BALMAIN

A Marketing Plan Prepared by:

Sonia Binder

BALMAIN | March, 2016

Company Description/Strategic Focus

Pierre Balmain began his work in Paris as an assistant to Lucien Legong. Here he worked

among highly regarded designer Christian Dior, who is credited for much influence in Balmains

career. In 1945, Balmain founded his own fashion house and continued working with Dior. His

design style became known as the New French Style; it was very popular following World War

II. The mission of Balmains designs is simply described as clothes you really want to wear,

which references Balmains great success with ready-to-wear fashion. Pierre Balmain passed away

in 1982, leaving his fashion house to Erik Mortensen. An extremely significant successor after

Balmains death was Oscar de la Renta, who took over in 1993. He was the creative director for

nearly ten years.

The current creative director, 28 year old Olivier Rousteing, has definitely modernized the

brand. He has used social media to the brands advantage by staying active on Instagram. Having

a young creative director definitely has its benefits. Rousteing is fully aware of how to market the

brand and keep Balmains consumers updated via social media. He is the most followed French

fashion designer on Instagram.

Rousteings vision for Balmains customers is all about confidence. The current goal is

expansion, Balmain is specifically targeting London (where the mono-label store is currently

located), Italy, China, South Korea, and the Middle East. The Balmain army on the runway

features ethnically diverse models, which is another way modern Balmain sets itself apart from

other fashion houses.

BALMAIN | March, 2016

 Olivier Rousteing (center) with some of the Balmain Army

Artistically, the designs are also becoming more modernized, but with tribute to Balmains

tailored, classy, and embellished look. Rousteing is inspired by glamour and the music scene,

which is evident in the boldness, confidence, and elegance that is seen in the line.

Balmain has had recent success, especially compared to the past. Another huge step

Balmain has taken is the recent collaboration with H&M. The collaboration bridges the more

expensive designer collection to more mainstream buyers. This has been a very effective way of

promoting the brands name. This limited time offer collaboration has only recently been

launched in November, 2015, but has already proven to be quite successful.

Situation Analysis

Balmain faced some economic struggles in the late 20th century that nearly led to

bankruptcy in 2004. Ever since, Balmains house has been rebuilding the brand and it has paid

off. Sales have been increasing by roughly 20% each year. The promotion of the name through

BALMAIN | March, 2016

social media, and celebrity endorsements from names as big as Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, and

Rihanna, have made quite a statement that has improved Balmains economic state. The

collaboration with H&M and the plan to expand and open new mono-label stores is also promising

for the brand.

The demographics targeted by Balmain include both men and women. Most target market

is aimed at high class people of money. However, with the H&M collaboration, this opens the

market up to people who support the brand but perhaps cannot afford the high end line. The

target market is ideally one of diversity.

As previously stated, technology has deeply influenced the brands success, specifically

since 2011 when Olivier Rousteing was given the position as head creative director. Social media

has impacted the exposure of the brand as well as the relationship with customers. Some fashion

critics have expressed negative reactions to Rousteings image on social media. Rousteings

response to these criticisms is that he uses social media as a business move for selling, promoting,

and communicating.

Balmains competitors are fellow high-end designers with a similar target market. This

market has both the desire and the ability to buy the product, which is a small percent of buyers

when it comes to couture fashion. This includes designers such as Versace, Hermes, Marc Jacobs,

Ralph Lauren, Armani, and Louis Vuitton.

SWOT Analysis

An important strength that sets Balmain aside from its competitors is the dedication to

reach out to a diverse market. The use of social media is definitely a large part of this and it is

BALMAIN | March, 2016

extremely effective. A weakness might be that the brand has access to influence so many young

people via Instagram but many of those people are not among those who can afford the product.

The H&M collaboration was a great opportunity to somewhat break that barrier and to continue to

promote the brands name. Opening more mono-label stores is another great opportunity for the

brand, especially in the endeavor to spread worldwide. A threat to consider for Balmain is the

many competitors that also reach out to the same small target market. Balmain must consistently

stand out as a brand in order to overcome the threat of competitors.

Marketing Objectives

The main goal of this period is Olivier Rousteings digital revolution. This means to

continue to expand Balmains audience and acquire a younger demographic market via social

media. This became very effective with the Balmain Army- led by celebrities to draw in a large,

new, global audience. These celebrities include Kanye West,

Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Kendall Jenner. The objective

of the Balmain Army is to attract a widely diverse audience,

which is why those specific celebrities are a great endorsement

for the brand. The objective of this period is to continue to

obtain followers on social media sites that gives the brand

exposure and recognition. The brand and brand endorsers

have about 50 million followers already and the goal is for

those numbers to continue to grow. This will lead to global

expansion as a more long term goal.

Rihannas Balmain Ad

BALMAIN | March, 2016

Target Markets

The primary market for Balmain is a sophisticated, wealthy man or

woman ages 24-30. These men and women are very hard-working individuals

and have a very active social life. They live in big cities and style is very

important to them. This Balmain man or woman is always going to important

events. The secondary target market for Balmain is ambitious men and women

ages 18-23. These young men and women are always on top of the next look

or trend. They are fascinated by celebrity lifestyles and are very active on social

media. They come from wealthy families or have found their own success early

in life. They are also very social and driven people with an upbeat, in-the-

moment attitude toward life. This market lives all over the globe but especially

in big cities. The tertiary target market is men and women 30-40. These are

men and women who have settled down and live in fabulous houses. They

have a steady income and are very wealthy. They are often people of business

and go to social events. They are refined and live a life of class but arent afraid

to be bold when it comes to their style.

Positioning: Balmain is positioned in the minds of the target customer as a way to stay current.

Balmain differs from competitors because of Balmains presence in the world of media. Balmain

has a glamorous vibe that is associated with success and confidence and it is positioned in the

consumers mind as such, making it a very attractive brand.

BALMAIN | March, 2016

Product and Price

Balmain is a high end luxury brand. Rousteing is highly influenced by pop music and

glamour and this is evident in Balmains product. The bold, confident-chic merchandise includes

products for both women and men. These products include outerwear, dresses, skirts, tops, jeans,

trousers, accessories, shoes, and bags. Balmain also has a line of fragrances. The names of these

perfumes and colognes include, Balmain Homme, Extatic, Vent Vert, Ambre Gris, Extatic Eau de

Toilette, Carbone, Ivoire, Monsieur Balmain, and Eau DIvoire. These fragrances range from

$82-$130. The merchandise embodies the value of elegance and glamour that has been carried by

the Balmain name for decades. Merchandise is made from

luxury fabrics such as leather, suede, and many elaborately

embroidered products as well. The prices of the products

reflect Balmains quality and the luxury that is carried with

the brand name. This textured-leather iPhone 6 Balmain

phone case is $255. This is one of the lower prices for

Balmain accessories. High-waist, suede belts are $2,385

and a suede clutch purse is $2,715. Skirts and dresses are

all above $1,000 and the most expensive is a chainmail

mini dress for $16,065. A pair of cotton-denim jeans is

upwards of $1,000. Shoes range from $1,000 to $2,000. Overall, Balmains high end products are

expensive due to their quality, materials used, and the attention to detail in design. Pierre Balmain

has such a highly regarded name in the fashion world. This name lives on with the modern

interpretation of the brand that Rousteing and his Balmain team have creatively dedicated

themselves to.

BALMAIN | March, 2016

Place

When Pierre Balmain moved on from his work at Lucien Lelongs fashion house, he was

ready for a creative couture home of his own. This house is located at 44 Rue Francois 1ER in an

exclusive neighborhood in Paris, France. Balmain and his team quickly realized the house needed

some improvements. The fabric storeroom which originally was located in the kitchen and

bathroom areas was transformed into Balmains studio. Young Pierre Balmain was inspired by the

post-war era of Parisian couture houses. After Pierre left the house, maison 44 was gradually

redesigned and modernized.

In 2009, architect Joseph Dirand was inspired to once again redesign maison 44 to better

reflect the Balmain collections. His vision was to turn the house into a perfect blend of its 18th

century roots and the modern Balmain look. Today, there is a stone staircase that leads to both a

ceremonial room and a sitting room. Fixtures, furnishings, and the restored floor are all an elegant

tribute to aristocratic French history.

BALMAIN | March, 2016

 Balmains merchandise is available online and at several retail locations all over the world.

As mentioned earlier, Balmain continues to work on global expansion of wholesale stores. There

are also several flagship stores located in major cities. The flagship boutiques are a showcase for

the brand. These flagship stores are located in:

New York City, New York

Paris, France

London, United Kingdom

Hong Kong, China (Harbour City)

Hong Kong, China (Pacific Place)

Macau, China

Tokyo, Japan

Shanghai, China

Beijing, China

Hangzhou, China

Qingtao, China

Seoul, South Korea

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Promotion

Balmain has many methods of promotion. The main strategy is Balmains social media

image. Creative director Olivier Rousteing loves to communicate with people. He uses social

media as a form of Public Relations. Rousteing and the Balmain Army reach out to consumers by

BALMAIN | March, 2016

sharing posts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. This promotes the brand by giving the name

and visuals of the merchandise public exposure. There are also many celebrity endorsements

used to promote the brand. These celebrities, the Balmain Army, are all close friends of

Rousteing as well. Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have become big promoters for the brand.

This has inspired brand recognition globally, but especially in the United States.

Marketing Communication Plan

For my marketing communication plan, I would continue to promote Balmains influence

on social media networks. I would make a Pinterest board dedicated to Balmain. The page is

titled Shop Balmain in an effort to urge new consumers to check out the brand. The page is

visually appealing because it is filled with images of Balmains merchandise that would immediately

attract customers. The pages description would include Balmains other social media page names

to encourage viewers to follow Balmain and share/promote the brand. In addition to making the

page and sharing it online, I would print the page and post flyers around Chicago. The key to

making this successful would be location. I would definitely go to Wicker Park and other nice

neighborhoods because that is where Balmains target market is most likely to be. However, that

would not limit me to where I would post these flyers. It would still be beneficial to post the flyers

in other neighborhoods because even if it doesnt gain immediate clientele, it would still give the

brand name exposure. The flyers would still attract people interested in fashion who may not

necessarily be able to afford the brand. Those people would still follow the brand online giving the

Balmain name even more value.

Here is a link to my mock-up creative execution Pinterest board:

BALMAIN | March, 2016

https://www.pinterest.com/bindersonia/shop-balmain/

Evaluation and Control

To determine if the marketing communication plan is a success, all Balmains social media

networks would be closely monitored. It would be ideal to be fully aware of the growth of social

media followers that could be a part of Balmains target market. A negative aspect of this would be

that it would be difficult to keep up with the growth of followers that were specifically gained due to

this project. Creating a Pinterest board is a useful plan because it is a great way to make

connections with Balmains target market. The flyers would be a great component of the project

because they would regularly pull in new clientele and new followers of the brand. The risk of this

would be the inability to directly approach these consumers.

BALMAIN | March, 2016

Sources:

http://nymag.com/thecut/fashion/designers/balmain/

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/jan/20/kardashian-couture-balmain-buzz-olivier-

rousteing-fashion-social-media-star

http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/video/bof-exclusive-balmains-social-media-driven-retail-

rollout

http://www.her.ie/style/reeling-back-the-years-history-of-fashion-house-balmain/118389

http://startupfashion.com/fashion-masters-broke-rules-balmain

http://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/intelligence/business-logic-balmain-hm-olivier-rousteing-

designer-collaboration

http://incitrio.com/balmains-branding-resurrection-and-rise-of-the-balmainarmy/

www.balmain.com

BALMAIN | March, 2016