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Socializing: LOFT Builds A Community Site with Tumblr
Submitted by Macala Wright on 04/05/2010 – 9:35 PM2 Comments | 3,244 views
LOFT is revamping its image with its new site LiveLoveLoft.com and is taking the microblogging platform Tumblr along for the ride. Tumblr, famous for its focus on pictures and photos rather than text, is helping LOFT create the kind of sophisticated appeal that it has — up to this point — lacked.
Furthermore, LOFT has recruited popular Tumblr blogger Jessica Schroeder of What I Wore to help steer Live Love Loft. Schroeder is Live Love Loft’s guest editor for April and will be writing for Live Love Loft in months to come.
Live Love Loft and its embrace of Tumblr and fashion blogging is a product of what has been a two year rebranding process that people like Gary Muto (President of LOFT) and Julie Fredrickson (Marketing Manager of Digital Programs and Client Outreach; former fashion blogger who sold Coutorture to Sugar Inc. in 2007) have been working on.
According to WWD, Muto and Fredrickson’s efforts at rebranding Loft holistically can be seen in the way that Live Loft Loft showcases a sophisticated lifestyle as well as its clothes. Blog topics focus on health, beauty, environmental sustainability, travel, food and more.
About Tumblr
Tumblr is a visual blog site, it’s a hybrid between a traditional blog and Twitter, thus earning it a place in the microblog platform category; tumblelogs are one of the easiest ways to see photo streams on mobile devices.
Rapid Adoption
Second only to Twitter in its popularity, Tumblr is experiencing rapid growth as its domain mapping makes it a visually appealing alternative to a traditional blog; it’s easy to integrate it into a main web portal or a subdomain.
Building Creative Communities
The average Tumblr user creates 14 original posts each month, and reblogs 3. Half of those posts are photos. The rest are split between text, links, quotes, music, and video.
We started with Tumblr as a community building tool about two years ago; users are highly creative, web savvy and focus on entertainment, art and fashion. Adding beautifully created content fuels recommendations and reblogs. If a brand or retailer uses Tumblr correctly, they will naturally build a following that will actively engage with their content.
PERFECT SOCIAL EXECUTION
LOFT has done an amazing job of creating a social portal that includes photos, videos, original content that sells their products and integrates Facebook, polls, Twitter and email newsletter sign-up. With its minimalist layout, well executed photography, and heavy use of pastel colors, it looks like Loft has so far succeeded with its new online presence.
Editor’s Note: This story was altered 4/10/2010. There were some inaccuracies by all media outlets, other than WWD, whom covered this story. We spoke with Julie Fredrickson, Marketing Manager of Digital Programs and Client Outreach, at LOFT to clarify names and roles. Thank you Julie for helping FMM staff report this piece with accuracy.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by ssfashion: Tumbling Along: Ann Taylor Loft Gets Social with Tumblr: Ann Taylor Loft is revamping its image with its new site … http://bit.ly/b9mooh...
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LOFT's President is Gary Muto not Christine Beauchamp. She is responsible for the Ann Taylor brand only and has not been involved in LOFT's efforts. Kay Krill is the CEO of Ann Inc the parent company of both Ann Taylor and LOFT.
Thank you the comment, according to most coverage on it, you are correct that she's not the CEO (as found in http://www.styleite.com/media/ann-taylor-loft-s…), but she is the president and spearheading the campaign – http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/11/ann-taylor-bra…. She is slated as the next CEO according to Business week, http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/04/0430_ce….