This semester, I would like to take a look at a different fashion corporation each week who has made recent headlines due to their PR tactics. There are the success stories, like that of J. Crew, which in less than five years has used PR and marketing strategies to extensively broaden their clientele and elevate their reputation to one of the most respected brands in the United States. J. Crew’s public relations department has brought the company to middle America- by booking the Creative Director as a guest on Oprah- while also maintaining its appeal to the upper class with monthly mentions in Vogue. Among other topics, I will be researching how this company, and others like it, used Public Relations to their benefit and maintained high sales numbers in the suffering economy.
I will also be investigating those companies who, due to their lack of PR and poor crisis management, have seen their popularity decrease wildly, such as American Apparel. Only a few years ago, American Apparel saw its sales soaring as they gained positive publicity due to their high wage payment to workers and for staying a United States based company while their competition was outsourcing due to lower costs. However, due to the lack of Public Relations concerning the inability of the company to control the CEO’s erratic behavior and antics in the press, American Apparel has been steadily garnering negative publicity. As a result, it is predicted that sometime before the end of 2010, the once extremely popular clothing company will be forced to declare bankruptcy. I have always wondered how American Apparel’s public relations department did not recognize the issue and neutralize the situation. This is one question that I will attempt to answer in this blog.
I look forward to researching the strategies and tactics of these corporations and how they have either gained or failed in recent years.
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