At first glance, it’s easy to think of fashion marketing as simply producing fashion shows, securing media coverage, and getting as many celebrity endorsements as possible. After all, the fashion industry is one of glitz and glamor, and all of those things are all glitz and glamor. The reality is that those activities make up a small portion of the typical activities involved, yet many fashion brands, particularly new ones, tend to overlook the core activities of fashion marketing. Another common misconception is that fashion marketing and fashion public relations are one in the same when the fact is that the two are distinct from the other. While fashion marketing is concerned with meeting consumer’s needs, wants, and demands, fashion public relations is solely concerned with communications and how the brand communicates with and resonates with it’s targeted consumers. As such, fashion shows, media coverage, and celebrity endorsements are all activities that fall under fashion public relations and not fashion marketing.
Concepts in Fashion Marketing As previously mentioned, marketing is concerned with meeting the needs, wants, and demands of your targeted consumer. These goals are accomplished using the marketing mix, which includes a range of activities including:
- Distribution management and the convenience and availability of the product,
- Product development with a consumer focus,
- Communications between the brand and the consumer, and
- The costs and value to the consumer.
Furthermore, the global marketplace, the globalization of the Internet, and the competitive nature of the fashion industry requires that the marketing mix be consumer centric and focused on niche markets rather than catering to mass markets.