26/02/’21 – Brand development is a very topical issue and is part of an approach to business development that goes to the roots of the company and can offer very useful answers and results on the market, as long as you understand well – upstream – the meaning and role of key concepts as the same “brand”, the positioning, the business model.
Speaking of brand development consultancy, I am pleased to be able to bring a practical case and comment on it in order to make our approach to consulting well understood, planning and development, hence the possibilities that arise for the company from here – small or large – especially in this phase in which it is important to face the market with a spirit of innovation and change.
Let's take as an example the recent work done by Mango group, important Spanish company in the fashion industry, which over the years has built a solid reputation, however, always showing itself ready for change, often working on innovation (one of the first companies in the sector to come online with the website inaugurated in 1995 and e-commerce in the 2000) and programs aimed at customer management and loyalty.
During the years, Mango closely monitored the market dynamics, moving around the 2016 towards fast fashion, to then move in recent years towards a more customer-friendly placement, with increasingly complex loyalty programs, so as to represent a greater point of reference for customers.
Now, in a pandemic climate, Mango relaunches his firm brand strategy, working on a very innovative business model, centered on digital and on-line as the market is now orienting most companies, but by opening its online platform to strategic partnerships, with an intuition that reflects precisely the way of placing itself on the market and the role that the company wants to have for its customers (be a point of reference), hosting other complementary brands.
A tal fine, for example, Mango has finalized a three-year partnership with the brand “Intimissimi” (Calzedonia Group) which involves the distribution of a selection of items from the underwear brand on Mango's online store.
The goal is to continue in this direction, opening up to other brands, always maintaining a careful selection criterion that allows you to align the offer to company positioning, but with the aim of creating and offering value to customers. The brand, from this new model of work, can benefit from a greater level of attention and presence from customers visiting online, aspect not always reachable exclusively with SEO or engagement techniques on social channels.
But the work on brand development didn't stop there. th and ’ a study was also done on context external to the company and therefore on the period that the market is going through, working with a view to addressing critical issues in favor of the company. The result of this approach has led to considering the period of restrictions in the form of customer habits and behaviors and therefore the Mango Group has decided to diversify the offer by entering the activewear segment and launching its own line of home furnishings, both elements of easy connection with what the majority of the world population is experiencing in this phase.
Finally, another topic carefully analyzed, that of sustainability. The approach in this case too was multidisciplinary, oriented to intervene on production aspects where possible (and therefore an innovative treatment system of a new Denim line that allows savings of 30 millions of liters of water for washing thanks to innovative and more sustainable processes, based on technologies such as laser or ozone in washing and finishing) and on the image presented by the brand through its presence on the market and therefore the stores themselves.
The refitting of the European retail network will lead to welcoming the image more “natural” company, with Mediterranean tones designed by the creative director in order to enhance the company's attention to ecological materials and the more natural context to which customers feel closer at this stage. In fact, the new image tends to better reflect the company's commitment to "respect for the ecosystem, in energy efficiency and architectural integration with the environment ". The lights and air conditioning are energy-saving and durable materials such as natural-based paints are preferred. The brand also continues its collaboration with Moda-re, a project for the reuse of clothes and footwear, to further underline this phase of greater attention and sensitivity to more fundamental values, a role that the company is writing and which it manifests through the various projects, all then summarized in the brand strategy.
Through this quick roundup of initiatives developed around the Mango Group brand it is therefore possible to understand three important aspects concerning the approach to a brand development strategy:
When we talk about brand development, therefore, we refer to a work program that aims to create – for the company – the best conditions to enhance its quality offer.
Our goal is to make the company work with security from a strategic point of view and successfully towards the customers to whom the offer is addressed, coordinating planning and actions in the field with a view to a well-perceived brand presence, both in B2b, both in B2c.
The consultancy program dedicated to the development of brand strategies therefore allows you to:
The actions are built up over time, the company is like an organism that requires addiction and adaptation times, therefore a relationship of trust and collaboration with management is essential, so that the objectives can actually be achieved.
The time for spot stocks is definitely over, opportunities can be seized systematically if the company is well prepared and a serious company that wants to face the market with security and stability, should carefully examine the brand development process.
For information and evaluations: management@mito.org.uk
