Business of Fashion Report

business of fashion chloe payne student id: 25015232

excecutive summary WHO IS THE RAGGED PRIEST? brand identity

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brand consumers brand positioning COMMUNICATIONS MIX BIBLIOGRAPHY

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The communications mix explains in detail the different ways that all brands including the ragged priest can communicate to consumers.

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summary

it highlights the importance of a brand creating a brand identity which coincides with the brand image and explains how the ragged priest has done this successfully. along with defining, it also identifies the brands consumers.

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to summerise, this report is about the brand The ragged priest. it includes information on who the brand is, the brand identity, consumers, brand positioning and their communciations mix.

‘the typical shoreditch girl.’ ‘the photos they use show a hardedge, but are sexy too.’

-Interview with former employee

Brand identity shows how a brand wants to be perceived by those buying the products, when creating a brand identity the main aim of the business is to communicate what they represent and to appeal to the specific target market in which their brand fits. This is done through the use of details such as typography, labels, logs etc.

The colours of The Ragged Priests logo/labels/ website is black and white - a white background with black writing. It is easy to read and clearly communicates the brand name to the consumer. The logo is not only used on labels but on the clothing, in particular the jeans; these are instantly recognisable to the brand through the logo, although simple it is bold and noticeable, therefore promoting the brand to others when someone is seen in them. The black and white works well on the website because the pictures are colourful and fun, a good contrast from the logo and colour theme making the overall appearance of the webpage not too overpowering. The most identifiable feature of the brands logo is the cross - used in replacement for the final T in priest. This makes the logo unique and makes the brand name noticeable. This choice within the typography allows the brand name to stand out.

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I D E N T I T Y

This is different from brand image.

As defined by Dillon (2012, page 166) brand image is “the customer’s perception of a product or a brand”. Supporting this Ferrell and Hartline (2011, page 213) state that brand image is the “overall impression, positive or negative, that customers have”. It is important for the brands identity to be in sync with the brands image as if these two do not correspond then it is clear that the communication between the brand and the consumer is not working well. The Ragged Priest has a strong brand image due to the consistent theme within all of their advertising campaigns and promotional activities.

To summarise, the main difference is that brand identity is how the business wants to be perceived and the brand image is how they are perceived.

Images from the ragged priest website - on our radar section label image - writers own

A large part of The Ragged Priests marketing is done through the use of social media. The brand has a large online presence, with a blog, twitter, Instagram and Facebook page promoting the brand and the products. Strong use of these sites has enabled The Ragged Priest to build on their brand image, showing through the use of photography the brands style.

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BRAND CONSUMERS The target market for The Ragged Priest are both men and women who like a more alternative style of clothing to what is typically found on the high street. The clothes have both a hard-edge and a sexy look to them which attracts consumers who are looking for an outfit which will get them noticed.

IMAGES FROM THE RAGGED PRIEST WEBSITE

It is clear from the blog on The Ragged Priest’s website that the target market is women and men in the age range 18 – 24.

This is clear from the fun, care-free image the brand has.

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Consumer profile: Age: 18-24 Occupation: business/retail/student Disposable income: £80 - £499 INTERVIEW WITH A CUSTOMER OF THE RAGGED PRIEST NAME: HANNAH POWELL AGE: 18 OCCUPATION: STUDENT INTERESTS: SPORTS, CLOTHES, MUSIC - GUITAR AND SINGING, PARTYS!!

WHY WOULD YOU BUY THE RAGGED PRIETS’ CLOTHING? : I LIKE THE STYLE I ALWAYS SEE IT ON INSTATGRAM AND IT LOOKS COOL, IT GETS SOLD IN OXFORD STREET AND I GO THERE QUITE A LOT. IT’S EXPENSIVE BUT ITS GOOD QUALITY - YOU GET SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST THE BRAND NAME.

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As stated by Armstrong (2012, page 240) “marketers need to position their brands clearly in target customers’ minds.” As well as this Armstrong continue (page 386) into “when positioning a brand, the marketer should establish a mission for the brand and a vision of what the brand must be and do”.

The Ragged Priest has a large USP with a clear differentiation between the products which they sell compared to other clothing sold in the market which they are in. Within the concession in Oxford Street Topshop the brand is placed among 3 other competitors; Hot-mess, Illustrated people and Drop Dead. Although there are similarities within the brands - all offer clothing with an alternative and attention-seeking image, The Ragged Priests main USP is the studs, fur and sequins. The Ragged Priest does not settle for images printed on to the clothing, they customise them making the patterns stand-out.

Leather jackets with sequined unicorns on the back and denim ‘mom’ jeans with pink fur cut outs on the knees are examples of this and how the brand takes their designs one step further than their competitors.

brand position8

IMAGES WRITERS OWN

The brand has not made the mistake of under-positioning as it is clear through the strong brand image that the customers do not have a blurred idea of the brand. There is a clear fun, attention grabbing, sexy but yet hard-edged theme which runs throughout each range of clothing produced by The Ragged Priest which has familiarised customers to the brand image. Helping to position the brand with a strong identity and image and therefore position within the market.

The emotional selling proposition can be the largest reason in which a consumer will purchase a product. The largest ESP for the Ragged Priests clothing is that it makes customers feel individual – the clothing doesn’t blend in it stands out. The fun image given off by the clothing can make consumers feel care-free and confident.

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ommunications mix

both images from the ragged priest website: http://theraggedpriest.com

There are many different ways in which a brand can communicate to their target market. The communications mix is made up of advertising, PR, personal selling, sales promotion, direct marketing and social media. (Armstrong, 2012).

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Dvertising -the Ragged Priest does not advertise on platforms such as TV, Print media, Radio, Online Banners or paid for advertising on social media. The reasons behind this would be the size of the business. Although the business is large (as you can see from this stocklist of stores and online sites sourced from Anon 2(2015): in the UK – Asos, Topshop.com, Attitude Clothing, Ark Clothing, 71 queens and Annata Boutique. In Europe – Fashion Pills, IWSBS, KOKO Label, Sublime Roma and The Backyard. And in the rest of the world – Nasty Gal, Sticks and Stones, IMMENSE, West LA Boutique and Dolls Kill.) They do not yet have their own store – this therefore will impact the reasons why they haven’t chosen to use these more expensive methods of communication.

As well as this, as a modern brand a reason why they may have chosen an alternative platform could be, as suggested by Ferrell and Hartline (2011, page 292) “consumers spend less time with traditional media such as television, magazines and newspapers”. However, the website is used to advertise. As stated by Dillion (2012, page 104) “having an online presence such as a website is like having a store that is always open. Successful web advertising ensures that traffic is generated to a site…”

PR

- there are many different ways in which PR can promote a business such as The Ragged Priest, methods that could be used include; planned events, editorials, sponsorships, celebrity endorsements/gifting.

Methods such as celebrity endorsements can be beneficial in gaining attention however, they do pose risk. As suggested by Kotler and Keller (2012, page 508),the cost could be very high, thus making it an unsuitable option for a brand the size of the Ragged Priest. As well as this, the celebrity which is chosen may lose popularity which would therefore reduce the effectiveness of the campaign.

However, they do have a section on their website called ‘on our radar’ – in this section there are numerous interviews with different models, bloggers, DJ’s which include images of them in Ragged Priest clothing. This shows to consumers that people such as those on the page like the clothing and therefore encourages the consumer too as well.

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this includes methods of communication such as trade fairs, retail outlets and popup events. Dillion (2012, page 126) expresses the importance of trade fairs for different businesses within the fashion industry, this quote in particular is relative to the type of business that the Ragged Priest is, “suppliers attend shows in the hope of making new deals and gaining new clients.” As shown in the WGSN reports (2015 - online) The Ragged Priest has attended shows such as The Bread and Butter trade show in Berlin and the Las Vegas Trade Show. It is personal selling such as this that has helped the brand to extend from a vintage Ebay-shop to becoming suppliers to shops around the world.

The Ragged Priest also uses personal selling methods such as pop-up stores to communicate to consumers. Anna Bending (2013,online) described the shop to be filled with both women’s-wear, men’s-wear and accessories. It was also stated that “the pop-up shop throws the Ragged Priest into its element, taking over the space with nothing but full impact.” Methods such as this allow the brand to show a bigger range of clothing in store than is available in the concessions. Pop-up stores allow the brand to enforce their brand identity.

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images from the ragged priest website: http://theraggedpriest.com

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s a l es

pr om o t i o n

the definition of sales promotion as described

by Armstrong (2012, page 386) is “short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.� Sales promotion includes methods such as packaging, in store POS, discounts and loyalty schemes. The Ragged Priest use discounts such as sample sales. They sell sample clothing at a reduced price in order to sell old stock and the discounted price encourages consumers to buy more.

images from the ragged priest website

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irect Marketing - is methods such as email. On the home page of the brands website there is a section which allows customers to sign up to a newsletter. This then allows customers to receive newsletters via email with the latest information on the brands and products. According to Kotler and Keller (2012, page 565) marketing management Kotler and Keller “email allows marketers to inform and communicate with customers at a fraction of the cost of a d mail or a direct marketing campaign.”

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ocial Media – It is easy to see that social media is the Ragged Priests preferred method of communication. They use interactive sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to reach their customers with the latest from the business. There are links to all 3 sites on the brands website which encourages consumers to visit them all. Once customers begin following these sites it is encouragement to the brand that consumers are taking interest, as well as this the amount of likes/shares/re-tweets on posts signify what products are liked and which aren’t as successful. This platform of communication allows the brand identity to be shown as well as allowing the brand to gain key market research. Supporting the use of social media as a communication method Kotler and Keller (2012 page 568) states, “social media allow marketers to establish a public voice and presence on the web and reinforce other communication activities.”

screenshots taken from the ragged priest’s official twitter page and website

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bibliography Anna Bending (2013)(online) - http://theunisexmode.tumblr.com/ post/68177149844/the-ragged-priest-aw-2013-range-new-pop-up-shop Anon 1- when the business was started and by who.(accessed on 10th November 2015)- http://theidleman.com/brands/the-raggedpriest.html Anon 2 - stocklist. (accessed on 8th November 2015)- http:// theraggedpriest.com/stockists/ gary Armstrong (2012) MARKETING AN INTRODUCTION.2nd ed.harlow, pearsons Kotler and Kelly (2012) MARKETING MANAGEMENT. 14th ed. harlow:pearson O.C Ferrell and Michael D.Hartline (2011) – MARKETING STRATEGY. 5th ed. South-Western.

Susan Dillion (2012)– THE FUNDAMENTALS OF FASHION MARKETING - ava publishing sa WGSN reports (accessed on 10th november 2015)trade shows. wgsn.-http://www.wgsn.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/content/search/#/ the%2520ragged%2520priest,

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