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Research Proposal: Fashion Advertising and Its Influences on People

Justification for the Research Problem 

Digital technology has significantly influenced the marketing industry in the last decade. In addition to the internet and its connected equipment, Nobile et al. (2021) says that digital tools include digital display advertising, electronic devices and mobile instant messaging, radio channels, and other similar products. Due to the ease with which marketing data can be examined and the flexibility with which it can be used to reach a vast client base, visual media commercials and social media internet marketing have gained a lot of attention in recent years.

Digital marketing was first coined in the 1980s. In the words of Nobile et al. (2021), “as individuals increasingly used digital gadgets instead of visiting physical firms,” “digital platforms were progressively incorporated into marketing strategy and daily life”. People are linked via various social media on digital platforms, as shown by the widespread usage of digital gadgets, making fashion retailing a key online feature. For digital marketers, this shows that they have new potential to interact with customers quickly and build better relationships with their brand or product (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Visual material has become more popular on social networking sites, according to Sudha and Sheena (2017), who claims that smartphone usage has led to increased visual content. Including visual information on social media, such as photos and videos, increased fan interaction, content engagement, and interactive content engagement (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). 

Most well-known firms around the globe have already set up accounts on this site to get as much exposure as possible. To keep up with the rapidly changing business environment in the internet age, fashion retail companies are constantly devising new marketing and promotion techniques via social media. In addition, customers are more engaged in their quest for knowledge; thus, businesses are more inclined to provide regular news updates and product introductions (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Frequent interactions like this may lead to a shared set of values, which can help build trust and provide opportunities for organisations to improve connections with their customers.

People in both developed and developing nations of the millennial generation spend a significant portion of their waking hours on various social media sites. As a result, internet users spend an average of 145 minutes daily on social media. Since online advertisements and customer reviews may affect customers’ buying choices during this time, it is a crucial period for marketers. Many companies are investing large sums of money in digital advertising because it allows them to swiftly influence customers by constantly connecting with them until they have built confidence in the brand, according to Nobile et al. (2021). When it comes to making a purchase, it has been shown that online relationships created via social media have a positive impact (Muniesa & Giménez, 2020). Various experts, who generally agree that it is an integral part of the solution, have called the extent to which social media helps achieve these more significant objectives into doubt.

Since social media is a business tool, most prior studies such as Muniesa and Giménez (2020) have focused on discovering how companies may profit from their use of social media. Even though it is obvious that this is important for businesses, academics and industry professionals are also interested in discovering what drives customers to connect with brand-related stories on social media in the first place, as well as how brands can encourage or discourage consumers from doing so (Muniesa & Giménez, 2020). Hence, this thesis’s purpose is to examine and contrast how digital marketing influences customers’ purchasing of fashion products. Fashion companies in wealthy nations (such as Zara, Nike, Prada, H&M, Gucci and Adidas) have a plethora of research at their disposal; however, research on fashion brand advertisement in the internet era is scarce. A qualitative data collection technique was utilised to assess the role of internet marketing in fashion industry on customer purchase decisions in this research.

General Literature Review: https://onlyassignmenthelp.com/fashion-retailing/ 

Advertisements for the fashion business have a significant impact on public attitudes: Marketers in the fashion industry work to create a cohesive image between their product and their target audience to achieve specific goals, such as increasing awareness of a particular fashion brand, launching a new line of clothing, or repositioning an existing one (Schouten, Janssen, & Verspaget, 2020). Celebrity endorsements are used to accomplish this; celebrity endorsements and other forms of social media influence customers’ opinions of fashion merchandise more and more (Schouten, Janssen, & Verspaget, 2020). Marketers in the company use these sorts of advertising to influence people’s attitudes by creating a sense of fashion behaviour. 

By appealing to a wide range of clienteles, including rational arguments (such as a product’s quality, economy, value, or performance) and emotional and positive appeals, advertisers can influence customers’ perceptions of a brand (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2019). For this reason, it has been found that logical advertising appeals are more effective in eliciting a positive response from customers than emotional appeals (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2019). Customers’ experiences have a cascading effect on their behaviour and attitudes. Many people are forced to take out loans to pay for their lifestyles because they work long hours without saving money (Grein & Gould, 2007). Advertising’s impact on fashion can be seen in different ways.

Due to social, cultural, and economic factors, advertising appears harmful. According to Schouten, Janssen, and Verspaget (2020), advertising also causes economic burdens, ordinary social injustice, and high rates of mental illness because of unresolved extrinsic drives and personal obligations. Extrinsic motivations are to blame for all of these outcomes. Advertising, according to Grein and Gould (2007), is either ineffective or raises enormous ethical concerns on an ongoing basis. Inefficient work habits, debt, family problems, and an inability to save money are among the most apparent effects of advertising, according to Kim, Kim, and Park (2019). Emotional responses from customers rather than rational ones result from advertising’s shift from rational to emotional messaging (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2019). The key driver in today’s fashion industry is not customer loyalty but financial success. The power of the consumer is minimal at best (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2019). Consumers tend to buy new products regardless of the price because of rapidly changing fashions (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Because the fashion industry influences consumers, they are less likely to make wise purchases. Good news for the companies in question: fashion-conscious customers positively view these businesses (McNeill & Moore, 2015).

Advertising in the fashion industry affects consumers’ purchasing decisions: The market’s reputation and positioning can be enhanced by having well known celebrities endorse a particular fashion line; this raises the brand’s visibility (McNeill & Moore, 2015; Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Consumers believe that any brand sponsored by a celebrity is superior to the competition, so their attitudes, values, beliefs, needs, and expectations toward that specific brand change (McNeill & Moore, 2015). More potential customers would be interested in the products because of their celebrity endorsement (Chetioui, Benlafqih, & Lebdaoui, 2020). Hence, they are more likely to have fashionable views, be in debt, and spend money on clothing if they have been exposed in the past to fashion retail promotions (Chetioui, Benlafqih, & Lebdaoui, 2020).

Customers’ desire to purchase fashion and designer clothing may be influenced by marketing tactics such as television programmes, fashion advertising, marketing displays in shops, and fashion events held in major shopping malls (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Consumers may be persuaded to change their purchasing habits by developing relationships and presenting limited-time incentives in advertising (McNeill & Moore, 2015). As a result, customer preferences are shaped by the likes, sentiments, and emotions sparked by advertising (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Exposure to commercials may set them off, but brand attribute information alone will not do so (Chetioui, Benlafqih, & Lebdaoui, 2020). Consumers’ attention is captured, support for a particular product or service is built, and marketing appeals mobilise consumer support for that product or service (Sudha & Sheena, 2017).

Adverts are a way of making more options available to consumers by giving them fewer choices about what they see and hear but no choice about how they react because of this feature (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2019). According to Assignment Help Services, fashion is an example of a market where customers are deceived into purchasing goods from more options (Chetioui, Benlafqih, & Lebdaoui, 2020). Customers do not think twice about spending money on fashion items because market trends constantly change (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). The fashion industry has compelled them to place a higher value on constantly replenishing their closets than thoughtfully planned purchases (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Thus, this aspect highlights how fast fashion influences consumers’ decision-making about repeat purchases.

Advertising in the fashion industry contributes to impulsive purchasing: New methods of persuasion are made possible by the involvement of consumers in advertising; this shows that advertising’s primary goal is to persuade consumers to buy products or services, regardless of whether the product or service meets those needs (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Using enticing celebrities in an attempt to shift customers’ thoughts effectively, perceptions, and attitudes about specific fashion products to develop purchase intentions explain this aspect (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Many instances in which companies use a celebrity endorsement to manipulate consumers’ views, regardless of what they need (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Customers’ level of involvement with a product is directly related to their perceptions of fashion products and how their peers react to the personality and adaptability that they display; this idiom emphasises the role that friends and peers play in influencing a consumer’s fashion sense (McNeill & Moore, 2015). Advertising is not solely responsible for the rise in consumers who base their clothing style decisions on public opinion, as was previously thought (Chetioui, Benlafqih, & Lebdaoui, 2020).

Advertisements are designed to influence consumers’ perceptions of a product or service by using messages considered appealing to them. According to Kim, Kim, and Park (2019), advertising in the fashion industry generates demand for fashion businesses, and advertising messages influence consumers’ purchase decisions (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Marketing, rather than necessity, is the driving force behind this purchase. Some consumers are also motivated to pursue status, financial success, artistic goals, and self-interests due to exposure to advertising (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Ads create a false sense of security for some consumers, leading them to overspend on clothing and accessories.

Advertisers using the growing body of scientific knowledge, which is a body of knowledge that does not require any conscious effort on the part of the customer, bolster customers’ inherent judgments about a product or service (McNeill & Moore, 2015; Chetioui, Benlafqih, & Lebdaoui, 2020). Thus, they make claims meant to elicit an emotional response from their audience rather than a rational one. Using the fashion industry as an example, this affirmation shows how effective advertising can elicit emotional responses from customers to increase impulsive purchasing behavior (McNeill & Moore, 2015; Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Client attitudes have shifted toward a desire for immediate gratification due to fashion promotion. Because of this, the fashion industry encourages shoppers to buy more and more, regardless of whether or not they are getting good value for their money (Kim, Kim, & Park, 2019). As a result, consumers end up shelling out more money to meet the standards set by the fashion industry. Today’s fashion industry is motivated more by money than by a commitment to customers, as used to be the case (Sudha & Sheena, 2017). Today’s fashion industry places a high value on money, and this phrase reflects that. The company is driven more by consumer demand than by a genuine need for the products it sells.

Summary of Aims and Objectives

· To investigate how advertising in the fashion industry affects consumers’ purchasing decisions.

· To investigate how people’s perceptions are influenced by advertising in the fashion industry.

· To investigate how advertising in the fashion industry contributes to impulsive purchasing.

Overview of the Key Literature: Indian Culture 

The goal of advertising is to persuade customers to buy a company’s goods. Advertisements can be distributed via a wide range of channels. Product placements, social media, television and radio advertising, media, and billboards are included in this category. To reach the broadest possible audience, advertisements are strategically planned and positioned. To change people’s feelings about the product or service, businesses must first make them aware of it. Adverts for fashion products appeal to men and women since what men think beautiful may not be what women find attractive. According to the conclusions of this study, fashion advertising has an influence on consumers in distinct ways. To begin, advertising influences customers’ perspectives, pushing them to believe that some goods are preferable to others. Some customers could have an unfavourable impression of a company because it is not widely publicised. 

Second, advertising has the potential to influence the purchase decisions of customers; this situation element generates another consequence, referred to “impulse purchasing.” Consumers are used as stepping stones by advertising agencies. Hence, some ads deceive customers into buying products they do not need. Furthermore, marketers create mental pictures in their clients’ brains, which then “colonise” their behaviour to make it seem as though they are mimicking the images. Deception is a common tactic used by marketers to trick customers into purchasing defective goods at inflated costs. Consequently, customers make impulsive purchases based on assumption that the marketed brands are better.

Potential Research Methods

The section on methodology aims to illustrate the proper use of primary research for data collection and offers a description of the methods that will be utilised in this study. Thus, the methodology, equipment, data collection methods, ethical issues, and the analytic technique were all put in place to assure the success of this study. One of these claims was the analytical method used. The approach focuses on using qualitative research. 

Philosophy: the research will use an interpretive method, and this tactic was essential in determining the needed idea. Using primary and secondary sources is now considered the most effective research strategy (such as studying the relevant literature). Interpretivism is a method that facilitates the selection of the most relevant and appropriate information from various sources (Elliott & Timulak, 2005). Similarly, using a qualitative approach as an example of one of the many insights and requirements provided by the interpretivism philosophy was an excellent choice for this investigation because of its applicability. As a result, although the majority of the data for this study came from qualitatively oriented semi-structured interviews, the interpretivism philosophy was selected for its compatibility with qualitative research rather than quantitative research. 

Reasoning approach: For this investigation, the ideal tactic will be to use inductive reasoning. Many studies such as Klauer and Phye (2008) have shown that the inductive approach works well for gathering primary data that may be compared to the secondary outcomes discussed in the literature review section. Also, several benefits of using the inductive method, including generating new ideas when primary and secondary data are inconsistent, which tends to disrupt the patterns and consistency of the findings (Klauer & Phye, 2008). Hence, this might happen when there is a considerable difference between the responses of one participant and the rest of the results on issues of investigations.

Research method: Qualitative research will be used in this investigation. The technique facilitates an accurate collection of ideas, motivation and reasons for concept research, which is required when using qualitative approaches, which necessitates planning (Umanailo et al., 2019). The use of a qualitative approach results in extra advantages. For example, the strategy supplied a complete explanation, which assists in explaining the material obtained during the significant data collection and literature evaluation procedures (Umanailo et al., 2019). The results of the literature will be compared to the results of the structured interviews and the findings of the primary outcome. The final benefit of employing this method will be a good choice for constructing an open-ended questionnaire or a semi-structured interview, which allows participants to broaden their opinions substantively (Umanailo et al., 2019). Consequently, the researcher will extract various themes from the extensive range of commentaries. 

Analysis Technique: the researcher will employ thematic approaches to tabulate and display the data. This study typically employs closed-ended questions as they proves to be the most effective approach to summing and tabulating the data thematically (Umanailo et al., 2019). Consequently, the researcher generated a summary of each participant’s descriptive and demographic information; this will be designed to comment on the open-ended questions related to fashion and advertisements. Also, a descriptive analysis will be applied throughout the data gathering process to synthesise the questions specified for the research. 

Sample and sampling technique: the thesis research will be carried out using a non-probabilistic sampling strategy known as the purposive sampling method. This strategy requires reasonable sample size of participants to participate in the interview (Tansey, 2009). Tansey (2009) notes that while applying a non-probability sampling strategy, it is vital to have criteria for both inclusion and exclusion. For example, in this study, the sample comprised of fashion advertisers and the consumers of fashion contents/products. Because of the use of the strategy known as purposive sampling, the researchers will be able to arrive at an example that successfully represents both categories of the population. Consequently, this technique adopts a semi-interview employing the Likert Scale as its primary instrument for assessing non-numerical data.

Ethical consideration: Throughout the study, the university’s requirements for human research will be followed. For example, the research will guarantee that the personal information of its participants will be kept secret. Furthermore, participants in the research will be issued randomly constructed code names to safeguard their identity throughout the process. Third, everyone who participates in the interview will do so freely/voluntarily. After obtaining the raw data, the recorded talks will be deleted due to additional privacy concerns. It will be up to the participant to select whether or not to engage in the research. The researcher will issue an informed consent statement over the phone before commencing the phone interviews. 

Timetable

RESEARCH PLAN

9/5/2022   – 25/5/2022

· Gather more relevant Articles for   Literature.

· Learn about Panel Regression

· Complete plan for Literature Review

· Complete other module. Final C/W   submission for semester 2 25/5/22.

25/5/2022   – 23/6/2022 

· Start the Introduction

· Gather more relevant Articles for   Literature and prepare keynotes.

· Meet with Supervisor

· Summative report submission

24/6/2022   – 27/7/2022

· Write the literature Review

· Meet with Supervisor

27/7/2022   – 25/8/2022

· Preparing the models

· Gather the relevant data

· Manipulate the relevant data

· Write up the Methodology

· Meet with Supervisor

25/8/2022   – 14/9/2022

· Complete Results and Discussion

· Meet with Supervisor

15/9/2022   – 18/10/2022

· Complete Conclusion

· Write the Abstract

· Improve the presentation of the   work

· Meet with Supervisor

· Prepare Draft 1 submission for   Turnitin purposes.

19/10/2022   – 10/11/2022

· Check for errors and similarity

· Reference checks

· Meet with Supervisor for last time

10/11/2022 –   13/1/2023

11/11/2022   before 3 pm

· Final Submission

References 

Chetioui, Y., Benlafqih, H., & Lebdaoui, H. (2020). How fashion influencers contribute to consumers’ purchase intention. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.

Elliott, R., & Timulak, L. (2005). Descriptive and interpretive approaches to qualitative research. A handbook of research methods for clinical and health psychology, 1(7), 147-159.

Grein, A. F., & Gould, S. J. (2007). Voluntary codes of ethical conduct: Group membership salience and globally integrated marketing communications perspectives. Journal of Macromarketing, 27(3), 289-302.

Kim, W. B., Kim, D. S., & Park, J. (2019). The effects of hashtag type on evaluations of influencer and fashion information and consumer responses. Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles, 43(1), 1-16.

Klauer, K. J., & Phye, G. D. (2008). Inductive reasoning: A training approach. Review of Educational Research, 78(1), 85-123.

McNeill, L., & Moore, R. (2015). Sustainable fashion consumption and the fast fashion conundrum: fashionable consumers and attitudes to sustainability in clothing choice. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(3), 212-222.

Muniesa, R. L., & Giménez, C. G. (2020). The importance of the loyalty of fashion brands through digital marketing. Journal of Spatial and Organizational Dynamics, 8(3), 230-243.

Nobile, T. H., Noris, A., Kalbaska, N., & Cantoni, L. (2021). A review of digital fashion research: before and beyond communication and marketing. International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, 14(3), 293-301.

Schouten, A. P., Janssen, L., & Verspaget, M. (2020). Celebrity vs. Influencer endorsements in advertising: the role of identification, credibility, and Product-Endorser fit. International journal of advertising, 39(2), 258-281. Retrieved from https://onlyassignmenthelp.com/services/ 

Sudha, M., & Sheena, K. (2017). Impact of influencers in consumer decision process: the fashion industry. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 14(3), 14-30.

Sudha, M., & Sheena, K. (2017). Impact of influencers in consumer decision process: the fashion industry. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 14(3), 14-30.

Tansey, O. (2009). Process tracing and elite interviewing: a case for non-probability sampling. In Methoden der vergleichenden Politik-und Sozialwissenschaft (pp. 481-496). VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.

Umanailo, M. C., Hamid, I., Hamiru, H., Assagaf, S. S. F., Bula, M., Nawawi, M., … & Bon, A. T. (2019). Utilization of qualitative methods in research universities. Education science, 20.