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Social Media Ecosystem Competitive analysis Nov 5, 2012 @masonwest

Ed Hardy: An Overview Defined by the collaboration of iconic tattoo artist Don Ed Hardy and fashion designer Christian Audigier, the Ed Hardy brand brings the colorful, exotic designs of tattoo culture to a variety of lifestyle products – including apparel, fragrance, footwear, handbags and beverages.

Since 2009, the brand has been largely controlled by the Iconix Brand Group – who defines the target audience as men, women and children ages 15-30 and positions the product as “Alternative and Pop Culture Fashion.”1 Iconix has stated that the brand has struggled recently in the U.S. – though they continue to license the brand in new product lines and international markets.2

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1: http://www.iconixbrand.com/edhardy_history.html 2; http://seekingalpha.com/article/747541-iconix-brand-group-s-ceo-discusses-q2-2012-results-earnings-call-transcript?part=single 3: http://www.askmen.com/fashion/interview_500/543_ed-hardy-interview.html#ixzz2BDYDMq5Y

“The Ed Hardy man is confident with a strong

sense of personal style. He is not afraid to be seen and

take risks. He enjoys comfort and flexible style,

yet he wants to stand apart from the crowd.3

- Christian Audigier

”

Summary of Findings

•  Facebook is the primary engagement channel and is performing well – look for incremental improvements.

•  Across the board, Ed Hardy could engage more in social media channels – more than posting, replying.

–  With recent efforts to downplay the involvement of Christian Audigier in the brand (removal of his name from logo mark), there is an opportunity to find new standard bearers who reinforce the brand personality.

•  Newer social media channels represent a great opportunity for the brand – we just have to engage.

•  The target audience for the brand may be shifting internationally – which presents an opportunity to engage on platforms with traction abroad.

•  There are many legacy accounts that should be considered for clean up or removal.

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Will the real Ed Hardy please stand up? As a brand that works through licensees across many product lines, there are myriad different websites and accompanying social media accounts.

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With a little digging, the truth shines through But the depth of the product offerings and management of different

channels bears deeper discovery with the brand management team.

Primary Website: EdHardyShop.com

•  Global social account promo in footer.

•  Straightforward ecommerce site.

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Website: Social Sharing

•  Social sharing integration implemented on products.

•  Share options should focus on appropriate fashion channels (I.E. Pinterest) and where the brand is engaging.

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“Traditional” Social Channels

Ed Hardy Social Media Presence Ed Hardyʼs social activity is dominated by Facebook, with Twitter coming in a distant second in engagement. •  Consistent Avatar. lifestyle / product photography. •  Inconsistent account name (@edhardy VS @edhardyonline). •  Majority of posts synchronized across Facebook & Twitter accounts.

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@edhardyonline 8,738 followers 708 following

@edhardy 1,720,353 likes 15,695 mentions

Facebook: @EdHardy

•  Willing to comment on cultural happenings. –  Recent posts mentioning NYC hurricane, Presidential

election. –  Simple questions RE: music & fashion taste.

•  Well-established content cadence: 1-2 posts per day –  Monday = Product promotion. –  Tuesday = Quote (from fashion industry celeb). –  Wednesday = Vintage tattoo photos. –  Thursday = “Ink of the Week” tattoo photos. –  Friday = Music Video (“start the weekend”).

•  Product promotions & deals –  Promotion codes, holiday sales, free shipping, etc.

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RECENT POSTS

http://www.facebook.com/edhardy

A contextual look at Facebook fashion fan base

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178k 1.7m 2.0m

6.8m 15m

2.3m

271k (rocawear)

33m

Facebook Engagement Insights

•  Photo posts are most liked – avg. 2-3k each. –  “Ink of the Week” & “Vintage” photos consistently get this level of

engagement. –  Product photos are hit-or-miss (Tattoo art hoodies, iPhone case

~2.5k. Polo shirts, dresses under 1k).

•  Photo posts are re-shared – avg. 50-200 shares. –  Top performers include product deal promotions and “Ink of the

Week” photos.

•  Questions drive response – avg. 200 comments per question. –  There is little if any engagement from the brand back toward the

fans once prompting questions. –  International audience shows through in comment language.

•  Audience is on-target. –  Activity is in within the target demographic (18-24). –  “Most Popular City” is Taipei, Taiwan raises questions about

international engagement. 12

Facebook Opportunities

As the primary social media vehicle for Ed Hardy, the Brand Facebook page seems to be performing well. However there are clear opportunities to increase engagement: Near-term opportunities •  Increase response rate to fans.

–  With quizzes and questions, engage in the conversation. Show fans that their input is heard by “liking” posts, posting more results, etc.

•  Find new ways to engage fans. –  Enhance content strategy with hashtags and other trackable memes. The most prominent is

#lovekillsslowly which is already used by the audience. –  Previous efforts included contests and giveaways. Potential to reinstate?

•  Test different content and products to find the best targets for likes & re-sharing. –  In near term, should be targeting 0.5-1% response on key posts (8-17k). –  Photo engagement suggests a desire for more lifestyle content. Let the brand personality shine

through with behind-the-scenes, interests, events coverage, etc. –  Conversion to sale should be tracked. 13

Twitter : @EdHardyOnline

Simply put, Ed Hardy is not taking full advantage of Twitter. Near term opportunities include: •  Follow more fans.

–  Half of the 63 accounts that are mutually followers are for Ed Hardy retail locations.

–  @edhardyonline is following a number of accounts (Majority are celebrities and companies I.E. Lady Gaga, Pitchfork) The net effect is one of potential isolation to the 8,675 fans who aren’t followed back, some of which (see right) have large audiences that could benefit the brand.

•  Engage in direct conversations with fans –  Currently used to syndicate Facebook. –  Shift toward @replying to fans, and using hashtags

to start or contribute to conversations.

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INFLUENTIAL FOLLOWERS ARE NOT BEING ENGAGED

http://twitter.com/edhardyonline

Twitter : “Dead”-icated Retail Accounts

Worth specific mention, there are 33 dedicated Twitter accounts for Ed Hardy retail locations. While the consistency of design and naming convention implies a well-planned strategy, all but 4 accounts seem to be dead.

–  Judging by post content, these accounts were created for a Miami Fashion Week promotion. This is easy to see: Some accounts have only 5 posts.

–  A random call to 5 of the contact numbers (disconnected) suggests many of these locations have closed. Only one account announced its store closing via Twitter.

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YouTube: @EdHardyForever58

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The official Ed Hardy account has quality content - a mix of music, interviews and fashion. However, it has been inactive for over a year. •  Search results for “Ed Hardy” don’t

present on the first page – even when filtered by channel.

•  Should the brand want to reengage with video content, the best opportunity is to be the backstage pass where the Ed Hardy audience can tap into the lifestyle of music and celebrity.

@edhardyforever58 43 videos | 25k views Last upload Oct. 2011 http://www.youtube.com/user/EdHardyForever58

Edhardysocialmedia.com

A strange outlier in the social media landscape, this email signup page suggests a lack of sophistication and should likely be retired. •  No-auto response provided to

registration. •  Not currently promoted as a

destination (last promotional mentions via Facebook in conjunction with 2011 promotions).

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“New” Social Channels

Pinterest: @EdHardyOfficial

While still growing, it’s hard to understate the potential of Pinterest for fashion brands. Ed Hardy is onboard - but not yet engaged. •  No sharing from the brand. •  20 Select highly influential

accounts are followed. –  Follows Twitter approach of

aligning with influencers.

•  Search reveals Ed Hardy content is being pinned organically. The audience is here. Start pinning!

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BRAND PAGE

PINTEREST SEARCH

http://pinterest.com/edhardyofficial/

Pinterest Inspiration: Anthroplogie

Like many brands, Anthropologie engages on Pinterest with a mix of product and general style inspiration (leaning toward the latter). •  Items for sale are completely integrated in

boards, but called out with consistent use of the #anthropologie tag.

•  The dedicated “Inside our stores” board taps into the brand’s top-notch store design, and extends the experience beyond geography.

•  Co-branded curation using author Gretchen Rubin.

TAKEAWAY: Sharing and curating is a proven way to evangelize brand lifestyle – and a smart match for Ed Hardy.

20 http://pinterest.com/anthropologie/

Instagram: @OfficialEdHardy

Unlike Pinterest, Instagram is less about curation and more about providing a personal window into the world of the brand. •  Minimal engagement currently, but the

brand is sharing content here that isn’t seen through other channels – which is great.

•  Use “conversation starter” photos is against the nature of the channel – should be amazing images.

•  Ed Hardy can easily discover & engage with more fans on Instagram.

–  44,647 photos tagged #edhardy –  1,247 photos tagged #lovekillsslowly

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Instagram Inspiration: GE

Since 2009, GE has been committed to telling its brand story through social media. GE’s Instagram has garnered a loyal following through great photography as a window to amazing technology. What makes this account so interesting is the simple value proposition: The audience gets a behind-the-scenes look at places and technology that would never be seen otherwise. Applying this formula to Ed Hardy, the account could be treated like a backstage pass to the celebrity and lifestyle events that draw customers to the brand.

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Broader Context

Brand Challenge: Bigger than Social Media While not representative of the target audience, the Brand has become an easy target for negative sentiment from many social media users and traditional media outlets

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“If there's one thing that Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard is not, it's a bad boy. Which is why the premise for his new music video, from his solo debut Former Lives, is so damn hilarious. Gibbard undergoes a makeover into an Ed Hardy-sporting bad boy at the behest of a sales-hungry label exec.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25R1ONaFX8g

Comedian Nick Kroll (FX: The League) lampoons the audience who has adopted Ed Hardy with his character Bobby Bottleservice – going as far as creating a skit called “The Ed Hardy Boyz” - where he solves “the case of the missing sick belt buckle.”

http://www.fuse.tv/videos/2012/11/ben-gibbard-is-a-rock-bad-boy-in-new-video

Conclusion: Find the Voice

Ed Hardy is not a brand for everybody – which can be used to advantage. The success of the brand proves there is a loyal audience, and all social channels present tremendous opportunity to reinforce - not redefine - what the Ed Hardy brand stands for. As a lifestyle brand, Ed Hardy, should be looking to social media to provide access to aspirational brand marketing (I.E. even coverage, celebrity access, music giveaways) and by amplifying the activity of the customers who are living the brand.

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Presentation by Mason West all rights reserved 2012

http://masonwest.prosite.com/

#edhardy4life

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