For Julian Cole's Social Mediate Strategy Class on Skillshare.

1. Vastrm
@alexmeckes

2. What is it?

3. For any active man who desires comfort
Only Vastrm puts design in your hands
Because of its custom fitting, high quality,
and affordable process.

4. Drive 100,000 people to Vastrm's
?
website by 2013
Problem Goal Strategy Solution
Consumers are unaware that
How can I get 100,000
Vastrm Exists
people to Vastrm's website?

5. Q1 Who is the consumer & what are they considering?
Insights
20-34 year olds primary male*
College Educated & Working
Facebook: Females Part of Demographic
Adplanner too broad or are
females a part of the purchase
decision?
Adplanner::

6. Q1
Who is the consumer & what are they considering? Insights
Custom Fit Polos search
increasing over time.
Very cyclical search trends,
shopping seasons and holidays.
Trends
Related Search Terms are related
to adding logos
Sports team & organizations
potential audience?

7. Q2
How does the vastrm target audience discover brands?
Insights
Based upon Google's Consumer
Barometer retail search:
18 % purchased online
82% purchased offline
15% did research online only
27% did research offline only
14% did both
However, custom fitting is a
relatively new phenomena and has
an increasing presence on the
online space.
Consumers are hesitant to buy
clothes online due to fitting, but
Vastrm solves that problem.

8. Insights
Mobile is very important
Online shopping is critical
during holiday shopping
seasons.

9. Q3 Why do people buy polo shirts?
"…One consistent learning from these
startups? Fit is more important than style.
Customized clothing should solve a unique
user need – one not easily replicated Insights
through mass production." ~ JP Gowdner
Fit is playing an increasingly
There’s a reason why these “create your own” sites more important role, supporting
and customization engines for popular products have trends find. Comfort and style is
blown it out recently: today’s consumer is looking to not mutually exclusive.
manufacture that feeling of a ‘one-off;’ that bespoke
experience. Golf is such an individual game and it’s Individuality is a significant
Blog
only natural that custom products should have such a selling point
presence. ~ GQ writer
Have you ever been in the clubhouse and seen
three other people wearing your shirt you
thought was so unique? While you feel your
expressing your personal, individual style, you
have to face the humorously awkward “Hey,
nice shirt” comment. It’s not your fault that
you’ve been limited to the corner of the
department store dedicated to golf. ~ Golfer
Monthly

10. Q3
Why do people buy polo shirts?
Brand Reflects Value Comfort
Individuals are perceived differently based For active sports, like golf, polo's are a
upon the style of clothing they wear. great option because they allow
movement but are still stylish enough for
the country club or workplace.
Custom Fit
Why do people buy custom fıt
polo shirts? Because fit is more
important than style. There
was just limited choice before.
Consumers want style,
individualism, and personal
fitting.

11. Q4
Who is the Vastrm competition and what are they doing?
BlankLabel*
"Delivering Modern Luxury"
Larger target market and not exclusively polo.
Focus on a great customer experience and consumer empowerment.
IndoChino
Website is largely image based.
Suits! More than just polo shirts.
Traveling Tailor-they bring their unique online fitting process to select retail
stores and go through the entire fitting/customization experience in person.
*Insightful interview with Blank Label CEO on their PR;
http://mixergy.com/blank-label-danny-wong-interview/

12. Interview
" There was an idea, how can we generate traffic? How can we acquire customers at low
cost? When we first launched, our conversion rate was pitiful. Through the numbers, our line
would have been -3:1 if we were trying to use a system like AdWords or grow through an
advertising network and use banner ads. We said, ‘We have to make money somehow. We
have to acquire customers somehow. We don’t have the capital to just throw in money so we
can start generating revenue. We haven’t those base customers to leverage in a hopeful way
to zero balance our line.’ I decided to try my skills in PR. I started with Silicone Media. I hit
the long tail of media. I targeted very niche bloggers on very small-scale websites. I shot
them the pitch. It was very basic. My first pitch was along the lines of, ‘Hey, we’re
BlankLabel, we do custom dress shirts. Design your own. You should check it out. Our
product’s affordable. It starts at $45. It just launched. So, you should check out the site and
let me know your size.’ It didn’t go to well ..."
~ Danny Wong CEO of Blank Label

13. Summary
Q1 Who is the Consumer and what are they
considering?
Primarily active males 20-34.
College educated and in the working force.
Q2 How does the Vastrm target audience discover brands?
Online and offline discovery.
Online more important for retail shopping and
consumer experience.
Q3 Why do people buy polo shirts?
They buy polo shirts because of perceived brand value, comfort, and
style.
Q4 Who is the Vastrm competition and what are they doing?
Blank Label and Indochino are two most relevant, but big brands are
coming into the game too. They create valuable consumer experiences and
shareable content.

14. Conclusion
Strategy:
Vastrm is clearly a newcomer and attempting to establish its niche with the golf and corporate crowd.
This market exists, but could be potentially isolating. Incorporate more social sharing at all levels.
Putting design in your hands isn't enough, build sharing into the experience.
These custom fitting clothing brands rely on the experience being engaging and shareworthy. Shy
away from the seemingly stock images when creating. I think the best feature of Vastrm is that you
get the PHYSICAL product to actually see if it fits. None of their competitors have this.
Target men's fashion bloggers.
Vastrm could put more emphasis on its high quality and Eco-Friendly process. While many of it's
competitors have similar standards, none put ecofriendly as a staple of their brand image.
I like the idea of a Video Series to create engagement.
Two good fashion related videos:
Mr. Porter "The Way I Dress" http://vimeo.com/31619767
Lacoste "The Polo of the Future" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30lKLG6mzNk