The challenge was to turn a bad product idea into a marketable product for Chuck Eesley's Stanford venture lab online course. Thus was born the BeOriginal! stockings brand. (Note. conversion into slideshare format turns into ! into '). The original idea was set to set up partnerships with outlets to recycle used stockings and to market new laddered stockings. This idea was hip on the catwalks in 2008 - 2010. We took a more lean startup approach that could in principle be implemented in anybody’s kitchen, reduces risk exposure by relying on existing infrastructure, such as mail-order, and developed an approach for a trendy, avantgarde concept! The marketing concept is based on the observation that laddered and / or torn stockings still percolate through the alternative, artsy scene. Thus we took as starting point for developing the marketing campaign.

1. BEORIGINAL!
AVANTGARDE LADDER
STOCKINGS
Let‘s create your avantgarde stockings!

2. BEORIGINAL! CONCEPT
 fashionable, environmentally friendly avantgarde product
 alternative ‘chic’ for young women
 grass roots diffusion through alternative, artist and actor milieus
 move to co-creation approach in later stages

3. HOSIERY MARKET
 Western Europe: 1.63 bn pairs / year with 3.75bn USD retail revenue
 Wordwide lingerie market to grow to US$33.57bn USD by 2014 - a
rise of 12.2% over 2007
 Market in decline and overcrowded – asks for disruption in ‘niche’
markets: environmental friendly avantgarde BeOriginal! products
 Europe and North America comprise 65% of total market
 Asian-Pacific region to grow fastet

4. BEORIGINAL! MARKETING
 marketing based on grass roots diffusion of women observing other
cool, ‘in’, women to wear our trendy stockings in trendy, avantgarde
settings
 initial, focused marketing targets trend setters from alternative, artists
and actors milieus to reach out to wider audience based on multiplication
effect of artists and actors milieu
 artists / actors / students are enticed to wear free samples of our
stockings to get the trend rolling

5. BEORIGINAL! MARKETING
 In-your-face, below-the-line marketing campaign on product
packaging and ads in stylish, trendy party locations showing product
with in funny, unconventional situations
 BeOriginal! Be Different!
 BeOriginal! Show your Style!
 BeOriginal! Rock your World!

6. BEORIGINAL! PRODUCTION
 reutilization of used stockings saves on environmental impact in
production and destruction of stockings in waste
 integrated cleaning and production of torn stockings in one
process involving cleaning and 'production' of ladders
 chemical ingredient in stockings cleaning used to change color of
stockings in individual, irregularly washed style
 production initially based on ‘hand made’ production

7. DISTRIBUTION
 mail-in system for collection of used stockings and
 mail-order distribution for finished product to customers
 partnerships with stocking outlets for later stages

8. BEORIGINAL!
Let‘s create your avantgarde stockings!