NYFW Embraces User-Generated Content

We live in an era where social media and marketing are taking over. These areas have gained so much power and influence that they are changing how brands function.

This year, they’ve brought change to the famed New York Fashion Week—the event as we used to know it at Lincoln Center has ended. In 2015, we are witnessing a new beginning for Fashion Week in New York, which includes new venues, new ways of viewing shows, and new methods of brand marketing.  

Many brands have elected to host their shows in new venues around the city, while others have chosen new methods for sharing their collections. Along with new locations for the catwalk shows, there has been a surge in mobile app development (see: NYFW’s official app) and promotion revolving around Fashion Week’s shows with organizations like WME and IMG jumping on board.  

This year, Ralph Lauren will debut their show via Periscope as well as on the runway. Others have elected to forgo the typical runway show altogether, like designer Misha Nonoo, who will be hosting her “Insta-Show” solely on Instagram.  

“User-generated content is 35% more memorable than branded content.”

— Adweek

Meanwhile, major fashion brands are making powerful and impactful marketing strides. For one, Givenchy created major buzz this year by using social media to blast the announcement that they released roughly 1,000 tickets to their NYFW show for anyone who signed up to attend. By doing so, they close the gap between the consumer and the brand, generating higher engagement and involvement.  

This year, editors, celebrities, and fashion bloggers are all influencers in the fashion industry. They all show reach and influence among consumers. And fashion brands are taking advantage of this marketing shift in social media through user-generated content.

A recent report by Adweek finds that: “User-generated content is 35% more memorable than branded content,” and furthermore that “User-generated photos have been shown to generate 39% uplift in sales when embedded in product purchase pages.”  

Brands taking advantage of social media are clearly seeing the benefits. The same report also found 992,000 tweets (Sept. 2014) and 340,000 Instagram images (Feb. 2015) using the hashtag #NYFW.  

Follow the lead of these brands and you could see big results! Last year, TOPSHOP embraced these social media marketing trends and they not only engaged 3.8 million consumers, but saw a 75% sales uplift.  For their commitment to user-generated content, TOPSHOP generated a 11:1 return on their investment!