Tuesday, 11 November 2014.
MARKETING
PLAN:
1
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION _______________________________________________________________________________ 2
Mission and Vision __________________________________________________________________________ 2
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS _____________________________________________________________________ 2
3 C’s ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2
SWOT Analysis _____________________________________________________________________________ 3
NEW POSITIONING STRATEGY ______________________________________________________________ 4
The Product ________________________________________________________________________________ 4
TARGET AUDIENCE: PERSONA ______________________________________________________________ 4
COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES _____________________________________________________________ 5
NEW COMMUNICATION STRATEGY ________________________________________________________ 6
Big Idea ___________________________________________________________________________________ 6
Advertising ________________________________________________________________________________ 6
Above The Line __________________________________________________________________________ 6
Below the line ____________________________________________________________________________ 8
BUDGET _______________________________________________________________________________________ 16
MEDIA SCHEDULE ___________________________________________________________________________ 18
BIBLIOGRAPHY ______________________________________________________________________________ 19
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Introduction
Polaroid Corporation is an American company which manufactures cameras, films and
optical gear. The company was founded in 1932 by the late Edwin Herbert Land, who
invented instant photography. In 1947 the company introduced to the market the first
instantaneous developing film with the pioneer camera Polaroid Land, becoming an instant
trend as well as many of its successors. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013).
Polaroid, throughout the 90’s, continued to develop new products including their cameras,
floppy disks and medical and security equipment. And in 1996 the business released its first
digital camera to the market. However, sales fell from 2.3 billion dollars in 1994 to just over
750 million dollars in 2003 (Dentch, 2008). Due to the extremely competitive markets, with
the likes of Fuji, Sony and Panasonic dominating the market, the company was obliged to file
for bankruptcy in 2001 and after being bought, ceased production of cameras by 2007
(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2013).
Mission and Vision
“Through our continued innovation, we help people see and experience the world by
integrating new technologies, emerging trends and the constantly evolving digital
world into the realm of instant photography, cameras and consumer electronics. For
the past 75 years, the Polaroid brand has developed one of the world’s most widely
recognized consumer brands and is poised to compete on the industry’s global stage”
(Polaroid, 2014).
Situational Analysis
3 C’s
Company
The Impossible Project was created in 2008 to avoid the classic Polaroid cameras from
becoming obsolete. The business was given this name due to the intricate work put towards
the project, not only to acquire the Polaroid factory plant, but also to manufacture its products
to keep the Polaroid image alive and interesting. The vintage cameras and its accessories
appeal to a niche market, which can vary from collectors to photography enthusiasts (The
Impossible Project, 2014). In 2010, Polaroid appointed Lady Gaga as one of their creative
directors. The partnership was created mainly to promote Polaroid’s Grey Label, their
futuristic product line (Miller, 2011).
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Competitors
Fujifilm is the only direct competitor for Polaroid, attempting to penetrate the instant camera
market, they released the Instax ranges, in the beginning 90’s. The technology was similar to
Polaroid’s but claimed to be improved. Fujifilm was only allowed to commercialise the
Instax cameras in certain territories until the Polaroid’s patent expired mid 90’s. Today, the
right to sell the Instax is Polaroid’s and the latest range is named Polaroid 300 (Smith, 2008).
Cannon, Nikon and Sony are indirect competitors due to their reputation, reliability and huge
market share in the digital camera industry.
The biggest indirect competitors for Polaroid are, without a doubt, smartphones. With the
popularisation of functional mobile phones and camera quality, it has become a bigger
challenge for
Customers
In the end of the 90’s, Polaroid’s target markets were current users, lapsed owners, and those
who had never owned an instant camera, between their 20s and 40s (Lane, 2007).
Since the recent recession, consumers have been slowly recovering their buying power. With
the growth of disposable income among the middle class consumer , there is an increase in
consumption.
In recent years, Polaroid’s classic models and new developments apply to the following target
markets and segments:
Generation X – People who have followed the brand and its products’ developments
since its formation.
Generation Y – Young adults and teenagers who consider Polaroid a fashionable
product to own and use.
Experiencers – Trendy people - hipsters - who are interested in vintage cameras.
Photographers – Amateurs and professionals who share a passion for iconic items
(Jiang, 2013).
SWOT Analysis (Data Monitor, 2004)
Strengths
Strong and recognizable brand name
International distribution channels
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Weaknesses
Damaged brand image and name – bankruptcy
Old fashioned technology
Opportunities
To establish position the digital camera market
To advance and improve existing digital cameras’ technology
Threats
Well established competitors in the industry
Smart phones’ camera quality
New Positioning Strategy
The Product The Polaroid Socialmatic, running on Google Android’s operating system, is a 14 megapixel
camera with built in Wi-Fi and 3G broadband supported which connects the user with social
media apps to share photos online, it also allows user to edit the photos and add text or clip
art. The camera also prints 2"x3" photos instantly, using Zink photo paper, so it does not
requires any ink, and features a 4.5” touchscreen LCD display. The camera will also have
16GB of expandable photo storage.
The initial price setting for the Socialmatic will be around $299, with the photo paper costing
between $0.40 and $0.50, sold in packets of 20, 50 or 100 photos. Different colours and
pattern covers will be available to buy, allowing consumers to personalize their own camera.
Target Audience: Persona
It was researched that the Polaroid is targeted at upper to middle class young public. To
reinforce this research, statistics on Instagram showed that 10% of its users are aged between
15 to 24 years old and 6.8% of students’ worldwide use Instagram, additionally, their public
is predominately feminine with 25% part of the higher income (AB) audience.
Laura Fennin.
Laura is a 20 year old college student, she studies Arts at UCD.
She likes brand names and looking her best.
She’s a loyal customer to brands she perceives as cool and original,
such as Apple and Starbucks. She’s an influenced by trends and
celebrities.
She uses a lot of social media, including Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram. She loves Snapchat and Instagram to share photos of her
life with her friends
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The target market also seems to be constantly multi-tasking thus, they desire devices that are
practical and will perform several tasks at a time and are willing to pay premium prices for
this products, such as the current prices of smartphones averaging the same price as a tablet
or laptop (Integreon, 2011).
Communication Objectives
The method of setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based)
goals is the most effective tools used by researchers to achieve their goals accurately and in a
consistent manner (Hadley, 2013).
The SMART objectives for this project are:
1. To reposition the brand, with the Socialmatic, as the target customers top of mind.
2. To launch the Polaroid Socialmatic onto the market
3. To increase sales for Christmas 2014 and the following year.
4. To create awareness and popularise the product among the target market, the
Generation Z (born between 1993 - 2000).
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New Communication Strategy
Big Idea
Because Polaroid is an iconic brand, the creative theme behind the launch of the Polaroid
Socialmatic will combine both nostalgia and modern trends. Before Polaroid’s decline in the
market in the last decade, it left its influence. It is referenced in the Outkast hit song “Hey
Ya” (2003). This inspired some of the original ideas for the marketing plan, specifically to
incorporate the “shake it like a Polaroid picture” ideal. This idea then had to be adapted as,
due to a change in trends and generations, it seemed irrelevant to today’s market.
The creative idea needed to incorporate both the tangible, printing element of the product as
well as the sharing element. Twin taglines will be used, “Because some things are meant to
last forever” and “Because some things are meant to be shared”. Different photo-worthy
events will be used alongside the tagline, for instance, a wedding day or a family photo. The
theme should evoke feelings of happiness and nostalgia with viewers while also showing the
product to be fun and innovative.
Advertising
Above The Line
Because Polaroid Socialmatic is such a visual product, radio ads will not be used.
Advertisements were the customers can see the product and its features will be used. This
will help to raise awareness of the product and hopefully place the product in the customers
evoke set.
Visual mediums, such as ads in print media and billboards as well as television adverts will
heavily incorporate the “big idea”. For television ads, the camera will be shown taking photos
of memorable occasions and silly, fun pictures. A over voice will describe each photo, for
example, for the great nights out; for the sun days; for the snow days; for your big day; for
hellos; for goodbyes: Because some memories are meant to last forever. The background
music in the advert will be fun, feel good indie style music like the band The Neighbourhood.
Television channels, including RTÈ, RTÈ 2, TV3 and E4 will be used to show the television
ad. Programmes such as Love/Hate, The X Factor and Home and Away all attract a high
viewership within the target demographic (Media Live, 2014). The British channel E4 is
popular in Ireland with the target market also.
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The same idea will be used for print adverts, making it easier for customers to recognise and
link the two. Photos will be shown with the alternating taglines as the television advert
written on them. In the corner of the ad will be the camera as well as information about it.
These will be used in portrait and landscape, depending on the medium. Women’s magazines
such as U Magazine, Glamour, Company and Kiss will all be used to show the ads.
Ambiance marketing will be used in the form of small billboards, on bus stops and Luas
stops, where people are waiting idle.
Because Polaroid Socialmatic is such a visual product, radio ads will not be used.
Advertisements were the customers can see the products will be used. This will help to raise
awareness of the product and hopefully place the product in the customers evoke set.
Visual mediums, such as ads in print media and billboards as well as television adverts will
heavily incorporate the “big idea”. For television ads, the camera will be shown taking photos
of memorable occasions and silly, fun pictures. A over voice will describe each photo, for
example, for the great nights out; for the sun days; for the snow days; for your big day; for
hellos; for goodbyes. Snap it. Share it. The background music in the advert will be fun, feel
good indie style music like the band The Neighbourhood. Television channels, including
RTÈ, RTÈ 2, TV3 and E4 will be used to show the television ad. Programmes such as
Love/Hate, The X Factor and Home and Away all attract a high viewership within the target
demographic. The British channel E4 is popular in Ireland with the target market also.
The same idea will be used for print adverts, making it easier for customers to recognise and
link the two. Photos will be shown with the same taglines as the television advert written on
them. In the corner of the ad will be the camera as well as information about it. These can
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also be converted and used for billboards. . Women’s magazines such as U Magazine,
Glamour, Company and Kiss will all be used to show the ads. Ambiance marketing will be
used in the form of small billboards, on bus stops and Luas stops, where people are waiting
idle.
Below the line
Since the target market is frequent users of the internet and smart phones, it is important for
the product to be represented on the medium. Google is the most popular search engine,
google ads can be specialized to appear when certain keywords are searched. For a Polaroid
Socialmatic ad to appear 100 keywords would be searched, including the following words:
Polaroid Socialmatic Picture Instagram
Memories Share it Retro Photography
Camera Instant Filters Photo
YouTube ads are designed to be used across all of YouTube’s media platforms, including on
computers, tablets and smart phones. Advertising on YouTube can be specific to gender; age
and country of the user and you only pay when your ad is viewed (YouTube 2014). It also
includes an analytics tool to see who’s interacting with the ad. Banner ads, video ads and
Call-to-Action overlays are all used on
YouTubes website (Support Google,
2014). A Socialmatic Polaroid campaign
will run for one week in November and
again in the following few weeks to
reinstate the message to consumers.
Internet banner ads will be shown on Irish websites such as Entertainment.ie and Her.ie, who
have predominantly female users between the ages of 15-34 (Media Live, 2014).
Public Relations
A launch event will be held for members of the press, internet bloggers as well as celebrities.
A competition will run on Facebook and Twitter to win invitations to the event and a free
camera (this is also encouraging people to like and follow the brand pages on the social
media sites). The purpose of the launch party will be to officially launch the product to the
market and to raise awareness amongst potential consumers.
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To portray the product as original and cool, a trendy venue is essential. The event will be held
at The Hanover, at Hanover Quay in Dublin 2, on the 4th of September at 7 p.m.
The venue will have pictures hanging from the ceiling, around the bar and on the walls, all
with the classic Polaroid frame. The venue will be mainly white coloured with the
Socialmatic logo colour scheme as details. The event will send invitation 350 guests
including bloggers, musicians and the media relevant to our targeted consumers, and Suzanne
Jackson will feature in the party as a special guest. The goodie bags will include an exclusive
cover for the Socialmatic camera and boxed Socialmatic themed cupcakes.
To entertain the guests, four bands are lined up to play during the event: Ham Sandwich,
Delorentos, The Coronas and, as the headliner act, American indie sensation, The
Neighbourhood.
Ten invitations to members of the public will be sent following a social media
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Entrance
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Press Release
Press Release
August 25th, 2014.
Contact: Mariane Walsh
Tel: 087 968 7627
Polaroid To Launch Socialmatic Camera INdie Style in Dublin
Polaroid to launch their newest must have product, Socialmatic camera. The event will happen on
Thursday 4th of September at 7 pm, in The Hanover venue, Dublin 2. The party has confirmed as
guests some well-known faces to the indie scene and will comprise four live acts from Delorentos,
Ham Sandwich, The Coronas and The Neighbours as the headliners, plus Suzanne Jackson as a
special guest.
“We are really happy to launch the Socialmatic camera after such a great response from the public in
our VIP lounge at Oxegen this year.” – said Laura Shroff, Polaroid’s press office manager “– we hope
all guests have fun at the party so they will get the essence of the Socialmatic – which is making the
special moments in life to last forever.”
Ten competition winners from Twitter and Facebook will be able to join the party and win
Socialmatics cameras.
The Socialmatic camera is able to print and share the pictures in the classic Polaroid frame. With 14
Megapixels and a 5 inch touchscreen, the products are going to be a hit when enter shelves throughout
the country at September 15th, 2014.
ENDS
Note to Editor: To enter the Facebook competition, participants must like and share the Polaroid Socialmatic
Facebook page. To enter the Twitter competition, participants must answer why they want to join the product
and win the camera on Polaroid Socialmatic Twitter page.
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Promotions
As the product is targeted at female teenagers to
young adults, Christmas sales are very important.
The target market needs to know about the
product before its launch in September. Photo
Booths will be set up at summer festivals and
large, central shopping centres, such as St.
Stevens Green, WhiteWater and Dundrum. The
booths will feature the interface of the camera on
the screen inside and allow consumers to try out
all the features and print out their own photo. The
booths will be white with the multi-coloured stripes that are Polaroid’s trademark. They will
also have pictures of the product on the sides and brochures for the users to take. These will
be hosted on different weekends in different stores, Dundrum is the largest shopping centre in
Ireland, and for this reason the booth will be host here during both its launch week in
September and the weekend of the 8th of December, the busiest shopping week of the year
(Bray 2013). The booth will be host in other centres in the weeks coming up to Christmas.
During the summer season, before the products launch, the booth will also be used a music
festivals popular with our target audience, such as Oxegen and The Electric Picnic to get raise
awareness amongst our target market.
Oxegen 2014 - Event Promotion
To make our target market experience the essence of the brand, it was decided to buy a space
at Oxegen 2014 for a Socialmatic VIP lounge. The lounge will be furnished with a bar, TVs,
confortable sofas, barbecue and a beer garden where the VIP festival goers can rest and have
fun. The space will also include Socialmatic cameras, where our VIP guests can get familiar
with the product and share the pictures taken in the Socialmatic Lounge at the festival..
At the entrance, the guests can ‘chill’ at the decking area and enjoy a barbecue outdoors.
Indoors, to the left of the lounge, there is a screen featuring the Socilmatic camera, to the
right is the lounge bar. At the center of the building there is a round table displaying the
cameras (being held by security wires) where the guests can try out the products. The back of
the lounge is where the confort area is, comprising two large couches and beanbags. At the
back corner there will be a member of the staff taking pictures of the guests and sharing them
on Socialmatic.
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Also, two Sociomatic photobooths will be placed outside the lounge, those facilities can be
used by non-VIP members as well.
Social Media
Since the chosen target market has a high social media presence and the products tie in with
the app and website Instagram, an involved social media plan is very important for the
communications strategy.
The product uses Instagram features, so a strong link is a necessity. Creating a
@SocialmaticPoloroid, Instagram account can be used to show examples of the products
features. This can be tied in the consumers call to action, creating a specific hashtag
(#SMpolaroidoftheday) allows users to tag their photos and each day one will be chosen to
feature on the page. This encourages consumers to interact with the brand as well as
promoting the product itself.
For websites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, a brand account will be made and
kept. These will all also feature links to the #SMpolaroidoftheday. Twitter and Facebook can
also be used to keep followers up to date of news and competitions.
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Budget The Socialmatic target market is female, part of generation Z and have a higher income class.
This market, population of approximately 282 thousand, represents the group that have grown
up in the digital world; therefore they are prone to be dependent on technological devices.
According to research, products such as mobile phones (43%) and computers (51%) have a
better importance classification than television (3%), making social media vital for the
development of Socialmatic’s marketing plan, even though television advertisements will
also be used in this campaign (Integreon, 2011). The reason behind TV advertising is that it
will create awareness for the public that can then reach out to our target market. For example,
a boyfriend buying his girlfriend a present.
Whereas social media will be highly utilised as a platform to advertise the product, the
participation of Socialmatic at festivals is essential to create a buzz about the product. At the
same time that the launch party creates awareness of its availability of when the camera will
enter the Irish retail shelves.
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Platform Via Cost (incl. 30% discount)
Online (based on
number of clicks x
days advertised)
YouTube (Estimated) €0.20 (per click) x 8,000 €22,400
Google (Estimated) €0.40 (per click) x 5,000 €240,000
Her.ie (Estimated) €0.10 (per click) x 1,000 €1,400
Entertainment.ie (Estimated) €0.06 (per click) x 500 €900
Section Total €277,300
Television RTE 5 x €31,346
TV3 5 x €22,547
E4 5 x €36,624
Section Total €452,585
Print Company(Position B) 4 x €9,839
Glamour (Position B) 4 x €10,662
Sunday Times Style Magazine
(Inside, back page)
3 x €7,000
U Magazine (Full page) 8 x €2,464
Kiss (Full page) 4 x €2,380
Section Total 139,628
Events
Annual Informational and
Technology Conference
€12,368
Oxegen (Production Company) €26,740 + €52,000 Fee
Electric Picnic €25,000
Section Total: 113,570
Launch Event Production Company €52,619
Section Total €52,619
Outdoor JCDecaux(24 panels) €30,000
Section Total €30,000
Promotion Venues St. Stephen’s Green 18,120
White Water 12,332
Dundrum 22,500
Section Total 52,952
TOTAL BUDGET €1,088,654
*Source: Media Live.
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Media Schedule To maximize sales before the Christmas market, the product will be launched in September.
MEDIA MONTH MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC
TELEVISION ROI Only –RTE, TV3,
TG4
Target Audience
Women 15-25
E4
OUTDOOR JCDecaux
PRESS
Company
Glamour
U
Sunday Times Style
Kiss
INTERNET
Youtube
Google Search
Her.ie
Entertainment.ie
PR
Launch Event Annual Informational and
technology conference
PROMOTIONS
Electric Picnic
Oxegen
St. Stephens Green
White Water
Dundrum
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Bibliography
Bray, A. 2013. Toy shops facing busiest day of year next Monday. [online] Available at:
http://www.herald.ie/lifestyle/toy-shops-facing-busiest-day-of-year-next-monday-29789922.html
[Accessed: 23 Mar 2014].
Encyclopedia Britannica. 2013. Polaroid Corporation (American company). [online] Available at:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/467177/Polaroid-Corporation [Accessed: 10 Mar 2014].
Hatmaker, T. 2014. Polaroid Socialmatic Camera: A Retro Instagram-Style Dream. [online]
Available at: http://readwrite.com/2013/03/04/polaroid-socialmatic-
camera#awesm=~oyia567naBhau7 [Accessed: 12 Mar 2014].
Ireland Wanderer. 2014. The biggest shopping malls in Ireland | Ireland Travel Guides. [online]
Available at: http://www.irelandwanderer.com/the-biggest-shopping-malls-in-ireland/ [Accessed: 23
Mar 2014].
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at: http://millennialmarketing.com/2010/01/who-is-the-gen-y-hipster/ [Accessed: 12 Mar 2014].
Nanji, A. 2014. Who Uses Instagram? Marketers, Students, and IT Workers. [online] Available at:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2013/12225/who-uses-instagram-marketers-students-and-it-
workers [Accessed: 23 Feb 2014].
Support Google. 2014. TrueView video ads - YouTube Help. [online] Available at:
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2679940?topic=30072&ctx=topic [Accessed: 23 Mar
2014].
White J. Polaroid's Original Camera Gets Reinvented For The Instagram Generation -- AppAdvice.
[online] Available at: http://appadvice.com/appn2014/01/ces-2014-polaroids-original-camera-gets-
reinvented-for-the-instagram-generation [Accessed: 12 Mar 2014].
Youtube. 2014. Why it Works - YouTube. [online] Available at:
https://www.youtube.com/yt/advertise/why-it-works.html [Accessed: 23 Mar 2014].
*The group does not own any of the corporation and press images used in this creative project. They were all taken
online.