Marketing plan

rebellious individuality Company Overview: Since production first started in 1960, Dr. Martens have continued to generate perfectly manufactured shoes and boots ever since. Originally created for workers, Dr. Martens were also favoured by sub-cultures and are now worn by individuals of all ages and personalities. Dr. Martens have since expanded to include clothing and accessories within their product range.

Heritage: With the brand’s German heritage from after the war, Dr. Martens were designed to be comfortable shoes.

Manufacture was then expanded internationally with boots being produced and sold in the UK with the name being adapted slightly to make Dr. Martens more UK friendly. The instantly recognisable yellow stitching was added and the name AirWair was trademarked.

Brand Values: The boots and shoes are made with perfectly preserved, pristine machinery, with specific components and care and attention to detail. Production in the UK and Asia is the same and quality is specifically controlled in order to ensure that each pair is made like no other shoe on earth. If any pair of Dr. Martens appears to be faulty, the brand requests that they are sent back so that it can be investigated where they went wrong. The brand is built on rebellion, individuality and having a voice.

Marketing Campaigns Past and Present: #FIRSTANDFOREVER Customers remembering their “firsts” – first Docs, first love, first gig, first holiday. This made Dr Martens personal and therefore tied the brand and consumers together emotionally. Agyness Deyn collaborated with Dr Martens for the #FIRSTANDFOREVER campaign by narrating with her first heartbreak. The nostalgia, which is created with reminiscing of customers’ “firsts”, allows customers to connect with the brand on a deeper level than most. #STANDFORSOMETHING Discovering what Dr Martens consumers stand for. Equality, freedom, a good time, carefree life, whatever it is, Dr. Martens are enthusiastic about learning about it. The campaign focuses on the heritage of the brand and the platforms on which Dr. Martens was built on. The campaign shows that even though all Dr. Martens customers stand for something different, they all share the love for the brand therefore tying them together.

Presence: In terms of offline presence, Dr Martens are featured as concessions within high street shoe stores. For example; Office and Schuh. However in terms of stand-alone stores, they tend to visit big cities. Within these big cities the stores are usually on streets rather than within shopping malls. This is so the brand can converse with and attract an audience where more is happening. Therefore location is crucial to the Dr. Martens brand.

The stores are located in order to attract youth subcultures and immerse the brand within culture and values that youthful consumers stand by and are involved in. For example, Monument store in Newcastle is located where it is because the surrounding area is richly involved in free speech and an area for buskers and people with a voice.

Online Presence and Social Media: Dr. Martens have a fairly large online presence and are involved with a wide range of social media platforms. Some more successful than others, the below table illustrates the use of each platform.

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SWOT ANALYSIS

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Customer Demographic: As Dr. Martens have been popular for so long, their customer base is huge. The brand has been favoured by a number of subcultures such as skinheads, but it is now a very diverse brand. Consumers vary in age and gender, as the brand appeals to many people due to the nostalgia it evokes and the values of the brand. However, Dr. Martens have started moving toward a younger audience more recently due to their involvement with art and music.

Film Audience Since the Dr. Martens fashion film is musically focused, the Dr. Martens customer that the film will target will also have a music interest. The customer profile of the film audience has been assumed to be: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Musically focused Enjoys going to festivals and gigs Dr. Martens are a staple within their wardrobe Son/daughter of a rocker In their twenties, born in the late eighties/early nineties Denim and black jeans Relaxed or skinny fit Ripped knees and pockets Tartan/checked shirts White tees or band shirts are a staple Rebel but conformist Small group of friends but amazingly close Appreciates musicians who actually play their instruments Heavily influenced by parents taste in music Prefers intimate gigs rather than huge arena tours Beer in a plastic cup Stubble/beard, dirty nails, calloused hands from playing Long hair, black painted nails, winged eyeliner Believes in free expression Creatively minded

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PR Objectives 1.

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Engage more customers within social media and initiate conversations.

Increase knowledge and awareness on other products Dr. Martens sell aside from the statement boots.

Promote the brand toward a younger audience whilst incorporating Dr. Martens’s heritage.

Attract more customers in a certain demographic to interact with them more and feel more personal to their consumers.

E-PR Strategy After analysis into Dr. Martens social media platforms, it was discovered that Instagram, Twitter and Facebook were most broadly used, and attracted the biggest following, especially within the 16-24 target audience the film will be aimed at. As Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are the most commonly used social media platforms for 16-24 year olds, it will be the best way to spread the word and get more consumers involved with the campaign.

Embracing the hashtag #STANDFORSOMETHINGNCL which pinpoints a specific demographic within Dr. Martens’s current campaign, it will be used to target music lovers in the North East. In order to launch the Dr. Martens promotional film, the campaign will involve mostly Instagram users.

The campaign will be based around Newcastle Music Week 2015, which is expected to run at the end of October. In order to be involved with the campaign, users will post a video on Instagram which showcases their favourite song or band from the North East with the hashtag #STANDFORSOMETHINGNCL attached and describing what they stand for. The best videos will then be shortlisted and reposted to the Dr. Martens Instagram page and entered into a competition. The video that gains the most ‘likes’ within a two-week time period, will be the winning video.

The band who the song belongs to will be invited to be the soundtrack to the Dr. Martens promotional video, and be featured within the store soundtrack. The winning video will also get a pair of Dr. Martens of their choice, per band member, and the runners up will gain discounts and offers.

This will act as an incentive for bands and musical tastemakers within the North East, as it helps them gain more publicity and exposure as aspiring artists.

Other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will also be used in conjunction with the competition in order to promote the campaign and create conversations with other social media users.

Timeline Before the competition and campaign begins, a press release will be created and be made accessible to media within the North East in order to highlight the involvement Dr. Martens will have within Newcastle Music Week and what Dr. Martens will be promoting within the campaign. This will be released to the media at the end of August 2015.

Updates on social media will also begin just after the press release in order to engage potential North East consumers and competition entries. Posts will be made three times a day in order to access all users throughout the day however not becoming too repetitive that they aren’t read. Three weeks after the press release, the Instagram competition will begin with regular Twitter and Facebook updates alongside.

Two weeks into the competition, the candidates will be shortlisted, narrowing down entries to fit the Dr. Martens target audience and a band that associates with the brand. The winner will then be officially announced on the 19th October 2015. The winning band’s song will be recorded within the same week in order for the film launch to take place the week of the 26th October 2015 in time for Newcastle Music Week.

Social media will continue to engage with consumers and extend the conversation of the campaign after the launch on Facebook. This will be done in order to gain opinions on the winning band and to promote the song for the band’s exposure.

Promotional Film Blurb The quest to find the face of our #STANDFORSOMETHINGNCL campaign within the North East of the UK. Chosen by you. Introducing the winning band in our musical mission, watch as the film documents pure talent from entries in our competition, to the new surface of our North Eastern leg of the #STANDFORSOMETHING campaign.

What do you stand for? www.drmartens.com

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