Corporate Sponsors ScrambleTo Put Their Mark on Fashion

In the world of corporate marketing and public relations, fashion is every brand’s new best friend. Companies are using sex appeal to attract customers and I think it is working.  Sponsorships are to hard to get, and expensive. However, having a great looking model wearing a small amount of clothing catches a lot of attention, and the brand that will be behind her will catch attention as well.  Everyone wants to belong so they will go buy such and such to be fashionable.

Website: http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/03/12/rcorp.t.php

Fashion Industry Hearts Branded Entertainment

Why are fashion designers picking up the camera to showcase their clothing in motion pictures? I think it has something to do with their inherent creativity, and their desire to express this creativity through multiple channels; in many ways the runway can be a pretty uninspiring canvas for showing off one’s designs. Then again, the motive might be less artistic and more monetary. A great marketing tool I think!

 

Article Summary

• While fashion in film is nothing new, lately there’s been a sharp rise in both indie labels and mainstream fashion houses producing their own shorts to serve as marketing vehicles.
• Some of the more well-known, highly publicized examples of this include:Kate Moss in a slinky, ethereal black-and-white Agent Provocateur series called “The Four Dreams of Miss X”
• Prada’s animated short called “Trembled Blossoms” that debuted at NY Fashion week, and features wood nymphs and bugs that metamorphose into sandals and handbags
• Erin Fetherston’s short films that star silver screen actors Kirsten Dunst and Zooey Deschanel, shot by photographer Ellen von Unwerth
• Short videos are quite the powerful marketing tool nowadays

While a runway show lives for 30 mins at the most, and may be viewed a couple thousand times online, a short video can be created for mere pennies uploaded to YouTube, gather millions of views around the globe, and live on forever!!

 

Website: http://www.marktd.com/storyframe.php?title=Fashion-Industry-Hearts-Branded-Entertainment

Fashion Marketing Requires Latest Trends

Innovative technologies are making it possible to communicate product attributes online, as well as enabling effective marketing strategies.

It is shocking to know how many of us would spend a fortune on a product that costs ten times more then a product that costs less, but looks similar. We live in a world of “brands.”

How many of us really shop online for clothes? I know I do! However, I never end up purchasing any of them because I don’t know if it will look good on me. Have you bought anything? If so, how did it fit?!

Did you know that e-mail marketing works better then banners for the fashion industry. This is true because today we have shorter attention spans, especially among the younger generation that drives the market.

Article Summary

There was a study from Miller – Williams and shoppers say more than 80% of the reasons behind their decision to purchase is outside the realm of their online experience.

• One can easily convey a brand experience on the Web – look and feel, brand attributes, identifiers, and other cornerstones of a brand. But what about physical attributes of a product? Shoppers can look at a nice sweater online, but they’re left with questions: Will it fit loose or tight? Is the color exactly what’s shown on the computer screen or is it slightly darker or lighter? Is it soft and comfortable or is it itchy?According to a June, 2001 article in Red Herring magazine, consumers cite their inability to try clothes on as their main reason for hesitating to buy clothing online

What?!?! NOW YOU CAN TRY CLOTHES ONLINE?!

• Landsend.com pioneered the approach of using “virtual models.” Shoppers can create a virtual model of their body to see how clothing will fit. And this approach is helping – shoppers who use the feature are nearly 20% more likely to purchase, and they tend to spend 16% more in their average orders than shoppers who don’t use the virtual modeling technology.

Getting Shoppers to the Online Experience

With all of this money invested in technology to bring the online experience closer to that of the offline experience, fashion marketers have to do what they can to realize an ROI on their investments. But how do they keep consumers engaged?

• “By keeping merchandise and content fresh and accessible,”

Indeed, online fashion sites need to move as quickly as their offline counterparts, which may revamp product offerings as quickly as every two weeks. As one might imagine, keeping things fresh is vital, yet time- and resource-consuming for a multi-channel fashion retailer. At least one high-end fashion brand has seemingly opted-out of the fresh game, instead relying on a fashion destination site to do the heavy lifting to showcase new collections.

What Online Marketing Techniques Work?

“E-mail campaigns have proven to be the best way to increase traffic to the site,” says Kessler. “I find that they act as a memory jog and people take a moment out of their day to visit the site when they receive an opt-in e-mail. Our open rate has stayed consistently at 23%.”

• “Currently we collect opt-in e-mails on mailing list cards at the store and have them sent to a data-entry house, where they are entered into a spreadsheet and imported into the opt-in database,” says Kessler. “We also obtain e-mail addresses via an opt-in field on the home page and at registration. As a company we have a number of additional databases and are working at merging them into one central location.”

Fashionable Fashion Advertising….to keep the youth interested

Last summer, just following the BMW Films campaign, Levi’s promoted its Silvertab sub-brand of jeans via an online contest. Consumers were posed the question at the Lost Change site, “What would you do if you found $100,000?” Continuing on that theme, Levi’s released a series of Webisodes comprising an Internet film that followed the adventures of a number of friends who found a large sum of money. Consumers who watched the series of Webisodes were encouraged to become active participants by searching for clues and tracking the movements of the characters in the film. Participants could earn prizes, including Motorola mobile phones and Silvertab clothing. The standalone site also included an online store, where users could purchase both Silvertab and Motorola products.Be My Buddy

The Runway Ahead

With the exception of a few major legacy fashion publications, this category is a relatively low ad spender. Fashion marketers rely mostly on their retail partners to generate traffic. Word of mouth is huge, so the viral element is key to any important initiative.

Most fashion marketers have special initiatives for getting celebrities to don their logos. The media often plays a large part. Just consider every run way-like entrance into some awards event and see the first question Joan Rivers asks, “Who are you wearing?”

It’s ironic that interactive media is well known for the blurring of the lines between editorial and advertising, yet has not found a way to substantiate the opportunity fashion marketers’ need to connect with consumers. For a category that has merchandised itself like that, especially with the haute couture side of the business, it’s partly generational. However, as teens and young adults continue to embrace the Web for social, informational and fashion purposes, fashion marketers will have a wealth of opportunities still untapped to strut their stuff!

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/1916.asp