Research Questions

According to Baker (2016), brand image plays a significant role in case of creating the sustainable position in global market. By supporting this Siegert et al. (2015) stated that grand is necessary to develop a strong reputation so that larger number of people can be attracted. In case of driving the competitive environment, brand image has become necessary for fashion business. It cannot be denied that developing the strong brand image, the fashion organizations develops the marketing program in an effective manner. On the other hand, it has been identified that, depending on the brand image, the customer marketing can be characterized in an attractive way. Therefore, it can be said that brand image plays an influential role in case of increasing the sales revenue of an organization. Brand image is very important in the fashion industry, because brand helps to develop the strong memorable impression on customers’ mind that can help to deal with the increasing business opportunities in the market.

In the fashion sector, branding has become essential in case of gaining the competitive advantage in the market (Holt 2016). It cannot be denied that with the increasing business opportunities and rapid growth in the market, it has become tough for the organization to maintain sustainable position in the market. Analyzing the current fashion market it has been identified that the fashion brands are trying hard to develop brand value so that the large number of customers can get attracted. The organizations have decided to develop the strong brand image in the market so that changing purchasing decision of the customers can bring the sales improvement. It cannot be denied that Burberry is the leading fashion brand in the market. Due to increasing numbers of competitors and substitute products, branding has become the major concern for the company (Okonkwo 2017). Due to the increasing popularity and branding initiatives of the competitors, it has become tough for the company to maintain its sales growth. It has been identified that the customer marketing industry sector has stopped selling near about $150 million products for protecting the luxury brand image of the company. As the company is holding the luxury status in the market, therefore, compromising with the price can create negative impact on its business reputation. In such cases the controversies among the people and negative impression on the customers’ perspective, the sales revenue and business development process can be affected. It is true that branding is very important for an organization so that it will be able to maintain its sustainable position in the market. Therefore, it can be said that in this situation, branding has become important for the Burberry fashion for maintaining its position in the competitive market.

Brand Image and Sustainability

Aim: The purpose of this research is to introduce the effective way in the workplace so that the waste management process can be done in the right manner. The study also aims to focus on analyzing the decision needs so that expensive unsold products can be disposed in an acceptable manner. The study also aims to find an innovative way, so that the sales and organizational development will not get affected.

• What can be the way to identify the effective way by following which the unsold products can be given to the charity on behalf of Burberry organization with promotive marketing?
• How to analyze how the old products can be sold through franchise?
• How to focus on introducing alteration against the exiting product based on current trend?
• How to improve the lean management for preventing excessive storage for each year?

In case of analyzing the research, different journals and articles will be reviewed that can help to identify the importance of branding for the organization. After the research and development process, it will focus on identifying how the branding can impact on the sales and organizational development. On the other hand, the study will also shed light on global fashion sector and current market challenges. In this research, it will be discussed that how the large number of unsold products have impacted on the business profitability of the company. In this study the entire scenario of the fashion industry and its impact on business revenue will be highlighted. I believe, this study will help the fashion organizations to develop effective branding strategies, which can be beneficial in case of avoiding the business risks.

On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the research questions which will be answered through the data collection and data analysis process, will be beneficial for academic purposes. Depending on the research, the further branding development initiatives can be introduced in fashion industry.

The term branding indicates the image of an organization which is being established for grabbing the attention of large number of customers. In another word, Baumeister, Scherer and Wangenheim (2015) stated that it can be said that branding is about developing an influential reputation of an organization that can drag the customers attention and influence their decision making process. It has been identified that the purpose of developing strong brand image is to help the stakeholders to understand different offers of the company. It is also true that depending on branding the USP of an organization can be depended (Ahuja 2015).  In case of branding, different attractive logo and colorful pictures are being used by the company for grabbing the attraction. Branding is very important for improving the environment in the workplace.  A company with strong brand reputation is able to convince the customers with new products easily compared to the other organizations which are less popular. Hence, it can be said that branding is about gaining the trust of the customers, which is required to develop the strong customer relationship. The term branding is very small but developing a strong brand image is not an easy work. Through branding activities a strong motivational message is being send to the customers (Kim & Hall 2015). Through the message, the mission and value of the company are being clarified. In other words, it is true that depending on branding the transparency between the employers and customers can be maintained. Branding can be done through different marketing tools such as advertising, social media, TV and printing ads. Branding has higher level of significance in case of influencing the growth rate of the company, however, it cannot be denied that branding is a complex process because depending on its failure and success, the customer relation and business revenue are being influenced.

The Significance of Branding in the Fashion Industry

As the study has already discussed that branding is a complex process because depending on its success and failure the future of the company can be influenced, therefore, developing a unique brand image is very important. It has been identified that in case of grabbing the attention of large number of customers, most of the cases celebrity endorsement is being done by the large organizations (Seo & Buchanan-Oliver 2015). It cannot be denied that there are many organizations in industry, which invests sound amount for the brand development activities. Not only for the existing organizations, but also branding is required for those organizations which are establishing new business. It is important for informing regarding its existence in the field. In the words of Lueg, Pedersen and Clemmensen (2015), before involving in the branding process, it is more important to understand the concept of brand. Branding is the process in which the idea or image of an organization can be easily recognized by the customers. Brand popularity can be achieved when large number of people will be able to identify the certain products and services among many others organizations. Therefore, it can be said that branding is about setting the standard and reputation, which make the company different from others. In case of brand development process, internet commerce pays an influential role.  It cannot be denied that depending on the search engine optimization process and webpages, the organizations get the chance to develop the strong brand image. Hence, it can be said that branding is the strong company asset, which helps to develop the good reputation. A company with less reputation needs to focus on improving its branding process, so that it will help to gain competitive advantage from the market (Khelladi & Castellano 2018).

Brand image is being considered as the combination of personality and association of a company or brand. Therefore, there are various factors that influence the brand reputation of an organization (D’Souza 2015). It cannot be denied that communication with the customers, customer relationship, quality of products, efficiency of the employees and many others factors impact of the brand image in both the direct and indirect manner. On the other hand, it is true that brand equity is the premium value that is important for assigning the customers towards knowing the brand name, which is above the benefits and generic featured provided by the company. It is true that the organizations try to achieve the brand equity in case of developing the unique brand personality. Different factors that influence the brad equity have been discussed below

Effective Branding Strategies in the Fashion Industry

Communication

It cannot be denied that a brand success depends of the process of communicating with the customers. By using the effective communication skills, large number of people will be able to interact. In this process, the issues and complaints of the customers can be solved in a sophisticate manner (Keller 2016). Not only for developing strong relationship with the customers, but also it is very important for the organizations to develop the relationship with suppliers, so that the uninterrupted supply chain process can be maintained. It is true that in case of analyzing the increasing needs and demands in the market, effective communication can be beneficial. It is also true that in case of undertaking the global conglomerate of a small business with large number of employees, multilingual speaking and writing skill can help to interact with the investors. With the proper interaction with the investors, it becomes easier to convince them.

Awareness

Awareness among the people regarding rand image is very important. A brand which is offering exceptional benefits and features but does not done any kind of marketing activities, it will not be able to generate the sales (Sajjadi et al., 2016). Therefore not only the unique services, but also the awareness regarding the services among the people is required for its sales. Therefore, in case of increasing the awareness among people social media can play an effective role. In the current scenario, people have become habituated with the internet and social media. Therefore, if the branding campaigns through social media like facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be able to grab the attention of large number of customers. On the other hand, strong brand image can also play an influential role for influencing the decision-making process of the customers. It cannot be denied that depending on the promotional materials, success measuring materials and different promotional efforts the brand awareness can be increased.

Reputation

In the words of Sasmita and Mohd Suki (2015), both the positive and negative impression of brand can be built through online, which can bring both the success and failure for an organization. It is true that the brand Reputation can also be destroyed by a person who is representing the brand through telephone. On the other hand, it is also true that verbal transgressions or unprofessional body language or verbal transgressions of a person who is representation a brand can be influenced. It is mentioned in this study that internet plays an important role in case of developing the trust credibility and brand reputation. However, in the current business scenario, the online business reviews and social media can bring the negative impact on brand image within a moment. Brand reputation is also very important for developing the professional communication as well as customer relationship. Depending on the ability to present the positive brand image by handling the negative reviews is important for developing positive brand image.

Factors Influencing Brand Reputation

Strategy

It is very important for a brand to clarify its tactics and objectives for achieving a strategy. Depending on the branding strategies the process for conducting the branding development process and market share of the company can be influenced. The branding life cycle including its growth, introduction, declining stage and maturity can be developed depending on the strategy which is being followed by the company. Depending on the strategy, the longevity of the brands and ability for communicating professionally and accurately with the stakeholders can be affected (Lin 2015). It cannot be denied that depending on the branding strategies, the ethical behavior, collaboration with the employees are being maintained. Hence, it can be said that the effective branding strategy is required for bringing the development.

Process of ethical and legal decision making process

Business ethics are very important to be followed by the business leaders, because depending on the training and ethical awareness the mission and vision of the company is being clarified (Mirabi, Akbariyeh and Tahmasebifard 2015). Ethical awareness is very important in case of reducing the false claims and half-truth claims. It cannot be denied that false claims create the negative brand impression among the customers’ mind. Due to this reason, some of the cases the decision making process of the cases can be affected. Therefore, it can be said that business leaders needs to be aware regarding the ethical and legal decision making process.

In the words of Sasmita and Mohd Suki (2015), it cannot be denied that strong brand image impacts on customers mind and influence the sales revenue of an organization. It is also true that in case of driving the decision making process, the brand image plays an influential role. It cannot be denied that family and friends are important for riving the purchasing decision of the customers. It has been identified that if the customers gets to know about the name of and its services from the close one, the person prefers to abele the products and services. In case of luxury brands, analyzing the conspicuous consumption capability of people in the 21^st century, people have the tendency to use the luxury brand products for showing off to the society (Schiebener & Brand 2015). In this case, depending on the brand popularity and its expensive product ranges, people get attracted towards its services even if the person is using the product for the first time.

Some of the cases, it has been identified that depending on the packaging of the products and its attractive logo, customer purchase the products. It is also true that depending on the information regarding the products and services which are being provided in the packaging can change the purchasing decision (Xie & Lee 2015). It is true that depending on the offers and compensations which are being provided by the company, the customers can be attracted. In case of provides the needed products within budget that influence the purchasing decision of the customers. In case of branding celebrity endorsement plays an effective role. If people see that their favorite celebrity is involved in the brand campaigns, it increases the customers’ trust on the product or brand (Mirabi, Akbariyeh and Tahmasebifard 2015). It is also true that the products with least attraction, will not be able to attract the customers towards it. It has been identified that old aged and unseen products do not get the chance to attract the customers. On the other hand, if they chose and attention of the customers will be focused by the company, it can help to gain their loyalty.  Hence, it can be said that depending on the loyalty of the customers towards the brand, can be influenced by the branding initiatives. In the psychological perspective, it can be said that depending on emotional attachment of the customers with brand values and mission, the purchasing decision can be influenced.  

The impact of product branding and sales promotion are interconnected with each other. It has been identified that depending on the product branding, the benefits are being provided to the customers. Branding helps to develop the cultural values of the customers. It cannot be denied that depending on the sales promotion, the congruency between the promotion and product can be identified Mirabi, Akbariyeh and Tahmasebifard 2015. As it helps to increase awareness regarding the cultural value in a group, therefore, it can be said that using the standardized strategies the organization gets the chance to promoting its selling products in the group. By planning the promotional strategies, both the cultural values as well as the sales growth can be achieved. In this process the sales revenue as well as well as the process of maintaining the brand image can be done in appropriate manner.

A quantitative research framework will be followed in this research study. Data collection is the most significant part of this research framework since precise data about the branding strategies that have been taken up by the various organisations is reflected in their annual reports (Alvesson & Sköldberg, 2017). In order to conduct this research study, at first several product brands that conduct significant product branding have been selected. After that data have been extracted from the annual reports, online videos of their product launch and online as well as newspaper articles (online) to understand and emphasize how branding have significantly impacted the popularity and product purchase strength.

Inductive research approach would be pivotal to successful data acquisition and analysis in this research study. Research questions have been framed in this proposal for defining the scope of research and this is a typical feature of the inductive approach to market research. Inductive research approach also highly compliments the close ended research objectives that have been selected for this research study. Lastly, as Choy (2014), states, the inductive approach can be justified on the ground that the research study accomplishes the compare and contrast of two different ended variables namely branding along with sales and development.

For the purpose of data acquisition in the research study, the research work would conduct a secondary qualitative mode of research. The main data sources in this context that have been explored by the researcher are the official publications of the companies that would be chiefly considered under the focal point of this research. Studies confirm that the annual reports and the official websites of the companies would also become the most relevant sources for data extraction in this context (Mackey & Gass, 2015). The government census reports would also be helpful to define why the product branding have filed on certain cases. Besides, the standard licensing of the products that are available on the government websites would also be helpful for shedding light on the impact of branding in fostering the sales volume. Other important data sources are the online and YouTube videos that discusses the necessary branding strategies of the company (Smith, 2015). In this context, other data sources like reports related to conference proceedings with the CEO or the CSO of the various organisations can also suggest to be valuable sources for extraction of company specific data about branding strategies and their impact.

Data collection for extraction of secondary qualitative data can be accomplished from published as well as unpublished sources. The published sources for collection of data are trade journals, technical journals which are published by the company itself to indicate how their launched product creates value towards the target customers group, unofficial technical journals published by the survey groups like Nielsen, Inc. and so on and of course the government publications. The government publications bears most authentic data about company’s products and also discusses the impact that the product have had on the society and/or its set of target customers (Ploug & Holm, 2015). The tertiary business records can also become important source of data collection and other than that hypothecation copies (publicly available) are also important sources to analyse how branding and promotional program have been fund. These sources are essential for understanding how the products have been endorsed by the companies and what financial strategies have been adopted for the purpose.

Along with published records, unpublished data records are also a comprehensive source of data collection. Offline as well as online sources of unpublished data like letters exchanged by the CEO of the company, video footages of the unclassified business meetings, as well as biographies of the company associates can also be used as potential sources of data for understanding the branding strategies of the company (Ledford & Gast, 2018). However for the purpose of exploring secondary data, the reliability of data should be checked. For this purpose this is essential that the authority of the data be checked. Before the extraction of the data, if possible this have to be made sure that the articles are extracted from online libraries.

The first technique related to this research is undertaking a thematic approach for analysis. From the research objectives set in the research study, validated themes can be framed (Walliman, 2017). Based on the themes, statistical data shall be collected and documented under the findings section of the dissertation. After that, in depth analysis through the implementation of relevant models and research theories, detailed analysis is supposed to be done by the researcher. Interpreting the data, in this context, Vaioleti (2016), states that it is essential to analyse the demography based strategies’ implementation for achieving the target customers by the concerned approach.

In the context of this approach, the researcher should analyse the branding strategies of the Burberry is required to be analysed and summarised under the scope of data analysis. In the next part, the internal and external influences up on the sales and development of the company have to be analysed.

The organisation of the dissertation would be as discussed herein:

• The first chapter is supposed to be the Research proposal of this dissertation
• The next chapter would ponder over the various branding strategies applied by the various companies and how they have been benefitted by the strategies.
• The following chapter would include the parts of research methodology like
  • Literature review
  • Research approach
  • Research design
• The fourth chapter would include the data findings and data analysis
• The last chapter is the project summary inclusive of all the important findings in the research study.

Reference

Ahuja, N. (2015). Effect of Branding On Consumer Buying Behaviour: A Study in Relation to Fashion Industry. International Journal of Research in Humanities & Social Science, 3(2), 1-6.

Alvesson, M., & Sköldberg, K. (2017). Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. Sage.

Baker, M. J. (2016). What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book (pp. 25-42). Routledge.

Baumeister, C., Scherer, A., & Wangenheim, F. V. (2015). Branding access offers: the importance of product brands, ownership status, and spillover effects to parent brands. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(5), 574-588.

Choy, L. T. (2014). The strengths and weaknesses of research methodology: Comparison and complimentary between qualitative and quantitative approaches. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(4), 99-104.

D’Souza, C. (2015). Marketing challenges for an eco-fashion brand: A case study. Fashion Theory, 19(1), 67-82.

Holt, D. (2016). Branding in the age of social media. Harvard business review, 94(3), 40-50.

Keller, K. L. (2016). Reflections on customer-based brand equity: perspectives, progress, and priorities. AMS review, 6(1-2), 1-16.

Khelladi, I., & Castellano, S. (2018). Play It Like Burberry!: The Effect of Reputation, Brand Image, and Social Media on E-Reputation–Luxury Brands and Their Digital Natives Fans. In Handbook of Research on the Evolution of IT and the Rise of E-Society (pp. 281-300). IGI Global.

Kim, H. S., & Hall, M. L. (2015). Green brand strategies in the fashion industry: leveraging connections of the consumer, brand, and environmental sustainability. In Sustainable Fashion Supply Chain Management (pp. 31-45). Springer, Cham.

Ledford, J. R., & Gast, D. L. (2018). Single case research methodology: Applications in special education and behavioral sciences. Routledge.

Lin, Y. H. (2015). Innovative brand experience’s influence on brand equity and brand satisfaction. Journal of Business Research, 68(11), 2254-2259.

Lueg, R., Pedersen, M. M., & Clemmensen, S. N. (2015). The role of corporate sustainability in a low?cost business model–A case study in the Scandinavian fashion industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 24(5), 344-359.

Mackey, A., & Gass, S. M. (2015). Second language research: Methodology and design. Routledge.

Mirabi, V., Akbariyeh, H., & Tahmasebifard, H. (2015). A study of factors affecting on customers purchase intention. Journal of Multidisciplinary Engineering Science and Technology (JMEST), 2(1).

Okonkwo, U. (2016). Luxury fashion branding: trends, tactics, techniques. Springer.

Ottman, J. (2017). The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for sustainable branding. Routledge.

Ploug, T., & Holm, S. (2015). Meta consent: a flexible and autonomous way of obtaining informed consent for secondary research. BMJ: British Medical Journal (Online), 350.

Sajjadi, S. N., RAJABI, N. A. H., ABEDLATI, M., & Tarighi, R. (2016). Identifying Factors Affecting Brand Equity of Professional Football Teams The Case Study of Esteghlal Tehran Football Club.

Sasmita, J., & Mohd Suki, N. (2015). Young consumers’ insights on brand equity: Effects of brand association, brand loyalty, brand awareness, and brand image. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 43(3), 276-292.

Schiebener, J., & Brand, M. (2015). Decision making under objective risk conditions–a review of cognitive and emotional correlates, strategies, feedback processing, and external influences. Neuropsychology review, 25(2), 171-198.

Seo, Y., & Buchanan-Oliver, M. (2015). Luxury branding: the industry, trends, and future conceptualisations. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 27(1), 82-98.

Siegert, G., Förster, K., Chan-Olmsted, S.M. & Ots, M., (2015). What is so special about media branding? Peculiarities and commonalities of a growing research area. In Handbook of media branding (pp. 1-8). Springer, Cham.

Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.

Vaioleti, T. M. (2016). Talanoa research methodology: A developing position on Pacific research. Waikato Journal of Education, 12(1).

Walliman, N. (2017). Research methods: The basics. Routledge.

Xie, K., & Lee, Y. J. (2015). Social media and brand purchase: Quantifying the effects of exposures to earned and owned social media activities in a two-stage decision making model. Journal of Management Information Systems, 32(2), 204-238.