4 Inspiring Brand Story Insights We Can Learn From Oxwhite

“There is a big demand for white shirts, because white shirts are consumable. It’s a staple in every man’s wardrobe”. That was one of the things CK Chang, founder of Oxwhite, said to Brand360. We had the chance to talk to him about his brand story and how he managed to sell 10,000 Oxwhite shirts through an online campaign.

CK believes that something as essential as a shirt should not have to cost so much. With more than 10 years of experience in traditional offline retailing, he started Oxwhite with a vision to change how the common man consume clothes. This vision, for the young brand, currently comes in the form of a white shirt.

Despite their current milestone, things didn’t start off well for Oxwhite. They had developed a cool new white shirt, with interesting benefits and features including the use of Supima cotton, one of the world’s top cotton brand. But it does not seem to be selling. The product was not received positively by the target audience. CK told us about how it was rather a challenge to solve the problem of their low reception and brand awareness at the first stage of their business.

Then, he and his team realised the solution was to tell people of their brand story.

What is a brand story? A brand story is a consistent set of messages that make sense of your brand personality, purpose, brand positioning and target audience. It is the humane connection that presents your brand strategy in a more practical and understandable way to your customers.

Oxwhite’s Brand Story Elements

Oxwhite has other branding and marketing strategy which heavily involves emails, social media advertisements and referrals. One of their main branding activity is the telling of their brand story. We identified 4 main elements that make up their compelling narrative:

1. A journey towards perfection
   CK loves to talk about his brand journey and how he took the path less taken to be different and inspire change in the dress-shirt industry. Oxwhite’s journey is one that marries European workmanship with Asian tailoring, said CK. He told us that his journey had so far taken him 2 years to create the perfect white shirt, which he spent finding and partnering with world-class suppliers and producers.
2. A reconnection towards the people
   Oxwhite values its customers, said CK. In whatever they do, they base their decisions on what customers request. This is evident through the multiple surveys and feedback queries that Oxwhite uses to get customer data. The brand also has a friendly tone of voice. This can be seen through their social media where customers’ comments and questions are addressed. This friendly and attentive personality is also reflected in their returns policy, which is meant to give customers more time to exchange for a new shirt should they bought the wrong size.
3. An improvement in the quality of life
   One intrinsic value that is woven inside Oxwhite’s brand story is to be affordable and accessible. The reason for Oxwhite was when the founder saw a gap between good Asian fitting and high-quality material, aside from being friendly to the wallet. Therefore, in their brand story, Oxwhite tells of the quest to answer the customer’s pain points and improve their lives for less. Their story is relatable to the target audience, who are Asians working in white-collar jobs.
4. A bringer of change in retailing
   In Oxwhite’s brand story, there is a rebellious tone of voice against traditional retailing. The brand plans to disrupt the shirt market through their pre-order model, an integral part of their brand story and highlighted in other communication forms too.According to CK, the pre-order business model was their solution to problems in the current status quo; high markup prices, excess inventory, wastage and other unnecessary costs that had to be borne by the customers. Oxwhite wants to change that and revolutionise how we buy our clothes.

The Story of Oxwhite Continues

“When you flipped it around and talked about your personal journey and why you’re doing this, and the story behind the brand, that’s where you attracted people’s attention,” said Julia, referring to the change Oxwhite and CK experienced after their brand story was told.

With their brand story, Oxwhite had better reception and improved their brand awareness. People started to be interested in their narration that involves all these 4 elements. And with a great brand story, Oxwhite then marketed their one product with all the benefits and features. Combined with their effective online campaign, the rest was history.

Oxwhite’s story had more chapters to cover. The brand has ideas for trousers, socks and even female garments in the future. But the one thing should remain is Oxwhite’s brand story to champion the people and make everyday luxuries available to everyone. We thanked CK again for his brilliant insights and a great example of how a brand story can help build a business.