Abstract:

Because consumers don't buy clothing the way they buy computers, brands need a category-specific understanding of how to best engage consumers via creative retail communication techniques. Because the consumer will be different by demographic, i.e. age cohort, what's important to them, what they expect from a brand, and their emotional response to consumer touch points and the ways brands reach out to engage them will also differ. The research will examine two of the strongest brands in the female specialty apparel category 'Lucky and Kate Spade' and will demonstrate which activities and touch points work best to activate an emotional bond among different audiences, while maintaining a consistent brand image. Importantly, this research will demonstrate how this emotionally-based consumer-centric view can predicatively measure ROI, by touch point, among age cohort groups. The findings of this completed research will be presented for four generational consumer cohorts: -Baby Boomers -Gen X -Gen Y -Millennials If clothes make the man (or woman), then retail engagement can make the brand: and metrics that offer insights and not just data will be crucial to long-term success. Like love, there is not one set plan, and the more successfully a brand can aim its arrow, the better it will be at playing Cupid to the increasingly-elusive consumer.