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Microsoft Word - Brand audit project.docx Begin your analysis of the brand by examining its inventory of current activities along with secondary data. These should inform your primary data gathering. Your goal for this brand audit is to rescue a struggling brand. So, naturally, changes will be needed. What strategic and tactical elements of the marketing mix is the brand using that are effective or ineffective? However, examples abound that drastic changes to a brand can often be disorienting to consumers, leading to negative assessments. Thus, it is helpful to consider the prior evolution of the brand and the offering so that elements that still deliver value can be retained. Further, it is important to consider elements of the external environment that present opportunities and threats. These could include rising competition, technological change, environmental concerns, or a whole host of other factors. Information on such factors is often found in secondary sources of data, such as industry/analyst reports, annual reports from the firm, Combine these considerations into a SWOT analysis. Analyze the key elements of the marketing mix (7Ps), highlighting elements that have evolved over time to necessitate change or elements that remain strong and should be retained. Additionally, identify opportunities and threats from the external environment using secondary research you have gathered on the brand. You do not need to discuss each of the 7Ps; instead, focus on those that are most relevant to the situation at hand and explain why this is so. Be sure to think broadly and deeply, considering elements that influence affect, behavior, cognition, and are influenced by characteristics of the individual such as demographics. Further, think about influences that may occur at various points in the consumption process, such as prior to a choice, at the moment of choice, during consumption, and at the time of disposition. Read the requirement above and combine with the information below to finish the 7Ps analysis (should include product, price, promotion, place, physical environment) Target Market Forever 21 is a very famous retailer, and an industry leader in fast fashion. The company is catering to primarily the demographic of young females, in the age of 18-26 from our analysis. The target group that the company is targeting are neither too young, nor too old and have been incredibly successful in targeting this group of consumers thus far. The company sells a variety of styles and products that could appeal to this group of consumers. From the name of the company itself, the company is emphasizing on targeting a very specific consumer group people in there, which is the young adults segment. The company from its very name is targeting young individuals who want to stay trendy in what they wear. The company is primarily targeting young people, in particular females that are fashion conscious, however they are on a budget. College going females would fit this description as they are typically fashion motivated, yet they have a less comparable disposable income to spend on fashion. The company is targeting this group by having a large inventory of fashionable clothes in different styles that are affordable. Additionally the company has separate product lines within its brand that cater particularly to this target group further. Riley Rose is a sub brand which covers beauty and home items, and focuses mainly on the Generation Z and Millennials. Forever 21+ In order to cater to a wider and more inclusive demographic, the brand finally opened up its sizing to cater to curvy women and provide them with the same trendy clothes. On the other hand, the company has some other sub brands that target its secondary target market i.e Girls, and Young Adult Men. Forever 21 Girls This sub-brand is more suited to the pre-teen audience. 21Men is for males late teens to mid-20s, 21Men specializes in creating and trendy clothing. These patterns are still current with emerging male fashion trends. Primary Target Demographics: Age: 18-26 years Gender: Mostly Females Average Income: $29,000-34,000 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021) Education: In College/Completed College Family: Single, or Childless family Motivations: · Trends on Budget: According to Provoke Advertising, which conducted a survey of focus groups for this demographic,to gain insights on why they shop at Forever 21, These ladies are highly savvy consumers; 46% claim they typically purchase things of average quality in order to save money. They enjoy staying connected, amused, and informed about fashion. · Loyalty: Since this demographic is faced with a variety of homogenous brands wanting their attention and income, Gen Z consumers who bought a product from the same brand they were contemplating at the beginning of their buying experience made up just 37% of the loyalist group. (Brooks, 2022) In order to encourage consumers to stay loyal, Forever 21 has introduced loyalty programs which rewards a certain amount of cash back, for every 300 points that are earned. This loyalty program also offers a few interesting discounts occasionally. · Business Ethics: According to Forbes, this segment falls in the Generation Z Category, and many members of Gen Z will completely boycott a company's goods if they don't like their morals and will encourage their friends to do the same. This is one of the things that Forever 21 is lacking behind, which may be a demotivation for this group to buy from. This is discussed more in detail later on in the Audit. · Word of Mouth/Social Influencer Marketing: Social media influencer recommendations are considered the most significant factor in driving online purchase decisions by 92% of Gen Z individuals. (Zareba, 2022) Additionally, they are more likely to buy things that are · Ease of Payments: Generation Z prefers to use mobile payment apps like Apple Pay or Google Pay to make purchases swiftly and safely. They utilize them when shopping both offline and online at merchants accepting contactless payments. Additionally, BNPL or Buy now, Pay trends have become increasingly important for this group as the majority of them have less disposable income, and BNPL are specifically targeted at them. Apple Pay, and Google Pay are also increasingly common for this group as it helps them ship quickly and securely with contactless payment. The present trend is being driven by millennials, therefore 44% of Gen Z customers will probably use BNPL at least once before the year is through. (Zareba, 2022) · Favorite Brands: Amazon, Apple, Zara, Target, H&M, Sephora, Whole Foods, Ulta Beauty, and TJ Maxx and Walmart. (YPulse, 2021) PR, Marketing and Communications Figure 2.0 displays the current instagram grid of Forever 21’s official page. From the grid itself, it can be determined that the majority of pictures are that of Gen-Z women that look between the ages of 18-26. They are young, and want to stay up to date with the current fashion trends. As one scrolls down the grid, the focus is highlighted in young women wearing the most up-to-date fashionable clothing. The colors that these females are wearing are bright and attractive for the audience. Similarly, Figure 2.1 is a snippet from the global fashion retailers latest campaign “Forever LA” which was essentially a homage to the company’s roots that are based in the City of Los angeles. The 2022 campaign logo represents six diverse areas of the city: Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, East Los Angeles, Malibu, Hollywood, and Venice. The campaign is inspired by the many lifestyles seen in the different Los Angeles regions. However, one major thing that can be noticed in this campaign is that the models are young, hip, and active in fashion trends. According to Ad Weekly, this campaign is essentially Forever 21’s way to rebrand itself with the Gen-Z culture. (Venegas, 2022) Figure 2.2 shows the focus the brand has on specifically females. The picture shows a google ads result from “Forever 21”. As can be seen from the picture, the majority of the Ad headlines are focused on “Shop All Women”, “Plus Size Women” and “Women Sales” etc. Figure 2.3 displays the landing Page of Forever 21 during the Black Friday sales. The company is famous for having really great discounts on trendy clothes, which is one of the important motivations for the target audience, as mentioned above. The model can be seen wearing a trendy item of clothing that is bright and attractive which is typical with Forever 21 items. Target Market Recommendation: From our interviews, and brand audit questions using the ZMet method, there were quite a few comments that popped up, and gained our attention in accordance with the Target Market. We make the recommendation that forever 21 is targeting the incorrect target market. Currently from its PR and Marketing Efforts, it seems as though the focus of the company is entirely on the female segment between ages 18-25. While the segment that they are targeting is correct, we believe that the company must change some of its operations, and PR image in order to better target this segment. SWOT Matrix Strengths: Weaknesses: - Strong brand awareness (Statista) - Large selection/variety of items - Online and in-store shopping presence - Cheap pricing - Bankruptcy in 2019 (Business Insider) - Unable to offer trends in-store as fast as online - Low popularity, usage, and loyalty among US consumers in fashion industry (Statista) Opportunities: Threats: - Appeal more to young adults with product offering - Have a better pulse on trends and respond faster (NPR) - Focus on improving the online experience from product offering to shipping (NPR) - Commitment to more ethical and sustainable practices (Yahoo! Life) - Stronger marketing/advertising presence (Statista) - Backlash regarding Fast-Fashion practices (NY Times) - Lawsuits regarding trademark and copyright issues (NY Times) - Other in-store fast-fashion retailers: H&M, etc (NPR) - Other online fast-fashion retailers: Shein, ASOS, Boohoo, Zara, etc (NPR, Yahoo! Life)