Week 7: Better than the Rest

Now that we have identified the key parts to a strong IMC - who is getting it right?  These are my top three.  

J. Crew

(J. Crew Blog)

With catalogs, e-newsletters, and a strong social media presence across the board, J. Crew takes a fully integrated IMC approach.  By using the signature J. Crew script logo on every branded sight, J. Crew creates consistent imagery.  The message is clear:  preppy fashion is a lifestyle, and J. Crew is living it up.  

(from recent J. Crew email blast)

With daily updates on Facebook and Twitter (and a pretty aggressive email campaign, might I add), the content is fresh and up to date.  Style tips, lunch spots - you name it, and J. Crew has an opinion on it.  By going above and beyond their clothing, J. Crew created a stronger, more relatable brand.  

Different social media platforms are mentioned on the blog, on the individual social media sites, and even pushed in the e-newsletter, as well as the consistent use of social media buttons.   

J. Crew tweets to it's customers, about anything and everything.  The high level of engagement of Twitter certainly contributes to the almost 190,000 followers.

Recently, an email promoting fall fashions highlighted the J. Crew Pinterest page, with subcategories in the same manor as the print catalog.

  

J. Crew uses YouTube to share behind the scenes videos, from photo shoots to office happenings.

  In a previous discussion for this class, I mentioned that their catalog is available digitally in the form of a Pinterest board.  J. Crew, like many companies, under utilizes Google+ as a social media platform.  While they have a presence, it appears that they mostly use it to share YouTube videos (which is done automatically).  J. Crew could really run with the Google+ brand page and increase their SEO in the process. 

Lululemon Athletica

By taking a mission statement of “creating components for people to live long, healthy and fun lives”, Lululemon Athletica uses social media and an IMC marketing strategy to create consistency in their brand.  Outside of community events (free yoga classes, local Lululemon ambassador programs, in store events), their mission statement/slogan is present on every social media site, as well as their signature omega logo.  Content is updated daily, and more so on sites like Instagram and Twitter. 

Lululemon’s token hashtag is #thesweatlife, which encompasses exercise, clean living, and diet.  They also often use generic hashtags (#DIY for recipes and at home projects) and event driven hashtags (#saratakesover for a recent series of photos, tweets and posts from a Lululemon ambassador).  The posts are for the most part the same on each platform, as though they share the same content across the board (the exception being Facebook pages for various locations, promoting local events and inventory.)

I think engaging with followers in a unique way on each platform would help flesh out the brand.  Again, Lululemon under utilizes their Google+ page, with no posted content on the branded page.  With so many other social media sites so well developed, they would greatly benefit from further exploring the brand on Google+.

Anthropologie

Apparel.  Home.  Found.  This is what you will find in store at Anthropologie – and this is the brand that is represented through social media and a well-integrated IMC marketing strategy.  Anthropologie produces a mail catalog, aggressively markets through email blast, and even has an “Anthro Card” which simplifies the check out process both in-store and online (as well as offers exclusive events and discounts).  

This combined with their well thought out presence on social media, created a truly multi media marketing campaign.  The “Apparel.  Home.  Found”  slogan is present on all websites, as is the organic textures, colors, and signature logo.  Content is updated daily on Facebook, if not more frequently on Twitter and Instagram, and goes beyond just what is in store. 

Anthropologie frequently uses Twitter to engage with followers and customers, even if direct conversation was not initiated by the customer.  

Anthropologie uses social media buttons and cross promotion to drive users to each of its unique sites.  Currently promoting a Parisian themed fall palette, Anthropologie is using #paris and #fall on many of their social media postings.  

They also use generic hastags like #ootd (outfit of the day), as well as Anthropologie-specific hastags like #AnthroEvents to promote in store happenings and openings.  

Anthropologie has a strong presence on Google+ (hooray!), and uses sites like Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube to further the branding outside of clothing.