Mystic Daisy print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 19).
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Contents Brand Strategy
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Brand Identity
7 - 11
Brand Story
13 & 14
Concept
16 & 17
Market and Trend Research Collaborative Partner
21 & 22
Repositioning Map
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Target Consumer
26 - 28
Communication Strategy
30 - 32
Online Touchpoints
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Offline Touchpoints
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Campaign Images Conclusion
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34 - 37
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List of Illustrations
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Picture Credits
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Bibliography
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Appendices
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Celia’s design in gouache (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 34).
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For the relaunch of Celia Birtwell the brand will be moving the brand from home fabrics over to fashion fabrics, taking it back to the roots of the brand and the reason for its success during the 1960s and 1970s. A tattoo parlour and a boutique will form the relaunch of the brand, the idea being that customers can have a Celia Birtwell print tattooed onto their body or have a print tattooed onto a leather dress. The relaunch will be focused around the prints and patterns that Birtwell created when the brand first started out. This links in with the original bold, floral prints of the brand, whilst taking a modern approach for the relaunch. I have chosen to launch the brand in London, UK as this is where it was founded and Tokyo, Japan because tattoos are considered as taboo and are not given a positive outlook. I feel that by rebuilding the brand around tattoos will reflect the fun and creative image of the brand.
Celia’s 60s sketches (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 58).
Figure 3: Celia’s 60s sketches (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 58).
Brand Strategy
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Tulips print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 98).
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Brand Identity I will be retaining the print and pattern elements of the original brand DNA as I feel that these aspects made the brand successful at the beginning. The original Celia Birtwell prints were bold, elegant and floral mostly. I will be taking inspiration from the original prints but will develop them for the relaunch of the brand. I will merge the original prints and developed prints with my collaborative partner, as the customers can have a Celia Birtwell print tattooed onto them by Horimitsu, our tattoo artist. Horimitsu’s work is based around traditional Japanese imagery, which includes flowers and patterns, therefore the two styles will merge successfully together.
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Discharge print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 78).
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Brand Story
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Bird Song Print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 186).
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Concept
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Cubist-inspired prints (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 63).
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Market and Trend Research I have chosen to launch the brand in Tokyo, Japan where the Olympics are being held in 2020. The Olympics will bring many tattooed tourists and athletes to the city, therefore is a perfect time to relaunch the brand. “According to a new report by McKinsey & Co shared exclusively with BoF, Japanese consumers are now spending 3.6 trillion yen (about $33 billion) each year on luxury goods” (Chitrakorn, 2017). I feel that the Tokyo 2020 Olympics will see an increase in tourists for the city with Japan “…hoping to land 40 million visitors in 2020” (LUXUO, 2017). The brand will be marketed towards millennial generation consumers who are predominantly females and prefer to shop in a physical store rather than online. The brand will take a more directional approach in order to attract a younger demographic and will have a high social media presence which will come from Horimitsu. Both Celia’s illustrations (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 62).
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I have chosen to focus on the body modification of tattoos as based on my research tattoos are popular however are banned in some parts of Japan. According to Thomas (2016), one in three young people are now getting tattooed, therefore many workplaces are looking into whether banning tattoos is beneficial to them or not. This research showed that some companies raised concerns about people with visible tattoos as they believed that they portray a negative attitude between employees and customers. This is the outlook that I hope to change during the relaunch by making tattoos more accepted. I believe that this will be influenced massively by the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan as the city will see an increase in not only tattooed tourists but the athletes taking part as well. I carried out some primary research about how people with tattoos are viewed by interviewing several people all of different ages. I spoke to Ivan Hibbert, aged 48 who said “In my generation it was always military personnel or prisoners (age 36+) that had tattoos; however it appears more fashionable amongst society on whole that tattoos are being inked on human bodies”. (See appendices, pages 47 & 48 for full interview).
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A detail of a fabric (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 112).
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Left: Horimitsu logo. Right: One of Horimitsu’s tattoo designs. Horimitsu: Tattoo Artist of Ikebukuro, Japan. (2017).
Collaborative Partner
The collaborative partner I have chosen for the relaunch is Horimitsu, a tattoos artist in Tokyo, Japan. I feel that this he is a fitting choice for the brand as he will build upon the handmade qualities and bring Celia Birtwell into the current market. He has 20 years experience in the tattoo industry, practicing both machine and the traditional Japanese method of tattooing called Tebori. With over 40,000 followers on Instagram I feel that he will make the brand appealing to the younger market.
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Pretty Woman print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 102).
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Repositioning Map
I have placed Celia Birtwell towards the lower end of the high pricing scale as I believe that the brand is affordable luxury, meaning that the millennial generation consumers can afford products from our collections. I believe that the products being produced will be of a high quality as they will be handmade, therefore a lot of craftsmanship will have gone into the products. The tattoos that people will be getting will be at the hands of our tattooist, Horimitsu who will be using both traditional and modern methods of tattooing.
Above: Giaconda print(from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 82).
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Figure 1: In the repositioning map i have identified the competitors within the market (Brooks, 2017).
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Graphic semi-abstract eye print(from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 109).
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Target Consumer
The brand will be relaunching in Tokyo, Japan and London, UK, therefore our target consumers will be the millennial generation in both countries. These consumers will be predominantly females and will be able to buy into our affordable luxury brand and can expect a high social media presence to keep them engaged. We will take a directional approach to attract the younger demographic who will be buying into our brand. As the millennial generation prefer to shop in a physical store rather than online, we will offer a luxury brand experience throughout the store. The fashion will be contemporary, however built on aspects from the brands heritage, using similar materials and developed prints.
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One of Celia’s prints (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 116).
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Communication Strategy
One of Celia’s prints (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 116).
I will focus on the online touchpoints for the Japanese consumers as “it is estimated that as of 2015, over 90% of Japan’s entire population is online in one form or another and is expected to stay come 2020” (Neely, 2016). In order to reach the Japanese consumer I will use Instagram as the main touchpoint for this as according to Neely (2016), “Instagram, meanwhile, reigns in about 8.9 million Japanese users”. My collaborative partner, Horimitsu already has over 44,000 followers on Instagram, therefore already has a social media presence in Japan.
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31 Figure 2: I have identified the online touchpoints that are relevant to my brand (Brooks, 2017).
Online Touchpoints
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32 Figure 3: I have identified the offline touchpoints that are relevant to my brand (Brooks, 2017).
Offline Touchpoints
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Little Animals print(from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 159).
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Campaign Images
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A print from the Imagine collection (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 176).
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A print from the Imagine collection (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 176).
Conclusion
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To conclude, the relaunch will be based around the body modification of tattoos, and the brand will relaunch as a clothing line and a tattoo parlour. The idea being, customers can get tattoos of Celia Birtwell prints and can get a dress tattooed with patterns. My target consumers will be the millennial generation in Tokyo, Japan and London, UK. The collaborative partner I have chosen for the relaunch is Horimitsu, a tattoos artist in Tokyo, Japan. I feel that this he is a fitting choice for the brand as he will incorporate Celia Birtwell prints into his tattoos.
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Mystic Daisy print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 19).
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List of Illustrations Figure
Description
Page
Figure 1 Repositioning Map Brooks, L. (December, 2017). Primary image, Repositioning Map.
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Figure 2
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Online Touchpoints
Brooks, L. (December, 2017). Primary image, Online Touchpoints. Figure 3
Offline Touchpoints
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Brooks, L. (December, 2017). Primary image, Offline Touchpoints.
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Bird Song Print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 186).
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Picture Credits 2, 4, 5 (Left and Right), 6, 12, 15, 18, 19 (Above and Below), 20, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, 33, 38, 39, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49. Birtwell, C. and Lutyens, D. (2012). Celia Birtwell. New York: St. Martins Griffin. 21 Left and Right. Horimitsu: Tattoo Artist of Ikebukuro, Japan. (2017). Horimitsu: Traditional Japanese Tattoo with Tebori [online]. 1 (Above and Below), 7, 35 (Left and Right), 36 (Left and Right), 37 (Left and Right). Brooks (2017). Primary Images. Created at Sheffield Hallam University by Leah Brooks. 8 - 11, 14, 22, 27, 28. Brooks (2017). Moodboards. Created at Sheffield Hallam University by Leah Brooks.
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Celia’s design in gouache (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 34).
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Bibliography Chitrakorn, K. Chitrakorn, K. (2017). Japan’s Luxury Market Enters a New Era. [online] The Business of Fashion. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/ articles/global-currents/japans-luxury-market-enters-a-new-era [Accessed 16 Dec. 2017]. LUXUO LUXUO. (2017). Luxury spending trends 2017: Japan second largest luxury market in the world | LUXUO. [online] Available at: http://www.luxuo. com/culture/luxury-spending-trends-2017-japan-second-largest-luxurymarket-in-the-world.html [Accessed 17 Dec. 2017]. Neely, C. Neely, C. (2016). [online] Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ japans-top-social-media-networks-2016-caylon-neely [Accessed 17 Dec. 2017]. Thomas, C. Thomas, C. (2016). Are tattoos acceptable in the workplace?. [Online] South Wales Argus. Available at: http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/ features/14779992.Are_tattoos_acceptable_in_the_workplace_/ [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].
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Tulips print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 98).
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Appendices
Primary research in in which I carried out in the form of an interview. Interviewee: Ivan Hibbert Interviewer: Leah Brooks Leah: How old are you?
Leah: Would you say that having tattoos has affected your job opportunities? Ivan: No.
Ivan: 48.
Leah: Have certain jobs restricted you from getting tattoos? If so, please state the job title/s.
Leah: How many tattoos do you have?
Ivan: Police, but only restricted on visible tattoos.
Ivan: 6.
Leah: Would you say that you’ve been treated any differently in the workplace as a result of having tattoos?
Leah: When wearing a short sleeve top and long bottoms, are your tattoos visible? Ivan: Yes, they all would be. Leah: What made you want to get your first tattoo? Ivan: I’m passionate about a band (Depeche Mode) who’s “Violator” album cover had a rose on it and I loved it, my mum always grew roses in her garden so when I left to join the RAF, I had the rose tattoo of the album to remind me of my mum. Leah: Did you get your tattoos before or after starting your current job? Ivan: Before Leah: When applying for jobs has there been a dress code that specifies ‘no tattoos’? Ivan: Yes, in the Police but I only had visible tattoos after I left the police.
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Ivan: Not really but some people have been shocked that I had tattoos, which still meant I was judged purely on having or not having tattoos. People would say to me “You don’t seem the type to have tattoos.” So what is the type? GRRRRRR!!! Leah: Which gender would you say you’ve seen with tattoos the most? Ivan: Males. Leah: Have you ever seen heavily tattooed people in respectable, high paying jobs such as; a doctor, a teacher or a policeman? Please give a reason for your answer. Ivan: Having played football with Police Officers I have seen many officers in changing rooms with some amazing tattoos, one had a dragon tattoo covering his whole back- which was a beautiful tattoo. Leah: Which age group do you think people associate the most with tattoos; 18-25, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55 or 56 and over? Leah Brooks
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Ivan: I’d say all of the age groups. In my generation it was always military personnel or prisoners (+36) that had tattoos; however it appears more fashionable amongst society on whole that tattoos are being inked on human bodies. Leah: Do you believe that tattoos should have an influence on people’s job prospects? Ivan: No, but I am aware that it does but only in the older generation who probably still judge people who have tattoos. Leah: Would you say that people are more likely to have a higher paying job if they don’t have tattoos? Ivan: No experience that this is the case. Leah: Would you think any differently of someone if they had a large tattoo on display?
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Japanese inspired sketch (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 24).
Ivan: Yes I would think they are living life and not conforming to those few people in life who still judge those free spirited people who get inked.
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Discharge print (from Birtwell and Lutyens, 2012, p. 78).
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