Why is “fashion” not a brand differentiation positioning?

Separating products from the multitude of brands is more challenging than ever. Unless consumers choose a brand from the beginning, it is very difficult to be bought by buyers on crowded shelves. Which product will be the "lucky winner"?

Appearance plays a very important role in this, especially in this age where appearance is everything. Most shoppers are faced with a choice of appearance, whether buying a black jacket or a red jacket, or some other look, and they will choose the one they think is fashionable.

Research on purchasing factors in many categories yields the same result: consumers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by product appearance, that is, if a product’s appearance is not fashionable enough, it is likely that the product will not become an option. This is true for cars, tiles, security doors and electric bicycles.

Consumers are obsessed with products that have a fashionable appearance. In actual purchasing behavior, consumers are willing to pay a higher price for it. In some categories, consumers are willing to buy a product that looks more fashionable even if the product compromises other functions.

Many fashion brands have developed such a large following that their looks alone can inspire a sense of belonging in consumers. Those who work in the fashion industry are always considered to have taste.

Consumers want a fashionable brand and a product with a beautiful appearance design. This is not some profound truth, nor is it a secret known only to a certain company. In view of this, companies will try every means to design their products beautifully and create fashionable brands, hoping to cater to consumers' tastes in this way.

There is no doubt that products with a fashionable appearance are more likely to be selected. But what is uncertain is whether “fashion” can become a positioning concept?

Before answering the question, let me ask you a question first: Which brand is more fashionable in the electric bicycle market? Ten years ago, there were exactly two electric bicycle brands that tried this:

• Aima, the leading brand of electric bicycles in China;
• Yadea is the second largest brand in China's electric bicycle market.

The two are the most direct competitors. They conducted a survey on target consumers, and the results showed that "fashionable appearance" has become the main consideration for consumers when purchasing electric vehicles. Looking further, among young consumers, a higher proportion is concerned about appearance.

The opportunity was fleeting, so Emma took the lead. In order to occupy the "fashion" positioning, they invited the most popular stars at the time, Jay Chou and Fan Bingbing, to endorse the brand, and spent a huge amount of money to place brand advertisements on CCTV and other media. In addition, Emma's product appearance is also very trendy, with fashionable shapes and bold colors. There is only one purpose, which is to make Emma electric vehicles associated with fashion in the minds of consumers.

Yadi obviously won't sit idly by. They don't want to see Emma take away their "fashion" positioning. Yadi chose to follow up quickly. They immediately invited the popular star group SHE to endorse the brand, and the advertising intensity was no less than that of Emma.

It can be seen that both companies are making every effort to compete for the "fashion" positioning. But the practical results disappointed the two companies. "Fashion" is a kind of cognition, but cognition is not positioning. Cognition is a subjective concept, which must be based on an objective positioning.

Simply put, "good quality" is a cognition, but "good quality" will not become a positioning concept. If a brand wants to establish the perception of "good quality", it must rely on "leader" or other positioning concepts.

1. Fashion is a subjective concept

The core reason why subjective concepts cannot be occupied is that they are constantly "moving" and it is difficult for brands to target them .

Because "fashion" is too subjective, different consumers have different definitions of it, and consumers from different cultures also have different definitions of it. In addition, it is also affected by age, region, and gender. Since every consumer has different views on fashion, it is difficult to reach a consensus on cognition.

So, even though Emma and Yadi invested a lot in the concept of "fashion", they still couldn't hit it.

In 2017, at the Guangzhou Construction Expo, China's leading suspended ceiling brand: AIA released a new brand positioning : good design. At the press conference, the company explained: "We follow the principle of 'user resonance-centered' because we believe that any consumer behavior must first touch people's hearts before it can resonate and spread, and then be converted into sharing or purchasing behavior."

The implication is that when consumers choose suspended ceilings, they attach great importance to the product's appearance design. A more aesthetically pleasing ceiling design can resonate with consumers and promote purchases.

This conclusion is not a guess, but comes from customer research. Previously, we have conducted research in the home building materials industry and found that “fashionable appearance” is indeed the primary prerequisite for consumers to choose many products. That is to say, if the appearance does not meet the aesthetic taste of consumers, they will slip away.

As a rule of thumb, consumers want stylish ceilings and better designed ceilings. AIA provides more stylish ceilings and better designed ceilings. The brand positioning perfectly matches the demand, so it should be natural for consumers to choose AIA.

But the practical results are far from expected. AIA’s financial reports for two consecutive years show that revenue growth is weak and net profit has fallen sharply for two consecutive years. Business managers want to put the blame on consumers, believing that their actions do not match their words. Or they put the blame on product designers, believing that the products they designed are not fashionable enough for consumers.

Actually, it is not. The reason is not that consumers don't act the same way they say, nor is it the design itself. The real reason is that there is a deviation between the "design" defined by consumers and the "design" provided by companies.

The misalignment between subjective concepts is the culprit that leads to cognitive bias. When it comes to fashion, the definition of fashion has no boundaries and is very vague. There are a thousand views on fashion in a thousand people's eyes. This is the root cause of cognitive bias. Conversely, if the definition of a word is relatively simple and objective, cognitive bias will not occur.

Let’s go back to the AIA case. “Better design” did not help AIA gain customers. The reason is that what companies call "design" is not the same as how consumers define "design". It is very likely that there is a situation where AIA designers believe that the Baroque style is fashionable and design-leading. However, consumers believe that Rococo and Roman styles are fashionable and leading in design.

The value of fashion and good looks is self-evident to consumers. However, due to the existence of subjective factors, companies face many obstacles in promoting the concept of "fashion". The company said that the appearance is very beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Consumers think this is normal.

Maybe someone will use the Zara case as rebuttal material. They believe that Zara is positioned as "fast fashion". This also happens to show that "fashion" will not be a positioning concept, so it is explained as "fast fashion". I think it is more accurate to describe Zara’s positioning as “quickly launching new products”.

Since its establishment in Spain in 1975, Zara has attracted attention with its "fast-track" concept.

The secret of Zara's success is largely due to its ability to keep up with ever-changing design trends and to deliver these products to consumers quickly without delay. In this regard, Zara is able to bring the latest styles to the market within a week or two.

Zara only allows its newest clothing to stay in stores for three to four weeks; after that, the specific style disappears and is replaced by a new one. It is this constantly updated style that entices consumers to visit Zara more frequently.

In stark contrast, other fashion brands take nearly six months to bring new designs and products to market. It is precisely with the strategic ability of "quickly launching new products" that Zara defeated other competitors. In Western countries, the media often use "freshly-baked clothes" to describe Zara.

2. Fashion concepts lack competitiveness

Companies have been working hard on the concept of "fashion" in an attempt to establish this positioning in the minds of consumers. We can’t help but ask, even if a brand has fashion, is it really competitive?

The birth of the Hammer phone was very dramatic. At that time, all we could remember were the two advertisements for Hammer phones, which were deeply rooted in people's hearts. One advertisement was "The best smartphone in the Eastern Hemisphere"; the other advertisement was "It's too pretty to be powerful. " Especially the phrase "It's too pretty to be powerful" was later quoted by many brands to describe the appearance of their products as very fashionable.

Smartisan Technology doesn't just talk the talk, they really put a lot of effort into the design. Mr. Luo Yonghao, who always prides himself on his "craftsman spirit", said: "Smartisan mobile phone is number one in the industrial design industry." In terms of appearance design, the appearance design of the Hammer phone was completely designed by a foreign design team. This team is not small, and the team includes the former industrial design director of Apple and the designer of Beats headphones.

The appearance design of the Hammer phone has been recognized by professional organizations and has won numerous design awards at home and abroad. The more famous awards include: the Gold Award of the iF International Design Award, which is the highest design award ever won by a domestic mobile phone brand; the "Good Design Award" sponsored by the Japan Institute for Design Promotion, etc. When you open the official website of Smartisan Technology, you will see various design awards.

The media also spoke highly of the Hammer phone. Zhike.com, a well-known mobile phone vertical website, commented: Smartisan Technology's Nut is such a handsome, beautiful and irresistible mobile phone. The design of Nut (a brand under Smartisan Technology) is incredibly beautiful. Pcpop used the phrase "unbelievably good-looking" to describe the Nut phone.

• Sohu Technology: "Maybe the most beautiful mobile phone in 2017."
• Phoenix Technology: "The pure white color of Nut R1 is extremely beautiful."
• Zhongguancun Online: "Smartisan Technology has always been a textbook example of industrial design in mobile phones."

The appearance of the Hammer phone is undoubtedly fashionable, but the Hammer phone did not achieve success because of its fashionable appearance. Instead, it fell into trouble step by step. Finally, it was sold to ByteDance.

There are no lessons to be learned in the field of marketing practice. Two years later, another company followed in the footsteps of Hammer smartphone. Many people may not know Yiwei Technology Company, but they must have heard of its brand: ivvi.

When the brand was first established, the company found the positioning concept for the brand: fashionable mobile phone. In order to occupy this positioning concept, ivvi has launched a number of mobile phones designed around "fashion". Not only that, ivvi also hired Mr. Cho Young-gil, president of the Korea Industrial Design Association, as its design director. With its design advantages, ivvi was awarded one of the top ten innovative industrial design companies in China in 2015.

• After the product was launched, ivvi fashion mobile phone began to launch a marketing offensive targeting young people;
• In April 2015, ivvi Fashion Mobile spent over 100 million yuan to exclusively sponsor Hubei TV's "If Love";
• Seven months later, ivvi teamed up with fashion star Zhao Liying. The company managers believed that the beautiful Zhao Liying was in line with the fashionable positioning of ivvi mobile phones;
• In July 2017, ivvi beat OPPO and vivo to become the official designated mobile phone of MTV Global Chinese Music Festival, which caused quite a stir.
• A few months later, ivvi won the exclusive sponsorship of the hit sitcom of the season "Happy Pedestrian Street" and became the official designated mobile phone brand.

This series of actions are all big-ticket items. Unfortunately, not long after, IVVI, which used "fashion" as its positioning concept, was repeatedly reported to be bankrupt. Although the official clarified it many times, it was actually dead in name only.

In fact, both Hammer and ivvi phones focus on "fashionable appearance" and strive to win young consumers through fashion concepts. Both companies have taken many practical actions in design. They hire high-end designers, use unique look materials and spend huge sums of money sponsoring fashion shows.

Judging from market feedback, the design advantage has not been transformed into a competitive advantage. Consumers are not flocking to brands just because they promote “fashion”. On the contrary, the two brands are seriously lacking in competitiveness in the market and are spurned by consumers.

In addition to the cognitive bias of consumers and businesses towards the concept of "fashion" as mentioned above, another reason is that the concept of "fashion" lacks competitiveness in some categories, especially practical categories.

Simply speaking, "fashion" is enough to attract consumers, but we cannot ignore competitors. Especially in categories with relatively intense competition, the essence of brand competition is the competition between positioning concepts. In practice, many companies ignore the concept of competitors' positioning in the category.

Because there is a direct competitive relationship between positioning concepts, paying attention to competitors' positioning concepts is a prerequisite for brands to establish positioning in the mind.

Hammer and ivvi phones focus on the concept of "fashion". If other brands do not focus on any concept, Hammer and ivvi phones have the possibility of winning. But it is obvious that other smartphone brands have a clear positioning concept. The positioning concepts of other brands not only achieve differentiation, but more importantly, these concepts themselves have the strength to compete with other concepts.

Simply put, consumers will choose between fashion phones and camera phones; consumers will choose between fashion phones and fast-charging phones; consumers will choose between fashion phones and music phones. If a company regards its competitors as air, that is, "fashionable mobile phones" competing with a group of mobile phones without any features. This is an ideal state and may not exist at all in reality.

The conclusion is that in some categories, consumers choose fashion brands only if the products keep pace with competitors in other features. Only when this condition is met will consumers tend to buy a fashion brand. Therefore, when a company is judging whether a positioning concept is feasible, it must not ignore its competitors and place this positioning concept in a non-competitive state, but must consider it in conjunction with the positioning of its competitors.

Not only smartphones, but in many categories, consumers have the same decision-making mechanism. Fashion appearance is very important to consumers because it expresses their taste and personality. However, once fashion brands compromise on other functions, they will be easily abandoned, especially in practical categories.

This shows that "fashion" is just the icing on the cake for some categories and some brands, rather than a key force influencing choices. In practice, the design of the survey and the results of the survey can mislead the judgment of the company. When consumers say “they will consider whether to buy this product from a fashion perspective,” business managers need to find out their true intentions.

A lot of practice shows that consumers blurt out brand characteristics, but when they actually start to make choices, their actions are not consistent with their words. When they really start to understand the product, "fashion" may become less important. In the categories of clothing and automobiles, the importance of the concept of "fashion" is self-evident. But why are Ailei and Chery QQ becoming less and less popular with consumers?

3. Fashion is short-lived

It is undeniable that Ailei and Chery QQ did go through the "fashion" recognition stage. But today, this perception has disappeared.

In the stage of establishing fashion awareness, compared with other down jacket brands, Ailey has two objective differences in terms of cognition. They play a key role in shaping the cognition of "fashionable down jackets" and are very helpful for Ailey to enhance its sense of fashion.

First of all, Ailey’s headquarters is located in Shanghai, which is a city with a high level of fashion awareness. Competing brands are located in Changshu, Jiangsu, Lushan, Jiangxi, Taicang, Jiangsu and Qingdao, Shandong, etc.

In comparison, the difference in cognitive advantage is obvious. Another advantage is the focus on women's down jackets. At that time, Ailey was the only brand in the industry that focused on women's down jackets. Focusing on women's down jackets was of great help in enhancing the brand's fashion sense.

Let’s take a look at Chery QQ. In 2003, the Chery QQ mini car was launched. Its lively and cute design caught people's attention and became the most outstanding mini car at that time. Especially its "big eyes", which many people still remember. In terms of exterior design and color, Chery QQ boldly uses internationally popular fashion elements such as red, yellow and green, further highlighting QQ's fashion awareness.

As a result, Chery QQ became very popular and continued to be a hot seller in the market. Four years later, Chery QQ ended Xiali's 20-year dominance in the micro-sedan market and became one of the most influential automobile brands in the history of China's automobile industry. At the same time, Chery QQ is also striving for the status of "World Small Car King".

The start of Chery QQ is undoubtedly a success. Since its launch, it has become the fashion "spokesperson" of domestic micro cars due to its unique shape. Today's Chery QQ has been defined as old-fashioned and dull, and girls wearing Ailei are no longer as fashionable as before.

Both brands are now in a bleak situation, and the media spotlight has moved away from them. In 2018, the once popular Chery QQ announced that it would stop production. As soon as the news came out, countless people felt sad. In fact, Chery QQ has started to decline sharply since 2011.

Ailey once became the second brand in China's down jacket industry and the absolute leader in women's down jackets. Many girls are proud to own an Ailei. Today, Ailei has been disliked by many fashionable ladies.

In 2018, the company launched a campaign to save Ailai in an attempt to bring it back into fashion. That year, Ailey’s new brand image and winter fashion down jacket blockbuster were officially unveiled at Shanghai Hongqiao Station, and the train was named after it. Subsequently, Ailei’s autumn and winter image blockbuster also appeared in stations such as Beijing South Railway Station, Jinan West Railway Station, Zhengzhou East Railway Station, Shenyang Railway Station, Chengdu East Railway Station and Changsha Huanghua International Airport.

It won't have any effect. Ailei has been defined in cognition. The two cases of Ailei and Chery QQ show that even if a brand has a "fashion" perception, its life cycle is very short. It cannot withstand the test of time and will soon be forgotten by consumers.

What caused the brand to quickly lose its trendiness?

From a practical point of view, brands that occupy a certain identity in the mind usually do not lose it in a short period of time. BMW has dominated driving for more than 50 years, Volvo has dominated safety for 70 years, and Head & Shoulders has dominated dandruff removal for 35 years.

The most fundamental reason why the concept of "fashion" is short-lived is that it does not originate from the mind. Fashion is a product concept. It is a unique selling point that promotes product sales, but it does not have the function of establishing brand differentiation. A product may look fashionable due to its unique design, but it can be easily imitated, followed, and quickly replaced by other designs.

In this day of fast fashion, with so many brands jumping on trends and pushing similar looks, it’s all about who’s first to market.

In 2017, when Apple released its new product iPhone 4, its design conquered the world. Ten years later, mobile phone designs all over the world are similar to the iPhone. Not only that, the constant changes in the external environment will also affect consumers' views on "fashion", causing "fashion" to lose its luster.

No brand can hold "fashion" in its hands for a long time. What factors are driving or influencing consumers' views on fashion brands?

The first thing to be affected is social influence. Social influence plays a central role in the development of fashion. Fashion is not only seen as a purely aesthetic value, but also as a social value.

• Football star Beckham popularized the Mohawk hairstyle, which was a fashion at the time.
• Basketball star Allen Iverson pioneered the trench hair style and started a trend in the NBA.

Michael Jackson made tight, cropped patent leather jackets a fashion statement in the 1980s. Fashion is also influenced by government figures, especially in Europe. If you look at history, you will find that European luxury brands' clothing and luggage all originated from the love of European royal families.

In the 19th century, aristocrats and royal families often ordered suitcases from LV, which made LV a fashion. Queen Letizia of Spain wore Zara's clothes, which left a deep mark on Zara and helped its position as a fast fashion brand and trendy clothing. Finally, the media also plays an important role in fashion.

For example: An important part of fashion is fashion news. Editorial reviews, guides and reviews can be found on television as well as in magazines, newspapers, fashion websites, social networks. In recent years, Weibo and Douyin videos have become the main channels for spreading fashion trends. Through these media, fashion is accessible to consumers and consumers all over China, making it very accessible.

It is not difficult to see that "fashion" is easily affected by external factors and changes very quickly. However, the most important thing for brands is to strive to maintain their positioning in an ever-changing environment. Due to the dynamic nature of fashion, brands must track it quickly and maintain a close relationship. Concepts that change frequently cannot gain a foothold in the mind and are extremely difficult for any brand.

In a sense, fashion refers to a lifestyle or behavior pattern that is prevalent in a society or a group during a certain period of time and is emulated by most people. Fashion is reflected in all aspects of life. Through mass chain reactions such as imitation, infection and conformity, it becomes a temporary general trend in society.

Essentially, fashion is the external expression of the inner world. Fashion is key to helping consumers express their individuality in specific contexts. The problem that fashion solves is the transmission of individuality. For consumers who have demands for fashion and appearance, if the brand cannot convey the consumer's identity through appearance and cannot recognize the consumer's aesthetic concepts, then the company's brand will not be able to influence the consumer.

It can be said that "fashion" is a consumer product on the spiritual level of consumers, and this is the true value of its existence. But it is not a good choice for companies to use "fashion" as a positioning concept.

First of all, fashion is influenced by personal perception.

Different people have different views on fashion. Some people think that wearing a fashionable dress is a sign of fashion. At the same time, some people think that smoking and tattoos are fashionable. The second is that fashion is generally uncompetitive in the competition. No concept can be viewed in isolation from market competition. In many categories, more consumers are willing to pay for a feature rather than just to express their personality.

Finally, fashion cycles are short-lived. Fashion is a social phenomenon of a certain period and it will no longer be popular after that period.

I have the impression that when the Hong Kong movie "Young and Dangerous" became popular, students started smoking and getting tattoos. At that time, they thought smoking and having tattoos were cool and fashionable. A few years later, the TV series "Meteor Garden" became popular on campus. Influenced by television, students began to wear wide-leg pants and dye their hair yellow.

There was a time when leggings were in fashion, but now hardly anyone wears them anymore.

In short, fashion, as a social psychological phenomenon, is closely related to the society's economic and cultural conditions and personal cognitive level. It reflects a person's understanding of social values, aesthetics and spiritual outlook.

The point is clear. But companies can still make their products fashionable through unique designs and thereby attract consumers. But at the competitive level, brands cannot be differentiated through "fashion". While there are ways to create short-term popularity, it is not a long-term solution.

4. Difference and the latest can create fashion

How to create fashion?

Before exploring the answer, we should understand the definition of fashion. According to sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, fashion means "newness and difference".

First of all, it’s new. Human beings instinctively have a basic psychological tendency to desire new things and to be disgusted with old things. This psychological tendency is closely related to people's pursuit of popularity.

Social psychologists point out that "seeking novelty" is a human instinctive need. The novelty feature can just meet people's needs.

Precisely because of being “new”, fashion has a strong timeliness. It expands and spreads quickly, but also disappears quickly. Because no matter how novel something is, when people become accustomed to it, it loses its novelty and people will naturally lose interest in it quickly.

Although "new" is short-lived, it often recurs in cycles. What is fashionable today may become obsolete after a period of time, and what is obsolete today may be considered new after a period of time.

"Feiyue" was once a brand from the 1980s. In the 21st century, it was disliked by Chinese people as an old brand. Around 2016, “leaping” became fashionable again.

The second is difference, which is another force in creating fashion. In fact, this is easy to understand. If a company imitates other brands' products, it will definitely not become a fashionable product.

The power of fashion lies in "differentiation"! Luxe.Co founder Yu Yan's speech at the InnoBrand 2018 finals. She went on to say: In the global fashion industry, the strong brands that are familiar to everyone almost all have a history of one hundred years. Louis Vuitton has 164 years, Chanel has 108 years, Gucci has 97 years, Hermès has 181 years, Patek Philippe has 167 years... Not only that, judging from the current market position of these brands, it is likely that they will survive for another hundred years.

The key to these brands' longevity in the fashion industry is that they have a solid differentiated concept, such as Louis Vuitton's high-end luggage, Chanel's high-end perfume, Gucci's high-end belts, Hermès' women's bags, and Patek Philippe's high-end watches.

Because differentiation is the "unchanging" component, and it is far greater than the "changing" component. As time goes by, this difference has not changed fundamentally with the advancement of technology and the change of generations.

In fact, design, beauty, fashion and art all express similar meanings. It is impossible for a corporate brand to establish a positioning based on these words.

If at this moment, you are discussing with the product design department how to make the product more beautiful, it is definitely right to do so. It will increase the probability of the product being selected, provided that the public has the same aesthetic in design. If you are working with a branding department planning on creating differentiation through “fashion,” you should abandon the idea; it won’t work.

Companies try to grasp future fashion trends and unlock fashion codes, which is the most sincere idea of ​​product designers and makes the brand attract attention. The prerequisite is that the company must be able to describe the fashion concept of its own brand in a few sentences. At present, it seems that no brand can do this.

If you find that your brand suddenly becomes a fashion, you can also call it an Internet celebrity. The power behind this is "latest difference". Companies cannot retain "new", but they can retain differences.

At this point, what companies can and must do is to extract differentiated concepts from fashion brands, and then transform fashion into people’s habits and make it a tradition. Only in this way can an enterprise achieve long-term prosperity and its brand will not disappear over time.

Author: Zhu Xiaoshuan

Source: Zhu Xiaoshuan