To find more of my work, please visit

my website ‘PLUS ULTRA DESIGN’

We developed our concept based on a sustainable cafe, offering locally farmed products. I always had a special interest in creating brand identities for complex ideas, and this was a challenging one.

Moreover, a study of the area was done, in order to analyze the market situation. The creation of the brand elements and touch points followed after.

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For the development of the website, we took into

consideration two things. The first one, to have an integrated map to show our local suppliers, and where the raw materials come from. And the second one, the simplicity to allow every end user a quick and fast understanding of how to surf the page.

As it can be seen, the aesthetics and graphics of the concept are very simple and have a home-made type of look. This was intentional since the concept was going to be located in a countryside area. Where the community spirit and the relationships between neighbours are the principles we were trying to bring together into the living room.

identity.

Campaign

Promotion

Successful campaigns are created based on

good preparation and briefing. They are the foundation of a creative, distinct communication. The sustainability project brought to us the opportunity to experience real life issues that affect the environment within the fashion industry. The development of the promotion channels and visuals was a key factor to successfully achieve a comprehensive understanding of the product.

Thanks to the sustainability lectures we were able to get insights into

issues relating to sustainability and environmental impact. Alongside with the Ethics code of conduct from firms and companies, the use of sustainable materials for a sustainable production. We took a close look into the manufacturing processes of large enterprises.

For this purpose, we applied different theories, analysing the environmental impact of processes applied from the manufacturing processes. A fundamental aspect of the sustainability project was relating relevant theory to company requirements , preparing a strategy and drawing up an action plan for a company’s implementation of sustainable design , as well as the introduction to the ”cradle to cradle” lifecycle concept (Material know-how • Labelling schemes • Corporate Social Responsibility-CSR)

sustainability

Our research follows the TCEO model framework* Our aim is to strategically plan a closed design- and

economic cycle of the new merchandise product, with a sustainable approach to each stage of its consumption. Our youth-to-youth strategy’s milestone is functionality – we do not solely aim at raising long-term sustainability awareness, but also at supporting young people who want to make a change. Therefore, sales profits would be used to sponsor The Fabric Source - the first Nordic sustainable fabric platform, created for the fashion- and textile industry.

Internship

Graphic design

During the 3th semester I managed to

combine the Advanced Adobe elective to work on top my research question from my internship. During this course we learnt how to build and reshape branding identities. Which was very combinient, due to Karup’s lack of strong brand identity. So I focused on the creation of a new image for Karup. Readjusting the logo and updating some of the marketing materials that they used for the fast track campaign.

my internship took place at Karup Partners A/S. my

primary task was to work on campaign development for a certain selection of products called (fast track). The aim was to develop a permanent stock so the delivery time could be reduced to two weeks from date of purchase.

Among other responsibilities, I also worked doing international sales; taking care of clients, making confirmation orders and controlling the supply chain

Multimedia development

The recording of the Fast Track videos was possible thanks to the collaboration of Herning’s library, allowing Karup using their spaces. The interior design of the library was a suitable location for the video’s background and from a logistics point of view it also was a very accessible place for all the team.

Behind the scenes

Video

Supplementary Written assignment

introduction

Acne Studios is a multidisciplinary luxury fashion house based in Stockholm, Sweden with own-brand retail stores in locations around the world. It was founded in 1996 as part of the creative collective ACNE. The fashion house offers men's and women's ready-to-wear fashion, footwear, accessories and denim, as well as special artistic collaborations and one-off projects. I have chosen this brand due to its uniqueness, and the mind-set they have towards modern advertising and marketing. Along this assignment I will analyse and study the 3 topics proposed regarding brand equity, loyalty, awareness and identity.

Brand loyalty / awareness

The firm Acne has a very particular approach to marketing, in fact, they are not practicing any type of what could be considered traditional marketing. The roots of this Swedish company still prevail over the lucrative business of the fashion industry. They are fortunately holding back to the principles with which once they built the firm. The creation on unique garments and high quality are the main value propositions of Acne. This exclusivity is what drags in the customers which could be considered ‘’most loyal’’. The fact that the firm doesn’t put a spcific focus on competitors, allows them to strenghten other areas such as design and the brand performance. Furthermore this type of marketing strategy could be related to the ‘’Blue Ocean Strategy’ – (W. Chain Kim & Renee Mauborgne,2005). So instead of fighting agaisnt the big players in the fashion industry such as Zara and H&M, Acne Studios has opted to create an uncontested market space by rebuilding the market boundaries and taking a closer look at the bigger picture.

This could explain why such a young brand has such a loyal customer base, in many cases it could be related to the fact that the brand is not trying to trick in the end users with elaborate marketing campaigns or propaganda. Instead, they are focusing on the design of the product which will ensure consumer’s satisfaction and also will attract potential new clients.

One of the ways Acne is trying to spread awareness is by taking advantage of the celebrity’s image. This practice is not new in the advertising business, but it’s certainly effective. A curious side of this approach, which other firms don’t do, is that Acne does not force celebrities to sign any copyrights contracts with them. But instead, they are freely to decide and wear Acne’s garments. A commonly used strategy by Acne, is the combination of fashion, entertainment and technology which allows the brand to have more flexibility in different market conditions, being more versatile and proactive to face industry changes. Instead of spending their whole marketing budget on traditional advertising and marketing, Acne, as many others, are taking advantage of the social platforms to create and retain brand awareness. A large portion of the customer base is under 30 years old, and Acne knows that the best way to approach them is through social media. Being activelly present on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Acne is making sure that they stand out, and that their customers are aware of upcoming events and newsletters, being able to recognize this, is called brand salience. Because in the end is not only about creating brand identity and awareness, but the fact that you are trying to ensure the correct brand perception from the end-users (Keller,2012)

‘’in order to have a strong

brand, you have to direct how customer think and feel about your product. Trough experiencing you need to ensure that customer have specific, positive thoughts, feelings, beliefs ,opinions and perceptions about it. When your brand equity is strong, customers will buy more of that certain brand, they’ll recommend it to other people, they’re more loyal and less likely to lose them to competitors’’

(Keller, 2012).

Brand associations

It could be argued that Acne’s products perception are slightly edgy and unconventional. But nevertheless Acne stands for high quality products and the end users know the brand integrity and code of conduct, this is what defines one of many points of difference. The approach of delivering a long-term, high quality, durable garment is another differentiation factor from other fashion brands. It is obvious that exclusive plus quality does not come with cheap prices, but this is another differentiating fact, which enables Acne to be more selective. As well has not having a need to create ‘’Fast Fashion Strategies’’ as Zara does. The lack of need to manufacture products that last for one season, benefits and speaks for the product oriented decisions.

Acne has a design driven and aesthetics strategy to the products they make. What this approach does to the company, is to generate innovative ideas, push forward and distance Acne’s image from any close competitors. As a matter of fact, Acne’s product represent the core identity of the brand, that’s why so much thought and detail is put into them. This is what will bring the consumer experience around the brand. Along with the design and innovation lines, Acne counts with its own private photography study and magazine. The first one, enables the brand to have complete freedom and doesn’t depend on any external contractor to create projects or try new ideas (this is where the innovative aspect kicks in). The second one, the magazine enables the brand to promote and advertise.

Having your own magazine, means that you have your own platform to show exclusive content, spread news, promote and create a newsletter subscription base, for loyal customers. These brand extensions build on top of the brand equity already stablished by the clothing brand, benefiting each other and being bidirectional channels of communication. Owning and managing your communication channels creates a familiar and comforting feeling towards the customers, which ease the advertising and marketing promotion, at the same time offering unique and unexpected content. Furthermore, we could argue that such characteristics are very likely to build trust among costumers and strengthening the principles for which the brand stands and supporting their products.

Acne studios have always been pioneers on customer service, making it a key unit of the brands value proposition. In my opinion Acne has a strong brand equity and the brand elements are carefully aligned in perfect balance with the brand’s mantra. Although Acne is not a brand that every individual would know, it has a great potential to become a ‘’non-mainstream’ firm, exclusive, demanded and outstanding. I would suggest Acne to continue with the non-advertising strategy, and sticking to the original principle that the founder of the company stated. Just as Levi Strauss stands for durable, high quality jean, Acne therefore should stand for high quality, unique fashion garments. Some small adjustments could be done on some social media platforms.

In order to avoid losing media traffic, Acne could improve or try new social media strategies to strengthen and revitalize its presence online. Apart from that, Acne has proven to be different, innovative and not another street brand, but yet a multidisciplinary brand – design – consulting collective.

To finalize with, is worth mentioning that the firm has done a great job in terms of packaging, making it memorable for the costumers. Every customer would recognize instantly the packaging for its distinctive pastel pink color and the contrast with black details. The materials used are a representation of the company’s meaningful taste and likeability.

Making Acne a closed-circle brand, leaving very small gaps exposed.

Brand identity Continuing with the core identity attributes from Acne studios, we could link it to the previously mentioned packaging. The minimalism and simplicity of these pastel pink bags and boxes are a great way to generate memorability through positive attitude and familiar feelings. This is a unique set of brand associations that the brand aspires to create (David Aaker’s Brand equity model, 2002). This contrast between the packaging and the customers is what creates a funky look, since a soft pastel pink color is mostly perceived as feminine. At the same time, the color is very versatile and easily combinable as well as fashionable.

Moreover, the packaging helps differentiate Acne from other competitor, creating a unique set of associations for the customers. The packaging can help retrieving information about the brand and its personality. If we continue looking at the brand associations, we might as well take a close look into the extensions that the firm has. Acne Studios are known for its collaborations with other upcoming and sometimes unusual brands. This can be explained by the simple fact that Acne is a very unusual brand with unusual characteristics. So as it can be expected, Acne tends to find partners brands that share the same aesthetics, excentric personality and a bit of extravagance. It has been shown that collaborating with excentric brands helps Acne to reach out to more potential customers, and benefits in both ways to Acne Studios and the other party. This sort of excentric behaviour is a great way to build awareness, by catching the eye of the unexpected and yet, hooked costumers. Nevertheless, Acne has not only applied this strategy on their designs and promotions, but also on the way they set up their shops. Instead of studying the markets for the best located and most profitable location, and once again they are moved my aesthetics and personal preferences. In fact, this charismatic attitude not only brings awareness but it also provides value to the firm by enhancing its identity.

Functional: Other of the proprietary brand assets from Acne, is that they create value by having a wide variety of products. It could be contradictory that such exclusive brand has such a wide range of fashion products. But what it does, is the creation of a functional benefit from a consumer point of view.One of Acne’s main value is to provide the best attributes from their garments to provide customers with the functional utility that these have.The option of having different garments from shoes,jeans,coats,T-shirt gives the customers more possibilities as well as satisfying more needs. Likewise, Acne’s apparel is different,disruptive, intriguing but yet functional and easy to wear. This factor brings more purchasing decision options and generates confidence.

Emotional: Continuing with the emotional benefits found in Acne’s products, we could argue that the brand has a sense of uniqueness and exclusivity, the quality has shown to be superior an this influences the purchasing decision process. It is an advantage which provides the opportunity for the individuals to communicate something, and bring a message across by their own image.

Self- expresive: The design of the garments also allows certain people to enjoy a self-expresing benefit, which other competitor brands don’t offer, because Acne is more exclusive and individualistic.

Value proposition Once the research of the brand equity, along with the brand identity elements has been done, the next stage for building a strong brand (Aaker 2012) can be done. Acne studios have a design value proposition which can be communicated by the wide variety of exclusive products they offer. The core message of the brand tries to approach customers that seek for a unique perspective on fashion and are highly demanding with quality garments. The functionality and easy-to wear product from Acne, are the key component for delivering the shopping experience.

Main acne values

Speed of service

Design- costumer experience

Unique garments

Different approach to fashion

Reliability and trust

Brand positioning statement Acne Studios Apparel aims to strive the best of fashion, but remaining unconventional and innovative. Breaking away from the mass producer firms, with seasonal garments and a consumer advocate approach, waste generating industries such as H&M and Zara.

Acne stands for durability, offering a high endurance product which will last more than just one season. The detail put into their design and the materials used, ensure that the customers will get the best performance, comfort and quality out of each garment. This is what will bring back loyal customers satisfied by the truth about the brand.

Furthermore, the special aim and thought put into their designs, inevitably becomes an asset for Acne. The authenticity and edgy patterns are the eye-catcher for clients looking for that extra originality when purchasing fashion. This distinctive character or personality, if preferred, is what differentiates Acne Studios from other fashion competitor. Allowing Acne to sail on the blue oceans as they please, making easier to come up with unexpected designs and experimenting, while the rest of the competitor fight over large segments of the mainstream customers. Diversifying and being specific focused on a smaller segment of the target group is what makes Acne successful. As well as remaining loyal to the originally set principles by the founders. Not giving up into the brands first statements is what will ensure a prosperous future development for Acne.

References

Aaker, D. (“Building

Strong Brands”), Simon & Schulster, 2002

Acne Studios website: (http://www.acnestudios.com/dk/en/ ) Accessed 25-03-2016

McElheron, P., (“What You Should Know about

Branding and Marketing”) September 2012

References

Article: ‘’ How to Succeed in Fashion without Trying Too Hard’’ by Lynn Yaeger (2015) – Link: Accessed 26-03-2016 (http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324678604578340402927911328 )

Daniel Carlsten website (Acne’s Packaging) Accessed 24-03-2016 (http://danielcarlsten.com/acne/)

Acne Studios website: (http://www.acnestudios.com/dk/en/ ) Accessed 25-03-2016

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