First Advisor

George Watson

Date of Award

Winter 3-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration: Marketing and University Honors

Department

Business Administration

Language

English

Subjects

Branding (Marketing), Clothing trade -- Moral and ethical aspects, Social media, Social values, Hennes & Mauritz -- Case studies

DOI

10.15760/honors.1241

Abstract

This thesis will analyze the social media marketing (SMM) practices of Fast Fashion industry trends that have surfaced due to recent events. Specifically, this work will compare customer-facing SMM efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives against the internal values and practices a company expends towards these efforts. This thesis will use H&M as an illustrative example in representing a company within the Fast Fashion industry. The motivation of this thesis or[i]ginates from the ongoing shifts in corporate SMM practices after the murder of George Floyd in May of 2020 and the corresponding increase in social justice activism in the United States and abroad. Noticeable changes in SMM include broader and more diverse representation of different races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and body images across fashion and beauty brand marketing campaigns. Another noticeable development relates to significant changes within the power margins that separate consumers and corporations. Increasingly, consumers exert greater influence over corporate decision-making, especially within marketing and communications. Consequently, this thesis focuses on whether Fast Fashion companies have genuinely diversified their marketing materials to reflect their developing social values or whether their marketing activities are in response to consumer expectations, absent concrete commitments to DEI initiatives. Analyzing a company's external marketing efforts against their internal values and practices will allow for a better understanding of whether their marketing is "real" or dishonest.

Rights

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Comments

An undergraduate honors thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in University Honors and Business Administration: Marketing and Business Administration: Advertising Management.

Persistent Identifier

https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/37197

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