RSS is the new radio.
It used to be that radio filled a pretty valuable role in some retail advertising campaigns. As it is primarily listened to on the road, radio is perfect for delivering information or offers that have some immediacy to them. Running radio spots around very common grocery items between 4 and 6 p.m. makes a lot of sense. However, I think that RSS now delivers that same benefit, and because it can be tied to services rather than just messages, presents a far better mechanism for generating an immediate response.
I’ve experienced this both as a creator and consumer. I posted a while back about some work we’d done with Nordstrom. Called Fashion Feed, it’s a service that allows you to generate RSS feeds of your favourite items, brands, styles, etc. to be notified of new arrivals.
A couple of weeks ago, this little number appeared in my reading list:
(Which happened to be under the magical $100 number at which we have to ask permission) and I bought it immediately.
Then yesterday, I saw this:
And happened to be surfing the TV channels last night and tuned into a bit of the actual show.
I’m not sure if it’s the fact that RSS feels very personal, but I definitely got a different feeling about these two offers. Rather than feeling intrusive – I felt much more as if I were being provided a service. Obviously the monetization of RSS is just beginning and undoubtedly it will one day be ruined as a marketing vehicle, but it still feels as if there’s a lot of untapped opportunity to use RSS in a way that enhances value to subscribers rather than annoying them.