Lululemon, a leading brand name in the athletic apparel field, has been promoting community building on its official media channels as part of its IDEA concept, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Action. This thesis examines the visual strategies Lululemon employs to advocate for body type inclusivity and diversity on its official Instagram account by using its female Ambassadors representatives. It also explores the audience’s reaction to this promotional activity. We used visual analysis methods and semiology to analyse and interpret the photographs posted in the context of the Ultramarathon event for Women’s Day, 2024 and examine whether and how they incorporated the company’s IDEA concept. We also used netnography to record, analyse, and interpret the comments posted by the followers of the Lululemon account in response to this event. Ambassador models of all origins and sizes were shown in the photographs as dedicated and strong in achieving their goals, deviating from media stereotypes. The comment analysis showed that, while on the whole, the Ultramarathon was regarded in a positive light and was saluted for furthering inclusivity and diversity, Lululemon’s external business practices overshadowed the promoted IDEA concept and reduced its impact. The findings of this study are essential for understanding the strategies brands utilise to promote their products via social impact and how audiences affect the outcome and success of such endeavours.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-69507 |
Date | January 2024 |
Creators | Giannikos, Dimitrios, Founti, Filippia |
Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för konst, kultur och kommunikation (K3) |
Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
Format | application/pdf |
Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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