This week we're breaking down:

• The Highlights:
  • Unpacking how retailer AllSaints is fostering community on Discord
• Time to Get Listening:
  • Discussing the future of audio and what it means for brands with Shez Mehra of Audio Branding
• The Watercooler:
  • A rant about why you should look to your competitor's strategies for inspiration

• #MarketingTwitter:
  
  • Diving into three Tweets to discuss how media consumption habits are changing, advice on how to spend better from CPG brand owners and an analysis of Twitter's active spam accounts

HOW ALLSAINTS IS FOSTERING COMMUNITY ON DISCORD

AllSaints is a retail and e-comm fashion company located in the United Kingdom. For a brand that is heavily marketed as a fashion-forward, bright & colourful company, they have expanded their channels to reach the (predominately gaming) community platform, Discord.  

*If you don't know what Discord is... think Slack but for community building.

Starting their community in May 2021, the AllSaints Discord community has grown to over 1.7K members. While Discord is not a major aspect of their digital strategy, it is one that can have a large impact due to the nature of the people it attracts, which are generally brand superfans. 

The AllSaints Discord functions to provide a unique experience for customers through three main avenues:

1. COMMUNITY BONDING

Other members of the AllSaints Discord community can interact and bond over their mutual appreciation for the brand. Channels such as #introductions, #allsaintsfits and #music have been created so that members can get to know one another, share their favourite fits and music selections. Members can also select what region of the world they are from to display for stronger connections and associations.

Community bonding is a special element of Discord because many community members often build friendships from conversations they have in Discord and will always be able to associate those connections to the brand. 

2. BRAND VOICE

A dedicated member of the AllSaints CX team is an active member of the community. They act as an intermediary to ensure that no negative or inappropriate conversations are taking place but also to provide a voice and personality to the brand. Instead of thinking of AllSaints as just a brand, there is now a friendly voice and name to a person who works there, like Mia from AllSaints, who shares her favourite fits and music in the community as well.

3. BRAND TO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Discord servers have the distinct ability to send notifications to members whenever an important announcement or message is being made. AllSaints team members send notifications to members about 4 times a month on average. This helps re-engage members and bring eyes to the platform. 

Announcements have been used to alert members of sales, new collections, charity partnerships and giveaways. 

The Future of Audio & What it Means for Brands with Shez Mehra

CMO AT AUDIO BRANDING

On this episode, Shez explains how sound is currently used in the world of marketing and branding. We dive into building a sonic identity and look at examples of how that's being done well on a global level. Do you know what your brand sounds like?

ARE YOU WASTING YOUR MARKETING DOLLARS?

Friday Rant: Marketers waste an incredible amount of time/money by not doing audience or competitive research before executing their strategy. 🤦🏼‍♂️

It's common advice to not copy your competitors or leaders in your industry. I think that's bad advice, let me explain why...

I'm not saying you should copy exactly what your competitors are doing – I'm saying that you should research what's working for them and then apply those learnings to your marketing mix.

Here's the thing, marketing strategies don't need to be complex or groundbreaking. They just need to work. That typically means driving more traffic, leads, sales, retention, etc.

So, rather than trying to guess and predict winning strategies that have never been used, or basing decisions around what's worked in the past for your brand (which is only looking at half the picture) – why not cherry-pick the best strategies and tactics from your industry or an adjacent one?

THREE TWEETS

Here are three Tweets you should check out this week:

1. Understanding how media consumption habits are changing

2. Advice from CPG founders on how to spend better

3. An analysis of Twitter's active spam accounts

In case you missed any previous versions, check them out via the links below.

1. Battle of the Streaming Services – What's Working in Marketing
2. How do users see Snapchat? – What's Working in Marketing 
3. Into the metaverse – What's Working in Marketing