Boohoo Live Project - Marketing and Communication Plan NTU FMB

POPPY WEST NO731532 MARKETING STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS 4000 words

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ethics clause I can confirm that this work has gained ethical approval and that I have faithfully observed the terms of this approval in the conduct of this project.

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CONTENTS methodology part 1: situation analysis WHO ARE BOOHOO? BRAND AUDIT BRAND HEALTH SOCIAL AUDIT CORE COMPETENCIES STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS MARKET HEALTH BRAND POSITIONING COMPETITIOR ANALYSIS THE CUSTOMER CUSTOMER JOURNEY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE STEEPLE ANALYSIS MARKET TRENDS SWOT ANALYSIS MAIN ISSUES

part 2: MARKETING STRATEGY AIM AND OBJECTIVES YEAR 1 YEAR2 YEAR3

part 3: COMMUNICATION PLAN ACTION PLAN REWARDS 4 C’S GAINING CUSTOMERS TIMELINE FINANCE HOW WILL SUCCESS BE MEASURED? CONCLUSION

THE APPENDIX AND REFERENCES 4

6-7 8-59 10-11 12-13 16-17 18-19 20-21 22-23 24-25 26-29 30-33 34-39 40-41 42-43 44-47 48-55 56-57 58-59 62-63 62-63 64-67 68-69 70-71 72-91 74-77 78-79 80-81 82-83 84-85 86-87 88-89 90-91 90-111 5

methodology PRIMARY online

An online survey was created to gain an in-depth quantitative look at the customer perception of Boohoo; the survey focused on participants ages 19-21. The survey was posted online and gathered 100 responses (see appendix for the full list of questions and responses).

offline

A focus group was carried out from 4 young women aged 19, it focused on trust in a brand and their opinions on reviews and detailed product pictures to determine whether the marketing strategy would be successful amongst the target consumer (see appendix for full transcript of focus group).

SECONDARY online

Secondary sources such as Mintel, Office for National Statistics, PWC, WGSN and other online published reports and articles helped to outline Boohoo’s current position and to support the marketing strategy created.

Additionally, Boohoo’s own published sources such as their 2018 Annual Report was crucial for providing the brand’s current figures and finances that aided the creation of this report.

offline

Written material that outlines and looks into strategic marketing theory and models were used to gain a wide understanding of the topic. A presentation was given by the current Marketing Director of Boohoo, which provided inside knowledge of the workings of Boohoo, their values and their current marketing efforts. This provided the insight needed to create a realistic and well-planned marketing strategy.

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PART 1

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SITUATION ANALYSIS

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WHO ARE BOOHOO Founded in Manchester in 2006, Boohoo is an inclusive and innovative brand targeting young, value-orientated customers. For over 10 years, Boohoo has been pushing boundaries to bring customers up-to-date and inspirational fashion (Boohoo, 2018). Carol Kane and Mahmud Kamani co-founded Boohoo following their shared recognition in the opportunity for online retail and since the brand has grown rapidly in the UK and internationally, becoming a leading global brand with over 6.4 million customers.

Products are designed, sourced and subsequently distributed globally from a central UK warehouse. Hundreds of products are added to the website each week, uploaded via the company’s on-site photography and art studio and displayed in gallery photos. The speed and agility of the company ensures it is first to market with the latest on-trend styles and fashion (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

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physique

personality

Bright and colourful Scarf-print packaging and taxis Fast paced Youthful

Trendy and youthful Fun and Sassy Friendly Enthusiastic

relationship

culture Manchester born Diverse & supportive Don’t take life (or fashion) seriously

Fashion best friend Empowers consumers #Doyourthing

reflection

self-image

Stylish Individual Youthful Stylin’ on a budget

Confident Your best friend Young Trendy

BRAND AUDIT

Their vision is to be leading the e-commerce fashion market for 16 to 30 year-olds

Their philosophy’s simple: They don’t take fashion or life too seriously. Boohoo recognises individuality. They see you. They embrace it. They make fashion accessible and fun.

The essence of the brand is ‘styling on a budget’.

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fun

fashionable

social fas h i o n ’ s best friend

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inclusive

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brand health

AWARENESS

The awareness of Boohoo is strong with a “87% of the UK audience having heard Boohoo” (Boohoo. com, 2018). This awareness level is good, however, to improve further Boohoo can increase their advertising through influencers as “advertising through influencers allows brands to promote through someone that a niche community watches, engages with and trusts on a daily basis. So, instead of being sceptical of a commercial or social media ad, consumers are trusting that if their influencer of choice loves the product, they will too” (Mathew, 2018). Micro influencers will be key for Boohoo to focus on as they have a smaller following and so “may have a more relevant, engaged and trusting audience because they haven’t ‘blown up’ yet” (Zuercher, 2017).

PERCEPTION

In terms of the perception of Boohoo, there is mixed opinion. When asked how they would describe Boohoo, there was a mixture of positive and negative responses from the survey respondents (see appendix). One respondent stated “It is a site that everyone knows about. Somewhat unreliable in the fact that they get deliveries wrong and don’t seem to care much about customer satisfaction. However, good price and good discounts for good quality clothes”. This response shows how customers like the brand’s products but the trust between the customer and the brand isn’t there. This trust is crucial for sales. This is evidenced by PWC who asked consumers “which factors, other than price, influence their decision to shop at a particular retailer; More than one in three (35%) ranked ‘trust in brand’ as among their top three reasons” (PWC, 2018).

CUSTOMER INSIGHTS

Boohoo currently has 6.4 Million active users, which increased by 22% from 2017 (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

This is a very good rate with competitors having much lower rates of active users; for example, Pretty Little Thing has 3 Million active users (Boohoo PLC, 2018). The order frequency of these customers is 2.13. This tells us that Boohoo customers are purchasing from the website more than twice a year on average (Boohoo PLC, 2018), there is room to improve this however the focus should be on bringing back the lapsed customers that Boohoo previously lost. According to research Boohoo’s rate of lapsed users is high with 40% of respondents saying they ‘used to purchase, but don’t now” (see appendix).

This is worrying as these are the consumers that may then spread a bad word amongst peers about the brand. When asked why they didn’t shop at Boohoo anymore, 56% of responses commented on the unreliable quality being the reason they stopped purchasing. This tells us that the trust between the brand and these consumers was lost when they felt that Boohoo didn’t deliver what was promised.

Lapsed users cause a problem as they won’t give the recommendation of Boohoo to others, this is supported by the 39% of survey respondents who stated that they “would not recommend Boohoo to others”. This is a problem for Boohoo as “83% of consumers trust recommendations from their peers over advertising” (Nielsen, 2015).

SALES

Boohoo’s revenue for 2018 was £374.1 Million which is an increase of 32% on 2017 (Boohoo PLC, 2018). This figure is extremely healthy and shows how Boohoo is continually growing year-on-year; however, considering the market growth there is room for continued growth. Additionally, Boohoo’s revenue is higher than many other competitors such as Pretty Little Thing with £181.2 Million (Boohoo PLC, 2018), which tells us that they are in a good position to continue growth.

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social audit

Instagram is Boohoo’s biggest platform with 5.8 Million followers.

Instagram is and should be the primary social channel for Boohoo, this is due to the time spent on the social channel with users under 25 spending “more than 32 minutes a day on Instagram” (Wagner, 2017). Secondly it is important to consider what the target consumer is using the app for. According to MediaKix, “45% of Generation Z use Instagram to find new products”, this tells us that Boohoo has a big opportunity to promote the brand through Instagram. Boohoo already have a strong focus on Instagram influencer marketing and encourage followers to use the #boohoobabes and tag Boohoo in their posts. This will be important to grow and promote as Instagram becomes one of the most popular social media channels for the target consumer as “Gen Zers tend to create, consume, and engage with much more with visuals than words-only status updates” (Pruett, 2018).

Boohoo has 2.8 Million Followers on Facebook. They use Facebook to post content that needs more written content and longer videos. Their Facebook following is strong and the engagement is good, with followers tagging friends in the comments, sharing, and liking the content. This is a good sign as the more engaged followers are with the brand, the better relationship there is between the two.

On Twitter Boohoo has 481,000 Followers. This is a good amount however; the issue is the engagement with the posts. Most posts have very minimal, if any, comments and low numbers of likes and reposts in comparison to their other social channels. It is important for Boohoo to have a presence on all social channels, including Twitter, however the focus should not be on their Twitter social account as it does not as successful as the other channels.

Boohoo is continuously growing their social channels and it is important that they continue to utilise the affordable and direct marketing channels it offers them. Instagram should continue to be their primary platform due to its growth and success with the consumer.

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core competencies Boohoo stands out from competitors by offering customers fashion forward and fun product design that gives the customer the latest styles for a low cost.

They provides access to a wide variety of markets worldwide.

Additionally Boohoo provides a reliable and efficient delivery infrastructure (product picking, distribution, customer satisfaction handling), allowing fast delivery for customers at a low cost.

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stakeholder analysis

stakeholder shareholders suppliers customers & consumers activists

media

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impact on boohoo Founder, Mahmud Kamani and his family are the “largest Boohoo shareholders, with 27% stake” (Rovnick & Cocco, 2018). Other major shareholders are Old Mutual Global Investors with 15.50%, Baillie Gifford & Co Limited with 6.39%, Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Mgt with 3.62% and other founder Carol Kane with 4.03% stake (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

Boohoo’s suppliers are required to undertake a SMETA (SEDEX Members Ethical Trade Audit) to assess the quality of their operations, these are additionally supplemented by unannounced audits from an in-house Sourcing and Compliance team (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

These checks and regulations are important as Boohoo needs to have as much control over the products as they can as the products are a direct representation of the brand.

Boohoo’s consumer is normally the customer that purchased the product as the products are not normally a product that is gifted. The products are non-essential’s so Boohoo needs to ensure they are accessing the desire in their customers to initiate a purchase. Boohoo states that their customers “continue to inspire us and motivate us to supply the latest cutting-edge trends at the best prices around” (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

Boohoo, and many other similar brands, often comes under fire by activists who say “the brand could well be promoting fast fashion” (Thompson, 2018). For example, recently the brand was found to be selling a jumper that’s ‘faux fur’ was found to actually be “real animal fur, most likely rabbit” (Clifton, 2019). This created a stir within animal rights activists, however Boohoo dealt with the situation by removing the product and stopped placing orders with the supplier who gave them the jumpers.

Boohoo have an in-house PR team who deal with communication with the media. The control of the media that is released is very important for Boohoo’s reputation. They cannot control what gets released, however they can ensure they deal with whatever is released, especially negative media, in a clear and professional way. Boohoo’s reputation is key to the success and growth of the business as if the reputation is bad then it will prevent customers from shopping with the brand, especially if they have never purchased before, hence hindering growth.

employees

Boohoo states that they “take the welfare of all of our circa 1,848 employees (December 2017) extremely seriously and we continue to invest in our people, who we encourage to develop and grow with the business” (Boohoo PLC, 2017). They need to ensure their employees are happy within their workplace as this will improve productivity within the company, which will transfer into the success of the company.

competitors

Boohoo needs to remain aware of their competition and their actions. This is important for Boohoo to remain ahead of its competition and ensure its ability to compete successfully within the crowded market.

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market health 2.3 %

of the m ar k

r er b oth

s - 87 and

.7% of the market

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online-onl y bra nds -1

et

Boohoo can be primarily placed within the Clothing Retail Market, however as an online pureplay retailer they also occupy space within the Online Fashion Market. The brand falls into both markets as they compete with both online and offline retail brands. According to Mintel (Mintel, 2018) the UK Clothing Market will have risen by 5.3%, reaching £60.8 billion in 2018. Main players within the market are M&S, Next and Primark; however, the current winners within the market are the onlineonly retailers because they can adapt to the market and respond more quickly to what their consumers want. “Online-only retailers now capture an estimated 12.3% of consumer spending on clothing and accessories, with ASOS, Amazon and a raft of smaller players such as Boohoo and Missguided having a small but growing impact on the sector” (Mintel, 2018). Online consumer spending on fashion, including clothing, accessories and footwear, is estimated to have risen by 8.6% to £19 billion in 2018 and is set to continue this year-on-year growth; with the market predicted to reach £32.8 billion by 2023. This presents how Boohoo is in a good position to continue its growth as the market is continuing to develop. However, this may also bring forward many more competitors entering the market to capitalise on the success of online retailing.

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brand positioning key c

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tit or

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brand positioning

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competitors Boohoo has many competitors as the market for fast fashion is so crowded. Their key competitors can be identified as ASOS, Pretty Little Thing, Nasty Gal and Primark. These have been identified through the use of two different brand positioning graphs, whereby these brands were consistently put close to Boohoo within these graphs.

competitior PRIMARK

ASOS

pretty little thing & Nasty Gal 30

analysis Most of these brands are online pureplay retailers, however Primark is an instore retailer that doesn’t sell through a website. Primark still remains a strong competitor to Boohoo through its inexpensive prices and speed of product creation, which although is not faster than most online based brands, is still significantly faster than many other high street retailers. Primark is known for offering extremely affordable prices and so this is where they compete with Boohoo as they offer fashion pieces at cheaper or similar prices to Boohoo.

However, as they don’t sell through a website and are purely in-store, they don’t offer the same convenience for its consumer.

ASOS is Boohoo’s biggest competitor and a market leader with total orders placed (Asos PLC, 2018) being 63.2 Million, up 27% year-on-year; this compares to Boohoo’s 13.6 Million total orders (Boohoo PLC, 2018). ASOS is an onlineonly retailer that sells not only their own products but additionally wholesaler products from many brands including Boohoo and many close competitors. This means that while Boohoo is competing with ASOS they are also using them as a distributer. This is an important business strategy as they are capitalising on ASOS’s success and gaining awareness as ASOS grows. Additionally as ASOS has so many brands they can easily appeal to a high number of customers, which mean Boohoo is being given the chance to promote to customers that otherwise wouldn’t purchase directly from the brand.

Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal are all owned by the Boohoo Group and so are under the same management as Boohoo, however they still remain strong competitors. This means Boohoo Group can differentiate each of its brands to stand out against each other. Currently many customers don’t feel Boohoo stands out from its competition with one survey response stating, “it’s not unique from brands like Pretty Little Thing”.

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One reason that Boohoo may be struggling to stand out from their competition is their advertising, as when placed side-by-side with one another it is apparent that there is not much differentiation between the brands. Each of the brands promoting the ‘girl group’ aesthetic with a band of models presented in similar way with the same connotations being presented. It can clearly be seen why consumers find it difficult to differentiate the brands as the advertising they are being presented from each brand is so similar.

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boohoo’s advertising

competition advertising

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the customer “work hard, Play hard!”

Boohoo’s main customer is typically 16-24 year olds, however the brand’s sweet spot is the 19-21 demographic.

Boohoo targets the consumer who wants to look good on a budget. There are key segments that Boohoo’s consumer can be placed into. Boohoo has a strong relationship with students as they offer low prices and a student discount. This segment includes both college and university students and so is a large group, however the participation of university age young adults (Higher Education Initial Participation Rate) is 49.8% (Department for Education , 2018), so less than half of the age group. The other half of the age demographic, who are not enrolled at university, typically has lower income and so like the students look for low cost options for products.

The typical Boohoo consumer is cost conscious and fashion forward. They are receptive to deals and sales.

Boohoo’s consumer motto is “work hard, play hard” and Boohoo supports their consumer in both areas.

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customer profile #1 “I am a people person, I love to go out with my friends and have a good time. I work with social media and influencers so I always see and want to have the latest trends” PSYCHOGRAPHICS INTROVERT THINKING

MOTIVATION EXTROVERT

TRENDS

FEELING

SUSTAINABILITY

SEEING

INTUITION

FREINDS OPINION

CRITICAL

PERCEIVING

QUALITY

Bea 20 Social Media Assistant Social Butterfly Cares about having the latest trends and standing out from the crowd Loves to switch and change her style frequently Normally buys a new outfit for events and nights out As an entry level employee living in London she doesn’t have the high disposable income to buy expensive products, but she still wants to be on trend at an affordable price She listens to Pop music like Little Mix, Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran She gets her pay at the end of every month and always treats herself to something on payday 36

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customer profile #2 “I spend most of my time in the library and i am really ambitious to do well at univeristy. I don’t really care about trends, i wear what is most comfortable” PSYCHOGRAPHICS INTROVERT THINKING

MOTIVATION EXTROVERT

TRENDS

FEELING

SUSTAINABILITY

SEEING

INTUITION

FREINDS OPINION

CRITICAL

PERCEIVING

QUALITY

Holly 19 History Student at University of Birmingham Price Seeker As a student she looks for the cheapers price product possible, hunts for deals with her student discount Buys adaptable products that can be worn multiple different ways for different occasions She has a smaller wardrobe because she can’t fit lot’s of clothes in her university wardrobe When shes not studying she likes to go out for cocktails or dinner with her friends and dress up for it She listens to a wide range of music but loves Bastille and Billie Eilish as she finds it relaxing She gets her student loan every term and is receptive to student deals during this time 38

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EXISTING/ACTIVE CUSTOMER

NEW CUSTOMER

DESIRE

DESIRE

Gets an email from Boohoo with a discount/sale alert.

RESEARCH

RESEARCH

Follows link to sale/product search pages, missing the homepage.

Looks at tag and goes to Boohoo’s website, starting at the homepage and searching for the product through the search bar.

Look through the products and puts them in their basket.

Finds the product and puts into their basket.

CONSIDERATION Looks for additional discounts and sends photos of products to friends to get their opinions.

Reads reviews/watches YouTube videos about Boohoo products and asks peers about the brand.

Looks at similar products at competitors websites but doesn’t find anyhing cheaper

PURCHASE

Uses premier delivery that is linked to their account, uses the discount code sent in the original email.

Makes an account with Boohoo, and puts in details.

POST PURCHASE

CUSTOMER JOURNEY

CONSIDERATION

PURCHASE Already has their details so the process is very quick and easy.

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See’s influencer wearing a product they like.

Chooses delivery and payment options/details, places order and gets a confirmation email.

POST PURCHASE

Recieves products and tries them on, they send images to their friends to get more opinions.

Purchase arrives, they try on and decide to keep the products. They post a picture on their instagram of them wearing the new purchase using #boohoobabes.

They want to send back 1 item as it doesnt fit, they repackage and send back for free. It is a really easy and hassle free return.

Receives daily newsletter emails, where they find out about the new deals 41

customer experience Good aspects of the customer experience

Bad aspects of the customer experience (sticking points)

Boohoo customers are fairly engaged with the brand and purchase more than once in a year (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

Once on the website there is a strong conversion rate to sale of 4.3%, which is more than the market leader ASOS who has a 3.2%% conversion rate (Asos PLC, 2018). This means Boohoo is successfully capturing the consumer and getting the sales from the site visits. This is possibly due to the lower prices as this may be pushing the consumers to purchase as the commitment to the products is low.

One sticking point for the customer as they enter the website is the personality of the website. The layout is clean and simple; however, this is not in line with the brand’s personality, this may put off the consumer from the brand.

The layout would be improved by the use of colour and font in a more exciting way, as well as featuring eye catching photography on the homepage. As if the homepage grabs the attention of the customer then they will want to continue further into the site and ultimately will be more likely to make a purchase.

73% of all customer sessions are made from a mobile device (Boohoo PLC, 2018). This tells us that the Boohoo customer is on the go and needs convenience from a brand. This means there needs to be constant improvements and monitoring of the mobile app and optimisation of mobile browsing, ensuring ease of use for the consumer.

When a customer views a product on an influencers Instagram they will then follow the tag to Boohoo’s Instagram page. From here they can directly shop their Instagram from the app and add the product to their basket without even leaving Instagram. This feature offers the consumer a seamless shopping experience that takes them straight from the ‘desire’ stage of the customer journey to the “purchase’, skipping the “research” and “consideration” stages which are the ones that influence the customer to not purchase.

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A possible sticking point for a consumer is the lack of detail in the view of the product, they cannot see how the product hangs or moves on the body. This may prevent them from going further with the purchase as they want to be able to see these aspects of a product. This should definitely be something that Boohoo considers moving forward.

Another sticking point for the customer in their journey is that Boohoo comes fairly low down on the Google Searches.

When searching for a ‘Bodysuit’, Boohoo was the 7th website behind all of the similar competitors. Similarly, when searching for a ‘Dress’, Boohoo was 8th. This could cause a problem for consumers reaching the website as typically, if a new customer, they will choose the top few websites. This is something that Boohoo could consider improving to get more customers reaching the site. However, this research we completed only following two keyword searches, this may mean Boohoo needs to make improvements to only a few keyword searches.

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steeple analysis

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External Factors

impact on boohoo

There are 44 million active social media users in the UK which make up 66% of the UK population (Statista, 2018).

Boohoo needs to ensure they have a good engagement on social media as over half the UK population is active on social media platforms and are hence all able to connect with the brand.

The UK median disposable household income was £27,300 in the financial year ending 2017, up 2.3% on the previous year (Office for National Statistics, 2018).

“An overwhelming amount of Millennials and Generation Z members (over 80 percent) consider social and environmental practices to be just as important as a company’s financial results” (Van Elven, 2018). Millennials and Generation Z members care about transparency and honesty from brands. They want an authentic and purposedriven brand.

Video has been one of the main areas of recent focus for many companies While over four fifths (84%) of online shoppers have used a laptop/desktop to buy fashion online, the use of mobile devices is growing, with almost half (48%) of Millennials having bought fashion from their smartphone. (Mintel, 2017) “There is real potential for retailers to use VR to turn online shopping from a chore into a form of entertainment” (Mintel, 2017) “Great customer experience in 2018 will come from blending technology with a more personalized touch. I think the people that can combine technology-powered personalization with a human will be the winners - Karen Katz, President & CEO of Neiman Marcus Group” (Sonsev, 2018)

If the disposable income rate is increasing, then consumers will be more frivolous with their money and will hence be more likely to purchase non-essential items such as clothing.

“If you are spending a mere £8 on a jumper, it’s worth asking, was the person who made it paid a living wage?” (Blanchard, 2007, p. 4).

e

Boohoo’s target consumer can be placed within the Millennial and Generation Z age brackets.

This means boohoo needs to consider what their consumers want to see from them. Research states that these age brackets like transparent brands that are authentic, and this is one of the areas that boohoo needs to work on as they are often viewed as an unsustainable brand.

Boohoo could utilise video on their website and app to give a better visual of the movement of the products whilst being worn. They could also use video in a more creative way by creating a short film or visual advertising.

Consumers are shopping more and more on their phones and so Boohoo needs to ensure their website works on a mobile capacity and they have an app that is exciting to use, allowing consumers to easily move through to purchase.

Boohoo could utilise VR in a pop-up shop capacity, allowing consumers to visualise and connect more with the brand in a fun and exciting way.

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‘a new generation of young fashion retailers has seen the emergence of an ever faster model, turning fast fashion into ‘ultrafast fashion.’ These fashion retailers, which include the likes of Asos, Boohoo and Missguided, are said to have the shortest and leanest supply chain cycles’ (Hendriksz, 2017).

Diversity and inclusivity is a big trend within the fashion industry. It marks a turning point within the industry whereby it is more about being yourself than fitting the ‘perfect mould’ that used to be prominent within the industry.

‘Britain buys an estimated 1.1million tonnes of clothes ever year - which equates to around 26.7kg for every person living in the country…around 400,000 tonnes of clothes end up in landfill ever year’ (Furguson, 2018).

‘Boohoo group’s current Ethical Trade Policy is based on the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI) base code, which sets worldwide standards of labour practice’ (Boohoo plc, 2018).

Boohoo has a responsibility to ensure they are ethically aware and conscious of the influence they have on their consumers. they need to ensure they are paying their workers the right amount of pay and providing them with the care they need to do their job. This is especially important as the younger consumer are conscious of ethical and transparent brands.

Boohoo has already adhered to the inclusivity and diversity trend; it can be seen within their campaigns, products and marketing efforts.

However this cannot be tokenistic and boohoo need to show consumers that they care and are taking the issue seriously. The brand has already come under fire for their #ALLGIRLS campaign in 2017 that aimed to promote diversity but didn’t feature models ‘with a (visible) disability, as well as curvy, trans, hijabi and visibly older models to try to cover all bases’ (Ekall, 2017).

According to the brand themselves, Boohoo ‘acts responsibly to reduce energy consumption and to use energy more efficiently to reduce its environmental impact’ (Boohoo plc, 2018).

However, in October 2018 the brand was in the spotlight after it was ‘named and shamed in Parliament for fuelling a throwaway clothes culture’ (Russell, 2018). This shows how the industry doesn’t trust boohoo as a sustainable brand and this will reach the consumers. As a result, Boohoo needs to make sure they do whatever they can to change this negative connotation that has attached itself to the brand as it may begin to impact sales as the consumers become increasingly conscious of the impact fastfashion is having on the environment.

Boohoo should use technology to create a connection with their consumer and ensure their consumers get a personalised experience.

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External Factors

impact on boohoo

The British fashion industry relies on international trade and thrives on a global pool of talent… the industry didn’t vote for Brexit, 90 percent of designers told the British Fashion Council they were voting remain” (Tobin, 2018). In an interview with the Evening Standard Richard Lim, chief executive of analyst Retail Economics stated that “whatever happens, the price of a pair of jeans will go up after Brexit…as we take control of our borders, the pool of available staff is likely to shrink, meaning inflationary impact. It’s likely to massively disruptive” (Tobin, 2018).

Boohoo imports their materials from all over the world to manufacture in the UK. Due to Brexit the importation laws of products from Europe may become much stricter and so Boohoo may have to source their materials from elsewhere.

The Independent commented on Brexit’s impact on business stating, “in border-exposed sectors like food retail, logistics and fashion, firms are concerned primarily about disruptions to supply chains, as well as exchange-rate movements which would affect the cost of supplies and the value of their assets” (Bevington, 2018). The fashion industry is seen to be on the second tier of Brexit exposure behind highly regulated sectors such as banking and pharmaceuticals.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 became law on 1 October 2015, replacing three major pieces of consumer legislation - the Sale of Goods Act, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations, and the Supply of Goods and Services Act. It was introduced to simplify, strengthen and modernise the law, giving clearer shopping rights (Which, 2018).

The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 creates a minimum wage across the United Kingdom, currently £7.83 per hour for workers aged over 25, £7.05 per hour for workers aged 21 to 24 and £5.60 per hour for workers aged 18 to 20.

Boohoo’s international business is currently growing momentum and they have customers in 13 European countries. They ship to these countries from their UK warehouses, and after Brexit the ease of international shipping may decrease. This may lead to an increase in delivery time and costs which would hinder Boohoo’s growth in European markets as customers expect fast delivery of products at an affordable price (Heward, 2018).

In a time of geopolitical instability and uncertainty, as a global brand Boohoo needs to ensure they are expecting the unexpected and remaining flexible. It is hard to predict what the outcome of Brexit may mean for Boohoo and other fashion retailers, so adaptability and transparency is key to maintain consumers trust.

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Since the referendum in 2016 the value of the pound against the Dollar and the Euro has fluctuated but has not managed to get back to pre-referendum levels (Morrison, 2018) On the 24th November 2018 1 British Pound equals €1.13 and $1.28.

The unemployment rate in the UK is at 4.1% while the employment rate in the UK “reached a record high of 75.6% between January and March 2018” (Office for National Statistics, 2018) and has maintained that improvement to the third quarter where the employment rate was 75.5%. (The Office for National Statistics, 2018). The number of EU workers has fallen by 132,000 in last year, a record, leaving firms struggling to employ staff (Wearden, 2018) The British economy grew by 0.6 percent on quarter in the three months to September 2018, following a 0.4 percent expansion in the previous period and matching market expectations, a preliminary estimate showed. It was the strongest growth rate since the last quarter of 2016 as household spending and exports rose firmly while business investment contracted at the fastest pace since early 2016 in part due to Brexit-related economic and political uncertainty (Trading Economics, 2018)

As Boohoo currently have a strong business in the US and Europe, the exchange rate will be a big factor into the success of the sales as Boohoo deals with its finances in the UK. If the value of the pound is low against the dollar and the Euro, then Boohoo could be losing out on a significant amount of money due to the low exchange rate.

If the unemployment rate is high, then that means that the brand has a smaller pool of employable people and so a smaller set of skills available to them when hiring employees. However, in the uncertainty of Brexit, the number of EU workers has fallen meaning there are less staff to man the warehouses. This may be a problem for Boohoo if they want to expand their warehouse staff more as the pool of people that would want to do a hardlabour job is minimising as Brexit looms.

During a time of economic uncertainty there is less movements towards smaller start-up businesses as it is increasingly risky to start a business. This doesn’t directly impact Boohoo but as there are less new entrants in the market, there is less competition and Boohoo can improve its market share.

Boohoo needs to ensure all their products coincide with the laws in place for fashion products.

Boohoo needs to make sure they follow consumer laws such as the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so they can appease their customers, who are the backbone of the brand.

Because of the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 Boohoo needs to ensure they are paying all of their employees the minimum wage or above.

This is very important because if they are not following employee laws and regulations then employees may not want to work for the business and they may get a bad reputation, meaning it will be harder to find the high-quality employees they need to provide the service for their consumers.

47

market trends ‘For 2019, in times of extremism and uncertainty, we are seeing powerful reactions to events around the globe’ (White, 2018). These reactions are creating the macro trends that will be seen across many markets in 2019 and beyond. There is an overall message within society of “Fixing the Future”, this message has arisen from political and economic ambiguity.

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empower up!

WGSN states that there is a new sense of “vitality and change, powered globally by youth and by groups that did not previously have voices. These newly empowered, often optimistic and aspirational individuals will demand transparency, ethics and social conscience from countries and corporations” (WGSN, 2018).

This trend is powered by the recent up-rise of Generation Z who are demanding change. Following the up rise of the younger generation, as consumers they are now expecting brands to do the same through ‘brand stands’.

This trend is important for Boohoo to consider as they are targeting a consumer who is a part of Generation Z. This generation will start to ‘refuse manufactured messaging, and they will demand evidence, not rhetoric messages’ (WGSN, 2018).

50

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creative manifesto Currently the world is full of people demanding truth and transparency. The urge to be different, to be heard and to make an impact is intensifying. This means creativity and self-expression will become increasingly essential skills from both people and brands. Brands are expected to inspire action and change from their consumer; this coincides with the idea that younger Millennial and Generation Z consumers are now looking for transparent brands that stand for something.

It would be advisable that Boohoo utilises this trend as currently consumers are losing their trust in retailers.

Through becoming a more transparent and trustworthy brand consumers will be able to look up to the brand and feel they are buying into a brand with a cause. Having a purpose and a cause gives Boohoo the opportunity to bring out the brand personality, it will help to engage with consumers and make them feel that the brand cares.

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niche media The ‘Niche Media’ trend is one that is growing among consumers. Trend Hunter describes the trend as “taking a more specialized approach to content, media platforms like podcasts and online shows are turning to specific entertainment interests to connect with consumer groups” (TrendHunter, 2018). There is not only a rise in curated content, but also a rise in user-generated content, where consumers are looking to reach others who can similarly identify with them.

Podcasts are one of the niche media areas that Boohoo could buy into. Podcast media is growing rapidly in the UK, according to Ofcom, “with nearly 6 million adults now tuning in each week” to listen to podcasts on varying subject matters. The fastest growing demographic is the young adults aged 15-24 with around “one in five (18.7%) now listening to podcasts every week” (Ofcom, 2018). This figure is especially important for Boohoo as it is their target consumer age range and so this trend offers them the opportunity to reach out in an interesting and personal way to their consumers.

Creating a podcast would allow Boohoo to connect in a more personal and transparent way with their customers by giving the brand a voice, making the brand as a whole more physical and more human.

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55

swot analysis

S W 56

Boohoo has over 12 year’s experience in the market and has stayed true to the original brand ethos. Boohoo was one of the first pureplay online fashion brands, and this helps them to stand their own in a crowded market.

Carries a wide range of products to suit the consumers every need. Appealing to the consumer for whatever they may want or need, they will be able to find it on Boohoo.

The affordability of Boohoo’s product is a strength of the brand. The price makes the products accessible to the target consumer who may not have the disposable income to afford to pay for high price fashion items. They want style for a low budget and Boohoo gives them that.

Boohoo supplies all over the world but has stayed true to their roots and remained in Manchester, with the head offices and distribution here.

The brand has a fun and youthful company culture, this helps to boost morale of employees and create a community between the company and its customers.

Boohoo has continued to grow since it started in 2006 and has become a key player within the market. Sales are increasing year-on-year which gives Boohoo the opportunity to grow the brand even further.

Boohoo’s reputation is their main weakness as this is what prevents new customers from purchasing from the brand. They hear the negative comments about the brand and form assumptions. The negative brand experiences are more likely to be told. This is supported by a survey whereby “95% of respondents who had a bad experience said they told someone about it” and “respondents who suffered a bad interaction were 50% more likely to share it on social media than those who had good experiences” (Dimensional Research, 2013).

The negative reputation is what is currently preventing Boohoo from gaining customers and improving sales.

The product quality is another weakness of Boohoo’s and although it is difficult to change without changing the pricing structure of the brand, Boohoo needs to address the unpredictability of product quality with their consumers in order to gain their trust. It may be necessary to take on board customer feedback through reviews, so they are able to see what aspect the consumer doesn’t like in the product. This way they will be able to gain helpful feedback for themselves to work on and gain the trust of the consumer as they are being given the choice to speak their mind about the brand.

A final weakness of Boohoo is the number of lapsed customers that they have. Through primary research it was found that 40% of customers used to purchase from Boohoo but don’t now (see appendix). This figure is particularly high and is a big weakness for Boohoo as these are the customers who are most likely to have had a bad experience with the brand and be spreading word of their experience. The relationship between them and the brand has been lost and needs to be regained.

o t

One big opportunity for Boohoo is to utilise the ‘niche media’ trend by creating fun and interactive media content for consumers, such as a podcast. According to Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism in New York, “podcasting has is a youth audience that feels very passionately about the people that they listen to and that they engage with” (Goodrich, 2018). The growth of podcast listening is rapidly increasing “with nearly 6 million adults now tuning in each week” and importantly for Boohoo “the steepest growth is now among young adults aged 15-24 – with around one in five (18.7%) now listening to podcasts every week” (Ofcom, 2018).

Boohoo has an opportunity to improve the trust between their brand and their customers. This in turn should then raise sales as 35% of people rank trust in their top three reasons behind a purchase decision (PWC, 2018).

This is an area that would help Boohoo significantly as improving on customer trust would help improve not only sales but loyalty from customers which is hard to get.

A final opportunity for Boohoo is the market strength. Boohoo has the opportunity to continue their growth and the market is substantially growing and is predicted to reach £32.8 billion by 2023 (Mintel, 2017). Boohoo needs to ensure that they stand out within the market as competition is strong and always improving. They can do this by differentiating themselves through their advertising and website design.

One threat to Boohoo is their suppliers not following regulations and the backlash onto the brand in the press.

An example of this occurred January 2019 where a supplier was using real fur labelled as fake on Boohoo’s products (Clifton, 2019). This had a significant impact on Boohoo which resulted in Boohoo stopping all orders with the supplier. Incidents like this threat Boohoo’s reputation and they need to ensure they have as much control over their suppliers as possible. It is crucial for the respect and trust of customers that is necessary for their growth and sales.

Another threat to Boohoo is the rise of environmental conscious consumers. This is a threat to Boohoo as they provide fast fashion at low costs, a strategy that is often criticised for promoting a disregard for the environment.

Boohoo needs to ensure that they do whatever possible to appease this consumer while remaining true to the brand.

A final threat is the strong competition within the market. ASOS, Missguided and Pretty Little thing all offer similar products at similar prices. Boohoo needs to constantly make efforts to stand out within the crowded market. one aspect that is weak for Boohoo is the advertising campaigns, although they fit well with the brand’s personality and message, they are similar to other brands and when put side by side it is difficult to differentiate between the brands. This can become confusing for customers, especially new customers as all of the brands seem to merge together. This is supported by primary research where, when asked if they felt that Boohoo stood out against their competition, 85% of survey respondents stated that they didn’t think they did (see appendix). This could be hindering Boohoo’s efforts to gain new customers.

57

main issues The main issues and challenges that Boohoo currently face are: Customer loyalty and retention Customer trust Strong competition in a crowded market – struggling to stand out If Boohoo improved these areas it would improve sales as their customers would be more loyal to the brand and make a bigger investment in the brand 58

59

PART 2

60

MARKETING STRATEGY

61

the aim & objectives MAIN AIM OF THE MARKETING STRATEGY

The overall aim of the marketing strategy is to improve sales, retention and experience by improving the trust between the brand the consumer.

SMART OBJECTIVES • • • • • • 62

To increase overall sales by 40% in 3 years.

To increase social media engagement across all platforms by 20% within 3 years.

To increase the number of active users by at least 20% within 3 years.

To regain 10% of lapsed users to become active users within the 3 years.

To increase the average order value by 8% within 3 years.

To increase the number of items per basket by 5% within 3 years.

63

year one TRUST IN BOOHOO CAMPAIGN

It was found through primary research that 56% of Boohoo’s lapsed users stated the unreliable product quality was the reason they stopped purchasing from the brand. This tells us that the trust between the brand and these consumers was lost when they felt that Boohoo didn’t deliver what was promised.

The Trust In Boohoo campaign will be a campaign to push forward to the consumer that they should trust Boohoo, by heavily promoting one of the weaker aspects of the brand. The aim is to get people talking about Boohoo promoting their new honest and transparent brand message.

Consumers will then respect their transparency, as “94% of consumers are likely to be loyal to a brand that offers them transparency” (Kline, 2016), and be more likely to change their perceptions.

The communication of this campaign will be detailed in the Part Three of this report.

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REDESIGN OF THE WEBSITE & APP

During the Trust in Boohoo campaign there will be an effort to redesign the website ready for its release in Year Two. The website will feature new elements within the product pages. There will be an introduction of more product pictures including a fabric closeup and backwards view, additionally there will be the introduction of a video of the product so consumers have the ability to see how the product hangs and moves when worn. A focus group participant stated “I like it when they do a close up of the fabric, I think that’s so important because you can then kind of normally tell if that fabric is going to be itchy or soft… To me added information like that will make me more likely to purchase” (in appendix). The introduction of more detailed, images and video will communicate to the customer that Boohoo is willing to show first-hand the quality of the product in an honest, open way.

close up video

Another redesign element is the inclusion of reviews.

This is an important element to be introduced as “84% of people trust online reviews as much as friends” (Bloem, 2017). Additionally, during the focus group (in appendix) one respondent gave a direct comment about Boohoo and reviews that stated “I actually once bought something from boohoo that was glittery, and I thought it was a glitter fabric, but It was just glitter stuck on the fabric and the glitter got everywhere. I would have liked to have been able to leave a review for other people and also so boohoo knew about it and could work on the product. I probably would have more respect for the brand if they owned their flaws and where more honest”. This insight is crucial for Boohoo understanding their consumer.

The outcome will improve the number of items per basket from 3.06 (Boohoo PLC, 2018), as consumers will be more willing to purchase products as they feel that they are able understand the product more and commit. The redesign should additionally improve the average order value, increasing it from the current £39.25 (Boohoo PLC, 2018).

This is due to consumers being more willing to commit to higher priced items as they will have the ability to understand the product on a higher level needed to make a bigger purchase.

Meanwhile, as the website is being designed it will be optimised for mobile use and translated into the app. This is especially important as “73% of all customer sessions are made from a mobile device” (Boohoo PLC, 2018). The app will be launched alongside the website in Year Two.

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67

year two RELEASE OF THE WEBSITE AND APP

Following the design of the new website features in Year One, the website and the app will be released at the beginning of Year 2. This is occurring in Year Two rather than Year One to allow for more time to create the website and not rush through the development.

As customers begin to use the website, orders should begin to improve. This is additionally following the success of the Trust In Us campaign in Year One. Once customers receive their orders they will be sent an email that offers 10% off their next order if they leave a review for the products that purchased. The email will have a link to where they can leave the review. Once they have filled in the details they will receive a 10% off code. This reward will be the incentive necessary to gain reviews.

CREATION OF PODCAST

Following the success of the Trust In Us campaign, in Year Two Boohoo will create a free bi-weekly podcast, available on their website. This podcast, titled ‘Boohoo and You’, will feature influencers, customers and employees discussing various topics, creating a community of listeners. The podcast will be on a wide range of topics from fashion, music, current events, politics and more. The aim is to create community of listeners who are loyal to the brand. It is a cost effective and interesting way to promote Boohoo’s ethos that stands out from competition. Podcasts are increasing in popularity with “one in five 15-24 year olds listening to podcasts at least once a week” (Ofcom, 2018), so creating one will attract customers to the brand, active and new.

The podcast will be promoted heavily on social media, with a focus on Instagram.

The influencers on Instagram will be featured on the podcast which will bring their dedicated followers to the website to listen. Clips will be promoted on Boohoo’s Instagram Story, as well as visual behind the scene footage.

INCREASE OF MICRO-INFLUENCER MARKETING

Continuing from the introduction of the podcast featuring micro influencers, a continued growth in micro influencer marketing will be set forward in Year Two. Micro influencers have smaller followings so aren’t able to have the same reach as larger influencers, however they have a more “relevant, engaged and trusting audience because they haven’t ‘blow up’ yet” (Zuercher, 2017). Through micro influencers Boohoo can promote to a “niche community that watches, engages with and trusts (the influencer) on a daily basis” (Mathew, 2018). The micro influencer marketing strategy will have a continued strong focus on Instagram as this is currently their strongest social channel.

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year three

increased promotion of podcast

In Year Three there will be additional promotion of the podcast now it has grown. There will be the opportunity to get more influential names featured through interviews and discussions on the podcast. These names will then be promoted to grow excitement for the release. By Year Three the following of the podcast should have grown significantly and will continue to grow throughout the year. The increase in following of the podcast is important because with a larger audience Boohoo can reach more consumers and present, through discussions, their opinions. This will tell the listener that Boohoo stands for something and cares. This in turn improves the trust between the brand and the consumer as the brand is being more transparent which consumers respect.

CONTINUATION OF MICRO-INFLUENCER MARKETING

Additionally. there will be an increase in influencer marketing during the Third Year. This will help continue the growth of awareness for Boohoo, while reaching the new consumers from influencer followings.

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71

PART 3

72

COMMS STRATEGY

73

ACTION PLAN

We have your back...

So trust in us!

The communication plan runs within the first year of the marketing strategy. The plan is to create a campaign, Trust In Boohoo, that will send the message to consumers that Boohoo is a trustworthy and honest brand. The improvements that the campaign will make will be significant as it will raise the awareness of Boohoo through engaging and interactive marketing.

PHASE 1

Phase 1 of the communication plan is to create and release an advert in April 2019, with a focused release on YouTube. This pay per click advertising will help to reach the target consumers quickly and effectively, with “approximately 71% of Gen Zer’s spending more than three hours per day watching online videos” (MediaKix, 2018). The advert will be created with a strong effort for differentiation against their competitors. The ad will feature a woman falling back into a ball pit, where the balls have the Boohoo logo on them. Then the slogan “Boohoo’s got your back…so trust in us” comes up. The simplicity and ambiguity of the advert will capture the attention of the consumer and leave them wondering, the advert is very different from their current advertising which will improve differentiation. Influencers such as Sophia & Cinzina, Fashion Influx and GraceFit are examples of key channels that will be used to promote the advert. This advert should create an initial ‘buzz’ from the consumers, this buzz will support the next phases of promotion.

PHASE 2

gracefituk

Phase 2 will be the social media campaign. The campaign will have a strong focus on Instagram as this is Boohoo’s biggest channel. There will be posts on Facebook, however there is not the same influencer support on Facebook as there is on Instagram. Firstly, Boohoo will roll out a competition for their consumers where they will be able to win £3,000 to use on Boohoo. To enter they have to follow Boohoo on Instagram, like the post and submit a photo of themselves wearing their favourite Boohoo item using the #TrustInBoohoo. Getting the consumer to post their Boohoo products supports Boohoo’s efforts to grow trust as viewers will see the posts of their peers wearing Boohoo products, providing recommendations. This is key as consumers trust their peers more than influencers with 92% of consumers “more likely to trust their peers over advertising when it comes to purchasing decisions” (Little, 2015).

Additionally, there will be paid advertising through influencers on Instagram, with a mixture of micro and larger influencers. The larger influencer posts are important to the campaign in order to gain credibility and scope. Meanwhile, Facebook and Instagram adverts will be released, in order to further gain awareness for the campaign.

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Do you trust us? If you do then you could win £3,000! To enter like this post, follows us on Insta and post a photo of your favourite boohoo item using #TrustInBoohoo and tagging us!

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the invites and email #TrustInBoohoo

During phase 3 there is more of a focus on below the line advertising that is more direct to the current loyal consumers of Boohoo. This is where the advertising for the event begins.

To directly get the word out to the current consumers, flyers will be put into each of the orders during May and June.

This allows Boohoo to target their current active customers to get them to come to the event. They are more likely to want to come as they are loyal to the brand and already feel like they are part of the Boohoo community. Email’s will be sent out to the customers currently signed up for newsletter emails. This is a direct and cheap form of advertising.

email exclusive COME TO OUR EVENT IN MANCHESTER AND BE IN WITH A CHANCE OF WINNING

£5,000

Come to our event on July 20th to be in with a chance of winning £5,000!

PHASE 3

JOIN US!

Do you want to win £5,000? Yes. We thought so.

Well join us on the 20th of July in Manchester and you can! See you there! #TrustInBoohoo

PR packages will be sent to influencers, bloggers and journalists to promote the campaign and event. They will all be invited to the event along with the customers who are part of the competition at the event. Press coverage will be crucial for Boohoo to get the word of mouth advertising that is necessary for the event turnout. Additionally, there will be a countdown banner at the top of the homepage of the website, this will gain the excitement for the event while promoting the date to the customer.

In the weeks before the event flyers will go out in the streets of Manchester, they will be given out at the universities and colleges in and around the city. This will target the customers who are close to Manchester and most likely able to attend the event. By going into schools and universities they are able to directly target the customer and get them excited to come to the event.

PHASE 4

The event will take place in July 2019 in Manchester. It will be a big event where influencer and customers alike can attend. The customers attending will be all taking place in the ball pit dive, whereby they will jump into a ball pit and have 30 seconds to look for the ‘golden ball’ which would win them £5,000 to spend on Boohoo. The competition links back to the original advert in a humorous and interactive way.

the venue 76

The event will be recorded on Boohoo’s Instagram story and the influencers attending will all post the event. This will grow Boohoo’s awareness even more and as the event has a distinctive competition and atmosphere, the viewers will be more likely to look on Boohoo’s website for more information. Additionally to reach a wider UK audience the event will be live streamed on their website, so that anyone not at the event can feel the atmosphere for themselves.

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REWARDS WHAT? SALES

Through the campaign the sales will increase because of Boohoo’s honesty and transparency with their customers. Additionally, the sales will increase because the differentiation that the campaign brings to Boohoo. The fun and exciting concept of the ball pit with bring out the youthful side of everyone and present this side of Boohoo too. Consumers will see Boohoo as a youthful and playful brand and want to shop with them because of the strong personality that the brand has.

TRUST

The trust between the brand and the consumer will improve through the honest approach that Boohoo is taking with the campaign. They are promoting the aspects of the brand that only loyal customers feel which is that Boohoo has good quality and reliable products. This has been lost because of the negative perception of Boohoo.

LOYALTY

The retention and loyalty of customers will improve as they will be interacting with the brand more and hence feel they are part of a community. This will mean that they will be more loyal to the brand as they feel that they are part of it.

ENGAGEMENT

The campaign will improve engagement levels as it is getting the consumer to enter into competitions both on social media and at the event. The competitions help consumers to feel part of the Boohoo community and so will be much more likely to engage with the brands socials. The competitions will also aid this as it requires people to follow the brand on Instagram and so they will be seeing the brand’s post on their feed when they may have not seen these posts previously.

BRING BACK CUSTOMERS 78

HOW?

The campaign will bring back lapsed consumers as they will be more willing to shop with the brand if they trust them. Additionally, they will bring back customers though the redesign of the website as it will show to shoppers that they are owning who they are and not trying to cover up their products.

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4 C’S consumer

cost

Boohoo customers want affordable products and are receptive to deals. However, alongside this they want to trust the brand that they are buying into. This is crucial to convert awareness to sales. This is why the communication plan campaign is focused on trust and honesty.

Consumers are not willing to buy Boohoo products at a high price and expect to be able to get affordable products. This is why through the communication plan and marketing strategy there will be no additional costs added to the products or service, the consumer will not have to pay more.The additions of the cost of the communication plan are all covered within the £1,000,000 budget.

Throughout the three years Boohoo’s products will remain the same price, with an average of £13 (see appendix for costings).

communication

Communication will work toward creating a meaningful relationship with the customer, through the growth of trust between the consumer and Boohoo.

Promotion of the campaign will have a strong focus on social media, in particular Instagram as this is Boohoo’s most successful channel.

Communication of the campaign will be extremely accessible to consumers as it will be through social media. This means they are more likely to be subjected to the communication efforts as they do not have to go anywhere to be made aware.

covenience

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The distribution of the products will not change, and it will remain in Manchester as this is the recognisable home of Boohoo. Their community view Manchester as part of the brand’s identity. This is why the event will be in Manchester as Boohoo needs to remain true to their roots, however in order to be accessible to a wider audience than those at the event, Boohoo will be live streaming the event on their Instagram and website. This means customers from all over the country can be a part of the event without being there. This will make them feel as though they are being shown something others cannot see and as a consequence feel they are part of the Boohoo community. They are able to put faces to Boohoo employees which will make the brand more ‘human’ and more trustworthy.

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gaining consumers engage with current consumers • Through flyers in the packaging of their order.

• Through the Instagram competition getting active customers to post their favourite boohoo product to enter.

• Through the influencer posts and use of their social media platforms.

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attract new consumers • Through the YouTube advert that reaches a wider audience.

• Through influencer posts as they may be following the influencer.

• Through the Facebook and Instagram advertisements.

• Through the press coverage of the event.

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timeline PHASE 1 Create YouTube advert Release YouTube advert

1

January 2 3

4

February 1 2 3 4

1

March 2 3

4

1

April 2 3

4

1

May 2 3

4

1

June 2 3

4

1

July 2 3

4

1

August 2 3

4

Sept 1 2

PHASE 2 Instagram Competition Paid infleuncer Ads Facebook and Instagram Ads PHASE 3 Flyers in Orders PR packages sent out Countdown banner on website Going into schools and universities in Manchester PHASE 4 The Event in Manchester 84

85

finance

costing of communication plan Finance: Costing for Strategy Costs for new strategies

These all need to be deducted from sales £ income

One off costs

J

Marketing costs Creating the advert

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

TOTAL

£1,760

Release of the advert on YouTube

£1,760 £100,000

£100,000

Influencer paid posts on Instagram

£200,000

Competition Prize

£100,000

£300,000

£3,000

£3,000

Facebook advertising

£350

£350

Instagram advertising

£960

£960

PR Packages

£300

£300

The Event Venue

£12,000

£15,000

Event Catering

£3,000

£3,600

£3,600

Event Prize

£5,000

£5,000

£650

£650

Event Decorations and Bal l Pit TOTAL

(All of the costings can be found in the appendix) The overall cost of the plan is £430,620, leaving £569,380 left of the £1,000,000 budget.

0

0

£4,760

£100,000

£204,610

£100,000.00

£21,250.00

0

0

0

0

0

£430,620

(New permanent sal aries) Total Product development (EXTRA COSTS)

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total TOTAL

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

0 0

£0

£0

£4,760

£100,000

£204,610

£100,000

£21,250

£0

£0

£0

£0

£0

£430,620

Peopl e

In terms of the revenue Boohoo will be set to make £446,045,055 at the end of 2019. This is a 19% increase on 2018.

Operations services (EXTRA COSTS) Pl ace - distribution (EXTRA COSTS)

Total One off costs

Creating the advert Photographer Model MUA & Hair Styl ist Venue Bal l Pit Hire Travel Initiatives TOTAL Sales

Profit/Loss sheet IN

Turnover (use AVG RRP), Average RRP - £13

£300 £200 £360 £450 £100 £350 £1,760

TURNOVER Units

Finance: Financial Plan Those in blue are positive income J

-deduct those in red as they are costs

F

M

A

M

J

J

A

S

O

N

D

TOTAL

1166666.67

116700.00

116733.33

1333333.33

1500000.00

150000.00

1186333.33

1333333.33

1300300.00

1300166.67

1300216.67

1300300.00

£45,500,000

£4,551,300

£4,552,600

£52,000,000

£58,500,000

£5,850,000

£46,267,000

£52,000,000

£50,711,700

£50,706,500

£50,708,450

£50,711,700

£472,059,250 Estim

3500000.00

350100.00

350200.00

4000000.00

4500000.00

450000.00

3559000.00

4000000.00

3900900.00

3900500.00

3900650.00

3900900.00

36312250.00 Num

£2,450,000.0

£245,070.0

£245,140.0

£2,800,000.0

£3,150,000.0

£315,000.0

£2,491,300.0

£2,800,000.0

£2,730,630.0

£2,730,350.0

£2,730,455.0

£2,730,630.0

£150,000.00

£15,000.00

Inc variable (avg gmt cost) Cost of sales

£2.10

Cost of flyers

£0.01

Total One off costs OUT

Total Costs Profit (IN less OUT)(+/-)

86

£ £2,450,000.00

£245,070.00

£43,050,000.00

£4,306,230.00

4,760.00 £249,900.00

£

100,000.00

£

204,610.00

£2,900,000.00

£3,504,610.00

£4,302,700.00 £49,100,000.00

£54,995,390.00

£

100,000.00 £430,000.00

£25,418,575.0 £165,000.00

£

21,250.00

£

£2,512,550.00

£2,800,000.00

£2,730,630.00

£5,420,000.00 £43,754,450.00

£49,200,000.00

£47,981,070.00

£2,730,350.00

430,620.00

£2,730,455.00

£2,730,630.00

£26,014,195.00

£47,976,150.00 £47,977,995.00

£47,981,070.00

£446,045,055.00

87

how will success be measured?

The success of the campaign will be measured by: • • • • 88

Traffic to the website An increase in social media followers Entries into the Instagram competition Increase in sales during the peak times 89

conclusion As a leading global brand with over 6.4 million customers, Boohoo has achieved many things within their market already. However, they could be even bigger than they already are. The 3-Year marketing strategy that has been recommended would lead them on the journey to this success. The key insight found through research was that the consumer, particularly the lapsed users, didn’t trust Boohoo as a brand. By improving the trust between the brand and the consumer, the sales, customer retention and engagement should improve as the customers will be more willing to buy into the brand. the first-year communication plan supports this marketing strategy as it pushes the honesty and transparency of Boohoo to the forefront of their campaign. This not only reiterates the message of trust to the consumer but aids in Boohoo’s attempt to differentiate themselves from competitors within the market.

Overall if Boohoo follows the recommended path they should be able to grow their business while remaining true to their brand outlook of making fashion accessible and fun (Boohoo, 2018).

90

91

appendix

92

93

Focus Group Write Up Q1. Do you buy into brands that you trust?

Sophie -Yes Carmen – Yeah Q1.2. Why Sophie – because I want to get good quality clothes Becky (following on from Sophie’s answer) – From somewhere you trust. The trust is important Daisy – I think you would keep going back to the same brands that you know that they produce quality stuff. But it’s like that vs a brand that you know is hit or miss like Zaful.

Carmen – oh ok yeah, I go on Zaful a lot, and I would get something from Zaful as long as the reviews are good. I always check the reviews on websites like that.

Q2. Are you more likely to purchase products if you see a video of the product being worn and if there are more pictures?

All – yeah, yes Daisy – I like seeing all of the different angles, because sometimes you can buy something and not realise it had something weird on like the back that you couldn’t see before.

Becky – yeah like you didn’t realise it had a quote on the back Carmen – yeah, I like to be able to see the fit in certain areas. Like I got a playsuit for my birthday and it was a size 8, I’m normally a size 8 or 10, and it looked great on the model but when it came it had like a 6 inch gap behind my back.

Daisy – and I find I want to be able to see the fabric quality in the pictures.

Sophie – I like it when they do a close up of the fabric, I think that’s so important because you can then kind of normally tell if that fabric is going to be itchy or soft. And it’s also important to show the inside of the garment as that shows how well it’s made and if it’s itchy on the outside if it has a lining on the inside between you and the fabric. To me added information like that will make me more likely to purchase.

Daisy – I also prefer having more pictures because sometimes the pictures you have are basically the same.

Q3. Do you look at reviews of products if they are available? Why? Carmen – because it helps me know whether it’s worth my investment. It’s helping you understand whether it’s worth it or not.

Becky – it helps to separate the brands own messages and the reality. And I mainly look at reviews for sizing reference Daisy – yeah definitely! Like the top I’m wearing came up really small, but I bought it in a store, so I could see that. Online you can’t see that so it’s nice to know if you should size up or down.

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95

The advert • • • • • •

Costings

Venue - £450 (HireSpace.com) Photographer - £300 (https://www.uniqstudios.co.uk/pricing/photographer-model-mua-hirepricing) Model - £200 (https://www.uniqstudios.co.uk/pricing/photographer-model-mua-hire-pricing) MUA/Hair stylist -£180 x 2 (https://www.uniqstudios.co.uk/pricing/photographer-model-mua-hirepricing) Ball pit hire - £350 (BallPitHire.com) £1760 in total on creating ad

• -

YouTube ad time

-

£100,000 being spent on YouTube ads

YouTube ads have an average cost-per-view of $0.10 – $0.30 ($0.20) https://influencermarketinghub.com/how-much-do-youtube-ads-cost/

Units = Number of orders x Number of products per order Units = 13.6 million X 3.06 (based on figures in the annual report 2018) Units = 41.6 million units a year, 3.4 million a month Influencer posts on Instagram Average £100 per 10,000 followers - https://later.com/blog/instagram-influencers-costs/ - £300,000 spent overall 96

Cost of Sales was found using the boohoo Group cost of sales which was £2.10 per sale (as per the annual report 2018)

97

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