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Reflection|Storytelling

Challenge:

A designer friend had just launched a high end couture boutique in Dubai and even though the

outlet was opened in a posh mall, the sales were very low. His target audience was the posh class of Dubai.  The materials he used in their garments were luxurious and the outfits and gowns were fashionable and  the price was high enough to bring allure to his dresses. However, he was gaining little to no attention.  He did not understand what he was missing out on, he did advertisement in fashion magazines, had an  online presence and the customers were welcome to come into his boutique and checkout his  merchandise but nothing seem to have worked.

Selection:

It was my friend’s first venture and was inexperienced to run a business himself. He asked me for help as  he needed someone to look at things from a different perspective and we stated to look at other luxury  items his clientele usually buys. This research included possessions and accessories like watches, cars,  guns, beverages etc. we found out that the brands that his target audience appreciated didn’t offer just  high quality and class but a heritage as well. They had a legacy that people were happy to pay a premium  for. Take watches for an example, a digital Casio is lighter, more accurate and cheaper than high end  mechanical watches. It is by all means a better watch. But people are willing to pay a much much greater  amount of money for a Patek Philippe to be part of the 181 years of heritage. And these brands made sure  that people knew their story, it is like it is part of their product. So I decided to tell my friend’s story. His  family has been in the fashion industry of Pakistan for three generations and have deep roots but the  people of Dubai did not know and we decided to change that.

Application:

I decided to apply this method by mostly text. I wrote the “Designer’s Story” and we linked every

single one of his dresses to it. I wrote his inspiration behind each dress to show why he picked the colors  that he chose and the cuts he draped. I wrote how he was the third generation in the business, effectively  giving him a century of history. We added all this text on his website and published them in high end  fashion journalism. We even made booklets and each customer was handed one when they were greeted  into the shop. We made sure that he audience understood that they were not just paying for the materials  and the craftsmanship but rather to be a part of this tradition and intermixing of cultures that he had so  gracefully brought.

Insight:

We found out that knowing about the history put the audience at ease. They found comfort and

pride in being part of a history, something they felt to be larger than themselves. The deeper the history,  the more comfortable people were in paying the premium as it gave the designer this allure and feeling  of exclusiveness. We felt that this history can be attached to almost any item and it would sell. Basically,  quality is what brands offer but is not exactly what makes a brand. It is a story, an emotional response

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and a need to relate that forms a brand. Also people tend to appreciate foreign historically related  products than locally historically related products as it adds a feel of sophistication and culture.

Approach:

I would try to use storytelling through visual aid. Although text is a really good way to

communicate but not everyone has the time to read. It is much easier to grip attention and transfer  emotion using visual aid then using writing. However, from what I’ve learnt in the course the method that  I have to use will be determined from the new data that I get after the experiments.

