Urban Outfitters is making use of the Yahoo-owned photo sharing website, Flickr in an attempt to encourage brand interaction.
The Urban Outfitters Flickr Pool lets the public upload photos of anything related to Urban Outfitters, whether it's people wearing their clothes, images of store fronts or people carrying UO bags.
Not only does it encourage brand interaction, but Urban Outfitters gets the opportunity to see how their customers engage with their products. It costs the clothing company absolutely nothing, it's free advertising and unbelievable for market research. They get to study their customers up front in their most natural way; the photo subjects are presenting themselves to the world in the way they would like to be perceived.
Why This Trend Is Growing
- User-generated Content
- Utilizing user-generated content platforms like Flickr to encourage brand interaction and gather valuable market research.
- Visual Branding
- Using photo sharing websites as a tool for creating a visual identity and promoting brand recognition.
- Crowdsourcing Marketing
- Engaging customers in contributing and sharing brand-related content to amplify marketing efforts.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Retail
- Retailers can leverage user-generated content platforms to enhance brand engagement and understanding of customer preferences.
- Advertising
- The visual nature of photo sharing websites presents advertising agencies with new opportunities to develop visually impactful campaigns.
- Consumer Goods
- Companies in the consumer goods industry can adopt user-generated content strategies to showcase their products and gain valuable insights into customer behavior.
