- Client:
- Ardene
- What we did:
- Experience Strategy & Ideation, Brand Strategy, Customer Research & Profiling, Brand Positioning, Customer Experience Strategy, Retail Design from boutique to flagship, Retail Flagship Design, Communications Design, Brief Development, Packaging Design
The challenge
Ardene has been one of North America’s premier fast-fashion brands for the last 35 years, catering to a broad female audience between the ages of 10-40. However, in order to maintain relevance in today’s market, Ardene needed to transition into the trend-driven, socially connected world of the Generation Z consumer. Our challenge was to alter customer perception and build the brand’s strength within this demographic.
Our approach & solution
We started the transformation with a customer research project, understanding the current and future target. We delved into the world of Gen Z, exploring the best ways to engage and connect. Our research uncovered the demographic’s creative energy & attitude, their desire to seek the new and their passion for celebrity and social trends. The new brand positioning needed to capture a sense of this effervescent zest for life – a celebration of what it means to be young and confident today.
Key insight: The Gen Z target required a new way of communicating and behaving – inspirational, social, to the point, and shareable.
A new, playful personality, vibrant tone of voice and fun visual language have injected energy into this brand and concept, with social culture at its heart. A newly-crafted brand book defines brand pillars, art direction and other aspects to arm Ardene with the tools they need to create impactful, aspirational content to fuel the most exciting chapter of their audiences lives. A new store concept has been designed as a welcoming space for Gen Z to hang out and connect with each other as well as the brand.
Strategic shift: From being a retailer for everyone, to being a brand for Gen Z.
We redefined Ardene's beauty strategy and offer, and designed new packaging for the brand.
