Hero&Cape Marketing Report

X

S

O

P

H

I

E

B

R

A

M

P

T

O

N

C O N T E N T S

1

I N T R O D U C T I O N

7 B R A N D A N A L Y S I S

3

I N D U S R T Y S I T U A T I O N

9

B R A N D A N A L Y S I S

13

15

C O N S U M E R P E N P O R T R A I T

C O N S U M E R P E N P O R T R A I T

19

C O M P E T I T O R A N A L Y S I S

21

A C T I O N I M P L E M E N T A T I O N P L A N

25

27

L I S T O F I L L U S T R A T I O N S / B I B L I O G R A P H Y

A P P E N D I C E S

5

M A R K E T S I T U A T I O N

11

C O N S U M E R A N A L Y S I S

17 C O M P E T I T O R A N A L Y S I S

23 C O N C L U S I O N

29 A P P E N D I C E S

fig 1

I N T R O D U C T I O N

This report will investigate one way in which fashion e-commerce brand Hero&Cape can gain media attention and increase their sales overall using relevant segments of the marketing mix. The campaign will explore how working with illustrators the brand can feel more personal and creatively challenging. Through extensive research and brand awareness the proposal is to create a collection of t shirt designs as an exclusive collaboration with Hero&Cape to add to their online e-commerce products. The collection will be available through their website, advertised through their social media pages and blog.

The overall aim of this project is to gain the brand some recognition and media attention to increase their sales revenue.

one

Hand illustration in fashion is something less heard of in this era with new technology and photography dominating catwalks. In the last couple of years however, fashion illustration has made a comeback with people feeling more nostalgic towards old traditions and days without technology. Many brands are using hand illustration as a USP for their prints or designs as this gives more of a feel of real effort and time that has gone into a product.

fig 2

t w o

fig 3

t h r e e

I N D U S T R Y

S I T U A T I O N

“An October 2014 study from Google and TNS found that 49% of all clothes shoppers in the UK had bought either clothing or footwear via a digital channel in the past three months – a larger proportion than for any other European country polled.� (Painter, Graeme, 2014). With fashion e commerce increasingly becoming the more popular option these days to a bricks and mortar store, the market has become highly saturated and brands need to be more digitally aware and have a strong brand identity to stand a chance against competitors.

With sales increasing more than 20 percent worldwide in 2014 to almost $840 billion (www. atkearney.com, n.d.), this shows that the e commerce industry is only growing and is here to stay.

Social media and other internet platforms such as blogs and apps can be an extremely important part of bringing social awareness and recognition to a brand as the majority of e commerce buyers are more likely to be actively using these platforms online.

What do Hero&Cape offer to this?

Hero&Cape offer something new in the fashion e commerce market in the way that they hand illustrate and manually print their products which is not seen as much in this era with there being the technology that can do this for us. They also print onto only organic cotton t shirts so are aware of the current environmental situation and sustainability of materials.

f o u r

M A R K E T

S I T U A T I O N

From the brand positioning map (figure 1) we can see Hero&Cape are at the medium end of the fashion e commerce market and would be comparable price wise to high street stores such as H&M and New Look, with the high price end of the high street being Urban Outfitters, Topshop and Zara. However with Hero&Cape being e commerce only, online competitors would include The Ragged Priest, ASOS, Monki and Cheap Monday.

Unique characteristics that Hero&Cape have would include their prints being original and hand drawn so that the customer feels as though they are wearing unique artwork that is exclusive to the brand. What makes it different from competitors in this market sector is it’s unique selling points which are that the designs are hand drawn and manually screen printed in house, and the t shirts are made from organic cotton.

f i v e

fig 1 (see appendix 9)

fig 4

s i x

B R A N D

A N A L Y S I S

Q U I R K Y

Q U O T E S

V I B R A N T

F U N

P R I N T S

U N I Q U E

B O L D

C R A Z Y

O R I G I N A L

B R I G H T

G R A P H I C

C O N T E M P O R A R Y

C O L O U R F U L

A R T Y

I N N O V A T I V E

P L A Y F U L

C R E A T I V E

I L L U S T R A T I V E

s e v e n

Hero&Cape are an upcoming Northern UK brand founded in 2011 by Nik Lau. The brand is ecommerce only and specialises in hand illustrated designs on screen printed t shirts and vests made from organic cotton. With a following of just 1,254 on Facebook, 3829 on Instagram and 4075 on Twitter, their lack of awareness amongst social media users enforces the proposal of a new and innovative marketing campaign to increase both a stronger presence and direction of traffic in order to generate sales. As the brand is solely online this makes online awareness significantly more important.

The marketing techniques Hero&Cape currently use are digital and social marketing through social media, blog and website. This could be because they are free advertising and a great way to engage new consumers. Sales promotion techniques are also used through their website to increase sales (see appendix 8). Another way they have used marketing is through PR and have had celebrity endorsement from celebrities such as Pixie Lott and Zayn Malik (see appendix 2).

fig 5

e i g h t

B R A N D

A N A L Y S I S

A SWOT can help to define the features of a company, good and bad to explore how a brand can be improved and expanded in order to be successful (see appendix 6).

From the SWOT Analysis created we can see that although strengths of the brand include brand identity, active social media and it’s USP’s (see appendix 7), the brand is not well known publically and has a low social media following. From this SWOT we can also see possible opportunities the brand have that they could act upon.

Successful opportunities they have that have worked for the brand before include working with illustrators and designers for collaborations, and PR celebrity endorsement. Further opportunities the brand could use to promote awareness include further expansion of the range of products such as branching into lifestyle, accessories and homeware. Examples of this could be cushions, mugs, stationary and phone cases.

We can also see that a brand can have many threats that can damage an opportunity, such as limited internet access decreasing online sales, failing economy meaning target market would have less spare money or competitors who have a similar product offering.

With one of the main Hero&Cape USP’s being hand illustrated designs, the brand could use this as a way to make the brand feel more personal and open to creatives by including more collaborations and using illustrators to create exciting visuals for the brand.

n i n e

S W O T

A N A L Y S I S

F O R

fig 6

t e n

H E R O & C A P E

C O N S U M E R

A N A L Y S I S

From speaking to the founder of Hero&Cape Nik (see appendix 10) and then looking at their social media tagged photos, comments and hashtags over Instagram, findings show that the Hero&Cape consumer is male and female and the age of 15 to 30. This information was also confirmed by the primary research survey created, where 100% of those who answered ‘yes’ to if they would shop at Hero&Cape were between the age of 18 to 30 (see appendix 1).

They are art driven creatives interested in graphic design and typography. The customer cares for old traditional methods of art and handmade products will be something they are willing to invest in. They are visual learners and interested in making a statement through the way they dress, yet do not follow fashion trends. They are also ecologically minded and care for the environment as they are buying into Hero&Cape’s organic cotton. This means the customer will spend more on shared beliefs and values by buying into the brand.

The brand consumer would also shop at stores such as ASOS, UNIF, Hype, and Hero&Cape’s main competitors- Lazy Oaf and Urban Outfitters. The consumer may also care for vintage clothing and market traders to help to portray their unique style.

ele v e n

fig 7

t w e l v e

thir t e e n

fig 8

f o u r t e e n

fift e e n

fig 9

s i x t e e n

C O M P E T I T O R

A N A L Y S I S

The main Hero&Cape competitor are brands that also use handcrafting as a unique selling point, or high street stores and fashion e commerce with a similar price tag. From contacting the founder of Hero&Cape Nik, he explained that he thought the brands main competitors are Urban Outfitters and Lazy Oaf (see appendix 10), and from this I have created a SWOT analysis for each brand.

From looking into Lazy Oaf I have found that Hero&Cape have a lot of similarities to their brand as both are hand illustrated and use quirky, cartoonish graphics as a USP. They also both have a similar brand identity, although Lazy Oaf’s overall aesthetic is more female while Hero&Cape’s is more male.

Areas where Lazy Oaf are doing well in where Hero&Cape are not are that Lazy Oaf have had collaborations with many designers and brands that have given them the media attention to become as successful as they are. They also have a larger range of products such as homeware, stationary and footwear. Lazy Oaf is priced slightly above than that of high street but their market is willing to spend more as Lazy Oaf is a more well known brand.

s e v e n t e e n

S W O T

A N A L Y S I S

F O R

L A Z Y

O A F

Looking at these strengths and weaknesses for Lazy Oaf helps us to see what is successful for a similar brand and how Hero&Cape could follow this example. One realistic opportunity that Hero&Cape could follow could be to expand into lifestyle products, or after gaining more profit to open a bricks and mortar store.

fig 10

e i g h t e e n

C O M P E T I T O R

A N A L Y S I S

Urban Outfitters also are a competitor as they use typography and prints as a unique selling point and do not follow fashion trends as such, instead creating their own authentic style. The selling price for their products is similar to that of Hero&Cape with t shirts being around ÂŁ20, but as Urban Outfitters are a large company theirs are not handmade so once Hero&Cape are a more established brand they have the opportunity to put their prices up as people will pay more for this service.

Another obvious success Urban Outfitters have is that they have stores worldwide and a larger product selection, but this will be possible to Hero&Cape with more brand awareness and profit coming in. Other market competitors for Hero&Cape would be online and store brands such as River Island, Topman and H&M as these companies also sell printed t shirts for around the same price.

ni n e t e e n

S W O T

A N A L Y S I S

F O R

U R B A N

fig 11

t w e n t y

O U T F I T T E R S

A C T I O N

A N D

I M P L E M E N T A T I O N P L A N

H O W ?

Through my primary research survey it was found that consumers were more likely to buy a product if it had been made through a design collaboration with a designer (see appendix 4). It was also found that a consumer was more likely to follow a brand on social media if the visuals were eyecatching and inspiring (see appendix 3).

By designing a collection of 3 womens and 3 mens t shirts to add to the products on the Hero&Cape e commerce and creating exciting vibrant visuals to advertise the collaboration via their website and social media this should add excitement around the brand and create media attention. By collaborating with this brand we can create opportunities for both the designer and Hero&Cape.

Print and illustration will be a focus and this will be explored by using hand drawing and software such as Photoshop and Illustrator to create repeat prints and print quality designs that would be suitable to go into production. Using research gained on Hero&Cape’s most popular selling products and their market this will help to begin the design process with the consumer in mind. Through the AIDA model (see fig 12) we can see this brand journey clearly and can see the consequences of the brand’s actions (see appendix 5).

twe n t y

o n e

fig 12

AIM: To create visuals and designs as an illustrative design project to be featured on the Hero&Cape website, social media and blog.

fig 13

t w e n t y

t w o

C O N C L U S I O N

The campaign has met the aims and objectives of the executive summary by giving Hero&Cape more brand awareness and media attention through the advertisement visuals online.

Through likes and shares online the campaign has the ability to grow and for Hero&Cape to gain new loyal customers and consumers. It has been successful with its aesthetic and marketing and has followed and strengthened the brand identity.

The campaign has the ability to attract more creative consumers and even designers to work with in the nearby future. The brand reputation will be affected positively, making people respect and view the brand as a friendly, exiciting platform that welcomes creative minds and ideas. Through visually pleasing and vibrant social media and website this has the ability to generate follows and shares which can lead to consumers viewing the website and the overall aim of buying the produce and increasing sales.

twe n t y

t h r e e

To continue and improve on this campaign if given a larger budget or time scale it would be useful to look into online advertisement prices and advertising through blogs such as Tumblr, Blogspot or Wordpress or sponsorships from social media plaforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This way the target consumer is directly seeing these advertisements as we had found they are most likely to be on social media and online.

Another way to advertise and gain more interest into this campaign would be to contact and send the products to relevant bloggers and celebrities. Although this can be unsuccessful as so many brands are sending their product, this is an easy and low budget way of gaining publicity into a brand.

Celebrities that would fit the Hero&Cape identity and would be a consumer for the brand would be Miley Cyrus, Cara Delevingne, Zoella, Matthew Healy, Ella Eyre and Raleigh Ritchie.

Overall the campaign has the ability to be a successful next step for Hero&Cape.

fig 14

tw e n t y

f o u r

L I S T

O F

I L L U S T R A T I O N S

Figure 1. Sophie Brampton, Brand Positioning Map, 2015 2. Pinterest, 90’s moodboard, 2015 3. Hero&Cape, Hero&Cape lookbook photography, 2015, http:// www.heroandcape.com/ss-15-look-book 4. Hero&Cape, Hero&Cape social media photos, 2015, https:// www.instagram.com/heroandcape/ 5. Pinterest, Hero&Cape moodboard, 2015, http://www.heroandcape.com/ss-15-look-book 6. Hero&Cape, Hero&Cape social media photography, 2015, https://www.instagram.com/heroandcape/ 7. Pinterest, Consumer moodboard, 2015, https://www.pinterest.com/sophiebramp95/90s-fashion-print-inspiration/ 8. Pinterest, Pen Portrait Amy, 2015, https://www.pinterest.com/sophiebramp95/90s-fashion-print-inspiration/ 9. Pinterest, Pen Portrait Jack, 2015, https://www.pinterest.com/sophiebramp95/print-and-illustration-inspo/ 10. Lazy Oaf, Lazy Oaf photography, 2015 http://lazyoaf.com 11. Pinterest, Urban Outfiters consumer, 2015, https://www. pinterest.com/sophiebramp95/print-and-illustration-inspo/ 12. Sophie Brampton, AIDA MODEL Hero&Cape, 2015 13. Tyler Spangler, Print image, 2015, http://tylerspangler.com/post/119284273140/work-copyright-tyler-spangler 14. Tyler Spangler, Pinterest image, 2015, http://tylerspangler.com/post/91590732250/shop-httpsociety6comtylerspangler-work

twe n t y

f i v e

B I B L I O G R A P H Y

ONLINE Pinterest. (2015) Pinterest. Available: https://uk.pinterest.com/ Last accessed: 26th November 2015 Tumblr. (2015) Tumblr. Available: https://www.tumblr.com Last accessed: 26th November 2015 Tumblr. (2015) personal blog. Available: https://www.tumblr.com/blog_auth/sophiebrampton Last accessed: 26th November 2015 Google Drive (2015) google drive. Available: https://drive.google.com Last accessed: 26th November 2015 ATKearney. ATKearney (2015) Global Retail E-Commerce Keeps On Clicking https://www.atkearney.com/consumer-products-retail/e-commerce-index/full-report/-/asset_publisher/87xbENNHPZ3D/content/global-retail-e-commerce-keeps-on-clicking/10192?_101_INSTANCE_87xbENNHPZ3D_redirect=%2Fconsumer-products-retail%2Fe-commerce-index Last accessed: 26th November 2015 Hero&Cape (2015) Hero&Cape e commerce. Available: www.heroandcape.com Last accessed 26th November 2015 NeilBendle. (2015) Marketing Thought. Available: http://neilbendle.com/category/competition/positioning/positioning-maps/ Last accessed: 25th November 2015 Tyler Spangler (2015) Illustrator website. Available: http://tylerspangler.com/

BOOKS Posner, H (2011) Marketing Fashion Laurence King Lea-Greenwood, G (2012) Fashion Marketing Communications John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated Kaled K. Hameide (2011) Fashion Branding Unravelled Fairchild Books Wiedemann, J (2013) FASHION, Illustration Now Taschen

tw e n t y

s i x

appendix 1 Primary research Survey to show the age group who would shop at Hero&Cape and find their consumer.

appendix 2 Pixie Lott (above) and Zayn Malik wearing Hero&Cape designs.

twent y

s e v e n

appendix 3 Survey created showing how visuals on social media affect if a person will follow a brand.

appendix 4 Survey questions showing that people are more likely to buy into a product if it has been part of a design collaboration.

tw e n t y

e i g h t

appendix 5 An AIDA model is used to show the brand journey and process they go through to increase sales or complete a task. This model helped to show my campaign process clearly.

appendix 6 A SWOT Analysis is the analyzed strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunitys of a brand to show how a brand is performing. This is an example SWOT analysis http://www.conceptdraw.com/examples/personal-swot-analysis-examples-for-students

appendix 7 USP definition.

t w e n t y

n i n e

appendix 9 A brand positioning map can help to explore where in the market a brand is positioned. http://neilbendle.com/category/competition/positioning/positioning-maps/

appendix 8 Examples of Hero&Cape sales promotion on their website.

appendix 10 evidence of email contact with Nik Lau, founder of Hero&Cape

t h i r t y

http://sophiebrampton.tumblr.com/ password: heroandcape