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Growing up with the internet in a mobile-era, Gen-Z is unlike any demographic cohort preceding it. The sheer volume of products and services available to these consumers has made them skeptics. As a result, their purchasing behavior is very unique. From January 2019 to March 2019, Amplify conducted Canada's first comprehensive Gen-Z study in partnership with the Globe & Mail. The firm surveyed 1,254 Gen-Z consumers to gain insight into what inspires their purchasing decisions. I sat down with Kieran Mathew, Amplify's CEO to discuss the findings.

Jeff Fromm: What is a typical purchasing path for Gen-Z consumers?

Kieran Mathew: When making a purchase, 80% of Gen-Z consumers conduct research: they check out the brand's website to evaluate costs, social media pages, and look at the company itself and its values. After this, 73% of Gen-Z consumers read or watch reviews to vet product quality. This is incredible considering that a decade ago, detailed online reviews were obsolete. Now they are a necessity.

Price and quality are Gen-Z's top two purchasing factors. Once they have been evaluated, 54% proceed to get feedback from friends, ensuring their desired product will be accepted socially. After social validation, the Gen-Z consumer will make their purchase. Surprisingly, Gen-Z loves retail, so this consumer may head in-store if the brand provides an engaging retail experience, otherwise they will happily make their purchase online.

Fromm: Why have research and reviews become so pivotal for these consumers?

Mathew: Gen-Z is the first generation to grow up with mass saturation of advertising and products. The average Gen-Z consumer sees more than 10,000 marketing messages a day and has thousands of brands to choose from in any category. The sheer saturation has decreased brand trust significantly. It is challenging to distinguish quality products from shams that look great online, and awful in person. It's like ordering an Xbox online and receiving a cardboard box with an 'x' on it in person. Gen-Z is adept on social and fiscally conservative so they work to ensure that they receive a quality product for the best price possible.

Fromm: How can you influence this process?

Mathew: A brand's customer experience starts as soon as the consumer begins their due diligence. For Gen-Z, customer experience becomes your brand. This means that if the experience is inefficient and slow, the brand is viewed as antiquated and boring. To influence this process, brands can start by ensuring their SEO is strong so that when consumers research the company, their site ranks first.

Next, the brand should ensure that customer reviews are readily accessible on their product pages, providing consumers with seamless access to past customer experiences while they're evaluating price. Brands can justify increasing prices if the price is supported by ample, 5 star reviews. Reviews should not only be accessible on your site but through Google and other web mediums relevant to your company.

Fromm: You mentioned that Gen-Z'ers often share the product they're thinking of purchasing with their friends before fully committing to purchasing, why is this the case?

Mathew: Gen-Z is driven by peer acceptance. 81% rated their friends as their top influence when deciding what to purchase. Growing up in a world of ceaseless connectivity where digital engagement has become a social currency, these consumers want to feel accepted by their friends and social networks. Getting instant feedback from trusted sources enables them to feel confident and provides assurance in their purchasing decisions.

Fromm: How brands improve their marketing efforts knowing this?

Mathew: In analyzing the data, we've identified three primary areas that brands must navigate to successfully inspire a purchase from a Gen-Z consumer. The first is cutting through saturation to be discovered, the second is building trust during research and reviews, the last is inspiring conversation and approvals in peer-to-peer dialogues.

We've covered the second so let's focus on cutting through saturation and the peer dialogue. Success comes down to understanding your customers. Gen-Z consumers are not all the same. There are underlying principles which marketers should consider when strategizing on how to engage this eclectic cohort but brands must go deeper to understand who their customers are, what problem they are solving, how their customers feel once the problem is solved, and why that matters.

Saturation of products and marketing messages means that personalized communication through consumer understanding really pops. It's the notion of trying to appeal to everyone and appealing to no one versus each of your customers feeling as though every ad and experience you create is speaking to them directly. After going deep on consumer understanding, marketers must focus less on selling their product and more on building a community for those consumers to meet, live, and play with each other. This could be done through a podcast tailored to your niche, or a private Facebook group dedicated to the problem you're solving.

At its core, success within the Gen-Z cohort lies in understanding consumers and spending less time on one-way, messaging-based campaigns and more on community building. That's how brands distinguish themselves, inspire influential peer-to-peer conversations which lead to purchasing, and build long term relationships.

Source: https://amplifysolutions.ca/gen-z

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Community Building And The Gen-Z Purchasing Path

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Growing up with the internet in a mobile-era, Gen-Z is unlike any demographic cohort preceding it. The sheer volume of products and services available to these consumers has made them skeptics. As a result, their purchasing behavior is very unique.

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Generation Z: 10 Stats From SXSW You Need To Know

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As SXSW has drawn in more marketers and not just tech folk over the years, it has increasingly served up sessions dedicated to how better to reach consumers. For 2016, it was all about Generation Z.

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Data-Centric Digital Media & Email Marketing

Who is Generation Z?

Born after 1995
~26% of the U.S. population (expected to be 1/3 by 2020)
Expected to represent ~40% of consumers by 2020
Social media and digital natives

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Hey! Want to live up to your marketing potential? We can help. Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest email and digital marketing tips. We won't share or sell your information. Data-Centric Digital Media & Email Marketing Who is Generation Z? Born after 1995 ~26% of the U.S.

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Vegan News, Plant Based Living, Food, Health & more

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Almost half (44 percent) of Generation Z-ers say being vegan is cooler than smoking.

A new study carried out by plant-based fresh food brand BOL Foods has revealed how younger people (24 and below) approach food and ethics compared to older generations, with a spokesperson saying 'they put baby boomers and millennials to shame'.

"Almost a quarter of 18-24 year olds have turned vegan in the past year, 35 percent are on the hunt for a vegan partner (who they assume will be better looking, more interesting and fitter) and it looks as though peer pressure has even taken a turn for the better as one in three would try going vegan as it looks more impressive to others," says the data.

Plant-based and vegan

"I love these results," Paul Brown, founder of BOL Foods, said in a statement sent to Plant Based News. "The ever-increasing global interest in a plant-based lifestyle can only be a good thing for both people and planet.

"We've launched so much 100 percenr plant-based innovation this year which has driven over 120 percent year on year growth. More excitingly means we're on track to make over 10 million portions of veg.

"What makes something 'cool' has always been subjective, in my day it was a smoke behind the school bike sheds. I doff my cap to the younger generation who are definitely trumping mine; the switch to eating more plants and choosing a more environmentally conscious lifestyle is so much cooler. Big up to the 'Gen V' and here's to everyone eating more plants which will be better for us all now and generations to come."

Vegan movement

The study follows a market report from last week, which claimed millennial consumers going vegan or vegetarian is the 'biggest threat' to burger and chicken restaurants.

The report, Burger and Chicken Restaurants - UK - September 2018, said: "The biggest threat to the popularity of burger and chicken is the trend of consumers cutting back on eating meat.

"This is being driven by Younger Millennials who have either adopted a full-time vegan lifestyle or are simply eating more plant-based dishes.

"Operators now need to tackle this issue by offering consumers more varied choice, including vegan burgers."

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? 44% Of Generation Z Say Being Vegan Is 'Cooler Than Smoking'

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Almost half (44 percent) of Generation Z-ers say being vegan is cooler than smoking. A new study carried out by plant-based fresh food brand BOL Foods has revealed how younger people (24 and below) approach food and ethics compared to older generations, with a spokesperson saying 'they put baby boomers and millennials to shame'.

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Younger consumers are seriously concerned with social and environmental causes, which many regard as being the defining issues of our time. They increasingly back their beliefs with their shopping habits, favoring brands that are aligned with their values and avoiding those that don't.

Brands are responding by integrating social and environmental themes into their products and services. The benefits of these policies are clear, but as the causes that some brands champion venture into controversial territory there are risks and consequences for those that fail to get it right. Against that background, in our latest State of Fashion report-written in partnership with the Business of Fashion (BoF) -we dived deeply into the rise of "woke" consumers as one of ten trends the fashion industry should watch in 2019.

Nine in ten Generation Z consumers believe companies have a responsibility to address environmental and social issues. The inclusion of the latter is a departure from the views of the previous generation of millennials, which had a greener focus. The change is reflected in the higher profile of social issues and in campaigns such as #metoo, #blacklivesmatter, and #timesup, all of which have entered the mainstream lexicon over the past couple of years.

The views of Gen Z and millennial consumers are critical. Together, these cohorts represent around $350 billion of spending power in the United States alone (approximately $150 billion spent by Gen Z and around $200 billion by millennials); additionally, Gen Z will account for 40 percent of global consumers by 2020. But concern over environmental and social issues is not restricted to younger consumers. Some two-thirds of consumers worldwide say they would switch, avoid, or boycott brands based on their stance on controversial issues. Half of these regard themselves as activists, driven by passion. The other half are less dogmatic, tailoring their decision to the situation at hand.

Still, the dynamics behind the numbers are compelling. Over the past three years a third of consumers worldwide have expanded the scope of their purchasing decisions to incorporate principled values and views. A new global ethos is emerging, and billions of people are using consumption as a means to express their deeply held beliefs.

Signs of this evolving agenda can be found beyond consumer sentiment, too. Fashion companies are showing signs of getting "woke" (a phrase defined as "alert to injustice in society," popularized on social media). For example, based on a "data scrape" of more than 2,000 fashion retailers, the appearance of the word "feminist" on homepages and newsletters increased by a factor of more than five from 2016 to 2018.

Many brands and retailers, including Levi Strauss and Nike, are on board, and both companies have taken a clear stance on social issues in recent months-Nike supporting Colin Kaepernick, the face of the NFL's "anthem protests," and Levi's fronting a campaign against gun violence. Gucci has also supported that cause, supporting a student-led march calling for more gun control.

And American designer Jeremy Scott appeared at his New York Fashion Week show with a T-shirt urging, "Tell your senator no on Kavanaugh," in reference to the then-embattled US Supreme Court justice undergoing confirmation hearings.

In Asia, Fast Retailing, the parent company of Japanese retailer Uniqlo, has made efforts to hire refugees and, since 2016, has donated more than $5 million to the support of refugee initiatives in Asia. British retailer ASOS has taken a different approach to support refugees, launching an exclusive lingerie line in partnership with designer Katharine Hamnett and Help Refugees, a nongovernmental organization that will receive all profits from the initiative.

Some fashion players have attached collections and ranges to specific causes-for example, H&M launched a Pride collection in 2018 in support of the LGBTQ+ community, and Balenciaga collaborated with World Food Programme, donning its slogan, "Saving Lives, Changing Lives." And others have geared campaigns to reflect beliefs; in a 2018 campaign to promote diversity, for example, Moschino switched to using only models of color.

Some companies are taking things a step further, putting purpose at the heart of their strategy and operations. There are growing numbers of B-Corporations, which are certified to have considered the impact of their decisions on people, society, and the planet (exhibit). Companies including Ben & Jerry's, Danone, and Patagonia are B-certified. In the fashion, apparel, and beauty sector, the number of B-corps had risen to nearly 200 as of April 2018, compared with just seven in 2010. Athleta promises that 40 percent of its products are made of recycled and sustainable materials, while Allbirds and Eileen Fisher have made similar commitments. The former donates returned used shoes to charity. We would not be surprised if at least one $500 million-plus fashion company became a B-corp in 2019.

Notably, environmentally and socially focused companies are considered by younger cohorts to be better prospects as employers, and the vast majority say they would be more loyal to companies that are aligned with those values. Commitment to tracking organizational key performance indicators is critical, as LVMH has done, setting out to have equal gender representation among executive ranks by 2020. A commitment to values on a group level can have impact on its brands' culture. As mentioned by Balenciaga chief executive, Cédric Charbit, "I think the fact the brand belongs to Kering, and having Kering expressing commitment towards sustainability and values as a group, makes a difference. You work in an environment where this matters, this exists, and we all are committed to this."

Not all causes that fashion brands advocate are universally popular, and these can come with significant risks. The NFL "anthem protest" was a divisive issue in the United States, creating a mixture of applause and backlash for Nike. Still, it created earned media exposure worth more than $163 million, within just days of the campaign launch. Besides potential controversy from supporting divisive causes, brands may also risk being perceived as hypocritical if they do not carefully ensure consistency in their messages and actions. In 2018, Primark was severely criticized and called unethical for releasing a line of Pride-themed T-shirts that were produced in Turkey, a country that is ranked the third worst in Europe for LGBTQ+ equality. Nike recently faced pressure from civil-society groups to ensure fair wages are paid to workers of suppliers in emerging markets.

Another reason that brand alignment with causes can backfire is that discerning consumers can easily spot the difference between gimmicks and a genuine purpose that aligns with the values of the organization. Companies can expect consumers to closely examine the level of continuity across campaigns and the nature of their strategic and operational decisions, as well as their tone.

It is worth noting that right now the movement is much more pronounced in Western markets, and in certain territories it is not at all appropriate for brands to align with certain issues. While consumers in Western markets currently do tend to dominate the movement toward environmental and social conscience, that is likely to change. In the coming year we expect rising numbers of consumers in other markets to increase their levels of commitment. Darshan Mehta, founder and chief executive of Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of the Indian retail conglomerate Reliance Industries, believes "the number of voices is not enough to aggregate to anything significant [yet], but it's a small wave and a tsunami may wash onto our shores [in India] in the years to come."

Despite the many associated risks, some large brands will be willing to court controversy to express beliefs, particularly luxury players, which will seek to attract younger consumer groups looking to trade up. There are clear benefits from doing so, and the more that companies express an authentic view, the more that those who don't will be exposed. And while there is a counterargument that expression of controversial views may deter some customers, the calculation, of course, is that the loyalty rewarded by its remaining customers matters more.

For more on all ten trends that will define the fashion agenda in 2019, see The State of Fashion 2019: A year of awakening.

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The influence of 'woke' consumers on fashion

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Gen Z fashion trends are rooted in social and environmental issues. Here's what the industry should know.

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Gen Z wants its fashion brands to be woke - showing authenticity, brand values and care for both community and the environment

Gen Zers want their fashion brands to be authentic, bro, and that means... well, it means a variety of things. According to new research, UK consumers aged 16-24, say it is about caring about their customers (71%), a good range of clothes (71%), being true to their values, being friendly and caring about their employees (all 66%).

However, younger audiences in the UK are much more likely to attach importance to factors relating to good corporate social responsibility - such as 'making a difference to society' (13% more likely than average to say this) and 'regularly supporting causes and activities' (10% more likely than average).

In addition, 61% of people aged 16-24 say that fashion advertising needs to show 'realistic people' if it is to be seen as authentic and 58% suggest this means showing people of different body types.

The survey of 2,000 Brits, half of whom were aged 16-24, was carried out jointly by broadcaster ITV and media agency UM as part of ITV's ongoing youth research initiative The Booth and sought to determine how consumers define 'authenticity' for fashion and sportswear brands, particularly in advertising.

It revealed just how important this quality is to Generation Z and that it affects sales. More than half (59%) of 16-24s are more likely to buy fashion brands they consider authentic. And video is key. More than half of Generation Z (54%) say video advertising is important if fashion brands want to appear authentic - compared to 43% of those aged 25+.

The study also revealed that sportswear/athleisure brands tend to be seen as more authentic by young people than their purely fashion-brand counterparts. When UK 16-24s were asked which clothing brands felt most authentic to them, the five highest-scoring brands were all sportswear (the top three were Nike (64%), Vans and Adidas (both 63%)).

The 'most authentic' non-sportswear fashion labels were Timberland (59%), Ralph Lauren (58%) and Tommy Hilfiger (56%). The three most authentic-seeming fashion retailers were ASOS (55%), Topshop (51%) and River Island (49%).

Glenn Gowen, Head of Audiences at ITV, comments: "Authenticity has a strong relationship with brand love, consideration and purchase intent. It should be considered a key part of any fashion brand's identity and its advertising, particularly on TV and video. "Younger audience are more aware and in-tune with societal causes and activism. They want brands to embrace these values as well. However, they're savvy and will know if a brand is not being true to itself. It really does pay to be genuine."

George McMahon, Senior Insight Executive at UM, adds: "Brands that put authenticity at the top of the fashion agenda are likely to connect with younger audiences. 16-24-year-olds also want the fashion industry to support causes and act to make everyone feel like they can be happy in their own bodies. It's a key part of being seen as authentic. Hearing and seeing inspiring messages in clothing adverts, combined with seeing a wider range of body types, helps brands tell the stories young people want to hear."

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Generation Z want to see authenticity in their fashion brands - whatever that means...

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Younger audiences are more likely to see brand authenticity as the product of corporate social responsibility, with six out of ten of Gen Zers more likely to buy brands they consider authentic - and they think the most authentic UK brand is.... Nike. Confused? You will be...

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When it comes to customer service, you can't use a one-size-fits-all approach. Your market is composed of people from various age groups and consequentially, they have different cultures.

As such, you need to come up with a tailor-made customer care plan for each category. For businesses, it's essential to study these differences and nuances so you can provide the best customer service for each generation.

This is especially true nowadays, because the line distinguishing characteristics of each generation is becoming fuzzier. You have millennials in your market, but you also have Gen Zers in the mix. How, now, do you provide exceptional customer service to each of them?

Here are five tips to help you get a good grasp of how these generations differ and act similarly, and what you can do to give them the excellent care and service they need.

For your viewing pleasure, we've condensed all the points into one neat infographic, which first appeared on the Guthrie-Jensen blog. Happy reading!

Be everywhere

Since these generations can be found on most social media networks, be it Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram, it only makes sense for you to be where they are. You want these young customers to be able to reach out to you across all channels possible.

One ignored channel where you market your business can result in angry customers bombarding your comments with negative testimonials. If you advertise on Instagram, make sure you can cover customer care on that network.

Answer quickly

Young customers want almost instantaneous answers. A study revealed that 42% of customers expect online brands to get back to them within an hour. If a majority of your market is composed of millennials and Gen Zers who were born and raised in the digital age, they will likely expect you to attend to them promptly.

Assist your customer service team to keep up to this high standard. Give them the appropriate customer service training so they can efficiently handle the demand and keep the communication channels flowing freely. You can also use software that can rapidly categorize and automate replies to basic inquiries and complaints.

Help customers help themselves

Millennials are known to be the DIY generation that googles information or reads FAQ pages to sort out their problems. They won't ask for assistance unless they absolutely need it, aka when they fail to find solutions on their own.

With this, it's vital for businesses to maintain a user-friendly and seamless design and experience across digital channels - mobile app, website, email, and social media networks. Something like a click-to-call option on the site or a live chat platform can be a game-changer.

Automate, but still keep service reps

Though these young customers appreciate the efficiency, speed, and reliability of technology, they still yearn for human interaction (don't we all?).

Yes, chatbots are smart and efficient when it comes to resolving small issues. But you have to find the balance between providing human connection with customer service agents and using chatbots or automation platforms. Both millennials and Gen Zers appreciate brands that go above and beyond when it comes to providing customer care services.

Millennials and Gen Z may be different. But they share one similarity: Both generations grew up in the presence and influence of technology, with the tech industry continually shaping their behavior and preferences.
Jomel Alos is a Consultant at Guthrie-Jensen Consultants, a management training and consultancy firm in the Philippines. He enjoys sharing his knowledge on human resource solutions, as well as helping businesses achieve greater growth, competitiveness, and profitability.

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Millennials vs Gen Z: How Their Customer Care Preferences Compare | Qminder

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When it comes to customer service, you can't use a one-size-fits-all approach. Your market is composed of people from various age groups and consequentially, they have different cultures. As such, you need to come up with a tailor-made customer care plan for each category.

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"Our brand has a strong history of mentoring and supporting talented individuals who have the drive to turn bold ideas into a reality," said Tommy Hilfiger. "The future success of our industry depends on proactively discovering and nurturing innovative projects that can create real social change. The TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on incredible ideas that could change the lives of people through a more positive and inclusive fashion landscape."

TOMMY HILFIGER's mission is to be one of the leading sustainable designer lifestyle brands through how it creates its product, manages its operations, and connects with its communities and stakeholders. More information about TOMMY HILFIGER's sustainable evolution can be found here.

How does it work?

Interested businesses are invited to submit project proposals that have a social impact, whether involving enhancing the lives of the people or communities within the fashion value chain, the second life of a garment, marketing or advertising in the industry, or other aspects of fashion.

Seven finalists will be invited to develop their project plans with the support of a team of dedicated TOMMY HILFIGER subject-matter experts during a one week "Sprint" at the Tommy Innovation Center in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

They will pitch their finalized concept at the global TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge event in early 2019, where a panel will select three winners who will be awarded between €50,000 and €100,000 to support their ventures.

More information about the TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge, including the official contest rules, is available here.

Applications are open until June 5, 2018, and can be submitted here.

TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge Contact: socialchallenge@tommy.com

For support during the selection process, please contact our Scouting Lead, Ilse Kwaaitaal.

Friends and followers of the brand are invited to join the conversation on social media using #TommyHilfiger and @TommyHilfiger.

About TOMMY HILFIGER

With a brand portfolio that includes TOMMY HILFIGER and TOMMY JEANS, TOMMY HILFIGER is one of the world's most recognized premium designer lifestyle groups. Its focus is designing and marketing high-quality men's tailored clothing and sportswear, women's collection apparel and sportswear, kidswear, denim collections, underwear (including robes, sleepwear and loungewear), footwear and accessories. Through select licensees, TOMMY HILFIGER offers complementary lifestyle products such as eyewear, watches, fragrance, swimwear, socks, small leather goods, home goods and luggage. The TOMMY JEANS product line consists of jeanswear and footwear for men and women, accessories, and fragrance. Merchandise under the TOMMY HILFIGER and TOMMY JEANS brands is available to consumers worldwide through an extensive network of TOMMY HILFIGER and TOMMY JEANS retail stores, leading specialty and department stores, select online retailers, and at tommy.com.

About PVH Corp.

With a history going back over 135 years, PVH has excelled at growing brands and businesses with rich American heritages, becoming one of the largest apparel companies in the world. We have over 36,000 associates operating in over 40 countries and nearly $9 billion in annual revenues. We own the iconic CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Speedo, Warner's and Olga brands, as well as the digital-centric True & Co. intimates brand, and market a variety of goods under these and other nationally and internationally known owned and licensed brands.

*The Speedo brand is licensed for North America and the Caribbean in perpetuity from Speedo International Limited.

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TOMMY HILFIGER Social Innovation Challenge

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"Our brand has a strong history of mentoring and supporting talented individuals who have the drive to turn bold ideas into a reality," said Tommy Hilfiger. "The future success of our industry depends on proactively discovering and nurturing innovative projects that can create real social change.

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In the year 1985, famous designer Thomas Hilfiger established Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and now it is a popular brand. The range of products sold under the brand is women's wear, kid's wear, and men's wear and has a range of products like eyewear, accessories, apparels, watches, fragrances, bags, furniture, etc. They have 1400 outlets in 90 countries.

It is one of the top brands that is doing well across markets and its top sales charts in the casual wear segment across the world. The brand brought American culture into the world.

It has an extensive distribution network in more than 100 countries and the global retail sale of Tommy Hilfiger was the US $7.4 billion in 2017.

STP in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

Under demographic segmentation of the market, the segmentation is done according to age, gender, and income. Tommy Hilfiger which is the main product line of the corporation and is influenced by classic American style and targets customers between the ages of 25 to 40 years.

The brand Hilfiger Denim is more casual in style, Hilfiger Collection is the brand for women and targets the women from age 25-40. Tommy Hilfiger Tailored has products targeted towards men and the products are described to have rich colors, precision cuts, and luxe details and targets the men between the ages 25-40.

Depending on the different customer requirements the corporation has come up with different. Tommy Hilfiger brand is targeting the upper-middle-class people. The brand has a unique positioning in the market with an inviting atmosphere and unique twists that shoes the brand's heritage of being an all-American brand.

It is positioned as the brand that celebrates the 'classic American cool style'.

Vision

We are guided by a vision to drive innovation through our sustainability practices, in order to increase operational efficiency while reducing our environmental impact.

Mission

Tommy Hilfiger's mission is to be one of the leading sustainable designer lifestyle brands through how it creates its product, manages its operations, and connects with its communities and stakeholders.

Competitive advantage in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

1) Brand image

Tommy Hilfiger is one of the leading designer brands that is doing extremely well in the market. It enjoys a unique position in the premium designer brand. The brand has a wide range of products that give the brand extremely high brand visibility.

The ranges of products include eyewear, watches, fragrance home furnishings and women's wear which is marketed extremely well. The brand's global retail sale amounted to $7.4 billion in 2017.

Tommy Hilfiger has good quality, stylish designer products that people want to be associated with.

2) Innovation

The brand recently announced the highest tech collection called Tommy Jeans XPlore that uses Bluetooth technology to track how often a consumer wears the product and also where the consumer wears the product.

The brand seeks to find micro-community of brand ambassadors with this initiative and also offers rewards based upon each of the usages of the item. The main idea was to offer more from the brand to its loyal consumers. The app-based feature would also increase the points the customer gets when they would pass through certain locations.

These technology-based initiatives have increased the brand loyalty of consumers.

3) Global marketing strategy

Tommy Hilfiger being one of the world's leading designer brands engages customers through various marketing and advertising campaigns the marketing strategies are comprehensive 360° which focuses on digital marketing experiences and innovative experiences.

In the year 2018, Tommy Hilfiger celebrated the designer's love towards pop culture, fashion, music through different brand partnerships and celebrity collaboration driving the high number of sale and also engaging new customers and making it attractive for the millennial consumers.

In 2017, the total expenditure on marketing was $180 million globally for marketing and communication initiatives.

BCG matrix in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was bought by Phillips-Van Heusen in the year 2010. Phillips-Van Heusen owns brands like Arrow etc. The Tommy Hilfiger brand falls under the category of star brand. It was also listed as the world's most innovative companies.

The brand has created multiple campaigns and has created meaningful collaboration with pop artists across the world to capitalize on the tremendous opportunity that exists for the brand across the world. Celebrities like Hailey Baldwin and activist Winnie Harlow are associated with the brand.

The brand was ranked #8 out of the 77 brands in the L2 Global Fashion IQ index of 2018. It was also ranked as "the Most Innovative Company " by Fast Company. Tommy Hilfiger has huge potential and thus comes under the star category of the BCG matrix.

Distribution strategy in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

The global brand has more than 15000 associates working for the brand worldwide. Tommy Hilfiger has built an extensive network for distribution in over 100 countries with more than 1800 retail stores throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and North America.

The company has a franchise as well as owned stores model for retail. The flagship stores are the location in the major cities of the world, making it an extremely valuable brand. The stores are in Paris, Tokyo, London, New York, etc.

Brand equity in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger has a brand image of being a premium and accessible brand. Throughout its existence it has established itself as a brand that designed products that are "classic American cool with the preppy twist" and now it is looking forward to being a more global brand.

The brand has expanded into newer markets throughout Europe and Asia and is widely available. It is focused on reaching the next generation of consumers.

The brand is becoming extremely popular among the youth. The parent company PVH spends around $175-$185 million on the annual marketing and advertising initiatives to enhance the brand equity of Tommy Hilfiger.

Tommy's strong presence in Europe could also be used as a platform for PVH to grow brands like Arrow and Izod, which currently generate little to no revenue in Europe

Market Analysis in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

The fashion industry is worth $ 3 trillion and has been growing consistently. Tommy Hilfiger has been taking advantage of this well-defined ecosystem. The signature style of the brand has made a reputation for itself. The main competitors are Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Gucci, Carolina Herrera, and Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani, etc.

However fast fashion companies like Forever21, Zara, and H&M have turned the table in the apparel sector and have a lasting impact on high-end brands. However Tommy Hilfiger increased its business to 22 percent to $1.1 billion, the brand is doing well through collaboration with high-end celebrities.

Labels such as American Apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch are shutting locations across countries due to lackluster sales. Coach and Ralph Lauren are facing plunging profits and are using strategies to cut back discounts.

Tommy Hilfiger's international sales were $93 million greater than US sale. Tommy Hilfiger's is facing huge competition from the fast fashion companies thus must stay innovative and continue its marketing efforts to make the brand more attractive to the customers.

Customer Analysis in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

The brand targets a wide demographic and targets and attracts younger customers. It has a children's line and also clothes designed for older customers. According to Hilfiger, he wants to keep the brand younger and keep it cool.

The recent collaboration with Gigi Hadid helped the brand get access to her 30 million fan base and it was seen that brand was able to generate double-digit sales growth after the collaboration. The brand finds an innovative way to engage and entertain the millennial consumers across the world, to become their choice of fashion.

Promotion in the marketing strategy of Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger brand follows a very aggressive marketing strategy and uses multiple channels to reach out to the target customers and has extremely high brand visibility. It uses newspapers ads, billboards, magazine ads, etc. for promotions and has famous celebrities as brand ambassadors like Gigi Hadid.

A new promotion strategy was introduced which allows consumers to become the brand ambassadors of the brand by creating a micro-community of brand ambassadors. The brand also offers various discounts and offers during offseason and year-end special occasions.

The point of sale promotions is used efficiently by the brand by making the store look preppy fashion. The stores are designed to demonstrate the classic cool style of the American lifestyle. The virtual reality store experience in 2015 was also a great hit.

The consumers could see the products in 360-degree reality from the front row and immediately shop for the collection. Even though it was presented only in a few flagship stores. The brand also uses online promotions to sell their products sending emails to its customers updating them about the latest collections an offer.

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Marketing Strategy of Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy Hilfiger Marketing Strategy

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In the year 1985, famous designer Thomas Hilfiger established Tommy Hilfiger Corporation and now it is a popular brand. The range of products sold under the brand is women's wear, kid's wear, and men's wear and has a range of products like eyewear, accessories, apparels, watches, fragrances, bags, furniture, etc.

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Ananas Anam is an innovative company that repurposes pineapple leaves into the sustainable vegan textiles Piñatex and Piñayarn.

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Garment workers in global supply chains are especially exposed to risks linked to the global Covid-19 crisis, but how are the governments in key production countries in Asia responding?

According to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, efforts to mitigate the impact have been limited.

The group, which works to address poverty level wages, gender discrimination, and freedom of association in global garment production networks, notes that as the pandemic turns into an economic and labour market shock, apparel brands are cancelling or postponing orders and deferring payments to suppliers.

This has forced many suppliers to lay off or suspend workers in garment factories, without any social protection, or paid leave, pushing an already precarious group of workers to greater economic vulnerabilities.

"Equally disturbing are reports from some countries that workers are still forced to continue work in factories where employers are unwilling to ensure adequate precautions, leaving workers, their families and communities at risk of infection," it says.

Three trends have been identified with respect to the degree of institutional response on Covid-19 in garment-producing countries in Asia.
#1: Governments are taking stringent measures to reduce the direct health effects of Covid-19 while also providing economic support for workers:
Sri Lanka - Factories in some regions, under government directives, have shut down, with workers entitled to paid leave. Factories that are still operational have to follow adequate health and safety measures due to stringent directives from the Sri Lankan government.

India - until last week most factories continued to work without taking adequate steps to prevent occupational exposure to Covid-19. However, from 23 March onwards, factories across most states in India have closed down until 31 March under strict directives from state governments. Additionally, the Indian government has also issued an order stating that workers must not be terminated nor face a reduction of wages due to this crisis. The order also states that workers are entitled to fully paid leave till this crisis is mitigated.
#2: Governments are issuing voluntary codes of conduct to factories to mitigate direct health effects while also promising some economic support for workers:
Cambodia and Myanmar - A shortage of raw materials from China has forced many factories to halt production, with thousands of workers suspended.

In Cambodia, the government has issued guidelines for workplace health and safety to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Also, factories that have suspended operations must pay 40% of the minimum wages to workers. An additional 20% of the wages will be provided by the Cambodian government for workers who have enrolled in soft skills training programmes organized by the Cambodian Ministry of Labour.

In Myanmar, many workers who have been laid off have not been compensated, and the Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has announced that factories that refuse to pay workers' salaries will be banned from continuing operations.
#3: Governments are issuing voluntary guidelines for factories to mitigate direct health effects of Covid-19 and ensuring no economic and employment policies to protect workers:
Indonesia - The government has only issued health and safety guidelines for factories that continue to operate and some factories seem to be adhering to these precautionary measures.

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How Asia supplier countries are responding to coronavirus

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According to the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, efforts to mitigate the impact have been limited. The group, which works to address poverty level wages, gender discrimination, and freedom of association in global garment production networks, notes that as the pandemic turns into an economic and labour market shock, apparel brands are cancelling or postponing orders and deferring payments to suppliers.

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Australia-based biomaterial technology company Nanollose Ltd has created the world's first wearable garment using its Tree-Free Rayon fibre (Nullarbor), sourced from sustainable coconut waste.
"We have successfully taken waste and created clothing, and we have done it following industrial protocol. Our fibre was spun into yarn and made into fabric, then manufactured into this garment using existing industrial equipment. It validates our entire process," says Alfie Germano, Managing Director.

According to Nanollose, the garment is the first of its kind and marks a breakthrough for an industry that is urgently seeking sustainable alternatives to clothing made from traditional rayon and cotton, both of which cause significant environmental issues. By contrast, Nanollose's Nullarbor fibre is made without using cotton or wood-derived fibre.

We didn't have to cut down any trees to create this sweater, and we have now demonstrated that our Tree-Free Rayon fibre can be used in the same way as other commonly-used fibres to make clothing and textiles, without the hefty environmental footprint, said Alfie Germano, Managing Director, Nanollose.

Nanollose's innovative biomaterial technology process begins in a facility where microbes naturally ferment liquid waste products from food industries into cellulose, a cotton-like a raw material that then is transformed into their Nullarbor fibre.

The proprietary process to produce cellulose requires very little land, water or energy and a production cycle is just 18 days, compared to the eight months seen in the cotton industry.

We believe that we are the only company producing Tree-Free Rayon fibres from waste, and we have now reached a point where our technology is moving out of the laboratory and into the factory. Once we achieve this increased scale, manufactures will have an alternative eco-friendly option available to them, said Germano.

As more and more headlines revealing the environmental impact of the textile industry emerge, there is an increasing urgency among consumers, brands, retailers and manufacturers to seek and cultivate alternative fibre resources.

This urgency for cleaner alternatives saw Swedish clothing major H&M release a sustainability report in April 2017, highlighting a commitment to use 100 percent sustainably sourced materials by 2030. Similarly, Spanish clothing major Zara joined the movement with the launch of its new sustainable line 'Join Life' modelled by Sasha Pivovrova.

Progressive brands and companies are starting to facilitate this new shift by involving themselves deeper in the supply chain and searching for feasible, sustainable long-term alternatives. This is evident in the increasing number of enquires we have received over the past six months, Germano said.

To ensure that Nanollose can supply future partners with commercial qualities of fibre, the company is developing a supply chain within an ecosystem around waste from the Indonesian coconut industry along with waste streams from other industries and aims to significantly increase fibre production over the next 3-6 months.

We are a technology company, that has also become a steward in facilitating a new raw material supply chain. The goal is to work with key partners who will simply take waste, produce our Nullarbor fibre, and seamlessly integrate them into their clothing supply chain with no retrofitting to existing machinery or processes required, ended Alfie Germano.

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Nanollose creates the world's first wearable fashion garment made from liquid coconut waste | Bioenergy International

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Australia-based biomaterial technology company Nanollose Ltd has created the world's first wearable garment using its Tree-Free Rayon fibre (Nullarbor), sourced from sustainable coconut waste."We have successfully taken waste and created clothing, and we have done it following industrial protocol. Our fibre was spun into yarn and made into fabric, then manufactured into this garment using existing industrial equipment.

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In December last year, Tommy Hilfiger chief brand officer Avery Baker told an audience at the Business of Fashion's Voices event of the rapid pace of change driving the consumer fashion industry and how the notion of 'See Now, Buy Now' has allowed businesses such as her own to keep up with and overtake the competition.

Baker has been at Tommy Hilfiger for nearly 20 years, having joined the brand in 1998. She describes her time there as an incredible journey "because in my experience on average almost every five years the brand and business has gone through some kind of significant evolution or transformation", from "going from public to private, or back to public again, or needing to think about consumers outside of America."

An American brand with international reach

While its roots are very much in the US, Tommy Hilfiger is a business with a broad international reach, with 50% of sales generated overseas.

It has concessions at major department stores across the globe as well as more than 1,800 retail stores in an extensive distribution network in over 100 countries. In 2006, the brand was bought by Apax Partners for a reported $1.6bn, while in 2010 it was acquired by PVH for approximately $3.0bn.

Tommy Hilfiger was founded in 1985 by the designer of the same name. Today the man Mr. Tommy Hilfiger is still the brand's principal designer, overseeing design teams and creativity in the business.

"It's been a great run because Tommy as an individual and a visionary is not someone to stand still," Baker says. "He and we are all extremely inspired always by what's new and what's happening with the new generation in this world.

"That's the incredible momentum and energy that keeps pushing us to evolve and find ways of staying true to the core DNA of the brand and find new ways to express that in a way that feels relevant. So it's a challenge but a really exciting one."

See Now Buy Now

Baker stresses that Tommy Hilfiger has always been a brand about "inclusivity", about "being aspirational but still accessible", emphatically not about the "exclusivity and snobbery that you see very often in the industry and at the premium end of the market."

Its open approach to consumer fashion has led to the brand "pulling back the curtain" on the likes of fashion shows, where goods unavailable for purchase until several months later are only displayed to an audience of glitterati.

"It's a system that makes it very, very hard to be immediate for consumers," Baker says. "The typical cycle is that brands design a collection and they show it six months before anyone can even find it or buy it."

It's also a system that had the likes of Tommy Hilfiger asking: How do you close that gap? "Because it's starting to feel increasingly really out of sync with how people are behaving today in all other parts of their lives," Baker says.

But technology and the roving eye of social media has allowed Tommy Hilfiger to close the gap by some margin and begin to democratize its business.

It's a somewhat hackneyed term, but the adoption by fashion brands of a "See Now Buy Now" business model has revolutionized the industry.

The advent of "See Now Buy Now" came about crucially from a realization that a major shift in consumer behavior and expectations brought about by technological advances needed to change the dynamics of the fashion industry.

However, to so fundamentally remodel a business clearly does not come cheap, requiring restructuring costs of some magnitude, as well as a new mindset.

A case in point: last year, Tommy Hilfiger's TOMMYNOW touring runway show included the construction of a Tommy Pier in downtown Manhattan in September replete with ferris wheel, tattoo parlour and more than 10,000 weekly guests over the weekend, while a TommyLand music festival in Los Angeles in February 2017 featured a funfair, musical acts, and boutiques displaying the runway collection and accessories available to buy immediately online.

While expensive to run, TOMMYNOW is paying dividends. The Manhattan pier show resulted in a 60% increase in sell-through and 900% hike in web traffic, with 70% coming from new visitors to Tommy Hilfiger's website.

"See Now Buy Now" also helped parent PVH Corp.'s 2016 sales, which were up 4% in 2016.

Data management

As fashion brands invest more into e-commerce through methods such as "See Now Buy Now", and as larger numbers of customers buy online, businesses such as Tommy Hilfiger will be privy to greater swathes of increasingly more granular data.

While it offers a pool rich in potential customer insight, the sheer volume of data can present challenges, Baker admits.

"One of the challenges that we and many companies face today is, with all of this data coming in, actually having the right capabilities to access it and analyze it and use it," Baker says.

It means that the company is looking at how best to analyze and use that scale of data going forward. Selecting which technologies to use is also a challenge, and again one pregnant with possibility.

"Often our decision processes are based on understanding where pain points are and how can we really test different things to relieve those pain points," Baker says.

"For example, we have a network of Digital Showrooms - we're really leading the way in B2B, selling our collections to our retail partners and we want to be doing that completely digitally in a matter of a few years, and we're well on our way to doing that."

Innovation

Moving forward fast enough to not merely keep up with, but to leave the competition behind, requires constant innovation, some of which will admittedly fall by the wayside.

But one area that has been of great benefit to the business, to a surprising degree, is the use of an AI-powered bot on Facebook Messenger, named TMY.GRL with Tommy Hilfiger the first brand to use it.

"We were really surprised at the results," Baker confesses. "We didn't expect hardcore KPIs for that, so I think out of the gate it was a bit of an experiment. People were spending almost five minutes interacting with the chatbot and we had something like an 87% return rate."

For Baker, how that benchmarked against time people normally spend interacting with the brand digitally was "very promising" and gave a clear indication that "people really are hungry for an experience that combines service and entertainment and commerce all in one".

3D moving image recognition

There is a raft of other applications that are piquing the brand's interest, one being centered on image recognition.

"It's an image recognition commerce app," Baker explains. "What that means it's actual 3D moving image recognition. You hold up your phone, and in this case if you're watching the show and you like that sweater and you take a picture of it, or if you're walking by the window of Selfridges and there's a video playing in the window and you take a picture of the piece you like in the video, the app can immediately source where the product is from and connect you to the sitetommy.com to be able to buy it basically instantaneously."

Artificial intelligence

While Baker acknowledges that moving image recognition software is already proving exciting and is "probably going to be something we see a lot of in the future" for "retailer agnostic" consumers, the technology that "we're really most interested in, as everyone is, is AI".

She is particularly drawn to its powering of chatbots, creating "conversational commerce and even things we want to do on our own website in a traditional way".

"I think the development of AI and that intelligence is going to be for every industry a really interesting thing for everyone to keep an eye on," she says.

Personalization

For Baker, the future of fashion e-commerce is tied to the notion of personalization. It might be "hard to say" how consumers are expecting apparel brands to personalize experiences, but "we believe that the expectation levels are increasingly growing because of the benchmarks that are being set outside of the fashion industry".

"There are incredible companies out there today that are more and more service oriented," she says. "I think the fashion industry is a bit slower to catch up and use technology to be as service-oriented as in other industries.

Baker is patently enthused about the marriage of technology and service, but sounds a warning note: "It's only a matter of time before the consumer decides that they don't want to wait anymore for this industry to catch up."

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Tommy Hilfiger on See Now Buy Now and the role of new technology

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In December last year, Tommy Hilfiger chief brand officer Avery Baker told an audience at the Business of Fashion's Voices event of the rapid pace of change driving the consumer fashion industry and how the notion of 'See Now, Buy Now' has allowed businesses such as her own to keep up with and overtake the competition.

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With everyone's health and safety the top priority, new research from brand engagement agency Fuse gauges how Gen Z is feeling-physically, mentally, and emotionally. The firm also sought information about how Gen Z's daily habits have changed, including their behavior...

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New study reveals Gen Z's true influencers-and the implications for communicators

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With everyone's health and safety the top priority, new research from brand engagement agency Fuse gauges how Gen Z is feeling-physically, mentally, and emotionally. The firm also sought information about how Gen Z's daily habits have changed, including their behavior...

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As more people devote themselves to veganism, more alternatives to traditional materials such as wool and silk are in demand. PETA can sometimes be a bit radical and desensitise scenes cruelty by promoting the watch of 'secret filming' but I still enjoy some of their content. I found a couple of articles that give suggestions on how to swap out what they consider unethical materials.

1. Organic Cotton
Organic cotton is grown without harmful chemicals and doesn't destroy ecosystems. In fact, it's known to improve soil quality and often uses less water. Like other vegan fabrics, organic cotton is easier to clean than wool, faster drying, and softer to the touch.
2. Linen
Linen is a durable material that becomes softer and stronger the more that it's used. Vegan fabrics such as linen can absorb up to 20 percent of its weight in moisture before it feels damp. Unlike wool, which takes a long time to dry, linen easily releases moisture into the air, which keeps you cool. In addition, it is non-allergenic, and requires considerably fewer pesticides and fertilizers than other crops and is both recyclable and biodegradable.
3. Seaweed
​​That's right: seaweed! Dried seaweed is crushed coarsely, ground, and simultaneously introduced into cellulose fiber, from which materials for a wide variety of textiles, known as SeaCell, are manufactured. Brown algae used in this material supposedly activate cell regeneration, re-mineralize skin, limit inflammation, soothe itchiness (take that, itchy wool!) and detoxify the body. The porous structure of the SeaCell textile fibers promotes humidity intake and release, which keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We love this soft, comfortable SeaCell Modal Blend Tank by Boss.

4. Wood
Lyocell is the general term for a material made from wood pulp that's manufactured by means of an environmentally friendly process that reuses processing chemicals. It's also biodegradable, recyclable, and naturally wrinkle-free. A great substitute for silk, Lycocell is soft, drapes well, and can be washed, dyed, and even woven to mimic the qualities of suede, leather, moleskin, or wool.

5. Beech Tree Fiber
Modal is a variety of rayon, made exclusively from the renewable fiber of beech trees. Since the base material comes from a natural source, rayon fibers such as modal are sometimes classified as a "natural synthetic." Fabric made from modal is very soft and smooth, with a moderate to high sheen. The original "artificial silk," it is soft, drapes well, and dyes easily. Unlike wool, it does not need to be ironed and retains its shape, size, and strength even after repeated washings. (Water structurally weakens wool.)

6. Hemp
Hemp grows without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, making it ideal for organic farming. The plant's roots can descend 3 feet or more into the ground, thereby anchoring and protecting soil from runoff while building and preserving topsoil and subsoil structures. Hemp is also completely biodegradable. It is similar to linen in feel and breathability, unlike wool, which traps heat and can support the growth of bacteria.

7. Soybeans
Soy fabric, also known as "vegetable cashmere" is a new eco-friendly fabric made from a byproduct of soybean processing. It has the softness and luster of silk, the drape and durability of cotton, and the warmth and comfort of cashmere. The material is free of any petrochemicals, and, most importantly, does not involve the abuse of sheep. Fashion insiders call the process in which materials come from the Earth and are wholly biodegradable a "cradle-to-cradle" approach. We appreciate KD New York's cozy, flowing designs that are suitable for both work and yoga class!

8. rPET
Another eco-friendly option is rPET, which stands for recycled polyethylene terephthalate. Also simply called "recycled polyester," it's a member of the polyester family and refers to the plastic bottles used for water and soda. When you put a bottle in the recycle bin, it may be turned into a polyester fiber of some kind, or something else entirely. Unlike wool, it's soft to the touch and won't have you scratching your neck around the collar.
- (PETA, 2017)

Vegan Materials: cotton, linen, polyester fleece, acrylic, cotton flannel, synthetic fabrics
What to Avoid: wool, Angora, pashmina, cashmere, shearling, camel hair, mohair, silk, alpaca

Vegan Materials: nylon, polyester, cotton rayon
What to Avoid: silk

Vegan Materials: denim, cotton, twill, polyester, linen, microfibers, nylon, acrylic, polyester, rayon
What to Avoid: wool, silk

Vegan Materials: cotton, nylon, polyester, polyester fleece, faux fur, synthetic down, down alternative, PrimaLoft, Thinsulate, Gore-Tex, Polartec Wind Pro, Thermolite
What to Avoid: wool, fleece, down, fur, fur trime

Vegan Materials: man-made leather, all man made materials, pleather, synthetic materials, cotton, canvas
What to Avoid: leather, suede, alligator skin, snakeskin, kangaroo

Vegan Materials: man-made leather, all man-made materials, pleather, synthetic materials
What to Avoid: leather, suede, snakeskin

Vegan Materials: nylon, polyester, rayon, cotton, microfiber
What to Avoid: silk

Vegan Materials: polyester fleece, acrylic, cotton, jersey, linen
What to Avoid: Angora, pashmina, cashmere, shearling, camel hair, mohair, alpaca
- (Features.peta.org, 2017)

I find myself often confused by some of these vegan alternatives, as although they prevent harm directly to animals, the petroleum-based alternatives will inflict harm onto the environment, which is indirectly harming animals. It's tricky sometimes, and I ask myself how far does this delve before it becomes impossible and unfeasible to chose this lifestyle. I am more interested in the 'cradle to cradle' natural alternatives than the man-made ones currently, but I will need to investigate more of these alternatives to understand the advantages and disadvantages of both.

PETA. (2017). Referencing Vegan Fabrics Are Way Better Than Wool-Here's Why. [online] Available at: http://www.peta.org/living/fashion/natural-vegan-fabrics/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017].
​Features.peta.org. (2017). How to Wear Vegan Clothes and Vegan Shoes | PETA.org. [online] Available at: http://features.peta.org/how-to-wear-vegan/ [Accessed 10 Feb. 2017].

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As more people devote themselves to veganism, more alternatives to traditional materials such as wool and silk are in demand. PETA can sometimes be a bit radical and desensitise scenes cruelty by promoting the watch of 'secret filming' but I still enjoy some of their content.

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For fashion fans from the 1990s, the Tommy Hilfiger symbol was instantly recognizable. The bold flag showed up across tee shirts, sweaters, and jeans, and smaller versions of the flag were attached to classically cut suits and blazers. In modern times, the Tommy Hilfiger logo remains one of the most iconic symbols of American design. Though it has changed slightly over the years, it still evokes nostalgia and references the brand's heritage. Keep reading to find out all the fascinating details of the Tommy Hilfiger logo's design and history.

Tommy Hilfiger Logo Design Elements

The Tommy Hilfiger brand technically has two logos. They have their older one that is rarely used now, and they also have the new, modernized version of the logo that shows up on most of the brand's items. This logo features the brand name, Tommy Hilfiger, written in navy blue letters. The font features san-serif, all-caps letters that are spaced to make both words an equal length. In between the two words is the iconic Tommy Hilfiger symbol. This symbol looks vaguely flag like. It is a landscape-oriented rectangle in red, white, and blue. There is one thick stripe of navy across the top and another across the bottom. The middle portion of the flag is divided into two, smaller rectangles. The left hand middle rectangle is white, and the right hand middle rectangle is red.

Changes and Evolution

When it was founded in 1985, Tommy Hilfiger logo's shape was quite similar to the modern one, other than one key difference. This entire logo was just the red, white, and blue brand symbol.

In this old version, the word "Tommy" was written in white lettering on the top navy stripe on the brand symbol, and the word "Hilfiger" was written in the bottom stripe. This logo was later streamlined to feature the brand name more significantly. The modern logo is a more stylish version that moved away from the dated trend of giant pictures for logos.

The Tommy Hilfiger logo has always used a red, white, and blue color design to emphasize its American heritage. It continues to be one of the few fashion brands that is mostly American-based, so the brand has used this color scheme for all logo versions. The only significant color change was that the brand name is now written in blue instead of white.

The new and old logos for Tommy Hilfiger use a very similar font. The only difference is that the font was slightly wider in the old version because it needed to fit neatly within the lines of the brand symbol.

Influences/Inspiration

When the first Hilfiger signature collection was launched in 1985, Hilfiger intended for it to feature classic American designs. Therefore, he decided to create a logo that would mimic the red, white, and blue color scheme of the American flag. Tommy Hilfiger also does some very preppy, nautical inspired designs, so the brand symbol takes its influence from the maritime flag alphabet. In the international code of flag signals, the white and red rectangles in the middle of the symbol are used to symbolize an H which obviously stands for Hilfiger. Though Tommy Hilfiger started out as a nautical and Americana-based brand, it was quickly embraced by other subcultures. The Tommy Hilfiger logo ended up heavily influencing hip hop fashion in the 1990s.

Trivia

Thanks to a renewed interest in 1990s fashion, sportswear, and vintage style, teens and college kids are starting to prefer the old logo over the new one.

Tommy Hilfiger is known for his collaboration with musicians, so rappers such as Puffy and Coolio proudly wore the logo on runways for Tommy Hilfiger.

Though many see the Tommy Hilfiger logo as preppy, the designer has very humble backgrounds. He got his start in the fashion industry with $150 saved from a summer job at a gas station.

Conclusion

The Tommy Hilfiger logo has showed up on a diverse amount of fashion, ranging from oversized denim to tailored suits. Its clean lines, simple color scheme, and bold lettering make the logo suitable for a variety of styles and trends. The simple update to the logo in the mid 2000s helped to bring the brand into the new millennium while still referencing its nostalgic appeal.

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Tommy Hilfiger Logo Design History and Evolution | LogoRealm.com

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For fashion fans from the 1990s, the Tommy Hilfiger symbol was instantly recognizable. The bold flag showed up across tee shirts, sweaters, and jeans, and smaller versions of the flag were attached to classically cut suits and blazers. In modern times, the Tommy Hilfiger logo remains one of the most iconic symbols of American design.

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With the Baby Boomers taking a back seat, it's time to herald in the new young, tech-savvy Millennials and their younger siblings, Generation Z.

Millennials and Generation Z are socially connected and are much more likely than other generations to rate their products or services on-line. So, it is safe to assume that the world at large, including your potential new customers, will hear the good, the bad and the ugly with regards to your brand from this review happy cohort.

Sadly, the majority of businesses are ignoring these powerhouse consumers, or at least not doing anything different to address their customer service strategy and make sure they are having the best experience with your brand. According to Gallup, only 25% of millennial consumers are fully engaged with the brands and services they purchase, and in fact, they have the lowest overall customer engagement score of any generation.

So, let's take a look at exactly what this young breed of consumers is looking for from their customer service center.

What do Millennials and Generation Z's expect from a customer service contact center? Millennials and Gen Z require customer service which is authentic and provides swift resolution to their product and service inquiries with integrity and using the last technology. Although they want responses via smart devices and prefer self-service, they also demand live agent contact.

So, now we've seen the short answer as to what this large purchasing demographic demand from their brands, let's take a closer look at how the requirements of Millennials in more detail.

Millennials

With ranks of over 76 million, this young group has taken over Baby Boomers, and are now the largest group of consumers in the U.S. One of the most important things to remember is the power of their influence.

Designing your customer service strategy with this influential group of customers is important to the survival of any company - large or small.

Millennials expect fast and accessible customer service.

In order to meet the Millennial expectation, companies are required to give a dynamic mix of 24 hour, around the clock availability in a variety of ways, including Facebook Messenger, digital chat agents, mobile chat and also empowering their rea live agents the skills authority and the technologies required to resolve issues quickly and efficiently.

Millennials are the first generation to grow up with immediate real-time responses, smartphones, and constant access to information. As a result, they have come to expect this from the customer experience that brands provide. Here are a few findings which businesses would be wise to take on board.

71% report that the most important thing a business can do is value their time

25% report expecting a response within ten minutes to a social media customer query 30% expect a response within less than 10 minutes when they reach out to customer service as a text message.

Multi-Channel customer service.

If the young Millennial customer hasn't been able to find out answers from a self-service capacity, they'll only then turn to a front-line customer service agent.

At this point they're looking to initially start their customer journey online and follow this up with:

When they do, they will demand a seamless and integrated experience that is available to them on all channels and will become frustrated if they have to restate their issues multiple times.

One of the ways of solving this issue for this young, demanding cohort, is to use customer service cloud-based technology through modular-based seamless integration products like CommBox.

CommBox predicts the channel customers prefer to use, and combines customer service, customer operations, and also live customer service professionals - to engage the customer and also efficiently resolve queries effectively at every single touchpoint.

A real conversation

Today's young generation needs to engage with brands with trust and transparency. They need to see your business has integrity and genuinely cares. This young group are the most well-educated cohort so far and understand completely if they're being sold insincere customer service.

As a result of their understanding, they expect brands to not simply exist on social media and other mobile platforms, they need to feel that brands are acting in a responsive and meaningful way and have a real feel of authenticity.

This group of young consumers expects to see companies actively participating in real-life conversations. They need to see the brands they're engaged with - and know that they will follow and respond quickly to their product needs and inquiries.

Digital self-service.

Millennials are self-reliant and technology dependent. This autonomous group prefers to solve customer service issues themselves, using available technology rather than the frustrating wait of communicating directly with an agent.

Businesses should be looking to implement strategies such a virtual agent to enable Millennials to serve themselves easily and quickly.

Millennials expect convenience.

Although it's often said that Millennials are impatient at best, and maybe even lazy, however, this is not at all true. What it does mean is that they demand the right information, via the channel that suits them best, at the right time. The term 'convenience consumers' most definitely relates to this consumer demographic.

Those companies that integrate such technologies that can produce natural language in their chatbots, and virtual agents can significantly improve the convenience of all users, including the Millennials. This is where CommBox provides a wealth of tools to enhance any customer interaction.

This way, your customers can more easily react with your business using conversational and familiar language.

Many of today's best technologies, such as CX, can allow voice-activated agents to very easily and conveniently share interactive help and assistance on a product with callers on their smartphones, making sure that Millennials are using the kind of formats using their touch screens that this tech-savvy cohort prefers.

Providing them with a multitude of service channel options available to them ...24/7 - in order to meet their round, the clock needs.

Millennials demand personalization.

Millennials are looking for your company to have a really good handle on their service history at any point they decide to reach out. Securing your Millennial's customers profile in your intelligent CRM before they discuss their query will make sure you give them the trust in your brand, they need to continue to buy from you.

Different from other generations, Millennials are more likely to share sensitive data with you in order to receive a much more personalized experience and also to keep them engaged in your product or service.

So now we've seen some of the ways you can expect Millennials to respond to your customer service, alongside their new requirements in order to keep fully on board with your brand, let's take a look now at how the youngest of our generations, Generation Z are set to change the entire face of customer service in the near future.

Service expectations of Generation Z

During the last decade, many companies have been working hard to keep up to date with a number of changes in order to entice Millennial customers. This customer demographic has most probably had the most media and business attention than any other.

Many conferences, newspaper columns, and other kinds of commentaries have tried to unravel the complex and new needs of these young consumers.

Companies have been studying how they can become better informed and connected with this group and how better to serve them.

However, the next generation is already waiting in the wings and is poised to have an even greater impact on our customer service centers and how they require information on products and services than any other demographic before them.

What does Gen Z want?

Although it may seem as if young people struggle to make everyday decisions, such as deciding on a phone they want to purchase, let alone which college they are looking to major at, but these super savvy youngest consumers know exactly what they want from their customer service.

Generation Z is the cohort born after 1955 and grew up literally attached to a smart screen of some kind such as smartphones, tablets and all the opportunities offered to them by a digitally connected world. This technical upbringing has paved the way for who they want to engage with brands and also it is now dictating the way in which businesses connect with them, in order to guarantee their loyalty.

A recent study by the IBM Institute of Business Value and the National Retail Federation (NRF) of consumers aged 13 to 21 found that the wants and needs of this demographic are specific and uniquely pertinent to them entirely.

By the year 2020, Gen Z will account for a whopping 40 percent of Americans and currently are 25 percent of the entire US population.

In order to effectively serve this young group of consumers, brands must first understand where they spend their time, their expectations and what drives them in terms of their customer service requirements.

If you are looking to see where Generation Z hangs out, you will almost certainly find them for the largest proportion of time, online. A huge portion of this group chooses to spend their downtime online. They will purchase anything from clothing to electronics furniture and even household goods.

Many of them are tasked with the research required to purchase for other less digitally savvy members of their family and account for an enormous portion of goods and services purchased.

Businesses should not underestimate their buying power or be under the impression that because they are young, they should not have their needs met. Their perception of how thy see service is unlike that of any other generation and they expect their experience to be utterly seamless and without friction or frustrations.

This expectation extends right through from the buying cycle, all the way through to their overall customer experience.

Now that we've seen how both of these young groups of current influential consumers roll when it comes to their customer service expectations, let's take a look below on how we can make sure you are offering them the kind of customer service they require.

What do you need to keep up with millennials and Gen Z?

Millennials live in a fast-paced, digital world that moves at the speed of innovation. Tired or antiquated old types of technologies will drive this vitally important market segment away in huge swathes. Take a look below at the types of omnichannel technologies that Millennials require in order to engage with your brand and business.

Digital service channels such as live chat and mobile apps which should be an ongoing part of your customer service investment strategy

Speech technology that combines voice and digital channels for faster and much easier digital journeys

Mobile Texting or Facebook Messenger to meet this young group of consumers ongoing need for social media interaction

Chat technology that makes customer service conversations more intuitive and makes escalation to a phone agent seamless with the transfer of information.

The need to reach a live, phone agent when needed

The ability for voice agents to share an integrated online platform that provides not only audio but also visual interaction between customers and agents within their call

Virtual agents that let customers ask questions in natural language for more self-service resolutions and also used as tools by customer service agents

And finally...

These tech-savvy and more demanding generations expect their brands to interact with them on a 24/7 basis, at any time of the day or night and on any platform, they choose

They are looking mainly for two ways of interacting with customer service departments. These being self-service and instant responses to their product or service queries. If your FAQ's aren't cutting it with this fast-moving age group or when chatbots aren't giving them the quick and efficient answers they require, you should be ready and waiting to fix those issues pretty much immediately. CommBox can provide some easy answers to any issues you might be having with your contact center channels. Why not contact us now and see if we can help?

These young consumers are admittedly more demanding than past generations and expect to be able to interact with brands at any time and on any platform. Millennials and Gen Z consumers want two things: responsiveness and self-service. But when frequently asked questions pages and troubleshooting chatbots fall short, you need to be ready to fix issues quickly and completely.

A failure to meet these demands will cause a deluge of poor feedback and this young group of consumers will simply stop doing business with you. Not only that, but they'll also make sure they tell their peers about their experience via social media or by leaving negative reviews.

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The Customer Service Experience for Millennials and Gen Z | CommBox (BumpYard)

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With the Baby Boomers taking a back seat, it's time to herald in the new young, tech-savvy Millennials and their younger siblings, Generation Z. Millennials and Generation Z are socially connected and are much more likely than other generations to rate their products or services on-line.

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A New Jersey consumer says he was tricked by false reference prices used at Tommy Hilfiger stores in a class action lawsuit lodged against the clothing company.

Lead plaintiff Vincent Tripicchio alleges in the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit that the price tags on items in various New Jersey locations contain a "reference" price that the store implies is what the item is sold for at other locations.

Tommy Hilfiger then provides a "sales" price that is far below the reference price.

However, Tripicchio says the reference prices are false as the items are never offered for sale at the higher prices, but consumers purchase the products under the impression that they are getting a deal.

Tripicchio claims that he purchased several items at a New Jersey Tommy Hilfiger store after being deceived by these false reference prices.

According to the Tommy Hilfiger class action, the plaintiff purchased a shirt with a reference price of $69.99, but offered on "sale" for $27.99. The plaintiff purchased the shirt for a price that he thought was a deep discount, however, he discovered that the shirt and others like it had never been offered for sale at the much higher $69.99 reference price.

Tripicchio alleges that he had a similar experience with a pair of pants he thought he purchased at a 30 percent discount, but were actually never offered for sale at the reference price included on the item's tag.

"The tagged reference prices are consistently higher than the actual 'sales' prices of the items, and purport to be either (a) a comparison price for the item...or (b) the item's former or original price," explains the Tommy Hilfiger sale class action.

"The actual sale prices of the items in Defendant's Tommy Hilfiger Company Stores in New Jersey - i.e., the prices at which Defendant offers items for sale, and actually sells items, on a daily basis - are nearly always much lower than the advertised reference prices, typically by 30% to 70%."

According to the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit, most consumers would think that the items labeled with the higher reference prices would have been sold at those prices; however, they would be wrong.

"The reference prices listed on Defendant's price tags under this uniform policy, however, do not represent actual prices at which the same or comparable items were ever sold or offered for sale for a substantial period of time by anyone; whether in New Jersey or elsewhere," contends the complaint.

"Rather, the reference prices listed on Defendant's tags are wholly fictitious and inflated prices, fabricated by Defendant as a marketing tool according to a standardized formula, intended specifically to induce the false and misleading impression in the minds of consumers that the consumer goods bearing such tags are being offered for sale at a discounted price that is lower than their usual selling price in the market place, and that the goods are of such quality that they are actually worth that higher price."

In addition to being dishonest and deceiving customers, the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit accuses the company of violating state and federal consumer protection laws.

The plaintiff is represented by Ross H. Schmierer of DeNittis Osefchen Prince PC.

The Tommy Hilfiger Fake Sale Class Action Lawsuit is Tripicchio v. PVH Corporation, Case No. 1:19-cv-06147-JGK, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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Tommy Hilfiger Class Action Alleges Deceptive Pricing Scam | Top Class Actions

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A New Jersey consumer says he was tricked by false reference prices used at Tommy Hilfiger stores in a class action lawsuit lodged against the clothing company. Lead plaintiff Vincent Tripicchio alleges in the Tommy Hilfiger class action lawsuit that the price tags on items in various New Jersey locations contain a "reference" price that the store implies is what the item is sold for at other locations.

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Eluxe Magazine is the world's first publication focused on sustainable luxury. We promote ethical fashion, vegan lifestyles, organic beauty, ethical travel, and more

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Our "Planet" rating evaluates brands based on the environmental policies in their supply chains, from carbon emissions and wastewater to business models and product circularity. Here we rate Patagonia "Good". These are a few issues influencing its score:

It uses a high proportion of lower-impact materials including recycled materials.

It uses low impact materials that help limit the chemicals, water, and wastewater in its supply chain.

It offers clothing recycling to consumers to help address end-of-life textile waste.

It uses a medium proportion of bluesign certified fabrics.

Workers' rights are central to our "People" rating, which assess brands' policies and practices on everything from child labour to living wages and gender equality. Here we rate Patagonia "Good". These are a few issues influencing its score:

Its social auditing program covering its entire final production stage is accredited by Fair Labor Association (FLA).

It received a score of 41-50% in the 2022 Fashion Transparency Index.

There's no evidence it supports diversity and inclusion in its supply chain.

It ensures some workers in the final production stage are paid living wages, though not in its entire supply chain.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it disclosed some policies to protect workers in its supply chain from the virus.

Brands' animal welfare policies and, where applicable, how well they trace their animal-derived products are the focus of our "Animals" rating. Here we rate Patagonia "Good". These are a few issues influencing its score:

It has a formal policy aligned with the Five Freedoms of animal welfare.

It appears to use leather and recycled exotic animal hair.

It uses recycled wool in some of its wool products.

It uses some recycled down in its products.

It doesn't appear to use fur, angora, or exotic animal skin.

It traces most animal-derived materials to the first production stage.

Based on all publicly available information we've reviewed, we rate Patagonia "Good" overall.

Last updated March 2023

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Our "Planet" rating evaluates brands based on the environmental policies in their supply chains, from carbon emissions and wastewater to business models and product circularity. Here we rate Patagonia "Good".

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Consumer behaviour and retail trends 2018 | Smart Insights

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As the world of digital continues to transform, with different generational segments of the population adapting to technology at their own distinct pace, marketers keep a close eye on retail trends and developments.

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AMSTERDAM - Once the elephant in the room that nobody wanted to talk about, sustainability is now firmly at the forefront of the fashion world, with brands focusing more and more on initiatives to improve their production chains and build a greener industry. Tommy Hilfiger is no exception. Last week, the American heritage brand announced its plans for a new line of 100 percent sustainable denim, so, naturally, FashionUnited jumped at the opportunity to take a tour around the Tommy Hilfiger denim centre, located at the PVH HQ in Houthavens, Amsterdam, where the brand is pushing its sustainable denim initiative.

The PVH centre, which also acts as a creative hub hosting sustainability-focused denim fairs twice a year, is split into four sections: The denim fabric library, the in-house denim atelier, the denim lab and the denim academy.

The Denim Fabric Library

"A closet to you, a treasure for us," is the motto of the fabric library. Homing over 1,300 swatches, this section acts as a database of core fabrics for designers, wash developers and product developers, and is made up entirely of fabrics used in at least one of Tommy's previous two seasonal collections.

By homing the fabric library, which is carefully labeled with price, weight and width of each fabric, the need for designers, wash developers and product developers to request specific fabric swatches from suppliers is eliminated, speeding up the production process, reducing cost and cutting down on unnecessary transport. In the future, Tommy plans to convert its physical library into a digital one.

The In-house Denim Atelier

Tommy's denim atelier is where the brand's samples are produced and altered. While patterns were once created in-house, then sent to external vendors to create prototypes, before being sent back to try - a process which could take 4-6 weeks, and could be repeated several times if the prototype wasn't quite right - patterns are now created digitally in-house, tried and fitted in just 48 hours.

The Denim Lab

The denim lab is the driving-force behind Tommy's sustainable production approach, with a focus on reducing water usage, energy consumption and waste products through innovative dry and wet finishing processes. Traditional hand-scraping dry techniques have been switched out for new laser technology methods. Using a computer-controlled laser to burn a mask onto jeans, the new method eliminates the use of chemicals, water and stones, and, as the process only burns the indigo dye, not the fibres, the method cuts down on harmful dust production. Tommy's new laser technology reduces the time of the process from 40 minutes to under two minutes.

Tommy's wet washing methods also have a strong focus on energy, water and chemical reduction. But how do they tackle the issue? Well, in a number of ways. Nebulization technology cuts down on water and chemical usage by up to 70 percent by using a spray of mist nanobubbles in the washing machine drum. Ozone gas technology saves between 15 and 60 liters of water per pair of jeans, while simultaneously cutting down on energy and chemical consumption, and reducing the traditional time of 45 minutes to just 15 minutes.

By using no-stone technology, Tommy eliminates the use of traditionally-used pumice stones to achieve stonewash looks, instead using a combination of abrasive drums and non-toxic enzymes to eliminate the production of harmful residue. Finally, water usage is further cut down through the use of Tommy's state-of-the-art water treatment system. The machine, which removes the fibers, chemicals and indigo dye from jeans, uses recycled water that can be constantly reused over a period of 30 to 40 days, as opposed to using fresh water in every batch. Fiber residue collected from this process is then compressed and collected by other companies to produce asphalt.

The Denim Academy

The Denim Academy is an innovative two-day workshop that Tommy hosts for its wholesale and retail teams, as well as its wholesale buyers, to talk about the future of sustainability in the fashion and denim industry.

The workshop, which currently targets Tommy's sales and retail associates, as well as key account buyers, such as El Corte Inglés and Zalando, has a focus on product stories, technology, sustainability and innovation, and participants are given the opportunity to stitch, wash and finish their own pair of jeans to better understand the processes of the production line. Over time, more departments throughout the organization will be invited to participate.
Photos courtesy of Tommy Hilfiger

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Driving sustainability: A look inside the Tommy Hilfiger denim centre

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IN PICTURESAMSTERDAM - Once the elephant in the room that nobody wanted to talk about, sustainability is now firmly at the forefront of the fashion world, with brands focusing more and more on initiatives to improve their production chains an

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By 2021, the vast majority of the US label's clothing will not be physically produced until it appears on the runway or is sold.

The brand is training its designers, patternmakers, fit technicians, product developers and merchandisers in 3D digital design.

This technology will pave the way for digital clothing that can be worn by customer avatars.

LISBON- By 2021, all of Tommy Hilfiger's design processes - from sketching through sampling and showrooming - will be done with 3D design. The US label's clothes will no longer be sketched on paper and iterated on physical samples before being sent to showrooms. Instead, the vast majority of its apparel will be all digital until it appears on the runway or is sold.

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Tommy Hilfiger switches to 100% digital design

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By 2021, the vast majority of the US label's clothing will not be physically produced until it appears on the runway or is sold. The brand is training its designers, patternmakers, fit technicians, product developers and merchandisers in 3D digital design. This technology will pave the way for digital clothing that can be worn by customer avatars.

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~ By Royston Morgan

RACI is an acronym that stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed.

A RACI chart is a matrix of all the activities or decision making authorities undertaken in an organisation set against all the people or roles. At each intersection of activity and role it is possible to assign somebody responsible, accountable, consulted or informed for that activity or decision.

When you hear these types of comments in an organisation a RACI Analysis may be overdue:

'My boss always overrules my decisions whenever she wants'.

'The approval process for even the simplest item takes so long today'.

'It seems everyone is putting together a spreadsheet on the same data'.

'Things are always slipping through the cracks'.

'I have the responsibility, but not the authority to get the job done'.

Definitions of the RACI Categories

Responsible: person who performs an activity or does the work.

Accountable: person who is ultimately accountable and has Yes/No/Veto.

Consulted: person that needs to feedback and contribute to the activity.

Informed: person that needs to know of the decision or action.

A RACI analysis is useful for:

Workload Analysis: when used against individuals or departments overloads can be quickly identified.

Re-organisation: to ensure that key functions and processes are not overlooked.

Employee Turnover: newcomers can quickly identify their roles and responsibilities.

Work Assignment: allows duties to be redistributed effectively between groups and individuals.

Project Management: allows for flexibility in matrix management situations allowing for the right balance between line and project accountabilities.

Conflict Resolution: provides a forum for discussion and resolving inter-departmental conflict.

Documents the Status Quo: the output from RACI is a simple yet effective method of documenting the roles and responsibilities in an organisation.

How a RACI exercise is done:

1. By identifying the functions and processes within the organisation or department and describing the key activities taking place. Avoid obvious or generic activities such as; attending meetings.

2. By describing each activity or decision using a suitable action verb. Examples: Evaluate, Record, Monitor, Collect, Develop, Publish, Authorise, Schedule, Determine, Prepare, Approve, Inspect, Report, Decide, Write, Operate, Update, Conduct, Train, Review or Plan.

3. When the action implies a judgment or decision (for example, evaluate, monitor, inspect, and review) create a phrase to indicate the primary outcome. Examples: Monitor service desk customer requests to identify training needs. Analyse call statistics to identify product problems.

4. The activities or decisions to be made should be short and apposite and apply to a role or need, not to the specific person currently carrying out the task.

5. Create a matrix with roles along the top and activities or tasks down the left side and in each of the table cells enter the appropriate RACI code.

When the analysis is done and the RACI matrix populated, any ambiguities need to be resolved. The matrix is reviewed and questions are asked of the data pattern to explore what it is telling us. The way to do this is to proceed along the vertical and then the horizontal axes in turn and for each column or row asking: If I find...then what does this mean?

Vertical Analysis

A lot of R's: Is it possible for the individual(s) to stay on top of so much? Can the activity be broken into smaller, more manageable chunks?

No empty spaces: Does the individual(s) need to be involved in so many activities? Are they a 'gatekeeper' or could management by exception principles be used? Can consulted be (R)educed to (I)nformed, or can things be left to the individual's discretion when something needs particular attention?

No R's or A's: Should this functional role be eliminated or have processes changed to an extent where resources could be reassigned?

Too many A's: Does a proper 'segregation of duties' exists? Should other groups be accountable for some of these activities to ensure checks and balances and accurate decision making throughout the process? Is this a 'bottleneck' in the process. Is everyone waiting for decisions or direction?

Qualifications: Does the level of the person fit the requirement of this role? Are too many senior personnel involved for routine decision making that could be deployed downwards?

Horizontal Analysis

No R's: Who is doing the job and getting things done? Are there too many roles waiting to be approved, be consulted or informed. Whose role is it to take the initiative?

Too many R's: Is this a sign of 'over the wall' activities?

No A's: Why not? There must be an 'A.' someone must be accountable for the thing happening - the buck stops with this person.

Too many A's: Is there confusion with too many fingers in the pie? It can also create confusion because every person with accountability feels they have final say on how the work should be done.

Too few A's and R's: The process may slow down while the activity is performed or the procedure may be outdated and can be streamlined if not needed.

Every box filled in: Do all the functional roles really need to be consulted? Are there justifiable benefits in consulting all the roles or is this just covering all the bases?

A lot of C's: Do all the roles need to be routinely informed or only in exceptional circumstances? Too many in the loop can slow the process down.

A lot of I's: If too many people are involved, usually too many C's and I's, it can dramatically slow things down.

Change Management Issues

Developing RACI charts surfaces many organisational issues because it reconciles the three elements of roles and responsibilities:

Role Conception: what people think their jobs are.

Role Expectation: what others in the organisation think another person's job function is and how it should be carried out.

Role Behaviour: what people actually do in carrying out their job.

RACI is a useful tool which can become overused and be a catch all for all types of problems, so be sensible about the level of granularity for the definition of tasks/activities. Take it to a deep enough level that it is meaningful and at a level of that is sensible. Who is responsible for making the coffee is not required. It is also important to stay focused on the original reason for undertaking the RACI exercise and ensure that this goal is achieved. Rather than creating a perfect RACI covering the organisation in exquisite detail be realistic and understand that 80% of the reality of a situation will be more than the organisation ever knew before the exercise was started.
This article is part of a series from a book on popular consulting techniques.

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How to Do RACI Charting and Analysis: A Practical Guide

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By Royston Morgan RACI is an acronym that stands for responsible, accountable, consulted and informed. A RACI chart is a matrix of all the activities or decision making authorities undertaken in an organisation set against all the people or roles.

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How To Use The 5 M's of Marketing To Review Internal Resources

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The 5 M's of Marketing is an interesting marketing model which can be used in a number of different ways. It picks up on five different internal elements of the marketing plan which need to be addressed if the plan is going to be successful.

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To eliminate or mitigate all of our carbon emissions by 2025, Patagonia has embraced a four-part process. Each part of this plan will work in concert with the others to help us keep our carbon footprint at zero as the company grows. Parts 3 and 4 in particular will help us become carbon positive-taking more carbon out of the atmosphere than we put in.
1. Measure Our Impact.
A third-party validated system is in place to measure our impacts so we can make informed decisions and track our progress.
2. Reduce Our Impact.
Avoid the need for energy where we can, improve efficiency where we can't.
3. Convert to Renewable Energy.
Move away from fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources for everything we do.
4. Capture Carbon.
Invest and test ways to remove warming gases from the atmosphere (i.e. carbon insetting I sequestration programs). Think of these efforts as the difference between stopping the mess, and cleaning it up.

1. Measure Our Impact

Accurate data is essential to dispelling myths and making informed decisions. In 2017, we underwent a comprehensive greenhouse gas audit-an inventory of our company's emissions, from extraction of raw materials to material creation to delivery of products to customers. We drew upon energy bills, transportation reports and life-cycle analysis of different materials, then had our analysis verified by a third party, just as scientists submit their research for peer review. II

Our fiscal year 2017 emissions amounted to 141,003 metric tons of CO ₂, or CO ₂ equivalent emissions. III ("CO ₂e" is a bit technical, but useful. It's a standard unit of measure for various greenhouse gases, including methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, that vary in potency, i.e. how much heat they trap, and for how long they linger.) Following a protocol developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, these CO ₂e emissions are categorized as belonging to one of three "scopes." IV Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from the organization, effectively natural gas that we burn to heat the buildings that Patagonia owns or leases. Scope 2 emissions are from electricity that Patagonia purchases from utility companies. Scope 3 reflects the emissions from all other business activities, including those beyond our immediate control. For example, emissions resulting from the manufacturing of raw materials, cutting and sewing products, or moving products from one place to another. Here is a breakdown of our emissions per scope:

2. Reduce Our Impact
Materials and Technology
Discovering that nearly 86 percent of our total carbon emissions as a company come from the creation of the materials we use in our products has galvanized our staff to incorporate recycled materials wherever possible and support circular economies at every opportunity.

Whether they're synthetic like polyester and nylon, or natural like wool and cashmere, recycled textiles are a solution that any apparel brand can adopt to reduce their carbon footprint. A switch from virgin polyester to recycled polyester can cut carbon dioxide emissions by 17 percent and keep plastic soda bottles out of landfills-without compromising the durability of our products.

The preferred materials V we use throughout our line include:

Natural fibers: hemp, organic cotton, TENCEL® lyocell, Yulex®, down, wool

Recycled fibers: recycled nylon, recycled polyester, reclaimed cotton, recycled wool, recycled cashmere, recycled down

Recycling isn't the only solution to using better materials. Some textiles use chemicals that can't be recycled safely, or require processes that haven't been invented yet. We're supporting our supply chain partners to develop new recycling methods and ways to incorporate nontraditional raw materials (such as fishing nets). And we're funding research into future materials that are biobased, biodegradable and even carbon positive.
Quality and Worn Wear®
The longer our products last, the less impact they have, so creating products of superior quality is one of the most ecological things we can do. "Extending the life of clothing by an extra nine months of active use would reduce carbon, waste and water footprints by around 20-30%." VITherefore, creating durable products is one of our highest priorities and is the foundation of the Ironclad Guarantee VII on our products.

Since 2013, our WornWear.com program has encouraged customers to repair, reuse, recycle and change their relationship with their Patagonia products. Through Worn Wear, we fix our customers' gear in our stores, on the road and at our garment repair center-the largest sewing repair facility in North America. (We repaired over 55,000 pieces in 2018 alone). Worn Wear also buys back used Patagonia goods from our customers, refurbishes them and resells them on WornWear.com. This "re-commerce" business has so far extended the life of over 80,000 products.
Shipping Products
Our products are shipped all over the place. To reduce our shipping footprint, we analyze our shipping routes to minimize distances traveled, switch to less energy intensive modes of transportation (i.e., ocean freight over air) and increase "drop shipping" where products ship directly from factory to regional distribution centers. In Summer 2018, we added a new distribution center in Pennsylvania, which significantly reduces the carbon intensity of shipping products to customers on the East Coast of the U.S.
Our Supply Chain Task Force
Patagonia is often a small portion of our suppliers' business; our textile suppliers and contract sewing manufacturers assemble products for a lot of different customers. Each of our finished garments has been worked on by several partners by the time it reaches our shelves. Moreover, our partners face very different political, social and environmental challenges, depending on where they operate. Taken together, this makes implementing consistent environmental standards throughout our supply chain incredibly complex, and that's why we created our Chemical and Environmental Impacts Program (CEIP). This global team manages environmental impacts in our global manufacturing supply chain from the textile mills to the subcontractors of our sewing factories.

The program has a robust set of requirements and we work with our partners to set progressive action plans in five key areas: environmental management systems, chemicals management, waste management, water use, energy use and air emissions. One immensely helpful step for CEIP has been adopting existing industry certifications such as bluesign®. The CEIP team works with suppliers to calculate and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching to more efficient practices and adopting low-carbon or zero-carbon energy sources.
Patagonia Buildings
We currently have over 75 Patagonia operated stores across the globe, seven regional headquarters and two distribution centers. When opening new locations, we've long prioritized the use of existing buildings over new ones and have developed a set of sustainable building principles to guide their development. These include low-impact construction techniques, energy efficiency and renewable energy, passive heating/cooling, reclaimed materials and low-VOC paints. For example, in addition to our on-site solar arrays (more on this below), our Reno distribution center has a "night flush" system that brings cool air into the warehouse each evening, eliminating the need for any cooling equipment.
Sustainable Commuting
In 2010, we launched our Drive-Less Program to encourage employees to avoid single-occupant vehicle commuting. Each year Patagonia rewards employees who carpool, ride a bike, skateboard or take public transportation by reimbursing them $2 per trip, and up to $500 per year. This past year over 900 employees collectively avoided 951,482 single-occupant vehicle miles.

3. Convert to Renewable Energy
Owned and Operated Locations
One hundred percent of the electricity we use in our global owned and operated locations will come from renewable energy by the end of 2020. Reaching this goal requires that we improve operational efficiencies, change some of our energy providers and invest in renewable energy. We're doing all three.

In the U.S., on-site solar arrays at our headquarters and distribution centers account for only three percent of our U.S. electricity use. However, as of fall 2018, we have four additional solar arrays being installed, which total an additional 1.6MW of on-site renewable energy. This will cover an additional 52 percent of our U.S. electricity use. To address the other 45 percent of our electricity needs, Tin Shed Ventures®, our in-house investment arm, funds residential solar projects across the U.S. These arrays power over 1,500 households and yield Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that Patagonia applies to its U.S.-based electricity consumption.

In Japan, we've transitioned to a power provider to source a higher grid mix of renewable energy and have invested in a 150KW project that installs raised solar panels over an agricultural field, allowing for the land to produce clean power without sacrificing agricultural production.

At our European headquarters in Amsterdam, we worked with the other tenants of the building we occupy and convinced the landlord to adopt 100 percent wind power in the building.

Solar panels on our office in Australia and one of our retail stores meet 25 percent of Patagonia Australia's energy needs.

Combined, these efforts pump electricity onto the grid greater than 100 percent of our U.S. electricity use and 76 percent of our global footprint. VIII
Supply Chain and Non-Connected Investments
Given that the lion's share of energy use happens in our supply chain, we are also working with suppliers to invest in renewable energy projects at their facilities. In areas where we can't transition suppliers to renewables, we are exploring significant investments in larger-scale renewable energy projects to offset our regional footprint. Work on this front is just beginning as we are analyzing country-specific policies, financial opportunities and hurdles, and potential investment and project development partners. As our supply chain converts over to renewables, we anticipate the need for offsite renewable energy projects will lessen.

4. Capture Carbon
Regenerative Organic Agriculture
If there's one thing we're convinced that we can do as a company that could actually solve the climate crisis, it's regenerative organic agriculture. A collection of farming and grazing practices that emphasize the use of cover crops, rotating crops, composting and little or no tilling, regenerative agriculture employs people, yields healthy soil, protects and enhances biodiversity, and improves water quality and retention. Furthermore, and most exciting for us, is the potential of these agricultural methods to capture carbon from the atmosphere, where it's trapping heat and cooking our home planet, and store it deep into the soil. According to Rodale Institute, switching the world's croplands and pastures to regenerative organic agriculture could remove more than 100 percent of the world's annual carbon emissions. IX

We firmly believe in the potential of regenerative organic agriculture to supply our cotton (we have pilot programs underway), and sources of food for Patagonia Provisions (starting this year with mangoes). We also believe it can improve the way the world grows its food and fiber. Along with Rodale Institute, Dr. Bronner's and other key partners, we're supporting a Regenerative Organic Certification. This certification supports a holistic approach to agriculture encompassing pasture-based animal welfare, fairness for farmers and farm workers, and robust requirements for soil health and land management. We plan to widely adopt this standard throughout our supply chain.
Reforestation
We work with key suppliers and nonprofit partners to explore other types of carbon insetting projects, such as reforestation initiatives. The term "carbon insetting" is defined as a carbon reduction project, verified by an offset standard, which occurs within a company's supply chain or supply chain communities. X
IThe term "carbon insetting" is defined as a carbon reduction project verified by an offset standard, which occurs within a company's supply chain or supply chain communities. IIOur GHG inventory currently looks at our impacts from raw material creation through to the delivery of products to our customers, and at this time only relates to our apparel business. In terms of the GHG protocol, this includes Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, and Scope 3 emissions tied to the following categories: purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, and downstream transportation and distribution. We acknowledge that there are emissions associated with other parts of our value chain such as the use phase of our products. We have a phased approach to bring these other impacts into our overall GHG inventory and carbon neutrality plan. The third-party audit was done by SGS (started in fall 2017 and ended in early 2018). III141,0003 metric tons CO₂e is equivalent to: 15,225 homes' energy use for one year, or emissions from 30,193 passenger vehicles driven for one year. IVThe Greenhouse Gas Protocol breaks emissions into three different "scopes." Scope 1 refers to any direct emissions from owned or controlled sources (i.e., natural gas burned on-site, fuel from company vehicles). Scope 2 emissions are a company's own emissions from purchased electricity. Scope 3 emissions refer to any other emissions along a company's value chain (upstream emissions such as those from creating materials to downstream emissions like those related to delivery of products to a customer). VSuppliers are required to have certified preferred fibers using one or more of these certifications: Traceable Down Standard, Responsible Wool Standard, Organic Cotton Standard, Global Organic Textile Standard, Forest Stewardship Council, Global Recycle Standard or Recycled Claim Standard. VI"Valuing our clothes: the true cost of how we design, use and dispose of clothing in the UK." Waste & Resources Action Programme, Page 5. VIIWe guarantee everything we make. If you are not satisfied with one of our products at the time you receive it, or if one of our products does not perform to your satisfaction, return it to the store you bought it from or to Patagonia for a repair, replacement or refund. Damage due to wear and tear will be repaired at a reasonable charge. VIIIWe are currently in the process of getting these calculations verified by Center for Resource Solutions, an external firm who specializes in and certifies renewable energy claims under their Green-e certification program. IXReport: Regenerative Organic Agriculture and Climate Change-A Down-to-Earth Solution to Global Warming(Page 2), "Simply put, recent data from farming systems and pasture trials around the globe show that we could sequester more than 100 percent of current annual CO₂ emissions with a switch to widely available and inexpensive organic management practices, which we term 'regenerative organic agriculture.' These practices work to maximize carbon fixation while minimizing the loss of that carbon once returned to the soil, reversing the greenhouse effect." XThe term "carbon insetting" is defined as a carbon reduction project, verified by an offset standard, which occurs within a company's supply chain or supply chain communities.

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patagonia is a designer of outdoor clothing and gear for the silent sports: climbing

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To eliminate or mitigate all of our carbon emissions by 2025, Patagonia has embraced a four-part process. Each part of this plan will work in concert with the others to help us keep our carbon footprint at zero as the company grows.

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This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from wearperk.com (the "Site").

PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. Additionally, as you browse the Site, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Site, and information about how you interact with the Site. We refer to this automatically-collected information as "Device Information".

We collect Device Information using the following technologies:
- "Cookies" are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org.
- "Log files" track actions occurring on the Site, and collect data including your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, and date/time stamps.
- "Web beacons", "tags", and "pixels" are electronic files used to record information about how you browse the Site.

Additionally when you make a purchase or attempt to make a purchase through the Site, we collect certain information from you, including your name, billing address, shipping address, encrypted, payment information, email address, and phone number. We refer to this information as "Order Information".

Text Marketing and notifications: By subscribing to text notifications you agree to receive recurring automated marketing messages at the phone number provided. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. HELP for help. Msg & Data rates may apply. More info view Privacy Policy and ToS.

Text Marketing and notifications (if applicable): By entering your phone number in the checkout and initialising a purchase, subscribing via our subscription for or a keyword, you agree that we may send you text notifications (for your order, including abandoned cart reminders) and text marketing offers. Text marketing messages will not exceed 20 per month. You can unsubscribe from further text messages by clicking on the unsubscribe link. Sending text messages or using automations requires you to feed phone numbers or recipient names into our importer. We will store and use this data to show you campaign analytics and results including message delivery status, sent status, and in some cases whether the purchase resulted in a sale. If you decide to use our link shortener in text messages, we will collect information on whether the link was clicked or not and use it to display results in your analytics. Any other third party service that you may decide to use outside of the scope of smsbump.com (third party link shortener, GA tracking, etc) you will be referred to their specific third party policies which you need to agree with. Upon sending the text messages, we will pass the data to our text messages operator to fulfill their delivery. Information is being shared to our operator only upon initialising a marketing campaign. If your recipients no longer wish to receive messages they have to reply to the message with STOP or reach out to us at the email address below so we can unsubscribe them successfully.

When we talk about "Personal Information" in this Privacy Policy, we are talking both about Device Information and Order Information.

HOW DO WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?
We use the Order Information that we collect generally to fulfill any orders placed through the Site (including processing your payment information, arranging for shipping, and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations). Additionally, we use this Order Information to:
- Communicate with you;
- Screen our orders for potential risk or fraud; and
- When in line with the preferences you have shared with us, provide you with information or advertising relating to our products or services.
- We use email and targeted online advertising to send you product and services updates, promotional offers and other marketing communications based on the information we collect about you, such as your email address, general location, and purchase and website browsing history.

We use the Device Information that we collect to help us screen for potential risk and fraud (in particular, your IP address), and more generally to improve and optimize our Site (for example, by generating analytics about how our customers browse and interact with the Site, and to assess the success of our marketing and advertising campaigns).

We use email and targeted online advertising to send you product and services updates, promotional offers and other marketing communications based on the information we collect about you, such as your email address, general location, and purchase and website browsing history.

SHARING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We share your Personal Information with third parties to help us use your Personal Information, as described above. For example, we use Shopify to power our online store--you can read more about how Shopify uses your Personal Information here: https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy. We also use Google Analytics to help us understand how our customers use the Site -- you can read more about how Google uses your Personal Information here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Finally, we may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights.

BEHAVIOURAL ADVERTISING
As described above, we use your Personal Information to provide you with targeted advertisements or marketing communications we believe may be of interest to you. For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative's ("NAI") educational page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/how-does-it-work.

You can opt out of targeted advertising by using the links below:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=ads
- Google: https://www.google.com/settings/ads/anonymous
- Bing: https://advertise.bingads.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/policies/personalized-ads

Additionally, you can opt out of some of these services by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance's opt-out portal at: http://optout.aboutads.info/.

DO NOT TRACK
Please note that we do not alter our Site's data collection and use practices when we see a Do Not Track signal from your browser.

YOUR RIGHTS
If you are a European resident, you have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to ask that your personal information be corrected, updated, or deleted. If you would like to exercise this right, please contact us through the contact information below.

Additionally, if you are a European resident we note that we are processing your information in order to fulfill contracts we might have with you (for example if you make an order through the Site), or otherwise to pursue our legitimate business interests listed above. Additionally, please note that your information will be transferred outside of Europe, including to Canada and the United States.

DATA RETENTION
When you place an order through the Site, we will maintain your Order Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information.

CHANGES
We may update this privacy policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons.

CONTACT US
For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to make a complaint, please contact us by e‑mail at hello@wearperk.com or by mail using the details provided below:

Perk
[Re: Privacy Compliance Officer]
Perk Apparel Inc., 1630 Shady Creek Cir, Lucas TX 75002, United States

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This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from wearperk.com (the "Site"). PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web brows

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Instead of wool, you can wear some of the many natural vegan fabrics that don't involve punching and stomping on sheep . Recently, we've seen a surge of high-performing vegan fabrics that are the perfect combination of soft and sustainable.

More and more clothing brands are opting for these materials that don't support the cruelty of the wool industry . Here are some of the natural vegan fabrics that you should be wearing:

1. Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is grown without harmful chemicals and doesn't destroy ecosystems. In fact, it's known to improve soil quality and often uses less water. Like other vegan fabrics, organic cotton is easier to clean than wool, faster drying, and softer to the touch. The Rosemarie Dress by Toad&Co is a blend of organic cotton and Tencel. (See number four for more details about Tencel, aka "lyocell.")

2. Linen

Linen is a durable material that becomes softer and stronger the more that it's used. Vegan fabrics such as linen can absorb up to 20 percent of its weight in moisture before it feels damp. Unlike wool, which takes a long time to dry, linen easily releases moisture into the air, which keeps you cool. In addition, it is non-allergenic, and requires considerably fewer pesticides and fertilizers than other crops and is both recyclable and biodegradable. Abercrombie & Fitch's cotton and Linen Blend Cardigan is lightweight and features front pockets and button closure.

3. Seaweed

That's right: seaweed! Dried seaweed is crushed coarsely, ground, and simultaneously introduced into cellulose fiber, from which materials for a wide variety of textiles, known as SeaCell, are manufactured. Brown algae used in this material supposedly activate cell regeneration, re-mineralize skin, limit inflammation, soothe itchiness (take that, itchy wool!) and detoxify the body. The porous structure of the SeaCell textile fibers promotes humidity intake and release, which keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We love this soft, comfortable SeaCell Modal Blend Tank by Boss.

4. Wood

Lyocell is the general term for a material made from wood pulp that's manufactured by means of an environmentally friendly process that reuses processing chemicals. It's also biodegradable, recyclable, and naturally wrinkle-free. A great substitute for silk, Lycocell is soft, drapes well, and can be washed, dyed, and even woven to mimic the qualities of suede, leather, moleskin, or wool. Bed Bath & Beyond carries this soft Tencel Lyocell 500-Thread-Count Stripe Sheet Set, available in multiple colors.

5. Beech Tree Fiber

Modal is a variety of rayon, made exclusively from the renewable fiber of beech trees. Since the base material comes from a natural source, rayon fibers such as modal are sometimes classified as a "natural synthetic." Fabric made from modal is very soft and smooth, with a moderate to high sheen. The original "artificial silk," it is soft, drapes well, and dyes easily. Unlike wool, it does not need to be ironed and retains its shape, size, and strength even after repeated washings. (Water structurally weakens wool.) Banana Republic's Signature Modal Tee looks so cozy that you may want to wear it every day.

6. Hemp

Hemp grows without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers, making it ideal for organic farming. The plant's roots can descend 3 feet or more into the ground, thereby anchoring and protecting soil from runoff while building and preserving topsoil and subsoil structures. Hemp is also completely biodegradable. It is similar to linen in feel and breathability, unlike wool, which traps heat and can support the growth of bacteria. WAMA Underwear uses hemp to make soft, sustainable underwear. Patagonia makes this Women's Lightweight A/C Top from a blend of cotton and hemp crêpe.

7. Soybeans

Soy fabric, also known as "vegetable cashmere" is a new eco-friendly fabric made from a byproduct of soybean processing. It has the softness and luster of silk, the drape and durability of cotton, and the warmth and comfort of cashmere. The material is free of any petrochemicals, and, most importantly, does not involve the abuse of sheep. Fashion insiders call the process in which materials come from the Earth and are wholly biodegradable a "cradle-to-cradle" approach. We appreciate KD New York's cozy, flowing designs that are suitable for both work and yoga class! Check out this Open Back Tie Pullover.

8. rPET

Another option is rPET, which stands for recycled polyethylene terephthalate. Also simply called "recycled polyester," it's a member of the polyester family and refers to the plastic bottles used for water and soda. When you put a bottle in the recycle bin, it may be turned into a polyester fiber of some kind or something else entirely. Unlike wool, it's soft to the touch and won't have you scratching your neck around the collar. It's been suggested that synthetic microfibers may harm ecosystems, but the extent of the harm is largely unknown. Check out Patagonia's Insulated Prairie Dawn Parka, which will keep you warm without any cruelty.

9. Coconut Fiber

If a company called Nanollose has its way, you'll soon be able to buy warm, soft clothes made from coconuts. The company uses coconut fiber to produce material similar to rayon, which is conventionally made from trees. Aptly, the new fabric is called Nullarbor. It saves animals and spares trees, and its production requires minimal land, water, and energy use. (It's doubtful that the clothes will smell like coconuts, but it would be wonderful if they did.)

Vegan fabrics represent the future of fashion. They're versatile and environmentally sound and don't involve cruelty to animals-which is increasingly viewed as unjustifiable. For more animal-friendly fashion, check out "How to Wear Vegan."

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Vegan Fabrics Are Way Better Than Wool-Here's Why

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Instead of wool, you can wear some of the many natural vegan fabrics that don't involve punching and stomping on sheep . Recently, we've seen a surge of high-performing vegan fabrics that are the perfect combination of soft and sustainable. More and more clothing brands are opting for these materials that don't support the cruelty of the wool industry .

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Fashion Industry PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis

2016 proved to be a tough year full of difficulties for the fashion industry caused by several disruptive events like terrorist attacks on France, Brexit and volatility in the Chinese stock market. However, all the reasons that kept disturbing the fashion industry are not external and there were internal sources too destroying the peace of mind of the fashion brands. Still, after a disturbing 2016, the fashion industry is expected to make a strong comeback in 2017. During the past decade it has remained one of the fastest growing industry segments. This segment has grown at a rate of 5.5 percent over that period and as per the McKinsey Fashion Index, its estimated worth is around $2.4 trillion. If ranked alongside the economies of the world, it would be ranked the seventh largest economy. Apart from it, consumer taste has also changed and they have become more discerning.

Technology is playing a stronger role than ever in influencing consumer taste. The fast fashion segment of the industry has also shown faster growth and it is mainly because of affordable luxury brands in the fast fashion segment. Consumers have shown an inclination towards these brands that are selling good quality fashion products at affordable prices. Overall, 2017 is expected to be a better year for fashion industry. This is a pestle analysis evaluating how the various political, economic, social technological, environmental and legal factors affect the fashion industry.

Political factors:

The political factors can be the biggest source of uncertainty for the fashion industry. Several geopolitical events have rocked the fashion industry in 2016 and in 2017 things are expected to change, however, uncertainty still prevails. Volatility due to political factors is not unexpected. As per the McKinsey report on fashion industry, "Geopolitical instability, terrorism, Brexit, and stalled trade deals will all increase a pervasive sense of uncertainty in the global economy" (McK-BOF, 2017 report). Apart from terrorism, other kinds of political tensions have also kept affecting the world and raising the level of uncertainty before the fashion industry. The reason that the Russian economy has kept suffering is because apart from low oil prices, tensions with the West have also rocked it. Apart from economic decline, consumer confidence in Russia also fell owing to these factors. The ongoing political shifts in US and UK have also affected the state of the fashion industry. The recent US elections also had a deep impact on it. There are several political issues and events that have remained unresolved and will continue to cause volatility and uncertainty in 2017. Even the fast fashion brands have felt the challenge in the Middle Eastern countries where political instability and terrorism continue to pose a threat to business. In this way, the higher the level of geopolitical instability, the higher will be the level of uncertainty in the fashion industry.

Economic Factors:

Economic factors too have a deep impact on the fashion retail industry. While it is itself a very large part of the global economy, it is affected by the economic fluctuations worldwide. Economic volatility can affect sales and profits. It is considered one of the key industries in the global economy and in terms of GDP if it was a nation would have been the seventh largest economy in the world. Since the recession, while there has been a lot of recovery, there is more to unfold in 2017. Last year, volatility in the Chinese market had a deep effect on it and for economic fluctuations in other key economies like Russia and demonetization in India, the situation till now has been tough for it. Still, the industry is hopeful about 2017. The slowdown in the Chinese economy in 2016 was bad news, but the situation has improved since then. With the recession gone, the situation of employment globally has grown better globally. Consumers' buying power has increased and that is some good news. However, fashion industry adds to the economy too since it is one of the biggest employers as well. In this way, the fashion industry affects and is affected by the economic factors. The level of competition in the industry has also affected individual brands and their sales and profits.

Social factors:

Socio-cultural factors also have an important role in the growth of the fashion retail industry. Major social changes have occurred in the last ten years that have affected the demand for fashion products. While the millennial generation is now the main target of the fashion marketers, its preferences are very different from the previous generations. A number of changes on the socio cultural level have affected how people shop and make their shopping decisions or which brands they prefer to shop from. Millenials do not just want convenience but also low prices and great quality. The demographic makeup of global population has changed a lot during the recent decade. This has affected several important changes leaving marketing toying with several options and opportunities as well as faced with new challenges. Now, they are catering to different needs where they do not just have to push sales, but to attract and engage customers. The fashion industry has felt the push and the rise of fast fashion is a proof. Fast fashion brands like Zara have brought affordable but good quality fashion to the customers. High class fashion is no more the privilege of upper end consumers because, it has been made affordable using technology and new techniques. Even if the quality of fabric is not as great as the luxury brands, it is good enough and in terms of style and design, these fast fashion brands are hardly behind. The result is consumes are flocking to fast fashion avenues. Not just taste but other things have also changed about the consumers. They have grown more discerning and make decisions based on information which they can acquire easily from several resources. They rely on feedback and not on advertising or marketing campaigns. In light of these changes the fashion retail environment has grown challenging.

Technological:

Technology is also a very important factor affecting the growth of the fashion retail industry. A large part o the 21 st century growth story of fashion retail can be attributed to the technological developments that have happened in this era. Globalization, IT, internet and increased use of mobile devices for shopping all these are affecting sales, marketing and consumer choices. Today consumers are well ignored and make choices after researching everything. They discuss their choices with the others and also share their views. The millennial generation mostly likes to shop online and likes a personalized experience in terms of shopping and customer service. Technology has disrupted several things and apart from improved production and supply chain, it has also brought greater effectiveness to the sales and marketing of fashion products. Another area where technology has benefitted the fashion brands is in terms of overseas expansion. Ecommerce has helped them go past borders and sell to a larger customer segment.

Environmental:

Environment and sustainability are just as important in terms of the fashion retail industry as in any other. Even the fashion brands are careful about their carbon footprint and are marketing themselves as more environment friendly brands. They are investing in environment and sustainability and using more environment friendly raw materials, packaging and operations. As per the McKinsey report, fashion brands have prioritized sustainable fashion and this is working to transform product design and manufacturing. In the emerging markets more than 65% of the consumers are seeking sustainable fashion actively. In the mature markets this figure is 32% or less. The report also highlights that sustainability has become a key influencer of the consumers' purchasing decisions. Several large fashion br ands like Nike or H&M have formulated sustainability goals and are working actively to achieve them. They are working in the direction of maximization of productivity and minimization of carbon footprint.

Legal:

Legal challenges also abound in the fashion retail industry. Ethics and compliance are important focus areas for the big brands and they are working actively in his direction. The fashion industry is a large employer and apart from the labor laws the other common laws applicable in business also apply on it. Environmental laws have also grown tough and need to be complied with. There are other laws related to international trade too that require compliance. However, legal compliance and an ethical image can be beneficial for a fashion brand's business.

Sources:
http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-state-of-fashion

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PESTEL/PESTLE Analysis of the Fashion retail industry

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2016 proved to be a tough year full of difficulties for the fashion industry caused by several disruptive events like terrorist attacks on France, Brexit and volatility in the Chinese stock market. However, all the reasons that kept disturbing the fashion industry are not external and there were internal sources too destroying the peace of mind of the fashion brands.

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What Does Pure Water for the World Do?

We partner with rural and underserved communities, where there are high incidences of waterborne diseases and a scarcity of aid. Together, we establish comprehensive safe water solutions that include the essential tools and education to serve all community members.

We provide WAter, Sanitation and H ygiene (WASH) education and capacity building programs, training other organizations to accelerate access to safe water and sanitation for all.

We monitor every project and program delivered, to ensure effectiveness and sustainability.
Water Solutions WASH Training

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We partner with rural and underserved communities, where there are high incidences of waterborne diseases and a scarcity of aid. Together, we establish comprehensive safe water solutions that include the essential tools and education to serve all community members.

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We are excited to announce our latest efforts to create more sustainable product across all our brands. With a distinct focus on our sustainability practices, we have partnered with three best-in-class organizations to continue to transform our manufacturing and supply processes.

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), Fashion for Good (FFG) and Ellen MacArthur Foundation Make Fashion Circular Initiative, work diligently to look beyond traditional, linear manufacturing processes. In our efforts to establish a more circular model, these organizations utilize circular economy principles to aid the transition of a more sustainable fashion industry.

As a company, we recognize our role in moving the apparel industry in a positive direction. We see opportunities to reduce waste and pollution out of our source-to-store cycle through collaboration and partnerships and will set circularity targets across all of our businesses.

Our mission, along with these organizations, is to create change across the entire value chain, focusing on initiatives and business models that will have the greatest potential to transform our industry.

"These three organizations are all focused on innovation, collaboration and system change, which is the foundation of our corporate responsibility strategy at PVH," says Melanie Steiner, Chief Risk Officer, PVH Corp. "We are excited to work with other leading companies, innovators and stakeholders to support the move to a truly sustainable industry."
Global Fashion Agenda (GFA)
GFA is a non-profit initiative founded in 2016 with the goal of setting a common agenda for focused industry efforts on sustainability in fashion. Tommy Hilfiger was PVH's first business to sign the GFA 2020 Circular Fashion System Commitment, which it did in 2017; the Commitment has now been signed by PVH on behalf of all its businesses.

As a signatory, PVH and its businesses are making a pledge to set specific targets to be accomplished by 2020 and report on progress annually. The pledge itself addresses four areas: designing for circularity, increasing the volume of used garments collected, increasing the volume of used garments resold, and increasing garments made from recycled post-consumer textile fibers. GFA will support PVH in achieving its commitment through knowledge-sharing activities, policy engagement and industry alignment.
Fashion for Good (FFG)
FFG is a global platform for sustainable innovation, providing promising start-ups needed access to the funding and expertise required to drive a scalable shift to more sustainable production methods. The FFG Innovation Hub works both to accelerate early stage companies, as well as to provide bespoke support to companies further along the path toward sustainability who are looking to achieve scale. FFG also acts as an advocate for change, creating open-source resources, such as a co-working space and the Fashion for Good Experience to join the collective movement to make fashion a force for good.

PVH will join Fashion for Good as a principal partner, which will include helping to drive systemic change in the fashion industry, access to the Fashion for Good Experience and a board seat. PVH will play a leading role in setting FFG's innovation agenda, defining focus areas, participating in the selection of new innovators, and providing expertise and mentorship to circular apparel startups.
Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Make Fashion Circular Initiative
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has been focused since its founding in 2010 on working with businesses, government and academia to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Foundation's Make Fashion Circular Initiative, which launched in 2017, brings together stakeholders in the fashion industry to adopt a circular vision that reimagines the current take-make-dispose model. The goal of the initiative is to establish a new fashion system based on three circular economy principles: business models that keep clothes in use, materials that are renewable and safe, and solutions that transform used clothes into new clothes.

As a core partner and member of the initiative's Advisory Board, PVH will collaborate with Ellen MacArthur Foundation to address issues that lead to preventable pollution and waste in the industry, and deliver solutions to meet the changing global demands and societal expectations.

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We are excited to announce our latest efforts to create more sustainable product across all our brands. With a distinct focus on our sustainability practices, we have partnered with three best-in-class organizations to continue to transform our manufacturing and supply processes.

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We are PVH. One of the largest global apparel companies with over $8 billion in revenues.

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VISION

To be the most admired fashion and lifestyle company in the world.

PRIORITIES

consumer engagement through innovative designs and personalized brand and shopping experiences that captures the heart of the consumer

our worldwide reach through organic growth and acquisitions

in and evolve how we operate by leveraging technology and data to be dynamic, nimble and forward-thinking

a talented and skilled workforce that embodies our values and an entrepreneurial spirit while empowering our associates to design their future

sustainable, profitable growth and create long-term stockholder value

PURPOSE

We power brands that drive fashion forward - for good.

VALUES

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To be the most admired fashion and lifestyle company in the world.

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TOMMY HILFIGER occupies a unique position as a premium designer brand under which quality apparel, accessories and lifestyle products are offered at accessible price points. Tommy Hilfiger markets its products under several brands in order to fully capitalize on its global appeal, as each brand varies in terms of price point, demographic target and distribution. Brands include HILFIGER COLLECTION, TOMMY HILFIGER TAILORED, TOMMY HILFIGER, TOMMY JEANS and TOMMY SPORT, under which a variety of products are offered.

In addition, the brand is licensed for a range of products, including fragrance, eyewear, watches, home furnishings and womenswear in North America, as well as in various geographic regions. Global retail sales of products sold under the TOMMY HILFIGER brands were approximately $8.5 billion in 2018.

We see a significant opportunity to fuel expansion by capitalizing on the regional and category opportunities where the brand is underpenetrated, while also assuming more direct control of several regional licensed businesses.

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TOMMY HILFIGER occupies a unique position as a premium designer brand under which quality apparel, accessories and lifestyle products are offered at accessible price points. Tommy Hilfiger markets its products under several brands in order to fully capitalize on its global appeal, as each brand varies in terms of price point, demographic target and distribution.

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Fashion Without Harm - Trusted ethical ratings in the palm of your hand

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Raycon respects the privacy of our customers and users of our website and has therefore instituted the policy described below to ensure that your personal information is handled in a responsible manner. Our online Privacy Policy describes the type of personal and non-personal information we may collect from you when you visit our website, how we use the information, and when we share it with third parties.

Section 1 - What information does Raycon collect?

Raycon collects data that you provide on rayconglobal.com as a result of credit card processing, email registrations, product registrations, customer service inquiry and requests for information from us, and the like ("transactions"). We may collect "personal" information and "non-personal" information. Personal information is namely your name, email address, billing address, shipping address, credit card information and other details you choose to provide during transactions. Non-personal information is information we may collect whenever you gain access to or browse our website, such as your IP address, device type, browser type, and operating system you use. Each time you visit our website, our web server may automatically recognize and collect this information. Other non-personal information also includes "cookies" which may be used to provide you with tailored information. A cookie is a small data file that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your computer's hard drive.

Email marketing (if applicable): With your permission, we may send you emails about our store, new products and other updates.

Text Marketing and notifications (if applicable): By entering your phone number in the checkout and initialising a purchase, you agree that we may send you text notifications (for your order, including abandoned cart reminders) and text marketing offers. Text marketing messages will not exceed 5 per month. You can unsubscribe from further text messages by replying STOP. Message and data rates may apply.

Section 2- Consent

When you provide us with personal information to complete a transaction, verify your credit card, place an order, arrange for a delivery or return a purchase, you consent to our collecting it and using it for that specific reason only.

If we ask for your personal information for a secondary reason, like marketing, we will either ask you directly for your expressed consent, or provide you with an opportunity to opt-out.

How do I withdraw my consent?
If after you opt-in to marketing and promotional communications, you change your mind, you may withdraw your consent for us to contact you, for the continued collection, use or disclosure of your information, at anytime, by contacting us at unsubscribe@rayconglobal.com or mailing us at:

Raycon Global, Inc.
1115 Broadway, Suite 12, New York, NY 10001

Section 3- Disclosure

We may disclose your personal information if we are required by law to do so or if you violate our Terms of Service.

Section 4- Shopify

Our store is hosted on Shopify Inc. They provide us with the online e-commerce platform that allows us to sell our products and services to you.

Your data is stored through Shopify's data storage, databases and the general Shopify application. They store your data on a secure server behind a firewall.

Payment:
If you choose a direct payment gateway to complete your purchase, then Shopify stores your credit card data. It is encrypted through the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS). Your purchase transaction data is stored only as long as is necessary to complete your purchase transaction. After that is complete, your purchase transaction information is deleted.

All direct payment gateways adhere to the standards set by PCI-DSS as managed by the PCI Security Standards Council, which is a joint effort of brands like Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover.

PCI-DSS requirements help ensure the secure handling of credit card information by our store and its service providers.

For more insight, you may also want to read Shopify's Terms of Service here or Privacy Statement here.

Section 5- Third-Party Services

In general, the third-party providers used by us will only collect, use and disclose your information to the extent necessary to allow them to perform the services they provide to us.

However, certain third-party service providers, such as payment gateways and other payment transaction processors, have their own privacy policies in respect to the information we are required to provide to them for your purchase-related transactions.

For these providers, we recommend that you read their privacy policies so you can understand the manner in which your personal information will be handled by these providers.

In particular, remember that certain providers may be located in or have facilities that are located a different jurisdiction than either you or us. So if you elect to proceed with a transaction that involves the services of a third-party service provider, then your information may become subject to the laws of the jurisdiction(s) in which that service provider or its facilities are located.

As an example, if you are located in Canada and your transaction is processed by a payment gateway located in the United States, then your personal information used in completing that transaction may be subject to disclosure under United States legislation, including the Patriot Act.

Once you leave our store's website or are redirected to a third-party website or application, you are no longer governed by this Privacy Policy or our website's Terms of Service.

Links
When you click on links on our store, they may direct you away from our site. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites and encourage you to read their privacy statements.

Section 6- Security

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry best practices to make sure it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed. No data transmission over the Internet can be unconditionally guaranteed to be secure. Therefore, any information you provide to us is done so at your own risk.

If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and stored with a AES-256 encryption. Although no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional generally accepted industry standards.

Section 7- Cookies

Here is a list of cookies that we use. We've listed them here so you that you can choose if you want to opt-out of cookies or not.
_session_id, unique token, sessional, Allows Shopify to store information about your session (referrer, landing page, etc).
_shopify_visit, no data held, Persistent for 30 minutes from the last visit, Used by our website provider's internal stats tracker to record the number of visits
_shopify_uniq, no data held, expires midnight (relative to the visitor) of the next day, Counts the number of visits to a store by a single customer. cart, unique token, persistent for 2 weeks, Stores information about the contents of your cart.
_secure_session_id, unique token, sessional storefront_digest, unique token, indefinite If the shop has a password, this is used to determine if the current visitor has access.

Section 8- Age of Consent

By using this site, you represent that you are at least the age of majority in your state or province of residence, or that you are the age of majority in your state or province of residence and you have given us your consent to allow any of your minor dependents to use this site. This site is a general audience website. We do not intentionally collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If we become aware that we have unknowingly collected information from a user of the site who is under the age of 13, we will delete that child's personal information in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Act.

Section 9- Changes to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this privacy policy at any time, so please review it frequently. Changes and clarifications will take effect immediately upon their posting on the website. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here that it has been updated, so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we use and/or disclose it.

If our store is acquired or merged with another company, your information may be transferred to the new owners so that we may continue to sell products to you.
Section 10- SMS/MMS MOBILE MESSAGING MARKETING PROGRAM
We respect your privacy. We will only use information you provide through the Program to transmit your mobile messages and respond to you, if necessary. This includes, but is not limited to, sharing information with platform providers, phone companies, and other vendors who assist us in the delivery of mobile messages.

WE DO NOT SELL, RENT, LOAN, TRADE, LEASE, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER FOR PROFIT ANY PHONE NUMBERS OR CUSTOMER INFORMATION COLLECTED THROUGH THE PROGRAM TO ANY THIRD PARTY.

Nonetheless, we reserve the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation or governmental request, to avoid liability, or to protect Our rights or property. When you complete forms online or otherwise provide Us information in connection with the Program, you agree to provide accurate, complete, and true information. You agree not to use a false or misleading name or a name that you are not authorized to use. If, in Our sole discretion, We believe that any such information is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete, or you have opted into the Program for an ulterior purpose, We may refuse you access to the Program and pursue any appropriate legal remedies.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits Users of the Program that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of the information you provide through the Program to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at the following address:

Raycon Inc.

1115 Broadway, Suite 12,

New York, NY 10010

This Privacy Policy is strictly limited to the Program and has no effect on any other privacy policy(ies) that may govern the relationship between you and Us in other contexts.

Questions and Contact Information
We welcome your comments and questions about this Privacy Policy.

Please contact us at legal@rayconglobal.com or by mail at:

Raycon Inc.
1115 Broadway, Suite 12, New York, NY 10001

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Raycon respects the privacy of our customers and users of our website and has therefore instituted the policy described below to ensure that your personal information is handled in a responsible manner.

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Job Description

The team consists of 13 colleagues who are all based in Amsterdam. The PVH Media Team has 3 key objectives:

1. Drive traffic and conversion @ full price

2. Consistently bring the brand to life in the markets

3. Be a pro-active business partner

The Role:
We are looking for an enthusiastic and talented Specialist in Media and Advertising, who will be in charge of the Paid Media messaging strategy in Europe as well as for the localization and implementation of the Paid Media strategy on country level with the objective to optimize our consumers' journey.

Define audiences and their consumer journey across Paid Media

Support the creative and messaging strategy across Paid Media - and in the light of the bigger picture - of paid media channels (Out of Home, Digital)

Manage the calendar for Paid Media activities incl. relevant events and campaigns

Build and grow relationships with strategic internal and external partners

Media Planning:

Take responsibility for assigned markets, present the global strategy to the local offices and challenge the best possible localization with the agencies

Take on the strategy of our licensee partners; liaise with the wider Paid Media Team for integrated campaigns per country

Think out-of-the-box whilst adhering to the global strategy and ROI objectives

Handle bookings and liaise with Paid Media Team for implementation

Manage and monitor the given budgets, whilst challenging value for money

Monitor campaign implementation; analyze the results and derive learnings

Build Paid Media business cases upon request

Take on ad-hoc project / presentation needs

The Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate:
Our ideal candidate will have experience in working in a fast-paced environment, preferably in an advertising agency or marketing department, or for an international fashion brand. In addition, you bring:

2- 3 years of professional experience

University degree in Marketing or Communications

A pro-active approach, ready to take the initiative, with a life-long learning attitude

Passion for everything you do, and a willingness to go the extra mile

No nine-to-five mentality

A strong aesthetic sense, eye for the detail, with an ability to set the right priorities

Structure, yet at the same time, flexible

Highly executional, yet resourceful if needed

Strong communication skills, with the capability to liaise with internal stakeholders across different levels of the organization and to manage external partners

Experience in project management, with the ability to manage several projects simultaneously

High fashion and online affinity

Excellent verbal and written communication skills, as well as business fluency in English (written & verbal)

Working knowledge of MSOffice (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Mac programs (Pages, Keynote)

We would love to know why this is

role for you, so please include a motivational letter with your application.

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Specialist, Media and Advertising at Tommy Hilfiger | BoF Careers | The Business of Fashion

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The team consists of 13 colleagues who are all based in Amsterdam.

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By BoF Team April 25, 2017 12:56

Sponsored by:

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - Since its launch in 1985, the Tommy Hilfiger brand has achieved global renown as a pioneer of American preppy style with a twist. Present on five continents, in 2015 the brand generated $6.5 billon in retail sales through its extensive distribution network, spanning 115 countries. In 2010, the Tommy Hilfiger business was acquired by PVH Corp., with the brand's eponymous founder staying on as principal designer, re-energising its creative momentum and ushering in a new era of innovation at the company.

That commitment to innovation is best exemplified by the company's willingness to overhaul its go-to-market model, radically reducing its lead-time to market, which necessitated the involvement of every single associate and partner across the globe. Today, the success of that initiative, along with others including a fully digitised show room and an incubator team for new ideas, has created a virtuous cycle - where the increased profits are channeled directly back in to innovation, placing Tommy Hilfiger firmly back at the forefront of the fashion industry.
What has driven Tommy Hilfiger's recent momentum?
TH: Our people. The exciting, innovative and revolutionary ideas that we have implemented in recent years have all come from within our organisation. I am really proud of our people and our teams for driving our company's entrepreneurial spirit in their work every day.

DG: I agree. The brand's momentum stems from the fact that every associate at Tommy Hilfiger understands that to truly disrupt and innovate within our industry we have to be willing to reinvent every aspect of the business each and every day. It is about being open to doing things differently. That entrepreneurial spirit and passion for innovation is fundamental to our business. Everything we do today, we have to ask ourselves, is this still the right way for tomorrow? We have to react to a world that is moving faster and faster. As I have always said, the biggest risk is to take no risk at all.
How would you define the DNA of the Tommy Hilfiger brand today?
DG: In 2014 we embedded our rolling vision 2020+, which is based on three pillars. One is being consumer-centric, the second adaptable to change and the third is placing product as king. But supporting this is our passion for innovation - we constantly invest in it and we are not hesitant to test innovative initiatives in the market. We view it as a consistent process that we must really get behind; we know that our ability to stay at the forefront of our industry will come through our commitment to innovation. We are lucky because due to the innovative processes that we have already invested in, especially in product, we have sold more and therefore the innovation is paying for itself - and more! We are always improving and getting bigger. It is a virtuous cycle.
How has the shift to fashion immediacy changed the company's working practices?
DG: When we started "See Now, Buy Now" we didn't know whether it would all work out. It was initially only one process, reducing our time to market for a collection. But to do that we have to bring in all of our partners, build a way of showing the collection digitally and create ways to buy it digitally (which is why we created the digital wall and digital show room). In the end, the whole company was involved in this one project. It turned out to be an extremely positive business opportunity, that showed us how efficiently we can work as a global team, and how impactful the results can be. We have since launched our biggest innovation initiative dubbed 'Speed 360', a project through which we continue to make our internal processes faster and more efficient. That requires innovation from every aspect of the business - not just from design, but from every angle: from development, to sourcing and production, to warehouse and distribution.
How do you empower your employees to consistently innovate and reinvent?
DG: In terms of processes, we have fortified what was already an extremely open culture that encourages everyone from every department to bring ideas to the table. I call it the 'three Ds': Discuss, Decide and Deliver. We want to hear new ideas, we want to discuss them and then we want to deliver on them. Following that, we have created innovation testers, where a team that is able to create the budget to test initiatives in the market can try it, no matter what it is for or whom it comes from. That is why our own teams and associates are so important to us. We need people who are open minded and hungry for that newness.
What talent needs currently exist?
DG: If applicants are truly seeking a, fast-paced and exciting environment, and are equipped with an entrepreneurial spirit and passion for innovation, as well as embracing a spirit of inclusivity and diversity we can use the right kind of talent in every part of our business.

TH: I am so excited by the brand today. Our pioneering spirit and focus on the consumer is taking us into really interesting areas, from leading the industry in the "See Now, Buy Now" runway format, to experimenting with digital technology in our products and the way we work. I always believe that the best is yet to come, and this is true now more than ever. These are very exciting times.

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Tommy Hilfiger has reaffirmed itself as a market leader by focusing first and foremost on how its employees can innovate in their work. BoF sits down with the brand's eponymous founder and its CEO, Daniel Grieder, to hear why recurring reinvention is the future.

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If the world went vegan, it could save 8 million human lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by two-thirds and lead to healthcare-related savings and avoided climate damages of $1.5 trillion. Source

Almost half of Brits who eat meat feel hypocritical for loving animals while eating others. Source

If the UK population was killed at the rate farmed animals are killed around the world, it would end in just 11 hours. Sources: [1], [2], [3]

Over a billion farmed animals in Britain are killed each year in slaughterhouses. Source

Over 10 million pigs, 15 million sheep, 14 million turkeys, 15 million ducks and geese, 982 million broiler chickens, 50 million 'spent hens', 2.6 million cattle, 4.5 billion fish and 2.6 billion shellfish are killed in the UK each year - over 8 billion animals. Source

Since 1970, the collective weight of free-living animals has declined 82%. Instead, a small number of farmed animals (mainly cows and pigs) dominate the global biomass. They account for 60% of mammal species by mass, 36% goes to humans, and just 4% are free-living animals. Sources:

The Vegan Society statistics

The first ever newsletter by The Vegan Society records that there were just 25 members.

The Vegan Trademark was introduced in 1990 to help businesses showcase their products meeting the authentic international vegan standard set by The Vegan Society. Today, over 59,000 products from more than 2,500 companies are registered globally, including 25,000 cosmetics and toiletries, and 18,000 food and drink items.

In 2021 alone The Vegan Society registered an impressive 16,439 products with The Vegan Trademark. Over 82% of our product registrations have come in the last five years.

The Vegan Trademark is present in 87 countries around the world, with over 50% of products registered coming from companies based outside of the UK.

Products made by companies such as Flora, Alpro, Asda, Aldi, LUSH, Mars, Costa Coffee, Nestle, New Look, and Burger King carry the Vegan Trademark.

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If the world went vegan, it could save 8 million human lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by two-thirds and lead to healthcare-related savings and avoided climate damages of $1.5 trillion. Source Almost half of Brits who eat meat feel hypocritical for loving animals while eating others.

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Mid Season Sale | Tommy Hilfiger® UK Official Online Shop

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Shop the latest Tommy Hilfiger Mid Season Sale and pick your favourite styles. Free and easy returns for up to 120 days.

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JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

HIGHLIGHT: SUPPORTING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

In Spring 2018, we proudly launched our Social Innovation Challenge, designed to support new business ideas for a more inclusive fashion landscape. We will support the three winners with financial aid, mentorship and access to our business network.

HIGHLIGHT: SUSTAINABLE COTTON

In 2014, we joined the Better Cotton Initiative, which invests in training farmers to adopt better farming practices that minimize negative environmental, economic and social impact. In 2018 approximately 65% of our cotton supply globally was purchased from more sustainable sources and we produced our first range of 100% recycled cotton products.

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"I learned through having children with special needs how much Tommy Adaptive was needed. Every piece is the same quality, the same fabric and the same design as we offer everyone else. The added benefit is discreet, truly functional modifications that make getting dressed easier and allow both children and adults with disabilities to have independence and feel great about themselves."

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"I learned through having children with special needs how much Tommy Adaptive was needed. Every piece is the same quality, the same fabric and the same design as we offer everyone else. The added benefit is discreet, truly functional modifications that make getting dressed easier and allow both children and adults with disabilities to have independence and feel great about themselves."

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Recycled Denim | Tommy Hilfiger® Official Online Shop

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Discover our most sustainable range of jeans yet in the new Recycled Denim collection from Tommy Jeans, featuring items made of 100% recycled cotton.

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The authoritative information on the status of approval, acceptance, accession and ratification of the Agreement is provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the respective internet page of the United Nations Treaty Depositary under: Paris Agreement.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 195 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It entered into force on 4 November 2016. Currently, as of 27 January 2026, there are 194 Parties to the Paris Agreement.

Its overarching goal is to hold "the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels" and pursue efforts "to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels."

However, in recent years, world leaders have stressed the need to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of this century.

That's because the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change indicates that crossing the 1.5°C threshold risks unleashing far more severe climate change impacts, including more frequent and severe droughts, heatwaves and rainfall.

To limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030.

The Paris Agreement is a landmark in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.

How does the Paris Agreement work?

Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation, based on the best available science. The Paris Agreement works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action -- or, ratcheting up -- carried out by countries. Since 2020, countries have been submitting their national climate action plans, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Each successive NDC is meant to reflect an increasingly higher degree of ambition compared to the previous version.

Recognizing that accelerated action is required to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the COP27 cover decision requests Parties to revisit and strengthen the 2030 targets in their NDCs to align with the Paris Agreement temperature goal by the end of 2023, taking into account different national circumstances.

Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries also communicate in their NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Long-Term Strategies

To better frame the efforts towards the long-term goal, the Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies (LT-LEDS).

LT-LEDS provide the long-term horizon to the NDCs. Unlike NDCs, they are not mandatory. Nevertheless, they place the NDCs into the context of countries' long-term planning and development priorities, providing a vision and direction for future development.

How are countries supporting one another?

The Paris Agreement provides a framework for financial, technical and capacity building support to those countries who need it.

Finance

The Paris Agreement reaffirms that developed countries should take the lead in providing financial assistance to countries that are less endowed and more vulnerable, while for the first time also encouraging voluntary contributions by other Parties. Climate finance is needed for mitigation, because large-scale investments are required to significantly reduce emissions. Climate finance is equally important for adaptation, as significant financial resources are needed to adapt to the adverse effects and reduce the impacts of a changing climate.

Technology

The Paris Agreement speaks of the vision of fully realizing technology development and transfer for both improving resilience to climate change and reducing GHG emissions. It establishes a technology framework to provide overarching guidance to the well-functioning Technology Mechanism. The mechanism is accelerating technology development and transfer through its policy and implementation arms.

Capacity-Building

Not all developing countries have sufficient capacities to deal with many of the challenges brought by climate change. As a result, the Paris Agreement places great emphasis on climate-related capacity-building for developing countries and requests all developed countries to enhance support for capacity-building actions in developing countries.

How are we tracking progress?

With the Paris Agreement, countries established an enhanced transparency framework (ETF). Under ETF, starting in 2024, countries will report transparently on actions taken and progress in climate change mitigation, adaptation measures and support provided or received. It also provides for international procedures for the review of the submitted reports.

The information gathered through the ETF will feed into the Global stocktake which will assess the collective progress towards the long-term climate goals.

This will lead to recommendations for countries to set more ambitious plans in the next round.

What have we achieved so far?

Although climate change action needs to be massively increased to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, the years since its entry into force have already sparked low-carbon solutions and new markets. More and more countries, regions, cities and companies are establishing carbon neutrality targets. Zero-carbon solutions are becoming competitive across economic sectors representing 25% of emissions. This trend is most noticeable in the power and transport sectors and has created many new business opportunities for early movers.

By 2030, zero-carbon solutions could be competitive in sectors representing over 70% of global emissions.

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The authoritative information on the status of approval, acceptance, accession and ratification of the Agreement is provided by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the respective internet page of the United Nations Treaty Depositary under: Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change.

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The nation's major specialty retailers, many of them mall-based, are temporarily closing stores and or reducing hours in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decisions, in line with recommendations by the CDC and public health officials to help slow the spread of COVID-19, are likely to have a big impact on many retailers' earnings going forward. Abercrombie & Fitch, for example, has withdrawn its first-quarter and full-year 2019 outlook, which it issued last week, citing escalating "uncertainty relating to the potential impacts of COVID-19 on our business operations, including its duration and its impact on overall demand for merchandise."

The temporary closings reflect that despite the rise of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar sales are still crucial to the health of the retail industry.

"With stores accounting for 75% of sales for most retailers, we anticipate massive EPS declines for 1Q, especially as most retailers appear to be paying employees during the 2 week closures," Jefferies analyst Randal Konick wrote in a research note.

In a Wells Fargo in a note published Monday, analysts wrote: "Given the already meaningful traffic declines, the mounting government response and several retailers recent store closure announcements, it seems highly reasonable to expect U.S. retail to struggle for the next one-to-two quarters across our space."

To date, the list of retailers that have temporarily closed their U.S. stores ranges from Apple and Nike to Urban Outfitters, Lululemon and American Girl. And while online operations continue at most retailers, outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has not only closed all its stores but also temporarily stopped taking new online orders until at least March 16. (Another outdoor apparel mainstay, REI, has temporarily closed its stores nationwide but is offering free shipping on all its online orders while stores are closed.)

Here's an update on the latest closing announcements:

* Gap Inc. temporarily reduced store hours for all its stores across the U.S. and Canada. The company also temporarily closed some 100 locations in areas where it assessed "greatest impact," and will continue to do so based on guidance from government officials and health authorities, as well as other location-based factors, such as dependence on public transportation. It also has implemented enhanced continued pay policies to further support both its full and part time employees in light of this situation.

* PVH Corp., whose brands include Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Izod, closed all its company-operated retail stores in North American and Europe, from March 17 through March 29. The company said store employees will receive full pay and benefits for their scheduled shifts. PVH also said its company offices will remain open, but with all but a "minimal number" of employees working remotely in North America and Europe.

* Levi Strauss closed its owned and operated stores in the U.S. and Canada starting March 27. The company will continue to pay its employees during the closures.

* VF Corp., whose brands include The North Face and Timberland, ha shuttered all its company-owned stores from March 16 through April 5. Workers will continue to receive all pay and benefits during this time. Corporate and brand offices are also closed for the period, with staff working from home. VF Corp. has already taken the same measures in all of Europe, and has stores operating with reduced hours in the U.K. The company had taken similar steps in mainland China, where 90% of its stores have reopened with traffic slowly returning to normal levels.

* Abercrombie & Fitch Co. temporarily closed all stores across its brands effective March 15 in North America and March 16 in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) until March 28, 2020. Its locations in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region will remain open.

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Update on coronavirus-related store closings - and impact

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The nation's major specialty retailers, many of them mall-based, are temporarily closing stores and or reducing hours in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The decisions, in line with recommendations by the CDC and public health officials to help slow the spread of COVID-19, are likely to have a big impact on many retailers' earnings going forward.

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The nation's major specialty retailers, many of them mall-based, are temporarily closing stores and or reducing hours in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The decisions, in line with recommendations by the CDC and public health officials to help slow the spread of COVID-19, are likely to have a big impact on many retailers' earnings going forward. Abercrombie & Fitch, for example, has withdrawn its first-quarter and full-year 2019 outlook, which it issued last week, citing escalating "uncertainty relating to the potential impacts of COVID-19 on our business operations, including its duration and its impact on overall demand for merchandise."

The temporary closings reflect that despite the rise of e-commerce, brick-and-mortar sales are still crucial to the health of the retail industry.

"With stores accounting for 75% of sales for most retailers, we anticipate massive EPS declines for 1Q, especially as most retailers appear to be paying employees during the 2 week closures," Jefferies analyst Randal Konick wrote in a research note.

In a Wells Fargo in a note published Monday, analysts wrote: "Given the already meaningful traffic declines, the mounting government response and several retailers recent store closure announcements, it seems highly reasonable to expect U.S. retail to struggle for the next one-to-two quarters across our space."

To date, the list of retailers that have temporarily closed their U.S. stores ranges from Apple and Nike to Urban Outfitters, Lululemon and American Girl. And while online operations continue at most retailers, outdoor apparel brand Patagonia has not only closed all its stores but also temporarily stopped taking new online orders until at least March 16. (Another outdoor apparel mainstay, REI, has temporarily closed its stores nationwide but is offering free shipping on all its online orders while stores are closed.)

Here's an update on the latest closing announcements:

* Gap Inc. temporarily reduced store hours for all its stores across the U.S. and Canada. The company also temporarily closed some 100 locations in areas where it assessed "greatest impact," and will continue to do so based on guidance from government officials and health authorities, as well as other location-based factors, such as dependence on public transportation. It also has implemented enhanced continued pay policies to further support both its full and part time employees in light of this situation.

* PVH Corp., whose brands include Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Izod, closed all its company-operated retail stores in North American and Europe, from March 17 through March 29. The company said store employees will receive full pay and benefits for their scheduled shifts. PVH also said its company offices will remain open, but with all but a "minimal number" of employees working remotely in North America and Europe.

* Levi Strauss closed its owned and operated stores in the U.S. and Canada starting March 27. The company will continue to pay its employees during the closures.

* VF Corp., whose brands include The North Face and Timberland, ha shuttered all its company-owned stores from March 16 through April 5. Workers will continue to receive all pay and benefits during this time. Corporate and brand offices are also closed for the period, with staff working from home. VF Corp. has already taken the same measures in all of Europe, and has stores operating with reduced hours in the U.K. The company had taken similar steps in mainland China, where 90% of its stores have reopened with traffic slowly returning to normal levels.

* Abercrombie & Fitch Co. temporarily closed all stores across its brands effective March 15 in North America and March 16 in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) until March 28, 2020. Its locations in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region will remain open.

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Update on coronavirus-related store closings - and impact

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The nation's major specialty retailers, many of them mall-based, are temporarily closing stores and or reducing hours in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The decisions, in line with recommendations by the CDC and public health officials to help slow the spread of COVID-19, are likely to have a big impact on many retailers' earnings going forward.

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Born into a fashion family. Grandmother was an interior Decorator, Mother was a Fashion Stylist and now Chef, Father is a Fashion Designer. Born in NYC and grew up between NYC and Paris since the age of 3. I am Irish, English, German, Haitian.... Hated the camera and fashion growing up so to end up here is ironic. Represented by Noel of RE:MM

I don't believe in titles I believe you do what you want and find the right people who share your vision. If i had to put a name to it, I am a Creative Entrepreneur exploring all the world has to offer. Stylist, Creative Director, Design Director, Actor, Model, etc.....

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Born into a fashion family. Grandmother was an interior Decorator, Mother was a Fashion Stylist and now Chef, Father is a Fashion Designer. Born in NYC and grew up between NYC and Paris since the age of 3. I am Irish, English, German, Haitian....

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"Y'all still wearing jeans?" the 21-year-old model, actor, and influencer Luka Sabbat tweeted in November to his 377,000 followers. The question was illustrated by a stream of "face with tears of joy" emoji, which generally translates to someone laughing at you, not with you.

For a moment, I took Sabbat's modern Diana Vreeland dictate to heart. I really should stop wearing jeans, I thought.(Boot-cut jeans, he later clarified, can still be worn.)

About an hour later, Sabbat - whose other medium is Instagram, where he has 1.6 million followers - threw his acolytes another curveball. "It's 2018 and mfs still out here wearing shoes," he said, adding a "face palm" emoji this time. "Like bro what?!?"

Things escalated. "In 2019 if u still wearing clothes you washed," Sabbat concluded, as if he were trolling his own status as a kind of sartorial emperor. "Y'all gotta catch up."

In internet years, Sabbat's rise has been gradual. He was discovered when he was 15 by ReQuest Model Management while drinking hot chocolate with his dad. Since then, he's worked his way up the fashion food chain from pretty face to social-media personality to actor to something like a Gen-Z Chloë Sevigny. He's always in the right place with the people who make it so, wearing the thing no one else has, all seemingly without trying. It's this natural cool - contained in the sum of his mustache, his apathetic pout, and those bold, definitive opinions - that sets Sabbat apart from his contemporaries, and earns him fat checks from brands like Calvin Klein and Evian as an influencer. But is actually trying to influence just too uncool for Sabbat?

Last month, I met Sabbat in the lobby of the Mercer, where he and his friends used to camp out for the free Wi-Fi when they were teenagers. He was dressed casually, but every piece was considered: a black trucker hat with "devil" printed backward; black sweatpants tucked into thick Rick Owens socks, which he slipped into ribbed women's Celine slides. Under his arm, a brand-new Louis Vuitton men's clutch. And on his back, he sported a Mike Kelley x Supreme hoodie, plus a Raf Simons bomber jacket from 2003. When I asked him if he bought the jacket vintage, he looked at me, confused. Of course he did; Sabbat was 5 in 2003.

Sabbat looked me up and down. "Yo," he said, pausing. I expected him to comment on my (denim-free) outfit. "You have a booger in your nose," he said. He suggested I blow it.

Sabbat's suggestions kept coming. He told me what to eat for lunch (Moroccan couscous) and how to eat it (top down, with a scoop of sauce at the bottom). He told me to get off dating apps; that my Air Force 1 sneakers were the wrong color (black, instead of white); and that my Jacquemus mini-bag wasn't as cute as I thought it was. He knew he sounded like a hater, but he also knew he was right.

These days, Sabbat spends a good chunk of his time in Los Angeles - he has a role, essentially playing himself, on Grown-ish, Freeform's Gen-Z spinoff of Black-ish starring Yara Shahidi - but he is a New York go-getter at heart, raised on the Lower East Side. His family moved to Paris when he was a toddler, where his father worked as a fashion designer and his mother as a model booker and production assistant. Supermodels like Lara Stone would look after him backstage at fashion shows.

When Sabbat moved back to New York for high school, attending Lower Manhattan Arts Academy, Soho became his backyard. He joined Instagram in 2012 as a 14-year-old, baby-faced hypebeast, using it as a platform to buy, sell, and flaunt any piece of Supreme he could get his hands on.

"I was one of the first internet fashion kids of New York," Sabbat declared. "Me and my homies would use it to post outfits to try to get free shit, and to build a personality. But we were doing it mindlessly; that wasn't even really our intention. We were just being ourselves." A third of Sabbat's life is now documented on Instagram, not to mention 1,430-something outfits. Scrolling to the bottom of his feed is like watching Boyhood on rewind, only with a lot more Raf Simons.

"I want people to see that I've been doing this shit for a long time," said Sabbat, who's never deleted a post. "It's time stamps on outfits. Some people claim to have started some shit, and I'm like, Listen, pal. Check the fuckin' receipts. I was wearing that way before you. Like, Oh, you just started wearing Rick Owens? Congrats, bro. " Sabbat pointed to an old photo that I'd printed out. "2014, buddy."

Back then, he hung around stores like the Hundreds and VFiles, meeting creative up-and-comers like Virgil Abloh, who is now the men's artistic director at Louis Vuitton. Abloh then introduced Sabbat to Kanye West, and he's wooed his way into the Kardashians' hearts since. When we met, Sabbat had just returned from a brief ski trip with the reality family, where he hit the slopes in full Prada Sport. He prefers skiing to snowboarding, he told me, because it seems "more rich."

Proximity to the Kardashians has no doubt boosted Sabbat's follower count, as well as sucked him into their press cycle; the latest rumor is an alleged relationship with Kourtney Kardashian, who is 18 years his senior. "We're definitely not dating," he finally clarified, after spending the afternoon telling me how badly he wanted a girlfriend.

Kardashian isn't the only Gen-X woman charmed by Sabbat. Sevigny and Sabbat have become close friends since connecting on the set of The Dead Don't Die, Jim Jarmusch's forthcoming zombie film. They text often, and she even accompanied him on apartment tours with his dad in Soho recently. "I remember seeing this beautiful boy and being totally struck," Sevigny recalled. "He smiled at me and I melted. I was like, Who is this kid?" She found his Instagram, as you do, and was struck by the cleverness of his captions. "To me, it's not about his style," she explained. "It's more about his energy and his vibe. I feel like it's the same with me: People are always like, Oh, she's a style icon! But it's like, there's gotta be something else, you know?"

Social media has given Sabbat the kind of life his teenage self didn't even know was possible. ("Never I thought in my life I would be listening to spongebob music in the Maybach," he tweeted in January.) But all this comes with a price. In October, Sabbat found himself the subject of an unfortunately delicious headline, which quickly went viral. "Luka Sabbat Sued for Failure to Influence," it read. In September, Sabbat allegedly signed a $60,000 contract with PR Consulting, a New York-based public-relations agency, to promote Snap Inc.'s sunglasses with a built-in camera. The deal was that Sabbat had to post a minimum of four "unique" posts to his Instagram during the spring-summer fashion shows in New York, plus Milan or Paris. One had to live on his feed permanently, and three had to be uploaded to his Story, which refreshes every 24 hours.

Sabbat didn't totally renege. He had shared one sponsored post on his feed and another on his Story. The resulting images (five total) were posted as a single slideshow. In them, Sabbat wears a black turtleneck with his black Spectacles.

" Pshhh, I'm definitely not a spy and my glasses definitely DON'T have cameras in them ... heh, who would do that ... ," Sabbat wrote as a caption with the proper disclaimer hashtags, plus some emoji for good measure. The post was sarcastic and made the potentially embarrassing act of selling something - wearable tech, no less - seem like no big deal at all. The photos have received over 168,000 likes and more than 1,300 comments to date. In influencer terms, one might call that "good engagement." Bad press only boosted these numbers.

But there was another thing Sabbat had to do: He also allegedly agreed to be "photographed in public" wearing Snap Spectacles, in real life, wearing a real outfit - which never happened. He also allegedly accepted $45,000 up front for the tasks he didn't fully complete. As a result, PR Consulting is suing him for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, i.e., walking off with unearned cash. They're also asking him to pay interest, damages, and the resulting legal bill.

PRC declined to comment on the matter, adding that the proceedings are solely between the company and Sabbat, not Snap Inc. So did Sabbat, to me. "Never heard of that," he said, likely per the advice of his lawyers, who have asked the State Court to dismiss his case. "I've literally never heard of a Snap Spectacle." He then explained that there are "two sides to every story," and that some things are just out of his hands.

But he did his own crisis PR. A few weeks after the Variety article went up, Sabbat and photographer Noah Dillon (his creative partner in Hot Mess, their art collective) decided to add another work to their ongoing "Free Advertising" project, which includes faux-DIY-billboard campaigns for brands like Céline and Chevrolet. In Skeptical Spectacle, Sabbat poses, arms folded, underneath a billboard bearing all the various headlines declaring his FAILURE TO INFLUENCE.

Regardless of how the lawsuit plays out, what makes it so tantalizing is the idea that anyone - especially someone with a following as big as Sabbat's - could "fail" to influence. Because the term is ubiquitous now, influencing is seen less as a job and more as a state of being. By that definition, failure was never an option for Sabbat, so long as he kept showing up and pretending not to care. But this lawsuit defines influence as an action with a tangible beginning and end.

And even if Sabbat has his reservations about the career - "The word influencer is mad corny" - he needs it. "What if I become poor and nothing works out? I can't work at a store. I can't work retail."

But the industry is changing: There are non-influencers now pretending to sell products in the hopes of one day getting an endorsement deal, not to mention the "nano-influencers," who sell goods like off-brand vapes to fewer than 1,000 followers. That kind of commercial oversaturation has put people like Sabbat in danger of getting lost in the crowd.

"The influencer bubble is going to pop in the next few years," he said, sighing. "With a lot of these so-called influencers, brands are going to realize that they're not actually capitalizing off them and the influence isn't actually working. There are too many of us. Eventually, it will be hard to differentiate between a real influencer and, like, some wack person."

For now, it's working. As I walked around Soho with Sabbat in the middle of the day, we couldn't go three blocks together without his stopping to dap a friend or follower like he was the mayor. He knew all of the store clerks at Totokaelo, all the security guards at Saint Laurent. At Celine, where Sabbat bought himself a pair of women's size 41 snow boots from the Phoebe Philo era, he was greeted with a warm "Hey, Luka."

As I watched Sabbat shop, it was clear he'd put in his 10,000 hours. "I low-key own everything I want," he told me - all of Sabbat's underwear and socks are Balenciaga because he "likes the finer things in life" - but there are still a litany of trendy items he would definitely not buy. It was hard to keep up. Fanny packs? "Can't stand them," he said. Bike shorts? "Trash." Shoes that look like socks? "Garbage." Everlane? "Never heard of it."

Sabbat knows the power of his influence and wants to use it to make the world a better-looking place. "There's good and bad influence," he said back in his room at the Mercer, pulling a Charles Manson REMEMBER KIDS, CHARLIE LOVES YOU T-shirt from his suitcase.

"The internet exposed kids to new styles that they never would have been able to see before, but it also created some of the worst style," Sabbat said. "Kids basically just mash every style they see into one fucking disgusting muck," like Saint Laurent skinny jeans combined with chunky Balenciaga Triple S sneakers. He looked at himself in the mirror. "People are way too influenced by what they see."

*This article appears in the February 4, 2019, issue of New York Magazine.

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"Y'all still wearing jeans?" the 21-year-old model, actor, and influencer Luka Sabbat tweeted in November to his 377,000 followers. The question was illustrated by a stream of "face with tears of joy" emoji, which generally translates to someone laughing at you, not with you. For a moment, I took Sabbat's modern Diana Vreeland dictate to heart.

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Raised between New York and Paris, the model, actor and entrepreneur represents a new wave of multi-hyphenate young entrepreneurs shaping the industry, having appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein and Hood By Air, and cast by Virgil Abloh to walk in Yeezy's first and second season shows.

Luka Sabbat was born into a fashion family in New York - his mother was a model booker and assistant for fashion show production company Bureau Betak, while his father designs womenswear. Sabbat was discovered by Kevin Amato and soon after was signed by Request Model Management. He began appearing in campaigns for Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Hood By Air, and was cast by Virgil Abloh to walk in Yeezy's first and second season shows. A digital native, Sabbat quickly rose to Internet fame thanks to his ability to speak to his audience and network.

In 2018, Sabbat joined the cast of "Grown-ish," an American sitcom series. He walked for Dolce & Gabbana and has been a featured face in the Adidas campaigns. Sabbat has also appeared in Complex and Vogue among others, having worked with Harley Weir , Brianna Capozzi and Ryan McGinley throughout his modelling career.

Sabbat met the artist Noah Dillon through Twitter and two years later the pair launched an exhibition for their project entitled Hot Mess, a multi-layered project with an interactive virtual reality segment. Virgil Abloh has tapped the artists to produce a photography book for Off-White, titled "Woman."

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Raised between New York and Paris, the model, actor and entrepreneur represents a new wave of multi-hyphenate young entrepreneurs shaping the industry, having appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein and Hood By Air, and cast by Virgil Abloh to walk in Yeezy's first and second season shows.

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Climate adaptation means different things to different communities, but one place you rarely see it is on the catwalk. This year, though, creative designer Luka Sabbat teamed up with partners including the National Resources Defense Council to introduce apocalyptic fashion during New York Fashion Week - a collection that's as much meant to inspire hope as it presents an ominous future.

The " Unfortunately, Ready to Wear " collection is a set of innovative essentials meant to protect people from five climate threats they're likely to encounter in the Anthropocene. The threats, all identified by NRDC, include extreme storms, heat, air pollution, infectious disease and refugee status.

"If we don't start making moves to reverse the damages of climate change, these are the items that may soon turn from fashion accessories to climate necessities," said the Milk Gallery, which hosted the show and benefit for NRDC.

The collection exhibit featured a dystopia-inspired jacket and hood to protect from extreme storms and infectious diseases, with a fashionable but forbidding bandana to shield against air pollution. There's a Sabbat-designed backpack to demonstrate the plight of environmental refugees, and a headphone set to deliver the inevitable warnings against heat waves and cataclysmic storms.

A young model and actor, the 21-year-old Sabbat describes himself as a creative entrepreneur. He was born into a fashion family and grew up in Paris and New York City but says he hated it all growing up. That's changed, and now the "Unfortunately, Ready to Wear" project reflects his commitment to environment and climate issues.

"If it comes down to the world burning down, like, who gives a s**t about a pair of jeans that looks cool?" says Sabbat. "It's about functionality, making a fireproof jacket. That's why I like to approach it as less of an aesthetic design or, like, trying to make it look as cool as possible."

What Sabbat chose instead was to build the collection as prototypes drawn from a technical standpoint, working with NRDC and Milk to deliver a "fashion statement" with real impact. The approach to creating the collection, he says, was to offer "a realistic perspective of what we will inevitably need when the environment becomes less inhabitable. In this scenario, function prevails."

The point of the project is to appeal to allies in the fight against climate change, and Sabbat is pretty blunt about the difference between, say, posting climate-progressive messages on social media and actually making real-life decisions that will help to secure a sustainable future.

"I might as well push that agenda to the people that I influence, they can take it for what it is or they cannot, I mean it's up to them," Sabbat says. "If we both leave the conversation with more information than I think we win, everybody wins."

The youth appeal is especially critical now, the NRDC says. "The window we have to curb the impacts of climate change is limited. The biggest change, the most important change, will come where it always comes from: young people," said NRDC president Rhea Suh.

"Together, we want to bring up the next generation of environmental activists to feel empowered and educated as they seek to right the wrongs that brought us to this dangerous moment. We hope this project moves people to consider what our planet's future might look like and what we'll need to do, together, to save it."

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A designer creates climate-apocalypse fashion

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Climate adaptation means different things to different communities, but one place you rarely see it is on the catwalk. This year, though, creative designer Luka Sabbat teamed up with partners including the National Resources Defense Council to introduce apocalyptic fashion during New York Fashion Week - a collection that's as much meant to inspire hope as it presents an ominous future.

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Gen Z Insights is dedicated to providing content to help brands and marketers connect with Gen Z.

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Social consumers have more purchasing power than ever before.

According to recent social media statistics, Instagram and Facebook have become two of the top channels for folks looking to research and buy products online. Consumers have become accustomed to the concept of social selling, which is good news for budding businesses and big brands alike.

That doesn't mean social sales are a foregone conclusion, though.

In fact, the number one challenge of brands in 2019 is aligning their social strategy with their business goals.

If you're struggling for an ROI or want to generate more customers from social media, you need to look at your social conversion strategy.

In this guide, we cover the specific tactics and tools necessary to boost your social media conversion rate. These tips can help create more social customers no matter what stage they're currently at within your marketing funnel.

With that, let's dive in!

1. Make your landing pages seamless and mobile-friendly

With mobile ecommerce on the rise, the need for brands to appeal to customers on-the-go is a no brainer.

A brand's ability to win over buyers via social boils down to creating a seamless experience. Think about how users navigate Instagram, swiping and tapping as they move from Point A to Point B. Your social landing pages should follow the same principles - easy to navigate with minimal interruption.

For starters, your social landing pages shouldn't be hidden to customers. Check out how RageOn promotes their storefront in their Instagram bio. Pretty simple, right?

Upon clicking, it's clear that their landing page is optimized with their social media conversion rate in mind. Swipeable and scrollable with large, bright buttons to boot, mobile shoppers obviously aren't being treated as a second thought.

Here's another awesome example from Bose, with an intuitive and interactive landing page is tailored for customers on-the-go.

Whether you're promoting offers on Instagram, Facebook or anywhere in-between, having a mobile-friendly landing page is a game-changer. Not only can you appeal specifically to mobile consumers, but also better assess the behavior of your social shoppers.

If you're not sure if your landing pages are up to snuff, a quick mobile test via Google can give you some peace of mind.

To further improve your social media conversion strategy, you can continuously split test your social landing pages and optimize them over time. Tools such as Optimizely allow you to A/B test elements such as imagery, copy and link placement to maximize conversions.

And if you need a better idea of what a fine-tuned social landing page looks like, you can check out some of Unbounce 's mobile-friendly landing page templates for inspiration.

2. Get more eyes on your promotions via video

Product-related videos go hand in hand with a higher social media conversion rate.

Noted to increase conversions and time spent on any given page, there's a reason why video-centric posts and ads are all the rage among brands. Videos do double duty of showing off your products in action and catching the eyes of social customers.

It's no secret that social ads centered around video traditionally perform well. Here's an example from BigCommerce, whose recent Facebook ad campaign tripled their free trial conversions through social video.

The same rings true on Instagram where Stories ads are killing it right now. This campaign from Nuxe scored 6x ROI with simple, stop-motion video.

Remember: video ads and content don't need to be massive, big-budget productions. Anything you can do to catch your customers' eyes and get them to stop scrolling is a plus. Video does exactly that.

Integrating video in any shape or form is crucial for your organic content, too. Whether it's mini-commercials or creative product displays, video should be central to your social media conversion strategy.

3. Include compelling calls to action

Sometimes increasing your social media conversion rate means making small tweaks to your profiles and captions.

Asking for followers to check out your recent promotions is totally fair game, granted you're tactful about it.

In other words, you can't just scream "BUY OUR STUFF" and expect much traction. Instead, make a point to subtly encourage engagement with your calls to action.

For example, J. Crew invites followers to shop their Instagram feed in their bio. Straightforward, but effective.

J. Crew's feed isn't shy about promoting products. However, the brand makes a point to put a bit of personality behind their promotions with captions that sound like they were written by a human versus a bot. Either way, they point directly to their product page without being pushy about it.

Bear in mind that there's some debate going on right now over how explicit brands should be about promoting offers, though. As noted by Rand Fishkin and a recent study by Agora Pulse, some marketers are speculating that Instagram might be penalizing posts that use variations of the phrase "link in bio."

Is Instagram penalizing posts using the text "link in bio"?
This experiment https://t.co/3b5XZ8ZdKh suggest so:
- Avg reach of 30 posts using link in bio was 293.17
- Avg each of 30 posts that didn't was 443.93
33.96% decrease in reach when using "link in bio" 🤔

- Rand Fishkin (@randfish) May 1, 2019

Whether the phrase is being actively penalized by the Instagram algorithm or it just isn't a successful strategy, the takeaway here is that brands should experiment with captions and calls to action to encourage engagement and find what works. This includes questions, tag-a-friend posts and other less "salesy" messages to your followers.

4. Split test your social posts

Just like any sort of marketing metric, analyzing your social media conversion rate means looking at your data.

For example, do you know what types of content score the most engagement, clicks and traffic to your website? By understanding your posts by the numbers, you can adjust your content strategy to align with your social media conversion strategy.

And honestly? No brand is going to get it "right" from day one. Upping your conversation rate means playing the long game of analyzing and optimizing.

The good news is that tools such as Sprout can help speed up the process so you don't have to endlessly experiment. For example, Sprout's social analytics can help you understand what your top-performing posts are across all networks. Sprout's reports include everything from your best hashtags to behavioral trends among your followers.

Based on these numbers, you better determine what content is resulting in engagement and likewise when.

Speaking of "when," features such as ViralPost enable you to schedule individual posts based on when they'll receive maximum engagement. The more eyes on your promos, the more potential customers that can make a purchase.

By regularly looking at your analytics, you can split test your organic campaigns to figure out which posts are most poised for engagement.

If you're interested in running a paid campaign, Facebook and Instagram can actually allow you to split test your ads automatically. In short, you're capable of running two versions of the same promo simultaneously and identify the winner based on performance. Here's a snapshot from Facebook themselves.

5. Be consistent with your branding

This is a subtle tip, but definitely worth mentioning for the sake of your conversions.

As prospects and leads move through your funnel, there shouldn't be any second-guessing where they're coming from.

Creative elements such as your tone, imagery and color scheme need to be consistent as your customers approach the point of purchase. Although this might not seem like a make-or-break moment, pulling a creative bait-and-switch on your followers can be disorienting.

For example, check out this promotional post from Halo Top. Note the playful tone and brand creatives.

Notice also how their bio link is up-to-date with their latest promotion. So far so good, right?

When we click through, we're brought to a landing page consistent with those same creatives and messaging.

See how that works?

As a result, it's important to double-check the creative elements of your promotions before you roll them out. Doing so could be the difference between someone converting from a campaign or bouncing out of your funnel altogether.

6. Let your user-generated content serve as social proof to shoppers

As noted in our guide to user-generated content, customer photos are pure gold when it comes to conversions.

Serving as social proof and a much-needed sense of authenticity, user-generated content is second to none for driving social sales. Making user-generated content a cornerstone of your marketing strategy is a low-hanging way to boost your social media conversions. Check out how Keds gives their followers a shout-out.

Increasing your social media conversion rate doesn't mean keeping those creatives confined to social media. For example, Keds features their satisfied customers on-site as a shoppable lookbook to encourage even more purchases.

Oh, and they also use their Instagram presence to convert customers through their email list.

See how much mileage you can get out of just a few user-submitted photos? Curating user-generated content is an expectation for modern brands and likewise a brilliant way to encourage sales.

7. Use social listening to stay on top of buying trends

No industry or customer base is totally static.

We mentioned earlier that scoring customers is about experimenting and evolving. This means keeping up with industry trends as well as the wants and needs of your customers.

Sprout's social listening features make it a cinch to understand exactly what people want and expect from your brand. This ensures that your social presence never grows stagnant.

From what customers are saying about you to trending topics worth mentioning in your sales-related posts, these insights can directly influence your social sales strategy.

8. Track your social analytics and conversions

Last but not least, you can't assess your social media conversion rate if you aren't actually tracking conversions.

There are a few ways to do this, by the way. For starters, make a point to watch your social traffic in Google Analytics. You can set explicit social conversion goals as highlighted in our guide to scoring a better social media ROI.

Additionally, URL tracking in Sprout Social allows you to generate links which allow you to track the conversion rates of specific campaigns as you roll them out.

With reporting and analytics, you can tie specific goals and outcomes to campaigns to understand what's converting and what's not.

And with that, we wrap up our guide!

How are you improving your social media conversion rate?

We've said it before and we'll say it again: social sales don't happen by accident.

Having a social media conversion strategy is essential to any brand who wants to generate customers from their social channels. The tips above and tools such as Sprout Social can help you do so by the numbers rather than treat social selling as a guessing game.

We want to hear from you, though. What are you doing to monitor your social media conversions? Notice any big difference between social customers and buyers from other channels? Let us know in the comments below!

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8 ways to boost your social media conversion rate

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Social consumers have more purchasing power than ever before. According to recent social media statistics, Instagram and Facebook have become two of the top channels for folks looking to research and buy products online. Consumers have become accustomed to the concept of social selling, which is good news for budding businesses and big brands alike.

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Although follower numbers are more of a vanity metric than anything else on Instagram, most people still want to increase their followers. Follower growth is a sign that people like your posts and are prepared to share your pictures and videos with their friends. However, not all follower growth is good. Too many Instagrammers operate fake or useless accounts, and it is better not to have these people as followers. Therefore, it helps to track your Instagram follower growth, to ensure that your account is operating "normally."

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Tracking Instagram Follower Growth:

How Not to Get Instagram Followers

If you search the internet, you will see many references to buying Instagram followers. Beware - it is not the way to build your Instagram following.

Bought followers are unlikely to be engaged, useful followers. Indeed, quite often, bought followers aren't human at all. They're merely bots, masquerading as real people.

You Only Want Engaged Followers

There is little point collecting followers for the sake of it. You only want followers who engage with your posts. At the very least, you want them to look at what you post. You preferably want them to comment on or share your pictures and videos.

Of course, your followers are not going to engage with each of your posts. Indeed the Instagram algorithm will only show your posts to a percentage of your followers, depending on how positively they rate your post.

Below 1% = low engagement rate

1% - 3.5% = average / good engagement rate

3.5% - 6% = high engagement rate

Above 6% = very high engagement rate

However, the size of your Instagram account has a huge impact on your engagement rates. The more followers you have, the lower your engagement rate is likely to be - even if you target quality followers.

Ways to Gain Followers

However, there is only so much you can do using these tools. Ultimately, you are going to want to select the best possible followers for your account - people who will take a genuine interest in the types of posts you make. It's essential to connect with the right people on Instagram if you're to have high engagement rates.

The best way to gain quality followers who will help you meet your goals is to operate your account normally. This means that you need to follow all the good practices of running an Instagram account - in precisely the same way that influencers do.

Post Regularly

You need to post consistently and give people a reason to want to follow you. While Instagram's algorithm means your followers are unlikely to see all of your posts, the more you post, the more posts Instagram will serve to your followers.

This, of course, assumes that you make valuable posts and don't just spam your followers in an attempt to game the system.

Take Plenty of Photographs

One of Instagram's biggest drawcards can also be its downfall. Instagram is visual, which means that you need to have high quality, enticing images to post. Therefore, you need to build up a bank of pictures, so that you have material to post when you are not in a position to be taking new photographs.

Take interesting and relevant photographs whenever you have an opportunity. Moreover, while you are at it, take additional pictures. You can use them for future posts when you are running short of fresh material.

Take any opportunities that occur whenever you find yourself in a photographic situation so you can create images to share with your followers. Have your camera (or phone) at the ready for any opportunistic shot (or Story idea).

Vary Your Posts

People like to see variety as they flick through their Instagram feed. You will gain more attention that is genuine if you vary the types of posts you make. This includes using other Instagram features, such as Instagram Stories, Instagram Live, and IGTV.

The most important thing is that you don't solely make posts trying to sell your products. If you are a business, your posts should reflect your brand's personality. Show behind the scenes of your brand. On your personal account, take the opportunity to build your personal brand, and highlight your personality.

Upload a range of images and videos; although only make sure that every post is of high quality.

Post at the Best Times for Your Followers

Of course, this is merely an average (and doesn't cover non-businesses at all). Ultimately, you need to experiment to determine the best times for your audience.

The Problem of Fake Followers

We have looked at the problem of fake followers before, including 8 Reasons You Shouldn't Buy Instagram Followers . Don't underestimate this issue. In our recent Influencer Marketing 2019: Benchmark Report , we discovered that 64% of the marketers we surveyed deemed influencer fraud to be a big concern.

As we said earlier, don't be tempted by the ads offering to sell you Instagram follows or likes. They won't give you any long-term benefit and may harm your account's standing.

There are eight main reason why buying Instagram followers is a bad idea are:

1. Fake Instagram followers don't engage with your account

2. You have mismatched engagement compared to genuine accounts

3. You might end up with inappropriate bot comments on posts

4. Bought followers bring spam with them

5. Instagram recognizes and purges fake followers

6. Buying fake followers is against Instagram's terms of service

7. Having fake followers destroys your credibility as an influencer

8. You won't earn money using fake followers

How to Track Your Followers

It can be challenging to keep track of your followers. You will consistently have a cleaner, better account if you regularly engage in Instagram follower growth tracking.

The Influencer Marketing Hub has now released its own Instagram Follower Growth Tracker, to help you keep track of your followers.

It shows you your total follower numbers, engagement rate (which it grades), and your likes-comment ratio. It also graphically depicts your follower growth over the last four weeks (or such other period you set).

Ideally, you want to see a graph showing a reasonably consistent growth pattern over time, although you may have bursts whenever you carried out influencer or social media campaigns.

All you have to do is enter your @handle to map out your Instagram account growth.

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How To Track Instagram Follower Growth [+FREE FOLLOWER TRACKER]

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Although follower numbers are more of a vanity metric than anything else on Instagram, most people still want to increase their followers. Follower growth is a sign that people like your posts and are prepared to share your pictures and videos with their friends. However, not all follower growth is good.

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So, you've been publishing on Facebook, Twitter and maybe a few other social media platforms, and you've built up a decent following in each channel. Your audience is starting to engage more and more with your content.

Maybe you're wondering, "Okay, what's next? How can I take this to the next level? How can I use social media to drive leads for my business?"

Done right, social media can be an extremely powerful tool for lead generation, but getting there takes time, patience, a lot of testing and the dedication to post highly-valuable content for your audience.

This guide focuses on how to generate leads with non-paid content in social media. Social ads are also excellent for leads, and maybe it's something I'll talk about in a future post. For now, we'll learn how to create content for Facebook and Twitter that inspires clicks and conversions, and how to measure the results of your social lead gen efforts so that you can show your boss just how valuable social media can be for your business.

Here we go.

Optimize how you link to your external content

In order to be effective at generating leads with social media, you need to treat it as a key part of your overall content marketing machine. This means that social media becomes a place where you distribute high-value content to your audience--content found on your blog, the resources section of your site or on landing pages.

But it's not just about the value of the content you're linking to; what really counts is how you format the posts in each channel.

Before diving into how to optimize your posts for lead generation, let's take a look at three possible lead generation paths for social media:

1. Social channel > Blog post with a link to a relevant landing page (gated content) > lead

2. Social channel > Gated content > lead

3. Social channel > Blog post > Visitor signs up for mailing list via signup forms strategically placed on your blog (lead)

You can experiment with each of these paths, or even others that you drum up, but when you post with the goal of generating leads make sure you always link to a page that is relevant (e.g., an article on a topic that is important to your audience or a landing page linking to a PDF guide that your visitors would want to download). Don't just link to your homepage and hope people will convert.

I've divided my explanation of how to optimize your content for leads and clicks into two parts. Let's get started with the first.

1. Promote your content in a way that is entertaining and native to each platform.

If you publish a link to your website home page, a blog article or a landing page and expect the clicks and leads to start flowing automatically, you'll probably be disappointed. If you want people to take action, you need to put time and care into crafting content that is interesting and native to each platform.

In Jab Jab Jab, Right Hook: How to Tell Your Story in a Noisy Social World, Gary Vaynerchuck defines native content as that which adapts to the unique language, culture, sensibility and style of the platform in which you are publishing. In other words, a compelling copy and image combination that works on Facebook won't necessarily work on LinkedIn, while an image you post to Google+ won't necessarily go over well on Tumblr, and so on.

Why? Because people go to these platforms for different reasons, and the way in which they communicate within each one is unique.

So, how do you create native content that guides people to your site/landing page/blog?

Maersk, the Danish shipping company, has amassed an immense social media following (over 3.1 million Facebook likes for Maersk Group and Maersk Line Limited and nearly 76k Twitter followers between their two main accounts), and they do a great job of linking to content on their site via Facebook and Twitter.

Case in point: In 2012 Maersk generated 150 unique leads from a Facebook campaign that told the story of how its shipping containers navigate the frozen Baltic Sea during the winter months. As the former head of social for Maersk Line points out, that is a lot of leads for the shipping industry (especially online leads!).
Image credit: Jonathan Wichmann
The link in the post directed visitors to an article elaborating on the challenges companies face during the winter in the Baltic Sea, and the article contained a link to a form that allowed people to download a brochure about their anti-freeze services.

But what if you don't have amazing images like Maersk? What if you are a SaaS company, for example? If that's the case, then you need to find a go-to tool for creating images and get a little creative.

Refinery29 does a great job of linking to articles on their site using the default Facebook link format.

How? First, they always pick an interesting image, and second, they write exceptional copy that makes you want to click to read more. For example:

What about Twitter? Lucky you, with the addition of inline images to tweets, publishing content on Twitter just got even more interesting. After all, marketers have been buzzing about how these images increase clicks and overall engagement.

Both Maersk and the marketing analytics software company Moz do a great job of blending enticing copy and eye-catching images on Twitter in order to guide visitors to their blogs.

Check out a great status example from Maersk here.

Another good example, this time from Moz, is here.

My analysis was not at all scientific, but a quick scan through the Moz Twitter profile indicates that their tweets with images get a lot more engagement than those without.

Remember, you can easily adapt these techniques to link to landing pages, webinar registration forms, or another type of page that is relevant to generating leads for your business. Whatever that may be, when linking to your pages your goal is to create social content that is as native and engaging as possible. That's what will generate leads and conversions.

2. Don't only post links to your content

We just looked at how to optimize posts that link to your content in order to generate clicks and leads. But I see a lot of companies, especially those who are known for their blogs, use their social media channels as RSS feeds and not much else. Yes, linking to your content will be an important part of your social media strategy, but it shouldn't be the only thing you do.

On Facebook, intersperse links to your content with entertaining posts that relate to your audience's interests. For example, let's say you are a social media marketing company and the majority of your target audience consists of marketers. Create a post with a corny marketing joke in the copy section and an image that relates to the joke, create a meme that would make your audience laugh or put a short, powerful quote by a famous social media marketer in bold type against a colorful background and share that as an image.

On Twitter, intersperse links to your content with inspiring quotes, links to awesome articles from other industry influencers or questions relevant to your audience, like: "#CommunityManagers, what free social media tool do you swear by?"

When possible, create tweets that engage creatively with news and pop culture that is of-the-moment; Twitter is, after all, a platform that users look to for the latest news and information.

This is important for two main reasons. First, if you are simply using social media channels as RSS feeds for your content, then you're missing out on the benefits that each platform can bring to your business because of its uniqueness. For example, Twitter is a powerful tool for connecting with influencers, and you can do so by sharing their content and engaging in conversation with them.

Second, when it comes to Facebook, you've probably noticed that those nuggets of highly-sharable, entertaining content--the ones that ask nothing from your audience and simply make them laugh, incite feelings of nostalgia or inspire them--often get the highest number of shares, likes and comments.

Like this:

In his book that I mentioned earlier, Vaynerchuck points out that when Facebook EdgeRank, the algorithm that determines what appears in people's News Feed, notices that lots of people are interacting with your content, it thinks that your brand is important to them, so it will start to show more of your content in their News Feed.

In other words, fun, engaging and native content-- the kind that gets you the most likes, shares, and comments--helps all of your brand's posts show up more in people's news feeds, including those with links to your content.

That's why you'll try to make your links to content as engaging as possible, and it's also why you need to mix links with posts that are just plain entertaining.

(Note: technically, the name EdgeRank has been declared a thing of the past, but since there's still no new name for the more complex algorithm used by Facebook today, we'll call it EdgeRank for simplicity's sake.)

Plan your analytics

Now you have a guide for creating non-paid content that generates clicks and leads via social, but how do track the results?

First, you'll create a goal in Google Analytics that will keep track of how many leads you're converting via social media. Start with a URL destination goal associated with content downloads; the URL destination should be a thank you page that people land on after filling out a form in order to download your content.

Keep in mind that Google Analytics only allows you to create twenty goals. Ever. So, I recommend using one thank you page for all of your downloadable content and then delivering whichever guide, e-book or checklist the person requested via email. Don't worry; you'll still be able to see how many leads came from a specific campaign, social network, and post or ad using the techniques below.

The best way to track and organize traffic from social media is by using UTM parameters within the links you include in your social media posts. UTM parameters are personalized tags that you add to your URLs in order to help Google Analytics categorize your referral traffic.

Use the Google URL builder to add the custom parameters to your URLs. I suggest the following setup when tagging links for social media:

Source: "facebook", "twitter", or whichever social channel the link is being used on.

Medium: "post" for non-paid content and "ad" or "sponsored" for all ads (we want to differentiate between organic and paid social traffic).

Campaign Term: Ignore this when you are creating UTM parameters for social media content.

Campaign Content: This field can be used to differentiate between variations of ads and for A/B testing your content. You can also use it to tag content within a series of posts that belong to the same campaign. For example, let's say you are running a marketing campaign in social media that consists of five different posts. You can use this field to indicate which post each link pertains to, such as "post-2".

Campaign: this is where you want to get specific. Avoid overly-general campaign names like "february-email" or "facebook-posts". Instead, create campaign names that give you a clear idea of which marketing campaigns your traffic and leads are coming from, such as "social-workshop-2014-sept" or "facebook-contest-analytics-workshop".

Next, within Google Analytics you can navigate to Acquisition > Campaigns in order to see a detailed report on how each campaign is performing, including traffic, visitor behavior and goal conversions. Click on the campaign titles to drill down into data on the performance of each channel. Remember to A/B test so that you know exactly which variables impact clicks and conversions.

A few bonus hacks that can help you generate even more leads

There are many other things you can do to boost lead conversion via social media, but the content optimization techniques we talked about in this guide are a great place to start. I'll end with a few quick, bonus lead gen hacks which have given me great results:

Tweeting links to your content directly to influencers (but only if it's relevant to them!)

Asking influencers (with whom you already have a relationship) to tweet your content to their followers

When you post a link to content on your Facebook page, tag relevant influencers (or anyone mentioned in the article)

Post your content in relevant groups and communities in LinkedIn, Facebook & Google Groups

Answer questions relevant to your industry/product in Quora

There you have it: your beginner's guide to lead generation with social media.

The next time someone tells you social media is all fluff with no measurable conversions, here's what I want you to do: scowl at them for a moment, then smile knowingly and tell them you're going to send them an article.

About the Author: Chloe Mason Gray specializes in digital marketing strategies for startups and medium-sized tech companies. Be sure to say hi to her on Twitter.

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A Beginner's Guide to Lead Conversion with Social Media

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So, you've been publishing on Facebook, Twitter and maybe a few other social media platforms, and you've built up a decent following in each channel. Your audience is starting to engage more and more with your content. Maybe you're wondering, "Okay, what's next? How can I take this to the next level?

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Want to know how your social media campaign is performing? Take a look at our guide to social media conversion rates and learn what performs best.

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2020 Marketing Statistics, Trends & Data - The Ultimate List of Digital Marketing Stats

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Discover hundreds of marketing statistics and metrics on social media, content marketing, lead generation, email marketing, SEO, sales, and more.

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Instagram influencer rates are one of social media's best-kept secrets.

Sure, there are whispers and rumours, like Kendall Jenner's reported $250,000 haul for her Fyre Festival endorsement on Instagram. But what exactly are the calculations that go into making influencer marketing a $6.5 billion industry?

For most Instagram influencers, a sponsored post involves a lot more work than posting an orange square. (For those not in the know, Fyre Festival promoters created buzz by paying macro-influencers to post an orange jpeg.)

Creating branded content involves time, labour, skill, and production costs. And those things aren't paid for with products and freebies.

And paying the right price pays off. But what is the right price?

Read on to find the best formula for calculating rates, the benefits of different sponsorship plans, and other factors that might affect influencer pricing.

Bonus: Download a free checklist that reveals the exact steps a lifestyle photographer used to grow from 0 to 600,000 followers on Instagram with no budget and no expensive gear.

The basic formula for calculating fair Instagram influencer rates

There are many factors that determine the rate an influencer charges for their work. Most pricing starts with this baseline formula and goes up from there.
$100 x 10,000 followers + extras = total rate
Typically, influencers will have a press kit describing their rates and the types of partnerships available. Depending on the campaign, bundled content or special rates can also be worked out to reduce labor and costs.

What type of influencer is right for your goals?

From personal finance to plant-based influencers, there are micro, macro, and power middle influencers in every category. Depending on your Instagram marketing goals, certain influencers may be a better match for your brand.

If your goal is brand awareness

For brands looking to create widespread buzz, macro-influencers with large follower accounts may be the best bet. Macro-influencers typically have more than 200,000 followers, which gives them the ability to reach a wider audience.

If your goal is conversions

An influencer's engagement rate is one of the most reliable ways to predict conversions on Instagram.

Engagement rates can be calculated by adding up all engagements on a post (likes, comments, clicks, shares), dividing by follower count, and multiplying by 100.

The average engagement rate on Instagram is 2.1 percent.

If your goal is conversions, an influencer's engagement rate may matter more than follower count. Here's where power-middle influencers (25,000-200,000 followers) often come in.

For instance, a power-middle influencer with 179K followers and a high engagement rate will likely be a better partner than a macro influencer with a lower engagement rate.

Some influencers may charge more than $100 per 10,000 followers if they have a higher than average engagement rate.

If your goal is to reach a niche audience

Micro influencers have 25,000 followers or less, and are very often popular in location or topic-specific communities. They specialize in a range of industries of categories, including anything from sports and gaming, to travel and food.

Audience sizes of niche influencers can range from micro to macro. For instance, beauty influencer Hudda Kattan has a whopping 33 million followers.

If your brand falls into a niche category, it's worthwhile to map out the micro influencers in your industry's social community. A good brand fit is important to influencers, and will lead to a more authentic and successful campaign.

Niche influencers may charge more than the basic rate for the expertise they bring to their specific audience.

Types of Instagram posts and partnerships

There are a number of ways to collaborate with influencers on Instagram. Here we break down the main items and formats Instagram influencers charge for. We also highlight each of their unique benefits.

Instagram photo

A standard sponsored Instagram post typically includes a photo and caption.

In some cases the product is featured in the image. In other cases, like when a service is being promoted, the caption is more crucial.

Benefits of an Instagram photo:

It's easy to predict and track post performance.

Partnership disclaimers can be added clearly.

Product and brand tagging can be added. Tagging can be reinforced in the caption as well.

Super short links can be added to the caption.

Allows for authentic storytelling.

Can be further promoted in an Instagram story.

Instagram slideshow

The key difference between an Instagram post and slideshow is that a slideshow allows an influencer to build more of a narrative, or showcase the sponsorship in multiple ways.

However, added content will involve added costs-especially if multiple shoots are required.

Benefits of an Instagram slideshow:

Offers multiple ways for an audience to engage with content.

Features different products or use-cases for your brand.

Creates more room for an influencer to add their authentic take.

Allows for more complex or nuanced storytelling.

Instagram video

Video's star continues to rise on social, and Instagram is no different, tracking an 80 percent year-over-year increase.

Most content creators appreciate that a video involves greater production costs than a photo, but the added investment can often translate into more than just added engagement.

Benefits of Instagram video

Gives the influencer a voice, literally. This often shows the influencer's audience a new side person they follow.

Allows for compelling storytelling.

Builds bundling potential. Consider working teasers or behind-the-scenes posts or Instagram Stories into a video shoot.

Instagram influencer @parisinfourmonths shared teasers while creating this post, building excitement for its debut:

Instagram giveaway or contest

Instagram contests are a great way to grow followers and brand awareness. Typically a contest involves asking a user to do something for a chance to win a prize, whether it's tagging a friend, liking your account, or sharing a post.

Benefits of an Instagram contest:

Reaches a wider audience at a low cost-per-engagement.

Earns audience information, especially if your contest involves a prompt like "comment with your dream destination and tag a friend."

Puts your product or service front and center.

Instagram Story

An Instagram story is a photo or video that vanishes after 24 hours. Production quality can range from off-the-cuff smartphone footage to polished uploaded content, and costs will vary accordingly.

Benefits of an Instagram Story

Often looks more casual and authentic.

Allows the influencer to add personality through GIFs, markups, and sticks.

Prominent tagging can be added more easily. Influencers can be precious about their feed's aesthetic, but tend to be more flexible with Story content.

One drawback about Instagram Stories is that they're harder to track. Instagram's API offers limited retrievable data. That and they disappear unless highlighted (you can pay extra to have your content included in an influencers Story Highlights).

Instagram Story with swipe up

The swipe up feature on Instagram is a seamless way to earn in-app conversions. And since links are hard to come by in Instagram's ecosystem, story swipe ups have added value.

Depending on the influencer, swipe ups may cost more.

Benefits of an Instagram Story with swipe up:

Provides a cost-effective way to earn conversions and quality leads.

Allows your brand to add context with a specific or custom landing page.

Offers a reliable means to gauge audience interest in your brand.

Brings customers a step closer to making a purchase.

If you're working with a micro-influencer that has fewer than 10,000 followers or is not verified, they may not have access to this feature.

Instagram Story with poll

Adding a poll to an Instagram Story is a low-cost way to learn more about an influencer's followers (and your prospective customers).

Benefits of an Instagram Story with a poll:

Captures immediate feedback from the influencer's audience in a fun way.

Posting poll results is another low-cost way to increase exposure by another 24 hours.

Brand takeover

A brand takeover usually involves hosting the influencer's content on your brand's feed for an agreed upon length of time. A takeover agreement may involve asks for the influencer to promote it a certain number of times from their account-in posts and/or Stories.

Benefits of a brand takeover:

Brings the influencer's followers to your account.

Helps to increase brand awareness.

Promotes influencer's content and perspective, which often comes across as more authentic.

Opens the door for bundle or special rate agreements. Influencers should always be paid, but if your brand can offer special tours or access, that can be factored in as well.

Story Highlights

Having an influencer highlight branded stories extends the expiry date of that content. This will also put your brand in prime real estate on their account's profile.

However, high visibility like this will come at a higher cost.

Benefits of Story Highlights

Maximum exposure. On an Instagram profile, highlights are positioned above the feed, meaning brand placement here is a step above photos or videos.

Stories won't be highlighted forever, but they live longer than 24 hours and increase the odds that they'll reach more viewers.

Increases conversions. If the highlighted story includes a swipe-up, it's likely you'll earn more visits and leads, for a longer time.

Link in Bio

The only place where links are active on Instagram is in a person's account bio. If you're planning to sponsor an influencer post, it may be worthwhile to invest more by asking them to promote a link from their bio.

Benefits of Link in Bio:

Prime visibility. Someone may miss a post or story, but if they visit an influencer's profile they'll see your link. Consider asking the influencer to include a call-to-action in their bio as well.

Increases traffic. If your brand is angling to drive visitors to a certain webpage, this is one of the best ways to do it on Instagram.

IGTV

IGTV is the longer form video vertical on Instagram. It has pride of place on the platform, appearing at the top of the feed, in the explore tab, and next to highlights on a user's feed.

Because IGTV typically involves higher production and has high visibility, it will involve higher costs.

Benefits of IGTV:

Boosts visibility of content in the app.

If the influencer is verified and has enough followers, they can post vertical videos up to 60 minutes in length, allowing for long-form storytelling.

IGTV videos can include clickable links.

Check out these examples from Lauren Riihimaki and Savannah Peterson.

Other factors that affect Instagram influencer pricing

Brands in search of quality partnerships should budget for these cost factors when marketing with influencers.

Usage rights

If you want to maintain ownership of the content you create with an influencer, so that you can use it on other platforms or down the line, this will likely impact the influencer's rate.

Production fees

Various production related costs such as how long it takes to produce the content (labor), props, clothing, hair and makeup, photography, editing, and travel, should be factored into influencer rates.

Agency fees

Many influencers are represented by managers or agencies such as Crowdtap, Niche, Tapinfluencer, or Maker Studios. These companies will typically charge handling fees.

Campaign length

The length of the campaign will have a direct affect on influencer pricing based on the added labour, content, and exclusivity requirements attached to it.

Timing

Depending on how much time a brand gives an influencer to create content, a rush fee may be applied.

Exclusivity

Most contracts include an exclusivity clause, in which the influencer agrees not to work with competitors for a determined length of time. Since this could cost influencers prospective deals, it will affect the cost.

Brand fit

If an influencer feels that a company lacks a level of affinity with their personal brand, they may charge for what the partnership may cost them in credibility.

Now that you have a better sense of influencer pricing, learn more influencer marketing tips, plus how to work with an Instagram influencer.
Make your influencer marketing activities easier with Hootsuite. Schedule posts, engage with influencers, and measure the success of your efforts. Try it free today. Get Started

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The Complete Guide to Instagram Influencer Rates in 2019

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Instagram influencer rates are one of social media's best-kept secrets. Sure, there are whispers and rumours, like Kendall Jenner's reported $250,000 haul for her Fyre Festival endorsement on Instagram. But what exactly are the calculations that go into making influencer marketing a $6.5 billion industry?

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Average click-through rate (CTR) is the ratio of clicks on your link to impressions your link makes. Since it is an average, it looks at the CTR of your overall campaign rather than for each individual keyword.

In this way, it serves as a good summary picture, but also hides specifics such as which keyword phrase you rank better for.

There are many reasons why marketers seek to optimize their CTR and why it is one of the most important metrics to monitor in regards to PPC advertising.

For one, a high average CTR indicates your link and/or ad is drawing attention and traffic to your site. This means more audience for your offer.

Google, for example, relies on your historical CTR data to predict and estimate your future CTR. Depending on how high or low your CTR is predicted to be, your Quality Score and Ad Rank will change. Check out "PPC Click-Through Rate" for more information on how CTR affects your ad placement.

More importantly, average CTR is a good indicator of performance. If you have a low CTR, for example, it may be an indicator that your copy or headline isn't effective or that you are targeting the wrong audience, reaching the wrong demographics, or spending money on the wrong keywords.

However, CTRs are also affected by a range of other factors we can't necessarily control such as your industry, channel, target audience, etc. The inevitable next question becomes: "What is a good click-through rate?"

Unfortunately, this is a tricky question to answer.

This article will explore benchmarks by industry, ad format, ad position, and channel to help you place your CTR amongst like competitors and discuss how to set a baseline CTR. Lastly, it will discuss the implications of having a high CTR.

CTR Benchmarks by Industry

Average CTRs vary by both network and industry. The following chart displays data from WordStream on the average CTRs on both the display network and the search network for different industries.

Note that the average CTR for ads on the search network (1.91%) is much higher than the average CTR for ads on the display network (0.35%).

This is because users on the search network are actively searching for content related to the keywords they submitted whereas users viewing ads on the display network skim your ads passively, usually with no intent to click. In fact, many users will find ads on the display network annoying to their overall viewing experience.

Data from HubSpot makes this point clearly, people dislike display ads a lot more than they do text-only search ads.

In fact, the default response from viewers when they encounter ads is to turn-on and/or install an ad blocker. Viewers may also use ad block when ads are disruptive, offensive, or concerning.

CTR Benchmarks by Display Ad Format

Of course, different display ads perform differently depending on their location on the page, their size, and even their media format.

Rich Media Gallery offers a benchmarking tool that shows you the average CTR for various types of display ads. Here's a sample of their data:

CJ Media's Online Advertising Benchmarks Report reveals some other interesting trends, including data for how CTR varies by ad size.

CTR Benchmarks by Ad Position

Your CTR is also affected by the position of your ad in the search results page. That means, even if you are in an industry with high average CTR, your CTR may be substantially lower if your ad does not rank. Similarly, if you are rank one for a keyword, you may find yourself with an extremely high CTR even though the industry average is low.

According to AccuraCast, the average CTR for ads in the search network varies dramatically by rank. Ads in rank one have an average CTR of 7.11%, while ads in rank nine only have a CTR of 0.55%.

CTRs for natural search results reflect similar patterns. In fact, most clicks for searches across industries occur in the first three results. That means, most people do not even look past the first three results of a search.

CTR Benchmarks by Channel

Unsurprisingly, the channel you display your links on also affect click-through rate. Users on Google search, for example, are different than users browsing through Facebook feeds. Not only are there variations in purpose of session, but there are also variations in demographics and display format.

On average, Twitter ads have the highest CTR (2.00%) and LinkedIn has the lowest (0.06%). One reason for LinkedIn's low CTR performance may be LinkedIn's primary purpose as a networking tool and limited outreach opportunities for advertisers.

However, these averages cover up the specifics. Facebook, for example, offers multiple ad types. While its link ads only have a CTR of 0.72%, its video ads have a CTR of over 2%, beating Twitter's average CTR, at 2.21%.

Likewise, CTRs for emails and newsletters are different than CTRs for search and display network content. According to MailChimp, CTR for emails is highest in the Hobbies industry (5.13%) and lowest in the Restaurant industry (1.25%).

For more discussion on CTRs for PPC social media channels and emails check out "Email Click-Through Rate" and "PPC Click-Through Rate."

Setting a Baseline CTR

While this article focused on averages and benchmarks, it is important to determine your own baseline CTR and goal.

Rather than look at percentages, aim to incrementally improve your CTR.

In the end, there is no magical number, rather, each average supplied in this article is only meant to serve as a starting point for your own analysis of various CTRs for your campaigns.

To truly set a baseline, you'll need to spend more time analyzing data.

You'll want to use tools such as Rich Media Gallery and WordStream's benchmarking offerings to find specific data lining up to your industry, channel, ad type, ad position, and more.

More importantly, you need to track your CTR to see how your CTR various by (if it does) day, time, month. Twitter's CTR, for example, varies by time of day. This will allow you to account for variations in data and track improvements.

Conclusion

In the end, there is no right CTR.

CTR is only one metric amongst many, and even after optimizing your CTR, you are bound to run into other issues. Focusing on CTR may even be detrimental as a high CTR on its own doesn't guarantee much in terms of conversion rate, revenue, or other macro-conversion metrics.

For example, you may have a high CTR from bots, unqualified prospects, and uninterested customers.

Because it is difficult to track exactly which clicks are relevant and which aren't, you need to watch out for your conversion rate and your ROI if you're running an ad campaign. Only by considering how traffic flows after your prospects click can you determine if your high CTR is doing you favors.

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What Is a "Good" Click-Through Rate? | CTR Benchmarks | CXL

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Average click-through rate (CTR) is the ratio of clicks on your link to impressions your link makes. Since it is an average, it looks at the CTR of your overall campaign rather than for each individual keyword. In this way, it serves as a good summary picture, but also hides specifics such as which keyword phrase you rank better for.

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It's no surprise that Gen Z likes to use social media.

They are the first truly digital generation that grew up with social media, technology, and iPhones. Where are they actually spending most of their time? Asking this tribe of 13- to 21-year-olds directly elicits three answers that rise way above all the rest: Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube.

In a Business Insider survey, Gen Z reported using those three platforms the most, with Facebook coming in a distant fourth. These were the only platforms where more than 25% of the survey population said they use it every day.
Read more: THE STATE OF GEN Z: America's teenagers reveal what they think about everything
We surveyed 1,884 people in the US between the ages of 13 and 21. The national poll was conducted January 11-14 with SurveyMonkey Audience partner Cint on behalf of Business Insider.

The high percentage of usage of these platforms can be directly traced to the iPhone, and high ownership of them.

For teens, iPhones rule the roost. About 83% of teens surveyed by Piper Jaffray in its most recent Taking Stock of Teens survey said they owned an iPhone. These teens came of age just as the iPhone effectively became a requirement instead of a luxury. The median age of Gen Z is 17, meaning they were 10 when the iPhone was just starting to become adopted by the masses.

Some experts blame the rise of smartphones for fueling a culture of multitasking.

"The ability to participate in most of these activities, with an additional device beyond your TV or your PC, has had a huge impact on multitasking, and therefore consumption of more media or content," Olson said.

O'Hanlon agrees: "The sole reason people multitask is the accessibility of the iPhone."

Here's exactly how pervasive usage of these three big platforms are.

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The most popular social media platforms with Gen Z

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For social media, members of Gen Z gravitate toward Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, according to a survey by Business Insider.

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Hi there, Need some help on how to improve the Bounce Rate of my website. Website itself has plenty of visitors but the bounce rate is average 60% on some countries to 80% on some. I know the lower the bounce rate is better for conversion .

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Measuring brand awareness is one of the trickiest marketing KPIs to track. It is difficult to estimate its effectiveness and do ROI calculations. Fortunately for you, in this article, we present ten awesome ways to measure your brand awareness.

10 Ways How to Measure Brand Awareness

Even though it is hard to measure brand awareness, we have made a list of 10 best ways how to measure brand awareness.
💡 Check out our guide on How to Boost Lead Generation with Employee Advocacy.
1. Study Growth in Direct Traffic

Your web analytics program shows you the amount of direct traffic coming to your website. Reviewing the growth of direct traffic over a specific time period gives you information on your brand awareness growth.

The more people remember your brand, the more likely they are to directly type it in the search bar (or, more broader speaking, visit your website proactively).

Don't get caught up in the rise or fall of relational traffic gain between direct traffic and other traffic. Instead, compare the amount of direct traffic to another time period.

Besides the amount, pay attention to bounce rate as well: as more people gain interest in your brand, they are likely to spend more time with you, and the number of instant bounces should be lowering.

In this first analyzed period, direct traffic is 27 728 and the bounce rate is 79.73%.

In the comparison period, traffic is 51 068, so 23 340 users higher, and the bounce rate is 75.39%, so 4.34% lower. This indicates a rise in brand awareness.

2. Measure and Study Referral Traffic

Another interesting metric to study in your Analytics is the amount and quality of referral traffic. Make sure referral traffic is constantly increasing, but make sure your traffic is valid and relevant to your website.

Referrals from penalized sources, for example, lower your quality score and while they cannot be seen by visitors, they make your own search visibility worse, which does not help with brand awareness! So don't get lost in vanity metrics, but instead, do your research and focus on quality referrals.

Sometimes, your employees are your best referees. Try to engage them to become your brand advocates.
💡 Have you watched our free webinar on How to Maximise Marketing Impact with Employee Advocacy?

3. Track Your Earned Media Value

Earned media (or free media) is all the publicity your brand gets without paid forms. You can use social tracking tools to find out when, where and how often you have been mentioned. If you assign monetary values for mentions and engagement, you are able to track your branding effort ROI as well.

You can also use tools such as Smarp, which calculate and visualize the estimated earned media value of your Employee Advocacy activities. The EEMV tracker estimates the value of the clicks the posts have generated by comparing the number of clicks to the price of Cost-Per-click (CPC) advertising on the matching social media networks.

4. Track Your Share of Voice

You can track your organic share of voice by analyzing your most important keywords in relation to your main competitors. For social media share of voice tracking, track the total mentions of your and your competitors' mentions, and calculate how large a percentage of all the mentions are going your way - this is your social SOV percentage.

5. Compare Your Earned Media Value With Competitors

Increasing brand awareness is always a race to improve yourself, but you want to beat the competition too. Tracking for earned media value with regards to competitors allows you to focus on different things than when you track your share of voice.

Share of voice takes into account metrics such as your DA, paid and organic backlinks, and follower fan base. Earned media value gives you an idea of how valued, discussed and known your brand is without your other digital marketing efforts.

However, it does pay off to get a little nitty gritty when comparing your earned media value against your competitors. Don't only focus on the number of mentions, but study the context and the tone of the pieces you and your competitors are discussed in.

Check the average reader amount of different publications, and estimate the reliability and DA of the referring websites. Remember - when checking earned media value for brand awareness, quality and reach matter more than sheer quantity.

6. Track Your Backlink Success

Track the rate of the backlinks you have organically gained, as well as the backlinks you have attempted to accrue as part of your marketing and PR strategy.

These two different backlink types give you different information. An increase in your organically gained backlinks means your content is well-received and valuable, and your website seems like a reliable place to refer to.

However, if your backlink rate without any backlink effort is low, it might just be the correct audience has not found you yet, so you may have a problem with your SEO or social media marketing, instead of how well or poorly people receive your brand.

But how successful are you in getting the backlinks you go for? If it seems few people are interested in pursuing a link strategy with you, you might be offering the wrong type of content, or your website seems unreliable.

This might indicate problems in your market positioning and inabilities to communicate your brand in a clear way, which makes brand promotion much more difficult.

7. Measure Social Media Activities

Social media is one of the best channels for increasing brand awareness.

Tracking the number of social media followers is one of the most straightforward ways how to measure brand awareness: the more followers, the better your brand awareness is.

In addition to the growth in social media follower base, keep a track on social media shares, likes, and comments. Remember to post often and useful content, with different content types, in order to attract good engagement and increase your social media reach.

All comments increase your reach, so post social messages with content that pushes people to engage, such as questions to your audience or occasional light-hearted content.

8. Surveys

One way to measure your brand awareness is to survey and interview people. You can have questionnaires in your website, asking how visitors found you, or if they had heard of you before.

You can also ask your current customers when they became aware of your brand. But remember not to annoy prospects or customers, and keep the customer questionnaires short, simple and rewarding.

Another survey type could be asking a random set of people if they have heard of your brand, and what images does your brand create in their minds. You can do this by using a PR agency or by hosting a social media campaign, for example.

Do the research in regular intervals while keeping your target group and geographical location the same, and you will gain important information on your brand awareness growth. This type of brand awareness research may take the most time and money, but you are likely to get very good information out of it.

9. Search Popularity

Search for your brand and your competitor's brand, as well as some other top keywords with a Keyword tool. This strategy is a great way how to measure and track your brand awareness.

Most programs only offer the option for searching over a limited time period such as three to six months, so store your findings in order to track for the increase of branded searches over a longer time period. Pay attention to homonyms and include typos in your searches for better insights.

10. Employee Brand Advocacy Metrics

Messages shared by employees usually have a higher reach and engagement than corporate messages, but measuring Employee Advocacy program success can be tricky.

If you have an Employee Advocacy software or a content hub with an Employee Advocacy functionality, you'll be able to track your employee brand ambassador program success easily. To find a step-by-step guide to do this, see this post:

Employee brand advocates are good for both Employer Branding and increasing general brand awareness, so make sure you keep your employees happy and engaged, and they are sure to help you increase your brand awareness.

More Ideas on How to Measure Brand Awareness

If you have more ideas on how to measure brand awareness, please let us know. As many marketers are looking to improve their strategy for measuring brand awareness, we want to deliver a resource that will help marketer in doing so.

Here are a few additional ways how to measure brand awareness by Visually.

To read more on Employee Advocacy and how it can help you increase brand awareness, check out our free guide below.

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How to Measure Brand Awareness: 10 Strategies That Work

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Measuring brand awareness is one of the trickiest marketing KPIs to track. It is difficult to estimate its effectiveness and do ROI calculations. Fortunately for you, in this article, we present ten awesome ways to measure your brand awareness.

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Conversion is a key element in your paid search strategy; after all, if you're not actually turning lookers into buyers at a high rate, what are you advertising for? Conversion rate optimization enables you to maximize every cent of your PPC spend by finding that sweet spot that convinces the maximum percentage of your prospects to take action.

But what is a good conversion rate? If you're already achieving 3%, 5% or even 10% conversion rates, is that as high as you're going to go? But what is a good conversion rate? Across industries, the average landing page conversion rate was 2.35%, yet the top 25% are converting at 5.31% or higher. Ideally, you want to break into the top 10% - these are the landing pages with conversion rates of 11.45% or higher.

We recently analyzed thousands of Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords) accounts with a combined $3 billion in annual spend and discovered that some advertisers are converting at rates two or three times the average. Do you want to be average, or do you want your account to perform exponentially better than others in your industry?

Through our analysis of this massive amount of data on landing pages and conversion rates, we were able to identify some common traits of the top converting landing pages. What do they have that you don't? Believe it or not, there isn't much standing between you and conversion rates double or triple what you're seeing today. But the way you're going to get there is totally counter to typical conversion rate optimization wisdom.

In this post, you'll learn a step-by-step, replicable process for boosting your conversion rates, all backed by data insights from the best (and worst) performing advertisers in the market. Our recent conversion rates webinar is available in full at the end of this post. Today, we'll cover:

Are you ready to find out why everything you thought you know about CRO is wrong?

Let's get started, but first, use this tool to get a quick temperature check on your current conversion rate: Is your conversion rate higher or lower than average in your industry?

Conversion Rate Optimization: The Conventional Wisdom

Learning that the experts you've been listening to all along are wrong is a bit like learning for the first time as a kid that mascots aren't real. Underneath that fluffy suit there was just a sweaty unshaven guy. Everything you've learned about conversion rate optimization is a bit like that: shiny and pretty on the surface, but seriously lacking in substance.

How is everyone getting it so wrong? Primarily, if you're singing the same song as everyone else, you can really never be anything more than average. When all of the gurus are all preaching the same optimizations, and all of your competitors are listening to them, how are you supposed to stand out?

The Classic Conversion Rate Optimization Test is Silly

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Great Conversion Rate Optimization Fairy Tale. Once upon a time, a self-professed marketing guru told you it's really important that you optimize your site. They shared one example where the author changed the button color, or the font spacing, or the image. Lo and behold, the advertiser's conversion rate jumped by 2-7%.

Amazing, right?! Um, no, not really. These are really basic, run-of-the-mill A/B testing best practices. Yes, you should be doing these optimizations on an ongoing basis, and you're probably going to see small, single-digit increases in your conversion rate - but it's not likely to shoot you into the 10% or greater conversion bucket.

Let me show you what happens with those gains generated by these small tweaks on your page. Here's an example of a landing page split test; the gray line on the bottom is the first page version we were running. The blue line is the second version we ran against it. In the beginning, the new page far outperformed the old. Awesome, right?

Except as you can see, the gains were not long lasting. In fact, the "better" page would eventually plateau. We began running 20 to 30 tests at a time and saw this pattern across our tests. We call this a premature testing dilemma. You see an early lead but shortly down the line, the early lead disappears.

This isn't true all of the time, of course. However, we found that in the majority of cases, small changes like line spacing, font colors, etc. = small gains. If you want big, serious, long-lasting conversion gains, you need to move past these spikes that last only a couple of days or weeks.

Why does this happen? Often, it's because the total volume of conversions you're measuring against are low to start with. If you're looking at 50, 100 or even 200 conversions across your entire test, small changes can seem more impactful than they really are. A couple of conversions might mean a 4% conversion increase if there are only 50 conversions total, because your sample size really isn't big enough to start with.

It's Time to Stop Moving the Chairs Around

When it comes to landing page optimization, you can stay really busy doing small things that have little impact. It's like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. We need to move past this mentality to the big tactics and optimizations that will dramatically change your performance and fortune.

First, we need to know:

What is a Good Conversion Rate?

Hint: it's a lot higher than you may think.

Conventional wisdom says that a good conversion rate is somewhere around 2% to 5%. If you're sitting at 2%, an improvement to 4% seems like a massive jump. You doubled your conversion rate! Well, congratulations, but you're still stuck in the average performance bucket.

In this analysis, we started with all accounts we can analyze and went back a period of 3 months. We removed those that didn't have conversion tracking set up properly, those with low conversion volumes (<10 conversions/month), and low volume accounts (<100 clicks/month), leaving hundreds of accounts for our analysis. We then plotted where the accounts fit in terms of conversion rate.

So what is a good conversion rate? About 1/4 of all accounts have less than 1% conversion rates. The median was 2.35%, but the top 25% of accounts have twice that - 5.31% - or greater. Check out the far right red bar - the top 10% of Google Ads advertisers have account conversion rates of 11.45%.

Remember, this isn't for individual landing pages - these advertisers are accomplishing 11.45% conversion and higher across their entire account.

Clearly, this isn't some anomaly; this is perfectly attainable. If you're currently getting 5% conversion rates, you're outperforming 75% of advertisers ... but you still have a ton of room to grow!

You should be shooting for 10%, 20%, or even higher, putting your conversion rates 3x to 5x higher than the average conversion rate. Aspire to have these landing page conversion rate unicorns in your account.

Conversion Rate by Industry

You may be thinking, "But conversion rates are low in my industry." That's entirely possible. We segmented conversion rate data by industry to see whether these insights held true for all marketers. Here's what we found in an analysis of four major industries:

There's a lot of flux there; e-commerce has a far lower average conversion rate, especially compared to finance. However, check out the Top 10% Conversion Rates. They're 3 to 5 times higher than the average for each industry, so we can see that the rule holds across the board, regardless of industry.

The flip side, of course, is that if you're in a high-performer industry like finance, 5% really isn't a fantastic conversion rate. If you're comparing yourself to the average across all industries, you're really deluding yourself into thinking you're doing better than you are. In truth, the top 10% are doing almost five times better.

Even if the average conversion rates are lower in your industry, the top advertisers are outperforming you by 3-5x or more.

Converting on Display is another animal entirely; typically, conversion rates will be lower. If you're advertising on the display network, you can use a tool like our Smart Ads Creator to create designer-quality that will help you generate clicks and conversions at a higher rate.

5 Ways to Increase Your Landing Page Conversion Rate

What do these top 10% of landing page unicorns look like and how are they killing the competition the way they are? We went through 1,000 landing pages and performed a qualitative analysis, in order to find the common traits among the best performing advertiser landing pages in the market.
Here are my top five tips to help you reach landing page unicorn status:
1. Change the Offer

Across all of the high-performing landing pages, we saw massively creative and differentiated offers. Companies often have a default offer, their go-to, which may be the same or very similar to what all of their competitors are doing. Lawyers, for example, will offer a free consultation. Software companies will offer a free trial. They're unimaginative and not very creative.

How can you get creative with your offer? In our case, we realized that offering prospects a free trial of WordStream software really wasn't very imaginative or compelling. We had to think outside the box (don't you love that phrase?) and come up with something different and unique; something more tangible and compelling than just sending them to a software trial to find their way around.

What we came up with was our free AdWords Grader, which actually gives people an account evaluation report, with recommendations to help them improve their Google Ads strategy. This was a HUGE turning point for us. Prospects loved it and conversions went through the roof.

So how do you know if your offer stinks? If your conversion rate is stuck at 2% or lower, you're not there yet. But the real way we figured out how our offer stunk was by asking our customers. We added one form field on our landing page form to ask people what they wanted our help with - and it wasn't a free software trial.

Brainstorm, ask your customers, and come up with more unique offers to test. You'll never know which one is the winner until you try some new offers out.

2. Change the Flow

Sometimes, you're putting up barriers to conversion without even realizing it.

In the above example, you can see the first landing page version and just how much information people had to provide before they could download the software trial. Clearly, this was too much for many prospects. It was daunting and discouraging - not the kind of user experience you want on your landing page.

Here you can see their new landing page iteration, which turned out to be an exponentially better performer. They've changed the flow so that anyone can download and install the file. At the last step, the user is asked to register the software. At this point, they've already spent 10 or 15 minutes with the software and are far more likely to invest the time in completing the information form.

This was actually so effective that they were overwhelmed with conversions. They ended up backing off slightly and using the registration to find more qualified leads, by asking for the information one week after the download, once their prospects had time to sit and get to know their software. Changing the flow helped them boost conversions, but also manage lead quality in a far more effective way.

Here's another great example, where the advertiser realized their landing page offer didn't necessarily speak to the person who would be performing a search. In their case, a loved one or friend might be seeking help.

This advertiser decided they would let the visitor choose their own flow. This was incredibly effective not only for conversion, but also in segmentation for their remarketing and lead nurturing efforts.

So what's the takeaway here? Find the flow that works best for your prospects and use it to boost conversion rate and qualify your leads.

3. Use Remarketing as a CRO Tool

On average, 96% of the people who visit a website will leave without ever converting to a lead or sale. Remarketing helps you get in front of these people with targeted, relevant messaging as they take part in other activities around the web, like email, watching YouTube videos, using social networks or searching for information.

Check out my post at Moz for a deep dive into this incredibly effective tactic.

4. Try Out 10 Landing Pages to Find 1 Unicorn

Let's talk about effort for a minute. What do you need to put into CRO to find your own unicorn landing pages? To understand this, let's look at the relative abundance of these top performers:

Sometimes you get lucky, but if you want to achieve these top 10% landing pages across your account, you need to replicate the above steps multiple times and perform testing on an ongoing basis.

On average, you should be testing four unique landing pages - with varying offers, flow and messaging - to find that one awesome landing page. If you want to find a unicorn landing page - that top 10% page that sees your conversions reaching 3-5x the average - you need to test at least ten landing pages.

Here, we've analyzed an e-commerce account with 1000 unique landing pages. About a third of traffic goes to the top most-trafficked landing page in their account. When we dig deeper, we see that about 80% of traffic goes to just the top 10% of landing pages.

You don't need to make thousands and thousands of landing pages. You need to find the top performers you already have and focus your efforts there. How can you improve their performance? Cut the fat, stop wasting time on the low performers - in fact, just get rid of them. If you have just one great landing page, it's smarter to focus your efforts there.

Here's more proof that burning the midnight oil creating dozens or hundreds of landing page variations isn't the best use of your time:

Here, we've plotted out tens of thousands of accounts by conversion rate vs unique landing pages. We don't see a strong correlation between increased number of landing pages and increased conversion.

If you're after the top performers, quantity does not necessarily equal quality.

Before worrying about conversions, you'll need to get prospects to your landing page in the first place. Try our free keyword tool to find niche-specific keywords to implement in your search ads and landing pages.

5. F%@# Conversion Rates

Wait, what??

Stay with me here. Higher conversion rates, on their face, seem awesome. However, if you're converting less qualified leads, you're actually throwing MORE money away, because those leads cost you money.

I want you to focus on landing page optimizations like the above that move you in the direction of higher quality, more qualified lead generation, not just more conversions.

Key Takeaways

So what have you taken away from this? I hope you can get the following to stick and use these tips to guide a more holistic, effective conversion rate optimization strategy - the kind that will boost your conversions, but bring better lead quality, as well.

1. Most landing page optimizations are like moving around the deck chairs on the Titanic. Small changes = small gains.

2. Insanely focused and strategic landing page optimization brings 3-5x the conversions AND improves lead quality.

3. In some industries, even 5% conversion rates aren't that impressive. If you're stuck in the 2-5% conversion rate bucket, you have a ton of room to grow.

4. Get creative with your offers and test multiple different offers to find the one that resonates best with your audience. If you want to get really crazy (you know you do), find different offers that can help you qualify leads in the process.

5. Identify the obstacles keeping prospects from converting and get those roadblocks out of the way by changing the flow. Test different variations to find out exactly which path to conversion works best for your audience.

6. Use remarketing to recapture people who showed intent but didn't convert.

7. Test smarter, not more often. You need to test 10 unique landing page variations to find 1 top performer, but this goes far beyond changing a font color and calling it a landing page variation.

8. Trim the fat in your account and ditch your lowest performers. Focus your energies on the top 10% of landing pages that earn 80% of traffic.

9. Always, always keep your eye on the prize, which is making more sales or generating leads most likely to convert to sales. Don't let high conversion rates take precedence over lead quality or you're going to spend more qualifying leads. You need to find the sweet spot where everything works like a well-oiled machine.

You made it! For all the awesome from our recent conversion rate optimization webinar, see the full video below:

If you missed our last webinar, make sure you check out The Secrets Behind Ads with 3x the Average CTR. Our goal is to help you get every aspect of your Google Ads account working at peak performance.

Now go forth confidently, young marketer, to slay competitors and wow prospects with your newfound conversion optimization knowledge. Give our free AdWords Grader a spin to see exactly where you're at with your current landing page strategy, then start making smarter changes that will rocket you past your competition.

And as always, if you have any questions about our data, strategy or the tips outlined above, fire away in the comments!

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Everything You Know About Conversion Rate Optimization Is Wrong

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Conversion is a key element in your paid search strategy; after all, if you're not actually turning lookers into buyers at a high rate, what are you advertising for? Conversion rate optimization enables you to maximize every cent of your PPC spend by finding that sweet spot that convinces the maximum percentage of your prospects to take action.

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Brand awareness gives companies a better understanding of how well their brand is known among potential customers and associated with a specific product or service offering. Even though brand awareness is crucial in the buyers' journey, it can be undervalued in organisations because its importance is misunderstood and it is seen as notoriously difficult to measure.

The benefits of strong brand awareness include boosting revenue in the short-term while being important for a business' longevity, it helps shorten sales cycles and increases customer retention because people like doing business with companies they are familiar with.

Brand awareness is that important first step in the sales funnel. So, how do you measure brand awareness and articulate the level that customers are able to recognize your brand, product or service? Here I want to share with you some marketing KPIs that have helped many of my clients measure brand awareness successfully.
Determine Brand Awareness Goals
First things, first. As is the case with any marketing strategy, it's important to reach consensus on what your company is trying to achieve by building brand awareness. Goals might be to:

Increase brand recall or recognition

Increase direct web traffic

Lift brand conversations

Once the brand awareness objectives are agreed, you can develop KPIs to measure the progress you make toward the goals.
Brand Awareness Surveys
Even though brand awareness can be difficult to track, going right to the source-potential customers in your target market-and asking them about your brand through a well-designed survey is one way to determine how effective your brand awareness marketing campaigns really are.

Well-constructed surveys can help you measure brand recognition and recall, identity and image, and trust and loyalty. To ensure your survey results give you a true reflection it should begin with unaided questions-generic questions that don't provide your brand name-to accurately determine brand recall. For example, a car company would start with an unaided question such as, "When you think of four-door cars, which brands come to mind?"

After you get some results with unaided questions, you can add aided brand recognition questions to the survey to help measure how your brand stacks up against others in your category.

The results from your survey can be used to set your marketing strategy and refine your brand awareness tactics.
Direct Web Traffic
When a user enters your website URL directly into a search bar or gets to your website by using a bookmark, web analytics tools track that as direct web traffic. This can be used as a proxy measure for brand awareness.

The slight complication is that direct traffic also includes traffic that comes from sources that have no referral data, which can slightly skew the numbers. Such sources, sometimes referred to as 'dark social' can include referrals from instant messaging apps or emails that don't include tracking tokens. It is therefore worth reflecting on the numbers and considering how big that chuck might be for you. For example. if you are using email marketing campaigns and they are all tracked then there is usually little to worry about.

As a proxy, if your direct traffic numbers are increasing that generally means that more people know your brand by name therefore your brand awareness is high.
Search Data
If people are searching for your company by its name or name-brand products, it's a very clear indicator that they are aware of your brand. Through free online tools such as Moz and Google Analytics you can determine the number of searches being completed using your brand name. Use Google Analytics to see what keywords brought visitors to your site and then you can drill down to see what keywords where included with your brand name.
Social Listening and Reach
Another way to measure brand awareness is to track how often your brand is mentioned in social media channels. A social mention happens when a web source or social media channel uses a certain keyword, hashtag or your brand name. Not only can you monitor brand awareness, but by social listening you can support customer service and learn more about the general attitudes- sentiment analysis -that others have for your brand.

In addition, your social media reach can also provide insight into your organization's brand awareness. Your reach is an estimate of how many people see your social media updates, including those who see it when someone shares or reposts your content. Tools like branded hashtags, for example, have proven to be successful in boosting the brand awareness of a company. There are several social media monitoring tools that you can use to monitor how your brand is being talked about on social media.
Media Coverage
Tracking the media coverage your organisation gets is another way to measure brand awareness in the marketplace. This can include feature articles, podcasts, speeches and more. Setting up Google Alerts to monitor mentions of your brand on the internet is a great place to start tracking media coverage. Beyond that, you can subscribe to media clipping services that can track coverage online as well as off-line, together with more detailed analysis of the potential brand impact of any coverage.

Overall, if the number of potential customers who are able to recall your brand matter to your business, and your goal is to maintain or increase that level, then it is important for you to develop ways to measure brand awareness. Many companies will measure their brand awareness using a number of these measures, if not all of them.

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Brand awareness gives companies a better understanding of how well their brand is known among potential customers and associated with a specific product or service offering. Even though brand awareness is crucial in the buyers' journey, it can be undervalued in organisations because its importance is misunderstood and it is seen as notoriously difficult to measure.

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Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard

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A social media marketing strategy is a summary of everything you plan to do and hope to achieve on social media. It guides your actions and lets you know whether you're succeeding or failing.

The more specific your plan is, the more effective it will be. Keep it concise. Don't make it so lofty and broad that it's unattainable or impossible to measure.

In this post, we'll walk you through a nine-step plan to create a winning social media strategy of your own. We've even got expert insights from Amanda Wood, Hootsuite's Senior Manager of Social Marketing.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is the practice of using social media channels to sell or promote a brand, product or service.

Social media marketing helps businesses:

Increase brand awareness

Build engaged communities

Sell products and services

Measure brand sentiment

Provide social customer service

Advertise products and services to target audiences

Track performance and adjust larger marketing strategies accordingly

What is a social media marketing strategy?

A social media strategy is a document outlining your social media goals, the tactics you will use to achieve them and the metrics you will track to measure your progress.

Your social media marketing strategy should also list all of your existing and planned social media accounts along with goals specific to each platform you're active on. These goals should align with your business's larger digital marketing strategy.

Finally, a good social media plan should define the roles and responsibilities within your team and outline your reporting cadence.

Creating your own social media marketing strategy (video guide)

No time to read the whole article? Let Amanda, Hootsuite's own Senior Manager of Social Media Marketing, guide you through our free social media marketing strategy template in less than 10 minutes:

How to create a social media marketing strategy in 9 steps

Step 1. Choose goals that align to business objectives

Set S.M.A.R.T. goals

The first step to creating a winning social media strategy is to establish clear objectives and goals. Without goals, you have no way to measure success and return on investment (ROI).

Each of your social media marketing goals should be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and t ime-bound.

Psst: If you need examples of smart social media goals, we've got you covered.

Track meaningful metrics

Vanity metrics like number of followers and likes are easy to track, but it's hard to prove their real value. Instead, focus on things like engagement, click-through, and conversion rates.

For inspiration, take a look at these 19 essential social media metrics.

You may want to track different goals for different social media networks, or even different uses for each network.

For example, if you use LinkedIn to drive traffic to your website, you would measure click-throughs. If Instagram is for brand awareness, you might track the number of Instagram Story views. And if you advertise on Facebook, cost-per-click (CPC) is a common success metric.

Social media goals should align with your overall marketing objectives. This makes it easier to show the value of your work and secure buy-in from your boss.

Start developing a successful social media marketing plan by writing down at least three goals for social media.

"It's easy to get overwhelmed by deciding what to post and which metrics to track, but you need to focus on what you want to get out of social media to begin with," says Amanda Wood, Hootsuite's Senior Manager of Social Marketing. "Don't just start posting and tracking everything: match your goals to your business, and your metrics to your goals."

Step 2. Learn everything you can about your audience

Get to know your fans, followers, and customers as real people with real wants and needs, and you will know how to target and engage them on social media.

When it comes to your ideal customer, you should know things like:

Here's a simple guide and template for creating audience/buyer personas.

Social media analytics can also provide a ton of valuable information about who your followers are, where they live, and how they interact with your brand on social media. These insights allow you to refine your strategy and better target your audience.

Jugnoo, an Uber-like service for auto-rickshaws in India, used Facebook Analytics to learn that 90% of their users who referred other customers were between 18- and 34-years-old, and 65% of that group was using Android. They used that information to target their ads, resulting in a 40% lower cost per referral.

Check out our guide to using social media analytics and the tools you need to track them.

Step 3. Get to know your competition

Odds are your competitors are already using social media, and that means you can learn from what they're doing.

Conduct a competitive analysis

A competitive analysis allows you to understand who the competition is and what they're doing well (and not so well). You'll get a good sense of what's expected in your industry, which will help you set social media targets of your own.

It will also help you spot opportunities.

Maybe one of your competitors is dominant on Facebook, for example, but has put little effort into Twitter or Instagram. You might want to focus on the social media platforms where your audience is underserved, rather than trying to win fans away from a dominant player.

Use social media listening

Social listening is another way to keep an eye on your competitors.

Do searches of the competition's company name, account handles, and other relevant keywords on social media. Find out what they're sharing and what other people are saying about them. If they're using influencer marketing, how much engagement do those campaigns earn them?

Pro tip: Use Hootsuite Streams to monitor relevant keywords, hashtags and accounts in real-time.
Try Hootsuite for free. You can cancel anytime.
As you track, you may notice shifts in how your competitors and industry leaders are using social media. You may come across new, exciting trends. You might even spot specific social content or a campaign that really hits the mark-or totally bombs.

Use this kind of intel to optimize and inform your own social media marketing strategy.

Just don't go overboard on the spy tactics, Amanda advises. "Make sure you aren't ALWAYS comparing yourself to the competition - it can be a distraction. I'd say checking in on a monthly basis is healthy. Otherwise, focus on your own strategy and results."

Step 4. Do a social media audit

If you're already using social media, take stock of your efforts so far. Ask yourself the following questions:

What's working, and what's not?

Who is engaging with you?

What are your most valuable partnerships?

Which networks does your target audience use?

How does your social media presence compare to the competition?

Once you collect that information, you'll be ready to start thinking about ways to improve.

We've created an easy-to-follow social media audit guide and template to walk you through each step of this process.

Your audit should give you a clear picture of what purpose each of your social accounts serves. If the purpose of an account isn't clear, think about whether it's worth keeping.

To help you decide, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is my audience here?

2. If so, how are they using this platform?

3. Can I use this account to help achieve my goals?

Asking these tough questions will keep your social media strategy focused.

Look for impostor accounts

During the audit, you may discover fake accounts using your business name or the names of your products.

These imposters can be harmful to your brand-never mind that they're capturing followers that should be yours.

You may want to get your accounts verified too to ensure your fans know they are dealing with the real you.

Here's how to get verified on:

Step 5. Set up accounts and improve profiles

Decide which networks to use

As you decide which social networks to use, you will also need to define your strategy for each.

Benefit Cosmetics' social media manager, Angela Purcaro, told eMarketer: "For our makeup tutorials ... we're all about Snapchat and Instagram Stories. Twitter, on the other hand, is designated for customer service."

Hootsuite's own social team even designates different purposes for formats within networks. On Instagram, for example, they use the feed to post high-quality educational infographics and product announcements and Stories to cover live events or quick social media updates.

Pro tip: Write out a mission statement for each network. A one-sentence declaration to keep you focused on a specific goal.

Example: "We will use Twitter for customer support to keep email and call volumes down."

Or: "We will use LinkedIn for promoting and sharing our company culture to help with recruitment and employee advocacy."

One more: "We will use Instagram to highlight new products and repost quality content from influencers."

If you can't create a solid mission statement for a particular social media channel, you may want to ask yourself if it's worth it.

Note: While larger businesses can and do tackle every platform, small businesses may not be able to - and that's ok! Prioritize social platforms that will have the most impact on your business and make sure your marketing team has the resources to handle content for those networks. If you need help focusing your efforts, check out our 18-minute social media plan.

Set up your profiles

Once you've decided which networks to focus on, it's time to create your profiles. Or improve existing ones so they align with your strategy.

Make sure you fill out all profile fields

Include keywords people would use to search for your business

Use consistent branding (logos, images, etc.) across networks so your profiles are easily recognizable

Pro tip: Use high-quality images that follow the recommended dimensions for each network. Check out our always-up-to-date social media image size cheat sheet for quick reference.

We've also got step-by-step guides for each network to walk you through the process:

Don't let this list overwhelm you. Remember, it's better to use fewer channels well than to stretch yourself thin trying to maintain a presence on every network.

Step 6. Find inspiration

While it's important that your brand be unique, you can still draw inspiration from other businesses that are great on social.

"I consider it my job to stay active on social: to know what's trending, which campaigns are winning, what's new with the platforms, who's going above and beyond," says Amanda. "This might be the most fun step for you, or the hardest one, but it's just as crucial as the rest of them."

Social media success stories

You can usually find these on the business section of the social network's website. ( Here's Facebook's, for example.)

Case studies can offer valuable insights that you can apply to your own social media plan.

Award-winning accounts and campaigns

You could also check out the winners of The Facebook Awards or The Shorty Awards for examples of brands that are at the top of their social media game.

For learning and a laugh, check out Fridge-Worthy, Hootsuite's bi-weekly awards show highlighting brands doing smart and clever things on social media.

Your favorite brands on social media

Who do you enjoy following on social media? What do they do that compels people to engage and share their content?

National Geographic, for example, is one of the best on Instagram, combining stunning visuals with compelling captions.

Then there's Shopify. The ecommerce brand uses Facebook to sell themselves by showcasing customer stories and case studies.

And Lush Cosmetics is a great example of superior customer service on Twitter. They use their 280 characters to answer questions and solve problems in an extremely charming and on-brand way.

Hey lovely! 💕 We are sorry to hear how much you are missing Scrub Scrub Scrub. We will make sure our team knows you'd love to see it back on the shelves. In the meantime, check out Magic Crystals for a similar scrubtastic feel 😍💜

- Lush North America (@lushcosmetics) October 15, 2021

Notice that each of these accounts has a consistent voice, tone, and style. That's key to letting people know what to expect from your feed. That is, why should they follow you? What's in it for them?

Consistency also helps keep your content on-brand even if you have multiple people on your social media team.

For more on this, read our guide on establishing a compelling brand voice on social media.

Ask your followers

Consumers can also offer social media inspiration.

What are your target customers talking about online? What can you learn about their wants and needs?

If you have existing social channels, you could also ask your followers what they want from you. Just make sure that you follow through and deliver what they ask for.

Step 7. Create a social media content calendar

Sharing great content is essential, of course, but it's equally important to have a plan in place for when you'll share content to get the maximum impact.

Your social media content calendar also needs to account for the time you spend interacting with the audience (although you need to allow for some spontaneous engagement as well).

Set your posting schedule

Your social media content calendar lists the dates and times at which you will publish types of content on each channel. It's the perfect place to plan all of your social media activities-from images, link sharing, and re-shares of user-generated content to blog posts and videos. It includes both your day-to-day posting and content for social media campaigns.

Your calendar also ensures your posts are spaced out appropriately and published at the best times to post.

Pro tip: You can plan your whole content calendar and get recommended best times to post on every network based on your past engagement rate, impressions, or link click data in Hootsuite.

Determine the right content mix

Make sure your content strategy and calendar reflect the mission statement you've assigned to each social profile, so that everything you post is working to support your business goals.

(We know, it's tempting to jump on every meme, but there should always be a strategy behind your social media marketing efforts!)

You might decide that:

50% of content will drive traffic back to your website

25% of content will be curated from other sources

20% of content will support lead-generation goals (newsletter sign-ups, ebook downloads, etc.)

5% of content will be about your company culture

Placing these different post types in your content calendar will ensure you maintain the right mix.

If you're starting from scratch and you're not sure what types of content to post, try the 80-20 rule:

80% of your posts should inform, educate, or entertain your audience

20% can directly promote your brand.

You could also try the social media content marketing rule of thirds:

One-third of your content promotes your business, converts readers, and generates profit.

One-third of your content shares ideas and stories from thought leaders in your industry or like-minded businesses.

One-third of your content is personal interactions with your audience

Don't post too much or too little

If you're starting a social media marketing strategy from scratch, you may not have figured out how often to post to each network for maximum engagement yet.

Post too frequently and you risk annoying your audience. But, if you post too little, you risk looking like you're not worth following.

Start with these posting frequency recommendations:

Instagram (feed): 3-7 times per week

Facebook: 1-2 times per day

Twitter: 1-5 times per day

LinkedIn: 1-5 times per day

Pro tip: Once you have your social media content calendar planned out, use a scheduling tool to prepare messages in advance rather than updating constantly throughout the day.

We might be biased, but we think Hootsuite is the best social media management tool. You can schedule social media posts to every network and the intuitive calendar view gives you a full picture of all your social activity each week.

Step 8. Create compelling content

Remember those mission statements you created for each channel in Step 5? Well, it's time to go a bit deeper, a.k.a. provide some examples of the type of content you'll post to fulfill your mission on each network.

If you're not sure what to post, here's a long list of social media content ideas to get you started.

The idea here is to:

Keep your content aligned with the purpose of each network;

Show other stakeholders (if applicable) what kind of content they can expect to see on each network.

This last point especially will help you avoid any tension when your colleagues want to know why you haven't posted their case study/whitepaper/blog post to TikTok yet. It's not in the strategy, Linda!

Ideally, you will generate content types that are both suited to the network and the purpose you've set out for that network.

For example, you wouldn't want to waste time posting brand awareness tweets if you've designated Twitter for primarily customer support. And you wouldn't want to post super polished corporate video ads to TikTok, as users expect to see short, unpolished videos on that platform.

It might take some testing over time to figure out which type of content works best on which type of network, so prepare to update this section frequently.

We won't lie: content creation isn't as easy as everyone not on the social team seems to think. But if you're struggling, Amanda suggests going back to basics.

The first question to ask is: is there cohesion between your content types? Is your content providing value? Do you have a good mix of entertaining, or educational content? What does it offer that makes a person stop and spend time? Creating a few different content pillars or categories that encompass different aspects of storytelling for your brand, and what you can offer your audience is a good start.

This brings us to Step 9.

Step 9. Track performance and make adjustments

Your social media marketing strategy is a hugely important document for your business, and you can't assume you'll get it exactly right on the first try. As you start to implement your plan and track your results, you may find that some strategies don't work as well as you'd anticipated, while others are working even better than expected.

Look at performance metrics

In addition to the analytics within each social network (see Step 2), you can use UTM parameters to track social visitors as they move through your website, so you can see exactly which social posts drive the most traffic to your website.

Re-evaluate, test, and do it all again

Once this data starts coming in, use it to re-evaluate your strategy regularly. You can also use this information to test different posts, social marketing campaigns, and strategies against one another. Constant testing allows you to understand what works and what doesn't, so you can refine your social media marketing strategy in real time.

You'll want to check the performance of all your channels at least once a week and get to know the basics of social media reporting so you can track your growth over time.

Pro tip: If you use Hootsuite, you can review the performance of all your posts on every network in one place. Once you get the hang of checking your analytics, you may even want to customize different reports to show specific metrics over a variety of different time periods.

Surveys can also be a great way to find out how well your social media strategy is working. Ask your followers, email list, and website visitors whether you're meeting their needs and expectations, and what they'd like to see more of. Then make sure to deliver on what they tell you.

Finalizing your social media strategy

Spoiler alert: nothing is final.

Social media moves fast. New networks emerge, others go through demographic shifts.

Your business will go through periods of change as well.

All of this means that your social media marketing strategy should be a living document that you review and adjust as needed. Refer to it often to stay on track, but don't be afraid to make changes so that it better reflects new goals, tools, or plans.

When you update your social strategy, make sure to watch our 5-step video on how to updating your social media strategy for 2023:

Social media strategy template

What's next? When you're ready to put your plan into action, we're here to help...
Save time managing your social media marketing strategy with Hootsuite. From a single dashboard you can easily:

Plan, create, and schedule posts to every network

Track relevant keywords, topics, and accounts

Stay on top of engagement with a universal inbox

Get easy-to-understand performance reports and improve your strategy as needed

Try Hootsuite for Free With files from Shannon Tien.

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How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy [Template]

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Creating your social media marketing strategy doesn't need to be painful. Create an effective plan for your business in 9 simple steps.

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Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard

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How To Set and Exceed Social Media Goals [9 Examples]

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Struggling with structuring your efforts on social? Set yourself up for success with our guide to setting and achieving smarter social media goals.

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What are social media metrics? And why are they important to track?

As a social media professional, they're your chance to demonstrate the value of your work, and the impact of the decisions you've made.

If your boss asks you to talk data, take the opportunity to be a pro and go beyond the surface-level, "vanity" metrics-the likes and shares and retweets. Instead, focus on the data that matters-the numbers that prove your effort has had a positive, bottom-line impact on the business.

The right data will assure executives that their investment in social is paying off. It'll also help you continue to make smarter, more data-driven decisions moving forward.

This article identifies the social media metrics that really matter, why they're important, and how to track them.

Ready to make an impression?

Table of contents

Bonus: Get a free social media report template to easily and effectively present your social media performance to key stakeholders.

The most important social media metrics for marketers

The social funnel: a breakdown

Before diving into social media metrics, let's review where each one lives in the social funnel.

For the purposes of this article, we'll segment the funnel into four key customer journey stages:

Awareness: these metrics illuminate your current and potential audience.

Engagement: these metrics show how audiences are interacting with your content.

Conversion: these metrics demonstrate the effectiveness of your social engagement.

Consumer: these metrics reflect how active customers think and feel about your brand.

Every stage is populated with its own set of must-measure metrics, KPIs that shed light on the effectiveness of your social media marketing.

Let's dive in.

Awareness metrics

These numbers illuminate your current and potential audience.

1. Brand Awareness

Brand Awareness is the attention your brand gets-across all social media-during a reporting period, or a specific span of time that yields statistically relevant data.

Attention can be expressed through a variety of social media metrics, including @mentions, shares, links, and impressions. Reporting periods are also variable, usually lasting a week, a month, or a quarter.

How to track it:

Note: A brand monitoring tool makes it easier to track every time someone mentions you on social media, with or without an @mention.

2. Audience Growth Rate

Audience Growth Rate measures the speed at which your brand's following increases on social media. It's how quickly you gain followers.

As access to the internet continues to increase around the world, brands' social media followings will also increase.

But the question you should be asking is not, "How many net new followers did we get last month?" Instead, ask, "How fast did we gain last month's net new followers-and was it faster than our competition?"

How to track it:

Note: You can track your competitors' progress the same way.

3. Post Reach

Post Reach denotes how many people have seen a post since it went live.

This metric is easy to find and even easier to understand. Most importantly, it's actionable, since it's affected by the timing (i.e., when is your audience online?) and the content (i.e., what does your audience find valuable?) of your post.
How to track it:
Note: On Facebook, the "When Your Fans Are Online" feature will tell you the optimal time to post. Use this data to increase your reach.

4. Potential Reach

Potential Reach measures the number of people who could, realistically, see a post during a reporting period.

In other words, if one of your followers shared your post with her network, approximately 2% to 5% of her followers would factor into the post's potential reach.

Understanding this metric is important because, as a social marketer, you should always be working to expand your audience. Knowing your potential reach enables you to gauge your progress.
How to track it:
STEP 1: Use a brand monitoring tool to track your total number of brand mentions.
STEP 2: Record how many followers saw each mention (i.e., the audience of the account that mentioned you).
STEP 3: Multiply those two numbers together to get your Theoretical Reach, or the absolute maximum number of people who could, in theory, see your brand mentions.

Your potential reach is 2% to 5% of your theoretical reach.

5. Social Share of Voice (SSoV)

Social Share of Voice measures how many people are mentioning your brand on social media compared to your competitors.

Mentions can be either:

1. Direct (e.g., "@Hootsuite")

2. Indirect (e.g., "hootsuite")

SSoV is, essentially, competitive analysis: how visible-and, therefore, relevant-is your brand in the market?
How to track it:
STEP 1: Measure every mention your brand receives-direct and indirect-across your social networks.
STEP 2: Measure your competitors' mentions during the same reporting period.
STEP 3: Add your mentions and those of your competitors to get the total industry mentions.
STEP 4: Divide your brand mentions by the grand total and multiply by 100 to get your SSoV percentage.

Note: Using social media analytics tools will make this process easier.

Engagement metrics

These numbers show how people are interacting with your content.

6. Applause Rate

Applause Rate is the number of approval actions (e.g., likes, favorites) a post receives relative to your total number of followers.

When a follower likes or favorites one of your posts, she's acknowledging that it's valuable to her. Knowing what percentage of your audience finds value in the things you post can-and should -inform your content moving forward.
How to track it:
Note: Use a social media impact tool to help track approval actions and simplify the process.

7. Average Engagement Rate

Average Engagement Rate is the number of engagement actions (e.g., likes, shares, comments) a post receives relative to your total number of followers.

It's an important metric because higher engagement means your content is resonating with the audience. To prove that, track the engagement rate of every post. If you have a high engagement rate, the actual number of likes and shares and comments is irrelevant.
How to track it:
Note: The benchmark for this metric is different on every platform.

Facebook and Twitter, for example, typically have lower engagement rates (e.g., 0.5% to 1%). Instagram, on the other hand, is known for its relatively high engagement rates (e.g., 3% to 6%).

8. Amplification Rate

Amplification Rate is the ratio of shares per post to the number of overall followers.

Coined by Avinash Kaushik, author and digital marketing evangelist at Google, amplification is "the rate at which your followers take your content and share it through their networks."

Basically, the higher your amplification rate, the more willing your followers are to associate themselves with your brand.
How to track it:
9. Virality Rate

Virality Rate is the number of people who shared your post relative to the number of unique views (i.e., impressions) it had during a reporting period.

Like the other metrics on this list, virality rate goes beneath the surface. It's about more than just likes.

"A post that gets 17,000 likes may only get 0.1% virality," writes Nicolas Gremion, "while another post that receives 10,000 likes gets 9.97% virality-and that's a far better post."
How to track it:
STEP 1: Measure a post's impressions.
STEP 2: Measure a post's shares.
STEP 3: Divide the number of shares by the number of impressions and multiply by 100 to get your virality rate percentage.

Conversion metrics

These numbers demonstrate the effectiveness of your social engagement.

10. Conversion rate

Conversion Rate is the number of visitors who, after clicking on a link in your post, take action on a page (e.g., subscribe to your newsletter, download a gated content asset, register for a webinar) against that page's total visitors.

A high conversion rate means your content is valuable and compelling to the target audience. From a social media standpoint, it's a sign that your post was relevant to the offer. In other words, it kept its promise.
How to track it:
STEP 1: Create a post with a call-to-action link. Use a URL shortener to make it trackable.
STEP 2: Place a "cookie" on the user's machine. Doing so attaches the lead to a campaign.
STEP 3: Use the campaign reporting to track the total number of clicks and conversions generated by the post.
STEP 4: Divide conversions by total clicks and multiply by 100 to get your conversion rate percentage.

Note: A post's conversion rate can be high even if traffic is low. The two metrics are mutually exclusive.

11. Click-Through Rate (CTR)

Click-Through Rate, or CTR, is how often people click on the call-to-action link in your post.

Not to be confused with other engagement actions (e.g., shares, likes, comments), your CTR is specifically tied to a link that brings the audience to additional content.

Tracking CTR, often and accurately, will give you invaluable insight into how compelling your offer is to the target audience.
How to track it:
Note: Don't forget to measure clicks and impressions within the same reporting period.

12. Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate, is the percentage of page visitors who click on a link in your post, only to quickly leave the page they land on without taking an action.

Bounce rate lets you measure your social media traffic-and, in turn, ROI -against other sources of traffic (e.g., traffic from a Facebook post vs. traffic from an organic Google search).

If your social media bounce rate is lower than that of other sources, it's proof that your social media campaigns are targeting the right audience-and, in turn, driving high-value traffic.
How to track it:
STEP 1: Set up Google Analytics.
STEP 2: Open the "Acquisition" tab, and look under "All Traffic" for the "Channels" segment.

STEP 3: Click on the "Bounce Rate" button, which will rank all of the channels from lowest bounce rate to highest.

Note: Demonstrating the relative effectiveness of your social media efforts will go a long way in proving its value to the business.

13. Cost-Per-Click (CPC)

Cost-Per-Click, or CPC, is the amount you pay per individual click on your sponsored social media post.

Whether you choose to advertise on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Linkedin, don't focus on your total spend. Instead, look to your CPC. It'll help you weigh if your investment in attention is efficient, or wasteful.
How to track it:
Note: Never let your CPC campaigns go unattended for an extended period of time.

14. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

Cost Per Thousands Impressions, or CPM, is the amount you pay every time a thousand people scroll past your sponsored social media post.

Unlike in a CPC campaign, a CPM post won't necessarily drive action. It'll only create impressions, views. Therefore, CPM is a faster and less expensive way to split test content.
How to track it:
Note: Never let your CPM campaigns go unattended for an extended period of time.

15. Social Media Conversion Rate

Social Media Conversion Rate is the total number of conversions that came from social media, expressed as a percentage.

Understanding this metric will give you clear insight into the effectiveness of each post in a campaign. In other words, it answers this question: how well does this offer resonate with our target audience?
How to track it:
16. Conversation Rate

Conversation Rate is the ratio of comments per post to the number of overall followers you have.

It's another metric coined by Avinash Kaushik -and it's better than tracking comments without any context. After all, getting an average of 20 comments per post is a lot more impressive if you only have 200 followers.

Tracking your conversation rate will help you understand how much of your audience is compelled to add their voice to the content you post on social. Or as Kaushik puts it, "Is what you are saying interesting enough to spark the most social of all things: a conversation?"

How to track it:

STEP 1: Use a tool like Hootsuite Analytics to pull the number of comments you received during a reporting period.
STEP 2: Divide that number by your total number of followers and multiply by 100 to get you conversation rate percentage.

Customer metrics

These numbers reflect how your active customers think and feel about your brand.

17. Customer Testimonials

Customer Testimonials are any customer review, assessment, comment, endorsement, or interview relating to a brand.

Ultimately, great testimonials are the product of customer delight. If your brand makes people happy, they'll be more likely to share their good experience with others.

The benefits are clear: a consistent stream of sincere testimonials on social media will garner trust and credibility while boosting your brand's presence.

Want more customer testimonials?

Ask your best customers to leave a review. Never offer to compensate them for their effort, of course, as that would undermine your credibility.

Run a social media campaign that encourages people to create written, video, or online testimonials about your product, service, or mission.

Link to your Google My Business review form to make leaving testimonials a simple, seamless process for your brand evangelists.

Bonus: Get a free social media report template to easily and effectively present your social media performance to key stakeholders.

18. Customer Satisfaction (CSat) Score

Customer Satisfaction, or CSAT, is a metric that measures how happy people are with your product or service.

Usually, the CSAT score is the product of one, straightforward question: How would you describe your overall satisfaction with this product?

Customers are then asked to rate their satisfaction on a linear scale, either numerically (e.g., one to 10) or sentimentally (e.g., Poor, Fair, Good, Great, Excellent).

CSAT has become a nearly ubiquitous way to understand how customers feel about your brand, mainly because it's clear, concise, and easy to administer, especially on social media.
How to track it:
19. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score, or NPS, is a metric that measures customer loyalty.

Unlike CSAT, NPS is good at predicting future customer engagement because it is the product of one-and only one-specifically phrased question: How likely is it that you would recommend our [company/product/service] to a friend?

Customers are then asked to answer on a scale of zero to 10. Based on their response, each customer is grouped into one of three categories:

Detractors: 0 - 6 score range

Passives: 7 - 8 score range

Promoters: 9 - 10 score range

NPS is unique in that it measures customer satisfaction as well as future sales, which has made it a valuable, go-to metric for organizations of all sizes.
How to track it:
"Yes, absolutely," you say. "I'd love to talk data."

Whether you meet with your boss once a month or once a day, your conversations about data will be more substantive-and impactful-if you highlight social media metrics that demonstrate the bottom-line impact of your effort.

So dig deeper, and go beyond the readily accessible vanity metrics that literally anyone can report. Showcase your skills by presenting social media analytics that tell a story, a narrative that's inherently valuable to your organization.

You'll work more, but you'll also come away with more than your effort was worth.

See all your social media metrics on a single dashboard

Hootsuite Analytics lets you track your social media performance across every network from one easy-to-use dashboard. See exactly what's driving results and where you can make improvements for better ROI.

Hootsuite Insights goes even further and gives you data from 1.3 trillion social posts in real time. Get super nerdy and save keywords or Boolean strings to find meaningful trends and patterns you might miss with basic social performance tracking. Filter your searches for specifics like dates, demographics, and geographies to learn more about your audience and their behavior than ever before.
These features are of course in addition to Hootsuite's content creation, scheduling, and audience engagement capabilities. Try it all for free today!

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19 Social Media Metrics That Really Matter-And How to Track Them

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What are social media metrics? And why are they important to track? As a social media professional, they're your chance to demonstrate the value of your work, and the impact of the decisions you've made. If your boss asks you to talk data, take the opportunity to be a pro and go beyond the surface-level, "vanity" metrics-the likes and shares and retweets.

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The short answer is that the global average is between 1-3%.

Of course, the reality is full of nuance and variables, from sector to region to season to marketing channel mix to website traffic volume to website UX. But this range (1-3%) is broadly what's seen in Econsultancy's Performance Benchmarks tool. This tool uses data from a variety of partners, in this instance the ecommerce conversion rate data is provided by Littledata, an ecommerce analytics specialist.

Before we look at the stats in more detail, it might be helpful to first define ecommerce conversion rate.

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What is a good ecommerce conversion rate? - Econsultancy

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The short answer is that the global average is between 1-3%. Of course, the reality is full of nuance and variables, from sector to region to season to marketing channel mix to website traffic volume to website UX. But this range (1-3%) is broadly what's seen in Econsultancy's Performance Benchmarks tool.

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Understanding how your website performs versus similar sites is the best way to prioritise what to improve. In this post we take a look at 6 top benchmarks for optimising Shopify store performance.

Accurate benchmark data is especially useful to the increasing number of ecommerce companies using web performance benchmarks, such as bounce rates and home page reliance, as core elements of their sales and marketing KPIs. Understanding benchmarks is a key to success.

To put together this new benchmarking report, we analysed current data from 470 Shopify retailers. If you're wondering how you compare, check out our Shopify analytics app.

Average order value

Average order value (AOV) or Average revenue per paying user (ARPU) is the total monthly revenue divided by the number of users which transacted that month. It is a measure of how well you are up-selling and cross-selling your products, depending on your product mix.
What is a good average order value for Shopify stores? The benchmark is $69.
The average is slightly lower ($63.50) if you are a smaller Shopify store. More than $120 AOV would put you in the top quartile, and one of our top-performing stores in the luxury ecommerce sector is averaging $2,080 per order!

If your Shopify store has a lower AOV than the benchmark, you might try increasing your average checkout value by cross-selling other products, offering free shipping above a minimum threshold or increasing pricing on selected products.

Ecommerce conversion rate

Ecommerce conversion is the number of purchases divided by the total number of sessions. Most visitors will take more than one session to decide to purchase, but this is the standard measure of conversion rate. It is a measure of how good a fit your traffic is for your products, and how well your site converts this traffic into customers.
What is a good ecommerce conversion rate for Shopify stores? The benchmark is 1.75%.
Larger stores have pushed this to 1.85%, and if you are more than 2.8% you are in the top quartile. The highest conversion rate we've seen on Shopify is 8%.

Can you increase the conversion rate with more attractive product displays, or improving the checkout process? Enhanced ecommerce tracking will help you identify exactly where the blockers lie.

Bounce rate from mobile search

Since more than 60% of Google searches are now done on mobile, ensuring your site design works on a small screen is important for branding and sales. Bounce rate is the percent of visits of only one page - and will be high if your landing pages do not engage.

Google will even adjust your mobile ranking for a given keyword depending on what proportion of visitors stick on your page - a good indication that your link was useful.
What is a good bounce rate from mobile search for Shopify stores? The benchmark is 47.5%.
The biggest Shopify stores have got this below 40%, and overall large retailers have 38% mobile bounce rate. So it's not a problem with the Shopify platform, so much as a problem with the store theme - or how the options and products are displayed on a smaller screen.

Can you improve the first impressions of the landing pages, put key content higher up the page, or decrease the page load speed to reduce that bounce rate?

Delay before page content appears

The delay between a page request by the user and them being to read or click on that page. This is more important than full page load speed for AJAX / lazy loading sites (also called the 'DOM Interactive Time').
What is a good delay time before page content appears? The benchmark for Shopify stores is 2.75 seconds.
Even larger retailers have this down to 2.8 seconds, so Shopify sites do well on this score. Anything less than 3 seconds is generally acceptable.

Internet users are increasingly intolerant of slow sites. Your developers could look at Google PageSpeed Insights for more details. Often the delay will be down to extra scripts which could be delayed or removed.

Server response time

This is the part of the page load speed which is entirely outside of your control - and due to the speed of the servers your site runs on.
What is a good server response time for Shopify stores? The benchmark is 322ms.
The average for larger ecommerce is 542ms - so Shopify's server infrastructure is serving you well here.

Reliance on the homepage

This is the percent of visitors who land on your homepage. If this is below 40% you rely heavily on your homepage to capture brand or paid search traffic. Google increasingly rewards sites with a greater volume of landing pages targeting more specific keyword phrases.
What is a good reliance on homepage percentage for Shopify stores? The benchmark is 32%.
Larger Shopify stores, with many more landing pages, have reduced this to 7.3% of traffic landing on the homepage on average. Can you build out product landing pages and inbound links to copy their advantage?

Ready to benchmark your own website, stop playing guessing games and start scaling your ecommerce business? Our Shopify reporting app is the easiest way to get accurate benchmarking.

Install Littledata today and you'll get instant access to up to 20 relevant industry benchmarks for ecommerce sites, plus the tools you need to fix your analytics for accurate tracking, so you'll always know for sure where your website stands. It's all about smart data that helps you focus on making changes that drive revenue and increase conversions. We're here to help you grow!

Edward

Founder of Littledata, Technical Lead and Product Consultant. He has broad experience helping companies with business strategy, product development and technology management.
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Resources for COVID-19 and ecommerce
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world appears to have changed dramatically. But remember: we're all in this together. With hundreds of Shopify apps and agencies around the world joining forces to make a difference, there are plenty of free resources available to help you stay afloat and try to get a handle on what to do -- and what comes next. In this post we look at where merchants can turn for help, share some resources for honest projections about the industry, and ask what the crisis really means for ecommerce, especially Shopify stores that rely on subscriptions for revenue. Ecommerce trends John Kenneth Galbraith once said that the function of economic forecasting is "to make astrology look respectable." In the wake of the chaos invoked in markets by the novel coronavirus, nobody knows for sure what will happen, but there are many in the ecommerce world who are looking closely at the data on a daily basis to figure out where the overall trends might be. At Littledata, we've been analyzing our own benchmark data in more detail (see our open access ecommerce benchmarks), broken down by industry sector. In our first round of analysis we found that around 30-35% of Shopify stores overall are actually seeing an uptick in revenue & order volume, especially in the Food & Drink and Health & Fitness sectors -- even if revenue is growing at a slower pace. This matches Klaviyo's findings below, where about a third of ecommerce sites were seeing higher revenue after the first month of stay-at-home orders and social distancing. Yet there are still a few unknowns, as well as a range of outliers in certain verticals, like seemingly random successes in online fashion during the crisis. That said, the major unknown in my view is still the supply chain timeline: When will we feel the first major "supply chain hit" across sectors? As brands adapt wholesale strategies to the new environment, will over-discounting or confused omnichannel strategies come back to bite them? On the flip side, can independent warehouses like Perishable Shipping Solutions (PSS), which focuses on food and beverage, and even Shopify's own fulfillment network, handle the major uplift in demand? Even if customers adapt to purchasing gift certificates, exclusive pre-orders and other "delayed" products, will restaurants and retailers be able to fulfill the demand once things open up again? And some labels are flexible. Pantry staples are growing in several categories and there's been a lot of industry chatter about "DTC pantry" products, especially among millennials and wealthy urbanites. But this is pretty broad. What defines a DTC pantry staple? Subscription coffee brands like Dripkit and Groundwork should obviously be there, but what about adult beverages like Kin? [subscribe heading="A note about Littledata and COVID-19" background_color="grey" button_text="Read More" button_link="https://www.littledata.io/app/covid19"] So maybe it's not actually about the sector at all. Brands that have paid attention to truly speaking directly to consumers (not just in their product marketing but literally in their messaging) -- along with those who have moved production and fulfillment closer to home -- are doing the best right now. Maybe they'll even give Amazon a run for its money. Key resources for ecommerce news during the pandemic Perhaps it's ironic that there actually is a lot of fake news out there. And that's not the worst of it. Everyone on Facebook is suddenly an armchair epidemiologist, and economists are changing their predictions every few minutes. So where can you turn for accurate ecommerce news? In addition to essential ecommerce newsletters like LeanLuxe and 2PM, these five online resources are absolutely essential for brands that want to stay on top of Shopify news and ecommerce trends during the crisis: Shopify's COVID-19 response page Shopify's COVID-19 response has been really amazing. They're offering $200 million in small business funding, a community forum, plus extended features like gift cards and localized delivery options. They have also set up a dedicated weekly email newsletter for case studies and insights relating to COVID-19 (You can sign up on the main page linked above). Klaviyo insights Klaviyo is a popular email marketing tool used by many of our enterprise customers. Through surveys and analysis, Klaviyo is "taking a daily pulse on what's happening in the ecommerce world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic". The best part: you can submit your own info to take part in the analysis. See daily trends and how it all fits together. Modern Retail Modern Retail always does a stellar job keeping track of major trends, especially for larger DTC brands and innovators. And that reporting power continues through the crisis. They are paying attention to everything from warehouse conditions to high-ticket DTC exercise brands and the remarkable surge in alcohol delivery in the US (it's been a long time coming). Flow.io blog As we see an increasing number of merchants moving toward multi-currency sales, Flow Commerce has become an essential Littledata integration partner. Flow's blog is an excellent resource for anyone wondering how international payments, shipping and supply chains will be affected by COVID-19. WeMakeWebsites blog WeMakeWebsites isn't just one of our favorite agency partners, they're also insightful analysts of their own data as one of the best-known Shopify Plus agencies in London and New York City. On the WMW blog, they have been paying special attention to purpose-driven brands are differentiating themselves in the current climate. How we're adapting at Littledata At Littledata we've always been a remote-first culture, but now, like many, we've gone totally remote. We're dedicated to sharing as much of our knowledge as possible via this blog and our ebooks and other public resources, like our podcast interviews and help center. We've made some significant changes very quickly: Extended free trial from 14 to 30 days on all plans Free consultations for merchants on any platform Involvement in multiple agency relief programs for struggling brands and the Offline2On initiative, helping merchants get online fast Curating lists of brands giving back during coronavirus (is your brand doing something unique to help? Get in touch!) During the time of coronavirus, we're adapting our products, services and work culture, and supporting our customers and employees in every way possible. Find out more about Littledata's response to COVID-19.

In a month of grim news, we have some good news to share. Whoever you are, wherever you are, we think everyone deserves to make data-driven decisions We're excited to announce that we've extended Littledata's free trial from 14 days to 30 days. 🎉 The 30-day free trial is available to any Shopify merchant on any plan -- Shopify Plus? Multi-country setup? Selling by subscription? We've got you covered. Successful brands use Littledata to know the real return on their advertising spend (ROAS), calculate customer lifetime value (LTV or CLV), get complete marketing attribution, and much more. So as companies around the world move online and need to make data-driven decisions quickly, we're here for you. With the free trial, you can: Fix your Shopify tracking automatically: With just a few clicks, you'll see accurate data in Segment or Google Analytics within 24 hours. No more data discrepancies between Shopify and GA! Set up any number of connections: Add connections to track CartHook funnels, ReCharge subscription ecommerce, Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and more, with our full range of connections and integrations. Get support from an analytics expert: We started as Google Analytics consultants and we're always here to help. Choose the plan that's right for you and your business, and get help with everything from data audits to custom setup, analytics training and GTM support. (And yes, we offer support during free trials!) Getting started with the trial You can get started here. After clicking Start Your Free Trial, you'll be brought to a sign up page to create your account. From there, just a few quick steps before accurate data starts flowing: Connect your Google Analytics account Connect Shopify to Google Analytics You're all set. Welcome to accurate Shopify tracking! If you have questions, get in touch with our team of Google Analytics consultants. We're here to help! Using Shopify and Segment? If you're looking for a way to send Shopify ecommerce data to your Segment workspace, you're in luck. Over the past year, we worked closely with Segment to create the ultimate tracking solution for Shopify stores. Our Segment connection is now available to all Shopify merchants, and we've extended the 30-day free trial to the Segment app for Shopify too. Connect Shopify to Segment with a free trial today. Selling by subscription? If you're selling products by subscription, you'll be pleased to know that the extended free trial includes unlimited access to our top-rated subscription ecommerce tracking tools. Use Littledata's ReCharge connection or Bold Subscriptions integration to fix your data today. Why wait? It's the most advanced solution on the market for Shopify stores that want to track recurring payments and subscription products -- yet remarkably simple to set up, and powerful from the get-go. Start your free trial today. Stay home. Stay calm. And say hello to accurate data! [subscribe]

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6 essential benchmarks for Shopify stores

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Understanding how your website performs versus similar sites is the best way to prioritise what to improve. In this post we take a look at 6 top benchmarks for optimising Shopify store performance. Accurate benchmark data is especially useful to the increasing number of ecommerce companies using web performance benchmarks, such as bounce rates and home page reliance, as core elements of their sales and marketing KPIs.

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W/C 2 March -
mobile wireframes
behavioural model
pestle
swot analysis

W/C 9 March -
concept
7Ps
persona
marketing positioning map
marketing mix
A/B testing

W/C 16 March -
store audit
survey
empathy map
RACI matrix
create products
Luka write up

W/C 23 March -
competitor analysis
lean cycle
sustainable goals
circular economy
website
product write up

W/C 30 March -
user journey map
price architecture
promotion mix
social media
privacy policy
padlet
references

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The matte black roller-buckle gives our slim belt a casual feel. But the minimalist design and hand-painted raw edges give it that unmistakably Troubadour look. Made from the same vegetable-tanned Italian leather as our bags.

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Logo-embroidered denim jacket | Vetements | MATCHESFASHION US

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VETEMENTS - Blue Gothic Logo Denim Jacket

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Long sleeve non-stretch denim jacket in blue. Spread collar. Button closure at front. Flap pockets at chest. Welt pockets at waist. Single-button barrel cuffs. Logo embroidered in black at back. Adjustable buttoned tabs at back hem. Logo-embossed silver-tone hardware. Contrast stitching in tan. Supplier color: Blue

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ZhikDry™ LT is our super lightweight, quick dry performance range. The moisture wicking fabric keeps you cool and dry in warm conditions or during peak activity. Includes UPF50+ protection and anti-odour treatments.

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adidas Originals Mens Classic Trefoil Full Zip Hoodie Grey Marl

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Click here for adidas Originals Mens Classic Trefoil Full Zip Hoodie Grey Marl at MandM Directadidas Originals classic 3-Stripes full zip hoodie. AJ7698. . Cheapest prices online. Save up to 75% off your favourite brands online.

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Independent Trading's Version of the Best Sweatshirt in the World

I see you have a new style coming soon, the IND5000 Hood and Crew, what's the story on that?

Yeah, the IND5000 is something we've been working on for a little while now and we're calling it the Legend. We're pretty excited about showing it off and getting it to our customers.

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What's different about this sweatshirt?

The IND5000 is basically our version of the best sweatshirt in the world. So we were able to throw out some of the limits that we place on ourselves when designing a blank that needs to work for certain price points or appeal to the majority of our customers. We've gone for a heavyweight 450gm/13.5oz fleece, and true 1x1 ribbing, and a ton of premium features. Our main goal was to make the IND5000 the best of the best without any limitations.

What sparked your interest in making a Premium Heavyweight Hoodie?

One reason is that we wanted to put a stamp on the Premium Heavyweight market. When we hear people say "Have you seen how nice So & So's sweatshirt is?", or "Have you seen the $200 blank hoodie these guys make?" it really gets to us. Not to mention the Marketing campaigns...."The best hoodie ever made" - says Forbes Magazine. We Thought..."What the #$%@ does Forbes know about Sweatshirts?...We can make a better hoodie than that one! We're gonna make a new heavyweight...and it's gonna be the best."

Is there any particular type of brand or group you designed it for?

Heavy Tees and Premium Heavy Fleece has been popular for streetwear brands and workwear brands over the past year, so this garment is for those types of brands, but really anyone who appreciates the finer details of this garment.

What are the key features of this garment?

The IND5000 Hood and Crew are full of premium features which define this style. It starts with the fabric, a 450gm fleece with a coarse 20 singles face yarn we use for durability and has a unique texture. The body panels are sewn Cross-Grain to limit vertical shrinkage, and all the seams are Reverse Coverstitch for durability, fit & finish. We have perfected the fit, and added trims like antique silver eyelets and heavy duty shoelace drawcords with antique silver tips to top off the styling. We added Double Rib side panels to give a classic look, add some stretch, and used this same super heavy 520gm 100% cotton ribbing used for the side panels on the cuffs and waistband. Like our IND4000, this style has a double fleece lined hood, but he IND5000 features a tear away woven neck label which gives it a premium look straight out of the box, which can be easily torn out for relabeling.

Are there any features that you'd like to point out that people may not notice?

One of the things we most proud of is the overall fit and finish of this garment... Take a close look at all the materials and construction... This sweatshirt is beautiful.

Tell us about the Color Palette.

The Color Palette we've chosen is based off the classic colors we have in the IND4000 with the addition of some more unique fashion colors. Black, Navy, and Grey Heather are the staple men's colors that everyone wears, so it wouldn't be a premium Hoodie without those colors. From there we added some unique colors that we're really stoked on, which are our Bone and Dusty Pink colors. Both colors are super unique and have an elevated look that you don't see in a stock blank. Then we brought in some of our favorite classic men's colors, our Maroon and Alpine Green. These 2 colors bring the collegiate look, and really round out the line for a classic offering with a little twist.

When will this heavyweight be available?

Our first delivery is expected to drop early July 2019.

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Legend - Men's Premium 450gm Heavyweight Cross-Grain Hoodie

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Our Independent Trading Co. Legend Hoodie is the best heavyweight sweatshirt in the world. The Legend is built of 450gm fleece knit fabric with a 21 singles face yarn, and cut cross grain reverse weave for legendary durability. IND5000P | IND5000PC

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ASOS DESIGN organic skinny sweatpants in gray marl | ASOS

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Sweatpants by ASOS DESIGN Add-to-bag potential: considerable Drawstring waist Functional pockets Skinny fit Cut very closely from hips to hem This is ASOS DESIGN - your go-to for all the latest trends, no matter who you are, where you're from and what you're up to.

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