Promotion Campaign Project: Forty Five Ten

1. Promotion Campaign Project:Forty Five Ten Britney Hall

2. Overview • Overview • Executive summary- After identifying the problems associated with Forty Five Ten, The Exclusive Boutique Agency has come up with a way for this local boutique to brand themselves and attract customers outside of the Dallas area. • Overview- The Exclusive Boutique Agency has reviewed Forty Five Ten’s previous advertising and marketing objectives and has made some significant changes so that the boutique can relate more to their 25-35 target market. By using their historical background, cultural background, and some industry and market trends, we can transform the strategy that Forty Five Ten already has and add more loyal consumers shopping from their boutique.

3. Situational Analysis • 2. Situational Analysis: • 2.1 Cultural Context • The culture of Forty Five Ten appeals to many different consumers. They offer high-end merchandise while still maintaining a welcoming and genuine environment that has a down-to-earth feel. The T-Room adds to this down-to-earth feel by offering hospitality to their customers. With this combination, they appeal to a variety of consumers with different demographics. Their market shows the results of having such a diverse culture. • 2.2 Historical Context • Forty Five Ten is a relatively new boutique offering high-end merchandise in a lavish yet down-to-earth environment. The product is high-end, great quality merchandise. With that being said, the merchandise is pricey. The boutique is located in Dallas on McKinney Avenue which makes is easy access for their target market whom live in or around this area. Their current promotional strategy is mainly through social media. They have Facebook and Twitter and they will make Facebook posts and send tweets about certain things going on with the company. They also have a blog, which they post on weekly discussing new product and trends. One of their main strengths of their promotional campaign is in fact their blog. Another would be the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. While they do have usage of these social medias, they lack a strong presence on them; this is a weakness for Forty Five Ten. They also lack other venues for promotion, like a magazine ad. Magazine ads would be a great opportunity for Forty Five Ten. Their market reads fashion magazines and it would be a good idea for the company to take advantage of this and put them selves out there for more people to hear about them. It is difficult for a boutique to be successful especially when there is so much competition. With all these other retailers and boutiques using social media plus other channels to promote their company it can be threatening for companies like Forty Five Ten who isn’t taking advantage of all they can be doing for promotion. • 2.3 Industry Analysis • High-end boutiques are now requiring increased involvement through the use of online social media and visual printing more than ever before. These stores cater to the wealthy, die-hard fashion lovers, who are looking for a combination of innovative looks and spot on trends. Many products carried in this particular industry are big-ticket, unique items; so in order for them to sell they must be glamorized individually and appreciated for their quality. Several of the brands sold are up and coming designers, rather than typical department store brands that are easier to identify. This makes it crucial for the company to display their highly edited mix as the must have looks for the season to come. In order for the consumer to receive first hand knowledge of the product or recent trend, they must be updated through the rapid tool of social media sites including: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It is also extremely important that the consumer be exposed to visual elements that can capture their attention and create specific brand awareness. The high-end industry today requires a relevant mixture of eye-catching visuals that can excite the consumer’s mind and spark a desire for the latest and most fashionable trends. With the industry spreading so quickly, it is essential for these boutiques to develop a strong presence within these promotional strategies and an even stronger relationship with the customer. The customer is now completely aware of the number of strategic tools placed upon them, so they expect the retailer to develop tools that are effective and able to reach the consumer on a personal level.

4. Situational Analysis Cont’d • 2.4 Market Analysis • Forty-Five Ten is known for their innovation and uniqueness in the world of upscale fashion but with the proper marketing strategy the company could likely grow exponentially. Currently, a large portion of general fashion consumers knows not very much about the company; Forty-Five Ten specifically targets those with a need for superior, top-notch collections that appeal to strictly high fashion cliental from around the world. Their reputation of being “the best of the best” illustrates this concept well, and speaks volumes not only about the company’s target market, but their interests and goals as well. This category of consumer is advantageous for the company because of how specific it is. Typically this consumer is a high fashion, trend-seeking younger woman looking to add eclectic elements to her wardrobe. Her income is generally high and desires a look that can set her apart from friends or business affiliates. In order to be aware of the ever changing upscale fashion around them, they must be tuned in to all portals of social media from mobile devices at virtually all times of the day. This form of persistent knowledge seeking behavior has become natural and encrypted into the lives of this young, trendy market. Little research can be found about Forty-Five Ten’s current marketing plan, however it is obvious they have not chosen mass media as part of their strategy. This is likely because the majority of the population is not willing to pay such high designer prices, so Forty-Five Ten as a company have instead chosen to dedicate themselves to reaching consumers in their niche market. A number of promotional events are commonly held by the boutique such as trunk shows and champagne receptions in order to attract their typical clientele. • 2.5 Competitive Analysis • In today’s market for high fashion, it is becoming a norm for a company to have a well-balanced and defined mix of promotional tools and strategies. The Dallas and Fort Worth area is home to some of the world’s most premiere fashion destinations. Forty-Five Ten also maintains a reputation for competing with high-end stores on an international level, so the competition can be relatively fierce. The boutique excels in setting themselves apart by offering obscure and unexpected items not found anywhere else in the region, as well as the chic T Room connected to the store. There is no argument that these attributes are the reason Forty-Five ten continues to surpass competition. Although, there are critical factors that may hurt the company in the long run, which includes the position they hold within channels of social media. They are secure in many online portals, however their presence is not as strong as it should be, causing their social interaction to diminish next to revitalized competitors. There is also currently no form of a physical look book or any visual directing consumers of ways in which they can buy items. If Forty –Five Ten wants to ensure they will remain “the best of the best”, then they will have to push the limit in making sure every aspect of their company is the truly best. • Stanley Corshak, Celyon et Cie, VOD Boutique are some of Forty-Five Ten’s primary high-end competitors in the Dallas area. Larger companies such as Barney’s and Nieman Marcus also go head to head with the boutique. The companies similar to Forty-Five Ten are doing primarily well, as some offer a higher degree of visual and media strategies. Celyon et Cie, an upscale home furniture store, offers a wonderful display of their products through virtual look books and well built social media sites. Judith Collinson executive vice president of women’s wear at Barneys New York, stated, “the Dallas shopper is social. She’s involved in her community. She’s looking for the hard-to-find. And she loves color”. Barney’s implements this type of shopper into many aspects of their promotional tools and believes in working to better the company through the voice of the consumer. With companies working hard to push the level of innovation and creative methods to communicate, it makes the upscale market extremely competitive. Some of the world’s highest powered and wealthy consumers are shopping within this bracket, so constantly looking for ways to improve is a must.

5. Objectives • The objective for this marketing and advertising strategy is to provide the target market the best local business possible for consumers and to attract new ones. By observing some of the competitors marketing strategies, Forty Five Ten will become not only apart of the competition but rise above it. The time period for this strategy to take effect will be between 6 months to a year, rushing this will more than likely resort in a backlash and no one will really get the concept of the advertising.

6. Strategy • 4.1 Market Segmentation • The target consumer of the new promotional campaign is a fashionable, trend-seeking individual that lives a fast pace lifestyle. The target demographic is a female between the ages of 25-35 with a college education. The psychographics of the target consumer includes a fashionable personality, trend seeking, expects quality products, and takes value in the products they purchase. They have a strong sense of upcoming trends as far as fashion and home furnishings and have a busy fast lifestyle. The purchase habits of the new target consumer are they tend to be brand loyal, research larger purchases but still make fast decisions and is very involved in social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, fashion blogs, etc. Justify market: The causality is to keep up with the trends and stay on top of the fashion industry as far as what is current and popular. The substantiality of the target market to Forty Five Ten would be that it offers something different and caters to a consumer with a unique style. The accessibility of our products is new e-commerce site available anywhere there is an Internet connection as well as the brick and mortar store located in Dallas, Texas. • 4.2 Brand Communication • The message that we will be communicating to our target consumer will be that we are offering something unique and different than any other luxury boutique. We not only offer a unique and enjoyable shopping experience but we also offer a place that you can relax and enjoy lunch with friends. We offer a wide range of products from men’s clothing to women’s clothing as well as things for the home.

7. Evaluation • The sales, traffic of the store, and inventory count will help determine if the new marketing strategy has worked or not. If sales go down or stay the same that will be a sign that either are strategy was not good enough or it made no effect on the consumers. If the traffic of the store increases, that would mean that more people have heard about the store and wants to see what’s inside. If there is less merchandise in the store, that would mean that more items have been sold which means more money for the boutiquge.

8. Execution • The promotional tactic we are implementing is advertising. The tools we used for this campaign to create Forty Five Ten’s advertisements are; direct mails, the Internet, look books, advertisement in newspapers and magazines. We are also implementing incentives as a promotion such as coupons, and rewards cards. Advertising will be a huge part of this campaign. Forty Five Ten has an exclusive target market and is very high end. When you visit their website they are not informing the consumer of the price range, products, or style they have to offer. This is why we came up with these promotional tactics and specific tools to reach the consumer and create awareness. One of the tools is the Internet, which we will promote advertisements on social media accounts like twitter, Facebook, Instagram and look book. These are all outlets that can reach our target market fast and create a viral awareness. We will be updating twitter accounts with store information and new products we get into the store. We plan to update all social media outlets on the Internet at least once a day. We will have one person looking over this outlet to make sure they are communicating with consumers and making an impact. Facebook and Instagram will be outlets where we can post pictures of the products and list their prices. We can also promote email sign-up which will help us give incentives to customers within direct mail. Look book will allow customers to post their own outfits with clothing from the boutique allowing us to interact directly with our customers while also making others aware of the style and outfits customers can put together. Advertisements in magazines like La Mode and Newspapers such as Dallas News will allow us to advertise the boutique and maybe creating “top 10 looks” in a magazine will get the word out of the boutique and also showcase the products. These advertisements do cost money so as frequent as the boutique can afford it is as much as we want to advertise in these traditional promotional tools. Direct mail allows for a more personal touch on reaching the consumer. Allowing them to sign up and send them direct incentives reaches the customer personally. Incentives will be coupons and rewards cards that promote shopping at Forty Five Ten. Coupons can be distributed through direct mail, Internet, and magazines and newspapers. Rewards card can allow first time customers to get a card and every time they spend a certain amount they get a card stamp and when it fills up they get a discount off their total purchase. This can create the start of customer loyalty. These media tools will work together as whole allowing for one advertisement to promote another advertisement. They are compatible and the easiest tools to allow for both traditional and new advertising. Forty Five Ten will be able to reach a broad target market and create a customer loyalty. These are low budget tactics for small boutiques like Forty Five Ten to create consumer awareness. Forty Five Ten has a strong image and representation, but they are missing a few things. Only having one boutique and a vague website appearance lacks the images and prices so that consumers can understand their style and lifestyle of their boutique. These tools will allow for more communication and awareness and they all work very well together.

9. Visual Advertisements