Communication is Key The way in which the notions of beauty and identity are communicated (through the media, visual merchandising, styling and photography etc) can have a colossal impact on people’s behaviour within fashion, communication and promotion; often causing it to change. Understanding and researching this subject in an in-depth and untypical style can very soon alter your perceptions of beauty and affect your outlook on identity in general (as it did with me). Choosing to become a part of this area within the fashion industry means that I will have social responsibilities when dealing with the consumer globally; and it is important for me to figure out the best and most effective ways of communicating with them; paying particular attention to the type of approaches that I should undertake. This part of the industry (FCP) focuses on the way that fashion is communicated and promoted creatively through the use of different types of media. Innovation is key; it is all about having the ability, the drive and the desire to communicate ideas about fashion in new and imaginative ways. For example one of the areas within this segment of the fashion industry is marketing communications. This is the stage in which creative/big ideas are transformed into attention-grabbing advertisements designed for various media (television, radio, magazines, and others). Marketing as a whole, has a marketing mix that includes price, place, promotion and product (known as the four P’s). As you can see in Figure 1 marketing communication is the ‘promotion’ part from this mix.
Figure 1: Marketing mix 2010;online Being involved within marketing communication means you are in an extremely powerful position with a lot of authority. The advertisements which are created and used for promotion can have a large influence upon consumers; usually aiming to give them a positive image of the brand and therefore encouraging/tempting them to buy their products. With regards to the ‘human condition’ it is believed that most marketing (communication and promotion) is based on the assumption that we act rationally. A traditional model of communication persuasion (which I go into more detail in due course) used often by advertisers is the AIDA model shown in Figure 2. 1
Figure 2: Strong 1925
The mission of an advertisement is to attract a reader, so that he will look at the advertisement and start to read it; then to interest him, so that he will continue to read it; then to convince him, so that when he has read it he will believe it. If an advertisement contains these three qualities of success, it is a successful advertisement (Lewis 1903) However, another connotation highly associated with this area of work is controversy. When considering the notions of beauty many social, cultural, political and economical issues are regularly raised within advertising, as it is all about generating new ideas to stand out from other brands and cause an impact. Advertisements featuring content to offer the ‘shock factor’ often results in a stir within the press; for example Sisley’s 2007 campaign (see figure 2.5). Sometimes this approach can work in the brands favour, as being risqué may end up in larger brand recognition. On the other hand in many cases marketing campaigns can strike a chord with consumers; and can ultimately cause offence. Therefore, when being in this job role it is imperative and fundamental to completely understand your target consumer and tailor the advertising campaigns to them appropriately in order for the promotion to be a success. Otherwise a misjudgement within the advertising stage may end up in a negative brand association/reputation and ultimately end up in reduced product sales.
Figure 2.5:Sisley Campaign 2007: online
Diversity within advertising has stood out to me a lot recently. A variety of brands have attempted to show beauty in a more ‘diverse’ and ‘real’ way and have been commended for their efforts, therefore raising the question; could this mark a change in the fashion industry? Well, anything is possible and making a difference within this area of the industry is something that I aim to be a part of. Although, it is undeniable that this is an extremely complex issue and it is easier said than done to formulate a drastic change. Levi’s Curve ID advertising campaign (2011) is an example of a brand referencing and exploring the idea of appreciating different types of beauty through the use of diversity within their advertising. Levi’s® Curve ID addresses the frustrations that women experience in finding the perfect pair of jeans. Based on a study of more than 60,000 women’s bodies around the world, Levi’s® Curve ID delivers a collection of jeans that women can finally “believe” in. (Levi 2011:online) 2
Imagery shows women of different shapes and races with their custom shaped jeans through the Curve ID idea. Paired with the powerful slogan ‘We believe it’s about shape not size’ the images are refreshing and appear genuine. The font and poses within the campaign (shown in Figures 3 and 4) are fun and playful; Figure 5 in particular shows a light-hearted (but very clever) choice of quote, which is in keeping well with the brand as a whole. This campaign had problems at the beginning however after careful refinement and successfully getting their message across, I feel this is a very influential campaign and concept on a whole. This campaign celebrates the confidence and courage of the Levi’s® woman – inspiring, multidimensional and youthful, always believing in herself, what she does and what she wears. With Levi’s® Curve ID, we are really changing the way women perceive their own body shape and shop for jeans. (Gebhard 2011).
Figure 3: Levi campiagn 2011: online
Figure 5: Levi Campaign 2011:online
Figure 4: Levi Campaign 2011:online
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On the topic of body image certain artists have come into the light whose work I never considered to be ‘beautiful’ before until recently. In a society obsessed with physical appearance, feminist painter Jenny Saville has created a niche for overweight women in contemporary visual culture. Known primarily for her large-scale paintings of obese women, Saville has broken into the contemporary art world with a unique and revitalizing perspective. Like a lot of her work Figures 6 and 7 feature distorted flesh, highcalibre brush strokes and patches of oil colour, while other pieces of work reveal the surgeon’s mark of a plastic surgery operation. ‘I want to be a painter of modern life and modern bodies’ (Saville 2007).This quote is recognised well in her work and many would agree that that she has succeeded in her aim. Saville’s work is refreshing and realistic. She paints real women, particularly through the rejection of society’s semiotics of female beauty and she exaggerates what is seen as typically ugly in women within her paintings. She takes the body for what it is and is fascinated; emphasising and celebrating all of its imperfections; making them beautiful in their own right. This enthusiasm in appreciating body shape and diversity within our society is a trait that should be pushed and encouraged for all to gain and explore. Many of us have been tricked into believing that one particular vision is real beauty, but it is not.
Figure 6 & 7: Saville 2005 Without just focusing solely on body image, there are a number of advertising campaigns out there showing diversity in different ways; with Marks and Spencer’s being a prime example of this. M&S’s brand values in general are ‘value for money’, and being the brand suited to everyone in the family no matter what age/size/gender you are. This is reciprocated well in their advertisements, as you can see in Figure 8. This October 2012 image shows 6 women ranging from ages 22-48 and sizes 8-16. This is the first time M&S have used models of all shapes and sizes in a lingerie shoot for a print campaign.
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Figure 8: Marks & Spencer campaign 2012:online
Similarly, Figure 9 shows the September 2012 ‘For Every Woman You Are’ Autumn/ Winter Campaign which featured ‘ordinary women’ as opposed to celebrities. Thus allowing consumers to focus on the actual clothes themselves and how they’d look on a ‘regular beautiful person’ instead of being distracted by glamorously intimidating famous faces. Again, there was a diverse collection of models in this campaign from; young to old, skinny to curvy and big afro hair to sleek blonde locks. These models are easy to identify with, and help M&S tap into its core customer base, while the diversity enables the advertisement to appeal to a wide target market.
Figure 9: Marks and Spencer campaign 2012:online
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Lastly, the most recent campaign done by M&S was their Christmas advertisement, which has been highly praised for its multiplicity of people; again celebrities have been eschewed. One boy in particular who has Down’s syndrome (Figures 10 and 11) was seen as quite the revelation in diverse advertising, especially for such a well known brand. As president of the Hop Skip & Jump Foundation, I applaud M&S (Marks & Spencer) for using an adorable child who has Down’s Syndrome in their Xmas (sic) catalogue. (Hurley 2012)
Figure 10: M&S Christmas campaign 2012:online
Figure 11: M&S Christmas campaign 2012:online
Using Seb White in the campaign is an extremely positive move as this is a great way to communicate with the public and truly identify with real people. Thus proving that there is already a behaviour change happening within FCP; even though it is on a fairly small scale this is still progress. In years to come perhaps showing a young boy with a disability may no longer be a ‘shock’ and be ‘out of the ordinary’ to see; maybe this will eventually become normality? Perhaps people will have accepted each other for who they are, and recognise that beauty should not always have to be communicated through heavily edited and photo-shopped imagery. Opposing these positive and diverse campaigns are brands that are attempting to exercise this type of marketing approach but are failing miserably. Victoria Secret’s ‘Love My Body’ campaign shown in Figure 12 is a perfect example of this. At face value it sounds positive and empowering; similarly to Levi’s Curve ID campaign. With the assumption that it must be targeted at all types of women, sadly I am mistaken (apart from the use of women of different race). Featuring the ever so perfect Victoria bombshells (shown in Figure 13) with the addition of some new faces; the body types are the ones that they want you to ‘love’. By taking what is by society’s standards the most ‘beautiful, sexy, glamorous, perfectly-proportioned women’, and watching them talk about how much they love their bodies as if it’s something revolutionary is perhaps a little insulting to the consumer.
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Figure 12: Victoria Secret ‘Love my body campaign’ 2011:online
Figure 13:Victoria Secret ‘Love my body campaign’ 2011:online
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It has been said by Lindstrom (2012) that within advertising ‘sex as a selling point is stimulating however it is distracting’. Agreeing with this I therefore feel that perhaps Victoria Secrets’ approach to communicating with their consumers in this way was an unsuccessful move and subsequently a lot of negative press was generated around this campaign. However, appreciating the fact that ‘skinny’ women should love their body as well; if they really wanted to promote self acceptance, it would be a good start by using a variety of models in different shapes, sizes and ages. Female models are becoming thinner at a time when women are becoming heavier, and the gap between the ideal body shape and reality is wider than ever. There is a need for a more realistic body shape to be shown on television and in fashion magazines. (BMA 2000) It is evident that within marketing communications, behaviour change towards the way we think about beauty and identity is occurring; and would be hugely beneficial if continued. To influence these behavioural changes both the ‘Persuasive Approach’ (example shown in Figure 2) and the ‘Social Influence Approach’ (when campaigns will be directed at influencing community norms and collective behaviour) are suitable to be used in advertising to get consumers on board. The Social Influence Approach is appropriate as consumers are aware of the social issues and norms surrounding them, however pressures to conform are extremely strong. ‘Brain, body, mind and the social world. These four components are connected in one seamless, dynamic system. They each influence – and are influenced by – one another’ (Zaltman 2003). Women in particular are often put under immense pressure to look and be a certain way; therefore by using this approach in a positive, empowering and encouraging way it can easily be to both the consumer and marketer’s advantage. This approach as well as the persuasive approach is ideal; as at the end of the day the goal of advertising is to persuade. Generally you attempt to convince a potential customer or client to try your product for a number of reasons; for example you can try to persuade your target market that you have superior quality or better value, offer more status or reliability or any other number of benefits. But overall the key to persuasive advertising is to learn your potential customers’ needs, and then convince them you can satisfy those. ‘If the marketer does a good job of identifying consumer needs, developing appropriate products, and pricing, distributing, and promoting them effectively ,these goods will sell very easily’ (Kotler 2012). Moreover, one important thing to recognise is that we cannot be naive. A marketers responsibility is to advertise and promote for brands and ultimately to achieve them and yourself a profit. However when doing so, if you relate and identify with your consumer and really tailor campaigns to their needs (for example ‘real women’ campaigns), communication with your target market will be at its strongest.
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References
Diekmeyer, P. 2011. BMA quote - Diekmeyer Report Available at:www.peterdiekmeyer. com/000627.html- Accessed on 19/12/2012 Gebhardt, D. 2011. Available at: http://www.levis.co.za/press/PressDetail.aspx?id=1221 – Accessed on 17/12/2012 Hurley, E. 2012. Elizabeth Hurley Praises Shop Bosses for Diverse Ad Campaign Available at:http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/348058/Elizabeth-Hurley-praises-shop-bosses-fordiverse-ad-campaign- Accessed on 16/12/2012 Kotler,P. 2012. 66 Quotes on Marketing by Philip Kotler Available at:http://www.slideshare. net/bright9977/66-quotes-on-marketing-from-philip-kotler –Accessed on 20/12/2012 Lewis, E. 1903. “Catch-Line and Argument,” The Book-Keeper, Vol. 15, p. 124. Lindstrom, M. 2012. Buyology, USA: Random House Inc. Zaltman, G. 2003. How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market, USA: Harvard Business School of Publishing.
Illustrations
Figure 1:http://www.docstoc.com/docs/35106942/Marketing-Mix---4P%E2%80%99s%28PowerPoint-download%29 -Accessed on 21/12/2012 Figure 2: Strong, E. 1925. Available at: http://bushidolifestyle.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/ aida1200.jpg?w=221&h=173 –Accessed on 20/12/2012 Figure 2.5: http://collegecandy.com/2007/07/16/sisleys-new-ad-campaign-blows/ -Accessed on 20/12/2012 Figure 3: http://www.levis.co.za/press/PressDetail.aspx?id=1239 –Accessed on 21/12/2012 Figure 4: http://marketing.blogs.ie.edu/files/2012/04/levis-curves-4.jpg -Accessed on 21/12/2012 Figure 5: http://d1vysxeuvhmuuc.cloudfront.net/tear_sheets/image/364300/large_640x_ e398d4b02a2ba7a5bce6ff232a1bf69b238207ad_page0013.jpg -Accessed on 21/12/2012 Figure 6: Saville, J. 2005. Saville: Rizzoli International Publications Figure 7: Saville, J. 2005. Saville: Rizzoli International Publications Figure 8: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2225729/GP-said-obese-M-S-realwomen-setting-bad-example-utterly-wrong-says-MP-Caroline-Nokes.html -Accessed on 22/12/2012 Figure 9: http://www.retail-week.com/in-business/marketing/campaign-of-the-week/ campaign-of-the-week-marks-and-spencer-for-every-woman-you-are/5040549.article -Accessed on 22/12/2012 Figure 10: http://i4.cdnds.net/12/46/618x629/ms-kidswear-christmas_preview.jpg -Accessed on 22/12/2012 Figure 11: http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01610/Marks_and_ Spencers_1610939a.jpg -Accessed on 22/12/2012 Figure 12: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_nawPfD6Li_s/S74HgsDDT1I/AAAAAAAAADs/ VSRVXUdr3u4/s1600/vs.JPG -Accessed on 22/12/2012 Figure 13:http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hZ02mGrqYQI/UD-SKak3xCI/AAAAAAAAAB8/ J5pE62fv9IA/s1600/victorias+secret.jpg –Accessed on 22/12/2012
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Bibliography
Websites Cadena, C. 2007. Advertising, Cultural Diversity & the Importance of Demographics Available at:http://voices.yahoo.com/advertising-cultural-diversity-importancedemographics-405949.html -Accessed on 16/12/2012 Chilton, G. 2010. Brand Promotion Strategies Available at:http://www.streetdirectory. com/travel_guide/193960/marketing/brand_promotion_strategies.html – Accessed on 14/12/2012 Diekmeyer, P. 2011. BMA quote - Diekmeyer Report Available at:www.peterdiekmeyer. com/000627.html- Accessed on 19/12/2012 Gebhardt, D. 2011. Available at: http://www.levis.co.za/press/PressDetail.aspx?id=1221 – Accessed on 17/12/2012 Hurley, E. 2012. Elizabeth Hurley Praises Shop Bosses for Diverse Ad Campaign Available at:http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/348058/Elizabeth-Hurley-praises-shop-bosses-fordiverse-ad-campaign- Accessed on 16/12/2012 Kotler,P. 2012. 66 Quotes on Marketing by Philip Kotler Available at:http://www.slideshare. net/bright9977/66-quotes-on-marketing-from-philip-kotler –Accessed on 20/12/2012. Lewis, E. 1903. “Catch-Line and Argument,” The Book-Keeper, Vol. 15, p. 124. McDonell-Parry, A. 2010. Victoria’s Secret’s ‘Love my Body’ is about everything but-at least so far Available at:http://www.thefrisky.com/2010-03-01/victorias-secrets-love-mybody-campaign-is-about-everything-but-at-leas/ -Accessed on 19/12/2012 Nokes, C. 2012. GP who said Marks and Spencer’s ‘overweight’ real women are promoting obesity is utterly wrong, says MP Caroline Nokes Available at:http://www. dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2225729/GP-said-obese-M-S-real-women-setting-badexample-utterly-wrong-says-MP-Caroline-Nokes.html –Accessed on 18/12/2012 Samuels, D. Persuasive Approach in Advertising Available at:http://smallbusiness.chron. com/persuasive-approach-advertising-11646.html –Accessed on 20/12/2012 http://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-management/management/business-studies/ marketing-communications-strategic-function/content-section-0 -Accessed 15/12/2012 http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-marketing-communications.html# -Accessed 15/12/2012 http://www.levis.co.za/press/PressDetail.aspx?id=1221 –Accessed on 17/12/2012 http://www.brain-juice.com/cgi-bin/show_bio.cgi?p_id=77 –Accessed on 19/12/2012 Television Saville,J. BBC Documentary Books Lindstrom, M. 2012. Buyology, USA: Random House Inc. Saville, J. 2005. Saville: Rizzoli International Publications Saville, J. 2005. Saville: Rizzoli International Publications (Figure 6) Saville, J. 2005. Saville: Rizzoli International Publications (figure 7) Zaltman, G. 2003. How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market, USA: Harvard Business School of Publishing.
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