Branding Individual Assign PDF

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Summary

branding project...

Description

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Table of Contents 1. Executive Summary 2 2. Introduction 3 3. Brand Core Values and Brand Related Attributes 4. Brand Portfolio

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5. Brand Elements

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6. Evaluation of Marketing Mix………………………………………………………………………………...5 7. Evaluation of Brand Position and Target Market……………………………………………………7 8. Critique of Brand Equity………………………………………………………………….......................7 9. Potential Threats to Brand Equity………………………………………………………………………...8 10. Actionable Recommendations………………………………………………………………................8 11. Conclusion…………………………..………………………………..................................................9 12. Bibliography……………………………………………............................................................10

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1. Introduction:

This report begins by introducing Chanel’s history, brand equity, brand core values, and brand related attributes. Chanel originated in France but is now one of the top brands worldwide, and ranks as one of the most desirable among luxury consumers (Brun & Castelli, 2013). Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel created a brand ahead of her time in 1913, with logo and brand attributes that ooze sophistication and luxury that remain the same to this day. The country of origin in France also plays a role on brand image relating to cognitive linkages of ‘stylish and high quality’ (Brun & Castelli, 2013). Just before the 1920’s perfumes were rich with ‘animal musk.’ Coco believed that a fragrance should be fresh and reflect on the liberated spirit of a woman, and therefore decided to enter beauty products (DailyMail, 2018). After 5 attempts, Chanel went on to embody her bold yet feminine attitude in ‘Chanel No. 5,’ hence the name, and it ended up being one of the best-selling perfumes of all times. To this day the perfume is sold ‘every 30 seconds around the world’ (The Telegraph, 2018). This report will highlight Chanel’s entire brand portfolio to effectively demonstrate Chanel’s power as a brand, but a concentration will be on an evaluation of Chanel No. 5.

2. Brand Core Values and Brand Related Attributes

Chanel’s core values are derived from the brand’s character, which is Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel herself (Alston 2014). She represented strength and dignity, whilst radiating an elegant and classically feminine attitude. When No. 5 was released, it was considered to be highly innovative and disruptive to normal fragrances at the time (DailyMail, 2018). She embodied the camellia flower within her brand’s personality, which was described as a symbol representing ‘sensuality, playfulness, and the women’s spirit.’ Consequently, the camellia flower has been represented as an accompanied symbol to the brand (Wordpress, 2018). Even after Coco passed away in 1971, Karl Lagerfeld took the reigns as creative director and continued to embody Coco’s bold spirit as the true character of the brand. Chanel’s famous quote

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was to always be ‘classy, fabulous, and authentic’ and this is translated as the unofficial slogan within the company (Brun & Castelli 2013). Brand attributes and benefits are personal values and meanings consumers attach to products (Keller, 2013). Chanel has positive brand associations relating to luxury and status, and is at the top of their demographics minds. Chanel No. 5 is the first perfume to stay exactly the same since being first developed and so highly successful throughout decades (Alston 2014). Chanel also has many favourable intangible brand associations, such as being successful, feminine, and classic (Aaker & Biel 2013).

3. Brand Portfolio

Chanel originated selling hats, before opening the first haute couture house after her reputation was firmly established. The brand’s personality was easily transferable to many brand extensions, and therefore went on to make fragrances, accessories, fine jewellery, fashion, licensed products, makeup, and skincare. All of these brand extensions are under the strong umbrella of the core Chanel brand values, slogans, logos, and brand themes. The product positioning of the brand portfolio can be

Figure 1: Brand

defined as classic or

Portfolio

modern, and

(Informational

accessible versus

Source: Brun &

highly exclusive

Castelli, 2013)

(Brun & Castelli 2013).

4. Brand Elements

Brand elements aid to ‘identify’ and 4

‘differentiate’ the brand, and six criteria will be discussed to demonstrate how Chanel has built brand equity through the branding elements (Armstrong et al. 2012).

4.1 Protectability Chanel has fiercely defended its trademark and products against counterfeiting, but is still a problem every day. Chanel has recommended only purchasing their perfumes through Chanel boutiques or authorized retailers, especially as fake perfumes can be dangerous and can damage their reputation (Thecounterfeitreport.com, 2018). When Chanel No. 5 was first created, Coco decided to use complex ingredients that could not be easily copied, yet the packaging is still imitated easily. (Thecounterfeitreport.com, 2018).

4.2 Memorability The perfume Chanel No. 5 has a white box which has a simple and minimalist design. This has constructed a strong brand equity by being memorable, which helps facilitate brand recognition and recall in purchase settings.

4.3 Meaningfulness and Likeability Chanel believed that, “a woman must smell like a woman,” and wanted to create Chanel No. 5 to have “tenacity, versatility, and abstraction” (Yesterday’s Perfume, 2016). It symbolizes the brand’s classic and bold style, and is inherently rich in meaning, making it likeable for decades (Vb.com, 2018).

4.4 Transferability The brand’s logo has correspondingly shown to be easily transferable, adding brand equity and character for new products that Chanel decides to channel (Keller, 2013).

4.5 Adaptability Remarkably, Chanel’s logo has remained relevant and timeless without having any changes since it was first developed. Most brands have needed to overhaul their designs to appear ‘more modern or relevant,’ but Chanel’s classic brand logo 5

and No. 5 perfume bottle ties in with their ‘timeless, classic, and fresh’ appeal (Vb.com, 2018).

5. Evaluation of the Marketing Mix This evaluation of the marketing mix reveals how this sophisticated brand targets the upper elite, and gives them the feeling of being special with exclusive products as well as unique designs and innovative qualities.

5.1 Product Chanel has clothing for men and women, as well as exquisite jewellery, handbags, watches, makeup, beauty, and fragrances. However, Chanel’s perfume No. 5 is notably one of the most iconic products of the brand. The classic shape of the bottle has been unchanged since 1937, and is still similar to the original in 1921 (Inside Chanel, 2018), making it familiar and highly recognizable across decades and international borders (Alston 2014).

5.2 Price Figure 2:

With exceptionally high standards for the finer details in producing products, Chanel No. 5 is sold at a higher than average price. A premium pricing strategy revolves around the quality and luxury appeal within

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the brand elements. Chanel No. 5 is considered to be expensive, yet not completely out of reach for middle to upper-middle class (Alston 2014).

5.3 Promotion Chanel has a minimalist advertising strategy and celebrity endorsements play a large role in personifying the brand characteristics. When a reporter in 1956 asked the timeless icon Marilyn Monroe what she wore to bed, she simply stated, “Chanel No. 5!” (Inside Chanel, 2018). Moreover, around the time of the quote Marilyn later went on to have some of the most iconic images of her holding Chanel No. 5 perfume. This cemented Chanel’s status as timeless and iconic, despite them not actually endorsing Marilyn at the time

Figures 3 & 4:

(Inside Chanel, 2018). Chanel creates awareness through word of mouth, and advertising in fashion magazines, and social media platforms. Their strategy also never ‘discounts’ or reflects ‘prices’ on ads. Instead there is a focus on the same consistent brand theme and iconic brand image (CPP-LUXURY, 2018).

5.4 Place Chanel has uniquely taken a step back from ecommerce that dominates world shopping sales, and focused on its 310 boutique stores worldwide, with only 3 in Australia. Each store reflecting the brand image of “expensive, upscale, and chic” (Lesouk,

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2015). Chanel also allows authorized retailers such as Myer and David Jones to sell their perfumes and beauty products.

6. Evaluation of Brand Position and Target Market

Chanel’s target market is a set of all ‘actual’ and ‘prospective buyers’ who have similar needs for luxury goods (Keller, 2013). This includes females internationally, who want to identify with status and class, and who have a moderate to high disposable income. Chanel’s

Figure 5: Target Market Characteristics

target audience are also identified as a wide-ranging age group, from 18-55, which include wealthy socialites. Their offer and image is seen as being elegant, valuable, classic, and a high priced luxury (Lesouk, 2015). Brands such as Burberry, Louis Vuitton, and Dior also target the most wealthiest and status-driven consumers in the world, giving Chanel considerable competition. Chanel is considered to be a trendsetter in consumers’ minds, because they were the first to come out with the most iconic perfume (Bhasin, 2018). Chanel’s unique selling proposition is being seen as classic and timeless, with products designed over a long period of time, with a lot of care in individual detail. Most brands release new products frequently, but Chanel takes a long time, even 15 years for a new fragrance (Victoria Hall, 2018).

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7. Critique of Brand Equity

Sources of brand equity include brand recognition, aware ness, and recall of the brand from the point of view of the consumer (Keller, 2013). This critique of brand equity is based on the consumer resonance model (see Appendix 1). There is a high level of brand recognition and awareness, with Chanel being one of the most recognizable logos in the world (Inside Chanel, 2018). Customer based brand equity is the differential effect that brand knowledge has on a consumer response to the marketing of that brand (Armstrong et al. 2012). Chanel has a ‘differential effect’ people strongly relate to by being a luxury brand, but not an ‘elitist’ brand. Coco Chanel originally grew up in a monastery as an orphan, and therefore gives the brand’s character and image a poor to prosperous undertone. Chanel even has the ‘Foundation Chanel’ organisation that “aims to promote independence and wellbeing of women” (WordPress, 2014, and Foundation Chanel, 2018). Their target market has a wealth of knowledge about Chanel, acquired through ads, word of mouth, brand reputation and image, as well as repeated exposure of classic logos (Keller, 2013). Brand recognition and recall rates of Chanel within the fragrance product category are high, particularly within high fashion usage situations (Keller,

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2013). Consumers also view Chanel as having great value, and that it fulfils psychological needs of status and the need to be viewed in a certain way by their peers (Brun & Castelli 2013).

8. Potential Threats to Brand Equity

One of Chanel’s threats is counterfeit products, as they can cheapen Chanel’s brand image if consumers have a bad experience with the fakes. Another threat are laws in Europe attempting to ban one of No. 5’s key ingredients, which is a naturally occurring type of ‘tree moss.’ Under the European Commission, it was said that this is due to them potentially being ‘allergenic or unsafe.’ However, Chanel’s spokesperson Francoise Montenay said, “it would be the end of beautiful perfumes if we could not use these ingredients” (DailyMail, 2018). This would effect a large proportion of Chanel’s target market, which reside in Europe (DailyMail, 2018). If Chanel couldn’t be present in Europe, it would affect their brand image in a negative way.

9. Actionable Recommendations

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In response to counterfeit products, Chanel has sued Amazon, the largest distributor of its knockoff perfumes, and won the lawsuit (Hays and Hays, 2018). However, lawsuits are costly and counterfeit producers will continue to be a problem since Chanel’s logo and minimalist design can easily be copied. An actionable recommendation is they use unique features on the box and educate consumers to identify if they are making a genuine purchase online. Secondly, it is recommended that Chanel transfer quality and their brand attributes into another fragrance as a contingency plan in case the laws ban No. 5 in Europe. A new fragrance can embody the spirit of No. 5, but be suitable for anyone that could develop or potentially develop allegories to the ingredients of their classic perfume. Even if the new laws don’t pass in Europe, the contingency perfume should be created due to more people developing allergies today than they were when the perfume was first developed in the 1920s (DailyMail, 2018).

10. Conclusion

This report examined branding theories and concepts of the luxury brand Chanel. The brand’s history, core values, and brand attributes show that Chanel’s innovator spirit within the brand has connected with consumers on a grand level. Consumers feel a sense of approval and admiration from their peers, and a stimulation of emotional status when wearing Chanel No. 5. The marketing mix confirmed the positioning strategy, and there has been a focus on strategic recommendations to continue their success in the future and further cement the brand’s iconic status.

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11. Bibliography

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Fashion.telegraph.co.uk. (2014). The history of Chanel No.5 - Telegraph. [online] Available at: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG10862749/The-history-of-ChanelNo.5.html [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Fondation Chanel. (2018). La Fondation - Fondation Chanel. [online] Available at: http://www.fondationchanel.org/la-fondation/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018]. Hays, K. and Hays, K. (2018). Chanel Scores Win Against Amazon Sellers in Counterfeit Fight. [online] WWD. Available at: http://wwd.com/business-news/legal/chanel-wins-against-amazon-sellersin-counterfeit-lawsuit-10933598/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018]. Imageconsultingschool.com. (2018). The Marketing Behind Chanel No.5 | Image Consultant Training - ISI Miami. [online] Available at: http://www.imageconsultingschool.com/the-marketingbehind-chanel-no-5/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018]. Inside Chanel. (2018). Marilyn and N°5 - Inside CHANEL. [online] Available at: http://inside.chanel.com/en/marilyn/marilyn-and-no5 [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Inside Chanel. (2018). No. 5 - Inside CHANEL. [online] Available at: http://inside.chanel.com/en/no5 [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018]. Keller, K. (2013). Strategic Brand Management. Global Edition: Pearson. Lesouk.co. (2015). Jersey Girl: History of Coco Chanel In Fabric - Le Souk. [online] Available at: http://www.lesouk.co/articles/material-inspiration/jersey-girl-history-of-coco-chanel-in-fabric [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Puleo, M. (2018). Keys to Luxury Ecommerce Success | Salsify. [online] Salsify.com. Available at: https://www.salsify.com/blog/getting-luxury-e-commerce-right [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018]. SAINT LAURENT. (2018). Target Customers & Advertising Analysis; Brand Architecture & Brand Position. [online] Available at: https://yslculc.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/target-customersadvertising-analysis-brand-architecture-brand-position/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018]. Schaefer, J. O. (2013). Chanel Defines Modern Women's Fashion. Salem Press Encyclopaedia. Thecounterfeitreport.com. (2018). The Counterfeit Report. [online] Available at: https://thecounterfeitreport.com/product/458/No.-5-EDP-Fragrances.html [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018]. Vb.com. (2018). History of the Chanel Logo by VB.com. [online] Available at: http://vb.com/chanel/history-of-the-chanel-logo.htm [Accessed 5 Apr. 2018]. Victoria Hall (2018). Chanel announces its first fragrance in 15 years. [online] The Telegraph. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/hair-nails/gabrielle-chanels-new-perfume2017/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018]. WordPress. (2014). Chanel brand strategy | Dior vs Chanel. [online] Available at: https://brandstrategymanagement.wordpress.com/category/brand-strategy-2/chanel-brandstrategy/ [Accessed 26 Apr. 2018]. WordPress. (2018). The Chanel Brand. [online] Available at: https://corporatebrands.wordpress.com/chanel/ [Accessed 4 Apr. 2018]. Yesterday's Perfume. (2016). Chanel No. 5 (1921). [online] Available at: http://yesterdaysperfume.typepad.com/yesterdays_perfume/2010/06/chanel-no-5-1921.html [Accessed 20 Apr. 2018]. 13

YouTube. (2018). Marilyn and N°5 - Inside CHANEL. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo8UtWiYiZI [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].

Appendix:

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