New research, led by Dr Xuemei Bian, Senior Lecturer in Marketing at Kent Business School on using average and zero sized models in marketing campaigns has attracted international press coverage.
Dr Bian and her team conducted three studies that asked hundreds of women aged 18-25 which size of model they preferred in campaigns. The results of the study found that average-size models could actually sell more clothes than their size zero counterparts.
Dr Bian and her team found that when it came to established brands, average-sized models could be used interchangeably with size zero models, with little or no impact on product or model evaluation.
As Dr Bian shared:
‘Our research shows that the fashion industry has nothing to fear from using average-sized models in its marketing campaigns and could even find that it sells more of its products by doing so.’
This research, to be published in European Journal of Marketing, has attracted international media attention. From articles published by Huffington Post and Marie Claire, to Dr Bian’s exclusive interview with BBC Radio Kent.
For press enquiries please contact Martin Herrema in the first instance at M.J.Herrema@kent.ac.uk, or for further information about the study, please contact Dr Bian at X.M.Bian@kent.ac.uk.