PR Plan Alexander wang
sabrina scholkowski
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| level 5 | Global 507 | Mariana Rumayor Murrieta
ba fashion marketing and communication mied
press and
PR
project with presentation
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cover
P.1
index
P.3
Alexander Wang P.4 Overview P.6 Axes P.7 Positioning & Benchmarking P.8 Calendar P.11
INDEX Action Plan P. 12 Press Release P.18-20 budget
P.21 ROI P.22
conclusions
P.24
References P.25
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A
lexander Wang is an American fashion brand known for the use of new materials that can be found in other industries such as PVC, cellophane or neoprene and turning them into fashionable pieces, characterized as well by torn denim, slouchy cashmere knits, threadbare black T-shirts, studs, and many more items which ultimately channel the lifestyle the brand uses as inspiration: downtown New York models and cool kids Wang usually associates with. Its owner launched the brand (with his same name) in 2005, and in only ten years he has managed to catapult his
start-up with an initial collection of 6 sweaters, into a global phenomenon with a wide product range. It is due do his originality, interesting business model and positioning which has brought such rapid growth and success. It is nowadays positioned within the luxury market and presents in New York Fashion Week twice a year. It is also a global company, with 3 Flagship stores: one in Europe (London), one in USA (New York) and one in Asia (Beijing). It is sold in over 133 points of sale (including 25 own stores and online) and besides Ready-to-Wear, they also produce pre-collections, a menswear
collection, a diffusion line- T by Alexander Wang, shoes and leather goods, and their bags have even turned into an iconic must have product within the fashion world. The brand is known also for their edgy, underground, slightly rocker— slightly sexy, while also in reference to offduty model look and is liked by many celebrities and models world wide, their main inspirations coming from streets in New York and friends from the designer. Their fashion show is always a must and anyone who is anyone in fashion likes to attend, spots are very coveted and have been so over the past years. They are also a highly controversial brand, they like to push boundaries, and we can clearly see
that in their advertisements over the last seasons featuring bathroom scenes where you can only see a part of the outfit & shoes, and the most recent ones featuring models undressing, to portray their jeans. And while they are highly creative and attention grabbing, sometimes we can wonder if they have gone too far. Since they are a millennial brand, they have been joining the digital trends more and more and are now present online. They are a young brand as well, that know what their target and consumers think, because they belong to the age group, so they
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know how to address them directly, which could possible be one of their reasons for success. And they are not the only ones, recently brands like Burberry created the concept of see now shop now by making their runway looks immediately available to costumers. Alexander Wang, will attempt to do something similar for the next collection day view in September during New York Fashion Week.
Their newly implemented strategy, will be to show a preview during the fashion show, for their pre-collection line, which will be then made available in stores in November. This will be to create hype and excitement for the items, they have used this model similarly before for the Men’s collection, but it’s the first time they will attempt to do so for women’s collection.
axes
positioning
Alexander Wang is positioned on the edgy side of the axis since the brand’s main characteristics in terms of style are precisely that, an eclectic very modern underground flair; and at a middle range from the high price axis due to the fact that even though they have items that span upwards to 1.200₏, they have clothing items that are well available for as low as 200₏. This is because this is part of their core values, to have accessible pricing as well as high luxury prices in order to cater to a wider target group of people. In comparison to competitors, Alexander Wang is doing a good job of positioning within the luxury market when it comes to values, prices and availability.
Some newer brands such as Yeezy, and Anthony Vaccarello are similar in style as well as price, Yeezy being more sport influenced than Wang but less adequate in terms of price, and the latter being somewhat more conceptual and less sporty but more along the lines of costs. Whereas, with direct competitors such as Vetements and Saint Laurent, they are both within the style range but are slightly located in a higher price level. They each have their unique traits and there is obviously a market for all of them individually; the Saint Laurent woman looks for classic with an edge, quality disregarding pricing,
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it is not her main focus, she prefers to invest in statement and quality pieces. Furthermore, the Vetements woman, while she doesn’t necessarily look at price either, she is more concerned with what the clothes say about her, what specific attitude she wants to portray and to ultimately make a statement. Now, for Alexander Wang, she is a young woman between the ages of 21-35, who likes to enjoy the good life, who has a HHI higher than 2.000₏ per month, who prefers to be comfortable yet still remaining trendy and likes to wear clothes that reflect an edgy cool attitude underneath. She is very confident, outgoing and independent, she enjoys shopping for unique pieces, something with personality like the brand, she also likes versatility and
quality items. She is not as concerned with pricing either, but she still likes to buy things she will actually put a good use to. She is international, she lives in cosmopolitan cities and likes to travel and explore the world, her style has very different influences and she is also very technology oriented, meaning that she likes what’s new. Overall, there are many aspects that I believe the brand has known how to utilize well from the competition, and make it its own; they are a brand that learns and takes the good from other brands and adapts to the new times and uses technology to their benefit.
action plan
•Offline: -Fashion TV (2 min) Magazines: - Harper’s Bazaar (2) - T Magazine (2) - W Magazine (1+2) - V Magazine (cover) - Vogue USA (2+1) - WWD (1) - Elle (1) - Self Service (3) •Online: Blogs: - songofstyle.com - theblondesalad.com - kayture.com - highsnobiety.com - vogue.com
Media Moodboard
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE S ab r i n a S c h o l k o w s k i Public Rel ations Specialist s.sc@fashpro.com 5 5 5 . 76 9 . 8 0 2 5
A L E X A N D E R W A N G S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 017 C O L L E C T I O N A T N E W Y O R K F A S H I O N WEEK.
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New York— September 3, 2016— Alexander Wang International announced today that there will be a special preview of their Spring/ Summer 2017 Pre-Collection set to day view at this week’s Runway show held at Lincoln Center. The Spring collection is inspired by elements from the designer’s heritage land in China, and influenced by the lines and colors seen along the skyline and skyscrapers of cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. This season’s fashion show is not only important since it is referencing and making an homage to the designer’s identity, but it also will be the source for the footage included in the release of the new The Day Before documentary series that will be revamped, with Wang at the head of this reinvigorated edition. Following the Show, Alexander Wang has decided to utilize the see now, buy now methodology sweeping the fashion houses, and will make the pre-collection and regular collection available in stores starting November. As this was not grounds for celebration alone, the brand is celebrating their 10th anniversary, so an After Party will be held on the same day of the fashion show, as matter of celebration. The line will be available for purchase at www.alexanderwang.com and at Alexander Wang stores starting November.
Press Angles
1. As a Local Press Office from USA (New York specifically) for Alexander Wang, we received information from the head of International Press Office that there will be a book release on the Autobiography of Alexander Wang in order to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the brand. This book will include life story, as told by the designer himself, inedit pictures, appearances by friends and celebrities that have worked with him, and will include a sneak peak into the background of the whole brand. The book is set to be released in February 2017. We have decided to invite 2 fashion editors for main magazines: Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, alongside guest collaborator for Highsnobiety, Chiara Ferragmi (who coincidentally is blogger and owner of theblondesalad.com) for a 3 day trip with Alexander Wang to Shanghai in order to appreciate the city and the vibe it gives off, for them to understand the origins of the brand and where his personality comes from. - Vogue, will be offered aside from the trip, a candid dinner exclusive interview with the designer himself, in order to obtain a 2 page feature in the March Issue. - W Magazine, will be offered candid photos of the designer and a preview of the upcoming collection’s inspirations. - Blog Highsnobiety will be offered exclusive release of book release news, as well as China trip pictures.
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Press Angles
2. We also received notice that the brand has decided to collaborate with The Day Before to do a revamp of their highly successful documental series on the behind the scenes of 24 hours before a designer’s fashion show. So for the SS 2017, Intl. Press Office has organized the shooting of the behind the scened for Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Show which will be held in September 2016, and the documentary is set to be released in Early May 2017, just in time for the collection to be presented in stores. - As local press office, we approached Fashion TV for a chance to do a 2 min video featuring a short interview and inedit footage of said fashion show and the behind the scenes, and will be released throughout April 2017 as a preview of what is to come in the documentary the month after.
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Figure.5
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Press
Angles
3. As it is known, and it was previously mentioned, New York Fashion Week happens twice a year in the city: once in March for Autumn/Winter, and once in September for Spring/Summer. Since Alexander Wang is a big brand, they show their collections at the Fashion show; but this year, the brand has something special planned for the runway, Alexander Wang will show a preview of a couple of items of the pre-collection during this show. As a local press office, we are organizing a cocktail event which will be held in mid to end of August at Wang headquarters on the rooftop, for a classy event to preview these items only for a select group of people including editors and bloggers.
- T Magazine Fashion Editor
will be offered the
exclusive coverage of the event and will be gifted an exclusive item from the pre-collection selection, with the goal of obtaining a page feature in their October issue.
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- The 3 most influential fashion bloggers (theblondesalad.com, songofstyle.com, kayture.com) will receive a gift, which will be bag from the new collection, a small version of one of the classics which was previously not available as a choice, this with the intention of them promoting it and writing a post and picture about it and featuring it on their blog.
Press Angles
4. Also following the Fashion Show, as it is a brand embodying youth, edginess and street culture, we have decided to create an After Party event held in a NYC venue, preferably a rooftop or a trendy club. It bloggers, editors, celebrities and the designer’s closest friends will be invited, it will be an exclusive event filled with important fashion people ready to have fun and kick off the world wide fashion season.
5. For
this year, there will be
planning for Alexander
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main Editorial Shoots in the
Wang. The first one will be for Harper’s Bazaar in July 2016, and it will feature 2 pages of the styled Autumn/Winter 2016 collection. There will be a negotiated cover with V Magazine for their October 2016 edition with a styled outfit of their liking from the samples we will provide to the editorial team beforehand from the current collection. The following editorial, will be in January, and it will be for Self Service will feature
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Magazine,
it
pages of the styled pre-collection as well as the
regular Spring/Summer 2017 collection. And lastly, there will be an editorial shoot for W Magazine in June 2017, featuring 2 pages of Autumn/Winter 2018 collection clothes.
6. Lastly, we are going to send samples throughout the year to magazines such as Elle, in an attempt to be featured in their “Get the Look” section for July 2016, and later on, to Vogue, to appear in their “Holiday Shopping” section for their December 2016 edition.
budget
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s shown in the PR calendar above, there will be 3 major events organized throughout the year:
• Pre-Collection 2017 Day-view Cocktail— which is expected to cost around 17,600€ (15,000 the event itself, and 2,600 for gifts, invitations, and the rest) including items such as catering, waiting staff, invitations which will be exclusive and hand delivered including courier costs and other logistic costs. • SS 2017 Fashion Week After Party— which is expected to cost around 30,600€ including logistics, venue rental, bottle service, invitations and courier, and a driver service on demand. • China Trip— the China trip for the 2 editors and the blogger previously mentioned will have an estimated cost of 11,100€ considering round-trip tickets from JFK to Shanghai, 3 hotel night stays, food and drinks, and driver service to and from the airports as well as within the city. • And lastly, for Communication Purposes and tools, and editorial sample sendings we are foreseeing around 700€ for cost covering. This would bring the total annual budget for Women’s RTW up to 60,000€, from which the following ROI quota will be derived.
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Figure.8
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Seeing as the brand caters to the luxury segment, the chosen magazines, blogs and tv channels are part of this specific target market, therefore the rates and return would clearly be higher than other magazines. Since it is also a well known and desired brand, the output and amount of pages would be higher than if it were any other brand, therefore justifying the final ROI portrayed above.
ROI
CONCLUSIONS 24 Alexander Wang is a young brand, that has managed to make its way to and position itself within a high place in the luxury market. This PR Plan, was created keeping in mind and utilizing the brand core values and general aesthetics and following previously established guidelines. The brand is highly creative, fun, it embodies the multi functionality of the millennial woman that needs versatility in this age, and can take an outfit from work, directly to dinner or even be taken
partying. All these words and specific attitudes that are associated with the brand, were taken into consideration while creating and establishing the communication
tools that would be used for this plan to function adequately. And as we can see in the research and methods previously explained, it would be a profitable plan
in terms of viewings, ROI and exposure. One directly catered to the target, speaking their language, attracting their attention and giving the public something to talk about.
references CondeNast. (2016). WWD Media Kit. [online] Available at: [Accessed 31 May 2016].
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Ellemediakit.com. (2016). ELLE Media Kit. [online] Available at: http://www.ellemediakit.com/r5/showkiosk.asp?listing_id=5171987 [Accessed 31 May 2016]. Fashion TV Media Kit. (2016). Fashion TV Media Kit. [online] Available
loads/2012/10/Media_Kit_2010.pdf [Accessed 2 Jun. 2016].
at: http://www.fashiontv.com/corporate/wp-content/up-
Ferragni, C. (2009). About | The Blonde Salad. [online] Theblondesalad.com. Available at: http://www.theblondesalad.com/2009/10/about. html [Accessed 31 May 2016]. Harper’s Bazaar. (2016). Media Kit. [online] Available at: http://www.harpersbazaarmediakit.com/hotdata/publishers/harpersba2643014/ harpersbazaa7355/pdf/BAZAAR_2016_MediaKit_Full.pdf [Accessed 31 May 2016]. Hypestat.com. (2016). Highsnobiety.com - Highsnobiety - Site Info. [online] Available at: https://www.hypestat.com/info/highsnobiety.com [Accessed 31 May 2016]. Hypestat.com. (2016). Songofstyle.com - Songofstyle - Site Info. [online] Available at: https://www.hypestat.com/info/songofstyle.com [Accessed 31 May 2016]. Nast, C. (2016). W | Condé Nast. [online] Condé Nast. Available at: http://www.condenast.com/brands/w [Accessed 31 May 2016]. New York Times Media Kit. (2016). T Magazine. [online] Available at: Cards_TMag_SSf_copy.pdf [Accessed 31 May 2016].
http://nytmediakit.com/uploads/rates/CRS-9040_2016_Rate_
Nytmediakit.com. (2016). The New York Times Media Kit. [online] Available at: http://nytmediakit.com/t-magazine [Accessed 31 May 2016]. Ready To Wear for Women | Alexander Wang Official Site. (2016). Ready To Wear for Women | Alexander Wang Official Site. [online] Available at: http://www.alexanderwang.com/es/shop/alexander-wang/women/ready-to-wear#{“ytosQuery”:”true”,”department”:”vwllrtww”,”gender”:”D”,”brand”:””,”macro”:””,”micro”:””,”season”:”A,P,E”,”color”:””,”size”:””,”site”:””,”section”:””,”sortRule”:”PriceDescending”,”yurirulename”:”searchwithdepartment”,”microcolor”:””,”agerange”:””,”macroMarchio”:”12806”,”page”:1,”productsPerPage”:”132”,”modelnames”:””,”look”:””,”washtype”:””,”fabric”:””,”prints”:””,”suggestion”:”false”,”suggestionValue”:””,”material”:””,”occasion”:””,”weight”:””,”gallery”:””,”colortype”:””,”style”:””,”issale”:””,”heeltype”:””,”wedge”:””,”salesline”:””,”family”:””,”environment”:””,”structure”:””,”authorlocalized”:””,”themecollection”:””,”waist”:””,”stone”:””,”filter”:””,”collection”:””,”price”:””,”textSearch”:””,”totalPages”:”1”} [Accessed 1 Jun. 2016]. SiteWorthTraffic.com. (2016). Calculate Kayture.com Traffic Worth report/kayture.com [Accessed 31 May 2016].
and
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MEDIA Figure 2 --- Alexander Wang Balenciaga Fashion Show. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/sep/24/ paris-fashion-week-alexander-wang-balenciaga [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016]. Figure 1 --- Amazon- The day before. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.amazon.com/Day-Before-Furstenberg-Rodriguez-Alexander/dp/ B004W4NL3I [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016]. Figure 5 --- Bags for Women | Alexander Wang Official Site. (2016). Bags for Women | Alexander Wang Official Site. [online] Available at: http://www.alexanderwang.com/us/shop/alexander-wang/women/bags [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016]. Figure 7 --- Balmain Army After Party. (2016). [image] Available at:
http://www.popsugar.com/fashion/Balmain-Afterparty-Paris-Fash-
ion-Week-Fall-2016-40438826#photo-40438826 [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].
Figure 4 --- Behind the Scenes from London Fashion Week. (2016). [image] Available at: https://jolitajewellery.wordpress.com/2014/03/02/ behind-the-scenes-video-from-london-fashion-week/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016]. Figure 8 --- China on the Move. (2016). [image] Available at: https://www.google.es/search?q=china&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjTkoys85TNAhWJQBoKHTz-AYsQ_AUIBygB&biw=1280&bih=702#tbm=isch&q=china+city&imgrc=9NCPrPlqs6gwvM%3A [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016]. Figure 3 --- RTW Fall 2015 Alexander Wang. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/model-walks-the-
runway-at-the-alexander-wang-autumn-winter-news-photo/463452606 [Accessed 6 Jun. 2016].
MOOD BOARD Elle Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: http://dailyvenusdiva.com/2014/01/11/elle-magazine-is-in-trouble-over-mindy-kalings-cover-hereswhat-our-fb-fans-had-to-say/elle-us-february-2014-allison-williams-magazine-cover/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016]. Harper’s Bazaar Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: ly-2013/ [Accessed 5 Jun. 2016].
http://jennydontbehasty.com/2013/07/amanda-seyfried-in-harpers-bazaar-korea-ju-
Self Service Magazine Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: https://art8amby.wordpress.com/tag/self-service/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016]. T Magazine Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/6723015/rihanna-racism-miranda-ju-
ly-nyt-interview [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].
V Magazine Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: http://allaboutmadonna.com/2014/05/madonnas-v-magazine-interview-excerpt-hq-previews.php [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016]. Vogue USA Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: http://fashion.zarzarmodels.com/tag/how-to-get-on-the-cover-of-vogue-magazine/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016]. W Magazine Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].
http://kstewartnews.com/2011/08/11/kristen-covers-the-september-issue-of-w-magazine/
Wikipedia- Fashion TV. (2016). [image] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FashionTV [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016]. WWD Cover. (2016). [image] Available at: http://yoanabaraschi.com/pages/wwd-11-19-14/ [Accessed 4 Jun. 2016].
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