Week Nine EOC - Exercise

Everything that I love is clean and simple and modern. My favorite colors are neutrals, mostly black and white. If I had to brand myself my logo and personal style would thus reflect this about me.

Week Nine EOC - Discussion Questions

1. What makes the Brini Maxwell television personality unique? How does her personality benefit the brand?
Brini Maxwell is unique because it is a man delivering style, cooking, and homemaking advice that is so well received that the audience forgets or doesn't even realize that she is not a she at all. "I think I represent a certain type of woman that strikes a chord with people of a certain age because they remember women like me from when they were children- their mother, an aunt, or a teacher that had a distinct sense of style, a flair for decorating, and a knack for entertaining. "( Brand/ Story, p. 148)

2. What were the steps taken by Ben Sander to develop his character, Brini Maxwell? Was he successful? Why or why not?
The character started out as a different woman named Tigs Vanderveer, but it was decided upon that she was too stuffy. The character was to be the star of Sander's cooking show, which his parents funded by establishing V.R.U.S.P Productions. The new character he came up with was modeled after Stephanie Power's character Sabrina from the 1985 miniseries Deceptions. "Brini Maxwell was the iconic branded symbol, while the androgynous voice of Ben Sander reflected his knowledge of retro fashion, style, cooking, home improvement, and everything he knew that related to home advice." ( Brand/ Story, p. 146)

3. Why do you think Brini Maxwell made it into the national spotlight on television? What was her brand's message?
"With each broadcast of her show, Brini Maxwell demonstrates a new recipe, home repair, fashion segment, or interview. In the process, she creates a brand that is distinctly hers. Her reinvention of a bygone era pays homage to her predecessors while maintaining a contemporary sensibility, and exceeds the creative efforts of her current competition." (Brand/ Story, p. 143)

4. What do you think Brini Maxewell's target market is today? Why would baby boomers be drawn to watching Brini Maxwell
"My target market is primarily young and urban. There is also a little cross over into nostalgic baby boomers. Cities are the destination for making your own mark, which is what these young people want to do, ergo, our target market is young urbanites. The boomers find my brand appealing for a different reason. They see the nostalgia of what I do and find it comforting." (Brand/Story, p. 148)

5. Why were the iTunes podcast and and reproduction of her old shows as vidcast a smart step toward rebranding Brini Maxwell? Would you have done anything differently?
The podcast and reproduction of old shows was a smart step because it allowed Brini to stay in the spotlight after the show on E! was cancelled. I wouldn't have done anything differently. The internet is the best way to reach a huge audience and taking advantage of it is the only way for the brand to expand and be successfully relaunched.

Final Part Five: Name and Logo

“Fashion branding is the context that surrounds the garment as well as the image that designers, retailers, manufacturers, and promotional consultants create in order to encourage consumers to buy new items.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 5) An extremely important part of this image is the name that is chosen to represent the brand. After much debate, word play, and diliberation the name of the company is A.B.Citified. The name is a play on words as well as my own name that plays with the knowledgable consumer in a cheeky way. “Fashion branding can make fashion seem fun, exciting, innovative, and unique; fashion brands need a solid identity to be understood by consumers.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 5)

The idea of A.B.Citified is simple. The A.B stands simply for my initials, the owner of the company, Andrew Baker. After people come into the store and meet me, they will quickly understand this reference. The clothing that I create is clothing that I would wear every day of my life, it is not so much a fashion brand as a collection of clothing for how I feel a young, urban man should dress. By putting my name, and therefore my image in the brand name, it will build an element of trust with the consumer. “In the process, (he) creates a brand that is distinctly (his)” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 143) Citified may be a stretch for the average consumer but a young professional should be able to surmise (or quickly be able to look up) that citified means simply a characteristic of or adjusted to an urban environment. It’s a cheeky way to say that our clients reside mostly in cities and not rural areas. There is also a meaning the simple A.B.C letter choice. Dressing should be as easy in the morning as saying one’s ABCs, A.B.Citified creates clothing that will allow this to happen for the young gentleman. He can go into his closet and grab almost any variation of items out of it and with certainty leave his apartment looking his best.

As stated before this logo will not be splashed all over our clothing. Our brand is more about the clothing than the brand itself. We will still be branding ourselves but in a different manner than many of our competitors. “(the clients) may need a visual break, or moment to breathe. There will be a company that stands up and says ‘we are the anti-branding’ company. Think about it…an all white background with a pin dot in the center…you would remember this just the same as a font, bold color, or a jingle.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 133)

Final Part Four: Create What You Want Them to Look Like

“Branding is not just about the product; branding is also about creating a clear vision and strategy for a company.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 7) A.B.Citified is not a typical luxury fashion company. While many of these companies are concerned with putting their brand logo on every square inch of space on their merchandise in order to build brand recognition A.B.Citified will take a much less obvious approach. “This company has proven that if you sell a great product and create a great atmosphere, you can become a leader in fashion.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 90)

While the penned look of the A.B.Citified logo itself will adorn the tags of the clothing that is offered, it will not appear on the clothing itself. Instead of the logo, A.B.Citified will become recognizable by those who know the company by the iconic abrstract sketch of a city skyline that discretely adorns the clothing. Nowhere will the A.B.Citified logo and this skyline appear together. In this sense A.B.Citified will create a sort of cult following because in order to know what the well dressed gentleman sitting on the subway next to you is wearing that has this skyline sketch peeking out, one must have already purchased a piece of clothing from A.B.Citified or recognize that the sketch goes with the brand. This air of exclusivity will help to promote the A.B.Citified brand rather than hinder it. “The consumer looks for characteristic consistency of product, which includes quality, image, and what the brand stands for and represents.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 95)

The A.B.Citified store will match this simple, modern, masculine aesthetic that is offered by the clothing. “The store’s atmosphere is critical to successful selling of fashion brands.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 97) Creating a seamless experience for the customer from initial observance of the product, to seeing the store window, to shopping, and finally wearing the merchandise for themselves will become a seamless experience that will be vital to the A.B.Citified brand. This consistency will help to keep clients coming back for many years and create a loyalty within them that is invaluable to any retail company.

Final Part Three: Define Your Market/Identity

The target market for A.B.Citified is, and more than likely will always be, men who range in age from their early 20s to their mid 30s. Generally our clientele will live in larger cities where being sartorially inclined is not only looked upon with admiration but is almost expected, as well as respected, in certain professions. For the men in these cities who struggle to find a place in which they are comfortable entering and spending long amounts of time in (as is required for perfectly fitted, tailored suiting) A.B.Citified will become their haven. Much as Dolce and Gabbana became the go-to brand for fashion outsiders as Joseph Hancock described them, “If Cinderella ever needed to replace her fairy god mother, she would call Dolce and Gabbana,” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 53) so will A.B.Citified become that brand for the men of large urban areas in the United States.

A.B.Citified is all about helping the young, urban male stand out when making his sartorial decisions in his day to day life. Our products will be easily worn and incorporated into his current wardrobe, but will also feature some small ‘Citified twist’ that will make the piece stand out in a uniquely remarkable way without drawing an extreme amount of attention to the brand itself. “The design team creates products that sparkle and has managed to change the staunch and uptight image of luxury fashion, making it fun and exciting for everyone.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 53) Much the same as Abercrombie and Fitch became extremely well known for “(taking) basic garments and making them their own,” so will A.B.Citified for garments such as ties, cardigans, pants, and suits. (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 91)

Part of what may prove difficult for the fashion industry in creating connections to this particular target market is the intrinsic fickleness of the industry itself. In fashion trends are always changing and while something one purchases this week is fashionable, it may be out the next week when the individual first wears it. By creating classic pieces that will never go out of style because they avoid the obvious trendiness of other apparel A.B.Citified will not only have a consistent brand image but also gain a large of market of men who like consistency in their lives, especially in their wardrobes. “I think that consistency in one’s image, whether fashionable or not, is important, as is determining the image that one is trying to project to one’s fans.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 117)

Final Part Two: Who am I Aiming These Clothes At?

A.B.Citified is a contemporary sportswear brand that is aimed at young males whose ages range from early 20s to mid 30s. These individuals have a very limited number of fashion brands that cater specifically to them, thus making A.B.Citified all the more appealing. They will not have to worry about going into a boutique that they may feel uncomfortable in as the space will be designed with them in mind and filled with only clothing for them. By creating a highly masculine environment the brand will start to be known as a men’s brand and will grow quickly among the fashion conscious male in the city. “The connections between the consumer and product are made by providing a structure, method, and function for using a product." (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 24) In this sense A.B.Citfied will be providing a structure, method, and function for the brand as it relates to the young, urbanite, male. “These connections generate associations of identity and status in the consumer culture.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 24)

The A.B.Citified brand must be easily recognizable by these individuals in order to begin to gain acceptance in the mass consumer culture. In order to this A.B.Citified will create beautifully crafted clothing that will be made of high quality products and have a small, nonchalant, distinguishing factor (such as the red, white and blue stripes of Thom Browne clothing). “If the goal is building a business for the long term, the first and most important component is to have a good product.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 17) By creating high quality clothing we will not only gain the support of these 20-30 something males but also of their sons for whom they will buy the brand when they have reached the same age creating a continuous cycle of both new and repeat clientele.

Advertising for this type of clientele however will prove somewhat difficult, as it is our target market that is the hardest to reach. Many studies have been dedicated to deciding how best to reach and make this demographic spend their disposable incomes. “The work of these researchers in the area of fashion branding can be combined to conclude that meaning, associations, emotions, and storytelling are the key ingredients for building fashion branding success.” (Brand Story; Hancock, Joseph; 31) Therefore the advertising images and all marketing materials must depict the lifestyle of the ‘citified’ man and who he is and how he is regarded by all of his peers. In order to do this we will continually look back to the brand’s founding statement and ensure that all images are upholding the ideals provided in those sentences.

Week Eight EOC - Exercise

One idea for a product that doesn't already exist in the marketplace is a vending machine that offers a variety of supplies for mothers. These vending machines would be found in such places as malls, amusement parks, zoos, and generally every public place that families may frequent. Diapers, baby wipes, first aide kits, socks, pull-up training pants, baby formula packs, snacks for small children and toddlers, basic clothing items, and even Tylenol for mothers would be found in these vending machines. They would supply moms with necessities that are sometimes needed in an emergency or forgotten at home. This vending machines could be fashionable by offering things designed specifically for them by different designers every few months. This would give the items offered in the machines an exclusivity factor that would make the product even more desirable. Even if some of the things weren't needed, maybe stylish mothers would just start collecting the designer goods because they appeal to her fashion sense.