DAPHNY by
Daphny by
Jennifer Collins Leonardo Fonseca Justine Mattox Selvi Thangaraj
FASH 763 | Alessandro Cannata
Table of Contents I. Executive Summary II. Introduction III. Company Overview IV. Situational Analysis
Table of Contents
V. Primary & Secondary Research VI. Marketing Strategy VII. Media Strategy VIII. The Creative Idea IX. Campaign Evaluation X. Closing Recommendations
I. executive summary The Alexander McQueen brand breathed a new lease of life when Sarah Burton took over as Creative Director. The bold melodramatic aesthetic of the brand was now being laced with a feminine vibe. In order to re-attract a wider segment of sophisticated aspirational luxury products on a more global level, Alexander McQueen will introduce a new fragrance range for women, which will extend to men’s fragrances too in the near future. In a partnership with Sephora and Net-a-Porter, Alexander McQueen will launch their “Daphny” Fragrance on a global scale alluring customers who are not familiar with the McQueen brand to indulge in this lifestyle. The luxury beauty and fragrance segment is gaining a large market share in the global luxury good sales hence working to the advantage on the McQueen strategy.
Product Extension Goals
Key Success Factors
Create market share in the fragrance industry
Customer need to be aware of the McQueen brand
Attract consumers in the emerging BRICS nations
Global partnerships with Sephora and Net-a-Porter, Harrods, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenus, Selfridges
Create an entry level price product for aspirational Alexander McQueen luxury consumer
Mid-level price positioning
Increase awareness and sales
Marketing materials are easily translatable into purchasing or engagement actions
II. Introduction
Alexander McQueen is a British luxury, fashion house founded by designer Alexander McQueen in 1992. Since his death in 2010, Sarah Burton has acted as creative director for the brand. Prior to Burton, the brand built a reputation for its daring aesthetics and its controversial shock tactics in its advertisements and runway shows. The unique characteristics of Alexander McQueen, place the brand in a niche market category. In more recent years however, Burton has evolved the brand by mixing McQueen’s dramatic and romantic style with more ethereal, feminine touches such as floral and lace. The fashion brand currently offers men’s and women’s ready-to-wear, shoes, bags, sunglasses, and accessories, leaving an opening in the product assortment for fragrance, therefore we propose a brand extension by adding women’s fragrance to the merchandise mix.
In 2013, the fragrance industry was valued at roughly $30 billion, and is expected to continually grow and expand. Global Industry Analysts, Inc., released a comprehensive report on the fragrance and perfume industry, predicting that it would be worth a whopping $45.6 billion by 2018. We aim to expand our reach in the global market by producing a new Alexander McQueen women’s fragrance. Through this expansion McQueen will enter the fragrance market with special focus on emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. We will be able to extend our reach through global distribution partners without the overheads of new stores. Daphny by Alexander McQueen will be sold in Alexander McQueen stores world wide and e-commerce site, Sephora and Sephora.com, and lastly Net-a-porter.com.
III. Company overview 1992 Graduated with Master’s degree and launched Alexander McQueen brand
1969 Lee Alexander McQueen born in East of London
...
...
...
... 1985 Left school at the age of 16 and began apprenticing
2000 Gucci Group acquired 51% of the AMQ company and appointed him as creative director. Launched stores in London, Milan, NY, LA, and Las Vegas
2010
Launched an online store in the UK
ide n’s suic 1, 2010 e e u Q Mc b1 ced Fe n u o n n a
2006 Launched MvQ Label
...
... 2008
Launched an online store in the US
...
...
... 2005 Launched first menswear collection
Sarah Burton named Head of Design
Lee Alexander W founded the Alexander McQueen brand in 1992 where he remained Creative Director until his passing in February 2010. Alexander McQueen designs, manufactures and distributes two brands, Alexander McQueen and McQ which consists of women’s and men’s ready-to-wear and accessories. The Company operates in over 50 countries around the world through directly operated stores and franchises worldwide, including flagship stores in New York, London, Milan, Los Angeles and Beijing as well as through leading department and specialty stores. Due to the time McQueen spent at theatrical costumiers Angels and Bermans, there was a certain melodramatic, grotesque nuance in his designs and this became his trademark. When the company was taken over by Sarah she introduced a slightly softer approach to the designs with still keeping the trademark of McQueen.
McQueen currently offers a wide range of products for both men and women. From clothing, shoes, accessories and handbags to jewelry and scarves. They also offer tailoring or bespoke garments. McQueen is a luxury fashion brand with high price points ranging from $350 to $5000 and above. With a unique style they attract a small segment of consumers who share similar aesthetics. It would be a great initiation for the company to branch out into beauty as this would attract a new segment of the market that aspires to own a McQueen, but will buy entry-level items just to be a part of the McQueen world. We are following the approach of other luxury brands who have diversified their product offerings into the beauty and fragrance segment for the same reasons.
Current Product Offering Alexander McQueen operates under two named brands, Alexander McQueen and McQ. McQ being the lower price point aimed at younger demographics. Both lines offer an extensive product range from men’s and women’s apparel and shoes to accessories, bags, small leather goods, jewelry, eyewear, scarves and ties. The Alexander McQueen brand also offers tailoring or custom-made garments. The price points vary from around $350 + for smaller token items like jewelry and sunglasses to $1750 + for bags, shoes and apparel. The Highest price point is for their tailored garments at anything between $10,000 and above. The McQ brand is at a much lower price point, the product offering is very similar to the Alexander McQueen brand. McQ too offers women’s and men’s apparel, accessories, shoes, bags, small leather goods, jewelry ties and scarves. They do not do tailoring or custom-made garments. Apparel ranges from anything between $450 and above while accessories and jewelry are much lower at $150 and above. As Alexander McQueen currently doesn’t offer beauty or fragrance under any of his brands, the launch of our new fragrance Daphny will open out that market for us and we will continue to expand our fragrance and beauty business in the coming future.
IV. Situational Analysis Competitors Kering is a growing Group of high profile, profitable brands that create apparel and accessories for the luxury and sport & lifestyle markets. The Kering Group owns the Alexander McQueen brand along with others like Gucci, Bottega, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and Saint Lauren. McQueen directly competes with Givenchy, Saint-Lauren, Burberry, Balenciaga and Valentino considering the very niche space they operate within. The rare aesthetics of the brand and high price points further differentiate it from its competitors. Furthermore all of our competitors already have an established presence in the fragrance market with Burberry and Saint-Lauren having the largest market share amongst our competitors. Alexander McQueen’s Daphny perfume will compete with a number of perfumes within three broad spectrums namely Luxury, Exclusive and popular. Price point defines luxury, while exclusivity is categorized by availability and popular is the best selling category. Under the luxury perfume category our competitors are Stella-by-Stella McCartney, Opium by YSL and Yellow Diamond by Versace. For the Exclusive category we will compete with Boudoir by Vivien Westwood and lastly in the popular category we will compete with Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf.
SWOT Analysis
STRENGTHS Strong brand image Well established company Internationally known brand Unique and recognizable aesthetic
WEAKNESSES Not many brick and mortar stores (37 in the world – 12 flagship) Saturated fragrance market
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
Target a new consumer with a lower price point
Direct competition
Evolve the brand image through Sarah Burton
Economic recession
Continue to expand globally
Target MArket Identification Demographic Segmentation The Daphny perfume by Alexander McQueen will be aimed mainly at two demographics, firstly the existing large consumer base in North America, Europe, UK and Japan. The second will be focused on the developing BRIC nations, South America and UAE, as these are the regions that have been identified as most promising emerging markets for the fragrance business. McQueen will continue targeting women between the age group of 22yrs-45yrs. The young urban women demographics will act as the perfect muse for the Alexander McQueen brand. She is educated, well traveled with a deep passion for the arts, theatre and jazz. She has an experimental style and isn’t shy of expressing herself through her clothes and accessories. Geographic Segmentation Alexander McQueen is an international fashion house and they currently retail in 13 countries including North America, London, Paris, Monaco, Japan, China, and Singapore. With this particular brand extension the focus of the Alexander McQueen brand will be to attract customers in emerging fragrance markets like Brazil, Rio De Janeiro, Russia, India, Dubai and Kuwait. These markets have a lot of potential and have not been exploited to its fullest yet. In partnership with Sephora and Net-a-Porter Alexander McQueen will be able to reach these market
Behavioral Segmentation
The experimental Alexander McQueen customer is fully engulfed by the experience of the brand. She wants to be a part of the experience is whatever scale she can afford. The market is divided into two segments, the existing customer who engages in the McQueen lifestyle as well as the aspirational customer who wants to be a part of the McQueen experience. The fragrance will act as a good entry level product for the aspirational customer and will create a wholesome experience for existing customers who will now be able to look, feel and smell like the Alexander McQueen muse. Psychographic Segmentation The Alexander McQueen customer is a strong, bold and attractive woman between the age of 22 and 45. The existing customer is already accustomed to the McQueen lifestyle; she loves the aesthetics and quirkiness of the brand and values McQueen portrays his muse. The new customer too is aligned with the brand aesthetics of McQueen and values his artistic approach; she aspires to be the strong, unconventional muse he depicts.
Customer Profiles Meredith Dawson Age: 42 Location: London Education: MBA Occupation: Senior VP sales Salary: 165,000 per annum Interests: Yoga, book clubs, Broadway, jazz music festivals, and Social Media Preference: Facebook and Twitter Media Consumption: Vogue, Elle, NY Times, Daily Mail, Forbes, and The Economist Shops at: Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, YSL, Givenchy Perfume she currently uses: Flowerbomb by Victor and Ralph
Maria Tahan Age: 28 Location: Moscow Education: Master of Arts Occupation: Junior marketing executive at a fashion house Salary: 95,000 per annum Interests: Going to concerts, socializing with friends, traveling, visiting art museums, and reading Social Media Preference: Instagram and Facebook Media Consumption: Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Elle, Forbes and CNN worldwide Shops at: Balmain, Valentino, Helmut Lang Perfume she currently uses: Stella-by-Stella McCartney
V. Primary Research
As part of the primary research, a survey was realized to analyze brand awareness in respect to the new Alexander McQueen brand extension. Initial survey inquiries were made starting October 15, 2015 and concluded on October 19, 2015. The electronic survey, provided by Surveymonkey.com, consisted of six standardized close-ended questions. These were to be answered in multiple or dichotomous form in relation to statistical and behavioral perception. The use of the electronic survey facilitated the collection of relative data in a short period of time, could be administered and analyzed easily while resulting cost-effective.
Research Goals Analyze and increase the current customer awareness about the Alexander McQueen brand. Help define the product content. Design the appropriate communication strategies that aim at reaching the intended target market.
Survey Results With the intention of studying how the Alexander McQueen name can attract attention, all group members shared the survey link on their social media platforms. No criteria was implemented to select respondents. According to the survey, 32% of these ranged from the ages of 18-24, while 26% fluctuated between the ages of 25-34. These two large groups fall in accordance with our intended target market for the fragrance, which is 21-35. In relevance to the usage of a fragrance, 68% answered that they used perfumes on a daily basis, while 28% only used on special occasions; Floral and fresh scented perfumes were the top two choices when asked about the type of fragrance preference with 36%. It’s important to consider these factors important as part of our product extension to cater to customer demand, while not compromising with the companies aesthetic. 62% of the respondents answered that $120-130 was the price range they would consider, high to preliminary price for the Daphny fragrance for Alexander McQueen is at $115. When asking if they were familiar with the Alexander McQueen brand, 54% responded “yes”, while 47% responded “no”. 81% of participants who knew of Alexander McQueen responded that they would buy the brand fragrances, whereas 19% responded that they wouldn’t. The biggest challenge in relation to this product extension is to combat the lack brand awareness and equity. This could be achieved through the implementation of the mass integrated marketing communications and campaigns.
V. Secondary Research Fragrance Market Overview Perfumes today have evolved into a mainstream business in the cosmetics, and personal care industry. From being non-essential and frivolous, perfumes have emerged as essentials, owing to the increasing trend of appearance and personal care becoming part of pride, self reliance, and confidence. No longer considered as an extravagant grooming accessory, perfumes have turned into a "feel good" factor, which complements the consumer's need for expressing individuality, and personal style. The wide range of themes and choices enable consumers to choose fragrances that complement respective personal and characteristic traits. The global fragrance industry noticed a modest growth rate through 2007-2012 and is expected to continue growing at the same pace between 2013 and 2018. Market development is induced by the increasing demand in Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Rest of the World (ROW), resulting from the rising population among the aspiring middle classes in various emerging economies. The industry revenue is forecast to reach an estimated $39.3 billion by 2018. (lucintel.com). The perfume industry is primarily consumer driven. Consumers have a unique cultural attitude to "fragrance" and an uncritical concept of possessing a certain kind of identity through wearing fragrance. Lucintel identifies maintaining good quality, rise in packaging costs, continuous innovations, and fixing competitive price as major growth challenges. Maintaining balance between quality and price is the industry’s biggest challenge. Rising disposable income and consumer spending, population growth, and organized retail expansion are the drivers providing the industry with competitive advantage. Currently on the global radar are low penetration markets such as China, and Japan, where huge untapped opportunities are the focus of large international players. Fine perfumes are increasingly looking at the teenage segment as a potential growth market. Women's fragrances continue to dominate the market, with a maximum number of product launches and innovations aimed at the fairer sex.
BRICS Market Size and Spending Power
IV. Marketing strategy Positioning Strategy The following perceptual map shows the relationship between Daphny by Alexander McQueen and our competitors as it relates to global presence and brand awareness. Our competitor with the highest global presence is Viktor and Rolf. Being sold in 37 nations worldwide makes the brand very globally accessible. Although the brand is present all over the globe, the brand awareness remains low with only 117,000 social media followers. Falling directly behind V&R, YSL is present in 34 nations globally, however the brand awareness based on social media following is much lower than we desire to be placed, at only 40,7000. Highest in brand awareness is Versace. The brand has 3,600,000 followers on social media. Concurrently, the brand falls just below Viktor & Rolf being sold in 26 nations globally. With this product expansion, we aim to have a broader global reach; therefore Alexander McQueen aims to position ourselves In between Viktor & Rolf and Versace on the global presence axis. We aim to achieve this by expanding to the emerging nations. As we expand our global reach, we will as a result increase in brand awareness, keeping us high on the spectrum, falling directly behind Versace.
HIGH GLOBAL PRESENCE
(117 thousand, 37)
(407 thousand, 34) (3600 thousand, 26)
LOW BRAND AWARENESS
HIGH BRAND AWARENESS
(1700 thousand, 13) (443 thousand, 12)
(1800 thousand, 7)
LOW GLOBAL PRESENCE
price Positioning
Viktor & Rolf is positioned at the top with a price of $165 per 3.4 ounce bottle. Flowerbomb is offered in most department and beauty stores making it extremely accessible. Equal in price to Daphny but smaller in size, Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium fragrance is towards the top and priced just above Yellow Diamond by Versace. Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood and Stella by Stella McCartney round out the bottom both with prices under $100. Boudoir is only offered in a 1.7 ounce bottle adding to her exclusivity.
Communication Mix and Objectives
Budget
Budget Allocation After extensive primary and secondary market research, Alexander McQueen has decided on a surplus marketing budget for the worldwide launch of our new fragrance Daphny. The budget will be split into 5 dimensions namely Social Media, PR/Events, Print, Outdoor and Direct Marketing. After careful analysis we figured that a majority of our customers chose Social Media as their preferred media choice hence we dedicated a high 35% of our budget towards Social Media splitting that into Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. While Facebook and Instagram will receive 10% each of the social media budget the rest will be divided between Twitter and YouTube. PR and Events are our next big expense coming in at 25%. We will be promoting the fragrance prior to launch through a series of events and press releases. Our next expense is traditional Print advertising at 20%. We will be featured on Vogue, Elle, Cosmopolitan, W magazine worldwide and top daily newspapers like the Thursday style edition of the NY Times, and The Daily Mail. Outdoor Advertising will receive 15% of our budget, billboards will be placed in strategic locations in cities spanning from NYC to London, Paris, Dubai, Rio, Shanghai, and New Delhi. Lastly the balance 5% of our budget will be spent on direct marketing efforts, which will include mailer’s to privileged customers to send invites for the launch party and give them access to the fragrance before it reaches the market. To quickly summarize the budget split it is: 35% on Social Media 25% on PR/Events 20% on Print 15% on Outdoor 5% on Direct Marketing
VII. Media Strategy
The largest portion of our budget, at 35%, will be directed towards social media advertising. Social media is a large part of our consumer’s everyday life and has become an imperative outlet for reaching potential customers. We want to use social media to create buzz about the Daphny fragrance with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. By using a GIF and a short video, Daphny by Alexander McQueen will be able to connect with online consumers. Following social media, we plan to promote the new fragrance through public relations and events. With 25% of our budget, we can focus on executing high volume events that inform the public of the new brand extension while inviting attendees to purchase on site. Press releases will help to expand the knowledge of our product to a greater market. Print advertising is the next greatest focus for our media strategy. The objectives for this are to have a high percentage of customers remember the brand after viewing the ad and to have an increased amount of traffic in the store locations promoted on the creative. Print ads are significant for Daphny by Alexander McQueen because it gives us many opportunities to promote the brand and product. Devoting 20% to print, our budget will cover publications in multiple magazines. Paired with the 15% for outdoor advertising, our ads will be placed on billboards in specific locations that are visible to a large amount of potential consumers. It is important to us to maintain a relationship with our customers post-purchase, as well as receive feedback on our product and advertising efforts. Because of this we have allocated 5% to direct marketing. This will include online and seasonal promotions to attract our consumers to make a purchase. We will also send out an email questionnaire to hear from existing customers about their satisfaction with Daphny by Alexander McQueen and gain knowledge of how they were informed of the product.
VIII. The Creative Process The Creative Brief In order to realize the final artistic concept for the Daphny perfume IMC plan for Alexander McQueen, extensive brand research was done. To be in line with the brands new creative direction by Sara Burton, it was necessary to present a new fragrance that captured the original aesthetics of Alexander McQueen and Burtons own feminine and decidedly sensual aesthetic. This years collection was critiqued as an “ ethereal romance�, inspired by the fragility of nature and flowers. Because the floral scent is a major scent sold in the fragrances industry, and the preferred scent according to our research, this created an opportunity to identify a flower and scent that could serve as a visual link and a unique fragrance to the Alexander McQueen brand. The selected flower was the Daphny flower. All parts of the Daphne are poisonous, but especially the sap and berries. It could cause Headaches, delirium, and convulsions are typical signs of poisoning. It served as a basis to create an abstract concept of the effects this flower can have on whoever smells it. Its representation serves as a drug that provides a physiological effect. This would be embodied by the strain of Romanticism in the Alexander McQueen ad. Inspired by the themes literary interpretations and drama found in past Alexander McQueen collections, a story for video and print promotion was created on how a woman, whom our target market could relate to, discovers the Daphny flower and experiences of an out of reality experience. This would present the message of how the fragrance can create the same experience and emotion.
The Creatives The Products
1.7 oz
3.4 oz
Only available in gift set
IX. Campaign Evaluation After the launch of Daphny by Alexander McQueen, we will monitor the fragrance sales across the globe and watch to see which areas the sales are highest. By observing which product is more popular with our consumers we will be able to continue our marketing efforts more efficiently. During the postpurchase phase we will use an email questionnaire to spark conversation with consumers. This will allow us to gain information on how they became aware of the product and their opinions on the overall product, as well as the advertising. Social media is another detrimental part of our campaign evaluation.
With the increasing importance of maintaining a positive online presence, seeing how our campaign translates to the Alexander McQueen social media sites will tell us how effective our message is. Alexander McQueen already promotes its brand globally through various social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. We will be able to measure the impact of our campaign by comparing the amount of ‘likes’ and followers on each site before and after the launch. A Facebook page dedicated solely to the Daphny fragrance will also help to isolate which section of brand awareness is dedicated to the product.
X. Closing recommendations Alexander McQueen as a brand has undergone a rebirth since the death of Lee Alexander McQueen. This evolution due to head designer Sarah Burton has changed the aesthetic of the brand, while still capturing the edgy and daring essence of the traditional McQueen brand, Burton has brought to the brand a more feminine touch, incorporating more florals and lace into the overall style of Alexander McQueen. The shift in design has left room for the brand to attract a new consumer- the brand is now more appealing due to more functional designs. After a comprehensive market analysis and brand development study, it is our recommendation for Alexander McQueen to pursue a branding campaign for the Daphny fragrance launch. First, Alexander McQueen should focus on increasing awareness of the fragrance. Because of its newness and the saturation of the fragrance market Daphne must be placed in the consumer’s evoked set for perfumes. In order to increase brand awareness to a significant level so as to compete with competitor luxury fragrances, it is recommended that for the first year, Alexander McQueen employ many different mediums as discussed in our plan. By infusing these channels with Alexander McQueen’s brand messaging, the company will position itself as a main player in the fragrance market. Soliciting a trial is key when launching a new product, specifically a new fragrance.
For this reason it is recommended that Alexander McQueen take advantage of sample distribution in store and in print for promotion. In order to launch a marketing campaign that successfully competes with current industry leaders, it must maintain the highest level of integration throughout all of the recommended mediums.
Xi. Appendix Survey Results:
Week
Pre -‐ Production
Ideation for brand extension IMC strategy Print ad concept Short Giff concept (insta, twitter) Moodboard Style Frame Story Board Talent management Locations Props Equipment Liceses and permission
Production
Shoot print ad Shoot video
Post-‐Production
Clean up ads Photoshop Editing Rough Cut Final Cut
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10