The fashion industry distinguishes between 5 different brand levels. They are premium, luxury, affordable luxury, mainstream, and sales/discount brands. Irrespective of its level, each brand needs to be promoted on a regular basis in order to maintain its popularity among customers and keep profits running.
This is where fashion advertising comes in. It is a special branch of advertising which aims at establishing and maintaining a connection between the specific brand and its potential customers. This goes for both higher classes who are the target of the premium, luxury products, and people with moderate means who purchase products depending on their price tag.
The vast differences between high-end and low-end fashion target groups predetermines how varied the tone and execution of the advertising campaigns are going to be. Each campaign tools and techniques depend on the target group characteristics. Let’s take a look at the means by which advertising reaches the general public.
Billboards And Printed Materials
When it comes to fashion marketing, magazines play a huge role, especially in big fashion cities such as Paris, London and New York. Agencies often do the impossible to land a page in Bazaar or Vogue. Billboards on Times Square and 5th Avenue are another recipe for success.
This is not an easy spot to grab, though, so in order to take advantage of the opportunity, the campaign should be able to promote its message with a single picture, capable of making a statement and conveying brand image in the best possible way. This is the hardest advertising medium because, unlike commercials, customers are not told directly what the message is, so they have to interpret it on their own. And since interpretation will inevitably differ from person to person, advertisers have to do their best in taking the brand’s key visual identity and putting it across clearly and unambiguously.
Commercials
Television is the biggest and most expensive marketing channel available. But even the largest and best known names are often reluctant to spend a ton of money on commercials easily, VMGROUPE experts say. The power of TV time is unquestionable, however, so everybody knows this is the best and fastest way to reach a huge audience. The message will also be conveyed in a more straightforward and rich manner, using the benefit of movement and speech, which printed media lack.
Needless to say, commercials are a luxury, available exclusively to the big and premium brands which can afford to splash on TV time. Such campaigns have a huge budget but their success in quickly raising brand awareness is unquestionable and very valuable.
Celebrities and High Profile Personalities
We all know that celebrities stick to high-end fashion. We can spot the latest masterpieces of big fashion names on the red carpet and at other high-profile events. That’s how a brand is showcased in front of both the audience and mass media simultaneously. These events reach an enormous number of people through all forms of media communication. They are broadcast on television, reflected in newspapers and magazines, and discussed on popular shows. Pictures of VIP personas in brand outfits flood the internet and become the topic of discussion by fans and professionals alike.
Celebrities help increase brand awareness in two ways. The first one is red carpet events. The second – fashion weeks in the big fashion capitals. There is no better way to boost a brand image than showing how popular it is among celebrities.
Stores And Merchandising
Department stores showcase brand lines on their shop windows by billboards that promote a specific lifestyle through storytelling. They also organize displays and special events with the aim of attracting potential customers and encouraging them to make a purchase.
Many stores also work closely with fashion buyers and journalists (If you’d like to learn more about the role of fashion buyers, check this out.). This requires familiarizing with season trends before they have arrived, and targeted effort for promoting them in the context of the brand in question. Journalists are then contacted in order to get as much media coverage as possible.
Department store fashion shows are also becoming the norm, and their increasing popularity reaches an audience beyond fashion buyers and representatives of the trade. Private clients who are rich and famous are very often to be found at such events, alongside media and fashion guests.
Social Media And Fashion Bloggers
Last but not least, social media has changed enormously the way fashion and the end customer communicate. Technology enables and encourages people to interact with brands, which is a powerful component of advertising. You can read more about that at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244677
Bloggers and vloggers who share their thoughts on latest products and trends also participate in the process of brand promotion by familiarizing the readers and followers with their first-hand, personal experience with it. People are now more and more accustomed to checking out reviews on the internet before they go out to buy the product themselves.
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