Herrington: The Enthusiasts Catalog, promotes itself as “the leading mail-order purveyor of superior-quality items to those who share Lee Herrington’s passion for great automobiles, serious golf, hassle-free travel, fine photography, distinctive executive accessories, high-end audio/video, and physical fitness.” Although Herrington’s professes to maintain traditional customer service and personal retailer values, their effort online web is cutting-edge.
I spoke with Daryl Eames, Director of E-commerce for Herrington, about his use and integration of product videos, YouTube and the online catalog. About a year ago Mr. Eames began soliciting product suppliers for informational videos for items that Herrignton’s offered. “Vendor supplied videos are a quick, inexpensive and efficient way to get into online video”, Mr. Eames said. “I wanted to incorporate video cheaply.” He continued, “Some are good, some are bad and I have to do some in-house editing but the end result is it works.”
Herrington’s has a video channel on YouTube.: http://youtube.com/user/HerringtonCatalog where it offers 25 videos, an overview of and links back to the online catalog. http://www.herringtoncatalog.com/.
The most viewed video (8,471 views in 10 months) is for Res-Q-Me, with the compelling copy line “This pocket-sized rescue tool could save your life when the unthinkable happens.” The YouTube video, below, is also embedded on the product page in the online catalog.
Daryl Eames is still gathering data, but he says there is clear evidence that an embedded or YouTube video improves the related product’s online conversion rates and brings in new customers. Now that’s the way you do it on .tv.
