Expanding the brand: Repositioning ‘by Megan Crosby’ in a national market @ Crosby, 2022
1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
3. About the Company
i. Brand Audit
ii. The Target Market
4. Rationale
i. SWOT Analysis
ii. Positioning and Communication
iii. Why does the brand need to change?
5. Recommendations
i. How could they benefit the National Market?
ii. How could they reposition?
iii. 5-year plan
6. Appendices
7. Bibliography
This report is about the company By Megan Crosby, which is a small sustainable brand based in Portsmouth (Murray, 2021). It sells a range of colourful and exciting clothing, that are all sourced and made sustainably (Murray, 2021).
This company is having a positive impact, due to it promoting sustainability. However, it is only having a minimal impact due to being such a small company. During this report we will look at how we can expand this brand nationally and then eventually expand internationally. This will be done by looking at the Hameide Model (Hameide, 2011). The Hameide Model will allow us to explore the company, consumer and culture of By Megan Crosby, and then eventually will allow us to come to suggestions for how the brand could be repositioned.
The company and consumer of this brand are very interlinked as they both have the personality of excitement (Posner, 2015), this shows the strength of By Megan Crosby’s self-image, because consumers prefer to buy from brands that have a personality they can relate to, as it allows them to feel more confident in their clothing (Comunale, 2008). This can be seen through the clothing sold as it is colourful and unique, which is the theme that is also shown through the website. Furthermore, due to it being such a small brand, the customers are likely to be loyal, therefore meaning that they carry similar kinds of morals, allowing them to help connect with the consumer on a more personal level (Comunale, 2008). As well as this the report will further look into the company itself, by looking at the social media, the website and the message the brand conveys.
A key part of this is looking at its current position in the market, because it allows us to identify any gaps that it may have and therefore how it can reposition themselves to be known nationally. Its position in the market is small, because it is a fairly unknown brand. However, there are many ways that it could change this. Currently, its team is only 6 people, and due to everything being made in house, customers are waiting up to 28 working days for their product, because everything is made when it is ordered, therefore by expanding its team this will have a huge impact (Murray, 2021). During the report we will investigate further how else it could improve.
By Megan Crosby is a sustainable brand based from a studio in Portsmouth (Murray, 2021).
The inspiration is slow fashion, as it hopes to make a positive impact in the world, as the fashion industry continues to be the second most polluting industry in the world (Neumann, et al., 2020). However, there are still ways that this company can improve, so that it can access a wider target audience and it can have a larger impact on those around them. This can be done by looking at the Hameide Model (Hameide, 2011). This model is a branding process roadmap that has a range of different steps: the branding decision, the positioning strategy, the brand communication, the brand audit and evaluation and growth or brand repositioning (Hameide, 2011). This report will discuss the brand current position in the market and come to an overall conclusion about how the brand can change to be a more national market and serve a wider target audience, while maintaining its exclusivity.
On the next page is Hameide Model and it shows the importance of a brand audit, this is what will be covered next (Hameide, 2011).
In May 2019, By Megan Crosby was created after, Megan Crosby decided to start a business that was fun fashion but had a positive impact on the environment (Crosby, 2021). The employees work out of a studio space in Portsmouth and all of the orders are made-by-hand, with a bespoke service also being on offer, where consumers can pay to have something made for you that is unique to themselves (Crosby, 2021).
The brands message is to create a joyful experience, where people can be themselves, while having a clear conscience as they have shopped sustainably (Crosby, 2021). This is something that could be made stronger across its touchpoints, during the repositioning, because all though the bright colours as transferred across all touchpoints, everything else could be made stronger.
The brand uses OEKO-Tex to create its bold colours, which are certified environmentally friendly dyes (Crosby, 2021). It is important that the consumer has access to this information on the brands website, because it means they are aware that all elements of the clothing are as sustainable as possible. Furthermore, the bold colours are important for the brand and the consumers self-image, which is something that will be discussed more later on in the report (Comunale, 2008). The colours also contribute to the branding because it provides an unique selling point (USP) for the brand, because most sustainability brands are very basic and this is something that By Megan Crosby is not as it provides consumers with bright and unique clothing, this is something that can definitely be used to its advantage when branding. On the next page which helps us analyse what is wrong with the brand and what approvements could be made in order to fix this (D’Arienzo, 2016).
Website is very overwhelming. Lack of brand identity
Create a more professional website.
Keep the excitement and personality of the owner in the brand while making it less ‘cheesy.’ Use the bright colours but not as many at once.
No one knows about the brand When you click on the ‘about’ section of the website, initially nothing appears.
It is very unique compared to other sustainable brands.
Have sections appear on the ‘About’ page when you click on it.
The sections that are available for the ‘About’ section need to open when you click on that section, as currently it opens blank, but the FAQ and the ‘Behind the Seam’ sections need to be made easier to find so people can connect with the company. Comparison to other sustainable brands.
Use this factor to its advantage to advertise itself as being different.
They need to embrace the fact that they do not sell the ‘expected’ sustainable clothing, they offer clothes with personality instead of just offer basic clothing, like a lot of sustainable brands. This USP is one of their biggest assets.
By Megan Crosby is a brand that targets consumers that have the same personality as itself, in the age range 25-40. The clothing is very colourful and unique, so if the consumer does not want this type of clothing, then it is probably not for them. This links to the self-image of both the consumer and the brand, as in order for the brand to be successful as they need to closely interlinked, something that By Megan Crosby does exceptionally well (Comunale, 2008). This is because the consumer buys the clothing in order to reflect their personality, as it can reflect who the person is or how they wish to be perceived. When buying By Megan Crosby clothing, you will be perceived as being confident and bold (Comunale, 2008).
Furthermore, a key aspect of the brand is about sustainability, as all the clothing is made-to-order and all the materials are recycled or sustainably sourced, therefore it is likely that the consumer will have similar morals, as when ordering clothing from here, they have to be aware that it is not like the fast fashion companies, as they have to wait 4-6 weeks for their order (Crosby, 2021). This is a good market to target, as the amount of people shifted towards buying more sustainable items is constantly growing, with 85% of consumers trying to becoming more sustainable in the last 5 years, which is a trend that is showing across all age groups (Jain et al, 2021).
For an example of the target consumer, please see Appendix 1. The photo in the appendix, gives a suggestion of what the ideal target consumer would look like, with a description below about what they might be like. The picture is of Megan Crosby, as the brand perfectly portrays her personality and most importantly, her style. Therefore, it is likely that consumers who shop at her brand, are very like minded to her.
• Clear personality traits- the consumer can relate to the brand (Self-image).
• Morals that the consumer can easily relate to, which make it easier for the consumer to get an idea of what the brand believes in, therefore encouraging the purchasing decision.
• Bespoke service gives a sense of exclusivity.
• Regularly interacts with consumers on Instagram.
• On their Instagram posts, they always have a section under the post called “Reasons she rules,” this shows all the best elements about a garment.
• Sustainable fashion in an unique way.
• Logo is simple but effective- it is easy to read and in a pretty pink, which allows it to stand out from other brands, which now tend to be black and white.
• Easy to connect with the owner
• Potential for a very loyal customer base.
• Could become more exclusive and strengthen brand loyalty.
• Could collaborate with someone who has the same morals, for example, Zoella (they already follow the brand on Instagram).
• Website could do with some improvements
• The website- a lot to take in and some parts are difficult to navigate.
• Not very active on Tiktok, as it is becoming a more popular form on social media.
• No regular blog posts- none since November 2020.
• Due to it being so unique, they may struggle to expand.
• Other sustainable brands
• Too close to the brand- may not want to change the brand, because it means too much to the individuals.
By Megan Crosby has a strong position in its market for its style of clothing, because it does not have many competitors, as those it does have tend to be small, independent brands as well, for instance, With Love Evie and Mary Benson (Jordan, 2021). These brands also have bright and unique clothing, which is also made sustainably (Jordan, 2021).
However, in the sustainable market, it is not very well known. This is because some brands, are actively making sure that they are known and are wide-spread, however ‘By Megan Crosby’ is still only small therefore it has a long way to go before being as well-known as other sustainable brands. However, it would be possible for it to do become wide spread, because it has a great USP and the personality of the brand, once made stronger, gives it the opportunity to be hugely successful (Posner, 2015).
Furthermore, it is good at communicating with its consumer, as it covers a wide range of social media. See appendix 2, for an insight of its social media with the amount of followers it has and how often it shares content. The table shows that it is most active on Instagram, where daily content is posted as well as good interaction with the consumer, however all other forms of social media lack content. This means that even though it has an account, posts are not regular and therefore not attracting a large audience. This can be seen through apps such as Tiktok, that allows consumers to see a quick 15 second snippet of the brands day. Furthermore, if people are watching other videos that have something in common with the brand, for example sustainability and slow fashion or bright clothing, the brand’s videos will then be shown to the potential customer.
It is important that it keeps up to date with all social media content, because social media has completely changed the way the fashion industry acts in the past 10 years, as it now allows brands to become closer than ever before to the consumer, with the amount of information available to consumers just one click away (Bendoni, 2018). Furthermore, it has altered the brand’s role in the marketplace, as the brand now has to make customers chase it by creating hype on products, because if it falls behind on social media, then it is very hard to get back up to the top, as influencers and bloggers start promoting the next big thing (Bendoni, 2018). When used successful, it is a very cheap marketing tool, that is available for anyone to see at all hours of the day.
However, some of By Megan Crosby’s other touchpoints are not as strong, for example the website (Lee et al, 2013). This is because it can be seen as being quite overwhelming as there is a lot going on and it is hard to navigate. This is something that definitely needs to be strengthened as it is its main touchpoint currently, therefore suggesting it should also look at expanding to other touchpoints, for example, stores (Lee et al, 2013).
The tone of voice which the brand uses is very good for communicating with the consumer, as it makes them feel as though it is the consumers friend and somebody who they can trust, which is something that will help it to gain loyalty and have a personal connection with the consumer (Huang et al, 2012). This is something that needs to stay the same and it is a USP.
Currently, this brand is heavily targeting one very specific group, however in order to continue growing, a decision needs to be made, whether it wants to be either more exclusive or aim for the mass-market. Currently, it is doing well for the consumers it has, however due to products being unique with a long waiting time, consumers are likely to continue to be loyal to other brands, as well, therefore there is an opportunity for something to be done about this. The table looks at whether it is more beneficial to concentrate on becoming more exclusive or catering for the mass market:
The brand also needs to change the website and its social media presence, because that is its main way of marketing, however currently it is not offering much of an experience and the website could be seen as overwhelming (See Appendix 3.), therefore by changing this slightly it could become easier for the consumer. Furthermore, while it is very present on Instagram, some of its other socials lack content, therefore this is an area where there is definitely areas for improvement.
The brand needs to widen its range of touchpoints and make sure that there is a strong message present, as while it has a lot of personality, the fact it is sustainability and helping to fight fast fashion gets lost, this is something that needs working on (Lee et al, 2013; Posner 2015). It is also important it offer more of an experience, as the importance of this is growing to its consumers (Lee et al, 2013).
• Consumers are very loyal
• ‘Hype’ is created by consumers wanting the products .
• Gives them a strong competitive advantage.
• Not a wide target market and is less likely to continue growing
• Needs to have a strong well-
• Large consumer baseopportunity to keep growing.
• The brands has good moral, that more people are now relating to.
• Very expensive
• Unique brand so might struggle
• Bespoke clothing may struggle among the fast fashion giants
By Megan Crosby could definitely benefit the national market, as the amount of consumers wanting more sustainable goods is constantly growing, as the effects of fast-fashion get progressively worse, consequently pushing people towards slow fashion, suggesting this is the chance for By Megan Crosby to aim for the national market and eventually the international market (Jain et al, 2021).
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and changes in purchasing patterns, people now are wanting less of the ‘throw away’ fashion and more long-lasting clothing, this is because not only is it more beneficial to the environment, it helps people to fall in love with pieces of clothing again and not constantly replacing it with something new (Jain et al, 2021). This is definitely something that By Megan Crosby’s beautiful bright clothing has the capability of doing and this is the perfect opportunity for it to reposition and expand.
By Megan Crosby should focus on becoming more exclusive by targeting a wider audience, because the more people that know about it and what it has available to offer, the more hype that will be created over the products which it has. Furthermore, this will help to promote sustainability and slow fashion, making people think more about it and start shopping at brands away from the fast-fashion giants.
By becoming more exclusive, it makes people want to pay the more premium prices for the clothing and with every order being bespoke, it means that it will not be getting more than it can handle currently, however it will give it opportunities to grow in the future, as it will have the demand to do so.
In order to become more exclusive, it needs to offer more of an experience to the consumers. This can be done in multiple ways, for example, having pop-up stores in John Lewis stores, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols, because by doing this, it gives people an opportunity to see the brand in real life, therefore seeing the personality of the owner and what it has to offer. This in itself creates exclusivity because if it a rare thing, people will want to go to the pop-up locations to see what the brand has to offer. During these pop-up stores they need to give the people an experience, so that they remember it and decide to shop with them again, for example the first 50 people to go get a ticket to an all paid for exclusive party or the first 100 people get a free personalised gift with every purchase, this will create help to create hype for the brand.
Another way it could do this is by sending out a scrunchie with every order in a new upcoming fabric, so people know what to expect from upcoming ranges and are getting more than they expected, as this will make people want to shop again to see what clothing has been designed in them fabrics. Furthermore, this could become a social media competition, for consumers who have received a scrunchie to guess what kind of outfit their material will be made out of and if they are close they could win a discount off their next order. By doing this, it would not only get its current consumers talking about it, but also make awareness to those who have not heard of it yet.
Finally, a way they could become more exclusive in the UK is by using influencers to promote the brand. A perfect influencer to work with would be Zoe Sugg and her company, Zoella, as they currently already follow the brand on Instagram and have mentioned it in a post, therefore suggesting that they are interested in the brand, therefore possibly meaning there is opportunity for them to promote it (See Appendix 4.). It would be the perfect match for the brand, because they have a similar message about spreading positivity and acting more sustainably, while having the same target market as By Megan Crosby. Furthermore, they offer something known as the Tuesday Takeover, where an owner of a company takes over the Instagram account, answering any questions and allowing people to get to know them, this would be a great opportunity for the owner Megan Crosby, to allow people to get to know her further (Instagram, 2022). This is something that I have recommened to the Zoella Instagram account.
An important area for the repositioning to be successful, is for the brand’s message to be stronger across all touchpoints (Lee et al, 2013). The brand’s message is about positivity and promoting slow fashion and sustainability, however this message is sometimes lost, because there is a lot going on across its current touchpoints. For instance, on its Instagram account, there are tips about how the consumer can be sustainable or how the clothing is sustainable under each post, however this is likely to sometimes be missed because the captions are very long and people prefer shorter captions, as they are easier to read (See Appendix 5.) Furthermore, the areas about it being sustainable and promoting slow fashion are not anywhere when you first go on the website, instead you are greeted by a wide range of colours, which could be overwhelming and it takes the focus away from the message.
Therefore, if the colours are toned down and the brand’s values and message is made more available for consumers to see as soon as they enter on the page, they are likely to relate with it and continue shopping. Furthermore, by sticking to one colour or a range of colours of the same tone, it will further strengthen the brand. This could mean keeping the rainbow, however only doing it in one colour palette, instead of several. The bright colours are the best for this brand, because it helps to portray the joyfulness of the company’s self-image and its consumers (Comunale, 2008). By doing this it also keeps its personality of excitement, which is something that the consumer can relate to and when trying to create a hype over the brand, it is something that will definitely help (Posner, 2015).
Furthermore, the website needs to be made easier to navigate, as when trying to access some areas, sometimes what you are looking for does not appear straight away. For example, the Abouts page, as when clicked on nothing initially appears. This is not good for when the consumer is on the website, as they assume it will be easy to locate, therefore when they see it empty, are likely to exit the page. This is something that needs working on and the website needs to be perfect for customers to be able to engage. Due to this being the main touchpoint currently, this needs to be a main focus as if consumers are given a bad impression they are unlikely to return.
Social media is such an important marketing tool for brands now and consumers expect you to be posting, otherwise they forget, therefore regular content across all platforms is important.
This means that although it is regular on Instagram, it is not regular on growing platform Tiktok, which is quickly becoming a popular form of social media, for a wide range of ages and gives people time to watch a short daily video about the brand and what they offer.
It also gives people opportunities to interact with the videos with their own short videos. This links to its lack of Youtube channel. If it were to develop a Youtube channel it could create blogs in a video format about why the brand was created, what is the inspiration behind the clothing and go into depth about the owners background. This would give consumers a chance to connect with the brand and the people behind it and those who create the clothes. This would also give it an opportunity to be able to strengthen the message once again.
When repositioning, it could focus on giving styling advice. By doing this, it furthers its bespoke service and gives consumers an enjoyable and helpful experience, which many brands do not offer. For example, the different ways they could style a skirt for different events or a could pair a basic item with one of its pieces for those who do not feel as confident yet (See Appendix 6.). This could be linked with its pinterest account, as this is now where many people look at ways to style an item of clothing and outfit ideas. This would be a good way for the brand to interact with its consumers on another touchpoint (Lee et al, 2013).
There are many ways in which By Megan Crosby could become more exclusive by targeting a wider market and these are just a few suggestions, however for a full 5-year plan on how they could reposition please continue to the next section.
• Improve social media presencetiktok and instagram.
• Focus on brand message and strengthen it. Decide a theme and colour and make the brand message known
• Focus on pop-up shops, at Selfridges and John Lewis. Start to host exclusive parties for main consumers, creating hype.
• Focus on expanding the blog and if successful, start a Youtube channel. If it is a slow start, start a year later.
• Start planning pop-up stores, in the right locations, depending on most popular locations at the time.
• Target market should have grown.
Year 3
• Start styling section, offering people advice on a one-to-one basis and concentrate on pinterest, giving people tips.
• Brand has a strong message and is now very exclusive and something which many people want. They work with relevant influencers and are looking at getting a permanent store in Selfridges.
• Start looking at expanding internationally
Year 4
• Start looking at which influencers would be successful, for example Zoella and start working towards this.
• Make sure social media is still doing well.
• By this point, hype about the brand should have started spreading.
- H&M for basics
- 25-40 age group
- Females
- Aged 30
- London
- Creative job
- Single
- Apartment
- Going to the theatre
- Traveling
- Local, independent shops- organic, coffee bar
- Feminism
- Independent cocktail bar
- Free
- Yoga/meditation
- Volunteer
@Crosby, 2022
Instagram 68,000 Daily Shorter captions and connect with influencers
Tiktok 225 Only started in September 2021 and none since start of November
Post videos that people can interact with. Videos that explain what the brand is but make poeple want more.
Facebook 445 None since 2019 Have pop ups of the outfits
Get involved with topics that the consumers relate to and tweet things that consumers will relate to.
Youtube Create a channel, posting videos that tell consumers about the brand and what they do etc.
LinkedIn 28 None Keep professionally up to date with people who have the same interests etc
Pinterest 84 Not Regular
Share outfit ideas that its consumers will be interested in, giving them inspiration. Can link to the website.
(As of 30th November 2021)
Need to be up to date with what people want. New yearmeans new clothing.
Lot of colours- different tones, which loses the brand. Sometimes pastel, sometimes really bright.
Moving at different speeds which can be overwhelming.
Nothing posted on blog since 2020
@Crosby, 2022
Important brand message so should be first thing consumer sees
Cute but no meaning behind them. Opening page is very important and this is wasted space
Zoella is the perfect brand for By Megan Crosby, because both Zoe Sugg and the team at Zoella have the positivity of the brand, bringing across the joy and no filter aspects of their lives.
(All pictures sourced from Instagram, @zoella, @ zoesugg)
Let’s get layering loves.… meet our first ever coat!
Important about their first coat, however everything is repeated.
Caption from post on the 6th October 2021 on the By Megan Crosby Instagram page (@bymegancrosby)
Major BMC moment alert - our first ever coat is here, and she’s a faux fur icon. We sourced the most amazing fluffy faux fur fabric. which has been created with OEKO-TEX certified dye to turn her into this elegant buttery lemon yellow beauty. She’s got ultra glam diamante buttons and a soft satin lining that features our Cowboy Babe print. She honestly couldn’t be any more amazing!
Made to order
Deadstock faux fur
Oeko-Tex certified Crew neck
Diamante buttons
Two side slit pockets
Hook and eye closure
Boxy fit
Lined in Cowboy Babe print recycled satin
Repeating some stuff from the first paragraph. This is more straight to the point and easy to read.
What do vou think babes?! We are *+ beyond *+ obsessed
The Wild Flowers collection arrives October 15th @ 60m
BST. Wanna be first in line. babe? Click the link in our bio to, sign up to mv Rainbow Mail mailing list and get early access to shop from 5.30pm on launch night... it’s gonna be amaze gorge!
Very long caption- not many people will actually get to the bottom so wasted time.
These photos shows the kind of photos which it could post about what people can pair the clothing with and advice about how they can style it depending on what the occasion is.
I have styled it in this way because it keeps with the cute vibe that is given off the website.
Due to the photos being outside, it links back to the importance of sustainability and that the planet is important to the brand.
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