Week 1
Defining Fashion media communication
 What is ‘Fashion Media Communication?
Combination of job title that encompasses media industries; communication and media. 
          
Fashion is a extremely competitive market 
1. Understand fashion concepts
2. Ability to visually and digitally communicate USP’s 
3. Drive attention to the brand

Brand communication throughout the marketing mix
1.product development 
2. Pricing strategy
3. Product retail/distribution
4. Product promotion

Promotion of fashion & lifestyle brands 
Visual Medium of diverse landscape of……..
1. Marketing 
2. Branding
3. PR
4. Social Media 

• We communicate through our clothing 
• We communicate about clothing 
• Process of communication taking place 


The human brain spends 70% of it’s time absorbing the communication by the brand. 
The human brain spends 30% of it’s by looking at the garment or product .

‘The media’ & Media
Exploring the meaning of the word ‘Media’ 
“Media is the plural form of medium, which describes any channel of communication 

What is media?
• Advertising 
● Public Relations 
● Catwalks/Runway 
● Radio
● Professional Writing & Editing
● Creative Writing & Literature 
● Journalism 
● Media Industries 
● Promotion/Pop-up Stores/ Exhibitions
● Cinema and Screen 
● Social Media
● Digital Advertising Technology
● Video Games

Media propaganda 
Media Trends 
Media cultures
Media Industries
Media Text 
Media Technologies 

‘Mass media & History’
A brief history of mass media
Mass media: Media for a large group of individuals engaging in similar activities.

Print Media: Dating back centuries! 
-Print Media
-News papers 
-Magazines 
-Books

Mass media gained widespread use in the 1920’s with the creation of nationwide radio. 

Media Industries 
Media Industries are involved in developing ,producing and disseminating content through a wide variety of formats…

Media communication?
Media thus not only move across time and space, but also transgress their own traditional classifications

Communication is based on the production and exchange of meanings for sense-making purposes by both groups and individuals.

● Narratives, stories and messages - StoryTellers 
● Challenge social, cultural, individual and collective identities

Define communication
Communication is so vital and is involved in so many different aspects of life, we often discuss communication within various contexts or levels. 

Context or levels of interpersonal communication and the mass media.
1. Communication and the self
2. Interpersonal communication 
3. Group communication 
4. Mediated communication 
5. Mass Media (communication) 
6. New/Digital and Social Media

Communication and the self Intrapersonal communication

Interpersonal communication 
An exchange, both participants in the exchange are communicating verbally (e.g. through talking) and doing so in real-time.  

Group communication
Groups help us form social bonds and connect with one another 

Mediated communication 
A technological medium is introduced into face-to-face interaction.
Mediated communication involves everything from scribbling a note to sending a text.

New/Digital and Social Media
Initially praised through the easy access of blogs in the early 2000s, people believed that the mass media could no longer remain “gatekeepers” and that everyone could participate in the publishing industry


Week 2
Semiotics of Fashion
Fashion is a language
Semiotics of Fashion is the study of fashion and how humans signify specific social and cultural positions through dress. Ferdinand de Saussure defined semiotics as "the science of the life of signs in society".

Clothing is a non-verbal sign, that can be interpreted different depending on the context, situation or culture. 

‘The Fashion System’ 
‘The magazine is a machine that makes Fashion’

Three ways of defining or conceptualizing fashion:
■ The vestimentary or real code.
■ The terminological code.
■ The rhetorical code

Barthes coined the term ‘Sign-Function’ or ‘Function-sign’ 

Semiotics & Media Text 
In media studies text can refer to a lot more than phones messages or books. Media text also includes magazines, news papers, advertisements, films…….


Semiotics
Introduction
The study of signs and symbols is called semiotics.
Semiotics enables us to deconstruct media and helps us understand how messages are disseminated. 

Media Form 
Media text & signs
Media form and advertisement is a text something we can construct meaning. Text is a combination of ‘signs’ 

Media Text
Text
In advertising media all things that look like advertising we refer to as ‘text’
Signs are elements of the text that contain meaning 

Preferred reading
Signs are elements of the text that contains meaning
■ All media text has a preferred reading
■ Semiotics allows us understand how they’re created
■ How meaning is generated through them.

Semiotics allows us to understand how they're created, how meaning is generated through them. 

Meaning
Process
They claim to know how people will make meaning from certain texts and, in some cases, how they can direct people to make a certain meaning. These industries include:
1. Advertising, marketing and public relations
2. Filmmakers and other popular media practitioners
3. Activists and speechwriters
4. News organisations, documentary filmmakers and journalists.

Textual analysis
Process
Roland Barthes (1915–80). Barthes was a literary theorist who believed that any kind of popular cultural product could be ‘decoded’ by reading the ‘signs’ within the text.

Signs
Semiotics
A Sign is a unit of meaning and in context of an advertisement is a structural element that produces meaning for a consumer.

Signs can product many different meanings to different people

Semiotics
Introduction

Signifier and Signified 
Physical component (The Signifier)
Mental concept associated with that physical component (The Signified) 

Signs
Signifier and Signified 
Think of a young man giving a young woman a bunch of flowers. 
-Flowers are signifiers (physical part) 
-Signified is ‘love’ could be ‘guilt’ possible ‘grief’
The signifier (the flowers) remains the same. But the signified changes, and each signified is equally valid.

Connotation & Denotation 

Signs 
Connotation & denotation
Signifier + Signified
Signifer can point to many different signifieds. 
 Signifier + Signified
 Also refer this to as ‘Denotation’ & ‘Connotation’ 

Anchorage & Metaphor
Anchorage at work
Anchorage
Is captions or commentary design to select/and or control connotations which can be made by a reader 
Metaphor
A metaphor is where an implicit or explicit comparison is made between signs where the qualities of one are transferred to the other

Week 3
Media Landscape & Relationship fashion media industry.
Media Landscape 
Introduction
Fashion Media is all about creating content that speaks to fashion consumers and audiences.  

Fashion Media 
● Print Magazines
● Online Magazines 
● Social media applications (apps) 
● Podcasts 
● Photography/editorials 
● Video/ fashion film
● Runway 
● Youtube 

Fashion & Media
Fashion Media Editors
Gate Keepers 
What’s in and what’s out
Making new trends 
Explaining designer’s ideas to the public

Media Landscape
Fashion was a driver for the spread and popularity of early magazines 
Advertising has sustained print media. 

Audience
Magazine titles do not work the sameway online.
Audiences do not necessarily seek them out online
Content is not consumed in the same way online
Advertising from fashion brands certainly cannot sustain them online.


Fashion is now faster than ever before. Audience can follow it in real time online and in social media
Instagram and Tiktok become the ‘magazine’ that people get inspiration from.

Classic idea of the media network where one group the ones who entertain’ or the producers behind them
OR
The ones who observe, or the consumers. 

Understanding ur audience
The audience shapes everything a newspaper or magazine does.
Clear vision of whom they’re addressing 

Advertising is traditionally very crucial to fashion magazines.
- The influences of advertisers to the magazine content has increased significantly.
-Some products are chosen to feature in the magazine.
- Young or mid-ranged designers will have difficulties to get mentioned.

Audiences + advertisers = money = further media production.

Relationship between the fashion industry and fashion media 
Audiences + merchandising = money = further media production.

The person or persons who are receiving a transmitted marketing or informational message.
The audience shapes everything a newspaper or magazine does, and a fashion journalist should have a clear vision of whom they're addressing, how they're addressing them and what they want.

Audiences consume media for different reasons and in different ways

Audiences having so much power and choice, media companies and producers need to really know their audiences

Four main groups of different types of audiences 
 – Mass audiences – Fan audiences
 – Niche audiences – Culture jammers.

Mass audience 
Media designed to attract the greatest number of audience members
However, increasing importance Of new media, focusing on Niche Audiences

Niche audience
Niche audiences are measured through demographic analyses: the percentage of consumers in a particular category—such as age, gender, race,s exuality and income band—who are consuming this particular media product.

#Narrowcasting: The distribution of media content to increasingly segmented audiences, to the point where the advertising or media message can be tailored to fit the special needs or consumer profile of members of the targeted audience

Fan audience
Fan (short for ‘fanatic’) audiences refer to audience members most likely to invest emotionally in a particular media text and its supporting products, including merchandise.

Culture jammer
Culture jamming (sometimes also guerrilla communication) is a form of protest used by many anti-consumerist social movements to disrupt or subvert media culture and its mainstream cultural institutions, including corporate advertising.


Signs & Audiences
Messaging
Introduction







The Communication model specifies that a sender must choose and encode a message. Initiating the transfer of meaning by choosing appropriate symbolic images that represent that meaning











Interpreting and Decoding 
Mass Media Texts 
ENCODED/ DECODE & PREFERRED READING 
 Stuart Hall's Reception Theory


ENCODE
Media products are encoded with ideas by producers Media products are encoded with ideas by producers 
DECODE
Take away correctly what is intended by the producers. 
PREFERRED READING
Particular messages have been received by the audience and accepted by them

Oppositional reading Interpret media products, but reject the idea/concept. 
Negotiation Audience member understands, accepts some/rejects others. 

CASE STUDY
PEPSI AD

Signs & Audiences
Sender: The text’s point of origin.
Receiver: The text’s destination.


1 addresser
‘Someone’ adresser- the media text itself.
2 address
To communicate ‘something’ or to communicate ‘media text’.
#Address: The way the media text hails us, calls us over or otherwise demands our attention.
3 addressee
Intended addressee for the media text. 

Week 4
Message to audience 
Messaging
Introduction
Process of communications 
consists of two parts: with both dependent on which group/s audiences are being targeted; 
1. Creating the message (what?) 
2. Selecting the media/medium(how?) 


Online
1. Digital Media
Tik Tok/ Instagram/ YouTube etc
Offline
1. Out of home 
Billboards, radio, print, TV, Posters etc

Message & creative concept 
Creating messaging is not about writing headlines, taglines or body copy. 
It’s about the essence of what needs to be communicated, not the exact way to communicate it. 

Messages should be crafted to encourage purchase of the product,and reinforce trust that the brand will deliver what is expected.

Message Appeals 
Objectives
Refers to the type of approach used.
To attract the attention of consumers.
To tap into their motivations 
To influence consumers feelings or attitudes towards the brand, eg product, service or cause 

 Appeals can be cognitive (rational) 
Affective (emotional) 

Tone & Appeals
Considerations for determining tone of voice include:
Will the overall message be conceptually emotional or rational in tone?
Will the focus be on the product or the consumer? 
What role (if any) should the competition play? 
Should the message be a hard sell, soft sell, or more visually enticing in nature? 

Strategy & objectives
Features are the proof points that support the claims made by the rational benefits
Emotional benefits influence the high-level big idea direction including tone, style, and overall direction.
Rational benefits inform key copy points, or supporting information that flesh out the idea.

Creative Concept
Rational
■ Straight sell or factual message
■ Reminder
■ Technical or scientific
■ Demonstration / Instructional
■ Comparison
■ Talking head Testimonial
■ Dialogue News Event / Educational
■ Lifestyle and narrative
■ Authoritative

Emotional
■ Humor
■ Fear
■ Fantasy
■ Sex
■ Animation
■ Scarcity

The messaging execution or ‘creative concept’ - begins with the crafting of a creative strategy

The main objective of a creative strategy is to explain how advertising and promotional efforts will position the brand and how it will compete against other products in the same category.

Positioning provides the guiding principles for the marketing communications and includes:
■ To whom the message is targeted.
■ Substance and objective.
■ The tone of voice

Considerations for determining tone of voice include:
■ Will the overall message be conceptually emotional or rational in tone?
■ Will the focus be on the product or the consumer? 
■ What role (if any) should the competition play? 
■ Should the message be a hard sell, soft sell, or more visually enticing in nature? 

Understanding that consumers often relate and react to brands as if they were people, tone of voice considerations are also important components of creative strategy. 

“A picture is worth a thousand words” captures the idea that visual stimuli can economically deliver a big impact, especially when the brand wants to influence the receivers emotional response.

The focus is most often placed on the consumer’s need for, or use of the product and / or how it will affect their lifestyle.

Message Appeals/ Theme & Story
Message Appeals 
Introduction
Executional framework 
• The way a particular appeal is turned into an advertising message
• The context in which the message is presented to the consumer 

Ideas can be encoded in many different ways through various types of message appeals.
These appeals are used to attract consumer attention and influence the perception of need for a product.

An Advertising Appeal refers to the approach used to attract the attention of consumers and/or to influence their feelings toward the product, service, or cause. 
It's something that moves people, speaks to their wants or need, and excites their interest. 
 
Popular advertising appeals: 
● Fear Appeal 
● Emotional Appeal
● Rational Appeal
● Sex Appeal
● Belonging Appeal (Bandwagon)
●  Humour Appeal 
●  These can be combined together!

Appeals to our need for information
May focus on………
● Product features 
● Competitive appeals 
● News appeals 
● Price comparison 
● Popularity 

Rational or Emotional 
Fear
Humour 
Sex 
Music
Behavioural 
Scarcity 
Transformational

Designed to arouse our emotions in order to gain attention
• Fear
• Humour 
• Sex
• Music
• Imagery 

Hard Sell & Soft Sell
Hard Sell
Direct to point
Rational 
Facts 

Emotional 
Customer journey 
Indirect/ low pressure 


Humour Appeals 
Provide a form of distraction by inhibiting the consumer from counter-arguing, and therefore increasing the likelihood of message acceptance.
Fear Appeals 

Behavioral
Designed to produce consumer action
• Often used with other promotional techniques
- sales promotion, direct marketing etc. 
Think: scarcity, sales ads

Sex appeals
Communications with erotic suggestions ranging from subtle hints to blatant displays.
Sexualised appeals are excellent for gaining attention BUT brand recall is reduced 

Message appeal can be transformational 
Transformational appeal sets expectations for the product experience
● Designed to enhance the experience of using the product 
● Making it richer, warmer, more enjoyable & exciting 
● Use images and symbols to generate beliefs and feelings.












Week 5
Trend Forecasting
Overview
A fashion forecaster predicts the colours, fabrics, textures, materials, prints, graphics, beauty/grooming, accessories, footwear, street style, and other styles that will be presented on the runway and in the stores for the upcoming seasons

The information they collect from this research informs and developers the trends they produce. 

Trends agencies visit art and design exhibitions, trade shows.
1. Research popular culture such as film, music, literature, television
2. Travel and observe other cultures
3. Monitor street style
4. look at developments in technology eg instagram/ social media

How do you forecast a trend? 
It’s part art, part science, part math and part magic
Connecting the dots with influencers 
Identify micro and macro trends 
Keeping up to date online, keeping tabs on the innovators 

Using existing data to try and spot the emergence of a trend. 
Base ideas and action of influential individuals or companies 

Long term forecasts- 5 or more years 
Short term forecasts- more than one year ahead

The fashion industry was an early adopter of trend forecasting as a strategy planning tool. Fashion consumers change their purchasing behaviour rapidly

Channels & types
Trend Forecasting websites
● WGSN 
● Trendstop 
● Pattern Bank 
● Google’s annual trend report 

Trends
A “trend” refers to a general direction or movement
Style
A “style,” broadly speaking, is “a characteristic mode of presentation that typifies several similar objects of the same category or class”
Design
is “a unique combination of silhouette, construction, fabric, and details that distinguishes a single fashion object from all other objects of the same category or classes”

Understanding Trends
Fashion scan
Following the latest fashion and lifestyle trends: visit Fashion capitals, scan media, network with people in the creative fields (arts, entertainment, interior design, cosmetics, and architecture

Zeitgeist: sociocultural context or zeitgeist must be considered in forecasting new fashion products for the future

FASHION MEDIA – Media outlets (such as magazines, websites, blogs, social media, newspapers, and television) that broadcast current and upcoming fashion trends.
STREET STYLE - Fashions that originate with or are inspired by clothing worn by individuals, usually young, rather than with the fashion industry.

Fashion forecasting websites 

External influences also impact where trends come from…. 
Market research 
Art & culture Economic Sociological structure Environmental  Technological Globalisation 

TRICKLE-DOWN THEORY – The world’s oldest and most accepted theory of fashion movement.