Q&A with Danish fashion accessory Brand Becksöndergaard
’Tis the season for retailers’ sales! So how do you go about servicing B2B customers during this time? We sat down with Cecilie Pram Kjølbye, Head of Marketing and Julie Asmus, PR & Marketing Coordinator for the Danish fashion accessory brand, Becksöndergaard, to hear how they creatively supervise their retailers, via their Image Bank.
Hi Julie & Cecilie, thanks for chatting with us. First of all, could you tell us a bit more about Becksöndergaard? What is your main focus within marketing, and finally in which markets do you have retailers?
Becksöndergaard Copenhagen is a Danish fashion accessory brand – specializing in scarves, bags, socks, as well as knitwear, underwear, and beachwear. We believe in designing fun, feminine and unexpected items for the empowered and the independent woman.
Working in marketing, we focus on all social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram – and with a natural approach to influencer marketing. Our primary goal is to have a strong visual identity, where our aesthetic is aligned with our brand universe throughout all our channels. In other words, we are keen on communicating our brand universe clearly through all our product categories and newsletters as well as with B2C and B2B.
We consequently try to adapt to the newest trends and furthermore inspire and guide our followers/customers/retailers. Having a strong brand awareness plus a strong brand identity enables us to have happy retailers.
Becksöndergaard has retailers in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, Australia, UK, Japan, Austria, Switzerland, Holland and so forth.
You discovered VOCAST in 2017 and implemented the Image Bank into your marketing strategy. Has your digital presence changed in any way since the transition and how does the team run PR & marketing today?
In general, it’s easier to share our images with the press and show our brand universe. We found VOCAST to be a useful tool for sending out newsletters and press-releases, bringing awareness to our brand Becksöndergaard. The platform is also useful in discovering new media contacts, in which we might have missed or are unfamiliar with. Because we do everything in-house, the platform has been super beneficial for us. Furthermore, our digital showroom is an excellent tool for our retailers, and it makes it much easier for us to share and create content with them.
In the shift we see towards digital marketing; it’s often said that content drives sales. What has been your experience with that statement and do any social media platforms stick out to you?
We are mainly focusing on Instagram, and we believe this channel is vital in driving sales – especially after the new shop function has been developed.
Of course, great content creates many likes and followers, which in turn, generates more sales; making it essential to follow this strategy in building content. That’s why Instagram is one of our main focal points.
Christmas is just around the corner, and we’ve reached the peak of the year in retailers’ sales. What is important for Becksöndergaard at this time and how does your marketing team service the retailers you work with?
Our main focus during this time is to drive sales through social media continuously. So, we interact more with our followers by creating competitions, Xmas calendars, etc. We do all this to bring more awareness to our products and new items that will drop – just in time before the holidays! During this season we always amp up our activity, in hopes of generating more traffic and sales for our customers/retailers.
And when we have a photo shoot, a member of our team goes around taking behind-the-scene photos. These images are to be pushed out on our Instagram and also available for our retailers to use freely on Instagram.
It seems that finding and harnessing a marketing service for retailers extends Becksöndergaard’s social media presence and exposure. What has the feedback been from your retailers, since implementing this strategy?
Positive. Our retailers often go to our digital showroom and select photos they need and even choose images we have not utilized. In general, our retailers are good at reposting on social media, hence adding more value. So, overall we feel that it is a positive experience.
Lastly, could you share one piece of advice for brands who have yet to establish a marketing strategy with their retailers in mind?
First of all, make sure your content is solid and that it shows your brand identity/universe as you want it to be seen – your channels and content have to be aligned with your vision.
When searching in a digital showroom or through your social media channels, your images should be simple to download, easy to navigate and searchable.
Be consistent with your email marketing campaigns. As for creating reminders/newsletters/press releases in order to bring awareness and try to differentiate your send-outs — so they don’t look the same every time.
Take a look at the video to get a glimpse into Becksöndergaard’s Image bank:
Your image bank, or as we like to call it, your digital showroom is a place for editors, influencers, buyers and your retailers to access your assets on the go. With the power to make or break your brand, these are the people you want to impress. So why not give them a visual experience that tells a story about your brand, just as you would in your physical showroom? Want to learn more about the VOCAST Digital Showroom. Click here.
Elisabeth is the Norwegian Market Coordinator at VOCAST. She has a BA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship, which she put to the test by running her own fashion brand in Norway. When she’s not at VOCAST multitasking between content making, research and the Norwegian market, Elisabeth is a photographer and is currently exploring her newfound passion for making ceramics.RELATED POSTS
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