References p.30

Strengths: - Small island, word of mouth is easier and more effective for local business - International connections - Social media is aesthetic, follows brand identity and has a sufficient following - Well known connections and contacts - High quality fabrics - Can cover many sizes - smaller stock - Low inventory, lower manufacturing costs - Risk on with promoting Weaknesses: - Handmade items, takes time to make garments - Start up, small scale - No profits - Little funding - Small market, smaller audience - Website is not up all year round due to cutting costs in winter season

Opportunities: - Low cost marketing would be more effective in local area - Social media presence broadens the market to international - Use the good connections with influencers to promote brand - Good presence in the fashion scene in Malta - More people are open to buying online only due to pandemic Threats: - Styles can be copied by more established brands - Initial cashburn will be too high for the turnover - E-commerce only, presence is limited

The marketing objectives of this campaign report is to increase brand awareness, strengthen customer relationships and brand perception through promoting the new collection of 2021 in a way to stand out from its competitors leading to ROI, although profits are not the main goal of the campaign.

The new collection will be cohesive with and build on the current brand perception, making it a more established fashion brand and giving it a clearer place in the market.

Suggested actions taken with new collection:

Keep on on trend with 2021 colours and styles Have add-on items such as headscarves or masks which are cheaper but are more accessible to the wider market and younger generations to hop onto the trend and spread the word on social media Collaborate with local trusted brands such as a package deal with jewellery

The goal through these 6 months of marketing activities is to understand the consumers wants and needs, leading to a ROI of the new collection launch. Although profits are not the main goal of the campaign, it is important to gain some investment back into the business to be able to plan for future campaigns, since it is a startup business starting with little funding.

Suggested actions taken with social media:

Create a viral trend like a hashtag or an interactive competition to create a large amount of interest in a short amount of time and create a ‘buzz’ using paid promotion on social media

Introduction to the Marketing strategy

The goal is to increase brand awareness with the use of social media.

The change of the marketing mix will be promotion. It will be a more consistent, planned out promotion strategy, including a wider range of platforms. The consistency of posts and more intense interaction will gain stronger brand loyalty with current followers and aim to attract new potential customers.

Marketing strategy

The marketing strategy will include using new promotional strategies. These include using a wider range of social media platforms such as Tiktok and Youtube, with more consistent and planned posts on current platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

On Instagram the goal is to gain followers through quality content targeted at the audience, through working with the instagram algorithm. Research says that interaction and comment lengths push posts to the top, meaning it will get more views. Having interacting posts such as questions and polls, will increase the response rate of followers. A previous successful promotion strategy was an Instagram giveaway competition. Creating a viral and trending competition will give people an incentive to follow or interact. This can be used again.

The reason behind building a genuine social media following is to promote the upcoming ss21 collection and all future campaigns. It is a free platform which always marketing any brand that has an account and is another point of sale. It is an essential tool to have at this current time to add to brand identity and recognition.

The ss21 collection will provide new products. This allows the brand to start to develop it’s sense of identity. Along with the new collection will be a new logo background. The font is distinguishable and customers will recognise it’s familiarity so it will not be changed. The colours will match the colours of the collection, as to be more easily identified.

Promotion

The new promotion strategy will include taking advantage of social media and influencer marketing. This is a cost effective way of marketing, still being a new brand with a low budget. Playing to the strengths of the brand having connections in the local fashion scene, they can easily reach out to local influencers.

By creating a hashtag, customers can tag their products and will be reposted on the page of the brand. This is a free marketing strategy because in return for them tagging the brand, they will get exposure on their account. This is relevant to the time being that our target consumer is conscious of their social media presence and seek to gain real followers at any chance they get.

Collaborators

Suitable instagram influencers for the target consumer. Collaborations include sending the influencer an item of the new collection and them tagging the brand in a picture post.

Natalya

Has won best social media influencer at Malta Fashion week Has international influence as well as Malta Is associated with high end brands

Shanel De battista

Her instagram has the aesthetic that closely reflects Mia Vickery Has a smaller but niche audience, closer relationships to her followers Smaller but effective

- Former Miss Malta - She will reach target customers - Influential towards target customers who are older (25 - 35) and more financially dependent audience 24

2nd December / 2020 - Announcement

The first announcement of an upcoming collection to look out for will be made during the biggest local fashion even Malta Fashion Week, whilst there is a buzz where fashion and media is on high alert. The announcement will be posted to Youtube on the designer’s channel, instagram and facebook. By posting during a huge event like MFW, the brand can gain more exposure by piggybacking onto relevant hashtags on social media This strategy will allow this brand to be associated with a prestigious event and could potential reach a further distance than just a regular post

25th January / 2021 - First look

The first sneak previews will be posted to social media, potential patterns and themes will be shown to the public giving them a chance to interact. Data will be analysed from these posts and analysed to plan for future targeted advertisements.

February - Consistent content

Continue posting consisten content on social media whilst receiving and analysing data from target audience whilst the collection is being made in order to redirect future promotions. Include polls on instagram and facebook During this time is when the look book will be shot Sneak-peak previews of the lookbook photoshoot setup will be posted to the stories of instagram and facebook This creates a personal experience for followers, feeling as if they were part of the journey, helping build the brand 25

- Dedicate each week to a different influencer as to not overload social media with the same content

29th March - Lookbook release

A high quality video lookbook preview will be released to social media Paid promotion on instagram using the lookbook throughout this time till the launch of the new collection is dropped.

30th April - Pre-launch event

The event will be hosted at a local destination well suited to represent the brand. The location would ideally be at a beach lido found in the east along the coastline of Malta. This area a wealthier area of the island and is the geographic location of the target customer This area is more prone to english speaking and the event can be held in english, meaning it can welcome international guests and media attention Media and influencers will be invited, along with relevant people to network with in the fashion scene. There will be a limited capacity of around 100 people. The event will consist of live entertainment and a fashion show where pre-orders of the collection will be available. This pre launch event will gain media coverage, gaining attention just before the launch, alerting people and create a hype. The pre-launch is also an opportunity to gain email list by asking guests to write down their contact before entering.

The Launch!

7th May

The collection will be launched and the website will go live, ready to receive orders. Email contacts will receive a notification when the launch drops, giving them instant access to the website through the email link. The launch will only be live for a couple of weeks This limited availability will create a sense of urgency and exclusivity in consumers, time pressure can lead to more of an impulse buy and ultimately more sales

7th - 28th May - Post launch

This time will be used to dedicate time to answering customer queries and giving a satisfactory customer experience. Email marketing will be sent to follow up on customer purchases and to notify filtered customers who have not yet purchased that stock is almost sold out Updates through social media will be up to date notifying followers what is still available and what is sold out. Data on purchased collection will be analysed for future marketing campaigns.

Budget

Estimated value of collection: €5000 €1500 Budget for campaign €2500 Estimated ROI: €2500

Fashion show €250

Work in conjunction with lido owner/ find a place where there is little to no cost on the venue - deposit fee is fine

Photographers €300

Use connections to invite upcoming photographers Invite one established photographer to pre-launch party which will be worth the money as it will be posted on Mia Vickery’s social media as well as his, meaning more exposure Film photographer for the photoshoot for will cost a little to cover film cost 2 rolls (72 shots) €30

Models €400

Use prestige model agencies such as ModelsM or Supernova to show high standards. Pictures last forever, so it is worth getting professional models.

Makeup and hair

Ask friends in the trade to help out as to cut cost

Paid promotion €100

Facebook and instagram ads

Influencers €250

Choose one big influencer and a few smaller ones as the more the followers the most it costs per post According to webfx.com, an influencer marketing cost guide - “With more than 1 billion users — 80 percent of which follow a business — Instagram is a go-to influencer hub. It’s also a cost-effective channel when it comes to influencer marketing, maintaining an average price of $10 a post, per 1000 followers.” 29

References

https://theodora.com/wfbcurrent/malta/malta_economy.ht ml https://maltaprofile.info/article/7-ways-how-brexit-can-affe ct-malta http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-survey.php?loc=133&l octype=1&job=36&jobtype=1 https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:427555/FULLT EXT02.pdf https://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2020-02-29/local -news/Malta-s-economy-confronted-with-sustainability-ch allenges-EC-6736220186