Partners & Spade on Acting Small

Partners & Spade on Acting Small

On April 9,  PSFK held a Conference in New York that hosted 20 speakers who shared their ideas and thoughts on how to make tomorrow better in the world of art and advertising.  With topics such as Storytelling, Creative Refocus, Changemaking, and Disrupture, the conference appeared to have been a dream come true for those of us with marketing aspirations but with a ticket price of $350, it squarely put attendance out of reach for the masses. Fortunately, PSFK has made Andy Spade & Anthony Speduti of Partner & Spade presentation available for viewing and it is truly inspiring.

Partners & Spade created a compelling story around J. Crew’s men’s line by thinking small: they bought up the space formerly owned by the classic Liquor Store Bar in Tribeca and transformed it into a one-of-a-kind J. Crew Men’s Store, stocked with fine apparel, accoutrements, and even some carefully curate d artwork by NY artists. The store looks, feels, and acts like a true men’s boutique – a genuinely distinct experience created by presenting J. Crew not as a behemoth global brand, but as a company in touch with the local culture of the city, its tastes and its heritage. -PSFK

3 Steps on how to change the perception of your big company (See J.Crew):

1) By acting small, a large brand garners the attention of independent thinkers and influencers in the media
2) By acting small, we enable employees to take ownership and act on their own intuition
3) By acting small, we change consumer perception and appeal to a new demographic...Because no one likes big. 

“Everything communicates.” Spade and Sperduti stressed the importance of authenticity – not in a singular piece or moment, but across the entire store/brand experience. Every element of the Liquor Store, from the old-fashioned attire of the store-tenders to the shop’s selection of books from The Strand, serves as a perfect complement to the store’s overall aesthetic and identity.