Reading an article in The Guardian, I was able to find out a little more about the Fashion Brand, Jack Wills, this article gave me the main topic of my presentation, focusing on social media.
In this article it speaks of the digital age becoming “our modern landscape”. As the demographic which Jack Wills targets are digital natives, it is now even easier to gain friends through social networking sites.
However, I am not talking about the friends, you went to school with, or work with. I am talking about the “friends” which you wear. Fashion Brands are now becoming the consumers new best friend, they are becoming personified by customers because you are able to interact with them on social networking sites such as facebook and twitter.
The way brands are doing this, (brands such as Jack Wills, American Apparel and Abercrombie and Fitch) is by speaking to the consumer directly, they do this through their social networking pages,
when they do this they make the consumers feel more valuable to the company, making them want to be involved with the brand even more than they already are.
The brands retweet and share, to make the consumer feel appreciated, along with responding to comments to show a form of communication between brand and customer. Through brands using digital social platforms they are reinforcing the power of word of mouth.
In this article I also found out the Jack Wills, offers an intern competition, which is offered to a very specific audience, ‘University Students’. To win this internship you need to submit a video, and the most popular girl and boy will win, using the good old fashioned popularity contest. Every part of this contest reinforces the Jack Wills brand. They are associated with beaches, mountains and adventure. Jack Wills uses this and other events such as parties and social events which include like-minded people to create the perfect ingredients to attract the University demographic.
These types of lifestyle brands are established through the experiences they associate themselves with.
Abercrombie and Fitch, a similar, American Version of the ‘Fabulously British’ Jack Wills, also does this. They show their advertisements with them on beaches and at desired locations which star a particular attractive look of model which you automatically know as the Abercrombie and Fitch brand.
A little different from the Univeristy demoigraphic consumer which Jack Wills appeals to, Abercrombie and Fitch use another nostalgia, which are their male models. Abercrombie and Fitch draw on the positive endorphins which are created when most people see the half dressed, well exercised male models. You see these models on adverts, bilboards, shop windows and even on their carry-a-bags, which people carry around as a novelty hand bag, all of these things help endorse the Abercrombie and Fitch brand.
Melissa Stapleton 