What Type of Advertising Is a Fashion Show

Style / Vesture

How brands used the catwalk as a marketing tool at London Style Week

London Fashion Week has taken the uppercase past tempest. And one time once more, brands and designers are utilising the 5 days of focus on the mode industry as a marketing platform, says Emma Grede, CEO of ITB Worldwide.

The catwalk presents a huge marketing opportunity for brands

In the AW15 London Fashion Week, brands accept had to negotiate a lag between instant digital testify coverage and product drop. Mid-marketplace brands, such as Topshop and Whistles, have allowed consumers to pre-order products from the track at LFW – which contradicts their retail model. Yet, mid-market place brands take realised the importance becoming function of the large (and growing) social chat about LFW and this new strategy of offering consumers access to the products, via a social media platform or hashtag, is a trend increasingly being used by brands. And information technology is working – the Topshop show was one of the nigh tweeted about shows at LFW.

Abandoning the traditional runway

An attention-grabbing moment at the AW15 LFW was high-street make Allsaints' decision to abandon the traditional rails. While virtually designers and brands have a runway show, Allsaints instead replaced the typical catwalk and models on the runway with a digital movie. This film appeared across Allsaints global social media sites and the drove unveiled in the film was available to purchase immediately – a similar motion to the likes of Topshop and Whistles. The decision to transfer the traditional runway to a digital platform once again emphasises that the conversations around LFW are online. Reaching this audience is an absolute must for brands in order to gain traction in the increasingly crowded, fast-paced environment that is London Manner Week.

Oscar disharmonism

Another interesting occurrence at LFW was Tom Ford's determination to host his show in LA instead of London. Information technology makes sense commercially – and once again signals the new order. Tom Ford, as he always has done, played above the police during Fashion Calendar week. Ford stated that he wasn't going to compete with the Oscars, so he decided to host the first loftier profile gear up-to-wearable testify in LA to coincide with the Academy Awards. Such scheduling could almost be construed as hijacking the prominence of an established result, to adjust the focus and attract new and un-tapped demographics into the notoriously elite mode sphere, whilst simultaneously not alienating its current core.

Reaching audiences non-traditionally

LFW is a colourful, vibrant five twenty-four hour period festival celebrating the best of the fashion industry. Brands are enlightened that social influencers and their presence at shows remain ever important and they are keen to reach their audience in non-traditional ways. In 2015, we have seen brands try to cultivate this audition on another level – by broaching the void betwixt runway images and consumer products in the retail stores. The social audience is ever increasing, so nosotros can wait more brands in the futurity to find innovative ways to engage with this influencer audience in order to increment retail sales.