Creating a Viral Fashion Label with Practical Value.

Virality is not random, there are mechanics and it can be mapped and planned, to give your product the best chance on going viral

In a series of principles that are based on the book Contagious by Jonah Berger, The book Contagious studies the science behind why products and ideas are talked about more than others, why certain videos, posts, and ideas go viral and the effect it has on behavior. It’s all supported by word-of-mouth, regardless of the channel, social media, face-to-face, emails. The trick is getting people to talk about it, your brand, your ideas, and your products. So the big question..how do we do that? with industry fashion brand examples I will explain how it has been done using the model principle of providing “Practical Value”

Check out the other 6 supporting viral principles:

1. Social Currency
2. Triggers
3. Emotion
4. Public
5. Practical Value [You are here!]
6. Stories

Practical Value: “News You Can Use”

Think about the tips and tricks that circulate the internet, information that is useful and practical and that can assist in doing things better, faster or easier go viral!

Articles, blogs that can save people money and time along with reviews of the latest trends are highly shared. It can also be used to demonstrate the company’s knowledge and expertise in an area. (topics such as; buying advice, style advice, budget tips, buying your first suit, etc.)

Tips For Fashion Blogs:

• Short, one-page, with a key header article, focused around a key topic
• The most attractive articles are shortlist’s (i.e 5 ways to or 10 tips to)
• Narrow niche content is shared more compared to broad or widely enjoyed content. (As it reminds people of a specific friend or family member and makes them feel compelled to pass it along)

Saving a few bucks:

When it comes to value, you can go past a good discount. Not paying full retail or receiving free extras or upgrades with your purchase is always an added benefit. And the more value we see in the deal we can’t help but share it with someone that would see the value too, and the bigger the discount the better the deal seems.

The Psychology of the Deal

When it comes to saving money, people don’t always evaluate things in absolute terms, they evaluate them relative to a comparison standard, or as Jonah Berger states “reference points” What is meant by this if you pay $5 for a T-shirt in Australia it’s considered cheap but in India its probably considered expensive.

When given the option people will pay a higher price for an item when its discounted significantly more than an item with a lower price, bare with me on this. For example when given a choice of an item that is discounted from $350 to $250 as opposed to $255 to $240 more often people will choose the first option, even though the second one is actually cheaper.

Jonah’s research also found that if two items were priced the same but one item was marked on sale. The item marked on sale had 50% more sales regardless of the price.

Another factor is what’s called “diminishing sensitivity” which basically means moving the price further away from the reference point. For example, a dress priced at $35 and in another store the same dress is priced at $25 but that’s a 20min over 80% of people would drive to the next store. But a suit priced at $650 and another store has it for $640 a 20min drive away less than 15% would Drive to the next store.

The trick here is to highlight incredible value, Deals seem more appealing when they highlight incredible value, to further the point the more remarkable something is, the more likely it will be discussed, it needs to cut through the clutter to get shared.

An example of this is British online retailer Missguided, launched a £1 bikini (that’s currently just under $A2 here) — a black polyester swimsuit designed to “break the internet.” After the bikini was advertised during TV episodes of the UK’s Love Island, the company struggled to keep up with customer demand. The bikini sold out within 45 minutes of being restocked.

Value can also be demonstrated by making promotions more restrictive, Restricting availability through scarcity and exclusivity increase perceived value. This can be done by limiting the purchase amount of a sale item to 1 or 3 per customer and can also increase sales. Limited time offers are more appealing but too many items on sale can also reduce the purchase.

In the fashion industry, we need to be careful as heavy discounts can damage a brands reputation. This is why some of the biggest brands don’t ever discount their items creating perennial brands, some brands are known to go to the extent of destroying stock to save reputation and avoiding sales. If a product is always on sale people start to adjust their expectations, The sale price will then become the reference point. Offers that are available for only a limited time seem more appealing because of restriction.

Brands That Never Discount

1. Louis Vuitton
2. Gucci
3. Tiffany & Co.
4. Hermès
5. Cartier
6. Prada
7. Canada Goose
8. Dior
9. Channel
10. Burberry
11. Tom Ford
12. Goyard
13. Vera Wang

The Rule of 100

Jonah’s Research found that the value of a discount varies depending on the dollar amount or percent off, for example, 25% off a $25 shirt seems like a better deal than $5 off, For high priced items, framing things in dollar terms makes it seem like a better offer.

• If the price is under $100 use % off
• If the price is over $100 use $$ Off

Here are some quick questions to ask yourself:

• Does talking about your product or idea help people help others?
• How can you highlight incredible value?
• Packaging your knowledge and expertise into useful information others will want to disseminate?
• Is it clear why our product or idea is so useful that people just have to spread the word?

If you found any of this interesting I highly recommend giving the book Contagious a full read.