Skip to content

O’ave

Combining sustainability and fashion – that is the goal of the start-up label O’ave. With activewear made of sustainable fabrics, for example from fishing nets and brown algae, the founders Pia Steffens and Sören Romboy want to set a signal against the throwaway trend of the fast fashion industry and contribute to keeping the oceans clean.

The founding duo set our 5th semester Brand Management the task of increasing the awareness of the northern German, locally producing label nationally and internationally with a roll-out and communication strategy that matches the brand essence.

Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Jörg Igelbrink, the students took on the challenge of developing strategies and campaign approaches for more reach, taking into account the limited resources of a young start-up, in their final practical project.

In the first step of the project, they analysed the target group, the market and the competition and conducted a focus group interview to gain in-depth insights into the target group.

Pia Steffens, Managing Director of O’ave, was already enthusiastic about the first results of the interim presentation: “We directly derived to-do’s because there were many exciting approaches. Now we are even more curious about the ideas for practical measures that await us at the final presentation!”

The final presentation took place virtually, just like the briefing and the interim presentation. The students also demonstrated professional presentation skills in the digital space.

Based on consistent analyses, three teams presented three different strategic routes for positioning based on the Brand Key Model. They set different psychological and economic goals for increasing awareness and sales and presented creative campaign approaches for communication.

In doing so, they made practical suggestions, for example for guerrilla marketing campaigns, influencer cooperations and events on the topic of sustainability. The students backed these up with emotional and inspiring core messages in order to clearly communicate O’ave’s purpose and product.

The founding duo was very pleased with the outcome: “We would like to thank the students for this great collaboration and the opportunity to develop new approaches and receive new impulses for thought. We wish them all the best and much continued success in their studies.”

We would also like to thank Pia Steffens and Sören Romboy for their cooperation. This practical project offered our students the chance to apply their knowledge from five semesters in a focused way to a young company – a special pleasure when the client is committed to saving the oceans and promoting a sustainable lifestyle!

Key Facts

  • Module: Practice Project
  • Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Jörg Igelbrink
  • Semester: 5th Semester Brand Management

Research Method

  • Focus group interview
  • Development of brand positioning and corresponding strategic approaches
  • Concept creation and campaign approaches

Partner