Kohler Signature Store Brand Strategy

The Kohler Signature Store offers a curated experience of Kohler kitchen + bath products in a boutique retail environment. We were tasked with cultivating a differentiation strategy to distinguish the Signature Stores from the Kohler national brand as well as local distributors.
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kohlerSignatureStore-design
Creative Brief
discover your signature style
kohler signature store

Philosophy

Designing with a purpose: presented by Kohler
“Everyone who’s ever taken on interior design faces the same challenge: how do I create the room I’m looking for—the color, the products, the shape, the style. Despite the picture in your head, or the one you’ve pinned on Pinterest, there remains a seemingly irreconcilable gap between dream and reality. Crossing it may seem nearly impossible, but when you take a step back and a very deep breath, you can approach the task with a holistic design in mind.
There’s so much more to great design than a room’s finished appearance. Great design should be inspired and should, in turn, inspire you. Balance outstanding style with intriguing pieces and sensible function to create a room that truly reflects you. ”
A Curation of Color & Design, p. 28

Target Audience

New Sophisticate
Affluent Generation X’er
Always dreaming, aspirational
Interested equally in high culture, art, history & travel as pop-culture & fashion
Consciously cultivated personal style influenced by her varied interests
She knows who she is. You won’t hear her ask, “Does this make me look… Does this make me seem…”
Her Signature Style should inspire her space as much as her space inspires her, both informing & reinforcing her style

Creative Objective

Brand Definition
Differentiate from Studio41, Kohler (national product brand) & competing retailers & distributors as:
Transcending commoditization – price & availability (i.e. Amazon) to: Deliver services (Studio41) wrapped around core goods (Kohler) to: Exceeding perishable service value with an engaging experience that endures after transaction; the value of the experience remains.

Business Objectives

invitation to discover & Design
Invite “New Sophisticate” to:
“Discover (her) Signature Style”
via esthetic retail experience (i.e. integrating Signature Style Profile – see next page)
Define her style
Identify common elements & themes (silks & velvets, mirror & lacquer, vivid hues & bold patterns)
Offer a language to communicate style (glamour, drama, luxe, opulence, sophistication, elegance)
Refine her Signature
Narrow from “Eclectic” to “Hollywood Regency”

Awaken her sense of possibilities
We are the product curators
Offer holistic design solutions that embody her Signature Style

Presentation Elements

Signature Style profile
Based on existing Kohler Mood Boards (http://ideas.kohler.com/search/type:mood-board)
Aggregate elements representative of Signature Style
Objective: to inspire & communicate Signature Style
Signature Style profile inspiration: old hollywood
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board
  • Kohler Signature Store Mood Board

Presentation Elements

Signature Style profile products: old hollywood
Kohler Signature Store Mood Board

marketing applications

Web
Interactive Signature Style Profiles
Questionnaire: defines Signature Style & attributes
Signature Style Boards – create, share, comment on, rate/up-vote, explore for inspiration
Social
National
Share results of questionnaire / Invite to take questionnaire
Share Signature Style Boards

Local
Initiate competition to define local/neighborhood/regional Signature Style boards
Signature Style Profile: River North (neighborhood in Chicago)

Professionals
Involve professionals to engage (i.e. answer questions on Houzz about incorporating elements to achieve a Signature Style)

Print
Magazine
Signature Style Boards showcasing a single style / ad, rotating throughout different publications & editions – invites readers to discover their Signature Style online or in showrooms

Direct Mail
Mini Magalogue featuring Signature Styles, featuring selected customer/designer-submitted style profiles/boards

TV
Signature Style Boards showcasing a single style / ad, rotating through different channels & time-slots – invites readers to discover their Signature Style online or in showrooms

Very short clips & sound-bites (representative of the Signature Style profile) with imagery from Style Boards rotating quickly, accompanied by Kohler products & final bathroom shot embodying Signature Style

Radio
Signature Style Boards showcasing a single style / ad, rotating through different channels & time-slots – invites readers to discover their Signature Style online or in showrooms

Very short sound-bites (representative of the Signature Style profile) including music, real-life sound-effects, nature sounds, descriptive words

Showrooms
Salespeople integrate Signature Style Profile & questionnaires to help customers “Discover (their) Signature Style” (on iPad using website or app)
Review customer Signature Style Profiles if customers have created them/saved others prior to visiting showroom

Showcase Signature Style profiles on TV monitors
Loop through our bank of Signature Styles or feature “trending” style profiles, style profiles created by select professionals & users

Take-away printable (or writable) profile personalized for customer outlining their Signature Style accompanied by marketing piece outlining what defines that style with product recommendations to achieve style