Power of FOMO: YEEZY’s Marketing Secrets and What Brands Can Learn
YEEZY — the fashion brand of Kanye West, is known for everything from its daring designs to cultural impact…a marketing leader as much as a trailblazer in style. It has turned Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) into an art that drives the audience to rabidity in desiring their products. YEEZY demonstrates how compelling enough FOMO can be in everything from a business perspective through approaches like scarcity and excitement-building, to using the marketing influence of social proof. Here is what it does and how other brands can replicate.
Creating Scarcity and Value
YEEZY thrives on scarcity. This is a limited product launch, which means you can buy only a few pieces at one time. Unfortunately, many fans find themselves empty-handed too often when attempting to make a buy on these sneakers or pieces of apparel that sell out in minutes.
Making YEEZY items scarce artificially increases its perceived value. Humans are naturally inclined to things that appear rare or exclusive. When an artist or collective drop occurs without warning, it results in fans being even more hyped and motivates them to either do better next time (save money for a sudden collection they were not ready for), get up at midnight awaiting the new items to release so you can cop or setting alarms on phones just in case they might be awake by then.
It also drives a healthy resell market in which YEEZY items can fetch up to 200-300% of their original prices. It just plays into their luxury, high-end marketing and the fact that they still retain so much value is a sign of how exclusive and premium these bags are. As a result, allows further strengthens the demand for future releases.
Creating Buzz Around Every Launch
Scarcity alone isn’t enough. The art of the tease / GOOD Music Art by Nikki Farlito YEEZY is also a master at hyping its product. All eyes are on the brand months before anything hallmarking — a tactic cleverly employed to maintain consumer interest.
You can even try your hand at teasing some new products! Kanye West is also not-so-subtle about sneaking peeks at upcoming designs on social media. This serves to continue the conversation amongst themselves as well as with media and other fans, hence increasing hype.
Another powerful technique is collaboration. Partners with Adidas and collaborates across the music, sports & fashion landscapes. These are more than just partnerships and it allows fans to believe that they will get in on a culture as opposed to another product.
Unpredictability: YEEZY fully created leverages this. The most baffling thing about it all is the fact that by not saying ANYTHING ABOUT FUTURE RELEASES/RESTOCKS, Bale Guardian has kept fans on their toes. This element of intrigue makes people vigilant even more and pull the trigger at once on a drop.
Harnessing Social Proof To Drive Demand
Products are introduced, and YEEZY then turns to fans and customers Social proof—being shown other people enjoying or wanting something causes FOMO as it gives the illusion that you are missing out on a special item.
Social proof is at much the root of celebrity endorsements. Though a fashion icon in his own right — No, seriously; TIME even put him on their 100 Most Influential People list for it last year! — many other celebrities including athletes and musicians wear YEEZY products. The brand benefits from these free advertising moments because it constantly reinforces the image of exclusivity.
Everyday fans are important, tools for everyday superfans. They either put up pics on social media showcasing their YEEZY collection or even unboxing videos (or rants about how they missed out on a release). User-generated content serves to build hype and create a connection among the community. Buying and owning a YEEZY product is… Joining the Club— an aspiration that many brands work hard to achieve.
Lessons for Marketers
For businesses, here are some conclusions to be drawn from YEEZY by way of FOMO:
- Generate Urgency: Limit availability.
- Create Buzz: Teasers and influencer partnerships (like Ted Baker™) Get them excited
- Leverage Social Proof: Drive consumers to advocate and organically extend your brand network.
~ By Parbati Bandyopadhyay, IMS, Lalkuan, Ghaziabad