What can we learn from fashion brands?

One of the most interesting things that Mark Tungate, author of the book "Fashion Brands: Branding Style from Armani to Zara" told me was that fashion brand owners are incredibly conservative when it comes to marketing.

This thought seemed almost ridiculous! As surely these were the cutting edge, way out and freaky artists who set trends and change the way we look. He did point out that virtually every major label and name is actually owned by a massive corporation, and most of their profits come from licensing the brand names for more accessible items like sunglasses, fragrances and cosmetics. I am not sure if it is fact or some fiction I heard but somewhere I seem to recall being told that around 60% of Chanel's profits came from things other than fashion.

But to do this, it does still mean that fashion brands have to have a strong name, a strong image and a clear differentiation. So with something so lucrative and powerful that can generate large revenues. This really got me thinking even more about what we can learn from the world of Fashion Brands.

The book by Mark Tungate was a great read and I found his insight into the world of fashion exciting and thought provoking. The more I thought about it, I found I personally took 8 big ideas inspired by the book and things it made me think about and explore:

(1) VISIONARIES CREATE BRANDS, AND VISIONARIES SUSTAIN THEM

(2) IMPORTANCE OF A BRAND NARRATIVE

(3) IMPORTANCE OF DISTINCTIVE BRAND CODES AND BEING RECOGNIZED AT A GLANCE

(4) PRODUCT AS THE HERO, BEING SEEN IN THE RIGHT CONTEXT

(5) KEY ROLE OF THE STORE IN CREATING THE THEATRE OF THE BRAND

(6) IMPORTANCE OF SUPPLY CHAIN AND GETTING THE RIGHT PRODUCTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. ALWAYS

(7) CASCADING TECHNOLOGY – ENSURING THAT YOU ARE ON TREND

(8) IMPORTANCE OF "BUZZ" AND PR. OFTEN MORE POWERFUL THAN TRADITIONAL MEDIA ROUTES AS CONNECTS WITH VERY SPECIFIC TARGETS