Missguided and the Promotional Mix Part 1

If you’re a female between the ages of 16 to 35, you will more than likely have heard of the company Missguided.  If you’re not aware of who Missguided are, here is a little insight of who they are and what they do. 

Missguided are fashion company based predominately online.  As you may have guessed, their target audience is 16-35-year-old females.  Established in the UK in 2009, the brand has grown rapidly in recent years and they now sell to countries across the globe including the USA, Australia, France and Germany.  Missguided have a huge online presence, which makes sense considering they are based online.  With over two million Instagram followers, one million Facebook likes, over 400,000 Twitter followers and a Snapchat account posted on every day, Missguided know exactly what their target audience want.  The company also know exactly what they want their brand to be, and on their website, they have stated their mission as;

“Our mission is to empower females globally to be confident in themselves and be who they want to be. Missguided is a bold, straight talking and forward thinking fashion brand inspired by real life that aims to do exactly that. Everything we create is informed by our customer along with global influences like social media, street style, and popular culture, creating a destination that delivers and encompasses everything it means to be a girl on the go in the world today.”

“So, what does Missguided have to do with your course?” You may be wondering.  Well, as Missguided are one of the most popular online retailers, I’m here to dive into their promotional mix and show you how they make use of it.  This will also link into my industrial investigation.

The promotional mix is made up of five factors.  These are; advertising, direct marketing, personal selling, public relations and sales promotion.  Missguided make use of each factor of the mix.

Advertising 

Missguided’s advertising takes the form of TV, outdoor and online advertising.  Their TV adverts are based mainly on E4 and MTV in the UK.  This works well for them as their target audiences are both within the 16-35-year-old age range.  Their adverts feature models who showcase the new season styles to encourage consumers to go to their website to stay with the trends and buy their new clothes.  The adverts also usually play a new/popular song that their target audience will know, or will want to find out what it is due to the catchy beat.  You can watch one of their previous TV adverts here. 

Missguided outdoor advertising 

Their outdoor advertising is used slightly less, but it is still there.  Missguided make use of outdoor advertising at bus stops, in tube stations and outside busy stores.  This advertising is usually placed in bust places such as London – which works well for them as London is full of fashionable consumers.  

Missguided’s most popular method of advertising, however, is of course online advertising.  In recent years, online advertising has increased significantly – and for a company like Missguided who are based online, this has become a huge bonus.  I personally have seen Missguided adverts online far more than anywhere else.  I frequently see adverts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Online advertising is becoming more and more popular.  Facebook adverts will appear at the right-hand side of your newsfeed or just like a normal post on your news feed.  Instagram and Twitter advertising has increased significantly in just the last few months.  Businesses can promote their photos/tweets on these sites for a fee to reach people who would be likely to buy their products.  Missguided’s online advertising, from what I have personally seen, is promoting new season trends or sales/discounts that they have at that time.  Using online advertising allows Missguided to target more people than they usually might and they can aim adverts at their target audience specifically.

Missguided Facebook advertising

Direct Marketing

Missguided make use of direct marketing through the use of emails, texts, their app and as stated before, social media.  Missguided send out emails to customers who have bought from them before.  These emails will try to encourage customers to buy new season clothes, buy something they’ve left in their basket or try to get them back to the website if they haven’t bought something from them in a while.  They also use email and texts to send out offers and style advice to customers.  Missguided send notifications through their mobile app to customers.  These notifications will often alert customers – if they choose to turn their notifications on – about sales and offers they have and will encourage them to purchase products left in their basket.  Finally, Missguided make use of social media, where, they constantly engage with their customers and help them with their queries.  Using direct marketing for any company is always a bonus, however for an online company such as Missguided it allows them to interact with their customers as much as possible.  Interaction with customers is key for a good relationship with them, and because Missguided are based online they need to interact as much as they can to maintain this relationship.

Missguided email direct marketing

Well that is all for now.  I didn’t want to cram the whole promotional mix into one post as it would be a lot of information to take in at once!  Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and whether you like Missguided or not.  I hope you enjoyed reading this and keep an eye for my next post with the rest of Missguided’s promotional mix.