The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — In many ways, starting a new brand has never been easier. Social media platforms like Instagram and e-commerce services such as Shopify provide the infrastructure for even the smallest companies to get their product out there.
But as online advertising becomes more expensive and less effective, entrepreneurs need to be creative about how they acquire customers and scale their business for growth as they go up against the big industry players who are attempting similar marketing strategies. In BoF's recent case study, How to Market a New Brand, eight young businesses in the fashion and beauty industries share how they've built brand awareness without the advantages of a large marketing budget or a famous founder.
K-Beauty-inspired Glow Recipe is one such example. Founded by former L'Oréal brand managers Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, the business started out in 2014 as a curated multi-brand seller of Korean beauty products before pivoting to make its own line in 2017. Each product Glow Recipe launches contains a hero fruit ingredient, building on a wider brand philosophy of simplifying and demystifying the often-confusing world of Korean skincare regimens for customers.
Drawing from their experience at L’Oréal, which they credit for cultivating an “entrepreneurial” mindset where “you are ultimately responsible for everything,” Lee and Chang kept their PR, marketing and product development in-house — all within a limited budget. In a digital live event available exclusively to BoF Professional members, the duo sat down with BoF Executive Editor Lauren Sherman and Senior Correspondent Chantal Fernandez to explain the strategy behind their success. Here are the key insights they shared:
ADVERTISEMENT
Finding a Purpose
From a product development stage we thought about the impact on social media.
Distribution Channels as Marketing
Mixing New and Old PR
Partnerships really helped us get the awareness.
Related Articles:
[ The Golden Age of Instagram Marketing Is OverOpens in new window ]
[ Traditional PR Doesn’t Work Anymore. Here’s What Does.Opens in new window ]
[ The New Rules for Going Direct-to-ConsumerOpens in new window ]
The designer — whose bright, arty clothes earned him a place in the 2021 LVMH Prize Finals, and a guest designer post for Louis Vuitton — curated a set at the Netflix Is a Joke Festival this weekend, the latest example of his creative approach to building brand awareness.
Practitioners of this historically behind-the-scenes profession are building powerful followings, riding a wave of interest in how the fashion sausage is made. But even the highest-profile PRs caution that the client still has to comes first.
Join us for a BoF Professional Masterclass that explores the topic in our latest Case Study, “How to Create Cultural Moments on Any Budget.”
When done effectively, a cultural partnership can rightfully earn its own place in the zeitgeist. But it’s not so easy as just hiring a celebrity to star in an ad campaign; brands must choose a partner that makes sense, find the format that fits best and amplify that message to consumers.