Across social touchpoints, the Bloomingdale’s voice reflects my interpretation of the brand’s ‘it’ girl’ muse: a 20 to 30-something New Yorker who is a style tastemaker and is chic, spontaneous, in-the-know and on-the-go…all while never taking herself too seriously. Exhibit A:

Bloomingdale’s cheeky, fun and culturally-relevant voice, paired with insider references to “our designers” and “our editors,” puts the luxury brand within reach and sets the foundation for a personal, 2-way connection with followers. I admire the commitment to the New York City heritage and see huge potential to continue strengthening ties to this location and lifestyle through authentic language and imagery.

That being said, I find myself wanting to discover more about the Bloomingdale’s woman through social: what her passions are, who she’s inspired by and what motivates her. In its current state, the voice tends to state the obvious and risks feeling unoriginal and uninspiring. I’d challenge social copy to incorporate depth and context (longer captions are encouraged in some scenarios) to help thread together a more complex, unique view of the sophisticated Bloomingdale’s woman. If separated from the gorgeous photo imagery, the below could easily be mistaken as the voice of an overly-enthusiastic 16-year old:

Date Night!
Feeling inspired!
Kite Flying on 5th Avenue!
Central Park in Spring. Can’t beat it!
Hello, Monday.

In contrast, pieces from the feed that have a bit more edge and attitude are far more relatable and interesting to a woman like myself aspiring to live the Bloomingdale’s lifestyle:

Fashion is an art form, but carrying this limited-edition Furla bag — one of three hundred — may transform your outfit into a museum-worthy look.
When in doubt, glam it out.
Every lunch break is an unplanned architecture tour.
For the love of stilettos.
Survival Skill #245: Walking in platforms in the Meatpacking District.
We’re feeling a little exotic today. Thankfully, @vince understands our wild side.

In these samples, I start to see a more unique and human-sounding side of the voice. Which brings me to Madewell, my undisputed role model when it comes to addictive brand voice. The modern woman could pay no greater respect to someone than to say “I want to be her best friend,” and that’s how I feel about Madewell’s copy. It’s cool, witty, unique and above all, relatable and conversational. Some standout lines I’ve tucked away in the past for patterning:

You know those Jeans? The ones that you wore to the “best concert ever” (to quote your Instagram caption, which you wish was more creative…but it was the best concert ever).
2am packing is the worst.
Great coffee, a good hair day, perfectly layered necklaces… It’s the little things, as they say.

In addition to Madewell, Reformation and Aritzia are two personal favorites when it comes to language. These are both brands who (like Madewell) are consistently clever and conversational. Reformation takes pride in a dash of irreverence (“We make killer clothes that don’t kill the environment”) and Aritzia establishes a sense of style authority through confidence (“Simple, sophisticated, and so effortlessly put together it hurts”). Each of these cited brands offers inspiration for Bloomingdale’s to continue striving for authenticity and relatability.

To wrap up, I’ve included some brief photo editing comments as it relates to Bloomingdale’s social. The feeds overall are visually stunning (clean, high quality and crisp), however there seems to be opportunity to differentiate the content direction from brands like Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus & Kate Spade. Punchy colors and bold backgrounds are common themes across all, and I’d love to explore how Bloomingdale’s could slightly refine the approach to feel 100% identifiable and rooted in the city (eg: outlining tight color stories that tie back to seasonal campaigns or testing real NYC environments for product flats instead of colored studio backgrounds). Burberry and Michael Kors are great examples of brands that maintain this degree of color and editing consistency season over season.