In July 2012, the Urban Outfitters company posted a promotional fashion film titled The 2012 Denim Catalog on its YouTube account. The campaign video features seemingly teenage hipsters wreaking havoc on a retro high school, all while looking flawless in UO’s new line of denim. The retro high school setting is perfect: obnoxious, bright colors and, dare I say, thoroughly tacky walls and floors compliment the simple, grungy style of UO’s designs. Everything about the film just clicks: the models, clothes, the soft lighting and outdated setting. I almost want to be in that leggy model’s shoes.
Almost… but not absolutely, the sole reason being that the retro high school I speak of is my alma mater, Cinnaminson High School. Often viewed as ‘quaint’ by outsiders, CHS is deemed claustrophobic and archaic for most attendees and graduates, myself included. However, despite my distaste for the film’s setting, I found that I wanted not only the jeans, but to be a part of that experience as it took over almost every social media platform I normally frequented.
This got me thinking about what successful digital marketing and social media campaigns can do for a brand. Success in these two areas can ultimately generate connections and sales (which, let’s be real, is always the bottom line in business), but they can also generate talk and recognition, turning skeptics and non-believers into buyers.
Fast forward past my retro high school to my fashionable current school of enrollment: FIT. Innovative and cohesive marketing and media campaigns are essential for Fashion Institute of Technology students taking part in the Textile Development and Marketing Denim Project. Sponsored by Cotton Incorporated and steered by TDM Chairperson Jeffrey Silberman, Textile and Development Marketing students participating in the course are required to create and market a sustainable brand of jeans in 13 weeks. 
In a promotional video for The 2012 Denim Project, students and teachers provide insight as to why successful media campaigns are vital in a brand’s success. “Social media is really changing the way that the students can connect with their consumers. If it’s just through a viral video marketing campaign or Twitter account, they all have such great strategies on how to reach the correct demographic,” says one student. When interviewed by Models WebTV, Silberman also notes that social media has taken over as the primary form of marketing for students participating in the FIT Denim Project.
FIT CHAIRPERSON JEFFREY SILBERMAN
