Fenchurch and social media

A recent study by PSP, suggests that businesses develop stronger online marketing tools to get higher conversion rates, and adds that social media marketing is an undervalued tool, as it is highly effective. FashionUnited contacted Karen

Campbell, Fenchurch International's Trade Marketing Manager, and got some interesting marketing answers.

FashionUnited: How would you describe the roll of marketing in your company?
Karen Campbell: Marketing is vitally important in Fenchurch and is the key in defining and delivering the brand message and aesthetic. Fenchurch has a very strong marketing team divided into trade and consumer and focuses heavily on working with its retail partners as well as projecting the appropriate brand image.

FU: How would you define your focus, online vs offline?
KC: Fenchurch has a strong focus both online and offline and they are treated equally and are key to expanding the brand community. Online is vital to the brand’s success and the Fenchurch website is classed by the brand as a retail outlet and is treated as so. Alongside its e-commerce value, the website offers a portal for interactivity and allows users to be involved with the brand in regard to learning the Fenchurch story, downloading exclusive podcasts from worldwide DJs and bands, reading interviews with members of the Fenchurch Family as well as reading and taking part in a daily updated blog. It plays a vital role in the development of the Fenchurch brand community. Offline is just as vital for Fenchurch with a large focus on working directly with its retailers and direct consumer marketing to ensure the Fenchurch brand message is delivered as directly and as clearly as possible. Fenchurch communicates through skate, music and graphic artists as well as through its retail outlets.

FU: Do you use social media to promote your brand? What is your objective?
KC: For a brand such as Fenchurch who appeals to a 16-30 yr old demographic, social media is absolutely vital and is used constantly as a communication tool to interact with consumers and fans of the brand. The Fenchurch demographic is the person who is a savvy Facebook/Twitter etc user so Fenchurch communicates through those mediums constantly hosting competitions, polls and discussions allowing all members to feel included in the brand.

FU: What are the costs in % compared to "the traditional media" in terms of time?
KC: Fenchurch has moved away from the traditional print media in terms of advertising but does continue to support some of the key trade titles which are vital to the industry. Most focus is online and in trade marketing so as a percentage, it would be approx 70/30.

FU:Do you outsource the social media activities?
KC: A few but most is done in-house.

FU: What impact does the use of social media have on sales?
KC: Fenchurch definitely sees spikes in sales after a promotional activity through social media.

FU: What impact does the use of social media have on visibility of your brand?
KC: It has a huge impact on the visibility of Fenchurch. The social media hubs Fenchurch uses such as Facebook allows fans of the brand to speak to each other and speak to the brand and a buzz is instantly created and visibility increases.

FU: Can you tell us a little more about your latest success story (a milestone)?
KC: The most recent success story was the TeeFest competition which asked people to design a graphic for Fenchurch and was promoted through www.fenchurch.com as well as through social networking sites. The competition attracted 300 entries with the final 20 placed on the Fenchurch site allowing users to vote for the winning design. This was a perfect example of how using social networking worked and grew interest in a Fenchurch activity.