our blog

June 14, 2012

Brands Capitalize on Seasonal Events and Photo Sharing to Score Big on the RSJI

With summer just around the corner, new brands capitalized on the seasonal opportunities that the warm weather brings to top Media Logic’s Retail Social Juice Index (RSJI) this week. Fitness retailer Beachbody shared a photo with its likers to inspire them to get beach body ready to earn both the highest spike on the weekly Index and the highest score – 327! The photo read “Life has no remote. Get up and change it yourself,” and it earned the brand its highest engagement in months—with nearly 50,000 likes! Following this momentous spike, the brand wasn’t able to keep up with the heightened level of fan engagement, falling down the Index in the subsequent days. However, the brand still managed to stay at the top of the RSJI rankings with its 214 point score.

Though it was just barely edged out of the Big Movers This Week, outdoor goods retailer REI took a page from the Beachbody social marketing playbook to connect with likers. The brand leveraged the upcoming summer vacation season to promote its REI Adventures Program. The outdoor brand shared and highlighted an amazing photo of a vacation spot in Thailand that would make any liker long for a getaway… and fans responded with likes to prove it!

Carter’s RSJI spike demonstrated the power of social cause marketing. The brand pinned a post encouraging fans to like the OshKosh B’Gosh Facebook page. Why? OshKosh promised to donate one dollar per new Facebook liker to benefit the non-profit organization United Through Reading, a program that allows deployed parents to read children’s books on videos to be sent to their families. The post promoting the OshKosh page earned upwards of 16,000 likes—proof the cause clearly resonates strongly with Carter’s fan base.

Tacori and Think Geek used successful photo sharing strategies to connect with likers and earn spots on the Big Movers This Week. Tacori attempted to ease fans out of their Monday blues with a picture of a diamond ring and the caption, “A beautiful princess- cut to brighten up your Monday. Do you love it?” And love it they did – evident through thousands of “likes” and hundreds of comments describing the gem as “gorgeous,” “stunning” and “bellissimo!” Think Geek used National Best Friends Day to earn a major spike this week. The brand appealed to a wide range of their target “geeks” with a collage highlighting some of the most infamous best friends in pop culture. With shout-outs to famous duos from The Simpsons and Community to Star Wars and Star Trek, likers responded enthusiastically, chiming in with their votes for their favorite twosomes and pointing out noticeably absent pop-culture staples.

With the official start of summer only days away, be sure to check the RSJI daily to see which retailers effectively capitalize on the seasonal opportunities!