Precedent Studies

Advertising Strategy

       The advertising strategy is a very important part of the plan. This strategy will pull in audiences that JC Penney has not had before, and to do that there needs to be an appropriate plan, style and feeling portrayed. To start the strategy, both push and pull marketing will be focused on, with an emphasis on pull marketing. Since the company has not seen brands like Ivy Park before, the new style will draw attention of millennial shoppers and seek their interest.

       “Another example is the presence of manufacturers' representatives in retail outlets, such as a rep doling out free samples of a new food product in a supermarket” (Kibilko). Much like this example, JC Penney can have select stores in key areas with high populations to have specific sales reps for brands like Ivy Park. These reps will have advertising booths that have discounts and programs for customers practicing brand loyalty. This is just one form of mixed push and pull advertising among many others that will be implemented.

     A specific style of advertising will be in place with co-op characteristics with these brands. Funding will also be a joint effort to cover expenses, promote great brands, and draw more customers back to this shopping experience. Mediums for advertising will include: magazine ads, large banner ads near JC Penney locations or inside malls or outlets, Television ads, Spotify ads, and digital web ads. These mediums are specifically chosen to target the fast and active millennial audience that enjoy great brands.

        Stylizing of advertisements will carry the sleek and minimal JC Penney branding, along with co-op standards for selected fashion brands. The advertisements will focus on a clear message: how this clothing will appropriately fit into their active lifestyle and draw them into physical or digital stores. An example of this advertising was created and is seen below:

 

Precedent Studies

        Looking at the previous studies of the history of JC Penney is an important role in the restructure of the new marketing plan and company. In an interview with Rajiv Lal, some major issues were discussed about the fall and decline of JC Penney’s sales. “That comes out to sales of about $150 per square foot, which is probably in the lower third of department store sales, if not the lowest. In contrast, competitors like Macy's and Kohl's have sales of around $220 or $230 per square foot. (Rajiv Lal, 2013). Lal is trying to portray the comparison of the company with competitors such as Macy’s and Kohl’s. This was a time of struggle, as retailers were fighting over customers due to the exit of the recession.

        “To fix the problem of sameness and make it appealing for customers to come into the store, he came up with the idea of unique boutiques within each JC Penney -- the store-within-a-store concept.” (Rajiv Lal, 2013). Lal explains that JC Penney had brought themselves back from the decline by implementing ideas of specialty stores within their stores. These ideas can very much relate to the concept of bringing on fashion lines with high emphasis and focus for the new audience.

Other selling methods were discussed in the interview such as selling price points and the timeline in which those took place. CEO Johnson would implement a pricing strategy to have customers purposefully not interested in products for the first few weeks, and then prices would drop and it would draw interest. He eventually chose to cut to the point and do this right away, leading to an initial drop in prices to draw attention, fighting the competition more strategically.

References

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Consumer Sales Promotion Techniques | Chron.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/consumer-sales-promotion-techniques-1035.html

Digital PR for Millennials: How PR is Evolving. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hallaminternet.com/digital-pr-millennials/

Direct Marketing | What is Direct Marketing? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/direct-marketing.html

How Can Retailers Use Push & Pull Advertising? | Chron.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/can-retailers-use-push-pull-advertising-17743.html

JC Penney Consumer Analysis -. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://portfolios.journalism.ku.edu/sookie-thongkham/2015/07/31/jc-penney/

JC Penney Puts the Penny to Work in New Campaign | CMO Strategy - AdAge. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/beat-sheet/jc-penney-puts-penny-work-campaign/302808/

JCP Latest News & Analysis - J.C. Penney Company Inc. | Seeking Alpha. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/JCP

Marketing to Millennials: 5 Massive Trends That Are Leading the Way. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.shopify.com/blog/75614533-marketing-to-millennials-5-massive-trends-that-are-leading-the-way

Near a 37-Year Low, Is J.C. Penney Stock a Buy? -- The Motley Fool. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/14/near-a-30-year-low-is-jc-penney-stock-a-buy.aspx

PR for Millennials: The Five-Factor Recipe for a Winning Campaign | Bulldog Reporter. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bulldogreporter.com/pr-for-millennials-the-five-factor-recipe-for-a-winning-campaign/

Trade vs. Consumer Promotions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/integrated-marketing-communications-12/selecting-the-promotion-mix-for-a-particular-product-84/trade-vs-consumer-promotions-426-4129/

Why JCPenney's 'Fair and Square' Prices Are No Fun | TIME.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://business.time.com/2012/03/29/maybe-shoppers-dont-want-fair-and-square-prices-after-all/