Victoria's Secret

Managers of Public Relations: Eliza Worrall, Julia Brown, and Olivia Brown
Background:
Victoria’s Secret has been known for its iconic annual fashion show and the angelic
supermodels that walk the show, but when the brand was originally founded it served a very
different purpose. The brand was founded in 1977 by a businessman, Roy Raymond, based upon
his uncomfortable experience of shopping for lingerie for his wife. He then created a brand with
the goal of creating a comfortable environment for men to shop for lingerie in department stores.
By 1982, the brand had annual sales of $4 million; even though the brand was very successful in
launching multiple stores and having a famous catalog, Raymond brought the brand to near
bankruptcy and sold it for around $1 million to Les Wexner in 1982. Under Wexner’s control,
the brand was able to grow in a space where a brand like Victoria’s Secret did not exist. He
shifted the brand’s focus to pleasing women with beautiful garments they could envision
themselves wearing rather than focusing on what men would like to see women wear. Wexner
was able to see what was wrong with Victoria’s Secrets business: in focusing on a store and
catalog that appealed to men, Raymond had failed to draw a large following among women. In
achieving this, Wexner set out to create a more affordable version of the European upscale brand
“La Perla.” Victoria’s Secret became inviting to women and fulfilled an attainable fantasy of
glamour and luxury. Under Wexner’s control, Victoria’s Secret became the iconic brand it is
today which we will elaborate more on soon. By 1995 Victoria’s Secret had become a $1.9
billion company with 670 stores nationally. 1
Roy Raymond’s marketing would not have brought the brand this success and with his
weak ideas and concepts in marketing, his new company had to file a chapter 11 petition in 1986,
his wife divorced him, and in 1993, he jumped to his death from the Golden Gate Bridge. On the
other hand, continuing with the success of Victoria’s Secret, a large amount of it came from its
iconic annual fashion show which began in 1995 and was run by Ed Razek.2 Razek and his team
were responsible for hand-picking the models to walk the show and launching the careers of
Gisele Bündchen, Tyra Banks, and Heidi Klum. He was undeniably a well-respected figure in
the fashion industry who empowered women through his show’s fantasy idea of angels wearing
the brand’s lingerie. In 2018 the public learned that his fantasy did not include all women of all
shapes, sizes, and identities. With much controversy and thought, the 2019 annual Victoria’s
Secret fashion show was canceled as a result of Ed Razek’s harsh words and lack of inclusivity.
Today, the brand is not known for its angelic models, but it is known for the exclusion of
diversity involving plus-sized models and transgender models.

Reputational Crisis:

1 Slate.
2 Schlossberg, Mallory.
 It was crucial to research important information concerning Victoria’s Secrets recent
reputation so that we can better prepare the company with this communications plan. Generally
speaking, there were many complaints revolving around Ed Razek, the Director of Marketing,
for misogyny and inappropriate behaviors around the models in the past decade. There have also
been other inappropriate behaviors concerning Leslie Wexner and Russell James.3
One of the biggest reputational crises Victoria Secret has dealt with was at the 2018
Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Ed Razek was interviewed by Vogue and had made very
insensitive comments about plus-size and transgender individuals. When asked if these diverse
identities should be in the show, he proudly stated, “No. No, I don’t think we should. The show
is a fantasy. It’s a 42-minute entertainment special. It is the only one of its kind in the world, and
any other fashion brand in the world would take it in a minute, including the competitors that are
carping at us. And they carp at us because we’re the leader.”4 This conversation sparked outrage
not only among women who are plus-size but also those who are a part of the LGBTQ+
community. The end result of this reputational crisis led to a decrease in sales, the cancellation of
the 2019 fashion show, and Razek personally stepping down from his position.

Goals and Objectives

It is in Victoria's Secrets best interest to change the public's opinion about the brand as
well as polish the company’s corporate image. In order to achieve this goal, an effective
communications plan must be implemented. The plan must address all of the necessary steps so
that the company can perform better than it ever had. Our communications objectives are to
create an inclusive and welcoming brand that normalizes all types of beauty. In addition, we will
demonstrate diversity to regain the trust of the company’s customers, employees, and
shareholders.
These objectives will be accomplished by using various types of strategies that are
sequential to each other. First, the company must create its own social responsibility report and
teach appropriate workplace practices. Secondly, the company must bring a new face to their
brand. Once we have both factors in place, then we can increase our public relations efforts.

Strategy I & Tactics

3Silver-Greenberg, J., Rosman, K., Maheshwari, S.

4Cadenas, K.
 In order to regain trust from the company’s customers, employees, and shareholders,
Victoria's Secret must format a proper social responsibility report that is completely separate
from L Brands. Victoria’s Secret is currently a flagship brand under L Brands, which means the
company follows L Brands corporate social responsibility report.5 If Victoria’s Secret creates
their personal social responsibility report, the company can then provide an abundance of its own
important corporate information such as product lines, marketing practices, philanthropy events,
environment activities, diversity, and a code of ethics. Having free access to this report will
provide internal and external sources with more trust and honesty.
It is important to note that we will remain a flagship brand under L Brands and utilize
their inclusion resource groups on a monthly basis. Evolve, which is for associates and their
allies that identify as LGBTQ+, focuses on creating an inclusive work environment.
Additionally, we will use the Women’s Inclusion Network (WIN), which seeks to mentor and
empower women so that they can be centered around a supportive work environment.6 Both of
these resource groups will provide important information and structure that teaches all Victoria’s
Secret employees about diversity, discrimination, and sexual harassment. The purpose of this
tactic is to educate all team members about diversity, inclusion, and appropriate behaviors so that
Victoria’s Secret can have a safe, inclusive, and healthy workplace.

Strategy II & Tactics

Once we have these strategies put into effect, we will begin to bring a new face to our
brand that focuses on inclusivity and diversity. This starts with strategic research among the
majority of each of the departments within the company. The most important department that
will conduct and receive extensive research on inclusivity and diversity is the Brand and
Business Strategy. This department will implement communication audits so that the company
can receive accurate data on size range, physical features of models (i.e. body shapes, sizes, and
identities), and future campaign ideas. Once this information is gathered, we can set new
objectives, message strategies, and establish benchmarks so that our new brand can showcase its
positive change.

Strategy III & Tactics

Accomplishing strategies one and two will allow us to successfully increase public
relations and bring in more sales. We will increase public relations by focusing on the company’s
future brand and corporate strategies. Down the line we want our brand to be known for having a
wide range of diversity, to be accepting, and to be inclusive among the models and employees. It
is especially important that we work on owned, earned, and shared media. Our tactics for this

5 L Brands, Inc., “Responsibility,” March 22, 2016.

6 L Brands, Inc., “Inclusion Resource Groups,” June 23, 2020.
would include rebranding our website to demonstrate more inclusivity. We will make big
changes that will have the media talking about Victoria’s Secret in a positive way. We will also
be sure to follow the two-way communication plan. This is when the sender and the receiver
listen to each other, gather information, and are willing to make changes to work together in
harmony. By following this we will be able to satisfy all of our customers.

Conclusion
In conclusion, we are focusing on diversity and inclusion in our company as we have
learned from Omar Joseph, who is the strategic marketing & communications executive at Quest
Diagnostic, you cannot run a successful business without it. This is the era of normalizing all
types of bodies and identities so it is crucial to adapt. We will do this by rebranding our image
through public relations and we will also be sure every department on our team is educated on
important topics and up to date with our future ideas to make Victoria’s Secret thrive.

Works Cited
Cadenas, Kerensa. “Victoria's Secret Apologizes After Executive's Statements About

Transgender and Plus-Size Models,” November 12, 2018.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/11/victorias-secret-ed-razek-comments.

Hanbury, Mary. “The Rise and Fall of Victoria's Secret, America's Biggest Lingerie Retailer.”

Business Insider, May 21, 2020. https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secret-rise-

and-fall-history-2019-5.

L Brands, Inc. “Inclusion Resource Groups,” June 23, 2020.

https://www.lb.com/responsibility/inclusion/inclusion-resource-groups.

“Responsibility,” March 22, 2016. https://www.lb.com/responsibility.

Schlossberg, Mallory. “How Victoria's Secret's Core Customers Have Completely Changed.”

Business Insider, August 3, 2015. https://www.businessinsider.com/victorias-secrets-

crazy-history-2015-7.

Silver-Greenberg, Jessica, Katherine Rosman, and Sapna Maheshwari. “'Angels' in Hell: The

Culture of Misogyny Inside Victoria's Secret.” The New York Times. The New York
Times, February 1, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/01/business/victorias-secret-
razek-harassment.html.

Slate. “The Tragic Story Behind Victoria's Secret.” HuffPost, December 7, 2017.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/victorias-secret_n_4181683.