Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Media Communications

First Advisor

Emmett Coffey

Abstract

This thesis looks to discover if high street fashion brands are utilizing effective public relations. It attempts to identify if the PR tools being utilized by high street fashion brands are evident to the consumer and if they contribute to purchasing power, the model of communication that is being employed by high street fashion brands and if age contributes to the knowledge and effectiveness of public relation tactics and communication tools. Approach: The research involved a two-stage study with the first phase focusing on an extensive literature review of the key sources of secondary research including reports, articles and publications. The second stage of the study was conducted through qualiative research, which incolved a set of interviews and focus groups. A semi structured interview was utilized in order to discover an insight into the thoughts and opinions of professionals working in the fashion industry from a PR, journalistic and fashion brands point of view. The interviews were supported with two focus groups where pailicpants were selected based on their age and if they are active consumers in the high street fashion industry. Results: The results indicate that high street fashion brands that utilize effective public relations have a stronger brand identity in the opnion of the high street fashion consumer. Online PR is a powerful tool for communicting with a brands publics. If a brand has no online presence it falls behind its competitiors in the high street fashion industry and is viewed as old fashioned according to resuls in this study. This study demonstrates that effective PR tactics can have a positive effect on consumer opinions of a high street fashion brand. Findings conclude that social media facilitate two-way communication and show that social media is a necessary tool when communicating with a new generation of consumers in their 20’s and 30’s.

In analyzing these findings the researcher found that age did have an effect on the knowledge of public relations tactics and also the effectiveness of the tactics on particular consumer target markets.

Comments

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment on the programme of study learning to the award of master’s Degree (MA) in Public Relations with New Media

Access Level

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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