Libby Brachaniec

Purpose creates the brand image using ‘brand philosophy’ (Author, W.D, 2022) to create positive outlooks from the customer perspective. They do this by using brand values stated within the mission and vison. This makes the brand distinguish themselves int the customer perspective by having brands influence help the planet and people while still creating a profit. 

The brands philosophy creates the company’s culture made-up of everything they do to be seen within a certain way by the customer. (Heramis, 2020) It is their ‘way of doing things’ that will create this since of belief in the company. Everything a brand does including the mission statement and the values of the company can change the outlook of a customer’s perspective. Therefore, the philosophy of the brand it is not made-up of just one thing but many.

The mission of a company is usually their objectives that make up the purpose of the company. This can be broad and might state their diversity and sustainability objectives. The company will have a mission statement on their website, which shows what the business does and the impact they make. (Aboulhosn, 2020)

The vision of a company is what they plan for the future. This can show what a brand is trying to be and do for the planet and the people such as customers and employees.

Value of a company is not just what it is worth financially but how often a customer chooses them over a competitor. (Wilkinson, 2021)

Proposition of a company is the statements they make to the customers to engage their target audience. This lays out the benefits of the brand and shows how clear and complete statements create concrete values.

The mission, vision, value, and proposition are important to the brand as it creates the fundamentals of the purpose and what they do to increase customer satisfaction and the work values of the employees. This means that the brand can create customer trust once they reach their target goals proving that they can act on their statements. 

A company will market their purpose and values on platforms like social media where ‘Generation Z spend 10.6 hours engaging with online content’ (Arise, 2022). This gives them an opportunity to engage with their target audience. Gen-Z is known for cancelling celebrities and brands that don’t meet their values, this includes diversity and sustainability. This is due to this generation growing up with rapid social change and technological change. Brands are now having to state their values and act on them in all order to keep this generations trust and therefor custom. They do this through marketing on social media or celebrity endorsements who align with their values. 

reference list:

■Author, W.D. (2022) Elements of branding philosophy: Brand strategy, Workspace Digital. Available at: https://workspace.digital/elements-of-branding-philosophy/ (Accessed: October 30, 2022). 

■shela-heramis (2020). What Is Brand Philosophy? [+How To Find Yours]. [online] Brand Master Academy. Available at: https://brandmasteracademy.com/brand-philosophy/.

■Aboulhosn, S. (2020). What is a brand mission and how to define it. [online] Sprout Social. Available at: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/brand-mission/.

■Wilkinson, M. (2021). 6 Experts Discuss the Importance of Brand Value. [online] latana.com. Available at: https://latana.com/post/brand-value-worth/.Arise. (2022). Generation Z spend 10.6 hours a day engaging with online content every day. [online] Available at: https://wearearise.com/generation-z-spend-10-6-hours-a-day-engaging-with-online-content-every-day

Profit within business usually means the income earned after subtracting the costs from the total revenue. However, many businesses are now basing their profits not just on the financial side but also by meeting their KPI’s within the company. This can also link to their business goals which many fashion brands post on their websites and could link to environment or standards. This means that there is now more than one way to measure success rather than looking just at the financial side of a fashion business we can see how they are operating and profiting the people and planet. 

The fashion industry has grown an expediential amount since the 60’s where more people began to experiment and then in the 90’s and 2000’s where online shopping began and shops such as Zara and H&M where born, where people could buy the latest fashion trends. The industry is expected to rise to $1.7 trillion in 2022. (Radonic, 2022) within the UK alone the industry is up to £6.1 billion (fashionunited.uk, 2022) due to the increased availability though online business and the decrease of garment prices due to price competitiveness.

There are many different sectors within the fashion industry including design, marketing, manufacturing, and retailing. Design and manufacturing are usually seen as the most harmful to the environment. Which has led many brands to change their manufacturing processes and design elements to more sustainable materials. Retailing and marketing also link together and are the causing factor of the design and manufacturing line. Due to the high demand of fast fashion, brands will have a quick turnover of advertising products then quickly sell these products and move onto the next trend. This has caused a huge environmental impact with 92 million tonnes of textiles going to landfills each year worldwide. (Beall, 2020) This means all sectors within the industry would need to co-corporate in a much more sustainable way for consumers to consume less and recycle more. 

Within economic uncertainty brands can stay relevant by talking out about global issues and ways the brand can help. This can be used to the brands advantage by causing a positive image, creating a positive view of the brand leading to increased sales in the future. This can be done on social media where it can be seen by millions of people and where the company can support followers online. This was done during the George Floyd case where many companies, such as boohoo and Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty, supported online by doing #blackout Tuesday. (Hanbury, 2020)

Commers and art have always overlapped like, Piet Mondrian creating innovative styles for Yves Saint Laurent in 1965 stemming from the 1929 painting ‘Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow’. (Jelen, 2021) These have now been placed into museums. These pieces of art create thought prosses for brands to innovate their styles and push new fashion trends and highlight world issues though different garments. 

Reference list:

■Radonic, D. (2022). The Most Important Fashion Industry Statistics in 2022. [online] Fashion Discounts. Available at: https://fashiondiscounts.uk/fashion-industry-statistics/.

■fashionunited.uk. (2022). UK fashion industry statistics. [online] Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/uk-fashion-industry-statistics.

■Beall, A. (2020). Why Clothes Are so Hard to Recycle. [online] BBC. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle.

■Hanbury, M. (2020). Major brands and retailers join the ‘Blackout Tuesday’ movement with some closing stores and urging employees to protest peacefully. [online] Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/major-brands-and-retailers-join-blackout-tuesday-movement-2020-6?r=US&IR=T.

■Jelen Greta (2021). A Look Back at Yves Saint Laurent’s Piet Mondrian Collection – Piet Mondrian Modern Art Fa. [online] Available at: https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/artist-piet-mondrian-yves-saint-laurent-dress-history.

People are the consumers of the fashion industry and causes of the other pillars; planet, profit and purpose. This suggests that people are the main key to success within the industry and therefore should show diversity within internal, external, organization and world view aspects.

The generation Gen Z are defined by people born between 1995 and 2005. This is the generation that grew up with the internet and are custom to worldwide change. This includes the expansion of online retailers and social media growth. Globally there are over 2 billion of this generation making nearly 30% of the entire population. (McCrindle, 2022) This shows that Gen Z are one of the largest generations and therefore the largest influence on retailers. 

The generation holds this buying power and will look to companies that share the same values. It’s said that 9/10 of gen Z’s hold companies responsible to address social and environmental problems. (Amed, 2019) Brands will need to adapt to this generation and see that it is no longer just the products that the consumers are buying but the beliefs of the brand itself. If the beliefs of the brand match the consumer, they will be able to stay popular, and have the Gen Z’s custom. 

A belief that has risen in popularity in recent years is diversity. This is the differences people share and acknowledge. Brands react differently to diversity depending on the brand itself. Fenty beauty by Rihanna is a cosmetic company that in 2017 was the first brand to come out with an inclusive line of 50 shades of foundation. This meant that people of colour that were not able to find their shade due to the lack of shade range were now included within the industry.” Is Exactly What Women of Colour Need — and Deserve — Right Now” stated by (Arterbery, 2017) This caused a domino effect with many different brands now having a much bigger shade range. Nike has also diversified their models by having plus sized people in advertisements and manikins in stores. This shows body positivity which has been a big talking subject within the athleisure fashion industry. 

To be a successful brand within the fashion industry there must be innovation and research skills available. The industry is always changing, and brand must change with it with diversity and new trends the brand must keep up or even lead the revolution. This will encourage not just new customers but the retention of previous. This will also encourage change within the world both political and environmental with fashion to express these concerns. 

References:

■Amed, I., Balchandani, A., Beltrami, M., Berg, A., Hedrich, S. and Rölkens, F. (2019). The Influence of ‘Woke’ Consumers on Fashion. [online] McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-influence-of-woke-consumers-on-fashion.

■Andrea Arterbery (2017). Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty Is Exactly What Women Of Color Need — and Deserve — Right Now. [online] Cosmopolitan. Available at: https://www.cosmopolitan.com/style-beauty/beauty/a12466929/fenty-beauty-review/.

■McCrindle. 2022. Gen Z and Gen Alpha Infographic Update – McCrindle. Available at: https://mccrindle.com.au/article/topic/generation-z/gen-z-and-gen-alpha-infographic-update/. [Accessed 18 October 2022]. 

Image Reference:

■Rodulfo K. (2018). For New Foundation Ranges, ‘Fenty 40’ Is the Magic Number. [online] ELLE. Available at: https://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/a20967710/makeup-companies-40-foundation-shades-fenty-beauty-influence/.

■CNN, E.D. (n.d.). Nike introduces plus-size mannequins to London store. [online] CNN. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/london-nike-mannequins-scli-intl/index.html.

references:

• Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures via Getty Images
• Levi Strauss & Co. 2022. Sustainability Report – Levi Strauss & Co : Levi Strauss & Co. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.levistrauss.com/sustainability-report/. [Accessed 07 October 2022].
• M&S (2021). Plan A: Our Planet. [online] Plan A: Our Planet. Available at: https://corporate.marksandspencer.com/sustainability/plan-a-our-planet
• Unfccc.int. (2021). [online] Available at: https://unfccc.int/climate-action/race-to-zero-campaign.
• Wicker, A. (2020). Fashion’s impact on the environment is actually a mystery. [online] Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/1/27/21080107/fashion-environment-facts-statistics-impact.