While fashion bloggers have been wielding more power with each runway season, Hanes' Just My Size is betting the plus-sized bloggers have even more to say, wooing them with a fashion event this week
in New York. And it's just part of an effort, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company says, to use social media to build its connection to one of America's largest—if most-spurned--consumer
groups.
While marketers, retailers and even mainstream fashion media have certainly stepped up efforts to connect with heavier women, "she is getting tired of being ignored," Marie Teza,
director and general manager of JMS, tells Marketing Daily. Even though more than half of American women are plus sized, with the average woman wearing a size 14, "it's still a very underserved
market."
By beefing up its social presence, through events like this, its digital ad programs, and use of Facebook, "we're hoping to increase our connection and presence and expand beyond
traditional print. We know how much time the plus-sized woman spends online, and we know how passionate she is about finding clothing that fits and looks good."