Covid-19 is the biggest challenge for fashion brands right now. The consumer is not allowed to go outside. Shops has to close down and the whole situation makes people shop less clothes in general. But some brands refuse to give up. They focus on opportunities instead of defeat. And they use creative methods in order to keep a connection with their consumer. Find out what they do and why they do it.
Do you fight or flight?
When you experience a challenge you can either give up or fight. Right now many brands are in shock. They feel numbed and don´t know what to do. The situation seem overwhelming and hopeless. In a situation like this, it is amazing to observe how different brands connect with their customer and how they deal with the whole situation.
To ignore or not ignore Covid-19
If you take a look at your Instagram feed right now, it is quite schizophrenic. On one side people and brands are talking about the extreme situation we are in the middle of and on the other side we see brands acting like nothing has ever happened. And we get it. Fashion has always been about dreams and desires and who wants to look at a Covid-19 crisis, right? But this is not the entire truth. More and more people crave for a deeper meaning and they want to take the situation serious. So if you decide to ignore the situation -be carefull. How you handle Covid-19 can be just as important (and dangerous) as sharing your political opinion.
How to connect with your consumer?
So let´s get to the fun part: How do brands manage to connect with their customers during Covid-19 and why do they do it? Danish shoe company Roccamore wanted to connect with their customers through co-creation. They have launched a design competition (a coloring book), where everyone can color and design their own shoe.
And why do they do it? First of all they want to connect with their consumer. Second, they want to invite the customer inside the business through co-creation, which is something the company is know for -their open mind and open approach to get feedback from their key customers. A positive side-effect is the fact that the customer on an unconscious level will understand that these shoes (and boots) are created with a close customer relation, which means that all the struggle you normally experience with high heels, have been taken into consideration -and solved.
The second example is Ganni. They have also created a competition to connect with their customer. The competition is called “Where the heart is”, and they challenge all their folowers to send creative homemade art, to illustrate the theme. The winner will get a giftcard worth 1.500€ -which many young Ganni fans would love. So why do Ganni come up with this competition? First of all – to connect with the customer. Second to show their creative and trendsetting profil. And third -to explore some of the Ganni values.
Ganni has not only created the competition, but also shares a quote from the founder -to illustrate why this competition is important:
In a situation like Covid-19, we all get seperated from eachother, but the strong message is -that we will be more connected than ever before. This is a beautiful message, which will resonate for many.
My last example is from Les Deux. A danish mens-wear brand, with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. One of the things they are extremely good at -is communicating with their customers in relevant, strong and meaningful ways. In a situation like this many retailers don´t know wheather to close down the shop or to act like everything is fine. Les Deux chose to decorate their window with a strong statement:
They took a stand, and that shows us -as consumers, that this is a serious, cool and strong business. They are not affraid to show how they feel, even if the consequences can be tough. The reminder in the quote about “staying local”, will tempt many local customers to shop local online instead of spending money on the big (and more safe) players of the internet.
All in all it is very inspiring to watch how creativity grows bigger and stronger during a challenge like Covid-19. Likewise it is also interesting to observe all the brands who does absolutely nothing! There are so many opportunities out there. Don´t get blinded by the crisis!
And last but not least -I have to salute the Danish government for their use of influencers. This is how you connect with not only consumers, but with your society!!
-But let´s talk about influencers another time (I am still working on that e-book I promised you about influencers) 😉