we.you.this

Asphalte

The Brief

In 2020, the French sustainable pre-order menswear brand Asphalte approached us to launch their first international market: The UK. They pioneered not just a new way of producing fashion, but also a distinctive French tone-of-voice that managed to attract an impressive cult following in a very short time. The objective was to replicate that success in a new market. This came with an obvious challenge: To get across the brand’s personality through a lively sense of humour, sharp cultural references, and a conversational tone without reinventing or changing that personality. The second challenge was to scale up production of all written copy and to manage all English touchpoints including the launch of an international Instagram account without sacrificing quality. And if successful, do the same for Germany. Which we did.

The Work

Asphalte does things differently than other fashion brands. Starting with how they produce their clothing and ending with their copy-heavy communication. Right from the start, their relatable, causal voice and peer-to-peer tone needed to come through at every touchpoint. It had to feel like someone you knew and liked spending time with. A passionate group of outliers trying to change the way the fashion industry works. Not a conventional fashion brand. Our deep understanding of French, UK and German popular culture allowed us to quickly define the local customer and create an equivalent way of talking to them. Same brand feel, same message, different references and way of talking. And we made sure that this was felt across all - however big or small - touchpoints: website, blog posts, newsletters, social captions, ads, competitions, voiceovers, terms and conditions, buttons, disclaimers, and more.

Editorial Articles

Everything starts with an article that introduces a new product and creates curiosity and excitement. This happens through a narrative with a clear idea that unfolds first through the article and then waves itself through the product page, newsletters, voice overs for the accompanying videos, and everything else related.

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However, that idea might not work well from locale to locale, so we dig deep to find an equivalent idea with poignant cultural relevance we can weave into our communication, sometimes resulting in different lengths when we believe that a certain story presents a better angle, and even taking the liberty to propose a complete new narrative, when it feels more natural and organic.

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Product Copy

Asphalte rethought the classic product description to create something that would leave no question unanswered. Every detail is explained with the same love and attention that went into its deign and production. Although more technical than other communication, product descriptions still reflect the overarching story that accompanies every launch.

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Videos

To best showcase the product, brand identity and product story, most launches are accompanied by a video. We develop each script to a specific length to minimise editing between languages, and direct and professionally record the voice actors.

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CRM

See the newsletter notification pop up, open it right away and read. That’s of course the goal of every newsletter but it's not always that simple. Top of mind for us is always the intricate relation between the product and the reader. We always include contemporary references and nods to pop cultural to catch the reader's eye, make them smile and curious enough to follow through for more.

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Instagram

With a personality as distinctive as Asphalte’s, it was out of question to simply mirror the French account to address the growing non-French speaking customer base. We have been responsable for curation, caption writing, engagement and community management from when the account was first launch up until today.

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Campaigns

To break into a new market with a small budget and non traditional approach to fashion is not an easy undertaking. To kick off the process, we created a set of ads that did what we do best: celebrate the uniqueness of language. By connecting untranslatable unique German words to the uniqueness of Asphalte’s process, we managed to break down their mission for a mainstream platform.

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