Strategy Document for Bracken & Brushwood

BRACKEN & Brushwood Scratching beneath the surface of the English countryside

heather barras

CREATIVE STRATEGY DOCUMENT

CONTENTS

synopsis...................................................................................................4 content...................................................................................................6

|photography............................................................................6

Landscape..........................................................................8

Fashion.............................................................................10

|models.......................................................................................14

|makeup & hair.......................................................................16

|styling.......................................................................................20

|writers......................................................................................22

|illustrations.........................................................................24

|layout & graphic design,..............................................26

|Locations & travel budget...........................................30 promotion..........................................................................................32

|public relations..................................................................32

|events managment.............................................................34

|venue..........................................................................................36

|invitations, adverts & business cards..................40

|App development.................................................................42

|promotional film..............................................................44 publishing...........................................................................................46

|publishers................................................................................46

|distribution..........................................................................48 summary................................................................................................50

|costs table..............................................................................50

|timeline....................................................................................56

|image references................................................................60

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synopsis

Bracken & Brushwood (BB) will be a high-end, luxury publication which is themed around the celebration of the English countryside. Through the means of landscape and fashion photography, as well as informative and creative writing pieces, this unique and one-off publication will strive to look deeper into the English countryside, to look closer at those smaller details that go unnoticed, and to fully appreciate the beautiful countryside that borders our busy cities. Bracken & Brushwood invites you to take a closer look at rustic, rural England in a way that allows you to delve deeper into its features in a more creative, intimate and abstract way than ever before.

Aimed at a target market of adults of both genders aged between 20 and 65. The readers will either be those who are already interested in the English countryside and wish to appreciate it further or readers who are wishing to learn more and see the English countryside in a different way.

Previous research showed that many would be more interested in visiting the countryside if there was an alternative product that differed from an average travel guide or landscape photography book, showing a more interesting range of content to attract a wider audience. This is how BB will differ from its competitors such as Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, and other photography books focused around the English countryside; its content will be varied, with no obvious travel advice or solely centred on photography.

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content

photography Photography will be the key content for BB. Choosing the best photographer for the role will be an important decision and a key requirement will be to commission experienced and talented photographers for each photo shoot.

The photography content will consist of high quality, detailed and effective landscape photography, focusing on wide, panoramic views as well as smaller and more intimate details of the countryside - a key element of the whole publication.

Additionally, it will be important to hire a specialist and experienced fashion photographer who is comfortable working in different environments, locations and weather conditions.

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Landscape Photography

Adam Burton Adam Burton is one of the UK's leading landscape photographers, having travelled worldwide for his work, photographing landscape scenes from 5 of the 7 continents.

Nowadays, Burton focuses mainly on the UK, in particular the South West of England.

His obvious talent and expertise can be seen in his work; he brings an element of movement and wonder to every photograph, with beautiful editing and colouring.

Burton's contribution to BB will be to furnish a collection of his previously unpublished English landscape shots. Any of his photographs have the potential to feature on the cover, and regardless of whether they do or not, they will be shown in full bleed double and single page spreads allowing any reader to fully appreciate them.

The cost to commission Adam's work is as follows: COST: For publishing in the UK: - Inside (up to single page) £75 - Inside (up to double page spread) £125 - Cover £160 Worldwide publishing: - Inside (up to single page) £125 - Inside (up to double page spread) £200 - Cover £280

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Fashion Photography

Nathan D’Amour Nathan D' Amour is a British photographer with high expertise in fashion and conceptual photography. There is an extremely high sense of quality about his photographs, as well as impressive lighting and editing skills. His contribution to BB will involve him undertaking a fashion shoot on location in Yorkshire. His contribution will represent the calmness and tranquility of the countryside to suit the clothing and natural hair and make-up of the model, featuring impressive landscape in the background.

The cost to hire Nathan for a fashion shoot is as follows: £350 for 1 fashion photo shoot on location for a day with travel expenses included.

Cost also includes equipment and any crew the photographer brings for assistance.

Extra cost of £120 per image to edit by photographer's preferred editing company, Solstice Retouch. (See Editing section on page 26).

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Alireza Sadreddini Alireza is an experienced fashion photographer with a background as a Digital Visual Artist. He has worked for the BBC as a Motion Graphic Designer, and is now focusing on conceptual art photography. His previous work in fashion photography is moving and interesting, with clear narratives and soft editing, ensuring he would be a brilliant contributor to BB by bringing a slightly different slant to the fashion photography required. The job that he will undertake for BB will be similar to that required of Nathan D'Amour; a fashion shoot located in the English countryside with calming and romantic themes to continue a similar look and narrative as the first photo shoot.

The cost to hire Alireza for a fashion shoot is as follows: ÂŁ200 for 4 hours work, plus travel expenses from London to Yorkshire. Price to edit depends on photo and quantity needed for editing after shoot. Cost also includes equipment and any crew the photographer brings for assistance.

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models For the two fashion shoots, there will be a need for one model to work on each. To suit the themes and overall plan of the photographs, the models will need to have the right look and body structure. The models will need to have a naturally elegant and innocently feminine look to reflect and compliment the landscape and rustic nature of the fabrics chosen for the outfits. Tweed and wool are likely to feature significantly.

Base Models Base modelling agency is located in London, but with a frequently updated data base of models from all around the UK. BB will contact Base with a request for two suitable models matching the criteria. These models will then work on one shoot each, with an initial fitting with the stylist taking place two weeks prior to the shoot. The models chosen will be based in the North East, therefore travel to fittings and the shoot itself will be at a low cost.

The following models will be used due to their suitable looks, at the stated costs below:

Julie Aston For each model:

Elizabeth Crawford

- ÂŁ150 per shoot.

- Contract and Admin fee to Base Models of ÂŁ75.

- Travel expenses to fitting and shoot.

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hair & make up The makeup artists will be required to work on a different fashion shoot each, on two separate days. They will need to work on location at the shoot to be on hand if they need to adjust or change a look. This means that travel expenses will need to be covered, as well as a cost per look and a cost to work for the duration of the shoot.

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Josephine Birkett Based in Newcastle, Josephine is a hair and makeup artist, with 5 years of industry experience. She works with MAC products and is extremely versatile with her skills and capabilities. Josephine will work on one of the two shoots, and also travel to Yorkshire to work for half a day on each.

Cost to hire Josephine for a fashion shoot is as follows: £40 per look. £30 for travel. £80 for day (half day rate).

Louise Large Louise Large is a freelance and professional hair and make up artist who specialises in fashion, photographic and special effect make up. Her varied skills, as well as her wide range of experience shows that she will bring a high level of expertise to the fashion shoot, creating the appropriate make up for each outfit.

Cost to hire Louise for fashion shoot is as follows: ÂŁ50 per hour. Travel outside of 10 mile radius of her location is 45p per mile.

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styling For the two fashion shoots, a stylist and costumer will be required to source the clothing and put suitable outfits together to ensure the clothing matches the theme, location and narrative of the shoot. This will also require the stylist and costumer to attend the shoot for its duration so that they are on hand in case they are needed to adjust a look.

Siouxie Siouxie is a freelance stylist and costumer based in London with 7 years experience in the fashion industry. She has had much experience shooting in studios as well as on location and has the ability to create unique and beautifully matched outfits and looks, making her a wonderful asset to BB. Her styling and costume choices will travel to both fashion shoots to create the best possible looks to suit each narrative.

The cost to hire Siouxie to work on both shoots and providing suitable clothing options is as follows: ÂŁ525 per day for styling. ÂŁ300 per day for garments.

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writers For the written content of the publication, there will be a range of writers needed to create a variety of pieces all containing different themes and subjects.

There is a requirement for creative writers, as well as informative writers to bring these different genres and writing styles to BB.

Stephen Aitchinson Stephen is a freelance writer and blogger and has written over 400 articles in just 3 years. The subjects he has been known to write about vary immensely, suggesting that he can create a piece to suit any genre or subject. Stephen will write either an informative piece or a creative piece for BB, depending on which subject or genre is most preferred by him.

Cost for Stephen to write for BB: ÂŁ15 per 250 words.

Natalia Jones Natalia Jones is also a freelance writer who focuses mainly on article and journalistic writing on different subjects, in an informative and interesting manner. She will contribute to BB by writing informative pieces on a particular place, location, photograph or feature etc.

Cost for Natalia to write for BB: ÂŁ15 per 400 words.

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Illustrations Illustrations will be required to feature in BB to compliment the photography and writing pieces. Depending on the artist, these could be based around the photography such as a re-constructed illustration of a particular shot, or perhaps artwork to combine with a piece of creative writing to create an image to go with the story. These illustrations will utilise watercolour paints, oil paints or sketches, to keep in tone with the calm and light feel to the publication and the features inside.

Kristin Tessen

Based in Berlin, Kristin is an experienced illustrator and interior designer who specialises in creating artwork for companies and clients by means of flyers, invitations or features. Using mainly watercolour paints or pencils, Kristen can create exquisite artwork with flowers, landscape scenes and calm and light fashion drawings. She will bring a unique style of artwork and imagery to the publication, also using the preferred medium as stated above.

The cost for Kristen to illustrate for BB is as follows: ÂŁ104.64 per small illustration. She would be willing to do 3 small illustrations for BB for ÂŁ261.61.

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editing, layout & Graphic Design For the overall creation of the publication, layout and graphic designers will be required to create an effective layout and graphic content to match the proposed design ideas for BB. As well as this, editing will need to be undertaken on photographs to ensure that they are of a professional quality, as not all of the contributing photographers include editing into their services.

Editing

Solstice Retouch Solstice Retouch is a high-end retouching and editing company who specialise in commercial and editorial work. They have retouched photos of A-list celebrities such as Cameron Diaz and Halle Berry, and shown in high-end magazines such as Vogue, Marie Claire and Maxim.

Solstice Retouch will edit the shots taken by BB's fashion photographers, ensuring that the final edits are as highquality as possible, giving a guarantee that any kind of editing can be successfully applied to the raw images.

Cost to use the services of Solstice Retouch are as follows: ÂŁ120 per image.

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Layout & Graphic Design

Emma Patterson Emma Patterson is a freelance Graphic Designer and Illustrator who has 5 years of experience in the design industry. Her work ranges from toy designs, promotional illustrations and layout work. She aims to provide creative assistance to any company's requirements and for BB, Emma will contribute with the layout design of the publication itself, following a particular design and theme. She will also create the promotional work for the publication itself, as well as other graphic elements such as logos and branding.

Cost to hire Emma to do Layout and Graphic Design work are as follows: Per project. ÂŁ45 per hour.

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location & travel budget For the fashion shoots and other means of travel, there will be a budget to cover these costs. Particular locations used for the shoots may also charge to use their facilities, and travelling from Newcastle to various locations in the countryside will require a substantial budget.

A travel budget to allow for photo shoots and additional trips for research etc. will be approximately ÂŁ100.

locations

Brimham Rocks, Yorkshire One of the two fashion shoots will be located at Brimham Rocks,near to Ripon, North Yorkshire.

Cost to use location: Free. Parking: £4 for up to 3 hours.

Cost to travel from Newcastle to Brimham Rocks in petrol: £32.00

Yorkshire Dales National Park The second of the two fashion shoots will also take place in the Yorkshire Dales. Rather than choosing one particular location within the national park, different shots will take place in different locations on the journey for more of a variety.

Cost to use location: Free. Parking: Free.

Cost to travel from Newcastle to Yorkshire Dales in petrol: Approx £30.00 Further costs for travel during shoot: Approx £8.00.

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promotion

public relations Midas PR specialise in creating valuable campaigns for consumer, arts, publishing and corporate clients.

Based in London, they deal with new writers and book launches, as well as gallery and exhibition events, Midas PR will work closely on the launch of BB, ensuring that the news reaches the target market and a wider range of customers.

This will be done through promotional materials, event organising for the exhibition, app creation for an online photo portal to launch with the exhibition, as well as web design and a successful social media campaign. With similar past clients including National Trust, Medici Gallery in London and Encyclopaedia Britannica, it seems correct that BB will benefit highly from using Midas PR.

Press Package available to Bracken & Brushwood: Midas PR will offer BB the following: -

Press and News Releases Editorial Coverage Distribution of Press Samples Event Management Search Optimisation Printed Media Coverage Copywriting for articles and blogs Pre and Post Launch PR Activity Speaker Campaigns Book Launch Planning Social Media Management and Marketing

This package will come at a yearly cost of ÂŁ6500.

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Events Management For promotional purposes, BB will hold a launch event to promote the 2014 release of the publication itself.

This launch event will be held 1 month before the publication release, in the format of an exhibition which will be held in London for a duration of 1 week.

The managing events company will need to organise overall aesthetics, equipment hire and installation such as sound and lighting rigging, as well as video and audio equipment. In addition to this, there will be a need for projectors, mannequins, framed photography and written pieces, as well as catering for champagne and soft drinks. The events company will also need to supply staff as waiters and doormen.

Wonderland Events This company is a full service event management company based in London. They can provide whatever kind of event is asked of them, and have previously worked with big name brands such as BBC, Diesel, Sky and Nike. Wonderland will create an impressive event for BB that will launch the publication in the best possible way.

Wonderland will offer the following services: -

Organisation of event - aesthetics, creative design, displays, structural design.

Equipment hire and installation - sound, lighting, projectors, video monitors.

Catering Provide staff for waitressing and entry.

Costs for the above requirements: ÂŁ1000 for equipment hire and installation. ÂŁ5200 for additional services.

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Venue hire It is important that the chosen venue can cater for all of the requirements of the promotional exhibition. The preferred capacity would be for approximately 200 guests and must be available for one week.The venue would also ideally have access to equipment for lighting and sound rigging, as well as provision for video monitors and projection equipment.

Simple catering facilities will be needed for serving refreshments such as champagne and soft drinks. The ideal location for the exhibition would be central London, where fashion and creative professionals are within easy travelling distance.

analysis of venue possibilities

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- Tallow Chandlers Hall, Cannon Street, London.

The Brickhouse, Shoreditch.

DoubleTree by Hilton, Westminster.

Oxo Tower Wharf, London South Bank.

Having proved most suitable out of the various venues researched, the Oxo Wharf Tower will be the venue to hold the Bracken & Brushwood exhibition. Catering for size, capacity, equipment needs, location and organisation, this venue will ensure that the exhibition is launched to its best potential, creating a relaxed and celebratory atmosphere, allowing appreciation of work shown,.

The cost to hire the Oxo Wharf Tower for 1 week is as follows: £3,500+VAT per week for public exhibition. Week is Tuesday to Monday and de-rig days are included in this. Venue Supervisor's fee on your set up days and de-rig day of £20+VAT per hour. Exhibitions must be open to the public 11am-6pm daily. £350+VAT buy out fee for catering.

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Invitations, Promotional adverts & Business cards For the promotional aspects relating to the exhibition, it is necessary to send out information as well as adverts and flyers to ensure that it is well publicised to its target market. Invitations will be sent to 200 guests spread out over the week, consisting of industry professionals, such as publishers, writers, photographers, editors etc. The rest of the people who attend will be members of the public, due to advertisements around the city and on social media etc.

Advertisements that appear on well-known websites or in successful newspapres will come at a high cost. This cost will be considered in the costs table (see page 50).

Xpose Design Xpose Design is a well-established design company, specialising in print design, web design and brand development. They work closely with their clients to ensure that they produce exactly what is asked of them, also giving hands on advice learned from years of experience.

They will work closely with BB to create effective print designs, which will include business cards, invitations for the event and advertising.

BB will initially require: -

5000 Business Cards 200 Invitations 10 formats for online advertising 2000 printed posters for event 1000 printed flyers for event 2000 printed flyers for publication itself

The cost for Xpose Design to do the above is as follows: Business Cards: £345. Invitations: £130. Online adverts: £65. All posters and flyers: £450.

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App development An appreciation and celebration of beauty of the English countryside captured by stunning landscape photography is a key element of BB. To recognise the increasing dependence on digital social media, an App will be launched at the event to enhance the central message of the publication.

Similar to Instagram, this app will be an online web portal where users can upload pictures from their own personal experiences of the English countryside.

It will be promoted prior to and finally launched at the exhibition event, inviting people to upload their own photography onto the app. This app launch also has the potential to attract a wider audience range, being more likely to appeal to a younger target market that is more in tune with smart phones and other technical devices. As well as this, it means that people will have the app on their phones or tablets wherever they go, creating a sense of ease and enjoyment about being able to take a photo and upload it immediately giving others the chance to comment on your photographs.

The App Design Company This company strives to be the best in their field, promising to offer a unique and expert service in professional web development and design, specialising in custom web design, web development, rich internet applications, web application development and iPhone app development. This company will design and create the online Bracken & Brushwood app, ensuring that it is designed in the best possible way with smooth functions and an excellent up-keep.

The cost for the App Design Company to create this app is as follows: Database app plus iPhone compatibility: £12,000. Additional features of web services and share capability: £3500. Compatibility with Apple devices: £8000. Yearly charge from Apple: £70.

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promotional film As a feature at the exhibition, there will be a promotional film shown through projections. It will give guests an exclusive insight into the content of the book in a more sensory and interactive way than the photography and writing pieces that will be displayed. For this film to be created, BB will need to collaborate with an experienced filming company to ensure that the final film is effective. The film itself will need to be approximately 5 minutes long, featuring landscape scenes, photography and backstage footage from photo shoots.

M

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Filming

M60 Filming company are a successful video production company based in Manchester, England. They offer a service of a camera crew to work for clients based in various places around the country. Having worked for Channel 4 documentaries and other high profile clients, M60 will be the correct company to shoot for BB, due to their obvious experience and capabilities.

They will offer BB: - A Canon C300 crew with kit.

- Kit includes: 8 lenses, HD monitor, tripod, monopod, mini jib, radio mics, gun mics and full lighting kit.

- Sound recorder - Editing The cost for M60 to film for BB using the above features is as follows: £450-£790 per day. Editing: £190-£380 per day.

- £300 for sound recordist

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publishing

Publishers To ensure that the most appropriate publishing company is used to produce BB, one which captures the correct theme, craftsmanship and structure of the book, it is necessary to analyse various publishing houses and their capabilities.

Anaylsis of Publishing Companies

Dewi Lewis Dewi Lewis would be the ideal choice to publish BB; they have worked with similar clients, have a high level of experience and are known for their high-quality photography books.

The requirements for the publishing of Bracken & Brushwood is the following: - Hard Back Cover without jacket.

- Perfect Bound - Size of book: 29.7cm x 29.7cm - Inside page thickness of 170gsm.

- Page number: 200 - Inside paper type: Matte.

- Initial Print Run of 1000 copies.

The cost to do this is as follows: Printing cost per book: £9.11 Additional cover cost per book: £0.19 Additional paper cost per book: £2.01 Total cost per book: £11.25 Cost to print 1000 copies: £11,750.70

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distribution With an initial print run of 1000 copies, BB will firstly be tested for sale online through the publishing company, available to purchase from their website or by mail order.

They will also be in charge of distributing the publication to different stockists if initial sale of BB is successful and a further print run is needed, The most suitable retailers to stock BB will be spread across a different range of medias. Quality book shops such as Waterstones and WHSmiths will be key high street stockists, as well as online superstores Amazon and play.com. To target an even wider audience, BB will also be distributed to the National Trust, English Heritage and national parks, as well as smaller businesses such as countryside Bed and Breakfasts and hotels, as well as small travel agents and holiday companies. This adds a more intimate feel to the book, as it may be a product that couples or families see when on holiday in the countryside and decide to purchase it as a keep-sake product or reminder of their experience.

A copy of Bracken & Brushwood will sell for ÂŁ29. 99.

This allows for a substantial profit, but in-keeping with the usual cost for a book of this kind.

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summary

Cost tables

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Approximate total cost: ÂŁ138,000 55

Time line

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image references in order of appearance: www.flikr.com www.telegraph.co.uk http://www.adamburtonphotography.com/gallery/view/ moods-of-eysturoy http://www.adamburtonphotography.com/gallery http://www.nathandamour.co/book-2.html http://www.sadreddini.com/ https://www.facebook.com/julie.aston.model?fref=ts https://www.facebook.com/ElizabethCrawfordMODEL?fref=ts http://rimmellondonlook.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/bold-behaviour-eye-makeup-tutorial.html http://josephinebirkett.co.uk/galleries/creative/ http://www.louisemakeup.co.uk/portfolio.html http://www.siouxsiestylist.com/electric/

http://www.siouxsiestylist.com/white-noise-editorial/ http://www.siouxsiestylist.com/bloom-lautre/ http://www.hireanillustrator.com/i/portfolio/kristintessen/ http://www.solsticeretouch.com/ http://www.emmapatterson.com/ www.tripadvisor.co.uk/brimham_rocks www.maxfieldstravel.co.uk http://www.midaspr.co.uk/casestudies http://www.wonderlandevents.co.uk/ http://www.venues.org.uk/venues/the_brickhouse http://www.venues.org.uk/venues/tallow_chandlers_hall http://www.venues.org.uk/venues/doubletree_by_hilton_ london_victoria http://www.venues.org.uk/venues/oxo_tower_wharf http://www.xposedesign.com.au/ www.awdp.org http://www.m60tv.co.uk/index.php www.notoriusmag.com www.photobookstore.co.uk www.lonelyplanet.com

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BRACKEN & BRUSHWOOD CREATIVE STRATEGY DOCUMENT HEATHER BARRAS FASHION COMMUNICATION DE0931