Week 4: More on Kate Spade - Maintaining the Brand

Visiting Kate Spade's website is like stepping into a girly, preppy dream.  

Bright colors, unique graphics, fun fashions, exclusive videos, insider tips, and shopping await each visitor.  In my last blog, I discussed Kate Spade's presence on all avenues of social media.  The strong presence in social media all drives traffic back to this interactive and user friendly website.  

Kate Spade makes a great use of "pull marketing".  Behind the Curtain, the Kate Spade blog, is updated almost daily with fresh content, images, and fashions.  Fans can see the latest fashions shows from New York Fashion week, get entertaining ideas, and styling tips (which lead back to the online shopping section of the website).  

Visitors can also sign up for newsletters, and are rewarded with 15% off their next purchase for joining.  The sign up area for newsletters is conveniently located next to plug ins for the Kate Spade Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube, and Pinterest pages.

Creative Director, Deborah Lloyd gives her favorite picks, styling tips, and also links to her private Pinterest page.  

Kate Spade's "push marketing" is not as strong, but still present.  Free shipping and returns to all 50 states is constantly promoted at every turn on the website.  Kate Spade emails customers regularly to promote sales, new arrivals, and on their birthday.  They do not, however, utilize chat windows or pop ups, which has become a huge trend on retail websites.  The opportunity to "chat with a stylist" would be beneficial to the Kate Spade brand, as well as an chance to up-sell accessories and other items.  

I also wish the blog was mobile friendly.  Currently, only the online shopping portion of the website is mobile friendly.  I am much more likely to read a blog while killing some free time, than to shop online from my cell phone

The last thing that I want to touch on is Kate Spade's mission statement.  As discussed in BrandingYour Website, a mission statement is an important consideration in creating a consistent and confident brand. Kate Spade does a great job of identifying their customer, their expertise, and what a shopping experience at Kate Spade should be - all in a clear, consistent, and concise voice and manner.  

Well done, Kate.