Ilona Royce Smithkin, a woman of a certain age (OK, she’s 93), is getting ready to go out for the day and takes great care putting on very long, bright red fake eyelashes she made herself — from her own hair. That’s what happens when you outlive the man who used to make them for you.
Smithkin, along with several other women is the subject of Advanced Style, a documentary based on the successful blog of the same name by Ari Seth Cohen, and produced by Cohen and first-time director Lina Plioplyte. It profiles a few of the many older women Cohen regularly accosts on the street who dress stylishly, and often, eccentrically.
The women featured in the film are instantly captivating and their feeling of liberation from the constraints of youth and responsibility even enviable. These women do not subscribe to the vagaries of contemporary fashion, rather, they invent their own.
Together, they remind us that growing older isn’t just about calcium deficiencies or occasional memory loss, but that growing old offers a freedom from the style rules that most of us spend so many decades trying to follow. These women feel great about themselves — both as women and senior citizens. “I used to never tell people my age, I’d say I was between 50 and death,” confesses Smithkin, whose human hair eyelashes are so long she needs to tilt her head up to see the camera.
Granted, this is Manhattan, and the film doesn’t delve too deeply into any of these women’s financial constraints or their struggles with Medicare. Still it’s clear that all of the women enjoy improvisation, such as one woman who proudly shows off her cuff bracelets made of toilet paper cores.
“I think good style improves the environment for everybody,” says Zelda Kaplan, who at 95 still managed to draw plenty of attention in her head-to-toe colorful ensembles, replete with turban.
Cohen and Plioplyte met in 2008 and almost instantly began exploring the idea of a blog, and later videos documenting the lives of what Cohen calls, “stylish seniors.” The two eventually created a Kickstarter campaign which enabled them to make Advanced Style for under $50,000.
The documentary covers roughly four years in the lives of these women and we quickly begin to see how Cohen’s blog and the recognition it brings begins to transform their confidence, and in some cases, even their egos.
In one scene, 84-year old Jackie Tajah Murdock, a former dancer during the golden age of Harlem’s Apollo Theatre, is chosen to be included in a Lanvin campaign. “I am the face of Lanvin,” Murdock tells a reporter. “Well, one of the faces,” says one of the other ladies, to which Murdock retorts, “No, they chose me as the face of Lanvin.”
Cohen’s adoration and respect for these women is palpable, and the women dote on him and come alive the moment he comes into the room. “Ari, are you coming to my party?” says 81-year-old Lynn Dell, who owns New York’s Off Broadway boutique, a store that seems to supply most of these women with their fabulous get-ups.
The more junior of the ensemble is Tziporah Salamon, 64, who is already a style icon in her own right and frequently photographed by Bill Cunningham and Iké Udé. In some ways, she is like a shadow of the older women’s’ former selves: talented, ambitious, and maybe always a bit off the grid in how she interacts with the world. These are women who came into their own at a late age, when the world of men and motherhood is thankfully, far less important.
And this is what makes all of these women so remarkable, and so dazzling: their courage to live rich and colorful lives despite their age, to make each day a celebration. It is a lesson that many of us will perhaps only discover when we too are old — that we wasted too many years worrying about what other people think, and dressing like someone else rather than like ourselves.
>> Advanced Style opens tomorrow, September 26 at New York City’s Quad Cinemas, and in select theaters across the country starting in October. Find out where at advancedstylethemovie.com.
It’s fair to say that by now, the Internet has made transformed the way a brand becomes a part of our world, whether that brand is a person (Beyoncé) or a product (Nike).
Increasingly, however, brands are being attacked through a broad range of subversive techniques, a battleground where both the average consumer and the market competitor is free to weigh in and change public perception.
Author Quentin Langley showcases a hefty set of case studies in his book, Brandjack: How Your Reputation is at Risk from Brand Pirates — And What to do About It.
“Being prepared is not a matter of considering all the things that might go wrong,” says Langley, in an interview with bertrand on brand. “Your list will almost certainly be incomplete. It is a matter of putting in place procedures that allow you to act quickly in the face of a crisis.”
Brandjack culls together the big multinational corporation blunders to local mass transit agencies, Internet start up, and even a graffiti artist. Langley then breaks them down into nine categories, from “Ethics” and “Customer Revolt,” to “Unanticipated Response” and the “Cheeky Brandjack.”
The point here being that getting brandjacked in this day and age is a given, and those who are surprised — and worse, unresponsive — are the ones who will suffer the humiliation and loss of brand equity.
Langley deftly dissects each of the 140 case studies included in the book and measures their success (or failure) at meeting their unique brandjack challenge.
Front and center in their response strategy: social media.
“Reacting in social media has to be fast,” says Langley. “You can’t spend a few days or even a few hours contemplating it. Ideally you need to react quickly and deeply: you need to empower people throughout the organization to respond.”
Does it all just sound like PR? It is – but for the modern age.
Brandjack isn’t just a spin doctor’s prescription for a better brand, rather, it’s a pragmatic approach to the increasingly complex problems revolving around intellectual property. No matter how controversial or inflammatory, the goal being to never lose sight of where brand values intersect with customer loyalty.
The transparent, responsive brand is one that accepts the arrows that will inevitably be aimed at it and finds brand-centric and unique ways to respond.
The millennial generation is arguably the most savvy and skeptical of any before it, and more than adept at lancing those arrows when they see hypocrisy. Raised on the Internet and quick to understand how to reach their followers, the Millennial is often mightier Madison Avenue.
“Trust in corporations has declined but not as fast as trust in government,” says Langley, citing Edelman PR’s annual Trust Barometer. “People trust people like themselves, so investing in brand advocates and brand ambassadors is critical.”
Case in point (but not included in Langley’s book) is the recent hubbub over shirts and hats emblazoned with ironic twists on major luxury brand names. Chanel and Hermès reacted strongly and sought legal action to ban the merchandise. But did their response only underscore what most of us already know — that luxury brands have little to no sense of humor? If anything, the spoofs could just be a case of “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”
For the entrepreneur to the established Fortune 500 marketing executive, Brandjack offers invaluable lessons in mitigating attacks and making the digital revolution an ally, not an enemy.
Brandjack: How Your Reputation is at Risk from Brand Pirates – And What to do About It, by Quentin Langley (Palgrave MacMillan, 2014). Just for our readers, get 30% off the list price when you use the discount code PM14THIRTY at palgrave.com.
According to the most recent McKinsey report, annual global sales of fine jewelry is expected to soar to over $200billion a year, with a year to year growth percentage of 5 to 6 percent. That number jumps to $335 billion by 2020.
Nowhere is this growth happening faster than in Asia where, in places like China and South Korea, high jewelry is rich in cultural significance and ceremony. Here, Jewelry is purchased as much for its intrinsic value as for its symbolic power, especially where fine stones are concerned. While all of the major jewelry brands are well represented in Asia’s big cities, it is the small and highly specialized jewelers who are gaining influence over the modern luxury customer.
Galene is one brand you’ve probably never heard of, and for now, that’s entirely intentional. Yao-Lien Wang and Wayne Wang (no relation) are Taiwanese designers and entrepreneurs who, after receiving graduate degrees in the U.S. and the U.K., returned to Taiwan to launch Galene, a luxury jewelry brand centered around precious coral. Their approach is that of a stealth luxury player — and it’s working.
“Coral is in my blood,” says Yao-Lien. He almost means that literally. His family has been working in precious coral since he was a child, and his father is well known amongst gem buyers for his passion and talent in finding some of the world’s most beautiful raw, deep sea coral. Precious coral is not the same as reef coral which is illegal and environmentally protected, but it is regulated and the best finds continue to command high prices.
The pair began developing their first collections in 2008 with the goal of challenging Asia’s current market offer of ultra-luxury jewelry with limited and bespoke collections. Their slow and steady approach has allowed them to refine their product and go-to-market strategy.
“From the beginning, we went through a process to determine where we wanted to be in the market,” explains Wayne. “There’s a lot of stuff out there that’s in poor taste but it still sells. None of that is interesting to us and besides, that market is saturated. We wanted to introduce a new aesthetic, something more international yet still very Asian.”
In Taiwan as well as elsewhere in Asia (most notably Hong Kong), traditional jewelry stores are often gaudy and garish, packed to the rafters with gold chains, diamonds, and of course plenty of jade. To stand out in such an environment means not only a more sophisticated market offer but also an entirely new brand experience.
b. on brand worked with the team to refine the brand positioning and develop the name and story, and core values. Our goal was to position the brand as uniquely international in spirit, yet distinctly Taiwanese. For the name, we found inspiration in coral’s significance during Greco-Roman times. In Greek mythology, Galene is the goddess who personifies calm seas. Yao-Lien’s master’s design project centered around coral’s social and cultural history in the Eastern and Western worlds.
“Wayne and I never really argued about what the collection should be about,” explains Yao-Lien. “We both are obsessed with a lot of the same design and aesthetics: some gothic, Art Deco, and Italian modernism. We both believe that jewelry is not just about adornment, but about wearing something with talismanic powers. Coral is powerful.”
The team worked for well over a year on the first capsule collection, critiquing and revising each and every piece as they went along.
Each of Galene’s collections features coral and include other precious stones such as diamonds, sapphires, and amethysts, all set in 18 carat gold. With echoes of vintage Bulgari and Cartier, one can instantly imagine how the brand could have appealed to the likes of Elizabeth Taylor or María Félix.
At their first exposition held at the Palais de Chine Hotel in Taipei, more than a few women thought they were Elizabeth Taylor. A frenzy erupted over a crucifix that was on display but not for sale. For weeks after the show Galene received calls from women (and one husband) pleading to let them buy it.
“Quite honestly, we were a bit freaked out about that. We just had no idea what people would think of our work. Our parents were completely shocked,” says Wayne.
In Mainland China, word has gotten out about the designers ,with customers from Beijing and Shanghai setting up appointments for custom pieces. Nevertheless, even at this early stage the partners are cautious about the brand’s image.
“If we go the route of producing on a very mass kind of level then that means we have to create collections that appeal to a mass audience,” says Yao-Lien. “That’s simply not who we are. Galene is about rarity and craftsmanship, so our audience is people who aren’t impatient and can appreciate our work on a very intimate and personal level.”
In some ways, the partners have an unlikely chemistry. Like yin and yang, Yao-Lien is the moody and romantic one — one moment a golden sun shining on a calm sea, then suddenly a storm with thunder. Wayne on the other hand, is cool and controlled and measures his emotions. In their work, his minimalism balances Yao-Lien’s extravagance.
“There are a lot of times when our parents don’t really understand what it is we are doing,“ admits Wayne. “They think Galene should be more commercial and that we should be selling, selling, selling. But that’s just not possible for us. Even with the success we’ve had they still argue with us.”
Case in point, Galene’s atelier and showroom is not in Taipei, or even Hong Kong, but in a remote part of the southern countryside in what was once an Art Deco hotel– not exactly accessible to the ordinary luxury customer.
Nevertheless their decision to set up shop here gave them instant buzz. Formerly known as the Far East Hotel, The building is a maze of high-ceilinged whitewashed rooms, period tiled floors, and mysterious passageways. A staircase spirals ever higher until one finds oneself on a sprawling terrace above the town, with views out to the surrounding rice fields.
“A place like the Far East Hotel is an important part of our brand story,” says Yao-Lien, “It is really a magical place and really tells the story of Taiwan and of a lifestyle that no longer exists. If you look at our jewelry in our boutique, the energy of the hotel and the romance is part of the experience.”
Indeed, to wander the former hotel’s halls and enter its elegant rooms is to step back into Taiwan’s colonial past. A massive crystal chandelier and palms add to the atmosphere. Tea is served in the finest bone china from Japan, and petit fours on tableware from Astier de Villate. The soundtrack is Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood For Love.
Silk velvet drapes, imported Tibetan carpets, and custom-made wenge-wood furniture lend an air of continental refinement, the kind of place where the Last Emperor might spend his last days, having his last cup of tea.
“Everyone wonders what goes on in here,” says Wayne, ”Sometimes we get some of the village people knocking at the door and they ask ‘can we come in?’ and I say ‘No — you can’t.’” Wayne’s years studying in England make his “no – you can’t” come out clipped and very British.
But Galene is not entirely inaccessible. The company showcases its collections once a year in Taipei and accepts visits to the showroom by appointment.
“The people who shop with us appreciate the secrecy and privacy,” says Wayne. “They don’t want people to know what they’re buying. They like the idea of coming to this unique environment to shop and experience the jewelry.”
Galene’s next invitation-only presentation will be held January 11-12, 2016 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Taipei City, Taiwan. Showroom visits are by appointment only. info@galenejewellery.com for more information.
>> Read more from the McKinsey report, “A Multifaceted Future: The Jewelry Industry in 2020.” Click here.
Just about everyone has a story about trying to find a restroom in Paris. For Americans, the French WC can be traumatizing: the à la turque with just a hole in the floor and two islands for your feet.
The French can be blasé about toilets, which is maybe why they’ve never bothered to design one that works properly and doesn’t require brushes and coercion.
PointWC is an enterprising new concept in public lavatories that has recently begun to spring up in the places where tourists are sure to yield to their bursting bladder, and shell out €1,50 for what the company calls a “luxury” toilet experience.
PointWC was developed by founder Eric Salles, who saw an opportunity not to just profit from that most basic human need, but from the growing business in bathroom design and accessories.
The spaces feature soft lighting, music, and a hostess who guides you to your cabine, each with its own design theme (mine was vaguely Japanese zen.)
But PointWC is a retail operation disguised as a restroom – which might sound like a strange idea, but it works. The “stores” have a full selection of designer toilet seats, sinks, and an assortment of toilet papers in a rainbow of colors — including brown, which they‘ve decided to call “chocolate.” Hm.
https://youtu.be/oqRY0HpZMUE
Can’t decide on your color mood? PointWC also offers a personal shopper to advise on a broad range of toilet “solutions”, including innovative space saving, two-in-one affairs, where a tiny sink sits on top of the toilet.
PointWC currently has five locations throughout Paris including on the Champs Elysee, at the Printemps department store, and in the Carousel du Louvre.
Look out Gap – Uniqlo is flexing its fashion muscles, something Gap has frequently found a challenge.
First came the news that the Japanese fast-fashion retailer was in negotiations to purchase J. Crew. Now they are looking to expand Uniqlo’s repertoire from high-quality/high-value basics (what Gap used to own in market share) to offering limited edition and higher-visibility contemporary collections designed to appeal to the fashion savant.
It’s a strategy that makes sense now that they have gained some recognition outside of Japan. In just the past three years, the brand has opened seven stores throughout the U.S. and last year announced it would open ten more in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California.
The brand’s new initiatives to be more current and relevant include a special collection with Inès de la Fressange, a collection designed by Pharrell Williams, and another “inspired by” modern artists such as Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquait. And that’s just in the past month.
The big question is: will anybody really care, and is it enough to drive traffic to the stores? Our guess is that the majority of U.S. shoppers have no idea who de la Fressange is (answer: she’s a French designer, model, former Karl Lagerfeld Muse, and once was the “face” of France.) Her collection for Uniqlo is rather one-note and even matronly – unless you’re as rail-thin as she is.
As for Williams, he is already in danger of being as over-exposed as Karl Lagerfeld, with numerous collaborations to date including Adidas, H&M, Comme des Garçons, Palladium Boots, Moncler, and Louis Vuitton. His collection features the rather disingenuous theme of celebrating “being different.” The collection features t-shirts and hats that say things like The Same is Lame, Think Other, and I Am Other.
Such modernist kumbaya sentiments will no doubt resonate with millennial shoppers who (hopefully) will wear them with some sort of sincerity rather than the smug irony that goes with shirts that say things like Vote for Pedro.
Uniqlo’s SPRZ NY collection, with contemporary works of art, caused Barbara Thau, a contributor for Forbes, to ask in a recent online post, “Will Jackson Pollack T-shirts and Jean-Michel Basquiat jackets sell in suburban mall stores?”
The rather unsurprising answer is yes — at least according to a Uniqlo spokesperson. ““We want to make art accessible to the broader public,” says Eileen McMaster, VP of Public Relations.
Certainly a casual stroll through Urban Outfitters, Forever 21, H&M and Zara – all Uniqlo’s competitors to some degree – seems to indicate that the category of “statement” fashion does quite well, especially anything that captures the New Wave/Hip Hop zeitgeist of graphic arts.
Wearable art lets people communicate to each other who they are without having to say anything.
Which is perhaps why the collection designed by Williams may be very relevant, especially for the “selfie” generation who crave self-expression, even if in the end, it just ends up being a different way of spelling narcissism.
If you’ve been looking for an apartment to rent or a house to buy, you might have found yourself looking at the online photos and thinking that so many people seem to have the same taste. Those Italian vermouth posters? Everywhere. Kitschy “old” Paris café signs and Eiffel Tower tchotchkes? Young women can’t get enough of them, especially if they’re also into Audrey Hepburn.
So how is it that so many people can have the nearly identical tastes in design? How does it happen?
It might just be the power of television, especially since so many so-called reality shows and studio dramas make ample use of ordinary chain stores, from Ikea to Pottery Barn. Mainstream television essentially provides a style shorthand for design trends.
Anyone who is a fan of the Bravo Channel’s, Real Housewives, is already well-acquainted with the show’s long, lingering looks at how the other half lives – or at least, the other one percent – who seem to live in a world replete with dozens of votive candles and oversized white sectional sofas, with a cast of self-absorbed women who even at 11 AM have a glass of white wine in hand.
For many viewers, the program has become a kind of decorating primer, and while they may laugh at the women’s antics, they’re also taking note of how they live.
The ubiquitous candles, the mood lighting, stacks of art books, and of course, lots of mirrors: all have begun to find their way into the American lexicon of interior design – for better or for worse. Crack open a Real Estate magazine and chances are, you’ll see homes staged as if Teresa Giudice – pre tax scam – had just stepped out for a manicure and left the door open for you.
That everyday consumers are referencing reality shows for design ideas isn’t so far-fetched.
“There’s a prevalent design aesthetic I would call ‘suburban rococo’,” says Dr. Karen Tongson, who teaches a course on reality television at the University of Southern California. “This might have to do with the fact that a lot of suburban McMansions are styled after Mediterranean villas or grand estates on Lake Como.”
Television homes have generally had limited influence on the American public, mostly because viewers knew they weren’t real. But by the early 2000’s and the explosion of reality programming, watching how people live has made the homes and apartments as much a character as the people who live in them.
“I love Lisa Vanderpump’s home, it is magnificent, and a true reflection who she is- so grand, so classy, just drop dead amazing!” says Bennet Zelle, a television and advertising art director who has designed sets for a Real Housewives TV special. “And of course Adrienne Maloof’s home is incredible, a great inspiration for sets I know I will make in the future.”
Zelle insists that the homes on Housewives are untouched and unadulterated by the networks, but he admits that some of the women may hire their own stylists to help primp their homes. At the very least, a lighting designer steps in to help enhance what we see, but the crux of the show is that these are powerful and opinionated women have very much their own sense of style.
“The entire Bravo franchise began to execute this model and created a true brand for itself as a network that arbitrates taste, beginning with Queer Eye,” says Dr. Tongson.
Thanks to programs like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, America has learned that “every room needs focus” or that you should “add a splash of color to one wall” to give it a modern touch. And retailers are taking note, offering quick, colorful solutions to accessorizing a room.
“There is so much great design available on the consumer level right now, affordable, great pieces, and people want to be surrounded by great design,” says Zelle.
The house used for the show, Jersey Shore, with décor that can only be described as “nouveau frathouse.” The furniture on the show was routinely smashed or vomited on.
MTV’s Jersey Shore, communicated a more, shall we say, working class design aesthetic, with wood paneled walls, big squishy sofas, and hot tubs. Critical features of what can only be described as “nouveau frat house.”
On the show, the cast routinely trashed rooms and furniture generally ended up thrown, broken, or passed out on. However in one episode a prized marble and brass coffee table is quickly pulled aside by Mike “The Situation” so as to not get totaled in a hair-pulling mêlée between Snookie and Angelina.
CBS’s Big Brother makes the most of small spaces, relying heavily on bold colors and oversized props as a backdrop. “That’s the language Big Brother speaks,” says Robert Saccenti, an art director on the program. “Viewers understand and want it season after season.” Like the design of any space, form and function are critical, and a team of designers works to develop spaces that perform as well as they look. “We often put together a collage of different elements — color swatches, pictures of furniture and light fixtures — to give executives a feel for the space.”
But just because it’s a show watched by millions doesn’t mean the sky is the limit when it comes to budget. Adds Saccenti, “You’d be surprised how many shows shop for set dressing at Ikea.”
b. on brand’s Guide to Making your own Home a Reality Show
1. Candles and flowers go a long way to adding romance and drama to any room. The big white couch is optional — but convenient for the spurned lover. “Who doesn’t want to sink into a gorgeous white couch, with fresh flowers and beautiful candles all around,” says art director Bennet Zelle. “It seems to be a universal comfort. Classic is classic- and it always works.” Until somebody spills the wine.
2. Those craving a vacation to the Jersey Shore — and God, who doesn’t? — should first start with a few bottles of Jack Daniels and a half-case of diet coke. Once you’ve polished that off, the real designing can begin: for starters, get some furniture you don’t mind having broken by volatile Guidos. You can’t go wrong with Ikea’s iconic LACK table.
3. Ever noticed how people leave old buckets of paint out for recycling? That’s the perfect opportunity to add a bold bit of color to those landlord-white walls. The fun starts when you pop the lid and discover it’s something called “Pink Pony.”
4. You obviously weren’t watching closely enough if you missed all that mirrored furniture in RHOBH Lisa Vanderpump’s home. Anthropologie and Pottery Barn probably weren’t her sources, but they might as well be yours. We won’t tell.
5. Make the Jersey Shore house your design inspiration. Paint an Italian flag on the garage door. The neighbors will just love it. Or better yet, actually move to the Jersey Shore and give the rest of us a chance to get your rent-controlled apartment.
This story originally appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle. It is presented here in a slightly different form.
Airport retail has made massive strides over the past twenty years, with some like those in the Middle East practically becoming destinations in themselves. According to recent numbers from The Travel Retail Business (TRB), travelling consumers increased their average spend between 3-12-percent, with the top ten airports cashing in on $9.2 Billion. No, that’s bottled water, but the lucrative Duty Free market.
On a recent trip to Taiwan, it was clear why Taoyuan International Airport wasn’t included in that Top Ten list, but we couldn’t help but be amused by EVA Air’s special Hello Kitty Check-In zone, located in the airport’s Terminal 2.
It’s well known that for Asians, the Pink Pussy is catnip, and EVA Air has capitalized on that with a long partnership with the Sanrio cartoon. The airline recently relaunched it’s custom Hello Kitty airplanes and last September, began offering flights to Los Angeles.
Terminal 2’s Hello Kitty Check-In zone is designed to offer fans a bespoke experience, with Kitty-head computer consoles and replete with displays of all kinds of has Hello Kitty travel products, including toilet paper with Miss Kitty’s likeness all over it.
Meanwhile, just past security and past what seems like miles of skin whitening product displays, is the complete opposite genre of target marketing, with The Glenlivet Whiskey’s homage to all things manly and aristocratic. Here is what marketers like to call an “interactive experience,” however it was woefully empty when we came upon it.
The space design references the classic pub or member’s club, and is dominated by a full-size billiards table and (faux) fireplace. Whiskey is served by uniformed hostesses. Still, nearly every passerby glided past it and the thimbles of free booze. More than likely they were looking for a restaurant, which at this Terminal, were in very short supply. Missed opportunity? I would have definitely stopped in for a pairings menu.
One of the iconic moments in “Mad Men,” a television series about the 1960’s and 70’s and the golden age of advertising, is when Don Draper, an ad agency’s charismatic genius, is doing a client pitch in the company boardroom.
The client is Kodak and the product is a slide projector. Draper dims the lights and flips on the machine, which is loaded with slides of own family. “This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine. It goes backwards and forwards and takes us to a place where we ache to go again. It’s not called the wheel, it’s called the carousel.”
With just one word – carousel — he elevates an ordinary slide projector into an emotionally charged device capable of stopping time. A “carousel” has all the bittersweet sentimentality we associate with our childhood, and Kodak instantly becomes an emotional brand.
A GREAT STORY IS INVISIBLE… BUT YOU KNOW IT’S THERE
“Mad Men” is as much a drama about America in the middle of the 20th century as it is a documentary about branding. A great brand tells a compelling story that resonates with the customer and delivers a seamless experience in how we connect with it.
This is the secret power of branding: you feel it but you can’t see it. It is so intrinsic that it seems impossible that it was manufactured.
A compelling brand story not only drives the external consumer strategy, it also drives the internal creative process. New products and services must reflect the ethos and integrity of the brand. The brand story justifies and inspires virtually every aspect of how a company, store, or product expresses itself to the world.
A GREAT STORY INSPIRES COMPELLING PRODUCTS
The best companies are the ones that strategically determine their brand narrative and make sure it supports what and why they do what they do.
Facebook is a brand that was founded as a tool to connect with friends, but it’s really about storytelling.
People use it to tell their personal stories, or promote other stories that represent how they feel about themselves and the world they live in. We consume these stories in the same way we consume products, in that we search for the relevant details that connect us to the story – or product, for that matter.
In 2011, when facebook launched their Timeline feature, it sought to not only upgrade facebook’s search potential but also to bring context and linearity to what they taglined as, “the story of your life.” In short, we too became a brand and our facebook page reflects the product that is our “life.”
A GREAT STORY EMPOWERS THE CUSTOMER
We crave brands that appear to enable us to become more than we are and connect us with the world in a way that seems deeper and more uniquely personal. Nike pushes us to “Just Do It.” Apple dares us to “Think Different.”
Steve Jobs wasn’t so much a product designer as a product marketer, and he revolutionized the role of computer products by making them accessible and personal: “The personal computer. “
Apple products make us feel modern and creative. They make us believe that by owning one, we are somehow more efficient and savvy.
Jobs knew what he was doing: he was creating a lifestyle brand designed to elevate a product beyond its basic function. “Your customers dream of a happier and better life,” wrote Jobs. “Don’t move products. Enrich lives.”
A GREAT STORY DELIVERS A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE
When you put a highly branded product in the right setting, you have the ultimate brand experience, what I call “retail theatre.”
A store allows you to enrich the product with what is essentially, a “theatrical” performance. From the store’s architecture and design, to the employees, even the smells; all contribute to controlling and enhancing the entire customer experience.
Architecture and design bring the brand narrative to life with lighting, color and material palettes, and displays that make the product experience more tactile and real, a living breathing representation of the brand’s ethos.
LEARNINGS FROM LUXURY BRANDING
Luxury retail in particular, is deeply dependent on very elaborate architecture and storytelling. In fact the lion’s share of what one pays for luxury products is built into the marketing cost of showcasing the brand and its products.
Chanel’s rich tapestry of imagery and symbolism is wholly dependent on an assortment of tools designed to deliver an unquestionable sense of integrity and value. Wherever we are, the words CHANEL instantly signify the holy grail of couture, as embodied by Coco Chanel: the Matelassé , the double C’s, the iconic bottle containing Number 5 – all of it plays a crucial role in the brand architecture, and instrumental in immersing the customer in such a profound way that they become immune to the price and instead, focus on the dream those goods represent.
Case in point, a recent Louis Vuitton video campaign tells us a romantic story of travel, passionate love, and exotic spectacles, with barely the sight of the brand’s distinctive monogram luggage.
Why? Because in the end, the message is about how (Louis Vuitton) luggage will transport us to so many (emotional) places. At the end of the campaign, the words, “Where will life take you,” appear on the screen. It’s not a question we are meant to answer, because the brand provides it: “Louis Vuitton.”
The successful luxury brand convinces us that it’s not the cost that matters, but the seemingly magical transformation that occurs when we come to own the product. Our lives are optimized. The context of our lives becomes more meaningful.
MAKING A STORY DELIVER: OUR GOLDEN RULES
To a certain extent, one could apply the same rule to even less expensive and more humble products. A compelling story serves to systematically Entice, Attract, Engage, and Connect the target customer with the brand in a way that feels entirely authentic and pure.
When a brand is successful, the story impacts each facet of how you do business. Here are our Golden Rules:
The most successful brands are constantly moving their story forward without sacrificing integrity. When you see a company stumble with the wrong product, chances are they deviated from their narrative.
> This blog is an abridged version of a presentation delivered by Bertrand Pellegrin at “Creative Mornings/LA” on November 9, 2012 at the Herman Miller Showroom in Culver City, California.
Chinese New Year — the Year of the Snake, for those who care — begins on February 10 and finally at least one major U.S. retailer is waking up to the fact that they need a strategy in welcoming the Chinese tourist – and not just once a year.
Last year we told you about how we developed some relatively simple strategies for b. on brand client Saks Fifth Avenue in making their San Francisco store more attractive to Chinese tourists, with specific programs and mechanics.
In London, Chinese tourists take advantage of a relatively easier visa application process and spending on average a $1000 a day.
According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the average Chinese tourist spends about $6,000 while in the United States; yet most major retailers are sadly unprepared for what is increasingly becoming a critical customer market – even outside the CNY period.
Currently nearly all Chinese tourists are forced to wait up to four months compared to only a few days for most European visas, which means cities like Paris profit handsomely from Chinese tourist dollars. This month President Obama gave the State Department 60 days to come up with a way to decrease the wait time for visas to three weeks. That’s still far more than say Great Britain, which, while also bureaucratic takes about five days to turn around a visa.
Paris is still a top destination for Chinese tourists. For decades stores like Galleries Lafayette and Printemps have made major efforts to target Chinese customers with an army of Chinese-speaking sales associates, discount packages, and special open hours.
This year it is expected that 1.4million Chinese (along with a million Brazilians) will come to the U.S. to shop.
In New York, Bloomingdale’s launched a new initiative to make its store more approachable to the Chinese tourist by hiring more bilingual staff, marketing overseas with advertising campaigns, and increasing orders of iconic “American” brands like Ralph Lauren, with an emphasis on bold brand logos.
Still, one has to wonder why more stores haven’t made a bigger effort at understanding the Chinese customer and making some relatively cost-effective additions to their store experience in order to welcome them.
Here are a few things that nearly any medium to large-scale brand can do to make their store a destination for Chinese shoppers – all year around.
1) Signage. Make sure there is prominent signage in simplified Chinese at the entrance to the store. This includes store navigation. During the Chinese New Year period, put Chinese signage in the window and make sure visual merchandising themes are translated.
2) Speak Their Language. Have at least one employee who speaks Mandarin fluently and empower them with discount cards and/or Gifts-With-Purchase to incentivize them to shop.
3) Make them a VIP. Use the store’s member’s lounge or create a space where Chinese tourists can sit privately with a cup of tea, cookies, and receive one-on-one clienteling.
4) Partner with Hotels. Work closely with the concierges at the city’s key hotels and give them brochures and VIP cards to give to Chinese tourists and tour operators.
5) Explain the Value of Your Brand. The Chinese are still unfamiliar with many U.S. brands especially department stores. Make sure to tell your heritage story and underscore the fact that all of the brands you carry are guaranteed authentic. In China, some department stores sell fake or look-alike merchandise.
Once upon a time, the idea of web hosting was seemingly complex to the general consumer, something that required the expertise of a dedicated Webmaster or computer geek. The playing field was relatively narrow and the barrier to entry high.
Today all that is quite different and for the most part, nobody really thinks about their web hosting services except when something goes very wrong. So how does a premium web hosting company reposition itself for modern times and engage entrepreneurs and small business owners who firmly believe in DIY?
b. on brand’s recent project with client media temple(mt) was charged with precisely this mission. For fifteen years, Media Temple has held a solid reputation for being the premium web hosting service for artists and creatives of all kinds, not to mention businesses both large and small.
Yet the client had quite correctly identified that market differentiation had become increasingly challenging for the brand, and that the time had come to reposition media temple(mt) and innovate new strategies for serving and championing the accomplishments of its diverse customer base.
b. on brand developed an assessment of the brand’s strengths and challenges using stakeholder interviews, a detailed analysis of competitors, audience personas and an in-depth discovery workshop designed to spark new ideas and surface the brand’s core values and characteristics.
Using the idea of media temple(mt) being the “host of great ideas,” b. on brand was able to help the brand integrate this message into its core values and operations, creating a new paradigm for a more “human” concept of web hosting, one that encourages creativity and the spirit of innovation in the digital world.
>> Learn more about this and other new projects in our portfolio. Email us at info@bonbrand.com.