Developing the Paris Hilton retail concept

ByJensGregersen:Ideveloplongtermcompetitiveadvantagesbasedonconsumerorientedstrategiesan approachwhichIhaveimplementedindiverseculturalmarketsacrossEurope,theMiddleEastandAsia. StayconnectedLinkedIn

AstheParisHiltonHandbagsbrandexpandedintotheMiddleEastin2008 theneedforaretailconceptbecameevident.Untilthismarketentrythe productlinewassoldviamultibrandshopsanddepartmentstoresin otherpartsoftheworld.ButdefiningauniqueParisHiltonshopping experience,whichcouldappealacrossagegroupsandindifferentgeo graphicalareas,wasbynomeansaneasytask. DevelopingtheParisHiltonretailshopconceptincludedavisitto ParissprivateBeverlyHillshomeallthewaytoherbedroom andtheassistanceoffocusgroupsfromthreecontinents.Three yearsafterapprovingthefinalconceptatotalof30branded shopsareinoperationthroughouttheMiddleEast,Asiaand SouthAmerica.

Theembodimentofsocialmarketing
Acrossages,gender,culturesandgeographicalareasanyper sonwithaccesstotheinternetorreadersofyellowpresspubli cationsseemtohaveanopinionaboutParisHiltonsheisa personwhosplitwaters,peopleseemtoeitherloveorloathe her.Hercriticsoftensaythatsheisfamousforbeingfamous butonethingisforsurewherevershegoesshedrawshugefan scares,mediaandothercuriouspeoplelittlewonderthatsheissaidtobe theworldsmostphotographedwoman.Fewothercelebritiescanensurea similarlevelofattention,beingtotheproductsandbrandssheendorses orherveryownproductline.Fromareturnoninvestment(ROI) pointofviewthisisreallytheonlythingwhatmatterstobusiness ownerswhogladlypay100,000USDforaonehourappearancein termsofmarketing,brandingandrevenueshesworthitlikeheror not! ThesecretbehindtheParisHiltonbrandisnotreallyherinternational appeal,itisthewaysheappeals,orratherhowshecommunicates. Forexample,withmorethan4.8millionconnection(June2011)sheisone ofthemostfollowedpersonsonTwitterandthebasicreasonforthisis rathersimple,sheisamajorcontributorinthesensethatsheallowspeo pleintoherprofessionalandpersonalspheresinotherwords,sheis verycloseandrealtoherfollowers.ParisHiltonistheembodimentofmarketinginthesocialmediaandexperi enceeconomysheconnectsthedots.

Commercialisingacelebritybrand
ThemagnitudeandcomplexityofParissbrandiswellknowntoJensGregersenDirectorofBrandandSales StrategyatParisHiltonHandbagssince2007hehasbeeninchargeofintroducingtheproductrangeinnew marketsaroundtheworld.Jensexplains;Thisisabrandthatrequiresanextendedtoolbox,noonesolutionfits

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WhenpeoplegoshoppinginmyshopsIwantthemto haveagreattime.Iwantthemtofeelliketheyre havingfunwhileshopping.

ParisHilton(2008)

all.Eachnewmarketisachallengethatrequiresanamountoflocalisationasthebrandperceptionandcus tomersegmentdifferentiate.Thisisprobablyoneofthemaindifferencesbetweenacelebritybrandabrand basedonanactualpersonwithpreferencesandopinionscomparedtoatraditionalbrand,whichisdefinedbya marketingdepartment.Parissbrandiscontinuouslydevelopinginthesensethatsheisaconstantsourceof storiesandwhatthemediadoesntpickupshewillpublishherselfviaTwitterandothersocialmediaplat forms.explainsJensGregersenwhoseexperiencewiththeParisHiltonbrandwasputtothetestasitwasde cidedtoexpandintotheMiddleEastinearly2008. TheMiddleEasternmarketisnodifferentinthesensethatadifferenti atedstrategyisrequiredinordertoensureasuccessfulmarketpene trationforonethecustomersegmentinthisregionisabouttwicethe ageoftheEuropeancustomers.BecausetheMiddleEasterncustomeris typically2535yearstheactualproductrangehadtobeadaptedslightly; asthissegmentislesspricesensitivethedesignteamcouldincludemore maturedesignswithahigherfocusonespeciallythehardwareanduse moreadvancedmaterialsgivingtheproductsaricherlook.ButtheMid dleEasternregiondifferentiatesignificantlyintermsofhowproductsare sold. UntildecidingtoentertheMiddleEastParisHiltonbrandedproducts hadbeensoldineithermultibrandordepartmentstoresaroundthe world,buttheretailmarketintheMiddleEastdifferentiateinthis regionjustaboutallbrandsaresoldinmonobranded,standalone shops,traditionaldepartmentstoresdoexistbuttherearefewandfar between.Thus,startingupinoneofthemostexitingandpromising marketsrequiredaParisHiltonshopconcept. Astheworkondefiningtheretailshopconceptbeganin2008JensGregersenwasthefirsttostresstheimpor tanceofmakingitanexperiencetoenteraParisHiltonshopbeyondappealingdecorationandproductsit hadtonotjustreflectthebrandimageofParisHiltonbutalsogivetheconsumersthesenseofbeingcloseto Parisherself.ThiswasespeciallyimportantasthemajorityofParisHiltonscustomersarebetween1535 yearsoldandheavyinternetandsocialmediausers.Inotherwords,theshopconcepthadtomeetthecustom ersonmorelevelsthanmerelyprovidingbrandeddesignproductsinstyledshops.Jensexplains;Thoughenter ingtheMiddleEasttriggeredthedevelopmentoftheretailshopconceptitwasalwaysconsideredpartofalong termglobalstrategyandnotjustaregionaladaptation.Thiswaseasiersaidthandoneasthecustomerbase differentiatefromregiontoregion,butwheretheproductrangecouldbeadaptedslightlyintermsofprices anddesignstheshopconcepthadtostaythesame.Jenselaborates;Especiallycelebritybrandsaresubjectto localisationafacttheinteriordesignteamhadtoconsiderinordertomaketheconceptappealingworld wide...thesamebehaviourandopinionsexpressedbyParistendtobeperceiveddifferentlyfromcountryto country. Assuch,intheresearchphasethehandbagsteamformedfocusgroupsinfourverydistinctgeographicallyar eas,America,Europe,theMiddleEastandAsia.Memberswereaskedtoprovidealladjectivesthatcameto theirmindwhenthinkingofParisHilton.Thesewordswerethencategorisedandanalysedforpatterns.It quicklybecameclearthatthemajorityofthefocusgroupmemberscouldagreeonParisHiltonexpressingglam our,fashionandsexiness.Thus,thesewordsbecamethefoundingpillarsinthedevelopmentoftheretailshop concept.

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ParisHiltonsviewontheshopdesign Itsreallyfashionableandsleek.It reflectsthedcorofmyhouse,very feminineandneat.Itsveryme.

JoinMeontheCatwalk
WithinmonthsadesignconcepttitledJoinMeontheCatwalkwaspresentedtoParisHiltonaconceptwhich isanextendedinterpretationoftheParisHiltonbrand,itunderlinesthefactthatParisisacelebritywhoselifeis onconstantpublicdisplayinotherwords,herlifeisa24/7catwalk. Parissimmediatereactionwas thatsheidentifiedherselfinthe expressionandunderlyingidea butbeinganbornexpertinher ownbrandshesuggestedsome correctionstoensurethefinal designwasalignedwithherself perception.Pariswantedto balancetheconclusionsofthe focusgroupswithherown voice,shewantedtheinterior designteamtotaketheirbrand propositiononestepfurther, andthereforeinvitedtheteam tostudyherprivateBeverlyHills homeforthatspecialthing. Basedonthisstudyitquicklybecamecleartotheteamthatforexampletheoriginallychosenfuturisticlamps hadtobereplacedwithchandelierastylefoundthroughoutParisshome.Anotherobviouschangewasthe needtousewallpaperwitharomanticpattern.Parislovedthechangesandimmediatelyapprovedthefinal retailshopconcept. TheunderlyingideaofJoinMeontheCatwalkisconceptualisedthroughouttheshopsforexampleinthefur niturewhichareroundedandconnectedonthefloor,givingtheimpressionofafloatingandcontinuouspath theredcarpetoflife.Parisstrademarkedsilhouetteintheshapeofa1:1mirrorwasanobviousfeatureto includeandisfoundinallshopsworldwideandthesearesignedbyPariswhenevershemakesanofficial opening.Overalltheconceptisaverylightandfeminineexpressionkeptmainlyinwhiteandsilverensuring thatitdonotcompeteforattentionwiththeartworkpostersandproductsondisplay.

Beyondtraditionalshopping
Consumersareincreasinglymoredemandingwhenshoppingbothbecauseofhigherpurchasingpowerbutalso becauseofalargervarietyofbrandsavailable.AccordingtoPineandGilmore(WorkIsTheatre&EveryBusiness aStage)customersexpectexperiencesandtransformationsthewritersdiscusstheneedforbusinessesto orchestratememorableeventsfortheircustomers.ThoughsatisfiedwiththeapprovedshopconceptJensGre gersenstartedworkingonbringingtheshoppingexperienceevenclosertoParisHilton,anobviouswayofdoing thiswasbyincludingsocialmedia;JensexplainsParissbrandwasoriginallycreatedinthetraditionalmedia, butovertheyearssocialmediahasbecomeanincreasinglyimportantcommunicationplatform,thereforeit madesensetomakesocialmediaanintegralpartoftheshoppingexperience.Thisideawasmaterialisedinthe shapeoflargeTVscreensconnecteddirectlytoParissTwitterprofilegivingvisitorsthechangetosendashort greetingdirectlytotheiridolwhocansendaninstantreply.Thistypeofdirectcommunicationstrengthens thebondbetweenthecustomersandParisHilton,apersonalisationwhichispracticallyimpossibletoduplicate byatraditionalbrandpersonalisationandrealisoneoftheobviousbenefitsofacelebritybrand.Jenstells.

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