This document analyzes the online strategies and social media presence of 8 surf brands. It finds that brands have diverse web architectures, with some having global sites and others having country-specific sites. On social media, Facebook is the dominant platform, with brands having millions of fans. Quiksilver leads on Instagram and Pinterest. The document also examines brands' search engine optimization, online advertising, and presence on other social networks like Twitter. It aims to understand how surf brands are building their online businesses and engaging customers digitally.
Spain Vs Italy 20 players confirmed for Spain's Euro 2024 squad, and three po...
Surf Brands: Social Media & Online Strategy
1. SURF
BRANDS:
SOCIAL
MEDIA
&
ONLINE
STRATEGY
Bilbao,
Spain,
Europe,
October
7th,
2013
By
Félix
Zulaica
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐Bilbao
2. Index
1. Summary
2. Methodology
3. Social
Media
summary
table
4. Brands
(web
&
social
media)
• Billabong
• Hurley
• Oakley
• Pukas
• Quiksilver
• Rip
Curl
• Roxy
• Volcom
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
5. Social
Media
comparison
• Facebook
• TwiXer
• Photos:
Instagram
&
Pinterest
• Video:
YouTube
&
Vimeo
6. Web
visits
7. AdverGsing
8. Contact
9. Links
3. 1.-‐
Executive
summary
(to
remember)
• Different
web
architectures:
Some
surf
brands
have
a
unique
global
web
(Hurley),
while
others
(Volcom,
Billabong
y
Rip
Curl)
have
specific
webs
for
Europe.
Other
brands
have
a
different
web
for
every
country
(Quiksilver,
Roxy
&
Oakley).
Pukas
web
is
global,
in
Spanish
and
English.
• Oakley,
Billabong,
Roxy
&
Quiksilver
are
actually
focused
on
online
sales
through
their
own
online
shops.
Volcom,
Rip
Curl
&
Hurley
divert
their
visitors
to
mulGbrand
online
shops,
where
visitors
may
buy
compeGtor’s
products.
Pukas
is
not
pushing
hard
online
sales.
• If
you
look
for
surf
products
at
google.es
(e.g.
Surf
bikinis,
neoprenos
surf,
…)
Roxy,
Pukas,
Body
Glove,
Quiksilver
&
Oakley
appear
in
the
first
posiGons,
while
Rip
Curl,
Billabong,
Volcom
&
Hurley
don’t
appear
at
all
in
first
pages.
• Online
adverGsing
(Adwords)
is
used,
seasonaly,
in
France
and
Spain
by
Quiksilver,
Roxy,
Oakley
and,
somewhat
less,
by
Billabong.
Other
brands
don’t
adverGse
online.
However
other
online
retailers
profit
the
search:
Gendasurfonline.com,
blue-‐tomato.com,
surfsGtch.com
and
decathlon.
• Facebook
is
the
reference
for
social
network
for
surf
brands
within
the
range
2-‐3
million
fans
per
brand
(global
or
US
pages).
European
segmented
pages
don’t
reach
400.000
fans.
Vans
is
supported
by
12
millions
Facebook
fans.
• In
TwiXer
Oakley
(global)
is
the
leader
with
200.000
followers.
In
Europe
Quiksilver
is
followed
by
slightly
more
than
20.000
and
Oakley
doesn’t
reach
that
figure.
• Instagram
is
leadered
by
Australians
Quiksilver,
Roxy
&
Billabong
(between
200.000
&
350.000
followers).
Quiksilver
has
3
million
Pinterest
followers,
being
almost
the
only
brand
with
Pinterest
presence,
a
mainly
used
by
women
(+80%)
social
network.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
4. 2.-‐
Methodology
(I)
• This
report
is
based
on
the
6
surf
brands
sponsoring
the
10
main
surf
contest
in
the
world,
World
Championship
Tour
WCT
2013
.
We
have
included
a
European
brand
,
Pukas,
and
Roxy,
the
Quiksilver’s
girls
brand
also.
• We
are
focusing
on
the
original
markets
of
these
brands:
Australia
&
USA
and,
specially
in
European
markets:
France
&
Spain.
• Web
architectures
and
brand
strategies
are
so
diverse
that
we
have
tried
to
raGonalise
and
standardise
data
&
conclusions.
• Billabong
&
Quiksilver
sponsor,
each
one,
3
of
10
contest.
Other
brands
sponsor
just
one
event
(except
Pukas).
Roxy
sponsors
only
girls’
contests.
• Events
are
organized
in
main
markets
(California,
Hawai,
Australia
(2),
France
&
Brazil)
and
in
exoGc
surf
desGnaGons
(TahiI,
Fiji,
Indonesia
&
Portugal)
• The
report
was
carried
out
with
data
available
in
September
2013.
Visits
were
calculated
with
data
from
semrush.com.
• PosiGoning
analysis
is
basic:
we
searched
in
google.es
and
google.fr
what
a
potenGal
customer
would
search,
the
brands’
generic
products:
T-‐shirts,
hoods,
pants,
boardshorts,
wetsuits,
(in
Spanish
camisetas,
bikinis,
sudaderas,
neoprenos,
bañadores
or
in
French
in
the
case),
including
+surf
…
• Fans
&
followers
figures
were
consolidated
in
the
brands
secGon
(e.g.
Billabong
has
3
twiXer
accounts:
general,
women
&
Europe).
In
Social
Media
pages
figures
weren’t
consolidated.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
5. 2.-‐
Methodology
(II)
• 6
surf
brands
sponsor
10
WCT
contests
with
the
best
surfers
riding
the
best
waves.
WCT
is
managed
by
the
ASP
AssociaGon
of
Surfing
Professionals.
WCT
2013
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
6. 3.-‐
Social
Media
summary
table
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
• In
different
Social
Media*
every
brand
follows
different
strategies
from
a
unique
web
scheme
to
men-‐girls
differenGaGon
and/or
specific
for
Europe.
(*
Social
Media,
including
blogs)
7. 4.-‐
Brands
A. Billabong
B. Hurley
C. Oakley
D. Pukas
E. Quksilver
F. Rip
Curl
G. Roxy
H. Volcom
We
display
the
info
in
two
pages
per
brand.
The
first
one
deals
with
web
architecture,
web
approach,
sales
online,
SEO
and
adwords
adverGsing
usage.
The
second
page
focuses
on
social
networks
brand
presence
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
8. 4.-‐
Brands:
Billabong
(I)
• Web
architecture:
Regions
and/or
countries.
Men/women.
Europe
is
a
unique
web.
• Approach:
Products
&
social
networks.
Generalist,
widely
targeted.
• Online
sales:
products
can
be
easily
added
to
the
cart.
IntuiGve
web
browsing.
“Free
shipping!”
(+25€).
In
Shop
you
can
choose
the
language:
EN/
DE/FR/ES/IT.
• PosiIoning:
Searching
at
google.es
productos
+
surf,
Billabong
doesn’t
appear.
At
google.fr,
shily.
• SEM
(adwords):
online
adverGsing
drives,
every
month,
some
1.300
visitors
to
each
web
in
France
and
Spain.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
9. 4.-‐
Brands:
Billabong
(II)
• Facebook,
of
course!
It
is
Billabong’s
most
acGve
social
network,
with
higher
amount
of
fans,
in
Europe
as
well.
• Specific
pages
segmented
for
men,
women
and
Europe.
• Curiosly
in
Instagram
there
are
20%
more
women
followers
than
men.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
10. 4.-‐
Brands:
Hurley
(I)
• Web
architecture:
Shop,
Mens
&
Womens
lead
to
online
shop
hXps://shop.hurley.com/,
and
there
to
the
region,
Europe
in
our
case.
• Approach:
focused
on
product
&
social
networks,
art
oriented
and
drinking
water
(&
humankind
access
to
it)
concerned
(H2O).
• Online
sales:
SelecGng
products,
the
buy
online
buXon
gives
you
3
online
dealers
opGons
(iboardshorts.com,
Planet-‐Sports
&
Hardcloud).
These
are
mulGbrand
dealers
with
the
risk
to
lose
the
sale
in
favor
of
other
brand.
• PosiIoning:
Searching
products
+
surf
Hurley
doesn’t
appear
in
the
results
of
Google
France
&
Spain.
• SEM
(adwords):
No
adwords
acIvity.
Traffic
looking
for
Hurley
products
can
divert,
via
Adwords,
to
surfsGtch.com,
zalando.es
&
privalia.com
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
11. 4.-‐
Brands:
Hurley
(II)
• Hurley’s
got
almost
3million
fans
in
a
unique
global
FB
page.
• No
relevant
girls
social
network
found,
just
instagram
and
twiXer
but
shyly.
• No
segmented
pages
for
Europe.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
12. 4.-‐
Brands:
Oakley
(I)
• Web
architecture:
:
easy,
simple
by
countries.
What
else?
• Approach:
it’s
the
most
“tradiGonal”
and
focused
on
product
and
innovaIon
brand.
It
makes
sense,
it’s
a
cross-‐sports
brand
.
• Online
sales:
products
lead
you
to
“buy
online”.
“Free
shipping”.
No
fricGon
with
retailers
publishing
official
final
price
(extra
margin
covers
the
shipping).
• PosiIoning:
Searching
“gafas
de
sol
deportes”
Oakley
is
3rd.
In
France
the
same
3rd
posiGon.
• SEM
(adwords):
consistent
adwords
presence.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
13. 4.-‐
Brands:
Oakley
(II)
• As
usual,
Facebook
is
the
leader
network
in
number
of
fans.
Its
main
page
appears
in
English
(it’s
a
FB
“place”,
weird!)
with
2
million
fans,
Brazil
900.000
fans
&
Europe
373.040.
• There
is
a
FB
“Oakley
Military”community.
• InteresGng
figures
in
TwiWer
&
Instagram.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
14. 4.-‐
Brands:
Pukas
(I)
• Web
architecture:
:
very
clean,
in
Spanish
and
English.
• Approach:
to
their
products/
services:
survoards,
clothing
and
surf
schools.
Vintage
online
brochure
to
highlight.
• Online
sales:
very
shy,
with
70
products,
it
seems
they
don’t
want
to
hurt
retailers.
A
brochure
with
products
to
add
directly
to
the
cart
would
increase
sales
.
• PosiIoning:
well
posiGoned
for
few
products.
Surf
bikinis
in
Spain,
France
&
Brasil
are
really
well
posiGoned.
• SEM
(adwords):
no
adwords
presence
at
all.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
15. 4.-‐
Brands:
Pukas
(II)
• Just
3
social
networks:
FB,
Instagram
y
Vimeo.
Not
easy
to
find
the
links,
down-‐under
and
in
B&W.
• Quality
video
(Vimeo)
and
fashion
Instagram.
• 3
different
Facebook
places
for
Pukas
Surf
Eskolas
at
DonosG
&
Zarautz
&
Pukas
stores
(9.500
fans
consolidated)
y
Pukas
Surf
Eskola
Barcelona
with
3.200
fans).
It
looks
like
a
big
effort
is
thrown
away
in
several
points
instead
of
having
a
unique
strong
page.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
16. 4.-‐
Brands:
Quiksilver
(I)
• Web
architecture:
:
segmented
by
regions,
and
then
by
countries
(close
to
customers).
The
web
is
fully
focused
on
sales
online.
• Approach:
to
their
products
and
to
sell
…
just
now!
• Online
sales:
very
agressive.
“Free
shipping”.
• PosiIoning:
3
out
of
4
visitors
search
incorrectly
for
Quicksilver
(Quiksilver
doesn’t
use
the
C)
at
Google.
Searching
products
+
surf
appears
always
at
the
top
of
the
first
page.
• SEM
(adwords):
2.000
visits/month
in
Spain
&
almost
6.000
in
France
from
adwords
adverGsing.
Around
10%
of
web
organic
visits.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
17. 4.-‐
Brands:
Quiksilver
(II)
• Gentle
presence
of
Social
Media
links
at
the
boXom
of
the
page
in
an
“invisible
grey”
colour.
• Almost
3
million
fans
in
a
unique
global
Facebook
page.
• To
highlight
Pinterest,
a
female
network,
with
more
than
3
million
followers.
• Kelly
Slater
sponsorship
is
very
well
returned
in
photos
&
videos.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
18. 4.-‐
Brands:
Rip
Curl
(I)
• Web
architecture:
:
by
regions.
Europe
is
a
unique
region.
• Approach:
to
their
products.
• Online
sales:
not
well
focused.
Products
have
a
“buy
online”
buXon
redirecGng
to
mulIbrand
online
shops
where
visitors
can
buy
other
brands.
(Just
6
countries
FR,
UK,
DE,
SU,
AU
y
SK).
• PosiIoning:
Lacking
T-‐shirts,
bikinis
&
wetsuits
(camisetas,
bikinis,
neoprenos
surf)
in
google.es.
• SEM
(adwords):
2.000
visits
in
Spain
&
almost
4.000
in
France
due
to
Google
adverGsing,
20%
&
10%
related
to
Google
organic
visits.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
19. 4.-‐
Brands:
Rip
Curl
(II)
• Shy
social
networks
presence,
even
in
frequence.
• +1.000
videos
in
YouTube
and
more
than
50.000
subscribers.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
20. 4.-‐
Brands:
Roxy
(I)
• Web
architecture:
:
segmented
by
regions
and
then
by
countries.
The
web
is
fully
focused
on
selling
online.
• Approach:
to
their
products
and
sell
them!.
• Online
sales:
agressive.
“Free
shipping.
Valid
for
any
product”.
• PosiIoning:
Excellent
for
camisetas,
bikinis,
neoprenos
surf
girls/women.
• SEM
(adwords):
2.000
visits
in
Spain
&
almost
4.000
in
France
due
to
adwords
online
adverGsing,
20%
&
10%
related
to
organic
Google
visits.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
21. 4.-‐
Marcas:
Roxy
(II)
• Social
network
links
have
a
“gentle”
presence
in
an
“invisible
grey”
colour.
• To
highlight
Facebook
&
Instagram,
a
very
“visual”
network,
with
almost
360.000
followers.
• Pinterest,
a
very
feminine
network,
isn’t
exploited
at
all.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
22. 4.-‐
Marcas:
Volcom(I)
• Web
architecture:
by
regions.
Europe
is
a
unique
region,
only
in
English.
• Approach:
“Youth
against
establishment”.
“Tough”
web
,
difficult
to
find
secGons.
• Online
sales:
not
very
clever.
It
adresses
visitors
to
mulIbrand
online
shops
by
countries,
where
vistors
may
buy
other
brands.
• PosiIoning:
Lacking
camisetas,
bikinis,
neoprenos
surf
in
google.es.
• SEM
(adwords):
2.000
visits
in
Spain
and
almost
4.000
in
France
due
to
adwords
ads:
20%
&
10%
related
to
Google
organic
searches.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
23. 4.-‐
Marcas:
Volcom
(II)
• Almost
3
million
Facebook
fans,
+
170.000
in
Europe.
• YouTube
with
1.000
videos
uploaded
and
67.000
subscribers.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
25. 5.-‐
Social
Media
comparison
• In
the
following
slides
we
will
introduce
the
leaders
in
each
social
network,
their
followers
figures
and
publishing
acGvity.
• We
will
start
with
generalist
networks:
Facebook
&
TwiWer.
• Photos:
Instagram
&
Pinterest
• Videos:
Youtube
&
Vimeo
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
26. 5.-‐
Facebook
• Not
included
in
the
report,
VANS
is
leader
in
FB
with
almost
12
million
fans.
Vans
itself
has
more
fans
than
the
first
four
following
brands.
• Facebook,
a
generalist
network,
fits
very
well
with
surf
brands,
generalist
as
well.
• European
segmented
pages
don’t
reach
500.000
fans.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
27. 5.-‐
Twitter
• Oakley,
a
brand
with
products
for
different
sports
(including
cycling),
is
the
twiXer
leader
with
200.000
followers.
Oakley
&
Quiksilver
are
the
leaders
in
Europe
with
around
20.000
followers.
• Quiksilver
&
Rip
Curl
have
segmented
by
market
and
dilute
their
impact,
but
are
closer
to
followers.
• Oakley,
Hurley
&
Roxy
are
the
brand
leaders
posGng
tweets,
with
figures
over
6.000.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
28. 5.-‐
Photos
(I)
Instagram
y
Pinterest
• If
we
put
aside
Flickr,
we
can
find
two
photo
oriented
networks:
Instagram
&
Pinterest.
• Brands
are
mainly
invesGng
in
Instagram,
except
for
Quiksilver
with
more
than
3MM
followers
in
Pinterest,
a
very
feminine
network
(+80%
are
women).
• We
find
it
strange
that
Roxy
is
not
having
more
presence
in
Pinterest.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
29. 5.-‐
Photos
(II)
Instagram
&
Pinterest
• Photos
related
networks
are
very
useful
for
brands
in
extremely
visual
sports.
•
Quiksilver
use
of
Kelly
Slater
image
is
great!
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
30. 5.-‐
Video
(I)
YouTube
&
Vimeo
• YouTube
is
the
second
social
media
in
the
world
(ayer
Facebook)
with
more
than
900.000
registered
users.
Vimeo
is
more
exclusive,
with
high
quality
videos.
• Brands
know
where
the
volume
is
and
their
bet
is
for
YouTube.
Brands
in
Vimeo,
except
for
Pukas,
have
channels
in
Youtube
also.
• Volcom
is
the
leader
in
number
of
videos
uploaded.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
31. 5.-‐
Video
(II)
YouTube
&
Vimeo
• Video
is
the
best
way
to
communicate
the
essence
of
sports
like
surf,
skate,
ski,
etc.
• Subscribers
figures
aren’t
very
high
in
general,
but
some
videos
have
been
viewed
more
than
800.000
Gmes,
for
instance
de
Kelly
Slater
x11.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
32. 6.-‐
Web’s
visits
• In
the
French
market
Quiksilver,
Roxy
&
Oakley
are
the
most
visited*
brands
via
Google.
• In
Spain
Oakley
&
Quiksilver
are
the
leaders.
• Pukas
is
close
to
Rip
Curl
and
well
above
Hurley
&
Volcom.
Surprisingly
the
bikinis
surf
search
places
Pukas
in
the
first
places
in
Spain,
France
&
Brazil.
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
*
The
figures
are
not
real
figures
but
semrush.com
esGmates
based
in
the
20
first
search
results
in
every
web.
This
is
the
best
info
available,
very
useful
to
compare
among
brands.
33. 7.-‐
Advertising
• Brands
have
2
opGons
to
appear
in
customer
searches:
• Adwords
(paid
adverGsing)
• Search
Engine
OpGmisaGon
(SEO)
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
AdverGsing
SEO
Search
AdverGsing
34. 7.-‐
Advertising
• 66%
of
these
5
markets
online
adverGsingtakes
place
in
the
US
• Oakley
is
the
brand
with
more
presence,
52%,
sthe
econd
player
is
Quiksilver
Group
(Roxy
16%
&
Quiksilver
18%).
• In
Europe
the
picture
is
similar,
including
Billabong.
• Volcom
&
Hurley
only
invest
in
adwords
in
the
US
market..
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
AdverGsing
35. 8.-‐
Contact
• +34
944
00
88
88
• +34
671
053
446
• felix@otradimension.es
• @otradimensionSM
• www.otradimension.es
• Apartado
333,
48080,
Bilbao,
• Basque
Country,
Spain,
Europe
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
36. 9.-‐
Links
(I)
• Brand’s
webs
links
Otra
Dimensión,
Agencia
de
MarkeGng
online
-‐
Bilbao
Brand
Web
Billabong
Men
hXp://www.billabong.com/
Women
Hurley
Men
hXp://www.hurley.com/
Womens
Oakley
US
hXp://www.oakley.com/
Europe
Pukas
hXp://pukassurf.com/es/
Quiksilver
hXp://www.quiksilver.es/#?intcmp=qs_us_redirecGon:qs_eu
Rip
Curl
EU
hXp://www.ripcurl.eu/
US
hXp://shop.ripcurl.com/us/shop/
AU
hXp://www.ripcurl.com.au/shop/
Roxy
Wome
n
hXp://www.roxy.com/
Volcom
EU
hXp://www.volcom.com/
US
hXp://www.volcom.com/index.asp?new=1
AU
hXp://www.volcom.com.au/