Marketing Communication Plan of MyBody - Assignment Example

?Table of Contents Executive Summary ………………………………………………………………2 Introduction to Project ............................................................................................4 Summary of Strategy and Aims of My Body …………………………….4 MyBody Competitive and Brand Positioning ……………………………4 Assumptions ……………………………………………………………..6 Marketing and Strategic Objectives for 2011 ……………………………6 Segmentation – Target Markets ………………………………………………….7 Target Characteristics ……………………………………………………………8 Marketing Messages by Segment ………………………………………………..9 Marketing Campaign for Baby Boomers ………………………………..9 Marketing Campaign for Gen Xers …………………………………….10 Agency Brief ……………………………………………………………11 Channel and Media Choice with Indicative Costs ……………………………..12 Indicative Timings ………………………………………………………………12 Internal Communications Plan ………………………………………………….13 Qualitative and Quantitative Measures of Success ……………………………..13 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………15 Executive Summary Introduction MyBody is a growing force in high street premium beauty retail. With a network of 40 stores and growth plans over the next 18 months for a future of 20 more stores, this young and dynamic company is beginning to make its presence known. The purpose of this report is to provide a marketing communication plan for MyBody to show how it will continue to be sustainable in the future. Summary of Strategy and Aims of My Body We would like to create a strong market presence that will include our retail outlets and a stronger marketing presence on the Internet. We currently have 10% of our market and we would like to increase it to 20% which we believe can be done if we add the ability for people to order online. We believe that we can do this within the next 18 months if we add services to our website and if we increase our marketing efforts. MyBody Competitive and Brand Positioning Our biggest competitors are Penhaligens, PureBody and Boots. MyBody would be somewhere in the middle of these products because our Unique Selling Proposition would be that we are exclusively selling products for the body to make the skin healthier and the body more supple. We would expect that people who were concerned about their bodies would make a special effort to go to an expert in this field. We would be an expert because we offer these products exclusively and we do not offer other types of products like cosmetics, fragrances, or candles. Marketing and Strategic Objectives for 2011 The following marketing and strategic objectives are recommendations for 2011: 1. Create a stronger online presence using social networking to help existing and future customers know about our products. 2. To educate customers about the products they use and their affects on the body. 3. To promote the website online and in the local stores and encourage customers to order online. 4. To promote MyBody using FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIN as sources for social networking support. 5. To create a series of articles about skincare for various trade magazines online and offline. Target Markets and Characteristics Our target markets are women who are baby boomers and who use the Internet and Generation Xers. Both of these have different characteristics that we must be aware of as we are marketing. As an example, Boomers are more interested in staying young and beautiful. Gen Xers want to feel that they are in control. Marketing Communication Plan for My Body Introduction MyBody is a growing force in high street premium beauty retail. With a network of 40 stores and growth plans over the next 18 months for a future of 20 more stores, this young and dynamic company is beginning to make its presence known. The purpose of this report is to provide a marketing communication plan for MyBody to show how it will continue to be sustainable in the future. Summary of Strategy and Aims of MyBody According to Verdict Consulting, health and beauty is the “fastest growing retail sector” (1). They state that in 2007, 5.5% of all UK retail was in health and beauty. By 2012, skincare alone is predicted to grow to 40.5% of the market. Because MyBody’s major products include wrinkle creams, body lotions, skin toners and body cleansers, we are slated to be in the forefront of this market. In fact, our forecasters have predicted that we will be able to capture 20% of the market. We would like to create a strong market presence that will include our retail outlets and a stronger marketing presence on the Internet. We currently have 10% of our market and we would like to increase it to 20% which we believe can be done if we add the ability for people to order online. We believe that we can do this within the next 18 months if we add services to our website and if we increase our marketing efforts. MyBody Competitive and Brand Positioning There are a variety of businesses on the Internet that offer the ability for customers to look at their products and order online, which means that MyBody will be in competition with a variety of businesses. Of those there are a few competitors worth mentioning. Penhaligon’s of London (http://www.penhaligons.com/shop/home.html) may be a competitor but they are an upscale and more costly than MyBody. They cater to men and women and they specialize in fragrances with some body oils and skincare products. They have a multitude of things to sell so customers can choose from a large variety. MyBody offers a smaller amount of products that are geared exclusively to the bath and body products which would set them apart as an expert in this area. Another competitor online is PureBeauty (http://purebeauty.co.uk/) because they have a few products in this category. However, they seem to only have products that support their magazine, “Pure Beauty” which is geared towards retailers. This website may be a small competitor because they are not selling to the general public. Another competitor would be Molten Brown, a skincare company that seems to cater to men more so than women. They have more advertising towards men on their homepage. They also offer a variety of products from fragrances and body products to candles. Boots is also likely to be a competitor because a Mintel study showed that more people are beginning to purchase their beauty supplies at Boots. One incentive that Boots has given is the “advantage loyalty card” which has brought 2 million net new customers to them (Mintel 2011). They are a retail outlet that sells a variety of things, but their prices are such that the average person can afford them. Their website also offers a lot of information as well as several products. With these competitors, MyBody would be somewhere in the middle of these products because our Unique Selling Proposition would be that we are exclusively selling products for the body to make the skin healthier and the body more supple. We would expect that people who were concerned about their bodies would make a special effort to go to an expert in this field. We would be an expert because we offer these products exclusively and we do not offer other types of products like cosmetics, fragrances, or candles. Assumptions We are assuming that we will stand out in the crowd of other beauty products because we exclusively sell products for body health. Many people are focused on looking their best especially as they age. We would think that a large segment of our customers will be baby boomers who are aging and who want to make sure that their skin stays in the best shape as possible. A secondary market will be those customers who are younger than the baby boomers but who are going to be aging soon. Another assumption is that they will want our products because we will help them make decisions based on our expertise and knowledge of the industry. Marketing and Strategic Objectives for 2011 The following marketing and strategic objectives are recommendations for 2011: 6. Create a stronger online presence using social networking to help existing and future customers know about our products. 7. To educate customers about the products they use and their affects on the body. 8. To promote the website online and in the local stores and encourage customers to order online. 9. To promote MyBody using FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIN as sources for social networking support. 10. To create a series of articles about skincare for various trade magazines online and offline. Segmentation – Target Markets According to Mintel the future of beauty retail shows that consumers are spending more money on body products and the genuine beauty experts are generally small businesses. Consumers have begun to watch their money when spending on general beauty products, but they have been spending more on the exclusive, luxury products – in fact, these have increased in their demand through 2011. Although many consumers are purchasing their beauty products at retail stores like Boots, about a third of the market is paying more for fragrances and 23% are still purchasing good quality skin care products. According to Punchard baby boomers and the category of Gen Xers are two markets that are continuing to purchase products. In order for MyBody to be competitive in this arena, they need to take into consideration the needs of their target market. The segment of the market we recommend include the baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) who are ageing and the Gen Xers. The reason these two categories are chosen is because they are the categories that have a large amount of people purchasing products. Particularly interesting is that female baby boomers are “more financially empowered than any previous generation of women” (She Company, 2011). Those consumers who purchase luxury items are most interested in finding a way to preserve memories or they want a product that they can see is superior to other products and they are very discerning. Our target market here will be women 50 and over who have incomes of $75,000 or more, and those who use the Internet regularly for purchasing products. It should also be noted that 22% of women in this category use the Internet regularly for purchases and 92% pass along information to their friends and family about deals and superior quality products (She Company, 2011). The Gen Xers, born 1965 to 1976 are a bit different in their spending habits than the baby boomers. Generation X grew up with electronics as a foundation for their work and they are used to computers and all types of electronic devices. They want to feel that they are in control of their lives and their purchases (Myron and Truax, 1998). They also want to learn as they go, which means that providing education about products before they purchase them would be a positive note for them. This consumer market is important because they are on the heels of the baby boomers and will have a longer buying time. Target Characteristics The boomers and the Gen Xers have a few things in common; however, they should be looked at as two different markets. The reason this is so is because they have different ideas about what is important. If we focus on the females who are baby boomers, we know that they are in charge of a larger amount of wealth than the Gen Xers. We also know that those we are targeting are savvy with the Internet and many of them are already making purchases online for a majority of products. These women are also more discerning in what they buy, especially when it comes to beauty products (She Company, 2011). Some of the statistics to keep in mind about the boomers include that 40% of the UK will be boomers by 2035, over 50 year olds make up 80% of the nation’s personal wealth and only about 5% of marketers are marketing to this group (Weber Shandwick, 2010). With these thoughts in mind, we have to understand that this market is going to be more discerning about what they want and they purchase products that are going to help them rather than purchasing something that looks good. However, boomers are determined to stay young and products that can help them look and feel younger will continue to be purchased. Also, boomers purchased more skin care products between 2002 and 2004, and they continue to purchase these products. They are also purchasing online. Gen Xers are different from boomers in that they are most interested in purchasing what they need and they do not want a lot of hype when they are making purchases. In other words, they like to know that they have made the right choice for their needs (“Ages”). They are also the most independent of consumers so the marketing message will have to appeal to their independence. This is a busy group and they try to maintain balance between work and their personal lives. Therefore, if marketing can show them how to do something easier or faster, they have a tendency to purchase the product. Marketing Message by Segment Marketing Campaign for Baby Boomers Marketing to Baby Boomers and Gen Xers will require different strategies. For Baby Boomers it will be necessary to show our products as controlling or managing aging. A good example of what we are talking about is the Dove Pro-age campaign. This campaigned used older women as models and they have had several different commercials showing women who do not fear aging. They have created an opportunity for the world to see older women as beautiful and sexy. This is the message that we want to send about our products. With our skin care products, as an example, the baby boomer can have smoother, silkier skin. This will appeal to them as well as to their lovers or partners. Boomers are active and they purchase movie and theatre tickets, concert tickets, and they enjoy dining out. They want to look good when they are out and about and we have to show them that our skincare products can help them do just that. We want to send the message that boomers are attractive and active, which means they need to have products that show their best image. We can use 30 second commercials that feature older people talking about aging gracefully and using our products. We can also create ads on our website that show older women making comments and have a place for any consumer coming to the website to make comments about our products. Boomer women want to look good and in the marketing campaigns, they want to see someone that looks like them – not people who are younger who are talking about wrinkle creams. When they see what our products can do to older women like them, they are more open to wanting to use our products. Any products that give them more beautiful and supple skin, increase hair thinning or produces a beautiful face, hair or nails will sell well in this market. Marketing Campaign for Gen Xers Gen Xers are more sceptical than baby boomers so marketing to them will require a feeling of genuineness. They will need to feel that the products we are producing will genuinely help them. Because this group is on the go and very busy, products should be promoted that show them how quick and easy they are to use. If they can spend 10 minutes or less using a product in the morning before they go out, they will be more prone to at least try it once, and if they like it, continue to use it. Gen Xers are the prime target for interaction with a website and social media sites. Although Boomers are also going to use the website (those that we are targeting) Gen Xers expect to be using social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. This group enjoys the experience of learning about products and being able to rate them according to whether they liked it or not. They also like to have an interactive experience with anything they do. Having the ability to make comments about products would be a good move for this group. In our physical stores, it would be a good idea to invite customers into the store to try out samples of products so they could have hands on ability to choose. Agency Brief The information that the agency would need to help us with this project would include the following: The product: The product we are selling will be our skincare products. We will sell our hand lotions, body toners, body washes and our hair care products. The brand: MyBody products help you take less time to stay beautiful! What we want people to do after seeing the advertising: We want people to go to our website, check us out and make purchases. We want them to spend time on our site to become educated about specific brands that would be right for them. How do we believe the advertising will work for us? We believe that the advertising will help us achieve our goal of securing 20% of the market. The advertising will be geared towards women who are Baby boomers and the Generation X group. We will specifically target these consumers. Who are we talking to? Female boomers between the ages of 40 and 85, and Gen Xers between the ages of 30 and 39. The most important thing the advertising should convey: That our products are easy to use, economical, and they make people continue to look good. Why should people believe this? Because we will show them through our website how it works and we will have consumers using our products making testimonials on the website. We will also have consumers in each age group recommending specific products. What practical considerations are there? Obviously we have to stay within our budget for advertising and we have to use some of our budget for enhancing the website. We will also need to hire a consultant who is skilled in social networking to get our business up and running on the Internet. This may be one person or a team of people to do this. Channel and Media Choice with Indicative Costs We will be instituting a social marketing campaign to meet the Gen Xers where they are and we will use Internet marketing to get our word out to both markets. Since we are targeting women who are boomers who actively buy online, we will need them to go to our social networking websites. We will bring them to our website and ask them to “like” or Facebook page so they can receive updates for information and specials. According to Weinreich, most strong campaigns also provide information about their products in the community and in print ads. We will provide some print ads in neighbourhood senior magazines and we will also do a community launch of our social media campaign. At this event, we will have people try products and we will give them written material that sends them to the website. We estimate that the social networking aspect will take about 10% of our budget with the remaining amount to be spent with advertising in other media. We know that many people go to their social networking sites in order to take part in shopping online (Strategic Retail). Indicative Timings We will need about six months to add to our website and get the social marketing campaign started. In those first six months, we will also plan and hold one event and one focus group so that we are sure we are targeting our market correctly. We will begin advertising the new website and the social media information within these six months and allow people to begin using the website for purchases. Internal Communication Plan We will need to communicate with our advertising and marketing divisions as well as the CEOs of those divisions. Once we have approval from this board, we will bring the divisions together and brainstorm about how best we can get our information out. With the hiring of a consultant to head the social marketing campaign, we believe we will actually save money because we will eliminate the mistakes that may have been made had we not brought the consultant in. We will ask employees to bring together ideas about the products that they think will go well for both target markets. We will keep everyone informed about the progress through email. Qualitative and Quantitative Measures of Success We will use a series of focus groups that will help us to measure our success. We will also conduct an online panel that can give us ideas about our website and how we are doing with connecting with our online audience. This has been shown to be one of the best ways to measure how effectively a company is with their target markets. We will also use a balanced scorecard as seen here: Figure 1: Sample Balanced Scorecard Source: Kaplan and Norton, 2007. We will ask for reviews of our website from online reviewers who will rate our website with a 1-5 score (one being not relevant to 5 being most relevant). We will also take our information from the focus groups and compare them with surveys we will conduct with our various markets. 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Available from http://www.beautypackaging.com/articles/2011/05/demographic-changes Myron, M.R., and Truax, P. L. (26 April 1998). Anatomy of the gen-X consumer. Denver Business Journal. [15 June 2011]. Available from http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/1998/04/27/smallb4.html She Company. (2011). Marketing to women quick facts. [16 June 2011]. Available from http://she-conomy.com/report/facts-on-women/ Strategic Retail. Buzz to Buy: The impact of social media on shopping and buying. White Paper. [15 June 2011]. Available from http://www.wslstrategicretail.com/emailblast/HAS/Buzz-to-Buy_Whitepaper.pdf UK Retail Futures: 2012: Health and Beauty Forecasts to 2010: Clothing and Footware. April 2008. [14 June 2011]. Available from http://www.verdict.co.uk/marketing/dmvt0441m.pdf Weber Shandwick. (2010). Baby boomer marketing. [14 June 2011]. Available from http://www.webershandwick.co.uk/our-specialist-services/baby-boomer-marketing Weinrich, N.K. (2006). Building social marketing into your programs. Weinrich Communications. [16 June 2011]. Available from http://www.social-marketing.com/building.html Read More

 

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