PLUG : MARKETING CONCEPT AND REPORT FOR LH
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Our aim is to communicate the brand identity of LH, a range of high-end bags for women to a wider audience whilst adhering to the brands key values: luxury and quality with a playful twist.
PLUG Ellen Robinson Becky Rogers Siannon Saunders Jelizaveta Sersta Rajbinda Sidhu 3
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 7: 1 Executive Summary 9: 2 Introduction 11: 3 Current and Target Markets 13: 4 Concept 15: 4.1 Placement 17: 4.2 Distribution 19: 4.3 Costs 21: 5 Conclusion 23: 5.1 Improvements 25: 6 Reccomendations 27: 7 Bibliography/Appendicies
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY LH is a high-end fashion accessories label and for 2012 is looking to communicate its brand identity of to a wider audience. During our research and discovered the young, creative potential customer of LH, it became clear that we should propose a video plus promotional materials. The success and style of a previous short film for the ‘Deep Sea’ collection plus the power of a video in an internet culture was a concept we felt would work effectively and stay true to the values of LH. We decided to document the craftsmanship and construction of selected LH accessories, not only did we as a team find these elements interesting, but they were also something that was yet to be exploited. We thought a good platform for our products would be online using the website for culture magazine Wallpaper* and social networks, with the intention of linking and tweeting to build hype and awareness. We have focused on Wallpaper as a modern, multi-faceted cultural business that is growing in popularity around the world and that we feel matches the LH aesthetic. We focused on the bags distinct colours and shapes and this helped us create proposals for items that include advertising for websites and a promotional package which would be sent to editors of certain magazines and blogs, with the intention of them spreading the word. We have also proposed a short animated film if the project were to be continued.
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2 INTRODUCTION LH is an ever growing luxury accessories label that want to develop promotional techniques to become known to a wider audience with the ultimate aim of gaining more custom, therefore increasing profits and providing opporunity and funding for future projects. As a visual project we tried to gain as much from the LH website and products to generate ideas. We also had contact with the designer meaning we could get feedback, change and improve our ideas. Our immediate idea was to base the concept on the idea of the contruction of the bags and exploit interesting elemets of them, such as their geometric forms, colour scheme and range of textures.
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3 CURRENT AND TARGET MARKETS We began by looking at the target audience of LH and identified potential new customers. We thought that previous collections would appeal to young individuals with disposable income who are possibly in the creative industry and aren’t afraid to stand out and want to invest in a quality accessory. We thought that the diamond collection however could be targeted at a wider audience as the designs are more likely to appeal to a less niche market. We wanted to appeal to a customer who understands the amount of work gone into the construction and who will appreciate the quality of the materials used. We believed our target consumer to be 25-45 and be established career wise, from a city, interested in not only fashion but have an interest in all things culture, and to possibly come from an artistic background. We found the target audience identification to be essential for the further development and overall success of our ideas. We then assessed brand perception within the audience, and worked on a message to address these requirements.
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4 CONCEPT Whilst researching we were really intrigued by the innovative ‘reverse origami’, 3D pattern cutting technique and the hand printed lining of the high-end ‘wearable sculptures’. After searching the company website we found no imagery or further details relating to construction methods, which we felt were interesting and appealing elements. The current economic climate has meant that people are ever increasingly in search of quality and value for money as well as the demand for products that are made in the UK. LH bags are high end items, and we wanted to highlight that the bags really are works of art to invest in. We felt that people would really like to see the work and process that goes into the creation of the bags, promoting them with a personal touch. Our concept is to document the construction methods of LH products. We plan to do this through the production of a short film and promotional materials. We took inspiration from a short Louis Vuitton film advertising the made to order ‘Taiga’ bag which used stop-motion animation. The video was for a high-end item, but had a playful edge that we though reflected LH in its mix of quality and humor. We also thought that stills could be taken from the video we make to create further advertisements for publishing.
Left: A storyboard to demonstrate a short animation documenting the process of creating a LH bag. 13
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4.1 PLACEMENT We intended for the video to be placed on Larissa’s website, preferably the first thing that you see when you access the homepage. We liked the idea of promoting our concept in a cultural magazine that focuses not only on fashion, but on design and the arts too, and chose Wallpaper* magazine as a publication that we felt could match the LH brand aesthetic. As a relatively new brand launched in 2010, we wanted to keep promotion costs down, whilst looking at the Wallpaper* rate card for magazine advertising, it soon became apparent that paper advertising is very expensive. Online Advertising is much more affordable and increasingly popular so we decided to focus on the Wallpaper* website, Tumblr, Twitter and thier weekly newsleter that is emailed to over 30,000 people. Social networks have become hugely popular and in mid March of 2012 Wallpaper* had 621,224 followers on Twitter, Just one ‘retweet’ could provide LH with thousands of new customers. Wallpaper becoming increasingly more popular around the world, giving LH even more scope for potential custom.
Left: The proposal that Wallpaper* could ‘Retweet’ LH, alongside an image to build awareness of the brand. 15
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4.2 DISTRIBUTION We decided to contact magazines, websites and blogs in order to make more people aware of LH. We thought a good way of doing this could be to send small, foldable look books that reflect the construction and forms of LH products, with the intention that people would be intrigued and visit the LH website or mention the brand name, spreading the word via social networking sites. We used the images supplied by the client to create a black look book that when opened is bold and bright, reflecting the new Harlequin Diamonds collection. We feel it reflects the brand in that it is both minimal and sleek.
Left: Proposal for the double-sided promotional lookbook reflecting the colour scheme of the Harlequin Diamonds collection. 17
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4.3 COSTS Much of our promotion will be based on word of mouth and the cost of using online services is relitively low. We do however incur some charges. Website Advertising for Wallpaper*: There is no figure for the cost of advertising on iPad or iPad services so we have used the general ‘online’ rate card. MPU: Mid Page Unit Costs invoving cpu are calculated by cost (£31) times when the MPU is clicked and links to the LH website. For example, 1000 views: 31cpm x 1000 = £31,000 In this regard it may be cheaper to advertise via Fireplace, which is the background which goes around and around the main part of the webpage, the costs for this begin at £3,100 depending on how long the Firelace is present on the site. Promotional Package: We have calculated that the price of 250 packages would be £ 221.49 and 500, £235.53. It therefore more cost effective to order 500. These will be specially cut and folded and will be printed on both sides. We also have to consider posting the Package. A large letter costs 75p to post first class via Royal Mail. 75 x 500 = £375 Total cost for Promotional Package: £610.53 Left: Online Rate Card for Wallpaper* 19
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5 CONCLUSION We felt our concept allowed the customer to see LH products in a more personal way by showing the construction of the bags and adding a new and exciting dimension to the brand, demonstrating the idea of value and that when you are buying a LH product you are not only buying a bag but a beautifully crafted piece of art work. We feel the idea is successful as it can be translated in a large variety of ways through both online and printed media. We have used the concept of construction to create a film, along with printed look books and advertisements to achieve a campaign that will work effectively to promote LH. The concept is also effective in that it can evolve and progress with LH. A new film surrounding the construction process of the bags can be made every season to enhance the brand identity in that the brand will continually be associated with being beautifully constructed pieces, which are truly value for money. We feel we have created a successful concept that with further relevant research and collaboration with LH will show a side to fashion that the industry seems shy away from and create an innovative and unique selling point and an exciting promotional campaign.
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5.1 IMPROVEMENTS Due to lack of professional resources and equipment we were unable to create a visual piece that would be strong enough to stand and represent the LH brand. We wanted the film to be sleek and sophisticated, and therefore felt it would be wrong to create a film without the correct resources. We have included storyboards alongside mood boards that demonstrate how we would want the film to be portrayed. More in-depth research into the placement of the campaign could have been improved. Initially we looked into the placement of imagery in magazines such as Wallpaper* without considering the costing. As LH is a newer brand, it would be more appropriate and cost effective to see the campaign online.This would also be more effective as the whole film could be seen rather than just stills. If we were to push the campaign further we could research into blogs and sites that would be appropriate to Larissa and contact them to see if the interest for our campaign was there. From our initial presentation and feedback from LH we improved the placement of our promotional materials in order to create a more coherent campaign.
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6 RECOMMENDATIONS 6.1 DEVELOPMENT If we had more time to develop our concept further we would research even further into the construction behind LH products. This would give us a more comprehensive view of our concept as we would know exactly how the bags were constructed and would make our existing ideas more relevant to the brand and true to the bags themselves. This would also give more scope for visual ideas. The products and promotional materials we’ve proposed can be easily rectified for future seasons when colour schemes and materials change. We feel our concept of highlighting the USP of British made, well constructed luxury accessories could be exploited for seasons to come, and could also be applied to a range of products if LH extends their range even further, the recent introduction of eye masks, for example. The USP can also be transferred to the LH range for men, Hadjio.
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7 BIBLIOGRAPHY/APPENDICIES Websites: www.larissahadjio.com www.printingdirect.com www.notjustalabel.com/larissa_hadjio www.royalmail.co.uk www.tumblr.com www.twitter.com/#!/wallpapermag www.urbansocialite.com www.vimeo.com/user1979126 www.wallpaper.com Interviews/Meetings: Interview with Larissa Hadjio Television/Video: Youtube: Louis Vuitton Taiga Bag www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AdozYRwmk Sketches/Storyboards: Siannon Saunders
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