Beuaty, Fashion, and Entertainment Brands Experts: 3 Tips to Make You Help You Unlock Diverse Opportunities in Asia Pacific

As a professional in beauty, fashion, and entertainment industry, you know how Asia Pacific has become a global growth engine and opportunity areas with the most dynamic markets, including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. As a graduating senior at Northwestern University with a multicultural background and extensive knowledge of Asia as well as several internship experiences in marketing industry, I have found two articles highlighting the importance of business opportunities in Asia.

"How South Korea drives Asia's love affair with cosmetics"

According to CNN’s journalist in Hong Kong Peter Shadbolt in this article, cosmetics and beauty products now outstrips groceries as the biggest selling item in its department stores in China. Japan’s annual beauty and personal care market is still the largest in the region at about $50 billion, second in the world only to the United States, according to Euromonitor International. While South Korea’s domestic market is only a third size of China, in terms of soft power the country punches well above its weight thanks to Asia’s insatiable appetite for Korea’s drama series and their stars. Korean beauty brands are now the hottest ticket item in China, and is setting the standard for the growing market in skincare products that have become so popular in Asia.

 

Found in businesskorea.co.kr http://bit.ly/1SDielL

"In South Korea, beauty is skin deep"

According to The Washington Post’s bureau chief in Tokyo Anna Fifield, South Korea has become famous in recent years for skin-care products for women as well as men. The South Korean beauty-product industry boasts about $10 billion in sales annually, and exports to China and Southeast Asia have been growing at a rapid pace. Cosmetics and skincare are a huge prospect in South Korea as well as other parts of Asia, thanks to the phenomenal popularity of Korean dramas and music.

3 Recommendations

Drawing on these two articles and my experience as a student of Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University, I have listed three actions that I would recommend to companies who want to become leaders in the growing Asian beauty and cosmetics industry.

1. Utilize Main Social Sites in Asia: Social networking sites such as China’s Weibo or other messenger services such as Korea’s KakaoTalk or Line are used to collect big data and analyze consumers’ interests and as a platform to promote brand marketing campaigns.  

2. Don’t underestimate men’s grooming: The main target audience is not only females in terms of beauty and cosmetic products; demand for male-specific cosmetics is growing and men’s toiletries subcategories are becoming more sophisticated.

3. Tap into K-pop tactics (Hallyu): Along with popularity of K-Pop, the dramas, TV shows, music and film are gaining great interest all over Asia including China, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines. Utilizing this Korean wave to present products can be an effective to expand to broader Asian industry.

Rinah Harin Jang

I am currently a senior at Northwestern University studying Communication Studies and Business Institutions along with pursuing a certificate in Integrated Marketing Communication from the Medill School of Journalism. I am graduating in June 2016 and looking for full-time employment in Brand Management and International Marketing. Feel free to reach out or connect with me at @RinahHarin or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rinah-harin-jang-74a451a5.

Fashion, Bow Down to Your Social Media Savior: 3 Ways to Pique Brand Interest with Pinterest

By Martha Dominique Sojka

Any designer worthy of an atelier on Avenue Montaigne will tell you that fashion is meant to be an experience. And ideally, it’s an experience that makes consumers feel so trendy, sophisticated, and confident that they’re compelled to come back, time and time again. It’s all about creating the experience; it’s all about delivering on that lifestyle.

Admittedly, it’s hard to replicate those experiences and lifestyles online, and so it’s no surprise that the fashion industry has been slow to adapt social media into its marketing strategies. Traditional social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook transform the vivid, visually-laden fashion landscape into little more than words and tiny, static banner ads. Where’s the imagery, where’s the color? Where’s the experience?

How can fashion reap the benefits of social media, when the existing platforms take the very heart and soul out of it?

Fashion, your social media savior has arrived. Say hello to Pinterest.

Tailored to the Industry
 What makes Pinterest so lucrative for fashion? Its very nature plays to two key strengths of the industry: it’s visual and it’s social. In fashion, a picture can tell the whole story. And Pinterest affords fashion brands the ability to propel their stories in a way that is engaging, personal, and far-reaching.

It boils down to one thing: Pinterest is a huge referrer of web traffic. So huge, in fact, that it has recently become the top traffic driver for retailers, beating out Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Because a link is always attached to a pinned image, users are clicking on these links and visiting company websites and blogs. And this translates into increased engagement, visibility, and sales.
                                                                                             
As Johanna Murphy, VP/Ecommerce for Kate Spade puts it, “Pinterest is kind of the fuel for the overall fire to the brand that will ultimately drive sales”.

The Wall Street Journal seems to agree. The publisher’s recent foray into Pinterest centered on creating a New York Fashion Week pin board as a means to increase engagement with existing customers as well as potential new ones, and "[reach] readers in a different environment and bring them back to [the] site”. Read: an increased and engaging web presence can go a long way. 

Time (and Presence) is of the Essence                                                                                Don’t delay with getting your brand on Pinterest. The fashion brands that will reap the greatest benefits are those that will establish their presence the quickest. As with any social media tool, if brands are not there when the site is first gaining traction then any future endeavor ends up feeling like a corporate intrusion into a personal space. To be authentic and influential, brands need to find a role for themselves on Pinterest early on in the game. 

Disclaimer: This does not mean setting up a brand pin board, slapping on your products, and waiting for the traffic to pour in. Sure, you’ll get some activity; however, getting that coveted customer engagement and influential WOM takes more than simply replicating your spring catalog and calling it a day.

Below are three ways to up the ante on your Pinterest presence and use the social media tool to skyrocket consumer engagement levels and website traffic:

1. Concentrate on the lifestyle, not the product: Says Murphy of her Pinterest philosophy, “[Pinterest communicates] our brand: who we are, what we believe in…if you go there and start just pinning your own stuff, without having the mood, the spirit of the community, you’ll turn people off”. Remember this—you’re not blatantly advertising products, you’re selling a lifestyle. Your Pinterest page should put your brand’s lifestyle on display in a way that’s beautiful, organized, and social. In addition to products, pin to music, moods, and thoughts that inspire you and your target audience. Check out ban.do, Lilly Pulitzer, and Barney’s New York—they’re doing it right. 

2. Get creative with contests: Contests are great ways to motivate and engage your customers and followers. Have customers curate boards featuring your products on their personal accounts, or launch a contest board on your own account and ask customers to pin specific types of items. Take inspiration from Ann Taylor’s Heart Fashion and Guess’ Color Me Inspired contests and get creative with themes. Offer prizes to the individual that creates the best board and/or the person whose pin receives the most action (this will encourage them to spread the word about their own pin, giving the contest greater reach).

3. Offer special ‘Members Only’ deals to spur loyalty: Have a "Pinterest Exclusive" board featuring hand picked products from your website that will be discounted at checkout using a special code (i.e. “PinterestDeal”). Put the price in the pin description box to generate the price ribbon. This will garner attention to that specific board and allow users to quickly recognize the products as featured and/or on sale.

So, is your brand ready to start pinning? It better be. Pinterest is the new trend on the block, and as we all know, in fashion it really doesn’t pay to ignore the next big thing.

  
Martha Sojka is a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC marketing program specializing in branding, analytics, and digital marketing. Her focus is on the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries. She is set to graduate in December 2012. Martha can be reached on twitter using the handle @MarthaDomiSojka

Make Your Customers Work for You (For Free!)

All marketing mangers working in a retail environment know the importance of their customers; after all without them there is no business. But now, through the advent of social media, it’s possible to leverage these customers even more, and get them to want to work for you—for free.

            

Social communities are popping up all over the web, and it’s easy for department stores to see why and be encouraged to get onboard. Social communities draw valuable insights and information from customers. In the competitive department store environment, forming a social community is the best way to distinguish your store for the competition. While communities aren’t always appropriate for certain types of businesses, they are a wonderful resource for any business that ignites passion. And as the old saying goes, fashion is passion.

           

A fashion community can take on a variety of different forms, from news and resources, to a Pinterest type community where members can share fashion ideas and make look-books. It’s up to the retailer to figure out what is the best format, but the possibilities are endless and exciting. 

           

So how do you get started?

1.     Before launching the community its important to monitor your target market and listen to what they’re already talking about online. This can help you create buzz worthy topics by building off of their interests. Radian6 and Netbase are both wonderful tools for social media monitoring.

2.     Have a big event to let people know that the community exists. Suggestions include a webinar, an online deal or discount for those who join, or an online chat with a famous designer. And don’t forget to promote it in your stores!

3.     It is important that the community host allows the conversation to flow freely. Initially, your store will have to have to facilitate the discussion but then it’s important to allow the community members take over. This community will obviously be fashion related, so listen carefully to what they’re saying. These insights can help determine what customers want to see in your store, what they will be buying, and how much of it.

4.     Keep it sustainable. The community has to be long lasting, so it’s important to set up the community to be an ongoing resource for your customers. Shopping itself is a continuous social activity between women, so the community can easily be too. It is important to remember to keep the information timely and relevant to your brand.

In addition to seeing an increase in sales, you can check the ROI of your community. All you have to do is password protect the community site, and compare the names against your current database. If customers are purchasing from your website for the first time but are community members, its likely that the community is driving the sale.

Communities are a great way to connect with your customers and are the future of marketing. They are full of a wealth of consumer insights and information that would be nearly impossible to get any other way. Getting started early will not only be great for the store you work for, but will set you apart as a marketer too.

Alison Solway is a graduate student at Northwestern University studying Integrated Marketing and Communications, and specializing in public relations, communications, shopper marketing, and direct and interactive marketing. Alison will be graduating in December 2012 and can be reached on her twitter handle at @alisolway.

The New 'Fast Fashion': Say No to Social, Say Goodbye to Your Business

Social media is forever changing the fashion landscape as we know it. The traditional operational cycles of luxury fashion are being disrupted by a real-time web environment- where bloggers and devout fashionista brand advocates are playing an increasingly influential role in dictating fashion trends, and are bringing a whole new meaning to the term ‘fast fashion’. Blogger Bryan Grey-Yambao, known to fans as Bryanboy, gets 1.5 million hits on his blog in one month alone. One post on colored denim from Bryanboy, and a new trend emerges, almost overnight.

Other media platforms are also picking up on the ‘fast fashion’ approach. Shows such as NBC’s “Fashion Star” allow viewers to buy items almost immediately after they are created, hence its tagline, “Watch it today, wear it tomorrow.” Popular band Devo just released the first interactive music video, in which viewers can access links to directly buy apparel featured in the video. Luxury e-commerce site Gilt recently launched ‘Pin It to Unlock’ on its Pinterest board, which allows shoppers the opportunity to purchase exclusive, just-released items the moment they have been pinned to 50 times.

The evolution of social allows consumers to engage in fashion in real-time, all the time. The brands that will win are those who realize that this new mode of interaction and engagement necessitates a different, fast-paced marketing approach. Static Facebook and Twitter pages no longer cut it. 

The brands that are coming out on top are those who leverage social to create meaningful and sustainable relationships with consumers. They are also the ones who are finding ways to monetize it. 

Below are four ways to adapt social into your business, and use it to increase consumer engagement as well profitability:

1. Blog like there’s no tomorrow. Fashion bloggers are the new thought leaders in the industry. Smart designers and execs realize this and are creating their own personal blog communities. Designer Rebecca Minkoff and DKNY’s SVP of Global Communications Aliza Licht lead wildly successful online communities Minkette and dknyprgirl, with droves of loyal brand advocates that do a lot of the marketing work for them. Be honest, be earnest, be open to dialogue, and watch your fan base (and sales) grow.

2. Play with Pinterest. It’s the hottest thing in social right now, and innovative companies and brands are finding ways to monetize it. Says Gilt Kids General Manager Rachel Jarrett: “We are giant fans of Pinterest. We think it’s the future. We know [our customers] are highly engaged there and it’s a great way to interact with them. Create an online board for your brand, and use it to engage customers with your product 

3. Test Engagement Ads on Facebook. Focus on reaching your target customer, create compelling call-to-action messages, and make a dynamic first impression by sending them to a custom welcome tab instead of your public page wall.  

4. Increase Your Online Presence. Gone are the days when high fashion hid behind its velvet curtain. Get your brand onto pages such as Polyvore and StyleCaster, global communities of independent trendsetters and stylists. Translation: where trends are born.

Is your brand ready to take on the fast-paced social media trend? It better be, because unlike most trends, this one is here to stay.

 
Martha Sojka is a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC marketing program specializing in branding, analytics, and digital marketing. Her focus is on the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries. She is set to graduate in December 2012. Martha can be reached on twitter using the handle @MarthaDomiSojka

New marketing strategies to survive for high-end fashion designers: Diffusion Lines and Designer Collaborations

As a fashion enthusiast and a fashion blogger, it is always pleasant to hear about fast fashion brands working with high-end fashion designers to create an affordable collaboration line. H&M, the world’s second-largest clothing retailer, was reported that the follow up designer collaboration will be with Tom Ford who was Gucci’s former creative director, according to the website FrenchTribune.com. H&M has been very active in collaborating with high-end fashion designers, and it is no surprise that Versace for H&M line will go on sale this week (Starting Nov.19th). The Versace for H&M line will be H&M’s eighth collaboration with a designer since it started selling clothing by Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld in November 2004. “The collections could sell out immediately and H&M never had difficulty selling them,” said Van den bosch.

This type of collaboration marketing takes place very commonly these days. Uniqlo had launched a line with Jil Sander and Target has been introducing designer lines continuously as well. This is definitely good news for customers, but is it beneficial for high-end fashion designers as well? Why are premium designers eager to sell their lines through affordable mass clothing brands? The fashion designers industry has not suffered too deeply over the five years leading to 2011. Despite revenue declines in 2008 and 2009, industry operators recovered well from expanding revenue streams through creating new customer segments and product offerings. IBISWorld estimates that revenue has grown at an average annual rate of 0.1% to about $1.0 billion. With the luxury market rebounding quickly after the recession, revenue grew 1.2% in 2010 and is expected to increase another 1.4% during 2011(See their special report).

In order to survive the recession, fashion designers have found new ways to market and sell their creations. Collaborations with mass fashion brands like Target and H&M have been at the forefront of the market’s expansion. These collaboration lines allowed fashion designers to approach mass consumers by capturing a younger and less wealthy demographic. Furthermore, they come with scarcity and emergency characteristics which make these lines more unique. Even though these strategies have decreased profit margins, fashion designers can still capture public’s attention that will lead to steadier revenue streams. Nikoleta Panteva, IBISWorld analyst said that “The increasing visibility and accessibility of fashion will bode well for industry participants, as consumers’ budgetary constraints diminish.” As diffusion lines and collaboration marketing became common in fashion industry, the critical factor is now going to be quality and consistently conveyed attractiveness of the original brand. It is time for everyone to share and enjoy luxury.

Chloe Moon

Graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill IMC

Follow me on Twitter @chloe0227

Photo credits: H&M official site