Here is some research I have found about how other fashion retailers promote themselves. They may be methods that Peacock's aren't doing, or aren't advertising well enough so that nobody knows they are happening.
///
- mailing lists
- catalogues
///
- mailing lists
The companies have already got the customers interested here, what they are trying to do is make them spend more money by tempting them with deals and showing them the latest trends in the newsletters. To entice customers to sign up, the websites may offer 10% off your first purchase when you sign up or some sort of deal. The newsletters should make it really easy for the customer to buy the product they are being shown. They will probably contain a bit more information about a product than they would find on the websites homepage. There may be examples of what goes with what and other useful things.
///
Catalogues may seem a bit old fashioned now with online shopping about, but some companies still produce them. As the younger audience we are aiming at will probably already do internet shopping, I don't think this is a platform that we need to cover desperately, but we could do, to ensure all methods of promotion have been thought about.
///
- blog
Blogs are quite a new way for fashion stores to promote themselves, but may be quite successful, as they offer more insight in to the products and how to wear them than they will find on the sight. The fact that blogs are updated regularly means the customer might quickly check it every day, therefore, making them more likely to buy something on impulse, rather than just looking at a website because they need something. The blogs may cover things not relevant to the actually shop itself, to keep the customer interested and always coming back to find out the latest trends.
Chloe found that Peacocks did have a blog, that talked about their products, as well as what celebrities were wearing, what the trends were etc. When Peacocks went into administration, this blog froze, and hasn't been updated since. Its not set out well and wasn't advertised very well at all, so I bet this went quite unnoticed. This could have been a good opportunity to attract a younger audience, so this is something I think we will work on.
///
- pintrest
This is something I found out about from the Missguided newsletter - it is a website where you can make boards of photographs which others can see and comment on. I think it is probably a bit like Facebook or flickr but just aimed at a fashionable audience. This could be a good idea of another area for us to cover.
///
- events
Holding events such as these student nights is a great way for shops to get new customers. There are often exclusive treats like free goody bags, and a DJ, and fashion advice that they couldn't get on a normal visit to the shop, as well as tempting one off discount offers. As these sound appealing, if one student found out about them they could convince their friends to go too, and so a whole lot of new customers may be found. The designs for the adverts are modern and colourful and therefore appealing to the target audience.
I found out from my research that Peacocks did do student nights, but I think these were only held in Cardiff. To appeal to more young people, the nights should have been held in big student cities across the UK, and they should have been better advertised. This is something we can propose that we would do with our campaign.
///
- celebrity / designer collaborations
images from sarahhayleyfreelance.com
- credit cards
- loyalty cards
images from sarahhayleyfreelance.com
These images show lots of examples of the latest celebrity collaborations. This is something that can really make someone shop in a shop they wouldn't usually, because there is a collaboration with a designer they like. Shops like H&M regularly have different collaborations going on to keep customers interested and to keep bringing the customers back. People will be interested as they can get some exclusive and exciting from a designer they like but couldn't previously afford. There is also the fascination some people have with wearing labelled clothes.
Peacocks had a celebrity collaboration with Pearl Lowe, but this wasn't advertised amazingly well as a lot of people didn't even know about it. As these clothes were high quality and fashionable, this could have been a great opportunity for Peacocks to get lots more customers. In our designs we want to focus on this range. More celebrity collaborations proposed for the future would be another good way for Peacocks to get new customers.
///
- credit cards
To get a credit card for a store the customer will obviously already be in the store, but these make sure the customer keeps coming back as it seems so tempting to borrow the money. To get a customer to sign up to these credit cards, there is often an exclusive offer on your first purchase. However, the complicated paying back rules mean that people often end up owing a lot of money.
///
- mailshots
I received this mail shot for Liberty london, and it made me want to go back to the store and spend money because it felt personal and was a different way of advertising compared to an email newsletter. I like the attention that has gone in to this mailshot, with the gold foil voucher, again, making me want to spend money with them. Liberty is a lot more upmarket than Peacocks, but if we could propose to introduce some sort of loyalty card scheme, I think well designed mail shots with exclusive offers on them would make the customers keep coming back for more.
///
- loyalty cards
Loyalty cards are another good way to keep customers coming back, as they feel like they are earning something, even if in reality the points they collect don't really add up to anything. The customers may also receive special offers and things like mailshots as loyal customers.
///
- free gifts
This may be quite an unusual way to advertise, but I remember last year when miss guided gave away a free nail varnish with cosmopolitan, and then gave an exclusive discount code. The clothes were also advertised in the magazine. It was probably a great advertisement for the company as people like free things so they would take notice.
///
- competitions
Competitions where you actually get to design something and have the chance to see your design come to life could really appeal to the more creative potential customers. This is the Oasis for Look competitions, where readers had to create their dream dress. The winning design was then turned into a dress that is actually sold in Oasis. This advertised Oasis well as their competition was spread out over a few copies of the magazine, and then the winning design was also featured.
Alternatively, competitions in magazines where the readers just have to answer a question to be in with the chance winning could attract new customers, as they seem examples of the clothes from this shop and then want to find out more. By including a discount code for every reader in the article makes customers more likely to go on the website.
///
- apps
Apps are quite a modern way of appealing to customers. The examples below are standard apps that I have found, that contain photographs of the latest fashions, links to what is available to buy on the website, and useful things such as sizing guides. Lots of shops now have apps, and it may get customers interested in spending more, as when they are bored, they might have a quick look and see what is available to purchase. The above app for Topshop is quite unusual, as it was a game. It was a treasure hunt, and along the way, customers who took part got exclusive offers and free giveaways.
We wouldn't be able to create an actual app but if we could think of an idea we could propose what we would do. I think as lots of other shops are covering this method of promotion, it is an area that Peacocks should cover also.
///
- social networking
Social networking is another modern way of connecting with customers. As its something that most young people check every day, its a really easy way to push products on to customers. To get the customers interested in the first place, again, as with a lot of the other methods of promotion, an exclusive discount may be offered. These social networking pages will probably be updated daily to get customers interested. There may be features that get customers to keep checking back, such as games, advice from stylists, competitions, the latest news, celebrity fashions, behind the scenes from shoots, and all the information on events and things that are happening in the stores.
We found out that Peacocks has a facebook page as well - like the blog, it hasn’t been updated in a while, and doesn’t have a lot going for it compared to the other fashion social networking pages. This is obvious through Peacocks 1,430 likes compared to Asos's 6 million likes! However, I did find out alot of information about Peacocks from this page that wasn’t advertised elsewhere, which shows how inconsistent their advertising is. For example, before looking through this page, I didn’t know that Peacocks used to do student nights. I think working on this would be a good way for Peacocks to get more customers and get them spending more.
///
- visual merchandising
///
- websites
///
- bags and labels
///
- in store adverts
The customer is already in store, but may need some persuading that they actually should buy a piece. Adverts like the one at the top showing that Peacocks give 20% student discount work well, and the example below shows Topshop's personal shopping service.
///
- tv adverts
Not a lot of high street fashion shops advertise on TV as it is so expensive, but we could propose adverts that we could make if money was no object. Above shows some examples of New Look's adverts from their youtube channel. Next is another retailer I can think of who makes TV adverts. Adverts shown at prime time tv slots would be a perfect way to attract new customers as they see a piece of clothing they like. It would also make a brand a household name, so more likely to be heard of and recognised.
We were thinking we could create an advert on after effects, using what we learnt in OUGD202, as a bit of a teaser for the re-launch of Peacocks.
///
- youtube channel
Chloe found out that Peacocks have a youtube channel, showing lots of behind the scenes footages from their photo shoots and events. The clips are well put together, and quite interesting, yet this wasn't easily found, as it's not advertised well, like a lot of the other platforms that Peacocks has covered. This could be another great opportunity to get more customers.
///
- magazine adverts
Magazine adverts are an obvious example of how fashion companies advertise themselves. These are all scanned from one weeks edition of Look magazine. Some of the adverts, such as the Mango and Clarks example, are simplistic, and let the product stand out, like the high fashion adverts. Some look as if they are a page in the magazine and so get customers attention, such as the Asda jeans advert. There is also a section at the back of most magazines where companies can put their smaller adverts, such as shown with the Krisp example. This is for less well known companies, and is set out more like a feature in a magazine. Like with TV adverts, these are a good way for companies to get well known, and to be easily recognisable and remembered.
///
- magazine features
By sending their products to the magazines that are read by a shops target audience, they can get them featured in a magazine. The products featured in fashion magazines seem like respectable, trendy pieces, and so people may be more tempted to go in that shop to try and find the product, and while they do it, they may find other products they like also.
///
- fashion shows
Fashion shows may seem like something only for the high fashion brand, but high street shops, such as Topshop have their own fashion shows, showing off their premium range.
In the brief we got from Peacocks, it mentioned their premium boutique range, again, another thing that wasn't advertised well as neither of us knew anything about it. By holding a fashion show to promote this range, this could be a way to get the show featured in a magazine and so to get attention from new customers.
///
- magazines
The ASOS magazine is available online to read, but is also sent out to loyal customers, along with a voucher code, to keep them interested. As it seems more of a free gift than junk mail, customers will probably pick it up and read it, and may find something they want to buy. I think this would be a good move for us to create something like this for Peacocks.
While the asks magazine is like a proper fashion magazine, other stores such as New Look do mini magazines, just featuring their new collections and a few examples of celebrity style, along with offer codes, to get customers attention when they need it. A mini magazine could be something we realistically could create for Peacocks with the time given.
The ASOS magazine is available online to read, but is also sent out to loyal customers, along with a voucher code, to keep them interested. As it seems more of a free gift than junk mail, customers will probably pick it up and read it, and may find something they want to buy. I think this would be a good move for us to create something like this for Peacocks.
While the asks magazine is like a proper fashion magazine, other stores such as New Look do mini magazines, just featuring their new collections and a few examples of celebrity style, along with offer codes, to get customers attention when they need it. A mini magazine could be something we realistically could create for Peacocks with the time given.
- liberty online magazine
Liberty does an online magazine, again, set out like a real fashion magazine, even containing adverts for other brands.
- promotional stories
Here are some magazine pages from Company that Chloe scanned in. We were thinking about creating a promotional story for a magazine advertising peacocks clothes.
Liberty does an online magazine, again, set out like a real fashion magazine, even containing adverts for other brands.
///
- promotional stories
Here are some magazine pages from Company that Chloe scanned in. We were thinking about creating a promotional story for a magazine advertising peacocks clothes.
