Improving The Fashion Industry’s Digital Strategy
This post was first published on April 13, 2020.
As a pilot post for this blog, I wanted to write about the current situation in the Fashion Industry and on reshaping its Digital Strategy. From uncertainty to taboo subjects brushing against the delicate borders of what is strategically appropriate - there is definitely a dense cloud of questions and estimates surrounding us every day. As someone who likes to keep her finger on the pulse of what is going on in the universe of digital marketing, social media - fashion and luxury in particular - here is what I’ve gathered so far.
“Necessity really and truly is the mother of reinvention.”
According to Financial Times, the hit to fashion and luxury sales is expected to be much harder than previously thought. As a direct result of store closures from lockdowns, revenues are expected to fall between 25 per cent and 35 per cent this year according to the Boston Consulting Group. Apparently, it’s even going to be more severe than the recession from a decade ago.
I find Imran Amed’s Instagram feed to be a daily source of inspiration and modern wisdom. He seems to have his finger right on the pulse of what is going on in the industry at this moment, furthermore on what the industry actually needs:
According to e-marketing.fr, you should not use this time as a way to promote your brand. Adopting a humoristic tone is also advised against.
Instead you should:
Talk about the unity of the brand while facing the current situation.
Adopt a reassuring tone Inform your customer on the efforts you are making in light of the current situation.
Brands are encouraged to and are rethinking their strategy. Online advice on empathy, relating to the customer and providing reassurance intertwined with a hint of escapism is the corps of what many marketing blogs and articles are about right now. Speaking of the latter, the lingerie brand Undiz organised a live fitness class on Instagram.
Magazines like Vanity Fair, Vogue and Vogue Italia, The New Yorker are giving free access to their content temporarily. But the crisis itself cannot be the focus point for the strategy of the brand, especially if it aims to grow. Beyond calming customers down and providing an online platform of solace and escape, where is the industry headed?
“While it may not be the time to blindly push a product, it is the moment to show what a brand really stands for. Use that to make a play for customers’ attention, and, eventually, their money.”
Guerrilla Marketing & True Engagement In Fashion
When researching, I found it surprising that it was only in 2019 that digital ads surpassed non-digital ones! According to that same NewsLagoon article, more and more luxury brands are embracing guerrilla marketing, which basically revolves around the element of surprise and unconventional interactions. Augmented Reality such as Instagram filters that allow the consumer to try on a new luxury product and as technology evolves, these digital options are becoming more and more well… real-looking and further from just a “fun filter”.
For some brands this could even mean entering the digital arena for the first time, as Lydia Mageean writes in WhichPLM. She also writes about how brands are actually helping because the current situation is first and foremost about overcoming a sanitary crisis: from producing antibacterial gel to donating meals and money. A brand that cares and supports earns the customer’s trust through a medium of sincerity, pragmatism and action.
Eventually, there would be no point in a good product or a strong digital strategy in a world where everyone’s health is in severe decline. That being said, the current situation has effects beyond the sanitary ones, and a dramatic shift in the Fashion industry - and pretty much in every other industry - has been set in motion.
For some brands this could even mean entering the digital arena for the first time, as Lydia Mageean writes in WhichPLM. She also writes about how brands are actually helping because the current situation is first and foremost about overcoming a sanitary crisis: from producing antibacterial gel to donating meals and money. A brand that cares and supports earns the customer’s trust through a medium of sincerity, pragmatism and action.
Eventually, there would be no point in a good product or a strong digital strategy in a world where everyone’s health is in severe decline. That being said, the current situation has effects beyond the sanitary ones, and a dramatic shift in the Fashion industry - and pretty much in every other industry - has been set in motion.