B r y a r nd o t S S d to n a
d St Bran ory B r
S t d o n r a y r B B r y r
ry
“Reality is so horrific these days that only escapism makes it bearable at times”. These are the words spoken by Bill Gibb in the ‘70s as terrorist threats from the IRA were abundant, however this also resonates with today’s millennials as political tensions and terrorism is causing great anxiety. Bill Gibb previously used his handcrafted designs of fantasy woodland scenes and medieval dress styles as his form of escapism, allowing the wearers of his garments to escape also to another Pre-Raphaelite world. The re-launch of Bill Gibb focuses on escapism aided through the use of technology as the brand collaborates with Virtual Reality company HTC Vive. The heritage of the brand is further pursued as Bill Gibb’s designs were heavily influenced by Woodstock and the emerging hippie counterculture, whilst Gibb often used celebrity endorsement to promote his brand.
The re-launch provides a VR experience used to replicate that of a psychedelic acid trip, taking the modern consumer back to the hippie era that Gibb was influenced by, allowing them to meet the celebrities that Gibb designed garments for, such as Bianca Jagger and Twiggy as well as visit his fashion shows and the illustrious 1969 Woodstock festival. This VR experience will be available to consumers within the retail environment taking them on a magical mystery tour whilst meeting the millennial market’s demand for experiential shopping; the VR experience is also available to download from VivePort or Steam for consumers who own a HTC Vive headset. Along with visions of escapism the brand’s values follow the hippie footsteps of peace and love as Bill Gibb becomes an ethical vegetarian brand. Updating fabrics for faux alternatives such as leather, suede and fur that Bill Gibb was renowned for using accelerates the brand into 2020, making it increasingly relevant and desirable for the growingly conscious millennial target consumers.
tory Brand S dS t o an
Collab.
The HTC Vive Focus, which was released during late 2017 will be used in collaboration with the Bill Gibb relaunch to appeal to the Chinese Millennial market. China is predicted to become the world’s largest market for Virtual Reality by 2020, with the value expected to reach CNY 55bn (US $7.98bn), this is understandable as headset shipments are forecast to reach 15.5 million units by 2020 (Ng. Erica, 4/01/2017). As Asian consumers are being increasingly exposed to Virtual Reality via popup VR arcades and cafes there has been a rapid increase in the sales of virtual reality (Ng. Erica, 4/01/2017). Unlike their previous ‘Vive’ VR headset, the HTC ‘Vive Focus’ is a standalone Virtual Reality headset with inside-out 6-degrees-of-freedom tracking, meaning it doesn’t need to be connected to a gaming PC or use external sensors to work (Better. E, Langridge. M, 14/11/2017). This allows
the consumer to take their VR experience with them wherever they wish, using it whenever they need a form of escapism. Once the consumer makes either an online or in-store purchase from Bill Gibb they will be sent an e-mail with a download code allowing them exclusive access to download the Bill Gibb Virtual Reality experience. At the time of publication the HTC Vive Focus is only available for the Chinese market, however another version of the standalone headset is expected to be be released for the Western market once the newly-released Focus is established within China (Better. E, Langridge. M, 14/11/2017, Reynolds. A, December 2017). In the meantime, UK consumers can partake within Bill Gibb’s mystery tour during their shopping experience at Dover Street Market or at home on their HTC Vive headset.
Using Social Media.
Shopping.
Researching a holiday destination.
Cultural Experience.
Watching a concert/ art performance.
Educational Experinece.
Gaming.
Watching Films.
Reasons for Millennials’ interest in using VR:
65% 63% 60%
The AR and VR market is billion US dollars globally b
57%
56%
55%
is predicted to reach 143.3 y by 2020 (Statista, 2/01/2018)
49%
41%
VR M (US arke ) b t- $ y 2 7.9 02 8bn 0
4P
P’s
Product Bill Gibb will primarily remain a womenswear brand, the brand’s original DNA will remain apparent through the use of floral patchwork patterns and billowing silhouettes however, the garments will have a brighter and bolder clashing colour palette. This high intensity colour scheme reflects the psychedelia of the brand narrative, whilst the exaggerated floral colours are contrasted against deeper tones; evident within the psychotropical colour trend that is forecast, taking influence from hyperreal perceptions of nature within digital and virtual reality environments (Zhang. J, Body. J, 13/06/2016). Whilst the majority of clothes available target the high end fashion market with oversized dresses, knitwear, suede jackets and two pieces there will also be entry level products available, such as 100% organic cotton T-Shirts with the original Bill Gibb bee motif on, as well as his new brand logo. Such entry level products allow those who aspire to own a Bill Gibb item, yet cannot afford the designer price point, to buy-into the brand and it’s ethos, with the promise that once their disposable income increases they are likely to purchase higher-priced items. Bill Gibb has also relaunched as a sustainable vegetarian brand for the conscious millennial consumer in 2020. Renowned for the use of real furs, suedes and leathers the impeccable quality of his designs will retain their exceptionally high standards whilst no animal products will be used; instead a variety of sustainable cotton and viscose shall be used alongside high quality faux leather Piñatex®, and faux suede. This transition towards ethical fashion targets a growing segment of the millennial market, where 1 in 10 are vegan or vegetarian (Corlin. R, 4/05/2016) and there is an apparent demand fro eco-friendly clothing.
Price Throughout the ‘70s Bill Gibb’s garments were priced between £120 (approx. £1,987.39 today) and £350 (approx. £4,200 today) (Bank of England, 14/11/2017), placing him within a highend designer price point. As pricing strategies are often used to indicate a product’s quality Bill Gibb shall use a premium pricing strategy to remain at a high price point within the designer goods market, with their most expensive items being the faux suede jackets as well as oversized trapeze dresses. The entry level organic cotton T-shirts shall retail at £120, marginally undercutting their main competitors Stella McCartney in the hope to increase sales and interest from first-time buyers. With the brand’s ethical ethos in-mind consumers can often justify a higher price point due to the perceived psychological benefits of buying into an ethical and eco-friendly brand. As Gibb’s main target consumers, Chinese Millennials often have a lot of disposable income and account for 30-35% of global luxury sales (Deloitte, 2017), therefore they will be willing to pay the high price point.
Place Bill Gibb will be sold as a concession within Dover Street Market in London as this provides a unique retail space, where (according to a Dover Street retail assistant) over 50% of the consumers shopping there are part of the under 30 Chinese demographic. It is brands like Palace, Céline, COMME des GARÇONS and Vetements that Bill Gibb will sit alongside as the millennial Chinese shoppers visit the store with the intention not only to browse, but to make multiple luxury purchases. With two-thirds of Chinese millennials preferring to buy luxury goods in a bricks and mortar store as opposed to online whilst travelling for the majority of their designer purchases (Deloitte, 2017), Bill Gibb aims to sell within a bricks and mortar retail space as well as via e-commerce. As Dover Street Market is a cult shopping destination for Chinese tourists Bill Gibb will begin the relaunch exclusively as a concession here, with future intentions to open a flagship store in London as a loyal consumer base develops and the brand grows in popularity. As omnichannel retail is expected to grow, Bill Gibb will also be available via their brand website, attracting highspending millennials who prefer to compare products and reviews online, whilst making the designer purchases in-store (Deloitte, 2017). Additionally, the use of e-commerce caters to the international Chinese market who are unable or don’t have plans to travel to the UK but still wish to invest in Bill Gibb after viewing promotional material online. Bill Gibb will additionally be available as an online store via WeChat commerce, this provides the opportunity to make certain garments exclusively available for the Chinese consumers who purchase through the app. Additionally as the entire target market is reachable on this platform the interconnection between the brand’s account and personal accounts helps to direct traffic towards the online store, increasing the brands exposure to the market as well as sales (Williams. G. A, 5/06/2017).
Promoition Bill Gibb will use a variety of promotional material to gain as much brand exposure leading up to the re-launch in the summer of 2020. To gain interest and excitement around the re-launch social media will play a vital role in building up anticipation through the use of teaser advertising campaigns and glitches. As previously addressed in order to engage the Chinese consumer Bill Gibb will mainly use WeChat as a communication channel to promote the relaunch of the brand, whilst Instagram will be the main platform used when advertising to the UK consumer. Further promotional material such as bill boards of advertising campaigns and lookbooks will be utilised once the re-launch has commenced and the online store as well as Dover Street Market concession opens.
Target Market: Chinese Millennial Consumer
Brand Id
Identitiy
Master Logo:
Typography: Excalibur Nouveau
Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb
Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb Bill Gibb
Communicatio
ion Strategy
Online Touchpoints
Within the re-launch of Bill Gibb there are multiple owned media online touchpoints, such as the business to consumer online campaign website. In keeping with the experiential shopping ethos of the brand, this features interactive pop-ups as the consumer is met with a glitch of the ‘Let’s take a trip’ campaign title. The website also contains multiple hyperlinks directing the consumer to the Spring/ Summer 2020 campaign images, as well as a link to the brand’s Instagram page, HTC Vive’s platform and ability to ‘Shop’ Bill Gibb via the Dover Street market online retailer.
With Instagram’s 14,000,000 UK users, it is the most suitable form of social media to use to share the relaunch of Bill Gibb, as the majority of the target market uses it on a daily basis therefore this increases the brand’s exposure.
Whilst WeChat is the most suitable form of social media to use in order to attract the main Chinese Millennial consumer as the platform attracts 800 million monthly users, there is also a potential for WeChat Commerce as Bill Gibb can set up an online store on the social media platform, combining both business and personal accounts.
Offline Touchpoints The Bill Gibb concession that features inside Dover Street Market acts as an offline touchpoint channel; this is where consumers can touch, try on and purchase Bill Gibb garments as well as take part within the Virtual Reality experience provided in store. Further offline touchpoint include owned print; Bill Gibb lookbooks will be available within the Dover Street market store for consumers to take with them and peruse whilst shopping the collection or as a memento to take back home from their travels as style inspiration. Further bought mass media such as public billboards will provide greater brand exposure as there is a potential for such advertising to attract members outside of the specific re-launch target market.
Bibliography: Bank of England, (accessed 2017, 14th November), Inflation Calculator, http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/ education/Pages/resources/inflationtools/calculator/default.aspx# Betters. E, Langridge. M, (2017, 14th November), HTC Vive Focus: Relaesae dtae, specs and everything you need to know, http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/141099-htc-vive-focus-release-date-specs-andeverything-you-need-to-know Chitrakorn. K, (2017, 11th October), Virtual Makeovers Are Booming in Asia, https://www.businessoffashion. com/articles/global-currents/why-virtual-makeovers-are-booming-in-asia Corlin. R, (May 4th, 2016), Healthy Food Bites To Go: Millennials Lead in Plant Based Eating, The Viking News, Wetchester Community College, Valhalla NY, Uloop, Inc. Deloitte, (2017), Bling it on: What makes a millennial spend more?, Deloitte LLP, https://www2.deloitte. com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consumer-business/deloitte-uk-young-luxury-shopper-2017.pdf Ng. Erica, (2017, 4th January), Future of Virtual Reality: Asia, https://www-wgsn-com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/ content/search/#/virtual%2520reality Poelking. J, (2017, 12th September), Augmenting reality for consumer connection, http://academic.mintel. com/display/854413/?highlight#hit1 Reynolds. A, (2017, December), Virtual Reality - UK, http://academic.mintel.com/display/870787/ Statista.com, (acessed 2018, 2nd January), Forecast augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) market size world-wide from 2016 to 2021 (in billion U.S dollars), https://www.statista.com/statistics/591181/globalaugmented-virtual-reality-market-size/ Williams. G. A, (2017, 5th June), WeChat Store Are China’s Latest Luxury Craze, https://www. businessoffashion.com/articles/global-currents/wechat-stores-are-chinas-latest-luxury-craze Zhang. J, Boddy. J, WGSN colour team, (2016, 13th June), China Colour S/S18: Psychotropical, https:// www-wgsn-com.lcproxy.shu.ac.uk/content/search/reports/?searchId=18379856#/china
Lucy Dunkley