Intro to Skims Screenshot: Founders of Skims from left to right: Kim Kardashian, Jens Grede, and Emma Gede Skims is a solution-oriented brand of shapewear, loungewear, underwear, and swimwear for almost every and all body shapes and sizes.&nbs…
Screenshot: Founders of Skims from left to right: Kim Kardashian, Jens Grede, and Emma Gede
Skims is a solution-oriented brand of shapewear, loungewear, underwear, and swimwear for almost every and all body shapes and sizes. It was founded by reality TV star, Kim Kardashian, and the marketing power couple, Jens and Emma Grede and launched in 2019. There are two slogans used: "get it or regret it" and "the next generation of underwear and loungewear."
While many celeb-based fashion and apparel brands provide a limited size range (mostly for those with the "ideal" body), Skims focuses on inclusivity of all body types and has products for men and women, therefore broadening their audience to include just about everyone. Their products are comfortable and versatile, as some of their underwear stretches to twice its size. This is key for this industry, as the products of the shapewear brands that preceded Skims were uncomfortably restricting, hard to put on, and based on a man's ideal of a how a woman's body should look. In contrast, Skims' products are easy to put on, soft and comfortable, flattering, and fun to wear.
Between the Gredes and Kardashian, it seems almost improbable that Skims would fail. However, there were a couple bumps in the road.
For one, Kim Kardashian (and her sisters) is a fashion icon and celebrity personality with pretty unrealistic beauty standards. It took me until this year to try her products, because I assumed it would be an over-priced and only-looks-good-on-perfect-bodies type of brand, because it was fronted by a Kardashian. But my sister insisted I'd try them out, and I'm happy I did. I was impressed by the variations of sizing, the diverse shapes of the models on the websites and ads, and the prices weren't much different from other quality shapewear and underwear brands. Finally, I found my size!
Another bump was in the name. At first Skims was to be called "Kimono," but it was an offensive name, as the kimono is a traditional garment of Japan. In fact, the Mayor of Kyoto wrote a letter asking them to rename their brand. Instead of acting entitled, they acknowledged their error, graciously apologized, and changed their name to Skims. I appreciate how they handled that- it showed their willingness to listen to feedback and make considerate changes.
Kardashian's social media presence was a gateway to reach the masses while launching the new product. While sales began online with "hype drops," they are now partnered with other shops, like Nordstrom, and outfit players of the NBA and the USA Olympic teams. In 2022, Time Magazine named Skims as one of their most influential companies. And in February of this year, Forbes Magazine reported Skims has raised their value to $4 billion dollars. Wow- it's been a really impressive and successful 5 years for Skims.
Instagram is a photo-based social media app, perfect for advertising products.On Instagram, Skims has 6 million followers, created 5,250 posts, and follows 270 accounts. Skims uses Instagram to announce drops of new products, designs, sponsors, and partnerships. Currently, Skims has just dropped their line for the Olympic Team USA. Below the drop announcement is a link to the website for followers to check out the new line. Scrolling through the content, it seems endless with photos of their products adorning models and celebrities. For the moment, the top 12 photos are of the Team USA apparel. With 6 million followers, and an endless number of drops, it's no wonder they're so successful!
FaceBook is the predecessor of Instagram. It is used similarly to Instagram, but the crowd of users may be older or less "hip" than those of Instagram.
Skims FaceBook account shows 445K followers with 325k likes. The difference in the numbers of FaceBook to Instagram may reflect the popularity of the social media apps themselves. Just as in Instagram, Skims' FaceBook account presents the drops of new product lines, products, and partnerships. The last post was 2 hours ago, and the most recent 10 posts are advertising the products for Team USA with some US Olympic athletes modeling the apparel. There are different tabs. The about tab lists the email address for help as well as a link to the main website. There are also tabs for videos and FaceBook Reels. The background photo is of Kim Kardashian in the apparel surrounded by other models in different apparel items. The profile photo is the logo, just as it is on Instagram.
Twitter / X began as a brief text only social media platform, but now it has evolved to include media like photos and videos.
On Twitter / X, Skims produced 8,905 posts and holds 136.4k followers. The background photo is a group shot of models, including Kim, adorning the apparel products. The last / top post is of a video ad for Skims. It's a clever ad parodying the research of the innovative fabric. Beneath the video post are multiple post of the Team USA line of the same athletes. The same photos posted on Instagram and FaceBook.
Pinterest is basically a shareable digital mood board. Account holders will post photos of subject they enjoy or would like to find or emulate. On some of these posts are links to other sites to possibly purchase or find information about the subjects.
At the bottom of the Skims website, www.skims.com , there are social media icon links. One of them is a link to Skims' Pinterest account, Skimsbody. When I clicked on it, it did send me to the page, however, there were no posts, nor saved pins, but there are 26k followers. When I searched for Skims in the search bar, there were many posts, but not officially from Skims. Some had links to Poshmark, a used goods web-app.
YouTube is a video sharing app that has changed the entertainment industry.
Skims uses YouTube to present videos from creators and consumers to talk about, model, and demonstrate the features of the products. On YouTube, Skims has 38.8k subscribers and have posted and 300 videos. There are also some commercials posted. Kim will star in some of the videos describing the features of the spotlight item. Of the consumer videos, some are non-celebrities and others are famous musicians, actors, models, and athletes. The profile and background photos are simply of the Skims logo.
Tik Tok is kind of like the new YouTube. The content is usually quick videos of dance routines, personal rants and opinions, and funny kids and animals.
Like the videos on Skims' YouTube page, the videos on their Tik Tok account are very similar- displaying the packaging, modeling the apparel, and speaking of their favorite features. Of the videos on Tik Tok, the creators look to be more of civilian consumers and not celebrities. The popularity of Tik Tok over YouTube shows in the numbers of Skims' followers and subscribers. On Tik Tok, Skims has 1.3 million followers and 19 million likes. That's a lot.
Digital Footprint
Skims is everywhere online, and I find they are smart about what they post. When googling "Skims" the first listing is the website www.skims.com. In second place, the Instagram page, then a page for their line at Nordstrom department store, followed by videos, their Tik Tok page, news articles, and their international shops. The results for "Skims" are all about Skims, their products, their success, the story of their founders, and praise from their consumers. When looking at an image search, it is all of Skims' products and logos, with some of them of Kim Kardashian
When looking at the social media sites and their website and app, the photos are consistent, as well as the captions and written content. They seem to have a great marketing team that is unified in keeping the word good and the style consistent. In fact, it is through the hard work and consistency on social media (not to mention Kim's presence) that helped to bring their success. They really did a great job.
Commendations / Recommendations
Overall, I believe Skim did a really impressive job from launch to now. I mean to gain a value of $4 billion within 5 years is just amazing. The products (so far) are great. Their involvement with different affiliations like the NBA, Team USA, and Nordstrom and others were great decisions. Even though Kim is the face of the company, the Gredes are behind the scenes really making magic. I love that Emma Gredes has a goal for inclusivity of sizes, shape, color, gender, disabilities, age, and everything in between. I feel she is the real heart of this company.
On the social media aspect, there is consistency in the brand placement and item drops. By consistency, I mean the consistency of content across each platform is almost the same and reaches out to different demographics based on the platform. While the videos and reviews from celebrities are impressive, it's the content from the non-celebrity consumers that speak volume of the product.
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