Marketing Research - Brand Influencer

A fashion influencer is a online personality that has a very large number of followers on social media, creates mainly fashion content and has the power to influence the opinion and purchase behaviour of others with their recommendations. Brands endorse them to attend fashion shows, parties, designer dinners and exclusive trips and to wear their clothes on social media. If a salary has been involved, the influencer has to label such posts as paid or sponsored content. To reach influencer status the individual would have at least 10,000 followers.

Fashion influencers generate income through brand co-operations and affiliate links. Principle sources of income are brand co-operations in terms of product placement. Fashion influencers are paid to pose with specific products on their social media channels and must mark them correspondingly using the type of tags shown below in my primary research. The economic value of a fashion influencer is most commonly measured by number of followers. Successful fashion influencers generate an income through their social media activities that enables them to quit their jobs and focus solely on their social media career. German fashion influencer Xenia Van Der Woodsen left her full-time job at an investment trust, when she realised that she could earn more money with a single Instagram post as opposed to working a full day.

Instagram Influencer (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

Fashion brands use the reach / positive reputation of influencers by implementing influencer marketing. Influencers spread brand messages, increase brand awareness, contribute to a positive brand image and ultimately increase sales within a business. Influencer marketing is a form of marketing in which focus is placed on influential people rather than the target market as a whole. It identifies the individuals that have influence over potential customers, and orients marketing activities around these influencers. Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising where they play the role of a buyer themselves, or they may be portraying a third-party.

In my brand it could prove beneficial to utilise an influencer in order to build up a social following. The influencer could ultimately drag traffic towards the social media account and the web store. If I register my brand I would need to ensure adequate funding is in place to market my brand with the use of influencers. To do this I’d also have to find the correct influencer who I believe reflects the ethos of the brand, therefore I’d be looking for people such as: Mathew Pike, Mike Quyen, Carl Thompson. I would use these influencers as they reflect the ideal size / shape for my clothing, I further believe my clothing would work well with the current social following these individuals have made. 

My Brand - Company Scalability

If I were to register my company, I would have to consider the scalability of the brand. At the moment I have been ordering garments in little quantities in order to show my outcomes whilst keep the cost low. To scale my business, I must begin to order in bulk. After reflection I have noticed that the suppliers I currently use offer a bulk ordering service. The price of this is also relatively inexpensive when you think about the RRP of each clothing item. At the price reflected by AM Clothing I would be looking to sell my products for £29.99 in order to ensure my margin is high. 

Other overheads have to calculated and these will vary between each clothing item. These overheads will involve the cost of labelling, embroidery, packaging etc. After calculations from my other suppliers I have gathered that the lowest margin I could possible make is 66% based on my collection. This calculation applies to all the garments that have embroidery in the design, whereas the margin on the Classic Plain Tee would be 73%. I feel these margins are good as I am definitely making a profit, it also leaves room for any promotional sales that I may want to apply to my collection at certain seasonal times. 

Material Bulk Order (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

When considering the scalability of my brand I must also recognise the main competitors I will face. These competitors have determined the style / price point of my clothing. I see my main competitors being suppliers of other sustainable clothing, this will mean I will be competing with brands such as: Dedicated, Howies. My other competitors could be within the minimal fashion market such as: Thought, Acne Studios, AMI. These competitors are mostly well established, at the beginning of my business venture I must intend to overcome the many start-up social media brands. I feel my product will differ from these competitors as it has more substance.

Main Clothing Competitor (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

I feel the reflection on the growth of my business has helped me a lot within this process. I was surprised at the type of things you need to consider in order for a business to be truly successful. At this stage I now believe I fully understand how to register my company and ultimately scale it up into something that can be available to my audience. This is still a big commitment, and a decision that I will have to make once I have finished my studies. If I decide to progress the business I now have a relationship with the Entrepreneur Centre which can help me with the setup of my brand.

My Brand - Entrepreneur Centre

After my MA course I may want to take this brand forward and establish it. In order to do this certain business aspects, have to be thought about. To understand this further I visited the Duke of York Entrepreneur Centre at the University. The staff here helped me to understand what I would need to submit in order to get my brand up and running. This information is available online however, you can get easily lost in the complexity of everything. The staff at the Entrepreneur Centre said this if I were wanting to begin the process of building my brand I have to consider four main documents.

The link to these documents can be found below. Essentially, I was told that this is the basis of any business. The kind staff at the Entrepreneur Centre stated that, if I wanted to establish the brand in the future I should fill in these documents to the best of my abilities and they could then help me with registering my business and any other resources that may be needed such as loans, taxes, payroll etc.

Business Template (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

The key document within this set is the business plan. A business plan is any plan that works for a business to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key points, and prepare for problems and opportunities. Unfortunately, many people think of business plans only for starting a new business or applying for business loans. But they are also vital for running a business, whether or not the business needs new loans or new investments. Businesses need plans to optimise growth and development according to priorities. Similar business plan templates can also be gathered from the GOV.UK online website. 

The income statement (Profit & Loss Template) presents the financial results of a business for a stated period of time. The statement quantifies the amount of revenue generated and expenses incurred by the specific organisation, as well as any resulting net profit or loss. The income statement is an vitally essential part of the financial statements that an organisation releases. The other key parts of the financial statements are the statement of cash flows. The statement of cash flows is one of the financial statements issued by a business and describes the cash flows into and out of the organisation. This is also shown above.

Collection 01 - Chosen Supplier Report

Throughout this process I have had to rely heavily on suppliers. These suppliers have provided me with the materials and technology in order to create my first collection. The suppliers I used within my project have been critiqued with similar competitors in order to gain the best results. I completed most of this work during the Process module and my first Major Project submission. In this post I intend to report on all the different suppliers I have used in my brand so far, whilst reinforcing their claims of sustainability.

The main supplier I used in this project is AM Clothing. AM Clothing provided the garments for my collection. I chose this supplier as they offered a quality product at a reasonable price. AM Clothing also had a lot of credibility for being the biggest supplier of sustainable custom clothing in the United Kingdom. They are committed to genuine sustainability throughout their supply chain; from the raw materials to the finished product, shipping & marketing. Further details on AM Clothing’s sustainability can be found in my Process blog. 

To embroider aspects of my first collection I had to ensure the thread I was using was fully sustainable. To do this I sourced my thread from the Organic Textile Company. This was recommended to me by the embroidery technician as I had to ensure the thread was compatible with the Amaya. This particular cotton has been produced without the use of harmful chemicals, using fair trade qualities. This cotton came on a reel which I could then tread onto the Amaya and begin my embroidery. 

Organic Textile Company (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

In my project I decided to outsource the production of all my clothing labels. I did this as I believed I could achieve a high quality whilst saving time. I had experimented with different types of labels within my first submission and ultimately decided on a taffeta woven material. Taffeta is the most economical woven label available and is priced lower than damask and satin. The label shown below was sourced from The Dutch Label Shop. I had to ensure I communicated constantly with the supplier in order for the sizing and quality to be correct. My final label is shown below, this was attached to all of the pieces within my first collection. I further used the supplier to produce the tab in the Classic Plain Tee.

For all my packaging used in my first collection I utilised the supplier Tiny Box Company shown in the link below. This company was able to provide me with paper-based products that have been created from recyclable materials. This packaging then has the ability to be recycled again, therefore furthering the life cycle. I used this supplier to source my mailing box design and label card tags, this ensures I am sending a product to the consumer that is fully sustainable in every corner of the business in order to then reflect my overall company motive.

https://www.tinyboxcompany.co.uk/why-recycle

I am very happy with all the suppliers I have used within my brand so far. I have managed to ensure I keep the idea of sustainability throughout my materials and processes. This has also taught me a lot about supply chain and the ability to source the cheapest products. Communication with suppliers is something I had never really done before. Most of this was done via email or phone calls. I had to ensure the supplier new exactly what I wanted so that I did not waste time and money, this often meant sending a detailed mock-up of what I wanted my product to look like. In the future some of these suppliers could change if I decided to scale my business up. To do this I will need to look at suppliers which I can gain the most bulk order margin from whilst still keeping the vital notion of sustainability.

Collection 01 - Organic Material Report

The underlining backbone of my company is aimed at making each collection sustainable. This idea of sustainability can refer to the materials used and the way in which these materials are sourced/produced. In this post I will intend to breakdown my first collection and explain all of the ethical practice’s that have gone into making the garments. Displayed below is an example of one of the items found within my collection. 

Each garment in my collection has been produced using organic 100% combed and ring spun cotton. Ring spun cottons are smoother and stronger. They've been through a spinning process that softens and straightens each fibre. Another step up in quality is combed ring spun cotton, which is even more refined. After the cotton fibres have been spun, they're combed to remove any impurities or imperfect strands. This ensures I am providing the consumer with a quality product which then justifies the price point. The organic nature of the materials within each garment are derived from the supplier. 

Some clothing items within my collection require embroidery, an example of this is shown below. I chose to use embroidery as you can control the sustainability of the practice a lot better than other methods such as screen printing. To ensure my embroidery was deemed sustainable I had to source organic cotton. Organic cotton is grown in subtropical countries such as Turkey, China, and parts of the USA from non-genetically modified plants, and without the use of any synthetic agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers or pesticides. This cotton came on a reel, which I threaded onto the Amaya.

Aside from the materials within my clothing, I have also given attention to the sustainability of the packing used in my brand. Each item of packing in my company has been produced using recycled paper, it then also has the capability of being recycled again. When printing onto this material I have used the UV Printer. UV printing is more sustainable practice. UV inks are environmentally friendly, because unlike solvent-based inks, 100% of the ink is used. The UV rays from a light source quickly activate and start a cure process to harden the ink, rather than being evaporated like solvent based ink. The use of the UV printer can be found in my clothing tag creation.

Overall, I believe I have created a brand which has thought about sustainability in every area. From my research provided in my first submission I believe I have chosen the best materials for the consumer. In my next post I will look at the suppliers I have used and reinforce their sustainable claims. Each supplier I have used has been selected and compared against numerous other sustainable companies to ensure only the very best is selected.

Typography Stories Development

As I could not attend the loops in After Effects workshop I thought it would be fitting for me to reflect on the process of animation boiling within my typography stories task. I tried to further think about the rule of thirds used within a frame. The rule of thirds is applied by aligning a subject with the guide lines and their intersection points, placing the horizon on the top or bottom line, or allowing linear features in the image to flow from section to section. I used the following image from my direction and treatments task to guide me through this process.

CHANEL Boutiques Brand Advertisement (Source: Chanel, 2017)

From reflection on this image I managed to alter the layout of my typography story outcome. I altered this design in a way that comes across as an advertisement, like the type you would see on an interactive billboard. I included my branding I produced within my app design as I felt it would make sense to do so. You can view my final animation in the following link below.

https://vimeo.com/265899646

Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of this development. I feel using the technique of animation boiling was the correct idea as it makes my learning current, rather than reflecting on my old work even though that can be beneficial. I feel my use of thirds within the design has made everything flow and takes advantage of the white space within the composition. I can see how this design could be used on a digital billboard within a train station or any other location. If I were to develop this idea I would experiment with the models through possibly using different ethnicities to show equality. I would also use different colours in order to engage younger youthful markets.

References

CHANEL. (2017). Chanel Boutiques Brand Advertisement. [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://essentialhome.eu/inspirations/lifestyle/fashion-luxurious-brands-2016/

Extended Practice - Supply Chain Managing

A.M. Clothing was founded in 2012 as a small start-up company looking to make waves in the textiles industry. They have quickly become one of the fastest growing, wholesale providers of custom printed and embroidered clothing. Many organisations and brands in the UK and worldwide now look to A.M. Custom Clothing as their trusted supplier. A.M. Clothing now stand as the UK’s leading supplier in our industry and produce thousands of printed and embroidered products for our clients every week. They exist to make the experience of purchasing printed and embroidered wholesale clothing better; with market beating, retail level service, technology, and sustainability as standard.

Supply chain management is the oversight of materials, information, and finances as they move in a process from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer. Supply chain management involves coordinating and integrating these flows both within and among companies. As A.M. Clothing is the ideal supplier for my major project I must understand the background of their product production in order to ensure sustainability is achieved. This information will allow me to understand my product further.

A.M. Clothing are committed to genuine sustainability throughout their supply chain; from the raw materials to the finished product, shipping & marketing. Even the servers running the company website are powered by renewable energy. This award-winning commitment to sustainability has resulted in some of Europe’s most reputable brands trusting the company. A.M. Clothing work with manufacturing partners who have certification from reputable third-party organisations such as Fairtrade Foundation or Fair Wear Foundation. I have discovered that A.M. Clothing have four manufacturing partners which are Neutral, Stanley & Stella, Confidential Clothing Co and B&C Collection.

A.M. Custom Clothing (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

Feel free to follow the above link to find out more about the suppliers. The suppliers listed are responsible for the production of the garments sold by A.M. Clothing. Because A.M. Clothing provide different forms of sustainable clothing different suppliers are needed. All of these suppliers are members of the Fair Wear Foundation. The Fair Wear Foundation verifies that the Code of Labour Practices is implemented and respected at the factories. All of the products and processes involved in production are scrutinised and verified by a number of reputable external organisations, enabling them to guarantee the highest levels of sustainability are met.

Product Lifecycle Management (Source: Screenshot by Blog Author)

In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from inception, through engineering design and manufacture, to service and disposal of manufactured products. PLM integrates people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their extended enterprise. A.M. Clothing understands the entire PLM for its products and this is shown on the website above. I may want to show the PLM in my company.