FASHION PROMOTION

Promotion: communicating with customers about products and services to create demand and encourage purchases.

 Promotion may be local, regional, national, or international.  ***The goal of promotion is to communicate with the largest target audience possible.  Promotion helps attract new customers, increase sales to existing customers, and stimulate brand name recognition.

Promotion should …  Create an awareness and understanding of companies and/or products and introduce new products, inform consumers of changing prices, and explain new services.  Convince consumers about the benefits of using certain products or patronizing particular business.

Promotion is one of the four major elements of the marketing mix.  Product  Place  Price  Promotion

 Promotional activities affect how customers view a company.  Deceptive or misleading promotion practices can harm a business.

Promotional mix: ** The combination of all types of communication used by a business to inform, persuade, or remind consumers about a company and/or its products.

Promotional mix elements

Advertising Any PAID form of NONPERSONAL presentation of ideas, goods, or services made by an IDENTIFIED SPONSOR.

Personal selling PERSONALIZED, TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION with a customer in the process of exchanging merchandise for money or credit.

Personal Selling  Major form of promotion  ***Very expensive because it requires individuals to make contact with potential customers  ***Designed to complete the sale once a customer has been attracted to a business by advertising, visual merchandising, publicity/public relations, or special events

Publicity NEWSWORTHY INFORMATION about a company, product, or person placed in the media ***AT NO CHARGE with the purpose of creating a desired image.

 Free  Carried by mass media.  Must be newsworthy to earn media space  Must be timely, have local interest, and appeal to medium’s audience  Seems more credible to consumers than advertising  *** Company has little control over content of message or how it is presented to the public  Can have a good or bad result  Helps make styles, manufacturers, retailers, trends, or designers better known to the public

Press Release: A written news story sent as publicity to a newspaper or magazine.***  Creates public awareness of store openings, civic events at store locations, or announce employee promotions  Creates a positive image about a company, designer, or product

Press Kit: Promotional information packages that contain press releases and photographs.  Creates awareness of products or designers’ latest fashions and apparel items  *** Serve as free advertising for the business if pictures are published by the media

Public Relations: ***Activities designed to build positive relations with the customers, employees, and the community.  Participation in community programs

Visual Merchandising  ***Entices customers to enter the store  Enhances store image  ***Effectively presents the merchandise that the store has to offer  ***Shows customers how to wear and accessorize merchandise Attractive and appealing physical display of merchandise combined with effective store layout and décor.

Special Events Promotional activities designed to increase customer traffic, sell goods, and improve company image.  ***Fashion shows  ***Trunk shows  Special sales  Celebrity appearances

Coordinating the promotional mix elements  Most businesses rely on more than one form of promotion to achieve promotional goals.  The promotional mix is based on product characteristics and the existing market for the product.  The promotional mix changes over time, just as products and consumers change.

 Each promotional activity should be designed to complement the other types of promotion being used by the business.  National advertising should be coordinated with local promotional activities.  Sales staff should be informed of promotional activities taking place.

Promotional approaches during the fashion cycle **…(remember the stages***)  ***Introduction. Promotion is used to introduce trends and create interest in new merchandise.  ***Rise. Promotion is used to motivate customers and increase desire for merchandise.  ***Peak. Promotion is used to persuade consumers that the business’s version of a product is best and why.

 ***Decline. Promotion is designed to gain customers’ loyalty with reduced prices and reinforce their choice.  ***Obsolescence. Promotion is used to emphasize large markdowns.