How can better cater to an existing niche sub-culture?

You haven't seen my drawer of inappropriate starches? You could, uh, could have, like, a world without shrimp, or with, you know, nothing but shrimp. Y'all see the man hanging out of the spaceship with the really big gun?You could, uh, could have, like, a world without shrimp, or with, you know, nothing but shrimp. Y'all see the man hanging out of the spaceship with the really big gun.

My Role

I worked on a team of designers on this project. I was responsible for UX strategic planning, micro interaction development, research analysis and theory development as well as a minor role in copy writing.

Business Problem

Fluevog targets a young demographic online through heavy social media campaigns but they neglect to create value for their established customer base (Aged 45-64). Fluevog’s social media campaigns are primarily generated by and for a younger audience, a demographic that does not make up the majority of their sales. This becomes a problem as they rely on a middle-aged customer base, those who have the disposable income to consistently purchase their products. By isolating this target audience online, existing customers become uncertain of Fluevog’s brand values, while potential customers may be hesitant to make a purchase because they cannot connect with Fluevog’s brand identity.

Proposal

Our proposal is a new homepage and editorial web channel for the 35 - 44 demographic so that they can learn about Fluevog’s values and explore their brand identity. This has not yet been done because Fluevog does not want to specify their target audience but it is important because their current social media campaigns make it appear as if Fluevog products are only suitable for a younger demographic, when in reality most of their sales come from the 45 – 54 and 55 – 64 age brackets.

Time + Technology = Value as Brand Loyalty

The content promoted on their social media channels is generated by and for a younger audience, which is problematic because potential customers exploring the brand may see it as being for the younger generation and feel ostracized. An aging core customer base means that there is an opportunity to target a slightly younger demographic people between the age of 35-45 who are currently already purchasing shoes and have an established self identity and lifestyle. We're targeting this group, and showcasing their interesting lifestyles that gives potential customers a clear idea of who is in this tribe and reinforces the identity for those already in it. Developing brand loyalty early and sustaining that over

An aging core customer base means that there is an opportunity to target a newer, slightly younger demographic. A group that has an established lifestyle that fits in perfectly with Fluevog.

Rather than pushing for the community to join social media, or removing such posts off the website altogether, we simply start representing the existing customer base online. By creating a more interactive home page and editorial content, potential customers gain a better understanding of the brand identity, and can see the product appeal from a psychographic (rather than demographic) point of view. The existing Flueblog be renamed Fluechannel, as it is a more accurate representation of a section that mostly displays Instagram photos, campaigns, and media mentions.

Borrowing from the existing visual language helps us avoid the trap of designing too overtly for middle-aged customers, as they dislike being reminded of their age. As well, designing for younger users excludes older users, while designing for older users includes everyone.

What is it?

Home Page Redesign + Editorial Section for the 35 - 44 Demographic to communicate Brand Values + Identity.

As stated before, Flueology will be a new editorial section on the existing website. Curated and maintained by the same team that creates The Fluevog Post, it will feature articles, videos, and photos that highlight the persons and places of interest in the neighbourhood surrounding a store, promoting Fluevog’s values while focusing on their existing customer base.

Customers will be able to explore the site through the Fluevog language, a collection of symbols created by John Fluevog that exemplifies Fluevog’s values. Articles will be categorized by these symbols, as customers will use them to explore the site and learn more about Fluevog.

Micro-Interactions:

Fluevogian Language

The Fluevog language adds value to existing customers by featuring them in a way that ties back into Fluevog’s philosophy, further reinforcing this idea of tribe, while adding a more overt understanding of Fluevog for those who are still looking for and familiarizing themselves with their brand values.

Location-Based Browsing

Flueology stresses the philosophies behind Fluevog, and that is what we wanted to emphasis the most. Browsing by location is secondary, and once readers have gone through the exploratory phase and become more familiar with the site, will be able to access neighbourhoods directly from the menu bar on the home page.

Hover, Menu, Scrolling

Because older audiences may have trouble with vision or even understanding more modern design elements (such as the hamburger menu icon) we tried to strike a balance between using motion and animation as visual hints along with text so that there would be less confusion over what leads where (Read More + Menu labels).

And as younger audiences will also be looking at the site, it still had to be visually engaging and delightful without being too overwhelming in terms of colours and overlapping text and photos.

More Traffic + Sales

Demographic Analysis

To measure our success, we can track the web analytics for traffic and purchases on the website. A higher number of visitors on the website will translate to more online sales and a look at the average age for each order will determine if we are accurately targeting the right customers.

Consumers who have never ventured onto the website may be brought by because of the articles; the same with customers who have only shopped at the physical locations.