The success of a brand lies largely on the success or failure of the relation with costumers. Therefore it is very important the image they project and their ability to reach the public. Models were the first to star in campaigns. Celebrities followed those models, who worked very well as brand image because they were familiar to the public. Influencers join them, the new trend that is revolutionizing the world of global marketing.
Against the concept of the perfect and mythologized character appearing in the commercials of “coming back soon” influencers reach the public by being close. Their success is based on the change from character to people and advertising to product placement that is inserted into the content itself that we have chosen to view.
The most known it girl, Chiara Ferragni, has her own fashion collection.
This new formula has revolutionized both consumption patterns of Internet users and advertising campaigns of large companies. So much so that the numbers are increasingly striking. According to the marketing consultant Launchmetrics, 65% of fashion and retail professionals implemented campaigns with influencers during 2016. And, of these, 74% say they have increased their sales. Marketing of influential people has become a safe bet, especially in the fields of fashion, beauty, travel and gastronomy.
For most of these youtubers, bloggers or instagramers, what now has become a successful business started as a hobby. The one who has really succeeded in turning its “dolce vita” in a multimillion-dollar empire is Chiara Ferragni. The Italian, who got to be known through the blog The Blonde Salad has been exalted by the big fashion companies worldwide. Her eight-year career in this world translate into astronomical figures. More than 8 million followers on Instagram, 1.2 million in Facebook, an average of 6 million monthly visits to her blog and revenues worth about $ 7 million in 2015.
Chiara Ferragni attended to the Fashion Week in New York.
This trend has also led to big stars to collaborate with brands through social networks. Designs that slip in profiles of musicians, actors and models, with hundreds of thousands of followers. Instagram is the main channel of advertising campaigns, and the queen there is Selena Gomez. The versatile artist has 110 million followers.
That may be the reason why Coach has chosen Selena as ambassador for its 75th anniversary. In addition to lending her image, the actress, model and singer will become designer of the US accessories firm.
Selena attended the Coach fashion show of the Fall Collection in New York.
The collaboration has been released during the fall season. Stuart Vevers, executive creative director of Coach, said:
“The woman I design for is genuine,
honest and has a romantic charm
combined with a calm and confident attitude.
Selena embodies all these qualities
to perfection, but also the fact that she has
always been passionate about Coach
and the fact that she firmly believes in our
philanthropic mission makes
her anauthentic Coach girl.”
And also, Selena will collaborate with the Coach Foundation, which supports the US organization Step Up dedicated to helping teenagers from disadvantaged communities.
It seems that the brand has opted for Selena Gomez as a way to target a new market: the millennials. What better way than with the woman with more followers on Instagram?
Selena Gomez and Anna Wintour in the Coach fashion show in New York.
The British singer Ellie Goulding has also shown her role as designer. Her first collection of shoes in collaboration with DEICHMANN, to be launched worldwide on March 1, 2017. It will not be available in physical and online stores until March 15. Her style, very striking and unique is reflected in sneakers, ethnic style sandals, high heels, wedges, espadrilles and loafers. A selection that presents variety of colors, bold patterns, elaborate finishes or details with tacks.
“I think shoes are a sign of the mood in which you
find yourself. My collection includes designs for all
occasions and offered me the opportunity to express
my own style.
I really could not tell if I like to wear more flat shoes
or high heels, because I constantly change”
said Ellie Goulding.
The “Ellie Goulding for DEICHMANN” collection perfectly responds to the slogan “Rock Your Look”.
Among recent collaborations of brands, it also highlights the one by H&M with Swedish singer-songwriter Zara Larsson, who has designed with the company a capsule collection of urban fashion that will be released next May 18. The line, intended for the millennial audience, will be available both in physical stores and online. Larsson, who appeared on the list of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016 by Time magazine, reflects her casual style on her Instagram profile, which has two and a half million followers.
Zara Larsson for H& M
Some even dare to create their own brand. Kanye West, fully involved in the influencer world, has a new challenge for this year. The rapper is preparing to launch his own collection of cosmetics, called Donda, including make-up, perfumes and other items for skin care. Currently, he is the creative director of the brand Yeezy, part of the German group Adidas with which he has just introduced his fifth collection at the Fashion Week in New York. It seems that the rapper will become direct competition for the Kardashian clan and, specifically, to her sister-in-law Kylie Jenner, whose make-up line has been very successful.
Kanye West announced the launch of his own line of cosmetics, Donda.
Lipsticks of Kylie Jenner’s brand.
In Spain, the podium of the fashion influencers with more followers include Dulceida with gold medal, Lovely Pepa with the silver medal and Gala González with bronze. And not without effort. Natalia Cabezas, better known as Trendy Taste, publishes in Instagram three snapshots per day on a normal day, a figure that increases when she travels or attends an event.
Exotic travel and breath taking scenery characterize the photographs of Lovely Pepa.
Lovely Pepa advertising insertion in her Instagram account.
Although perhaps the most remarkable case is Aida Domenech (Dulceida), who has managed to go through the online world and sneak into the television programming, another sign of the attractiveness that have the collaborations with influencers for companies. With 1.5 million followers on Instagram and almost one million in Youtube, she has her own book, online store and now, with its fragrance “Mucho Amor”, distributed by Druni perfumeries exclusively.
The marks raffle to collaborate with these queens of Internet. At least for the duration of the trend. The sector increasingly professionalized, begins to show signs of saturation, while the lack of naturalness is evident, it becomes more difficult a close contact with the public.
Surely, that is why some of the best-known figures as Ferragni base the key of their current success in diversification. The creator of The Blonde Salad has turned her modest blog into a multifunctional portal that generates her more than 2 million annually in advertising agreements and in which you can also buy pieces fruit of special collaborations with brands such as Chloé or Levi’s. In addition, she has her own brand of shoes, a great sales success that produces her much of her income. However, Ferragni is not alone. In Spain, Lovely Pepa has just launched her own fashion brand, Lovely Pepa Collection, true to the style that shows to her followers through her daily looks.
What is certain is that influencers are now a key part of the brand image of a company and their success is that they are able to influence in purchasing decisions of consumers. Fashion raises a new archetype of a model more real and closer to show off its designs.
Translated by: Raquel Sanchez
