Advance Marketing

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Unit 4 DB AM 
Brands have finite lives, and despite the apparent dominance and longevity of brands such as Apple, Nike and Zara, it is clear that brands tend to enter and exit the market in accordance with a number of factors, and that it is difficult for a brand to last in the long-term. This response will discuss the case of Kodak and Nokia to discuss how market needs, product lines, competition and complacency can cause a brand to have a finite life.
Foremost, brands have finite lives because their product ranges can fail to meet market needs. Market needs are constantly changing, and the dynamic nature of market needs means that a company is hard pressed to continuously adapt to meet them. For example, flip-up phones may be popular in one period, while smartphones may dominate the next. Summer fashion may be in vogue today, while winter fashion may dominate tomorrow. Brands and brand managers have to pay attention to seasonal, consumer and demographic trends in order to stay updated about market needs, such that they can continue to adapt and diversify their products as necessary to stay relevant and useful to consumers. The case of Kodak’s decline was clear, when Kodak failed to upgrade and diversify out of the film camera business to keep up with rising competitors in the digital camera business such as Panasonic and Samsung. As a result, this led to consumers shunning Kodak as an outdated, inferior brand, eventually leading to its decline.
Secondly, brands have finite lives because their product lines may be inferior, and because rising competition may erode their brand presence. Nokia’s focus on strong hardware in their product lines led to them ignoring the importance of software, aesthetic and user experience. As consumers demanded sleeker, lighter and more multi- functional phones, Nokia was unable to keep up with competitors such as Samsung and Apple, who launched offerings that were far more in demand by consumers. As a result, Nokia’s brand weakened and eventually led to its decline.
Finally, dominant brands such as Kodak and Nokia may become complacent, and may be unable to leverage disruptive trends such as artificial intelligence, emerging markets, augmented reality and virtual reality to launch newer product offerings and better branding campaigns that appeal to consumers. 

Unit 4 Essay
Marketing Plan: Part 2
Name: 
Unit 4 Essay
Marketing Plan: Part 2
Introduction
As the role of women continues to grow in importance in the workplace, whether in the corporate or technology sector, women deserve to have fashion options that fit their ambition, capability and personality at the workplace. Women on the Go presents a viable option for this unmet need, but more work must be done to understand the women’s formal wear market, competitors and segments. This essay will further develop a marketing plan for the company Women on the Go through a segmentation and target market analysis, a competitive and industry analysis, and a SWOT analysis. The company Women on the Go is a seed-stage startup company targeted at women who require assistance with the selection and purchasing of their clothing and accessories. Women on the Go’s key customer segment is the more affluent professional female consumer (middle income or white-collar role) who does not have the time or expertise to dress well in various business and social settings that they are needed to appear in. The business model of the company will involve an internet-based platform and a network of physical stores, all of which will provide customised fashion recommendations for busy working females. A segmentation and target market analysis, competitive and industry analysis, and SWOT analysis will allow the company and its marketing team to take stock of its ideal market segments and their characteristics, the level of competition and market potential, and its own internal strengths and weaknesses as they relate to external opportunities and threats. On the whole, it will allow the company to better understand its competitive environment and to formulate an appropriate marketing strategy for success. 
Segmentation and target market analysis for Women on the Go
The four types of market segmentation are geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. (Goyat, 2011) In terms of geographic segmentation, Women on the Go’s customers can be segmented in customers in emerging markets such as India, China and Southeast Asia, and customers in developed markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Further segmentation can be conducted on the basis of state and city level segmentation, given that fashion trends in Mumbai and Delhi, or in New York and Chicago, may actually differ significantly.
In terms of demographic segmentation, Women on the Go’s customers can be divided by income, career type, education level and family background. This will influence the type of budget, preference, style and fashion aesthetic that each customer segment has. For example, a Stanford-trained female computer engineer will have very different tastes from a first-generation Wall Street banker.
In terms of psychographic segmentation, Women on the Go’s customers can be segmented based on lifestyle, attitudes, interest, subconscious motivators and values. For example, some customers may be influenced by pop culture, some may be more adventurous in fashion tastes, and others may be more conservative.
Finally, in terms of behavioural segmentation, Women on the Go’s customers can be segmented on the basis of their decision making and customer journey processes. For example, some customers may be more digitally savvy and may be comfortable ordering products online, while other customers may require more bespoke service in person at a brick and mortar store. 
The target market is more clearly defined once a marketer has conducted segmentation on the population, as it allows the marketer (and by extension, the company) to target product offerings and marketing campaigns more specifically to the desired customer segment.
The key target markets for Women on the Go, based on the above types of market segmentation criteria, are digitally-savvy young women working in the technology sector, digitally-savvy young women working in the corporate sector in emerging markets, and mid and high level female corporate executives. Foremost, young women working in the technology sector will require clothes that are smart casual, and allow them to look laid-back but capable. Secondly, young women working in the corporate sector will require accessible, professional and affordable options. Finally, mid and high level female corporate executives will require premium, customised fashion options that convey their capability and power. 
Competitive and Industry Analysis
The competitors in the women’s professional clothing industry that will be analysed for this report are M.M. Lafleur, Rent the Runway and Zara. They will be analysed on the basis of their competition (direct or indirect), price, product, promotion, place and e-commerce platform.
Foremost, M.M. Lafleur is a New York based professional women’s fashion company at Series B funding that offers customised fashion products. The company was founded in 2013 by Sarah LaFleur, Narie Foster and Miyako Nakamura, in order to help women present themselves better and change the way they shop in order to succeed in the workplace, and the company drew $70 million in revenue in 2017. (Blakely, 2017) The company is a direct competitor to Women on the Go, as it has a very similar business model and product offerings. In terms of product, the company offers ‘Bento Boxes’, which are curated professional outfits in delivered boxes, that drew 40 percent of first-time customers to return for a follow up purchase in 12 weeks. To order a Bento Box, customers simply need to fill up a brief online questionnaire with questions regarding the customer’s career, body shape, and age. The boxes are also delivered in a compartmentalised, professional style, with each product in its own zippered plastic bag. Product-wise, the company has also diversified from its initial business-casual apparel focus into other product lines, such as creative casual and formal business attire, in order to meet a broader range of needs for their clients. In terms of price, the company charges a premium for its premium products, given its attention to details in terms of product details and packaging, and has been accused of creating financial barriers to fashion access for many younger professional women as a result. (Deng, 2019) In terms of promotion, the company is active on social media, online magazines and event-based marketing, and counts high profile personalities such as Facebook COO and feminist Gloria Steinem among its endorsers. In terms of the company’s online magazine, M Dash, the magazine writers profile influential corporate women who provide career advice and style tips. In terms of place, the company has pop-ups in the East Coast and a permanent showroom in Washington, D.C., which provide free personal stylist sessions, and is mainly based in the U.S. Finally, in terms of e-commerce, the company’s Bento Boxes have allowed it to launch a strong e-commerce presence and grow in a scalable manner online.
Rent the Runway is a fashion rental service that allows customers to rent 4 pieces of clothing at any one time, with free clothing swaps, for a monthly price of $69 to 159, and is a pioneer model in the field of collaborative consumption, where consumers do not own the fashion pieces but rent it in accordance with their seasonal needs and tastes. (Perlacia et al, 2017) The company is an indirect competitor, as it does not directly retail clothes like M M Lafleur and Women on the Go, but launched a business wear rental service that competes with such companies. In terms of price, Rent the Runway is priced at a premium to M.M. LaFleur, Zara and Women on the Go, given the high per-use price of its clothing rentals. (Eisenmann and Winig, 2011) In terms of product, the company provides clothing rentals in addition to complimentary shipping, dry cleaning and rental insurance, as well as complimentary style recommendations and a Member Concierge service for tailored fits. (Eisenmann and Winig, 2011)  However, the company has failed to deliver its products in a timely fashion due to warehousing and logistics issues. (Eisenmann and Winig, 2011)  In terms of promotion, the company has member-only discounts, a weekly newsletter, an app, and social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. In terms of place, the company has a flagship store in New York City, and stores in Chicago, San Francisco, Santa Monica and Washington, DC. Finally, in terms of the strength of their e-commerce platform, the company primarily operates through their online rental website model, although it does not have a presence on third-party e-commerce platforms. 
Zara is a Spanish fast fashion company that sells clothes at affordable prices, with stylish and fashionable aesthetic, to a wide range of consumer profiles. Zara’s model primarily operates on the rapid adoption of the latest fashion trends in major runways such as Milan and New York, followed by the use of just-in-time production to translate those trends into affordable equivalent products for their consumers. Zara is an indirect competitor to Women on the Go, as it offers products beyond the professional female range, such as menswear and casual lifestyle wear, but has an established professional female clothes range which competes with Women on the Go. In terms of price, Zara is considered to be affordable, although it also has a premium range which is priced at approximately the same price range as Women on the Go. In terms of product, Zara offers the latest fashion trends in affordable product form, but does not conduct much customisation in the way of M.M. LaFleur or Women on the Go. In terms of promotion, Zara is active on major social media channels as well as more traditional advertising channels such as television, radio and print. In terms of place, given its scale as the largest of the above listed competitors, Zara is able to maintain a multinational presence in multiple cities as well. Finally, in terms of e-commerce, Zara has maintain its own proprietary web store but has yet to expand significantly to create e-commerce web stores on third party websites such as Lazada, Amazon and TMall Global.
In terms of the overall health of the global women’s formal wear market, reports by Marketwatch show that the market is healthy, at a valuation of USD 460 billion in 2017 with a growth rate in 2017 of 4.9%, and a forecasted compounded annual growth rate of 6% from 2017 to 2024, with an expectation to reach a revenue of $690 billion by 2024. (Marketwatch, 2019) This will likely be supported by growing numbers of female employment in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific. (Marketwatch, 2019) This is supported by the growth of the industry over the past 10 years, as shown by reports published by Research and Markets. (Research and Markets, 2018)
Understanding competitors and overall industry health is important to the marketing plan because it demonstrates the level of competition and market potential available in the professional female apparel market. By extension, this allows Women on the Go to assess whether entering this market is viable, as an overly competitive or low-potential market would not be suitable for a new entrant like Women on the Go to succeed. High levels of competition would erode Women on the Go’s sales and profitability, while a slumping market would reduce the number of customers who would buy Women on the Go’s offerings. 
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
The strengths of the company are its customisation, quality, convenience, retail availability and digital experience. From the identified strengths, it is clear that Women on the Go’s value proposition is that of a customised, high-quality and convenient retail option that provides on-demand digital customer service.
Customisation: The product offers customised fashion recommendations to busy working professionals, and through services such as fashion and style advice, blog articles and webinars, the products that customers select can be made to fit them perfectly.
Quality: Careful screening of tailors, designers and store employees will be conducted by the Women on the Go team in order to ensure superior product and service quality.
Convenience: The company will create recommendations for its customers based on their preferences, allowing for minimal hassle in selection and purchase of professional fashion attire. In addition, the customer can enjoy efficient order fulfilment, as orders will be made available within 3-7 working days if tailored or ordered online, and on-the-spot if purchased onsite. 
Retail availability: Through the use of multiple retail channels, such as online retail and brick-and-mortar stores, Women on the Go’s product and service offerings will be made available to customers whenever and wherever they should require it.
Digital experience: The use of a dedicated internet-based platform, e-commerce store, social media campaigns, website blog, webinars and online newsletters offer customers a seamless and holistic digital experience that will provide them with clear fashion insights and recommendations.
Weaknesses
The strengths of the company are costs, quality and scalability.
Cost: Providing customised fashion recommendations and customised products for professional females will only be cost effective at scale. While outsourcing the production process to skilled tailors in Eastern China will help to mitigate high costs through the use of lower labor costs, the business will ultimately need to scale to be cost effective. Furthermore, the cost of Women on the Go’s products may be prohibitively high to younger consumers.
Quality: Quality control may be an issue which will affect Women on the Go’s premium branding if tailors, designers and manufacturers are not adequately sourced.
Scalability: The company will not be able to service consumers at scale if consumer demand exceeds initial projections. This is due to limited bandwidth in terms of manpower and resources.
Opportunities
Opportunities for the company include the use of emerging technologies, greater diversity and representation, and growth in emerging markets.
Use of emerging technologies: New technologies such as augmented reality, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, chatbots and e-commerce can be used to enhance the consumer experience. For example, neural networks driven by artificial intelligence can be used to drive product recommendation engines for customers. By keying in a few of their demographic and style preferences, customers will receive precise professional fashion recommendations. Chatbots and e-commerce storefronts can also be integrated into the company’s website and social media platforms in order to provide customers with scalable, automated and on-demand service. Finally, through the use of virtual reality and augmented reality platforms, customers will be able to use their smartphones to try out clothes in the digital space, and to visualise different fashion options prior to placing their orders.
Greater diversity and representation: New social movements have emerged to support women at the workplace, and major market leaders such as Unilever, Facebook and Google have implemented initiatives to promote the role of women in leadership and corporate positions. As a result of such a move toward greater diversity and representation, demand for professional female clothing is likely to increase, driving demand for Women on the Go products.
Emerging markets: The rising middle class in emerging markets such as India, China and Latin America has led to greater demand for executive female fashion options that fit a variety of ethnicities, body shapes and cultural preferences. Furthermore, fashion companies need to figure out how this rising middle class will shape market dynamics and segments. For example, a McKinsey study noted that traditional clothing in India makes up an estimated 70 percent of women’s apparel sales in 2017. (Amed et al, 2018)
Threats
Threats for the company include competition from incumbents and copycats, and supply chain stability. 
Competition from incumbents: Incumbents such as The Gap, Zara and MM LaFleur, in both direct and indirect competitive forms, may pose a high level of competition that would erode the value proposition and market potential of Women on the Go. Furthermore, these competitors have economies of scale in production, distribution and marketing, which present significant cost advantages over a relatively smaller, younger company such as Women on the Go. (Simatupang and Sridharan, 2008)
Competition from copycats: White label manufacturers in the emerging markets that Women on the Go is expanding into could easily copy and duplicate Women on the Go’s product offerings. It is thus important for Women on the Go to secure adequate IP and copyright protection.
Supply chain stability: Women on the Go’s supply chain stability may be affected by geopolitical crises such as the US-China trade war, which will increase the cost of production and import of Women on the Go’s products. 
Conclusion
Women on the Go is situated in a high-growth but highly competitive formal women’s wear market, and needs to leverage its core value proposition of a customised, high-quality and convenient retail option that provides on-demand digital customer service to capture multiple market segments in the women’s formal wear market, such as women working in the technology and corporate sector of different ages. 
References
Amed, I., Bergsara, A., Kappelmark, S., Hedrich, S., Andersson, J., Young, R., & Drageset, M. (2018). The State of Fashion 2019; Business of Fashion, McKinsey & Company. 2019.
Deng, K. Y. (2019). Vestire: Social Divesting and Impact Investing in New Materialism. In Sustainable Luxury (pp. 1-19). Springer, Singapore.
Eisenmann, T. R., & Winig, L. (2011). Rent the Runway, Harvard Business School. 2019.
Goyat, S. (2011). The basis of market segmentation: a critical review of literature. European Journal of Business and Management, 3(9), 45-54. 
Lindsay Blakely (2017, April 9). How this $70 million startup transformed the way women shop for work. Inc.com. inc.com/magazine/201706/lindsay-blakely/mm-lafleur-bento-box-design-awards-2017.html 
Marketwatch. (2019, August 8). Global Women Formal Wear Market Overview By Share, Size, Industry Players, Revenue And Product Demand Forecast Till 2024. Marketwatch. Retrieved from https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/global-women-formal-wear-market-overview-by-share-size-industry-play...
Perlacia, A. S., Duml, V., & Saebi, T. (2017). Collaborative consumption: Live fashion, don’t own it. Beta, 31(01), 6-24.
Research and Markets. (2018, May 18). Global Workwear Market: Strategic Business Report 2018-2024 - Rising Working Women Population Boosts Demand for Women's Workwear. Research and Markets. Retrieved from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-workwear-market-strategic-business-report-2018-2024---rising-working-women-population-boosts-demand-for-womens-workwear-300650944.html
Simatupang, T. M., & Sridharan, R. (2008). Design for supply chain collaboration. Business Process Management Journal, 14(3), 401-418. 
Cain, K. (2012, June 29). The Negative effects of Facebook on communication. Social Media Today RSS. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com

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Due Date:	25 October 2019, 12:10
Added:	16 October 2019, 11:22
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