How an image can create an empire

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.

Social Media: Two words that changed marketing forever

It is quite obvious in this day and age that social media dominates our lives. Just think about the number of times you check your Facebook or Twitter feeds. Is it just out of boredom, for fun, to stalk people, or out of addiction? For me it is a combination of all four. Social media websites rule our lives! Our entire existence is online, in the form of posts, embarrassing pictures, funny videos, etc…

When social media first came about last decade, no one could have imagined its’ wealth and power. Facebook filed to go public today. How much is Facebook worth? Apparently $5 billion, at least for the initial public offering. I can only imagine this number increasing as Facebook becomes more engrained in our lives and more valuable. Facebook wants to be the “go to” site for everything, from pictures, to videos, to games, to job searching, to marketing, EVERYTHING that can be done online, they want to do.

So this brings me to my topic, how social media has completely revolutionized marketing. Now any business can have a a Facebook page or Twitter (not to exclude the countless other social media sites). It is so easy to connect with customers and upload interactive contact to convince followers that they must buy your product. Social media allows for conversations, contests, photo-sharing, all of which are beneficial for an organization.

Businesses can not only just interact with people through social media, but also advertise. Yes, those annoying ads on the side of Facebook that are always eerily representative of your life. Advertising via social media is big business, and not just for the businesses, but for the websites themselves. In 2010, Facebook made $1.86 billion off ads alone. WOW…how insane! Does anyone actually click those ads? I know I don’t, but apparently somewhere out there, someone is clicking on those ads. Yes, I will admit it. While I have a mind of a marketeer, I would never click on an online ad.

Advertisements aside, marketing through social media is a huge money making tool, and more businesses are jumping on the bandwagon. Proctor & Gamble announced this week that they are laying off 1,600 employees worldwide, most from the marketing department. This blows my mind. Marketing has always meant job security, as it makes the company money and they are willing to pay good money for skilled marketeers. Instead, P&G is focusing their efforts on digital media, more importantly social media.

This is a sign of the times, social media is changing marketing forever. Gone are the days of billboards, print ads, and TV advertisements. In its’ place is interactive online content posted through FREE social media websites.

The next question is “When will social media websites CAPITALIZE on this free publicity, and begin to charge businesses for social media profiles?” Who knows, but social media is no longer about connecting with others, it is about business and making money.

Now, if only one of these businesses would hire me to do their social media. 🙂

Why the world needs PR

As a recent college graduate, I always get asked two questions. 1. What did you major in? 2. What do you plan on doing with your life?

When I reply communication studies, I usually am met with a blank stare of “Umm…I have no idea what that is, so I’m just gonna stare until they explain what that is.”  So I then proceed to give some layman’s phrase such as “In a gist, I can communicate with others easily.”  This is met with an even more awkward stare/smirk. I know that they are then thinking “Wow! That guy just went to school to learn how to talk to people. What a waste.”

I just don’t want to bore them with my personal definition of communication, it is over their head. That is when the 2nd question is asked. To which I respond either public relations, integrated marketing communication, or digital media.

BAM! I just blew their mind away. I always get responses such as “Wow, that sounds hard! How exciting! I could never do that job! Cool!” This is when I smile a think to myself, “That’s right, it is hard, now if you could please retract that condescending smirk and thoughts, it would be greatly appreciated.” 🙂

This brings me to the topic: Why the world needs PR.

Why do we have PR? Can’t people just understand a company’s point of view and accept it? No.

PR is essential for an organization to succeed. The public’s perception of an organization can make the difference between financial success and failure. If you have a good image with the public, chances are they will be more willing to pay for your services. PR professionals help maintain this image, and without them, companies can and will founder. With this in mind, why does PR have such a negative connotation associated with it? I know why, it’s because of the media, PR’s double-edged sword.

Organizations need the media to cover all of the “good” things they are doing within the business  for the community. Unfortunately, “good things” don’t make “good stories & ratings.” This is why a negative story about an organization will always make headlines, which leads to the negative connotation of PR.  The general public thinks that PR is about covering things up, making things seem better than they really are, aka DECEPTION. The public only sees the bad that PR can do (sometimes just bad planning/press). Just look at Business Insiders 15 Biggest PR Disasters of the Decade  If any of these organizations had just consulted with their PR Department, some of these blunders could have been avoided.

Hence why the world needs PR. These professionals, such as myself, not only help maintain a positive image with the public, but also can help prevent an organization from making mistakes that lead to the incidents.

PR professionals should never be the first to be cut in bad economic times, even more so in this digital age. We are an incredibly valuable asset…but that is another topic for another time.

Social media & the 2012 presidential election

With the upcoming election this fall, it is time to focus on an important issue for the candidates to address, social media! This giant corner of the Internet is a new-age marketing tool that is being adapted and utilized by more corporations around the world every year. If a large company does not have a social media presence, then something is seriously wrong.

Social media platforms are a great way for candidates to reach potential voters easily, efficiently, and cost effectively. Facebook alone has more than 800 million users worldwide. The U.S has a population of more than 307 million, of which 52% are members of Facebook. That is 160 million U.S. citizens! In the 2008 Presidential election, more than 132 million registered voters actually voted. WOW! Compare that to the number of Americans on Facebook, and you have quite a substantial opportunity for a candidate to reach, inform, and influence a potential voter.

That statistic just comes from Facebook. Imagine a candidate tapping into Twitter, Google+, YouTube, etc… Are you following me now? This is a vast opportunity for a candidate to GAIN votes, utilizing FREE platforms that reach the MAJORITY of the U.S. POPULATION.

At the moment, all of the front-runners from the race currently have Facebook pages that are updated daily. President Obama’s page (which has almost 25 million followers) is updated more than once a day, with pictures, videos, charts, etc… about the race.  This is great, as it allows a potential voter to feel closer to the candidate and to easily interact with them. President Obama is the front-runner of the candidates when it comes to using social media. The rest of the current candidates fall very short of President Obama’s following, the closest one (Mitt Romney) only has 1.3 million followers.

In order to attract and influence more voters, the candidates need to captilize on the newest form of marketing: SOCIAL MEDIA. This digital medium is only going to continue to grow, and if candidate or corporations fail to jump onto the bandwagon, then they will soon be left behind in the dust.