A Study on the Impact of Visual Communication Online on Brand

Marketing: Taking Prada as an Example

Tiantian Lyv

School of Transportation Science and Engineering, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin, 300300, China

Keywords: Brand Marketing-Taking, Prada, Visual Communication, Internet.

Abstract: With the popularization of e-commerce platforms and the development of craftsmanship technology, an

increasing number of fashion brands have emerged. However, running a fashion brand is not easy, as it

requires many excellent strategies to support and promote the brand’s development during the management

process. Capturing customer needs in a timely manner and attracting customer attention in the fiercely market

has become a pursuit for most fashion brands. Based on multiple literature studies, after understanding the

history of the fashion brand Prada, this article mainly studies the strategies used by Prada in its development

process, and concludes the strategy of Prada to solve the current brand marketing challenges—the difficulty

to let customers gain a sense of participation and experience, finding that Prada’s success is inseparable from

its strategies and its sense of social responsibility. Prada’s strategies mainly include positioning of women’s

brands, the control of the scope and quality of the supply and distribution network, location strategy and wise

sponsorship strategy, digital marketing strategy, mediterranean marketing strategy and visual communication,

and visual communication is crucial for a brand’s marketing. Because in today's society, most online products

are conveyed through images or text, which makes it difficult to trigger the emotions of the buyers, so at this

time, visual communication becomes particularly important.

1 INTRODUCTION

An increasing number of brands are utilizing the

Internet to sell their products, as electronic commerce

becomes increasingly prevalent. This paper admits

that it is a great way to let people know about their

goods, but that does not mean the brands must be

successful if they just only take use of the Internet.

There are many points that affect the brand’s

marketing, one key of them is the texture. This paper

finds that the product picture or the words of

introduction on the Internet could not let customers

feel their special texture and actual experience, hence

people may not judge whether the goods are the same

as the picture or not. To address this issue, Prada has

implemented effective strategies. Prada make their

product’s quality appeared in front of customers

through film, video and other forms, so the customer

can have a deeper impression of the product. Prada

has a huge sales promotion due to its unique

strategies. This article will analyse the Prada’s main

excellent strategies and benefit generated, then

provides summary and relevant suggestions to make

a Brand’s marketing better.

2 PRADA’S DEVELOPMENT

2.1 History

Prada’s original name is Fratri Prada, it had occupied

a high-end market position in the Italian parts market

since it was founded in 1931. Then it opened its first

boutique store to enter the high-end retail, to meet the

lifestyle needs of elite consumers by produce

ornament. At that time, Prada was offered to the royal

family as an official supplier, so Prada had trademark

logo of the family. But Prada’s product range is

difficult to distinguish, people couldn’t indentify its

unique brand logo, so Prada has four stages of change

after the founder’s granddaughter Micia took over the

company (Moore and Doyle, 2010).

In the first stage, a stage of recognizing

differences. Micia, the granddaughter of Prada’s

founder, she recognized the need to shed radical and

different claims in the luxury sector, so she studied a

practical luggage collection with black triangle logo,

it seemed low-key but differed from other luxury

brands (Moore and Doyle, 2010). This is the Prada’s

philosophical tone, because of Micia Prada’s maturity

and pursuit of perfection and unique ideas, she has a

Lyv, T.

A Study on the Impact of Visual Communication Online on Brand Marketing: Taking Prada as an Example.

DOI: 10.5220/0014052700004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 29-33

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

significant advantage in helping the brand to rise to

the forefront of the luxury industry.

Reached the second stage, Prada began to build its

own platform. Micia collaborated with her husband to

try to obtain elements that provide criticism, which

also helped to build interest and awareness for the

Prada brand at the lowest cost and risk. Because

Prada’s previous retail network had established

significant customer demand, it subsequently

launched a women’s collection and expanded into

shoes, men's wear (Moore and Doyle, 2010). With the

help of a third-party supplier network, Prada

transformed from a marginal small business Italian

company into a multi-segment national enterprise,

which gave the brand greater confidence to become a

global luxury group.

In the third stage, Prada begins to bravely explore.

Prada has delved deeper into exploration, engaging in

a brand alliance collaboration with LVMH and

purchasing shares in other brands, and partially sell

them off later (Moore and Doyle, 2010). Although

Prada’s approach to fashion design brands may not

seem ideal, fortunately, its acquisitions in renowned

shoe brands have been quite successful, such as the

acquisition of the Italian prestigious shoe brand and

the shoe brand Church which was purchased in 1999

(Moore and Doyle, 2010).

Moving on to the fourth stage, in the face of

market challenges, Prada chose to consolidate itself.

Prada reaped substantial profits and much-needed

revenue by leveraging the potential of strategic

brands with LVMH. Prada attempted to establish

itself as a luxury brand, but it needed to devise better

strategies to address and alleviate the company’s

debt. In many ways, Prada should also embrace the

basic elements of a ‘mainstream’ luxury brand and

undertake more mainstream luxury marketing

activities to retreat from contraction and consolidate

development (Moore and Doyle, 2010).

2.2 Marketing Features and Strategies

If a brand wants to have long-term development, it

must have corresponding appropriate brand

strategies. Certainly, the main reason why Prada has

grown from a small business into a global brand is it

has adopted a series of outstanding strategies, such as

positioning of women’s brands, the control of the

scope and quality of the supply and distribution

network, location strategy and wise sponsorship

strategy, digital marketing strategy, mediterranean

marketing strategy and visual communication

strategy.

2.2.1 Positioning of Women's Brands

Prada’ s brand positioning is as a luxury fashion

brand for women, its clothing design style and

elements give women a strong artistic character. It

unifies different fabric materials and natural colors,

achieving a common enhancement of functionality

and aesthetics. At the same time, Prada collaborates

with cartoonists, incorporating comic elements into

its clothing and pattern designs for women ’ s

accessories, it attracts the attention of many women

and also showcases Prada ’ s unique style charm

undoubtedly. At the 2008 Beijing fashion show,

Prada further demonstrated its clothing allure by

incorporating various traditional cultural elements

into women’ s clothing, bags, and other product,

meeting the unique demands of Chinese women for

luxury goods. Studies have shown that in the female

market, women who consume luxury goods are

considered more attractive, sexier, and have a higher,

more positive status compared to those who consume

non-luxury items (Hudders et al., 2014).

2.2.2 The Control of the Scope and Quality

of the Supply and Distribution

Network

Prada operates around 600 stores directly, and it has

a presence in about 70 countries. Approximately 86%

of Prada's new stores are directly operated, followed

by joint ventures, etc. Each store’s location is

carefully selected, for example, the Prada 2024

autumn-winter show was held at a venue full of

industrial atmosphere. Under the natural landscape,

people can feel as if they are in the midst of a forest.

Over the past few years, the number of directly

operated stores has doubled, prompting Prada to

consider expanding its reach. Not just this, when

producing products, Prada typically uses the most

unique Prada manufacturing materials, and it also

incorporates some advanced innovative technologies

and traditional craftsmanship. To reduce costs,

Prada’s quality is no longer only associated with

Italian brands but with the quality of the place of

brands origin. Consequently, in 2014, Prada's sales

increased significantly, with 85% coming from

directly controlled sales channels, reaching a revenue

of $3.551 billion (Masè and Silchenko, 2017).

2.2.3 Location Strategy and Wise

Sponsorship Strategy

When a brand is combined with art, its image is also

endowed with greater value and significance.

APMM 2025 - International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management

Nowadays, more and more well-known brands are

increasingly integrating with artistic creativity. In

2005, Prada adopted a unique approach to its store

locations by situating them in the West Texas desert.

While most people might consider this a nearly

uninhabited place, but Prada saw the artistic value in

it, because it greatly helped to establish Prada's

minimalist image and also showcased the unique

charm of ‘Prada in the desert’ in terms of land art,

highlighting the different stylistic features that

emerge from the combination of Prada with various

regions. Furthermore, Prada invests in artists, and

artists also need patrons undoubtedly. One of the

notable artists associated with Prada is the artist Sax.

In the 2002 exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New

York, Sax’s artworks were licensed for Prada to

display. People were shocked by the concentration

camp models made with Prada boxes, which brought

Prada a great deal of widespread attention and

increased its brand recognition (Ryan, 2007).

Therefore, Prada’s sponsorship of art is undoubtedly

also a sponsorship of itself.

2.2.4 Digital Marketing Strategy

In order to attract more customers and develop

omnichannel services, Prada has chosen a digital

marketing strategy. Through precising advertising

placement strategies, Prada has more brand visibility.

At the same time, Prada combine online and offline

methods to boost sales numbers. In terms of social

platforms, Prada utilizes various social media

platforms to release product promotions and to tell

brand stories that resonate with customers

emotionally, for example, Prada is very active on

Instagram, where they have previously live-streamed

the process of creating artworks with artists,

showcasing the combination of the brand with

contemporary art. If customers like the product, they

can choose to purchase directly from the Internet

page, as Prada offers online shopping services not

only on their official website but also on major social

platforms. Prada has invested heavily in developing

partnerships and new retail channels, and in 2016, its

retail strategy gradually shifted from geographical

expansion to network rationalization and digital

integration. This marks an important phase for Prada,

and with the help of this long-term growth strategy,

by 2018, Prada Group’s revenue saw a significant

increase, growing by one-third of the sales in 2016

(Simo, 2020). Therefore, this strategy has brought

Prada tremendous benefits, and it has also enabled

Prada to form more new partnerships while

developing in the digital world.

2.2.5 Mediterranean Marketing Strategy

While pursuing the maximization of profits, Prada

also places great emphasis on environmental

protection, advocating for green, eco-friendly, and

sustainable development. This behavior reflects the

brand's commitment and responsibility towards social

responsibility. Prada has planted Posidonia seagrass

in some areas of the Mediterranean to provide a more

comfortable environment for marine life, so it has

also made significant contributions to solving global

climate change. At the same time, Prada has released

a series of short films about ocean conservation to

raise public awareness and responsibility for

protecting the oceans. For example, Prada

collaborated with National Geographic to release

three creative short films, each showcasing the

conditions of the Indian Ocean-Pacific region, the

Arctic area, and the Mediterranean marine

ecosystems, with the aim of raising public awareness

about global ocean conservation issues. In the

Mediterranean region, Prada hosts many brand

events, combining its exhibitions with local culture

and enhancing the brand's stylistic diversity and

influence. However, Mediterranean marketing is also

a form of ideological marketing, positioning around

the Mediterranean basin (Visconti and Giuli, 2014).

This marketing approach has a connectivity that

builds connections between different cultural fields or

ethnic groups, thus strengthening the ties between

Prada and the Mediterranean region.

3 VISUAL COMMUNICATION

STRATEGY-BASED ON THE

ANALYSIS OF THE APA

MODEL

3.1 The Comparison Between Video

and Words

On most platforms today, consumers typically see

product images and text descriptions when

purchasing goods. However, they often find a

significant difference between the buyer’s and

seller’s presentations. Cold text always makes it

difficult for people to feel the real texture of the

product, which leads to hesitation about whether to

buy it and this also have a huge impact on brand sales.

However, brands that have promotional videos and

advertisements tend to make good progress in sales.

Studies have shown that video is more effective at

moving and attracting people than text, and it also

A Study on the Impact of Visual Communication Online on Brand Marketing: Taking Prada as an Example

evokes more emotional responses. Therefore, video is

a powerful tool that allows individuals to engage with

content, making it more interesting (Yadav et al.,

2011). Promotional videos are also a form of visual

communication that can establish deeper connections

with people. In this regard, Prada has made

outstanding efforts, it enhances customer experience

by releasing some movies or blockbuster

advertisements.

3.2 Prada's Strategy in Visual

Communication

At the beginning of 2024, in response to the demands

of the Chinese market, Prada specially launched a

Spring Festival blockbuster. This behavior was well-

received by most Chinese people, as they could see

cultural elements of their country presented through

video, and it evoked a deeper emotional resonance.

Moreover, the present study finds that in the nine

months up to September 30, 2024, Prada Group’s

retail net sales increased by 18.3% compared to 2023.

In terms of regional performance, the Asia-Pacific

region’s contribution was largest, followed by Europe

and the Americas, this indicates that people in the

Asia-Pacific region had a particular fondness for

Prada in 2024.

Fashion films serve as a modern alternative to

retail experiences in shaping brands. Once brands

discover the advantages of fashion films and

advertisements, they focus more on brand promotion

because fashion films can foster universal values and

emotional communication by expressing the realm of

human emotions. In June 2006, Prada premiered the

fashion film “The Devil Wears Prada”, which was a

contemporary fashion film, it mainly tells the story of

a girl’s transformation from a “Cinderella” into a

fashion icon. After this film came out, Prada’s search

volume surged significantly, also enhancing the

brand's image. The film's compelling plot made it

easy for audiences to immerse themselves in the

story. Data shows that in June 2006, Google searches

for Prada reached a peak, demonstrating the tangible

impact of fashion films on brand marketing (Jing,

2022). Of course, Prada’s success also benefits from

its brand status and recognition, which also has

played a significant role in the promotion of the

movie (Lu et al., 2022). Prada has also released many

other films, including one titled “Mission: Impossible

4”. Based on the character’s name in that film, Prada

launched its famous “Murder Bag”, a uniquely

designed bag that embodies the strong character of

women, this also makes a brilliant contribution to

Prada’s brand design. A similar film is “The A

Therapy”, which is a movie collaborated with

Polanski. The theme of this film also perfectly

expresses the power of women and criticism of the

bourgeoisie, making people deeply moved [(Soloaga

and Guerrero, 2016).

4 CONCLUSION

Through the analysis of Prada’s business strategy, it

can be found that Prada has a very good management

policy. Whether in sales or social responsibility,

Prada can show a positive attitude to respond. For

today’s online sales methods, most retailers choose

cold text descriptions and images, but Prada has paid

attention to people’s emotional experience, and then

launched a series of movies and promotional videos

to fully present the charm of their brand’s products to

consumers, while also promoting the cultural

characteristics of different regions, so it shows

Prada’s humanization and personalization, these

measures also increase the sales of the product as well

as brand awareness. However, in future development,

Prada should work harder to understand market

development and competition, not only limited to the

current marketing strategy, Prada shold do more

things to understand customers’ needs, so it can also

be combined with more regional cultures and then

presented through promotional videos, establishing a

more favourable brand image.

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A Study on the Impact of Visual Communication Online on Brand Marketing: Taking Prada as an Example