A n a S o f i a B a p t i s t a | 1 0 8 6 4 0 5 9
T
HE EVOLUTION OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN FASHION BLOGS AND FASHION
ORGANIZATIONS BETWEEN
2010
AND
2015
Master’s Thesis
Graduate School of
Communication
08
Master’s Programme Communication Science
Thesis Supervisor: Piet Verhoeven
Abstract
Thanks to their potential for parasocial interaction and seemingly unbiased nature, blogs are able to establish a seemingly close connection to readers, which grants them credibility. Simultaneously, fashion blogs increasingly assume the role of Social Media Influencers. As such, their prominence as tools reaching organizational goals makes them the subject of this thesis, which focuses on understanding the relationship between organizations and bloggers within the fashion industry, as well as how it evolved. Namely, aiming for investigating the nuances of this relationship according to the type of fashion organization – fast or high fashion – for ten of the most influential fashion bloggers of the year 2015. By means of the analysis of the content presented in fashion blogs over a period of time of five years, it was found that collaborations have become more visible over time, with an increasing number of collaborations with high fashion organizations. This was also verified to happen over time, thus implying a connection between blogs’ popularity and the type of endorsement adopted. Yet, this research showed that gaining popularity does not necessarily mean a decrease in interaction between bloggers and followers, contrary to previous literature. Still, it was proven that the use of language devices intended to engage the audience indeed registered a decrease as bloggers collaborated more with high fashion organizations. Ultimately, the evolution of fashion blogs comes about as increasingly moved by commercial interests, which both bloggers and organizations must carefully manage, so as to avoid jeopardizing the advantages these new platforms provide.
Introduction
In order to better understand the corporate dynamics of the fashion industry, it is important to tackle how the relationship between organizations and the media works, as these represent one of its most prominent stakeholders. Namely, one can elaborate on the role that blogs increasingly play as a “legitimate vehicle” for corporate messages (Singh et al., 2008). Even though old and new media forms are “overlapping” (Carlson, 2007), new media allow for individuals to voice their opinions, in such way that would not otherwise attain the same levels of visibility. Especially for the fashion industry, the rise of blogs represented one step further into the end of the “historical monopoly of (…) magazines in disseminating fashion” (Engholm & Hansen-Hansen, 2013 – page 150). Namely, blogs set the structure for the individuals that were once mere observers, to start taking a stand and presenting their own take on fashion (Rocamora, 2012; Engholm & Hansen-Hansen, 2013). As such, blogs and magazines both support the industry in their own ways, therewith presenting a dimension of “complementarity” (Pedroni, 2015).
Concurrently, organizations have become aware that consumers are constantly overloaded with various advertising forms, thus proving the importance of recognizing different formats whereto expand their brands’ value. Research (Singh et al., 2008; Magnini, 2011) shows that blogs can improve loyalty by integrating the customer in a process of co-creation and are seen as an increasingly credible source of information. Adding to this, blogs possess valuable dimensions of electronic Word-of-mouth (eWOM) and User Generated Content (UGC). Whereas the latter has been proved to gauge positive results in regards to impact, connection and memory effects (Goh et al., 2013), research has shown how blogger mentions can act as eWOM. When effectively managed, these have the power to predict the success of marketing campaigns.
Overall, then, blogs present organizations with unprecedented opportunities, which they gradually acknowledge (Singh et al., 2008). This scenario is especially visible in the fashion industry, where bloggers have consolidated their image as influential figures in the past years. To such a degree, in line with the definitions provided by Engholm & Hansen-Hansen (2013), personal blogs arise as a popular phenomenon: a form of “self-staging” and a mix of “autobiography and diary”, which has become an intrinsic part of the industry. What’s more, fashion blogs possess unique characteristics, in that they strive on the basis of a certain distance between author and follower (McQuarrie et al., 2013) – simultaneously a reason for and consequence of their intrinsic relationship with brands and organizations.
conceded that the fashion industry encompasses a wide variety of organizations. As such, these can be categorized into two types, according to the nature of the production work they entail: Fast and high fashion. While the term ‘high fashion’ conventionally refers to an exclusive line of production, including its design, materials and retail process, ‘fast fashion’ regards a field where “trends move rapidly from the catwalk to the store” (Brooks, 2015). These differentiating features also impact the association between bloggers and organizations, whereby both parties seek a good match for their own profile and the image they aim to project (Duffy & Hund, 2015).
It then follows that the connection between fashion media and business possesses multiple dimensions. Consequently, even though the connection betwen businesses and different media has long been a topic for communication research and is under continuous developments, its specific application to the fashion industry is far from accomplishing its full potential. This showcases a significant research gap, which this thesis aims to fill, by answering the following Research Question: To what extent has the relationship between
fashion bloggers and high and fast fashion organizations changed between 2010 and 2015?
Theoretical Framework
In combination with traditional media, Web 2.0 tools revolutionized the way organizations deal with stakeholders, enabling them to maximize the reach and impact of their messages. In that the internet and social media are an integrant part of individuals’ everyday life (Goh et al., 2013), corporate presence in the online environment ensures the capitalization of the opportunities this new landscape offers. This, however, has led to an overload of corporate messages on the part of consumers, who have started developing coping mechanisms regarding selection and defense (Magnini, 2011; Liljander et al., 2015). In behavioral terms, the impact of the interactions between organizations and stakeholders has been proved to overcome traditional communication approaches (Muntinga et al., 2011). Thus, traditionally conveyed messages are not as effective (Singh et al., 2008), prompting organizations to find alternative solutions. Amongst these, blogs arise as an increasingly prominent instrument, renown for their ability to target individuals in a more personalized fashion. According to literature (Berthon et al., 2012; Ahuja & Medury, 2010), blogs constitute websites where individuals regularly publish personal content, usually presented in a reverse chronological order. Blogs tend to resemble diaries, may contain all sorts of content
types (e.g. text, images, videos, links) and can be personal or organizational. For the sake of this research project, however, the focus will be on personal blogs. These can be seen as detached from corporate interests, maintained on the basis of the author’s personal criteria and liable to establish commercial collaborations.
Seeing that organizations accept the principles of consumer empowerment inaugurated by Web 2.0, blogs have the potential to increase awareness and loyalty, by means of implying individuals in the “co-creation of expectations and experience” (Singh et al., 2008). Plus, given their potential for parasocial interaction – defined as the “illusion of face-to-face relationship with a media personality” (Horton and Wohl, 1982 in Thorson & Rodgers, 2006 – p.42) – blogs possess the ability to amplify the credibility and effectiveness of corporate messages (Thorson & Rodgers, 2006). From an organizational perspective, this means they set up a triadic relationship between bloggers, readers and organizations which, due to its resemblance to friendship, potentially leads to higher levels of effectiveness of communication efforts. According to research (Colliander & Dahlen, 2011; Johnson & Kaye, 2004; Kozinets et al., 2010), this is partly justified by the expected “unbiased nature” and personal tone of voice of the authors, alongside the credibility that readers tend to appoint them. Altogether, blogs arise as a possible answer to this new reality, requiring organizations to move away from merely thinking in terms of campaigns and traditional media, and towards relationship building (Colliander & Dahlen, 2011).
Overall, this ability regards two basic characteristics possessed by Web 2.0 media, and blogs accordingly: User-Generated Content (UGC) and electronic Word-of-mouth (eWOM). As the name suggests, UGC refers to content in all formats, produced and shared by users, which can be held against Marketer-Generated Content. (Goh et al., 2013). Even though individuals are argued to always have engaged in content production activities (Van Dijck, 2009), new media take this idea to another level, enabling users to define what to share and whom to share it with. As Zerfass and Schramm (2013) put it, content about companies, products and other relevant issues is increasingly produced by online conversations amongst stakeholders. When considering individuals’ intrinsic propensity to establish communities, then, it becomes clear that blogs can set the stage for the creation of social groups, based on users’ “communal preferences” (Van Dijck, 2009). For organizations, this translates into a change of mindset, whereby the relationship between those who produce content, brands and stakeholders has to be reevaluated. To a certain extent, this new reality puts into motion a new set of labor relations, one between “volunteerism and professionalism” (Van Dijck, 2009), where the blogging activity fits in. The relationship of organizations and blogs is thus defined by the acknowledgement that users can indeed add business value. Taking on Goh et al.
(2013), the capitalization of these opportunities implies the right combination of UGC and MGC, based on the fact that UGC was proved to highly influence purchase numbers.
Nevertheless, this strategic shift towards a new form of diffusion of corporate messages only prevails given the power of eWOM. First of all, Word-of-mouth marketing is defined by an intentional interference of professional marketing techniques on conversations amongst consumers. As such, commercial information turns into cultural stories that stand relevant for individuals, given their context and community (Kozinets et al., 2010). When applied to new media and technologies, electronic word-of-mouth comes into play. Research (Magnini, 2011) has shown that opinions published online are increasingly taken into consideration by users, especially when it comes to making purchase decisions. Besides being perceived as credible, online opinions are seen as reliable and trustworthy, which makes them worth investing in for organizations. Namely, the growth of the blogosphere has given rise to new spheres of influence, headed by opinion leaders with characteristics such as the aforementioned perceived neutrality and human tone of voice. Seen that an increasing percentage of blogs nowadays mentions and collaborates with organizations (Mostafa, 2013), it can be useful to explore this under the perspective of Associative Learning Theory (ALT). This theory states the principle that effective endorsement, as well as repeated association, can lead users to establish a mental connection between the brand and the endorser. Plus, this connection generates an image transfer, whereby the line between the two becomes increasingly blurry for readers. Considering the dimension of authority users are known to appoint to blog information, this means that a smart match between blogger and organization can actually result in the capitalization of the rise of the blogosphere. Namely, it can translate into an increase of effectiveness of advertisements, benefit message recall and boost brand recognition (Magnini, 2011). Altogether, these new opinion leaders become weapons for organizations, embodying “a good investment for marketers” (Cheong & Morrison, n.d.). Not only does Web 2.0 provide them the opportunity to influence an indefinite number of people, their speech is also generally perceived to have an affective nature. In terms of corporate interests, this implies they produce stakeholder communities that can be used for monitoring and maximizing brand perceptions (Cheong & Morrison, n.d.; Mostafa, 2013).
Assuming that individuals’ level of acceptance regarding corporate messages is higher when they feel that messages are “personally meaningful to them” (Singh et al., 2008), the relationship between the blogosphere and organizations has been found to be fruitful. Previous research states that blogs have already been acknowledged by organizations as sources of competitive advantage (Colliander & Dahlen, 2011), on the basis of the “open and trust-based conversations” (Singh et al., 2008) they establish. Increasing in popularity, they
emerge potential corporate assets, a new valuable partner, thus setting the need for a reevaluation of business relations on the part of organizations.
Bloggers as Opinion leaders
Via the features of Web 2.0, the blogosphere establishes a social network with limitless possibilities, encouraging the connection not only between fellow bloggers, but also between bloggers and their followers. With this in mind, if one considers the internet’s capacity for reach and linkage (Song, Chi, Hino & Tseng, 2007), as well as the increasing function of social media as sources for corporate-related information (Men & Tsai, 2012), bloggers inevitably arise as a new type of opinion leaders. Following the definition of opinion leadership first proposed by Katz & Lazersfeld (1955), a stream of research (Campus, 2012; Song et al., 2007) advocates its transposition to the online world, claiming that they constitute groups of people regarded as “competent and reliable within their own communities” (Campus, 2012). In the sense that the blogosphere enacts a conversational style and colloquial interactions, it can be derived that bloggers exert social influence over their readers, whereby they simultaneously create new information, influence what is published by other bloggers (Song, Chi, Hino & Tseng, 2007) and play a role in shaping their publics’ opinions and behaviors.
Also designated Social Media Influencers (Freber et al., 2010), they thus represent a new element to be regarded in the corporate universe. For organizations, they become a new “independent third party” with enough persuasive power to shape audience attitudes (Freberg et al., 2010 – page 90). Organizations have come to acknowledge this, as they progressively direct more funds towards this type of Public Relations practice and, likewise, bloggers register increasing earnings from publicity and corporate collaborations (Lowrey, Parrott & Meade, 2011). Consequently, blogs are now one of the most popular social media tools used by Public Relations and corporate communications professionals, mainly chosen on the basis of how much they enhance the relationship with key audiences and the organization’s reputation (Gillin, 2008). Not only do organizations maintain their own corporate blogs, but they also collaborate with personal, independent blogs.
On the whole, then, blogs are noticeably turning into more corporate entities (Lowrey, Parrott & Meade, 2011) and research has shown how this is especially observable in the arts, entertainment and recreation industry (Gillin, 2008), where fashion houses can be situated. In a time when organizations are largely evaluated in light of the “buzz” created
around them (Men & Tsai, 2012), this industry’s pioneer role in terms of social media somewhat illustrates how organizations can use blogs. More specifically, as a way to improve the relationship with their stakeholders and, in the end, their own performance.
Blogs and Endorsement Activities
Traditionally, to endorse simultaneously means “to make a public statement of your approval or support for something or someone” and “to appear in an advertisement, saying that you use and like a particular product” (“Endorse”, n.d.). When considering the relationship between businesses and the blogosphere, Kozinets et al. (2010) translate it into “narrative strategies” for Word-of-mouth marketing. In turn, fashion blogs take advantage of this practice via “tagging or linking to a branded product in one’s blog or Instagram feed, [which] stands as public recognition of a commercial gift” (Duffy, 2015). Endorsement thus represents an official collaboration between bloggers and organizations, whereby the former posts on the blog about the organization, in exchange of some kind of compensation. This is done in an individualized fashion, acknowledging the tension between the communal and commercial dimension of blogs and therefore using a promotional language (Kozinets et al., 2010). Ultimately, given the personal dimension of blogs, this enables organizations to place brand cues in a seemingly authentic mode of presentation, which has been shown to lead to “conscious negotiation or production of meaning” (Beverland & Farrelly, 2010). Nevertheless, this practice is increasingly subject to legal frameworks, designed by entities such as the American Federal Trade Commission. Specifically, these aim to protect consumer rights and the main measures revolve around the publishing of disclosure statements.
Yet, to a certain degree this contradicts the presupposed unbiased nature of the blogosphere (Lowrey, Parrott & Meade, 2011). The gradual bureaucratization of these media, as argued by Lowrey, Parrott & Meade (2011) has led to an increasing pressure for content production and reach “traffic benchmarks”. Adding to this, a growing number of bloggers is now paid per post and is connected to commercial entities. Consequently, the authors identify here a “trend”, whereby earnings from the collaboration with organizations are increasing.
Fashion blogs and Organizations
Taking on the characteristics of the relationship between organizations and blogs, the fashion industry has shown signs of acknowledging the potential of such collaborations. As
Engholm and Hansen-Hansen (2013) state, the popularization of fashion blogs during the 2000s represented the end of the “monopoly of magazines” in the field. Specifically, this new format presents bloggers’ personal preferences, via the use of pictures and links to established fashion magazines and organizations. As a whole, literature tends to describe the co-existence of new and traditional media in terms of constant tension and struggle for authority (Carlson, 2007). The expansion of communication forms has allowed citizens to speak their voice, side to side to journalists, especially visible given the considerable decline in popularity and sales registered by print media in western countries (Usher, 2010). This is also visible in the fashion industry, where bloggers not only recycle content produced by other media, but also become producers themselves – Rocamora (2012) calls this a “fashion remediation”. It’s a process of decentralization, enhanced by the imagery of blogs as “unmediated space” (Rocamora, 2012) perpetuated by the features of the Internet. In spite of an apparent collapse of the “control paradigm” (Macnamara, 2010), however, the shift in fashion media deserves more careful consideration. Fashion bloggers are increasingly considered as a “new breed of (…) journalism” (Arnold, 2012), but their influence and popularity is still highly dependent on the power of fashion magazines. This is because Web 2.0 allows for a “cacophony of diverse voices” (Arnold, 2012) to such an extent that traditional fashion media still hold their gatekeeping and agenda-setting functions. As such, they play an especially important role in the popularization of certain blogs (Pedroni, 2015; Arnold, 2012). Ultimately, blogs surely play a role in the democratization of fashion news, but the idea of a fundamental change must be regarded as romantic, rather than realistic. The comparison between blogs and magazines, then, arises as fundamental, with the two also being separated by blogosphere’s lack of deontology and specific training (Pedroni, 2015). Yet, they also share some common traits. Namely, both obey to the logics of fashion – editorially, but also commercially. Whereas the former is visible in the combination of self-produced content and advertisings present in blogs, the latter refers to the fact that profitable ties with brands require a certain restrain: “They must avoid being too negative toward the fashion system” (Engholm & Hansen-Hansen, 2013 – p. 152).
What was previously only accessible to certain institutions is now available to wider audiences, via public consumption habits: “choosing, evaluating (…) and posting accounts of this consumption that garner a large audience of strangers” (McQuarrie et al., 2013 – p. 137). Research (McQuarrie et al., 2013) has concluded that fashion bloggers reach the status of opinion leaders by means of their taste, which enables them to build an audience. This dynamic lays the foundation for the growth of fashion blogs, much unlike other types of blogs and online communities. In this case, bloggers do not strive for building a community, but instead build an audience, leading them to detach from their “followers’ desires and wishes”
(McQuarrie et al., 2013). At the end of the day, this clashes with the perceived unbiased nature of blogs, previously described. This is likely due to the fact that blogs gradually became an intrinsic part of fashion (Duffy, 2013), wherein they have come to permeate the industry on all levels, from books, to television and retailers. Besides, literature (Duffy & Hund, 2015) has shown how top fashion bloggers live under the demand to be a “social media brand”.
Simultaneously, though, this requires them to still maintain the perceived one-to-one quality that ensures blogs’ effectiveness for organizations. Ultimately, this renders fashion bloggers a unique set of characteristics, amongst which the need to remain simultaneously “relatable and aspirational” (Duffy & Hund, 2015). In practical terms, this is done through a very specific form of self-promotion, whereby they must ensure their traditional role as consumers is made visible to readers. Duffy and Hund (2015) define it as the creation of a “notion of work that doesn’t seem like work”, an attempt to safeguard their position of effective influencers through the use of the “aesthetics and language of commercial brands”. McQuarrie et al. (2013) identify a couple of techniques used by bloggers to camouflage the barrier that tends to separate bloggers from readers – namely, bloggers simulate similarity in their speech and practice “self-deprecation”. Considering this reality, Engholm and Hansen-Hansen take the concept of UGC a step further, describing fashion blogs as a form of “user generated marketing”, as they promote established standards and systems in consumer culture. In a way, this denies a more romanticized perspective offered by authors such as Rocamora (2011), who defines fashion blogs in the lines of open appropriation and interpretation, a weapon against a “producing elite”.
Overall, the proliferation of fashion blogs, alongside the increasing evidences of their professionalization and commercial ties with organizations, emphasize their importance for the industry. This goes beyond their potential for brand awareness and advertising effectiveness, given their potential to build audiences veiled under the dialogic ideal of Web 2.0 and online communities. Because these blogs ensure their status on the basis of the public acknowledgment of taste (McQuarrie et al., 2013), fashion organizations and brands appear as intrinsic elements, a confirmation of the blogger’s status rather than “a violation of trust”. By and large, fashion blogs build upon the traditional opportunities the blogosphere has to offer for organizations, whilst extending them to a point where such collaborations feel natural to followers.
High and Fast fashion
Placing the bloggers in the scope of the fashion field requires an understanding of the differences within this corporate realm. Namely, when considering organizations, it is possible to distinguish high and fast fashion. Taking into account the current landscape and following the literature (Pouillard, 2011), this distinction is done on the basis of the clash between art and industry. High fashion dates back to the XIX century, with the establishment of the first
haute-couture house by Charles Frederick Worth, in Paris (Pouillard, 2011). Since then, this branch of
fashion has been known for tying business and art, and is generally categorized as “Luxury”. As such, it implies a dimension of timelessness, as well as design quality and creativity – to the point that it is sometimes tagged with the expression “wearable art” (Venkatesh, Joy, Sherry Jr & Deschenes, 2010).
On the contrary, fast fashion describes a more recent phenomenon, defined by the rapid fast transition of trends “from the catwalk to the store” (Brooks, 2015). Overall, fast fashion lays its foundation on two main tenets: fast response techniques and enhanced design techniques (Cachon & Swinney, 2011), upon which retailers are able to reach favorable positioning amongst consumers and ensure they effectively match supply and demand. Collections are small, made to sell out, giving them a feel of exclusivity while reducing the need to lower prices (Rohwedder, 2008). Plus, retailers invest on constant sales monitoring and fast shipping methods. Intrinsically, then, fast fashion is simultaneously the fuel of and fueled by globalization (Tokatli, 2008), which allows organizations to respond to this increasingly fast production cycle.
At the end of the day, fast and high fashion are embodied in organizations of different nature and structure. Accordingly, their media and communications strategy also differs. Specifically, as described by Duffy and Hund (2015), fashion blogs tend to privilege the “staging of the ‘glam life’” and, thus, products belonging to high fashion organizations.
Hypotheses
Research (Colliander & Dahlén, 2011) has proven the positive effects of the collaborations between organizations and blogs for communication effectiveness. Nevertheless, the blogosphere popularity phenomenon can be described as a fairly recent one, dating to the beginning of the 2000s. In spite of this, authors (Engholm and Hansen-Hansen, 2013; Duffy & Hund, 2015; Rocamora, 2011) advocate that fashion blogs’ popularization process started in the mid-2000s, with organizations gradually taking advantage of this
potential. Thus, one can expect the relationship between organizations and fashion blogs to have changed over the last decade. By dividing this period into two intervals of five years, the first hypothesis arises:
H1: The relationship between organizations and fashion blogs is more visible now than it was
five years ago.
Regarding the differences between high and fast fashion, literature (Engholm and Hansen-Hansen, 2013; Duffy & Hund, 2015) has explored how fashion bloggers tend to promote the vision of a very glamorous life. In spite of bloggers’ efforts to remain relatable, then, establishing connections with high fashion organizations simultaneously guarantees a higher status and a perceived sophisticated lifestyle.
H2: Fashion bloggers collaborate more with high fashion organizations than fast fashion
organizations.
Yet, given that McQuarrie et al. (2013) show how established bloggers tend to neglect the proximity of their relationship with followers, one can posit that an increase in collaborations with high fashion organizations is likely to be connected to a decrease in engagement levels. The following sub-hypotheses thus arise:
H2a: The level of interaction between bloggers and followers is lower when the number of
collaborations with high fashion organizations is higher.
H2b: The level of engagement on the part of the bloggers is lower when the number of
collaborations with high fashion organizations is higher.
Method
In order to analyze the differences in postings on fashion blogs in a five-year time frame, content analysis was the research method employed. By choosing to examine the data in this manner, the content explicitly presented in the blogs will be analyzed, in an attempt to better understand any underlying relationships and meanings. Besides, it allows for a analysis over an extended period of time, given that the purpose of this project is to understand how the relationship between these media and businesses evolved between 2010 and 2015. Namely, this is done according to the instructions laid out in the Codebook (see Appendix 1),
so as to ensure the process is systematic and impartial. Plus, this procedure acknowledges the possibility of any future replications or subsequent studies.
Sample
The sampling process in this research project attends to two dimensions: the choice of fashion blogs and, consequently, the selection of posts to be examined. According to Engholm and Hansen-Hansen (2013), fashion blogs can be primarily distinguished as corporate or personal. The latter, however, can be divided into multiple categories, as suggested by literature (Engholm & Hansen-Hansen, 2013; Rocamora, 2011): professional fashion blogs, fashionindustrias, streetstyle and narcissus. For the purposes of this research, however, only Narcissus-type blogs are taken into consideration, as these represent a clearer interconnection between blogger and reader, as well as a “processual relation between the author’s private life and the blog’s (…) content” (Engholm & Hansen-Hansen, 2013 – p. 146). As such, they can be described as new form of personal diary.
The choice process has been done according to the article released by the fashion news website Fashionista, “The 20 Most Influential Personal Style Bloggers Right Now”, published in February 2015. The American website is one of the most popular sources for news regarding this industry, reportedly attaining a monthly readership that exceeds two million readers. According to the article, the list was compiled according to four criteria, which match the aims of this project: number of social media followers, brand extensions (bloggers who account for the creation of new products under their own name were favored),
it factor (noted as the result of online buzz and opinions from industry insiders), and Google
News searches. Overall, then, the list reunites the names of blogs that best represent the influential status that fashion bloggers are increasingly known for. This study focuses on the top ten, but some blogs do not grant access to their archives, thus requiring the adjustment of the list. It is as follows: The Blonde Salad, Song of Style, Wendy’s Lookbook, Kayture, Sincerely Jules, Fashion Toast, Gary Pepper Girl, Atlantic-Pacific, Nicolette Mason and Gabi Fresh (Full list on Appendix 2 and brief description on Table 1).
Table 1
Brief Description of the sample
Blog Author Date of the
first post Profile Description
The Blonde Salad Chiara Ferragni October 12th, 2009
“(...) Chiara Ferragni collaborates today with the major Fashion Houses, she appears in the most read magazines, she is the creative director of her shoe line which is entirely Made in Italy and she has been named by Business of Fashion as one of the most influential personalities of the international fashion world.” Song of Style Aimee Song October 30th, 2008
“A fashion and interior design Blogger / YouTuber featuring videos focused on fashion, design inspiration, DIY and more.”
Wendy’s Lookbook Wendy Nguyen March 10th, 2011
“Hi everyone! I’m Wendy. I find inspiration in art, nature, culture, architecture, food, people, and music. And for me, fashion is a compilation of all that. Fashion is a vehicle for me to play with shapes and colors in order to uncover my personal style. (...)”
Kayture Kristina Bazan
January 16th, 2011
“Founded in 2011 by Kristina Bazan and her partner James Chardon, Kayture is the most influencial blog in Switzerland, and one of the biggest names worldwide thanks to it’s vast international reach. (...)” Sincerely Jules Julie Sarinana February 26th, 2009
“(...) Jules chronicles her daily style, travels and life and continues to inspire and motivate her readers, one outfit at a time. In addition to her blog, Jules has contributed to and has been featured in [several magazines and television channels] (…).” c
Fashion toast Rumi Neely January 1st, 2008 Not provided Gary Pepper Girl Nicole Warne October 18th, 2009
“(...) What started as a passion project which Nicole balanced with her full-time job, studies, and two internships at Grazia and Harper’s Bazaar
Australia, it was only two months later she decided to take a risk and quit her job to pursue her business full-time.(...)”
Atlantic-Pacific Blair Eadie April 18th, 2010
“Personal style and fashion blog of Blair Eadie. Blair is a lover of all things colorful, chic, preppy and printed. She currently resides in NYC.”
Nicolette Mason Nicolette Mason November 8th, 2008
“Hey! My name is Nicolette. (...) I'm a freelance creative consultant, contributing editor at Marie
Claire, and pen this blog, where I share personal
style snaps, travel, and the many things I love.”
Gabi Fresh Gabi Gregg
October 20th, 2008
“I started this blog in September 2008 after graduating college with an interest in fashion journalism. (...) This little old blog that started as a hobby has since become my full time job. That means I’m lucky enough to make money from doing what I love!”
Even though research (Engholm & Hansen-Hansen, 2013) claims that fashion blogs started in the early 2000s, the beginning of most influential blogs at the time of this research date to the period in between 2009 – 2011, therewith justifying the choice of a time frame between 2010 and 2015. Considering the current media landscape with regards to this industry, it is possible to assume blogs have come to share the position of most popular fashion media alongside magazines. Thus, building upon the conclusions draw by Lacy, Riffe and Randle (1998) as to monthly consumer magazines, a random stratified sample of 12 posts per year is the most efficient solution, as it acknowledges any variation that possibly occurs. This corresponded to one post per month, for each blog, selected using SPSS from November 2010 until November 2015. In cases where there was no post for the selected day, the closest date was chosen for analysis. In the end, the sample is constituted by a total of 602 posts.
Variables
The first set of variables present in the codebook covers only the description of the content. Its main aim is to identify and provide a brief overview of the post. This is followed
by a set of variables relevant for analysis (See Table 2), directly addressing the aforementioned hypotheses.
The variable Formality in the content of postings follows the operationalization by Lowrey, Parrott & Meade (2011), wherein a total of five binary indicators (one of which coded reversely) compose an Index of Formality in Postings. This is followed by the variable Interactivity, composed of two parts. One on hand, research (Bakker & Hille, 2013) has examined interaction as the average of comments and likes obtained by content posted online – this composes a Reaction indicator. However, when considering that these three factors mainly imply a dimension of reaction rather than the establishment of a two-way communication process, further indicators can be useful when studying interactivity as a whole. Therefore, for the purposes of this study and taking into consideration the intrinsic dialogic nature of blogs, indicators of actual interaction are also taken into account, so as to obtain a more realistic account of this variable. This means that it is not enough to merely count the readers’ reactions, but rather the extent to which the blogger indeed interacted with the readers, by means of responding to their comments. Research has previously accounted for this dimension, albeit under different designations, such as ‘Dialogical Self’ (Yang & Lim, 2009) or ‘Invitational Rhetoric’ (Foss & Griffin, 1995). In this case, it is determined by counting the number of replies provided by the blogger.
Next, the variable Reader Engagement opens up for the analysis of the extent to which the content actually directly approaches the reader and incorporates him/her in the narrative. The measurement of this variable is twofold. On one hand, it is done using an adapted version of the General items of the Transportation Theory scale designed by Green and Brock (2000). On the other, so as to ensure that this variable also reflects the idiosyncrasies of blogs’ content, it includes the identification of any conversational voice devices, such as the use of direct interpellations, contests or giveaways.
Following this, the Level of Endorsement engaged in by bloggers can be analyzed in each post taking into account multiple dimensions. Firstly, building upon the method designed by Maat (2007) for analyzing press releases, this variable includes indicators regarding whether the bloggers makes use of any promotional language devices. Secondly, it comprises indicators regarding the post’s compliance with legal frameworks, via the identification of disclosure statement and/or the explicit mention of having received any offers or gifts. Overall, these cover an Index for Level of Endorsement. The two last variables entail the identification of the promotion of high or fast fashion organizations, in a dichotomous fashion. It must be noted, however, that these two variables are not mutually
exclusive, thus accepting the possibility of one post promoting both types of organizations simultaneously.
Table 2
Variables, Items and References
Variable Items References
Formality in the content of postings
Does the blogger mention any sources of information (specific people, press releases, press conferences or visits to showrooms)?
Lowrey, Parrott & Meade (2011) Does the blogger show an attempt at
balance, making the effort to even out opinions and avoid establishing a preference? This comprises including and/or discussing other people’s opinions or exploring perspectives from the media. Does the blogger write in first person (make use of the words ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘mine’, ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’)? 1
Are there any explicit personal, individual or opinion-based claims?
Does the blogger’s writing make use of grammatical irregularities (abbreviations, oral expressions or emoticons) or use of jargons?
Level of Blogger-Reader Interaction
Reactions: The coder must indicate the number of likes, shares and comments
registered for the post. Bakker & Hille (2013); Yang & Lim (2009); Foss & Griffin (1995). Interactions: The coder is to count the
number of times the blogger responded to a comment in the post’s comment box.
Reader Engagement
While I was reading the post, I could easily
picture the events in it taking place. Green and Brock (2000); I was mentally involved in the post while
reading it.
The post includes questions directly addressing to the readers.
The post includes the blogger requesting readers’ suggestions.
The post features a contest.
The post features a product giveaway.
Level of Endorsement
Does the post use promotional language?
Maat (2007) Does the post title include the name of a
fashion organization, brand or product? Does the post include any disclosure statement?
Is there an explicit mention of the blogger’s collaboration with a brand?
Does the post include links to purchase the products?
High Fashion Does the content of the post promote high-fashion products or brands?
Fast Fashion Does the content of the post promote fast-fashion products or brands?
Procedure
In order to prove the reliability of the variables in use and the respective codebook, 15% of the total blog posts were coded by both the project manager and another coder prior to the coding and analysis processes. The chosen measure was Krippendorff’s alpha, wherein a threshold of .80 was considered as satisfactory, even though a minimum of .60 is usually used as a minimum value. All variables were proven to be reliable, but the items “Does the blogger show an attempt at balance, making the effort to even out opinions and avoid establishing a preference?” and “Does the content of the post promote high-fashion products or brands?” only reached scores of 0.7849 and 0.7627. This can be explained by the fact that these items, to a certain extent, rely on the coder’s own subjective perception. In order to prevent this, the codebook was improved and more extensive description of the items was added. The exact values for Krippendorf’s Alpha are presented in Appendix 3. Following this process, the project manager proceeded to code the remaining sample.
Ensuing this step, the gathered data was reviewed and adjusted to the statistical procedures that followed. Firstly, for all cells coded with ‘99’ belonging to the items in variables Formality in the Content of Posts, Level of Blogger-Reader Interaction, Reader Engagement, High Fashion and Fast Fashion, the cases were rendered missing. Secondly, the variables Formality in the Content of Postings, Reader Engagement and Level of Endorsement were computed by establishing the mean value of their respective items. As for the variable Level of Blogger-Reader Interaction, the process was twofold. Firstly, the items for Reactions were computed into an Index by calculating the mean of Likes, Shares and Comments. Next, the ratio between Interactions and Reactions was computed, thus comprising the Variable value. By establishing this ratio, it is possible to gather a value that represents the numeric proportion of how many times the blogger did interact with the readers, over the number of times the readers reacted to the content. As such, this will also result in a number that allows for a more visual and immediate understanding of the variable. The variable Date was also recoded, so as to represent the division of the full time period of five years into two equal groups. As such, this means that all blog posts ranging from November 2010 until April 2013 (inclusive) were recoded as belonging to the Date Phase 1, where as the blog posts from May 2013 until November 2015 (inclusive) were recoded as 2. As a result, a new ordinal level variable arises. In order to ensure the date groups are approximately equal in size, the frequencies for the Date Phase were ran on SPSS, showing that the first group accounts for 48.7% of the total data, while the second group represents 51.3% of the data. Consequently, it is assumed the date groups are comparable for analytic purposes.
The hypotheses previously outlined are to be tested using primarily t-tests and Chi-square analyses. Namely, the first hypothesis, as well as hypotheses H2A and H2B, required the use of independent-samples t-tests. On the other hand, hypothesis H2 called for McNemar’s test, since it provided the significance of the comparison in a matched pairs design. Extra analysis was further conducted using Chi-square analyses.
Results
In the context of this research project, a total of 602 blog posts were analyzed (N = 602). Of these, only one did not make use of any type of multimedia content. More specifically, it was observed that 591 blog posts made use of pictures, 25 used videos and
none used audio recordings. In order to draw comparisons with regards to time evolution, the data were divided into two groups of two and a half years each, thus adding up to the total of five years. The first phase ranged from November 2010 until April 2013, while the second phase was from May 2013 until November 2015. This was established in order to convey an understanding of whether the blog posts have indeed changed over the time frame under analysis.
Visibility of the relationship between organizations and fashion blogs between 2010 and 2015
From November 2010 until April 2013 (Time Phase 1), blog posts scored on average .31 (on a range from 0 to 1, 𝑆𝐷 = 0.25) on the level of visibility that a promotional activity had been accorded amidst a fashion organization and the blog. Promotional signs are, for instance, the use of promotional language or the use of the organization’s name in the post title. From May 2013 until November 2015, an average of .41 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.26) was observed regarding the level of endorsement observed in the posts of the fashion blogs. An independent-sample t-test proved this difference is significant, 𝑡(598 = −4.62, 𝑝 < 0.001; 95% CI [-0.14; -0.05]. This means the null hypothesis is to be rejected, thus accepting the hypothesis that the way organizations endorse fashion bloggers has changed over the last five years.
More collaborations with high fashion organizations
Taking the totality of blog posts under analysis into consideration, the results show that fashion blogs present a higher number of collaborations with high fashion organizations, in comparison to the amount of collaborations established with fast fashion organizations. In total, 194 posts promoted fast fashion organizations, which corresponds to 32.3% of the total posts. In the same way, 293 posts promoted high fashion organizations, accounting for 48.8% of all posts under analysis. Following the results provided by McNemar’s test, this result was found to be significant, 𝑝 < .001.
More collaborations with high fashion organizations do not mean a decrease in interaction levels
When fashion blogs did not promote high fashion organizations, the level of blogger-reader interaction was found to score on average .02 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.07) on a range from 0 to .50. This represents the mathematical ratio between readers’ reactions and the bloggers’ interactions. The level of interactions is operationalized by dividing the sum of comments, ‘likes’ and shares by the number of one-on-one responses by the blogger. On the other hand, when considering the cases when blogs did include signs of promoting high fashion organizations, the blogs averagely scored .02 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.07). An independent-sample t-test proved this difference is not significant, 𝑡(525 = −0.51, 𝑝 < .614; 95% CI [-0.01; -0.02]. This means the null hypothesis is met.
Less engagement as collaborations with high fashion organizations increase
Attending at the blog posts wherein a high fashion organization was promoted, the fashion blogs under analysis averagely showed a score of .31 (on a range from 0 to 1, 𝑆𝐷 = 0.19) on the level of reader engagement that bloggers employed in their speech. This included language devices such as directly addressing readers or explicitly requesting their suggestions. For blog posts that did not include any sign of promoting high fashion organizations, an average score of .36 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.07) was found. By means of an independent-samples t-test, this result was proven to be significant, 𝑡 544 = 2.64, 𝑝 = .009, 95% CI [0.01, 0.07]. As such, the null hypothesis can be rejected, meaning that bloggers promoting high fashion organizations are prone to employ a less engaging form of speech.
Additional analysis
The evolution of the collaboration between fashion blogs and high fashion organizations between 2010 and 2015
During the first time phase, from November 2010 until April 2013, the majority of blog posts did not promote high fashion organizations, whereas 56.5% of the posts from the second time phase (from May 2013 until November 2015) did show indication of promoting this type of fashion organization (See Table 3). A Chi-square analysis proved the association
between the time date of the blog posts and the promotion of high fashion organizations is significant, 𝑥! 1 = 14.86, 𝑝 < .001. Moreover, a small effect size was shown, V = .157.
Table 3
Crosstabulation of Time Phase and High Fashion
Promoting high fashion
Not promoting high
fashion Total
Time Phase 1 59.2% 40.8% 48.7%
Time Phase 2 43.5% 56.5% 51.3%
Total 51.2% 48.8%
The evolution of the collaboration between fashion blogs and fast fashion organizations between 2010 and 2015
The aforementioned analysis was conducted again, this time applied to fast fashion organizations. For the first time phase (from November 2010 until April 2013), 36.6% of the blog posts under analysis did feature some kind of promotion for fast fashion organizations (See Table 4). For the blog posts dated from May 2013 until November 2015, on the other hand, 28.2% of the blog posts contained this feature, a lower score than the one verified for the previous time period. The Chi-square analysis proved this association is significant (𝑥! 1 = 4.83, 𝑝 = .029), with a small effect size, V = .09.
Table 4
Crosstabulation of Time Phase and Fast Fashion
Promoting fast fashion
Not promoting fast
fashion Total
Time Phase 1 63.4% 36.6% 48.7%
Time Phase 2 71.8% 28.2% 51.3%
Total 67.7% 32.3%
Blogger-Reader Interaction does not decrease in time
During the first time phase (from November 2010 to April 2013), the fashion blogs scored on average .02 (on a range from 0 to .50; 𝑆𝐷 = 0.07) on the ratio between readers’ reactions and bloggers’ interactions with them. The mathematical ratio between the sum of each post’s comments, ‘likes’ and shares by the number of actual responses by the blogger is operationalized as the Level of Blogger-Reader Interaction. On the time phase from May 2013 until November 2015, it follows that the average score was of .02 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.07). An independent-samples t-test established that this difference is not significant, 𝑡(527 = 0.96, 𝑝 < .338; 95% CI [-0.01; -0.02]).
Bloggers do not engage more with readers over time
Taking into consideration the extent to which bloggers made use of language devices destined to engage their readers, during the first time phase (from November 2010 until April 2013) the fashion blogs scored an average of .35 (on a range from 0 to 1, 𝑆𝐷 = 0.21). Likewise, from May 2013 until November 2015, the score was slightly lower, with blogs averaging a count of .32 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.21). In consequence of an independent-samples t-test, this difference was concluded to not be significant, 𝑡(545 = 1.83, 𝑝 < .067; 95% CI [0; 0.06]).
Fashion blogs’ content does not show significant differences in formality between 2010 and 2015
From November 2010 until April 2013, the content posted by bloggers was slightly less formal than during the second time phase (from May 2013 to November 2015). In this context, formality denotes features like writing in first person, using grammatical irregularities and/or making explicit personal claims. On average, blogs scored a result of .15 (on a range from 0 to .8, 𝑆𝐷 = 0.12) during the first time period. For the second time phase, the score was of .17 (𝑆𝐷 = 0.09). However, an independent-samples t-test rendered this association non-significant; 𝑡(482.39 = −1.75, 𝑝 = .081; 95% CI [-0.03; 0].
Discussion
Given the research question of this study, it can be concluded that the relationship between fashion bloggers and fashion organizations, regardless of their type, has evolved to become more visible from 2010 until 2015. Moreover, it was shown that this type of collaborations has become more recurrent for high fashion organizations, with both parties aiming to establish collaborations that ensure a better match between the two. Regarding the first hypothesis, which contemplated that the relationship between fashion bloggers and fashion organizations has become more visible over time, results confirmed it. Secondly, it was hypothesized that fashion bloggers were more prone to establish collaborations with high fashion organizations. The conducted analysis proved this is true. Plus, supplementary results added that this type of collaborations increased with time, whereas the association between fashion bloggers and fast fashion organizations decreased over the time period between 2010 and 2015. Hypothesis H2a conjectured that the level of interaction between bloggers and followers was to decrease, when the number of collaborations with high fashion organizations was higher. Results, however, rejected this hypothesis, showing that fashion bloggers have not significantly reduced the extent to which they interact with their readers, as they collaborate more with this type of organizations. Lastly, H2b hypothesized that fashion bloggers were to engage less with their followers, when the number of endorsement activities with high fashion organizations was higher. This study determined this to be accepted, in that bloggers were proven to approach their readers less actively in their speech.
which it evolved. It was found that these collaborations evolved to become more visible and obvious with time, therewith extending past literature (Mostafa, 2013). It also means that, also in the fashion industry, organizations see bloggers for their potential to influence audiences, just as advocated by preceding authors (Cheong & Morrison, n.d.; Magnini, 2011; Mostafa, 2013). However, the establishment of corporate partnerships with bloggers depends on the type of fashion advocated by the organization. This comes to confirm the perspective promoted by Duffy and Hund (2015) that bloggers aim for projecting an image of glamour, which is also corroborated by the obtained results that showed that, as time evolved, the number of collaborations with high fashion organizations increased. Alongside this, the number of collaborations with fast fashion organizations was lower with time, thus proving that the type of organization matters as bloggers gain popularity. This means that, in line with previous literature, fashion bloggers prefer to be associated with higher fashion organizations, which contribute to consolidate their status and image. Yet, this does not correspond to an inferior level of interaction between bloggers and readers, contradicting previous research (McQuarrie et al., 2013) claiming that blogs tend to neglect interaction as their ability to associate with high fashion brands increases. That being said, it does not follow that bloggers employ a homogeneous engaging speech style. In fact, it was proved that bloggers engage more with their audience when their levels of popularity, and thus the likelihood of promoting high fashion organizations, is lower. The same applies for the speech style employed by bloggers, which was found to be less engaging in time.
Preceding literature (Singh et al., 2008; Thorson & Rodgers, 2006; Mostafa, 2013) suggested fashion blogs are increasingly acknowledged as instruments for organizations to reach their target audience, gauging unprecedented advantages. These result from their unique characteristics, and are greatly attached to the potential for parasocial interaction blogs possess. As such, endorsement activities are engendered with the goal of taking advantage of both blogs’ personal dimension and the credibility readers consequently assign them. This explains the growing tendency for making endorsement activities more visible. The recognition of fashion blogs as potential sources of corporate equity, profitable alternatives to traditional promotion platforms, though, must attend to a certain balance between their corporate and personal dimensions. In other words, in order to ensure that commercial interests do not undermine blogs’ unbiased nature (as traditionally perceived by readers), organizations must also avoid the risk of becoming too invasive or obvious. Likewise, bloggers must aim to maintain their aura of accessibility.
On the other hand, however, bloggers also strive to remain “aspirational”, as literature states (Duffy & Hund, 2015). Consequently, there is a tacit need to portray a
lifestyle that readers can admire and wish for. In other words, bloggers are expected to exhibit more than just products their followers can easily own, as in high fashion pieces of clothing. The results obtained in this research project exemplify this stand, whereby high fashion brands are preferred by bloggers in their promotion activities. Plus, additional analysis showed that time also plays a role, hinting that a rise in popularity levels leads bloggers to favor high fashion and, furthermore, refrain from associating to fast fashion organizations. At the same time, this can be explained by the fact that, as fashion blogs gain more visibility and a wider audience, they are more likely to establish collaborations with organizations with higher budgets and/or willing to pay higher fees.
This line of thought can also be applied to the manner in which bloggers approach readers, as their popularity levels build up. Namely, this research showed how bloggers’ speech tended to involve less language devices for engaging readers in the second half of the time period. It can be derived that, as fashion bloggers gain status and popularity, they focus on building an audience (McQuarrie et al., 2013) and forego the need to establish a community. In a way, popularity enhances blogs’ aspirational dimension. However, this research failed to prove any changes in the level of interaction between bloggers and followers as time evolved. This might be explained by one of two facts. Firstly, because most blogs under analysis had already gained considerable popularity by 2010, thereby justifying the fact that their authors no longer felt the need to interact with the audience and appeal to their relatable dimension. Secondly, because some of the blogs (e.g. Gabi Fresh or Fashion Toast) did not make the comments box visible for all the posts, so that only comments and replies in more recent posts could be found. It can be presumed that these cases happened due to website reconstructions. As a whole, this overlook of fashion blogs’ evolution in the past five years testifies how these are growing into entities moved by commercial interests, in spite of organizational efforts not to overdo endorsement activities.
Limitations
However, the generalization of these results must be carefully thought, given that this project only analyzed the most influential fashion blogs of the year 2015, thus exclusively including blogs with high numbers of visitors and viewings. This means these results may not apply to smaller blogs or even niche blogs, since these are likely to obey to different logics. Future research could attempt to apply the aforementioned conclusions to other types of blogs or to a larger sample. Or else, a more extensive replication of this research, applying it to blogs since their absolute beginning, would also grant a more comprehensive perspective over
the subject. Furthermore, given the contradiction regarding interaction levels between the results now obtained and previous literature (which estimated these were to decline as popularity rose) subsequent literature should develop another way to measure interaction. The analysis of the content of such interactions could also grant interesting conclusions, allowing a more extensive understanding of readers’ needs and perceptions, as well as of bloggers approach to their followers. Simultaneously, this would comprise a wider scope of research. Additionally, this research did not tackle the presence of blogs on social media, which could potentially unveil new conclusions, especially pertinent given the importance of social networks nowadays.
Altogether, results and limitations considered, this research enabled a chronological overview of a very relevant new communication channel. Namely, it came to confirm the impact time has on how blogs are managed, especially in their relationship with brands.
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