BackerClub Forums

We will soon have a new project joining BackerClub - the TFF Sock by ALMI Apparel! Campaign Launch is March 5th


Click here to see the Kickstarter Preview Campaign Page (tip: open in a new tab)


Jonas and Conrad have been our main points of contact at ALMI Apparel, and they have expressed an interest in gathering valuable feedback from the BackerClub community prior to their launch on March 5th, 2019.

They are looking to giveaway (10) pairs of socks to members that leave the most valuable feedback!

• (5) pairs to the most valuable feedback provider
• (3) pairs to the second most...
• (2) pairs to the third most...

All you have to do is take a look at the campaign page (see link above or click here) and write a reply here on the Forums stating what you think along with any suggestions. The more helpful you are, the more likely it'll be that you're chosen for the giveaway pairs!

You can also select the poll entries above to leave some quick feedback (don't expect to win the giveaway if this is all you do...).

The giveaway pairs will be provided at the same time as normal delivery from the crowdfunding campaign.

Here are some ideas for specific areas to provide feedback:

• Your initial impressions of the campaign page. Does it motivate you to continue reading after looking at it for 15 seconds?
• Media review - do you like the photos and video? Does it convey the socks and their unique value propositions well?
• Typos, grammatical mistakes, or other wording errors.
• How would you define the target customer? Are there multiple segments to consider?
• What content should be added to the campaign page? What could potentially be removed without losing effect?
• General suggestions to improve the chance of success for the creators.

Extra shoutout to those that can think of fun things to say for a couple social media posts

Thanks for your help, backers! Let's get this discussion going!

P.S. We recognize this is the first time doing something like this on the Club (at least in a very long time), so if you have any suggestions to make this a better experience for members, feel free to share your thoughts.

I liked the page. I liked the sections #s. Videos were good. These are obviously for men based on all the pictures and designs. Think they are pricey.

Edit: typo in Chris Crevelling quote ("activities")

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS:
My first impression is that women aren't really your target market. There are a few shots of the woman jogging, but almost none of her working. To be honest, I was quite surprised to see her at the end of the video. Further, there are no pictures of women in the campaign info. The only hint is in the sizing.
I think the video accurately displays the value proposition, but it feels a bit epic for socks.

15s MOTIVATION
I'd be inclined to put the info from the Olympic Medal winner higher. Comment from a recognised sportsperson is a pretty huge thing! I'd also have his comment as a standalone, not as part of a selection of comments. The second time I read through, I didn't even see his comment as the comments list was still loading.

PHOTOS AND VIDEO
Again, would help to see some pics of women. A sock is basically unisex, so you're cutting a fair chunk of the market out. If I wasn't planning to comment, I would have assumed it's selling to only men.
I think you need to make more of the wicking and odour tech in the video. These would be my main concerns: hitting the gym and then putting on wet socks after a shower isn't appealing. Same goes for riding to work and then having smelly feet.
As mentioned above, the value is clear and well explained. I think the sophistication element is oversold though. I'd be inclined to ditch the whole bar scene. It just reinforces stereotypes around adoring women, which may put off your female buyers. (And is it the same guy flirting with woman at the bar that is going home to the other woman?)

TYPO'S ETC.
What is the "TFF"? You put it in inverted commas, but don't explain it!?!?
Lose the numbers: they add no value - the typeface makes the distinction between areas clear.
Live your life a little more invincible should be "invincibly" (or restructure the sentence if you want that bold bit to remain the same).
"it's beEN made to be worn all day"
Under "length and thickness" 2nd paragraph, put your solution before the the problems. Otherwise a quick scanning reader might misconstrue it. Or put "BECAUSE dress socks are..."
Under "journey" the first point would be recognition of problem. You've only alluded to the problem - state what made you pursue creation of your product. Starting with flight info isn't compelling. And why note that you've flown twice in two months? How does that excite me and make me want to purchase?

TARGET MARKET:
See comments above. I don't think you want to segment it more. It's a pair of socks! Your value comes from the concept of all day socks.

CONTENT:
As above, cut down the bar scene in the video.
Tell the purchaser more about the problem you're solving. If I'm carrying gym gear, is a pair of socks too onerous for me to carry? I'd focus more on the commute angle and the lunchtime jog. Any strenuous activity is (I hope) followed by a shower, so there's already extra stuff to carry.

GENERAL COMMENTS:
Tell me why your socks are better than carrying a spare pair. I get it for the commute but it's less clear for the other options you show. If I'm playing golf after work, I have so much stuff to carry that a pair of socks won't make much of a difference. Maybe include/emphasise why these socks are better than gym socks, golf socks, etc.

Good luck!

Annotated screenshots attached. Thanks.

When first started reading about the socks I thought they would be great for my wife as she is athletic and a Socks fan but as I kept reading it became so male focused that it really put me off even thought I know she would like them. I'm a cheap pack of socks kinda guy and the features of the socks and the price didn't scare me away but like I said the deeper I looked at the page I lost interest.

Too many similar products now are on the real market, even in the Kickstarter platform can find similar products.

The video is average, still, need some focus on the material being used and the way on supporting our feet, possibly some explanation on the extra arch support and the unique thickness of the sock in the different section.

I know sock will always like that... so, the design of the socks, like colour and pattern can make you different.

Silver ion, odour control becoming the norm for functional socks... so, not much WoW effect now.

Where is the sock finally produce at? And the raw materials came from which places?

I like the visual work, design of photos looks cool. I love gifs cause they explain better. But my impression is the product is focus in a specific segment: runners, maybe you can include more benefits to use in other dailys rutines.

I apologize if I repeat what other's have already said. Additionally, I apologize for the length.

The 3 things that I focus on when looking at all campaigns:

1. Title
2. Thumbnail
3. Short Description

Throughout Kickstarter, each page shows only those 3 things about each campaign. If these don't interest me, I move on.

The Two Functional Fibers (TFF) Sock doesn't sound very catchy to me. The rename/marketing suggestion I have is: ALMI Pro-formance Sock (APS).



I notice several shots of the sock (including this one) look weird with the back side edited out. If there is a reason behind this, I think the angles should've been changed so that the socks look normal.

This looks very dull with little colour. Even if the product is in neutral colours, than change the background by showing them being used in real-life places (as this is an IRL product). The name of the product should be listed on it, but don't put too much information because it's easy to overcrowd the image. Keep in mind that the image will be shown in various sizes across Kickstarter, on various devices.

Using Google Chrome's Developer Tools, I viewed the campaign through the Device toolbar (which simulates various devices that have a smaller screen than a desktop).
I also viewed the campaign page on my smartphone to confirm the accuracy of my concerns, and the results match:

• On smaller screens, text located in images is shrunk too small to read easily

• Too many GIFs
  • GIFs take longer to load
  • GIFs are overused
  
  
  The 360° GIF of the sock is really neat, however, the 3 points disappear too quickly.
  I much prefer the following image (and I think it should be moved up on the campaign page) where the features are neatly shown around the sock:
  
  
  

[1]

[2]


The socks are not shown, or barely shown, in the above images. Neither are really necessary.



I really like visual aids, but they shouldn't distract/detract from your campaign. I wouldn't showcase the socks with (clearly identifiable) NIKE sneakers.
Your pictures should advertise your product and your product alone, unless you have a partnership with another company.



This Venn Diagram isn't necessary because this information is already listed in other places, such as the wonderful image showing the various features.




The blue swirl adds no value to the image and the sock doesn't really either. For the Technology section, I want to learn more about the materials and the procedures/techniques used. What makes these socks different from the ones I can buy in a store, or order online? The images contained in the GIF are close to the types of shots that I want to see in the thumbnail, but the rest of the image has little value.




While it's nice to see the socks being worn, it's only for a very small fraction of the whole GIF. The snapshot of the socks being worn, and the text, are the only things that should be saved from this image.



Comparing the length/thicknesses is an excellent idea! Just don't depict it with boring lines.
Save the text (and post it as text). Using the same foot, compare the 3 socks side-by-side (like the Technology GIF ) in a nice large image, without the rectangles in the background.



It would've been nice to see full sock samples of each of the 3 colours before having to scroll down this far.
These are for Women too?! I had no idea. I've only seen one woman and she was in the Silver-Anti Odor GIF.

The timeline looks nice.I don't like the title of Design & Timeline though. I think Design & Technology would fit better together.



Personally, I don't pay much attention to reviews. It's not easy to verify their validity. 5 star rating looks silly.
Load time could be greatly reduced by removing both review GIFs.



A little bio about everyone is always appreciated. What experience does each person have? What are some of their achievements?

Usually by this point I would've watched the video, but I'm going to quickly review the funding goal and pledges tiers first.

I think a goal of US$8,000 is attainable. I like that there are additional savings for buying in bulk. Without seeing Shipping costs, it's tough to give any additional feedback on pricing.

After spending too many hours typing, I finally watched the video. Now I know where most of those GIFs/images came from - but still not necessary on the campaign page.
The campaign page feels heavily male dominated, while the video feels a lot more balanced.
I thought the video was well done and good enough to do the job.

My 2 final suggestions:

1. Team members shown/talk in video
2. Footage of socks being assembled

The campaign material was easy to read. I completely understand that these are mens socks, but as a woman who buys her husbands socks as he hates shopping (and there are probably a lot of us out there), there is absolutely zero to draw me in and make me want to read the campaign to see if it was something I would find of value to purchase for my husband.
As a backer of many kickstarter campaigns, one big red flag for me is a cancelled campaign with no avaialble explanation as to why it was cancelled. In all honesty, this would be enough for me to not back a campaign. Lets be honest, as a backer I am taking a chance on receiving a reward for helping to finance your dream to bring this product to market. It comes down to do I think the odds are in favour of me actially receiving a reward. When I see a cancelled campaign with no visible explanation as to why it was cancelled (you must have been a backer to see the cancellation comment with some hint of an error), my confidence in the campaign coming to fruition dramatically decreases, usually to the point that I would no longer consider backing the campaign. Transparency cannot be overlooked espeacially when the campaign period is so obviously listed as Feb 28 to Mar 30.
I read through all the printed material and still think, Nylon, they have to be hot even with the breathable mesh zones, a better explantion of the wicking and breathability would be helpful
At one point in a red square it states “Swiss Tech Inside”, but there is no explanation as to what the technology is. So my thought is big deal and who cares, that statement means nothing to me and certainly gives me no incentive to back or buy.
The two areas where there are quotes from people who have tried and are endorsing your product which scroll, scroll between them way too slow. Usually these scroll through too fast, there must be a happy medium somewhere.
The height is a definite plus for a sport sock and showing the versatility of the sock is a definite plus in your campaign. Also having the padded zones and arch support indicated are another plus. For me indicating the slight compression has the opposite effect, there is nothing worse than socks that dig in and cause swelling rather than prevent it, so a better explantion of how the compression works without causing the socks to be too tight would be valuable.
Good luck on your campaign!

Hello everyone,

First of all, thank you so much for your feedback - great stuff!

I wanted to leave a quick comment about the status of the campaign. Jonas, one of the creators, accidentally set the project to "live" on Kickstarter. Oops! Unfortunately, this means he had to cancel the current campaign and is setting up a fresh project as we speak. I will update the forum links and whatnot when the new preview is ready to go.

Thanks again for your support. This is great to see