YMA Birchbox Business Case 2016

Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

Presenting a unique opportunity for Birchbox to join with modern women pursuing sports and fitness on the road to empowerment.

Business Case Study 2016 Daniella Arcila Fashion Marketing and Management

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

PART I Birchbox Analysis Birchbox was created with the purpose of providing a better experience for customers when shopping online for beauty products. However, as subscription-based retailing gains popularity, Birchbox must seek new ways to maintain their competitive edge. A major

opportunity exists for Birchbox to grow its customer base, by tapping into the emerging trend of contemporary women leading active and healthy lifestyles. Now is the time for Birchbox to step forward and build creative collaborations within the growing athletic and wearable tech industry.

Strengths • Accessible to a wide range of customers in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, and Europe • Unique marketing approach based on customer profiles and predictive personalization • Online subscription retailing is a fast growing industry; Birchbox is the industry leader Opportunities • Expand into the athletic industry by offering products targeted towards that consumer market • Collaborate with other companies not related to cosmetics • Upgrade box by inserting box organizers • Study other online businesses known for excellent customer service, such as Zappos’, Amazon and ASOS.

Weaknesses • Product sample size can be small • Customers are unable to create their own box through their website; only available in stores • Some products may not be the best fit for a customer • Variety of products in each month’s box • Presentation and organization of products delivered in the box Threats • Major cosmetics retailers are entering online subscription service retailing (Sephora) • New businesses imitating Birchbox services

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

Competitors Birchbox Price of box Founded Caters to Key Points

Glossybox

$10 $21 2010 2011 U.S., France, 10 countries Spain, Canada & UK Offers sample size Offers deluxeproducts in their sized beauty monthly box products in their monthly box

Ipsy $10 2011 U.S. & Canada Offers a bag with deluxe samples and fullsized beauty products each month

PLAY! By Sephora $10 2015 U.S. Offers monthly boxes with deluxe samples and a PLAY! Book

Customer Analysis The Birchbox customer enjoys experiencing new products and the excitement of discovery that comes with receiving their monthly subscription. Beauty products are necessary in their daily routine, therefore, finding the right products that fit their skin and hair type is of utmost priority.

Demographics • Females: 18 to 50 years’ old • Males: 20 to 50 years’ old • Located in U.S., predominantly in major metropolitan cities • Income $40,000- $140,000 year

Birchbox Customer Experience Customer purchase influencers • • • •

Friends/ Previous or current customers Celebrities reviews Major beauty brands Social media: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Shopping behaviors (‘VALS™ | VALS™ types | SBI’, n.d.)

Innovators: Experiencers: Achievers: -­‐ Take charge -­‐ Trend setting -­‐ Goal oriented -­‐ Curious -­‐ Impulsive -­‐ Brand conscious -­‐ More receptive to new -­‐ Variety seeking -­‐ Conventional ideas and technologies

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox  Creative Approach: Introducing Bfit by Birchbox Bfit by Birchbox brings to modern women leading active lifestyles the prefect beauty product solutions in a box created just for them. Across the cosmetics industry, new brands are stepping forward with products created for women who actively participate in sports and fitness as part of their commitment to living healthy lifestyles. Bfit by Birchbox will introduce these new brands and products to consumers and, in doing so, will deepen their relationship with customers while also reinforcing their brand identity as beauty experts. To promote Bfit, Birchbox will implement a contest that will take place twice a year. In order to qualify for the contest, customers must subscribe to Bfit by Birchbox. The top four winners will be chosen

based on the current Birchbox reward points program. (Birchbox, n.d.) Winners will be awarded the exciting opportunity to come to New York for their personal visit to the Birchbox headquarters and to the New York flagship store as guests of Birchbox. Winners will also have the opportunity to create their own personalized box which will be offered for sale on the Birchbox website. Welcoming subscribers to meet the Birchbox family and offering them new experiences reinforces the strong relationship between Birchbox and its community. It will also provide a unique opportunity for Birchbox to get to know their customers on a personal level, an idea that sparked the very creation of the Birchbox business model in the beginning.

Headquarters Visit Birchbox Headquarters

Birchbox gym

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

• Traveling expenses: Birchbox will provide winners 1 round-­‐‑trip ticket to New York.

• Hospitality expenses: Birchbox will provide hotel accommodations and travel to and from all scheduled events.

• Winners will share their experience through Birchbox social media accounts: -­‐ Snapchat: post videos and photos of their entire day with the team. Posting videos touring the headquarters, photos of their own box created at the Soho store, and having dinner with the co-founders.

-­‐ Facebook/Twitter: the contest winners will update their account status daily letting their followers experience the excitement of their visit to Birchbox -­‐ Instagram: the contest winners will post pictures with the Birchbox team, with the co-founders and with each other, captioning it with their own thoughts and with the hashtag #startwithBfit Brand Positioning Statement Birchbox provides women of all ages with one-of-a-kind products chosen specifically for their active lifestyle. They do this by getting to know their

Birchbox Instagram post

customers, paying close attention to their experiences and collecting feedback that can be used to enhance their future shopping experience, online and in stores. By partnering with the best beauty brands in the industry, as well as their customers, Birchbox can offer a unique, individualized experience for each subscriber.

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

PART II Bfit and Beyond Bfit by Birchbox will offer athletically proven cosmetics to the modern day women leading active lifestyles. In this way, Birchbox will expand their customer base by targeting the sports and fitness industry.

Sample box: Bfit

by Birchbox Partnership with Athletic Cosmetics Brands Throughout Bfit’s expansion journey, Birchbox will collaborate with various athletic brands such as Sweat Cosmetics and Rae Cosmetics (Williams, 2012) to provide a broad selection of performance products. The first partnership to be developed will be with Sweat, (Indiegogo, n.d.) an emerging cosmetics company that produces athletically proven beauty products for active women. Their makeup products are known for their durability and for benefits such as skin protection. Furthermore, these products will not clog pores, run into your eyes, or drip down your face while exercising.

Sweat Cosmetics

Target Customer

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

About Under Armour Under Armour was created in 1996 by Kevin Plank, a sports enthusiast and football player at the University of Maryland. The inspiration for the brand came from Kevin Plank’s frustration with the lack of of athletic apparel to support football athletes as they perform on the playing field. Under Armour introduced to football new products in fabrics and textiles with unique performance properties including wicking, release sweat and moisture are kept away from the body, and muscle support through compression. Because of its roots on the football field, Under Armour has a strong brand identification with the male athletes. Currently, Under

Armour is running a marketing campaign meant to open the doors of the brand to female athletes and active women. A major opportunity exists for Under Armour to reinforce their message to women by joining with Birchbox in the launch of Bfit.

The Bfit by Birchbox Partnership with Under Armour Under Armour recently launched its “I Will What I Want” campaign empowering athletic women. The campaign was created to promote women’s wear and compete against brands like Lululemon, mostly favored by women. Under Armour targets the modern-day active woman who portrays a strong figure, establishing the idea that there are no boundaries, differences, or need for permission, when working toward their goals. (Dockterman, 2014) Under Armour

Under Armour

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

How do these brands relate?

All these brands have one goal in common; empowering women. They strongly believe in the equality and power of women and are committed in changing society’s perception of a woman’s role. They also share similar core values and focus on the same target market: the everyday active women searching for a sense of style.

Marketing How and where will Birchbox market Bfit?

To promote Bfit, Birchbox will continue to do business, as usual, by sending out emails and newsletters, handout flyers in their Soho storefront, share ads in all their social media accounts, and create TV commercials.

Flyer: Bfit by Birchbox In addition, articles introducing Bfit by Birchbox will be featured in health magazines such as “Shape” and “Self”, as well as in magazines like “Marie Claire” that focus on topics related to women’s care, independence, and success. Finally, pop-up shops promoting Bfit by Birchbox will be set up at big sporting events happening in New York, including the US Open and the USA Women’s soccer matches.

Magazine Advertisement

Magazine Advertisement

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

Brand Inspiration

Bfit’s image and branding will be reinforced with strong inspiring quotes to support their marketing campaign. This will intrigue the viewer and motivate the customer to learn more about the brand. The campaign’s main slogan, “Together we can do so much”, from Hellen Keller, will be immersed with current and trendsetter phrases introduced

by Birchbox to support the branding of women’s empowerment.

Helen Keller, a very well respected and successful woman, inspires Birchbox’s campaign for Bfit since, even though she faced impairments from a young age, she excelled and lived her Sweat Customer

life to the fullest. (History.com, 2010) This slogan represents the

collaboration behind Bfit by Birchbox and aims to target its customers by suggesting them to start their journey towards success with the help of Birchbox. In addition to this phrase, several other Hellen Keller sayings will be incorporated in Birchbox marketing ads to further impose their message of empowering women. Some examples of the slogans that will be used for the advertisements are the following: • “The most beautiful things in life cannot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart.” Get your monthly Bfit box and tell us what it feels like!

• “What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me” Make a difference. Get Bfit.

Bfit by Birchbox advertising

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

How will Under Armour work with Birchbox to market Bfit?

Under Armour, having already established a strong advertising campaign with “I Will What I Want” targeting strong athletic women, is the perfect partner to unite forces with

Birchbox in their mutual goal to market women’s empowerment. Under Armour will collaborate with Birchbox to market its new line extension, Bfit, by selling it at Under Armour’s website, under the women’s accessories tab, as well as at all Under Armour brick and mortar locations, having its own display within the women’s section.

“I Will What I Want” store display

Benefits All these sources, partnerships, and venues provide Birchbox with the opportunity to expose their new line, Bfit by Birchbox, to a completely new customer base, allowing athletes or just the modern day women that lead an active life become loyal customers of the brand.

Introducing Bfit by Birchbox  Financial Plan The following financial plan provides an overview of the new customers, the new monthly revenues and the expenses that will be generated by the marketing strategies for the period of August 2016 – January 2017.

The following presents a customer lifetime value analysis of the 33,600 new customers the strategies will bring to Birchbox on an annual basis. This analysis includes projected revenues, retention costs, profits and the net present value of profits over a span of five years.

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Introducing Bfit by Birchbox

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References Birchbox. (n.d.). Reward Points Terms and Conditions. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from https://www.birchbox.com/about/reward-points-terms Buenger, V. (2014, July 15). The 11 things Every Birchbox Subscriber Must Know. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from https://www.birchbox.com/magazine/article/birchbox-subscriberhacks Builder, M. (2015, July 03). Bustle. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from http://www.bustle.com/articles/94730-womens-world-cup-players-are-wearing-makeupand-heres-why-that-should-be-totally-ok In-line Citation: (Builder, 2015) DiFeliciantonio, S. (2014, February 10). The Power of Communication | Helen Keller. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from https://www.teambonding.com/power-of-communication/ Dockterman, E. (2014, August 5). Under Armour’s Stunning Ballerina Ad Aims to Lure Women from Lululemon. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from http://time.com/3083114/mistycopeland-under-armour-i-will-what-i-want/ Dreisbach, S. (2015, May 5). U.S. Women’s Soccer Team: What Success Looks Like Now. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from http://www.glamour.com/inspired/2015/05/uswomens-soccer-team-on-success Gayomali, C. (2015, April 13). Opening the (Birch)box. Innovation Agents. Fast Company.

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marketing that women actually pay for. Retrieved 4 November 2015, from https://pando.com/2012/10/19/the-beauty-of-birchbox-its-not-subscription-commerce-itsmarketing-that-women-actually-pay-for/ Griffith, E. (2014, April 21). Exclusive: Birchbox banks $60 million. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from http://fortune.com/2014/04/21/exclusive-birchbox-banks-60-million/ History.com. (2010). Helen Keller - Facts & Summary. History.Com. Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/helen-keller Indiegogo. (n.d.). Sweat Cosmetics: For Active Beauty. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sweat-cosmetics-for-active-beauty#/ I Will What I Want | Under Armour Women. (n.d.). Retrieved 10 November 2015, from https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/iwillwhatiwant Parascan, N. (2015, October 09). The Rise of Activewear. Retrieved 10 November 2015, from http://www.fashionising.com/trends/b--sports-fashion-trend-sporty-clothing-2648.html Pearl, D. (2014, June 19). The Ten Biggest Supporters of Women’s Rights in US Government.

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 (9) Under Armour. (2014, August 14). The women of WILL // under Armour I WILL WHAT I WANT movement. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from http://www.catchtheshine.com/2014/08/14/the-women-of-will-under-armour-i-will-whati-want-movement/ (10) Under Armour. (2015). Under Armour, I Will What I Want. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from http://ation.digitalmediauconn.org/blog/page/7/ (11) Pinterest. (n.d.). Retrieved 11 November 2015, from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/397020523379200557/ (12) Cass Studios. (n.d.). Fitness - commercial editorial photographer & video production in Austin Texas. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from http://cassstudios.com/fitness-2/ (13) Sweat. (n.d.). Cosmetics for the active female. Retrieved 11 November 2015, from https://sweatcosmetics.com/ (14) Under Armour, & PR Newswire. (2015, November 11). Misty Copeland. PR Newswire.

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