The cosmetics industry is one of the biggest businesses in the world. As the industry continues to expand, it has led to fierce competitiveness and rising consumer expectations. Thus, consumer behavior plays a fundamental role in creating marketing strategy. The Vietnamese cosmetics market is not an exception to this fact. Cosmetics brands in Vietnam have to understand their consumer to satisfy their demand and build a strong market standing. This articles aims to discuss Vietnamese consumers in the cosmetics market and provide marketing practices based on consumer behavior for foreign brands.

Authors: Thi Kim Khanh Nguyen, Thanh Thao Nguyen and Marja Viljanen

Vietnamese consumers in the cosmetics industry

In recent years, Vietnam has seen a lot of changing patterns in buying behaviors, especially in young people who belong to Generation Z and the late of Millennials. Since these generations have been exposed to many development privileges as well as the Internet and globalization effect at earlier ages, there have been a lot of changes in their thinking. The improvement of living standards together with globalization effect has led to a remarkable increase in consumers’ consciousness of quality. This makes them demand for more original products and high-quality customer service. (Oxford Business Groups 2019.)

The usage of cosmetics and makeup products has gradually increased its social values and meanings among Vietnamese consumers, especially among women. The percentage of people who do not wear makeup decreases, from 24% in 2016 to 14% at the beginning of 2019. Vietnamese women also increasingly use skincare products, as 73% of 480 respondents in research done by Q&Me use skincare products at least once a week. (Q&Me 2019.)

Together with the growth of online shopping, online communication and media have affected Vietnamese consumers a lot in shopping behaviors. Recent years have seen rise in beauty blogging and influencing, where individuals express opinions on cosmetics products. According to a survey by Kengo (2018), 91% of people who took part in his survey and usually use makeup products admitted to watching YouTube for cosmetics review and makeup tutorials. A typical Vietnamese spend circa 50USD a month for cosmetics products, among other entertainment products and clothes (Chi 2018). This amount of money is not enough to afford any luxurious brand cosmetics. Therefore, Vietnamese consumers have the tendency to look for price value cosmetics and other related products that last for a long time.

Marketing practices for foreign cosmetics brands

The research was carried out on Shiseido Group, a Japanese multinational cosmetics company. They have been promoting their business in Vietnam from 1997. Because of the growth of the Vietnamese cosmetics market, Shiseido Group wishes to expand its business and strengthen its position in the market. (Vinny 2017.) Although the suggested marketing practices are designed for Shiseido Group Vietnam, it is also applicable for other international cosmetics brands in Vietnam to some degree. The empirical research included three interviews and an online survey with 197 valid responses. (Nguyen & Nguyen 2019.) Based on the empirical data and secondary data, marketing practices were proposed for the case company.

The first proposal concerns the case company’s product. As consumers are environmentally aware, the case company should concentrate on producing cosmetics products with natural ingredients. The packaging should be oriental style to appeal to Vietnamese aesthetics sense. Skincare products are Shiseido’s specialty. Thus, they can focus on promoting high quality skincare products that provide good value. Second, the case company’s prices are quite expensive to Vietnamese consumers. It will be quite challenging for Shiseido Group to lower their price, as they need to take account of other costs. It is suggested that the company should focus on the Millennial generation from 23 to 38 years old, who have stable income to afford the brand’s premium price. The case company should conduct promotion for consumers such as discount events and membership program. (Nguyen & Nguyen 2019.)

Third, to make the company’s product more accessible for consumers, it should open its own independent retail store and showroom in major urban areas in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This can also assure the consumers of products’ origin because of counterfeit products in the market. Finally, in terms of promotion, the official Shiseido Vietnam Facebook page should be more attentive in responding to users’ questions and comments. Instagram and YouTube page should be opened with the Vietnamese language. Aside from social media, beauty magazines and websites can also be used for advertisement. As YouTube is one of the largest channels for sharing makeup tips amongst Vietnamese consumers, the company can also cooperate with beauty bloggers and celebrities to use its product. If a reputable consumer can provide authentic support for the products, new consumers will be interested in trying out the brand. (Nguyen & Nguyen 2019.)

Conclusion

As Vietnamese market is monopolized by foreign brands, it serves as the driving force to promote business in Vietnam. At the same time, the competition between international brands also becomes more intense. Being able to satisfy consumers’ needs is a factor that put companies in a favorable position. With the rapid development of technology and the Internet, consumers are changing in their behaviors, perceptions, and opinions. Therefore, companies should observe and tailor to the ever-changing consumer behaviors.

References

Chi, K. 2018. Vietnam’s US$2 billion cosmetics market controlled by foreign brands. Vietnamnet. [Cited 8March 2019]. Available at: https://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/198524/vietnam-s-us-2-billion-cosmetics-market-controlled-by-foreign-brands.html

Kengo, K. 2018. Cosmetics Market in 2018 and the growth of online shopping. Brands Vietnam. [Cited and translated 8 March 2019]. Available at: https://www.brandsvietnam.com/congdong/topic/9223-Thi-truong-my-pham-2018-va-su-bung-no-mua-hang-truc-tuyen

Nguyen, K. & Nguyen, T. 2019. Developing Marketing Practices Based on Consumer Behavior. Case Company: Shiseido Group Vietnam. Bachelor’s Thesis. Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Business Administration. [Cited 14 April 2019]. Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201903304042

Oxford Business Group. 2019. Foreign Brands Eyeing Vietnam Due to Growing Young Population and Liberalising Reforms. [Cited 4March 2019]. Available at: https://oxfordbusinessgroup.com/overview/talking-shop-growing-young-population-and-liberalising-reforms-have-foreign-brands-eyeing-vietnam

Q&Me. 2019. Research on Vietnamese cosmetics market 2019. [Cited 8 March 2019]. Available at: https://qandme.net/en/report/research-vietnam-cosmetic-market-2019.html

Vinny, H. 2017. Nars comes to Vietnam. Retail in Asia. [Cited 6 October 2018]. Available at: https://retailinasia.com/in-sectors/health-and-beauty/nars-comes-to-vietnam/

Authors

Thi Kim Khanh Nguyen has studied Business and Administration at Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management at Lahti University of Applied Sciences and has graduated and received a BBA degree in April 2019.

Thanh Thao Nguyen has studied Business and Administration at Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management at Lahti University of Applied Sciences and has graduated and received a BBA degree in April 2019.

Marja Viljanen works as a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management, Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

Cover image: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/804550 (CC0)

Published: 16.4.2019

Reference to this publication

Nguyen, T. K. K., Nguyen, T. T. & Viljanen, M. 2019. Vietnamese Cosmetics Market: Consumers’ Expectation from Brands. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2019/04/16/vietnamese-cosmetics-market-consumers-expectation-from-brands/

Marketing is a constantly changing field where service marketing is becoming more and more common. When marketing services it is essential to acknowledge how service marketing differs from marketing products and why. This article focuses on highlighting the most essential aspects of service marketing by relying on research based information about the subject. A practical point of view is given by taking a close look on how a cloud computing service should be marketed according to theory. Since the industry is so changing, also some trends are given thought to that seem to be relevant for marketing in the future.

Authors: Julia Backman and Riku Nummikoski

Service marketing by utilizing technology

There is a fundamental difference in marketing between products and services. When marketing products a marketer can rely on the products being tangible. When services are in question, the marketer has to promote commodities that are intangible. (Isohookana 2011, 65.) Creating a marketing and communications plan for a service has to focus on finding the right target audience by choosing the right channels for marketing. The content of marketing should also be in the interest of that target audience. (Todor 2016, 1-6).

Digital marketing is a modern tool for marketing goods and services using digital technologies (Todor 2016, 1-6). The different digital channels are much used in the modern world and they enable an effective way of marketing intangible commodities. (Kotler, Kartajaya & Setiawan 2010.) When marketing services, the environment where the service can be presented to the customer needs to be chosen carefully. Social media is a mainstay in the modern communications and should therefore be utilized for finding the right target audience. (Chaffey 2018.)

A model for marketing planning called the SOSTAC model consists of six different aspects which are situation, objectives, strategy, tactics, action and control. The SOSTAC® Planning framework is created by PR Smith (2019) and it makes the marketer create a marketing plan that starts from considering the current situation of the company. It defines the objectives for the company and how their commodities should be offered. When the objectives are determined the plan for carrying them out in practice needs to be considered. When it is time for action the marketer has a clear plan in mind how the different operations will be done. After doing different marketing activities the success of the activities should be monitored. The last part of the model is the control part where the results of marketing is analyzed and measured. (Chaffey 2018, Smith 2019.)

Image 1. The essential parts to consider in service marketing (Backman 2019)

Marketing plan: From plan to action

A thesis called Marketing- and communications plan for a cloud computing service Riihi DMA, CASE Riihisoft was done that concerns this topic closely. In the beginning of the study it was crucial to note the difference between marketing products and services. Soon only the digital channels for marketing were chosen for the study. The current situation for the company was analyzed by following the steps of the SOSTAC model by doing a micro and macro analysis. The micro analysis pointed out the target audience for the company, which was middle- and large-sized companies. (Backman 2019.)

The micro analysis soon lead to a competitor analysis where the other operators on the field were discovered and analyzed with SWOT analysis. One important aspect to find out was which digital channels they are using and if those channels seem to be support their marketing. The information received led to choosing those channels for marketing that the case company already was using frequently and focus on them. It also turned out that a new channel, a blog, should be opened and invested with time and thought. (Backman 2019.)

The 5s’s pointed out how to determine objectives. At this stage of the study the competitive advantage for the service Riihi DMA was discovered. The scalability and a turnkey solution that this service offered are aspects that the marketing plan would definitely highlight when defining what the marketing content should consist of. It became an objective to clearly send this information to the target audience and make all the marketing channels to support this endeavor. By choosing the right channels and by maintaining a systematic grip on marketing, good results might be expected in the future. (Backman 2019.)

Some key findings

A good starting point for creating a working marketing plan was a deep understanding of the company’s current situation. The objectives set for the plan right from the start gave a framework which to follow and in the end to check the results. Along the way of making the plan the planning model brought out many important aspects to highlight in the marketing content. The competitive advantage can be discovered especially when conducting a competitor analysis. The marketing planning overall is a whole that consists of multiple different activities that all should have clear objectives that support each other. The  constructed plan never seems to be all-inclusive since it has to be updated from time to time. This is no wonder since the field itself is changing all the time.

The way forward

Marketing is already utilizing a lot of data. In the future it is presumable, that the amount of data received will grow. The issue will be finding the right information from the information flow. Marketers should create better ways of collecting the right data to being able to create marketing campaigns for their customers that actually work. The second area the marketers should focus on is creating such content that they can target an even larger audience for creating engagement and new customers. The content has to provide the potential customer an experience that they value and what makes them choose one company out of another. The marketeer should keep in mind that people value authenticity in content. (Gruhler 2018.)

Image 2. The fast changing nature of technology globally (Backman 2019)

Artificial Intelligence is also arising and already used as a tool in marketing. The further knowhow and use of that advanced technology can be a gamechanger for a company. The marketing environment changes constantly and so does the marketing activities. The marketeer should still utilize the basic interests people have towards enjoying good stories and experiences, especially those that outweigh their expectations. The companies need to give a great thought on how to deliver that to the customers in the form of their value proposition now and in the future. (Gruhler 2018.)

References

Backman, J. 2019. Marketing and Communication Plan, CASE: Riihisoft Oy, RIIHI DMA. Bachelor’s thesis.  Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Degree Programme in International Business. Lahti. [Cited 20 May 2019]. Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201903273910

Chaffey, D. 2018. Setting goals for your digital marketing. Smart Insights [Cited 4 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/goal-setting-evaluation/goals-kpis/goals-for-your-digital-marketing/

Gruhler, T. 2018. Five Trends Shaping The Future Of Marketing. Forbes. [Cited 20 May 2019]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/04/18/five-trends-shaping-the-future-of-marketing/#2e27166b4d36

Isohookana, H. 2011. Yrityksen markkinointiviestintä. Suomi: Sanoma Pro Oy.

Kotler, P. Kartajaya, H. & Setiawan, I. 2010. Marketing 3.0: From Products to Customers to the Human Spirit. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Smith, PR. 2019. PR Smith’s SOSTAC® Planning System. [Cited 8 Apr 2019]. Available at: https://www.sostac.org/

Todor, D. 2016. Blending traditional and digital marketing. Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov Series V: Economic Sciences. No. 1/2016 [Cited 24 Oct 2018]. Available at: http://webbut.unitbv.ro/BU2015/Series%20V/2016/BULETIN%20I%20PDF/06_Todor%20R.pdf

Authors

Riku Nummikoski works as a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management, Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

Julia Backman is a student in Lahti University of Applied Sciences and a soon to be Bachelor of International Business.

Cover image: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1452891 (CC0)

Published: 3.4.2019

Reference to this publication

Backman, J. & Nummikoski, R. 2019. What is service marketing and where is it heading. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2019/04/03/what-is-service-marketing-and-where-is-it-heading/

Today in the ever-expanding digitalized world, ordering food home through online services is extremely popular. As a matter of fact, the market for food delivery service is growing strong all over the world; Vietnam is not an exception. With the next great buying power coming from Millennials and Generation Zs (Gen Zs), food delivery services in Vietnam need to understand what these two generations need and want to capture their interest and loyalty.

Authors: My Nguyen and Marja Viljanen

Millennials and Gen Z as Consumers

According to Pew Research Center (2019) specified, Millennials are those who were born in 1981-1996 (23-37 of age as of 2019) and Generation Zs begins with those who were born starting from 1997 (22 of age as of 2019). In Vietnam, as of 2018, Millennials and Gen Zs accounts for 35% of the country’s population.

Millennials are and will have a major impact on the economy. Their spending is projected to amount at $1.4 trillion (=€1.2 trillion) in the US by 2020, accounting for 30% of retail sale. (Gapper 2018.). When marketing to Millennials, there are a few characteristics of this generation that brands and businesses need to be aware of. Millennials love having their opinions listened to, they want to have a part in creating the products with the brands. When Millennials shop, they utilize online platforms in every stage of the decision journey from searching online, making payment to signing up for membership card. Millennials don’t just acquire food, products, services or media silently; they share the experience with their friends through both offline and online means. Millennials value experience and seek adventure and newness. They are also driven by values, meaning that they integrate their beliefs when choosing products. Over 50% of US Millennials pick companies that support the causes they care about. (Solomon 2018.) It is extremely hard to gain Millennials’ loyalty but they make especially loyal customers, if they feel like they are treated right by the companies (Donnelly 2018).

The clean line that cut between Millennials and Gen Zs is that Gen Z never knows a world before digital access. This sets Gen Z’ expectation for brands to be as digital-savvy as they are, demanding even more seamless shopping experience with up-to-date technologies. Gen Z are more entrepreneurial than their predecessor generation. (Hodgson 2018). Gen Z love brands with a personality and fun brand voice. Ads for Gen Z are no longer a showcase of product, it must be something entertaining to attract Gen Zs’ attention and make an impact. (Watson 2018.) While Gen Z can be reached predominantly via social medias, forming connection with them takes a lot more work. Marketing messages must be tailored to specific social medias while maintaining the same message across platforms as each social media is used for different purposes by Gen Z. (Perlstein 2017.)

How food delivery services in Vietnam accommodate Millennials and Generation Z

As the food and beverage sector in Vietnam experience an exponential growth, the market share of food delivery service also expands. A survey was carried out to learn about the behaviors of Vietnamese Millennials and Gen Zs towards food delivery services (Nguyen 2019). Out of 134 respondents, 57% of Vietnamese Millennials and Gen Zs take to Google and social medias and 38% turn to friends and family members to decide which food delivery service to use. They don’t trust online advertisements as a valid information source. Instagram and Facebook are the most used social media by Vietnamese Millennials and Gen Zs.

When picking a food delivery service, there are a few elements that Millennials and Gen Zs value over others. Respondents were asked to rate a series of seven elements on the scale of one to five, with one being strongly disagree and five being strongly agree. Speed and quality of delivery is the most valued element when Millennials and Gen Z pick a food delivery service. In addition, high quantity of promotions, recommendations from friends and relative, and easy-to-use ordering system are also highly considered. (Nguyen 2019.)

As Millennials and Gen Zs in Vietnam trust recommendations from someone they know in real life, it will do food delivery services in Vietnam well to focus on deepening the bonds that they already have with existing customers. Word-of-mouth phenomenon will draw in new customers and earn their trust instantly. Food delivery services should concentrate on addressing the needs and wants for convenience and seamless online and offline experience of Millennials and Gen Zs to create instant connection with them. A little fun and characteristics to a social media post is what keep Millennials and Gen Zs interested. Shareable, valuable contents such as infographic, trendy memes are highly valued.  (Nguyen 2019.)

References

Dimock, M. 2019. Where Millennials end and Generation Z Begins. Pew Research Center. [cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/17/where-Millennials-end-and-generation-z-begins/

Donnelly, C. 2018. Who are the millennial shoppers? And what do they really want? Accenture. [Cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: https://www.accenture.com/fi-en/insight-outlook-who-are-millennial-shoppers-what-do-they-really-want-retail

Gapper, J. 2018. How Millennials became the world’s most powerful consumers. Financial Times. [Cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/194cd1c8-6583-11e8-a39d-4df188287fff

Hodgson, A. 2018. Generation Z: The Next Wave of Consumers. Euromonitor International. [Cited 14 February 2018]. Available at: https://blog.euromonitor.com/generation-z-next-wave-consumers/

Nguyen, M. 2019. How food delivery services in Vietnam accommodate millennials and generation Z. Bachelor’s Thesis. Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Business Administration. [Cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201902142351

Perlstein, J. 2017. Engaging Generation Z: Marketing to a New Brand of Consumer. AdWeek. [Cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: https://www.adweek.com/digital/josh-perlstein-response-media-guest-post-generation-z/

Solomon, M. 2018. For Small Business Week: All About Millennial Consumers And Millennial-Friendly Customer Experiences. Forbes. [Cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/micahsolomon/2018/05/03/for-small-business-week-all-about-millennial-consumers-and-millennial-friendly-customer-experiences/#1409ef62f91a

Watson, H. 2018. How does gen Z actually use YouTube? The Center for Generational Kinetics. [Cited 14 February 2019]. Available at: https://genhq.com/how-does-gen-z-actually-use-youtube/

Authors

My Nguyen has studied Business and Administration at Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management at Lahti University of Applied Sciences and has graduated and received a BBA degree in February 2019.

Marja Viljanen works as a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management, Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

Illustration: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1459569 (CC0)

Published 27.3.2019

Reference to this publication

Nguyen, M. & Viljanen, M. 2019. Inside Food Delivery Services Market in Vietnam: Connecting and Understanding Generation Z and Millennials as Customers. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2019/03/27/inside-food-delivery-services-market-in-vietnam/

Fashion has become available to more and more people around the world, and entering the market has become easier. Small independent brands have limited budgets and therefore cannot invest huge sums of money into their marketing activities unlike popular international corporations like LVMH or Inditex. Brands turn to social media increasingly, and Instagram is the most popular option. This article examines how and why the platform can be used in the marketing of fashion brands.

Authors: Iuliia Kaseva and Taru Ikäpelto

Why Instagram?

Fashion is an industry with a short product lifecycle, which is highly dependent on the current trends. The digital and mobile revolutions made these trends change faster and intensified competition. Consumer behavior has also been affected, as people now rely on peer reviews or influencer posts more than plain advertisement to choose their purchases. In 2017 Instagram was used by 8M businesses, and 120M people contacted those businesses through the app every month, which proves it is an important social media marketing platform nowadays (Instagram Press 2018).  

Social media marketing is an easily available digital marketing channel, it is a global word-of-mouth platform with the unique ability for two-sided interaction (Key 2017, 30-31.) Instagram is used in social media marketing for different purposes. Most importantly, for marketing campaigns and product launches to reach bigger audiences in a short amount of time. The platform is great for announcing sales seasons or sharing discount codes. It also allows businesses to communicate their brand message to their followers, and vice versa: customers can directly approach brands from the app. Marketing research on Instagram helps companies learn about their clientele, as well as track their activity, comments and opinions. The fashion industry has made the leap to implement trend research on Instagram. In addition to brands directly advertising themselves through their own channels, influencers can do so by creating IGC (influencer generated content), or customers create UGC (user generated content). (Yadav et al. 2015, 339-340.)

In addition to running marketing campaigns on their channels, brands use targeted advertisement, which was introduced on the platform in 2016. The ads could include pictures, videos or carousels (several pictures or videos in one post) posted on Feeds and Stories. Every owner of a business account can simply click on the “Promote” button and start a campaign in a matter of seconds. To reach the right audience, Instagram offers a wide set of settings. Users can be targeted by location (continents, countries, regions, cities), demographics (language, age, gender), interests (apps they use, accounts they follow), and behavior (activities on Instagram and Facebook). Additionally, the platform allows one to set up custom audiences based on users’ emails and/or phone numbers, and find new people similar to the brand’s consumers. Finally, Instagram can set up automated targeting for brands without any human input. (Instagram Business 2018.)

Image 1. Creating targeted adds (Instagram Business 2018)

The ideas mentioned above were shared with Tamara Vladimirskaya, a project manager at a digital marketing agency. Vladimirskaya (2018) has worked with over 80 clients in various industries including fashion, and suggested practices for marketing on Instagram based on her own experience. She claims that as fashion is a visual industry, all marketing content should be high-quality and the message should be short and sharp. She noted that companies tend to use pictures over videos, and always tailor the content to either feed or story-style format. Brands should act at the right time and consider time zones, sales and holidays seasons in different parts of the world. If involving influencers, her advice is that companies must choose people who can represent their values, as well as focus on diversity and inclusivity rather than standard beauty. The platform should be used to support the brand image and express the company’s voice. Finally, Vladimirskaya suggested that running test campaigns can increase the effectiveness of marketing initiatives, and that targeted advertisement is one of the key features of the app. (Vladimirskaya 2018.)

Analysis of @adidasoriginals and employees’ opinion

Instagram account of Adidas Originals was analyzed based on the collected information and an interview with Vladimirskaya. The analysis evaluated what methods and patterns the company uses on the platform. An interview with Adidas’ employees was carried out to follow up on the topic and discover how the brand uses Instagram in marketing. (Kaseva 2018.)

The analysis showed that Influencers are actively involved in Instagram marketing of Adidas Originals. The brand includes them in their posts and works with them collaboratively. (Instagram 2018b, 2018c, 2018d, 2018e.)

Image 2. Kylie Jenner’s Instagram account (Instagram 2018e)

Image 3. Stella McCartney’s, Kanye West’s and Pharrell Williams’ Instagram accounts (Instagram 2018b, 2018c, 2018d)

Originals uses the platform to announce new product launches, especially collections which are highly popular among teenagers, like YEEZY by Kanye West (Instagram 2018a).

Image 4. Announcements on @adidasoriginals (Instagram 2018a)

The brand also uses Instagram to tell stories: from supporting smaller communities to raising awareness of ocean pollution with their collaboration with Parley (Instagram 2018a).

Image 5. Examples of stories on @adidasoriginals (Instagram 2018a)

The brand can be highly creative with its announcements and campaigns. Adidas Originals uses innovative ways of presenting its products: from Instagram tools like Boomerang, to its own photo, video and animation production. Finally, the company uses in-app purchasing and invests in targeted advertisement.

Image 6. Instagram Story on @adidasoriginals which involved in-app purchasing (Instagram 2018a)

An interview with Lauren Devlin, a PR manager, and a representative of Product Marketing (2018) of Adidas Originals followed up on the topic of Instagram in marketing. Adidas Originals sees Instagram as a key social media platform for the company, however, it is just a part of the overall marketing initiative of the brand. In addition to all the practices suggested by Vladimirskaya (2018) and Yadav et al. (2015), the brand does lot of social listening, especially around campaign launches. They track comments of followers on @adidasoriginals own accounts, as well as on the accounts of influencers and consumers themselves. (Devlin & PM Representative, 2018.)

The company has a special approach towards influencers. The brand believes that influencer marketing is in the past, and creative collaboration with those who represent, shape and create culture is what is relevant now. (Devlin & PM Representative, 2018.)

The results  

Based on the research, it is clear that Instagram is the key social media channel in digital marketing of fashion brands all over the world, but it is only a part of overall marketing activity of the business. The most important use of Instagram by brands is marketing of themselves and their products. Companies should use it to deliver campaigns and to ensure communication. It is also a hub for fashion news, trends, collaboration and co-creation.

To be successful on Instagram, fashion brands should focus on both content creation and delivery. Companies have to consider the quality of the visual content supported by a short and sharp message posted at the right time. They are advised to use pictures over videos, tailor the content to either feed or story-style format and run test campaigns. Influencers should be able to represent brand’s value, which could be expressed on Instagram as well. Diversity and inclusivity are especially important for fashion businesses, as consumers look for authenticity, openness and something they can relate to. 

References

Devlin, L. & PM Representative. 2018. PR Manager and Employee. Adidas Originals. Interview 20 Sept 2018.

Instagram Business. 2018. Build your business on Instagram. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://business.instagram.com/advertising/

Instagram Press. 2018. Welcoming 1 Million Advertisers. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://instagram-press.com/blog/2017/03/22/welcoming-1-million-advertisers/

Instagram. 2018a. Adidas Originals. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/adidasoriginals/

Instagram. 2018b. Pharrell Williams. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/pharrell/

Instagram. 2018c. Kanye West. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://instagram.com/kanyewest/

Instagram. 2018d. Stella McCartney. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/stellamccartney/

Instagram. 2018e. Kylie Jenner. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: https://instagram.com/kyliejenner/

Kaseva, I. 2018. Instagram as a Digital Marketing Tool for Fashion Brands. Bachelor’s thesis. Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management. Lahti. [Cited 2 Dec 2018]. Available at: http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018112919082

Key, T. 2017. Domains of Digital Marketing Channels in the Sharing Economy. Journal of Marketing Channels. Vol. 24(1-2), 27-38.

Vladimirskaya, T. 2018. Project Manager. Avanta Digital. Interview 12 Oct 2018.

Yadav, M., Joshi, Y. & Rahman, Z. 2015. Mobile Social Media: The New Hybrid Element of Digital Marketing Communications. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences. Vol. 189, 339 – 340.

Authors

Iuliia Kaseva studied Business Information Technology at Lahti University of Applied Sciences while simultaneously working in Product Marketing at Adidas Originals. She wrote a thesis on the topic of Instagram as a Digital Marketing Tool for Fashion Brands in collaboration with the aforementioned company in Autumn 2018. 

Taru Itäpelto has been teaching business mathematics and information technology in Lahti University of Applied Sciences between 2010-2012 and since autumn 2018. She has degrees of Master of Music (Sibelius Academy 2006) and Master of Philosophy (Helsinki University 2012).

Illustration: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1290636 (CC0)

Published 25.1.2019

Reference to this publication

Kaseva, I. & Itäpelto, T. 2019. Should fashion brands use Instagram? LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2019/01/25/should-fashion-brands-use-instagram?/

In modern world, social media plays an important role and have changed the way people communicate, search information about products or services, find media content. This development has changed the way businesses are promoted. This article is going to provide a basic understanding of social media concept, evaluate the role of social media in promotion of a FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brand in the Russian market utilizing the case of Company X.

Authors: Tamara Vladimirskaia and Marja Viljanen

Social media as a marketing tool

Social media are online tools and platforms that allow internet users to collaborate on content, share insights and experiences, and connect for business or pleasure (Strauss & Frost 2009, 329). Social media includes social networks, blogs, microblogs, photo, and video host services, forums blogs. Most of them have a unique, recognizable interface and work on a set of different technologies that make a certain website a unique communicational tool. (Neyaskin 2010, 7). There are several significant issues that distinct social media from traditional ones: the ability to share information immediately, less censored content, ability to edit and publish any kind of the material. Hence, many companies nowadays have shifted to social media instead of the use of television, newspapers, radio and magazines as marketing channels.

Social media marketing (SMM) is the complex use of social media websites and social networks to promote a company’s products and services. SMM is used to increase sales, brand awareness, attract new customers and partners, analyze the market and search for new opportunities for a business. The main channel in SMM promotion is promotion via social networks. Social networks are websites or apps that unify different people and provides an opportunity to communicate, share media, discuss opinions and search for information. Different social networks could be utilized for different purposes of the company.

Social networks and social media marketing in Russia

In Russia, social networks are popular among people of different ages, nationalities and social status. According to the latest statistics provided by State Statistics Service of Russian Federation (2018), 71.5% of the population in Russia aged 15-72 are active Internet users. Currently, 45% of citizens of the Russian Federation over 18 years old are currently using at least one of the social networks almost every day, 62% – at least once a week. Therefore, there are unlimited opportunities for different companies to use social media as a marketing tool. This is applicable to different types of business, including fast-moving consumer goods brands (FMCG). In the Russian market, the most popular social networks are YouTube, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Instagram and Facebook. VKontakte and Odnoklassniki are Russian-based social networks, launched by Russian web-developers in accordance with customer needs and preferences in the specific market.

Currently, social media are used by different size companies for their promotion. This usage is applied to convey the market position, become more customer-friendly and customer-oriented. (Saravanakumar & SuganthaLakshmi 2012). For an FMCG brand, such as Company X, social media practices are an excellent opportunity not only to attract new customers and increase sales but to create a channel to receive feedback, respond to comments and communicate directly with the consumer. For an FMCG brand, the recommendations for SMM strategies are the following:

• Strategy planning for social media campaigns, clearly stated goals and prepared plan for tools utilization;
• Content planning with proper media content that shows values of the company and specially designed for each publication;
• Involving users of social networks and customers of a brand in a content creation to increase loyalty for a brand;
• The diversity of the content used in promotional campaigns;
• Budget planning for digital marketing activities in accordance with the needs of the company.

Research and findings

The empirical research done for the case Company has shown several significant issues that could be utilized by an FMCG brand. The empirical research was based on the analysis of the case company social media marketing activities, the survey of the customers and the interview with personnel. Even thought the research was conducted especially for the case company, the results are applicable to other companies in Russia in order to improve SMM activities.

The first key finding was a demand to improve the strategic planning. This includes the need to plan and schedule publications, the budget planning for tools and resources used and the general concept for the promotional plan, content plan development. Second, the content planning requires more attention. There are variety of media types that could be utilized to diversify the content in social networks. This may attract new customers and help to avoid user fatigue from brand content in social networks. Third, due to the specifics of Russian market the focus should be shifted to the social networks that are the most popular in this country. These social networks are YouTube, VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Instagram and Facebook. All these networks have their own features, different audiences and user interfaces. Therefore, different groups of the target audience might be covered via diverse marketing channels. Furthermore, the implementation of contests and giveaways on a regular basis might stimulate users to create user-generated content and positively influence on the brand image. Finally, the utilization of different SMM tools, such as target advertising, advertising via influence agents, hashtags implementation, execution of pixels of the social network to the website, attracting traffic from the communities bring significant results.

The research results showed that the strategic planning, content planning, different social networks utilization, use of the diverse SMM tools could work in compilation for the stable and ongoing results. Social media is a great tool for promotion, attracting new customers and maintaining existing one. The Russian market with its own specific characteristics is a perspective for FMCG brands further development.

References

Neyaskin G. 2010. Social media influence on business communication. Dialog communication in business. Moscow: High School of Economics.

Saravanakumar M., SuganthaLakshmi T. 2012. Social Media Marketing. Life Science Journal 9(4):4444-4451. [Cited 23 Nov 2018]. Available at: http://www.lifesci-encesite.com/lsj/life0904/670_13061life0904_4444_4451.pdf

State Statistics Service of Russian Federation. 2018. Use of the Internet by Population of Russian Federation. Tables 3.1, 3.11. [Cited 25 Nov 2018]. Available at: http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/new_site/business/it/fed_nabl-croc/PublishData%5CRe-ports%5CReports_2016.html

Strauss J. & Frost R. 2009. E-marketing. 5th edition. USA, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Vladimirskaia, T. 2018.  The Role of Social Media in Promotion of the Fast-Moving Consumer Good Brand in The Russian Market. Case: Company X.  Bachelor’s thesis. Lahti University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management. Lahti. [Cited 11 Dec 2018]. Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2018120520277

Authors

Tamara Vladimirskaia has studied Business and Administration at Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management at Lahti University of Applied Sciences and has graduated and received a BBA degree in December 2018.

Marja Viljanen works as a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Business and Hospitality Management, Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

Illustration: https://pixabay.com/en/social-social-media-communication-3064515/  (geralt/CC0)

Published: 12.12.2018

Reference to this publication

Vladimirskaia, T. & Viljanen, M. 2018. Social media as a marketing channel for FMCG brands in Russia. LAMK Pro. [Cited and date of citation]. Available at: http://www.lamkpub.fi/2018/12/12/social-media-as-a-marketing-channel-for-fmcg-brands-in-russia/