With the Super Bowl occurring this past Sunday, I had all intentions of writing about one thing: MADONNA. Yes, the undeniable queen of pop who headlined the halftime show aka the MADONNABOWL. During the performance I had an epiphany! I would write about Madonna and her brand image.
So I sat infront of my computer, did a little research, then decided that there was NO WAY I could write about her image since I have only been around for less than half of her career. She has transformed herself time after time to become fresh, hot, and all around amazing. With that being said, I will not be writing about Madonna.
Today I had an interview for a manager position at an Abercrombie & Fitch. Seeing as how I worked there during college and now have a degree with no job prospects, it looks like the best option for me at the moment. So this morning, I donned a navy and white checkered plaid shirt, squeezed into a pair of faded A&F jeans, slipped on my flip flops, and of course drenched myself with their signature fragrance, Fierce.
This leads me to my topic. Clothing stores and their brand image. How does their image come about and how does it create an empire? My example…Abercrombie & Fitch.
Years ago Abercrombie & Fitch was not a clothing store catering to high school and college students. Once it was an elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods (until it went bankrupt) and was rebranded as a clothing store in 1988.
So how does a failing sporting goods store turn into a billion dollar, successful, and popular clothing line? The answer: BRAND IMAGE.
When you think of Abercrombie, certain words come to the mind: beautiful people, sex, expensive clothes, delicious scent, and dance music. Abercrombie brands itself as “casual luxury,” and does so because it has the highest price points out of its’ competitors for its’ target demographic.
Abercrombie creates a fantasy within its’ stores that convinces people to buy their clothes. This fantasy creates the brand image that people talk about….and here is how they do it.
SEX
By using sexy, provocative ads and pictures (such as the one below) they create an image that their clothes are sexy. EXCEPT, the ads don’t showcase the clothing at all. The classic A&F ad features a shirtless man with jeans loosely hung below his hips. By creating this image, it makes us believe that by wearing the clothes, we too will be sexy. Those half-naked men flashing their six-packs really do the trick if you ask me.
Sexy ads
DECOR
The dimly lit insides of the store (with only the clothes illuminated) creates an ambience. It is calming (aside from the dance music), and shifts the focus from the surroundings (of dark leather couches, palm fronds, and giant framed posters of models) to the clothes. “Oh! Is that another half-naked man on a giant poster?” “Why yes it is…now follow the beam of light down and check out at our new T’s!”
Inside an Abercrombie & Fitch
PEOPLE
They also employ beautiful people as “models” within the store. Once you enter the store, you are immediately greeted by a pretty face. You will never see an ugly face in an Abercrombie. Is it discrimination? No, not really. There is no way to quantify discrimination based upon looks alone. All brands do it, but A&F just has the bad rap because EVERYONE who works there is, well, good-looking. Associating clothing with good looking people is sure to create a following. Think high school and the popular crowd. Chances are they were the best looking people on campus, and I bet they were wearing A&F.
Male models (store associates) launching the new store in the U.K.
AROMA
You know the scent from the moment you enter the mall. That delicious, distinct scent that just draws you to the store. Fierce, the signature fragrance for men, is circulated throughout the store. It is rememberable, and a great marketing ploy for the cologne because countless people always ask where they can get the fragrance. “Well, right here at our cash wrap of course!” Smells triggers memories, and the smell of Fierce will trigger images of the sexy ads and beautiful people wearing A&F clothing within the mind.
Fierce, the signature fragrance
STATUS
The term “casual luxury” is incredibly true. The clothing is casual, and the pricing is high. If you can afford these clothes at full price, you have money…and we all know that money=status. The quality of the clothing is very nice as well. Have you ever picked up a T-shirt? It is so soft.
So what does all of this mean?
To bring all of this around, Abercrombie & Fitch utilizes sexy people, a sense-enticing store experience, and status to create the fantasy that by buying their clothes, you too will be just as sexy. All of this, right past the threshold of these glass doors, creates the BRAND IMAGE.
Not surprisingly, this brand image works. A&F’s empire (which includes Hollister, abercrombie, and Gilly Hicks) racked in $3.469 billion in 2010 (2011 figures are not out yet.)
And that my friends is how you use brand image to create an empire.
Educated. Unemployed. Broke 