The Fashion Industry and Online Advertising - Essay Example

Passive Consumerism Why do women the world over wear the clothes that they do Is it because we see them on a famous actress walking the red carpetat the Academy Awards Do we buy a new dress because we've seen it in a magazine and we know it is the latest trend Are women shelling out money to buy clothes because an Internet website says this is a must have item for the fall season It is likely that all these strategies are influencing women today. The question is; "are consumers passive about the choices they make with regard to fashion" Today, the fashion industry has almost unlimited resources at its disposal. Information and photographs that appear on the Internet instantaneously reach millions of women the world over. Immediately, they know which fashions are in and which are out. They see the colours and trends on splashy, popular websites. They find out very quickly what they should be wearing and what they shouldn't. A time-honoured tradition used by the fashion industry to set trends and market their designs has been to work with famous people to model their clothes. With the advent of such shows as MTV and other music shows, the multiplicity of award shows, the public is barraged with a plethora of designs to choose from. However, the ultimate message from the fashion industry is; "if a famous person wears this - it must be cool and therefore you must have it too!" As author, Anne Paxton1 writes in a savvy Internet article; "Everyone from Gloria Swanson and Marilyn Monroe, to Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly have helped fashion influence the public, but the media craze over celebrities is hotter than ever before. TV and movies have taken center stage when it comes to both entertainment and fashion. Magazines spend endless ink on what Madonna and Jennifer Lopez wear to award shows." Paxton even suggests that this marketing strategy may well end the need for models to strut their stuff on the catwalks. This strategy proves to be a win-win situation for both the fashion industry and celebrities as they cash in on the free items that various designers throw their way. Another specific strategy used by the fashion industry is online advertising. The use of the Internet involves several strategies which include: creating an online version of a print magazine, banner ads (ads placed on specific sites for greater exposure) and well-placed photographs and articles about the fashion industry. According to an industry report on the Internet and marketing strategies by women's magazines, "The Internet has become a billon-dollar business.." This article also reports that according to Nielsen Net Ratings, more American women use the Internet than men at a rate of 51% - 49%. It goes on to say; "Women online readers in the United States tend to visit general interest sites on the Internet, such as shopping sites, beauty sites, and health sites. Therefore, magazines discovered the Internet several years ago as another method to better serve the customer since magazines. ' By targeting the large numbers of women who regularly participate in online activity, fashion magazines that maintain an Internet presence provide themselves with continuous, free advertising. It is an extremely effectively strategy to " [] offer other information, such as press releases or news that relates to the company or to their industry, or provide information about special events that relate to the company to their industry." In addition to using the Internet and celebrity culture as a marketing strategy, the fashion industry also creates markets by following sociological. One current trend that is strongly influencing the fashion industry is the notion that 'plus-size women' are a huge, new market for them. According to an industry analysis by UK expert, Marcella Marcheso2 the plus size market is growing in the fashion industry although until recently it was a bit of an afterthought. There was a limited range of available styles, and little to no trendy clothes. However, with the concerns over weight issues, population trends, and an increase in demand, retailers are beginning to take notice, and have entered the plus-size market. This particular market necessitates a shift in marketing strategy by the fashion industry. In addition to creating designs that are flattering for plus-size women, they must also market to these consumers in a respectful way. The fact that this consumer need is available means that the fashion industry can no longer afford to market all their clothes to fit women with perfect, model-like bodies. According to the same report the fashion industry can not simply create clothes in larger sizes, nor can they assume that plus-size women simply will buy a line of clothes because they are in the right size for them. An important developing statistic is the fact that middle-aged men and women are increasing in numbers due to the aging of the baby boom population. This could lead to an increase of millions of men and women who may feel the pressure to look a certain way in a society that treasures youth and beauty. But it may also mean that some of these people will be conscious about making choices for certain kinds of styles and they may be more aggressive consumers than their younger counterparts. There is definitely a growing trend that older consumers are just as important as young ones. People are working longer and enjoying a more active life longer than ever before. At the same time, the fashion industry loves to cater to the younger generation. Famous young stars such as Miley Cirus who already has her own clothing line are probably influencing young girls and women to purchase the kinds of clothes she likes to wear. She also designs the clothes in her own image which reproduces her image in other young women. American author, Maria Matis3 conducted research that demonstrates a new type of consumer choice with respect to fashion. According to her, "The plus-size market is has begun to grow and she sees this trend continuing over the next five years and beyond as more stores buy into the plus size market. That's right - the "trendy trend of the trends" is to march to the frontier of full-figured fashion." Many of the most famous names in the fashion industry are marketing plus-size fashions even though they were the same companies who previously designed clothes only for ultra-slim women. In fact, previous marketing trends were very much targeted towards a very specific demographic - women with exceptionally good figures. That trend has changed dramatically and the marketing strategies with them. "These "erred" established brand names, which purposely ignored this segment, now desire a recognized brand breakthrough. Companies like Ann Taylor, Tommy Hilfiger, DKNY, and JC Penny are some of the most recent to dabble in the plus-size division".4 Even though the market for plus-size women is obviously there, the fashion industry continues to use another familiar marketing strategy to target these women as well - the use of celebrities. Women like Queen Latifah and Oprah (more so in the past) have often been cited as successful role models for larger sized women5. A constant theme in fashion marketing is to create ideas or themes for what it means to look good or look attractive. Therefore, marketing to women with various body sizes and shapes makes for good business strategy. However, the marketing of fashion to women isn't just about what you look like but what they want you to look like. That is, part of marketing strategy is to generate ideas in women's heads about what kinds of clothes we need to wear in specific situations - the work environment, social situations, etc. In another well-written article, Paxton6 points out the various items women have bought (and continue to buy) over the years because of successful marketing that labels them as must-have items: the little black dress, blue jeans, 'Jackie O' sunglasses, A-line skirts and headscarves. She also points out the fashion trend of 'casual Fridays' as a highly successful marketing strategy to keep the blue jean industry and casual clothes selling well. As Paxton and the other authors of these articles have pointed out, the fashion industry continues to use a number of strategies to set trends for women. These include setting up highly popular websites, using celebrities to model their clothes at famous events, creating online sites for successful magazines and broadening the population of women they design for and market to. One of Paxton's timely articles states. "The world moves very quickly for us ladies and it is easy to forget that even though fashion can sometimes make us second guess ourselves, there are great fashion inventions that can make us feel good too and give us that little boost of confidence we need from time to time" (Ibid). Yet even though the fashion industry uses aggressive marketing strategies does this necessarily imply that consumers are passive with respect to their choices The larger question may actually be; 'do consumers really have choices or are they merely choosing what they see in magazines or on television and film because these images represent the ideal of 'looking good'. Consumers do have choice. The issue may be whether or not consumers are actually conscious of making their choices, or do they merely follow the trends that they see through advertising Richmond7 suggests that there is in fact what she calls a 'culture of clothing'. Men and women (but especially women), in her estimation, are actually bullied into believing that they must purchase certain items or risk becoming socially inept and isolated. In other words, women are not so passive about making their fashion choices. However, neither are they making choices with a sense of free will. The images presented in magazines and other advertising venues are forceful in terms of creating the ideal woman. This woman wears certain clothes and has a plethora of choices to work with. Still the choices men and women make are also influenced by the bodily images they see in advertising. Magazines, television and film are filled with ideal bodies rather than regular bodies. Vigorito and Curry8 write that studies on gender-related imagery has almost exclusively focused on women but more recently there has been an interest in studying the images of men in popular magazines. They note that images of men in many ways reflect those of women. Magazines that cater to both men and women present an idealized form of the male body - that is, they construct the notion of male gender as highly sexualized and almost a fantasy image rather than a 'natural' one. These images are of men with strong, muscular physiques, handsome faces and dressed in fashionable attire. "Popular magazines directed at male audiences continue to reflect and reaffirm traditional, hegemonic, notions of masculinity".. They proceed to describe the typical appearance of men in magazines. "Three executives stand together in a stoic pose, like faces on Mount Rushmore, dramatic shadows falling across their faces, enhancing their gallant expressions. These images communicate a dominance that is tied to mental acuity in the financial realm"9. It has been argued/suggested that the images we see in magazines are nothing more than psychological manipulation. As long as the images evoke a response in consumers, whether that is positive or negative, the images have done 'their job'. Sociologists may contend that these images are fare more than subtle manipulation but a means to control the ways in which men and women identify with both body and gender. When we see the image of a strikingly beautiful woman repeatedly in magazines it is more likely that we will begin to see that as an ideal as opposed to identifying with being less beautiful and overweight. Thus, the notion of what it means to be a certain kind of woman/female or man/male is equated with the images we see in these magazines. As Barthel states; "For women, beauty has traditionally been one route to achieving social status"10 (87). It has been argued/suggested that the images we see in magazines are nothing more than psychological manipulation. As long as the images evoke a response in consumers, whether that is positive or negative, the images have done 'their job'. Sociologists may contend that these images are fare more than subtle manipulation but a means to control the ways in which men and women identify with both body and gender. When we see the image of a strikingly beautiful woman repeatedly in magazines it is more likely that we will begin to see that as an ideal as opposed to identifying with being less beautiful and overweight. Thus, the notion of what it means to be a certain kind of woman/female or man/male is equated with the images we see in these magazines. As Barthel states; "For women, beauty has traditionally been one route to achieving social status"11. In a paper presented to the Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, David Kirk suggests that cultural meanings and interpretations of the body and gender change with time. He notes that we are far more exposed to visual images of the body than ever before through television, film, magazines and the Internet. This constant barrage of images portraying men and women in specific ways penetrates and influences the social consciousness. Also, the more often we see the body objectified, the more likely we are to accept this as a 'normal' way to view the body and gender. Kirk calls the creation of certain images of men and women, 'gendering the body'. We socially construct the ways in which gender is located in the body and thus the images we see reinforces this12. The result is that both men and women are under pressure to look a certain way and dress in certain clothes if they want to give the appearance of success. It is not only the way fashion presents clothing choices but also the human body - the idealized body and not a practical one. A recent change in the fashion industry has been to create size zero. This is a completely unrealistic size for most women to attain and yet the message is; if you're a size zero then you're not only beautiful but you will be successful and highly sought after personally and professionally. People make choices in life for many reasons. Sometimes it's to satisfy the needs of the workplace. There are choices to be made regarding the kind of work one wishes to do. Yet when it comes to fashion it's almost as if the choice has been taken out of people's hands because the media barrages the public with constant images about the 'right way to look'. Along with the desire to look good is the need to feel good and these two have become connected two each other. The message here is that if you look good then you'll feel good about yourself. In order to look good however, there are myriads of decisions to make regarding what you buy and where. This is where media pressure on consumers creates a pattern whereby the choices people make are often unconscious ones. It is unlikely that people consciously step out to spend more money than they need to or overload their credit card with expensive choices. These choices, however, are ones that come with intense messages about who a person is in this society. Consumers need to develop a greater self-awareness around why they purchase what they do. If a man or woman only purchases a suit or dress because they've seen it in a high brow publication then they do themselves a disservice. They are behaving in a passive manner and giving away the greatest power individuals have; the power of their choices and decisions. When it comes to fashion there are a cacophany of problems due to the media pressure around style, body image, and beauty. People have come to believe that the only way to truly be accepted is to dress and look a certain way. It is not just the clothes that matter although the well-used saying, 'clothes make the man' is well known. The clothes are part of an overall image that needs to be presented to the public. This is an image that states a person can afford the right clothes and understands the importance of looking a certain way. This is a message that cuts across age lines, gender, culture and spiritual belief systems. Many cultures adopt these same messages around fashion and beauty and the importance of this intricate connection. Bibliography Industry Report of Magazines." http://www.scs.unr.edu/nevinb/report.html. Barthel, Diane. Putting on Appearances: Gender and Advertising. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988. Kirk, David. "Female and Male Adolescents' Interpretations of Body Imagery : Implications for School Programs ." Annual Conference of the Australian Association for Research in Education, Hobart, Australia. http://www.aare.edu.au/95pap/kirkd95228.txt. Marcheso, Marcella. "Clothing Market in the UK".http://www.infomat.com/research/infre0000282.html Matis, Maria. "Fashion discovers a new market". Trends Plus. http://www.usc.edu/org/InsightBusiness/articles/Fall%2003/trendsplus.htm. Paxton, Anne. "Actors vs. Models: Who Influences Us" October 26, 2001. .http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/womens_fashion/83289/1. Paxton, Anne. "Seven Fashions I Am Grateful For", November 1, 2004. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/womens_fashion/113156. Richmond, Vanessa. "I'm Pretty, You're Ugly, Buy This." Reproductive Justice and Gender. http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/141623/%27i%27m_pretty._you%27re_ugly._buy_this%27_--_why_fashion_magazines_are_on_the_declinepage=2. Vigorito, Anthony, J. and Timothy J. Curry. "Marketing Msculinity: Gender Identity and Popular Magazines." Sex Roles: A Journal of Research,http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/womens_fashion/83289 39.1-2 (1998): 135-141. Read More