Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of a major retailer’s transition to omnichannel retailing (OCR) from an existing multichannel retailing (MCR) base. Using the illustrative case of Seven & I (S&I) Holdings, the paper positions OCR in terms of its goal to provide added customer value through a seamless brand experience. Design/methodology/approach The research uses a case study methodology, based on a series of in-depth interviews. Executives at S&I were interviewed as the core of the case, and supporting interviews were carried out with executives at Yamato Transport, Inditex Japan and Rakuten. Data collected in interviews were cross-referenced to industry and trade press reports, providing an illustration of the motivation and strategic decisions behind the transition to OCR, and of factors that have direct impact on the implementation of the model. Findings The results illustrate the difficulty in achieving OCR in terms of unifying customer experience across multiple channels. The case demonstrates the potential for cross-channel integration through multiple, but integrated touchpoints, and the leveraging of existing multichannel retail infrastructure and systems. In addition to confirming previous conceptual understanding of the transition process, the core findings demonstrate the importance of the strategic implementation process, the importance of the retailer’s brand portfolio and brand management, and the need to adjust and leverage existing facilities and infrastructure. Research limitations/implications The study is limited by the single case employed, although the complexity of OCR implementation does not take away from the practical implications in a broader sense. It could be argued that the Japanese retail industry has some differences to other markets, but the customer-orientated nature of S&I’s implementation, and its aim to leverage existing infrastructure, is illustrative for similar strategies of retailers elsewhere in the world. Practical implications The study has value to both researchers and practitioners as a structured synopsis of an actual case of transition, and adds to the literature that relates to OCR and to Japanese distribution. It demonstrates not only the need for robust supply chain, logistics, IT, marketing and retail infrastructure, and integration across distribution systems, but also the importance of the retailer’s brand portfolio, which may need significant adjustment to best promote added customer value. The success of S&I is predicated on both the high population densities, characteristic of the Japanese market, and a strong, longstanding MCR base. Similar systems and implementation issues apply to other markets that operate under similar conditions. Social implications The social implications of the paper relate to the fact that, although the transition to OCR may be a difficult, costly, and time-consuming proposition for a retailer, increasingly consumers are coming to expect both informational and purchasing options for brands to be available as, when and where they want them. The 24-7 nature of omnichannel also generates significant challenges in terms of work volumes and environmental impact. These issues are touched upon this paper. Originality/value This paper provides a case of a major and well-known retailer and the transition process towards an OCR model, of which there are currently few case studies available. It also adds significantly to the body of literature relating to Japanese distribution and provides insights into strategy not generally known in the English-speaking world.

Purpose – Social media is an engaging area of research that is rapidly evolving. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporations should effectively utilize this new media as a marketing channel. The key to any successful communication strategy is matching the message to the target audience and achieving customer engagement. Two important target audience variables were identified as crucial when determining an organization’s social media communications strategy: the level of brand relationship, and the level of category involvement. Design/methodology/approach – Depth interviews were initially employed, followed by questionnaires, and then computer assisted content analysis was performed on 723 online media articles relating to social media marketing to identify semantic and conceptual relationships. Findings – Research from both a customer and corporate perspective led to insights into how organizations can develop their social media strategies in order to transform their brand message from being perceived as a commercial source of information to a social source – the social media transformation process. Research limitations/implications – This research suggests a finer level of segmentation of social media users that will lead to content strategies adapted to fit the current levels of brand and category involvement. This could be used by organization to develop a model of best practice to achieve their social media objectives. Practical implications – It is crucial for organizations to understand how different groups of users influence, receive, curate, and interact via social media. The greater the depth of this knowledge, the greater the effectiveness of content marketing strategies developed by the corporation. Organizations that utilize social media marketing must carefully analyse the large amount of consumer information available to them, listen to consumer conversations, and determine the needs and segments that will be most receptive to different approaches. They must also accept that in a social media environment user generated content and interactive communication processes should be at the heart of successful strategy. Originality/value – To date, there has been limited analysis of how relationship and involvement factors drive social media content (Cho et al., 2014; Malthouse et al., 2013). More research is needed to understand how key user characteristics lead to content that fully utilizes the social interaction and message diffusion potential of this media. This paper introduces a hierarchy of content marketing based upon the type of relationship between the user and the organization, as well as their level of product category involvement.

The research examines the effects of divergent and convergent creative thinking techniques on creative ideation processes. To analyze these effects an experiment is undertaken on advertising creatives, account executives, and students. Results demonstrate that divergent thinking techniques improve the idea originality of account executives, but not creatives. Alternatively, creatives produce more appropriate ideas by using convergent thinking techniques, yet account executive performance is clearly harmed by them. Few effects are seen on the student control group, who lack both knowledge of techniques and the domain. The findings suggest that creativity techniques are not a one-sizefits-all proposition but need to be tailored to the person and the situation in which they are applied. Implications for researchers and marketing managers are discussed.

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