Public Relations in the Fashion industry - Article Example

Public Relations in Fashion industry Introduction The luster of models walking down the ramp in new clothes designed specifically for a season or occasion stays as a fond memory for all those who have visited a fashion show. The entire idea of creating a visually stunning picture with a combination of grace, beauty, poise, fabric, colors, sound, lights, and music is an experience that comprises the heart and soul of the fashion industry. For students of marketing and finance, understanding the fashion industry is a difficult prospect unless they have a careful understanding of how public relations works in the industry and decides a great deal of revenue flow in the different sections of the industry. The present paper endeavors to critically analyze the applicability of known dictums in public relations to the fashion industry after carefully understanding the development of public relations in the industry from earlier times in history. History The development of public relations strategies in fashion industry came about around the 1930s, when members of the elite and wealthy class could afford to select and pick designer wearables like garments, gowns, wigs, glasses, bracelets, umbrellas and so on. By then, distinct fashion magazines were already available in print in the urban society and photos were being printed to create cover pages for the magazines. Fashion was not just restricted to apparels and what a person wore, but was also found in home décor and accessories. By the 1960s, a more important trend of identifying and portraying the volatility of the industry began and is popular till today. Amongst the first examples of use of public relation strategy in promoting fashion products, we find a localization of power as a particular news house would ask members of its elite class or Hollywood actors and actresses who are members of the book house or publishing house to wear creations of known designer members of the same society, at events and functions where they would get noticed and clicked. This way, the publishing houses hoped to keep glamour and glitz showcased on people associated with them. One such example is seen when Eleanor Lambert in 1950 asks Joan Crawford to sport the designer glasses created by sports designer Claire McCadell knowing completely well that when the actress would get clicked in those she would be endorsing the designer’s work which would increase in fashion value instantly (Arnold, 2009, 24). Unknown to them, they had started a marketing trick that was later to be called public relations. Fashion industry soon became a cross-point of business strategies and creative designing. The result is what we have today, an active vibrant and ever innovating industry that showcases every new idea that seems worthy of note to the world at large. If we take a close look at the principles of public relations, media and communication as we study them these days, then one will find that the laws and tools that govern the success of a brand are often based on one or more old world practices that upheld Victorian beauty and fashion. In the olden days around the seventeenth century, designers and dress makes sent in caricature dolls wearing their creations and once the doll’s dress design are approved, the actual dress would be sent to the buyer. Today, ramps are full of live dolls showcasing new designs in the same manner. To be able to cope up with the impact, suitability and applicability of known public relation theories and strategies in fashion industry of today, we need to understand the theories and their scope first. The following section discusses each of the rules in detail and measures up its performance in the fashion industry. Revisiting Few Theories and Rules in Public Relations: When we talk of traditional public relations in business and the corporate sectors, it becomes important to revisit a few laws and theories that have been proposed in the field of public relations (Letang, 2006, 13). Grunig’s four models of public relations in the corporate and entertainment sectors have been considered ideal for different types of market. We could start by measuring how to apply each of the theories in fashion industry and check whether any of the models have already been in use at the fashion forefronts. The Press Agentry Model: Representatives of the press are great bearers of information regarding a product or news. The circulation of news regarding new product lines and designs in the fashion market is often not an approach seen in the fashion industry. The press agentry model is usually used in fashion industry to spread knowledge about an upcoming fashion event. Instead of giving out new product or design information, fashion event details are given out. The market gets a quick preview into the styles, designers and models who would walk the ramp in these press releases. Therefore, the event serves as the announcement platform in which the new products and designer lines are launched. The Public Information Model: The public information model is seen used in the fashion industry often. The designers and developers spread general articles and reviews through public relations agents which discuss the product specifications and features and get attention to the uniqueness of the product lines. It is important to note here that the public information model suits buyers since most are looking for general information before going into checking the product out. In the present day society, the internet forms a great way to allow free flow of product information to reach the buyers. So far, the public information model has great acceptance in not only the fashion industry but in very industry other than business to business scenarios. Statistical analysis of conversions as observed through this PR model helps brands renew product lines and bring back older lines which have been popular over time. The Two Way Asymmetrical Model: Building an understanding of the consumer mentality and keeping the focus on how to leverage the data we get from such unidirectional research is the main part of the two way asymmetrical model. There is no doubt that in the fashion industry, seasonal designs, discounts and deals are offered using this PR approach. However, the utilization of such an approach is possible only when the brand or designer has already experienced some amount of market recognition. The Two Way Symmetrical Model: This model is by far the most profitable model and way more effective in spreading brand awareness than the public information model. The two way approach utilizes a complete understanding of target customer preferences and step by step business goals of the product/design house. Strategies are built around realizing both these aspects of business development, and in most cases, hits off with sound profits right from the first season. The process is more time taking and mostly continuous, keeping the budget predictions unsteady. However, the long term impact of this communications model is greatly encouraging as the market knows the brand well and usually is familiar with its latest updates owing to active communication. A Note On Public Opinion and Stakeholder Analysis While generating public opinion is essential, using analytical tools to assess the public opinion and stakeholder information is crucial to any public relations campaign. The need to use detailed stakeholder mapping is further emphasized by the fact that in the fashion industry more than one marketing factors decide the ultimate visibility of the product or design. From studio end photographers and light men to models and event organizers, the role played by different professionals in ultimately showcasing the product is important. And when the efforts of all these people are concentrated on information, resources and research provided by stakeholders (Bruell, 2012, 2), the marketing is more than complete (Morris & Goldsworthy, 2012, 14). Stakeholder mapping has not been given enough importance in the fashion industry till now for the main reason that it is a creative field and the responsibility of the process is often concentrated on the creative head of the brand or product line. The strategies therefore, often fall in the same lines of endorsements and reviews or reports. What is further missed out is the public opinion analysis. Fashion industry therefore needs to grow into a more corporate entity that alongside encouraging creativity allows a systemized set-up of PR marketing and branding elements. It is not difficult to incorporate a communications based approach since extracting public opinion is greatly easy in this process. Working up non-creative stakeholder listings is the beginning of a standard mapped structure that will get these brands good reason to develop sound strategies and PR campaigns (PG, 2002, 1). What Is Wrong With Today’s Fashion Society? Brand equity has become very profound in the present day fashion industry. Long term players like Louis Vuitton hold a monopoly in the fashion industry and while major brand wish to attain the same stature in the market as Vuitton has, it is near to impossible to make that presence unless you have a long standing track record. Since fashion is often defined by the visual elegance that makes an appeal to the customers, brands have again and again fallen back on the same PR mechanisms like celebrity endorsements, event launches and sponsorships. Fashion PRs have forgotten about the press agentry and two way symmetrical models based on communication and media releases (Moore, 2012, 21). The other very important setback in PR in the fashion industry today is the type of public information that is shared in different markets. While celebrity news always sells, brands who are unable to afford a celebrity endorsement often fall short in generating public awareness about their product lines. Sponsorships and advertisements often fall short in garnering media attention. The proper utilization of new age media like social media communication is not yet defined in PR strategies these days. Therefore, public information model is limited talking about what has been launched and how it has been launched. Details of celebrity endorsements have become focus of the information instead of features or highlights of the product he or she is endorsing (Posner, 2011, 31). Thus, there is a need to rev up fashion PR using a multi-dimensional marketing approach. Criticism of the rules At this juncture, it becomes important to evaluate the relationship between public relations practitioners and the media as well as where PR fits within the marketing mix. In the fashion industry, aesthetics form a major part of marketing. This adds value to the public relation campaigns used by the designers and brands. However, there is a direct need for personal interaction with the designer at all levels of PR to ensure that the market gets to familiarize not only with the product but also the designer of the product for the campaigns to be successful. Representatives of the media and public relation practitioners have to understand that as an industry, fashion is volatile and flexible. A brand may have twenty products to launch in a week or have only one major line to launch in a year. Building a successful relationship with the media therefore, is totally dependent on the abilities of the PR professionals and cannot be equaled to the client’s productivity or profit and loss graphs (Brown, 1999, 1). When marketing a fashion brand, the role of PR therefore is at a tangent to the main product marketing plan of the designer. PR goes hand in hand all round the year and has no relation to the launches or closing of popular design/product lines. Overall, the role of public relations in fashion industry is below fifty percent of the marketing strategy that is used by a fashion brand. This is quite much in contrast with other industries and therefore, an improvement in the role of public relations in the fashion industry is highly desired. Conclusion Whether or not a person enjoys watching dresses in shades of violet, he has to sit through the section that celebrates the color at a fashion event. Could the PR agent of the event and the designer have thought out a better way to satisfy a person by communicating with his or her preferences even before designing the event? There is a thirty percent chance that such an arrangement would be possible. While we all know that the fashion industry is a two way process where preferences and feedback decide styles and fashion events decide seasonal tastes, it is still to be seen whether public relations strategy building can be better defined on the basis of two way communication with media and customer bases. References: Arnold, R. (2009) Fashion: a very short introduction. New York: Oxford University Press. Letang, J. (2006) Public Relations, concepts, practice and critique. London: Sage. Moore, G. (2012) Fashion Promotion: building a brand through marketing and communication. Lausanne: AVA Publishing SA. Morris, T. & Goldsworthy, S. (2012) PR Today: the authoritative guide to public relations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Posner, H. (2011) Marketing Fashion. London: Laurence King. 3 external sources: Bruell, A. (2012) Beyond the runway: Meet the PR pros who run Fashion Week: You likely havent heard of them, but PR Consulting, BPCM and KCD are three of the most-influential shops in the fashion biz. We take a closer look. Advertising Age. 83 (6), pp – 8 Brown, D. (1999). Fashion Marketing and PR. Reference Reviews. 13 (1) p- 16 PG (2002) Breaking the Rules of PR/Fashion Results in White-Hot Campaign. Procter & Gamble. 58 (8). p - 1 Read More