Megan Green- Creative Strategy Manual.

CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

C REATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN-MICHEL BASQUIAT 2020 SPRING SUMMER BRAND RE-LAUNCH

CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

BRAND STRATEGY Christian Francis Roth was an American surrealist designer mainly based in New York during the era of the 80’s and 90’s. Closing his Couture collection in 1995 due to the products not selling well, he started a Ready-To-Wear collection which was targeted at consumers aged 25+. During the 2020 re-launch, Ready-To-Wear will be a collection which will be carried forward as this type of product was the best selling and suited the consumers buying habits due to the pricing and the collections he produced.

Product originality and the quality of the products was a main point in which the consumers valued within the branding, carrying this on into the 2020 launch will be a huge factor in keeping the original consumers buying habits appropriate for the brand relaunch.

Jean Michel Basquiat was an American artist who was also based in New York during the 80’s and 90’s, around the same time as Roth. Basquiat was a well-known artist during this era and his artwork is still current and around now making him a suitable collaborative partner for Roth. In addition to this, Roth and Basquiat had a similar consumer which is something which will help in the 2020 launch and keep the partners in line.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

Basquiat was famous for his graffiti ‘SAMO’ movement and his obscure artwork he produced which is also something which will be carried forward into the 2020 launch. His ‘SAMO’ name was shortened from “Same Old Shit” which was an appropriate phase for the era they was living in, where richer people would be getting all the ‘good’ stuff, and people who lived down-town would be doing the same things day in, day out. The re-launch and also the way the brand is advertised will all have aspects of the graffiti movement to keep the branding current to Basquiat, but have the twist of Roth’s Ready-To-Wear.

Graffiti is an art form which is seen in every day life on the urban streets of any city or town: this type of art movement is mainly inspired and done by young adults whether they are art enthusiasts or just want to leave their mark on the town.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

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CREATIVESTRATEGY STRATEGYMANUAL MANUAL CREATIVE CHRISTIANFRANCIS FRANCISROTH ROTHXXJEAN JEANMICHEL MICHELBASQUIAT BASQUIAT CHRISTIAN

80’s streetwear will be the main product type in the Ready-To-Wear collection as this links to both the consumers and also the movement which will be followed throughout: Art and Graffiti. Products such as graffiti denim jackets, and t-shirt which will have a chosen graffiti print printed onto them will all be available for the consumers. The fact they the products will have a graffiti design will make them have a ‘Surrealism’ effect due linking back to Roth. Consumers will also be given a tote bag when they buy a product which will also have a Basquait print onto it, this is an easy way to promote the brand on the streets though consumers who have bought into the brand.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

MARKET RESEARCH Researching into possible collaborators for Christian Francis Roth lead me to looking at graffiti artists. As Roth was from New York during the 80’s, I wanted to research into a graffiti artist who was current and in their prime during this time, so the graffiti elements link to Roth’s artistic flare in which he follows through his collections.

Banksy is an anonymous graffiti artist who was born in 1974, and was in his prime element during the 80’s and 90’s. Banksy would be an appropriate collaborator for Roth as his artworks are well known around the world and would also make the collection stand out and more appropriate for the 80’s urban streetwear vibe. However, Banksy wasn’t from New York which i decided needed to be a prime element in the collaboration to make the artist more relevant and appropriate.

This then lead me onto looking at Jean-Michel Basquiat. He was born in New York and started to become famous during the 80’s and 90’s. Looking at this artwork, it was much bolder and linked more to Roth, making them the perfect collaborators. In addition to this, Jean-Michel is still relevant and well known, years after his death due to the fact he has an exhibition on at the Barbican in London which I visited which showed how Basquiat will always be a well-known and relevant artist The reason graffiti was a main element in the collaboration was to make this more relevant and appropriate for the consumer target group. Aiming at the age group of 25+, meant considering their interests and habits. Art and graffiti was a main interest in which consumers of around that age were interested in following a Survey sent out to random consumers.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

COMPETITOR TREND R ESEARCH All information retrived from, “SimilarWeb.Com”

From the information gathered in the Infographic, it shows that both Supreme and Dover Street Market will be a major competitors in the Streetwear market. Supreme is a major competitor on the web visits due to the fact they dont have many stores for people to visit and the main way people can buy their products is through ‘drops’ in which they do on their website. However, Dover Street Marker is a main competitor due to their stores, the customer experience in these stores is one of the main customer satisfactions due to the variety of different displays and visual merchandising layouts they use.

In addition to this, Social media is a huge way of attracting customers due to the amount of visits other competitors are receiving. Having a website where it is an easier option for global consumers will help to bring in a wider consumer target base in potential emerging markets such as Japan. Social media such as Instagram and Reddit are potential platforms which could be used within the launch as these are major sites the consumer target audience would use.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

REPOSITIONING MAP ROTH X BASQUIAT

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

Within the market the brand relaunch intends to penetrate, the brand will sit high within this market amongst its competitors. As shown on the positioning map, the brand relaunch will sit alongside Comme des Garcons and Gosha Rubinksky within the marker. This is due to the fact that Christian Francis Roth’s previous collections also sat high within the market they were in due to the quality of the products but also the high pricing. However, as previously stated, the brand relaunch intends to stick to a more reasonable priced collection to suit its target consumer needs which is why it will sit amongst its competitors as shown in the repositioning map as the consumers are willing to pay these prices.

To stand out from its competitors, the relaunch of Roth and Basquiat will have many factors which will differentiate from its competitors. The relaunch name of ‘Roth X Basquiat’ will help consumer to identity who the collaborators are which will hopefully bring interests from their previous consumer markets. The iconic Basquiat crown symbol will also be used as a logo to give the brand recognition within the market and clearly identify the collaboration. Competitors such as Comme des Garcons, Supreme and Palace all sit within the same market and the relaunch and each of these brands have a recognisable symbol which helps the brand to be easily identified. Using the Basquiat crown will help the relaunch in many ways such as giving an easily recognisable symbol that will stand out amongst competitors.

Jean-Michel Basquiat crown symbol

Potential logo idea for 2020 relaunch

Plain and simple text will be used on the billboard campaigns.

Making it easy to read and stand out against the background.

ROTH X BASQUIAT

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CREATIVESTRATEGY STRATEGYMANUAL MANUAL CREATIVE CHRISTIANFRANCIS FRANCISROTH ROTHXXJEAN JEANMICHEL MICHELBASQUIAT BASQUIAT CHRISTIAN

Another communication channel to help the brand relaunch will also printed advertisements. As the collaborator is Basquiat who is well known for his art and graffiti, using a printed advertisement will link the relaunch back to the collaborators DNA, making the advertisements stand out. Printing a look-book onto newspaper print will give the relaunch a traditional and urban vibe, such as the old newspapers which were sold within the streets of New York. However, adding a current twist to these prints such as embossed typography or logo will make the print stand out and bring a new element to the print. In addition to this, packaging will also have the collaborator in mind but also the Read-To-Wear collection. Tote bags are a streetwear accessory which can have a variety of different prints on these but also be easily manipulated.

For the relaunch, tote bags will be used as part of the packaging to bring an old traditional element, but by having a Basquiat print on these to make it link back to the relaunch and give the brand recognition.

Media such as a website and print ads will help to bring the relaunch back to the current target market in mind. As social media and websites are now the main way to interact and attract consumers, this will be a main advertisement strategy used.

The website will be the main way to sell the clothing to consumers who are not from the United States, but it will also be a place to attract new consumers with advertorial images. Social Media will also be a media used in order to attract consumers: Facebook, Reddit and Twitter will all be the main platforms used as research shown in the above Infographic show these are the main platforms used by competitors and also the consumer target market.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

TARGET CONSUMER Target Consumer Profile: Age: 25-35+ Gender: Both Male and Female Income: Low to Mid income Location: New York Education: In education. (Art/ fashion degree) Occupation: Blogger, Artist, Social Media influcner Family Structure: Single, In a relationship. No children Lifestyle: Lives Downtown in an apartment block, into their art/ fashion, into social media, wears streetwear. OR a high educated and married, works in a 9-5 office, art buyer/seller.

Political views: Well educted on current news, poltitics Views on self: Others people opinions dont matter to them. Reliant on no one else.

Shopping habbits: Both online and instore.

Reasons for buying: Into their art, streetwear and branding/ art collaborations.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

BRAND I DENTITY Christian Francis Roth was well known for his artistic elements which he follows though each collection he created. His whimsical and artsy clothing were a major hit with women such as his “Rothola” dress which was a play on the ‘Hallmark Cards Inc’ own brand Crayola. These traits in which he used in all his collections helped to keep a level of virtuosity and quality within his work, making every collection authentic and exciting for this targeted consumer. This is something which will be followed on within the 2020 launch, the artistic flare which Roth had, which will keep the collections relevant to the old target consumer and also something new and exciting for the new target consumer.

In the launch, the collaborative partner will be Jean-Michel Basquiat as shown above, as this links to Roth’s artistic flare. He previously also touched upon a graffiti style in one of his more recent collections which will help to give an insight on to how Roth interprets that style with his own brand in mind. This dress will be taken into consideration with the 2020 launch in mind, and also how this can link back to Basquiat. ‘SAMO’ is a graffiti movement which Basquiat was most famous for, which is a movement which will he followed though the 2020 launch to keep this relevant to both consumer and designer.

“I just didn’t think it was worth doing anymore” Christian Francis Roth explaining why he stopped his couture collections.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

Article about Roth’s grunge inspired collection which will be considered in the 2020 launch.

However, Roth’s previous couture collection was not a success for his target consumer as he said “I just didn’t think it was worth doing anymore”, due to the fact the high-end couture collections were not a prime money-maker. Even though his couture collections are what made him a well-recognised designer in the 90’s, his previous statement showed that this is something which is not what his consumer want to buy into. He then launched a Ready-To-Wear collection which brought his brand back to life, which is the steps to follow in the 2020 launch. As the new target consumer age is 25+, a Ready-To-Wear collection will be a more appropriate approach to follow, however the collection will be focused around 80’s streetwear to make this more suited for the consumer and the target audience, but keeping the essence of Roth’s artistic flare.

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Moodboard below shows the collections which will need to be considered in the 2020 launch.

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Moodboard below shows the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat which will need to be considered in the 2020 launch.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY O FFLINE TOUCHPOINTS To enable consumers to have a personal experience with the brand relaunch, a brand store will be put opened in New York in order for the consumers to buy the products made for the relaunch, but to also view many other aspects. An installation of Basquiat’s work will be a personal experience in which the consumers can visit to get a hands on insight into how Basquiat works and the amount of detail that goes into every piece he makes. This will allow consumers to get an insight onto the collaborator and have more knowledge of the relaunch. In addition to this, consumers will also be able to bring in an item of their own clothing and have their chosen favourite Basquiat artwork printed onto this for a cost of $120.

This will allow consumers to personalise their own clothing they wish but with a design made specifically for the relaunch, giving the consumers a hands on experience within the store. In addition to this, multiple popup stores will be opened up around the United Stated to allow consumers who don’t live within New York to experience the same as they would within the original brand store, these stores would be open for a 3 days in city’s such as Florida, LA, Washing D.C and California.

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CREATIVE STRATEGY MANUAL CHRISTIAN FRANCIS ROTH X JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT

Print advertisements will also be another offline touchpoint which will be considered within the relaunch as mentioned earlier on. Magazine look-books will bring back the old school printing method which will link with the 80’s era and attract the consumer target market.

Bought mass media will also be considered within the re-launch such as advertorials in magazines such as Dazed and I-D magazine. This will attract consumers who buy these magazine to the relaunch as the intended consumer market buy into these magazines. Public spacing will also be a bought mass media such as billboards on the side of buildings which will be a main eye catcher for the consumer.

These will be placed in busy parts of New York city such as time square as this is a main attraction for potential consumers, but also in the downtown suburb areas of New York on billboards where the main target consumers will be.

Packaging will be another offline touchpoint which will help to advertise the brand to other consumers. Tote bags will be a packaging considered for the consumers as these are re-usable and the consumers may use these in every day life which will help to bring attention to the brand if seen by another consumer in the street.

O NLINE TOUCHPOINTS Owned media will be an online touchpoint to consider for the 2020 relaunch. Business to Consumer website will help to easily communicate will consumers and will be an easier way of showing the products to the consumers. As e-commerce is now a huge part of branding due to the new and upcoming technology, this will be a successful way of interacting with consumers. Mobile website will also be a aspect to consider as this makes it much easier for the consumers to view the website if they’re not on a computer or laptop. Mobile Phones are now part of everyday life and are a much easier way of connecting with the consumer so making a mobile website available will help to interact with consumers.

Social media will also be another aspect considered such as having Facebook, Instagram and Reddit account. All of these platforms are successful and used mainly by the target consumer the relaunch is aimed at. These platforms will mainly be used to inform consumers of any new stock, new advertisement campaigns and promotional videos which may be made for the relaunch.

Banners may also be considered on other websites and platforms such as social media, which will advertise the brand onto possible consumers pages to attract them to the official website.

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