press and pr project

CWK5 GLOBAL PRESS & PR PROJECT JENNI LIINAVUORI BA FASHION MARKETING & COMMUNICATION, LEVEL 5, 2015/2016 MIED 507, FASHION MARKETING &COMMUNICATION FASHION PR & PRESS OFFICE MARIANA RUMYOR MURRIETA

CONTENTS Executive summary 4 Part I. // Overview & Research Introduction 5 Target 6 Brand values 8 Positioning 8 SWOT 9 Part II. // Global Communication and PR Objectives Aims & objectives 10 Media Pitch 11 Part III. // Action PR Plan Communication tools 12 Public Relations activities 16 PR calendar 20 Part IV. // Conclusion & PR Results PR Results 20 Conclusion 21 Bibliography 22

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This projects was to create a successful press and PR campaign for a fashion/ lifestyle brand chosen using the main function and requirements of a PR profession.

The project is divided into four chapters. The first one introduces the brand chosen for to develop its PR strategy. The second chapter is to define the goals for the press and PR campaign and how the proposal will be executed also including a media pitch used for the campaign. Third one is to develop the communication tools that will be used for the plan and the fourth is conclusion and PR results, including ROI.

4

INTRODUCTION

Samuji is a Finnish creative studio and design house based in Helsinki.

The brand offers garments and accessories for both men and women and also carries a home decoration line called Samuji Koti. Koti meaning home in Finnish. This project will be focusing creating PR and promotion campaign for the women collection. The first collection for women was launched in 2011 and after that being a big success and Samuji started gaining recognition it launched capsule collection for men in 2013.

All the products of Samuji are made inside Europe from high-quality materials that comes either from Europe or Japan. The collections are sold in Samuji’s flagship store in Helsinki and through carefully selected stocklists in Europe, Asia and America.

The name of Samuji comes from the founder and creative director Samu-Jussi Koski, the man behind the brand. Samuji is often mistaken to be a Japanese word/ brand which is not surprise because Finnish and Japanese designing usually fits really well together. Before Samu-Jussi Koski came up with the idea and started the whole Samuji brand he was working many years in a famous Finnish textile/design house Marimekko. He even established his own collection under Marimekko that carried his own name. Koski gets inspiration of using natural materials and simple shapes from Alvar Aalto, who was a famous Finnish architect and designer. The colour palettes used in Samuji’s collections are like straight from the Finland’s landscape with the green forests, blue lakes, yellow fields and bright pink sunsets. When Koski started Samuji his first idea was to create complete wardrobe for women that contained ten pieces and each of them have to have a story to tell. Not only the designs are timeless, Samuji also includes an element of mystery which can also to be seen on the brands communication. After few years Samuji has become one of the most appealing Finnish fashion brands, not only among Finns but making a name in abroad as well and bringing more awareness to the Finnish fashion in general.

5

TARGET Samuji’s target is mainly 25-40 year old women from middle and upper middle class who look for sustainable, stylish and timeless garments which are made ethically and from high-quality materials. They believe that buying less is more. They live in urban areas and are career driven professional or students.

They are price and material conscious and the price they pay for their garments is a little bit above the average consumer.

They are loyal to brands that reflects to their style, way of thinking and sharing the same values, meaning that they are coming back to the store when they need something. Their life-style is pretty hectic and busy, on their free time they like to enjoy different kinds of cultural activities like going to concerts, movies and art exhibitions. They are pretty technology savvy people and are using a lot of social media to catch up with their friends and news that are happening in the world.

Samuji’s customer is determined, creative and conscious buyer.

6

7

BRAND VALUES Samuji’s mission is to produce timeless and sustainable products that yet serves a purpose and functionality but also tells a story.

The brands values are kindness, local design and production, ecology, necessary thing with simple functionality; which are hold in the everyday life of Samuji and its design mentality. The values adapted by Samuji can be seen by their design mind set and by the way they are producing their products.

POSITIONING Samuji is a premium priced design house which offers cloth¬ing for women and men, the brand also has a home collection offering beautiful decoration items. Samuji has two separate collection lines for women. Samuji Classic which carries permanent and time¬less clothes and accessories.

And Samuji Seasonal which has more bohemian and colourful touch and is renewed every season. Samuji is now sold in 16 different coun¬tries through 67 different retailers. Samuji has often referred of being the Finland’s Acne Studios, though some Acne’s products have a more exclusive level effecting on the price as well.

Four key brands were identified as the main competitors of Samuji: R/H Studio, Ivana Helsinki, Acne Studios and Filippa K. All four brands target very similar consumers and sell similar products and share mostly same values. Samuji’s advantage is that it tries to produce everything as close as possible, the brand is built around a story and own personality, sharing knowledge about their values and message. Uses its social media and maintains its brand identity effectively resulting strong consumer loyalty.

Price

Creative edge 8

SWOT ANALYSIS Strenghts

Weaknesses

- Unique brand core, aesthetic and communication.

- Low awareness when compared some of the competitors like Acne Studios or Filippa K.

- High-quality products that are made in Europe, as close as possible.

- Loyal customers.

- Small company not that much re sources to use for competition.

- One of the most recognized Finnish fashion brands at the moment.

Opportunities

Threats

- Finnish fashion and design becoming more popular and known in the international markets.

- Bigger companies with more awareness and with more resources.

- Expand more into accessories. Or create a collection for a younger target audience like 16-24 years old young women or creating a collection for kids.

- New technology, possibility of not being able to keep up with the new innovations and getting behind of other brands.

-New technology, for example new ways to design and produce.

-People appreciating more about local designing and manufacturing.

-People thinking more about the quality over quantity.

-Strong communication and marketing.

9

AIMS & OBJECTIVES Aims The main aim of this project is to create PR and promotion campaign reflecting the brands core values, increase the awareness of Samuji and the desire for their products, transmit the brand message and achieves competitive advantage during the next 12 months which would also help to maintain it in the brands future.

Objectives • Achieve media coverage on the 12 months period in relevant fashion magazines and online magazines.

•

Underline the idea that Samuji is worth of investing for. Making the consumers know that the design are made from high-quality materials and produced in Europe. Being sustain able, stylish and timeless.

•

Collaborating with blogger that represent the key values and message of the brand.

•

Art exhibition in the Samuji House.

•

Samuji Resort 17 collection presentation in the Samuji House.

•

Create a press trip for the Samuji House/ Showroom for international media.

•

Samuji store opening event in New York.

10

MEDIA PITCH The media pitch would be sent to several editors both regional and international online magazines like Wmagazine.com, NY Times T Magazine, Net-a-Porter Notes, Nordic Style Mag, Styleby.nu, Elle.fi and Tyyli.com. Because the list includes both international and Finnish online magazines the pitch would be of course translated either in English or Finnish. The reason to pitch online magazines rather that offline is because like said before the Samuji’s main target lives a pretty hectic life and uses a lot of mobile devices, social media etc. so it can be noted that the brand’s public spends time more reading online than offline magazines and in that way the target is easier to reach by through online magazines than offline. The pitch would be about the upcoming Samuji Resort 17 collection and also highlighting about the brands values and background.

Dear, editor’s name My name is Jenni and I head up PR at Samuji (more info: samuji.com).

I think your readers would be interested about knowing that one of the Finnish fashion leaders, design house Samuji is launching their Resort collection for women next month.

Samuji is a creative studio based in Helsinki, offering sustainable, timeless design with a simple functionality and purpose that also carries a meaning.

All the products are made ethically as nearby as possible in Europe from high-quality materials that comes from Europe and Japan. Our products are sold in Europe, America and Asia through 67 different retailers.

I would be happy to send you some samples from our new upcoming collection so you can prove to your readers the high-quality and functionality of our designs.

Appreciate your time and consideration. Let me know if you would be interested so we can talk more! Please email Jenni Liinavuori jenni.liinavuori@samuji.com or call me +358 458 458.

11

ACTION PR PLAN The PR actions will take more product related angle than corporate one. The budget for the Samuji’s PR plan for the next 12 months will be 35 000€ in total taking into consideration that is still pretty small company with limited recourses. The budget is divided in a way that communication tools budget is 10 000€ and PR activities the rest of the whole PR budget, furthermore being 25 000€.

COMMUNICATION TOOLS Media Invitations The invitations for the Samuji House New York store opening will be send to the 200 carefully picked guests. Designing, producing and distributing the invitations will cost 450€ in total. Samuji will take care of the designing of the invitations rather than hiring a design agency. Above is the design of the invitation. The invitations will already give a glimpse of idea what the store’s aesthetic is more or less about.

The invitations for the Samuji Resort 17 presentation at Samuji House Helsinki will be also designed in house and will be sent by email, cutting in the producing and distribution costs.

12

Press Release There will be created a press releases about Samuji opening a store in New York in fall 2017. The press releases will be sent to many different members of the media. Mostly pitching magazines that are based in the US and New York.

Samuji Announces New Store Opening in Soho, New York in 2017 Released on June 8, 2017, 9.36 am Press Release Author: Samuji Press Office Industry: Apparel & Fashion

Press Release Summary: Samuji announces its new store to be opened in New York during October 2017 Press Release Body: Samuji, a Finnish design house has announced new details and confirmed the new store rumoured to be opened in New York.

Samuji is a creative studio based in Helsinki, offering sustainable, timeless design with a simple functionality and purpose that also carries a meaning.

Inspired by the Finland’s landscape with the green forests, blue lakes, yellow fields and bright pink sunsets.

The store will be opened in Soho, the stores look will be similar to the Helsinki’s Samuji House flagship store but with a touch of the big apples magic. The Samuji House is designed and inspired by a living space, it is a combination of clothing store, boutique and art gallery.

The store will be selling Samuji women’s collection and the Koti (home) collection, and like in the Samuji House situated in Helsinki, also some Finnish art and Artek design furniture. The founder and creative director Samu-Jussi Koski wants to follow the same principals in the stores decoration and aesthetic as in his designs; using design that are truly Finnish and built to last. “I wanted a complete world, not only a fashion label, but something deeper,” says Koski.

Be ready to explore yourself and become desired of the mysterious Samuji world.

13

Lookbook Samuji will be creating four lookbooks in total for both spring/summer 17 Samuji Classics and Samuji Seasonal collections and fall/winter 17 Classics and Seasonal collections. The lookbooks will be sent to 8 different press member in purpose to pitch for an (free) editorial in magazines.

One lookbook’s cost to make is 10€ so in total for both seasons collections lookbooks cost will be 320€. Photographer, model, hair and makeup artists will also be included to the cost, so in total the lookbooks will be costing 9 320 €. Both of the lookbooks will be shot in the beginning of the year 2017 so the editorial pitching can be started right away and it will be easier to tailor and fit according to the magazine’s editorial calendars and what they are going to be working on during out the year.

14

15

PR ACTIVITIES Press Trip to Samuji Showroom & Samuji House Samuji will arrange a press trip for 5 journalists from different international magazines to come and see the Samuji Showroom and Samuji House and potentially make an article about it or get an editorial in their magazine. The budget for the press trip will be 12 000â‚Ź including the flights to Helsinki, hotel accommodations, meals and dinners and other expenses like transportations. Every press member will be also given a Samuji giftbag. The five journalist invited to the press trip will be from the magazines: NY Times T Magazine, W magazine, Vogue US, Elle UK and Vogue Paris.

Three of the magazines are from the US and I chose those magazines because Samuji is going to open a store in New York in 2017 so it would be good to get awareness there before the store opens so some consumers would already know about the brand.

16

Samuji Resort 17 Presentation at Samuji House for VIP customers and Press For the Resort 17 collection Samuji will create an event where they will present the new collection to the local media, bloggers, celebrities and fashion influencers who will possibly give more awareness about the event, collection and brand itself by writing and article, making a blog post or talking about it in social media. The event was chosen to be a presentation over a fashion show because it is cheaper and easier to manage. The new upcoming Samuji resort 17 collection will be presented in the Samuji House with the help of mannequins that are displayed in the Samuji House as they were like a piece of art. The event will be held in the Samuji House because it communicates perfectly the Samuji’s aesthetic and identity and also the location expenses of the budget will be cutted to 0€. The invitatios will be sent by email to the guests. The total budget for the event will be 2 000€. The budget will include some champagne and little snacks for the guests.

17

Samuji House New York Store Opening Samuji will create and opening party for their New York store grand opening. Guest list will include local media and press members, bloggers, celebrities and fashion influencers. The budget of the event is 8000â‚Ź. Including a live performances from a Finnish electronic band Redder that describes their sound as a combination of folk and trip-hop. Some drinks and little Finnish inspired snacks will be served for the guests. The promotion of the event will happen through the invitations send via mail and the costs will include the design, printing and mailing of the invitations.

Also Samuji will film a short video of the event which teaser will be posted into Instagram and the full video on their Vimeo account for the public to see.

18

Art Exhibition at Samuji House Samuji House is not just a store. It is a combination of a clothing store, boutique and an art gallery.

Samuji House displays their women collection, Koti collection and as well some carefully picked Artek design furnitures and art pieces that are also for sale. The two floor spacious premises offers and unique experience and really shows the style and ideology of Samuji. The art exhibitions will include some of the most known Finnish contemporary artists like Ola Kolehmainen, Hannu Palosuo, Kia Taegen and Juhani Palmu. The exhibition will be seen in the Samuji House for one month period of time and it will be free for the public. The exhibition is a good way to get people inside the store and not only come and look for the art pieces but also see the amazing Samuji design.

The promotion of the art exhibition will happen through the Samuji’s social media platforms. The exhibition will be done by collaborating with the artists so only cost is the art pieces transportation to the Samuji House. The total cost approximately would be 500€.

Collaboration with Blogger Christina Caradona from Trop Rouge Samuji has a history of collaborating with bloggers that fit into their image and values and their products have been seen in many Finnish fashion blogs. Collaborating with bloggers is an efficient and pretty cheap way, especially for a small company like Samuji, to gain more awareness. For this PR campaign Samuji would be collaborating with Trop Rouge a fashion blog based in New York and with a 154k Instagram followers. Samuji would send couple samples of their collection to the blogger and expect for a blog post from at least of one of the garments. In the future Caradona could also become to be the Samuji’s brand ambassador in the States.

19

PR CALENDAR

PR RESULTS Expected coverage: Vogue US: 18 000€ per page -> 4 page coverage in total of 72 000€ T Magazine: 19 000€ per page -> 1 page coverage in total of 19 000€ W Magazine: 14 000€ per page -> 2 page coverage in total of 28 000€ =119 000€ Initial Budget of 35 000€ ROI: 119 000 / 35 000=3.4 times the investment

20

CONCLUSION The proposed PR and Promotional strategy implements a different range of tactics to raise the Samuji’s awareness, achieve media coverage and transmit the brand message. The campaign is targeting both the media and consumers by combining offline and online methods. The 12 months plan introduces Samuji in a stronger and impactful approach while still being in line with the brands core values and aesthetic. Establishing new connections and maintaining the old ones will be providing more publicity for Samuji in its future if planned successfully.

21

BIBLIOGRAPHY Sources:

Figures:

Cocoamusic.fi. (2016). COCOA MUSIC. [online] Available at: http://www.cocoamusic.fi/artist/redder/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].

Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/ pre-fall-2016/samuji/slideshow/collection/print [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Hanmagazine.co.uk. (2016). Sustainability as the key to Finnish Fashion | Hän. [online] Available at: http:// hanmagazine.co.uk/sustainability-as-the-key-to-finnish-fashion/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

Figure10. (2016). [image] Available at: http://fairaporter.com/?brands=brand-1 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Petersen, L. (2015). Finnish Designer Samuji Talks Scandinavian Design. [online] W Magazine. Available at: http:// www.wmagazine.com/fashion/2015/05/ samuji-finland-fashion-design/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

Radio Helsinki. (2015). Samuji avaa ensi vuonna uuden liikkeen New Yorkissa. [online] Available at: https://www.radiohelsinki.fi/podcast/35534/?www.samuji. com [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

Samuji.com. (2016). Samuji. [online] Available at: http://www.samuji.com [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

The Glass Magazine. (2015). Sustainable beauty. [online] Available at: http:// www.theglassmagazine.com/samu-jussi-koski-of-samuji-interview/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].

THE LAST MAGAZINE. (2015). HOMEY HOUSEWARES FROM SAMUJI KOTI - THE LAST MAGAZINE. [online] Available at: https://thelast-magazine.com/ homey-housewares-from-samuji-koti/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].

22

Figure 1 & 2. (2016). [image] Available at: https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/ pre-fall-2016/samuji/slideshow/collection/print [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 3. (2016). [image] Available at: http://fashionuncut.wix.com/fashion-uncut#!Suits-Street-style-edition/ cmbz/463779E4-C06D-4A95-A19A0342BC156398 [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 4. (2016). [image] Available at: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg. com/originals/45/22/4e/45224e4bd6511843618da25a1211d435.jpg [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 5. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/372250725432628096/ [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 6. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.ahonenandlamberg.com/ivana-helsinki-logo [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 7. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.rh-studio.fi/ [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 8. (2016). [image] Available at: http://leanswift.com/our-clients/filippa-k/ [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 9. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.e-pitti.com/en/fieradigitale/ our-brands/UE14/SAMUJI [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].

Figure 39. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.hagelstam.fi/juhani-palmu-13 [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Figure 11. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/138837600987317179/ [Accessed 3 Jun. 2016].

Figure 43. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/237072367863361171/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

References

Figure 13-27. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2016-ready-to-wear/ samuji/slideshow/collection#1 [Accessed 3 Jun. 2016].

Figure 28-29. (2016). [image] Available at: http://tastecode.com/samuji-showroom/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

Figure 30-33. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.remodelista. com/posts/shoppers-diary-samuji-home-store-in-helsinki-finland/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

Figure 34. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.nordicstylemag. com/2015/05/pre-helsinki-samuji-presentation/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].

Figure 35. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/138837600986184550/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Figure 36. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/138837600986091345/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].

Figure 37. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/138837600986184584/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].

Figure 44. (2016). [image] Available at: http://troprouge.blogspot.com.es /2015/07/2-kool-4-school.html [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Figure 45. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/119556565086941560/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Figure 12. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/ resort-2016/samuji/slideshow/collection#3 [Accessed 3 Jun. 2016].

Kolehmainen, O. (2016). Figure 41. [image] Available at: http://www.frameweb. com/news/if-walls-could-speak-at-thefrankendael-foundation [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Palosuo, H. (2016). Figure 40. [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/46936021092644955/ palosuo [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Taegen, K. (2016). Figure 42. [image] Available at: http://www.galleriacontempo.fi/kia-taegen-suksi-suolle/ [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].

Figure 38. (2016). [image] Available at: https://fi.pinterest.com/ pin/138274651038594699/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].

23