Case Study | Retail Industry
How Cotton On Is Taking the Aussie Aesthetic Global with AI
Is content creation slowing you down? Let’s pick up the pace. Learn how Aussie brand Cotton On is using visual AI to save time and make smarter decisions, faster.
Discover how Cotton On uses Dash Hudson to:
- Use AI to create high-performing photos in real-time to effectively increase engagement.
- Leverage data-backed insights to select content to re-post and which Australian influencers to showcase and collaborate with.
- Craft strategic campaigns across the brand’s most important marketing channels
Results
+70%–90%
Above Average Photo Performance Ratings by Vision
80%
Of Influencer Images Used in Cotton On's Email Marketing are Vision Approved
Revolutionizing Content Creation
Cotton On knows its laid-back Aussie style is best showcased on the ultimate visual marketing channel, Instagram. The missing piece? Data to back the social team’s creative process. In the especially crowded space of apparel on social media, the Aussie brand needed its content to stand out amongst a sea of competitors and to create imagery faster to scale effectively. To do so, Cotton On uses Dash Hudson’s AI technology to build a data-driven content strategy. Yes, it’s possible—and powerful in today’s saturated social world.
"We’ve seen a big increase in engagement using Dash Hudson. The user interface makes it so easy to judge why you had a great week, and how you can repeat that success. It also reveals what those moments were that lead you to such an incredible engagement rate. It makes it so easy to take the learnings and put them into action."
Mariah Fox,
Former Global Social Media Manager at Cotton On
Predicting Content Performance
Dash Hudson’s visual intelligence technology, Vision, collects and analyzes all of a brand’s photos from social and from within its own content management system. Vision is then able to see what items, colors and visual elements are actually inside an image — not unlike how the human eye sees a photo. It then determines, based on a brand’s recent performance, what types of photos its consumers care about most. This means that brands can know if a photo — be it a product shot or fresh from a photo shoot — will perform before it’s posted or used in a campaign.
"Vision is changing the way we do things in head office. We now say that if Vision says it’s not going to perform highly, we’re not posting it."
Mariah Fox,
Former Global Social Media Manager at Cotton On
Create Better Content in Real Time
The accuracy of Vision’s predictions for Cotton On have been so on point, that the social team uses the visual cues to guide the creative team in their creation of new content. Each time the brand shoots a campaign, the team uploads the images into Dash Hudson to see Vision predictions in real time. In this way, the team can make adjustments to their shooting style to align with the tastes of their audience on social. Before implementing Vision feedback, about 15% of the images Cotton On posted from campaign shoots performed above the brand’s average engagement rate. After bringing the technology on set, 70–90% of photos created were above average performers. This means the team saved time and money on set, while curating a trove of high quality content to use on Instagram.
"We ran all of our assets through Vision, and saw that it really rated influencer visuals higher. While this is something we felt to be true, when the data clearly tells you something, you can’t argue with it."
Mariah Fox,
Former Global Social Media Manager at Cotton On
The (New) Cotton On Way
Embracing new technology has enabled the team at Cotton On to take a data-driven approach to their creative and drive performance across channels. They’re now able to better engage their audience by serving them up more of what they love. Multiple teams at Cotton On are now using Dash Hudson to create their own channel strategies, and the social team has become a hub for brand assets and innovation within the organization.
