sHEnsh! A case study
Background
“For younger men who dream of a brighter future, the Shenshi brand of trendy but affordable fashion makes men feel and appear more successful to others than they are.”
Shenshi is a popular Chinese men’s clothing retailer with over 300 stores (117 owned and operated stores and 194 franchised stores) located in eastern China, with headquarters in Fujian Province. It was started by entrepreneur Qingqing Wang (English name “Michael”) in 2004 and has grown rapidly. The word “Shenshi” translates to “gentleman.” While Shenshi has flagship stores in some of the major, “tier 1” cities 2 where the competition is intense and the fashion culture is strong, the majority of stores are located in smaller “tier 3” and “tier 4” cities. Shenshi practices “fast fashion,” which was pioneered by international chains such as Zara and H&M. Shenshi designers observe the latest fashion trends and create their own versions of those designs. Their designs are not exact copies of other brands, but have a similar look and style as the leading fashion houses.
sHEnsh! | Case study for Content Strategy for Professionals
Persona
Shenshi will open its first store in the Netherlands. Since the country is a melting pot of cultures, the company will have to take a multicultural approach in its content strategy.
Country: The Netherlands Persona: Ben is a 22-year-old young man who is of Irish, Filipino, Turkish and Dutch descent. He is soon graduating from the university where he finished Molecular Biology. His next goal is to follow an MBA at the Rotterdam School of Management and build a strong portfolio in technology transfer. In the meantime, he works at the nearby Starbucks as barista to help his parents shoulder university fees. He tries to dress up smart as much as he can and as much as he can afford. Explanation of persona: Ben is an example of an ambitious young man who’s smart and likes to look good. While he cannot afford topof-the-line clothes, he works hard and believes that his hardwork will pay up in the future.
sHEnsh! | Case study for Content Strategy for Professionals
Content
The three experiences that Shenshi wants its target audience to identify with are inspiration, identity and utilitarian. Don’t know how to ear a tie? Visit www.shenshi.nl
#isHEnsh!
Decide on what to wear and how to wear it. www.shenshi.nl
#isHEnsh!
Since the audience comprise of young, ambitious men who are often on their mobile phones, I decided to come up with a set of images with the #ishenshi hashtag. How the men are clothed are inspiring to young men because the style is not difficult to follow, the “i” in the hashtag stands for identity and by following the website address under the hashtag, the audience is helped in their decision on what to wear and how to wear it. Images from zara.com
sHEnsh! | Case study for Content Strategy for Professionals
Relevance
Theme: In the EU, the Netherlands is one of the countries with the fastest internet connection. Due to this, social media usage is up. The purpose of the content is to proliferate the Shenshi brand in the Netherlands. To make sure that it speaks to the young, ambitious crowd, the message has to be brief, clear and mobile-friendly. Young, ambitious men leading fast lives do not have the liberty to read long articles. The image with hashtag can be used across all media but first on social media. It is easy to share and to copy (the target audience will be encouraged to post a selfie with the hashtag #ishenshi as they sport their Shenshi clothes). Brand relevance: The Shenshi brand is young and all-inclusive and this kind of content (image with hashtag and clear call to action) appeals to the target audience.
sHEnsh! | Case study for Content Strategy for Professionals
Tone and voice
Since the target audience of the Shenshi brand in the Netherlands are ambitious young men from different cultural backgrounds, the voice of all communications should be hip and modern. All content is encouraged to be clear, direct to the point and using plain english. The tone that is used is informal, friendly and accomodating to make sure that the Shenshi brand speak to the young generation. When young, ambitious men read Shenshi blog articles, social media posts and e-newsletters, they get the feeling that they’re just reading a buddy’s email.
sHEnsh! | Case study for Content Strategy for Professionals
Media and platform Don’t know how to ear a tie? Visit www.shenshi.nl
#isHEnsh!
Decide on what to wear and how to wear it. www.shenshi.nl
#isHEnsh!
The content will start off as a campaign on Twitter where Shenshi customers are encouraged to post a selfie with the hashtag #ishenshi. Twitter will be connected to Instagram where customers using Instagram can also post their own selfie with the same hashtag. The same campaign will be done on Facebook. The real strength of this hashtagged image is that it is easy to use and share on different platforms. On the website, it can be presented as a clickable image where when visitors click on it, they get to read blog posts about e.g. how to wear a tie or what to wear on which day and how to wear it. On the e-newsletter, it can be placed as a regular column and hashtag campaign. As readers click on it, they get to open doors to tips and tricks on how to dress fashionably, for whichever occasion, and stay on budget.
sHEnsh! | Case study for Content Strategy for Professionals
sHEnsh! A case study
Content Strategy for Professionals Northwestern University Text and logo design by Chared Verschuur-Ballo The Netherlands Images from Wikimedia commons, Alibaba and zara.com