Oxfam Pop-Up Thrift Shops: University Edition By: Ashley Woosley
Event Summary Oxfam is a charity that is working towards ending global poverty. They operate fundraising campaigns, take direct action in underdeveloped countries, and operate shops that are donationbased which offer a large variety of products that all go towards continuing their mission (Oxfam corporate site, 2016). This all day Oxfam Pop-Up Thrift Store event will bring Oxfam women's and men's clothing items directly to university campuses throughout London in a fun pop-up shopping environment. This particular event will take place on University of East London's Dockland's Campus from 10:00-19:00 on Thursday, May 4th 2017. Event Objectives: 1. To inform university students about Oxfam's mission 2. To provide university students possible volunteering opportunities with Oxfam 3. To provide university students a more ethical and sustainable alternative to clothing shopping 4. To generate a total amount of ÂŁ5,000 in sales 5. To attract at least 4,000 event attendees The event's mission is to provide university students a sustainable shopping outlet and to also generate sales and familiarity for Oxfam's mission and volunteering opportunities. Its vision is to ignite and encourage a new generation of students who consume consciously and challenge typical mindless consumption habits. Potential attendees will include and will only be open to UEL university students and faculty members. Due to a limited amount of space and potential safety risks, attendees will be asked to present a student ID or faculty card in order to enter the event. The event will be free of charge. Oxfam will be the main benefiter of this event because it will be generating a high amount of sales within the day, informing student bodies of their incredible work, and establishing beneficial collaborations with London Universities. UEL students and faculty will also benefit by walking away with unique, affordable, and ethical clothing items.
Event Overview Mission: To provide UEL students and faculty members a creative and direct outlet to consume fashion in a sustainable and economical manner. Also, to create buzz around Oxfam's volunteering opportunities, inform the audience about their mission, and to generate sales that can financially support all of the further charitable work that they will accomplish. Vision: To create life-long relationships with universities in London and to mentor the next generation of students that make real sustainable change in our world.
Target Market: -Demographic/Geographic: UEL is rich in diversity and is comprised of over 19,000 students that represent 120 different nationalities (UEL official site, 2016). Although there is a wide ethnic variety, a 2014/2015 report from HESA states that 92.8% of students come from the UK and that an overwhelming majority of 62.7% are women (HESA, 2014/2015). This target consumer will also come from a lower economic class since students from UEL represent the "highest proportion of students who come from low socio-economic groups of any other Higher Education institution in England" (Independent.com, 2014). This ethnically diverse woman will range in age from 20-30 years old and belongs to the Millennial generation. -Behavioral: Never shopping on immediate impulse, this woman will research what is available in whichever market she is shopping in. She looks to get a quality item that is both aesthetically pleasing and of good quality. Particular benefits she wants to get out of the product are longevity, durability, usability, craftsmanship, and uniqueness. She typically buys products at vintage stores, online websites, and boutiques. She appreciates the uniqueness of those products- but will also shop at department stores with recognizable and affordable designers. She spends majority of her money on eco-friendly products, quirky pieces of jewelry that can easily amp up her outfits, and attending cultural events throughout the city. -Psychographic: Constantly researching ethical clothing companies, analyzing food labels, and checking content labels on apparel items- this woman cares about the ingredients in her products and where they are made from. She believes that all companies should abide my morals and ethics and should never compromise the safety or well-being of their employees over profit. This consumer is a social and environmental activist and cares about how her local community can make better sustainable changes, and is also interested in the global picture. In her spare time she enjoys partaking in cultural activities like going to museums, bookstores, music festivals, and cafes.
Event Details: This event will begin at 10:00 and will be located in the area between the East and West Building stretching from the square until the dock. Men's and women's clothing, accessories, and shoes will be sold. The space will consist of an open flowing concept with 3 connecting rooms (clothing, accessories, and shoes). Clothing merchandise will be placed on movable racks, accessories on tables, and shoes on either tables or the ground. There will be an overhead tarp placed over the pop-up venue just in case of sudden bad weather. One of the sides will carry the men's merchandise and the other side will carry women's. The shop will be merchandised like it was any other trendy clothing boutique. Event participants will be asked to show their student IDs or faculty cards to a volunteer before they enter the pop-up shop. Two local food trucks (Rainbo and You Doughnut) are also expected to be there surrounding the popup shop and will be operating from 12:00-17:00 to attract more consumers and to build a more collective environment. Tables outside the entrance of the pop-up shop will also have volunteers from Oxfam with marketing materials, sign-up sheets, and will be willing to talk to any student seeking volunteer opportunities or just more information regarding the charity. The event will close at 19:00 and all left-over products will go back to the Oxfam shops. The event will be put on by Oxfam volunteers.
Key Outcomes: Build more university student relationships with Oxfam, raise ÂŁ5,000 in sales, and provide a more sustainable shopping alternative to the participants
Stakeholders Involved: Participants, volunteers, universities, local communities, food vendors
Competition: -Indirect: Poundland, Aldi, Lidl -Direct: Primark, thrift shops, Goodwill, Salvation Army *Oxfam's pop-up shop sets itself above the competition because they are bringing their merchandise directly to a university campus to generate sales, spread word about their mission, and to provide an ethical platform for Millennial consumers.
Event & Requirements -Facilities: The event will take place on UEL's Docklands Campus starting from the square between the East and West Building then to the edge of the dock. Since the event will be on campus, students and faculty members will already be familiar with the grounds and surrounding facilities. Two food trucks (Rainbo and You Doughnut) will also be on the grounds with their vehicles parked right next to the pop-up shop. This pop-up facility will consist of a flowing floor plan with 3 main rooms (clothing, accessories, and shoes), an overhead tarp, and a separation from men's and women's merchandise. The shop will be merchandised just like it was a typical trendy clothing store. -Services & Production Equipment: The pop-up shop will need frames or metal poles to start the foundation of the pop-up shop. Colorful tapestries will be used as exterior "walls" of the shop and will also be used to segment the three room varieties, as well as separating men's from women's. A water-proof tarp will then be placed over the venue just in case of unfavorable weather. Tables, movable racks, some lanterns or table lights, and a couple of chairs for volunteer cashiers will also be needed. There will also be separations by tapestries in the clothing rooms to create fitting rooms for attendees. -Areas of Risk: Since this event will be taking place on a university campus that is already monitored actively by security and is only open to students and faculty members, risks are definitely limited. Some possible risks would include potential shoplifting, overtly windy weather conditions damaging or knocking over the pop-up shop foundational support, merchandise being damaged, un-orderly people who are not students or faculty members trying to get into the event, and potential injury to food vendors while preparing food or possible risks like choking or food poisoning from people who consume it (see Appendix for risk assessment form). -Budgeting: Since this event will be hosted on the University of East London's Docklands Campus and will be purposefully serving the student and faculty body, the price to put this event on is very minimal. Since Oxfam is using all of their own clothing, accessories, and shoe merchandise, unpaid volunteers, and materials for merchandising, majority of the costs are taken care of. Areas worth budgeting for includes transportation of the merchandise to get to UEL, materials to build the temporary pop-up shop structure, and marketing materials to get the word out (see Appendix for budgeting plan).
Marketing & Communications Plan -Social Media: According to a social media research study conducted by Pew Research Center, 90% of Millennials use social media (Pew Research Center, 2015). By promoting the event through both Oxfam's and UEL's twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, more potential event attendees will be reached. Another social media marketing technique to use would be to take photos of selected merchandise that will be sold at the pop-up thrift store and post them as a sneak peak. A facebook event page should also be made so attendees can directly share it with their peers and see who else will be attending. -Marketing on Campus: Since the event will be happening right on campus there should be promotional flyers and posters promoted everywhere including dining halls, academic buildings, on the shuttle bus, residence halls, buildings at the Stratford Campus, etc. The event should also be promoted on UEL's website and all students and faculty should receive direct emails with information regarding the event. It should also be advertised that this is a great networking and employment opportunity event for students and that their attendance will prove very beneficial to their professional careers. Marketing on campus for this event should start one month in advance before the day of the event. -Loyalty Program or Perks: According to a 2016 Millennial case study conducted by Social Annex, "66% of Millennials respond to loyalty cards or discounts" (Social Annex, 2016). By providing customer perks or loyalty cards, consumers will form a better connection with the brand and be more likely to shop there again. By providing the event attendees a "10% off purchase with valid student or faculty ID", there will be a larger incentive to purchase since consumers are receiving an automatic discount. Another incentive would be to give customers who made a purchase a future "15% off any item at an Oxfam Shops store" coupon at checkout to maximize customer-to-business relations and to get them to come to the real store. -Social Responsibility: Stated in a Southern California 2016 psychological infographic on Millennials, "91% of Millennials have preferences for brands associated with a cause " (USC, 2016). By advertising statistics regarding all of the ethical, social, and environmental progress Oxfam has accomplished, attendees will want to share in the mission to consume responsibly. They can use this event as an excuse to give back to their local community and shop unique items.
Conclusion This Oxfam pop-up thrift shop aims to strengthen university and student bonds to Oxfam, educate the audience on all of the wonderful things Oxfam accomplishes and works towards, and to provide an ethical and sustainable alternative to shopping for fashion. By bringing Oxfam's women's and men's clothing merchandise directly to universities throughout London, this direct and temporary shopping experience is not like anything else in the market. The success of the event will not only be measured by the amount of sales and attendees, but also by the amount of interested students who speak to Oxfam volunteers and sign up for further information. This event hopes to ignite a generation of consumers that actually care about where their clothing is from and make strides towards living a more sustainable life and setting an example by being a conscious consumer. By strengthening university and local charity bonds, both parties involved can benefit mutually. Oxfam gains more business recognition, money from sales that go towards continuing their mission, and gains a highly sought after target market. While universities gain an event that brings together the academic community, generate buzz about their school, and provides an opportunity to mentor the next leaders in sustainability.
References Allen, J; O'Toole, W.; Harris, R. and McDonnell, I., (2011). Festival and special event management. 5th ed. Milton/Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia Andrew Perrin (2015) Social Media Usage:2005-2015. Pew Research Center (Accessed: 05/11/16). Bowdin et. al. 2006: 13-132 Getz, D. (2005) Event Management and Event Tourism, New York: Cognizant Communication Corporation. P. 82 Independent (2014) East London (UEL) University of. Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/student/into-university/az-uni-colleges/east-london-uel-universityof-754697.html (Accessed: 05/11/16). Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G.M. (2010) Principles of Marketing. Prentice-Hall Oxfam (2016) What We do. Available at: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do (Accessed: 05/11/16). USC (2016) Psychology of Successfully Marketing to Millennials. (05/11/16). Shone, A. and Parry, B. (2013) Successful Event Management A Practical Handbook Hampshire, Cengage Learning. P. 225 Fisher, E. (2016). 2016's Most Important Customer Loyalty Statistics - Social Media. Available at: http://www.socialannex.com/blog/2016/02/05/ultimate-customer-loyalty-statistics-2016/ (Accessed: 05/11/16). UEL (2014/2015) UEL Statistics. HESA (05/11/16). UEL (2016) About UEL. Available at: https://www.uel.ac.uk/About-UEL (Accessed: 05/11/16).
Appendix Risk Assessment Form Event: Oxfam Pop-Up Thrift Shop Location: UEL Docklands Campus Date of this assessment: November 6, 2016
Date of event: May 4th, 2017 Assessed by: A Dangerfield Risk Ratings People At Risk A- Worst Case Outcome
Staff Contractors Public Others
Hazard
B- Likelihood
Slight Serious Major 1 2 3
AxB
Rare Possible Likely 1 2 3
1
Disruptive people trying to enter event
*
2 3
Unfavorable weather knocking over pop-up venue Shop-lifting
* *
* *
4
Broken merchandise item
*
*
5
Fire caused from food trucks
*
*
*
*
*
3
6
An attendee choking on food from food trucks
*
*
*
*
*
3
*
*
*
* *
*
*
* *
Budget Plan Event name: Oxfam Pop-Up Thrift Shop
Date: 05/11/16
Marketing: Total:£500 Staffing: Total:£0 Equipment: Total:£200 Total:£700
Appendix Continued
2
*
3 4
*
2
Budget Plan Event name: Oxfam Pop-Up Thrift Shop Date: 05/11/16 Income Confirmed funding Earned income Sponsorship In-kind contributions Other
£1,000 £200,000 £2,000 £100 £0
Total income
£203,100
Expenditure Venue hire Furniture Equipment Catering Security Insurance Marketing Staffing Facilitators Deposits Licenses Other 1 Other 2 Other 3 Total expenditure Surplus/deficit
£200 £100 £200 £0 £200 £500 £500 £0 £300 £200 £0 £0 £0 £0 £2,200 £200,900