynchpin of an expanding global presence. 2. Focus on e-commerce. Even though our roots are in DRTV, and our entire industry revolves around a multichannel model, it is imperative that we focus on e-commerce. It is clear that consumers’ purchase behavior is increasingly migrating to the internet as it is taking up an increasingly larger proportion of overall direct sales. Yet, there is nothing quite like TV to propel brand awareness. We are realigning our focus to reflect this reality. 3. Member involvement. This really begins with the board, which is totally committed to participating not only at the board level, but as leaders on various committees as well. They are actively recruiting and mentoring future board members from our member volunteers. This kind of collaboration is simply good business for everyone because it fosters relationships that both help the organization and create business opportunities for all. 4. Research. We want to be able to provide the industry with information they can use to make their campaigns more effective. That means providing everything from basic size of market benchmarks to insights about consumer behavior. We are in the process of identifying the most important content and putting a plan in place to fund it. ER: What do you believe is the key to ERA’s overall growth? Condon: ERA needs to make sure it communicates better than anyone else – our industry is based on consumer engagement and we need to be the focal point for education and advertising – for marketers large and small, established and newly formed, locally based and international in scope. We’ll need to readily entice and excite existing members to increase their participation in our association and perhaps most especially, engage new social and digital media businesses to join and participate in our industry.

Yoegel: E-commerce and television convergence is for real this time. Your next TV will most likely be your next computer and vice-versa. Sure, we tried things like “Web TV” before, but technology wasn’t ready – now it is and the next “Dot-com Boom” is upon us. It will be critical for ERA to recognize the need to expand beyond what we think is our “core” and align our plans with a quick changing commerce world. ER: What advice would you give to new members? Fazeli: All members should become involved and participate in ERA events. ERA should be perceived as an indispensable partner for everyone involved in this business. Turner: Get involved with ERA by joining a committee or a council. This benefits both them and ERA, as they will be able to meet and network with companies that would be interesting to their business. In addition, ERA relies on its membership to be advocates and volunteers to strengthen the overall association. Also, as members, we all have a product or service that we want to bring to our industry – one of the reasons we join ERA is because we’re looking for opportunities to grow and expand our business. Whether it’s through advertising in the magazine, sponsoring an event or exhibiting at a trade show, ERA provides wonderful vehicles that allow members to make them known in the industry and develop new business.

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November 2011 | electronicRETAILER

9/28/11 5:22:50 PM

Electronic Retailer - November 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Electronic Retailer - November 2011