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Fashion SMM Uncategorized

Why #MenWithxHM Is The New Standard of Collaboration For Brands

“A design collaboration with style inspiration from the 10M+ followers of the MenWith Instagram accounts. This has resulted in a collection of updated key items for supreme style, every day.”

Nowadays, every brand who is striving for success and growth has an influencer strategy. Actively seeking the fashionpreneurs, latest hyped individuals, reality TV stars and best models of which closely align to select core values of the brand.

This strategy is tried and true, with influencers obviously playing a core part in driving bucket loads of traffic to a store, with a simple endorsement of a branded product.

This is something that we at The Normal Company, are 100% in agreement with for brands to do. However, this is becoming more and more saturated as each year goes by, and the influencer craze is becoming a blood bath that as consumers get wiser, and the #ad hashtag gets used more frequently than a Valencia filter, brands have to show a little more innovation when it comes to collaboration, in order to step up their game and step up their brand impact in competitive markets such as fashion.

Please step onto the stage, #MenWithxHM.

A TRUE collaboration, fit for the current influencer-saturated world we live in today.

@menwithclass have collaborated with H&M for their latest HMx collection. With an instagram account following of just shy of 5 million, and 10 million accumulatively across all of the ‘men with’ accounts such as @menwithstreetstyle, the Men with Class accounts are a brand in themselves. Embodying the very latest trends of the modern man, and encouraging gents worldwide to adopt the top trends in which they showcase.

#MenWithxHM Faux leather jacket

@menwithclass owners Erik & Daniel have amassed a cult following of men all seeking to get inspiration from their content, and H&M knows it. The collection embodies this and their exact style preferences in a capsule collection of basics and subtly branded #MenWith garments that portray the style aspired to be achieved by their following.

This, is a power collaboration.

A collaboration which asks a ready and waiting crowd the question ‘What do you want?’ built from the exact needs of a follower base, and the fashion inspiration in which millions of men worldwide are looking for, and actively seeking whenever they hop onto Instagram.

By looking at the posts with most views, comments and general engagement, H&M collaborated with MenWith to create a capsule collection which looked at this data, and provided the exact styles and items. The collaboration includes a knitted roller neck, two soft hoodies, plain t-shirts, sunglasses, suede caps and the statement biker jacket.

#MenWithxHM swipe up to shop advert on Instagram stories

The saying goes ‘place a burger van where there is a starving crowd’ and it’s safe to say that the #MenWithxHM collection does this to mass effect.

Categories
Things We Are Hyped About

Our Top 3 Remote Getaways Every CEO & Entrepreneur Has To Check Into

If you’re running a company, time out is just as important as time in. Getting away from the grind can be equally beneficial to the growth of your company, and ultimately the growth of you as a busy entrepreneur.

Head space, a place to recharge batteries, a zone where you can get creative without distraction, being at one with your goals and reflections are all reasons why getting away into the right place can do wonders for the business minded individual.

Bill Gates credits his massive success to being alone. Two times a year, for seven straight days, Bill Gates will spend time all by himself in the forest with no cell phone and no computer. He just totally disconnects from the outside world. He calls that “thinking time” the Think Week.

We, are all about this too.

This temporary change in lifestyle is the secret to his massive success he claims. He’s a business powerhouse worth 92.8 billion today, holding the top spot on the list of The World’s Billionaires for 18 out of the past 23 years. And he’s donated $35.8 billion worth of Microsoft stock to the Gates Foundation.

Clearly, Thinking Time is a top component to Bill Gates’ incredible wealth story. During his Thinking Time, he does a lot of reading and journaling about what he has done, is doing, and will accomplish. He also comes up with new ideas and innovations for his company.

So, we took on the challenge to find some V2.0 getaways, that may actually trump a forest and allow you to do the same, with an innovative touch.

Shipwreck Lodge, Namibia

Jetting off to Namibia may not be the first port of call for most, however at Shipwreck Lodge, there are a few hundred shipwreck style cabins scattered along Namibia’s Skeleton Coast. It’s serene & idyllic, the perfect place to reflect and gaze into the sunset to gather your thoughts.

Each of the 10 bedrooms feature a large horizontal window where guests can look out across the surrounding sand dunes and spot wildlife including brown hyenas and desert lions.

Namibia Shipwreck Lodge

 

Al Faya Lodge, UAE

Architecture studio Anarchitect has turned a couple of stone buildings in the UAE into Al Faya Lodge, a hotel and saltwater spa in the remote Sharjah desert.

A complex of architecturally sleek, clean cut buildings now forms the Al Faya Lodge, which sits in the red sands at the foot of Mount Alvaah in the Emirate of Sharjah.

The rooms here are all equipped with stargazing skylights, and if you are to choose the Master Suite, this has a private roof terrace to enhance your experience as you appreciate the solitude, and be at one with your thoughts on expansion and creative endeavours.

Al Faya Lodge is a top pick because it is actually designed to be booked out all as one, so the entire complex can be experienced to your full privacy. Or, bring the entire team along to channel some focus.

This Arabian complex also has a tidy reception area, a dining room where chefs can be hired, and an outdoor terrace with a fire pit.

 

Punta Caliza, Mexico

When you can only arrive to a destination by boat, you know you’re somewhere remote and away from it all.

Our version of entrepreneur bliss.

The boutique hotel Punta Caliza, which is situated on Isla Holbox – a zero cars allowed fishing village north of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

This epic destination is made up of 12 whitewashed guest suites each boast their own plunge pool and have thatched roofs intended to mimic traditional Mayan structures.

Punta Caliza Mexico

Categories
Fashion Long Read SMM

Fashionable E-Mail Marketing MUSTS.

For an eCommerce fashion label, you may have your instagram content on point. You may have ALL of the best models & influencers draped in your logo..

..You may have thousands of customers buying from you consistently.

BUT, what are you doing on the email front?

Poor email marketing & systemisation is a huge culprit we see between a brand in which dominates it’s sub sector, contrasting that in which fails to even scratch the surface on the potential sales volume it should be getting. At the normal company, our process relies on having a super sleek back end, specifically when it comes to email marketing.

Email becomes one of the most important communication channels with your customer when it comes to not only driving sales, but recouping them.

Why? Email marketing lets a label reach out to prospective and current customers with offers, news, product launches and more. It’s also a key tool to reignite interest, and capture the sale when it is in limbo.

If you are a fashion eCommerce brand, or any brand for that matter in any space, you need to listen up to this checklist below, and make it a focal point for your back end. Now.

1. Have a sexy subject line

The days of ‘ALL CAPs’ are gone. These actually trigger the spam filter on a lot of mailboxes, and you may see this yourself with a poor delivery & open rate.

In 2019, it’s all about being on trend, relevant, and actually of interest.

To win the open rate, you have to be gentle and subtle in your subject line without overselling yourself. Remember, that people respond to phrases that we use in our everyday life because it is more human.

No one wants to receive an email which literally looks like a marketing email, no matter what brand or store you run.

So, What exactly should you be crafting up for your subject line?
Personalisation, relevance, personality.
The key is to describe what is inside your mail, in a sleek pocket size way.

You need to create the ‘WOW’ moment, immediately as you only have a split section to do so, before your customer scrolls away from you.

2. Content, Content, Content.

It’s simple really. If you don’t have good content, there’s no ‘why’.

You need a strong WHY to enable a conversation, and enable the hook back into your site, and those products in which are most relevant to your potential customer.

When you get your e-mail opened, welcome your customer with an attractive visual. Something enticing, and something bold.

Tom Ford does this incredibly well:

Provide a relevant landing page in the Call to action of the visual. Avoid linking everything to your home page, as this essentially creates unnecessary barriers and hurdles for your customer to trawl through, in order to get where they want.

Normal Tip:

A short and sweet customer journey, wins.

Your graphic curation in your marketing email should be attractive and the text should be highly visible, punchy and striking. Do not forget to optimise the same for mobile views as 62% of emails are opened and read on mobile.

3. The personal touch.

Here’s a question to ask yourself:

“Am I connecting with an individual, or scatter-gunning to the masses?”

Ask yourself, and you may want to go back to the drawing board. Often there is a hit and hope strategy at play with most email marketing we see, and brands in which we coach on this aspect when it comes to driving all time high revenues.

When you hit schedule, you are not just mailing an offer or information, you are mailing experiences.

You are connecting..

.. or disconnecting.

How will you produce a personalised message? How will you really hit home to that customer as they sit at home and browse Gmail?

Address the customer by name, or make recommendations based on browsing behavior.

Don’t just sell, give fashion tips on colours for the upcoming season, trends, how THEIR personal taste is being seen on influencers etc.
It is the extra effort in being friendly that makes all the difference to be more engaging and give the customer a great experience, which will separate you from the herd in that email box.

M&S Email Campaign

M&S do this terrifically. So much so, it’s as if we produced it right here at Normal!

Everything about their broad email marketing is on a ‘non salesy’ front. It’s personal, it’s professional, and it sparks intrigue.

4. If you’re not doing THIS, you’re bleeding money.

Cart Abandonment Emails.

This right here is your second, third or fourth chance to get those abandoned carts over the line.

We see time and time again an ineffective strategy here for many brands, and it’s one in which once we bring it to light, it’s a real face palm moment (for us, and them).

It is frustrating is when customers abandon their cart, but rewarding when you can make them complete their purchase with cart abandonment emails.

According to SalesCycle, eCommerce brands who sent cart abandonment emails received 46% open rate leading to 35% of the returning customers completing their checkout processes.

Cart abandonment emails, ideally, should be sent soon after the customer abandons the cart, and a follow-up email of the same in consecutive days. (Read our 10 Best Practices Of Abandoned Cart Emails for an in-depth explanation.)

Must include elements of a cart abandonment email:
Image of the abandoned products in the cart
A headline which mentions the product of interest
Recommendations for further products
Concise CTA
Something which makes them say ‘oh go on then!’

The proof is in the scale.

One of our fashion brands who we took on last month, had zero abandoned cart processes in place. They were losing out.

So, we put it to the test and found the following once we applied our Normal email strategy & comprehensive system:

Within 1 week of setting up, our email marketing generated an EXTRA £11,540.93 in revenue.
This was directly from our abandoned check out email marketing, coupled with intuitive facebook & instagram story ads.

So, tell us it’s not worth waiting any longer?

Conclusion:

These are the 4 basic and fundamental factors that fashion brands should consider in executing their email marketing. Today.
Even if you are a smaller brand,, with these context in mind, you can slowly work your way up to achieving more click-through rates, ROI, and ultimately a larger revenue at the end of it all.

Email marketing: The trend which is not going out of fashion any time soon.