Simpli City PDF

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Simpli City...

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SimpliCity’s Kickstarter campaigns Gordon Black believes that a wallet should simply disappear into his pocket alongside his smartphone or fit easily into his wife’s small dinner handbag. To him, traditional wallets simply enable ‘bloat’ as users tend to load them with unnecessary items and for many users, the ‘bloat’ also affects their posture while they are sitting. -----------------------------------------------------------------In December 2016, fresh out of design school, Gordon set up SimpliCity.com and created the world’s first minimalist wallet, The Simpli. The Simpli was a simple yet secure shell of black aluminium with an elastic strap at the centre. It could accommodate multiple credit cards, business cards and folded cash while still occupying less than half the space of a traditional flip wallet. Gordon had created a fashionable wallet that was suitable for the modern world. Gordon launched the prototype on *Kickstarter in July 2017, with the intention of raising funds to mass-produce it. Within 24 hours of the launch, he had succeeded in obtaining an astounding 30% more funding than he had hoped for. The Simpli was set to be launched formally in December 2017.

The Simpli – one of the images Gordon Black used on Kickstarter (2017)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Kickstarter is a crowdfunding online platform. The company aims to bring creative projects to life. It is essentially a platform for start-ups and entrepreneurs to source for funds to develop/enhance their projects without having to rely on venture capitalists or angel investors.

Soon after the initial success, things started going downhill. The project used up all of its funding, was dogged by delays and faced a backlash from the early backers of the Kickstarter campaign since Gordon chose silence over regular communication in relation to the production of The Simpli. In December 2017, Gordon received negative comments on his Kickstarter page, with angry backers demanding the product immediately or asking for the money they had pledged. Gordon pushed his team to meet the demands, and after much effort, he somehow managed to deliver on the promises he had made in the Kickstarter campaign.

January 2021 Gordon has designed a new product, The Leather Simpli, which is a premium version of the original minimalist wallet. The features of The Leather Simpli are as follows:  Comes in 3 premium colours – tan, black and chestnut  Uses Italian top grain leather  Is hand-stained and hand-polished to ensure a distinctive finish  Is saddle-stitched with cotton thread  Comes pre-packaged in a premium case  Costs US$49.99 during the Kickstarter campaign Gordon believes that SimpliCity’s focus on quality, great design and its handmade construction will generate sales. He wants to capture the premium market for minimalist wallets and is confident that The Leather Simpli is the answer. ----------------------------------------------------

As the new Product Manager at SimpliCity, you know that there is stiff competition in the minimalist wallet space, with a few premium minimalist wallets emerging in the market as well. You also know that The Leather Simpli is not ready for mass-production. You are concerned about Gordon’s decision to use cotton for the stitching - cotton is not as durable as the waxed thread that most of the other premium minimalist wallets are being stitched with. Unlike The Leather Simpli, other premium minimalist wallets like HVN and Bert & Pandora have more ‘character’ and durability as they are made from top-grade, vegetable-tanned full grain leather. You wear two hats at SimpliCity. Aside from being the Product Manager, you are also the Publicity Manager. Gordon tells you that he would like The Leather Simpli to be launched in early June as a lot of fashionistas will be looking to buy fancy items during that period. To keep things simple this time, Gordon has decided that backers who pledge US$49.99 or more will receive The Leather Simpli, stamped with the Kickstarter logo on the back of the wallet. The estimated delivery date for early backers is 15 June 2021. The delivery date for

customers who place their orders after the Kickstarter campaign will be 15 August 2021. They will also pay a higher price (US$59.99).

Task Gordon tells you to post a persuasive message on Kickstarter on his behalf. He wants you to earn the backers’ trust so that they will provide funding for the project. He wants you to make The Leather Simpli stand out. He would also like you to use images to add to the persuasive appeal of the message. You go through some of the images that you have:     

Image 1 – The Simpli final version Image 2 – The Leather Simpli final prototype Image 3 – Workbench photo with design mockups and leather pieces strewn about Image 4 – Rejected prototypes of The Leather Simpli Image 5 – The SimpliCity team celebrating in style in Barbados, 2 months before the launch of The Simpli

You get down to the difficult job of writing the persuasive blog post on Kickstarter. You want to convince the Kickstarter community that your product is worth funding. After planning the structure of the piece, you use the following template to write the post on Kickstarter:

(Insert the Title of your Kickstarter post here) (Insert ‘by Gordon Black’ here) Insert the Kickstarter post that you are writing on behalf of Gordon Black in this space. Remember to use the AIDA framework. Use brackets to indicate where you will place the selected images. This is how the image will look: (Image 1 – The Simpli final version)

You cross your fingers and hope that SimpliCity will not have another Kickstarter debacle.

As the world moves towards a cash-free planet, there’s no longer a need for big wallets. As data gets digitized, and everything from business cards to receipts become accessible online, minimalist wallets are the way to go and the future of everyday carry. You loved The Simpli so we’ve upgraded our best-selling minimalist wallet. Presenting to you, The Leather Simpli.

(Image 2 - The Leather Simpli final prototype)

OUR SLIMMEST DESIGN YET A truly minimalist wallet.

(Image 1 - The Simpli final version and Image 2 - The Leather Simpli final prototype) Cr a f t e df r ompr e mi um, e n v i r on me n t a l l yc e r t i fie dI t a l i a nl e a t he r , ou rwa l l e t sf e e lg r e a ti ny o ur h a nd, a nda g eb e a ut i f ul l ya st hey e a r sg ob y . Ou rh a nds t i t c h e da ndh a ndpo l i s he dwa l l e t s e xu des t y l ea n dde t a i l .Th eLe at h e rS i mp l ic o me si n3di s t i nc t i v ec o l o r s–t a n, bl a c ka nd c he s t nu t ;na t u r a lc ol o ur st oma t c ha n yoc c a s i on !

(Image 3 - Workbench photo with design mockups and leather pieces strewn about) Don’t miss out on this exclusive deal for The Leather Simpli, priced at US$49.99 and which comes stamped with the Kickstarter logo on the back of the wallet! Our improved customer service will ensure that you receive updates about our wallet every step of the way. You can expect to receive our wallets by 15 June 2021. The Leather Simpli – an all-rounded wallet that loves your bills, cards and coins. Fit your cash, coins and up to eleven cards in a slim profile.

Reviews “Sought to minimize the traditional pocket stuffer with something far thinner and lighter.” – TechCrunch “It’s stylist and yet durable enough to take from the board meeting to the Bolivian rainforest and everywhere in between.” – HiConsumption “First minimalist wallet in the world. Extraordinary ideas from extraordinary people at SimpliCity.” – Everyday Carry...