Creative Strategy Manual

n e h p e t s ouse r p s stephensprouse creative brand strategy antonia salt b4004894

1

stephensprouse SPROUSEREVIVAL

2

3

Maybe if they could all be combined - art, rock, fashion. they were always my favourite things. stephen sprouse

4

e h p e t s ouse r p s ephen t s rous p s phen e t s ouse 5

CONTENTS 8 BRAND STRATEGY

20 COLLABORATIVE PARTNER RESEARCH

31 BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT

22 KNOW YOUR CONSUMER PERSONALLY

32 BRAND IDENTITY

11 DEFINING THE BRAND 12 BRAND ESSENCE

37 TONE OF VOICE 14 CONSUMERS

24 CONSUMER MOODBOARDS 39 BASIC ELEMENTS

15 CONSUMER RESEARCH

26 CUSTOMER PROFILES 40 TYPOGRAPHY

16 COLLABORATIVE PARTNER

30 BRAND POSITIONING MAP 42 COLOUR PALETTE

6

44 brand box 46 touchpoints 48 final thoughts 50 picture & illustration credits 51 appendices

7

BRAND STRATEGY From Rhode Island School of Design to Halston, Catwalk to store, Stephen Sprouse forever kept the consumers beliefs at heart. His values and vision defined the brand and created the legacy that outlined the 70’s and 80’s in fashion. The new brand essence features many of the things that Stephen would of wanted his brand to represent today. The Sprouse brand stands for being able to express yourself in whatever way you believe is BEING YOU. There is no stopping YOU in who YOU want to be.

The brand exudes confidence, colour and collaboration. Being vibrant and at the forefront of fashion is who we want to be and we want you to feel the same. The vision is to bring everyone together, regardless of gender, race, shape or style. We want every single person who consumes the brand to feel on top of the world in our garments.

8

9

10

defining the brand Stephen Sprouse was revived to represent individuals in a unique way, as a positive stance in modern society. To connect not only physically within garments, but emotionally to provide a more positive message in luxury fashion.

11

brand essence “too far is not far enough." outgoing extrovert vibrant Rebellious bubbly attentive sociable intimidating enthusiastic Energetic non-judgemental

12

13

consumers In order to establish the target consumer for Stephen Sprouse, market and trend research was an extremely important aspect of the revival. It was important to determine the luxury buying habits of consumers throughout the country and their favourite designer brands in order to choose a specific target market that was right for the brand, and ensure success.

Outcomes: Target Market - 19-35 Luxury deparment stores are becoming less popular with more people buying online Gucci were the most popular competitor celebrities and advertisments were a huge persuader to buy

14

determining a target consumer group

52%

spend ÂŁ250-ÂŁ500 a month on fashion

22 out of 40

stephensprouse

22-30 year olds own 10 or more designer items

more often than not people buy desinger brands because they see a celebrity wearing it or because of an advertisement

18% of the target market buy an item from a luxury brand every month

15

COLLABORATIVE PARTNER After determining the target market for the brand, we decided to chose a collaborative partner for the brand. As well as looking at buying habits in luxury fashion, we looked into the themes in popular TV shows, music and art in modern society. It was clear there was a sense of nostalgia when it came to all three of these aspects and we decided to take advantage of this to establish an emotional connection, brand to consumer.

When extensive research was completed, we decided that our collaborative partner for the 2020 revival is Noel Fielding. Firstly, Noel’s famous art work was very similar to that of Stephen Sprouse and Basquiat, from who he took huge inspiration. He had his comedy TV show ‘The Mighty Boosh’ which was a tremendous success from 1998-2003, in which he created fictional characters based on Basquiat paintings, showing a clear passion for 70’s/80’s art and fashion, linking greatly to previous Stephen Sprouse work. Recently becoming even more well known for being on the Channel Four programme, The Great British Bake Off, Noel will widen the audience for The Stephen Sprouse brand, and add a mainstream connection to the unique and vibrant brand. Not to mention, the various similarities in both physical looks and personality of Stephen himself. HIS STRONG SENSE OF WILD AND COLOURFUL FASHION MAKES HIM THE PERFECT COLLABORATOR FOR THE BRAND.

STEPHENSPROUSE X NOEL FIELDING

16

17

18

19

20

market research for collaborative partner The graphs on the opposite pages, determine the most popular TV Shows and music genres by the end of 2017. They were asked to hundreds of people that are in the decided target market age group in order to establish a real vision of who the ideal collaborative partner would be. Volunteers were randomly asked to state their favourite genre of music and TV show and then the top 100 answers were put into a chart to narrow the results down.

21

know the consumer personally Knowing the consumers needs personally is what we pride ourselves in at Stephen Sprouse. Collating data from individuals in the target market, enables us to understand what the generations want and need from luxury fashion. Fashion can influence the world in many negative ways, so we want to start showing luxury fashion POSITIVELY, by connecting with our customers on an emotionally and psychologically so they can get the best feeling from our products.

22

23

24

25

!

M A I L HEY IM

G N I K E I F SEL V EGAN R E Y V H O L P A K R G IP N O T O H P H T I W D E S L O OBSES L H C T I B F O T I AB

26

customer profile NAME: LIAM GILLIVER AGE: 21 GENDER: MALE SPENDING HABITS: SUBSTANTIAL STATUS: SINGLE OCCUPATION: JOURNALISM STUDENT

27

customer profile NAME: EMMA LAIRD AGE: 25 GENDER: FEMALE SPENDING HABITS: OVER-SPENDER STATUS: DATING OCCUPATION: MODEL

28

E EON M SO ME IL G N TA BRI K C O A C

NO

VE

GA

N 1 C FO OC RE M KT OD VE EL AI R L LIV NO D RIN EL IN G KE FI IN EL R HA LO DIN RR N G DO Y OB PO N SE T T SS ER ED LO VE R

EMMA LAIRD

?

LS AT A G Y RE M X WHE

29

HIGH PRICE

STEPHENSPROUSE

modern / edgy

classic / traditional

low PRICE

brand positioning map 30

BRAND POSITIONING STATEMENT The brand positioning map states clearly where the Stephen Sprouse brand will be in regards to other brands. Our identity will differentiate from others in a similar bracket as we promote self belief to the highest level and believe that our brand gives the ability for anyone to be themselves in whatever they choose to wear, no matter what gender, shape, size or race.

Our logo contains colour and two different font types which isn’t common in luxury brands, making us stand out from the crowd. Our competitors may offer similar styles of garments to us, but may not engage with consumers in an emotional and positive way, whilst making a stand against problematic societal issues such as, animal cruelty and political issues.

31

brand identity moodboards 32

33

brand identity When considering brand identity it was important for us to keep elements of heritage from Stephen Sprouse. The graffiti theme recurred throughout all of his designs, as he loved to ‘scrawl on anything he could get his hands on’. He always repeated words and quotes all over his designs, backdrops at photos shoots, makeup etc., so it was important to keep this element to bring a sense of nostalgia to previous consumers and also keep his legacy alive. He consistently used Day-Glo colours so this was automatically a theme for us to use in the revival. The orange fur coat was a statement piece in one of his first collections, and the Rocks on Mars collection featured aspects of ‘space’ and silver pieces, which we wanted to continue within the first 2020 collection. His last project before his passing, was working with NASA designing the space shuttle, therefore by including an element of space, it would be carrying on his work, into the future and beyond. We wanted all of these things from Stephens heritage to be included, but on a modern scale, including the use of polaroid pictures in photoshoots, invitations etc., which was a personal touch from his past. He always took polaroids of and with friends in his designs, such as Teri Toye, Debbie Harry and Andy Warhol.

The brand DNA will coincide perfectly with everything that our collaborative partner Noel Fielding, stands for. His colourful and confident fashion sense, exudes the Sprouse DNA, and his art work reflects the past and heritage of Sprouse himself and his passion for graffiti style art and fashion. Noel will be, in a way, a modern Stephen Sprouse, with all the positivity, passion and open mindedness needed in luxury fashion.

34

35

36

tone of voice Whether it be designing the website, creating Instagram posts or putting together packaging, a coherent tone of voice is needed to understand the brand identity and bring everything together in order for the brand to be successful. As stated previously, Stephen Sprouse prides itself on the ability to bring people together and make them feel confident in whatever the want to wear or whoever they want to be, but also make them feel independently confident in doing so. Ensuring that our designs, marketing and communication strategy is cohesive in everything we put into the brand, will ensure that our tone of voice is a positive, successful, passionate and confident one. It will show both consumers and competitors that we are certain, we are the strongest brand to take the streets of 2020.

37

38

basic elements Basic elements including colour palette and typography must be carefully considered when relaunching or reviving a brand. The following pages will help to clearly understand the guidelines in which Stephen Sprouse should follow when it comes to basic elements of the brand.

39

typography The graffiti style used in headlines, links perfectly to the graffiti theme throughout the Stephen Sprouse brand, and is used in the ‘Sprouse’ part of the logo to show heritage and nostalgia. The ‘Bebas Neue’ font is used to show statement and power. It creates an edgy feel for the brand and a modern, yet more professional vibe compared to ‘Fresh Marker’. Both fonts are unable to be used in lower case, adding to the ‘powerful’ stance.

40

headlines / titles: fresh marker ABCDEF abcdef 12345 . , ! ? : ; Subtitles / regular text: bebas neue ABCDEF abcdef 12345 .,!?:;

41

42

000000 c: 75 m: 68 y: 68 k:90

r: 0 g: 0 b: 0

F16321 c: 0 m: 76 y: 100 k: 0

r: 242 g: 99 b: 34

ffff00 c: 6 m: 0 y: 97 k: 0

r: 255 g: 255 b: 0

00fa04 c: 64 m: 0 y: 100 k: 0

r: 0 g: 250 b: 4

colour palette Black: Never goes out of fashion, traditional, appeals to the target consumer Orange: Statement colour in Sprouse heritage, extremely popular in recent years Yellow: A popular Day-Glo colour, fresh and modern Green: Additional Day-Glo colour, brings palette of neon colours together other colours may be used if in the ‘day-glo’ category e.g. neon pink

43

brand box The brand box compromises the following elements: A - No colour background B - ‘Stephen’ must always be in font ‘Bebas Neue’ and either black or white dependant on what colour backdrop it is placed on C - ‘Sprouse’ but always be in font ‘Fresh Marker’ and be orange D - The two words must always be next to each other with no space in between E - The orange line must go through ‘Stephen’ unless the logo is used in conjunction with the collaborative partner.

44

c

a

stephensprouse b

d e

stephensprouse ] x

x = height of brand logo

45

46

touchpoints Consumers were asked to chose out of eight touchpoints, which would influence them the most to buy a luxury product. As you can see, the most influential touch points were ‘Social Media accounts of the actual brand’ and ‘Social media posts from bloggers and influencers’. After gaining this research it has been decided that the revival of Stephen Sprouse will rely heavily on social media, especially Instagram and Twitter. A winking eye gif will be used to demonstrate a teaser campaign, with ‘glitching’ graffiti behind it, and the slogan ‘you missed me’ appearing at the same time. This will be used on Instagram, Twitter, New York billboards and various other places online and offline. A Stephen Sprouse app will be created where customers can sign up and get priority to garments prior to the launch. A snapchat filter will also be created which will be available all over the world, the week leading up to the launch, and include new elements on the day of the launch.

Print media will also be used, similar to online touch points, advertisements in magazines such as Vogue, Hunger, ID and more will be used to widen the audience of Stephen Sprouse. The hashtag #SS2020 will be used throughout all social media.

47

FINAL THOUGHTS this guide serves as a refrence to help effectively put together a design that is instantly recognised as stephen sprouse. please refer to brand book when completing a stephen sprouse design whether it be online or offline.

stephensprouse SPROUSEREVIVAL

48

49

photo credits & illustrations page 10: polaroids: Padilha, R. Padilha, M. (2009) The Stephen Sprouse Book: Images.

Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. page 15: infographic: antonia salt page 23: ‘rock on mars’ silver: pintrest: retrieved from: https://www.pinterest. co.uk/jonchanson/stephen-sprouse/?lp=true page 26: photo of liam gilliver: taken by emma laird page 29: photo of emma laird: taken by antonia salt page 30: brand positioning map: antonia salt page 45: brand box: antonia salt

50

Appendices page 15: determining a target market group

1. What age group do you belong to?

18 and under 19-21 22-25 26-30 31-35 35 + 2. How much do you spend on fashion each month?

Under £25

£25-£100

£100-£250

£250-£500

£500 + 3. How many designers items do you own?

1-5

6-10

11-20

21-30

My whole wardrobe is designer!!

None 4. How often do you buy luxury fashion / designer items?

Every month

Every few months

Once or twice a year

Not often at all

Never 5. How often do you go into luxury department stores such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols etc?

Every day

A couple of times a week

Every week

A few times a month

Every month 51

Every so often Once a year Never 6. Do you buy luxury products more online or in store? online in store 7. Who is your favourite designer from the list below?

Moschino Gucci Valentino Kenzo Fendi 8. How often do you buy a designer item because you’ve seen an advertisement / celebrity in it?

Never Sometimes Often More than often Always It is the only reason I buy designer PAGE 20: FAVOURITE TV SHOW AND MUSIC GENRE OF 2017 1. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE TV SHOW OF 2017?

2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE GENRE OF MUSIC TO LISTEN TO? PAGE 46: INFLUENTIAL TOUCH POINTS 1.Are you more influenced to buy something by: (chose up to 3) Social Media accounts of the actual brand Social Media posts from bloggers and influencers Blogs Affiliate advertising Emails Brand Website In store advertisements Window displays 52

stephensprouse SPROUSEREVIVAL

53

STEPHENSPROUSE X NOEL FIELDING

54