Urban Outfitters' digital marketing strategy needs to better connect with their target audience through more engaging social media content. They should [1] feature customers monthly on their blog to showcase real people living the brand, [2] promote emerging trends their audience cares about on social platforms, and [3] link their different accounts together to make content easier for customers to access. Measuring increased engagement, followers, and sales will show if these efforts succeed in achieving the theme of getting customers to truly live, love and be the Urban Outfitters brand. A $225,000 budget over one year would support redesigning social pages, running contests, and a customer of the month program.
2. WHO IS URBAN OUTFITTERS?
FASHION: HISTORY: AUDIENCE:
• Educated Urban
• Men and • Opened as The Minded
Women’s Free People’s Individual
clothing Store in 1970 • Adults age 18-30
• Accessories • Over 130 Stores • Seeks to create
differential
in Canda, United shopping
• Gifts States and experience
• Furniture Europe • Vintage,
bohemian, retro,
• Books • Publicly Traded: hipster, ironic,
URBN humorous
• Home Décor kitschy
• Antiques
3. URBAN OUTFITTERS CURRENT
SOCIAL MEDIA
Website Twitter Vimeo
Facebook Blog
Flickr
Tumblr LinkedIn Pinterest
4. WHAT THEY ARE DOING WRONG
UO is centered around being creative and appealing to
the urban Individual – the person who is often on top of
the latest trends.
Why do their social media sites all Why doesn’t the content show
look the same? real life examples of UO
customers?
Why don’t all the social media sites Why are the images associated
link to each other? with their social media mostly
aimed at women?
5. ACTION: CREATE CONTENT TO
CONNECT TO THE AUDIENCE
What is the typical UO consumer looking for?
Something: new, original, different, artistic
The content of the goals of UO consumers need to be reflected in their websites.
Action:
• Feature customers of the month on blog site. Find a consumer with a cool hobby or
with something to say and share it with the world. BE PROUD OF YOUR
COSTUMERS.
• Tweet about how your products are effecting the world! Retweet
companies/products/music that is inline with your consumers and values
• Change the Facebook page with a cover photo of men and women. Switch the
profile picture sporadically between male and female.
• Create a contest where the customer can upload one of their artistic creations and
let them come to the New York Headquarters and do an art panel display in a NYC
store.
By interacting with the consumers and using similar interests the social media with gain a larger fan base
6. ACTION: BRING SOCIAL MEDIA
NETWORKS TOGETHER
• Consumers (especially age 18-30) have multiple social media
networks.
• UO needs to link together their multiple social media sites so it
is easy for the consumer.
• The content of the sites shouldn’t be identical but having in text
links to and from UO sites would help traffic across all sites.
• Dedicate certain sites to certain ideas. Create the facebook
page for the consumers that aren’t as active on social media.
Create the Twitter for the consumers with short attention. Use
the Pinterest to connect to women (since Pinterest is mostly
women). Use the blog as a way to connect and speak with
consumers.
7. THEME
• UO has done a great job getting their brand across
different social platforms, but much of there content is the
same.
• The theme of this Digital Marketing Strategy is to get
consumers to LIVE the brand, LOVE the brand and BE the
brand.
• In order to create a better brand UO needs to get
consumer interaction through various contests, using
certain social sites for certain purposes and showing UO
interests and values through supporting
people, events, and music.
• UO is for shoppers who keep with the latest trends and
enjoy originality. If they take advantage of this and show
the up and coming fads (restaurants, hang
outs, music, etc), they will be able to create an explosive
brand.
8. SUCCESS METRICS
• 20% Increase if Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Flickr
and blog followers
• 1.5x the amount of customer interaction on social media
sites
• Measuring the success/following of the contest winners
• Media coverage of contests and events
• Increase in sales
9. BUDGET
$225,000
1 year budget
Alotted by the following:
• $25,000 for the art panel project (travel expenses, material
expenses, hiring to run the project)
• $100,000 Redesign of social media sites (finding content,
promoting things inline with UO values)
• $100,000 year long customer of the month program
(finding content, photo shoot with the customer, travel
expenses, hiring to do this project)