A Semiotic Study: The Brand Communication and Advertising Themes of H&m's Conscious Collection
Open Access
- Author:
- Jackson, Kelly Sarah
- Area of Honors:
- Advertising/Public Relations
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Arts
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Michelle Lyn Rodino Colocino, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Susan Mary Strohm, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- advertising
semiotic study
visual images
gender representation
eco-fashion
eco-marketing
sustainable marketing and fashion - Abstract:
- This study examines how the Conscious Collection, a sub-brand of the fast fashion retail giant H&M, has developed through its advertising efforts since its inception in 2011. Currently, the Conscious Collection has had five different advertising campaigns for various seasons to date of its sustainable fashion. This paper intends to find common patterns and themes that the brand is portraying to its consumers through print advertisements over the past three years. Ultimately, the research discovered and answered the question, “What is the Conscious Collection trying to say to its green customers through its advertising campaigns?” Research was conducted on print advertisements – reproduced online – from each campaign to unveil what common patterns the sub-brand has used in its advertising. Furthermore, this paper identifies the importance of these advertising patterns and how H&M creates an image for the Conscious Collection in relation to its mission of producing and selling more sustainable fashion. The eco-fashion trend of sustainable fashion has permeated the market, and many brands and retailers are beginning to create green lines and let consumers know that they produce and sell environmentally safe fashion. However, the Conscious Collection is one of the first retailers to create a line specific to sustainable fashion as a separate identity from its parent company. Thus, H&M is a leader in green fashion. In order to communicate its sustainable fashion to green consumers, the Conscious Collection uses advertising platforms to relay this message through brand communication.