How many fashion brands are out there now? Thousands? Tens of thousands? It’s hard to know. But whatever the figure, the point is that there’s an immense degree of competition. Today’s world indisputably features a greater number of competing fashion brands than we’ve ever seen before. Dominating that industry space is no easy feat, then. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Not even close. There are most definitely ways in which to establish yourself as a brand in today’s fashion market, you just need to know how. Our team here @laurenslindeman, a leading men’s fashion agency in Den Bosch, wanted to look at just some of them. Read on to find out more…
PR Transcends Hype
A few years ago, hype as a noun wasn’t used in anywhere near the same quantities as it is now. So much so that Hype is now a brand in itself! Self-promotion and drummed up support are admirable means of advertising and definitely serve their place within a marketing strategy. If nothing else than as a means of generating self-confidence. Ever heard of the phrase ‘fake it until you make it’?
It will, however, only take you and your brand so far. You can use as many paid influencers as you like, but the fact of the matter is that established media coverage will always have more of an impact than self-advertising. Today, leading fashion publications remain, rightly or wrongly, the gatekeepers of what is or isn’t deemed fashionable. So long as this remains the case, the thing your fashion brand should be aspiring to is securing exposure in them. This is ultimately where PR comes in. A lot of people ask our agency what it is that PR professionals do? Well, they’re the ones who secure that oh-so important coverage for brands. Brands directly approaching leading fashion magazines are far less likely to be successful at securing articles than PR executives. The reason for this is two-fold. Firstly, during their time in the industry PR professionals build up a wealth of industry contacts, the kind you only get through long-established rapports.
Secondly, journalists at the magazines you want to reach out to generally are more accommodating to PR teams than they are to brands directly contacting them. PR teams have the uncanny knack of being able to pick out more abstract pitching angles; the sort that leave you thinking ‘why didn’t I think of that?!’ and this is why they’re able to make a living from it! If you want to turn industry heads, then media coverage is the way to go about it. This can come in both the form of B2B and B2C publications as both have their own individual merits.
Break The Mould, Then Set A Whole New One…
There’s a certain irony in the fashion world in that many fashion brands that claim to be paving the way, that offer something ground-breaking tend to be fairly generic. Before I get vast swathes of emails stating I clearly know nothing about fashion, consider that I may not be talking about the clothing so much as the marketing. Successful fashion is predicated on successful marketing and brand image. There are few daring brands now, few that are willing to follow their own unique and authentic path for fear of being ostracised from the fashion community.
The fact is, however, that having the bravery to be truly you (from clothing all the way through to branding) is more likely to get people taking notice than simply another ‘XYZ is the new such and such’. Don’t be a new version of something, be new. Our men’s fashion PR agency will help your brand pursue its truest path, encouraging you to follow avenues that you’re interested in, regardless of whether this strays from the status quo or not. Of all the industries where you should look to subvert the norm, fashion comes in top.
Use Social Media, But Use It Smartly
We all know by now the monopoly which leading social media platforms hold over our attention spans. We’d wager there are few people nowadays who haven’t spent an afternoon or evening blankly scrolling through a feed. Similarly, we can all appreciate why these platforms can prove such a beneficial marketing tool. Having social media accounts doesn’t automatically equate to success, however.
One of the key mistakes often made by fashion companies is their lack of consistency on social media. For a few days, they’ll have an inspired flurry of posting before they soon grow bored, or forget or run out of content to post. This is by no means a slight, it’s worth us pointing out. No, far from it. In fact, the successful running of social media channels is pretty much a full-time profession! That’s why we have dedicated social media account managers working for us at our men’s fashion PR agency. They take (or make) the content, schedule and publish it, engage with users and actively seek to grow accounts.
This ties into the other mistake, and that mistake is a lack of original content. You’d be amazed at how shrewd users are when it comes to discerning whether content is original or stock. In short, most users can tell if an image is stock or not from a mile off. The difference having your own content has on your reputability is astounding. Even more preferably is if you mix original content between your own original photographs and custom-made graphics. These lend an air of professionalism to your account that by no means all brands will have.
Contact Us
Whilst a competitive time, this is also a vibrant and exciting time for the fashion industry. If you’re prepared to go at it with both barrels, then we’re prepared to be there with you! So, if you’d like to find out more about our men’s fashion PR agency, then get in touch! Contact us today on +316 15 47 17 32. We’d love to sit and have a look at what your menswear brand is all about, and how we can help!