Fashion and design partnerships are one of the strongest opportunities being leveraged by brands to market products to those cutting edge trendsetters and influencers that closely follow - and lead - today's fashion trends.
Partnerships in fashion can improve a brand's image and give it an air of innovation and trendiness. Partnerships that are distinct enough can be beneficial in terms of cutting through the noise, catching the attention of customers, attaining media coverage, and stimulating conversation among consumers. Fashion, much like music, is a highly popular online consumer interest across the globe, as it defies cultural norms and breaks down social barriers.
Fashion events and content are no longer limited to fashion brands only - from Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Subway's runway dress made from wrappers, Moët & Chandon on the Golden Globes Red Carpet to Intel and HP's multi-year long partnership with the fashion-themed TV series Project Runway, brands of all types are now leveraging fashion.
Consumers may perceive a fashion initiative as out-of-the box and cutting edge, which can elevate the brand. It is essential to keep in mind that the partnership must have a logical basis. When identifying the common ground in messaging, looking at the core fundamentals of the brand's objectives and messaging will result in a mutually beneficial campaign for both the brand and its partner, leading to success.
Brands and marketers of all types can take advantage of opportunities at a range of fees (from very affordable to expensive) to form partnerships that will gain attention from both media and consumers, as well as provide content that will significantly contribute to social media conversations. Gone are the days when brands had to go to Paris in order to achieve success in the fashion industry; now, almost any brand can generate a successful and sales-driving organic partnership via one of the four platforms available.
To Generate Exposure
Collaborating With Fashion Events To Obtain Visibility
Opportunities for fashion events range from "official" partnerships with Mercedes-Benz NY Fashion Week, which are large-scale, to smaller Fashion Week offshoots that can be just as press-worthy and impactful, including runway shows and celebrity gifting lounges. Fashion weeks are held twice a year in February and September in cities all over the world, with the most prominent ones in the U.S. being New York Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week. Fashion weeks are held twice a year in February and September in cities all over the world, with the most prominent ones in the U.S. being New York Fashion Week and Los Angeles Fashion Week.
Social media sees immense traffic and engagement as a result of fashion events. More than 33,000 unique users shared a total of 100,000 Twitter and Instagram posts related to New York Fashion Week 2013, according to data gathered by Social Curation and Analytics company Curalate. The average number of interactions per photo for the top NYFW brands was 37,448, the majority of which were related to product promotion. When they occur in a real-time, live setting at an event or location, marketing campaigns are highly effective. Of the 100K+ posts that drove the highest levels of engagement, 90% were taken at NYFW events on location.
Harman-Kardon, based on their 'beautiful sound' platform, launched their fashion-friendly white headphones at a 3 day NY Fashion Week partnership event, as an example of their social success. The brand experienced a 970% increase in their social media traffic during and after the event, which resulted in 19 million social media impressions and 370 million national press impressions.
, TV Network ABC is launching a new show
TV Network ABC is launching a new show in partnership with Fashion Designers.
Fashion designers and events whose personality reflect desired traits, such as risk-taking and groundbreaking or more proven with long-standing character, provide custom alignments for brands wanting to establish those same valued traits. Designers both celebrity and newly emerging provide chances to form endorsement partnerships, as well as to enliven brand campaigns, trade events, or even point of sale.
I am collaborating with the Fashion TV series.
(Keeping Up with the Kardashians) and HBO (Game of Thrones)
Networks such as Lifetime (e.g. Project Runway), E! (e.g. Keeping Up with the Kardashians) and HBO (e.g. Game of Thrones) NBC's Access Hollywood and Extra, Bravo's Rachel Zoe, and Fashion Police all offer sponsorship opportunities as well as options to integrate brands directly into their content. Brands can creatively become part of even daily talk shows' fashion segments. In a similar fashion to the previous hit series Sex In The City, scripted series can provide basic storylines of fashion. Typically, the target viewer is the highly sought after female demographic with an average age range of 25 to 49.
The series website, print, and NBC platform all supported a branded customized fashion trivia game with a grand prize trip to NY Fashion Week, featuring ad units across the platform. The show's designers and the brand's fan base drove conversations on social media, in addition. The partnership exceeded its website visit goal by 184% and its sweepstakes entry goal by 85%, reaching a total of more than 14 million consumers.
Collaborating With Fashion Bloggers
Fashion bloggers provide a very strong platform to share brand fashion driven strategies, and can include consumer sampling and sweepstakes components.
Once upon a time, only a very exclusive group consisting of the fashion elite and insiders were invited to attend New York Fashion Week. Thanks to fashion bloggers, who are "everyday" girls who have achieved great influence, it is now much easier for the public to access and enjoy fashion. Fashion is one of the most popular blog categories, second only to music, with 3 million Google searches a day, surpassing even technology, food, sports, and travel.
It is important to work with industry experts who understand the landscape and identify the opportunities to create a relevant and successful partnership between your brand and a fashion initiative by harmoniously activating them.