Sears
Creative Brief By: Shanel Wolf, Salimi Akill, Emily Lai, Gabrielle Alvarado, Javay Tucker
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Concept:
Sears is having trouble with their brand image due to a lingering negative stigma for their products being old fashioned and inefficient customer service. They have zero Online presence and have been lagging with their visual, layout and marketing creativity. Sears is also not customer specific and many are confused by their inventory. An attempt to specify the target market and have their product assortment dedicated to the target consumer will enhance the brand image of Sears and will boost brand recognition as a value destination department store. To test out this concept, we recommend that Sears target a young demographic and located themselves strategically. For this concept, we have decided that the target consumers will be divided by three groupings in three separate and distinct locations. By being specific and dedicating their efforts to re-branding, Sears will attempt to be closer to a lifestyle value department store. The first group will be college students, who will be located in Savannah, GA, which is a college town. Sears will attempt to fulfill every need of the college student providing apparel, small furniture appliances and even transportation by including bikes and skateboards to our assortment. The assortment will be dedicated to a youthful and energetic audience. The layout will mimic this concept with vibrant colors and interactive displays. We will also hold promotional events such as dress your dorm rooms with a prize for the winner of $500 to spend in Sears. We will also have a collaboration with fashion student at the Savannah College of Art and Design where the apparel will be chosen by the students for the fashion shows. SCAD, Savannah Tech and other surrounding colleges and schools will also be invited to join a social media competition that will enable them join Sears design process. This way, Sears can satisfy the wants and needs of the consumer directly while also promoting their brand identity. The second group is dedicated to the young professionals living or moving to the Los Angeles area. This area has been buzzing with the arrival of young professionals next to New York. Sears will provide an assortment that will fit into the lifestyle of a busy young professional by offering products such as multipurpose and space saving furniture, business suitcases, business apparel and Eco friendly means of transportations such as segway’s and bicycles. The layout will be young yet will be very organized which will resemble the business environment. Sears will make it easy for the customers to find the items they need and want will subtly hinting other items they might enjoy. We will hold promotional events that will incorporate the nightlife young professionals have in LA by providing coupons to the bars/clubs that they are most likely to visit. Sears 10% coupon promotion at these bars will be given to customer who spend $40 or more and will receive a free drink on Sears. This would be a win-win situation for the business owner and for Sears. The last group will be located in Tampa, Florida and will consist of newly weds of ages 27 to 35. This area is notorious for families who are seeking a place to settle down and raise a family. Sears will be providing an assortment of home goods, reliable appliances, investment furniture, maternity wear, beach wear and baby supplies. The store will be decorated with the home goods that Sears will be selling as part of the showcasing of the merchandise. The promotions for this group will consist of a contest of a best wedding/couple providing the unique concepts and theme they have used in their wedding hash tagging “SearsForLife� and through social media the winners will be chosen. The winning couple will 3
win an all expense paid honeymoon to Hawaii. The whole newly wed community will be engaged in this process of re-branding. Lastly, the stores need to retrain there associates to implement and present these events to these target customers and provide an all around memorable experience at Sears. Associates must understand the latest trends that are to come within the stores and be knowledgeable about the different trends that are in style, not only within apparel but latest furnishings as well. Understanding the product along with having great customer service is the key to holding a lifetime customer. As Sears is considered as a one-stop shop store, it is necessary for the store as a whole to be easy to navigate and kept straight at all times for the store to be visually appealing to the clients. Associates should be engaging and excited about the new collections that come through Sears and dressing the part as the new trends come in. This should be replicated through the associates work attire to convey an overall atmosphere of what is going on in the store. As the above reviews will be made within re-branding Sears it is necessary to re-brand the associates to make them have a new outlook on the brand and see more profitability with the store. As we feel strongly about these different tactics about engaging the younger demographic we are not sure that they will work because of how far behind Sears is in profitability and brand recognition. We hope that as they re-brand, customers will get accustomed to the new and improved Sears as they try to become more trendy and stylish within their store and merchandise.
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Re-brand Logo Ideas
Sears
Sears Sears
Sears 5
Georgia
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Retail Location:
SAVANNAH
Sears will be targeting all colleges in Savannah, specifically Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). SCAD has been known for its efforts to work with the city in preserving it’s architectural heritage. The school includes 67 buildings throughout the grid and park system of downtown Savannah making it a college town. The student body is extremely diverse with students from approximately 100 countries attending SCAD to take advantage of the unique learning environment offered. This means that the SCAD community along with other surrounding colleges as a whole has a great influence on the cities development and culture. As these students in their own creative ways become the ideal trend setters of the city, the majority of these students embarked on a long distance journey to reach their destination, Savannah, leaving home behind but bringing with them the hope of making their dorms or living spaces a “home away from home�. Sears plays a crucial part in making this a reality, as there is the urgency to purchase various items that will bring comfort and color at the same time as style. Sears already has presence in Savannah. However, the hope is that re-branding it will bring it even closer to our target customer with the intention to relocate to the college town, specifically on Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Savannah, GA 31401, which is approximately five minutes away from the college.
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Customer Profile
Study Hard. Play Hard.
The target customer for the younger demographic we seek out are college students ranging between the ages of 18 and 21. This target market will be based in Savannah, Georgia where it is consider a town that is centered and surrounded by colleges including Savannah State, Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah Tech and many others. Our ideal client is stylish, enjoying bright bold playful colors that express their individuality, along with wearing the latest trendy styles at a low affordable cost. Along with being stylish, being that Sears is a one stop shop for goods, our customer will not only look stylish in clothing but stylish with their furnishings in their apartments or dorm rooms. While enjoying cafĂŠ brunches after morning classes and exciting on campus events our client will love the styles that come into Sears to fit their every day need.
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Merchandise Assortment We recommend that Sear carry a colorful, multipurpose and unique selection of appliances that would be targeted towards recently graduated or working high schoolers, and college students.
Targeting college student, Sears would benefit from offering commuter items such as bikes, and skateboards. They should be fun and vibrant in color to attract the right demographic and portray Sears as a hip retailer.
Bed in bags are very popular with this demographic. Package deals with a complete theme is often a big hit with students as it provides style and convenience.
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Colorful mini appliances are in high demand year after year during the start of school or college. These items will have a great impact on Sears’ image.
Multipurpose appliances will be seen as a great investment by this demographic as they can easily be stored in small spaces and have multifunction features.
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Competitors According to Scarborough.com, 25% of Savannah adults shop at Belk for clothing or footwear during the past three months.
In Savannah, Sears’ main competition will be Belk and Wal-Mart. Like Sears, Belk and Wal-Mart are one stop shop stores that you can buy all your goods. Our Savannah target customer are likely to have limited expense budgets and will prefer to shop at a place with affordable prices with wide selection of varieties in appliances and clothing. Wal-Mart is known for their providing the lowest price out there with the promotion of price match, in which attracts college student which will engage them to come into the store and shop. Belk is a regional store offering low prices that has a regional focus.
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Overal Sell Driving Strategies Electronic Hangers
>Linking the cloth hangers in store with Facebook >Each hanger shows the number of Facebook ‘Likes’ where each piece of clothing is received >Helps to choose the “Ideal Outfit” for customers and what is most popular in that clothing section
Pintrest >Let your customers save things they like onto Pinterest, where more people discover and re-pin them. Approval for the PinPointing Site >Customers get product suggestions based on Pinterest activity. >PinPointing will suggest items from feature pinners and shows Sears-only products that they’ve pinned. >Shoppers can also enter any Pinterest username and PinPointing will analyze his/her pin boards, and make product recommendations for the website.
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Sell Drivers Dress Your Dorm Facebook Campaign
Sears will start a “Dress Your Dorm” Facebook campaign. This is an example of taking a simple idea to the targeted audience, college students by making it fun and engaging. This campaign aims to boost Sears’ publicity with the young people. The student will go online and decorate their dorm with Sears’ products and post on Facebook to gain popularity in the hope of winning a $500 gift card to Sears. This campaign will help create an engaged consumer community for Sears’ social media.
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Sears FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sears Inc. Oglethorpe Mall 7810 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA (912) 656-7193
Dorms Have Never Looked Better With The Launch of Sears Spring/Summer 2016 Lifestyle Brand! Savannah, GA, March 05, 2016, Sears wants to bring your dorm to life with our Spring/Summer 2016 lifestyle collection. College students get ready, we’ve got an assignment for you! Put your interior design skills to work by decorating your dorm with products from our new home collection. Post your creations to Facebook for a chance to win great giveaways. Sears will be hosting this launch party and competition in hopes to gain popularity with a younger demographic. We want to entice them to shop at Sears for all their dorm room and fashion needs. To promote this event we will be featured in SCAD Scan Magazine. We will also have our panel of designers speak at SCAD’s, SCADstyle event. At Sears we understand college students tight budget. Let us dress up your dorm room, and create a zen study environment. For more information contact us at Sears@Corp.com -###-
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Calling all college students! Join us for the launch of Sears spring Lifestyle collection! 03.05.2016
Oglethorpe Mall 7810 Abercorn Street Savannah, GA
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Key Fashion Illustrations
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Los Angeles
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Retail Location:
SANTA MONICA
Santa Monica is a beach front city in western Los Angeles. The city is named after the Christian saint, Monica. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is bordered on three sides by the city of Los Angeles – Pacific Palisades to the north, Brentwood on the northeast, West Los Angeles and Mar Vista on the east, and Venice on the Southeast. Most people know Santa Monica as a beach community. It is a highly educated area where many young professionals work long hours to afford their ocean-side bungalows and high-priced cocktails at some of the hottest bars in Los Angeles. These young professionals are typically single and either live with a roommate or alone. They are focused on making a successful career and ever ready to move at the calling of a better job opportunity and therefore prefer quality to quantity and everything portable to fit into their fast-paced lives. This is when Sears comes in, to accommodate all their needs as we re-brand making our shop and products to appeal to our target market. Having a store presence already in Santa Monica, we hope to get even closer to our target market with the intent to relocate to Third Street Promenade, which has gone through redevelopment in recent years, making this pedestrian-only shopping district even more desirable. 19
Customer Profile:
The target market for our customer for the younger demographic in Santa Monica, Los Angeles is the young professional customers ranging from ages 22 to 26. Being that L.A is growing more and more each year with new opportunities, our ideal customers are young professionals that range from production workers to fashion bloggers. These young individuals look for practical garments to build their wardrobe along with looking sleek and chic, enjoying nights on the town after work and visiting museums and art galleries at their leisure. There price points are a little higher, while they value quality over quantity. Their color palettes will be more neutral tones with pops of color to give a little individuality within themselves, being that they are in industries that creativity is key. Also valuing interesting art works in their homes and creative and unique furniture, this client looks for items that are key pieces within their homes that make a section in their home stand out.
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Merchandise Assortment Young professionals will want to invest in their first household appliances that are cost effective and still quite compact and being multifunction. Washing machines with dryers, microsoft ovens and clothes steamers will be great investment products that would help the young professionals. They will also enjoy a selection of business suitcases and Eco friendly transportation.
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Small spaces will require the young professionals to have access to furniture that has dual purpose and have modern style.
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Competition According to Scarborough.com, 75% more likely than all U.S. adults, LA adults filled prescriptions at TargetÂŽ within the past month.
In L.A, Sears’ main competitor will be Target. This target market is more likely to have decent income and expense budget. As it is said in the above sentence, 75% of L.A adults filled their prescriptions at Target, it is safe to assume they shop there as well because it is a one stop store. Target has a marketing strategy of providing wide selection of quality products at a reasonable price, in which young professionals are more likely to shop there as they can afford to pay for quality products.
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Sale Drivers Late Night Social Networking/ Business Event
Sears will open there L.A store with a late night opening on a more appropriate day such as a Friday, for working women. This allows them to have a chance to shop after they work and network with other professional women. Offering complementary wine and Hors d’oeuvres along with door prizes as they shop along with displaying the newest and most popular trends will entice the customer to both shop and come back to visit at regular hours of service.
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Sears FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sears Inc. 2650 E Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90023 (323) 981-2000 Sears@Corp.com
Sears Celebrates The Launch of Their Spring/Summer 2016 Lifestyle Brand With A Late Night Social! Los Angeles, California, March 05, 2016, Sears Spring/Summer 2016 lifestyle brand will display a smooth transition between art and home essentials. We have something for everyone, allowing each customer to express their individuality. This event will highlight key features in our home department that add something special to your living space.
Sears launch party presents a ,“Late Night Social Business Event�. Sears is excited to announce that we will be opening an hour early several days throughout the week, to give all of our business savvy customers a chance to shop before work! Sears event will be promoted through The LA Fashion magazine. This promotion will help us reach our fashionable young professionals. We will provide a light breakfast for our customers. Come and have some fun with us, as we present to you a fresh new outlook for everyday living. For more information contact us at Sears@Corp.com -###-
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Take time away from the Hustle and bustle to Join us for the launch of Sears spring Lifestyle collection 03.05.2016
Sears Inc. 2650 E Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90023
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Key Fashion Illustrations
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Florida
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Retail Location
TAMPA
Tampa is a city in the county seat of Hillsborough County, Florida. It is located on the west coast of Florida on Tampa Bay, near the Gulf of Mexico, and is part of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. The city had a population of 346,037 in 2011 and noted as one of the fasted growing cities in Unites States. Tampa is also ranked as the fifth most popular American city based on where people want to live according to a 2009 Pew Research Center study. It is a romantic getaway and seen as the Sunshine State romantic offerings for young couples. The mix of cultures allows everyone to fit in and feel at home. Sears is targeting the happy young couples looking to start a family who are focused on quality and quantity.
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Customer Profile R E G I S T R Y
U N C O N D I T I O N A L L O V E
The target for the younger demographic customer for the Tampa,Florida area will be newly weds that range from the ages of 27 to 35. Enjoying vacation trips along with nights out on the town with friends and just enjoying each other’s company at home, this client will cater more to furnishing than clothing alone. While just getting married, these newly weds look for practical items that will last along with essential items to prepare to have children. Taking into consideration of specific color palettes such as olive greens or mustard yellow, this client looks for the whole package when it comes to furnishing their homes. As she is a realtor and he is an architect, they take a great deal of importance to details. While spending a great deal of their time at home after working they want to come home a place of relaxation and comfort.
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Merchandise Assortment
Sears will be providing an assortment of home goods, reliable appliances, investment furniture, maternity wear, beach wear and baby supplies. They will enjoy the different styles that are offered for maternity apparel along with furnishings for the home.
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Competitors According to Scarborough.com, 43% more likely than all Americans, Miami adults shopped at Macy’s within the past three months.
In Miami, Sears’ competition will be Macy’s. Our target customer is newlywed with ages of 27-35 on vocational trips. Macy’s strategies are wide selections of unique item and low affordable prices. This attracts our target customer to Macy’s as they search for those new items to put in their homes. Moreover, Macy’s is also known for being the shopping destination in America, which makes them highly competitive with other department stores.
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National Competition Online Competition
Amazon is also known as one of Sears’ main competitors. Unlike traditional superstore, Amazon serves their customer through online services. Amazon targets vary on the type of customers they have. Their marketing strategies are wide, along with offering low price and most of all being very convenient. Amazon and Sears both compete at a national level.
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Sale Drivers Best Newlywed Couple
Sears will start a “Best Newlywed Wedding/Couple!” on Instagram and Facebook. Newlywed will submit photos of themselves and their concepts of their weddings, on either of the mentioned social media website with the hashtag #SearsForLife . The post will be posted on Sears’ social media community to gain traction, which will increase exposure to Sears’ Omni Channel. The winning couple then will receive an all expense trip to Hawaii.
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Sears FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sears Inc. 599 West Shore Blvd. Tampa, FL, 33609 (813) 288-6022 Sears@Corp.com
Newlyweds, Join Us For Sears Spring/Summer 2016 Lifestyle Brand Launch Party! Tampa, Florida, March 05, 2016, Sears Spring/Summer 2016 lifestyle brand will come together to reveal the winner of our best newlywed couple challenge. Get excited about Sears launch party, where we will host a lifestyle fashion show, and provide the ultimate experience for our newlywed customers. Newlyweds are posting concepts ideas for their dream weddings on sears social platforms in hopes to win a relaxing all expense paid trip to Hawaii! We are pleased to send one lucky couple to the sunny island of Maui. To fully qualify for the contest customers must attend our launch party, along with submitting their entries. One lucky couple will receive a spring wardrobe from our lifestyle brand. Sears wants to get the word out to all newlyweds, that we are their one stop shop. In our efforts to promote this event with an article in Tampa Bay Fashion magazine. There will be hors d’oeuvres, fashion, and love in the air. Get your suitcases ready, we predict fun in the sun in your future! For more information contact us at Sears@Corp.com -###-
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Love Birds, Join us for the launch of Sears spring Lifestyle collection! 03.05.2016
Sears 599 West Shore Blvd. Tampa, FL, 33609
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Key Fashion Illustrations
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Sears