Unme Jeans Essay Example

Unme Jeans Essay Which, if any, of the three social media plans should Foley pursue? Why? Among the three marketing communications plans, Zwinktopia, Facebook and YouTube, I suggest that Margret Foley pursue the Zwinktopia option. The suggestion is based on the consideration of (1) how efficient the marketing vehicle reaches the target consumer; (2) how well the plan delivers the brand image of UnMe and (3) whether it fits into UnMe’s marketing budget. (1) How efficient the marketing vehicle reaches the target consumer UnMe jeans targeted at teen girls who have their own unique taste in fashion. They are social and are trend leaders in their communities. The target group has grown up with the development of Web 2. 0 as well as with the downturn of traditional media. Compare to YouTube and Facebook, which have an audience of all ages, Zwinktopia’s audience fits right into the target group of UnMe jeans. Zwinktopia is designed for the girls who are from 13 to 24 years old and focuses on the contents of fashion and music. The ultimate goal of marketing is to boost sales. As one of the largest virtual world, Second Life can tell certain trend in regards to marketing and sales. We will write a custom essay sample on Unme Jeans specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Unme Jeans specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Unme Jeans specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer According to 2007’s Virtual Product Sales on Slexchange, the largest sales generated from apparel. Also, the article addressed the audience is shifting from Second Life to other virtual world such as Zwinktopia. And by the end of 2011, it is estimated that 80% of the online users will have an appearance in the virtual world. It is reasonable to believe marketing on Zwinktopia will not only increase brand awareness but also boost sales in real world. (2) How well the plan delivers the brand image of UnMe Zwinktopia is the most straightforward media vehicle to deliver UnMe’s brand image among all three options. On Zwinktopia, UnMe will have its virtual retail store to announce any products simultaneously when a new edition of jeans is release in the real world. It encourages the Zwinkies to design their own outfits based on their unique taste. Additionally, Zwinktopia is easy to be linked to Facebook or MySpace. The campaign strategy well delivers UnMe’s brand image of individuality appreciation and encouraging teenager girls to stand out and to speak against conformity and peer pressure. The ideas of sharing the experience of wearing UnMe jeans and virtual jeans design competition on Zwinktopia are consistent with the culture of Web 2. social media. The marketing plan would empower potential consumers to get involved in, to co-create, and to share in their own way rather than pure delivering the message. Zwinktopia is most likely to be successful when compared to the widget on Facebook and the in-video ads on YouTube. (3) Whether it fits into UnMe’s marketing budget Last but not least, Zwinktopia’s marketing plan is the most economical one among all social medias. Ms. Foley’s marketing budget has a highest CPM of $29. 95 in the existing market plans. The cost of using Zwinktopia is $300,000 annually while $500,000 for Facebook and $600,000 for YouTube at a CPM of $40. Ms. Foley is seeking an experimental Web 2. 0 marketing plan so as to that the cost is definitely a constraint. In sum, using Zwinktopia as the marketing vehicle in the Web 2. 0 world would directly reach out the target teen girls, have them better understand UnMe’s concept, get engaged in the business and experience a relatively lowest financial risk compared to Facebook and YouTube’s high CPM. Thus, Zwinktopia is most likely to be successful when UnMe wishes to have a taste of Web 2. marketing. 2. What benefits would Foley gain from each of the three social media plans? What risks does each entail? How can Foley better reap the benefits and mitigate the risks of each of the programs? Zwinktopia-Benefits †¢The marketing plan of using Zwinktopia as a media vehicle would help UnMe to be engaged in a virtual market where the target demographics are concentrated. †¢Zwinktopia has the right content, fashion, for UnMe. Launching the virtual retail store in Zwinktopia would inform the audience about new products in real world and stimulate in-world purchasing of UnMe jeans. The jeans design competition in Zwinktopia would provide a platform for UnMe to learn about what the target audience wants and needs. The interaction with the potential consumers would increase the brand awareness and educate the target audience with UnMe’s concept and core knowledge. †¢Zwinktopia allows video uploads and is easy to be linked to other social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Cooperating with Zwinktopia would be benefit for future advertising in the horizontal social networks. †¢Zwinktopia option has the lowest initial investment operation cost and among all three marketing plans. Zwinktopia-Risks †¢The UnMe Company has never involved in any social media marketing. The marketing plan on paper sounds attractive and feasible but uncertainties and high learning curves might appear when the company takes action. †¢It lacks knowledge of Zwinkies. Just like Ms. Foley’s concern, the marketers cannot predict or control the avatar’s behavior. The virtual retail store might have normal customers and experience with virtual insanity. Some real life ethics and moral rules do not apply in the virtual life. †¢The marketing plan also drags UnMe into virtual competition. Apparel is the best sell in the virtual world but there are thousands of virtual retail stores selling hundreds of different brands. Also it is hard to choose the metrics or to measure the return on the advertising. †¢The amount of users on Zwinktopia is smaller than other social media. Facebook-Benefits †¢Facebook is one of the fastest growing social media. Its users spent the longest time on the website and it has the highest click through rate. †¢It’s very easy for UnMe to set up an account and once an individual befriended with UnMe jeans, UnMe would share her/his entire social community. UnMe’s friend on Facebook is UnMe’s ambassador. She would carry UnMe’s profile on her homepage and to her community. If UnMe had any updates and promotions, the message would appear on the â€Å"news feed† in the entire friend’s circle. Thus, Facebook profile picture increase the visibility of UnMe jeans. †¢Facebook provides an intera ctive environment that UnMe can directly speak to it’s friends/ customers. It would make the audience feel much closer to UnMe and build up a relationship with the company. †¢UnMe can use the photo and video uploading functions on Facebook in order to promote new lines and advertisements. Facebook- Risks †¢Commercial profiles are not new to Facebook users. The audience already learned how to ignore the advertisements on Facebook or just clicked on the profile and never checked it again. †¢As discussed in the case, the recall of any specific one is nearly equal to 0 when consumers view hundreds of ads on TV. Advertising on Facebook has the same clutter problem. †¢It would be hard for Ms. Foley to measure how much return from the advertising on Facebook. YouTube-Benefits †¢YouTube is world leading web 2. 0 social media and has the biggest amount of audience in the United States. The in-video advertising allows the audience to participate into the promotion strategy. YouTube users can interacted with each other by conducting comments, forwarding to a friend or uploading a new video regarding to the ad. †¢UnMe might learn some business experiences from other brands such as Axe and Toyota, which have already used YouTube channels for marketing succ essfully. YouTube- Risks †¢A successful YouTube in-video advertising depends on inserting in the right channel and the video itself. All highly viewed commercial videos are unique, creative and entertaining. These videos are distinctive in a good way that the YouTube audience felt like watching it and recommending it to anther friend. Therefore, if the assumption of an entertaining video failed, then there is no way to gain the high click rate or to achieve any of the marketing goals. †¢The cost of the YouTube marketing plan is the highest of all options. As an experimental social media plan, Ms. Foley would take too much financial risk as choosing the YouTube plan. †¢The UnMe Company has no control over the audience who watch the video. Whether they are the target consumers is remained unknown. And the interaction is between audience, not between UnMe and the consumers. UnMe cannot directly talk with the customer. In order to utilize each marketing plan, Ms. Foley has the following key points to be taken care of in order to enjoy the benefits and avoid potential risks; For establishing the UnMe virtual retail store in Zwinktopia, if Ms. Foley can hire some marketer who has experience dealing with virtual selling would be a plus to implement the marketing plan. The experienced employee might offset the high learning curve. For Facebook marketing, the most useful tool is the widget based on other’s successful story. How to design the widget decides how many people would add it to the homepage and use it. As proposed in the case, the key point for a popular widget is either it is very functional or it has a strong entertaining purpose. As to the in-video advertising on YouTube, the video should catch the eyes of teen girls and make them feel it is interesting and adding value. The marketing plan mentioned that the four-minute video would be selected by the uploads from teen girls who â€Å"forged their own identities†(Steenburch, 2008). It could go further into the audience such as selecting the â€Å"Miss UnMe† based on how popular the video clip is. Creating the buzz is the most difficult and valuable phase in this marketing plan. Also, hiring a professional team to create the four-minute video ad is critical. It must be professional, not just a simple put-everything-together clip. Like the â€Å"Bom chika Wah Wah† video, it is funny, distinctive and delivers a strong theme.