Friday, January 6, 2017

Q20 Goes to Korea!

Written by Unknown on 12:00 PM with No comments

by Dan Harvey and Amanda Wills

In early December Q20’s beloved freelancers, Dan Harvey and Amanda Wills, took an educational journey to the East, to Seoul, South Korea to assist in teaching a Design Thinking Seminar at Fab Lab Seoul.

(Photo Credit Oscar Alejandro Rios)

While in Seoul one of the first things that struck us was the huge difference in the approach to retail design and display than what we were accustomed to back home. More specifically, the product display, the overall retail “neighborhoods” within Seoul, and the abundant usage of dynamic signage radically differed from our previous conceptions of retail space design.

Compared to the Western Retail experience, where stores contain a range of products and experiences, we were drawn to the “market style” experience ranging throughout the city. Most of the traditional markets are situated along the man made river (Cheonggyecheon), into areas specializing from Chungmuro Pet Market, to the Dongdaemun Fabric Market, to the Euljiro Hardware Market.

Photos by Amanda Wills

Within these specialized markets, each vendor specializes in a single product, from door handles, to plumbing pipe, to socks… The approach to the product display seems to be cramming as much product and variations of the same product, in order to draw in the consumer. The experience is almost claustrophobic, product stuck in every nook and surface that one has to wiggle around the shop and hope not to break that expensive golden buddha sitting precariously on an overstuffed, bowing shelf.

A photo posted by Dan Harvey (@harvdog92) on Dec 6, 2016 at 7:17pm PST

Photos by Amanda Wills

Photo by Dan Harvey

The signage of these shopping neighborhoods also followed the same idea. Lit up signs in Korean characters hung off the sides of buildings often obscuring an entire facade. Walking through these areas at night provided for a surreal view of blinking colors and screens.

A video posted by Dan Harvey (@harvdog92) on Dec 6, 2016 at 2:41am PST

A photo posted by Dan Harvey (@harvdog92) on Dec 4, 2016 at 6:56pm PST

Once you can finally decide on a purchase within this overwhelming experience, we were also intrigued by the elaborate packaging design, hitting home the unique shopping experience of these two foreigners tromping around Seoul. Products, mostly food related, from a pack of strawberries, to candy, to a faceted box of cereal all had extremely loud and vibrant packaging usually containing cartoon animals and small anime characters. The packaging seemed a very material intensive, yet futuristic, step up from western methods.

(Left) Photo Credit

(Right) Photo by Amanda Wills

Photo Credit

All these huge differences in the Korean Marketplaces created for a very interesting shopping experience and allowed us to find new extremes in retail design to adapt and use back home.

PUT ME IN COACH?

Written by Unknown on 2:44 PM with No comments

The new Coach window on the Magnificent Mile (625 N. Michigan Ave.) is a superb piece of concept and craftsmanship.

It is brilliant visual merchandising with exceptional execution. The back wall is tiled with inset figures and typography to mimic a dream-like subway stop.

The subway car itself is replete with brushed copper veneers, mirror-coated rails, stylized but true-to-life flooring and Coach-logo-ed diamond plating.

The product merchandising is simple and strong: head-to-toe presentation, two bags, bejeweled consumer mug and morning paper. Everything is beautiful and says stylish, professional, urban, commuting women…in New York.

Last night, the Cubs, for the first time in 108 years, won the World Series. Coach could have made a press-worthy statement by adjusting the “C” Train to the Red Line, with a nod to the Addison stop. It's a shame for such a beautiful presentation. Everyone loves New York, except maybe Chicago after such an historic Cubs win. Then they couldn’t care less..

MARKING HISTORY

Written by Unknown on 12:54 PM with No comments

UPDATE
Last night the Cub's won the World Series. While nothing changed at the below mentioned retail locations, Nike did bring home their campaign, Make Someday Today, with the following ad. Kudos to Wieden + Kennedy and Nike for a great merging of creative and media celebrating a historic moment in sports.

It's been 71 years since a World Series game was last played at Wrigley Field. The cultural significance of this is on full corporate display in Chicago, and nowhere more prominently than along Michigan Avenue. Everything from the subtle:

Lighting design at Uniqlo

To the shameless:

Tiffany & Co.'s Atlas clothed in a Cub's jersey

For two of the most important companies in professional baseball (and two of the fiercest competitors for the North American sporting good dollar), however, the arrival of the World Series provides a once-in-four-generations opportunity to seize the moment and make a statement.

Nike and Under Armour’s flagship stores are a mere two blocks from each other, so we decided to check in and see how they marked and marketed the event. Turns out, not so well.

Under Amour

600 N. Michigan Ave.

Under Amour has been a Cubs marketing partner since 2007. Its logo lives on the outfield doors and is embedded in the iconic centerfield ivy. In 2014, UA signed a multi-year naming rights agreement for the workout facility at Cubs Park in Mesa, AZ, where the Cubs spend a couple months during Spring training.

As a long-time partner, UA can rightly claim to be above the bandwagon set. So how did they market history? They kept it simple. They celebrated the fan and the city. The tag line — FLY IT HIGH — is a call to action to support the Cubs without reservation and without condition.

Noble sentiments, but the execution came down to a few big "W"s flown around the store. UA could and should have done more with the moment and opportunity. It will probably be another 70 years before they get to celebrate their relationship with the "Loveable Losers" again.

Nike
669 N. Michigan

Nike is not an official sponsor of the Cubs, the team, but it is a high-profile sponsor of many of the key Cubs players. John Lester, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez and Anthony Rizzo, to name a few, wear Nike on and off the field.

Not surprisingly, therefore, Nike’s retail marketing approach focuses on the players and the impact they can have on the game. The tag line, MAKE SOMEDAY TODAY, is a call to action for athletes everywhere to seize the day. It leverages the moment in order to transcend it.

Nike has backed up that CTA with inspirational copy that finishes the point for those who might have missed it. The Cubs, you see, are a metaphor for us to embrace and remember. Whatever must-win situation we are facing, Today is our Someday.

As is their want, the two companies have approached the opportunity from two extreme ends of the spectrum. But we give them credit for playing to their strengths.

UA made it about the team and the city. Nike made it about them and theirs. UA lacked subtlety (go figure), while Nike obsessed the design details. UA, originally a base layer brand, continues to be about supporting athletes, missions and teams. Their newest push into fitness apps and wearable technologies reinforces this point. They are in business to be an integral part of others’ success. Nike, on the other hand, remains focussed on individual success, and they will continue to leverage cultural moments to elevate and celebrate that. Why not? It's worked for them so far.

Each approach has merits, but the execution in the end, turned out less than inspiring. A "W" and one case and some second surface vinyl in the other. Should we have expected more? It's not often that two iconic brands have the historic and cultural attention of a city. Unfortunately, neither did much more than hit weak grounders back to the pitcher.