We decided to conduct an IMC campaign for Gap because it is a very large and well-known retailer that has not been successful in capturing the student market in the last few years. Gap appeals to us with contemporary designs but the plain style that resulted from a new team of lead designers turned a lot of customers away from Gap's previously fashionable basics.
Lately, Gap's profits have been increasing with the introduction of some newer trendy products but we believe that it has the potential to do much better. Most of the clothing sold in Gap stores have been described as for business and casual wear, but Gap targets mostly college students and people aged between 18 and 24. According to our survey done on college students, most of them are aware of the brand and have shopped earlier at Gap before but did not find its ads convincing enough.
Based on these two inconsistencies in Gap's mission and our research results, we realized that Gap is facing some very serious problems that can be addressed with IMC.
[...] Segments in the target market The survey results showed that: - Most people shop 1-3 times a month of respondents) - Few say brand image is extremely important (only - Others are split evenly between a somewhat important and not-important brand image. This allowed us to come up with the following segments: The browsers: This consumer primarily shops wherever and whenever it is most convenient and has no real loyalty to any specific brand. Browsers go shopping without a particular purchase in mind. [...]
[...] Paying for the banners on Facebook and Myspace for $5,000 2 months Cost of the prizes of the online contest: Low cost $1,000 as prize#1 doesn't actually cost anything Organizing the on-campus event and sales for one $25,000 week Coupons: We plan to give coupons to 2000 female $10,000 students at USC), and each of them costs Publishing ads in the Daily Trojan for a duration $2,000 of two months Ads on Trojan radio and TV for 1 month before the $7,000 on campus sale TOTAL $75,000 V. [...]
[...] Based on these two inconsistencies in Gap's mission and our research results, we realized that Gap is facing some very serious problems that can be addressed with IMC Overview of the Brand History: Founded in 1969 by Donald Fisher, Gap was to be Mr. Fisher's solution to the problem of lack of customer servicing and fashionable clothing present in department stores of the time. Gap was well received by the customers since it was new and unique. It mainly targeted the younger generation, with products priced above the discount and below the premium brand prices. [...]
[...] Step one: Building a hypothesis To make sure we were building the right hypothesis, we started our research phase by self analysis, focus groups and a short and open questionnaire to our closest friends (this first questionnaire is in the appendix). This way, we were sure that we could trust the collected data and by interviewing several people, we also made sure that we had not forgotten anything. After the initial research questionnaire, we came up with the following hypothesis: USC students consider Gap an old fashion and old school brand USC students think Gap targets are more conservative, business or casual wear people or East Coast people. [...]
[...] - Looking for a specific piece of clothing - Browsing and looking for something that catches the eye - Both How important is brand image? - Very important: I buy only brands! - Somewhat important: I want brands for some items, and for others I don't care - Not important: I buy what I like and good quality/price ratios How important is store atmosphere (design, layout, music, decoration)? - Very important: I like shopping in a trendy atmosphere - Somewhat important: I don't really notice - Not important : I don't care What adjective describes Gap best? [...]
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