FASHION MARKETING WITHOUT BOUNDRIES

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contents

I am Gia is an Australian based brand that sells high fashion women’s wear. The purpose of this report is to analyse both externally and in-

ternally the issues the business has. From this it will look at their digi-tal marketing activities and pin point areas that need developed. Along-

side this a new implementation plan will be produced for the brands penetration into the UK market through the use of the UK retailer

Goodhood.Within the research constructed it was found that the label I am Gia

only had one social media platform and has many opportunities to reach a wider customer base and to be more interactive with its consumer.

Executive Summary

I am Gia is an Australian made brand that only started 6 months ago. It was started by two sisters Pallister and Stevie Cox in 2017. It sells high fashion products that are under $200 (InStyle.com,2018) There concept was to create an image around the name Gia, they wanted to cre-ate an image that most woman from all different cultures could relate to. The sisters wanted the brand to represent a powerful woman and it has done just that through the presence it has on Instagram. Pallister says that Instagram was one of their most powerful and successful tools for starting the business. It is how they got in contact with high listed celebrities stylists and had people like Bella Hadid in the clothing for Paris Fashion week. Within this report it will look into the brand I am Gia in more detail and analys-ing the digital presence and the effective use of the online media accounts. The main objective is to create a new concept for the brand to perpetrate a new international market through the use of other brands and expanding their current social media presence. It will also be looking at the ways in which I Am Gia can improve their existing digital market base using the mar-keting mix, internal and external analysis.

WHAT IS

I AM GIA?

I am Gia was launched mid-2017 by Alana Pallister. The label’s inspi-ration came about through creating a persona of ‘Gia” a girl they can make clothing for based around what she is doing and what she wants to wear. As Allana told Glamour magazine they don’t use any trend re-search or forecasting but purely focus on what’s inspiring ‘Gia’ at the time (Colon,2018)The brand has developed hugely through Instagram where many ce-lebrities have been seen in the clothing including Bella Hadid at Paris fashion week. This is how they market the brand and have gained their sole customer base. The problem with their content on here is that it lacks creativity and the same images are posted. They also do not fol-low anyone on this platform; this could be off putting to consumers.

As the label is still very new and just getting started in the fashion industry they have been using a local factory in Melbourne Australia to make the clothing. I am Gia ship internationally for free if you spend over $150 but there will be added taxes when it arrives if outside Aus-tralia.

The problem found was the limited market that I am Gia was commun-cating with by only having one social media platform and being primaly in one market.

Internal analysis

I am Gia has a strong presence of Instagram, this is the main social media that they use to communicate with their consumer. They upload daily and have con-sistency across the platform. Gia are also very efficient in communicating who is wearing their products. For example, Gigi and Bella Hadid. They do this on the website and on Instagram, ensuring the consumer style inspiration. I am Gia have a very easy website to navigate around, with a clear navigation panel and options. It also has a string visual presence on the site with a cam-paign video being on the home page. The images of the clothing are also very clear and with many different angles. This is a benefit to the consumer due it being easy to see what they are buying. `it makes the customer journey more satisfying making people more willing to shop there.

STRENGTHS

Currently I am Gia is only present on Instagram with a high celebrity following; this is a great social media opportunity to advertise the brand for free. Due to their high following they could also have a presence on other social platforms enhancing their advertisement and expanding their customer awareness to more people. It also means they can display dif-ferent types of information on different platforms, keeping it personal to each. Some other social media platforms they could be present on are; twitter, Facebook and snapchat. Being a new brand, this is a great way to market the brand for free and reach large amount of peo-ple. Due to being an online brand I am Gia have the opportunity to use the new technology that we have access to. This could be the use of QR codes an ever-developing concept that the target market of the older generation Z and younger millennials would be familiar with. They are a great way to advertise the brand with direct access to the product when the code is scanned This could be pout across sola media channels that when scanned you get exclusive offers. The area of digital campaigns and concept shoots are becoming more present online. Ideas that create a story for the consumer and make them interact with the product more. As I am Gia is a new brand they have many areas they can explore in terms of creating new content for their website and across there social media channels. This is a great opportunity for the company to create a digital campaign that can interact with the consumer more personally. It will enhance sales as the clothing can be seen to be styled in many different ways.

OPPORTUNITY

I am Gia is a very new brand meaning they have many areas of improvement. One of these could be a more varied social media presence such as twitter and Facebook. These are both great ways to advertise the brand further. I am Gia is an Australian brand meaning shipping internationally is expensive and takes a long time. This is a weakness as it does limit their customer base. There are also a limited number of products in each category meaning the consumer does not have much choice.

WEAKNESSES

As well as opportunities I am Gia will face many challenges with new technologies along-side being a new brand. A challenge will be keeping the brands online presence up and to a high level. They have to ensure that they have relevant content that the consumer can engage with. This also means keeping the brand consistent across all the media channels. The consumer needs to be able to connect with the brand and get to know the brand. New technologies can be expensive to use or to start using. This is where I Am Gia could face a challenge as they have limited funds on what they can spend on certain aspects of the business due to being a start-up. Their competitors that are more established could use these and become more of a threat to I am Gia.Being on multi social media channels can be seen as an opportunity but also a challenge. They will have to ensure hat the brand does not get too caught up in the social media and loose its image or become confusing to the consumer. The consumer needs to know where they can find them and where they will get the relevant information that they need.

THREATS

EXTERNAL

Instagram:

Opening Ceremony (OC) have 1.1m followers on Instagram making them a highly followed and influential company in the fashion industry. Their main objective as a company is to be a ‘global fashion brand bridging the worlds of style, travel and culture’. This is included in open-ing ceremonies Instagram bio. OC engage their customer and followers on Instagram by post-ing consistently on the social media platform. This is important to keep the customer engaged with the brand. OC also post content that would be relative to their consumer; such as fashion week highlights and new product launches. The brands image is also kept consist across this platform with each post being creative involving art, fashion or travel. OC are trying to create a community built up with people that are interested in the same creative direction of the brand. They want to provide their customer with the most up to date and high fashion items to do this they are communicating it through the platform of Instagram. I am Gia uses Instagram as one of their main marketing tools; they have 421k followers on Instagram which is a competitive amount due to only launching 6 months ago. I am Gia’s main objective on Instagram is to promote their new collections, update their followers on who is wearing the product and posting creative innovative high fashion looks. The I am Gia’s Ins-tagram enhances engagement to their website leading to saes as they post. Consistently and update their customers on new launches. I am Gia’s main objective through Instagram is to keep consumers engaged n the brand and to build their following further by posting interest-ing content. With OC being a more developed brand, they have aspects that I am Gia could use and imple-ment in their social media strategy such as posting different types of content as I am Gia can be seen to post to much of the same content.

Twitter:

Opening Ceremony have very different business objectives for this platform; they have 153.5k followers. On twitter they post a lot more corporate content such as introducing new team members to the company. On this platform they encourage and engage the customer more with their specific products with daily links that send you to items on the website. The brands awareness for keeping all the platforms consistent is very important and OC have implemented this very effectively as the content s similar but not the same. This helps to engage the customer as they go to different platforms for varied information.I am Gia don’t have any other social media platforms which could be seen that they are not enhancing all the tools they have access to. A twitter account could be beneficial to their cus-tomer engagement and encourage sales.

I am Gia VS Opening CeremonyThe perceptual positioning map shows I am Gia compared to other brands in regard to price point and social media presence. As shown on this map I Am Gia is placed quite high in regard to social media due to most of the brands customer base coming from Instagram. As the brand de-velops Opening Ceremony could be one of their largest competitors due to the products sold and the varied price points that they offer. Opening Ceremony have a very strong social media presence; having accounts across different platforms and keeping a consistent tone about them. I Am Gia could be seen to have better price points that would attract more customers and a very competitive social media presence due to the consumer knowing where to find them and creating successful media campaigns within the 6 months of launching. Some other com-petitors could include Topshop as they have a high following on social media and offer var-ied products that are high fashion. For I Am Gia to stay ahead or to take over from there competitors they need to continue to come up with innovative campaigns and concepts and constantly posting good, current prod-uct across social media channels.

Low Social Media Presence

Highest Price Point

Lowest Price Point

High Social Media Presence

Product:I am Gia currently sell; tops, pants, outerwear, dresses, skirts, shorts and swimwear for women only. All the pieces are high fashion items that have been designed around the persona of a girl called “Gia”. Most of the pants are of a similar style; oversized but tailored at the bottom and come in a verity of dif-ferent colours and patterns. Many of the products are available to pre-order due to high demand and lack of stock; this is more common on the larger items such as outwear.

Price:I am Gia use the strategy of price penetration which involves starting the prices low so that it can reach a wider customer base. I am Gia have doe tis very well due to making high fashion and high demand items at an affordable price. The products start at around £28 which is for a basic tank top. They then go up to £135 for outerwear. All very affordable high fashion items.

Promotion:I am Gia’s main source of promotion is Instagram where they post new product releases and campaigns. On this platform they also make their consumer aware of who is wearing the product and how they are wear-ing it. This involves posting images of celebrities in the I am Gia product. Secondly, they send out emails to those customers that are subscribed. These involves new product launches and updates on the brand. Another subtle way that I am Gia have promoted the brand is by send-ing clothing to celebrities such as Bella Hadid who wore the Cobain Pant at Paris fashion week.

Place:I am Gia is only available online on their website and on Urban outfitters US website. Due to being a new brand it is much more cost effective for them to have an e-commerce site over bricks and mortar.

Process:The delivery time for orders to the UK, Canada or Asia is 10-20 working days. The US and Australia is 1-3 working days. For all international deliveries there could be added taxes onto the product when it is delivered. For I am Gia product is around 10-14 working days I am Gia does not offer refunds on product, but exchanges and credit notes are issued. If you are purchasing from another website such as Urban Outfitters refunds are issued due to company policy.

Physical Evidence:I am Gia has a very simple and easy to use website with all the product categories displayed clearly on one page. The sites home page is also very eye catching as it displays their current video campaign. The way in which the products are displayed also makes them very easy to see and imagine on yourself. The models are kept very place and striped back so that the sole focus is on the product.

People: The main influence behind the brand is the person of ‘Gia’. This is who the clothing is made for based on what she wants and what she is doing at the time. The creators behind the brand are two sisters from Aus-tralia called Pallister and Stevie Cox.

Current

New email that will be sent to GoodHood customers informng about the I am Gia launch

The promotion of the product will be spread across more social media platforms incus-ing twitter YouTube and Instagram. Giving as many customers as possible updates on

the launch. The promotional content will also be through the newsletter emails; updat-ing customers and giving some exclusive early access to shop the I am Gia collection. I am Gia will now be more widely accessible in the UK making their market larger due

to the collaboration with GoodHood. The process that it will take to get the products to the consumer will be made alt easier as no taxes will have to be paid when shipped and it will only take 1-3 working days. The product will be easily displayed on their website

by having a section on women’s tab that goes to all the I am Gia product.

Enhanced

To expand the brands awareness and customer base to peo-ple in the UK within the next 6 months. Thsi will be meas-ured by the data collected from who goes on the webiste and where the items are being shipped.

To create a very affective digital campaign for the launch of IAMGIA x GoodHood. It will show a boost in sales in the finical quarter. This will be measured by interaction statistics.

I am Gia will be penetrating a new global market through the use of Good-Hood. This is a UK streetwear and lifestyle brand located online and in East

London. I am Gia will be launching their most recent collections on the GoodHood

webiste from teh 1st March 2018. The main concepts of pertrating this marketing will be:

1. Newsletter emails telling customers when and where the drop will be. This will be sent out by both I am Gia and GoodHood 2 weeks before the launch.

2. A video campaigne will be released across both brands social media includ-ing; Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

The video will be the ‘Gia Army’ Traveling from Australia to London. 3. Fianlly there will be large interactive screens in the GoodHood store

where the bricks and morter customer can purchase the product.

SMART OBJECTIVES

Campaign Video

The Video will show the “GIa Army” travelling from Australia to the UK via Hong Kong and New York. This will be a selection of models all wear-

ing the Gia product.

Instore Interactive

instore there will be interactive screens where the customer at Good-hood can shop the I am Gia collection online. This allows the bricks and

mortar customer to still shop the Gia collection and generates more online sales for Goodhood. Meaning they can reach the targets set.

I Am Gia is a brand that targets females from the age of 20-30, these are millennials meaning social media is a large part of their everyday lives. The type of person that would shop here is an in-novator when it comes to fashion choices and isn’t afraid to wear more daring at exciting looks. They are likely to be frequent users of social media due to the brands high Instagram presence. The consumers are also ones to keep up to date with the most recent trends and brands including what celebrities are wearing. I AM Gia is an affordable high fashion brand which makes it available to a broader amount of people. The consumer would generally spend most of their disposable income on clothing or self-indulging products.

The specific consumer market is a strong targeted area due to how the majority of this generation like to shop. These young profes-sionals have less time to go shopping and now a days prefer doing it online. This type of consumer also like to receive there ordered items quickly and efficiently. Due to I am Gia being from Australia the shipping can take longer to the UK. This is why it is a perfect market to target as we are for filling the consumers wants of the product being available in the UK and receiving it much quicker. This targeted age are also the most likely to wear the product due to being up to date with fashion trends and brands. They are also of an age that they have the most disposable income that they can spend on themselves.

Consumer Profile

This is Taylor she is 23 years old and orig-inally from Norway. Taylor recently

moved to London due follow her career choice of graphic design. She has a degree in fine art and whilst she was studying she liked to travel to many different places. Her hobbies include keeping up with fash-ion trends, socialising with friends, going to alternative art galleries and building

her graphics portfolio. Taylor lives with 3 friends in west Lon-

don; one in which is her boyfriend. Despite living here her favourite place to shop is

East London with a mix of high street, high end and vintage stores.

Consumer Journey

Awareness

- Consumer becomes aware of the brand I am Gia through word of mouth or social media. They sign up to the newsletter sent.

Interest

- The customer interacts with the social me-dia platforms and clicks on the newsletter sent through email.

Consideration

- The customer will then consider buying products; possibly ask friends and look at other wearing the product

Purchase

- This will then hopefully lead to the cus-tomer purchasing=g from the website.

Retention

- Consumer is satisfied with the product and I am Gia continue to send media and interact with the customer meaning they will shop n the site again.

From Email to Purchase

Consumer Journey From the new Good-hood x I am Gia email

promtion

Watch me

GIA

ARMY

Bella Hadid

Madison Beer

Candice Swanepoel

Kaia Jordan Gerber

Will the UK market work for I Am Gia?

The bar chart above shows the growing sales online since 2012-2017. Since 2012 the online retail sales have grown by £34.14 billion in just 5 years. This

shows the positive growth that online retailers are seeing. As the chart is showing growth and value within the digital world it cooperates nice-

ly with the new implementation plan with I am Gia; keeping them online but within a UK retailer.

Value of online retail sales in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2012 to 2017 (in billion GBP)

Figure 1: (Statista,2018)

CONCLUTION

Overall, I am Gia has many areas of improvements due to being a new brand. The main areas would be to make their Instagram more personal and relevant to the cus-tomer; this includes not reposting images. Following on from this having more than one social me-dia accounts could have a large impact on the consumers focus to the brand. It could also expand the target customer as they will be found across different media channels. I am Gia Penetrating a new global market could really benefit the brands image and evolve the brand to the high fashion name it wants.

ReferencesAngeloglou, M. (1970). A history of make-up. London: Studio Vista Limited.Cover Girl Front Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: https://www.allure.com/story/covergirl-james-charles-controversy [Accessed 5 Nov. 2017].Jones, G. (2010). Beauty imagined. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Loreal.com. (2017). Group - L’Oréal Group. [online] Available at: http://www.loreal.com/group [Accessed 31 Oct. 2017].MACxGabrielZamora. (2017). [image] Available at: http://people.com/chica/gabriel-zamora-male-beauty-influencer/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2017].Meyers, D. (2002). Gender in the mirror. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Mosse, G. (1996). The Image Of Man. New York: Oxford University Press inc., pp.4,5.Sorvino, C. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/chloesorvino/2017/05/18/self-made-women-wealth-beauty-gold-mine/#2db300292a3a [Accessed 31 Oct. 2017].Spurgeon, C. (2008). Advertising and new media. New York, NY: Rout-ledge.YouTube. (2017). jeffreestar. [online] Available at: https://www.you-tube.com/channel/UCkvK_5omS-42Ovgah8KRKtg [Accessed 23 Nov. 2017].

Week 3: The Didgital Journey

What Type of customer are you?

When I am shopping online I have more than likely gone onto a site just to have a browse and see what the trends are of the cur-rent season. I will save items to a wish list but would not always buy them there and then. Alongside this I can also be a more spon-taneous buyer when online as I know I have the option to return.

My normal customer journey would be to browse on multiple sites and compare the items in terms of style and what I am looking

for. From here I will add items to my bag that I would like to get and purchase them depending on the delivery time and price. I am

more likely to by something online with quicker delivery options. From here I will most likely of already shopped at the brand as

I prefer going to online stores that I can trust; this means that I am already singed up to all the newsletters and notifications.

The social media platform that will engage me the most to by products would be Instagram as it is the most visual social media

platform. I use this to see how others are styling the product and discover new online brands. It is also an easy way to sop looks

due to direct links being to products. Another platform that has a high influence my customer journey is YouTube this is a plat-

form that makes it so easy to shop what others are wearing.

Building Brands and Specific Styles

The image that a brand portrays determines who and what type of person will browse, shop and interact with the product. In today’s society people are seen to have one style and look. To do this they will shop in specific stores that cater for how they like to dress.

For myself I have more than one style one that is relaxed and anoth-er that is more structured and formal. Each style that I choose has be influenced and created by different things around me. In my fu-

ture career I would like to brand myself not in a restricted way but diverse. I don’t want to be restricted to one way of dressing as I like many different styles and looks and don’t think that because every-

one else thinks you should “stick to your style” means that you should have to. People change and develop with time and I would like my personal brand to adapt and change with me and each posi-

tion of my life. I am currently a student which means I am still figur-ing out which specific path I would like to take when I leave. It also means that my brand story is at the beginning and can only develop

further in the future. I would like my brand to develop with me and change as I do, pick up influences from that moment and for others to be able to engage with it. The brand I am creating will never be

finished.

Week 4

In today’s society and age everything is moving much faster and developing more and more, especially in the digital environment. We see this through the constant development of

technology, the way we communicate and the way in which consumers shop.

Consumer shopping habits have been closely analysed so that brands can maximise their sales creating the most profit available. As a brand each area of the business has to adapt with

the times; This includes the consumer journey. Creating interesting campaigns and concepts for the consumer to engage with before purchasing an item is very important due to the sales

this will gain. As a brand these have to be adapted with the digital age with more interac-tion coming through newsletters sent via email. Alongside this maximise customer interac-

tion being through social media platforms. Everyone has to adapt to these new concepts creating challenges of a new platform and market that people are not used to working

with. The knowledge gained on this course will help me maintain an understanding of the fast past environment that I will be working within.

Another issue with the digital marketing environment is the number of platforms that each brand or person has. These can become difficult to manage and keep up to date to fully

engage consumers. From this digital media assignment, it has shown the importance of con-sistency across multimedia channels and the content that is posted should be specific to ach

platform due to different customers following different platforms.

Converting Challenges to Chances

Week 6

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ella-banks-14a6ab107/detail/recent-activity/posts/

This unit has enabled me to research further into dig-ital marketing an area that is only growing and one that we can be continually educated on. The impor-tance of social media and ecommerce store is one of the most valuable assets a brand can utilise This unit has highlighted the importance of consistency across

all multimedia channels; from updating your con-tent regally and ensuring you have engaging relevant content to upload. This gives you consumer retention which is the first stage within the consumer journey.

One of the most interesting aspects of this term was hearing from industry themselves. A lecture was given by Sonia Terry the current head of marketing at Cos. This gave a great insight into the marketing industry its self. She gave great detail on how to improve and re-brand certain aspects of a business. This is knowl-edge that can be adapted to many different industries.Finally, I think this term has really helped in the de-

veloped of my own personal brand as I can take away many different aspects and use them first hand.

This unit has enabled me to analyse the dif-ferent aspects I prefer more than others. For

example, coming up with a concept for a brand and thinking how this was going to be constructed was very interesting to me. Also, the visuals side; the small changes that can be made to social media pages or the website that

would have a huge impact on sales and con-sumer retention.

Week 8

The Grand Finale