As advanced as we are with search engines and expensive research initiatives, oftentimes the best lessons come from where they always have – the streets. Enjoy these four and hope to see you on Tuesday for the big finish.

1. Be a Window, Not a Mirror.
By definition, a window is a view of the outside. An open window allows you to hear what’s going on, too. A mirror, on the other hand, only reflects whatever is standing in front of it. Many companies love the mirror approach and build stores, websites and any outward facing communication as though they were looking into a very large mirror. It’s a reflection of the brand. Other stores use a window approach and mold themselves out of what they see and hear from their shoppers and users.  A Duane Reade store on Wall Street models services, adjacencies and time-based offers after the busy lives of the shoppers they serve. The Duane Reade on Wall Street is way different than the Duane Reade on Your Street. Sorry for the commercial interruption, but we’re doing a lot of work in developing store personas and then applying that lens to a store’s local market. In other words, opening the window for you.

2. Tech shouldn’t get all of the credit or all of the blame; It’s the idea that matters.
Throughout the tour my fellow tourists wanted to give a lot of credit to the technology stores were using to make good things happen. Tech can make good things happen, but it takes a solid idea to make great things happen. C-Wonder in Soho learned their customers hated waiting in line at the registers, so they dumped the registers and found a good tech solution (remember that story when we get to the big idea). PayPal has a think tank in operation in downtown Manhattan that may cause them to change their name – they’re much more than a pay service these days. PayPal’s big idea centers on enhancing the sales experience. It’s masterfully fulfilled with some new thinking and new technology courtesy of the big thinkers at PayPal.

3. Think Like a Customer, Act Like a Brand.
Okay, I’m cheating on this one. I learned this a long time ago, and people who know me know I’ve been preaching this for the last decade. But it’s true – you must think like your customer (see uber point one) but act to build your brand. Eataly, an amazing megastore on Fifth Avenue that has “grocer,” “general merchant,” “wine shop,” “microbrewery” and “restaurant” (actually, seven restaurants) in the description, is all about customer and brand. Everything but the really fresh stuff is imported from Italy. The store features Italian-themed market areas complete with carts and merchants that feel more like proprietors and less like store employees. The restaurants offer range in both price and cuisine. Eataly is an escape based on customer desire but integrated so well that the Eataly brand is built and nurtured at every step. The splash of digital signage is a good reminder that these guys are tech-smart but still focused on making the shopper love Eataly.

4.  Manufacturers and retailers need to partner up.
In the symbiotic relationship that exists between retailers and manufacturers, the result of joining forces can be game changing. L’Oreal has machines in test at the Wall Street Duane Reade that allow users to do a virtual makeover. Snap a picture, scan some UPCs and watch as you get a makeover on a touchscreen nestled in the merchandising display. Cool. The list of products the user “applies” shows up as a shopping list that can be saved and emailed to a loved one, a friend or to the user’s email. Cooler. And yes, other manufacturers do similar things, but to hear the Duane Reade GM talk about the collaboration using terms like “partner” and “friends,” you know that’s a relationship that will deliver big things for both.

So there you have it—four good lessons with a promise for one more great one. See you in a few days.

- Tom Tholen, contributing author for The Brand Show and chief customer engagement officer at Two West, Inc.

Which retail street smart trend is the most effective for retail success? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

Golfsmith uses its sales staff and store environment to inspire their customers to love life more. What other retailers inspire you to live life better? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

Mindy Grossman, Chief Executive Officer, HSN, Inc. introduced the concept of boundaryless retail. It implies that through innovation and collaboration, companies can leverage the power of technology to create an engaging experience for customers. It goes beyond omnichannel strategy and marketing; it’s about creating stories that cross channels and media.

One retail category that is harnessing the power of technology and emerging as an industry leader is luxury apparel. David Lauren, EVP of Advertising and Marketing for Ralph Lauren, shares his father’s talent for storytelling and recanted the last 11 years of Ralph Lauren’s commitment to digital innovation. He stressed the importance of leveraging technology to enhance the story of the brand. Lauren’s focus on merchantainment, the seamless blending of merchandising and entertainment to create context that inspires customers, has been the litmus test for all of their “experiments” in boudaryless retail.

From 4D (multi-sensory) building projections and interactive window displays to augmented reality fashion shows and virtual shops in a brick and mortar environment, Ralph Lauren demonstrated that shifting the focus from selling shirts to selling dreams can elevate a brand holistically.

Other luxury brands, like Burberry, are investing heavily in digital (digital signage, mobile and social). Over 60% of Burberry’s marketing budget is devoted to digital. And rightfully so. Burberry sales are up over 22% year after year as a result of this investment.

Luxury retailers are finding that digital allows them to engage directly with fans and tell a better story in retail. Harrods’ goal with digital is to become the pioneer of digital signage in luxury retail. To achieve this pioneer status, Harrods has set out to create a multi-site and multi-zone digital signage network—evolving from light boxes and signal screens to today’s high impact video walls. This endeavor requires sophisticated hardware and content management.

With face time being noted as the last asset brick and mortar stores have left, those retailers reaching out into the boundaryless realm of engagement should look to leaders like Ralph Lauren, Burberry and Harrods to learn the balance of applying digital strategies to enhance their brand story, all while ensuring a human is at the end of the experience.

Quote of the day:
“We never want a flat screen to scare you away, so we make it personal,”
– David Lauren, EVP of Advertising and Marketing, Ralph Lauren

Stay tuned for more insights from NRF’s BIG Show and read our post from Day Two.

Promoting NRF’s ‘Retail Means Jobs’ campaign, Shay celebrated the successful outcomes of the retail challenges of 2011. The last 18 months of consecutive retail growth have been an appropriate statistic to place on the table before the announcement of the 2012 retail forecast: $2.5 trillion – up 2.4% from 2011. Shay stressed that in order to hit our forecast, retailers and partners must engage and evolve with three major retail trends:

• In-store, online and mobile convergence
• Empowered consumers (Retailers must focus on recruiting, training and retaining talent needed to engage and evolve with the shopper and consumers of the future)
• International retail growth

In addition to the necessary action retailers and partners must take in 2012, Washington must do its part to ensure that retail remains America’s foundation of jobs. With one in four U.S. jobs falling into the category of retail, Shay stressed the important role retail politics will play in the future economic health of our industry and country. In 2012 alone, four major initiatives will impact retail for better or for worse: TransPacific partnership, reform of our VISA system, corporate tax rates and initiative sales tax fairness. The NRF is committed to working with Congress on these and other issues. If handled from a global perspective, this will allow retail to continue to be a major contributor to the U.S. economic recovery.

Quote of the day:
“Dr. Martin Luther King recognized work is at the core of human dignity,”
– President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United States.

President Clinton referenced retail’s role is the U.S. job market as the country celebrated the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

For coverage of President Clinton’s address on “Embracing our Common Humanity,” stats and insights from retailer panels and breakout sessions, check out The Brand Show’s live twitter feed. Today’s highlighted brands: Ascena Retail, The Bay (hudson’s Bay Company), Best Buy, SIMON Malls, Shopkick, Macy’s and more.

Stay tuned for more insights from NRF’s BIG Show and read our post from Day One.

This year’s theme is “Retail’s New Rules: Engage and Evolve.” Retail heavy weights and rising stars are sharing priceless secrets and strategies for delivering better value and meaning to the shopper.

Immediacy is the underlying theme of day one. For the past three years, the concept of shopper control and shopper demand dominated the minds, mouths and boardrooms of the retail industry. It looks as though 2012 will be a year of transformation. The retail industry has now begun leveraging the enormous stockpile of data that consumers have generated online – free for the taking – in new ways with new results.

Investment and impact was the focus for Kenneth Cole as they spoke of a new frontier of CRM strategies and software systems that leverage social content. It was suggested that retailers who don’t make this transition in shopper preference insights within 2012 will be left behind. Why? Shoppers’ expectations of service, interaction and personalization are portable.

Identifying the technology preference of its core customer was the key takeaway of Aeropostale’s session. They demonstrated the power and value of going beyond understanding shopper demographics. By aligning operations, sales-force strategies and infrastructure systems with the technology preference of its shopper (mobile), the company was able to strengthen their brand.

Investing in relationships was Coca-Cola’s hot topic, urging brands and suppliers to focus on collaboration with retailers versus negotiation in 2012. By concentrating on the needs of retail partners, brands can better create shopper success in-store.

Innovative people and ideas are what Harrod’s is bringing to retail in 2012. With the belief that the next generation of big ideas is going to come from new people and places, Harrod’s stated that retailers are hiring smart people and contracting with smart agencies to build functionality that does not come in a box.

Success stories and previews of how to evolve in 2012 were only two elements of today’s content. Engaging with shoppers via social media has turned into a successful new way to cut out the fulfillment and buying roles within the industry. This trend is proving both intriguing and threatening to retailers.

Immediacy, impact, identity, investment and innovation. The five I’s of retail in 2012.

Quote of the day:
“The risk of being irrelevant is far greater than the risk of losing some money.”
- Frederico Trajano I. Rodrigues, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer, Magazine Luiza

For session play-by-plays, insights, stats and EXPO floor chatter, follow The Brand Show on Twitter @thebrandshow.

The funny thing about Swiss Army Knives, though, is no one really gives a rip about the knife part. Even though it’s called a “knife,” the reason to get one is to have all those other tools, the things we need to get things done. Mobile phones are that way, too, but in a much bigger way. Rather than gut a fish, tighten some screws or magnify the intricacies of a leaf, mobile devices enable users and brands to connect. Therein lies the opportunity in our mobile world.

Share of screen is a bigger deal than share of voice or even share of wallet. When your app is on your customer’s screen, they’re engaged with your brand and engaged customers do great things.

Earning space on a user’s device is quickly becoming the fast lane to successful marketing. Through the portal good apps create, marketers are able to connect, instruct, assist and sell to their targets. Apps become trusted friends, tools used for everything from finding lunch to finding a great new product. So while classical marketing will tell us it’s all about gaining share of voice or share of wallet, modern marketing would suggest that share of screen is much more important.  That’s because share of screen delivers share of voice and ultimately, share of wallet.

Usage statistics suggest that mobile users download a lot of apps. In 2011, the average user downloaded 83 apps, a 61% increase from 2010 (zeldman.com). And while they are downloading lots of apps, they use just a few: 26% are opened once, another 26% are opened 11+ times (zeldman.com).  Earning your spot and more importantly, winning trust and earning usage should be top-of-mind to the modern marketer. Watch this blog over the next few weeks and we’ll show you the way…

- Tom Tholen, contributing author for The Brand Show and chief customer engagement officer at Two West, Inc.

What apps do you use on your mobile device that create engagement with a specific product? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

What experiential retailer do you return to most often? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

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How can retailers complement their in-store experience with mobile solutions and offerings for the shopper? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

Ever experienced joie de vivre with a brand? You’re about to.

Joining The Brand Show this week is Chip Conley, founder and chairmen of Joie de Vivre Hospitality and author of the book, Peak: How Great Companies Get Their Mojo From Maslow.

Tune into this three part series as Chip shares the secret of visibility in a saturated market, why placing the human psyche in your business model creates success and the underestimated value of placing your team members first.

What brand brings you joie de vivre? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.

Tune in as Justin Osborne, general manager, marketing strategy and media with VW, shares his tips and tricks for connecting with shoppers socially – driving the buzz that drives sales.

What’s your VW story? Share your thoughts below or on our LinkedIn Group.