Fashion Week

It's coming... grab your bag... oh wait, are you sure you want to carry that one?

Fashion Week. It is synonymous with exclusivity, style and over the top art. FW started in 1943 to draw attention away from the French fashion week and to give American designers a chance to show their work to the public. New York is home to the event twice a year for fashion's insiders and trendsetters so they could sample the new collections of the top designers and relay to consumers what to wear in the coming season.

Fast forward to today. It is an event that hundreds look forward to and follow. It marks the changing of the seasons and most importantly is a great platform to introduce new products to style setters and news makers without investing a lot.

Over the years major brands like American Express, McCafe and most recently Diet Pepsi have introduced new designs and products by becoming a sponsor to the event. Name association alone draws attention but the opportunity for product sampling is what leaves people talking and lets your brand be top of mind.

NYC Fashion Week is a huge scale and if you are not looking for that level there are still plenty of options. Most retail departments stores like Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue hold their own fashion shows and events you can get involved with as well as local fashion events help in the community near your business. In the end you are reaching an audience that believes spending is always stylish.

Great App Ideas for Festivals, Live Events and Their Sponsors - IEG's Sponsorship Blogs - Sponsorship.com

Great App Ideas for Festivals, Live Events and Their Sponsors - IEG's Sponsorship Blogs - Sponsorship.com

New Products. New Places.

I can remember watching countless shows where the iconic Pepsi can was in the hands of the characters or the numerous times fun and happy families ordered a piping hot, cheesy Pizza Hut pizza loaded with delicious toppings, but lately product placement in television and movies does not jump out in that obnoxious way as it used it.

Better, more clever writing, perhaps... Maybe it is just that we are all so used to consumerism that it has become white noise to us but the fact is, product placement is still there and in all actuality, it is stronger and (according to companies) more important than ever.

With the popularity of DVR and On Demand, people are fast-forwarding through commercials. Companies are not getting the guaranteed airtime and audience they used to be able to count on and are seeking new ways to get their brands name out there.

A new innovative way to incorporate products is beginning to show up in syndicated episodes of popular television shows. The company SeamBI (Seamless Brand Integration) has developed a way to digitally alter new products and brands into old episodes of television shows. The way the content is added does not change or disrupt the show, it only adds the placement where it seems fit. For example, in rerun episodes of the popular show How I Met Your Mother, flat screen TVs and outdoor movie posters were added to select scenes promoting upcoming movies. Once they are put in, the content can be changed to current movies or products.

Another company that is thinking outside of the box to get their brands name to consumer's is Cascadian Farm. In 2010, they were the first company to partner up with Farmville, the online game sensation to produce the first "branded crops". In four days 310 million Cascadian Farm Organic Blueberry crops were digitally planted in the online game with more than 1 million people purchasing the digital crop.

With companies finding new innovative ways to incorporate advertising in media the FCC has begun to revisit the product placement rules, especially pertaining to children's television. Studies how that, as savvy as kids are today, in most cases, they are unaware of the advertising directly aimed at them.

But then again, with creative enough writing, adults may not even know when they're being solicited to, after all how badly did you want a Pizza Hut pizza after reading the opening to this post?

One for you AND one for you...

Partnering with Charities and Non-Profits is a big idea that has proved to be successful for all parties involved. As we discussed before, the ability to help others while still driving consumers to work/purchase your brand is a success all around. Today many corporations are launching creative new campaigns to bring attention to not just their brand but also the charities they are partnered with. However, a new concept is catching steam that is not just creating awareness but is using the act of giving as their branding.

The original idea caught on in 2006 when the creator of TOMS shoes, Blake Mycoskie, returned from a trip to Argentina. While traveling he found so many children in the small villages could not afford shoes. Without shoes they were not allowed to attend school. Mycoskie returned with the concept "one for one". Once a pair of his brand's shoes are purchased, they would donate a brand new pair of shoes to a child in Argentina. Once word got out, consumer support started pouring out and when he returned to Argentina he was able to bring back 10,000 pairs of shoes to children in need. Today more than 1,000,000 shoes have been donated to children through the TOMS organization. With the help of social conscious celebrity trendsetters, TOMS shoes are the "it" shoe of the summer and the story behind the brand has sold more shoes than any advertisement reach has. TOMS is not the only fashion company who is going after the "one for one" concept.

Warby Parker, an eyeglass retailer , was built on the concept of chic eye wear at affordable prices. This past spring, Neil Blumenthal, Co-Creator of Warby Parker and former director of VisionSpring, brought the two companies together to form a "one for one" initiative. Once a consumer purchases a pair of glasses from Warby Parker, a pair is donated to VisionSpring. VisionSpring, who not only distributes glasses to those in need, also teaches women how to make eyeglasses. With the knowledge and skill to make and sell eyeglasses these women are not only providing income but also the ability to see for people in their villages, who for the most part live on $4 a day. Over the past 5 years, VisionSpring has expanded to serving 10 countries and now with the help of Warby Parker hopes to continue that growth.

Those are just two companies who are seeing success with the "one for one" branding concept. With limited advertising they are able to brand themselves and reach the eye of the fashion forward consumer leading them to choose their brands over other mass marketed brands. So why not help yourself by helping others?

A Sweet (and Charitable) Partnership

While a lot of partnerships start with the common idea of influencing and selling to a consumer, there is another partnership which happens to make a difference. Partnering with a charity is a way for large corporations to help make a difference and still drive the consumer to buy or support their brand.

Recently Dole announced its partnership with the leading domestic relief charity, Feeding America. The two partnered up as Dole launched their "Traveling Fruit Stand" for the Summer of 2011. Dole announced that for every person who comes out and samples or checks in via four square at the traveling fruit stand, they will donate a fresh fruit cup to a Feeding America food bank

in that city.

And if you can not come out to the fruit stand, they are directing people to their Facebook page where you can "like" Dole and a donation will be made.

With this partnership Dole is able to create awareness for their brand through social media as well as the coverage they are getting from local and national media outlets... and that is just naturally sweet.

Howdy Partner

Country Music is one of the founding genres of American music. With 47% of Americans choosing Country Music as their tune of choice,this brand not only has star power but also selling power.

Country Music has produced the two top selling recording artists of all time in the U.S (Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks) plus countless other musicians that have sang us the love stories of the southwest. These soul-filled artists are as passionate about their roots and image as they are about their lyrics. Meaning they don't want to sell out for a brand or company that does not stand for what they believe in.

It wasn't until Elvis Presley seduced the nation that Country music was considered a music genre with branding power.

By 1990 Country music was as popular and making as many waves in the industry as Rock and Roll. Superstar names like Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks began teaming up with major companies that let them keep their twangie image and still lend a hand.

Just last year Garth Brooks teamed up with the Professional Bull Riders association to raise money for his chairty Teammates for Kids. The two raised $1 million for the charity in 2010.

Now, big names like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Rodney Atkins not only rule the airwaves but also raise awareness for their musical roots by partnering with brands that let them represent themselves as well as a product in line with their music.

Partnering with major mass marketed brands like Cover girl, Vitamin Water and Velveeta Shells and Cheese these artists are raising awareness in all demographics.

The Fashionable Partnership

"You're wearing a sweater that was actually selected for you by the people in this room two years ago from what you call stuff..."

According to Meryl Streep in "The Devil Wears Prada", the fashion industry is so powerful that predetermined colors and styles are envisioned for the masses long before the latest trends hit the high end runway shows, let alone the magazines and mass marketed stores.

With power like this, combined with the fact that the fashion industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, you wonder why every product brand is not campaigning to every available fashion house to partner up. And the answer is simple, in fashion, it's all about the perfect fit.

Fashion partnerships are born with many goals in mind, most of which to entice and drive the consumer to crave and eventually purchase the product. Most of the successful partnerships have brought high end fashion names to a brand that is affordable and in line with every demographic. One of the first and most successful of these relationships was between Target and Issac Mizrahi in 2004. This collaboration brought the wild styles of the famed designer to affordable prices for the everyday consumer, the success of this merger lead to Target partnering with other high end brands including William Rast and most recently Calypso St. Barth. These relationships have given Target the results to put them ahead of their retail competitors.

In some cases a brand will look to a fashion partner for the name that will add a "luxury" factor to the product. Serta Mattresses accomplished this in 2006 when they partnered with Vera Wang to create a mattress that screams luxury before you even lay down on it. This partnership allowed Serta to re market their mattresses in new media outlets.

A strong example was their 2009 campaign "Comfortably Ever After" which they used bridal magazines and trade shows to market to the young women who are looking for the Vera Wang name, synonymous with the wedding industry, to sell the mattresses to.

With success stories like these you wonder what will be the next successful fashion partnership. As the fashion industry has taught us, just wait because the deal and launch has probably already been planned well over two years ago.