Emily Martin IMC641 Final Project

Tradition Transformed

A comprehensive social media plan

Emily C. Martin

Final Project

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY- TRADITION TRANSFORMED

Talbots, a 65 year old women’s retailer, has been in decline since the economic

downturn. The company currently utilizes few traditional means of advertising.

Television commercials are no longer used due to high production costs and public

relations efforts occasionally create exposure for Talbots. Seasonal direct mailers

are used for promotional coupons, monthly catalogs are sent to promote new

product deliveries, and infrequent print advertising is limited to select magazines.

Talbots is utilizing emerging forms of advertising to connect with consumers in an

immediate and cost-effective manner. Email is used frequently. Social media is used

ineffectively to promote the brand through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Talbots

is very focused on sales and promotional messages within posts, resulting in weak

connections with followers on a personal level. While the company occasionally runs

sweepstakes based upon fan experiences, they are not providing deep connections

through social media.

The proposed social media plan provides Talbots appropriate exposure to target

audiences at a lower cost than traditional media. Added exposure that connects

with customers on a personal level will drive customers to the brand and encourage

them to share the brand. Creating a connected, shareable presence online will

ultimately increase revenue with minimal investment. This plan seeks to

reinvigorate the “Tradition Transformed” brand platform by appealing to Baby

Boomers with the Tradition and to Early Generation Xers with the Transformed.

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

OBJECTIVES

OBJECTIVE I

To promote the Talbots brand through re-implementation of the Red Chair

Confessions blog and launch of the Traditions blog, generating 1200 new

followers/brand advocates in total within three months of launch.

Objective II

To drive 30% of social media followers (existing customers) to purchase, by using

unique promotion codes offered through social media outlets.

Objective III

To increase overall positive impressions on social media outlets by 40% within six

months of campaign launch.

AUDIENCES

Talbots has attempted to reinvent its image since 2009, struggling to connect with

their traditional customer while trying to attract a new consumer base. The Talbots

2009 Annual Report identified the core customers as being “high-income, college

educated and employed primarily in professional and managerial occupations, and

are attracted to the brand by our focused merchandising strategy personalized

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

customer service, and continual flow of high quality, reasonably priced updated

classic merchandise.” (Thetalbotsinc.com,

2010).

According to Grau (2009), by 2013, 93.9

million US adults will be using social

networks, which is 52% of adult internet

users. EMarketer illustrates the Boomer

mentality regarding online community

activity compared to GenX and other

groups. Interestingly, Boomers time on the

internet is used for either communication

with friends and family (50%), or finding

information (52%). A majority of Boomers

use the internet to search information, half use email to keep in touch with others,

and just below half search local, national, and international news. While they are not

using the internet as a means of entertainment, Boomers are using the internet as a

means to research entertainment for their lives offline. (Wasserman, 2011).

Generation X women are using the internet for various reasons as well. Search

engine usage tops their interest, while communicating online, and staying current

on local news and events rounds out their top three online activities. While many of

GenX interests rank similar to the Boomer interests, the distribution of online

activities is more evenly dispersed. A noticeable difference lies in socializing,

watching online content and seeing personal interest information. (Wassermann,

2011). GenX uses social media more to serve personal interest and entertainment

value than do Boomers.

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

BABY BOOMERS

Traditional Talbots customers are

considered to be within the Baby Boomer

generation. These consumers are 46 to

70+ years old, career-oriented and

retirement-focused, middle to upper

income, and educated home owners.

Psychographics include being family

oriented, community-minded, and brand

loyalists. This group of consumers communicates status through possessions and

interests. They carry a lifestyle of comfort and self-fulfillment, and identify personal

style with age-appropriate fashions. (Thetalbotsinc.com, n.d.).

Forty-six percent of the Baby Boomer

generation reported maintaining a social

media page in 2010. (Wassermann,

2011). According to an eMarketer study

in March of 2011, “younger Boomers

(ages 47 to 55) spent 39.3 hours online

per month and older Boomers (56-65)

spent 36.5 hours.” (Wassermann,

2011). ). Boomers prefer Facebook over other social media sites. (Van Grove, 2010).

Seventy-three percent maintain a Facebook page, 13% participate in Twitter, and

only 13% are active on LinkedIn. (Van Grove, 2010).

GENERATION X

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Early Generation X women will be a secondary target for the social media

campaign. While these women are not currently loyal Talbots customers, they are a

valuable audience due to their active

presence among social media venues and

their tendency to share content. (Grau,

2009). These women are highly focused on

personal appearance and are concerned with

their ability to balance their busy working

lives with family and personal interest.

(Wassermann, 2010). They are highly involved online and are interested in social

media as a means to communicate with friends and family, gather information

regarding hobbies (including fashion) and to share content with friends and

colleagues. (Grau, 2009). They are sharing content and offering commentary,

feeling enabled to create influence through their critic role, more-so than creating

content.

Among GenX women, Talbots will tap into the fashion quotient and shifting

wardrobe needs as their bodies change, entering into early middle-age and post-

childbirth. Their tendency to share content will allow Talbots to become a viral

brand among GenX women. They are mainly considered Spectators and Joiners, due

to involvement in multiple social media outlets.

OPPORTUNITY

Talbots has left their core customer feeling abandoned while unsuccessfully

pursuing a new customer base. Within the initial strategy to communicate with both

audiences, Talbots has lost their engagement and communication styles that

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

initially created a loyal following. The company needs to engage with customers to

induce viral sharing and personal interest among existing and potential customers.

Within the Social Feedback Cycle, Talbots must focus upon awareness within the

social web which will lead to increased sharing and engagement, ultimately

influencing purchase decisions when done correctly.

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Talbots current

touchpoint map

indicates the higher

performing points of

customer contact

are those that are

the most expensive

or time-consuming.

As the chart

indicates, in-store experiences and direct mail are most discussed by customers.

The in-store experience indicates a more engaging performance, while direct mail

drives traffic but incurs a substantial cost. Unfortunately, the lowest-cost methods

of contact with highest engagement potential (social media) are being underused

and ignored by the consumer. This poses significant opportunity within this social

media plan.

Given the national and wide-scale Talbots carries across the nation, gathering an

accurate net promoter score would incur significant cost and effort. On a smaller

scale, the promoter score of local respondents surrounding the Vienna, WV store

indicates a score of 7.5. Interviewing 20 people within the target audiences, the

score reveals 14 respondents who are “Highly satisfied” with Talbots as a brand,

three who are “Satisfied”, two who were “Unfamiliar”, and one who was

“Unsatisfied”. Although a majority of respondents were satisfied with the brand, the

remaining three indicate a significant opportunity to connect and engage with

potential customers.

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

CHANNELS / METHODS

Talbots will utilize four different social media venues to connect with existing

customers, potential customers, and industry influencers. Talbots will use two blogs,

videos, Facebook, and Twitter to effectively create conversations where the brand

can create compelling content encouraging two-way conversations. Talbots will

share the brand personality and create conversations based upon product and

lifestyle, while followers will be engaged enough to respond. This will allow Talbots

to collect valuable information and respond appropriately to the chatter.

BLOGS

Two blogs will be used to appeal to customers in different ways. The blog approach

will tackle an exposure problem among relevant fashion industry professionals and

speak to a complicated fashion stance of dressing women. As Li & Bernoff (2009)

indicate, complicated or technical content may be best addressed by maintaining a

blog. Dave Evans (2008) is a proponent of blogs as they “can be really effective”

and “It’s a simple, easy, low-cost approach to social media.” Considering the cost-

effectiveness and reach potential of blog forums, having multiple blogs will appeal

to customer groups without a large monetary investment (aside from the time and

labor investment).

Reinstating Red Chair Confessions (RCC) will allow Talbots to reconnect with the

Generation X fashion-oriented customer. It will speak to a relevance to the Gen X

tendency to seek information and belonging in a blog setting according to their

interests. (Davidson, 2010). The Boomer Blog, Traditions, will reach the Baby

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Boomer core customer in a way that appeals to their egocentric and lifestyle-

centered mentality. (Carracher, 2012).

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

RED CHAIR CONFESSIONS (RCC) REINSTATED

Connect with the fashion industry in a way that is relevant to the interests of

potential customers. These customers look to fashion and

lifestyle bloggers as personalities who will direct traffic to the

Talbots brand.

Target Audiences:

Fashion bloggers to create a reciprocal supportive relationship

establishing Talbots as a relevant player in the fashion arena.

The bloggers will receive free product in exchange for true and

honest opinions of the brand, their experience, and the item.

The blogger must be honest and unbiased and disclose that

Talbots provided the item for free. Talbots must feature the blog

post on RCC and highlight commentary along with the product

and where/when to find it in stores and online. Talbots must

continue the blogger relationship regardless of a good or bad

review. In addition to the online experience, stores must uphold

an excellent customer service experience and store atmosphere

to promote the in-store experience and impact the blogger’s

opinion of the brand.

Generation X potential customers who follow these fashion

bloggers and are influenced by their opinions. These readers are

involved in fashion and lifestyle blogs by reading and linking to

content. By providing relevant content to their interests through

blogs they are following, Talbots will be able to link the brand

identity to their interests.

Topics Covered:

Promotional offers Fashion trends Featured readers Products to love Worst fashion

offenses

Celebrity sightings Video content Blogger support Share your style

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

TRADITIONS BEGINS

Engage the core customer and connect to their lifestyle in a way that is more

personal than that of the higher-fashion RCC. Traditions will uphold Talbots’

traditional stance as a classic and reliable presence. The blog will feature weekly

postings regarding fashion but will link to other relevant blogs to Boomer interests.

The challenges that accompany life changes such as retirement or physical changes

are often accompanied by changing wardrobe needs. (Genova, 2012). This is where

Talbots can help to offer age-appropriate solutions to the Boomer-specific needs.

Target Audiences:

Baby Boomer Spectators will be the primary target as the

content will be geared toward their interests in fashion, family,

and “self”. The presence of a blog geared especially to them

taps into their egocentric mentality where they are researching

their interests mainly through social media. (Carracher, 2012).

Boomer bloggers who can maintain a credible stance for the

blog, enhancing Talbots’ presence among Boomer Spectators.

The links within other blogs will direct Boomer attention to

Talbots for special occasions, changes in wardrobe needs

(retirement, becoming grandparents, job changes, physical

changes, etc.), and fashion advice.

Topics covered:

Promotional offers Appropriate

Boomer looks Readers sharing

looks

Comment sharing and response

Video content Product testing Age-appropriate

solutions

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Ask Talbots section for specific questions

Featured readers

VIDEO - FASHION TIPS, FLATTERING FIGURES, & APPROPRIATE STYLE.

By providing video content, visitors can understand the current fashion trends

translated in an age-appropriate and relevant manner. The venue will be a

supportive function where Talbots can build style credibility while sharing the brand

personality. Establishing this fashion relevance through weekly postings will be a

great step in attracting fashion experts, celebrity supporters, and fashion-

challenged women to the brand.

These opportunities support the goals of

generating more customer traffic to the

Talbots brand and creating an authentic

presence among the fashion industry while

generating celebrity support through viral

video content. Evans (2008) explains that

video is helpful in sharing instructional

content. The idea of sharing these

educational and entertaining videos with

customers who will share them with their contacts is not the limit. Evans (2008)

indicates that it must be done in such a way “that it can be passed around or easily

picked up and dropped into a forum or blog by your customers, you further increase

the likelihood that your message will be spread around.”

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Target Audiences:

Fashion experts – reach out to fashion industry influencers to attract

attention to the brand through videos spotlighting their looks, fashion

insight, and fun interactive commentary. The experts would be invited

to provide honest comments about Talbots’ products to ensure

honesty and clarity in their contributions. Celebrity fashion stylists,

fashion bloggers, and Talbots product designers will be invited to share

insight and comment on the content. The mutual benefit will create an

added value to experts by creating increased content and traffic to

their personal venues and will improve the Talbots relevance as a

fashionable brand.

Celebrity Supporters – through video content, Talbots will approach

celebrities and attract their support. Sightings of celebrities wearing

Talbots will be discussed, with an analysis of how they wore the item,

and then a “real-woman” way to wear the look. Celebrities tagged in

the video will be invited to comment. The more the celebrities are

included; they will feel an ownership of their looks and feel compelled

to contribute to the videos and customers will generate an affinity for

the celebrity. In the long-term, celebrity interaction and affiliation can

be harbored to include spokesperson support and increased interaction

with customers following the videos. The mutual benefit of celebrity

involvement will be an added benefit of video content without having

the expense of a spokesperson.

Fashion-challenged women – will be the main target, as they are apt to

share valuable content with their friends. Offering fun, supportive, and

informational videos can strengthen existing relationships and create

new ones through viral sharing. Videos will be mainly geared toward

the consumer, as she is the target to drive company sales. Content will

be basic, easy to understand and implement, and attainable. The last

thing Talbots wants to do is create videos highlighting trends and

fashions that are impractical. Doing so will turn the viewer away and

create an unrealistic and unconnected identity for Talbots.

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

FACEBOOK

Create better engagement on a more

personal level. Currently Talbots has a

presence on Facebook with 194,973 likes.

(Facebook.com, 2012). While there is a

high level of activity, the content is not

creating strong, connected relationships

with fans. The brand creates product-related posts and responds to fan comments

when appropriate. However, Talbots must create posts that take the relationships to

a higher level. Consumers are following Talbots because they feel an affinity toward

the brand, so that relationship should be nurtured with more personal and interest-

driven content. Talbots will begin to include posts that are related to customer

interests including fashion, lifestyle, entertaining, home, etc.

TWITTER

Create a more engaging presence among followers and

establish a better relationship with fashion industry

influencers who can share content with their followers.

Talbots currently has 5,399 followers and follows 29 other

Twitter personalities. (Twitter.com, 2012). Those who

Talbots follows are not relevant to the Talbots customer.

The brand must follow competitors, influencers, fashion experts, magazines that

may (or could) feature the brand, relevant celebrities, etc.

Talbots must monitor the chatter within the social media spaces to retweet relevant

content and respond to those posts that could be damaging to the brand. This will

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

allow for Talbots to connect with appropriate people and let others know the brand

is aware of their presence. By monitoring current conversations regarding fashion in

general, Talbots can begin to reach out to those influencers within the Twitter arena

and establish a reciprocal relationship. By sharing content that is of interest to

Talbots’ Twitter followers, it will strengthen their relevance and create a more

valuable presence among the community. As Evans (2008) indicates, Twitter (and

microblogs) “boil social media networking down to its most essential elements: a

post, a comment, and an indication of relationships.”

METRICS MEASUREMENT

Venue Metrics SourcesRCC Blog Subscribers vs. Unique

Visitors Comments (content &

frequency) Amount of time on site Promotion code redemption

Blog host site & Google Analytics

Facebook Friends Likes / Like Click-through rates Post content from visitors Promotion code redemption

Facebook & Google Analytics

Twitter Re-tweets Responses to company tweets Click-through rates Promotion code redemption

Twitter & Google Analytics

YouTube Views Length of time with the brand Followers

YouTube & Google Analytics

Exterior Conversations*

Mentions Content Accuracy of posts

Google Analytics

*Exterior conversations: Google Analytics will be used to measure the conversations

and mentions of Talbots within non–company venues. This will allow Talbots to

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

measure the buzz created by the brand and monitor the context of conversations.

This will aide in determining current (starting) benchmark measurements. The

subsequent data will create periodic measurements from that point on, showing

improvement or declines in the quality and quantity of conversations.

SUMMARY

Talbots has a significant opportunity to connect with existing and potential

customers. Given the low-impact efforts currently in use, the brand shows intent to

develop a presence among the social media world. Unfortunately, efforts have not

provided a substantial return on investment as of yet. A lack of personal connection

is the main driver behind a generic relationship among all followers. By offering

compelling, interesting content that connects with the consumer on a personal

level, Talbots has the opportunity to positively impact key metrics, resulting in

increased traffic to the brand.

The Tradition Transformed platform continues to resonate with the brand and has

the strength to inspire consumers to take notice of Talbots. In order to do so, the

initiative must be executed with a strategic focus on engaging with the consumer in

a way that creates a relationship of trust, caring, and preference over other brands.

Using blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and video will allow Talbots to connect with key

audiences in a targeted manner that is relevant to their lifestyles.

Upon successful introduction and maintenance of this primary social media

proposal, Talbots will be able to focus on further social media strategies. Initial

success will be measured and further initiatives within the primary social media

venues may include contests, sweepstakes, guest employee bloggers, and client

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

suggestions. Phase two may include a customer review platform, Pintrest, and

livecasting Skype sessions.

Following the proposed social media plan will propel Talbots into a more

competitive, sustainable position among other retail and fashion presences. The

relevance, engagement, and viral nature of the plan allow Talbots to take a more

positive position among competitors and customers.

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

REFERENCES

Carracher, Jamie. (2011, April 6). How Baby Boomers are embracing digital media. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2011/04/06/baby-boomers-digital-media/

Davidson, Corrie. (2010, December 17). Generations online in 2010-statistics. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://captico.com/generations-online-in-2010-statistics/2010/12

Evans, Dave. (2008). Social media marketing. Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

Facebook.com. (2012) Talbots. Retrieved April 20, 2012 from http://www.facebook.com/TALBOTS

Genova, Jane. (2012, March 14). Ann Inc. – why still targeting Baby Boomers? Retrieved April 19, 2012 from http://beta.fool.com/janegenova/2012/03/14/ann-inc-get-out-baby-boomer-segment/2816/

Grau, Jeffrey. (2009, October). Social commerce on Facebook, Twitter and other sites. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from http://www.emarketer.com/Report.aspx?code=emarketer_20000607

Li, Charlene & Bernoff, Josh. (2009). Marketing in the groundswell. Harvard Business Press, Boston, Massachusetts.

Thetalbotsinc.com. (n.d.). Home, about us. Retrieved March 15, 2012 from http://www.talbotsinc.com/home.asp

Twitter.com. (2012). Talbots, @TalbotsOfficial. Retrieved April 18, 2012 from https://twitter.com/#!/following

Emily Martin IMC 641 Final Project

Van Grove, Jennifer. (2010, January 28). Baby Boomers and seniors are flocking to Facebook. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2010/01/28/baby-boomers-social-media/

Wasserman, Todd. (2011, November 17). How to market to Baby Boomers online. Retrieved March 16, 2012 from http://mashable.com/2011/11/17/how-to-market-to-baby-boomers/