Cavology report

cav + Grace Cooke n0376518 FASH 30002 Stage 2 : Main Document

4-11

introduction

global market [12-15]

the

retail market [16-17] homeware market 18-21

market.

market [22-23]

CO N

24-29

cavology

T EN

TS

nottingham

> shape shifter

consumers 30-39

the

> pandor's junk

> rubix box cube > magpie

big

48- outcomes 79

idea [42-47]

2 . w e b site

conclusion

goals &

1 . o u t d o o r c a m p a i g n

8083

3 . c a r d 4 . p u b li c at i o n 5

.

p r e

s s pack

4 The UK high streets are facing serious challenges from internet, mobile retailing and out of town shopping centres. All these factors as well as the economic downturn are contributing factors to this drastic statistic.

“One in six

Millions of Britons face the prospect of a life in “bland, homogenous metropolises” according to David Twohig, head of design at the Battersea Power Station However the reality is that there are Development Company. different brands on the high street, most (Owen, 2014) towns do have a Boots, a WHSmith, “Clone town Britain” gives a a Waterstones, a Marks & Spencer lack of differentiation to the market. and so on. It’s the 5% or 10% of less Independent stores bring back character well-known brands alongside them that and interest in the area specific high street, make the difference; along with all the creating a local identity. other services offered to consumers that make their experience more interesting. (Experian, 2011) Nonetheless by offering these services this still doesn’t deter consumers not to choose the well-known, consistent big brand stores. This is known as the ‘small firm’ effect a well known market anomaly in finance that was shown to exist in the early 1980s. The ‘small firm’ effect is the situation where firms with small market capitalization outperform larger companies. The ‘small firm’ effect results in higher overall returns to these smaller, less well-known entities. (Kumar Varma et al., 2013)

shops lies empty across the UK.

”

Fig.1, Redsmith Dining chair, Anthropologie

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6 National brands that are supported by their national promotion, find their way into the national psyche and so have become part of popular culture. Products or brands that people grew up with hold and still maintain a nostalgic attachment throughout people’s life, e.g UK brands like Marmite, Heinz or Oxo are a few examples of so called ‘timeless’ brands.

However in the ‘Recommendation Age’, where consumers crave a recommendation before considering a purchase. This is particularly relevant for commodity type purchase groups where 20% of purchases are influenced by reviews. People are also influenced by what friends within their social networks are saying about particular products they have purchased. Taking this one step further, 5% have actively sought feedback on a potential product purchase from Twitter or Facebook followers on their mobile. (Experian, 2011)

Trust is increasingly built on a peer-topeer basis via a networked collaborative economy, consumer confidence is not so readily granted to big companies just because of sheer size and prevalence.

These major brands have to work harder than ever to gain consumer confidence by providing an excellent product and excellent customer service.

Even the smallest companies can gain high-level consumer confidence when they offer an excellent product and excellent customer service.

CASE STUDY: zappos Zappos is an American online retailer. The original idea of the company was to create a web site that offered the absolute best selection in shoes in terms of brands, styles, colours, sizes, and widths. Over the past 9 years, the brand and aspirations have evolved, and in addition to offering the best selection not just in shoes, but clothes, bags, accessories and beauty products. It has built an amazing customer experience that it basically markets itself through happy customer referrals.

Fig.2, Zappos lookbook2014, Fig.3, Zappos lookbook2014, Zappos, 2014 Zappos, 2014

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8 The Government understands that the dominance of big named brands on the high street is a growing problem and one that needs to be tackled to help balance Britain’s economy again. One way that they are doing this is with a brand new £8 million initiative, designed to re-invigorate UK high streets. The initiative will allow businesses to compete for funding awards, in order to trial innovative ways of addressing the challenges facing UK high streets. Another part of the government’s long-term economic plan, is to create more jobs by backing British businesses, the measures in the package will make it easier for all the shops on Britain’s high streets to grow, expand and employ people.

Both the Grimsey Review and the Portas report, conducted by the Government look at the predictions for the future of UK retail, they emphasis that:

“the role of independents is key in d e v e lo p i n g the retail lan d sca pe . �

(Portas, 2011)

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10 A city that has tried to focus on its independent retail sector is Nottingham.

2012 saw the city run the campaign ‘the Independent Business Campaign’, and is still a core part of he current Nottingham:BID campaign. The project saw 160 independents join together in retail and leisure sectors. “Joining both sectors together creating collaborative marketing saw a higher impact, by only delivering one message to consumers, rather than bombardment marketing.”

(Tidy, N,2013) The Creative Quarter, a Nottingham based company, aim is to make Nottingham a great environment in which enterprise can flourish, start up, grow and sustain a creative innovative business. It also provides an easy-access point of entry for start-ups, innovators and enthusiasts who want to get involved in developing new business ideas, products and services. An action to step away from becoming a so called ‘clone town’.

Cobden Chambers is Creative Quarters new enterprise. Cobden Chambers is a courtyard shopping ‘hub’ that is comprised of all independent creative businesses from homeware, vintage/ antique items, fashion boutiques, jewellers, print and music.

Fig.4, Cobden Chambers, Own Image 2014

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This report is going to explore, uncover and unpack the best insights in which to promote a new interior company, Cavology that is located in Cobden Chambers. It will also seek to assess market traits and trends and the best routes to appeal to the target consumers. The aim of the promotion is to raise awareness of the brand, which in turn will increase the footfall into store. The key issues that the brand faces are; being new and unknown in the Nottingham retail landscape and the location of the store.

The store is positioned off the main high street so there is a need to create desire for consumer to seek out Cavology.

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GLOBAL MARKET Both brands and consumers have had to adjust to the constant uncertainty and predictions of the economic growth. Each impacting one another, creating the new normal. It is important for a brand, especially a new one to give due weight to the facts of behavioral shifts and patterns within society. With focus now turning to 2014 being the year of recovery, refinement and relevance.

The emerging markets such as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and now the ever prevalent MINT countries (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey)

are expected to grow and continue to keep growing rapidly in the next decade, therefore creating a larger market of middle class consumers. This shift will see the role of consumer purchasing power becoming a key factor in retail and an integral factor that retail will have to conform to. (Deloitte, 2014) With the increasing middle market consumer rising these countries will need to develop areas like education, housing, retail, technology and services to accommodate the needs of these consumers, all having a knock on effect to the global market.

Fig.5, Brick Wall, Anon, Not stated

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14 Retail is feeling the pressure to change, Neil Saunders, Managing director at researchers Conlumino believes that shops are likely to become places of exploration and inspiration, to stimulate the consumers into buying.

(Conlumino, 2014) A store needs to be an embodiment of the brand and a ‘destination’ for consumers where they can do much more than simply browse and transact; it will no longer operate as a silo but as an integral part of the multichannel experience.

Another change happening is the shift of consumers prioritising quality again. Almost half of

consumers globally are prepared to switch brands to one they perceive to be of a higher quality- even if the price is higher. Ipsos global innovation centre for market research polled 18,503 adults in 25 countries and found that 45% subscribed to the notion that “you get what you pay for”. (Ipsos, 2013) This change sees consumers re-engage with the want for quality over mass production, cementing the customer’s ideals for refinement and relevance in products.

CASE STUDY: storied STORY is a retail concept in New York that takes the point of view of a magazine, it changes like a gallery and sells things like a store. This means every four to eight weeks, STORY completely reinvents itself to bring to light a new theme, trend, or issue. STORY launched as a “Startup Store,” spotlighting emerging digital retail concepts and has gone on to tell a series of retail narratives including Colour, Making Things, and Made in America, to name a few. Change is at the center of STORY, so is innovative ideas about creating engaging experiences – from pasta making classes to talks from TED luminaries, inspiring brand partnerships with both start-ups and companies like HP and Pepsi, and consistent creative collaboration. The brands current ‘story’ is based on the topic: Good stories. It focuses on talking less and doing more, with the theory behind the topic being a ‘GOOD STORY’ is defined by its impact. Inspired by innovative social entrepreneurs – the brand have curated a marketplace devoted to changing the way Fig.7 Storied store-making things we shop. story,2012

Fig.6 Storied store-colour story, 2012

Fig.8 Storied store-wellness story, 2013

Fig.9 Storied store-New York story, 2012

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16 RETAIL MARKET Convenience is a key factor in the retail experience for the twenty first century consumer. “Consumers favour retailers that save them time and energy. By understanding retail experience from drive in to check out, you can maximize the speed, ease of shopping and build lasting customer relationships�

(SUDHAKAR, 2013) A sector that has utilised this idea is supermarkets.

They saw the gap

to extend their companies into different market sectors e.g homeware to offer the consumer an all-inclusive shopping experience.

Blurring the lines between the retail sectors, not only does it provide the convenience for the consumer but also opens up the opportunity to target new consumers, this benefits for both consumer and company. In Britain, supermarkets like Tesco grasp a rising share of the nation’s

shopping basket, with nearly 2,000 stores in Britain alone and, currently accounting for 29.1 percent of British supermarket revenue. (Citigroup Inc.,2014) It operates in 5 different sectors: food, non-food e.g clothes, petrol, home/living and finance. Trends like these are not just an attack on small businesses working in these different market sectors; they also threaten choice and diversity to consumers.

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Consumers favour retailers that save them time and energy. By u n d e r s tan d i n g retail experience from drive in to check out, you can maximize the speed, ease of shopping & build lasting customer r e la t i o n s h i p s

Fig.11, White metal chair, Lindock tumblr, Not Stated

HOMEWARE MARKET

2014 has seen a more buoyant housing market with 12.1% uplift in the number of housing transactions in the UK. This has a direct correlation with consumer confidence with more consumers say they’re feeling confident and the global consumer confidence returning to a pre-recession level, an overall index score of 96, with the UK up 3 points to 87 (Nielsen, 2014) “When consumers get more optimistic, this implies a relaxation of the perceived lifetime budget constraint, which results in a decrease in the marginal utility of income.� (Smith and Munro, 2009, p144) This theory is confirmed by a rise of spending seeing an estimated 19.2% increase from 2013- 2018. This has translated well to homewares with furniture being the best performing retail sector Jan 2014 (KPMG,2014) Showing that this is as good a time as any for a start up business to enter the market.

The homeware market is dominated by lowpriced mass market retailers. An issue that brands face is how can they add value?

Although value is different to each retailer, Mintel homewares 2014 report suggests that to add value in homewares the key lies with branding. Research shows that price is a more influential factor than the brand name for most shoppers, but they do respond well to clear signs created by brands that highlight differentiation such as styling, quality or functionality. (Mintel, 2014)

CASE STUDY: dunelm Dunelm Mill has bought Dorma, a leading linens brand, to create added value and to encourage trading up, this has resulted in the company seeing sales growth far outpace the market. The retailer reports that total revenue is up by 9.9% in 2014. (Furniturenews.net, 2014)

Fig.11, Dunelm lamp, 2014

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Homeware is a category with a lower online purchasing penetration. Although the need to recognise the wider impact of consumers’ online engagement is vital. In every category, except food, between 8090% of consumers said that the internet has some influence on their purchasing decisions.

The majority of responders predominantly researched commodity merchandise such as Electronics and White goods online with many switching back to stores to make the final purchase. (Experian, 2011)

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SW

Niche market. Selected few retailers operate in that section of the market, as seen in perceptual map.

Celebrates local talent. Only collaborate with local businesses, to enhance the Nottingham routes of the store Potential to cause intrigue. Drive people into the store to settle this.

Personable. Ability to meet the owner of the store, no big production line Change is the way forward. Part of Nottingham’s new initiative, as part of Creative Quarter Enhancers. Platform to show case local designers

Unknown. Brand is new and say no current brand message Poor location. Off the main high street, down a alley way

High price point. ÂŁ70 for a cushion, pinholes consumer type Poor Visual Merchandising. Full product rand not displayed within the space (small location) No loyalty. No consumer base formed as of yet Unclear. Store has a cluttered aesthetic, not inviting for consumers.

WOT Choice. There is a wide choice of homewares at a wide variety of price points.

Distribution. Homewares are broadly distributed and are available across a vast array of retailers as well as online.

Fashion. Style and fashion play an increasing role in the market for homewares.

There is a wide choice of styling across the retailers.

Incomes squeezed. Homewares take low priority compared with essential living costs such as paying utility bills, rent/mortgage payments and buying fuel. So rising prices in other areas of the economy leaves less discretionary income to spend on things for the home.

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Basics. Shoppers can select from a huge range of basics goods and low prices. So homewares are within reach of a broad range of people.

Disposable. Many homewares are at such low prices people can be encouraged to replace them ‘when they feel like a change’ rather than waiting until things wear out.

Treats. Many homewares are bought as gifts for other people, also be thought of as a treat for the shopper – something that they enjoy buying for their homes.

Deferrable. Some homewares are deferrable purchases and so people may decide to wait, especially if they have other demands on their wallets.

Brands. Own-label goods are taking precedence over branded ones.

Cheap imports. The proliferation of low priced imports makes it difficult for conventional brands to justify their higher price points.

Price sensitivity. Many consumers wait for sales or special deals before they buy.

22 NOTTINGHAM Outside London, Nottingham is ranked 6th in the UK Top Shopping Venues (Javelin Group Venuescore, 201314) which shows dominate market positioning in the UK. Nottingham is defined by its historic character of lace making and factories which play a crucial role in creating an attractive setting for retail in terms of interesting building structures, the play on innovation, craft and making.

Analysts at CACI calculate the annual retail spend in Nottingham is £1.73billion. “Yet while the facts highlight a strong centre the average shopper does not currently feel that Nottingham is a ‘top ten shopping experience’.” (Innes, 2012) Highlighting the fact that the city needs to bridge the gap between statistics and experience.

Homewares are available from a wide range of retailers.

Mintel homeware report concludes that a majority of consumers are more likely to use a wide variety of shops and websites when shopping for the home, stressing that loyalty isn’t a main priority to consumers when shopping in this sector. Nottingham is a city that accommodates a wide choice with discount shops such as Wilkinsons, The Range, TK Maxx and Home Bargains their focus on good value products aimed at the mass market. Department stores e.g

MARKET John Lewis, Next, Marks and Spencer attracting consumers that consider themselves finically healthy, Supermarkets providing consumers the convenience of everything in one place and big players such as Ikea. The market is relatively stagnant. The key factor would be to find a true point of differentiation over these competitors.

However when researching the homeware stores that Nottingham offers a key finding that stood out was the location of the previously named stores. A high majority are either located on the outskirts of the city centre or completely away from it in retail parks, with the main exception of department stores, as visualised on the left. This was a point that was also backed up by primary insight with a majority of consumers asked saying they felt that there was “no go to place in the city centre for interiors shopping.� (see appendix, pg24) Highlighting a major gap in the Nottingham retail market, as shown in perceptual map. (see perceptual map)

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CAV|OL|OGY lifestyle brand

Fig.12, Cavology store, Own image 2014

CAVOLOGY is an independent lifestyle brand, retailing high quality craft and design products, fashion, home and art based in Nottingham. The company promotes itself by playing on the fact that they use innovative techniques such as advances in material printing with heritage craft practices.

c-

va-

og-

l-

o-

25

y

All Cavology store, Own images, 2014

26 Cavology defines themselves on their website as: “ [noun] A system of creative applications used in retail as a study or practice: a Cavology for investigating lifestyle trends and the latest innovational technical advancements, [mass noun]: courses in research Cavology, heritage practice and using the latest technologies to develop forward thinking ideas.�

Collaborations are a key aspect to the business in harnessing local talent and celebrating creativity as seen in the brand model (see appendix, pg 10), which results in giving the consumer the exclusivity of one off products. This exclusivity is also provided through their bespoke service, allowing the consumer to custom make a piece to their specifications.

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Fig.13, Lab coats, 2014

28 Looking back at the perceptual map, (see appendix, pg 12), Cavology provides the perfect solution to govern the gap in the homewares market that both the retail landscape and consumers have outlined as a demand that Nottingham should cater to.

The perceptual map identifies that Cavology’s main competitors are placed in the high end of the market, with a mix of independents; Nash based in Derby, John Lewis and antique stores. The competition is wide, with each one bringing a totally different experience to consumers. Therefore Cavology needs to utilise this fact, by creating a unique consumer experience, to differniate from the others.

Fig.14, iconic furniture designs, Not stated

Vintage store, indie bar & club, cafes, barbers, tattoo palor, antique jewellers

Fig.15, Pelham street Nottingham, Own image, 2014 One of Cavology’s key problems is the fact of poor footfall. Although the area that Cavology itself is situated in is rich with businesses of the same style aspirations. It is therefore the objective to enticing consumers to add Cavology on to their destination path when in that area.

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THE The Future of the Great British High Street report, identified a consumer “wish list” of what shoppers want from Britain’s high streets. Of these key ‘wishes’, 71% wanted a wider range of independent shops and businesses, with clothes stores, artisan food and drink shops being most sought after.

(Groupon UK By Kantar Retail, 2013) so so report also states that 40% of consumers asked said that the factors of the item being unique and to a high quality finish was important to them. Both of these attributes

are key qualities that Cavology attains. Therefore Cavology has potential to succeed by having these consumer preferences already routed in the brand.

The 25-34 age gap was identified by Mintel to have the most influence on the homeware market volume, as these people are usually setting up home therefore buying more homewares than other age bands. (Mintel, 2014) Although Mintel classified 2534s year olds as key consumers

CONSUMERS in homeware sales, Cavology will encompass these but also appeals to a much wider target audience. The target audience in question is hard to define by a demographic but rather by lifestyle choices, stylistic taste and willingness to part with their pennies for products. Saying this the Cavology consumer can be broken down into 4 main archtypes.

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shape shifter

Fig.16, Angeluccio sofa, Mairead Murphy, Maike Design Studio, Not stated

32 meet the

they will know as soon as they walk into the store whether they will be walking away with something

doesn't look at the price tage, if they like it they buy it

tr

end lead always room to fit anoter item in their home

key needs:

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quality, finish, style

34 meet the

pandor's junk

craves a story to justify/ enrich the purchase, just a good story will sell the item

box

quirky

loves the miss match

taste

Fig.17, Living Room, Mixr, Not stated

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dislikes very little

36 meet the

rubix cube

their homeware personifies them

con

likely to stick to a pattern or certain colour palette

sidered

store experience is a key aspecy to buying, store will have to to make them buy.

Fig.18, Living Room, Design and style from a scandinavian perspective blog, Not stated

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assured style

38 meet the

magpie save the pennies until the purchase is soley worth it

ation seeker

a shop is an inspiration hub rather than a place for shopping

inspir

eyes are always peeled

thinker

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Fig.19, Minimal mordern living room, Tumblr, Not stated

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a

ims

To create a PR and marketing plan that drives a successful launch for Cavology. Along with setting up a strong foundation that provides a loyal and profitable longevity for the brand.

Cavology is to provide a platform that satisfies the needs of today’s consumers, which want to engage with the design journey and the origins of the products they’ve purchased.

With the innovative and collaborative aspect of the brand this feeds the consumers engagement to the purchase.

0

bjectives

[

-To create an awareness of Cavology within Nottingham

]

- To get customers into the store during the first month - To encourage visitors to purchase products - To make visitors want to return to Cavology

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42

the big big

The Idea’ is ‘start the reaction. This theme was chosen because it has direct and indirect connotations, resulting in both literal and philosophical meanings.

g idea Cavology itself, as a store is a reaction. Reacting to the current shift in focusing on introducing more independents onto the British high street and Nottingham investing in its creative retail. As mentioned before a main foundation point that Cavology builds themselves up from is the role that collaborations has in creating unique, innovative and exclusive pieces for the consumers. Collaboration sees the coming together of two separate minds, reacting together to create something new. This was the stepping stone for how the brand essence of reacting/ reactions would be the message that the brand promotes.

“Start the Reaction” is a message asking consumers to get involved. The message alludes to the fact that they will become a part of a bigger picture. By indicating to the consumer they would be a ‘key link’ in the reaction this provides an added experience, which as identified before the Nottingham consumer craves. It also meets the needs of the consumer that desire the traits of the personalisation trend.

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THE

START

reaction “The reaction� also physically represents the type of campaign; burst campaign. It will be a chain reaction process with lots of small messages across different platforms, some which interact with the consumer and some of which just generate an awareness of the brand. These will link together to create an all encompassing message, to be reinforced through the 360 degree campaign. Encompassing the

story telling trend, giving the consumer a so called narrative to follow. (refer back to the retail trend section) With brands fighting to be seen and heard by the consumers, having a clearly conveyed message is imperative.

CASE STUDY: nike CASE STUDY: Nike “Just Do It” is one of the most recognisable slogans of all time and the tag line that has been associated with the Nike tick logo for 25 years. Together, the logo and tag line feature the significance of Nike’s brand goals, ideals-athleticism and victory. The logo design symbol, along with the tag line, has evolved into a motto and the way of life for a whole generation. Nike truly distinguished itself in its ability to deliver a consistent message across 360 degrees, in comparison to one of Nike’s main competition Reebok who have change their brand message 14 times since 1987. With Cavology having no current message, creating a clear, memorable one, that will serve the test of time will give the brand a good foundation to work from.

Fig.20, White Nike Roche Run Trainers, Nike Website, 2013

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46

1.

bond consider 2.

5.

evaluate 3.

buy 4.

enjoy advocate

routes to consumer

With Cavology not pigeon holing a specific consumer this makes the role of advertising to each demographic a challenge. Each archetype has their marketing preferences and dislikes that the brand will have to utilise to gain maximum impact. “ not all effects are experienced by all people, at least not to the same extent. To some, these so called ‘individual differences’ that make some more susceptible to media effects than others” (Bryant and Zillmann, 2002) WGSN talks about the use of ‘right-time intervention’: “Online, retailers are recognising the value of stepping in at the right time in customer journeys, moving from a call-center mentality to one based around both service and revenue. Live chat help in real-time, is having a big effect on conversion. Righttime intervention in online customer journeys is set to become a standard feature of online and digital commerce in the year ahead. (WGSN, 2014) Although this is directly related to the journey that consumers face when online, the message on picking the right time to ‘pounce’ is something that Cavology can adopt.

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The 360 degree ‘start the reaction’ campaign has a myriad of messages that each consumers can tap into. The ‘All Seeing Eye’ theory states “the world exists externally to you, independently of your vision. The world is the way your ‘All seeing Eye’ sees it.”

(Gregory and Troscianko, 2014) Each one of the chain reaction messages will fall at a different stage of the loyalty loop (see left), affecting consumers specific to that touch point. The loyalty loop is a standardised experience that all consumers subconsciously go through. Therefore by using this as the basis of the route to consumer plan, this ensures that all consumer archetypes will be targeted.

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Fig.21, Black chair, Love minimal style tumblr, Not stated

1.outdoor campaign 2.web site 3 . car d

4.publication

5.press pack

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1:

To generate overall knowledge of the brand an outdoor campaign will take place. This will move to various points in Nottingham such as; the lace market area, near or outside the Nottingham contemporary gallery and market square. All these locations have a high footfall and are places that the Cavology consumers would be therefore are likely to provide most exposure for the campaign.

The campaign will be a life size freestanding cardboard model of a scientist. This will have the face cut out allowing consumers to imitate themselves as the scientist.

Attached to the scientist and also tied around the city will be a series of balloons with the hash tags #cavology and #startthereaction written on it. Attached to the balloon will be a cube with store details and also prompting to post on Instagram.

outdoor campaign The novelty aspect of the campaign will hopefully encourage consumers to document the occasion via photo onto social media sites.

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The campaign will take place on a bank holiday Monday, which also helps to up the exposure, as more people are likely to be in town.

Balloons were the chosen method of promotion because they are harder to throw away compared to a flyer or card and also with it being a bank holiday this method will appeal to the kids as well as just targeting adults.

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[THE CUBE] Fig.22, Cube for campaign, Own images, 2014

[THE balloon] Fig. 23, Balloon for campaign, Own images, 2014

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54 why?

Urban spaces themselves become objects of public debate and contestation

(Iveson 2077:36-46)

The outdoors aspect to the campaign provides the ability for all to enjoy, spreading the touch points wide that will hopefully encourage word of mouth advertising. As noted

by Andy Sernovitz, head of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA): “Give real people interesting things to talk about,

and make it easier for that conversation to take place.”

(Sernovitz, 2006) Primary insight also revealed that 76% of consumers asked are influenced my word of mouth advertising, as they believe it is more trustworthy (see appendix, pg 24) By creating an ‘experience’ that the consumers will directly be involved in this will

also help to boost the overall experience and create a lasting memory of that trip into town. By Cavology implementing this, it provides a starting point to improve consumers experience of shopping in Nottingham, something that other retailers in the area could take from.

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2:

Instagram

see it, snap it, upload it.

Consumers that have taken photos of the campaign whether that be of them posing in the scientist cut out or the balloons around the city will be prompted by the cube that the balloon is attached to, to upload them onto Instagram using the hash tags #cavology #startthereaction.

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why?

Visual language is the most predominant of the 21st century. Impatience has had a big effect on consumers and with the commonly know phrase’ a picture paints 1000 words’ it is no wonder this has translated in the nation turning to images to display what they have to say. An app that encompasses this mantra is Instagram, an online platform that allows users to upload pictures to their profile. These pictures can be found be searching hash tags, that have be published with the image.

Instagram has grown by 60 million users in 2013 to more than 150 million users. Every day it sees 55 million pictures

uploaded and 1.2 billion likes, the average user spends 257 minutes on the platform per month.

Instagram also boasts the highest consumer engagement of the social media platforms, 15 times that of Facebook. Every day it sees 55 million pictures uploaded and 1.2 billion likes. Scott Galloway, L2 founder and NYU Stern School of Business professor, said: “Humans absorb information visually about 100-150 times faster than words. It makes sense because we’ve been doing this for millions of years. If we can once again distill words down to visuals, it becomes a more powerful method of interaction.” (Arthur,2014) Primary research also shows that consumers use social media to follow

brands with Instagram being the most popular with 80% of consumers saying they followed a wide selection of brands over the retail, music, print and service sectors.

The responses being “ I just like to look at the nice stuff’ and about not being bombarded with promotional jargon.” (see appendix, pg 20) To validate the idea of this interactive campaign it was tested in real time.

Taking branded balloons and leaving them across Nottingham’s city centre, to mimic the balloon aspect of the campaign.

Gauging the results on how many posts came up when searching the hash tags #cavology and/ or #startthereaction. This was met with a good initial response with 40 posts when searching the above hash tags on Instagram. (see appendix, pg 38)

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3:

website As it stands at the moment Cavology’s website is very under developed, in terms of only main bulks of text, very little imagery, and selling 5 products in total. This translates a poor image to consumers. To keep the campaign as strong as possible the website has been redesigned with the focus on ‘start the reaction’. Collaborations are considered as one of Cavology’s strongest assets, therefore the main focus was to really enhance the ‘Cavologists’ section of the website, to convey the brand essence over to the consumer.

This was accomplished by adding profiles of each designer that Cavology collaborates with. This outlines what their company makes, a ‘get to know’ section on the person and a jovial fact, to personalise the brand in an approachable way, creating an experience rather than the sites sole purpose being to sell the products.

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Fig. 24, 3D printed sugar cubes., The Sugar Lab, 2013

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64 why?

A website is key link carrying the consumers experience offline to online. With research mentioned (pg 19) stating that consumers often research a homewares product online but favour offline to actually purchase the product with 46% saying they liked to have tactile contact with the product before buying. (eMarketer, 2014) Backing up the website should enhance the experience rather than solely just to sell the product.

Creating a good online experience for the consumer will only serve to enhance consumers experience. “Happy customers will tell about 4-6 people of their experience,

dissatisfied customers will tell twice that amount.” (White House Office of Consumer Affairs, 2014)

When looking at the retail trends (refer to retail trends booklet located between pages16-17) one that aligns directly to this outcome is ‘guilt free status’. This feeds the craving that consumers have to know the back story to a product. Choosing this platform makes that easily accessible.

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4:

card To prolong the touch point with the consumers after purchase, a card will be put in the carrier bag with the product at the point of purchase.

The card as seen on the next couple of pages will be the same as a standard greetings card. The cards will be part of a series which will change every month highlighting a different topic. These will be either graphic or illustration based and be something the consumer could display in their home just as a greetings card would be. Being a constant trigger to remember the brand.

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70 why?

To be in keeping with the light hearted sense of the other outcomes, and to provide an outcome just for the customers enjoyment, rather than a direct promotional tool

“

“One effect of image advertising, is to produce gradual shifts in our perception of a brand with regard to a particular attribute.”

”

(Sutherland and Sylvester, 2000).

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5:

publication In order to extend the brand as far as possible a brand publication has been created. This will be available to any one that enters the store.

The publication gives a general overview of the products Cavology sells, an introduction into what the brand does and stands for and a ‘coupon’. The coupon invites the reader to come visit the store to link to the next part of the reaction process whether that will be money off a product etc would be a decision the brand would have to make. The publication will change regularly, updating any news, products or events.

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74 why?

The topic of the “death of print” has been greatly queried and questioned over the last couple of years.

With the focus on new emerging technologies, print was cast into a shadow. Companies reacted to this by reinstating print to its former glory in the form of lookbooks, zines, magazines and books. Some of the internet’s big fashion sites such as style.com, asos.com and netaporter.com, even Google itself – are now publishing print magazines, using traditional media to refresh the parts of their business model that other solutions can’t reach.

By including a coupon on the publication this taps into the ‘coupon mind’. Powered by the recession, the consumer gains a psychology benefit of saving money by spending. (see appendix, pg 36) Retailers that inspire by presenting interesting ways to present ideals through coordinated ‘looks’ to give them an inspiration boost will perform well, whether this is displayed through a look book, online section, catalogue or blog. Examples include Next’s directory pages, the Ideas and Homes Ikea magazine or John Lewis’s ‘Top ten picks for Home’. (Mintel,2014)

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6:

press pack To gain maximum publicity to promote our campaign across as many mediums as possible e.g print, radio, tv a press pack has been created to maintain a consistent and solid brand message is portrayed. This will be sent out to all appropriate companies/ broadcasters best suited to the brand.

The press pack includes a press release, a brand handbook, the card of the month and a printed balloon like the one that will be part of the outdoor campaign. To fully encompass the ‘start the reaction’ campaign and to give the media a physical representation of the impact the campaign itself has, the person opening the press pack will be asked to Instagram a picture of their reaction using the previous hash tags (#cavology and #startthereaction).

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78 why?

The press pack is another way of spreading the message about the ‘start reaction’ campaign that serves to promote Cavology. One would assume that a higher publicity level would suggest a successful campaign, as the message is being spread over a larger span of outlets, making it more available for more people to hear about.

As mentioned previously (pg 6) we currently find ourselves in the ‘Recommendation Age’. One of the longest standing ways that consumers gain recommendation was through media outlets. Therefore these should not be ignored, the more touch points for consumers to be influenced by.

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Fig. 25, yellow metal wire chair, Al Ex Equiste blog, Not stated

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goals: 1.outdoor campaign

2.web site

3 . car d

Over 100 posts when searching #cavology #startthereaction on Instagram

10 new people creating in online traffic per week.

Drive consumer to make a repeat visit into store

Monitor any other social media sites e.g twitter and facebook for posts the mention the campaign

Any contact direct to local designers , noting any mention from seeing their profiles on the website.

4.publication

5.press pack

Drive consumer a repeat visit

To have 5 seperate broadcasts preferably on different mediums promoting the campaign.

to into

make store

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conclusion Fig. 26, Montauk Sofa, Oscar day bed, Not stated

This report provides solid evidence to justify the proposed campaign to launch Cavology into the gap in the Nottingham homewares market (indentified in perceptual map) to provide higher priced, unique, quality pieces (see appendix, pg 12).

Although currently only theoretical, initial consumer and secondary research highlights that the proposed methods fit the consumers needs with the five step campaign featuring an outdoor campaign, website, after purchase card, brand publication and press pack to establish Cavology.

The many elements of the campaign will not only help Cavology bring consumers the experience they are craving but will also help to increase in store sales , as highlighted by the ‘seamless retailing’ study by Accenture.

(Accenture, 2013) As well as enhancing the Nottingham experience, underlined as a missing link by consumers Nottingham retail experience in the Ipos report.

Although the brand have created and offered the experience for the consumer, it is ultimately the consumers decision as to whether they “start the reaction”. The consumers own reaction to the campaign with determine the success, therefore like most campaigns there is an element of risk.

Combined with the four other elements a 360 degree campaign is created, with touch points that offer each demographic to join the Cavology reaction.

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Grace Cooke n0376518 FASH 30002 Stage 2 : Main Document