I love it when a brand is pushing the boundaries of what they do online. This is what Club Monaco did when they released their Fall 2013 lookbook today. Rather than sending a printed document or emailing a pdf to a selected group of journalists and bloggers, Club Monaco published their latest lookbook on Tumblr. Their hi-res photos are easily accessible by the consumers, the bloggers and the traditional media at the same time.
Back in 2009, I wrote that Asking people to fill a form and wait for your staff to send me a password to access your media kit is so passé. I am glad that retailers, like Club Monaco, are adapting their method..
At their convenience, Club Monaco’s fans can share their favorite outfits on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or on their blog. Club Monaco embraced the blogging community even more. Seven prominent fashion bloggers (men and women) are the models for the fall 2013 collection. By involving influential bloggers on Tumblr, Club Monaco gained more coverage since it is in the interest of each blogger to talk about their involvement. The lookbook was shot by Justin Chung, a self-taught New York based photographer and tastemaker.
By the way, the yellow Macie dress is on my shopping list.
Food for Thought
Slowly but surely, companies are releasing their marketing documents on a social media platform rather than printing them on paper. These early innovators gained a PR advantage in making these documents public instead of granting access to a small number of people. What they do is to encourage word-of-mouth marketing. Plus, being the first one who do it brings extra media coverage from publications outside their core market.
As a business manager, you can take the wait and see approach, or you can try more compelling ways to engage your audience right now. Both options have their own risk. But taking little steps, like publishing a lookbook on Tumblr, greatly reduces the risk factor.
Bloggers who modeled for the lookbook:
- Betty Autier of Le Blog de Betty
- Bekah of A Well Traveled Woman
- Alice Gao of After the Cups
- Jules Sarinana of Sincerely Jules, on Tumblr: The Coveted Muse
- Camille Charriere of Camille over a Rainbow
- Ryan Plett of You Have Broken The Internet and TravelWell
- George Lewis Jr. of Twin Shadow
