Hi everyone,

I’m sure you have seen this footwear at least once in your life before. Yes, this footwear is from Crocs, and Crocs is the company that I have chosen for my Individual Project.

Crocs is quite a widely known brand, but most people who know Crocs tend to have a negative sentiment towards the brand and think that Crocs is “an ugly brand” because of the look and design of a classic Crocs clogs as seen above.

However, Crocs has invested heavily in research and development as well as collaborations with major companies like Disney to increase its brand value and to bring its brand attributes (Innovation, Fun, Comfort and Simplicity) across to customers.

All Crocs classic clogs are made from Croslite, a proprietary closed-cell resin material that Crocs has patents and exclusive production rights for. The clogs are also designed with the signature ventilated toe box with features such as built-in arch support, orthopaedic heel cups, circulation stimulation nubs on the insoles, and supportive orthopaedic moulded soles. All these contributes to the comfortability and functionality of the clogs.

Also, Crocs has many collaborations with Disney for example to have the rights to use their Disney characters on their footwear. And of course, the Crocs classic clogs are not the only products that Crocs has. Crocs has also other footwear options such as flats, slippers and even slip-ons. However, not much of these are portrayed on social media and it should.

Since Crocs is doing so much work, why are people still viewing Crocs as an “ugly brand”? Hence, my research paper will seek to answer the research question: How effective is Crocs in using social media to engage and communicate information with users? Using that knowledge, how can Crocs better use social media to enhance positive notions and dispel negative ones towards the brand?

After social media tracking for 2 weeks and understanding their consumers, I have come up with a list of strategies.

1. Instagram is currently used as platform for Crocs to showcase visuals of the Crocs shoes. However, what Crocs needs to do is to first dispel negative perceptions of Crocs being aesthetically displeasing or else similar comments may continue to appear on their social media postings. Leveraging on the hashtag created by Crocs, ‘#FindYourFun’, a contest can be organised to gather ideas from aspiring designers to modify the classic Crocs clogs, while still keeping the fundamental functionalities of the shoes. Other users can then vote for their favourite design and both the winning designer and a chosen voter can stand to win a prizes. This is in line with what Crocs believe in, which is fun.
2. Since there is such a strong following on Facebook, it should be used as a platform to convey messages and information to its followers. Crocs newsletters can be created for consumers who want to read in detail, and short interesting posts with key information can also be posted. It should also act as a platform that can serve as a feedback channel. Therefore when there are comments on the posts, Crocs should always make an effort to reply to them.
3. Crocs can make use of their existing YouTube channel to come up with a series of new videos that can portray the functionality of Crocs. In each video, people can be seen wearing Crocs to complete a series of challenges on land or even wet surfaces. This is to showcase that Crocs is not only about fun, but also functional. These videos can also be a chance to showcase other product lines of footwear to remove the impression that Crocs only has the classic Clogs. The public can choose to comment on what new challenges they would like to see in the comments section. By allowing consumers to contribute and input under the comments section, consumer engagement is increased. Also, when interesting and relatable content is generated in these videos, the videos can become viral and this Word-of-mouth will benefit Crocs.

With these strategies, hopefully Crocs can continue to engage consumers and to dispel negative sentiments towards its brand.

Regards,

Cari (G1)