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Home > Our projects > Columbia Sportswear
Industry
Fashion
Service
Multi-platform growth by culture
Industry
Fashion
Service
Multi-platform growth by culture
PROMOTE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS IN A COHERENT AND CULTURALLY RELEVANT WAY
A BRIEFOVERVIEW
Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company specializing in the manufacture and sale of outdoor sportswear, footwear and accessories. Founded in Portland in 1938 by Paul Lamfrom, the brand is now present in over 90 countries, with products sold in over 13,000 outlets worldwide. The company is particularly well known for its range of technical clothing for skiing, hiking, mountaineering and other outdoor activities.
Columbia Sportswear is also known for its strong commitment to CSR, with initiatives such as the "Re-Threads" program, which allows consumers to return their used Columbia products for recycling or reuse.
THEISSUES
While Columbia Sportswear is very well known in the United States, the company needed an effective strategy to raise its profile in Europe, such as via social media. But with a strong brand DNA, it was important to maintain brand consistency and adapt the message to speak to each culture, ensuring that sources of engagement were tailored to each country.
So it called on Datawords, and its expert social media branch Vanksen, to find solutions to give the brand as much resonance in Europe as it had in the USA.
OURSTRATEGY
To meet Columbia Sportswear's need for internationalization, we have focused on 3 main areas:
- We defined, deployed and managed a brand content strategy for the brand's European subsidiaries. Working closely with Columbia Sportswear's global teams via our US subsidiary, we defined a coherent editorial line adapted to each target country: France, Spain, Germany and the UK. This approach enabled us to ensure brand consistency while avoiding unnecessary duplication of resources and communication elements.
- The Datawords community management teams then mobilized to carry out daily, customized management of the brand's social media across all touchpoints.
- Finally, one of the highlights of this assignment was Datawords' ability to create interactions between face-to-face (offline) events and their online equivalents, taking into account the cultural characteristics of each of the countries concerned. We have, for example, carried out connected event operations linked to "physical" events such as Mud Days (an outdoor sports event) in France, and Manchester United matches in the UK. These events enabled fans to take part remotely in the special events available to those present on site, thereby strengthening customer commitment and loyalty to the brand.
THERESULTS
Thanks to Datawords’ action plan, Columbia Sportswear Company has seen the number of its qualified fans increase by over 60,000 in less than a year. The average engagement rate was 4.5%, and the branded content was shared over 1,000 times during the events, driving growth in the company's e-commerce sales in the process. These results testify to the effectiveness of the brand's digital communications strategy during the key moments of its social media activities in Europe.
Ultimately, thanks to our focus on local relevance and global brand consistency, we were able to create strong engagement for Columbia Sportswear and develop a community of fans in an under-exploited market. The company's cultural transformation in Europe was a key success factor in implementing this strategy, enabling the American firm to adapt to local market requirements and strengthen its online reputation.
A BRIEF
OVERVIEW
Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company specializing in the manufacture and sale of outdoor sportswear, footwear and accessories. Founded in Portland in 1938 by Paul Lamfrom, the brand is now present in over 90 countries, with products sold in over 13,000 outlets worldwide. The company is particularly well known for its range of technical clothing for skiing, hiking, mountaineering and other outdoor activities.
Columbia Sportswear is also known for its strong commitment to CSR, with initiatives such as the "Re-Threads" program, which allows consumers to return their used Columbia products for recycling or reuse.
THE
ISSUES
While Columbia Sportswear is very well known in the United States, the company needed an effective strategy to raise its profile in Europe, such as via social media. But with a strong brand DNA, it was important to maintain brand consistency and adapt the message to speak to each culture, ensuring that sources of engagement were tailored to each country.
So it called on Datawords, and its expert social media branch Vanksen, to find solutions to give the brand as much resonance in Europe as it had in the USA.
OUR
STRATEGY
To meet Columbia Sportswear's need for internationalization, we have focused on 3 main areas:
- We defined, deployed and managed a brand content strategy for the brand's European subsidiaries. Working closely with Columbia Sportswear's global teams via our US subsidiary, we defined a coherent editorial line adapted to each target country: France, Spain, Germany and the UK. This approach enabled us to ensure brand consistency while avoiding unnecessary duplication of resources and communication elements.
- The Datawords community management teams then mobilized to carry out daily, customized management of the brand's social media across all touchpoints.
- Finally, one of the highlights of this assignment was Datawords' ability to create interactions between face-to-face (offline) events and their online equivalents, taking into account the cultural characteristics of each of the countries concerned. We have, for example, carried out connected event operations linked to "physical" events such as Mud Days (an outdoor sports event) in France, and Manchester United matches in the UK. These events enabled fans to take part remotely in the special events available to those present on site, thereby strengthening customer commitment and loyalty to the brand.
THE
RESULTS
Thanks to Datawords’ action plan, Columbia Sportswear Company has seen the number of its qualified fans increase by over 60,000 in less than a year. The average engagement rate was 4.5%, and the branded content was shared over 1,000 times during the events, driving growth in the company's e-commerce sales in the process. These results testify to the effectiveness of the brand's digital communications strategy during the key moments of its social media activities in Europe.
Ultimately, thanks to our focus on local relevance and global brand consistency, we were able to create strong engagement for Columbia Sportswear and develop a community of fans in an under-exploited market. The company's cultural transformation in Europe was a key success factor in implementing this strategy, enabling the American firm to adapt to local market requirements and strengthen its online reputation.
