Assignment Snapshot: Pick a favorite multinational company and create a list of 10 keywords you think should be associated with that company and its products. Do a Google Search of those keywords and see where in the results (if at all) you find the company you selected. Go to the company’s site and review their coding to see if any of the words you selected appear on their homepage
If you know me, have read this blog at all or seen some of my discussion posts for the Social Media Masters Program at University of Florida, then you know I am an aspiring yogi. It started after the birth of my first child when I was very overweight and fighting the baby blues. I’ve written about this journey in the Namaste section of this blog so I won’t dive into it here. Part of that journey though, was discovering the Athleta brand. They are yoga clothes for normal people like me. While in my head I may look like this:
The reality looks more like this:
SO WHAT IS ATHLETA?
According to Athleta, they are Gap Inc.’s premier fitness and lifestyle brand in the rapidly growing women’s active apparel market. Athleta offers high-quality, stylish, and functional apparel, footwear, and accessories across a wide variety of sports and fitness activities, including crossover apparel and casualwear. Athleta products are found online, in stores, and through catalogs. Athleta, the premier name in women’s fitness fashion, values inspiring an active lifestyle from yoga to running to cross-fit. Athleta values motivating others and tapping into our collective power as women. Their slogan or tag line is Power to the She. Athleta was founded in 1998 in Petaluma, California. It started as a catalogue business that grew into online sales and was purchased by Gap Inc. in 2008 for $150 million. Since Gap Inc. acquired Athleta, they have opened over 80 brick and mortar stores. (as of September 2014)
Ten keywords or keyword phrases for Search Engine Optimization:
Womens fitness clothing
Womens yoga clothing
Discount yoga clothing
Womens fitness fashion
Yoga clothing
Running clothing
Athletic clothing
Yoga pants
Sportswear
Yoga brands
I performed a Google search of each keyword phrase. The gallery below shows each result (click on image for larger view):
Athleta chooses to pay for Yoga Brands, Yoga Clothing, Womens Yoga Clothing and Athletic Clothing. Priority appears to be expansion and fighting the perception that they are only a yoga brand based on their purchase of the top spot, left rail for the keyword phrase “Athletic Clothing.” They still clearly emphasize yoga based on these searches and you see they paid for a top right rail spot for the keyword phrase “Womens Yoga Clothing.”
In reviewing their homepage, some of the keywords appear directly on the page visible to all. First, in the title of the site captured above the URL (see below) you will see “Womens” “Yoga Clothing” and “Run Clothing”.
The words “Fashion” and “Sport” also appear on the homepage. Looking at their site, they are really focused on performance, style and versatility. If I were going to redo my list, I would consider adding these in but with clothing or fashion also included.
In looking at the site’s HTML and alt tags, I found the following (click to view larger image):
Under metadata the description reads:
“The ultimate performance apparel for women. Shop Athleta yoga clothing, running clothing, swimwear & more online and in stores. Clothing designed and tested by and for women athletes.”
The metadata description is formatted well for SEO based on some of my choices. Below you will see the keywords that Athleta uses in the metadata above. The bold ones align with my choices above :
Athleta
athletica
womens yoga clothing
swimwear
running clothing
athletic clothing
workout clothing
exercise clothing
swimwear
tankini
bikini
one piece swimsuit
yoga pants
yoga tops
running tops
running shorts
skort
golf clothing
tennis clothing
special sizes
petite sizes
plus sizes
tall sizes
organic cotton
tights
yoga tights
run tights
They wisely use a common misspelling of their brand “Athletica”, the importance of which was discussed in lecture this week. Given the look and layout of their homepage, I would also consider adding performance wear and athletic style to keyword phrase choices.
Overall, based on this metadata and my Google searches, Athleta does a nice job capitalizing on SEO for the customer they want to target.
For me, the love affair is about comfort and price. I’m not a size zero and I want to practice without being half-naked. Athleta clothes accomplish this for me and I’m grateful for that.
Week 7 Assignment: Pick 3 brands that are on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and at least LinkedIn/Pinterest/YouTube. Evaluate them by the criteria presented below. These are the three brands I am profiling this week:
The Honest Company sells eco-friendly, non-toxic baby and household products. They identify their mission as educating, inspiring, and fulfilling the promise of creating a healthy and sustainable future for our children. The bulk of their business is online but their products can now be found in Target as well.
Spinning the Integrated Mix?
(For the purpose of this blog entry, I will be using the Boundless.com definition of IMC for all 3 brand evaluations: Integrated marketing communications is an approach used by organizations to brand and coordinate their marketing efforts across multiple communication channels. Typically, communication tools for IMC encompass both traditional and digital media such as blogs, webinars, search engine optimization, radio, television, billboards and magazines.)
The Honest brand is very successful at integrating its marketing message. The brand has its own website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest and YouTube accounts. Additionally you can opt in to receive emails from the company and blog updates:
Email option and social links
Honest also utilizes traditional print ads in various clean living and parenting magazines:
Print & Digital Advertisement
Print & Digital Advertisement
They also use have commercials that are paid spots on air and online featuring real life customers like this one:
Fonts, Photos, Colors & Consistency
The Honest Company is on their game when it comes to consistency. The brand logo is featured prominently on all channels, they use the same font, the same hue of blue, the same floral background with an occasional color adjustment and their mission and introduction is the same on each channel. They are Consistent with a capital C as you can see below:
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Keeping It Real or Taking a Nap?
In both our lectures and readings, we learn to ensure integrated marketing success brands must post content regularly. Honest succeeds in this appropriate to the channels. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google+ have all been updated as recently as 2 hours from me writing this with the oldest update being 17 hours ago.
LinkedIn and YouTube are not updated as frequently with the most recent updates taking place 12 days ago on LinkedIn and within 2 weeks on YouTube. Honest uses LinkedIn to post job openings so it would make sense that updates only occur when there is a demand.
Right This Way Please
Take a look at this infographic. It represents how The Honest Company pushes to its social channels. The flow of traffic is color coordinated. A little jumbled, right? The Honest Company is very integrated but there is no rhyme or reason to what channel pushes where. Some traffic flows both ways and some does not. I would definitely streamline this.
Where each Honest Company Channel pushes to
There is one certainty. Every channel pushes back to the main site which is the only place you can purchase products on the Honest channels.
#Success or #Fail
I’m a big fan of the hashtag. As a journalist, I use it as a research tool, a feedback tool and a way to find communities. The Honest Company has fully embraced the hashtag. Go to any Pinterest board, tweet, Facebook post, Google+ post and Instagram post and you will see hashtags aggregating all sorts of content. On their Facebook page, they even have a tab devoted to #TheHonestCompany:
#TheHonestCompany featured on company Facebook page
Worth Noting
I spent a great deal of time reviewing their blog recently but it’s worth mentioning here again. It’s a good blog for eco-conscious parents and it covers a WIDE variety of topics. So I encourage you to check out Honestly.
A final note, I’m an Honest Company customer. I use their products and they have had their ups and downs. That said, they are steadily working towards a solid, consistent quality customer experience. I had an issue with both their diaper tabs once and their wipes. I sent a note to the company and received a prompt reply. I noticed in time that both issues were addressed so I am guessing that others expressed similar concerns. ________________________________________________________________________________
A leading source of global news and information for more than 75 years. The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City’s Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago (NBC LinkedIn)
Occasionally you will see print ads for NBC News in newspapers or magazines. Typically this will be around big events like the Olympics or during an election season. You might see an “image” spot that focuses on talent like Brian Williams or Matt Lauer as opposed to a specific story. NBC News will also turn to print for what is called a POP or Proof of Performance ad during the traditional ratings periods:
Image spot for the Today Show
Proof of Performance (POP) ad
Promoting Olympic Coverage
They will also create promotional commercials as well. These typically coincide with a new show launch, talent change, ratings period or big event. Here are a couple examples from the archives:
Additionally, you can also sign up to receive breaking news alerts from NBC News via email and text messaging.
Fonts, Photos, Colors & Consistency
NBC News, like The Honest Company, has mastered consistency across its channels. It starts with the iconic peacock logo. It is known the world over. The logo is featured prominently wherever NBC is. As you saw above in that “Everywhere” promo from nearly 3 years ago, NBC News was at the forefront of integration when it comes to the news industry. Who they are is clearly stated on each channel right when you arrive or by clicking on the “About” section. The copy is the same no matter where you visit NBC News. Fonts, colors and presentation are also clear and consistent. On most channels you will see a version of the same photo of 30 Rock, NBC’s famed headquarters. No matter where you go, you know you are spending time with NBC News:
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Keeping It Real or Taking a Nap?
By the nature of what they do and who they are, there is no nap time for NBC News. The brand is perfectly positioned to be active and consistent in posting to their channels. The news never sleeps and by all accounts, NBC News does not either.
Facebook updated within the hour
Two tweets within the hour
They appear to use Twitter, Facebook and Google+ almost hourly. Of note, the content they post is different on different channels which I think is smart. They are giving their consumer variety. Their blog is updated daily as is Pinterest. Instagram had gaps here and there but still has consistent activity. I was also impressed to see their YouTube account (below) updated daily as well. They are in the video business so it makes sense but not all news outlets are successful at this and I speak from personal experience!
You Tube updates every day
Right This Way Please
NBC News has a more organized approach to its social channel push than The Honesty Company but there is still some channels that don’t push to others. To me, it makes sense to have all channels marketed on all channels with something as simple as social buttons. Take a look at the social push flow chart for NBC News.
Where each NBC News Channel pushes to
I do think it is smart in terms of SEO that the channel pushing the most places is Google+. Like The Honest Company, all channels push to the main website.
#Success or #Fail AND Worth Noting
As I wrote up above, I am a fan of the hashtag (when used wisely). Interestingly enough though, NBC News seems to only use hashtags on their Instagram channel and I think it’s brilliant. For journalists, this is not a bad thing. When you go to NBC News Twitter or Facebook accounts, they are very clean, professional and streamlined connecting you to NBC content. The use of the hashtag as a mechanism for search could potentially take you away from NBC content. I think this is an interesting and effective strategy for a news organization that wants you to stay with them.
Since Instagram is both content community and social channel, hashtag use there is effective for searching similar images and videos. Ironically, while spending time on their pages I came across this NBC article on hashtag abuse and overuse and thought I would share it. Happy reading!
Two other items worth noting before we move on from NBC News: They are also on Flickr and Vimeo. The Flickr appears to be used for behind the scenes and staff events and hasn’t been updated in quite a while. Vimeo though was updated as recently as this week and also seems to be an internal sharing channel, not a site for publishing mass news events.
Founded in 1997, Manduka was built on the simple idea that a better yoga mat can make a world of difference. Manduka strives to support and enrich the yoga community by providing premium quality mats and products while respecting employees, customers, materials, and the environment. Created for and by yoga enthusiasts, Manduka’s technical and purpose-driven product designs meet and often exceed the distinct needs of all practitioners. Today Manduka’s products, which include yoga mats, towels, yoga straps, water bottles, and bags, are sold in more than 35 countries around the world. Not only focusing on superior design, Manduka also promotes their ethos of quality, thoughtfulness and sustainability in all realms of their business (Manduka LinkedIn)
They use print ads in Yoga Journal and other fitness magazines geared towards yoga enthusiasts and those who like to spend time outdoors.
Manduka Print Ad
Manduka Print Ad
Manduka is a small but very popular company within its industry. It is considered the leader in quality mats for yoga practice. They do not use traditional commercials on air or radio. They have created Manduka TV on YouTube where they produce videos about yoga life, eco-friendly partners and thoughts on deepening your practice.
Fonts, Photos, Colors & Consistency
While Manduka is present on many channels, they lack the consistency that research and our lectures tells us makes for successful IMC. For example, there is no uniformity in which logo is used. Across the channels I mentioned above, 3 different logos are used:
Plain graphic logo
Logo without circle and with text
Textured fabric logo
For the most part the company sticks to the same colors: red, black and white. The red does seem to be a different shade depending on which logo is used. There are at least 3 different fonts used in the company title and imagery is not consistent. As you will see in the slideshow of their channels below, there is a disjointed feel to their channels. The Google+ page is completely off -brand. Facebook and Twitter have photos from the same photo shoot but not the same photo. You will note the dog and the model are the same.
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The mission or “about” section or tag line is also inconsistent on their channels. For example, on Instagram you will find:
Life is one long, beautiful yoga class. Summer is to LiveON, love on and practice on.
On Twitter you will find:
Manduka was founded by yogis on the simple idea that a better mat can make a world of difference.
On Facebook you will find:
Manduka, for your practice, and for our world™. Namaste.
Mission
At Manduka, our mission is to support and enrich the yoga community we serve by providing the very highest quality mats and accessories. We do this because we truly believe in the power of yoga to change lives and make the world a better place. We are committed to designing and creating thoughtful, useful, lasting products whose purpose and value are clear. And, we do so in a way that respects our employees, our customers, our materials and our environment. It is our hope that each and every Manduka product brings joy to our user and helps spread the wonder and wisdom of yoga. Manduka, for your practice and for our world
…and that is just a few examples! Most of their channels are different.
Keeping It Real or Taking a Nap?
Overall, it seems that Manduka is focused on some channels and not on others. I think sometimes the pressure to be everywhere is so great that companies open an account but then fail their target consumer by not programming it properly. For some companies, being focused on one or two channels may be the best way to go. I think for a company the size of Manduka (11 to 50 employees according to their LinkedIn profile), they may be better served to just pick a few channels and focus. Social Media Today tells us:
When you’re a small or medium-sized business with limited marketing resources, or even a larger business who wants the best return on investment, focusing on one social platform gives you the benefit of gaining the most sophisticated expertise and most effective strategies for that network. It also works because it allows you to learn the voice and approach required for that network. (Nicole Karlis)
Manduka has a Google+ page that has not had a new post since August 2012. Additionally, when you click on “Videos” on that Google+ page it says there are no videos. Manduka, however, has a nice YouTube channel where they have created Manduka TV. So clearly they have the content, they just aren’t programming Google+. As we know, this is not good for search engine optimization.
Manduka posts to Twitter a couple times a day and Facebook daily. Their Pinterest and Instagram pages are also well maintained with great content and beautiful photos. If I was working for Manduka, these are the channels I would focus on.
Right This Way Please
Below you will see where Manduka channels are pushing. As you can see, the Google+ page doesn’t even drive traffic to the main site for purchasing products. As I mentioned above, they should either commit and build up their Google+ account or they should delete it. It does not serve them well in its current state.
Where each Manduka Channel pushes to
The failures with social push don’t stop there though. Instagram and the company’s own blog do not prominently push to their main site. Considering Instagram is one of their well-maintained channels, I would rectify this immediately.
As with The Honest Company, there is no rhyme or reason to the way they push out from each channel. It is definitely disjointed.
#Success or #Fail
On the channels Manduka is using well, they get a thumbs up from me for hashtag success. They utilize the following hashtags often: #LiveOn #KidsYoga #practice #whatmatters. They primarily use hashtags on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. They aren’t overused and they are relevant to the post.
Worth Noting
Despite what I would say is not the greatest IMC approach, Manduka does have a very nice blog full of interesting content. It’s used to tell stories about sustainability, yoga success and yoga for kids. Yoga for Kids is something Manduka is very supportive of which I think is pretty cool. They also use the blog to share community photos and engage with their consumer. The blog would be much stronger if they posted more often. It appears to only be updated a couple of times a month.
Final Thoughts
Overall I would have to say of the three brands I spent time with this week, NBC News has the slight edge over The Honest Company. In all fairness though, the business itself positions NBC News to be a constantly engaged brand. For a product-oriented brand, The Honest Company does a great job keeping all its channels programmed. To that end, my only real critique would be they should streamline their social push to include social buttons for all channels on each channel.
Just For Fun
One last thing before I go this week…I’m adding a “just for fun” to my blogs with a little extra something relating back in to each week’s topic. For my Just For Fun debut, I give you the very talented Jimmy Fallon and his take on the hashtag:
(DISCLAIMER: This is a piece of fiction. It is an idea generated for my Intro to Social Media class. Athleta has no knowledge of this or endorsement of it to my knowledge)
The #IWill Campaign
OBJECTIVES:
There are two specific objectives for this campaign:
Increase followers on Pinterest by 15% (approximately 2250)
Increase followers on Instagram by 15% (approximately 4800)
The two specific objectives of this campaign align with our key long-term goals of increasing brand awareness in our target market, expanding brand awareness to a younger demographic and converting brand awareness into purchase.
THE #IWill CAMPAIGN:
Athleta proudly states the values of their brand as
1. Inspiring an active lifestyle
2. Motivating others
3. Tapping into our collective power as a group (women)
In the spirit of those values, I propose the #IWill campaign. There’s always that voice inside us saying “I can do better” or “I can do more”. It may keep us awake some nights. It may talk to us when we are on the mat, out for a run or swimming. It may creep in while we work. Whatever It is ~ Athleta is calling on you to harness the Power to the She. Make the commitment. Take a personal pledge and promise yourself this is the year it happens. This is the year you say “I Will”:
#IWill get stronger
#IWill dive the Great Barrier Reef
#IWill be more patient
#IWill survive
#IWill learn to swim
#IWill get that promotion
#IWill master that asana
#IWill get a job
#IWill finish my degree
#IWill play more with my daughter
#IWill be Present
The #IWill Contest will last 30 days. Consumers should begin by following Athleta on Pinterest and Instagram. They should then post a photo with their #IWill declaration and encourage their sisters, mothers, daughters, girlfriends, workout buddies and colleagues to do the same. Entries can be as simple as holding a sign or as elaborate as imagination allows. There are no rules just declarations. Be creative and make the commitment. Each person should tag the photo or video with #IWill #PowertotheShe. There will be a one entry per day limit.
In addition to catalog and in-store promotion of the #IWill Campaign, Athleta will push out teasers and promotion on all social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, LinkedIn, main company site, Athleta Chi blog) driving traffic towards Pinterest and Instagram for two weeks leading up to the campaign. We will also email blast our subscribers once a week in the 2 weeks before the campaign. That email will include a “share” button so the email can be sent to others. The complete social push will continue during the event. People will be encouraged to both post, “Like” and Pin entries. The executive leadership of Athleta will post their own #IWill declaration to encourage community, empower and give a little nudge!
INCENTIVES: (Because even the most motivated need some extra motivation)
20% coupon/online code just for posting your photo/video and entering the contest (limit two for contest duration)
Top 5 entries (defined by most “Likes”) will receive a $200 Athleta Gift Card
Grand Prize for the entry with the most “Likes”: Two round trip plane tickets and two nights’ hotel accommodations to attend Athleta’s Summer Solstice 2015 in Times Square & $500 to blow in NYC!
(This campaign could be repeated in January capitalizing on New Year’s Resolutions and the beginning-of-the-year increase in fitness activity)
CHANNEL FOCUS:
Pinterest: The channel is perfect for the #IWill campaign’s target market. The numbers speak for themselves:
In a 2014 report, Business Insider Intelligence identified Pinterest users as “high-income and very interested in using the site for shopping inspiration.” (Cooper Smith)
83% of Pinterest users are women
45% are in the 34 to 55 year-old demographic
32% are in the 18 to 34 year-old demographic
50% of U.S. moms who use Pinterest would follow a brand if rewards were offered to them
81% of U.S. women online trust Pinterest as a reliable source for information and advice
The average Pinterest user has a household income of $100,000 or greater
Pinterest grabs about 41% of e-commerce (Salman Aslam)
Instagram: A strategic decision was made to include Instagram in this campaign to expand into the younger demographic and because Instagram is seeing significant popularity growth. Here are the numbers considered for this decision:
68% of Instagram users are female
37% are in the 18 to 29 year-old demographic
18% are in the 34 to 49 year-old demographic
57% of users access the site daily. It is second only to Facebook in frequency of site use
150 million active users with 8500 likes per second and 1.2 billion likes daily
Retail and fashion brands are the most common in the top 10 largest Instagram communities (Jenn Herman)
TARGET MARKET: Women. 24 to 55 years-old. Household Income: $80,000 to $105,000
TARGET PERSONA:
MEET AVERY FRANKLIN, our Athleta Persona.
She is a 36 year-old mother of two and an advertising executive living in a suburb of San Diego, California. Her husband is a loan officer for a national mortgage company. Their children are 6 and 8 years-old, their annual household income is 105k and they have 2 dogs. Avery works 40+ hours a week but still has time for 3 different fitness classes, her daughter’s gymnastics, son’s soccer and volunteering at the homeless women’s shelter once a month. She is a member of two women’s professional societies where she recently served as President of one. She holds a bachelors and MBA and attended undergraduate on an athletic scholarship. For fun, she writes a blog about nutrition and keeping food tasty but healthy for children. She tweets daily tips and offers an email subscription to recipes. She likes running 3Ks with her family a couple times of year and they enjoy Saturday trips to the beach to surf and play volleyball. She doesn’t attend church every weekend but considers herself a person of faith. Her chapel is the outdoors.
She’s organized, scheduled but knows how to go off-grid.
She wants more out of her sports.
She wants more out of her life.
She cares about appearance on the outside and soul on the inside.
She doesn’t believe her husband’s t-shirt is perfect for working out.
She doesn’t think her yoga pants have to be black.
She’s not afraid of 4 inch heels.
She doesn’t think quality always comes with a high price tag.
She believes her husband is her partner, not the center of her universe.
She believes strength and power is sexy.
She believes strength and power are feminine.
She’s passionate about her yoga, her running, her barre class, her walks with the dogs and weekend family hikes.
She likes to read but only if under the sun or stars.
She likes the occasional happy hour with the girls post-yoga class.
She wants her daughter to see the world as a wide-open canvas for her to paint her own masterpiece.
She’s raising her son to respect all as equal.
She’s never more than 4 feet from her iphone and checks mobile Facebook twice a day.
She’s a groupon junkie and takes pride in her Yelp! reviews.
She’s been known to tuck her MacAir into her gym bag and blog from the local coffee joint.
She derives her self-worth from her happy family, successful career and staying healthy.
She believes in healthy eating but likes her ice cream now and then.
She believes in giving back.
She believes in fun.
Being active IS her meditation.
CALL TO ACTION:
Go public with that inner voice. Make this the year you say #IWill. Pin a photo on the Athleta Pinterest #IWill Board and/or on your Instagram page with your #IWill declaration. Tag your entry with #IWill #PowertotheShe.
Submissions will be accepted from Tuesday, July 1, 2014 12:00am through Thursday, July 31, 2014 11:59pm. Only one entry per person per day. You can “Like” and Share as much as you want! (In fact, we encourage that!)
OUTCOMES/MEASUREMENT:
We will measure the success of this campaign by compiling the following data:
Track follows on Pinterest and Instagram
Track submissions on Pinterest and Instagram
Track Likes of entries on Pinterest and Instagram
Track Likes of non-entries on Pinterest and Instagram
Track Re-Pins of entries on Pinterest
Track overall traffic on company site, blog, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Linked In for the duration of the contest
Track the use of the online code and in-store coupon and look at conversion to purchase rate
Today, I did not kick my morning in the ass. Today it kicked mine.
The minutiae of it doesn’t matter but let’s just say my two-year old whom I love and adore was being just that…a 2 year-old. Everything led to a tantrum.
“No honey you can’t have my phone”
“No you can’t throw the iPad”
“No you can’t smack your 6 month-old sister on the head really hard”
“No you can’t have a cookie for breakfast”
Each tantrum came quicker, louder and with some really hyper-ventilated breathing. I was hurting for her while trying not to lose my mind. With most tantrums I just walk away. Today was different. She was so upset. Her little face so red and the heavy breathing was just too much. I didn’t give in to her requests. I didn’t pick her up. I didn’t coddle her. Instead, I just got down on the floor and sat with her. Silent. I calmly breathed. Silent. I whispered it would be okay and I just breathed.
I’m lucky in that my mom lives with us so she is able to care for my children. I know they are in good hands when I go. This morning I was talking with mom about what happened and all she really said was, “she’s high-strung like her mom”. It wasn’t said meanly. It was just matter of fact. I think she was telling me in an effort to say, “hey…it’s ok”.
What she said though, kind of stung.
Shortly after I left for my yoga practice with John.
I thought about that comment for the 20 minute drive in to the city.
I entered the studio, rolled out my mat and began my practice as usual. John and I talk a lot through practice. Some days more than others. Today, I talked about my morning. In the course of that, we got to the source of what was stinging me. My little sponge, my beautiful little girl…she is the truest reflection of me. Not her skin or her mouth or the way she walks …but the way she is. She sees me. She learns from me. Half way through practice I broke down and cried. That has never happened in practice before. There I was, bent over on my mat, tears falling where sweat usually does.
Now — I don’t kid myself. A 2 year-old is a 2 year-old. I don’t think the morning was a manifestation of my daughter absorbing my anxieties. I think it was a small, formative being experiencing new and powerful emotions that she can’t control. That won’t always be the case though. Someday it will be manifestations of me…if I don’t learn to let go.
I am not in control.
I am not in control. This has to be my mantra through each breath.
John talks a lot about this. We talk a lot about it. He believes death is a big motivator for people to be, to change, to live, to feel, to move, to reset. He and I are very alike in ways. So as I move through practice, he talks about how he works on letting go. How he has his moments too, like me. How he falls down and gets back up and does it all again. We fail. He tells me we all fail and that’s ok.
I know he’s right. The intellectual in me knows he’s right.
It’s hard to be ok with failure when I look at the truest reflection of me…my daughter.
But I know I have to. I know I have to tell myself that it’s okay that there were tears instead of sweat on my mat today. Sometimes all we can do is sit on the mat and let it go. Sometimes all we can do is sit on the floor and breathe softly and deeply next to those who can’t.
It is through my breath that I will continue to find, hold and survive the best part of me.
Who are we? What is our purpose? Why are we uniquely awesome?
The Daily Beast falls into a couple of categories as outlined in this week’s lecture. It is a group blog in that it brings in a stable of authors. It is professional in that it is of a high standard, produces content several times a day and is revenue-oriented. Above all though, it is a news blog. The Daily Beast was founded in 2008 as the vision of Tina Brown and IAC Chairman Barry Diller. In 2010, The Daily Beast merged with Newsweek. According to the site it is…
Curated to avoid information overload, the site is dedicated to breaking news and sharp commentary. The Daily Beast is the winner of two consecutive Webby awards for “Best News” site and regularly attracts more than 17 million unique online visitors a month. John Avlon serves as Editor in Chief and Rhona Murphy is the Chief Executive Officer.
To me, its purpose is to publish American and world news, opinion, entertainment, technology, health, travel and other feature information. I also find it unique in that it’s all the news that’s “fit to print” but to the above statement, it is sharp. It has an edge. Its biggest competitor is Huffington Post (which is more successful) but I find the Daily Beast to be a better visual experience. It’s target feels more millennial whereas Huff Po feels more geared towards Gen X and Gen Y women.
The Daily Beast Cheat Sheet
How we live up to our “rep”…(ok, ok, our brand!)
The Daily Beast’s signature is the “Cheat Sheet”. It takes news and puts it into a short, easily consumed list for the news consumer on the go. It’s a top 10 of the day and when news breaks, they add that to the top of the list, living up to its brand. Casey Kasem died today and as you can see to the left , the news is perched at the top.
The Cheat Sheet also lives up to its brand in that it’s not “information overload”. You get a sneak peek into the “sharp commentary” aspect by the red titles for the Cheat Sheet stories. The entire blog takes its lead from the Cheat Sheet in that it presents news in tidy window boxes with bright imagery, clever titles and links if you are hungry for more.
Life in the fast lane or Traffic Jam?
Interestingly enough, The Daily Beast experiences good traffic despite its lack of prominence in search. I googled “news”- “news blogs” – “best news blogs” – “news blogs I should follow” and it didn’t appear on the first page. According to Capital New York, The Daily Beast’s average unique monthly visitors are up to more than 17 million this year from 13.5 million in 2013.
They have a couple of things going for them. John Avlon, editor-in-chief is a CNN contributor appearing regularly on air. That’s free advertising right there. They also have the name recognition and integrated marketing from the Newsweek brand. Links from Newsweek will push to The Daily Beast and vice versa. They also have a strong Facebook page (although not so great this week!) and nearly 700,000 Twitter followers as seen here:
The Daily Beast on Facebook
The Daily Beast on Twitter
Our success…what we’re missing…and making money?
The Daily Beast does have advertising throughout its pages. On the day I spent analyzing, it featured several ads from Lexus for their new Hybrid.
Based on the criteria outlined this week, The Daily Beast would be considered successful.
New posts are published often.
Its key bloggers feature links to their Twitter accounts and social share buttons are featured as seen here:
Twitter Link for Writer and Social Buttons For Sharing
The Daily Beast creates original content, the best example being Beast Books, its imprint for publishing digital and then print books for writers
They make it easy to subscribe to content. They offer 4 different email options based on topic:
Sign Up for Updates
Email Option for Culture News
Email Option for Political News
Email Option for Cheat Sheet
Sign in for any or all…
Longevity: The Daily Beast was “born” on October 6, 2008. It’s still going strong and growing nearly 6 years later.
I don’t know that I think this blog is missing anything but I have two thoughts. First, from a social perspective, they highlight Facebook and Twitter wisely at the top of their page as seen here:
Social links in top right corner
In their articles though, they advocate sharing via Facebook, Twitter and Google+. They have a Google+ page with over a half a million followers and 6.5 million views. I recommend adding a Google+ icon to the top of their page. It would help with SEO on Google which is clearly something they have an issue with and it just keeps consistency.
One other observation, I get a lot of email. Everyone does. So cluttering up my inbox with 4 more emails as opposed to one is not that appealing. Why not create one all-inclusive email? (or at least offer that as another option!)
Who are we? What is our purpose? Why are we uniquely awesome?
The Honest Company is one of my favorite brands. I have two girls under two and receive their diapers monthly. I also branched out into laundry detergent, soaps, cleaning sprays for floors, multipurpose and food. I also love their hair products and body lotions. When I became a mom, I just wanted to be better. This company helped. They were founded by actress Jessica Alba, Christopher Gavigan, Brian Lee and Sean Kane to ensure parents have access to non-toxic, eco-friendly, effective and beautiful family products that don’t break the bank. They are also a certified B Corporation so according to their site they…
“…strive to promote sustainability, engage employees and community, and support non-profit initiatives working to solve critical health and social issues affecting children and families.”
With their blog “Honestly…” they take their purpose or mission and put it out there as a catch-all of information for anyone wanting to live a cleaner life. It is both a Professional blog in that it has a high standard, supports the main brand The Honest Company and to that extent, is revenue oriented. It is secondarily a group blog. It is compiled by in-house employees, guest doctors, nutritionists and experts in the field of non-toxic products and clean living. They only launched the blog in July 2012 and when they did, they put together this video. I think it captures a little of their unique presence:
How we live up to our “rep”…(ok, ok, our brand!)
All anyone need do is visit the blog to see how Honestly lives up to The Honest Company brand. The best example is the MANY categories full of interesting informative posts.
The blog features:
Checklists: guides, tips, shopping lists, holiday to-dos, resolutions and so on
Design & DYI: non-toxic, earth-friendly ways to design and do it yourself
FYI: interesting facts and advice about the earth, food and being green
Going Natural: staying green, recycling, composting, etc.
What’s Inside: breaks down and defines complicated chemicals and other items
What’s New: featuring new products from The Honest Company (*good integrated marketing!)
Life in the fast lane or Traffic Jam?
The Honest Company clearly relies on its main site to drive traffic to its blog. That said, its main site does very well in search. I searched “organic baby diapers” and “organic baby products” and The Honest Company comes up at the top in a paid ad for both searches:
Organic baby diapers search
Organic baby product search
When I searched “organic baby blogs” The Honest Company was nowhere to be found above the fold.
Given the celebrity status of Jessica Alba, I am sure some traffic comes through her social pages. She features a link to The Honest Company (not the “Honestly…” blog) on both her Facebook and Instagram pages but NOT her Twitter page:
Jessica Alba Facebook Page
Jessica Alba Instagram page
Our success…what we’re missing…and making money?
There is no advertising for any other products on Honestly…only those sold by The Honest Company. Much like their brand, they keep the blog looking light, airy and clean. When they market their own products, they do it in a way that makes you feel like you are getting information and tips, not having a product forced at you. For example, click on Honest Travel and you will see posts on the best ways to travel with kids, integrated with great little travel totes stuffed with travel-sized Honest products. I think other eco-friendly brands could advertise here but The Honest Company has branched out so much it would be hard to find something that wasn’t a competitor. I also think that not having the page riddled with ads creates a tone like the company. Clean.
Based on the criteria presented in class, Honestly is a somewhat successful blog:
People are still posting and commenting.
There is new content posted a couple of times a week.
There are social share buttons after each post.
The site is primarily FULL of original content.
They make it easy to subscribe and follow The Honest Company main site socially:
Social share buttons after post
Email option and social links
There are some things “Honestly…” could honestly do better! First, the author of each post is not always clear. Some posts have an author indicated and others don’t. While they have sharing buttons after posts as you saw above, they don’t include twitter or other social network links for their authors when they do identify him or her.
The Honest Company was founded in January 2012 and the blog “Honestly…” began in July of that year. So it is only 2 years old. It seems to have active contributors but it does not quite have that longevity yet. The potential is there though because the content is strong, popular and relevant. The Honest Company has seen great success and Jessica Alba and her team recently raised $52 million to expand their company. So they don’t seem to be going anywhere but up!
One of the things I don’t like about the blog? I think there are too many categories. As you saw above, there are 23 categories and some clearly overlap. When you look at a post, several are marked with multiple categories. I think this could be streamlined into an even cleaner look that is not so overwhelming for the consumer visiting the blog.
Who are we? What is our purpose? Why are we uniquely awesome?
Hello my name is Kelly Frank Green. I am an Athletaholic. I have been this way for about 18 months give or take a few days.
Ok. All kidding aside, if you know me or follow this blog, you know I am an Athleta junkie. So why wouldn’t I want to talk about Athleta Chi. Athleta Chi is the blog for the Athleta brand. The blog started in 2008, the same year Petaluma, California-based Athleta was acquired by Gap Inc.
To me, Athleta Chi is primarily a Professional blog. It does, however, have some characteristics of a Group and Recreational blog. It’s Professional because it is of a high standard, content is published often, it is the brand voice of Athleta and it is revenue-oriented to an extent in that it pushes to Athleta’s product. It has a little Group aspect though in that the blog has several authors, some with their own niche blogs, all coming together to have centralized content. Last, there is a little Recreational aspect to this blog as well in that it IS characterized by passion for fitness, empowerment and inspiration.
I find this blog to be unique because it is solely focused on every aspect of empowering a woman as an independent force, unique and strong in and of herself. It’s not about being a mom, a wife, a sister (in the biological sense), a yogini, a marathoner and so on. There is nothing wrong with any of those…I fall in most categories. Athleta Chi doesn’t focus on any one specifically ~ it focuses on all the things that make up our feminine energy. Moreover, all the voices on this blog are women.
How we live up to our “rep”…(ok, ok, our brand!)
View of how the blog lays out in each category
The brand message for Athleta is “Power to the She” and the theme for Athleta Chi, as clearly stated at the top of the blog is, “connecting women to the energy of inspiration”. Each section (except Fit Style which features photo galleries) looks like this:
Each page is posted by a woman. The blog is also full of tutorials, recipes, expert guidance, empowering stories, community comment boards and places to share your fitness style.
Life in the fast lane or Traffic Jam?
Much like The Honest Company, it appears Athleta relies on its main site to drive traffic to its blog. I google searched “blogs for women”, “fitness blogs for women”, “empowerment blogs for women”, and “fitness blogs”. Athleta Chi was not found in the first page. I, like most consumers, did not look past the first page.
When I searched “yoga clothes” and “fitness clothes for women” the main Athleta site appeared on the first page but was not very prominent:
Yoga clothes search
Fitness clothes for women search
As mentioned in a previous post about Athleta, they do promote their blog on their Instagram page. As I recommended in that blog, I think Athleta should create a link to the blog on all their social sites, especially Pinterest. Pinterest is heavily trafficked by women so it seems logical you would promote a blog geared towards inspiring women on that social channel.
Our success…what we’re missing…and making money?
Like The Honest Company again, Athleta doesn’t advertise on their blog except for their own product. They don’t make it feel like you are being targeted to buy though. The 6th category on the blog is called Fit Style. It is a section where every day people like you and me show off their workout style:
The Fit Style category
Naturally, it is all Athleta wear and you can click back to the main company site to purchase. They wisely bury this marketing though through storytelling by peers. Any healthy food brand, Manduka mats or various athletic gear could advertise on this blog as well. Like The Honest blog though, the lack of advertising works. The blog is supposed to be inspirational, zen-like–Chi! Banners and side rails don’t emanate Chi!
In measuring Athleta Chi against our criteria for success, I would say it does well.
New posts are published a couple of times a week
A majority of the content is original whether its product review, tutorials for other women or recipes.
Longevity: This blog has been active since 2008. Six years and still going…
Not only does each post come with social sharing buttons but it also has a little author bio at the bottom with links to her social channels:
Social share buttons at the top of each post
Author bio box with social channel links
Finally, in terms of success, it is very easy to subscribetotheAthleta Chi content. As you can see the email option lives just above the fold. They do this not only on the home page but on the Fitness, Wellness and every other page on the blog. You can also see the social channels represented in this section and just below that are tabs for the newest posts, the newest commentsandanAthleta twitter feed:
Email subscription “above the fold”
Email option, social channels and tabs for posts, chat and twitter
These three may not be the best in the business but they certainly aren’t the worst. What they are…is a little piece of me…and isn’t that what blogging is for? I’m a journalist and therefore a news junkie (The Daily Beast). I’m a mom and therefore constantly wanting to do better for my girls (The Honest Company). Last but not least, I’m a woman and therefore, need to be my best self to be a great journalist and an awesome mommy (Athleta Chi).
I’ve been on quite a journey the last two years: A scary, amazing, life-altering journey. I became a mom. Twice.
To understand my journey, you would have to know I was an athlete all my life. My right arm paid for my degree. I could throw a pretty fast curve ball back in the day! I grew up in a competitive, fitness-oriented family. My older brother went to Ohio State on a football scholarship, my younger brother was a collegiate baseball player, my sister played tennis and ran track and my father made a business of training NFL, NBA and MLB players.
I’ve been pretty lucky. I’m one of those people who has enjoyed success…on the field, in the classroom, in the newsroom and at home. Don’t get me wrong. I worked my butt off for it! It wasn’t handed to me but with that success comes an expectation that you are always going to be at the top of your game.
So what does this have to do with this week’s assignment? Everything.
Like many moms, I gained weight. 60 pounds to be exact. I also quit my job in week 8 of my maternity leave. I could not fathom leaving my child and felt broadcast journalism was changing. It all seemed irrelevant. So I threw myself into motherhood…and then 9 months later was pregnant again.
This time was different. About 4 months after my first child Gracen was born, I was suffering a bit of an identity crisis. I had always been an accomplished television producer, making my own money, doing my own thing and now I wasn’t. I felt small. I felt worthless. I was a little lost. I needed a reset.
A friend and cancer survivor who had found peace in yoga introduced me to her teacher. On a cold December day, I signed up for a private lesson and life was never the same.
When you are feeling like I was and looking like I thought I looked, it takes everything you have to feel comfortable in your own skin. Enter Athleta.
Athleta came to be in 1998 as a catalog company specializing in yoga clothing. Gap Inc. acquired them in 2008 and they evolved into athletic wear, every day clothes, swimwear and accessories adding online sales and brick and mortar stores to their successful catalog business. (GapInc.com & Bloomberg.com)
Online Sales
Brick & Mortar Stores
Catalog
Athleta is more than a business though. They are a modern brand as defined in What is BRANDING? published by the Norwich Business School. As you see in that clip, brands of today are finding information, sharing films, selling stuff, making friends and adding to knowledge. Athleta accomplishes all of this utilizing the channels below and integrating a consistent, solid and straightforward brand message: Power to the She
With Power to the She, Athleta celebrates the busy lives women lead and how they make fitness a priority. They promise to put performance first and comfort a close second. (Maddy Lucier) I would add that “Power to the She” extends beyond making fitness a priority – it makes well being and empowerment a priority as reinforced by this video on the company’s You Tube channel:
At its basic core, Athleta is a business with a product that it guarantees.
I know this to be 100% true. I had a short sleeve sweatshirt I just loved but after about 5 times wearing it, there were very discernible arm pit stains. Yuck! This was not typical of Athleta’s clothing so I returned it. No questions asked. Brands guarantee quality.
According to the Norwich Business School, Brands also instill values that lead to action. If you go to the parent company website at Gap Inc. you will read the following about Athleta:
At Athleta, we design the ultimate performance apparel and gear for every active woman, from the weekend warrior to the committed yogini to the fiercely driven competitive athlete. And as women athletes, we road-test, court-test and water-test everything ourselves to be sure each item we offer features the perfect balance: performance and style
Another key aspect of a successful brand is Ownership. Athleta lives this in the people who design and create the product. The corporate leadership of Athleta seeks to understand their customer by looking within. They take this introspection and make it a call to action:
Athleta exemplifies communications planning as we read about in Brand Media Strategy this week because their message is clear and uniform across all their platforms.
And what you see on Twitter…is what you see on Facebook…is what you see on Pinterest…is what you see on Instagram…is what you see on You Tube…is what you see on Google+ …is what you see on the company’s website. Each campaign and message lives on each platform:
Inspiring on Instagram
Taking Care of Business on Facebook
Creating Community Everywhere
Our journey this week also told us that Brand is Confidence. Brand is Passion. Brand is Belonging. Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman once said, “when people use your brand as a verb, that is remarkable”. (brainyquote.com). I would add that when people forget your Brand is trying to sell them something, that is remarkable as well. Athleta does just this by creating a forum for confidence, passion and a sense of belonging. They call it Athleta Chi. It’s a blog devoted to “connecting women to the energy of inspiration.” You can opt to receive inspirational emails as well. The blog features recipes, how-tos, travel information, training videos, health guidance and a forum for people like you and me to chat, engage and belong.
So what about that post-partum, overweight, insecure, somewhat lost new mom?
I’m getting to that.
The most important thing I consider in a “brand” is me. After all as our class this week reinforced “You” make a brand. “You” unmake a brand. Yoga is intimidating as hell. I always avoided it because it seemed clique-ish. It was for skinny girls that could put their heads in places I never wanted to go. Heck, I couldn’t even touch the ground when I started without hearing something shred inside me. As silly as it sounds, Athleta made it easier to start. I found a comfortable skin.
After I tried Athleta clothes for my yoga practice, I stayed with it because I found the “experience” of Athleta resonated. The women weren’t stick figures with untouchable goals and unrealistic representations. They were real. They were like me: Normal, Unique, Curvy, Curvy-er in some areas more than others. In the social community on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, I found women of all design…including me:
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I now own Athleta clothes of all kinds including the bathing suit below. (I really should own stock in the company!) The catalog arrives and it’s like Christmas. I get an email for a sale and I can’t resist. Yes, I am their target customer…and I am a brand loyalist.
It’s more though. I turn the pages and I see where I have been, where I am and where I want to be. I’ve lost 57 pounds. I can bend over and touch the floor with flat palms. I stand a little taller. I smile more. I breathe deeper. It’s not about the clothes…it’s about the community. It’s Power to the She…and Me.
Antony Young. (2010). A Shift From Media Planning to Communications Planning. Brand Media Strategy: Integrated Communications Planning in the Digital Era. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
It’s a journey. Not a competition. Not a race. Not a destination. All those clichés.
I have to tell myself that every day.
I am not sure when anxiety became a problem for me. I don’t have a defining moment when I thought…”wow…I’m having an anxiety attack”. It just happens. Now though, I am just more aware of it. I am aware of it because I have two little, gorgeous, impressionable, sponge-like human beings who watch my every move. Even when I don’t think they do. I don’t want them to be like me. I don’t want them to feel overwhelmed just by taking on the day. Which I do sometimes. I can’t explain it.
So when that little nagging in the pit of my stomach starts to grow and take over my insides like a balloon filling up, I have to breathe. I have to try to stop, recognize what is happening and breathe through it. I’m having a morning like that right now. There is nothing unusual about today. It’s Sunday. Kids are up. Spouse is busy with her load of things to do. I have school work due, deadlines to meet, Legos to play with, meals to make, baths to give. Just the everyday things.
A friend introduced me to John Meredith in December 2012. It was a meeting that in many ways has changed my life. I spend a lot of time with John each week practicing yoga. Inevitably my competitive spirit always creeps into our hours and I end up being my own worst enemy. John brings me back with the simple…”Remember to breathe”.
It’s good advice. I tell myself it will get done. All of it. I just have to breathe.
