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Kmart flips on blue light
Retailer temporarily brings back famed promotion, but critics say it's passé.
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Kmart Holding Corp. is switching its famous blue-light special back on -- at least temporarily -- in an effort to spark new sales.
There won't be any flashing blue-lights or excited announcements of "Attention, Kmart shoppers!" but the Troy-based retailer has quietly rolled out signs with blue-light logos to advertise in-store clearance merchandise.
The once-popular promotion won't be a permanent part of the retailer's strategy, said Kmart spokesman Stephen Pagnani. Blue-light signs were posted mid-month, but there aren't any in stores now.
"We may once in a while use it since it is something we know our customers recognize," Pagnani said. "But there is no formal plan right now."
For years, Kmart used blue-light specials to clear out everything from black socks to garbage bags. Created in 1965 by a store manager looking to move slow merchandise, the blue-light special quickly became part of the American lexicon.
The "Attention, Kmart shoppers!" announcement was followed by a flashing light marking specially discounted price to customers -- at least those who could reach it in time.
"It turned out to be the defining moment for Kmart," said Michael Bernacchi, a marketing professor at the University of Detroit Mercy. "It stood for the essence of Kmart: the bargain of bargains. Folks went to Kmart looking for these specials."
Instead of bringing back the blue light, some say Kmart should cut the cord.
The once indelible marketing strategy soon became synonymous with Kmart's missteps: Blue-light specials became fodder for late-night talk show jokes, the ultimate symbol for cheesy merchandise. Kmart retired the promotion in the 1990s without much fanfare, all but banishing it from stores.
"It eventually became stuff you couldn't sell even if you dressed it in a diamond gown," Bernacchi said. "It was stuff no one could sell in a million years."
Kmart shopper Fay Brown, 71, of Birmingham, remembers when Kmart first started using the blue-light, but doesn't think it should be used again.
"You hear jokes about the blue-light special on television," Brown said. "It doesn't appeal to me. It sort of cheapens Kmart."
Now, the retailer is resurrecting the blue-light as it attempts to craft a marketing message that will stick with consumers and distinguish itself from rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., which have eroded its customer base.
But the wide-spread discounting at other stores also dims the effects of the blue light, said Jack Trout, president of brand consultants Trout & Partners in Old Greenwich, Conn.
"It's an idea whose time has come and gone," he said. "Wal-Mart's 'Everyday prices' trump blue-light specials. Why they want to try this one again, I have no idea. What Kmart is saying is that we have a few things on sale and Wal-Mart is saying we have a lot of things on sale."
This isn't the first time Kmart has tried to revive the blue-light. Former Kmart Chairman and Chief Executive Chuck C. Conaway relaunched it in 2001 as part of a plan to create a new image for the discounter. Kmart spent millions on a website, billboards and marketing before dumping it in 2002.
Kmart has struggled for years to fashion a successful marketing campaign. It flopped with slogans such as "Blue Light Always" in 2001 and the "Stuff of Life" in 2002. And it has yet to coin a new campaign to replace the "Right Here. Right Now" slogan it dumped last summer.
Trumpeting the blue-light now after Kmart's marketing missteps probably won't bring back customers, said George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos, Calif.
"Customers are more sophisticated, they expect more and they want something different -- not the same thing that was done years ago," Whalin said. "The blue-light should be left alone to die."
Still, brand consultant Robert Passikoff believes there is a place for the blue-light special.
Retailers use logos and advertising slogans as a way to distinguish themselves. Target has a red and white bull's-eye. Wal-Mart is known for its yellow smiley faces and the slogan "Always Low Prices."
"The fact is that this is one of the few successful campaigns that Kmart has managed to leverage in the last few years," said Passikoff, president of Brand Keys Inc., a customer research firm in New York. "Kmart hasn't been able to articulate a clear strategy in the marketplace and this may be able to help them do that."
You can reach Tenisha Mercer at (313) 222-2401 or tmercer@detnews.com Source: Detroit News research Source: Detroit News research
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