Different Perspectives of Fashion Public Relations

This will be my final blog on Fashion Public Relations! Two of my classmates have also done blogs on fashion so lets take a look at them!

Alexis's blog is about fashion and entertainment public relations. She wrote about a website Green by Design that illustrates experiments done in the fashion industry. I found this website very interesting because it showed various experiments done by fashion companies to help better the environment and the world. I also found her post on qualitative research interesting. According to an Avon Report Hispanic women living in Tallahassee, Florida are more likely to use make up such as blush, mascara, and foundation daily than African American and Asian women. Hispanic women were also founded to use lip gloss and lip liner on a daily basis, where Caucasian women do not.

Another blog that i found interesting was Roberta's especially her post on bio degradable clothing.  Suzanne Lee is teaming up with other scientists to try to make fashion environmentally friendly for everyone! By using alternate methods of making clothing. With vegetables, human bone tissues,and disposable garments she is planning to change the fashion world as we know it. Fashion is becoming GREEN. Another post also caught my attention because I never noticed that you can rate outfits from the red carpet online from the show E! Fashion Police. Viewers can actually go online and rate outfits based on their opinions. This gives viewers a chance to get their opinions out there and allows the show to gain more knowledge about their viewers! By gaining more insight about their viewers they can use this information to target their audience. Such as showing commercials for the show at certain times in the day when their target audience is watching.

From these two posts it looks like the fashion world is trying to become more ethical in their garment making processes! Take a look...

The Cause and Effect of the Fashion World

Where there is a cause, there is an effect. This is were experimental research comes into play in the fashion industry. Experimental research is helpful in many industries because there is a controlled variable or variables in the research experiment. By controlling a variable or variables researchers are able to see the change in one variable and its affects on another. Incentives are a good way to get the public to participate in an experiment. Who wouldn't want a free Gucci bag or a pair of Carlos Santa shoes just for giving a little bit of their time?

Instead of just asking how customers feel about the shoe selection at Aldo or how their shopping experience was at Forever 21; researchers can conduct an experimental study to see how the public views the store. To test a hypotheses experimental research can be used two different ways. Either field or lab experiments can be conducted with two groups. A control group and a experimental group.

Retail testing is one experimental research method used in the fashion industry. Certain stores are chosen to test clothing in and see how customers react to the clothing. Often times consumers attitudes are researched to see how they feel about a certain product, brand, or store. One experimental study researched the habits of consumers in the United Kingdom and Malaysia and their shopping habits online. This study wanted to find out how consumers viewed online shopping and what factors influenced their behaviors.

Research is important in the fashion industry no matter if its experimental research or survey research as previously discussed!

What to Wear Today?

Survey's are one of the most popular methods used to figure out certain attitudes and opinions of consumers, especially in the fashion industry. Surveys can be in the form of a questionnaire or interview; either by phone, mail, online, or more personal interviews.

Harper's Bazaar fashion magazine uses surveys to figure out why their target audience wears what they wear. In order to understand what consumers like and what they don't, surveys can be used to collect quantitative data. To find out the opinions of consumers surveys can be given out and then assessed by companies.

BuzzDash is an online survey site where people can vote on fashion. Popular opinions are expressed by voting and posting fashion issues. One survey asked if Women: Owned a pair of jeggings? There were three answers (yes, no, and what are jeggings). Survey's can help fashion companies see what their consumers are thinking and how to make their shopping experiences better.

When shopping at places like Macy's and Aldo each receipt given to the customer at check out allows the customer to fill out an online survey of their shopping experience. This survey will help Macy's and Aldo see what they are doing right and see what they need to do differently. Fashion Do's and Don'tsForever21 has a website survey where they ask their customers to give their opinions and suggestions of their website to help online shoppers. is a survey site where teenagers 12-14 years old vote on their fashion styles.

Survey's overall help companies to see what their customers opinions are and allows for any suggestions to be made!

Fill Out the Survey...Please?

Quantitative research is different than qualitative research. Instead of relying on research methods such as interviews and focus groups to gain more in-depth information on a topic; quantitative research looks to measurement methods to gain information to answer a question. A survey is one quantitative research method that is used in Public Relations.

Remember when you checked out at Macy's last week and the cashier told you to go online to fill out the survey at the end of the receipt? Not only did she ask you to fill it out; she told you that you would receive 5% off your next purchase! Survey's are one way that companies use research to evaluate how they are doing and what their customers think.If an incentive is given from filling out a survey more people are likely to do it! 

Looking at Vanessa's Blog she mentioned qualitative research with the use of a focus group. What was really interesting was that this facility was located in Paris. The Louvre Focus Group is a facility that provides the services to conduct a focus group. Unlike a survey, a focus group is more in-depth and tries to find new insights and uncover hidden ideas and opinions. This means, the site where the focus group is conducted must be comfortable for the participants. This facility provides an environment that is comfortable for the participants with food included. This helps to prevent biased information; if people feel comfortable in the setting they are being observed in then they will be more likely to act normally and truthfully. With survey's people may lie or not give away certain information because they are unsure who is receiving the information.

On a different note, Kevin's blog focus's on the fitness and supplement aspects of sports in the Public Relations industry. I found it interesting that collecting statistics from body building profiles is one of the most common ways of obtaining data regarding the use of supplements. The idea of these profiles is anyone who uses a supplement or body enhancer can create a profile, track their uses, and record their results for others to view and comment. Researchers can then look at these sites to gather the data that they need. Users may not know that their profiles are being observed and this leads to a less biased and more truthful result. One steroid data base provides profiles, information, and articles.

Kevin wrote: "In the fitness and supplement industry, research is everything.  With the expansion of so many companies in the field, it is vital to constantly research consumers and their desires." This is so true. Research is everything. In order to keep track of what your consumers want you need to know who your target audience is and how to reach them. Survey's are a useful tool to evaluate how your consumers feel about your product. It yield's statistical results that can be measured against other competitors. Survey's can be done online, by mail, and by telephone.   

Research is important for the Public Relations Industry! Quantitative and qualitative research methods are both important in answering questions, testing and developing theories, and forming new insights and ideas.

What To Wear? What To Buy?

Shoes, clothing, and jewelry are all associated with fashion. But how does Michael Kors know what type of shoe to design for this winter that will sell? How does Bloomingdales know what designer clothing to fill their racks with? How did Tiffany’s know you would wear a key necklace? 

…RESEARCH! Yes, research helps in determining what works and what doesn’t in fashion among everything else. Research can be conducted by public relations professionals for designers and companies such as Michael Kors and Bloomingdales in order to see what consumers like and what they don’t. Not only can research find out what consumers like, but it can also determine what the best methods to reach consumers are. 

MAC Cosmetics reaches many of its consumers through advertisements in magazines such as Lucky because research has shown that women who buy Lucky purchase MAC. 

Qualitative research is an important method of research especially in fashion because it is used to observe perceptions and attitudes of people in their natural environments. So next time your at the mall watch out, someone could be watching you to see what you buy! Ethnographic research in terms of Shop-a-longs are often times conducted so researchers can observe consumers shopping in their natural environments and see their different attitudes toward products.

Focus groups are another form of qualitative research. Focus groups can be helpful in determining what types of clothing people like because participants of the group talk with one another to allow the researcher to gain insight on their attitudes. The main idea of a focus group is to develop new ideas among the participants and to discover hidden opinions.

Companies such as Target who stock their shelves with clothing from various designers need to conduct a lot of research. Since Target is a community store and is designed to meet the needs of the consumer with their "Expect More. Pay Less" attitude. Therefore Target knows that their main consumers are families. Cameras throughout the store can allow employees to see what customers are purchasing and what they are putting back down. 

Without research designers would be clueless and our closets would be empty!

Technology and Sports in PR!

This week we will take a look at two of my classmate’s blogs!

Caryn’s blog focuses on technology and public relations. As most people know technology has improved in the past years and instead of snail mail we now have email and even video messages to relay our messages to the public. Public relations uses new media to gain their audiences attention. With things such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs public relations personnel are able to reach their audiences through these new means of communication.

Caryn mentioned that many public relations company’s use blogs and podcasts to get their messages across to their publics and employees. Each time a client, employee, or consumer looks at a blog, Facebook Update, or Tweet they are conducting unobtrusive research. By looking to other sources to see what is going on in the world today and in the past.

Technology is changing and will keep changing. As Caryn said, “Times are changing and public relations needs to keep up.” Therefore they need to conduct all types of research to learn the best ways to reach their target audiences. One way to research new methods to reach the public is by means of a focus group.

We spoke about focus groups in class this week and the main idea of creating a focus group is to encourage discussion among the group of people to find out their views and opinions on certain products, ideas, or services. As Caryn mentioned in her blog the iPhone has many Apps that are available to its users. A focus group could be used to find out what Apps iPhone users use and like the most; along with what other Apps they would like to see and that they would find helpful.

In order to discuss a focus group you have to identify who your target audience would be (the iPhone user) and generate questions to help reach your results. A facilitator would need to be present to keep the group on track and in the end the conversation needs to be engaged within the group about the Apps they like and dislike on their iPhones.

Brian’s blog focuses on Sports Public Relations. He mentioned the need for a relationship between the fans, the media, and the community. Sports public relations have to build relationships between the team and its fans, the team and the various media outlets, and the team and its community.

In order to create these relationships research has to be done. Many times as Brian mentioned the players will speak with reporters about issues involving the team and themselves. One ethical issue Brian mentioned was the Jets player, Braylon Edwards arrest for a DWI. Not only did this hurt him as a player but the team as a whole. In order for the Jets to act on this event properly they need to make a media announcement as soon as possible and assure the public that the team as a whole will get through this.

The New England Patriots recently traded one of their players and they did so by using a focus group! They held a focus group between the players of the team to find out how they felt if one of their teammates were traded. Evidently the team traded the pro bowl wide receiver and now they will have to see how their fans feel about the move. This can be done by watching the fans reactions on blogs, in the stands, and by counting up ticket sales!

How Do You Know What's In Style This Fall?

What’s in style this Fall!? What about this Winter???

How do stylists and fashion experts come to the conclusion that this October leather jackets are going to be in style or skinny jeans? ELLE magazine’s website has a link to Fashion Trend Reports which tells all their fashion addicts what TO wear and what NOT to wear! But so many of us wonder how do they come to the conclusion that this month UGGS are so last year and wedge clogs are in!?

Unobtrusive research is the answer to this question! Fashion experts make observations and use their best judgments as to what is going to be in style each season. By attending Fashion Week and watching different designers Runway Designs experts can come to the conclusion of whats going to be wearable and whats not!

By observing what Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein are showing off on the Runway verses what many people are wearing walking the streets of NYC; fashion experts and fashion magazine editors can figure out what will be worn this month verses five months from now. 

Instead of surveying people on what there favorite clothing is or their favorite shoe, fashion experts observe people, celebrities, and designers clothing trends to figure out what to wear this week! Top trends can be observed by sitting in the front row of New York Fashion Week. What color was worn the most? Did models walk out with jeans or skirts? What outfit was photographed and given the most attention too!? All of these are ways that unobtrusive measurements are used to evaluate what is fashionable.

From the time you were born till now the amount of fashion trends that we have underwent is well over a handful. From wearing our Disney Princess pajamas everywhere, to Abercrombie & Fitch everything, to Forever 21, True Religion, and 7ForAllManKind our tastes keep changing and will  continue too. We never keep a bag for more than a few months because we need to keep up with the latest trends. Well...we need to keep up with our favorite celebrities wardrobe. As in that new Michael Kors bag that Hedi Klum was spotted with.

Fashion keeps moving and it changes everyday. What is in style today might not be tomorrow. The only way to keep track of what to wear means you have to watch and observe what your favorite celebrity is wearing! Good Luck!