Vastrm4 Questions to come up with the strategy

hypothesis

Irina Belsky

Overview

Problem: Little/no brand awareness in the target market.

Goal:Drive 100,000 people to the Vastrm website to find out more about the product by June 2013

Goal to Strategy

How can we drive 10,000 people to Vastrm website by June 2013?

Question 1: Who are the Vastrm customers?

Question 1 Insight Mining: Facebook Analytics

Profile of customer from FB analytics:-The Vastrm customer is male, 25-34 years old, based in the US

In terms of Facebook activity the most popular week for Vastrm was in the week following the US election

That week, images of famous men wearing polo shirts were frequent on Vastrm Facebook ( Picasso, Obama, Steve McQueen). The number of likes for these images was higher than for other posts.

Question 1 Insight Mining: Facebook Analytics

Current Fans of Vastrm based on profiles of people interacting with Vastrm FB page:

1. University educated 30 + year old males with families or in relationships

2. Younger 20 + year old males with high school or university education

Question 1 Insight Mining: Google Search Trends

Long-term trend based on a search of 2004 - present:

-August and December are peaks of search activity indicating a correlation with Christmas and the PGA world championship (which takes place in August)

Regional interest is highest in US, UK and Australia.

One peak search period was related to Ralph Lauren’s ‘design your own polo shirt’ competition in 2011 http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG8547387/Ralph-Lauren-Win-a-set-of-Ralph-Lauren-polo-shirts.html)

This indicates consumer interest in branded polo and customisation

Question 1 Insight Mining: Google Search Trends

Short-term trend limiting the search to the last 90 days:

- Saturdays, Sundays, Wednesdays are peaks of activity when it comes to searching polo shirts

Both short and long term period searches show that the top competing terms are ‘polo ralph lauren’ (or similar) and ‘cheap polo shirts’ or similar.

This indicates that either:-there are two markets searching for polo shirts - high and low income earners

- or that people who like a combination of affordability and style in their polo shirts

Question 1 Insight Mining: Google Keyword Tool

Since data for ‘Vastrm’ as a search term is limited I’ve used ‘polo shirts’ as the search term limited to the apparel category, in the US.

The trend that becomes evident is the emphasis on price - all the competing terms include the words ‘cheap’, ‘discount’etc.

Question 1 Insight Mining: Google Adword Planner

Based on the data the two main audiences are:- 18-24 years old-25-34 years old-Male and female. Females ranked higher (probably because purchasing decisions are frequently made by women)

Question 1 Insight Mining: Google Adword Planner

Sites overindexing:

- Dappered.com - affordable mens style website

-Mensfashion.about.com - tips, advice, video, trends on mens fashion

- Fashionbeans.com - men’s fashion tips and men’s style guide

- Thesuitsofjamesbond - descriptions of James Bond suits

- Pleated-jeans.com - memes and humour

-Mens-fashion.lovetoknow.com - fashion advice for men

This indicates that the key factors influencing purchase behaviour are fashion and style.

Question 2: How does the Vastrm target audience currently discover brands online?

13 % use a desktop to research before purchasing

7% of purchasers used a search engine to do research before purchasing

56% of people think that websites that are recommended by friends are more important than other websites

2% used a mobile phone to do research before purchasing

Question 2 Insight Mining: Consumer Barometer

Question 2 Insight Mining: Consumer Barometer

5% of US men buying clothing online don’t do any research11% of US men research online before buying online

Out of the people who do research, the top sources of information are:

-visiting stores-manufacturer retailer websites-word of mouth-newspaper articles product/price comparison sites -search engines

What this indicates: product reviews and blogger outreach may be good tactics for creating exposure through word of mouth.

Question 2 Insight Mining: Think with Google

http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/insights/library/studies/holiday-consumer-intentions-2012/

I think the Christmas consumer intentions study is still relevant to overall gift buying behaviour, making it relevant to this case.

80% of shoppers will research online before making a purchase this season, and they switch devices to suit their needs.With YouTube and social networks, people are sharing their opinion on products not just with a group of friends, but with millions of people. 13% of shoppers plan to watch online videos to help with shopping research, and 48% will use tablets to read product reviews before purchasing.

-Again this proves the influence of word of mouth promotions and should be included in the overall strategy.

While Pew Report wasn’t that helpful I did find a survey about Photos and Videos as Social Currency Online which showed some interesting facts:

46% of internet users post original photos and videos online they have created themselves and 41% curate photos and videos they find elsewhere on the internet and post on image-sharing sites. Instagram and Tumblr attract equal shares of men and women

Overall, 56% of internet users do at least one of the creating or curating activities and 32% of internet users do both creating and curating activities.

This evidence is supported by the high level of engagement with images Vastrm had posted on Facebook (Picasso, McQueen).

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Online-Pictures.aspx

Question 2 Insight Mining: Pew Report

Question 3: Why do people buy polo shirts?

Question 2 Insight Mining: Topsy (discourse analysis)Trends discovered through Topsy:

- Polo shirts are mentioned by brands more than they are by people

- Lacoste video Polo Shirt of The Future is trending at the moment - http://www.highsnobiety.com/2012/12/13/lacoste-presents-the-polo-shirt-of-the-future/

- There is also an emphasis on custom designed logo, for example star wars, sport team members shirts:

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2012/12/10/fly-casual-star-wars-polo-shirts-are-here/

http://www.broncos.com.au/news-display/Exclusive-Members-Polo-Shirts-Released/66400

Low prices and sale mentions are also frequent.

www.zazamateur_radio_call_sign_embroidered_polo_shirts-231727735606538522

http://www.broncos.com.au/news-display/Exclusive-Members-Polo-Shirts-Released/66400

httpwww.zazzle.camateur_radio_call_sign_embroidered_polo_shirts-231727735606538522

Question 3 Insight Mining: Twitter Advanced Search (discourse analysis)

Commentary on the image polo shirts create - associations with the history and stereotypes of polo shirts.

For example the image of being a rapper appears to be incompatible with the image of a polo shirt wearer.

It seems more consistent with a clean cut, “preppy” look as per the image below.

Question 3 Insight Mining: Quora (discourse analysis)

Quora confirms that consumers want:-quality -custom design-good price

Question 3 Insight Mining: Social Mention (discourse analysis)

After looking at discourse about ‘Vastrm on social mention, it is interesting to note that the top results are all visual social media - photobucket and YouTube.

Question 3 Insight Mining: Social Mention (discourse analysis)

Another insight supporting the ‘prestige’ factor of polo shirt buying - BMW is offering custom design polo shirts specifically for the owners of limited BMW 1 Series M Coupé. This video was also found on social mention.

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACd2ajTu5eE&feature=youtube_gdata

Question 4: Who is the Vastrm competition and what are they doing better?

Question 4 Insight Mining: MixRankCompetitors are:

- PriceDepot: price comparison website- MyPerfectSale: private sales- RalphLauren: online store -

-Catalogs: catalogs review and display site

Insight:Low prices are important

Ralph Lauren styled polo shirts are in demand

Question 4 Insight Mining: Google search for competition

Some competitors I found by just Googling include:

Zazzle

Ralph Lauren online store (also allows customers to create their own)

CustomInk

BlueCotton

Uberprints

Spreadprint

The advantages of competing sites include:

The ability for the consumer to ‘social’ a design once they have created it. Giving people the opportunity to share the design they made themselves on social media is a great way to spread the word - currently Vastrm is not doing this.

Video tutorials showing how a design can be made and the ability to upload your own image to “try on” the clothes.

The way the shirts are displayed in the design stage - competitor sites either use a model or at least display the design so consumers can see what it looks like. Vastrm uses an image of a folded up shirt which isn’t very engaging.

I don’t know if this is a competitive advantage by some sites such as customink also have design ideas such as: college, parties/events, business. Vastrm is very vague.

Question 4 Insight Mining: Google search for competition

Question 4 Insight Mining: Competitor social media

I liked Customink’s Facebook page and I think Vastrm could take away some learnings from it (http://www.facebook.com/customink)

- Posts are linked to real life events that have an emotional meaning - There are custom shirt design competitions run by the company which really works well for engagement- Sharing customer stories of why they created a custom t-shirt, for example to mark a special occasion - again this works well for engagement- The company also supports charity and shares this support on FB (for example for Hurricane Sandy)

Question 4 Insight Mining: Competitor social media

BlueCotton’s Twitter page features a custom background design and photos of the product. This is definitely a good social media marketing strategy and something that’s missing from Vastrm.

Question 4 Insight Mining: Digital Buzz Blog

A few ideas for Vastrm social media:http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/comodo-the-instagram-menu/

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/kelloggs-the-special-k-tweet-shop/

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/missing-children-the-social-search-party/

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/qr-code-beer-bottles-made-for-singles/

Question 1: Who are the Vastrm customers?Higher earning male in his late 20s and early 30s who is fashion aware and interested in sports such as golf. He won’t necessarily be looking for a custom polo shirt - he will be looking for a high quality polos such as Ralph Lauren or Lacoste brands. He will make purchases based on product recommendations and reviews and his purchases will be need driven - for example a new shirt for a game, a function or as a present.

Question 2: How does the Vastrm target audience currently discover brands online?The consumer will visit online retailers, read newspaper articles, product reviews, other word of mouth online and search engines. He is likely to use more than one device (for example tablet and mobile) when searching.

Question 3: Why do people buy polo shirts?The consumer buys a polo shirt because of its association with classic brands such as Ralph Lauren and because it fits into their lifestyle which is sports orientated and image driven.

Question 4: Who is the Vastrm competition and what are they doing better?The competition includes other online retailers selling custom made polo shirts and t-shirts. Their strategy of providing online video and visual tutorials works better than Vastrm’s at the moment. In terms of social media, there is a lot more engagement and sense of community in the competitor social media. This is because competitors have found ways to communicate with audiences in a way that resonates with them, is in line with their interests and passions and also links to real life events that have meaning for the audience.

Broad strategy: Designer polo without the designer price. There is a need to highlight the high quality of the product and its relatively low price when compared to iconic brands.

Tactical strategy: Implementing social visual media and word of mouth social media marketing is important. Videos are highly indexed by Google so its imperative to create and maintain a YouTube channel and integrate video into the website.

Creating content (original articles and curating content) that relates back to the heritage of the polo and highlights Vastrm as the next stage of polo evolution.

Linking Vastrm social media efforts to real life events that matter to the audience.

Personalising the brand by showing how Vastrm operates through images, videos and blog posts.

Facebook sponsored stories targeting Vastrm audience by their interests.

Ensuring Vastrm is optimised for mobiles and tablets - mCommerce is a growing trend.

Conclusion