Johhny Cupcakes

Back in 1989 John Earle started selling his t-shirts out of the boot of his car, today his business is worth millions and in the he take $5000 dollars on internet sales alone a day.

Johnny Cupakes is a company that existed primarily online but has reached success over the past ten years has the blown the T-shirt market wide open, his approach seems sympathetic, making strong connections with individual customers, instead of appealing to the masses.
A lot of the Cupcakes success is dependant on viral branding techniques, Johnny hasn’t got any expensive ad or marketing strategy, he has created a loyal customer and fan base through word of mouth, regular blogging, throwing parties and hosting events and keeping customers updated via YouTube webisodes. Hancock, J (2009).
In a report into shopping trends online figures stated that over 85% of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase. (Up 40 percent from 2 years ago) & more than half of Internet users are regular online shoppers, making online purchases at least once a month. (Nielsen, 2008)

It’s his approach to his business that has made him so popular, time and time again we see brands that are inspirational, but at the same time seem to deploy snobbery-marketing strategies. He obviously knows what generation he is dealing with and has fully embraced their needs.

Their brand identity is so strong it revolves around this heritage of the cupcake nickname , which is an idea that is subtly integrated into each shirt without feeling tiered or dated, it's this strength that it can be applied to every aspect of the brand.

Because Johnny Cupcakes was primarily an online brand, he has a large presence on the internet, but I think that it is the use of ‘conventional branding strategies’ that is deployed within the brand, the packaging, promotional materials; the tangible elements that really make Johnny stand out.
The shirts are packaged in bakery boxes with a vile of vanilla essence to make them smell like freshly baked cakes, the shops are laid out like bakeries with ovens mounted to the walls, their catalogs are displayed as menus & even the staff that work in store wear Johnny Cupcake aprons. It’s the intelligent attention to every detail of the brand and the allure of the brand heritage that makes them so attractive as a company.


Interview


Why are your T-shirts so popular with customers?

Earle: We don’t sell our products to any stores wholesale. This means our customers can only purchase our products through our website and our physical shops. The great thing about this is that we’re able to control the customer’s experience.

Almost everything we make is limited edition. Once an item is gone, it may be gone forever. This creates an urgency to shop, as well as a higher appreciation for our products, since they are so rare. It also creates brand longevity. People appreciate what nobody else has. If you flood the market with your product just to make a quick buck, you could feel a backlash and become another trend. We keep everything personal, friendly, fun, and innovative. Being loyal to our customers and not selling out gives them a better reason to support us.

It’s important for me to pay attention to details. All of our T-shirts and merchandise are displayed in vintage curved glass bakery cases and refrigerators. Even the tags sewn into the T-shirts are in the shape of miniature oven mitts. We use custom pastry boxes rather than plastic bags, a nutrition facts sign for the sizing chart, and lots more. Building a memorable experience for my customers was important to me even if I had to go broke doing it. You have to spend an arm and a leg to make more arms and legs. If you focus on creating an original experience, people will talk about it—and you won’t have to pay a dime for advertising.

What inspires your designs?

As far as work ethic, creativity, and business—my parents have been big influences. As a kid, I would see them win all sorts of Halloween costume contests, crafting their own costumes. Being surrounded by funny, goofy parents has really rubbed off on both my sister and me.

Design-wise, both my designers and I draw ideas and inspiration from the 1940s and 1950s. We aim for bold lines, simplicity, and fun.

Is there a typical Johnny Cupcakes customer?

There is no demographic with the Johnny Cupcakes customer. Our customers are loyal, die-hard collectors. I’ve seen customers literally camping out on the streets up to 10 days ahead of time, just to get first dibs on some of our newest T-shirts. We’ve created a community around this brand. I’ve seen many of my customers meet their best friends and significant others through the Johnny Cupcakes T-shirt brand and its campouts. I’ve also witnessed hundreds of customers start their own companies after being inspired by the Johnny Cupcakes brand. We try to foster entrepreneurship and positivity with everyone.

What’s the secret of your company’s success?

To this day, I make sure to keep my brand just as fun, personal, and unique as it was on day one. From organizing large games of dodgeball to treating customers to ice cream sandwiches, we’re always showing our appreciation to the people who’ve supported the brand.

And we have an amazing team.

What valuable lessons have you learned as a businessman?

As a result of some of my past businesses, I’ve learned not to start something with another person, never mind a friend. When starting a business, it might sound fun at first to go in on it with another person or even a friend. Why not? They say two heads are better than one. But if you go in on a business with someone, it’s a fact that there will always be one person working harder than the other. Someone is going to have more ideas, motivation, and dedication. It’s going to be a bum-out if you’re staying up until 4 a.m. and/or having sleepless nights because you’re overwhelmed with rad ideas, while your business partner is watching Scrubs retuns with their love interest.

When going at a business alone, your productivity level is off the charts. Nobody is holding you back, and it’s up to you whether or not things progress to the next level. Sure, it might be a bit of a challenge, but the outcome is that much more satisfying and rewarding. Build a strong foundation. Your foundation. Even if it takes more time and energy than you expected. Just keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Before launching a business, what’s the most important consideration for a young entrepreneur?

When starting a business, one of the first few things you want to ask yourself are, why are people going to appreciate this? What makes my business so different from everyone else’s? Don’t just ask yourself these questions, ask other people, too. Gather some feedback. The longer the list of reasons, the better. Remember—almost everything has been done before, which means we might have a better chance of failing then succeeding. We shouldn’t let that scare us, though. It should be a motivation boost to do something original. It’s important to create a memorable company—it’s what makes you stand out from the rest of the competition. This also leads to brand loyalty and free word-of-mouth advertising.

The number-one thing is finding something you’re passionate about. If you’re doing something you love, it won’t feel like work. You’ll find yourself working extra because it’s essentially a hobby to you. In little time, you’ll begin mastering your craft, excelling in your job, hobby, or business. Real success is being happy doing what you love.

What’s next for Johnny Cupcakes?

Last month we opened up our first international Johnny Cupcakes shop, in London, right off of Carnaby Street. We’ll be focusing on special events and releases for that shop, as well as the others.

Websites:
Online Shopping Trends
Johhnycupcakes.com

Mass Customization for Luxury?

'Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black.'
Ford, H.






‘Once upon a time, luxury goods makers delivered individualised products to customers based on the buyer’s personal preferences, tastes and budget.’ (Buisness of Fashion)

Increasingly the way we interact with each other is effect the way we interact with brands. The used of social media like facebook & twitter has seen a steady increase in the way companies are selling their products in what they define as customizable goods.
And to a certain extent they are, but it’s nothing that Nike haven’t been doing for the past thirteen years when they launched Nike ID back in 1999, which in short is a platform that allows the consumer to build their own trainers or sportswear from a selecting from a colour pallet for different panels of the product.




But more recently, luxury brands Prada & Louis Vuitton are also cashing in on this method of production.

In an artcicle on the Buisnessofashion.com it is sugggested that this is a new mode of production called 'Mass Customization' which will restore the voice of the consumer to the product design process. Going on to mention a ‘light aesthetic customization service.’

I’m not really convinced. These companies may be restoring an element of individuality to their products, but it’s hardly an outlet to project your personality through. The service comes with a very limited set of variations to choose from.

As part of their S/S 11 collection, Prada offered a customization option on their lace-up brogues, which had been their most iconic piece from their collection. Allowing customers to choose between varieties of colour choices. For example, a green sole and a red wing tip detail.
Whilst over at Louis Vuitton, they developed it a step further and offered a service to have a hand painted monogram attached to their luggage bags.

What I am struggling to get my head around with this ‘Mass Customization’ is that it is obviously a lie. They may be a few surface details that can be altered to someone’s taste but underneath it will still remain as a mass-produced heavily branded product. The truth of it is that all the possible variations have already been carefully considered by a design team. But surely these options will only dilute the brand’s aesthetic, and confuse the way in which consumers perceive a brand’s identity?

The customization tools which are ‘on offer’ to the public are basic & maintain the brand position but also reflect the consumers own inability to choose from a set of design options.
Crucial to this notion of ‘Mass Customization’ is the desire for the consumer to have something that is truly bespoke to their needs but still retains a strong enough identity to be acknowledged as belonging to the brand it is apart of.

'Control also refers to measures needed to manage the growing customer database & facilitate smooth feedback channels demonstrating a quick response in order to maintain customer retention and long term locality.' (Hameide , 2011 p234.)

It all seems a little confusing, but I hope that it is only deployed into strategies for products we already associate with a particular brand (Chuck Tailors for Converse, Trench coat for Burberry & Wayfarers for Rayban.)

Websites.
Buisnessoffashion.com
NikeID.com
Customize.prada.com

Just Do It

Nike Inc was born in 1962, a brainchild of Bill Bowerman & Phil Knight when they started a partnership originally titled ‘Blue Ribbon Sports.
Their aim was to sell low-cost high-quality Japanese athletic shoes to American consumers, today Nike not only manufactures athletic shoes at every marketable price point on the global market, but over 40% of their sales come from sportswear & equipment.
With over 20,000 global retailers, Nike factory stores, Nike stores, NikeTown, online retailers & their own online stores to sell their products, Nike dominates sales in the athletic wear industry with a 33% market share.
'Nike as a brand has always identified itself as the "athlete in you". This concept is reflected in every design, advertising, and decision made by the brand, which is reflected in their mission statement: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body you are an athlete.' (Hameide , K. (Hameide , 2011 p41.)

Store Layout

The design of the NikeTown store on Oxford Street utilizes a similar layout strategy to a department store or a mini mall to increase the probability of customer purchases.
Each sport is designated an area, in which the products are arranged by type & colour. This gives the illusion that they are a multiple of smaller stores inside one large store. This idea is also reinforced by the floor/wall plan & colour schemes.



Store Brands = Concept Mix (Merchandise + Price + Location + Service) + Experience (Atmosphere + Personality).


Market Segmentation

By organizing the store into sports, Nike generated additional markets for each of their consumers, which facilitates the consumer belief that they need clothing for each specific sport, which is predominantly a lie.
The fact is, that Nike running shirts serve the same purpose as tennis or yoga shirts. Their focus on merchandising & décor seduces the consumer into an imaginary set of buying choices.
Nike’s immediate consumers are mainly athletes, therefore an athlete is more inclined to buy a sports shoe designed by Nike than someone who generally doesn’t engage in regular sport or exercise . To target their consumers who are likely to develop brand & product intimacy; those that care primarily about utility & quality over price.

Advertising Strategies

The advertising strategies in the NikeTown store are more complex than the design tactics, using posters and videos of professional athletes in specific Nike merchandise.
Back in May 2010 Nike realsed a three minute ad for the world cup called ‘Write The Future’ directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu & created by Wieden & Kennedy features football superstars Wayne Rooney, Dider Drogba & Christiano Ronaldo.

‘According to web video analytics company Visible Measures “Write the Future” clocked a record 7.8 million online views in its debut week, underscoring the power of creating compelling digital content that consumers will voluntarily seek out and share with others.’

The “Write the Future” campaign reassures consumers of the facebook generation that Nike is a quality brand; this is effectively portrayed by sports figures such as Rooney appealing to consumers sense of belonging to the brand.




Micheal Jordan; The Superbrand

The signing of Micheal Jordan to Nike in 1984 to create a product line based purely around Jordan’s career building bridges & defining the relationship between corporate brands & sport stars is Nike’s most recognized marketing strategy, voted number one in the ‘Greatest Sports Marketing innovation of the last 50 years’ with 18% of the vote.
When AIR JORDAN was created, Nike even went as far to develop a silhouette of the player suspended in air, which would act as a logo alongside their original ‘swoosh’ logo.

Testimonials: A celebrity supporting a product in a way that confirms its quality & benefits can be effective and persuasive is an excellent form of publicity. (Hameide , K.)

In a survey by sports business reporter Darren Rowell back in 2008, it was noted that the performance of sales within the category of basketball shoes was on a decline by 30% .
“However, Top sellers (in basketball shoes) were ALL Jordan styles, led by the Retro 8 ($137), the Spiz'ike ($173), The Air Force 1/Jordan 12 hybrid ($144), the Melo M4 ($118), the Big Fund ($108) and the Collezione 13/10 combo pack ($307).”
The Jordan brand is worth an estimated $8000,000.




Interview

Darren: So in the beginning, it could have been adidas or Converse and not Nike?

MJ: The thing is I never wore Nike shoes until I signed the Nike contract. All through college, we wore Converse. And up to that point, my favorite shoe was an adidas. And at the time everybody was starting to recruit me, I was pro-adidas the whole time. Nike offered me the opportunity to have imput in designing the shoes I wanted to were. But I was very loyal. I went back to adidas and said, "Look, this is the Nike contract. If you come in and we're close, you know, I'll sign with you guys -- hands down. And they didn't feel like it was worth it, which in hindsight is perfect for me because it made my decision much easier.

Darren: About 10 years ago, the Jordan brand became its own subsidiary and you got your logo, the Jumpman. What did that do for you?

MJ: It gave me my own identity. Nike knew its brand was strong. They wanted to create a sub-brand that was just as strong. So now you got a two-headed monster going at that whole market. What we were able to do was capitalize on the high end of the business and we've been able to dominate the business in the everything over $100 space.
Darren: I get reports that say that the Jordan brand continues to dominate this premium shoe market. Why did people buy Air Jordans then and why do they buy them now?

MJ: I think initially it had a lot to do with my impact on the basketball court. And then that translated to everything off the court. But then it was the quality of the shoes that we were building. I mean, it always had a sense of style about it and it was totally different from what you see in the marketplace. And I think that has allowed us to transcend over time and one of the reasons why it has lasted for 23 years. One -- it's gotta be hip. Two -- it has to be done with the highest of quality and three, it represents the best in basketball and those are three things that we've earned.

Darren: Not many people know the story about the Jordan X. That's when you go to baseball and the designer you work with Tinker Hatfield basically thinks the franchise is over and he doesn't loop you in on the process because he thinks you probably have moved on. After production starts on it, he brings the shoe to you before it is to come out and he says what do you think?

MJ: I told him the shoe didn't pass because I wasn't looped in.

Darren: So Tinker actually then made a couple changes to the shoe at the last minute. You scared him.

MJ: I did. Because I felt like this is the first time something was going to hit the market that I didn't approve. And you know, everybody kept trying to talk me into saying, 'Hey, well, we learned from this. Let's move on.' I said, 'Let's go back.' Because I don't want something that misrepresents me in the market.

Websites:
Nike.com
Write The Future
Micheal Jordan for Nike

Mother London: Samuel Payne Lecture

Today at Camberwell College of Arts we had a guest lecture from Samuel Payne of Mother advertising agency. The agency is responable for most of the good ads you see on TV.
With studios in London, New York, Buenos Aires & an award for agency of the decade under their belt. It seems they are pretty much untouchable at the moment.
Below is an interview with Sam on his responsibilities at Mother & within advertising.


Interview:


Do you have one specific title at Mother? Or is your role within the company reasonably fluid to what sort of brief you are working on?

The make up of people & roles are generally pretty fluid & sensitive to each project. No one is precious about been delegated a ‘title’ when working one briefs, we’re more concerned about working in a diverse team of people with transferrable skills.

I mean, my mum still isn’t quite sure what I do. She knows I work in advertising, but as a creative it’s often hard to articulate what is in my head to those 97% of ‘normal’ people out there…..it’s something I’m struggling with.

With that in mind, how do you feel about focus groups?

Hah, focus groups have the amazing ability to make everything really average. I don’t really understand how you can trust the integrity of an idea with five strangers in Milton that have no value for what you’re pitching to them.
There’s a cultural thought process you can engage people with, but generally people from business backgrounds aren’t aware of creative sensitivity.

So if you’re not a big fan of focus groups, do you have any alternative methods of measuring the success of the work you’re producing?

Yeah, of course! Yeah use algorithms, facebook, we read tweets that have been hash-tagged about us. I don’t see many other agencies measuring the reactions or success of their work but it’s something that at Mother we are really conscious of.

You paint this picture of cultural activity, as the audience gets savvier towards what you’re trying to do, do they become less responsive?

Okay so when making buying choices, people tend to spend more time thinking about the matrix of what they know about a brand or any emotional attachments they feel they have to a brand’s heritage, almost as if they have grown up with them.

Website:
www.motherlondon.com

Mind Design for Lacoste by Tom Dixon

Mind Design are a London based creative agency that challenge the restrictions of print based design with subtle variations.

In total contrast to a corporate studio set-up, Mind operates a small creative team, which benefit from individually & spontaneity through out each project that they are a part of.

Founder Holger Jacobs, who accepted a job opportunity to work in Japan, says that the different cultural perspective he gained from that experience influences the he handles western typography. When he returned to London back in 1999 he single handedly started up Mind Design. Since then the collective has grown steadily and operates with only a further five designer maintaining their intimacy as a company.

Back in 2006, Tom Dixon collaborated with Lacoste and is recognized figure as a product designer especially for his use of raw and recycled materials.

The exploration of the tension of between ecology & technology, clarifies the parallels between Lacoste’s heritage and Dixon’s own influences.

Out of this collaboration two shirts were produced: Eco Polo & Techno Polo.

It seems that both Mind & Dixon share a mutual interest in incorporating the actual process of production as part of the finished design, and whilst the packaging is so different conveying these two separate ideas, the near symmetrical typography treatment clarifies the similarity of the shirts.

Since these were limited edition pieces, it would seem that any concerns over the longevity of this concept or Lacoste’s intermigration where not relevant.

The collaboration also covered labels and tags using the same materials and following the same set of design rules used on the packaging for the shirts.

“Tom had a large influence on the design of the packaging but gave us total freedom in the actual graphics & typography. For the Eco Polo we did not want to use any printing on the packaging at all, so the design was embossed into recycled, egg carton-like material. For the Techno Polo Tom suggested a silver, vacuum packed foil packaging that was screen-printed. On the matching labels we worked with silver foil blocking. Originally we wanted to produce a talking electronic price tag, which became too difficult to realize.” Holger, J

Ralph Lauren in 4-D

The 10th of November marked Ralph Lauren’s tenth anniversary of digital innovation, in celebration the brand teamed up with design collective ‘Drive’ for a one of a kind ‘4-D’ visual projection on their stores on Madison Avenue, New York & Bond Street, London.

The projection involved the buildings being surveyed within an accuracy of 5 millimeters of its surface using laser scanners in order to map the exact architectural structure of the stores.

Using green screen technology Drive were able to film models walking down a runway on a scaled version of the buildings that once projected gives the impression of a 4-D catwalk protruding from the surface of the building before the models strut down it. The collective also filmed products part of the Ralph Lauren collection from every angle: A belt that wraps itself around the building, squeezing it so tight it shatters, revealing a handbag caged inside its walls.

Whilst this event might only hint at what’s to come, I think the potential to use 3-D technology to bring brand’s ideas to life within the fashion world is something I haven’t seen a lot of.
In total contradiction to this, I feel the display lacked any sense of narrative, or story telling. The spinning bottles of perfume or products had no emotion them.

Potentionally, this could have been a interactive experience between the show and the crowd with the use of mobile phones, or music players. Similar to the collaboration between Nokia & Moving Brands back in 2007.

Johnny Cupcakes: The Cupcake Chronicles

This periodical is a free, although you can only get them from ordering a shirt from the Cupcakes store, & is a monthly mini publication that provides comprehensive coverage of the Johnny Cupcakes brand & lifestyle. It features: updates, games, puzzles, recipes, trivia, product news, contests & event listings.

In the past three issues, it also gives extensive coverage on upcoming collaborations between Johnny & Looney Tunes & Hello Kitty.

In each issue, is a letter from Johnny keeping you updated in not only the brand but delves a little bit deeper into what Johnny has being doing himself, it highlights topics he’s being posting on his blog over the last month but condescend down into a few hundred words, but there’s something satisfying about taking a break from flicking through his online posts and having a pleasant, different, physical read.







































Websites:
Johnny Cupcakes Blog
Johnny Cupcakes Shop
Johnny Cupcakes Story