Fashion Marketing - Essay Example

Fashion Marketing Table of Contents Fashion Marketing 4 Overview of UK Fashion Industry 4 Overview of Burberry Group Plc. 6 Situation Analysis 8 SWOTAnalysis of Burberry Group Plc. 8 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis 9 Analysis of Chosen Brand 10 Brand Extension of Burberry Group Plc. 10 Communication Campaign 10 Target Customers for the new Campaign 11 Suitability of Promotional Tools for the new Product 11 Direct Marketing 11 Advertising 11 Suitability of Media for the new Product 12 Digital Media 12 Broadcast Media 12 Conclusion 13 Reference List 14 Appendices 16 Appendix 1 16 Appendix 2 16 Appendix 3 17 Fashion Marketing In this period of international trade, the fashion industries are the part of apparel and textile industry that includes supreme luxury brand and fast-fashion dealers or retailers. The fashion industry also comprises of thousands of organisations that sell and produce shoes, clothing as well as textile products. The fashion industry of UK is the most creative and vibrant business sector (British Fashion Council, 2015). The last two decades have experienced considerable transformations within this fashion industry. Most prominent are the faster links between retail and designer fashion which have observed many designers who become names of high street through their associations (Hines and Bruce, 2007). The fashion industry of UK presents some most pioneering designers of the world, from Vivienne Westwood to John Galliano. The designs which are shown at the London fashion Week are generally the channel for trends which are then observed via the retailers and media as well as worn by public also (British Fashion Council, 2015). The chosen company is Burberry Group Plc. for the analysis. Branding is a process which is involved in building a distinctive name as well as image for any product in the minds of customers, especially by means of advertising campaigns. The main aim of branding is to create a differentiated and significant existence in the market which draws as well as retains the loyal customers (Batey, 2008). The main purpose of this essay is to present a communication campaign for Burberry Group Plc. including the use of media and promotional tools for campaign. Overview of UK Fashion Industry The fashion industry of United Kingdom makes a considerable contribution to UK economy in terms of employment and Gross Value Added (British Fashion Council, 2015). The United Kingdom has a great reputation as a worldwide leader in trendsetting and fashion design (British Fashion Council, 2015). Figure 1: UK fashion design (Source: British Fashion Council, 2015) The United Kingdom fashion sector encompasses textile production, manufacturing, clothing design, retailing, marketing and wholesaling of broad collection of the fashion products (British Fashion Council, 2015). The fashion industry of United Kingdom encompasses the fashion items as the centre or main item but also comprises of the economic impacts of the UK on the entire production process, ranging from sourcing the raw materials by means of manufacturing and design to retail and wholesale (See Appendix 1). In the year 2009, the UK fashion sector directly added £20.9 billion to the economy of United Kingdom (British Fashion Council, 2015). In 2014, it has contributed £26 billion to the economy. It is not only handbags and dresses but also the manufacturing and design which makes the fashion sectors the greatest part of the creative industries. However, clothing remains the big business of the fashion industry (BBC, 2014). Figure 2: Clothing as a big business of the fashion industry (Source: BBC, 2014) At several times, it is observable at “London Fashion Week” the design, fabrics and manufacturing quality of the dresses as models walks the ramp. It is also visible at red carpet where the singers and actresses generate publicity especially for labels. In “London Fashion Week” of 2014, approx £100 million of orders were placed (BBC, 2014). It is an industry which takes the support of social media in order to reach the market. The fashion sectors of United Kingdom employ 600 thousand individuals, thus making UK the third-largest employer in the fashion world (Fashion United, 2015). However, the number of individuals employed in the production of apparel, textiles leather products and footwear in the United Kingdom has decreased from approx 280 thousand people to 99 thousand in 2009 (See Appendix 2). Employment in the fashion retail segment remains constant over time. Approx 440 thousand individuals remain active in this sector (See Appendix 3). Overview of Burberry Group Plc. Burberry Group Plc. is an international luxury brand which manufactures and distributes fashion accessories, sunglasses, outerwear, fragrances and cosmetics. It was founded by Thomas Burberry in the year 1856 (Burberryplc, 2015). Over the years, it has built its status for design, innovation and craftsmanship. Outerwear is regarded as the main product of the company and is best expressed by means of the iconic trench coat (Burberryplc, 2015). Figure 3: Products of Burberry Group Plc. (Source: Burberryplc, 2015) The target segments for Burberry Group Plc. are the youngsters and middle aged women and men from upper class. It targets the premium customers who appreciate timeless, clean and smart British classic style. Brand engagement is driven by inventive use of traditional, social and digital media in order to connect customers internationally with focus on the premium customer (Burberryplc, 2015). Natalie Massenet, the Chairman of “British Fashion Council” looks dazzling in a jewel embellished Burberry skirt and Blush pink jacket from the summer/spring 2014 collection (Telegraph, 2014). It reveals that the products of Burberry Group Plc. are liked by premium customers as it is worn by Natalie Massenet. Burberry Group Plc. livestreams their catwalk show in order to make aware the potential customers their availability and also so that the customers can view the latest trend of Burberry Group Plc. online (BBC, 2014). Situation Analysis SWOT Analysis of Burberry Group Plc. Strengths: The Company has vast network of wholesale, retail as well as licensing channels internationally. Burberry Group Plc. is one of the most valued companies around the world because of its legacy. They have good brand presence especially in England. Moreover, they have associations with global celebrities which help them to reach to the preferred customers. Strong endorsement of celebrity and the distinctive check help them to become the most recognisable brand. They are regarded as one of the most cutting edge companies (Annual Report, 2014). Weakness: The brand is very much available in high-street, but has a very low presence in couture. Middle income group cannot take the benefit of the products of this brand. It cannot capture the market of average income group people. Opportunities: More advertising and marketing would increase the visibility and after association with different brands, they expect to make the fashion reasonably priced. International expansion would assist the brand to expand worldwide. It could also open more number of stores around the world to different cities and could also cater wider range of customer. Burberry Group Plc. could host more shows in various cities (Annual Report, 2014). Threats: Burberry Group Plc. faces intimidation from their competitors in terms of its pricing and availability. Competitors like Armani and Gucci gives threat to Burberry Group Plc. as they also provides accessories and apparel and target the premium customers. Threat of being connected with violence has negative impression on the brand. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Customer’s bargaining power: Burberry Group Plc. differentiates themselves in terms of designs and styles of the product offerings. The premium and loyal customers are not price sensitive; instead they are attracted by the designs and superior quality of the products. So, the customer’s bargaining power is low (Merrill, 2008). Supplier’s bargaining power: It is low to moderate because Burberry Group Plc. source from overseas manufacturers and due to increased competition there are several suppliers who provide their service to the luxury brand retailers (Okonkwo, 2007). Threat of new entrants: The threat of entry of new participants for Burberry Group Plc. is high because fashion and luxury industry is considered as ever growing and there is a threat of cheaper and new brands to enter the market. Threat of substitutes: It is moderate for the company because there are a range of luxury brands in the industry which are well recognised and accepted by the customers (Marcus, 2006). Competitive rivalry: It is considered as moderate because competitors like Gucci and Armani also offers premium brands accompanied with superior quality to the customers (Gelder, 2005). Analysis of Chosen Brand Brand Extension of Burberry Group Plc. To increase the brand equity, a general strategy adopted by companies is the brand extension. It permits the organisations to reduce costs and risks of launching novel products and also increase profit and market share. Brand extension assists the companies to enhance the value of their brand, increase brand awareness, widen the attributes of brand as well as add value towards a brand (Stegemann, 2006). To re-attract luxury customers as well as to increase its revenue, Burberry Group Plc. may intend to do brand extension by introducing tableware category under their brand name. As the company already has its presence in the apparel, accessories, fragrance and cosmetics category, so they can expand their product line by the introduction of tableware category. The entry of fashion brands in manufacturing and design of home ware products is becoming extremely popular in United Kingdom. Expanding its product portfolio will help Burberry Group Plc. to attract the new customers and retain the prevailing customers. The tableware category will include table linens and dinning sets. For the tableware category the target customers will be the middle aged female customers. One of the major factors that could act as a key driver for the company to pursue the aforementioned strategy is the amalgamation of cutting edge technology coupled with collaboration of various artist and designers. Technology will greatly fuel their intentions and can really turn out in favour of the company. Also with the presence of the designers, the quality of the product can be greatly enhanced. Most importantly, it can go by the ongoing trend and hence can be more successful. Communication Campaign To do brand extension and introduce new product into its product portfolio, Burberry Group Plc. may need a communication campaign to provide its message to the target customers in more efficient way. The campaign designed for advertising and promoting the new product category will be named as “Burberry for Women” campaign, as tableware category is mainly for female segment. The objectives of this campaign will be to provide the female customers with more precious dining sets. As Burberry Group Plc. has already its presence in other categories, so having its presence in the tableware category will help the company to augment its revenue and profit. Target Customers for the new Campaign Market segmentation involves separating a wide target group into fraction of businesses and customers who possess common interests, needs and priorities. Further, it involves designing as well as executing strategies in order to target the interested customers (Wedel, 2000). Female customers under the age group of 25-55 will be the target customers of Burberry Group Plc. as they are more involved in selecting the dinning sets for the family members. Suitability of Promotional Tools for the new Product Direct Marketing Burberry Group Plc. may make use of various direct marketing tools to promote their “Burberry for Women” campaign and also to spread the message of campaign to the target segments. The direct marketing techniques which could be employed by them are the social media websites and the catalogues. Internet is considered as a vital tool of direct marketing due to its less advertising expenses and simplicity of use (O’Guinn et al, 2014). It will help the company to reach the worldwide market. The social media websites go together with the catalogue distribution as it drives the marketing relationships or associations with the potential target audience (Longenecker et al, 2009). It has been analysed that the young population spends most of their time in social media; therefore social media marketing is quite effective while targeting the young audience. The company already have their presence on YouTube and Facebook (Annual Report, 2014) and the adult female customers for the tableware category could find the important information about the new product and campaign on those sites. Burberry Group Plc. is an exceptional billion-pound company and it has acquired this position by having its large presence on the social media (BBC, 2014). As the company already has its strong presence in the social media sites, therefore launching its new product category online through the help of campaign will not be a problem for them. Advertising Burberry Group Plc. may utilise different types of advertising media to promote their campaign. The campaign can adopt television advertising, internet advertising and sponsorship by the famous celebrities. Television advertising provides the advantages of reaching target audience in a particular or single exposure (Longenecker et al, 2009). Internet advertising includes having presence on the social sites which will help the campaign to generate awareness among the customers about the features of tableware. The online advertising will assist the people to search that information about the campaign from which they were not aware and will also help them to get familiar with the campaign objective (O’Guinn et al, 2014). Suitability of Media for the new Product Digital Media Burberry Group Plc. has its official website which can provide information to the people about the campaign and the social network homepage of the company could also mention the details and objectives of the campaign. The company could release the information and message of their campaign into their social network homepage. Individuals will be able to send emails to the company to gather further information about the campaign and also to give their response about the campaign and product on their homepage (Duncan, 2002). For the “Burberry for Women” campaign, the target segment will be the female customers as the company is introducing the tableware products. The digital media is very effective for the adults and also for the middle aged people because they are the regular user of the internet and social media sites. The digital media will help the campaign to connect with the target customers in an efficient way. It will also assist in generating higher rates of conversion and enables real-time or immediate customer service. Marketing by way of digital media will also assist the campaign to connect with mobile customer as well as help in generating higher profits for the company (Feldman, 2003). Broadcast Media Burberry Group Plc. can make use of broadcast media such as television commercials, social networking sites and internet to communicate the message of their “Burberry for Women” campaign. It provides the message to the female segment that the company is offering the tableware products to the female customers to decorate their dinning space in more appropriate way and enhance the beauty of their kitchen. Broadcast media is regarded as the most suitable tool to promote the products of the company. It always remains the internal component of the advertising budget. By employing broadcast media, the cost of reaching great section of the target audience will become comparatively low for Burberry Group Plc. The availability of the company on the social media will allow the target segment to follow them and help them to obtain information about the campaign. Employing broadcast media will be very effective for the company because nowadays people are the regular user of the internet, television and social media sites. Moreover, people feel more secure and comfortable with the products which are advertised in the broadcast media and which includes celebrities and other famous sponsors to promote the products (Feldman, 2003). Conclusion The fashion industry of the United Kingdom encompasses textile production, manufacturing, clothing design, retailing, marketing and wholesaling of broad collection of the fashion products. It is not only handbags and dresses but also the manufacturing and design which makes the fashion sectors the greatest part of the creative industries. It is an industry which takes the support of social media in order to reach the market. Burberry Group Plc. has vast network of wholesale, retail as well as licensing channels internationally. It is one of the most valued companies around the world because of its legacy. To re-attract luxury customers as well as to increase its revenue, Burberry Group Plc. may intend to do brand extension by introducing tableware category under their brand name. As Burberry Group Plc. has already its presence in other categories, so having its presence in the tableware category will help the company to augment its revenue and profit. Promotional tools like direct marketing and advertising will assist the company to promote the new product and campaign in more efficient way and to reach large customer base. Moreover, digital and broadcast media will also assist the company to release the information and message of their campaign into their social network homepage and to augment their revenue and profit. Reference List Annual Report, 2014. Burberry: Annual Report 2014/15. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.burberryplc.com/documents/annual_reports/annual-report-2014-15.pdf> [Accessed 7 July 2015]. Batey, M., 2008. Brand Meaning. New York: CRC Press. BBC, 2014. The fashion business. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-26257403.> [Accessed 7 July 2015]. British Fashion Council, 2015. The Value of the UK Fashion Industry. [pdf] Available at: < http://www.britishfashioncouncil.com/uploads/media/62/16356.pdf> [Accessed 7 July 2015]. Burberryplc., 2015. Burberry: Group Overview. [online] Available at: < http://www.burberryplc.com/about_burberry/group-overview> [Accessed 7 July 2015]. Duncan, T.R., 2002. IMC: Using advertising and promotion to build brands. New York: McGraw Hill Education. Fashion United, 2015. Facts and figures about the fashion industry. [online] Available at: < http://www.fashionunited.co.uk/facts-and-figures-in-the-uk-fashion-industry> [Accessed 7 July 2015]. Feldman, T., 2003. An introduction to digital media. New York: Routledge. Gelder, S.V., 2005. Global brand strategy: Unlocking branding potential across countries, cultures markets. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Hines, T. and Bruce, M., 2007. Fashion marketing. London: Routledge. Longenecker, J., Petty, J., Palich, L. and Moore, C.W., 2009. Small business management: Launching and growing entrepreneurial ventures. Boston: Cengage Learning. O’Guinn, T., Allen, C., Semenik, R. and Scheinbaum, A.C., 2014. Advertising and integrated brand promotion. Boston: Cengage Learning. Okonkwo, U., 2007. Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Stegemann, N., 2006. Unique brand extension challenges for luxury brands. Journal of Business and Economic Research. 4(10), pp. 57-65. Telegraph, 2014. London Fashion Week: Fashion Industry worth £26 billion to UK economy. [online] Available at: < http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG10638284/London-Fashion-Week-Fashion-industry-worth-26-billion-to-UK-economy.html> [Accessed 7 July 2015]. Wedel, M., 2000. Market segmentation: Conceptual and methodological foundations. Berlin: Springer Science & Business Media. Appendices Appendix 1 The fashion industry of UK and its broader economic impacts (Source: British Fashion Council, 2015) Appendix 2 UK employment in manufacturing of clothing, leather goods, footwear and textiles (Source: Fashion United, 2015) Appendix 3 UK employment in retail of clothing, leather goods, footwear and textiles (Source: Fashion United, 2015) Read More