Telling the world about your new brand or product is an essential part of any launch. But as marketers, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that ours is just one part – albeit a significant one – of the journey to market. We asked iLiv’s Spencer Brennand to share with us just what it’s like to be at the sharp end of a soft furnishings and décor brand launch.
Bringing a new product or concept to market can be a daunting prospect. It takes preparation, clarity and determination. It also takes vision – to see where you’re going, and to know who to ask for help along the way. This is the story of how iLiv, the fabric and homeware specialists, found success by making stylish home makeovers easy.
Finding the space
Like all the best ideas, iLiv was a concept borne out of a gap in the market. “The problem wasn’t the availability of products; it was the way we presented that offering to customers,” says iLiv’s Commercial Executive Spencer Brennand. “Swatches and pattern books used to be designed in a way that made life easy for the manufacturer and no one else. Prices were bewilderingly complex. Made to measure and off the shelf inhabited different worlds.
“As an industry we made it far more difficult than it should have been to coordinate looks – to help customers see what the end result would look like and enjoy the design experience. iLiv is our response to that. We’re a one stop home furnishing shop for the trade that makes mixing, matching and co-ordinating easy for customers. We’re helping independent retailers differentiate themselves from retail park offerings.”
Knowing your market
The iLiv concept was clarified over 2012, during which time Spencer, his team and collaborators -including Happy Creative – carried out market research to test their ambitions against reality.
“I’d say the most fundamental aspect of launching any product is to do your research before you do anything else. Test your theories. Understand your market. Find your place and price in that market by listening to what your audience is telling you. Do the research and you’ll find it informs everything you do afterwards.”
Putting the research into action
Spencer’s research established iLiv’s mission: “To inspire the way we design our homes. To revolutionise the way we shop for the products that furnish our living space.” It gave the concept clarity, crystallised the benefits iLiv retailers and customers wanted to see, and drove the features that delivered them.
Selling your brand, and selling the difference
Having established the proposition, iLiv (the name is a product of Happy’s branding workshop) needed to find like-minded retailers who ‘got it’. “Our history is in fabrics and one of the greatest challenges we faced was establishing a new dialogue with our clients,” explains Spencer. “We needed to become far more strategic in the way we targeted our retailers, working with the people who shared our values and understood what we’re trying to do. And as a sales team we needed to be clear about the points of difference in our proposition – and ensure that clarity of message was put across with consistency.”
The result is coordination (between brand and website, retailer and customer) that stretches far beyond the fabrics, wallpapers and soft furnishings.
Happy is delighted to remain a part of iLiv’s success. If you’ve a product or brand you want to launch on an unsuspecting world, you can talk to us about it here.
