Pink Advertising Plan

Victoria’s Secret PINK Brand Advertising Plan Company Background: One would be hard-pressed to find a consumer not familiar with the women’s apparel and lingerie empire that is Victoria’s Secret. The brand is more than just a clothing line; it has become a national phenomena. Every year, over 10 million viewers tune in to watch the Victoria’s Secret fashion show – an annual runaway show of the brand’s latest styles modeled by the beloved Angels (CBS News). In a day and age of severely fragmented television audiences, such a large viewership is more than just impressive.

Few other brands can boast such saturation. After dominating the lingerie industry for over thirty years, the brand was looking for some expansion. Enter the PINK brand, a line of loungewear and lingerie aimed towards the gainful 18- to 30-year-old market. Unsurprisingly, Victoria’s Secret’s pet project thrived. Earning $1 billion annually, PINK is the top lingerie retailer amongst the teen market (Lepore). With this campaign, our team hopes to better understand the brand and help create an effective marketing and advertising plan for the next year (Neghina, 2009).

Victoria’s Secret was established in 1997 in San Francisco, California, by Stanford alum Roy Raymond. The idea was simple; Raymond felt embarrassed every time he tried to buy lingerie for his wife in a regular department store. He took out an eighty thousand dollar loan and decided to open his first store at the Stanford Shopping center in Palo Alto. To supplement his store, Raymond began a mail-order catalog operation to capitalize on the “discretion of purchase” he felt was needed in the lingerie retail industry.

In 1882, Raymond decided to sell the company along with its six existing stores to Leslie Werner, creator of the Limited Stores Inc. of Columbus, Ohio. The business was sold for around one million dollars. After the new ownership of the business, Victoria’s Secret began to expand into countless U. S malls, and by the 1990s it had become the largest American lingerie retailer, topping just over one billion dollars. Throughout the 90s, the company began to use supermodels in their advertisements. They even turned own celebrity models and other endorsements to better preserve their classy, simple, yet prestigious brand image. In July 2004, Victoria’s Secret product line PINK was founded. It received positive test results in 2003 and applied to around fifty test markets. The target group for PINK is between 18- to 30-year-old college co-eds that are hip and fashionable (Neghina, 2009). Their idea was simple, to create a product line that was playful, cute and fun. Their product lines encompasses loungewear, sleep wear and intimate clothing.

The products are distributed through their shopping mall locations, the Victoria’s Secret website, and the store catalogues (Neghina, 2009). PINK varies from the tradition of the original Victoria’s Secret. The PINK line introduces new products about every three to four weeks. They use young Hollywood hip-hop artists and young celebrity personalities, as opposed to supermodel “Angels,” in their advertisements. Past endorsers include stars such as Ashlee Simpson, Fergie, JoJo, Ciara, and Lindsay Lohan. The PINK line even has its own mascot.

A pink dog can be found branding all of the clothing and lingerie, as well as a separate commodity in itself, as PINK sells a stuffed line of the little dog. Massive public events are held annually in the name of PINK, such as the “World’s Largest Pajama Party. ” These differences in attitude, presentation, and target market are what sets PINK as a strong product line for Victoria’s Secret. It has been reported that over 33 million teenagers purchase from PINK each year, bringing in $175 billion dollars annually (Neghina, 2009).

Parents and other family members also bring in a whopping $170 billion dollars annually, and the profitable “tween” market brings in about $51 billion dollars annually (Neghina, 2009). External Factors a. Customers: Individuals, who purchase PINK, are young women ages seventeen to thirty, mostly young adults in college or ready to start college. This particular age group makes up 13. 8% of the female population. For women in this particular age group, their wants and needs in the fashionable underwear market are quite similar.

The most obvious point is that everyone, men and women alike, needs some form of underwear. With under garments, consumers need an item that they can wear comfortably on a day-to-day basis. Comfort and fit are the main attributes needed in this product category. Women purchase underwear for several reasons. The most important ones, and the ones that Victoria’s Secret relies most heavily on, is the sexual aspect. When a woman wears sexy underwear, she, herself, feels sexy. Suggestive under clothing fulfills a self-esteem need for consumers.

It also fulfills a social need, in respect to relationships. Chosen underwear can affect sexual relationships and even signal a desired social conduct. Another distinct reason women purchase fashionable underwear, is the psychological factors such as the lifestyle which women live. A specific type of lifestyle that women live whom purchases these types of products, are outgoing, free spirited, and extravagant, whom are younger women who have a steady lifestyle, going go to college, or living at home with their parents. b. Competitors:

One of the main competitors of Victoria’s Secret PINK line is Aerie, a company owned by American Eagle, whom offers the same options of apparel as PINK, such as lingerie, sleepwear, loungewear and swim wear. One advantage the Aerie product line holds its price; it is slightly lower price than the PINK brand. They offer the same type of products, but at lower prices. On the other hand, Aerie does not hold the brand equity that PINK does. Victoria’s Secret and, by association, PINK, has a reputation of being sexy and glamorous. Such brand traits are important to college-aged women.

Most college students are searching for that upscale flirty look that PINK provides. Another weakness is Aerie’s promotions. Aerie does not use large paper catalogs or television advertising, which gives PINK of Victoria Secret the upper hand in the promotional category, due to the fact that Victoria Secret uses a lot of paper catalogs to promote their products by sending out booklets with loads of products, and pictures every few months. In comparison, PINK has many advantages that Aerie and many of their other competitors lack.

Their main strength is that it has been a well-established company with a history of specializing in undergarments and loungewear. Aerie’s parent brand, American Eagle, started out as a clothing retailer, instead of a lingerie distributor, meaning Aerie does not have the strong reputation of PINK, due to the fact that AERIE as a lingerie company hasn’t been around as long as PINK has. Aerie started after American Eagle, it’s parent brand, yet on the other hand PINK started originally as a lingerie company, not a clothing company such as American Eagle, Aerie’s parent brand.

Secondly, PINK has the status of being known as “sexy, glamorous and also comfortable” (Farnum). This gives the company a competitive edge against the rest of the companies such as Aerie or Gilly Hicks, a near clone of PINK, but too new to the scene. PINK’s main personality is mainly known as happy go lucky, this brand makes women feel more feminine and ladylike, it also makes women feel as if they are important and gives them a wealthy feeling, due to the fact that PINK is a little more upscale. Another strength of PINK is that Aerie lacks the complete line of products that PINK has successfully created.

PINK’s products consist of more than apparel, with the inclusion of such beauty products as body lotions and cosmetics. Aerie has recently released a line of fragrances to compete with PINK’s existing perfume set. Usually, Aerie promotes their brand by sending out a small catalog every season with limited photos and they very seldom use advertisements on television. Aerie, too, offers a loyalty program where they send out coupons to their customers after they spend a certain amount of money, or around their birthdays, which pushes their customers to be repeat buyers.

In addition, they also provide promotional codes on their online Facebook pages and allow customers to plug in the code at the end of online purchases to add a discount on that particular purchase. PINK, however, does promoting of their product in different ways. They are always running TV advertisements and sending out extensive catalogs showing many of their products. They also have the “Angel” card where you can get discounts once you spend enough money, and they send out coupons and small gifts to their customers on their birthdays. PINK features an iPhone/Android app with interactive games and coupons.

More interactive marketing techniques include users’ input on new products; currently, the company is asking customers to vote on the design for the official PINK iPhone cover. Similarly, they run a semi-Annual sale, quite famous amongst loyal customers eager for a bargain. Another competitor worth noting, as mentioned before, is Gilly Hicks. Gilly Hicks is the Abercrombie and Fitch brand’s latest pet project. A visit to the site shows it borrows its design from the original Abercrombie and Fitch website, lacking its own identity presently. The products, however, match the PINK brand’s offerings.

Gilly Hicks sells colorful flirty sweatpants and hoodies, along with yoga pants and underwear. In fact, the brand was created to directly compete Victoria’s Secret and Aerie. An analyst for the brand said, “We believe Gilly Hicks could be a more wholesome alternative (to Victoria’s Secret), and mothers would not mind taking their 15-year-olds to Gilly Hicks to shop” (“Gilly Hicks Bares All”). Currently, the company is extremely limited. As of 2012, they only have 39 store locations. The plan is to eventually open 200 (“Gilly Hicks Bares All”).

While small in number, it has the financial backing and success of the Abercrombie brand and marketing team. Gilly Hicks, in direct contrast to the analyst’s previous comment of being “wholesome”, advertises in the same style as Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister. Ads feature half naked models (or sometimes fully naked with subtle coverings). However, Gilly Hicks is a threat due to its pricing. An average push-up bra from PINK can cost a customer almost $39. At Gilly Hicks, they proudly claim all of their bras are under $25. Now, the brand has to gain momentum somehow.

The brand plays off a distinct personality for being a “lower cost” alternative. The Market: The industry for women’s apparel is a substantial one. According to Hoover’s a subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet commercial researchers, women’s apparel dominates all of the clothing industry: 50% of clothing retail stores specialize in women’s clothing, with only 20% targeting men (Clothing Stores – Industry Facts and Trends). Moreover, it can be a lucrative business. The industry consists of over 100,000 stores that earn $165 billion annually. Ladies love their clothes and will spend their hard-earned money on them.

However, the wealth is not evenly spread; the top 50 companies in the category are responsible for 65 percent of the total industry revenue (Clothing Stores – Industry Facts and Trends). Profitability in this market is attainable. Pricing markups is the big factor in this. Clothing is relatively inexpensive to make, especially when most big retailers send their manufacturing overseas to be mass-produced for lower wages. Any retailer can sell a t-shirt. With clothing, customers are paying for style, image and, in most cases, a brand name. An average t-shirt costs around $7. 50 to make (Bennett).

When a consumer checks the price tag in a store, it can read anywhere from $10 to $200. This is what the store marks up the price for to make a profit. Of course, a $200 t-shirt offers a much larger profit than a $10 one, but there has to be a market for that $200 shirt. Some brand names have earned the image that collects a higher price tag. Well-established brands, such as Victoria’s Secret, carry higher brand equity that benefit from higher mark ups. Currently, the lingerie market is trying to rope in the under 35 market. According to recent data, older women tend to purchase a new bra every 4 to 6 months.

Younger women are more frequent buyers (Lepore). For this reason, any brand that can capture the younger women’s business is king. Once a woman gains a preference for a lingerie brand in her 20’s, this loyalty tends to carry over into her later years. No one seems to grasp this concept better than Victoria’s Secret. According to their annual reports, PINK is a “starter brand,” intended to be a gateway for young women to transition to the more mature styles of Victoria’s Secret. PINK’s ideal consumer is 19 years old; Victoria’s Secret targets women in their later 20’s (Lepore).

Even so, the lingerie company can experience its downturns. Clothing, a constant need of humanity, can still feel the strain of an economy in turmoil like any other industry. In fact, women’s apparel recently experienced a decline. In 2009, all clothing sales in the United States decreased 5. 1 percent; the majority, women’s clothing, dropped 4. 9 percent. When the economy is in a recession, the obvious impulse is to consider the necessities, avoid the luxuries and, ultimately, spend less. This means that in hard times, people forgo the new costly outfits in favor of the familiar threads hanging in the closet.

When people lose confidence, financially, luxuries like high-end clothes take a hit. When money is tight, branded sweatpants and flirty push-up bras fall to the wayside. Fortunately, clothing sales bounced back up, however slightly, in the 2010 fiscal year and has been steadily creeping upwards since (Jones). In advertising, this means many companies may highlight the economy of their clothing or, for the more expensive fare, why the extra money is worth it. It might emphasize such features of high quality; it may cost more, yes, but it will last longer, so it is an investment to one’s wardrobe.

Specifically, Victoria’s Secret and PINK may be more expensive than Gilly Hicks, but Victoria’s Secret can emphasize that their underwear is higher in quality and better suited to the female body. The Environment: Clothing is an industry that is almost entirely based on culture. What the stores put on the shelves depends wholly on the customers it sells to. In America, women prefer an outfit of form-fitting jeans and a nice blouse, or maybe even a short flowing skirt with a tank top if the weather allows. American stores, therefore, supply the demand.

However, a Muslim woman in the Middle East would not be searching for a mini skirt in her local retail outlet. Likewise, women’s clothing has received a bad reputation recently in the advertising world. In a never-ending effort to push the envelope, clothing advertisements are becoming more risque every day. Sex sells, the old axiom says. Advertisers are faced with quite a conundrum in visualizing sex: sex implies nudity, so how does that fit in with clothing? As it is, many clothing retailers seem unfazed at the notion of eliminating clothing in their promotions.

The best-known example is easily Abercrombie and Fitch. Each Abercrombie and Fitch location is darkly lit and adorned with shirtless picturesque models in monochrome. With no contextual clues, one would not even be aware that he stepped into a clothing store at all. Nonetheless, Abercrombie and Fitch enjoys a loyal and paying fan base. Dolce and Gabbana, a clothing industry giant, has made a name in selling sex. In 2007, it made headlines by running an ad that stylized an implied gang rape scene. The print ad offended many, but the company garnered endless publicity.

All Dolce and Gabbana ads feature models in various states of undress and awkward poses. For the Italian luxury line, sex sells and it sells well. On the other hand, no complaints are to be had when a lone model struts in nothing but her underwear for a commercial. Visual sexuality is acceptable; sex, shown or implied, is a gray area. Such cultural norms have an impact on how a clothing retailer, such as Victoria’s Secret, can promote its products. As it tends to go, time changes culture and advertising must accommodate. Critics are calling for a reform in the advertising of clothing.

A blogger, Cherie Harder weighs in on the matter: “One of the most hopeful developments that could occur would be the various fashion designers voluntarily and conscientiously considering the message and potential impact of their advertising campaigns and runway dramas on the larger society. An effective social movement would encourage fashion insiders to do so, and affirm their actions when they did. ” She calls for marketers to consider the ethical implications of their advertisements. Recent trends, such as sickly thin models and over-sexualized children, cause major repercussions in our society.

Consumers tend to idolize the models they see in advertising and hold themselves up to the impossible standards created. Praise is offered for fashion insiders who participate in self-regulation. “Early during the fall of 2011, the CFDA announced that it [would only] partner with designers who ban underage models from the catwalk. Such efforts at self-regulation are to be commended, and encouraged to grow” (Harder). If the majority of consumers share this viewpoint, it will only be a matter of time until they begin to vote with their wallets.

Victoria’s Secret and PINK are no strangers to utilizing sexy women in their advertisements. The company claims that it picks its models not for men, but for women. Their models are chosen because they embody traits that women find attractive; men just also happen to agree. “Women make up the majority of the company’s executives — they represent two-thirds of those tuning in to their fashion shows, and they account for a whopping 98% of the company’s customer base. It’s no coincidence that two of the most high-profile Angels in its short history are women other women don’t, as a rule, dislike: Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum” (Bonander).

Regardless, a Google search of “Victoria’s Secret photoshop” reveals pages of “outed” untouched photos of these models. Usually, the women are athletic and toned. Before publication, muscle tone is airbrushed to achieve a softer, more feminine, look. Less significantly, wrinkles in clothes and other such distractors are edited to better showcase the clothing. Victoria’s Secret, however, is hardly the worst offender. In fact, often, it has been accused of Photoshopping falsely; consumers see the elongated and thin figures of the models and cry “Photoshop! Often times, though, the models are just naturally that svelte, which also happens to be the ideal body, according to women. The brand is just supplying consumers with the models they wish to see, but what are the societal consequences of this? Critics have recently taken to asking the fashion industry for some answers. Internal Factors a. Strengths: Victoria Secret launched the brand PINK in July 2004. The clothing brand was launched to “capture the spirit of young with PINK” (Bhatnager). It is targeted towards girls in college. With this brand Victoria Secret was able to reach out to the younger generations.

Victoria Secret has a lot of strengths to offer to the brand PINK including financial. Victoria Secret is one of the top brands in the United States; this allowed PINK to be viewed as top quality. Victoria Secret has had an increase to sales since the launch of PINK even in the first year a growth of 4 percent in 2004. PINK is a big contributor to the increasing of sales that Victoria Secret has had over the years. Because PINK is targeted to the younger generation, this gives them an advantage of being a store that attracts all different ages of clientele. A big strength that PINK has in the market is that they can constantly create new styles. Victoria Secret has an advantage over the market because they are the ones who created this market targeted towards college goers. PINK has the ability to be creative with their designs. With the style of clothes changing all the time this allows PINK to have a brand image of New Cool Stylish Clothes. Because Victoria Secret has such a well known brand image, for making top quality things, this then gives their brand PINK a brand quality the same.

This then shows the perceived identity of being cool, and stylish. PINK has different ways to make sure that their consumers are aware of this brand by having different contests within the United States against colleges. They also have a Pandora station called PINK Nation. This is one of the most popular radio stations offered on Pandora. PINK also gives away free underwear, water bottles, t-shirts, and even iPhone cases. Having all these promotions show awareness of the brand. With this brand they were able to mark the prices lower and allow the younger generation to afford it.

This brand has a lot of different clothing options that most brands do not have. It is very appealing to just about every girl. Being able to market to the younger generation gives them advantage to have a store that offers things for the younger and older generations. There are not many stores that are like this. Also with this part of the company Victoria Secret has earned financial gain off of PINK. Since PINK is doing so well, it is making VS a substantial amount of money. b. Weaknesses: Victoria’s Secret PINK’s weaknesses are few.

The first, in terms of advertising, is the strategy V PINK uses. Victoria’s Secret sends mailer coupons and a catalog. Victoria’s Secret’s PINK, however, uses virtually no print advertisements. I consider this a weakness compared to the regular line of Victoria’s Secret products and their relative use of print ads. The traditional VS product catalog comes out every quarter. VS PINK may lose sales to cannibalism by not sending out print advertisements along with traditional VS catalogs. The next weakness is that the company is a local company, operating only in the United States and Canada.

The brand would do well in college towns across the globe especially Europe. The company could use this opportunity to focus on European soccer sports teams as a brand line of PINK. The next weakness is the physical locations of most Victoria’s Secret stores. The stores are typically in a mall setting. With the presence of the Internet, more and more consumers are using the Internet to do their shopping right from their home. Victoria’s Secret’s physical stores are mostly in shopping malls. With less mall traffic, fewer shoppers will be walking by Victoria’s Secret stores, discouraging impulse purchases.

This may ultimately force the closure of some Victoria’s Secret stores across the country and without a physical store presence, some shoppers will think it is riskier to buy before trying on a garment or actually seeing it. The last weakness is the actual space. The actual merchandise that consumers can physically see, touch, and try on is limited, which may hinder consumers’ willingness to buy. The store is about 1/3 Victoria’s Secret PINK and the rest the traditional Victoria’s Secret line. Victoria’s Secret PINK merchandise is not only lingerie, but also larger products such as sweat pants and shirts as well as handbags and backpacks.

They take up more space than the traditional Victoria’s Secret products, thus there is less room in the store to carry the wide range of Victoria’s Secret PINK products. I would suggest opening stand alone VS PINK stores in prime locations with a high volume of females ages 17-25. Communication Objectives: The PINK brand is more than just a line of women’s clothing and lingerie. PINK is a lifestyle brand. It embodies the culture of our target market. When a young woman is seen wearing a PINK sweatshirt, it sends a message about her. She is young, flirty and fun.

According to the Limited Brands portfolio description, PINK is “designed to appeal to the spirit, humor, optimism and self-confidence of the girl who wears, loves and lives PINK (Pink, Limited Brands). Brand awareness is high in young women. In fact, in the 2012 brand rankings, Victoria’s Secret sits securely at 18, far above Gilly Hicks’ parent brand, Abercrombie and Fitch at 45. The focus of this campaign, therefore, is not awareness, but preference. Our market is aware and they understand the brand. The brand now needs to work on the upper levels of the pyramid: specifically, desire.

There is a market for loungewear and lingerie; we need to create a desire for this particular brand alone, over all others. PINK has been and is currently a leader in among college-aged women. As to be expected, competitors of all qualities are nipping at the brand’s heels. Aerie and Gilly Hicks offer lower priced options, along with similar styles that are now sold at retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart. While these imitations offer a lower cost, they do not offer the same status as PINK. Victoria’s Secret offers a lifestyle to its consumers.

Discount retailers lack the sex appeal and fun of a Victoria’s Secret purchase. As such, we need to remind consumers of what it means to belong to the PINK lifestyle. Our campaign must encourage a desire and preference for our brand over any other competitor. Within one year, we plan to increase preference for the PINK brand by 10% in the 18- to 30-year-old female market. To measure brand preference, we will set regular goals as check-ins. By the end of the first four months, we will have exposed 50% of our target market to the newly minted advertising campaign through television, magazines and social media.

After eight months, we will measure increased numbers in purchases and orders within our target market. To quantify brand preference, we will test with surveys (distributed through email, Facebook and mail). For more solid numbers, we will utilize the ARS Persuasion, a methodology that compares brand preference before and after marketing efforts. With the ARS method, we will test if the latest campaign accomplished its goal of increasing brand preference. After one year, we will again evaluate the numbers and decide the advertising campaign’s effectiveness. Communications Budget: . Victoria’s Secret: PINK 2011 Budget (estimate) Budget Categories| Total Budget | Year to Date Spend| Budget Remaining| Advertising (print)| $9,550,000| $6,500,000| $3,050,000| Advertising (online)| $40,000,000| $25,000,000| $15,000,000| Advertising (television)| $31,500,000| $19,500,000| $12,000,000| Creative Agency Fees| $250,000,000| $170,000,000| $80,000,000| Events and Sponsorships| $65,000,000| $35,000,000| $30,000,000| Public Relations| $27,000,000| $21,500,500| $5,499,500| Table Format, (Krausova, 2012). Data gathered from: VictoriasSecret. com/annual sales

With the help of PINK, Victoria’s Secret was able to generate an additional 2%-4% increase in overall sales each quarter in 2011 without exceeding their budget in any category within their Communications Budget. PINK also accounted for about 22% of Victoria’s Secret total sales in 2011. PINK also sponsored an event in 2011 titled “The World’s Largest Pajama Party”, an advertising campaign to promote the product line. The event was held at a large venue in New York City that encouraged girls from all ages to come in their pajamas and participate in activities, giveaways, and meet-and-greets with current Victoria’s Secret models.

Following the event, PINK obtained about a 2% increase in sales nationwide, directly resulting from their advertising and promotional efforts surrounding the slumber party (Graham, 2011). Our new budget is derived from the idea that if we spend the total budget in 2011 and add the additional sum of remaining funds, we will likely see an even greater increase in sales resulting directly from these efforts. Our budget for Print Advertising for 2013 is as follows with the use of print advertisements in four magazines (Elle, Vogue, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan).

Print Channel| Cost of AD per Month| Spent by 2014| Elle| $97,365| $1,168,380| Vogue| $173,075| $2,076,900| Glamour| $219,190| $2,630,280| Cosmopolitan| $244,100| $2,689,200| Total Print Budget for 2013| Total Spent by 2014| Budget Remaining| $12,000,000| $8,804,760| $3,195,240| b. Method of Allocation Executives for brands such as PINK will spend a tremendous amount of money on advertising and promotion as long as they are sure they will make a profit. There are a number of different methods that companies use to determine their budget for any given category in the Communications Budget.

The method used by PINK most resembles the “Objective/task method” or the “budget buildup method. ” This technique uses advertising and promotion as a marketing tool to boost sales (Chang ;amp; Lin, 2004). The priority step of this method is estimating costs. In PINK’s case they had a total advertising budget of eighty-one million dollars in 2011. This included advertising through television, print, and online sites. This method estimates a budget, executes the promotions, and analyzes sales as a result of these efforts.

Accomplishing an increase in sales related directly to the use of advertising as a marketing tool is the main goal of the objective/task method. As a result of these efforts, PINK executives witnessed a 2%-4% increase in overall sales for Victoria’s Secret Company as a whole during each quarter in 2011. As stated before, PINK also accounted for 22% of total sales in 2011, all without exceeding their budgets for Public Relations, Advertising, Events and Sponsorships (Graham, 2011). Communication Strategies:

The product concept we are selling with Victoria’s Secret PINK clothing line is a feeling/emotional experience in addition to a physical product. That is want differentiates us from competitors; we would like to prove that young women can feel comfy, but look cute and sexy at the same time in our clothes. When a female college student gets home from class, work, or extracurricular activities, the first, most common thing she does is takes off her jeans and “throws on a pair of sweats. VS PINK wants to not only sell sweatpants, sweatshirts, and t-shirts, we want to position our clothing line as a reward, or something one anticipates coming home to do. We strive to position the PINK line as a way to escape from all the stress of school, stress of dressing up from presentations, stress of trying to impress. In these clothes, there’s no worries, no stress, no anxiety. These clothes signify it is time to relax and unwind from the day. This idea will be implemented through print ads, personal testimonials, and Internet marketing of site banners, social media advertising, and cell phone applications.

In terms of our brand, the “mother brand” Victoria’s Secret emphasizes red, passion, fire, and sexy. VS PINK has a more innocent, soft, youthful appeal. That is the market we are targeting and why our brand, while has a sexy image from the name of our “mother brand,” also has a more comfortable, laid-back, fun image. For example, we offer NFL, MLB, and collegiate collections so that women can support their team while still feeling cute, sexy, fun, and comfy. VS PINK desires a high think and feel involvement when it comes to consumer purchasing behavior.

Truly, we are selling a brand rather than products. We need customers to view VS PINK as different and better; that in VS PINK clothes they will look and feel better, sexier, and more comfortable than in sweats from XYZ Company. We need customers to have active thoughts and emotions while shopping in order for our brand to be chosen. These clothes are hedonic personal purchases. They are too expensive to be clothes consumers “need,” therefore we must create a desire, a “want” for our brand and products.

Young women will use VS PINK to escape from typical college life and transition to a consumer of “regular” Victoria’s Secret line of products because she has already been conditioned to prefer this brand and image it gives her. Target Market: PINK, a well-known lingerie company, strives to make their company known in the minds of consumers. Their main target audience in which the advertising of the company will address is women ages 18 – 30. There are nearly 4. 1 million consumers that purchase from PINK, a number that is constantly on the rise as PINK gains more equity. Of these 4. million, 82% are women buyers. The goal of advertising is to try to reach younger women who are looking for a high-end look and are willing to spend more to get a quality product, rather than lingerie from Wal-Mart, a discount retailer. The ideal PINK customer has an income of around $50,000 per year, or at the lower range of the targeted age, they have parents with a similar income that are willing to foot the bill. Based off of this, the usual total spent at PINK stores averages at about $110 on every purchase of lingerie, casual clothing, shoes, accessories, and loungewear.

The target audience and the target market of PINK are very closely related. The target audience is more focused on young women ages 18-30 that live in large cities and spend most of their free time shopping in outlets or on the Internet. They also want to target women who don’t mind spending a little more money for higher fashionable clothing and lingerie. Additionally the brand speaks to outgoing women, who are willing to try anything, including the latest PINK accessory. For the target market, it’s broader. PINK will just target women 18-30 whom are just looking for clothing or lingerie to spice up their wardrobe.

They will mostly target women in cities but not dig deep into the root of those women. Mainly, the demographics of PINK is aimed at younger women who are looking to purchase fancy lingerie, or younger college students who are looking to buy clothing that is more causal while still emulating a cute fashionable image. Women that purchase PINK live in a wide dispersed area. Due to the fact that PINK has a total of 1,035 locations worldwide, and is one of the most widely known companies, almost every female that you talk to knows about PINK.

Although this stands true, most of the stores are put in places that are more populated, such as Hagerstown, Frederick, Altoona, and Baltimore. Another idea related to demographics is the education of PINK’s customers. Their main customers are young adults in their college years, or middle-aged women who have a college degree and are making, as stated above, an average of $50,000 per year. Based on the demographics of the women that purchase from Victoria’s Secret, the ideal customer would be a young woman in her early twenties, either in college or graduated.

She lives in a widely populated area that is able to host the Victoria’s Secret retailer. The psychographics of PINK’s target audience consists of women who have an outgoing lifestyle or just a fast-paced lifestyle. Essentially, women that are constantly on the move and like to wear comfortable clothing are PINK’s target audience. PINK offers feminine lounge outfits that allow the customer to be comfortable and stylish at the same time. High spirited and outgoing and fun are some qualities of women within PINK’s target audience.

To want to buy PINK, a woman is bold and willing to stand out, wearing a sparkly bright pink hoodie in a world of bland. PINK offers clothing in many different shades of colors and designs, so putting on that pink or purple jacket will add that pop of excitement, energy and fashion that a woman craves. Channels: We are going to use a lot of different channels to communicate our advertisements. Using channels such as print ads in magazines and on billboards, email campaigns, and TV commercials. Expanding the way we advertise will allow us to make the brand more aware around the United States.

PINK already places ads in the magazine Cosmopolitan; we will place a large print ad in the magazines Glamour, and Seventeen. Placing print ads in the magazine Seventeen will allow us to reach the generation that is in high school such as the seniors who are going to college in the following year and will use our products. The magazines are run every month of the year; therefore, we chose to place them frequently two times a year in each magazine. It is very expensive to place ads in such popular magazines, so we are going to run the ads during the summer and the spring.

After we use the ads in the magazines, we are going to invest into TV commercials. PINK does not have many TV commercials that run frequently, so we have come up with a few different ones to place on the TV station MTV. We believe that MTV is one of the most watched stations by college students. MTV also is nationally known would allow us to reach our target market. A full-page in Cosmopolitan in color runs $244,100 (Cosmopolitan Media Kit). A full color ad in Glamour goes for $219,190 (Glamor Media Kit). A full page color ad in Elle runs $155,680 (Elle Media Kit).

Finally, an ad in Lucky magazine costs $131,652. All prices for a single issue run. Each magazine comes out monthly, equaling 12 issues a year. Even though this is pricey, we believe that advertising in these magazines will only increase the desire of our brand. Our graphic design department will produce the ads, so we will not incur any more costs for the print ads. Cosmopolitan, for example is the leading magazine amongst women (Cosmopolitan Media Kit). Readers average over a hour spent with each issue of Cosmopolitan, making it an intimate medium that makes ads easier to be noticed.

The advertisements are being used to enhance our preference as a brand and strengthen our brand loyalty. We plan to show what our brand has to offer to our target market, and how you can wear comfortable clothes and still look fashionable. Our goal is to make our brand better known around the United States. Our campaign will focus on diverse college dorm life that will appeal to a broad range of women in college. The ad shows a diverse view of the brand and invites the consumers to take a chance to enjoy our products in their daily life. The continuity of seeing our ads in the magazine will allow us to hit the target market easily.

The magazine ads will reach our target market the best. This is because the magazines we chose to place the ads in are constantly being bought all around the United States. Having our ads placed in the magazines allows us to hit the whole US at once, we will be able to market to the target market at the right time. If we place the ads in the summer, most magazines are purchased then for reading allowing us to reach a lot of women. When we place our ads in the spring it will allow us to reach the senior girls that are graduating and going to college we will open them up to our brand through our ad.

With this positive communication effectiveness we are bound to succeed in expanding our brand preference. Ratings provide valuable information regarding what media our market is consuming and through which vehicles we can reach them. Most notably, according to the 2009 Alloy College Explorer study, college students are increasing their viewing of content on the Internet, whether it is YouTube or full episodes from network websites (College Students, 2009). PINK should have a presence in more online media watching.

As for Facebook and email subscriptions, these outlets are successful and will be brought into the new campaign. Email correspondence will include images from the new visual direction we will be taking. The Facebook page will be revamped to remain fresh and up-to-date. To keep up with the online media consumption, our team will create an ad campaign to run before and during online videos. For television, we will saturate highly on MTV, which the lower age bracket of our market is most commonly watching. Plans include ads run during the ratings champions including Jersey Shore, Teen Wolf and Awkward.

These shows have proven to be popular amongst our target market, especially Jersey Shore. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the reality series garnered 4. 7 million viewers this season. It earned a 2. 5 rating among adults 18-49, second only to the NFL stations (O’Connell). Outside of the teenage networks, the highest rated shows on television currently are Modern Family and The Voice, both of which should be advertised during. Even more importantly, The Voice is the top show when DVRS are excluded. What does this mean? It means viewers are watching live and cannot fast forward through ommercials (Adalian). Also, we will be designing and printing a glossy magazine ad to be placed in the vehicles of Seventeen, Glamour and Cosmopolitan, three of the dominant publications read by the consumer we hope to arouse. According to Cosmopolitan’s media kit, “the best-selling magazine in its category” has a readership that is exactly what we are looking for. 9,086 of their readers are aged 18-34. 11,893 readers earn an income of over $30,000. Glamour’s media kit boasts a readership to equal 11, 522,000 and 95% of it is female. 80% of their readers are between the age of 18 and 49.

The magazine Seventeen, as evidenced by its name, appeals to a younger demographic, the older teen segment, but we believe it is never too early to begin building a loyalty to a brand. We would like Seventeen’s readers to choose PINK as their preferred brand in the future. Tactics: The first advertisement is promoting National Sweatpants Day on January 21. This will run as a full-page print advertisement in the magazines discussed from the months October/November through January. The ad features the title of National Sweatpants Day, our PINK logo, our slogan, and instructions for our sales promotion.

The goal of featuring National Sweatpants day is to generate hype and activity of a fun day to dress down. The theme of the advertisement is celebrating being comfortable and having fun with your friends. For our sales promotion, women are encouraged to wear sweatpants on January 21, take a picture with their friends, and then post it to one of our social media walls. This will then generate a 15 percent off coupon that will post on their wall, as incentive to participate. This creates an interactive experience for consumers in a fun, rewarding way.

We hope this will create a buzz about how fun our brand is and encourage a brand switch to VS PINK. We are currently researching a program that will allow our print advertisements to be posted directly on college campuses. To execute this, we would develop a “PINK REP” in which students from various colleges will be the campus representative for VS PINK. Her duties would include posting posters, spreading word of mouth, and hosting events from time to time. For example, she could partner with a sorority to sponsor events. This will make it easier to penetrate directly to the campus community.

We will offer part-time positions with pay slightly above minimum wage plus a percentage off all PINK purchases. Packaging and Labeling: Since most of PINK’s products do not some in special packaging, apart from the PINK shopping bag, there is not much that needs to be communicated with the customer. The PINK shopping bag is vibrant, and unmistakable, making it almost as valuable as the merchandise itself. When shoppers leave the store and wander off, it is noticeable they shopped at PINK. This creates a desire for bystanders, to be noticed. PINK’s labeling has always shouted emphasis on the brand name.

Traditionally, the words “PINK” or “LOVE PINK” are stamped on attire in large, bright colors. Since this has been PINK’s labeling method from the start we would like to maintain their powerful image by continuing to label all attire and accessories with the words “PINK” and “LOVE PINK. ” We are trying to get customers to switch to PINK, therefore we cannot back down from the current use of the logo. It stands out, and it works. For our seasonal advertisement we will have to address prices that are relevant to any specials we may be running during the holiday.

VS PINK usually runs specials where a customer can purchase so much (typically around one-hundred dollars worth of clothing) and receive a free tote bag or other piece of merchandise. If we run these promotional offers we will be sure to address them in our seasonal print advertisement. Supports and Constraints: For our print advertisement promoting “National Sweatpants Day” we only have one mentionable constraint: The date the event is being held on renders the ad with a very short life span. We plan on running the ad through the month of January to promote the event, however after January 21, 2013 the advertisement is no longer applicable.

The advertisement promoting national sweatpants day has multiple supports that are very important to the success and participation of customers willing to “take part” on January 21st. Customers are encouraged to take a picture of themselves with their friends while wearing PINK sweatpants. The supports for this are the social media sites that the customer will then send that picture to. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can all be used to upload the picture to receive fifteen percent off their next purchase at Victoria’s Secret PINK.

These social media channels are very important supports in regards to PINK because each one is a promotional effort all in itself. Once the participant takes their picture and visits any of the three channels to upload they are then subjected to many more options, events, promotions, and advertisements all sponsored by VS PINK. We hope that by encouraging potential customers to visit our Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook page, they will then become more involved in the PINK community as a whole. Appeals Utilized: Essentially, our entire campaign is based on emotions and feelings.

Clothing, as a general rule, is a high feel, low think product. Customers do not often look at their clothing in a logical way. After all, all sweatshirts will keep one warm in the chilly weather. Instead, they look at the sweatshirt from the view of how it makes them feel. How is the color? Do I like the design? What will people think of me when they see me wearing this? Because of this, our advertisements focus on an emotional appeal. The first ad, for National Sweat Pants Day, encourages socialization and the customers’ feelings of belongingness by requiring participation through social networks.

Likewise, most young girls love a reason to take photos of each other. The second ad, announcing that PINK will allow you to “blow away the competition” focuses on both belongingness and esteem. Blowing away the competition can mean anything, ranging from popularity to love. It is also an esteem issue. If the brand is superior, wearing it brings about a sense of pride to the wearer. The message is simple. Look better, feeling better. PINK does that. Cognitive, Affective or Conative Analysis: Both advertisements we have offered display a high feel and low cognition, for this is the nature of the product it sells.

The first ad, announcing plans for National Sweat Pants Day, is a conative ad. The aim of a conative ad is elicit an action or behavior. In this ad, we are encouraging consumers to participate in a day of comfort and loungewear, but specifically, our loungewear. Beyond that, we are instructing them to take photos and post them online, which is essentially free advertising. If the conative advertisement is successful, consumers should participate and prove pictures to the PINK social networks’ profiles. The second ad, the one assuring customers they can beat out the competition, is purely an affective ad.

The ad is tapping into the emotions of the audience. It speaks not only to the insecurities in a woman, but also her confidence. PINK is versatile. It is good for both insecure and confident days. Feeling insecure? PINK can help. Feeling confident? PINK will make it even better. Similarly, deep down, every woman is competitive, whether it is with other women, men and their domination of our culture or simply with whomever she was yesterday as opposed to today. Every woman to feel that tinge of superiority, even if it, again, it is just because she happens to feel better about herself today, as opposed to yesterday.

This ad says to women, “No worries. You already win. But with PINK, you do more than win; you dominate. ” For our print ads that we created, the slogan that we came up with was “Be You. Be Pink. ” We decided to use this slogan because we want our customers to think of PINK as being simple and comfortable. Our vehicles of choice are magazines. Our ads and campaign reflect a simplicity that is best expressed through print media. Likewise, magazines are a more intimate medium. Thanks to DVRs, television commercials are usually skipped. Magazines are a medium that women spent significant time with, according to Cosmopolitan’s survey.

They peruse the pages leisurely, reading articles and taking in the visuals. A magazine ad has a better chance of catching our audience’s eye and really being looked at and considered than a television ad. As for the slogan, it is expressing a lifestyle along with a feeling. It says that a woman is reflected through what she wears. Loungewear is comfortable, but PINK is also stylish. You are you, but wearing the brand PINK makes you better. So ultimately, you’re better than you were without the PINK clothing and feel more dominant when you wear the brand. We’re trying to sell comfort and uniqueness with our slogan.

When women wear the PINK brand, they feel as if they have a sense of power and are trendsetters. Clothing is a very high affective product. We do not look at a hoodie in a logical sense. We instead consider how it would feel to wear it and what others would think of us in it. For our ads, the executional framework that is portrayed is lifestyle. When people see the ad, we want them to feel as if we’re selling them a type of lifestyle in which they can live, rather than a product. Many advertisements sell someone a product, while giving then an incentive to purchase the product.

On the other hand, our ad is just showing women a type of lifestyle that they could have if they wore the brand PINK. It allows you to look good, while also being comfortable in stylish sweat pants, sweatshirts, and t-shirts. Unique Selling Proposition and Slogan: For our print ads that we created, the slogan that we came up with was “Be You. Be Pink. ” We decided to use this slogan because we want our customers to think of PINK as being simple, and comfortable. A magazine was the type of vehicle that we are using due to the fact that it’s the simplest type of medium and that’s all that we’re going for with our ads.

Similarly, magazines are an intimate medium. DVRs allow for fast-forwarding. Magazines are perused through and advertisements, especially eye-catching ones, are noticed. For this slogan, it just says that the brand allows for comfort, which encourages wearers to be comfortable in their own skin, to be themselves, while wearing the PINK brand. PINK is you, but wearing the brand PINK is better. So ultimately, you’re better than you were without the PINK clothing and feel more dominant when you wear the brand. We’re trying to sell comfort and uniqueness with our slogan.

When women wear the PINK brand, they feel as if they have a sense of power. Executional Framework: For our ads, the executional framework that is portrayed is lifestyle. When people see the ad, we want them to feel as if we’re selling them a type of lifestyle in which they can live, rather than a product. Many advertisements sell someone a product, while giving then an incentive to purchase the product. On the other hand, our ad is just showing women a type of lifestyle that they could have if they wore the brand PINK. It allows you to look good, while also being comfortable in stylish sweat pants, sweat shirts, and t-shirts.

Description and Justification of Advertisements: The National Sweatpants Day advertisement has feminine colors such as pink, white, purple. Our brand PINK represents innocence, fun, and youth which is portrayed in the colors used. We used fun, easy to read fonts as well as the logos for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for easy recognition. We wanted to grab readers’ attention with the glittery background and then keep their attention long enough for them to understand the sales promotion we are trying to communicate. There are not too many words, just enough to get our point across.

We wanted to keep this ad fun, light, and “laid back” just like our communication strategies for our brand positioning. The second non-seasonal ad is simple but eye-catching. It features a Victoria’s Secret model wearing one of the brand’s latest lounge sets. As would be expected, she’s young and attractive. Her smile is vibrant and symbolizes a carefree fun. A white background contrasts with the purple font. The slogan reads, “Blow away the competition. Be you. Be PINK. ” Our encompassing slogan remains, “Be you. Be PINK. ” It summarizes the entire lifestyle we are packaging.

The headline, “Blow away the competition” feeds into the need to be the best. PINK makes you better than the rest. When you wear PINK, you are still you, yes, but you are better. Better than every other girl, better than the old you. Any competition the customer has does not stand a chance when she has her PINK. Measuring Advertisement Effectiveness: To measure our advertisements effectiveness, we will take pre- and post-test measures. As stated before, after the first four months, we hope to reach 50% of the target market.

To measure this, we will distribute surveys amongst the market, along with phone surveys conducting aided and unaided recall tests, in hopes that our ad was memorable to customers. After eight months, we will run the numbers of PINK’s sales against the sales of the competitors, Aerie and Gilly Hicks. We will hope to see an increase in PINK sales and a concurrent decrease in competing sales. This will detonate brand switching. With the seasonal ad (National Sweat Pants Day), along with the above list of tests, we will be able to analyze how many people were exposed to our ad by the response we receive.

Readers are asked to post pictures in PINK clothing to the company’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. A large number of respondents will indicate a high exposure. A small response indicates a low exposure or interest. Both suggest failure in resonating with the target market. This will be an exclusive post-test measure for that specific ad. Conclusion: Our team expects great success with our proposed advertising campaign. We look forward to working with the branding and marketing team for PINK. An exceptional product line deserves an exceptional advertising campaign and this is what we plan to deliver. Thank you.

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