Forget store wars, now it's a social media skirmish

Sydney’s so-called “store wars” - a biannual fashion faceoff between Australia's two department store chains - kicks off tomorrow morning with the David Jones Spring/Summer 2009/2010 launch parade. David Jones has been feeding stories to the traditional press over the past few weeks, as the company has done for many years. Myer meanwhile, whose show is not until the 19th August, has decided to dive into the social media arena. Not only is Myer already on Twitter, unlike David Jones, Myer has also just revamped its website. There is as yet no direct two-way communication via blog or other on the site however three video profiles that were uploaded to YouTube over the past 24 hours (see below) do have a comment component, so you could say that Myer is edging towards giving its online audience a genuine Web 2.0 experience. David Jones does have a YouTube video channel however it does not appear to be integrated to the David Jones website, which is stuck in the Web 1.0 dark ages. In fact the most exciting brand message currently being communicated by DJs website is its offer of a 25percent discount.