Conclusion
Bape are successful in aligning themselves with the right celebrities that appeal to the right consumer, through PR. 50% of those asked reported that celebrities assisted Bape the most in terms of gaining popularity (Wong, 2017). 1/7 of people asked believed that Bape’s collaborations are a main talking point of the brand (Wong, 2017), these collaborations are highly anticipated and collections sell-out (Adidas, 2016), demonstrating their success in working with the right brands.
There is an absence of interaction between Bape and their consumers, this was found through researching the way that Bape utilise their social media (Wong, 2017). It would be valuable to build a brand-consumer relationship through interactive content, which will engage consumers and establish a stronger Bape community. The exclusiveness of Bape increases product desire for consumers (Wong, 2017) however, there is a calling for Bape to acknowledge their UK market (Wong, 2017). With Bape’s social media posts written in Japanese, no official UK website, no store, and no events, it is clear that the UK consumer is neglected, and there is an opportunity to expand more to them in terms of marketing.
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Bape’s own collections don’t fuel as much excitement as their collaborations do (Wong, 2017). There is a chance to bring back the hype that once surrounded Bape, and the researcher has chosen to do this through a new marketing strategy.
The strategy will include elements from the ‘key trends in marketing’ research such as: high-quality, innovative visual content, livestreaming, and augmented marketing. This will tackle the issue of Bape’s lack of interactive content, and really revive brand excitement. As evidenced, celebrity PR is one of the brands most successful promotional tools. However, this strategy proposes that Bape take it further by turning celebrity PR into marketing, with high-status celebrity campaigns, starring hip-hop A-listers who have been found to be Bape fans (Instagram, 2017). Not only will this gain hype for the brand, it will show that this is what Bape represent, consolidating that they’re an authentic streetwear brand, who work with genuine streetwear fans. All of this content will be available to view on an international level, leaving no fan behind whilst inviting new, potential consumers.