Ch. 12-Services and Nonprofit Organization Marketing

In May of 2013 Alexander McQueen developed a bespoke service in their men's store on Saville Row in London. The bespoke service is run in the basement of the store where the main head tailor of the brand will size up the client and let them have input in cuts and fabrics of their suits. There are two to three fittings over a ten week period. Every article of clothing that was created with this service will have the House's signature Pagoda shoulder and silhouette.  

Ch. 11- Developing and Managing Products

Alexander McQueen is always trying to stay ahead of competitors. The brand's  major competitor is Stella McCarthy . Both brands are luxury labels that cater to women around 23-34 years old , they have similar silhouettes, their clothing is not conservative like most luxury brands and they have alternative lines that are more affordable and targeted to younger consumers. McQueen's head designer, Sara Burton keeps the label in the forefront by annually having exhibits and presentations in museums in New York City and London where fans  can come and observe and give feedback on upcoming items. Something that Stella McCarthy and other designers do not do.

Ch. 8 - Segmenting and Targeting Markets

The age segmentation of Alexander McQueen is pretty broad, but the main age focus is between 25-35. The target is young working women who have the means to afford the clothing and accessories from the brand. In order to widen it's age segmentation, McQueen introduced the McQ line in 2006. It was created as a more cooler and younger counterpart for the main line. It's more affordable and is targeted to 17-24 year olds who like the McQueen aesthetic but can't afford the price. 

Ch. 15- Marketing Communications

Alexander McQueen's brand requires heavily on feedback. If a collection or a certain item is met with negative feedback it gives the label a reason to stop investing  money on advertisement and production for the collection or product and focus on a new idea. The way the brand sees the feedback is mostly on social media. On Facebook and Instagram customers can like a picture of an item or they can write comments about what they like or dislike about the item. If the responses or mostly positive they'll continue producing it, if negative they'll toss it.

15k likes

2d

• worldmcqueenOur Alexander McQueen Pre SS16 sweet pea micro dress featured in @BritishVogue
  Photographer: Daniel Jackson @studio_jackson
  Stylist: #KatePhelan
  #AlexanderMcQueen

• rblack12@mmmolin omg it's so beautiful 😩
• rubikarina_@mr.sybarite yes I love it !
• _megandunn@lusintak
• xeniarankin@dbloftus Shangbai
• caramel_dymeGod enough with the flowers - you need a new designer this mcqueen signature is NOT flowers and same old busy prints - McQueen for life not this rubbishap it.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

Alexander McQueen's most recognized product would be the print silk chiffon scarf. This scarf would be considered the brand's specialty product since it's only sold in select stores like Niemen Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. The scarf is usually retailed around $295 and is very high quality. Because of it's quality it's very difficult to create a sufficient knock off, so people would rather save and spend the $295 on the real scarf instead of an oblivious fake that has low quality. 

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling and Sales Management

Alexander McQueen's methods of knowledge management consist of monitoring their social media accounts. The brand is very active on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Facebook would be the best process in which the brand is able to see what customers like and dislike. They can read the comments and see what photos of what collections are getting positive reviews. Seeing a pattern, Sarah Burton can make a decision on where the clothing should go next season and which collections they should stop producing.

Ch.16- Advertising, Public Relations

Alexander McQueen's most recent campaign was the 2015 Fall/Winter ad campaign where the label teamed with David Sims who shot the campaign.  The theme of campaign was femininity and individuality. Sarah Burton designed to be simple and focus on the clothing instead of the set and background. The theme was beauty in decay: ''The fragility of life and the fragility of beauty, and how there can be beauty in decay''.

Ch.14- Marketing Channels and Retailing

  Alexander McQueen sells it's merchandise in upscale stores like Saks Fifth, Bergdorf's, Niemen Marcus, and Nordstrom. It also sells on luxury websites like FWRD and Net- A- Porter. Stores like these don't typically run commercial advertisement like the way Macy's does, so reaching their customers is limited to ads printed in high fashion magazines or catalogues that are mailed to existing customers or potentially new customers who sign onto their websites. Another way the brand markets it's clothing is through it's Savage Beauty exhibit. This year on March 14th the exhibit was held  at London's Victoria and Albert's museum. This may seem like a strange way attract and appeal to customers, but it actually boost the brand's sales by an estimated 14%.
 

Ch. 6 - Consumer Decision Making

Many factors can influence whether or not a consumer purchases a product ,one factor is social visibility. In 2003 Alexander McQueen created it's skull silk chiffon scarf. It quickly became the brand's most recognizable and coveted piece. Many celebrities wore the scarf which increased it's popularity and owning the scarf became more than just a fashion accessory, it became about status, which ties into social risks. Owning and wearing the skull scarf meant that you were a fashionista, that you were cool.  Granted the scarfs could cost anywhere between $200 to almost $800. Yet the scarfs were still selling and increased the brands revenue by 20%, making it's overall profit in 2013 $442 million dollars.  

Ch. 5 - Developing a Global Vision

The global market of Alexander McQueen consist of very few countries that are wealthy. Most of it's revenue comes from the US and the UK but the brand also gets a lot of revenue from France. Japan , Dubai and Austria. Alexander McQueen's headquarters are in London, England but they have offices in many other countries in Europe and Asia that offer jobs and internships. McQueen does have a lot of competition globally as far as luxury fashion wear goes, so since Sarah Burton became creative director of the company in 2010, the brand has created exhibits in countries like Kuwait, Germany and Turkey to appeal to a wider audience. The Brand also holds annual international illustration contest for aspiring designers to join the design team in their  respective city for 3 month period and sell the design in the city's flagship store.

Ch. 4 - The Marketing Environment

Alexander McQueen's marketing environment mostly consist of wealthy women between the ages of 21 and 30 who are opposed to straight laced clothing and looking for a darker look, while still wearing a luxury brand. The label reaches this demographic by putting ads in magazines that are usually purchased by wealthy women like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar. This may seem like a small market but since an item from the label can cost anywhere from $200 to $3,000 they're still able to make a large profit. In 2006 Alexander McQueen wanted to reach a broader audience that included young men and women who wouldn't be able to spend  thousands of dollars on one article of clothing, so he created the McQ line. The line is advertised not only in high end magazines, but also in magazines that are read by millennials  like Nylon and Elle. Also celebrities idolized by millennials like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Victoria Beckham and Kate Middleton regularly wear his clothing without being spokespeople for the brand, so it makes it more attractive to 20 somethings that would be put off by their idol wearing a brand because they're getting paid to. Instead they would feel compelled to get enough money to buy a piece of clothing they're wearing.

Ch. 18-Social Media and Marketing

Alexander McQueen is very active on social media. They have a twitter account, a Facebook page, an Instagram page and a YouTube account. Using their social media accounts allows them to reach an audience that doesn't live in a metropolitan city like New York or London. Every season they post a short movie on their YouTube page to tease their new collections and post their runway shows and behind the scenes from fashion week. In August of 2015 the Victoria and Albert Museum in London showcased Savage Beauty, which became the most popular show staged at the museum thanks to social media. It displayed dresses from McQueen and holograms featuring models and videos of the designer. Alexander McQueen marketed the show on all their accounts and sold over 480,000 and added 15,000 more tickets and two more days after high demand from fans on twitter and Facebook.

Alexander McQueen Iconic Moments

Ch. 2 - Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

  Alexander McQueen is a luxury fashion house so many of it's pieces range from $300 to almost $20,000. The target customer would be  women between the ages of 25-35 who have high incomes and can afford to purchase designer clothing. The brand does have some competition with labels such as Stella McCarthy, who uses similar silhouettes, and Chanel, who uses the same marketing strategy by creating short films, featuring their collections, to post on youtube to attract customers. In an effort to broaden it's audience, McQueen created the line McQ on July 27 2006. A more affordable line designed entirely by Alexander. The idea was to target a more youthful audience that didn't have the means to buy his higher end designs.
   In 2000 the multi-brand luxury goods company Gucci Group acquired 51% of  McQueen's company. They appointed him creative director and gave him free reign to do as he pleased with his runway shows, which gave him an advantage over many other designers. Alexander McQueen runway shows are probably it's best marketing tool. In his Fall 2006 show, he had a life-sized hologram of Kate Moss walking down the runway. Not only does the brand have some of the biggest popstars in the world, such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce, wearing it's clothes in music videos, it perhapsreceived the biggest publicity it has ever gotten when Kate Middleton wore an Alexander McQueen wedding dress, designed by Sara Burton, for her marriage to Prince William. After months of speculation of who would be designing her wedding dress and campaigns from multiple designers, it was ultimately McQueen that was chosen. The dress and the brand was in every newspaper and magazine around the world. Those are some of the competive advantages Alexander McQueen has over other luxury brands.