The Blu Betty Solution
- May 25, 2017
- 8 min read
- "To every problem, there is a simple solution." -
Blu Betty’s biggest barrier of innovation is their niche market and the fact that they do not cater for the male population. At Sublime, we used this barrier as the focus for our proposed solution.
We do see the success of the female ranges of shoes that Blu Betty designed and created. The brand has done great things for design and fashion. Although the brand have achieved this success, we at Sublime feel that it is important for them to cater for the male demographic as well.
We would therefore like to suggest that Blu Betty launch a male range for consumers to purchase. This range should consist of shoes initially, and possibly products such as belts in the future. We have created a innovation plan that we feel will benefit Blu Betty, better their brand and what they have to offer. We would therefore like to introduce the "Derby Collection" - a range of mens shoes that appeal to all tastes and types.
We not only looked at the solution as a whole, but implemented design thinking and systems thinking to ensure that the best solution was reached.
Systemic thinking is the starting point of design thinking. It is applying ones understanding of the world, environment etc. as an interacting system (SearchCIO, 2016).
Blu Betty targets a niche market; their target audience right now is women therefore they are very selective as to what products they develop.Because their target audience is women (which is a large target audience), their product price range and quirky aesthetic decreases their audience size to a smaller niche market, as not everyone can afford to purchase their products and not everyone likes the quirky style from Blu Betty. Blu Betty offers exclusivity.
By only targeting women they are ultimately missing out on another area in which they could thrive from if implemented successfully, the male market.They once tried to approach the male market but ultimately failed because of a number of different reasons which are:
Lack of external research.
Lack of advertising strategies.
When advertising was used they did not use the best advertising platforms for their male targeted audience
And finally the advertising they did use was not continuous; therefore there was no knowledge of a male range which then lead to the cancellation of their male range as it was not successful.
When design principles are used in innovation and strategy, success rates for innovation improve drastically. Design thinking is a methodology that can be used to solve complex barriers, and find solutions that are desirable for the client. This mindset is not solely focused on the problem, but rather focused more on finding a solution and taking action to fix the problem. By applying design thinking, products automatically become more desirable to customers. Design-thinking is a human-centered approach that utilizes empathy and experimentation to come up with innovative solutions.
Design thinking is comprised of four steps, namely; To gather information, to generate ideas, to make ideas tangible and then to share your story. When applying this to Blu Betty, it made the process of arriving at a viable solution must clearer and easier.
We took a look into what customers really need and want from shoe manufacturers, and specifically what Blu Betty's target market needed. This is how we realized that their consumers could really use a men's range. This would allow Blu Betty to expand their target audience and keep both men and women happy and loyal to the brand.
Although there were many barriers that needed solutions, we as an agency had to decide which one of the proposed solutions we felt would lead to a breakthrough for Blu Betty. This is why we decided to launch a men's collection.
As part of the third phase of design thinking, we had to try and make our ideas tangible. This meant building rough prototypes to learn how to make our ideas better. The prototypes that we created, which can be seen below, pushed us to come up with ideas that would really make a difference and set Blu Betty apart from their competitors.
Once we had all of our ideas, it was time to share these ideas with others, hence the reason for this blog. We have crafted a story that pages through every step in this process from start to finish. We started form the beginning where we were getting to know Blu Betty as a brand and determining some of their basic barriers and enablers, to now, where we have determined their most important barriers and come up with solutions that they could apply in their business.
We went through the whole process of design thinking, starting with understanding and empathizing with Blu Betty, to defining their problem, going through ideation processes and finally coming up with prototypes. The final part of the design thinking process would be testing and implementing solutions. These two steps are of course in the control of Blu Betty.
At Sublime, we decided to do a full innovation plan, including ideas and possible prototypes. Blu Betty have attempted to launch a male range of shoes before, however, the idea was not successful. When looking through the designs that were created, we were very impressed and loved the look and feel that the shoes gave. We, however, did not see a major product launch or constant, daily advertising for the range. We feel that this was the main contributor to the range falling through. We love the idea of catering to men as well, and therefore decided to reinvent the advertising processes of Blu Betty, in order to make the male range a success.
Any product that wants great attention will need a launch that creates awareness and a need to buy the product. Blu Betty will need to do a launch of the Derby Collection so that consumers know that they have introduced a mens range. This launch should not simply 'just happen', but should rather be seen as an event that consumers look forward to. By breaking the news in a social media post, telling consumers a bit about the range, giving the launch date and creating some excitement, consumers will automatically engage with the brand and gain interest in the product.
The launch will create the hype that is needed to get the collection to take off. An example of a social media post to start the hype and make consumers aware of the launch is shown here. This is a simple, easy, yet highly effective way to reach consumers, and create a buzz about the range.
It is also often very effective to make use of a countdown, so as to stay engaged with consumers, keep them up-to-date with the launch, and creating anticipation and excitement. This gives Blu Betty control, and simultaneously makes the interest of consumers grow, as more and more people will catch on and become interested during the countdown.
Another effective way to create awareness on top of a countdown and release announcement, is to run competitions. This allows consumers to get directly involved in what the brand is doing, and to get their friends involved in the process. It gives Blu Betty free advertising in the form of hype and sharing the information regarding the competition. If consumers are given an opportunity to win a product for free, there is automatically interest and excitement. Blu Betty should use this positive energy as a means of advertising the Derby range and creating product awareness. An example that we came up with in which this will be a highly effective method, is to run a competition wherein any consumer who buys a pair of Pippa's, is encouraged to post a selfie on Instagram and/or Facebook of themselves with their new Pippa's, tag Blu Betty and thereby stand a chance to win a free pair of Derby Range - Duke Brown Boots.
Another great opportunity is to use Brand Ambassadors for advertising opportunities. Brand Ambassadors are individuals who talk about and represent a brand or company in a positive way. Blu Betty need to consider doing this in order to reach large, more diverse audiences. By reaching such large audiences that Blu Betty may not have previously dealt with, they are automatically creating brand awareness and attracting new potential customers. Brand Ambassadors will advertise Blu Betty's products and push their followers to engage with the brand and purchase. This is often done through social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, and is a highly effective means of creating brand awareness. Brand Ambassadors will humanize Blu Betty's products and in turn will become more loyal to the products. People like to buy from people, and will trust a person whose life they are involved in, even if it is indirect. Followers who engage with and follow the lives of other individuals, start to trust that individual because of the transparency that these icons show through their social media. This therefore means that they will be more inclined to buy products that those individuals support and love.
Most word of mouth results in positive advertising and is a very powerful means of communication between individuals. When people hear something positive about a brand, 66% of them assign a high credibility rating to it. Brand ambassadors will allow Blu Betty to use the viral nature of the internet, deliberately, without having to get lucky. These brand ambassadors will drive new customers to Blu Betty, and therefore help Blu Betty grow as a credible brand.
We do understand that Blu Betty want to remain a small business and not expand towards retail, however, as mentioned before, Blu Betty do not have great control over the growth rate of their brand. If the demand for the product is there, Blu Betty have the obligation to satisfy these consumers by providing them with the products they desire.
In the long term, Blu Betty will have to grow as a brand, both in popularity and in size. This will put pressure on their team, however, if a few more members are appointed, the brand should have no problem handling the demands placed on them. As an agency, we are not trying to expand Blu Betty beyond what they are capable of. We do however, see the opportunity for some growth.
Another aspect that would be extremely beneficial to the launch of the new range, would be to implement pop-up stores in shopping malls where there is a higher rate of foot traffic. The supply of products to these pop-ups is completely up to Blu Betty. This means that they have a certain degree of control as to the frequency of products sold. We do understand that Blu Betty's brand image is one that prefers to stay away from retail and big shopping malls, such as Gateway, and we are therefore not proposing this. We are proposing pop-up stalls in permanent markets and small centers/malls. We also suggest doing pop-up stalls in more than three markets.
We decided to create a mock-up prototype of what the stall could look like.
In conclusion there is so much potential that can be seen in Blu Betty as they have so much room to grow and expand not only as business but as a brand. A brand such as Blu Betty can thrive if the strategic use of their social media platforms have more effort placed in them.Their style and aesthetic is timeless and the quality of their shoes means that ,if taken care of properly, the shoes can be passed on from one generation to the next. We all know leather gets better with time,every crease and wrinkle has a memory and a journey, Blu Betty can be apart of that journey.
References:
Forbes.com. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2014/04/07/5-ways-leaders-enable-innovation-in-their-teams/#4cc27bb18c4c [Accessed 26 Apr. 2017].
· Forbes.com. (2017). Forbes Welcome. [online] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevincashman/2013/08/21/7-ways-leaders-can-foster-innovation/#5f01e59129a9 [Accessed 1 May 2017].
· Halogen Software Talent Management Blog. (2017). 5 Ways Leaders Can Cultivate a Culture of Innovation. [online] Available at: http://www.halogensoftware.com/blog/5-ways-leaders-can-cultivate-a-culture-of-innovation-to-shine-in-todays-market [Accessed 1 May 2017].
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