GOING ONLINE THIS SUMMER

The summer season has set in and the ‘heat’ is online, with senior executives at consumer brands and retailers, promoting their recently launched collections and products on numerous social media sites.

And, with marketing and communication costs online, a fraction of print and television commercials, brands including AND from Anita Dongre, Holii, American Swan and toniQ, are ‘engaging’ with their target audience via numerous activities at popular ‘platforms’ like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

As part of that strategy, Anita Dongre is highlighting her Spring / Summer collection for ’14 for both the sexes on her Facebook page, and consumers can easily view a wide range of ethnic and western clothing options as well as accessories. Anita Dongre, Designer, AND, said, “Consumers are increasingly shopping online, and we are effectively leveraging this trend in our communication strategy for this season.”

Meanwhile, American Swan, a lifestyle retailer, has organised an online reality show, ‘Beauty & the Blogger’ along with Famebox, which involves the participation of well known personalities including Miss Malini and VJ Anushka Dandekar. Anurag Rajpal, Director and CEO, American Swan Lifestyle Company, said, “We are relevant for the next-generation of shoppers.”

Similarly, Holii, which offers a range of leather accessories, has tied up with the popular fashion website High Heel Confidential as well as bloggers like Head2Heels, as part of its communication strategy with the target audience.

The above shift in strategy was also highlighted by Jagdeep Kapoor, Chairman and Managing Director, Samsika Marketing Consultants, and he stressed the limitations of conventional media, including limited ‘reach’ and high cost. Kapoor, added, that it is logical for brands to allocate a larger proportion of their activities and budgets, to relevant social media ‘platforms’ and digital activities.

Product strategy

The lifestyle-related products including apparel, footwear and accessories, launched for this season have a strong focus on ‘subtle’ and ‘cool’ colours along with elegant designs. In addition, prices are broadly similar to a year earlier, and that’s because there is still considerable uncertainty relating to consumer budgets for the summer season.

Kastoori Rai Dewan, Assistant Communications Manager, Holii Accessories, said, “We are optimistic that our product and marketing strategy would help us grow sales aggressively this season.”

Clearly, retailers are wooing consumers online this summer.