The Michelle Obama Effect - by wearittowork.co.uk

image by Harvard Business Review

Celebrity endorsements for clothing are nothing new, but Michelle Obama seems to be the best marketing tool a clothing company can have.
A recent study, published in Harvard Business Review, looks at the impact on brands and their stock shares of clothing brands that are worn by the first lady. An analyst at the Stern School of Business in New York has assessed the effect the First Lady brings to the designer labels that she is seen in, and worked out that the total economic benefit that she has brought to her chosen brands is around $2.7 billion (£1.7 billion).


Brands worn by Mrs Obama rose by 2.3 per cent, while those not hanging in her closet were down 0.4 per cent.

It's no secret that we love Mrs Obama's style here at www.wearittowork.co.uk, and clearly a large number of shoppers out there strongly agree with us.
Through Internet shopping and immediate publicity with modern day technology, clothing she wears out in public is often sold out within hours of her appearing in it.

The key to her success, and likability seems to be her authenticity. Also, crucial is the fact that she mixes her designer brands with high street labels, making her shopping habits accessible to many women. Professor Yermack's study also considers Mrs Obama's French counterpart, Carla Bruni, who is similarly held up as a style icon among politicians' wives. But Ms Bruni is usually seen in high-end designer labels (Christian Dior's creative director, John Galliano, personally selected her clothes for her recent trip to London), so does not have the same consumer appeal or economic impact at the American First Lady.

Now the question is, how do we get her shopping at www.wearittowork.co.uk ;)


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