Fashion Events and e-WOM

Abstract

The aim of this article is to gain a deeper understanding of fashion events marketing from a sponsor's perspective and its influence on customers and society. We firstly seek to investigate what are the main marketing objectives of brands when they decide to sponsor fashion events; secondly, what are the main factors to enhance customer engagement with sponsoring brands; and finally, what are the most effective pathways to generate e-WOM in this context of fashion events. In order to answer these research questions, we conducted four studies: two online focus groups, in-depth interviews, and a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Main findings show that the chief objectives of brands in sponsoring fashion events are: a) customer engagement with the sponsoring firm and, in particular, e-WOM, b) brand presence, and c) brand positioning with fashion industry values. The conditions that enhance customer engagement are a) enjoyment, b) fashion values, c) sustainability, and d) product knowledge. Fashion values are found to be a necessary condition to generate e-WOM. There are two conditions sufficient to produce e-WOM: a) the lack of enjoyment and fashion values or b) fashion values and sustainability.