Make it all go right! Learn all about strategic planning for Fashion events

Strategic planning for fashion events. A fashion event is not just an event.

 

This is more than just something major that happens at a specific time for entertainment.

 

Thus, its secret is that it’s a strategy that brands use for their marketing and communication plans.

 

Events help brands to reach a segmented public and then get the notoriety they aim for. In the same way, it also allows them to position themselves on the market.

 

However, to do this, they must take into account some specific actions within a communication plan.

 

Besides, brands can also hold events for commercial and promotional purposes. As a result, it proposes goals for the achievement of success.

 

The moment most awaited by the client

 

In the fashion industry, events have an important role thanks to their aspirational nature. Besides, this is also the moment where the brand can use as many tools as possible. This, to grab the attention of its customers.

 

In the same way, it can showcase many things in our lives and society. Some examples of this would be:

 

• Lifestyle
• Culture
• Tradition
• Needs
• Status
• Desire
• Storytelling

 

These are part of one of the 4e’s of marketing which is experience. Thus, brands must create an event that can offer the best experience possible. For this, they must take care of even the tiniest details.

 

Once the clients see the invitation, they could think about wearing a little black dress. However, behind the said invitation, there’s a whole process. To create it, the fashion brand went through planning, communication, experience, strategies, and marketing among others.

 

All of this while aiming at doing something more than selling a piece of clothing. Thus, the main goal would be the selling of something more valuable than this.

 

Remember that when you decide to create an event you will be creating the prestige of the brand. Thus, everything is possible, there are no limits. All of this thanks to this new era where people are waiting to experience innovation.

 

Types of events, how to classify them

 

Events can have many characteristics. Thus, everything depends on the product you want to promote. However, we will divide them into a simple list of categories so you can use them for future events.

 

Fashion events for the press

 

Press trip:

 

 This aims at achieving media impact and opinion. For this, brands plan a trip for a group of journalists, editors, and influencers.

 

Open Days: 

 

These are like “showrooms” meaning these are open doors events.

 

Here, firms showcase their products, collection, or services to a very limited group of guests. Many of these guests are from the press, stylists, bloggers, and influencers.

 

 

This type of event seeks to generate a presence in film and television, post, and receive requests for product assignments.

 

Press conference:

 

In short, a press conference is a meeting where journalists and guests attend to hear important statements from the designer, the creative director, or the person in charge.

 

 

 

For customers, and opinion

 

Parades: 

 

These are the main and most common events.

 

The reason for this is that they get great receptivity.

 

This, in turn, allows brands to achieve their objectives.

 

In short, catwalks can:

 

• • promote new collections,
  • give the brand notoriety
  • Help build the essence of the designer
  • Build the values of the brand

 

 

Events for bloggers and influencers

 

Here, both fashion bloggers and influencers attend this event.

 

Their job here would be to share their experience on social media.

 

This makes them an amazing marketing strategy.

 

As a result, it’s very common for brands to offer a unique experience in exchange for advertising.

 

Fairs: 

 

These allow brands to reach the general public, which then leads to an increase in their sales.

 

We can also call them mega-events.

 

If you want to know more, you can watch this video.

 

In it, you will see images of an incredible fair in favor of sustainable fashion in Germany:

 

 

Showrooms: 

Brands often held them in large rooms or spaces such as small parades or presentations.

 

They are private events for exclusive buyers or clients.

 

These show the product in an intimate way.

 

This, in turn, ensures that the customer has direct contact with the garments before making the purchase decision.

 

Street Events:

 

This type of event is very much in vogue in recent years due to its freshness and the impact it causes on the public.

 

Fashion events on the most famous streets or cities are eye-catching.

 

Thus, they are a great option to show collections or products.

 

What’s more, they give a lot to talk about.

 

Strategic planning for fashion events, Launching a product: 

 

This type of event refers to the sample of the brand’s new product. For this, a brand can do it as an exhibition or as a point of sale.

 

Since the common objective is the marketing of the said product, showing this to sell from the first stay is the best option.

 

The best strategy for a safe sale is to take advantage of the experience you can offer the consumer right from the launch in a surprising and memorable way.

 

Educational events

 

There are other types of events that a fashion company could hold.

 

For example, educational events are also popular.

 

This is because they allow brands to speak about how prepared they are in a specific sector.

 

Offering people the benefit of learning is always a great choice.

 

Why? Because it gives the brand a good reputation and causes its improvement.

 

However, we recommend doing these programs once you already achieved success.

 

This way everyone will want to know the secret of this.

 

Now, we will tell you two of the most common. After this, you may find them useful for you.

 

Workshops: 

 

This takes place with a limited group of people. Here, organizers invite specialists in the area so they can carry out specific activities and share their knowledge.

 

This way, everyone gets to be part of it. Thus, this gives way to a pleasant share of new knowledge, skills, and exchange of opinions.

 

Master Class: 

 

They are classes run by a professional specialized in a subject.

 

One of its main characteristics is that its syllabi are extensive. Not only that, but they are classes of one day and last between one and three hours per day.

 

 

Other modern events: BTL Actions

 

BTL actions or guerrilla marketing base all their success on creativity, constant innovation, and the generation of impact.

 

Their difference from non-traditional events is that it isn’t possible to set up a guest list. This means that you have no control over this aspect. Thus, everything depends on the work of the organizers and the surprise factor.

 

However, you must take into account some important steps for strategic planning. This way you will avoid the strict planning of the target.

 

The objective of this is to cause an immediate impact and feedback from the public. This, as a result of the fame and surprises related to the fashion brand.

 

BTL share types

 

Ambient marketing: 

 

This strategy comprises making everyday elements of the environment visible to convey the message and the essence of the brand.

 

So, in short, this is about resorting to the same scenario as outdoor advertising.

 

But, the difference is that it doesn’t use traditional elements like fences.

 

The reason being that these aren’t new at all.

 

Flashmobs: 

 

They are quick and unannounced actions that surprise an audience in a specific place.

 

These can be, for example, a dance, a show, a song. Besides, what this does is shock people, which then leads to them sharing what’s happening. As a result, a brand can get a huge amount of publicity from this.

 

Once it’s done, the public will go on their way. So, as you can see, this is a straightforward and fast strategy. However, it has a high chance of going viral.

 

Pop-up stores:

 

They are temporary stores that last a certain time in a specific place.

 

Thus, they are spaces that brands convert into points of sale designed for the occasion.

 

Its objective is to market the product by offering powerful exclusive shopping experiences.

 

 

Read carefully! All events must have an excellent communication plan.

 

Only in this way will you achieve the visibility and diffusion you’ve always wanted. Thus, to be famous you must improve the impact of your brand. For this, you must include the media, the web, social media, and blogs, among other strategies.

 

But this post doesn’t end here. Planning an event is a production of many efforts, months of meetings, and important decision making.

 

Thus, we will show you in simple, but effective steps on how to organize your fashion event.

 

Strategic planning for a fashion event

 

Before taking the reins to plan an event, you must train yourself.

 

For this, you should take note of the four skills that a planner must-have.

 

Important! 

 

You must break down all the activities that you will carry out in each of the facets (pre-event, event, post-event).

 

This is the magic key to cover all the details and not miss anything.

 

• Become an excellent scorer. Don’t avoid specifying important data in your annotations. Besides, you must reflect absolutely everything in your planning program.

 

• Problem solving and speed. It’s necessary to have the ability to solve problems that will arise along the way. When the events are very large, the chances of some mishaps arising are very high.

 

• Mediator. You must learn to mediate with your work team, you cannot do everything alone. Thus, you have to define activities, supervise them, and manage to guide, motivate, and help your team. This is the only way you will be able to accomplish everything.

 

Phases for proper planning

 

We can divide the planning of an event, regardless of the sector, into three parts or phases.

 

Pre-event 

 

The pre-event is the main phase. Here is when you will activate creative ideas to know how to achieve direct contact with consumers.

 

Not only that but you will also be able to see how you will display the DNA of the brand.

 

That’s not all! You can also learn how to establish communication channels, among other points.

 

We will make a list of points that you must define in the pre-event

 

Brief o inquiry form:

 

This is filled out directly with the client or the department in charge of carrying out the event.

 

At this point, they will talk about the product, the brand, the background in previous events, opinions, exchange of ideas, marketing strategies carried out, communication lines, etc.

 

Define the details that will follow.

• Type of event: select the type of event from the long list that we already mentioned before. Remember to choose the one that best suits your possibilities and needs.
• Budget: Budgeting is the most important part of planning. As we mentioned, this should fit your selected event type.
• Objectives: Clearly define one by one the quantifiable objectives you want to achieve, the purpose for which you are holding a fashion event for your brand.
• Concept: establish the concept of your event. For this, ask yourself what will it be about? What do you want it to convey and express? How do you want the public to see it? All of this must go according to the essence of the brand.
• Activities: define all the activities you want to do at the event for your guests. It can be a toast, a word from the designer, a show, a dinner, among others. Mark all of them without leaving any of them for granted.
• Ideas: set all creative and novel ideas. All events are full of amazing ideas, don’t limit yourself. Come up with ideas for everything from how your guests will enter, to how they will leave.
• Target: it’s extremely necessary to define your target. Who do you want the event to reach?
• Communication strategies: we will see the communication strategies in a statement below, so you can’t stop reading this post.

 

But we must mention that these are of the utmost importance to make your event famous and not lose the work done by running out of diffusion and notoriety.

 

In this list we also have

 

• Date and Time: these two aspects, although they seem unimportant, must be defined carefully. The time and date of the event cannot coincide with others. Nor is it recommended that it coincide with national dates.

 

• Venue: the venue must be consistent with the type of event, the number of guests, and the essence of the brand. It must even go according to the product or collection to be launched. Thus, when you choose a place you should think about where the guests will enter and leave. Remember to also take into account the activities you want to do.

 

• Transfer: you must think about how your guests will arrive at the place destined for the event. Thus, consider the distance, if there are complications to get there, how long it could take to get there, if there is traffic, among other details.

 

• Duration: define the duration, hours, or days, everything will depend on your creative ideas.

 

• Guests: List the clients, influencers, bloggers, and media that will attend the event. Define the invitations for each one and keep in mind that you must have their attendance confirmed.

 

• Montage: design the event montage. What the venue will look like, lights, necessary equipment like microphones and horns, decorations, tables, chairs, places for special activities, and more.

 

• Schedule or Timing: here you will define all the activities. We advise you to have 3 schedules. One will define the assembly of the event for you. The second will indicate the activities on the day of the event with all the necessary details. And a third and final one will indicate the disassembly of the event.

 

Each member of the team must have this tool so that there are no misunderstandings or failures.

 

Some notes to take into account

 

We recommend analyzing the times very well for a successful result, they cannot be too tight or prolonged.

 

Necessary services:

 

After defining all of the above, it’s time to write down and contact suppliers who will provide you with the relevant instruments.

 

Remember, all the pre-event actions will vary according to the activities that you decide to carry out, but those mentioned are essential.

 

The big day! 

 

The most anticipated day has arrived, the day of the event. This becomes the tensest day of planning since there is no time for mistakes.

 

Strategically in planning it’s recommended:

 

• One or two days before the big day, check the timing, the functions of everyone, clarify doubts, attributions, and limits.

 

• The notes and the schedule of activities must not be missing. This means that everyone must have them, including you and any member of the team.

 

• If the space is very wide, we recommend having a communication tool between the members, such as radios or mouthpieces.

 

Another recommendation is to bring a small assistance apron with some basic tools. We assure you that they will be useful in times of trouble.

 

Thus, you must have at hand tools like needle and thread, glue, plastic tape, pins, pencil, notebook, among others.

 

Post-event, the last facet of planning.

 

Once the event is completely over, you might think that this is where everything ends.

 

Well, we got some news for you, it isn’t.

 

There is still the final step and the one that will grant you success or failure.

 

The post-event is the analysis and completion of the event.

 

Normally there are departments with different assignments activities to carry out to complete this step.

 

The commercial department.

 

It’s in charge of delivering the analysis of results on opinions, feedback obtained, proposals, objectives achieved and not achieved, and effective strategies, among others.

 

This will declare the event’s success or failure.

 

You should carry out analyzes with accuracy.

 

Thus, you must mark the achievements and mistakes to have a background dossier that allows for the improvement of errors in the future.

 

The production department.

 

It will indicate and deliver in the form of an analysis of the operation as a team.

 

Thus, it will tell you if the members worked on their activities.

 

If they did it positively, if there was any kind of difficulty in working and everything related.

 

The administrative department.

 

You must be extremely attentive to expenses, bills or contracts still to be paid.

 

Besides, they are also the ones who will carry and deliver the analysis of the event’s earnings.

 

Once the reports with all the studies carried out and shared with the company have been completed, we finally conclude the event in its entirety.

 

 

Communication tools in fashion

 

As we have mentioned in this post, lines of communication are very important and should not be left aside.

 

Without communication, an event would go unnoticed, and all the effort put into it would be wasted.

 

There are a variety of activities that will spark media interest in the brand and gain acceptance. These tools are the ones that serve to publicize the brand and influence external opinions.

 

Next, we’ll give you a list of communication tools and how to apply them. This way you will ensure that the strategic planning of your event complies with this step.

 

Important communication tools

 

Strategic planning for fashion events, Press release: 

 

This short and precise document with striking wording will be delivered to the media to attract their attention.

 

It should be composed of: a heading, a headline, a subtitle, a lead, body, closing, contact, and images.

 

The means to which it will be sent must be known. We recommend sending it in a personalized way.

 

This is because if it’s sent through the mail, it won’t be visible and can be lost between emails.

 

Strategic planning for fashion events, Press kit: 

 

It consists of a press kit with detailed and expanded information about the event and what will be shown in it.

 

It’s customary to deliver the dossier on the day of the event.

 

Many brands resort to creativity to make a novel and innovative dossier format and deliver it to the press.

 

Most people consider that it must have a CD with high-resolution photos and optimal for media.

 

You can attach a little detail from the brand related to the collection it presents.

 

It must contain:

 

• cover
• index
• data and information
• company presentation
• data that we want to tell that serve the journalist
• photographs
• contacts.

 

Strategic planning for fashion events, Press call: 

 

It’s the invitation we send to the media when we are interested in them attending our events and covering them. For the media to attend, a reminder must be sent well in advance and a few days before the event.

 

A press call must first be sent to influencers, people of importance, buyers, among others. Later, after obtaining their confirmations, they will be sent to the press and media

 

This must show: the reason for the event, date and time, the place where it will be held, a list of special attendees, and contact information

 

Strategic planning for fashion events, Interviews:

 

This communication strategy is highly requested by journalists.

 

This is because they are very useful when there is something new to tell or an important fact.

 

Remember that it’s important to cause some curiosity in the media.

 

This way you make them interested in knowing more about the designer or the person in charge of the brand or collection.

 

Strategic planning for fashion events, Digital tools:

 

All events must have excellent digital communication channels.

 

Promoting an event that doesn’t take advantage of digital channels will be wasting a magnificent opportunity.

 

Through social media you can achieve significant objectives such as increasing positioning, followers, participation, and impact of the event.

 

They also help to create a strong and noticeable branding.

 

Among the quantitative objectives that you can take into account, we have:

 

• Authority: define a minimum of desired mentions of the brand in different profiles and channels. This can be brought out by hashtags and mentions.
• Influence: establish a minimum growth in followers in the different digital channels.
• Participation: define a minimum of interactions of followers or profiles with brand profiles.
• Traffic: set the minimum number of visits generated through all social media channels

 

Most used APPs for teamwork

 

Of course, we cannot leave technology behind. There are many tools, such as mobile apps that will allow you to organize, direct, and distribute tasks among your work team.

 

 Here we leave you a list of the most interesting ones.

 

Asanna, strategic planning for fashion events 

 

This app is perfect for planning your tasks and even for sharing tasks with your work team. It’s a perfect and easy-to-use organization tool that will help you remember all your to-dos.

 

Check out the following video to learn its use.

 

 

Microsoft Teams, strategic planning for fashion events

 

This app can be downloaded to your phone. It will allow you to design programming plans with your team, meeting guide, maps, among many. Besides, this is also an excellent option for telecommuting.

 

 We leave you a link so that you can learn to use this app.

 

 

Britix24, strategic planning for fashion events

 

An app that offers you over 35 tools to manage projects in an organized way. This instrument is the most complete on the web. It will help you maintain optimal internal and external communication with your employees and customers. Thus, you won’t leave any detail out.

 

As we want you to have the necessary knowledge for the future of your event, we leave you at hand the link to a britix24 tutorial.

 

 

BluCactus, your ally in Digital marketing

 

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