Introduction
Traditionally, the marketing of products and services have always occurred either through a face to face conversation, magazines, billboards, television or even through a simple phone call. Yet, due to advances in technology where the scale and scope of the retail industry have come to encompass a global market place, the traditional processes by which marketing efforts have always followed has started to change.
The internet has brought with it an unprecedented level of inter-connectivity on a global scale through which more and more transactions such as banking and even retail are conducted and this encompasses advertising as well. While lacking in sufficient market penetration, Brandy Melville has distinguished itself as a fashionable retail establishment that appeals to teenagers and young adults alike.
Originating from Italy, the brand has spread to well over a dozen retail establishments around the world with plans for further expansion and market penetration. Upon investigation, it was noted that employees of the Brandy Melville store within the U.K. are apparently trying to enhance the store’s popularity in order to rival that of Top Shop’s.
Unfortunately, its current way of doing things can be stated as under utilizing the store’s potential due to its lack of use of modern day online social media marketing campaigns as a means of reaching out to its desired target market demographic (the 16 to 26 young female adult range) (Grabowicz et al., 2012, pp. 1-9).
It is based on this that this project will attempt to establish an online social media marketing campaign for the company that encompasses a wide variety of online social media platforms in order to penetrate multiple markets and enhance the ability of the company to reach the target demographic that it is after.
By the end of this project, it is expected that evidence for sufficient justification for this approach will be shown, what approaches were utilized, and in the end will reveal whether the project was a success in terms of increasing the popularity of Brandy Melville.
Market Examination
When examining the current strategies to promote their products online, it was seen that the company primarily utilizes Facebook and other minor social networking sites, however, they merely post product updates and do not try anything beyond that.
Dobson & Chakraborty (2008) in their examination of consumer trends within the U.K. in the past 3 years noted that people are generally becoming more self-conscious regarding their physical appearance and have focused on buying clothing options that are more “chic” or distinguish the owner through some unique design (Dobson & Chakraborty, 2008: 333 -341).
While Dobson & Chakraborty (2008) do not precisely indicate whether this is the result of changing consumer perceptions regarding modern day fashion or the mass media which has popularized an assortment of clothing style choices, they do recommend that strategies in targeting today’s “brand of consumer” should therefore concentrate on campaigns and the creation of consumer products that emphasize “something that is chic and unique, yet is within an affordable price range” (Dobson & Chakraborty, 2008: 333 -341).
It must also be noted that Beattie, Dhanani & Jones (2008) noted a distinct increase in the amount of consumers that have a greater degree of awareness regarding outfits that represent a specific type of fashion statement and are correlated with a particular type of celebrity as well as those with a considerable level of online popularity.
As Beattie, Dhanani & Jones (2008) states, “consumer trends in product and service patronage have been changing as of late towards companies who are associated with a particular celebrity or have created a certain degree of online hype wherein the popularity of a clothing item based on the number of likes and shares online which is correlated with it being a popular and desirable piece of clothing to own and wear.” (Beattie, Dhanani & Jones, 2008: 181 – 219).
Why Online Social Media?
Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have evolved beyond their original concept of a way for friends to stay in contact with one another and to share online content. It has evolved into a way in which individuals and small retailers are able to market and sell their products.
So far, it has proven to be an effective method for individuals and small companies to reach a large customer base without having to spend thousands of dollars on online advertising campaigns or expensive E-commerce platforms. In fact, the cost of establishing a marketing campaign through Facebook, Twitter or YouTube is not capital intensive at all and in some cases completely free as compared to the more capital intensive traditional marketing campaigns.
Geographic
The main consumers that this marketing plan intended to encapsulate are young women from within London and other locations within the U.K. that take an active interest in unique and chic fashion statements that can be bought on a budget.
This means that the marketing campaign will target areas such as London, Scotland, Wales and other such locations where there is a growing population of young women that are interested in the latest fashion styles that celebrities such as Kim Karsdashian wear.
Demographic
This particular plan is intended to encapsulate individuals who are 16 to 26 years old and possess moderate to high income streams. As such, these people need to possess the desire to not only patronize high quality stores such as Brandy Melville but have the capacity to actually purchase the company’s products. Given the current popularity of the “loose chic style” within London and various countries abroad, it is will not be surprising that the intended demographic will encompass a large percentage of young women within the various areas that have been mentioned.
Psychographic
When it comes to psychographic factors, this examination is meant to specifically target individuals who take an active role in keeping up with the latest celebrity fashions yet are not willing to break the bank. This means that such individuals actively attempt to look like their favorite celebrities, promote the use of products that celebrities often endorse and have a mindset that attempts to emulate the actions and behaviors of celebrities in whatever they do.
Due to the current popularity of reality television, this particular demographic has been increasing in number resulting in the potential for a significant market advantage should a proper marketing scheme be implemented to entice them to come to Brandy Melville.
Marketing Plan
Advertising Through Social Media: YouTube Stars
Various forms of consumable media in the form of print ads, billboards, commercials, online marketing campaigns and a plethora of other types of advertising initiatives are rife with the images of various popular individuals showing just how prevalent product endorsements are in the advertising campaigns of numerous companies.
The logic behind this particular method of advertising stems from the fact that people are more likely to purchase a product or utilize a particular service if they see someone else happily using it, studies even show that the likelihood of product patronage goes up astronomically if it is seen that a pop culture icon is utilizing a particular type of product.
This speaks volumes of the influence of pop culture on consumer buying behavior however it is also indicative of the fact that companies are aware of what causes consumers to purchase a particular product and act accordingly in order to exploit it (Hong 2012, pp. 69-74).
Yet, the inherent problem with using popular culture celebrities is the fact that they are often quite expensive and demand millions of dollars in fees. An alternative strategy that I have devised that overcomes this particular problem for Brandy Melville utilizes YouTube stars as a means of promoting the products of the company.
On average, YouTube stars such as Ray William Johnson, Philip DeFranco, Shane Dawson and others like them often generate millions of views per video, greater even than some shows on cable television (Strom 2012, p. 48). Furthermore, these shows are watched by a global audience encompassing countries such as the U.S., the U.K., Russia, Australia, and various states within the European Union.
This would enable any marketing campaign that centers on the use of such YouTube stars to in effect target a wide range of consumer markets at a relatively low cost (French, LaBerge & Magill 2012, pp. 119-125). YouTube stars in general do not demand a lot of money for placing ads within their show; it is usually the case that by providing a promotional code or a link in the description of the video the company that created an advertising contract with them usually pays on the basis on the number of clicks (Ehrenberg 2012, p. 22).
This averages to around $5,000 to $6,000 on select advertising and promotional deals; this is a vast difference when compared to the millions demanded by A-list stars within Hollywood. You also have to take into consideration the fact that YouTube stars can come from a variety of different countries wherein they have a distinct level of popularity with the local populace.
As such, Brandy Melville could use a local YouTube star that has a primarily U.K. based fan based in order to promote the store’s products (Wojcieszak 2011, pp. 527-546).
Based on this, a marketing campaign could spend half the amount of money that would normally go to an A-list star yet reach four times the intended audience demographic by utilizing a select marketing strategy devoted to using YouTube stars from specific regions that cater to the audience demographics that the campaign is attempting to appeal to.
Other Aspects of the Strategy to Consider
Sponsored Links, Promotional Codes and Banners
The best way in order to fully utilize the viewership of a YouTube star is to have them sponsor the store by having them mention it then have them point to either a banner location on the screen, a promotional code the viewers can use to get discounts or a link in the description of the video where viewers can go and visit a website detailing the various products of the company they can avail of.
This is often the strategy Netflix uses on either the Philip DeFranco show or on Epic Meal Time in order to gain a substantial amount of subscribers to their services. The same strategy can be utilized on select YouTube stars from specific regions and through multiple shows.
By examining the viewership range and what type of viewers normally watch a particular YouTube star, the marketing campaign will be able to determine what star to use, how long should the promotion period last for and will be able to monitor the overall effectiveness of the campaign via the number of clicks on the link, the number of people watching the video or the sheer amount of times the promotional code is used.
Promoting a University Student Fashion Competition
One potential avenue of approach that could also be achieved is to create a competition among University students within the U.K. which revolves around the development of a unique and chic fashion line and have an online audience be the judge. This can be done through the company’s U.K. based Facebook page as well as through U.K. YouTube stars.
Basically, both the Facebook page and the YouTube stars would routinely promote the competition, present which designs have been selected, and have people online decide which design is the most deserving. Not only would this act as an effective marketing tool in promoting the brand, but it could also lead to a considerable amount of online sales.
It must also be noted that the YouTube stars in question could also be potentially convinced to host the judging of the designs as well as present the award to the winner. This enables the marketing campaign to more effectively capture a larger audience without having to increase the amount of money paid to the YouTube star since they have already been paid to promote the product in question.
Reference List
Beattie, V, Dhanani, A, & Jones, M 2008, ‘Investigating presentational change in U.K. annual reports’, Journal Of Business Communication, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 181-222 , via EBSCOhost database.
Dobson, P, & Chakraborty, R 2008, ‘Buyer power in the U.K. groceries market’, Antitrust Bulletin, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 333-368, via EBSCOhost database.
Ehrenberg, R 2012, ‘Social media sway’, Science News, vol. 182, no. 8, p. 22, via EBSCOhost database.
French, T, LaBerge, L, & Magill, P 2012, ‘Five ‘no regrets’ moves for superior customer engagement’, Mckinsey Quarterly, vol. 3, pp. 119-125 , via EBSCOhost database.
Grabowicz, P, Ramasco, J, Moro, E, Pujol, J, & Eguiluz, V 2012, ‘Social Features of Online Networks: The Strength of Intermediary Ties in Online Social Media’, Plos ONE, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1-9, via EBSCOhost database.
Hong, S 2012, ‘Online news on Twitter: Newspapers’ social media adoption and their online readership’, Information Economics & Policy, vol. 24, no.1, pp. 69-74, via EBSCOhost database.
Strom, P 2012, ‘Growing Up with Social Networks and Online Communities’, Education Digest, vol. 78, no. 1, p. 48, via EBSCOhost database.
Wojcieszak, M 2011, ‘Computer-Mediated False Consensus: Radical Online Groups, Social Networks and News Media’, Mass Communication & Society, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 527-546, via EBSCOhost database.