Erdos Cashmere engages Ogilvy to launch new brands

BEIJING - Erdos Cashmere Group, with Ogilvy & Mather, has relaunched its Erdos brand and launched a new brand, Erdos 1980.

Tapping into China's growing middle class, the overall branding marries nature and aesthetics while emphasising timeless appeal.

“As middle-class consumption habits change, many traditional Chinese brands are faced with the challenge of adapting to diverse new tastes and the emergence of new young consumer groups,” said Sandy Ng, managing director of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Beijing.

The agency has launched two campaigns for the brands, while Brand Union, a WPP group company, was responsible for the visual identities.

In a nod to the company's Inner Mongolian roots, the brand story video (below) showcases swaths of sweeping landscape. Chinese supermodel Liu Wen appears near the end to speak about the alluring comfort of cashmere and the warm feelings it evokes. 

"The brand story and the modern brand visual communications bring it to life, maintaining the hallmark of being a premium-quality cashmere brand," said Ng. "The balance between modernisation and heritage makes it possible for a home-grown brand to retain core consumers while winning over the younger generation."

For a brand that is steeped in tradition, what Erdos wants to achieve with its two new labels is to make shopping for cashmere an all-year affair, rather than during the fall/winter season only.

Dai Tana, executive deputy general manager of Erdos Clothing Company said a clear definition of the brand is crucial to help Erdos reach out to a range of different consumers in the future.

“Working with Ogilvy & Mather, we want to use fashion to bring cashmere into a new era, letting consumers enjoy a range of new experiences and surprises,” said Dai.

Founded in 1980 (hence the "Erdos 1980" namesake), Erdos was one of the first major brands emerging from China's economic reform in 1979. The group is building on its "made-in-China" branding and eyeing an increased global presence.

Ng from Ogilvy & Mather said "made-in-China" has been on the rise in the global fashion arena for a number of years.

"Both designer labels and big China fashion houses have started to present themselves at the four main fashion weeks and fashion critics have become more and more open and accepting of them," she said. "It's a great time for Erdos to revitalise its branding. I'm very confident that in near future, Chinese brands will grow into a power force in fashion just as Italian and French brands have done. It's just a matter of time."