The battle of the retail brands.

Welcome to the second in our series of content marketing cage matches!

One of the best ways to learn how to execute effective content marketing

strategies is to examine what others are doing.

Join us as we soak up the mistakes and triumphs of major brands adapting

to meet their increasingly savvy digital audiences.

Vs.

The battle of

the retail brands.

Since 1910, Myer has revolutionised the retail

arena, constantly staying ahead of the game

that is the world of fashion, beauty, electrical

and homewares.

David Jones has long nurtured a reputation as

Australia’s great dame of department stores, and

this year marked its 175th anniversary.

One enjoys the prestige and cultural clout of being Australia’s oldest department store, the

other has continued to evolve into the market leader of Australian retailing, almost doubling

David Jones stores nationally.

Both are strong and recognisable brands, but how are they performing in the online content

marketing race for consumer engagement? Let’s find out.

Introducing the retail giants…

Blog Content

The writing is on the wall - retail fans crave content.

Fashion and beauty blogs have become one of the most frequently

accessed content types on the web. Created and consumed by millions

everyday, their popularity has even created a new industry of

professional bloggers.

This level of content consumption presents both a challenge and a

significant opportunity for major retailers who wish to engage online

audiences.

Let’s find out how our retailers are utilising their blogs to capture and

engage fashion audiences online.

Blog content

http://blog.davidjones.com.au

Blog content

First up, David Jones!

Named Black & White – a nice throwback to their iconic houndstooth logo and branding – the David Jones blog is an example

of one done well.

Resembling a well-curated online fashion magazine, the blog features a minimalist design that is visually led with strong,

enticing images and videos. User-friendly and easy to navigate, readers are able to filter content by categories including

fashion, beauty, bridal, lifestyle, as well as WEARE (their current campaign dedicated to self expression, young fashion

designers and online mediums). It also has a search function with all of David Jones’ related social media platforms

prominently promoted and easy to access.

Posting blogs around six times a week, content includes: trend reports; brand and designer profiles; new arrivals; campaign

highlights; style tips; beauty tutorials; runway reports; shopping and seasonal gift guides; event and ambassador related news,

events and more. Visually, they also keep it interesting with a mix of videos and images including campaign shoots (both their

own and of featured designers and brands), runway and social photography that are all beautifully and professionally captured.

While all of the content has a clear connection to David Jones – whether it’s a brand they sell, an event they hosted or a

campaign starring one of their ambassadors – it doesn’t take a heavy-handed sales approach (readers can click through links

to view and purchase any products and brands featured on the blog or head to the ‘Shop Online’ tab). Instead it is inspiring,

engaging and informative.

Established in November 2012, the Black & White blog captures what David Jones is – aspirational yet accessible. This is

reflected in content where a Father’s Day gift guide and a childrenswear buyer’s top clearance picks sit alongside blogs on

Melbourne Spring Fashion Week and ambassador coverage of Jessica Gomes, Montana Cox and Jason Dund. A winning mix,

we think.

Our only tip would be to add a little more content around lifestyle, home and interiors to counter the strong focus on fashion

and beauty.

http://blog.davidjones.com.au

Blog content http://www.myer.com.au/

Blog content

The Myer website is intrinsically all about fashion – the heart of what makes Myer Myer smacks you in the face the minute

you visit their homepage. But are pretty images, an impressive layout and fonts enough to drive consumers to want to explore

their site? To be blunt, no. It’s not enough.

Myer has unfortunately forgotten to focus on a core aspect of any smart marketing campaign: content. Institutional brands

such as Myer need to deliver more pizazz both in store and online to stay ahead of the thousands of other fashion bigwigs

that are continually creating bigger and better marketing campaigns.

Myer does not have a dedicated blog. The only content apparent on Myer’s website – and you really have to search for it – is

the online edition of their print publication, Emporium, and a sporadic news section showcasing fashion and beauty product

launches.

While this online edition of their print publication has been optimised for online viewing (and shopping) by hyperlinking each

fashion item to a page with relevant purchasing details, re-purposing content that is produced monthly and clearly designed

for a print environment (retains full page, designed for print product ads) demonstrates Myer’s inability or desire to create

online specific editorial content that moves beyond the hard sell.

On a happier note, the recent This is Australia content campaign - which focuses on established and up-and-coming

Australian designers - is both visually impressive and effective in taking the online viewer on a visual style journey . However,

once again this content is essentially hidden on the site and has to be deliberately sought.

The effectiveness of online editorial content has essentially been ignored by Myer, who need to both create more blog

content to engage their online audiences and make this content far more prominent on their website.

http://www.myer.com.au/

The verdict?

David Jones wins.

David Jones’ blog content demonstrates the concerted effort they have

made to engage with their consumers online. Their content is easily

accessible, informative and inspirational.

By providing this value to their online audience, alongside appropriate calls

to action, the David Jones blog is undoubtedly more effective than Myer’s

lack of any blog/re-purposing of print material.

Video content

With over 4 billion hours of video viewed each month, it’s fair to say that online audiences absolutely

relish video content. And why wouldn’t they? Video is dynamic and a welcome relief from the sea of text

we all wade through when browsing.

So let’s take a look at how David Jones and Myer are utilising this tactic online.

First up, the numbers!

David Jones

Joined YouTube: 2011

Total videos: 211

Subscribers: 644

Myer

Joined YouTube: 2009

Total videos: 579

Subscribers: 1,061

From numbers alone it appears that Myer is investing much more time and resources into their video

content, but quantity isn’t everything. Let’s take a closer look at the quality of the video content being

produced.

Video content

Going up against Myer in a video-content cage match would make anyone nervous.

With over 1000 subscribers, 579 videos and one million views, it is clear that Myer has invested a lot of

time and money into their impressive YouTube channel. Myer’s video content focuses primarily on fashion

and beauty titbits, designer profiles, and launches; only a select few videos published cover kids and toys,

events, homewares and electrical.

Unfortunately, the majority of these fashion and beauty videos are purely product focused. They offer short,

sharp insights into the latest trends available at Myer, with no narration. The Myer Spring Summer 2014

Trend Report: Black & White video exemplifies this format, showing sixteen seconds of polished models

posing in Myer clothing set to booming contemporary music. While these videos may epitomise good online

advertising, they hardly qualify as valuable, helpful or engaging content.

Myer does deliver some more value to their video audiences in the form of expert make-up tutorials, but

these are rare and overwhelmingly outnumbered by hard-sell ‘product and feature’ videos.

In summary, Myer essentially use their Youtube channel for advertising rather than content marketing.

These videos may have a luxe look, but they fail to promote online engagement.

http://www.youtube.com/MyerMystore

Video content

While David Jones publishing and consumption figures are a little less impressive than Myer’s, their

YouTube channel is still well established with over 200 videos, 640 subscribers and over 518,000 views.

Like Myer, David Jones utilises their channel to publish product centric videos. The critical difference however

is that David Jones’ videos actually attempt to connect and engage with their online audience.

A great example of this is the video Weekend Wear with Jason Dundas . Unlike Myer, this video features a

presenter who invites the viewer to explore the latest trends available at David Jones and discusses where

and how the viewer can utilise these trends. There is also a clear call to action for the viewer to visit the David

Jones blog if they would like more information or to purchase.

David Jones’ attempt to genuinely connect with and engage fashion fans with helpful and interesting video

content doesn’t just stop at their use of presenters in trend reports. They also have a dedicated beauty

tutorial playlist, interviews with both upcoming Australian designers and iconic international designers like

Diane von Furstenberg, and a great Street Trends series set in New York.

More so, video is a medium that David Jones has been embracing in a bigger way in recent months, which

sees the number of videos they are sharing on YouTube increasing significantly. Their most recent video We

Are David Jones particularly exemplifies the exciting and clever direction David Jones are taking, allowing the

video to interactively shape their viewing experience by selecting adjectives they most associate with.

http://www.youtube.com/DavidJonesStore

The verdict?

David Jones wins.

David Jones wins ‘Best in show’ for video content, not because of the

quantity they have produced but because their videos have been

developed to connect with their online audience, offering them insights, as

well as interesting and helpful tips.

By moving beyond purely self-serving advertising, David Jones’ video

channel offers a more valuable brand experience for online audiences than

that of Myer.

Social media

Myer versus David Jones in a social-presence

showdown is going to be a close one.

Both fashion houses have a hand in the

relevant social media channels – Facebook,

Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

Let’s start with Myer.

Social media

Facebook

Let’s start with Facebook. In terms of Facebook likes, both

Myer and DJs are sitting pretty at over 200,000. Myer certainly

takes the lead with fan interest however, with around 10,000

people talking about them at any one stage, whereas DJs only

has around 4,000.

In terms of posts, both Myer and DJs use a lot of visually

appealing images to populate their pages. But unlike DJs,

Myer takes things one step further by adding personality to

their page with interest pieces, style suggestions and trend

reports instead of just pictorials, closed competitions, events

and behind-the-scenes images and lookbooks.

Myer do their best to field comments and questions on their

Facebook page, but don’t seem as eager as DJs to sooth

disgruntled users.

https://www.facebook.com/myer.mystore

Social media

Twitter Myer has a strong following of over 15,500 on Twitter and rightly so. Their feed is regularly updated with

promotions, product launches, gift ideas, runway show updates, quirky day-of-the-week mentions and so on.

While they may fall short on customer service on their Facebook page, the level of personalisation that Myer

brings to their Twitter account is impressive. Constantly fielding and answering customer queries, providing

updates and even personal suggestions, Myer’s Twitter followers are certainly well looked after.

Instagram and Pinterest Like David Jones, Myer has a strong following on Instagram, but falls somewhat short with their Pinterest

account. With just over 1400 followers exploring their 38 boards, the Myer Pinterest page leaves much to be

desired. What Myer lacks on Pinterest they certainly make up for on Instagram. Myer boasts over 31,000

followers on Instagram and a rich array of real-life shots that are beautiful, inspirational and innately Myer.

Social media

David Jones has a strong following on Facebook with over

240,000 likes on their page.

The page is set up well with a clear description of their business,

an outline of the function of their Facebook page and the

inclusion of contact details in the ‘About’ section. Their page tabs

direct fans towards their other social media channels, and also

include handy information such as a store finder, brands guide,

catalogues, offers and events.

Cover photos regularly change to reflect what’s happening across

the stores – whether it’s a key trend, sale or new season launch.

Another nice touch is the addition of key events to their Facebook

timeline – dating back to the founding of the company in 1838

and including events such as Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 1954

and the launch of the David Jones online store in 2000.

Content is varied and generally visually led, including updates

around fashion, trends, promotions, events, catalogues and offers.

David Jones posts a minimum of once a day and seems to actively

field and address questions, criticisms and compliments in a way

that is polite and professional. The David Jones Facebook page is

well managed and could teach other retailers a few lessons.

https://www.facebook.

com/davidjonesstore

Social media

Twitter David Jones has over 15,000 followers on Twitter. They like to mix it up on this social channel using it for

everything from promoting new brands and in-store events, offering advice in the form of gift guides to

running giveaways and giving followers a sneak peek at new collections, campaigns and runway shows.

David Jones also uses Twitter to support and promote content on their other social media channels – like

Instagram and the Black & White blog. They are proactive at re-tweeting comments, answering questions

and tagging designers, brands, their ambassadors and celebrities they are working with.

Instagram Started in February 2012, David Jones currently boasts over 38,000 followers on Instagram – and rightfully

so. Their images are beautiful, bright and well shot and encompass everything from red carpet and runway

shots to products and style looks. They post frequently (some 671 posts to date), field questions from

followers and have high levels of user engagement with most being positive in sentiment.

Pinterest To date, David Jones has 79 boards and 1352 pins on Pinterest, with over 1800 followers. The main themes

explored are: fashion (trends, looks, seasonal collection and runway edits, street style, bridal); events

(fashion shows, annual celebrations like Christmas and Mother’s Day); their ambassadors (key looks, wish

lists); and interiors. All the products are tagged by designer and style and include pricing and a link to their

online store. They have a well managed and inspirational approach in place.

The verdict?

It’s a tie!

Both David Jones and Myer have an impressive social media presence.

Their social content is engaging, shareable and promotes user-generated

content and social interaction with their brands.

Although they could improve their real time response strategies (social

media is not 9am- 5pm after all), both Myer and David Jones deliver great

content and a valuable brand experience on social media. Kudos!

Final scores

Category Winner

Blog content

Video content

Social media content

So who’s the retail grand champion of

content marketing? David Jones

Although both Myer and David Jones

should be commended for the ease with

which they have transitioned into the

digital age, David Jones considered

approach to providing interesting, helpful

and engaging content across all of their

website and social media properties

ultimately makes them the winners.

Wrapping up!

Four content marketing lessons from David Jones and Myer

1. If you’re a major retailer without a dedicated blog, you’re missing out on an

enormous opportunity to build brand reputation and advocacy by providing value to

online audiences.

2. Creating online specific blog content is more effective than re-purposing from print

because the content is tailored and optimised for the online environment (not full

page ads!)

3. Videos produced on their own merit – whether it’s to educate, entertain or inspire –

are always more engaging than videos with a pure advertising focus.

4. Social media has created a 24/7 customer service cycle. This means that to become

a truly social brand, platform managers need to implement real time response

strategies ( - there’s no such thing as 9am-5pm social media for major brands).

Presented by King Content, Australia’s most-awarded

digital content marketing agency.

Check out our blog for more ideas, facts and advice.

www.kingcontent.com.au

@King_Content