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After a year of great shifts in the social media landscape, Facebook may not be quite as dominant as in years past. But it's still the most-used social platform worldwide - by far.

In this post, we reveal 42 need-to-know Facebook statistics, updated for 2023, to help your brand understand what's happening with Facebook right now, as well as how you can take advantage of changing demographics and advertising moves.

General Facebook stats

That's a 1.3% year-over-year jump, or an increase of 39 million users.

Despite going through a tough year in 2022, Facebook remains the most used social platform worldwide. For marketers trying to reach almost every demographic, Facebook is a required component of a social marketing strategy.

Yep, 2.93 billion users equals 36.7% of Earth's 8 billion people, as of November 2022. And it's 47% of the world's population aged 13+.

3. 70% of Internet users are active on at least one Meta platform

Out of 5.3 billion global Internet users, 3.71 billion people use at least one Meta app every month: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, or WhatsApp. Many use more than one.

In this post , we focus specifically on Facebook itself, but since there's so much cross-pollination in Meta platforms, it's good to understand the bigger picture, too.

4. Facebook is the 7th most valuable brand in the world

Meta's stock price had a bumpy ride in 2022, but Facebook's brand value remains strong. (Brand value is a marketing term that represents the value of the brand itself - it is not the same as stock value.)

Facebook lands behind huge brands like Amazon, Google, and Walmart to land in 7th place for 2022 with a brand value of $101.2 billion. Apple holds the top spot with an estimated brand value of $355.08 billion USD.

Only Google and YouTube get more visits. This is just the web version of Facebook, so this doesn't even include app use. On that note...

Only YouTube tops it. Facebook Messenger comes in at number 9.

Facebook is also the third-most downloaded app, after Instagram and TikTok.

7. Over 1 billion Stories are posted every day across Facebook apps

The Stories format continues to grow in popularity across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. 62% of users say they will use Instagram and Facebook Stories even more in the future.

8. About 15% of Facebook Feed content is recommended by AI from non-followed accounts

Mark Zuckerberg has said that he expects that percentage to more than double by the end of 2023. That's loads of potential for brands to get in front of new audiences organically. All the more reason to stay on top of the latest changes in the Facebook algorithm.

Facebook user stats

That's 1.98 billion daily active users, a.k.a. people using Facebook every single day.

The trick for marketers is knowing when best to share content to reach their daily Facebook audience. We've got a blog post and tools to help you figure that out.

10. More than 72% of Facebook users also use YouTube, WhatsApp, and Instagram

The figures come in at 72.6% of Facebook users also frequenting YouTube, 72.3% using WhatsApp, and 77.4% using Instagram.

There are considerable overlaps in other popular social networks, such as 50.2% of Facebook users also being on TikTok, 49.9% on Twitter, and 33.7% on Pinterest.

Having a strong cross-platform campaign strategy will ensure you deliver the right message on each platform.

Only YouTube ranks higher at 83%. Instagram comes in third at 47%.

But, as you'll see in the next few Facebook stats, the platform's reach is not universal across all adult age groups.

It also comes in tops for male Internet users aged 25-34, although women in that age group prefer Instagram. (Facebook currently limits its gender reporting to male and female.)

If your target market includes these demographics, Facebook is an even more important place for you to connect.

And 25% plan to spend less time on the platform.

Since generational age ranges can vary, let's specify here that Gen Z in this case is defined as users aged 18 to 25. Seven percent is hardly a mass exodus, but it does indicate changing user patterns that marketers should keep an eye on.

It's always a good idea to learn about your specific audience's behaviors through research and testing.

That's the lowest of all the social platforms, and a sharp decrease from 30% in 2020. That matters, because users are more likely to click on ads - and especially to use social commerce features - on platforms they trust.

Facebook usage stats

15. Users spend an average of 19.7 hours a month on Facebook

That comes in third behind YouTube's 23.4 hours a month and TikTok's 22.9 hours. It's substantially more than Instagram's 11.7 hours per month. This Facebook statistic is for Android users only but it's still indicative of industry patterns.

While the global monthly usage Facebook stat above has the platform in third place, it actually comes in fifth for daily use time by American adults. For this stat, TikTok rules the roost with nearly 46 minutes of daily time spent.

Of course, statistics on Facebook use vary by country. For example, UK users spend 42 minutes per day on the platform, compared to 49 minutes a day on TikTok.

That's a decrease from 35.3% in 2019. eMarketer predicts it will decrease a little further to 22.4% in 2024. Almost all of the lost time is going to TikTok.

But don't let shifting usage patterns drive you to make major changes in your strategy without planning and testing. Yes, Facebook is losing time to TikTok, but it still represents more time spent than any other social platform, and will continue to do so through at least 2024.

18. 31% of Americans regularly get their news from Facebook

While that's declined from 36% in 2020, it's still much higher than any other social network. YouTube comes in second with 25% of Americans regularly getting their news there.

People expect to hear about important events on Facebook, including the latest news from their favorite brands.

Facebook stats for business

More than half of of those posts (52.5%) are link posts.That's followed by:

20. The average engagement rate for a Facebook Page post is 0.07%

However, the rate varies substantially among post types, which may be a good reason to reconsider your content mix. Photo posts get the highest engagement at 0.12%, followed by:

Engagement rates also vary significantly based on the number of page followers, with small pages getting the highest engagement.

21. 1 billion users message a business on the Facebook family of apps each week

Ignoring your DMs is no longer an option (check out the next stat for proof). If you need help keeping track of incoming messages, try a tool like Hootsuite Inbox or Sparkcentral.

22. People are 53% more likely to buy from a business they can message

Fortunately, Facebook allows businesses to add Facebook Messenger live chat to their websites to improve customer service and conversions.

This is a powerful feature, although it's limited to only Facebook Messenger. A multi-platform live chat solution like Heyday can bring all customer communication from Facebook, Google Maps, email, WhatsApp, and more into one unified inbox for your team.

23. 54.9% of Facebook users follow or research brands and products on the platform

Only Instagram ranks higher for brand research, at 62.3%. Without a solid Facebook presence, you'll miss out on these potential customers who are actively researching what to buy.

24. Facebook accounts for 71.64% of all web traffic referral from social media

The vast majority of clicks through to websites are coming from Facebook. For comparison, Twitter comes in second place at only 9.02%. If you want to use social to drive traffic to your blog or online store, Facebook is your best bet.

25. Facebook removed 5,057,300 pieces of content in the first half of 2022 due to copyright, trademark, or counterfeit reports

Reports of intellectual property violations have risen steadily since 2019, though Facebook continues to develop detection and enforcement tools to keep it at bay.

A social media audit combined with a good social listening program gives your brand the best chase of spotting potential violations of your own intellectual property.
Source: Facebook Transparency Center
Facebook ad stats

Facebook ad prices have been falling based on data challenges related to iOS updates and third-party cookies. While you may not always be able to target as precisely as in the past, there is ample opportunity to reach specific audiences with an interest in your brand, at lower rates.

27. For the five days between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, Facebook's CPM dropped 37% y-o-y

Did your brand take advantage of this reduced cost? If not, it's time to start planning your Facebook advertising strategy while costs are still low, because...

28. Facebook ad revenue is expected to grow to $75.11 billion in 2024

After reading those last two Facebook advertising statistics, you won't be shocked to learn that the platform's ad revenue dropped in 2022. But eMarketer predicts ad revenue will soon be on the upswing, rising to $71.32 billion in 2023 and then topping $75 billion the next year.

29. Facebook's potential advertising reach is 2.08 billion people

Since Facebook is the most populous social platform, it's also the one with the highest potential ad reach. Again, for marketers serious about growth, Facebook isn't optional.

Put into perspective, that 2.08 billion person ad reach is over a third of Earth's entire teen-and-up population.

31. Facebook's ad audience is 56.4% male

To save you the math, that means the audience is 43.6% female (since Facebook only offers male and female gender options). It's easy to think of those as both being "around half," but a nearly 13-point difference is significant. Here's how it breaks down for each age group:

All the more reason to make sure you research your own target audience to understand where they spend their time online.

32. 18.7% of Facebook's ad audience is in Southeast Asia

That's the largest portion of Facebook's ad audience. The next-largest group is Southern America at 12.1%.

33. Facebook's ad revenue grew 6% in Asia-Pacific from Q3 2021 to Q3 2022

That's not surprising given the stat above, even in the face of declining overall ad revenue in 2022. For more geographic context, note that Facebook's ad revenue decreased by 4% in North America during this period, and decreased 12% in Europe.

Speaking of geographic context...

Facebook also reports these potential local advertising audiences as a percentage of total population over age 13:

(The latest full list is in our Digital 2022 Q4 update.)

35. The potential ad audience for Facebook Reels is 697.1 million people

To put that in perspective with other Facebook surfaces, here's the potential advertising audience for other placement types:

Stories: 1.25 billion users

Search results: 733.1 million users

Facebook Marketplace: 495.7 million users

Instant articles: 313.6 million users

For now, the Reels ad audience is smaller than the Stories ad audience, but Facebook is leaning hard into Reels. And when you consider the next Facebook stat, this gets really interesting...

36. Facebook Reels accounted for 3.3% of ad impressions on the platform in 2022

Only 3.3%. But Reels ads have half the potential audience of Stories ads. Advertisers with a solid Reels advertising strategy can gain an advantage by getting in on this ad placement while it's still a relative novelty.

37. 40% of Facebook advertisers use the Click-to-Messaging format

Facebook is focused on growing this format in response to iOS changes that make it harder to retarget users who click through to a brand's website. By keeping customer interactions within the platform, brands can see who's engaged with their ads and can follow up directly.

Facebook shopping stats

38. 37% of Facebook users will make a purchase on the platform in 2023

That percentage is tied with TikTok, but because of its much larger user base, Facebook wins in sheer numbers. Here are eMarketer's estimated U.S. buyers on each platform in 2022:

Facebook: 63.5 million

Instagram: 41.0 million

TikTok: 23.7 million

But TikTok social commerce is skyrocketing (look at the growth trajectory on that chart!) and eMarketer predicts TikTok and Facebook will have equal numbers of purchasers in the United States in 2023.

39. 19% of U.S. consumers start their online shopping search on Facebook

It's the top social network used for this purpose. The top overall source is Amazon, followed by search engines, Walmart.com, and YouTube.

40. The average Facebook Page in the retail industry sees 974,000 impressions per month

Retail pages see an average audience growth rate of 0.52% per month and post engagement rate of 1.37%. Want more benchmarks by industry? We've got a blog post for that.

Facebook video stats

41. Over 140 billion Reels get played every day across Facebook apps

That number, shared in October 2022, is an increase of more than 50% from May 2022. Reels are growing fast, and the time for a F acebook Reels strategy is now.

42. A new AI recommendations model led to a 15% increase in Reels watch time
Manage your Facebook presence alongside your other social media channels using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can schedule posts, share video, engage your audience and measure the impact of your efforts. Try it free today. Get Started
That number is for Facebook alone, not including Instagram. Facebook is leaning hard into AI modeling, and this number makes it easy to see why.

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42 Facebook Statistics Marketers Need to Know in 2023

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After a year of great shifts in the social media landscape, Facebook may not be quite as dominant as in years past. But it's still the most-used social platform worldwide - by far.

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https://www.webfx.com/blog/social-media/why-twitter-matters-to-marketing-infographic/

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Benefits/Purpose/Templates/Examples

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You've been there before. You start a big project, and at first, everything seems to be going fine. The project roadmap is detailed and comprehensive. Your milestones are set. Team morale is high. Executive stakeholders are pleased.

But soon, things start to fall apart. Deadlines are missed. Tasks are forgotten. And suddenly, your whole project is off track.

What went wrong?

Chances are, you didn't clarify project roles and responsibilities in your roadmap. Clear roles and responsibilities are a critical success factor for any project. Without them, projects can quickly derail and stakeholders are left trying to pick up the pieces.

Enter the RACI matrix. The RACI matrix helps project managers streamline their processes by ensuring each team member and stakeholder understands their specific roles. Learn why the RACI matrix is so important and how you can take advantage of it in your next big project.

RACI Chart (Click on image to modify online)

What is a RACI matrix?

A RACI matrix is a chart that defines and documents ownership and responsibility at each stage of your project. Within the matrix, every task, milestone, and decision in the project is mapped out.

The term RACI is an acronym that designates four primary roles within a project:

Responsible: One person (or a few people) who are responsible for completing the assigned task or function. They are responsible for finishing the work or making a decision. They are the "doers."

Accountable: The person who is accountable for the successful completion of the work (i.e., the "owner" of the work). This person approves the final work completed. The responsible party is accountable to this person. This role is usually filled by the project sponsor.

Consulted: The people who provide necessary input and information on the project and tasks. They are usually subject matter experts and play an active role in the process.

Informed: The people or stakeholders who need to be kept in the loop with progress reports and updates. They don't contribute directly to decisions but need to be aware of them.

Benefits of the RACI model

The value of the RACI model is that it is both quick and easy to create and also a powerful tool to maintain expectations, organize roles, and streamline processes from project start to finish.

All within a straightforward, at-a-glance chart!

The RACI model has several key benefits that make it especially valuable for project managers. This visual:

Clarifies roles and eliminates confusion

Keeps projects on track and ensures nothing falls through the cracks

Ensures smooth transitions and handoffs when there is turnover

Prioritizes communication between teams and stakeholders

Besides clearly designating roles, the RACI matrix encourages greater communication at every level. By giving equal weight to the "Informed" role, stakeholders who may otherwise have been excluded from the conversation are brought into the loop.

While "Informed" stakeholders typically don't provide insights or direction, they can operate more effectively in their spheres of responsibility when they know what's going on. The RACI matrix improves project efficiency and effectiveness across the board.

RACI Matrix Template (Click on image to modify online)

How to create a RACI matrix for your project

The beauty of a RACI matrix is that is simple to create. Follow these four steps to strategically allocate project roles and assignments.

Step 1: List project tasks

Meet with key stakeholders to identify every task, milestone, or decision within the project. The list should include both deliverables (such as products) as well as activities like meetings.

List these project items in order of completion on the left-hand side of the matrix (the y-axis).

Step 2: Outline project roles

Identify all the project roles-typically job titles-along the top row (the x-axis) of the matrix. For example, the x-axis might include roles such as project manager, business analyst, developer(s), technical architect, and CTO.

You may discover additional tasks to add to the y-axis as you uncover all the relevant stakeholders in the project. Add those to the matrix as needed.

Step 3: Assign RACI responsibilities

Next, go through each cell of the matrix and fill in the appropriate RACI role (responsible, accountable, consulted, informed).

Work your way down the task list until the whole model is filled out. Keep in mind that tasks may have more than one responsible stakeholder, but there should only be one accountable person per task.

Step 4: Finalize and approve

Once your RACI matrix is filled in, share the chart with all the project stakeholders and solicit feedback. Iron out any conflicts or issues with the assignments and then get final approval on the model.

Be sure to approve the model before the project begins so that everyone is on the same page.

Considerations

For the RACI matrix to be most effective, there are a few things to consider.

First, make sure each task has both a responsible and accountable role assigned to it. Watch out for tasks that have multiple "responsible" stakeholders though. Too many responsible parties can slow down the process. Assign only as many people as necessary to avoid inefficiencies from "too many cooks in the kitchen."

Second, keep in mind that occasionally there are roles that don't fit the mold. For instance, while each task will need a responsible and accountable party, it may not be necessary to inform or consult on the work. And that's okay! Especially in large projects with many moving parts, reducing clutter can improve efficiency and clarity.

In this case, an alternative model, called RACIO may work well. RACIO includes an "Omitted" or "Out of the Loop" designation for those roles that don't align perfectly in the RACI model.

So, if a task doesn't require every stakeholder to take an active role, you can add an "O" to the stakeholders who can ignore that task. This designation frees them up to focus on the most relevant work to their role. By strategically assigning roles within the RACI matrix, you can optimize the model for greater project efficiency.

Create a RACI matrix in Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a cloud-based diagramming platform that helps busy project managers create valuable charts and process flows, including RACI matrices.

The real value in a RACI matrix comes through clear communication. But if your project stakeholders don't have easy access to the RACI assignments, they'll have a difficult time staying on task.

Lucidchart unlocks that power by making it easy for managers to share their RACI diagrams with their team members at the click of a button. Because Lucidchart operates on the cloud, your resources are always available no matter where (or when) you want them.

Ideally, your project will go exactly to plan. But unfortunately, that's not always realistic. When changes need to be made, a flexible RACI chart is a must. Lucidchart gives you the flexibility you need to adjust roles and assignments without starting over. And when changes are made, users can instantly see the updates so they don't miss a beat.

Use Lucidchart to create clear RACI models with ease and never fall behind on a project again.

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How the RACI Matrix Will Streamline Your Project Lifecycle

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You've been there before. You start a big project, and at first, everything seems to be going fine. The project roadmap is detailed and comprehensive. Your milestones are set. Team morale is high. Executive stakeholders are pleased. But soon, things start to fall apart. Deadlines are missed. Tasks are forgotten.

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https://www.lucidchart.com/blog/what-is-a-raci-matrix

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https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-brands/g-star-denim-collection-jaden-smith-123063/

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Would you believe that 90% of plastics in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers? 9 are located in Asia and one of them borders Thailand. So what are the most plastic polluted rivers in the world?

Every year, we, the world, produces 300 million tonnes of plastics, and 8.8 million tonnes of these are dumped into the oceans. That's about 40 billion plastic bottles, 100 billion single-use plastic bags, and 522 million personal care items.

Disturbingly, 270,000 tonnes of these plastics are merely floating around on the ocean surface. That is more than 5 trillion individual pieces when broken down, excluding the millions of microplastic particles. You might be thinking that 270,000 tonnes is a lot, and you're definitely right!

It's equivalent to 33,750,000 bowling balls, 135,000 cars, 130,000 medium-sized boats, 1,225 cargo trains, or 36,000 adult elephants.

Obviously, this current amount of plastic garbage is wreaking havoc on our once pristine marine biodiversity. Approximately 700 marine species are in danger of extinction because of plastic pollution.

Sadly, 100,000 marine creatures are already dead because of plastic entanglement, while two-thirds of fish worldwide are still suffering from plastic ingestion.
"By 2050, there will be more plastics than fishes in the oceans." - Eco News
Plastic isn't really that fantastic. In a world where plastic is literally everywhere, the term " plastic river " is no longer a shocker.

When landfills fall short to accommodate all our trash, society turns to the rivers. This results in rivers that are entirely covered with waste. When seen from above, these rivers look like a solid sludge of plastic waste. All these rivers are channelled into the ocean, bringing the trash with them.

The top 10 most polluted rivers in the world have one thing in common - they are located alongside large human populations with poor waste management systems. Together, they deliver almost all the plastics in the entirety of our oceans.

One of the longest rivers in Asia and one that's close to home. The Mekong River travels through Asia bordering various countries like China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. It supports 200 million people depending heavily on agricultural and fishing industries.

The 9th ranked most polluted river on our list is the main river of West Africa. Niger River supports over 100 million citizens of Africa. From Nigeria, it flows through five countries before ending up in the Atlantic Ocean.

Also known as Heilong River, Amur River is located between the borders of the Heilongjiang province of China and Russia's Siberia, before being emptied on the vastness of Okhotsk Sea.

Ironically, this river was named after its pearl-coloured shells lying at its bottom that flows through Guangzhou City. Another one of China's most notorious river for harbouring plastics, this river isn't looking pearly anymore. As a matter of fact, Hong Kong is consistently suffering from trash coming from Pearl River being washed on its shores.

Considered to be the most polluted river in India, The Ganges River is upsettingly sixth on our list of the most polluted river in the world. It is worshipped as "Ganga Mata", the divine mother responsible for sustaining life and nurturing civilization throughout India's history. It provides water resources to over half a billion people or 40% of India's population. Despite these facts, an overwhelming amount of 1.2 billion pounds of plastics are still dumped here annually.

Another one of China's nastiest rivers, Hai River is the fourth on our list. It flows between two of the most densely-populated regions of China, Tianjin and Beijing, before emptying into the Bohai Sea.

China's cradle of civilization, Yellow River is the third longest river in Asia, next to Yangtze and Yenisei. It's also the sixth longest river in the world, flowing through nine of China's provinces to the Bohai Sea. This river is almost beyond salvation because of undrinkable water and 30% of its fishes gone.

3rd on our list, the Indus River is the longest in Pakistan. Its basin is covering over 384,000 square miles of open land, 204,000 of which lie in Pakistan. It's one of Asia's largest rivers running through Pakistan and India to the Arabian Sea. Aside from plastics, this river's pollution is also from the absurd amount of sewage wastes.

Located yet again in China, the Yangtze River is the longest in Asia and third longest in the world. Its reputation is the 2nd worst on our list for flowing out a staggering amount of 1.5 million tons or 55% of the ocean's plastics. Flowing through some of China's most populated regions like Shanghai (22 million), Wuhan (9.8 million), and Chongqing (7.5 million), the river's basin is a home for 480 million people or one-third of China's population. Because of the highly-consumerist lifestyle of the Chinese populace, their waste management system can no longer keep up.

The Most Polluted River in the World - The Citarum River

And finally, the leader of this infamous list, the Citarum River, regarded as the most polluted river in the world. Located in Indonesia, flowing down a basin that is home to millions of people. Due to the increase in industrial development and almost zero waste management, the river is succumbed by domestic, chemical, industrial and numerous types of water pollution.

The fisherman that once depended on the clear waters of this river for their lively hood, now cast their nets not to catch fish, but instead, to catch certain garbage that might have a scrap value.The Citarum river has turned fishermen into garbage men.

Conclusion

Knowing from here how serious plastic pollution is, trust me when I say that we're barely scratching the surface. The severity of the problem could come to a point of no return, we may not be able to win the life back in our oceans if we continue. Let's stop creating tragic stories like the sperm whale incident or the sea turtle with a plastic straw stuck on its nostrils.

We can still do something about it. In fact, we have to do it now! Let's actualize the rule of 5 Rs - Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Repair - or just say "No" to Single-Use Plastic.

We can all be a little more responsible for the monstrous amount of trash we created. Here are 5 simple tips to Reduce Plastic Waste and you are more than welcome to join us on one of our beach cleanups at the Clean the Beach Boot Camp - first we train, then we clean!

Keep in contact with The Thaiger by following our Facebook page.

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Top 10 most plastic polluted rivers in the world (2019) | The Thaiger

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Would you believe that 90% of plastics in the ocean comes from just 10 rivers? 9 are located in Asia and one of them borders Thailand. So what are the most plastic polluted rivers in the world? Every year, we, the world, produces 300 million tonnes of plastics, and 8.8 million tonnes of these are ...

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Repurposed plastics article WGSN

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UTILISING PRODUCTS FOR ZERO WASTE CAMPAIGN

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UTILISING PRODUCTS FOR ZERO WASTE CAMPAIGN

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Political Factors:

In case of multinationals such as Gucci, the political implications across not just the host country but across all the countries have to be taken into account. The political factors vary among changes in sudden regimes to political unrest or among major decisions taken by the government. Asian countries like India and China which have rampant red tapism can create unfavorable environment for smooth functioning of the such brands. A country which has no system of framework established for protection of intellectual property that would directly result in negative consequences for Gucci as the investors wouldn't find it feasible to invest in Gucci. Higher levels of taxation would result in high prices for the products of Gucci which would affect its profitability. The brand has earlier faced negative implications due to change in laws regarding import, export and increasing cost of operations. Availability of cheap labor would result in generation of higher profits for the brand.

Image: pixabay

This concludes the political factors in the Gucci PESTLE Analysis.

Economic Factors:

Below are the economic factors in the PESTLE Analysis of Gucci:

The economic factor in case of Gucci would focus more upon the purchasing power of the consumers. Gucci faced a couple of challenges in the market one of the main being skimmed prices and high insurance purchase sought after by the customers.

Gucci's positive contribution to the economy has resulted in increase in Gross Domestic Product and living standards of the economy. The efficiency of operation of the financial market can impact Gucci's ability to raise capital at a fair price. Since Gucci is a luxury brand, despite the adverse economic trends the luxury goods industry has experienced a positive effect on economic growth. The ASEAN countries posted a better growth rate than the previous years. While the exchange rate of the country in which Gucci operates would impact the profitability of Gucci, especially if Gucci engages in international trade, the stability of the currency is also an important factor as an unstable currency discourages international investors.

Social Factors:

Following are the social factors impacting Gucci PESTLE Analysis:

Gucci is a luxury brand and serves its products to high end customers who have specific demand for a particular product. It has always delivered the best luxury products that customer demands, including fur coat and leather bags etc. While this has successfully established a loyal customer base for the brand, the strategy has also resulted in social activist condemning the company's policy to use the raw material for these products. The target market has to be aligned along with the products and price range of the company. It would be ineffective for a brand like Gucci to promote its products to the general public if the majority of the population belonged to a lower class, the company would have to rely on very niche marketing. Besides these factors the irreversible rise of civil society in the ASEAN countries has changed the way brands perceive and target its customers. The company recognizes the value of its employees and is committed to enhancing the lives of the people who make their products as well as supporting communities. For e.g. it involves responsible and innovative management of the supply chain, gender equality, diversity and inclusion. Each year the company contributes to a variety of projects aimed at safeguarding the rights of women, supporting the arts and protecting and promoting health of children.

Technological Factors:

The technological factors in the PESTLE Analysis of Gucci are mentioned below:

Various advancements in technology affects the market coverage and the ability of the brands to target niche customers. The brand is focused upon developing new solutions by applying various technical innovations in order to improve efficiency in its production and logistics in the daily operations of the company. For example, setting up an incubator and start up environment to foster the environment of innovation within the company. The brand has also expanded its reach by creating awareness and marketing its products on various online portals such as Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest and Instagram. A variety of improvements in new technology would result in a reduction in cost of production, for the products of Gucci which helps the company to further increase its revenues.

The company has also launched a Florence based call center which would help deliver personalized experience to the customers through their smartphones.

Legal Factors:

Following are the legal factors in the Gucci PESTLE Analysis:

Gucci is a brand that strictly abides by the laws and regulations providing customers with their unique products in the market. Fair treatment should be provided to the employees in terms of working hours and treatment of employees. The company also has to protect its products from infringement. In the past, the Italian brand had filed a lawsuit against the Forever 21. The company had allegedly challenged Gucci's trademarks of blue-red-blue and green-red-green stripe webbing. Forever 21 tried to defend its claim by stating that any use of stripes or color brands on clothing sold by them is ornamental, decorative and aesthetically functional for them. Gucci was involved in another battle with the Guess. The companies had landed in an ugly legal battle related to intellectual property right litigations which finally settled after ten years.

Environmental Factors:

In the Gucci PESTLE Analysis, the environmental elements affecting its business are as below:

Gucci has a strong belief that the commitment to fight against the environment is essential for not only safeguarding the planet, but is also mandatory to ensure competitiveness. The company is setting ambitious targets to establish a new standard in luxury retail industry. One of the main goals of the company is to continually trace the procurement of 95% of its raw material.

The brand acknowledges the fact that there is a growing segment of new, ethically-minded consumers who focus upon innovation and social responsibility and want nothing to do with inherently cruel products. Therefore, in an industry that raises and kills more than 75 billion wild animals every year, the company has taken responsibility to become role models for other companies to follow a cruelty free model. The idea is to make use of the brand name that is already very influential in the market and the goal is to achieve a supply chain that doesn't involve the exploitation of animals.

To conclude, the above Gucci PESTLE Analysis highlights the various elements which impact its business performance. This understanding helps to evaluate the criticality of external business factors for any brand.

This article has been researched & authored by the Content & Research Team which comprises of MBA students, management professionals, and industry experts. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.

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Gucci PESTLE Analysis - Detailed PESTEL Factors | MBA Skool

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Gucci PESTLE (or PESTEL) Analysis assesses the brand on its business tactics across various parameters. PESTLE Analysis of Gucci examines the various external factors like political, economic, social, technological (PEST) which impacts its business along with legal & environmental factors.

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Virgil Abloh, Kanye West's creative director and the visionary behind three-year-old Milan-based clothing line Off-White, was the only American nominated for the prestigious LVMH Prize for young fashion designers last year. Known for his hand-painted leather jackets and patched and pleated denim, Abloh had his first-ever Paris Fashion Week show in September and is selling products at retailers such as London department store Selfridges and Paris trendsetter Colette.

Fast Company: For Kanye, you work on things like album covers and set designs. Is it an advantage in fashion, having this untraditional background?
Virgil Abloh: No, I just think the marketplace shifted. Luxury fashion means something different today. Now people are not as concerned with getting a Mercedes-Benz or a Rolex to represent success. That generational shift has also changed how fashion is made and sold. I didn't go to fashion school. I started Off-White by screen-printing T-shirts and giving them to friends. I still don't really classify myself as a designer. I feel like they know things that I don't.

And you probably know things that they don't. Like what to do with social media. How do you shape your brand online?
In a way, Instagram is more important than anything else. How many people can actually consume a piece versus watch a brand unfold [on social media]? I make Instagram my own by documenting my creative process. It's been the norm to not show anyone the tricks leading up to what you're releasing, and I felt that was kind of wack. This tool could be used to inspire. If I'm one of the first kids to go from making a T-shirt to doing runway shows in Paris, it would be a huge disservice to culture and to kids not to show them the ropes.

How do you stay connected with that young scene?
I network. In Paris last year, [a designer] friend texted me an address and was like, "Hey, you got to come here and bring some Off-White. It's important." I get there and he's sitting six floors up in a window tossing out his clothes [to fans below]. He was like, "There are 60 kids out here in the street-do it for the culture." It was a pretty epic moment and a really fulfilling vibe.

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How Off-White's Virgil Abloh Uses Social Media To Teach And Inspire

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Virgil Abloh, Kanye West's creative director and the visionary behind three-year-old Milan-based clothing line Off-White, was the only American nominated for the prestigious LVMH Prize for young fashion designers last year. Known for his hand-painted leather jackets and patched and pleated denim, Abloh had his first-ever Paris Fashion Week show in September and is selling products at retailers such as London department store Selfridges and Paris trendsetter Colette.

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Millennials are slowly inheriting America. They represent an ever-larger portion of the workforce and, before too much longer, they'll be spending a majority of their discretionary dollars in this country.

Along with this changing of the guard will come significant shifts in values. How and when millennials spend their money, cast their votes and sell their time to employers has changed dramatically since their parents' generation, but the one thing that brings it all together is quality. Millennials want a better everything.

Whiny? Entitled? Maybe. But the millennial obsession over quality doesn't end with consumable goods - it extends to business and manufacturing ethics, politics and almost everything else about modern life.
Quality Business Ethics
More than any other previous generation, millennials are concerned about business ethics, motives and methods. According to a Deloitte study of millennials, 58% of respondents indicated they believed corporations, in general, are moving in a more ethical direction, yet 64% still believed companies operate according to their own agenda first and society's needs second. Slightly over half believed the average company has "no ambition" beyond turning a profit.

That's a bit of a mixed bag. But it tells us two things: 1) Millennials desperately want the business world to improve its reputation and 2) Things are already looking up.

That so many millennials already believe ethics are improving in business is encouraging, but it's clear there's still work to do. America as a whole is far more progressive than the turnout of recent events would have you believe, which means folks at large are coming around to millennial-championed ideas like a living wage in every workplace and guaranteed sick leave.

Millennials prefer businesses that maintain a focus on sustainability and environmental responsibility. Anything less is increasingly becoming a deal-breaker.
Quality Politics
There is significant overlap between what constitutes quality ethics in business and what it takes to build a sympathetic, efficient safety net at a societal level. This isn't a political column, but any conversation about millennial sentiments must touch on one subject that explicitly or tangentially connects all others: Politics.

And millennials are not down with politics that brags about destroying the administrative state.

The administrative state is the thing that helps feed folks who can't feed themselves. It's also responsible for keeping drinking water clean - at least it should be.

The point is, politics is an intrinsic part of this country's fabric and touches almost every other facet of human life. By championing some crucial issues - 63% support a $15 minimum wage by 2020 - millennials are hoping to unite business and government with the same expectation of high standards and quality leadership.
Quality Products
Nobody loves buying the same product three or five times - when you plunk down cash on a new mattress, car, set of kitchen knives or a pair of socks, you hope it's the last time you'll have to do so for a while. In the world of capitalism, millennials are showing strong preferences for the "Buy It For Life" mentality - that is, they want to buy vehicles, homes, furnishings, appliances and other items that last a long time or can be serviced by the user to extend its useful life.

In other words, they want the world of manufacturing to return to the quality-over-quantity, built-to-last paradigm that helps keep Americans employed in decent-paying jobs. Ironically, that means they have quite a bit in common with both the farthest reaches of both the political Left and the Right in this country.

For example, both ends of the political spectrum seek more sensible trade deals that would make it easier to keep domestic production alive. America has some of the highest standards for manufactured goods anywhere in the world, and, to millennials, it simply makes sense to stock our shelves with slightly higher-priced items that require replacement less often than cheaper imported alternatives.

Unlike previous generations, millennials are looking past the quality of the product itself and becoming more conscientious about the quality of the process that manufactured it. In many cases, that means discovering some ugly things about some favorite brands, like the startling role slave labor plays in harvesting cocoa beans for the world's chocolatiers - we're looking at you, Nestlé - or the horrific conditions in the average factory farm - you're officially on notice, Tyson.

It's not that folks didn't know about these things years ago - they simply didn't have the tools necessary to get the word out. And that's where this activism-fueled, internet-savvy generation comes in. For obvious reasons, millennials are the "most digitally connected" generation ever, and they're using all that technology to ingest information at a prodigious rate, learn about the world and its problems and help drum up support for alternatives.

The millennial generation accounts for almost one-quarter of the U.S. population and that means they're one of the most powerful blocs of consumers in the world today. By 2020, millennials will be spending 30% of all product dollars plunked down by consumers.

Modern companies are falling all over themselves trying to learn how to "relate to" millennials. Unfortunately, that probably means they've already failed: Millennials don't like it when you try so hard.
A Quality Vision For The Future
We're not here to say millennials are perfect - like every previous generation, this one's made of people, and people make mistakes. But the larger trends discussed here paint an optimistic portrait of the future and the folks who will preside over it. In the parlance of our times, millennials are "woke" - and they're turning their attention toward improving the quality of our most important institutions, including business, manufacturing and politics.

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Millennials And Quality: The Search For A Better Everything

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Millennials are slowly inheriting America. They represent an ever-larger portion of the workforce and, before too much longer, they'll be spending a majority of their discretionary dollars in this country. Along with this changing of the guard will come significant shifts in values.

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Ah, millennials.

The buzzword generation.

The game-changers.

The infamous "killers of industries."

No matter how you slice it, this generation is different, and so brands must approach them as a new species of consumer in order to truly capture their eyes, ears, and hearts.

As a millennial myself, examining the research regarding my generation was an interesting journey filled with stereotypical confirmations and surprises alike.

Now, let's see how much of this information is eye-opening to you, too.

This is the third article on millennials I've written while on a quest to understand my generation from a marketing perspective, so if you're not familiar with the demographics of millennials, formally known as Generation Y, check out:

Today, though, we're doing a deep dive into how millennials spend, save, and shop as the biggest group of consumers in the US, both today and historically.

A quick recap on who these millennials are, in general:

They were roughly born between 1982 and 1996, so they're around 22-36 years old.

There are 83.1 million millennials in the US, making them the largest generation in the country's history.

While they are the most digitally-connected generation, they're a bit more old-fashioned in ways that most marketers don't anticipate-more on that later on in the purchase methods section.

Without further ado, let's check start with...

This is an area in which the hand that was dealt to the majority of millennials shows through-from the impact of the Great Recession (with over 15% of millennials losing their job) to stagnating wages and spikes in living expenses, this generation may have good reason for the following facts:

How does this happen?

Well, it turns out that nearly half of millennials are saving at most 5% of their income while only 16% are saving more than 10%.

This could also be attributed to the generation's overall relatively low financial literacy, but another big suspect is the word that swiftly sends young people into a panic: debt.

Consider that student debt is record high, with the average student loan debt for women clocking in at over $14,500. While men owe $8,500 out of college, almost half of the amount owed by women, it all adds up when lumped with total debt, which for men is around $53,000. While it's almost 30% lower than what millennial women face, at $69,000, it's all grim news that may be a key indicator of how millennials allocate their money.

It's important to note that high unemployment rates and too many low-paying jobs could be affecting the duration with which millennials have to carry the financial burden of their higher education, too.

While these people have less credit card debt and car purchases than other generations, it may be heavily due to the fact that lenders are tightening the requirements for taking out loans and credit extensions.

This alone has helped reduce the amount of consumer debt that millennials face, even if they still have to worry about other varieties.

To avoid credit card debt altogether, mostly out of fear, over 65% of millennials don't have a credit card at all.

Those who do, though, actually have good credit scores, with the average female having a healthy credit score of 666, compared to 661 for males. A startling majority of millennials, however, don't know their credit score at all-that's true for 76% of women and 82% of men.

While they're not so on top of their credit, millennials do know their financial goals well: female millennials predominantly focus on growing their savings account while male millennials prioritize growing their income.

The single biggest change in savings for millennials, when compared with all previous generations, is their lack of purchasing homes: more young adults live with their parents than ever before.

This is good news for almost any industry besides real estate, as it means that millennials have more budget allocated to other things that would normally go toward a mortgage. Even with fewer millennials taking out mortgages than older generations, older millennials are still settling down and starting families.

Millennials are decidedly more planning-oriented than their parents or grandparents ever were.

How?

Over a third have a written financial plan-compared with only 21% of Gen X and 18% of Boomers-of which 72% develop their plan with professional help and nearly all go and review or update their plans at least once a year.

In short, they're financially proactive, are open to getting expert assistance, and are very vigilant of changes as they go along.

Millennials are more likely to monitor their financial accounts and have an understanding of the fees they pay, probably because they know that they face the most uncertain economic future of any generation yet. In fact, this fear leaks into their hopes for their material goals, like finding their dream job, buying a house, and retiring earlier in life.

Investment-wise, millennials highly value social responsibility and environmental-friendliness in what they buy, and so brands have a high standard to live up to if they want this generation's hard-earned money.

In terms of how millennials decide where to invest, they typically choose to either follow their own instincts or go along with their peers-most importantly, they have become rather wary of financial advice given by parents (who they may perceive as having lived in "easier times") and professionals in the field.

This shows a little of the rugged, do-it-yourself (DIY) spirit of the generation, where millennials may feel like they have more work cut out for them than ever before.

Finally, and quite interestingly, millennials prefer to have a personal connection with those who manage their money. This reflects their highly-held values of trust, authenticity, and choice.

Millennials spend $600 billion annually, which comes out to 28% of all daily spending per person. That's a big chunk of money, which is why so many brands are scrambling for this generation's attention and patronage.

How and what do they decide to buy? Let's take a closer look.

When millennials make the purchase decision, the winning factor is...price!

Nearly 80% of millennials are influenced heavily by price when shopping, especially in the form of discounts. In fact, they value price over their friends' recommendations, the brand's reputation, and even product quality.

The majority of millennials follow brands online just for discount opportunities, too. While we'll touch on loyalty in a bit, it can be disheartening to learn that 66% of millennials would switch brands if offered at least a 30% discount.

Worse yet, only a third of millennials follow brands for trends and product updates, and a measly 7% do it to truly participate in the community.

If your angle is to get a conversation going around your brand, your best bet is to center it around offers, at least until you rack up enough loyalty to build a community around.

Discounts are paramount to the shopping experience:

72% of millennials search for a discount before purchasing online

52% search for a discount before purchasing offline

Overall, millennials spend an average of 3 minutes searching for discounts before they make a purchase

If a product can't get any cheaper, other values that brands could focus their efforts on nailing are authenticity, local sourcing, ethical production, a great shopping experience, and giving back to society.

In fact, millennials are so fed up with corporate greed that 75% of them consider it fairly or very important that brands give back to society instead of just making a profit. Bad news for big corporations; great news for small business that are striving to make a positive impact on the world.

Going back to the notion of brand loyalty, while it may seem like any millennial will switch to the cheaper "dark side" at any moment, it's not exactly that simple.

60% of millennials claim they're often or always loyal to brands they currently purchase from, especially if treated well via a customer-centric experience. Some of the most impactful elements a brand could provide to ensure allegiance include loyalty programs with custom discounts as well as active courtship.

Since almost all millennials expect effort from the brand, an easy way to deliver on the expectation is to send them coupons via mail or email.

Other channels, like texting, only have an effect on slightly more than half of millennials, even though this generation practically lives on its smartphones.

Interestingly, uniqueness isn't the predominant motivator behind the types of products millennials buy, with over 75% of millennials wanting to have the same clothes, cars, and technological gadgets as their friends.

How did we get here?

Well, a lot of the social pressure of materially "fitting in" comes from the dominance of social media in millennials' lives: oftentimes, friends will post their financial milestones-buying a car, house, and so on-on social media for attention (or praise from their peers).

There's a gender split here, too, as men feel more inclined to have as many material goods as their friends, but women lean toward frugality and emphasize saving money.

Fashion-wise, millennials want to buy designer clothes, but they do it at discount store prices.

Their generation is frugally fashionable, with secondhand items growing in popularity.

Thrift shops alone-both online and offline-are growing at a rate of 20 times faster than traditional retailers, with the apparel resale industry alone racking up over $18 billion in annual profit.

It makes sense, too, as 30% of millennials claim to shop secondhand at least once a year, and another 21% will continue to shop secondhand into the future, proving it's not a fleeting trend.

So, what's the allure of thrifting, besides how Macklemore made it cool in his 2012 hit "Thrift Shop?" Many millennials love it because of three elements: it's cheap, the items are unique, and it's an environmentally-friendly way to shop.

If there was a single perfect headline to sum up millennials' purchase habits, it would read:

"the generation that purchases cheap beer...but fine wine"

This alone shows how millennials don't spend a lot or a little in general; it all really depends on the product or service itself.

For instance, millennials spend more than any other generation on comforts and conveniences, like taxis, "craft" coffee, and eating at trendy restaurants:

60% of millennials spend more than $4 on a single coffee

70% of millennials will spend a little extra to eat at the hip restaurants in town

69% of millennials buy clothes for reasons beyond basic necessity

Over 50% of millennials spend money on taxis and Ubers while only 29% of Gen X and 15% of Boomers do the same

It's important to note, for the final statistic, that car ownership is significantly lower among millennials, even though 71% would rather buy than rent a car. However, it's one thing to want to buy a car, and a whole other to be able to do so.

It's safe to say that convenience and short-term affordability factor into the high spending amount on taxis and the like.

Millennials have a very active lifestyle, part of which involves going out more than older generations due to the notions of both YOLO (you only live once) and FOMO (fear of missing out). These people eat out 5 times a week, which naturally accrues gas and restaurant expenses as a result.

So, how do the generations look side-by-side with spending?

Millennials tend to spend more per year on:

Their cellphone (nearly 98% of millennials own a smartphone and have the highest usage, too)

Hobbies, electronics, and clothing

At the same time, millennials spend less than older generations on:

Television (millennials don't pay for cable; they buy or share streaming services instead)

Travel (although saving up for a trip is a big financial goal for many millennials, it's not happening yet...)

Furniture/building materials

If your brand falls into any of the categories above, this is crucial data you should look into when you're building out your buyer personas.

Although more than half of millennials don't have credit cards, the other half rely on them for basic daily necessities, such as food and utilities.

Cash is becoming increasingly more rare these days, which could be bad for millennials:

Over a quarter of millennials have late payments or are dealing with bill collectors

Over half are still receiving some type of financial aid from their parents

This in turn makes the generation, as a whole, financially unstable, as 70% of them define financial stability as being able to pay off all their bills at the end of every month.

So, do millennials justify making purchases outside of essentials?

Yes, when they fall into their favorite product or service categories above-an important point to remember when assessing the ROI on marketing to this generation.

While it's all-too-common to hear people go on and on about how we're living in "a digital era," this may come as a surprise: the majority of millennials make most of their purchases offline, not online.

What?! How?! Why?!

Shocking, I know. Let's break it down in backward order...

The why:

It turns out that millennials enjoy experiencing the product before purchasing-that is, they want to touch, hold, and smell the product first.

They love shopping at particular types of stores for the overall experience, too. The top brick-and-mortar store choices for millennials are drugstores, department stores, discount or mass merchant stores, and consumer electronics stores. This trend is especially true in younger millennials, surprisingly.

The how:

Even though 54% of millennials shop online, this generation is more likely to do the research and then head to a "real" store to make the actual purchase.

While brands with physical locations may be tempted to sit back and let out a long-overdue sigh of relief, there's more to it than doing what you've always been doing: now, millennials prefer-nay, expect -a seamless experience on all channels when shopping.

If you're baffled by what this could possibly be, here are common examples: digital coupons that work in-store, personalization of messaging and offers, connected shopping, integrated merchandising, fulfillment options that are flexible, and overall better services to improve the shopping experience.

The what:

A third of millennials make most of their purchases on their desktop computers, and even fewer shop on mobile-16%, to be exact, with this being more true for older millennials ( 21% of whom make an online purchase every week) than younger ones.

More likely than not, millennials are using their smartphones to compare prices to other retailers while they're browsing in-store and will put the product back on the shelf if they find a better deal elsewhere. (Yes, price is that important of a factor!)

More millennial women shop in stores than men, too. This is largely due to differing product purchases and industry interests, as buying makeup online without testing it is not as "safe" or appealing an option as going into the store first.

Millennial moms, too, are tech-savvy shoppers, relying on mobile phones in the purchase process quite a bit:

79.4% use their phone to search for the best price on a product

68.9% use their phone to read product reviews

67.1% use their phone to download coupons

In short, if your brand's online-to-offline experience is easy to navigate, millennials will be sure to prefer it over your less-tech-savvy competitors.

One final note that is crucial to bring up is how millennials perceive renting versus owning.

While some big, older brands may panic at the following data, it also makes room for new, niche industries to arise and flourish:

Millennials are 4.6 times more likely to rent products online

They're also 2.3 times more likely to use sharing services

Home ownership is an industry that's majorly affected by this generational shift, too.

It turns out that 56% of millennial men and 44% of millennial women own a home, but women in this generation are twice as likely to be living with friends or family rent-free (remember how they strive to grow their savings?).

Overall, 59% of millennials would rather rent a house than buy one, and one of the key reasons may be that at least 61% of them can't afford a house anyway.

Landlords everywhere are sure to rejoice from this news-as long as economic conditions stay the same, millennials aren't going to predominantly become homeowners anytime soon.

Get ready for this number, because it's going to sting a little...a recent survey found that only 1% of millennials said that a compelling ad would make them trust a brand more.

Harsh, I know, but it's just further proof that traditional advertising needs to adapt for a modern audience.

Simply put, millennials outright discount the authenticity of advertising, which just makes a stronger case for inbound marketing as an effective strategy.

Concrete proof of this repulsion to advertising is the popularity of adblocker software: 64% of millennials use some form of it on desktop, mobile, or both, and only 36% don't.

While older generations rely more on traditional media to make educated purchases, millennials look to social media instead, especially assigning value to the opinions of their trusted peers.

So, what are marketers to do?

Luckily, there are a few highly effective forms of marketing that resonate with millennials when done well.

1: Experiential Marketing

One of those is experiential marketing, naturally, as millennials are the generation that prefers experiences over material things.

It's so effective, in fact, that a whopping 98% of participants in a particular survey were more inspired to purchase the featured product after participating in an experiential campaign around it.

This approach isn't difficult or costly, either, as it could be as simple as hosting a live presentation or having a representative present to answer customer questions about the product.

2: Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing works, though it's important to note that, the more famous the influencer is, the less effective the campaign will be.

Millennials are much more likely to listen and connect with "normal" people that are similar to them, not celebrities.

This creates a wonderful opportunity for your brand to leverage microinfluencers, or slightly famous people with a substantial-but not massive-following in a particular niche.

YouTube is a great channel to turn to for finding these kinds of pseudo-celebrities: 60% of millennials would try a product suggested by a YouTube creator over a celebrity.

Furthermore, 70% of millennials are influenced by non-celebrity bloggers, too.

3: Cause Marketing

Millennials are also highly receptive to cause marketing, too, and significantly more so than older generations.

Millennials prefer to actively engage in a cause-based campaign in two ways: by encouraging others to support the cause or by participating in fundraising events.

Ironically, only 4% are more likely to volunteer their time, leading to some major slacktivism as a generation, but they show support in other meaningful ways nonetheless.

Most importantly for brands, millennials are 37% more likely to buy items that are associated with a particular cause, so if your brand is pushing product that's setting out to save the world, you're on the right track.

4: Content Marketing

Finally, but not least importantly, content marketing is an excellent way to tap into the millennial market and get them to notice your brand.

Consider that millennials are just as eager to share friends' content as they are to share branded content (so long as they found it entertaining).

What makes millennials hit the share button?

They identify with the content

It provides value to them

It reaches them in an authentic and transparent way

60% of the time, it's because it's thought-provoking and intelligent

70% of the time, it's just plain funny

You may be thinking, that's all fine and dandy, but if everyone's doing it...how do I make my brand stand out?

I have one word for you: personalization.

If millennials feel that their needs are being accounted for within niche groups, they're happy to share. This is best done with social media, where brands can offer exclusive discounts to their page fans or to individuals via messenger.

Positioning social media in the forefront of your content marketing strategy can be very beneficial, but it has to be done the right way.

Your brand needs to create a positive buzz and be part of millennials' conversation in a natural way to be most effective. This means that your content needs to delight them into wanting to share your content and support your brand without explicit incentive.

Otherwise, your best bet for gaining loyalty comes in the form of offers and personalized discounts-and if you don't want to be competing by price, then you better put great effort into creating buzz.

Knowing where these young adults are is key, too- 81% of millennials are on Facebook, so that's a good place to start. (If you're new to using this social media platform as a marketing channel, we have a guide that'll get your Facebook strategy up and running in no time.)

Also, your brand needs to offer an enticing yet non-intrusive experience. Millennials check their smartphones an average of 43 times a day, giving you a variety of time windows to work with for nailing that first impression. It's tempting to want to get their attention online with outbound methods, but it's sure to annoy millennials more than anything.

Luckily, a solid 40% of millennials use social media to record their experience after using a product, so a great strategy would be to take this user-generated content and use it as an authentic and natural means of showing off your products without being pushy or boastful.

If your image of these young and feisty millennials was blurry upon embarking on this journey, I truly hope that you can now see this audience segment through a crystal clear lens.

In a nutshell, millennials are...

The buzzword generation that has most brands panicking and throwing all of their old tactics out the window.

The game-changers who demand that companies do the right thing in order to make a healthy profit.

The infamous "killers of industries" with their radical ways of purchasing-or not purchasing-historically popular products and services.

There are some key takeaways that are important to understand in order to successfully convert millennials into loyal, long-lasting customers for your brand:

1: don't over-generalize

First off, while it's important to look at data and trends to gain an understanding of millennials as a whole, one of the most crucial insights is that we're talking about the most diverse generation of all time.

Generalizing too much, therefore, is a dangerous move because you can end up isolating all millennials instead of authentically relating to some specific characteristic-based segments of the group.

2: inbound marketing is key

This generation is quite jaded; they know what brands are trying to do with ads, and they don't like it.

Millennials tend to see the customer-brand relationship more as a courtship than a show-and-tell extravaganza.

Non-traditional means of advertising are the best way to tap into millennials' loyalty and patronage, so if your brand hasn't moved past relying on billboards, commercials, and other outbound marketing methods to bring in potential customers, it's time for a major update to your strategy.

3: make your marketing cross-channel

Finally, as an important part of your marketing strategy, you must consider all the touchpoints that millennials prefer, including cross-channel and cross-device marketing and customer service.

Millennials are predominantly multitaskers who tend to fluidly move across platforms and devices during their buyers' journey, so if your brand wants to be in the running, you need to make the customer's path from online to offline as seamless as possible.

Whether you love millennials or echo the reaction below...

...Millennials are the most powerful and abundant consumers of our time.

By now, you should have a good understanding of millennials as consumers, and if you've read my other two millennial-focused articles, who they are by the numbers and what they prefer in terms of marketing messaging.

What did you find most interesting?

What other information about millennials do you think is a must-know for marketers?

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The millennial consumer: how they shop & why they buy

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This article takes a deep dive into how millennials spend, save, & shop as the biggest group of consumers in the US. Read our insights on how your brand can take this data to successfully tap into this customer base.

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A larger Cohort

The Millennial generation is the biggest in US history-even bigger than the Baby Boom.

The first digital natives

Millennials have grown up with the internet and smartphones in an always-on digital world.

Millennials

Gen X

Boomers

"Which online activities do you regularly do for fun and entertainment?"

Source: Prosper Insights & Analytics for the Media Behavior and Influence Study

Social and connected

The online world - and social media in particular - have given the Millennials a platform to reach the world.

"After searching online, how do you communicate with others about a service, product, or a brand?"

Source: Prosper Insights & Analytics for the Media Behavior and Influence Study

Less money to spend

Lower employment levels and smaller incomes have left younger Millennials with less money than previous generations.

Mean income for 15-24 year olds as a % of total population

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Encumbered with debt

Student loan payments are taking up a growing chunk of postgraduate Millennials' income.

Mean Student Loan Balance for 25 year olds, in US Dollars

different priorities

With less to spend, they're putting off commitments like marriage and home ownerships.

% of adults 18-31 married and living in their own household

Source: Pew Research Center,
Current Population Survey

Snug in the nest...

A growing number of Millennials are choosing to live at home with their parents.

% of 18-34 year olds living with parents

Source: IPUMS-CPS, IPUMS-USA and
Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

Current Population Survey

But waiting to fly

An overwhelming percentage of Millennials say they want to own a home sometime in the future.

% of renters who plan to buy a home some day

Marriage can wait

The percentage of young people married and living on their own has dropped by more than 50% since the 1960s.

% of 18-31 year olds married and living in their own household

Source: Pew Research Center,
Current Population Survey

Putting off parenthood

Millennials aren't just putting off marriage. They're also waiting longer to have children.

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

% of women having children by age

Source: IPUMS-CPS and Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research

Never say never

Millennials may be putting it off, but polls have shown they do want to have their own families some day.

Source: Pew Research Center

The Hierarchy of needs

The must-haves for previous generations aren't as important for Millennials. They're putting off major purchases-or avoiding them entirely.

"How important is it for you to own the following?"

Source: Goldman Sachs Fortnightly
Thoughts intern survey, 2013

The Renter generation

A growing percentage of older millennials are choosing to rent, not buy.

Renters as a % of total population, 25-34 years

Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

Beyond the brand

When marketing to Millennials, a strong brand isn't enough to lock in a sale.

Strongly agree

Tend to agreee

Tend to disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

"When I shop, I always try to buy branded products"

Source: Ipsos MORI Global Trends 2014;
(16k respondents across 20 countries)

The Power of Social

If brands are shrinking in importance, social media is growing. Millennials are turning to their online networks when making purchasing decisions.

"When a brand uses social media, I like that brand more"

Source: Association of National Advertisers, Barkley, SMG, BCG

Clicking to Buy

Unsurprisingly, the generation that lives online, buys online.

Purchased something on the internet the last 12 months, UK

Source: Office for National Statistics, United Kingdom

Searching for Value

Quality is still key for Millennials, but price is a more important factor than it is for other generations.

"What factors make you loyal to a brand?"

Millennials

Non-Millennials

Source: AIMIA Inc. "Born this Way: US Millennial Loyalty Survey" ©2012

Defining Healthy

For Millennials, "healthy" doesn't just mean "not sick." It's a daily commitment to eating right and exercising.

Millennials

Gen X

Boomers

"What's your definition of healthy?"

Source: What's Your Healthy Survey, Aetna 2013

Smoking and drinking

As young Millennials pursue wellness, they're turning away from unhealthy habits like drinking and smoking tobacco.

"Do you disapprove of people (who are 18 or older) doing the following...?"

Source: monitoringthefuture.org

Fitness Focused

How important is wellness to the Millennials? As their consumption in other areas drop, they're willing to pay more for athletic gear.

Athletic Brands

Total industry (PCE)

Year-over-year sales growth of athletic apparel and footwear brands vs growth in total apparel and footwear spending

Source: Company data, Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) from Bureau of Economic Analysis, Goldman Sachs Investment Research

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The Millennial generation is the biggest in US history-even bigger than the Baby Boom. Millennials have grown up with the internet and smartphones in an always-on digital world. Millennials Gen X Boomers "Which online activities do you regularly do for fun and entertainment?"

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As with the EU referendum, US Presidential elections and Scottish referendum, the generational divides between voters has once again proved to be a key talking point of the 2017 General Election. We don't yet know the demographic breakdown of voters, and won't yet for a few weeks. Estimates of the turnout of younger people in yesterday's General Election current ranging between 72% of 18-24 year olds (a stat cited by NUS President Malia Bouattia on Twitter, with the source as yet unknown) and 56% estimated turnout of under-35s (according to an "exit poll" conducted by NME/The Stream). Even accounting for this range, there would seem to be a clear increase since the 2015 general election.

The millennial generation - roughly those born from the early-1980s up until 2000 - now represent 1 in 4 UK adults and are set to overtake the baby boomers as the largest age cohort. With the oldest of the cohort aged around 36, the term "millennials" encompass a diverse group of people of all shapes and sizes and from a range of different backgrounds, but also share broad similarities - such as being more socially liberal and holding internationalist values, generally more educated than their parents' generation, and more comfortable with immigration. The differences in political behaviours amongst this age group has also been keenly discussed in recent years because the voter turnout of millennials has been declining faster than other generations, meaning young people's overall share of the vote has reduced.

So does the General Election mark a reversal of these trends? To an extent, yes. Certainly it has shown that low turnout amongst younger people is not a fait accompli. Even without hard figures on turnout it is clear that the political mood of millennials has changed. Some of the surprise results of the election, such as the win for Labour in Battersea, where Conservative Jane Ellison had a previous majority of almost 8000 votes, look set to be because of the younger vote (Battersea is the constituency with the highest proportion of 25-34 year olds, according to ONS figures).

Higher turnout is undoubtedly a result of the wake-up call that was the Brexit vote last year, which left many millennials (the majority of whom voted to Remain in the EU) angry, disappointed, but more importantly vocal and motivated to ensure their views were not "left behind" again.

However, even though this was an election ostensibly about Brexit, both the Conservative and Labour manifestos contained little information about their proposed approach to the EU negotiations. The Labour Party deliberately chose to play a different ball game. Their surge in support is likely to be as much due to their policies on public services and education targeted at younger voters and their propensity to support single issues and campaigns.

It clearly paid off for Labour votes, but was this focus at the expense of clear thinking and engagement on Brexit, another top priority for millennials? Millennials strongly backed a vote to Remain in the referendum last year and continue to support membership of the Single Market and the freedom of movement, with immigration a far lower concern than for other age groups. Corbyn's keenness to impress his respect of the will of the 52% who voted to Leave may be at the expense of the values and priorities of younger generations are put at the heart of the Brexit negotiations - in this sense there may be an internal paradox to the Labour vote. Hopefully the election result will mean that the Conservative government can no longer claim an unequivocal mandate for a hard Brexit, and open the floor for the more moderate Conservatives to discuss more nuanced approaches. But in a hung Parliament that will already lack decisiveness, it remains to be seen whether the Labour Party can turn their election successes into a strong and unified Parliamentary Opposition that thoroughly scrutinises the Brexit process.

In the meantime there is lots to learn from Labour's election tactics about how political parties can respond to the values, expectations and behaviours of millennials. It was clear even for those of us who did not support Corbyn, that his campaign capitalised on social exchanges and peer influence. This was also the election in which the media opinion mattered far less and where technology stepped up to the plate - for a generation who places much importance of tangible outcomes to see the value of voting than their elders, tactical voting and manifesto summary apps seem to have come into their own.

These lessons could help pave the way for a more successful Brexit. To restore faith in the process, the Government - or indeed any political party - should launch a detailed public consultation process before entering into firm Brexit negotiations. To account for the political behaviours of younger people, the process should be conducted online, for an extended period, and seek to encourage deliberative rather than binary decision making. Following this, a future referendum (or general election if necessary) that is based on a series of proposed options for Brexit should be opened up to 16 and 17 year olds.

In the longer term, if we envisage that younger generations will continue to be more engaged in politics, politicians will need to think about the changing rules of engagement beyond courting younger people to the polling booth. Just as the Scottish independence referendum saw a wave of younger, less traditional politicians not only take up seats but change the ways they interact with voters and with each other, so too might this election hint at a shift in norms and behaviours in Westminster. But on the other hand, the mood may swing the other way in the form of tribal populism, a certain harm to intergenerational consensus in the long run. Rather we need deliberative and engaging policies designed to increase political trust and civic engagement amongst millennials whilst thinking about the long-term common good. In short, this is the beginning not the end of the process.
Also published on HuffPost UK

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What does the general election tell us about how to engage millennials in future politics? - Common Vision

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As with the EU referendum, US Presidential elections and Scottish referendum, the generational divides between voters has once again proved to be a key talking point of the 2017 General Election. We don't yet know the demographic breakdown of voters, and won't yet for a few weeks.

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Market Segment Premium
Core Business Apparel

Income Statement Trend

Net Sales

It represents the brand's turnover from the sales of finished goods through all of the distribution channels - retail, wholesale and e-commerce, after the deduction of returns, allowances for damaged or missing goods and any discounts allowed.

Operating Margin

Off-White Operating Srl doesn't provide the Operating Margin figure for Off-White.

Also known as ROS - Return on Sales, it measures the percentage of sales revenue that gets 'returned' to the company as net profits after all the related costs of the activity are deducted. The figure is about the latest fiscal year available.

Income Statement Highlights

in Thousands of EUR

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Off-White Operating Srl Financial Report

Income Statement Trend

Income Statement Highlights

in Thousands of EUR

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Brand doesn't have a
Weibo channel

OFF-WHITE c/o VIRGIL ABLOH™ is a fashion label rooted in current culture at a taste-level particular to now. With a specific opinion and not necessarily same with vision seasonal men's and women's collections are offered.

There is a product offering of the brand also in the realm of furniture and ready made goods to further reinforce an approach to lifestyle.

All products are based in a concept that adapts from season to season. Manufacturing is based in Milan with a core value of the brand to be made from the best available and particular opinion regarding fabric, fit and fabrication.

The result is to be a young brand embracing the now in a sophisticated manner.

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Country Italy
VAT Number IT08436950961

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Type of Company Private

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Market Segment Premium Core Business Apparel Income Statement Trend Net Sales It represents the brand's turnover from the sales of finished goods through all of the distribution channels - retail, wholesale and e-commerce, after the deduction of returns, allowances for damaged or missing goods and any discounts allowed.

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For decades, Pew Research Center has been committed to measuring public attitudes on key issues and documenting differences in those attitudes across demographic groups. One lens often employed by researchers at the Center to understand these differences is that of generation.

Generations provide the opportunity to look at Americans both by their place in the life cycle - whether a young adult, a middle-aged parent or a retiree - and by their membership in a cohort of individuals who were born at a similar time.

Michael Dimock, president of Pew Research Center

As we've examined in past work, generational cohorts give researchers a tool to analyze changes in views over time. They can provide a way to understand how different formative experiences (such as world events and technological, economic and social shifts) interact with the life-cycle and aging process to shape people's views of the world. While younger and older adults may differ in their views at a given moment, generational cohorts allow researchers to examine how today's older adults felt about a given issue when they themselves were young, as well as to describe how the trajectory of views might differ across generations.

Pew Research Center has been studying the Millennial generation for more than a decade. But by 2018, it became clear to us that it was time to determine a cutoff point between Millennials and the next generation. Turning 38 this year, the oldest Millennials are well into adulthood, and they first entered adulthood before today's youngest adults were born.

In order to keep the Millennial generation analytically meaningful, and to begin looking at what might be unique about the next cohort, Pew Research Center decided a year ago to use 1996 as the last birth year for Millennials for our future work. Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 (ages 23 to 38 in 2019) is considered a Millennial, and anyone born from 1997 onward is part of a new generation.

Since the oldest among this rising generation are just turning 22 this year, and most are still in their teens or younger, we hesitated at first to give them a name - Generation Z, the iGeneration and Homelanders were some early candidates. (In our first in-depth look at this generation, we used the term "post-Millennials" as a placeholder.) But over the past year, Gen Z has taken hold in popular culture and journalism. Sources ranging from Merriam-Webster and Oxford to the Urban Dictionary now include this name for the generation that follows Millennials, and Google Trends data show that "Generation Z" is far outpacing other names in people's searches for information. While there is no scientific process for deciding when a name has stuck, the momentum is clearly behind Gen Z.

Generational cutoff points aren't an exact science. They should be viewed primarily as tools, allowing for the kinds of analyses detailed above. But their boundaries are not arbitrary. Generations are often considered by their span, but again there is no agreed upon formula for how long that span should be. At 16 years (1981 to 1996), our working definition of Millennials is equivalent in age span to their preceding generation, Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980). By this definition, both are shorter than the span of the Baby Boomers (19 years) - the only generation officially designated by the U.S. Census Bureau, based on the famous surge in post-WWII births in 1946 and a significant decline in birthrates after 1964.

Unlike the Boomers, there are no comparably definitive thresholds by which later generational boundaries are defined. But for analytical purposes, we believe 1996 is a meaningful cutoff between Millennials and Gen Z for a number of reasons, including key political, economic and social factors that define the Millennial generation's formative years.

Most Millennials were between the ages of 5 and 20 when the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook the nation, and many were old enough to comprehend the historical significance of that moment, while most members of Gen Z have little or no memory of the event. Millennials also grew up in the shadow of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which sharpened broader views of the parties and contributed to the intense political polarization that shapes the current political environment. And most Millennials were between 12 and 27 during the 2008 election, where the force of the youth vote became part of the political conversation and helped elect the first black president. Added to that is the fact that Millennials are the most racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in the nation's history. Yet the next generation - Generation Z - is even more diverse.

Beyond politics, most Millennials came of age and entered the workforce facing the height of an economic recession. As is well documented, many of Millennials' life choices, future earnings and entrance to adulthood have been shaped by this recession in a way that may not be the case for their younger counterparts. The long-term effects of this "slow start" for Millennials will be a factor in American society for decades.

Technology, in particular the rapid evolution of how people communicate and interact, is another generation-shaping consideration. Baby Boomers grew up as television expanded dramatically, changing their lifestyles and connection to the world in fundamental ways. Generation X grew up as the computer revolution was taking hold, and Millennials came of age during the internet explosion.

In this progression, what is unique for Generation Z is that all of the above have been part of their lives from the start. The iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest Gen Zers were 10. By the time they were in their teens, the primary means by which young Americans connected with the web was through mobile devices, WiFi and high-bandwidth cellular service. Social media, constant connectivity and on-demand entertainment and communication are innovations Millennials adapted to as they came of age. For those born after 1996, these are largely assumed.

The implications of growing up in an "always on" technological environment are only now coming into focus. Recent research has shown dramatic shifts in youth behaviors, attitudes and lifestyles - both positive and concerning - for those who came of age in this era. What we don't know is whether these are lasting generational imprints or characteristics of adolescence that will become more muted over the course of their adulthood. Beginning to track this new generation over time will be of significant importance.

Pew Research Center is not the first to draw an analytical line between Millennials and the generation to follow them, and many have offered well-reasoned arguments for drawing that line a few years earlier or later than where we have. Perhaps, as more data are collected over the years, a clear, singular delineation will emerge. We remain open to recalibrating if that occurs. But more than likely the historical, technological, behavioral and attitudinal data will show more of a continuum across generations than a threshold. As has been the case in the past, this means that the differences within generations can be just as great as the differences across generations, and the youngest and oldest within a commonly defined cohort may feel more in common with bordering generations than the one to which they are assigned. This is a reminder that generations themselves are inherently diverse and complex groups, not simple caricatures.

In the near term, you will see a number of reports and analyses from the Center that continue to build on our portfolio of generational research. Today, we issued a report looking - for the first time - at how members of Generation Z view some of the key social and political issues facing the nation today and how their views compare with those of older generations. To be sure, the views of this generation are not fully formed and could change considerably as they age and as national and global events intervene. Even so, this early look provides some compelling clues about how Gen Z will help shape the future political landscape.

In the coming weeks, we will be releasing demographic analyses that compare Millennials to previous generations at the same stage in their life cycle to see if the demographic, economic and household dynamics of Millennials continue to stand apart from their predecessors. In addition, we will build on our research on teens' technology use by exploring the daily lives, aspirations and pressures today's 13- to 17-year-olds face as they navigate the teenage years.

Yet, we remain cautious about what can be projected onto a generation when they remain so young. Donald Trump may be the first U.S. president most Gen Zers know as they turn 18, and just as the contrast between George W. Bush and Barack Obama shaped the political debate for Millennials, the current political environment may have a similar effect on the attitudes and engagement of Gen Z, though how remains a question. As important as today's news may seem, it is more than likely that the technologies, debates and events that will shape Generation Z are still yet to be known.

We look forward to spending the next few years studying this generation as it enters adulthood. All the while, we'll keep in mind that generations are a lens through which to understand societal change, rather than a label with which to oversimplify differences between groups.
Note: This is an update of a post that was originally published March 1, 2018, to announce the Center's adoption of 1996 as an endpoint to births in the Millennial generation.

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Defining generations: Where Millennials end and Generation Z begins

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For decades, Pew Research Center has been committed to measuring public attitudes on key issues and documenting differences in those attitudes across demographic groups. One lens often employed by researchers at the Center to understand these differences is that of generation.

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Ecommerce Marketing Automation | Omnisend

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SMS marketing is far from a ground-breaking new concept. While SMS marketing has been a niche channel for some time, we saw more brands capitalizing on this channel last year than ever before.
In fact during the recent holiday shopping season:

Ecommerce brands earned a 14% CTR with SMS

SMS also earned 592% higher order rates than email

We saw 21% more orders coming from SMS vs email

47.7% of omnichannel campaigns involving SMS ended in conversion

While this was one season, it's indicative of trends we've been seeing year round. SMS is experiencing a rebirth, a kind of renaissance, and marketers are seeing the value that this channel has to offer.

And today, we're going to explore just what that value is, and how to get it for your own ecommerce store.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing stands for " short message service." Also known as text message marketing, brands use SMS marketing to connect with their customers.

SMS differs from email in that the messages are very short, with a limit of 160 characters and more immediate delivery. The message appears on your customer's mobile phone just seconds after it's sent, often giving your customer a push notification that it's arrived.

SMS marketing is great for three main things:

increasing brand awareness,

boosting engagement from customers,

generating more sales.

As an atypical and underused channel, SMS marketing offers ecommerce marketers a unique opportunity to build a relationship with their customers.

Why Use SMS Marketing

SMS marketing may work well during high-volume events, like the holiday season, but what makes it a good year-round channel?

The Top 3 Benefits of SMS Marketing

There are a few aspects of SMS marketing that make it stand out as a unique channel and give brands who use it correctly a competitive edge.
#1. SMS is fast
SMS campaigns are received instantly, and most importantly, they're read almost immediately as well.

It's no surprise that 90% of SMS are read in the first 3 minutes. This makes SMS marketing campaigns great for hyper time-sensitive offers. We'll go over that more with SMS strategies.
#2. SMS earns higher open rates than email
Where customers have to consult their inbox for email messages, an SMS gives you an instant push notification on your phone. If customers don't have push set up for their inboxes, your email campaign will have to wait.

Also, the notification stays in place until the message is read. This means that a customer is more likely to at least open your SMS.
#3. SMS gets a higher engagement rate
SMS marketing campaigns are eye-catchers: 70% of customers say that SMS is an attention-grabber.

Not only is the SMS typically read even before it's opened with the notification that appears on the screen. What's more, SMS aren't just opened more frequently, they also earn more clicks on average over email.

What Makes SMS a Powerful Marketing Medium

The benefits of using SMS marketing are tangible- and this doesn't mean you should forego email marketing for its character-limited cousin. SMS shouldn't be overused, and combined in your email marketing automation workflow, SMS can pack an extra punch for time-sensitive offers.

Why SMS marketing works? The combination of the immediacy, mobile push, and infrequent use means it gets your customers attention exactly when you want it.

Email is so widely used that customers expect it now. However, a well-timed SMS is effective because it's not so usual. Add an incentive in the mix, and you've got a message that's hard to ignore.

But how do you go about using SMS marketing effectively?

5 SMS Best Practices

While SMS isn't a new channel, it's a channel marketers are only now beginning to use and refine. While there's a bit more learning curve than the best practices already carved out for email marketing, you don't have a large margin for error.

Given the proximity of SMS for customers, it's important to get it right the first time around. Lucky for you, we've got some best practices to keep your SMS marketing campaigns relevant.

#1. Get Permission (and keep it)

Just like email marketing, it's important to get explicit permission from your customer for SMS marketing. This is simple enough, as you can add the option of including a phone number with your newsletter subscription field.

The real challenge, however, will be keeping the permission you've tentatively earned. Start off with full disclosure: tell your customer what kind of text messages they should expect to receive from you.

Second, don't abuse the permission granted to you! SMS is intimate, immediate, and overt in getting your customer's attention. Use your SMS marketing campaigns for time-sensitive and critical information. Overusing this channel is the fastest way to kill it for your customers.

On that note, include a way for customers to opt out with every message. Just like email, you need to make sure you give customers an unsubscribe link, or a number they can text STOP to.

Sending messages to people who don't want them does nothing for you or your brand.

#2. Use an SMS Marketing Tool

SMS marketing might get you excited, but before you whip out your phone and start sending manual messages to your customers, know that you should really be using an SMS marketing software for this.

A great SMS marketing tool can help you really nail your strategy in several ways:

You'll be able to automate your SMS marketing messages, and send several at once.

Certain SMS marketing tools will allow you to add SMS directly to your email automation workflows, saving you time.

SMS campaigns can be triggered the same way emails are, with the same level of segmentation that allows you to target your campaigns.

If you don't have SMS permission, you can substitute email or another channel so your customer still gets the message you want to send.

An SMS marketing tool will also afford you important metrics and reporting so you can see exactly how impactful your campaigns are. With that data, you can adjust your campaigns try different tactics to get the highest ROI possible.

#3. Add Value to Your Customer

Before you send your SMS campaign, ask yourself one simple question:
How will this SMS add value to my customer's life?
If you can't answer that question, put the phone down. SMS marketing should only be used when you've got a good reason.

This is a channel that can burn out very quickly if you don't know what you're doing or if you send too many messages too quickly. That's the quickest way to turn off potential customers.

#4. Keep it Short, Sweet, and to the Point

Not only should you keep your SMS campaigns few and far between, but limits on characters and your customers' attention spans means you need to get to the point, and quickly.

If you have an offer, lead with that. If your message has important information about their order, include it in the message. Always include a link so they can get more detailed information about the offer/update you've sent.

Another great practice is to follow up with an email. If you've sent something timely and important, make sure you're sending more complete information via email in case the customer needs it. Emails is less aggressive than SMS, so there's little risk in sending a follow up.

#5. Personalize Your SMS Marketing Campaigns

While the ultimate goal is to make sure your SMS campaigns are relevant, it's even better when they're personalized.

I mentioned earlier that a great SMS marketing tool will allow you to use segmentation for your best SMS campaigns. If you can target them the way you do your emails, you'll already be one step ahead of your competition.

SMS is a more intimate channel, so maintain that closeness with your customer by using their first name, or personalizing your messages. Send offers that are relevant based on location, or previous purchases.

This helps build and maintain the relationship you have with your customers.

This also means thinking about when your customer will receive their SMS. Remember, many people have their text message notifications enabled on their phones. This means that sending a text message at 3 am is going to result in a very grumpy customer.

5 SMS Marketing Ideas

You can have all the best practices in the world, but without ideas you're still at zero. Luckily, there are at least five perfect situations where a well-timed SMS can make all the difference.

#1. Welcome Offers

What better way to welcome your customers in than a well-timed SMS message. Everyone expects a welcome email, but adding an immediate SMS in the mix will be a surprise to your customers.

If you offered an incentive for signing up, send the discount code or link via SMS, then follow that SMS up with an email in case the SMS wasn't enough to get the customer to purchase.

#2. Birthday Discounts

SMS demands a special occasion, and what's a better special occasion than your customer's birthday?

Show your customer you care with an offer that lasts for a few days around their birthday.

You can either put the offer directly in your SMS message, or you can send it as a teaser to check their email for a special birthday gift. Whatever you decide to do, be sure to follow up with an email.

#3. Special time-sensitive offers

Maybe you have an extra special promotion going on, and you want to make sure your customer has every opportunity to participate?

For your very best sales and promotions, you can add a bit of urgency in your text messages like in the example above. Try out a few different options to see what works best with your customers. As long as you're not sending SMS campaigns every day, you should be fine.

#4. Cart abandonment

Cart abandonment is the bane of any ecommerce seller. With almost 7 of every 10 carts abandoned for any number of reasons, it's easy to see why.

Normally, a cart abandonment email is hailed as the best response to this phenomenon. But its made even better when you combine it with an SMS.

Understand your channels' strengths and weaknesses: SMS is well adapted for immediacy, and email for information. Send an SMS campaign to capture your customer's attention, and add the photos of the abandoned products in the email follow up to remind them of what they're missing.

This combination can be super effective, but limit your SMS to one per workflow for abandoned cart. It's great for that initial message, but you don't want to overdo it.

#5. Order confirmation and shipping updates

Where SMS can really shine is in order confirmation and shipping updates. Giving your customer the choice of how they get their updates, which empowers them.

Your customer can enjoy updates to their shipping directly on their mobile phones without worrying about opening an email. It's also a great idea to place a link in the SMS so they can check out more details about the tracking.

Key Takeaways

SMS marketing can add immense value to your ecommerce strategy when done correctly.
Big takeaways for using SMS marketing for ecommerce:

Get permission to use SMS with your customers, and keep it by using SMS only when absolutely necessary.

Use an SMS marketing tool to automate your campaigns and keep your messages relevant.

Think about the value you add to your customer with your SMS campaigns, and get to the point quickly.

Personalize your SMS marketing campaigns to build and maintain a relationship with your customers.

Use one SMS per workflow for things like Welcome, Birthday, and cart abandonment workflows.

Use SMS for time sensitive offers and the most special deals you're proposing.

Offer your customers the power of choosing the channel they get shipping updates on, and offer SMS to keep them updated even quicker.

When you use SMS in a workflow, follow up with an email to give your customers more details that you can't include in an SMS.

As long as you follow best practices, and use SMS when it's going to make the biggest impact, you can drastically improve your ROI. With these takeaways, you'll be able to make SMS marketing work for you and your ecommerce store.
What are your best SMS marketing tips? Let us know below!
Content Marketing Manager for Omnisend. When not writing awesome content, Whitney is reading up on the latest in digital marketing, ecommerce, and social media trends. Obsessed with pop culture, art, and metal. Powered by coffee. Fastest Googler in the West. Follow on Twitter.

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SMS Marketing: Guidelines and Examples for 2020

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SMS marketing is far from a ground-breaking new concept. While SMS marketing has been a niche channel for some time, we saw more brands capitalizing on this channel last year than ever before.

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Environmental Grants & Support - Patagonia

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Patagonia gives 1% of sales to support environmental organizations around the world, funding at the grassroots level. Learn more about the support we give.

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Details regarding the practices and schemes Patagonia carry out to fit the model of circular economy

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Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario explains the company's environmentally-responsible business model as it wins an award at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

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If you are a fashion brand catering to Millennials, it may be time to rethink your plans for "innovative" or "edgy" collections. More Millennials are turning to classic, heritage styles-a trend endangering the future of fast fashion brands like Forever 21 or H&M, according to a recent Business Insider report.

"Economical or ideological climates definitely influence designers and consumers in the way they interact with fashion," culture expert Kate Nelson Best told . In a time of economic and political instability, more Millennials are looking for clothes that feel safe, durable and timeless.

This new trend in Millennial shopping illustrates the need to engage these shoppers as their taste and preferences can change quickly. If you're a fashion brand looking to get closer to Millennials, here are some pointers to take note.

Be trustworthy

Thanks to their technical savvy and seamless use of social media, Millennials can easily figure out if they want to deal with a certain brand. At the top of their priorities? Environmental sustainability and social responsibility.

According to a report by The Shelton Group, "when Millennials trust a company's social and environmental practices, 90% say they'll buy from that brand, and 95% say they'll recommend the products to their friends and family (largely via social media)."

That trust, once established, means big profits for companies that embody eco-friendly and socially conscious values. Demonstrate your commitment through your choices of materials, labor practices and product quality. And since Millennials find it important to be heard on these issues, engaging them in conversation about the products you sell will help build your reputation as a trustworthy brand.

Be functional

Durability is the new black, according to the Business Insider, and our report, The Everything Guide to Millennials, corroborates this finding. Our study found that 94% of Gen Y consumers want products that are functional and 93% favor high-quality purchases.

The brands that are becoming more popular among Millennials-Patagonia, The North Face and Fjallraven-all pride themselves for creating long-lasting products. For example, Fjallraven products tend to last for fourteen seasons or seven years on average. To have such staying power, the design needs to be both classic and of very high quality.

Be authentic

More Millennials are favoring brands that show their true colors. The rise of values-based marketing means shoppers are supporting companies that are not afraid to take a stance on social issues.

Being authentic to the values you hold can have a big impact. Recently, for instance, when Patagonia said it was fighting the U.S. government to save a national monument in Utah, many shoppers, including Millennials, applauded the move.

To attract Millennials, "you have to articulate who you are, what you stand for, what's your purpose, what do you care about," Bill Thomas, the global chairman of KPMG International, said recently on a panel at the World Economic Forum. "If it's not greater and broader than simply the bottom line, then you are going to leave yourself at [their] mercy."

Standing up for your values has staying power. Early reports on the shopping behavior of Generation Z, the cohort after Millennials, suggest that they also care about things like authenticity and sustainability.

Like the world they evolve in, Millennial preferences change quickly. It's crucial to continue to engage these customers to understand their emotions, attitudes and intent.

To learn more about what Millennials care about, how they view brands and how they shop, download The Everything Guide To Millennials.

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As more Millennials favor functionality, fashion brands must listen

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If you are a fashion brand catering to Millennials, it may be time to rethink your plans for "innovative" or "edgy" collections. More Millennials are turning to classic, heritage styles-a trend endangering the future of fast fashion brands like Forever 21 or H&M, according to a recent Business Insider report.

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https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/

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https://www.omnisend.com/blog/sms-marketing/

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https://www.google.com/search?q=jaden+smith+off+white&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwihzMvcl9XoAhVcPhoKHQOVDAAQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=jaden+smith+off+white&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECCMQJzoECAAQQzoHCAAQgwEQQzoCCAA6BggAEAgQHjoECAAQGFCa8gJYopIDYMSTA2gAcAB4AIABWYgBjwWSAQIxMJgBAKABAaoBC2d3cy13aXotaW1n&sclient=img&ei=SdqLXuGDOtz8aIOqMg&bih=804&biw=1440&client=firefox-b-d#imgrc=lSlK6A2Pcd6ikM&imgdii=--514RaubIH1IM

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https://eu.patagonia.com/gb/en/environmental-grants-and-support.html

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https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/how-patagonia-transformed-the-circular-economy

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https://www.fastcompany.com/3058982/how-off-whites-virgil-abloh-uses-social-media-to-teach-and-inspire

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When developing a mobile marketing strategy, you're going to come across the acronyms SMS and MMS frequently. But do you really know what they mean, or what the difference between them is? Understand each messaging type will allow you to build a comprehensive strategy that will appeal to your diverse customer base. Before we dive into strategies, let's first define the difference between SMS and MMS messaging.

SMS (Short Message Service) is essentially a 160-character text message that may include links. Whereas MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows you to send a message with rich media content, including animated gifs and short video or audio files - and it has an increased limit of 1,000 characters. SMS messages cost less to send but MMS messages have a higher engagement rate with a 15% average click-through rate and 20% more campaign opt-ins than SMS.

Pier 1's mobile marketing strategy includes both SMS and MMS messaging. In this example, the SMS message is the first message this user received. It's simply content and a link. Whereas the second message has an image in addition to the content and link -- making it an MMS message.

Because almost all devices support both SMS and MMS messages, you don't need to pick one over the other. A good mobile marketing strategy can, and should, include a combination of the two.

Mobile marketing has a greater potential to increase engagement and revenue due to the fact that it is delivered directly to your customer's most personal device provides new opportunities for marketers.

Mobile marketing continues to grow year-over-year. The more people who are relying more on mobile, the more you should be trying to get your messages out to them on the devices they use most. Image courtesy of Smart Insights.

For example, you can use it to re-engage email subscribers who have become disengaged with message - or, you can reward your most loyal customers with exclusive offers.

Not convinced yet? Think about it this way, almost everyone has their phone within reach all day. While the majority of our mobile time is spent on social networks, Informate reported that the average American smartphone user goes through 32 texts and 6 phone calls per day, accounting for a total of 26 minutes and 21 minutes, respectively. An even closer look by eMarketer shows we spend 22% of our time texting compared to 10% of our time interacting with email on mobile devices.

Test messages are used across the board when looking at the different age groups. Although it's not surprising to see that the younger generations are sending more text messages per day than those 65+. Image courtesy of Pew Research Center.

SMS Mobile Messaginge Strategies

SMS messages are great for campaigns like text-to-join keyword acquisition. The user sends a keyword to the brand's short code number to opt-in to the program. Typically, the introduction messages include a double opt-in (reply Y to confirm entry) or a request for additional information (reply with your email to sign up), plus the required compliance language.

Both examples here are showing the opt-in message that is sent to new users upon joining a campaign. These are very important and need to be part of your campaign to stay compliant with regulations around SMS marketing.

SMS messages also work well for triggered, transactional messages. Send short messages that your customers want the most.

Here are a few common examples: -

Information about a recent order

Shipping and delivery details

Appointment reminders

Updates

Password resets

Transactional messages are a great way to provide customers with quick communication about the things they want to know about. Order confirmations and flight status updates are two common types of SMS messages that help to notify customers about important updates.

Use MMS Messages to Enhance Your Mobile Marketing Campaigns

Send a sneak peek of new arrivals

Drive in-store sales with coupons

Invite subscribers to in-store events

Give early access to sales

Send a special birthday or anniversary message

SMS and MMS messaging have higher response rates than email. The right content can talk your customers into responding back to your marketing messages and could turn them into returning customers. Image courtesy of Business 2 Community.

These are a number of different types of MMS messages people want to receive. Make sure you're paying attention to what your audiences want -- is it coupon codes, loyalty programs, updates on sales?

Treat your loyal customers well and give them a reason to stay on the list. It's best practice to deliver timely, relevant SMS or MMS messaging that sparks an immediate action. Pair images with an actionable message with a link in it to not only track activity, but to give customers instant access.

Avoid transparencies as it will appear black on some devices

Static image files should be in .JPG format and should not exceed 500 Kb

Image size should be 640 x 1,138 with an aspect ratio of 9:16

Animated images should be in .gif format and have a frame speed no faster than one every half second - file size should not exceed 600 Kb

Animated image size recommendations:

Make Sure to Use the Right Content

MMS gives you the ability to add a subject line that appears above the image. This text is included in the 1,000-character limit. We recommend that you limit the subject line to around 40 characters.

Even though you have 1,000 characters to work with, it's important to think about how recipients will interact with the messages. Test different message lengths to see what works best for your audience.

Provide enough information to entice a click-through to your site, but don't provide too much text that overwhelms your audience and causes them to close instead of click. Also, keep your CTA near the top of the content - don't bury it at the bottom.

Nail the Images in Your Messages

Every mobile messaging provider handles images differently. It's important to note that iPhone models 5s and 6 open static images in preview mode, which adds a top and bottom navigation bar that covers part of the image. Because of this, avoid putting content in the top 129 or bottom 89 pixels. Here are some additional best practices to help ensure your images look great on every device.

In the provisioning process, you're securing approvals from the wireless carriers to send and receive mobile messages to your short code. If you would like to send both SMS and MMS messages, it's important to note that you must be provisioned for both.

MMS is available in Listrak's Mobile Marketing platform. Send photos, gifs or longer text (1,000 characters plus an image) to add a fun and engaging layer to your mobile marketing campaigns.

With Listrak's Mobile Marketing platform, you can segment specific target audiences to create highly personalized messages while coordinating SMS with your email, paid social and other channels. Best of all, because you are sending to a targeted list, your carrier CPM rates will be much lower. You'll spend less while driving even more revenue.

What's more, we're here to help you through the entire process - from provisioning to navigating compliance rules to measuring ROI and providing campaign recommendations.

Learn more about Listrak's Mobile Marketing solution.

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Mobile Marketing Strategies: Using SMS and MMS Together

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When developing a mobile marketing strategy, you're going to come across the acronyms SMS and MMS frequently. But do you really know what they mean, or what the difference between them is? Understand each messaging type will allow you to build a comprehensive strategy that will appeal to your diverse customer base.

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https://www.google.com/search?q=BANDUNG+people&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjIkYGjmvLnAhWM0-AKHUjlBX4Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=BANDUNG+people&gs_l=img.3..0j0i8i30.60981.64421..64882...0.0..0.139.1061.12j2......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......35i39j0i131j0i67j0i30.UDPpUY3JXEU&ei=aPVXXsi9GIyngwfIypfwBw&bih=803&biw=1440&client=firefox-b-d&hl=en#imgrc=RCM2PtKF0FJxyM

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https://www.google.com/search?q=off+white+plastic+belt&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjm5duNyO_nAhVM_IUKHTGQAW4Q2-cCegQIABAA&oq=off+white+plastic+belt&gs_l=img.3..0.197241.201771..202256...0.0..0.64.643.11......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i8i30j0i30j0i24.81nwX8_DNvw&ei=0JJWXua9Isz4lwSxoIbwBg&bih=803&biw=1440&client=firefox-b-d#imgrc=rLkjaRb0cUDpZM

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Proceeds from the clothing sold will go back to the local town and residents in the area to help ebuild infrastructure, poverty, education etc. in order to give back to the communities.

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The fisherman will be trained and paid for their labour (loss of jobs through to pollution in the river), they will also be educated in learning English in order for communication between employees and manafacturers.

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5 Things Jaden Taught Us About Sustainability

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5 Things Jaden Taught Us About Sustainability

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5 things Jaden Smith taught us about sustainable fashion

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This weekend, Zalando's Bread && Butter gave Jaden Smith a platform to talk about sustainable fashion. Here's what we learned

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Jaden Smith is well known for his work in helping communities through his own creation of products (JUST WATER) and his overall stance on sustainability.

He is an entrepeneur, and someone who is also associated with high-end fashion through his sometimes outlandish and stand out dress sense.

With OFF-WHITE having very stand out and well known pieces and designs, Jaden Smith would fit well with the brand image and the ideas and values behind the concept.

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- Target audience - Millennials (1981 -1996/ 24-39)
- Millennials are people born between 1982 and 2000, accounting for nearly a third of the world’s population

- They’re shopping with an ethically conscious mind, and take brand practices into account when making purchase decisions

- Transparency is key to tapping into this generation. They want to know where your products are sourced and how they are made

- They are an impatient generation that don’t want to wait around too long for their products to be delivered

- 74% of Millennial consumers saying they would switch brands if they had a negative experience with the retailer

- They value loyalty schemes and discounts

- Need to be kept in the loop with their favourite brands and enjoy co-creating with them on social media

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Millennials are the largest living generation, so it's important for retailers to familiarise themselves with their buying behaviour. They are very different to the consumers that have come before them, so they can be hard to understand.

Millennials are people born between 1982 and 2000, accounting for nearly a third of the world's population. They're coming into their prime spending years, so if you haven't already, now is the time to get your head around the millennial consumer buying behaviour in retail.

Environmentally Conscious

Millennial consumers are very aware of the damage the retail industry can do to the environment. They're shopping with an ethically conscious mind, and take brand practices into account when making purchase decisions. They're willing to spend more on retail products that are environmentally friendly and will boycott those that are not.

Transparency is key to tapping into this generation. They want to know where your products are sourced and how they are made. Unlike the generations that have come before them, they're not turning a blind eye to production and labour practices.

Technology

You are probably sick and tired of hearing about how retailers need to get with the times and become tech savvy, but I'm afraid it's a necessary evil. This does not mean you've to move your bricks and mortar store online, but it does mean you need to establish an online brand presence. Millennials are taking to the internet to rant and rave about their favourite (and worst) brands, so it's not a case of whether you're online or not, it's a case of whether you are controlling it with a personal presence.

Studies into millennial consumer buying behaviour show that they enjoy shopping online and in-store equally. While they use mobile a lot, their online shopping preference is desktop. However, their optimal number of screens is two, so even though they make the purchase on their desktop, they may have found the item first on mobile or on an ad on TV.

Impatient Buyers

Millennials are constantly seeking instant gratification. They are an impatient generation that don't want to wait around too long for their products to be delivered. If it's convenient, they prefer shopping in-store, so they can get their products immediately.

They are more likely than older generations to put products back if the queue in the store is too long, so it's important for retailers to minimise this where possible. Retailers should also put relevant products close to each other, so the customers don't have to travel far to find complimentary items.

Customer Experience

Millennials are very loyal shoppers that value the experience they receive while shopping in-store. They are very likely to share positive experiences with their friends and family. However, it's not only positive reviews they are concentrating on, with 74% of Millennial consumers saying they would switch brands if they had a negative experience with the retailer.

They value loyalty schemes and discounts, and like to feel part of a bigger community. They need to be kept in the loop with their favourite brands and enjoy co-creating with them on social media.

Looking for more retail insights? Visit Autumn Fair and take part in the free seminars and workshops.

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Millennials are the largest living generation, so it's important for retailers to familiarise themselves with their buying behaviour. They are very different to the consumers that have come before them, so they can be hard to understand. Millennials are people born between 1982 and 2000, accounting for nearly a third of the world's population.

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High-end luxuxry streetwear.
As a brand, they are not sustainable, so for them to create a concept that is, and gives back to the community, this will help boost their likeability amongst environmentally friendly-shoppers as well as those who are already familiar with the brand.

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It's the brand on everyone's lips: founded in 2013 by Virgil Abloh, Off-White has grown to become one of the most talked about luxury streetwear brands on the market.

The Milan-based label is rooted in the current culture, aiming to be "a young brand embracing the now in a sophisticated manner".

Abloh, who was appointed as Louis Vuitton's artistic director of menswear in 2018, has shaken up the fashion industry. The American designer/DJ/stylist, rose to prominence as Kanye West's creative director. His popular brand is worn by the likes of Jay-Z, Gigi Hadid, Beyonce and Rihanna. But how does it impact the planet, people and animals? How ethical is Off-White?

Environmental Impact: Very Poor

Off-White rating is very poor. The brand fails to publish sufficient relevant information about its environmental policies. Transparency is the first step towards sustainability, and as shoppers, we have the right to know how a brand's production and practices impact on the environment.

Labour Conditions: Not Good Enough

The brand manufactures in Milan, a low to medium risk region for labour rights. However, there is no evidence of a Code of Conduct and of a living wage. We also didn't find evidence of listing of names or addresses of any suppliers, or of auditing any parts of the supply chain, which is why we rated Off-White's labour conditions 'Not Good Enough'.

Animal Welfare: Not Good Enough

Abloh's label still uses leather, wool and exotic animal hair, although it doesn't use fur, down, exotic animal skin or angora.

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It's the brand on everyone's lips: founded in 2013 by Virgil Abloh, Off-White has grown to become one of the most talked about luxury streetwear brands on the market. The Milan-based label is rooted in the current culture, aiming to be "a young brand embracing the now in a sophisticated manner".

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Who is Virgil Abloh?

Who is Virgil Abloh?
Follow Stephen on Twitter here. Well Educated: Abloh's Early History
Born in 1980 to Ghanaian immigrants, Abloh grew up in Rockford, Illinois. Like many teenagers from his generation, he got his first taste of fashion through the worlds of skating and music. As a self-proclaimed "average kid from the suburbs," he found solace in groups like Nirvana, Beastie Boys and Wu-Tang Clan, all of whom he counts among his earliest influences. "For me, it's like teenage years is the foundation for everything that I've sort of done afterward," he said. If you've followed his ascension, it's obvious how he's carried those hip-hop and grunge style influences with him to every stop in his continuously-evolving career. "You say the music, you can think of the look."

In case you hadn't noticed, a perfect T-shirt is Abloh's preferred canvas; it's an obsession that started back when he was a young student at Boylan Catholic High School. Good graphic tees were always a hallmark of the skate brands he worshipped as a teen. "As I started thinking about clothing," he said. "I was always drawn to what my initial interest was, and that was T-shirts." He gravitated towards skater brands like Santa Cruz and Alife, and as a Chicago area native, loved Jordans. He and his friend Chris Eaton would even draw sneaker designs and send them to Nike as kids.

Before Abloh was rewiring Nike classics and annotating hoodies, he was a student at the University of Wisconsin. He graduated in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, a career his father always wanted him to pursue. On the day of his graduation, rumor has it that Abloh skipped his final critique to meet with Kanye West's then-manager John Monopoly. By 2006, he had graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a Masters degree in Architecture. It was there where he learned the ins and outs of Adobe Suite, 3-D programs and other software-originally intended to help him design architecture-that he would soon be using to conjure up T-shirt designs. Fashion wasn't a career yet, but the seeds were being planted.

"When I was studying architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, the student center was just getting finished by OMA, the firm run by [architect] Rem Koolhaas," he told in 2019. "One of the mentors that was giving lectures on campus was a man named Michael Rock. Rem and Michael together made up two-thirds of the think tank surrounding Prada. That's how I first made the bridge between architecture and fashion."

While enrolled in IIT, Abloh joined The Brilliance blog alongside Benjamin Edgar and Chuck Anderson. Abloh became a part of the blog by cold emailing Edgar and asking to write for the site, which has always featured guest posts from friends. Edgar originally declined his offer, but they kept in touch and eventually connected over a shopping trip to the Louis Vuitton store (of all places) in New York. The Brilliance isn't your typical blog, especially in its aesthetics, but it has served as a commentary on just about anything from books to edamame, a spectrum that no doubt appealed to the notoriously diverse creative inspirations of Abloh. The blog's content is much more sporadic now, with its most recent post dated June 2018, right after Abloh's first Louis Vuitton show debuted in Paris.

It was during this time period, post-graduation, where Abloh's personal and professional relationship with West really began to flourish. Don C, West and Abloh's friend and fellow designer, came to the screen-printing shop called Custom Kings where Abloh was working in Chicago and offered him a job designing some projects for Kanye. He became West's creative consultant at just 22 years old and eventually became West's creative director at DONDA-Kanye's creative think tank-designing everything from tour sets to merchandise to album art. He even received a Grammy nomination for his art direction on Kanye and Jay-Z's 2011 "Watch the Throne" album. Not only had he become a valuable employee, but he quickly became a trusted advisor for all things creative. "More than any title," Abloh recalled to , looking back on his early days working with Kanye. "I was just his assistant creatively."
Collaborating with Kanye West
By 2009, West had ascended to the top of pop music and had begun to venture further into the world of fashion, with Abloh right by his side. They both interned for Fendi in Rome that year, picking up coffee and running errands like any other intern. They would earn $500 a month for their work, but they were able to absorb so much information and first-hand experience, which would become critical as their design careers would take off over the ensuing decade.

"I was really impressed with how they brought a whole new vibe to the studio and were disruptive in the best way," said Michael Burke, who was with Fendi in 2009, but is now chief executive of Louis Vuitton. The fashion evolution continued, as their friend Don C opened RSVP Gallery in Chicago with Abloh. The retail space, which carries everything from Raf Simons to, of course, Abloh's Off-White brand, is a reflection of his own aesthetic, the grey matter between the worlds of high fashion and streetwear.

That year, Abloh, West and their crew set out to conquer Paris Fashion Week for the first time. Abloh and West were both passionate about fashion, so they felt it imperative to be where the moves were being made. Nowadays, rappers flood front rows of every fashion show around the globe, but a decade ago, it wasn't common and their group was met with some initial pushback.

"We got into about 60 percent of the shows," Abloh told . "We were a generation that was interested in fashion and weren't supposed to be there. We saw this as our chance to participate and make current culture. In a lot of ways, it felt like we were bringing more excitement than the industry was."

Outside a Comme des Garçons show that year, Abloh, Don C, West, Chris Julian, Fonzworth Bentley and Taz Arnold were photographed outside by Tommy Ton for STYLE in what is now one of the most infamous photos in internet history. The entire crew is decked in a menagerie of bold patterns, from leopard pants to plaid pea coats to yellow sneakers and an assortment of briefcases. The picture quickly became an instant joke-South Park famously poked fun at both the picture and West specifically in an episode. The picture may be funny in terms of its outlandishness (especially in 2009 terms), but if it wasn't for them knocking down those doors and crashing fashion week the way they did, a lot of these rappers wouldn't be sitting front row at fashion shows the way they are now. "That was us saying, hey, we want to participate in this arena," said Abloh.

"I don't think anyone could have predicted how much this group of men would manifest in the next ten years," said Tommy Ton, reflecting on his iconic photograph on his Instagram. "These guys are a true testament that sticking to your guns and fighting for what you believe in will lead to greatness."
From Pyrex Vision to #BEENTRILL#
In 2012, Abloh stepped out on his own and officially launched Pyrex Vision, his first crack at a clothing brand. Pyrex Vision consisted (at least in the early days) primarily of old Ralph Lauren and Champion product with Pyrex branding screen printed on and sold for an insane markup. Ralph flannels with PYREX and the number 23 on the back were being sold for $550. The move was initially exposed in a contemporaneous Complex article. Abloh printed a key quote from 2013 article on a floor rug; the piece could be seen as Abloh poking fun at himself when the quote appeared among various other artifacts during his recent Figures of Speech exhibition at MCA. "I realized that Pyrex Vision was an art piece" Abloh said to in 2018. "It was a one-time thing. And that I wanted to do something lasting. I also wanted to think of a concept that didn't tie me down to my original concept."

That same year, Abloh, [along with Matthew Williams](grailed.com/drycleanonly/matthew-williams-35-1), Heron Preston, Justin Saunders and Florencia Galarza, created #BEENTRILL#. Originally formed as a DJ crew, they started selling expensive streetwear with wild typefaces on graphic tees. They sold $100 shoelaces and created capsule collections with KTZ, Hood By Air and Stussy before the brand was sold to Pac-Sun in 2013, which led to the most important move of Abloh's career to that point.

Later that same year, Abloh would launch his Off-White brand with the New Guards Group (the company behind Heron Preston, Palm Angels and others). "My goal was to tell a dialogue between high fashion and streetwear," said Abloh. "So, the name Off-White, in my mind, is between black and white. So, that middle ground is a mixture of both genres of fashion. The A$AP Mob kids were coming downtown to the Lower East Side [in New York], or they were coming to SoHo, and me and my friends were there. We were all mixing high fashion and streetwear. And so the brand, Pyrex Vision, sort of led to Off-White."
Off-White's Renaissance Man: Fashion, Music and Art
Based in Milan, Abloh opened Off-White stores in Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York and began hosting small shows in Paris. The Off-White brand was a full scale evolution from what Pyrex Vision originally was. The brand was built on Abloh's signature air quotes, zip ties, capital letters, diagonal lines and obvious branding on T-shirts and hoodies. The brand became a huge hit with everyone from Beyonce and Rihanna to Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner. Hypebeasts around the world began clamoring for anything in quotes. "I feel like Off-White is kind of the first luxury brand that's been built from social media," Abloh noted to The New York Times.

In no time at all, Abloh and his unique brand of design became ubiquitous. By 2015 he was nominated for the LVMH prize for Young Fashion Designers for Off-White (the only American nominated) by a panel of some of the most respected names in the industry, including Marc Jacobs, Karl Lagerfeld, Phoebe Philo and others. By Spring/Summer 2016, Off-White was officially on the runway at Paris Fashion Week for the first time and he was named to Business of Fashion 's list of people shaping the industry. Abloh was disrupting the status quo in the world of fashion; everything he touched turned to metaphorical gold.

At the peak of his stardom, Abloh began to spread himself thinner than ever. In addition to running his burgeoning brand, Abloh had become a world-renowned DJ. He had a residency in Las Vegas and opened for Travis Scott during the NYC leg of his "Birds Eye View" tour. He even played Lollapalooza and other festivals. As if that wasn't enough, he also directed Lil Uzi Vert's 2017 music video for "XO Tour Lif3". It's easy to assume that Abloh was simply using music to cash in on his celebrity, but he had been DJing parties since he was in high school and it was just another genuine passion of his that took off. "DJing is my only piece of mind," Abloh told The Guardian in 2016. "I'll be DJing after I'm done designing or doing anything else." As he was becoming a modern-day renaissance man, Abloh's celebrity was skyrocketing. Even if he wasn't the most popular man in the cross-section of fashion and music yet, he was well on his way.

Determined to never be tied down to one discipline, Abloh presented exhibits at both Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art and New York's Museum of Modern Art. Figures of Speech, his debut exhibit at the MCA in Chicago was extended by overwhelming demand and is running from June 10-September 29, 2019. The exhibition offers, "an in-depth look at defining highlights of Abloh's career including a program of cross-disciplinary offerings that will mirror the artist's range of interests across music, fashion, architecture, and design." A Carolina blue Off-White Air Force 1 was released in conjunction with the exhibit in limited quantities, which as expected, sold out immediately.

Abloh also designed an all-black Off-White Air Force 1 to be sold at the MoMa Design Store in New York in conjunction with the Items: Is Fashion Modern? exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, which celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Nike Air Force 1. The shoes were sold exclusively in-store for $175 and included a pair of custom socks and tickets to the exhibit. In addition to the exhibits, he has popped back up on campus quite a few times in recent years, performing lectures at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and Columbia University.
At the Top of His Game: Nike's "The Ten" Collaboration and Louis Vuitton Appointment
2017 marked another giant leap forward in the career of Virgil Abloh, starting with his collaboration with Swedish furniture giant IKEA. The collection included everything from area rugs with "KEEP OFF" printed on them to chairs and mirrors. The collection was designed for a "millenial" looking to decorate their first place in a tasteful yet (debatably) affordable way. He would also go on to collaborate with luggage brand Rimowa the following year.

While a collaboration with a worldwide retail giant might be the biggest part of many people's lives, it wasn't even the highlight of Abloh's 2017. Later that year, Abloh collaborated with Nike on its now iconic "The Ten" collection. Abloh took ten classic Nike silhouettes and reimagined them in his own unique vision.

Abloh took the Air Jordan I, Air Presto, Air Max 90, Air Force 1, Zoom Fly, Blazer, Converse Chuck 70 Hi, Vapormax, Air Max 97 and Hyperdunk 2017 models and crafted them in a deconstructed design with his signature air quote branding and he made sneaker history in the process. In addition to selling out each model instantly, these sneakers all continue to dominate the resale market, now almost two years removed from their original releases. With this collection, Virgil expanded his reach to the masses in ways he never could before and simultaneously became a god in the sneaker world. This proved to only be the beginning, as he would go on to collaborate with Nike again and again for a variety of colorways of these same silhouettes, even designing product for tennis great Serena Williams. Abloh is arguably Nike's biggest asset these days and he's become a direct competitor to his mentor and friend Kanye West, whose adidas Yeezy brand was the hottest name in sneakers until Abloh dipped his toe boxes in the water.

Ultimately, all of Abloh's maniacal hard work and relentless pursuit of perfection led to his biggest opportunity of all, being named the artistic director for menswear at Louis Vuitton in 2018.

"I dreamt about it. I willed it into fruition, thinking that it can happen and doing everything in my power" he said to Naomi Campbell in an interview with British Vogue.

Abloh debuted his first collection at Paris Fashion Week in June 2018 to a packed house in what would be one of the most memorable fashion shows in recent memory. A Wizard of Oz-themed runway featuring all the colors of the rainbow was the backdrop for Abloh's unleashing on the high fashion landscape. He mixed traditional Louis Vuitton luggage with beautifully bold suits, quirky bibs and shirts with pencil case pockets with a mini Petit-Malle trunk, with a dash of his trademark jeans and basketball-inspired sneakers.

During his celebratory walk down the runway, Abloh saw a familiar face in the crowd: Kanye West. He immediately sought out his friend and hugged him in an emotional embrace. "That show was us," Abloh said. Abloh had come so far. From designing T-shirts in Chicago to climbing to the top of fashion's metaphorical mountains to land at Louis Vuitton. One of Abloh's dreams had been fulfilled and it was appropriate that West was there to share the moment with him.

"Kanye was the guy when it was completely unpopular that said I am not to be typecast into a box," Abloh said. "He willed it for us. That dream is his just as much as it's mine."

For someone to ascend to the top of the world's most esteemed fashion house is no easy feat. For someone like Abloh, it is impossible. High-fashion purists, those entrenched in the old establishment, traditionally would rebuff someone like Abloh, someone with no conventional fashion background, someone who closely identified with streetwear and hip-hop culture.

But his drive proved undeniable. Abloh became one of the first black designers to become head of a French fashion house (Olivier Rousteing at Balmain and Ozwald Boateng for Givenchy Menswear being the others) and the gravitas of the moment is not lost on him. "I never thought I could be a designer with a capital D," he said. "Because no one looked like me."

His muse now is the next generation of designers who come from places like him who have a voice that needs to be heard. He wants to inspire them to create something big and to push forward when they think a lofty goal is out of reach. "If you find a creative that's passionate, they will carry the baton," he said. While this has been a hectic and exciting few years, he knows the real work is on the horizon. He approaches the future as if he's just graduated from a new Master's degree program, and he's ready to put all of his new knowledge and acumen to good use.

"Now is the beginning," he said. "Now the body of work starts. Now, we're the establishment."

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Virgil Abloh What to Know About the Off-White Designer & Founder

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Who is Virgil Abloh? Who is Virgil Abloh? Follow Stephen on Twitter here. Well Educated: Abloh's Early History Born in 1980 to Ghanaian immigrants, Abloh grew up in Rockford, Illinois. Like many teenagers from his generation, he got his first taste of fashion through the worlds of skating and music.

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Sustainability through recycling plastic from ocean pollution.

300 milion tonnes of plastic a year.
8.8 million tonnes dumped into our oceans.
40 billion = plastic bottles.
270,000 tonnes floats on the ocean surface.

Teaming with local fisherman in the Citarum River area (Indonesia), to help clean up the river, and have these bottles shipped via. boat (lower carbon emissions) to factories to be recycled and broken down to recycled PET fabric and yarn to be made into clothing and sold.