Brand consistency with style – Our in-store special event for TIGI and VIZ A VIZ
Women’s clothing brands TIGI and VIZ A VIZ were looking to reach new audiences through a series of special events in Costco warehouses.
As clothing brands, they needed a partner who could help to create a stylish, eye-catching stand and a high-quality experience for members, consistent with the wider brands. It wasn’t enough to simply hang some clothes out and wait for passers-by. The stand had to pop, the styles and colours had to be aligned in specific colourways to spark the buyers’ imaginations, and the brand ambassadors needed to be knowledgeable and focused on what worked for the target customer.
Added to that, our merchandisers needed to be on hand to replenish stocks and work with whatever stock was available to maintain the event’s quality throughout each location’s two-week run. Due to the timeframes and locations, the stand would need to be set-up and broken down smoothly and quickly.
Planning
The most crucial part of this – and of any project – is the brief. TIGI/VIZ A VIZ provided a clear set of guidelines about how to lay out the stand, and their do’s and don’ts. The brief also included crucial brand information so the event aligned perfectly with the brand’s and Costco’s expectations.
Visual consistency is integral to in-store experiences. With unmanned special events, stock comes and goes, and day-to-day replenishment and resetting have to be undertaken by warehouse staff. But what does that look like? And how do we ensure the client is happy?
Well, firstly the internal brief included clear pictures of the right and wrong ways to replenish stock, direct from the client. But we went one step further, creating a set-up and replenishment video that explained the process and brand requirements. The video could be consulted by any staff on the site whenever they needed to check back on best practice.
Also on the brief was the big stuff – delivery and collections information and replenishment details – right the way through to the small – pricing, hangers and style guides. The role of all this was to arm our team with everything they needed to create a consistent, high-quality experience that was true to the brand they were representing.
So, that’s the planning, what about the execution?
Delivering the project
WDS provided three staff over a nine-hour set-up phase to build the TIGI stand, using sturdy rails to give the appearance of a permanent department store concession. The team hung thick black curtains behind all four corners of the product rail to give the whole stand a more luxurious and classy backdrop. The rail also provided the added benefit of a closed-off interior area, in which replenishment stock could be stored close-to-hand. Carefully placed branded hangers and signage helped finish the department store look.
As well as providing visual instructions to ensure brand consistency – with video and photos – we asked for pictures from our team in return – getting them to send daily snaps of the site in set-up mode. This allowed us to check aesthetic, as well as to judge stock levels. In this regard, we also tested a brand new collaborative software solution – Team Haven – aimed at improving communications between management and front line staff. Rather than asking our team to send emails – which can easily be missed or passed around a number of stakeholders before reaching the client – Team Haven uploads images to a shared folder, where all parties are alerted at the same time, and have real-time access.
The system means every photo is timestamped with attached comments, with both WDS and the client able to leave live feedback. Much like Dropbox or Google Drive, it gives clients a seamless overview of their stand and leaves everyone confident that their brand is being represented just as they would want it.
When it came to pack down, we did so smoothly and safely, allowing warehouse staff to work around us for minimal disruption. We removed stock and carefully folded it into storage boxes, sealed and labelled each collection, then flat packed and bubble wrapped the branded signage and stand collateral. This meant everything was packed in such a way that the client could quickly move it to another location and begin a new merchandising event.
We love planning special events. To see what we’ve created for past clients please download our brochure. And if you have your own ideas for a special merchandising event then why not get in touch and see how we could help.
