Experiential Marketing Trends In The Fashion Industry To Look Out For In 2023

Clothing shapes our basic identity in society and gives out our reflection and outlook toward culture. The way we look and dress affects the way we feel about ourselves. Fashion brands only manage to sustain and stand out at large in society when suitable marketing strategies and experiential trends are able to tap the psychological needs of consumers and strike a core with the audience. Nowadays however the trend of sustainable fashion has become a big phenomenon and will continue to grow in the coming decades. 

Fashion Marketing and sustainability intersect each other at several levels, which is why marketing campaigns are a major concern for brands associated with the apparel and fashion industries. It can be a game changer in the era of sustainable fashion. Not only does it help you to build a solid foundation for your brand image, but it also enables you to reach out to your target audience. 

Below listed are some top experiential trends the fashion industry has been adapting to –

Marketing events – Events that are interactive by nature and involve experiential marketing will introduce brands to relative media and social media influencers in an ambiance that fits the brand. Editors of various media houses are given access to products at a full scale in these events as they would otherwise be exposed to in their daily lives.

Influencer campaigns - Influencer campaigns have suddenly boomed as a key retail marketing strategy. An influencer can be anyone who has a large social media following, like a model, singer, dancer or blogger. An influencer campaign is when a brand partners with an influencer to post or curate content for the brand. Influencer marketing is  one of the most powerful ways for brands to showcase their products directly to target audiences by  the social media influencers who pose as a mouthpiece for the audience at large. 

Branded events - Solo branded events provide a specific product, program, or service.  This can be another great strategy for bringing a brand’s lifestyle to real life and making easy access available to the masses. These one-off, localized events are perfect platforms for product launches, collection launches, or even special collaborations.

Some key messages to be adhered to at all stages of the marketing process include – 

Be Transparent to build a trusting community

As a sustainable fashion brand, the first step needs to be to drop the veil between production processes and our customers. Accurate communication of your brand’s sustainability credentials is vital. For one, to market yourself as a sustainable fashion brand, you must be a sustainable fashion brand. This means thinking about the materials you use in your production and manufacturing and the impact these have on the environment. Digital marketing helps organisations reach a global audience with few resources.

Don’t say 100% sustainable when you are not

You must also keep in mind that no brand is 100% sustainable in this day and age, so don’t market yourself as such. It is difficult to create a sustainable brand with our current tools as it needs a great deal of research and development. Communicate your challenges as much as your sustainability successes.

Be creative and use digital storytelling 

A good story can do wonders to market your clothes, especially if you are building a sustainable fashion brand. Decide a tone for your brand to stand out and create a unique voice amidst your competition. Create stories that include sustainability for your product lines so they can be effectively used as a marketing tool. Use quirky, humorous tones to create digital storytelling. For instance, the Los Angeles brand Reformation launched with the following message in 2009: “Being naked is the most sustainable option. We are #2.”

Create a community of like-minded people for more engagement

Engage your customers with the sustainability conversation and let them be a part of the journey and solution. Take their inputs and ideas through surveys, so they feel like they are a part of the process. You could create a channel within your communication platforms that gives people the opportunity to share their own stories, sustainability ideas, and ways we can recycle a product. 

Keep your message simple and direct

Do not overwhelm your consumers with vague terms and numbers. Keep your message direct, clear and simple so that the customers understand. Once you have their attention, you can give them more information.

Define Your Target Persona

Your target persona is the ideal customer you want to attract using your marketing message. It would be best if you marketed your sustainable fashion brand to the right audience. Just as your brand will cater to more than one audience (age, demographics, interests), there’s more than one type of sustainable audience to target.

Below are four key audiences you can target with sustainability marketing:

1. The Enthusiastic Expert - This consumer prioritises whole-system thinking. They are aware of their surroundings and have a good education and a strong hold on basics of how sustainability is important for the health of our planet. 
2. The Inspired Innovator - This is a younger consumer, including generation Z and Millennials with urban or higher-education backgrounds. 
3. The Considerate Conventionalist - This group consists of slightly older consumers who appreciate trust and transparency.
4. The Reserved Rationalist - These are consumers who are looking for value, if not to themselves then the community or environment that surrounds them. They want to know that the product they are investing in is worth something more than money.

Overall, experiential marketing is the big thing today; all fashion brands follow some or the other types of trends to stay updated in the industry and deliver the best to its consumers at large. 

 Jeevika Tyagi is the Co-Founder and CEO of  Aastey Designs Pvt Ltd