Launched in 2008 as a photo website by brothers John and Leo Resig, theCHIVE has since morphed into a multi-faceted new media brand. In 2012, on a whim, the website founders spearheaded a campaign to help a volunteer fire department stay in business. With the help of theCHIVE community, over two times the necessary amount was raised.
While those efforts continue, theCHIVE recently launched a loyalty program to encourage even more engagement from its already devoted fan base. Since the site relies heavily on user-generated-content (UGC), theCHIVE brain trust decided to reward engagement of all types, with points redeemable in The Chivery online store. Director of Communications for theCHIVE Dave Welch tells Loylaty360 more about this unique entertainment website.
The site is based on the three Hs, Humor, Hotness, and Heart. Are Hotness things that are getting clicks or something racier?
Welch: It’s beautiful women. It’s always weird when we talk to people about the three H’s because humor obviously is the big thing that we have. But Hotness is twenty percent, we love beautiful women, we love Chivettes who submit images, we don’t shy away from them we never have. Playboy never did when they were a big publisher, we’re certainly not going to do that as well. I think that’s just a part of the UGC and bridging the gap.
What about the ladies? Are they in the demographic?
Welch: They’re the ones who are submitting the images. I think women can respect women’s bodies as well, so that’s actually where we get a lot of our UGC is actually from females submitting photos.
We hear people say that brands, particularly new brands that are technology-based, need to be the next Apple or Amazon. Do you agree, or is it more important to be faithful to your brand’s uniqueness and culture?
Welch: I don’t think those are two separate things. You can definitely keep your community intact and speak to your audience. You can definitely be who you are and be who your brand is and grow. I think the way technology is running, and the way digital publishing industry is right now, you do kind of have to pivot and adapt, and come up with new ideas.
The good news is that this is still a family run company. John and Leo come in every day they still run it. John still does editorial posts on theCHIVE every day we’ve never had any additional funding from VCs or anything like that. We have five offices nationwide, we have one hundred and sixty employees but at the end of the day, it’s still a family run company and we still engage with our community. In terms of us getting larger we do have a ton of verticals. We have a charity, we have a brewery, we have a new channel with CHIVE TV. We’re growing, but at the end of the day, with this kind of atmosphere and this kind of culture at the office, we still do engage with our audience in a very organic and real way.
How do you see customers and audiences changing? In the different verticals are they changing more than others?
Welch: I think that goes with the entire industry as a whole. Obviously, you read the trades and it’s about video now, and it’s leaning on Facebook and trying to find the next big thing and I think the audiences will gravitate toward that as a whole. The important thing with each brand is to keep an eye on the community. I think when you look at the digital publishing sphere and you see all the competitors dropping like flies and trying to change their entire structure it’s kind of a blessing for us that we just kind of hunkered down and kept our eye on and heart in the community because we’ve been steady and growing ever since. Other companies have to change their entire structure to video only or some are going bankrupt. We just focus on the community and that actually led not only to our survival but us thriving right now.
Employee Loyalty and Employee Engagement. How does that fit into the loyalty success theChive has had?
Welch: I think it’s everything, especially on Chive Charities’ front. When we do flash campaigns and you see the GoFundMe start taking off, the first ten donations are always from employees. I think that’s the culture that’s spread here and I think that’s what’s separates us from our competitors.
We have fan groups nationwide that not only look at our brands but our editors and our employees. Mack Faulkner who’s been with us for six years and does one of our top posts every weekend, Cat Saturday, he’s gotten a huge social following and I think that goes with theCHIVE culture, we’re fun, we don’t take ourselves too seriously, we’re charitable, I think that goes to show that it’s not just a brand, it’s a lifestyle and a culture and I think that does start with the employees and Leo.
Do you handle the social side?
Welch: This is hard for people on the outside looking in, but back in the day John and Leo used, and they still do, throw meet-ups. John, Leo, and the editors would be like hey we’re in Atlanta, we’re going to go this bar, come hang out with us. Next thing you know the fire marshal is shutting it down because so many people showed up. Then a month later they gave another shout but this time, they sold tickets and sad this time we’re in Seattle, we’re going to sell tickets because last time this party got shut down so we’re going to sell tickets. The tickets sold out in 30 seconds.
I think the big push is taking the online community offline. What happened was these regional chapters started popping up after these meet ups. So everyone that went to the Atlanta event met a bunch of people and had the time of their lives next thing you know, Atlanta area Chivers was born on social media and in the past 3 years we’ve grown to have over 200 Chive chapters globally and that’s my job as the community guy is to help foster theCHIVE chapters who have raised over $4 million dollars for charity on their own by throwing these unofficial meet-ups on their own. As the community guy, I think that’s what my main goal is, and that’s the main thing I’m working on is A getting the main chapters and getting our communities comfortable with IChive and the points switch and then helping them with all their charity efforts.
Future of customer loyalty marketing with Chive?
Welch: I think the big push now is video submissions is what we’re working on right now. Obviously, we’re known as a photo blog, photos are big but right now I think, especially terms of loyalty points video submissions are the next big thing for us.
Loyalty is more of a content gathering push
Welch: I think it’s more about rewarding engagement and bridging that gap between content ad commerce. I don’t think it’s ever been about selling it’s more about rewarding our fan base. In terms of The Chivery and eCommerce they’re doing great and it’s bridging that gap and making sure the user experience and rewards are there.
Summary:
What started has a simple photo website has now become an Internet brand with several platforms and ventures under its umbrella. With a track record of organizing its community around charitable and a new loyalty program in place, theCHIVE is set to move to the next level. Dave Welch, director of communications for theCHIVE gives the details to loyalty360.