Junior Designer/Studio Artist: Good Things Do Come in Small Packages
1. Paints - I love to paint. My paintings are what got me into the Art program at the University of Delaware. My favorite kinds of paints are watercolors.
2. Red Lipstick - “Beauty to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick.” Gwenyth Paltrow -- couldn’t agree more.
3. Passport - I love traveling to all different parts of the world - it helps inspire my creative personality - and has allowed me to make new friends and try a lot of new things.
4. Snapchat - I am always in the moment and love sharing those spur of the moment snaps with my friends.
5. Avocado - I have always been a healthy eater and avocados are one of the many foods I can put on almost everything or just eat by itself as a daytime snack -- which leads to my next prop.
6. Cherry Tomatoes - MY FAVORITE SNACK. I do not discriminate against any tomato. I can eat tomatoes like an apple.
7. Lemon Water - I prefer lemon in my water, always.
8. Sketchbook/Journal - Helps me organize my many ideas when I feel a little scatter-brained. I have tons of sketchbooks and journals from my study abroad program as well as notes and doodles from my many years in school -- they are all filled with wise advice and crazy ideas. This one in particular is my favorite. I found it at a small market in London one summer.
9. Mini Brush - Never go anywhere without it. My thin, easily knotty hair thanks me for this.
10. Aviator Sunglasses - My default shades. They have been run over by a car (while in the case), dropped countless times, and they’re still kicking. A few scratches and bends, but they still look great on.
11. Camera - Big camera, little camera, any kind of camera -- I love them. I enjoy capturing memories with friends and family, plus anything else that I think is pretty cool. I love using my photos for all sorts of things, whether it is a gift for someone or creating a video slideshow.
12. Face lotion - Skin care is very important. I always have to apply face lotion at least twice a day.
13. My pup - First off, I love all animals: I am an animal lover. I went to do my laundry one day at school, saw someone with a black lab pup, asked where they got it - a half hour later I had one of my own. I rescued him from a filthy old house in Delaware from a guy who was selling dogs for money in his horder of a backyard. Best $100 I ever spent. His name is Jake.
14. Naked Palette - Along with fashion, I love make up and trying out different looks - Smokey eye is my favorite. Anyone want their eye-makeup done?
15. Jeffery Campbells – Let’s start out with the fact that I’m shorter than five feet. These heels are amazing. I can literally run in them. They may look very intense, but they are very comfortable for a heel. I mean, you’re only standing on two inches with the platform design. I recommend these heels to all the shorties out there. “Life’s too short, wear tall heels”.
Our Sr. Account Executive Presents Her Must-Haves to Brighten Her Days
1. Slouchy pants – I am loving this trend! They are versatile, flattering, and best of all..comfortable.
2. Antique pig – I like pigs and antiques, so this is a good representation of both. Did you know that pigs are as smart as four-year-old children?
3. Succulent – I worked at a garden shop in high school, and since then I have had an appreciation for beautiful plants and flowers. Succulents are perfect for apartment living because they are hardy and don’t require a lot of light.
4. Glasses – I wouldn’t be able to use props 1 or 3 without them! They are my functional accessory.
5. Sisters – The photo on the left is of me and my twin sister, Sarah. The photo on the right is of my little sister, Melanie.
6. Maple tea – I am French Canadian and grew up drinking this tea. I am a big tea drinker and can often be found with an iced tea in hand.
7. Seashells – Growing up in RI I spent a lot of time at the beach. These shells and rocks are from Duxbury Beach (Duxbury, MA), where my family spends a lot of time in the summer.
8. iPad & Game of Thrones – I always have my iPad with me when I travel, and I love to binge watch Game of Thrones. The medieval setting and character development is amazing.
9. Great Expectations – I’m an avid reader and love escaping into a page-turner. I usually read crime novels and mysteries, but this is my favorite classic novel. Love, lies, deceit -- it has it all.
10. David Bowie – I love David Bowie for his musical talent and overall coolness. My mom is a fan, so I grew up listening to his music and watching Labyrinth. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it!
Resident Football Player and Project Manager: Michael Stone's Everyday Essentials
1. Popcorn Kernels - I am an enthusiast and ever learning student of the stove-top-pop. This stuff is easy to dress up or dress down. Definitely, one of my favorite snacks.
2. Ice Pack - This is the blue thing you see sticking out of the back of my pants most mornings. It helps me keep a long time back injury cool and fresh. An ice pack a day keeps the doctor away.
3. Nook - My nook is great because it is easy to bring wherever I go. I am currently journeying through the Game of Thrones series. Apparently, the series never ends, so I will always have something to read.
4. Coffee - Joe-Go-Juice keeps me powered and awake throughout the day.
5. Dirty Sneakers - These guys are essential for my walk to work. They allow me to keep my work shoes clean (or kind of), and they are agile enough to help me dodge cars while crossing the expressway. They're also very stylish.
6. Backpack - This goes along with my sneakers. It fits everything I might need coming to and from work. I also live out of it every once in a while on the weekend.
7. Fly Reel - Fly fishing is something that has been passed down several generations in my family and is an activity we all love to do together. This bad boy hooks up to my nine wt. and is perfect for catching bonies.
8. My Favorite Shirt - An intricately woven piece of swagger passed down from my Grandad. We called him the Silver Fox.
9. Carrot - I like vegetables, alright?!
10. Moleskin - I love my moleskin notebook. I have it on me most of time. This one is home to some of the most compelling ideas of the 21st century.
Our Video Editor's Guide to Survive an Thrive in an Adventure-Packed Life
1. Snowboard - My trusty steed on the mountain. I did Europe and Canada with this board and it's still going strong.
2. GoPro - This little beast has survived explosions, sub-zero temps, and epic wipeouts. This is the one camera I have not been able to destroy.
3. USS Ariel v2 - This is the underwater rover I've been working on since last fall. It was designed to explore small lakes and ponds around Boston. USS Ariel v2, pictured here without the camera or thrusters, is named after the mermaid (and coincidentally, our IT guy).
4. Bike Helmet - When I'm not working, I'm riding. I've had too many concussions to not wear a helmet.
5. Board Shorts - This is my summer weekend attire. I keep an extra pair in the car for swimming emergencies.
6. Ping Pong - If you know me, you know I love ping pong. I train with a 50 year old woman from Hong Kong.
7. Timberlands - I got my first pair this past winter. Dig em.
8 & 9. Slackline - It's like my yoga. I have a secret spot over by Jamaica Pond.
10. Baseball - Official MLB baseball with special meaning.
Our Human Resources Manger Reveals How She Keeps Her Zen... Namaste
1. Yoga mat - I love my yoga mat! I have 3 different mats depending on what I’m doing (and for friends to use!). This particular mat is super lightweight and meant for travel. It’s so nice to be able to stretch out and move when traveling or just when you need a space to call your own.
2. Yoga pants - To build on my love for yoga, I have to include yoga pants in my Toth props. They are my go-to piece of clothing, making for easy transitions from bike commuting, work and teaching or practicing yoga. These pants by Purusha People are especially cool and handmade just for me in California. I love the print and colors. So fun for spring!
3. Bike - Biking is the fastest and most fun way to get around (and good exercise too). I love commuting into work on my bike, breathing in the fresh air, and enjoying what is around me. It is such a nice way to start and end the work day.
4. Sunnies - Maybe it’s because I grew up in Colorado where the sun is mostly always shining, but I cannot live without sunglasses. Not only are they a great fashion accessory but they also protect my eyes!
5. The Celestine Prophecy - This particular book was given to me for my birthday by my cousin. It’s an adventure story about the pursuit of the true human destiny, filled with vital truths about experiencing life. Really cool.
6. Essential Oil & Little Buddha - I always keep lavender oil on me - I like to use it at the end of my yoga classes. The little Buddha was gifted by one of my co-workers, Michael Stone, and I always have it on my desk.
7. Clif Bar - To stave off hunger, I keep a Clif Bar in every bag. The White Chocolate Macadamia Nut is one of the best.
8. Water - It may seem funny to include but I bring my water bottle everywhere. It is important to stay hydrated!
9. Eggs - I put eggs on everything - kale, sweet potatoes, spinach, veggie hash, you name it. They are such a perfect addition to almost any meal.
10. Sriracha and The Turmeric Spice - Siracha spicy sweet sauce is my favorite and again, goes on pretty much everything I eat! The Turmeric Spice was a last minute add! It’s important as I use it in all my cooking, and it’s very good for you! It supports your immune system and joints, has cancer fighting properties, improves your liver function and lowers cholesterol.
The selfie trend is not only trending on Instagram. Twitter has over 41 million photos tagged under these top hashtags related to selfie: #selfie, #selfies, #selfiesunday, #selfiesaturday, #selfienation, #selfiee, #selfiesfordays, #selfiecentral, #selfiemonday, #selfieee.
Selfiecity investigates the style of selfies across five cities
Recently, brands have been utilizing selfies as a way to connect with their target audience. Here are a couple great examples:
Samsung successfully generated buzz around their new Galaxy S5 through product placement during the Oscars. Not only did they advertise during the show as well as on commercial breaks, but throughout the show Oscars host Ellen Degeneres grabbed various shots of the star-studded audience using a Galaxy S5. After the show, Ellen posted the famous celebrity selfie to Twitter, which turned Samsung into the supplier of the most retweeted selfie in Twitter history!
For those who haven’t heard of #OOTD, or “outfit of the day,” this is the epitome of the #selfie phenomenon. #OOTD has over 23 million posts on Instagram. Zappos saw an opportunity to be a part of the #OOTD conversation and launched the #NextOOTD campaign. Using the #NextOOTD hashtag, users post an image of their outfit and Zappos responds with personalized shopping recommendations based on their image.
Photos tagged under #NextOOTD on Instagram
Brands like Samsung and Zappos, which listen to consumer conversations and observe trending topics on social channels take customer to brand relationships to the next level by providing relevant responses and viral campaigns. To be successful, brands must always be tuned into current happenings and be fast to respond so that they can outpace customers’ expectations by acknowledging their current interests.
Our Studio Expert Articulates His Screenplay to a Happy Life
Michael Poignand attended Syracuse University where he studied Musical Theatre. Upon graduation, Mike went to New York to pursue a career in acting. After a successful run in the acting business, he landed a job at Christie’s designing and producing auction catalogues in New York City. He worked at Christie's for eight years, until he began freelancing for reputable clients including Agency Saks (Wüstoff, Affluence Collaborative), Wieden + Kennedy (Delta, Nike), Lloyd (Bottega Veneta) and long stints in-house with both Chanel and Tiffany & Co. After a career in New York, he and his wife were ready for a change. They picked up and moved to the Boston area. His serious talent and vast experience working with fashion brands enabled Mike to join Toth’s studio team last August, and he couldn't be happier!
1. Comfy Pants
Hands down the most comfortable thing you can put on your body. Don’t be fooled by their appearance. They’re not for exercise. They are for lying on the couch and watching movies.
2. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
My favorite play. I have carried this copy on me for 10 years. Like Galadriel’s light, it is highly portable, independently powerful and shines bright in dark times.
3. Technology
My livelihood usually depends on it. My phone isn’t compensating for anything and that little guy is for my bike!
4. Camera
I love this thing and am a rabid Canon loyalist. The 60D has enough quality for classy, slick results but isn’t fussy enough to induce panic. From triumphant post-season Red Sox wins, to events like the pig roast, I’ve captured a lot of great moments with this thing.
5. Sox Hat
Goes with the Comfy Pants. A fixture of my personal brand and mostly worn when I’m not here. I went through a lot of these living in NYC. So good to be home!
6. The Complete works of William Shakespeare and accompanying Lexicon
A decent marriage of our language and condition. He did it with only 30,000 words! This is my mother’s Arden, the one she studied in high-school. I also have a Riverside and an Oxford (not to mention the MIT version on my phone!). When I work on one of his plays, my favorite part of the process (before an audience gets involved) is sitting down with the three editions and the lexicon to make sense of it all. As you make discoveries within the text, you feel a connection to all the others who have done that before you... almost like some sort of vampire coven. It’s wild. Shakespeare rules, you guys.
7. Green Tea
I’m addicted. This particular brand was being thrown away from our Cambridge location. Score!
8. French Press
My favorite way to brew tea. This particular press was given to me by my great friend Lindsay. In 2008, she discovered that I was brewing my tea loose in the bottom of a pint glass. After explaining that I was not in 19th Century mainland China, she purchased this for me. The brand name, “Bonjour,” is an added bonus for me.
9. The Blue and White Star Mug from Poland
My mother bought this for me a while back. It has a twin at home. They miss each other. Both are magic. I try not to drink out of other mugs—they get jealous.
10. Bryn Boice. My wife.
The two of us, pictured here at a Halloween party, enjoy costumes from various characters we’ve played. I’ll break out that ‘stache one day soon.
Five years ago, Uber introduced an app allowing passengers to book the nearest town car through a mobile device, and then track the vehicle on a map as it approaches their location. After the ride, the service automatically compensates the driver from the customer’s preloaded credit card. This convenient, cashless and stylish on demand car service is much more pleasant than waving down a cab on a busy street with oncoming traffic. Uber’s excellent service and impeccable marketing strategies have lead to great success for the brand.
Before Uber launched people were fed up with the poor cab experience, but due to the monopoly of the taxi system, they had no other options. Uber created a car service alternative that operates outside the bounds of the taxi system, using smartphone technology to link drivers with passengers. Uber escorts you where you need to go, when you need to go, and can be relied upon to do so.
The Uber app allows you to order a car service with one tap, track the car, estimate the price of your ride, pay with uploaded credit card, rate the driver, and split your fare
After Uber was created, they needed to encourage people to download their unfamiliar service in a strategic way. Uber is aimed a hip, tech-savvy customer that realizes the value of time, and is willing to spend some extra money for convenience. Therefore they tactically launched their first service in San Fransisco, a city with an early adopter tech community and notorious cab frustration. To get the word out about their service, they sponsored tech events, and provided free rides for first time users. Unlike the taxi experience, people were pleased with Uber’s service and wanted to share this with their friends, who were also looking for a better taxi system. The growth of Uber has relied almost exclusively on word of mouth.
Uber's marketing campaigns also rely on sharing. Uber campaigns align with the culture of each location, so in the college filled city of Boston Uber had a campaign enticing students to download the app. If a school reached the #UberXtraCredit goal of 1,500 signups within two weeks, the entire campus would win a week of free UberX. They encouraged users to share Uber with as many people as possible and gave new users who downloaded the app $20 off their first ride! To break the barrier that first time riders may have, Uber always gives $20 first ride credits. These type of initiatives allow Uber to easily gain more customers.
The picture used for #UberXtraCredit Campaign
Several of their marketing campaigns have focused on the on-demand aspect of the product. In the summer of 2012, in honor of national ice cream month, Uber had a promotion allowing users to order on-demand ice cream trucks, delivering ice cream to user’s homes. They created the hashtag #OMGUBERICECREAM for customers to share their unique experience. Many of Ubers campaigns showcase the easily accessible on-demand service that they offer. Their blog outlines more of their campaigns and updated services.
The #OMGUBERICECREAM campaign
Uber car service has advanced the ease at which the world moves by allowing passengers to book the nearest town car through the touch of a button and their success is evident in their rapid expansion throughout 70 cities around the world… “Because everything is better on-demand.”
Our Finance Guru Calculates 10 Necessities for Happy Living... And Some are Priceless!
You may be wondering why our finance guru, Jim, thinks an elephant towel is a must-have. Changing diapers like a champ, Jim is now a dad of two daughters and this towel makes his daughter Evelyn a happy camper! Jim has been with Toth for just over nine years and has become one of the pillars in the Toth Financial Team. Prior to Toth, Jim studied Business at Johnson State College in Vermont. Outside of finance, he enjoys reading and spending precious time with family.
1 & 2. Coffee Grinder and Insulated Travel Mug - I guess the hidden essential here is caffeine, but I believe these items to be a must for any coffee drinker. The only way to make a good cup of coffee is to start with whole beans and grind them up. You won’t find any K-cups in my house. The travel mug keeps the coffee warm for hours, and sometimes I use it even if I’m not leaving my house.
3. The Three Investigators - This is a children’s detective book series written in the 60’s that I was obsessed with when I was younger. My father also read them when he was a boy, which I think made them even more appealing to me. The books are no longer in print, but through Ebay I’ve been able to collect the entire 43 book series, which I’m hoping I can get at least one of my kids to read someday.
4. Stephen King’s The Stand - Speaking of good books; this is one of the best.
5. My Calculator - Anyone who works in finance will tell you that their calculator is the best, and that everyone else’s is garbage. The calculator shown here is the one that they gave me my first day at Toth, and I think if it ever dies I will have to change careers.
6. Cheez-Its - I don’t really know what to say about these delicious cheesy crackers other than that they are amazing.
7. Boston Bruins - Most people describe me as fairly laid back, but these people have never been to my house during the NHL playoffs. I believe it’s very healthy to yell at the TV like a lunatic once in a while.
8. Evelyn’s Elephant Towel - Bath time with a 2.5 year old is all fun and games until it’s time to get out. Then the tears come. Luckily for me, the chance to run around pretending she’s an elephant is just too good for her to pass up on most nights.
Evelyn in Her Towel
9. Sunday Brunch - This is a weekly tradition in my house. Having two kids makes it difficult for my wife and I to ever sit down and actually enjoy a meal together. Sunday brunch, while the kids are napping, is the one guaranteed time that this happens. We use the book shown here: “Taste of Home; breakfast and brunch” to make something different each week. So far the best recipe has been the South of the Border Quiche.
10. Family - I told my wife that I was compiling this list and asked if she had any suggestions. She mentioned a couple items that I already had: Cheez-its and Bruins (She knows me so well). She also told me not to be sappy and say her and our girls. I decided to ignore that advice. They are the real essentials.
Use of Social Media Ignites Revenues and Loyalty for Hotels
In this hyperconnected society a substantial amount of time is spent on social media sites, even when on vacation. The average American is active on social media sites, such as Instagram and Twitter, for about three hours a day, and one in five social media users admit to spending up to six hours on these sites. While vacationing, approximately 70% of people use social media platforms to post about their travels. In July of 2013, more than 3 million photos were shared on Instagram with the #vacation. Hotels have picked up on these trends and created social media campaigns, using various platforms. When hotels take to social media, consumers share and interact with a brand, essentially acting as a voluntary and free marketing team.
Instagram photo with #vacation, uploaded by @caboblog
Twitter Campaigns
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Toronto has capitalized on Twitter, creating an open line of communication with those staying at their location. Once followers arrive for their stay, immediate support and #FHRLocal tweets aim to service the need of every guest and educate travellers on the destination. In 2012, during Fairmont’s second-annual "Get Steeped" Tea Month, followers could share memories of teatime at a Fairmont location, and limited-edition tea blended for the hotel’s celebration was occasionally gifted in return for a story. Fairmont’s efforts resulted in more than 23,000 new followers in a year. According to HotelsMag.com, these initiatives generated more than $100,000 worth of bookings in 2012 and $100,000 in revenue, respectively.
Interaction between Fairmont Hotels and a traveler by tagging #FHRLocal on Twitter
Instagram Campaigns
In 2013, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Toronto used Instagram to launch the “Four Season Fotog” campaign, a combination of various photo contests. Four Seasons encouraged users to upload their photos with the #FSFotog. These contests, such as #IgniteTheSpark where the best romantic photos won $250 gift cards, had a positive response from users. In less than a year, the Four Seasons Fotog campaign generated more than 9,500 fans, 96,045 likes and 2,908 comments. This incentive-driven contest has the potential to persuade a new generation of tech-savvy clientele to choose this brand in the future.
An Instagram photo re-posted by @fsbudapest for the #IgniteTheSpark campaign
In 2012, Starwood Hotels & Resorts noticed a rise in their client’s use of mobile phone bookings as well as Instagram location tags. Using these trends to their advantage, Starwood promoted users to tag their Starwood photos with #SPGLife, specifically. The brand now has an archive of more than 9,000 photos and videos, 1,150 of which make up amenity and property galleries for their corresponding location. Strategically placed next to each photo in a gallery is a link to “Book Now.”
An Instagram photo of Starwood’s Westin Copley Place, Boston, MA, shared by @gizer, on Westin's website
Facebook Campaigns
Starwood Hotels, which was so successful with their #SPGLife Instagram campaign, claims a $2 million ROI after simply creating and advertising for their Facebook fan page. Travel booking website Expedia also benefited from promotions on its Facebook fan page, accumulating 70,000 bookings over a 60-day period, generating an influx of revenue for the site and the hotels booked, as reported by Tnooz.
Social Sharing Habits
Such partnerships between social media outlets and hoteliers are beneficial to both involved. Campaigns offer incentives for guests and drive brand awareness for hotels. Part of the beauty of social media is the ability to like or re-post submissions from other users, which 44% of Americans scrolling through their news feeds say they do. The more that hotels encourage travellers to share thoughts and images, the more traffic these social media sites are automatically gaining in return. Hotels are using social media to target a younger, more tech-savy, audience, who are likely to share their thoughts and experiences with a brand using social media outlets. Luxury brands used to want to be exclusive, but now brands are taking to social media to create aspirational luxury and this is proving to be lucrative for hotel brands.
Our Project Manager's Secret to Eternal Happy Days
1. & 2. Leather Jacket & Strappy Heels - I whole heartily believe these two pieces deserve a solid investment in a 20-somethings wardrobe: a badass, well-made leather jacket (shown here: Diesel) and a sexy pair of neutral-toned strappy heels (shown here: Ferragamo). Despite forking over a painful percentage of your paycheck and potentially enduring a temporary period of post-purchase-guilt, I assure you they are well worth their cost per wear, and together, it makes for a deadly date-night duo.
3. Kiehls's Lip Balm - I love this stuff so much I hunted down a Kiehl's in Barcelona while on a family vacation just to get my hands on a tube once realizing I had left mine on the plane.
4. Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer - One of the first beauty products my mother made me use, and I've been using it ever since.
5. Avocado - The only nutritional power food that consistently makes it into every grocery purchase.
6. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die - Among the best presents I've ever received; travel is essential to my happiness and is fuel to my soul. I've been to 23 countries so far, excited to tackle a growing bucket list.
7. Bose Noise Canceling Headphones - For anyone that's ever sat on an over-seas flight, these babies are a must.
8. Skippy Extra Chunky Peanut Butter - The first thing that came to mind when I was told I had to do this list. Couldn't live without it. A true brand loyalist. Don't even bother with anything else.
9. iPad - Bookmarked on The Cut.
10. Bronze Elephant and Ganesha Statues - I collect elephant statues, but these two I got while traveling in India and they sit on my nightstand, the first thing I see each morning.
11. Keiko - Saving the best for last, MY DOG, KEIKO!! I rescued this pup 6 years ago and my life has never been the same.
Over 10 years ago he launched his first clothing labels, Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream. Since then, he has worked with high-end brands, designing jewelry and accessories for Louis Vuitton and releasing a sunglass collection for Moncler. This year, Pharrelll teamed up with G-Star RAW to form a special eco-friendly denim collection, the ‘RAW for the Oceans.’ He serves as a creative director at Bionic Yarn, a creative manufacturer of the basic materials for creating clothing from recycled plastic bottles. Williams said “working with G-Star was an obvious choice, because they have a legacy of pushing the boundaries of fashion and denim forward,” explained Williams. “Bionic Yarn is a company built around performance, and denim is the perfect category to demonstrate the capability of Bionic Yarn.” (1)
Perhaps the greatest asset demonstrated by Williams in music and fashion is the ability to look at a market and recognize what is not yet there. His recent interactive 24 hours music video for “Happy” is a good example. He launched a website to document the many smiles and blissful moments around the world, introducing a true social viewing experience. Pharrell Williams is a business connoisseur.
BY SONIA BYUN
EDITED BY CARLY BOXER
Sources:
(1) "Pharrell Williams Teams Up with G-Star RAW on Eco-Friendly Denim" by Yahoo
(2) "Pharrell Williams, Moncler Launch Sunglass Collaboration" by WWD
(3) "Pharrell Williams on Juxtaposition And Seeing Sounds" by NPR
Julie Rice and Elizabeth Culter, founded SoulCycle in 2006, emphasizing a full-body workout and a spiritual component. Since its inception, SoulCycle has become a high-quality experience with top notch branding. To build a lifestyle brand, it takes that something extra to ensure that fans will feel like they are part of something bigger.
Building personal relationships and creating connections, SoulCycle engages loyal fans through various social media outlets. They recently redesigned, reprogrammed and re-launched a new SoulCycle Website! A community page exists, containing social media and blog posts. On the new Soul site, each instructor has a profile containing their unique biography, the music they play in class, as well as their social media posts. Many of the instructors have a Twitter and Instagram account with thousands of followers, allowing students to know their instructors on a more personal level. Essentially, soul instructors are role models inspiring Soul fanatics, on and off the bike, to join into this spiritual addiction.
Soul classes aren’t the only lavish part of this top-notch brand experience. Branded with their iconic “lemon wheel” logo, Soul apparel is sold in studios ranging from about $50-$100 a piece. A wide range of merchandise, from umbrellas to legwarmers, to Lululemon-branded athletic apparel in SoulCycle designs, is available for purchase. Just recently, they partnered with Shopbop to form a new line of loungewear to be sold exclusively on Shopbop.com. Wearing the apparel is just as important as attending the classes. It’s like being a devoted Red Sox fan: attending the games, stalking the players on social media, and wearing the logo are all part of the lifestyle.
The SoulCycle brand revolutionized spinning into a trendy experience with an established fan community. The experience, the merchandise, the partnerships, and the relationships are consistent with the brands image.
Want to see what the hype is all about? SoulCycle will be opening in Boston March of 2014!
Publishers and Brands Join Forces to Create Branded Content
Although brands allocate heavy marketing budgets into content creation, they often fail to gain the desired ROI. Resources and costs are the highest barriers for brands to continually create original content. Some marketers see content as a tactic or task, and this approach often results in an irrelevant strategy that drains internal resources and weakens a brand’s identity.
In order to create exciting and unique content, brands have started to collaborate with those who are already experts in content creation – publishers. Publishers have the professional resources and bandwidth to create interesting content, and can therefore compliment this need by helping to curate and distribute custom content tailored to brands’ audiences. This dynamic between brand and publishers is also known as “native ads”.
A good example is lifestyle blog Cool Hunting launching “Stand Out City Guides,” a collaboration with Lexus. Editors of Cool Hunting selected highlights from seven major cities across the US including New York City, Miami, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland. Collaborating with Cool Hunting (a site that received over a million page views just last month predominately from a demographic making above $150K a year) helps Lexus increase the awareness of the brand among Cool Hunting readers, a prime audience for luxury trends, while also drawing traffic to the content.
Cool Hunting's City Guide
To help launch the 2014 Range Rover Sport, Land Rover North America launched “Driven to Another Level,” and strategically teamed up with content partners whose readers’ personalities aligned with those of the brand’s core consumer. The three media outlets, Men’s Journal, Outside, and ESPN helped collaborate on the campaign by creating an original video series profiling adventure-seekers pushing themselves to reach new levels. The campaign also included an interactive social media contest using #IamDriven on Instagram and Twitter which was simultaneously promoted by the publishers. The media outlets proved to not only be strategic content creators but also successful brand ambassadors, and their team of marketing experts helped Land Rover create an integrated campaign that was authentic, and superior to stand-alone, traditional print advertising.
Remote & Refined with Ryan Van Duzer sponsored by Land Rover
But it’s not only the brands that are reaching out to the publishing world for help. Publishing companies have already started proactively putting themselves out there as a tool for brands to use. An example of the relationship moving in the other direction is Time Inc. introducing Watercooler Live, its new native ad product which combines advertiser content, social commentary and Time Inc. editorial content into microsites and ad units.
As publishers become more involved with brands’ content-creation efforts and help to execute relevant programing, brands will gain desired outcome with more convenience. However, without the involvement of a brand’s creative agency, brands take the risk of straying away from their core identity. Ultimately, brands should strive to connect with their consumers in ways that feel authentic, and with today’s world of savvy-consumers, having strategic content partnerships has proven to be a valuable tool. The challenge moving forward will be how these three entities: brand, creative agencies, and publishers, can all work in synergy to create content that is beneficial at all levels.
We’d also like to congratulate our fearless leader and founder, Mike Toth, for being chosen as a Top 100 Creative Influencer! To honor the Ad Club’s 100th anniversary, members of the advertising community were asked to nominate some of New England’s most creative minds over Twitter. Congratulations, Mike!
Reinventing the Legacy British Fashion House, Burberry
Apple poaching Angela Ahrendts, the CEO of Burberry, as its new vice president for retail and online stores has been a hot topic discussed across technology and fashion industries alike.
In 2006, Ahrendts became Burberry’s CEO and vigorously revitalized the century-old company, which was struggling from overexposure and underperforming sales. In less than a decade, Burberry’s stock price has risen by 300 percent and grown to over 500 stores worldwide racking in annual revenues above $3 billion, up more than 250% since 2006.
So what were the transformation strategies that tripled sales and pulled the brand out of a grey zone? Toth summaries Ahrendts time at Burberry and shares the key factors responsible for reinventing one of the most innovative luxury retailers today.
1. Create a coherent brand experience and deliver consistent identity.
Burberry was established in 1856 focusing on outdoor attire. The brand was commissioned by the British War Office in 1914 to redesign its officers’ coat, which would later become known as the “trench coat.” The coat became popular with civilians after the war, and its distinctive tartan pattern came into existence in the 1920’s when it was first used as a lining.
But by the mid-90s, the pattern was over-used by licensees and had become one of the most copied designs. Since Ahrendts came on in 2006, Burberry removed the iconic pattern from all but roughly 10 percent of the items produced. Ahrendts also bought back all the licenses, put Christopher Bailey in charge of all creative, and pushed for lavish looks based on the brand’s military legacy and historic roots. By doing so, Burberry reclaimed its identity as a heritage lifestyle brand.
Burberry S/S 2014 During London Fashion Week
2. When you are in the grey zone, don’t be scared to take risks (but based on research!)
Ahrendts resisted comparison to the preppy empires such as Ralph Lauren, but wanted to be known as a brilliant design company working to create a lifestyle similar to the way that Apple had.
Understanding the buying power of millenials and emerging markets impacted the overall marketing plan. Burberry adjusted its media buy accordingly, reducing spending on traditional print advertising and allocating 60 percent of its annual marketing budget to digital media in order to target millennial and international consumers. Ahrendts says doing digital is no longer an afterthought because everybody is currently a digital customer. (3)
Digital Integrated Retail Experience at Its Regent Street Flagship in London
In 2009, Burberry partnered with famed street-fashion blogger, The Sartorialist, to launch the Art of the Trench, the first interactive digital initiative asking consumers to upload pictures wearing their favorite looks. The concept placed the British heritage label at the forefront of social media, and the success of the campaign awakened other fashion houses to jump into user-generated content programs.
Art of the Trench: Burberry
In 2011, they launched Burberry Bespoke, an interactive microsite that allowed customers to design and customize their own trench coat at a time when it was unusual for luxury fashion brands to do so. Ahrendts forecasted an era of mass customization and deeper customer engagement, and executed “Burberry Bespoke” not with the intention of selling more products, but with the hope of influencing overall perception among the brands hyper-connected fans. And it worked.
Burberry Bespoke Allows Customization of Its Signature Trench Coats
3. Create cultural connection
“Burberry is a British brand; Ahrendts insisted everything that Burberry does had to be quintessentially British. The music, models, and everything, was going to be a huge differentiator.” (3)
After showing its Burberry Prorsum line in Milan for eight years, in 2010, Burberry returned to London Fashion Week and manufacturing of the iconic trench was brought home staying true to ‘Made in Britain.’
Burberry’s ad campaigns have also consistently used chic British icons such as Emma Watson, Cara Delevingne, and Sienna Miller.
Music is another pillar that has stayed in the brand’s DNA. Burberry currently has a full-time music team that steers Burberry’s ongoing commitment to emerging musicians – with projects such as Burberry Acoustic matching young artists with the right management and record labels. (4)
Burberry Acoustic
Even its fragrance is built around music. Burberry launched a new menswear scent this fall called Brit Rhythm advertised through an Instagram and YouTube campaign and will appear in outdoor digital advertising, along with video from live music gigs staged in London, New York, and Singapore.
Ahrendts is known as a visionary leader, and her quest was to create a company where anyone who wanted to touch the brand could have access to it. (2) In the brand lifecycle, an organization develops a personality and vision that defines the enterprise. When the core values of an organization are examined, the DNA emerges, clues for what make that company unique are found. Toth is an expert at finding a brand’s unique DNAs and help find core values and purpose as it faces old and new competition. Finding brand DNAs provides a great guideline for all decision making, especially for a brand that requires a transition onto the next stage.
WRITTEN BY SONIA BYUN
EDITED BY EMILIY CATALANO
Sources:
(1) "The Burberry CEO Who Reinvented a Heritage Brand for The Digital Age" by CNN
(2) "Burberry's Angela Ahrendts: High Tech's Fashion Model" by CNN Money
(3) "Angela Ahrendts on Burberry's Connected Culture" by Business of Fashion
(4) "Burberry's Christopher Bailey on His Obsession with Music" by the Guardian
(5) "Why Would the UK's Top-Paid CEO Leave for a Job at Apple?" by Mashable
Discussion with Malia Lazu, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Future Boston Alliance
Toth reached out to Future Boston Alliance, an organization that aims to cultivate the creative industry in Boston, support emerging artists, and encourage civic engagement. Malia Lazu, Executive Director and Co-founder, shares her expertise planning a non-profit organization in a strategic and authentic way and discusses Future Boston’s inspiration and programming efforts.
1. Tell us about Future Boston Alliance and some of the programs that you are focusing on at the moment.
Future Boston Alliance is an organization that strives to ignite a cultural renaissance in Boston. There are a lot of great, creative things happening all the time here, but you wouldn’t necessarily know about them – especially if you are newer resident or your job didn’t require you to be immersed in that field. We feel that it is not celebrated or encouraged enough by the City. The mission behind Future Boston is to combat that. We believe that Boston is a cool city!
We have three programs that we currently focus on, Assemble, Accelerate, and Activate: all three are meant to build community and create a space for like-minded people.
Assemble refers to any of our live, cultural events. The majority of Assemble gatherings revolve around a monthly event highlighting local emerging artists, designers and creative businesses. Check out Future Boston’s web site for upcoming events.
Accelerate is a six-month intensive business plan program to help 25 entrepreneurs interested in starting a business within the creative industry. For example, our two winners last year were GHouse, a music booking and events company who was later adopted by Google Ventures, and Fresh Food Generation, an entirely green food truck focusing bringing healthy, affordable meals to Boston’s underserved neighborhoods, and hiring the youth from those communities to help run the trucks and learn about sustainable gardening.
I’m actually traveling to Miami, Johannesburg, Detroit, and trying to expand similar programs to these cities.
Accelerate Boston Class
Lastly, our Activate program revolves around civic engagement and voter registration. We have an historic election quickly approaching to elect a new mayor, and although as can not endorse a candidate, we do feel strongly about educating Bostonians about the significance of the race and creating a dialogue about the issues at hand.
2. What was your passions and inspiration for building Future Boston Alliance?
I believe the current non-profit industrial complex is a bloated, multi-billion dollar industry that needs to be gutted - but it can’t be because it is “non-profit.” This was the reason that I went to MIT to pursue my fellowship. I wanted to explore how we can use social media and new technology when approaching community organizing and social justice.
My theory is that technology is going to, and already has started to, completely reshape our current understanding of how non-profit organizations work - the same way that it did with the traditional music and book publishing industries. It used to be that a person, hired and paid by an organization, would ask another to donate money for a grand over-arching cause. With modern technology and online payments, people can now provide direct aid to the ones who need it. For example, instead of donating $100 to a large, national non-profit after a natural disaster, you could instead find smaller, direct portals to donate hot meals to 20 families. You do not need a middleman who gets a six-figure salary. That is where we are heading, and should be shifting our focus to.
3. Knowing a bit about the inspiration behind why Greg Selkoe wanted to start Future Boston Alliance, can you tell us what made you want to be the Executive Director? What was that conversation like?
Greg had wanted to start, or attempted to start, this organization for over a year.
When I was finishing up my fellowship at MIT and trying to figure out my next steps, I knew that I did not want to go back to the traditional non-profit industry but rather wanted to build something that was contemporary and unique.
During our initial talks, there were a couple of things that Greg said that made me think “oh, yes. He really gets it.” The first thing that he said was that Boston is changing: 50% of people living in Boston have moved here in the past 20 years. We are a different city than what was happening in the 80’s in Boston - we are moving forward, so we need to complement that evolution. Another thing he said was that there is not enough fun in the city.
It was really nice to sit down with someone who shared the same passions that I had about the city of Boston, but also someone who was willing to challenge City Hall and push for change. I knew that with Greg I could do something out of the ordinary and build a 21st-century model for a non-profit organization.
4. How do you advertise your programs/attract people to help the cause?
We don’t, and that is intentional. We operate through word of mouth and pre-existing networks. Don’t get me wrong, we are in the paper all the time and rely on our social media to share messages, but we love that people hear about us and find us that way. We are more focused on how we interact with others, and we are trying to bring people in who think like us and share the same ideology. I’m never about numbers. The way we attract people is to provide a space where they feel welcome and empowered so that they are willing to bring their networks and friends.
Future Boston Alliance Main Page
5. What are some recommendations when a brand wants to get involved with philanthropic/cause marketing?
First thing that a company should do is to find out is why they are interested in a social good cause. If they want to do it for marketing, then yes, you can work with a big, well-known international organization. Working with a big organization like that is safe, and they already have an established audience, but the downside of it is that you don’t necessarily see the impact of your contributions.
Once you figure out what your motivation is, then you figure out how the company can have the most impact by keeping true to your brand.
Companies like Ben & Jerry or TOMS are great examples. They are willing to take more risks and deliver authentic stories. You can go far as you want to. Also, if the company wants to take a larger risk, they should definitely talk to their consumers and see what it is that inspires them to do good.
Before we launched Future Boston, we spent six months doing small house parties with influential Bostonians in order to hear their hopes and ideas for Boston’s future in order to create our own an authentic story.
If you are considering social good work for within your company (among a corporate responsibility department, a marketing department, or shareholders), the conversation needs to expand outside of that one circle in order to ensure that all employees have buy in to the effort. Even if it is as small as starting a recycling program or getting a group of 10 people together to volunteer at a local soup kitchen – it is important that you get your teams together, find out what issues are important to them, and use that group consensus to build momentum.
This is why companies need to invest the time to talk to consumers and hear about what impact they would like to make. Once you do this, you are authentically building that relationship and creating a common cause that appeals to consumers.
Karmaloop HQ in Boston
6. Where do you find optimism?
I’m a quite an optimist. I have to be, because if I do not believe that things are going to change, it is going to be quite impossible to make change. First of all, I find optimism in the work I do. When you meet people, bring people together, and see them finding that joy of community – it’s a pretty great feeling.
The change is what keeps me optimistic. When I see the folks that are in our Accelerator program start to learn and get new things, this makes me feel optimistic about our people and our country. I also try to find optimism in my spiritual journey. I believe in higher power, a journey, and a path that believes in nirvana. When I stay with my spiritual journey, I feel less resentful and optimistic.
