Introducing Our New President: Pat Button
Pat Button’s Views…
The Next 3 Years for CE:
You know it could be easy to have a negative outlook for the CE industry – This year alone we have seen natural disasters like earth quakes and massive flooding that has shut down full factories. We have also seen layers of consolidation that have in some ways made the industry smaller. But the one thing about CE, is that it never stands still. Twenty years ago Samsung, Apple & LG were not even considered competitors and now they are leading global technology brands. In the last decade alone we have seen new ways to communicate with customers via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. We watch movies through Netflix, we access data in the Cloud, we carry 10,000 songs in a device smaller than a deck of cards, in other words so many things have changed and evolved. History is on our side to confidently conclude that the next great product is not even on our radar yet. Change defines our industry, and is what creates our greatest opportunities; the path to purchase for consumers is changing equally and the companies that take advantage of this at retail will win. I am very positive that the next three years will have the economy heading in the right direction and the innovation and exciting products that we admire will continue to be announced and with appropriate introduction at retail they will be embraced.
Why the Private Sector and Why Red Leaf?
I have been extremely fortunate to have worked for some of the greatest consumer technology brands in the world. I have played a role in some of the most exciting product launches that now define our industry; whether it be the launch of flat panel with Sony, or HDTV with Bell or the roll out of next-gen smart phones with LG and RIM. This background has given me tremendous insight into what a consumer brand needs to accomplish not only to be successful with a retail partner but to also win the eyes of a very informed consumer. I see myself moving to a digital service company like Red Leaf a natural direction – what attracted me to the company was the wealth of talent from a design perspective and the company’s ability to move quickly to meet the needs of a client. But today, a display is nothing like what we relied on ten years ago or even two years ago for that matter. Now a display has the ability to entice each customer with information tailored to their demographic interests delivering interactive in store & mobile engagement, while tracking all activities with the product and delivering these analytics to the manufacturer or retailer to refine their tactics in real time. I don’t see any company in North America that can touch Red Leaf Retail in delivering these rich in-store marketing tools that will be required to move a brand forward in the future.
