The Group’s charter is to act as an education and connection vehicle for both retailers and the Australian interactive industry. “Victoria is very strong in retail, so I am very pleased we are leading the charge in helping to educate the retail industry regarding the opportunities of e-tail and interactive media” said Simon Goodrich, President of AIMIA (Vic) Chapter.

Rob Wong AIMIA RIG Chairman said “Online media consumption is growing and this offers retailers huge growth opportunities to connect with people when they are online for advertising awareness and both in-store and online sales. To date however, retailers have been slow to invest online. According to our research the main reason is retailers simply need more understanding about how to use online for retail marketing outcomes. It’s fair to say retailers mostly think of online primarily as a sales channel, where its real power and money saving capabilities are in using online as an advertising medium. Retail is the single biggest advertising sector at $3.9 billion (including catalogues)* and has the potential to be the biggest online marketing category if retailers and suppliers develop a better understanding of what online strategies work for retailers.”

The founding members are representatives from leading companies involved with the interactive industry and retail marketing, including CCMedia/Catalogue Central, Mitchells Communications, Ie.com.au, Citrus, The Australian Centre for Retail Business Studies and Portable Content. While the foundation members are from industry, the Group is actively seeking direct committee involvement from retailers.

The AIMIA Retail Industry Group has a number of current projects underway including:

• A National Retail Online Marketing/E-tail Benchmarking Study
• Sourcing of International Online Retail Case Studies and Data for members
• Regular education & networking event program for 2009/10
• Supplier directory
• Senior management discussion luncheons

Media Contacts
Simon Goodrich
AIMIA President (Vic Chapter)
03 9417 0571
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Robert Wong
CEO CC Media
AIMIA  Retail Industry Group Chairman
0419 238768
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it