CME13 Gilles Van Lembergen: AS Adventure

Content StrategyQ&A’s for a global Award-Winning Case:

A.S.Adventure

A.S.ADVENTUREHow to use content marketing to build a brand from scratch

and make customer relationships really rewarding?

1995.

Future client: “We’re a small brand, 1 store in Belgium.

We sell adventure(outdoor gear).”

2007

Client: “We sell adventure, yet door-to-door, we’rejust pushing products...

How do we extend experience marketing to our promo folder?

2007

Our answer: TRAVEL STORIESinjecting accessible experience into the door-to-doorpromo folder (inspiration and aspiration)

2008.

Client’s question: “We’ve hit solid growth stage.

Could you help us retain our grown customer base and establish the first step of rewarding customer relationships?”

Our answer: A.S.MAGAZINEA rewarding customer relationship tool, the basis of a strong community

"selling adventure (aspiration) and experience (inspiration)": = matching brand experience with customer aspirations

A.S.MAGAZINE Brand / product awareness through customer experience / stories:’If you want this adventure, A.S.Adventure ought to be your first stop'

A.S.MAGAZINE

Strategically sound,result-driven content: • INSPIRATION(Why buy walking shoes?)• INFORMATION(Why these walking shoes?)• EXPERTISE / ADVICE(Why buy them at A.S.?)• CROSS-SELLING(What else should I buy?)

2010

Client’s question: “We have lots of customers now,

but we still don’t know them...

Could you help us intensify customer

relationshipsand increase store visit frequency as well as average basket value?”

2010

Our answer: EXPLORE MOREA loyalty program generatingcontacts and identified traffic • Advantage card (no margin decrease!!)

-> customer data• Monthly emails

°profile/interests (no spam) -> contact frequency

• Triggermails -> upsell °last purchase -> store traffic.

2012. Client: “We know our customers now.

Could you help us acquire more customers and engage them in equally rewarding relationships?”

2012

Our answer: BLOG + STORY ADSgenerating acquisitiononline & offline

• Blog °repurposed content -> SEO (pre sales funnel) + SEA

• + 'story ads' (radio).• Paid owned earned AND BACK!

2012. Client: “We’ve got all these channels now. How do we adjust them to achieve ad hoc marcom objectives?

2012

Our answer: 4 MARCOM OBJECTIVESflexibly working together across the multichannel content ecosystem

• brand awareness• product awareness• sales• customer relationship.

Marcom objectivesare defined for each platform,in a complementary way

The content strategy is flexible / can be finetunedaccording to short term marcom / business objectivese.g. overstock -> emphasis on sales across platforms

A.S.Magazine content = guardian of brand dna ("selling adventure")across platforms,regardless objective.

2013. Client is a big brand now,40 stores in Belgium, Market leader in Netherlands (Bever) and UK (Cotswold) & entering French market, that’s

scaled ‘adventure sales’.