The Omni Channel Approach
Introduction As retail is becoming more digitally predominant as time goes on, there is the need for marketing strategies to encompass this shift in order for brands to continue to grow. Prada is one of these brands that has noticed the need to develop, and has therefore unveiled a new omni channel marketing strategy. Founded in 1913 by Mario Prada (Senft, 2011), the company has continued to grow over the years. The
Omni channel group operates in 70 countries with 618 stores therefore they are truly global (Prada, 2016). This case study will explore what an Omni channel strategy is and how Prada can use it to influence the future of their brand.
A key new marketing strategy that has emerged in the past few years is the Omni channel approach.
“a multichannel sales approach that provides the customer with an integrated shopping experience. The customer can be shopping online from a desktop or mobile device, or by telephone, or in a bricks and mortar store and the experience would be seamless” (Agius, 2015)
When consumers make the decision of what store to purchase from, they not only consider the product that they would be receiving, they also consider the overall shopping experience. Being able to shop digitally as well as in store is hugely important in today’s society, especially for brands targeting generation Y and Z.
Figure 1 // Prada AW16
Statistics: •72% of 18-24 year olds and half of 25-34 year olds want to be able to shop straight from their social media platform •Three quarters of all fashion shoppers discover new fashion trends online •58% of 18-24 year olds have purchased clothing based on seeing peers wearing an item on social media (Hall, 2016)A key new marketing strategy that has emerged in the past few years is the Omni channel approach. All of these statistics highlight how brands can take advantage of digital platforms to further boost their sales. However, bricks and mortar can’t just be ignored since 94% of total retail sales are still being generated in store (Lunka, 2015). Technology is now being incorporated within stores to create this seamless experience that the Omni channel strategy promotes, examples of which can be found on the next page.
Figure 2 //P rada Website
Brands using omni channel The 365 Strategy
Figure 3 // Burberry app
Figure 4 // Burberry digital in store experience
Figure 5// Gucci store
Both luxury and fast fashion brands are currently using this marketing strategy since it’s proving to be so successful. They use psychographic information based on their target audience in order to segment them even further from the demographics (Local directive, 2017). This means that they can retain information based upon areas such as their lifestyle and habits to configure the audiences preferences to bricks and mortar or digital platforms. In this publication we decided to focus on Prada’s campaign, but first we decided to look at what some competitors are doing. Burberry is one of the luxury pioneers of Omni channel marketing with the chief creative officer Christopher Bailey stating that “we are a truly omnichannel digital and physical retail business” (Amed & Hoang, 2016). In order to do this they are planning a re-launch of their app since they want their sales to be more experiential and not transactional. In the past they have promoted features such as a collaboration with Apple TV during 2016 London Fashion Week so that customers cold re-watch the stream of the show however many times they desire (Mortimer, 2017). They are also using technology to create more personal interactions with consumers, using the CRM database to send consumers emails that are tailored towards their shopping habits (Preez, 2016). This demonstrates how they have considered process from the 7 p’s marketing mix. Another brand going Omni channel is Gucci, with the decision not to depend solely on digital and print platforms. As long as they both promote the same level of luxury that the brand evokes then it will be a success (European CEO, 2016). This can be seen on their website by the use of multimedia such as videos to capture the opulent garments on the runway.
Prada are known for being a “brand that captivates the fashion industry’s attention in every season...” (The Fashion Law, 2017) 2017 has been an exciting year for them as they have recently unveiled a brand-new marketing strategy also known as 365. It’s their most recent campaign that has been brought to the light with the eyes of the public. In January 2017 Prada decided to make a new concept of visual data streaming enabled by a variety of different omni channel strategies. (The Fashion law, 2017) The company believe using multiple ideas for a campaign will be much more effective than just using one simple idea. All the campaigns will not only reflect on one thing but on a whole range of things such as; culture, race, gender and the different groups formed within society through them. More than anything Prada want to be much faster and quicker to access with a smaller concept, this means
wanting to be more immediate in a simple way for their audience. The 365 campaign is ongoing and will be continuous throughout each year and furthermore allow their customers to constantly be up to date with their newest and most recent ads. “A consistent string of disappointing sales and revenue reports” (The Fashion Law, 2017) have urged Prada to change their ways. In April 2015, it was reported they had hit their lowest sale in profits in almost five years. This is when the brand pleaded for change and within a couple of months the 365-marketing strategy got brought into place. Prada promised their audience by august 2016 there will be a positive turning point and finally in 2017, the return in sales and profit growth grew phenomenally.
Figure 6 & 7 // Prada 365
Figure 8 // Prada 365
The past
Now more than ever Miuccia Prada is known for her controversial, bizarre and bold designs however this wasn’t always the case. At the beginning of 2000 Prada were never known for being all that bright and colourful, in comparison to the designs that are around in today’s industry it’s virtually a polar-opposite difference. Neutral and simple clothing was what Prada specialised in from the beginning and basic garments that were easy and quick to put with anything in your wardrobe.
Figure 9 // Prada website Past Forward Campaign Miuccia also worked alongside film producer Daniel Russel to create a mini film about her brand (2017, Past Forward). She wanted to show the raw ideas of life and the memories that have along with her and Prada since it all began. The film was dream fuelled, she wanted to be able to capture her audiences’ attention. The piece has been created to show and demonstrate how fear, danger, beauty, love, romance, fashion, identity and time live within everything we do in our day to day lives.
The Present From the runaways, to the Prada stores you can see how Prada’s designs have developed since 2000. As a whole they are much more brave and daring. Miuccia is known for having no limits, if she likes something then she will run with it. Of course, this could be argued a big risk for the brand but evidently it seems to Figure 12 & 13// Prada SS 17
Figure 10 & 11 // Prada SS 2010
Over time Prada have evolved to be more exclusive in today’s fashion industry. They have become more edgier and quirkier than ever before. They don’t seem to follow the stereotype image of a luxury brand anymore, in fact if you look at their most recent opening page on the official website, Prada are using bright neon colours and bizarre, wacky designs emphasising that they are adapting to what the youth of today like. Some could say they are trying to expand their target audience and relate to the younger generation more however, this could have a negative impact on Prada in the future with their older audiences.
Target audience Target audience or target market is defined as “A particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed.” (Oxforddictionaries). Prada are known for satisfying an exclusive customer base made up of mostly wealthy, upper class adults (Generation X). It could be argued that as a brand Prada should attempt to satisfy all customers within every market rather than just one specific one, this would furthermore allow them to expand and get more attention. One reason as to why this may be their customer base is that the younger generations such as Y and Z cannot afford to buy their products. This could be an explanation behind why the brand solely focusses on the more affluent generation X and possibly Y. However, there is some evidence to suggest that Prada is trying to change its appeal and target audience to younger generations. This shift in focus has come following a terrible year for Prada (2016). “First half profits fell 25% to €330m (£282m) due partly to falling demand in China and Italy.” (BBC), described by Bloomberg as “lowest profit in five years.”. This led to “The shares closed down 7.6 percent to $HK23.70 in Hong Kong, extending their decline in the past year to 47 percent.” (Bloomberg). Prada was further criticized “for opening too many new stores and failing to invest enough online.” (BBC) a likely reason for Figure 14 its downfall of 2015 in to 2016. An interview with Strategic Marketing Director Stefano Cantino with Bloomberg gave an insight in to the new operations underway behind the scenes of Prada to reverse such a horrendous year. “Prada plans to double its e-commerce sales over the next two years by increasing the number of categories it offers online, particularly shoes, and expanding its social media activities, Cantino said. Prada doesn’t plan to sell clothing over the Internet, preferring instead to direct consumers to the company’s 618 stores, he said. It will be on Snapchat Inc. by October, the executive said.” (Bloomberg). Cantino went on to say how the “company will also close stores and narrow the spread on prices of new products between regions to about 10 percent”. Furthermore, “plans to introduce more lower-priced handbags and double its online business as it seeks to reverse two years of stagnant sales.” Going on to then to say, “We are working deeply to really fill all the price ranges,” Cantino said of Prada’s plans to introduce more bags costing between 1,200 euros ($1,370) and 1,400 euros. “There is strong demand for newness.”
(Bloomberg). By doing this, Prada, are trying to increase their target audience by making products, such as bags, more affordable for those who could not once afford them who are most likely to be sitting within the younger ages of generation Y and older ages of generation Z. Hopefully in doing this it will boost sales. (See figure 15 for example of a generation Y, with a Prada bag.) One way how Prada has acted on this is release of a new campaign. At the start of this year Prada released a new, year-round campaign, described by The Business of Fashion as “new public identity” (BoF) using the word Figure 15 identity suggests it is going to stick for a while. This campaign named as ‘Prada 365’ sees the continuous streaming of images over the course of a year, the biggest provider of this is their Instagram account. The brand has over 11 million followers on their Instagram profile, a huge advantage for them as “90 percent of Instagram users are younger than 35” (brandwatch.com), suggesting these are the ones they are trying to target. (See figure 16 for Prada’s Instagram profile.) On their feed, they publish photos for the campaign, with the models themselves also having a big social media presence and being highly influential people for the promotion of products to the younger generations. As well as their marketing approach, their look as a brand is also shifting. This can be seen in comparing the brands campaigns and shoots over the years. By comparing the newer campaigns such as the 365 and FW 2016, with that of FW 1996, and FW 2005, the looks are dramatically different to one another. (See Figures 17, 18, 19, 20.)
Figure 16 // FW 2005
Figure 18 // FW 2015
Figure 17 // FW 1996
Figure 19 // FW 2016
This change can be documented in-between said years by seeing the focus shift from that of a smart, affluent generation X or older Y, to that of more of a younger generation Y. This is suggested by the use the models and the design of the clothing they are wearing. The models in the older campaigns are older than those in more recent ones and the clothing itself is a lot more casual, quirkier and brighter than what it
once was. Therefore, trying to increase its appeal to a younger age group and distance itself more from that of their past looks which are less vibrant to that of today. However, there are still pieces within the 365 campaign to suggest that they don’t want to completely distance themselves from that of their trademark luxury, and smarter image. (This can demonstrated by figure 21 and 22.)
The opportunity Collaborations with fast fashion brands enable luxurious brands to target more than just one audience. We have proposed a collaboration for Prada allowing them to reach a younger target audience which is currently their newest marketing strategy. Past examples of collaborations include H&M Balmain which has been hugely successful. (“It’s confirmed: Balmain x H&M was a total knockout, 2017) Omni- channels are frequently used to appeal to their young target audience which has seemed to work extremely well since in 2016 there we over 80,000 Instagram posts using the collaborations hashtag.
Figure 22 // Balmain & H&M
The Future Figure 20 // SS 2017
Figure 23 // Zara Figure 21 // FW 2015
ZARA is the perfect brand for Prada to collaborate with as their garments are massively known to give off a luxurious feel even though their price is considerably lower. Many people that shop in Zara already mix and match with luxury items currently. Westfields shopping centre in LonFigure 24 // Prada don includes shops such as Topshop and Zara. Prada can continue with their 365 It wasn’t by accident campaign but incorporate the collabthat these shops have oration since platforms like Instagram been positioned directly & Facebook would appeal directly to to lead onto the luxury their target audience.
Figure 25 // Prada
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List of illustrations
Figure 1: http://www.10magazine.com/news/prada-aw16-campaign Figure 2: http://www.prada.com/en.html?cc=GB Figure 3: http://www.digitlondon.com/blog/2010/10/london-stays-catwalks-ahead-at-embracing-digital Figure 4: http://www.openbravo.com/blog/understanding-the-future-of-omnichannel-in-apparel-and-foot wear-stores/ Figure 5: http://retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/apparel-fashion/apparel/gucci-voted-as-the-topitalian-brand-by-interbrand/44824259 Figure 6,7 & 8: http://www.thefashionlaw.com/home/prada365-the-brands-new-social-advertising-strategy Figure 9: http://www.prada.com/en.html?cc=GB Figure 10 & 11: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2000-ready-to-wear/prada/slideshow/collection Figure 12 &13: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/prada/slideshow/collec tion#10 Figure 14:https://uk.pinterest.com/monique5058/prada-loco/?lp=true Figure 15:https://www.instagram.com/prada/ Figure 16:http://www.prada.com/en/collections/advertising-campaign/archive/woman-fw-2005.html Figure 17:http://www.prada.com/en/collections/advertising-campaign/archive/man-fw-1996.html Figure 18:http://www.prada.com/en/collections/advertising-campaign/woman-fw-2016.html Figure 19:http://www.prada.com/en/collections/advertising-campaign/archive/man-fw-2016.html Figure 20:https://www.instagram.com/p/BQbbbl5FFSt/?taken-by=prada Figure 21:http://www.prada.com/en/collections/advertising-campaign/archive/man-fw-2015.html Figure 22: http://mylittletelaviv.com/en/balmainxhm/ Figure 23: https://www.wgsn.com/fashion/ Figure 24: https://www.wgsn.com/fashion/ Figure 25: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/spring-2017-ready-to-wear/prada