I am applying at Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing (FIDM) and they require an entrance project. I am going for Merchandise Marketing and would just like some tips and information.
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There are some really good books. Read the book “why we buy” by Paco Underhill. It is a fascinating book and you can learn tons about Merchandise Marketing.
A good way to think about marketing is as the process in getting the product to the consumer that wants/needs it. Marketing starts with the design, and goes all the way through distribution and advertising. It’s something to think about every step of the way if you want to be successful. For an entrance project the key things to keep in mind is your target market (what demographic are your clothes being made for … 18-24 year old males, 12-16 year old girls, etc) Once you have in mind who will be buying your clothes you need to plan and design (for example a coture dress wouldn’t ever be made for 12-16 year old girls, but perhaps for very wealthy middle aged women) with that demographic in mind, set your pricing with that demographic in mind, and any advertising or promotions for that specific garmet (or group of garments) with that demographic in mind. Also think about how they distribute their garments (catelogs, outlet stores, department stores, trendy mall shops, strip malls, etc.) Think it through all the way and have fun thinking about the business side. I like how the judges on “Project Runway” routinely grill the designers on who the outfits are being made for and how that factors in their decisions. A good way to get your creative marketing juices flowing would be to look at brands and name their target market… who buys gap jeans? who shops at old navy? who shops at Macys? Who shops at wal-mart? who buys from eddie bauer? think about the marketing decisions those companies made with ther designes and advertising strategies. Look at some catelogs and think about why they select their models (how newport news is far different from fredericks of hollywood, etc). There is a lot of thought to those things in the fasion industry. Have fun and good luck.