Fashion Storytelling – Fashion as Storytelling.
Abstract:
Fashion storytelling is extremely important for fashion brands. It is used to raise brand awareness, sustain brand loyalty, and is a key driver of commercial success. This report will analyse the role of fashion storytelling within the fashion sector, through both theoretical research and methodological analysis, and will evaluate the key storytelling strategies, and techniques used by the sector to engage with their customers. It will seek to demonstrate that storytelling is a key component of fashion brand messaging and marketing strategy, and explore the conventional and non-conventional approaches available to the industry, and the more recent opportunities for transmedia messaging.
The report´s methodological analysis was based on a survey sample of 91 people of all ages over the period of 4 days, via social media to test the influence and success of fashion storytelling in consumer decision making. The survey tested the proposition suggested in the literature that storytelling did impact significantly consumer behaviour and choice. A total of 91 respondents completed the survey. The gender breakdown of this survey was 78% female and 22% male. A higher percentage of women participated and responded because of the way in which it was shared via social media on fashion sites and via social media fashion blogs; these sites typically attract a greater female readership. The scope was global, although nationality was not captured, as geographical location was not a factor in the analysis. All ages were targeted to get a clearer picture of consumer behaviour across the age spectrum; however, the majority of the responders were between 30-39.
The results of the survey reveal that fashion storytelling greatly influences consumer behaviour, and has the power to really resonate with consumers, if brands are able to get the messaging right. There is evidence in the data, that consumers would reconsider purchasing if they didn’t like a brands advertising, nevertheless, fashion storytelling yields great engagement with consumers and resonates with them on an emotional level today to a high degree, given the channels available to brands and the opportunities to engage via transmedia messaging. Both the theoretical and methodological research provide support for the key arguments of the report that fashion storytelling does have a significant impact on consumer behaviour and decision making and will play an increasing role in attracting new consumers and retaining existing ones, as the industry becomes more sophisticated and innovative in using new technologies and social media platforms to tell their stories.
1. Introduction
This report analyses the role of fashion storytelling particularly within the context of the Italian fashion sector, and evaluates key strategies employed by the sector and brands to engage their customers through storytelling, a key component of their messaging and marketing techniques.
The report analyses, evaluates and compares their strategies, techniques and approaches to storytelling across a variety of media, with particular emphasis on their use of conventional and nonconventional imagery and transmedia messaging.
2. Theoretical Context
A form of everyday art, fashion is often used as a means to express attitudes, opinions, emotions and character, and in the most extreme, to embody escapism or an aspirational and unattainable lifestyle. The designers and brands behind our clothes, encourage us to use fashion to better understand ourselves and convey our individual message to the world around us. Coco Chanel communicated social issues via her clothes, giving women a sense of empowerment and confidence that liberated them from a history of political and social disempowerment. Stella McCartney uses her brand to champion sustainable practices and promote a message of ethical consumption. The mainstream denim brand Levi’s, adopted and reinforced a brand image of counter culturalism that in the 70s stood for revolution and equality, and today represents rebellion and a free spirited attitude. Each individual designer or fashion brand uses the tools of communication and fashion storytelling to speak to their target consumers, and to transmit their brand messaging.
Fashion is aspirational, and therefore it has to be idealised in order to make it more than just a commodity driven industry. The fashion industry has always understood that consumers often make fashion decisions based on emotion. The basis of all storytelling is an appeal to our imagination and emotions. It starts in childhood. Fashion brands know we are receptive to stories, so it is no surprise that they should employ the art of storytelling to engage consumers. Fashion storytelling deepens and enhances the connections between consumers and brands, by establishing an emotional bond with the brand. This helps to build brand loyalty which is vital to brands´ bottom line.
Traditional and conventional campaigns can be described as those which portray a particular mood or personality of a brand, through its use of images, copy, and the choice of model or endorser. Usually centred around conventional themes such as beauty, elegance, glamour and lifestyle, brands typically follow a paradigm of fashion storytelling, for their visual strategy: young, diverse models or celebrities portraying youth culture and young beauty; edgy, provocative, unconventional beauty challenging convention; luxe aesthetics which are often glamorous and exotic in nature and typically feature an older, celebrity endorser; or conventional beauty which is represented by models who perfectly embody the brand both in looks and endorse a particular lifestyle.
While following a set of thematic principles, a brand´s fashion story and media messaging are communicated and interpreted differently depending on the brand and location. Italian fashion houses typically draw on the heritage, culture and traditions of Italy. The images representing Italian fashion brands are quite often more aesthetic in nature, and while designed with an International and global consumer in mind, they speak to the customs of craftsmanship and luxury long upheld by Italian culture. Fashion storytelling campaigns in the US are often seen to be more playful, less serious and simplistic and not so focused on heritage. By looking at some examples in this report, we will evaluate if these assumptions are correct, and why there may be differing approaches within the industry.
Nonconventional campaigns, in the fashion storytelling context, are engaging consumers via multiple channels with a transmedia message, such as via the web and social media. These stories are told and retold, via influencers and will feature more dynamic and modern techniques such as hashtags, social engagement, peer to peer endorsement and user generated content.
2.1 The Importance of Visual Storytelling for Brand Awareness
Storytelling plays a vital role in modern marketing and brand awareness strategy. Visual language and the codes found within fashion storytelling are defined within a set of semiotic constants, to form a visual signature for the brand. Visual storytelling and fashion imagery serve brand positioning and create a concept of the brand in the mind of the consumer. In the luxury market especially, there are well established semiotic constants. The appeal to high-end consumers is to the emotions of uniqueness, status and exclusivity. After having seen a luxury item or product in print media, such consumers will expect these emotions to be catered for and reinforced should they then visit the store and interact directly with the brand. The narrative in print creates a direct emotional link to the store and its products, which is of course the intention. Luxury brands in particular rely on storytelling. A luxury brand, which is selling exclusivity, needs to centre their stories in myth, history and heritage (Kapferer, J.N. and Bastien, V. 2012).
Brand awareness takes time and effort to create and maintain. Generating a brand awareness so strong that consumers can instantly identify the advertisement and associate it with the brand, takes a lot of investment from the brand, to gain such levels of high brand recognition. Luxury brands tend to have a higher level of global brand awareness than mass or high street fashion brands. This is mainly due to the aspirational and élite qualities that luxury brands transmit to consumers and the high level of exposure that they get (Okonkwo, U. 2007).
2.2 The Power of Images
Brand communication begins most commonly via advertising, promotions, public relations, sponsorships, celebrity collaborations, social media etc. The method of push trade promotion, such as via traditional print advertising, involves the brand communicating the message of the brand through a strong, encoded message, loaded with the brand´s icons: imagery, colours, feelings and other elements that strongly convey the brand´s qualities (Okonkwo, U. 2007).
A breakdown of advertising figures for luxury brands confirms their belief in and reliance on the power of the image. Figures show that luxury brands spent upwards of 73% of their budgets on print, mostly in magazines, with the remainder split between billboards, TV advertising, with only on average 16% left for digital (Handley, 2017). Significant expenditure is set aside for marketing, whose budgets now comprise 11% on average of total company budgets, making up of 7.5% of the total company revenue (Moorman, 2017).
But the industry is changing, as is their choice of marketing mix, and latest data suggests that globally, the luxury industry spent over $1 billion on digital ads in 2016, a 63% increase since 2013 (Gallagher, 2017). Increasing the share of budget on digital has a potentially huge return on investment for brands. Saving money via social media exposure not only allows them to reach mass audiences more cost effectively versus print, but they can spread brand messaging more extensively through their social media accounts. These figures suggest that while the fashion image is still a crucial marketing and selling tool for brands, the means through which they communicate their fashion storytelling, will need to adapt to incorporate a transmedia strategy.
Fashion brands have already had to develop strategies and operational systems to cope with mass production on a global scale, given the rapid growth of ready to wear and fast fashion. Conventional campaigns, using traditional brand communication tactics and luxe style aesthetics, spend substantial sums in fashion magazines, which feature both luxury and mass fashion brands. High street brands such as Spain’s Mango and the United Kingdom’s Marks & Spencer are using storytelling messaging strategies in these magazines, knowing that their images will be displayed next to that of a luxury brand´s. While this is not necessarily good for the luxury brand, it has given high street advertising two clear benefits: the narrative power of association and advertising parity with luxury brands. The high street, of course, has had to up its game to meet these raised expectations and deliver engagement with clients on a more personal level.
Though digital is slowly replacing fashion and lifestyle magazines, the importance of print media and digital imagery in advertising cannot be denied. Its influence on the fashion and luxury market is huge and while the numbers of print magazines may have decreased, fashion publications such as Vogue, Elle and Vanity Fair, still help to reinforce the iconic and exclusive offer of luxury brands. Within Italy however, the fashion magazine is still popular, and its cities are home to many fashion publications, such as Vogue Italia, Grazia, Gioia, Amica etc.
Nonconventional storytelling, however, offers both complexity and opportunity for fashion brands. Speaking at the 16th Fashion and Luxury Goods Industry Meeting in 2016, Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye, president of French luxury fashion house Chloé stated: “Storytelling amplifies your message, but with social media, the storytellers aren’t always controllable” (IESE, 2016). The influence that established bloggers and social media stars now have on platforms such as Instagram, can be equally exploitable or damaging to brands, as social influencers tend to be more believed than brands in 2018. While the imagery presented by brands is extremely strategic and polished, in today’s world of digital ‘candid’ photography and sponsorship, their conventional stories can be seen as too staged or too traditional. Rich imagery formulated by influencers, can prove to be more engaging. Additionally social media reach has greatly expanded, and disrupted not only fashion storytelling norms but also how beauty is now represented. While still often photoshopped and professionally shot, images appear more candid and authentic, offering a stripped back view of the brand, with the influencer helping the consumer to feel fully immersed in the lifestyle of the brand.
2009 marked a turning point for the industry when traditional media streams and glossy fashion magazines began to feel unnerved by the uprising of these new stars. In more recent years, the industry has now embraced this revolution, and accepted the new rules of engagement; however, that’s not to say that the changes haven’t had a significant impact on fashion companies´ business strategy and culture. Runway shows are now staged around Instagram moments, and influencers sit in the front row, to capture and share the collections on behalf of the brands (IESE, 2016).
2.3 Fashion Storytelling techniques, approaches and usage.
The highlight in any fashion brand´s calendar, is the fashion runway show, and they are often an unparalleled opportunity for designers and brands to strongly reinforce the themes that have inspired their collections, and fully immerse their audiences in their world. Brands use a combination of storytelling techniques to showcase their runway collections, typically with a view to transport their audience metaphorically to a different time or place. Fashion designers and brands use their runway shows as escapism to transmit the essence, values and aspirational qualities of the brand, by telling stories, which are brought to life by the use of their staging, hair, make up and of course the clothes. The production values of these shows, particularly for luxury brands, are extremely conceptualised from the choice of location, to the fixtures and fittings that are designed. Some of Chanel’s recent runways shows at the Grand Palais in Paris have included a fully installed Airport Terminal for their Spring Summer 2016 show and the amazing transformation of the Palais into a deluxe casino for their Fall/Winter 2015 collection, housing a bar and betting tables for guests. Luxury brands are notorious for adding fantasy to their storytelling, and for a short time, audiences get to experience a different reality. At the heart of their story is always the incorporation of the brand´s key values, and characteristics, which when done well, transmit an extremely powerful, though sometimes subtle, emotional message to the audience.
All elements of masterful storytelling are carefully designed and constructed to showcase the brand´s heritage and deepen consumer experience. Customers are seduced by the promise of escapism, and the exclusivity which the brand invites. By exploiting each individual component of a brand´s aesthetic, the runway shows fully immerse the consumer in the culture of the brand through visuals, touch, sound and experience. If all elements are cohesive with the brand´s identity, it becomes indelible and unique to the brand’s story.
2.4 Fashion storytelling as a brand loyalty strategy
Immersive storytelling techniques immerse consumers in the brand´s ethos, creating bonds with the brand through emotional, cultural and societal connections. Visual storytelling requires consistency throughout every detail of the marketing strategy; all marketing elements must convey the look, experience and vision of the brand. Brand loyalty is built by consistently delivering the emotional connection with consumers, and this should be consistent regardless of the medium.
Fashion films are also a strong marketing and promotional tool often deployed by high fashion brands, and more recently by high street brands. Film often allows for more imaginative fashion storytelling and the delivery of a memorable brand message without the perception that the brand is ‘selling’ anything. Particularly around Christmas we see a lot of brands launching fashion films, taking the opportunity to connect with consumers often without the apparent positioning of a product. The second most important decision after having chosen the advertising medium, is the selection of products to be included. The purpose of the story, could be brand specific or brand led, or it could be product centric (Okonkwo, U. 2007). Some of the most iconic fashion films have not included the obvious use of their products, instead letting the story and its characters take the lead.
One standout example of this is Kenzo’s fragrance advertisement for Kenzo World. It offered a very fresh approach to visual fashion storytelling. Directed by Spike Jonze, it is an unusual mix of fashion meets indie cinema, and far removed from what is expected of an ad in the perfume world (Vine, R. 2016). Directors are now working more and more with the fashion industry to produce ads and short films, some of which do not feature clothes but are more dedicated to brand positioning and nonconventional advertising methods, and more rooted in traditional character led storytelling. Prada’s 7.45 minute short film with Wes Anderson, is focused on Castello Cavalcanti, a racing driver taking to the streets of 1950s Italy, with only the words ‘Prada Racing’ on his jumpsuit to signify a link to the fashion house (Vine, R. 2016) Other ventures into fashion filmmaking include David Lynch’s Lady Blue Shanghai for Dior, Joe Wright’s Coco Mademoiselle for Chanel, and Sofia Coppola’s Miss Dior.
Burberry’s Tale of Thomas Burberry, really speaks to the vision and spirit of the Burberry brand. With a star studded line up, and telling the story of the English fashion brand’s heritage and its founder, it has all the elements of a great piece of fashion storytelling. Launched at Christmas in 2016 to celebrate their 160th anniversary, the lavish tale directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia, sheds light on the many innovations and accomplishments linked to Thomas Burberry.
Luxury and prestige fashion brands represent the highest form of craftsmanship, quality and historical importance, ensuring they can command and attract the type of brand loyalty that is not affected by trends. They have recognized the changes in the industry, and use these storytelling strategies to remind their following about their core heritage and essence. Mainstream or mass market brands, have a tougher challenge to create this type of connection with consumers, as they lack the prestige reserved for the luxury market. However, some brands are effectively developing and enhancing their marketing mix to include fashion storytelling, as a means of elevating their offering and appeal.
H&Ms Come Together, an 8 minute short by Wes Anderson, is another festive short, set on the H&M Express, an art deco train. Highly stylised and with excellent performances, it is an innovative move for a brand more associated with fast fashion than high fashion. By trying to cultivate this type of luxe aesthetic and heritage, H&M offer a brand new way for mass market retailers, to connect with consumers and stand out from the competition (Timson, 2017).
Marketers are always looking for more creative and innovative ways to tell their fashion stories, often utilising innovative technology to achieve their branding goals. But there are a few brands in the market that really stand out as having a fully cohesive and integrated approach to their marketing, ecommerce, brand awareness and brand loyalty strategy, with storytelling at the root.
Louis Vuitton (LVMH), is no stranger to visual storytelling via their advertising; they have a legacy of great advertisements created with identifiable elements focusing on the core of their brand. But one of their major strengths is in their interactive lifestyle site, NOWNESS, which when launched in 2010, celebrated original content with artistic short films, and beautiful photography. It brought the brand closer to its target audience, executing its storytelling goals with precision, while not distracting consumers with too overt a brand message. Subtle yet extremely effective, it transmitted a story suffused with nostalgia and heritage (Juozaponyte, A. 2015).
Kate Spade have executed a fully transmedia strategy, with a specific focus on sharing digital stories, fully embracing all social media’s available channels. Using extremely colourful and feminine visualizations in addition to short films, they run story campaigns with episodes starring actress Anna Kendrick, which are not only available on YouTube for general consumption, but on the brand´s blog ‘Behind the Curtain’ with an interactive and shoppable version that links to their website. Kate Spade has shown the market how to expertly exploit the power of fashion storytelling, using all social media platforms at its disposal to become one of the top 10 fastest growing companies in the world (Juozaponyte, A. 2015).
Using similar tactics, Stuart Weitzman strategically links its ad campaigns with digital storytelling, using cutting edge cinemagraphs to create imagery that resembles both a photo and a live video, resulting in a truly innovative immersive experience. Linking these campaigns to Instagram and Facebook and utilising the latest retargeting technology, Weitzman has been able to greatly influence consumers´ buying decisions. The brand, together with Kate Spade, is at the forefront of engaging and innovative fashion storytelling.
3. Case Study Review: Iconic Examples of Fashion Storytelling
Made in Italy: The Paradigm between Tradition and Modernity
During his tenure as Artistic Director at Gucci, Tom Ford has often been associated with the ‘Sex Sells’ concept. Hired at a time with the fashion house was struggling financially, he brought in stylist Carine Roitfield and world renowned photographer Mario Testino, to bring new life to the company’s ad campaigns. Increasing sales by 90%, he catapulted Gucci into the mainstream once again, breathing new life into the traditional fashion house. The images created with Testino went viral, long before the term was even coined, and the trio created the most talked about and ground breaking imagery of the time. Testino later commented, ‘This period helped me identify the power of advertising, not as a subdued version of editorial, but as a place for stronger imagery than what we do in editorial’. It signified a period of creative and commercial collaboration, that had not been seen before in fashion storytelling (Conlon, S. 2017).
The overt sexual style of Gucci’s images at this time, forever made the Italian brand synonymous with memorable and perfectly executed image making, and at a time when the internet was still in its infancy. It brought fashion imagery and the latest collections to their consumers after the runway, with impact and immediacy. The now iconic print advertising campaigns from 2003 featuring the model Carmen Kass’s pubic hair shaved into Gucci’s G logo, and the later 2006 images featuring pornographic film stars, garnered so much public attention, that the Advertising Standards Authority received enough complaints to consider having the images banned in the U.K. (Hyland, V. 2015). Similarly Ford’s advertising campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent’s fragrance Opium, featuring a fully nude Sophie Dahl, brought both publicity and controversy to the YSL brand. But what was missed by some in this controversial style of fashion storytelling, was Ford’s commentary on the era’s ideals regarding bodily perfection and conspicuous consumption and an explicit call for viewers’ attention.
To be effective, brands in the luxury sector must carefully differentiate themselves, from not only the mainstream via their storytelling, but from other luxury brands in the sector via their style, messaging and execution. Although highly competitive, it can sometimes be the case that they unwittingly fall in the bracket of ‘sameness’, where several brands´ images could be mistaken for one another. Thus the message needs to go deeper than just a model with a product. Consumers now have much higher expectations than this, and brands must strive to not only transmit the essence of the brand and its personality, but try to achieve a new standard in creativity or storytelling (Okonkwo, U. 2007). This can be achieved via the creation of nonconventional or ground breaking, thought provoking imagery, as was the case with Ford. Though Gucci is seen as a traditional Italian brand steeped in heritage, the campaigns gave a new depth and meaning to the concept of ‘Made in Italy’.
Another notable example of an Italian luxury brand, whose advertising campaigns told an often ignored story in the sector, was that of premium leather goods brand Furla. A brand associated with the ‘Made in Italy’ concept, due to its expert level of accessories craftsmanship, Furla launched a campaign for its Spring Summer collection in 2006, which featured its own employees as its models. Their strategy was to express the spirit of the brand, and to promote its employees as brand ambassadors, who really understand the needs of this consumers. While memorable for very different reasons from the Gucci ads, nevertheless, the images told a visual story of the brand´s heritage, traditional values, and gave the brand a ‘face’, via the showcasing of its dynamic, relatable creative team. This was a risky move, however, as by doing so the brand could have alienated some of its consumers who had previously been sold the fantasy and unattainable luxurious image of the brand (Okonkwo, U. 2007).
America: Symbols of Youth Culture
Some of the most iconic fashion storytelling of all time comes from Calvin Klein in the US, the clear trailblazer to Gucci’s campaigns. These 80s campaigns featured Brooke Shields in a perfectly simplistic yet flirtatious narrative that featured the slogan “You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”.
Emerging in the late 60s Calvin Klein’s brand, at a time when American consumers wanted basic and accessible clothing, was seen as contemporary and fresh. Experimenting with sportswear and coat dresses, they quickly attracted international attention, pushing the boundaries with advertising and launching the careers of Brooke Shields and Kate Moss. Calvin Klein further increased their brand reach following a hugely successful ad campaign featuring Moss and Marky Mark (Mark Whalberg) in 1992 built around the concept of iconic youths wearing simple, baggy jeans and underwear (Tungate, M. 2012). Tasteful and beautifully shot, yet with the coolness that spoke to youth culture, the landmark series of ads shot by Patrick Demarchelier, presented iconic images to CK’s target audience, with which they could identify.
In Europe, Diesels campaign slogan ‘Diesel: For Successful Living’, referenced the ludicrous advertising promises of an Italian past, using the company´s well known ironic sense of humour as a basis for creating fashion imagery based on Bollywood movie posters, army recruitment campaigns, pornographic imagery, and ads for outdated household appliances. These stories broke through because they were different again to what was being done in the US by Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, who at that time in 1991, were creating artistic black and white fashion campaigns. Designed to provoke and entertain, the brash, colourful and almost vintage feel of Diesel’s ads ensured the brand gained international notoriety as an ironic commentary on what was happening in the States (Kapferer, J.N. and Bastien, V. 2012).
4. Methodical Review: Data Analysis and Review
Having undertaken independent research in the form of a survey of 91 participants this paper will now analyse the role of fashion storytelling within the context of the wider fashion sector, and will evaluate the success of key strategies employed in terms of advertising, via transmedia messaging. The questions were aimed at determining the consumer buying behaviour in relation to fashion storytelling and advertising, and the relationship between what they have seen, and the story’s level of influence across the different channels.
4.1 Results
Research Question 1:
Can you remember the last time you purchased a fashion, beauty product or item of clothing because you saw it in an advertisement?
Hypothesis 1:
To establish if consumers acknowledge the direct links between first viewing an advertisement and then purchasing. Are they able to recall the last time that they experienced an emotional response to an advertisement that directly influenced their buying behavior?
Question 2.
Do you consider fashion advertising to be storytelling?
Hypothesis 2:
To establish if consumers equate fashion advertising, with its high production values and marketing strategy, as anything more than mere advertising? Or do they acknowledge the concept of fashion storytelling within advertising?
Question 3.
Have you ever purchased a fashion item online because you saw it on a blog or being reviewed online by an Influencer or Blogger?
Hypothesis 3:
To establish if consumers are more impacted by online ‘promotional’ storytelling vs the stories from the fashion brands themselves. If this hypothesis is correct, it could be an indicator that consumers now trust influencers and bloggers more than brands, and that the real power of storytelling, now comes from transmedia messaging.
Question 4.
When making a decision to purchase from a fashion brand, are you more likely to purchase after seeing the product on a fashion blog, on fashion tv, on billboards, social media or in a magazine.
Hypothesis 4:
It is expected that consumers will now be most heavily influenced by online storytelling, however it will be interesting to see to what extent print still plays in fashion advertising given the sharp decline in fashion magazine publications.
Question 5.
Do you find the advertising from your favourite fashion brands inspirational, aspirational, entertaining, or annoying?
Hypothesis 5:
It is expected that consumers will, for the most part, derive some positive emotions from the storytelling and advertisements of their favourite fashion brands. Though it will be interesting as to what the majority of these positive emotions are; it is likely that the majority will fall somewhere between finding them inspirational and aspirational.
Question 6.
Have you seen any of the recent short films made by fashion brands such as H&M, Burberry, Dior, Kate Spade or any other fashion brand?
Hypothesis 6:
It is expected that the films of these brands will have entered the consciousness of a small number of participants. The results will however confirm, to what extent fashion brands make an impact or achieve reach with their transmedia messaging.
Question 7.
Do you think short films are a refreshing approach to fashion storytelling for brands?
Hypothesis 7:
Given that the medium of short film is still relatively new a strategy for fashion companies, it is expected that many participants will embrace the transmedia messaging approach and see it as a new and exciting way to engage.
Question 8.
Would you reconsider purchasing from a fashion brand if you didn’t like their advertising or found it too controversial?
Hypothesis 8:
The expectation is that a consumer would not reconsider purchasing from a fashion brand based on their advertising. The research has shown that controversial campaigns often lead to an increase in sales; however what will be interesting to note, is if consumers will state to what extent they believe they can be influenced in a negative way.
Question 9.
Can you remember a specific fashion advertisement that generated an emotional response from you?
Hypothesis 9:
If brands do connect with consumers in the way that the prior research has indicated, then consumers should feel emotional responses to advertising, and moreover remember them (be they either positive of negative emotions that were derived).
Question 10.
Did this emotional response make you more likely to purchase, or to want to know more about the brand?
Then were then asked to comment on a particular brand campaign or story that they remember, and to explain the emotion it aroused in them.
Hypothesis 10:
Respondents will be expected to want to increase their connection with the brand following an emotional response via their fashion storytelling. Recipients are expected to remember campaigns that specifically made them happy or from which they experienced positive emotions.
4.2 Interpretation: Hypothesis vs results.
58.24% of consumers remember the last time they purchased a fashion or beauty product because they were influenced by the advertising. This confirms that good advertising and storytelling has the ability to really resonate with consumers, influence their buying behavior and ultimately make them purchase.
47.25% of consumers state they would be more likely to purchase after having seen the product on social media. Such results indicate the power of social media advertising and the opportunities available for transmedia messaging.
Following that, the most successful methods of advertising have been via print in a magazine (34.07%), and on fashion blogs (16.48%).
Consumer behavior has been shown to be directly impacted by social media marketing, with 53.85% of consumers having purchased a product after having seen it reviewed by an Influencer or Blogger.
46.15% of consumers said that they would reconsider purchasing from a fashion brand if they didn’t like their advertising or found it too controversial, and a further 40.66% stated they might reconsider dependent on the content.
Despite consumers being bombarded by ads, the data shows that only 8.79% found those of their favorite brands, to be annoying or an inconvenience. This proves that for the most part, consumers are still susceptible to the content and willing to engage.
In equal measure, 34.07% of consumers found the stories of their favorite brands both inspirational and entertaining.
We could conclude from this data set, that billboards no longer work as a means to influence consumer behavior, or consumers no longer think they work – this would need to be further investigated.
59.34% of consumers find fashion films a refreshing way to engage with fashion brands.
Lastly the data does confirm that advertising and fashion storytelling in general does has the power to evoke emotional responses from consumers. 51.65% of respondents remember the last time that a fashion ad generated an emotion from them, and 35.96% stated that this made them more likely to purchase or want to know more about the brand.
In addition to the surveyed answers, 20 comments were left by respondents when asked to provide details of a particular brand or ad that came to mind, when considering emotional response. The comments have revealed some interesting insights into the advertisements and fashion stories that have really resonated in the minds of consumers. For instance comments such as “I like the idea behind Tom’s – got my daughter a pair so they could donate a pair to a child in need” and “H&M’s Conscious collection is beautiful fashion made from recycled material” suggest that brands with a story regarding sustainability and ethical practices are really speaking to consumers. Likewise such comments as “This has happened more generally then with a specific brand. If I see a fashion item that speaks to me and resonates with my own self-expression this would generally provoke an emotional response and I will purchase the product if I can afford it. I would then probably want to know more about the brand as they would probably cater to my style and expression.” demonstrates that via visual storytelling, fashion brands can create deep and meaningful relationships with consumers that will lead to brand loyalty. Likewise, some of the comments revealed negative responses, indicating that this too can influence consumer behaviour and buying habits but to a lesser degree.
5. Comparison and Evaluation
Visual storytelling is about creating a unique, explorative, transformative journey for the consumer. Luxury brands that desire to succeed in the market, will need to develop strategies for addressing the difficult paradox of maintaining exclusivity, while being globally available and accessible. With the introduction of influencers their appeal has grown, but they need to ensure that they remain only attainable for a select few. They must develop their storytelling portfolios to create linkages with social media platforms, interactive campaigns and the possibilities being presented by sequential messaging and retargeting.
In the next decade the market will inevitably be different from what it is today, and the stories offered by brands will need to adapt accordingly. The shift from a product focused strategy, to a customer or experience focused strategy will occur, and nonconventional means of communicating will become the norm. Customers will inevitably be more hands-on, interactive and participative, choosing freely to be a part of the story of their chosen brands through social media platforms. and leading them to reject those brands not in line with their values and aspirations. New forms of fashion storytelling will emerge, which will focus less of the tangible aspects of a brand and its products, but more on the experiences that can be derived from the brand, their impact on the consumer’s emotions, and their subconscious desires.
6. Literature
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