It is clear the main problems the fur industry faced was firstly, the continuing unstable economy which inevitably affected sales of fur and secondly, because of the changes in attitude towards real fur and peoples reluctance to wear the real thing. This attitude had been fuelled by a number of key fashion designers who were supported the anti fur campaign and many celebrity models joined forces and supported the lasting campaign of ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ which has also result in many celebrities making a stand for animals.
Consumer Concepts
Culture is the most basic affect of a person’s wants and behaviours. It comprises of basic values, opinions, wants and behaviours that a person learns continuously in the society they live in. It is a social characteristic of a population and is not inherited, but instead is learnt through socialization. It grows and builds up through one generation to another, but it can be subject to changes which suit the society and population. It is also adaptive and changes in response to the needs of society.
Cultural Values
Cultural values represent a society who share the same meanings and values of what is important and it plays a role in the integration of a society or group they belong to, however conflicts can exist regarding cultural values.
Originally fur was worn to satisfy the basic need to keep warm and therefore it became a cultural value which was learnt through the generations, but over time its values changed due to the importance and influences of fashion statements. To be fashionable involves having specific knowledge about the high value of good and in modern times it is not enough to simply desire goods because of their effectiveness and ultimately fashion items and their image, in particular fur has changed due to cultural value rather than there use-values.
It is also important to note that the fur industry and animal rights groups are actually two businesses in competition with one another and each sells the product that represent cultural values.
Cultural Symbols
Cultural symbols are the attitudes which represent ideas or concepts and symbols can communicate some very powerful and complex ideas and images with a minimum amount of effort.
Wearing fur is one such symbol and has become a cultural symbol of wealth and high status. Prior to the bad publicity which was caused through the anti fur campaigners, people who wore fur symbolized wealth, importance and high ranking and people bought fur to show others their affluence and power. However after the publicity peoples views started to change and they no longer saw fur as such a powerful symbol and instead wearing fur portrayed animal cruelty and insensitivity which resulted in many people being ridiculed for wearing it.
Popular Culture
Popular culture is culture which appeals to the masses and it does not require special knowledge to understand it. It is created in a way that people have easy access to it; therefore it can frequently influence behaviours which don’t involve much work or study. It taps into the experience and values of the population and its mass appeal is illustrated through television, fashion and music.
Up until the bad publicity, fur had just started to be seen as a key fashion item and the magazines and television media promoted fur which led people to want to wear it. However, after many key designers started campaigning against real fur by introducing fake fur into their collections, people’s attitudes changed towards real fur. As fake fur improved in looks and feel which meant people couldn’t tell what was real or fake, it became more desirable and consequently was promoted even further through strong media campaigns. At one time women only bought fake fur if they couldn’t afford the real thing, but now they had started buying fake, not only for political reasons but due mass fashion appeal which resulted in it becoming an item of popular culture.
Cultural Values
Market Research
Market research needs to be carried out to establish how the public view real fur and whether over the years their ever changing cultural experiences and set of values had altered their views on wearing fur. Market Research is also important to establish what the public like and dislike about real fur.
Marketing Mix
The fur industry would need to develop a good promotional campaign to portray fur as a key fashion item, rather than an image of wearing a dead animal. PR campaigns could also be introduced to try and dispel the bad publicity of fur and instead show fur as an essential item in the wardrobe and an item which will keep you warm.
Cultural Symbols
Market Research
Market research would need to be carried out in order to understand how people view the symbols and images of wearing fur and how those views have changed over the years. It would also need to be established how they viewed fake fur and whether they saw the substitute, fake fur as a way of symbolizing wealth and luxury or whether they saw it as second best.
Marketing Mix
The fur industry would need to develop an advertising and promotional campaign which could promote real fur as a new image and symbol which represented the ever changing culture of the twenty first century.
Popular Culture
Market Research
Market research needs to be carried out in order to understand how the consumer sees fashion and new trends and what influences their buying decisions when choosing styles to wear. Marketing research would also enable them to determine the demand for wearing fur and also establish ways that they could incorporate fur as an accessory or trimming for coats and jackets which would appeal to the mass market.
Marketing Mix
The fur industry would need to consider price changes which would encourage sales of fur to the middle classes and they would need to promote fur as not only as single garment but as a trimming or accessories. This could be done via TV advertising and also promoting fur to the fashion designers.
Segmentation
The fur industry would need to establish which segment of the market they would need to attract which would stimulate more sales and in turn which segment would be attracted to buying fur accessories and trimmed fur items
Positioning and differentiation
The fur industry would need to consider where their product would be positioned in the market place which reflects its new image as a key fashion item in modern day culture.
Conclusion
This report demonstrates that the fur industry needs to carry out extensive research into how the public view real fur and a marketing mix of advertising and publicity needs to be introduced to promote a new luxury era of real fur as a fashion trend. Also they would need to promote fur as new fashion item to key fashion designers and encourage them to incorporate it in their collection which would help fur to become a major trend-setter. This would enable sales of fur to increase, however it is also important that they retain a good price offer which would help sustain the sales of fur.
