UGC and Sportswear Brands

Have you ever posted a review about your favorite restaurant on Yelp? Or shared a photo of you and your friends with hashtags to label where you are, what you are wearing or who you are with? Or, to be more specific, have you ever bought one of those Coke cans with your name across the side and posted a pic of it onto almost every social media site you are a part of? This content you have created is what today the marketing world calls User Generated Content or UGC. It encompasses any type of media (post, chats, forums, etc.) that is created by users of a product or service and that is typically published on the web.

Lululemon Athletica, makers of high-end athletic wear and one of the fastest brands growing in the industry, has benefitted from the UGC they have received from their buyers. Since early 2013, Lululemon has launched several marketing campaigns where the customer is the focal point and this is because they use pictures that their own customers have published. One of their most successful campaigns used the hashtag #TheSweatLife. It encouraged Lululemon wearers to post a picture of themselves in action, sweating or in any yoga position. They brought into their campaign some of their brand values such as pushing your limits and feeling good about yourself. Lululemon created a library on their website where you could see all the posts and identified what Lululemon item that athlete was wearing. They were able to connect with their customers and capture moments offline that can enhance their online user experience.

Nike, one of the world’s leading suppliers of athletic apparel and shoes, has made immense efforts to integrate UGC into their marketing campaigns. One example is their 2013 initiative launched alongside The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. They created a 10k virtual event where women participants would sign up online, get a Nike branded t-shirt, and then run, jog, walk or bike for 10k. The hook is that you could participate from anywhere in the world. Using the hashtag #LetsTurnItUp, all those that participated filled Nike’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter feeds. Many of these were inspirational stories and Nike was able to raise $50000 for the non-profit organization.

It is important for brands, like Lululemon and Nike, to take advantage of all the content their customers create and post onto platforms. It is not only a way to connect with customers, but to make sure that they return to your stores, remember the brand and encourage others to do so. Although the brands I mentioned have large budgets, smaller companies with smaller marketing budgets can simply use a hashtag and an adequate strategy to encourage their buyers to participate and create content on the web. Millennials enjoy not only making UGC but also sharing their creations and seeing what others have done, written or posted. Nike and Lululemon have successfully targeted millennials because of their digital marketing efforts especially engaging with them thru UGC.

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