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Fashion Branding – the case of Patagonia (part 1)

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What is branding?

Branding is creating a unique name and image for a product or range of products in the consumers’ mind. Branding focuses on influencing the perception of customers as an image or impression is built in the mind of customers. The idea of branding came up when the product itself was not enough in the midst of many competitors. Branding gave more options for the customers to choose from: the brand was an added value to the product. Customers could recognize their set of values through the brand. (Read our Intro to Branding here)

Your logo and identity have more impact than you think, they tell the customers what you stand for, who you are, and who you are talking to. Branding also has a lot of impact on your sales. A great design without good branding will not get noticed in the crowd of up-and-coming fashion designers.

And being noticed is what you are looking for in order to achieve your sales.

Your brand has to be built around your own unique vision, but at the same time make sure to set it up in terms of meaning, values and visual aspect. These 3 points also have to be respected all along the brand life to remain coherent and meaningful to your customers. Poor branding or poorly managed branding communication can go against the purpose of branding and can lead to failure.

In order to better understand how branding can drive the success or the failure of a fashion company we’ll go through a case study and discuss the main concepts of brand visuals, coherence and recognition.

Patagonia

A bit of history

Late 50’s, Yvon Chouinard, ardent rock climber, does not find satisfying climbing gear to his level and technique. From there, he decides to produce himself tools and equipment under the name of Chouinard Equipments. The idea is simple, he needs reliable gear in order to follow his passion, but he also needs money to sustain it. Chouinard Equipments becomes the solution, 6 months working and producing for 6 months of climbing.

patagonia

 

In 1964, his first mail ordering catalog is out. The foreword of all the offers is quality. Why quality? For security. Faulty climbing gear is dangerous. As Yvon Chouinard was himself a customer, his own life was on the line. Second focus was: perfection, taking his motto from Antoine de Saint Exupéry : ” In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away, when a body has been stripped down to its nakedness”.

The business started to grow, little by little more of Chouinard friends came on board. Because they lacked  competition (the market was not very profitable at that moment), Chouinard Equipments became the largest supplier of climbing hardware in the US by 1970. Next step for him was to go into clothing.

So the clothing line Patagonia was born in 1973.

The challenge was to maintain the same focus of quality and perfection. Another concern was raised: environment.  Chouinard started to worry about the damage climbers did to the rocks as rock climbing became increasingly popular. That’s when  he came up with the idea of producing  products that would have the least impact on the rocks and on the environment was born.

From the get-go the brand had 3 values to stand by: quality, perfection and environmental. And with that in mind we will evaluate their branding in the second part of this article. Stay tuned!

 

This article was written by Alexandra, fashion consultant. Follow her on Twitter @Stylindublin

Branding and Communications for Emerging Designers (Part 2)

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In the first part of this series, we discussed the basics of communications and branding. Today we’ll take you through the practical steps to branding your collection.

Presence
This step is vital in having a place to communicate your existence to fashion followers. Which markets have you chosen and what are you target customers? Presenting your collection on various platforms with a logo and products is important, but what’s more crucial is your business lingo as you meet buyers. How can you convince individuals that your products will be a hit?  This is when your business brain should take over.

Discussing who your target is and how your brand is relevant to today’s industry is important. How will you cope with stock turnover or fit the demands of your target store? Depending on the store, the demands and commitments will vary. For example, a department store won’t ask the same things as a small independant shop. This business discussion will be key in communicating with buyers.

Visuals in the form of a logo, pictures, advertising campaigns are key to supporting the expansion of your brand. These will aid in communicating the message of your collection as you meet with buyers. How can you use visuals to show what your brand is, what it stands for, and who it is for? It should align with the message your trying to communicate.

Buyers are not the only individuals designers will have to meet. In the industry, there are suppliers and distributors. This again shows the business side of the industry. For a moment, forget about your brand, creativity, art and your design. You’ll have to prepare the technical aspects of exactly what you want for your products and partners you are working with. Appropriate patterns will be needed for factories to produce products and there is little room for errors. This is described as a business to business (B2B) meeting and for smaller designers, don’t expect the same treatment as a big brand who will have a larger scale of production.

  • Focus on the quality you’ll get for your budget

  • Focus on your margins

  • Be professional, communicate as a professional

  • Be prepared of what you are willing to accept and what you are not

  • Know shipping terms, quantities, quality, margin

  • Get a factory you can count on, though it may not be the cheapest you can find

  • Find a producer with who you can build a long term relationship with

Finally, there is also another group that matters: the press.

If your advertising budget is very small, you’ll have to rely on Public Relations. To create awareness about brands, a good pitch will interest journalists through story telling. Don’t forget pictures in aiding your descriptions of the collection. It should be simple and direct. A great way to do this is communicating with bloggers in your market and important press mediums. Talk about the values and inspiration behind why and how you’ve created the brand.

Doing this is a difficult task for people who are not journalists, but it will help you in business negotiations. This simple exercise will help you express your brand and values in front of buyers and press. Always back up your presentations and PR communications with images as these will define your collection. Optimal use of social media will add to creating brand awareness which will hopefully lead to customers.

With a modest budget, the things outlined above are challenging but not impossible. This is also the case with advertising – how can designers do this with a small budget? Stay tuned for part 3/3!

This article was written by Alexandra. Follow her on Twitter @Stylindublin

Are you looking for a new writing opportunity? Perhaps you have style tips that you would like to share with the world? We value new fashion trends and are always looking for talented guest bloggers. If you’re a blogger or writer, this is the place for you to get noticed. Can you see yourself as a part of our blogging team? Apply here!

Branding and Communications for Emerging Designers (Part 1)

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Are you a designer with a great collection? Perfect. Now you just need to sell it by using branding and communications; you need to let others know of your amazing designs! This is a three part series aimed at giving emerging designers the top branding and communications tips they need for their businesses.

In order to understand how to brand a collection let’s start with the basics of communications and branding.

Communication refers to the reception and/or broadcasting of information, news, ideas, feelings, etc. This happens by speaking, writing or any other mediums. This communication drives the connection of people or places and meaning.

“ Strategic communication is coordinating the things you do and say in support of your objectives. More formally, I define strategic communication as coordinated actions, messages, images, and other forms of signaling or engagement intended to inform, influence, or persuade selected audiences (…)”
-Christopher Paul, Strategic Communication: Origins, Concepts, and Current Debates

Branding is creating a unique name and image for a product or range of products in the consumers’ mind. Branding focuses on influencing the perception of customers as an image or impression is built in the mind of customers. The idea of branding came up when the product itself was not enough in the midst of many competitors. Branding gave more options for the customers to choose from: the brand was an added value to the product. Customers could recognize their set of values through the brand.

“ Brand is the image people have of your company or product. It’s who people think you are. Or quoting Ze Frank, it’s the “emotional aftertaste” that comes after an experience (even a second-hand one) with a product, service or company.  (Also, it’s the mark left after a red-hot iron is applied to a steer’s hindquarters.)”
-Ann Handley , Author with C.C. Chapman of Content Rules

The Millward Brown Pyramid is an extremely simple visual of what builds a brand and customer loyalty.

millward brown

The next important step is creating a Presence – customers have to notice your brand. Consider how your products can be sold and where: will your products be located online? In a brick and mortar store? Do you want to concentrate on your local market or reach other countries? If you will reach an international market, are you ready to ship products overseas? Deciding on your target market will help this process and improve communication as well. By simply deciding on location, you can assess the selling platforms that will best be accessible. An example is having your target be an international market. The easiest method would be to contact the appropriate websites that have reach many consumers. In contrast, brick and mortar distributors may be better for local markets.

After you succeed choosing how to create your presence, the next step is to think of the type of customer and their needs. This is your Relevance.
What type of customer will be interested in your products? What type of customers are you interested in? And most importantly, how much is your target customer willing to spend? Because the customer has so much influence over the price, you must consider your market when determining price points that are relevant to them. Factors to consider are: customer’s age, shopping patterns, revenue, and interests. In order to build a strong brand relevant to your target, you have to understand your customer.

Finally, how do you compare with other brands? This depends on your brand’s Performance. Performance adds value among other competitors. Understanding what already exists in the fashion industry is vital to the growth of your brand. What are some strengths/weaknesses of other brands? Where do you fit in? Asking these questions and taking what you’ve learnt about your brand will allow you to stand out. Being unique is not hard to do once you find what is unique to your brand.

A factor in addition to your brand’s performance is the Advantage it has. There will be many comparisons to be made based on the quality and pricing of your products, but what makes your brand truly stand out? This can be done in many ways through your engagement with customers and the customer service you provide. Whatever can contribute to the brand’s essence and values to help the customer relate to it is valuable.

After your customer has identified with your brand and products, you’ve Bonded with them. Hopefully ,the customer will become a loyal follower and continue to support your brand.

As you can see, communication and brand building takes a lot of work, but the most important part is understanding the customer and who you’re designing for. With the foundation, the next steps will be easier to build upon.

Stay tuned for practical steps to branding (Part 2/3)!

 

This article was written by Alexandra. Follow her on Twitter @Stylindublin

Are you looking for a new writing opportunity? Perhaps you have style tips that you would like to share with the world? We value new fashion trends and are always looking for talented guest bloggers. If you’re a blogger or writer, this is the place for you to get noticed. Can you see yourself as a part of our blogging team? Apply here!