3 Rules Successful Fashion Marketing Professionals Live By

Summary

1. Create an Experience

2. Make a Statement

3. Develop an Image

Bonus Tip: For more on this topic, check out Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara by Mark Tungate.

Introduction

Hey there, future fashion marketer!

If you’re reading this blog, it probably means you are new to this big, scary industry of ours and you’re looking for a little guidance.

Marketing for the fashion world is different than marketing any other product. And lets face it--it’s intimidating. Working in a field full of so many high-profile professionals and fast moving trends feels a lot like walking a tightrope...blindfolded...over a pit of snakes...while wearing Prada stilettos.

In this blog post, you’ll find out how to create successful marketing strategies and campaigns using 3 simple rules from Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara.

So take off your blindfold, pour yourself a fresh cup of coffee, and lets get started…

Rule #1: Create an Experience

Fashion is more than the clothes. Most major brands sell spinoff products like perfume, furniture, activewear, and even things like electric cars (i.e. Courrege’s Zooop cars from 2006).

In order to fully sell a brand to its customers, you have to sell them on all the products associated with it. That means maintaining the same level of quality and attention to advertising in all aspects. The perfume at Dior should match the feel of Dior, not Bath & Body Works.

This also includes a brand’s storefronts and office buildings. Customers want to be sold from beginning to end and that starts with the feeling they get when they pass by a store window.

Example 1: Major retail brand Zara spends next to nothing on ads because they focus their attention on creating eye-catching window displays and in-store posters that do the advertising for them.

Zara’s brand reps say: “That’s why we have stores in the smartest locations and devote a lot of attention to facades, interiors and window displays. Our stores are a way of communicating.”

Example 2: The atmosphere created in a showroom or sales floor can also make or break a brand. Ralph Lauren established a reputation for fine menswear after creating a comfortable in-store environment that reminded customers of being inside a well-furnished gentlemen’s club.

Online brands can also utilize this rule by maintaining a standard of luxury service, great packaging, and efficiency. Just because customers aren’t visiting a store in person doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a great experience.

It’s important to remember that when a customer buys a product, they are buying into a certain world. They want to feel transported into a place they can rely on your brand providing flawlessly every time.

Rule #2: Make a Statement

It is often hard to be a marketing professional in the fashion industry simply due to the fact that it requires taking so many risks. In the advertising world, agencies will often lean on the side of safety and security, but the avant-garde danger of fashion itself is what makes it so desirable to customers.

How do successful marketers manage to balance brand security and creating an exciting atmosphere for their customers? It’s a surprise. No, literally.

Consumers are sick and tired of the ordinary, and people are actively seeking stand-out products. By marketing your brand in a way that makes it seem like the industry rebel, you will not only create buzz but also inspire a natural curiosity.

But don’t take my word for it...

Example 1: Bassano del Grappa, head creative director for the international fashion label Diesel, famously said:

“I am allergic to the ordinary.”

Diesel has created a reputation for being rebellious in an irresistible way to their consumers by creating advertisements that pridefully go against the grain.

And lets face it-- everybody loves a bad boy.

Their advertisements get people to take notice because they are interesting and unique, telling a different narrative than any other clothing company on the market.

The period when Diesel was at its peak was during the 1990s when most advertisements were done in black and white. By choosing to use full color, they were impossible for customers not to notice.

Example 2: Perhaps you’ve heard of a little French fashion company called Chanel?

At Chanel’s start, there was a lot of competition to be seen in the 1920-30s dress market. In an age where clothing was made with great attention to detail and grandeur, it was hard to stand out in the crowd.

Founder and designer Gabrielle Chanel once said, “Extravagance kills personality.” And so her company killed extravagance.

With elegant, well-structured designs that were minimalist by nature, Chanel became an outlier among other fashion brands. Their marketing campaigns centered around classic colors and simple design to show off the clothes, very different from ads circulating at the time.

And the rest is history.

Rule #3: Develop an Image

A brand’s image is how current and potential consumers view your company.

Image should be a combination of both the heritage of the brand--meaning how it started and why it began-- and also the present day interpretation of it--meaning trends, current, events, and modern elements.

Customers want to feel a sense of tradition and reliability from a brand, which comes from the use of heritage. Bring out your brand’s past by celebrating old campaigns and landmark moments that got your company where it is today.

This helps reinforce a brand’s voice and values, which makes people feel good about choosing your product over someone else’s.

As fashion photographer Vincent Peters puts it: “You don’t buy clothes, you buy an identity.”

BUT…

Every fashion company’s biggest fear is becoming the “I” word: irrelevant. In order to maintain a presence that creates buzz, focus on messages that make your brand seem young, fresh, modern, and quality. There is such a thing as dwelling too much in the past.

Without both these elements, a brand loses its unique voice.

The unique identity of the brand is not just for print advertising, though. It should be a constant element that is used in everything the brand does, including:

• Fashion shows

• Models used in ads

• Brand communication

• Designer personality

• Store atmosphere

• Office building design

Example 1: The luxury brand Burberry got its start making raincoats for officers in World War I, where the “trench coat” was first created.

From there, Burberry took off, gaining popularity from trench coats featured in films like Casa Blanca, and their famous checkered inseam eventually became famous.

By the 1990s, however, the company was starting to lose its zest. Their campaigns were tired and customers seemed uninterested in classic Burberry designs.

Burberry brought in British supermodels like icon Kate Moss to create a sense of edginess and buzz with a nod towards their UK heritage.

Then they gave their stores a major facelift, incorporating trendy British pop styles of the time. New product lines like fragrances, accessories, and home furnishings were also introduced--creating a full, fresh brand experience (see Rule #`1).

This brand turn-around proves the value in focusing on a brand’s past and present to create a current, but reliable voice for audiences. But this wasn’t the first time a brand used this rule to revamp their marketing strategy...

Example 2: Gucci began as a luggage company in Italy in 1922 before growing into the highly-coveted luxury brand it is known as today.

After company management issues and a murder scandal in the mid ‘90s, Gucci lost much of its credibility and almost shut down.

Creative director Tom Ford stepped in to save the company by maintaining a singular vision that provided coherence across all of Gucci’s campaigns.

He used old Gucci designs to provide a sense of company heritage, but also brought the brand into the modern age by creating brazen, shocking campaigns with sensual models that peaked audiences’ interests.

Put Yourself to the Test!

You now have all the tools you need to enter into the world of fashion marketing.

You will be amazed at how much these 3 simple rules will not only boost your confidence while working in the industry, but also change your view of current fashion companies’ techniques.

What’s the next step to becoming a successful fashion marketer?

• Read the full text of Fashion Brands : Branding Style from Armani to Zara for more tips and advice.

• Consider ways you could implement these concepts in everyday ads you see on TV, magazines, or billboards.

• Challenge yourself by reaching out to a local brand and telling them what you think they are doing well or what you could do to help them improve.

Basically, it’s all up to you.

Put your new skills to the test and be proud of yourself for learning something new today. That’s already a step in the right direction that others may not have taken.

Take a look around you. See that tightrope anywhere? How about that pit of snakes? Now that you’ve gotten a brief walking tour of the fashion industry, things should seem a little less… well, horrifying.

You should be excited about everything you’re working towards.

And from here it will only get easier.