Step 5: Name and Logo

Since I Am originally from Boston I thought it only befitting to pay homage to my home spot, hence the name Bean Town Brod. “..Is a leading contemporary women’s wear company that creates stylish and comfortable women’s clothing.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 174)

Step 4: Creating the Look of My Product

Creating my product was basically easy. I took your basic tank top/ cap sleeve t-shirt and screen printed sayings or slogans that I came up with. I took Johnny Cupcakes saying of “My name is Johnny, and I make clothes with cupcakes on ‘em. Have you had your cupcake today?”(John Earle, http://shop.johnnycupcakes.com/story/) and I have applied that to my way of creating my brand. Like Johnny my name is Rebecca and I make stupid t-shirts. How do you wear stupid? “..Branding strategies have included the use of a blog where he shares his personal experiences and relates them to his brand.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg.109) I been blogging my experience and start-up of my brand and I can now keep it and allow it grow daily to help ensure I keep my consumers up to date and allow them to see my process and actually feel a part of my brand.

“My target market is primarily young and urban.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg.148) In developing my sayings/slogans I had to take into consideration my target market and who they were. I want my consumers to feel a sense of uniqueness and a step out of normalcy and a dive into STUPIDITY!

“The company has generated such a media stir that fashion gurus everywhere are buzzing ecstatically over the garments.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 157) This is how I want my company to develop into; a brand that causes a stir in the media. That’s why the creation process is a giant step. It has to be a great development in order to succeed to a media buzz phenomenon. “There are few people you meet during your lifetime who make a permanent impression.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 125) This is how I want my brand to implement to my consumers. I want to make a permanent impression. I feel with a great project and a creativity approach you can achieve this status. “…became one of the most unique and hippest premium lifestyle brands competing in the fashion underwear market.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 159)

EOC: Wk 9 Exercise

Ben Sander branded himself as Brini Maxwell. How would you create your own personal brand? What would your logo be? How would you design business cards? What would your theme song be? What would you sell? And who would your target audience be? Finally, where would you show your brand? On television, in a store, or on the Internet? Write and design a project that reflects the ideas of developing your own personal brand. Use the previous questions as an outline.

If I had a brand I would start my own line accessories. I’m passionate about what I produce on myself therefore my product would be a reflection of me and I would want the best, most unique accessories out there. I love observing what people are wearing and see how they developed their own sense of style. My brand would be called Bean Town Brod. I am from Boston and I am a “brod” or lady so I wanted something that would attract my target market and even those not in my range. I want to supply all types of people and allow them to express themselves how they want to be viewed and if that means wearing my accessories than great! For songs that would represent my brand would change daily or even weekly. I love all genres of music I could not just pin point one song. I would start out with the song “Then He Kissed Me” by The Crystals. Bring a little old school back into the mix. Not to mention I love this song and it reminds me of Elizabeth Shue in Adventures in Babysitting. My target audience is young 18 to 25 year old adults that love living out-of-the box and have a sense of uniqueness. Income level would be around $22,000 and up. I would market my brand everywhere that my target audience would look, magazines, wholesale, internet.

EOC: Wk 9 Discussion Questions

1.What makes the Brini Maxwell television personality unique? How does her personality benefit the brand?

She is not like every tv host. Her personality is unique and it grabs the attention of her viewers and even if you are not normally drawn to that type of tv show. She is her brand. Lives it and owns it and it comes out through her show and it shows how well this brand has been developed into its own person.

2.What were the steps taken by Ben Sander to develop his character, Brini Maxwell? Was he successful? Why or why not?

He started off dreaming this vision after buying vintage plates from Salvation Army, and he wanted to create something that was about him and it could connect with others in his situation. This worked for him because his show was an instant success. People waited for the next episode or for it to even reach their network so they could see the show.

3.Why do you think Brini Maxwell made it into the national spotlight on television? What was her brand’s message?

Brini Maxwell is unique. Sander to a simple idea from his own personal collection of vintage products to create a fashion-branded style. Her brand's message is an adventure that reveals that through magic of television and the ability to develop a targeted brand, success can blossom to the point of iconic stardom.

4.What do you think Brini Maxwell’s target market is today? Why would baby boomers be drawn to watching Brini Maxwell?

Primarily young and urban. Her brand is alternative to more traditional aesthetics. Its for people who define themselves as somehow different from the norm.

5.Why were the iTunes podcast and the reproduction of her old shows as vidcast a smart step toward rebranding Brini Maxwell? Would you have done differently?

I would have done the exact same steps as Brini did. technology is taking over and most of the population own an iPod, iPhone, or some sort of 3G media. With these electronics you can watch pretty much anything on it. This way you do not have to wait til you get home to watch the show or wait til you get to your computer you can simply watch the show on your phone, iPod, iPad, etc.

Step 3: Define your Market and your Identity

My target market would be geared towards woman 18-35. For now we are geared towards woman until we can develop a sense of what men in this target range want out of a shirt and are willing to wear. “If Cinderella ever needed to replace her fairy godmother, she would call Dolce & Gabbana.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 53) I want my brand to be well-known to be considered an option if the one person you look towards is out of commission we can be your back-up. We are designing for the everyday person. We do not discriminate or yield to only the “model” type bodies. “ ..but they love real people as opposed to the emaciated body types we have come to expect in luxury fashion.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 57)

The shirt designs will be an expression of who you are and how you feel your style is interpreted. We want all sorts of funky, crazy, unique even boring people to wear our shirts. “By targeting consumer markets such as the gay and lesbian community as well as affluent sectors of society, and by dressing real women and featuring them in their ads, Dolce & Gabbana are making a statement.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg.70)

I want to create an experience that will ultimately bring in new customers and maybe new target market. “…is the ultimate example of branding as an experience; the brand permeates the stores.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 89) My boutique will also carry an identity that fully represents the overall brand and what I want to be interpreted. “Even with the Internet, brick-and-mortar stores are still an important component for most fashion brands.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 95)

Step 2: Who am I Aiming these Clothes at?

Our main focus in our consumers gravitates towards 18-30 year old but does not limit us to them. Starting off we are geared more towards females but as our database grows and our brand starts to develop more we will branch out and cater to both male and females and then maybe to children and event pets. “In emotional branding, Mark Gobe points out that successful fashion brands are those that can capture the emotions personal convictions of their customers.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 29)

I want to be sure that we are capturing our customer and taking in consideration their wants and needs and not just my personal ideas. In order for me to successfully do this, major research will be conducted. Surveys, focus groups, even just normal chit chat with friends and family to gather their opinions. “The work of these researchers in the area of fashion branding can be combined to conclude that meaning, associations, emotions, and storytelling are the key ingredients for building fashion branding success.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 31)

My brand needs be identifiable by my customer and therefore I am targeting ages between18-30 at first because around 18 most people are developing into their own and are very impressionable on today’s fashion. “Fashion branding is a mixture of many elements and strategies that are generated to create product identity.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 32)

Step 1: What I Want to Produce

After much contemplation I have decided to produce t-shirts/tank tops. Not just any t-shirts, but signature t-shirts with phrases yours truly has come up with. I want them to be unique and distinguishable to my future consumers. “A t-shirt, pair of jeans, sweatshirt, khaki pants, baseball cap, even a pair of shoes can be dull and indistinguishable without the help of fashion branding.”(Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg.5)

I am producing these t-shirts/tank tops with my consumer in mind. Thinking of myself as the consumer I fully want to understand what is it that I and others like me would want from a shirt. “The theory of simultaneous adoption of fashion suggests that garments enter all levels of the consumer market with variations in quality and price line in order to accommodate consumer spending.”(Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 13) I want to make these shirts with the ease of affordability to my consumers. Shirts now a days are getting expensive for what l believe as “not worth it” and I want these shirts to make you feel comfortable, happy, and just an overall “FUN” experience. “During the 1960’s a fashion language of sorts was developed. According to French philosopher Roland Barthes, clothing garments are created and stylized in the design process to suit current fashion.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 17)

These signature t- shirts/tank tops will be available to all cultures and levels of society. We are not geared to just middle class, or Generation Y consumers. We are here to produce easy, fun shirts that anyone can wear if they so choose. “De-differentiation suggests blurring of high and low cultures.” (Brand Story, Joseph Hancock, pg. 21)

Don’t be afraid of what comes out of this new product; just be excited to be a part of it. Fun, easy and affordable and best part of all not geared to a specific gender, person, or social status. We want all parts of life to enjoy our signature t-shirts/tank tops.