Marketing in the News: Losing Wings and Shattering Ceilings?

    We all know of the iconic Victoria's Secret Angels, and how they have practically unachievable looks and bodies. Being an average appearing, 'plus size' individual myself, I know how hard it can be looking at these beautiful ladies and feeling inadequate. Only being able to wear so few things from VS, I have always dreamt about having the opportunity to buy more products from them. That is when I came across this article from the News@Northeaster that talked about how Victoria's Secret was taking steps towards body inclusivity but was facing backlash for it. This was the first time I was hearing about any of this, and I follow them on most social media networks. As someone who struggles to find things that fit or like wearing, I was excited to see more products that I, and others in the plus-size community, could wear. Or so I thought.  

     In a nutshell, this article explains how Victoria's Secret is dumping their supermodels and replacing them with women of 'all shapes and sizes.' They have decided to make this change by having "empowering advertising" and "focus[ing] on values." Realistically in 2019-2020, they had a plummet in sales and profits, so they decided to take notes from other brands such as Aerie that followed the idea of sending body-positive messages and featuring models in varying sizes. In their attempt to rebrand themselves, they hired a mostly female board of directors and planned to target women's issues. They also got new figureheads to represent the brand including Megan Rapinoe, a soccer player and LGBTQ+ activist. However, they are still facing the problem of gaining the consumer's trust and showing that this isn't just "window dressing."

    Let's go back to the beginning, shall we? Why would a brand receive backlash for including more sizes and appealing to the average consumer or the plus-size community? Regardless if they were late to the game of spreading body positivity, they are now making changes to be more inclusive and target these niche demographics, right? This is when I got intrigued and went to the Victoria's Secret Website myself to see all the new changes they supposedly made. Once there I scrolled, and scrolled, and scrolled. Nowhere did I find anything about their new rebranding, body inclusivity, or plans to target women's issues. In fact, nothing seemed to have changed at all. Several minutes into their website I came across a section called "Brands We Love." This must have been what I was looking for! Wrong. While a quick description of each brand appeared as if this is where the plus-size community was meant to be added in, the actual products would have catered to no one in that group, including their new size 14 spokespersons like Rapinoe. So much for focusing on the buyers' problems and creating content that satisfies their needs.

     Now more determined than ever, I searched Google for anything that talked about VS rebranding themselves. Surely this article had to get its information from somewhere. That is when I saw Priyanka's, @priyankachopra, Twitter post. She said, "Representation matters. It's crucial for us to show everyone ALL over the world that they matter and are seen. As a founding partner of #TheVSCollective and advisor to the business this is exactly what I intend to do." Then on Victoria's Secret's Instagram, they said, "We are proud to announce an exciting new partnership platform, #TheVSCollective, designed to shape the future of Victoria's Secret. These extraordinary partners, with their unique backgrounds, interest and passions will collaborate with us to create revolutionary product collections, compelling and inspiring content, new internal associate programs and rally support for causes vital to women." 

    It looked like to me, their idea of marketing their new brand was to post it on social media and hope for the best. Back in May, they sent out a catalog talking about their new pregnancy line. They glamorized and sexualized the idea of pregnancy and focused more on appearance, rather than, focusing on the challenges women face while growing a human. While they did partner with the Adopt-A-Mom program, a non-profit agency that supports mothers and families in need, the main focus to me was showing off their new line. As of now, there has not been any actual attempt to be more size-inclusive or work on the problems women are having. While their approach on this matter does not seem to be new in any way, I do hope to see how they plan to take more action rather than being all talk. Personally, I would have started this rebranding with some changes to their website by adding more details to what they want Victoria's Secret to encompass and truly be about. Along with that, I would have suggested that they came out with a bang such as an event or something to grab the attention of these buyer personas they are supposedly trying to attract.    

    After reading this article and doing more of an investigation than anything else, I learned that reaching your targeted audience really is important. While more brands begin to give us more body inclusivity options, finding a way to stand out from the rest really matters. With all these choices and so little time, we are looking past those not putting much effort to grab our attention. It definitely makes me realize we drift towards brands that do something truly remarkable.