Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello SuN`ers!

I`m glad to be here. I see a lot of great feedback on some start-up ideas so I thought I`d post my idea here as well. 

I`d like to launch a type of tryvertising concept that would connect denim jean brands with the women who buy them.  The idea is that denim brands spend thousands of dollars or more in advertising and marketing trying to reach their target market and build better brand loyalty.  But why not use that budget on a more real and direct concept to communicate with this market?  If there was a way to connect and communicate with this market and get honest, raw and experience-based feedback, the denim brands could improve, change or even penetrate new un-tapped marekts like never before.

My concept is an online solution that is built on a large network of women who register with us to receive free or deeply discounted designer jeans to try, keep and then come back to our website to report their experiences on our forum from their everyday lives, the good, the bad and in some cases the ugly. And for the denim brands they too can join our forums and interact with the ladies. 

I`ve researched this idea some and  there are some luxury brands doing this already, so I know with the right approach this could work. 

So I know in order to even get it going, I`ll need a large network of women who show a genuine interest, and then I`ll need to approach denim brands with the idea.  I`d like any feedback on this idea that you all may have.  It`s still very much in its infancy, but we do have a `un-official` website live, just so we can start to grow our network. Feel free to visit the site also and lend your feedback. 

I look forward to any advice or opinions.

My Denim Fling  `un-official` website

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Success is always worth the risk*
Join My Denim Fling!
My Denim Fling
::Try Jeans::Keep Jeans::Share Your Fling

If I undestand this right, you`re going to create an organized demographic group in this set of women who buy denim. After preparing this group, you`ll present it as a significant market research tool....a sort of very large focus group.

To incite the women to join, you`ll give them what....each/all a pair of expensive jeans you expect to get donated by each company? Or will it be a sort of monthly raffle?

The key here is your own knowledge of marketing, research, analysis, and sales. In order to build this network, you would have to target it entirely to the denim industry. Have you worked in that industry? Is that why you chose it?

How would you develop not only a large network, but also an active one. For example, you get 1,000 women to sign up and join. A year later, you approach Levi with this concept. They put a basic survey together, but how many of your members are active? WHY are they active?

I don`t think anyone will just join a network if there isn`t a reason for them to continue to make actions. So what will be the "in the meanwhile" thing to occcupy everyone`s attention, time, and energy?

Good concept. I think you should probably build the community first without mentioning the tryvertising. It can be done. Then when you have your base you`ll have willing participants in the research. Or, you could tell the members what your plans are, but, only a selected, dedicated few will be chosen to participate. That will keep them coming back. Then when you have six months of active participation you can approach a certain brand and offer your services. The trick is to know what demographics each company is trying to reach and having active participation from that particular demographic on your site.

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Get Out of Debt

Thank you for your feedback, I appreciate the different angles.  Watkins I like the idea of the selected few to participate, I guess each denim campaign will be different and will depend on the denim brands and how many ladies in our network they want to target. 

Mr. Craig, I understand there is a lot to understand about the industry and knowing what brands target who, as far as my background I`m studying marketing and advertising right now. I chose this industry because it is one that as a woman I can relate to and understand the challenges women face when it comes to jeans, and a great fit, and wanting to let brands know exactly how we feel.

Because bottom line is that the brands are targeting a specific market and they`d like to know what that market wants and needs.  Yes they are in it to make money, but they can make more money if they truly know and understand the market to its fullest and that is still in line with what their brand is and stands for.  I realize that not having deep industry experience is against me, but you know what I have what a lot of women have and that is a desire to find great-fitting and well designed jeans. 

I also believe that with enough interest from women that our reach could be bigger than we think. And we all know how much consumer pull women have in most markets today, don`t we?  This is something I find interesting, and challenging and I`ll pursue it with what I know and can learn. If I make it Fantastic, if not it will just give that much more knowledge to pursue other dreams and goals later. 

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Success is always worth the risk*
Join My Denim Fling!
My Denim Fling
::Try Jeans::Keep Jeans::Share Your Fling

Hmm....so what it sounds like to me is that you`re trying to form an organized demographic for women who buy things. Come to think of it, I don`t know if that`s been done before. There were the feminist movement groups, there are women co-ops, and so forth. There are women`s magazines, and so on.

But if you could somehow develop a central gathering point for women as consumers, with opinions, reviews, complaints (i.e., I wish I could find...), and analyses of why products fail, I`ll bet you could make a huge success of it.

We had a goofy thread some time back about wearing jeans to work. It just was a way to play around, and people started getting creative with ideas for jeans. Then, lo and behold, I think someone from Levi showed up, taking a look.

I don`t know if you`re familiar with the term "chum?" I mean it relative to fishing? It means you go out into the ocean, then throw overboard some cut-up pieces of fish. That`s the "chum." Other fish smell the blood and come around to see what`s what. When you throw your bait into the middle of the melee, you likely get a fish because they`re runnin` around trying to get free food.

What you could do is build a strong-activity forum and central site for women buyers....not all people, and not some age group. Only women, all ages. You could categorize each forum "arena" by classic demographic ages. Then generate similar categories in each forum.

As more and more women take an interest, it would be like setting up a commotion in the e-world. The "big fish" would likely notice. :-)

Hi,

I fully agree with Craig. Such a concept requires you to have a community, the members are active even when offline, technology platform to manage the network, logistics set up for distribution and reclaiming the tried stuff and a constant source of products that are available as and when you need it. Now think of scale you need to accomplish before you present the research findings to a manufacturer and start making money.

It`s a big dream that encapsulates Orkut like community, eBay like network, DHL or UPS for logistics, a conatct center to manage contacts and ofcourse a denim factory to support with its designers on thier toes. Think of its scale.

Well, I hope it would be a workable concept sometime in the future but time isn`t ripe now.

 

 

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Deepak
Analyst Zone, a value delivery approach

Hey Denim,

Great ideas from fellow SUNr`s! It seems like a few people have mentioned scalablity as a key aspect. Sun Microsystems is offering new startups @ http://www.sun.com/emrkt/startupessentials/ They`re offering loads of resources, seriously discounted prices on servers and free tech support! I think these guys are really helping get startups started and you have a great idea!

I like the idea with a personalized approach. I think if it takes off would be a create tool in the new Web 2.0 world.

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china business card / Wall Street Journal Reader

Although a little bit lengthy for

this format, please e-mail

nathangdad@yahoo.com as I have

something to present to you.

              Sincerely,

 

             Darwin Nunley

I, too, am engaged in a denim-jeans-related project, and I have also experiemented with the use of a `community` to sell product/services. Why don`t you try this:

Create a forum called "Women in Jeans" or the like. Crate thread/categories that appeal to specific sub-groups ie: Rockers who wear jeans as a fashion statement, at home moms who need something comfortable, womenin business who wear jeans as Business Casual, etc.

Create inccentoives/perks for remaining an active member of the community.

After some time has passed, THEN thro the tryvertising out there to your community. I would think that many would join, and the word-of-mouth atmosphere would encourage MORE members to join (as well as their friends who are not yet a part of teh community).

I hope this is a little helpful...