Decoding Key Industry Shifts through the Data
Launchmetrics releases its third annual Data on the Runway report, benchmarking the FW19/SS20 seasons to reveal the underlying shifts connecting the industry’s main challenges to the strategies brands are deploying in order to increase brand performance
NEW YORK (January 28, 2020) - Launchmetrics, the leading Brand Performance Cloud for the Fashion, Luxury & Beauty (FLB) Industries, releases today its third annual report entitled Data on the Runway. This report has been prepared by Launchmetrics’ Data Lab applying Launchmetrics’ Media Impact ValueTM and Voice approach to analyze the brand performance of the top four international fashion weeks: New York, London, Milan, and Paris, with an extensive look at the 5 shifts affecting the industry today: Audience Evolution, Diversity & Inclusion, Sustainability, New Regions and Changing Formats.
When the report’s first edition launched in 2017, the industry was riddled with challenges – from adapting to the increasingly ‘fast’ consumer to the impact that digitalization and technology have had on a sector that shows no signs of slowing down. While digitalization is becoming fully-integrated by most, the global economic changes and evolution of values from an increasingly committed society are impacting more than just the fashion week agenda, and are influencing the strategic direction of many brands. Nevertheless, 2019 was a year of progress as the industry charged forward to remain relevant and connected.
Over the years, fashion weeks have become a more consumer-focused event and in response, the British Fashion Council opened a selection of London Fashion Week shows to the general public last season. As a result, House of Holland saw an uptake in their overall MIV®, moving from 15th place (FW19) to 7th place (SS20) in the rankings.
On a global scale, brands supported a progressively diverse line-up and varied front row in aims to captivate a broader audience. In New York, the CFDA took action, issuing an open letter calling brands to “promote diversity and inclusion, on and off the runway”. Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya stood out for being one of the most inclusive shows, which had a positive impact on their Media Impact Value, ranking 3rd at NYFW and 8th overall in the global rankings. When looking at the front rows across the globe, Influencers proved to be increasingly valuable; they ranked second in overall MIV when compared to Media yet provided a higher Media Impact Value per placement.
In an attempt to provide a clean edit representative of what the city has to offer and please international editors, New York reduced the length of its season to offer a more valuable and condensed schedule, which paid off. Although the schedule was cut down from 9 days to 5.5, and while Launchmetrics tracked 124 brands (SS20) instead of 227 (FW19), the overall MIV actually doubled — reaching $258M in SS20 and $118M respectively.
The industry sees the expansion towards emerging markets such as BRIC economies as a potential “lifesaver” in the face of the predicted slowdown that Europe and the United States expects. The data behind Michael Kors’ FW19 show revealed that India ranked 3rd among the countries and looking at the top Influencers, the data shows that Indian actress Priyanka Chopra generated the most buzz for the brand, which further demonstrates that brands are able to make an impact in new regions, whether BRIC or beyond, via their guest list alone.
Last but not least are the aspirations of a new generation of consumers, Millennials and GenZ, which demand greater consciousness in terms of sustainability, diversity, and inclusion from the brands that target them. In the run-up to their SS20 show in Milan, Gucci announced they were going carbon-neutral across their operations and supply chain, including their show. The announcement helped increase the Media Impact Value of their SS20 results by 40%, compared to FW19. It wasn’t just Gucci setting the bar for luxury brands, Gabriela Hearst hosted the industry’s first carbon-neutral show, creating much more conversation about the brand, and driving an increase of 258% in MIV from FW19 to SS20 - illustrating that incorporating sustainability actions into corporate strategy has a positive impact overall.
In this edition of Data on the Runway, we take a look at these industry shifts through our proprietary Media Impact Value algorithm. By analyzing the Brand Performance during the two main seasons of 2019 in New York, London, Milan, and Paris, we have been able to find the underlying shifts which connect these great challenges to the strategies brands are deploying in 2020 and moving forward.
To read more about Data on the Runway and see how these shifts are impacting the industry shows, download the full report here.
Press Contact:
Katherine KNIGHT
Corporate Communications Director
Katherine.knight@launchmetrics.com
About Launchmetrics:
Launchmetrics is a Brand Performance Cloud that arms fashion, luxury, and beauty executives with the tools and data to create inspiring, shareworthy and measurable experiences to attract today’s modern consumer. With over a decade of experience, we develop software that empowers companies in the fashion, luxury and cosmetics sectors, helping them grow their businesses and streamline their processes. It is the most essential and trusted technology in the industry, yielding an unrivalled market penetration to 50% of the top 100 luxury brands worldwide in addition to fashion, beauty and retailer giants such as Dior, Fendi, TopShop, Shiseido, NET-A-PORTER, Adidas and more.
Founded in NYC, with operating headquarters in Paris, Launchmetrics has employees in eight markets and support in five languages. The company works with over 1,000 brands as well as partners like IMG, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the British Fashion Council, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Pitti Immagine, and Google, to accelerate their business and build lasting exposure.
To learn more about Launchmetrics, please visit launchmetrics.com/newsroom and follow us @launchmetrics
About Media Impact Value (MIV ®):
Launchmetrics’ proprietary Machine Learning algorithm provides brands with a unified currency to measure the value of all marketing activities across Voices, Channels, and Markets by assigning a monetary amount to every post, interaction, and article. Finely tuned to specificities of Fashion, Luxury, and Beauty, the algorithm was trained on actual media rates and 5+ years of FLB specific campaign data. It analyzes more than 100 quantitative and qualitative attributes including audience engagement, industry relevance, source authority, and content quality, to create a highly accurate method of measurement. MIV offers a unified way to calculate how brand equity is being created and which strategies create the most ROI.
About Voices:
Launchmetrics’ Voice-Centric approach highlights the Voices creating value today to provide a holistic view of marketing performance and cross-compare the impact various activities have on the customer lifecycle. From Media, Celebrities, Influencers, Partners and Owned Media, this methodology gives brands a unique framework to understand the ROI of these activities as well as the Voices that influence the customer buying journey from awareness and consideration to conversion and retention.