A Separate Social Community Is Not The Answer To Everything

by Nance Rosen , August 7, 2009

How big is the obese fashion consumer marketplace? Huge. Greater than 86% of Americans will be overweight or obese by 2030, according to the journal Obesity.

That makes skinny fashion the new niche, and plus-size apparel mainstream.

Yet Lane Bryant, the biggest name in large-sized women's clothing retailing, has set up "Inside Curve," a social networking community "just" for the plus-sized gal. In an attempt to freshen up the brand image, the company is promising an interactive experience on the site for its members, with greater engagement based on fashion appeal versus its long-standing position: large sizes.

Why has Lane Bryant profiled these women as special needs cases, who now need a site of their own to understand fashion? Plus-sized is the norm. The brand should align with reality and update itself on its target's self-image.

My experience in the apparel industry dates back to the 1990s, when my mother, Blossom Rosen, successfully pioneered the category of three-piece, soft ensemble dressing for businesswomen. Even back in the day, women came in all sizes, so the line ranged from petite size 2 to plus size 3X. For a decade, I modeled the line in Vogue, Elle and other top fashion magazines wearing a size 4, with no special editorial or ad messages needed to attract the size 14-plus crowd.

So, other than "everybody's got one," the intentions behind Lane Bryant's community site seem out of sync with the self-image of the target. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, these women might not want to be a member of a club that will have them for the reason they're being recruited.

This social community is doomed to fail. The brand would be much better off investing in promotion on mainstream social media sites like Facebook and tweeting fashion promotions from its Twitter presence. A smart ad buy would include theroot.com, because the African American community, among others, has embraced the image of beautiful women in all sizes.

This may be just another instance of a brand that had great equity losing its grip, just as the market for its product category actually expands. Baskin Robbins, Breck shampoo and Kmart are just some of the relics that could have been rock stars.

There's not a lot of evidence that plus-sized women feel they have a problem, much less one solved by membership in a website. Lane Bryant may be displacing its failure to grow the brand during what could have been a boom time for its core competency. A newer marketing tactic like creating a social community doesn't replace good old-fashioned brand management.

commentary, retail, social networks

6 comments about "A Separate Social Community Is Not The Answer To Everything ".

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Jason Miletsky from PFS Marketwyse, August 7, 2009 at 8:27 a.m.
Good article, Nance. As an average-sized male, I can't claim first hand knowledge of what goes on in the minds of plus-sized females, but as an agency owner I absolutely agree that too many brands are rushing to social media as a marketing solution simply because it exists.
Social media is wonderful - no question about it. It allows brands to deal in engagement rather than impressions, and opens new avenues to reaching consumers. But it should be seen as a supplement to an overall strategy that includes traditional methods, rather than a replacement for traditional brand building efforts.
Last I checked, social media users actively participate in an average of 2 social networks each. Chances are, Lane Bryant's site won't be one of them, and you're right, it's destined to fail. What would women gain there that they wouldn't have on more mainstream sites? The opportunity to talk in more detail about the trials and tribulations of being overweight? The chance to be marketed to more aggressively by the brand running the community? Neither seems like a very enticing benefit.
Rather than dive in head first, brands really need to understand the social space and how they can actually benefit from being there. Rather than just say "let's build a social network!" simply because they can, brands need to consider their overall strategy and determine what really makes sense for both short terms sales and long term growth.
Jason Miletsky
CEO, PFS Marketwyse
Author, 'Perspectives on Marketing' and 'Perspectives on Branding'
http://www.getperspectives.com
http://twitter.com/jmiletsky
Reply

Michael Moore, August 7, 2009 at 9:37 a.m.

Why such cynicism? To be sure, Lane Bryant hasn't characterized their consumers as "special needs cases". Further, a quick look through their site doesn't seem to suggest that they think their consumers have a "problem" either.

Social networking is all about creating platforms for people with similar interests to interact with each other. People join the mega networks like Facebook and then immediately self-aggregate into hyper-communities of people with like interests - effectively, walling themselves off from 99.99999% of the rest on the site. It is natural for people within the myriad of hyper-communities of the global melting pot to look to create social networking opportunities authentically attached to their interests - just for them.

I've been in the business of creating and managing both internal and external networks and online communities for Fortune 500 companies for over 10 years. I see extraordinary opportunity for companies/brands and organizations to establish stronger and more strategic relationships with their various constituencies by leveraging the power of social networking tools themselves. To be clear, "success" for them isn't measured in the kind of analytics that drive independent, stand alone, sites. It's all about getting more connected to their core consumers; interacting with them, learning from them, offering an opportunity for their consumers to feel like they're actually a part of the brand, etc.

For those companies that believe that it is important to be connected to their consumers in this way, why shouldn't they look to their own sites and to their own networks to accomplish that?

We live in a world where, unfortunately, there is tremendous stigma attached to "plus sized" women. Why wouldn't they want a place to share their experiences and to discuss fashion with each other? Moreover, why shouldn't Lane Bryant create and host a site for their core consumers? It seems strategic for them and it provides a service for their consumers. I applaud them!

Greg Stewart from FmI, August 7, 2009 at 8:23 p.m.

If PLUS size is the new majority, then why is it still called PLUS size when the majority shodul simply be called size? Perhaps we shoudl call allthose NOT plus sized SUB sized now?

Kevin Horne from Verizon, August 8, 2009 at 11:30 p.m.

The author missed a big (no pun intended!) oppty to cite a men's version by Casual Male exactly a year ago. Bold XL. It folded. Faster than fast. The point not to be missed - any marketer told by a social media GURU to launch his/her own community should beat said GURU with a baseball bat. Or a bag stuffed with full cans (no pun intended !!) of soda.

Tricia Murray, August 21, 2009 at 6:48 p.m.

I think Lane Bryant may know their consumer better than this article is giving them credit for.

They have developed a number of initiatives designed to support their target consumer for who they are, in all their plus size glory...their instore magazine for one.

They have not turned their back on traditional online tools, having an established presence in Facebook and on Twitter...

I believe the community has significant relevance to the target consumer, and even moreso in a category that has a notorious lack of options for this particular group of apparel shoppers.

Time will tell.

Tricia Murray, August 21, 2009 at 6:56 p.m.

I think Lane Bryant knows their consumer better than this article is giving them credit for. Clearly the consumer of today is vastly different than even just a short decade ago - otherwise we'd not be talking about communities (media ones that is) as we are.

This retailer has had an eye on providing their target audience with initiatives designed to support them for who they are, in their plus size glory - their in-store magazine for example.

They have not turned their back in more mainstream online tools, having an established presence in Facebook and Twitter.

Time will tell, but my gut says that this community is very relevant to their core target market, and re-affrims Lane Bryant as a leader in a category that has all but abandoned what the author of this article suggests is the majority.

As with every social community their success should and will be governed by the quality of content they provide.