Media Plan: Herschel Supply Company
The Brand • Herschel makes many different types of travel bags, like luggage, duffel bags, backpacks, messenger bags, wallets, and phone and tablet cases • In 2009, Jamie and Lyndon Cormack began the brand in Vancouver, Canada • Though the brand is based in Canada, their products can be found all over North America online and in retail stores like The Apple Store, Zumiez, Urban Outfitters, and Nordstrom.
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The Product
• The Herschel Backpack • Fashionable, yet simple, durable, and practical • Comes in many different colors and styles
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Marketing Objectives: • Objectives: o Within one year, increase Herschel Supply Company’s market share by 1-‐2% o Within the same year, increase online sales by 5,000 • To fulfill objectives, the media plan will target current users and encourage them to be repeat customers, challenge the competition by converting their consumers into Herschel users, and also target new users who are not currently loyal to any particular backpack brand by using a high frequency strategy.
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Marketing Objectives & Competitive Overview:
2012 Backpack Market Share VF Corp. 56% Camelback Products L.L.C. 28% Other 16%
• VF Corporation is the parent company to multiple backpack brands, so the 56% is split up among five different competing brands • Herschel Supply is a small fraction of the “other” category that makes up the last 16% of the share.
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Competitive Overview: • In 2011, 287 different backpack products were produced. • Currently there are 5,277 employees and 301 businesses in the backpack and courier industry
• Total revenue from the backpack market in 2011 was $730.3 million, but growth is at a negative .2%. • Because foreign production is cheaper, many domestic brands, like Herschel Supply, are finding it more beneficial to manufacture in countries like China and Mexico.
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Competitive Overview: • Herschel Supply’s top competitors:
Jansport, Timberland, EastPack, NorthFace, L.L. Bean • Herschel is a smaller company than many of its competitors, making it harder to increase market share in the backpack industry • That can be used as an advantage advertising-‐wise because it is a family owned and operated company with a focused product line
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Target Market:
• Primary Audience: o White and Asian students ages 18-‐34 o Parents with HHI of $75,000-‐149,000 o In college towns and major cities in Western areas of the United States o The typical Herschel backpack user is a high school to college student with a busy schedule and a huge need for a versatile, durable, fashionable backpack to allow for easy travel and commuting. o They are very social and like to have fun and explore places they’ve never been.
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Target Market: • Secondary Audience: o White and Asian Parents ages 25-‐54 o HHI of $75,000-‐149,000 to $150,000+ o Live in the Western areas of the United States o Married o With children ages 6-‐17 or without children o The typical Herschel backpack user or buyer has a busy lifestyle juggling work and family. o They not only want a durable, simple, and trustworthy backpack to carry everyday necessities, but also want a quality bag for their children.
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Target Market: • Competition’s Target Demographics:
Owns Jansport Age: 18-‐24 Age: 25-‐34 Age: 35-‐44 Age: 45-‐54 HHI: 150,000+ HHI: $75,000-‐$149,999 Census Region: West Marital Status: Now Married Child age: 2 -‐ 5 Years Child age: 6 -‐ 11 Years Child age: 12 -‐ 17 Years Race: White Race: Asian
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Pct Down 18.4 20.1 18.1 23.6 14.7 39.6 29.6 62.8 15.9 22.2 27.3 83 5.9
Index 144 112 102 122 146 140 129 116 111 122 137 109 183
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Owns High Sierra Age: 18-‐24 Age: 25-‐34 Age: 35-‐44 Age: 45-‐54 HHI: 150,000+ HHI: $75,000-‐$149,999 Census Region: West Marital Status: Now Married Child age: 2 -‐ 5 Years Child age: 6 -‐ 11 Years Child age: 12 -‐ 17 Years Race: White Race: Asian
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Pct Down 8.5 23.6 28.9 18.8 14.2 31.5 33 60 17.6 24.3 25.7 83.8 3.7
Index
66 132 164 97 141 112 144 111 123 133 128 110 117
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Media Objectives:
• National plan • Advertisements will build brand awareness: o Requires a high frequency strategy reaching the target audience at least four times in a three week period, and even more during certain times of the year o Uses magazines, television, internet, and outdoor media to reach the target to inform them about the product and direct them to the Herschel Supply Co. website • Advertisements will also increase E-‐Commerce sales: o The frequency strategy will also apply to this objective because all forms of media will call for the target market to visit the website (www.herschelsupply.com) o It will also require a lot of internet advertising, getting 50 million impressions in 10 months with a high click through rate
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Geography:
• Though this is a national plan, there are some areas to focus on. • Based on the geographic indexes of Herschel Supply Co. competitors Jansport and High Sierra, extra emphasis should be placed on the Western areas because more the target is more likely to buy competitor’s backpacks in that region
Jansport Users Census Region: West
High Sierra Users Census Region: West
Index 129 144
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Seasonality:
• This plan lasts for 10 months focusing on prime backpack selling months o Spring break o Back to school o Holiday season • Advertisements will run in various forms of media all throughout the 10 months, however there will be peaks of higher frequency in: o March and April (Spring break) o July, August, and September (Back to school) o November and December (Holiday season)
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Media Mix & Strategies: • 50% Magazines o Strategy 1: To target a tight audience and also put the product in the right fashionable context, magazines will make up the majority of the budget. o Strategy 2: Magazines also run all month, so it allows for steady exposure throughout all 10 months • 40% Television o Strategy: During the peak months (March, April, July, August, September), television commercials will run during primetime, late night, and daytime o This will reach the target audience at key points in the year when they might be thinking about purchasing a backpack • 5% Internet o Internet is a huge part of meeting the objective to raise E-‐Commerce sales o Cheap, but provides a lot of impressions o Strategy: Provide direct links to the Herschel Supply online store to people who are in the target market and thinking about buying. 15
Media Mix & Strategies:
• 5% Outdoor o Strategy: Outdoor media caters to the commuters and travelers who have the need for a good quality backpack, so it will be placed where the target audience can likely be found
Media Mix Magazines Television Internet Outdoor
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Magazines: To Increase brand Awareness/Market Share
• Magazine usage (1 insertion each) and the user index for competitors: (Index: Jansport, High Sierra) o Glamour: 3 months, July-‐September (Index: 167, 134) o GQ: 6 months, July-‐December (Index: 170, 119) o National Geographic Traveler: 5 months, March-‐August (Index: 187, 203) o Parents: 3 months, July-‐September (Index: 198, 114) o Seventeen: 6 months, July-‐December (Index: 187, 60) o Sports Illustrated: 2 months, March & April (Index: 133, 164) o Travel + Leisure: 5 months, March-‐July (Index: 166, 161)
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• Magazine selection is based on the target audience and the time of year they will most likely be looking to purchase a backpack:
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Television: To Increase Market Share • Used in key months to increase message frequency when the target audience is most likely to think about purchasing a backpack • Time of the year and time of day of advertisement exposure is based on the target audience: o Section 1: Beginning of March – Beginning of May (9 weeks) § Primetime § Target Audience: Students and spring break travelers with a need for luggage/backpacks § Watches: Popular primetime programming (CBS, FOX, NBC) § 5 CPP’s per week § Late Fringe § Target Audience: Students in high school and college thinking about traveling for spring break § Watches: Late Night with…, SNL, Adult Swim § 5 CPPs per week
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Television: o Section 2: Beginning of July – End of September (15 weeks) § Daytime § Target Audience 1: Parents (Especially moms) beginning their back-‐to-‐ school shopping § Watches: The View, the daily news, soap operas, Food Network, HGTV § 10 CPPs per week § Target Audience 2: Older students on summer break thinking about going back to school § Watches: Cartoon Network, MTV, VH1, TLC, E! § 10 CPPs per week
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Internet: To Increase E-Commerce Sales • Ad messages will lead the customer to Herschel Supply’s website, providing a direct link and proper context to urge online shopping instantaneously, therefore increasing online sales • Sites where advertisements will be placed: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Amazon, fashion blogs, parenting blogs, travel agency websites (Expedia, Hotwire), travel blogs • 50 million impressions spread unevenly in 10 months based on time of year and when the target audience is most likely to think about purchasing a backpack o March: 5 million IMP o April: 5 million IMP o May: 5 million IMP o June: 1 million IMP o July: 2 million IMP o August: 10 million IMP o September: 5 million IMP o October: 1 million IMP o November: 8 million IMP o December: 8 million IMP
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Internet: • Focus areas: o March – May: Common for travel because of spring break o August & September: Back to school shopping season o November & December: Holiday season § Online shopping season § A good way to remind customers of Herschel for when they do need a backpack later on
Monthly Impressions (Out of 50 Million)
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
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Outdoor: To increase brand awareness/market share
• Used for two months (August and September) during the 10 month plan during back to school season o To target students that commute to school and parents that drive to work o Build frequency among not only the target audience, but people that haven’t been targeted with magazine, television, and internet advertisements • 177 Clear Channel 30-‐Sheet billboards will be used for two months in each city and some suburbs to target parents driving to and from work • 70 CBS bus shelters will be used in each city suburb area to target commuter students that are about to start school
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Budget Allocation:
• 50% Magazines ($5 million): o Glamour (3 months): $688,827 o GQ (6 months): $1,014,576 o National Geographic Traveler (5 months): $480,000 o Parents (3 months): $566,220 o Seventeen (6 months): $870,930 o Sports Illustrated (2 months): $716,600 o Travel + Leisure (5 months): $659,100
Total magazines: $4,996,253
• 40% Television ($4 million): o Primetime Daypart (5 points/week for 9 weeks): $1,138,500 o Late Fringe Daypart (5 points/week for 9 weeks): $900,000 o Daytime Daypart (20 points/week for 15 weeks): $2,100,000 Total Television: $4,138,500
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Budget Allocation (Cont.): • 5% Internet ($500,000) o March (5 million IMP): $50,000 o April (5 million IMP): $50,000 o May (5 million IMP): $50,000 o June (1 million IMP): $10,000 o July (2 million IMP): $20,000 o August (10 million IMP): $100,000 o September (5 million IMP): $50,000 o October (1 million IMP): $10,000 o November (8 million IMP): $80,000 o December (8 million IMP): $80,000 • 5% Outdoor ($500,000) o Clear Channel 30-‐Sheets (2 Months): $427,986 o CBS Outdoor Bus Shelters (2 Months): $45,500
Total Internet: $500,000
Total Outdoor: $473,486
Total Media Spending: $10,108,239.00 25
Flowchart:
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