Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Victoria's Secret

Introduction

Companies have to struggle a lot to position themselves in the minds of their customers and the general public at large, so when companies are here to fight the taboo, sell products that are now loudly talked about, products that have shame associated with them, and it becomes all the more difficult. However, Victoria's Secret is a brand that has not only fought the taboo and conquered the shame but also won over customers' hearts. Victoria's Secret has started a revolution when it comes to ladies’ undergarments.

In this article, we will be understanding the birth, growth trajectory, and excellent marketing initiatives of Victoria's Secret. It is time to dive into the pool of marketing and innovation to survive and thrive.

The Birth and Growth Trajectory of Victoria's Secret

Victoria's Secret was founded in 1977 by Roy Raymond on the soil of the United Nations. Victoria's Secret was founded with the agenda of providing female counterparts with elegant, attractive, and stylish undergarments. In the era, customers only saw racks of terrycloth robes and ugly floral-print nylon nightgowns for their female counterparts. However, Roy Raymond was not able to achieve the success or heights of Victoria's Secret.

In 1982, Roy Raymond sold the brand Victoria's Secret to Leslie Wexner. Wexner understood the model and the agenda of Victoria's Secret but had zero ideas about undergarments. Leslie took on the challenge with Victoria's Secret and made it a highly successful company in just 5 years. In 5 years, we saw that Victoria's Secret had more than 346 stores and a rapidly growing catalog business. Victoria's Secret’s main focus is to provide customers with elegant and stylish lingerie that has a good fit and is comfortable.

Excellent Marketing Initiatives by Victoria's Secret

We will be highlighting the various marketing initiatives taken by Victoria's Secret to win over customers' hearts. Those are:

Advertisements in between Shows

In 1999, Victoria's Secret played a steamy and sensual 30-second video of Victoria's Secret to tune in more and more customers. The website traffic became huge, and the company gained a lot of popularity. Along with this Victoria's Secret struts down the runway in America’s supermodel, the world’s top supermodels and Victoria's Secret models wear diamond-studded gowns and walk on the runway with high heels and Victoria's Secret wings.

Millions more customers join the show to watch this particular scene. Many critics have also applauded the campaign by Victoria's Secret on a channel where women are taught how to be more confident in their sexuality and bodies.

Catalogue Marketing

Another huge hit for Victoria's Secret is the catalog marketing that the brand does. Victoria's Secret came into existence before the advent of the internet for the common user, and their catalogs ensured that customers could go through the designs and patterns in the comfort of their homes and order the piece they wanted with the 24*7 telecom service of Victoria's Secret. Today, Victoria's Secret has more than 390 million subscribers for its catalog and shops all over the world.

Making of the Shop

Another thing that Victoria's Secret understood was that lingerie is a sensitive subject. If Victoria's Secret had to sell the garb to women, they would have to rearrange the shops. All Victoria's Secret outlets were made in European style and with class. The shops always had soft music playing, and the lingerie was never displayed in front of the store. This ensured that women could have their privacy while browsing through the collection.

Advertise to People who will be Bidding

Victoria's Secret made such modifications in the shop and also started targeting their advertisements to women or their female counterparts. The males would buy the lingerie for their children, but most of the women would want to do it themselves. Hence, Victoria's Secret also came up with advertisements that boost such elegance and confidence. Earlier in the US, women could either buy undergarments that were not at all stylish and used to come in packs of three or they could go to the Fredrick at Hollywood, but that was considered to be too provocative, not made for comfort or daily wear, and there was shame associated with it. Victoria's Secret solved all these problems by building shops and designs that would make women look elegant and classic and would not be a shameful shopping experience.

Breaking the Stereotype

Victoria's Secret understood the stereotype it was promoting by only using beautiful and slim models in its ads. It was setting unrealistic expectations and putting pressure on the home. The company understood that if they wanted to sell the garments to real-life women for everyday or special wear, they had to use models with whom the women could resonate. Hence, Victoria's Secret came up with plus-size models.

Models doing the basic household chore in Victoria's Secret lingerie and also models with dark patches and marks beautifully wearing Victoria's Secret products. The slogan of the stereotype-breaking collection by Victoria's Secret was "Love Loud." Along with this, the company also has more than one model in every advertisement, and these models are generally different in terms of color, facial cuts, and body type to show that Victoria's Secret is a brand for every woman.

Marketing for Special Occasions

Along with this, Victoria's Secret uses special occasions like Valentine's Day, wedding months, and others to advertise the products. All the advertisements are sensual yet too attractive to ignore. It brings in the required traction for the company. Slogans like "V-Day Shop" are used by the brand.

Marketing Campaign that Promotes Boy Positivity

After years of setting or sticking to the standard of beauty, Victoria's Secret today understands that the brand will fail because customers today have a more educated approach when it comes to beauty. The company is promoting this concept through its "We Have Changed" marketing campaign. In this campaign, Victoria's Secret welcomes all.

Conclusion

Today, Victoria's Secret has more than 1075 outlets and millions of customers. Victoria's Secret is today using its website, catalog, and store outlets to sell its products to customers. Companies have elaborate designs and storage space for customers who would want to give the items to their partners or friends and for self-shopping as well.

The major distinction that Victoria's Secret started with was that it is the space where the consumer can buy goods without feeling shy. Be it store outlets or the delivery system, Victoria's Secret is a place where consumers can get undergarments that are elegant, beautiful, stylish, and classy. There is no shame associated with the shopping experience; the sales representative, as well as the atmosphere of the shop, are designed to put the customers at their utmost ease.