A False Dichotomy

On December 28, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Branding, Outfits/Workwear3 Comments

Ashley's Outfit — Boots+belt+necklace = trendy and fashionable

Boots are "in" this season, and so are brains!

Black pants: JC Penney

Ruffle Tank: Old Navy

Cardigan/Bracelet: Target

Necklace/Earrings: NY & Co.

Belt/Boots: Charlotte Russe

Like the outfit? Click here for more details!

Do you want to competent or fashionable? I feel caught in this false dichotomy sometimes, and I think it’s possible to be both competent and fashionable.

I wore several “cute” outfits to work last week, and a couple of my co-workers commented that I looked trendy, fashionable, and otherwise “cute”. Now, “cute” is not what I’m going for in the workplace, I’m going for smart, hard-working professional. It’s interesting, because I think my colleagues were trying to give me a compliment, but it made me wonder if I was dressed appropriately.

And, that’s the problem! I’m still the same smart, hard-working professional in trendy clothes as I am in boring clothes. I’ve talked before about my style always leaning toward function over form, but I recognize that many women are able to combine the two. I can dress up a plain gray dress with something other than a plain black cardigan. I can wear a necklace without it meaning that I’m too “girly” to do my job. I think it’s all about the perception that trendy equals incompetent. Maybe I’m the only one who feels this way, but it’s also partly due to my experience. In high school and college, all the people that dressed in trendy clothes were not nearly as smart or hard-working in academics as all of us dressed in boring clothes. And yet, I see plenty of smart and successful women in trendy clothes all over the web!

I think I’m changing my mind about the dichotomy. I can show up to work in a colored dress, instead of a black dress. I can wear fashionable boots, instead of plain black pumps. Do you ever feel constrained by this false dichotomy? Like the outfit? Click here for more details!

Brand Congruency

On December 6, 2011 By ashleyfausIn BrandingLeave a comment

LivingSocial Twitter — Less than positive reviews for the LivingSocial McDonald's deal.

You open up your inbox, ready to see what interesting activity LivingSocial will deliver today! A hip new restaurant downtown? An artistic experience? A great show at an indie theater? What’s today’s hidden gem… it’s… McDonald’s? Wait, what? That was my reaction when I opened my daily deal last week, total confusion at a LivingSocial deal for 5 Big Macs and Fries from good ‘ole Mickey D’s. And, it looks like I wasn’t alone, as shown by some of the Tweets in the image at the top of this post. The feedback ranged from surprise to disappointment, and even one declaration that the poster planned to unsubscribe. And yet, they sold almost 300,000 vouchers. So, where did LivingSocial go wrong? Does it really matter, since they sold hundreds of thousands of vouchers?

Identity Crisis. First, let’s talk about the identity crisis that this deal presents. LivingSocial is seen as young, hip, and a great way to try out an experience that might cost a little more than you’d normally pay for something you aren’t sure you’ll enjoy. LivingSocial gives you the chance to try new things, to round out your life experiences, and gain cool stories to tell your friends. And, McDonald’s? Not so much. With deals like this, LivingSocial customers start to doubt the brand they’ve come to know. They wonder if their trendy friend LivingSocial was lying to them all this time, that they’re really a boring, safe brand.

Meeting Customers’ needs. According to this article from Slate, LivingSocial sold out a million vouchers for a deal with Whole Foods in September, but managed less than 300,000 with the McDonald’s deal. Many of their customers are well-educated, high-earning, young professionals, so it’s no wonder the Whole Foods deal sold out! This market segment is looking for the next big thing, and LivingSocial provides the opportunity to hear about, and participate in, new experiences. They don’t need another outlet for cheap food from their childhood, and this deal didn’t meet their needs at all. You might suggest that LivingSocial was trying to go after a new market segment, but you don’t want to alienate your current customer base in favor of potential new customers. It’s much easier to keep a customer than it is to attract a new customer, so LivingSocial should think about meeting loyal customers’ needs.

Sending the wrong signal. In conjunction with meeting current customers’ needs, LivingSocial also needs to consider the signal this deal sends. They’ve now indicated that they’re having an identity crisis, and it makes many customers wonder where LivingSocial is headed. Are they still going to send me great deals to cool places, or should I expect junk in my inbox every morning? Is LivingSocial becoming all about the price, or will they still make couponing hip? Daily deals have brought coupon use back into the mainstream, but only because they were offering high-quality, and often luxurious, products and experiences. I don’t want to be seen as “cheap” by using a coupon, and I would seem especially cheap for using a coupon at an already cheap venue! Don’t make me look bad among my friends, LivingSocial!

In spite of seemingly high sales, I’d say this daily deal was a misstep for LivingSocial. The rest of the internet seems to agree… with the exception of the 300,000 who will be enjoying their McDonald’s Big Macs in the next few months!

BeKnown Giveaway

On December 1, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Branding, Social MediaLeave a comment

I’m excited to announce the first giveaway on the blog, courtesy of the team from BeKnown. The package includes a business card holder, $10 Starbucks giftcard, and Essential Interview Grooming Tools. Many items in this giveaway cater to my female readers, but the application itself is suitable for men and women!

BeKnown is a new site powered by Monster.com that allows you to utilize your Facebook network for professional purposes. It’s similar to LinkedIn, in that it allows you to upload your resume, write and request recommendations, and make connections to other professionals. However, it allows you to utilize your Facebook network. BeKnown integrates all your connections on one platform, to allow you to manage your professional network and your personal network in a single place on the web. And, because BeKnown is connected to Monster.com, you’ll receive job recommendations related to you profile.

BeKnown recently released and iPhone version of the app, in addition to their standard Facebook app. You can check out a guided tour of the platform, join them on BeKnown.com, or find them on Facebook.

I think BeKnown is another tool in the online presence arsenal. I think it is a great tool for college students and young professionals to build their network, but I think that more seasoned professionals are already in the habit of using LinkedIn and Facebook separately. As more employers search for candidates online, research candidates online, and even hire online, a strong, professional web presence will be essential to success. Since so many people are already on Facebook, BeKnown is an easy transition for managing a professional network as well.

Here’s the deal on how to win the giveaway package: The giveaway entries close at midnight on Wednesday, December 7, 2011, and I’ll announce a winner on Thursday, December 8, 2011. There are two ways to enter:

1) Check out the BeKnown site, and leave a comment on Consciously Corporate about your favorite feature or a feature that you think needs improvement.

2) Tweet this post and your impression of the BeKnown platform.

If you leave a comment on the blog, please leave a valid email address, so that I can contact you with details if you win. I’ll DM you on Twitter if you enter the giveaway via Tweet.

I’ll choose two winners to receive the package, which includes a business card holder, $10 Starbucks giftcard, and the Essential Interview Grooming Tools.

Deal Conversions

On November 29, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Branding, SellingLeave a comment

I’ve bought a few daily deals in the last year, and I’ve found it to be an interesting experience. The golden egg in the deal world is a repeat customer that pays full price. So, have any of these daily deals converted me?

I’ve bought deals from Living Social, Groupon, and TravelZoo. For me, food tends to be a great option, so all but one of my deals was strictly to try out a new restaurant or directly involved food. I bought a Living Social coupon to Let’s Art Party, a Groupon deal to Black Finn and a Murder Mystery Dinner Bed and Breakfast, and a TravelZoo deal at Rafain. The buying experience on each site was about the same: simple, quick, immediate receipt. I received my vouchers in a timely manner, and I’ve only had issues using one of the vouchers. When I had an issue with a Groupon voucher, the company refunded my money, true to policy, no questions asked. My refund showed up on my credit card bill a few days later, just as promised. So, from a site preference standpoint, none of these three sites has influenced my likelihood to convert.

The venue experience, however, is the deal-breaker. This makes perfect sense, as the deal is not trying to convert me from one daily deal site to another, but from a non-patron to a loyal (or at least one-time, full-price paying customer) of the company providing the coupon. And, it’s not rocket science, if you provide a great experience to every customer, they’ll come back. Sales people try to make the pitch that the coupon will significantly impact your business, but I would temper that assessment with the caveat that people must be willing to spend full-price if your company is actually going to reap long-term benefits. For example, my husband and I are willing to spend Rafain-level money on dinner sometimes, so you want us to buy your coupon to try you out, since we’ll definitely be spending that kind of money at some point in the future. This is the difficulty in coupons and promotions in general, since it’s incredibly difficult to measure whether or not you’re actually reaching people with strong potential to become paying customers.

Now for the conversion: the TravelZoo coupon to Rafain converted us from Fogo de Chao diners to Rafain diners. We’ve tried one other Brazilian steakhouse in the DFW area, and it was terrible. The meat was poor quality for the money, the selection was scant, and the service was mediocre. We determined that if we’re going to pay for a nice dinner, we’ll shell out the extra cash for something like Fogo de Chao. But, Rafain blew us away! We went on a Sunday night, and they treated us like royalty. No shortage of attention when it came to bringing around decadent meat selections, folding the napkins when we left the table, and keeping the sides fresh. Excellent quality, selection, and service have kept Rafain in our conversations for the last 3 weeks, and we’ve been raving about the experience to friends and family. Rafain converted us by delivering an experience on-par (if not better) than its competitors.

Let’s Art Party is another one that converted me. The BYOB and paint-a-canvas classes are becoming really popular, and I’ve seen several friends’ positive reviews on Facebook. But, I’ve just never wanted to pull the trigger, until I saw the Living Social deal for half off. If the evening was terrible, at least I didn’t spend too much on it. The evening was amazing! Not only did I go, I took my mom, and we made a girls’ night out of it. Let’s Art Party converted BOTH of us, and we’re planning to take my sister to a class in the near future. They’re ending up with a paying customer that they didn’t even need a coupon to reel in, because they provided such a wonderful experience to the two coupon holders. My painting is hanging in my office at work, and again, I’ve been telling all my friends about the great evening I had at Let’s Art Party.

The other two places don’t deserve another mention, since I don’t really want to give them the publicity that the other two amazing venues received. Another golden egg aspect, is the social media and word of mouth you receive if you exceed expectations. By delivering top-notch experiences, Rafain and Let’s Art Party now have the benefit of my online and in-person reviews, which reach much further than just the initial reach of a coupon. It’s becoming harder and harder to convert people via deals, but if you can deliver greatness, you’ll get benefits far beyond what the sales rep can show you.

Losing Yourself

On November 23, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Branding, Outfits/WorkwearLeave a comment

Jeans: TJ Maxx

Tank top: Charlotte Russe

Cardigan: Target

Necklace: Forever21

Earrings: Silpada

Flats: Payless

Like the outfit? See more details here!

This is the final post in my discussion about how retailers and bloggers work together to bring fashion to the masses. I’ve discussed many types of incentives and partnerships, but I haven’t discussed how it makes readers and bloggers feel, and how it impacts the perception of a blogger. While the partnerships happen all the time, not everyone is happy about it.

First, some readers dislike seeing free items or promotional plugs from their favorite bloggers. Part of this is because they feel like a friend has sold them out, and that instead of being the trusted, unbiased source of information, the blogger is now speaking on behalf of a retailer. And, if the reader wanted to know information from the retailer, they’d just view the traditional advertising, or go to the retailers website or store. Many bloggers try to combat this by blatantly calling out items that were given to them by the retailer, and being selective about which retailers to work with. By being selective, they hope to continue convey their own sense of style and approval to the readers.

However, some bloggers and readers feel that when a blogger partners with a retailer, the blogger loses their own style and voice. If they’re constantly receiving free items from one or two retailers, they stop being “themselves”, and become a model instead. Again, if readers wanted to look at models, they’d view the magazines and commercials. Readers want to see a real person, living a real life, wearing the clothes. Sure, that funky piece looks great in a magazine spread, but how do I incorporate it into my daily office wear? Of course that over-sized bag and sky-high heels work for standing still for a photo shoot, but how am I supposed to make my morning commute in those? When bloggers seem to stop functioning in the fashion, and just wearing pieces because they received them for free, or were paid to do a review, they start to lose themselves. And, in losing themselves, many start to lose readers. And, if there’s no readers, or readers who are no longer influenced to buy items because they don’t value the blogger’s opinions, there’s no reason for the retailer to continue the partnership. It’s a fine line when partnering with retailers to make sure that a blogger stays true to themselves.

And finally, the pressure of the partnerships and incentives causes some bloggers to burn out. They say you shouldn’t make your hobby your job, as it will cease to be enjoyable, creative outlet. I deal with this to some degree, as it relates to my job, classes, and scrapbooking/card-making. I do a fair amount of design work in my day-job, so my brain is usually too tapped at the end of the week to do design work for the fun of it. Creativity-on-demand is hard to provide, and the same is true for fashion bloggers. Some have admitted to being overwhelmed by too much stuff, and others have found that they get in a rut by constantly trying to bring a new twist to a retailer’s piece. Sometimes the pressure of a “job” makes it harder for bloggers to marry function with form, and their looks become less appealing. Again, when the blogger stops providing valuable ideas to the readers due to burnout, the readers leave, and partnerships are no longer appealing to the retailer.

There are many pros to blogger-retailer arrangements, but bloggers must consider the risks before jumping into an agreement. There is a real risk for losing yourself, and eventually, losing your readers. How do you feel when you “c/o” in a blogger’s item list? Do you like seeing a head-to-toe look provided by one retailer? Have you stopped reading a certain blogger because they lost themselves? Like the outfit? See more details here!

Bing Yourself

On November 15, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Branding, SEO/WebsiteLeave a comment

I decided to Bing and Google myself last week, and scrolling through the results was pretty hilarious. Here’s what I found:

– The internet still highly associates me with my husband. The first hit on Bing is a link to our old personal website, mattfaus.com (the link ashleyfaus.com redirects to this site). There’s nothing bad about that site, but I’m a little annoyed that with all my blogging on this site, my LinkedIn profile and Twitter feed, and my posting on Forbes and The Daily Muse, it’s the first thing that comes up. This site hasn’t been updated in over a year, and there’s no linkbacks to it (that I know of, anyways!) Come on, internet, I’ve got my own identity here! I think I need to do some SEO for myself, just to make sure that ConsciouslyCorporate pops up before ashleyfaus.com.

-The web never forgets. I came across a really old interview video that I made back in college, a cast list for last year’s A Christmas Carol, and an article about a play I did in California. Fortunately, these links are several pages back, but keep in mind that when you post stuff online, it never goes away!

– The internets have a mind of their own. I came across one link that took a few random key words from the resume on my blog, and strung them together to come up as a result for the phrase “Starbucks SWOT Analysis”. So, as much as I’ve tried to manage my web presence by putting out content that I deem acceptable, sometimes the internet and internet users will take the information you put out, and twist it.

– There’s more of me than I thought. “Faus” is not a particularly popular name, and since my husband and I are both very active on the web, results for our last name generally link to one of us for the first 2-3 pages of results. But, apparently, I’m also a junior high student and I live in Mount Holly, PA. Of course, we know that these results are not me. My maiden name, “Howard”, was much more common, and several people with my maiden name have committed crimes, posted naughty photos of themselves, or written really terrible comments online. Most of us have at least one person in the world with our name, and we don’t always want our “twin” to pop up when trying to cultivate a professional online identity.

I write this post to ask, “What comes up when you Bing your name? What comes up when you Google your name?” Some people think that it’s better to just stay off the internet altogether. Others think they don’t need to monitor their presence, because they already know what’s out there. I reject both of these thoughts, particularly from a professional standpoint! Potential employers, clients, and business partners will plug your name into a search bar as one of their first means of investigating. Don’t you want to know what they’ll find? More importantly, don’t you want to control what they’ll find? I’m not even a big internet sensation, and my blog is miniscule in relation to the whole web universe. But still, I want to know what happens when you do a search on my name.

So, what crazy results come up on your name? Share your funny links in the comments!

This Look Brought to You By…

On November 2, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Advertising, Branding, Outfits/WorkwearLeave a comment

Brown Flats — We got a little creative in this shoot... check out the gallery for more!

Pants: NY & Co.

Tank: Target

Cardigan: Target

Necklace: Icing

Earrings: Charlotte Russe

Like the outfit? See more details here!

I talked last week about why retailers find partnerships with bloggers to be an effective strategy, so now I want to dive into “how” they go about these partnerships. Styling a look is one of the easiest ways for retailers to get their brands to a blogger’s audience. Retailers go about offering styling options to bloggers in different ways, but the goal is to show the readers of the blog how the clothes, make-up, or accessories can look in real life.

Sometimes retailers offer a head-to-toe styling, giving the blogger a shopping spree or giftcard to pick out a look completely composed of items in the store. This includes the shoes, jewelry, handbag, and main ensemble pieces. This is a great option, as it allows the retailer to showcase several different items from various areas of the store. Since there’s several options, it’s more likely that someone will like at least one piece featured in the blog post. Better yet, it gives commenters a chance to talk about different items they like, and offer up other styling suggestions for their favorite pieces.

Retailers have also used challenges to feature hard-to-style or off-beat pieces, allowing the blogger to use one piece from their line, and combine it with pieces they already have in their closet. Again, this works well to show readers that you can incorporate pieces from the featured retailer into your working wardrobe. Most people don’t have the money to regularly splurge on a full head-to-toe look, so it’s helpful to see how one piece can work in a variety of ways, and helps the reader envision that piece in their closet, working with items they already own.

Finally, some retailers partner with bloggers to create look books, fashion shows, or regular features on that blog. They may invite influential bloggers to the store for a “personal shopping” day, which pulls in the reader’s local audience. Or, they may feature the blogger in a campaign with “Blogger’s picks”, creating a win-win for the retailer and the blogger. The retailer receives a captive audience and brand champion, and the blogger receives exposure via a new outlet, which increases their readership. When a blogger regularly features a retailer, they increase awareness and confidence in the quality, versatility, and price-point of the brand, and readers are much more likely to browse through the retailer’s store or website.

I’m not very brand-loyal in my outfits, but styling options are a great way for retailers to build relationships with bloggers and their readers. Like the outfit? See more details here!

Retail Marketing

On October 26, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Advertising, Branding, Outfits/Workwear, Social Media5 Comments

Dress: JC Penney

Shoes: Alfani

Earrings: NY & Co.

Like the outfit? See more details here!

After a long absence, the outfits are making an appearance on the blog again! As I’m not a fashion blogger, the outfits may come and go in spurts, but a recent comment on Corporette sparked my interest in doing another outfit post. I read Corporette regularly, more for the comments than the actual posts. Occasionally, a “what are you wearing today” comment thread pops up, and the women will describe their outfit, shoes, and accessories for the day. During one of these threads, a commenter noted that she felt like it was a prompt from a retail marketer to get insight. While this is definitely not the case for that thread, it’s not unusual for retailers to target influential bloggers for partnerships, features, and information. It’s a great strategy that combines thought leadership, “real” marketing, and the bright (not so) new toy, social media.

First, this strategy is effective because you’re reaching a targeted audience through a credible source. The blogger is already a thought leader with strong influence over their readers, so a recommendation from this blogger is almost like a recommendation from a close friend. And, who do we believe more? The greedy advertisers with a profit motive, or the friendly blogger who just wants to help us look great? Retailers know that reaching an audience through a blogger offers mass-media effects, with much less skepticism from customers.

Second, people love to see “real” marketing, and a blogger wearing an outfit makes a bigger impact than an airbrushed model or a mannequin. How many people honestly have a model’s figure? Many people, especially women, think that they must have a model’s body to pull off an outfit, so seeing it on a real woman (or man, though the prevalence of fashion blogging is higher among women) makes them feel like they, too, could wear the outfit featured in the post. On Corporette, for example, “The Skirt” is a closet staple, regularly reported on by commenters and blog owner alike. “The Skirt” is a Halogen skirt at Nordstrom’s, with rave reviews from an influential blogger, and a backing from the whole community.

The concept of “community” leads me to the third reason this strategy is effective: social media. The ability to really connect to a brand is higher now than it has ever been. Blogs allow people to connect with not only the owner, but the wider community on the web. Thus, as a retailer, you want to plug into that community, and partnering with the blogger at the head of the community is a great place to deliver your message. Once the community embraces your brand message, it’s no longer about a corporation “selling” an item, but a community championing an item.

This post details the “why” of retailers working with bloggers, and I plan to take a look at the “how” over several posts in the coming weeks. Like the outfit? See more details here!

More Lexus Genius

On October 12, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Advertising, BrandingLeave a comment

Good ‘ole Lexus, their marketing makes me happy once again! I’ve seen their latest commercial about their superior crash test dummy, and I think it’s a great strategy.

First, they’re reenforcing the message that they are superior to their competitors. Not only do they use superior designs, they use superior testing methods. Since their tests give them more information, they can further improve their design. By highlighting the differences in the testing dummies, Lexus makes the customer question the founding assumptions made by competitors. How do you know that your car’s design can really handle that crash? If you’ve got a Lexus, you know that the superior testing practices have proven that your car is safe.

Second, Lexus shows that they pay attention to ALL the details, not just the look or luxurious feel of the car. Many of their competitors focus on a single feature, like safety or reliability, but Lexus’ new commercial shows that they’re focusing on all your driving needs. Each of their marketing campaigns show an increased attention to detail on a specific feature. The first campaign I mentioned, showcased Lexus’ acknowledgement of the need for convenience, with a secondary nod to the aspirational quality of their product. Many of their billboards highlight the beauty of the design, with artistic shots of the car on a simple black background… it’s just gorgeous! This campaign shows their commitment to providing the highest quality in safety, and showcases their engineering prowess.

Finally, they follow it up with a great website. Their Engineering Amazing portal takes you to interactive tools, and shows you the science behind their superior crash test dummy.They engage the user on the site, and back up the claims in their commercials with data. It showcases not only the beauty in the design of the cars, but the beauty and precision in the design of everything Lexus touches, which instills more confidence in the customer that they’ve made the right choice in buying a Lexus.

Once again, Lexus delivers a knock-out campaign. Every interaction is professional, with a pin-pointed message to target their customer’s every need.

What’s in a Name?

On August 30, 2011 By ashleyfausIn Advertising, BrandingLeave a comment

Images via Excedrin website

On a recent trip to Wal-Mart, I noticed that Excedrin sells an “Extra Strength” capsule, and a “Migraine” capsule. As a migraine sufferer, I was interested to know the difference between the two. Turns out, the only difference is the packaging! The price is the same, the ingredients are the same, and the amount of active ingredients are the same. The products are identical, with the exception of the name on the front of the package. I thought this was odd, but on further reflection, I’ve come up with a few reasons it might make sense.

Superiority complex. As a migraine sufferer, I know the difference between a little ‘ole headache and a full-blown migraine, and there’s no convincing me that a regular pain killer is going to have any effect on my migraines. Thus, when I need migraine medicine, I need MIGRAINE medicine. During my last migraine, I didn’t have prescription pills on-hand, so I told my husband to go to the store and pick-up something specifically for migraines. This means I don’t want “extra strength”, I don’t want “headache”, and I don’t want “generic pain killer”…. I want “migraine”. So, if Excedrin has a pill that specifically says, “migraine”, it will win out over Tylenol’s “extra strength” or Bayer’s aspirin. The reality is that the active ingredients and doses are identical, but something about seeing the name “migraine” tells me that this pill is superior because my migraines are more intense than a headache.

Proxy for efficiency. Most pain meds will put a picture and a small description to help the afflicted quickly determine whether the pill is right for their needs. There’s pills for back and neck pain, headaches, muscle cramps, and any other variety of physical ailment. If you read the labels, most pills use exactly the same ingredients and doses. However, when you’re in pain, you want to make your decision about which brand to buy as quickly as possible. The names on the packages act as a proxy for efficiency, allowing you to grab “back and neck pain” instead of figuring out whether the generic pain med is applicable to your situation.

Perception of variety. By using different names on the packages, brands give the illusion of variety of choice. Thus, when you feel like you need a specific type of pill for a specific type of pain, you feel comfortable choosing a box from a brand that meets your need specifically. If I’ve got a migraine, I can use Excedrin migraine. If I’ve got a “bad” headache, I can use Excedrin extra strength. If I’ve got a “regular” headache, I can use the standard Excedrin. The doses may vary slightly between “regular’ and “extra strength”, but I’m more inclined to buy one of each type to have on-hand when my specific need arises. This perception of variety makes me buy “different” products to meet my needs, and keeps me coming back because I feel like the brand has exactly the right pill for me.

With identical prices, it makes sense for Excedrin to put different names on their products, even though the active ingredients and doses are identical. This variety helps the customer feel like their specific need is met, instead of lumping all pain-related issues into one category. Sometimes I wonder if the placebo effect comes into play, as I feel much more relieved to take “migraine” medicine vs. “regular” headache medicine. It seems like Excedrin came up with a pretty good strategy for selling more pain meds!