1

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen

Creative Strategy and Promotion Document

Zara Butler w18001586 BA (Hons) Fashion Communication Final Major Project

1

Concept

6

The Four Characters

8

Rationale

9

Target Audience

14

Market Analysis

15

Competitor Analysis

17

SWOT Analysis

18

PEST Analysis

22

Primary Research

27

Secondary Research

Content Strategy

29

Costs and Budget

35

Social and Ethical

42

Responsibility

Risk Assessment

43

Promotion Strategy

44

Timeline

56

The Future

57

One and Three Year Plans

58

References

59

Appendix

61

Confessions referred

to

of as

a

Nostalgia

Queen

Confessions)

is

a

(also

website

where users can delve into a world of 90s and 00s chick flick nostalgia. The site allows users to explore the world of Cher Horowitz and her top fashion tips, discover how to get what

you

how

to

want

like

develop

Regina

a

George,

‘couldn’t

learn

care

less’

attitude like Kat Stratford, or how to get a girly glow-up like Laney Boggs.

The website is for everyone, but it is aimed specifically towards 18-25 year-olds as they are

the

age

nostalgia. bringing

group

Our

totally

platform

people

obsessed is

together

with

focused through

on their

mutual love of nostalgia. We want to create a

space

that

is

safe

our

website

and

uplifting

for

all

users.

Through

you'll

find

pages

dedicated to each of the four characters, featuring

original

imagery,

video

edits,

Spotify playlists and more. As well as the character pages, you'll be able to sign up for our

four-month

subscription

box.

Each

month's box will be inspired by one of the characters. Not only that but you'll also be able to delve into our collaboration edit with ASOS, titled The Confessions Edit. Discover looks that will turn you into the most stylish nostalgia queen!

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The website is the home of Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen and will act as a fun and positive realm to the past where everything is carefree.

There will be an explore page where you can pick one of the four characters and delve into their world. Each character's page will feature original imagery, video edits, blog posts, Spotify playlists and more all inspired by the character.

As well as the character pages, there will be a merchandise section of the website where users can purchase character-inspired merchandise in the form of phone cases, notebooks, tote bags, and stickers all at a reasonable price.

Alongside that, there will be a chatroom section of the website where users can chat and interact with their fellow chick flick lovers so they can form a fun and positive community.

URL: https://zarabutler09.wixsite.com/confessionsnostalgia

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Confessions

of

a

Nostalgia

Queen

is

partnering

with

ASOS

to

create

a

collection of ASOS Edits titled The Confessions Edit. Each edit will feature ASOS clothing items, accessories, and shoes inspired by the fashion sense, personality, tastes and aesthetic of the four characters. On the Confessions website, there will be a page dedicated to the edit where it will explain what it is and display mockups and images from the edit.

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A four-month, or one-off subscription box service which offers the audience a physical part of the chick flick nostalgia. The subscription service is over a fourmonth period as the website is dedicated to four characters. Each box will be inspired by one of the characters, starting with Cher and ending with Kat. Users will have the option of purchasing one of the boxes of their choice if they don't want to subscribe to the full four months. The contents of the boxes will be materialistic items that radiate 90s and 00s energy, such as lipgloss, scrunchies 90s shoulder bags etc. Each box will include a disposable camera, then the other items will be inspired by the character of that particular box.

The items

will all be sourced from small businesses such as Etsy stores to help support these independent businesses.

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Cher Horowitz

Regina George

Cher Horowitz is the main protagonist

Regina George is the main antagonist

in the iconic 1995 film, 'Clueless.' She is

and

a sweet, fashionable, ditzy teenager. A

iconic 2004 film, 'Mean Girls.'

lot of people find comfort in this film

is known as the queen bee and is the

and character as 'Clueless' and Cher

leader of the mean girl group named

radiate

Cher

'The Plastics.' She is bitchy, rich, and

also has an amazing sense of style that

high maintenance. Despite all of this,

is beloved by many people. Her style

she

has been used to inspire many fashion

target

trends.

iconic her character is. Everyone loves

Grande

6

warm

Two and

and

fun

famous Iggy

energy.

singers;

Azalia

Ariana

have

even

her

'head

is

bitch

in

charge'

of

Regina

extremely

popular

with

audience

because

of

hilarious pink

one-liners,

used her looks as inspiration for their

personality,

aesthetic

music videos.

power that she holds.

the

the how

bitchy and

the

Laney Boggs Laney Boggs is the main protagonist in

Kat

the

characters

1999

premise

7

Kat Stratford

film, of

'She's film

The

in

one

the

of

the

main

popular

1999

chick

flick, '10 Things I Hate About You.' She

outdated now but it remains iconic for

is strong-minded, anti-social and is a

its extreme 90s aesthetic. Laney isn't

nonconforming

your

especially

main

is

That.'

is

extremely

typical

the

All

Stratford

character,

she's

feminist.

popular

with

Kat the

is

target

presented as an awkward and clumsy

audience because of how badass she

artsy student. She is smart, kind and

is and the 'couldn't care less' attitude

strong-minded but she is seen as being

that she has. A lot of people relate to

unattractive until she has a so-called

her

magical makeover, which is a classic

perfect girl, she's misunderstood and

90s trope. Laney is popular with the

more

target audience because she is very

ground and doesn't change who she is

relatable, she isn't popular or rich and

or what she believes unless she wants

the audience often relates to that.

to.

because

realistic

she

and

isn't

she

your

typical

stands

her

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is a fun, positive and uplifting platform where you can escape reality and transport yourself to the nostalgic warmth of the past.

As a society, we are becoming more and more addicted to social media, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic began. Social media has been found to detrimentally affect one’s mental health and self-esteem and this issue is getting increasingly worse as the digital age continues to grow. Research by Primak et al (2017) demonstrates the association between consistent social media use, and increased symptoms of depression and anxiety in

young

adults,

proving

its

impact

on

the

newer

generation.

The

reality

of

our

dependency on social media revolves around our desire to constantly keep up with the lives of our friends, family and public figures, and this can be incredibly draining for some.

The negative impact this can have on our mood often leads people to seek alternative forms of comfort, such as reminiscing on the past, as "People become nostalgic in response

to

adversity

or

psychologically

negative

states."

(Sadie

Dingfelder,

2019).

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is an online platform that provides an escape from the negativity of social media, by allowing you to immerse yourself in a positive and nostalgic world of chick flick heaven. The platform allows users to consume digital media without the negativity, creating a platform that is online also allows users all across the world to access it. Feeling nostalgic has been shown to have positive effects on our mental health - it has demonstrated significant benefits on self-esteem, social connectedness and attitudes towards life (Tim Wildschut, 2016).

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Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is a platform that will appeal to all of the nostalgia and chick flick lovers of the world. These people feel joy whilst rewatching shows and films from the 1990s and early 2000s and love that trends from those decades are coming back into fashion.

The approximate age range for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is 18-25year-olds, the generations that fall into this age range are Generation Z and the beginning of the Millennial generation. They are the age groups that are steering the '90s and '00s comebacks which makes them the perfect audience for

Confessions

generation

as

of

they

a

Nostalgia

are

the

only

Queen.

Gen

generation

Z

to

is

known

completely

as

the

grow

digital

up

in

a

technological world. Almost everything that they do is based online, according to Aimee Hughes (2021), members of Gen Z typically spend 10.6 hours a day engaging with online content.

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Target Persona

Name: Lily Jackson

Hobbies/Interests: Making TikTok videos, going out with friends and

Age: 21, Gen Z

family, meditating, fashion, music, travelling

Gender: Female Brands Preferences: Motel Rocks, Location: London, UK

House of Sunny, ASOS

Occupation: Fashion Marketing

Lifestyle: Colourful and fun fashion

(Styling) student @ Regent's University

sense, loves 90s trends, loves going

London/part-time Stylist at AllSaints

out for food and drinks, drives a Mini Cooper

Relationship Status: Single Values: Has a carefree and Social Status: Skilled Working Class

adventurous personality, votes leftwing, believes that everyone should

Annual Income: £5,6k 10

have equal rights and equal pay

Target Persona

Name: Harry Wilson

Hobbies/Interests: Creating content for social media, going

Age: 25, Millennial

out with friends, watching chick flicks and reality tv, listening to

Gender: Male

music, keeping up with the latest trends

Location: Manchester, UK Brands Preferences: Zara Man, Occupation: Social Media

boohooMAN, ASOS

Assistant at boohooMAN

Lifestyle: Basic and trendy sense Relationship Status: Single

of style, is a social butterfly, loves to cook

Social Status: Skilled Working Class

Values: Strongly supports the LGBTQ+ Community, votes left-

Annual Income: £20k 11

wing, has a positive mentality

Target Persona

Name: Lauren Robertson

Hobbies/Interests: Going out with friends, online shopping,

Age: 23, Gen Z

binge-watching tv shows and movies, listening to 90s/00s

Gender: Female

music, following fashion trends

Location: Newcastle, UK

Brands Preferences: ASOS, Juicy Couture, Motel Rocks

Occupation: Business and Management student @ Northumbria

Lifestyle: 90s/Y2K inspired style,

University/part-time Sales Assistant at

enjoys watching chick flicks from

New Look

the 90s and 00s, drives a Fiat 500

Relationship Status: In a relationship Values: Isn't afraid to speak her Social Status: Skilled Working Class

mind on important issues such as women's rights and racial

Annual Income: £4,9k 12

equality, votes left-wing

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"Generation Z (born after 1995) spend a whopping

10.6 hours engaging with online content every single day." (Aimee Hughes, n.d.)

"88% of Gen-Z prefers omnichannel branded experiences." (Morning Consult).

"61% of Gen-Z is willing to pay more for products that are produced ethically and sustainably" (Facebook, IQ).

"54% of Gen-Z says social media influences them more than any other marketing channel."

"25% of Gen Z consumers in the UK have bought products they saw advertised by an influencer." (Joseph Johnson, 2020)

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PRODUCT Capsule

TOUCHPOINTS

98

podcast.

is

nostalgia-based

website

Capsule

98

use

a

variety

of

touchpoints

to

pieces about pop culture events and trends from

their website, their podcast and their Instagram

the 90s and the 00s. It also features a series

account; which has 51.3k followers.

different

Diaries'

creatives

where

about

their

many

and

market their brand. Their three biggest ones are

'Bedroom

features

website

written

titled

The

a

they lives

interview and

their

childhoods.

STRENGTHS Their

website

well-known

features

or

up

several

and

interviews

coming

people.

with The

ABOUT

website

The platform was created by writer/editor Randi

meaning

Bergman

They also have a professional photographer on

in

2017

after

she

discovered

a

time

capsule that she had made in 1998. She originally started

documenting

the

items

from

her

was

created

by

the

articles

are

a

professional

all

very

writer,

well-written.

the team.

time

capsule onto an Instagram account, this inspired

WEAKNESSES

the idea of creating a website platform.

-

Their

content

isn't

overly

visual

even

though

nostalgic content usually is

AUDIENCE

- There is nowhere for their audience to interact,

Their audience is particularly millennials as the

e.g. a forum or chatroom

creator is one herself but the platform is there

- There is no product being sold or promoted on

for anyone to visit.

their platforms

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PRODUCT

TOUCHPOINTS

Skinnydip London are a phone case, accessories,

Skinnydip London use a variety of touchpoints to

clothing and lifestyle brand. A big part of their

market their brand. Their two main ones are their

brand is collaborating, they have collaborated

website and their Instagram account; which has

with Disney, Spongebob, CareBears, Barbie and

673k followers.

more. Their products all incorporate a theme of

STRENGTHS

nostalgia.

- Their website has very strong engagement, with

ABOUT The

633.8k total visits over the last 6 months.

company

was

created

by

brothers

James

-

Their

SEO

is

strong,

with

46.27%

of

traffic

and Richard Gold and their friend Lewis Blitz. In

coming from web searches (SimilarWeb, 2021).

2011,

- Their products are very eyecatching and match

shortly

iPhone,

they

after

Apple

realised

launched

that

fun

the

phone

first case

the interests of their target audience well.

designs were very limited and that's where the

WEAKNESSES

Skinnydip London idea came from.

- They are very popular in the UK, with 75.27% of

AUDIENCE Skinnydip's

their brand

but

they

don't

website traffic comes from the USA and all other

Their product collaborations are always centred

countries is less than 2% (SimilarWeb, 2021).

around

- Although their Instagram account has a large

the

nostalgia and nostalgic brands.

Gen

there

consumers but it also appeals towards Millenials.

and

towards

from

have a strong global reach. Only 6.46% of their

trends

aimed

coming

Z

current

is

traffic

popularity

of

following, only 2.17% of their traffic comes from Instagram (SimilarWeb, 2021).

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The recent uprising of nostalgia marketing has become popular, especially with Generation Z and Millennials. This shows that Confessions of a

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen has the possibility of becoming a FAD as the current revival of nostalgia in pop culture might not last for a long time.

Nostalgia Queen will be popular with that audience.

The platform is completely digital, if any technical Social media has been seen to detrimentally affect our mental health, this is causing people to look backwards for comfort, this platform is centred

issues occur this could have a big impact on the success and engagement of Confessions of a Nostalgia Quee

around the feelgood nature of nostalgia meaning that many people would be interested in the platform.

If the promotion isn't effective enough, the website might not gain much of an audience and would therefore be unsuccessful.

There aren’t any platforms specifically dedicated to chick flick nostalgia, meaning there is room for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen to flourish.

The subscription box industry is extremely popular at the minute which could make it difficult for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen's boxes

As social media continues to grow, our mental health will continue to decrease, so there will be an opportunity to create an escape and a distraction from that and create a more positive digital space for everyone.

The collaboration with a brand as big as ASOS will bring more traffic to the site and increase website engagement. It could also create interest from other brands to collaborate with Confessions.

There is already another existing successful nostalgiabased website platform named Capsule 98’, this platform could be competition for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen.

There is the threat of the platform becoming a trend as the current popularity of nostalgia may not last and has the

The market for 90s and y2k fashion is continuing to

possibility of fading out.

grow, with an interest in y2k fashion increasing by 190% in the last five years (Ashley Rose, 2020). This presents an opportunity for Confessions to create a 90s/00s character inspired fashion line.

As the target audience gets older, a new decade of nostalgia will become popular, which is a risk Confessions as our site is tailored towards 90s and 00s nostalgia.

In 2020, there was a total of 15.6 million podcast listeners in the UK (Statista, 2020). Creating a podcast would greatly increase and expand Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen’s audience and increase future revenue.

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Due to the new Brexit deal, international shipping

The website offers easily accessible content,

and customs have changed. If Confessions of a

free of charge.

Nostalgia Queen grew to an international audience, this could make sending the subscription boxes and merchandise difficult.

The subscription box industry is set to "grow by 77% to be worth over

£1 billion by 2022." (Finder, 2021). This shows

that there is a strong interest in this service, meaning it will “From 1 April 2020, the government will introduce a

be successful for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen.

new 2% tax on the revenues of search engines, social media services and online marketplaces which

The UK’s Consumer Confidence index had the highest

derive value from UK users” (Gov UK, 2021). This

reading in April 2021 since March 2020, as the vaccines

could affect Confessions are we are an online-

rapidly roll out and set a promising path for fully reopening

based platform.

the economy (Trading Economics, 2021). This shows that the current situation and resulting retail closures will

Covid-19 is still an extremely pressing issue, with new variants being discovered, we don’t know what

increase audiences desire to spend due to reduced opportunity to do in previous months.

effect that will have on shipping international supplies.

Gen Z account for around 40% of global consumers in 2021, indicating that they’re the most beneficial target group.

The rise in social media use since the Covid-19 pandemic began has caused people to look back for comfort by watching and listening to old films/shows/music via streaming services. This is

Technology is advancing daily with many forms of media moving online, this presents a large market for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen to succeed in.

beneficial for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen as it shows there is a stronger consumer base for the platform.

"73% of marketers believe social media marketing has been "somewhat effective" or "very effective" for their business." This shows that Confessions' promotion

Gen Z are a very environmentally conscious

strategy will be a success.

audience, ensuring that Confessions is an environmentally friendly business is essential.

This will be done by using recyclable packaging for the products.

"According to statistics, worldwide eretail sales are expected to grow to $4.8 trillion by 2021" (Nicole Ferriera, 2019) This presents a huge market for Confessions to enter and at the perfect time.

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The overall product is the whole service that Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen provides to its target audience of 18-30-year-olds. Through a website platform, consumers can explore the world of iconic female characters from four 90s and 00s chick flick films. There is a page dedicated to each of the four characters where consumers can experience a variety of content including, photography, video edits, collages, blog posts and Spotify playlists. As well as a four-month subscription box service that offers consumers a slice of chick flick heaven delivered to them monthly or on a one-off occasion. “Nostalgia has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety” (John Tierney, 2013). Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen aims to hone into the positive effects of nostalgia by creating a space where people can escape the negativity of social media but in a digital and accessible way.

The website is a free and easily accessible platform, there will be merchandise available to purchase on the site to help generate income for the site, but they are all reasonably priced.

The subscription box will be priced at

£25; our subscription box is cheaper than the ones

that are currently on the market, to make it appeal to the target audience more as many of them don’t have a large amount of disposable income. If the box was priced too high, people would be less likely to purchase it. Creating a subscription box also allows people to have their own part of the chick flick nostalgia.

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Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen will be located online which makes it globally accessible to anyone who has access to an internet connection. A benefit of creating a digital platform is that it will be available to a large audience which allows the platform to gain a large amount of engagement. However, promotion is key in driving traffic to a website platform so ensuring that Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is promoted across multiple touchpoints is essential. The subscription box will be available the week after the website is launched to ensure that there is enough website traffic to promote the box towards. It will be a fourmonth subscription, each monthly box will be inspired by one of the four characters, starting will a Cher inspired box and ending with a Laney inspired box. Consumers will have the option of signing up for the full four-month subscription or signing up for a one time purchase of a box of their choice.

Promotion is the key element of making a product or service a success. As a website platform, Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen essentially promotes itself but to initially get the word out about the website, it will be promoted on social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok. Further promotion will be put in place for the subscription box to help increase sales and bring more attention to the website. There will be a Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen Instagram account created where the subscription box will be promoted via grid posts, story posts and sponsored ads. The first month’s subscription box will be sent to a selection of influencers that are popular with the target audience of Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen as their large reach and followings will help increase subscription box sales and website engagement.

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I conducted an Instagram poll survey to see whether the concept of Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen and the idea of chick flick nostalgia would appeal to the target audience.

According to my Instagram insights, my audience consists of 86.3% of 18-24year-olds, 9.8% of 25-34-year-olds, 1% of 35-44-year-olds and 2.2% of 4554-year-olds. The audience is made up of 69.3% women and 30.7% men. I asked my audience which age range they fit in and a large 92% selected the 16-24 age range, meaning that they fit into Generation Z. This shows that the following answers match the beliefs of Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen's intended target audience.

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“When people are stressed, or anxious, or feeling out of control, nostalgia helps calm them down. It’s comforting."

(Krystine Batcho, 2019). I asked the audience whether watching 90s and 00s movies brought them comfort. 89% answered yes, with only 11% answering no, this shows that the research is true and that people often turn back to the past to feel better and happier.

I asked whether the audience view nostalgic content as a form of escapism such as old films/show, old music, nostalgia instagram accounts etc. 92% said yes, with only 8% saying no. This highlights the opportunity to launch a platform like Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen as the audience consume this type of content a lot.

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74% of respondents voted that social media does negatively affect their mental health. This reiterates my earlier research of social media having negative effects on our mental health. These results show that a fun and carefree platform like Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is very much needed.

"Literally nothing's real, have to remind myself that everything is edited daily."

Female, 16-24

"I rely on likes to feel good about myself."

Female, 16-24

"Looking at others bodies and wishing I looked like them."

Female, 16-24 24

"I don't really follow or keep up with things that would have adverse affects."

Female, 16-24

"Seeing skinny girls all the time."

Female, 16-24

"Unrealistic goals - body types, editing, filters, natural features are shown as ugly."

Female, 16-24 "Feel like you have to live up to it and the standards are too high."

Female, 16-24

"Distracting and makes you compare yourself to others."

Female, 16-24

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"Judge my own personal progression based on how other people are doing in life."

Female, 16-24

"Comparison, not everyone is authetic online."

Female, 16-24

81% of respondents said that they would be interested in visiting a nostalgia/chick flick based website, only 19% said they would not. This is great for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen as it supports the idea of a website and the concept of the website. It also shows that the website platform already has an audience that is willing to use it.

84% of respondents said that they'd be interested in purchasing clothing inspired by 90s/00s film characters, with only 16% saying they wouldn't.

This shows that the ASOS Edits collections have the potential of being very successful, as it shows that there is a strong intended market.

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Over recent years, the power of nostalgia for building brands is becoming more prominent. According to a study by YouGov, 55% of people said that if they had the opportunity to time travel that they’d choose to return to the past rather than visit the future. Everyone has felt nostalgic or felt a longing for the past in one way or another which shows how much of a big nostalgia market there is for brands to target.

“The more frantic, complex and responsibility filled our lives become, the more we yearn for simpler times.” (Kate Everett, 2020) The warmth and comfort we experience whilst feeling nostalgic help distract us from the uncertainty of the future. Nostalgia forms an emotional response in people, when brands use this in marketing it creates a connection between the consumer and the brand. This connection often leads to the consumers purchasing from that brand.

Generation Z has a deep love for nostalgia and reviving 90s/00s trend and they are extremely mindful when it comes to choosing a brand to purchase from. Creating a platform around the idea of nostalgia appeals to the target audience’s interests whilst also creating a trustworthy brand.

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As a society, we are addicted to social media, with “the average Brit checking their phone as much as 28 times a day” (Sabrina Barr, 2020). Social media can have many benefits but using it too often can cause detrimental effects to your mental and physical

health.

Many

studies

have

shown

that

there

is

a

correlation

between

symptoms of anxiety and depression and time spent on social media (Elina Mir et al, n.d.).

Many

aspects

of

social

media

can

be

a

cause

for

mental

health

problems,

one

significant one is the lack of reality. I conducted a survey and asked respondents whether social media negatively affects them, to which 74% responded yes. I then asked them to explain why it does/doesn’t negatively affect them, the responses were all very similar. The most common answer was that social media is only a highlight reel of someone’s life, they only post about the good things that happen which can cause us to doubt ourselves and our progress. Another common answer was that social media

makes

you

compare

yourself

to

others

in

achievements and so on.

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen aims to tackle this by creating a fun and positive space for all of its

users.

Nostalgia

has

been

seen

to

positively

affect our mental health as people often look to the

past

to

Confessions

find

steps

comfort in.

The

so

this

platform

is

is

where

digital

to

allow users all across the world to access it but it doesn’t come with the negativity that social media brings to its audience.

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terms

of

body

image,

lifestyle,

The website is the main platform for Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen. It is a digital platform that acts as a fun and positive escape to the nostalgic past of iconic chick flicks. The website will feature a variety of sections and content, such as blog posts, imagery, video, Spotify playlists and more. The website will be updated with new content every month, such as new blog posts.

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The explore page is the landing page for Confessions. This is where the audience can initially learn a little bit about what this site does, and they can also select one of the four characters and explore those individual pages. There is a menu bar underneath the header that allows users to navigate the different sections of the website. The whole site follows a consistent graphic design theme and colour scheme that was inspired by Myspace profiles from the 90s/00s. The bright colours represent the fun energy that Confessions wants to provide users with. It is also very on-brand as the colour scheme matches the aesthetic of 90s and 00s chick flicks.

Four characters from four different 90s/00s chick flicks were chosen as inspiration for this site. On the website, underneath the explore tab on the menu is a drop-down to each character’s page. Each character page follows the same layout and contains the same variety of content. The pages feature video edits and imagery of the characters, and Spotify inspired playlists. As well as this, the pages feature original photoshoots and collages of Gen Z members inspired by the four characters.

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The about us section explains what Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen is and what the audience can expect to see on the site. It also explains why the site was created and needed.

This page explains and shows a sneak peek into the collaboration between Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen and ASOS for The Confessions Edit. The page will be divided into four sections, each section will show the different mini edits. Each mini edit will be inspired by the characters, for example, ‘The Cher Edit.’ The different sections will show photographs and mock-ups of the edit.

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This page features four blog posts for the users to enjoy. Each blog post is written from the perspective of each of the characters about the run-up to prom and how they all feel about it. These posts are a fun way of getting an insight into the minds of these four iconic characters.

This page is where users can purchase character inspired merchandise and the subscription box. The subscription box is available to purchase as the full four-month subscription or as a one-off purchase, if the user chooses the one-off purchase, they can choose whichever of the four boxes they want. There are four different merchandise products available for purchase, a notebook, a phone case, a tote bag and a sticker. Each item has four designs available, which are inspired by the characters.

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The four subscription boxes are an extra addition to the website that will be a physical product that represents Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen, giving users a physical part of the fun. The box will be aimed towards Confessions’ target audience of 18-25-year-olds as they are the audience that is latching onto the current uprising of nostalgia.

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As well as the subscription box, there will be character inspired merchandise available for purchase on the website. There will be four different products available,

including

a

notebook,

phone

case,

tote

bag

and

product will have four different designs, one for each character.

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stickers.

Each

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As a start-up platform, Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen doesn’t have funding or consistent income. Crowdfunding is a great way of raising funds to help new platforms, Confessions will use the company, Crowdfunder, to help with initial costs to ensure that the launch is a success. The target amount Confessions would like to raise would be

£10,000. The crowdfunding page will be promoted

across social media to maximise reach and help meet the target. The money raised will go towards the costs of the website, the subscription boxes, the merchandise and promotion.

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Ensuring

that

your

brand

or

business

is

socially

and

ethically

responsible

is

essential for creating a strong and meaningful brand. Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen stand strongly with being completely transparent to its audience and making sure we are ethical. The target audience of Generation Z believes that “brands have an obligation to take a stand on environmental issues.” This is another reason why being ethically and socially conscious is so important.

Non Recyclable packaging has a huge negative impact on the environment. “In 2017, the UK generated 9.3 million tonnes of packaging waste” (Ribble, n.d.)

Confessions feel very strongly about doing good for the environment, to do our part we are using completely eco-friendly packaging for the subscription boxes and goody bags. The packaging will be made from 90% recycled material and will be fully recyclable.

To ensure that we are being completely transparent, we thoroughly research into brands before supporting or working with them. We want to ensure that we don't work with a brand that has bad morals or one that doesn't actively help the environment. ASOS is a brand that actively works to make its brand more ethical and that is one of the reasons we wanted to work with them. 10% of the profits made from the ASOS Edit collaboration will be donated to Mind, the mental health charity. Our website was created as an escape from the negativity that social media causes to our mental health and donating to Mind will help many people.

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Creating engagement and receiving enough website traffic is essential for any digital

Not Creating

platform. To do this I will create a planned

Enough Website

strategy to promote the platform across a

Traffic

variety of mediums including physical and

High

digital advertisements and social media marketing.

Making enough profit within the first year or

Not Making Enough

launching a platform or business can be

Merchandise Profit

difficult. Investing more money into advertising

Medium

and influencer marketing would help this.

The platform is completely digital, if any technical issues were to occur with the website, it could

Technical Issues

cause the platform to lose sales and not be a success. Investing in having a professional

High

technician on the team would help quickly solve any technical issues that may occur.

Subscription Box Not Containing Items Suited Towards Target

Ensuring that the subscription boxes are tailored to what the target audience is interested in is essential. To make sure this

Low

happens I will analyse my target audience

Audience

thoroughly.

Launching a new platform can be difficult when

Going Over the Budget

it comes to sticking to a set budget. Creating a monthly budget plan and making sure that the

Low

budget is balanced out over the different areas will help.

Some of the merchandise items were going to feature

Copyright Issues

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images of the characters, using these images could cause copyright issues. To prevent this I could use quotes from the characters rather than images.

Medium

Social media is a vital part of promoting Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen as the target audience spends more than 10.6 hours of their daily lives using it. The social media promotion will be primarily through Instagram’s platform as “1 billion+ people use Instagram every month.” (Christina Newberry, 2021). There will be a Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen Instagram account created where a variety of visual and interactive grid posts and story posts will be created. The posts will encourage the audience to engage with the website and purchase the merchandise and subscription box. Furthermore, Instagram has a feature where you can pay to promote your posts, this helps further increase audience reach, this will be a great tool to utilise to gain more interaction.

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I will further promote Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen through the social media platform, Facebook. Although Facebook doesn’t seem to be as popular with the target audience compared with Instagram, “of the total population of the UK, 66 percent of people are Facebook users” (H. Tankovska, 2021). This presents a big market to tailor the promotion towards. The small businesses that are providing the

contents

promotion

for

will

also

promotional posts.

45

the

subscription include

boxes

teasers

of

will

be

promoted

the

subscription

on

Facebook.

boxes

and

The

general

One important factor in social media strategy is using hashtags. Social media users will be encouraged to use the #Confessionsnostalgia and post their stories and memories relating to chick flicks and nostalgia. The top 3 stories will be sent a free item from the merchandise. The hashtag will also be used to promote our account's

posts

to

increase

our

audience

reach.

The

hashtag

will

primarily on Instagram as hashtags are used most effectively on there.

46

be

used

There will be a giveaway competition created to promote the Confessions of Nostalgia promote

Queen the

website

ASOS

and

Confessions

to Edit

collaboration. The competition will be posted

on

the

Instagram

pages

of

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen and ASOS.

To

consumers accounts

enter will

and

the

need

competition,

to

repost

follow

the

both

giveaway

post from their account on their story with the hashtag #ASOSxConfessions.

There

will

drawn

be

who

one

will

winner

receive

randomly the

entire

ASOS Confessions Edit and one of the Confessions subscription boxes of their choice.

The

extremely as

it

will

competition

beneficial increase

for the

will

be

Confessions number

of

followers the account has, as well as widening its audience reach by being exposed to ASOS’s large following of 11.5m.

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There

has

been

a

huge

uprising

of

influencer

marketing

over

recent

years,

according to Influencer Marketing Hub, in 2021 it is expected to reach $13.8 billion. This shows that involving influencers in the promotion of Confessions will be extremely beneficial for building an audience and creating a strong income.

This will be even more beneficial as influencer marketing is very popular with Confessions’ influencer

target

audience

recommendations.”

of

Gen

Several

Z,

with

micro

“50% and

reporting

that

they

macro-influencers

trust

will

be

selected by Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen to be sent the subscription box and they will be asked to do an unboxing on their Instagram stories. This would influence their audience to visit the Confessions website and sign up for the subscription box service.

@chloefraterr

@cinziabayliszullo

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Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen will have a launch party to promote the website launch, where media, influencers, friends and family will be invited. It will take place at 6 pm on the 12th July 2021, which is the same day as the website launch. There will be twenty macro and micro-influencers invited to the launch. As well as three media companies and three fashion brands. It will be held at the bar and restaurant, “Sunset by Australasia” in Manchester. This establishment fits the theme of Confessions very well, with its fun but classy pink colour scheme. The launch party will be sponsored by ASOS to promote The ASOS Confessions Edit. The party will have a chick flick nostalgic theme, with

five

Confessions

of

a

Nostalgia

Queen

inspired

cocktails,

90s/y2k

decorations, themed cupcakes, throwback music, fun chick flick trivia quizzes and a photobooth for guests to enjoy. Guests will leave with a complimentary goody bag, the bag will include a lip gloss, ASOS discount code, a Confessions merchandise item, retro 90s/y2k sweets and a scrunchie.

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There will be a selection of press/media companies and brands invited to the launch party of Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen. They will all be sent an evite asking them to attend the launch event. The companies chosen will all be brands that either has a strong and varied audience, match the website's nostalgia theme, is popular with the target audience or has the potential to collaborate with Confessions in the future.

Cosmopolitan is a fashion and entertainment

The Guardian is a British newspaper and

magazine and digital platform for women. Cosmo

media company that has a large and

is particularly popular with Confessions of a

varied audience. Their wide audience will

Nostalgia Queen's target audience, making them

help bring attention to Confessions.

a great match to invite to the launch.

ELLE is a worldwide lifestyle magazine that focuses on fashion, health, beauty and more.

ELLE's audience is women aged between 18-49, making them a great brand to invite as their readership matches the target audience of Confessions.

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ASOS is a British online fashion and cosmetic

Skinnydip London is a British phone case,

retailer. They are extremely popular with the

lifestyle and accessories brand that is very

target audience due to their clothing always

popular with the target audience. They are

being on-trend and at affordable prices. Their

very big on collaborations, especially

social media strategy is also very strong.

nostalgic ones, e.g. their CareBears,

ASOS is partnering with Confessions of a

PowerPuff Girls collections etc. Inviting them

Nostalgia Queen to create an ASOS Edit,

gives Confessions the opportunity to network

titled The Confessions Edit. They will be

and increase the potential of working with

sponsoring the launch party to help promote

them in the future.

the edit and our site.

Pretty Little Thing is a UK-based fashion retailer that is extremely popular worldwide. PLT is one of the top most popular fast-fashion brands with the target audience. Inviting them to the launch would help promote Confessions as PLT has a large social following. Their brand's aesthetic also matches Confessions very well and would be a great choice for a potential future collaboration.

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I will place an order for the subscription box packaging and the launch event goody bag packaging from Packhelp. This will allow plenty of time for them to be created and sent out. This also allows the packages to be

Confessions will be in contact with

checked with time to replace them if any

ASOS to ensure that the edits will

errors occur.

be ready and on their website in time for the launch

The organisation of the launch party event will be finalised and the e-vites will be sent out to the media companies, brands and influencers

Social media promotion of

that we want to attend.

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen will start to be posted frequently. With teasers and interactive games posted to get the audience excited.

The contents for the subscription boxes and the launch event goody bags will arrive and will be packed and ready to be sent out when the launch happens

More social media promotion will continue, with countdown posts and story games to engage with the followers.

The website will be finalised to

The giveaway competition to win the full

give it even time to test run

ASOS Edit will be posted to ASOS and

before the official launch.

Confessions’ Instagram accounts. More promotional posts and story games will be posted to both Instagram accounts to engage and excite the followers.

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There are a lot of plans set out for the future of Confessions, three months after the initial launch of the website on 12th July 2021, there will be new features introduced to the website.

These features will include user generated content in the form of a yearbook style page where users can write their stories about nostalgia and stories, they have about chick flicks. Creating a

section

where

users

can

post

their

own

content

allows

for

a

more

interactive

site.

Confessions is also hoping to collaborate with another brand, such as Skinnydip London, where they would create a campaign video featuring all of the user generated stories. This would allow Confessions’ audience to feel like a truly special part of the website. All of this is taking place three months after the launch to allow Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen to establish a strong audience and to make sure that more people can get involved in the fun.

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One year after the initial launch of Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen, we plan to have established a strong and consistent audience. This brings on the opportunity to further expand Confessions over other mediums. One of these mediums will be in the form of a podcast. Podcasts are becoming an extremely popular form of entertainment, with over “15 million podcast listeners in the United Kingdom” (Statista, 2021) in 2020. This shows that there is a huge market for podcasting and Confessions would be a great addition to that.

The Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen podcast will be a place where I and a weekly special guest will discuss chick flicks, nostalgia, our childhoods and what movie characters raised us. The podcast will have a segment where users can send us their stories, questions and topics to discuss.

Three years after the initial launch of Confessions, it will have a complete revamp. The website's colour scheme will be updated to suit new trends and at this point, there will be a lot

more

chick

flick

characters

incorporated

into

the

concept.

There

will

also

be

a

Confessions of a Nostalgia Queen app created to go alongside the existing and thriving website. The main feature of the app will be the Confessions Clothing line. The clothing line features

original

clothing

and

accessory

designs

inspired

by

a

variety

of

chick

flick

characters. This allows users to live out their chick flick dreams dressed just like their favourite characters. There will also be a section where users can send us their ideas and designs for new products to the line. This is beneficial for Confessions as a survey showed that 75% of Gen Z said they're more likely to buy a product if they can customize it (

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