Week 9 Personal Brand

For my personal brand I would create it using a website and an app since we are advancing into a more app based community. As discussed in today’s lecture a lot of methods are being taken to interact with consumers such as emails or special discounts through apps. My brand would be an upper-middle class brand where every consumer can afford to purchase a product since a lot of retailers are focusing on targeting everyone now. My logo would be something sophisticated, innocent, and quirky that would describe what type of brand I’m offering. The logo I had in mind is a bow with some crystals and dots that revolve around the bow of the brand. These ideas for logos show some class without losing that playful aesthetic of the brand. The business cards would be designed with pink colored dots and in the back of the card a Qr code where you would scan it and it would direct you to the website or app. The pink color for our brand represents romantic, affectionate, happiness, and admiration. The dots represent our values which are the power to strive and be outgoing, spontaneous, and playful. For our theme song we would collaborate with Taylor Swift or some famous Japanese artists since our brand is Japanese inspired. My brand would sell clothing but would also cater accessories that have the unique playful aesthetic. My target market would cater to women around the age of 22 to 35 that love to outgoing and daring but playful at the same time. My brand would actually be shown on the web because as a technological community we are progressing more into the internet rather than television. A lot of companies now are focusing on the web since a lot of people are more on the web than actually in store. My brand will be merchandised through ads online and personal company blogs that give more insight on what to combine our products and news on what the brand is coming up with.

Week 9 Recording Artist

Taylor swift is one of today’s hottest recording artists that has been rising within the pop culture. Through her website you can learn about her history in order to fully understand her roots and where she has been since starting as an artist. In her “My Life” section she talks about herself and explains her likes and what she does on her days off. This section pretty much gives some insight to the consumers and pretty much sells her as a brand to a public. This website is also a news based website as well that gives information as to where she is and what she has been doing. It also talks about her live events and what magazines she has been collaborating with. She also sells her tickets on her website and gives that dates and the times of her performances in each state. She also merchandises through her websites which directs you towards the shop that gives you a full line of jewelry and clothing. All of the clothing and accessories all have a her name or initials that has her name in a different color or fabric on the clothing. Taylor also offers users her full album online in case no one can afford her album. Users just click on the music section and starts listening to the music while the read the latest news on Taylor or shop on her page. The media section offers her music videos and other media related videos that she has been collaborating with. Some of the videos are commercials shot with famous brands that have wanted to collaborate with Taylor in order to improve their brand. Taylor’s website is loaded with a lot of information as well as merchandising. Not only does the website interact with the users, it also lets them create an experience through her website which ties into merchandising.

EOC Chapt 6 Questions

1.    Compare services to products, and examine the difference and/or similarities in their branding process.

Products are mainly items that fill a need in a persons life. For example a person is having a bad hair day and they are selling hairspray or a new comb to help that problem that person will be satisfied." "A product is usually fullyexperienced by the consumer after the purchase decision has been made; in thecase of retail shopping, a major part of the experience is consumed andevaluated before the purchase decision is made". A service is intangible and will usually fill in emotional needs. Example would be after buying that comb or product it makes you feel better and adds a sense of empowerment or happiness.

2.    Define retail concept, and briefly discuss its role in the positioning strategy of a retail brand.

A retail concept will be a mixture of a service mix and the business model. Discussed in the book "The RETAIL CONCEPT is the business model and retailphilosophy adopted by the brand". It will include the four P’s which will then build upon the business model.

3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of franchising as a global growth strategy?

Advantages of franchising would include giving the rights to a retail business for more profit. It often includes the franchisor offering its products and services to the franchisee which will then be sold by the franchisee.  Another advantage is  "a source of revenue. The structure of fees can differ, but in generalit is a combination of a one-time fee and a percentage of sales that can bearound 5 percent. Sometimes a minimum monthly payment is guaranteed even ifmonthly sales did not cover the royalty fee". A disadvantage would be "Lack of control and possibledifficulty in monitoring a large chain".

BOC Week 7 Retail Visit

Last week during my break at work I decided to visit Diane Von Furstenberg. While looking around the store was fairly small this gave enough room for me to see some of the merchandise. The floor plan of the store was a mixture of a diagonal floor plan and Straight floor plan. The clothes were all hung on racks and all of the clothes were set up next to each other. Around the back of the diagonal wall was another rack with pieces of clothing that made it mysterious and exciting. The colors of the store were bright and at the same time a bit dim. The atmosphere of the store was a sophisticated yet playful and luxurious that I felt very excited and interested in seeing the pieces.  The salespeople were fairly nice and approached me to assist me in anything. I talked to one of the salespeople about the history of the company. The young lady had given me quite a lot of information about the company that it made me love the brand even though I did not know what the brand was before I went in. The stores visual displays were very playful and very limited which gave the store an advantage of showcasing their pieces without overly exaggerating the window. I noticed that less product and displays add a higher end appeal to the store and also help it become more interactive with the customers as opposed to going into an H&M. I felt very connected to the store as well as the employees as we discussed more about the company and the store. The uniform for the sales employees were more of an upscale dressy uniform as opposed to a dressed down black look like Burberry employees. The colors in the store connected with the display window and I felt as this was done purposely to add more detail to the clothing. The store also had a television in the wall that showcased Diane’s collections and fashion shows which added more high class to the store.  Diane Von Furstenburg is not all about play it is about mixing playful with sophisticated to create a cohesive upscale look.

EOC Week 6 Bruce Weber

"He’s a big man with a large face and probably more suited to playing a mall Santa than being our fashion icon."World known Bruce Weber is one of the most influential photographers to start Abercrombie & Fitch. His passion was shooting surfers and people that represented the California free spirited lifestyle. Way before the world became obsessed with beachy environments and stories Weber had been welcomed to this lifestyle by surf legends Herbie and Debi Fletcher. His work and photos were published in one of the issues of the beach brand magazine. Surfer Danny Dimauro was asked to conduct an interview with him to talk about how the Fletchers interacted with him. Bruce Weber today is a figure in the fashion world as well as photography. Brands that Bruce Weber has worked for in the past are Ralph Lauren, Versace, and Calvin Klein. His book published in 1983 known as “Bruce Weber” has sold 10 times what is should have sold. He started Abercrombie and Fitch campaigns since 1993 and still till this day works with them. He has lifted the image of photography into a form of art that is mesmerizing. Not only does Weber photograph people he also has honors in filmmaking. When Weber first started taking his steps into the industry he had studied theater before enrolling in NYU. Lisette Model and Diane Arbus were his first instructors in photography.  Rody Mcdowall opened the world of photography actors and lead Weber towards his success. The first actor that Weber had photographed was Jan-Michael Vincent in the 70’s. Bruce Weber quotes “I had an acting class, and I was really terrible as an actor,” he says. “But, somehow,it was between me and Dustin Hoffman for The Graduate. I had to do a screentest for Mike Nichols. I am so happy I didn’t get it.” Bruce was more interested in photography than acting. Bruce’s photography always has at least an animal in it and the reason why he quotes is “I always feel kind of at peacewhen there are some animals around.” Today he still works with these big brands and works hard at creating beautiful art through photography.

Works Cited:  http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2013/03/hollywood-portfolio-bruce-weber-bob-colacello

http://daman.co.id/style-icon-bruce-weber/

http://www.thefader.com/2013/03/27/bruce-webers-photographs-of-surfers/