Brand Development & Experience Design - a new mattress brand Assignment Develop a brand identity and retail experience for a specialty mattress store that will provide high quality luxury products at competitive prices.
Problem e mattress and bedding category is crowded with businesses that compete for consumer attention based on price and product. What most of these competitors have missed is a rapidly changing tide in consumer preferences and the demand for an experience that reflects their values, respects their intelligence, and excites their imagination.
Target Insights Every bedroom, while unique, has a specific theme which is personal to our target and has an emotional appeal. While sleep is extremely important, we observed that their relationship with the bed goes beyond sleep. ey are also aware that a good bed leads to good sleep and good sleep leads to a better quality life. However there is a difference in their perception of a bed and a mattress. e mattress is merely a physical product whereas the bed is a key part of this emotional attachment to the bedroom.
While each of these segments are at different life stages, one thing that they all desire is simplicity. Something that reminds them to slow down in this fast paced world. Another example that speaks to that point is the increasing yoga trend and how it has become part of daily exercise. We need to keep this in mind when coming up with our brand platform.
Time in bed is a rhythmic break in the flow of your daily life, a break from the constant conversation. at leads into our name and logo for the brand.
Cæsura
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Although the name is difficult to pronounce and would require educating people, we feel like it gives that luxurious touch that the store demands.
Positioning Statement Inviting Bedding for Personal Serenity
Brand Identity In music, caesura is a rhythmic break or pause in the flow of sound which is commonly introduced in about the middle of a line of verse, but may be varied for different effects.
Below is the color palette for our brand identity and an example of what the client’s business card would look like.
Caesura Brand Manifesto Maybe you were up all night. Maybe you had a terrible day. Maybe it’s pouring rain. e thing you lust is serenity. e embrace of your bed. e security of your comforter. e unwavering support of your pillow. e inner peace that these bring. Your bed is your home within your house. It is the place where one finds the most sincere version of themselves; a place where one can take a moment to let their mind wander, a place where one finds a cæsura. Cæsura is the moment when one's mind and body come together to create a somber, quiet rhythm. e soundtrack of your day plays a bit slower here. Close your eyes. Take a break. Embrace the moment. Because soon the inevitable alarm clock strikes up a frenzied, panicked overture to the day. Get up and compose your own sunshine melody, but remember you have a serene place to return to after your show is over. Cæsura believes that leading a better life means knowing when, how and where to slow down. e Cæsura bedroom is where one comes to create their most imaginative, personal and private compositions-- read the book, write in the journal, make love, breathe.
Retail Experience To bring our vision for the brand and the store experience to life, we worked with an interior designer from the design school to help us sketch a 3D model of what the store would look like in Google Sketch-Up
Employee Culture
Aural Branding
Cæsura specialists follow seven mantras to ensure that they not only feel relaxed and comfortable wile on the job, but exude this personality to customers, inviting them to experience serenity. From the casual, lightweight employee apparel to the time to take a break, employees feel a daily, calm rhythm.
A set of noise-canceling headphones is placed within the headboard of each of our display beds. We recommend our own mix tape based on 3 moods - Release, Rest and Rise. ey give customers a reason to lie down, pick a rhythm and test out the mattress for a longer period.
Service & Taste We serve our guests lavender tea and spring water to promote a calm, relaxed, refreshing atmosphere
planning
reservation
entry
Public store experience walking in
walking out
exit
follow up
Individual store experience
Product Display To allow customers to truly experience the bed as they would in their own bedrooms, our products are arranged in a way that is inviting, personal, and tactile. ey can lie down on any bed for as long as they want. e different sections and cozy nooks give a cozy, homey feel.
Online Our website allows customers to explore our entire catalogue, listen to the recommended playlists based on the 3 moods and get a vibe of the Cæsura experience. Customers can also opt to make a reservation to meet a Cæsura specialist.
Launch Plan
Financial Planning - 3 year Cash Flow Forecast
We start by sending out invitations to the store opening to a purchased list of people targeted by zip code and income level in a thirty mile radius.
Based on the client’s plan of launching 5 stores in the first year followed by a store every two months in year 2 and 3, and their expected revenue per store, we prepared a 3 year monthly cash flow forecast to project the investment and cash requirements. Based on our projections, the overall cash investment was $571,000. e business becomes self sustainable in its second year thereby providing capital for future store openings without any outside investment.
We do regional print advertising in magazines such as Virginia Living and Real Simple along with local radio spots. For PR we send our catalogue to local designers along with an invitation to the opening. In addition, sponsor events and donor cocktails for arts organizations like the Richmond Ballet and Richmond Symphony. ose who attend the store opening will be acknowledged with a special gift bag.
Beginning Cash Investment
$500,000
Year 1 Ending Cash
$79,000
Year 2 Beg. Cash Investment
$71,000
Year 2 Ending Cash
$433,000
Year 3 Ending Cash
$1,717,000
Year 2 Revenue
$7,140,000
Year 3 Revenue
$12,180,000