QuikSilver + SiteLA = Creating content to create awareness and reputation
QuikSilver has since its start a manufacturer of surfwear and other boardsport-related equipment and has launched for a couple of years more streetwear and fashion lines of clothes. The company marketing line is based on sport though. But to stick with its new products the surf originated company has changed its marketing line and opened a door to the urban culture, and especially targeted to women with SiteLA.org. From here it is somewhat usual, but the way of marketing is far away from standard since the website objective isn’t in providing with a showcase but in creating content. And here starts the social media marketing strategy.
Quiksilver selected six women to be Visionaries in Residence at Quiksilver’s siteLA, a communal work and exhibition space in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The residency program is a year-long engagement for women working in and across creative cultural fields. Although they have been selected for their independent projects, they share a communal workspace and together create public programs and host special events at siteLA.
The six women are requested to blog, record, and do anything they’re willing to share with readers of the website. Indeed each of the six “visionaries” have their own blog and are writing from time to time on them. What’s the point doing so? learning from these women how the urban world works, what are the points of interest of the target they’re actually representative. Moving from a static website where people have a one-shot visit and don’t care anymore about the brand and products that have been showcased, to a dynamic and updated website where people can follow lives of some interesting womens. The corporate message is then jumping in a new era, from being passive to active and from static to dynamic. And above all interesting, creating bonds between readers and the brand that is entertaining them, sharing the company brand image and engaging with their customers to create an amazing user experience. Or experiment.
With this strategy QuikSilver is one of the first global brand to give the corporate image key to their customers, or at least at people who reflect the brand image they want to show. They’re creating content that can be shared and taking the floor so that in a near future they can leverage the community that would be gathered.
More: Fast Company
