November 9, 2004 11:06 AM PST
Short films star on Amazon
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Starting Tuesday, the company plans to debut one short film each week on its home page. The films are loosely based on a theme Amazon describes as "karmic balance"--the idea that what goes around comes around and that, in the long term, those who do the right thing are rewarded.
This week's film, "Portrait," stars Minnie Driver. Directed by Jordan Scott, the movie tells the story of an overbearing fashionista who learns a lesson on inner beauty. Other actors starring in the movies include Blair Underwood, Daryl Hannah and Chris Noth.
Items for sale on Amazon's site will appear subtly in the films and in the credits. The company said users of Amazon Platinum Visa cards will get a discount of 5 percent if they buy products such as home furnishings, cosmetics and jewelry featured in any of the films.
JPMorgan Chase, which is sponsoring the series, will have the rights for product placements in the films, Amazon said.
The short films are a "great example of Amazon's relentless commitment to finding new and innovative ways to surprise and delight customers and deliver an unparalleled online experience," Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, said in a statement.
Online shopping for the holiday season is poised to grow significantly this year, according to JupiterResearch. An estimated 86 million Americans are expected to shop on the Internet for gifts and other items this season. E-commerce companies as well as technology companies are getting ready for the rush with new products and marketing campaigns.
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...Here in the UK it is evident that these video enriched experiences is high on the agenda, and IPTV distribution is growing rapidly through people like narrowstep.com, bt.com, although there is still alot of learning to be done - One sector that hasnt yet made an IP appearance is the Home Shopping market. This suprises me considering how big the ecommerce market is - They still seem to put vast amounts of money into the satellite platform, whilst not putting much focus into the internet or its future....the best you seem to get right now is a live stream fed from their satellite channel - why is this? My mind tells me that this fails to utilise the interactive nature of the internet, and because there are so many etailers on the internet now, the only differentiator is the quality and ease of the information they provide, the price and the delivery service. This means that consumers now suffer from difficulty in finding enough static information (photos/text) to feel comfortable about making a purchase.
Surely, enriching retail sites with on demand video product programmes aka a VOD version of your average home shopping channel, consumers will feel more informed, and more comfortable about making that all important purchase decision? I came across what looks to be the first Home Shopping IPTV channel the other day and its certainly impressive when you open up the home page to see 8 simultaneous lifestyle channel to choose from - they seem to have understood how to take the traditional home shopping TV model, and converge it with the internet to provide a searchable on demand product programme experience - it is called www.tv-istreet.co.uk and is raising a few eyebrows here in blighty....
...Here in the UK it is evident that these video enriched experiences is high on the agenda, and IPTV distribution is growing rapidly through people like narrowstep.com, bt.com, although there is still alot of learning to be done - One sector that hasnt yet made an IP appearance is the Home Shopping market. This suprises me considering how big the ecommerce market is - They still seem to put vast amounts of money into the satellite platform, whilst not putting much focus into the internet or its future....the best you seem to get right now is a live stream fed direct from their satellite channel - why is this? My mind tells me that this fails to utilise the interactive nature of the internet, and because there are so many etailers on the internet now, the only differentiator is the quality and ease of the information they provide, the price and the delivery service. This means that consumers suffer from difficulties in finding enough static information (photos/text) to feel comfortable about making a purchase.
Surely, enriching retail sites with on demand video product programmes aka a VOD version of your average home shopping channel, consumers will feel more informed, and more comfortable about making that all important purchase decision? I came across what looks to be the first Home Shopping IPTV channel the other day and its certainly impressive when you open up the home page to see 8 simultaneous lifestyle channel to choose from - they seem to have understood how to take the traditional home shopping TV model, and converge it with the internet to provide a searchable on demand product programme experience - it is called www.tv-istreet.co.uk and is raising a few eyebrows here in blighty....
...if this takes off, what will it mean? The ubiquitous nature of the internet will surely make the traditional 'Home Shopping' market a redundant medium, if so, what will the next era be called? 'Virtual Shopping'?!