MARKETING STRATEGIES, RESEARCH AND FRAMEWORKS LECTURE

MARKETING STRATEGIES, RESEARCH AND FRAMEWORKS:

Connecting with the consumer:

·      Brands are out of touch with consumer needs

·      Brands not in touch with current generational perspectives; Example: trans, curvy girls, cultural

·      Slow adoption of sustainable issues; (Top Shop for example)

·      Brands who have historically done well with innovative advertising and marketing and then have dropped the ball recently (Abercrombie and Fitch for example)

·      Old school attitudes towards luxury for high end brands, (Dolce and Gabanna for example) struggling to connect with new generations 

How do consumers consume and connect with brands?

·      Advertising strategies 

·      Understanding their demographic

·      Understanding emerging demographics

·      Keeping and increasing footfall

·      Understanding changing and emerging trends in consumption

·      For example; diversity, ethics, social responsibility 

Physical and digital branding advertising strategies:

·      John Lewis was the physical brand example

·      Fast fashion online retailers: digital advertising resource via online, digital bill boarding, taxis and so on

·      Brands that rely on word of mouth as well as all of the above; for example Patagonia and People Tree

·      There are also brands that historically have not advertised heavily, (Body Shop for example)

Much has to do with visual communication:

·      The forums that demographics now link with

·      What draws a consumer in and why

·      What are the connectors?

·      Connection to visual information, (for example short films/teaser campaigns)

EXAMPLES:

·      John Lewis 2015 AD, (you don’t own me)

·      BooHoo.com (cross sectional advertising)

·      People Tree 

·      Patagonia

MORE ‘ABSTRACT’ METHODS OF ADVERTISING: 

·      Celebrity

·      Guerrilla 

·      Youtube campaigns 

·      Subliminal advertising 

·      Celebrity collaborations – Rihanna for River Island for example

·      Guerrilla advertising in fashion 

How branding and marketing drive the fashion industry:

·      Connects to the consumer 

·      Drives price 

·      Drives and captures specific demographics, (whilst trying to pick up new consumers)

·      Marketing incentives drive consumers; for example: e – vouchers, buy one get on free, driving price down for a limited period of time, (countdowns on social media until offer on product purchase expires)

·      Pushes consumption by selling product through a specific window of time

·      Historically brand identity was king

·      Brand attachment locked the consumer in via aspiration

·      This is changing now with generational shifts – consumers no longer consume because a brand tells them who to be 

Meeting the consumer’s needs:

TO MEET CONSUMERS NEEDS, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND:

·      Who they are 

·      How to reach them (physical/digital)

·      Where they live, (sometimes north/south divide in consumer taste)

·      Their age

·      What they are prepared to pay

·      Their likes and dislikes

·      Their expectations

·      If the production is desirable 

·      Brands need to research and gather data on their consumers to understand them 

That is why research is critical:

GOOD RESEARCH ALLOWS YOU TO UNDERCOVER ALL OF THESE ASPECTS:

·      Through primary and secondary 

PRIMARY CAN BE IN THE FORM OF:

·      Questionnaires

·      Surveys 

·      Emails

·      Telephone calls 

·      Focus groups

·      Photography 

·      Set up a social media forum so that you can all keep in touch through the Christmas holidays

SECONDARY CAN BE IN THE FORM OF|:

·      Mintel reports

·      Reliable sources of online information

·      Media 

·      Newspapers

·      Theses 

·      Journals

·      Books 

To understand the consumer; research is critical:

·      Qualitative (analysis of information for example)

·      Quantitative (statistics for example)

Effective research strategies:

·      Keeping on top of what you are dong; organising hard copy information in files and highlighting information you have taken as research, for example

·      keeping records of hard copy sources; Photographing book, magazine, journal covers and inside the sleeve to keep a visual record of information

·      Digital information; organising files on a USB with titles, for example; ethical, sustainable and so on and so fourth – highlight passages that relate to your research. Copying and pasting the URL address you are using onto a word document

·      The above strategies will help you, when it comes to developing your APA referencing system

Examining demographics and target markets:

·      Age

·      Geographic location 

·      Sub-cultures (who is wearing what and why)

·      Earning/spending power: reflection of target price points

SWOT analysis:

·      Strengths 

·      Weaknesses 

·      Opportunities 

·      Threats 

PEST analysis:

·      Political 

·      Economic 

·      Social 

·      Technological 

Micro analysis of marketing strategies:

·      Demographics 

·      Economics 

·      Social and cultural 

·      Political 

·      Technological 

4 P’s in relation to marketing strategy:

·      Product 

·      Price 

·      Place 

·      Promotion 

Brand mapping:

·      Assessment of consumer perceptions of brand positioning using diagrams 

·      Prestige price 

·      Exclusivity 

·      Affordability 

·      Mass market 

Investigating brands:

·      Auditing brands; investigating their current position in the market place (available at companies house)

What struggling brands change or improve to re-establish themselves?

CONNECTING TO THE CONSUMER; DO THEY NEED TO CONSIDER THEIR:

·      Advertising strategies 

·      Their reputation 

·      How they connect to the consumer, (do they need to rethink their ethos and how they, ‘appear’ to the consumer)

·      Their history; are they sitting back on past glories and still expect the consumer to consume because of who the brand perceive themselves to be?

·      Brand currency; brands developing a better understanding of generational/cultural shifts, how society is changing

Do brands need to do their research?

WHEN WRITING YOUR REPORT CONSIDER THE BRANDS CURRENT MARKETING POSITION:

·      Look at where they were, where they are now and where, (via your own in-depth research and ‘proving’ your position) they could be in the future 

WHAT CAN BRANDS IMPROVE UPON?

·      Reflect on research strategies and in your ‘brand’ groups discuss effective methods of attaching solid research strategies to your brand outcomes