CREATIVE SEVEN-UP Gabriella Carbonaro Federica Evola Simona Genchi Sara Mariani Brigitta Sartorato Yerkebulan Sairambay Giusy Virone PATAGONIA AND THE SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD Digiday interviewed Dmitri Siegel, vp of global e-commerce at outdoor gear retailer Patagonia. He talked about the retailers approach to social media. Patagonia uses social media to REACH MORE CUSTOMERS AND INCREASE THE RICHNESS OF INFORMATION PROVIDED ABOUT THE BRAND AND ITS INITIATIVES. For retailers, specifically, how is social media changing the commerce arena? I think it is leveling the playing field. Transparency is just mandatory. It has taken word of mouth to another level. Social media is allowing customers to talk about brands faster, and that is a great thing for a retailer. Its a positive change for retail overall because now retailers need to address customer concerns faster. They need to address things head on. That makes retail better. If you could have all the brand managers from the largest companies all in one room, what would you say? What would your advice be from a digital perspective? I would say its not about chasing different platforms or technology. Know yourself as a brand and know your brand voice, and then just evaluate platforms based on whether they are able to tell your brand story to the right people. Social media is changing the way that retailers operate and do business online. Consumers are more empowered than ever, and the retailers that are quick to respond will be top of mind and most successful. WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL MEDIA USED BY PATAGONIA? There is a perfect coherence between the way Patagonia exploits social media and its firm values: -Quality -Innovation -Responsibility -Simplicity -Environmentalism All the products are presented in the social media channels, reflecting the brand quality The innovation of materials is well described both in Youtube videos, on the company website and in the other channels There is an entire section on the website about the corporate responsibility, but Patagonia also answers to customers on the blog and enhance many initiatives through social media All the social media are used in a way that reflects the passion of Patagonia for the nature and simple life, and they are full of beautiful images of landscapes. One of the most important value for Patagonia is the environment. It uses all the social media to share its activities about it trying to involve costumers. -WEBSITE: Patagonia has a company website to sell products and promote its brand. It is used also to let people know what are its main activities, the philosophy, initiatives, its corporate responsibility and innovative materials used. There is a big section dedicated to the environment and the production process. -The Cleanest Line Blog: In 2005, it started The Cleanest Line, a blog that focuses on sports and environmental issues that resonate with its outdoor enthusiast customers. Patagonia say: its really unique because it is long-form writing with really meaty articles. The goal of The Cleanest Line is to further Patagonias mission by encouraging dialogue about the products we build, the sports we love and the environmental issues were concerned about. By talking openly about the products we build, Patagonia users can help us achieve ever greater standards of quality and functionality. By spreading the word about specific environmental issues, we can increase awareness and take action as quickly as possible. By sharing field reports, we can inspire one another to keep experiencing the natural wonders of our precious planet.The Cleanest Line This is a clear example by which we can understand how social media can be used by companies not only to sell products or let costumers know the company better, but also to create a relationship with consumers and to show that they care about their opinions. This is a letter of one criticism about Patagonia forest protection action. Even the letter is negative, Patagonia answers to it, and there are many costumers comments that support their transparency and incentivate the company to keep doing what it is doing. BRAND REPUTATION AND COSTUMER ENGAGEMENT FACEBOOK Facebook is for distribution of content, so we may put something from one of our books, for some quick real-time interaction. Facebook is more storytelling oriented. FACEBOOK : Facebook is for distribution of content, so we may put something from one of our books, for some quick real-time interaction. Facebook is more storytelling oriented. Likes: TWITTER: As they say, variety is the spice of life, and theres nothing I enjoy more on Twitter than discovering, viewing, and reading a little bit of everything- Twitter is more of a response engine for customer-service queries. Patagonia Inc. announces the launch of its Vote the Environment.The company will also launch a Twitter campaign around the hashtag. People will be encouraged to tweet messages and images that complete the sentence "I vote the environment because I love " in order to personalize the environmental issues at stake in this election.The company's hope is that customers will spread the "I vote the environment #becauseilove" on their social networks to get the word out about "voting the environment" in November. Patagonia Inc. announces the launch of its Vote the Environment.The company will also launch a Twitter campaign around the hashtag #becauseilove. People will be encouraged to tweet messages and images that complete the sentence "I vote the environment because I love " in order to personalize the environmental issues at stake in this election.The company's hope is that customers will spread the "I vote the environment #becauseilove" on their social networks to get the word out about "voting the environment" in November. Tweet: 6533 Followers: YOUTUBE YOUTUBE : This is one of the most used social media by Patagonia. There are many videos about products, but especially about the environment. They try to involve costumers, by reinforcing the touchment between people and nature. By sharing field reports people can inspire one another to keep experiencing the natural wonders of our precious planet. There are also interviews, and they use videos to share their main initiatives(Common threads Partnership, Damnation, ecc). Subscribe: Videos: 930 Instagram : Posts: 807 Posts: 807 Followers: Followers: Pinterest: Pins: 403 Pins: 403 Followers: Followers: PATAGONIAVS THE NORTHFACE Patagonia and The North Face are competing high-end outdoor apparel companies with retail presence across North America. They are the foremost influencers among those actively engaging fans through social media platforms. They were among the top brands honoured by Outdoor USA Magazines 2010 Social Media Awards. The awards gave recognition to outdoor brands that have harnessed the power of social networking most successfully, including Facebooks Most Liked brand Life Is Good (752,661 Likes), Twitters Most Followed brand The North Face (23,264 Followers), and YouTubes Most Viewed brand Patagonia (3,154,204 Views). - Mentions When it comes to the number of social media conversations happening about each brand name, the North Face dominates, with more than twice as many mentions as Patagonia. Engagement -Engagement (across Facebook and Twitter) For Facebook Likes and RTs on Twitter, The North Face emerges as the obvious winner, though Patagonia does give them a run for their money and come from behind to account for about 60% of the Shares on Facebook. Sentiment -Sentiment Patagonias mentions were almost 66% positive and just 5,10% negative, compared with 16,4% positive and 24,4% negative for The North Face. Patagonia is succeeding in creating conversations that are more enthusiastic. Breakdown by Sentiment The North FacePatagonia INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM : Apart a small difference in the number of posts, and despite following half as many accounts, Patagonia has more almost 2x the number of followers as The North Face. This clearly represents a brand much more in tune with the millennial generation. Perhaps they also feature more beautiful photography. PatagoniaThe North Face - From Patagonia Website: Its rare when industry competitors get together to collaborate. Its even more unusual when they get together to discuss ways they can lessen their environmental impact. Yet thats what happened as a result of our relationship with bluesign technologies, an independent third party that screens the dyeing and finishing of textiles. We recently met with other outdoor companies, including brands like MEC,REI and The North Face, at REI's Seattle offices to find ways to spread the benefits of bluesign membership. We discussed ways to educate other brands, encourage manufacturers and demonstrate how environmental progress can be rewarding and beneficial for all parties involved. Since we were all working toward the same environmental goals in our supply chains, working together was helpful for everyone. - The Conservation Alliance - In 1989, The North Face, in conjunction with Patagonia, REI and Kelty, helped form The Conservation Alliance, an organization dedicated to supporting grassroots citizen-action groups and their efforts to protect outdoor areas. Today, we continue to donate to the alliance every year and maintain a permanent seat on the board of directors. The Conservation Alliance started its Legacy Fund Campaign to raise a $3.5-million endowment to provide a permanent source of operational funding for the organization. Presently, Legacy Fund commitments exceed $2.75 million. PARTNERSHIP & COLLABORATION Facebooks Top 10 (Fans) 1) The North Face 1,497,218 2) Life is good 1,071,926 3) Timberland 558,307 4) Jansport 441,315 5) Crocs 427,734 6) K-Swiss 216,839 7) Costa Sunglasses 187,818 8) New Balance172,503 9) Vibram Fivefingers 169,594 10) Columbia 148,824 YouTubes Top 10 (Channel Views) 1) Patagonia 4,236,734 2) Salomon Freeski 4,111,338 3) Columbia 3,844,262 4) K-Swiss 3,617,178 5) Salomon Running 1,674 6) Petzl 1,671,680 7) The North Face 1,465,420 8) Prana 1,370,573 9) Marmot 1,322,808 10) Vibram Fivefingers 978,194 Twitters Top 10 (Followers) 1) Life is good 69,887 2) The North Face 54,931 3) Patagonia 44,941 4) Columbia 26,150 5) Keen 24,236 6) Crocs 19,792 7) Brooks Running 19,346 8) Vibram Fivefingers 18,879 9) New Balance 15, ) Timberland 15,063 SOURCES: -http://blog.ubervu.com/social-media-face-off-north-face-vs-patagonia.htmlhttp://blog.ubervu.com/social-media-face-off-north-face-vs-patagonia.html -http://digiday.com/brands/retailer-patagonias-2012-social-media-priorities/http://digiday.com/brands/retailer-patagonias-2012-social-media-priorities/ -Patagonia Website, The North Face Website -Facebook Page of Patagonia and The North Face -Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest -Twitter Page of Patagonia and The North Face -http://vote-the-environment.myshopify.com/http://vote-the-environment.myshopify.com/ -www.talkwalker.comwww.talkwalker.com -http://running.competitor.com/2012/03/news/the-north-face-and-patagonia- reign-at-social-media-awards_48090http://running.competitor.com/2012/03/news/the-north-face-and-patagonia- reign-at-social-media-awards_ http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/our-story/partners/