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Acne's Social media (Instagram) doesn't seem to be very active in the sense of posting everyday. They will post when they have a new collection launch or new campaign which is usually spaced a week or more from the last post.
On the other hand when they do have a new collection launch they post regularly, once or twice a day. They have a variety of posts including videos, model shots, Reels etc.

The same goes for Acne's Facebook page. They will have consistent posts during a new launch or collection. They will be cohesive with the posts from Instagram making it easy for customers to navigate from one to another. The same goes for their twitter page.

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Artist's transform everyday objects into eye catching artwork.
Using cutlery and crockery to create new forms.

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Traditional crafts used in artworks.

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Artist's using their work to raise awareness around climate change and the emergency to do something now.

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Immersive nature filled spaces, physically and digitally.
Due to quarantine, it provided escapism.

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Artwork pays homage to heath care workers.
Toilet rolls and hand sanitiser become motifs.
Social distancing rules.

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Artists documenting their days during lockdown.
Miniature homes of dreams.
* Pillow den
* Loo roll volcano
* Empty toilet rolls into instruments.

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Key Action Points;
* Create a sanctuary
Recreate the spaces of dreams
* Immerse in nature
Wellbeing benefits of nature
* Embrace craft
Traditional crafts such as weaving

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Suspended water bags to represent our fast paced, ever changing society.
Wooden cubes represents the brands slow fashion ethos.
Honest values.
Quality not quantity.

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Rainbow Project.
Hope and joy.
Coincided with Pride month.
Designs by Louis Vuitton employees and their children.

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"Thankyou" Window display for those who contributed to keeping the UK going during the pandemic.
Kindness, empathy and togetherness.
Posters of personal messages.

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In support of #Black Lives Matter movement.
Heart shaped hand gesture sculptures in various skin tones.

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Immersive activation with disruptive product displays.
Opportunities to take pictures.
Sustainable display with impact.

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Vote Windows
Supporting most important rights of democracy.
Getting community to vote.
Offer registration in store.

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Planet Earth.
Hermes ethos of respecting the earth.
Creating objects that withstand the test of time.

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Heart shaped displays using 12,600 leaves.
Each hand cut from recycled materials.
Hand dyes and sewn into 1269 strands.

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Project Earth
Eco-Window displays with powerful messages.
Addressing materials used.
New ways of shopping.

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More global windows for Summer 2020

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Sleek, minimal, luxury.

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Rewards app strategy
Tone of voice

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Imagine you run a luxury store and somebody shoplifts. What do you do, brush it under the carpet? Suppress all talk of the fact that you as a store were outsmarted? Not if you're Harvey Nichols.

As part of the communication strategy for its new "Rewards App", the luxury retailer has released an unexpectedly quirky video that exposes real-life shoplifters; while replacing the faces with cartoons. Shot in the company's flagship Knightsbridge store in London, the video is part of a campaign entitled #LoveFreebies; the objective of which is to point out that customers can receive "legal freebies" thanks to the new loyalty app.

This article on convinceandconvert.com rightly notes that Harvey Nichols is showcasing a different, more human side of the brand. "The footage is unexpected, compelling, and in some cases, humorous; making it great, shareable marketing." This is very true. If the #LoveFreebies campaign is anything, it's original and the last thing you would expect from such an upmarket brand.

Unexpected, however, is a quality more and more brands are striving to achieve in order to engage consumers on social media. So despite being uncharacteristic, this initiative from Harvey Nichols might be a sign of the playfulness we can expect from more brands in the not so distant future.

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Harvey Nichols and Retail Innovation on Social Media | Sociabble

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Imagine you run a luxury store and somebody shoplifts. What do you do, brush it under the carpet? Suppress all talk of the fact that you as a store were outsmarted? Not if you're Harvey Nichols.

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Posts are consistent across platforms however not exact copy from platform to platform.

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Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.

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Instagram being most popular social media so would be no1 platform to do most promoting.

More than 800 million people actively use Instagram every month.

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With more than 3.5 billion users, social media is growing tremendously. It is now a preferred medium for businesses to reach out to its target audience.

But, why social media is considered as a massive world when it comes to online business?

Well, it is very obvious because social media include different gigantic social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and more.

But if we consider the most trending one, then Instagram is one of the most preferred platform, which is outshining over other social media platforms.

And I know, if you're having Instagram, then I'm pretty much sure it's your favorite platform for promoting your brand, isn't it?

However, if you haven't, let me tell you that you're missing out on some serious opportunities. Here's why:

These statistics clearly prove Instagram's growth ratio and gives us the reason why the world's biggest brands prefer Instagram over other social platforms to promote their products and services.

So, this makes us clear that Instagram is extremely effective in helping various brands to reach out to new customers and build a massive following of brand advocates.
But if you're still not convinced..
Check out the top 6 reasons why brands prefer Instagram over other social media platforms.

1. Tap into the Pool of Mobile App Users

I'm sure you're aware that Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all other social platforms have already gone mobile.

Why is that?

Well, because more than 52% of all web traffic comes from mobile devices.

But wait, there's more to the story. According to a study by eMarketer, people spend 84.9% of their time on phones using mobile apps.

The study also revealed that more people are now spending time on social media using mobile devices. Hence, this proves that mobile internet is trending more and more amongst internet users.

So, it is very obvious that people will find easy to operate Instagram and other social media platforms through their mobiles. Still, with such easiness, users find Instagram as the most popular social networking app, after Facebook. As of November 2017, 101.42 million mobile users accessed the Instagram app.

Given these statistics, it's not difficult to understand why brands love Instagram when it comes to engaging consumers on mobile.
So, which reason is next on the list?
2. To Increase Brand Reach

So you already know that Instagram has more than 800 million monthly active users. However, did you also know that Instagram is likely to reach 1 billion monthly active users in 2018?

You may be wondering why you should care about Instagram when Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users.
Well, here's why...
There are 6 million advertisers using Facebook to reach out to their target audiences. However, Facebook's new update to their news feed algorithm has made it tougher for advertisers and brands to be seen and heard.

Whereas,

On the other hand, Instagram now has over 25 million business accounts with 80% of users following at least one business. Compared to Facebook, Instagram has around 2 million monthly advertisers. So, not only you have less competition on Instagram, but also a greater scope of succeeding with your marketing.

Hence, with such advantages, it's hardly surprising that brands prefer Instagram over other social media platforms.

3. To Share Beautiful Visual Content

It shouldn't come as a surprise that visuals are the best way to communicate and get your message across to people. This is the main reason why marketers prefer using visuals in their social media marketing mix. Because, when it comes to choosing a social platform, Instagram wins hands-down.

Instagram is entirely a visual platform where the news feed is completely filled with visuals and using a free Instagram scheduling tool helps you with easy sharing of these visuals.

According to a BuzzSumo study, images posted to Facebook via Instagram get more engagement than those posted directly.

Also, according to predictions by Social Media Today, Instagram is the fastest growing social platform around the globe. These statistics clearly indicate that Instagram can help you showcase your brand effectively to the world.

However, to get the most out of Instagram, don't forget to add relevant hashtags in your posts. Hashtags help your posts to get discovered by Instagram users through searches so you can achieve greater visibility.

But with hashtags, don't forget to give your great focus to Instagram stories!

4. To Win Through Instagram Stories

Audiences today want, rather demand, that brands share authentic stories that resonate well with them.

Quite naturally, this compels businesses to embrace storytelling in their conversations with their audiences. And when it comes to storytelling by brands, Instagram is the platform that steals the show.

Instagram Stories have contributed to a 7-10 minute rise in the time spent by an average user on the app daily. Right now, there are more than 300 million daily active users of Instagram Stories.

With this graph, it easily gets clear that Instagram is a visual platform, which has a great feature namely "Instagram Stories".

Instagram Stories have opened up a world of new opportunities for brands. Not only can you make use of features like Geo-location tagging, hashtags and text, but also on Stories.

But Instagram didn't stop there. In 2020 it has released a new TikTok-alike feature, Reels. It is yet another opportunity for businesses to engage with the vast audience of the platform. Learn how to use Instagram reels for business.

So, give it a try and get the best out of your brand storytelling to the audience at large.

5. To Boost Engagement Rates

Did you know that 500 million people are actively using the Instagram platform on a daily basis?

However, it's not just the sheer number of people that makes brands flock to the platform. More importantly, Instagram is a platform that can generate the highest engagement rates on posted content.

Here's what micro-influencers have to say about engagement on Instagram. In a survey by Bloglovin', 59% of them said that Instagram is the most effective platform for engaging audiences. This survey included over 2,500 micro-influencers as respondents.

Engagement rate is a key consideration when it comes to selecting influencers for your campaigns. With the growth and popularity of Instagram, there has been a rise in unscrupulous practices too. Some companies offer followers in exchange for a price. However, paid followers are seldom genuine and mostly a combination of fake accounts and bots.

So, when you select influencers for a campaign, more than their follower counts, check out their engagement rates. The higher the engagement rate, the higher the likelihood of an influencer being genuine and authentic.

You can search for relevant influencers in your niche and check their engagement rates, reach, etc. You can also track and measure your campaigns effectively and make any adjustments in real-time.

According to a by Locowise in February 2017,

Instagram generates 70% higher engagement rates than Facebook.

And 669% higher engagement rates than Twitter.

So,
Now you definitely don't require a knowledge of rocket science to understand why brands prefer Instagram over other platforms.

6. To Generate Higher Conversion Rates

No matter what kind of a business you run, boosting conversions must be a top priority for you because social media can help you out in this regard, with tons of referral traffic and leads.

According to a study by Shopify, the conversion rate of ecommerce businesses from Instagram is 1.08%.
Not just that...
The referral traffic from Instagram results in an average order value of $65.

This is way higher compared to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But guess what's the most surprising part is?

Well, Instagram delivers such incredible returns even though you can't use clickable links anywhere on the platform other than your bio.

Undoubtedly, Instagram proves to be a clear winner when it comes to boosting conversions and generating sales.
Final Opinion!
Now that you know the real benefits of using Instagram, how do you ensure that you stay ahead of your competitors?

Well, you can easily boost your brand by connecting your Instagram account to SocialPilot and automate the process of uploading, scheduling, and publishing on Instagram. Using an Instagram automation tool will help you save tons of time and effort and enjoy greater control of your Instagram account.

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Why Do Brands Prefer Instagram Over Other Social Media Platforms

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With more than 3.5 billion users, social media is growing tremendously. It is now a preferred medium for businesses to reach out to its target audience. But, why social media is considered as a massive world when it comes to online business?

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Li Huayi (b. 1948), Rising Mountain, 2006

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Li Huayi (b. 1948), Rising Mountain, 2006

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REN XIONG (1823-1857)Drinking Cards with Illustrations of Daoist Immortals

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REN XIONG (1823-1857)Drinking Cards with Illustrations of Daoist Immortals

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(Contemporary Artist)

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Reviews

"A great artist, and a great exhibition. Not to be missed"

Mail on Sunday

Gallery

You brought Ai Weiwei's Tree to London

Thank you to our 1,319 Kickstarter backers who contributed £123,000 to bring Ai Weiwei's monumental installation, Tree, to our courtyard.

Made from reassembled pieces of dead wood from the hills of southern China, Tree has been likened to the modern Chinese nation, where ethnically diverse peoples have been brought together to form 'One China', a state-sponsored policy aimed at protecting and promoting the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Read more about Tree in curator Adrian Locke's blog.

Watch a timelapse video of the installation of Tree here.

Image: Ai Weiwei, Tree, 2009-10, 2015. Installation at the Royal Academy of Arts, London 2015. Photo: Fraser Marr.

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Talks and tours

Get more out of the exhibition

Exhibition tours
45 minutes, free with an exhibition ticket, no booking required
2.30pm Wednesdays, 7pm Fridays (23 September-4 December)

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Exhibition in focus guide

Art Detective: A Guide Through the Exhibition for Young Visitors

This exhibition at the RA looks back at artworks Ai Weiwei has produced over the last 22 years, and features ceramics, photography, video, sculpture, wallpaper, furniture and so much more, including new work created just for this exhibition.

Let's explore...

Shop the Ai Weiwei Exhibition

'Surveillance' silk scarf

Finger telescopic umbrella

Ai Weiwei hardback catalogue

Ai Weiwei limited editions

Shop a unique series of limited editions by Ai Weiwei, from exhibition catalogues with individually painted dust jackets, to handmade porcelain flowers.

The dust jackets for the limited edition of the catalogue of Ai Weiwei's 2015 exhibition at the Royal Academy have been individually painted by the artist in one of ten colours. You can also buy beautiful porcelain chrysanthemums, universal symbols of both freedom and remembrance, which have been manufactured especially for the Royal Academy.

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Ai Weiwei | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts

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Major artist and cultural phenomenon Ai Weiwei takes over our main galleries with brave, provocative and visionary works.

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20th century & contemporary art evening sale

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Ai Weiwei - Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads | Phillips

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View Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads by Ai Weiwei sold at 20th Century & Contemporary Art Evening Sale on New York Auction 18 May 2017. Learn more about the piece and artist, and its final selling price

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Collecting Guide: 7 things to know about Chinese traditional painting | Christie's

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Specialist Elizabeth Hammer on why age-old themes, materials and techniques continue to flourish among artists and collectors

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Specialist Carmen Shek Cerne introduces eight artists who have rewritten the rules of classical tradition, sometimes subtly, often dramatically - illustrated with works offered at Christie's

The Taipei-based artist Liu Kuo-Sung is widely regarded as the one of the forerunners of the contemporary ink art movement. Through the use of vibrant colours and new techniques, he revolutionised landscape paintings at a time when many of his contemporaries employed only ink and rice paper to reflect the classical tradition.

'The artist first visited Tibet in the 1980s, and during the summer of 2000 he embarked on a journey to reach Everest Base Camp. It led to a breakthrough in his depiction of snow-capped mountains,' explains Carmen Shek Cerne, head of Chinese Paintings in Hong Kong.

Liu Kuo-Sung began to create his 'Tibetan Suite' series with an experimental use of materials. 'The process involves peeling strands of fibre from a specially-made textured paper to outline mountains in white,' says our specialist. 'Through repeated painting, creasing and peeling of paper, Liu creates atmospheric ''portraits" of snowy mountains, their topography shown through crisscrossing white lines set against the dark, expansive backdrop of a Tibetan sky.'

Although Liu Dan studied Confucian classics and calligraphy at an early age, and later attended the Jiangsu Traditional Chinese Painting Institute where he studied under artist Ya Ming, it was only after moving to the United States in 1981 that he began to associate his art with classical Chinese painting. It was there that he found new opportunities to learn from museum collections of classical paintings. In the US he also developed an interest in Mediterranean antiquity, as well as the history of Medieval and Renaissance Europe.

'Meticulously rendered with a sense of hyperrealism, Liu Dan's work 'deploys intricate layers of ink that suggests both light and dark. His technique resonates with drawings by European Renaissance artists and Old Masters,' says Cerne. 'The result is an image both true to Chinese and European tradition, and yet spectacularly novel and contemporary.'

In 1982 Li Huayi moved from China to San Francisco and enrolled at the Academy of Art University, where he became acquainted with European art.

His experimental, intricate landscapes blend new and old European style, while also recalling monumental Northern Song paintings in spirit. Li has since returned to China, travelling to scenic, historic and cultural sites including Mount Huang and Dunhuang, which have remained a lasting inspiration in his later work.

Beginning with splashes of ink on paper to create a formation of mountains and cliffs (a technique often associated with Zhang Daqian), Li Huayi then meticulously adds photo-realistic details of jagged rocks and looming pines using a fine brush. An interest in Buddhist philosophy propels Li Huayi to seek such motifs in nature. Sometimes the shape of cliffs resembles the profile of a Bodhidharma.

Xu Lei participated in China's radical '85 New Wave movement and his work was exhibited in the China/Avant-Garde Exhibition in Beijing in 1989. A master manipulator of the seen and the unseen, Xu Lei is known for his implausible dreamscapes washed in hues of blue.

Departing Horse, painted in 1997, depicts a white steed whose rump is marked with a blue-and-white floral pattern such as those found on Ming and Qing porcelain.

Xu Bing was born in Chongqing, and lives between Beijing and the USA. His career has repeatedly pushed the boundaries of contemporary ink art.

After he relocated to the US in 1991, he developed a new system of writing, called Square Word Calligraphy. It is a hybrid writing system that reflects his sense of disorientation at living in this new linguistic environment, where he spoke little English.

Xu built this new script into his work, and created a guide which taught the reader how to write their own Square Word Calligraphy.

Xu used the script as a tool to deepen cross-cultural understandings, and to prompt reflection on the interplay between language, culture and identity.

Shanghai-based artist Wang Tiande creates conceptual, experimental works in a daring mixed-media style.

The story goes that one day Wang accidentally flicked the ash from his lit cigarette on to rice paper, and became mesmerised by how it burnt, creating shapes by chance.

Inspired, Wang began transforming his landscape paintings - often accompanied by calligraphy - by directly burning paper painted with copies of classical Chinese paintings with a cigarette or incense,' the specialist explains. 'The spontaneous deconstruction of classical paintings, both in terms of the visual and the conceptual, is now crucial to Wang's artistic practise.

According to the artist, his works are paintings composed of two overlapping layers: the bottom, landscape and calligraphy depicted with traditional ink and brush, while the top is bast [fibre] paper burnt with incense. Generated solely by the overlapping of the layers through this conceptual act, the added dimension of landscape and calligraphy can create a boundless space of imagination for the viewer.

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Although he is now internationally renowned for combining calligraphy with performance and installation art, Wang Dongling initially received a traditional training by apprenticing with the calligrapher Lin Sanzhi. 'The brush has become an extension of my body,' he once claimed. 'Calligraphy has been my calling, my life, and my aspiration.'

An artist as well as an advocate for contemporary calligraphy, Wang turns the art of writing from a flat form into an expressive performance.

A native of Guangzhou, Lui Shou Kwan moved to Hong Kong in 1948 and worked for the Hong Kong and Yaumatei Ferry Company as an inspector while also painting, teaching and writing.

Lui Shou Kwan became a pioneer of the New Ink Movement in Hong Kong during the 1960s. In early 2019 - the centenary of his birth - an exhibition of the artist's work was held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

In the late 1960s and 70s, during the last decade of his life, Lui reached the peak of his career with the creation of a series of abstract Zen paintings. They represent a universal theme, the lotus, which symbolises eternity, purity and the Buddhist rank of 'Awakened One'. His particular 'wet' style of painting, as seen above, is fervently energetic, expressing the artist's emotion at its most complex.

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Related feature

Foh Kai Lik on the 'joy, pride and responsibility' of his family's collection of Chinese paintings

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Chinese contemporary ink paintings: a guide to the artists you should know | Christie's

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From the pioneering work of Liu Kuo-Sung to Lui Shou Kwan and the New Ink Movement, we look at the Chinese contemporary artists who made their mark in ink | Christie's'

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Yao Wenyuan (姚文元, 1931-2005) was born in Zhuji County, Zhejiang Province. As a literary critic, he would become one of the most visible members of the 'Gang of Four', earning the nickname "The Cudgel" for having taken a hard line in all important campaigns. Yao was the son of Yao Benzi, a well-known leftist writer in the 1930s. Following in his father's footsteps, Yao embarked on a career in literature and literary criticism. A member of the Shanghai chapter of the Chinese Writers' Association, he advocated an orthodox literary line that adhered to Mao Zedong Thought, and opposed the more liberal tendency that prevailed in literature atthe time. His writing played an important role in the purge of Hu Feng in 1955. During the "Hundred Flower"-movement, Yao actively participated in the criticism of writers who were seen as 'right deviationists'. At the same time, Yao became a protégé of Zhang Chungqiao. In the poster below, Yao is depicted in the lower right corner.

Yao became closely associated with Mao and Jiang Qing when they settled in Shanghai in 1963 as a result of political opposition they encountered in Beijing. He is credited with having fired the opening salvo of the Cultural Revolution with the publication of his article 'Notes on the New Historical Drama Hai Rui Dismissed from Office', which was published in the Wenhui bao 文汇报, and after much resistance reprinted in the People's Daily [人民日报, Renmin ribao] in November 1965. Hai Rui, written by historian and Beijing vice-mayor Wu Han, was an allegory in defense of former Defense Minister Peng Dehuai, who had been dismissed in 1959 because of his criticism of the Great Leap Forward, which was seen as an attack on Mao Zedong.

In October 1966, Yao joined the Cultural Revolution Group, headed by Jiang Qing and Chen Boda, which directed the violent developments in the first half of the Cultural Revolution. Together with Jiang, Wang Hongwen and Zhang Chunqiao, Yao would form what became know as the Gang of Four. Although taking on political functions such as second secretary of the Shanghai Commune (1967) and membership of both the Politburo and Central Committee of the 9th Central Committee (1969), Yao remained active in cultural affairs. When one reads the reports about the instances where Yao accompanied Jiang Qing, one is struck by his toadying. In October 1976, Yao was arrested by Hua Guofeng and Ye Jianying as a member of the Gang of Four and expelled from the Party. After the Gang was arrested, a huge propaganda campaign was launched to discredit them.

At the conclusion of the trial against the Gang of Four in January 1981, Yao received the lightest sentence of all: twenty years imprisonment and deprivation of political rights for five years. Yao, who was released in 1996, was the last Gang-member to die.

A Great Trial in Chinese History - The Trial of the Lin Biao and Jiang Qing Counter-Revolutionary Cliques, Nov. 1980-Jan. 1981 (Peking: New World Press, 1981)

Wolfgang Bartke, Who was Who in the People's Republic of China (München: K.G. Sauer, 1997)

Wolfgang Bartke, Biographical Dictionary and Analysis of China's Party Leadership 1922-1988 (München: K.G. Sauer, 1990)

David Bonavia, Verdict in Peking - The Trial of the Gang of Four (London: Burnett Books, 1984)

Guo Jian, Yongyi Song & Yuan Zhou, Historical Dictionary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2006)

Helmut Martin, Cult & Canon - The Origins and Development of State Maoism (Armonk: M.E. Sharpe Inc., 1982)

Michael Schoenhals (ed.), China's Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969 - Not A Dinner Party (Armonk: M.E Sharpe, 1996)

Yan Jiaqi & Gao Gao (translated & edited by D.W.Y. Kwok), Turbulent Decade - A History of the Cultural Revolution (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1996)

Yang Kelin (ed.), Wenhua dageming bowuguan [Museum of the Cultural Revolution] (Hong Kong: Dongfang chubanshe youxian gongsi, Tiandi tushu youxian gongsi, 1995) [in Chinese]

Yao Wen-yuan, Comments on Tao Chu's Two Books (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1968)

Yao Wen-yuan, On the Social Basis of the Lin Piao Anti-Party Clique (Peking: Foreign Languages Press, 1975)

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Yao Wenyuan (姚文元, 1931-2005) was born in Zhuji County, Zhejiang Province. As a literary critic, he would become one of the most visible members of the 'Gang of Four', earning the nickname "The Cudgel" for having taken a hard line in all important campaigns.

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While people the world over must eat and drink, not many have felt the need to develop such a complex cuisine as the Chinese. Perhaps because famine has been a frequent occurrence in the past, the preparation and consumption of food has always been a matter of great interest to Chinese people. Special meals are served at family anniversaries and religious festivals and food is offered to gods and ancestors. Business deals are struck over a meal and presents often consist of food. The medicinal value of food in promoting good health is taken very seriously by Chinese people.

"There are forests of oak and poplar and beech, and wild pears and peaches, apples and apricots. Riding by, one can pick the little plums known as ulana, pale red like sharp cherries, and in Jehol there are cherries both white and red and the lard sour cherries, perfect in colour and taste; or one can eat the hazelnuts fresh fallen from the trees and mountain walnuts roasted over an open fire. There is tea, made from fresh snow on the little brazier slung between two horses. There is the perfect flavour of bream and carp from the mountain streams, caught by oneself in the early morning - you can keep something of the flavour for Peking eating if you enclose the fish in mutton fat or pickle them in brine before frying them up in sesame oil or lard. There is venison, roasted over an open fire by a tent pitched on the sunny slope of a mountain; or the liver of a newly killed stag, cooked with one's own hands (even if the rain is falling), and eaten with salt and vinegar. And in the northeast one can have bear's paw, which the imperial cooks value so highly."

K'ang-hsi, Emperor of China, about 1700, translated by Jonathan D Spence and quoted in Emperor of China: Self Portrait of K'ang-hsi, Jonathan Cape, 1974.

Rice and other food

Rice has been China's chief grain since the Song dynasty (960 - 1279), but it is not the only important staple foodstuff. Rice is grown and eaten mostly in south China. In north China, where the main cereal crops are wheat, millet and sorghum, noodles and steamed buns made from dough are more usual. These grains and starchy foods are called fan; vegetables and meat are called cai (prounounced 'tsai'). A balanced meal contains both fan and cai.

"The principal food of all Chinos is rice, for although they have wheat and sell bread therefrom, yet they do not eat it save as if it were a fruit. Their chief bread is cooked rice, and they even make a wine from it which is comparable with a reasonable grape-wine and might even be mistaken for it."

Fr. Martin de Rada (Portuguese missionary), about 1565, quoted in Boxer, CR (ed) South China in the Sixteenth Century, Hakluyt Society, 1953.

Cooking and eating

A densely populated land with limited fuel supplies needs a method of cooking that is economical of resources. Chinese cuisine relies on much labour being spent on preparation, in order that cooking can be done quickly. The most common, but not the only, method used by Chinese cooks is stir-frying, in which food is cut into bite-size pieces and cooked fast at high temperature. The food is brought to the table on serving dishes from which the diners help themselves. Each person usually has a bowl, a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. Chopsticks have been in use since Shang times (about 1700 - 1050BC).

Fine dining

Among the well-to-do it was the custom to have a separate table for each person. The narrow, rectangular tables were placed close together in a semi-circular arrangement or as three sides of a square.

Several people would have been able to sit round a square table. Raised edges on the table top stopped any spills from dripping in the diners' laps. Tablecloths were not used to cover the table top although the front and sides were sometimes draped with silk hangings.

"When feasting with a man of superior rank and character, the guest first tasted the dishes and then stopped. He should not bolt the food, nor swill down the liquor. He should take small and frequent mouthfuls. While chewing quickly, he did not make faces with his mouth. Do not [roll] the grain into a ball: do not bolt down the various dishes; do not swill down the soup. Do not make a noise in eating; do not crunch the bones with the teeth; do not put back fish you have been eating; do not throw the bones to the dogs; do not snatch at what you want. Do not try to gulp down soup with vegetables in it, nor add condiments to it; do not keep picking the teeth, nor swill down the sauces. If a guest add[s] condiments, the host will apologise for not having had the soup prepared better. If he swill[s] down the sauces the host will apologise for his poverty."Concerning table manners, from the Li ji or 'Record of Ritual' compiled in the Han dynasty, 220 AD, translated by James Legge, The Li Ki: The Sacred Books of the East, F Max Müller (ed), Vols 27 & 28, Clarendon Press, 1885.

Alcohol

Chinese people have drunk alcohol with their meals since the Neolithic period (about 5000-1700BC). Most alcoholic drinks are produced from cereal grains and some are drunk warm.

The little pot shown here, made between AD 500 and 580, was used for heating wine. The tripod legs would have straddled the heat source. The handle at the side of the pot is hollow to take a wooden extension for lifting it off the stove. At the same time a stick would have been passed through the ceramic loop on the opposite side to steady the hot pot.

The potters who made these wine-warmers sometimes added tails and beast-like heads or faces to the pot, or by giving the tripod legs hooves or paws.

Stemcups were only ever used for alcoholic drinks. The Chinese term means 'urging cup': the drinker toasts his companions and at the same time urges them to down another cup.

Tea

Tea is China's most popular beverage. Chinese people drink green unfermented tea, taken hot without milk or sugar, with meals and snacks and on its own throughout the day. Today, they use mugs with lids and handles, but up until this century tea was always drunk from small bowls.

Eight hundred years separate the two tea bowls made in the same kiln (Zibo, Shandong) shown in the image on the right. The bowl on the right was made in 1984. The tea bowl on the stand was made between 1000 and 1125, by which time tea drinking had become an everyday habit for most and an art for some.

Aristocrats and educated monks and nuns would gather together to taste fine teas and appreciate beautiful utensils. The powdered tea favoured at this time was whisked up with hot water in the tea bowl until it formed a froth. The white whipped topping showed up well against black tea bowls like this, which was one reason for their popularity. Tea making competitions were held, the winner being the person whose froth lasted longest.

The thick sides of stoneware bowls mean the heat of the tea is not lost quickly and the tea- drinker's fingers do not get scalded. Stands were used for serving or to raise steaming tea bowls to the lips.

By the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) tea was no longer made in the bowl because leaf tea replaced powder and the dried and rolled up leaves were brewed in teapots. These were often quite small, just big enough to make one or two cups. The small size meant that good leaves were not wasted. Pots from the Yixing kilns are particularly suitable for tea-making. Stoneware keeps the tea warm and they pour well. They are manufactured in a wide range of imaginative shapes, such as the one on the right in the form of a water chestnut.

"The white porcelain jar is scrupulously clean.
The red charcoal is burning with great intensity.
The fragrant powdered tea is under the froth
Blossoms float atop the fish-eye bubbles.
The fine colour is presented in a bowl.
The fragrance remains after the feast.
(Poet's note: Exuberance over tea after a nap, in memory of Master Yang of Tongzhou)"Poem about Tea by Bai Juyi, about 820 AD, quoted by Song Boyin in 'Tea Drinking, Tea Ware and Purple Clay Ware' Hong Kong, 1984.

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Traditional Life in China: Eating and Drinking

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While people the world over must eat and drink, not many have felt the need to develop such a complex cuisine as the Chinese. Perhaps because famine has been a frequent occurrence in the past, the preparation and consumption of food has always been a matter of great interest to Chinese people.

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Harvey Nichols has seven stores within the UK and Ireland, consisting of five large-format stores in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester, and two small-format stores in Bristol and Dublin.

All the Uk stores have luxury food markets, restaurants, cafes and brasseries.

Harvey Nichols stores offer the ultimate fashion experience. Seen as ‘the place to be’

Harvey Nichols is the club that doesn’t require a membership.

Exclusive, niche and established labels sit alongside accessible everyday collections

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In 1831 Benjamin Harvey opened a small linen shop in a terraced house in Knightsbridge.Four years later he expanded into the building next door as the business grew.
In 1841 Harvey employed James Nichols and four years later was promoted to management.
In 1973 Harveys son Benjamin Charles Harvey became the sole partner and quickly set about further expansion.
By the 1980's Harvey Nichols had made a name for itself.

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Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get them in front of Issuu's millions of monthly readers.

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Luxury retail can be intimidating for many people and that all the different concessions can be confusing for someone that has simply come in to buy one item.
Harvey Nichols realised they needed to differentiate their brand by offering something extra.
Launch of a Harvey Nichols loyalty app

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Customer experience is at the heart of the Harvey Nichols brand. In consumer group Which?'s annual ranking of the best and worst high street shops for shopping experience, the luxury retailer jumped from 21st to third with a score of 79%, putting it on par with John Lewis and making it one of the most improved brands in the survey.

For Harvey Nichols' marketing director that was recognition of the work she and boss Stacey Cartwright have been doing over the past three years to turn around a brand that Halliwell admits "needed polishing".

"This was a brand that hadn't necessarily done anything wrong but hadn't done anything and need polishing. I felt there was opportunity, opportunity opportunity," she enthusiastically explains.

"I did a lot of mystery shopping and realised that actually no one knew what Harvey Nichols was about. The staff didn't know. The customers didn't know. No one had figured out who we are and what we stand for."

Halliwell joined Harvey Nichols from O2, where she had spent 23 years working her way up to brand director. The move to Harvey Nichols was a big change, but Halliwell says she wanted to find out if she could be a good marketer without a multi-million pound budget like she had at the telecoms giant.

Her first task was probably the biggest - figuring out Harvey Nichols' brand strategy. That started by interviewing customers and staff to ask them what Harvey Nichols stands for as well as what the brand had been doing right and wrong.

No one knew what Harvey Nichols was about. The staff didn't know. The customers didn't know. No one had figured out who we are and what we stand for.

Shadi Halliwell, Harvey Nichols

Unsurprisingly, almost everyone gave her a different answer. But what stood out, she says, is that while Harvey Nichols may be a relatively small player both in the luxury and the retail markets, "size doesn't matter".

"Our size is beneficial to us," she adds. "The core part of the strategy is we are not a department store we are a large boutique and that means access, ease and experience. That allowed us to offer a 360-degree service proposition.

"We want people to come in to find an outfit and then be able to offer them the opportunity to have a quick blow-dry, get their make-up done. Then she will leave the store not just with a dress but with a pair of shoes, a great hairdo, fantastic make-up and a huge smile on her face as well."

The key realisation was that service in the luxury sector is often "crap" and that Harvey Nichols could differentiate by offering something extra.

"I realised very quickly that [in the luxury retail sector] people hide behind product because they are selling £3,000 bags," she says. "What we saw was that we are servicing people who can probably afford 50 £3,000 bags but also the person who has saved up all year or is spending their 21st birthday money. Our strategy is we want our customers to stand out, to be unique, to be fearlessly stylish. That's a massive ambition because that is saying we can dress our customers better than anyone else."

Focusing on the customer experience

To do that, however, Harvey Nichols needed to change its service proposition. Halliwell admits luxury retail can be intimidating for many people and that all the different concessions can be confusing for someone that has simply come in to buy a trench coat.

What was needed was an experience that aligned across the store, whether they worked as a beauty consultant or in the fashion department. And so it launched a Style Academy, a two-day training programme that would enable its staff to offer advice and help people feel "fearlessly stylish".

The first day taught everyone about colour, cut, shape, hairdos - how to style people. The second focused on the questions to ask to find out what the customer was looking for. "It has transformed our business," says Halliwell. "Our strategy is not just about marketing and brand but about how it becomes all encompassing across the business and how we train staff."

The idea of being a boutique rather than a department store has also seen Harvey Nichols move away from the typical concession set-up. For example, in the beauty department, all the counters have a Harvey Nichols "ribbon" and the company tasked individual brands with coming up with unique counters to make the experience in its stores stand out.

"With a Mac counter, for example, the shopper doesn't know if they are in New York, Shanghai, Paris, they are all the same," explains Halliwell. "Instead we wanted to put our mark on it by giving the brands a space to create something totally different. The Chanel counter is a one-off. It is Harvey Nichols with the brands on top. That gives us the authority we deserve in beauty, where we have a lot of heritage."

That idea has been extended into fashion. Gone are heavily branded sections for Burberry or Louis Vuitton in favour of an easier shopping experience. "We have concessions but you can't see them," she comments. "We realised the barriers were irrelevant to the customer. If they come in wanting to buy a trench coat they want to be able to find trench coats. And it means staff can work across concession to get looks for them and not be stopped by some imaginary boundary."

There has been a total revamp of two floors of menswear, while the accessories department has also been made over, at the flagship Knightsbridge store [there are plans for similar revamps across the brand's 15 store estate]. The Beauty Lounge has been overhauled to offer more treatment space and even has its own front door and concierge service.

There has been a focus on giving people more reason to come to the store than simply to shop. There is a men's grooming parlour, a cocktail bar, cafés and, up on the floor fourth state of the art treatments such as 111Cryo, where customers spend £90 being subjected to temperatures of -90 for the promise of a huge endorphin rush and burning up to 800 calories.

Unsurprisingly this has taken a toll financially. With huge sections of the London store shut during the work, including its front door, sales were up just 1% for its 2015-16 financial year while pre-tax profits halved to £2.6m. Yet Harvey Nichols believes it is a price worth paying to get its brand back on the map.

Aligning the brand

Halliwell has also had a job to do to get its marketing more aligned. In her role as group marketing and creative officer she is responsible for marketing, content, digital, loyalty and visual merchandising.

However, she says that when she joined the windows had one message, while stores were saying something else and advertising promoting something else. "I said we need to be one voice. I didn't want to squash people creatively but we had to have a key message that the visual merchandisers could then interpret how they liked, the stores do their thing and advertising do its things. Because of that we get great bang for our buck. Together, we get the best share of voice we can with the limited budget we have."

What Halliwell hasn't changed is the "tongue-in-cheek" image the brand portrays. Its latest campaign for its luxury jewellery department features a Northen Bald Ibis, considered critically endangered, wearing a £200,000 necklace. It follows hugely successful campaigns including 'Love Freebies', which used CCTV footage of shoplifters to promote its new loyalty app.

"As a creative platform, that tongue-in-cheek attitude has really allowed us to talk about the insights that aren't spoken about in research groups," she says.

"When we launched the loyalty app we were trying to come up with a campaign that wouldn't make everyone yawn. And we tapped into that idea that everyone loves a freebie, whether they're rich or poor. And that campaign made the ITV news, it won a Cannes Lion.

"We have a small marketing budget so we have to get people talking. In magazines, jewellery ads are all of beautiful women wearing beautiful jewellery. But we only have five spots so we need more than a three-second dwell time in print. So we thought about rare and came up with the rarest bird we could and stuck a gorgeous piece of jewellery on it. We punch so much above our weight."

Attracting promiscuous shoppers

One of Halliwell's major projects has been to launch Harvey Nichols' loyalty app. Halliwell admits the brand was 10 years behind in loyalty despite loyalty programmes becoming key to building a relationship with consumers.

"Customers demand that if they're going to be loyal to a brand they want something back. It's like a friendship; if you aren't imparting your part of the deal they'll go elsewhere," she says.

The app offers points based on spend, but also experiences and a way for the retailer to talk to customers one-on-one. It has beacon technology in-store so that it can offer treats such as a free coffee or highlight new products or events. And every quarter customers can get cashback, or opt to spend their points on experiences such as a blow dry. They also get exclusive access to deals and sale previews, for example.

It has required big changes to her team. There are 55 people in the marketing division across point-of-sale, email, content, the app, PR, CRM and digital. Halliwell says she had to bring in digital expertise as the business focused on areas such as SEO, PPC and affiliate marketing. It also needed to "beef up" its CRM team to make the most of the opportunity the loyalty app afforded to the brand.

We want our customers to be fans because fans forgive. They are going to be promiscuous but if we do all the right things they'll always gravitate back to us.

Shadi Halliwell, Harvey Nichols

Halliwell says the app has "excelled" with members visiting more regularly and spending more frequently. "I can't give the exact numbers but it's compelling," she explains.

"People now expect something back and I think once you start being seen as giving something back, that adds an element of loyalty. We want our customers to be fans because fans forgive. Of course they are going to be promiscuous because there is a whole world out there. But if we do all the right things they'll always gravitate back to us."

All of this investment in the store and customer experience might seem counter-intuitive given the rise of online shopping. But Halliwell doesn't see it like that.

"You have to have both now. We have a very efficient transacting website that shows product off as best it can but makes it easy for customers to order and transact. And then we have the stores," she says. "We've got food, hospitality, hairdressers, beauty treatments; we can do everything in here."

She also doesn't believe that the rise of digital has fundamentally changed marketing. "The fundamentals of marketing, the discipline of understanding customers and delivering against their needs is exactly the same. The way you talk to customers and the tools have, but marketing hasn't changed."

There was a long to-do list when Halliwell joined Harvey Nichols, but most important was a focused strategy that ensured everyone across the business understood the retailer and what it stood for. Halliwell might now be leaving for "new opportunities" but you sense her successor will find a brand in much better health than the one she started at three years ago.

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Harvey Nichols' marketing boss on transforming the brand through a focus on customer experience

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Customer experience is at the heart of the Harvey Nichols brand. In consumer group Which?'s annual ranking of the best and worst high street shops for shopping experience, the luxury retailer jumped from 21st to third with a score of 79%, putting it on par with John Lewis and making it one of the most improved brands in the survey.

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Challenges faced:
Communicating its activities and product range to a growing customer base.

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The Harvey Nichols brand is synonymous with its flagship Knightsbridge store, best known for flamboyant window displays and the sumptuous food hall. But the retailer reaches much further than these eight floors.

The first store outside London opened in Leeds in 1996, and was followed by outlets in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Dublin - with the seventh store opening in Bristol in autumn next year. Harvey Nichols also boasts seven restaurants and a busy events schedule, ranging from fashion shows to food and wine tastings.

But with such growth comes challenges. For Paul Brine, head of web publishing at Harvey Nichols, one of these challenges has been communicating its activities and product range to a growing customer base. Traditionally, the company had used direct mail, but email has come to the fore in recent years.

"We're still using direct mail to an extent, but are scaling it back because of the cost," says Brine. "Email represents a more cost-effective and trackable way of communicating with our customers."

Initially, Harvey Nichols sent an average of two emails a month to customers via a third party, but later decided to bring the process in house in order to gain greater control over this increasingly important marketing tool. In 2006, it hired digital marketing agency eCircle to oversee its email campaigns. Its objectives were to drive footfall, build brand loyalty, increase the number of restaurant reservations made online, and to segment the Harvey Nichols database.

The first step was to elicit more information from customers when they signed up for the Harvey Nichols newsletter on its website. Online visitors are now asked to reveal their gender, date of birth, nearest store, how often they would like to receive communications and their area of interest. ECircle has created four newsletter templates to be used for general news, information about food, invitations to events and restaurant updates.

Seven Harvey Nichols staff have received training in the agency's eC-messenger platform, and support is provided by a project manager and account manager.

"Although the newsletters are template-driven, Harvey Nichols staff can be very creative about how they use them," explains Volker Wiewer, chief executive of eCircle. "They create dynamic content in a code-free environment and can upload different versions, depending on the demographic being targeted."

Using a simple drop-down menu, Harvey Nichols staff can select the correct demographic for the newsletter. Women aged 25 to 35 within reach of a certain store, for instance, would automatically be served that particular version of the newsletter.

A good example is an email campaign that took place in June targeting a specific segment of Harvey Nichols' 60,000-strong database. A "Beauty and the Beach" event was being held at the Birmingham store to prepare customers for their summer holidays. While enjoying canapes and wine, customers could check out the latest designs from the swimwear department, be advised by make-up and skin-care experts, and enter a prize draw for the chance to win £500-worth of beauty products.

"We highlighted the event in one of our newsletters and then sent a fuller version to a specific segment of 1,325 female customers who had cited the Birmingham store as their nearest," explains Brine. "We had a 24 per cent open rate, and from the email alone received 50 bookings for the event."

This two-pronged approach is typical of event-focused communications: the newsletter format is used to raise awareness among a broad customer base and is then followed up by a more targeted communication. "People get so many emails that they tend to look at them once and move on. To be effective, you have to build on the message," says Brine. Harvey Nichols now sends out an average of 10 targeted campaigns a month and has seen restaurant bookings increase by 20 per cent as a result of its email activity. This includes co-branded campaigns where certain newsletters are sent out alongside a concession partner, such as Estee Lauder. The offer of a free product or discount aims to drive customers into an offline purchasing environment.

In addition, Harvey Nichols has strengthened its data-capture strategy in-store. Previously, email data was captured through ad hoc competitions and events, but now the company has a sign-up system at its tills where customers are systematically asked if they would like to receive the newsletters.

Efforts have also been made to enhance the data the company already holds on customers. Last summer, consumers on its existing database were sent a survey asking them additional attitudinal and lifestyle questions. "We gleaned a lot of additional information from the survey, particularly from the more open-ended questions," says Brine, adding that he plans to conduct similar surveys in the future.

An additional boost to the company's data- capture strategy has been the April launch of an e-commerce section of the website, selling its full range of beauty and skin-care products. With shopping-basket data at its fingertips, Harvey Nichols is now in a strong position to be even more strategic in its communications.

"Our aim is to improve our targeting. We could do more, and we will do more," says Brine.

For a brand that dates back to 1813, when a certain Mr Harvey opened a linen shop on the corner of Knightsbridge and Sloane Street, this is one company that is determined to move with the digital times.

Text 2 Email: To have a copy of this article sent to your (or a colleague's) email account, just text DR117, followed by the email address of the intended recipient, to 81222. Texts are charged at your standard network rate.

CLEVER STUFF

Harvey Nichols is able to carry out multi-variant testing where different offers and subject lines are sent out to a sample of the database. The results are analysed against pre-set criteria, such as click-through rates and the level of "unsubscribes", before sending out the optimum campaign to the rest of the database.

"It can be a laborious task to manually upload different versions of a campaign and then go back and review them. This way, the workload is taken off the user because the whole process is automated," says eCircle chief executive Volker Wiewer.

Deliverability is one of the biggest issues for email marketers and something eCircle is tackling through its partnership with email firm Return Path. It has set up an ISP-relations programme that provides a central contact point between the email service provider and the ISP.

The programme helps clients increase the likelihood of reaching recipients' inbox by providing the ISP with information about the campaign, making it easier for legitimate emails to get through.

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The Harvey Nichols brand is synonymous with its flagship Knightsbridge store, best known for flamboyant window displays and the sumptuous food hall. But the retailer reaches much further than these eight floors. The first store outside London opened in Leeds in 1996, and was followed by outlets in Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Dublin - with the seventh store opening in Bristol in autumn next year.

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Harvey Nichols is a luxury department store, which includes stores such as Gucci, Coach and Saint Laurent. Its flagship store is in Knightsbridge, London, which is one of the richest places in London, with some of the most expensive properties.
Being a luxury department store , shows how Harvey Nichols customer profile is someone who is upper class. Aswell as selling fashion, Harvey Nichols also sell designer beauty, homewear and also sell food and wine. They also have restaurants and cafes in-store which make shopping in Harvey Nichols an experience, and a day out.

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Customer experience is key to Harvey Nichols.
Not a department store, more seen as a boutique.
“Our strategy is not just about marketing and brand but about how it becomes all encompassing across the business and how we train staff.”
"Tongue in cheek" image the brand portrays.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Customer experience is at the heart of the Harvey Nichols brand. In consumer group Which?'s annual ranking of the best and worst high street shops for shopping experience, the luxury retailer jumped from 21st to third with a score of 79%, putting it on par with John Lewis and making it one of the most improved brands in the survey.

For Harvey Nichols' marketing director that was recognition of the work she and boss Stacey Cartwright have been doing over the past three years to turn around a brand that Halliwell admits "needed polishing".

"This was a brand that hadn't necessarily done anything wrong but hadn't done anything and need polishing. I felt there was opportunity, opportunity opportunity," she enthusiastically explains.

"I did a lot of mystery shopping and realised that actually no one knew what Harvey Nichols was about. The staff didn't know. The customers didn't know. No one had figured out who we are and what we stand for."

Halliwell joined Harvey Nichols from O2, where she had spent 23 years working her way up to brand director. The move to Harvey Nichols was a big change, but Halliwell says she wanted to find out if she could be a good marketer without a multi-million pound budget like she had at the telecoms giant.

Her first task was probably the biggest - figuring out Harvey Nichols' brand strategy. That started by interviewing customers and staff to ask them what Harvey Nichols stands for as well as what the brand had been doing right and wrong.

No one knew what Harvey Nichols was about. The staff didn't know. The customers didn't know. No one had figured out who we are and what we stand for.

Shadi Halliwell, Harvey Nichols

Unsurprisingly, almost everyone gave her a different answer. But what stood out, she says, is that while Harvey Nichols may be a relatively small player both in the luxury and the retail markets, "size doesn't matter".

"Our size is beneficial to us," she adds. "The core part of the strategy is we are not a department store we are a large boutique and that means access, ease and experience. That allowed us to offer a 360-degree service proposition.

"We want people to come in to find an outfit and then be able to offer them the opportunity to have a quick blow-dry, get their make-up done. Then she will leave the store not just with a dress but with a pair of shoes, a great hairdo, fantastic make-up and a huge smile on her face as well."

The key realisation was that service in the luxury sector is often "crap" and that Harvey Nichols could differentiate by offering something extra.

"I realised very quickly that [in the luxury retail sector] people hide behind product because they are selling £3,000 bags," she says. "What we saw was that we are servicing people who can probably afford 50 £3,000 bags but also the person who has saved up all year or is spending their 21st birthday money. Our strategy is we want our customers to stand out, to be unique, to be fearlessly stylish. That's a massive ambition because that is saying we can dress our customers better than anyone else."

Focusing on the customer experience

To do that, however, Harvey Nichols needed to change its service proposition. Halliwell admits luxury retail can be intimidating for many people and that all the different concessions can be confusing for someone that has simply come in to buy a trench coat.

What was needed was an experience that aligned across the store, whether they worked as a beauty consultant or in the fashion department. And so it launched a Style Academy, a two-day training programme that would enable its staff to offer advice and help people feel "fearlessly stylish".

The first day taught everyone about colour, cut, shape, hairdos - how to style people. The second focused on the questions to ask to find out what the customer was looking for. "It has transformed our business," says Halliwell. "Our strategy is not just about marketing and brand but about how it becomes all encompassing across the business and how we train staff."

The idea of being a boutique rather than a department store has also seen Harvey Nichols move away from the typical concession set-up. For example, in the beauty department, all the counters have a Harvey Nichols "ribbon" and the company tasked individual brands with coming up with unique counters to make the experience in its stores stand out.

"With a Mac counter, for example, the shopper doesn't know if they are in New York, Shanghai, Paris, they are all the same," explains Halliwell. "Instead we wanted to put our mark on it by giving the brands a space to create something totally different. The Chanel counter is a one-off. It is Harvey Nichols with the brands on top. That gives us the authority we deserve in beauty, where we have a lot of heritage."

That idea has been extended into fashion. Gone are heavily branded sections for Burberry or Louis Vuitton in favour of an easier shopping experience. "We have concessions but you can't see them," she comments. "We realised the barriers were irrelevant to the customer. If they come in wanting to buy a trench coat they want to be able to find trench coats. And it means staff can work across concession to get looks for them and not be stopped by some imaginary boundary."

There has been a total revamp of two floors of menswear, while the accessories department has also been made over, at the flagship Knightsbridge store [there are plans for similar revamps across the brand's 15 store estate]. The Beauty Lounge has been overhauled to offer more treatment space and even has its own front door and concierge service.

There has been a focus on giving people more reason to come to the store than simply to shop. There is a men's grooming parlour, a cocktail bar, cafés and, up on the floor fourth state of the art treatments such as 111Cryo, where customers spend £90 being subjected to temperatures of -90 for the promise of a huge endorphin rush and burning up to 800 calories.

Unsurprisingly this has taken a toll financially. With huge sections of the London store shut during the work, including its front door, sales were up just 1% for its 2015-16 financial year while pre-tax profits halved to £2.6m. Yet Harvey Nichols believes it is a price worth paying to get its brand back on the map.

Aligning the brand

Halliwell has also had a job to do to get its marketing more aligned. In her role as group marketing and creative officer she is responsible for marketing, content, digital, loyalty and visual merchandising.

However, she says that when she joined the windows had one message, while stores were saying something else and advertising promoting something else. "I said we need to be one voice. I didn't want to squash people creatively but we had to have a key message that the visual merchandisers could then interpret how they liked, the stores do their thing and advertising do its things. Because of that we get great bang for our buck. Together, we get the best share of voice we can with the limited budget we have."

What Halliwell hasn't changed is the "tongue-in-cheek" image the brand portrays. Its latest campaign for its luxury jewellery department features a Northen Bald Ibis, considered critically endangered, wearing a £200,000 necklace. It follows hugely successful campaigns including 'Love Freebies', which used CCTV footage of shoplifters to promote its new loyalty app.

"As a creative platform, that tongue-in-cheek attitude has really allowed us to talk about the insights that aren't spoken about in research groups," she says.

"When we launched the loyalty app we were trying to come up with a campaign that wouldn't make everyone yawn. And we tapped into that idea that everyone loves a freebie, whether they're rich or poor. And that campaign made the ITV news, it won a Cannes Lion.

"We have a small marketing budget so we have to get people talking. In magazines, jewellery ads are all of beautiful women wearing beautiful jewellery. But we only have five spots so we need more than a three-second dwell time in print. So we thought about rare and came up with the rarest bird we could and stuck a gorgeous piece of jewellery on it. We punch so much above our weight."

Attracting promiscuous shoppers

One of Halliwell's major projects has been to launch Harvey Nichols' loyalty app. Halliwell admits the brand was 10 years behind in loyalty despite loyalty programmes becoming key to building a relationship with consumers.

"Customers demand that if they're going to be loyal to a brand they want something back. It's like a friendship; if you aren't imparting your part of the deal they'll go elsewhere," she says.

The app offers points based on spend, but also experiences and a way for the retailer to talk to customers one-on-one. It has beacon technology in-store so that it can offer treats such as a free coffee or highlight new products or events. And every quarter customers can get cashback, or opt to spend their points on experiences such as a blow dry. They also get exclusive access to deals and sale previews, for example.

It has required big changes to her team. There are 55 people in the marketing division across point-of-sale, email, content, the app, PR, CRM and digital. Halliwell says she had to bring in digital expertise as the business focused on areas such as SEO, PPC and affiliate marketing. It also needed to "beef up" its CRM team to make the most of the opportunity the loyalty app afforded to the brand.

We want our customers to be fans because fans forgive. They are going to be promiscuous but if we do all the right things they'll always gravitate back to us.

Shadi Halliwell, Harvey Nichols

Halliwell says the app has "excelled" with members visiting more regularly and spending more frequently. "I can't give the exact numbers but it's compelling," she explains.

"People now expect something back and I think once you start being seen as giving something back, that adds an element of loyalty. We want our customers to be fans because fans forgive. Of course they are going to be promiscuous because there is a whole world out there. But if we do all the right things they'll always gravitate back to us."

All of this investment in the store and customer experience might seem counter-intuitive given the rise of online shopping. But Halliwell doesn't see it like that.

"You have to have both now. We have a very efficient transacting website that shows product off as best it can but makes it easy for customers to order and transact. And then we have the stores," she says. "We've got food, hospitality, hairdressers, beauty treatments; we can do everything in here."

She also doesn't believe that the rise of digital has fundamentally changed marketing. "The fundamentals of marketing, the discipline of understanding customers and delivering against their needs is exactly the same. The way you talk to customers and the tools have, but marketing hasn't changed."

There was a long to-do list when Halliwell joined Harvey Nichols, but most important was a focused strategy that ensured everyone across the business understood the retailer and what it stood for. Halliwell might now be leaving for "new opportunities" but you sense her successor will find a brand in much better health than the one she started at three years ago.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Harvey Nichols' marketing boss on transforming the brand through a focus on customer experience

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Customer experience is at the heart of the Harvey Nichols brand. In consumer group Which?'s annual ranking of the best and worst high street shops for shopping experience, the luxury retailer jumped from 21st to third with a score of 79%, putting it on par with John Lewis and making it one of the most improved brands in the survey.

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Hugo Boss displaying a 'Ox Head' pattern.

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Year of the Ox 2021-
When choosing an outfit for Lunar New Year, the colour red is seen as lucky, black and white are avoided due to not being apporopriate.
New clothes initiate new beggings, sentimental pieces are also worn.
The traditional red dress is called a cheongsam.
On Harvey Nichols, I found a number of products linking to the new year.
-Biolifting face mask
-Lunar New Year scotch
-Fenty Beauty Lunar edition
-Lunar New Year hamper
These items would be suitable as gifts.
Due to Coronavirus, Lunar new year will be celebrated differently, perhaps digitally. This means we should offer a number of suitable outfits, comfortable but representing the new year.
These can include animal print pieces.

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Selling a variety of products within designer fashion, beauty, food and wine.

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Forecast your year with tarot cards. Tarot cards you pick have their meanings when they are flipped.
Addition of the same rat character however design adapted to each tarot card.

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Chinese New Year 2021 - Chinese New Year Gift Ideas - Harvey Nichols

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Prepare for Lunar New Year 2021 with luxury and designer Chinese New Year gift ideas for all your loved ones.

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Hong Kong Website
Receive a complimentary lucky Harvey Nichols money bag and beauty product when you spend over a certain amount.
You select which colour and which beauty product.

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Happy Chinese New Year 2018 - Harvey Nichols

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Year of Ox meaning positive energy.
Associating metal accessories with luck.
Red, gold, orchids, Chrysanthemums, blossoms.
Spotlight on material - cow print

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With this Chinese New Year (CNY) the first major retail event disrupted by coronavirus, there are hopes for a more prosperous 2021 as we enter the Year of the Ox. Discover the trends slated to influence capsule collections and how to make the event a virtual success.

What does the Ox represent?

The Ox might not seem as cute and commercial as their Chinese zodiac stablemates, however, the bovine is symbolic of many qualities that'll usher in a fresh, new year after a turbulent 2020.

The Ox's association with agriculture makes them highly respected in Chinese culture and are symbolic of hard work, strength and earnestness. Each cycle, an element sign is attributed to each Chinese zodiac creature. The Ox for 2021 will be metal, associating metal accessories with luck.

According to the calendar, the year should hold positive energy with no catastrophic events on the horizon, making 2021 a prosperous foundation for economic recovery and growth.

Wider impacts
The uncertainty of international travel
Travel restrictions mean retailers need to take a localized approach to their promotions as major cities won't be experiencing the usual influx of Chinese tourists. The Year of the Ox will offer a glimpse into the future of CNY post-pandemic, which may become a more pared-back affair globally. A recent study discovered up to 83% of global passengers are hesitant to travel at their pre-pandemic rate with 31% saying they will travel less often by air.
Extended holidays
With the pandemic halting the event in China, the State Council extended the 2020 Lunar New Year holiday. Retailers should be prepared in case something similar happens this year to avoid any disruptions to deliveries.
Celebrations may not resume
San Francisco has already canceled its annual CNY parade as cases continue to rise in the US. The full status of global 2021 celebrations is not yet known. However, safety will undoubtedly be of the utmost priority, with experimentation in digital activations paramount to customer engagement.
Luxury's lifeline
According to Bain & Co, global luxury sales are set to fall by 23% this year - the first and largest drop since 2009. They are only expected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23 buoyed by the purchasing power of the luxury Chinese consumer. This makes it crucial for luxury brands to nail their CNY product and pricing strategies to bounce back from 2020's economic blowout.

Product trends

Look to the lucky colors and flowers traditionally associated with Chinese New Year - reds, golds, orchids, chrysanthemums, narcissus and blossoms. Brands may want to differentiate their ranges to stand out from the crowd, but there is a lot of mixed information online regarding zodiac colors. Ensure you have someone signing off ranges with a deep understanding of the traditions and superstitions.

The products and campaigns from the Year of the Rat that saw viral success featured more palatable versions of the animal, such as Gucci's Mickey and Minnie Mouse collection. Think outside the box and look to fun retro characters for inspiration such as Ferdinand, Clarabelle Cow, Toro the Looney Tunes Bull and Cow & Chicken.

The delayed NBA season will run over the start of CNY, providing an opportunity to involve sportswear through Chicago Bulls licensing and merch.

For more playful interpretations, tap into the bovine theme through cow print or motifs of bells or milk bottles and cartons.

With comfort dressing showing no signs of slowing down, loungewear capsules are ideal for CNY collections. Look at adding fuzzy horns to the hoods of sweaters or bathrobes as a cozy way to target all ages.

The Year of the Metal Ox will put a spotlight on this material, enabling retailers to ramp up homewares promotions in addition to accessories and jewelry.

What are retailers dropping?

Hugo Boss has dropped 10 items since mid-October as part of a capsule collection celebrating Lunar New Year. The line is anchored by a classic red and black palette, and a repeat motif of an Ox's head.

Diesel's selection of products is limited to accessories and the uses Ox references subtly, focusing on the shape of horns. The phrase "only the brave" is printed onto bags while "brave" is attached to labels.

Coach's efforts for 2021 are also currently exclusive to accessories, in particular watches. Two are stocked at Macy's with one noteworthy design detail, where the number two on the clock's face is replaced by a small Ox head as an homage to the Ox' ranking as the second sign in the Zodiac.

While most products are specific to the luxury market, adidas is one mass market retailer that has CNY inspired products on the market. European football is big news in China, major teams such as Manchester United and Juventus have a large following in the region. Pro:Direct Soccer (UK) have picked up some 2019/20 Chinese New Year sweatshirts specific to a range of clubs. Although these products are from last year, we expect interesting moves from the brand around celebrations for 2021 and to perhaps blend cultures together again. Rival Nike has already revealed a SB Dunk Low shoe that celebrates the holiday, while Reebok dropped a series of long sleeved T-shirts in October.
*check back as retailers continue to drop Year of the Ox merchandise
How can the event be a success?

2020 has been an opportunity for brands to fine-tune their digital voice in lieu of physical capacity limitations. For this holiday of such global importance, offering a seamless digital experience is essential and lessons learned should come into practice here. A strong example of digital endeavors from recent years is Burberry's Ratberry game to celebrate the Year of the Rat. Make it exciting, make it engaging, but above all, check with colleagues who are culturally in tune and aware.

Brands need to understand cultural practices and sensitivities when promoting any holiday. Earlier in the year, Ashley McDonnell, Account Executive at Google joined the unEDITED podcast, discussing how important it is for brands to be respectful of cultural codes during CNY, as well as ensuring your message will reach the Chinese audience on the right social platforms. To further understand the different ways luxury brands have tapped into the lucrative Chinese market, tune in to the conversation.

Dates for your calendar:

Little Year: February 4 - 11, 2021

Chinese New Year: February 12, 2021

Spring Festival: February 12 - 22, 2021

Lantern Festival: February 23 - 26, 2021

Holiday period in China: February 11 - 17, 2021

Year Of The Ox: February 12, 2021 - January 30, 2022

Year Of The Tiger: In 2022

Contributions by Kayla Marci & Rebecca Milne. Sign up to our weekly Insider Briefing to get more reports like this.

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The Year of the Ox: Insights to action | EDITED | Retail Market Intelligence

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What does the Ox represent? The Ox might not seem as cute and commercial as their Chinese zodiac stablemates, however, the bovine is symbolic of many qualities that'll usher in a fresh, new year after a turbulent 2020. The Ox's association with agriculture makes them highly respected in Chinese culture and are symbolic of hard work, strength and earnestness.

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Nike - Red Envelope
"The Great Chase"
Elders gift a red envelope usually filled with money to younger family members as a sign of good luck.

Panda Express  - Augmented Reality
Use of filters to provide an interactive experience. Use of games to eat traditional foods

Gucci x Disney - Mickey Mouse themed collection.
Campaign images involved Chinese Gucci brand ambassador with her family wearing the collection around Disneyland.
Use of a hashtag for customers to follow along
Promotion of Weibo - Chinese microblogging site.

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Chinese New Year, otherwise known as Lunar New Year, is the biggest celebration of the year in China and other East Asian countries, opening up many opportunities for brands all over the world to celebrate the holiday with activations. Here are three memorable Lunar New Year marketing campaigns from 2020 that successfully celebrate the holiday while stressing the importance of family, tradition and good food.

Nike Puts A Twist On The Red Envelope Tradition

Most people who celebrate Lunar New Year engage in the hongbao red envelope tradition, where family elders gift red envelopes, often filled with money, to their younger family members for good luck. Nike's Lunar New Year commercial depicts the struggle of an aunt trying to give an envelope to her niece, who repeatedly declines the gift out of politeness. The action begins with the niece as a young girl who refuses the envelope from her aunt, as her mother does not want her to accept it. The aunt, however, quickly manages to slip the envelope into her niece's pocket when she is not looking. The vicious, but well-intentioned, cycle continues on for years, culminating with the niece wearing Nike sneakers in an attempt to outrun her determined aunt through factories, rooftops and massive crowds. Bringing the story to the present day, the niece is now an adult and tries to return the favor to her aunt by giving her a red envelope. The aunt is prepared with a pair of Nike sneakers of her own, and #TheGreatChase lives on.

Panda Express Celebrates The Lunar New Year With Augmented Reality (AR)

To celebrate the Lunar New Year, Panda Express is launching an augmented reality (AR) experience called the Celebration of Good Fortune, now available on Facebook and Instagram until February 8 th. Each of Panda Express' five AR filters provides an interactive way to tap into Lunar New Year cultural traditions. The filters include games that allows users to "snack" on virtual food falling from the top of the screen, throw firecrackers to ward off evil spirits, decorate selfies with lion masks and virtual lanterns and swipe up to unlock surprises in red envelopes.

Gucci And Disney Collaborate To Release New Mickey Mouse-Themed Collection

Gucci and Disney released a fun new Mickey Mouse-themed collection, to mark the year of the rat, by celebrating Disney's most famous cartoon rodent. The Mickey Mouse-themed collection features a mix of new designs and Gucci classics, with Mickey Mouse printed on everything from jumpers, shoes and bags to baseball caps and scarves. Gucci and Disney even brought the campaign to life by capturing pictures of Chinese actress Ni Ni, English actor Earl Cave and American fashion designer Zoe Sidel spending the day with Mickey Mouse in Disneyland. The Mickey Mouse-themed collection is available to buy now at select retailers worldwide. By using the hashtag #DisneyXGucci on Instagram, shoppers can get a better look at all the products from the collection.

Lunar New Year is a time of celebration for people all over the world. For many brands, Lunar New Year is also a key time of year to connect with consumers and find new opportunities for increased sales. Brands cash in on this highly lucrative holiday in order to build brand inclusivity, cultivate relationships with consumers and drive conversation.

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3 Memorable Lunar New Year Marketing Campaigns Of 2020

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Chinese New Year, otherwise known as Lunar New Year, is the biggest celebration of the year in China and other East Asian countries, opening up many opportunities for brands all over the world to celebrate the holiday with activations.

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Burberry - 2018
Created a rat character  - Ratberry
Appears on online game and as stickers on WeChat.
Character also subtly appears on products.
Addition of hashtag to promote.

Received backlash as was seen insensitive to local culture due to campaign images being seen as something from Chinese horror movies.

2020 campaign moved away from characters more to lifestyle focussing on ready to wear with an original illustration/logo throughout.

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Prada - 2020
Documentary film about famous Chinese model going back to her home town and showing traditions she and her family have.

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Prada is celebrating the 2020 Lunar New Year with a new capsule collection, highlighted in a digital campaign starring Chinese model Chun Jin and her family members.

Releasing in time for Chinese New Year, the collection introduces exclusive ready-to-wear, bags, footwear and accessories for men and women. The collection draws heavily from the color association and use of red, reimagining its iconic triangle logo in the bright hue to reflect luck, prosperity and happiness and adding the color prominently to pieces such as bags, phone cases and glasses.

Elsewhere we see bright red sneakers, technical Prada side bags and totes finished with the aforementioned Chinese New Year-inspired triangle logo, and numerous pieces sporting flower and bird motifs. All of this is captured in the campaign "Coming Home," which sees Chun Jin reconnect with her family in her home town for one of the most important times of the year. While at home, Jin revisits many childhood memories, which Prada refers to as a "physical journey itself" as it "is a way to underline the importance of sharing unforgettable moments and gifts with the beloved ones."

Take a look at the Prada 2020 Lunar New Year collection in the campaign above, and pick up your favorite pieces via the Prada website and worldwide boutiques now.

In other news, Louis Vuitton has released a collection of Chinese New Year-inspired watches.

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Prada Captures 2020 Lunar New Year Collection at Home With Chinese Model Chun Jin

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Prada is celebrating the 2020 Lunar New Year with a new capsule collection, highlighted in a digital campaign starring Chinese model Chun Jin and her family members. Releasing in time for Chinese New Year, the collection introduces exclusive ready-to-wear, bags, footwear and accessories for men and women.

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Collaborated with Photographer and Film Director to celebrate the new year.

Fenjiu Tasting Event  - Learn all about the art of the eldest Chinese liquor.

Complementary personalised Chinese calligraphy card. Your name and chosen message.

Customisation on shoe boxes.

Attach your own wish for the new year onto the Selfridges wishing tree.

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Don't miss out on an exclusive tasting evening of Fenjiu on 23 January at 6.00-8.30pm. Here, you'll become a baijiu (a Chinese liquor made from grain) connoisseur as you learn all about the art of China's oldest baijiu and enjoy welcome cocktails and canapés on arrival.
Harry Gordon's Bar on LG

Armani personalisation
Enjoy complimentary engraving on your Armani fragrance purchases.
Fragrance on G

Selfridges Wishing Tree
Attach your wish for the new year on our special Selfridges Wishing Tree.
Tax Refund Lounge on 4

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Chinese New Year festivities at Selfridges London

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Don't miss out on an exclusive tasting evening of Fenjiu on 23 January at 6.00-8.30pm. Here, you'll become a baijiu (a Chinese liquor made from grain) connoisseur as you learn all about the art of China's oldest baijiu and enjoy welcome cocktails and canapés on arrival.

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Exclusive afternoon tea menu to celebrate.
"The Lucky set afternoon tea with Fenjiu"
Included bespoke chocolates in the shape of Mahjong tiles. Patisserie in the shapes of lucky Chinese symbols. Bespoke signature Fenjiu cocktail.

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Phillips-Hill Wine Marketing, PR & Events

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Phillips-Hill created a Press communications campaign to maximise exposure of a luxury collaboration between Fenjiu baijiu and Harrods. Wide c overage across lifestyle media was achieved.
January 2020

China's most premium Baijiu white spirit, Fenjiu, partnered with Harrods to create an exclusive afternoon tea menu to celebrate Chinese New Year 2020.

Fenjiu, which is made using the finest natural ingredients from a 6,000-year-old recipe, was selected by Harrods for this special collaboration due its luxury credentials and elegant taste. Bringing together East and West traditions and inspired by the Chinese game of Mahjong, The Lucky Set Afternoon Tea with Fenjiu was available from 11th January until 16th February 2020, at the Harrods Tea Rooms situated on the 4th Floor of the renowned department store.

The Lucky Set Afternoon Tea with Fenjiu included bespoke chocolates in the design of Mahjong tiles, a beautiful patisserie selection inspired by Chinese good luck symbols, a selection of savoury sandwiches including duck with hoisin sauce, and Harrods apricot jam infused with Fenjiu served with a selection of scones. A bespoke Harrods Signature Fenjiu cocktail, "Wealth and Fortune", made with Fenjiu Bamboo 5- Year-Old, Longjing tea cordial, white wine, bergamot liqueur, pear liqueur and lemon juice, was offered to all customers enjoying The Lucky Set Afternoon Tea.

Qiqi Chen, Managing Director of Cheng International, distributor of Fenjiu, said: "We are delighted to partner with Harrods to celebrate Chinese New Year and share the festive joy through Fenjiu and Harrods renowned afternoon tea."

Fenjiu Bamboo 5-Year-Old Zhu Ye Qing Jiu, and Fenjiu Blue Flower 30-Year-Old Qinghua are available from Harrods Wines & Spirits department

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Cheng International - Fenjiu Afternoon Tea at Harrods for Chinese New Year - Phillips-Hill Wine Marketing, PR & Events

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Phillips-Hill created a Press communications campaign to maximise exposure of a luxury collaboration between Fenjiu baijiu and Harrods. Wide coverage across lifestyle media was achieved. January 2020 China's most premium Baijiu white spirit, Fenjiu, partnered with Harrods to create an exclusive afternoon tea menu to celebrate Chinese New Year 2020.

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The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese around the world. It is also known as the Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Chunjie in Chinese. The first day of the New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21st and February 20th. In 2020 the Chinese New Year will be on Saturday, January 25th, initiating the Year of the Rat.

This celebration is associated wih several myths and customs. Usually, brands take advantage of this time of year to approach the Chinese Market through creative marketing tactics. Let's take a look at the best marketing campaigns for 2020.

Prada made a documentary film capturing top Chinese model Chun Jun and her real family members recording their traditional reunion. The brand also launched a new collection introducing new ready-to-wear clothes, bags, footwear, and accessories, in tones of red.

Louis Vuitton has a whole Chinese New Year Collection that features plenty of house logos on bags, scarves, and more. In particular, the brand has launched a series of themed dials for its Tambour Horizon smartwatch. The 12 new dials play with the house's iconic styles and symbols of the Chinese zodiac, (rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake...). These are displayed in front of a red monogram background.

To celebrate the Lunar New Year 2020, Gucci created a capsule collection inspired by Disney's most famous character, Mickey Mouse. The collection includes both women's and men's clothes, shoes, handbags, and other accessories that combine images of Mickey with Gucci style.

The luxury brand FENDI is also celebrating the CNW with a special capsule collection that features soft red leathers, accented by a joyful mix of multicolor studs. The collection includes well-known Baguette and Peekaboo bags.

The British Ilustrator Julie Verhoeven painted Chloe's capsule collection for CNY in happy rainbow hues. Also, she painted a rat in various poses for the Chloé C Mini bag.

Burberry is starting the Chinese New Year 2020 with red vibes. In the Year of the Rat, the luxury brand's campaign heralds "joy, health, and happiness". The face of the campaign is the brand ambassador Zhou Dongyu alongside models He Cong and Liang Jiyuan.

Moschino's Chinese New Year 2020 capsule collection, Michey Rat, was brought to life by the brand creative director Jeremy Scott and the fashion model and creative Mia Kong. The campaign features the model Kong and male model, Jun Kai QI. The scenario of the photoshoot/film is all about traditional Chinese thematics, including elements such as mahjong, red envelopes, peach blossoms and lion dancers.
Words by Rita Archer

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Chinese New Year 2020: Best Marketing Campaigns

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The Chinese New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese around the world. It is also known as the Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Chunjie in Chinese. The first day of the New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21st and February 20th.

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Limited edition collection.
customers who visited the store between 2pm - 5pm received a special calligraphy message as part of gift with purchase offer.

Celebration drinks.

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Concrete blocks from a previous Acne store design in which I shall use for my window design.

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Atmospherics - Influence buyer behaviour such as using lighting, colour, smell, music.

Average Transaction Value (ATV) - Average price of each transaction.

Blocked Statements - Commercial pieces that sell well in volume across different colour ways/prints.

Brand Image - Impression held by brands customers.

Brand Inclusivity - Brands being inclusive with cultures, genders and race.

Brand Touchpoint  - Any platform where you touch/reach your customers i.e Website, social media, emails.

Closed Back Window - Cant see into store so concept has to be in the window.

Combination Window - Has backing but can still see into store. Mixture of closed and open back.

CTA (Call To Action) - Call outs that are click throughs that forward the customer to the website or a map to a new store etc.

Customer Profiling - Creating a portrait of your customers.

Destination Zone - Are dedicated to one item i.e Denim Destination. This area shouldn't be at the front of the store and should be positioned next to corresponding items.

Differentiation - Creating a set of unique attributes that set a company apart from its competitors.

Discovery Zone - An area in which customers can discover. It is a place for dwell time or can include curated outfits.

E-Commerce - Online shopping

Email Marketing - Targeting marketing to customers through email. Reinforcing the brand image.

Fixture Positioning. - Flow/Layout of fixture placement

Flat Lays - Composition of carefully selected items arranged on a flat surface and shot form above.

Focal Point - Is a hotspot. Acts as a centre point of a zone. Can combine products and mannequins. Items placed in key sightline.

Gender Fluidity - Identify as both male and female.

Gender Neutral  - Do not identify as male or female

Globalisation - The process by which businesses or other organisations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

Holistic Approach - It is the total experience a customer has from a companies products and services. Enticing the customers and gaining their trust.

Inclusivity - Inclusion of all people no matter their race, gender, disability or other need.

Interactive Merchandising. - Ease of digital shopping. Customers using in-store computers.

Localisation - The process of organising a business so that its main activities happen in local areas rather than internationally.

M-Commerce - Mobile shopping. Ease of using a device to shop, make payments and browse via mobile sites and apps.

Mirror Image - Using fixtures to manipulate one side of the store to look the same as the other.

Omni-channel Branding - Making sure your branding is consistent across all platforms i.e Website, socials, in-store, emails.

Open Back Window - Can see through into store. Can be creative with concept.

Pause Point - Areas in which a customer stops to look at something i.e. Mannequins, tables, front facing products.

Pen Portrait - Written version of customer profile.

Pestele - Framework/Tool used by marketers to analyse and monitor the macro environmental factors that have an impact on an organisation.

Planogram - Drawing or plan for displaying merchandise.

Primary Zone - Newest, most relevant product or collection.

Product Adjacencies - What product sits next to one another.

Point of Sale (POS) - Lower priced goods in high volumes that are placed where transactions are purchased.

Semiotics - The meaning created and communicated through the use of images and not text.

Sensory Retail - Including the 5 senses to engage with shoppers and enhance their shopping experience.

Social Change - Social change involves alteration of the social order of a society.

Swot -  Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a brand. Strengths and weaknesses being internal factors and opportunities and threats being external factors.

Sustainability - Having a positive impact on the environment.

Tone of Voice - How the character of your business comes through in your words.

Transition Zone - Directly inside the front of the store. Good use of VM displays following theme of window.

Typography - Arranging text in an engaging, interesting and legible way that gets the message across.

Unique Selling Point (USP) - What makes your product or service better that competitors.

Units Per Transaction (UPT) - How many units customers are buying per transaction. Same as IPC.

Window Scheme - Developing the idea into a story that can run through many windows.

Window Theme - Moment in retail calendar

White Washing - Creating a white space, cutting out noise and clutter with the ease of shopping.

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This is my 3D version of my window. I am pleased with how this has turned out. I think it captures my idea and the digital window. I feel you can get the impression of the sensory experience through the texture of what will be the artists work.
I have used a triangle display formation by using the two plinths and steel clothes stand. The way they are positioned creates the triangle and leads you up to a focal point.
I have used the plinths at different heights to create depth and draw the eye up from one to another.

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Researching into the window decals for the messaging I want to display within the window.
Vistaprint has a variety of options to choose from in regards to the size and what material you want for your window decals. They provided a price of £48.12 for the options selected. The price varies depending on the options selected.

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This would be the proposed social media post.
It would include up close shots of the artist work within the windows.
It would also provide a click through link to the website page where customers can explore.
This would peak their interest due to it being a snap shot rather than the whole image of the window. It would create a sense of mystery and encourage customers to find out more.
This is cohesive across all channels creating an omni-channel approach. It makes it easy for the customer to navigate and to tell what this is about.

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This is the click through page for the "New In" products. It contains model shots from the newly launched collection whilst sticking to brand image.
I have kept the page cohesive with the others by keeping a click through link to the collaboration windows at the top of the page.

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I think there is a clear omni-channel approach across all platforms including my window design.
The purpose of having this promotion of the collaboration on the mobile site is so customers can see videos and up close pictures of the window. It will also inform them of the artist and how and why they created this window for Acne Studios.
The main click throughs are on the landing page. New in products and the latest trend within the new collection.
At the bottom includes further ways to contact Acne Studios.

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Abigail Taylor - Retail Sales Assistant - Accessorize | LinkedIn

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View Abigail Taylor's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Abigail has 2 jobs listed on their profile. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Abigail's connections and jobs at similar companies.

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For the steel stand I want to hang products from, I researched several steel stands/coat stands to try and find average pricing.
I contacted a company regarding the below steel coat stand for a price enquiry however haven't received any information back.

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I also researched on websites such as Wayfair which is an online furniture and home goods retailer. On their website they had several metal coat hangers of which I tried to find ones that best represented what I was trying to achieve for my window. From this information I have found out that they average at around £100 each.

With the information from Morplan and Wayfair I was able to get an average pricing of £70 - £80 for a coat stand.

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I researched into Morplan which is a supplier for retail and fashion industry products. They have a catalog where you can easily find what you are looking for.
I searched for a steel coat stand, although its not the exact design I am after, it gives me a price in which I can get an average on how much they would cost.

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This is the blocked statement accessories table that will sit adjacent to the rails. This is not only to sell the variety of colours the bag is available in but also asa link and sell to the outfits displayed. Each bag could pair with any outfit.

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This is the final digital design. I am pleased with how it has turned out. I think you can get a clear understanding of what the window will entail.
I think by adding the messaging, you get a true sense of how the window will look.

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“Textile is a universal language. In all of the cultures of the world, textile is a crucial and essential component,”.

She explores different countries traditional textile methods.

"Colour, texture and form are linked to ignite an idea".

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Another textile artist I found interesting was Sheila Hicks. She produces three dimensional work to entice viewers to reach out and touch. Creating a sensory experience. She likes to explore with the scale of her work, often creating large scale pieces.

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10 Pioneering Textile Artists, from Sheila Hicks to Nick Cave | Artsy

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The practice of weaving was invented as early as 27,000 years ago. Today, the medium is undergoing a renaissance.

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This is my second attempt with the applied changes that I felt were needed from my first planogram.
I kept the same key outfits and added in an additional garment from my collection that would compliment the outfit or add an additional layer. I think that this looks fuller and more to Acne's style.

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From reading the article above, this shows the 6 step process from taking pictures of products using style shoots to how they end up being used in the visual retailing software to create planograms for each grade of store.