3 steps to align your online and offline experience with your global brand positioning

Brands sometimes take advantage of their positioning to launch some funny initiatives and propose a funny communication. Yet, when the positioning doesn’t match the communication, it can backfire (remember for instance the example of this bank that we gave a while ago). We already dealt with these aspects here and we would like to give you here another –good- example of how products can carry a touch of fun and be extremely well aligned with your overall strategy.

One of our favorite brands is Archiduchesse, an –almost- pure online player which heavily relied on social media to get awareness. The brand positioning was deliberately fun (just look at the colors of the socks) and their communication strategy got aligned with this positioning. I had not placed an order for a long time but I did so during the sales period (January) and was positively surprised when I got the parcel.

The offline execution, was excellent. The parcel was on time (obviously ; you can’t create a positive experience if your supply chain is defective), the socks were wrapped in tissue paper and closed by a branded sticker. I even found some goodies in the parcel (two bigger stickers and candies) which, although inexpensive, reinforce the sympathetic side of the brand. Last but not least, the label on the socks themselves is interesting. It features a funny message (see pictures below).

All in all my feeling is that Archiduchesse consciously or unconsciously very well aligned all the different elements (online and offline) of its value proposal with its overall brand positioning. It reminded me actually of an even more famous example that we dealt with here a while ago: the Abercrombie&Fitch store. Although one can debate whether it’s really reasonable to spend 100€ on a tee-shirt, one must admit that the brand experience is awesome as we explained in details here.

Advice for you marketing strategy

The recipe is once again pretty simple.

Step 1 : Identify your online and offline touchpoints

Step 2 : agree with your team on what your global positioning is (or will be)

Step 3 : for each touchpoint define one action to leverage and reinforce your global positioning

By Pierre-Nicolas Schwab Dr. Pierre-Nicolas Schwab is the founder of IntoTheMinds. He specializes in e-commerce, retail and logistics. He is also a research fellow in the marketing department of the Free University of Brussels and acts as a coach for several startups and public organizations. He holds a PhD in Marketing, a MBA in Finance, and a MSc in Chemistry. He can be contacted by email, Linkedin or by phone (+32 486 42 79 42)