Fashion Advertising and Marketing

Fashion advertising is a specialized and competitive area of art and graphic design. An artsy and creative mind is needed to be a successful advertiser. Advertising is the most important tool for any fashion designer.

The focus for advertisers is on helping a client sell their products. The advertising field is divided into a few different categories such as account services, creative, media, and traffic and production.

• ·         An account manager is the middleman between the client and the agency. Their job is to pitch the designer’s product as well as project manage the development of potential ad campaigns. Entry-level hires are placed into account coordinator positions. Account planners use qualitative and quantitative research to understand consumers’ buying habits and what will make them purchase or not purchase a product. You could say it’s psychology being used on audience.

• ·         The creative department brings an advertising idea to life. Copy writers create the written part of print ads as well as the scripts for radio and TV ads. Art directors develop the visual concepts and designs of advertisements and manage everything from preparing layouts for print ads to the filming of TV commercials and photo shoots. Fashion coordinators and merchandise planners work to create a eye catching and unified look in retail stores or magazines. Visual merchandisers are responsible for designing in-store and window displays to attract customers.

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• ·         The media department places ads in the right place at the right time to target the right audience. Media planners use the knowledge of viewing habits along with evaluate editorial content and programming to determine what media to use.

• ·         The traffic department monitors ad development and submission deadlines, the production department controls how print or media ads are made.

Advertisement doesn't only deal with creativity, it deals with business as well. That is where marketing comes into play.

Marketers track and monitor fashion trends and consumer trends. They know the ins and outs of moving designer labels from showrooms to consumers’ closets and how to keep customers coming back for more. A fashion marketing career often starts with an intern position or a contract job at an entry level. A full time job as a marketing associate furthers your career and allows you to continue to polish your skills. A top job would be marketing director or vice president, directing a team of marketing associates. Successful fashion marketing professionals are: self-driven, business-minded, excellent communicators, social media savvy, creative, thick skinned, quick thinking, and up on trends and current events. Also, being good with numbers doesn't hurt either.