Tuesday July 8, 2008

Quick, somebody get me a blazer!

The fall shopping season isn’t far off, and industry insiders expect teens and young women this year will be pulling from the racks looks inspired by the CW network’s “Gossip Girl,” according to a recent New York Times article. On the hot list are blazers, plaids and other trends worn by the fictional private school students the show revolves around.

The article mentions: “Although the series has had only middling success in the ratings, in stylistic terms it ‘may well be the biggest influence in the youth culture market,’ said Stephanie Meyerson, a trend spotter for Stylesight, a trend forecasting company.” So apparently creative marketing, strong branding and subtle advertising is enough to make up for sluggish ratings.

The CW, recognizing a solid cross-branding opportunity when it sees one, has added to its Web site a Style section. It highlights items worn or used on “Gossip Girl” and other CW series. The section includes pricing information and details on where to get individual pieces.

The Times explains the thinking behind this feature: “Thanks to the point-and-click shopping on its Web site and the fees it charges some brands to be featured in the series, ‘Gossip Girl’ has been able to profit from its power to generate trends. It is not the first show to collect revenues from product tie-ins, but it probably is the first to have been conceived, in part, as a fashion marketing vehicle.”

Many parents are probably dreading the day their teenage daughter stumbles onto the Style section and promptly begins begging for the strange-looking ruffled black purse featured online today that runs for about $1,400. But you gotta hand it to the marketing minds that dreamed up a way to create a demand for a product (that the network doesn’t actually have anything to do with designing or manufacturing), arm consumers with purchasing information and get a cut of the action. That said, I don’t think I’ll be emulating the prep-school look this fall or anytime soon, even if I do know where to find those pieces.

Posted by Camden Easterling Swindell at 01:20 PM in Media