The Fashion Channel Case

The Fashion Channel (TFC) was a widely available niche cable network which only offers fashion-oriented programming. It was very successful until other regular networks began to copy its concept and take market share of it, which as a result, had a severe negative effect on TFC’s advertising revenue and affiliate fees. The problem is how to develop the segmentation and positioning, change the current

In order to be successful fashion marketers have to be future oriented with forecast information about the market. The fashion industry demands that in order to have an effective fashion marketing strategy, companies need to understand and identify their customers, the trends in the fashion industry as well as how the branding and the marketing of their products effects the purchase behavior of the consumers. This knowledge is the main resource available to fashion marketers to develop a marketing strategy for their fashion based products . Marketing in the fashion industry is often difficult as the industry is very volatile with constant changes taking place in its external as well as internal environments. As a result the approaches taken towards fashion marketing have to be adjusted and revamped in order to effectively target the latest and future trends.

SWOT analysis provides a structure for analyzing either your own strengths and weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats you face, or in a work context for analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats a business or event faces. Ideally it is one step in a process which helps you to

• Fashion Channel must have programs in primetime (8-11 pm) segments which compete with CNN and lifetime. Activities like endorsing celebrities, big designer names and news which attract the 18-34 age groups must be included. These programming activities must be able to create brand loyalty with viewers which is extremely difficult for competitor to take away.

With strong professional marketing background, Dana Wheeler joined The Fashion Channel (TFC) as the VP of marketing in 2006. She will be giving her first presentation to senior management and she feels she has compiled in-depth analysis and is confident about the strategy she will be presenting. If all goes is well, the company will spend an additional $15 million to boost its competitive position in the market in 2007. Even though, the members of leadership do realize that they need strong and modern brand marketing strategy to help them with future growth, yet they felt the urge to resist change, based on old believe of why fix something that is not broken.

The SWOT analysis is a tool that is used to identify and understand the internal strengths and weaknesses in an organization and the external threats and opportunities in the market environment the organisation is operating in. Ferrell & Hartline (2011), state that it helps an organization chart a niche that is sustainable in a particular market. It helps the organisation identify a growth pattern or path that would best exemplify its good values and opportunities for the benefit of the shareholders.

When a brand is created, many will ask the questions that haunt all of us trying to start a company. Will it work? Should we stay online or launch a brick-and-mortar store? Will I make profit or fail? These questions arise even more when the company is to start only online. Because of this, e-commerce fashion brands must constantly evolve and expand their styles to maintain the interest of their target customers. Fashion Nova is one fashion brand that manages to stay relevant among its consumers because of their edgy style and quality priced clothing. Fashion Nova was first established in 2010. It gained its popularity from celebrities promoting it on their social media platforms and the fact

The Fashion Channels current threats are Lifetime and CNN who have new programs that are attracting more and more viewers. TFC’s present-day loyal viewers may not like the new programs that TFC will have to offer which could potentially lead to the main cable operators dropping TFC entirely.

From its inception in 1996 until recently, The Fashion Channel (TFC) enjoyed great success by appealing to as a broad an audience as possible. Overall viewer numbers were the main focus, and so long as TFC had no significant competition in terms of the fashion-specific content it offered, this “something for everyone” approach was a winner.

The world of fashion is always changing and new trends are always emerging. The ways by which trends and fashion news are communicated to the public has evolved as technology advances. Before television and the internet, it was difficult for designers, photographers, and fashion brands alike to spread word about the latest in fashion to a large mass of people. With the help of modern technology, fashion has made its mark in the world by appearing on television networks, online blogs, social media, and digital magazines.

The Fashion Channel was a succesful cable TV network who dedicated solely to fashion and broadcast for 24/7. Founded in 1996 from two entrepreuners, this Channel had constant revenue and profit growth above the industry average. Woman between 35 to 54 years were it’s most avid viewers, according to its annual demographic survey. Beyond its basic demographics, the channel didn’t have much detailed information about it’s viewers nor did it attempt to market to any viewer segments in particular.

The Fashion Channel (TFC) is on the situation of slow growth, the CEO Jared Thomas realized change is desirability needed for achieving the long-term growth and staying on leadership position in market. The success of TFC’s business model attracts new businesses enter the same market that increases competitive stress. TFC provides 24 hours fashion programming to broad viewers, at one point TFC promotes “Fashion for everyone”. TFC receives fair viewers’ ratings and charge for a basic price, while competitors like lifetime and ESPN receive higher ratings and charge a premium fee. CEO Thomas knows the problem and hired an experienced marketer - Dana Wheeler as senior vice president of marketing to restore TFC ‘s leadership in market and to jump up revenues.

Although The Fashion Channel has realized growth year over year, increased competition and lower perceived value from viewers is starting to threaten the network’s ad revenue.  TFC is no longer an exclusive source of fashion content and ad buyers have realized that.  The network’s strategy of providing very diverse programming has potentially alienated some of its most valuable viewers.  Furthermore, the lack of a more focused marketing strategy towards any specific age group, or gender, has failed to convince viewers of the value the network provides.  This team has conducted a quantitative analysis of the market and provided a set of potential alternatives with financial calculations to forecast potential revenue gained or lost from the changes to programming and marketing strategy.

This paper assesses the three different strands that are recommended for the firm to develop the brand image as a fashion brand in the minds of consumer. The recommended strategies are social media, fashion shows and editorial placement, which will help the brand to create the awareness globally.

The fashion industry too, is influenced by external forces be they social, political, economic, technological or even competitive, which