RE-BRANDING STRATEGY

Introduction • The challenge - To strategically communicate Ellesse's

key messages consistently to their international partners as well as to change the perception of the brand amongst all consumers no matter the nationality.

• Why Ellesse – Our targeted market (18-35) remember Ellesee as a throwback to the 90’s - nostalgia is there. Framework as a global brand is well established in developing markets-great opportunity for commercial growth exists. Changing peoples perceptions has been achieved with brands in a similar position: eg Burberry

Brand History • Reputation for blending sportswear (tennis+skiwear)

functionality with street-level fashion styling.

• 70’s - The stitched logo appears on the outside of clothes; a move copied by brands around the world ever since.

High Point• 70/80s - ellesse becomes firm favourite with the jet set crowd

of Cortina and Val d’Isere. • - Vogue Italia Feature 1973 :

Ellesse “Curieuse” women's line

is labelled “ sexiest option for

the summer”.

- Brand is positioned as stylish

fashion wear that has

Sportswear functionality.

• 80’s - Global brand expansion strategy developed through sponsorships of major sporting events/series of advertisement campaign’s on TV, posters and calendars

• Elite sports icons endorsed to affirm notion of high end sports clothing producers.

The brands decline • 90’s- Ellesse was overtaken by rival companies like

Nike/Addidas as market leaders in clothing lines which blend street/sport fashion wear.

• Its presence in the European market faded very quickly. The company shifted its focus to developing Asian /South American markets.

• 2000’s: A limited revival was attempted. They tried to rekindle the Ellesse image of 60’s/70’s era. Focus was placed on Ski/tennis clothing again by introducing a retro range. However, it could only be purchased online so many people were unaware of it.

Why now? • Previously young people sought to fit in with the trends, now it’s the complete

opposite. Expression of individuality amongst young people now is paramount. They don’t want to be seen wearing the same clothes as everyone else.

• Vibrancy of design is as important; something Ellesse has always been good at

• Vintage style clothing is very in vogue as demonstrated by the growth of charity shop sales/purchasing clothes of ebay.

• Ellesse is in a prime position to take advantage of this because of the nostalgia

factor it has. People now in the mid to late 20’s recall wearing Ellesse during the 90’s/ younger siblings remember their older brother/sister wearing it or wore it themselves through hand-me-downs.

• Ellesse’s as a brand can position itself well in the context of current market trends-making it the ideal time for a reboot.

Brand Repositioning • Product UPS = should be its ability to tap into/express

modern youth sub cultures. • Ellesse Brands communication focus = “dolce vita”

– “the sweet life”; lifestyle of expression, freedom and love.

• Shift focus away from sports/tennis wear. The current A1 (18-30’s age range), remember it as urban street clothing during the 90’s.

• Embrace it being smaller than leading brands - position it as the alternative to nike/addidas mainstream mass manufactured goods.

How to implement this? • PR campaigns need a dual approach to achieve this.

Communication should place heavy focus on 1) exclusivity 2) social media.

• 1) Emphasises on localisation and exclusivity of clothing design will tap into regional sub-cultures (e.g. can be divided per continents), and gain Ellesse a reputation for being a brand which allows you to express your individuality, rather than forcing you to think their way.

• 2) Proactive social media marketing is the most effective method to engage our targeted market; it is interactive, allows the monitoring of public perception/further PR opportunities without additional costs eg: trending on twitter/facebook, reddit ect.

Exclusivity • Instead of seasons; Ellesse should produce a series of

limited release regional clothing lines; designed by local designers, artists, graffiti artists ect.

• This can be supplemented by securing exclusive selling rights of Ellesse products with certain clothing stores eg: in the UK- footasylum.

• Press kits of limited release new products can be advertised in specific magazines to reinforce this market strategy: music magazines or Front in the UK for example.

• It would also be beneficial to edit/redesign the website to allow consumers to order the products directly from Ellesse.

Social media marketing • Effective social media marketing will be key to a successful re-

branding. • In order to promote the idea of exclusivity and regional clothing

lines, we should establish a micro-site/facebook page/twitter to get the public to vote the designs they want to see being produced. Each person that submits a vote and subscribes to the mailing list would automatically be entered into a prize draw for either free products/festival tickets ect, depending on the promotional offer.

• Competitions can also be run where users can submit their own designs to the website/facebook pages.

• If a user uploads a picture of themselves wearing their limited release Ellesse products to the website/page they can earn a 10% discount off their next Ellesse order/purchase.

• Music plays an important part to the consumers we are targeting, so Ellesse needs to be reflective of this.

• One way of achieving this is through the endorsement of up and coming artists/DJ’s. They then can produce soundtracks which can be used on the revamped website/Facebook page. These songs should all be available for access on Ellesse’s own soundcloud page.

• Depending on commercial viability/budgets these songs can also be used for TV spots. For example - https://soundcloud.com/reklews/lee-scott-black-josh-ellesse

• Ellesse should consider purchasing advertising space on websites like: Grooveshark, Spotify, Soundcloud, Youtube.

• PR events using the endorsed artists can also be organised.

• For example; sponsored “boiler room” type sets which are then uploaded onto an Ellesse’s own youtube channel; having these sets in the public domain will provide huge advertising potential in comparison to cost.

• Alternatively, Ellesse can establish an annual event where its featured artists preform and people can win tickets to attend for free ( much like itunes festival but on a smaller scale).

Conclusion• Social media will allow us to use 21st century technology

in a way which will relate to our targeted market. • The emphasise on exclusivity will reinforce the way we

are positioning the Ellesse brand and will demonstrate how much we value the consumers individuality.

• We must ensure that our communications are focused in re-affirming the idea of “dolce vita” and all that it represents.

• By implementing these strategies we can change the associations people have about Ellesse and see it make a successful comeback.