F&F, the fashion brand exclusive to Tesco, has been operating in Central Europe since 2008, available across Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This market is consolidating, resulting in a tougher and increasingly competitive trading environment. The regulatory environment is stringent in Central Europe – general disclaimers (eg “while stocks last”, “subject to availability”) are banned, and minimum quantities of each product featured must be guaranteed in every store.

The media landscape is also becoming more competitive. Technology is developing and digital media penetration is growing. However, traditional advertising methods are still more commonly used. Branded content is a relatively new form of communication across Central Europe, so launching an editorial programme across several platforms has been an ambitious challenge for F&F.

We created a multi-platform editorial campaign designed to attract a discerning 25yr+ fashion-conscious audience. A leading editorial team secured the best contributors, photographers and stylists whose output would rival the top consumer media brands. The content had to be culturally familiar and appeal to all territories, covering fashion news, celebrity, beauty and lifestyle. It reached the audience via print magazines displayed in units we designed for in-store display. New and alternative content was created to engage a wider online audience and within social media and mobile applications, integrated with and supported by a multi-channel marketing campaign across online, POS, ATL and live shows.

It’s clear that this programme of activity has proved successful both with the target audience and for the client; it arguably demonstrates the most innovative and diverse use of editorial content versus F&F’s direct competitors in Central Europe, if not globally. Here are a few facts to demonstrate its success:Brand awareness increased from 75% to 88% (Source: Nielsen/F&F Annual Research 2011).51% of customers visited the clothing department in-store as a result of seeing the magazine, and 62% bought clothing (Source: Nielsen/F&F Annual Research 2011).Sales from F&F Magazine increased an average of 25% on the previous print-only catalogues YOY (Source: F&F sales data).The content programme has driven awareness and engagement to F&F’s website. The online magazines have generated more than 2.6m visits and more than 11.6m page views across the programme period.

Facebook fans have increased by 300% and now stand at more than 150,000.In 2010, the first stand-alone F&F branded store opened in Prague. 2 further stores have since opened and this content programme is now extending to a fifth CE territory (Turkey).F&F is now 1 of the 3 top-selling fashion brands in Central Europe and market leader in value in Hungary, Czech Republic, and Slovakia.