Today, the Fashion industry is one of the most popular and thriving industries. And in this blog, we will analyze fashion marketing strategies applied by some from the fashion industry. These involve luxury goods, sportswear brands, and everything else.
Let’s start
Nike’s marketing strategy begins with emotional storytelling and reaches a lot further than advertisement spends or influencers. From ‘Just do it’ to Colin Kaepernick, Nike continues boosting the bar with suggestive, memorable campaigns that draw at your heartstrings and stay in your head.
Nike creates it all radiantly into the word of mouth marketing: the ads, the stories, the emotions are so genuine you can’t help but speak about them. And whenever somebody makes their video about Nike or makes their meme, Nike wins. Nike always wins.
Referral marketing is one of the most effective marketing channels.
Consumers who are followers of your products Desire to tell their buddies about you, but they don’t, because there is no practical method for them to do so.
By establishing a referral program, you can motivate clients to tell their friends all about you quickly and simply.
By building a simple, user-friendly referral program, Birchbox allows their fans to spread the word. All they needed to do was sign up, buy a box, and recommend it to friends.
Plus, every advocate that successfully refers a friend receives 50 points per referral, which translates to 5 dollars of online credit, giving them immense savings on their next Birchbox purchase!
The fashion industry is worth 2.4 trillion dollars and had been relatively stable until Rent the Runway got along. Alongside Uber, Airbnb, and SpaceX, Rent the Runway was called one of the world’s most disruptive companies.
Using the fast-fashion concept on its head, Rent the Runway embraced the economy experience, with the exposure coming from a conversation cofounder Jennifer Hyman had with her sister:
I realized I was having a discussion with my sister about wearing a fantastic dress – of walking into a party feeling self-confident and beautiful. That’s what she cared about. And she didn’t care about the actual possession of the items in her closet.
That discovery helped open doors with fashion luminaries Diane von Furstenberg and Jim Gold from Neiman Marcus, and the rest is a multimillion-dollar business story.
Instead of fighting against fast fashion or haute couture, MATTER adopts a different set of values. To quote cofounder Renyung Ho:
Eventually, we want to switch consumer culture and encourage the importance of provenance. We think that where something is made, and why, matters.
With that focus in mind, MATTER combines modern designs with traditional textile production created by artisans. The emphasis on making connections, both within the community and between customers and producers, makes every piece a discussion starter and personal identity.
Converse knows that pleasing their fans and customers isn’t just a presentation of words. It needs to be something that they are willing to prove, ready to show, and prepared to demonstrate.
And they do.
They spend time and cash on cool things but don’t instantly increase their sales. One example?
Converse established a recording studio in Brooklyn, New York, where artists can record for free.
(Yes, free.)
Converse doesn’t take any profits nor own the songs. It doesn’t even demand them to promote Converse shoes!
All they’re doing is getting a way to return to the community that cherishes them.
Knowing that inclusivity is both a social phenomenon and a pressing moral, social need, H&M plans, and tailors promotion campaigns to be all-inclusive.
In their 2015 campaign “Close The Loop,” H&M starred Mariah Idrissi, a 23-year old Londoner, who wore a hijab for the video.
This video also features plus-sized models, an amputee, and many other individuals, leading to appreciation from TeenVogue.
In one of their stores in Burlingame, California, Lululemon hosts complimentary yoga classes on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
By doing so, Lululemon can place itself as a hub for fitness and conversation, raising its branding from an attire company (which is aplenty) to an institution representing the values of its customers and a community to find like-minded people.
Louis Vuitton products are not readily available. They have an exclusive range that they only release on special events and through select sales channels.
For example, for the Louis Vuitton 2017 show, only a limited range of bags from the collection was available online. If the client doesn’t buy it right there and then, it will no longer be available forever!
This exclusivity allows consumers to buy faster — as well as make their goods more alluring and coveted.
The ModCloth blog is a delightful take on vintage fashion and finds, and is a simple way for followers and customers to learn more about the freshest vintage trends.
Their blog posts incorporate everything from interviews with trendy people, gift guides, travel tips, and even delicious recipes. And where appropriate, ModCloth simply connects to the products stated on their website.
Result?
A win-win for both ModCloth and their enthusiasts!
Fans make their content fix for vintage clothing, and ModCloth makes new consumers when they choose to purchase from the website.
Unlike other brands, social media isn’t just another platform for Tiffany & Co. to trumpet its marketing messages.
It’s quite the contrary. Tiffany & Co. is listed highest in terms of responsiveness and engagement within the social media sphere.
Not only that, in 2015, but Tiffany & Co. also started their engagement ring finder app in 2015. Users can utilize the app to pick the ring style and carat weights. They could even use a hand-selfie to try Tiffany rings virtually to see how it looks on their hands.
The outcome?
A 20% increase in sales!
Founded by Antonia Dunbar, Miki Agrawal, and Radha Agrawal, THINX is a company that creates period-proof lingerie. It came about formerly when Miki Agrawal found that millions of girls around the world did not have the means to get along with their periods.
THINX isn’t just a company — it’s a condition. Its mantra is “For People With Periods.” From partnering with AFRIpads to assist women in Uganda to a TedXBethesdaWomen talk, Miki Agrawal continuously strives to combat the stigma connected with menstruation.
The commitment to this cause has turned her into a media darling, doing glowing reviews from YouTubers and help from popular media websites like BuzzFeed and Elle.
Threadless is famous for its themed challenges, which invites designers to be as imaginative as possible to get some Threadless gifts. These challenges help develop the awareness for both Threadless and the designers, installing a win-win situation for both of them.
TOMS is a bizarre company. Instead of merely selling shoes, TOMS gives a pair of shoes to welfare for every pair of shoes purchased.
It was started when TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie travelled to Argentina and observed firsthand the struggles encountered by kids without shoes.
Today, TOMS is worth hundreds of millions of fashion marketing.
Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, used to provide his professional football players’ friends shirts so that they could check out his products and see if they preferred it.
He regularly made sure that he provided his friends with an extra Custom Design Dri Fit Shirt so that they could relinquish it to his teammate if they loved it.
He understood that once players liked it and started using it, the team would feel coerced to buy them for everyone.
And lo and behold did it work!
The Georgia State football team soon contacted Under Armour to outfit their players, followed by Atlanta Falcons, the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins.
Selling to Miami Dolphins was a significant move, as their match was cast on national TV, which served to bring out the Under Armour name.
The marketing wisdom says, “If you target everyone, you target no one.”
Even though anybody could use the Undress, they didn’t target the whole world. Instead, they focused their marketing on triathletes and yoga practitioners, who would gain the most from the product.
The result?
They got highlighted on many running blogs, enlarging their reach to their target audience.
As part of its Global Ambassador Programme, Uniqlo sponsors world-class athletes to increase its reach in more new markets.
In 2012, Uniqlo started sponsoring Novak Djokovic, the world’s #1 professional tennis player. This sponsorship was important: Uniqlo understood that a partnership with Djokovic would further raise enough hype about the brand to cover its expansion into Europe.
Djokovic approved a 5-year sponsorship with the brand, and debuted his first Uniqlo outfit at the second Glam Slam season, with thousands heeding all over the earth.
The Warped Tour is North America’s longest-running music festival. It has started the careers of famous singers and rappers like Eminem, Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and My Chemical Romance.
Yet it is little-known that it is a concert begun by Vans.
Despite its name, The Warped Tour is a wholesome concert that empowers parents to attend the shows for free when followed by their kids.
These functions help Vans relate with younger audiences and assure that future generations will also hear about the Vans brand.
Victoria’s Secret perceives that the Secret (no pun intended) behind making consumers buy is an exceptional in-store experience. And that is where they put their marketing emphasis.
Shopping in a VS store is a pleasurable experience. The stores are furnished in a welcoming and elegant Victorian style, with lots of pink and black. Staff is welcoming, accommodating, and approachable — and are always ready to give you useful advice.
Fitting rooms are comfortable and inviting, providing you with the utmost ease while you try on lingerie.
The result — 67% of customers purchase using the fitting room. Their fashion marketing strategy worked well.
Warby Parker recognizes that PR is a relevant marketing channel, primarily for a fledgeling eCommerce startup.
But, the issue with PR is that it is either expensive or limited to the people at the top. That, though, didn’t hold Warby Parker from being creative.
Determining that they wanted to be a part of the New York Fashion Week in 2011, but couldn’t get connected the traditional way, they called 40+ editors to a ‘secret event’ at the NY Public Library. They got buzz (without paying for it!) by formulating a remarkable experience.
They even built Warby Barker, glasses for dogs as an April Fool’s joke. They set up a fantastic website and had photoshoots with trained dog models, which drove 2.5x the traffic than Warby Parker.
Yeezy Boost, the collaboration among Adidas and Kanye West, is super-popular footwear that sells out within minutes of launching.
The reason? It’s exclusive.
And it’s exclusive even for the A-listed figures.
To build the brand’s exclusivity, Kanye West sent Yeezy Boosts only to a favoured few of his A-list celebrity friends, including Calvin Harris, Justin Bieber, and the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan.
Apprehending that they are now exclusive and unique, these figures immediately took to Instagram to let their massive fan bases know that they were on Team Yeezy.
Boom! Now every fashion-conscious millennial is desiring the sneakers. Their fashion marketing strategies were unique and helped them to set an example.
Try influencer marketing now by launching your referral program.
Zara is a fashion copycat.
Instead of attempting to be fashion innovators and seeking to capture early adopters, Zara approaches fashion differently.
Zara rides what is currently hot and established to provide affordable copycat versions of high-end brands rather than setting trends.
And to satisfy its teen and 20something demographic, the store prides itself on preparing new designs in stores within two weeks.
The strategy works — Zara has increased its overall sales by 50% in 5 years, reaching $17.5 billion in sales.
Zappos considers themselves a “service company that happens to sell shoes.” They aim to provide 110% service and to go above-and-beyond customer’s expectations.
Here are a few examples of how Zappos proves above-and-beyond:
Upon hearing that a customer’s feet got damaged after harsh medical treatment, Zappos sent a bouquet of lilies and roses to her and upgraded her to VIP status.
A utilizes an untapped channel by most online retailers — a physical magazine
With the propagation of the Internet, it’s easy to assume that offline strategies no longer work.
While Chanel is now known as a luxury brand in fashion marketing with premium prices, when it first began, it started by creating talking points and grabbed consumer attention through challenging social norms.
In the 1920s, Chanel couture’s simple-line designs made famous the “flat-chested” trends that were the opposite of the hourglass-figure achieved by 19th-century fashion.
They also tried to empower women by combining trousers and blazers and using masculine colours like grey and navy blue.
These “brave moves” helped Chanel build itself as a label to look out for and transformed fashion.
While many people want to own shoes produced by luxury brands like Prada and Vera Wang, not many can afford them.
Charles & Keith, a Singaporean-brand, positions itself perfectly in the centre between “affordable” and “luxury,” building an “affordable luxury” market. Known for producing high-quality footwear encouraged by runway styles but made affordable for the masses, Charles & Keith brings many trend-conscious, medium-high income customers who fork out cash overhand to purchase the products they like.
Want to apply them to your business?
Don’t blindly use these strategies for your business.
Instead, focus on learning the principles behind why these approaches worked.
They are mainly:
To make your brand stand out against your competitors, you have to tell a great story and make it into your business channel for consumers to reach and communicate with you. These fashion marketing tactics will help you out while planning your own marketing strategy.
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