boohoo marketing and communication plan by tessa jones

A three year marketing and communication report, exploring improvements boohoo can make in order to reach their ambition of becoming the leading online fashion brand for 16-24 year olds By Tessa Jones N0733021 4007 words

Introduction to boohoo

Brand Values

Brand Essence

Marketing Mix

Kapfererâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Brand Identity Prism

Core Competencies

Current Marketing Strategy

SWOT Analysis

Brand Perceptions

Current Market

Challenges

Macro Trends

STEEPLE

USP

Competitor Analysis

Perceptual Map

Customer Profiles

Customer Journey Map

Social Media analysis

Website Analysis

Three Year Marketing Plan

Year One

On-site Improvements

Year Two

Year Three

Communication Plan

Social Media

Above the Line

Timeline

Budget

Conclusion

72 3

INTRODUCTION The purpose of this report is to analyse boohooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current situational analysis, and create a market overview. From this research key conclusions will be drawn. A three year marketing strategy will then be discussed. This will explore improvements boohoo can make across their website, shopping experience and their social channels, in order for the brand to reach their ambition of becoming the leading online fashion brand for 16-24 year olds. A tactical communication plan will also be created to go alongside the first year marketing plan. There will be particular focus on driving brand engagement, sales and supporting customer retention.

METHODOLOGY In order to create this report both primary and secondary research was used. The research objectives for this report were to gather consumer perceptions of the brand to understand what their thoughts and feeling were on the brand and how they currently operate. This will help form the basis of the marketing strategy. To gather secondary research, websites such as WGSN and Mintel were looked at to gather information on the womenswear market and macro trends that affect the market. Books, journals, online news outlets and social media platforms were also looked at to form this report. As for primary research, two surveys were created to understand what boohooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s target consumers thought of the brand. The findings from these surveys helped create the basis of the marketing and communication strategy. It was urged that only women aged 18-24 that had heard of the brand take both surveys. The first survey reached 100 respondents and the second reached 53. To gather perceptions of boohoo, interviews and focus groups [no more than ten people] were formed to gather their thoughts. These insights helped to create the perceptual map, competitor analysis, web analysis and social media analysis. These groups consisted of women 18-27 years old who were ex boohoo shoppers, current boohoo shoppers or women who had yet to buy from boohoo. Ideally focus groups would have been larger to gather further insights as well as having a larger reach for the surveys.

boohoo Founded in Manchester in 2006, boohoo is an inclusive and innovative brand targeting young, value-orientated customers. For over 12 years, boohoo has been pushing boundaries to bring its customers up-to-date and inspirational fashion, 24/7. Boohoo has grown rapidly in the UK and internationally, expanding its offering with range extensions into menswear, through boohooMAN, and now has over six million active customers. With a revenue of ÂŁ374.1m in 2018 boohoo are going from strength to strength [Boohoo PLC, 2018]

VALUES SOCIAL

FUN

INCLUSIVE

FASHIONABLE

VISION Boohooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision is to be the leading online fashion brand for all 16-24 year olds.

PERSONALITY

ATTRIBUTES FUN TREND SETTING

BRAND ESSENCE THE CUSTOMER IS AT THE CORE OF THE BRAND

SOURCE OF AUTHORITY Iconic for being one of the first leading online fashion retail brand targeting 16-24 year olds, offering them stylish clothing at an affordable price.

OUTGOING SASSY FIERCE

PROMISE VALUE CONVENIENCE LATEST TRENDS

TONE OF VOICE Boohoo wants to be relatable with their 16-24 year-old target audience. Therefore, they use a carefree and fun tone of voice. They also like to add a dash of sass and humour. Boohoo wants to be a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fashion best friend, therefore they talk the relevant issues and topics that they think their target audience will be discussing. The purpose of this is to forge relationships with their consumers. This tone of voice should be clear on all forms of social media, and through their advertising campaigns.

PLACE

MARKETING MIX

All products can be bought online. Boohoo have an app and a webstore. Shoppable links on social media sites mean products can be bought in a few clicks. Products are distributed from a warehouse in Burnley, meaning customers in the UK will receive their items in a timely mannerr.

PRODUCT

PRICE

The brand has focused on pricing of products, aiming to be affordable for its target audience. Boohoo aim to be selling the latest trends to their fashion conscious customers before their competition does. Boohoo price themselves lower than some of their competition, such as PLT. The consumer will perceive the brand as being value for money, and priced fairly.

Boohoo designs and manufactures thousands of products. Products are designed, sourced and distributed globally from a warehouse in the UK. These products include clothing, footwear, accessories and beauty products. The brand offers extended ranges such as PROMOTION petite, curve, maternity and tall. New products are being added to the Boohoo use a mixture of tradisite daily, meaning they offer a tional marketing and digital marbroad range of products for keting to promote the brand and their the customer. products. Ad campaigns can be seen on TV and featured on billboards in big cities. The brand also promotes itself online, through social media, where they use influencers, they also sponsor events, throw their own events, use sales promotions and direct marketing. The aim of all this is to reach their target audience of 16-24 year olds and create brand awareness and to position the brand.

KAPFERERS'S BRAND IDENTITY PRISM PHYSIQUE

PERSONALITY

Rapid Reaction To Trends Delivering Latest Trends Affordable

Confident Fierce Stylish

RELATIONSHIP

Fun Humorous Light Hearted

REFLECTION

Style Vibrant Outgoing ‘Instagram baddy’

CULTURE

boohoo

Innovative Fashion Forward Creative

SELF-IMAGE

Confident Fierce, Fashionable Fun Young

The purpose of the prism is to help dissect the brand’s identity, each element should portray a clear and positive message. Each brand should have its own beliefs, values and character, this builds up the brands identity. This model is also used to understand how the brand want its target audience perceive them. Each element of the prism can have human like features, this helps get a better understanding of the brands identity. This can help consumers differentiate the brand from its competitors. 11

CORE COMPETENCIES A brands core competency can be described as the values a brand delivers to its consumers. It should be difficult for competitors to replicate the brands core competencies. Boohoo’s core competency is its ‘test and repeat model’ where they can test a wide range of products and see how popular they prove to be. The most popular items then get reordered. Hundreds of new products can be added to their site on a weekly basis, they can tell which items are selling the best within the first forty-eight hours of being online. This allows the brand to work out how long they will run this certain trend for, and how may pieces to buy [Fashionista, 2016] They have quick product turn around times, being four to six weeks roughly. This gives boohoo a competitive advantage, because it’s difficult for many other brands to imitate this. Half of their products are manufactured in the UK, again, meaning they can deliver these faster than their competition. This enables them to compete effectively in their market, and getting the latest trends out there as soon as possible, which is vital. This core competency grants boohoo the ability to deliver superiors products or service over their competitors.

CURRENT MARKETING STRATEGY

Boohoo utilise social media to market themselves. Here the brand can communicate with their followers in a fun and engaging way. They post frequently to keep themselves in the mind of their consumers. A major strategy boohoo uses to promote themselves influencer marketing. Some of these influencers are used to gain sales and others are used to gain brand awareness it all depends on the number of followers they have. The influencers are meant to be seen as trustworthy therefore their recommendations should be credible.

Paid social is run across Facebook and Instagram, the objective of this is to drive people to the website, this means they can reach a wider target audience who may never have heard of the brand before [boohoo, 2018]

The purpose of these celebrity ambassadors and collaborations is to endorse the brand, some of the celebrities they partner with may have greater amounts of followers than boohoo. This can be a great way to target new consumers and in turn generate sales.

Boohoo uses student, cashback, loyalty, voucher and influencer partners to create business revenue. Approximately 10% of this revenue derives from affiliate marketing [boohoo, 2018]

SWOT ANALYSIS A SWOT analysis was created to demonstrate how the brand are currently doing, and potentially discover new opportunities for the brand. To complie this analysis, online reviews were read, as were online articles about the brand. Perceptions from the research group were also taken and so were results from the two surveys.

Boohoo has an improved website, which can hold more customers at one time, which means its less likely to crash during busy sale periods.

Many negative reviews online

Able to sell to many different countries.

Negative press, which could effect consumers views on the brand

Able to manufacture half of their products in the UK. Able to offer hundreds of new products weekly.

Delivery can be slow [according to online reviews]

Not seen as being sustainable [by media]

Strong leadership

Not perceived as being inclusive [one of their core values]

Loyalty schemes could be a great opportunity to increase order frequency.

Trends change quickly, if boohoo donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t react quick enough to the latest trends their competitors could get there first.

Change peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perception of the brand, show that they care, they can promote their charitable efforts

Consumers may not like the styles or influencers boohoo use.

More collaborations with influencers

Competitors may be portrayed in a more positive way in the media, consumers may choose to shop there instead.

New sustainable range

Not keeping up to date with the latest technology such as AI could mean they lose sales as competition may use it to create a better shopping experience.

BRAND PERCEPTIONS Gathering perceptions on boohoo is vitally important to understanding where the brand is now, and to help determine how they will get to where they want to be in the future. Consumers’ perceptions can help you understand what might influence them to purchase from your store, or what might put them off actually buying, therefore it has an impact on future success of the brand. It can also help to determine how consumers may feel about the competition. When gathering perceptions of the brand it was important to understand what active customers thought, and people who have yet to buy from the them [but were brand aware] as well as lapsed customers. Qualitive data was gathered to get people’s real thoughts and opinions of the brand. This kind of data gives better insights into consumers’ perceptions, rather than a statistic given. This can reveal what emotions a consumer may be feeling, and give deeper understanding of the thoughts they provide. The perceptions have been separated into 3 sections. Note: some quotes were taken from people who weren’t interviewed in full. These were one off quotes that were said on the off chance when speaking about the brand, their permission was granted to use the quotes in this work.

POSITIVE “I shop at boohoo a lot, they keep up to date with the latest trends” This user was slightly older than boohoo’s target consumer, she will be soon turning 27. She is a big advocate of boohoo and buys from the brand regularly. She mainly had positive things to say about the brand. She wasn’t totally brand loyal, she will shop with competitors if she something she likes, as they might offer different style, because she likes to dress a bit differently. “I know if I’ve seen a style I like on Instagram or on an influencer, then I’m going to find a similar item on boohoo, because they know what’s in style” “I like their Instagram page” “They’re quite fun, I like that” “They always have a sale” This consumer was always on the hunt to buy things at the cheapest price possible, therefore she appreciates a sale, and will only buy items when they are discounted. “There’s a lot of choice” This consumer valued the verity of products that was offered. “Good for going out clothes”

NEUTRAL “I can’t really think of any of their recent campaigns” This consumer couldn’t think of the last time she saw a boohoo campaign, even though she does follow boohoo on Instagram and is their core target audience. “They don’t stand out to me, I don’t think I’ve ever thought to shop there” This consumer again was in boohoo’s core target consumer age range, but didn’t have any thoughts or comments on the brand as she always forgot about the brand as they don’t stand out to her. “Not much day to day clothes” This consumer thought that they were a site to buy going out clothes from, she didn’t think they had everyday wear. 16

NEGATIVE “I liked the products but my delivery took ages, I wasn’t happy” This consumer has bought from boohoo in the past, but because her delivery took a lot longer than expected they mentioned that they probably wouldn’t purchase from them instead, in case it happened to her again. “There’s just too much stuff on the site, it takes ages to get through” “I always go and look, but there’s just so much stuff it’s too much” This consumer mentioned that they would buy from boohoo, it just frustrated them that there’s pages and pages of items, even after refining the search. “The stuff they post on Instagram is just too much, I had to unfollow them, it wasn’t pictures of clothes or anything, they kept posting memes and stuff” “I always see bad things about them in the news, its off putting” “I used to shop there when I was younger, but then they got a bit too expensive for what the product is worth” “The picture quality of the photographs on their website aren’t very good, you can’t really see the product if you zoom in or the pictures are a bit blurry” “There’s way too much stuff to choose from, I just wouldn’t shop there” “I didn’t like the Gemma Collins thing, she’s not very relevant, she’s not even a good role model, I’d rather see someone who is more down to earth” “I got way too many emails from them, it’s so annoying” This statement was given by a customer who previously bought from boohoo, but doesn’t any more. They found they were bombarded with emails for a long period after buying, it frustrated this person, therefore they tried to unsubscribe from the mailing list.

CURRENT MARKET The UK womenswear market worth an estimated 28 billion pounds according to Mintel [2018] and the clothing and accessories market on whole is said to be worth 60.8 billion pounds. The McKinsey Global Fashion Index predicts industry growth of 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2019 compared with a 4 to 5 percent estimate for 2018. [BOF, 2019] It is believed that online only retailers have an approximated 12.3% of consumer spending on clothing and accessories. Although online consumer spending on fashion has risen 8.6 % in 2018, the growth was slower than it has been in previous years. Yet, the online fashion market set to reach ÂŁ32.8 billion by 2023 (Mintel, 2018) Online shopping has become almost as widely used and in the last year some 68% of UK consumers bought clothing online, rising to 83% of 16-24s [Mintel,2018] Crossing frequency data with how people shop for clothing suggests those that shop online tend to say they shop more frequently than those that shop in-store. Some 40% of online shoppers bought clothing once a month or more in the last year, compared to just 34% of in-store shoppers. This highlights how e-commerce has made it easier and more convenient to shop for fashion [Mintel,2018] This proves to be promising for boohoo, as they are an online-only retailer. As the brand doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see themselves launching stores in the near future, they need to know that the market they are in is going to be viable in the future. Online shopping has a large share of consumer spending and is becoming highly influential in what consumers are choosing to buy. This could be due to the online-only retailers having a better understanding of what their customers want, and keeping up to date with the latest trends [Mintel, 2018]

KEY DRIVERS Value For Money

Quality

Unique Products

Although there is often a perception that shopping online is more convenient, Mintelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s research shows that the main reason why people shop online for fashion is the idea that prices are cheaper online than in-store. [Mintel, 2018]

British consumers are overwhelmingly satisfied with clothing retailers in the UK. Overall, 89% of clothes buyers are satisfied with the retailer that they use to buy clothing most frequently, with almost a third (30%) very satisfied. [Mintel, 2018]

The under-35 consumers are more likely to be encouraged to shop online for a variety of different reasons. They use online to find more unique products and offset their busy lifestyles [Mintel, 2018]

CHALLENGES Every market faces different challenges. Knowing what challenges your company faces is extremely important especially when planning your strategic steps. Understanding these challenges means you can face them head on with a wealth of knowledge and information, meaning you are more likely to succeed in your market.

Saturated Market

Since finding a gap in the market and their successful launch in 2006, many brands have tried to replicate boohoo’s business model. The amount of pure player retailers has dramatically risen in the last few years. Young consumers are demanding the latest trends, they may see their favourite celebrity wearing a certain look, and demand that they want to wear something similar meaning that many brands are offering similar products at the same affordable prices, meaning the consumer has to decide which brand they will favour. It’s up to the brand to make themselves stand out from the crowd.

Brexit and Spending

With demand for fashion remaining robust despite ongoing economic uncertainty in the UK. However, growth is expected to slow as consumers are adopting more cautious spending habits, which will inevitably have a negative effect on discretionary categories like clothing and accessories [Mintel, 2018] Mintel’s consumer research suggests there has been a decline in the percentage of people buying clothes every two to three months, alongside an uplift in the percentage of people shopping just once a year. In addition, there has been a consistent fall in the percentage of consumers that are shopping for clothing once a month or more. The reasons why people have changed their habits are not known, so alongside environmental concerns, a lack of compelling products and unseasonal weather could also be influencing purchasing frequency [Mintel, 2018]

Consumer Behaviour

Consumers are prioritising spending their money on experiences, rather than clothing. “Shopping with your mates as a social activity, that’s a thing of the past,” said Lorna Hall, insights director at the trend forecaster WGSN. “Women are just meeting up for a coffee, at a gym class or going to an event.” [The Guardian, 2018] This generation of women is committed to social good and making the world a better place, using their purchasing power to support brands whose values align with their own [Landers, 2018] 20

MACRO TRENDS A macro trend is a long lasting trend that effects a large amount of people on a global level. These trends tend to last five to ten years. These three trends have been chosen for their relevance to the fashion industry and how they may affect it.

SUSTAINABILITY The demand for transparency will escalate: one report suggests an estimated €966bn in untapped market potential exists for brands that are clearer about their sustainability credentials. [WGSN,2017] Sustainability is imperative, not impossible. This should be the mantra of every business looking forward. Sustainable practices can be challenging to implement and promote in an exciting way, so think creatively. 53% of UK shoppers say they feel better when buying sustainably produced products [WGSN,2017]

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

CONSUMER ATTITUDES

Innovation takes place at the intersection of fashion and technology, representing a powerful way to connect consumers to brands while providing distinct shopping and wearing experiences. New technologies and textile innovations are not only changing how the fashion industry functions, but also how its products interact with the environment and consumers. [DHL-in-motion, 2018]

Just as customer-brand relationships evolve, so do customer preferences and expectations for how they engage. Digital technology has completely transformed the relationship between brands and customers. Interactions now extend beyond the point of purchase, taking place over a variety of channels, and forming an ongoing conversation [ Bauserman, 2018]

With technology we can create a more robust, energetic, transparent and sustainable fashion ecosystem. Streamlining processes, developing more efficient systems, and modernizing operations within the fashion and retail industry are indispensable components of the fashion tech sector [DHL-in-motion, 2018]

Consumers want to buy from brands that take a stand on current issues that face them and want to brands to be talking about the same things they do. More than half (57%) of UK consumers now consider themselves belief-driven buyers, showing a significant change in consumers’ attitudes on brands’ responsibilities [Tesseras, 2018]

MICRO TRENDS Macro trends tend to generate micro trends and these tend to last three to five years. The trends have been chosen for their relevance to fashion industry and to boohoo.

S-COMMERCE As product discovery and inspiration move into the digital realm, social platforms are hoping to turn e-commerce which has revolutionized retail into s-commerce. Instagram has been making a big push to integrate shopping. [Greene, 2018] In June 2018, Instagram unveiled a shoppable version of its popular Stories, featuring a tag that users can tap to navigate directly to the brand’s website for in-app purchases. Easing the path to purchase, Instagram also announced an inapp payment option in May 2018. [Greene, 2018] Snapchat is making a play for social commerce as well, with several new features. Most notably, Snapchat announced a partnership with Amazon in September 2018 that allows users to snap a picture of a product to buy on the e-commerce giant’s site. [Greene, 2018]

INFLUENCER ECONOMY Today, brands shower Instagram stars with merchandise and feature a select few in their own marketing campaigns. The ecosystem is still expanding, extending beyond the biggest names, with even “micro-influencers” targeted by brands for their often devoted followings. Influencers are no longer just peddling products directly from brands to their followers. They’re creating campaigns around a brand for a company [Business Of Fashion, 2018]. There’s so much money and energy flowing into the $2 billion influencer economy because this type of marketing is rated significantly higher in effectiveness than all traditional cross-media advertising approaches [Mondalek, 2018] There is a demand for authenticity.

PERSONALISATION Giving your consumer a more personalised experience can increase loyalty. For example an article on thinkwithgoogle. com [2018] stated that 63% of people expect brands to use their purchase history to provide them with personalized experiences. It’s all about improving your customers experience and fighting to keep their attention. It’s important to make sure your giving the best recommendations and offers that suits the specific consumer.

STEEPLE ANALYSIS A Steeple Analysis has been compiled to demonstrate trends and external factors that might impact on boohoo. These factors need to considered before constructing a strategic plan. Understanding the bigger picture of what is going on in the industry and the macro environment can mean superior planning.

SOCIAL

The British Fashion Council (BFC) emphasised fashion’s importance to the UK economy as it kicked off the spring/summer 2019 London Fashion Week, as well as its ‘positive fashion’ message, focusing on sustainability, equality and diversity and craftsmanship and community. [Wightman-Stone, 2018] Failure to react quickly enough to fashion changes could lead to lost sales [Boohoo PLC, 2018] Younger consumers increasingly back their beliefs with their shopping habits, favouring brands that are aligned with their values and avoiding those that don’t. [BOF, 2019]

New technology such as Augmented Reality become a big deal in the fashion industry. In fact, research from Digital Bridge shows that 69% of consumers now expect retailers to launch AR apps within the next six months. “Augmented reality is going to change the way that the fashion industry creates, showcases and retails its products. Matt Drinkwater, head of the Fashion Innovation Agency. [Arthur, 2017]

TECHNOLOGICAL

Brands must keep up to date and continue to invest in new technology to ensure they keep up with the latest tech trends and to ensure their customer is having an optimal shopping experience. Hardware or software failure could disable the website or operational systems, cyber attack is an increasingly major risk. System capacity due to high transactional volumes may be compromised, leading to error or failure, this could lead to loss of sales [BoohooPLC, 2018]

Shifts in pensions, housing and employment have transferred more risk and instability on to the shoulders of young people. These trends combined are changing the way young people feel and behave, and as a result, the shape of the economy itself [Financial Times, 2018]

ECONOMICAL

Poor business performance or lack of appetite for the sector may impede raising of capital [BoohooPLC, 2018] Exchange rate fluctuations may erode margins [BoohooPLC, 2018] Boohoo states target market has a high propensity to spend on fashion and the market is resilient to external macroeconomic factors [BoohooPLC, 2018]

Fire, flood, or other natural disaster could lead to part or total, temporary or permanent closure of facilities [Boohoo PLC, 2018]

ENVIRONMENTAL

Throw away fashion becoming a big debate in the UK, fashion brands are being probed over their policies and how they might be contributing to the throw away fashion epidemic. Not keeping up with change of weather mean they could get timing of certain fashion items wrong. Fashion brands have a massive impact on the environment, whether it be producing, manufacturing or delivering items. Brands need to take a stand and try to become more environmentally friendly, whether it be in the supply chain or informing/ helping customers reduce items that go to landfill.

POLITICAL

The fashion industry runs far in advance, but with the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, no one really knows how itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to affect the fashion industry and its businesses. Brexit will affect the movement of goods, we are yet to know exactly what the trade agreements in certain markets will look like [British Fashion Council, 2018]

Brands must set strict policies and guidelines that suppliers must work to.

LEGAL

Boohoo wants to promote better working standards for the future, and aim to have a transparent supply chain. Welfare of staff is of the upmost importance to the brand [Boohoo PLC, 2018]

Adverse customer experience through poor product quality, product recall due to faulty manufacture or use of illegal substances in manufacture, labour abuses or environmental damage by third party suppliers could lead to reputational damage and customer boycott of the brand [Boohoo PLC, 2018]

ETHICAL

Adverse customer experience through refund disputes or poor customer service could damage reputation [Boohoo PLC, 2018] Low quality items are being created at a low price in the UK, the people producing these items may be illegally underpaid and over worked. There are laws in place to stop this from happening. Brands like boohoo need to make sure that they are adhering to these laws ad arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t encouraging throw away fashion. 25

USP Boohoo believe that their USP is that they are young, fun, diverse and fashionable.

PERCEIVED USP A brand will live and breathe its USP, they will have a greater understanding of the brand values and the messages they are trying to convey to their targeted consumer. These messages might get lost in translation or might not be clear to the consumers, leaving them to feel confused. One survey question was designed to discover what respondents thought boohoo’s unique selling point was. These were the results:

100 80 60 40 20 0

Their pricing Is Cheaper

They They’re Fun They Young Keep Inclusive Fashion Care Fun Up with Brand About Fashion The Sustain- Brand Latest ability Trends

Use A Lot Of Social Media Influencers

Fun Collaborations

Have No Clear USP. They Are Like Every Other Brand

It was found that 58% thought boohoo had no clear USP. This is worrying, as brands must have a clear way to distinguish themselves from their competition. With many competitors selling similar products to the brand, boohoo must to offer a valued proposition to their consumers that their competitor doesn’t.

boohoo

PRIMARY AUDIENCE

ONLINE FOLLOWERS

RANGES OFFERED

AVERAGE PRICE POINT OF DRESSES

Women 16-24 years old Twitter- 481 K Instagram- 5.9 M Facebook- 2.8 M YouTube- 9.6 K Petite Tall Plus size & Curve Maternity Beauty Fit Premium Boutique £18

PRETTY LITTLE THING

Women 18-24 years old Twitter- 275 K Instagram- 10.5 M Facebook- 1.8 M YouTube- 8.3 K Plus Shape Petite Premium Tall Sport Beauty

£30

BRAND Seen as beig fun + Influencer Marketing STRENGTHS diverse by consumers Celebrity Collaborations

BRAND Negative headline in WEAKNESS' the media about the brand

Negative online feedback

MISSGUIDED

Women 18-24 years old Twitter- 435 K Instagram- 3.4 M Facebook- 1.2 M YouTube- 8.3 K Plus size Tall Petite Beauty

£25

ASOS

Men and Women 20 years and up Twitter- 1 M Instagram- 7.9 M Facebook- 5.8 M YouTube- 88 K Asos Curve Petite Maternity Tall Beauty Activewear

£35

Always on trend

Seen as being diverse by cusromers

Percieved as being too expensive for younger consumers

Seen as being diverse by cusromers

Negative reviews REVENUE 2018

£372.5 M

£312.8 M

£215M

£2,355.2 bn

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS These are three of boohoo’s primary competitors. They all operate in the UK fashion market. These brands were chosen as primary competitors as they all sell to a comparable target audience, as well as producing similar products and following the same fashion trends. Boohoo has more ranges to offer their consumers and is priced lower than the competition, which can be seen as an advantage. Asos has the most followers of the four brands, yet boohoo isn’t trailing too far behind.

As a brand that’s core value is being social, boohoo need to consider creating a more effective so-

cial media communication plan to reach their target audience. Although Asos target a slightly older consumer compared to boohoo’s 16-24 year-old target. Asos is gaining popularity with a younger demographic Asos is the brand that is most likely to be seen as fun and innovative. While overall usage of Asos peaks among women aged 24-34, younger women aged 16-24 are the main brand users in the last year. It is these young women that are inclined to trust the brand the most and see it as providing a great online service. [Mintel, 2018] Boohoo need to be wary that Asos, aren’t trying to target the under 20 consumers but they are shopping with the brand. Asos, are winning over these consumers without even having to try very hard. Boohoo should be considering how they can better target this demographic, and get them wanting to shop at boohoo. To gain a better understanding of why consumers are choosing to buy from Asos over boohoo, the company can do focus groups with this demographic and gather qualitative data and insights. This can help them form a more successful communication/ marketing plan.

Primark, also is a primary competitor, although not listed in the table, due to not having an online store. Primark holds a 6.9% share of the clothing market by value, compared with Next at 7.1%. Marks & Spencer remains the UK’s biggest clothing retailer with an 8.1% share. [Butler, 2018] Boohoo has 3.5 per cent of online market share [Financial Times, 2018] Primark continues to attract the largest percentage of UK consumers. In the last year, more than a third (35%) of British shoppers have bought clothing from Primark. [Mintel, 2018] This could be due the pricing of their products, the amount of items they offer and their ability to keep up with the latest trends.

Boohoo also needs to be aware of the many new fashion e-tailers that are becoming popular on

social media. They use a very similar strategy to boohoo, of using online fashion influencers to promote their products and websites. These brands are Misspap, OHPOLLY, Meshki, In The Style, Missy Empire, ISAWITFIRST and Showpo. These brands again are selling similar garments at similar prices to boohoo and are shipping worldwide. This means the market is becoming even more saturated. Boohoo have the existing consumers and have been running for much longer than some of these brands, meaning there is a level of brand trust. Yet, this doesn’t mean boohoo should be complacent, these brands are gaining followers and shoppers at a rapid rate.

Boohoo

also competes against other big name high street retailers such as Zara and Topshop, which can be considered their secondary competition. This is due to the fact that consumers still like to be able to try their clothing on before buying or don’t want to have to wait for delivery. These brands tend to price their garments higher price than boohoo. another reason why these brands aren’t primary competitors. Although these retailers may be seen as secondary competition, they are seen as being trustworthy in the eyes of their consumers. This is a vital trait to be known as. Traits like this can lead to brand loyalty, which is critical to a brands success and growth.

PERCEPTUAL MAP

Delivering The Latest Trends/Styles

Where they want to be

boohoo

Perceived As Being Inclusive

Perceived As Being Non Inclusive

Slow To New Trends/Styles

After looking at the brand’s USP, and looking at how respondents to the survey perceive boohoo’s USP there seems to be a difference of how the brand want to be seen and how they are actually being perceived. A positing map has been created to show where the brand currently sits in the market compared to its competitors. This map has been formulated by taking opinions of survey respondents, comments that have been made in interviews as well as online reviews. As boohoo wants its USP to be that they are young, fun, inclusive and fashionable, and this should resonate with their customers. Results from the first survey state that respondents want boohoo to be more inclusive. Therefore, the axis perceived as being inclusive was used. In this case, ‘being inclusive’ meant catering to different sizes, and showing a variety of models either on their website or in their campaigns, whether that be size, age, race or disability. Keeping up with the latest trends and styles is vital to any fashion brand who are targeting a younger demographic i.e. 16-24 yearolds. Boohoo also want to be known for keeping up with the latest trends, hence the other axis being labelled as delivering the latest trends/styles. Boohoo has been placed in the upper left quadrant, although the brand wants to be placed in the upper right. Consumers believe that there is more that boohoo can do to be considered as inclusive, but do believe they are currently keeping up with the latest trends. Asos has been positioned as the brand being perceived as the most inclusive. This was the brand that came to peoples minds first when asking them to name an inclusive brand. Pretty Little Thing has been placed at the highest position of the upper right quadrant. Again, this was a result of the perceptions from interviews and from online reviews. There is a gap for a more inclusive brand delivering the latest trends, boohoo can get to this position if they create a relevant marketing and communication plan.

CONSUMER PROFILES The aim of consumer profiling is to help a brand understand their consumers, it can help a brand recognise what their consumers wants and what they like. It’s important for a brand to understand who their consumer is, which helps them communicate with them effectively and cater to their needs. The ‘Big Five’ personality traits model (OCEAN) has been used to characterise boohoo’s consumers. The five traits are openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These attributes can be used to help underpin consumer behaviour. This model was chosen to segment boohoo’s consumers. Bosnjak states: Personality traits can reveal information about a person’s lifestyle, earnings, online shopping activities etc. (see Hajnik 2014, p.3) It can be said that customers can form attachments to brands that display similar personalities to them. The aim of these profiles is to show how different personalities want different things from a brand. Boohoo can look at these personalities, and decide how they can best communicate with them. Boohoo’s consumers don’t fall into one single segmentation group, although the brand has a specific target age range of 16-24 year-olds, with a core target of 19-21 year-old range. Boohoo needs to consider that not all consumers follow the same trends or are influenced by the same people. Not all of these consumers are at the same stage in life, some may be in full time education and some may be out in the real word and working full time. These profiles were created to demonstrate that not all the consumers want to be targeted in the same way, and some might prefer different styles, and some might be influenced to buy from boohoo from different sources.

Katie

16 years old

Glasgow

Openness

Still in full time education. Creative. Tries new styles but likes to look a little edgy to stand out from her friends. Wants to look older than she is. Doesn’t open emails. Wants big deals. Will shop at the same shops her friends shop at. Tries to follow trends but on a budget. Has a weekend job to fund herself.

Taylor

19 years old

Manchester

Extraversion

Full time student. Seeks stimulation. Likes to be the centre of attention. Energetic and social. Hates paying for delivery. Wants her items delivered immediately, although she will pay to get her items there quickly ready for the weekend. Wants to get the best deal. Goes out 3 times a week, dresses up for a night out and wants to stand out from the crowd. Doesn’t like to be seen in the same outfit twice. Will spend the majority of her budget on clothes and going out. Likes to think she’s ahead of the trends. Wants to be a social media influencer. 32

Chloe

21 years old

Oxford

Extraversion

Energetic and social. Has a part time job. Making the most of her student lifestyle before it ends. Goes out 2 times a week. Loves to dress up to go for cocktails and out for dinner. Is worried about her future and starting to take herself a bit more seriously, and thinking about her career. Will consider altering her look to be taken seriously for job roles. But still secretly is clinging on to her youth.

Amelia

20 years old Taunton Conscientiousness

Works full time in Taunton, in an office. Finds it difficult to buy ‘cute’ and ‘stylish’ work appropriate outfits on a budget. Likes to stay in at the weekend with her boyfriend. Is saving to buy a house. She loves fashion and celebrity culture. Is a big fan of reality TV. Prefers to shop with a brand that offers loyalty rewards.

May

21 years old Cardiff Openness

Works part time. Still lives at home with her parents. Doesn’t like to follow trends, but buys from highstreet stores because she has a tight budget to stick to. Wants to find unique items and style them to fit her alternative personality. Loves to play with her style. Loves rock music and going to gigs and festivals. She’s curvy and hates having to buy from a plus size range. She can spend hours shopping online, but never seems to find what she’s looking for.

Poppy

24 years old London Conscientiousness

Works full time in London. Has more disposable income, but has to be conscious about how much she spends as she has bills to pay. Doesn’t follow trends as religiously as she used to, but still knows what’s fashionable. She still loves to read blogs. Goes out on the weekend, will go out with work and friends. Likes to dress smart casual for events. Buys when there are sales on. Starting to care more about the environment, and cares about what is going on in the world. Prefers to buy online for convenience. Sometimes experiments with new styles, but believes she’s already found her ‘look’. Wants a more personalised shopping experience. Wants quick delivery at an affordable price. 33

PURCHASE PHASES

AWARENESS

PROFILE

DESIRE

RESEARCH

POSITIVE

Maddie is 19 years-old. She lives in Manchester with her parents. She works and studies part time. She loves to go out and socialise with her friends. She buys new clothing four times a month as she loves to shop. She loves to shop online and in-store. She keeps up to date with the latest fashion trends by following many different bloggers and influencers on Instagram.

NEUTRAL

NEGATIVE

Unaware of boohoo, but notices their billboards. Doesn’t form any feelings towards the brand.

MOMENTS OF TRUTH

Maddie wants something to wear to a friend’s party in a few weeks’ time. She first looks on Instagram for style inspiration, she may check out her favourite bloggers for outfit ideas. She looks at what brands they are wearing.

She asks on her Instagram story for her friends to give her suggestions for somewhere she can get an outfit online quickly. A few retailers are suggested to her, but boohoo is suggested to her by four friends.

Maddie is surprised by how many people recommended boohoo, she wasn’t really aware of the brand before.

What to take away from this map: the consumer felt overwhelmed by certain areas on the website, especially with the homepage. This is something that boohoo could consider changing if they find that many consumers are feeling the same way. One way they can measure this is by regularly checking the website’s bounce rate. If the bounce rate is high, then they can try and address this problem and consider changing the homepage.

CONSUMER JOURNEY MAP CONSIDERATION

Maddie goes online to check out a few brands she usually shops at. She decides she is looking for a specific type of dress, in black. She googles what she wants and sees a few brands suggested boohoo is close to the top of the list, so she checks them out.

PURCHASE

OUTCOME

There’s a dress that Maddie likes, she decided to add it to her basket. She looks to see if there’s anything that will go with her dress, she is overwhelmed by the amount of accessories on the website, so decides just to get the dress. she notices that there’s free delivery and that’s what pushes her to make the purchase.

Maddie felt a bit overwhelmed when going on the boohoo website, there was a lot going on, and there were a lot of options to choose from. If she hadn’t of seen the perfect dress close to the top of the page, she would have been tempted to click off the site. The free delivery was the sticking point.

Maddie is happy with the outfit she bought for the event, believes the quality of the garment is fine and in line with the price she paid for it. She decides to wear the outfit to the party. A few days later she decides to post pictures of herself in the outfit, she feels happy when people like and comment on her pictures, and compliment her outfit. She receives a few offers by email from the brand, she considers buying from them again when she has another event to go to.

Maddie was surprised by the delivery time, it arrived fairly quickly, which is a good thing. Knowing that, she would consider buying from boohoo again.

PURCHASE PHASES

AWARENESS

PROFILE

DESIRE

RESEARCH

POSITIVE

Jenny is a 20 year-old. She lives at home with her mother and sisters. She has a full time job in a supermarket, which she enjoys. She likes to use fashion to represent her personality, and loves to experiment with her look. She doesn’t shop as often as she would like, because she finds it pointless buying too many items when she can’t wear them, because she wears a uniform to work. She uses accessories and make up to represent her personality when she is in work. She isn’t bothered by celebrity culture or online influencers, because she barely has time to check her phone.

NEUTRAL

NEGATIVE

Jenny is casually browsing on Instagram.

She sees an item she likes that boohoo posted, it’s of an influencer [that she doesn’t recognise] wearing a boohoo garment.

MOMENTS OF TRUTH

The image doesn’t have buy it now features on, that would usually allow a consumer to be taken straight to the product on the site. The image description does have a product number, but she can’t copy this on her phone, so she has to go to the website directly.

Jenny would have preferred if the image had a quick buy option. She just wanted to see the price and if it was in her size. She was frustrated that she had to go find the product herself.

What to take away from this map: Only a few images on Instagram that have products featured have the quick buy option. Many consumers would prefer to be able to go straight to the product to see if it’s available in their size. Although many brands start their plus size range at size 16, many brand will size carry a garment up to size 18 without labelling it as plus size. Many of boohoo’s items go up to a size 14, which some people may not be pleased about. Some consumers may feel insecure about their size and prefer not to buy from the plus size section even though it was designed for them.

PURCHASE

CONSIDERATION

She goes directly to the boohoo website on her phone. She enters the product code, but has to go back and forth from Instagram to her safari browser to enter the code. She finally finds item and sees it only goes up to a size 14. Jenny is a size 16, but doesn’t want to shop from the curve range, as she doesn’t feel she is plus sized.

Jenny decides to go to a competitors website to find something similar, and purchases from them instead.

Jenny is angry that the sizing only goes up to a 14, when other stores carry larger sizes and wouldn’t label them as plus size. She forms a negative view of boohoo. She briefly looked at the ‘curve’ section and is angry that the models are really slim and don’t looked plus sized at all. She quickly leaves the site.

OUTCOME

Jenny cools off, but still doesn’t think highly of the brand. She doesn’t want to check out the curve range again. She would rather shop elsewhere.

Jenny sees may pop up ads from boohoo, because she looked on their website. She gets fed up of seeing them so often.

SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS Social media is a key marketing tool for boohoo. One of the core brand values is being social. Boohoo must effectively speak to its target audience if they want their brand to grow. As mentioned in the start of the report, boohoo want to be relatable. Boohoo will talk about common points of interest in hopes consumers will engage with them. And they will do this in a language that consumers can understand and relate to. They will try to offer reassurance and advice in the hopes of becoming the consumers fashion best friend. Boohoo uses multiple hashtags across all forms of social media, such as #myboohoostyle and #DOYOURTHING. These hashtags are used to create a community for boohoo’s customers. Boohoo can choose to repost these images if they wish. The aim of these hashtags is to build relationships with their customers in the hope that they become brand loyal.

To help analyse boohoo’s social media four of their customers were brought in to help gather thoughts and opinions on each platform.

FACEBOOK * * * * * * * *

Has 2.8 Millions likes Makes use of the shop section on their page Posts over five times a day Posts a vary of videos, secondary content, competitions and product photos People also tend to comment their queries on this page, many seem to be negative, such as slow delivery and damaged goods Boohoo typically replies to these comments in a friendly and helpful manor Number of likes and shares vary per post, secondary content gets is preferred

All four customers agreed that they would prefer to see secondary content on this form of social media rather than on Instagram. Facebook is the place where they would be more likely to share someone else’s videos or images if they liked them. They believed that the secondary content that boohoo share would be received better on Facebook rather than on Twitter or Instagram. They would prefer to share funny videos or something fun on Facebook. It was noted they would rather see less product images on this platform.

SNAPCHAT * * * 38

No snaps available. Doesn’t seem to be used Seems like a missed opportunity as this is one of the most popular social media amongst teens

INSTAGRAM

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Average of five posts a day Post a mixture of secondary content, competitions, influencer posts, videos and outfit posts. 5.8 million followers Amount of likes varies from image to image. Secondary posts gets the most likes as they are more relatable Boohoo makes use good use of the stories setting, by using it daily #DOYOURTHING has 161,624 posts but not all are related to boohoo #BOOHOObabes has 4,363 posts Boohoo doesn’t tend to repost customer pictures, just influencers pictures Make use of IGTV, but not frequently Some Images have quick buy features, some have product codes in the image’s description

It was mentioned by all four customers that they would like to see more images of actual boohoo clothes, rather than seeing secondary content so often. They liked the cool ‘Instagram baddie’ look that was featured on their page, but didn’t like that they only seemed to repost pictures of women wearing this style. No other styles/trends seemed to be shown. They would have liked to see real customers pictures being reposted. All four customers mentioned that they didn’t promote much diversity on their page, meaning they didn’t see certain ethnicities, shapes and sizes. They thought this was a real shame. It was said that it was weird that some images have quick buy features on and some don’t, they said they probably wouldn’t want to copy a product code and manually enter it on their website. Taking the comments that were made by the customers, there are few improvements boohoo can make to their instagram page. Suggestions on how to improve will be made later in the report. 39

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

YOUTUBE

Has 9K subscribers Relitively to find the channel Has over 60 videos Each video tends to have less than 20 comments meaning people aren’t engaging with the videos The last video to be posted has 350 views in the last few days which is a very low number of views This means people aren’t engaging with the content they are creating videos tend to be their adverts or some behind the scenes An average of three videos are being uploaded a month, which is a small amount Number of likes per video varies from 2 to 20. A very small amount of likes, these videos may not what subscribers want to see Content creators are making videos with ‘boohoo’ in the title fairly often, these tend to be boohoo try on hauls, one video has 1.7 million views and 65k likes

It was mentioned that there was no content on boohoo’s channel they would want to watch. Yet they would choose to watch these haul videos with boohoo’s name in the title. Boohoo could really utilise this platform to create great content. The brand could showcase their products in a fun way, and still use influencers to promote the products. This could be a great way to engage their subscribers and could encourage them to make multiple purchases.

TWITTER * * * * * * * * * *

481K followers Average of over ten tweets a day Mixture of gifs, polls, secondary content and outfit posts Live Tweets certain events like golden globes [18 Tweets in a row] Also live tweet along with certain TV shows such as Dancing on Ice [12 Tweets in a row] Many tweets don’t get a reply, but they get Retweeted or liked #DOYOURTHING is being used but mainly by people who are unaware that it’s related to boohoo Tone of voice is lighthearted and fun

Boohoo also have a second account: @boohoo_cshelp. Here they answer any queries people may have, they reply to these Tweets in a helpful and friendly tone of voice. Both accounts are easy to find, which is important. It was noted that boohoo’s tweets were quite relatable and the people reviewing it seemed to like the content, but there was just way too much. They stated that if they followed them and saw more than ten tweets in a day then they would unfollow them. Boohoo should consider the quality of the tweets rather than the quantity of tweets they post in one day. Although boohoo want to be relatable on twitter, some brands are getting more engagement with their followers by having a funny tone of voice. Although Greggs and boohoo don’t operate in the same market, the British Bakery chain has proven to be real popular on Twitter amongst younger followers. Their witty replies and content really connect with their followers, meaning they are receiving more engagement. Some replies also go viral, meaning thousands of people may see these tweets. This is an easy and fun way to be noticed.

PRETTY LITTLE THING

INSTAGRAM COMPARISON

Pretty Little Thing has almost double the number of followers, suggesting this might be due to the variety of posts you see on their page. The brand’s Instagram page features more product photographs than boohoo’s. Whether it be of images of the models from the website or of influencers wearing their clothing. They also feature a verity of body types and ethnicities. There’s also less secondary content featured on their page. This means there is more relevant content on their page. Comparing the engagement on similar influencer posts you can see that PLT’s followers are much more engaged. There are far more comments and likes, this means that followers like what they see.

ASOS

Again Asos post a wide range of different content on their page. They tend to post a lot less influencer contnent. They also post more images of differnt products that they sell suchas their beauty range, which PLT and boohoo rarely do.

boohoo

SHOPPING EXPERIENCE ANALYSIS

HOMEPAGE

This offer will insantly catch a consumers attention. It’s the first thing you are drawn to. This will make a consumer want to go further into the website.

This was placed on the main homepage as you scroll further down. Placed on the website in early January when consumers are still in the New Year, New me phase. This is timed prefectly.

Placed underneath the Shop Fit section is this quick buy section. Again this is eye catching because of the use of bright green. Our minds are programmed to find patterns in images, by looking at these images our minds are trying to work out what links each photo together, therefore we are spending more time looking at each image.

The tab which appears once you hover the cursor over the image is meant to say ‘buy now’ unfortunately it’s illegible. This seems to be a reoccurring issue appearing on these images.

This offer is placed at the bottom of the homepage. This may offer may be easily missed, as many consumer don’t scroll to the bottom of the homepage. There doesn’t seem to be a loyalty scheme.

It was noted that this image wasn’t the most flattering as the model looks like she mid blink.

This section makes it easier to be able to go straight to the type of dress that the customer desires. This is easier than the customer having to click through the refine by section.

It was noted several times that the ‘plus sized’ models were no bigger than the ‘regular’ sized models. Many consumers found it offensive that they were labelled as being the ‘curve’ models. Many people thought that the model was no bigger than themselves and wondered whether they were being labelled as plus sized, even though they considered themselves to be average sized. They wanted to see a real plus sized model to wear the garments to give a better indication of what the item would actually look like in real life.

Comments were made the sizing didn’t go up very far. This doesn’t seem to promote the idea that boohoo are inclusive.

The image is of good quality, it’s easy to scroll over it to enlarge image to get a clearer image of the garment. A few people mentioned that the garments were only featured on one model. It was difficult for them to visualise what it might look like on themselves, as the model didn’t represent their body shape/size.

There are no add ons or items that are promoted that could go well with the outfit. A simple suggestion of a certain item that might work well with the garment could increase the number of items in their basket.

This section seems a bit overwhelming, this could be designed in a way that more pleasing to the eye.

There are many ways you can pay for your order, and now includes apple pay. This is good as some customer may prefer to pay for orders through a certain method such as PayPal.

MOBILE APP

The app is simple to use, it looks almost exactly the same as the online webpage. Some issues with the app include: there is no ‘looking for something similar’ feature. Another issue was if you add items to your basket and the click off the app, when you open the app again your basket is empty. This could be frustrating for someone who has filled their basket, to lose all the items could mean the customer won’t re add them to their basket.

THREE YEAR MARKETING PLAN

KEY FINDINGS Boohoo are percieved to have no USP Boohoo arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t percieved as an inclusive brand Lack of brand loyalty Lack of real engagment on social media platforms

SMART OBJECTIVES To focus on relationship marketing to improve customers perceptions and attitudes towards boohoo, leading to a increase of 10% of active customers by 2020. To see a 5% rise in number of items per basket by 2021 To increase order frequencies from 2.13 a year to 5 by 2022

YEAR ONE OBJECTIVES: IMPROVE CUSTOMERS PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES

TOWARDS BOOHOO

HOW IT WILL BE MEASURED: BRAND ENGAGEMENT, SALES,

ONLINE REVIEWS AND CUSTOMER SURVEYS HOW IT WILL BE DONE: Boohoo will continue to be branded as a fun, fashionable and social brand but there will be a bigger push to promote the brand as being inclusive. Looking at the perceptual map, there is a gap in the market for a more inclusive, fast fashion brand. Boohoo already have the values, it just needs to be translated to the customer in a more authentic way. The purpose of this is to create a positive perception towards the brand, amongst their target audience. As well as driving sales and creating loyal customers. Boohoo will show that they care about their consumers by showing that they have listened to some of their concerns and made some positive changes to their website and social media. Boohoo was portrayed negatively in the media in 2018. This could have cost the brand many customers if all they hear is negativity towards the brand. The aim is that Boohoo need to create brand loyalty amongst their consumers in case of any more negative press. A direct benefit is that loyal customers are supposed to act as brand advocates, inviting relatives, friends and other (potential) customers to the brand/organization [Islam,J. and Rahman, Z., 2016] Boohoo will create brand loyalty by showing themselves to be more consumer centric and authentic in 2019. Real customers will become the brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s micro influencers. Many young social media users are seeing through influencer marketing, and understand a lot more about how they are being targeted by brands through influencers. In 2019, real boohoo customers will be at the heart of everything boohoo does, in a bid to be seen as inclusive. Influencer marketing will still be done, but there will be a greater focus on the customers and making them feel like they are the influencer. Boohoo will share images of their real customers looking and feeling amazing in their boohoo clothing. This will be done on social media. This will tie together the brands message of being authentic and inclusive. This should create brand sentiment and drive engagement.

LOVEMARKS Lovemarks connects the company with their consumer. Brands do this by connecting with their consumers’ hearts and mind by forging emotional connections. Love marks should inspire loyalty beyond reason [Roberts,k., 2004] These Lovemarks are owned by the people who love the brand – ie the consumer, and it’s the consumer that decides whether something is lovemark. For boohoo to create lovemarks the brand needs to be passionate about what they do and convey this in an authentic way. Boohoo must celebrate their customers loyalty and connect with them, and listen to what they want. To have lovemarks a consumer must have high love and high respect for a brand. This can spark fierce loyalty, and means they will be more likely to recommend the brands to their friends.

BRANDING AND BRAND LOVE Boohoo’s consumers need to believe the messages that the retailer is trying to tell them. Boohoo is trying to show that they are fun, fashionable, social and inclusive but consumers currently don’t perceive the brand as being all these things. Boohoo need to brand themselves as being all these things, and their customers need to believe it. Boohoo needs brand love. Carroll and Ahuvia [see Islam,J. and Rahman, Z., 2016] define brand love as the “degree of passionate emotional attachment a satisfied customer has for a particular trade name” Boohoo is a brand that cares about their customers and making positive changes yet consumers aren’t inspired by the messages they are putting out there. The boohoo #allgirls advert failed to hit the mark with their target audience as it wasn’t seen as being diverse, when that’s what the whole campaign revolved around. This advert had much potential to go far and really connect with the target audience, yet it wasn’t seen as being inclusive or authentic. The importance of being authentic and consistent cannot be underestimated [Smith, T., 2018] Boohoo will continue to have the same values but communicate them in a more authentic way, this will be shown in the communication plans. All this in effort of creating brand love, which will lead to consumer loyalty.

ONSITE EXPERIENCE IMPROVEMENTS

PERSONALISATION

Justification: 30% of respondents from the first survey said they wanted to see less products on boohoo’s website. It was also suggested a several times in the second survey also. Boohoo should continue to produce the same number of products as they do, but show it to their consumers in a less overwhelming way. It was found that consumers didn’t want to scroll through pages and pages to find their perfect item.

Boohoo should use personalisation to create a better feature ‘We think you may love’ this will suggest 3 styles/products the consumer will want to buy. Boohoo already have a section like this, but it only suggests similar items to the one your looking at. It doesn’t suggest different products or items that are relevant to the shopper. By showing three tailored suggestions instead of the five plus, irrelevant items that boohoo already suggest, the shopper has to look at each item more carefully, they will be more likely to click on one of the three options. It also feels less overwhelming than being bombarded by products that they may not even like. Boohoo will know what to suggest to the customer from data they have stored on them from their previous purchases or from their browsing history. If they are a new customer boohoo could suggest they take a style quiz. They will answer a few short questions on their style, and what products they are interested in purchasing. Then they will be shown a tailored selection of clothing or full looks, in their size, so they can’t be disappointed if the product suggested aren’t in stock. They then will be given the option to have a better look at these products and place them in their basket, if they don’t like the suggestions, they can be shown 3 more and so on until they get the right products shown to them. Boohoo can store this data to know what to target them with next time they come to the page, or to send to their email if they acquire it. The purpose of this is to create a tailored experience for the shopper, to make them feel as if the brand really does know what they like and show them products they didn’t even know they needed in their life until it was shown to them. Boohoo will truly feel like a fashion best friend by suggesting the right products to them. This in turn, should lead to brand loyalty as the consumer feels boohoo is making valid suggestion to them, ones they will truly want to buy. It will also make their shopping experience more enjoyable, meaning they will want to return to the site. Therefore, the conversion rate should be increased. By suggesting full looks or products that can be styled together boohoo should see a rise in number of items per basket as well as a average order increase. Also, by making recommendations of new products that would go with a customers’ previous order, for example, if they have bought a t-shirt, they could recommend some jewellery, or jeans and a bag that would keep the look fresh. This should could increase the likelihood of the customer returning to the site an making another purchase. This will mean there would be a rise in order frequently.

NEW FEATURES

Boohoo will create full shoppable looks. It was suggested by numerous consumers that they would like to see full shoppable outfits. This could be done in 2 different ways, either boohoo could show certain items that would go with the product they are looking at. Or, they could add in new button feature [much like the show similar button] that allows them to browse multiple products that will go with the specific item. This can make the customers shopping experience much easier and quicker. It could also lead to items per basket.

Boohoo should post consumer photographs on their website. Another suggestion that consumers made was that they would like to see customer pictures on the website. 90% of people who responded to the second survey said they want to see this. If boohoo encourages their customers to post pictures of them in their new outfits, it would mean that boohoo would have more images of their customers to go on the website [with consent]

This is just an example of how boohoo could showcase how to create a full outfit.

Like this item? Create a whole outfit

CREATE OUTFIT

ONSITE EXPERIENCE IMPROVEMENTS

Justification: When asked what improvements boohoo could make DIVERSE RANGE OF 62% [survey 1] said they wanted to see boohoo become more inclusive. One respondent commented they would like “To actually have MODELS ONSITE ‘plus size’ models that are bigger than a size 16” And 98% [survey 2] stated that they wanted to see boohoo use a more diverse range of models on their site. This is what diversity meant to them: “Different shapes, more plus sizes , gender neutral in keeping with the many diverse and wonderful beings that want to look and feel great” “Every size and shape for every size that they sell. Different religion” “All shapes, sizes, colours, abilities, gender, sexuality” When asked what improvements boohoo coul make here were some of the suggestions “better range of models” “more plus size models” “Models of all sizes and colour” “Make their models real” “To show clothing items on various types of model (as in the same item on different models) to help the customer to see whether it would suit them “ “more plus size models and a better range for plus size, maybe don’t call it plus size when it’s only a size 16” From the website analysis, some consumers could barely tell the difference between the plus sized models and the regular models when their images were all placed in a row. To look further into this, and understand what the consumers wanted to see model testing was conducted [see appendix] From this it was discovered that Asos and Pretty Little Thing were representing diversity and inclusivity far better than boohoo [even though inclusivity is a core value to boohoo] They perceived PLT as being the most representative, by showing models of different ethnicity and shapes and sizes. Recommendation: Boohoo should use models of different sizes and ethnicities.They should look confident, or friendly as the younger customers preferred this. The models should have different shapes, some with larger hips, some with larger chests etc. as it gives a better indication of what the garment might look like on a regular customer. These suggestions are aimed at all the models used on site, not just specifically plus sized, as it was noted that some respondents wanted to see ‘regular’ models look more realistic i.e. different shapes, sizes and ethnicities. The purpose of this is to promote boohoo’s core values, so that the brand is truly seen as being fun, fashionable, social and inclusive. It is also to create brand love and create brand trust. The consumers surveyed stated they wanted to see a change, boohoo should show the consumer that they are listening to their demand and wishes, in the efforts to convince consumers they wat to make a positive change.

YEAR TWO OBJECTIVES: CONSUMER TARGETING

HOW IT WILL BE MEASURED: NUMBER OF ORDERS MADE

HOW IT WILL BE DONE: ADVERTISING Boohoo have student ambassadors called queens on campus, boohoo is yet to promote it on their Instagram page. Boohoo needs to promote queens on campus, in order to target students. No student will know about this, unless boohoo promote it on their Instagram, as it is pretty difficult to find on their website, unless you know what you are looking for. Boohoo is aimed at all women whether they are in full time education or in work. Boohoo offer student discount and have queens on campus, yet there is nothing aimed at girls who are working. Boohoo should be promoting their brand to women who are working, as they have a workwear section on their site. Many young working women find it hard to buy fashionable, work appropriate clothing, and boohoo may not be their first port of call for workwear. Boohoo should be targeting these women. Boohoo can do this in numerous ways. They can continue to use influencers who are seen as ‘girl bosses’ Many influencers have turned into business women and are seen as strong and positive role models. These women can create social media posts of themselves wearing boohoo’s workwear to business meeting, do social media take overs, or by showing a week’s worth of boohoo workwear outfits. Boohoo should also hold a competition for these women, have them buy something from the workwear section and get these customers to upload a picture of how they style it for work, then they can be entered into a competition to win a certain prize like a £500 gift card or a holiday. Boohoo should also create an advert showcasing the different types of women that shop at boohoo for example students and working women. This will show that they aren’t just a brand selling dresses for nights out. Billboards from the ad campaign should go up in areas heavily populated by students for example near universities or in the London underground where there’s a large number of commuters. These adverts and billboards should continue promote boohoo’s core values and be done in their tone of voice. #BOOHOOBOSS #BOOHOOBOSSINIT #BOOHOOGIRLBOSS #BOOHOOBOSSBABES

YEAR THREE OBJECTIVES: INCREASE CUSTOMER LOYALTY

HOW IT WILL BE MEASURED: TRACKED BY THE ORDER FREQUENCY RATE

HOW IT WILL BE DONE: LOYALTY SCHEME If boohoo find that their rise in order frequency isn’t going up, boohoo should consider launching a loyalty scheme for their customers. According to YouGov, 61% of 18- to 24-year-olds are a member of at least one, while 73% think they are a good way for brands to reward customers and 59% think all brands should offer one. [Hammett, 2018] There is a boohoo loyalty scheme, but it’s done through a secondary site called epoints. Boohoo could benefit from launching a loyalty scheme on their own website as many consumers won’t know to look for the one epoints. Asos has recently put an end to their loyalty scheme, their consumers aren’t happy about this. Boohoo can launch their own loyalty scheme and take advantage of their disgruntled customers. This can be advertised on their website, and mentioned on their social media platforms as they have a large following.

LESS

COMMUNICATION PLAN A communication strategy to demonstrate that boohoo is a brand with values that will in turn create brand awareness and brand loyalty.

AIM: To reinforce boohoo’s brand values, to communicate them in a fun and engaging way that will resonate with their target customer, and reach new potential customers. Boohoo should create a valued proposition by putting the customer at the heart of the brand.

Boohoo will promote their core values in an authentic way across all their channels. As these messages are currently being lost in translation with boohoo’s core audience. As body positivity, authenticity and diversity is a big talking point amongst younger women, boohoo should approach these subjects on their social media platforms. The underlying message will be that you should feel amazing when you wear boohoo clothing. Self concept connection indirectly improves brand loyalty through emotional attachment and brand love [Kandampully,Jay,2012] 94% of survey respondents claimed they would be more likely to buy from a brand if it was inclusive and diverse. 96% claimed that they wanted to see more brands promote body positivity. This is where boohoo can shine. Shoppers now base their purchase decisions on whether a company’s practices and mission aligns with their values—while at the same time they are highly price sensitive [McKinsey, 2017] Boohoo had a micro campaign called ‘self-love isn’t selfish’ which promoted positive messages, yet it wasn’t seen on Instagram where the majority of their followers are. Boohoo should be constantly showing that they are a brand that stands for something, yet boohoo choose not to promote the positive campaigns they have created, such as the self-love isn’t selfish and #allgirls. These messages would resonate deeper with the consumer and will improve followers’ perceptions of the brand. Boohoo’s found that the number of 18-24 year old girls saying they would consider buying from them went up after their love is love campaign, but went down after their love island ambassadors were revealed. This shows that their consumers want boohoo to be tackling issues and promoting messages of love and positivity. Boohoo will demonstrate through their ad campaigns and other ventures that they don’t just provide one style to one type of person. They offer a whole wealth of amazing clothing, that will suit all girls, regardless of their size, race and abilities. All whilst promoting body positivity, inclusivity, inspiring confidence and creating buzz. Some of the communication tools will have a customer acquisition strategy and the others will have a customer retention strategy.

DRIP MODEL

To differentiate the brand from their competition. This will be done by showing they offer more than one style to one body type. They will truly become their target customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; fashion best friend, making them feel and look great and always talking about the subjects that matter to them. They will reward loyal customer with exclusive discount, to show they care. Boohoo will show that they love to see their customers in their clothing, by uploading a selection of pictures that their customers have tagged. They will hype these customers up, saying how great they look, like a true best friend would. This will encourage more of their followers/ customers to tag their boohoo clothing, meaning their following will see them hyping the brand up, increasing buzz and brand perception. This is something their direct competition arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t doing. To Reinforce boohoos core values. To persuade customers to buy from them as they offer a brand promise that they will look and feel great and be right on trend in their boohoo clothing.

Inform the brands offering. Boohoo offer the latest trends that will suit every girl, no matter their race, size, shape or ability. They offer more than just one trend or style so there is something to suit you whether you want workwear, day to day outfits or want to get glammed up.

To persuade and evoke certain attitudes within customers. Boohoo wants to inspire confidence in their customer, make sure they feel fierce and on trend. They will also encourage boohoo to share images of their purchases online and tag the brand, in the hope that boohoo will share it.

SOCIAL MEDIA RECOMMENDATIONS Looking back at the social media analysis there were a few issues and points raised. The purpose of this communication strategy on social media is to promote inclusivity and body confidence, which falls in line with the year one marketing and branding strategy, as well as driving brand engagement. All engagement on all sites will be monitored. It was found that social media sites make more than half of users feel inadequate, according to a survey of 1,500 people by disability charity Scope, and half of 18- to 34-year-olds say it makes them feel unattractive [Brown, 2018] Boohoo can help lead the way in promoting authenticity and help their young consumers to feel amazing, especially in boohoo clothing. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how they can do that

SNAPCHAT Objective: To make use of a popular platform with millions of users, that they arent already utilising. Drive brand engagement. How will they do this: By filming sneak peeks at the latest items that will be going up on the website in the next few days. This will get the consumer exited, and they will be more likely to look at the new in section.

Have ambassadors/influencer take overs. Competitions A look at how some products are made, or desiged Tips on how to style boohooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s clothing Boohoo HQ news and gossip The purpose of all this is to create brand awareness and getting consumers excited about the brand.

YOUTUBE

Objective: Generate sales, build brand awareness, drive brand engagemnet [shares and likes] and drive traffic to the website. How will they do this: Talk about subjects such as body positivity and body confidence to inspire followers to feel better in themselves. Encourage them to be and love themselves. Show the viewers how they can feel amazing in their boohoo clothes. Make boohoo hauls with influencers, brand ambassadors or customers. Create boohoo lookbooks, a day in the life of ... Videos, behind the scenes. Continue to sponsor other creators to make content on their channels like the have with @emmasrectangle. This can reach new consumers. This means that there is less pressure on boohoo to be making videos.

All these videos should feel authentic and promote boohoo in a fun and authentic way. They should always be thinking about what their customer wants to be seeing.

INSTAGRAM Objective: To promote diversity on their page, much like @savaxfenty and @aerie, these brands are doing it well. To also create engagement with followers by being fun and authentic. Reach new audiences by showcasing different style and using a divere range of influencers. How will they do this: Influencers are a massive part of boohoo’s current strategy, and seems a good way to target new consumers. Yet, it was found that 52% of the second survey stated that they didn’t want to see any more influencers wearing boohoo clothing. By using a diverse range of influencers instead of using ones that all have the same style, they can continue to promote their value of inclusivity and diversity. By using influencers of different ethnicities, sizes and abilities boohoo can reach new customers that boohoo have yet to target. A few examples of influencers they can work with or continue to work with could be: @lucyjanewood @kaushal @maryscupoftea @that_ girlred @daniaisabella All these women promote body positivity and body confidence which inspires their followers. All have their unique styles and looks which means they would provide a variety of looks to go on boohoo’s page. Again, this could lead to changes in consumers perceptions and a drive in sales. Quality, over quantity of posts. It was found that 91% of respondents from the second survey wanted to see more images of real customers modelling/ showcasing their boohoo clothing, either on boohoo’s social media or on their website. This is the perfect opportunity to repost images of customers who tag their images with the hashtags boohoo uses. They would also be standing out from their competition’s profiles as well, as many brands don’t repost customers pictures wearing their garments. Currently they only repost influencers’ images and no real customer images. This could increase brand engagement. Customers will be more likely to post their outfits on Instagram and tag the brand [free promotion for the brand] if they know that there is a chance that boohoo will actually repost their image on their page [giving them the chance to be seen by the mass amounts of boohoo followers] A great example of a brand that does this is @hoaka_swimwear, where they have created a community of loyal and engaged consumers/followers. It was found that 63% of respondents from the first survey said they don’t like it when brands post irrelevant content on their social media platforms, and 45% disliked it when brands post too frequently. Boohoo are guilty of regularly posting vast amounts of secondary content, which could be considered irrelevant. Boohoo should consider using less secondary content and be posting more authentic images, either of real consumers or influencers posts, to drive engagement. This should drive more traffic to the website. As a side note, all pictures that boohoo feature on their website showing products, should have shoppable links, not just a product description. This is the platform boohoo should be promoting their core values the most. By sharing a range of content their consumers want to see and engage with. Boohoo can really drive home the message that they are inclusive, whilst still being fun and fashionable. The Influencers you use aren’t brand loyal - your customers are. 65

TV ADVERTS

ABOVE THE LINE

What boohoo will do: Create a summer advertising campaign, which will be about body positivity and promoting body confidence. Will show that every girl can look great in summer. Why? It’s the time of year people start thinking about going on holiday, worrying about what they will look like, everyone has their insecurities. Boohoo has a summer look that everyone will love. Should include different ethnicities, body shapes and sizes to show that anyone can rock their summer look, even if they feel a little insecure. This ad will be fun and fashionable and very inclusive. The ad has the potential to feature real life customers if boohoo so wish. They could do this by rewarding their top customers, or most engaged social media followers to be in with the chance of being featured in the advert. This could be part of a competition. A competition like this will likely to create large amount of engagement and can spread brand awareness. This advert promotes inclusivity and will stand out from other adverts, meaning it will be memorable. These adverts could gain some positive press coverage. The ad will be shown at prime time on itv2 and e4, with large numbers of their target audience watchinng- specifically during Love Island breaks. The aim is to boost consumers’ confidence, after possibly feeling a little deflated about themselves, not looking as good as the women on the show. The second advert to show that boohoo sell more than just party dresses. This ad will create a point of difference between them and their competition and create brand appeal. Boohoo sell a whole wealth of styles to suit every girl, whether you’re a student on a budget, a young mum or a in full time work. Everyone wants to look their best, whether it’s just to the office, to uni, or for a night out.

BILLBOARDS To go along with the tv adverts, billboards will be displayed in heavily populated areas. They willl be placed in areas where there are lots of university students or colleges, and placed in areas were their target consumer might hang out or work.

ONLINE ADVERTISING These will include banner ads as well as adverts that are featured before YouTube videos and on Snapchat. They will be measured by number of new sessions, bounce rate and conversion rate. 66

SPONSORSHIP

BELOW THE LINE

Boohoo will sponsor body confidence workshops and body positivity events that are held for women in the UK. This will help align boohoo and their core values, and will give attendees a positive perception of the brand. This can create positive buzz, acquire new customers and possibly be picked up in the media.

POP UP EVENTS As a part of an acquisition strategy, boohoo will continue to go to universities during freshers week. But, here they will talk about how to feel confident, how to make friends, how to look great on a budget. They will hand out goody bags, and vouchers. Boohoo can acquire new student ambassadors and even have a boohoo runway where students can try different styles of clothing they have never thought to try before. The purpose of this is to give students the confidence to try new things and new styles, and to make them feel like boohoo is their best friend. These events should inspire confidence and brand trust. Here boohoo will acquire new customers, and create a bond with these students, they will then know to choose to shop with first boohoo for any occasion. One to two-hour pop ups events can happen in the middle of city centres such as Manchester or Cardiff for young working women who are on their lunch break. This will be to offer fun style advice for women who want to spice up their workwear or want some fashion advice. Boohoo will sign them up to their email list and in return they will be given vouchers to use on the site. These will be advertised on social media. Note these events wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be in physical stores they will all be done from the boohoo double decker in public spaces.

EMAIL MARKETING Boohoo will send emails less frequently to customers, as one person mentioned they got bombarded with almost four emails in 3 days, which frustrated her, and lead her to unsubscribe from their mailing list. Instead the emails will be sent every 3 days. Some emails will contain special discounts for customers that have shopped with them regularly, treating them like VIPâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s. Smaller discounts will be sent out to customers with items in their baskets that they have abandoned, in the hopes it will nudge them to buy. This will be measured by the open rate of the email, click through rate and conversion rate. This is a customer retention strategy.

COMPETITIONS AND GIVE AWAYS Boohoo will continue to have competitions and give aways as they are a great way to get engagement on their social media and reach new audiences. 67

TIMELINE FEB

Social Media

Online advertising Competitions

Creating TV adverts Showing TV Adverts Billboards

Sponsorship Pop Up Events E-mail Marketing

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

POEM MODEL

PAID MEDIA

OWNED MEDIA

TV BILLBOARDS BANNER ADS ONLINE ADS PPC

SEO WEBSITES BLOG SOCIAL MEDIA

NEWS BLOGS SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

EARNED MEDIA

BUDGETING

COMMUNICATION METHOD

ESTIMATED COST

TV Advertising [Creating and Airing]

£500,000

Billboards

£20,000

Sponsorship

£15,000

Competitions

£150,000

Online Advertising

£150,000

Pop Up Events [inc staff]

£10,000

New Staff For Social Media i.e YouTube Content Creator

£30,000

Influencer Marketing

£100,000

Total- £975,000

Creating and airing the TV adverts will be the most expensive task, which is partly due to the channels the ads will be aired on and the time they will be aired. The financial plan [see appendix] shows that boohoo will be in profit by March, after the first event that is held [this is due to attendees using their vouchers, word of mouth and any coverage by the media, leading to an increase in sales] Boohoo could see a ÂŁ34M raise in profits by the end of the first year. The brandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision can be reached, only if boohoo create brand love and brand loyalty. Boohooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s customers demand more inclusivity from the brand. This can easily be done, by following the marketing and communication strategies. By showing their consumers that they are a brand with values, as demonstrated in the communication plan, boohoo will have fiercely loyal customers, that will defend the brand if there is negative press. By following these strategies, boohoo can see an increase in profits, and the SMART objectives should be met by 2022.

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Minnium, P., 2018. Brands strive for authenticity as audiences turn a skeptical eye toward ads [online]. merketingland.com. Available at: https://marketingland. com/brands-strive-for-authenticity-as-audiences-turn-a-skeptical-eye-toward-ads-236295 [Accessed 26/12/ 2018]. Morris, N., 2018. People are accusing Boohoo of putting ‘padding’ on slim models to sell plus-size clothes [online]. metro.co.uk. Available at: https://metro. co.uk/2018/12/19/people-accusing-boohoo-putting-padding-slim-models-sell-plus-size-clothes-8265402/ [Accessed 11/01/ 2019]. Neate, R., 2017. Fashion retailer Boohoo nearly doubles profit after celebrity Instagram tie-ups [online]. theguardian.com. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/26/boohoo-profits-nearly-double-celebrities-instagram-online-fashion-retail [Accessed 23/11/ 2018]. O’ Connor, T., 2018. As Brexit Looms, Katharine Hamnett and Shahmir Sanni Speak on What’s Next for Britain [online]. businessoffashion.com. Available at: https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/news-analysis/as-brexit-looms-katharine-hamnett-and-shahmir-sanni-speak-on-whats-next-for-britain?source=bibblio [Accessed 03/01/ 2019]. Rabe, B., 2018. 5 must-see infographics on the value of brand authenticity [online]. visioncritical.com. Available at: https://www.visioncritical.com/brand-authenticity-infographics/ [Accessed 13/12/ 2018]. Shewman, D., 2018. The Comprehensive Guide to Online Advertising Costs [online]. wordstream.com. Available at: https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ ws/2017/07/05/online-advertising-costs [Accessed 13/01/ 2019]. Smith, K., 2018. 41 Incredible Instagram Statistics [online]. Brandwatch.com. Available at: https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/instagram-stats/ [Accessed 20/11/ 2018]. Stewart, R., 2017. How much does it cost to advertise on UK TV? Here’s what Channel 4, ITV and more charge for slots [online]. thedrum.com. Available at: https://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/02/22/how-much-does-it-cost-advertise-uk-tv-heres-what-channel-4-itv-and-more-charge-slots [Accessed 13/01/ 2019].

IMAGE REFERENCES Authors own edit [2019] cover page [10/01/19]

Authors own edit [2019] contents [10/01/19]

Authors own edit [2019] pink and purple[10/01/19]

Boohoo PLC [2016] annual report picture [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.boohooplc.com/~/media/ Files/B/Boohoo/reports-and-presentations/ar-2016.pdf?pdfdata=1 [Accessed 14/01/19 ]

Boohoo PLC [2018] The Headliners campaign [ONLINE] Available at: https://thefix.boohoo.com/story/theheadliners [Accessed 14/01/19 ]

Stacey Ford [2015] bank holiYAY [ONLINE] Available at: https://thefix.boohoo.com/story/bank-holiyay [ Accessed 14/01/19 ]

Boohoo [2018] gym gear [ONLINE] Available at: https://thefix.boohoo.com/story/5-outfits-heatwave-approved [Accessed 14/01/19 ]

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Nikki Gilliand [2017] Influencer Marketing [ONLINE] Available at: https://econsultancy.com/impressive-influencer-marketing-campaigns/ [Accessed 30/12/18]

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Kayleigh Johnson [2018] going out [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsBXO-ylcpp/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

Chyna Le [2018] outfit post [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Br-rY4jlKk2/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

Lydia Rose [ 2018]outfit post [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsNJ-4wlh-H/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

Ivona Zupet [2019] outfit post [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbA3u0l2Ka/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

Rosie Bea [2014] Ginger [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/lqUdFGmPGZ/ [Accessed 04/01/19] 77

Mala Andrijiana [2019] selfie [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsGltGMnk7a/ [Accessed 04/01/19]

Laura Jade Stone [2018] boohoo Zendaya collection [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ BgrZr1QAnMb/?utm_source=ig_embed [Accessed 30/12/18]

Estee Lalonde [2019] Estee [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsL1y2qAyot/ [Accessed 04/01/19]

Georgie Philippa [2018] Scrunchie selfie [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BqSybTSh8Ff/

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Greggs [2019] Greggs tweet [ONLINE] Available at: https://twitter.com/GreggsOfficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor [Accessed 10/01/19]

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PLT [2019] PLT instagram screenshot [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/prettylittlething/?hl=en [Accessed 10/01/19]

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boohoo[2019] product screenshot [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.boohoo.com [Accessed 09/01/19]

boohoo[2019] website screenshot [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.boohoo.com [Accessed 09/01/19]

boohoo[2019] payment screenshot [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.boohoo.com [Accessed 09/01/19] Authors own edit [2019] hexagon [10/01/19]

Larissa Pslaila [2018] black dress Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsEaOq8gGfk/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

Nicole moses [2019] orange [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsd-eztgPWR/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

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Yelena V [2018] pink [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/BqDPcIfB3Zt/ [Accessed 14/01/19]

Authors own edit [2019] negative news [10/01/19]

Authors own edit [2019] positive news [10/01/19]

APPENDIX

FINANCIAL PLAN

Boohoo’s Turnover is 370 million, divided by 12 was £30,833,333, which was rounded up to £31 million. For the summer adverts [in June, July and August] the average garment was calculated at £10 [i.e. swimwear] And the cost was estimated to be £3. For every other month the average garment was averaged at £15, and the cost to make was estimated to be £5. Based on research, it showed the bran Aerie, increased sales by over 20% after releasing an inclusive advert that featured no photoshopping. This would be similar to the advert boohoo would create. Increasing the profits by 20% after releasing the adverts seemed a little too high for boohoo. Therefore, it was estimated that boohoo could increase sales by 10% for each month the advert was shown. As the events were meant to be to create brand awareness and brand loyalty, the prime reason wasn’t to sell garments. Sales will come after the events as people use the vouchers they received. Therefore, they were calculated to only make 1% rise in sales, this might possibly still be too high as these events will be attended by a small amount of the UK population.

COSTING FOR STRATEGY

SURVEY 1

SURVEY 2

MODEL TESTING

JUSTIFICATION

It was noted in the website analysis that the plus sized models didn’t look any different too the regular sized models. They stated that they wanted to see models with larger hips, chests, thighs to make it easier to visualise what that garments might actually look on them. 98% of survey respondents said they would like to see boohoo use a more diverse range of models on their website

FIRST STEP The first step was to gather further thoughts and opinions on the models boohoo currently use to see what liked and what they might change. It was noted that these two models had the best fit for the plus size and curve range. This was due to the fact that they believed the models had more curves. The model on the left was praised the highest, as she had a fuller chest, meaning it was easier to see if the garment would fit them. Many times they noted that they couldn’t tell if an item would fit them because they have larger chests [this was stated by customers of varying sizes]

These were the two models that were featured most frequently on the website modelling the plus size range. Customers said they didn’t believe that they were size 16 at all. This concerned some plus sized customers, as they believed that they would have to size up their products if that’s what a size 16 looked like. This could lead to frustration if a consumer can’t tell what size to purchase, this could mean that boohoo loses the sale because a customer will decide to shop elsewhere.

COMPARISON Comparing different models from competitors’ sites to boohoo’s was done to understand what the consumer liked about competitors’ models. It gave a deeper understanding of what they would like to see being represented on boohoo’s website. Asos and Pretty Little Thing were used as a comparison to boohoo, as those were the two top brands that were seen as being inclusive in interviews.

ASOS

PRETTY LITTLE THING

BOOHOO

Here a comparison of how all three brands model their swimwear. PLT was liked the most, as the model looked the most confident. Buying swimwear can be daunting for a person of any size, therefore the customers stated they were more likely to buy from PLT because she seems confident in her swimsuit, they reckoned they might be able to feel the same if they buy it. Asos’ model was said to be the most accurate and real representative of someone who was plus sized which they liked, but they wanted to see more confidence. Boohoo’s model wasn’t seen as being a size 16, they wanted to see more curves.

ASOS

BOOHOO

Here is and example of what it looks like on all three websites when you look at the specific plus size section. PLT was favoured over the three websites. This was because the models were seen as being the most diverse in ethnicity and looked the most confident and cool. Asos were preferred by the people who were over the age of 22, they believed that the models looked more ‘natural’ and this is what they preferred to see. PRETTY LITTLE THING

ASOS

BOOHOO

Here is a comparison of what boohoo’s clothing look likes on Asos’ website. This was set up to discover what consumers thoughts and theirfeelings about how Asos show and model boohoo’s plus size range. Customers noted that they liked Asos’ diverse range of ethnicities, they like liked that it wasn’t just the same model each time, like they seem do on the boohoo website. They did state that Asos could still use a wider range of ethnicities, or even use models with disabilities etc. to be seen as more diverse. It was also stated that they preferred models that smiled. The group agreed that when the models seemed to be smiling they were more likely to like the product, or more likely to take a closer look at the product. They preferred if a model looked friendly i.e. smiling, such as in boohoo’s bottom left image in the red dress. Or, they liked it when the model looked confident, i.e. in Asos’ top left image, where she’s wearing a black and gold bodysuit. They stated that both brand used images of models looking ‘a bit vague’ or ‘expressionless’ which they weren’t so fond of. Overall, all consumers said they believed that Asos did a better job in showing the boohoo clothing. This was mainly due to the size or the models, as they were more true to what a plus size model should supposedly look like to them. Another reason they favoured Asos, was the use of different models, it wasn’t the same model in each image like on boohoo’s site. They also appreciated that there were more ethnicities being featured on Asos. 89

FRONT

YOU LOOK AMAZING! BE A #BOOHOOBABE

We want you to feel as amazing as you look in your new boohoo clothes snap a pic, tag us and use the hashtag #boohoobabes with a chance of us sharing it. Love from your boohoo bestie xox 90

BACK

A LITTLE EXTRA RECOMMENDATION

This is an example of a note that could go in customers deliveries. These could come in many different varients, all with a cute positive message on the front. These messages will feel make the customer feel valued and they will like this little extra touch. The purpose of these are to add a personal tough from the brand, and to make the customer feel valued and positive about themselves and towards the brand. Also, it this could lead to more brand engagement, i.e. getting the customer more involved with the brand, and getting them to upload, tag and use boohooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hashtags.