POLO RALPH LAUREN 2009 MOBILE MARKETER OF THE YEAR

Mobile Marketer has awarded Ralph Lauren (RL) their 2009 Mobile Marketer of the Year identifying that, “RL serves as a role model for outstanding use of mobile advertising and marketing.” Here is an overview of the 2009 brand in the mobile space.

in-app advertising


Ralph Lauren was the launch sponsor of GQ magazine’s new mobile application in an effort to promote the retailer’s fragrances.  GQ Style Picks, the application for the iPhone and iPod touch, features style tips and options from the men’s magazine and a geotracked “click-to-find nearby” and a “click-to-find online” commerce option.  Ralph Lauren even has a channel within the application that includes tips and videos. The Ralph Lauren channel within the GQ application includes helpful grooming and fragrance tips such as how to moisturize the face, fragrance picks and downloadable videos.

mobile commerce strategy


The Rugby Make-Your-Own-application is truly something unique in terms of the experience that it provides users.  The application was a first of its kind within the Ralph Lauren family of innovative lifestyle marketing.  Consumers can make their own Rugby directly from their iPhone or iPod touch and share the style and buy it.  Consumers can customize their own Rugby with patches, share and order their Rugby styles within the application.  The application followed the successful launches of http://www.rugby.com and http://m.rugby.com and is meant to serve as a 360-degree retail innovation platform that engages with consumers through mobile, in-store kiosks and outdoor display content in store windows, and online.

Also, Rugby stores in New York and San Francisco have an interactive store window where pedestrians walking the streets are encouraged to stop and create their own Rugby or browse the gallery of Rugby’s created by users of the iPhone application.  Much like the iPhone experience, users just drag and drop by swiping their hands over the store window and can buy Rugby’s by swiping their credit cards.  In April, Ralph Lauren launched an iPhone-optimized site for Rugby.com, the site for its sporty line of Rugby apparel.  Like the existing WAP site that is optimized for all other mobile devices, the iPhone site lets consumers browse and buy all products that are available on Rugby.com.

Mobile presence

Ralph Lauren has a mobile shopping site at http://m.ralphlauren.com where consumers can shop on the site, read about what is new at Ralph Lauren and watch runway show videos of the brand's latest styles.  Last October, Ralph Lauren made mobile fashionable with the launch of an iPhone application that lets users experience the glamour of the Ralph Lauren Collection on the Apple device.  The application invites Apple iPhone users to view collection styles that are currently in stores via video highlights from its runway show. It also offers a look behind the scenes with its Backstage Pass photo gallery in addition to full run-of-show video and Lookbook feature.  Mobile advertising was also used to drive consumers to the application.  Four months after its launch, the application was upgraded with new features that reflect Ralph Lauren's haute couture line and products reflecting a luxury lifestyle.

Quick Response (QR) codes

Ralph Lauren was one of the first retailers to launch a mobile commerce service to let consumers buy products through their handsets.  The company claims to be one of the first luxury retailers nationwide to launch a mobile commerce site and incorporate Quick Response codes in advertisements.  Ralph Lauren included a QR code on a U.S. Open advertising campaign. If scanned by a mobile phone, the code would link a user directly to a new mobile site. 

This is the U.S. Open call to action:

Ongoing communications


Ralph Lauren invites consumers to sign up for text alerts on its mobile site in an effort to build a database of the brand’s aficionados to keep ongoing communication with Additionally, consumers can text the keyword RL to 23000 to join the mobile club. 

Ralph Lauren understands the times we live in - and the wants and needs of its consumers.  And, in this day and age, for Ralph Lauren that means having a robust set of mobile offerings and being present in the lives of their consumers.  Congratulations to Ralph Lauren on receiving this honor.

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TOP 100 SOCIAL BRANDS OF 2009

We are excited to release our second annual ranking of the most social brands, The Vitrue 100. 2009 certainly marked the tipping point for social media with Facebook crossing 350 million month active users worldwide (100 million US users) according to “Inside Facebook”, December 2009.

Adoption of social media by marketers has also followed suit, as eMarketer cites the percentage of the Fortune 500 not using social media has dropped dramatically - from 43% now to only 9%.   Forrester is also stating that social media marketing is projected to grow at an annual rate of 34%, faster than any other form of online marketing (US Interactive Marketing Spend 2009 to 2014 Report issued Summer 2009).

So what does all this mean as we head into 2010?  Marketers are adding social as a foundation into the marketing mix and need the infrastructure to manage their increasingly robust presences. TV spots are now tagged out with Facebook URLs instead of corporate web sites and point-of-sale call to actions now direct you to fan them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.  Marketers get that social works. So with this in mind we established The Vitrue 100 to help bring credibility and clarity to this emerging space. The changing world of online conversations results in significant movements up and down for brands.

The Vitrue 100 was determined by averaging the SMI scores for each brand across each day in December 2009. To further clarify, “annual” based on grouping of pull done once a year as the first Vitrue 100 was done December 2008 and we wanted to measure year over year. The result is a ranked list of the brands which are most talked about on the social web. Note: Some powerhouse technology brands were omitted from the list as they provide the backbone of many social networks.  While Google, Facebook and others are top brands, the Vitrue 100 is measuring companies that are using social technology, not those who are the technology.

Top 100 Social Brands of 2009

1. iPhone
2. Disney
3. CNN
4. MTV
5. NBA
6. iTunes
7. Wii
8. Apple
9. Xbox
10. Nike
11. Starbucks
12. NFL
13. PlayStation
14. Adidas
15. BlackBerry
16. Sony
17. Mercedes
18. Microsoft
19. Samsung
20. BMW
21. Nintendo
22. Best Buy
23. ESPN
24. Ford
25. Honda
26. Ferrari
27. Gucci
28. Nokia
29. Major League Baseball
30. Dell
31. Coca-Cola
32. CBS
33. ABC
34. iPod
35. Mac
36. Turner
37. Nissan
38. Toyota
39. eBay
40. Amazon
41. Victoria’s Secret
42. Nutella
43. NASCAR
44. Disneyland
45. Audi
46. NHL
47. Red Bull
48. Verizon
49. Intel
50. Subway
51. Hewlett-Packard
52. Puma
53. Kia
54. Fox News
55. Porsche
56. Jeep
57. Dodge
58. Pandora
59. Walmart
60. Zappos
61. Suzuki
62. McDonald’s
63. Krystal
64. T-Mobile
65. Skittles
66. KFC
67. Volkswagen
68. NBC
69. Sprint
70. Pixar
71. Motorola
72. IKEA
73. Pepsi
74. Cisco
75. REI
76. LG
77. AT&T
78. Converse
79. The Gap
80. Chevrolet
81. Louis Vuitton
82. Toys”R”Us
83. H&M
84. Philips
85. General Motors
86. Pringles
87. Visa
88. Prada
89. Panasonic
90. IBM
91. VH1
92. Hulu
93. Oracle
94. Burberry
95. SEGA
96. Sears
97. Avon
98. Jet Blue
99. Lacoste
100. Comcast

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SOCIAL ANALYTICS LIFECYCLE FRAMEWORK

This helpful SIM Framework is by Ken Burbary (one of the organizers behind the Module 2010 Digital Conference.)  It starts with the social web, includes analysis, data segmentation, strategy, and execution.   

WHAT'S THE SOCIAL PROFILE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS?

According to Forrester, “companies often approach Social Computing as a list of technologies to be deployed as needed — a blog here, a community there —to achieve a marketing goal.  But a more coherent approach is to start with your target audience and determine what kind of relationship you want to build with them, based on what they are ready for”.

Forrester's Social Technographics® Profiler classifies consumers into six overlapping levels of participation (see short presentation). 

Based on Forrester survey data they can see how participation varies among different groups of consumers, globally. They also analyze the participation of people who buy technology. 

For your convenience, we have embedded Forrester’s Social Technographics® Profiler on our BLOG (at the bottom of the page.)  ;) It’s an excellent resource to start any social media initiative if you’re not sure what technologies to use.