[Student Project] United Colors: Visual Strategy Guide [GR604]

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UNITED COLORS VISUAL STR ATEGY GUIDE

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VISUAL

STRATEGY

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THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

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OUR ORIGIN

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THE HISTORY

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

THE TIMELINE

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OUR FUTURE

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OUR PAST LOOK

OUR MISSION

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OUR PEOPLE

OUR VISION

OUR NEW LOOK

OUR COMPETITORS

RE-BRANDING INITIATIVE

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ORIGIN

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THE HISTORY

In 1960 Luciano Benetton started his Journey by selling colorful knitwear which his sister Giuliana made.

The origin of the Benetton group dates back to the 1960’s in Ponzano Veneto where Luciano Benetton, eldest of the four siblings was working as a salesman. He was inspired to start selling colorful knitwear which his sister Giuliana made with her hands. He started selling them door-to-door, the positive response encouraged him to ask his siblings to join him. In 1965 “Benetton Group“ and their first shop was started in Italy. Three years later the company expanded into France. In due course, Benetton spread throughout Europe and was established in the United States in 1979.

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In the 1970’s, Benetton experimented with new production techniques to decrease time and production costs and improve quality. Thus resulting in “Just-in-time” method which was a milestone in the global fashion history. This technique allowed them to make garments in raw wool and color them later, depending on the season’s fashion trends. In 1980 Benetton opened it’s first New York store on Madison Avenue followed by one in Tokyo in 1982. They then started offering clothing collections for women, men and children with a sense of beauty and taste which reflected the Italian style of the brand.

Benetton focused on innovation and creating cutting edge work with color and design. Benetton created a global fashion village by creating fashion which travels to various countries, overcoming geographical, political and ideological boundaries.

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COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

Benetton employed unusual, controversial advertising techniques that used “shock value” and photography to grab viewers’ attention.

Benetton’s communication strategy was developed, consequently through the desire of the company to produce images of global concern for it’s customers in a global way. Benetton is well known for it’s colorful and provocative advertisements. The company employed unusual, controversial advertising techniques and themes that used “shock value” and the power of photography to grab viewers attention.

Unlike most advertisements which centered on a company’s product or image, Benetton’s advertising campaigns focused on social and political issues like Aids awareness, Hunger, Child labor, etc.

Benetton’s communication or advertisement strategy was to seek color and provocation, especially after Oliviero Toscani became the creative director and photographer of Benetton. He believed that the real purpose of advertisement was to capture consumer’s attention. He also believed that the short memory of advertisements will

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ultimately lead to failure as the discontinuity of the ads will also lose its influential power in the memory of its viewers.

Hence, Benetton broke away from the traditional advertisements. Given a free hand with the advertising budget, Toscani’s work focused on culturally diverse young people in Benetton attire engaged in variety of playful acts relating the colors of Benetton Clothes to the diverse “Colors” of their customers from all over the world, He attempted to use the themes of world peace to unify communication.

In 1985, Toscani adopted the “United Colors of Benetton” as a recurring trademark of the Benetton Ideology. In 1991, he initiated a move that removed Benetton merchandise from it’s advertising and started using that budget to publish controversial and disturbing photographs in magazines and bill boards.

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THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU’VE GOT TO HAVE IDEAS IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND YOU NEED TO HAVE THE PASSION TO IMPLEMENT THEM. – LUCIANO BENETTON

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THE TIMELINE

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1966

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1971

1984

1989

Benetton was established as a partnership by Benetton Family.

First store was opened in Italy and was successful

Benetton moved to Paris

Benetton’s expansion in market of causal apparel and sweaters.

Benetton hired an award winning photographer Oliviero Toscani, to head their advertising campaign featuring “All the colors in the world” campaign.

Campaign // Handcuffs

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THE TIMELINE

1991 Started Fabrica, Benetton’s research group. They were one of the key drivers supporting the group’s capacity to be international and to be innovative.

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1993-1996

2001-2003

2011

2013

2016

Campaign // Aids Campaign // Horses & Hearts

Campaign // Volunteers Campaign // Food for life

Launched campaign “Culture of hatred” and created ‘Unhate’ foundation. They involved the leaders of the world in this campaign

An 8-story factory in Dhaka where Benetton made it’s clothing collapsed.

Alessandro Benetton quit the benetton group board which has raised questions about the company’s future.

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FUTURE

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RE-BRANDING INITIATIVE

United Colors of Benetton re-branding initiative is to change the perception of the brand and create a fresh new look.

United Colors of Benetton was known for its “shocking” advertising. Due to the nature of its advertising, consumers no longer understood what Benetton represented. While some consumers were offended by the controversial ads, others were surprised that even though Benetton tried to depict real world issues through their ads, they didn’t follow through to help solve the problem.

The re-branding initiative will revive the brand, create a fresh look and feel, and most importantly etch an honest and lasting impression in the consumer’s mind.

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OUR PAST LOOK

Benetton in the past was known for its color combinations with a mix of edgy advertising. The old look is too raw and aesthetically different from the brand’s ideologies. The new look will prioritize portrayal of the brand’s soul.

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OUR NEW VISION

Our new vision is about being socially and ethically responsible towards our multicultural consumer base.

The re-branding of United Colors of Benetton requires for it to have a less controversial yet impactful approach focused on strengthening the brand’s new identity. United Colors of Benetton will henceforth be referred to as “United Colors”.

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OUR MISSION

To create a global trend that embraces multiculturalism and equality.

United Colors is reborn with a vision to engage more meaningfully with its customers. With the launch of abundant new retail stores and a brand new online store, United Colors will stand out by embracing multiculturalism and equality.

United Colors will be pro-actively involved in enhancing diversity, sustainability and community service. United Colors will also partner with NGOs and government organizations to address various social and cultural causes around the globe.

United Colors will take the initiative to produce sustainable and eco-friendly fashion goods which in turn will support several initiatives that United Colors promotes.

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OUR NEW LOOK

United Colors promotes and values multiculturalism and equality. Our promise to our customers is that we’ll be a socially responsible brand and will prioritize sustainable clothing as a means to fund various social causes.

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UNITED COLORS IS A SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE BRAND.

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PEOPLE

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THE AUDIENCES

United Colors’ target audience in accordance with its mission statement will be, consumers from different parts of the world interested in diversity, sustainability and social causes.

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THE WRITER

THE COMMUNICATOR

JAY K AUR Travel Blogger Male Indian Portland 26

ANREA LEWIS Marketing Manager Female African American San Francisco 33

// Jay loves traveling and is a backpacker because he loves meeting people from different cultures. // He writes a travel blog and updates his followers on instagram about his travels because he believes in connecting with people through social media. // He can speak and understand many languages because of his travels. // He has a lot of multicultural friends and enjoys hanging out with them because he likes to learn more about other cultures // He is single and planned out travel adventures for the next year. // He uses couch-surfing to book his stay when traveling so that he can stay with a local family and create memories. // He is outgoing, active and has a lot of friends.

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// Anrea works at a start-up company and travels to various countries for business. // She is friendly, likes to socialize and meet new people. // She works with people from various fields and countries and shares a good rapport with them. // She loves trying out new cuisines as she keeps traveling to new places every month. // She meets local people from each country to learn more too implement that in her business. // She manages the company communications and likes to communicate with people from all over the globe as she is in marketing. // She loves south-Asian cuisine as she travels to Asia very often for business.

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THE PHOTOGRAPHER

THE MONEYMAKER

SOFIA LOPEZ Photographer Female Mexican San Diego 29

JAMES ANDERSON Businessman Male American Boston 50

// Sofia is a photographer and captures people from different cultures because she feels they represent how multicultural our world is. // She has visited many countries and captured unique breathtaking images because of mingling with the locals. // She usually travels alone to remote locations to capture the exact shot she wants. // She has many multicultural friends as she meets a lot of new people on her journeys. // She plans everything ahead of time before her journey because she likes to be organized. // She is hardworking, creative and a problem solver and handles everything by herself. // She loves creating stories with her images because she feels that they show a different world to the people who view them.

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// James had an inter-caste marriage and has two daughters. // He runs his own business and likes to travel with his family to different locations during vacations. // He believes that his daughters should see how people from different cultures live and learn from them. // He comes from an upper-middle class family but wants his daughters to find their own independence. // He and his wife taught their daughters about both their cultures and let them choose what they would like to follow. // He is open-minded and hires multicultural people for his company to have a global perspective. // He likes learning different aspects of culture from his employees because he likes to learn more information about various cultures.

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THE LEARNER

THE PROVIDER

ESIN KOC Student Female Turkish New York 18

AVA FISHER Chef Female German Los Angeles 36

// Esin is a industrial design student at California college of the arts as she loves creating products that people from different countries can use. // She is friends with her classmates who are from different parts of the globe like China, India, Turkey and many other countries because she likes to learn how different countries function. // She would like to work for a company that has a global presence so that she can contribute to that.

// Ava loves to try and create new recipes because she is a chef. // She likes to visit other countries and learn how to create their signature dishes so that she can create fusion dishes with them. // She is a great food photographer and loves capturing memories of food . // She works at a restaurant where there are chefs from different countries and she gets along very well with them.

// She hangs out with her classmates during the weekends at potluck dinners because she likes trying out cuisines from different places and sharing stories.

// She is cheerful, easy-going and loves experimenting with food.

// She would like to volunteer in different countries to have an experience she can learn from.

// She loves making people happy with the food she creates because that’s her passion.

// In the future she would also like to start her own company and hire multicultural people to work in it.

// Someday she hopes to open her own restaurant and serve cuisines from all over the globe.

// She is easy-going, extroverted and has a lot of multicultural friends.

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THE RETIREE

THE TROUBLED

JOHN DAVIDSON Retired Male American Texas 68

SARAH LEWIS Waitress Female American Los Angeles 39

//John used to work at bank and is now retired. // He believes that America should have only Americans and all the immigrants should be sent away because he believes that they are taking over America. // He doesn’t like to try out any new cuisines because he believes that beer and burgers are the best. // He has lived in Texas his whole life and has traveled only inside America. // He believes in wearing t-shirt and jeans because he’s most comfortable in it due to Texas heat. // He likes things a certain way and finds it difficult to talk to children in today’s generation because of his ideologies. // He is rigid, stubborn and hard to deal with.

// A mother of two Sarah works two jobs to help pay for her expenses. // She has no time to go shopping and spend money on clothes because she can’t afford it and she buys all of her clothing at the thrift store. // She doesn’t care about the way she looks and spends a lot of time helping her children sort their problems. // She is tired from not being able to meet ends and lives in constant fear that her children are going to be taken away from her. // She hasn’t traveled anywhere and the only time she has eaten something different is at Chipotle. // Her only aim in life is to get a steady job so that she can send her children to school. // She lives with her mother who is very critical of her and this effects her emotionally.

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CURRENT COMPETITORS United Colors Of Benetton is known for it’s globalized multicultural inspired fashion. While it’s competition might be tough with socially and ethically responsible fashion, Benetton still has the edge over being multicultural.

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Everlane is all about transparency. They believe customers have the right to know what their products cost to make and where they were made.

Reformation is a women’s clothing company that produces only ethically conscious clothing.

H&M’s Conscious Exclusive collection is a lesson in high street sustainable fashion. The latest collection features garments made out of hemp, organic linen and organic leather.

Anthropologie is one of the original lifestyle brands whose unique lens on the world has served as a compass.

Uniqlo Co is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer. They are known for Clothing with innovation and real value, engineered to enhance your life every day.

Alternative make 7% of their garments with sustainable materials and processes.

Urban Outfitters is a lifestyle retailer dedicated to inspiring customers through a unique combination of product, creativity and cultural understanding.

Free People is a clothing brand that encourages self-confidence and self-expression through clothes in their consumers.

Forever 21 is the go-to retailer for affordable pricing, the latest trends, must-have styles and hottest deals.

Feed believes food has the power to bring many together. The brand uses the proceeds of their clothing sales to fund charities.

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ADJACENT COMPETITORS Benetton’s adjacent competition are companies other than the Fashion industry that work hard on being sustainable, Organic or multi-cultured.

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The National Geographic society aims to be an international leader for global conservations and environmental stability.

Levi’s is a clothing brand that provides jeans for women of sizes and shapes.

They also focus on human rights and environmental issues and reducing their environmental footprint.

Bottletop makes handbags made from up-cycled bottle tops in Kenya and handbags made from up-cycled ring pulls in Brazil.

Freedom of Animals is a sustainable and cruelty-free luxury bag line. Their products are made with the highest quality materials to create sleek, versatile and sophisticated pieces that are also an eco-friendly choice.

Josie Mara is a beauty brand that is a huge supporter of the IMAGINE movement, which aims to empower women worldwide.

Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book publisher in the world.

Korres offers products that are good for you and the planet, Their ingredients are natural or organic but 99%of their packaging is recyclable.

Briogeo provides texture-specific products for a multicultural audience offer, something for everyone – from repair, to volume, to curl care

Intrepid Travel is a small group adventure travel company. The company offers more than 1,500 itineraries in over 100 countries.

Dove is a large cosmetics company that has a strong base in social welfare and targets multi-cultured audience.

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ASPIRATIONAL COMPETITORS Stella Mcartney doesn’t use any leather or fur in her designs making her a leader in sustainable luxury fashion.

ASOS has a fantastic ‘green room’ which houses a wide range of ethically conscious brands. From the best of British and hand-crafted jewelry to up-cycled vintage, shopping sustainable fashion has never been easier.

United Colors aspires to be strong competitor against these companies in the future.

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Nisolo collaborates with local artisans in Peru from the design to the handmade production. They provide fair wages and full-time employment to their artisans.

A collaboration of artisans and designers from around the world, HOPE rejects fast-fashion trends and the damage it creates to our environment, releasing collections only once or twice a year.

Patagonia is the defender of environmental ethics in the active-wear, fashion industry and one of the first adopters of using recycled materials in their products.

95% of Edun’s clothing collection is currently manufactured in Africa, with the label looking to foster long-term partnerships with vendors and investing in community building initiatives in the continent.

People Tree is a pioneer in fair trade and environmentally sustainable Fashion.

Indigenous Clothing makes and sells organic and fair trade clothing for both women and men. Their ethically made, Eco-fashion supports talented artisans around the world.

Mayamiko works with artisans in disadvantaged communities in Malawi to source and produce their Fair Trade clothing collections

Matt & Nat provides a collection of design-centric, Eco friendly and vegan accessories including bags and wallets.

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SOURCES: BENETTON GROUP www.benettongroup.com HISTORY OF BENETTON www.Fundinguniverse.Com/company-histories/bentton-group-s-p-a-history/ issuu.com/xuxuchuah/docs/amw_346_imc_case_study_benetton_-_x PHOTOGRAPHY www.theatlasofbeauty.com www.pinterest.com www.huffpost.com www.gettyimages.com

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