Also more than 9 million people read its US edition in the first quarter of- Furthermore more than 5 million people read men’s fashion and
lifestyle magazine, GQ, in the first quarter of 2005 in the USA alone. These
examples represent a small fraction of the numerous fashion and lifestyle
magazines that exist in different parts of the world. The indicators point
towards the importance of the print media in advertisement and its influence
on the luxury fashion consumer market.
Also, the glamorous nature and credibility of fashion magazines comple-
ments the characteristics of luxury brands. Fashion magazines also reinforce
creativity through their high visual quality and long-lasting nature. The same
can be said of television advertising. Although television advertising is used
minimally by luxury brands, its prestigious nature complements luxury
brands. It can also provide both entertainment and excitement through high-
impact messages that utilize visuals, movement and sound.
Luxury brand advertising is significantly different from consumer goods
advertising because they address different audiences. Sometimes however,
several luxury brands wrongly adopt the same advertising channels as
consumer goods. Other brands copy their competitors’ media and style with-
out understanding the strategic reasoning behind the choices. For example, it
is common to find the advertisements of luxury products on street billboards
and bus-stands in France, although these media are considered to be adver-
tising domains of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs). However, it can
be argued that these media do not diminish the brand image of luxury brands
in France because luxury fashion is an embedded aspect of French lifestyle
and culture. However, if this strategy were transferred to the United
Kingdom, where the majority of luxury consumers do not commute by bus,
then the adverts would be addressing the wrong audience and its objective
would be misplaced. On the other hand, in a city such as London where the
majority of luxury consumers in full-time employment use the public under-
ground train system in and out of central London on a daily basis, luxury
brands might achieve a strategic objective by advertising at the train stations
where their target consumers commute. Other advertising media that several
luxury brands utilize, which require assessment and revision, are the bodies
of taxis and buses (Figure 5.16).
The second issue to be determined after choosing the medium of advertis-
ing is selection of the products to advertise through each specific medium. In
order to do this, it is important to ascertain whether the advertisement is prod-
uct-specific or brand-specific. This factor indicates whether the advertise-
ment aims to emphasize and reinforce the brand or if it seeks to promote a
particular product in the market or both. For example, an advertisement of a
fragrance might be placed at a bus-stand as a means of targeting the consumer
group who commute by bus. In this case, the product (fragrance) is used as
a tool to attract and invite new or old consumers to interact with the brand.
This means that the advertisement is product-specific. On the other hand,
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luxury fashion branding