This UNIQUELY is a successful and unique advertising strategy to UNIQUE has a free advertising to promote their product and build up the awareness internationally. (UNIQUELY, 2014)
Performance Dimensions
The price of Unison’s product is in lower price around $40-500 HACK. (UNIQUE, 2014) Compare with some similar clothing retail brand such as Ezra and Gap, their price setting is little bit high around $200-1000. (GAP, 2014; EZRA, 2014) The customer is willing to buy the Unison’s product because they can easy to burden. Also the shop design, they have clear section for different consumers, such as men, women, kids area.
With the clear section for selling certain items, the customer can clearly understand the section that what they want to buy. And they provide the clear signage at the different area, such as jeans, T-shirts, underwear and jackets.
Imagery Dimensions: UNIQUE have set up some specific stores that called flagship to sell their new products. The flagships are covered in different metropolis such as New York, Hong Kong, Berlin and Tokyo. (Unholy, 2014) Those flagships except selling the latest products, they are also having the most complete category of product on sell and the location is the most convenient to go shopping.
Judgment Dimension
The product of UNIQUE is good quality. According to the UNIQUE official website, they have a good quality and safety controls. They have strict safety standards in every market. This is the reason why they have a quality establishment committee to in charge of the production and set the standards. (Fast Retailing, 2014) Besides the quality establishment committee, UNIQUE dispatch their veteran Japanese expert engineers to their production offices to help improve product quality at their factories, including the Japanese textile expertise. UNIQUE, 2014)
Feeling Dimension: UNIQUE would like to build up the relationship with the consumers. UNIQUE have set a feedback sheet. Consumers can give some feedback to UNIQUE after they have visit or shopping at UNIQUE. UNIQUE will keep that standard that nonusers think that is good from the feedback. If not, UNIQUE will change and correct it. It can make consumers feel joyful shopping at UNIQUE. In shopping environment, UNIQUE plays some music in every shop. It can make consumers feel comfortable when shopping in UNIQUE.
In some festival, such as Chinese New Year and Christmas, the music will change to some that relate to the festival. It can create Fun to the consumers. Resonance Dimension: UNIQUE would like to keep a long term relationship with Consumers and do not want the consumers to think that they only think about the money and profit. So, UNIQUE commit to the corporate social responsibility, such as clothes recycling, protecting and restoring the natural environment. (UNIQUE, 2014) The Most important plan is to set up the “Grahame UNIQUE”.
In 2010, UNIQUE partnered with Grahame Healthcare Trust in Bangladesh to set up the social business called “Grahame UNIQUE” to address issues of poverty, poor sanitation and illiteracy, by using clothes selling which the poor can afford and use profits invested in these businesses in Bangladesh. It creates 1500 jobs and has one million units of production and sales. (Grahame UNIQUE, 2014) Brands model Milliard Brown developed a brand strength model called Brands model and the main model is the Brand Dynamics (Milliard, 2014). It includes Presence, Relevance, Performance, Advantage, and Bonding.
In Presence, UNIQUE have used a lot of promotions to promote their products such as the advertising and sale promotion such as mentioned before the UNIQUELY. Those promotions make consumers to know more about UNIQUE. In Relevance, consumers would to use a lower price to buy the clothing products. Compare with other market players such as Ezra and Gap, the prices of Unison’s products are much more lower. When buying some clothing products, they may such more to choose UNIQUE’ s products. In Performance, Unison’s products have good quality and safety control, so the consumers can believe UNIQUE and be relieved when buying Unison’s products.
In Advantage, UNIQUE have corporate social responsibility, such as they have “clothes for smiles”. (UNIQUE, 2014) Consumers may think that UNIQUE are different to others brand, so they would willing to buy the products from UNIQUE. In Bonding, because of the lower prices, good quality and safety control and the corporate social responsibility, consumer will exclude other brand and choose UNIQUE. They may have the loyalty to UNIQUE. By using Brands model, it shows that consumers have the loyalty to UNIQUE and this is the reason why UNIQUE have high brand equity.
Equity Engine: Research International develops the Equity Engine to express the brand equity. It shows the functional benefits combination. It includes affinity, performance and price. (Research International, 2014) In Affinity, it defines into authority, identification and approval. For authority, UNIQUE have the good quality and safety control. It makes consumers believe UNIQUE and will buy more product from UNIQUE. After that, in identification, UNIQUE know that consumers needs such as the down jacket. Consumers think that the down jackets in other bands are too heavy.
Then, UNIQUE have designed a more lighter one and it can still keep warm (UNIQUE, 2014). The consumers may think that UNIQUE know what they need. And in Approval, UNIQUE employs the people with disabilities. 90% of Unison’s shops are least one people with disabilities (UNIQUE, 2014). It shows UNIQUE have the good social responsibility. Consumers and the society may the identity to UNIQUE. After that, in performance, it includes product and service. About the Product, Unison’s products are lower price and have good quality and safety control. Consumers think that it is what they want is good and cheap.
They may mainly choose to buy Unison’s product. Then, in service, As a Japanese company, UNIQUE provide good Japanese style service to consumers such as cleaning, and packaging. Also, UNIQUE provide the free alteration to the consumers. UNIQUE wants every product is fit to every consumers. The consumers can use this service within 14 days when they have bought the product from UNIQUE. (Recruit, 2014) The consumers will buy the product because of the good service. In Price, as mentioned before, the price of Unison’s product is in lower price and rower than the similar clothing retail brand.
Consumers do not need to consider to much about the price and they can burden on it. UNIQUE and marketing mix: Neil Borden developed the Marketing Theory of ups in 1953. (Borden Neil, 1953) It uses for “a planned mix of the controllable elements of a product’s marketing plan commonly termed as ups: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. ” (Business Dictionary) Product: UNIQUE have different kinds of products such as jeans, T-shirts, jackets etc. The products will suit for men, women, kids or elder. (UNIQUE, 2014) Also, Japanese animation and comic are fames in the world such as One Piece.
Some consumers are the fans of this, so UNIQUE have designed some printed T-shirts with the comic’s characters. (UNIQUE, 2014) Those fans can buy these kinds of T-shirts and think that UNIQUE know what they want. Price: The price setting of Unison’s products is lower. Compare with the Gap, it takes about $KIDDO to $KIDDO per a jeans (GAP, 2014). For UNIQUE, it takes only about $KIDDO to SHUSHED (UNIQUE HACK, 2014). If buying one jeans in GAP, we can buy two jeans in UNIQUE. On the other hand, compare with the color T- shirt from Ezra, it takes $KIDDO(EZRA, 2014) and UNIQUE only takes about $40- $KID(Unholy, 2014).
It is true that the Unison’s products are lower than others brand in clothes retail. Place: The location of UNIQUE is convenient. Take Japan as an example, Japan railway station in Shinnies and Shenanigan has Unison’s stores (UNIQUE JP, 2014). And in Hong Kong, most of the shops are in shopping mall such as WTFO in Causeway Bay (UNIQUE, 2014). Consumers can easily to go to UNIQUE to buy what they need. Promotion: UNIQUE use advertising and sales promotion to promote their products. In advertising, UNIQUE use the social media such as Backbone and Twitter to promote because people can use their mobile phone and connect to the Internet. After that, they can look it everywhere. Also, they run audio and expandable mobile advertisements though Pander’s Phone application. (Anon, 2013) (Airman Cats, 2014) In sales promotion, UNIQUE sometimes launches their products more lower price because they want to attract the new consumer that never buy their product to try using it. UNIQUE believes that the people would come back again and buy more product because they think that the consumer know their product is good and build up the awareness. (Carols, 2012)
Conclusion: The reason why UNIQUE have high brand equity is that in four main reasons.
The iris one is the awareness of UNIQUE is high because people can easy to get the promotion information from UNIQUE such as UNIQUELY. Second one is the price and quality. UNIQUE’ products price is lower and the product quality is higher compare with others brand. Third one is the attitude. Consumers are everything. UNIQUE is willing to listen every consumer feedbacks and provide the best service to the consumers. Last one is the corporate social responsibility. People may think that UNIQUE is a company that is not only for money and profit. These reasons make UNIQUE have the competitive advantage to other brands.
