E-PR MARKETING STRATEGY THE ART OF CUSTOMISATION ALEX GASKIN
HISTORY Since 1960, Dr. Martens has been a patriotic British established footwear brand originating from a family who were adamant on not accepting the past and present as a “rigid template for the future.” Dr. Martens play an important role in subcultural history, particularly among the punk and skinhead era. The brand is viewed as loyal, timeless and consistent as consumers describe their products as “more than just a fashion statement.” It has the ability to make consumers feel part of a strong community as well as proud to be non-conformist. Dr. Martens have consistently represented individuality and rebellion since the creation of their first boot, which is still evident in today’s culture. The type of boot worn tends to reflect subcultures, for example the black 1460 boot religiously worn by lead singer of The Who, Pete Townshend sparked frenzy throughout punk subculture.
TARGET MARKET Dr. Marten’s target market can be considered as versatile due to their products being carried throughout diverse eras from teddy boys to industrial workers. Regionally, the current target market for Dr. Martens in the North East can be viewed as broad as the brand evidently satisfies many different people including today’s subcultures. Due to their influence on decades of subcultures throughout the 60’s until now, Dr. Marten’s target age ranges from 16 to late 30’s, including consumers that have chosen to start defining who they are and what they stand for and consumers who are proud to wear this footwear as a sign of nostalgia and former rebellion. This is proven through the 2011 ‘First and Forever’ campaign promoting Dr. Martens as a sentimental brand as well as highlighting the quality of the products implying they will last a lifetime. Observing the consumers of Dr. Martens on the high street, purchasing a pair of Dr. Martens can be viewed as one of the first steps to achieve individuality. Their products seem to be particularly popular among current subcultures such as ‘hipsters’ and ‘festival goers.’
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DR. MARTENS IS A BRAND THAT HAS A STAPLE ATTACHMENT WITH IT. IT’S DEVELOPED FROM A STEREOTYPICAL MODS AND ROCKERS BRAND IMAGE INTO TO A MORE ACCESSIBLE BRAND FOR A WIDER MARKET RANGE. THEIR SHOES CAN BE WORN BY EVERYONE, IT HAS A QUALITY ELEMENT AND IS AUTHENTICATED FOR ALL CUSTOMERS
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- LEANNE, 19, NORTH EAST
#STANDFORSOMETHING Today, the brand is still striving for difference. Their AW13 Campaign “#standforsomething” is a way of creating consistency towards non-conformist behaviour and freedom of speech without creating controversy. The ‘#standforsomething’ UK tour is a marketing strategy created to unite the current subcultural communities through music, a strong component contributing towards the heritage of Dr. Marten’s, as well as a good opportunity to promote the brand on a national scale. Instead of using professional models, Dr. Marten’s carefully select ‘characters’ from every day society to represent the brand. By doing this, the brand holds a strong, personal feel and is reflected as down to earth as well as incorporating influential icons such as Agyness Deyn into the brand.
WHAT ABOUT NOW? Dr. Martens is a brand that will become better with age and is still heading towards incorporating nostalgia and culture into their brand which is evident through the ‘Spirit of 69’ collection with Mike Skinner, celebrating the previous skinhead movement. Dr. Marten’s will continue to relate to and find links into future subcultures. Dr. Martens is active on most social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, however some are more successful than others.
PR OBJECTIVES Help Dr. Martens reengage with their audience at a more personal level and maintain brand values throughout the campaign. Put emphasis on the longevity of the boot reminding consumers that their boots are not only made to a high quality but also that originality and freedom does not stop at the purchase of the boot. Dr. Martens manage to incorporate themselves in every decade since 1960 and are still managing to do this today. Create a strong presence on social media and maintain mystery throughout pre campaign, during campaign and post campaign and generate a consistent level of intrigues among consumers.
#THEARTOFCUSTOMISATION
The creation of a new, exciting original campaign to coincide with the regional #StandForSomethingNCL campaign will be labeled “#TheArtOfCustomisation” taking a spin on The Art of Industrial Manufacture. The campaign will be based on customers reviving old pairs of Dr. Martens boots through a diverse range of customising tools, reflecting personalisation and inspiring todays current trends. Encouraging customer participation, The Art of Customisation is an innovative way to bring back faith into the brand for consumers who may have grown tired. Due to Dr. Martens maintaining 611,000 followers on Instagram, consumers can upload their customised Dr. Martens to Instagram with the hashtag #TheArtOfCustomisation and be impactful. By searching this hashtag on Instagram, a platform of participation will be created where users will be able to gain inspiration, ideas and maximise creative potential. Consumers that participate to an excellent standard will have the opportunity to appear on the official Dr. Martens Instagram page.
BEFORE THE FILM LAUNCH TWITTER
2. BALTIC ART GALLERY
An innovative twitter campaign will be launched prior to The Art of Customisation film launch event. Including three separate hints released at 6pm every Friday evening leading to three different locations, the campaign will be spread across three consecutive weeks. In order to engage regional audience participation and put emphasis on the cultural attractions of the North East, this particular chain of events will reinforce Dr. Martens brand values.
Reinforcing creativity and customisation, the second destination will revolve around the Baltic Art Gallery to remind participants that creativity is important and revolved around all aspects. Due to the excellent exhibitions the Baltic holds and the cultural significance it holds in the North East, it is proven to be a relevant, excellent location.
Participants will have one hour to solve the hint and reach the proposed destination. When they arrive, participants will know they have succeeded as a signature yellow Dr. Marten footprint will be visible outside the correct destination. Representatives for Dr. Martens will be at each destination at the allocated time to distribute a token. Participants will not be aware of what this token stands for until they attend the main event. All tokens will represent a different prize, on different price scales but will be relevant to the theme of the event that week.
1. GREYS MONUMENT
3. O2 ACADEMY NEWCASTLE The incorporation of music into the Dr. Martens brand is extremely significant and has had a major influence since the creation of Dr. Martens. Music has been a focal element among subcultures and will continue to influence subcultures in today’s society. To reinforce what Dr. Martens stand for, consumers will be directed towards Grey’s Monument. Grey’s Monument was chosen due to the history of non-conformist behaviour behind the venue, emphasising the importance of ones beliefs.
DURING THE FILM LAUNCH THE MAIN EVENT Held in the Newcastle Dr. Martens store, consumers have the opportunity to bring an old pair of Dr. Martens boots to this day long event and customise them how they wish. A wide range of materials will be provided such as spray and normal paint, studs, stencils, gems, sequins, ribbon, glitter etc. The most inspiring and original boots customised within the event will have their boots exposed on the Dr. Martens official website, Instagram page and win £100 Dr. Martens store credit. The day will be documented through Facebook, reaching and informing over 1 million national and international fans. Tokens distributed throughout the twitter campaign will hold the following prizes for the first 10 to arrive within the hour. Greys Monument: £50 store credit for Dr. Martens Baltic Art Gallery: An opportunity to learn the art of graffiti with an all expenses paid graffiti workshop. O2 Academy Newcastle: VIP entry to an event at o2 Academy Newcastle of the participant’s choice to attend in 2015. The remaining tokens will hold a 25% discount off of the participants next Dr. Martens purchase.
AFTER THE FILM LAUNCH DESIGN COMPETITION A stimulating design competition will be launched to gather all creative consumers of Dr. Martens. Participants are required to design a pair of customised Dr. Martens and submit these through email. Deadline will be one month after the launch of the Dr. Martens fashion film in order to generate a consistent interest in the campaign. The winner will be granted the opportunity to have their designs brought to life, be featured on the Dr. Martens official website and Instagram and a £150 voucher to spend in store.
THE ART OF CUSTOMISATION: FILM Taking a spin on The Art of Industrial Manufacture, Dr. Martens create the new innovative The Art of Customisation film, exploring the endless creativity of Dr. Marten consumers. With the brand being notoriously known for influencing past subcultures such as the skinheads and the punks, The Art of Customisation focuses on the timeless aspect of Dr. Martens and the how influential the brand can still be in today’s subculture society with a little bit of DIY. Containing endless possibilities, if you thought you were bored of our boots. Think again.
TIMELINE OF EVENTS