1. 21.05. Mall
Serdika 1st floor
The Event is The Product
Bershka Club Launch Event in Sofia
Designed by Teodora Kostadinova for Special Events Communication/NBU 25/04/10
According to Wikipedia:
“Bershka is a company belonging to the Spanish Inditex group (owner of Zara), that was
created in April 1998 as a new store and fashion concept, aimed at a young target market. It
now has 508 stores in 36 countries…”
This year the brand decided to enter the very potential Eastern- European market starting
with the Bulgarian capital Sofia. Additional factor fostering the new entry is the latest
fashion mall in the Bulgarian capital officially opened in March to host more than 20 new
brands.
The first clothing store of Bershka will be opened there on the 21th of May. Since the brand
is relatively new and unfamiliar to the local market, the company needs to organize a special
event launching the new shop that will also promote the original product.
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 1

2. This project proposal is aimed to develop and design a special event for the opening of
Bershka Club in Serdika Mall with the long-term objective to create a stabile brand
awareness and loyal customer segment in Bulgaria among their traditionally under 30 target.
Bershka is a fashion leader that targets these new and increasingly demanding consumers.
Research
Market research
Even that, there is no sufficient data on Bulgarian apparel market, it is relatively clear
that it is most concentrated in the capital and it is getting bigger with many potential clients
and comparatively less choice for brands than in Western Europe. With the opening of
several big city malls in Sofia many western European brands saw a good opportunity to
enter the new market and to foster their sales in times of crisis.
Its clothing prices are generally at the mall’s lower end and range from BGN 20 for T-
shirts and run up to BGN 150 at the top end, putting it a notch or two below the offer from
sister Inditex fashion brand “Pull and Bear”, further along the shopping mall.
Why Bershka Club Launch?
Even with high competitive environment, a new brand like Bershka is expected to be
successful in this market since it offers a new variety of fashion appeal for the very fashion-
conscious Bulgarian youngsters. Crucial for this success is to create long-lasting awareness
and brand loyalty among target groups. For this objective is highly recommended that
Bershka organizes a special event to promote itself. The feeling that will remain afterward
has to be energetic, entertaining, and consistent with the feeling of the brand.
Bershka Club Launch for who?
Potential customers, journalists, fashion bloggers and most of all young people from
high school and university are the target group of the event. The relatively cheap prices of
Bershka combined with the latest fashion design make it very attractive for these publics,
who are characterized with more free time and less revenues. All the contractors involved
have to be consistent and informed with the overall message of the event, which is that the
brand is fresh, affordable and must have for fashion seekers.
When will be Bershka Club Launch?
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 2

3. Naturally the event will coincide with the opening of the first Bulgarian Bershka shop in the
Serdica mall on 21 May, Friday at 19h. Since the working time of the big mall is extended till
22h we have to possibility to use the late hours for the opening event which has to bring the
feeling like attending a night club – with the appropriate lights, DJ, celebrities, nice dressed
models and a club design, providing a obvious contrast with the white interior design of the
mall.
The Event is the product
The event will create the ambience of a nightclub in the shop and this atmosphere has to
create a lasting memory and feeling of a cool place among the potential young customers.
Furthermore they are expected to spread the word of mouth around their friends and to
build a community of brand-lovers for Bershka.
The store has to become a kind of a dance floor during the event and definitely the place to
be for fashion seekers. This will be not the next big opening of a fashion shop in the mall
attacking with aggressive commercials and cheap and useless take-aways.
SWOT analysis
strengths weaknesses
- Strong funding - Poorly trained staff
- Good media relations - Heavy rivals –other shops opening in
- Developed web-site of the brand the mall – Zara, etc.
in Europe - Unfavorable economical situation
- Strong brand identity in Europe
- Big young clothing market in Sofia
opportunities threats
- Celebrity appearance - Celebrity canceling or not attending
- Tie-in with media - Other special events in the mall can
- Developing loyal customers take the attention of the public
- Word of mouth spread - Poor attendance and early leaving
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 3

4. Design
Instead of assuming that a bunch of 30 somethings sitting in an office know how
students want to be communicated to, our alternative strategy is to use their preferred
environment to generate their own content. If we come to them with a retail event, we’d be
just another clothing company telling them what to do.
The difficult question is, “How do we break through with consumers who are used to a
certain grouping of brands and introduce a new brand into that arena?”
This generation has a lot of brands targeting them and is pretty jaded when it comes
to traditional advertising.
EVENT AT A GLANCE
A favorable factor is that they talk to each
other, and they make a lot of buying decisions Objective: Create brand awareness and
based on what their peers are wearing. That is loyal community of customers from
why the Bershka Club seeks a way to connect with apparel-industry trade show
them on a level that is more emotional. The only
way to do that is to get in front of them with a Strategy: Launch a fashion show to
face-to face event and communicate its values not focus attention on Bershka products
from a commercial aspect, but through a voice-of- and promote modern and urban
brand approach built around a subject that they lifestyle. Capitalize on the celebrity
club appeal and energy of the brands.
care about.
Tactics: Create an immersive
And of course Bulgarian teenagers today
excitement that allows buyers to
are not very different from their peers from the experience the attractive brand
rest of Europe, they fancy fashion, they respect messages through live performance,
being cool and like to go to night clubs, where celebrity appearances, and club-like
eventually celebrities can be met. events.
So that’s why a celebrity will be the host of the
Bershka Club Launch event. This has to be
someone famous and liked among young
consumers and in the same time consistent with
the brand identity, like for example the Bulgarian singer Rushi Vidinliev. He will be contacted
well in advance and asked to take part in the event. In case he is not available or refuses,
other celebrity choices can be other famous singer, male or female.
Like every promotional event there will be branded gifts for free like bags and hats.
Hence, purposefully this won’t be mentioned in the flyers and advertisements to avoid
people outside the target coming only for the take-aways, which is not the point.
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 4

5. Then, through a traditional print and PR campaign, we will drive traffic to a custom
built microsite where a full description of the campaign, a discussion forum, and invitation
applications and forms will be housed.
Finally, a series of billboards and magazine advertising will be designed to bring the
message directly to students. Respectively they will be placed in around main school and
university areas, the city center and in fashion and lifestyle magazines with mainly young
readers (e.g. MODA, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, INTRO, Go). Paid publications can be also
published where possible.
One radio advert will be recorded especially for radio Nova, which is famous among
this specific target for the music and famous DJ’s shows. A lot of awareness is expected to be
gained through it, so it has to be regularly one week prior to the event.
Invitations fliers will be distributed in Serdica mall, the city center and University
areas.
Viral marketing
Young people in Bulgaria are also online generation. Many are expected to tap into
their MySpace ,facebook and twitter accounts to launch micro viral campaigns that will
generate a big amount of awareness and attendance. They can do so when sharing the
posted event from Bershka club fan page in the social networks.
Bloggers who are specially focused on fashion topics have to be identified and
contacted in advance. They will be the professional opinion-leaders who have to attend and
assess the event. Personal invitations have to be designed and distributed to them.
Social media will be also used for pretesting of the event design. Posts, which will
generate potential viewers’ feedback, will be pictures from the store, the DJ set, regular
updates with celebrities’ attendance and others.
50 people or fewer might show up physically for the event, but hundreds more will
be touched indirectly through Facebook and MySpace, Twitter and all of the grassroots
networking.
Bershka Club Five Senses experience
In order to create a memorable event we will try to involve as much senses as we
can. The atmosphere has to remind a dark and ultra-modern night club. In this case the
normal lighting in the store, which is quite dark, won’t be enough. Additional colorful
projectors have to be installed. Of course the general idea comes from the brand identity
and the store design itself that is made to look like a clubbing spot. The interior design is
conceived to give maximum prominence to the fashion display. The layout, music, lighting,
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 5

6. furniture, wall-prints and materials used are carefully conceived from the decoration team
to offer the greatest freedom to the customers.
Like in every other night bar there will be music and there will be a DJ that is famous
and liked among young Bulgarian clubbing scene. The music in Bershka club store is
traditionally laud and similar to what is listen in nightclubs, so the DJ will not need long
briefing about he has to play during the party. The center of the shop will be lighted with
projectors and will create the illusion for a dance floor. Models dressed in Bershka clothes
will walk around and dance. The atmosphere has to be informal and friendly, while
attendees will straw around shop latest cloths.
One professional photographer from online based party photos agency (tillate.com)
will be hired to take pictures of attendees and create an online report of the event, that later
will be posted on the fan page in facebook. It will be negotiated with them all the pictures to
be branded with Bershka logo.
The visual part will be stimulated additionally with the 3D technique used to garment
printing in the collection for boys like the ones in the picture below. To see the difference
customers will have to get glasses with lens in each colour for free.
Regarding the catering no food and drinks will be served since the expected age of attendees
will be under 18.
Planning
The event will start 19:15 with 15 minutes delay after the announced time to allow
more people to gather together for the beginning.
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 6

7. Timing prior to the event
Campaign April May
Website update 01.04 must be online Regularly updated
In Bulgarian
Social media From 12.04. Regularly updated
Campaign/ pretesting
regularly
(facebook, twitter)
Invitations flyers 01.04. Ordered in ads agency From 10.05 distributed
distribution
Radio ad 01.04. ordered in ads agency / radio From 01.05 regularly on air
Nova contacting
Magazines ads/ 01.04. ordered in ads agency/ From 01. May in every weekend issue; at least
billboards magazines PR departments two promotional texts
contacting
DJ booking/ Contacted and booked from 05.04 Confirm attendance – 03. May
Photographer agency
Models agency 05.04. contacting and giving exact 03. May - final selection of models
contacting number and preferences of models 17.May – in store rehearsal, Bershka stylists
decide clothes order
Lights 05. May ordered, 21. May installed
Celebrities contacting 01.04 – 05.04 03.May – confirm
17. May 18:30h – in store rehearsal
Timing during the event
Time
19:00- 19: 15 Waiting for the guests to arrive, laud music and gifts distribution,
19:15 h – 19:35h lights go darker, celebrity guest makes short introduction, fashion show starts
19:40h - Fashion show ends, models melt with the guests, people start walking around the rows, laud
music
20h – 20:30 Promotion girls start giving away free gifts and discount vouchers, photographers go around
and make pictures of the guests with Bershka clothes, laud music
20:30 Celebrity closes the show and invites guests to stay till the closure at 22h, DJ stays till then
and plays music
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 7

8. Evaluation
The evaluation of the Bershka Club Launch Event will
start well ahead of the actual event.
Pre-testing posts will be published on the fan-pages in
facebook and twitter, as well as in the website. These
include new collection pictures, DJ guest update,
celebrity host update; musical sets from the DJ; free
gifts announcement; final remind in the date of the
event, as well as after-party summary and pictures
from the event.
Feedbacks, membership’s ratio and sharing of
content will be included in the final evaluation.
No evaluation surveys will be distributed on the
event.
They will be sent online afterward to the members of
Bershka fan page in facebook. The survey template
will be a mixture between ‘thank you for attending’
note and a short questionnaire. This will be sent only
to visitors who indicated that will attend.
Questions will include multiple choice answers like
following:
1. Did you enjoy attending Bershka Club opening
party?
Not at all very much
1 2 3 4 5
2. Do you like Bershka clothing and style?
Not at all very much
3. Will you visit the shop in the future?
Not at all definitely
4. Will you buy something from Bershka Club?
Never definitely
Berska Club Launch/Sofia 8