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Brief
Drunknmunky is an urban clothing brand with strong ties to underground music and culture, and a keen following amongst the street wear fraternity. Strange was appointed to design, build and launch the European branding site (www.drunknmunky.eu) and following the success of that, was awarded the ecommerce launch (www.drunknmunky.co.uk) and strategy.
The brand, which originated in America and is now based in Europe, targets both men and women aged 16-25. Previous to this site launch, the range was sold in store and online via third party retailers, and sales relied on its niche following.
Drunknmunky was keen to digitally interact with current loyal fans and use the online space as a key platform to reach new shoppers. The brand identified a need to build brand awareness and an opportunity to sell the range directly online.
This project and campaign was a significant marketing investment and needed to transform the brand’s online persona and presence.
Strategy
The Drunknmunky’s heritage lies in the ancient form of kung-fu fighting. When developing the branding website, Strange created a design that draws on the brand’s diverse influences and eclectic persona, while presenting the content in a cohesive way.
It was decided that animation would be used in the branding website design strategy to create "The Street" - an immersive horizontally-scrolling landscape that allows the visitor to explore the many facets of the brand. The different buildings and locations on the street hold the site content which includes various articles, media and site functions - these are also accessible via a traditional primary navigation. In addition to brand ethos, catwalk images and video, the site also showcases videos and music from Drunknmunky’s many sponsored artists, DJs, skaters and riders.
The strategy for the ecommerce site would carry across the brand persona while delivering an engaging, user-friendly platform that is optimised for high conversion rates.
The online marketing campaign throughout 2010 included paid search, email marketing and a comprehensive social media strategy to drive people to the Drunknmunky brand website and build awareness and a customer database prior to the ecommerce launch. Subscribers were targeted with regular information about the brand, promotional information as well as building hype around the ecommerce launch.
Execution
Strange created a striking design and implemented a highly effective strategy to successfully launch the brand online in its own right. The branding site uses a combination of Flash, 3D and video content, all seamlessly integrated to create an engaging experience. The exploration aspect and regularly-updated content serves to create awareness and interaction with the brand ahead.
Drunknmunky is an urban street wear brand and our engaging design strategy perfectly encompasses the brand values and effectively represents a confident online presence. The design that Strange created has been carried across other marketing channels including email communications and social media platforms.
The branding site successfully launched in 2010. Following this achievement, Strange was awarded the ecommerce design and build project and online marketing campaign.
Strange worked closely with Drunknmunky to design and launch an ecommerce website that delivers an exceptional customer experience, while carrying across the brand design and consistent messaging.
The ecommerce site launched in November 2010 and features the whole Drunknmunky range. The site also includes a latest news feed, competitions and social sharing functionality. The website is built on a bespoke ecommerce CMS platform which allows content to be easily updated and moderated.
Results
Through a tailored design strategy, Strange has delivered standout branding and ecommerce platforms that have established and continue to significantly grow the Drunknmunky brand online.
E-marketing activity built a customer database from nil to several thousand in just six months, providing a strong growth in brand awareness – and this continues to grow.
The branding site has also won two awards since launching – a DOPE award, which recognises and celebrates the best Flash sites worldwide. The site was also awarded ‘Best in class’ in the fashion category of the international Interactive Media Awards. The site scored over 96% in areas of design, content, functionality, usability and cross-browser compatibility.
The brand originally started in America before moving to Europe, and the ecommerce website has re-opened the strong American sales market for the brand, significantly increasing revenue. The online marketing campaign continues to deliver a very positive ROI for the brand.
Since launching, Strange also managed the paid search campaign to maximise online sales in the run up to Christmas 2010. In 2011, the agency will grow the online marketing activity to build on brand awareness and drive people to the site to increase sales.
“We have been delighted with the outcome of the new website and the creative abilities of Strange. They have created the perfect showcase for the brand and captured the essence of Drunknmunky perfectly in an urban/oriental crossover which sets Drunknmunky in a digitally focused direction."
Dave Shanks, Managing Director at Drunknmunky
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