HERE COMES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD | Exclusive Trailer

Generation WE = Local. Niche. Social
With all the turbulence and socio-economic problems and unrest, clever brands and companies will collaborate to give back to the community and help repair a fractured global society on a local and 'real' basis - NOT by adding an extra '0' on to the end of a pay check for Africa or a War-stricken Middle Eastern Country. Brands are looking inwards and locally to show support and create civic harmony. There are so many adverts through so many channels and media, the future of creating loyalty and strong bonds is through emotion. This is where I see the future of Fashion Marketing and Branding as a macro trend and I pick this apart through sub-trends (micro trends) of which I have came across through personal research and from taking valuable notes from trend briefings by LS:N Global of the Future Laboratory, magazines and journals such as Harvard Business Review, Monocle, The Economist and Viewpoint.

I have been inspired by the collaborative and convivial mindset to transform Wynwood Miami into an outdoor gallery featuring an array of internationally acclaimed and locally respected street artists, graffiti writers and muralists. HERE COMES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD is a short-form Docuseries exploring the power of Public Art and innovation to uplift and revitalize urban communities. Do you think a UK city council will take heed of this creative and efficient repair initiative any time soon?

Rurban Bleisure:// KJOSK + Balestra, Berlin

Beautifully depicted in a short documentary:
Bleisure - Business merging with Leisure in modern sociecty
+
Rurban- Rural lifestyle without comprimising the connectedness with urban living

Hidden in a 600 square meter big garden in Berlins’ neighborhood Kreuzberg, Rosmarie Köckenberger welcomes her guests, friends and residents to have a coffee and a warm chat in her KJOSK.

An almost 50 year old, white painted double-decker bus is used as a mom-and-pop store where people can play Super Mario together, eat local sausages and have a after work beer.
Rosmarie offers with her KJOSK a special place, overgrown with greens, to settle back from the bustle of a big city in a familiar atmosphere.

From this point of view she introduces Balestra, a Berlin based agency. Not quit an event nor an advertising agency, Rosmarie appreciates „the perfect mixture of working with friends, having fun and professional work which is the most important part of a good collaboration”. In a time when more and more people work long hours and have less time for friends and family Balestra tries to make room for exactly those elements by incorporating them in their work ethic.” This way of working makes the agency so avant-garde and leads to successful projects such as The Kubik, an outdoor light and room installation and one of the most famous projects by Balestra.

Part of the Avant Garge Diaries.

CE - SK8THING, HISHI & Toby Fretwell

I met Toby and SK8THING whilst interning at Jacket Required in the summer.
Really nice down to earth guys - with their group venture (including Hishi) being anything but down to earth. Stand out pieces were the translucent coach Jacket, unique graphic prints and highly detailed yet 'pure' cut and sew pieces. The brand is radically refreshing and put of the box, something to shake up the streetwear game in SS12 hopefully.

Veteran streetwear designer SK8THING has a knack for building brands while maintaining an elusive, mysterious, superhero-like identity. Continuing his unpredictable style, the Japanese artist teams up with familiar colleagues Hishi and Toby Feltwell, collaborators of BAPE and BBC, to form a triumvirate of design talents under the brand name C.E. The above video offers a glimpse into C.E.’s philosophy as well as the brand’s early influences. Working from the opposite spectrum of fashions recent vintage workwear revival, the world anxiously awaits for C.E. to provide something a little different than the current crop of graphically based brands. via Hypebeast


btw:// Those rotating shelves had me tripping the first day, genuinely thought I was dizzy from dehydration or something... turns out the shelves are just cool as f**k.

New Era - 9FIFTY Interchangeable Snapback

Mass Customization.

Growing trend - seen everywhere from Nike ID to Levi's to Mini Cooper's and Fixed Gear bikes.
How does a brand make someone feel 'special' and individual? After all, don't we all want to have something bespoke, original and personally tailored to ourselves - that only the super rich can indulge in?

More brands are adding value to their products by offering a customized, more personal product or service. Obviously the product isn't totally customizable with regard to mass products - there aren't infinite sequences or colourways for most of these products. However within the confines of what is efficient, in the sense of both economic and manufacturing capabilities, brands are embracing customization on a mass scale.

Now, New Era has designed a new system for the latter group, the interchangeable snapback 9FIFTY. This system allows the snap adjuster to be interchanged, thus making it more easy to coordinate with your outfit. It enables two snaps to be changed at once or create a combination of two differently colored snaps. However, there is a less obvious benefit of this new design, this new system makes it easier to replace damaged snap adjuster.

(Video isn't the most inspiring!)

As we continue to slog through this economic downturn, I can see mass customization growing as a trend to add 'value' to products - especially for those premium and niche brands that can't afford to discount prices. Customization on a mass scale, somewhat, delivers the luxury of 'bespoke' to the consumer and therefore may be the tipping point to make him/her part with their money. As the tables have turned and communication and marketing efforts/focus is put firmly back on the consumer (see "WE not Me" post) brands are, or need to, ask themselves how they can add a personal element to the customer.

"All they want is for someone to make them feel special, for a hour..." - Jerwayne, Phoneshop

Listen up Sir Philip Green!

Me_tail: The Future of Retail

Me_tail: "The future is here, it's just not very well distributed" - William Gibson, Science fiction writer.

Me_tail is the future of retail, where stores are used between 60-100% as a marketing and experience function, not focussed on the the sell. The aim of these stores is to represent the brand in 3D form - where the consumer can physically engage and interact - of which is not so easily replicated online (for now!)

"I want to create a space where people can come and touch Nike" - Nehjat Ramoth, Manager 1948

These stores are currently at the vanguard of the retail function to solely create advocacy and loyalty since there is so much choice for consumers nowadays - why should a shopper consider entering your store? Why does that person even remember your store from the rest? Why wouldn't he or she just shop for your products online?

Me_tail stores: Acquaintances instead of Sales Assistants. Social instead of Sell.

Staff are crucial at Me_tail stores (if they are big enough to accommodate staff that is), the Acquaintances will be the link to help cement the loyalty and advocacy - through talking about

events and social gatherings coming up at the 'shop' and ways the consumer can interact online, offline and inline with the brand. A genuine, social service will be required, like in the good ol' days, no more of the fake smiles, "how's your day been?" and "the computer says noooooo."

Nehjat Ramoth, Manager 1948

Nike 1948, in Shoreditch, offer a FREE Running Club, meeting every Tuesday at the store for all levels of fitness because remember - 'If you have a body, you are an athlete' - Bill Bowerman, Nike Co-Founder. Also, as a an incentive to continue running, after a month or so of

meeting and using the club you will be given FREE Nike apparel and even footwear to keep you motivated and fall further in love with the Nike brand. The Nike 1948 store also offers an upper level which is like an office space of a cool creative agency with art, graphics, streetwear and

illustration books as well as iPads, large widescreen monitor and one of those super cool, low

back, leather sofas. This space can be used by people to go and study, chill out, or even arrange

meetings or presentations for FREE and the 1948 store will be closed whilst the space is booked!

When I was around in August, they also showed the first Arsenal game of the season with FREE refreshments - proper refreshments, not weak orange squash! - Beers, Rum, Gin, Vodka and Pims as well as a FREE Nando's BBQ! The store was also looking to start creating parties and events for Saturday nights - with Nike's budget and the unique, cool set up of the store imagine the line up of DJ's, artists and bands!

The latest arrival of a Me_tail store I have spotted is Aether Apparel's AETHERstream which has just set up in New York. Aether have collaborated with Thierry Gaugain to create the ultimate shop on wheels. The aesthetic of the store is crucial to Me_tail and this mobile shope has a flooring of 11" reclaimed oak and custom made table and sofa by Environment Furniture - who use sustainable harvested wood and reuse other discarded materials. Other props and furniture were purchased at the Paris flea market, automatically giving the store a social conscience.

WE not ME // Using touch points to LISTEN and talk

In these diagrams below I have tried to visualise the concept of ‘Brandtocracies’, taken from a Future Laboratory trend briefing. Since it’s never been easier to have a more direct relationship with the consumer it is fundamental for brands to be collaborative and conversational within their marketing – this picks up on the whole point of this brief in redirecting and emphasis touch points through digital marketing.

The big brand push is conversational rather than corporate and inclusive rather than exclusive – WE rather than ME. The old media/advertisement genres of 'Brought' and 'Owned' such as a TV ad or a brand website/campaign mean not merely as much as 'EARNT' which includes blog sites, fan pages and social media advocacy. Social media has changed marketing/branding forever. It is arguable that Marketing as a title is outdated since who is really putting products/brands into the market? The new name for marketing I suggest to be, quite simply, Consumer Engagement.

Since it's easier to buy online, the retail environment needs to become adaptable. Merely selling clothes is not enough – forget service with a smile! The new retail store needs to sell the heritage, identity and most of all, experience. Through offering the offline touch point as a physical store the interaction could potentially be transcended online to offline and vice versa. I feel that the current trend of creating branded experience and physical engagement from sports brand (i.e. Umbro and the Cosmo Collection Launch) can create significant, memorable experiences which would hopefully make the brand stick out in the consumers mind and go further through the consumer decision journey.

The old brand and consumer relationship doodled above (The Partnering Stance) where the brand dictates the marketing campaign and strategy to the consumer for the hard sell is outdated. Since there is so much choice nowadays for the consumer and consumers connect with ‘myriad brands – through new media channels beyond the manufacturers and retailers control/ knowledge’ (Branding in the Digital Age article) it is important to talk to and listen to the consumer and react accordingly (The Experiential Stance) below.

There is also a growth in the trend to buy local, stay local and be more engaged in community and civic participation. Brands should build awareness by increasing the brand advocates and ambassadors within the main target audience of influencers since their consumer range is so diverse, this will be more cost effective and efficient rather than aiming to target each and every consumer segment.

Touch points and consumer engagement to a brand needs to become 'Far Nearer'. << Listen

Conviviality Culture:// Nike Better World

Rather than viewed as good Samaritans with genuine sincerity, more often than not, corporation’s efforts to do good for the environment, society, and humanity in general are met with cynical critics and skeptics. The same goes for Nike when it announced its CONSIDERED DESIGN initiative 2 years ago or at last years Aids awareness program. A reason why Nike created Nike Better World website.

Part Public Service Announcement (PSA), but without the lengthy preaching, Nike Better World highlight all the initiatives Nike is implementing locally as well as globally which is a major trend for many businesses currently. The site, however, isn’t merely a corporate mouth piece but ask visitors to participate by redirecting them to different sites or simply address the issues publicly via Twitter and Facebook. From people close to the Better World project, the site is only the starting point with more to come later this year.

Intimate. Emotive. Collaborative.
Welcome to Conviviality Culture.