Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 51

FEATURE
the digital nature of modern communications,
brands face a multitude of attacks even at the
slightest misstep. Consider the Photoshop
scandal faced by Calvin Klein for its campaign
featuring Justin Bieber or the the time when it
was discovered that the clothing of Gap
was being produced by Indian children under
abusive environments.
In each instance, these brands were faced
with massive criticism and boycott from their
customers, which had a real impact on their
brand equity and profitability. However, the key to
their long-term success has been the wise use of
reputation- and brand-management strategies,
which have helped them to not only avoid risk
areas but also mitigate the aftermath in case
of oversight.
REPUTATION MANAGEMENT
IN APPAREL
No one can deny that the relationship between
brands and the public is critical for business.
However, today’s consumer is not only more
aware of the workings of global corporations
but also more cynical and less forgiving. It is
in this environment that apparel businesses
have to find new ways of serving the constantly
changing demands and social preferences of
their customers. In this respect, companies
have discovered that they only have a handful of
choices if they wish to retain their relationships.
Apparel brands, today, broadly fall into two
general categories when it comes to brand
value. For global companies such as Nike and
Zara, the strength of their value proposition
comes from the personality and identity of their
brand. These companies cultivate and project a
distinct image in order to attract the right kind of
customers for whom they set a trend and develop
a higher product value. The other type of brands
is not focused so much on developing a unique
brand identity. Instead, they mimic and follow
TODAY’S CONSUMER IS NOT ONLY
MORE AWARE OF THE WORKINGS
OF GLOBAL CORPORATIONS
BUT ALSO MORE CYNICAL AND
LESS FORGIVING.
established trends in order to push greater sales.
The way these brands choose or become one
or the other is directly based on their brand-
management strategy. But how they choose to
react when things go wrong is where reputation
management becomes more important.
And while brand management can differ
from one company to another, depending on
their unique perspectives and business goals,
reputation remains a singular challenge. No
customer wants to spend their money on a
tainted brand, no matter how good its products
may be or how cheap they are available for.
Once a brand’s reputation has been tarnished, its
appeal to the customer plummets, leading to the
brand marking a descent into oblivion. Reputation
management, hence, is the arena where a brand
finds ways to manage a situation or crisis when
its strategies fail.
APPAREL
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November 2019
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