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Threadless Weaves Marketing DreamsJuly 2, 2010 – 3:23 pm |
 Abdul Fattah Ismail |
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Threadless has gained praise nationwide for their masterful use of online communities to drive sales. The Chicago-based company does not have professional designers nor online advertising agencies and other distributors to pirate income. It took them some time for the open source movement to generate results, but they have commemorated it this year with a 10th anniversary campaign. The Tour Kick-Off Sale ends July 2nd and includes various price points for men, women, and children that fit anyone’s budget. They will be in a caravan that covers the nation while stopping at the Pitchfork Music Festival and other points in between to Washington D.C. in October. Here are the dates.
The company’s tight relationship with its community allows for an amalgam of creative designs and products that allow for test marketing before the product is pushed to the website. The website is also optimized for clean click navigation, search indexing, and a full board of social widgets. I believe that the crispness of their website is key to their success. One receives feedback immediately on their designs from the network while making income for their gifts. It’s a relationship that benefits the consumer and merchant without a lot of database research or bureaucracy.
Threadless has begun to develop partnerships with Griffin Technologies and Havaianas Footwear to stretch their product portfolio into smartphone cases and flip-flops, amongst other things. With a rich community of designers and a 10-year anniversary book to cement brand equity, Threadless is an emerging force. Heavyweight marketing executives have wondered for some time about the open source model, and now see it come to fruition. They should be very afraid. For more details on Threadless, read this interview from VP of Marketing, Cam Balzer.
