International Brand Management - Case of Tom Ford - Term Paper Example

Tom Ford Brand Analysis Tom Ford is one of the international brands that have had its impact in the globe. The brand name reflects its founder, president, and current chief executive officer. The fact that its advertisement features in the renowned Vogue magazine tells a lot about the brand. Its exclusive appearance in the Vogue magazine reveals its customers and its standing in the market. This paper will analyze what type of brand Tom Ford is and highlight its uniqueness. Origin of the Brand The founder of the brand name Tom Ford is Ford who studied architecture, but came into the fashion limelight during a period when he worked for Gucci. While working with Gucci, he revealed his creativity through fragrances and women’s wear (Cardin et al. 59). He joined Gucci during a period when it was going down but managed to rebrand it by bringing it back to the top fashion names (Okonkwo, Luxury Fashion Branding 166). That achievement served to introduce the name to the world, and in 2004, Tom Ford left Gucci, with the readiness to build an independent brand. Shortly after his departure from Gucci, he ventured into promoting the Tom Ford brand through the signature of two deals (Wintour, Graydon, and Foley 23). One of the deals involved marketing sunglasses while the second one dealt with cosmetics. The two deals succeeded in highlighting the richness and uniqueness of Tom Ford in design. As expected, that prepared the world for the debut of his clothing line for men. There are several products associated with the Tom Ford brand. Fragrances and cosmetics were the initial products of the Ford brand name. These were distribution deals, and the quality, variety, and price that defined these products made a statement about Tom Ford. Currently, the brand Tom Ford offers exclusive men’s and women’s clothing lines with various items on each line. Each of the clothing lines has accessories that complement the look derived from Tom Ford secrets (Cardin et al. 59). The graph below shows the sale of Tom Ford designer shoes. Web. 15 Feb. 2013, http://www.google.co.ke/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=BWx&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&biw=995&bih=601&tbm=isch&tbnid=a2xNBV1mib_zsM:&imgrefurl=http://mamomax.comxa.com/tom_ford_gucci_stilletto_boots.php&docid=LY6l1o9R7CjqIM&itg=1&imgurl=http://mamomax.comxa.com/graphs/44_1.png&w=365&h=285&ei=hmAgUdaUD4i4hAfs3oGYBA&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:7,s:0,i:99&iact=rc&dur=634&sig=107799956647960880921&page=1&tbnh=156&tbnw=200&start=0&ndsp=14&tx=84&ty=39 The brand is strategic about its target market. It offers a variety of products for anyone in the range of 25-75 years old. It promises and delivers elegance and class to men through suits and accessories. Both the young and mature can find what they want from Tom Ford. The variety for women seeks to bring out beauty in both the young, middle aged and older women. The broad range of products targeting people of different ages serves to take Tom Ford a notch higher (Wintour, Graydon, and Foley 43). The Following chart shows its operation when only men clothing line existed. Web. 15 Feb. 2013, http://www.simplyhired.com/a/jobtrends/graph/q-Tom+Ford+International/t-line Uniqueness of Tom Ford Ford finds inspiration from the past, and this comes out exclusively in his items. He manages to bring back a fashion concept in a trendy, classy, and intriguing way. He seeks to recreate what many people consider as vanished from the society. This has been the basis of what makes his brand uniquely different. Tom Ford is a luxury brand and needs to have exclusivity for it to thrive in the market. Being a luxury brand translates to quality because the price is not a priority to the luxury consumers (Tungate 18). The owner seems to understand exactly what the luxury goods consumers want, and he strives to bring that to the market. Moreover, Tom Ford seems to appreciate the fact that luxury is a symbol to the wealthy buyer (Wintour, Graydon, and Foley 93). It defines how others perceive the individual and influences self-concept. Therefore, the brand seeks to present its clients with signature products that represent their ideal luxury definition. There are very crucial expectations of the luxurious goods consumers that Tom Ford has devised ways of meeting. This class of people does not have a problem with money, and this makes the price inconsequential. Luxury brands have to think beyond the 4P’s in business. Tom Ford beholds this secret, and he focuses on giving the wealthy customer a memorable experience. According to experts in luxury goods marketing, the wealthy customers exhibit the willingness to spend on something that gives them an experience. For a brand to succeed in this, it must deliver products that can compel the buyer (Gehlhar 17). If the quality of a product compels a wealthy buyer, then he or she cannot resist. Tom Ford fragrances have delivered amazing experiences over time, making them a first choice. The brand also seeks to provide the conservative wealthy buyer with an experience that can surpass the elapsing of time. The clothing lines offer products that can assure the Tom Ford clients longevity and durability. For the upper class, twenty years is an experience worth investing (Alexander and Doherty 65). Moreover, the brand offers a collection of products for the mature woman allowing her to experience beauty irrespective of the age. Tom Ford is not just a brand, but also a success story about the founder. It represents the resilience that Ford has portrayed in making sure that he achieves his dreams (Chiari 121). From an architectural basis, he ventured into a new field without experience. However, within a short time he stood out among other designers. Tom Ford’s brand signifies a journey of resilience, charisma, and conservativeness, but with proven results. This success story serves to keep the buyer engaged. For wealthy buyers, Tom Ford is a brand worth associating with because of the availability of proven evidence that it leads to success (Haig 60). Moreover, Tom Ford is a role model to many and represents a masculine ideology that the wealthy buyer believes in. His triumph, silhouette, and reputation engage the buyer. His venturing into Hollywood also serves to engage the wealthy loyal clients. These clients will keep buying the products as part of the journey to success. Tom Ford does not stop at offering its clients an experience; it makes sure that it presents its core target with exclusivity. The brand realizes the significance of exclusivity to the upper class. Contrary to the usual buyer, the wealthy buyer needs to have access to align him or herself with exclusive brands (Quelch 104). Tom Ford presents its clients with unique products. It has proved a pioneer in providing the right products to both the young and old. Therefore, its customers are likely to remain loyal because of the exclusivity factor. Experts have argued that luxury brands should strive to make the experience multi-sensory. For Tom Ford, the luxury experience comprises searching, longing, waiting and finally owning a product. In order to keep the luxury buyer in anticipation, Tom Ford has designed marketing elements that trigger the buyer’s desire (Quelch 105). In a unique way, Tom Ford has learned how to use marketing elements that promise a potential buyer something more than the tangible product (Wintour, Graydon, and Foley 57). A wealthy buyer expects a product that will trigger emotions. The fact that price is not a limiting factor to the upper class translates to higher expectations. Such buyers will expect a product to evoke a positive emotion (Haig 60). Tom Ford has managed to win loyalty through this. Clients associate the clothing lines with feeling triumphant and hilarious (Chiari 121). This factor translates to massive sales in many parts of the globe. Marketing Elements of Tom Ford Tom Ford believes that the quality of his products suffices to make them self-marketing. To him, marketing translates to the product itself, and the luxury it can provide to the buyer. Therefore, he downplays most of the marketing, increasing exclusivity for his brand. For a long time, he seemed conservative, and held fast to print media for advertisement. Even so, the products appeared with minimal details raising the curiosity of the buyer (Alexander, and Doherty 56). However, recently, he seems to be embracing the digital promotion of luxury goods although his reservations are still evident. The fact that Tom Ford allowed his spring 2012 release for women online with a story for each item revealed that he was ready to go digital (Okonkwo, Luxury Online 309). However, Ford’s love for detail will determine what forms of media he is likely to adopt in the future. Tom Ford utilizes ‘accessibility’ as one of the key factors that define luxury goods in its marketing. The management team creates a lot of curiosity in the buyers, and this serves to increase the desire for the product. Tom Ford believes that the over-availability of products online or in celebrity photos before getting to the stores diminishes the buyer curiosity (Okonkwo, Luxury Online 309). Whereas other brands may choose to have their newest product advertised online immediately after release, Tom Ford prefers to keep the client longing to see the product. Consequently, the longing will persuade the buyer to begin a search for the product. For many of Tom Ford loyal customers, this marks the initial step in the Tom Ford luxury experience. Tom Ford maintains a stringent control of all the photography in any of his shows as a way of holding back until the right time. For example, after withholding the leakage of any photos of his women clothing line, he kept the buyer curious until November and December when they appeared continuously in the Vogue magazine. The appearance of the ‘Mr. Tom Ford Returns’ in the Vogue magazine spurred the curiosity of the wealthy buyer. After running a men-clothing line for some time, the Vogue served to inform all the women about the debut of the women clothing line. The advert was strategic and the word ‘return’ reminded the clients about his work at Gucci. Moreover, the timing was excellent because the upper class link luxury and festivity. At such a time, they would need a product with a high intrinsic and extrinsic value to complement the luxury of the festive season (Dahlen, Lange, and Smith 124). Tom Ford offered just that for them (Tungate 16). Advertising with the Vogue magazine, a leading fashion magazine serves to add value to Tom Ford products. Tom Ford also takes into consideration of the association of luxury with high prices. According to the traditional definition, the wealthy class reads price for quality (Alexander, and Doherty 56). Tom Ford has kept the price of his products high even during the recession period in order to protect the brand. For example, in August 2012, he introduced a rose fragrance at the price of USD 500 per bottle. From their website, it becomes clear that Tom Ford offers gifts after some purchases to reward the loyal buyer. This has further seen an increase in the visitors the company receives. The graph below indicates the new clients for the last one year. Web. 15 Feb. 2013, http://www.google.co.ke/imgres?start=92&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1024&bih=629&tbm=isch&tbnid=gu61n3W8iUHKjM:&imgrefurl=http://tomford.com.website-information.info/&docid=f4gnppEy8q46sM&itg=1&imgurl=http://grapher.compete.com/tomford.com_uv_460.png&w=460&h=188&ei=J48gUceLCcaZtAa46oGgCw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:7,s:100,i:25&iact=rc&dur=394&sig=114395418998993204184&page=6&tbnh=131&tbnw=322&ndsp=17&tx=87&ty=65 Ford’s runaways feature celebrities who make a statement to the wealthy buyer. Although he controls the footage of such as one way of maintaining exclusivity, featuring models, and celebrities of all ages serves to persuade the buyers. Other stars like Brad Pitt are loyal users of his fragrances, proving a point about the products. Although some of the adverts have featured nude celebrities, the emotion associated with the message only serves to win more clients who associate luxury with emotion. Moreover, Tom Ford has designed the outfit for Justin Timberlake in his newest album ‘Suit and Tie’. Timberlake’s appearance in a complete Tom Ford look will serve to increase the b rand’s customer base. The album features Jay-Z who mentions the brand in his part. The association of the brand with such personalities will promote its sales greatly. Brand Image Tom Ford has emerged to be among the leaders in fashion and luxury (Dahlen, Lange, and Smith 122). Its tag line is ‘respect’ translating to its image, and that of its clients. The uniqueness of the brand and its symbol for luxury has earned it great respect globally. For many, the price, signature, and stylistic icons associated with the brand match the definition of luxury. To the buyer, the tagline ‘respect’ translates to the perception that he or she earns from the world for owning unique products. Moreover, for Ford, it is a pursuit for what fascinates him, making it his story (Wintour, Graydon, and Foley 64). Among its competitors in the luxury industry, it has its reasons for standing out among the rest. The rating below shows the standing of Tom Ford fragrances. Web. 15 Feb. 2013, http://undinaba.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/brands2011.jpg Conclusion Tom Ford is a unique brand representing the story of the founder and bringing back the fashion treasures of the sixties and seventies in a transformed manner. The wide ranges of products stand for different forms of a luxurious experience for the customer who seeks luxury. It offers a high level of exclusivity, and value to the buyer. The founder employs a unique set of marketing elements that seem to have driven the brand to its current standing. Moreover, Ford believes that each product offers the buyer an opportunity to share in its story. Work Cited Alexander, Nicholas, and Anne M. Doherty. International Retailing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Cardin, Marlene M. G, Anne V. Adami, Tara Kaplan, and Tina Ball. 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Tom Ford. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, 2004. Print. Read More