Creative, social media and positioning

1. Brand & Creative Strategy, 2017-18
Launch campaigns & digital/social

2. DOUBT IS OUT
BRAND STORY AND LOOK

3. FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL PREMISE
The greatest aspiration of any individual is to be truly liberated.
To follow one‟s heart, to live life on one‟s own terms.
Yet, all this comes with an underlying anxiety.
Triggered by everything from self-doubt to the fear of rejection.
For in the end, while we all seek personal freedom, we also seek
acceptance (at least from where it matters).

4. THE ROLE OF THE BRAND
As a brand, our role is to acknowledge the dichotomy that exists
between the aspiration and the anxiety, and to provide that little
emotional nudge that will help people resolve the conflict within
and move forward.

5. STYLE IS IMPLICIT IN THE DNA
Aspirations and anxieties differ from individual to individual.
The important thing is, they stem from within.
It‟s about following one‟s heart, not the herd.
And about self-expression, not going with the majority vote.
Which is precisely what style is all about.

6. AJIO BRAND PERSONALITY
Optimistic
You can do it.
Free spirited
Hold nothing back.
Supportive
“I am with you.”
Secondary attributes:
Confident
Intelligent
Witty
Easy-going

7. ABOUT US
You, me, the girl buying flowers in the cutout ankle boots, the guy inthe
suede fedora trying to flag down a cab.
We’re all getting there.
Where? It’s not important. What’s important is that everybody’s got
somewhere to go, something to say, a bridge to cross, a fire to light,a
heart to steal.
That’s what we’re here to do.
And if we’re doing something, well, there’sprobably just one way
to do it - in style.
Ajio is an online fashion collective of own label and selectbranded
merchandise for men and women.
Including dresses, trousers, jeans, T-shirts, shirts, shoes,lingerie,
jewellery, and beauty.

8. WHAT’S THE LOOK?
1. Based on who WE are
2. Based on what everybody else looks like

9. WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE
1. Generic fashion images with no unique brand character
2. ‘Mass’ fashion, lowest common denominator
3. Girl-next-door, reflection of reality, no real fashion ‘aspiration’

14. AJIO: LOOK
1. Extremely stylish (above all else)
2. No‘girl / boy-next-door’ reality
3. No‘slice-of-life’
4. Minimalistic
5. Carefully and deliberately‘styled’
1. Highlight product and attitude

23. CREATIVE EXPRESSION

36. DOUBT IS OUT.
Using the creative expression in the
product context.

45. DOUBT IS OUT.
SEASON 2

46. Making the creative expression more dynamic.
It also helps to make the expression come alive, and
make it a phrase we can popularize.

63. DIGITAL
Some thoughts

70. POST SHOOT
LAUNCH CAMPAIGN
PRINT & OUTDOOR

71. OUTDOOR
PRE-LAUNCH

79. OUTDOOR
LAUNCH

87. INNOVATION / GANTRY

88. PRINT
PRE -LAUNCH

90. PRINT
LAUNCH

95. PROMOTING THE
INTERNATIONAL LABELS

103. EDRP

104. OBJECTIVE
The objective of this exercise is to find a way to communicate the
price/value proposition of Ajio, with the focus being on „value‟ rather
than on „price‟.
The „value‟ that we speak of includes how several product attributes
come together to deliver something that only Ajio can.
These include, the fashion quotient of the merchandise, its quality
in material terms, the lengths the team has gone to
source/manufacture the article, its uniqueness in design terms or
exclusivity in availability terms, and finally, its price.

106. We need to find a way to capture and communicate this „value‟ in a
manner that is consistent with the Ajio brand.
If all value drives customer satisfaction, then the task ahead is
really to brand customer satisfaction at Ajio.
What is the unique way in which we look at customer satisfaction at
Ajio? Do we have a philosophy that we can practice? Can we make
it part of our organisational culture? Can we give it an executional
framework and drive it with a set of beliefs?

107. RECOMMENDATION
„Customer satisfaction‟ is what every brand offers or aspires to
offer. It‟s something that everybody must do to survive.
At Ajio, we need to take things up a few notches, and define
customer satisfaction in our own unique way.
„Satisfaction‟ is a meek word. It doesn‟t put any pressure on us, and
it doesn‟t cut any ice with customers. We need to go beyond this.
We need to offer something a lot more promising – like „delight‟ or
„thrill‟.

108. Or even JOY.
For a moment, let‟s take JOY as the sentiment we would like to
own. It‟s fresh, it‟s exciting, it‟s the brand stretching itself to offer the
customer something that nobody till now has had either the
courage or the wherewithal to offer.

109. Now, let‟s see how this can be communicated in a compelling way.
Rather than branding JOY as, let‟s say, a customer emotion or
response, what if we look at branding it as a commitment from
the brand – as something that captures the brand intent and
purpose as far as customer satisfaction is concerned.

110. Introducing: Ajio Department of Joy.
Let‟s set up a department at Ajio to make a product called JOY. It is
then the responsibility of this department to ensure every Ajio
product meets the JOY criteria and delivers on all parameters.
Ajio will always be around the products it offers. But Department of
Joy could be around the people that deliver this JOY. This is the
brand intent that comes alive through people, who will stop at
nothing to make sure that cup of satisfaction is not just full – but
overflowing.

111. THE UNIT

112. CREATIVE

120. UPDATED CREATIVE

124. MEN’S WEAR
RELEVANCE OF ‘DOUBT IS OUT’

125. Brand AJIO
• Essential construct built around the brand‟s DNA of style and itsrole
of affirmation in resolving the dominant conflict between aspiration
and anxiety
• Characterized by:
Optimism, free-spiritedness, supportiveness
• Expressed with:
Confidence, intelligence, wit and ease
• Creative expression:
Doubt is out – the „emotional nudge to go forit‟

126. The Task
• Build relevance for the brand‟s promise and Its creative
expression in menswear

127. Understanding the Indian male:
Relevant snapshots from research
Source:
Recently concluded and among the largest single studies “into the mind of the Indian
man across eight cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Kochi, Mysore, Indore and
Jodhpur. Insights were assimilated from over 27 workshops and 16 home and family
interactions among SEC A&B households, generating over 100 hours of frank
conversations.

128. „Dare to aspire‟ is the burning truth that
unifies Indian men today
• Driven by the‘burning need to get somewhere fast’
• Don‟t see themselves as “destiny’s children, and proud of it”
• Antecedents, education, socio economic status are immaterial;
• Paucity of opportunities no longer relevant
• Supremely self confident and feels free to carve out own future
• Success critical, values negotiable
• what works for success, works forhim
• The wave of entrepreneurship, the start up culture, small town success
stories in industry and business, sports, entertainment, etc. bear irrefutable
testimony

130. “If I have a better launch pad, I will get a better
start, but the finish is always in my hand.”
“You can move ahead 1-2 steps ahead, but you
can’t jump ahead like you can in business.”
‘I shall not be denied” seems to sum
up the driving emotions that define them

131. And there are more than enough real,
living stories to inspire them

132. “Most of his childhood was spent in a two-room
apartment, filled with a range ofcompromises.
Going by the buzz on the internet, the familydidn’t
even own a car and got their first telephone when
Sundar was 12 years old.”
Pranav Mistry the brain behind the SamsungGalaxy
Smart watch & many more innovations in the recent
past. Pranav is an Indian origin techie who hails
from the small town of Palanpur in Gujarat.

133. • Rahul Yadav was born to middle-class parents fromAlwar,
Rajasthan
• After first building Exambaba.com, an online question bank of old
exam papers that IIT Bombay asked Yadav to close, Rahul
dropped out of college in his final year.
• In the process of building Exambaba.com, he had learned
programming, which enabled him to subsequently design a series
of Google applications.
• In 2012, he along with 11 other classmates co-founded
Housing.com, after they had a difficult time finding
accommodation in Mumbai. He came up with a newventure
related to virtual, augmented reality, and interfaces
SoftBank was among its funding partners, andthe
fledgling company also partnered with Tata
Housing and Tata Value Homes.[16]
Rahul Yadav, small town boy, College dropout,
founder of Housing.com, one of the hottestIndian
start ups
Earned the sobriquet of “ Bad Boy of Indian start
ups”
Housing.com was named one of the hottesttech
startups in 2012.

134. Dhoni was born in Ranchi, Bihar (now in Jharkhand),[14] and he
identifies as being a Rajput.[15] His paternal village Lvali is in the
Lamgarha block of the Almora District of Uttarakhand. Dhoni's parents,
moved from Uttarakhand to Ranchi where his father Pan Singhworked
in junior management positions in MECON.
Dhoni studied at DAV Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamali, Ranchi,
Jharkhand
Dhoni was a Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) at Kharagpur railway station
from 2001 to 2003, under South Eastern Railway in Midnapore (W), a
district in West Bengal.
• Dhoni has been the recipient of many awards, including
• the ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009 (thefirst
player to win the award twice)
• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2007 and the Padma Shri,
India's fourth highest civilian honour, in 2009.[9]
• He was named as the captain of ICC World Test XI and ICCWorld
ODI XI teams for 2009.
• The Indian Territorial Army conferred the honorary rank of
Lieutenant Colonel[10] to Dhoni on 1 November 2011. He is the
second Indian cricketer after Kapil Dev to have received this
honour.
• In 2011, Time magazine included Dhoni in its annual Time 100 list
as one of the "Most Influential People in the World."[11] In2012,
• SportsPro rated Dhoni as the sixteenth most marketable athlete in
the world.[12] In June 2015,
• Forbes ranked Dhoni at 23rd in the list of highest paid athletes in
the world, estimating his earnings at US$31 million.[13]
MS Dhoni, rated among the best ever and
India‟s cricket captain

135. Vijender was born in a Jat family[3] on 29 October 1985 in Kaluwas
village, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from Bhiwani, Haryana. His father,
Mahipal Singh Beniwal, is a bus driver with the Haryana Roadways,
while his mother is a homemaker. His father drove extra buses for
overtime pay so as to pay for Vijender and his elder brother Manoj's
education.
• Won medals in different competitions at the national level
• bronze medal 2006 Asian Games in Doha,
• 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics- a bronze medal—the first
ever Olympic medal for an Indianboxer.
• 2009 Bronze medal, World Amateur Boxing Championships
• Vijender was given a number of awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi
Khel Ratna award—India's highest sporting honour and Padma
Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour.
• In 2009,the International Boxing Association (AIBA)announced
Vijender as the top-ranked boxer in its annual middleweight
category list with 2800 points.
• Has turned professional
• Was offered roles in Bollywood

136. “…In some ways, Sehwag manifests the
virtues of new, emerging India. He is a
small-town boy with a burning ambition to
succeed in the big world, he is intrepid, and
he knows that to break new ground he has
to break rules…“
- article, Times Of India”
Sehwag holds multiple records and in April 2009,
Sehwag became the only Indian to be honoured as
the Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World for his
performance in 2008,[2] subsequently becomingthe
first player of any nationality to retain the award for
2009.[3]
Virender Sehwag, among India‟s most popular cricketers, worldwide

137. Aspires for nothing but the best
• Upgrades indispensible, hierarchies evolve
• It‟s not what I need, but what I want seems to define the new behavior
• What he owns today is a definition of who he is and where he has reached
• Changing context of role models –
• “humare yahaan rehte hain, sheher mein sabse pehle BMW unhone kharidi
thi”

138. “Aspirational: Tata made it look utilitarian. However, Indian
car buyers are not utilitarian but aspirational. They want to
show-off their car. Tata's marketing made sure that the car
looked "cheap" and not "hip". Tata re-positions 'cheap'
Nano car”
Admitting that Tata Motors made a mistake in the marketing
and positioning of the Nano, he said:
(excerpt from Ratan Tata’s interview in TOI Business
Failed to plug into the ‘aspiration for the
best’

139. ‘Appearance is everything’ - seen as
critical to success
•He has somewhere to reach and his appearance is an enabler in reaching
there
•Has to constantly make an impression, whatever be the situation: professional,
personal, social; real or virtual
• He wants to look good and is willing to make an investment
•The growth of men’s grooming and styling products and services bear
testimony
“The reality today is the better you look, the further you get”

140. However

141. Appearance is also where the anxiety lies
• Appearance anxiety higher than ever before
• He does not want to be caught in what is not stylish
• The contexts for dressing have changed reflected in the evolving codes
•Dissolving lines between work, leisure, fun, pleasure:
•elevator pitches, off site meetings, interviews at clubs / coffee
shops, deals at the gold course
•office relationships, romances, flings
•gyms, fitness fashion, etc.
• Confidence and success not enough to resolve the confidence in
appearance,
handicapped by growing up in small town, middle class, humble
backgrounds

142. Appearance the key conflict
Its criticality and importance
Vs.
His anxiety and doubt

143. Appearance anxiety : The perfect fit
Role for AJIO menswear
Acknowledge his confidence
Kill his doubt

144. CREATIVE EXPRESSION
PRE LAUNCH

150. LAUNCH

159. THANK YOU