In the fashion world in order to create a powerful brand having good product is not enough, you also have to create a brand experience. In this business climate building a brand is essential to growing your business.
I will never forget the time I was in a supermarket shopping for groceries. A mother was there with her young children whom I am guessing were between the ages of 6 and 8. There was yogurt selling in the store that was branded by Zach and Cody (Brothers Cole and Dylan Sprouse) Disney Actors of the show ” The Suite Life of Zach and Cody”. These kids were begging their mother to buy the yogurt. Their mother expressed surprise and said you have never had yogurt how do you even know you like it? The child’s answer was “It’s by Zach and Cody so it must be good!” That is the power of branding and that is why creating a brand experience is important.
Branding is the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products . Creating a brand experience goes beyond this by addressing all the interactions people have with a product, service, or organization. As brand builders your job as to have a plan covering all of these interactions. There needs to be a synergy with all aspects. When you see a Ralph Lauren Label you have expectations of quality, fit, look, advertising, store design, culture, and even customer service. You see a Ralph Lauren product and you immediately know it is Ralph Lauren. There is no one more brilliant than creating a brand experience than Ralph.
When you seek to create the brand experience for a fashion company you should have a strategy at the following:
- Brand Story
- Website Design
- Showroom Design
- Store Design
- Labels and hangtags
- Packaging on product shipped to consumers.
- Social Media
- Advertising
- PR
- Store Distribution
- Focus of collection
- Sizing and Fit
- Quality
- Customer Service
- Staff
- Communications
- Training of sales and customer service staff
- Pricing
They say Branding is a science, but perhaps it is both an art and a science. In a world where customers are very brand driven and extremely vocal about their opinions both on and off line you cannot leave anything to chance. So have a game plan in place from the start.
