UK hit reality TV show, Love Island, is all about meeting the customer where she lives, said Missguided’s chief digital officer, Jonathan Wall, at FashMash Pioneers.
“Love Island for our sector, it’s kind of like the annual peak, or the annual Christmas, of [other retailers]. It’s our nirvana. You could not find anything else that’s absolutely spot on to our bullseye customer,” he comments.
The fast fashion multi-channel retailer saw its sales spike 40% during the show this summer, which all came down to reigniting and re-energising lapsed customers of more than six months, he notes. Product placement, which is essentially what this was, isn’t new in strategy – but it’s effective when it’s done right, he explains. In this instance, his team designed looks and dressed all of the stars in the show.
Wall’s strategy is focused primarily on relevancy to the shopper, much of which comes from the fact his team internally are those individuals themselves.
“One of the big big advantages we’ve got as a business, is that our customers are actually our team… Our average age in our business is 25, and guess what, our average customer age is also 25. You cannot overemphasise the advantages you get when every single day you are walking amongst your customers. It’s a tremendous advantage.”
It’s that laser-sharp focus on who they’re targeting that also lets Missguided play with partnerships, he adds. The brand launched a collaboration with Playboy this summer that was met with a heavy dose of debate, but ultimately succeeded because of how relevant it was to the shopper it was intended. “It again hit the nail on the head for our customer,” Wall explains.
In conversation with Rosanna Falconer in Missguided’s hometown of Manchester in the north of England, Wall also shares his views on what’s coming next in influencer marketing, which of the big social channels he’s focused on, and just why he likes to court a little controversy along the way.
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