Lucy and Yak: Marketing Communications Proposal

Lucy and Yak

Lucy and Yak is an online clothing store, therefore they use digital platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube to communicate with their consumers.

They have a relatively good following in all the platforms besides Pinterest and YouTube. Since Lucy and Yak is a fairly new and small company they are considered to be more approachable by their customers.

They have the most followers in Instagram and Facebook. They make sure to regularly update both those platform. However, they upload the same posts to each of those platforms, which to me seems indolent. I think the best brands are the ones with a variety of content throughout all of their platforms.

Their YouTube videos seem very personal and not overlay edited. Although they average on about a couple hundred views on each video, they make sure to consistently upload videos a few times a month. They have a variety of videos from clothing advertisements and behind the scenes videos to travel vlogs where they meet with suppliers and garment workers. This is a good example of a brand that is fully transparent and ethical.

Their most recent video, was a vlog in which both the founders addressed an issue that consumers had regarding Lucy and Yak not suppling a plus size range. In the video the founders spoke very honestly on why that is and how they want to implement ways to positively change. This shows that they take consumer issues very seriously as well as makes the whole brand appear more personal

How is the communication and promotion assessed and what impact does it have on the brand?

Lucy and Yak is an online clothing store, therefore they use digital platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube to communicate with their consumers.

They have a great online presence and their social media team is exceptional, making sure to continually communicate with their followers. They reply to the majority of the comments they receive and ‘like’ most of them as well. This shows that they are greatly involved in costumer needs and wants.

They make sure that costumer concerns are personally handled. For instance, they received a lot of backlash on Instagram due to the brand not supplying a plus size range. The founder’s thought it was best that they respond to the negative comments by posting a YouTube video explaining the issues and reasons they don not supply such a range. They said, “now we know there’s a demand for it (speaking of a plus size line), we would love to try to do something about it” When talking about why they have not included a plus size range until now, they explained “We’ve tried to do them (dungarees) in a larger size, but we had a lot of issues with the fabric because the larger you go there’s more body shapes. The body shapes vary at larger sizes”. They also explained that they prioritize the supply chain over an addition to newer lines “We’ve been focusing all or energy on the India supply chain of things…A lot of the things we want to do like be ultra inclusive are sometimes taking a backseat because the demand is so high in other things”(Chris and Lucy, 2018). The fact that they personally addressed the issues their costumer’s have, shows that they are genuinely concerned on the impact the marketing communications have on the brand.

How are they influencing the buyer’s habit?

Lucy and Yak regularly run competitions and incentives that prompt consumers to buy their product. For example, they encourage their customers to upload photos of themselves posing in their Lucy and Yak garments for a chance of winning Lucy and Yak vouchers. In addition, they also run illustration competitions that encourage followers to send in their designs for a chance to appear in their ‘Thank You notes’ in return for the vouchers as well.

Furthermore, Lucy and Yak carry out open debates on social issues that we are facing today, such as, the difference between sustainable and ethical, veganary and recycled polyester. They provide their costumers with an open platform to openly discuss their thoughts and views.

All of these activities effects on the consumer. By providing them a voice and an opportunity to be a part of the brand, they will buy more Lucy and Yak goods in return.

Do they understand their target audience?

Lucy and Yak definitely understand their target audience. They know that consumers are not only buying their clothes for aesthetic reasons, but also for ethical and sustainable reasons. Which is why they also provide zero waste accessories and positively promote their clothing made from recycled polyester such as the ‘Stevie Fleece’.

Where are they advertising?

They use social media as a way to advertise the website and products. In addition they also take advantage of ‘remarketing’ which is a “way to connect with visitors to websites who may not have made an immediate purchase or enquiry” (Waldegrave, 2019). Meaning, if a consumer stumbled upon the website, they will likely get Lucy and Yak advertisements in other websites which theoretically encourages them to buy a product.

Does Lucy and Yak use celebrity endorsements?

Lucy and Yak does not use celebrity endorsements, however, they do have a campaign on YouTube called ‘The Creative Life of Dungarees’ which is composed of a few videos in which they showcase individuals who work in the creative field. In each 2-3 minute video, the individual is wearing Lucy and Yak’s and talks about his or hers life.

Moreover, they repost images that showcase their costumers wearing Lucy and Yak clothing, this is also awarded with gift vouchers.

All if these individuals also make part of Lucy and Yaks target audience thus they are using their own audience as brand ambassadors.