The End Result - Welcome to YSL Intimité!

Having carried out thorough research, a SOSTAC analysis on the brand and completed a successful photoshoot, i can now welcome you to the new Brand extension of Yves Saint Laurent, 'YSL Intimité'.

Product - A themed collection of Lingerie, launching in line with London Fashion Week 2011. Each season will introduce a new collection to the brand, with a new ad campaign, design and event itinery accordingly.

After the completion of this project, i can safely say i thoroughly enjoyed the process of creating and implementing a new product into the market, and feel i have learnt a great deal about a new product launch.

Here is the finished Ad Campaign and the Commercial uploaded to Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnnoA9xAkFk

...The Photoshoot continued.

This is me styling the shoot, and doing the hair and makeup of my model. I themed the shoot as 'Parisian Boudoir', using various props and lighting techniques.

I was really pleased with the overall shoot, and the image results were perfect!

I had few problems on the day of the shoot, the only limitations i had to overcome, were lighting problems when the natural daylight went, as well as selecting the appropriate props for each shoot. Yves Sant Laurent is a minimalist brand; they wouldnt focus too heavily on props in their ad campaigns so this was an aspect i needed to take into consideration.

Whilst filming the video, i used a 'flip-video', which proved difficult at times because of the size of the small screen. However the end result was good, and i was able to cut various sections of each filming sequence i created and stitch together a commercial.

The Photoshoot - Location & Ad Images

I chose the Grove Manor House in Hertfordshire as the location for my shoot; the luxurious decor and surroundings complemented the lingerie collection and provided an excellent setting for the photoshoot.

Having to style, and narrate your own photoshoot and commercial is hard to achieve, but the end results, i was particularly pleased with. I decided on several outfit changes, but all tying in with the same theme of "Parisian Boudoir". This is the first collection introduced to YSL Intimité; the following collections will be each named differently.

Once all the shots were taken, and i had decided on the final photos to use for the ad campaign, i then needed to create a background to paste the images on to and the YSL Intimité logo.

The YSL consumer - Pen Portrait & Customer Profile

Yves Saint Laurent has maintained its prestigous and exclusive image as a luxury brand since its creation in 1962.

The current target market is Yves Saint Laurent is the upper class affluent individual, catering for both men and women. The career paths related to these consumers could typically be Law, Finance, Sales or Directorial roles in an Industry, with salaries consisting of 6 figures.

The age bracket YSL caters for ranges between 25-50 and has several differing collections in order to accommodate this bracket; Cruise, Edition 24 and the mainline Spring Summer or Autumn Winter Collections.

The Interests and hobbies of this consumer would be holidays in St Tropez, weekends away in luxurious country houses or spas, an interest in current affairs, expensive cars and would typically read the higher priced magazines such as Vogue, GQ, Tatler and Harpers Bazaar.

When analysing the YSL consumer, we could compare their profile to that of Prada, Gucci or Burberry. All three are top end of the luxury market, and successfully maintain their prestigious image throughout all their collections. Other luxury brands such as Marc Jacobs or Armani uphold their status as a designer brand but offer a lower priced collection, more suited to the high street market. Some critics would argue that this alters their reputation as a 'luxury' brand; by broadening their product portfolio into the lower priced market it loses it's exclusivity. However, there is an argument against this; some would say that by appealling to a mass market, the brand is acheiving greater awareness and interest, and therefore greater success.

It is important, when creating a brand stretch or extension, to take into account the image and style of a brand, in order to assess whether or not any change or addition to their product portfolio or realistic or viable.

This is a customer profile of a typical YSL Consumer:

My name is Elizabeth Duke and i am 29 years old. I currently work as the PR manager for a top London Public Relations Firm.

I have a keen interest in Fashion, and i like to do a 'season' shop, once every 3 months. I buy Investment pieces; items that i feel with withstand new trends and offer a classic and simplistic feel. I like to shop in Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci for the more timeless items, but i also shop at Stella McCartney, especially in the summer months, for the fresh and feminine style of the brand.

I currently live in Chelsea, London in a penthouse apartment with my husband, an Investment Banker. We like to visit our country house in the Cotswolds and also enjoy regular visits to our holiday villa in St. Tropez, France.

My interests include Gastronomy and fine wines, Fashion, as previously mentioned, travelling and experiencing new cultures as well as luxury spa retreats. I like to indulge myself with regular treats, and i take great pride in my appearance. In terms of my dislikes, i am not a 'bargain hunter', i have little interest in 'Fashionable but cheap' items, and i dispise high street retailers who create replicas of the designer brands.

I read Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Tatler; the lower market gossip magazines such as Heat, Closer or More are of no appeal to me. The lives of celebrities should be private and not advertised as a public spectacle.

As far as my career is concerned, work comes first and a family comes later at this present point. I love the fast paced, dynamic and ever changing variety of my industry, and i constantly thrive for more.

My Inspiration behind 'YSL Intimité'.....

I drew much of my inspiration for this brand extension from Yves Saint Laurent itself. I looked at the styles of the clothes and their structure, and then incorporating this into the theme and style of the shoot for the lingerie campaign.

The collection at YSL, for Spring/Summer 2010, was split very clearly into two groups; one was very structured, and featured bodices, and garments associated with underwear, as outerwear, and the other was very flowing, tiered and featured ruffles and frills, but also had an element of 'lingerie' to it.

Another brand i drew a great deal of inspiration from, was Victoria's Secret, the American Lingerie company. Many famous supermodels have modelled for them, and the brand awareness of the company is huge. They have several different collections within Victoria's Secret and i focused mainly on a more recent collection 'Vintage Victoria'. I wanted a vintage flair and feel to YSL Intimité, and drew inspiration from the styles and themes within this new collection for 'Vintage Victoria'.

The Thought Process....

Having been given the task at University, of selecting an existing brand and then creating a stretch or extension of this - the first (and most difficult) decision was the choice of brand. My immediate thoughts were to select as brand like Topshop, Zara or H&M; all hugely popular and successful high street retailers, and all choices I felt I could brainstorm and create an extension of. However, after some thought, and realisation that the majority of my course colleagues would be choosing the same option as myself, I decided to select something a little more challenging - the difficult option!

I have recently completed 6 weeks work experience in the PR department at Yves Saint Laurent in New York. This gave me a fantastic understanding and insight into the history, design process and structure of the brand, as well as viewing the whole collection, both past seasons and vintage. I was able to use this to my advantage and gather ideas and visions for my current University project. With this experience under my belt, and the increased knowledge of the YSL customer profile, I decided to take the plunge and choose YSL as the brand for me to select an extension.

This proved a real challenge because I was conscious of maintaining the high profile of the brand image which YSL has withheld since its launch. As a Company, YSL do very little mainstream advertising and have not, to date considered introducing a lower priced collection, as other designer houses, such as Marc Jacobs have. YSL have a tough selection process for the celebrities they choose to wear and endorse their brand and having spent several weeks immersed in the PR and promotion department, I have gained much more of an understanding of their culture and very high brand values. For this reason, I decided to create a brand extension rather than a stretch; creating a product in the same field, i.e clothing or accessories.

I have chosen YSL lingerie as I believe this could be a successful move for the brand and if designed, launched and marketed correctly, it would complement the existing image of a prestigious, desirable and luxurious fashion house. It would also present an opportunity to target a wider audience - those women who may not be able to afford a handbag or item of clothing but would treat themselves to a luxurious lingerie item - which would be available at a lower price point for the consumer. It would also provide an opportunity to sell to men - often the purchasers of lingerie items for the women in their lives. The quality, designer label and brand values of YSL, I belive would certainly appeal to this audience.