The main output of the FaST project is an interactive prototype of a tool that gives SMEs in the Fashion industry new instruments to compete in the market.
The tool collects the social media data of a brand, of ten chosen competitors and their respective follower communities. By data we mean all the posts published with the various metadata connected to them (mail, used hashtags, photos, text, comments, likes, etc.). A further series of metadata is added to each post concerning the formal analysis of the photo contained in the post (present objects, colors, but also more abstract concepts related to the “style” of the photo).
The tool allows a smooth transition between different level of analysis, mainly in two different directions: the brand’s posts and its competitors’; the posts of the respective communities. The first one is intended to monitor and study the performance of a brand’s communication strategy as well as to inform the planning of new campaigns. The tools hence shows the posts of a brand and its competitor through their visual, temporal or thematic characteristics.
The second direction moves to the analysis of the communities of the chosen brands, in order to draw insights from the trends coming directly from the brands’ followers and use them both in the production and communication strategy. The tool suggests influencers, topics, trends and other interesting people that could be analysed to further the knowledge of a brand’s competittive environment.
