Fashion Hauls: New 'YouTube' Ad Model

One of the biggest trends in the worlds of fashion, social media and advertising is "fashion hauling," a practice referred to by NPR commentator Viet Le as "PG porn" for the young fashionista crowd. In this game of show-and-tell 2.0, shoppers set up web cams in their bedrooms in order to proudly display their purchases for the masses. Drawing items from their shopping bags one by one, they offer commentary on their favorite details of the clothes and accessories, along with their plans for wearing these pieces. Some fashion haulers are big into designer outfits but many others do their shopping at discount stores such as Forever 21, JC Penney, Target, American Eagle and Urban Outfitters. When displaying hauls from these stores, the goal is to teach viewers how to look fashionable on a budget. Fashion Hauls are at the foundation of a new trend that disintermediates traditional advertising models by directly connecting brands, brand evangelists and consumers through YouTube video blogs (although YouTube is not itself monetizing these videos).

Although fashion hauls began popping up as soon as YouTube was released, they burst more prominently on the scene in late 2008. Of course, the economic recession also came into full force at the same time. One common explanation for the explosion of haul videos is that, unable to go on big shopping trips themselves, users were able to live vicariously through their favorite fashion vloggers. Time magazine went so far as to say that "millions of girls were watching the videos the same way that they watched Justin Bieber videos." Even more importantly retailers have seen sales increase when a product is highlighted in a haul video. A Forbes article reported that a Guess watch that was featured in a haul video soldout in record time.

JC Penney has used haul videos as a cornerstone promotion for teen back-to-school shopping the past two years. In 2011, the retailer encouraged customer to create their own haul videos of the store's products by hosting an online vote for the best video with prizes such as a trip to New York and an iPad. "We're inspired by the confidence and influence of today's teens. They are true evangelists, sharing their individual style and encouraging others to take the latest trends and make them their own." Bill Gentner, interim chief marketing officer of JC Penney said. The retailer's Haul Nation campaign has been a leader in the use of haul videos and sparked many individuals to create their own on YouTube.

High school and college students were the first to jump on the fashion hauling trend. Sisters Elle and Blair Fowler led the way with their YouTube channels, both of which attracted millions of views from fashion-forward teens. Self-professed as ordinary girls with a love for fashion, the two began sharing tips on finding the trendiest looks without breaking the bank. As they grew in popularity, they began receiving free products from a wide range of beauty and fashion companies, all with the simple request of having their items appear on Elle and Blair's channel. While the two girls' lives have changed, they continue making affordable fashion a priority. Blair has over 959,000 subscribers to her YouTube Channel while Elle has more than 714,000 followers. A recent video of Blair's, in which she described her favorite TV shows and shampoo in painstaking detail, generated over 692,000 views in a few weeks.

The video presentations of more mature women often fall under the umbrella of coupon hauling, in which shoppers show audiences the items they purchased, how much these purchases would ordinarily cost, and how much money they saved by using coupons. It's a little like Extreme Couponingmeets StyleHaul.The products displayed are rarely as expensive or stylish as those found on traditional haul sites. For example, Vanessa of Deal Loving Divaenjoys providing presentations of her couponing hauls, most of which focus on products from CVS and Walgreens. In one video, Vanessa proudly shows off a Walgreens haul that cost her of a total of 31 cents. In this haul, she ended up with diapers, toothpaste, nasal mist, hair clips and more. Kassandra, spokes model for AMI ClubWear, advises those wanting to get into haul videos to do this in a training video for future haulers: "Once you establish a good viewer base these (companies) are going to feel more than happy to send you free stuff because your viewers trust your opinions. Their hoping when you review your product that your viewers will want to go out and buy it."

A simple keyword search reveals thousands of hauls. It can be tough for hauling newbies to know where to begin, which is why many fashionistas seek the help of aggregate sites such as Haul.TVand StyleHaul. Haulers and retailers can post videos directly to these sites, which feature top haul videos produced by popular fashion vloggers. StyleHaul takes it a step further by allowing advertisers to become featured in specific videos and purchase product placement on the videos on their site. The site also features shows with design and fashion experts capitalizing on the model and further including the advertisers. Companies advertising on these sites are typically marketing products to the teen audience, such as jewelry, shoes, makeup, home décor and beauty products. Several teen-oriented magazine websites, including Seventeen, have sections where readers can upload their own haul videos.

Featured videos often include collaborations between figures who have gained prominence in the beauty and fashion blogosphere. This tactic draws in more viewers, while satisfying the wishes of current viewers, who play an important role in deciding which topics the videos will cover. Stephanie Horbaczewski, president and CEO of StyleHaul, believes that her company provides "opportunity to build a relationship and connect people who would otherwise be strangers over a common passion." This tight-knit community is the secret to StyleHaul's success. StyleHaul recently hired sales executive Pauline Malcolm to introduce the site to advertisers.

Fashion hauling may provide a sense of community for hardcore shoppers, but the practice also holds a high monetary value. Shoppers are more willing to take fashion advice from trusted YouTube personalities than from TV ads. When these YouTube personalities join forces with clothing designers, both parties benefit. The vlogger receives free merchandise in exchange for featuring the given company in a haul video, while the company takes advantage of an advertising source that is both inexpensive and highly effective. Marshall's caught on to this money-making scheme in 2010, when it provided fashion hauler Blair Fowler with a free gift card. Blair received a new wardrobe for the back-to-school season and showed the wardrobe off in a hit YouTube video, encouraging viewers to stop by Marshall's to find "awesome....really inexpensive" clothes and accessories.

IZEA, which connects social media influencers with brand advertisers, sponsors bloggers and compensates them for their purchases and the time required creating product reviews and fashion hauls, all with full disclosure and transparency.

The future of haul videos is bright indeed. As companies such as IZEA continue to jump on board for social media sponsorships, more vloggers will be afforded the opportunity to have their voices heard. The end result will be an engaged community of companies, vloggers and viewers collaborating to fulfill their passion for fashion.

Contributions by Stephanie Gustafson andJennifer Gregory

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