The Client Brief - Research

Valentino in Rome with models in his designs by Pascal Chevallier, 1998

For my client brief project, I have been assigned the brand Valentino. Having never created or seen a client brief before, I keep coming back to the definition:

"A client brief is essentially a document that helps guide and animate any project. The client brief, written by a client, explains the ins and outs of a project to the agent/agency who’ll be working on it. It acts as a blueprint for your project that helps synchronize all stakeholders involved in the project and bring cohesiveness to the group." - taken from our PowerPoint briefing.

The aim of this is to convey a business problem/ query that needs addressing and describe the overall brand persona and end result desired. Essentially, an overall strategy.

Before even attempting to assemble or wrap my head around a client brief, I knew my main priority was to do some in depth research on my assigned brand - Valentino. I didn't know anything about this brand prior to research, I knew they are a luxury fashion brand that seem very glamourous and specialise in their studs on their items. Other than this, I was completely clueless about the background of the brand. Diving in to the research, I began on their own website https://www.valentino.com/en-us/world-of-valentino/maison and the Vogue biography page https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/valentino-biography.

I began compiling ANY research into my word document and dumping it under headings and bullet points. This is because I wanted to access any research all on one file with all my links at the end, the document is extremely wordy however it's helpful for me to just see what I've gathered and where from.

My research on Valentino made me realise how proud the brand is of their Italian heritage and background which I know I need to reiterate in my client brief. Some of the things I've included in my research is:

• Background/ History

• Brand timeline

• Brand values

• Brand associations

• P.E.S.T.L.E

• SWOT

• The 4 P's (product, price, place, promotion)

• Consumer profile/ segmentation

• Branding

• 'Valentino red'

• 'The Valentino Woman'

• Previous campaigns and marketing

Alongside my internet research, I managed to get my hands on a Valentino book from the library titled 'Valentino Thirty Years of Magic' written by Marie Paule Pellé and Patrick Mauriès in 1991. I've only just started looking through it's contents but I know it will be helpful in my exploration of the brand. Another method of research is the film 'Valentino: The Last Emperor' directed by Matt Tyrnauer in 2009. I watched this film a couple of days ago and it was such a great insight into the world of Valentino and the life of Valentino Garavani. It showed the preparation for the 2006 Spring/Summer Collection in Paris to a July 2007 retrospective of Valentino's 45-year career. It follows the creations from sketching to runway and was overall a fascinating watch, similar to 'Dior & I' directed by Frédéric Tcheng that we watched in term 2 of level 4.

I will be professionally presenting this research into a 500 word client profile which I will be sharing on the blog at a further time, I just wanted to document my research and process for now.

Sources:

Blog. By Pixart Printing. (2021). VALENTINO RED: AN ICONIC COLOUR. [Online]. Available from: https://www.pixartprinting.co.uk/blog/valentino-red-iconic-colour/ [Accessed 19/10/2021]

BoF. (N.D). Valentino Garavani. [Online]. Available from: https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/valentino-garavani [Accessed 18/10/2021]

Chevallier, P. (1998). Valentino in Rome with models in his designs. [Online Image]. Available from: https://www.vogue.com/article/22-fashion-insiders-share-their-best-couture-memories?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=vogue&utm_mailing=VOG_Runway_Optdown_071220&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5d23812dfc942d1a7fb61049&cndid=48915769&hasha=406c858139fe9d4ad27741da69c7ea8e&hashb=983cacde22b90292331a8ac74344383ac6d177ee&hashc=64e2fa4cc80bd20f304326fab697490b3db8cacc814a7745b431a04d2a05b8bf&esrc=site-menu&utm_term=VOG_Runway_Optdown [Accessed 21/10/21]

Fokina, P. (2021). Zendaya Stars in Valentino's Fall Campaign. [Online]. Available from: https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/zendaya-valentino-fall-campaign [Accessed 18/10/2021]

Hayward, L. (2018). Valentino Brand Report. [Online]. Available from: https://issuu.com/lizziehayward0/docs/issuu_valentino_brand_report [Accessed 18/10/2021]

Miccuci, R. (2017). Valentino Red (Part II). [Online]. Available from: https://blog.leatheredgepaint.com/red-valentino-part-ii-the-color-icon-of-the-brand-conquers-the-world [Accessed 20/10/2021]

Rossi, D. (2018). Valentino, l'imperatore della moda che porta la pace, [Online]. Available from: https://www.esquire.com/it/stile/moda-uomo/a18453116/valentino-biografia-vita-privata/ [Accessed 19/10/2021]

Pellé, M-P and Mauriés, P. (1991). Valentino Thirty Years of Magic. New York. Abbeville Press.

Tyrnaeur, M. (2008). Valentino: The Last Emperor. [Film].

Mba Skool. (2020). Valentino S.P.A SWOT Analysis, Competitors & USP. [Online]. Available from: https://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/lifestyle-and-retail/3791-valentino-spa.html [Accessed 20/10/2021]