For @juliancole Skillshare class; " Creating a great digital strategy"

1. Vastrm
@alexmeckes Social Media Strategy

2. What is it?

3. For any active man who desires comfort
Only Vastrm puts design in your hands
Because of its custom fitting, high quality,
and affordable process.

4. Drive 100,000 people to ?
Vastrm's website by 2013
Problem Goal Strategy Solution
Consumers are unaware How can I get 100,000 people to
that Vastrm Exists Vastrm's website?

5. Q1 Who is the consumer & what are they considering?
Insights
20-34 year olds primary male*
College Educated & Working
Facebook: Females Part of Demographic
Adplanner too broad or are
females a part of the purchase
decision?
Adplanner::

6. Q1
Who is the consumer & what are they considering? Insights
Custom Fit Polos search
increasing over time.
Very cyclical search trends,
shopping seasons and holidays.
Trends
Related Search Terms are related
to adding logos
Sports team & organizations
potential audience?

7. Q2
How does the vastrm target audience discover brands?
Insights
Based upon Google's Consumer
Barometer retail search:
18 % purchased online
82% purchased offline
15% did research online only
27% did research offline only
14% did both
However, custom fitting is a
relatively new phenomena and has
an increasing presence on the
online space.
Consumers are hesitant to buy
clothes online due to fitting, but
Vastrm solves that problem.

8. Insights
Mobile is very important
Online shopping is critical
during holiday shopping
seasons.

9. Q3 Why do people buy polo shirts?
"…One consistent learning from these
startups? Fit is more important than style.
Customized clothing should solve a unique
user need – one not easily replicated Insights
through mass production." ~ JP Gowdner
Fit is playing an increasingly
There’s a reason why these “create your own” sites more important role, supporting
and customization engines for popular products have trends find. Comfort and style is
blown it out recently: today’s consumer is looking to not mutually exclusive.
manufacture that feeling of a ‘one-off;’ that bespoke
experience. Golf is such an individual game and it’s Individuality is a significant
Blog
only natural that custom products should have such a selling point
presence. ~ GQ writer
Have you ever been in the clubhouse and seen
three other people wearing your shirt you
thought was so unique? While you feel your
expressing your personal, individual style, you
have to face the humorously awkward “Hey,
nice shirt” comment. It’s not your fault that
you’ve been limited to the corner of the
department store dedicated to golf. ~ Golfer
Monthly

10. Q3
Why do people buy polo shirts?
Brand Reflects Value Comfort
Individuals are perceived differently based For active sports, like golf, polo's are a
upon the style of clothing they wear. great option because they allow
movement but are still stylish enough for
the country club or workplace.
Custom Fit
Why do people buy custom fıt
polo shirts? Because fit is more
important than style. There
was just limited choice before.
Consumers want style,
individualism, and personal
fitting.

11. Q4
Who is the Vastrm competition and what are they doing?
BlankLabel*
"Delivering Modern Luxury"
Larger target market and not exclusively polo.
Focus on a great customer experience and consumer empowerment.
IndoChino
Website is largely image based.
Suits! More than just polo shirts.
Traveling Tailor-they bring their unique online fitting process to select retail
stores and go through the entire fitting/customization experience in person.
*Insightful interview with Blank Label CEO on their PR;
http://mixergy.com/blank-label-danny-wong-interview/

12. Interview
" There was an idea, how can we generate traffic? How can we acquire customers at low
cost? When we first launched, our conversion rate was pitiful. Through the numbers, our line
would have been -3:1 if we were trying to use a system like AdWords or grow through an
advertising network and use banner ads. We said, ‘We have to make money somehow. We
have to acquire customers somehow. We don’t have the capital to just throw in money so we
can start generating revenue. We haven’t those base customers to leverage in a hopeful way
to zero balance our line.’ I decided to try my skills in PR. I started with Silicone Media. I hit
the long tail of media. I targeted very niche bloggers on very small-scale websites. I shot
them the pitch. It was very basic. My first pitch was along the lines of, ‘Hey, we’re
BlankLabel, we do custom dress shirts. Design your own. You should check it out. Our
product’s affordable. It starts at $45. It just launched. So, you should check out the site and
let me know your size.’ It didn’t go to well ..."
~ Danny Wong CEO of Blank Label

13. Summary
Q1 Who is the Consumer and what are they
considering?
Primarily active males 20-34.
College educated and in the working force.
Q2 How does the Vastrm target audience discover brands?
Online and offline discovery.
Online more important for retail shopping and
consumer experience.
Q3 Why do people buy polo shirts?
They buy polo shirts because of perceived brand value, comfort, and
style.
Q4 Who is the Vastrm competition and what are they doing?
Blank Label and Indochino are two most relevant, but big brands are
coming into the game too. They create valuable consumer experiences and
shareable content.

14. Conclusion
Strategy:
Vastrm is clearly a newcomer and attempting to establish its niche with the golf and corporate crowd.
This market exists, but could be potentially isolating. Incorporate more social sharing at all levels.
Putting design in your hands isn't enough, build sharing into the experience.
These custom fitting clothing brands rely on the experience being engaging and shareworthy. Shy
away from the seemingly stock images when creating. I think the best feature of Vastrm is that you
get the PHYSICAL product to actually see if it fits. None of their competitors have this.
Target men's fashion bloggers.
Vastrm could put more emphasis on its high quality and Eco-Friendly process. While many of it's
competitors have similar standards, none put ecofriendly as a staple of their brand image.
I like the idea of a Video Series to create engagement.
Two good fashion related videos:
Mr. Porter "The Way I Dress" http://vimeo.com/31619767
Lacoste "The Polo of the Future" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30lKLG6mzNk

15. Puttıng ıt all together...

16. Current Behavior : Men want a well fitted Desired Response : Vastrm becomes their goto
stylish Polo. place for Polos.
Search Blogs WOM Pinterest
Website
News Facebook Website
Awareness Evaluation Buying Moment
Reason to believe Reason to believe Reason to believe
Fit - Function - Fashion Worried online fitting won't "The quality and
work? We send sample shirts workmanship is stellar!
No more loose to make sure the fitting is " ~ Eric (a customer)
fitting, generic looking perfect.
Thorough customization Store Credit on next
polo shirts that you are process
purchase.
scared to sweat in. Emphasize Low Cost &
High Quality Reviews.
Media Media Media
Paid Media - Adwords, Earned Media - Blogger Website/POS: Fluid
Banner Ads, SEO. Outreach, Content. customization and
Owned Media - FB, Twitter, checkout process.
Pinterest, Email Lists
Endorsement? - Sponsor an
amateur golfer

17. Blogs
Message to communicate when
reaching out:
Utilize YC name.
Emphasize the uniqueness of Vastrm.
Fit - Function - and Style. Adding individuality
back to the casual wardrobe. Men are more fashion
conscious than ever and want options. Vastrm is
more than just polos
Not only that, but Vastrm uses high quality
material and eco friendly supply chains.

18. Blogs
Pros:
Potential Target Audience other than golfers.
Active Community.
Network of style blogs.
Cons:
Unsure of sponsored spots
Relatively low traffic
Not sure if appealing to demographic
Traffic: 6
Following: 7
Relevance: 7
Total: 22

19. Blogs
Pros:
Exact Demographic of Vastrm..
Active Community.
Has written about Vastrm before
Cons:
Unsure of sponsored spots.
Relatively low traffic and network.
Traffic: 6
Following: 8
Relevance: 9
Total: 22

20. Blogs
Pros:
Spot on demographic.
Includes Women too.
High Traffic and Credibility.
Cons:
Unsure of sponsored spots.
Network might be too broad.
Traffic very cyclical.
Traffic: 8
Following: 8
Relevance: 8
Total: 24

21. Blogs
Pros:
More reaching demographic.
Emphasis on Fit, a strength of Vastrm's.
Credible network, sponsorships available.
Cons:
Smaller Traffic.
Potentially not specific demographic.
Traffic: 6
Following: 8
Relevance: 8
Total: 22

22. Pinterest
Wait...Polo wearing Men Golfer's don't use
pinterest.
No, but their girlfriends probably do and a
custom fitted polo would be an excellent gift.
According to adplanner females make a
considerable part of the demographic and are
involved in the purchase decision.
Quick Pinterest Stats:
More than that though, Vastrm matches
pinterest users interests 80 % repin at leastonce
71% Annual income of 25k to 75k
Potential Pinboards for Vastrm: 104,000,000 million unique monthly visitors
Fashion, Men's Fashion, Style, Design, Pinterest would be a great way for Vastrm to
Custom, Active, Work, Gifts. increase brand awareness and engagement
These are relatively popular board
names

23. Idea
Behind the Scenes Look
I believe a great introduction to Vastrm
would be a video showcasing how a person's
FIT ID gets transformed into a t-shirt,
making it as personable as possible.
This would build trust in the capabilities of
online fitting, emphasize Vastrm's strong
process and add some much needed visual
imagery to the fashion brand.
This could then segway into more longform
content to establish their credibility further.

24. Success
Success
Increased Brand Awareness & 100,000 Unique visitors to site Product Sales
Engagement

25. Retention 70 % positive sentiment about product.
2000 facebook likes
1000 repins
100 % increase in twitter followers
Purchase
15 % increase in sales
Preference
15 % in purchase preference KPIs
Consideration
100,000 unique visitors to the site.*
Awareness
6,300,000 impresions
25 % increased brand recall
3 articles in local blogs

26. Budget
Blogger Outreach: $5,000
Google Search/ Adwords: $5,000
Idea Budget : $5,000
Facebook/Earned Media:: $10,000
Total: $25,000 Free
Owned Media:
Timeline
MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG
Video Launch & Longform Content
Initial Blogger Outreach Blogger Outreach (Bigger
(niche) names)
Paid and Earned Media Content

27. Creating a Great Social
Media Strategy
Thank You!
.
@alexmeckes