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The Basics | Part 8 Marketing - BoF - The Business of Fashion

EDUCATIO N | TH E BASICS

The Basics | Part 8 Marketing

BYBOFTEAM12JULY,2013

NEWYORK,UnitedStatesFashion is a hyper-competitive industry. Talent is readily

available, so having a well-designed and a high-quality product is simply the price of entry. What
ultimately separates a successful fashion business from the rest is often how the brands story
resonates with consumers.
In the pre-digital age, brands were built with classic marketing strategies, using traditional media
like print and TV to push their latest campaigns at consumers. While these traditional tactics may
never completely disappear, todays Internet-era consumers have more power than ever before and
interact with the brands they deem worthy of their time via a number of new channels. With the
proliferation of digital and social media, the rise of on-demand content and services, and the
growth of micro-targeting techniques, people increasingly expect products and services to speak
directly to their individual needs.
The most successful fashion brands will embrace a blend of both traditional and new media to
communicate a consistent and authentic message across multiple channels in a manner that both
piques customer interest and creates long-term brand value.
DefiningYourBrandStory
Before marketing your brand, it is crucial to define what it is and what it isnt. In the most simple
form, brands should think about key descriptions of any design or aesthetic features, define their
pricing or market segments, and identify exactly who their customer is, factoring in elements like
gender, age, geography, interests and anything else that helps describe their lifestyle and
preferences. By the end of this exercise you should be able to clearly articulate a simple brand
equity statement in one or two sentences, for example:
Brand X is a contemporary American work wear collection featuring traditional fits and luxury
fabrics for professional women ages 40-50. Brand X is unique because it offers exceptional quality
at accessible prices.
TheClassicMarketingFramework

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In the classroom, the 4Ps (Product, Place, Price, Promotion) has become a straightforward,
foundational framework through which to think about marketing. There are many other
frameworks available, but the 4Ps is a good place to start. Its important not to be too rigid within
any one framework, however.
Product
In fashion, having a great product is the essential foundation of a great business. In the classical
marketing framework, product is defined as an item or service that meets a consumers need or
desire. But its worth noting that, in fashion, we are often designing products that people dont yet
know they want, then using our various marketing strategies to unleash their desire.
As we discussed in Part 5 of the Basics series, there are many business and trend considerations
involved in the development of a collection. Likewise, when planning marketing initiatives, its
important to consider whether they will be aiming to promote the brand or specific products. There
is a place for both, but whenever possible, it is advisable to feature actual product, as this can
directly help to drive sales and awareness of key items.
For example, is there an iconic piece from your collection that conveys your message best? Are there
unique design or functional features to call out or focus on? Is there a particular lifestyle or activity
that you want to associate with your product or brand? Is there a specific person or archetype you
want to associate with your brand? What colours are important to the brand DNA, year round or
seasonally?
Price
In fashion, price is not only a reference to the nominal amount of money being charged for a
product. It can also refer to the value equation that the brand creates in a consumers mind. For a
price being paid, what qualitative benefits and functional utility is the consumer getting in terms of
design, quality, goodwill?
Keep in mind that the resulting value equation will have a sizeable impact on how your brand is
perceived. This should be considered before any price tickets are printed.
Place
As discussed in Part 6 of the Basics, fashion brands have multiple sales channels through which to
reach end consumers. In this framework, place refers to selling the right product at the right price
(value) in the right place.

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Where you sell influences which customers you reach and how your product is perceived.
Therefore, picking the right accounts can have a major impact, not only on your financial results,
but also on your brand image. Some brands may even justify selling or consigning to an account
that is known to pay late (or not at all), simply for the marketing value. While we dont recommend
working with retailers on this basis, you should always consider the brand equity you can create or
destroy by working with certain retail partners.
If you own direct-to-consumer sales channels (a physical store or a commerce-enabled website, for
example), you have the benefit of controlling the environment and experience. This gives you an
opportunity to tell the story exactly as you want it, which may well be the most powerful marketing
vehicle of all.
Regardless of whether you sell online, its important for every brand to have a website. This may
only require a small investment of time and money, but will be a crucial way to capture the traffic
that you generate when you create interest in your brand. Think of your website as the first window
into your brand and your world.
Promotion
There are many promotional techniques available to brands, ranging from the traditional to the
cutting-edge. All are effective in their own way.
1. Advertising
Perhaps the most traditional promotion technique is advertising: in print, TV, radio and, now,
online. This is also known as paid media. This is often one of the more expensive methods of
communication, especially in print, but can reach a large audience and can bring prestige to your
brand. Many new magazines will run ads for young designers and very low costs, or sometimes for
free, as long as the creative elements are strong and in line with the quality of the rest of the
magazine. Online advertising can be more affordable, though there is much debate about the
effectiveness of traditional banner ads. But deployed intelligently, with specific goals, online
advertising can help drive sales, especially to your own e-commerce site, and can be targeted and
measured much more effectively than print ads.
2. CO-OP
Many retail accounts will offer (or require) brands to promote your designs in store or in distributed
marketing collateral, such as catalogues and store advertisements. This usually comes with a fee
attached and can be executed by the brand or the store. Signage can be very effective in drawing a
customers attention to your product in store, especially when it is competing against other brands.

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3. Public Relations
A strong PR strategy can lead to extremely helpful organic media exposure and influencer
endorsements via celebrity placement, gifting, wardrobing and personal appearances by the
designer or brand representative(s). One of the big questions most young brands wrestle with is
whether to hire a PR firm or to keep PR in house. If you do decide to hire an outside firm, it is
important that you spend time first setting a strategy with clear benchmarks for success and meet
regularly to review progress.
4. Social Media
With so many new online platforms and technologies available to brands, it can be hard to know
where to focus. In general, it starts with understanding your customer. If you are selling designer
dresses, platforms like Facebook may or may not be the best place to promote your brand. As it
stands today, it is usually in a fashion brands favour to focus on highly visual social media
platforms, such as Instagram and Pinterest, where they can demonstrate the beauty and design of
their products. Instagram, which has really caught on in the fashion industry, is an excellent
platform for small brands, as it is highly visual and enables you to demonstrate the essence of your
brand, even thought its a hard place to drive sales as Instagram does not currently allow live links
in image captions.
No matter which social media platform(s) you decide to use, choose carefully and make sure you
have the resources to keep your accounts active and engage your followers. Somebody on your team
must be dedicated to posting regularly, monitoring reactions and responding in a timely fashion.
And remember, these platforms are conversational not bullhorns so make sure to also use your
social media presence as a way to listen to your followers and gather important feedback.
AriBloomisthefounderofA2BVentures.Hehasworkedwithnumerousfashionbrandsasa
consultantandamentorworkingwiththeCFDAsfashionincubatorprogram.Hecollaborated
withImranAmedtocontinueTheBusinessofFashionBasicsseries.
PreviousarticlesinTheBasicsseries:
Basics 1 Setting Up Your Own Fashion Business
Basics 2 The Business Plan
Basics 3 Investors and Partners
Basics 4 Allocating Capital
Basics 5 Design and Development
Basics 6 Sales
Basics 7 Production

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