Fashion Marketing :: Targeting the Youth Audience

Aiming your fashion marketing campaign at the youth audience can be challenging to say the least. 

Between social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, and on-demand video viewing sites like YouTube, it’s hard to know where to focus your efforts. 

One thing is for sure, your message needs to be on-point, and on the right channel.  The current youth segment is an "on-demand" market, not having to wait for much of anything these days. They want to know what your product has in the first few words, or you’ve lost their attention.

The youth market segment consists of those aged 13-25. They’re plugged-in, savvy consumers.  A new study by Forbes shows that some of them have already made their first million. These consumers know what they want and  they’re not wasting any time trying t o be the first to have the latest technology. They’re in it for the benefits, "What’s in it for ME?"

Today’s youth wants what’s NOT popular and what’s not considered luxury. 

They wear obscure designers clothing lines and listen to garage bands that you’ve never heard of.  If it’s popular and mainstream, they seemingly want nothing to do with it.

They do their market research by talking to friends and surfing social networking sites. They look for product reviews on blogs and pay close attention to consumer comments.  This is one of the reasons that fashion houses continue to actively seek out fashion blogs to partner with; they know that their current - and future customers - are reading.

This brings to light two questions though: what does this mean for the future of the luxury brands as the current youth market ages? And, does this mean that fashion houses should avoid traditional marketing techniques in favor of a heavier online marketing campaign?

It seems that, if the current attitude of the youth market continues, "luxury" will continue to carry less and less weight as time moves forward.  If you study their buying habits, today’s youth are shopping for utility, form and function.  They’re more concerned with how a product meets their needs.

As Pepe Diokno said in the Philippine Star Supreme, "Access to information is the new luxury……’hip’ is not defined by what one has, but by what one knows." He is spot on.

So, how does the fashion industry approach this new trend? For designers that have embraced online sites like "Second Life," the transition has already begun. By delivering  their fashion products to a space their users are currently congregating in, they’re doing their part to target the market in a way the market wants to hear from them.

Other sites like ThisNext, StyleHive, and StyleFeeder, while not directly being targeted by the designers, are helping get the word out too. And let’s not forget fashion blogs and their importance to this industry.

As the fashion world moves forward, and the youth market ages, designers will not only need to create runway trends, but also marketing trends; finding new ways to reach their market will likely mean incorporating advertising that you’re older market won’t understand.  It’s a fine line to walk; we’ll see who does it best.