Ch. 11 - Developing and Managing Products

Chanel has traditionally focused its efforts on designing, developing and producing products for the market. Today, global competition, outsourcing and legislation commend that companies take greater responsibility of their products. In the luxury brands industry, consistency is extremely important, in order to generate profit by creating brand value and customer value. A company needs to draw on the history and tradition of its own brand, which arc the foundation of product-making and resulting techniques, and showcase the philosophy of its own brand. Unless this is done in a consistent manner, the company cannot retain customers for long. The goal when developing a brand is to create value. Chanel do that by emulating the characteristics and values that its customers desire. Branding is present throughout everything Chanel's company touches—it is not just a logo.

 Nobody in marketing needs to be told about the importance of product consistency. Consistency is all, and while this bit of branding wisdom applies most commonly to products, savvier companies have extended it to retail design, customer service and, to advertising imagery. In 1922 Chanel introduced a perfume, Chanel No. 5, which quickly became popular, and remains a profitable product of the Chanel organization. Now in its 90th year of production, Chanel No. 5 is the best-selling fragrance of all time, and one with a long trail of print ads behind it. But whether the ad comes from 1968, there's a good chance you'll encounter the same stylistic elements therein, to wit: the bottle. Sure, beautiful models have come and gone, but the signature modernist flacon is the centerpiece. And that's no accident. "Chanel has always kept a certain kind of minimalized brand identity," noted Tilar Mazzeo, author of The Secret of Chanel No. 5. "It's all about the form and the line of the bottle."

"Chanel is clearly at that point where everyone is highly focused and is working together in a way that has created a terrific business," said Arie Kopelman, president and chief operating officer of Chanel Inc. The foundation of creativity is the codes of the brand. The team of innovators create, collection after collection, inventing the Chanel story again. The company's strong to devotion to fine materials, technology, and to the brand's philosophy have contributed to number of product lines that have excelled. The last several seasons have produced innovative items such as frayed tweeds, sleek sport looks, quilted bags in bright colors and unconventional shapes, as well as candy-colored costume jewelry.

Ch. 18 -Social Media and Marketing

Social media, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, viral video, or mobile check-ins, can help a luxury brand solidify and personalize its exclusive image, as well as provide a way for brand enthusiasts to communicate and interact with each other and the brand. Chanel uses different channels, such as YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Web site and etc. Facebook is a great platform for show casting visual content, so what better social network could there be for a famous fashion house? Chanel has been a leader in couture for many years, sparking many revolutions in women’s clothing and fragrances — little black dress, anyone? Now the company is making a statement as a leader in social media as well. Images are certainly a strong component Chanel’s Facebook presence; the Page has a very well-curated selection of photographs. Through all of the eye candy, however, it’s clear that this company has worked hard to bring its long history to life in this contemporary medium. Here are some of the great and stylish things Chanel is making happen on Facebook. Many of the new photos and advertisements feature the current spokeswomen for Chanel, but one of the fashion house’s great advantages is its treasure trove of historical photos. Instead of using Timeline’s Milestones feature just to share important dates for the company, Chanel’s Facebook Page also chronicles the life of pioneering designer and founder Gabrielle Chanel. From her birth in 1883 to the release of her classic Chanel No. 5 perfume, the life of Gabrielle Chanel is closely tied to the development of her fashion house. These updates are usually accompanied by vintage photos of Chanel herself. It’s a great way for the brand to recognize its wonderful heritage and history. Because the designer’s name is so frequently used for names of the company’s products, it was a smart choice to make Chanel a more prominent and relatable figure for fans to identify with.

 Chanel has also taken the next step in visual presentation by adding videos to its Page. Its video content ranges from trailers for the brand’s Little Black Jacket Exhibition, to filming behind the scenes at photo shoots, to advertising spots promoting its products. Video provides an extra dimension and allure to the label’s accessories and fragrances. It also gets Facebook fans closer to the haute couture brand than a still photo in a magazine ever could. Another staple of fashion magazines is how-to articles, which Chanel has worked into its Facebook Page as well. Makeup artist Lisa Eldridge has partnered with the brand’s Makeup Confidential site, and she has provided several cosmetics tutorials for Chanel’s Facebook Page. It’s a great way for the company to present a new angle for its products and get fans engaged. The Chanel name, in all-caps black and white text, as well as the two interlocking capital C’s, are well-known logos for the fashion house. The iconic branding is a key part of how Chanel presents itself on Facebook. It’s important to maintain that level of brand consistency when moving into the world of social media. Unified branding helps make a stronger statement, and can tie together a wide range of content on a network like Facebook.

Ch. 10 - Product Concepts

The founding of Chanel goes back to the year 1910 when Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel opened her first shop under the sign "Chanel Modes" in Paris. Since than it has grown to be one of the world’s most prestigious luxury brands for fashion, fragrances, beauty and skincare and was reported to have an estimated sales figure of nearly $ 2 billion in 1995. The brand Chanel is profoundly associated with its famous founder and her audacious femininity. World class designer Karl Lagerfeld helps keeping up the haute-couture- image. The brand Chanel is perceived as a brand of luxury, perfection and uniqueness. It is a concept to many people today. They are designed by intelligent, creative, and fantastic people. One of those designs is “Chanel”. Without a shadow of a doubt the single most influential female fashion designer of the 20th century, Coco remains to this day adored. She basically revolutionized the fashion industry, changing women from the tight corsets of the Edwardian era. What Miss Chanel did was reshape our concept of “elegance“. And in doing all these things, she basically achieved something precious for the women, freedom. As she said “Fashion fades, only style remains the same” became reality. Chanel's product concept is much like the company's mission statement and global vision as a whole. The brand has stayed true to the early vision of Chanel, to be timeless and sophisticated. The products that Chanel sells are a reflection of Coco Chanel herself, and what the brand has impacted on the world today. Chanel items tend to have underlining sex appeal and appear in lavish fabrics with many embellishments. Which always applies to one of Coco Chanel’s famous quotes “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.”  Consequently is very appropriate seeing that is the total quintessence of the label today even a century later.

 

Ch. 17 - Personal Selling

Personal selling is far more expensive on a per-unit basis than the other major tools of promotion: advertising, sales promotion and public relations. Personal selling is the most important way for selling products for Chanel because Chanel’s perfumes, bags, clothes, shoes, etc are not cheap. Actually it's too expensive. Customers are willing to buy fancy products when they are satisfied with a good advice and services. Also it will become relationship selling (consultative selling). Chanel service is great. The salesperson in Chanel will look for a potential customer who has the ability to purchase and explain the detail and some information about the product to the consumer. The salesperson in the Chanel department stores always demonstrate how to use the foundation and let the customer test the sample of the makeup foundation product. Chanel products are sold in big department stores such as: Macy's, Saks at Fifth Ave and more. Macy's offers great deals on Chanel's perfumes since their customers get a greater value; they tend to shop Chanel's cosmetics or perfumes at this department store. Chanel has good quality products which allow a good relationship with customer (brand loyalty); their clothing is beautiful and gives the customer the feeling that they can feel great wearing their brand. Chanel in relationship selling is motivating its customers to come back, again and again, by developing long-term relationship. In addition, mobile applications are available for purchase on itunes. These applications can be uploaded to the iphone or to ipods. On Facebook alone there are also over 500 groups that are based upon Chanel. Users are treated as a part of brand and their vision for company are evaluated.

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