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1. 1
Marketing, PR and branding – final paper
Done by: Sarah Lee Shan Yun
H&M: The global leader in
sustainable fast fashion
2. 2
Table of contents
Section Page
Title page 1
Table of contents 2
Introduction 3
Brand analysis 3
In-depth ad analysis: H&M’s Go Green Wear Blue: Conscious Denim campaign 5
Strategic and creative recommendation 9
Appendix 11
Bibliography 19
3. 3
Introduction
Erling Persson opened Hennes, a women’s clothing boutique, in Västerås, Sweden in
1947. It would become the second largest retailer in the world, netting more than 17 billion dollars
in sales revenue and 2.3 billion dollars in profits in the year 2013 (H&M, AR 2013). H&M has
since expanded to over 3,400 stores in 55 different markets, reaching consumers from Europe,
America to the Far East. In 2002, H&M released its first sustainability report, introducing its vision
to incorporate corporate social responsibility into several key parts of its business (H&M, CSR
2002). Today H&M has transformed this effort into a major component of the company’s mission.
Now known as “sustainability”, it has its own department, housed in the heart of H&M’s corporate
structure (see appendix A) with the goal of incorporating efficiency and ethics into every part of
the value chain. In 2010, H&M earned its position as the world’s largest consumer of organic
cotton (H&M Hist.) and in 2013, it launched its first Conscious collection featuring stylish apparel
made from organic cotton, Tencel and recycled polyester (Karmali).
In this essay an analysis of H&M will be drawn from a brand perspective using marketing
frameworks and ideas in order to gauge its success in creating shared value through purposeful
positioning. In the second part of this essay, an analysis on H&M’s Go Green Wear Blue
Conscious Denim campaign will be conducted, before moving on to a strategic and creative
recommendation to introduce sustainable cosmetics to its existing makeup line.
Brand analysis
The question to ‘who is H&M’s target audience?’ can easily be re-phrased to ‘who isn’t
H&M’s target audience?’ The clothing retailer has expanded so rapidly since its inception in the
1940s that it has reached a global audience of more than 68 countries in 5 major continents –
Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa (H&M, SM). Today its main
department targets ladies, but H&M also has lines that cater to men, kids, athletes (H&M sport)
as well as young adults (H&M divided). In addition, H&M has a denim line and lingerie line which
targets consumers shopping for garment-specific items, a move which effectively pits H&M
against some of the leading competitor brands such as Levi’s and Victoria’s Secret. With the
variety and breadth of its reach, H&M as a retailer has the power to influence the fashion system
in an enormous way. Yet it is only one of the many fast fashion brands in the market catering to
the infinite demand of consumer choice and hunger for new trends. Placed along side
heavyweights such as Zara, Topshop, Forever 21 and Uniqlo, H&M has to find a way to
differentiate and communicate unique value to its customers in an ever-growing market.
The fast fashion business model is built on streamlining the vertical marketing system,
which eliminates middlemen in the distribution channel by hiring in-house designers, sourcing
from cost-effective markets, purchasing merchandise in bulk and organizing efficient logistics
(H&M, BC). In addition, H&M’s online shopping service also cuts cost by getting the product to
4. consumer via a direct channel from warehouse to doorstep. Sustainable innovation as a concept,
although commonly associated with fair work practices and recyclable materials, also involves the
improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the system in order to provide surplus to
manufacturers, consumers and other stakeholders.
4
H&M’s business concept does not hyper-target segmented groups of the population, but
rather, leverages consumer’s psychographic buying habits – individuals who shop frequently and
who want immediate, up-to-date fashion trends. For this reason, low-cost pricing strategies
encourage continuous consumption and frequent repurchase. This does, however, create huge
problems of overconsumption and waste creation, as customers buy and throw away more and
more textiles, leading to millions of tons of fabric in landfills and billions of tons of water waste
every year (Breyer). One solution that H&M has posed, in an effort to curb anxiety over the
inadequacies of the industry, was to incorporate a closed-loop production process into their entire
system. This means gathering unused garments via customer donations at all H&M stores,
sorting and recycling materials before manufacturing new garments and selling them to the
market in a closed production cycle (H&M, CAS 2013).
This innovative idea offers a creative solution to the problems of mass-production, but is
also disruptive to the industry, posing several questions on the validity of its approach. The first of
which, would be if the system benefits both the consumer and the producer. Shared value is
defined as policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while
simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it
operates (Porter). By capitalizing its efforts to go-green, H&M provides consumers with
sustainable choices without sacrificing style and accessibility of price (see appendix B). It’s
sustainable collection offers garments at prices ranging from $5 to $150, a price point that does
not differ much at all from its other products in its line, or that of competitors’. In this case, the
benefit to the consumer for being an eco-warrior outweighs the cost, providing them with a
convenient option. On top of that, the H&M brand benefits from educating consumers on its own
green efforts, creating unique value that differentiates them from other fast fashion brands. On
the other side of the production chain, manufacturers benefit from the reduced cost of fabric as
well as water, dyes, and other inputs needed to process virgin materials. This reduced cost leads
to greater margins that companies can use to provide workers with better wages and working
conditions (H&M, CAS), also an important component of H&M’s effort to create a sustainable
ecosystem (see appendix C).
By purposefully positioning its business, H&M’s business model not only provides a
product with the functional benefits of affordable clothing and the emotional benefits of shopping
for the latest style or trend, it also caters to more pressing, fundamental societal needs of
environmental and economic sustainability (De Swaan et al). The consumer, in a way, is called
upon as the hero that is empowered by the brand to make sustainable choices, to contribute to
5. the cause through physically donating clothes as well as sharing the brand’s efforts through word-of-
mouth and social media (see appendix D). With its growing media presence and over 21
million followers on Facebook, the brand has promising capabilities in improving the landscape of
the fashion industry.
Unfortunately, even with the company taking great strides in this direction, over 84% of its
cotton garments are not made from organic cotton and 89% of all of its garments are not made
from recycled, organic or innovative materials (H&M, CAS 2013). With the way the industry is
structured and with most companies outsourcing manufacturing to factories in countries such as
Bangladesh, India, Cambodia and China, it is a challenge to coordinate with hundreds of
suppliers to achieve the entirety of the industry’s sustainability goals. H&M’s CEO Karl Johan
Persson does admit that it is going to take time and effort to see these goals through and that he
believes that it is possible for H&M to become the leader in sustainable fashion at great prices
(Givhan).
Instead of competing to be the lowest cost retailer in the market, H&M has found a way to
provide consumers with a different kind of value through an empowerment strategy characteristic
of the emerging paradigm of branding and marketing. By challenging the existing consumer belief
that one has to pay a premium price in order to make the right choice, H&M is becoming one of
the pioneers of ethical fast fashion, communicating the message that sustainability and rapidly
changing fashion can, indeed, co-exist if an effort is made to close the loop. For those reasons, I
would personally score the brand an 7 out of 10 on the previous versus emerging branding and
marketing paradigm spectrum.
5
In-depth ad analysis: H&M’s Go Green Wear Blue: Conscious Denim campaign
For this analysis, the focus will be on H&M’s video advertisement for its Go Green Wear
Blue conscious denim line, available on its YouTube channel (see appendix E) with references to
the campaign’s other media types including its print advertisements and social media marketing.
In this advertisement, the messages that surround being green and choosing more eco-friendly
fashion are both explicit and implicit. They persuade the viewer to look at fashion through
a different lens, to connect ideas of sustainable water use with stylish wearable clothing.
According to Simon Sinek in his talk How Great Leaders Inspire Action, “people don’t buy what
you do, they buy why you do it” (Sinek). The campaign aims to attach eco-conscious values to
H&M’s denim line, therefore inviting consumers to ‘vote with their dollar’ and invest in the Earth’s
resources by choosing the brand’s products. It leverages existing sentiment around
environmental wellbeing and water-saving efforts in individual households, thereby providing an
alternative course of action for individuals to contribute by ‘saving water’. It also communicates
the question: can fashion really be sustainable, fashionable, comfortable and accessible all at the
6. same time? These ideas are laid out collectively as well as individually as the viewer is taken on a
journey through the video.
The actual placement of the H&M brand is subtle with the company’s logo featured at the
end of the video. This keeps focus on the campaign’s main message, simulating the effect of a
public awareness campaign. Almost like a seal of approval, the company effectively
communicates its brand promise and unique value proposition to offer consumers better,
innovative products that provide solutions to real world problems. Although there exists consumer
sentiment around fast fashion as a mass-marketed, over-produced commodity, the campaign
does convince the audience of the possibilities for a universal product to be sustainably
manufactured and recycled, thereby adding value to H&M’s already recognizable brand name.
The campaign inspires consumers to act in a multitude of ways. First, by choosing to buy
H&M’s conscious denim, one is empowered to make a better choice as their dollar goes to better
production methods as well as to the financing of research and development methods that
improve the industry’s technologies. It also inspires individuals to get educated on the issue of
water-waste in industrial manufacturing, and prods them to research the subject either by visiting
H&M’s website or through third-party media. This is also an additional benefit to H&M as
viewership to their webpage and online store increases, expanding their media reach. H&M’s
sustainability blog has a downloadable resources page where customers, professional partners
and investors can access company’s information on sustainability goals and milestones (H&M,
SUS). By providing avenues for individuals to easily share this information with their peers, it
improves overall awareness on the subject, which may also increase consumer demand for
sustainable denim, therefore leading to more suppliers adopting such innovative technologies and
possibly the setting of sustainable industry standards.
6
How are other brands leveraging consumer demand for eco-denim? In 2008 the
company Dirtball was launched producing 100% eco-friendly 100% made-in-the-USA apparel,
with a kickstarter page financing over $40,000 for it’s “green jean” made from cotton and recycled
water bottles (see appendix H). In August 2014 G-star launched a special denim collection, RAW
for the oceans, which features collaborations with musician Pharrell Williams and eco-company
Bionic Yarn (NYDN). Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh, famously recommended customers not to wash
their jeans in an effort to prove the durability of denim and to solidify jeans as the “ultimate
sustainable apparel” (Prakesh). Levi’s also has a line of “waterless” denim, which minimizes
water use in its production process and encourages customers to skip jean washing post-purchase
(Ibid). To encourage the longevity of its products, Levis has promoted the craze for
“jeans freezing”, an alternative cleaning method that is said to kill bacteria on the garment.
Whether this is an effective method remains questionable, although it has undeniably sparked
consumer interest in the subject. H&M could have leveraged existing underlying associations with
water saving and denim in their Go Green Wear Blue campaign.
7. 7
Another great aspect of the campaign is its holistic design. The audience’s attention is
successfully captured with many subconscious visual associations. The blue graphic color is
present in almost all of the video’s frames and is used as a theme throughout the company’s
media marketing platforms (see appendix F). Ironically, this is not the first color that comes to
mind when one thinks of an eco-friendly hue, and the paradoxical tagline “Go Green Wear Blue”
is presented as an attention-grabbing contradiction. According to Milton Glaser, the legendary
graphic artist, the creation of a puzzle facilitates the activation of the problem-solving impulse of
the mind so that viewers are more engaged to solve the puzzle and act accordingly (Milton). The
color blue also brings about many subconscious connotations to natural elements such as the
ocean, the Earth, water and air, supported by cinematic pictures and aural effects of crashing
waves. The scene where the model emerges from the water, gasping for air (Appendix E, 0:22) is
also evocative of the idea of survival as an ambiguous suggestion is made to the breathability of
the Earth as well as the “breathability” of comfortable denim clothing. All these references are
strewn together with visuals of the garment’s texture in order to create a subconscious
categorization of the garment with nature. The ad thus leverages man’s fundamental instinctual
need to connect with his environment (Spirkin) in order to bring about feelings of splendor,
wonder and admiration for the brand.
The narrator in the ad also calls out to the warrior archetype in the consumer. “It shields
us, empowers us… so let’s respect it and let’s not waste it.” (Appendix E, from 0:26) As both the
protected child of Mother Nature and the native guardian of his own environment, the viewer is
engaged to participate and act by supporting the brand’s efforts. The woman’s voice, soothing,
mature and delicate also spurs associative feelings of motherly attachment, reminding the
viewer’s inner child of the responsibility one has to one’s original creator. The bright blue graphic
font found in the print advertisements (see appendix F) and the video sporting the words “Go
Green Wear Blue” also acts as a symbol of rebellion and revolution, communicating the idea of
wearing denim to paint the world back to its “original” blue hue.
Along with this comes the purity of the ad’s visual experience. By using uncomplicated,
universal and immersing visual imagery in the video, the brand communicates a sense of
simplicity and ease, bringing about ambiguous connotations of a clean environment and clean
clothing. Water as a metaphor also has many associations with cleaning, although the irony
posed here is the lack of water needed to wash denim in the garment’s manufacturing process.
Keeping the ad simple and straightforward is also a way for H&M to introduce brand flexibility
without over-committing to the eco-brand identity. By avoiding the tendency to over-pledge its
brand name to the cause, it refrains from hyper-targeting too specific of a market, thereby
allowing buyers who do not necessarily identify with the cause to participate as well. With H&M
known as such a mass-marketed, wide-reaching entity, it is important not to lose this important
brand asset in order for the campaign to be successful.
8. 8
H&M’s use of social media in its media placement strategy is a highly appropriate one.
With the campaign video streaming on YouTube and Vimeo, and with its print advertisements on
Facebook, it is easy for content to be viewed and shared by fans of the brand. It is likely that the
millennial generation would respond well to shared media through such social media platforms
(Baggini et al) with 81% of millennials in the US with a Facebook account, according to the Pew
Research Center’s report on Millennials in Adulthood (Taylor et al). Links to H&M’s online store
placed in description boxes also allow customers to easily access their webpage and make
immediate purchases or aid in the consideration process of the customer journey. It also allows
for 24/7 visibility to consumers across all parts of the world, which broadens its national reach.
Interwoven between the print photography on H&M’s Facebook album for the campaign are 7
#Bluefact pictures which contain fun facts from the H&M conscious team (see appendix G),
aiming to educate customers and the general public on its efforts to save water through
sustainable denim production. The use of the hashtag #Bluefact is more of an attention grabbing
headline that catches the eye of the customer, rather than an effective trendable phrase to be
shared with friends. Either way, it is unique and calls for engagement as users browse through
the campaign pictures on the brand’s Facebook page.
Another aspect of the campaign’s visibility is created through earned media via third party
blogs and websites such as Racked.com, Elle, WGSN, Whowhatwear, French Vogue and The
Guardian. The campaign has also been featured on several popular “green blogs” such as
Bettercotton and Ecouterre, which boasts the H&M’s collaboration with Spanish company
Jeanologia in the employment of water saving technologies (Chua). These publications are
important for raising awareness to several important communities of people including the eco-conscious
consumer and the fashion-conscious consumer. They also generate industry-wide
media attention, alerting other members of the industry looking to innovate in the same way.
As mentioned above, the company’s targeting strategy for the campaign is not just limited
to the eco-aware consumer, but to the broader spectrum of its existing market. The voice of the
campaign is made up primarily of a female adult, with the narrator’s voice and the model Hana
Jirickova (women management) featured in the video. However, H&M’s print editorials also
feature men, young children and even babies (see appendix F), which echoes the brand’s
mission to provide great fashion at affordable prices to all people across different age groups.
H&M’s pairing with denim, as a garment, is appropriate given denim’s existing equity amongst
consumers as a universal garment. It also acts as a way to defend the brand against skeptics of
the fast fashion industry who criticize similar companies for purveying unethically manufactured
goods.
Overall, the campaign has introduced H&M’s conscious denim line to the masses
effectively. However, consensus on how successful H&M has been in breaking through the clutter
and creating perceived value in all consumers has yet to be drawn. Consumers of fast fashion
9. may not be prepared to place high value on sustainable clothing yet or share the content with
their peers, which may lead to the campaign being more of a sidelined advertorial. Given the
amount of information that H&M is seeking to communicate, it could be a practical decision for the
company to repeat attempts at educating consumers on its sustainability efforts.
9
Strategic and creative recommendation
H&M has been
successful in sparking
consumer interest in the trend
of the garment collecting
initiative, thus I would
recommend them to capitalize
on this idea and expand their
recycling efforts into their
cosmetic products. H&M
currently has a line of affordable
beauty products, offering
customers eye-shadow
palettes, compact powders,
makeup brushes, lipsticks and
body creams from as low as
$4.95 (see appendix I). These
prices put H&M at a highly
competitive position, supplying
affordable products of a
Figure 1 – mock up of H&M’s conscious cosmetic compact
powder packaging with recycling symbol (front)
reasonable quality to women everywhere. By adopting this pricing strategy, H&M effectively
differentiates itself from other makeup brands in the market, including several of beauty giant
Sephora’s vendors, which can cost upwards of $50 for a makeup palette (see appendix J).
Several other fast fashion brands such as Forever 21 have conceded to do the same, cashing in
on consumers’ demand for fashion and lifestyle products outside of the apparel industry. The
cosmetics industry in the US alone raked in almost $57 billion in revenue in 2013, and is
forecasted to grow even more over the next few years (see appendix L).
How can H&M improve this area of their product range to incorporate more ethical
objectives and practices? In 2009, natural skincare brand Origins introduced a program called
Return to Origins, whereby consumers can give back any empty cosmetics jars, tubes and bottles
10. to their nearest retail store, that will then be sent back to a central location for upcycling1 (origins).
Beauty giant M.A.C’s Back to M.A.C program offers customers a free lipstick of choice in
exchange for six returned M.A.C primary packaging containers (see appendix K). This offers
customers a post-consumer incentive to recycle waste, much like the garment collecting initiative
by H&M, which offers customers a 15% coupon off one item after donating 2 bags of clothing for
recycling (Gustafsson). Although the financial incentive is small, both the company and the
consumer benefits from the resulting social value. H&M could thus adopt a similar strategy with
their cosmetic products, introducing plastic waste recycling into its manufacturing processes. Like
the company’s previous Conscious campaigns, H&M would benefit from reduced input costs as
well as increased brand value.
10
Figure 2 – mock up of H&M’s
conscious cosmetic compact powder
packaging (back)
Unlike other seasonal fashion
campaigns, this idea aims not to generate
more conflict and competition between
other substitute brands, but in fact, to
foster industry innovation and encourage
other similar companies to adopt the same
approach. Product packaging instructions
are crucial to disseminating information to
consumers on how to return empty
containers, but public relations and media
campaigns can also be employed to generate buzz and get consumers to contribute.
Overall, this creative recommendation is just one idea of many that H&M can employ in
order to grow the sphere of its conscious movement. With the massiveness of its reach,
purchasing power and consumer influence, H&M as a brand has endless potential to reshape the
fashion industry and the world.
1 Upcycling: the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or
products of better quality or for better environmental value.
11. 11
Appendix
A) H&M, corporate structure from annual report 2013
B) H&M, screenshot from H&M’s conscious sustainable style online collection
<http://www.hm.com/us/subdepartment/LADIES?Nr=2000240>
12. C) H&M, from the life of a dress #0206798 from Conscious actions sustainability report 2013.
Sweden: H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB, 2013.
<http://sustainability.hm.com/content/dam/hm/about/documents/en/CSR/reports/Conscious%20A
ctions%20Sustainability%20Report%202013_en.pdf>
12
18. 18
L) Statista, Revenue of the cosmetic industry in the United States from 2002 to 2016. 2014.
<http://www.statista.com/statistics/243742/revenue-of-the-cosmetic-industry-in-the-us/>
19. 19
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