Tom Ford Consumer Profiles

As our first module assessment is looming, my group and myself decided to meet up and discuss all of our brands in order to differentiate similarities and differences between each and to gain abit more of an insight and research into our own brand. The other brands that I have within my group to compare and contrast to Tom Ford is Reiss, Chloe, Puma, Rapha, Bottega Veneta. Firstly I considered and discussed the 7 p's of each brand.

Tom Ford 7 P's
Product
menswear, women's wear, accessories, eye wear, fragrance and beauty, Film 'The Single Man'

Price
cheapest price £26 (Eye Defining Pencil) all the way up to £1,000+ on clothes
(LUXURY BRAND)

Place
Online shopping, stores in fashionable cities, concessions (Selfridges)

Promotion
Billboards, magazines, most promotion done for beauty and perfume (affordable for the everyday woman), celebrity endorsements (Julianne Moore), fashion shows, sexualised graphic promotion to grab the eye and attract attention is typical of Tom Ford, all campaigns usually display 3 central protagonists

People

Tom Ford himself, brand ambassador Julianne Moore (good friend of Tom and star of his film 'The Single Man') 

Process
everything dressed neatly in packaging, luxury brand (expect a luxury look and feel of each and every product)

Physical Evidence
Make-Up counters, whole experience, try before you buy, personal shoppers, highly interactive website


When looking at everyone else's 7 P's we discussed how my brand is the highest most luxury brand and how the other brands aspire to be like Tom Ford, to be a the top of the game. We also discovered how Reiss, Bottega Veneta and Tom Ford are all mature brands with more of a sophisticated woman in mind rather than brands like Chloe who value youthful flirtatiousness and Rapha and Puma are both sportswear brands who desire to become more stylish. Chloe, Bottega Veneta and Reiss all share the same colour palette of neutral shades. 

Marks and Spencer Brand Positioning

In groups of 3 we were asked within a recent seminar activity to critically evaluate a well known brand pitching it against other competitors essentially differentiating what they're doing right and doing wrong marketing wise and branding themselves. Everyone within the seminar group was given Marks and Spencer (M & S) as within the past few years it has come under a lot of scrutiny for being somewhat dowdy and only aimed at a very old age range. 

'Britain's Leading Ladies'

Using our own knowledge we established that it is a high quality of clothes but the designs are old fashion and samey samey compared to one of it's main competitors 'Next'. They do try and use celebrities within their campaigns but they aren't targeting their celebrities to the right age ranges for example recently using Ellie Goulding and Rosie Huntington Whitley means that they are attempting to lower their age range but the classic style of clothes itself doesn't coincide with this. Next itself is more fashionable and trend orientated unlike M & S but the simple designs won't go out of fashion and when spending more money on something in M & S there is a guarantee that it will last. 

Rosie Huntington Whitley's lingerie range for M & S

They do incorporate limited edition pieces into their clothes and are in partnership with brands such as Phase 8, Peruna and Autograph which is where most of their clothing profit comes from. Unlike Next who only sell own brand products there are many differences between the overall in store environment of both. Next greets every customer at the door with a smile whilst M & S doesn't, this could be room for improvement for them as if a store was to greet me friendly I would be more inclined to buy something.

Personally I feel that Marks and Spencer need to change their target market not for young adults but 30+ in order to tap into a fashion conscious market of adults who can no longer dress like a teenager but also do not want to dress like an OAP. This would be a good starting point for them when re-launching and re-designing their women's wear within the coming months. I can say that Marks and Spencer market food very well especially with having specific stores in more rural areas which only stock food products.

The chart above shows a Perceptual Map of Marks and Spencer against it's other main competitors rating them on Price and whether their style of clothes are classic or Modern. The blue star shows where Marks and Spencer currently are while red star that I have placed on the chart shows where I would like to see Marks and Spencer in the future. 

Retail Activity

Following on looking and evaluating brands in seminars, in groups we were given a task to go out around the streets of Nottingham again and look for examples of mens trainers, mens jeans and women's dress', critically evaluating an expensive, mid market and cheap item from each. We were also asked to investigate the 7p's and consumer for each shop and item that we found. In a group of 6 we split the items between us then, when presenting our findings to our seminar group, neatly placed them into a powerpoint presentation. I enjoyed looking at mens trainers with my partner in the group as it gave me a chance to once again get familiar with my surroundings and talk to new people but to also apply the marketing techniques that we have newly been taught to actual shops and items. 

Cheap- Duffer Trainers- JD

•Product

JD- trainers, menswear, womens wear, sportswear, casual

Duffer- Trainers, menswear, hats, belts,

Black, blue and white trainers- male colours, cheap version of more famous brands

•Price

£15 reduced to £10, offer in Sale

•Place

On a stand with other popular trainers placed around it on offer, highstreet store, up against other consumers such as foot asylum and footlocker located next door, online shop (Duffer and JD)

•Promotion

Duffer- brand promotion, no other ways of promoting themselves, not a hugely well known brand, words like ‘OFFER’ scattered around the trainers, consumer= men/teenagers/ young adults. 

JD- expectation of good shoes from a well known brand, 'chavy', TV adverts, billboards, sales items presented on a sale stand

•People

people on hand in the shoe section

franchise brands- Nike, Converse, Adidas, Fila, Puma

•Process

when sold given in a shoe box, try before you buy, a variety of sizes

•Physical Evidence

Good service, bright and inviting colours (not gender specific), shoe section at the back of store to complete outfit when walking around

Mid Market- New Balance- Foot Asylum

•Product

New Balance- trainers (indie, hipster) unisex, lots of different colours and styles cater for all needs, high in demand, all of a sudden urge for the brand

Foot Asylum- fairly new shop, popular, trainers,  menswear, streetwear

•Price

£69.99- value for money considering their popularity

•Place

Highstreet, websites (both new balance and Foot Asylum), Internationally known, shoes take up half of the store, right next to the entrance, goes around in a circle, bigger arrangement in shoes, expensive looking

•Promotion

Stylish interior to shop, placed on their own stand with the name clearly shown, ‘UK exclusive’ well known international brand draws in consumer, billboards, TV adverts 

•People

On hand friendly staff in shop on hand to help you choose the shoe you desire and find the right size, celebrity worn shoe

•Process

Can try before you buy, when bought comes in a box and in a plastic backpack bag, everyone wearing them (popular) makes you want that ‘look’

•Physical Evidence

Staff very friendly, know their facts about each type of trainer, less harsh lighting in store (luxurious), certain style of interior different to most shops.

Expensive- Nike Air Max Light- Size?

•Product

Nike- shoes, sportswear, women’s, men’s, accessories, sponsorships

Size?- street wear, accessories, all menswear, collectable trainers, special edition trainers

•Price

£100, expensive shoes all in store, some mid range though

•Place

Exclusive small shop (more personal), shop located in a more smaller exclusive part of town mixed with brands such as Fred Perry and Ted Baker. Trainers located in a glass case (importance), Nike globally known, size? Is internationally know, both have websites.

•Promotion

viral adverts, television adverts, Size? Mainly relies on word of mouth, A-board outside store, exclusivity, both have websites, Nike endorsements include the Olympics and many well know athletes

•People

Not much service on hand however as the shop is small you can see everything and if anything is needed they’re just an ask away, celebrity endorsements for Nike.

•Process

Air Max trainers almost vintage (brought back), when bought you get a box and a paper bag, dressed professionally.

•Physical Evidence

More of an in shop experience, try before you buy, edgy different shop, well laid out modern and stylish

What is Fashion Marketing??

"meeting the needs of your customer at a profit" 

Professor Phillip Kotler

"Creating irresistible experiences that connect with people personally and create the desire to share with others" 

Saul Colt

"Products that dont come back and consumers that do"

 Steve Dawson

Within todays lecture we thoroughly discussed the ins and outs of marketing I found this very interesting as I have only ever brushed over the surface of marketing fashion within A-level textiles, we looked at a few key terms in which marketing is defined

. analytical

. targeted

. personal

. persuasive

. conversational

. timely/ immediate

. responsive/ human

This was very useful as I am only just being introduced to marketing as a career within university it is very easy to get confused and sidetracked on the actual meaning of it, defining it into terms makes it easier to understand. I was also introduced to the 7p's (more commonly known as the 5p's) of marketing, these are:

PRODUCT

PRICE

PLACE

PROMOTION

PROCESS

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

PEOPLE

Fashion marketing is different to other industries as it is based on need, it manufactures desire and no other economy associates so closely with the designer and no other industry like fashion displays its work on a runway (essence of marketing). Marketing fashion is led my season, trend and the media without which nothing would be marketed. The fashion industry is huge and items can be trickled down to the high street or urban styles can be bubbled up, no other economy can define itself as being so closely inspired by its consumer. No other industry or product has such a fundamental part within its economy for celebrities. 

Pre Arrival Activity

In order to help ease us into the course we were assigned a pre arrival task to explore what we would bring forward to a brand or designer in order to fully market themselves and push their brand forward, the art of communication fashion itself is forever changing through different styles, brands and the evolution of new technology hybrids. 

In my personal opinion through use of these new technologies fashion has taken the forefront into manipulating social media in order to digitally market clothes and designers. With the click of a button or the swipe of a finger we can now efficiently feel fully involved in our favourite designer or magazines work. If I was to bring forward an idea of a way to market a brand in this day and age it would be through use of the app Instagram.

Instagram is a photo sharing app for android or iPhone, which enables you to crop edit and share personal photos online, through use of Instagram it allows you to quickly link between magazines, designers and celebrities forming a huge mass marketing community. The app itself makes the audience feel involved within clothing's development all the way through to its adventure down the runway.

Instagram allows for designers, magazines and celebrities to socially intertwine their work for example Vogue magazine posted hourly updates and first looks at Mathew Williamson's collection at London Fashion Week (LFW) creating an @ link then to the official and personal Instagram of Mathew Williamson himself, allowing fans to then experience his view on the collection.

Vogue magazine also happened to post a photo of Alexa Chung and Pixie Geldof at the catwalk for Erdem, this gave the view of a fan, while then going onto the linked girls Instagram's from their photos you can have the view that they have for the show itself. 

This pre arrival task opened my eyes to the idea of using traditional marketing strategies in an untraditional way. In groups we discussed our findings, it was interesting to listen to the different ways in which different people decode what they see. Other ideas that my piers brought to the table were re-occuring styles (80's, 90's, acid wash, 'Friends') and the concept that its about the whole shop experience including window displays and staff interaction. 

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