This post will look at how the promotion element of the marketing mix differs between upmarket clothing brands and low budget retail stores.
The promotion variable relates to the methods that an organisation uses in order to communicate and promote its business and products to a wide group of people, also known as marketing communications. The methods and actions they take to promote a new clothing line or product and advertise existing ones, in order that more people are aware of them. Advertising methods may include TV adverts, videos, radio and social media. The main aim of the promotion element is to advertise and promote a businesses products, so consumers will choose your business over your competitors and will attract a wider market of individuals, thus increasing revenue and a marketable brand name.
An organisations main aim is to attract their target market through their marketing communications and convey their products features and why they should purchase it. They also aim to establish their organisation to a wider market, by making their products appealing and differentiate themselves from other businesses. Promotion has been defined as: "Action communications to generate extra sales, both from existing customers purchasing more products and by temporarily attracting new customers on the basis of an incentive or a deal." (De Pelsmacker, Geuens and Van der Bergh, 2010)
Dolce&Gabbana
Dolce&Gabbana are a worldwide elegant and expensive brand whose clothing is known to be unqiue and sophisticated, they have successfully used promotion in order to establish their brand name and image globally.
Dolce&Gabbana's main target market is men and women aged between 15 to 25, who are innovators, sophisticated and fashion enthusiasts.
In order to promote their clothing lines they use various marketing communications including TV adverts, social media, magazine adverts and fashion shows, as well as having many celebrity endorsements.
Dolce&Gabbana use social media a great deal, in order to promote their clothing lines and have been successful in using this type of advertisement. They use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and blogging as their main media's and have a large following on all platforms. Their Facebook page alone has over 10 million likes and over 4 million followers on Twitter showing their popularity, with this use of advertising there are able to promote their campaigns, products and fashion shows as well as share news about upcoming events and new products.
An example of Dolce&Gabbana promoting their clothing using Twitter below:
Tweets such as the one above allow the business to engage with their customers through a media platform, whilst also gaining new customers as it voices to a larger market.
Another main promotion strategy which this premium brand use includes TV adverts to communicate their clothing line on a popular network, they create and advertise a short advertisement which tells a story and persuades individuals to purchase their clothing.
An example of a TV advert for their 2015 Winter collection shows an innovative advert which is based around a fairytale fantasy and gets across the theme of magic and nature which reflects their winter clothing line.
This type of advert which communicates a story will engage listeners and will reach a very large audience which Dolce&Gabbana's main objectives are. TV adverts is an important marketing communciation method which can help a business such as Dolce&Gabbana distinguish themselves from other upmarket brands.
H&M
H&M approach their marketing strategy with regards to the promotion element slightly differently from upmarket brand Dolce&Gabbana.
H&M's target market include young people but also anyone who loves modern and up to date fashion and prides themselves on being trendy. Therefore, their marketing startegy in relation to the promotion element is aimed at these groups of people.
A new unique promotion campaign H&M have introduced is a mobile marketing one, in which text messages are sent to their customers who have signed up for this promotion containing a coupon. Pop-up advertisements become displayed also on mobile-friendly media sights such as Facebook and Twitter, advertising their new clothing collections. H&M's mobile marketing strategy is a new and unique way to reach and appeal to a younger audience and is a successful way of promoting their current and new modern fashion trends.
Another promotional method in which H&M use to advertise their clothing lines is by creating a strategy which allows for designers and celebrities to collaborate with H&M and create a clothing range, for example David Beckham has collaborated with H&M to create the 'David Beckham bodywear collection (H&M). Having a celebrity model their clothing has been successful in promoting their clothing range to a wider audience of all ages and bring in a larger revenue, due to the popularity of their figure advertising the H&M brand name and image.
Beyonce is also a popular celebrity in which H&M collaborated with to promote a summer collection.
Here is an example of the type of advertising campaign in which H&M have created to communicate their clothing in a unique way:
The video below shoes an example of a TV advert in which features David Beckham and his spring 2016 range, showing one of the promotional strategies H&M use to advertise their clothing.
As you can see H&M have been smart and have collaborated celebrity endorsements with TV adverts by featuring celebrities in their adverts which is another source of promotional marketing to a wider audience, whilst exhibiting their new clothing line and creating a more popular brand name.
