Mobile Fashion

When researching mobile marketing campaigns, I thought, who better to analyze than my favorite retail store, H&M? H&M is a clothing retailer known for its "fast fashions" for men, women and children. Basically, they offer highly fashionable clothes without the highly fashionable cost. They had two problems they were looking to solve: how do we promote our latest collections and how do we increase membership in our rewards program? H&M turned to mobile marketing agency Mobiento for the answers.

H&M's first mobile marketing campaign appeared in 2006, making it one of the first brand's to really capitalize on this technology. To borrow a term from the fashion world, it really set a trend for other brands to follow. So far, the campaigns have mostly been in H&M's home country, Sweden.



How It Works
Consumers click on a banner ad which takes them to H&M's mobile site (slightly difficult to navigate if you don't speak Swedish). They are then prompted to enter their mobile number to receive SMS alerts and mobile coupons. The purpose of the coupon is to drive them to the store's physical site (H&M does not sell clothing online). It has a time limit on it, usually 3-4 hours, so that consumers will be prompted to go to the store immediately. H&M runs competitions where consumers can create an outfit then write a short essay about why they want to win it. The winner then receives a gift card so they can go buy that outfit. They also release their catalogs via SMS so that consumers have an easier way to view it. This mobile technology also has a viral aspect to it. Consumers can pass offers and new collection alerts along to their friends via text.

A great example of how this can work is how some stores approached their grand opening in Germany. 120,000 people received a picture message prompting them to go to H&M to pick up a free t-shirt. This was so successful that within 48 hours, 78% of the recipients reacted to the message. There was a line of 100 people waiting for their t-shirts before the store even opened.



Who It's For
H&M's target market consists of young, fashion-forward men and women ranging from ages 18-30. However, this mobile campaign is mostly geared towards women ages 20-40. People that take part in this campaign are most likely going to be into fashion, into bargain shopping and mobile technology savvy. While the campaign is mostly geared towards women, there is a portal for men too. When you enter the site, you can choose your gender and the site will then be tailored to you.





Does It Work?
This is a very cool idea but the important question is, does it work? I think that this a great campaign and that it works on many levels. However, I think there are some things that could be improved as well.

The Good
Most importantly, I think that H&M really knows its consumers. Just the fact that they would approach a mobile marketing agency shows that they realize their consumers are young, hip and into new technology. Consumers that shop at H&M are into fashion and it seems that they would really appreciate being alerted when the new collections come out so that they can be the first ones to get it. H&M shoppers are also bargain shoppers. If all they cared about was fashion, they would be shopping in Louis Vuitton and Prada. However, they care about price too. This is why the mobile coupons are a great idea. Very rarely will there be a 20% off sale for the whole store. By sending consumers a 20% off coupon, it will prompt them to go to the physical location and shop 'til they drop! I think this is a great campaign and they should expand to the U.S. for young consumers like me!

The Bad
As great as this campaign seems, I feel it would be much more effective if H&M sold clothing online. Some consumers (like myself) live over an hour away from any H&M locations. If I sign up for SMS alerts and receive a coupon that expires in 3 hours, I am most likely not going to drop what I'm doing and run to the mall. If they sold the clothing online and offered the same type of coupon, I would most definitely hit the net to do some shopping. The mobile site allows you to look at the collections yet you still can't purchase the items. I'm not sure why H&M does not wish to sell their clothing online, but I think it would be a huge success.

Case Study 2-To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Imagine this: one day you walk into work, chipper as can be just like any ordinary day. But today is no ordinary day. In fact, today is a terrible day. When you reach your office you find a memo waiting for you on your desk. But this is no ordinary memo. In this memo, your boss is telling you that you can no longer use Twitter at work unless it serves the company. Oh no! How will you send your tweets out to all your tweeples in twitterverse?!





Well this is exactly what happened to ESPN on-air talent and writers on August 4, 2009. And how might you ask was this information released to the public? Well, thanks for asking. It was released through none other than, Twitter! ESPN NBA Analyst Ric Bucher tweeted: "The hammer just came down, tweeps: ESPN memo prohibiting tweeting info unless it serves ESPN. Kinda figured this was coming. Not sure what this means but…I’m probably violating some sort of policy just by telling you. In any case, stay tuned." ESPN ensured that they were simply providing guidelines to its employees for the use of social media, yet it seemed to be more of a ban of it than anything. Can a company really tell employees how they may and may not express themselves? This case definitely raises questions of free speech and the ownership of a thought or idea. And if you think ESPN is taking this lightly, they're not. ESPN columnist Bill Simmons was banned from using Twitter for 2 weeks for violating the policy.

Why ESPN, Why?
In order to fully understand the decision made by ESPN, one must analyze arguments for and against the ban. In an interview with Sports Business Daily, ESPN VP and Editor-in-Chief Rob King made the case that it is not uncommon for Twitter users to retweet breaking news and later find out it was untrue. This could be a legal issue for ESPN, with the risk of being sued. Another possible reason may have been that ESPN is afraid that if sports fans are getting breaking sports news from their employees' tweets, then they will stop reading ESPN magazine or going to ESPN.com for sports news stories. While this could be the case with some people, most people are going to want to read more than 140 characters. Reading the tweet will most likely grab their attention and increase the likelihood of them continuing on to ESPN.com to read more about it. An argument for allowing the use of Twitter is that when an employee tweets something, they will probably get more followers, in turn increasing their impact. There is a conversation going on in the social media world, so shouldn't ESPN want their employees to be making an impact on it?

Who Else is Banning Twitter?
If you think ESPN is the only company restricting the use of Twitter, you're wrong. The NFL first banned the use of Twitter in the locker room and has now expanded that ban to the press box, sidelines and even the stands. The Miami Heat no longer allow their players to tweet while at work, whether home or away. Texas Tech football players are no longer allowed to Tweet after an incident where a player tweeted that the coach was late to a team meeting. Not just American sports teams are banning Twitter, even European soccer teams. Manchester United recently banned the use of Twitter by its players while at the field. The banishment of Twitter is becoming an increasing theme in the sports world and is something that continues to make some athletes very sad.


The Solution-Is There One?
So is a ban of Twitter the answer? I don't think so. I think Twitter is an incredible tool that allows people of importance like athletes or sports commentators to have a more personal connection with their fans. Fans like to know what their favorite football star had for breakfast, it makes them feel like they know the player personally. Should players be able to tweet during a game? That's questionable. If it is taking their focus off the game, then no. But if they aren't playing in that game or if it is before or after the game, then I don't see a problem with it. Allowing the players to tweet is only going to increase public interest in the team and even the sport itself. I think companies like ESPN must realize the importance and growing impact of Twitter before they lose out on a great social media tool that could really help them.

Case Study 1-NikeiD vs. Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ

Nowadays, you can customize everything from your food, to your computer, to your car. So why not your shoes? Many large shoe companies have realized this and put a lot of effort into their sneaker customization websites. In today's web 2.0 world, companies can't have a boring website that simply allows consumers to order a product. They need impressive sites with high functionality that offer an incredible customer experience. Nike has the NikeiD site and Puma has the Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ site. These sites aren't for the occasional/average shoe shopper. On both of the sites, all the types of shoes are over $100. People that would use sites like these are serious shoe shoppers. They don't mess around. Below I will discuss my experience using both sites to customize a shoe, my evaluation of the approach that each company has taken towards this type of site, and the overall customer experience provided by each site.

NikeiD
The first thing I noticed about the NikeiD website is that it looks very clean and professional, which you can see in the picture below. This is not surprising because Nike is a global company so it makes sense that they would put the effort into making their website sleek and functional.


Nike definitely has a more straightforward approach than Puma. They do employ some interesting strategies in order to increase interest in their product. They offer a shoe called the Zoom Kobe. Their tagline is "Made for Kobe. Designed by You." I think the most interesting thing about this strategy is the exclusivity. Only 24 pairs are sold per day worldwide. This creates a desire because the consumer feels that it is a scarce product and they are lucky if they can even get a pair. The use of a celebrity endorsement is also a key factor. People may think that if they dress like Kobe, they will play like Kobe. That said, Nike's target market seems to be more the athlete type, whether they play a sport or wish they did.


As far as my experience with this site, I really liked the amount of options you were given for shoe style. There were several types of shoes to choose from. When browsing for a shoe, I was able to see detailed product information for each shoe to help me make my decision. Once I chose a shoe, I was given the option to purchase it already customized or to do it myself. I chose to start from scratch. A great feature of the site is that you can click on the part of the shoe you want to change the color/material of and it allows you to do so. You can even add your own ID to the shoe. I think this is a great feature because people want people to ask where they got their cool shoes and they can answer, "I designed them. You can see right here on my shoe what I named them." Below you can see the NikeiD shoe that I ended up with!



The Down Side
Unfortunately, Nike does not allow for the use of many different materials on the shoe, usually just 3 types. I would like to see more options for that. The views available to look at the she you are customizing are limited. I would like a more functional option for looking at the shoe. With NikeiD, it is more like you are just choosing colors, rather than "building" your shoe.

Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ
I had never been to this site before and WOW it is so cool! I love the approach that Puma has taken with this site. It makes the whole experience more enjoyable and fun. Pum takes the idea of designing a shoe and compares it to mixing up ingredients to make Mongolian BBQ. The home page sets the tone for the rest of the site. You are greeted by a very excited chef who tells you to grab your chef hat and "taste the art of shoemaking."


The different "ingredients" are actually the different colors and materials available for your shoe. The options seem to be endless. I decided to have fun and go a little crazy with the colors. With all of the options, i was really able to do this. For women, this site offers more options than Nike as far as colors and materials. Nike's target seems to be more athletic while Puma seems to be targeting people interested more in fashion than functionality. Puma offers 13 parts of the shoe to customize, which is more than Nike. The different views available to look at your shoe is also a great feature. You can really look at it and imagine what it will look like when you can finally hold it in your hands and admire it. My favorite part of the site is your "doggy bag." Instead of calling it a shopping cart, Puma keeps in line with the restaurant theme and puts the products you want to purchase in your doggy bag. You can see my crazy shoe below.


Here are some of the other views that I think are really cool.


The Down Side
With this site, I really feel that there are so many good things about it that the not so great things aren't a huge deal. One thing that could definitely make the site better is a wider array of types of shoes to choose from. Right now, there are only 3 types of shoes to choose from. They might increase their online market share if they expand the options.

Wrap-Up
Drumroll please! And the winner is.... Puma Mongolian Shoe BBQ! Although NikeiD is a very professional looking, highly funcitonal site, it simply does not provide the fun customer experience that Puma does. Standing out in the digital world is hard because it is so huge, but I think Puma is unique and really does stand out. It not only wins for its unique approach, but it also wins for its vast array of color and material options for the shoes. I think that you can really come out with a more original product by using Puma's site.

Final Thoughts

At the beginning of this semester, I did not really know what viral marketing was. I had also never had a blog before. Through this blogging assignment, I have learned so much about what it actually is as well as the different trends that are emerging. I have also learned about how big blogging really is. When you think about it, viral marketing really is a genius concept. Rather than spending millions of dollars on media, you spend nothing. Instead, you let fans of the content do the work for you. I don't know about you, but spending less money to have people do your work for you sounds like quite a deal to me.

One of the biggest things I learned was the power of viral marketing. According to a report just released by Sharpe Partners, a marketing agency, 89% of US adult Internet users share content with friends, family and associates by e-mail, with 25% of those people doing so daily (see chart below). The study was done in 2005, so the numbers have probably even gone up since then. This means that online content has a very good chance of being passed along. The study also identified a group it called "Brand Fans." These are people who share so much viral content that they are "contagious." They are likely to share content with ten or more people. 35% of Brand Fans share content daily. Over 80% of them feel positively about brand sponsored content shared at least once a week. It seems like more companies would take advantage of viral marketing if they knew the actual potential of it.


















One trend that really stuck out to me was what type of content has the highest pass along value. After writing about several successful campaigns, it seems that humorous campaigns work the best. I myself am most likely to send something to my friends if I find it funny. The chart below shows that humor works the best for viral marketing. Two examples of sites that are popular purely for their humorous content are the Cart Whisperer and the Ford F-Series websites. They both feature very funny videos that have seen great viral success. It also does not surprise me that news is the second highest type of content that is shared via E-Mail. The Internet allows users to get the most recent, up-to-date news. They can then pass this new information along to their friends. Games also work well for viral marketing because they are interactive. I wrote about campaigns for Travelzoo and the Great Delivery Race for QAS. Both of these campaigns were successful because the games were actually fun to play and really engaged the user.




















In looking at different campaigns this semester, I have learned the "dos" and "don'ts" of viral marketing. While it is impossible to determine which campaigns will fly and which will flop, there are certain factors that serve as good predictors. There are two things that really stuck out to me as "don'ts."
1. Don't bother viral marketing if you don't have something sexy, funny, controversial or interesting. People will not just pass along any old message. It has to be something interesting and relevant to them. Humor is always a great way to go with viral marketing. People love to pass along funny things to their friends. No matter what it is, make sure it is something people will want to see.

2. Don't put all your focus on the tactic and none on stratgey. You may come up with a brilliant idea for viral marketing, yet if it doesn't go along with your strategy then it most likely will not help you. People may find it interesting and pass it along, but if it does not help your brand then it is not worth it. For example, the Subservient Chicken campaign received many awards but did little to help Burger King's sales.


While those are ways to ensure that a campaign will flop, these tips will help increase the successfulness of a campaign:
1. Create and emotional reaction. People will be more likely to pass something along if it is something they feel passionate about it. You should try to evoke an emotion from the user of the content. Whether they laugh and feel happy, or feel inspired to do something, just getting them to feel something will help towards your viral goal. The My 2 Cents For a Change website is a great example of this. Kids do not always get a chance to speak out. This site gives them a sense of empowerment because they can voice their own opinions. The Nike Free Running website is also good at evoking emotion. Seeing your name or whatever phrase you want in the video can make users happy. If it is something they find entertaining and emotion-provoking, then they will be more likely to send it to a friend.

2. Do something unexpected. Make it a clutter-buster. When I think of something being a clutter-buster, I think of people's jaws dropping. I imagine that people were shocked when they saw the Obay campaign ads. The HEMA website is a perfect example of a clutter-buster. At first glance, the website looks like any other, but then the products begin to interact, leaving the viewer somewhat mesmerized.

3. Do no make it a blatant advertisement. Viral marketing is not just people sending advertisements to their friends. They need to have a reason to send it in the first place. However, the product and brand name obviously need to be some way involved in the viral marketing tactic. If they are not included, then no one will know who is behind the campaign.

4. Follow up. Make sequels to campaign content. This will keep people interested in it. The campaign for Dark Knight has been successful because there are always new developments in it. Fans are always wondering where the next event will take place and what the next website will be for. The beginning of the campaign was focues on the Joker, then it moved to Harvey Dent.

5. Allow sharing, downloading and embedding. The whole point of viral marketing is to get users to share it. Make it easy for them. Make sure to include a "send to friend" option. If your website has videos, allow users to download the video.

6. If it's a video, keep it short! No longer than about 2 minutes. People have short attention spans and don't want to sit and watch a long video. Keeping it below 2 minutes will help hold the viewer's attention throughout the whole thing. They will be less likely to skip through it if it is shorter.

7. Spread the word. Bloggers are your friends! They will help you. Forums, social networking sites, emails, and friends can all help you to get the content out there.

8. Suspense. Campaigns I've written about for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Lost, and Dark Knight are great examples of this. Perhaps the best example of a suspenseful viral marketing campaign is the Obay campaign. The Internet was littered with blog posts and news articles speculating who was behind the ads.

9. Give readers incentive to come back to the website or share its content. This can be accomplished by offering something to your readers for free. Whether it is free wallpaper downloads or free screensavers, users appreciate anything that is a gift. The Simply Marry campaign allowed users to download the song in their viral video for free. This gives users more of an incentive to send it to their friends. You can also do this by having a contest. This will give readers incentive to keep coming back to the site. Some websites have contests that involve users inviting their friends. The Travelzoo contest allowed users to have more entries in the contest each time they invited more friends. The Indiana Jones contest gave fans the chance to win a trip to the movie premiere. These contests work well because the prizes are something relevant to users of the websites. Someone using Travelzoo would be likely to appreciate a vacation package, and Indiana Jones fans would most likely enjoy going to the movie premiere.

Who the Heck Is Sarah Marshall?!

At first glance, Ihatesarahmarshall.com may look like the angry blog of a recently dumped guy. And it is. However, this guy just happens to be a fictional character, Peter Better (played by Jason Segel), in the new movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The blog is HILARIOUS! It has actually got me interested in a movie that I overlooked based on just the trailers alone. There are also billboards up across the country to promote the website. The billboards appear to be little messages from Peter to Sarah. You can see one of the billboards to the left. Another billboard reads "You do look fat in those jeans Sarah Marshall!" A movie poster is also out that simply says "You suck Sarah Marshall." The blog features videos from Peter, links to other websites that he likes and dislikes, and a special 18+ trailer. The videos from the site are all featured on YouTube and users are encouraged to pass them along.

So just who is Sarah Marshall? She is played by Kristen Bell. There are supposedly about 6 websites like this that Universal has created to promote the movie. One of these is sarahmarshallfan.com. This is one of the websites listed on Peter's blog that he dislikes (obviously). I think this campaign works a little like the campaigns I've written about for Dark Knight and Lost. Like Dark Knight, it keeps people guessing as to what will come next in the campaign. The blog engages viewers and lets them pretend the movie is real, just like the Lost campaign does for the show. Bloggers have been buzzing about this campaign like crazy.

To view the whole campaign from First Showing, click here.

Travelzoo

Travelzoo is a website that lists travel deals for hundreds of leading travel companies. Every week, they send out an email listing the best flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages. They recently started a contest called "Win the Entire Top 20." The contest has a micro-site to go with it. Users can register on the site as well as play the "Clear the Skies" game, invite friends and answer trivia questions. Clear the Skies (see the picture below) is a matching game that enables players to win an extra entry in the contest for every five times they play it.















The beauty of this campaign is that the more you visit the website and play the games or invite friends, the more entries you are given in the contest. Users can also gain entries by posting banner ads for the contest on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Even if you aren't the big winner in the end, there are 9 smaller prizes every week. This definitely gives people incentive to keep coming back. Each time you log in, it tells you how many entries you currently have in the contest. This campaign doesn't simply get people to register for a contest, it engages them and gets them involved in recruiting others for the contest. With the possibility to win prizes and the entertainment factor of the game, I think this site is a great example of how to implement a viral marketing campaign.

To view the whole article from MIMA, click here.

You Call Him Dr. Jones!

He's baaaack! There are many devoted Indiana Jones fans who have been anxiously awaiting the next installment, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. So where can you see the trailer for this movie? Well here's where the viral marketing comes in. Instead of just releasing the trailer anywhere, Paramount has released the movie through widgets that can be posted on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace as well as other types of sites.

According to Rafe Telsch of Cinema Blend, Paramount has used this type of tactic for other movies. So why should fans post these widgets? The two people who post these widgets the most across the web will win a free trip to the premiere of the movie. Not only will they get to go to the premiere, but they will also get to be streamed on the widgets as the red carpet correspondents. I think this prize will definitely give fans incentive to spread the word. Offer people a prize, and they will spread the word like wildfire. Indiana Jones fans will definitely be interested in this campaign. It also has the potential to draw in other audiences such as movie lovers or people who use the sites the widgets are posted on. I think this is an interesting way to market a movie because it really keeps people curious. I'm not a huge Indiana Jones fan and I've posted the widget here. This just shows the power of a campaign like this. Maybe you'll see me on the red carpet in May! You can click "grab to win" to download the widget.

To view the full article from Cinema Blend, click here.