COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY

Lucy CottrellDan Fairhurst

James Peck

CONTENT

Communications Aims

Creative Brief

Brand Positioning

Research, Qualitative and Quantitative

Competitor Analysis

Market Analysis

UK FOOTWEAR MARKET

CLARKS

CLARKS

SWOT

Strengths

• Brand longevity• Loyal customers

• Market leader in UK• Well known for great quality products

SWOT

Weaknesses

• Brand perceived as boring• Alienated future target audience

• Customers unaware of iconic 'desert boot'

SWOT

Opportunities

• Use brand loyalty to advantage• Expansion overseas

• China population of 1 billion+

SWOT

Threats

• Competitor expansion overseas• Economic threats

• Global expansion failure

UK COMPETITORS

Russell & Bromley

• Niche premium brand• Focusing on growth of e-commerce

• Sales risen by 25% between 2007 and 2011

GERMAN MARKET

• Growth in casual footwear to 52% of the market

• Skepticism in the market

GERMAN COMPETITORS

Geox

• Patented Geox breathes system

CHINESE MARKET

CHINESE MARKET

CHINESE COMPETITORS

ECCO

• Between dependent and pre-family

categories• Suceeder or

reformer categories

TARGET AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

• Young Professionals

• Aged 18 – 30

• Stylish &

Sophisticated

• Aware of fashion

trends

TARGET AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

TARGET AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Online Questionnaires

In-depth Interviews

Focus Groups

1

2

3

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

• Issues with brand image

• Consumers often put style before

comfort

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

QUANTITATIVE RESULTS

BRAND POSITIONING

This brand key identifies what the

brand does for consumers,

showing the development to a

brand essence, which forms the

vital element to be used in an

advertising campaign.

TARGET MARKET

• Individuals that want comfortable and stylish shoes

• Aged 18-30• Cares about the

durability of their shoes

INSIGHT

I want shoes that express my personality and therefore must be stylish whilst also maintaining comfort and durability

• Clarks shoes last a lifetime

• Keep my feet comfortable

• Comfort without compromise

BRAND BENEFITS

• Strong and proud history• Quality assured

REASONS TO BELIEVE

DISCRIMINATOR

Clarks will provide me with a sophisticated style of shoe that wont break or become uncomfortable under the stresses of every day wear

A lifetime of sophistication

BRAND ESSENCE

PERCEPTUAL MAPS

PERCEPTUAL MAPS

UK OBJECTIVES

• Aim o Infiltrate the young professional demographico Maintain the current consumer baseo Change consumer perception of Clarks, specifically, psychologically influencing the

consumer that Clarks do sell stylish shoes, shoes that also prioritize comfort.

• Objectiveso Increase UK sales of footwear to 18-30 year olds by 5-10% by 2016.o Increase online traffic by 20% within 2 yearso Maintain leadership of UK shoe market.

UK OBJECTIVES

• Tacticso Web-based interactions with young professionals using social media sites such as

Facebook and Twitter.o Outdoor promotions placed in areas of high young-professional foot-fallo Interactive media i.e. interactive posters placed in train stations for example.o Sales promotions i.e. ‘50% off next purchase’ to encourage repeat purchase.

UK OBJECTIVES

GERMANY OBJECTIVES

• Aim o Germany: Increasing overall brand awareness and building positive brand

perceptions

• Objectiveso Increase advertising reach by 15% within 3 yearso Increase awareness of Clarks by 20-30% in 3 yearso Increase sales in the German footwear market by 5% by 2016

• Tacticso Web based promotions, i.e. 'then and now' photos higlisghting longevity of Clarks

footwear. o Outdooor advertising in places of high general footfall in order to increase reach.

CHINA OBJECTIVES

• Aim o China: Raise awareness of the Clarks brand.

• Objectiveso Increase sales in the Chinese footwear market by 5% by 2016o Increase advertising reach by 5 million impressions within 3 yearso Increase awareness of Clarks by 5% in 3 years

• Tacticso Look bookso Fashion shows in order to highlight the stylishness of the shoeso Ambient advertising

CAMPAIGN EVALUATION

• Aim o Increase UK sales of footwear to 18-30 year olds by 5-10% by 2016.o Germany: Increasing overall brand awareness and building positive brand

perceptionso China: Raise awareness of the Clarks brand.

• Evaluationo UK: the effectiveness of the media can be gauged by impromptu surveys which will

question the salience of the advertising o China: also measured quantitatively by monitoring sales figures while still

accounting for market growth.o Germany: measured quantitatively by monitoring the sales figures both online and

instore

CREATIVE ELEMENT

BRAND ESSENCE & PROPOSITION