Mediaboss Marketing

Megan and Michelle, cofounders of Monrow, Photo Credit: Gina Clyne Photography

Known for its ultra-soft fabrics and quality designs, celebrity favorite luxe leisure brand Monrow already had a tried and true reputation in the fashion industry, before work from home attire became the new normal this past March.

Launched in 2007 and based in Los Angeles, Monrow captures the essence of elevated loungewear with quality, easy pieces that fit into anyones wardrobe.The brand has also successfully captured and captivated the attention of celebrity fans, such as Oprah, MichelleObama, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Beyonce, Kate Moss, and Kris and Kylie Jenner. Today, Monrow can be found in over 500 boutiques and department stores, including Shopbop, Revolve, Saks, and Bloomingdales, in addition to its robust direct-to-consumer site.

Founded by two former students of Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, who later forged a friendship and became cofounders, Michelle Wenke and Megan George identified the opportunity in the market for neutral toned luxe leisure wear. At the time circa mid-2000s this was the era known for the flashy-hued, bedazzled sweatsuits essentially, the direct opposite of what later became Monrow.

As Wenke explains, We saw a void in the market for a low-key, sophisticated sweatsuit. Everything at the time was very loud and bubble gummy.

Celebrating close to 15 years of effortless style, Monrow has remained a relevant and adaptable lifestyle brand. Monrow is inspired by the finest fabrics, including its trademark Supersoft fabric, to create stylish staples that complement every womans wardrobe. Part of its ethos is that Monrow creates the clothes that end up being worn all day and every day.

And what does every day look like in a pandemic? Cozy stay-at-home threads.

Everyone was staying home and all eyes and spending shifted to comfy, nice, loungewear and thats what we do, Wenke shares. Our understanding of manufacturing is so deep, Megan and I were able topivot fast and keep up with the demand.

This meant that instead of adding categories and chasing dollars, they streamlined their product line, invested heavily in core fabrics, narrowed down their options, and got rid of some bells and whistles so they could focus on their essentials.

Monrow loungewear set, Photo Credit: Dan Busta 2018

This past year has seen consumers searching for fashion-forward comfort, while the world continues to flow in and out of lockdowns amid a new wave of coronavirus cases. Thats where Monrows product offering comes in, as its known for going beyond regular athleisure: comfortable hoodies nice enough for work-related Zoom meetings and FaceTime gatherings, as well as sweatpants and stylish coordinated sets that serve as the perfect look for at-home Instagram mirror selfies and TikTok videos.

Our core basics and fabric essentials are the essence of our brand, George shares. Theyve been with us since the beginning and they're still going strong today. Its comfort, its casual, its timeless, and its quality. Now that we are able to boil everything down to our essential nature, our product is better than ever. We are limited to offering only the best of what we have. Its really refreshing and as a designer, it's inspiring. Before COVID it was grueling trying to keep up and appeal to everyone. Now we can just focus on the stuff we really love, and are proud of.

Another important note is that George and Wenke self-funded the brand, which has already successfully withstood the ensuing economic crisis of the 2008 Recession.

Monrow has proven its longevity in the fashion industry by leaning into and doubling down on quality and fit something that comes as a result of the cofounders classic fashion design training.

I think it comes down to quality and fit. So much of fashion is about now, new, more, cheaper, faster, George asserts. That can work for the short-term, but for the long-term you need ingredients that are authentic and hold up. Not only when it comes to style, but literally hold up with time, washing and wearing. Fit is a major factor with Monrow. It always has been. When we started, we would fit a T-shirt neckline 10 times until we were satisfied. These Ts are still in the line today.

Wenke adds: It really ensures our fit, quality and fabric are always up to our standards. Something might be off about a garment and we can figure out why right away, thanks to our level of knowledge about design. You have to understand something very well in order to create and manufacture a product very well. When we embark on issues, which you always do in business, we know how to solve it relatively quickly and well.

Amazingly, George and Wenke started the brand in Wenkes kitchen, where they put their technical, hands-on training to use. After graduating, the former classmates had gone their separate ways in the fashion world and their separate backgrounds have served them as entrepreneurs today.

Wenke worked as a wardrobe stylist for the NBC show Three Wishes, the reality phenomenon American Idol, and assisted celebrity stylist Jessica Paster. George had her own label, called George, which she sold to Fred Segal (a.k.a. Ron Herman) on Melrose.

When they came up with the idea for Monrow in 2006, they proceeded by cutting their first sample collection by hand in Wenkes kitchen of her Santa Monica apartment, on her grandmothers old dining room table.

We had one lady we worked with to develop patterns or we did them ourselves, as we are formally trained to do patterns, cut, sew, and drape. Then we found a dye house in L.A. and dyed our samples, George shares.

Once they had their first sample line together, they drove to Ron Herman to present it. They thought it would be an easy sell since the store carried Georges first line. He passed. They were devastated. This was 2007 so if you were in Fred Segal which was known as Ron Herman at the time you could pretty much sell to anyone, George explains.

So they drove to Malibu to try their luck at the retailer, Planet Blue. George continues: We had no appointment, but Michelle knew who the buyer was so we decided to stop by and see if she would take a look. She let us hang up our collection and she bought! Her order was for $1200.

With that pivotal yes, the cofounders decided to bank on the momentum and found a showroom to launch Monrow for them.

Once we had representation, the orders started to trickle in. Eventually Ron Herman bought us by the way, and we became one of its best lines! It was a good first lesson for us. There is no easy way into fashion and certainly no guarantees. Persistence is the only formula for success, George continues.

More than a decade and several new product categories later Monrow is proof that believing in your product and doubling down on your expertise can help when it comes to the long game.

Business and fashion are very alive and fast-paced so keep going, and push through, Wenke asserts. Flexibility is essential because you always have to pivot when you might not expect it. I always tell my team which is now 30-people strong that our job is to solve problems. If we didnt have problems with the business on a day to day, we wouldnt have jobs.

Monrow recently decided to expand its kids category by launching its first ever full collection for kids (in previous years, they only had a couple of childrens pieces here and there). Monrow Mini consists of new sweatshirts and sweatpants in a variety of hues and prints, and are made from the brands famousSupersoftfabric.

It was such an easy and natural transition. Especially now with the Mommy and me culture on social media, it seemed like the perfect time, George explains.

As for finding success as a self-funded brand?

To make a lasting brand you need to be willing to be poor. Money cant be your motivation in starting a company, George shares. Creating your brand needs to be the only thing that matters for the first few years. In our first year of business we gave ourselves nothing. The second year, we paid ourselves $1000 per month. We made decisions that were best for Monrows survival, not our own. Also, being flexible and taking risks is super important for any company. If you try to play it safe all the time you wont grow.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Monrow

Wenke adds: No shortcuts you have to be involved in all aspects of your business and understand it. If you dont, learn it. You can always hire people that are stronger than you, but you must understand what they are doing enough to identify when something is not working.Dont be afraid to ask for anything even if it seems out of the realm of the rules its always free to ask.

And now that fashion forward comfort has emerged as the uniform of choice for the housebound as well as the rise of versatile clothing that can be worn both inside and outside the pivot for Wenke and George meant honing in on their brands ethos.

We really made sure that whatever we are putting out there had to feel 150% Monrow, Wenke explains. We dropped anything that felt off or didnt feel like it was Monrow to the core. We were reminded, once again, we need to make sure we embrace and really own what the Monrow brand is, and what people keep coming back to us for.

View post:
How Celebrity-Favorite Loungewear Brand Monrow Survived The 2008 Recession And Continues To Thrive, More Than A Decade In Business - Forbes

Thailand has a long history of political instability and civil strife, with democracy having been repeatedly disrupted by a strong culture of military intervention and monarchical overreach during the past century. Against this backdrop, the countrys political discourse in the past decade has increasingly been shaped and amplified by social media and digital activism.

This years wave of political activism has seen the emergence of a countrywide youth-led democracy movement against the military-dominated ruling coalition, as well as a nationalist counter-protest movement in support of the establishment. These protests and counter-protests have heightened the tension on both sides of the increasingly polarized and dangerous political divide.

In our new report, we analysed samples of Twitter data relevant to these political protests in Thailand and explored two key ways in which the online protest movement differs from its offline counterpart. This includes the power dynamics between institutional actors and protesters, and the participation and engagement of international actors who have become involved in the protests.

In the physical world, protesters operate in places that are almost always controlled by the government. In the digital space, the power asymmetry between protesters and authorities is reduced and transformed. Authorities are forced to operate in spaces that they cant control to the same degreespaces in which the social media platforms are the ultimate arbiters. This makes the online dimension of protest movements fundamentally different from their offline component, although both may still complement and influence one another.

The Thai government has repeatedly used institutional methods, such as mass civilian arrests, bans on public gatherings, aggressive dispersal measures, digital surveillance and lawsuits against social media platforms, to curb freedom of expression. However, this has not stopped the pro-democracy movement from taking its grievances, demands and aspirations to both online and offline platforms on a near-daily basis. The government, in response, is turning to new methods, such as coordinated activity on social media platforms.

In October, Twitter removed 926 accounts connected to the Royal Thai Army after the accounts were found to be engaging in covert information operations. In November, a leaked briefing presentation revealed that a further 17,562 Twitter accounts linked to the Thai military were used in a large-scale information operation to increase traffic to pro-monarchy hashtags and to coordinate attacks against pro-democracy campaigns and activists. While the army initially defended itself by labelling these efforts a misunderstanding, it also acknowledged that military personnel have undergone extensive training to understand digital media platforms effectively and appropriately.

Our research found further significant indications of highly unusual patterns of Twitter activity favourable to the government and the establishment. This behaviour, intended to shift perceptions and shape narratives about the countrys political situation, ranges from the potential use of automation, to real people being paid to engage in inauthentic behaviour by way of repurposed or newly created accounts.

The protesters are highly aware of accounts that engage in disinformation and social media manipulation to promote pro-establishment narratives and work against the pro-democracy movement. The heightened awareness of these information operations has driven coordinated pushback, mostly by mass-reporting accounts that are deemed suspicious. Similarly, several pro-establishment accounts have openly discussed the mass reporting of pro-democracy accounts that they deem to be a threat to the establishment. This kind of grassroots, citizen-led activism against organised information campaigns can help support democratic values. However, theres a risk that genuine commentators from both sides will be swept up in such campaigns, thereby undermining their own rights to freedom of expression.

Another key difference between Thailands online and offline protests is the participation and engagement of a broader range of actors online. Global leaders, international activists, human rights organisations, celebrities, foreign media outlets and even conspiracy theorists have been shaping discussions, narratives and opinions about the protests and their targets. This is largely due to increased efforts by Thai Twitter users to share content in various languages and seek international support, both for and against the pro-democracy movement.

International solidarity for the protest movement has been widely promoted through the Milk Tea Alliance and K-pop fandom activism, both of which have become powerful online movements for young people to speak up about social issues and fight for democracy. At the same time, there appears to be a growing web of internationalised conspiracy theories online affecting the situation on the ground. Chinese state media, foreign conspiracy theorists, royalist groups, right-wing media and members of the government have sought to undermine the pro-democracy movement by claiming that the protests are tied to the black hand of shadowy Western actors, whether that be the CIA, the USs National Endowment for Democracy or billionaire philanthropist George Soros.

The steady evolution of tactics by the government, the military and protesters is occurring in an increasingly sophisticated new battleground for democracy in Thailand, both on the streets and on screens. Given that the protest movement is an ongoing and rapidly developing phenomenon, understanding these power dynamics is crucial for broader analysis of the countrys political situation and its implications.

Read the original:
The power dynamics of Thailand's digital activism | The Strategist - The Strategist

Shaadi.com has launched its latest campaign called Pressure Hatao, Shaadi.com pe aao that addresses the several pressures women face in their matchmaking journey and empowers them to take control of the situation.

Women in India are often put to the test in the process of finding their life partner. The traditional approach is inefficient and often discounts what women really want. Not only do they end up meeting people who they do not relate to, but they also must deal with unnecessary pressures right through the journey. In a study conducted by Shaadi.com, 80% of the women expressed that they would like to be in control of this journey, with limited intervention from others.

Shaadi.com empowers women to take control of this journey and rests the decision making in their hands. Through this campaign, Shaadi.com brings to fore the various pressure points faced by women and focuses on the value Shaadi.com can bring in their journey.

Some of the Pressure Hatao moments highlighted in the campaign are -

To further amplify the message Shaadi.com is partnering with influencers to share their experiences on the pressures they have faced on their social handles to get the message out far and wide. This will encourage other users to share their experience and begin conversations on the pressures one goes through.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Adhish Zaveri, Director Marketing, Shaadi.comsaid,Shaadi.com has paved the way for Indias journey from Arranged Marriages to Planned Marriages. Planned marriages put the individual in the drivers seat, while taking the family along. This campaign is an entertaining, relatable & condensed reflection of this journey.

Speaking about the campaign Rajdeepak Das, Managing Director- India and Chief Creative Officer - South Asia, Leo Burnettsaid "The #TakeThePressureOff campaign addresses some of the biggest problems in the arranged marriage setup through its humourous stories. The execution is light-hearted and we are sure a lot of people will relate to it in a fun way.

See the rest here:
Shaadi.com wants women to take control of their matchmaking journey in new campaign - Exchange4Media

This article is sponsored by Xandr.

In todays resource-constrained world, marketers and agencies are paying more attention to how far their digital investment goes. While each buy-side customer will have a slightly different mix of goals for their digital campaigns, three overarching areas of focus are emerging:

Supply path advantage: First, marketers and agencies need affirmation that they are investing in premium supply in a cost-efficient way. This is crucial to ensure that media dollars go as far as possible. On top of that, they want assurance that theyre purchasing media in brand-safe and performant environments.

Identity across screens: Buy-side customers want to guarantee that their advertising campaigns will reach target audiences in an effective, relevant and streamlined way. Customers are also increasingly screen agnostic, seeking flexibility in how they activate audiences, regardless of device or channel. Identity solutions are key to providing a holistic, sophisticated advertising experience that takes into account the disparate channels and screens on which consumers engage with media.

Effective measurement: Return on investment is increasingly becoming the only KPI that matters across both online and offline channels. In reaction to an unpredictable landscape, more marketers seek to drive toward real-world outcomes. To do so, they require the ability to quickly iterate on their campaign targets and budgets.

Despite the apparent benefits of these self-service platforms, some buyers continue to have lingering concerns about their transparency. They also worry that these platforms operate in service of the platform owner, not the client.

To be sure, walled gardens dont provide adequate transparency into pricing, placement or measurement and there are valid concerns around transparency in the programmatic ecosystem too. But these concerns dont invalidate the challenges posed by IO-only models, particularly as marketers investment priorities continue to shift in 2021 and beyond. In light of this, lets explore a few programmatic myths and realities that demonstrate why buy-side customers should feel confident turning to these platforms to address their core needs.

Myth #1: IOs and managed service partnerships are the only way to retain investment scale and strategic control in media transactions.

Myth #2: Technology can't replicate my direct buys and be leveraged across Advanced TV.

Myth #3: Direct relationships ensure my media investment goes toward premium inventory.

Myth #4: Platforms operate in service of the platform owner not a publisher, client or total ecosystem.

As advertisers and publishers continue to look for more simplified ways of buying to unlock greater ROI and flexibility across screens and channels, bringing together media, data and technology will continue to be increasingly important. As more formats across screens become programmatically available in 2021 in both digital and TV-like environments there is an even greater opportunity for programmatic platforms to represent the majority of ad spending.

See the article here:
4 Reasons Buyers Should Feel Confident Turning To Programmatic Platforms In 2021 And Beyond - AdExchanger

Our commenting has been temporarily disabled.

You are solely responsible for your comments and by using TribLive.com you agree to ourTerms of Service.

We moderate comments. Our goal is to provide substantive commentary for a general readership. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderating decisions are subjective. We will make them as carefully and consistently as we can. Because of the volume of reader comments, we cannot review individual moderation decisions with readers.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. We make an effort to protect discussions from repeated comments either by the same reader or different readers

We follow the same standards for taste as the daily newspaper. A few things we won't tolerate: personal attacks, obscenity, vulgarity, profanity (including expletives and letters followed by dashes), commercial promotion, impersonations, incoherence, proselytizing and SHOUTING. Don't include URLs to Web sites.

We do not edit comments. They are either approved or deleted. We reserve the right to edit a comment that is quoted or excerpted in an article. In this case, we may fix spelling and punctuation.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but we don't want comments to become bogged down with discussions of our policies and we will moderate accordingly.

We appreciate it when readers and people quoted in articles or blog posts point out errors of fact or emphasis and will investigate all assertions. But these suggestions should be sentvia e-mail. To avoid distracting other readers, we won't publish comments that suggest a correction. Instead, corrections will be made in a blog post or in an article.

Go here to read the rest:
CDC: Stay home for the holidays | TribLIVE.com - TribLIVE