Three years ago, Thomson was charged with the “exciting challenge of setting Primark’s first social strategy”.
“It’s difficult to argue with data,” she said. “We looked at what were the most talked-about fashion moments and products at any time of year, and worked the calendar backwards.”
Bronzer came out on top, so the team set about including the beauty product in as much content as possible, even if it was a “get ready with me” centred around Primark’s Lilo & Stitch range.
“It doesn’t have to make sense,” said Maunders, “but when it works it really works.”
“It’s difficult to argue with numbers,” continued Thomson. “We were seeing week-on-week sales and traffic to the site that we couldn’t do before.”
When Maunders joined in 2022, Primark had no customer insight team, which she saw as an “incredible opportunity” to “start from scratch”.
Primark took advantage of the the post-Covid surge in demand for wedding outfits, and after a year had a specialist occasionwear range based on data from social media, Maunders explained.
TikTok and Instagram are Primark’s biggest platforms.
“You have to choose between strength mapping and being everywhere,” said Maunders, adding that there is also huge potential among non-Primark shoppers on Pinterest.
“We are grounded in the strategy of what we refer to as the joy of brand, product and community,” Thomson added. “We started to approach everything by asking: what does Primark need to say in this moment?”
Primark has tried to focus on “cultural moments” rather than trends for their social marketing, including a Bridgerton-themed range at the time of the release of the Netflix series.
“It’s about global reach but local relevance,” said Maunders. “Fourth of July isn’t relevant to anyone outside the US but if you share a video explaining the best outfit for a fourth of July barbecue, that’s just a video of a great outfit.” Primark’s product range is available across all of its markets globally. “It’s cliche but it’s about meeting your customer where they are.”
“It’s about driving Primania in the community,” added Thomson. “We’re focusing on community building and community nourishment. We ask our customers a lot.” For its adaptive range, Primark hosted focus groups and created content based on research.
Colleague-made content performs well: “Our colleagues are our biggest assets,” said Maunders. “They’re making amazing content. We want to continue to use our passionate colleagues in such a simple way.”
“It’s about progress, not perfection,” Thomson concluded.
