Emily Martin

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Final Project

Tradition Transformed
A comprehensive social media plan

Emily C. Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Emily Martin

IMC 641

Final Project

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- TRADITION TRANSFORMED

Talbots, a 65 year old womens retailer, has been in decline since the economic downturn. The company currently utilizes few traditional means of advertising. Television commercials are no longer used due to high production costs and public relations efforts occasionally create exposure for Talbots. Seasonal direct mailers are used for promotional coupons, monthly catalogs are sent to promote new product deliveries, and infrequent print advertising is limited to select magazines. Talbots is utilizing emerging forms of advertising to connect with consumers in an immediate and costeffective manner. Email is used frequently. Social media is used ineffectively to promote the brand through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Talbots is very focused on sales and promotional messages within posts, resulting in weak connections with followers on a personal level. While the company occasionally runs sweepstakes based upon fan experiences, they are not providing deep connections through social media. The proposed social media plan provides Talbots appropriate exposure to target audiences at a lower cost than traditional media. Added exposure that connects with customers on a personal level will drive customers to the brand and encourage them to share the brand. Creating a connected, shareable presence online will ultimately increase revenue with minimal investment. This plan seeks to reinvigorate the Tradition Transformed brand platform by appealing to Baby Boomers with the Tradition and to Early Generation Xers with the Transformed.

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OBJECTIVES
Objective I To promote the Talbots brand through re-implementation of the Red Chair Confessions blog and launch of the Traditions blog, generating 1200 new followers/brand advocates in total within three months of launch.

Objective II To drive 30% of social media followers (existing customers) to purchase, by using unique promotion codes offered through social media outlets.

Objective III To increase overall positive impressions on social media outlets by 40% within six months of campaign launch.

AUDIENCES
Talbots has attempted to reinvent its image since 2009, struggling to connect with their traditional customer while trying to attract a new consumer base. The Talbots 2009 Annual Report identified the core customers as being high-income, college educated and employed primarily in professional and managerial occupations, and are attracted to the brand by our focused merchandising strategy personalized customer service, and continual flow of high quality, reasonably priced updated classic merchandise. (Thetalbotsinc.com, 2010). According to Grau (2009), by 2013, 93.9 million US adults will be using social networks, which is 52% of adult internet users. EMarketer illustrates the Boomer mentality regarding online community activity compared to GenX and other groups. Interestingly, Boomers time on the internet is used for either

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communication with friends and family (50%), or finding information (52%). A majority of Boomers use the internet to search information, half use email to keep in touch with others, and just below half search local, national, and international news. While they are not using the internet as a means of entertainment, Boomers are using the internet as a means to research entertainment for their lives offline. (Wasserman, 2011). Generation X women are using the internet for various reasons as well. Search engine usage tops their interest, while communicating online, and staying current on local news and events rounds out their top three online activities. While many of GenX interests rank similar to the Boomer interests, the distribution of online activities is more evenly dispersed. A noticeable difference lies in socializing, watching online content and seeing personal interest information. (Wassermann, 2011). GenX uses social media more to serve personal interest and entertainment value than do Boomers.

BABY BOOMERS
Traditional Talbots customers are considered to be within the Baby Boomer generation. These consumers are 46 to 70+ years old, career-oriented and retirement-focused, middle to upper income, and educated home owners. Psychographics include being family oriented, community-minded, and brand loyalists. This group of consumers

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communicates status through possessions and interests. They carry a lifestyle of comfort and selffulfillment, and identify personal style with age-appropriate fashions. (Thetalbotsinc.com, n.d.). Forty-six percent of the Baby Boomer generation reported maintaining a social media page in 2010. (Wassermann, 2011). According to an eMarketer study in March of 2011, younger Boomers (ages 47 to 55) spent 39.3 hours online per month and older Boomers (56-65) spent 36.5 hours. (Wassermann, 2011). ). Boomers prefer Facebook over other social media sites. (Van Grove, 2010). Seventy-three percent maintain a Facebook page, 13% participate in Twitter, and only 13% are active on LinkedIn. (Van Grove, 2010).

GENERATION X
Early Generation X women will be a secondary target for the social media campaign. While these women are not currently loyal Talbots customers, they are a valuable audience due to their active presence among social media venues and their tendency to share content. (Grau, 2009). These women are highly focused on personal appearance and are concerned with their ability to balance their busy working lives with family and personal interest. (Wassermann, 2010). They are highly involved online and are interested in social media as a means to communicate with friends and family, gather information regarding hobbies (including fashion) and to

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share content with friends and colleagues. (Grau, 2009). They are sharing content and offering commentary, feeling enabled to create influence through their critic role, more-so than creating content. Among GenX women, Talbots will tap into the fashion quotient and shifting wardrobe needs as their bodies change, entering into early middle-age and post-childbirth. Their tendency to share content will allow Talbots to become a viral brand among GenX women. They are mainly considered Spectators and Joiners, due to involvement in multiple social media outlets.

OPPORTUNITY
Talbots has left their core customer feeling abandoned while unsuccessfully pursuing a new customer base. Within the initial strategy to communicate with both audiences, Talbots has lost their engagement and communication styles that initially created a loyal following. The company needs to engage with customers to induce viral sharing and personal interest among existing and potential customers. Within the Social Feedback Cycle, Talbots must focus upon awareness within the social web which will lead to increased sharing and engagement, ultimately influencing purchase decisions when done correctly.

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Talbots current touchpoint map indicates the higher performing points of customer contact are those that are the most expensive or timeconsuming. As the chart indicates, in-store experiences and direct mail are most discussed by customers. The in-store experience indicates a more engaging performance, while direct mail drives traffic but incurs a substantial cost. Unfortunately, the lowest-cost methods of contact with highest engagement potential (social media) are being underused and ignored by the consumer. This poses significant opportunity within this social media plan. Given the national and wide-scale Talbots carries across the nation, gathering an accurate net promoter score would incur significant cost and effort. On a smaller scale, the promoter score of local respondents surrounding the Vienna, WV store indicates a score of 7.5. Interviewing 20 people within the target audiences, the score reveals 14 respondents who are Highly satisfied with Talbots as a brand, three who are Satisfied, two who were Unfamiliar, and one who was Unsatisfied. Although a majority of respondents were satisfied with the brand, the remaining three indicate a significant opportunity to connect and engage with potential customers.

CHANNELS / METHODS

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Talbots will utilize four different social media venues to connect with existing customers, potential customers, and industry influencers. Talbots will use two blogs, videos, Facebook, and Twitter to effectively create conversations where the brand can create compelling content encouraging two-way conversations. Talbots will share the brand personality and create conversations based upon product and lifestyle, while followers will be engaged enough to respond. This will allow Talbots to collect valuable information and respond appropriately to the chatter.

BLOGS
Two blogs will be used to appeal to customers in different ways. The blog approach will tackle an exposure problem among relevant fashion industry professionals and speak to a complicated fashion stance of dressing women. As Li & Bernoff (2009) indicate, complicated or technical content may be best addressed by maintaining a blog. Dave Evans (2008) is a proponent of blogs as they can be really effective and Its a simple, easy, low-cost approach to social media. Considering the cost-effectiveness and reach potential of blog forums, having multiple blogs will appeal to customer groups without a large monetary investment (aside from the time and labor investment). Reinstating Red Chair Confessions (RCC) will allow Talbots to reconnect with the Generation X fashionoriented customer. It will speak to a relevance to the Gen X tendency to seek information and belonging in a blog setting according to their interests. (Davidson, 2010). The Boomer Blog, Traditions, will reach the Baby Boomer core customer in a way that appeals to their egocentric and lifestyle-centered mentality. (Carracher, 2012).

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Red Ch a i r Co n fe ss io n s ( RC C ) r ei n st at ed

Connect with the fashion industry in a way that is relevant to the interests of potential customers. These customers look to fashion and lifestyle bloggers as personalities who will direct traffic to the Talbots brand. Target Audiences: Fashion bloggers to create a reciprocal supportive

relationship establishing Talbots as a relevant player in the fashion arena. The bloggers will receive free product in exchange for true and honest opinions of the brand, their experience, and the item. The blogger must be honest and unbiased and disclose that Talbots provided the item for free. Talbots must feature the blog post on RCC and highlight commentary along with the product and where/when to find it in stores and online. Talbots must continue the blogger relationship regardless of a good or bad review. In addition to the online experience, stores must uphold an excellent customer service experience and store atmosphere to promote the in-store experience and impact the bloggers opinion of the brand. Generation X potential customers who follow these fashion bloggers and are influenced by their opinions. These readers are involved in fashion and lifestyle blogs by reading and linking to content. By providing relevant content to their interests through blogs they are following, Talbots will be able to link the brand identity to their interests. Topics Covered: Promotional offers Fashion trends Featured readers Products to love Worst fashion offenses Celebrity sightings Video content Blogger support Share your style

Tra d it io n s b e g i ns

Engage the core customer and connect to their lifestyle in a way that is more personal than that of the higher-fashion RCC. Traditions will uphold Talbots traditional stance as a classic and reliable presence.

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The blog will feature weekly postings regarding fashion but will link to other relevant blogs to Boomer interests. The challenges that accompany life changes such as retirement or physical changes are often accompanied by changing wardrobe needs. (Genova, 2012). This is where Talbots can help to offer ageappropriate solutions to the Boomer-specific needs. Target Audiences: Baby Boomer Spectators will be the primary target as the content will be geared toward their interests in fashion, family, and self. The presence of a blog geared especially to them taps into their egocentric mentality where they are researching their interests mainly through social media. (Carracher, 2012). Boomer bloggers who can maintain a credible stance for the blog, enhancing Talbots presence among Boomer Spectators. The links within other blogs will direct Boomer attention to Talbots for special occasions, changes in wardrobe needs (retirement, becoming grandparents, job changes, physical changes, etc.), and fashion advice. Topics covered: Video content Product testing Age-appropriate solutions Ask Talbots section for specific questions Featured readers

Promotional offers Appropriate Boomer looks Readers sharing looks Comment sharing and response

VIDEO - FASHION TIPS, FLATTERING FIGURES, & APPROPRIATE STYLE.

By providing video content, visitors can understand the current fashion trends translated in an ageappropriate and relevant manner. The venue will be a supportive function where Talbots can build style credibility while sharing the brand personality. Establishing this fashion relevance through weekly

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postings will be a great step in attracting fashion experts, celebrity supporters, and fashion-challenged women to the brand. These opportunities support the goals of generating more customer traffic to the Talbots brand and creating an authentic presence among the fashion industry while generating celebrity support through viral video content. Evans (2008) explains that video is helpful in sharing instructional content. The idea of sharing these educational and entertaining videos with customers who will share them with their contacts is not the limit. Evans (2008) indicates that it must be done in such a way that it can be passed around or easily picked up and dropped into a forum or blog by your customers, you further increase the likelihood that your message will be spread around. Target Audiences: Fashion experts reach out to fashion industry influencers to attract attention to the brand through videos spotlighting their looks, fashion insight, and fun interactive commentary. The experts would be invited to provide honest comments about Talbots products to ensure honesty and clarity in their contributions. Celebrity fashion stylists, fashion bloggers, and Talbots product designers will be invited to share insight and comment on the content. The mutual benefit will create an added value to experts by creating increased content and traffic to their personal venues and will improve the Talbots relevance as a fashionable brand. Celebrity Supporters through video content, Talbots will approach celebrities and attract their support. Sightings of celebrities wearing Talbots will be discussed, with an analysis of how they wore the item, and then a real-woman way to wear the look. Celebrities tagged in the video will be invited to comment. The more the celebrities are included; they will feel an ownership of their looks and feel compelled to contribute to the videos and customers will generate an affinity for the celebrity. In the long-term,

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celebrity interaction and affiliation can be harbored to include spokesperson support and increased interaction with customers following the videos. The mutual benefit of celebrity involvement will be an added benefit of video content without having the expense of a spokesperson. Fashion-challenged women will be the main target, as they are apt to share valuable content with their friends. Offering fun, supportive, and informational videos can strengthen existing relationships and create new ones through viral sharing. Videos will be mainly geared toward the consumer, as she is the target to drive company sales. Content will be basic, easy to understand and implement, and attainable. The last thing Talbots wants to do is create videos highlighting trends and fashions that are impractical. Doing so will turn the viewer away and create an unrealistic and unconnected identity for Talbots.

FACEBOOK
Create better engagement on a more personal level. Currently Talbots has a presence on Facebook with 194,973 likes. (Facebook.com, 2012). While there is a high level of activity, the content is not creating strong, connected relationships with fans. The brand creates product-related posts and responds to fan comments when appropriate. However, Talbots must create posts that take the relationships to a higher level. Consumers are following Talbots because they feel an affinity toward the brand, so that relationship should be nurtured with more personal and interest-driven content. Talbots will begin to include posts that are related to customer interests including fashion, lifestyle, entertaining, home, etc.

TWITTER
Create a more engaging presence among followers and establish a better relationship with fashion industry influencers who can share content with

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their followers. Talbots currently has 5,399 followers and follows 29 other Twitter personalities. (Twitter.com, 2012). Those who Talbots follows are not relevant to the Talbots customer. The brand must follow competitors, influencers, fashion experts, magazines that may (or could) feature the brand, relevant celebrities, etc. Talbots must monitor the chatter within the social media spaces to retweet relevant content and respond to those posts that could be damaging to the brand. This will allow for Talbots to connect with appropriate people and let others know the brand is aware of their presence. By monitoring current conversations regarding fashion in general, Talbots can begin to reach out to those influencers within the Twitter arena and establish a reciprocal relationship. By sharing content that is of interest to Talbots Twitter followers, it will strengthen their relevance and create a more valuable presence among the community. As Evans (2008) indicates, Twitter (and microblogs) boil social media networking down to its most essential elements: a post, a comment, and an indication of relationships.

METRICS MEASUREMENT
Venue RCC Blog Metrics
Subscribers vs. Unique Visitors Comments (content & frequency) Amount of time on site Promotion code redemption Friends Likes / Like Click-through rates Post content from visitors Promotion code redemption Re-tweets Responses to company tweets Click-through rates Promotion code redemption Views Length of time with the brand

Sources Blog host site & Google Analytics

Facebook

Facebook & Google Analytics

Twitter

Twitter & Google Analytics

YouTube

YouTube & Google Analytics

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Exterior Conversations*

Followers Mentions Content Accuracy of posts

Google Analytics

*Exterior conversations: Google Analytics will be used to measure the conversations and mentions of Talbots within noncompany venues. This will allow Talbots to measure the buzz created by the brand and monitor the context of conversations. This will aide in determining current (starting) benchmark measurements. The subsequent data will create periodic measurements from that point on, showing improvement or declines in the quality and quantity of conversations.

SUMMARY
Talbots has a significant opportunity to connect with existing and potential customers. Given the lowimpact efforts currently in use, the brand shows intent to develop a presence among the social media world. Unfortunately, efforts have not provided a substantial return on investment as of yet. A lack of personal connection is the main driver behind a generic relationship among all followers. By offering compelling, interesting content that connects with the consumer on a personal level, Talbots has the opportunity to positively impact key metrics, resulting in increased traffic to the brand. The Tradition Transformed platform continues to resonate with the brand and has the strength to inspire consumers to take notice of Talbots. In order to do so, the initiative must be executed with a strategic focus on engaging with the consumer in a way that creates a relationship of trust, caring, and preference over other brands. Using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and video will allow Talbots to connect with key audiences in a targeted manner that is relevant to their lifestyles. Upon successful introduction and maintenance of this primary social media proposal, Talbots will be able to focus on further social media strategies. Initial success will be measured and further initiatives within the primary social media venues may include contests, sweepstakes, guest employee bloggers, and client suggestions. Phase two may include a customer review platform, Pintrest, and livecasting Skype sessions.

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Following the proposed social media plan will propel Talbots into a more competitive, sustainable position among other retail and fashion presences. The relevance, engagement, and viral nature of the plan allow Talbots to take a more positive position among competitors and customers.

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REFERENCES
Carracher, Jamie. (2011, April 6). How Baby Boomers are embracing digital media. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2011/04/06/baby-boomers-digital-media/

Davidson, Corrie. (2010, December 17). Generations online in 2010-statistics. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://captico.com/generations-online-in-2010-statistics/2010/12

Evans, Dave. (2008). Social media marketing. Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

Facebook.com. (2012) Talbots. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.facebook.com/TALBOTS

Genova, Jane. (2012, March 14). Ann Inc. why still targeting Baby Boomers? Retrieved April 19, 2012 from http://beta.fool.com/janegenova/2012/03/14/ann-inc-get-out-baby-boomer-segment/2816/

Grau, Jeffrey. (2009, October). Social commerce on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_20000607

Li, Charlene & Bernoff, Josh. (2009). Marketing in the groundswell. Harvard Business Press, Boston, Massachusetts.

Thetalbotsinc.com. (n.d.). Home, about us. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from http://www.talbotsinc.com/home.asp

Twitter.com. (2012). Talbots, @TalbotsOfficial. Retrieved April 18, 2012 from https://twitter.com/#!/following

Van Grove, Jennifer. (2010, January 28). Baby Boomers and seniors are flocking to Facebook. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2010/01/28/baby-boomers-social-media/

Wasserman, Todd. (2011, November 17). How to market to Baby Boomers online. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2011/11/17/how-to-market-to-baby-boomers/