DownEast Basics

One of my favorite discoveries this summer has been DownEast Basics, a growing company out of Utah. DownEast offers stylish, well made apparel, home furnishings and accessories at prices that just might floor even the most frugal of fashionistas. Aside from Allison Izu, I spent a lot of time getting to know their brand at LA Market.The Social Side of DownEast BasicsI always like to see how “social” (what they are doing in there online marketing efforts) a brand is. I did some digging into just how social a brand DownEast Basics was and I was very please at what I found.Down East - Connect The Dots Dress

Down East - Connect The Dots Dress

On Facebook, DownEast boasts 2,885 fans. They update daily; adding in their latest press, sales, contests and product giveaways. They’re also leveraging their online presence to let customers know what promotions are going on in-store.DownEast is effectively tying their online marketing initiatives into more traditional ones, and it appears to be working. What’s impressive about their fan page is the amount of response that each post gets (between 2-8 likes/comments). For a smaller retailer, this interaction shows measurable engagement results. The level of participation tells me that their “fans” use the brand’s Facebook feed to stay informed with what happening online and in-store.DownEast also gets digital kudos for their fantastic digital look book that integrated into their Facebook fan page.

Down East - Leading Lady Dress

The DownEast blog is wonderfully written and supports the fashion bloggers and online magazines that are supporting them (joint marketing partnerships w/bloggers are crucial in creating successful social media campaigns for any fashion brand).I’d love to see DownEast add something like Hayden-Hartnett’s IRL series. Their pieces are so versatile, it would be easy to create unique outfits. Hopefully I’ll see more of DownEast on Weardrobe, Polyvore and Lookbook.nu also.

Down East - Collegiate Sweater

On the social side of things, DownEast has it going on. For wholesale or retail information, visit their site at DownEastBasics.com, I’m also sure it’s okay to Facebook Stalk them.Get to know more about designers like DownEast at FashionablyMarketing.Me