Patrick McHugh

• Grew up in Greenwich Village, NYC

• Ennis, Clare

• SVA, Parsons, FIT and DCU

• My clients include Fashion Designers, Fashion Retail and Wholesale Outlets, PR companies, Ad Agencies, Magazines and Newspapers.

• Worked in New York, London and Dublin.

My WorkI divide my time now between Visual online projects

that encompass both Design and Photography

What is success?

It is the same for you and for me, you need to

generate income… As the Brit’s would say you

sell lots of ‘Clobber’

….sales

What differentiates

Failure from Success?

Perseverance

& a little knowledge…

Before you start any

online marketing projectDon’t be ‘busy’ for the sake of it.

Get out a piece of paper.

Avoid meaningless Social Media.

As a fashion practitioner you cannot do a cohesive marketing campaign on your own, you will need help, but strong visuals will do a lot of the work for you.

Visuals and Irish

marketing

Misnomer - Number One – Exports

Who is your competitor, Do you export?

Do you work internationally?

Consider the high street competition…

Borders are gone… what does this mean for you?

Are Visuals then important in an Irish context?

Content - Content - Content

Engaging, relevant, impactful content…

All your efforts will be measured by the content you

have...

And visuals are the most engaging form of content

What’s most important on the web?

Google loves nice photos!!

Google loves Great Video!

Google loves Great Fashion Online

What are good Visual Components to consider for fashion?

• Fonts

• Colours

• Icons

• Logos

• Your Homepage

• Press

• Portraits

• About

• Photos

• Video

• E-Commerce

• Social Media

Set ‘Outcomes’…make a

plan

What's the plan for this year, the next three years,

the next ten?

What is your turnover going to be 10k, 100k, or 10

million?

When you know where you are going you can plan

the steps to get there.

Online marketing?

Is it Social Media? No

It is online reputation management.

Don’t take your eye off the pot of gold.

People believe marketing has changed… it hasn't.

Visual Marketing and Content Marketing have not changed…the tools have.

To market online you need to plan first

… then take massive action…

Basic Principles of Marketing... from a fashion perspective

• Find your customer- this is the oxygen needed for

survival

• Find their pain - what is it they really want?

• Know your competition

• Solve the pain with a relevant product

• Produce the refined product

• Craft the message to deliver to your customers

• Deliver that message

• Perfect the message

• Customer Acquisition

• Sales

• Customer Service

• Engagement

• Repeat business

Misnomer No. 2

- The Website

… it is a strange term, all your efforts on-line are pure

‘marketing’

The wrong question is... How long to build…or how much

does a website cost?

The right question is… what is my planned ‘outcome' and

what are the steps I need to take to get there online…

• Find your customer- this is the oxygen needed for survival

• Find their pain - what is it they really want?

• Know your competition

• Solve the pain with a relevant product

• Produce the refined product

• Craft the message to deliver to your customers

• Deliver that message

• Perfect the message

• Customer Acquisition

• Sales

• Customer Service

• Engagement

• Repeat business

Lets look at that list again

From a Visual Perspective

Build a solid foundation

Start with something simple, that won’t 'age'

Get your images, logo and visual branding right from day one

Never say… when I have more money I am going to build

something proper

Parting Wisdom

• Don’t ever put bad pictures or copy on social media…

or anywhere!

• Don’t ever say… when I have more money I will do

that right...

• Don’t get a “Techie” to build your online visual

marketing…

• Don’t get someone from the camera club to shoot

fashion...

• Logo’s are tough!

The Future

• Video Video Video

• Easier Payments, near field communication, Paypal,

micropayment

• Efficient versatile software and hardware

Inc. Magazine.. says there are three trends redefining commerce

• Your customer is getting much closer

• SEO is the name of the game

• It is all about your brand

Other trends

• Shift from Traditional Retailing

• Mobile e-commerce will grow and grow

• Better software, better shopping experience for seller and buyer

• Better customer care

www.patrickmchugh.com/downloads