Amy-Louise Chapman Marketing Communications and branding: Agent Provocateur LCF FdA Fashion Marketing and Promotion Yr 2 Term Two - MCB Tutor: Sue Dean Submission Deadline: 18th March 2011
Contents Executive Summery ........................................................................................................................... 2 Brand Identity Analysis ...................................................................................................................... 2 Company Background ................................................................................................................... 2 Brand Personality ........................................................................................................................... 2 Brand Vision .................................................................................................................................... 4 Brand Image Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 4 Target Audience ............................................................................................................................. 4 Brand Differentiation ...................................................................................................................... 5 Culture.......................................................................................................................................... 5 Positioning ................................................................................................................................... 5 Value Proposition ....................................................................................................................... 6 Marketing Mix .............................................................................................................................. 6 Brand Representation and Customer Experience................................................................. 7 Brand Communication Analysis ....................................................................................................... 7 Advertising ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Media ............................................................................................................................................ 8 Viral Marketing ............................................................................................................................ 9 Word Of Mouth ........................................................................................................................... 9 Public Relations ............................................................................................................................ 10 Reviews ..................................................................................................................................... 10 Events ........................................................................................................................................ 10 Social Networking..................................................................................................................... 10 Detailed Campaign Analysis- „Piratesâ€&#x; ...................................................................................... 10 Celebrity Endorsement ............................................................................................................ 11 Campaign Tone ........................................................................................................................ 11 Campaign Repercussions ....................................................................................................... 11 References ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Executive Summery This report serves to demonstrate how the brand, Agent Provocateur differentiate themselves from competitive brands in the lingerie market. In the lingerie market brands have to offer something different to maintain sales and market share. The report shows that Agent Provocateur has very different offerings to that of other lingerie brands and that they have a very different approach to the sale of lingerie and how they market themselves. They are known for outlandish, boundary-pushing campaigns and the ones discussed in this report are certainly no exception.
Brand Identity Analysis Company Background Agent Provocateur was founded in 1994 by the son of Vivienne Westwood, Joseph Corre and his now ex-wife Serena Rees. The couple opened the first store in Soho, London with the aims of selling fashion-forward high-end fashion. The use of celebrity endorsement as part of advertising campaigns has secured its place as a firm favourite with celebrities all over the world with the likes of Fern Britton, Paris Hilton and Carmen Electra purchasing the brands garments. The brand has used such celebrities as Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The brand is known for controversial advertising such as a video featuring pop artist, Kylie Minogue. The advert that was only shown in cinemas pushed the boundaries for sexual innuendo used in advertising and also the use of viral marketing on the internet. After the divorce of Corre and Rees in 2007, Agent Provocateur was purchased by private equity house 3i for ÂŁ60million. Following the takeover the company has expanded into 13 countries with over 30 stores.
Brand Personality When Joseph Corre and Serena Rees founded Agent Provocateur they were originally looking to sell the best lingerie from around the world. However after not finding enough of what they were looking for they decided to create their own brand; Rees had become tired of seeing women in drab underwear.
Even the brand name Agent Provocateur perfectly displays the brand‟s personality; the French translates to „Inciting Agents‟ a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act. Sophisticated Despite the sexual innuendo used in all advertising and also throughout the store the brand and all marketing maintains a sophisticated image. This is also seen in the product offering and something the brand prides itself upon; erotic clothing doesn‟t have to be tasteless.
Exclusive The use of celebrity endorsement, a large celebrity following and high price point make the brand an exclusive club to be part of.
Provocative Agent Provocateur believes that passion can enrich your life and this is shown in all advertising. All the models featured in any imagery look satisfied, empowered and in control, the brand wants to give every woman the opportunity to feel like that.
Brand Vision
Vision: “It‟s what‟s underneath that count‟s”. Agent Provocateur believes that passion and intimacy should be indulged, and that exploring your inner desires and fantasies profoundly enriches your life.
Values:
Scope: To sell the most erotic lingerie in the world, unlocking the desires of women
To make you feel pampered To feel attached to an exceptional group To feel self-confident To feel deserving of it To feel like a temptress To feel you are getting the best To make you want to try the brand again
globally. Agent Provocateur is well positioned to be the market leader of intimate lingerie due to a recent expansion project; after founders Joseph Corre and Serena Rees were bought out the company expanded into 13 countries with 30 stores. Another expansion project has been announced this year with the brand due to have 11 stores in the US by the summer and plans to double the size of the business over the next three years (Drapers 2011).
Brand Image Analysis Target Audience
Young consumers aged 15-34, C1s and those who shop at women‟s fashion stores are the most likely to try different styles of lingerie (Mintel 2011).
Growth in the key underwear buying groups – The population is continuing to shift upmarket and an increase in people from the ABC1C2 socio-economic groups could boost the market (Mintel 2011).
The primary target market for Agent Provocateur fit in the 20-50 age category, female and belongs to A, B or C1 socio-economic groups. These women are independent and lead active lifestyles; they are often professional women who want to take their power from the boardroom to the bedroom. These women want to feel luxury materials next to their skin; they want high-quality, high-fashion garments even under their clothes. The modern woman wants to feel sexy yet feminine without the need for garish, classless items. Most of
the customers of Agent Provocateur are happy to be buying into an exclusive club, that they are part of the luxury and lifestyle.
Brand Differentiation Agent Provocateur differentiates themselves from other lingerie retailers by what products they offer and how they promote those products. There are many brands that would be too scared to use such patent sexual innuendo in their marketing for fear of alienating their consumers. Agent Provocateur has a distinctive clientele that appreciate this bravery shown by the brand. Culture Agent Provocateur lingerie is an opulent range of inspirational creations, designed to intensify lifeâ€&#x;s pleasures and unlock your innermost desires. The elegant ranges, designed with both the boardroom and the boudoir in mind, ensure that women can be sexy and professional as the mood takes them. Positioning
This positioning map shows how eight competitors relate to Agent Provocateur and each other in relation to price. It can be seen from this that Agent Provocateur are well positioned as the most daring lingerie company but yet they are not the most expensively priced. Brands such as Bordelle, Myla and La Perla maintain higher price points than Agent Provocateur with Bordelle providing a daring selection and Myla also providing lingerie with an interesting appeal. La Perla despite the highest price point has a more conservative, subtle approach. It appears from this positioning map that brands offering a more daring
and interesting collection of lingerie are able to apply higher price points to the products they provide. Value Proposition Agent Provocateur‟s value proposition is clearly displayed via packaging, the website and the stores themselves.
Unique and empowering products
Beautifully created imagery
Expanding product offering moving into accessories and beauty products
This image depicts the websites home page, demonstrating Agent Provocateur‟s values perfectly. The model featured is shown in a sexual way but she is in control and empowered by what she is wearing. The
garments are high quality and this is perfectly displayed with the well-shot imagery. Marketing Mix Product
The product offering at Agent Provocateur is constantly developing and expanding. New collections have been introduced that include swimwear, bridal lingerie and accessories.
Price
Agent Provocateur can ask for higher prices as the products are of such high quality. The celebrity following that brand has acquired has also served to maintain the high price points.
Place
Stores with a boudoir feel, with lush fabrics, warm lighting and well displayed products. The window displays are innovative
and inviting. Promotion
Agent Provocateur advertise in high profile magazines such as Elle and Vogue and have often caused a stir with their out-ofthe-box marketing campaigns, for example the image that featured on the number 23 bus.
Brand Representation and Customer Experience Staff are asked to represent the brand by wearing pink mini dresses, stockings and suspenders.The Agent Provocateur uniform consists of stockings worn with Vivienne Westwood dresses, both of which are provided by the company. The dresses are deliberately cut to reveal the bra, which should, according to Alexandra Nelke, the companyâ€&#x;s PR, be by an Agent Provocateur-stocked brand (Davies, 2002).
Brand Communication Analysis Advertising From the chart below it can be seen that the main types of advertising used for Lingerie are press and cinema (Mintel 2011). Agent Provocateur are on the right lines with their advertising as the majority of it is featured in media and then the next most popular are their videos featuring celebrities.
Underwear - UK - February 2011 Retail Advertising and Promotion Figure 49: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on underwear and lingerie, stockings and tights, % share, by media type, 2006-10 JanNov 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 % % % % % Press Cinema TV Outdoor Direct mail Radio Total
86.1 80.1 79.6 2.2 0.6 4.5 11.9 7.2 7.3 5.9 8 2 2.4 1.6 0.6 100
100
100
74.6 1.4 11.2 5.8 6.1 1
72.1 9.5 9.1 5.1 3.4 0.8
100
100
Source: Nielsen Media Research/mintel Media Agent Provocateur has used many print advertising campaigns that feature in high profile publications such as Vogue, Elle, GQ and Esquire as well as gaining high volumes of editorial publicity in such magazines. These campaigns are used to boost the profile of the brand and also sales figures. Another aspect of the media that the brand uses to its advantage when celebrity customers are photographed after having purchased in-store, these images boost the appeal of the brand traditional customers are enticed by this as they believe they are buying into a lifestyle. Media campaigns often feature celebrities as many are happy to be associated with the brand.
Viral Marketing Agent Provocateur‟s founders did not have the money for advertising when the brand was launched. Advertising companies offered them free adverts but Joseph Corre did not like the ideas they were coming up with. Instead he asked celebrity customer Kylie Minogue to star in a short video for them. „We put the ad together but had to stream it so it couldn't be downloaded. Someone in the editing suite nicked it, and suddenly it was everywhere - the most watched viral in the world; it went around the globe 10 times. You can never repeat that - it won the best commercial of the last 10 years. But basically it was Kylie's arse in our knickers! The campaigns became things people wanted to collect and are legendary in their own right. But you've always got to be creative, cutting edge and really sexy. Every time I come to do it I always feel that this is the best thing we've done, and that's nice after 15 years‟ (Corre).
„This lingerie ad featuring the pop star writhing on a mechanised rodeo bull has been voted the greatest cult cinema advert of all time‟ (Guardian, 2009). This video has been followed up with ones feature Kate Moss, these were no doubt successful but this one with Kylie still remains a firm favorite. Word Of Mouth From even the launch of the brand in 1994 there was a huge word of mouth following surrounding it. ‘I had queues around the corner until after Christmas. I'd never seen so much press and around one shop. I thought, 'This is brilliant.' Every newspaper and magazine
had an excuse to put a sexy person in underwear in their publication, without being sleazy‟ (Corre). Word of mouth is still maintained by the brand by use of editorial and social networking which will be further discussed in the next section of this report.
Public Relations Reviews Reviews of Agent Provocateur products can regularly be found in the publications that have been mentioned previously. Events There have been a number of event staged by the brand since their opening in 1994 including a nationwide search for real women to feature in their new campaign during 2003. Thousands of applicants applied; from this, 15 are chosen to front the campaign. The final 15 become Agent Provocateur's deadly agents. There was also a march featuring models clad in Agent Provocateur lingerie during London Fashion Week. These Events boost the profile of the brand and keep it in the forefront of consumer‟s minds. Social Networking Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter play a vital role in assessing a brands position in the market and to provide feedback for the brand to „hear‟ what the customer wants from the products offered. Facebook and Twitter provide an outlet for consumers that can be used as primary research by the brand. Facebook has a dedicated fan-page for Agent Provocateur where users of the site are kept up to date with new campaigns, company news and new products. These updates allow consumers or potential ones to comment and then this feedback can be reviewed by the brand. (http://www.facebook.com/#!/agentprovocateur)
Detailed Campaign Analysis- ‘Pirates’ There have been a number of very popular campaigns made by Agent Provocateur but two have been chosen to be reviewed to assess the success of these for the brand; the first of which is called „Pirates‟. This campaign was for the autumn/winter 2008 collection.
Celebrity Endorsement The campaign features veteran model Helena Christensen as pirate queen and starring alongside her is Alice Dellal. This unlikely pairing drew interest to the campaign almost immediately. At the time this went to print Helena was about to turn 40 proving that women look fabulous at any age. The age of the two main models in the campaign perfectly target the broad age range of the brands main consumers. Campaign Tone As with most Agent campaigns the overall tone of the imagery is that of sexual, powerful women; in this case pirates that are using their seductiveness to distract the captain of a ship whilst they rob him. There is a very traditional pirate theme throughout except of course for the dress, not very often you see pirates clad in lace. As part of the campaign there was also a minivideo; the video filmed by Tim Bret Day is inspired by Hogarth's 'A Rake's Progress and 'Strolling actresses in a Barn'. Campaign Repercussions Figures from FAME show that from April 2008- April 2009 there was an increase of ÂŁ4,724,000 in turnover from ÂŁ17,367,000 to ÂŁ22,091,000 with sales for the year at 12,988,000.
References Agent Provocateur- Available at: http://www.agentprovocateur.com/ (Accessed 18 March 2011) Alexander, H. (2008) „Agent Provocateur unveils new lingerie campaign starring Helena Christensen‟ [Online] Available at: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/columns/hilaryalexander/TMG3394974/Agent-Provocateur-unveils-new-lingerie-campaign-starringHelena-Christensen.html (Accessed 18 March 2011) Corre, J. „Web Exclusive: Joe Corre, Agent Provocateur‟. [Online] Available at: http://theresident.greatbritishlife.co.uk/article/web-exclusive-joe-corre-agent-provocateur9149/ (Accessed 18 March 2011) Davies, E (2002) „When work demands an expensive uniform‟. [Online] Available at: http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article821182.ece Drapers- Gallagher, V. (2011) „Agent Provocateur plots expansion‟. [Online] Available at: http://www.drapersonline.com/news/lingerie/news/agent-provocateur-plotsexpansion/5021806.article (Accessed 18 March 2011) Duff, A. (2010) [Online] Available at: http://www.director.co.uk/MAGAZINE/2010/10_November/kim-winser-profile_64_03.html (Accessed 18 March 2011) Guardian 2009- „Watch Kylie Minogue in an Agent Provocateur ad‟. [Online] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2009/jan/26/kylie-minogue-agent-provocateur-ad Linked In- Available at: http://www.linkedin.com/company/agent-provocateur (Accessed 18 March 2011) Mintel 2011- Underwear- UK- February (2011) Mintel [Online] Available at: http://academic.mintel.com/sinatra/oxygen_academic/search_results/show&/display/id=545 466/display/id=566883?select_section=545466