Research - Packaging designs targeted at teengers

JUSTIN BIEBER - SOMEDAY PERFUME

Justin Bieber's perfume is designed particularly to target the audience consisting of teenage girls since when his music career has a fan-base consisting of mainly teenage girls. This product is specifically targeted at his fans in a way to test their dedication to the male singer and they are persuaded to believe to be a true fan of him by buying his merchandise which will include this perfume he released.

VERA WANG - PRINCESS PERFUME

Vera Wang is a well-known fashion brand especially in the wedding industry. Their fashion consists of mainly providing the most elegant of wedding gowns to those women who are going to be brides. Even more specifically, their fashion brand has a target audience for women between the ages of mid 20s to late 30s. However, even though the wedding gowns aren't targeted at teenagers (since there are fewer teenagers getting married nowadays) specifically, they have a perfume brand that young girls can have under the brand name. Since the brand is well-known, teenage girls who are brand enthusiasts may purchase this product in order to be with the 'in-crowd' among their friends. Also, most teenage girls tend to fantasise on having their own wedding so why not purchase a perfume to make them feel closer towards having their dream or to help them fantasise even more as to what their own wedding day will be. Plus, the name "Princess" can be used to define a girl before she gets married to her prince (fiancé) and then becomes a 'queen'.

ONE DIRECTION - OUR MOMENT

One Direction's first ever perfume released is 'Our Moment' and which their product is targeted towards teenage girls due to their fan-base for their music, consists of mainly teenage girls. One Direction is one of the most biggest boy bands known on a global scale so not only will their merchandise that has their face plastered on them is targeted to teenage girls but they're also targeted at all the teenage girls around the world! Fans of One Direction can display their dedication to the boy band by purchasing their merchandise which will also include their perfumes they release.

TAYLOR SWIFT - WONDERSTRUCK

Wonderstruck is a perfume released by the country-pop singer, Taylor Swift. Her fan-base as a solo musician also consists mainly teenage girls so this is the perfect product for those who are her fans. Once again, the dedication and devotion to the singer can be tested by the fans if they buy her merchandise by her or with her on them. However, Taylor Swift's personality could be represent through the designs by telling her audience that she is quite an elegant person with a fashion-taste for formal dresses and such. The packaging with the bottle itself compliment each other since they're both elegant looking and also, quiet expensive. This could be used among teenage girls to advertise their wealth by purchasing this perfume. Teenage girls may also see Taylor Swift as an inspiration and may even aspire to be like her so by believing that purchasing her perfume could make them seem more like her in a way.

SOMETHING IN COMMON ABOUT ALL THE PERFUME PRODUCTS...

1. They all use very similar colour schemes consisting of very stereotypical female colours such as pink and purple. This could mean that their target audiences may fit with the characteristics of a stereotypical teenage female audience, making it easier to sell the product since there will be a majority of the teenage female audience that will conform to those stereotypes and be appealed to the product.
2. The majority of the perfume products targeted at teenage girls are by famous music artists that have a fan-base consisting of teenage girls (a selling point).
3. They use symbolic shapes such as the crown for the lid of the perfume (Vera Wang and One Direction Perfume), rose petals in the shape of hearts for the lid (Justin Bieber Perfume).

Planning - Rough Sketches for Poster

Design Idea 1

The shots I wanted to use for this idea were close up shots of each of the boys then their heads will be cropped and placed around the perfume bottle which will be the main focus of the whole poster. The name of the perfume and the name of the band will be displayed under the perfume in order to label it. The background would've used the style of the rays of the sun with the main colour pink and the bottle may be on a black table with white typography to allow the name to be bold.

Design 2

Following with the photography style used in design 1, I wanted to apply it again with the second design but with a different layout. I've decided that the focus would still be the perfume in the middle but it would only be noticed if the boys got noticed by the audience (since this is a celebrity endorsed product). The colour scheme will still follow with pink, white and black while the photography layout for the boys will be their faces in an individual part each.

Research - Target Audience Survey Analysis

This is the survey that I undertook with a secondary school. The survey sample consisted of 6 pupils from each year group from 7 to 13.

These are the results I obtained from carrying out this survey.

                       

Research - Target Audience Research Survey

I've decided to carry out an online survey with the year groups 7 to 13 in my sixth form and I'll only be asking females since the project is about finding out what makes a successful marketing campaign targeted to teenage girls from ages 13 to 18 years old.

Research - Top 10 Most Effective Marketing Techniques STATS

A small survey for businesses was taken in 2012 which reveals the top 10 most effective marketing strategies.

1. Email marketing – 83%
2. Website (content and SEO) – 71%
3. In-person interactions – 68%
4. Social media – 49%
5. Events 41%
6. Outbound calling – 33%
7. PR – 22%
8. Direct mail – 21%
9. Traditional advertising (TV, radio, print, etc.) – 17%
10. Pay-per-click – 17%

This results suggest that inbound marketing is above the 50% margin while traditional marketing is becoming less effective on the consumers nowadays which means it has less of an impact on the business.

"The Internet, through the use of search, has changed how people purchase goods and services."
Meaning, "Consumers now are in full control of the information they get and how they get it."
Businesses will need to make sure that the information that's presented to them is valuable and meets standards with the product they're being advertised with. Consumers nowadays can also comment and review on the experience with the product which can either lead to a positive way to market the product or generate no to very little income for it.

It's quite logical. Consumers are able to see customer's reviews on the product (if it's been been posted publicly online) and this will also influence on their decision whether to purchase the product or not.

Consumers have the power to help a business or to destroy them now so businesses need to make sure that advertise and state their message of the product correctly to the consumers in order for it to be a success.


Source: http://www.weidert.com/whole_brain_marketing_blog/bid/108524/Top-10-Most-Effective-Marketing-Strategies

Research - Analysis of Perfume Commercial

Television commercials nowadays are becoming more and more commonly used for advertising in general. It's probably one of the most used marketing techniques when advertising particular product brands and common everyday products. This may be one of the most effective ways of getting the message across to the audience about what they have to offer.
In the perfume industry, television advertising is one of the main techniques used in order to let the audience know about particular brands releasing new fragrances. Even, fashion brands release perfume of their own in order to satisfice the consumer wants of owning particular branded items.

However in this post, I’ll be analysing a perfume advertisement of the boy band, ‘One Direction’ since they are now part of my artefact as well as my artefact being based on celebrity branding and endorsement.


 

Mis-en-scene

At the beginning of the advertisement, it was obvious that it’s set in the studio with a white or light backdrop. They used props associated with nature such as berries and flowers which can indicate that the fragrance is quite natural, light-scented and fresh. The colour scheme featured in the background was white and even the furniture used was also white which could symbolise the purity of the perfume and the boy band.

The lighting used is artificial lighting in order to make the objects being reflected by the light be visible and clear. It also demonstrates that it's a clean environment so it'll also be reflected through the person's opinion that the perfume scent is something clean.

The boys all wear very casual clothing which could be to connote that they are pretty laid back as a group and comfortable with each other. Even though they are professional pop-stars, their music audience has seen snippets of their personalities via social media therefore, it would make sense to go with how the audience sees them so to no cause any confusion on who the boys really are.

Figure 1 - One Direction mucking about at a photoshoot

The overall analysis of the perfume commercial has come to the fact that if the boyband image and personality works for their target audience then the product sells. Whether they're looking dapper in suits for the red carpet or making a wreck behind-the-scenes, it's all part of the personality that sells products.

This suggests that teenage girls enjoy seeing their favourite celebrity or musician being themselves. It comes them feel comfortable with having an outgoing personalities which is demonstrated in the One Direction perfume advert and other images they feature in. If it's something that can make them smile or feel a sense of comfort and safety (through their music) then this is the reward for One Direction in return which is being committed to buy their merchandise and products.

Research - 5 Successful Marketing Techniques

These following five marketing techniques are said to be successful in order to effectively grow the business by increasing the sales of the product.

1.    Keep Adding Something New

By adding and creating something new for your business, it presents the opportunity to gain on the sales.

For example, adding additional information to your website creates the selling opportunity when customers visit the website to see new information. This is allowing the customers to have more symmetrical information on the company as well as the products.

Even adding a new product or service to the current items on offer can produce a massive gain in sales.

The added product is able to increase your sales in 3 different areas:

-       Attracting new customers who weren’t interested in the current goods and services on offer

-       Generates a repetition of sales from existing customers since they’d want the new product from the company brand

-       Bigger sales by combining 2 or more items into special package offers.

2.    Become a Valuable Resource

To become a resource for your customers can establish the reliance on your business with them which can be done by supplying them with free information. This helps the customers to do things faster, easier and cheaply.

A arise in the opportunity of being able to sell them something each time they go back to the business for help is available.

3.    Separate Yourself from Your Competition

A business should create a reason for customers as to why they should do business with them rather than with another business that’s offering the same or similar products.

For example, providing faster results, easy procedures, personal attention or a better guarantee.

Find a unique advantage to offer to the customers that your competitors aren’t able to offer. Promoting this advantage through advertising can give potential customers the reason as to why they should do business with your rather than your competition and this will automatically give you an increase in sales.

4.    Promote the End Result

The only thing customers are looking out for is the advantage of the good or service produced when in use.

For example, car buyers want convenient transportation with a certain image.

A promotion on the end results of the product customers want to see should be used in every marketing media tool used by the business.

5.    Anticipate Change

Massive businesses are very aggressive and are very innovative competitors with rapidly changing technology which makes it nearly impossible for smaller businesses to compete with.

In order for a business to increase their number of sales, they should be able to accept changes applying to their business. Such as the increasing use of technology becoming heavily embedded into how businesses nowadays carry out their promotion through traditional methods as well as using social media.

It’s best if the business doesn’t wait for the moment their income starts to decline. They should take action and develop the habit of looking for early signs or signals of something in the business is changing and confront it before they start to slowly lose their business.

Source: http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/5marktech.htm

Planning - Rough Pencil Sketches of Packaging Shape

As part of my artefact, I have to create a packaging that's specifically designed for for the perfume. The perfume has to be able to perfectly fit into the packaging with minimum movements within.

The following two designs are rough sketches of the choices I have to the packaging shape.

Figure 1 - Cube-shaped Package

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Figure 2 - Cuboid-shaped Package

The packaging shape doesn't matter as long as all the contents of the product are contained on the packaging. However, the designs must be able to compliment the perfume bottle and more specifically, it must fit the theme of the whole perfume-concept. 

In this case, a cuboid-shaped packaging would fit more of the boy band members but it must be able to focus on the name of the perfume as well as leave a mark or logical note on the potential customer's mind.

Research - Consumer Psychology for Marketing

Today, my EP class decided to take a trip to a university called UEL. We used their library facilities in order to find more in-depth research of the topic we're studying. However, due to a bus strike, I was late to arrive at the set time and therefore didn't get enough time to read more from the book on the consumer psychology for marketing. The following is what I managed to get in a short space of time spent at the university...

The marketing of the product doesn't just involve how the suppliers stereotype their target audience nor do they just assume from the advertising pattern that has been created by other companies that sell similar products. There is also the way of thinking that needs to be acknowledged. In order for a marketing campaign to be successful, it must have a massive affect on their target audience. The marketeers of the product need to understand the consumer's train of thought meaning the psychology behind it.

Bibliography

Walker, O., Boyd, H. and Larréché, J.-C. (1999a) Marketing Strategy: A Decision-focused Approach with Gamar Software. United States: Boston : Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Citation

(Walker, Boyd and Larréché, 1999a)

Research - Digital Marketing Strategies (2015)

1)    Digital marketing spend is forecasted to increase to 35% of total budgets by 2016

The business needs to know where to allocate the money for particular marketing such as knowing whether to use mainly traditional or online marketing. If it’s online marketing; the business needs to consider where their target demographic goes online (such as Facebook) in order to make the marketing effective. The best way the business can do this is to track results of where the demographic is mainly online then apply the results to the online strategy. “Mobile marketing is on the rise as the fastest growing digital marketing channel, making it a budget must-have in 2015.”

2)    Content creation and management now claim the second largest share of digital marketing budgets.

The use of Web 2.0 is becoming an increasing use as a marketing tool such as blogs and video streaming. Marketing on the right channels is becoming more of an must-do for businesses as the generation enters the age of modern technology so will the customers meaning they are able to do anything online such as research and purchase.

3)    28% of markets have reduced their advertising budget to fund more digital marketing.

This signifies that traditional marketing is becoming outdated thus the business needs move in the direction of where most customers are going to be appealed by the marketing (since consumer’s tastes are changing due to modern technology being involved more in their daily lives). The changing of strategy based on results obtained from the market demographic thus businesses will have to invest less with online marketing (since it’s cheaper than traditional methods) but that’s only if it is effective.

4)    Search engine marketing (SEM) will continue to capture the largest share of online spend at 47%, or about 14%of the firm’s total marketing budget (2014).

Companies that spend large amounts on online-marketing, this means that they’re setting the competitive pace. If the businesses know where to find their customers; they can connect with them. They can find their target demographic by knowing where they can be found via new apps, software and mobile devices. Investing into search engine marketing can allow the business to engage or re-engage a customer on their path to purchase.

5)    60% of B2B marketers use web traffic to measure success instead of using sales lead quality or social media sharing.

“Success comes down to the analytics”. By tracking and measuring the performance with reliable website traffic numbers. The stats also indicate the need for more in-depth data and analysis. By increasing the quality of the content marketing analytics can have the business ahead of their competitors.

6)    Online display advertising (banner ads, re-marketing, and re-targeting) will capture the next biggest share of the online spend at about 34 % of total online spend and about 10% of the total marketing budget.

Digital marketing is quite flexible and easy to fix. Companies are able to increase the number of sales by using a successful online campaign, adjust changes on a failed campaign or copy an already successful digital marketing strategy from another good or service. The company will have that ability to track the success of the campaign and how effective it is within hours.

7) 73% of B2B (business-to-business) marketers use video as content marketing tactic, and 7% of marketers plan on increasing their YouTube marketing.

Video content marketing is used in order to spread the word of the products and services available (such as YouTube). With modern technology, most people nowadays aged between 18-44 years old have smartphones where they can access the videos via YouTube due to apps.

8) 67% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from brands they follow.

Twitter is a popular-used social media where information can be passed around so fast around online this way. It's easy to update with new information and easier for consumers to check for new information. Tweets can consist of text, images and video URLs which makes it easier for the consumers to view. Twitter also allows the company to engage with consumer so it's easier for them to get in contact with the company.

Source: http://marketeer.kapost.com/digital-marketing-statistics/#axzz3UafGoiuK

Planning - Change in Concept for Artefact

Once again, I've had to change the product concept from the collaboration of '5 Seconds of Summer' to just solely a perfume product being released by One Direction...


This cause of change is due to the fact that the trend in the photography used in perfume adverts doesn't match with any of the photography already done by 5 Seconds of Summer so it'd be difficult to follow the perfume advert design trend if the pictures by the boys aren't up to the standard that would be used in an effective perfume advert.

So any research based on the client's profile for the perfume product marketing will now be based only on One Direction.