PART 1 – The WHY
Definition of the project
At Re:Form, we want our customers to be able to revisit and rewear jewelry that they are no longer interested in. We challenge people to search in the back of their storage for pieces that they personally or their family members once cherished. These could be in the back for a multitude of reasons! Maybe the piece is out of style, broken or simply doesn’t fit anymore. Our company is striving to add service components that we believe are missing in the luxury jewelry market. We want to repair broken pieces. Whether a gem has fallen out of its setting or a part of the metal has cracked, we will repair and restore the piece to its original glory. We also offer resizing. Obviously on rings we can tighten or add to the circumference to make it the perfect and comfortable fit but we can also work on bracelets, anklets, necklaces and much more! If the intended length or fit is not what you desire, we can adjust the tightness or convert a pendant into a choker or vice versa! This will make old jewelry extremely wearable again by adjusting to your comfort or style preference. Our most exciting new service is the ability to transform any piece of jewelry into something completely different while retaining the same base materials of the original item. This is helpful if you have a piece that was passed to you by someone special but the jewelry is not your style. Another example is if you plan on a piece being a family heirloom or a passed down wedding/engagement ring. The original metals and stones can adapt depending on who it is currently in possession of.
We will remove and clean any stones, melt down the metals, recast them into a new shape and refix the stones into place. If you have any additional stones that you would like to add in as well, we can absolutely do that! We also have the ability to add in custom engravings to add design or add personal mementos. If you have colored glass that is special to you, we have artists that specialize in enameling who can add your glass into your piece as well.
We feel as though the sky’s the limit on customization and personalization! You are the mastermind behind your piece. Whatever you can visualize, we will work with you to assist in creation. You can submit your ideas to our online form with photos of the original jewelry as well as any additional stones, settings or glass. Describe to us in as much detail as you prefer what it is that you want to be made. From there we will create some sketches and pull some samples of things similar to your vision so that you can have a tangible idea of what things will look like. We will have you come into our studio to work alongside our designer and craftsman to adjust or add any details that you wish.
Business concept and identity
Mission: Our mission is to repurpose rarely worn jewelry into new pieces that are first to be picked out of the owner’s collection. We want to give old metal and stones new life by restyling them into something new.
Vision: We would like to make jewelry restyling commonplace. Owning pieces that are undesirable is a waste of space and money and to have that sitting in a drawer while spending more money on new is a waste of materials. We want to make the world conscious that this is an option.
Values: We believe that fine metals and stones are to be cherished. We understand the effort that it takes to obtain them and feel that everything should be worn and used. We believe in sustainability and eliminating waste. We believe in family heirlooms. With these services it is possible to stretch the lifetime of a piece of jewelry for generations to come.
Market environmental analysis
Macro analysis (economic-demographic, cultural – social, political – legal trends)
Market research
PART 2 – The HOW
Positioning, brand name, and brand value
Our brand is called Re:Form, and we are a luxury jewelry brand that specializes in customizations. The reason why we came up with this brand is actually pretty simple and it’s something most people have experienced in their lives. One day, I was visiting my grandmother and she was showing me a box of jewelry that my grandfather had gotten her ages ago. They were all precious gemstones and diamonds with designs that look outdated. I asked her why she never wears them anymore and her response was: “I am too old for them, and they don’t fit with the times anymore.” That really hit home because why should these beautiful stones sit in a box stored away forever when we can repurpose them and give them a new life? That’s how Re:Form started. We are a brand that takes in old jewelry that you or your grandparents might have and repurpose them into something that fits more into your aesthetics. We can repair your diamond rings, add on new details to fit the season, resize bracelets and rings, and upcycle jewelry into new designs. In a way, I believe this is what sustainable jewelry should be about. If you think about it, there are so many boxes filled with jewelry from my grandparent’s generation just sitting there with no purpose. Those jewelry were expensive and their value probably skyrocketed by now. Why should the money be wasted just because the jewelry is “old” and “outdated” when we can repurpose and customize them into anything and everything you envisioned?
Branding Strategies
For Re:Form, marketing will be important to allow people to know our service. We are going to take advantage of visual social networks and spend money on photographers and videographers. Photographs and videos are one of the best mediums to evoke emotions from customers. For videos, I think creating a mini film of personal stories from actual customers would make us seem more personal. For example, tracing the love story of a young couple that was once estranged and came back together at the wedding of a friend only to rekindle their romance because the man took his grandmother’s wedding ring and repurposed it into something that suited the woman better.
We will market on Instagram and Pinterest, which is a platform with a huge opportunity for luxury brands like us to raise brand awareness and advocacy.
We will also build a very aesthetically pleasing and stylish website that is also high in functionality. We will have a lot of pictures, and for the jewelry, we will have a few timeless pieces for sale, and also an option to customize your own jewelry, from the style, to the gem, to the color, etc. We will use our brand heritage, even though it is a new brand, to tell our stories behind each product and customization. I believe that communicating the story behind our products and explaining the values that define us as a luxury jewelry brand will be effective in bringing us a niche market. A luxury brand will brand themselves with their heritage and provide their customers with a one-of-a-kind personalized experience. Since everything has gone online due to the pandemic, a good luxury brand can translate that in-person experience into an online one without losing meaning. That is something I want Re:Form to have: a new definition of luxury, which is a hybrid in-person and online experience that benefits and delivers quality products to the customers.
Modern Responsible Communication Strategy–Shared Value Proposition
The way a luxury brand communicates with its target audience differentiates it from mass market brands and I believe that is the same for jewelry brands. We will keep in mind the socio-cultural environment of the niche market we’re entering and create a strong cultural identity, which will be the reason why we created this brand and how it is sustainable, that we will push through in every marketing campaign. We will provide our customers with quality and expertly crafted jewelry and deliver them with empathy, trustworthiness, and generosity to build client relationships. Our jewelry is not cheap, but I believe that it is worth the investment because we can always repurpose them at a way lower price compared to buying new ones and if anything is broken, we can repair it for free; you just have to pay for the service cost, not the material cost. I believe that in order to highlight value and justify the price for our jewelry, we will frequently communicate our message of worth through the use of craftsmanship, since everything will be handcrafted at our studio.
FINAL CONCLUSIONS
FINAL REMARKS
WHAT DID YOU LEARN REGARDING BRANDING STRATEGIES OF A LUXURY PROJECT? HOW DID YOU APPLY THESE LEARNINGS INTO THIS PROJECT?
I believe that the concept of branding strategies we learned in class really helped us create this brand Re:Form and explain our concept thoroughly. For example, in class, we learned that what differentiates a luxury brand from a regular for-everyone brand is the quality of the product and how they brand themselves. A luxury brand will brand themselves with their heritage and provide their customers with a one-of-a-kind personalized experience. Since everything has gone online due to the pandemic, a good luxury brand can translate that in-person experience into an online one without losing meaning. That is something I want Re:Form to have: a new definition of luxury, which is a hybrid in-person and online experience that benefits and delivers quality products to the customers.
References:
Image Citations:
https://contempojewelers.com/jewelry-gem-setting-long-island-ny/
https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=17601
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