paloma — wool
paloma — wool
1 2 M O N T H P R C A M PA I G N Ashton Hargreaves HAR15444270 Fashion PR and Communication: Year 3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY -
The following document is a 12-month PR Campaign for the Barcelona based brand Paloma Wool. This document focuses on expanding Paloma Wool’s accessibility within the UK womenswear market to become a recognisable and established brand. The first part consists of an introductory summary about the fashion label as well as the extensive research that has been conducted within the internal and external environments of the brand to determine key issues and opportunities to deliver a successful campaign. The second part is dedicated to the strategies that will be implemented to reach and achieve the aim and objectives.
Paloma Wool is my name and the name of this project, which is about getting dressed and about space or ideas that are created around the act of getting dressed.
Paloma Wool es mi nombre y el nombre de este proyecto. Un proyecto sobre vestirse y el espacio y las ideas que se crean alredor del acto de vestire.
CONTENTS -
About Values Communication Consumer Profiles Competitors Trends Aims & Objectives Strategy Tactics Timeline Appendix Bibliography
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ABOUT -
Paloma Lanna born 1989 in San Sebastian, Spain grew her passion for design from being immersed into the fashion industry at a young age. The daughter of Paloma Santaolla and Miguel Lanna, founders of Catalonian womenswear brand Nice Things, often followed her parents around the globe at work visiting suppliers and observing trends. Paloma studied Business Management at ESADE in Barcelona, Spain rather than choosing a fashion design pathway due to much discouragement and the influence of her parents wanting her to gain practical knowledge on how to run a successful business. Paloma went on to set up her own multidisciplinary fashion project Paloma Wool which launched in 2014 with the ambition to be more than just a clothing label and detach itself from fashion industry norms.
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“My parents took me everywhere when I was little. We travelled to China, New York, and Milan; visiting suppliers and observing the trends. All of this taught me so much about fashion.� - The Great Discontent Interview, 2018.
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VALU E S -
By resisting the rules of the fashion industry, Paloma Wool is an advocate within the practice of slow fashion and does not conform to the fashion designer ideal of producing collections for specific seasons, mass production and slashed discounted prices. Collections are launched on palomawool.com monthly in limited quantities that have been prior visualised in the Paloma Wool studio based in El Poblenou, Barcelona. The small team of creative women keep the brand as sustainable as possible to help support the local economy. As Paloma describes her brand as more than just a fashion label, but a multi-disciplinary fashion project, she values creativity and artistic exploration. The crafted seasonal-less designs frequently featured in an assortment of muted organic colour ways and timeless silhouettes from clothes, shoes, jewellery and accessories are situated alongside limited edition capsule collections produced often in collaboration with other young artists and curated as a true representation of Paloma’s own personal style which further explores the relationship between fashion, art and photography. Paloma Wool documents diversity by selecting models from different ethnic backgrounds to represent all women. The celebration of women and sisterhood is a key theme that is expressed through showcasing natural, unedited photographs of women who model the products. Paloma Wool also values gender fluidity, as the brand is made accessible for men to wear. Specific items are marketed and merchandised on the website as unisex titled under the category ‘For Men Too’.
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“ I’m really interested in showing women naturally. I don’t retouch photos. I take photos of models but also of my friends, because I am trying to express that we are all beautiful the way we are. ” - The Great Discontent Interview, 2018.
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I N T E R NAL ANALYS I S -
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C O M M U N I CAT I O N -
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SOCIAL MEDIA -
Paloma Wool communicates with the audience by having an active online presence on various social media accounts and an established mailing list. As the brand does not have a psychical retail space, connecting with customers online is essential. With a growing following of 267k followers and high engagement rates of likes, comments and shares, the most popular form of communication Paloma Wool uses to attract and engage with the audience is through using the Instagram account @palomawool. The brands personality is positively reflected on their inspiring Instagram page which gets updated daily, consisting of content featuring new products photographed on film to 24 hour stories of insights into the personal life of the founder, Paloma Lanna. As Instagram is an app-based platform and only accessible to people with a mobile device, which makes up most of the current Paloma Wool audience, web based sites Pinterest, Facebook and Vimeo are other forms of communication the brand is active on. The icon for all the channels is a dark purple and white dashed graphic image featuring a bold white hyphen in the centre, which is also attached as a label to all items of clothing. Therefore, this helps to promote branding whilst having a cohesive brand essence.
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“I like to think of things as a whole, where each part of the process, from the initial idea to the final picture we post on Instagram is relevant to each other.� - Liberty London interview, 2018.
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WEBSITE The clean and simplistic Paloma Wool website which is designed by Querida Studio, allows easy access and navigation both on desktop and mobile view along with being coherent with the brands essence. Potential customers can quickly establish what the brand is about on the direct- to –consumer website and find products that are currently available as easily as finding past projects and collaborations. Throughout the whole experience of the checkout process, keeping customers updated with tracking information and the acquired item(s) eventually being delivered, Paloma Wool’s consistent theme of colours, packaging and form of communication is very customer friendly. The positive customer experience helps to build relationships and brand loyalty. The key brand value of sustainability is also presented clearly to the customer after buying from the website as items are labelled to make them aware that the products have not been apart of mass production. ‘There are very few pieces like the one in your hands. It is part of an idea, not a collection.’ This makes the brand feel more personal by making the customer value their purchase more.
palomawool.com
paloma wool is a project on photography, clothing, art and other experiments. There are very few pieces like the one in your hands. It is part of an idea, not a collection. Made in Barcelona.
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CONSUMER PROFILES -
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The Paloma Wool target consumer can be split into 3 sub-groups. The largest sub-group is the direct target audience which is made up of clients aged between 18-26 years old and best described by Paloma in Vogue as ‘young, sensitive girls, who value the garment beyond the action of wearing it.’ This type of consumer is typically university-educated who is active on social media where they choose to express themselves through content involving fashion, art and music. Another popular theme within this millenial demographic is buying and photographing house-plants. As they are most likely to be situated within a city, they choose to create their own urban jungle in their flats. As well as this, this sub-group is socially aware of events that are happening globally for example, issues surrounding sustainability. Whilst the Paloma Wool consumer values quality produced items to justify paying a higher price, they are also very likely to purchase second-hand, vintage clothing over mass-produced fast fashion for environmental and social reasons.
2. The second target consumer is women aged between 27- 45 years old who have a strong sense of their own personal style. This sub-group is attracted to the brand by its versatile look and colours. They also have a larger flexible income at a mid-upper level, making the brand more accessible to own. Similarly to the direct target audience, this woman likes to be informed about social affairs through reading newspapers and lifestyle based media often, as well as additionally reading fashion and interior magazines.
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The smallest Paloma Wool target consumer sitaued within the UK, is a sub-group made up of men who are aged between 20- 35 years old. They are most likely to work in an creative environment and live in a city or surrounding area. Whilst being active on social media, they enjoy reading lifestyle, financial and music platforms based on print or digital media This sub-group made up of males, are not afraid of the notions that surround masculinity as they refer to themselves as feminists who believe in gender fluidity and equal rights for women. They are driven to the brand by the unisex pieces made available in neutral colours. 24
COMPETITORS -
TARGET Reformation Mansur Gavriel Ganni EMERGING Rejina Pyo LOQ STAUD Shrimps
The direct, emerging and target competitors in the UK womenswear market all have reasonable similarities to Paloma Wool. The main focus is placed on the aesthetic and look of the clothing made available but the key differences is how each brand executes the delivery of the product to consumers, this may be in-stores, online or how they engage with their audience over social media platforms. & Other Stories is a direct competitor due to the similar styles of clothing and accessories available, the Paloma Wool customer is also likely to browse and shop here. Unlike Paloma Wool, they have a very recognisable brand presence with 12 stores in UK including a flagship in London. Despite the fact that on the website & Other Stories state sustainability is valued by manufacturing responsibly, this can be seen as a contradiction as items are sold commercially through mass production with new styles made available to buy weekly. Therefore, this does not translate as authentically with the audience.
DIRECT Nanushka & Other Stories House of Sunny YMC & Other StorieS / SS19 Navy High Waist Corduroy Trousers ÂŁ59
Rejina Pyo is also an emerging competitor in relation to Paloma Wool. Korean designer Rejina Pyo founded her namesake label in 2013 made up of effortless and minimal clothing with a conceptual feminine aesthetic and describes the label as a contemporary fashion brand built upon a philosophy that explores dressing as an everyday phenomenon, for women all over the world. Promoting quick or short-term trends is not a quality the brand is concerned with. Like Paloma Wool, Rejina Pyo does not have a permanent retail space. Although the brand is available to try on and purchase in-store from various retailers in the UK such as Liberty, Browns and Selfridges. The womenswear brand is also available on online retailers; Farfetch, My Theresa and Net-A-Porter which suits its mid-upper level price range. The content on Instagram account @rejinapyo is made up of inspirations photographs of art sculptures and interiors situated next to runway and e-commerce photographs of the collection.
Rejina Pyo / SS19 Madison Dress Cotton Linen Green ÂŁ495
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“I don’t believe in fashion seasons autumn/winter or spring/summer... I don’t believe in sales, or things like Black Friday. I believe that pieces have a value, and that this value can’t be changed by time.” - Liberty Interview, 2018.
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E X T E R NAL ANALYS I S -
TRENDS -
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Despite the fact Paloma Wool is not a trend- led brand, and focuses on timeless shilouttes, items from capsule collections are regularly featured on WGSN trend boards, such as line drawing and neutral colours. The key trends that are presented throughout the brands personality are sustainability, artistic direction and feminism. This keeps the brand relevant and reaches out to an audience to resonate with them in an authentic way in comparision with other competitor brands who may only use trends to sell products without reflecting what it is about.
Sustainablity Black Friday - now one of the biggest retail days of the year in Europe and worldwide leads consumers to mindlessly buy for discounted prices. In response to increased consumption, many brands are supporting a backlash against the event with ‘buy nothing’ hashtags and statements about sustainability. Paloma Wool posted an image on Instagram to notify her following she does believe in Black Friday as good quality products should be valued.
Feminism As some fashion brands tap into ‘feminism’ as a commerical trend to appeal to an audience who care about brand values, Paloma Wool portrays itself authentically by supporting women throughout the project. Paloma acknowledges all women, from choosing models with different body shapes and race to represent all women. Womanhood and friendship is also presetened clearly within the artisic womenwear fashion label.
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AIMS & OBJECTIVES -
ISSUES & OPPORTUNITIES Research found numerous issues and opportunities, which has the potential for Paloma Wool to act upon. As observed throughout the internal situation analysis, Paloma Wool’s main issue is having no permanent retail space anywhere in the world. After the success of the pop-up concession at Liberty London the brand is essentially missing out on the opportunity to increase new potential customers who can discover the brand offline or for the established consumer audiences to personally have an interaction with to help build brand loyalty and drive sales. As Paloma Wool is a relatively emerging brand that is less than 5 years old, there is an opportunity to become more recognisable in the countries that already have an existing following. By gaining press coverage in the past from media outlets that have high readerships and an influential voice in the industry, Paloma Wool can help build relationships that align with the brand to communicate to readers.
Aim To position Paloma Wool as a relevant contemporary fashion label in the UK womenswear market.
Objectives To increase brand awareness by securing Paloma Wool’s collection on a UK based fashion e-retailer. Generate 10 pieces of UK press coverage on print and digital media over a 12 month period. Increase social media following by 30% by promoting a positive brand image with focus on feminism and gender fluidity.
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Strategy In order to implement Paloma Wool officially as a noticeably recognisable brand aesthetic in the UK over a 12-month period, the multidisciplinary fashion project will aim to become more accessible through launching the current collection and offerings to buy on an international established UK based retailer as well as hosting events aimed at the desired target audience. Whilst attaining a relevant and consistent social media presence with the current following, Paloma Wool will target a wider audience through collaborations and gifting key influencers whose values and style correspond harmoniously with the fashion label. Partnering with a unique UK based artist to create a limited edition product that can be exclusively launched in the UK will aim to increase awareness of the collaboration and also generate media coverage in a new sector. Founder Paloma Lanna’s 30th birthday will be also be utilised approaching the end of the 12 month period as a vehicle to reach out to consumers and allow the brand to be more attainable.
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TAC T I C S -
tactic / no. 1 part 1
Press Event In Conversation with Paloma Wool Location: 5 Carlos Place, Floor 2 Mayfair, London W1K 3AP Date: Thursday 11th April 2019 Time: 4.00PM (BST)
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The first event of the 12-month PR campaign is the launch of Paloma Wool’s current Spring collection being sold on online retailer MATCHESFASHION.COM. The press event will be held in the Matches Fashion five-storey townhouse on Floor 2 that is made as a permanent space for events to connect the physical and digital world. The guest list made up of relevant press from fashion, business and lifestyle publications as well as London- centric media will first start to arrive at the townhouse at 4.00PM. Floor 2 will be display items that will are available to buy from the Spring collection as well as being decorated in floral flower arrangements with a table in the middle of the room presenting a fusion of British and Spanish food and drink for guests to serve themselves. At 4.30PM, founder Paloma Lanna will begin the in-depth conversation to the room of press, informing them about her entrepreneurship, behind the scenes of the brands creative process, ethos as well as discussing why Matches is an organic partnership where she wants her clothing to be available to buy. Whilst giving a personal insight into her brand, Paloma will be recorded for content on Matches Fashion Instagram platform and YouTube Account. The aim of this tactic is to reach the objective to increase brand awareness by securing Paloma Wool’s collection on a UK based fashion e-retailer. This will make the brand more visible and hope to result in the press invited and other press who have took notice of the event to publish to their readership. Whilst at the launch, the press will also be able to ask Paloma direct questions themselves for exclusive information. Purchasing Paloma Wool on MATCHESFASHION.COM will provide London, UK customers with the option of a 90-minute delivery time for select postcodes.
Matches Fashion App x Paloma Wool
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tactic / no. 1 part 2
INFLUENCERS @camillecharriere @brittanybathgate @monikh @alicecatherine
To execute the strategy, the second part of the MATCHESFASHION.COM x Paloma Wool launch will be gifting 4 female social media influencers from the UK. Gifting product directly to the selected influencers with notable followings and who also align with the brands essence will bring extra engagement to the brand through Instagram traffic. Influencers will be informed to promote the launch by capturing and sharing the experience of them unboxing gifted items on the day of the launch whilst including the tags @palomawool and @matchesfashion.
251.85k REACH
107.2K REACH
735.25K REACH
196. 83K REACH
Instagram Stories #AD
tactic / no. 2
The aim of the second tactic is to produce a collaboration with Paloma Wool and young, British artist Luke-Edward Hall. His colourful aesthetic that is informed by a love of history and appreciation of beauty with illustrations in pastel hues corresponds with Paloma Wools existing essence, resulting in an organic collaboration. The collaborative project will involve will involve the online launch of limited edition silk scarfs and a small collection of 50 individually hand illustrated ceramic vases which portray Paloma Wools collection in Luke’s signature line drawings. The scarfs and vases will be photographed by Paloma in her distinct film aesthetic to be sold exclusively on the brands website, earlier teased by a newsletter sent out to the brands current mailing list. To promote the collaboration, a press release will be sent to relevant media sources for immediate release on the day of the launch. The images included will be of the products and portrait images of Luke styled in Paloma Wool’s menswear pieces. The outcome of Tactic 2 is to gain the attention of both fashion and non- fashion based UK media. The collaboration will attract a wider audience to Paloma Wool from LukeEdward Halls growing following as well as an audience who are interested in the combination of fashion, art and interiors. Released 9.00AM (BST) Friday 5th July 2019.
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Collaboration Branding
Hand Illustrated Cermanic Vase 1/50 ÂŁ200
Hand Illustrated Silk Scarf 1/300 ÂŁ90
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Room 1
Room 2
Enterance
tactic / no. 3 Tactic 3 will be a pop-up in a hired gallery event space in central London by Paloma Wool. Based in Shoreditch, a heavily populated area of creatives, this pop-up will aim to attract the target audience directly. The pop-up event will showcase Paloma’s series of film photography from some of her most new and interesting work as well short videos. Another element of the pop-up will the digital personalisation station where visitors can pay £40 to customise their own Paloma Wool tee from choosing the brands graphics, illustrations and photographs to drag and move around on the touch-screen to create their desired design and have the tee instantly printed to wear. A small concessions corner will also be presented in the pop-up. This is where visitors can buy exclusive postcards featuring Paloma Wool’s photography, branded tote bags and pre-existing graphic t-shirts that are also currently available to buy on palomawool.com. The opening night of the event will be on Thursday 17th October at 7pm – 9.30pm. Only people on the guest list will be able to attend the opening, which will consist of the Paloma Wool team from Barcelona, friends of the brand and London centric media to help reach aim of having a bigger presence in the UK. Press will be sent e-invites a month before. The following days, Friday 18th – Sunday 20th, the pop-up will be open to the public for free within the hours 11am- 6pm. This is an opportunity for Paloma Wool to expand the audience through personal interaction, nearly a year after her first retail pop-up in Liberty.
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tactic / no. 4
The last event within the 12- month campaign will be towards the end of the year. Paloma Wool turns 30 years old on 5th Decemeber 2019. To capitalise on this opportunity as well as celebrating her and her day of birth, free international shipping will be made available for the 24-hour period. Tactic 4 involves an email campaign which will involve a series of images posted on the brands Instagram page to direct the audience to sign up to the brands mailing list to receive an email with the promotional code that will entitle them to free shipping. The free shipping incentive for 24 hours will make the brand more accessible worldwide and help reach the aim to target the UK consumer. Customers who sign up to the newsletter to gain the promotional code will also be on the Paloma Wool mailing list for future emails that notify them on new stock that is available and on going projects. As well as this, customer loyalty with the brand is also a factor that is built. Measuring the results of this tactic will be through measuring the increase of numbers placed within the UK demographic.
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12 M O N T H T I M E L I N E - 2019
JAN
Newsletters
FEB
MAR
JULY
AUG 7th March International Womens day post
SEPT
Send out guest invites for matchesfashion.com launch
APRIL 11th April matchesfashion.com launch
MAY
JUNE
Start working on collab with Luke Edward- Hall
OCT
5th July Luke Edward-Hall collaboration immediate press release
Newsletters
First autumn capsule collection pieces available 1st October Send out media invites for popup opening night 17th- 20th October London Pop-Up
NOV
DEC
22nd November Black Friday Boycott post
5th December Paloma Lanna’s 30th birthday
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APPENDIX Tactic no. 1 guestlist
BIBLIOGRAPHY Appear Hear (2019) Rent a space. Available at: https://www.appearhere.co.uk/spaces/redchurch-street-shoreditch-the-glass-front-shop (Accessed: 15 April 2019). Abraham, T . (2017) Matchesfashion Announces New London Townhouse Retail Concept. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/ articles/news-analysis/matchesfashion-announces-new-london-townhouse-retail-concept (Accessed: 2 January 2019). Bannerman, S (2017) How Did Paloma Wool Become The UK’s Cult Fashion Brand? Available at: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/england/london/articles/how-did-paloma- wool-become-the-uks-cult-fashion-brand/ (Accessed: 19 November 2018). Borrelli- Persson, Laird . (2019) Nanushka Fall 2019. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2019-menswear/nanushka (Accessed: 5 May 2019). Catherine, A (2017) Paloma Wool. Available at: http://www.alicecatherine.com/2017/10/06/ paloma-wool/ (Accessed: 22 November 2018). ELLE Italia (2017) Camicia bianca addio! È il momento della naked shirt . Available at: https://www.elle.com/it/moda/a4775/camicia-bianca-tendenza-paloma-wool/ (Accessed: 19 November 2018). The Great Discontent. 2018. Paloma Lanna on The Great Discontent (TGD). Available at: https://thegreatdiscontent.com/interview/paloma-lanna. (Accessed 25 November 2018). Kinfolk. 2017. Paloma Lanna – Kinfolk. Available at: https://kinfolk.com/paloma-lanna/.(Accessed 05 November 2018). Liberty London (2018) Sisterhood: Paloma Wool. Available at: https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/features/fashion/interview-paloma-wool. htm (Accessed: 11 November 2018). Matches Fashion (2019) 5 Carlos Place. Available at: https://www.matchesfashion.com/5carlosplace(Accessed: 1 February 2019). Miss Moss (2015) Paloma Wool: Collection No. 5. Available at: http://www.missmoss. co.za/2015/12/15/paloma-wool-collection-no-5/ (Accessed: 11 November 2018). Need Supply Co. (2018) Inside The Season: Paloma Wool. Available at: https://needsupply. com/editorials/inside-the-season-paloma-wool (Accessed: 05 November 2018).
Nice Things (2019) About Us. Available at: https://www.nicethingspalomas.com/eu_en/about-us/ (Accessed: 27 November 2018). Not Just a Label (2018) col.7- Bathing Women Available at: https://www.notjustalabel.com/ collection/hola7/col7-bathing-women (Accessed: 22 November 2018). Paloma Wool. 2018. Paloma Wool. Available at: https://palomawool.com. (Accessed 25 November 2018). Pinterest (2018) Paloma Wool. Available at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/palomawool/palo- ma-wool/ (Accessed/downloaded: 5 November 2018). Pratt, R (2013) The Business of Fashion Books. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion. com/articles/intelligence/the-business-of-fashionbooks (Accessed: 22 November 2018). Querida. 2018. Querida — Paloma Wool. Available at: http://www.querida.si/paloma-wool-web- site. (Accessed 01 November 2018). Rejina Pyo (2019) About. Available at: https://rejinapyo.com/pages/about (Accessed: 10 March 2019). Somoza, L (2014) New Talents Made in Spain. Available at: https://www.elle.com/es/moda/tendencias/news/g594646/disenadores-emergentesmade-in-spain/?slide=12 (Accessed: 9 March 2019). Vogue.com (2017) New Cool- Girl Labels Rede ning SoCal Style. Available at: https://www. vogue.com/article/meet-the-3-cool-girl-labels-in-la (Accessed: 05 November 2018). WGSN (2018) Sustainability Bulletin. Available at: www-wgsn-com.arts.idm.oclc.org (Accessed: 1 February 2019). WGSN (2018) Swimwear Print & Pattern A/W 19/20. Available at: https://www-wgsn-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/content/board_viewer/#/81372/page/3 (Accessed: 5 May 2019). WGSN (2018) Prints & Graphics A/W 18/19. Available at: https://www-wgsn-com.arts.idm.oclc.org/content/board_viewer/#/70609/page/2 (Accessed: 5 May 2019). Zheng, S. (2016) Interview with Paloma Wool - A Modern Woman’s Closet. Available at: http:// www.stellazheng.com/interview-with-paloma-wool-a-modern-womans-closet/ (Accessed: 01 November 2018).