Marketing Plan: Ref Sunglasses

NILZETE VASCONCELOS FASHION MARKETING I MARKETING PLAN

Sunglasses

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CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY MARKET INSIGHTS MARKETING OBJECTIVES MARKETING STRATEGIES PRODUCT PRICE PROMOTION PLACE

STRATEGIES’ VALIDATION

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EXECUTIVE SUMARY

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Reformation, as a brand inspired by its founder feeling of change and unconformity about the fashion industry, needs to be constantly aware of the market opportunities.

One of them is the opportunity of expanding into new products categories. Therefore, this Marketing Plan is focused on present the Ref Sunglasses collection, which is designed to strengthen the Reformation tagline of �Being naked is the #1 most sustainable option. Reformation is #2.� In other words, this collection is more than giving to the customer a bigger assortment, is given to them the idea that Reformation is creating more possibilities of having a sustainable way of fashion.

In an oval frame, a trend for Spring/Summer 2018, the Ref sunglass collection will provide eco-friendly products made with renewable natural sources. It will cost $149 each and it will be available in three options, with the same bamboo frame and different color of lenses.

The products will be placed in Reformation stores and website, and in specialty stores and their e-commerce. The promotion will be made through a launch event, press release, Instagram posts and deals with social media influencers. This will increase the brand penetration, build brand awareness and increase sales.

Moreover, with the implementation of this Marketing Plan, Reformation will strength the sustainable and social impact, create more experience in store,

Sunglasses

increase

popularity, and also provide a great competitive advantage to Reformation since its competitors don’t offer eco-friendly sunglasses.

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MARKET INSIGHTS

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PESTEL Analysis SWOT Analysis Weaknesses • Limited experiences in and out of store • Limited quantity of products in-store • Narrow assortment

Opportunities • Consumer values - sustainability and social impact • Expand in new product categories • Expand network of stores – create more environmentally aware locations • In store events/experiences • Popularity – importance of using relevant influencers

Social

Competitors

Reformation not just have to push sales, but to attend millennials customers needs because they have grown more discerning and make decisions based on information which they can acquire easily from several resources.

sustainable and trend driven

Technological

sunglasses to their

Reformation needs to interact with the consumers through social media because, especially because millennials make choices after researching everything, discuss with others, and share their views.

customers

The current most Reformation competitors don’t offer eco-friendly

Environmental Sustainability has become a key influencer of the consumers’ purchasing decisions. So, Reformation is already aware of it. However, the brand need to educate the costumer, making then active in the sustainable process.

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MARKETING OBJECTIVES

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BUILD BRAND AWARENESS

Within the first week after launch, we will see 10 outlets pick up our press release, 4000 visits on the website, and 8000 visits on Instagram.

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INCREASE BRAND PENETRATION

Within the first 3 months after launch, we will see 4 stores and 4 websites selling the product

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INCREASE SALES

Increase 10% of sales in the first 3 months after launch

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MARKETING STRATEGIES

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PRODUCT Ref is the eco-friendly sunglass collection made with renewable natural sources The frames are made from bamboo and the lenses from renewable plant based plastic by house specialists in sustainable sunglasses Three options of lenses color (brown, grey and blue)

Sunglasses

Oval frame 1990’s trend S/S 18

No petroleum-based plastic frames, avoiding the global dependence on oil

Bamboo matures rapidly, and is not killed by harvesting. It is a durable and resistant material, which is excellent for this kind of product that gets heavy use 10

PRODUCT Each sunglasses come in a handcrafted

Ref Bamboo-Box

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PRICE Based on location, sustainable consciousness, and materials, utilized to make the sunglasses, it was selected three potential Ref Sunglasses’

$149

competitors to help in the pricing process

Sunglasses

$35 - $95

$125 - $375

Analyzing the price-range of the sustainable sunglasses companies selected, Ref Sunglasses will have a competitive price, but keeping

$120

prioritizing the quality and design of the materials that the customers want.

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PLACE It will be first presented in a

launch event in-store

The Ref sunglasses collection will be displayed in the Reformation stores in a wood triangle format furniture that has already been used to expose some small articles.

The collection will be sold on thereformation.com. After open the “Shop” tab, the costumer will click on “Ref Sunglasses”, and navigate through the styles, being aware of the materials used in each product.

Specialty stores and their websites will also be used to sell the pieces. Sunglasses Hut is a great idea because of its big capillarity in the USA.

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PROMOTION Before launch Press release about the launch in renewed news media Send an invitation card to the influencers to the event – they will post on their stories Posts on Instagram of the sustainable materials used to make the sunglasses, two weeks before the launch, instead of show the product Promote on Instagram stories the launch event in Reformation stores

After launch Event Launch In store with free cocktails, DJ, influencers presence, and 15% OFF in the sunglasses

Influencers The Good Trade – 43,4K ByAmyAnn Cadwell “dedicated to social good”

Sustainably Chic– 82,6K Nataly Kay “conscious wardrobe” We Wore What– 1,7M Danielle Bernstein “aesthetic for all things”

Press release, communicating competitive advantage of the product Posts and Stories on Instagram showing styles and sustainable materials Collaboration with one influencer which is sustainable conscious to often promote the product in her Instagram Gifting Influencers with the product with a product’s information card Part of the sunglasses revenue will be donated to build eye clinics in India Reformation will plant four trees for every sunglasses sold

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STRATEGIES’ VALIDATION

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PRODUCT

PRICE

Since one of the brand’s weaknesses is ”narrow assortment”, Ref Sunglasses is a very relevant strategy to increase the diversity of products. Another weak aspect of the brand is the “limited quantity of products in-store”, which makes sense to create a collection, instead of a single style.

Since Reformation has a high pricerange among its competitors, giving to the customer the quality products that they demand, Ref Sunglasses followed this idea in the pricing decision.

Sustainability, a frequent aspect observed in the market overview, is fully provided by the product since it is made from bamboo and plant-based plastic.

Bamboo was chosen as the main source because it is a grass that grows eight times faster than hardwood, it matures rapidly, and is not killed by harvesting.

The Ref Sunglasses design is intentionally made in order to attend the customer desire of being “on-trend”.

This product will build brand awareness in a way that people will easily recognize the product and seek crazily for it.

Compared with the potential competitors, selected by location (CA and NY based), sustainable consciousness, and materials, Ref Sunglasses will have a competitive price, but still prioritizing quality over cheap materials.

The price of $149 for a pair of sunglasses is adequate because of the product cost.

The materials (bamboo, plant-based plastic) and the specialty labor utilized in the fabrication are expensive when compared to the regular sunglasses manufacturing.

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PLACE The product will be first introduced in a launch event in-store. The wood triangle format furniture used to display the collection validates the simplicity and sophistication idea of the brand. Also, this piece of furniture brings the association with recycling by the triangle format from the brand’s logo.

Ref Sunglasses will be sold on thereformation.com, providing a faster purchase process, very required by the Millennials generation.

One of the opportunities from the SWOT analysis is “Expand network of stores – create more environmentally aware locations”. Therefore, the strategy of introducing the collection in specialty stores will help to increase the brand penetration over the country.

PROMOTION Since in-store events/experiences were analyzed in the SWOT as both a Weakness and an Opportunity to Reformation, the launch event it will be the first step to create an engagement between brand and customer.

Press releases before and after the product launch will help to achieve one of the marketing objectives, build brand awareness.

Deals with influencers will give the opportunity to reformation become more popular, interacting with the consumer through sustainable conscious Instagram bloggers. The suggestions of influencers that can be used it was based on location (U.S.A.), sustainability and popularity.

Danielle Bernstein is not explicitly sustainable conscious but has a lot of followers in common with reformation.

Weeks before the product launch, the brand will create buzz with mysterious posts, showing only the materials and clues about the product. This will make people visit the Instagram more frequently.

An opportunity that Reformation will have through the Ref Sunglasses is following the consumer values of sustainability and social impact, making them part of the process through the donation to clinics in India and the plantation of trees when they buy the product.

Sales will be increased with the discount in the launch event and all the exposition that the brand will get with the implementation of this Marketing Plan.

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