How ASOS use Digital Marketing?

Chen Mubai
4 min readNov 21, 2017

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Introduction of ASOS:

ASOS is a world-known British online store focused primarily on youth. ASOS sells different brands and offers its customers a wide range of products including women- and menswear, accessories, beauty products, and other items. Having implemented some effective marketing strategies, ASOS is now considered to be one of the most successful digital brands. Moreover, studies prove that ASOS is the second most visited fashion website throughout the world. One of the notable aspects of digital marketing strategies adopted by ASOS is their use of digital channels as a means of promoting the brand based on the principle of balance between mass reach and targeting.

ASOS digital marketing strategy:

It is apparent that marketing strategies used by any company are directed toward reaching the wider target audience. About that, the use of social platforms and digital channels is an efficient method of promotion and distribution that ensures communication and personalization as well as the possibility to determine the audience’s demands and fulfill expectations. The success of ASOS is conditioned by their balanced use of social media as a means of supporting sales strategies and ensuring potential customers’ engagement in brand’s development. In fact, “ASOS has adopted a cross-channel approach by using some paid and organic channels to promote the brand and product range” (Burke n.p.). This approach is consistent with the increasing demand for fashion stores’ presence in social media and the popularity of e-commerce platforms. Particularly, ASOS is using Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, and other digital channels to reach the target audience. ASOS’ head of marketing analytics states that the secret of the brand’s success lies in principle, according to which “brands should not prioritize targeting as a strategy and ignore reach” (Hobbs n.p.).

Speaking of particular digital platforms used by ASOS for engaging with customers and promoting the brand, I cannot help mentioning the influence of Twitter on the overall campaign. Having several Twitter profiles, ASOS provides essential information concerning recent updates and offers for various countries. ASOS’ effectiveness in using Twitter lies mainly in the fact that the brand attempts to create unique content, which is not accessible through other channels, and it attracts followers. “Tweeting multiple times throughout the day, ASOS use a combination of outfit ideas with images included as well as discounts and offers exclusively to Twitter followers” (Burke n.p.). In fact, the exclusiveness of content is the primary factor that contributes to successful brand’s promotion through this digital platform.
Another favorite digital channel used by ASOS is Google+. It should mention that the content presented on this channel is different from the information that can attain through Facebook or Twitter profiles. ASOS’ Google+ page represents recent trend updates, new offers, and product through gifs. It shows that “the brand doesn’t just stick to sharing images of their products. However, it shows a more ‘human’ side to the brand with humorous content from popular films and TV shows such as the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ and the lovable characters from ‘Despicable Me’” (Burke n.p.).

A famous example of ASOS’ effective use of digital marketing strategies is the so-called #AsSeenOnMe campaign. This campaign carried out primarily on Instagram and Twitter “works by allowing anybody who posts a photo on Instagram and Twitter wearing an ASOS product utilizing the hashtag to have their photo appear on a product page” (Hobbs n.p.). To my mind, this strategy is especially compelling because of its positive impact on the brand’s engaging with potential customers within digital environments through personalization and empowerment. According to the head of ASOS’ marketing analytics, “this creates value both regarding empowering the specific person who posts the photo and making them feel special. However the equally it creates value for the rest of the community too as it means they can see a recommendation from a fellow advocate” (Hobbs n.p.). This, apparently, ensures the balance between mass reach and targeting as such campaign helps analyze the areas where customers’ demand is the largest and where they consume the most while giving them something valuable in exchange for this opportunity.

A significant aspect of ASOS’ digital marketing strategies is their use of digital channels and social media in general for representing their offerings and promoting the brand as well as for attaining data for the further analysis of consumer tendencies. The main positive side of ASOS’ use of digital channels if the exclusiveness and the unity of the content presented on various pages and profiles. Besides, digital marketing strategies are consistent with the principle of balancing between mass reach and targeting, which is aimed to ensure both short- and long-term success for ASOS.

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