RESEARCH FOLDER BY ARUSHI CARLRA
CONTENTS: PART ONE About Haeckels
Haeckels: The Brand 8 The Two Faces of the Brand 9 The Haeckels Way 10-11 About Margate 12-13 Haeckels Consumer 14-17
Product Analysis
Product Packaging 22-23 Skin-care Range 24 Candles & Fragrances 25
Flagship Store & London Stockists
Flagship Store in Margate 28-29 London Stockists 30-37
Initiatives
Timeline 40-41 Highlighted Inititiatives 42-59
Communication Audit
Website Analysis 62-69 Instagram 70-73 Facebook 74-75 Twitter 76 Vimeo 77
Past Press Coverage
80-88
Competitors
Aesop 92-95 Le Labo 96-97 Seaweed Competitors 98-99
PESTEL Analysis SWOT Analysis
102-107 110-111
Interview
114-119
Trend Research
Hipsterism Authenticity: The Real Thing Locavore Sustainability Sustainable Beauty The Rise of Wellness Tourism
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122 123 124 125 126 127
CONTENTS: PART TWO Tactic #1: The Haeckels Spa
Other Skin-care Brands with Treatment Rooms Potential Partners Making the Treatment Card Press Launch Break-Down Invitees Justification for Press Justification for Budget
132-135 136-141 142-143 144-146 147-148 149-151 152-153
Tactic #2: TANK Conference with Parley & Dazed Media
Research into Conferences that Already Exist 156-161 Potential Partners 162-167 Potential Media Partner 168-173 Location: Why Margate? 174 Research into Marine Planning in Thanet 175 Justification for Locations 176-179 Attendees 180-181 Justification for Press 182-183 Justification for Budget 184-185
Tactic #3: Website Re-Design
Research into Minimalistic Brands and Their Websites Justification for Budget
188-196 197
Tactic #4: Launch of Monthly Newsletter
Research into Newsletters Potential Guest Writers Justification for Budget
200-206 208-211 212
Tactic #5: Haeckels X MyCoocoon Collaboration for LDF 2017
Past Collaborations at LDF Potential Collaborators Location to Exhibit Open Day Justification for Press Justification for Budget
216-217 218-223 224-225 226-227 228-231 232
Overall Justifcation for Tactics
233
“How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is clearly Ocean.� - Arthur C. Clarke 3
PART ONE:
BACKGROUND RESEARCH
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ABOUT HAECKELS
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Haeckels: The Brand Haeckels was founded in 2012 by Dom Bridges, a filmmaker by trade and a coastal enthusiast by choice. The idea for the brand came from Bridges trying to find a solution to one of Margate’s most prominent issues – the smell created by the excess seaweed that lands on it’s beaches every year. Having spent many years in parts of Asia where seaweed is a staple ingredient in people’s diets and within their cosmetics, he decided to use what he knew to create products from the variety of seaweed found on the local coasts. Bridges began researching, and found out that bladderwrack is an ingredient used in some of the most premium skin-care products; it also happens to be found in abundance on the Margate coast. Bridges began experimenting within the walls of his own home, creating seaweed soap and then sailor’s beard oil (Garratt, 2015). As the interest in his products grew, his wife suggested he move into a bigger space dedicated to the purpose (Thechicgeek.co.uk, 2015). As a result of this, in 2013 Haeckels opened its only stand-alone store at 18 Cliftonville, Margate. The name Haeckels is a nod to Ernst Haeckels, the famous German botanist and artist, who was the first to document all seaweed varieties. Bridges had admired Haeckels’ work when he was still studying, and found it fitting, as the brand used seaweed as their base ingredient (Pursley, 2016).
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The Two Faces of Haeckels Both Dom Bridges, the founder of Haeckels, and Alexander Verier, the brand director of Haeckels seem to really embody the brand that Bridges has cultivated. These men devote their life to spread the word about the brand through being two of the most identifiable features (other than the products themselves) that are part of the brand Dom Bridges – Founder of Haeckels: Bridges began his career as a filmmaker, working at ad agencies and shooting content across the world. On his trips around Japan and other Asian countries, he picked up a habit of snacking on seaweed as a way to shift away from smoking cigarettes (Garratt, 2015) which he then translated into the concept behind Haeckels when he moved to Margate with his wife. As an active beach warden and he has now given up that aspect of his life to focus on developing the brand he decided to build based on what he learnt while working. Alexander Verier – Brand Director of Haeckels: Before joining the compact Haeckels team in 2014, Verier was Editor of Brink Magazine and Apparel, an initiative that he began himself in Margate, Kent (The Curion Margate, 2013). In 2014, he was appointed as the Brand Manager of Haeckels until he got promoted a year later. Verier has slightly taken over Bridges’ role being the face of the brand. He handles interviews and is seen in brand content, for example he is the main subject to the moving image that Haeckels have currently displayed on the homepage before the actual website.
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The Haeckels Way: The Ocean From the beginning, the ocean had always been a focal point for Bridges and the rest of the Haeckels team. With Haeckels’ home town, Margate, being surrounded by some of the most interesting coasts in the UK, it is not only a great selling point for the brand, it also acts as a way to build on ideas around community. Bridges likes to incorporate the beach into bringing the Margate community together. For example, the brand has hosted and advertises beach clean-ups regularly to get locals involved in activities that keep the town busy and help preserve their beautiful surroundings (Wolf, 2014). Haeckels also set up a crowd-fund to bring the Sea Bathing Machine to Margate beaches. The initiative gained the necessary £30,000 of funding in only 40 days of being live (Kickstarter, 2014), which depicts that the Margate community is ready to support local projects to help the town thrive. The creation of Sea Bathing Machines not only provides jobs for locals, it brings crowds of people over to Margate to experience this long-gone tradition and helps support the small town’s economy (Inside Out London, 2016). Other than building a community around the ocean, all of Haeckels’ skin-care products are produced with thalassotherapy in mind. Thalassotherapy comes from the Greek word ‘Thalassa’ which means the sea (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016) and involves using seaweed, seawater and other sea-found components to create medical treatments for people to use. As of October 2016, Haeckels has added a Thalassotherapy room to the back of their flagship store to give consumers the chance to experience massages, facials, amongst treatments that thalassotherapy experts proceed with using products provided by Haeckels (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
“The seaweed backs up in the harbour and makes quite a smell. Everyone moans about it and I just figured it would be interesting to turn a negative into a positive.” - Dom Bridges (to FT.com) Founder of Haeckels
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Create a very telling store space that speaks about what the brand stands for. Uses an intelligent and compassionate tone on social Trendy platforms Simplistic Has an engaging store space located in LocallyCultural the brand’’s sourced founding town seaweed used in products Soothing
Creating experiences like the therapy rooms and the Engaging sauna, for consumers to interact with Active
Green
Celebrating the English coast
Intimate connection with the Ocean Thalassotherapy is a large component
Natural Sustainable Un-gendered Healthy Living “Use-what-you-have”
Friendly customer service in the Educated flagship store
Intimate
Collaborations Has a good with brands Positive All Conservation variety of that enable ingredients Inspirational of the Ocean visual material them to tap are locallyis the key (imagery, into different sourced where possible videos) for markets Giving consumers to Cool Creating a converstation about look at sustainability within the beauty Creating a Pro-Conservation industry brand that is Rejuvenating product-centric All products are and that does Creative unisex not need an added lifestyle, it is already Calming Innovative present. Every product considers sustainability and conservation at its core
The Haeckels Way: Brand Personality In order to determine Haeckels’ brand personality, Jennifer Aaker’s model of the Five Dimensions of Brand Personality is used. Although it is clear, that brands in modern times do not solely fit under one category, it is worth using this model as a starting point to start engaging with ideas of personality around the brand. If Haeckels had to be classified using this model, it would be a combination of the dimensions of sincerity, excitement, and competence (Aaker,1997). This would be because the brand is true to its roots and has a clear understanding of who they are and how they want to grow. They are unique in that they have one of two licenses to source the seaweed on the English coast, which adds to their originality and what might draw consumers into the brand.
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About Margate: The Shoreditch-on-Sea On the coast of the United Kingdom, about an hour and a half
away from the capital, lies a small seaside town called Margate. Before 2011, Margate was considered a provincial town with
political issues surrounding race and culture dominating every conversation.
But in 2011, with the introduction of the Turner Contemporary
Gallery, Margate suddenly became the new place to be and is now known as the “Shoreditch-on-sea” (Smith, 2015). During my trip
to Margate, I noticed a number of elements incorporated into the
town that signified its love for the arts, apart from the obvious – the Turner Contemporary. Firstly, there is a lot of colourful graffiti
donning the walls of many buildings in Margate, these pieces of art range from cartoon characters to interesting lettering. There were also various art exhibits placed around the town, for
example, there were poems on plaques that stood a few hundred metres from the train station – so one of the first things you may see as you enter Margate is an art installation.
The town had an extremely nostalgic feel to it, with vintage logos propped up outside stores and large posters put up on the street to advertise events and happenings in the town. The other
focal point to all this nostalgia is Dreamland, the fun fair that was
re-introduced to the town to liven it up and give Margate a point of interest for people within the UK to come to visit. With the revival
of Dreamland, it can be assumed that the town wanted to create a buzz around itself by doing something unique.
Haeckels has been a major player in building Margate’s reputation towards other UK nations. Being native to Margate and infiltrating the bigger cities has given every city-dweller a new addition to
their list of places to see. In recent years, there has been a huge population of young creatives that resided in East London, who
have re-located to Margate in search for a quaint life away from
the hustle of the city that emits culture and beautiful landscapes.
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The Haeckels Consumer
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“They’re urban bohemians who help each other out, who have this desire to produce and consume in alternative ways” Lisa Attia (to BBC One - Inside Out London) Commercial Director at Le Bon Marche
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The Haeckels Consumer Haeckels is a brand that has a very specific ideal consumer, but the kinds of people that actually buy into the brand vary. The ideal Haeckels consumer would embody all the qualities of what we call hipsters today.
According to Peter York, the modern day hipster of London would reside in areas around East London, as Shoreditch is the main
cultivator of hipsterism (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016). In the last five years, another place which has become concentrated with hipster culture is Margate, Kent. This is because more thirty year olds from creative industries in London are fed up of high living costs and are living happier lives near the sea (Inside Out London, 2016) – Margate also happens to be where Haeckels was founded. Although the hipster culture is quick to be judged, there is more to it than just beards and bicycles. There is a want to lead lives
that are more meaningful and take a step back from the industrialised world of meaningless consumption (Pfeiffer, 2015).
Below are a list of characteristics that depict who Haeckels’ ideal consumer is:
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They are conscious in what they purchase and its impact on the planet. The do not create, but rather they “curate, collect, and gather” (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016) pieces from considered time period that they know about and have researched into. The Haeckels consumer is sustainable in their ways, and are particular about what they buy. Most of them would be entrepreneurs that have a background in a creative trade, hence many of them spend their days in independent coffee and tea shops, working on building their businesses (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016). Other than that, to continue with being sustainable creatures, Haeckels consumers probably ride bicycles where possible, otherwise they opt into public transport, as to not add to the planet’s carbon footprint (Thorpe, 2015). Many men in this subculture like to grow out their facial hair as a symbol of “rustic masculinity” that men in previous decades would have donned when they did not have access to grooming facilities and being involved with manual labour jobs (Thorpe, 2015). In terms of food, the Haeckels consumer would not be so picky with their food, but would prefer to eat organic or locally- sourced meals. Eating organic, does not mean that they are vegetarian, but they could be. Coffee and tea shops are at the “centre of their world” (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016) and they will pay high prices for coffee which is involved in the farm-to-table trend of coming straight from the source rather than bought from a supermarket or third parties (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016).
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The Haeckels Consumer Although Haeckels seems to have a very specific consumer, as mentioned on the page above, it is interesting to look at who actually buys into their product. Due to the fact that Haeckels does not have a flagship store in London, it was not an option for me to stand outside the store and ask people about their experience with the brand. Instead I conducted research through identifying people who tagged Haeckels in images on Instagram. Although more than 20 direct messages were sent out, only seven people responded; their answers have been recorded on the table on the next page. It was interesting to learn that three out of the seven people that responded had never bought or used Haeckels products, but they still liked the brand for what it was – their brand story, their production values, and the fact that they were local and handmade for the most part. Only one of the seven people that responded was male, which was surprising since many of Haeckels’ initiatives seem more attractive to men than women. Although seven people is too small of a sample size to have a good understanding of the Haeckels consumer, it provided some insight into real people that know about the brand and like what they are selling.
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PRODUCT ANALYSIS
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Product Packaging All Haeckels products are very considered in the way that they
are packaged. The brand continues with the science laboratory
aesthetic by having all their bottled products in apothecary-style,
tinted glass bottles. Each bottle is laser-etched with the logo, the product name and the ingredients.
As Haeckels pride themselves on being a sustainable brand, they make sure that they reflect their beliefs through the packaging of their products; none of their bottled products are fitted with hand pumps because as Bridges refuses to let Haeckels go against
what it stands for, as an “ocean-wise brand” and litter the ocean
with more plastic particles (Singer, 2016). Other aspects include offering 25% off to buyers that bring their bottles back to be re-filled.
As of now, the skin-care bottles do not come in boxes, but through speaking to Verier, I found that there will be changes to the
packaging in the upcoming year. The candles and fragrances do
come in wooden boxes that have carved out letters and numbers of the GPS co-ordinates that signify where the scent of the respective candle or fragrance has been picked from.
“There are currently seven pieces of non-recyclable plastic in those pumps and as an ocean-wise brand I refuse to use them in the hope that people slow down and see that their own decisions create the impact on the planet” - Dom Bridges (to AnOther Magazine) Founder of Haeckels
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Skin-care Range Haeckels offers a number of skin-care products made from different kinds of hand-foraged seaweed, that are found nowhere in the world except the Margate shore. Other natural, local ingredients include sea lavender, walnut shell powder, and grapes. All their skin-care products are unisex and range from facial cleansers and scrubs to hand balm and bath salts (Haeckels. co.uk, 2016). The Haeckels product that got noticed almost immediately, was the Sailor’s Beard Oil. In 2014, the product was named the 2nd best beard oil available by Esquire Magazine (haeckels_, 2014), but the article has since been removed from their website by the magazine. In more recent times, word about skin-care products such as the lip balm and the hand balm have been spreading around through the likes of various lifestyle bloggers and publications. During my shop visit to the Haeckels flagship store in Margate, the shop manager, Gaspar said that although the better products were probably the facial scrub and night cream, the majority of consumers would buy the hand cream, as they were small souvenirs to indicate that they liked the brand but they could not justify spending £30+ on a skincare product that they were not familiar with, even if it claimed to be great for everyone’s skin. Haeckels faces the issue that they are young and do not have the trustworthiness that other brands like Aesop and Kiehl’s have with their consumers, having been around for decades. When I sat down with the brand director, Alex Verier, he said that building that trust in consumers, for them to know that these products will actually do their skin wonders, will come with time.
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Candles, Fragrances, & Incense The main selling point for Haeckels is the candles and fragrances that they produce. Due to the fact that consumers are pickier when choosing their skin-care, they buy into the various natural fragrances to support the brand. The prices of these products range from £15, for small candles and incense sticks, to £150 for limited edition diffusers. One of the most successful selection of products for Haeckels thus far, has been the GPS range of fragrances and candles. Each product in this selection is named after the GPS co-ordinates of the location that the ingredients have been hand-sourced from (Garratt, 2015). This variety of fragrances and candles allows consumers to interact with the product and have something tactile like a location to go to, rather than just use it and be done with it – which essentially makes it more desirable to purchase. Other than that, Haeckels have also produced a candle that captures the aroma of the rainfall in Margate called the Cliftonville Rain Candle. Bridges states that rainfall smells different all over the world due to the differences in humidity, amongst other aspects (Slight, 2015). Therefore, this candle encapsulates a scent that is unique to the home of Haeckels, which makes it even more special to the brand and their consumers. It also continues the theme of community and locality that Haeckels have portrayed through many aspects of their brand. Haeckels offers a range of chalk diffusers and incense that is available for purchase as well, and these products are popular amongst consumers too. The chalk diffusers are a nod to the 14-mile-long stretch of Jurassic chalk reef that Margate sits on. This area makes up 20% of the UK’s chalk reefs and is the main contributor towards the seaweed build-up on the beaches (Thechicgeek.co.uk, 2015). The chalk diffusers are engraved to match the various graffiti found on the chalk cliffs of Margate, yet adding another detail regarding Margate. The incense that Haeckels offers, is compactly packaged in what looks like a gold box for playing cards. The interesting thing about them is their pungency, the minute one opens the box. They are a quick, reasonably priced element of the brand that anyone can pick up without much thought. It definitely feels like a lot more care and effort has gone into curating the candles and fragrances to come across as attractive to their consumers. It is not obviously intentional, as there is a lot of thought and care embedded into the processes of making the Haeckels skin-care products. But the fragrances and candles seem more unusual and quirky than the skin-care.
“Our natural perfumes are real — they come from places you’d never think of as having aromatic wealth. They stand as a testament to our philosophy that beauty is everywhere around you” - Dom Bridges (to the Evening Standard) Founder of Haeckels 25
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FLAGSHIP & LONDON STOCKISTS
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In order to understand the brand better, I decided to go and visit Haeckels stand-alone store in Margate, as well as visiting some of the stores where they are stocked in London. By doing this, I was able to interact with the products and see how the brand is recieved in different environments. By visiting the store in Margate, I was able to see the brand in a space that was curated for Haeckels by Haeckels. The one limitation that I found going to concessions in London was that shop assistants were not always willing to speak to me about Haeckels, because they did not know anything about the brand. I was not able to get to every London stockist in the nine week term, as I could not find the time, but I am planning to continue this research into the second term, as I think that each store is different. What I have found so far is that Haeckels fares better in East London stores than it does in Central London stores. This could be because the hipster lifestyle seen in East London provides the right environment of a brand concerned with sustainability and authenticity showcased in a raw and rugged way.
“The shop had to be where it is to prove a point that it doesn’t
matter where you are in the universe, as long as what you’re doing is good”
- Dom Bridges (In ‘Made of Margate’ Documentary) Founder of Haeckels
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Flagship Store: 18 Cliftonville Road, Margate The best place to experience Haeckels is in its flagship store in Margate, Kent. The space lies on a sloped road away from the town centre that overlooks the breadth of the blue waters surrounding the Margate. On one side of the Haeckels store sits Roost, a buzzing, independent chicken restaurant; on the other side sits Plinth, a home-ware store. The first thing one notices when they enter the store, is the decoration. It is reminiscent of an old man’s study; very masculine and laboratory-esque with science beakers, distillers, and observational drawings set up around the store. The dark colour scheme of browns, toned-down reds, and forest greens adds to this. The products were presented in a very considered manner, with a vintage vitrine in the middle of the shop floor. The vitrine showcases a variety of products that Haeckels makes by lighting up the platform that they are placed on and providing a description of the products printed in front of them. Other than that display, there are shelves that showcase Haeckels’ GPS fragrances and another section for candles down the right wall of the store. On the left is a worn out table, that acts as the payment point and some where for shop manger, Gaspar, to sit. Although not seemingly large to the eye, the store is quite long. There are three main sections to the store. Starting from the back, there is a newly installed treatment room that offers thalassotherapy-based treatments conducted with Haeckels products by specialists. The middle of the store acts as a waiting room for the treatment room, with one vintage arm chair and a hot water machine for the shop manager to pour himself and waiting consumers a hot cup of Haeckels seaweed tea. Finally, the front of the store is where all the products are displayed and what people see when they first enter the store. According to Gaspar, all sorts of people come to see the store, from near and far, because they are fascinated with Haeckels’ ethos as a brand. There is no better place to experience the brand than their store, because until you have been there, you do not understand what the brand means.
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Selfridges Haeckels had a table full of product that was surrounded by brands like Diptyque, Maison Louis Marie, and Cire Tiron
The brand was located in the candles and fragrances section – all of their products, skin-care included, was placed in this section. This could be misleading to consumers as they might not know where to find the brand if they are looking for it.
There is no consultant for Haeckels on the shop floor – the man who was handling the area where Haeckels was located was
reluctant to approach me, and when I approached him, he told me that he did not know anything about the brand. I asked another
shop assistant, who told me she did not know much as she was the consultant for Diptyque, but she said that people do buy the brand.
People buy into the perfumes/scents and the chalk diffusers
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Liberty Haeckels products were positioned next to brands like Kai, The Konjac Sponge, and Aduna Moringa Superleaf Powder The product was not very easy to find, it was on the bottom of a shelf which was placed on the side of the entrance to the beauty section. It was also located in one of the sink displays, and was a lot more visible to see than the ones on the shelf. When I Aasked a store assistant about the product, again she did not seem to know the brand, I then showed her the website and out of luck and she skimmed the shop grounds to see if she could see their products, she landed on the seaweed bath in the sink display. The Seaweed Bath was also displayed in one of the shop windows at Liberty, where they are currently exhibiting their beauty and skincare products. At the moment, the Haeckels Seaweed Bath is the only product available in-store, but they have a variety of products available to buy on the Liberty website
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Fortnum & Mason Although Haeckels had mentioned on their website and on their Facebook page that they were available in Fortnum and Mason, I could not find it in store – I looked in the Candles section, the Women’s Fragrances and Beauty section, as well as the Men’s Fragrances and Beauty section. The store staff did not have any idea what brand I was talking about when I asked them. Fortnum and Mason do sell Haeckels on their website *NOTE: Although this was promoted on Haeckels’ Facebook page in early September, 2016, the product was only launched in store in mid-November. That is why I could not find it when I went. The product is located in the men’s fragrances area.
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Harvey Nichols Haeckels is placed in the menswear lifestyle department of Harvey Nichols. This is located on floor LG1 The space was curated in a very urban and contemporary way, hosting youthful upcoming and established brands. There was a bar and a barbers shop located on this floor as well. The accessories and lifestyle section was quite small consisting of only two sets of shelves and a couple display platforms. These were located next to the bar. Harvey Nichols did not stock any of Haeckels’ candles. They only had one GPS fragrance, the facial cleanser, the sailor’s beard oil, the hand balm, the lip balm and the seaweed exfoliant bar. It can be suggested that these products were chosen by Harvey Nichols to cater towards the male consumer that shops there – by only having products in the menswear department, Haeckels once again seems to neglect their female consumer. Although the product was easy to find in comparison to other department stores, Haeckels was located on the bottom shelf of the display, next to a brand called Neville – it seems that because Haeckels is not a very big brand, they do not seem to be placed in spaces that are visible to browsing consumers, which defeats the purpose of having them stocked in big department stores. Although the area seemed quite busy with people looking at shoes and clothes, or using facilities such as the bar and the barber shop, the area surrounding the fragrances and skin-care was quiet. The few people that did look around in the area, did not seem to wander their eyes down to the bottom shelf where Haeckels was placed because it is not easy access – this therefore depicts that no one was noticing the Haeckels product.
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Anthroplogie Although the product had been showcased on their website, and written about in their Journal, I could not find it in store (I went to two different Anthropologie stores) In the Regent St. store, I asked a shop assistant if she could tell me where in the store I could find Haeckels, and she responded by asking me if it was featured on the website, to which I answered yes. Then she proceeded to tell me that she had not heard of the brand, but it could be located on the LG floor of the shop because all the home and bath items were located over there – I never found the Haeckels products. The Spitalfields store was quite a bit smaller than the Regent St. one, but again I had no luck in finding the products. The store staff were too busy to stop and talk to me.
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Oliver Spencer The Haeckels products do well there and Oliver Spencer has a really good relationship with the team at Haeckels – Verier comes down to the Soho store a lot. Haeckels and Oliver Spencer just did a collaboration on a fragrance and candle, where the Haeckels team went and picked ingredients from Oliver Spencer’s back yard and made scents from there. The chalk diffusers and the hand balm sell really well, but the sailor’s beard oil, although it was rated Esquire’s second best beard oil of 2014, it does not sell as well because it is a little too pungent and puts some people off. Most of the people that buy the products are men because Oliver Spencer is a menswear brand but a lot of the men’s partners are interested in the Haeckels product and will browse whilst they wait. The product is easy to see – in the shop window as well as on shelves around the store.
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Hostem At first, Hostem was a little difficult to find as it was off the main street – there were large posters on the corner before the store entrance, which had a list of brands available to browse and purchase. Haeckels was mentioned on the list. The store staff seemed to know a lot about the product – mentioned that Alex had been to the store earlier that day, and they have a good relationship with the team. The relationship extends to Hostem having their own personal gift box of Haeckels’ products to sell in-store. The product was laid out on long wooden tables that sit below eye level so that consumers feel comfortable interacting with the products. Although the product is a little hidden at the back of the store, behind a short wall, because the shop assistants are educated about the brand, they can guide you to what you are looking for. A lot of people from Margate seem to come into the store and ask about Haeckels products if they are in the area – there is a lot of community that revolves around the brand in terms of where it is from. Haeckels has a lot of support from the Margate community. In the past, Hostem has also hosted an individual space for Haeckels to create a perfumerie for consumers to experience the brand in a different way.
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GOODHOOD Store The product is set up in the downstairs section of the store, which is where all their home-ware products are. GOODHOOD does not stock any of Haeckels’ candles and fragrances, and focuses on the sales of their incenses and skincare products, such as the seaweed soap and the sailor’s beard oil. This was the first time that I have seen a gift box in store. It was the Christmas gift box which comes with: Seaweed Lip Balm, Seaweed & Geranium Hand Balm, Facial Exfoliant, Facial Cleanser, Cliff Breeze Candle, Bog Myrtle, and Exfoliating Seaweed Block. Most popular products seem to be the lemon balm incense and the juniper incense.
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INITIATIVES
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Timeline of Initiatives This timeline depicts all the initiatives that Haeckels has been involved with since 2014. As it can be seen, 2015 is the year when Haeckels began building themselves as a brand outside Margate with collaborations, pop-up shops, and showcases. Through the four years depicted on this timeline, it is evident that Haeckels pushed their fragrances and candles a lot more than their skincare; most of the initiatives that can be seen through 2015 and 2016 focus on aromas and smells rather than skin-care. Only towards the end of 2016 into 2017 are platforms seen which incorporate the skin-care aspect of the brand.
2015
2015
Pop-up Shop at Ace Hotel, Shoreditch
2015
Haeckels X Loop.ph
2016
Showcase at Tom Dixon’s MULTIPLEX
Haeckels residency at Hostem
2014
Sea Bathing Sauna Machine
2015
Haeckels X Hoi Polloi
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2015
Haeckels X Oliver Spencer
2016
Showcase at Copenhagen International Fashion Fair
The initiatives that have been highlighted in blue have been analysed in detail on the pages after this one. The reason these initiatives have been chosen over the others is because they showcase different activities that Haeckels has been involved with, as well as how the brand has grown over the four years. The dotted lines separate the years that each initiative took place.The initiatives in 2017 may not be that much information about them until later on in the year.
2016
2017
Haeckels create aroma for Wolfgang Buttress’ “The Hive”
2017
Haeckels residency treatment rooms at BEAST.
2017
Gifting for the Brit Awards
Haeckels X American Bar at The Savoy
2017
2016
Haeckels X Buster + Punch (London Design Festival)
2016
Treatment rooms launched in Haeckels Store, Margate
2017
@HaeckelsTroupe Instagram page started
2017
Biodome at Ace Hotel, Shoreditch (London Craft Week)
Exhibit at Wallpaper* Holy Handmade! (Salone Del Mobile)
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Sea Bathing Sauna Machine The Sea Bathing Machine Sauna was an initiative thought out by
Haeckels founder, Dom Bridges. His aim was to “revive one of the most civilised traditions of the British seaside” (Lusher, 2015) and to remind the UK what the English coast has to offer. The project was crowdfunded (Kickstarter, 2014) and the £30,000 needed to create the sauna had been donated within 40 days of being live
(O’Connor, 2015). The main design-minds behind the project was Margate-based, Chloe Young and Re:works studio, a Margate based design and architecture studio (O’Loughlin, 2014). The
structure includes a 4-person sauna and a private treatment room for users to get sea-based facials or massages using Haeckels products (Shin, 2015).
In the beginning, while the initiative was being crowdfunded and designed, the news was quite well circulated, being featured by the Independent online, the Guardian online, FT.com,
CoolHunting, amongst other titles. Their biggest feature was on Channel 4’s George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces, with an
on-going appearance, documenting the project’s progress (Facebook, 2016). With the launch of the Sea Bathing Machine in
August 2015, there is not much press around the actual finished
structure, what it looks like and how it has been taken by Margate
locals. Although Haeckels has stated on their website that Bridges initiated the development of this project and to sign up to
newsletters for progress reports, there has been little to no update. Due to the lack of communication between Haeckels and
interested members of the public and donors who were interested in the development, as of April 2016, there are still people posting comments such as, “We haven’t heard from you in a long time –
could you please send us an update? Thanks” (Kreis, 2016) under the Kickstarter page.
Although the Sea Bathing Machine Sauna was a great initiative
by Haeckels to build community within Margate and reintroduce
the pleasures of the English coast to the public, they did not follow through the aftermath of the launch and how successful the project was.
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Pop–up at Ace Hotel From April 17th till September 30th, 2015, Haeckels set up a
pop-up shop at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. The store was open
for half the week from Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm, and had a selection of skin-care products, candles, and fragrances
made by the brand. With structures like the Aromaphone creating aromatic adventures through the thoughtfully laid out space, it
is clear that Haeckels curated the space to highlight the organic candles and fragrances that they produce.
To inaugurate the space, the brand had an event where invited members of press and the public could indulge themselves in
beautifully made and packaged skin-care, candles and fragrances curated the Haeckels way – in a museum-esque laboratory with vintage wooden cabinets to display products and dim lighting
(Buchanan & Leach, 2015). Many elements of the store’s décor, like some of the painting and the sculptures, were produced by
artists from Margate, which added a touch of home for the brand and again showcased the theme of community that
continuously appears through Haeckels’ ethos (b girl rhapsody, 2016). By bringing themselves into Central London, Haeckels
was able to reflect the vision from their flagship into a livelier and more accessible space for consumers to experience the brand
first-hand instead of having to travel an hour and a half in order to do so.
Shoreditch, as the main hub in London for creative consumption (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016), was definitely the best place for Haeckels have their pop-up because the brand
resonated well with the East London crowd coming across as creative, sustainable, and out of the ordinary.
Overall this shop did well with the press, getting coverage in
publications like the Telegraph, LSN: Global, and HUNGER TV, as well as having various bloggers like Amanda Carr, from The
Women’s Room Blog, and The Chic Geek write about the brand on their respective blogs.
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Collaboration: Hoi Polloi X Haeckels Hoi Polloi is a brasserie that sits in the Ace Hotel, Shoreditch, which focuses on an urban design aesthetic and artistic dishes. When Haeckels set up their pop-up shop next door, the restaurant took it as the perfect opportunity to create a special menu that encapsulated everything that the skin-care brand was about. Head Chef, Braden Charlesworth, and Haeckels founder, Dom Bridges, “got together to talk Margate, botanicals, the sea and Burger Puffs� (Hoipolloi.co.uk, 2015) and together brainstormed what was essential to the brand and where it comes from. The menu was available at Hoi Polloi for six days in May 2016, alongside their regular menu. Due to this collaboration commencing at a time when Haeckels was already present at the Ace Hotel, probably created a lot more hype around the menu. Publications like The Independent, Hunger TV and the Gather Journal talked about the special menu and saw it as a fitting match because Hoi Polloi is an experimental restaurant and Haeckels is an aesthetically pleasing, urban brand with an interesting history.
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“Translating the Haeckels ethos into a menu was not a difficult one because I love using seasonal foraged British ingredients. Seaweed is a great ingredient; full of nutrients and it has so many different uses – in stocks, raw in salads, dried, the list goes on.” - Braden Charlesworth (to HUNGER TV) Head Chef at Hoi Polloi
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Collaboration: Oliver Spencer X Haeckels For this collaboration, Haeckels went into Oliver Spencer’s
“thinking garden”, which is located behind his first shop and studio on Lamb Conduits Street and gathered ingredients found there. They then produced a candle that encapsulated the smell that
they took back from the place which included three types of fennel – “exuding a natural English scent” (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016). Because they collaborated on the candle, Spencer invited
founder, Dom and brand director, Alex, to be photographed as part of the Spring/Summer 2016 Campaign Lookbook, shot by Rankin. Therefore, a lot of the press around Haeckels and Oliver Spencer revolved around the campaign shoot and not so much about the collaboration itself.
Although there is not an abundance of press coverage about the candle, the press that does exist is of a high standard. GQ
magazine listed the candle as one of the 10 Best Menswear Items in the World This Week for the week of April 13th, 2016. This
really shows the potential that Haeckels has as a growing brand
as the article places the product next to the likes of Gucci, Lanvin, Barbour and Converse. Another piece of coverage which had a
very detailed article about the collaboration was in Jocks & Nerds Magazine, a niche magazine about arts, design, and culture. The article went on to describe how the two brands have many
similarities that make this collaboration a good one – “Both are
concerned with traditional craftsmanship and attention to detail” (Lloyd, 2016).
Overall, this partnership between Oliver Spencer and Haeckels really puts the skincare brand in the spotlight and picks up on essential aspects of the brand such as hand-picking the
ingredients and having that geo-location to go back to in order to
find the smell. It is evident that this would do well, as both brands
stayed true to themselves and were able to accommodate to both of their consumers. The only real issue with the collaboration
is that it feels quite male-oriented because Oliver Spencer is a
menswear brand, which could alienate the female consumer that Haeckels have acquired since all their products are unisex.
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Showcase at Tom Dixon Multiplex MULTIPLEX is a concept invented by Tom Dixon, the famous British designer. His aim was to create an “alternative retail experience” (Bertoli, 2015) which imitated what he believed department stores of the future would look like. In collaboration with Wallpaper*, the project was hosted at the Old Selfridges Hotel and brought in a variety of brands to showcase their products (Tomdixon.net, 2015) – Haeckels being one of them.
For their showcase, Haeckels decided to focus on their fragrances and created a horticultural spa within the MULTIPLEX. Many publications that wrote about the concept like Wallpaper* and Dezeen, amongst others, mentioned that Haeckels were present there, but there was no indication of the outcome. On the Haeckels ‘Journal’ page, they have an article about the MULTIPLEX, but all the information has come from Tom Dixon’s website, and it has nothing to do with the brand itself (Haeckels.co.uk, 2017)
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Collaboration: Buster + Punch X Haeckels Buster + Punch is an East London-based design studio that specialises in working with unusual, raw materials to make items for everyday use (Buster+Punch.com, 2016). This collaboration
between Haeckels and Buster + Punch was in conjunction with
the London Design Festival, where the design company created a luxury fragrance diffuser kit for their MACHINED collection which featured Haeckels scents – Sea Breeze and Burnt Iron
(Coshamie.com, 2016). The fragrances chosen pay an ode to
each brand respectively – Haeckels being a coastal, seaweedoriented brand and Buster + Punch having this knack for
craftsmanship and nature, combined (Coshamie.com, 2016) During the London Design Festival, Buster + Punch co-hosted a number of events at their showroom in London Bridge, with the
skincare brand. During these events, the brands launched their
diffuser kits and attendees had the first viewing of the products,
as well as a first look at the rest of Buster + Punch’s product lines. Non-press attendees were allowed into the event by registering
and purchasing tickets from various ticketing platforms (Chapman, 2016)
This collaboration had buzz around it because of its placement in
time with the London Design Festival, when most creative are out
and about and publications are looking for interesting brands who have produced designs that are innovative and chic. Wallpaper* Magazine, one of the biggest design publications in the country, covered the collaboration calling it “a sensual collection”
(Chapman, 2016) that marries the two brands very well and
showcases their likeminded values towards a use-what-you-have mind set, as well as minimalist, clean aesthetics.
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BE performing at St. Mary’s Church / Wolfgang Buttress The Hive is a structure that was developed by Wolfgang Buttress for the World Expo 2015 held in Milan (Brewer, 2016). The artist’s aim was to raise awareness about the endangerment of bees and the vibrations created within the structure mimic those of a real beehive that exists at Kew Gardens – which is where The Hive is based (Kew.org, 2017). On December 18th and 19th, 2016, a band called BE played a concert at St. Mary’s Church in Nottingham, where the visuals were provided by Wolfgang Buttress, based around the structure of the Hive and Haeckels provided the aromas which infused the scent of the church garden with the smell of natural bee scents (wolfgangbuttress.com, 2016). Obviously, The Hive structure at Kew Gardens received a lot of press coverage from the likes of BBC, The Guardian, Dezeen and It’s Nice That. Even BE’s performance at The Hive was shortlisted by the Guardian as one of their writers’ favourite gigs of 2016 (Jonze, 2016). However, the performance in Nottingham, which is where Haeckels was present did not seem to make much coverage. It is also unclear if Haeckels also provided the aromas for BE’s performance at The Hive in September 2016.
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Treatment Rooms in Haeckels Store, Margate Towards the end of 2016, Haeckels decided to convert the space at the back of their store in Margate into a treatment room where customers could experience the skincare products created by Haeckels in a professional environment, to understand how the product feels on one’s skin. The treatments are based around thalassotherapy, which incorporates elements of the sea throughout the treatment, which fits into the Haeckels brand because all their skincare products have a seaweed base. In the interview that I conducted with Verier, he mentioned that this initiative was to invite the female consumer to try Haeckels products. He also acknowledged that most of the brand’s initiatives up to that point had been quite male oriented and therefore they wanted to remind everyone that they are a unisex brand. So far the treatments have been very successful in making women involved with the brand again. According to reviews left of Facebook, customers who have booked sessions with the therapist at the Margate store have been pleasantly surprised and have enjoyed their experience. Although there are only 3 reviews on Facebook, it is difficult to find information on who has been to the treatment rooms because it is in Margate. Although it was a good idea to have the treatment room within a space that is true the brand and what they portray, it is also a little bit inconvenient for people to commute from London to Margate just to have a massage or a facial. Therefore the next step would be to bring the space to the city, where a lot more people would be able to experience Haeckels products and unwind after a long day of work or a hectic day of city life – they have just launched the initiative to London at the BEAST shop on Earlham Street (discussed on the next page).
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Haeckels Residency at BEAST. London BEAST. London is located in Seven Dials, which is based between Covent Garden and TCR – quite centrally located in London. The store is for men and aims to change the way men interact with skincare regimes. Haeckels has partnered with BEAST to launch their treatment rooms within the capital so that customers did not have to travel all the way to Margate in order to be involved with this Haeckels experience. As of now, it is unclear how long this residency is for, whether it is permanent or temporary, but there is at least six months of advanced booking available on the Haeckels website. Although BEAST. London is a fit choice for Haeckels in terms of aesthetic, again it seems as though the brand is ignoring 50% of their consumer base by deciding to collaborate with a men’s store. When asked, Verier confirmed that it is not Haeckels’ intention to leave out the female consumer, and they still want to be known as a unisex brand. There is a possibility that they brought the initiative to BEAST in order to secure a male consumer for the treatments, because the female market has dominated their Margate treatment room. However, it feels like if a brand is ungendered, then they shouldn’t present themselves in gendered spaces as it changes the converstation around the brand. The brands were set to launch the treatment rooms with an event at the store, however the Westminster attacks occurred that afternoon and they did not feel it right to celebrate over the hardship of others – only Haeckels discussed this on their Facebook and Twitter pages, it was not mentioned on Instagram. This could be because, they may feel as a brand that their Instagram consumer may only follow them for their aesthetic but there should have been an announcement on all platforms so that the message was the same across all platforms. It is too soon to judge how well the space is doing and because it is not at a Haeckels space, and therefore people are not going to Haeckels’ facebook page to leave reviews like some people did for the Margate treatment rooms. Also, two weeks after the launch of the residency, there has been no press about it.
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COMMUNICATION AUDIT
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Website Analysis This is the landing page for the website is minimalistic – it captures the Haeckels aesthetic on one screen. About five seconds later, the image changes to one hand pouring a Haeckels product into another hand – Every five seconds the image changes, this happens nine times, before the image goes back to the one of the ocean (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
All the images within this photo reel showcase a different aspect of the Haeckels brand. Most of the images are some sort of product shot, but there are others that give viewers an idea of the lifestyle that comes with the brand (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
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It is interesting to note that Haeckels has not added a link to any of their video platforms – whether it be Vimeo or Youtube, even though they have videos uploaded on both. Also, the brand has not showcased any of their videos on their website – considering that Bridges used to be a filmmaker, one would be right to presume that moving image would be an essential part of the brands identity (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
The bar located at the top of the home page makes it easy for viewers to navigate the website and explore different aspects of Haeckels (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
On further investigation, I found out that the text on the first image: HT 03:13/ LT 09:34 / HT 15:46 / LT 21:47, refers to the times of High Tide (HT) and Low Tide (LT) in Margate. These times change daily to reflect what the tides look like on the day that you visit the website. The image of the ocean in the background can be understood as that from the ocean around Margate.
The images above the text also allow for viewers to see what the product looks like before they reach the page, which could make them interested to see what Haeckels has to offer (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016).
As you scroll down on the home page, you can navigate the different kinds of products that Haeckels offer, by clicking on each image respectively. This allows for easy browsing for website visitors (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016).
Haeckels provides links to three of their most recent ‘Journal’ entries which viewers can click on and enjoy educating themselves on whatever subject they are interested in (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016). At the bottom of the page, they include one sentence that summarises Haeckels as a brand. They end the home page with their address and a space to enter your email address to sign up for the monthly newsletter (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
Nowhere in this section does it say that these are part of the ‘Journal’ aspect of the website. This could leave viewers wondering what these are and what they have to do with the brand (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016).
The newsletter sign-up depicts that Haeckels is trying to communicate the brand’s interests to consumers that are curious, but because it is at the bottom of the page, it begs to question whether viewers are even getting to it (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
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Website Analysis On the next few pages is a break-down of the tabs that are presented in the bar at the top of the Haeckels website. These tabs can be seen as Haeckels’ way of communicating to viewers of their website what is important to their brand. Although the tabs are clearly labelled, some of them have links to further pages of the website that could not be accessed if not through that tab. Other tabs have not been updated for months, which causes viewers to possibly get bored and not come back to the website. This begs the question: how can Haeckels direct more traffic to their website, which essentially tells potential consumers about the brand?
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The First tab: Shop – All the products are neatly photographed.
Under each image is the name of the product, a short description, the price, and the quantity in millilitres or grams.
There does not seem to be any order to the list of products on the general shop page; Although most of the same kinds of products
are gathered together, there are some that come up randomly on other pages. But, it should be noted that if a viewer selects the
category or range that they want to view (ie. Body Care), only the products within that umbrella will show up.
The shop tab is precise and to the point - if viewers know what they want, then the page is easy to navigate through. The
logistics of the page seem quite simplistic, there is no quick view or quick buy, therefore making sure the audience are involved
with the shopping process. When you click on a product to view
its page, there is a longer description and an option for how many
you want to purchase. The longer description allows consumers to understand further what they are purchasing, as shopping online
for skin-care and beauty products can be risky if you do not know what you are buying into (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016).
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The Second tab: Journal – This page showcases short articles about Haeckels’ interests as a brand. It allows for the engaged
consumer to immerse themselves into news about science, art, and creation that the brand feels necessary to talk about.
Some of the articles could be snippets from other publications such as Dezeen or could even be a few sentences with more
visuals. The concept of the journal is a creative one to explore as
a brand but it feels like Haeckels has not been able to execute this to the best of their abilities since a lot of the articles are very short and lack enthusiasm.
Also, because the articles are not very regular, they do not have consumers engaging in them constantly. Therefore even though
the content is fascinating, viewers might not look back at the page that often. It is worth asking if there is a better way to communicate that content to consumers (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016).
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The Third tab: About – There are two parts to this section, there is the Stockists sub-section, and there is the general about the brand. Within the general About section, there is a brief paragraph talking about Haeckels and then another paragraph about how it started. Under the two paragraphs are links to pages which outline three essential characteristics of the Haeckels brand: Philosophy, Margate Lab, and Products. It seems like these links get lost on the website, and for elements that are so important to the Haeckels’ identity, they should have links which are more accessible to viewers, so that they have a better understanding of the brand (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
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The Fourth tab: Thalassotherapy – Like the third tab, this tab has two sections to it as well. Haeckels delves into the process behind thalassotherapy here, and explains to readers what it consists of. The two sections incorporated into this tab are: Thalassotherapy rooms and the Bathing Machine. The Thalassotherapy Room page has descriptions of the treatments offered by Haeckels in their Margate treatment room. The platform also allows consumers to reserve specific treatments at available time slots. The Bathing Machine page contains a link to the Channel 4 series: George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces – Series 5, Episode 4, where the machine was feature. Other than that, it does not explain the concept of the machine or the benefits it brought to the Margate community. As noticed with other tabs, these pages do not stand out on the website and are not easily accessible to the average browser who is new to the website (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
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The Fifth tab: Contact – This tab is constructed of Haeckels’ contact details such as the Margate address and a map, a phone number, and an email address, in case customers need to get in touch with the team. It also includes a personable note from Bridges to ensure customers are careful with the glass bottles and make sure to conduct skin tests before using the products to make sure the skin does not react. There are links to three other pages from the Contact page. These links include Terms and Conditions, Shipping & Returns, and Privacy Policy. These elements are inevitable to any brand/company website as these elements depict that Haeckels understands the legal side to their products and are making sure that this information is readily available to consumers. The fact that these appear on the contact page is good because it showcases that the brand wants to establish transparency with all customers and not hide information (Haeckels.co.uk, 2016)
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Instagram Analysis Number of Followers: 6,309 (19/10/2016) *Note: Followers grew to 6,335 by the next day – this shows that the brand is constantly growing and is becoming more and more popular daily. • This is not a lot for a skin care brand – brands like Aesop have 234K followers. But the brand is also quite new and the fact that more people are following the brand daily means that they are interested in what they have to offer. The visual layout of Haeckels’ Instagram page is clean and neat. The images posted are good quality, bright, and clear to read. Each post is minimal with maybe one or two objects in it and a one-toned background (usually neutral, but sometimes with a pop of colour). Not many of Haeckels’ posts consist of faces or bodies – there are a few images with hands using the brand’s products and just the products and their packaging. The other images refer to the nature that surrounds the Margate Coast like Blean Woods, Palm Bay Beach, Botany Bay, etc. • This showcases not only the lifestyle that comes with using Haeckels’ products but also the focus that they have on nature and saving it. One of the most important elements within the Haeckels brand is the idea of conservation and 'using what you have’ (L:SN Global, 2016). The way that they use the seaweed that floats up on the Margate Coast to create organic skin-care products embodies this. • They like to highlight any movements that the UK government take as actions to stop harming the environment (Gov.uk, 2016) There is no structure to the posts on Instagram in terms of what they post. Although they do follow a certain aesthetic with their images (as mentioned above). Also, they do post an image at least once a day.
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Every post has a caption – they never leave posts without words to go with it. The captions usually consist of quotes from famous creatives like Alain de Botton and Leonardo Da Vinci or advocates/ experts within fields that deal with the ocean and the environment, for example Sylvia Earle, the marine biologist. Other posts have captions that talk about the product, it’s ingredients and either how they are for your skin or how to use the product. • With the quotes, they are further instilling the kind of lifestyle that they expect their consumers to be involved in. They also portray that they are a well-spoken brand that not only interested in skincare and candles but also enjoys conversations about the culture around them. Other posts have captions that give viewers information about the product showcased in the image. These descriptions tend to be written in a formal tone and are extremely detailed. Information can consist of a break down of ingredients as well as how to use the products. • Although the captions are very informative and allows the viewers of each post to have a strong understanding of the brand that they (potentially) buy into, the posts seem to be very lengthy and might even be slightly overwhelming for the average Instagram browser. Another aspect of Haeckels’ Instagram posts are the hashtags. The brand tends to upload the post with a caption and then comment under their post with a series of hashtags that they feel are relevant to the post. • Understandably, brands use hashtags to gain views on their posts and link to Instagram users who are interested in the things that the brand has to offer. To start of with, it is okay to use a lot of hashtags to gain followers, it is unnecessary for Haeckels to need to use more than 5 hashtags to promote the brand and what they have to offer.
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Instagram has been a great platform in terms if consumers talking to the people behind the brand – the founder, Dom Bridges, used to personally respond to comments from consumers when the brand was still very new. Ever since the brand has grown, there has been less interaction between the brand and the consumers, responding to random comments sporadically. • For a brand to use Instagram as a platform to inform consumers about products and also being open to them asking questions and ordering products through there, it almost seems irresponsible to leave consumers hanging today when this was one of the main sources of communication. They should have made this clear to their viewers, that as they grew, they would not answer as many requests and to email or pop in to the store instead. The brand does not post much about their press coverage on Instagram anymore. In the last year they have only highlighted two pieces of press coverage – one, an exclusive about Haeckels’ presence in Hostem and the other, a short piece in Grazia. In previous years, Haeckels had showcased the coverage that they got and thanked the publication but the picture that they posted would be of the magazine cover, not the actual piece of coverage. • It is good to highlight press coverage every now and then to remind followers that the brand is still active and out there – especially if it is an upcoming brand. But it is definitely important to showcase the actual piece of coverage, not just the cover of the magazine (unless it was a cover piece). In that sense what Haeckels is doing now is a lot better. • From the press coverage that they are highlighting, they seem to be interesting to not only the niche consumer but also the regular skin-care buyer as something new to try that is being heavily recommended. All Haeckels’ posts are informational and do not engage with consumers in terms of social media competitions or sales – there is one post that lets followers know that if they recycle the bottles and refill them at the store, they will receive 25% discount on their purchases. • This depicts that maybe their followers are not the kinds of people that will respond to Instagram competitions. They might be a little older and have a more refined outlook on the platform, using it to gain information and view interesting images. • The brand also values having an aesthetic on Instagram that might be skewed with the introduction of competitions and further interaction.
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The brand follows 855 accounts of Instagram. From looking at this list, a lot of people they follow have businesses in Margate, Kent – which is where the brand is from. • This shows that there is a community built around independent brand/shop owners that have a presence in the coastal town. Influencers that Haeckels follow on Instagram include: Susan Rockefeller, Dermot O’Leary, Elin King, Haim the band, Dita von Teese, Mario Sorrenti, Hari Nef, Aureta Thomollari, Ricki Hall, Anja Rubik, Laura Bailey, Carine Roitfeld, Julia Sarr-Jamois, Lily Cole, Susie Bubble, Kylie Minogue, Alexander Fury, Cara Delevingne, Peony Lim • Just from a first glance at this list, it seems like the brand wants to tap into the world of a fashion consumer. Most of the people on the list like Cara Delevingne, Carine Roitfeld, and Mario Sorrenti are household names in the world of fashion. • Other influencers, like Julia Sarr-Jamois, are editors of big fashion magazines that also have a lot of say in the fashion industry. • Following Susan Rockefeller, who is a famous filmmaker and conversationalist in the USA, seems to build on Haeckel’s’ interests in saving the environment and green conservation. *On this note the brand also follows the Green Party, Dublin, which voices their political standing as a brand. Publications that Haeckel’s follow on Instagram include: Grazia, Wonderland, i-D, Dazed, Glamour, Sunday Times Style, Telegraph Luxury, Interview, Nylon • Although the brand likes to portray themselves as a hipster, small brand, they are following publications like Grazia which target a more mainstream audience. • TANK, Interview, Wonderland, etc are more niche magazines that look at fashion and culture. Usually they cover stories about the youth and style/culture – that seem to be more the kinds of audience that Haeckel’s is targeting • Haeckel’s also follows this blog called @veganfashionblog on Instagram – following them is a nod to the fact that they produce organic products and are involved in the vegan trend that is surrounding the fashion and beauty industries currently. Fashion brands that they follow include: A.P.C Paris, Fred Perry, Ally Capellino, Harvey Nichols, Liberty Beauty, LN-CC, Hostem • A.P.C. as a brand has a huge cult following – this could be a nod to who Haeckel’s expects their ideal consumer to be wearing • A lot of the stores that they follow like Liberty, LN-CC, and Harvey Nichols are department stores that stock Haeckel’s products – therefore they are just acknowledging the fact that they are in business with one another.
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Facebook Analysis Followers: 3,632 (has gone down to 3,381 in a month) • This could definitely be a higher number. It seems that the Margate community are very active in supporting the brand, but with Facebook being quite static in terms of finding new brands to engage with, Haeckels might not be getting the following they might want. Facebook does not allow for much personalisation, but Haeckels has kept the content on their page clean and still brand aligned for the aspects that they can control. • Profile picture is just their brand name written in white inside a black circle. This image was uploaded more than a year ago and could be updated to fit what the brand is today. It seems like the other two images in the profile pictures album are slightly more brand aligned than the current image. • The cover photo is a minimal product shot. It is not stated anywhere what the product is called and there is no caption on the image. Although this is only a cover photo, it might be better if Haeckels were to have the name of the product in the caption, or even just a link to their website, so that viewers who are interested know what they are looking at. The content that Haeckels posts about revolve around news surrounding healthy living and skin-care. They also tend to have links to articles about advancements in climate change and saving the earth’s environment. The other content that is uploaded on Facebook consists of articles about their products and how they are made, press coverage that the brand has received, and where in the world the team is. • This creates a very strong identity for the brand and allows viewers to understand that Haeckels is very closely involved with issues around the ocean and cleaning the environment. • All of posts that Haeckels uploads about the team, what they are currently doing, and future endeavours that the brand could be dabbling in, keep followers interested and aware that the brand is actually growing and finding new stories to immerse themselves into. • The way that Haeckels is using their Facebook page allows for more interaction and discussions between them and their followers. Haeckels also offers information about their shop in Margate – opening times, address, and phone number. They also allow consumers to review their service and products, where Facebook then generates a rating for them out of five stars. • Out of the 41 people that have provided Haeckels with a rating, only one consumer has rated the brand with one star. Everyone else has given the products, the treatments, and the service, five star ratings. Overall, this depicts that most of the people that talk about the brand are satisfied with it. But, obviously, it needs to be taken into consideration that 41 people is a tiny sample in terms of 3.3K followers on Facebook.
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The posts are uploaded quite sporadically with no consistency. Not only are posts going up four and five days apart, some posts are even being posted past 11pm. • There should be Facebook posts uploaded once a day, or once every other day in order to keep current and potential followers engaged with the brand and its interests. When there is inconsistency, it is possible that people will forget about the brand. • The time of day that posts are uploaded is important too. The Haeckels team cannot be uploading posts at 11:30pm as it comes across quite unprofessional for a brand. One way to justify posts going out late, is if their Facebook analytics feedback that the brand gets more interaction on Facebook late at night. It is acceptable that Haeckels has customers from all over the world, but it might be easier to focus on the UK first, if that is where the posts will most likely be understood. Haeckels has uploaded videos and images throughout the course of having Facebook, which has now created a creative collection of Haeckels imagery on the left side of the page. • This allows viewers to explore, enjoy, and understand various aspects of the brand that they might not find on other online platforms such as Twitter. Each post has text to go with it. The text is very personable – as if Bridges wants to take followers on a journey with the brand. • Facebook seems to act as a more intimate space for true admirers and followers of the brand to continue to be involved with its growth and all the amazing things that Haeckels is doing as a young and upcoming brand. Instagram on the other hand seems to be the platform for people that do not know the brand to explore its imagery and find out quick bits about the brand through scrolling through the images.
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Twitter Analysis Number of Followers: 2,797 • Out of all their main social media accounts, Haeckels’ twitter account has the least number of followers • Even though Twitter has depleted in terms of users, Haeckels’ still has a very small number of followers in relation to their competitors – Aesop has 19.1K followers on Twitter. Tweets are posted quite sporadically – there can be four posts a day or no posts for four days, there does not seem to be any consistency to the amount that the brand shares on the platform • In order to gain more followers, Haeckels, as a fairly new brand should ideally tweet at least once a day. Though that is probably not enough either with how fast-paced the platform is From browsing Haeckels’ Twitter page, most of their posts revolve around initiatives that they have been involved with or articles that are discussing topics that are of interest to them • It seems like Haeckels uses Twitter to create conversations with their followers and showcase all the exciting, new things that they are doing. • A lot of this content is not replicated on other platforms and therefore they are telling different social media platforms different stories – this is especially not good considering they only have 2,797 followers on Twitter in comparison to 6K+ on Instagram Haeckels strives to make their Twitter page as engaging as possible by adding images to most of their posts so that viewers and followers have something to look at. Not every Tweet includes a hashtag, but when the brand does utilise them, #haeckels is standard. Other hashtags used include: #skincare, #margate, #scent, #parfum, #naturalskincare, #beauty and #thalassotherapy. • It is good to establish continuity – now people that want to tweet about the brand know that by adding #haeckels to their post, they will be involved with noise about the brand. • The rest of the hashtags seem quite generic, which could help boost the brand’s profile on Twitter and gain more followers The most likes and retweets that Haeckels have received on a post in the last month is the post about opeing their thalassotherapy room, which received 10 retweets and 19 likes. • This shows that maybe consumers are more interested in initiatives that Haeckels is putting in place than random information There does not seem to be much interaction from Haeckels and their consumers on this platform, like there has been on Facebook and Instagram.
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Vimeo Analysis Haeckels utilises their Vimeo channel to upload short films about some of their products and about the brand in general but the channel itself is not promoted anywhere on their website or their other social platforms. • This fits in well with the fact that the founder is a filmmaker by trade. It also lets the brand grant their consumers and the general public to be more visually involved with the brand, it’s aesthetic and what it stands for. There are nine videos on the platform that have been uploaded over the course of the four years that Haeckels has been around. So it is not an aspect of the brand that has just been initiated, it is a part of what Haeckels is known for. • The last video that was posted on their Vimeo channel was 9 months ago, which could suggest that they either a. they’ve stopped using the platform because it has not been effective or b. they have been too busy with other aspects of the brand to focus on updating their vimeo account • Each video uploaded is different to the other - some of the videos showcase Haeckels products and others depict Bridges in the process of creating products and harvesting seaweed on the beaches of Margate – one issue is that not all of them are embedded on to other platforms for consumers to see.
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PAST PRESS COVERAGE
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Past-Press Coverage Over the four years that Haeckels has been active, they have
gained a lot of press coverage about their products, collaborations and brand ethos. Most of the coverage that they receive is from niche art, design and culture magazines that dissect the brand, and articulate its essence. This is done through long interviews with the founder, in-depth reviews about the flagship store in
Margate and overviews of Haeckels’ products and collaborations.
Some niche design publications that have written about the brand previously are Wallpaper*, AnOther Magazine, and Jocks &
Nerds Magazine. Other publications that Haeckels has received coverage in include UK national press, such as the Telegraph
and the Evening Standard, blogs, such as What Olivia Did and
The Women’s Room Blog, and lifestyle magazines, such as GQ Magazine.
Haeckels has built themselves up to be quite personable with
Bridges and Verier acting as the faces of the brand. Due to this, the two of them have entertained a number of interviews from publications like The Telegraph, Hole & Corner Magazine,
Spindle Magazine, Hunger TV, and the Industry London. In these interviews, the publications usually ask questions such as ‘Where did the name Haeckels came from?’, ‘What makes
Margate so special?’, and ‘How did the idea for Haeckels come about?’ – through these questions, the publications allow the
readers to learn about the brand from an authentic source. It is
evident that the reason Bridges and Verier engage in interviews is to push the ideas behind Haeckels being a true and genuine brand.
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Other press that Haeckels has been featured in are informational
articles and blog posts. These articles revolve around publications writing journalistic pieces about the brand, some of these include visits to the flagship store in Margate or reviews of the pop-up shop the brand hosted at Ace Hotel, Shoreditch in 2015. It is interesting to see that a lot of press coverage that Haeckels
recieves stem from a “Things to do in Margate� article. Articles like these have been published by the New York Times, The Conde Nast Traveller, and The DeBrief.
Due to Haeckels’ London pop-up shop launching in April 2015, a lot of the press that they have received was published at around that time. 2015 was definitely the year that Haeckels got noticed by a larger crowd that was not so concentrated to just the
Margate community and it definitely has not slowed-down since
then, in 2016 came collaborations with the likes of Oliver Spencer
and Buster + Punch that helped Haeckels stay in the peak of their existence.
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Other kinds of press coverage include product reviews where magazines and bloggers have tried and tested one or two Haeckels products and write reviews about them. The most popular products to be reviewed by various media are the Seaweed Bath Soak, the Seaweed and Geranium Hand Balm, and the Sailor’s Beard Oil. The Sailor’s Beard Oil was named the second best beard oil of 2014 (haeckels_, 2014) by Esquire Magazine, but the article has since been removed from their website. The Seaweed Bath Soak has been featured in articles written by the Telegraph, SheerLuxe.com, and Anthropologie’s Journal. In the article on SheerLuxe.com, although it is reviewing multiple seaweed bath soaks from different brands, Haeckels has an edge, because Bridges is interviewed about the benefits of seaweed, therefore making the brand stand out amongst the crowd. The Seaweed and Geranium Hand Balm has been reviewed by the likes of the Guardian, the Independent and the blog, Get Your Bron On, which generally review the products through their ingredients and their quality.
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Every publication that has written about Haeckels has praises
its daring nature in making the world think about sustainability in a different light and loves the quality of each product. What has been outlined here is only snippets of the amount of press
coverage that Haeckels has been receiving since they started
in 2013. From looking at the first 10 pages on Google, it can be
seen that 2015 had 17 pieces of press coverage and 2016 had 14
pieces, therefore depicting that Haeckels have steadily maintained the buzz around them.
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In 2015, when Haeckels first began to receive attention the press and the public, they had an article published in the Telegraph online which was called “Meet the man who turns seaweed into soap” (Garratt, 2015). The article was very nicely written, delving into how Dom decided to start the company and how it grew from being a way to use the seaweed on the shore, to being an actual business that is becoming more popular.
Having a look at the title of the article, it is very straightforward that the article will introduce its readers to a man who collects seaweed and turns it into soap. But the word “soap” (Garratt, 2015) is quite raw and authentic – it is not Meet the man that turns seaweed into skin-care products. By using “soap” (Garratt, 2015), the Telegraph insinuates that this brand is slightly rough around the edges and likes to be that way. They do not want to be seen as an unapproachable brand.
The tone of the article is quite authentic with Dom’s quotes used to make the content more relatable, rather than a question-answer layout. The article really gave readers a chance to understand the brand that they were talking about and made the brand look quite fresh, unique, and one to watch out for.
The article also seemed to hint at bigger things to come, when it mentions that Dom discovered that the variety of bladderwrack that grew in Margate was used in premium skin-care products – it makes the audience think about the products as quite luxurious, rather than it being depicted like it belonged in a drug store.
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Now almost exactly two years later, the Telegraph publishes another article called, “Meet the man that turns seaweed into luxury cosmetics” (Fox-Leonard, 2017). This article is also about Haeckels and again consists of an interview with Dom, who discusses similar topics to the first article except now the brand is slightly bigger and slightly more popular. Therefore the tone of the article changes as well. In the title, the use of “luxury cosmetics” almost makes it seem like Haeckels produces make-up products. Cosmetics is usually a word which is more associated with femininity, so it could be understood that this article is trying to hone in the female consumer. Again Dom’s tone of voice is not too different from the first article, he talks about many of the same aspects ¬– how he went from being a big-dog advertisement director to the owner of a skin-care and fragrances company. However, this article seems to portray Haeckels as more high-end by mentioning that “by 2014 [Dom’s] products were stocked in Selfridges” (Fox-Leonard, 2017). The article seems to develop the conversation more around how many entities are interesting in Haeckels and how cool it is rather than the brand’s values and identity.
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Although the previous article does hint at bigger things to come, it is unclear what direction Haeckels might have been looking to take. Looking at the 2017 article, it is clear that the brand wants to be seen as a luxurious skin-care brand, which is slightly taking away from it’s authentic qualities and what made Haeckels so successful in the first place. Another aspect to note, is that the 2015 article was written for the Men’s Fashion and Style section of the Telegraph online, which might mould the article to be slightly more rugged and raw, whilst the 2017 article was published in the Wellbeing Mood & Mind section. This could also suggest that the brand is trying to change the readers perception about them – that they are not just a skincare and fragrances brand that has a masculine aesthetic, they are also a brand that has an understanding about the wellness industry as a whole.
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COMPETITORS
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Aesop Although Haeckels has openly said to take ideas from their many competitors, their similarities with Aesop are a bit too close for comfort. From the imagery produced to the structure of their website homepage, it is very clear to see where Haeckels gets majority of their inspiration Aesop is a luxury skin-care brand that was founded 29 years ago by Dennis Paphitis. Like Haeckels, Aesop’s founder is also male and the brand’s products are unisex (Tsjeng, 2014). It is clear that Aesop has been around for a longer time than Haeckels has and has now been able to establish itself as the aspirational, antibrand that everyone desires to buy into. The brand’s price points sit in line with Haeckels’ price point, with products being between £15 and £50. Below are a number of similarities that have been noticed between Haeckels and Aesop: Website: Structure is exactly the same: The first thing viewers see is a photo reel with snapshots of information that can be found throughout the website. Each image has a quick link that takes viewers to the page that the image relates to. As one scrolls, the next thing that can be seen are the products that are produced by the brand and the links take viewers to the e-shop. The last thing that can be seen on the front page as one scrolls, is 3 images of articles that have been published on their respective journal/article pages.
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Haeckels Instagram:
Aesop Instagram:
Instagram Imagery: Although the brands are slightly different in terms of their ethos, the way that they promote themselves on social media channels is similar. The way that a lot of the product is photographed against bold, solid background colours is present on both brand’s channels. On top of the tonal value of many images being similar, the concept of photographing only the hands to signify using their skincare products is utilised on both brand’s channels as well. Aesop does have a little more colour throughout it’s imagery, which Haeckels seems to be adapting into now.
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Product Packaging: Both the brands package their skincare products in tinted apothecary-style bottles. Although both brands insist that the reason is to keep the nutritional value of each product at 100%, the overall look comes across the same. The main difference between the packaging would be that Haeckels does not sell hand pumps due to the CSR values that they incorporate into their brand. Brand Values: Both brands consider the design and aesthetic of their brands important towards who they are. Although Aesop is more avid in the field of architecture, with each store being designed by a famous name, Haeckels draws inspiration from contemporary design. Differences: One difference between the two brands lies in the fact that Aesop, although organic in their ways, do not implement a strong connection with the ingredients that they utilise in their products. It is now well-known that Aesop products are of a high-calibre, but Haeckels definitely has a stronger CSR campaign embedded in its roots that involves their main ingredient – seaweed. Another difference comes about from Aesop’s fascination with architecture. Every store that Aesop has is designed by a different architect that creates a space that sits well with the neighbourhood that the store is in (Aesop.com, 2016). Haeckels does not have any in-built love for design, even though their store in Margate has been curated in a tasteful manner with inspiration from the National History Museum, London (Carr, 2015). A third difference between Aesop and Haeckels is that Aesop does not produce candles and fragrances. They are solely a skin-care brand, that over time have gained the trust of consumers who feel confident enough to buy their products.
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Haeckels Instagram:
Le Labo Instagram:
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Le Labo Le Labo is an American brand from New York, that specialises in
candles and fragrances. This brand was created 10 years ago by
Freddie Penot and Eddie Roschi. Again, like Aesop and Haeckels, Le Labo’s founders are both male and all the products are un-gendered.
The brand thrives on being authentic and preaches uniqueness and a youthful attitude through everything they create
(Lelabofragrances.com, 2016). The main difference that can be
noticed between Le Labo and Haeckels is that Le Labo is a brand that builds and creates stories of authenticity around the lifestyle that it portrays, whilst all of Haeckels’ stories begin and end with
their product. Both the brands come across as vintage and rugged through the imagery that they post on social media channels, although Le Labo’s work seems to be more curated than Haeckels’.
Continuing to look at their imagery, it is easy to say that, as it was
with Aesop, Haeckels and Le Labo have similar aesthetics to each other with dark colour schemes and lots of product shots. Again Le Labo utilises the apothecary bottle to package many of their
products, which seems to enforce the authenticity that they exude. In a way, the brands could have different approaches to
authenticity because they attend to different markets – with Le Labo being native to New York and Haeckels having a
quintessentially British background, their similar yet different aesthetics make sense.
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Seaweed Competitors There are many brands, other than Haeckels, that make skin-care products with seaweed as an ingredient. The more mainstream brands that have products containing seaweed include: The Body Shop, who have an entire range of skin-care products using seaweed as their main ingredient, and Lush Cosmetics, who have an organic seaweed face mask available. Neal’s Yard also produce an organic seaweed and arnica foaming bath (Astle, 2016). Other than those, there are smaller brands that originate from coastal areas around the England, Scotland, and Ireland that indulge their consumers in products solely based on varieties of seaweed. Below are short breakdowns of each of the brands and how Haeckels fares differently to them. Ishga: Founded in Scotland by Joanna McRae, a beauty therapist who had previously worked at Clarins and Malcolm McRae, a pharmaceutical assistant, who had a degree in marine biology, the brand encapsulates the dichotomy of science-based beauty (ishga.co.uk, 2016). Like Haeckels, the brand creates products with seaweed and other active ingredients which are sourced from the Hebrides in Scotland and incorporates facilities such as a spa into their brand. Unlike Haeckels, the brand separates its products by gender and does not produce candles and fragrances to sit beside the skin-care. Looking at Ishga’s Instagram, they only have 834 followers, in comparison to Haeckels’ 6K followers (Instagram. com, 2016). Also, they seem to come across as more medicinal skin-care than luxurious skin-care, as they showcase before and after images from using their products on red, blotchy skin. The main point of difference between Ishga and Haeckels is that they attract different customers and their brand ethos varies from each other. The Ishga consumer would probably not shop at Haeckels because the Ishga consumer is looking for products that are refined and medicinal, whilst Haeckels consumers are looking to be different, design-conscious and a rugged but refined attitude.
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Seavite: Based in Ireland, Seavite was founded in the 1980’s by Patrick Mulrooney, a marine biologist trying to find a cure for his daughter’s severe eczema. Thirty years later, the brand has been taken over by his daughters, Katherine and Jane, who are both doctors and use the Seavite collection as remedies for all patients at their skin clinic (Seavite.ie, 2016). One difference that already stands out between Haeckels and Seavite is that they are used for different purposes. Seavite is mainly a medical brand promoted as an organic remedy for skin conditions, whilst Haeckels is considered a beauty and lifestyle product. Comparing Facebook pages, as Seavite does not have Instagram, the brand has 3,471 followers (Facebook.com, 2016), which is just slightly more than the number Haeckels’ has on the platform. But considering the brand is 30 years old, this is not very much. Seaweed Organics: This is another Scottish skin-care company that was founded in 2008 and is recognised as the first seaweed skin-care company in the UK. The seaweed they source, like Ishga, is from the Hebrides. The company was founded when Diana Drummond, a Seaweed Skinfood company was bought over and made into Seaweed Organics (Seaweedorganics.co.uk, 2016). Seaweed Organics, although considered the pioneer in seaweed skin-care within the UK, does not seem to have a strong following behind it. Looking at the Seaweed Organics Facebook page, as again they do not have an Instagram profile, the brand only has 588 followers. Their product does seem to be at a lower price range than Haeckels’, with prices ranging from £4 to £36 (Seaweedorganics.co.uk, 2016). It seems that the ideal consumer for both brands would again be different as Seaweed Organics has a happy, beach-y vibe to its products with light blue packaging and hints of light wood textures, while Haeckels executes a darker, more rugged beach vibe which would essentially attract a different consumer.
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PESTEL ANALYSIS
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Political The UK government has decided to ban microbeads and
have them out of circulation by 2020 latest (Gov.uk, 2016).
This does not affect Haeckels personally, but it does affect the
skincare industry. Many mainstream players use microbeads in
their products, which results in millions of plastic particles entering the ocean every day. This ban will help with ocean conservation, which is something that Haeckels cares dearly about (Garratt, 2015).
With Haeckels sending their products into the EU, Brexit
might have a few implications on the brand (Ough, 2016). As
most of the Brexit laws have not been put in place, it is difficult to
hone in on what exactly will be happening, but it is safe to say that right now, there is definitely an uncertainty regarding trade within
the EU – exporting into the EU, as of now, has been steady, which is beneficial to Haeckels and since they do not source ingredients from around the world, there is no uncertainty regarding imports for the brand.
The UK government issued a blue belt in order to help
conserve the marine habitat (Godsen, 2016). Although this does not directly impact Haeckels as a brand, it is an area that they are interested and involved in because they heavily preach ocean conservation through their brand.
London had record high pollution levels in late January 2017.
Mayor Sadiq Khan was forced to warn civilians to stay indoors and not to exercise if they had heart or lung problems (Grafton-Green, 2017)
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Economical According to Mintel, the Body Care industry has been growing. The value will be up by 2.2% at the end of 2016 from £540
million to £552 million (Mintel, 2016). Although this is a good
thing for Haeckels as it means that there is a demand for body care products, they should be weary that they will face more competition as the market rises. Brexit has created some economical implications as well, as
the pound has become weaker (Ough, 2016). Although this has some negative impact on Haeckels, as they earn in GBP, overall it is not a principal issue. Harvesting greater amounts, reduces the price of seaweed
per unit. This could essentially help seaweed make a break-
through as a biofuel (Carrington, 2013). Across the world today, seaweed is used for multiple reasons – as a food source, as a vitamin supplement, and as an ingredient in cosmetics. But, many scientists suggest that the future of seaweed lies in creating biofuels to take over other forms of energy and harvesting more of the natural resource could help this happen faster.
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Socio-cultural The UK is moving towards being actively green and understanding their effect on the Earth. A Mintel analyst report from 2014 stated that 92% of Britons recycle some of the time, whilst about one in five adults would recycle more if they could see the benefits (Mintel, 2014). This lifestyle hits home with Haeckels as they try to make consumers recycle as much as possible by getting 25% off on their purchases if they bring their used Haeckels bottles back for refilling. From food to retail, consumers are now showing more support to their local communities (Mintel, 2016). 43% said that they were more likely to purchase things that were in some way helping their community (Mintel, 2015). Haeckels is already doing this as the seaweed that they source off the coast of Margate is known to be excessive and causes a smell that residents do not like. Thanet Council has initiated a two-year project starting in 2017 called “Guardians of the Deep” working with other councils and trusts and with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The project looks at educating residents of Thanet about marine habitats that surround their coasts and to actively promote a “guardianship role to protect Kent’s coastal and marine wildlife for the future” (Thanetcoast.org.uk, 2017) 104
Technological With the rise of the locavore trend, it is important for brands that are saturated to one area to make their products accessible to the rest of the publics through e-commerce platforms (Mintel, 2015). Haeckels does have an e-commerce platform on their website where consumers can purchase their products directly. They also offer world-wide shipping. With the rise of mobile shopping, Haeckels provides a web platform that is suitable for the small screen, where customers can purchase products from their smart-phones as well.
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Environmental Issues surrounding climate change have increased in the last month. Rainfall in South England is said to have risen by 40% and flooding is the biggest threat to the UK right now (Ralph, 2016). The reason this is important for Haeckels is because it is a possible point of discussion for the brand to highlight to their consumers since it has to do with the ocean water rising and flooding. Many scientists are citing seaweed as the biofuel of the future (Carrington, 2013). Seaweed has already infiltrated the world as a great source of food and cosmetics, but sources say that it will be able to reduce green house gases in the near future (Capuzzo & McKie, 2016). Although this does not have a direct impact on Haeckels, this is important to highlight as it is the ingredient that the whole brand revolves around and it might be an interesting point of discussion for the brand. Haeckels is a brand that uses only natural and organic ingredients to make their product. They also advocate for a sustainable future for the world. This is reflected through the packaging of products – they use recycled glass as bottles for a lot of their skin-care products and do not provide plastic pumps, as the pumps have seven types of non-recyclable plastic in them, and it would go against their morals as an eco-friendly brand to sell them (Singer, 2016).
"The main challenge is making the costs low enough, although they are continuously going down because research is going on all over the world. But if you can extract an expensive product first, then do the biofuel, you get a double whammy that helps the economics." - Phil Kerrison (to the Guardian) Marine Scientist at the Scottish Association for Marine Science
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Legal Haeckels has a license to source the seaweed on the English
coast. They have one of two licenses that have been issued in the UK. This license ensures that they are allowed to “hand-harvest and sell” (BBC News, 2012) the seaweed that they use in their products. A report by the Centre of Environments, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science (Capuzzo & McKie, 2016) stated that there were a “a total of 27 seaweed-related businesses were identified, based on web searches; 16 of them use seaweeds harvested in the UK” (Capuzzo & McKie, 2016). The fact that there are at least 16 companies using seaweed harvested in the UK, but there are only two licenses issued indicates that either the government does not enforce these licenses or there are many companies that could be in trouble. Haeckels makes their Terms & Conditions and Privacy
Policy available and easy to find on their website. The brand has links to these documents on their contact page in large text, which outlines theirs and their customers’ rights when an order is placed online (Haeckels.sco.uk, 2016).
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SWOT ANALYSIS
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Strengths Their USP has been well-implemented into the brand – seaweed seems to be an ingredient that has a lot of un-tapped potential and that is Haeckels’ main ingredient as of now Haeckels has great relationships with the brands that they have done collaborations with, like Oliver Spencer and some of the more niche stores that stock their products, like Hostem. All the collaborations that Haeckels has been involved with have been well-suited for the brand The CSR elements of the brand are embedded into the brand identity – Bridges is a volunteer beach warden himself, and makes sure that consumers know how important the ocean is to the world. Haeckels have strong visual imagery as a brand, and continue a similar aesthetic on various platforms and points of sale. As a young brand, they are still very popular with many niche design publications like Wallpaper*, AnOther, and Hole & Corner, all writing stories about Haeckels within the last two years. The brand has a sense of customer loyalty – a lot of consumers will go back and buy more once they have bought into the brand once Their flagship store in Margate captures every element that makes Haeckels the brand that it is today The products are produced of a high quality The past six months has seen a growth in skin-care based initiatives involving treatment rooms being set up in Marate and a pop-up in London which allows the brand to receive recognition for more that just their fragrances.
Opportunities Find aspects of the brand to draw in consumers without creating gendered spaces Build on the relationships that Haeckels has created with different shops that carry their product and find a solution towards store staff at various shops not knowing anything about the brand that they might be selling. Create forms of engagement that lead consumers back to the Haeckels website to essentially allow them to explore one of the main outlets to learn about what the brand does and possibly buy into the brand. Create more experiential spaces for consumers to get a first-hand glimpse of the product Sell the Haeckels lifestyle so that the brand’s skin-care range can grow and become more popular and most of their sales are not concentrated to only fragrances and candles.
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Weaknesses The brand claims to be unisex, but all its collaborations have been geared towards a male consumer. Although Verier stated that they have tried to keep their female consumer interested, this area still needs some work. Some of their imagery that exists on the Haeckels Instagram page seem to imitate imagery that their competitor, Aesop, use on their social media channels. The store staff at some of the mainstream concessions in London, such as Selfridges and Anthropolgie, do not know anything about the brand. Without a basic understanding of the brand background, staff will not be able to even introduce the product to potential customers, driving away a lot of sales. There seems to be a lack of engagement with consumers through the Haeckels website. The section titled ‘journal’, which is supposed to allow viewers an insight into the brand’s interests, does not get updated regularly ; maybe once a month. The price point for most of the products can be considered a little high, especially for a brand that is so young – some of the candles are £50 Potential consumers may not be educated in the benefits that seaweed can have on one’s skin and that might be the reason that Haeckels’ does not sell as much skin-care as they do their fragrances and candles. Also, as a young brand, consumers might not have the trust that they have in other skin-care brands to actually buy into their night creams and facial cleansers – Consumers need to justify spending £35+ on beauty purchases. As beautifully curated their stand-alone store in Margate is, Haeckels is losing out on a huge number of clientele who cannot access their store due to a number of factors, the main one being that they are not able to get to Margate.
Threats Haeckels’ competition, like Aesop and Le Labo amongst others, seem to be more well known that Haeckels. This poses a threat as if they are sitting next to each other in a store, customers that have never heard of Haeckels are more likely to buy into a brand that they have heard of. Aesop and Le Labo, as well as others of Haeckels’ competitors have stand-alone stores in London, which allows current and potential customers to experience the brand in its own space. Haeckels only has one stand alone in Margate. Entering the luxury skin-care market might take away from the rawness and the authenticity of the brand
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INTERVIEW
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Meeting Alex Verier I met Alex on November 16th, 2016 at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch. He was kind enough to take an hour out of his day to talk to me about the brand and the direction that he is planning to drive the brand in the near future. Due to the fact that we were sitting in the coffee shop, I was unable to record the chat because it was too loud with the music and the chatter of other people. But I did take notes about what he was saying. Below is a breakdown of the types of questions I asked him, and paraphrases of his responses. The reason I chose to interview Verier was because with Haeckels being a smaller brand, there are aspects that cannot be found through forms of secondary research, and I thought that if I was able to sit down with someone from the brand, I would be able to find out more about where the brand is heading in the near future, to make my aims and objectives more fitting for the brand. Through the interview, I found out a lot about the brand’s future endeavours, from p ackaging changes to a shift in Haeckels’ main focus. What Verier has told me will be put forth through my aims and objectives, and later my tactics, as I want my FMP to be as brand aligned as possible. I feel like this shift into sustainable thinking will be good for the brand, as it is a huge trend at the moment, and it is already very prominent throughout all aspects of what they deliver to their consumers and the press. Also, through this interview, I am able to justify my aims and objectives towards building tactics to engage with their female consumer, as the brand is currently falling short on dealing with that. At the moment, it is too early to tell how the thalassotherapy treatment rooms are faring with female consumers, but that will be something that I look into next term, as a tactic that they have implemented. Through this interview, I have realised that a lot of my future research into tactics, should revolve around sustainable acts and ways to engage the female consumer in that way.
Is all your PR done in-house? Haeckels handles all of their PR in-house. Although, they have invested in a PR company to promote the brand in Japan as the market is different.
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When I went to Margate to visit the store, I spoke with Gaspar [The Shop Manager] and he mentioned that there were
various elements that were changing in the next six months, like the packaging, etc. – how is Haeckels planning to change things?
In the next six months, Haeckels are actually dropping the ‘Made of Margate’ part of their name. It has done its job in developing
the brand through a community, that being Margate, but now it is
creating a sense of distance between them and their international consumers who cannot relate to Margate in any way and
obviously cannot just drive up to Margate and see the store and
the brand for what it is. They are also planning to change their packaging – you can notice through their Instagram and
website, Haeckels have continuously used neutral tones, but
they are looking at adding more greens and other pops of colour
into the the brand’s image. As lovely as the laser etching of each Haeckels bottle is, it is not practical in the long run as the brand
needs to produce more products in less time. Therefore, they are creating a sleeve out of recycled paper for the bottles. Also, the
boxes are going to change – all of Haeckels skin-care products, as well as the candles and fragrances will come in a cardboard box,
which will incorporate pops of blue or orange. The brand are also
planning to refurbish the outside frame of the store to complement the other changes that the brand is undergoing.
How is Haeckels planning to reach their international
consumers? Are there any plans for stand alone stores? Haeckels are actually planning to open a store in LA. There are
some new plots arising which are going for a decent price, so they are waiting to finalise. Other than that, London is on the list as
well. The team are looking at opening a store on Redchurch St,
where their competitors, Aesop and Le Labo already have stores. Many consumers are waiting for a Haeckels store in London after their pop-up at the Ace Hotel was successful.
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Would brands like Aesop and Le Labo be considered Haeckels’ direct competition? Aesop and Le Labo are the brands that Haeckels currently sits next to in the market, but the brand is aiming higher than that. Verier said to think of the types of brands stocked in Hostem, and the brand A.P.C. – that is what the brand are aiming for. He believes that Haeckels has a bit more to offer than brands like Aesop because they are still young and growing whilst their competition has been established. From everything that I have seen about the brand – collaborations to press coverage, it seems to me that although Haeckels is a unisex brand, there are a lot more male elements to the brand. Is this intentional? The team behind Haeckels is not trying to make the brand more male-oriented, it just so happens that they are a small team of people, who all happen to be men, and it’s just how the brand has unravelled. There are initiatives that have been activated, like the Thalassotherapy treatment rooms, that are meant to attract the female Haeckels consumer. In some of the brand videos, they have also made sure to have a female model to make it clear that Haeckels is not only for men. Verier, himself, has had to be the subject in some videos for the brand, just because there was no one else to do it. Who would you say is Haeckels’ ideal consumer? Haeckels’ ideal consumer is constantly changing. Verier said that they would probably be someone, male or female, that incorporates sustainability throughout their day to day lives. They would also be candle enthusiasts, as no one would buy a candle that costs £50 if they did not love them.
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Seaweed is obviously a large aspect about Haeckels, was this just because seaweed was available or did Dom want to work with seaweed? For Haeckels, seaweed plays a big role within all parts of the brand. It is accessible, because Margate is known to have excess seaweed coming up on the shore and all the products had a lot of health benefits that Dom knew about from his time in Asia. But, they need to grow. The team’s main focus in the next few years is sustainability – ever since Leonardo DiCaprio’s documentary was released, there has just been this influx of information about how to live sustainably and it’s definitely an area that Haeckels is going to delve into. In terms of your social media channels, I noticed that Haeckels followed quite a few fashion personnel and random influencers and brands that I wouldn’t really see the brand placing themselves next to – Is there a reason for this? The accounts that Haeckels follow on Instagram is really just Dom being Dom. It has nothing to do with the brand. Verier said that he does not handle the social media, but he has told Dom that he needs to be more professional with the way that he uses it. He used the example that the brand follows Dita Von Teese and she definitely does not sit with the brand. It used to be Dom’s personal Instagram account, so it is just a matter of refining the following to the brand’s desires. In a way, it makes the brand seem quite down-to-earth –Haeckels is just a couple of people trying to promote their products. But in terms of what they are posting on Instagram, there is now an in-house photographer who goes out with his drone to take a lot of the open air images that can be seen on their social media accounts.
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Looking Back at the Interview
Now in the second half of the project’s journey, I decided to look back at the interview that I conducted with Alex Verier and see
how far the brand has come and where they sit now. When this interview was conducted, the brand was in the midst of chang-
ing their brand image; their packaging was going to be easier to mass-produce which entailed taking away the laser etching on
each glass bottle and supplying all products in boxes. The brand
was also going to modify the imagery posted on their social media adding bold, bright colours and defined shapes. The biggest
change was that Haeckels would take their slogan, “Made of
Margate”, away from the brand, to distance itself from the town in order to become more international.
Verier made it very that although Haeckels sits in the same bracket as Aesop, they were going to continue to develop themselves into an even more luxurious brand – he stated that they want to
sit next to the equivalent of A.P.C. in skin-care. He also mentioned that there were various stores in the works – one in L.A. and one possibly on Redchurch Street in Shoreditch.
Nearly six months later, the brand has not really implemented
many of those tactics – as it sits, the packaging is still the same and the laser etching is still going through on all bottles. They
have however added small bits such as giving consumers a spoon when they buy powdered products like the exfoliant and the scrub.
The imagery has changed slightly to become bolder, and therefore the brand does not have as many direct similarities to brands like Aesop; they are finally finding their visual identity.
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With regards to losing the slogan “Made of Margate”, the brand has made an effort to shift away from that image – they even
dropped the slogan form their logo. However, they are still prominent in showing their love for the community and still actively
participate in building awareness about the coast. Their Instagram account also still dons the name @MadeofMargate, so there is
still a connection but it just is not the first thing that the consumer might find out about the brand.
The brand still only has one stand-alone store which is based in Margate. According to a recent article in The Telegraph, Bridges mentions that they are looking at opening a store in Covent
Garden (Fox-Leonard, 2017), which can be seen as a little more
preppy than Redchurch Street. This news seems to acknowledge the brand’s efforts to be seen as a more ‘luxurious’ brand. However, I feel like a store in Covent Garden might take away from
the brand’s true identity which sits well in East London who have
always had a flare for natural, sustainable, and more raw brands – which Haeckels is.
Although the brand has made a number of changes and come
through with some interesting initiatives, there does not seem to
be a set plan for what the brand will be doing with some concepts seeming quite random. The luxurious skin-care market is a solid target for them and they are well on their way to achieving that,
but I think some considerations need to be made in terms of staying true to themselves – after all the brand has always preached staying authentic to themselves.
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TREND RESEARCH
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Hipsterism According the Peter York, Hipsterism (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016) is a consumer culture that stems from the want to be authentic and individual in the way one conducts their life. This loosely-termed subculture of sorts is the umbrella that surrounds the rest of the trends that are seen throughout the Haeckels brand. Authenticity, building and maintaining local communities, and sustainability are all key elements of Haeckels, that also make up the lifestyle that exists around being a hipster (Peter York’s Handbook, 2016). Dom Bridges, the founder of Haeckels, advocates the life of an ideal hipster male – he gave up his creative career in advertising and filmmaking, to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams to produce things through hard labour. It is a well-known fact, that up until recently, Bridges used to sit in his Clifftop Laboratory and make Haeckels products himself (Richards, 2015). All the factors that revolve around the brand that he has created depict him as the master of all things sea-based. He has come across as somewhat of an expert in a field that he is not necessarily academically educated for, but has researched and educated himself. Due to Bridges encompassing features of an ideal hipster, the customer for Haeckels has been geared in that direction as well. While sitting down with Verier, he mentioned that the ideal Haeckels consumer would be interested in sustainability, which as much as it is one of the most popular areas of discussion right now, it is also an area that hipsters are concerned about when buying products – how will my purchase have an effect on the world today? (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016). It is also possible that because the hipster male has more physical attributes to pick on, that the male consumer that buys into Haeckels is easier to depict. This begs the question – who is the female hipster?
“The next incarnation of Hipsters is someone who has this sort of community spirit and community roots and they’re interested in the authenticity of where they live and the things they buy - it’s kind of an organic, argrarian take on modern life”
- Harriet Walker (in BBC Four Documentary) Deputy Fashion Editor, The Times
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Authenticity: The Real Thing Mintel describes this trend of authenticity as a movement caused by globalisation and travel. More and more people are travelling and exploring the world, which essentially makes them want to understand true aspects of unfamiliar cultures, and what people from different backgrounds find normal. Because of this, brands are constantly working towards creating authentic images for themselves. From production information, to their brand image, consumers are becoming more interested in all aspects of a brand and are able to detect “watered-down authenticity” (Mintel, 2016) within a brand’s structure. Another way to look into the trend is through the lens of the hipster consumer culture. Where consumers have to be constantly “in-the-know” (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016) about not only where the products are made, but how and with what ingredients. These are all backlashes to the industrialised world that we live in today, where most things that we buy are massproduced in bad conditions but because they are cheap, people buy into them. Hipsters strive for products of a high-standard that relay a story back to their consumers (Peter York’s Hipster Handbook, 2016). Proving authenticity has never come as a challenge to Haeckels. This is because the brand makes sure that they are transparent with their current and potential consumers about how everything is made and sourced. The elements of locally- sourced seaweed that is hand-harvested were not put in as part of the brand, they were elements that made the brand what it is today, and that is what impresses the publics the most. The lifestyle that comes with the brand is born out of the products produced, not the other way around.
“It’s the difference between buying a generic suit off the peg, that is made in Bangladesh under terrible conditions, and a hand-made product”
- James Rylands (in BBC Four Documentary) Founder of Redchurch Brewery
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The Locavore Trend
The locavore trend that Mintel approached as a mainstreaming one, is a trend that sits really well with what Bridges and Verier are already doing with Haeckels. The trend suggests that people are becoming more inclined to purchase and interact with brands that are local to them – Haeckels proudly states across the board that they source all their ingredients locally where possible, and they still envelop the attitude of being local to Margate, with their only stand alone store being there. Locavore has seen influence in many sectors from food to travel, it has also made its mark on the beauty industry. More mainstream brands are launching region-specific lines that utilise locally-sourced ingredients. With this the products come across as ‘artisanal’ and unique rather than conventional. One of the main implications of this trend involves how the sales of the brand impact the community. So in the case of Haeckels, the sales of their product impact the amount of seaweed that they source from the coast, which essentially helps eliminate the smell. Their sales also impact the Margate community as the seaside town is now becoming a hub for young creatives f rom London to relocate to. Other implications include brands being transparent as to how they source their ingredients and finding easier ways to access the brand if they are only based in one area, this could be through pop-ups, concessions, or online stores; Haeckels has been active in doing all of this.
According to a 2015 Mintel report called Local Living, UK, 43% Britons found it important to support local communities.
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Sustainability
Sustainable living in modern day, refers to any efforts taken by individuals to consciously not harm the planet that we live on. Whether that is through recycling glass bottles, or utilising reusable bags for your groceries, the key term here is: conscious. People are beginning to realise that their actions make a mark on the Earth and believe that by changing their actions, they will be able to change the destiny of the planet they call home (Szymanska & Laughlin, 2015). The modern world is seeing the build up of what LSN: Global refers to as “the Anthropocene” or “the human epoch” (Szymanska & Laughlin, 2015), where essentially we can no longer separate human life and nature, and we have to have a holistic approach in tackling what we, as humans, have done to the planet (Szymanska & Laughlin, 2015). Through this idea, more and more brands are trying to implement ideas around sustainability and the future of the planet into their brand’s future plan. When I sat down to speak to Verier, he mentioned the the main focus for Haeckels in the near future is continuing to develop sustainable aspects for the brand, even though they are considerably one of few brands that embeds sustainability into the core of their brand. One of the main aspects of sustainability in the beauty and wellness industry is utilising naturally-found, raw ingredients that have existing properties that work miraculously on skin (Bailey, 2016). This stems from the publics alternative use of home-made beauty products which they have found work better than storebought formulas. Haeckels already makes all their products from locally-sourced, hand-harvested seaweed and plants, and sells naturally occurring scents in their selection of fragrances.
In a February 2015 poll by The Future Laboratory just 12% of Britons said that ‘in the year 2035, my life will not have changed to accommodate shifts in the environment’ (LSN: Global, 2015)
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Sustainable Beauty
According to WGSN, there is an over-arching theme of sustainability within the beauty and skin-care industry. Brands are not only implementing a conscious approach towards the product that they are creating, they are employing sustainability throughout the packaging, the applicators and brushes, as well as the make-up bags used to hold the products (Yee, 2016). Sustainability within the product entails making make-up and skincare from plant-based ingredients or that has been packaged in eco-friendly, biodegradable containers (Yee, 2017). For example, beauty brand, Acure makes sure to utilise only certified organic ingredients within their skin-care, whilst L’Oreal Australia teamed up with Terracycle to create Dish and Hand Soap bottles from recovered ocean plastic and post-consumer recycled plastic (Yee, 2016). When asked, consumers stated that they were likelier to buy a more expensive product if they knew that it was sustainably produced, than buy a cheaper product that was not (Yee, 2016). In that, consumers are becoming more conscious of their impact on the world and want to minimise any damage by rejecting products that could in any way take a toll on the planet. From day one, Haeckels has always executed a 100% natural and organic product, with packaging made from recycled glass. They also have an offer which gives customers 25% off their purchase if they bring their bottles back to be filled. Another aspect of sustainability that Haeckels employs is that it does not sell hand pumps fitted onto their soaps as there are pieces of non-recyclable plastic in those pumps which end up in the ocean, and it would completely go against their brand values to use them.
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The Rise of Wellness Tourism
This trend refers to the rise of people wanting a well-balanced life. Retreats are becoming more popular where consumers can go and focus on their minds, bodies, diets and fitness; a lot of these retreats are organised by companies for their employers to literally live the work-hard-play-hard lifestyle and really receive the R+R (rest and recovery) that they require to be able to function in their high-stress jobs (Bell, 2016). With the growth of the importance on wellbeing, there is a sense of wanting to get back in touch with the world and our natural surroundings. Therefore many spas are offering what is knows as “eco-luxury” (Bell, 2016) where they indulge consumers in “treatments that use nature as a starting point” (Bell, 2016). There is a sense of comfort and relaxation that accompanies nature and with most people living in busy cities, inhaling toxins and not sleeping enough, there is more basis now, than ever, for a boom in the wellness industry and natural products. As Haeckels is a brand from a quaint town, Bridges tries to incorporate as much serenity to the brand as possible. With a booming wellness industry by their side and everyone wanting to try products that are made from natural ingredients, Haeckels has their sights on the right goal and because natural ingredients and revitalising products have always been part of their brand identity, Haeckels does not need to prove that they know what they are doing. Majority of their initiatives in the last two years have been based around the topics of wellness, relaxation and the ocean – which are all key elements of this wellness trend.
“Proximity to water offers an antidote to modern stressed-out living”
- Dr. Wallace J Nichols (in The Rise of Wellness Tourism Trend Report) Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences
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PART TWO:
TACTIC RESEARCH
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TACTIC #1: TREATMENT ROOMS
This tactic refers to Haeckels bringing their treatment room intiative from the back of their store in Margate, to Central London in order to build awareness for themselves as a brand and their natural, organic, locally-sourced seaweed skin-care products. As mentioned previously, the treatment rooms in Margate did attract people to the store – especially their female consumer, who the brand had slightly pushed aside previously. Although the initiave was and is still being well recieved by customers, the fact that the initiative is based in Margate takes away from the amount of attention around it and how much hype can be created around that story. In March 2017, Haeckels launched their residency at BEAST London, a men’s skin-care store based near Tottenham Court Road. This residency not only allows Haeckels to have their own concession within the store, but also gives them the space to have a treatment room in the store. Although this is great because BEAST has essentially given them presence in the capital, they are very clearly a male-focused store. With Haeckels being a unisex brand, they should find a space that incorporates both genders equally. 131
Other Skin-Care Brands with Treatment Rooms In order to look at how Haeckels could bring their treatment rooms to London, I conducted research into how other brands have gone about either incorporating treatment rooms in their store or partnering with spas. 1. NEOM wellness rooms: NEOM, being an organic skin-care and fragrances brand, is quite similar to Haeckels, in that it aims to incorporate a multi-sensory experience into their treatments by using their candles and their body products. The two treatment rooms are located in the back of their flagship store in Wimbledon and are classified as “wellbeing treatments”. There are four types of treatments: 1. Energise 2. Happiness 3. Sleep 4. De-stress which involve various massages, body wraps, aromatherapy, and guided meditations (Neomorganics.com, 2017) The interesting part to these treatments is that the customer does not get to choose which treatment they want, they have to indulge in what NEOM regards as a “Science of Scent ritual” (THE SPA MAN, 2016) which involves wafting four scents and finding out which treatment your body is craving (Luxury London, 2015). The treatments are available for men and women, although women are the main customer. Since the rooms opened in 2015, the reviews have been very good, with customers feeling re-energised in the focal point of their treatments. With regards to Haeckels and this concept, they have implemented it into their store in Margate, but because they do not have a store in London, they would not be able to physically facilitate that, although for a brand like Haeckels, that would be the best option.
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2. LUSH Spa: LUSH has created a full spa in the back of their King’s Road store in Chelsea. They offer 11 different treatments from full body massages to facials to foot massages. The spa offers an experience like no other, using their products to then create a sensory experience for the customer. With treatments named “Synthasesia”, “The Sound Bath” and “The Planets” (Ahlquist, 2016), the treatments are meant to relax the body through sounds, touch and smell. One review on the Good Spa Guide, described her treatment, “The Validation Facial” as more of an experience than having results to show on the skin (Goodspaguide.com, 2014). Also, all the reviews that can be found are by females, which could mean that the spa is only for women. Thinking about Haeckels again, LUSH, like NEOM has their treatment space at the back of their store, which means that they can create the experience in a space that was made for them, essentially making it more authentic. At this stage, this is something that Haeckels cannot do, due to the fact that they do not have a store in London, to be able to make that space even though they have created a treatment room in their flagship store in Margate.
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3. Natura Bisse at various hotels/spas around London Natura Bisse is a Spanish skin-care brand who has been able to infiltrate the British market by partnering with a number of spas, in hotels and independent ones, to develop a consumer base for their SPA products (Naturabisse.com, 2017). With innovative treatments offered across the country in spas like Agua at the Sanderson and AWAY at W Hotel, the brand is a popular choice for many spa-goers. Overall the brand receives rave reviews about the treatments that are offered with their products. In terms of Haeckels, this seems like a more viable option for them at the moment, since they do not have a physical store in London and they still want to create presence in the city.
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4. Cowshed at Soho House & Shoreditch House Cowshed has been around since opening their spa in Babington House in 1998. Since then they have opened a number of independent spas around London, but have also partnered with the hotel and members club franchise, Soho House, to be the sole treatment provider in all their venues, in the UK and around the world (Cowshedonline.com, 2017). Therefore, the spa can receive the same publicity as the hotel and can be accessed by exclusive members, and be promoted as a luxurious venue via word of mouth to other big spenders. The spa prides itself on providing a “homely� atmosphere (Sohohouse.com, 2017) providing treatments from manicures and pedicures to full body massages, facials and even waxing treatments. The spa caters to both male and female customers, although it is more popular with women, because of the manicures and pedicures offered. The concept of linking up with a hotel or members club and being the sole provider is something that Haeckels should definitely consider as they would have full control of the treatments they offer and how they want the space to feel to the consumers. The only issue is that Haeckels, being quite a small brand still, may not be able to have as many treatments available. Although that is a concept that can be developed over time.
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Potential Partners in London Initially there were two options regarding bringing the treatment rooms to London. The first option was to create a pop-up Haeckels space where they could conduct treatments in the capital. The other option was to find a hotel or a spa that already had rooms and take over the space as a Haeckels-only experience. After some deliberation, it was concluded that there would be more buzz if Haeckels joined up with another entity to bring their treatment spaces to London. These are the main contenders for stores/hotels/member’s clubs that Haeckels could engage with to bring their treatment rooms to the capital:
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1. Liberty London: Liberty is well known for having a buzzing beauty hall that both men and women of different age groups really take a liking to. From brands like Dermalogica to Aesop and Dr. Jackson having concessions there. At Liberty, they have treatment rooms which are constantly being taken over by different brands that are stocked there. Currently Dermalogica, Sisley, Skin Laundry, Omorovicza, and Biologique Recherche have treatment rooms available to book at Liberty (Libertylondon.com, 2017). With the diversity that these brands offer, there is something for every consumer, old or young, niche or classic. It could be said that the Liberty treatment rooms are more female-facing, because the beauty hall is mainly for women, with a separate mens beauty section at Liberty. This might not be what Haeckels is looking for as they are a unisex brand and they might not want to seem too female-oriented. However, Liberty is still a good option for bringing a brand to the capital and gaining a solid consumer base who will keep coming back. Liberty also has a slightly more sophisticated image, which will elevate Haeckels image as a natural luxury skin-care brand
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2. Agua Bathhouse and Spa, Mondrian London at Sea Containers: Agua is a Spa based in the Mondrian London at Sea Containers, based in Southbank. The space has been curated by British designer, Tom Dixon and has an artistic look of “space-age minimalism with lavish curves and splashes of gold” (Goodspaguide.co.uk, 2017). Although limited in spa facilities, as they do not have a pool, their aesthetic and treatments offered make up for it. Agua prides themselves on the collaborations that they conduct with various beauty therapists and niche wellness brands. Their treatments consist of facials, massages, body baths and scrubs by various, niche brands such as Dr. Jackson, Speizia, Natura Bisse, and Soveral (MorgansHotelGroup.com, 2017). Looking at the initiatives Agua are involved in with wellness brands, they seem to be a good option for Haeckels to explore. Not only is the space designed by someone who the brand has worked with before and are on par with on a design level, it also has quite a unisex vibe to it with same-sex changing rooms and mood lighting, which are in line with Haeckels’ aesthetic. The hotel is also located in Southbank which is the hub to many cultural hot spots in London like the Tate and has a contemporary, artistic vibe. If Haeckels collaborated with Agua, it would also open the door for them to collaborate with Dandelyan, a well-known bar with interesting mixology using botanical ingredients, which also fits into who Haeckels’ is.
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3. The Curtain Hotel & Private Members Club The Curtain is a new hotel and private members club opening its doors in May 2017, as mentioned on their website. The property is owned by New York hotelier, Michael Ackenbaum and is said to have 114 rooms, 6 suites, 2 restaurants, a wellness centre/spa with a hammam, a fitness centre, meeting rooms and co-working spaces (Defries, 2015), as well as a swimming pool with a retractable roof. The members bar will be incorporated into the hotel. The Curtain is based on Curtain Road in Shoreditch and is direct competition to Shoreditch House, just around the corner. The building is supposed to have an art-deco interior also involving some quintessentially British elements throughout (Sell, 2017). One of the restaurants which will open with The Curtain, is New York’s critically acclaimed Red Rooster, the other one called LIDO, will be on the rooftop with the pool, with a plant conservatory (Conroy, 2017). The main aim for The Curtain is to “bring luxurious accommodation to hipster central, Shoreditch and embrace celebrity clientele” (Edmonds, 2015). In this case, Haeckels would be able to partner up with The Curtain to lend their products to be used in the spa, which would go well with the luxurious hipster feel that the brand gives off and that the hotel is going for. It is a good long term solution for the brand, who currently have treatment rooms in Margate and in men’s beauty store, BEAST. By launching their products in a new hotel, they will attract the buzz that will already exist around the hotel’s launch, they will gain more expensive clientele, and they will be seen as a luxury wellness/skin-care brand.
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Due to the fact that Haeckels launched their residency treatment rooms at BEAST London after I had already decided to incorporate treatment rooms is a tactic for my 12-month strategy, I tried to develop the initiative further by enabling a more permanent space. BEAST is a men’s skin-care store, which would mean that the treatments offered there would attract a male crowd, and not a female one. In this case, I also tried to incorporate a space that allowed both men and women so that their products and treatments could be offered in the same space for both genders. A recent article published by the Telegraph online has Bridges stating that a treatment room at Liberty is “in the pipelines” (Fox-Leonard, 2017), which even though has been mentioned as a potential option above, does not bring both genders to the table, as the beauty hall is a more female-driven space within the store. Although Agua offers a lot of design elements that are similar to Haeckels and depicts that they do take on new and niche brands in their spa, The Curtain is a new build, which fits quite well into the neighbourhood and the hipster yet luxury scene that Haeckels seems to fit into. The Curtain also seems like a more long-term option for Haeckels, where they can be one of the main spa suppliers for the hotel and people become used to seeing them there.
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Making the Treatment Card Creating the treatment card for the Haeckels Spa at the The Curtain is an aspect that I wanted to conceptualise in order to imitate how the two brand aesthetics can work together. Both brands have a sense of ambiguity and masculinity to their identities and that comes through with colours like dark olives and blacks. Both brands also keep their aesthetics quite minimal and bold, yet The Curtain still embodies a slightly quirky feel with flicked ends on its lettering. The treatment card is kept quite simple, with dark greens, whites and blacks dominating the colour scheme with slight hints of yellow-y golds for some of the text to add a slight touch of luxuriousness, which is quite central to the hip, new hotel.
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As Haeckels is bringing their thalassotherapy treatments to The Curtain, it seemed plausible to theme the treatment card around seaweed and water; however, because The Curtain is seen as a high-end property, there needed to be a sense of affluence in the document. Therefore, I wanted to capture the fluidity of the seaweed on a white background, to take away the noise of the beach and the sand and make the experience of going to the spa and using seaweed-based products look classy – considering that the treatment card might be one of the first aspects of the spa that the consumer sees. The imagery was extremely crisp – by isolating the seaweed in a tub, the images that were produced had a sense of luxury to them which made them stand out.
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Press Launch Breakdown The best way to create hype around the spa would be to invite members of the beauty, fashion and lifestyle press to The Curtain for a one-night stay where they will be able to use the spa facilities and explore the hotel. As Haeckels is not a very big company, they will only be able to host a certain number of key press that either they have developed relationships with over their lifetime or that they feel would be keen to publish an article about the initiative.
There are various elements that will need to come together for this press launch to be possible such as booking out 10-15 rooms at The Curtain, co-ordinating meals with the restaurants at the hotel and negotiating times for the couples to go and enjoy the spa facilities.
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1. Hotel Rooms Each couple will be allocated a room for their complimentary one-night stay at The Curtain. As there are only six suites at the hotel, the rooms that will be provided will be the Loft Rooms which are the top tier rooms available to book. It is important that each couple is given a similar room so that nobody feels like they are not receiving the same comfort as everyone else.
2. Dining At The Curtain there are a variety of options available for guests to dine. Since the press will be staying over-night, they will be present for three meals – lunch, dinner, and breakfast. In order to make sure that the hotel and its restaurants receive some recognition as well, the press will indulge in meals at three different restaurants for each meal – lunch when they arrive will be served at Cotton’s, dinner will be at the well-acclaimed, Red Rooster with drinks at Trash Tiki, and breakfast will be by the roof-top pool at LIDO.
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3. Spa Treatments The spa treatments will be offered to the press on the day that they arrive at the hotel and after the lunch that Dom Bridges hosts for them. As there may not be treatment rooms for all the couples to indulge in treatments all at once, the guests will be encouraged to explore the hotel and find what else it has to offer with creative work spaces, a roof-top pool, and even a screening room for movies.
4. Press Pack At the end of the event, each member of press will be given a press pack to take home. Since this initiative revolves around skin-care, it only seemed right to produce sample-sized products to add in as a gift. The products that will be given in sample sizes are: the Eco-Marine Extract Facial Cream, the Seaweed Facial Masque, and the Seaweed/Sea Buckthorn Cleanser. The press pack will also contain a thank you note and a press release discussing the launch of the Haeckels Spa at The Curtain.
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Invitees As stated earlier, Haeckels would only be able to afford inviting 10-15 key press from various beauty, fashion and lifestyle publications due to their smaller budget. In that case it is important to make sure that the press that is invited are people that either Haeckels knows personally, and therefore are more likely to publish an article about them, or a publication that has similar values and aesthetic to the brand who therefore knows that their consumer will enjoy reading about the spa. A list has been created for the people that will be invited to this event. Each invitee will receive a delivered invite to which they will have to RSVP before getting any information.
It is important to note that some of these publications are ones that Haeckels has never liaised with before as they have not received a great number of beauty/skin-care press. But they are a neccessity because they hone in a consumer that would enjoy being at a spa, which essentially helps the brand’s efforts get noticed by people that it might not be noticed by otherwise.
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The list of invitees include: Olivia Singer – Fashion & Beauty Features Director AnOther Magazine Inge Theron – Spa Junkie Columnist How To Spend It (FT) Alessandra Steinherr – Beauty Director Glamour Magazine Jessica Punter – Style & Grooming Editor GQ Magazine Teo van der Broeke – Style Director Esquire Magazine Atip Wananuruks – Fashion Director HighSnobiety India Dowley – Travel Editor SUITCASE Magazine Suzanne Duckett – Spa Guide Editor TATLER Laura Fowler – Online Editor (Writes for Spa Guide) Condé Nast Traveller Leo Bear – Freelance Wellness Journalist Telegraph Luxury Lisa Niven – Beauty Editor Vogue Online Megan Gibson – Associate Editor Monocle Katie Service – Beauty Editor ES Magazine Lucy Halfhead – Assistant Editor/Travel Editor Harpers Bazaar Chris Sayer – Freelance journalist and editor; writes about grooming Shortlist
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Justification for Press
There are 15 key publications that have been invited to attend the Haeckels Spa press launch event at The Curtain. These publications have been selected because again, some publications have written about Haeckels before and understand the brand’s ethos, others are not typically who Haeckels would reach out to, but in order to receive a wide range of coverage, one needs to invite a variety of publications from fashion and beauty magazines to travel magazines.
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There are two kinds of press coverage that I am aiming for within this tactic. The first kind is press coverage about the spa. This can be picked up not only by Spa Guides and Lifestyle publications, but also Travel magazines and national press that deals with luxury. The Telegraph Luxury’s UltraTravel (see previous page) publication would be ideal for The Haeckels Spa to appear in a feature or in a London’s Best Spas Edit. This is because the readership of the Telegraph is gender neutral, and both men and women will see it (Telegraph Media Kit 2016, 2016). Leo Bear, a freelance wellness journalist for the Telegraph Luxury is on the guest list for the press launch in order for that material to be published.
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The other kind of press that I expect for this tactic is press about Haeckels products. As mentioned above, each journalist will leave with a press pack containing three sample facial products. That gesture is bound to generate some press. Magazines like Glamour, that have beauty pages such as The Glamour Glow Guide will be perfect for attracting a young female consumer to hear about the brand and develop a liking for it. Beauty edits which bring together natural beauty and skin-care products will also work well. SUITCASE Magazine is another unique publication to target with a predominantly female reader who loves to travel (SUITCASE Magazine Media Kit 2017, 2017). Having Haeckels product be showcased in a What To Pack Edit for one of their locations would give consumers outside Haeckels’ norm but with similar tastes to get to know the brand.
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Justification for Budget
It should be kept in mind that The Haeckels Spa is an on-going initiative as it has been developed as a long-term solution to having treatment rooms in London. Therefore, the costing of product supply to the Curtain has risen the cost of the tactic as a whole.
The two main elements for the budgets of this tactic are the product that will be used for the treatments and the cost of the press launch event. Because the product is from Haeckels, they will have to endure that entire cost of it which comes to: ÂŁ12,934 over a nine month period (ÂŁ1,549.35 per month).
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The press launch on the other hand will divide the costs between the Curtain and Haeckels which will ease the weight slightly. The Curtain will provide the rooms and two of the meals, and in return will have their logo printed on the invites and thank you cards, and will also receive a few pieces of press from Luxury and Travel magazines. The rest of the costs will be endured by Haeckels which includes the spa treatments for all guests – £1,500, lunch when the guests first arrive – £990, and the all elements of the press pack and invites – £750.
The total cost for Haeckels in this tactic is £16,174 The overall cost for this tactic is £19,684+ (it should be noted that no information about prices was available about two of the restaurants because the hotel is not open yet and has kept information quite sparse.)
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TACTIC #2: THINK TANK / CONFERENCE
With gatherings of the elite becoming a common way for experts in various fields to come together and share their insights, it feels apt that Haeckels create that space for the handful of companies and individuals that help create awareness about saving the world’s oceans. The main aim for this tactic is to help pioneers in the field of marine protection share their stories to local business in coastal areas to create an understanding about why it is so important to maintain these bodies of water that take up 70% of the Earth’s surface. With ocean and environmental sustainability embedded in their identity, this is an issue that is very close to home for Haeckels and to share it with their local coastal community would be a big achievement for them.
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Research into Conferences that Already Exist Over the last few years, the idea of bringing people together outside the office has been rising. Many big dogs develop their own conferences to enable people from different sectors to meet and discuss topics of similar interest with each other. One of the tactics being developed for this 12-month strategy is for Haeckels to launch their own version of a relaxing, yet stimulating conference, away from the hustle of the city. The conference will bring together leaders within sustainability from different sectors, which is something that lies quite close to Haeckels’ values as a brand.
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1. Google Camp Launched by Google co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin – 3 years and running Location: Sicily, Italy 3-day conference to bring together VIPs across technology fashion, and music Consists of discussion, relaxation, networking, and eating good food Attendees include: Karlie Kloss, Malala Yousafzai, Alicia Keys, Diane von Furstenberg, Pharrell, Queen Rania of Jordan, Evan Speigel, Lilly Singh, etc. Exclusive / Invite only – whenever this hits the press, it is because a celebrity has posted an image somewhere – no media covers what is discussed in this conference. The Google Camp has been quite successful in bringing together important and creative individuals that may never meet otherwise. Because of its quaint location, individuals get a break from the spotlight and can talk about their passions in a more relaxing atmosphere. The whole idea of having a remote conference is so that everything discussed is secret away from the media eye. Nothing from this conference gets press coverage, with media only finding out about the conference through social media posts uploaded by multiple celebrities. From a glance at the list of past attendees, it is easy to see that this conference has been a success from people like Evan Speigel, founder of Snapchat to Pharrell, singer/songwriter/producer, and Malala Yousafzai having made an appearance at the last gathering. 157
2. MaiTai Launched by Susi Mai, a professional kitesurfer and Bill Tai, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist – 10 years and running Location: Around the world – every year the festival moves to various kitesurfing locations A 3-to-5-day kitesurfing festival with 100 exclusive attendees Activities include Kitesurfing, along with a dinner and a presentation Invitees include: Andre Phillip and Gretta Kruesi, world famous kitesurfers, Richard Branson, Bisanz, Tom Katis, co-founder of Triple canopy, Dave Gilboa, CEO of Walby Parker, ex-Googler, Brandon Simins, etc. Exclusive / Invite only – a big deal in the kitesurfing world Unlike The Google Camp, MaiTai is a much less celebrity-studded event, with most attendees being entrepreneurs or investors in Silicon Valley start-ups – although saying that, the net-worth of the attendees is over £5.6 billion (Darke, 2017). This festival occurs every year is kept quite intimate with only 100 invitees. With the location moving every year, it not only becomes a nice catch up session with people they might not see otherwise, it also becomes another place that attendees have kitesurfed, which makes it more fun. Keeping the list of guests so niche and small, makes for a great place to network and meet potential collaborators and/or investors and to talk through start-up ideas. It is said that the Twitter concept was conceived whilst founders were out at this festival (Darke, 2017), which just strengthens the reason that this event is so important for the Silicon Valley start-up community. Past attendees have been ex-Google employees and entrepreneurs, therefore it can be assumed that although not big with mainstream celebrities, this festival/conference is popular with celebrities in the start-up world, and is a very successful event.
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3. BoF Voices Launched by the founder of Business of Fashion, Imran Amed Location: Oxfordshire, UK 3-day conference consisting of talks, discussions and activities held in the Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire Only a handful of invitees that are prestigious in the fashion world as well as visionaries from the fields of science, technology, health/wellness, food, film, politics, etc. Attendees include: Will.i.am, Joan Smalls, John Galliano, Quilliam, Natalie Massenet, etc. Like Google Camp, BoF Voices hosts a star-studded weekend away from the bustle of the city and gathers some of the most influential individuals in fashion to discuss the future of the industry. The conference keeps to a very compact guest list with only 100 people being invited with influential people from other industries, such as technology and music being invited too. This allows for a constantly creative atmosphere where everyone can engage in interdisciplinary discussions and contribute towards each other’s fields of expertise. Overall this conference, like Google Camp has been very successful and engaging with attendees including John Galliano, Will.i.am and Joan Smalls. BOF Voices hosts speaking events across the world at different points of the year, which also links up to the main annual conference. This conference receives a little more press coverage because Business of Fashion is a leading trade publication for the fashion industry, and therefore it promotes the conference to its followers and other publications such as Vogue, who attend the conference as well, follow suite. 159
4. Founders Forum Launched by Brent Hoberman, co-founder of lastminute.com 3-day networking event for technology and digital start-up founders and entrepreneurs Activities include debates, brainstorming, discussion, problem solving Location: many around the world; a main one is in London, UK Previous attendees include: Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, Niklas Zennstrom, founder of Skype, Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post, Daniel Ek, founder and CEO of Spotify, and Leilah Janah, founder and CEO of Sama Group, etc. Founder’s Forum is a conference that brings together entrepreneurs and founders of digital and technology start-up companies. Although it may seem quite similar to Mai Tai, Founder’s Forum comes across as a little more formal and business-oriented hosting lots of talks, debates and brainstorming activities. There are many FF events around the world all year around, but one of the main ones is hosted in London annually. The conference seems to have taken off with attendees including Arianna Huffington and Daniel Ek. This conference has taken on media partners such as the Financial Times and receives press coverage in technology publications such as the online magazine TechCrunch – therefore it can be understood that it is popular with the crowd that it is trying to attract.
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After researching successful conferences, I have understood that some of them are created more for the experts and to create a space for ideas to brew, such as Google Camp and MaiTai. However others, such as Founder’s Forum and BoF Voices have a good mix of both experts bonding and conversing over similar interests and educating others in the field about what more there is to offer and what can be done differently. Therefore, I have decided that TANK will be a conference which the public can attend, where for a small fee they can listen to experts talk about topics that they might be interested in because of they relate to the coast and where they live. Experts will also have their own time to network and talk about new ideas and possible collaborations.
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Potential Partners for the Conference In order to make the think tank work, Haeckels ideally should partner up with an organisation whose main goal is to protect the world’s oceans. Below are three organisations who would make strong partners with Haeckels. Although these organisations are not based in the UK, it can be understood that they are willing to host events anywhere to build awareness about their cause.
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1. Parley (parley.tv) – New York, USA An organisation for creatives to brainstorm with leaders in
science and technology to raise awareness about protecting the oceans. Founded by Cyrill Gutsch – “he converted his design agency
into an environmental organisation almost overnight” (Howarth, 2016). Influenced by Paul Watson, a marine conservation and environmental activist who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society AIR Strategy = avoid / intercept / redesign Focal point = plastic in the ocean Have collaborated with Adidas on trainers made from ocean plastic and G Star Raw and Pharrell on denim fibres that incorporate ocean plastic. (Palatucci, 2016) Talks by Fabien Cousteau, David Lachapelle, Tom Sachs, Julian Schnabel – Berlin Fashion Week, UN General Assembly, Palazzo Chupi In terms of Haeckels, Parley seems to be the perfect match. Both brands have a focus on ocean plastic, with Haeckels having initiated beach clean ups and not using hand pumps in their products as to not add to the plastic waste already built up. Parley seems to already have a great network within the design realm, which will work well with Haeckels’ design-based mind set, having been involved with initiatives by Wallpaper* Magazine, Dezeen and Tom Dixon. It might even be a good chance for Parley to infiltrate the UK market by supporting a local brand.
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2. Mission Blue (mission-blue.org) – California, US Founded by Sylvia Earle PHD The organisation’s aim is to explore and protect the world’s oceans. They introduced the concept of ‘Hot Spots’ – these allow communities to develop and understand that pinpointed ‘Hot
Spot’ areas are parts of the oceans that should be preserved, even if not considered a Marine Protection Area (MPA). By building a community, it allows leaders and policy makers to take notice and put laws or strategies in place to continue protecting the oceans (mission-blue.org) A Netflix documentary about Mission Blue was made in 2015 which was picked up quite well by the audience. Mission Blue seems to have a great foundation being created by one of the most known faces of marine biology, Sylvia Earle, who’s work has been admired by Haeckels by using her quotes on their social media pages. Haeckels, being from Margate, one of the most unique coastlines of the world, might be interested in the Hot Spot concept, but other than that there is no other real connection that the two have.
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3. The Ocean Agency (theoceanagency.org) – Sydney, AUS Non-profit organisation founded in 2010 by ex-advertising executives and creatives, Richard Vevers, Lorna Parry, and Christophe Bailhache. Focal point = The global coral reef crisis Their aim is to make creative technology to help tackle the ocean’s challenges with partners such as, Google and UNESCO They have been building a strategy around educating the public about the Oceans by creating underwater Google maps views, so that people can see online what is happening in the waters. Within the last four years, they have also had an exhibition at the Natural History Museum and a dinner with Sir David Attenborough. The Ocean Agency, having already infiltrated the British market, would be another good collaborator for Haeckels to create a think tank conference with. The Natural History Museum is a huge inspiration for Haeckels and therefore it is interesting to see a brand that has been able to exhibit there. The educational factors that The Ocean Agency has displayed, is something that Haeckels is lacking and although their main focal points are different, Haeckels focusing more on excess seaweed and plastic, their overriding ambitions are the same, which are to protect the world’s oceans.
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Out of the three organisations, Parley For the Oceans seems to be the best fit as they have the closest goals as Haeckels in terms of how they want to help the oceans with both companies revolving on reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean . Also, being involved in the design industry is something that Haeckels is very interested in, having had collaborations displayed during London Craft Week, London Design Festival and Salone Del Mobile, Milan and Parley has had a few high-profile collaborations with leaders in design and innovation.
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Potential Media Partners for the Conference In order to conduct a conference and guarantee some press coverage, I thought it would be best to incorporate a media partner as well as organisational partner, Parley for the Oceans. The three publications that I researched have different attributes that would work well for the conference, which will be outlined below. Overall the main deciding factor is what the publication/agency’s values were in terms of sustainability – if they are linked to ocean sustainability, then it would be even better. Another important factor is if the company has had any connections with the other two organisations and how their consumers will engage with the information from the conference.
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1. Monocle Magazine Monocle is a magazine published monthly that deals with design, culture, lifestyle, business and current affairs. Its reader is one who is intelligent and likes to know what is happening in the world. The individual would also be well-travelled and affluent.
Monocle discovered Haeckels when one of the journalists walked into their store in Margate shortly after it had opened (Fox-Leonard, 2017). Through this it is understood that the type of readers that Monocle attracts would be interested in a brand like Haeckels and would have similar values. The average age of someone who reads Monocle is 35, which clearly depicts that the individual would be more mature and open to debates and intelligent discussions (Monocle Media Kit, 2014).
As a media partner, Monocle would be able to offer support with regards to the talks that are scheduled – they could possibly be aired onto Monocle’s podcast. They could also host a meal for the group of experts that are invited.
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2. Dazed Media Dazed Media is a well-renowned publication agency that is responsible for the production of AnOther Magazine, AnOther Man, Dazed, and Hunger. Their founder and CEO, Jefferson Hack has a long-standing relationship with the ocean having grown up just a few miles away from Margate, in Ramsgate (Conway, 2016). Hack has also been known to host and speak at conferences with Parley for the Oceans founder, Cyrill Gutsch.
As this is a media agency rather than a publication, there are multiple magazines that the conference could receive news in, which is good news for Haeckels and Parley, as information about TANK and discussions about ocean sustainability will be more prevalent. The average age of a reader of a Dazed Media publication is 25 and they fall under the B-C2 class bracket (Calcutt, 2015). Although they are younger, and may not be as affluent as the Monocle reader, there seems to be a rise in creativity and that hipsterism lifestyle coming through with the Dazed Media consumer, which sits very well with where Haeckels is right now.
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3. Wallpaper* Magazine Wallpaper* is a leading publication in the design industry which covers happenings within the realms of design, culture and lifestyle. They are being considered as the potential media partner for TANK because their readers are quite similar to the current Haeckels consumer and the two brands are quite friendly with each other, having been involved in various initiatives together – for example, Haeckels invited Wallpaper* to host a manicure bar at their Ace Hotel pop-up in 2015 (Klingelfuss, 2015).
The average age of a Wallpaper* reader is 34 years old, which again stays in the same bracket at Monocle. Their readers are intelligent and style-oriented, to a point where they would pay more for quality products (Wallpaper* Digital Media Pack, 2017). This seems like quite a solid choice, just because the two brands work so well together, however there is the issue that Wallpaper* could be too design-oriented for a conference that consists of more than just that element.
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After researching these three entities as media partners, the best fit has to be Dazed Media. As I mentioned earlier, one of the deciding factors was the company’s values about sustainability and with Jefferson Hack being an advocate for protecting the world’s oceans and having lived in Thanet, it was a no brainer. Although the company does have a slightly more creative, younger, and less business-minded audience than the other two publications, it could be that the conference is looked at as a form of educating the youth of the United Kingdom about this issue and how they can help their coastal neighbours preserve wildlife and cut down on plastic pollution. Another highlight to having Dazed Media as the media partner for TANK is having the opportunity to infiltrate multiple publications with different audiences. With a global reach of 50+ million (Dazedmedia.com, 2017), the word will definitely be out that ocean awareness is important.
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Location: Why Thanet / Margate? As much as Haeckels has said that they want to move away from the idea of Margate (see Interview ), where the brand is from is quite an integral part of its identity. This is why it seemed right to have the first conference in a space that Haeckels cares about and has a coastal area which keeps with the ocean-sustainable theme of the conference. Another reason is because the founder of Dazed Mediia, Jefferson Hack grew up in Ramsgate, which is part of the Isle of Thanet – both Bridges and Hack have the closeness to this very part of the UK and will be able to bring forth a very authentic expression of care and comfort to the guests and the speakers. I also conducted more research into what is happening in Thanet currently in terms of protecting their oceans and coastal areas.
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Research into Marine Planning in Thanet / Key issues within Thanet’s coastal areas According to the Marine Management Organisation’s (MMO)
Sustainability Appraisal of 2014, the UK Government’s vision is for “clean, healthy, safe, productive, and biologically diverse oceans
and seas”. In this report it was identified that “coastal and marine litter and debris is a visual, ecological and economic problem”
(MMO, 2014) in that “ingestion of or entanglement in marine litter by mammals, reptiles and birds can result in mortality”. By
mentioning this, it depicts that the government is aware of the risks of littering the beach on the animals that reside there.
Thanet Coast, alongside a few councils and trusts such as the Kent National Wildlife Trust, and with the funding from the
Heritage Lottery Fund, have created a project called “Guardians of the Deep” (Thanetcoast.org.uk, 2017). This project aims to make the local community more involved with the marine habitats surrounding them by promoting an “ongoing and active
guardianship role to protect Kent’s coastal areas” (Thanetcoast.
co.uk, 2017). It is said that the marine habitats in Thanet are under threat because of “unsustainable and damaging fishing, invasive species, pollutants, and recreational disturbance” (Thanetcoast. org.uk, 2017). This project will happen over the course of two years from 2017 to 2019.
Due to Thanet’s desire to educate the public about the
importance of protecting the ocean and its inhabitants, it would
seem like Haeckels and Parley bringing their first conference to
this location would tie into this current and ongoing project. It could be understood that even if locals do not directly participate in the conference, the buzz of marine experts like Paul Watson and
Slyvia Earle being interested in topics concerning Margate and it’s
surrounding coasts might spark an interest in the matter and make residents more enthusiastic to learn about their coastal
surroundings. Also, with Thanet having some of the most unique coasts in the world, it will be a visual adventure for the ocean enthusiasts who have not experienced them before.
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Justification of locations chosen for TANK 1. Smiths Court Hotel As Margate is now a hub for city-dwellers to come and relax, there are many hotels and Airbnb apartments popping up to host travellers. Many of these places are boutique hotels and only have 10-15 rooms for people to stay in. After calculating, there are about 15+ people that would need to be hosted for the duration of TANK, and one of the only nice hotels available for everyone to stay under one roof was the Smiths Court Hotel. With 39 rooms, they are aware that many travelling groups may need a larger place for everyone. All rooms are charged with inclusive breakfast, and they even conduct an evening event for you if your group stays for two nights or more (Smithscourthotel.co.uk, 2017) The hotel is also very central to the other locations that will be utilised for the duration of the conference, therefore it is easy for guests to walk to and from the hotel between events. To make sure that everyone is comfortable in their rooms, 12 Double Rooms and 8 Executive Rooms will be booked – therefore slightly more prestigious guests, such as Paul Watson and Sylvia Earle, as well as conference organisers Cyrill Gutsch and Jefferson Hack can have slightly more indulgence than the others. 2. Margate Arts Club The obvious choice for any events would have been the prestigious Turner Contemporary because it is a hub of creativity and artistry within the coastal town. However, I wanted a constant space for the talks – something that was more in-built into the community and was run by them as well. Therefore I chose the Margate Arts Club. The Margate Arts Club is a social space which specialises in art, music, literature and science events to bring the Thanet community together. The space has been used as a venue by Mochi Mochi records, as well as a few artists as a place to launch new content or just as a gathering space (Margateartsclub.co.uk, 2017). Another plus point about the Margate Arts Club is that the space can be moulded into anything, the staff are up for the challenge and will try their best to create the space that supports the event. The space can host between 200-250 people, therefore it will not be a problem for the public to come into the space – there will be plenty of room. 176
3. Cliffs, Margate Cliffs is an alternative venue to the Margate Arts Club. Again, I wanted to keep the venues within the community to highlight small businesses in the area. Cliffs is a record store, coffee shop, hair salon and yoga studio with event spaces that can be hired out (Cliffs, 2017).
With Haeckels, Parley for the Oceans and Dazed Media being quite an alternative group, Cliffs makes for a great hang-out spot to add to that edginess It is where more of the conference’s networking events will happen, for invited guests to mingle and chat about various topics. 177
4. The Grain Grocer The Grain Grocer is a restaurant in Margate that revolves around healthy and “thoughtfully-sourced” (Thegraingrocer.co.uk, 2017) food. This is an important addition to the venues that the conference will be visiting because of the wellness values that are incorporated into every part of the company. It also happens to be Global Wellness Day when the conference visits the café, which adds a nice flare to the fact that the owners are well-geared with healthy living and living a sustainable life, which is also an over-arching topic of TANK. 5. Urchin Wines An art gallery and a wine merchant, Urchin is the perfect location to host a dinner with invited guests. The space is a lovely mix of art, culture and wine, where everyone can relax and socialise. With dinner being provided by India Hamilton, a conceptual chef who specialises in sustainable food, the space will incorporate the likes of food and art together while discussing sustainability within the respective topics (food and design) at the evening’s TANK talks. As all three partners are quite well-versed in creativity and culture, having dinner surrounded by local art feels like another way that they have involved the local talent within this conference.
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6. Buoy & Oyster Buoy & Oyster is a family run seafood restaurant and bar that overlook Margate Beach. As a seafood restaurant, Buoy & Oyster make sure to only source their seafood from local fishers, making sure that they implement sustainable-fishing policies (Buoy and Oyster, 2017).
With a great view and fresh seafood, the venue seemed ideal to host an outdoor guest lunch where everyone would be able to enjoy fresh and sustainably-sourced fish.
A common theme that can be seen throughout most of these venues is that they are all local ventures and they implement a degree of wellness or sustainability within their businesses. It is important for a conference that discusses topics of sustainability, wellbeing and ocean protection to actually incorporate those ideas throughout every aspect that they introduce.
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Invitees The people that will be invited to TANK are people who care about sustainability and protecting the oceans. Some of them are internationally-acclaimed activists who spend every day educating people on various issues surrounding the ocean, and others are small business owners from the local area who live next to a coast. Bringing the two together creates a group of people that can learn from one another and can come up with new ways to build awareness about plastic pollution and guarding marine habitats. The list is as follows; the people have been grouped by why they have been invited:
1. David de Rothschild – Adventurer & Environmentalist; Head of Sculpt the Future Foundation 2. Sylvie Guillem – Ballet Dancer & Marine Environment Activist 3. Paul Watson – Marine Wildlife Conservation Activist; Founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society 4. Sylvia Earle – Marine Biologist & Activist; Founder of Mission Blue 5. Eric Liedtke – Adidas Group Executive Board Member 6. Faizette Khan – Founder of Green Seas This group of people are the pioneers, the main activists, the ones that work towards creating a sustainable future for our coastal areas and oceans. Most of these individuals – David de Rothschild, Paul Watson, Sylvia Earle, and Eric Liedtke have all spoken at Parley events before, so they are seasoned speakers at Parley events. Sylvie Guillem and Faizette Khan have both got a large presence in the realm of ocean activism and therefore it is important to highlight them as important figures for this conference.
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7. Zoe Murphy – Sustainable Textiles Artist 8. Steve McPherson – Sustainable Artist 9. Simon Morriss – Head Chef & Owner of Buoy & Oyster 10. Wade Taylor – Founder of The Grain Grocer 11. Robert Payden – Works at Cliffs Margate 12. Melanie Mountfield – Owner of Roost Coffee 13. Orson Warr & Minnie-Mae Scott – Owners of Urchin Wines 14. Max Henderson & Nick Higgins – Founders of Hot Pod Yoga 15. Cat Crowther & Emrys Plant – Founders of Crowther & Plant, sustainable clothing This group of people are the prominent Thanet locals who own small businesses. These individuals might or might not instil a sustainable base for their companies, but they are all aware of the oceans and its issues because they live right next to it. These are the individuals who can make a difference in their community and they can take the first step into guiding the public in the right direction.
16. India Hamilton – Sustainable & Conceptual Chef 17. Douglas McMaster – Owner of SILO, sustatainable restaurant 18. Daniel Carrington – Head of Environment, The Guardian 19. Jack Johnson – Singer & Marine Environmentalist 20. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall – Chef & Journalist of Ethically produced and sourced food 21. Hugo Tagholm – CEO of Surfers Against Sewage This group is more of a miscellaneous group of people who are sustainable in their own ways – some more geared towards the ocean and others just generally concerned about the environment. They are still important figures to have present at a conference revolving around sustainability. This group are able to discuss more holistic views surrounding sustainability and how to implement sustainable acts into the day-to-day schedule.
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Justification for Press Because this tactic revolves more around building awareness within a community and showing efforts of giving back, there are not that many opportunities to receive press coverage. With Dazed Media as the main media partner for TANK, the in-depth conversations about plastic pollution, the ocean and design, will be published in magazines handled by them such as AnOther Magazine, AnOther Man, Dazed and Hunger. In terms of one big feature, I would like to see Jefferson Hack interview Dom Bridges and Cyrill Gutsch for AnOther Magazine after the conference has happened. During this conversation, the three of them can openly talk about their experiences with the ocean and develop interesting conversations based on the outcome of the conference. Hack’s segment Jefferson Hack’s Question Air would be ideal for this piece of coverage. This would be published in print and be available online, to increase the number of eyes that see the article.
Other than this main article, TANK will aim to receive coverage in national press such as The Guardian, as the Head of Environment, Daniel Carrington has been invited to the conference. There could possibly also be a short article in local Kent media before the conference, so that the public can buy tickets if they want to come for the talks. The national/local press that will receive a press release are as follows:
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Aurelie Boinay – Newsdesk assistant Evening Standard Lucy Siegle – Ethical/Environmental Writer Daniel Carrington – Head of Environment The Guardian Sarah Knapton – Science Editor The Daily Telegraph Siobhan Norton – Assistant Editor i-News Jonathan Leake – Science & Environment Editor The Sunday Times Kathy Bailes – Newsdesk Assistant KentLive
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Justification for Budget
Because this tactic revolves more around building awareness within a community and showing efforts of giving back, there are not that many opportunities to receive press coverage. With Dazed Media as the main media partner for TANK, the in-depth conversations about plastic pollution, the ocean and design, will be published in magazines handled by them such as AnOther Magazine, AnOther Man, Dazed and Hunger. In terms of one big feature, I would like to see Jefferson Hack interview Dom Bridges and Cyrill Gutsch for AnOther Magazine after the conference has happened. During this conversation, the three of them can openly talk about their experiences with the ocean and develop interesting conversations based on the ou Because there are multiple elements to this initiative and there are three entities in charge, the costs can be split accordingly. Haeckels will be responsible for the following:
50% of hotel cost (which includes breakfast) 100% of the Margate Arts Club fee (includes a bouncer and tables/ chairs) 100% of the Grain Grocer bill 100% of the Coffee and See bill 100% of the Minibus hire fee 100% of the Information booklet printing fees 100% of the Wristband Fees 100% of the Drawstring bag frees
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By taking responsibility for a lot of the smaller aspects of the conference like the printing and the minibus, Haeckels still contributes its fair share to the pot, leaving 50% of the hotel fee, 2 meal bills, and 1 venue fee for the other two partners to handle. Haeckels total costing for TANK comes up to ÂŁ2,030 The cost of the event as a whole is ÂŁ4,307
Although this does seem low, the hiring fees for the venues that are being considered, such as Cliffs, Margate Arts Club and Urchin Wines are quite low. The main expense is the food, drink and hotel. There is no travelling costs within the town because everything is 10-15 minute walk from the hotel and the activities such as the beach clean-up does not cost anything, neither does a coastal walk.
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Tactic 3
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TACTIC #3: WEBSITE RE-DESIGN
As a brand that is still growing, Haeckels still has some fine-tuning to do in terms of their aesthetic. It is understood that they have taken a lot of inspiration from one of their main competitor’s, Aesop – which includes the design of their website. To build their own brand identity and come through to consumers as a bold, minimal, and high-end skin-care, fragrances and lifestyle brand, Haeckels needs to upgrade their website to stand on its own and showcase everything that is unique about what it can offer its consumers.
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Research into Minimalistic Brands & Their Websites
Although I already have an idea of what the new Haeckels website should look like, it was important to look into successful website designs that encouraged a simple yet effective design. The brands/companies that I researched captured the essence of their brand in their websites – some kept the product as their main focus and some developed a visual story around the lifestyle that they offer. Overall, each website makes it clear to consumers what their values and their aesthetic is.
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1. COS – www.cosstores.com The COS website encapsulates the minimal, yet designconsidered aesthetic that they showcase at every point of their brand. The website is quite visual and not much text is used, as it could clutter the page, which goes against their vision for the website. On the landing page of the website, the first thing that can be seen is two images side-by-side – one of their latest women’s collection and another of the men’s collection; both as large as the screen. Viewers can scroll downwards to see two other screens on the landing page – one of COS’s latest collaboration with Olivier van Herpt, and another in the same composition as the first image, womenswear and menswear again. Directly at the top of the page is the COS logo in grey with a menu bar right below it with the tabs: Women, Men, Children, Things, Studio, and Magazine. The Men, Women, and Children tabs are quite self-explanatory – they are the tabs that viewers can click on the see the various product available for purchase. The Things tab showcases projects by various artists, architects, and other creative that COS finds interesting as a brand. The Studio tab allows viewers to sift through digital lookbooks and campaign images available for the newest collections. The Magazine tab refers to the COS Magazine – although the brand does not have the entire magazine available for viewers to read, they use that tab to make people on their website interested in what the latest issue will be about. The drop-down menus on each tab are very detailed. Not only do they separate everything into the collections that they are from, viewers can also select the product category from the drop down. Going back to the visual aspect of the website, even in the online shop, the product shots are clean and there is no text cluttering the image. At the bottom of the website page, there is another bar with essential information such as, About, Customer Care, Careers, Press, and Site Map.
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2. Maaemo – www.maaemo.no Maaemo, as a Norwegian restaurant, keeps its design minimal to mimic the Scandinavian simple yet design-conscious lifestyle. Even though they are a restaurant, they can be perceived as a lifestyle brand because only some of their imagery is actually of food – most of the imagery they have on their website is scenery of mountains and quaint landscapes – this could relate to the fact that the name of the restaurant is actually a Norse word for “Mother Earth” (Maaemo.no, 2017). The landing page that can be seen on the Maaemo website is a moving image of clouds and mountains. The image has a lot of blue and grey tones, which might be to instigate the calm yet cold feeling of many Scandinavian countries. The logo is placed in the centre of the image, with the head chef and owner’s name written underneath it in a white, thin sans-serif type, similar to the logo. At the top of the page is a white bar, with “Book A Table” on the left, and a three-line symbol for the drop down menu on the right. The drop-down menu is simple, with seven links: Menu, About, Press, Career, FAQ, Stories, and Shop. Each page opens up the same way as the home page – with an image taking up the screen, and a scroll down for more information with regards to what the tab is about. Once viewers have scrolled to the bottom of the page, they will see a white bar. This bar has the address of the restaurant, the phone number and an email address to make bookings on the left, and on the right are social media links, as well as the Michelin guide, as this is a 3-star Michelin restaurant. Overall, the way the information is displayed to viewers of the website, is clear and consistent. The aesthetic is in line with where the restaurant comes from and has a straightforward design but still looks good. There is not much text on each page; visuals help to create a lifestyle around the food and the location of the restaurant.
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3. AXEL ARIGATO – www.axelarigato.com The scandi-japanese hybrid brand, AXEL ARIGATO uses minimalism as a point of similarity between the two cultures that come together to form the base of their brand identity. The first thing viewers see when they land on the brand’s website is an image an AXEL ARIGATO store that takes up the screen. The image consists of a lot of white space, with the the windows of the store glazed yellow with black frames. If viewers try to scroll down, the background image changes as if in a photo reel to a woman wearing AXEL ARIGATO branded clothes and another scroll changes the image to a product shot of the shoes made by the brand. Another neat touch is that the background images can be clicked on, which take you to the respective shopping pages for each product category. If viewers scroll one more time, the last image on the background image reel is a small image of the AXEL ARIGATO flagship store in London with a textured white background. With this image is some basic need-to-know information like social media links, customer care, and a link to newsletter subscription. Although the information may not be immediately present, the simplicity of the website makes it easy to manoeuver and find any necessary information. On the left of the page, on top of the background image reel, sits a very basic menu which has the categories: MEN, WOMEN, OBJECTS, and WHAT’S NEW. This text is written in big bold, capital letters in a simple sans-serif font. Underneath the bold text, are a few other options: Stores, Lookbooks, Campaigns, Shipping Info, and Contact us. This text is written in a smaller font size to the text above it, and is not in bold lettering. The four categories in bold suggest that they are the more important tabs, or what consumers might look for in order to see and shop the product range, whilst the other links are important, but are more informational. When a bold option has been clicked, a drop-down menu appears and breaks the product down into various categories for easy shopping. Character is brought to the website by the textured white backgrounds in images, and pops of colour/tone of each product that has been photographed
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4. Leman Locke – www.lockeliving.com/leman-locke The website for these serviced apartments is very trendy. Unlike the other three examples, Leman Locke uses the simplicity of tones and shapes, rather than minimalism on a page. The first thing that can be seen on their landing page is three images – each image has a word typed over top: EAT, SLEEP, LIVE. Those words depict what the company can offer their clients, as they are a serviced apartment building. Each image is linked to webpages with more information about what they offer, for example if viewers click on ‘EAT’, they will see a page dedicated to the building’s on-site restaurant/bar/café, mentioning who they are, what they specialise in, and why they are different. As viewers scroll through the landing page, they also see a description of the Locke concepts that have been developed by SACO – the company behind Leman Locke, a gallery to see the inside of an apartment and the facilities provided by the building, and a map and the address of the building. Below that they link their sister Locke property in Edinburgh and a feed for their Instagram page. With all that information on the first page, it makes it easy for a viewer to navigate through the website and finding pages to the information they want. The website also has menu bars on the top and bottom of each web page which consist of the Leman Locke logo as well as the same links available on the main page – just to accentuate the main aspects of their websites. The options on the menu bar do not have drop down menus.
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After looking into these four minimalistic and simple, yet design-focused websites, it can be noticed that each one has their own quirk that makes them unique to one another. Each website depends on visuals rather than text to bring their brand image into their website. Haeckels seems to have a lot of text, which is okay, but it can be seen through this that they need to incorporate interesting visuals in order to keep viewers of their website engaged. It can also be noticed that for a successful website, all pages should be able to be accessed through drop-down menus.
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Justification for Budget In terms of budget to redesign the website, from looking at Expert Market online, it seems like the average cost of designing a website for a medium-sized company would be between £800 and £1,800 just for the design (Expert Market, 2017).
The Haeckels website is still quite simple, even with a re-design – the number of webpages will stay the same, and the basic content will as well. Therefore a good guess at the price would be £1,000. This would be a one time cost because Haeckels already have their own host and do not need extra monitoring or anything.
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Tactic 3
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TACTIC #4: MONTHLY NEWLETTER
This tactic falls in line with the re-design of the Haeckels website in an effort to better the brand’s internal communications with their consumers. Although the current website has a section on the bottom of the landing page to sign up for their monthly newsletter, the brand does not actually send out news monthly. They have sent out some emails corresponding to initiatives that they have been part of and Christmas offers, but they have been very sporadic. These communications need to be regular in order to keep consumers engaged with the brand and interested in what Haeckels wants to talk about. This initiative will give Haeckels a platform to articulate what interests them to people who are interested and could enable the Haeckels lifestyle to be further developed.
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Research into Monthly Newsletters In order to understand what Haeckels could incorporate into their monthly newsletter, I looked into what other brands, similar to Haeckels, sent out to their database. Whether it consisted more of announcing product launches or a building the lifestyle of the brand. The three brands that I researched are brands that are similar to Haeckels or that are successful in communicating with their consumers.
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1. Liberty Monthly Newsletter Like Aesop, Liberty also has a variety of newsletters that they send out to subscribers. One of them is a weekly newsletter which is called ‘The Week at Liberty’ and the other is a monthly newsletter called ‘What’s On in (Month)‘. ‘This Week at Liberty’ is an overview of the week at Liberty from new brands being stocked at Liberty, interviews, spotlights on collections, and events in store. The newsletter is quite short and is designed in a colourful, yet simple format which stays close to Liberty’s aesthetic. Each image is followed by a headline and a ‘read more’ tab for subscribers to get easy access to the full online version of the article. ‘What’s On In (Month)’ is a little longer as it covers what will be happening at Liberty over 30 days. Like its weekly counterpart, this newsletter also discusses new brand launches and events happening at Liberty, however, it also discusses if there are any pop-ups at Liberty that month, as well as a trending section which consists of images from Liberty’s Instagram page (@LibertyLondon) that essentially dictate what Liberty thinks is trendy for the month. This newsletter also includes another section with articles, where they highlight shopping edits, trends, and interviews from brand owners or interesting individuals.
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2. Aesop Monthly Newsletter Aesop has multiple newsletters that they send out to subscribers monthly – ‘The Ledger’ and ‘The Digest Australia’. ‘The Ledger’ focuses on the lifestyle of an Aesop consumer. The brand gathers together various information about new music, events or books that they believe their consumers might enjoy and sends it all out on a newsletter. The visuals are very simplistic sticking to black and off-white colour scheme. There are only line drawings on the page, which continues the simple aesthetic. Overall the page is quite wordy, but because of it’s simplicity, it does not seem like a lot of writing. The newsletter opens up with a literary introduction paragraph about a random topic – it is unknown who writes that section, whether it is an excerpt from a book or just written up by someone from Aesop. After the introduction, the newsletter is segmented into a number of categories which refer to various discussions that Aesop consumers might be interested in – the sections are titled as such: people, listen, discover, read, view, interview, visit, and attend. A small description is written under the heading with a clickable ‘read more’ that redirects subscribers to the full newsletter online. At the end of the newsletter, there is a quote from an well-known academic, author, or other kind of individual who sits well with the ideal Aesop consumer. There are also clickable tabs for product and archives. These newsletters could act as a benchmark document for the ideal lifestyle of an Aesop consumer – some consumers who might not be able to actually engage in this ideal lifestyle, might enjoy being part of it by reading about new and cultured events happening all over the world.
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‘The Digest Australia’ is Aesop’s monthly newsletter focuses around Australia, which is where the brand was founded. The newsletter consists of news surrounding cultural partnerships, new products, stores, and invitations to events. The layout of this newsletter is quite similar to ‘The Ledger’ – both of them keep to a black and off-white colour scheme, except in ‘The Digest Australia’ there are photographed images; one per article. These images are still clean and minimalistic to fit with the brand’s aesthetic. Again, ‘The Digest’ has a clickable ‘read more’ button which redirect subscribers to the full article online. One big difference between ‘The Ledger’ and ‘The Digest’ is that the latter is not available to read online, it is strictly a subscribers-only document. However, the articles that are featured in the newsletter can be accessed by anyone. 203
3. NEOM Organics Newsletter NEOM Organics does not have monthly or weekly newsletters, however they do keep in communication with their consumers and subscribers by sending out newsletters when there are new uploads on the website. Although the brand has a ‘Wellbeing News’ section on their website which is updated regularly, they have not issued a newsletter to round-up new launches and new articles – it is all sent out separately. In terms of articles, NEOM Organics conducts interviews with individuals who would attract the ideal consumer, they also send out news highlighting various collections of theirs and relating them to different wellbeing purposes. The newsletters are kept quite short providing a description of the article, or a few sentences about the product range and then having a link to read further online. The design of the newsletters are fun, yet simple which implements NEOM’s aesthetic quite well. Although most of the page will be black writing on a white background, they might add yellow or orange ascents to make the page stand out.
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Looking into the content of various branded newsletters has helped me decide what Haeckels’ newsletter should consist of. The basis of the newsletter is to communicate the Haeckels lifestyle to consumers and to highlight news that the Haeckels consumer might find interesting, therefore it feels apt to just send out one substantial newsletter to go over the month with what events Haeckels is interested in, artists and designers that the brand has found, what the brand is doing, and global news that Haeckels is interested in.
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Potential Guest Writers In order to make the newsletter stand out amongst other brands, it is important for Haeckels to incorporate an aspect that will essentially draw their followers into subscribing. One way that will create a sense of constant interest is by incorporating a guest writer. Guest writers will be individuals that have crossed paths with Haeckels at some point over the last few years and share similar values to the brand. They will write the introduction article called Notes By: - in which they will set the tone for the rest of the newsletter and can curate the content to their liking.
Guest writers will be approached a few months before the newsletter is set to go out. They will not be paid – Haeckels likes to incorporate authenticity within the brand and believe that with enough notice and a chance to act as an editor and talk about ideas that are close to each of their hearts, the entities should be willing to go through the process for free.
On the right is a list of potential guest writers for each month for the rest of the year (till January) and what they could discuss if they took the opportunity on:
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July: Dom Bridges As the founder of Haeckels, it is only right if the founder starts off the guest writer segment. This will allow consumers to develop a bond with the brand by connecting with the founder through the way he writes and structures his introduction article. Bridges will be able to introduce some of the essential topics that are interesting to Haeckels as a brand and invite subscribers to essentially hear his thoughts about where the brand stands.
August: Sylvie Guillem After meeting at TANK, Guillem could be a good option for a guest writer. Not only is she marine activist, she is also a dancer and this could show subscribers of the newsletter a more feminine side to Haeckels that has not been explored that much yet, without taking it too far from the core. Having a performer write the introduction will also explore a different segment of creativity which Haeckels has tried to do in previous Journal posts, but has not been able to execute in a well-nurtured and advanced manner.
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September: MyCoocoon Duo (Valerie and Dominique) With the LDF collaboration on the way, the duo could come on board for the September newsletter to create hype around their upcoming collaboration with Haeckels. Rather than discuss the collaboration though, they can create discussions around their expertise in wellness and colour and possibly how that ties in with nature and water, to pull the information back to Haeckels’ core. Having a couple write the introduction piece will also make subscribers understand that Haeckels is for everyone in a subtle but effective way. October: Crowther/Plant Duo (Catherine and Emrys) The Margate-based duo could use the platform to discuss sustainability in fashion and how they use their surroundings to inspire their clothing, just like Haeckels uses it for their products. This is the first local, Margate entity that has been mentioned in the list, therefore I thought they should be individuals that revolve their values around what would benefit their surroundings. November: Douglas McMaster Another individual from TANK, McMaster could talk about wellness, food and sustainability. As a chef and founder of his own restaurant in Brighton, he understands coastal regions and he can advise readers on how to improve their sustainability within the kitchen.
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December: Sebastian Pole Founder of Pukka Tea, Pole understands how to wellness looks in a cup. Being Christmas season, he could discuss his favourite Christmas flavours in tea and how to make your own tea to give as a handmade gift. Out of all the guest writers mentioned, Pole is the only one that Haeckels does not have an affinity with. However, as mentioned earlier, if he is passionate about wellbeing, then he might be willing to take the newsletter on as a passion project.
January: GoodHood Duo (Kyle and Jo) This duo accentuates what is cool and with their great eye for design, they could discuss bringing wellness into the household for the new year. Having stocked Haeckels products, the companies know each other quite well and they share the same ideas about aesthetic therefore not every newsletter needs to revolve around sustainability – it is a major topic, but Haeckels has other values that they can share with subscribers too. 211
Justification for Budget
As I stated earlier, the guest writers will not be paid for, as it takes away from the brand’s portrayal of an organic lifestyle – many of the people on the list have an affinity with Haeckels and would probably be happy to do it for free if they are passionate about what they are writing about.
Therefore the only cost that this tactic will have is the price of a newsletter hosting site, such as MailChimp. According to MailChimp, to send out unlimited emails to 1,501-2,000 subscribers it costs, £20.26 per month (MailChimp, 2017). Considering that Haeckels is a small brand and it will be a new initiative that may take time to catch speed, upto 2,000 subscribers is probably enough for now – as the database continues to grow, Haeckels can adjust their costing accordingly.
Since this initiative will be activated in July, the brand will have to pay for 7 months within this 12-month period, which makes the total costing for this tactic, £141.82.
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Tactic 3
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TACTIC #5: LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2017 COLLABORATION
This tactic is an outlet for Haeckels to portray their affinity with the design industry. Since 2015, the brand has made sure to have a presence at various design festivals such as Salone del Mobile, London Design Festival and London Craft Week by collaborating with design agencies or designers who share similar values. They have also developed strong relationships with design publications such as Wallpaper* and Hole & Corner who applaud Haeckels for their clean aesthetic and eye for aesthetically sound product and packaging. With all of this in mind, it is important that Haeckels continues to infiltrate the design world as it sets the brand at a unique position with it’s competitors, like Aesop, who are affluent with their aesthetics but do not play an active role to influence the industry. This tactic also allows Haeckels to further explore the theme of how to incorporate wellness into design and experiment with the natural scents that they are constantly creating.
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Haeckels’ Past LDF Collaborations Since 2015, Haeckels has played an active role in the design industry, developing initiatives for the likes of London Craft Week, Salone Del Mobile, Copenhagen Fashion Festival and London Design Festival. Although in Section 1, many of these initiatives were mentioned, it was important for me to look at them again to decide what I felt was the best fit to collaborate with them in 2017.
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The first year that Haeckels was present at London Design Festival was in 2015, where they were able to showcase their product at Tom Dixon’s MULTIPLEX at the Old Selfridges Hotel. The initiative was a success overall but did not bring in much press coverage about the brand because they were not a main entity in the process of its production – they were merely an addition to the main attraction. For this initiative, Haeckels provided their fragrances and candles, as the aim of the Multiplex was to create a multi-sensory, alternative experience to mainstream department store consumers. In 2016, Haeckels took to front seat at LDF and conducted a collaboration with design company, Buster + Punch. This collaboration consisted of Buster + Punch creating diffuser plates for Haeckels aromas and selling them as one product. With the launch of their collection, they also had a launch party at Buster + Punch’s London design studio – the event was ticketed, therefore the public was allowed to attend for a small fee and the brands could launch their collaboration amongst other Buster + Punch collections on show. It seems clear that there is currently a large focus within the design industry with creating multi-sensory spaces and spaces for wellness and exploration (Greenwald, 2016) . Therefore, it makes sense for Haeckels to continue focusing these design-led initiatives on their fragrances and candles, as that will create more traction than skin-care at the moment.
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Potential Collaborators
Since 2015, Haeckels has played an active role in the design industry, developing initiatives for the likes of London Craft Week, Salone Del Mobile, Copenhagen Fashion Festival and London Design Festival. Although in Section 1, many of these initiatives were mentioned, it was important for me to look at them again to decide what I felt was the best fit to collaborate with them in 2017.
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1. Smile Plastics
A design company based in London that recycles various plastics – bottles, yoghurt containers, plant pots, fold packaging, chopping boards, etc.
The recycled material is made into panels that can be
moulded into different forms and created into furniture, vases, and other lifestyle products.
A sustainable and handmade ethos is imprinted into their brand values
Their clients include Selfridges, Liberty, LUSH and
Anthropologie (Smileplastics.co.uk, 2017)
Participated in LDF 2016 by collaborating with OpenDesk
to make furniture items – OpenDesk used Smile Plastics
panels to make their signature pieces. (Londondesignfesti val.com, 2016)
Due to the fact that Haeckels is currently working with Smile
Plastics to supply various bits for their residency at BEAST, it
seems apt to consider that they extend this relationship to the
London Design Festival to create some sort of collaboration using
strong points from both companies. The only issue with this is that Smile Plastics does not usually create product, they deal with panels that designers or architects can convert into product,
therefore Haeckels does not have the skill set to develop this
collaboration. Unless they found a middle man to create some
sort of product, such as a limited edition bottle for packaging. The issue with that is the main material for Smile Plastics is plastic,
and Haeckels skin-care products and candles sit better in glass
containers, therefore this collaboration, however great it could be, doesn’t seem to work out on a production level.
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2. MyCoocoon Company that deals with chromotherapy initiatives around the world; they use colour as a way to channel your energies and make you re-energised Founders: Valerie Corcias and Dominique Kelly – ex-Pantone employees; they worked with Pantone to create PANTONE UNIVERSE (Cool Hunting, 2014) The company is able to create physical and virtual immersion spaces; they have products that enable consumers full immersion into the therapy such as the MyCoocoon Cloud which looks like an inflatable tent, but they also have products like an immersion wall, which can be placed in any room, to make that space a therapeutic one (MyCoocoon.com, 2017) Past initiatives include hosting MyCoocoon Pods at Sketch London in 2014 – guests were able to immerse themselves in chromotherapy when they went to the restaurant/bar (Cool Hunting, 2014) Participated in LDF 2016 with the French Design Trail – there is not much information about what they actually did during that week (FrenchDesignTrail.com, 2016) The way that MyCoocoon incorporates colours and design into the wellness trend is something that I can see Haeckels want to get themselves involved with. The idea that different colours can evoke different emotions has been a topic of interest for a long time but MyCoocoon’s interpretation of it is what makes the company so interesting. Although they have not had many high-profile initiatives, they have been receiving attention from a lot of design experts and pioneers in the wellness industry. A collaboration with Haeckels could involve using MyCoocoon’s knowledge of colours and Haeckels’ expertise in aromas to create a multi-sensory experience where each colour is linked to a different natural scent which helps individuals relax and re-energise themselves whilst being engrossed in the space.
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3. Asif Khan Although he has not directly worked with recycled products, he is open to working with mixed media and different materials. Designer of Xiringuito Margate – a collapsible restaurant initiative that had been set up in Dreamland Most recent project: UK Pavilion at Astana Expo in Kazakhstan (June – September 2017). The theme is future energy. (Asif- khan.com, 2017) Participated at LDF 2016 creating an installation exploring urban living using forest bathing spaces. This was done in collaboration with MINI – three types of spaces: Relax. Create. Connect. which had different activities throughout the week . The spaces were set up in Shoreditch. (Londondesignfestival. com, 2016) Khan has been involved with some huge projects but the main reason he felt like the right fit for Haeckels is because of his previous work at the prestigious Xiringuito which was first set up in Margate. This allows me to believe that Khan knows Margate and would be able to develop certain ideas with Haeckels that other companies or designers that did not have that much knowledge of the town would not be able to present. This collaboration could consist of an experiential space using recycled materials which one could immerse themselves into.
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After looking into three options, the best collaboration would have to be Haeckels X MyCoocoon. This trend of wellness and exploring new ways to feel good is growing fast (REF.) and 2017 would be a great year to be part of that conversation. This collaboration would also hone in on each of the companies strengths – for Haeckels, producing natural aromas and for MyCoocoon, creating immersive chromotherapy spaces. The two brands have very similar ideas in terms of wellness and they both value sustainability and incorporate it throughout their respective brands.
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Location to Exhibit Collaboration
For the location of this collaboration, I went with my gut instinct – The Barbican Conservatory. It seemed like the perfect place to create a quiet and relaxing space, within the core of the city for visitors to enjoy the Haeckels X MyCoocoon pods without any disruptions. On the next page is a short description about The Barbican Centre.
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The Barbican Centre is a place which showcases a variety of art forms – music, visual arts, performance arts, and more. They are situated in EC1, a five minute walk from Barbican tube station and are very much integrated with the Clerkenwell Design scene. As a company, they instil sustainable values across the board – they work on a low carbon emission policy and support a litter-free zone across their property. The centre has an open plan with tables and chairs scattered for individuals to work and have meetings. There are multiple exhibition spaces, as well as halls for music events and films. On top of that, The Barbican Centre has a number of great dining options, including Michelin-starred chef, Anthony Demetre’s Osteria. There is also a conservatory which is open to visitors of the Barbican; it can also be hired out for events and weddings. As a partner with London Design Festival, the Barbican Art Gallery has hosted many exhibitions which have been for LDF. The latest one was a collaboration between the centre and Bocci, with designer Omer Arbel creating a site-specific light installation (Londondesignfestival.com, 2016). According to the 2015-2016 annual reports, the Barbican Centre had 1.1 million attendances to its events and 210,000 visitors to their gallery spaces over the course of the year. They attract families as well as young creative individuals, which creates a diverse atmosphere for any event that is held there (Barbican Season Review 2015-2016, 2016). The space within the Barbican Centre that is being considered to host this installation is the Barbican Conservatory. This area is filled with various plants and trees and creates a hub of tranquillity within the city. With Haeckels and MyCoocoon heavily active around the wellness industry, The Conservatory seems like the perfect place for a diverse group of people that would normally visit the Barbican to immerse themselves into a quaint space within the city that they can relax and re-energise themselves using the pods filled with a multi-sensory, therapeutic experience. The Conservatory, although mainly hired out for weddings and dinners, has also hosted events such as a speakers event for the Young Visual Arts Group (Barbican Season Review 2015-2016, 2016) which means that it would probably be available for as a gallery space – the Barbican Centre is quite experimental and probably would agree to a concept if they could see the benefit of it.
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Open Day Explanation
In order to build hype around the collaboration between Haeckels and MyCoocoon, they will host an open day for press on the first day of London Design Festival. This way, there is an open schedule to show press around as and when they have time. Key press will be informed in advance and can make one-to-one appointments with either Haeckels or MyCoocoon staff to receive a more in-depth explanation of the collaboration before being able to try the pod for themselves. On the right is a list of the key press that will be sent an email invite:
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Andrew Tuck – Editor Monocle Magazine Rosa Bertoli – Design Editor Wallpaper* Magazine Anna Winston – Deputy Editor Dezeen Mark Hooper – Editor Henrietta Thompson – Contributing Writer. Hole & Corner Daisy Woodward – Contributing Editor AnOtherMag.com Rauridh Nicoll – Editor The Observer Hattie Brett – Deputy Lifestyle Director Telegraph Magazine Stuart Brumfitt – Features Editor Amuse Frankie McCoy – Features Writer ES Magazine Katie Berrington – Digital Arts & Lifestyle Editor Vogue.co.uk Tom Banham – Deputy Editor Jocks & Nerds Alex Doak – Contributing Editor Civilian Ray Murphy – Editor (Digital & Print) PORT Magazine Gert Jonkers – Associate Editor The Gentlewoman
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Justification for Press Some of these publications such as Wallpaper*, Jocks & Nerds, and Dezeen have covered Haeckels’ initiatives at London Design Festival before, therefore it is important to continue building the relationship with those publications with regards to this tactic. Also to be looked at as an established entity within London Design Festival, designers and collaborators essentially want to get published in one of these design-focused publications to solidify their presence at the event.
Ideally, I would be looking at receiving an online feature with one of them – Wallpaper* and Haeckels have the best relationship out of the three publications mentioned above with the brand providing space at their Ace Hotel pop-up for Wallpaper* to host a manicure bar during LDF 2015. This online feature would talk about the London Design Festival collaboration and how the brands together have taken the concept of wellness and created a design-led and innovative collaboration surrounding it. This feature would be written by Rosa Bertoli, who has written about Haeckels when they had a showcase at Tom Dixon’s MULTIPLEX – now the article will feature them as the main aspect.
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Publications such as Hole & Corner, AnOther, Civilian, and Vogue. co.uk have covered aspects of Haeckels away from design, such as their innovative skin-care ranges or their hand-made ethos. However, inviting them to the open day will allow Haeckels to lead them in the direction of wellness which creates a different angle for their consumers to read about.
A publication like AnOther, which has a creative and young consumer will like to read about a therapeutic space within the city. Press coverage in a publication like this would ideally be in the Through the Keyhole segment, which discusses interesting happenings around the world from fashion and beauty to design and living, as well as art and photography. The location at the Barbican Conservatory makes for some great imagery to go with the text. Daisy Woodward, a contributing editor to AnOthermag. com would write the article as she has written for that segment before, and as an expert in arts and culture, she would be able to capture the essence of the collaboration really well. The article will be published online, as there is a shorter lead time for online articles and London Design Festival happenings should be published soon after otherwise people forget it happened
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The other publications, although they have never covered Haeckels before, their target consumers are similar to the kinds of people that Haeckels are reaching out to. A good publication to receive coverage in would be the ES Magazine because they have a readership of more than 1 million and a good balance between male and female readers at 50/50 (Evening Standard Media Kit 2015, 2015). The collaboration could be featured on the Capital Gains What to do in London page put together by features writer Frankie McCoy. Even with a small description, it would be in a prime spot, at the beginning of the magazine which a lot of people will see.
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Justification for Budget
There are only two major costs for this tactic which are the cost of the venue and the cost of producing aromatic essential oils for the collaboration. The cost of the Barbican Conservatory will be split between Haeckels and MyCoocoon and at face value costs £42,000 for 14 days. This being said, the cost provided is what is given to people who want to have dinners and wedding ceremonies at the venue, which require a lot more elements such as tables, chairs, etc. It could also be that because the Barbican has a good relationship with London Design Festival, that the space will be provided to Haeckels and MyCoocoon for a lower price than usual. The cost of production includes creating the aromas – £115.50 for 14 different smells, as well as the cost of the digital nebulisers – £243.25 for 14 nebulisers (one for each scent). There will be five MyCoocoon pods available to be utilised at The Conservatory, which they will cost for, therefore Haeckels will not have to endure any of those costs. The pods are costed at £6,270 per piece, and therefore £31,350 for five pieces. The overall cost for Haeckels will be £21,359 The overall sum for this tactic is £73,709
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Overall Justification for Tactics All five of the tactics outlined throughout the document try to embody the lifestyle that Haeckels would want to portray towards their current and potential consumers.in order to keep them interested in their growth as a brand.
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