The first mistake fashion brands make is they don’t have a single brand message - or what a marketer would describe as a reason why a consumer should buy their product over another brand. Unfortunately consumers are fickle and they are busy going about their daily lives. If you want them to take notice of your brand tell them what you offer and keep it simple. If you keep things simple, creative or intelligent and inspiring they may reward you with their attention.
If you solve a customer’s problem they will be even more likely to take notice. The first step of marketing communications is to have a single brand message that enough customers care about. Your brand message can be implicit (understood through strong visuals) or explicit (with a slogan that spells things out). Only after you have clarified your brand message, can you start thinking about marketing communication.
These days to cut through the noise your brand message has to be communicated 360 degrees at every consumer touch point. In the case of a brand like Nike, who’ve spent billions of dollars communicating their brand message - they have the budget to use print, store environment, TV, product placement, brand ambassadors, event sponsorship and more recently a plethora of online platforms. Whether like Nike you have a million dollar budget or you have a modest budget, before developing marketing communications first think about what you want your consumer to understand about your brand. Then choose the correct media to target your niche market and put your advertising dollars behind those identified platforms.
If customers are digitally savvy and spend time on social media deliver them a mixture of free content of value and branded paid for content. If they read fashion magazines and blogs, try to research the most cost effective way of advertising using these platforms. Whether it is free editorial coverage if you have something that is PR worthy and a friendly journalist is willing to cover your story or collaborate on a giveaway / competition. Magazines, especially the online editions may be open to such collaborations. Think of all the media your potential target market consumes, places they visit or platforms they interact with on a daily basis and plan an advertising strategy based on how far your budget will stretch.
Promotion encourages what is known as a ‘call to action’. These are tools to move your target market to take the first step towards either finding out more about the brand, visiting a store or website or making a purchase. Call to actions are often forgotten but are critical to success so that they should be given time and consideration.
Your promotional strategy should fit your brand positioning and brand message. For example, your customers may expect lots of discounts from an online store selling affordable fashion. Those same customers may become suspicious of a Social Enterprise that is always pushing discounts.
Why? Some people support social brands for altruistic purposes, they want to feel good by giving back, so hard sell discounts may not go down well with these customers. Instead, expertly timed discounts or promotions such as free shipping or gift with purchase, linked with special events or festivals would be more appropriate. Promotions that encourage customers to tell their friends, buy more than one product or try your product for the first time are also critical to your strategy’s success when you launch.
Branded Experiences Are Critical to Success….
Branded experiences are critical to a brand’s success, even in the era of digital marketing. These are real world events that can bring your brand to life by demonstrating your brand message in a tangible way. Giving customers a chance to interact with your company, not just from a product perspective but offering a chance to immerse themselves in your brand story in the physical world, can be a great opportunity for customers to experience and test merchandise and understand your brand values.
Joseph Pine and James Gilmore’s Experience Economy model is a framework that explains the different ways you can create memorable events for your customers that adds value to your brand. The dimensions include creating events that Educate, Entertain, or events that are Aesthetic or Escapist. Workshops, seminars, talks with experts, meet and greet sessions with brand ambassadors are all branded experiences that can help you connect with your customers. Of course these experiences should all leverage customers love of posting on Instagram so make sure
If you would like to know about creating an integrated marketing strategy for your brand get in touch! Our monthly workshops are budget friendly and suitable for new businesses testing the waters or one-to-one advice sessions can be arranged with a complimentary 20 minute online call.
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