Field experience course assessment report
Wendy K. Bendoni
Effective Communication:
GUESS was founded in 1981 by Marciano brothers, who moved to the U.S. from the South of France with a clear vision of a brand that would infuse the European chic with American flamboyant sexy style. Their aim was to reinvent the jeanswear by elevating them to a more sexy and chic appearance. Initially, the brand was targeting female audience. However, as the brand expanded so did their target audience. Today, the brand offers a wide variety of items for women, men, and children. The brand expanded to MARCIANO, Guess Originals, Guess Kids, and World of Guess.
GUESS has been advocating the sense of femininity in all its campaigns. We see the sexy images of modern women through the lens of renowned photographers such as Daniela Federici, Yu Tsai, Raphael Mazzucco, Dewey Nicks, Dean Isidro, and others. Many of their captured images became iconic. For instance, images of Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Laetitia Casta became epitome of GUESS’ outlook on women’s femininity and sensuality.
GUESS never disappoints with new images of models and actresses, donned in sexy and evocative garments. The recent collaboration with photographer Eli Russel Linnetz emphasized the sense of nostalgia for one of their first advertising campaigns which was inspired by “items that are normally found in road-side craft shops in America” (WM, 2022). According to the designer, the campaign features washed jeans, sun-bleached fur, and worn leather (Fashion New).
Although many things have changed in the past four decades, but the distinctiveness of the brand remains true to their core vision of brand’s identity. The Buyer Persona of the brand is a smart, confident, sexy, bold, sophisticated woman who knows how to play with the current trends by mixing them with modern classics of European femininity exposed in Fellini’s movies. She is not afraid of showing her curves and skin, yet she evokes the desire of further discovery of her enigmatic and adventurous persona. Often time she looks provocative, yet elegant. Her style emphasizes her passion-driven nature that values her freedom and love of discovery. She oversees the wellbeing of her family by creating a cozy and welcoming home. She shops for her husband, children, and other family members. She can find the recent trends, along with timeless classics, such as stonewashed Marylin jeans offered by GUESS.
Infographic:
GUESS’ persona name is Maria. She is in her early 30’s. She is a freelancer, who works on her own terms. She doesn’t like the notion of “9-5” schedule because it limits her freedom of discovering the world around her. She likes to travel and to meet new and interesting people. Although she is adventurous, she likes to have some sense of stability in her life. She created her comfy nest where she comes back to recharge and relax. Maria is known for drawing inspiration from all around the world and implementing them in her space. She does have some savings and invest in various forms of passive income. Although Maria is not a millionaire, and doesn’t
spend a fortunate on her wardrobe, she always wears the latest trends thanks to democratic pricing strategy of the GUESS.
Social Media Presence:
GUESS understands the importance of digital marketing in the modern society; hence, the brand is actively utilizing social media marketing strategies to connect with their existing and potential customers. The brand is described as “Young. Sexy. Timeless.” There is a link that directs the visitor to their website to complete a purchase. They are listening to their audience on social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat to understand what the buzzwords are associated with the brand, and what social currency. The social media channels enable consumers to share not only their personal stories associated with the brand, but also share their
experiences. According to Jonah Burger, people like to share their experiences as much as they like to share stories about them (Contagious). Thanks to social media, we can all share our personal stories and hear those of others. GUESS is using different social media platforms to share its own story and practice a social listening of its consumers to be in-the-know of their needs and wants.
Instagram:
The number of the followers on Instagram is 8.4M. The brand follows 2,227 accounts. As of May 1, 2023, the brand has posted 6,545 posts on their Instagram account. On an average, the brand posts two images daily. The posts are both in forms of photo images, as well as videos.
Content creators are sharing their purchases and reviews of the items and overall experiences with the brand. They also share affiliated links and hashtags associated with the brand. The brand recently released some pictures from the 1980’s archives. During the field trip experience, we learned that the brand is aiming to collect all their design of jeans and store them for future references in creation of their new designs with an old twist. I would’ve suggested that they used the notion of Gamification to collect more of the rare pieces.
Facebook:
Facebook is another platform where GUESS connects with its audience. Their daily posts are introducing the new styles and are equipped with active links to pursue with a purchase. The brand is actively sharing trending hashtags, such as #earthday and #recycle. The brand has been advocating sustainable production, and shares some of the techniques they use to promote the responsible production. Thus, they couldn’t bypass the Earthmonth celebrated in April 2023.
YouTube:
The official YouTube channel of GUESS has 93.7 subscribers. There are 787 videos posted on this channel. It looks like the concept of “shorts” is still in new for the brand. There are only 4 videos which don’t have any comments left by the viewers. Some of the are shared by Content Creators. For instance, one of the videos has 348K views, but has zero comments. The Community section doesn’t look very active either. The last videos were posted about 2 years ago.
It looks like the consumer engagement is not very active on brand’s YouTube channel.
Understanding the potential of shared videos, I assume that GUESS would revisit their social media strategy of YouTube.
Ethical Behavior:
Some of the ethical behaviors that GUESS is applying to their business is sustainability. One of their slogans is “Rooted in Nature. Elevated by Design.” Based on the personal experience at their production center in Los Angeles, I can state that they are following the sustainable solutions in their everyday practices. For instance, James, a jeans-maker who has worked in the company from 1983, said that the number of chemicals for treatment of jeans was reduced from five to one. Also, they are utilizing the laser machine, Predator, for creating the worn effect on jeans. The original mode of treatment was performed by hands with a use of stone imported from Mexico. Today, the reduced the production of stone-washed jeans to a minimum. This way they conserve the resources on transportation of those stones, as well as labor and use of electricity. Instead, they use the lazer machine, which is power-efficient and perform the work that required five hours of labor to a fifty second job. This is a huge step towards the sustainability of production. This enables company to save both on labor, which respectively reduces the cost of the production, as well as on the usage of natural resources.
GUESS is widely using textile made from sustainable materials, such as recycled polyester, recycled cotton, recycled wool, and Econyl.
Recycled Polyester is composed of recycled plastic material, including plastic bottles. The aim of this initiative is to give an object a new life by reducing the waste.
Recycled Cotton is made from the excess textile and other production waste. All this waste is then converted into a useful fiber which is reused for new fabrics.
Recycled Wool is used for saving a high expenditure of resources associated with the production of wool. The use of recycled wool aims to lower the environmental and production cost.
Econyl is a special fiber that is made from the recovered material, including plastic, which is rescued from the ocean. This frees out water bodies from the accumulated waste and gives a
The brand is a firm believer that with a collaborative approach to existing issues of systematic social challenges that are taking place in the fashion industry, will nurture a better environment and higher ethical standards. The company is paying a close attention to the ethical behavior of their partners, assuring that the footprint of the company is not associated with misbehaving
companies that are operating following low ethical standards. To foster the empowerment of ethical means of production, GUESS offers training programs to bring awareness on such issues.
GUESS Foundation, in a partnership with One Tree Planted, takes active part in restoring areas throughout California and British Columbia that were destroyed by forest fires. As of 2023, GUESS planted 5,415 trees, and plans on donating 13,000 more trees in other parts of the world.
Another initiative of responsible consumption that GUESS has embarked on is the Greening Our Operation. One of the goals of the program is to use LED lighting system across their stores. They also offer complimentary electric vehicle charging stations for their employees, encourage ridesharing, and implement full-scale recycling program.
As a part of their Collective Action & Innovation initiative, GUESS is committed to complete the designated goals by the year 2030.
2021
Received approval on our Science-Based Targets (SBTs) by the Science Based Targets initiative.
Initiated roadmap to meet new SBTs by 2030
2023
30% of our global materials portfolio will be more sustainable.
Circular product design implemented for every major category.
100% of accessories and footwear & 50% of e-Commerce shipments will use recycled or recyclable packaging.
2024
75% of the GUESS denim selection will be GUESS Eco
Use of 100% recycled or biobased polyester for our main line
2025
100% of our product packaging will be recycled or recyclable.
2029
Use of 100% recycled or biobased polyester for all brands
2030
Reduce direct (company facilities & vehicles) and indirect (personal utility use) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50%
Reduce GHG emissions in relation to our partners and supply chain by 30%
Diversity and Inclusion (DE&I):
GUESS is concerned not only with environmental ecosystem and its preservation, but also with the ecosystem within the organization. The company’s focus is to create a working environment where all associates feel comfortable and safe. They are cherishing the authentic selves of their employees and encourage them to be a part of the success story of the company. The company added diversity and inclusion to their performance review, and projects to redevelop their Diversity and Inclusion Council in Europe as well and promote peace over violence (Guess.com).
Global Perspective:
GUESS, being a global brand, understands the notion of “work globally, but think locally” and implements that in the business model. This perspective is very helpful when it comes to understanding consumer behavior pattern and cultural habits. For instance, GUESS makes a specific collection for Vietnam that is not available for other consumers. As we’ve been told during the field experience tour, the designs are made with culture-oriented specifics in mind. It can pertain to sizing, style, holidays, and trends. This makes GUESS a more culture-appreciating company who values and respects customs and cultures of other nations.
As a global brand, GUESS takes the responsibility of advocating transparency in their business. There are some additional tools which are facilitating the process of monitoring the origin of each product, such as blockchain-based software, like Provence, Truepic, and Monochain. This system allows the consumer to track the production of a garment from the very first steps of production, such as choosing fiber and textile for the garment, the name of the sheep that generously donated its resources to produce a fabric, all the way to the factory conditions. This offers an increased clarity regarding the environment in which your garment was made. There are apps such as “Good On You” which rank fashion companies based on the parameters of their environment-friendliness, fair labor practices, and humane treatment of animals. Blockchain is a technology that has the potential for improving the lack of transparency in fashion industry by enabling a consumer to monitor the supply chain of a product (theinterline.com). Acknowledging that fashion industry is in the process of shifting to a new level of transparency thanks to the technological advancement, looks like GUESS is still in the transitional mode of adaptation of the blockchain system. There was no information available if GUESS is using one of the blockchain software.
This model of operation is still in making because there are not yet standardized certifications, and it needs some additional rules and regulations for fully entering the market. Due to its high cost, it is still inaccessible for small businesses (goodonyou.eco).
Fashion supply chain is a complex system due to its composition of multi-layered processes associated with sourcing of raw-materials, logistics, labor force in different countries all across the globe. Hence, having a transparent monitoring system will cultivate a more responsible usage of natural resources.
Another project that is designed with transparency in mind is VeChain. Some of the high-fashion brands such as Givenchy are suppling NFC chips for its leather products and sneakers for verification of its authenticity. There are other high-end brands which are using the consumerfacing blockchain technology, such as Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, and Breitling. These companies started their collaboration with Arianee, which is a Paris-based company that market itself as “end-to-end web3 solutions for brands” (theinterline.com). Thanks to Arianee’s blockchain solution, every Breitling watch that has been produced after the 13th of October 2020 does include a digital passport, which enables its owner to verify the authenticity of the product. Also, it allows to validate the ownership of the watch.
Marketing Principles:
As Dr. Marques has stated in her book Leadership and Mindful Behavior, one thing that is constant is change. The business strategy has shifted from a product-centric strategy, which was focused on performance, to a customer-centric approach, which is built on prioritization of human experience (Harvard Business Review). In today’s digital marketing world, however, things are even more complicated than that. The dynamic is rapidly changing, echoing the ongoing social, political, cultural, and historical events. The Drivers of Change (DOC) have reshaped the consumer behavior. Currently, we are in a recovery stage from the world pandemic.
The unprecedented event, coupled with advanced technological developments, caused a major shift in consumer behavior and elevated the needs of consumers to a new level. Today consumer is looking for transparency and authenticity. Thanks to Google Search and Google Analytics, people are more informed and well-equipped with essentials for searching required information within a matter of seconds. Social media has created a stronger bond between Content Creators and their followers. The disruptive advertisement is no longer relevant and slowly decreasing with a high risk of extinction. The awareness about the danger of global climate change has cultivated more responsible consumers. All these changes shifted consumer’s behavior by making them more selective, opinionated, and ambitious. It became more challenging for brands to response to all their needs, wants, and even demands. According to Harvard Business Review, consumers are complaining that companies don’t respond quick enough to their changing needs (Keeping Up with Customers’ Increasingly Dynamic Needs). Hence, for a business to remain relevant to their consumer’s needs that tend to change as often as weather in , they need to be inthe-know of the social currency and the buzzwords used by their potential and existing customers. One of avenues that provide the wealth of information is the social media. The new gatekeepers are in the frontline of informing their followers with current trends, news, reviews, and other type of shared information that is truly valued by their followers. These days, the Social Media Marketing (SMM) is shaping the market. Thus, many companies are collaborating with Influencers to expand their target audience. According to Adam Hayes (Investopedia), over 80% of consumers are reporting that social media, and especially the Influencers are heavily impacting their buying decisions (SMM: What It Is, How It Works, Pros and Cons). For brands, such as GUESS it is vital to keep the finger on the pulse of ongoing new needs of their consumers and to respond adequately to stay relevant.
Conclusion:
Today, GUESS operates in over 80 countries across the globe. Their stores are situated in prime locations along with high-end brands. Based on my personal observations, GUESS is the only mass market stores that can afford to share the same walls with brands such as Loro Piana, Hermes, Brunello Cucinelli, and Chanel. Thanks to its loyal customers, such as Maria, GUESS remains a popular lifestyle brand on a global scale. It encompasses the tangibility of the American Dream and the laid-back European lifestyle with “Dolce Vita” philosophy.
Understanding the pattern of Social Media Marketing, it is important to stay relevant to your consumer through the new gatekeepers such as Content Creators (Bendoni). It is important to differentiate themselves in the market, by offering goods and services that customers expect of them. For instance, GUESS is providing Subscription Boxes which are responding to responsible consumption narrative The personalized, monthly styling boxes are enabling consumers to buy products that are meeting their needs and wants. Withing seven days, they can choose the items that best meets their needs. The unwanted items are sent back to the company, free of charge. This service curates responsible shopping experience. It replaces the “impulsive purchases” which are usually based purely on emotions. The Subscription Boxes service elevates customer’s experience to a new level by infusing it with the sense of exclusivity. At the end of the day, a customer wants to feel appreciated and to have a sense of satisfaction from conducting a business with a company that thinks globally but acts locally. The company that cares about the climate change, the business ethics, the inclusive work environment, the production transparency, the responsible consumption of natural resources, and the fair treatment of their loyal customers. This will fuel their energy for coming back for more of that satisfactory experience!
CITATION
About: Daniela Federici: Photographer director. daniela federici photographer director. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://danielafederici.com/about/
Adams, C., Alldredge, K., & Pitakos, A. (2023, April 25). A monthly update on the state of the US consumer: April 2023. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/a-monthlyupdate-on-the-state-of-the-us-consumer-april-2023
Bendoni, W. K. (2017). Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Berger, J. (2016). Contagious: Why things catch on. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
Can Blockchain technology make fashion more transparent? Good On You. (2023, March 24). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://goodonyou.eco/blockchain-technology-fashiontransparency/
Feldner-Busztin, E. (2022, May 11). Blockchain: Unlocking Transparency and traceability in the fashion supply chain. The Interline. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from
https://www.theinterline.com/2022/02/28/blockchain-unlocking-transparency-andtraceability-in-the-fashion-supply-chain
Feldner-Busztin, E. (2022, May 11). Blockchain: Unlocking Transparency and traceability in the fashion supply chain. The Interline. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.theinterline.com/2022/02/28/blockchain-unlocking-transparency-andtraceability-in-the-fashion-supply-chain/
Hayes, A. (2023, April 23). Social Media Marketing (SMM): What it is, how it works, Pros and Cons. Investopedia. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media-marketing-smm.asp
Keeping up with customers' increasingly dynamic needs. Harvard Business Review. (2022, September 28). Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://hbr.org/2022/09/keeping-up-withcustomers-increasingly-dynamic-needs
Marques, J. (2016). Leadership and mindful behavior: Action, wakefulness, and business Palgrave Macmillan.
US, F. N. (n.d.). Guess USA revamps brand image with photographer Eli Russell Linnetz. FashionNetwork.com. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Guess-usa-revamps-brand-image-with-photographereli-russell-linnetz,1376324.html m