Brand Building Case Study
ABOUT THE BRAND
TENCEL™️ is the flagship brand under The Lenzing Group that covers textile speciality product fibre offerings. Since 1992, the TENCEL™️ brand has been driving the evolution of fibre solutions for the apparel and home textile segments through industry-first innovations and environmentally responsible production processes.
THE BRIEF
In 2020 WHITEHAIR.CO was appointed as the UK strategic communications, brand partnership, and influencer lead agency for TENCEL™, and continued to work with the brand until the end of 2023. WHITEHAIR.CO advised on the adopted new approach, evolving from a traditional B2B to a B2C/B2ME brand, speaking directly to the consumer. The WHITEHAIR.CO x TENCEL™ account team took on a hybrid role, working agilely to develop a 360-integrated strategy; introducing, building and developing the brand through industry and partner relationships to establish the TENCEL™ its premier position within the market.
The WHITEHAIR.CO team guided TENCEL™ within the B2C space, building a consumer-facing presence and narrative in the UK via:
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Creating key, educational media moments organically and via partnerships
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Facilitating industry introductions and relationship-building
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Spearheading brand partnerships to help grow the TENCEL™ UK network
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Leading projects and designer collaborations with KOL influencers to support social campaigns.
MEDIA MOMENTS
WHITEHAIR.CO worked alongside the Global and Regional TENCEL™ teams to ensure earned and organic coverage, in both trade and consumer titles, maintaining regular and consistent engagement with the UK media to support quality coverage. Via regular news announcements, press release distributions and the sell-in of key campaigns whilst supporting brand partnerships, WHITEHAIR.CO garnered a total organic reach of over 1.9 Billion in the first three quarters of 2021.
Key highlights included placing TENCEL™’s newly-launched e-shop on Vogue.co.uk, as well as developing the TENCEL™ Mother of Pearl Edit and securing the exclusive feature interview placement on Vogue.co.uk, modelled by TENCEL™ ambassador Jasmine Hemsley.
PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
Alongside maintaining a steady flow of organic credits in the UK media, the WHITEHAIR.CO team negotiated integrated media partnerships to engage and educate key target publications on the brand values, messaging, and campaigns. They also introduced and strengthened relationships with key publishing houses to build brand awareness and widen audience reach.
As part of the TENCEL™ brand positioning strategy and through such partnerships, the team successfully negotiated a combination of creative content and digital amplification packages to help raise brand presence and awareness, deliver consumer education, and support the key 2021 brand campaigns including Earth Month #DressForYourEnvironment and #GiftWhatsGood.
TENCEL™ x Patrick McDowell | Nicole Scherzinger The Fashion Awards 2023
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To celebrate and support emerging design talent while championing sustainable materials, WHITEHAIR.CO devised a partnership between TENCEL™ and designer Patrick McDowell to create custom-made gowns for Nicole Scherzinger to wear to The Fashion Awards 2023.
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The dresses were crafted using fabrics exclusively made from TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibres and TENCEL™ LUXE filament yarn, and stole the show in terms of PR coverage of the event, with TENCEL™ credited in print featured features Harper's Bazaar UK, Hello! Magazine, Evening Standard, Vogue UK and Yahoo! Lifestyle
TENCEL™ Bespoke Look for actress Nicola Coughlan Revealed at Barbie Premiere
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WHITEHAIR.CO was integral in working with TENCEL™ to collaborate with actress Nicola Coughlan and her trusted stylist, Aimee Croysdill to create a unique custom-made gown crafted by New York based designer Wiederhoeft.
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Crafted using fabrics exclusively made from TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibres and TENCEL™ LUXE filament yarns, embellished with Swarovski crystals, the bespoke red-carpet look championed eco-couture in a partnership that celebrates the next generation of designers embracing sustainable materials and environmentally conscious practices. Using the red carpet as a platform to give sustainable materials a greater representation.
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Bridging the divide between sustainability and high-end couture on the red carpet, the collaboration aimed to raise awareness and drive positive conversations around sustainability, championing diverse representations of beauty and style.
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Coverage included an exclusive piece with Vogue.co.uk, and features in DailyMail, The Telegraph, and Glamour,to name but a few.
TENCEL™ & Ambassador Amy Powney Spotlight Next Generation Design Competition: “Fashion Reimagined”- ‘Any Tree, Any Idea Goes’
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TENCEL™, alongside brand ambassador Amy Powney, Creative Director of Mother of Pearl, revealed the 5 finalists of the design competition ‘Fashion Reimagined’, which was showcased as part of the ‘Best of GFW’ Catwalk at Graduate Fashion Week, the largest showcase of BA Fashion talent in the world.
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TENCEL™ partnered with the Graduate Fashion Foundation throughout the academic year, TENCEL™ and brand ambassador Amy Powney, challenged the GFW member university designer network by setting the tree-inspired design competition entitled ‘Fashion Reimagined’, after the powerful documentary that charts Amy’s mission to make a truly sustainable brand.
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The brief’s subject ‘Any Tree, Any Idea Goes’, chosen as the botanic origins of TENCEL™, was to look into trees in any and every way, finding inspiration simply in the way they look, to conceptual ideas from their relationship to the mycelium network, whilst encouraging designers to think about circularity as much as supply chain and design - full brief here.
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Amy Powney and TENCEL™ selected five student designers for their representations of key design pillars spotlighting: Technology and Innovation, Zero Waste, Functionality, Circularity and Body Positivity.
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In support of collaboration and respect for supply chains and inclusivity, the designs were then crafted and manufactured by The Prince’s Foundation at Dumfries House in Scotland, as part of their Future Textiles Programme.
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Graduates from their Modern Artisan and Batch Production Skills Programmes worked in partnership with the designers to mirror the industry processes and through remote communication, developed each garment from flat design to 3D, bringing their garments to life using fabrics solely made from TENCEL™ fibres.
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The finished looks were styled with Camper boots on the catwalk, also made using TENCEL™ fibres.
TENCEL™ Supports The King’s Foundation ‘Sustainability in Fashion’ Conference
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The King’s Foundation and Fashion Council Germany hosted the annual International ‘Sustainability in Fashion Conference’ held at Dumfries House, during the week of His Majesty King Charles III’s 75th birthday in recognition of his well-documented commitment to responsible fashion.
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The annual conference results from an ongoing collaboration between The King’s Foundation, formerly The Prince’s Foundation, and Fashion Council Germany, which aims to educate and inspire school pupils, industry professionals and young makers and designers.
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WHITEHAIR.CO managed the collaboration with Fashion Council Germany, as part of The King’s Foundation's Future Textiles initiative. Hosting a trip for a group of key industry figures to participate in the panel talks, including Emily Chan and representatives from One Granary. This activation helped build and strengthen relationships with key industry figures, while offering an opportunity to educate them on TENCEL™’s positive influence on the British textiles industry.
TENCEL™ Luxe X OSMAN YOUSEFZADA
WHITEHAIR.CO spearheaded TENCEL™ Luxe’s collaboration with OSMAN YOUSEFZADA for his SS22 showcase, ‘A journey into biodegradability’ (of fabrics) - providing sponsorship and fabrics for the collection and culminating with a fashion show held in Berkeley Square restaurant and club, Amazonica.
WHITEHAIR.CO was tasked with project managing the collaboration to maximise and amplify all comms around TENCEL™ Luxe’s involvement within the collection, helping to make industry introductions to develop further brand relations and partnerships into 2022.
As a result of its efforts, the WHITEHAIR.CO team secured:
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100+ credits to TENCEL™️ Luxe (online & print media)
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37+ IG mentions of TENCEL™️ Luxe / tags to @tencel_europe
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A total IG reach of 33.5 Million+
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A total PR Reach of 1.3 Billion+
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An average PR AVE of USD$20M+
“Incredible to have pulled all these elements together: TENCEL™️ Luxe, Osman, One Tree Planted, and Amazonico. All looks so seamless!” - Samantha Conti, WWD, London Bureau Chief.
INFLUENCERS & AMBASSADORS
WHITEHAIR.CO provided consultancy and advice to the TENCEL™ team to offer suitable long-term UK ambassador and influencer collaborations, considering the respective audiences, messaging, approach and values.
WHITEHAIR.CO negotiate all influencer-integrated content to support key campaigns and further educate a diverse mix of highly engaged and influential communities, which support and feature TENCEL™ brand partners, including Ninety Percent, Mother of Pearl, UGG, and Stripe & Stare.
WHITEHAIR.CO forged and strengthened relationships with key ambassadors to cultivate their communities. Working to craft a narrative that supports content creation at critical key moments and projects across the year, working closely with key brand partners.
Testimonials
WHITEHAIR.CO offered invaluable support, developing a strategic comms approach to position the brand, establishing strong engagement and relationships within the UK market across b2b and b2c media, whilst refining key industry partnerships and collaborations
Eva Mcgeorge, Head of marketing & communications - LENZING (TENCEL™)
WHITEHAIR.CO and especially our account director Liz helped us to position our brand in the UK market and to build great partnerships within the fashion industry. Liz is a well-connected and structured communication expert, working with her is trustful, fun and overall a real pleasure.
Manuela Gesslbauer, Marketing Manager - LENZING (TENCEL™)