Fashion Marketing 2024 Ultimate Guide [Examples & Tips]

Fashion – it’s a pretty big deal, right? From movie stars walking the red carpet in their jaw-dropping outfits to the stay-at-home mom treating herself to a designer bag, fashion is everywhere in 2024.

But breaking into the mainstream fashion industry can be tricky, to say the least. And if you want to make it big, you need to know how fashion marketing works.

There are hundreds of thousands of brands, new and old, trying to make it big. And of course, their marketing skills and quality of products vary. Nevertheless, even if you have top-of-the-line outfits, it’s challenging to even get noticed in the highly competitive fashion industry.

That’s where a great fashion marketing strategy comes in – and makes all the difference!

But what exactly is fashion marketing? Why is it important? And what are the best fashion marketing strategies to use?

Have no fear, we’ll answer all of these questions and more in this article, plus we’ll cover some real-life fashion marketing examples and time-tested strategies to set you apart from the crowd.

Ready to become a fashion marketing expert?

Let’s get right into it!

What is Fashion Marketing?

Now, you might be wondering what exactly fashion marketing is.

To put it simply, fashion marketing is promoting clothing and accessory products to a target demographic.

Seems simple enough, right?

Well, not so much!

The fashion marketing job description entails a little more work than you’d think.

It is a fast paced and ever changing industry, and with the rise of social media, the marketing strategies needed to become successful are a fast evolving combination of traditional and innovative methods.

These strategies include everything from runway shows, influencer marketing, and e-commerce marketing to keeping up to date with the latest fashion and marketing trends.

Check out video by Posito Marketing for more on fashion marketing:

Why is Fashion Marketing Important?

Fashion is a form of art. And for most people, the clothes they wear are a big part of their identity. So, fashion marketing brings the designer’s creations to life and puts them in front of the right people.

And fashion is huge these days.

As of 2020, the worth of the global fashion sector was $1.5 trillion. Moreover, the estimated global revenue for the fashion industry is expected to grow to $1.37 trillion in 2025, increasing by 27.74% from 2022. This proves how prevalent clothing styles are in our society and what a large market there is to expand into.

Therefore, a strong, consistent brand identitiy is integral to getting your clothing lines out there and noticed by people. Fashion marketing connects people with a brand, helping to make those outfits a part of their identity.

If done right, your marketing efforts will convey your brand’s views, tell the story expressed by the designer through the clothing, as well as create a potent image, setting trends.

4 Types of Fashion Marketing

1. Print Advertising

Print advertising is one of the oldest types of fashion marketing out there, yet it still has its place in marketing clothing.

When it comes to the fashion industry, print advertising is used a little differently than in other sectors. Specifically, it’s not predominantly used to make direct sales. Instead, it is used to build brand awareness more than anything else.

Print advertising in the fashion industry helps to form a clear-cut image of the brand and what it stands for, clarify its message, and define its story.

Of course, this method of marketing does eventually translate into sales, but the strategy behind it is subtler.

Rather than shoving deals in people’s faces, you influence them subconsciously instead.

For example, if someone constantly sees your brand’s line of hoodies; when the weather turns cold, and they’re looking for something to keep them warm, they’ll think of you.

2. Online Marketing

With the rise of the digital age and social media’s increasing presence and influence, online, or e-commerce, marketing is a powerful tool, especially for fashion brands. So much so that more than 80% of fashion marketers claim that e-commerce marketing is thriving.

Online marketing is an umbrella term, and there are different types of advertisements that fall under that category. However, the most popular, and indeed one of the most effective, type of online marketing is “pay-per-click” or “PPC” marketing.

This type of advertising allows your company to better reach your target demographic, saving you money as it is targeted and, therefore, more impactful.

3. Influencer Marketing

Similar to online marketing, influencer marketing also utilizes the rise of the internet and increasingly prevalent influencer marketing strategies. And the fashion industry is no different.

Over the years, as social media has grown in popularity, so too have influencers. And with that popularity comes power. Power that fashion brands can use to their advantage.

The great thing about fashion influencers is that they are trusted by their viewers. This means that if they recommend your brand, you’re far more likely to see an increase in sales than if you use traditional marketing channels. As such, 89% of marketers say that influencer marketing is equal to or better than other marketing channels in terms of ROI.

And because fashion is such a large part of people’s identity, if they see someone they admire promoting and wearing a brand, they’ll want to get the outfit for themselves.

4. Newsjacking Marketing

Newsjacking is when a brand makes use of popular and trending topics to draw in a larger audience and increase customer engagement.

And fashion brands can take it even further.

An extremely powerful marketing strategy is to dip your fashion brand’s toes into the world of politics and cultural movements.

This includes having political slogans on clothes and coming out with culturally relevant clothing lines. Pretty much anything that will get your name out there.

People want brands to be ‘real’ and humanized. They want to connect with companies that can understand them and relate to their problems or mock silly cultural phenomena. And most of all, they want brands that know who they are and what they stand for.

That’s why newsjacking is so effective. It gets people that might otherwise not have noticed you to pay attention to your company. And it serves to strengthen your brand in the minds of consumers.

5 Strategies & Tips to Market a Fashion Brand

1. Branding

The most successful fashion industry names have maintained a signature look over the years. And it’s clearly working for them, so why not follow their example?

Just think of brands like Nike, Ralph Lauren, or Victoria’s Secret. They all have a distinct, consistent brand not only across their social media accounts but also in their clothing lines and print advertisements. That’s what makes them memorable.

And in the fashion industry, branding is everything, more so than in almost any other sector.

As such, a large part of fashion marketing involves creating a need in people to be the best; to wear the most fashionable brands, to own the most stylish clothing. And without a clear and confident branding strategy, creating those feelings in potential customers will be impossible.

Branding is how you establish yourself as valuable to your target market, and all aspects of your branding must pull together coherently to reinforce your brand identity. And your brand identity must focus on what your values are. The values that matter to you, and to tour target audience, are the foundation of creating a meaningful connection with your customers.

2. Sponsoring Events

Sponsoring an event is a great way to get your brand noticed by your target audience.

Before choosing an event to sponsor, you’ll need to make a few key decisions if it’s to be effective.

What is your preferred outcome or goal for the event?

• Do you want to make sales?
• Do you want to collect email addresses?
• Do you want to spread brand awareness?

Once you’ve made those choices, you can then find events that will reach the audience you’re aiming at.

From there, there are a few different things that come along with sponsoring an event:

• Logo placement
• Goodie bags with your products included
• Optional promotional discounts for people at the event
• An option to speak at the event

3. Social Media and Influencer Marketing

Social media marketing for a fashion brand works a lot like print advertising. The goal isn’t to make sales immediately but rather to grow your brand’s reputation and increase awareness.

For example, one of these strategies is using Instagram stories. They are a great way to share “sneak peeks” of new trends, behind-the-scenes footage, or show your audience what your company is like on the inside.

On the other hand, influencer marketing is a more “traditional” marketing strategy for fashion companies. Unlike social media, influencer marketing aims to make direct and measurable sales from the influencer’s promotion of your product.

However, this strategy also has the added benefit of getting the word out there about your brand and is, therefore, a very powerful tool. As influencer marketing has grown, its become easier to find verified influencers, and there are some really great influencer marketplaces and platforms to use. You can also use a dedicated influencer marketing agency, who can do it all for you.

4. Product Placements

In the context of fashion and fashion marketing, product placement is paying for your brand’s clothing to be placed in some form of media. This could be anything from an Indi film to the red carpet.

With social media becoming more popular than traditional media, product placement is ever more innovative. Where there is an audience, there is an opportunity to place your products.

Where and how long your product placement lasts depends entirely on your budget and marketing research. You need to know where your target demographic is; that way, you can connect to them; for the right price, of course.

5. Partnership Marketing

Once you have your branding nailed, it’s time to find other brands to partner with.

First off, these brands can also be in the fashion industry. When this is the case, you and the other brand will work together on a product that incorporates distinctive characteristics of each of your brands. That way, you start to share a customer base and connect with a demographic you might otherwise not have reached.

On the other hand, you can partner with a brand or company not in the same industry as you. In this case, a partnership will aim to benefit and attract customers from both brands’ consumer bases. This will entail discounts and deals across both companies, incentivizing consumers to purchase or use both brands’ products and or services.

Using an expert partner marketing agency is a good way to get your marketing partnerships established, as an agency will be able to help you identify and connect with the right strategic partners to meet your partnership marketing goals.

4 Fashion Marketing Examples

1. Salvation Army S.A: Newsjacking

In 2015, a viral image trended across the world; the infamous “white-gold – blue-black” dress. This bizarre phenomenon took the world by storm, as some people saw a white and gold dress, and others saw a black and blue dress.

And when it was trending, Salvation Army S.A. took the opportunity to get noticed.

They posted this image on their Twitter account, launching their domestic violence campaign.

And as a result, they turned what once was a light-hearted internet trend into a protest against domestic violence and abuse against women.

All they did was play on words, and that was all that was needed to shift the focus.

This is a prime example of how newsjacking can be used to speak out for relevant causes and movements with the added benefit of getting your brand noticed.

2. Chanel: Inside Chanel Blog

Inside Chanel is a microsite that complements Chanel News and is devoted to presenting the iconic haute couture brand’s history, a crucial component of its overall marketing plan.

It is divided into 32 chapters, each of which covers a crucial period in the brand’s history. And as a result, it provides customers with something of genuine value. This micro-blog employs rich content—photography, digital sketching, and video—to bring the story to life.

Further, the campaign’s thoroughness and high production level reflect the brand’s excellence, given its century-long heritage and iconic standing as a high-fashion brand.

3. Marc Jacobs: #CastMeMarc

Marc Jacobs, a successful fashion brand, used Instagram to hunt for models for its Autumn/Winter campaign, which relied heavily on social media.

To be eligible for inclusion in his cold weather campaign, supporters were asked to tag a photo of themselves with the hashtag #castmemarc.

It was successful in providing customers and brand supporters with a gratifying and worthwhile brand experience, in addition to growing brand recognition.

4. Kristina Dragomir: Heads Not Hats

The Kristina Dragomir commercial campaign “Heads Not Hats” is both amusing and horrifying. It showcases stunning women who would go to great lengths to obtain the hat of their dreams, even going as far as to steal the heads of women wearing these highly prized hats.

The Kristina Dragomir ad campaign was created and executed by Romanian ad firm The Secret Service and was photographed by Red Carpet Studio.

The photographs, which are highly styled, not only tell a disturbingly funny story but also brilliantly exhibit the headgear. This serves to highlight this brand’s eccentric streak, making them extremely memorable.

Final Thoughts on Fashion Marketing

There you have it, everything you need to know to run a successful fashion marketing campaign.

We’ve covered what fashion marketing is, why it’s crucial, as well as give you tips, tricks, and strategies you can use to get people to notice your brand and increase sales, with real-life examples to show you how it’s done.

So if you’re ready to get out there and make a name for your brand, all you need to do is follow the advice in this article.

Now, get to marketing!

References

Zippia: 28 DAZZLING FASHION INDUSTRY STATISTICS [2023]

Statista: Fashion – Worldwide

Totempool: The Essential Guide of an E-Commerce Consultant: Choose or Become One.

Smart Insights: 80% of marketers find influencer marketing effective