Brand Report Jessica Ramazani/26025238 Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
1
Cindy Crawford & Claudia Schiffer for Balmain SS16
Photographer: Steven Klein
subhead-
Content Page Executive Summary ...... Page 3 Chosen Brand ........ Page 5 Brand Identity ........ Page 9 Brand Consumers ...... Page 10 Brand Positioning ...... Page 11
Communications Mix
Advertising ...... Page 16 PR (Public Relations).... Page 17 Personal Selling ...... Page 18 Sales Promotion ...... Page 19 Direct Marketing ...... Page 20 Social Media ...... Page 21 Bibliography ..... Page 22 Models Backstage @ Balmain SS16 Collection
-
2
Models Backstage @ Balmain SS16 Collection
Executive Summary
Today Balmain is now a place of worship, because it’s the origin of a true fashion empire where the style and tradition intertwined with high technology and the continual desire to progress. Everything is here i.e. the feminine model, every detail breathing sophisticated elegance, to the powerful and brutal models of high style. Balmain commands its own style and Olivier Rousteing creates his own rules, the heavy influence is placed on the shape and tailoring of each garment that is made, which is making them all art. The use of various patterns makes the brand come alive and it also allows Balmain to stand out from other brands. This report is aiming analyse Balmain Fashion House, focusing on the history of the brand how it started off and how it is now, also focusing on the brand’s consumers looking at the type of people that purchase Balmain, looking at the positioning of the brand and where it stands and looking at it’s communication’s mix i.e. Advertising one of Balmain’s strength, PR, Direct Marketing, Social Media etc.
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
3
Balmain Menswear SS16 Backstage
4
Chosen Brand Pierre Balmain born in 1914 in St Jean de Maurienne which is small mountain village in the savoie region of France. He was a member of the exclusive group of visionary designers that directed French fashion to
Pierre Balmain
Balmain began his profession in the year 1941 as an assistant to the Parisian couturier Lucien Lelong, Balmain was also working together with fellow great designers such as Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy. During the years of working with Lelong, Christian Dior and Balmain were working closely and swapping ideas and helping each other with their designs, but their works/designs were becoming very alike to each other’s and people wouldn’t know whose design is who. (Weebly,2013) In the Autumn of 1945 Pierre Balmain left Lelong and created his own fashion house. In the year of 1947 Pierre had opened his first French boutique in Paris called Jolie Madame. The ‘Jolie Madame’ style presented an astounding contrast to the relaxed and practical looks of the day and the instant popularity this style had made it well-defined that the French women were willing to free themselves from the remaining remainders of the wartime suffering and to embrace Balmain’s courageously feminine and luxurious offering. After his famous silhouette, in the year 1952 Balmain decided to open several other boutiques across America so he can be to sell is “pret-a-porter” which means that the clothes are ready to wear rather than being made to measure. (Fashion Infomat,2013) Throughout that time, he has managed to interpreted unique trends such as stoles and evening wear. Pierre Balmain was very gifted in creating simple and extravagant clothing. He designed personal attires for various worldwide stars i.e. Katherine Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and many others to name. Among the disappearance of Pierre Balmain in 1982, the company was passed down to Erik Mortensen who worked closely with Pierre and was also his personal assistant. Erik still preserved Balmain’s House traditions as well as developing and modernizing styles and designs within the spirits of the founder
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
5
Balmain 1994(left) Balmain Haute Couture 2002
In January 1993, globally well-known designer Oscar De La Renta then took over the Balmain house and has made a huge impact on the French house. He signed his first Haute Couture collection for Pierre Balmain and has rejuvenated the brand while respecting the colours, the gracefulness and the classiness of the Jolie Madame esprit. By accommodating to a private clientele just like the founder (Pierre Balmain), Haute Couture was gradually being brought back to life.
Balmain A/W 2010
In 2006 Christopher Decarnin was next to be the creative designer of the French house and he wanted to completely renovate the Balmain aesthetic. Christopher preferred flashy clothes, which was completely different within the history of the brand. With Christopher focusing on eveningwear, his sparkling, power shouldered strong designs incited a craze christened “Balmainia
6
In 2011 Balmain, has announced its new creative director 25-year-old Olivier Roustieng. Roustieng joined the French fashion house in 2009 after spending five years at Roberto Cavalli. (Vogue,2011) since Roustieng has took over the company he has still stayed true to Balmain’s fundamentals and is also inspired by Pierre Balmain’s archives. Balmain now has become more urban more pop and more modern, Roustieng has created a new trend for the brand which is known as “Balmaination”
Balmain currently has 13 Flagship stores worldwide i.e. London, Paris, New York, China (6 stores), Tokyo (2 stores), Seoul, Macau 300+ stores and concessions worldwide they sell Womenswear, Menswear, Accessories and Kidswear
Methodology I have used primary and secondary research to collate this information. Primary - images i have took in Lodnon Secondary- online, journals, books,magazines
From L-R Balmain SS17, AW12, AW12
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
7
Balmain A/W14 Campaign
Photographer:Mario Sorrienti
Photographer:Mario Sorrienti
8
Models: Binx Walton, Ysaunny Brito, Kayla Scott
Models: Ysaunny Brito, Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, name, Kayla Scott, Binx Walton
Brand Identity Brand identity is a feature creative that is a set of attributes and graphical symbols such as the colours, shapes. Packages, logo and the list goes on, it’s an essential way to increase the recognition and represent for the consumer. (Hameide K.K, 2011)
Balmain uses the founder i.e. Pierre Balmain’s last name as the brand name. the French name represents the country of the origin of the brand. Also, it could evolve the specific style, craftsmanship, quality to consumer by reputation of their name. The logo Balmain is just by simple letters of the founder’s surname with specific lettering, it performs the styles of Balmain which is simple plus creative Iconic Items represents the design concepts and the signature style of the brand, and it’s also representatively identify of the brand. (Hameide K.K 2011) With Balmain, the brand always has a leather piece in their collection and the brand is also known for being hardedged and having structured tailoring in their collections. The iconic strong colours that Balmain manage to mix and match on womenswear and menswear too, the essential body shape cutting on womenswear is part of the recognizable design of Olivier Roustieng since he has taken over the French House
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
9
Brand Consumers Consumer is normally used to indicate to someone who personally consumes a product or service and therefore is the end user of that product or service. the consumer might or might not have brought the product themselves (it could’ve been a present), but they will be the person experiencing its benefits. In the fashion industry the most obvious category of consumer is someone who buy the product then wears the fashion product sold by the brand.(Jackson & Shaw, 2008)
H&M London Oxford Street
Balmain target groups are aimed at women and men 20-35 years’ old who have more of a higher income.
Collaborations between high street brands and designers is a way of appealing to fashion conscious younger shoppers with less disposable income, among other designers that have helped make luxury fashion more reachable to a wider audience i.e. Alexander Wang, Versace and Balmain which have been open to collaborations with the high-street retailer H&M. (Mintel, 2015) With the Balmain & H&M collaboration which was launched in 2015 has gained a lot of a new craze of a younger audience. Balmain have created more affordable versions of their catwalk collections for younger customers, this is helping the brand name being recognised amongst fashion-conscious shoppers.
10
Brand Positioning
Pintrest.com Brand Positioning defines how a brand is different it’s from its other competitors and it shows where and how it sits in a specific market. Balmain is haute couture house, inside the luxury fashion domain there are tires. As you can see from the image above, it shows that Balmain is in the high price and exclusivity region which is correct because they sell ready to wear and couture products which are high end prices. The price range of products go from £1,200-£20,000+.
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
11
Balmain SS17 Ready To Wear What makes different from brands is that house has different and creative direcas Oscar De La Christophe Depositioning of contribution classic luxury paying heavy the detail. The creative direcRoustieng) of house has lines of the popular by elements
Balmain other luxury the fashion had many known tors such Renta and carnin. The the brands is around styling with attention to present tor (Olivier the French made the brand more using these
- Asian influence: In their current collection (SS17) is shown a lot of Asian influence i.e. the leggings, the kaftan, drapes etc. this is because the brands large population if the brand’s buyers belong from Asia - Sticking to its roots: The brand is also focusing the lines to the very finer aspects of French couture Every luxury brand has a signature positioning. For this case Balmain’s is the ‘Jolie Madame’ positioning, this can be defined within two phrases it can be boldly feminine and very extravagant/lavish. The acceptance of the brand’s positioning has opened floodgates of Balmain into the celebrity and Hollywood consciousness. Balmain proclaims that is has still maintained the ‘Jolie Madame’ as its fundamental throughout the years and it hasn’t let go of the fundamental part of Balmain’s purpose (Quora, 2015)
12
Photographed by Jean-Baptise Mondino
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
13
COMMUNI M
Advertising... 16
Public Relations.. 17
Personal selling... 18 14
MIX
Sales Promotion... 19
ICATIONS
Social Media.... 21
Direct Marketing... 20
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
15
Advertsing
Advertising is contemplated to have been a key element in the change of fortunes in companies, advertising has been measured out to be an important means of communicating with their target audiences, based on its potential to affect the way the audience thinks/feel and behave. The thinking element may be concerned with the useful or aspirational benefits of product or just a matter of remembering the brand and their products in the future. (Chris Fill, Marketing Communications)
The behavioural element may be seen in terms of buying an advertised brand, visiting the brand’s website to enquire about a desired product. Whatever the motivation, the content and delivery of the advertising message are derived from an understanding of the variety of contexts in which the messages are to be used To help promote the brand Balmain uses commercials, advertisements in fashion magazines and also celebrity campaigns
Balmain AW15 Campaign
16
One of Balmain’s strengths is their advertisement/s, they make sure they put out the hottest product out there which makes the audience desire Balmain’s clothing. Balmain hires their best photographers i.e. Steven Klein who has worked with other brands such as Alexander Wang and Alexander Mcqueen, Phillip Plein, Versave and many other designers he’s also done shoots for fashion Magazines such as Vogue, V Magazine etc.
Public Relations
PR/Public Relations is normally a part of marketing that is used to enhance the consumer’s positivity towards the brand and its products. Its primary aim is to create a constructive conversation about brands, including endorsements from influential individuals whose blessing persuades potential customers to bring approved brands in their lives (Cope, J.,& Maloney, D.,2016)
BalmainAfter-Party Publicity involves the broadcasting of messages through third-party media i.e. magazines, newspapers, or news programmes. There isn’t any charge for media space or time but there are costs regarding the production of the material. There is a wide range of other tools it’s used by public relations for example event management, sponsorships, public affairs and lobbying. Balmain is currently trying to make their products appeal to everyone and try to change their “expensive image”. By appealing to everyone Balmain sends out their collections to celebrities who are currently influencing fashion scene right now i.e. Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez etc. and also famous models such as Naomi Campbell, Adriana Lima, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid and many other A-List Celebrities
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
17
Personal Selling Right now, we are in an era where relationship marketing is starting to becoming gradually understood and accepted as the modern approach to marketing theory and practice. Personal selling is traditionally where an individual sales person sells a product, service to a client. Salespeople match the benefits of their recommending meeting the precise needs of the client. Today personal selling involves the progress of longstanding client relationships
18
Sales Promotion
Sales promotion includes many marketing techniques, which are frequently used strategically to provide added value to an offering. The purpose is to accelerate sales and gather marketing information. Just like advertising, sales promotion is a non-personal form of communication however it has a greater capability to target smaller audiences (Chris Fill, Marketing Communications)
Balmain Audley Street, London Balmain has a distinctive image rooted in luxury, which would be a positive highpoint in the sales promotion department. For Balmain having such high prices this means that it shows exclusiveness, which encourages their customers to stay loyal. With a Balmain purchase (only applying to the stand alone stores) the customers will receive a sample of perfume and Balmain hair products.
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
19
Direct Marketing Balmain Website (Newsletter)
Direct Marketing pursues to target individual customers with the intention of delivering personalised messages and being able to build a relationship with them of course based on their response to the direct communications. (Chris Fill, 2013)
If Balmain chooses to use direct marketing it had to integrate the approach within their marketing plan. The reason is because the distribution is different and there are changes within the competitive environment which could mean that prices might need to change i.e. this can be the clothing being altered and modified to the luxury market.
20
Social Media Balmain Instagram Page
Social media has become today’s main methods of communicating. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and every other social media channel have not only become fundamental means of getting the word out, social media has become the extra tool of the selling method. (Sherman & Perlman 2014)
Balmain uses this method to be able to showcase their ad campaigns, runway collections, A-listers who are wearing the brand and many other uses. Balmain also does live streams on showcasing their latest collection, which gives the opportunity for people who adore the brand and also people who can’t make it to Paris fashion week to view their latest collection (Live streaming reaches a much larger audience even though it costs a lot of money).
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
21
Bibliography
Cope, J., & Maloney, D. (2016). Fashion promotion in practisce, United Kingdom Bloomsbury Academic Fill, C. (2013). Marketing communications: Brands, experiences and participation (6th edition) Jackson, T.,& Shaw, D (2008). Mastering fashion marketing Sherman, G. J., & Perlman, S. (2014) The real world guide to fashion selling and management (2nd edition) Incitrio.com incitrio.com/balmains-branding-resurrection-and-rise-of-the-balmainarmy/ Mintel.com academic.mintel.com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk Quora quora.com/what-distinguishes-balmain-from-other-brands Balmain Website balmain.com/en_au/heritage Vogue Website vogue.com/fashion shows/balmain#all-seasons vogue.co.uk/article/christophe-decarnin-leaves-balmain headtotoefashionart.com/pierre-balmain-1914-1982 fashion.informat.com/pierre-balmain-designer.html Refinery29.com
22
Backstage @ Balmain AW16 Show
Balmain Ad Campaign AW 15
Brand Report by Jessica Ramazani
23
Olivier Rousteing with Clauda Schiffer, Cindy Crawford & Naomi Campbell
24