Panel of fashion marketing experts to discuss the impact of social media at FGI Los Angeles event on May 20th, 2010

By Robin Rowe

International jeans brand Diesel uses social media for "Be Stupid" campaign that urges consumers to take risks

HOLLYWOOD, CA  (Hollywood Today) 5/19/2010 – “No one has it 100% right,” says Fashionably Digital CEO Macala Wright Lee. “Success depends on how a brand or retailer is integrating social media into their overall marketing plan. During New York Fashion Week, Sorel stood out with their Style Coalition (stylecoalition.com) campaign and G-Star did an amazing job with their blogger site.”

Twitter and Facebook have become part of the standard marketing mix as customer information tools and for customer service. E-commerce is evolving into social commerce. “Bloggers with fierce use of Polyvore.com have caused brands and retailers to develop rich media tools to enhance online shopping experiences,” says Lee.

“Social media is a game-changer,” says Fox Rothschild Fashion Law Practice Group chair Staci Riordan. “It gives companies the ability to by-pass the traditional gate keepers of fashion. Social media will change the way clothes are marketed and sold, bringing what’s in stores closer to what’s in season as well as allowing customers to purchase the looks they see on the runways, or on TV, as soon as the show is over.” Riordan is the founder and editor of the Fashion Law Blog (http://fashionlaw.foxrothschild.com).

“I think Burberry is doing a great job with social media, along with smaller companies like Bonobos, which uses YouTube very well,” says Riordan. “Scootergirls have built an amazing cult following on twitter.. I follow many designers and like those that talk about their world, instead of merely posting what’s on sale.”

The brands and retailers Lee says are doing the best at using Facebook, Twitter and other social media for marketing and brand development are Hayden-Harnett (@Hayden_Harnett), Need Supply Co., Kate Spade, ModCloth.com and LOFT, (@Loft).

“Location based marketing (LBS) and geo-location services such as Gowalla and Foursquare are huge because of their potential to take online customer offline and into stores,” says Lee. “Marc Jacobs, Jimmy Choo and Diesel are all testing the potential of Foursquare. Diesel’s BE STUPID campaign is probably on my top 10 Lists of best branded campaigns in 2010.”

“Social media should not just be another billboard,” says Riordan.  “It’s a way to engage your customer and get to know him or her better. I think licensing will be key in 2011.”

Social media conversations can yield valuable market research, customer insights and competitor information. Lee recommends using social media monitoring tools, such as partner Attensity360.

Fashionably Digital is going to be building the community over the next year for Sense of Fashion, a new client that’s recently funded. Sense Of Fashion (SenseOFashion.com) is aninternational, social fashion community that is the fastest growing indie fashion marketplace on the web says Lee.

Another Fashionably Digital project are the mobile style apps Stylish Girl + Cool Guy (www.stylishandcool.com). Lee says Stylish + Cool has had over 500,000 downloads from iTunes and have 100,000 active users. “We’re developing a more robust version that integrates geo-location services such as Foursquare,” says Lee.

Riordan is working on a national series of events that address the hot topics in fashion law, including the Design Piracy Prohibition Act (DPPA), managing your fashion company in the new economy, and using social media tools to build brand.

A “Social Media Secrets” panel discussion is being presented by fashion industry associationFashion Group International Los Angeles (http://fgila.org). A panel of experts will discuss social media marketing for fashion, using blogs and networking brand development.

The panel members:

• FashionablyMarketing.Me editor-in-chief Macala Wright Lee
• The-Coveted.com blogger Jennine Jacob
• PRCouture.com founder Crosby Noricks
• Fox Rothschild fashion attorney Staci Riordan
• Stonefield Josephson financial planner Ron Friedman

The event is May 20th, 2010, from 6pm to 9pm at Stonefield Josephson, 2049 Century Park East, Level D Conference Room, Los Angeles.