Diesel builds its entire existence around the passion for what it does. With a founder who sees his work as an art and not a science, the company has redefined how a brand sees and communicates with its customers since 1978.
Diesel is a global clothing and lifestyle brand. With a history stretching back over 30 years, the company now employs some 2,200 people globally with a turnover of €1.3 billion and its products are available in more than 5,000 outlets. However, this list of numbers is far less interesting than the company, people and founder behind them. Diesel is a remarkable company with a unique mindset. A mindset which puts sales and profit second to building something special, something ‘cool’ and something which can change the world through fashion.
The story begins with a young Renzo Rosso passionate about the clothes he wears but disappointed in the options available to him in his home town Molvena, Italy. Acting on impulse, he decided to use his passion to make the clothes he wanted to wear. Renzo was drawn to the rebellious fabric of the 1960s and rock & roll: denim. It inspired him to create jeans which would allow him and others to express themselves in ways other clothing simply could not.
Proving popular, Renzo made more and more of his handcrafted creations, selling them around Italy from the back of his little van. The still-young Renzo is the proud owner and CEO of Diesel along with that impressive list of figures. That impulse and passion apparently paid off.
PRODUCT:
The reason Diesel has grown is because it knows it is about a lot more than selling nice jeans. Diesel is a lifestyle: if that lifestyle appeals to you, you might like to buy the products. Renzo describes this as an end of the ‘violence’ towards the customer forcing them to buy and rather an involvement in the lifestyle.
The Diesel brand promises to entertain and to introduce customers to new, experimental experiences. Its product line now goes far beyond premium jeans and includes fragrances, sunglasses and even bike helmets. These products complement, convey and support the promises of passion and experience made by the Diesel brand.
PROMOTION:
With the launch of the recent marketing campaign around the phrase ‘Be Stupid’, Diesel took a look at what brought its current pipeline: it was Renzo Rosso, all those years ago, taking the ‘stupid’ move to make jeans he wanted to wear. Then he took the even more stupid move of trying to sell those jeans to others, believing he might not be the only fool in Molvena! As it turned out, there were quite a few more to be found and Renzo’s ‘stupid’ move ended up creating something which millions of people around the world now enjoy.
PLACE:
Only around 300 of the 5,000 global outlets which sell Diesel products are owned and managed by the company itself. The majority are large department stores offering many other brands or boutiques with a very specific style of their own. How do you maintain the quality of a product and its communication when dealing with so many different partners and distribution channels? The strong culture within Diesel again holds the answer. Every employee is able to communicate the brand appropriately in their given role within the company. As such, the managers of the Diesel-branded stores know that their function is to act as a flagship
Their retail partners such as the department stores are a crucial link in the chain. Diesel works closely with these partners to ensure they express the same level of passion when offering their products. This is done through separate and individual campaigns
PRICE:
The price of a product is the most direct and immediate tool a business can use to convey the quality of its product at the point of sale. Diesel uses a model based on premium pricing. Through the vision and passion of Renzo Rosso, the company has created a whole new approach to engaging with its customers. The price of Diesel’s products needs to reflect the substance and value of that experience.
The team at Diesel must be intimately in tune with the dynamic lifestyle so they can see how their diverse range of products from jeans to fragrances and even bike helmets fits within that lifestyle. That feel for what Diesel is and how the potential customers, interact with it allows the company to price those products in a way which complements and neatly fits into that lifestyle.
CONCLUSION:
The marketing mix is all good and well but it doesn’t paint the full picture. To understand it we must look at the ‘touchy, feely’ elements of business. Diesel has built its existence around that touchy, feely passion with every one of its 2,200 employees living the Diesel brand.
Diesel grew into a global household name for premium clothing but it all started from that one man wanting to do something unusual, something ‘stupid’. Stubbornly he stuck to his belief in doing the unusual and it has created a global company whose products are enjoyed by millions. More importantly, this has created a lifestyle – a whole new approach to the way we see a brand.