Saint Laurent marketing proposal by Kadambari Sen UAL 2023

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report begins with a brief overview of Saint Laurent brand. By giving an introduction to the brand aim and a mission statement.

Following a well-structured case analysis, the report assesses Saint Laurent's current situation through market research, academic sources, business journals, and case studies. Furthermore, the research is supported by academic theories such as Kapfer's brand prism, SWOT analysis, and Keller’s brand equity model. After critically evaluating the brand, 3 solid opportunities for the brand have been presented.

After the case analysis, a marketing recommendation is presented, which recommends using semiotics in marketing. Setting up an immersive exhibition on Oxford Street in London. In order to spread awareness about women's mental health and well-being. The art presented at the digital exhibition would include Parisian city aesthetics denoting Saint Laurent brand's foundation and the designer Yves saint laurent's love for the city of pairs where he got most of his inspiration from. the exhibition would also feature immersive art that is calming, therapeutic and visually pleasing to the audience. Additionally, the exhibition will feature ten of the most iconic and empowering Yves Saint Laurent designs for women that revolutionized the fashion industry.

BRAND REPORT

Saint Laurent is one of the most iconic fashion brands in history for revolutionizing womenswear, combining art and fashion, popularising the idea of high fashion ready-to-wear, and tapping into the mood of sexual freedom by freeing the nipple. The following few reasons make Saint Laurent one of the chicest and most legendary brands today. Founded in the year 1961 in Paris, France by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé, with a vision to revolutionize women’s clothes.

Table 1. shows a brand report timeline that highlights some key events in the brand history.

1961

Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé founded the company.

1970

Founded the ‘Rive Gauche’ boutiques for men.

1966

He debuted Le Smoking. When it was highly controversial for women to wear trousers in public.

1977

At the peak of the disco era, launched opium perfume

1971

Became the star of his own campaign - Posed naked for the advertisement of YSL Pour Homme, famously photographed by Jeanloup Sieff

1983

A solo exhibition at the NYC Metropolitan Museum of Art marked Yves Saint Laurent's debut as the first living fashion designer to have done so.

1999

Gucci which PPR(now called Kering) owned at that time took over the company and appointed Tom Ford to design the ready-to-wear collection.

2004

YSL named Stefano Pilot as its new creative director.

1978

YSL skincare and makeup line was launched.

1993

As a result of huge debts, Sanofi (a pharmaceutical company) bought the fashion house for $600,000,000.

2002

Yves Saint Laurent decided to retire at the age of 65 and announced the closing of his haute couture line.

2008

Marked the passing of Yves Saint Laurent. Also, the cosmetic line was sold to LO'real for $ 1.68 billion dollars.

2012

The rebranding of YSL took place in 2012 to ’Saint Laurent Paris’ by then creative director Heidi Slimane to attract younger generations by giving an edgy design identity

2016

Appointed Anthony Vaccarello a the creative director of saint Laurent.

AIM AND MISSION STATEMENT

Saint Laurent aims at creating alluring and prepossessing designs for their fashion-alert clientele by providing the highest unparalleled quality of items and most importantly valuing innovations, inclusivity and creativity.

The Brand’s mission statement is to help people dress to impress by providing a style that is “eternal”.

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

The purpose of the report is to research and examine challenges and opportunities for Saint Laurent and propose new and innovative strategic recommendation for brand rejuvenation.

OBJECTIVES

To conduct a thorough analysis of Saint Laurent, including their goals, value proposition, customer base, competitors, and brand placement within Kering’sTo portfolio of brands.

To identify the gaps in the brand and suggest opportunities for them.

Develop the most effective brand rejuvenation strategy after critically analyzing the brand using academic theories such as SWOT, Keller's brand equity model and Kapfer's brand prism.

Several academic resources have been used in order to propose the most appropriate and feasible recommendation, such as case studies published on Bof and Google Scholar, academic journals, Statista, drapers, minted, etc.

A critical review and analysis of this information is based on information gathered from business sources, academic journals and management theories as well as author's expertise and judgment. Limitations: The strategy is not based on primary research, which limits practical knowledge of its potential effectiveness. However, This limitation is mitigated by using relevant theories, articles, and sources.

CASE ANALYSIS

As a luxury brand and in the eyes of consumers, Saint Laurent has built a solid reputation in recent years, which is critically analyzed through the use of theoretical frameworks (Appendix 1,3). Under CEO Francesca Bellettini and designer Anthony Vaccarello. In 2022 the brand had sales of $ 3 billion, almost twice as compared to the last 5 years. The following reasons played a crucial role in the success of the brand:

The brand focused on evolution rather than revolution - They focused on maintaining a consistent brand image by adding stylistic developments that catered to modern consumer needs. Focusing on consistency helped the brand avoid markdowns.

Accelerated the expansion of leather goods - Bags make up 72% of sales. The brand offers a conservative price as compared to its competitors, targeting a large number of aspirational buyers. Also, offering the buyers ease and no hassle of waiting while purchasing items through the website or in-store.

Focusing on clientele - By focusing on building a strong customer base they opened new stores in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta. One of its biggest stores will open in Paris in 2023 on the famed Avenue Champs-Élysées.

Besides all this growth, after examining the internal and external environment of Saint Laurent it can be inferred that there are several challenges that the brand faces. Also, there are a vast number of opportunities for the brand as stated in the SWOT analysis.(APPENDIX 2.)

1. Saint Laurent should expand into developing luxury marketsEconomic globalization is essential for businesses as it is the global integration of economies through trade and investment flows, as well as the production of goods and services in order to enhance international competitiveness. Accelerating international integration of markets also results in an integrated global market without national economic borders.(Passaris, C. E.,2006). Saint Laurent currently has an online store in 30 European countries, 3 American countries, 2 oceanic, 9 Asian countries, and 3 Middle Eastern countries (YSL,2022). They have world-wide 268 stores. (Statista,2022). Expanding into growing markets is something the brand needs to focus on more, such as South America where Brazil, Mexico, and Chile is resulted to grow by 1.88% to $5.56bn by 2027 ( Statista,2022). Africa is another key rising luxury market which amounts to US$5.45bn in 2022. The market is expected to grow annually by 2.05% (CAGR 2022-2027). Asian luxury consumers are rising at a vast rate which currently amount to US$124.20bn in 2022. The market is expected to grow annually by 5.25% (CAGR 20222027). This will help the brand expand its customer base thereby increasing revenue. By expanding the business across global borders they will also promote the united nation sustainable goal 10 reduced inequalities by job creating job opportunities in different nations for various people promoting economic inclusion of all.

2. Hiring talent from generation z - employees are a very crucial part of any company's internal environment. It is the employees who enact the attributes of the brand and whose actions ultimately foster customer experience—whether good or bad. Staff actions should reinforce the promises a brand makes to its customers. If wisely conducted, this reinforcement breeds more success in terms of sales, awareness, and loyalty (Harris, P. ,2007). Saint Laurent should focus on hiring fresh talent from generation z as they are considered highly collaborative, self-reliant, and pragmatic( Roberta Katz,2022). Giving opportunities to generation z workforce belonging to disadvantaged backgrounds, people of color, the LGBTQ community, and disabled people and offering fair and equal income. Also, by offering them various skill training and employee education programs by doing so they would be abiding united nations sustainability goal 4 quality education, and goal 10 reduced inequalities.

3. Marketing to customers through offering a multi-sensory experience- In the branding literature, the concept of brand identity is defined as a unique set of brand associations that a firm can create or maintain. It may involve a value-proposition with functional, emotional or self-expressive benefits. It does not matter whether the associations are tangible or emotional/symbolic or both (Anselm and Kostelijk, 2008). Customers are a part of a business’s internal environment. Efficient marketing is crucial to a business as it helps the business stay ahead of the competition, improves the reputation of the brand, and most importantly creates relevance for the brand in the consumers mind. “marketing that engages the consumers’ senses and affects their perception, judgment, and behaviour” (Krishna, 2012).

STRATEGIC RECCOMENDATION

RATIONALE

Immersive art exhibitions have become increasingly popular over the past few years. Immersive art galleries like Dopamine land in south Kensington London aims to boost those essential dopamine levels by making people enter a multi-sensory journey, Feelscape in NOBU hotel London, Van Gogh the immersive experience, Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirror Rooms at Tate Modern, etc. are examples of popular immersive art exhibitions. Large number of audiences enjoy the experience of immersive art as it is appealing to people from all age groups (Sarah Ransome,2022). After attending the van goh immersive exhibition in London Hettie O’Brien a journalist for the Guardian adds that the entire experience made her feel as of her neurons were being massaged. A study has also demonstrated that immersive exhibitions have a positive calming on mental health.

(Image: Key figures on selected experiential art installations worldwide from 2017 to 2020 Statista,2022).

Using semiotics for marketing can help saint Laurent improve its brand message, communicate meaning to the consumers and Streamline the subconscious decision-making process of consumers (Lesley Vos,2022).

Multi-sensory experience is an activity that usually takes place in a dedicated room where people experience a range of un-patterned visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile stimuli (Baker et al, 1997). These rooms are designed to create a feeling of safety, where the individual can relax, explore and enjoy the surroundings Multisensory environments vary in their appearance and in the equipment they contain particularly if they are designed to suit the needs of a specific client group (The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2002).

Today many brands have tapped into using semiotics in marketing strategies in order to be more relatable to the customers on an emotional level and to form a personal bond with them and have seen several positive responses from people. Saint Laurent to date hasn’t been able to come up with such creative marketing strategies to allure its customers. Therefore marketing by offering their audience a multi-sensory experience would be an excellent opportunity for the brand

DETAILED JUSTIFICATION AND SOLUTION #HealingHeartsBySaintLaurent

It has long been apparent that Saint Lauren has struggled to find creative marketing strategies and is falling behind its competitors like Dior, Fendi, Prada, etc. These brands have left audiences stunned with their creative marketing strategies.

Today Around one in five women have a common mental health problem, such as depression and anxiety. While there can be many reasons why these develop, some risk factors affect many women. Women are more likely than men: to be carers, which can lead to stress, anxiety, and isolation (Mentalhealth organization UK,2022). More than three-quarters of women (78%) of women who have faced extensive physical and sexual violence – in both childhood and adulthood – have experienced life-threatening trauma, and 16% have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It is estimated that 75% of people with mental health problems in England may not get access to the treatment they need (Mentalhealth organization UK,2022).

Saint Laurent is a very women-centric brand that has always been a strong advocate of women's empowerment by being one of the first designs to introduce an haute couture tuxedo pantsuit for women, Le Smoking in an era where women did not wear pants in public, Saint Laurent was also the first designers to embrace beauty and diversity by being one of the first designers to hire black models, to embrace equality between the sexes Saint Laurent's collections included sheer organza blouses and transparent tops. These are just a few examples of how the designer Yves Saint Laurent celebrated women's empowerment by blurring gender norms and experimenting with androgyny.

Offering a multi-sensory experience to the audience in the form of an immersive exhibition wouldn’t only be a successful marketing strategy but would also be a worthwhile initiative for the brand to show its female audience that the brand genuinely cares about them (Apendix 4).

Creating a space where women can calm anxiety, and destress themselves by getting free visual therapy. Saint Laurent’s immersive art exhibition would include virtual reality, augmented reality, mirror and lighting effects, projections, 3D displays, viewer participation, music, and audio and smell effects

As part of the visuals, we will incorporate Saint Laurent's history which is closely related to the city of Paris and the iconic vision and designs of Yves Saint Laurent. It will be held at a rented art gallery on London's most popular shopping street, Oxford Street. In honor of World Mental Health Day on 10th October, the exhibition will run for 10 days commencing from 1st to 10th October. To spread awareness about the following campaign it will be advertised on YSL socials by using #HealingHeartsbySaintLaurent

COSTING

The total cost for 10 days of exhibition excludes marketing costs, since Saint Laurent handles its own marketing.

JUNE JULY

TIMELINE PLANNING PHASE

Competition analysis

Market analysis including surveys

Detailed assessment of benefits from the service to the brand and consumers. Examining the inspiration for the art including in-depth research to present the most effective visuals.

PRE-LAUNCH PHASE

Sample preparation

Presentation and experimentation. Increasing awareness through the media and magazines

Promoting through social media. Fixing faults if any

LAUNCH PHASE

Tickets for the exhibition will be released

OCT NOV

Update about the exhibition dates on Saint Laurent's social media platforms. An increase in the number of customers Offer end-to-end support to attendees about the exhibition's aim and purpose Increase in marketing efforts.

POST-LAUNCH PHASE

Encourage feedback on the service. Updates on social media about the results. Post-launch maintenance and support. Taking public queries.

(Table 2. Implementation plan)

CONCLUSION AND CHALLENGES

In conclusion, the following campaign would be a great opportunity for the brand to develop a very creative and sustainable marketing strategy in order to rejuvenate the brand. Besides that, it would be a way for the brand to showcase its value and history and also help people to get a visual retreat amongst their hectic lives above all support women's health and well-being. It is positive that the initiative would appeal to all age groups and would certainly help in increasing Saint Laurent’s customer base.

There may, however, be certain shortfalls.

Organizers of exhibitions need certain new workers to fill specific positions, such as security moderators or hosts. If the skilled people are not hired, problems can arise.

Saint Laurent does not encourage individuals with photophobia or people, especially children who aren't comfortable in an immersive exhibition setting to attend. The exhibition lacks personalization features, which could be a drawback.

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VISUAL MOCK-UP

HEALING HEARTS BY SAINT LAURENT

DATES - 1ST TO 10TH OCTOBER LOCATION - W1 CURATES 161, 167 Oxford St, London W1D 2JP, United Kingdom.

The exterior of the Saint Laurent’s Healing Hearts exhibition at Oxford Circus in London

HEALING HEARTS

Digital information board

Depicts information about the cause that the exhibition supports ie, women's mental health awareness and wellbeing, and also information about the visuals that will be presented. In addition, people can find out about the dates and times of the exhibition.

An extravagant visual presentation on the entire building which is highly appealing to the audience and would attract a high volume of visitors.

SAINT LAURENT PARIS

Saint Laurent Paris logo - That represents the business

A Chicago crocodile-embossed leather jacket from the Yves Saint Laurent for Christian Dior's fall/winter 1960 haute couture collection. The collection was inspired by the existentialists of Paris’s bohemian Left Bank.

A green faux fur coat from the Yves Saint Laurent spring/summer 1971 haute couture collection. Inspired by childhood memories of his mother’s dress in 1940s Algeria and also by the flea market clothes sported by his coterie of female friends.

Presenting the 10 most iconic and empowering designs for women by Yves Saint Laurent.

A short evening ensemble from the Yves Saint Laurent spring/summer 1971 haute couture collection. The collection was frequently denigrated as “tarty,” and the models were compared to 1940s streetwalkers.

Created in tribute to the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, this jersey shift dress is one of a sequence of dresses in the collection devoted to the artist’s geometric works. It was a sensation when it was shown as part of Yves Saint Laurent’s fall/winter 1965 haute couture show.

A short evening look from the Yves Saint Laurent spring/summer 1977 haute couture collection. A collection exploring folkloric dress often dubbed “Rich Peasant” or “Hippy de luxe.”

A gabardine safari jacket from the spring/summer

1968 Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche collection.

A long evening dress with a waist sculpture by Claude Lalanne from the Yves Saint Laurent fall/winter 1969 haute couture collection. This dress demonstrates a collaboration with the artist Claude Lalanne, who created a series of sculptures in gold-galvanized copper worn over chiffon evening dresses. It was an audacious marriage of sculpture and haute couture.

An embroidered evening jacket from the Yves Saint Laurent spring/summer 1990 haute couture collection. The embellishments of rock crystal on the jacket are hand-embroidered by François Lesage’s ateliers. This piece represents 700 hours of work on the embellishment alone.

Catherine Deneuve wore a coat in Luis Buñuel’s “Belle de Jour” (1967).

Yves Saint Laurent created the wardrobe worn by Catherine Deneuve in Luis Buñuel’s 1967 film

“Belle de Jour,” and continued to dress her for the rest of his career. Their styles became inextricably intertwined.

A short daytime look from the fall/winter

1963 Yves Saint Laurent haute couture collection. His “Robin Hood” collection featured thigh-high crocodile boots paired with oilskin tunics and leather hooded caps.

3D OUTLOOK OF THE EXHIBITION

Parisian inspired immersive art

symbolizing Yves Saint Laurent's love for the city, which has played a critical role in shaping the brand's personality and inspiration.

Immersive art

FLOOR PLAN

IDENTITY PRISM

PICTURE OF SENDER

PHYSIQUE

PERSONALITY

Confident yet classy woman. Fashion-oriented, powerful and independent.

Balances modern with classic styles.

RELATIONSHIP

Sumptuous Fabrics. Traditional and classic YSL logo. Black and white graphics. Current saint Laurent word logo. The first name to introduce suits for women. Consistently high level of quality. Exceptional in-store and online shopping experience.

Luxury aspirational and upper-class focus.

Great audience engagement on social media platforms esp. Instagram.

REFLECTION

strongly feminine image. Woman with class and badassery. Stylish- day into night, as well as practical.

CULTURE

Iconic runways facing Eiffel Tower. The chic Parisian-inspired look. French history and foundation.

SELF IMAGE

A desire for clothing that can be worn from day to night. Feeling effortlessly classy chic and stylish. Make each look stand out by adding extra flares.

PICTURE OF RECEIVER

PHYSIQUE

In 2012 Heidi Slimane announced the re-branding of saint Laurent from Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) to Saint Laurent Paris. The brand has always been known for its monochrome coloring. They aim to give their buyers the most classic, chic and stylish items blended with contemporary designs and aesthetics. Even after the brand was rebranded, it never abolished its classic style instead valued it and looked forward to bringing back its classic look which they are proud to display. The YSL logo, which is one of the most recognizable fashion symbols in the world is still used in bags and accessories and is the brand logo for their makeup and cosmetics brand. The re-branding was specifically for its apparel collections.

1962-2012

2012-Presesnt

RELATIONSHIP

Among Saint Laurent's clients are many loyal customers, they provide excellent in-store and online service with online 24/7 helpchat service and efficient fast delivery and in-store provide guests with a luxurious shopping experience.

After the brand’s re-branding it has become more appealing to younger audience as it has inculcated more trendy styles. The brand is priced at affordable luxury therefore it attracts a large number of luxury aspirational consumers or consumers who are just tapping into the luxury market and considering their first purchase.

Saint Laurent has also changed its in-store decor to concrete and marble that creates a contrasting image with the items on display providing customers with a luxury and warm environment. In London and San Francisco, Heidi Slimane introduced an art-deco inspired interior using materials from the French modernist movement.

London- Sloane Square San Francisco - Rodeo Drive

REFLECTION

Saint Laurent’s external reflection or marketing vision of their potential consumers illustrates a woman who bold yet feminine. Their designs, brand values and various campaigns are targeted towards a classy and elegant woman. She is a person of respect who enhances her persona with sex appeal and sass. Their garments can easily be worn during the day or night reason being the use of sensual materials such as leather, tulle, and chiffon. Even their makeup, skincare and perfumes are specially constructed with a moto to make their female audience feel empowered and strong.

PERSONALITY

Saint Laurent's branding is very cohesive, which means that how they perceive their clients is closely related to the way they perceive themselves. Saint Laurent's personality translates celebrity attitudes and their coveted status into reality. Ince the very start of the brand, they design garments and accessories that are smart, professional, and bold. Even the brand’s bold, fearless and driven models such as Kate Moss, Zoe Kravitz, and Kaia Gerber that have walked for their runways depict the strong female-centric age of the brand.

The brand also has a well-defined professional tone while it is addressing its audience through, mobile application, direct mail, emails, internal comms, etc.

CULTURE

The founder of Saint Laurent Paris, Yves Saint Laurent started his career in fashion in Paris. Yves Saint Laurent was also a firm believer in empowering women and always embraced diversity. Paris is the city where he got most of his inspiration for his work. Therefore the city has always been constantly assowithated to Even thoughct that it is not an essential part of their branding, their creative director Anthony Vaccarello displays his collection on an open-air runway facing the glowing Eiffel Tower as a tribute the saint Laurent’s home. Even today Saint Laurent’s designs today have Parisian-inspired aesthetics.

SELF-IMAGE

Saint Laurent’s garments, accessories, and shoes make the client feel the ease of luxury by providing chic and luxurious products. The consumer automatically tends to feel empowered and stylish After purchasing or possessing Saint Laurent products it gives the consumer sense of accomplishment, as from an emotional perspective acquiring luxury goods makes the consumer feel good because it raises confidence and self-esteem.

STRENGHTS

1. SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS - Saint Laurent has an active presence on 5 social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn with a good number of followers. Their Instagram strategy, in particular, has helped them gain a vast audience such as incorporating appealing and aesthetic images and videos of latest products.

2. BRAND ETHICS AND VALUES - Saint Laurent has always stood by its brand aim to create fashion that is eternal. Designing clothing that is empowering and powerful. Saint Laurent is known for brining back their classic styles by reviving their couture’s long history.

3. STRONG CLIENTELE - Saint Laurent has always provided its customers with the utmost high-quality products and efficient instore and online services through which they have a strong customer base who have an emotional relationship with the brand.

4. DESIGNS - The brand offers product designs that are a balanced mix of classic and contemporary trendy designs.

5. PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION - The brand has diversified into various product categories like ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags, accessories, makeup, perfume, and skincare.

WEAKNESSES

1. LACKS INNOVATIVE MARKETING METHODS - Saint Laurent lacks innovative and new methods to market and promote their products. Brands are going above and beyond to market their services to their audience such as offering sensory experiences by setting up creative retail popups, and offering various digital innovations for stores as well as websites.

2. GRAPHICS - Since the very beginning the brand has stuck to its back and white-dark aesthetics with little to no color sticking to these boundaries could be considered as boring by the new customers, therefore, saint Laurent should focus on giving some new color choices or introducing new graphics.

OPPORTUNITIES

1. GLOBALISATION - Developing market investments have the highest potential for growth. Diversifying Saint Laurent’s investment portfolio with international investments can help offset economic downturns in one country or region.

2. Hiring people from generation z - Generation z are considered as a highly collaborative cohort that cares deeply about others and have a pragmatic attitude about how to address a set of inherited issues like climate change, according to research by Roberta Katz, a senior research scholar at Stanford. Generation z luxury consumers are rising at a vast pace therefore, generation employees are needed as they can cater to and understand their diverse needs better.

3. Marketing to customers through offering multi-sensory experience- Based on the multisensory brand-experience hypothesis, firms should employ sensory strategies.Firms can differentiate and position brands in the human mind using sensors, sensations, and sensory expressions.

THREATS

High Competition - Brands like Dior, Celine, and Prada are expanding their appeal to a younger and newer audience through influencer or celebrity collaboration, launching creative campaigns, and tapping into digital trends eg. NFT, etc. By staying safe, Saint Laurent may not entice a new consumer.

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2. Recession - one of its main revenue centers, the UK and European markets, can also be felt by the economic recession.

3. Counterfeit market - It’s estimated that the fashion industry loses $50 billion a year to counterfeit goods(Sazed,2022). There is a huge counterfeit market that produces large number of fake saint Laurent bags. The brand recently came together with Chanel to tackle this issue and protect the company’s intellectual property

APPENDIX 3 : KELLER'S BRAND EQUITY MODEL

RESONANCE

JUDGEMENTS

FEELING

PERFORMANCE IMAGERY

SALIENCE

SALIENCE BRAND IDENTITY

Saint Laurent is a French luxury fashion house that was founded in the year 1962 in the city of Paris by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner at the time Pierre Bergé. The brand specializes in handbags, Haute couture, backpacks, sunglasses, footwear Ready-to-wear collection(women and men), leather goods and jewelry. Saint Laurent targets middle to high-class individuals, women, and men aged between 20 to 40 with minimal but chic choice of clothing. Saint Laurent has a firm presence on social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter.

BRAND MEANING PERFORMANCE

Saint Laurent offers extremely high-quality products therefore, they contribute to high prices. They design their products using a variety of fabrics that are sourced from around the world and are of extremely high quality. Saint Laurent provides its customers with the most efficient Customer service online as well as in-store from taking regular customer comments, suggestions and concerns.

IMAGERY

Saint Laurent is renowned for its use of minimal color within its collections, which are often monochromatic. Similarly, they are also known for their primary use of leather, sequins, lace, and fur to add to their contemporary vibe. Their black-and-white choice of website and store interiors defines the brand. Besides that iconic women's suits and the YSL logo is other prominent reason why the brand is recognized by the public. After possessing a saint Laurent product the customer buyer's social and psychological needs are satisfied as they make a person feel superior and give them a sense of prestige. Consequently, Saint Laurent has continued to create products that resonate with today's youth, reinterpreting the French chic heritage with the modern qualities of popular culture to create a new style of clothing.

BRAND RESPONSE JUDGEMENTS

Saint Laurent products aims to make their customers feel empowered by providing products that are chic classic and unique which customers cannot purchase anywhere else. Anthony Vaccarello current creative director of Saint Laurent has played a large role in expanding the customer base by making the brand more appealing to younger generations. Saint Laurent’s main competitors are Givenchy, Fendi, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Saint Laurent's unique sewing style for its leather products sets it apart from the competition.

FEELING

After the re-branding, Saint Laurent is perceived as more fun and creative. It evokes a feeling of excitement in their customers. Considering the brand’s luxury status it also gives its customers a feeling of superiority.

RELATIONSHIP

Saint Laurent is successful at maintaining attitudinal attachment with its customers. Having established a niche within the market that resonates strongly with customers, the brand has been able to distinguish itself from other French luxury brands. As a result of their identifiable designs, their products continue to remain relevant as they evolve. This unstagnant approach enables the company to grow and change along with its young audience. Therefore saint Laurent never fails to appeal to a chic, young and urban audience. Even though the brand has excellent in-store inshore hospitality, marketing through personal emails, newsletters, etc has helped the brand gain a large number of loyal customers.

APPENDIX 4: THE MARKETING MIX

Utilizing semiotics in marketing by creating an immersive exhibition on London's Oxford Street. This exhibition would include virtual reality, augmented reality, mirrors, lighting effects, projections, 3D displays, viewer participation, music, and audio and smell effects. Inspired by the Saint Laurent brand's aesthetics and Paris, as well as Yves Saint Laurent, the founder of the brand.

PRICE

The following campaign is initiated by the brand in order to support women's mental health and In honor world mental health day. The service would be free of cost for all people. Interested participants would have to book tickets online, every entrant should be there for 30 mins maximum.

PLACE

The exhibition would be held at a hired immersive space called W1 curates at Oxford street London (161, 167 Oxford St, London W1D 2JP, United Kingdom). That offers 8k screen resolution made up of bespoke LED panels, 31.7M Pixels covering 3 arrays + more than 550m2 of facade with a 2.6-pixel pitch. One of the best places designed specially to deliver the best and the most cutting-edge projects in art and fashion.

PROMOTION

The following initiative would be promoted through saint Laurent’s social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn using the hashtag #HealingHeartsbySaintLaurent other promotion platforms such as email, and Saint Laurent’s public relations would be used. The campaign is likely to receive positive feedback from tech-savvy millennials and gen Z, and could even trending on TikTok and Instagram.

#HealingHeartsbySaintLaurent

Book Tickets here: 1

PEOPLE

Saint Laurent’s technical team and visual merchandising would be specially trained by w1 curates immersive art specialists in order to create and present digital art that would be therapeutic, calming, and visually pleasing to the audience. An exhibition mock trial is conducted by W1's curatorial specialists to determine if any flaws need to be addressed. A security team will also be present at the venue to verify tickets and ensure safety inside the exhibition. Besides, the marketing team would take care of all promotional activities.

W1 CURATES PROCESS

Timeline clearly explains the entire procedure required to set up the exhibition.(Table 2. )

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Being located on Europe's busiest shopping street the exhibition would expect huge footfall which would be great for Saint Laurent’s marketing. Everyone would be welcome to experience the exhibition where special assistance arrangements would be made for handicapped people ensuring everyone can be a part of the exhibition thereby, abiding United Nations' sustainable development goal 1 reduced inequalities.

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