H&mweinfeld
- 1. WHAT’S NEXT FOR H&M? BY CAROL L. WEINFELD
- 2. BACKGROUND 12 years is an eternity in fashion. That’s the age of H&M in the U.S. When H&M first entered the U.S. market, its newness helped create its cool. It owned fast fashion, for its pace of bringing designer copies to market at an affordable price. Fashionable shoppers always look to the new. How could we reintroduce old H&M to consumers so that it is once again new and cool?
- 3. CORE OBJECTIVE OF THE RFP Reinvigorate H&M through the brand extension of a line of basketball sneakers Increase sales for H&M Specifically sell 1 million basketball sneakers in 2013
- 4. REASONS U.S. clothing sales have been flat for years (Source: Google Trends) Global footwear market to reach US $195.6 billion by 2015 (Source: GIA) = sales opportunity Sneakers are popular due to a focus on an active lifestyle. Fashion designers create comfortable sneakers, e.g. Isabel Marant’s popular wedge sneakers. At recent fashion shows and Fashion Weeks, fashionistas wore cool sneakers to match their outfits. (Source: dnainfo.com/newyork/20120910)
- 5. ISABEL MARANT SNEAKERS 3-snaps.com
- 6. BASKETBALL?! YES! Basketball players are now trendsetters and style makers in the U.S. They’re looked up to by the public. They’re cool. They combine street style and hipness, H&M’s and our customers’ core values.
- 7. WHAT DO WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE? H&M creates fashion. In the past, we copied designer looks and remade them at an affordable price. Our competitors American Eagle, GAP, Top Shop, Uniqlo and Zara also do that. We’re ahead of them in recognizing that our customers wear fashionable sneakers. We’re creating our own line of basketball sneakers. In partnership with hip designer Alexander Wang, 23, we have a line called H&M Basketball. The sneakers will cost $50 and be made of organic cotton.
- 8. WHAT DO WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE? We’ll use organic cotton since it is a brand value. Since 2010, H&M is the No. 1 user of organic cotton worldwide. The new line reflects one of our values, an entrepreneurial spirit. (hm.com) It will initially have a limited supply, since that creates exclusivity. We will build on our partnerships with up and coming designers by working with Alexander Wang.
- 9. WHO ARE WE TALKING TO? Fashion savvy 18-24 year olds M/F They know all the newest designers. They know what fashion is hot and what’s not. They love new art, film and music. They know trends and start them. They are aspiring fashion designers. They wouldn’t be caught dead in last month’s look. They wear fashionable sneakers. They wear Adidas Originals, Converse, Lacoste, New Balance, Nike, Puma (sneakers), TOMS and oxford shoes.
- 10. WHO ARE WE TALKING TO? They know that basketball players like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade have stylists. They know that players started N.B.A. trends, like wearing geek chic glasses (WSJ.com, 6/14/12). They look to basketball players as tastemakers, and will follow them. They know that Christian Louboutin, Lanvin, Louis Vuitton and Versace make sneakers. Converse partnered with Missoni for limited edition sneakers. It’s natural for street style H&M to align with street style basketball.
- 11. CONVERSE/MISSONI SNEAKERS Nicekicks.com
- 12. HOW WILL WE COMMUNICATE? Let our customers promote our brand. Interact with it by designing their own sneakers on a dedicated site, hmbasketball.com. The best design wins an internship with Alexander Wang. Inspired by Uniqlo Jump, H&M will present an online film with pro basketball players dressed fashionably, wearing our sneakers and shooting hoops. They will donate their fees to our charity with UNICEF All for Children. The film will be distributed to street style fashion bloggers, like The Sartorialist, StreetPeeper and Hanneli.
- 13. HOW WILL WE COMMUNICATE? A pop-up shop will be created for the sneakers. Clothes will be displayed with the sneakers, for outfit inspiration, but the focus will be on the sneakers. Pop-ups emphasize limited quantity, which is a cachet for fashion brands. They translate to fashion exclusivity, which is desired by our target. Celebrities whose style is similar to H&M’s will make appearances. They will be from the worlds of art, film and music. Possible stars are Chor Boogie, Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellie Goulding, Pink and Swedish House Mafia. Promote on our Instagram. Visitors will share photos on Instagram and with their friends.
- 14. HOW WILL WE COMMUNICATE? Our customers follow runways on YouTube, so let’s make our own. It includes models and basketball players in the H&M store and will be shown live on YouTube. Viewers online could vote on their favorite sneakers, and share the runway with their social networks. While watching the runway, viewers could purchase sneakers online by being directed to the H&M site.
- 15. WHERE WILL WE COMMUNICATE? Budget: $3 million H&M basketball site Hoops film Pop-up shop Runway in store Fashion magazine ads Banner ads Instagram Twitter Facebook
- 16. COMMS STRATEGY AWARENESS INTERACTION PURCHASE HMBasketball.com Pop-Up shop Store runway Blogger outreach Instagram Live online runway Design your sneaker Twitter Banner ads Basketball film Facebook Website Magazine ads Earned media
- 17. HOW WILL WE MEASURE SUCCESS? 1 million pair of sneakers sold Increased clothing sales of 20% online and in store Increased word of mouth Increased brand awareness 250,000 YouTube runway views
- 18. THANK YOU Carol L. Weinfeld @clweinfeld