Summary: Bath and Body Works incorporates Facebook into their offline marketing campaign.
This evening I received (or should I say, my wife received) a circular from the Bath and Body Works. This direct mail piece drew my eye in particular due to its use of the Facebook logo and the invitation to become a fan of the brand online. While it isn’t uncommon to see the Facebook logo on web sites and email messages, seeing it on four color direct mailers is a bit rare.
I typed in the address from the mailer and visited Bath and Body Works’ Facebook page, more out of curiosity than any incentive that they were offering. The page itself (seen below) was attractively designed and went beyond the basic vanilla page layouts most brands use. Using the page’s setting to change the default view, Bath and Body Works opens with a “What’s New” tab which has special deals and promotions.
What's New with Bath and Body Works on Facebook
The landing page concept that Bath and Body Works uses for their page is becoming the new standard for brands, but what was curious is their decision to force users to click the “Click to Explore” button in order to interact with the page – it just didn’t seem to serve any purpose.
Once clicked however, the page lightens up and becomes a bit more interactive. Product lines are displayed, along with other promotions, and a nicely implemented poll.
The feature of this What’s New tab is Bath and Body Works’ “Twilight Woods” video feature. Facebook users are told they can be the first to see this video, but when you click the ad you just go to the Bath and Body Works web site. What might have been a better experience would have been to load this video onto Facebook, and require people to be a fan to see it – much like NBC did with its pilot episode of Community. It was disappointing to see that there weren’t any videos on the Facebook page.
Moving on to the main page, I clicked on the “Wall” to see what type of interaction was going on there.
Rectangular and Squared off Profile Image Technique
Again, Bath and Body Works did a good job of sprucing up their page, liberally using the Static FBML app to include graphical buttons and features along the left rail of the page. They also utilized the technique of using a rectangular image as their profile that has a squared off version of their logo for the news feed.
Personally, I believe that the open wall format that includes fan comments in addition to the brand’s message is a better experience for users. The Bath and Body Works page is more closed, with only their official messaging present by default. Even so, Bath and Body Works seems to actively update their Facebook page and even query fans about their likes and dislikes. Of particular interest to me was the brands use of Facebook specific coupons and contests, including their “What was your best give ever” contest. If possible, this would be a great promotion to run as a Facebook application that people could add to their profile.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that I learned about their page from their direct mail piece, which as I said was a four color mailer that came complete with 2 offer cards. It would have been especially cool if one of those offers was a code that redeemable online, or even through Facebook. Unfortunately though, the cards had to be presented at a store location.
In summary, Bath and Body Works should be applauded for including their Facebook page on their offline marketing collateral, as well as their creativity in designing their page. Where they could improve is by full embracing the online nature of their potential Facebook fans, offering them something they couldn’t get at a store, and making their page more about their community than just a platform to promote new products.
