Report on Brand Audit

Submitted as a part of Brand Management

CIA- 3

By
Adhishree Bhattacharya 1823001
Anamica Verma 1823004
Charul Agrawal 1823008
Muskaan Khurana 1823019
Divya Lasod 1823306
Diya Sajeev kundani 1823307

Under the Guidance of

Prof. Sunita Kumar

School of Business Studies and Social Sciences

CHIRST (Deemed to be University)
BANGLORE 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS

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S.NO. TOPIC PAGE NO.

1. BRAND HISTORY AND 3-4

OVERVIEW

2. BRAND CHALLENGES 4-5

3. BRAND INVENTORY

(A) BRAND 6-8

ARCHITECTURE

(B) BRANDING AND 10-15

MARKETING

(C) COMPETITORS 15-18

4. BRAND EXPLORATORY

5. REFLECTION AND
RECOMMANDATIONS

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1. Brand History and Overview

1.1 Evolution of the brand

Victoria’s Secret is one of America's largest lingerie retailers, founded in 1977 by Roy
Raymond who is a Stanford school of Business alumnus. The corporation was started as
a result of a shameful experience when Raymond visited a store to get lingerie for his wife.
He felt very awkward making the acquisition and failed to find the other options to settle
on from as during that era, underpants were all about utility and permanence while bodily
lingerie was reserved for special occasions. Following this awkward experience, Raymond
thought of a tremendous idea – to open an exclusive lingerie store where men could feel more
pleasant while buying lingerie.

1.2 Past and present positioning

Victoria’s Secret was born, and although there was demand for the merchandise, Raymond’s
strategic focus on men wasn't that successful, resulting in several issues for the
corporate including solvency. the corporate was then sold to Leslie Wexner, owner of
Limited Stores Inc., who refurbish VS by removing the failed ideology of selling lingerie to
the male customers and instead targeting actual user i.e. Women.
VS developed into a very successful business fulfilling the necessities of girls all around
the US. The corporation obtained a large popularity thanks to its distinctively designed
lingerie that provided both comfort and excitement in an exceedingly cultured,
glamorous thanks to appealing European luxury. Victoria secret transformed the lingerie
market, modifying the purchaser’s mindset on lingerie purchases by centring on style and
repair rather than using promotional tools- discounts and markdowns to encourage purchases.
VS then successfully created a distinct segment of the market, supplied with unique products
to serve this niche, and have become a market leader in a very short time. The
style giant remains controlled by Limited Brands and has expanded its merchandise to
incorporate similar products like swimwear, beauty products, hosiery, among others.
Victoria’s Secret is an umbrella brand which incorporates VS Beauty, VS PINK, and VS as
sub-brands.

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1.3 Core values
Victoria’s Secret’s core values say that “the customer rules, passion leads success, inclusion
makes us stronger, it matters how we play the sport.”

1.4 SWOT Analysis

Strengths
Victoria Secret could be a brand recognized as a market leader within the lingerie category.
Its brand ambassadors VS angels, are a significant asset to the brand. The angels are replicas
who are exclusive to the Victoria Secret with vogue contrast to celebrities. VS brand is well
established in social media which helps it to achieve customers easily and inexpensively.
Also, they use their VS catalogue to draw in more consumers. The corporation has strong
distribution channels with VS/PINK stores in almost every major mall. The brand emphasizes
technology and innovation. VS is named as “The sexiest brand within the world” and thus
has the ability to define what “sexy” is.

Weaknesses
PINK has experienced an issue over the years, especially at the time of its initial launch,
when parents were outraged because of the brand’s use of sexually suggestive words on its
products. This negatively impacted customer perceptions for the brand. Further, in 2012 VS
customers became responsive to the company’s unrestricted use of Photoshop to not only
change the body of the models, but also the products. Moreover, results from the main
focus group confirm these negative opinions with users expressing that the brand encourages
unrealistic assumptions of what women should seem like.

Opportunity
The major opportunity the brand has is to specialise in its lingerie line, and check out to
expand globally using this strategy, because it's the bottom of the company’s brand equity
and fame. By expanding into many alternative categories, VS may invite the danger of
market saturation.

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Threats
VS holds the danger of losing its position of brand name leader within the lingerie
industry thanks to pulling its brand offerings. PINK uses plenty of the identical branding
methods as VS, although it's a younger customer base. This is often a threat to VS because its
competitors Aerie, which also has a good image, may attract the youth generation from
PINK. Results of the main target group support this opinion, with parents preferring their
daughters to buy lingerie from Aerie as opposed to PINK.

2. Key Challenges Facing Brand

Some of the major Challenges Victoria Secret is facing are:

1. The decline of shopping malls

Brands has long staked its assets on the American shopping centre. The organisation doubled
down on malls within the 1980s and 1990s, even as initiators were piling new indoor
shopping centres countrywide. The plan performed, and helped change brands like Victoria’s
Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, Express and Lane Bryant into omni-present national brands.
But then the plan backfired as customers moved toward online options. VS stores which are
immensely located in shopping centres — suffered as an outcome the revenue declined and
therefore the company updated a 12 percent of same-store sales during the vacations. Shares
of L Brands have jumped over 50 percent within the past three years.

2. The Wexner-Epstein connection

The retailer has been deteriorated by its bind to Jeffrey Epstein, L Brands’ founder.
Although the corporate has desired to distance itself from Epstein, who attempted
suicide during a prison cell in August. Also, to manage the money of billionaire’s, Epstein
was accountable for the Wexner Foundation and other two-family trusts. People
said it's like we've one mind between two of us: each with a side, Epstein said of Wexner in
an exceedingly 2003 lifestyle profile. Wexner had called Epstein a really smart person with a
mixture of fantastic decisions and uncommonly high standards, but the 2 apparently had
severed ties earlier. In July, L Brands informed that it had hired an out of doors company to
test its relationship with Epstein, without making the results of that investigation public.
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3. Out-of-touch, overly sexual marketing
With various collections like “Dream Angels”, “Very Sexy,” and “Sexy Illusions,” people
say Victoria’s Secret has made a brand around male desire and desirableness. Although that
formula may have helped at just the once, but it’s now not acceptable now. There’s been a
serious shift in how society, especially women, consider beauty and desire,”. We’re within
the age of #MeToo. Ideals are now changing, and other people want variations and
representation, ethnically likewise as racially, in terms of body shape and sort.
For almost 20 years, Victoria’s Secret has depended upon its annual fashion show — a
televised show of gemstone-encrusted bras and bedazzled angel wings — to beat up shout for
the brand. But the corporate cancelled the televised affair saying it absolutely was time to
“evolve the marketing of VS.”

4. The increase of ‘athleisure’ and sports bras

Women are buying less push-up bras and more sports bras, creating another problem for an
organisation known for its alluring and strappy patterns. People say women increasingly are
using undergarments from athletic brands like Nike, Lululemon and Under Armour, whether
or not they’re not visiting the gym. And Victoria’s Secret has its own line of sports bras —
complete with sheer panelling, plunging necklines and leopard-print patterns it still hasn’t
resonated with shoppers.

5. Online rivals that supply comfort and convenience

Bra-shopping could be a fearful task for several women. But an increasing crop of start-ups
guarantees to create the method easier, maybe even enjoyable, by using online quizzes and
measuring tips to assist women find the correct fit reception itself. Woman-owned companies
like Third Love, True & Co. and Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty line market their products as
comfortable and practical and offer a good variety in sizes and skin tone-inspired colours.
The sense of visiting the shop and making purchases has decreased.

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3. Brand Architecture

Brand architecture is an integrated arrangement of the products, sub brands and other
offerings that is provided by a company. Victoria’s Secret has a well-maintained brand
architecture which helps them in staying organized internally and create synergy. It helps
customers differentiate products and enhances their awareness towards them. The brand
architecture model that is used by Victoria’s Secret is “House of brands” because the
company connects to all the sub brands and markets all its products under a single roof. This
has benefited the company in such a way that even though the sales or the name of a sub
brand goes down, the value of the company does not decrease because of the sub brand. For
example, when VS Pink’s sales started declining in the year 2018 but this did not affect the
major brand as such. This only affected the sales of Pink because people started switching to
other brands. The house of brands model is also enabling the company to expand its product
line because in this case they can have a wide reach. L Brands removes Victoria's Secret
direct rival of brands like La Senza by adopting this brand architecture and enjoys a kind of
supremacy over the same target market. To enjoy the benefits of Victoria Secret's financial
stability and high brand recognition, it also helps other brands to enter the small markets
(Pink).

Components of Brand Architecture

1. Master brand-
The parent company of Victoria Secret is Limited Brands and this parent company
also has 3 other brands apart from Victoria Secret.
2. Sub brands-
Victoria Secret has three sub brands: the brand “Pink” which is designed for the
youth, VS Beauty and VS Swimwear.
3. Brand extension-
The products that are sold under the brand are plenty and these include accessories,
swimwear, lingerie, apparel, sleepwear, swimwear etc.

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3.1 Brand Hierarchy

Victoria’s Secret Pink

This was the sub-brand that was added by the company for a different group of target
customers in the year 2002. Pink is Victoria Secret's endorsed brand primarily tailored for
teenagers and positions itself as "the dominant fashion brand promoting college women and
campus life”. Its range is more like the VS underwear product line, but for pink color
enthusiasts, it encourages qualities such as humor, resilience, and self-confidence. The
products of Pink are sometimes sold in VS stores and in freestanding Pink stores. The
potential target market mainly consists of college students and teenagers from the age of 14-
22. The company sells lingerie, tops and bottoms, accessories etc. for these young adults and

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designs them in such a way that they are very appealing to them. Due to this the company
saw rapid growth in the 2000s. The sub brand promoted its products through college tours in
2011 and then partnered with NFL teams to market their apparel products which had team
logos to adolescents and young adults. Pink’s sales started declining in 2018 because of
changes in consumer preference towards athleisure products.

Victoria’s Secret Beauty

This category of products were developed in 1998 when the company decided to have its own
beauty corporation. Their primary goal was to develop bath, fragrance and cosmetic products
for the brand. In 2010 the company went international and started selling these products.
They provide their very own special cosmetics at lower prices so that all classes of consumers
are able to afford it. The company also sells a wide range of self care essentials like lip care
products so that consumers can keep their lips healthy and hydrated.

Victoria’s Secret Swim-

The Swimwear has a special category of products as a whole. This consists of products like
bikinis, one-piece swimsuits, beachwear clothing etc. This category of products used to be
sold in both offline and online modes of shopping initially but the company stopped selling
these products in 2016. In 2019, they decided to bring back this sub-brand but this is only
available in the online mode of shopping.

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3.2 Branding and Marketing

Positioning

Victoria's Secret is ranked as the leading American specialty retailer of fashion-inspired

collections, luxury fragrances and cosmetics for women's intimate apparel and other apparel.
The product reflects a picture of femininity. Their mission is to make their clients feel trendy,
sophisticated and young forever. By delivering high-quality goods that provide a seamless
experience, the organisation understands their duty to provide on their promise.

Brand positioning begins with the development of a reference frame that indicates to
customers the purpose they would hope to achieve by using a brand. Both VS and PINK
represent the lingerie, beauty and apparels market for women and compete with the following
brands: Calvin Klein (VS competitor in Canada), La Senza (VS competitor in Canada),
Hollywood Frederick's (VS competitor in the US) and Aerie (PINK competitor in Canada).

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Brand Elements

Logo

In its logo and

products, this
company uses pink
since women are
their target
audience. The logo
is pink in colour
even from the
shopping packages,
the in-store décor,
the pink tissue paper used to package purchases, the line of Pink label clothing and
everything in between, everything about Victoria's Secret is pink. This pink colour is a sign
of femininity, success for women and camaraderie as Victoria's Secret has become the
women's brand. The pink association was taken by Victoria's Secret to the next level of brand
development through consistency. In the United States, pink is primarily known as a feminine
hue, its usage has the power to direct contact in a strong way , depending on the shade of pink
used. In general, each pink variation can be either relaxing or soothing. Throughout their
clothing line, combinations of hot pinks and cool pinks are used to produce a youthful and
trendy brand that empowers its clients with confidence.

Name

Named after Queen Victoria, the

company referred at the time to the
taboo associated with women's
wear. The brand is regarded as a
giant in lingerie, which has
branched into fashion, swimwear,
womenswear and skincare as well.
A plain black wordmark on the

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white background is the fundamental logotype. All the letters are capitalised in the serif
typeface, but the initials are noticeably higher than all the other letters. The logo of this
fashion industry representative is minimalist. It experienced many minor transformations
over the years of its existence: previously, it looked like a retro-style sign, but now it is a
sleek and functional mark. The signature palette is made up of pink, white, and black. As it
makes the logo strict and sophisticated, the dark colour is the main colour.

Packaging

The company focuses on every

product's premium packaging.
Different pink tones with eye-
catching packaging, each
special in design and style. It is
easy to handle, attractive and
fairly decent. Instantly
identifiable are the brand 's
famous pink shopping bags and
packaging. The cute, vibrant
pink pin-striped bags and boxes
wrapped with matching pink
satin ribbon bows are a significant way that Victoria's Secret has solidified its youthful
branding. For packaging, price tags, and labels, maintaining a consistent theme is an excellent
way to reinforce the message of your brand. With a few big players dominating the industry,
the industry is highly competitive; Victoria’s Secret is making waves through social media
ads, creative pieces and perfect image packaging.

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Successful Marketing Campaigns

● One of the strengths of Victoria's Secret is its very active marketing campaign.
Advertising is critical in a company that sells an image and a lifestyle. Every year,
Victoria's Secret spends $66 million on ads, basically identifying beauty for
customers and packaging it. Thousands of newspaper advertisements, catalogues, and
TV fashion shows persuade women that purchasing Victoria's Secret goods would
improve their confidence and enhance their attractiveness.
● The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Extravaganza, televised annually, has an
exclusive deal with CBS, a national broadcaster. There is a symbiotic relationship
between the two companies. Victoria 's Secret obtains one hour of national ads, while
CBS retains the exclusive right to one of the most popular shows on TV.
● Another one of their great tactics is to send coupons for "10 dollars off any purchase
from Pink." Consumers will earn $10 off any Pink brand item purchased in the store
in this case. For Victoria's Secret, Pink is extremely common, and there's a large
variety in this line. This campaign brings customers through the door and they are
urged by the sought-after products to hang around and do some more shopping.

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 ● Victoria's Secret also keeps their Semi Annual Sales. These sales take place in the
winter season (usually every January) and every summer as well. This frees up space
for new projects that individuals catch previews of as they wait to pay for their
purchases in line.
● A new campaign video which was released by Victoria’s Secret meant to respond to
the #MeToo movement, to fight the bad publicity “by her, for her.” A more diverse
group of women, including plus size models, than the company has used in the past to
add diversity.
● The vision of Adore Me Campaign is to revolutionise the fashion industry by
producing beautiful, affordable clothes for any kind of body. We believe that every
woman deserves to feel powerful, confident, and attractive in her own skin, in every
size and body shape including sizes XS-6XL for sleepwear designs.

Unsuccessful Marketing Campaigns

● Victoria's Secret isn't unaware of the fact that customers are no longer well-received
by the picture that once made the brand a success. Nevertheless, management has
been reluctant to adapt. The VS Fashion Show does not fit into the plus-size and trans
models told their then CMO. In their marketing campaigns, they recently included a
facsimile of body-positivity, adding a transgender model and a plus-sized model, and
announcing a partnership based on female empowerment campaign, Bluebella.
● With #TimesUp Campaign, a group of more than 100 current and former Victoria's
Secret models an wrote an open letter to L Brand 's CEO, Leslie Wexner, regarding
sexual harassment. The letter invited Wexner to join the anti-harassment initiative
RESPECT, which is developed by and for models. Victoria's Secret has not yet
formed an essential relationship with a women's rights organisation.

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Marketing Mix

Product: Victoria's Secret has expanded into a wide range of items, including bras,
underwear, sleep, makeup, swimming, sports, clothes, and shoes. Its sub-brand PINK
provides a comparable product range and caters to its younger target demographic. VS has a
selection of sports wear, appealing to all possible times when a woman. The five sub-brands
Body by Victoria will work with Victoria's Secret: Comfortable, Everyday Wear Very Sexy:
Sexy, Provocative, Intense, Elegant, and Daring (Innovative and fashion right).

Price: Victoria's Secret is a luxurious high-end brand and its prices reflect the same. They
attract those who come from society through their premium pricing strategy. Their standard is
luxury and supermodels as the price is even steeper for their brand faces. Teenagers, college
students and younger women in general are dedicated to the Pink set. The prices are also
comparatively lower than those of the brand's other goods. Their collection varies from
between £20 and £500. Their exclusive merchandise costs about £150, somewhere.

Place: Victoria's Secret operates both through its shops and online. They still have their
exclusive stores in Canada, the Netherlands and the UK and have spread to several countries.
In distinct parts of America, their foreign franchisees are present. They work through both
their website and e-commerce sites. One can also spot their goods at different locations at the
international airport terminals. 370 Victoria’s Secret Accessories and beauty stores are
located at malls and airports.

Promotions: Victoria's Secret participates in different fashion shows and has its own fashion
magazines that are a perfect source of promotion for them. On different social media handles,
they aggressively market their products and the top influencers are the brand ambassadors for
this brand. Via social media, they advertise themselves, announcing upcoming promotions,
discount deals, limited time deals and new releases. It is even more popular with celebrity
endorsements, meetings and interviews with the brand's well-known faces. They reflect the
lifestyle through social networking platforms and YouTube, where more than 1.4 million
followers are connecting to the audience.

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2.3 Direct and Indirect Competition

Higher margins than traditional clothing retailers can be reached by Victoria’s Secrets. The
economic development of this industry is increasing and revenue is projected to rise at a rate
of 1.9 percent over the next five years. In addition, women aged 20-64 are the target
industries; these women account for the majority of sales and thus market demand is focused
on them. The number of women is projected to rise over the next few years in this age group,
meaning that demand for this industry will also rise. Victoria's Secret will face fierce
competition because of the attractiveness of this sector, and the rising demand for these
goods. Soma (owned by Chico's FAS Inc.),and Aerie (owned by American Eagle), are the
three major rivals against Victoria's Secret. These three are Victoria's Secret 's leading direct
rivals in terms of market share. La Perla, Triumph and Wacoal are some indirect competitors.
These businesses are not primarily focused on lingerie and carry a range of clothing products,
so we will exclude them from key competitors and concentrate on direct competitors
targeting the same market segment.

Behind Victoria's Secrets (L Brand) with 83.5 percent, Soma holds the second highest market
share. In the United States, Soma held 3.8 percent of the market in 2016. Their mission
statement is to provide women with comfortable clothing that caters to every form of body,
not just the skinny models and customers of Victoria's Secret. In a location that Victoria's
Secret would not appeal to, they managed to expand the line to plus-sized women, gaining
popularity. They also have a service called Expert Fit Stylists that makes it possible to
measure and fit women. They have risen to almost 300 stores and millions of customers.

At 3.1 percent, Aerie holds the third largest market share in the industry. In 2006, Aerie was
introduced by American Eagle Outfitters to target the 15-25-year-old consumer. Moreover, it
is advertised as more of a youthful brand that promotes body positivity. Aerie is a crucial
competitor since it targets the young PINK division of Victoria's Secret. In addition, they are
a huge danger because they have heard all the negativity on how a woman's body should look
since seeing Victoria's Secret's very slim models. Many women claim that their models do
not represent the body of the average woman, Aerie pounced on that and in their
advertisements promised non airbrushed models. It is projected that Aerie will pull in $227.9
million in revenue from the industry in 2018.

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4. Brand Exploratory

4.1 Extreme Customer Behaviour Profiling

Brand Loyalty

Brand loyalty is the key strength of Victoria's Secret. According to loyalty rankings of 22nd
Annual Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Leaders, Victoria’s Secret was among the 100 brands
with most loyal customers. Consumers who purchased for the style had the greatest brand
loyalty among the customers. The main reason for such brand loyalty can be their
relationship building with their customers, i.e., from the moment they walk into the store and
till they leave, they provide assistance to find the best fitting product for the customers.
According to NPD statistics, 72% of the intimate budget of Victoria's Secret customers are
spending on Victoria's Secret products. This shows that the customers are highly attached to
the brand and are willing to spend a great deal of savings on Victoria's Secret products.
Victoria's Secret, from being No.1 on the customer loyalty engagement index, had dropped to
19th place (2019). The increasing competition in the lingerie market has significantly
affected their customer loyalty. But even with such heightened competition, Victoria's Secret
is able to maintain brand loyalty among its customers.

Influential Models: The biggest influencers of Victoria's Secret are their Angels. Angel
models are a concept that started with their annual fashion shows. Victoria's Secret
supermodels are known as angels. They have both officials as well as other angels; official
angels have to perform marketing activities other than the annual fashion show, i.e., they
have to attend talk shows, marketing campaigns, and other major runway shows. Customers
feel inspired by these models and buy Victoria's Secret products with the aspiration of
showcasing the style that these models portray. The models represent a feeling of self-
confidence, boldness, and an extremely stylish body figure. It is these elements that the
customers wish to portray after using Victoria's Secret products. Even though Victoria's
Secret angels show unrealistic expectations of women, many customers that, with the help of
Victoria's Secret products, they will feel somewhere stylish like these supermodels.

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Personality: Victoria's Secret has customers who follow a self-confident, fabulous, energetic,
feminine, and passionate lifestyle. According to a study, Customers who carried Victoria's
Secret bag recognized themselves as more glamorous, feminine, and good-looking than those
customers who carried the plain shopping bag. Victoria's Secret users also consider
themselves to be technological advances, as the products of Victoria's Secret are always
innovative when introduced in their new collections. Victoria's Secret customers have strong
self-esteem and live more confidently.

4.2 Brand Resonance Model

Salience: Good recall and recognition 

Consumers have shown a great level of brand recognition and recall for Victoria's Secret.
Around 14% of customers recall the brand PINK and 88% can recall the brand Victoria's
Secret, when asked to identify various brands in the lingerie market ( according to NPD
statistics). Thus making Victoria's Secret one of the top three recognized lingerie brand by
consumers. With the above results in mind, we can say that they are one of the successful
leaders in this industry. This strong brand recognition is due to their high endorsements by
their angels, annual fashion shows, and marketing.

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Performance: High-end lingerie products 

When it comes to lingerie, performance is measured by its design, price, color, comfort,
quality, and fittings. All these factors are highly considered by the customers when choosing
the products. Victoria's Secret, over the years, has associated themselves with a high-end
product, thus creating a perception in the mind of the customers that they have functional
benefits. Customers have agreed that Victoria's Secret has met these elements and is highly
functional. Since Victoria's Secret products are expensive, it is generally perceived by the
customers that the brand offers exceptionally high quality. But over the years, a controversy
about how Victoria's Secret products have started to reduce their quality has affected their
performance recognition. Even with such news spreading, most customers are satisfied with
Victoria's Secret products and perceives its pricing to define its quality.

Imagery: Strong brand imagery 

Victoria's Secret utilizes its brand imagery to connect the psychological and social needs of
the customers. Consumers desire to be like Victoria's Secret angel models, and thus by
wearing Victoria's Secret products makes several of the customers feel empowered and as
beautiful as the angels. The brand imagery of Victoria's Secret is heightened by its dedication
to coordinating the most glamorous and fun-filling fashion show annually. Its use of ‘Angel’
models make buyers feel good about purchasing products from such a fashion-oriented brand.
Victoria's Secret is one of the oldest companies to run in the lingerie market. The firm enjoys
a sense of admiration in the industry built on its great history and heritage. It is believed to be
the trendsetter and the market leader in the lingerie industry. There is great uniformity in all
branding elements. The pink color is linked with women, and is the main color used by the
brand in their marketing activities as well as their brand logo. The fashion shows, sales staff,
models, products, and store layouts all express the idea of being classy, girly, and sexy. 

Judgments: Mixed sentiments on the brand 

The positive judgments regarding PINK and Victoria's Secret are built on the fact that
Victoria's Secret has been the market leader since its beginning, and it remains to innovate
throughout its collections alongside its exclusive annual fashion shows. Victoria's Secret
products were evaluated highly on key dimensions such as variety, customer satisfaction, and

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comfort, with most customers stating that they would recommend the brand. Credibility has
gradually become a worry with the brand, notably with the latest allegations of the use of
Photoshop on products and models advertised and sold online. Since many of the customers
shop in-store and can try the products, they are less expected to be influenced by such false
advertising. But with the shift from in-store to online purchase caused by the pandemic, false
advertising many affect their sales. Even so, the brand has been able to maintain an overall
satisfaction among its customers.

Feelings: Positive and negative criticism

The brand advertises unrealistic expectations, which prompts both positive and negative
feelings among consumers, with most of them feeling Self-conscious, Intimidated, Envious,
Fascinated, Empowered, and Inspired. The feelings of Self-conscious, Intimidated, and
Envious were conveyed by many customers who believed that Victoria's Secret Angels are
the explanation for these feelings. It is said that all the models look similar, and the usage of
Photoshop on these models makes consumers feel bad about their own bodies. But it is also
seen that this feeling inspires many to diet and exercise so that at least they try to meet these
unrealistic expectations. 

Resonance: Deep connections with their loyal customers 

Lingerie is a high involvement product for women provided that it comprises of intimate
products that act as the foundation of the consumers daily wear. For lingerie products, once
the customers find a product that they identify best fit and feeling for them, then they tend to
stick to that brand for a long time. Both Victoria's Secret and PINK have been successful in
securing customers to try their products through various promotions and have thus been able
to encourage high loyalty among consumers. Victoria's Secret has managed to promote repeat
purchases all over the year with the help of their bundle promotions and, very importantly,
via their semi-annual sale, which fuels brand loyalty because of its high anticipation. The
numerous collections proposed by Victoria's Secret have made it the best brand for any event
a woman would want lingerie. This is mainly true for specific event needs, for example,
bridal lingerie or teen-bras, which implies that the brand plays a key role in various life
occasions. This encourages the positive connection customers have with the brand. Victoria's

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Secret social media presence has significantly supported a sense of community among the
customers. They have high followers on various social media platforms and are highly
interactive, thus helping in building a connection. Customers mainly connect to the brand
when the Victoria's Secret Angels make public appearances at various events, where
customers can interact with them as well as other Victoria's Secret fans. Generally, Victoria's
Secret has been successful in cultivating deep connections with their customers.

ZMET Results

Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET) utilizes qualitative techniques to elicit the
metaphors, develops and mental models that drive client's reasoning and practices. We
decided to utilize the strategy to understand consumer’s interpretations of the brand image or
the brand image and to measure the value of the brand equity.

We asked six members (three guys and three females) to gather a lot of pictures that speak to
their thoughts and sentiments or the feelings about the brand. We requested that they clarify
the story behind each image that they chose to speak to the brand. We likewise asked them
what VS intended or means to them as a brand and what the brand isn't to them.

The results from the VS ZMET research revealed some of the key emotional connections VS
active devotees have with the brand. Essentially, this technique drew the key words of
lingerie, bras, pink color, models, fashion shows, shopping malls, PINK sales ad, Candice
Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes, perfumes, and angels. The picture of the VS bag
was a popular choice by the participants. The bag is considered a famous and distinct
shopping bag, which is very practical and captures people’s attention at a glance. They think
it is a free marketing tool as girls like carrying VS pink bags even for other purposes like
gym/groceries.

The outcomes from the VS ZMET research uncovered a portion of the key emotional
connections VS dynamic fans or the active devotees have with the brand. Basically, this
method drew the catchphrases of the key words of the lingerie, pink color, models, fashion
shows, shopping malls, PINK sales ad, Candice Swanepoel, Miranda Kerr, Doutzen Kroes,
perfumes, and angels. The image of the VS pack was a well-known decision by the members.
The pack is viewed as a celebrated, distinct and unmistakable shopping sack, which is useful
and catches individuals' or the people’s attention very easily. They think it is a free promotion
or a marketing tool as young ladies like conveying VS pink bags in any event, for different
purposes like gym, groceries or goods.

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ZMET results with male participants

Men portrayed VS as a brilliant vivid and an energetic brand, introducing ladies as holy
messengers or as angels before a gigantic crowd or a huge audience during the style or the
fashion shows.

This strategy with male members featured the key association of VS with attractive and
excellent models as a major aspect of the brand's personality. They firmly connected the
brand with its amazingly luxurious and alluring design show, highlighting fun-loving and
well known models. Some likewise respected the way that VS speak to ladies as heavenly
attendants or angels in their commercials and styles shows. They feel there is a solid
association among VS and holy messengers or angels/long wings. The vast majority of the
men recognized that the brand has a very huge collection of the lingerie items, from ones that
look more down to earth to excessive ones which are investigated or critiqued to be
unwearable consistently or on the regular basis. Some of them used old pictures to exhibit a
wide variety of contributions in stores separated from simply ladies' underpants. They accept
that VS has broadened its contributions into totes, scents, rest wear, and cosmetic items with
the steady objective or goal of offering items to make ladies look provocative.

A picture was selected showing VS models in an outdoor setting, and the comment was made
that girls need to get more comfortable with their bodies even in an outdoor environment.
Women should have the confidence to be themselves without having to worry about how they
look.

An image was chosen indicating VS models in an open air setting, and the remark was made
that young ladies need to get more comfortable with their bodies even in an outside climate.
Ladies should have the confidence to be themselves without worrying over what they look
like.

Criticism and negatives captured by ZMET with male participants:

One member compared a VS model with and without makeup and scrutinized the brand for
portraying a ridiculous desire for ladies and their beauty through their promotions and shows.
Members grumbled that on one hand the brand attempted to empower ladies, yet using
amazingly attractive models the brand is making an outlandish norm to which ladies attempt
to satisfy. They felt that the brand doesn't speak to anything past this cliché alluring lady, for
example no larger size, or non-American ladies. It was interesting to note that a few men trust

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VS is certainly not a simply functional underwear organization or a company, yet rather
attempts to evoke an emotional association or reaction to its items. A few men said that they
felt awkward going inside stores, so we're left with no other choice except for to stand by
outside the stores while their ladies shopped.

ZMET results with female participants

Ladies portrayed VS as a brand that supports upbeat and certain young ladies, who make the
most of their own girly world and are autonomous of men.

The VS style show is viewed as a major uplifting occasion of the year, where models show
up as too agreeable or super friendly and sensible young ladies. The VS models appeared as
having a great time all through the show, and laughing and sharing the young lady's
privileged insights behind the stage. They are viewed as energizing characters with
interesting lives.

It was noticed that remembering the Angels for the VS shows and promoting efforts assists
with separating the brand. It infers a picture of purity, delicateness and magnificence. Young
ladies who partner themselves with the brand likewise feel to some degree like magical
creatures. For some ladies particularly more youthful, it assists with boosting up their
fearlessness or self-confidence. Taking a look at the picture of a lovely, cheerful youngster
that is having a good time with her companions or enjoying with her friends carries a general
positive impression to the purchasers.

A few ladies were uninterested with utilizing thin models as the brand diplomats as they
accept each young lady is excellent and be sure about her own skin and the manner in which
she looks.

Criticism and negatives captured by ZMET with female participants

VS were scrutinized for making a picture of excellence that is too difficult to even consider
getting. Ladies complained about the utilization of thin models with perfect skin and flawless
hair. They said they felt shaky or insecure while shopping with their men as they couldn't
look at the manner in which the models looked in the lingerie. A few ladies were very angry
or upset with VS for increasing current standards excessively high and causing them to feel
more aware of their bodies and looks. If it's not too much trouble see the underneath
compositions of the most agent pictures acquired by male, and female members.

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References

https://mission-statement.com/victoria-secret/

https://brandkeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Press-Release-2018-Loyalty-Leaders.pdf

https://brandkeys.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Press-Release-Victorias-Secret-2019.pdf

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/victorias-secret-brand-value-and-equity-
marketing-essay.php

https://www.academia.edu/6954491/Group_Consumer_Analysis_Victorias_Secret_MKTG_4
25_101

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/18/bathing-suits-are-back-at-victorias-secret.html

https://issuu.com/georgiawalterss/docs/victoria_s_secret_report

https://www.victoriassecret.com/us/

https://willowmarketing.com/2018/07/17/branded_house_vs_house_of_brands/

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