Building A Retail Social Brand 2012

BUILDING A RETAIL SOCIAL BRAND
What you need to know as you plan for 2013
30 case studies
12 vital questions to pose to your business
14 retail brands benchmarked
15 trends identified
By Julius Duncan – Marketing Director | Headstream
and Tom Chapman – Head of Innovation | Lawton Communications Group
www . h eadstrea m . co m | j ul y 2 0 1 2

contents
Executive Summary
Retail sector background
Retail sector – Social Brands 100 insights
Retail sector – Current challenges and case studies
Retail sector – Future of social media
Conclusion and getting started
How can Headstream help?
Sources
3
5
7
11
21
26
27
29
C ontents
www . h eadstrea m . co m
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1 • Executive Summary
This white paper has been created by Headstream to assist retail sector
marketers as they plan their strategies and budgets for 2013. It provides
timely information, case studies, insights, trend predictions, and practical
advice to assist retail brands as they consider how social media can support
their business goals.
The paper has five main sections:
• an overview of the broader backdrop within the retail sector,
• what we can learn about the current social media performance of retail
brands from Headstream’s 2012 Social Brands 100 ranking,
• current consumer behaviour and case studies illustrating how retail brands
are responding to the challenges and opportunities presented by
social media,
• five future trends that the retail sector should be aware of and planning for, and
• conclusions and how to ‘Get Started’ with the planning process.
Look out for our ‘Key Questions’ sections throughout. These summarise the
questions marketing teams should pose as they integrate social into their
strategy, and how Headstream can help.
The summary below identifies the key findings and insights from
the white paper.
• Retailers are facing challenging trading conditions as the global economic
downturn continues to effect consumer confidence
• Consumers seeking value and convenience are increasingly likely to seek
information, compare product and prices, and then purchase online
• Retail brands can improve their engagement with consumers by using
rich-formats such as video and photography
• The customer journey has moved on from the traditional, linear ‘funnel
model’, to a more complex ‘customer decision journey’ where consumers
are influenced by multiple touch points. Digital, and particularly social media,
has driven this change
• Rather than focus purely on the awareness phase, consideration now needs
to be given to the whole customer journey, ensuring that everything from
information gathering, to post-purchase experiences and support are
of consideration
• Consumers are increasingly focused on reviews and recommendations
driven by social media, leading to savvy brands increasingly curating user
e x e c u t i v e s u m m a r y
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Consumers are
increasingly focused
on reviews and
recommendations
driven by social media.

content rather than pushing brand messages
• The ability to join social conversations at the right moment, and/or facilitate
conversations by listening to questions and providing contextually relevant
information is growing in importance as a differentiator
• As the data that consumers can access from physical objects increases
(the internet of things), retailers need to consider how they can marry their
physical and digital properties, and not treat their physical and online stores
as two separate business units
e x e c u t i v e s u m m a r y
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2 • Retail sector background
The squeeze on consumer spending created by rising unemployment and
inflationary pressures, has pushed many retailers over the edge. Between
2008, the start of the global downturn, and June 2012, 183 UK retail
companies entered administration, affecting 18,795 stores. (Source: Centre
for Retail Research)
With the squeeze on consumer spending set to continue, the emphasis for
the retail sector is to constantly innovate and create strategies that bring
competitive advantage.
According to Euromonitor International, the big industry challenges for 2012
are; dealing with the ongoing economic squeeze, seeking growth in emerging
markets, and understanding the trend for increasing numbers of Internet
purchases (e-commerce).
Consumer confidence varies from territory to territory. For example, Brazil
saw retail sales grow by 34.99% between 2006 and 2011, China 48.89% and
India 18%. Over the same period, retail sales fell 33.33% in Greece, 14.83% in
Spain, 5.63% in the USA and 3.1% in the UK. Even Germany, considered the
European economy most insulated from the global slump, saw a decline of
0.66%. (Source: Euromonitor)
For international operators one strategic option is to increase presence in,
or enter, faster growing geographic markets. However, for those without an
international footprint it is the shift to e-commerce that provides the most
significant opportunity, or for bricks and mortar chains without a strong online
strategy, a threat.
Taking the U.S. as a mature market example, e-commerce grew at double digit
rates for six consecutive quarters to the end of Q1 2012, bucking the overall
retail trend. U.S. e-commerce spend in 2011 was $161.5bln, 13% higher than
in 2010. (Source: comScore)
retail sector bac k ground
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With the squeeze on
consumer spending
set to continue, the
emphasis for the retail
sector is to constantly
innovate and create
strategies that bring
competitive advantage.

Consumers turn to e-commerce for two main reasons, price and convenience,
with price particularly important in the current marketplace. This, combined
with rising penetration rates of smartphones and tablets, is expected to make
the shift to e-commerce a higher priority for all retailers in 2013 and beyond.
In addition the line between e-commerce and physical world shopping is
blurring as internet devices end up in the hands of more and more shoppers.
Smartphones and tablets are playing an ever more significant role in all
shopping, with consumers increasingly using smartphones to check prices
and product features while physically in-store, and the customer’s social
networks are critical within that.
According to a global survey by IBM, up to 84% of consumers rely on their
social networks when researching new products, and when buying online,
shoppers coming from a social network convert at 2x the rate of other non-
social network channels.
Therefore, a retailer’s customer strategy should consider the crucial role
digital and social media play in the purchase decision-making process, across
both e-commerce and in-store.
retail sector bac k ground
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3 • Retail sector – Social Brands 100 insights
In order to understand how retail brands are currently performing in social
media relative to other sectors, we have taken an in-depth look into the retail
results from Headstream’s Social Brands 100 report.
Social Brands 100 is a global ranking of those brands that are leading the way
in social media. Brands do not pay, or apply, to be considered in the ranking.
The only way to participate is through a crowd-sourced nomination process
on Twitter that establishes a long-list of brands. Analysing the intensity
of interactions between these brands and individuals on social and digital
platforms, and giving each one a Data Score then establishes a shortlist of
100 brands. The final ranking from one to one hundred is then established by
adding a score for each brand from an expert panel of judges.
The following section outlines the retail sector’s performance by aggregating
the Data Score from the fourteen retail brands that were nominated for the
long-list (including the seven brands that went forward to appear in the final
Social Brands 100).
SB100 ranked retail brands
There was a strong representation from retail brands in this year’s
Social Brands 100. The ranked retailers were:
ASOS (#7)
Schuh (#40)
TOMS (#49)
Sainsbury’s (#50)
B&Q (#53)
HMV (#75)
Very.co.uk (#78)
Frugi (#91)
* The sectors featuring in the SB100 are – Automotive, Charity, Entertainment,
Fashion & Beauty, Financial Services, FMCG, Manufactured Goods, Media,
Retail, Services, Technology, Telecoms, Travel & Leisure.
The Social Brands 100 analysed the social performance of over 300 brands
in the period from January to March 2012. The full methodology can be
found here (http://blog.headstream.com/2012/05/22/social-brands-100-
methodology-in-detail/) and the report can be downloaded here (http://www.
socialbrands100.com/).
r e t a i l se c t o r – s o c i a l b r a n d s 1 0 0 i n s i g h t s
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For the full SB100 report:
www.socialbrands100.com

facebook
Retail companies’ average performance score was strong on Facebook,
only the Services sector performed better on average. Against the important
measure of how well retail brands respond to fan posts, the sector was
third out of thirteen sectors, demonstrating a good approach to listening
and responding.
Looking at areas for improvement, the weakest measure for the retail sector
was ‘Brand Post Engagement’, which measures the intensity of response
from the community when brands post content. Here, Retail was beaten
by Travel and Leisure, Media, Manufactured Goods, FMCG, Entertainment
and Charity sectors.
Our wider analysis indicates that this score could be improved by the
introduction of more photo and video content on retail brands’ Facebook
pages. Our research has shown that on Facebook, photos are most likely
to generate comments from the community, and video most likely to
promote shares.
The charts below indicate that the Retail sector is falling behind the overall
Social Brands 100 averages for video content posted on Facebook.
While Retail sector photo posts are above average, there is still the
opportunity to increase this type of post, as other sectors e.g. Charity
have done successfully.
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Chart 1: Facebook posts by type - all social brands
Chart 2: Facebook posts by type – retail sector Social Brands 100
Looking at areas of
improvement, the
weakest measure
for the retail sector
was ‘Brand Post
Engagement’.
Video 8%
Link 9%
Photo 10%
Status 73%
Video 1%
Link 15%
Photo 15%
Status 69%

youtube
Overall, retail brands were the worst performing of any sector on YouTube,
scoring less than half the points of the top-ranked sector, Automotive. This
performance suggests retail brands are falling behind in terms of quality of
video content generated, and the interaction that creates. Considering the
nature of the sector and the visual and interactive content potentially available
this is a missed opportunity.
twitter
The retail sector is above average overall on Twitter, coming fourth out of
thirteen sectors, behind Media, Services and FMCG. This was driven by strong
performances for average number of Retweets, indicating that content is
striking a chord with followers. The sector also scored high for Timeliness
of Response, indicating adequate community management. However,
these performances were counter balanced by a lower than average score
for overall reach of @brand account mentions, eighth out of 13 sectors,
suggesting conversation rates are not as intensive as in other sectors.
Google+
The retail sector has been slow to create engagement on Google+ and scored
well below average compared to other sectors, coming in tenth out of thirteen
sectors and lagging behind top performers by 75%. As with YouTube, the
inherently social nature of shopping should make retail a strong performer on
Google+. In the hyper-competitive marketplace for retail, this is also a missed
opportunity to improve search visibility by generating +1’s and social content.
foursquare
With the natural geo-location opportunities provided by physical store
locations (for our bricks and clicks chains at least) this might be expected to
be a strong area of performance. However, the retail sector came below the
Entertainment, Technology, and Travel & Leisure sectors.
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summary
Overall, the Retail sector ranked seventh out of thirteen sectors, a mid-table
performance. So how can it improve?
A focus on stronger video content across the board and use of YouTube
as a platform to connect with consumers would lift the 2012 performance.
Whilst Facebook is an area of relative strength, optimising post types, with
a particular focus on video, could improve this even further. As a whole the
sector is not an early adopter of new platforms such as Google+, which also
lets down retail’s overall performance compared to competitors for share of
the consumer’s wallet, such a Travel and Leisure and Entertainment.
KEY QUESTIONS
• What proportion of your content created for Facebook is video or
photography based?
• Do you have monitoring in place to assess what content receives the
highest level of interaction?
• What is your strategy for Google+, and how is it differentiated from
other platforms?
• Are you able to benchmark social performance regularly, and use this
knowledge to optimise activity?
HOW HEADSTREAM CAN HELP
• Providing regular social media performance benchmarking using the
Social Brands 100 methodology
• Audits and social analytics
• Content, channel and community strategies and execution
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As a whole the sector is
not an early adopter of
new platforms.
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4 • Retail sector – CURRENT CHALLENGES AND CASE STUDIES
To put the current challenges for retail brands in context we have
examined two areas:
• the changes in the way that consumers make buying decisions, created by
the influence of the social web, and,
• the trends and case studies demonstrating current best practice, and an
effective response to these changes.
how retail brands are evolving to use social media
within the consumer decision journey
In classic marketing, the customer acquisition process is thought of as
a purchase funnel. You dumped cold prospects at the top of the funnel
through awareness campaigns and squeezed them down the funnel via
qualifying actions e.g. product brochures, sales calls, product demonstrations,
and emails. Those prospects that were hot for your product went on to
purchase becoming a customer and were then added to the CRM database.
If the process was successful, marketers placed it on a rinse and repeat cycle.
It was relatively straightforward.
Unfortunately the purchase funnel no longer applies. In today’s world, media
fragmentation and the proliferation of digital has resulted in an increase in the
number of brands under consideration for consumers. As a result, the entire
purchasing cycle has shifted. To respond to this shift, the funnel has been
replaced by what McKinsey have termed the ‘consumer decision journey’.
retail sector - current c h allenges and case studies
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In today’s world,
media fragmentation
and the proliferation
of digital has resulted
in an increase in the
number of brands under
consideration
for consumers.
Source: Consumer Decision Journey. McKinsey Solution 2010.
AWARENESS
FAMILIARITY
CONSIDERATION
PURCHASE
LOYALTY
THEN: THE PURCHASE FUNNEL NOW: THE CONSUMER DECISION JOURNEY
EVALUATE
COMMIT
EXPERIENCE
INTEREST
TRIGGER
DECISION
TRIGGER
CONSIDER
BUY

The consumer decision journey as illustrated on page 11 is largely influenced
by digital - more specifically the social web, underpinned by social media.
Social media has fundamentally affected the retail purchasing landscape and
buying behaviour, as consumers look toward reviews and recommendations
rather than brand’s own messages.
In response to these changes, successful retail brands have re-aligned their
marketing to adapt to the new consumer decision journey. Brands are
frequently using social media to create more targeted, personal shopping
experiences, not only to remain competitive in the marketplace, but also
to ensure they are delivering the right experiences at the right time for
consumers.
We have examined the social media marketing communication activity of retail
brands globally over the past 12 months.
To provide structure to the retail social media activity explored, we have
segmented the examples featured into three key phases of the consumer
decision journey:
• Initial consideration – Trigger
• Active evaluation – Information gathering, shopping and buying
• Post purchase experience and advocacy
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Initial Consideration - Trigger
Savvy retail brands are looking at ever more creative ways to start the
conversation with potential customers via engaging content that delivers
value in the form of information and entertainment.
The following examples feature approaches by marketers to achieve cut
through and encourage consumers to consider their brand’s products
over competitors.
curated content
Retail brands are frequently coming up with new ways to promote their
products by curating existing content with the support of influencers as
opposed to relying on brand created marketing messages.
• Tapping into the interest graph and the growing popularity of the
Pinterest social network, Furniture retailer IKEA showcased their 2012
Indian Collection ‘True Blue’ (http://pinterest.com/ikeafamilylive/true-blue-
ikea-family/), helping home decorators to find and share (re-pin) content
in an attempt to increase earned media.
• Fashion brand GAP collaborated with six high profile bloggers to curate
their 2012 spring collection as part of their ‘Be Bright’ campaign.
The Styld.by (http://www.styld-by.com/) collaboration saw the six bloggers
style unique looks from the range and host these on their own sites
increasing reach for GAP’s campaign.
• Organic food retailer Whole Foods hosted a number of wine tasting
Twitter Tweetups. Tweetups for example featured six wines, with Whole
Foods providing tasting notes and information about the winemakers
and vineyards facilitated by a dedicated Twitter chat room #WFMwines
(http://tweetchat.com/room/wfmwine).
transparency and storytelling
Moving away from promoting value pricing and new product lines, retail
brands are looking at creative ways of increasing brand awareness amongst
the more informed consumer through implementing storytelling techniques
with a focus on transparency.
• As part of McDonald’s marketing strategy, the food retailer focussed
on telling the stories of their ingredients’ origins. They produced a
series of videos on their YouTube channel featuring beef (http://youtu.
be/8sjPnAYwdNI), potato (http://youtu.be/3xxlEkstcwM), lettuce (http://
youtu.be/Hv2lNjF1Pl4) and packaging suppliers to show their green
credentials and open up the brand’s supply chain to its customers.
• Whole Foods similarly produced video content for their blog ‘Supplier
Stories’ (http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/category/supplier-stories/ )
featuring the organic food suppliers they stock within their stores.
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active evaluation - information gathering, shopping and buying
Consumer-driven marketing (e.g. Internet reviews, word-of-mouth,
recommendations from friends and family, in-store interactions and
recollections of past experiences) at the active evaluation stage is more
important than ever. Consumers have increased control of this process,
actively pulling and pushing content in the form of information to help
themselves and others in the decision making process.
To ensure retail brands do not miss out, marketers are looking to influence
the consumer-driven touch points by joining the conversation at the right
moment, and/or facilitating conversations by listening to questions and
providing contextually relevant information at the right time.
product scanning
With the ubiquity of cameras on mobiles phones and 3G connectivity
providing access to the web, comparison shopping and information gathering
on the go has increased. Taking the functionality of smart phones and
developing apps to facilitate this process further is a smart move for retailers
when consumers are in information gathering mode. More and more retailers
such as House of Fraser (http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8350-house-of-
fraser-targets-christmas-shoppers-with-o2-mobile-marketing-campaign ) are
now ensuring that wi-fi is available in-stores so that customers can carry out
price comparisons easily, as well as having access to their mobile sites for
full inventory.
• Barcode scanning apps have been around for a couple of years now,
but they primarily link to price based information. OpenLabel
(http://theopenlabel.com/ ) is a barcode scanning app with its focus on
augmenting bar codes with crowd sourced information; everything from
reviews and ratings to the green credentials of a company can exist
virtually alongside a scanned product. Brands themselves will need to
consider having a presence on this and similar platforms to manage
their reputation.
• US department store Macy’s Backstage Pass QR code program ‘Find
Your Magic’ (http:// www.macys.com/findyourmagic ) included branded
entertainment featuring talent that consumers retrieved by scanning
codes alongside products in-store. The goal was not only to advance the
in-store experience, but also to encourage consumers to pull all the
content together, helping them to understand and navigate
seasonal trends.
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• Tesco via augmented reality encouraged users to scan posters in shop
windows to view a showcase of their F&F range on the catwalk (http://
blog.clothingattesco.com/2012/05/keep-your-eyes-peeled-for-our-our-
new-augmented-reality-ad-campaign-soon-to-be-found-in-a-metro-store-
near-you/). Extending this further, a F&F pop-up store allowed shoppers
to try on clothes that could be purchased directly by scanning a QR code.
• More and more retailers are experimenting with pop-up shopping walls
following the success of Tesco’s Homeplus Subway experiment in Korea
(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8601147/Tesco-
builds-virtual-shops-for-Korean-commuters.html). Virtual store walls
appear in locations such as bus and train stations, where consumers can
order products and share product information amongst their social
network direct from the wall, simply by scanning QR codes.
try before you buy
Rapid developments in technology such as high speed broadband, 3D and
augmented reality have been a real enabler of the ‘try before you buy’ trend.
• Tesco in spring 2012 launched a 3D virtual fitting room (http://
www.clothingattesco.com/f+f-virtual-fitting-room/page/tesco-virtual-
fittingroom/) for its F&F brand on its Clothing at Tesco Facebook page.
Customers can enter their measurements, upload a photo of their face,
and the F&F application creates a 3D virtual body. Consumers can then
try on virtual outfits and share items with their friends.
• Swarovski (http://www.t-immersion.com/blog/may-29-2012/swarovski-
%E2%80%98be-amazing%E2%80%99-campaign-goes-virtual-total-
immersions-augmented-reality ) used total immersion Augmented Reality
on Facebook to introduce its Amazing sunglasses range on a global scale.
Fans could participate in their own music video whilst trying on the
sunglasses and share the video both with friends and the Swarovski
YouTube channel.
personal shopping
Social shopping is everywhere in terms of customer reviews, but there is
nothing more satisfying than having an expert consult you via a personal
shopping experience. By combining the two it makes the information
gathering process for products both productive and valuable resulting in your
own personal shopping network.
• Online retailer Modcloth feature ‘ModStylists’ (http://www.modcloth.com/
modstylists), a team of stylists who carry out one-to-one style
consultations for free via Facebook. Stylists curate Polyvore outfit sets
that consumers can then share via Facebook to get feedback from their
social graph.
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• Online clothes retailer ASOS (http://www.asos.com/Microsite-Style-
Advice/Cat/pgehtml.aspx?cid=14594 ) hosted Free Style sessions
via Skype for the Spring Summer 2012 season. Places were limited, but
consumers could follow key information discussed in the session via
Twitter using the hashtag #stylesos.
• Luxury department store Neiman Marcus developed a personal shopping
mobile app ‘NMService’ (http://www.accessoriesmagazine.com/38056/
neiman-marcus-tests-personal-shopping-assistant-app) allowing customers
to gather more information about products by communicating directly
with sales assistants. When the user walked in-store it alerted the
consumer via app where the sales assistant was in the store at that
moment. Customers could also use the app to mark products that they
like, and scan QR codes to retrieve more information.
location-based messaging and services
Location based messaging and services are growing in popularity as we
see more in-store shoppers pulling out their phones to read online reviews,
compare prices or search for coupons and promotions. This ‘on-the-go’
audience demand locally relevant information, therefore retail brands are
coming up with creative ways to target consumers with contextually relevant
information in and around their physical locations.
• The most common form of location-based marketing activity by retail
brands is the check-in treasure hunt. Started by Jimmy Choo with its
‘Catch-a-Choo’ (https://foursquare.com/catchachoo ) campaign in 2011,
consumers could follow a pair of trainers on Foursquare with a chance of
winning the shoes if they caught them in time at the specific location.
• Retailer Neiman Marcus produced a similar campaign in the form of
‘Clutch me if you can’ (http://www.neimanmarcus.com/blog/womens/
clutch) whereby consumers had to check-in to a store for a chance to find
a free handbag.
interactive technology
With natural user interfaces such as voice, touch and gesture recognition
becoming ubiquitous in smart phones, tablets and gaming devices; consumers
are becoming more comfortable with interactive technology and thus more
receptive to innovative ways of experiencing and browsing products in-store.
• Interactive virtual product display walls such as the Adidas ‘Adiverse’
(http://news.adidas.com/GLOBAL/adidas-introduces-the-adiverse-virtual-
footwear-wall/s/146bdaf5-2c8e-4bfc-beff-978568c02243 ) are digital
displays for in-store product browsing. Many retailers are installing multi-
touch screens to browse product catalogues, retrieve more detail and
share content across social networks.
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• Perch Interactive (http://www.perchinteractive.com/ ) is currently
redesigning the in-store display via interactive projections that surround
products with customer reviews, tweets, available sizes and colours as
well as video content allowing the user to visualise the product in
different environments.
social gifting
Born out of learnings from the deal-of-the-day business models, the latest
trend amongst retail start-ups and social savvy consumers is social gifting.
• Facebook has fuelled this trend further by purchasing gifting app Karma
(http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/karma/id457143798?mt=8). Karma
lets you buy and send gifts to friends and family directly from your iPhone
or Android smart phone. Gift recipients can then exchange that gift for
other items from the same vendor, or choose to donate the money used
to a charity.
• Another example is Wrapp (https://www.wrapp.com/gb) - an app for
smart phones and tablets that allows Facebook friends to buy each other
gift cards from retailers either individually or by teaming up. They can
store gift cards on their mobile devices and redeem in-store. Retailers are
working with Wrapp directly as there is limited marketing cost, and they
can tap into the social graph of consumers.
• Clingle (http://clingle.com/) is a gifting app that focuses on location.
Clingle has the ability to send location-based gift cards. For example you
are in a Starbucks, or even seated in the comfort of your home, you buy
and leave a gift card for your Clingle or Facebook friends at that location
which they can check-in, collect and redeem.
post purchase experience and advocacy
Once a product purchase has been made, the post purchase experience
kicks in, and brands need to ensure they are supporting the consumer on
a continuous journey. More often than not, following a purchase it is not
uncommon for consumers to use social media such as forums and social
networks to share and validate their recent purchases.
Marketers are looking to join the conversation at this stage rather than
starting or ignoring them. Providing an after-sales experience that inspires
loyalty, repeat purchases and keeps competitor products/services at bay is
key. This brand presence should not be limited to online, but consideration
should be given to blending the social web and physical world together to
create new experiences.
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customer service
There are always opportunities for retailers to improve customer satisfaction.
With social media, retailers can succeed more easily with open and responsive
communications.
Numerous brands have turned to Twitter to ensure they are present,
answering and responding to customer queries. Brands that experiment in
more creative ways to provide customer service have increased their unique
service points edging themselves in front of competitors.
• Sandwich Shop ‘Nom Nom’ (https://twitter.com/nomnom_bristol/), uses
Facebook and Twitter to allow customers to pre-order food and drink.
Customer feedback is rewarded by a loyalty scheme entitling them to
special offers.
• Start up Needle (http://www.needle.com) pays fans of products to handle
customer service and sales on behalf of retailers via forums and online
chat rather than call centres. As a result, true advocates of a product
can support those who have recently purchased a product, or support
those consumers in the consideration phase.
social and interest graph validation
Sharing a purchase immediately to receive validation via friends is
commonplace amongst a younger generation seeking approval from peers.
This validation process is not only limited to the active evaluation stage in the
consumer consideration journey. Being able to show off a purchase to both
your immediate social graph and interest graph achieves a more varied and
deeper validation.
• Applications WhatIWearToday (http://www.WhatIWoreToday.com) and
Tagbrand (http://tagbrand.com/) encourage users to take photos of
branded clothes they are wearing and tag them. Each tag has a Twitter
and Facebook button to encourage sharing of content via social networks
allowing virality of photos and brands via the social graph. Retailers can
provide the Tagbrand app with a price-list for the exact items to
encourage the interest graph to find and purchase the products.
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new product launch RSVPs
The line-up, camp out, festival experience for product launch days outside
flagship stores have in the past led to stampedes, riots and health and safety
problems for retailers. To eliminate the large queues outside retail outlets,
brands are looking at ways to encourage consumers to RSVP via
social channels.
• Nike (http://www.nikeblog.com/2012/04/18/nike-introduces-twitter-rsvp-
system-for-high-demand-releases/) has put in place a Twitter RSVP for its
trainer releases. Consumers are required to follow the official feed of
their nearest Nike Store. Prior to a major release, Nike informs potential
buyers of an RSVP date. On the release date, stores then tweet
requesting an RSVP via direct message. Potential customers are required
to tweet within 60 minutes and include specific information. Similar to
retail store line-ups it’s products are on a first come, first serve basis. The
store directly messages customers to inform them if they are successful
in securing the product, along with details of how to pick up the product
on day of launch.
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casestudies

summary
The complexity of the consumer decision journey forces brands to adopt new
ways of marketing and this in turn will influence marketing expenditure.
Rather than focus purely on the awareness phase, consideration now needs
to be given to the whole process, ensuring that everything from information
gathering, to post-purchase experiences and support are of consideration.
key questions
• Does your social strategy deliver the right content, at the right time,
in the right format for customers?
• Does your marketing provide value of different kinds to customers e.g.
utility, monetary, exclusive information, rather than simply
pushing messages?
• Do you monitor social media effectively, with the intention of joining
conversations at appropriate times?
• Are you listening to your customers’ post-purchase conversations, and
facilitating sharing and customer care where appropriate?
how headstream can help
• Content, channel and community strategy development
• Insights from social media monitoring
• Creative campaigns
• Community management
• Social media training to up-skill in house teams
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5 • retail sector - The future of social media
So what is coming next in social media that will be of particular relevance
to retail brands?
As ever, it is difficult to predict what the next innovation will be,
but the behavioural trends are clear, and it is this that should inform
marketing strategy.
areas for further study and consideration
To continue the evolution of social media in retail and create even greater
value for brands, we highlight five areas of research that represent some of
the most promising possibilities:
always-on marketing:
Media fragmentation, connected consumers and the blurring lines between
advertising and PR, led Headstream to develop the Paid, Owned, Earned,
Network and Borrowed media framework (http://blog.stevesponder.com/paid-
owned-network-borrowed-and-earned-media). This framework allowed us to
help plan our client’s content distribution in order to generate earned media.
For brands to be relevant and influence the initial consideration and active
evaluation stage of consumers, content itself can be planned in an ‘always-on’
’(http://www.fivebyfiveuk.com/2012/03/arriving-at-a-definition-for-always-
on-marketing/) strategy. As opposed to just focussing on the BIG idea,
marketers should be looking to focus on the LONG idea. Consideration is
given to taking the consumer on a longer journey of engagement and loyalty
over time, achieved via valuable pieces of content that stitch together to form
a more compelling campaign.
interactive technology:
We have already featured a few examples of retailers’ use of multi-touch
screen product displays and kiosks. Exciting developments are happening on
a daily basis in the areas of touch, gesture recognition, voice, face detection,
eye tracking, thought and smell.
All of these available interactions will have a profound impact on the way
people interact with technology, so much so that in the not too-distant future,
we will interact with technology in the same way we interact with each
other – naturally.
retail sector - t h e f uture o f social m edia
p age 2 1

Electronics giant Samsung in January 2012 demonstrated it’s new ‘Smart
Glass’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5rlTrdF5Cs ) technology. Smart
Glass is a transparent touch screen glass that allows for digital content to be
augmented directly on the glass. For retailers, this technology not only can
be used to create more engaging window displays and/or in-store displays,
but more creative consideration can be given to displaying user generated
content such as customer reviews and sharing digital content to
social networks.
Facebook’s recent acquisition of Face.com (http://www.face.com), the leading
facial recognition platform is a bold move but one that is not limited to
identifying your face within photos. Retailers could use cameras coupled with
facial recognition technology linked to Facebook, to identify customers and
greet them personally via a hologram or virtual sales assistant as you enter
a physical store. Customers could be checked in automatically and receive
loyalty points to their Facebook account, and be sent discount coupons or
promotions direct to their mobile based on interests. All a user would need to
do is allow permissions for the retailer to access their data. This all sounds a
little bit like ‘Minority Report’ but this technology exists and is only limited by
our imagination.
Continuing on the theme of marketing location aware messaging, and thinking
beyond a mobile handheld device, Google’s Project Glass (https://plus.google.
com/111626127367496192147/posts ) and Microsoft’s rumoured ‘Fortaleza’
Kinect (http://kotaku.com/fortaleza/ ) glasses, represent a world of possibility
where digital data can be augmented in front of your eyes. Not only could the
glasses help you navigate a retail store looking for a particular product, but
automatically display user reviews, price comparisons and allow you to collect
virtual gifts that could be shared with your social network.
Keeping our feet firmly on the ground for the time being is Microsoft’s Kinect
device, which has already been used for in store virtual reality mirrors such
as the Barbie augmented reality closet (http://barbiethedreamcloset.com/)
at Disney World and Bloomingdale’s virtual changing room (http://www.psfk.
com/2012/03/bloomingdales-kinect-change-room.html). Speech recognition
with the Kinect device is the next area for development, offering the ability to
control actions and retrieve data through voice commands.
Savvy retailers are already installing interactive displays in windows controlled
by Kinect gesture-based technology that allows users to access and share
product info without going into the store, or when the store is closed ensuring
that products are available 24/7.
p age 2 2

audio watermarking and connected tv:
With the widespread adoption of smart phones and tablets, companion apps
like Shazam (http://www.shazam.com/) used alongside TV commercials now
offer brands the opportunity to serve up branded content that delivers value
and encourages sharing.
For the uninitiated, Shazam is a smart phone application that uses audio
watermarking technology to serve up content. Shazam achieved its popularity
back in 2010 as a music identification service for unfamiliar songs we were
listening to. Users install the Shazam app on their mobile phone and by
hitting the “tag now” button and holding the phone’s mic up to a speaker; the
app will usually identify the song and provide artist information, as well as a
link to purchase the album.
With more retail brands creating their own applications for mobile and tablets,
incorporating audio watermarking means that users can unlock content e.g.
promotions, coupons, entertainment, utility when using or viewing content on
television, in-store and on tablet via the companion app and share this content
amongst their social network.
Next generation TV known as ‘Connected TV’ leverages the power of the
web. Going forward Connected TVs will offer brands a platform to develop
applications such as branded entertainment and utility, allowing users to
access content direct from the sofa in lean back mode. Branded content
such as videos can be enjoyed and shared via social networks on a larger
screen rather than limited to mobile and tablet screens. Retailer M&S have
already experimented in TV apps with M&S TV (http://www.marksandspencer.
com/MS-TV/b/311612031).
Connected TVs also feature built-in cameras. Currently webcam-based AR is
already used, as illustrated in the examples of Tesco and Swarovski, making
it possible to virtually try on watches or apparel and choose between styles
and colours. This scenario in the future can be transferred to connected TV
screens in the home.
Television ads in the future will allow one click or gesture actions so you could
book a test drive when you are watching the advertisement and share your
booking amongst your social network. This functionality will make television
advertising more measurable.
p age 2 3

physical and digital:
The term ‘Internet of things’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things)
has been talked about for many years, but now with the proliferation of the
social web, mobile devices, ubiquitous connectivity, and data pouring out from
everywhere it is becoming a reality. The ability to connect the physical world
with the virtual world is becoming ever more a reality. This will not happen
overnight, but bold retailers are taking small steps in the right direction.
One example of the Internet of things within a retail context is C&A Brazil
and it’s Facebook connected coat hangers campaign ‘Fashion Like’ (http://
www.adweek.com/adfreak/store-clothes-now-have-real-time-counts-built-
hangers-140101). Whenever someone ‘Likes’ a clothing item online at C&A
Brazil‘s site, that thumbs-up is tallied on a screen embedded in clothes
hangers on the store’s physical racks.
More thought will need to be given by retailers to how they can marry their
physical and digital properties, and not treat their physical and online stores
as two separate business units.
influencers and the interest graph:
Pinterest’s success has thrown the subject of ‘interest networks’ into the
spotlight since the beginning of 2012 as this blog post explains (http://blog.
headstream.com/2012/03/23/social-networks-vs-interest-networks/).
Going forward we will see even more interest based networks springing up.
The life blood running through them all will be Facebook/Twitter, so that
users can achieve ‘look at me’, showing off to their social network, when they
discover ‘this is me’ content via their interest graph.
Planning and creating content taking into account the interest graph and
influencers should be at the forefront of retail marketer’s activity. This is to
ensure that the right content reaches the right consumer at the right time
rather than a one-sized fits all approach.
p age 2 4

key questions
• How informed, and agile, is your social media team to respond to
new opportunities?
• How does each marketing activity fit into a compelling ‘LONG idea’ for
your brand?
• How are your digital world and real world customer experiences being
coordinated to create a cohesive experience for the customer?
• Do you have a landscape of the relevant interest graphs for your brand?
how headstream can help
• Education and training to keep ahead of latest trends
• Content, channel and community strategy and execution
• Insights from social media monitoring
p age 2 5
?
!

conclusion
Shoppers are becoming smarter, better informed and more demanding.
The growing trend to access relevant data and reviews at all points in the
consumer decision journey is a fundamental change that savvy retailers are
responding to. Whether at the trigger, evaluation, purchase, or after sales
point, brands now have opportunities to relate to their customers that simply
haven’t been available before.
The case studies are beginning to emerge of the footfall, sales and average
spend advantages that social strategies can bring. For example Asos’ Urban
Tour campaign, (http://www.asos.com/urban-tour/), resulted in 7.36 million
global views in 11 weeks, with 14% of viewers purchasing within seven
minutes of viewing. While the industry is still on a journey to standardise how
this ROI is measured, the early adopters are already gaining advantage over
competitors and will be best placed when economic recovery kicks-in.
getting started
To make the most of these opportunities brands should consider:
• making social media an integral and leading part of the marketing strategy,
not an afterthought,
• co-ordinating social media strategy and activity across departments
that may traditionally have been separate e.g. marketing, customer
services, technology,
• introducing real-time social media monitoring,
• creating a 24/7 capability to social engagement via content creation and
community management.
While these developments require significant time investment they will create
a socially enabled retail organisation that is ready to face into the dynamic,
highly informed and smart consumer of the social age.
Talk to Headstream
Twitter: @headstream
Web: www.headstream.com
conclusion and getting started
p age 2 6
The early adopters
are already gaining
advantage over
competitors and will
be best placed when
economic recovery
kicks-in.

how can headstream help?
Headstream is helping marketers across diverse sectors move beyond
funnel-inspired push marketing towards engagement, and building win-win
relationships with prospects and customers. We can help in the
following ways:
education
We offer a broad range of training options, from simple best practice papers
and briefing sessions to in-depth bespoke education programmes. We have
experience of working with senior management on a 1to1 basis through to
sales, marketing, customer service and HR teams.
benchmarking
Using our leading Social Brands 100 methodology we can provide regular
social media performance benchmarking against your key competitors.
planning
We can help you get your thinking straight and work out how you’ll prove ROI.
This is valuable before embarking on any activity or developing your social
media strategy
• audits and social analytics
• insights from social media monitoring
• content , channel and community strategy
• influencer identification
execution
With seven years experience of rolling out successful social activity for
national and global brands we know how to get cut through and build lasting
communities:
• creative campaigns
• influencer outreach
• community management
• content calendars
h eadstrea m
p age 2 7

about headstream
Headstream is a specialist social agency and part of the Lawton
Communications Group. For the past six years we’ve been helping brands
like the BBC, Activision, and McLaren Automotive become more successful
by embedding social into their marketing communications. Headstream is
also the agency behind the influential Social Brands 100 ranking of high
performing social brands. Find out more at www.socialbrands100.com.
we believe
• Social is making marketing exciting again
• Social brings brands closer to customers
• Social should be simple
• When we have fun with our clients, we do better work.
www.headstream.com, or follow us on Twitter @headstream
h eadstrea m
p age 2 8

sources
http://www.socialbrands100.com/
http://www.euromonitor.com/medialibrary/PDF/Book_WRDAS_Ed70.pdf
http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases?year=11405&keywo
rds=e+commerce+growth&location=0&searchBtn=Search
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9631165.htm
http://www.retailresearch.org/whosegonebust.php
http://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/article/179796/IBM-report-The-
smarter-consumer-has-arrived
http://www.slideshare.net/trendwatching_com/trendwatchingcometailevolution
http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/The_consumer_decision_journey_2373
http://www.psfk.com/publishing/future-of-retail
the authors
Julius Duncan – julius.duncan@headstream.com
Tom Chapman – tom.chapman@headstream.com
for more information
Andrea Catt
andrea.catt@headstream.com
+44 (0)23 8082 8520
S ources | aut h ors | f or m ore in f or m ation
p age 2 9

Building A Retail Social Brand 2012

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