Fashion Marketing and Promotion - Research Proposal Example

Essay: Fashion Marketing and Promotion; Corporate Strategy The marketing initiatives that fashion companies use change over time and follow trends, just like fashion products themselves. Consider this statement from a strategic perspective, with particular emphasis on strategic promotional campaigns/activities employed, giving examples of fashion and lifestyle brands where relevant. Introduction This paper introduces the concepts of fashion marketing, and establishes the relationship between marketing and corporate strategy for business. Further on it explores how the marketing strategy employed by the fashion designers and labels tends to change overtime with changing market trends and shifts in consumer preferences. Fashion Marketing Fashion marketing is based on the identification of market trends which are used to analyze, develop and configure related marketing strategies and promotional activities for fashion products. "Fashion marketing is the application of a range of techniques and a business philosophy that centers upon the customer and potential customer of clothing and related products and services in order to meet the long term goals of the organizationThe very nature of fashion, where change is intrinsic, gives emphasis to marketing activities " (Easey, 2008, p7). Essentially fashion marketing is composed of elements of fashion designing and marketing management which are combined together to develop a comprehensive marketing plan for fashion products. This marketing strategy and the related plan is composed of different tasks relative to the elements of promotions, advertising, retailing, branding, affiliate marketing, and distribution. In order to be successful fashion marketers have to be future oriented with forecast information about the market. The fashion industry demands that in order to have an effective fashion marketing strategy, companies need to understand and identify their customers, the trends in the fashion industry as well as how the branding and the marketing of their products/ services effects the purchase behavior of the consumers. This knowledge is the main resource available to fashion marketers to develop a marketing strategy for their fashion based products and services. Marketing in the fashion industry is often difficult as the industry is very volatile with constant changes taking place in its external as well as internal environments. As a result the approaches taken towards fashion marketing have to be adjusted and revamped in order to effectively target the latest and future trends. Corporate Strategy A corporate strategy of any company provides the overall strategy, and objectives of the company along with its orientation. The factors that are related to customers and those that influence their demand are identified for the corporate strategy and employed with a competitor analysis to determine a differentiated strategy for the organization. The internal and external elements that effect the business operations and future continuity are identified and addressed in the corporate strategy along with the determination of a strategic path of business for an organization. The strategic path encompasses the policies, procedures, values, resources and the overall objectives of the organization which are explicitly depicted in the corporate strategy of any company. The corporate strategy of any company provides the direction the organization seeks to take and the scope of its operation and markets that it strives to obtain in the future. The resource employment and the stakeholders' interests are depicted in the corporate strategy that usually pertain to high return on investments for shareholders, better suited products and services for customers and improvement of personal performance and position for the management of the company. Aside form this through the corporate strategy an organization highlights the main values of the organization on which the business operates along with the mission statement of the company, its future vision and the goals and strategies that are set to attain its vision in the long run. Relationship between Corporate Strategy and Marketing Mix (Fashion) The marketing strategy of the company is composed of various elements pertaining to the promotion, branding and awareness building programs for a product and service. The comprehensive marketing strategy is reflected in the marketing mix of a company which includes the four P's. These four P's relate to product, place, promotion and price in terms of marketing the products and services and providing them to the customers. The marketing strategy of any organization is derived directly from the corporate or organizational strategy of the business. As a result the marketing mix of the company reflects the overall corporate strategy as well. A research conducted by Sharma (2004) highlight that there is a positive relationship between the marketing strategy of a company and its organizational strategy. The organizational strategy of any fashion brand remains consistent over the period of time; however it is possible for the fashion marketing strategy of the company to change significantly. These changes are reflected as a result of the changes in the environment surrounding the stakeholders of the company, its customers, competitors, its industry and market as well as technology. As the overall marketing strategy tends to contribute to the mission statement and vision that is highlighted in the corporate strategies, fashion marketing strategies require changes to be made which are in tune with the corporate strategy of the company as well as the changing trends in the market. Argument and Analysis and Supportive Examples As mentioned above the fashion industry is highly volatile. These changes are based on seasonal changes as well as those based on occasion and holidays, however aside from this the change in technology, the orientation of the people as well as the viewpoint of the market can also lead to changes in the fashion industry. . "The phenomenon of globalization, conditions that give rise to it, and shape the structure, strategies and consequences are probably more transparently evident in the textile and clothing industries than in any other sectors. Markets from Manchester to Manchuria and suppliers from Singapore to Sacramento are subject to the phenomenon of global forces and global shifts. This is what makes fashion markets and fashion marketing an exciting area to study" (Hines & Bruce, 2007, p17). It is therefore crucial for fashion marketers to be abreast of these changes and be able to forecast the possible changes before they take place in order to capture the target market for the future fashion trends. Essentially fashion exists everywhere, its surrounds the people in their lifestyles, their clothes, their habits, music choice and even their food intake. The most significant contributors to the trends in the fashion industry that has been identified include the demographics and the social and cultural elements. Due the dynamic and variable nature of these influencers, the fashion as an industry keeps on rapidly changing and evolving over the period of time. "The marketing of fashion goods is not an isolated process. Socio economic trends prevail and need to be interpreted. Social, political, environmental, technological and even legal events are interrelated to the fashions of a country and shape what will be bought and sold in both an overt subliminal manner" (Hines & Bruce, 2007, p200). Therefore it is essential that fashion marketer timely identify and comprehend the emotions and the orientation of the customers to incorporate the changes proactively in their new line of fashion products and services which are then marketed with a customized fashion marketing strategy. The trend towards cheaper and accessible fashion is rampant nowadays. This change in the fashion consumption trend and why the customers in the market are seeking cheaper but still fashionable products in the market has taken place as a result of the recessionary forces acting on the fashion industry. In order to appeal to the consumers in the financially hard pressed times, companies dealing with fashion products and services are providing their products and service offers at discounted rates to the customers in the market. Some of such companies include Body Shop and Victoria Secret. These two companies have launched heavily discounted offers reduced down to 50 percent of the original price in 2009 in order to attract customers during the recessionary period. "Saks Fifth Avenue recently announced 40 percent-off markdowns, which included some of its couture merchandise; the spring sale came a week earlier than last year's. Other retailers will feel obliged to follow suit, since failure to mark down as quickly could hinder sales. In order to keep margins from sinking too low, retailers will likely use techniques like mandating a minimum purchase amount, then giving big discounts on more" (Blume, 2008). The consumer action groups and the changes in the orientation of the consumers in the market can also lead to changes in the marketing strategy, product lines and the fashion marketing strategy of companies in the industry. Since the 1990s there has been a marked trend of increased level of consciousness amongst the consumers for animal rights and the social responsibility of large corporations towards the environment and the local company. "The social and environmental impacts of production processes, and the degree of social responsibility with which companies treat their workers, invest their money and conduct their affairs are now all potentially significant on both the marketing and corporate agenda" ('Marketing's Role in Corporate Strategy & CSR', 2006). As a result the demand for fashion products that were eco friendly as well as not tested on animals increased. This fashion trend was captured by Body Shop which specially categorized its products into natural and herb based themes and marketed the products to the customers as high quality and effective products that encouraged environmental sustainability. Through the community building program, the company founder Anita Roddick devised the strategy to target social responsibility based public awareness amongst the consumers for Body Shop while also increasing the demand for its products. As a result it launched Cocoa based products made with raw materials from impoverished countries in Africa and South East Asia. Using the promotional strategy the company focused on the contribution of the sale of these products towards increased standards of living for the people in these highlighted regions. Similarly anti fur orientation also increase in the consumers which lead to action groups and demonstrations publicly taking on fashion labels with their protests during their fashion shows. As a result models as well as actresses the likes of Eva Mendez and Khloe Kardashian were depicted in People magazine by fashion brands like Zara Fashion to promote the anti fur campaign. Fashion brands have also taken to placing products in movies and televisions series as an alternative marketing tactic for targeting consumers. The increase in pop culture in the 1980s increased the interest of the young generation in movies, television and music videos. As a result Giorgio Armani, a then sales person/closet designer started placing his tee-shirts in movies. The movie An American Gigolo starring Richard Gere featured his products, and since then he has been using celebrity endorsers, movies and televisions to promote his products. The recently popular teenage soap Gossip Girl airing on DW has the young generation in raptures, particularly the fashion conscious market due to the portrayal of the characters in the series. The characters on the show feature and openly promote fashion brands like Cheap Monday, Petit Bateau, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Tony Birch, and Salvatore Ferragamo through their attire and choice of accessories.this product placement by the designers is to target the younger fashion conscious market which has emerged recently. Gloria Baume from Teen Vogue provided to Seattle Times that "truthfully, that generation - the 14- to 18-year-olds - have kind of taken overIt's all about them. The consumer trends, the music, anywhere from the general trends on the street, really gets translated into what women are wearing." ('TV's "Gossip Girl" is all the talk of teen fashion scene', 2008) The back to school trend is highly active in June/July 2009 where consumers are seeking to purchase fashion clothes and brands for their school wear. The companies like Victoria's Secret have identified and captured onto this trend and have launched miscellaneous marketing and branding programs to actively target this market. Victoria's Secret has invested in its Pink brand to form a Collegiate Collection of fashion clothing with which it is directly targeting the teen and young adult student market. "Victoria's Secret is capitalizing on the success of its Pink Label, which is nearing the $1 billion mark, which would account for roughly 17 percent of the retailer's total sales last year, according to Advertising Age. Victoria's Secret is expanding the Pink label to include a Collegiate Collection of licensed T-shirts, sweats, totes, and underwear rooting for colleges such as University of Michigan, Texas A&M, Harvard, and 30 others" (Ferrante, 2008). The spokes person for the company provided that "To pump up publicity, Victoria's Secret introduced the Collegiate College across all channels online, through its catalog, and in-store. 'All of our marketing vehicles were set to support the launch of this strategy,' says Tervo. The Collegiate Collection is taking it to the streets for promotion with a campus tour program, which will stop at 15 of the 33 participating universities during the fall quarter." (Ferrante, 2008) Fashion and beauty related companies are increasing divulging into the culture and traditions of their regional operations to get to know more about their target markets and consumers. The L'Oreal Company has been investing significantly in research into the culture of South Asia and Pacific East to determine how culture influences the consumers fashion trends. Through this research the company has been able to determine the importance of fair skin for females in the subcontinent. Using this lead L'Oreal has been promoting its lightening and skin whitening range of products actively in the South Asian region through mass media campaigns in print and through television advertisements. Conclusion Through examples of various fashion and beauty brands, it has been provided that fashion labels and related companies tend to adopt various different methods of marketing and promoting their products to the target market based on the changing trends in the market. The relationship between the marketing strategy and corporate strategies for c business entities has been explicitly stated along with the influences that affect the field of fashion marketing. References 2006, "Marketing's Role in Corporate Strategy & CSR", The Sustainable Marketing Knowledge Network, available at http://www.cfsd.org.uk/smart-know-net/links/role.htm 2008, "TV's "Gossip Girl" is all the talk of teen fashion scene", The Seattle Times, available at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2008140330_gossipfashion27.html Blume, L.M.M., 2008, "High Styles for Low Times: How fashion and luxury firms will ride out a recession", available at http://www.slate.com/id/2191398/ Easey, M., 2008, Fashion Marketing, 3rd Ed., Wiley-Blackwell Fashion Marketing, Second Edition: Contemporary issues by Tony Hines and Margaret Bruce (Paperback - Jan 19, 2007) Butterworth-Heinemann Ferrante, A., 2008, "Retail TouchPoints - Grading The Current Back-to-School Campaigns & Promotional Strategies", available at http://74.125.95.132/searchq=cache:XKxyeYFs12UJ:www.retailtechnologygroup.com/pdf/doc.pdf+fashion+labels+changing+promotional+strategy&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=pk Sharma, B., 2004, "Marketing strategy, contextual factors and performance: An investigation of their relationship", Journal of Marketing Intelligence & Planning, Vol. 22, Issue 2, p128-143, available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=D9D268DD56A12DF335F89700AF917B39contentType=Article&contentId=854666 Read More