The unedited transcript of Phalana Tiller's interviews with Tony Spring and Ava DuVernay for the June 2012 episode of Drucker on the Dial entitled "Customer Cues." First, Tony Spring, president and chief operating officer of Bloomingdale's, describes the Bloomingdale's core customer, but says that the store does not just have one customer, it has a number of customers. He talks about the type of research the store has conducted and says that Bloomingdale's continues to enhance its strategies to be customer centric and to be meaningful. Spring shares that because customers have alternatives, Bloomingdale's tries to make sure that it both respects the customer's time, and that the store understands and appreciates that it has to do things with much greater consistency. He says that the store found that in order to be able to continue to leverage the Bloomingdale's brand, and have a portfolio of ideas that went beyond just a department store, or even a website, it needed to be in the outlet business. Spring explains that his business expands and contracts based on the interest level in a particular category, and that over the last decade or so, it has become more common to mix designer and inexpensive merchandise together. He discusses the store's tender neutral rewards program, and says that rewards are given to you on the spot. Spring goes on to say that he would like to be remembered for helping the next generation of Bloomingdale's leaders, and making sure to invest in the Bloomingdale's brand. Next, award-winning filmmaker, marketer, and film distributor Ava DuVernay, talks about her background as a film marketer and director. She discusses her interest in female driven film, women driven film, and films that deal with people of color. DuVernay talks about the company she founded called AFFRM (African American Film Festival Releasing Movement), and its collaborative work to distribute films nationally. She describes her marketing style as very intuitive and customized to the project at hand. DuVernay says that she would like to cultivate an audience that appreciates diverse cinema. She talks about the films she has worked on, and ones that she has distributed, and her achievement at the Sundance Film Festival. DuVernay goes on to say that she would like to be remembered for the work she is doing to improve the way that we see ourselves and the way that we are seen in film.
Interviews Spring, Tony DuVernay, Ava Bloomingdale's (Firm) Consumers Department stores Clothing and dress Teleshopping Customer loyalty programs Motion picture film Motion picture authorship Motion pictures - Distribution Motion pictures - Production and direction Film festivals
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