1. Support/Ambient Media
1.1. Objectives: • Brand awareness • Brand recognition/recall • Brand preference • create buzz/hype
1.2. In an attempt to capture the attention of international markets support/ambient media was set up in France and Switzerland. Both attempts created arousal among the public as the support media’s effect depended on the people’s interaction and interpretation of the ads. The result of the support media was indeed humorous as vicious attacks to break the ice-advertisement were carried out. All the action was recorded via mobile phones and cameras providing Diesel with free word of mouth advertising and exposure among mass audiences.
1.3. Similar to the faces of stupid contest, the support media provided a sense of social gratification as passerby’s were encouraged to join in on the action to retrieve free apparel. This interaction is memorable and increases the brands reputation, recognition, and awareness.
2. Sales Promotion
2.1. “Faces of Stupid”contest
2.2. Objectives: • Drive in-store & online traffic • Customer interaction/involvement
2.3. In an effort to shakeup the customer/brand interaction Diesel hosted a contest as a spin-off to the “BE STUPID” campaign. To date, this is one of the most intricate campaigns implemented by a fashion brand and when asked why the company went to such great lengths for the promotion VP of Marketing David Ireland said “it was a natural extension of the brands overall philosophy towards its customers. At Diesel we live the lifestyle we sell, and we want to share that with the people that are fans of the brand”(Lee, 2010). In saying this, Diesel utilised psychographic targeting through offering incentives appealing to the audiences lifestyle.
2.4. It is apparent Diesels objective is to foster an authentic relationship with customers as this contest, along with the various campaign efforts, provide social gratification among the target market. This is effective as all too many brands use stereotypical means of reaching the public. In this case, however, an experiential opportunity is created and rewarded through activities reflective of the ‘Diesel people’ making participation naturally appealing not forced.
3. History
3.1. Considering the companies humble beginnings, Renzo Rosso founded Diesel in 1978 surrounding himself with a team of visionaries on a mission to bring to life his dream. This involved creating an apparel line for independent people who take the so called “road less travelled” in life, expressing their individuality by the way they dress. The design team, headed by Creative Director Wilbert Das, reflects Rosso’s intended market as they discard ‘style-dictators and consumer forecasters’ allowing their individual tastes to lead them in all that they do. These Diesel “people” (making up the creative design team) have cemented a reputation for their unconventional work methods and as a result, they have been profiled in countless media and have been studied by international consulting organizations and universities over the years. In retrospect, the campaign in focus reflects Diesel’s inimitable corporate culture as the images and slogans feature the unconventional theme, which defines the company’s very purpose and being.
4. Competitors
4.1. Direct: Energie & GStar
4.2. Indirect-Jeans&Urnban Clothing industry: Levi's, Lee, Miss Sixty, Calvin Klein
4.3. New Popular brands:Seven for All Mankind,Blue Cult, True Religion, Chip&Pepper, Citizen of Humanity, Rock and Republic, Stitch's and Yanuk
5. Target Market
5.1. style conscious individuals,that do not want to be compared with fashion victims and don't want to be the so-called 'label whores' who wear brand names everywhere on thier body
6. Strategic Planning for BE STUPID Campaign
7. Print
7.1. Objectives: • brand building/showcasing brand identity • brand awareness • brand recognition
7.2. Print media, the most traditional form of advertising, remains a dominant means for brands to raise awareness and reach specific demographics. It is a high-involvement media as the reader invests effort in seeking and reading the content and advertisements (Belch & Belch, 2009). Recognizing this, Diesel strategically chose magazines reflective of the brand and target market such as GQ and Vogue to ensure maximum exposure. These magazines provided geographic selectivity, extensive penetration, permanence, and prestige whilst working in unison with other campaign elements to bring attention to the brand.
7.3. The print ads are visually arresting to break through the high clutter existing in modern media. The copy is bold and eye catching as the imagery and font are vivacious, bright, and youthful allowing the slogan to stand out. Also alluring, is the fact that the models seem to serve as a figment of the target market’s (both male and females) personality. In effect, viewers may identify the individuals as a reflection of themselves or friends maximising the chance for a positive emotional connection to form with the brand.
7.4. It is apparent Diesel was playing on consumers feelings through an emotional appeal as everyone can relate to “being stupid” at some point in their life as the ads depict. As such, the print advertisements represented a soft sell approach to support the more heavily executed viral, guerrilla, and sales promotion activities, which aimed for more interaction/customer involvement with the brand. In contrast, the print ads did not feature a call to action (such as directing the market to go to the website) since the objective was to simply showcase what and who Diesel represents.
8. Online
8.1. Web based video-Youtube
8.1.1. Objectives: • Entertain viewers to promote positive word of mouth • Engage audiences • Raise brand action intention
8.1.2. Diesel utilised Youtube as a social media tool to reinforce other viral campaign components. The video intended to reach the target demographic as it is known that internet users aged between 18-32 use the internet primarily for entertainment through online videos and social networking (Fox, 2010). The video supported the other mediums as the main feature told the story of “the Stupid Philosophy”.
8.2. Location based service- Foursquare
8.2.1. Objectives: • Build customer shopping experience • Drive online customers (in location) to retail stores • Create buzz/hype • Engage customers
8.2.2. Considering that 2/3 of customers buying decisions are made in store, (Belch & Belch, 2009) location based services such as Foursquare are ideal capturing the heavy viral traffic online to promote potential in-store business.
8.2.3. Diesels inclusion of Foursquare was strategic in that it was used for promotional hype, as the company targeted individuals that may never have entered the store. Intentionally, the company didn’t want 100 blog features going up before hand. Leslie Hall (founder of the agency devising the online components of the campaign) said, “We wanted it to be a true test without any pre-promotion” (Lee, 2010). The results of the event were 44 foursquare check-ins, 17 tweets, and 20,957 twitter users reached via social updates.
8.2.4. Diesel’s incorporation of Foursquare was successful as the web and in-store activity were cohesively integrated to create experiential interaction with the brand, which today is a crucial component of all modern campaigns.
8.3. Websites
8.3.1. Corporate Website
8.3.1.1. Objectives: • showcases brand identity • e-commerce • lead generation • customer support
8.3.1.2. Bringing the Diesel Philosophy to life
8.3.2. Marketing Campaign Product/Service Specific Website
8.3.2.1. Objectives: • high response rates/ action response • form relationship/bond with customers
8.3.2.2. Diesel capitalized on the generational trend and popularity of user submitted content, as the objective was to provide the opportunity for maximum user influence. The competition allowed participants to become part of the brand through the music video and catalogue and in effect this would have built Diesel’s credibility and reputation.