Oxford St. readies ‘I♥NY-style’ brand revamp
A new ‘I♥NY-style’ brand revamp has been unveiled for Oxford Street by New West End Company – which represents more than 600 retailers in the West End – in a bid to make Londoners and tourists reappraise the shopping district.
It is hoped the “It all starts here” proposition and new “X-marks-the-spot”-esque logo will help Londoners and those in the London catchment area reappraise the busy shopping area at a time when they may have been tempted by major marketing activity from the recently built Westfield shopping centres to the West and East of the city.
New West End Company claims more than 200 million people visit the area each year. Of these visitors more than 25 per cent are from overseas, and a further 21 per cent are from outside London – highlighting the opportunity to recapture the imagination of the area’s home market, as well as educating the millions of tourists who flock to the district.
The positioning and logo will form the backbone of all future marketing campaigns and branding for the district, including the retail strategy for the redevelopment of East Oxford Street, where the Crossrail project is currently being built.
Marketing will also highlight the areas 100m North and South of Oxford Street, to point people towards the often “overlooked” green spaces and more than 500 restaurants.
An above the line marketing campaign has been penned for September, to coincide with London Fashion Week.
New West End company is also considering the build of a smartphone app, which will contain maps and restaurant guides to help people navigate the area.
Richard Dickinson, New West End company chief executive told Marketing Week, a “six figure sum” has been invested in the work behind the new brand – created by Goosebumps brand consultancy – and the forthcoming advertising campaign.
He added: “Our return on investment will vary from 6:1 to 25:1 depending on what we are doing with our tactical campaigns. I also will look at dwell time [as a measure of success]. The iconic I♥NY logo has lasted a considerable amount of time and I do not think we will change our new branding for quite a long time.”
