Content Marketing for a Digital Era

Traditional marketers have long championed the idea that content is king, and for most, it seems logical that if you create relevant and valuable content, you are better positioned to engage customers and increase leads.
But how has this concept changed in a digital world which moves and churns out information at a pace that no one could have ever conceived? And how can companies continue to communicate in a way that is both impactful and persuasive?

The UK print business is a particular example of a behemoth industry which has had to dramatically adapt more than any other to changes in how we search for and interact with content on a daily basis. UK national newspaper the Daily Mail has always had a high circulation on UK soil, but it has been with the Mail Online that the publisher has been able to make its mark on a global scale. Last year, it was announced that the Mail Online receives more traffic than any other news site in the world, and with recent plans announced for digital expansion, it’s difficult to imagine its digital following wavering any time soon.

Meanwhile, online publishers such as the Huffington Post have had an enormous impact on the way we view news without ever having a hard printed copy to its name.

On the flip side, according to a recent report by Group M, it is predicted that spending on national printed editions of newspapers will fall from £1.2bn in 2012 to £1.1bn in 2013, a drop of 5%. This news comes following the Guardian’s recent denying of ‘absurd’ suggestions that it is to move online entirely, and much loved publications such as music magazine The Word and DC Thompson’s comic The Dandy bid farewell to print due to drastic changes in the printed media industry.

Yet digital spending looks unstoppable and is expected to exceed £5.3bn this year in the UK alone. With the BBC website receiving nearly 250,000 referrals from Facebook every day, it is crucial that social media and web content is recognised as having moved beyond being considered a fad to a serious opportunity.

However, if the average Facebook or Twitter user is faced with hundreds of messages and news stories every day, how much stronger does the content and its headline have to be to command attention?

“It’s about having that unique content” says Mail Online's deputy publisher Pete Picton. “The experience at the Mail Online is that we think there’s a market for our journalism [overseas] – if it’s good quality journalism. Good quality anything will have a market.”

But has the use of digital tools changed how we write? Digital advances mean that we email, text, blog and chat on social media on a regular basis throughout the day, demanding in fact that we communicate via the written word more now than in any other point in human history. As businesses and news outlets in particular try to create stories that get shared around, the ones who produce the best content continue to come up trumps.

As the internet continuously pumps out more unfiltered digital content, the significance of clear and engaging messages in successful marketing has never been more important. With digital spending growth already representing a quarter of the entire UK marketing economy, the power of good content has never been more important. Good content is credibility, especially on the internet. So whilst the world of communication moves at an incredible pace, it will never race beyond its own reliance on perfectly chosen content.

Guardian open journalism: Three Little Pigs advert

Christian Borstlap: Louis Vuitton I

An animated film exploring and celebrating the founder of the world's most recognisable luxury label.

"Louis Vuitton’s beginnings in 19th century Paris are vibrantly animated in Christian Borstlap’s new short. Commissioned by NOWNESS for the Louis Vuitton Marc Jacobs exhibition that opens at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris on Friday, the film explores the brand’s legacy of innovation through Borstlap’s charming hand-drawn aesthetic. “We were challenged to showcase the heritage of Louis Vuitton as a piece of moving image but we didn’t want a history lesson,” explains Faye Mcleod, Louis Vuitton’s visual creative director. Divided over two floors, the show analyzes the groundbreaking creativity of two men working a century apart, each of whom propelled fashion forward during eras of great change. While the second floor offers a Technicolor tour of Marc Jacobs’s vision since he joined the house in 1997, the first floor examines the story of the brand synonymous with travel and the iconic trunks during Louis Vuitton’s lifetime, as well as his surprising start as a packer of ready to wear. “It was a skill knowing how to pack these enormous dresses and all the different items in ladies’ wardrobes. Some women traveled with 25 trunks,” says Mcleod. The museum’s Curator-in-Chief Pamela Golbin spoke to NOWNESS about the genesis of this unique fashion moment."

Pinterest: To be or not to be?

Pinterest is the latest Social Media site to gain astounding attention despite still being in the beta stage of development (i.e. Users can only sign-up and gain access to the site once they have received an invitation from an existing user.) Its growth is reportedly growing faster than any other website has done with the site having recently reached over 2 million members, each connected through either Facebook or Twitter.

Launched in 2012, the brand describes itself as an online pinboard, where users can pin items of interest, such as photos and links into boards which are organised by topic. This simple content-sharing site is visual rather than text based, and though most social media sites more-often-than-not find initial users dominated by tech enthusiasts, Pinterest’s upsurge in popularity is notably from a predominantly female and less digi-savvy clientele.

Their growth has inspired over 100 brands to begin pinning and with Pinterest increasingly driving referral traffic, it’s no wonder that many brands are sitting up and taking note. Indeed in January, Pinterest generated more referral traffic than social media giants LinkedIn, Google+ and Reddit. But should brands be investing their time in the latest social media site on the block or is it just another passing fad with a short life-span?

Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently shown his personal interest by signing up via his Facebook account and though little activity is shown on his profile, Zuckerberg will no doubt be keeping a keen eye on the increasingly popular site. Though many big brands are holding back, the companies that are particularly seeing the benefit of Pinterest are generally retailers. This pinboard gives them the opportunity to have their product shown all over the internet at no cost to them and in a non-ad form.

Yet despite the initial surge of popularity and positive attention, recent controversy surrounding the site has resulted in many brands opting to avoid taking advantage of this new wave of referral traffic.

A major factor in this reluctance is the debate over who owns the images. Though “Pinterest etiquette” urges users to credit sources, many brands have rallied against the idea of their content being distributed straight from their website. As a result, Pinterest has this week released code for companies that want to block the pinning of content from their sites to personal pinboards. Pinterest’s service agreement also states that the user must have permission to distribute the content they pin, a factor which most registered members are entirely unaware. These copyright issues were overlooked in the beginning, but have come to light upon the website’s huge growth over the past year.

In addition, critics have recently observed and accused Pinterest of secretly embedding code: When a user pins a link to an e-commerce site which Pinterest has a business relationship with, Pinterest will financially benefits when someone purchases an item that has been pinned. Though many understand Pinterest’s need to somehow monetize their content, others see it as a dishonest move since the brand doesn’t declare this from the offset.

Despite the backlash, Pinterest’s astounding growth and opportunity for many brands is undeniable. The site saw almost 11million visitors in one week in December and was recently announced the 109th most popular site on the internet. Though some brands hold back, others are embedding a “PinIt” button directly onto their website; a virtual nod for people to distribute their content. And despite copyright issues, Pinterest still drives traffic back to the original source even if the pins are not credited by the user.

Pinterest’s approach is a powerful way of organising large amounts of information and could be a wonderful tool for reaching a far greater audience for some brands than ever thought imaginable. However, with opinion on the social media site fluxing on a daily basis, time will tell if the site will still hold our interest by this time next year.

Follow me on Pinterest!

Visual Merchandising at Topshop

I regularly get asked for tips when people are going for job interviews as Visual Merchandisers and I find it difficult to always reply because there is literally so much to be said but I've decided to write up the basics.

I have been a visual merchandiser at Topshop, Mango and for Mary Portas' Creative Marketing Agency so my experience is a bit mixed but since I mainly get asked about Topshop, here's a quick guide of some of the basics(I'll probably add to this as time goes on as this was done in haste).

At your interview they will most likely have you do the following 3 things:

1. Style a mannequin to one of the current Topshop trends which they will tell you. STUDY STUDY STUDY the trends on the website 'til you know them off by heart. Go into a Topshop store before the day of your interview and really look at how they have styled the mannequins. You will likely be given a time limit for each task so visit the store before your interview and really look at where the trends are in the store as this will help you save time when it comes to styling them.

2. VM an area. Again they'll give you a trend (different from the previous one) and probably a few empty different types of fixture/rails. They'll give you a bunch of clothes on the rail and again prob give you 20 minutes to sift through the product to select the best product for that trend and style the rails accordingly. The way I always used to try do it would be to style the first rail in a strong colourway, have the second a step away from the previous colour way but perhaps still using one of the main colours from the first and have the third a different colourway altogether but again perhaps using one of the key colours from the second. I'll give you an example:

Fixture 1 - BrightPink SeaGreen Black White

Fixture 2 - BrightPink DarkBlue Black Cream

Fixture 3 - PalePink Cream Black

So basically keep strong colours together. e.g. Cream and White should be kept seperate. In this case, even though there might be 2 pinks in the trend, since one is BrightPink and the other is Pale, they are kept to seperate fixtures.

On one arm, try to think about an outfit build. The product at the front (in customer's eye line) should be a key trend piece so say it was a dress, you might want to add leggings or a jacket behind it but always be aware of everything a customer sees in their key line of vision should look great. ie. don't put plain black leggings at the front of a rail.

You'll also be expected to add accessories to these rails. Keep it simple but add at least one prong arm to each fixture.

Colour balance is one of the key things to remember, don't over saturate a colour. Spread it around the fixture (or wall) so that from all angles the trend looks strong.

3. Interview. Topshop mainly look for 2 things in their employees: People who have personality and people who've got the customer in mind. Let your personality come out. If you are creative, let them know that but always bear in mind that the aim is to create a great customer experience and help them see how the trend translates into something wearable for them (and therefore commercial for the store). In Topshop they regularly look at key products performance to make sure they put these products in key sightlines for the customer. Be cheery and happy and keen to learn and show what you can do and they'll love you.

Branding 10,000 Lakes

In my job, it's part of my duty to have an opinion and give guidance on logo design to the designers in our team before I present them to our clients. I like to think I know a good logo when I see one and yet I can't do graphic design for toffee.

A friend recently showed me a website where one very talented Graphic Designer has made it her personal mission to design a new logo to represent a new Minnesota Lake each day. I could spend hours scrolling through these andwill certainly look to them for inspiration in the future - what a talented and dedicated lady!

Beyoncé: Sartorial Duty

A year in Digital Marketing

The snow may have melted away but the festive feeling has definitely arrived in my work's office!

Having started my new role as Digital Marketing Executive in early September, I've been kept busy with a long list of website designs and redesigns; numerous clients seeking the benefits of our Search Marketing and email marketing campaigns, and social media pages designed and tailored to our clients’ needs. Not to mention the numerous events I have attended throughout Scotland!

And in the world of digital marketing, 2012 saw the good, the bad and the ugly:

In addition to significant improvements in its Analytics and changes in Adwords, perhaps the biggest event in marketing this year was Google’s highly anticipated launch of Google+ which was hailed as the biggest contender to the Facebook throne. Initial reactions were positive with users flocking to add people to their inner circles, but after a delayed Business Pages launch, momentum seems to have dropped somewhat and 2012 will tell if Google+ can live up to the hype.

Perhaps the most well known and well respected marketer in the world, Apple’s Steve Jobs this year passed away leaving behind a legacy of products which have defined a generation. The news shook the global community, Jobs having revolutionized how we live, work and play through technology. His biography has just been announced as Amazon’s most popular selling book of 2011.

Whilst Smartphones from Apple and Android soared in sales throughout the year, Blackberry – having been popular due to its reliability and security – lost major customer loyalty when its systems shut down for a week in numerous countries across the globe. Meanwhile Adobe Flash succumbed to the power of Apple by ceasing all development of mobile versions of Flash.

After introducing promoted tweets, Twitter established itself as a major advertising platform as it increasingly saw its popularity sky-rocket. Twitter’s popularity was never more evident than its part in the various political protests and the coining of “Hurricane Bawbag” during Scotland’s stormy weather in early December.

And after a turbulent year of ever-increasing user base but backlash from users regarding interface changes and rumours of planting negative press on rival Google, Facebook neatly tied up the year with the mostly well-received launch of Facebook Timeline.

2011 was a hectic year - for 6 months I remained in my role working in Fashion PR at Mary Portas' creative marketing agency before I decided to return to the homeland. Upon my return, I saw myself returning to Topshop as a Visual Merchandiser and Brand manager temporarily until I landed myself a coveted role in Digital Marketing. Phew.

Bring on 2012.

Kat x

She's a model and she's looking good.

My friend Kirsty modelling and looking spectacular.

Westfield Carboot Sale

I did this:

House of Harlow 1960 (wishlist)

For those of you who are not familiar with House of Harlow 1960, let me introduce you.

The brand launched in 2009 with Nicole Richie as it's creative force. You'd be forgiven for thinking that here was yet another rich, famous fashionista who on a whim decided to create a fashion brand, but that's where you'd be wrong. Like Victoria Beckham and the Olsen twins (with The Row), Nicole had long established herself as a firm favourite on the best-dressed pages and with Designers alike before proving that she could be a natural force behind the driving seat of her very own fashion brand too.

Nicole's love and influence of costume dressing and finding inspiration in the exotic and bohemian has always shown through her personal style choices, and with House of Harlow 1960, her style stamp is all over her collections.

In particular I have fallen head over heels (pardon the pun) for HoH 1960's AW11 shoes. As a patriot of black and anything a bit scruffy or rocky, black killer heels and bondage straps (refer to any AW11 checklist) are naturally a thing that appeal to me. But so too are the leopard print heels which wouldn't usually be my first point of call but in small doses are quite fantastic. Certainly they are in this case; those leopard print platforms and wedges have the ability to take a casual lbd or skinny jeans and transform them into an outfit fit for the life of a Hollywood glamazon!

I have selected my most coveted AW11 shoes from the collection as well as a fabulous McQueen-esque bag and some select jewellery because they are just so unbelievably wonderful! Each item you can imagine Nicole wearing herself, and the collection as a whole is trend driven and considered, yet individual and sends a bold message: that Nicole Richie has come a long way since the days of the Simple Life and the proof is in the collection.

YouTube social media revamp

After Business Review USA recently leaked intended Youtube redesigns, YouTube has taken matters into its own hands with a design roll-out that shows a Social Network (and predominantly Google+) inspired revamp.

YouTube is allowing users to preview the intended redesigned site which shows a distinct move towards integrating Google+ and Facebook, with sharing tabs on a prominent profile sidebar. The inclusion of Google+ is unsurprising given that YouTube is Google owned, however the Facebook link-up might be seen as a tactical move on Google’s part. The Facebook tab will allow users to link their Facebook profiles to YouTube, personally recommending videos to those in their friend networks and more importantly, exposing Facebook’s mammoth community to YouTube’s integration with Google+. The move is something that viewers, marketers and advertisers alike will ultimately see huge benefits from with personalised trending videos appearing on the YouTube homepage, and Google+ undoubtedly sees the opportunity in using YouTube as a platform to encroach upon Facebook’s 800 million active users.

The redesigns also come at a time when YouTube has made some significant deals with both big-name brands - most notably allowing the streaming of Disney movies - and also users: The company recently announced it’s participation in a revenue-sharing deal with users who post popular viral videos. Having developed an algorithm which it believes will predict which videos will go viral, the scheme will see YouTube contacting its posters with advertising opportunities for their page.

As officially the second largest search engine in the world (after Google itself), these moves by YouTube point towards an even more engaging and enhanced social media experience whilst aiming to propel Google+ further into Facebook’s market. As with the recent addition of its Google+ Business Pages, Google seem set on using all their assets – including YouTube - to provide a worthy contender against Facebook to the Social Media throne.

Steps forward in Social Media consumer engagement

Perhaps a mile-stone in Social Media, today marks the first time that TV media behemoth the X Factor (USA) has given its public voters an alternative to calling or texting for their favourite musical act on the show: After an initial reluctant approach towards Twitter, media mogul and X Factor producer Simon Cowell has since declared, “the only powerful people on TV are the people on Twitter and Facebook.”

Twitter has invested in this new technological advancement (which sees voters submitting vote via Direct Messaging) and at this stage is reluctant to reveal whether the move is likely to be profitable. The hope however, is that the financial benefits in the future are worth the initial investment.

But what does the X Factor USA aim to achieve through a partnership with Twitter? As Mr Cowell professed himself, “it’s like having millions of producers working with you” in regards to the immediate feedback the show constantly receives, searchable via the Twitter’s own search function. The method could also be a way of obtaining more meaningful information around voters. From Twitter’s perspective, the move signifies a change “from focusing just on engagement” to getting into the creative fabric of shows, letting the audience help change the outcome.

So what does this mean for the future of social media within the infrastructure of brands? Recent research by Constant Contact has found that consumers who engage with brands on Twitter and Facebook are year-on-year increasingly more likely to invest in that brands products, and it’s not just media companies and retailers – social media is influencing everything from politics to the way our services are provided. Companies have to reassess how they communicate now that their customers have a voice: a voice that can ultimately make or break them.

It was recently revealed that US President Barack Obama will be returning to the use of social media channels for his 2012 presidential campaign. Obama famously embraced the power of Facebook and Twitter throughout his 2008 campaign, which ultimately saw him being voted president. This time free blogging site Tumblr has been harnessed with an aim at encouraging voters to interact and share campaign stories. Time will tell if his previous campaign’s success can be repeated, but Obama’s digital marketing strategy of the 2008 election famously spawned many other international politicians into following in his footsteps.

Yet despite social media’s continued success stories and more companies than ever apparently embracing the digital age, there is still a worrying lack of response to the individual customer. Information in social media travels fast, and it is crucial that companies don’t attempt to attempt to overly-control communication in a social media context. Similarly, simply issuing content isn’t enough anymore: Customers are looking to be heard and acknowledged.

Socialbakers is a company who measure and analyse company responses within social media and its findings worryingly show that on Facebook, companies respond to just 5% of customer enquiries on average. More media focused brands however seem to be continuing to pioneer the new way of engaging with customers in an effort to achieve valuable and compelling customer experiences.

Coca Cola have recently made the bold move to no longer rely on traditional ad agencies for their creative ideas. Instead, the global soft drinks brand will be adopting a “crowd-sourcing” approach whereby their feedback and ideas all come via their Facebook and Twitter fans. (Incidentally Coca Cola’s Facebook page is now ran by two genuine brand fans who decided they could do a better job at representing Coca Cola than Coca Cola itself. Coca Cola agreed.)

In an effort to shape the creativity of its portfolio of brands, Coca Cola has realised the potential in allowing consumers to produce the content they want to see, giving the customer a voice and actually listening to what their fans and followers have to say.

A McQueen Halloween

Even after the untimely passing of their namesake, Alexander McQueen continues to grow under the leadership of Sarah Burton and still has the ability to wow me. Here, a short film by Parisian director Babette Pauthier showcases their Fall/Winter scarf collection. The scarves flow and mutate in a mirrored symmetry, with skull print and sinister musical undertones sitting perfectly with the soft flow of silk and more delicate shapes. Who knew scarves could be so captivating?

Coincidently, I went as a skeleton for Halloween last night having painted a full skeleton onto my black catsuit from Halloweens past as Katwoman. Unfortunately I have no shots of the catsuit, but here's my skull!

My Week With Marilyn

Very excited.

Lunch With An Old Bag 2011

Last week, as a volunteer for the Prince's Trust, I worked at a fabulous event held at the very grand Prestonfield House in Edinburgh: Lunch With An Old Bag 2011.

The event - currently in it's third year - brings together 50 of Scotland's most high profile ladies who each host a table of 10, enjoy a beautiful lunch and fabulous entertainment (this year in the form of singer Russell Watson) and bid on some of the most sought after handbags of the season. Luxury design houses, designers and celebrities donated a selection of bags which were auctioned to the highest bidders in aid of the Prince's Trust who are aiming to change the stereotype of disadvantaged young people.

Yours truly was asked to style the bags on stage, sell raffle tickets then prepare the designer bags for auction. I then also somehow ended up on stage "modeling" the bags as they were being auctioned. See below for me (in a fetching red Prince's Trust t-shirt) and a fabulous Prada bowling bag.

Images Copyright of Alan Simpson

Luxury Fashion & Social Media

The words Luxury and Exclusivity are often considered synonymous. As luxury brands increasingly feel more pressure to conquer marketing online, how do they remain desirable in a medium that is open to the masses?

It is widely perceived that the web isn’t a luxury market and brands face the dilemma of either embracing social media or being left behind. As people spend more money online, in order to make profit luxury brands must find a way to engage these consumers.

The biggest challenge that faces luxury brands when approaching social media is that luxury implies exclusivity and therefore the product shouldn’t be accessible to everyone. Social media sites make it more challenging to selectively choose whom to interact with. Furthermore, some brands are hesitant to try new marketing techniques, which might be risky to their established brand image. If done incorrectly, they risk ruining their brand reputation and diminishing the perception of affluence.

The solution for the luxury sector is to embrace social media: Just as product can be desirable and exclusive, so websites can be.

Burberry is a fantastic example of a brand who have created their own online community. Rather than shun Facebook and Twitter because of their mass audiences, Burberry has embraced them.

Burberry’s Facebook page boasts over 7 million followers, and the face of the brand’s new ‘Body’ fragrance (and fashion ‘It girl’ of the moment) Rosie Huntington-Whitely appears in a short video to thank fans for the achievement. The page introduces new content, which keep the consumer engaged in the brand and lusting for the product. Whilst remaining exclusive, the brand offers a mass audience the chance to be part of their brand in the same way that a new fragrance does.

Their Twitter page similarly offers snapshots into the world of Burberry with Creative Director Christopher Bailey even taking over the account during Fashion Weeks.

But significantly on top of this, Burberry launched its ArtOfTheTrench internet community, allowing those who sign up to comment, favourite and – if their image is selected - even share their own real-life shots of them in the famous Burberry trench. Bailey even commissioned The Sartorialist’s Scott Schuman to launch the site in a tactical move which would appeal to young internet-savvy fashion fans. Through this site and the younger audience appeal of a renowned fashion blogger, Burberry give their users another outlet that is more refined than the larger social media sites open to the masses.

Other luxury brands have also embraced social media to fantastic effect. Jimmy Choo started an Internet frenzy by launching a “Shoe Treasure Hunt” in London via location-based social networking website Foursquare, whilst Tiffany & Co. and Chanel were quick to realize the potential of iPhone applications which interact with Facebook.

Whilst some hold back attempting to guard their brand identity of desirability, most luxury brands are increasingly realising the need to focus on creating unique online experiences. Social media is a tool that any brand can ill afford not to be involved with. Acknowledging that exposing your brand to consumers through social networks is the only way to engage today’s customers consistently.

Vogue's Fashion Night Out

So I wasn't at Vogue's Fashion Night Out this year because I am no longer living in London but here's me "papped" by a fashion blogger outside Selfridges from last year's Night Out.

(Hareem pants (Next) and aviator jackets (A|wear) were all the rage. Also wearing Chanel necklace and bag, and Clarks Originals desert wedges.)

Hope all my London friends had a great time this year!

Nike: Back for the Future

Remember how space-age the idea of having self-lacing Nike sneaks seemed in BTTF? Well we are now well and truly in the future and apparently they're not that space-aged. Nike have produced a pair which were relatively simple to make and the limited stock will go up for auction with all proceeds go to Michael J. Fox Parkinson Disease Foundation. Awesome.

Style crush: Johnny and Kate (circa '94)

I'll let the pictures do the talking: