PERSONALIZED OFFICE DÉCOR AND DESIGN

   

FINAL PAPER McKenna Calhoon, Colleen Strachan, Madison McArt, Keri Weitzel

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………….……….5 Target Market and Customer Description………………………………………………………………….....................6 Ideal Customer………………………………………………………………….…...........7 Customer Lifecycle Placement……………………………………………….....................7 Attitudinal Approach……………………………………………………………………...8 SWOT Analysis Strengths………………………………………………………………………….............9 Weaknesses…………………………………………………………………...…………...9 Opportunities……………………………………………………………………..............9 Threats…………………………………………………………………………………...10 Brand Family…………………………………………………………………..............11 Ethical Message……………………………………………………………….............12 Brand Rules Points of Parity………………………………………………………………….............13 Points of Difference…………………………………………………………..…………..13 Differentiation Methods…………………………………………………….……………13 SMART Goals…………………………………………………………...…….............15 Brand History…………………………………………………………….……............16 Brand Elements Element Consistency……………………………………………………………………...17 Brand Name………………………………………………………………………………….….17 URL…………………….………………………………………………………………..17 Logo………………….…………………………………………………………………..17 Slogan…………….…………………………………………………………………..….18 Packaging…………..……………………………………………………………...…….18 Brand Style…………………………………………………………………….……….20

 

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Brand Tone…………………………………………………………………………....21 Marketing Mix Product………………………………………………………………………….……….22 Price……………………………………………………………………………………...23 Place……………………………………………………………………………………...23 Promotion………………………………………………………………………………..23 Experiential Marketing……………………………………………………………..…23 One-to-one Marketing………………………………………………………………...25 Permission Marketing…………………………………………………………………26 Advertising…………………………………………………………………………....27 Promotion……………………………………………………………………..………28 Event Marketing..……………………………………………………………..………28 Public Relations…………………………………………………...…………..………28 Building Brand Equity……………………………………………………………..….29 Brand Associations Co-Branding……………………………………………….…………………………….30 Celebrity Endorsement……………..…………………………………………………….30 Brand Narrative………………………………………………………………………..32 Mantra……………………………………………………………………………….….33 Brand Trends The Individual……………………………………………………………………………34 Better Service………………………………………………………………………….…34 Easy Technology…….………………………………………………………………..…..34 PEST Analysis Political…………………………………………………………………………………..36 Economical…………………………………………………………………………….....36 Social……………………………………………………………………………….........36 Technological…………………………………………………………………………..…36 Brand Context Political……………………………………………….…………………………….…...37 Economical……………..…………………………………………………………..…….37

 

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Social……………..………………………………………………………………..…….37 Technological……………..………………………………………………………..…….38 Brand Future…………………………………………………………………….……..39 References………………………………………………………………………………41

 

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INTRODUCTION La Vie is a Chicago-based personalized office decor and design company that prides itself on providing professional, unique furniture for modern work environments. Quality and innovation intersect at the core of the company as it strives to identify your ideal aesthetic and bring the customer’s dream space into a living reality. The workplace no longer needs to be uninteresting or generic. La Vie spaces help to cultivate ideas, inspire creativity, reflect your brand identity, and allow for seamless productivity. The complete line consists of conference and meeting tables, filing cabinets, lamps, office chairs and stools, bookcases, storage cabinets, office suites tech accessories, and desk accessories, all of which can be customized. Interior design services are also offered that will completely transform your space based upon your specific, outlined preferences. With La Vie, technology is flawlessly utilized, convenience is always maximized, and style is never compromised. The company takes pride in the progressive work it provides for its consumers. La Vie is passionate about what it does and makes sure its consumers are given service that is incomparable to competitors. The brand’s store, products, and services are cutting edge and push boundaries. La Vie loves one-on-one experience, allowing consumers to work with designers throughout the whole process and verifying that they receive the look they envisioned.

 

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TARGET MARKET AND CONSUMER Description La Vie’s target audience is those who like having the best of the best out there, but don't necessarily like spending a lot of time purchasing or making decisions about product(s) they are interested in. This target market focuses on the Young Digerati. They are in their mid-thirties to upper forties, highly educated and work high-stress jobs with long hours but significant salaries (Urban Uptown, 2016). They use this hard-earned money and own Mercedes, have elaborate urban apartments, and carry the latest technology, but in purchasing these products, they are going to make sure that it is the fastest, most painless process. They’re busy and don’t like to waste time (Young Digerati, 2016). For instance, they aren't going to spend a lot of time designing every feature of their new Mercedes and instead will just ask for all of the best options. They won't spend time going to numerous stores to find furnishings for their apartment; instead they will hire a personal designer to do that for them. And lastly, they won't look into the details of the new iPhone 7 they are purchasing, but rather buy it because it's the new and improved version of what they already have. La Vie’s brand is not limited to just that segment considering it offers office furniture; however this market is one the company finds will respond best to its business and products.

 

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Ideal Customer

Carrie and her husband Sam live in a townhouse in Greenwich Village with their two greyhounds: Pippa and Luke. The couple, both 36, met at Columbia University while Carrie was earning her MBA and Sam his law degree. They have no kids but extremely successful careers as an advertising account manager and senior legal counsel for a media conglomerate respectively. They work over forty hours a week leaving time only for quick stops at fast-casual restaurants and coffee shops. Though, on the weekends, they enjoy a date-night at the best new restaurant in Tribeca and a visit to a Broadway show, and when they have more time they’ll take a trip to their family cabin in Maine. Carrie and Sam are socially conscious and enjoy donating their (little) extra time and money to numerous charities. CLC Placement In terms of the Consume Life Cycle (CLC), La Vie's consumer is an early adopter. Being that its target market are those in their 30s-40s, making very good money and living life on the go with no children, they would be ones to quickly make decisions about purchasing new products. However, since they have at least four years of college under their belt, if not more, they make educated decisions. La Vie’s consumer likes to spend money on the newest, hottest thing, but makes sure that the innovators have tested it out prior to

 

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make sure it is worth the purchase. They are conscious about spending their money but still want to stay current. Additionally, the company’s products keep up to date with innovations in technology. Each new technology needs accessories to go with it. These consumers are very tech savvy and therefore, will be using the newest technology as it comes out. Since they are early adopters in this category, they too will be with La Vie’s products that complement the technology.

Attitudinal Approach La Vie is cutting edge, professional, and modern, providing its consumer with a creative, cool work environment. The company wants each space it creates to show the personality of the consumer. The brand promotes individuality on a large scale for forward-thinking adults aiming to break the status quo. La Vie realizes that the business world can be fast-paced, so it offers the option of ready-made furniture and supplies, but also the option of designing custom offices, making it a quick, convenient and luxury process for its consumer. To convey this message, the company will use Email, social media, blogs, and magazine advertisements to send the attitudinal approach across to its customer. They are always on their phones, email, working, and being on trend. By using Email, La Vie would invite its audience to certain events, promoting the new collections in a professional way. The brand will demonstrate its modern, cutting edge, cool work environment on social media (i.e. Instagram and Facebook) by showcasing previously designed spaces and lifestyle content and also choose bloggers that already share the brand’s common aesthetic to showcase La Vie.

 

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SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths • Experienced leaders both on the creative and administrative side of the

business – helps founders and employees to understand how to run the business and what the customer wants

• Have a solid family dynamic that helps the sisters work together and remain committed to the business and brand

• Luxury atmosphere that leads to better one on one client service because the company wants to ensure quality

• Unique service of office furnishings and accessories not offered as a specialty in many other interior design firms

• Opportunity to customize any of the products to meet the unique personality of each of customers

Weaknesses

• Limited range of products that may be segregating us from a portion of the interior design market – people may not have jobs or the need for office supplies

• The number of store locations – store locations are only in major cities, while the company does have an online options people may prefer to shop in-store,

• The price point is high – target customers do earn a significant income but may prefer to use their money elsewhere

• A major opportunity for profit is the personal interior design business; however, this is only available in store as meetings are required

• Many of the products target individuals yet, often times, office furnishings and decorations are provided by businesses

Opportunities

• The number of employed interior designers rose from around 45,000 to 51,000 (nearly 13%) from 2014 to 2015 meaning that the need for designers exists and increasing. (Occupational Employment Statistics, 2015).

• No company holds a significant portion of the market share in interior design. This allows for an opportunity to expand market (Interior Designers in the U.S., 2016).

• Annual spending on decorative items increased by nearly $2,000,000 between 2014 and 2015 (Home Items, 2014).

 

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• The average consumer’s disposable income has continued to increase each year since 2013 (Consumers & the U.S. Economy, 2016).

• In 2006, U.S. companies spent $12.9 billion on new office furniture, according to the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer's Assn., which expects sales to grow 8% for each of the next two years as new ideas for enhancing productivity, like shrinking private cubicle space and adding cozy meeting places, gain traction (Crain's Chicago Business, 2007).

• It’s an evolution of retail,” Rome said. “Things are always changing and there are different things that are hot and different things that are not. So you always have to adjust to that (Menderski, 2016).

Threats

• Large furniture companies can make it difficult for smaller furniture businesses to attract customers when they enter a market (Greene).

• On average, 41% of consumers within La Vie’s age demographic and 35% in its income demographic are spending less overall on retail (Consumer Income and Savings, 2016).

• Corporate spending on interior design decreased by 23% in 2015 (Leuing & Zimmerman, 2016).

• In 2012, there were nearly 11,400 different interior design firms in the United States (US Interior Design Firm Statistics, 2012).

• Annual retail sales for furniture stores ranked 8th out of the 12 retail sectors in 2015 (Retail Sales by Sector, 2015).

• National or international chains can take advantage of brand recognition and reputation to attract customers, making it difficult for new furniture stores to attract a clientele (Greene).

 

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BRAND FAMILY

The parent brand is La Vie Chicago: an interior design retailer and designer. Within the parent brand are the sub-brands are La Vie Bureau – meaning office -- and La Vie Propre – meaning custom. These two sub-brands consist of specific office furniture and office accessories and custom interior design respectively. Both sub-brands were created since they complement each other well and help to create La Vie’s one-of-a-kind company

 PARENT BRAND

La Vie

 SUB-­‐BRAND  La Vie Bureau

 PRODUCT  

Office Furniture (desks, chairs, cabinets)

 SUB-­‐BRAND  La Vie Propre

 PRODUCT  

Office Accessories (filing, tech accessories, décor)

 PRODUCT  

Customizable interior design for the office

 

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ETHICAL MESSAGE

La Vie is committed to working with several organizations to help promote equal access to quality education for all students. The brand and products were created to help people be as successful and happy in their jobs as they can be. Many of La Vie’s customers got to where they are today by receiving valuable education. They were able to attend quality high schools that got them into top undergraduate and graduate universities. This education then played a part in them beginning successful in their careers. In supporting equal access to education, La Vie hopes to help students have the same opportunity. Everyone deserves to have the career and life they wish to live. Each year, the company donates school supplies to schools in the communities where its stores are located. Locally, managers also organize opportunities for employees to volunteer at schools in their communities. Nationally, La Vie works with the nonprofit Stand for Children to advocate for equal education opportunities and policy.

 

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BRAND RULES

Points of Parity • Chic: High end furniture company that offers the best for customers;

products are made with quality production materials and processes • Luxury: The prices of the brand’s products are not cheap and should not

be because of the quality; yet, they are still affordable for its target market • Multi-channel Purchasing: Products are available in stores, order through

catalog, website, or in store with sales associate • Urban: Company stores are mostly located in large cities and

headquartered in Chicago Points of Difference

• Professional: Product focus on office furniture and materials allows the brand to better understand how to help businessmen and women be the most productive in their careers

• Personalized Service: Customizable products, decor, and furniture. Along with extremely personable one to one service.

• Innovative: Up to date with newest technology in the business world and offers unique interior design in a new area – business foyers, work common spaces, and personal offices

• Confident: The products make a statement by challenging the standard of office design and making it personal for each employee without hesitation

Methods of Differentiation

• Create a clear and concise mission statement that outlines goals and keeps the company’s focus on creating products for professionals

• Make customer service a top priority to achieve optimal personalized service, creating a strong reputation in having top notch service

• Hire researchers to keep the company up-to-date with the newest advances in technology- incorporating these advances in the brand’s products and services

• Develop advertisements in magazines and effective social media profiles along with online bloggers that confidently portray La Vie’s progressive office spaces

While many competitors offer the same quality and price point of product as La Vie, they cannot match the level of one-on-one service and product personalization that the company offers. Each customer that comes into a La Vie

 

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store or views its catalogue will find an array of furnishings and accessories that fit each of their unique personalities. If they do not, they are invited to design their own custom version. La Vie design experts guide the customer through this process and help them find the products that meet their individual wants and needs. The brand is able to provide this quality service because of its founders and designers expertise in the office field. They study current business trends – especially technological ones – in-depth to ensure that their products help their customer be the most productive they can be and in a positive, creative environment. This specialization removes any other life aspects and lets La Vie know what its customer expects in their work life.

 

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SMART GOALS

• Each employee and designer must obtain at least 3-6 clients per month over the next 6 months, obtaining clients means full customer service as well at “clienteling” after first service. Employees and designers must make connections and be continuing to reach out to client in order to increase business.

• Reach at least 500,000 new customers by opening five new locations in cities throughout the major regions of the United States including the Midwest, New England, West Coast, South, and East Coast within the next year.

• As a brand, over the course of 5 months, La Vie should have pitched to at least 3 magazines as well as being featured in 5-10 blogs with 15,000 or more followers in order to help increase business and brand awareness within the city.

 

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BRAND HISTORY

In 1992, sisters Chloe and Amelie, traveled from Paris to the United States in hopes of a different lifestyle and to take advantage of the career opportunities in Chicago. Chloe was always unique and had a keen eye for art and fashion. Amelie on the other hand, was always good with numbers and loved the work environment of a large corporation. With that being said, Chloe got a job at Kaufman Segal Design and Amelie took a job at a small accounting firm. Two weeks after starting their jobs, Amelie mentioned to Chloe how shocked she was about how dull, boring, and non-creative the workplace, specifically the offices, was in the firm. Intrigued by that, Chloe wanted to make sure that Amelie herself had an encouraging work environment. After Chloe spent a weekend designing Amelie’s office, Amelie soon began receiving positive feedback and interest from coworkers. After Amelie relayed this information to Chloe, the sisters were inspired to create their own business in which they would sell and design high-end office furnishings for all personalities. Then Now

 

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BRAND ELEMENTS Element Consistency Overall, La Vie wants to present itself as professional and high-end. All of the brand’s visual elements are sleek and simple with clean-cut corners. Nothing is too over the top to distract from the basic mission of the brand: to provide customers with unique, quality office furniture. Still, however, La Vie wants to be seen as creative. Small pops of color show that while to brand is serious and professional, it still has a personality. This is just how the brand’s products will work for its customers. They are serious about their jobs, but want to showcase their individuality. This same fact is true for the “lettered” elements. La Vie – a foreign word – provides a high-end feel. The brand is foreign and somewhat unattainable, but its customers have access to it. They have exclusivity. Yet, the word La Vie means life. Again, this creates a sense of personality. The brand has life and wants to give it to its customers. Another aspect of the word elements is Chicago. The brand wants to stay true to its origins and the culture it was created in. “Chicago” along with “La Vie” are presented in every element aside from the slogan to emphasize what the brand is. Brand Name La Vie Chicago URL www.laviechicago.com Logo

 

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La Vie’s logo is home to the city it started in: Chicago. By incorporating the city into the logo it shows the roots of the business as well as the customer La Vie is attractive. Referencing the foundation of our brand makes the logo more meaningful to both La Vie as a company as well as the consumer. The consumer can begin to connect with the company’s brand story creating a stronger emotional bond. Additionally, this makes the logo more memorable. There is a reason behind it. It was not just simply made. Furthermore, the logo features the skyline of Chicago: something people already relate with and know. They have their own memories of the city and again make the logo more memorable.

Slogan “We design. You succeed.” We design, you succeed is a catchy slogan that does not over do itself. La Vie is a luxury office furniture and design studio that wants to constantly provide the feeling of luxury. By having a simple slogan to state this point, is a great way for people to remember La Vie. It directly states the service and mission of the brand telling the consumer what the company is about and how their needs are met. It is short enough for people to be able to memorize it as well as respond to it. It is understandable and precise. Packaging The boxes will be matte black with glossy black writing depicting La Vie’s logo. The boxes will stand out from others and make a modern statement. Inside will have colored paper that will protect the décor or furnishings. The inside of the boxes will also be patterned and colorful to match the paper. This packaging shows how the brand’s products bring “life” to the office space. We will customize the color choices depending on the aesthetic of the brand or individual we are supplying for. A letter addressed to the customer will be placed in the box to thank them and offer additional services. This appeals to our target consumer, as they will appreciate the personalized service.

 

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Our packaging is a stand out product itself, like many luxury brands where the packaging is just as memorable as the experience the company wants that to be incorporated with La Vie. Having black packaging with black matte letter is chic and sophisticated while still appealing to the eye – it is likeable. La Vie wants its customers to want a black La Vie bag/package. There is a meaning simply behind having the packaging. It means the consumer has high taste, high spending power, and high innovation. Even though it is larger in size, it is still a unique packaging that will appeal to our target market.

 

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BRAND STYLE La Vie’s brand style starts with professionalism but the personality behind the brand starts with creativity. The company wants its values to speak for the brand and what it stands for. The idea of putting customers first is extremely important to La Vie and is something it wants to be associated with its style. Since La Vie is a furniture company the idea of a character to help promote that style seems out of the target market and brand. The company’s style needs to come across in its logo and service it offers. The brand style will also capture a chic, sophisticated, luxury style. Additionally, La Vie works to add life into your day. Work can get monotonous and boring, but La Vie’s products make the day more interesting. It is not just work, it is your work and you are invested in it. Adding life into the workplace ultimately ads life into your work making you more productive. This factor will too be seen in the company’s advertisements. Some are comparative ads showing work with and without La Vie. They also showcase the accomplishments of the workers how they are more successful with La Vie. In terms of specific design aspects, the brand’s colors are primarily black and white. It adds a pop of color based on the customer's preference. The logo uses a light green, but this color can change if the customer desires something different. Textures are smooth with a mix of matte and gloss (for example our packaging) to provide a sophisticated and modern feel.

 

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BRAND TONE La Vie is first and foremost professional. The brand deals with office products and therefore, must act professional in its business relationships. La Vie understand the line between designer and client. It wants its customer to feel at ease, with that, the brand tone will be warm and inviting. La Vie clients are being serviced and treated as the elite they are but are able to express their ideas in a friend-like, casual conversation.

 

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MARKETING MIX Product Ready-made furniture can be purchased on an individual basis. La Vie’s brand ensures that its products are of the highest quality and the most technologically advanced. This is important, as they must meet the needs of customers in their workspaces. La Vie’s customers are tech savvy and very busy; they don’t have time for the obsolete or inadequate. Additionally, they have the money to spend and expect a high quality service from that spending.

• Office Furniture: Desks, chairs, conference tables, cabinets, shelving offered in various styles and sizes to fit each person’s individual space. They also come in a variety of styles and designs in order to match each customer’s personality.

• Office Accessories: Notebooks, pens/pencils, filing, organizers, lamps, rugs, computer accessories, phone accessories, and other decorations. Offer in the same variations as described above.

Interior Design Service: If the customer wants an entirely new office, but does not have the time or desire to make it on their own, they can work one-on-one with experienced designers to create a unique space that matches their personality. They can choose from La Vie’s ready-made-products to include in their space or have its designers create an entirely customized office with made-to-order décor.

 

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La Vie also prides itself on its one-to-one customer service. Its employees work individually with each client in order to find them the perfect office décor. Whether that be a designed or purchased space, customers are guided through the product options. They will know what they are buying and how it will help them. La Vie hopes its customers leave without questions and with satisfaction. Price La Vie considers its brand to be a high quality product – a luxury product. Therefore, in order to not diminish this image, our price point is high. Each piece of furniture, is anywhere from 1,000-5,000 dollars, and accessories anywhere from 20-500. This range is large because the company sells accessories from pens and pencils to computer accessories. New technology is obviously more expensive than a simple set of pens. The design service is charged by hour and depending on the depth of the project can cost overall 25,000 dollars plus the price of furniture. La Vie’s customer has money to spend and, therefore, is not affected by price. They value convenience over deal. Still this high price does not come without merit, however; La Vie’s customer receives a high value from the product: it meets their needs at work as well as making their time more efficient. Place Currently, La Vie’s store is only in Chicago; however, the company hopes to expand to other large cities. While it can be difficult for the masses to reach cities, it is where the brand’s target customer lives. La Vie wants to be easily accessible to them in their busy schedules. Additionally, this lack of access does contribute to the brand’s exclusivity and high-end brand image. Still to reach additional customers, a number of products are available online; and for a high price, designers can be sent to create your space. Promotion Experiential Marketing La Vie will open a Chicago pop-up shop on Michigan Avenue. La Vie has decided to model the shop to look like a box that our product would come in. This shop will look like a large shipment box that is black, with the brand name in black, glossy letters across the side. This shop will be an enlargement of the packaging used for office furniture products. Inside, the walls of the shop will resemble tissue paper and will be in a variety of colors to match the tissue paper that comes inside our boxes. The shop will feature several glass boxes depicting ideal office spaces created and designed by La Vie with real people acting out the

 

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process of doing work inside the space -- like a museum. Each glass box would feature a different area of the office: desk space, foyer, conference space, etc.

“Glass Box” Aspect

Additionally, the shop will have individual pieces of furniture and accessories that customers can interact with. They will be able to sit, use, and personalize the product. Each product will feature one color, but then there will be a personality quiz at each station, which will suggest options based on each customer’s preferences. It will then print out a description of each of the options for visitors to take with them. Ultimately, if each visitor interacts at each station, they will have a fully designed and personal office. The goal is for the consumer to see what La Vie can do, have an experience of customization, and leave with a visualization of what is possible for the future of their office.

 

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“Personality Quiz” Aspect

The launch of the pop-up shop will start with an event inviting businesses and bloggers whom La Vie hopes would influence a bigger crowd. The company will set up a La Vie Snapchat geotag to be used throughout the event to create and maintain buzz. One-to-one Marketing After working with clients and understanding their personal style, lifestyle, and needs, it is important to stay in touch with them. By doing this La Vie will create a one-to-one marketing which allows the brand to email/text our customers with new products or styles it believes they would like, or a notification about an technology update in a product they have previously purchased. After their purchase La Vie will also want to reach out with a personal handwritten letter thanking them for their trust in the company’s products and company itself. This way La Vie is connecting with the clients on a level that

 

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puts them at ease and lets them know the company is thinking of them when new products arrive.

Creating this clienteling is important with high-end customers because they will be more likely to come back and purchase from brands when that brand reaches out to them on a personal level. This is especially true if the brand knows what the customer would like. Loyalty and satisfaction are La Vie’s top priority, and this one-to-one campaign will show its customers that it did not forget about them after they completed a transaction and that it cares about the productivity and efficiency of their work place. Additionally, La Vie will use technology to track what its customers have placed in their online shopping cart and have yet to purchase. Doing this will allow the company to remind customers of the products they were interested in, the prices of the products, and if/when they will be going on sale. The company will also include online reviews from its clients as a method of reassurance and persuasion. Permission Marketing With this campaign, La Vie hopes to increase business for its personal design service. Many times personal service can be viewed as an expensive luxury – higher than the luxury the general company promotes – that all people could not afford. When customers create an account and make a purchase on La Vie’s website they will provide an email for confirmation and an address for shipping. Then, the company will send a promotion for a free half-hour consultation on a personalized design to this email or address. This will allow potential customers

 

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to test the service without consequence. The first step is to get the customer in the door. If they can see what benefits the personalized design will bring them they will be more likely to actually hire a designer for their own office.

Without a consultation, La Vie can tell customers what the personalized design service does and showcase previous or potential designs; however, customers cannot see how it would be specifically personalized for their wants, needs, and preferences. At a consultation, designers would ask what kind of design each specific customer would like and provide options based on those specifications. They would be able to experience the full range of color, pattern, and style options that La Vie has. They would be able to know if their wants could be met. First hand experience with a product always leads to greater action. A free consultation would kick-start this first hand experience.

Advertising

La Vie consumers are tech-savvy and always on the go, so the company has to reach them where they are. Thus, much of its advertising is mobile based. La Vie have banner ads and promoted posts on social media, such as Facebook and Instagram. These platforms are what the brand’s target customer frequents most. Additionally, they place AdWords on Google and video ads before videos on YouTube and online streaming (Fox Now, ABC Online, NBC On the Go,

 

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etc.). These catch the customer’s attention while they are doing other things. Therefore, these ads must be memorable. Promotion Due to our exclusivity, we do not offer any sort of loyalty program or discount – except for in special circumstances. (examples would be a free consultation after a purchase, price cut on out-of-date technology, or a lower price for mass design) Event Marketing La Vie’s event marketing meets its experiential marketing through the bold La Vie pop-up shop. The company will host an opening event, as mentioned previously, that will allow bloggers, influencers, and local businesses to have an exclusive first look at the pop-up shop. The event will serve cocktails and light appetizers for guests to enjoy as they experience the interactive shop. This form of event marketing not only will advertise La Vie’s services, but will also generate buzz about the pop-up shop and cultivate traffic for the duration of the shop’s existence. Aside from the pop-up shop launch event, La Vie will also hold blogger brunches before it announces every new line of product. Introducing the bloggers to our new products ahead of time will get our consumers excited about what La Vie is planning to produce. The bloggers will be prompted to post about their time at brunch as well as about the new product line. The brunch will be hosted at an aesthetically similar restaurant to the La Vie brand, a specific menu will offer guests both food and drinks, and strategic decor will make the restaurant more brand specific. La Vie will generate a geotag for all events it hosts, keeping a consistent means of sharing brand events via Snapchat. Social media will be the prime means of publicizing each event La Vie hosts and for marketing not only the event, but also the brand as a whole. Public Relations La Vie’s consumer is also very trusting of opinion leaders. The brand partners, as mentioned above, with design bloggers and other influencers to have them post about their experiences with the products on their blogs as well as their social media. Looking at blogs like, “The CHICago Life Blog”, which focuses on home, beauty, style, and people, as well as being based out of Chicago, as a benchmark, the company determined this type of blogger would be who La Vie would reach out to. Additionally, the company will partner with bloggers in numerous professions that its customer may work in such as the advertising,

 

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medical, or entrepreneurship field. This creates a greater trust in the brand’s product as well as better reaches the customer. Again they are busy. If La Vie reaches them in areas they are already taking their time to visit, it will be more effective. Building Brand Equity At the core of La Vie’s marketing mix is a) service and b) personality. The company has mentioned numerous times that it prides itself on quality one-on-one service. Quality service means positive experiences with the brand, and positive service leads to brand equity. Service makes the customer’s shopping experience easier. People, especially La Vie’s target customer, are busy. Anything that can make their life easier gives that thing greater value: in this case the brand. Furthermore, La Vie’s service is personal. They address the customer by name is all marketing elements and provide individual employees to reference (the handwritten letters or individualized emails for example). This personalization allows the customer to create a connection to the company. The stronger the connection, the stronger the emotional investment in the brand is. With an emotional connection, people care more about the company, thus giving it more value. Additionally, La Vie’s marketing emits personality. It highlights the uniqueness of its products through marketing such as its advertising, experiential marketing demonstrations, and connections with bloggers. There is something for every customer and their individual characteristics. The fact that La Vie’s products are unique in that not many other interior design suppliers/designers offer this type of office furniture already gives the brand extra value. But, this value is extended even further when customer’s can personalize the product. This means they are purchasing a truly one-of-a-kind product that no one else will have. This is especially present in the experiential pop-up shop. It emits exclusivity – even more so than the price. When customers feel that no one else can have the product they purchased, the value of the product, and in turn the brand, increase greatly.

 

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BRAND ASSOCIATIONS Co-Branding La Vie will co-brand with Sherwin-Williams to create a paint series that will help the customers pick the right paint with the furniture they’ve selected with help from La Vie designers. Paint is an important aspect to any design that companies like Sherwin-Williams are experts in. The co-branding will help La Vie become better known as well as help Sherwin-Williams reach new customers. Sherwin-Williams is a well-known brand that La Vie wants to have a successful collaboration that helps our customers get the best service as well as products they deserve. This collaboration could build La Vie’s brand equity by being associated with a well-known, large painting company.

Celebrity Endorsement By using a celebrity endorsement (a business couple or well respected celebrity) La Vie will be able to create relationships with people who share the company’s values as well as attract the target market. The company’s target market requires a well-known celebrity couple (or a celebrity with their lesser known spouse) that is respected highly by their fans. Using a celebrity endorsement will verify that La Vie’s service and products are for the “elite" and come in a quality a celebrity would have. La Vie could use celebrity endorsements on their personal pages, company social media, magazine spreads about renovations of their home office, or in their actual workspace. This could also lead to possible connections with their celebrity friends, which that could branch out La Vie’s business. Since La Vie is located - for now – only in Chicago - the company could create relationships with celebrities in (or at least from) the area. Potential

 

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partnerships include Giuliana and Bill Rancic, Oprah, Jennifer Hudson, Joan and John Cusack, Ben Savage, Dwyane Wade, or Jay Cutler and wife, Kristin Cavallari.

Bill and Giuliana Rancic Kristen Cavallari and Jay Cutler

 

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BRAND NARRATIVE Husband and wife, Carrie and Sam, rushed into the store around 6:00pm on a Friday. It was the end of the week, but their work as an advertising manager and lawyer was still not over. They had entered the store, but were finishing up emails and phone calls. Would it ever be their weekend? Once they were done, their meeting with the La Vie consultant began (which was only an hour because the couple had to be at a charity event by 8:00) Carrie and Sam needed a unique design for their office in their new Greenwich Village townhouse. Carrie’s co-worker had recommended La Vie after using it for her own office: one of Carrie’s favorites. So, the couple had high expectations. La Vie did not disappoint. The consultant was prepared. Over e-mail, she had compiled a list of the couple’s preferences, likes and dislikes, and needs and wants. She offered examples of previously designed offices and ready-made products that fit with their design style. Carrie and Sam saw how prepared she was and were confident in letting her take control of the design. After picking out a few key colors, textures, and ready-made products, the couple ran off to their fundraiser. Over the next week, the consultant created a storyboard to present to the couple. They next met at the couple’s home to finalize the design and prepare for development. Throughout the next month, designers worked at Carrie and Sam’s home to build their office. They found a schedule that would not interrupt the couple’s life-style or make it more stressful. In fact, neither Carrie nor Sam ever saw La Vie working. Once finished, the consultant met with the couple at their home for an “official” unveiling. It looked exactly like the storyboard and met all of their expectations. They would become repeat customers and recommended La Vie to all of their friends.

 

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MANTRA Perceptive Professional Design

 

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BRAND TRENDS The Individual La Vie is all about personalization whether its customer is using the personalized design service or purchasing ready-made products. La Vie’s founders created the brand in order to bring life into people’s offices. Every person has a different job style and a different personality. The brand’s ready-made products come in numerous different styles and designs to match the functional as well as the aesthetic needs of each customer. Furthermore, these products can be customized within limitations. If a customer wants no limitations, they can use the design service where interior designers learn our customer’s wants, needs, likes, and dislikes to design a fully customized office that no one else will have. In all, the brand works to make La Vie match the individual personality of every single customer that enters our store. Better Service Service is a major focus and differentiation of La Vie. The company realizes that each customer has an individual personality; therefore, general suggestions will not work for all of its customers. Working one-on-one with the customers allows La Vie designers to understand the customer’s wants, needs, likes, and dislikes. These unique preferences then let the designer suggest the most appropriate products. Furthermore, the brand realizes its customer is busy; they are always on the go. Therefore, they want to make the decision process as simple as possible. The designer will even take over the whole design if the customer does not have time for input. Additionally, La Vie continues service after a transaction or design is over. They want the customer to know that the company still values their service and has not forgotten them. The company continues contact to suggest further ways to better customers’ experience with the brand. Easy Technology La Vie knows that its customers are tech savvy. They use technology in their daily lives. They know how to use it, but we want to make it easier for them. The brand offers tech accessories for the most popular as well as upcoming innovations. Employees constantly measure trends and designers update products based on that research. Customers are easily allowed to upgrade their accessories for new technology at a discounted price. These accessories not only make technology use easier, but it also makes it personalized. Everyone has an

 

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iPhone, but La Vie customers have an iPhone with cases that match their specific personality: maybe even one that no one else has. Furthermore, La Vie reaches its customers through innovative technologies. Customers are busy and spend little time in traditional areas of advertising. Therefore, the company reaches them on the technology they already are using: phones, email, streaming services, apps, etc. During consultations designers use iPads to show customers all of the possible options they can choose from and how they can customize them. The store also has large television screens that will show the designs that have been made up for each customer (think of home improvement shows, such as Property Brothers, and how they show the clients how they will redesign the space.

 

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PEST ANALYSIS Political

• Donald Trump plans to “tell NAFTA partners that we intend to immediately renegotiate the terms of that agreement. If they don’t agree to a renegotiation, we will submit notice that the U.S. intends to withdraw from the deal” (Trade, 2016).

• “Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s tax plan would significantly reduce income taxes and corporate taxes, and eliminate the estate tax” (Cole, 2016).

Economical • "BIFMA reported a sharp decline in office furniture order growth—from

10% early in the year to 3% in the last couple months" (Sagami, 2016). • Overall retail sales increased by 3.4% after the summer months (Babb,

2016). Social

• 38% percent of work did a significant amount of their work from home (2016).

• Multifunctional, versatile furniture is catching on. With space at a premium, buyers want furniture that can perform multiple tasks and reduce clutter. (Fast Facts in Five)

Technological

• “E-commerce is not only the biggest source of growth in the U.S. furniture and home furnishings industry; it is also the largest source of disruption. Experts predict that online sales will reach $32 billion by the year 2018. This is due in part to online players like Wayfair and Amazon, but it is also attributed to traditional retailers that have ramped up their omni-channel capabilities.” (Fast Facts in Five)

• "Technology is not only fueling major business transformation across industries, it’s also changing how technology enterprises sell their products and services, operate, and plan for future growth, says Paul Sallomi, Global Technology, Media & Telecommunications Industry leader and US and Global Technology Sector leader." (Sallomi, 2016)

 

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BRAND CONTEXT Political The changes in policies that are forcible with the Donald Trump administration will not only change normalities in La Vie’s business but will change normalities with the company’s consumers as well. Trump potentially withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement could drastically increase tariffs on imports into the United States of America. If La Vie imports any materials from NAFTA partners, it must consider the possibility of these tariffs in the future. The brand will keep this in mind when choosing locations to important from. Donald Trump is also proposing tax reforms. The new tax policies will hopefully have a more positive impact on La Vie as whole. Its target consumer will have significant cuts in their income taxes, allowing them to have a larger disposable income to spend on our products and services. Trump also plans to cut taxes for business, which will hopefully allow La Vie to keep more of the profits to reinvest into our brand’s growth. Economical Because retail sales have increased significantly over the past year, this creates great opportunity for La Vie to increase sales. Though it does have a design service, at its base, the brand is in the retail industry. It sells a wide variety of ready-made office products. It seems as if the demand for retail in general is up and high. Therefore, La Vie may need to increase its production of certain retail items because more sales will be made. However, it was noted that retail growth for the furniture industry has decreased by nearly seven percent over the past year. This implies that the brand’s furniture sales would be consistent if not down. Furniture is a major aspect of La Vie’s brand and sales. If this trend proves to be true, the company would need to push the purchase of its other office products -- such as decorations and office supplies -- in order to increase sales in those product categories. Additionally, the brand may need to increase advertising and promotion for its furniture products in order to encourage sales. Social The fact that people are beginning to work from home more often creates a great opportunity for La Vie. If people are working from home, they need an office to work in. And, the more they work in that space, the better they will want it to look. Therefore, there will be an increased opportunity for the brand’s product

 

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sales and design services. This is increased by the fact that people’s homes reflect their personalities much more than their employer’s spaces. They have more freedom at home than in their business spaces. With this freedom, customers would have an even greater incentive to purchase La Vie’s personable and customizable products. Additionally, consumers have an increased interest in multifunctional furniture. This creates opportunity for La Vie to expand its product lines to reflect interest in this new product. The company needs to give its consumers what they want. Furthermore, multifunctional furniture is a new trend. Offering this type of product -- especially in an office specialization -- could create an even stronger brand differentiation than La Vie already has. The brand not only offers unique products in terms of style, but also in the type of product itself. Technological Since statistics have shown that e-commerce is the largest source of growth in the U.S. furniture and home furnishings industry, La Vie has the potential to be successful with their online sales. The company will work to make sure that all, if not more, of its products are featured on the site in order for people across the nation to be exposed to and potentially purchase our products. Although designing offices is a major aspect of La Vie, so are the products it produces. Consumers that are located in areas far from a store can still email consultants with questions and/or ideas for the offices they are thinking about designing.

 

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BRAND FUTURE The major focus of La Vie’s brand going forward is expanding into new locations. The company realizes that the world is more connected, and that there is a demand for its products throughout the country. With the current location of Chicago, the company’s customer reach is limited. There is an online store, but much of the product - especially furniture - cannot be reasonably shipped around the country. Furthermore, it is essentially impossible to receive La Vie’s unique, one-on-one personal design service outside of the Chicago area. The brand is a company of service and it wants to reach as many people with that service as possible. Therefore, La Vie is working to expand into other major cities throughout the United States including New York, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Dallas among others. The company wants to stay in cities because the city lifestyle and work ethic is at the core of the brand. It is what the founders intended in creating La Vie: to solve the issue of an uninteresting office for the city dweller. Additionally, while the company is expanding to other cities, Chicago will stay in its name. The Chicago atmosphere made the brand what it is today, and its future success depends on it. Straying away would mean forgetting where the brand came from. This expansion will allow La Vie to serve more customers personally and ship more products to more locations. Yet, the brand realizes that the personalities of each city are different. Just like each individual customer, each city has a certain style with different preferences and needs. So, while the company will keep its Chicago roots at the base of company function, its will use local designers within the stores. They understand the local customer better than La Vie does, and they will be the ones working with them. The brand needs their expertise in design and culture to give each of La Vie’s customers the best office that matches their individual personality. La Vie is also committed to creating designs and products solely for the office. There has been demand for the company to expand to other home categories, but this is not why it was founded. The brand knows offices and does them well. In order to continue to provide the best and most up-to-date office products for La Vie customers, this area needs all of the company’s attention. Expansion could lead the brand away from its mission and hurt its overall service, offerings, and performance. To expand La Vie’s office offerings however, the company will

 

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create more partnerships and collaborations -- similar to its existing relationship with Sherwin Williams -- that make the company more known and reliable amongst customers. The collaborations acquired will help to produce signature lines of furniture, accessories, and designs. These collaborations will be with certain brands or celebrities that resonate nationally as well as specifically to the cities La Vie is located in. These designs will be desirable among customers because those they respect or idolize inspired them. That being said, while the brand is limiting its product category, it is committed to offering the best products possible in office. To be the best, La Vie must be the most responsible. The brand completes as much of its production process as possible domestically. This way, executives are able to be in close contact with those involved and ensure compliance and quality. The company wants all of its workers to be treated fairly, well, and personally. Just like customers, La Vie wants its employees to know they are valued. If production must go abroad, employees do extensive research into choosing factories to ensure that they meet the same standards held at home. To demand compliance after executives leave, the president and other executives visit the overseas factories at least six times a year. This helps create stronger relationships with foreign employees as well. Outside of the production line, La Vie continues to give back to the communities through its partnerships with schools. The company has donated time, supplies, and money to many local Chicago schools and will expand this service to other cities as the brand expands its stores to those locations. The brand’s customers and communities give so much to La Vie, so its wants to give back to them. The company wants to ensure that every child will have the chance grow up and one day have their dream job in their own perfect office. La Vie wants all people to succeed the best they can in their own personal way.

 

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https://segmentationsolutions.nielsen.com/mybestsegments/Default.jsp?ID=38&id1=CLA.PZP&webid=&id4=U1&social=yes&filterstate=&sortby=segment_code&prevSegID=CLA.PZP

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