Metro Brands' Digital Transformation & Influencer Marketing Journey


By Rachit Juneja

June 12, 2021


“Today’s youth looks at the quality of content, and that’s what makes Influencers more popular than celebrities. The millennials and gen zers no longer put celebrities on a pedestal. With the access they have to celebrities on social media, along with a variety of influencers, they connect to the people who most relate to their values and sense of style.” - Alisha Malik, Vice President, E-commerce, Metro Brands Ltd.


Metro Shoes was started in 1947, as a standalone footwear retailer. Today Metro has a network of over 500 stores in 110+ cities. Metro Brands Limited is a powerhouse of strong brands with Metro Shoes, Mochi, and Walkway as the key power brands along with many sub-brands. DaVinchi is a premium brand with a standalone store and is exclusively available in Metro Shoes stores. Similarly, J. Fontini is a premium brand exclusively available in Mochi stores. Recently acquired is Cheemo, a haute couture brand for ethnic handbags and matching footwear, especially handcrafted.



Metro Brands works closely with a strong vendor network. Continuous training, updates on trends, international sourcing capabilities, investment in technology to see inventory all over India early on has ensured that Metro Brands Limited, is always ahead of the curve in giving freshness and new designs to its customers.


We got in touch with Ms. Alisha Malik to find out more about their influencer marketing journey. She graduated from New Castle Business School with a Bachelor in Finance (hons) in 2007. She joined the business in 2010 and has been involved in conceptualizing and starting up the e-commerce portal for Metro Shoes. Alisha now spearheads the e-commerce business and the digital transformation of Metro Brands Ltd, along with Marketing. A team-leader, she imbibes the modern practices and aims to grow the ecommerce business.



Tell us about your product category, and why have you chosen this messaging for the brand? How does your brand stand out?

 

“We are a footwear and accessories retailer for men, women, and children. Established in 1955, Metro Brands Ltd. is one of the largest fashion footwear retailers in India. We are a house of brands that has Metro shoes, Mochi, Walkway and we are the National Retail Partner for Crocs in India 

 

At the end of last year, we encouraged people to put their ‘Best foot forward’ with our campaigns. Post March 2021, we changed our narrative to  ‘Let there be Bright’ with an intention to maintain hope during challenging times.

 

For Mochi, the Spring Summer campaign is #MakersofAwesome. With the advent of social media over the last decade, India has witnessed a massive rise in online content creators who have redefined prevailing trends for the new age consumer. These creators are differentiators who like to do things differently. They are the trendsetters, the game-changers. They are the ones who set the bar and then raise it even higher. Mochi’s Spring Summer campaign- #MakersofAwesome is inspired by these artists.”

 

How does your brand stand out?

“Metro Shoes is a contemporary Fashion brand, while Mochi is a comparatively young, fashionable brand and Walkway is the value brand that retails affordable fashion. Each of our brands have a unique positioning. 

We believe  our products and understanding of regional sensitivity are our biggest strengths. We believe in maintaining freshness and offering products as per the customers need, which changes as per various regions and seasons. The style or design at the Colaba store is different from that of Bandra and so does Chennai differ from Kolkata or other regions. Attention to detail, strong vendor network, international sourcing capabilities, technology, auto replenishment program, has helped Metro Brands ltd. remain updated in giving freshness and new designs to its customers.  Pan-India inventory visibility enables us to be an omnichannel brand. We also have an omnichannel presence and we are [one of the largest selling women’s footwear brands in leading e-commerce marketplaces].”

 

How do you measure the RoI? 


“Basis your objective, ROI is measured. If the objective of the campaign is engagement, the ROI is measured with the reach, likes, views, comments, i.e engagement rate on the Influencer page along with the profile visits the brand received. For more sale-driven objectives, the RoAS (return on ad spend) is primary determinant in the success of a campaign.”

 

Tell us about the process of shortlisting influencers?

 

“Brand personality, messaging and campaign thought play a crucial part in choosing the influencers. However, what remains constant is the target audience of the brand. We choose influencers who appeal and relate to our brands’ core TG. We also consider their engagement rate and quality of content while making a choice. Regional influencers, people who have genuine brand love are those we encourage associating with.”

 

What are the pros/cons of long-term associations with influencers? Would you recommend it to other brands in this category?


“The pros of doing a long-term partnership with an influencer, is that the audience on the creator's page starts associating and connecting with the brand. The cons are that it becomes challenging to create new entertaining content every time. Customers trust a 3rd party reference of a brand rather than the brand promotion. We believe that this fundamental psychological aspect affects brand perception and the way people feel about a brand. Especially when promoting a specific collection like a sustainable range, the appropriate influencers can truly leverage the brand’s collection

Brands will need to make a decision based on their marketing and content strategy. There are no right or wrong answers.”

 

What is one thing you’ve learned from influencer marketing by other brands?

“At a point of time, wherein youth would get influenced and fascinated by celebrities, I strongly think that Social Media influencers have replaced the same. Today’s youth looks at the quality of content, and that’s what makes Influencers more popular than celebrities. The millennials and gen zers no longer put celebrities on a pedestal. With the access they have to celebrities on social media, along with a variety of influencers, they connect to the people who most relate to their values and sense of style. They prefer what they like, rather than being told that this is the trend they should follow, hence the importance of influencers is more relevant today.

It is how creatively you can marry influencer content with the brand narrative that always surprises you. Making collaboration, seamless without being a force fit, is the key. It is important that the brand personality matches with that of the influencer otherwise it appears as a brand trying too hard to be in a space that does not belong to them. Also, beware of identical or similar product/ campaign imagery with the same influencer. Social Media is a cluttered space, so it is crucial to be unique with your content.”

 

What is the most common challenge faced during influencer campaigns?


“The influencer should trust your product and love the style, that makes a huge difference in the content that he or she will curate. The result of a message well-articulated, use of the right influencer, uniqueness in content can give astounding results as compared to randomly picking up the influencers.”

 

If you were to re-do any campaign, how would you do it differently? 

 

“I would create a long-term plan and develop content with the same influencer every quarter. This creates much stronger brand recall and is not a hit-and-miss messaging for a brand. When you use the right influencer for a longer time, the credibility of your brand increases. However, the overall Influencer strategy would continue to be a mix of long-term and tactical Influencers Find influencers who truly love the brand. They go the extra mile for content creation.”

 

What is a recent trend in influencer marketing that you think is here to stay? 


“Gamification, use of effects and filters is one of the most engaging aspects of influencer campaigns.”

 

Do you see any innovation coming up in the space of influencer marketing?  


“Digital is a space where innovation is happening every day. But currently, with the pandemic hitting and no outdoor shoots, influencers are innovating with Instagram filters and creating fun scenarios with them, making it a part of the content. Instagram reels have caught everybody’s interest. Viewers today want snack-able content that they can consume on the go. Long format storyboards do not hold their attention anymore. So, one has to be smart and sassy with the messaging. 


It is also important to note the different types of content work on different platforms. FB requires more long-form content, whereas Instagram cannot be more than 15 secs.”


If you were to summarize your influencer marketing strategy in 1 word, what would it be?  


“Content”