Marketing

Marketing Proposal: Company

Comparison

Name of organization: Vogue

Category: Fashion/News

Target audience: young-middle aged women

Objectives for marketing plan: less stuffy, lose the stigma, more relatable, strong ad

campaign for selling more magazines

Objectives measured through increase in sales

For our marketing project our group decided to focus on Conde Nast’s publication-

Vogue. Due to the fact that our group members are all interested in fashion we hope to

further Vogues business and expand their clientele. We hope to find a new, younger

market for the magazine, which currently can be stuffy and hard to relate to. With the

magazine/print industry not at its best we hope to stimulate Vogue’s sales and popularity

with a fresh and updated marketing plan.

*Possibly by creating a smaller magazine with less ad space and more content.

OR

Name of organization: Heavenly Cupcakes

Category: Food [specifically dessert]

Target audience: students and families

Objective for marketing plan: New advertisements, opening of another location, cupcake

truck

Objectives measured through popularity and sales increase

Heavenly Cupcake's is a small cupcake bakery in downtown Elmhurst, Illinois. They

provide one of a kind, affordable and delicious treats. Banking on the current

dessert/cupcake trend all over the city, we want to help Heavenly Cupcakes be the best

and most popular bakery in the area. We will instigate some major changes without

altering the feel of the local and intimate shop. We will advertise to caterers, coffee shops

and restaurants, party planners, large city businesses [hosts of company parties, galas, and

benefits.]

Create bust stop billboards

Magazine ads

Social networking sites

Strong word of mouth by industry insiders

Food Network spot

Company

Analysis: Nordstrom

“ Nordstrom to acquire online retailer for $180 million”

A formally singe store operation, Nordstrom- the high-end department store

recently announced its large investment in online retailer “ HauteLook”. The rumor is

that the sale took pace at around $ 180 million dollars worth of stock. Considered to be a

fairly small deal, Nordstrom plans to utilize Hautlelook to increase their online sales,

considering the company specializes on flash sales of designer merchandise. The

company will remain in Los Angeles under the direction of its founder Adam Bernhard.

The question is… what does this mean for Nordstrom’s future?

This directly affects the management side of things because Nordstrom is forming

a general partnership with Hautelook. While this form of business may be the oldest it

still has its disadvantages. While analyzing this deal form the position of the general

public we are unaware of the type of contract Hautelook and Nordstrom are involved in,

it is safe to say that despite the initial appeal, there are going to be a few bumps along the

road.

While Nordstrom capitalizes on the luxury clothing market, it has still managed to

find a way to expand its already large company. The chain of quality department stores

decided to buy Hautelook as a business strategy. Because of the recession that previously

hit, and is still affecting most of America, private online business were doing much better

than your average shopping mall. Who’s to say that the deal Nordstrom made with

Hautelook will actually benefit the company as they are hoping? With the economy

slowly beginning to pick up, there is no word yet on how online businesses are gong to

respond. Hautelook is not the only private sales site of its kind either; Rue La La and the

Gilt Group also offer high end products for exclusive, and reasonable prices. These sales

they stage are fast and furious; some last only a few hours, and offer considerable mark

downs on designer brands like Gucci.

The type of partnership that Nordstrom plans to participate in could possibly be

beneficial though, it was sold for what is considered a reasonable amount and should be

easy to put into action. This merger will also hopefully add capital as well as take

advantage of the growing online market with the help of talented individuals outside of

Nordstrom. However, while there seem to be many plus sides to Nordstrom’s latest

business adventure there are plenty of downsides. What happens if Hautelook as a lone

business goes under? Where does that leave Nordstrom? There is a definite potential lack

of continuity in this partnership, which could cause considerable damage especially if

Hautelook’s contributions are worth noting.

It’s safe to say that as the economy suffered, stores like Nordstrom noticed that

online companies seemed to be keeping their heads above water with what seemed like

considerable ease during these trying times. According to Mr. Nordstrom, “ the company

had long considered creating a site in- house but was attracted to Hautelook’s team,

technology and already established business. [I.e. a positive when considering

partnerships] Seems like the perfect set up. However, retail experts are having a difficult

time attempting to predict the growth of these private sale venues. So all in all the future

of Nordstrom’s partnership with Hautelook seems to be up in the air.

Media Report:

Prabal Gurung

Fashion designer Prabal Gurung has officially changed the way the world sees

fashion, and I mean literally. On February 15th, at 11:30 am select editors were given a

chance to view his exclusive fashion show online only. Public relations firm KCD has

selected Gurung as their first designer to try this new method out with. The runway show

lasts six minutes and incorporates a mix up close shots as well as what the view would be

from the audience. Not only does this video contain just the show but it also has a clip of

the designer himself talking briefly about his creations as well as a short segment on the

hair and makeup on the models. Currently KCD has high hopes for the future, which

include posting more runway shows online in order to alleviate the congestion…on the

Fashion week calendar.” Critics have their doubts wondering if an online video will even

come close to showing the quality and beauty of the design, however the collects are

usually available for viewing in a separate showroom after the show, which a viewer

unsatisfied with the online version can always check out.

I find this idea to be fascinating. First of all KCD is just capitalizing on an idea

that has been around for a while. Many designers will post clips of their shows on style

sites right away, however in this case Gurung’s show is strictly online; there is no option

to see it in person [besides in the showroom- which means off the models.] The thing

about posting real runway shows online is that the general population gets to see them

right after the fashion world executives, which is a huge bonus, and it appears that KCD

wants to limit general access to their shows by only airing them on a password protected

site- bad for us fashion students. By taking the live audience away from fashion shows

venues as well as designer using them lose money, there is no admission price, and that

could potentially put hundreds of people out of work. What about the DJ, the lighting

crew, the stagehands, the onsite dressers, catering? The list is really endless. Plus I know

its 2012 but it really takes the fun out of fashion- the humanity if you will. Any of us can

sit alone at home and isolate ourselves in front of our computer screens, and I don’t care

what KCD says it’s not the same. From a marketing perspective I’m not sure what will

happen, in a way I think this is a great idea, but because this is the industry I hope to get a

job in one day, I really hope everything doesn’t continue to relocate to online.

Press Release: CFDA/VOGUE

Press Release: Manish Arora Fashion Show

Mock Advertisement: Apple iPad

Columbia College:

Event Advertisement

Marketing Plan:

Burberry