Hello there my Slide Share friend. This is a deck that I put together that peaks into the fashion brand Ed Hardy and the social media ecosystem they currently find themselves in. I take an analysis of the brand, its competition and make some recommendations. Enjoy. Thanks.

1. A Social Media Competitive Analysis
Presented by RT Herwig
@rtherwig / rt@rtherwig.com / 267.221.8154

2. quick background

3. history
• Got its name from the world famous
American tattoo artist Ed Hardy.
• Hardy’s tattooing turned into a brand by
the ef forts of Christian Audiger in 2004.
• Christian Audigier felt that it would be
appropriate to create a brand called
Ed Hardy and use Hardy’s art as the main
selling point for the brand.
• Ed Hardy clothing went on to be one
of the most famous brands in the clothing
industry.
• In 2011 Iconix Brand Group purchased Ed
Hardy from Christian Audigier for $62M.

4. brand mission
Stay true to the essence of Don Ed Hardy’s
original inspiration for his art and celebrate
its history and beauty by creating dynamic
apparel and related lifestyle products.
tagline
“Love kills Slowly”

5. products
• C l o t h e s fo r m e n , wo m e n , a n d k i d s
• Fo r M e n t h ey h ave a va r i e t y o f p ro d u c t s
s u c h a s E d H a rd y t - s h i r t s , a c t i ve we a r ,
d e n i m , o u t we a r , s w i m t r u c k s , s we a t e r s ,
tops, etc. The accessories include things
s u c h a s b e l t s , c a p s , s c a r ve s , s h o e s , s o c k s ,
j ewe l e r , s u n g l a s s e s , t i e s a n d eve n wa l l e t s
• Fo r Wo m e n t h e b ra n d h a s a p p a re l s s u c h
a s a c t i ve wa r , b o t t o m s , d e n i m , h o o d i e s ,
intimates, t-shirts and tanks

6. current tone & feelswaggy, mainstream
loud, bright, colorful, sticks out, obnoxious, busy, pop,
-

7. CURRENT TARGET
Can be broken down into two segments:
• The Rebel Pop Rockers
• The Disposable “VIP’s”
• Male & Female
• 18-30
• Urban
• Upper-Middle Class

8. THE REBEL POP ROCKERS
• All about a vintage rock n’ roll/urban hip-hop style
• Embodies a celebrity rockstar mentality
• Wants to be seen as this rockstar
• Aware of all “edgy” trends
• Invests in trying to look “cool”
• More pop focused than alternative
• Goes to all the main-stream concerts
• Smaller segment of the two
THE DISPOSABLE “VIP’s”
• All about Clubbing, Drinking and Gambling
• These guys are serious about having fun
• Freedom & Pleasure seeking
• Typically Single, Males, 18-25
• Working their first “real” job
• Have disposable income to spend
• Have like-minded friends
• Part of a group / pack mentality
• Celebrity & Trend-centric

9. COMPETITORS
affliction - is an aspirational, high-end
lifestyle brand that personifies PASSION and
embodies the heart and soul of Music, Art,
Tattoo, Sports and Motorcycles.
tapout - is world’s leading MMA apparel,
gear and lifestyle brand for men, women and
children.
true religion - quality, American-made
authentic denim with timeless appeal and a
vintage aesthetic. The brand offers a wide range
of styles in nearly every category and embraces
the motto: “It’s all about the fit.” True Religion
clothing is made for and by people who don’t
follow trends, they set them.

10. SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Authentic Don Ed Hardy designs 1. Negative WOM
2. Vintage & Contemporary 2. “Douchebag” has been associated
3. Classic American tattoo designs 3. Oversaturation
4. Complete market coverage 4. C-D List Celebrity Endorsers
5. Good brand presence/awareness 5. Cheapened Image (non-user)
6. Loyal fans/customers 6. Tired brand image
7. Brand/Product stuck in 2000’s
8. Brand running on Red Bull fumes
Opportunities Threats
1. Authenticity biggest opp. 1. Tattoo Art is a passing fad
2. Vintage & Contemporary 2. Change in consumer behavior
3. Classic American tattoo designs 3. Oversaturation in market
4. Complete market coverage 4. Product Substitution
5. Good brand presence/awareness 5. Brand Knockoffs
6. Loyal fans/customers

11. RECOMMENDATION (BRANDING)
• We need to tap into Ed Hardy and his backstory. Create interest & mystery.
• Ed Hardy isn’t Christian Audigier. Hardy is an artist. Culture is key
• It will move us towards real feeling. Authentic. Vintage. A Better time.
• Relevant. Alternative. Visual. Interesting. Art. Design. Reserved.

12. web/social/mobile
overview
(THE COMPETITION AND ED HARDY)

13. THE COMPETITION (OVERVIEW)
true religion - is doing it right. No matter the platform,
every piece of content they put up feels like it’s coming from
the same place. Cohesive. They work with many curators,
contributors and bloggers. Everything finds it way back to the
brand and the feel – Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube
and Tumblr.

14. THE COMPETITION (OVERVIEW)
affliction - Their content pulls the brand together nicely.
It all revolves around living life fast. Truck and automobile
racing, mixed martial arts, and music. Facebook has some
original content that gets the likes. Good mix of storytelling,
promos, posts, and photos.

15. THE COMPETITION (OVERVIEW)
tapout - taps into the UFC community and never lets go.
They work a blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Considering
that this brand is centered around ultimate fighting, the con-
tent and communications feel very mediocre. Nothing stands
out. Tapout uses it all, but it needs work.

16. ED HARDY PLATFORMS
• Website edhardyshop.com
• Facebook facebook.com/edhardy
• Twitter @edhardyonline
• Instagram ed_hardy_pictures
• Mobile App Ed Hardy Tattoo Artist

17. WEBSITE (EDHARDYSHOP.COM)
Primary Site Traffic
• African-American (35%)
• Caucasian (35%)
• Female (59%)
• <18 (25%)
• 25-34 (24%)
• Has Kids (62%)
• $50,000 - $100,000 (35%)
• No College (46%)
source: Quantcast

18. WEBSITE (EDHARDYSHOP.COM)
Unique Visitors
9/2011 = 65,937 vs. 9/2012 = 30,960
t -53,05% (yr 9/11-9/12)
t -0.63% (mo 8/12-9/12)
70K
Unique Visitors
60K
50K
40K
30K
20K
oct 11 nov 11 dec 11 jan 12 feb 12 mar 12 apr 12 may 12 jun 12 jul 12 aug 12 sep 12
source: Compete

19. WEBSITE (EDHARDYSHOP.COM)
Competitive Ranking as of 9/2012
truereligionbrandjeans.com (263,824)
afflictionclothing.com (33.55K)
edhardyshop.com (30.96K)
designersimports.com (24.24K)
tapout.com (15.31K)
source: Compete

20. SWOT (EDHARDYSHOP.COM)
beha
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Easy to navigate 1. Brand Culture is missing
2. Clean design 2. Too Sterile
3. Separate Mobile Site
4. Cliche instigating photography
Opportunities Threats
1. Lifestyle/Experience/Culture 1. Competitor Sire Experiences
2. Tattoo and Fashion Cross-over 2. Savvy competition engagement
3. More authentic/visual images 3. Mobile apps

21. RECOMMENDATION (WEBSITE/BRANDING)
• User Experience / Photography / Push toward mobile
• Update art direction / Storytelling
• Start reestablishing an authentic brand style across board
• Tap into core Ed Hardy culture and story. Ed Hardy/Tattoo Artist

22. MOBILE (iPHONE/iPAD APP)
For $2,99 fans of Ed Hardy can create their own Ed Hardy
designs. Tattoo Artist, with a library of over 150 original
Don Ed Hardy tattoo designs, let’s you create compositions
with your own photos and the tattoo designs using a fun,
yet sophisticated, multi-touch interface.

23. MOBILE (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Mobile Apps
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
BRAND APP COST SHOP/GAME
Ed Hardy YES $2.99 GAME
True Religion YES FREE SHOP
TapouT NO (NA) (NA)
Affliction NO (NA) (NA)

24. SWOT (MOBILE)
beha
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Tattoo Art 1. It’s $2.99
2. Brand Relevant to a point 2. Not Functional
3. No Brand Experience
4. No Shopping
5. No Store Locator
6. No Retail Sharing w/Friends
7. Lack of brand storytelling
8. Poor Images
Opportunities Threats
1. Loyal Fan Base 1. Mobile Savvy Competition
2. 18-25 yr olds 2. Disinterest in “create your own”
2. Brand ripe for mobile
3. Product available to sell

25. RECOMMENDATION (MOBILE)
• Think STYLE, FUNCTION and UTILITY
• Target 18-25 year olds
• Functional - shopping, browsing, product, store locator, promos
• Add Music, Video, other sharable content
• Visual, Image Based...

26. FACEBOOK
Ed Hardy Page Insights
Total Likes (1,720,392)
People Talking About This (15,474)
Most Popular Week (January 29, 2012)
Most Popular City (Taipei, Taiwan)
Most Popular Age Group (18-24 years)
•People Talking About This
•New Likes Per Week
oct 3, 2012 nov 1, 2012
source: Facebook

27. FACEBOOK (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Likes
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
(04/08/2010 - 11/03/2012)
11/03/2012
BRAND LIKES RANK 7D 1M 3M
True Religion 872,304 7,918 s1.3% s4.1% s12%
Ed Hardy 1,720,381 3,080 s0.3% s1% s2.6%
TapouT 872,304 7,918 s 1.3% s4.1% s 12%
Affliction 178,212 46,689 s 0.3% s1.2% s 4%
source: Wildfire

28. FACEBOOK (COMPETITION LIKES)
1.80M
1.70M Ed Hardy
1.60M
1.50M
1.40M
1.30M
1.20M
1.10M
1M
900K True Religion
800K
700K
600K
500K
400K
300K
200K Affliction
TapouT
100K
0
nov 10 jan 11 mar 11 may 11 jul 11 sep 11 nov 11 jan 12 mar 12 may 12 jul 12 sep 12 nov 12 jan 13 mar 13
source: Wildfire

29. SWOT (FACEBOOK)
beha
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Content just above average 1. Lack of two-way conversation
2. Authenticity creeping In 2. Sameness of content
3. Fan Base is loyal and strong 3. Post heavy at times
4. Lack of true community feel
5. Cliche people/representation
Opportunities Threats
1. More fan base interaction 1. Lack of interest in content
2. Culturally Relevant content 2. Brand cliches rise with sameness
3. Tighter Community 3. Savvy mobile apps
4. Exploit tattoo and fashion mash 4. Cliche
5. Video / Web Films 5. Quality of knock-off sites

30. RECOMMENDATION (FACEBOOK)
• Hire a community manager to oversee social
• Same brand voice straight across
• Think of Facebook as an ever evolving magazine and catalog
• Take the lead in Facebook interactions
• Create/Post content that speaks from the soul of Hardy brand
• Incorporate integration of music, video, stories...

31. TWITTER
Ed Hardy Page Insights
Followers (8,738)
Following (708)
Tweets (650)
(53)
source: Twitter, Klout

32. TWITTER (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Users (follow)
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
708 users followed by EdHardyOnline
381 users followed by TrueReligion
313 users followed by TapouT
46 users followed by Affliction
source: Followerwonk

33. 1
TWITTER (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Users (followed by)
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
8,738 followers of EdHardyOnline
17,317 followers of TrueReligion
123,633 followers of TapouT
21,288 followers of Affliction
source Followerwonk

34. TWITTER (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Followers
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT/Affliction
(4/29/2010 - 11/03/2012)
BRAND FOLLOWERS RANK 7D 1M 3M
True Religion 17,297 56,324 s1.1% s3.5% s10.4%
Ed Hardy 8,738 104,021 s0.5% s2.6% s10.2%
TapouT 123,626 9,119 0% s0.6% s 14.9%
Affliction 21,287 46,474 s 0.3% s1.5% s 4.6%
source: Wildfire

35. TWITTER (COMPETITION FOLLOWERS)
(4/29/2010 - 11/03/2012) TapouT
120K
110K
100K
90K
80K
70K
60K
50K
40K
30K
Affliction
20K True Religion
10K Ed Hardy
0
apr10 jul10 oct10 jan11 apr11 jul11 oct11 jan12 apr12 jul12 oct12 jan13
source: Wildfire

36. TWITTER (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Influence
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
@TAPOUT @AFFLICTION @TRUERELIGIONJEANS @EDHARDYONLINE
Influence: 81.74 Influence: 68.46 Influence: 72.10 Influence: 59.49
Following: 313 Following: 46 Following: 381 Following: 708
Followers: 123,633 Followers: 21,290 Followers: 17,317 Followers: 8,738
Days On: 1,327 Days On: 1,334 Days On: 1,332 Days On: 1,180
Tweets: 4,493 Tweets: 2,754 Tweets: 1,617 Tweets: 650
source: Followerwonk

37. TWITTER (#HASHTAG MENTIONS)
Impressions & Reach (24hrs)
(Calculated from up to about 1500 tweets / Nov. 4)
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
#edhardy 55 tweets generated
54,502 impressions
51,941 followers (audience reach)
#trureligion 113 tweets generated
98,136 impressions
92,708 followers (audience reach)
#tapout 77 tweets generated
58,982 impressions
58,399 followers (audience reach)
#affliction 24 tweets generated
23,935 impressions
23,339 followers (audience reach)
source: Hashtracking

38. TWITTER (#HASHTAG MENTIONS)
Other #Hashtags Mentioned in #edhardy Tweets
(Calculated from up to about 1500 tweets / Nov. 4)
#Dope #marcjacobs #nailpolish #kingcar #rollin #ya
#saturday #stillblazin #moscato #drank #sippin #swag
#douche #shirt #hat #red #lazy #dayoff #teamtatted #redbull
#cologne #truereligion #dtf #villian #vodka #niice #chillin
#highlife #michaelkors #outfitoftheday #ootd #fashion #bic
#mode #look #rock #blogger #fashionblogger #outfit #swaggy
#mypurse #edhardy #iloveit #gradeacue #cue #believe
#nails #cool #Swag #Boss #original #fye #awesome #tight
#fantasy #girl #cute #sweetheart #girls #hellokitty #shoes
#instalike #HYSTERICGLAMOUR #chesty #fashion
#LoveORluck #longhair #bum #footwear #nomakeup #me
#breakfastofchampions #thatsWaaaaasUP #firstdayofschool
#ThankYou #mom #douchebag #DoOrDie
source: Hashtracking

39. SWOT (TWITTER)
beha
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Average Twitter User 1. Lack of two-way conversation
2. Consistent Posts 2. Facebook Shares
3. Low Engagement
4. Low Tweet Count
4. Tweet Quality
5. # of Follwers for Brand is LOW
Opportunities Threats
1. Loyal Fan Base 1. Savvy Competition
2. Personal Content 2. Disinterest from followers
3. Community Building
4. Pop Culture

40. INSTAGRAM
• Currently Instagram is being hailed as the most
popular social media platform.
• There are over 44,300 #edhardy images.
• Ed Hardy’s official account: ed_hardy_pictures
Ed_Hardy_Pictures Insights
Followers (289)
Following (26)
Photos (19)

41. INSTAGRAM (COMPETITION)
Comparison of Followers
Ed Hardy / True Religion / TapouT / Affliction
BRAND FOLLOWER FOLLOWING PHOTOS
TapouT 6343 63 111
Affliction 3262 36 109
Ed Hardy 289 26 19
True Religion ( NA) (NA) (NA)

42. SWOT (INSTAGRAM)
beha
Strengths Weaknesses
1. Do use the platform 1. Lack of pictures
2. Loyal Followers 2. Sales/Promotional Images
3. 44,000 #edhardy images shared 3. Low Engagement
4. Awareness of Account
5. Lack of brand storytelling
Opportunities Threats
1. Loyal Fan Base 1. Savvy Competition
2. Brand Relevant Images 2. Disinterest from followers
3. Rich visual brand

43. RECOMMENDATION (INSTAGRAM)
• Start asking fans/loyalists to send/e-mail pictures
• Curate better collections of images
• Take new brand photography
• Make users aware of Instagram on other platforms
• Use Instagram to make more personal connections
• Incorporate better storytelling in your curating
• Brand images with a mark

44. PINTEREST
• Pinterest Usage: - Over 12 million users
- 67% are aged 25-54
- 68% are women
- Users spend 16+ mins on site
- 70% use it for purchase info
- 1 in 5 purchase later
• Ed Hardy has an official Pinterest Account
but DOES NOT use it.
• Competitor True Religion is using Pinterest.
- 794 Followers
- 320 Pins

45. RECOMMENDATION (PINTERST)
• Start using and start pinning product + lifestyle + editorial images
• Curate images from fans and showcase
• Utilize to showcase SEASONAL products
• Create different boards based on brand: Tattoo, Art, Music, Skate...
• Showcase upcoming products and designs
• Integrate into website, mobile and other platforms / Pin It Button.
• Have users create, curate and share their own boards

46. ACTION STEPS
• Tap back into the authentic Ed Hardy brand culture
• Replace Audigier with vintage Hardy and real people
• It’s all about the people, the culture, vibe and mood
• Update fashions and products with new designs
• Reinvent the brand mash-up between tattoo, art and fashion
• Update entire library of images
• Move away from celebrities
• Get subtle and less mainstream. More counter-alternative
• New sponsorships/partnerships
• Rely on your large and loyal fan base
• Market a little more towards women
• Have relevant two-way conversations
• Start experimenting with Pinterest and Tumblr
• Mix in video, film and music to content
• Think like a fashion editor and publisher / Own your image
• Think about mobile shopping and editorial app hybrid

48. Contact:
RT Herwig
@rtherwig / rt@rtherwig.com / 267.221.8154