Dior, Chanel, Gucci… Did you know that these luxury brands have their own podcast? What might be the underlying reasons for them to have one? And, in general, why podcasting might be an interesting way to communicate with your audience if you are a fashion brand? If you have read some of my previous posts, you already have the answer.
In this article, we will see:
What fashion and luxury brands do in terms of podcast,
The main advantages of podcasting for fashion and luxury brands,
What you need to keep in mind when you launch a podcast in the fashion industry.
As you certainly know, the podcast industry is growing pretty fast and all activity sectors, at some points, decide to launch their own podcast. The fashion industry is no exception to that. And I wanted to know what was really happening for fashion brands podcasting as well as the main lessons we could learn from them.
This article is also the introduction of another topic you will be able to read in “My Blog Box” starting from October 2022. In “The Fashion Brands’ podcasts: The Case Studies Box by My Marketing Toolbox”, I will, each month, study the podcast of a fashion or luxury brand to see what works, what doesn’t work, what could be done better and the main lessons you can learn from them. Stay tuned!
Let’s go back to our today’s topic: podcasting and the fashion industry.
The fashion industry is a very visual one. And we could think that an audio format might not be relevant for fashion brands. How do you show all the glitters, glamour and lifestyle linked with fashion with words? Pictures and films seem a more appropriate format. Well, you can still sell a dream with words only and it’s called storytelling. A discipline fashion and luxury brands are well versed in.
Let’s now look at what fashion and luxury brands do in terms of podcasts.
Fashion and luxury brands use podcasts for different objectives.
Objective #1: Showing the “Behind the Scenes”
More and more fashion brands start their podcasting adventure in order to show some “Behind the Scenes”. They organise interviews with their employees and brand ambassadors to reveal how their brand works from the inside.
This is the case for Chanel with their podcast “3.55”, Hermès with “Faubourg of Dreams” (le Faubourg des Rêves).
Objective #2: Branding
Of course, fashion brands will also use their podcast to talk about themselves. In this kind of objective, the brand, its values and messages, the designers, the creative directors will be at the heart of the episodes.
Some examples would be:
Sometimes Objective #1 and Objective #2 can be mixed together, depending on the topics of the episodes.
These 2 objectives also contribute to the storytelling around the brands and to the dreams they are selling to their audiences.
Objective #3: Fostering a community around precise topics
Generally, for this objective, fashion brands tend to collaborate with other fashion players. The topic is not the brand itself anymore but the industry in which the brand evolves.
As examples you have the podcast collaboration between Chanel and Monocle: Metier Class by Chanel in which Chanel specialists answer questions asked by Tyler Brûlé regarding the luxury industry and its future.
Who What Wear with Hillary Kerr, the Who What Wear website’s podcast dealing with fashion and beauty and sponsored by Walmart.
What are the advantages for fashion and luxury brands to launch their own podcast?
Advantage #1: Providing another and different experience about their brands than the one they give on traditional social media through audio storytelling
Advantage #2: Creating and developing more intimate relationships with their audiences
Advantage #3: Being able to target a different audience than on Instagram or TikTok as podcast listeners tend to be people with a better education, or at least more interested in culture, and more affluent
Advantage #4: Being able to be less “sales pushy” and more authentic than on other social media platforms
Advantage #5: Being able to cover a topic in a deeper way than on traditional social media, thus conveying a higher value to the brand’s contents
Advantage #6: Being less costly than prints or ads on social media to implement and run (the majority of fashion and luxury brands run their podcasts in house)
Advantage #7: Easy to set up and to run
And what about the disadvantages of podcasting for fashion and luxury brands?
Well, I don’t see much disadvantages for fashion and luxury brands to run their own podcasts, apart from the lack of visuals. However, I do see some points fashion and luxury brands need to keep in mind when running.
Advice #1: Make sure that your podcast is not too brand focused. You want to talk about your brand but not too much as your podcast will sound more like an advertisement.
Advice #2: Make sure you have a good editorial line aligned with your podcast’s objectives. And look at your episodes’ stats to see which topics resonate better with your audiences so that you can adjust your content.
Advice #3: Work on your frequency. Frequency in podcasting is key to achieve results but difficult to sustain. Don’t underestimate the preparation time you need for each episode. It’s better to start slowly but surely than to “podfade” (disappear) after few episodes.
This enthusiasm the fashion industry shows regarding podcasting is linked with the change of media consumption noticed the past years.
With the pandemic and working from home, people tend to experiment screen fatigue. This leads them to look for other media format and the audio one appeared as a good option. A though shared by Daniel Ek, Spotify Chief Executive:
“While the world focused on trying to reduce screen time, this opens up a massive audio opportunity”.
This is how I, myself, started to listen to podcasts. And I found out it was a pleasant activity you could do while reading, exercising, cleaning or just relaxing…
And i would like to end this article with some food for thought for you through a quote from Neil Saunders, Managing director of retail at Global Data:
“Good podcasts aren’t just another form of advertising designed to sell products. They are about telling a brand story and creating deeper connections and affinity with consumers. This is especially so with younger shoppers. If a podcast is blatant marketing or PR puffery, consumers will see right through it. However, if it reveals something of a brand’s DNA or its heritage, or showcases interesting people, then it has a much better chance to resonate.”
So, will podcasting for fashion and luxury brands be just a fad or a long-term trend? The future will tell us!
I hope that in this article you learned more about how fashion players were using podcasts to promote their brands and to connect with their audiences.
Don’t miss the new topic “The Fashion Brands’ podcasts: The Case Studies Box by My Marketing Toolbox” starting in October 2022 in which I will analyse in depth fashion brands' podcasts.
I am ready to help you to make your podcast adventure the best one of your entrepreneur’s journey! Check out my podcast launching offers and my podcast management offers for more details how to do it.
And, if you have any question or doubt, why not booking a call with me to discuss your challenges and expectations?
See you soon!
Cath @MyMarketingToolbox
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