时尚与品牌意识：基于实证的方法分析沟通中的独特元素外文翻译资料

Fashion and Brand Awareness: An Evidence-Based Approach to the Analysis of Distinctive Elements in Communication

Giovanni Maria Conti, Alessandra Mazzola, Martina Motta, Margherita Pillan

Abstract

Brand identity is a key topic in fashion design and communication. It relies on several tangible and intangible elements, such as recognisability of trademarks and styles, of materials and processing details, on storytelling, values,testimonials, company history and so on. The evolution of communication strategies in the digital era, and of globalised markets, demands rational, evidence-based management of the public image of brands. This article offers a theoretical discussion of the structural elements which play a part in establishing the public identity of fashion brands in the era of digital communication, and an innovative approach to the evidence-based investigation of the identity of a number of fashion brands as perceived by customers. The approach proposed here is based on a mix of interviews exploring subjective brand awareness, and objective monitoring of visual attention through eye-tracking. The article also summarises findings obtained by applying this approach to several subjects exposed to communication artefacts produced by fashion brands in order to obtain some information of general interest regarding the factors that influence customersrsquo; mental models.

Keywords

Fashion, Brand Design, Eye Tracking, Brand Identity, Communication,Experience

1. Premise

Our modern world is marked by ever accelerating of communication and a proliferation of channels and artefacts, all of which produce new challenges and opportunities in the communication of brands and products. Such changes are enabled by digital technologies, in which multiple virtual environments can becreated in which information and ideas spread, and opinions, tastes and preferences take shape.

The contemporary tendency to intertwine the industrial world with those of design and communication has led to a multiplication of the elements involved in interactions between brands and customers in a variety of information flows and reciprocal influences: from the personalisation of products to co-design,from the reinforcement of brand loyalty through forms of product/service to the active involvement of customers in more or less spontaneous forms of advocacy [1] (Kotler, 2016), from storytelling in connection with production processes and company history to the sharing of identity and values [2] (Newberry, 2013).The research we report in this paper focuses on the theme of brand identity as perceived by customers and by the public; our approach specifically considers brand identity as the composite, complex product of several heterogeneous factors which converge to determine the brandrsquo;s distinctive elements and how the brand is perceived and recognised.The long-term aim of our research is to identify approaches to investigating,analysing and modelling the different factors that determine how the public perceives brand identity; the approaches to which we refer are based on objective investigation and are supported by measurable evidence. Our study is based on the conviction that today it is possible to develop approaches which objectivelyanalyze the impact produced by the different actions undertaken by a fashion brand to communicate its values, its distinctive, essential elements, and the specific nature of its creativity.Our investigation of the elements that make a brand unique and recognizable aims to make their communication more effective (and therefore more efficient),but also and above all to close the gap between the values, which companies wish to communicate to the public and the values perceived by customers. The goal is to gather suggestions and hints with regards to how to develop and reinforce elements of brand identity, analyze patterns of relationships between brands and customers, and explore new ways of engagement [3] [4].The investigation reported in this paper was carried out with the collaboration of two different research groups at the same research institution as ours Politecnico di Milano.The two groups, specialising respectively in fashion design and communication design collaborated jointly on this study, thus offering distinct yet complementary contributions related to their specific discipline.The research involved a series of experiments conducted on panels of individuals who were placed in contact with communication artefacts produced by various brands in the fashion industry. The experiments included interviews as well as a number of investigations into perception based on eye tracking techniques in order to gauge levels of engagement and attention.The results of these experiments point to the possibility of mapping and comparing the main elements that constitute brand identity for actual and potentialcustomers.Our approach aims to provide tools for studying trends, preferences, and references in a way that is complementary to approaches based on the analysis of digital data. We argue that qualitative analysis is particularly important if we wish to “understand” rather than quantify, and that detailed analysis of experience is capable of producing suggestions and ideas for creative innovation [5](Lindstrom, 2016).The article illustrates results mainly obtained in tests involving students attending the degree courses in Fashion Design and Communication Design at School of Design, Politecnico di Milano. These results reveal how the analysis enabled by instrumentation highlights the different semantic maps underlying brand identity as perceived by the young people whom we involved. Finally, the article summarises the results of the study and illustrates some of the many paths companies operating in todayrsquo;s fashion industry can take in order to characterisetheir brand image.

2. Fashion and Brand Identity

Fash

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