Decoding digital fashion marketing visual texts: Instagram, fashion photography & target audiences

This participatory research workshop creates connections between traditional marketing techniques, new media and visual text analysis using as a case study #TFWGucci (That Feeling When Gucci) Instagram campaign. The workshop will be delivered in two stages. Firstly, participants are invited to analyse specific posts/memes images according to their existing knowledge of marketing strategy. Researchers will observe which particular visual elements within the memes, participants pay attention to and how they interpret them (Barry & Graca, 2018; Kress & Van Leeuwen 2006). Researchers will explore what emotions are being generated and if (to what extent and how) participants feel the urge to react to these memes (Gloor, Krauss and Nann 2009).

During the second part of the workshop, participants will be guided in applying Rose’s (2013) visual text analysis to thoroughly ‘look at’ and deconstruct visual texts. Participants will engage in a card sort activity which will surface notions/concepts within the meme marketing campaign (Leiss et al 2005; Messaris 1997; Roque, 1985; Sturken & Cartwright 2001; Walker 2001). At the end of the workshop, a plenary session will combine the findings in order to inform theory generation and develop measuring scales to support this emergent area of understanding the visual in marketing and consumer research.