Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for Folli Follie

M.Sc in Marketing Management INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for FF Group of Companies SPYROS LANGKOS ID: 100285557 Tutor: Mrs. Margarita Gamaletsou Athens, January 2013 Academic Year 2012 – 2013

....As Gabrielle Coco Chanel once mentioned: “Luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends�

This study concentrates on the integrated marketing communications plan of the Greek company Folli Follie (personal luxury products retailer) and how it is implemented across international culture: the expansion in China.

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1. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Pages

1.

Contents ........................................................................................ 3

2.

Acknowledgements ..................................................................... 4

3.

Executive Summary .................................................................... 5

4.

Introduction ............................................................................... 6

5.

Situation Analysis ...................................................................... .8

6.

Segmentation and Positioning ................................................... .12

7.

Branding and Identity .............................................................. .14

8.

Competitive Positioning ............................................................ .15

9.

Marketing - Communications Objectives .................................... .16

10. Marketing - Communications Strategies .................................... .18 11. Integrated Promotional Mix ...................................................... .19 12. Timescale and Resources ......................................................... .22 13. Evaluation and Control ............................................................ .23 14. Appendix ............................................................................... .24 15. Bibliography .......................................................................... .31

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2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The development and the implementation of this plan are made possible by the appreciation of my family and friends and also to the help of Andrew, the library bookkeeper. I would like to thank, our module teacher Mrs. Margarita Gamaletsou for her guidance so that we can bring closure to our assignment work.

Still, I would like to thank Mrs. Mandalena Kasidiaropoulou, Head of Investor Relations at Folli Follie Group of Companies, for her time and the interesting conversation that we had, over company related matters.

Without the help of these people, my research could not have taken place.

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3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report was created to point out the mixed marketing communications plan for Folli Follie, in order to strengthen the FF Group reputation and motivate the end-user confidence.

Key factors for this communication are International Culture and Access to Global Market. We choose to focus on these two topics, because international employees and customers need more guidelines on these specifics. 



International Culture: raise awareness upon cultural differences and increase diversification rates.

Access to Global Market: to expand the awareness of the impact of the Global Environment in new emerging markets.

The guidelines include: - Branding: create & use consistent message and image Efficiency: create re-usable content & high impact channels, such as a multimedia website and social media - Data metrics: plan activity measurements & future decision making data.

The Goals of this plan form from three levels: 1) Strengthen the reputation of Folli Follie 2) Attract new customers and enhance satisfaction 3) Create engagement and positive industry buzz (word of mouth) The purpose of this plan is to support the practices, policies and the action plan of the Folly Follies Group and relate them with the business goals and vision, in order to raise awareness, loyalty and customer relationship.

This report strongly recommends the enhance of the company’s recent global campaign theme “ What are you crazy for? ”, based on the results of the situation analysis (see below). The primary targets of this communications are the Chinese youth, the international employees of the group and the Chinese post-modern woman & man. Secondary targets are China’s major cities, fashion shows, local agencies.

We have investigated the possible launch of the Folli Follie in China, where we will try to combine the Folli Follie’s “way of doing” with the local Chinese market.

Our mission therefore, is to successfully introduce the brand, while paying attention to the Chinese needs and expectations.

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4. INTRODUCTION In his book (Fill, 2010), addresses IMC as an on the go process of establishment and development by organizations. Recent technological advances and the benefits of the Internet and its related technologies have given new meaning in marketing communications and gave managers a new reason to re-consider . As my Professor Mrs. Gamaletsou notes “ International marketing communications is still nowadays an area of importance to organizations operating in national and international markets.” Of course that is a statement of great significance and truth, but the real meaning of what is IMC and for what is needed is argued by Delozier (1967). Delozier (1967), defined IMC as, “ the process of presenting an integrate set of stimuli to a market with intent of evoking a desired set of responses within that market set and setting up channels to receive, interpret and act upon messages from the market for the purpose of modifying present company messages and identifying communication opportunities”.

4.1 History and achievements of the company Folli Follie is a Greek company which designs, manufactures and distributes jewelry, watches and fashion accessories. The company offers assortments in fashion accessories such as handbags, small leather goods, belts and sunglasses. Following a philosophy of affordable, fashionable luxury, the exclusively designed pieces add breadth to the company’s identity and are now globally recognized amongst accessories brands. Folli Follie established itself as a pioneer in the market when it introduced, amongst its first collections jewelry creations made of silver combined with murano glass.

Depending on the materials used (sterling silver, bronze, precious and semi-precious stones) the company offers a wide variety of styles. Folli Follie is a company, which designs, manufactures and distributes jewelry, watches and fashion accessories was founded in Greece in 1982 by Dimitris and Ketty Koutsolioutsos, to become today an international brand and one of the most powerful Groups in Greece in the field of retail and wholesale with brands that either owns or represents.

The launch of Folli Follie in the Greek jewelry market was followed by an unprecedented success that convinced the owners to steer the brand towards additional categories of fashion accessories and led the way towards the brands international expansion through strategic shop locations.

Folli Follie has a direct control of the company’s international distribution network by vertically integrating the operations from production to retail.

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Today Folli Follie has presence in 25 countries with more than 380 points of sale world-wide , including shops in the fashionable streets of London Tokyo Paris Hong Kong, New York, Dubai, Athens, Beijing, Seoul and Honolulu. In addition, Folli Follie has a strong presence in the travel retail market with points of sale in numerous airports duty free shops around the world whereas Folli Follie products are also available in flight in major international airline. As far as Greece is concerned, Folli Follie has more than 60 points of sale, amongst which stores in Athens and the prefecture.

4.2 Mission The company will mainly focus on entering and developing a communication for entering and later establishing in a new foreign market. This primary derives from Follie Folie’s corporate goal: “to identify potential business development opportunities in the Asian markets and specifically in the Chinese area”.

4.3 Objectives 

    

To earn a profit of 15 % in the second operational year in the Chinese market To have a first year market share of 25 % Attract-Identify best local distributor/agents Introduce to local & regional trade-shows, events Recognize a potential database of customer buyers To be recognized in the next 5-10 years as a global brand and be in every country that we can

4.4 Philosophy The Greek fashion icon, with mainstream and affordable products.

Created in special places for special shoppers, who shop for themselves 4.5 Design A stainless steel base jewels and accessories, surrounded by gold or silver layer.

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5. SITUATION ANALYSIS It well-known that, a company is surrounded by an immediate microenvironment of customers, suppliers, distributors, agencies and competitors. It is also surrounded by a macro-environment of major forces such as consumer trends, technological development, social, political, and legal forces. These forces affect and moderate the behaviour of all the actors in the market. Scholars often organise these forces in 5 overall categories (Kotler, 2012). In the 1980s, several other authors including Fahey, Narayanan, Morrison, Renfro, Boucher, Mecca and Porter included variations of the taxonomy classifications in a variety of orders: PEST, PESTLE, STEEPLE etc (see Appendix A).

5.1 Luxury market insight The Guardian, the UK newspaper noted that,” the outlook for the luxury goods market has improved significantly in recent months, boosted by a stronger-than-expected US and Europe rebound and surging demand in China” (Business, Retail Industry, Tuesday, 3 May,2011). The article claimed that “luxury sales rose 8% last year at constant currencies, up from a previous 6% estimate. In nominal terms, global luxury goods sales grew 12% last year, against a previous 10%.”, as stated by consultancy group Bain & Co. The consultancy estimated luxury sales would grow 56% in 2012 and 2013, led by emerging markets buyers and resilient demand in Europe and the United States.

These data fact seem to have been verified by the KPMG Research , Department of Germany (resurgence-in-demand-for-luxury-goods, 2010).

Moreover, the demand is being driven by emerging classes of affluent consumers, such as working women and financially stable youngsters.

(KPMG, 2010)

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5.2 Chinese Luxury Market With a booming economy and a middle class with growing spending power, China is a prime destination for luxury goods companies. In 2009, the Chinese luxury goods market was worth 7.1 billion EUR (US$ 9.4 billion). Even during the economic downturn in 2009, the country’s luxury sales grew 20 %, and are further estimated to have grown 30 % in 2010, to reach 9.2 billion EUR (US$ 12.2 billion), as per Bain & Co statements.

Moreover, by 2020, China is expected to be the world’s largest luxury goods market, according to a forecast by Asia Pacific-based brokerage firm CLSA (KPMG.com, 2012).

5.4 Competitors Swarovski In 1895, Swarovski financier Armand Kosman and Franz Weis founded the Swarovski company, originally known as A. Kosmann, Daniel Swartz & Co., which was later shortened to K.S. & CoThe Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal glass sculptures and miniatures, jewelry and couture, home decor, and chandeliers.

Li-La-Lo H Li-LA-LO is a Greek company that opened its first store on June 7, 2001 in Glyfada. Following the success of the first store followed by another 13 stores.

Loisir Loisir is a brand of Perideo S.A., The main headquarters are in Thessaloniki, Greece.

Loisir is a young, joyfull and glamorous brand, friendly and fashionable.

OXETTE Was founded in 1998 and quickly became one of the most popular brands in the global market of jewelry, watches and accessories.

AGATHA Iconic French fashion jewellery brand, with over 300 AGATHA Paris boutiques worldwide. It was founded by Michel Quiniou, just over 36 years ago in 1974.

Tomas Sabo The story of the company started in the 1980s: in 1984, the jewelry enthusiast and self-made man Thomas Sabo set up his own jewelry company with its headquarters in the historical town on Lauf an der Pegnitz in Bavaria.

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5.5 Chinese domestic luxury brands Local Chinese brands have been evolving rapidly. In the past few years they have been able to pick up successful retail strategies from foreign entrants, establishing themselves in good location. Although they do not yet possess global visibility, within China itself, home-grown brands are becoming a source of “pride” and a badge on the country’s emerging selfconfidence.

There are some brands, which are perceived as being luxury on a local scale. Such brands include Goldlion (a once exclusive brand that was made more accessible in recent years), other jewelry brands like Chow Tai Fook and Tse Sui Luen. Furthermore, some international brands are also located in China, like Ports International. Ports had won publicity in fashion magazines such as Elle and In Style in 2005. TIME magazine included it in “ best products for 2005”, alongside with well-known names such as Tod’s, Louis Vuitton and Channel.

Similarly a few truly domestic luxury brands have emerged as being “luxurious”. These two are LaVie and ShanghaiTang.

5.6 Cultural and Social Background Culture, subculture and social class are particularly important influences on consumer buying behavior. It is a fundamental determinant and can be conceptualized as “the meanings that are shared by (most) people in a social group and can be though as the blueprint of human behavior (Kotler, 2012). Furthermore, the Hofstede model aims to offer a substantial help towards the above understanding. Mooij and Hoftede note in their research ( Mooij, Hofstede, 2010), that cultural values should be viewed as an integrated part of the consumer’s self and not as an environmental factor.

Life style and Values People from the same subculture, social class and occupation may live quite different lifestyles. In that sense core values, are trans-situational goals that serve the interests of individuals or groups that act as guiding principles in consumer’s lives (Kotler, 2012). As an example of observation, we could say that Chinese are more sensitive to social values, in comparison to the Greek that tend to estimate personal values.

Moreover, in the luxury section Chinese and Greek women have more similarities rather than differences. Greek women though prefer larger sizes and more extravagant because of their silhouette and mentality, in contrast to Chinese women who prefer smaller size accessories due to their taste and analogies. In China they value more gold and strass, as a material.

In Greece, handmade and traditional combinations with impressive mixes are wanted, for example the K Collection of Folli Follie is very famous in Greece.

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Cultural differences and similarities Societal characteristics of China & Greece based on Hostede model:

China

Power distance large

Greece

small

Individualism/ Collectivism Collectivistic persons Individualistic persons

Masculinity/ Femininity Feminine society Masculine society

Uncertain avoidance strong

Short/long orientation long

low

short

Type of personalities:  

Easterners – “believe in the continuous shaping of personality traits by situational influences” (Hofstede,2005) Westerners – “describe oneself and others in terms of abstract characteristics” (Hofstede,2005)

Personality and attributes: Based on the commercial cross-cultural brand study of [Grocus (2004), in De Mooij (2010)], which found that “companies that own global brands want to be consistent in their messages worldwide, but consumers attribute personalities so such brands that fit their own cultural values, not the values of the producer of the brand”, I have created the table below, for the sake of measuring the similarities on global brand perceptions on a national level scale – demonstrating the cultural impact on brand perception.

Power distance Uncertainty avoidance

high

A number of Brand Perceptions of Global brands Friendly Prestigious Trustworthy Innovative & different China China

low high low

Greece China Greece

Greece

The above preferences are modified in time by the effects of advertisement, therefore the most widely acceptable model would be Fishbein behavioral intentions model.

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6. SEGMENTATION AND POSITIONING The positioning decision often means selecting those associations which are to be built upon and emphasized and those associations which are to be removed or de-emphasized (David D, Aaker, 2001).

Aaker notes that, there are six positioning placements: by attribute, by price/quality, by respect to the use or application by product user, with respect to a competitor and respect to a product class.

Kotler (2012), argues that a market segment consists of a group who share a similar set of needs and wants.

6.2 Folli Follie Target Audience The firm’s focus is at a defined target group, as the 80 % of their target group are women aged between 20 and 40 years old. It’s the woman that does not have the money and the financial background to buy for example “the bag which costs 2000 euro”, or the watch which it is priced with 5000 euro”. She is the medium-class woman, who works hard in order to make her money and want to own her money in order to spend it as she prefers. She’ s the woman who offers her cut in the family budget, but also wants to be trendy, without being forced or needed to spend “a little fortune” on gift or a renewal of her-self. They attend the modern woman’s characteristics. They do not try to fit their audience to closed-social, class and status attributes, but they maintain a broader picture.

For example, a female customer of Folli Follie, could also be a lady who has money and wants to do a trending down. This case of customer is often seen in Greece these last years, due to the economic downturn.

However, a girl who wants to make a gift to her boyfriend in a logical price is also considered to fulfill their audience characteristics (Kasidiaropoulou, 2012).

6.3 Profiling the Chinese consumer Though luxury consumption is growing, for most the still dominant social idea is still prudent consumption and undertaking no more than you can perform. Emerging Chinese middle-class will continue to save more than they spend. On the contrary Chinas younger generation of teenagers, the twenty-something show less caution on saving than their parents and grandparents and far more inclination to spend than to save. Chinese consumers tend to buy luxury goods, as a way to reward themselves for their success, or as a token advertising their wealth. Chinese women seek a more accessible, inclusive form of beauty. Chinese seek Chinese faces and admire status, power and expertise. Features that stick out are not generally perceived as attractive and attainable. They want authentic products, but still are price-conscious. The “mall-culture” is adopted as a leisure activity. They have a strong preference on purchasing products overseas (KPMG, Consumer Markets, 2012).

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Brand awareness

China’s unique characteristics Perception of Abandoning Shopping Beauty Counterfeit pleasure goods

for

Traveling enthusiasts

6.4 Key International segments  New luxury shopper: Represent a range of different customers including celebrities, entrepreneurs and business people. They are newly rich – very often first generation in their family and tend to be younger than traditional luxury shoppers. Aged between 20 to 40 and younger than those in Europe and U.S. Willing to spend greater proportions of their income to luxury goods. Are optimistic about the future and less concerned about saving for their old age, can afford to suit their lifestyle.  Empowered women: Until recently 90 % of luxury spending in China was dictated by men. Today, women in China are starting to gain economic independence and are reaching a point where they have money of their own for spending on luxury products. The modern female luxury shopper includes the business woman, the celebrity and the newly independent wife. A research of global trends by the Luxury Institute, identified a move to more women purchasing luxury goods.  Little emperors: The most conscious consumers on China. They are the children now entering their teen years and early adulthood (the generation resulted from the one-child policy) is evidenced in the larger urban centers were the policy was strictly enforced. Their difference with Westerner’s children is that they have six sources of disposable income, with parents and grandparents all contributing to meet this one child’s every need. Bangkok Post Business studies in 2006, had estimated that half of the typical urban Chinese Family’s disposable income was spent on, or by its youngest members.

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7. BRANDING AND IDENTITY Baumgarth. C (2010), notes that “The Brand” is not an internal concept.

He claims that the results of branding do not derive from accumulated brand awareness and personal brand images stored in consumers’ minds.

“Brand identity” he says may belong to the company, but “brand image” does not. He conceptualizes the general concept of the branding process and brand orientation, as a specific type of marketing orientation, which is” distinguished by high relevance accorded to branding by top management”.

The brand image: - logo used only for limited and official communication.

- orange as color, is a positive color commonly associated with amusement, the unconventional, extroverts, activity, taste and aroma, the autumn season. In Asia, it is an important symbolic color of Buddhism and Hinduism.

- typography: the calligraphy letters used in the logo, represent the cultural similarities of Greek and Chinese language and culture, but also the letters design patterns on both languages, portraying the same style and esthetics.

Brand facets, source: Fill (2011) Physique Personality Culture Relationship Customer reflection Self image

Control brand building and distribution(example jewelry) Outgoing, fancy, crazy, chic Global, exclusive quality, trendy Affordable, fashionable For young people and stylish women Strong connected, attached to the brand

7.2 Positioning statement The Foli Follie brand is for modern trendy women between the age 20-40 , who are independent and want to look beautiful without spending a fortune for her style. The competiveness of the brand stands for affordable luxury, it is in the middle of the luxury impression map, offering fashionable, stylish products in excellent quality and prices.

7.3 Value preposition Folli Follie is unique, because it offers to today’s women the chance to be beautiful, desired, chic and trendy. Unlike what other companies offer, except Swarovski, they do not have the international distribution network of Folli Follie, which makes the company’s products more accessible and easy to find.

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8. COMPETITIVE POSITIONING

8.1 Mass luxury positioning They place themselves in the middle as Mrs. Kassidiaropoulou reveled to the interview, and by this they mean that they are not perceived neither as an accessorise nor at the level of Cartier. The vast majority of their products, nearly 80 %, has a medium price from 100 euro up to 200 euro.

A key factor to this element, is the company’s correspondence to the customer needs, due to the economic difficulties. In this positioning they can have a short to long term fluxuating price policy, without losing neither customers nor brand perception attributes. This happens mainly because when you are not a high-end branded product, like L.Vuiton for example, the price variation does not affect so much the perceived quality of your customers immediately, something that cannot be said in the case of LV.

8.2 Distribution and Manufacturing network Folli Follie has established a large international distribution network in many countries and constantly tries to expand it. It has a vast number of retail stores in upscale areas worldwide, which are designed by the company.

All Folli Follie products are only found in their shopping network.

An exception to this are bags that can be also found elsewhere, due to their high seasonality to be maintained in their stock.

Every detail in the stores from the floor, lights, sofas, etch are designed to meet the needs and comfort of the consumer. Their sales personnel is nicely dressed to the company colors, in order to meet up with brand perception, wearing all the same clothing.

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9. MARKETING – COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES

Effective marketing communications should accomplish four things: establish a connection, promise a reward, inspire action and stick to the memory (Kotler, 2012). Marketing communication objectives should be set at any level of hierarchy. Kotler (2012), states that Rossiter and Percy identify four possible objectives:    

Category need Brand awareness Brand attitude Brand purchase intention

Objectives, are important to clarify and set an objective set of targets, that ought to be achieved by our planned actions. They exist in three main levels:  Corporate: shareholder wealth maximization achieved through higher profits and constantly increased sales.  Marketing: A successful introduction of a new brand in a new market. During the entrance to the new market of China, Folli Follie is not expected to be a profit generating commercial brand. It must first be presented to the Chinese crowd, so that they can acknowledge the brand’s capabilities and standards.  Marketing Communication activities are a vital part in achieving the above and have to be coordinated with the company’s overall activities (production, sales, and purchase).  Strengthening the relationship with the Folli Follie brand  Increase consideration when planning new seasonal enforcing the “what’ new?” mentality of Chinese people.

arrival,

 Reach target market as full as possible  Rise customer awareness for company’s new branded products  Being a new brand with new products in a new market, our prime objective is to educate them in our quality standards reassuring them with the fashionability, trendiness of our design.

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 Communications should motivate consumers to search more information about the brand, via website-brochures-visit of local partner and dealers-online order.  Folli Follie should be considered as full and valid alternative to highend traditional luxury goods  Targets should be enthusiastic and exited about the brand and spread social buzz/ WoM.  Ultimately communications should lead to purchase, by turning a higher percentage of store visitors into sales.

If all or some of the objectives can be met, it will be shown in post campaign analysis and research. Considering the performance of the company in other markets sales, the first year goal should be set near 10 to 12 %, of the Asian regional sales, which are estimated to be half of the overall sales (FF Group Presentation, Investors Relation, 2012).

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10.

MARKETING – COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIES

Formulating the communications to achieve the desired response will require three variables: what to say, how to say it, and who should say it.

(Kotler et al, 2012).

10.1 Message strategy In determining the message strategy, management searches for appeal, themes or ideas that will connect with the brand positioning and help to establish points-of-parity or points-of-difference (Kotler, 2012).

The main message of Folli Follie is “ What are you crazy for? ” focuses on the needs and the desires of young modern independent women. The women who know themselves and want to express their beauty in a social or an ego-satisfactory manner.

10.2 Creative strategy Unique selling points should be emphasized and barriers to purchase must be weakened. In early promotion the focus should concentrate on educational and awareness aspects, whereas later we can focus on creating excitement and underline certain benefits.

The tone of voice should be lust, modern, intelligent. It would be useful to create different executions to target one of the three mindsets identified in the target market and emphasize their reason to buy.

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11.

INTEGRATED PROMOTIONAL MIX

11.1 Promotion - Brand Ambassador

By selecting geographical areas with good safety, reputation and demographics we will promote the discounts.

By hiring the Asian top model-actress Gei Lai, the discounts and the crazy for program can be vastly spread through word of mouth to all Chinese women and their social network. Luxury brands like Folli Follie are used to celebrity endorsement for presenting their messages to the public. In her studies Amanda Spray et al, 2011, notes that celebrity endorsement generates greater recall for both the endorsed brand and the advertisement. Folli Follie uses as brand ambassador, for the international campaigns the Asian top-model and actress Geli Lai, who is very popular and established figure not only in the region but also international. Geli Lai is raise in America but her ancestors origins come from China and Vietnam.

The ambassador will participate in at least 3 events/per year and a philanthropic event by a Greek organization. She will also take part in experience events such as fashion weeks, store shopping, etc.

11.2 Newspaper

Placement is a very important key here. Smaller ads that are run repeatedly perform better than larger ads run less often. Here, Familiarity equals Trust. Our focus is on lifestyle and economic newspapers. A direct response a will be written, so that it can grab attention, interest and desire to provoke immediate action. Copy-writers will focus the reader to “get up, go to the store and experience the brand and product benefits.

The direct response should: 1) Create desire by offering benefits, to needs and emotions, 2) Simulate interest by touching human emotion, 3) Capture attention through design, size, place and time, 4) Investigate actions by making the “offered solution” highly desirable yet affordable and easy. The highly read magazines of our target are STATUS, FREE, , VOGUE, MARIE CLAIRE, LIPSTICK, GLAMOUR, COSMOPOLITAN, LUCKY, HELLO!, ΕΓΩ, LIFE & STYLE.

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11.3 Television We will increase the awareness of the “What are you crazy for?” campaign through TV commercials also by showing our newly designed website/web-store with emphasis on our social presence, allowing for the interested visitors access to information. This will result in higher web traffic, more frequent store visits and sales. The highly watched channels are to our target are Star, MTV, Alpha, Mega, Antenna, CCTV 4, Jiangsu TV, Dragon TV, Hunan TV, Jiangsu TV. The global TV campaign of FF “crazy for you” is very influential and memorable being in the top of mind positioning of consumers, as the message and design is remarkable and easy remembered.

11.4 Magazines

Advertisement in magazines offers a better reach of our targets, customer education about our products and services. It is the friendliest medium in order to make a luxury purchase. The cost varies from vendor to vendor (for example a page ad to the American Vogue costs approximately 200.000 USD, with a reach of 100m people, Kasidiaropoulou 2012).

11.4 Internet

Nowadays, the technological trends show that Facebook, Pinterest Myspace, Google, Fashion blogs and Youtube are very popular among female users. In these websites we focus on internet ads placement. Also luxury sites like luxist.com would be a useful tool since it attracts consumers interested in purchasing.

Facebook: Due to it’s high traffic and active members w will reach a wider audience. Ads on facebook allow easy targeting of users in our young age of 25-35. The segments can be watched more closely and categorized by age, sex area, etc, making it easier to reach the preferred market segment. It also offers a great feedback letting us narrow the future range of market interests, something that would allow us future savings on costs, research

Google: reaches the biggest percent of internet users and is the first ad network. We gain more qualified leads at low cost boosting ROI and sales.

We also gain ad feedback, in terms of placement.

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YouTube: More than 300m users with international cover and demographics. Its age range of users, covers our targets. We will get viewers and visitors categorized by what they watch or want to watch.

Creation of a video contest – users will upload video to a featured page of our channel demonstrating their favorite FF accessories (watches/jewels/bags) saying why they like it and in what situation/location/events would they put/bring it. The videos with the most views would be chosen and one will win 10.000 euro check for company related products. This would create a video buzz surrounding our main page and raising our product views and brand awareness (see Appendix C).

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12.

TIMESCALE AND RESOURCES

One important notice that should be mentioned is that marketing communications should start before the brand has entered or products are launched, so that full potential is achieved. All the necessary Departments need to conduct regular meetings to tune in an integrated strategy.

Medium Brand ambassador Newspaper Television Website Magazines Internet

Tactical Calendar – Communication mediums Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

12.1 Budget Our budget will be allocated and the larger proportion, about 50 % will be spent on promotions, due to the preference of our target, which likes word of mouth and events. The next 30 % is decide to go to TV and advertising The other 10 % will be spent in Print Advertising (direct, mail, magazines, flyers, etch). Finally, the last 10 % will go on Internet marketing.

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13.

EVALUATION AND CONTROL

Fill (2011), proposes that, “the role of marketing communications budget is the same weather is multinational, trading in numerous international locations, or a small manufacturing unit on an industrial estate outside a semi-rural community. Both, want to ensure that they achieve the greatest efficiency with each dollar/euro/pound they allocate to communication activities. Neither, can afford to be profligate with scarce resources, and each is accountable to the owners of the organization for the decisions it makes”.

As for the matter of Evaluation he says that, “All organizations review and evaluate their performance of their various activities.

Considering the large target group of the brand, the high net deficit, the increasing expenses of first year’s communication, and the medium-rate projected sales figures, a budget of 7 million Euros, over a three year campaign should be appropriate. Moreover it is proposed to reallocate the budget recommending, a 4m euro spent in the first year, 2m in the second and 1m in the third. This way our launching period has more chances of integrating and successes.

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15. APPENDIX

A] PESTELE Analysis Political

 

  

Economic





 

Social Cultural

 

Competitors



 

Technological



 

Greece changed policy about luxurious product categorization Unstable governmental environment in Greece Authoritarian government policies in China IPR/Counterfeit policies

Legal

Recession led to less available and disposable income Greek wages drop significant Chinese people grasp economic power and parity High Greek Taxes Increased Chinese awareness on thyself and beauty Younger ages becomes more luxury brand and design oriented Western civilization mixes with eastern typologies Absent of strong local competing brands 4-5 International competitors Many high-end designer brands in the market China has strict rules about the internet Greek are technology/gadget oriented Both are Social media active

International

  

          

Markets

  

Ecological

  

Demographics

   

European guidelines for raw materials China: strict regulations concerning advertising & language Competition and quality assurance law employment law Transfer pricing Free transfer zones Vat taxonomies Luxury goods surplus taxation Good distribution channels World trade agreements e.g. further expansion of the EU Migration flows Customs policy Community groups Not affected by the crisis long-term Consumers are more money spenders than savers Many niche markets to focus Rapid change of Consumer Behaviors

Increased concern in recycling of damaged/end of use goods Use of eco-friendly packaging Overall community action upon environmental issues Aging European Population Younger ages in China Highly education rates in both counties Both population it is gathered mostly in 2 major areas/cities

IMC Plan of FF Group. |

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B] Action Plan

Folli Follie Group Marketing Communication Activities

YEAR 1 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Microsite/Blog

Integration to main site

Internet Online advertising, bannner advertising on fashion blogs/sites, style/fashion magazines, online meia sites (Guarddian.co.uk)

Awareness mail

Direct mail

Launch mail

Newslleter

TV Campaign Actual lunch in China

TV

Print

Outdoor

Other: - Promotions - Public Relations - Personal Selling - Sales promos

Print advertising magazines

and

Outdoor and billboard ads

Offer prouducts as prize to beauty contests and similar activities

Launch of intensive PR activities

Staff training and Dealer launch pack

Cost

press

1000 euros discount off for the first 100 buyers

Fashion show and Exibitions

Press releases and new product announcements

Evaluation

in

Dealer activity, Personall selling visits for corporate gifts

Begin of post test

Evaluation - Testing 500.000

1.500.000

750.000

750.000

500.000

500.000

500.000

Year total: 5.000.000 Euro

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C] Media Plan

Medium Type of media TV broadcast:  National  Cable  Satellite  Regional

Radio:  National  Local

Press-Newspaper:  Regional  National-daily/weekly  Weekend

Magazines:  National/International/wee kend  Men’s/Women  Monthly/Consumer Posters:  Billboard  Airports  Buses/taxis  Outdoor/Shopping areas Internet:  Web search  Web page  E-mail  Social media

Principals/Characteristics        

  

              

Benefits Large/mass audience, low cost, generate awareness Highly visible, strong impact All senses focused Strong image brand Sponsorship/product placement synergies Low air time, high cost Production flexibility Target selective audience

Selective readers, broad acceptance Direct response Geographical selection

Highly selective (women fashion magazines) High cots Prestige/credibility Actively read Good image quality Broad audience High frequency Brand differentiation Strong single messaged impact High interactivity Technology oriented targets Large audience 24/7 Direct response/ low cost High information cont

Disadvantages  Time consuming/high cost  Channel hoping  Limited info content  No good target selection  Short life-cycle of images  No visual stimuli  Luck of persuasiveness  Environment distraction  Poor signal  Very limited information  Small impact  Low image/printing layout  message noise  environment distraction  Short life-cycle  Too much colored details  Crowded messages  Only visual stimulation        

Creative limitation Low audience activity Short exposure time Only simple messaging Too much relay on SEO No segmented audiences Many Imitations Limited visual effects in terms of actual product

Media channels Folli Follie target group -ITV -BBC -CNBC -mega -Antenna -Fashion TV

-Virgin FM -MTV/mad

-Times -Guardian -New York post

- Vogue -Elle -Madame Figaro

-Xong Kong /Athens airport -Congested traffic zones -Fashion web sites -Link to Amazon fashion novels, Google ad-words, fashion blogging

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Source: FF Group Presentation Booklet – Investors relations, October 2012

IMC Plan of FF Group. |

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Source: FF Group Presentation Booklet – Investors relations, October 2012

IMC Plan of FF Group. |

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Source: FF Group Presentation Booklet – Investors relations, October 2012

IMC Plan of FF Group. |

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Source: FF Group Presentation Booklet – Investors relations, October 2012

IMC Plan of FF Group. |

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16.

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25.http://www.follifolliegroup.com/files/GR%20SUBs.pdf [Accessed 19/12/12] 26.http://www.follifolliegroup.com/files/%CE%95%CE%94_SCI_FFGROU P%20%CE%A4%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%9F.pdf [Accessed 10/12/12] 27. http://www.follifolliegroup.com/files/PR%20FY_2011_GR.pdf [Accessed 10/12/12] 28.http://www.follifolliegroup.com/files/GR_Annual%202011_Web%20sel ides.pdf [Accessed 16/12/12] 29. http://www.follifolliegroup.com/files/Dufry_Gr_10_10_2012.pdf [Accessed 16/12/12] 30. http://www.follifolliegroup.com/files/katastatiko%2026.pdf [Accessed 16/12/12] 31.http://www.dimensionsofculture.com/2010/10/traditional-asianhealth-beliefs-healing-practices/ [Accessed 16/12/12] 32.http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~shumow/itt/Asian_American_Cultural_Awar eness.pdf [Acceessed 17/12/12] 33. http://library.thinkquest.org/20443/g_culture.html [Accessed 17/12/12] 34. http://library.thinkquest.org/20443/g_way_of_life.html [Accessed 20/12/12] 35. http://www.asianamericanalliance.com/index.html [Accessed 20/12/12] 36. http://www.asian-nation.org/population.shtml [Accessed 22/12/12] 37. http://www.kpmg.com/DK/da/nyheder-og-indsigt/nyhedsbreve-ogpublikationer/publikationer/brancher/consumermarkets/Documents/resurgence-in-demand-for-luxury-goods.pdf [Accessed 27/12/12] IMC Plan of FF Group. |

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