Abercrombie & Fitch has been facing many challenges in global markets, losing both hype and customers. I worked on a project proposal for A&F's incumbent agency in China. The aim was not only to generate hype but to reinforce the brand distinctiveness in the mind of Chinese consumers.

1. ABERCROMBIE & FITCH
Digital / Social strategy FOR MAINLAND CHINA
Prepared by e. Peype for Weber shandwick

2. Your Brief
“!
• Abercrombie & Fitch"
• Positioning - Casual luxury "
• TA - 20 to 25"
• Open its first store in Shanghai in 2014.06 "
• Launch plan with a 3-month pre-buzz to opening"
• Retainer ideas that help them differentiate from Hollister. "
• Assets are much controlled by client as they have strict policy"
• A&F is known and talked about by influencers in China."
• Most influencers used to share their mix-and-match tips."
• A&F’s male model and picture sharing"
• They know they are American casual style, but cannot tell the difference."
• Chinese consumers are not sophisticated enough to understand east-coast
and west-coast culture that A&F and Hollister represents respectively."
”"

3. At first glance
1. Pre-Opening Strategy!
Raise awareness about the SH launch and generate conversations on
social media platforms."
!
2. Digital Retainer Strategy!
Help the brand differentiate itself from Hollister in the digital space and
ultimately in the consumer mind."
"

4. Outline
1. The brand"
2. The audience"
3. Pre-opening strategy"
4. Digital retainer strategy"
5. Measurement"

5. 2 brands, 2 identities
• West Coast!
• Casual Vintage / Beach style !
• Targeting at 16 / 20 years old !
• Quality/Price ratio!
"
• East Coast!
• Premium casual outerwear,
inspired by Ivy League.!
• Targeting 20 / 25 years old!
• Premium quality/price ratio!

7. Despite their own identities, A&F and Hollister have a similar approach to
consumers:"
"
• Similar visuals and messages,"
• Similar marketing tactics,"
• Similar content strategies on Weibo,"
• Lack of cultural adaptation and country-specific messages."
As a result:"
"
• Audience has a low / mistaken knowledge of both brands’ identities"
• Content strategy on Sina Weibo does not allow users to perceive A&F
brand distinctiveness as Hollister seems to be more popular in China
(H: 60K followers + recent store openings VS. A&F: 44K followers)"
• Consumers cannot identify themselves with each brand as they
perceive them as premium and exclusive American casual clothing due
to high pricing and undifferentiated messages."
2 brands, 2 identities

8. "
• A&F’s theatrical and unique shopping experience and brand values."
• Existing fan base on Sina Weibo"
• Existing social media advocates who love sharing about A&F and its
products"
• Potential customers who have already purchased products overseas
and are familiar with the brand."
• Communication around the A&F Shanghai opening"
• Halo effect of 2012 Hong Kong store opening"
"
"
"
"
"
Opportunities for A&F

9. Fans!
Users that connect
emotionally with A&F.
They identify
themselves with the
brand attributes but
cannot purchase
(genuine) products.
Probably due to high
price, availability etc. !
Advocates!
Users that truly engage
with A&F DNA and
purchase frequently its
products. They usually
express their love for
A&F by sharing with
relatives and friends or
writing about it!
!
!
Spectators!
Users that neither
interact with A&F on
digital platforms nor
purchase A&F products.
This might be due to a
lack of awareness,
knowledge etc.!
!
!
Offline Consumers!
Users who have already
purchased A&F
products but don’t
engage emotionally with
the brand heritage and
values. !
Awareness! Loyalty!
Rational!
Emotional!
The ONLINE audience
Customer funnel!
Brand attributes!

10. !
Awareness! Loyalty!
Rational!
Emotional!
The Online audience
Weibo fans!
Website visitors!
!
Influencers!
Fashionistas!
Bloggers!
!
!
!
!
Online customers!
Store visitors!
!
!
!
SoMe users!
Age group 20/25!
2nd/3rd tier cities!
!
!
!

11. PRE-LAUNCH STRATEGY

12. Pre-launch Strategy
Goal!
Raise awareness about the opening in Shanghai and spread the buzz on social
media platforms."
"
Strategy!
The aim is to primarily reach the most engaged audience in order to create word of
mouth and online conversations before the opening takes place. Advocates and
fans are A&F ambassadors and it is essential to involve them on Weibo and
WeChat in a pre-opening campaign, along with the paid media strategy. "
"
Steps!
Define the overall story of A&F"
Involve key advocates such as bloggers and influencers to reach “spectators” and
educate them about A&F"
Create a social content strategy and campaign that amplifies A&F story, generate
buzz and position the opening as a momentum."
Encourage the audience to engage on social media channels with A&F"
"
"
!

13. Pre-launch Strategy
Kick off! Opening!
Awareness!
Paid media"
Brand Ambassadors Program "
Select five ambassadors who share their love for A&F by sharing mix and match tips
and highlighting how they love wearing the brand on a regular basis."
Paid media"
Social Campaign "
Invite fans to share their best A&F looks and tell how the
brand makes them feel. Feature them on a specific
Weibo tab and make users vote. The ones with the more
votes will be invited to the launch day."
Earned Media Tactics "
Display QR codes and social media links on the storefront, magazine and billboard prints to
generate curiosity and interest in the A&F opening. "
Create a specific hashtag for the launch campaign #AFShanghai"
Content Strategy"
Tell the A&F story as an experience beyond from products."
Build a content strategy that educates and entertains the audience about the heritage and East
Coast lifestyle. The aim is to fulfill their self-actualization needs."

14. Pre-launch Strategy
Attract!
Engage!
Involve!
(event)!
PR / Paid Media! Own Channels!
Social ads"
Earned Tactics!
Brand Ambassadors"
Storefront"
Weibo page "
/ app"
WeChat page" BA involving their
relatives by offering
exclusive access to
the opening"
Livestream
on Sina"
Visual updates of the
opening"
Live report / Photo sharing
with event hashtag"

15. Pre-launch Strategy

16. Digital Retainer Strategy

17. Digital Retainer Strategy
Goal!
Help the brand differentiate itself from Hollister in the digital space and ultimately in
the consumer mind."
"
Strategy!
By opening its first shop, A&F has an opportunity to connect and build relationships
with Chinese consumers. They will have a chance to experience the distinctiveness
of A&F in store and subsequently on online channels. To position A&F as a truly
premium and distinctive brand, it is essential to leverage its DNA and spread it into
every message at every touchpoint. "
"
Actions!
“Create the story and tell it well”"
Build a content strategy that reaches out less engaged audience segments."
Keep the audience stimulated at every touch point"
Foster the sense of community around A&F"
"
!
!
"

18. Digital Retainer Strategy
“Create the story, tell it well”!
!
Everybody has an unfulfilled wish: they want others to perceive them as their “me I
desire to be”, not their “me I am”. Brands are ways to achieve the journey from
aspiration to expression."
"
From 屌丝 to cool, Shanghai to New York, China to the US, Abercrombie & Fitch is
the platform that lets people experience and uncover their ideal selves."
"
A&F story is the fuel that will feed the mind of the audience segments, so it has to
fit for purpose."
"
1. Understand how people perceive A&F and Hollister to highlight points of
difference."
2. Create a story that can fulfill A&F target audience aspirations"
3. Diffuse it across channels"
4. Ensure through analytics that the story engages with the audience"
"
"

19. Digital Retainer Strategy
Elements of A&F story!
!
"
"

20. Digital Retainer Strategy
Build a content strategy that reaches out less-engaged audience segments
and keeps others inspired across channels!
!
!
"
"
!
Awareness! Loyalty!
Rational!
Emotional!
ENTERTAIN! INSPIRE!
CONVINCE!EDUCATE!

21. Digital Retainer Strategy
Content creates connections. While addressing every segment with appropriate
media, the content strategy aims to engage the audience further and encourage
them to build emotional connections with A&F."
!
!
"
"
Based on The Content Marketing Matrix"
Awareness! Loyalty!
Rational!
Emotional!
ENTERTAIN! INSPIRE!
CONVINCE!EDUCATE!
Competitions!
Games!
Branded Videos!
Virals!
Quizzes!
Articles! E-news!
Fashion guides!
Style reports!
Press Releases!
Events!
Interactive !
Demos!
Product !
Features!
Webinars!
Ratings /
Benchmarks!
Celebrity
endorsements!
Community !
Forums! Reviews / !
Testimonials!
Branded !
Widgets!
Demo !
videos!
Brand Manifesto!

22. Digital Retainer Strategy
The Content Strategy in practice!
!
"
"
Brand Manifesto!
Create a brand manifesto video that will define in a nutshell what
A&F stands for. #entertain #inspire"
!
!
"
"
Competitions!
Host regular social competitions to keep users active and
leverage their emotional associations with A&F products. "
!
!
"
"
Fashion guides!
Educate users about East Coast fashion and give them
inspirations to help them match A&F items to their casual style"
"
!
!
"
"
Share fan testimonials and positive feedbacks from customers on
social platforms."
"
!
!
"
"
Reviews / !
Testimonials!
Branded !
Widgets! Create a widget that will improve users’ life and add value to your
brand. i.e. a weather-sensitive fashion app that help them dress
up according to weather predictions."
!

23. Digital Retainer Strategy
Keep the audience stimulated at every touch point!
!
The store in Shanghai will soon offer an immersive experience into the A&F story
for those who embrace the brand and those who are not familiar with. "
This moment of truth for consumers will give the brand the following opportunities:"
"
- Connect with the less-engaged audience and take them one step further into
the digital A&F journey. i.e. in-store activations (interactive mirrors or socially-
connected photo booths)"
- Engage with advocates and fans during VIP events at the shop. "
- Position the WeChat account as the VIP store channel, providing the latest
news about product arrivals, events, celebrities coming to the shop etc."
- Develop an online virtual experience on Sina Weibo for 2nd / 3rd tier cities fans
who cannot visit the store in Shanghai. "
- Open the digital strategy to new platforms such as Instagr.am / Tuding,
Foursquare / Jiepang to capitalize on photo content and reach more users."
!
"
"

24. Digital Retainer Strategy
Best-in-class examples!
!
!
"
"

25. Digital Retainer Strategy
Foster a sense of community
across your digital strategy!
"
“Chinese consumers rely more
on word-of mouth from friends,
family and key opinion
leaders” (McKinsey, 2012). "
"
Creating an online customer-led
community in China will help
A&F spread its story and position
itself distinctively to other brands."
For Abercombrie, community is
premium, exclusive and
rewarding. "
Think
about
customer’s
needs
Foster
many-­‐to
–
many
rela8onships
Think
Local
Make
people
enjoy
the
content
you
create
Cheer
members
Let
advocates
advocate
Don’t
control,
moderate
Keep
it
simple
Reward
Based on Guy Kawasaki"

26. Digital Retainer Strategy
Examples!
"

27. A Journey Towards Distinctiveness
Create A&F
story !
Tell the story
through
content!
Stimulate at
every touch
point!
Build a
consumer-led
community!
Indifferent! Distinctive!
Time!

28. Measurement
It is essential to implement key performance
indicators at the earliest stage of the digital
strategy to ensure that the current approach
reaches the client’s objectives."
!
1. Measure volume: number of fans, shares.!
2. Measure engagement: fan activity,
participation rate.!
3. Measure business success: brand
awareness, reputation and sales.!
"
Methods:"
- KPI tracking"
- Owned platforms measurement"
- Social listening to measure sentiment and
emotion."
!

29. ANY Questions?
Emmanuel Peype
Stategist and Curious Mind
@commintomylife