David Nieper

David Nieper An Elegant Escape Tara Francis-Smith

Consumer Insights The Flat Ager When we think of our Grandparents’ generation, we tend to immediately picture them with staunch routines, a slight fear of anything out of the ordinary, and wearing some form of comfy cardigan with flats. These are the stigmatisms we face when getting older.

However the Flat Ager (The Future Laboratory) is challenging these notions associated with age and for this new generation of elders, being conventionally ‘old’ is not on the cards.

With more disposable income, advancements in medicine and universal design making products that everyone can use, the Flat Agers, also referred to as The Baby Boomers, are no longer willing to be defined by their advancing years.

Instead, they are defined by their interests, and these are as dynamic and varied as any of their younger counterparts. In fact last year the over 60’s were responsible for starting up 15% of new businesses.

This is a generation of people bucking the Werther’s Original stereotype, debunking myths of ageing by retiring conventional narratives. Design and beauty should now work for everyone, because the Flat Agers want to adventure, to explore. But most importantly, they never want to be told to “slow down”. Because the truth is, as we advance in technology and science, they might not need to.

David Nieper’s new crusie line is targetted at a mature, single woman with a taste for classic British styling and elegance. She is hoping to meet new friends of like mind and wants a selection of new outfits to take with her for the various excursions and evening events. Fit and quality are important and she wants something that will look good and feel great so she can wear it with confidence.

71% of this consumer group see retirement as a time to explore other cultures and places, shaping their retirements around experiencing the new and unfamiliar.

Age is no longer a restriction, it is an opportunity and with life expectancy -and retirement age increasing, consumers have more time and are looking for memorable experiences to make the most of it.

Photoshoot Ideas

A modern twist on the Cinderella story, ‘Roman Holiday’ is a simple tale of a young princess incognito, experiencing the world on her own.

It is a classic story of abandoning day-to-day responsibilities and unexpected infatuation.

The photoshoot for David Nieper’s new cruise line will be inspired by ‘Roman Holiday’. As an iconic film set in the 50’s, it will resonate with the target consumer of the brand. Iconic for styling and fashion purposes, the Princess Ann inspired photoshoot will not only emulate the independance of the ‘Flat Ager’ but also inspire the explorer within them.

Representative of their excitement around new adventures, the film is also a reflection of classic, timeless style which is of high importance to this target consumer. The campaign will be called ‘An Elegant Escape’ and will evoke images of travel, excitement and the embarking of new journeys, which is all too familiar among the well cultured, experience seeking Flat Ager.

The beautiful city landscape will appeal to this well cultured consumer and will showcase the new cruise line in a fresh, modern and exciting way.

Model Milou Sluis is the epitome of an elegant tourist in the Marie Claire Netherlands ‘Ciao Sisiliana’ editorial. Shot in Taormina, Sicily, the styling and art direction is sophisticated and classy, reminiscent of Princess Ann herself from ‘Roman Holiday’.

These images are a strong influence behind the concept of the photoshoot as they exude class and elegance and will appeal to a fashion concious Flat Ager who is not defined by her age.

An Elegant Escape

The photoshoot will take place in Italy where the film was shot with it’s incredibly romantic, laid back, chic environment. The soft hues of red and yellow evoke nostalgic summer memories of sunshine, long languid lunches and aspirations with no limits. The scenic backdrop to the images will exuberate a more modern and exciting vibe which is a completely different direction to David Nieper’s usual studio-based images of their collections. To get people talking about the brand and engaging with the new line, interesting content must be created and shooting on location is a way for David Nieper to generate some excitement around the line whilst modernising the brand.

An Elegant Escape

These beautiful silver belles will be the women featured wearing David Nieper’s new designs in the photoshoot.

Glamourous and sophisticated, they all exude independance and sucesss, aging with the utmost of grace. The consumer for David Nieper will take inspiration from these types of women, whether it be from their style or simply their beauty in confidence and achievment, they are aspirational and certainly don’t fall under the usual stereotype associated with getting older.

Kristen Scott Thomas

Joanna Lumley

David Nieper’s campaign should celebrate style and accomplishment, all traits that the generation of Flat Agers aspire to allign themselves with. These women aren’t bound by their ages and are showing how true class, grace and sophistication can look good on anybody.

Laura Forman

Helen

These dynamic Leading Ladies represent the unique and diverse women of a modern Britain. They are united in their extraordinary achievements but confident in their differences.

Marks & Spencer is a democratic brand which is relevant to women of all ages and strands of life and they have expertly mirrored this concept in their advertising naturally celebrating women in this way.

Mirren

Marks and Spencer is a high-street competitor brand of David Nieper and their advertising campaigns speak volumes to consumers. The brands new shoot, sees their leading ladies showcasing the store’s seasonal designs as they pose in the British countryside. All the feautured women are from diverse backgrounds and professions, but are united by personal style and inspirational achievements.

‘Whether it is through a selfless dedication to a cause, entrepreneurial and creative flair or pushing the boundaries of design, each woman is truly inspiring and unique in her own way’ M&S.

David Nieper has strong British values and aims to target a sophisticated woman of great class and grace but his advertising, (lack of ) does not emulate the brand’s heritage core values of great quality and craftmanship. The women seen wearing the clothes on their website do not resemble the age they are targetting and unispiring, generic photoshoot settings make the brand look tired and dated.

New Branding The original David Nieper logo and website design appears very dated and doesn’t represent the sophisticated, excited and care-free attitude of a woman embarking on a new experience. The new cruise-line which is targetted at a stylish over 50 should coincide with the re-branding of David Nieper. It needs to be updated to a modern, but classic design that mirrors the aesthetic of the new line. The typeface used bares no resemblance to the quality executed in all their garments and merely represents a very standard, generic use of lettering.

I have started playing around with different typefaces, compositions and colour to try and create a modern, fresh and more memorable design that is aesthetically pleasing to the mature target market.

The soft nude and grey used in the logo are also translated throughout the website. The juxtaposition of these two colours do not make the site stand out to consumers, it is quite dull and again is appearing dated. It doesn’t excite and intrigue when you see it which isn’t going to engage and appeal to new or existing customers. I think there needs to be an injection of colour to make the design come alive as it is important to steer away from the stigmatism that getting old means getting boring. David Nieper collections are all about a classy sophisticated and stylish older woman but there branding just doesn’t communicate this.

I experimented with a few different typefaces and it is clear to see that the first two appear too scripted, it is too far away from the original branding and doesn’t read easy. I want to create a fresh and sophisticated look without being too obvious. The thrid font, Niconne seems to work really nicely with the lettering in the brand name; it still has the elegance of a scripted font without being too extravagant.

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David Nieper David Nieper

I started experimenting with some designs to see if I could create an aesthetic that translated the brand’s values whilst updating their previous designs to appeal to a fresh, modern and stylish female consumer. I really like the juxtaposition of the black against the white lettering with a subtle, sophisticated injection of colour. I think it makes the logo stand out more and better translates the image that the brand is trying to upstand. On their website they advertise the importance of being ‘Made in England’ and have featured an article on Princess Anne’s visit to the store.

The logo and website design need to employ more of a luxury, heritage feel with this type of content and brand ethos.

Final Logo

New Branding

Taking all my initial research into account I decided to mock up a potential website design for the rebranding of David Nieper. Their original website was lacking in excitement and visual appeal, with bland colours and a dated logo that holds little resemblance to a stylish, sophisticated mature woman. I felt like the brand could integrate some more of their other online platforms onto the actual website, for example they have a Pinterest page which shows trends, the new season’s offerings and visual inspiration which could be incorporated onto a separate page on the site to encourage more interaction and create some more exciting content for customers. I have mocked up a trends page that could act as inspiration to prospective consumers when they are thinking ut purchasing. The black contrast against the images adds a striking design aesthetic and makes for a more memorable online experience.

I have kept the design layout simple to create a more minimalistic feel which I feel will promote the clothes better. At the moment they have a lot of information on the first page which appears to me as a bit of an overload. I felt like some of the information displayed looked more like adverts than actual links referring to David Nieper, and almost cheapened the brand. With a central, minimalistic layout the new sight is more visually pleasing and reflects the brands ethos of good quality, classic, British styling.

Promotional Ideas

Baby Boomers are not the technology luddites that most assume them to be.

Most digital media promotion efforts are aimed at generation Y but more and more brands are recognising that Boomers are some of digital media’s biggest uers regularly interacting with sites like Facebook, Youtube and listening to music on iPods.

One prominent thing I noticed when analysing David Neiper’s brand was their lack of digital media presence. With 43% of over 65’s being the fastest adopters of social media, it is important for David Nieper to continually engage consumers through these platforms. Their current facebook page only has 116 likes which implies there is a lack of interaction with consumers through social media platforms, there twitter page has 523 likes which shows a slight improvement.

It is clear that their consumer is tech savvy and with the Flat Ager/Boomer generation refusing to be defined by their age and the restrictions these imply, more and more are looking for exciting digital experiences to interact with brands.

With this in mind I think it could be a potentially successful venture to introduce a David Nieper App. Consumers can get all the latest information from the brand straight to their mobile phone devices and can shop products easily and more accesibly when on the move. Recent figures from Facebook show that women, aged 50 – 60, are their fastest growing demographic so the app needs to somehow incorporate this platform into the online experience. With the new crusie line coming out it is a perfect time for David Nieper to engage consumers through social media.

App users can ‘like’ items on the mobile website and are given the option to share this information to their Facebook or Twitter page. Every customer who posts a like to their social media page will recieve one £5 voucher towards something for their holiday/summer crusie. They will get sent the voucher through Facebook with a personalised code that can be used upon checkout.

This will start generating some more brand awareness and also get people excited about the new line and branding of David Nieper.

An Elegant Escape

To engage boomers with a digital media promotions campaign, it needs to not require a lot of effort. According to research Boomers are less likely to participate in contests that require them to write long submissions, or create and upload videos or photos. According to reports, Boomers prefer digital media promotions like taking polls, rating and voting on items, ranking favorites, or providing user feedback of services or news stories (Forrester report).

This suggests that a brand application would be the perfect way to promote the new line, all consumers have to do is like their favourite products and they recieve rewards for doing so, whilst gaining momentum for the brand through social media.

Following the campaign ‘An Elegant Escape’; to debut the new collection, customers will be invited to share their favourite holiday destinations onto a specific travel page within the app to be in for a chance of winning a luxury cruise with Uniworld. This will gain some excitement around the new line and also engage prospective consumers who may not know the brand, but who like to travel and gain new experiences. Boomers will always be a “youth generation” and don’t consider themselves seniors. David Nieper should market to them as if they are perpetually 35 years old. Introducing a competition through digital media and smartphones gives consumers the opportunity to be apart of a fresh and exciting campaign whilst remaining current in today’s digitally driven environment.

With a great prize up for grabs, consumers will be incentivised to interact through the app with other like minded individuals starting to build a community around the brand. David Nieper will become a platform for consumers to share their experiences and connect with eachother through common interests, establishing new bonds with eachother and the brand.