Peter Alexander Promotional Plan - Essay Example

Contents Executive Summary: 2 Introduction to the Brand 3 Objectives of the Promotional Plan 3 Target Market 4 Budget Allocation 7 Media Strategy 8 Creative Strategy 9 References: 10 Executive Summary: Peter Alexander is one of the most prominent sleepwear brands in Australia. Its brand loyalty is proven. It has a customer base that spreads across plenty of cities in Australia and Newzealand. Online availability of products plays a key role in the company’s success. This promotional plan aims to increase the awareness of the brand to any potential customers that may not be aware, create interest towards the brand for new adapters or people who are not used to wearing trendy sleepwear, reinforce the brand to brand loyal customers who form major portion of the sales, and all these points shall eventually add up to increase demand for the products of peter Alexander. Target audience is subdivided into three categories. Differing products are to be designed for each target market. The markets include teenagers, young adults, couples and kids. Members of all of these audiences shall be satisfied via product differentiation. The marketing mix of the firm shall be representative of its overall strategy. Products shall be designed in ways that are differentiable and aimed towards the specific target market. Placement shall be done strategically and strong third party ties with distributors shall be ensured to ascertain timely distribution of products to customers all across the country. Promotion shall be done through ATL and BTL. The cost effective medium of internet shall be the key communication strategy as it can attract customers immediately online and does not add much to the costs. The firm shall use creativity by using the image of Peter Alexander as the brand persona and exploiting the internet for this purpose. Introduction to the Brand Peter Alexander is an exclusive brand of nightwear that has operations centralized in Australia. Peter Alexander, the man himself, personifies the brand and serves as a symbol for the company. The company has a high brand equity with its followers due to the exclusivity showcased through Peter Alexander. The brand idea came into being when peter bought a pair of Pajamas in Hong Kong. He was startled by the way in which he was attracted towards them and wanted to identify ways to make these products appeal to other people around him. (Dynamic Business, 2005). Today Peter Alexander is one of the top sleepwear brands in Australia and from an online business, it has expanded into stores and continues to operate online. Objectives of the Promotional Plan Peter Alexander already possesses significant brand equity, however it is important to note that it has restricted itself to a very niche market of people who value nightwear and shop online for it. To expand its market, Peter Alexander must reach out to people who in a greater number and through a more widespread channel. The core objectives of the promotional plan shall include: Increasing Awareness: Expansion of the customer base shall be achieved through increasing awareness of the brand among people who have are unaware. Although the brand possesses a strong identity, it potentially lacks in volumes, or eyeballs. This specific objective shall aim to expand the brand awareness among people who are not yet used to fashionable sleepwear. Interest Creation: This objective of the plan Stems from the objective of creating awareness. By increasing awareness among people who are indifferent towards, or not exposed to fashionable sleepwear, the company can significantly increase its clientele and have new customers. This part of the plan is specifically challenging because a new customer will take much more time to convert interest to purchase, however, since a significant portion of the firm’s business is through online purchases, the firm has very low fixed costs per unit sold and can afford some leverage in terms of time each customer spends before making a purchase (Gelder & Woodcock, 2003). Reinforcement:- While increasing awareness among people who are not aware of Peter Alexander shall be an important objective, the plan shall also seek to reinforce the brand to customers who are already loyal to the brand or who have used its product. It is important that, with a highly competitive market environment, customers are reminded of their preferences for Peter Alexander and continue to remain loyal and buy its products. Increase Demand: - Another key underlying objective of the promotional plan shall be to increase demand for the product both online and on stores. The above three points contribute to this objective. Although the brand has significant following, it can improve on the figures of sales and increase profits. The campaign shall use different methods to achieve the eventual outcome of increasing sales. Target Market Peter Alexander is a premium brand of nightwear that has established considerable brand equity over the 19 years of its existence. While the company welcomes and appreciates every walk in customer, there are specific people it targets with each of its innovative products. Australia is the key market for the company’s products. It has stores located across specified locations of the continent. The continent has a population of more than 22 million residents with a relatively stable economic situation prevalent in the continent. Australia has the 16th highest GDP per capita in the whole world which suggests that buying power is very high (Statistics, 2011). The median age of the country is a total of 37.3 with males at 36.6 whereas females at 38.1. Around 87% of the total population is below the age of 64 (Statistics, 2011) which suggests that there is a huge market potential for such products since they are largely preferred by teenagers, and early adults. Market segmentation and identification of key segments plays a crucial role in the success of any campaign (O.C Ferrel, 2011). Peter Alexander must maintain its loyal customers and take them into consideration while devising this promotional plan. The key markets segments for the company can include: a) Teenagers: Although teenagers comprise of a small portion of the potential market they can be high volume purchasers as their tastes changes rapidly and they are much more willing to experiment with their looks. Special attention to their tastes and likings can enhance sales and create another loyal customer base for the firm. These customers are to be between the ages of 13 – 19. Most of them are high school attendees (Statistics, 2011). Products of Peter Alexander will look particularly attractive to this audience because they frequently engage in late night hangouts, and stay over after parties. These people are also image conscious hence anything that can make them feel and look different can attract them. b) Young Adults: Young Adults and university going people form a major portion of the target market. They are hip, trendy and frequent buyers. This segment shall constitute a market that is stable, is looking for comfort and is also willing to experiment every now and then with new trends. c) Married Couples: This portion of the population has the potential of being the most loyal customers of the brand. Successful branding of products in pairs or couples can attract twice the from this segment than others on one buy. The Marketing Mix Marketing mix refers to a unique blend of product,, promotion placement and distribution and pricing strategies engineered to produce mutually satisfying transactions in a market (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2011). All elements of the marketing mix can be controlled individually; however the all elements must be blended in to achieve optimal results. Product differentiation is the key selling point for peter Alexander. It is important that while the company promotes its products, it also adapts to the needs of each target market (Smith, 1956). E.g. for the couples market, it can produce complimenting products for the bride and the groom such that the products indicate intimacy and connectedness. Similarly, for teenagers and fashion and style statements with nightwear should be marketed. Brand association with teenage sensations can augment brand loyalty, however, it is essential that the associations do not offset brand loyalty from other segments of customers, e.g. while a brand association with Justin Bieber will look particularly attractive to teenagers, it may not be welcomes by young adults or married couples who may then see the brand as catering to only teenagers. The quality of the product is essential to align brand loyalty with consistent purchases (Armstrong, Harker, Kotler, & Brennan, 2009). Placement and Distribution:- Product placement and distribution have been of enormous help to the success of Peter Alexander. The firm initially had restricted sales due to limited number of stores. The introduction of online stores has rapidly changed the restricted customer access and has provided a vast array of customers the firm can cater to. It is important that the firm continues to promote its online medium of sales as it provides access to unparalleled number of people third party agreements with logistic service providers can be of great help. When considering placement at stores, the firm shall place products meant for the target market with greatest number of impulse buyers. This can help because loyal customers will still buy the company’s products but customers who rely on knee jerk judgments can be catered to. Promotion: Promotion of the products shall be done through both ATL and BTL mediums. While selecting both the mediums seems instinctive, it is important to evaluate the costs of the plan and then decide the proportional allocation of budget to the medium. ATL mediums shall largely include internet marketing, specially as third party advertisements on highly visited websites for specific target customers. Social media including facebook and twitter shall be used to create brand loyalty and interaction with the customers. Below the line activities shall be saved for festive seasons, summer seasons or wedding seasons. Product differentiation for each specific season shall be the selling point of the company. Festive seasons tend to see a general increase in shopping frequency of people hence it can be a good starting point. Summer seasons demand comfortable night wear that is not too cumbersome and presentable. Summer nightwear shall play the role of a fashion statement along with being comfy. Wedding specific products are designed for newly web couples and can range from comfy to sensual. Budget Allocation Marketing plans and strategies are much easier outlined than implemented. The long hours of planning can go in vain if strict cost benefit analysis is not done and clear objectives and evaluation criterion are not set forth. It is hence essential that Peter Alexander identifies key performance indicators in lieu of the marketing campaign it undertakes. Any misjudgement or inefficiency can result in serious consequences for the company and hamper profitability. The strategy shall not only be followed by the marketing department, but everyone connected to the implementation of the strategy shall be on its toes and directly accountable for the success or failure of the campaign. Category Percentage of Marketing Budget Total Marketing Campaign 5-10 % of the estimated budget Discounts 25 % of the marketing budget; given in the form of gifts, etc. ATL Mediums 20% of the campaigns and should include TVCs and bill boards. Celebrity Endorsements 20 % of the campaign and should be localized and customized according to target market of specific products such as local TV show hosts, famous celebrity kids, local models, etc. . BTL Activity 35 % of the marketing budget: Shall be the core medium of marketing and implemented at areas where trends of the festive season and the summer season has the most significant impact on shopping patterns. Media Strategy The Media strategy for the promotional plan shall be three prone: 1) Online Marketing: Significant online marketing campaigns shall be run throughout the year and these campaigns shall compliment the promotional material on other mediums. Key components of the online marketing campaign shall include social networking sites, advertisements on third party websites that attract the same target audience, interactive feature development including online games and animations promoting the brand, prizes for online competitions and online launches of new products shall constitute the online marketing plan. 2) Non internet ATL Advertising: ATL advertising is known to attract the most eyeballs, however retention is low and there is a lot of clutter of advertisements that can overshadow the campaign of Peter Alexander (Tymorek, 2010). This includes mediums such as the TV, Bill boards, etc. While the is included in ATL mediums, we segregate due to its cost effective nature. Investments in expensive forms of ATL can prove to be counterproductive it sales do not complement the investments. Shrewd decision making is needed in such situations. The key focus shall be cost effective local TV stations, where the stores of the company are located and billboards and hoardings on busy roads of the metropolis. Communication Strategy It is essential for the firm to establish a strong position statement before deciding upon the communication strategy (Varey, 389). Peter Alexander has a brand loyalty that is proven and most of its sales are attracted online. The key communication strategy of the firm shall remain the internet. Because the majority of its potential customers are online customers, it would be redundant for the firm to take huge leaps and invest excessively in ATL advertising. Creative Strategy The creative strategy of the firm shall entail the use of Peter Alexander as the brand persona. The brand persona plays an important role in forming perceptions and enhancing brand equity (Randal, 2000). Since the online medium is the key communication strategy, it shall be exploited. An avatar shall be formed of peter who shall give a ‘guided tour’ of the newly formed website and products. Furthermore, flash games shall be developed to attract customers for a greater period of time. References: Armstrong, G., Harker, M., Kotler, P., & Brennan, R. (2009). Marketing: An Introduction. Prentice Halls. Dynamic Business. (2005, 11 15). Peter Alexander, the pyjama man behind the brand. Retrieved from www.dynamicbusiness.com.au: http://www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/entrepreneur-profile/peter-alexander-the-pyjama-man-behind-the-brand.html Gelder, D., & Woodcock, P. (2003). Marketing and promotional Strategy. Nelson thrones. Lamb, C. W., Hair, J. F., & McDaniel, C. (2011). Essentials of Marketing. Cengage Learning. O.C Ferrel, M. H. (2011). Marketing Strategy. Cengage Learning. Randal, G. (2000). Branding: A practical guide to planning your strategy. Kogan page publishers. Smith, W. (1956). Product differentiation and Market segmentation as alternative marketing strategies. Journal of Marketing. Statistics, A. B. (2011, October 7). Australian Beureau of Statistics. Retrieved from www.abs.gov.pk. Tymorek, S. (2010). Advertising and Public Relations. Infobase Publishing. Varey, R. J. (389). Marketing communication: principles and practice. 2002. Read More