Hype (marketing)

Hype in marketing is a strategy of using extreme publicity. Hype as a modern marketing strategy is closely associated with social media.[citation needed]

Marketing through hype often uses artificial scarcity to induce demand. Consumers of hyped products often participate as a form of conspicuous consumption to signify characteristics about themselves.[1]

Hype allows brands to promote their image above the actual quality of the product. Streetwear brands have collaborated with luxury fashion to justify charging premium prices for their goods.[2] As an example, fashion label Vetements used social media channels to promote a limited-edition hoodie which sold 500 units in hours, recording sales of €445,000.[3]

When hype marketing is used to drive demand for limited-edition goods, consumers sometimes attempt resell those good on secondary markets for a profit (comparable to ticket scalping). The resale market is a $24 billion industry.[4]

  1. ^ Cassidy, Nicholas George (2018). The Effect of Scarcity Types on Consumer Preference in the High-End Sneaker Market. Appalachian State University.
  2. ^ Mitterfellner, Olga (2019). Fashion Marketing and Communication. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9780429837166.
  3. ^ Porter, Charlie (April 18, 2018). "How to build a hype brand". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on June 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "The hype machine: Streetwear and the business of scarcity". BBC. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020.