Rebrand
Since 1995 Alternative has been known for making the softest tees and hoodies, hands down. But over the years the brand’s identity changed so many times that its image weakened. By 2013, it was time for another rebrand, this time an honest one. A new Brand Marketing team was brought on board to lead the company through this process. We dug deep, decluttered and discovered the answer was simple—focus on Alternative’s core strengths and unwavering commitment to fabric innovation and sustainability. By employing design simplicity and promoting transparency, social responsibility and real human centered stories, we were able to bring new life into the brand which resulted in both increased brand awareness and new distribution through targeted retail.
Fabric First Campaign
Alternative leads the industry with a design ethos that puts fabric first. With fabric as the brand’s foundation, discovery and innovation are a natural part of the process, from fiber to finish. Product developers start by responsibly sourcing the best all-natural fibers from all over the world to develop proprietary fabrics from the yarn up. Each collection is paired with a fabric story highlighting the Alternative's use of organic cotton, sustainable semi-synthetic yarns, renewable materials, low-impact dyes, plant-based dyes and water-saving technologies.
Made in Peru
In developing the Spring 2014 collection, Alternative traveled to Peru to work closely with its vendors on their latest proprietary fabrics. Starting with the story of H13 Alpaca Capes and Ponchos, which were created in partnership with the Sustainable Alpaca Network, Pacomarca, and crafted from the finest Peruvian 100% Baby Alpaca Wool, Alternative released a series of documentary videos supporting their collections that were Made in Peru. Distributed through press, social media, online retail as well as brick and mortar, the series was used to educate consumers about where their clothing comes from and how it's made.
Move by Alternative
The F14 debut of Move by Alternative was supported by a fully integrated marketing plan aimed at energizing 2014 sales goals of 440K and leading the company to reach 860K by 2016. Through a sequence of engaging public relations, social media and retail event tactics, Alternative introduced the Move campaign and promoted the new full-scale collection.
The Move campaign featured real women whose active lifestyles extend beyond the bounds of the studio and gym, women who demonstrate strength, confidence, passion and presence. The ambassador program aligned with women who use movement as a means of motivation and inspiration in their daily lives.
With a heavy emphasis on public relations, it was our goal to secure feature stories on the launch of Move. From Mar-Oct 2014, we engaged relevant media in a variety of brand immersive experiences including the F14 press preview, a health and wellness retreat at Travaasa FAM in Austin, TX, a NY fitness week as well as celebrity and media seeding.
Web Redesign
For several years Alternative operated an underperforming digital business on a dysfunctional platform: sales growth was minimal, SEO ranking low, CMS nonexistent and overhead costs through the roof. It was time to make a change. Our charge: to identify best-in-class functionality to modernize alternativeapparel.com and establish a foundation that could be built upon. Alternative partnered with renown digital agency Instrument to perform a complete B2C and B2B web overhaul.
Nearly an 18-month project from start to completion, the collaborative team addressed all elements of the digital business including platform analysis and selection; site architecture; wireframing, design and build; product merchandising; content development and migration. The massive project resulted in a new site that told a compelling brand story, offered an intuitive shopping experience, provided an efficient and cost effective CMS, and ultimately resulted in greater online sales.
My Role / Brand Strategy & Positioning / Content Development / Creative Direction
Lifestyle Photography / Devyn Galindo
Film Director / Britton Caillouette
Web Agency / Instrument