ALIFE-stlye like no other (Assignment 5)

When I think of “investors” I think of big firms on Wall Street and things like that. And if that is the case, then I know ALIFE isn’t looking for investors. There are people who actually believe in ALIFE and what they stand for. Those are the types of people they look to invest in their company. That being said there is no bullshit strategy that the “big wigs” of the company put together to get people interested. It is not their dream to have everyone wearing ALIFE, because not everyone is going to believe what they believe in. That’s right; ALIFE has beliefs and stands by them, unlike these other brands that could give a damn about beliefs. But this isn’t the time to rant about who or who doesn’t have beliefs. When ALIFE first started, they were looking for NIKE to invest in their brand. This eventually paid off because now they have a tier 0 account with the most popular sneaker name in the world.

ALIFE is especially not looking to reach any government body, that’s easy to see. This company is defined as art. Some types that the government does not seem to like. The artists that ALIFE represents are graffiti artists, hip-hop artists, skaters, bikers, writers, photographers, the list goes on.

ALIFE Occupied Wall Street with the people, you really think they are looking to reach a government body. That’s the last people I think they want to reach. They want to reach the people, “Cuz aint no power like the power of the people!”

The way that ALIFE reaches their community is by doing what they have been doing. They put the art that represents this unique culture on their cloths, sneakers and accessories. But as I said before they are not you average company. They promote graffiti, loud music, smoking weed, drinking, basically they promote things that are frowned upon by your everyday corporate ass hole. So ALIFE’s goals of their Corporate Social Responsibility may not be like everyone else’s.

Through all of this I feel that the way ALIFE is handling things is great. Even in a “crisis” I still wouldn’t change any of the strategies, because I feel that would take away from their message. And that is something they will not do. Lupe Fiasco said, “if you are afraid, the fear that you are gonna change some… All you have to do is just remember where you came from.” Something I feel a lot of these companies forgot a long time ago.

ALIFE-style like no other (Assignment 5)

This assignment is hard to write about ALIFE because ALIFE does not have an internal or external blog. The company is small, so the employees communicate with each other through BBM and texting. And because of its size, ALIFE can share their ideas and go directly to their employees.

But if I were running a bigger business and I had to choose a type of blog for my organization I would choose an internal blog only because anything discussed within the blog is only available through the companies Intranet. The topics that should be discussed in these types of blogs are really anything that has to do with the acceleration of the company; from ideas for something new within the company to people who are doing great within the company. The people that should write these blogs are the people who are running these companies. With that in mind the blogs should be open so that everyone can communicate and share their ideas.

As for a celebrity spokesperson… now I’m just sounding like a broken record, it’s just not their style. However they do have collaboration pieces with celebrities that represent the culture. For example here is t-shirt and lighter that they put together with hip-hop artist, Nas.

But ALIFE is never really advertised on TV or anything like that. If anything, ALIFE would post a picture of Nas wearing an ALIFE shirt or performing at the store. And that would be their way of advertising the company and using a celebrity spokesperson. It works pretty well for them too. They don’t go around hiring actors to like their product and advertise for them. Instead ALIFE will have a paparazzi shot of a celebrity wearing the brand, and they will post it on their blog, a true form of advertising. Even Beckham rocks ALIFE. This is a picture they posted on their blog of David Beckham is wearing the ALIFE Chuck Naval shoes.

I feel the way ALIFE utilizes this type of advertisement; they don’t need a celebrity spokesperson. The pictures and videos speak for themselves.

ALIFE-style like no other (Assignment 4)

Sorry guys I thought I posted this last week but apparently I didn't. Last week we were asked to write about traditional and new media relation strategies and explain how our company uses them... well here it goes!

ALIFE has never really used any of our traditional media relation strategies, because that is just not how the company works. They are just not interested on getting their word out that way. On the other hand when it comes to the new media relation strategies, ALIFE is all over it. I know I have said this before… the way that they use their new media strategies, such as their blogs and twitter, they are not like your everyday companies. Yes, they will post the dates of upcoming sales; they will also post pictures of items that just dropped. But when ALIFE blogs (on twitter, Facebook, and such), they bring the viewer in to this “underground” culture. Its almost like it’s a secret party that you are invited too. But that is how ALIFE stays a live in this culture (ha no pun intended). Their quality of clothing is out of this world and they do not lose track in what they believe in.

When you enter their blog or Facebook site you feel ALIFE’s personality as if it were a human standing right in front of you. It says it in their ‘fight song’ posted in my last blog. They really don’t give a shit what anyone thinks. That being said, they do not use any type of traditional media. They do actually have a commercial on TV… kind of. The commercial is about one of the owners of ALIFE using this new Blackberry. Throughout the commercial he talks about the company, but notice he never says ALIFE's name (you only see his hat that says ALIFE). So I guess it is more of a product placement if anything. Well I’ll let you be the judge of that. Click HERE and watch the commercial.

Anyway, though I think ALIFE is a great brand, there are a few aspects that I think they can work on. One of them is I think ALIFE should update their blogs more. There are times where they go weeks without updating anything. Another aspect that I feel ALIFE could work on is their videos; none of them show the store or really bring you inside(except the for the Blackberry commercial). But after thinking about for a while, it makes me wonder if they do it on purpose. You know, they show you some but leave you wanting more. Like you almost have to come through to Rivington St. get the experience. So who am I to judge what they do.

ALIFE’s content strategy
Just so we are all up to speed, the company that I have been covering for these assignments is a street wear brand out of New York City, ALIFE (pronounced Ā-LIFE). Now they are not your average brand. As you can see here is their fight song for the ALIFE Rivington Club. Also know as the A.R.C. (below)

You see ALIFE is not looking to advertise in Rolling Stone Magazine or anything like that; it’s not their style. They are apart of this underground culture were they want to remain. This is because of a trend that happens to a lot of brands, “the more ‘mainstream’ you get the more your message gets lost.” Knowing this ALIFE does not advertise on TV, or in magazines or things like that. The way they get their product out there is through word of mouth and the social media. This is a great example of how they remain in this “underground” culture while still being able to spread their word to fans of the brand.

If you look at ALIFE’s official Facebook page (social networking), you see that it is just an arm off of their twitter account. Everything that is tweeted is on Facebook. This is brilliant because they are killing two birds with one stone. They cover everything on twitter and post it on Facebook. Though ALIFE uses social networking, its main social media focus is through blogging, micro blogging, and photo/video sharing.

This leads me to their official Twitter account (micro-blogging). This is where ALIFE hits most of their advertising but as I said in my previous blogs ALIFE defines itself as art. So not only do they tweet their sales and pictures of their products. They also post artwork, videos, and many other different things that would help define the culture of this company. And this photo shows it.
Their Twitter page, and Facebook page for that matter, has hyperlinks that lead to the other forms of social media, blogging being one of them.

ALIFE’s blog sites, http://blog.alifenyc.com/ and http://blog.newyorkartdepartment.org/, is where the brand does a lot of picture and video sharing. They are the closest thing to a visual representation of the company, with out being on Rivington St. that is. The reason is because a blog is so much more in your face than any of the other social mediums. ALIFE already tells it how it is, and on a blog with out any restrictions the brand just lets loose. I said it before ALIFE is for the people; they are a part of this culture. So throughout these blogs you will find videos of Occupy Wall St, random art work from random street artist, all types of music, pictures of the store, pictures of people wearing ALIFE, pictures of random shit in the streets of New York, and so much more.

All of the forms of social media that ALIFE uses give the viewer a glimpse of the culture of which they represent.

It’s useful for the company because it still remains word of mouth, though it uses all different forms of the social media. And through all of this, ALIFE creates a deeper relationship with their target public because it brings the viewer along for the ride.

ALIFE-style like no other Part 2

Last week we were asked to write a blog about the key elements of branding, and discuss how are company uses it.

Uniqueness
ALIFE is unique in tons of different ways. But what the company represents is different from your everyday clothing brand. ALIFE represents the people and they show it on their Home Page. Once you go to http://www.alifenyc.com/ all that is on the page is a hyperlink to the Declaration of Occupying Wall St, over an ALIFE “necktie” pocket tee- shirt background. That alone shows how unique ALIFE is compared to other companies. Can you imagine if Abercrombie & Fitch had that shit on their website, I think not! This also shows what the company stands for. They are a “hub for creativity”. Endclothing.co is a blog about street wear and they, along with myself describe ALIFE as a place where skaters, artists, designers and more can come together and share their ideas (endclothing.co).


Authenticity
ALIFE is authentic in tons of different ways. One example is there signage. There are no flashy lights or people dancing around that attract customers to this store. All that lies outside of the ALIFE headquarters on 158 Rivington St. is a plaque that divides the two stores between its two store sections. (ALIFE, and ALIFE Rivington Club) Pictured below.

But that is not what makes ALIFE authentic. The ALIFE brand and the items that they carry, is what makes the company authentic. As I said in my first blog, The ALIFE Rivington Club (the sneaker store) has a tier 0 account with Nike. So they get these sneakers that people really only hear about, and that are crazy exclusive. These are the types of sneakers you will never even see in stores like Footlocker or Foot Action. ALIFE, the brand, is authentic because it is an art that is transformed to cloths. This is what truly makes ALIFE authentic.


Talkability
I think what makes ALIFE so talkable is their authenticity. There are not many other boutiques like it; it is definitely one of its kind. But this also has people talking shit about ALIFE and what they stand for. I’ve heard people say that they have outrageous pieces and that they send a bad message through their clothing. For example their “Crispy as Fuck” tee that dropped last fall. Pictured below.

I heard some one say once, that ALIFE is a bunch of degenerates, that smoke some pot and put whatever comes to mind on a shirt. But I guess that makes them talkable in the Business world. But in this world of “underground” street wear, what makes the company talkable is ALIFE’s relationship it has with the cultures that it came from. People wear ALIFE because ALIFE is apart of the people. It says it all in their slogan that is written on the bottom of tee shirts, “ALIFE style like no other”. It’s more than just a brand it’s a culture.

Overall Personality
Pardon my French, but the overall personality of ALIFE is “We don’t give a fuck what you think, because if you do not like it… it probably wasn’t meant for you.” The store and the workers are real laid back but still all business. Some say that their cloths are outrageous and childish. But just because these people go to work in a ‘Crispy as Fuck’ tee shirt, jeans, and some fresh ass sneakers doesn’t mean they are lesser businessmen than those who are in a shirt and tie all day.

ALIFE-style like no other

The organization that I chose to write about for my first blog is a street wear company based out of New York City, ALIFE.

MISSION STATEMENT

ALIFE is a lifestyle concept based on and in downtown NYC. It is focused on art and creativity with strong penchant of originality, even if it means stealing it. ALIFE’s mission is to showcase, elevate, and perpetrate the downtown culture from which it was born. ALIFE cannot be defined by one culture movement alone. ALIFE IS ART.
(http://blog.alifenyc.com/) *Official ALIFE blog



HISTORY

ALIFE started off as a retail store and transformed into a brand. It was first founded in 1999, when it was located on Orchard St, now ALIFE resides on 158 Rivington St. At this location are two ALIFE stores both boutique style; one sells ALIFE apparel (Married to the Mob for the ladies) and the ALIFE Rivington Club (2nd store) sells footwear. Not just ALIFE but they also have a Tier 0 account with Nike, which is the best account that Nike gives out (approx. 15 stores in the world have that account). Today they have five locations all over the world. The two ALIFE stores that are in NYC, the others are in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Tokyo.

Each piece of clothing that ALIFE drops has a message, an attitude. I think that their main focus is not to have everyone wear ALIFE, that’s why you don’t see their cloths in stores like Zumee’s or Stash House. It has been apart of this “underground” culture where they have kept it and they have remained an elite brand. It says it all in the signage outside of the New York store. There are no flashy signs, or giant lights, all that stands is a two foot plaque with a “Old English ‘A’” and “The source of art is in the life of the people,” quoted below.

TARGET AUDIENCE

Their target audience does not pertain to a certain group. As it says in their mission statement, “ALIFE cannot be defined by one culture movement alone, ALIFE IS ART.”

There is no diversity in a person, they do not target a certain age, race, or gender. ALIFE stands for more than that, they stand for the people. It’s a melting pot of culture movements both past and present. ALIFE is art, and the source of art is in the life of the people.