ERA Looks Toward a New Era With a New Brand and Direction

During the last 12 months, the Electronic Retailing Association has embarked on a journey that would serve as a foundation for its future--the ERA brand. This journey has taken the ERA staff around the world, talking to new members and original members, current Board members and founding Board members, retailers, marketers, and so on. We researched, brainstormed, developed, critiqued, focused on, ruled out and after a long journey, we have arrived at a new--yet very familiar--destination.

ERA's Board of Directors saw the need to address the current and future direction of ERA and its brand. With a core strategic initiative to attract new retailers, the Board recognized that the ERA brand needed to reflect a leadership role: the direct interaction with the customer, while showing that business was being transacted. The branding company, Creative Strategy, was retained to work along with the Board and ERA staff to find a new direction for ERA's brand, focused on creating a future path for ERA's brand--to reflect where ERA is now and where the industry is going.

After this expansive journey of vetting, discussion and research, we found the true north--our niche. As marketers, we pride ourselves on our creativity--we did what all good marketers do: we listened to our customers. The majority of you told us that you recognize the value of ERA's current name, the Electronic Retailing Association. At the same time, all agreed that the look, feel and even the tagline of our organization were due for a change.

ERA LOGO GETS A NEW LOOK
This logo represents the targeted nature of the direct-to-consumer industry. It hits the center of the key aspect of the industry.

The new tagline, "Leaders in Direct-to-Consumer Commerce," reflects the direct method with which we all go to market and is intended to be channel neutral. In this way, we can meet our consumers where they tell us they want to transact with us, regardless of what new technologies emerge in the future.

The goal of the new brand is to reflect where ERA is going. That future we believe is robust and bright and we will focus on our mission to help and support electronic retailers with the tools they need to be effective at direct-to-consumer commerce. ERA also wants to ensure that it does everything it can to help retailers become better and more profitable retailers. We believe the tagline of "Leaders in Direct-to-Consumer Commerce" is specific enough to communicate what our membership is comprised of, yet broad enough to encompass issues, technologies and efforts that have to be developed.

With this new brand, logo and tagline, ERA establishes a solid foundation to continue its leadership in multichannel direct-to-consumer commerce. ERA already has begun integrating the new brand in marketing and other communications. The rollout of this new brand will continue to offer increased interactive online communications, including a new website, retailer-focused marketing efforts, signage, collateral and much more.

For more information about the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA), call (703) 841-1751, or visit www.retailing.org.