Once reserved exclusively for those “in the know” and living in major fashion hubs, sample sales have now gone mainstream. Over the past year a number of online sample sale sites have popped up, such as, ruelala.com and gilt.com. Both Rue La La and Gilt Groupe operate using similar models – both are invitation only, meaning that you have to be invited by an already existing member to take part in the action. They feature premium designer clothes and accessories in private sale boutiques that are only open for a limited time. Members receive reminder emails when new sales are about to open –driving interest and visitors to the online boutiques before coveted items are sold out. Over the past year the word has clearly spread and the secret is out that these sites exist. This is evident from the chart below which shows that Unique Visitors to both sites have been steadily rising.

The increasing traffic to these sites show that in these times premium brand shoppers are looking for deals too, even if it is on a $300 pair of jeans. This becomes even more apparent if we look at the Daily Reach metric displayed in the chart below.

As you can see, Rue La La gets a major spike around the time of December 30th. At this time they were having a sale offering even larger than usual discounts which can account for the rush. For the most part Rue La La has continued to beat out Gilt Groupe but it will be interesting to see if they can remain on top as the space grows and competition increases.

“The options for placing media today are endless and I have had some interesting requests from clients that truly reflect the extent of those possibilities,” said Megan Hernandez, media planner at The Gate Worldwide. I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Megan and got an insider’s view on what it means to be a media planner today. As a media planner Megan acts as the liaison between the creative team, account team and clients to develop media strategies and campaigns, as well as purchasing all approved media buys. Megan was able to offer some insight into this continually evolving field and on why her clients are moving to digital.

Are your clients moving towards digital media and away from more traditional sources?

This depends entirely on the client and their background. Digital is an attractive medium because of the tracking ability on the results and on how efficient each buy was. Clients love to be able to report back to their team about how each dollar was spent and the results of the entire campaign. I find that if a client is hesitant about digital advertising and we run a test campaign usually by the end of the test campaign they are already planning the next one!

What tips would you offer to digital advertisers?

1. Know your audience. I understand that this sounds pretty elementary but in order to maximize your return on investment you must know your audience and where they are online in order to evaluate which sites target your core group.
2. If budget allows, develop a micro site or landing page. This will be able to capture complete reporting and conversions and will help tailor the message of the campaign to the audience in order to keep their interest.
3. Focus on reporting at the end of the campaign. It is extremely important to understand metrics and how successful your campaign was.

What advice do you have for advertisers as we head into 2009?”

Stay positive. At this time I understand that companies are experiencing budget cuts and advertising and marketing may be affected. No matter how large these budget cuts are, advertising is an essential part of a brand and one that cannot be overlooked. On a positive note, there are many mediums and strategies that can be adjusted to work within a company’s budget while still remaining effective. Right now, we are putting together many proposals for our clients to work within their smaller budget while still advertising in the proper mediums.