People
The second out of the Four Pillars is People. People generally describe the consumers who build up the revenue for a business, meaning that brands get popular due to the love that they receive from their consumers.
Gen-Z consumers are people aged between 18-25. They are an emerging consumer force who sets trends, thereby influencing those of the older generation (Qualtrics 2022). Due to this reason they are the main focus of brands, as businesses believe a success strategy would be to prioritise the interests of the generation that’s leading the way of consumer behaviour and the decisions of many.
In order to attract Gen-Z, a fashion brand could use one of the most effective ways of communicating with people nowadays which is using the media. A brand could promote their products by advertising on social media apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Tik Tok, which are the largest social media platforms used by millions of people. For example, Instagram has over 1 billion monthly users and approximately 32 million UK users (Statista 2022). The majority of those on social media are made up of Gen-Z consumers, therefore using social media platforms would be advantageous to the brand.
It is vital for brands to ensure that every person who may come across their adverts could identify, or feel included in the fashion industry. This means that diversity is another area which the industry needs to increase its recognition on. Many brands have realised the importance of expressing diversity in their brand image, therefore successful, inclusive marketing campaigns aim to change the advertising norms by highlighting minority groups which may usually be misrepresented.
An example of this is Adidas’ Here to Create advert. This advert included well-known celebrities from diverse backgrounds such as Pharrell Williams, Aaron Rodgers, Lionel Messi and Von Miller. In the advert, the celebrities talk about the interplay between creativity and diversity. “We’re all creators, related by a mindset. It’s not about borders, gender, or race. We’re here to create.”(Refuel Agency 2022). This message allowed Adidas to unite those across different industries, gender, race, sexual orientation, age and ability, setting an example as one of the biggest sports-fashion brand in the market.
Being aware that consumers need a business which recognises their culture and represents how every person differs creates familiarity, thus consumer loyalty. This signifies the importance for businesses to express their support towards diversity and ensuring inclusivity in order for business success.
REFERENCES
Qualtrics, 2022. 9 Things You Need to Know about the Gen Z Consumer [online]
Refuel Agency, 2022. 6 Examples of Brands Who Got Multicultural Marketing Right [online]. https://www.refuelagency.com/blog/multicultural/examples-of-brands-who-got-multicultural-marketing-right/
Statista, 2022. Leading countries based on Instagram audience size as January 2022 [online]
https://www.statista.com/statistics/578364/countries-with-most-instagram-users/