A local reporter called me and tipped me off to a blog from Bealls Florida Department Store. The blog, called FLA etc. (flaetc.blogspot.com) is interesting to say the least. From the description:

A blog dedicated to the Florida Lifestyle with updates on fashion, celebrity, gossip, advice, and Florida living. In conjunction with Bealls, we aim to stare into the fiery ball of light known as the Florida Lifestyle with daily postings and a continuing dialogue.

The blog has existed since April of this year and according to the stats it receives an average of about 100 page views per day. Technorati shows 1 link to the blog. That one link sums up my impressions as well since Bealls is the store my grandmother shops at.

It's very informal and bloggy while at the same time being very commercial and trendy. I think the strangest thing for me is that this isn't really an image that I associate with Beall's

The point of the discussion I had with the reporter dealt with segmentation. Obviously the Bealls blog is an attempt to reach a different audience then they are normally associated with. The question is, can this work?

First off, can a blog attract and retain an audience that doesn't normally identify with a brand? Ultimately that question is answered by the quality and type of content posted. The gossip-style content on the Bealls blog is similar to you standard Us/People/Insert-Name-of-Fashion-Mag Here that many teens might read so it might work for them. There are very few comments on the blog, so there is not much interaction coming from the readership.

All the posts on the blog are from 'Preston' but we have no idea who Preston is. The heart of any blog should be a true conversation between the blogger(s) and readers. It's hard to have a conversation with somebody you know nothing about. The closest we get to learning about Beallls is a post about a soccer team they sponsor. However the Bealls blog is less about a conversation and more about reporting gossip and fashion news.

The second issue with segmentation is will this type of content alienate their core audience? Chances are the average customer is not going to become a regular blog reader so they're safe for now. But if the blog content gets too edgy will it become a bigger issue?