For the PR and Social Media module.
Social media posts using Canva:
Press release:
Social media strategy:
Instagram’s content contains images or videos, with a caption below. Most people will just look at the visuals; the text is for those more interested. So, the most important part is to create a visual ad to grab people’s attention and quickly get our message across before they scroll away. Popular Instagram content shows well photographed, stylish and professional images of influencers. This is where we can partner up with influencers who have a mass following and get them to promote our brand by wearing the clothes in the photos and stating why the app is beneficial in the caption below. Videos would be used on the story feature for followers to maintain interest and keep them using the app, instead of a one-off. Here we can post lots of different things, so we can discuss the effects of fast fashion as well as what kind of clothes can be found on Depop, at a lower price. Links can be embedded in stories and in the bio section of an account so users can click to visit the app store to download the app. Hashtags can also be used in the caption.
Facebooks content allows for videos, images and texts. Videos are more popular on the site, so here we can upload a straightforward video to promote our campaign. With an older audience, it would be useful to explain exactly how the app works, including a link to clearly show the first steps to joining the Depop community. A common trope with Facebook videos is emotive, educational content, so here we state the detrimental effects of fast fashion with facts and figures and evidence of climate change.
TikTok is an app for short videos, where we can display clothing and share facts about fast fashion. To engage with the audience, our models can follow trends and challenges while wearing depop clothing, and get the audience thinking about their choices when buying clothes to encourage sustainability. We want to maintain our professional and visually pleasing content across all platforms. Hashtags can be used on TikTok to draw in audiences.
Campaign strategy:
Our strategies:
The campaign will take place on social media to advertise the Depop app, using enticing photos of clothes found on the app and information about why sustainable fashion is important.
We will collaborate with influencers that have mass followings to increase our audience. On TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, we will utilise the features of these sites to our advantage.
What issue/cause we will focus on:
Choosing sustainable fashion instead of fast fashion which has negative environmental and societal effects.
The dreadful working conditions pay unfairly for long hours in hazardous operations.The amount of CO2 produced is intensifying climate change and the waste products are polluting.
Non-renewable sources are being used up, especially if a garment is thrown away instead of being reused.
Our target audience:
In between Millennial and Gen Z (aged 18-30).
Ideally, we want people who want to make or save money, willing to make environmentally friendly choices, regularly use social media and shops online for clothes.
We will use Metadata to collect data about existing customers and patterns of engagement. This will also help to target new demographics.
Splitting the market into meaningful segments:
Different incomes: for lesser disposable income, generally a younger audience, our ads will show how to make (sell unwanted clothes) and save money (second-hand clothes are cheaper)
Different ages: some older people are less tech-literate so need extra explanations or directions. A younger audience is more aware of trends and has the capacity to use technology.
The goal of our marketing campaign:
To increase the number of Depop users to buy second-hand, sustainable clothing, which reduces the demand for fast fashion and reuses materials instead of wasting them.
Core campaign messages:
“save the planet with Depop”
“shop sustainably”
Reveal the effects of fast fashion.
You can use Depop to make and save money.
Depop's clothing is fashionable and unique.
Possible channels for our marketing campaign to reach our target audience:
TikTok, Facebook and Instagram have visuals as well as text which is important for our social media posts to show aesthetically pleasing ads with extra information when needed.
Over 50% of TikTok’s users are aged 18-35 which matches our target audience age. TikTok’s content follows a lot of trends, in a positive manner. The ads for this app are in a short video format. Our ads will display the clothing available to show viewers they can look fashionable if they buy from Depop. TikTokkers with a large number of followers will collaborate with us to promote our brand to an even bigger audience.
72.8% of Facebook users are aged 18-44 which includes some older people. To target them, the ads will contain a link to the app store to make downloading the app easy. Generally, an older audience are less technically literate. How to use Depop may be explained in detail so they know how to use it.
Most Instagram users are aged 25-35, which is within our target audience range. This age group are likely to have more income because its after school or university, so they can purchase clothes with less concern of the price, so instead of focusing on the economic side of using Depop, we will highlight the benefits of sustainable fashion, or even the negative effects of fast fashion, which is educational, potentially even shocking our audience and making them want to change where they buy clothes from. We can also partner up with influencers on Instagram to use their mass following to our advantage.
How to track and test the success of our marketing campaign:
Monitor increase of users once the campaign has started, and how that affected number of items being bought and sold.
Monitor the number of people that are clicking the link from the ad to then download the app. This will show the effectiveness of the ads and which ones are more popular.
Key performance indicators.
PR, press and social media activities around sustainable fashion research:
The Environmental Justice Foundation were a charity partner for a comedy fundraiser event that raised awareness and funds for EJF’s work with sustainable fashion. "These ethically-minded comics will be highlighting the lack of sustainability in the fashion industry, illustrating how, through simply re-evaluating the clothes we buy, we can all take charge and stand against a culture of fast fashion" (Environmental Justice Foundation, 2019).
H&M's "Go Green, Wear Blue" campaign promoted their new line of jeans that are made of sustainable materials since they used less energy and water. This was launched globally.
Possible roles and responsibilities for group members:
Someone to contact and work with influencers and social media users with mass followings
A photographer and photo editor for our advertisement
A social media manager to post content and interact with followers to answer questions and create a bond to raise trust
Project manager to lead the team
List of stakeholders:
Customers: The clothing advertised is showing what you can expect, so they want fashionable and unique clothing. We've also stated it will be affordable and from a reliable source. However, our customers are also our suppliers since the users of Depop are the ones selling the clothes. It is out of our control to ensure the clothes being sold are as described, are being sold at an appropriate price, will be received on time or at all. We can provide information on refunds if necessary and there is a way to contact sellers to communicate about buying and delivering items on our app. It's also important to demonstrate why customers should use Depop instead of competing brands so we can have as many consumers as possible. Brand equity and gaining trust from consumers will benefit this.
Employees: The people who manage the Depop app and social media pages need to be paid fairly and provided with the correct information and tools to keep our platforms running smoothly and providing our customers with the best service possible.
The influencers that we collaborate with: In order for them to promote our app, we need to share information about it, send clothes from it for them to wear and they will receive a cut of our profits. To ensure they positively promote Depop, we will have to demonstrate the reliance and advantageous of our brand to them before they pass that on to another audience.
Environmental Justice Foundation. (2019). Standing up to Fast Fashion Through Comedy. https://ejfoundation.org/news-media/standing-up-to-fast-fashion-through-comedy
Sustainability Matters Daily. (2020). Top 10 Super Creative Sustainable Fashion Marketing Campaigns. https://sustainabilitymattersdaily.com/creative-sustainable-fashion-marketing-campaigns