Course Title: BSc (Hons) Advertising DesignModule: Advertising FundamentalsModule Code: G107716Module Leader: Don ParkerStudent Number: 20842619

Has M&S been effective in their communications with demographics outside of their conventional target audience, with the aim of broadening their consumer base?

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Contents

Title Page No.

List of Illustrations 3

Abstract 4

Introduction 5

Main Body / Findings / Discussion 7

Chapter 1 – What is Advertising? 7

Chapter 2 – Advertising Industry/Structure/Process 8

Chapter 3 – Marks & Spencer (M&S) 14

Chapter 4 – Raine, Kelly, Campbell, Roalfe 16

Chapter 5 – Current Condition of M&S 19

Chapter 6 – M&S and Young People 23

Conclusion 23

References / Bibliography 25

Appendices 27 - 31

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List of Illustrations

Title Page

Fig. 1 – Table of the results 6

Fig. 2 - Effective Advertising 9

Fig. 3 – The Structure of the Advertising Industry 10

Fig. 4 – Media & Message Strategy 11

Fig. 5 – Principles of Advertising 12

Fig. 6 – Advertising Agency Structure 13

Fig. 7 – M&S Vicious PR Cycle 15

Fig. 8 – Y&R Ad Agency 16

Fig. 9 – Top 10 UK Advertising Agencies (2010) 17

Fig. 10 – x3 “Your M&S” Campaign Posters 18

Fig. 11 – M&S in Graphs 2001 – 2010 19

Fig. 12 - Younger Look Posters (Plunging necklines) 20

Fig. 13 - Glossy M&S Ads 21

Fig. 14 – Value Range Posters 22

Fig. 15 – Twiggy 22

Fig. 16 – New look store 22

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Abstract

The author of this report's research so far has led them to believe that Marks &

Spencer (M&S) historically appear to struggle to reach particular demographics of

the population, those being young people and people from working class

backgrounds. This could be out of choice and due to their conventional target

audience, but the author believes that this is not the case. Having read some of

the history of M&S of the last 10 years, the author has found that M&S have

attempted to reach those demographics, by: changing the look and feel of their

stores; launching a new sub-brand ”limited collection” as well as a value range;

introducing celebrity endorsements; sponsoring youth orientated programmes

i.e. X-Factor, and creating competitions for young people to star in adverts under

the “Do Your Thing” label.

Hypothesis

But is this enough? The author believes it is not, and that M&S appear to have

been focused on carefully evolving as to not alienate their existing customers.

The author believes that M&S need a marketing and branding 'revolution' as

opposed to careful evolution, otherwise they could permanently alienate the

customers and consumers of the future – young people. When young people

are your target audience and your consumers, your brand potentially has a

longer life span, as there before you lies decades of consumer spending.

This report will aim to explore and investigate what M&S have done over the 4

years in regards to the advertising, marketing strategy and communication of

their brand and how this has impacted their reputation, profit margins and

consumers; what they are currently doing, and finally what the author feels they

could do to embrace those lost demographics. It will contain both primary and

secondary research methodology from a few sources, as well as reference to

previous research in order to investigate the question at hand. As time was

limited, the author suggests that more quantitative research be done in this area.

Introduction

This report will begin by offering definitions of advertising and it's process,

followed by an overview of the advertising industry, it's structure, and the various

platforms that are used to communicate its principles and theories.

The author will then proceed by offering M&S as a case study, and whilst aiming

to answer the proposed question; research, analyse and evaluate the advertising

and branding habits of M&S with a view to offering informed constructive critique

and a possible solution to the hypothesis. This report will look at how M&S use

communications to reach their target audience, and how effective they have

been. The author will also make reference to the presentation that goes along

with this report, which investigated M&S over the past 10 years.

Using primary research from participants in the classroom and in the wider

community, the author will conclude that M&S have indeed been unsuccessful in 5

reaching both young people, and the working class, even though they have been

targeted.

Methodology/Results

A random selection of 50 people, 10 from each age range inclusive of both

sexes, where asked: a) which age group they belonged to, and b) whether they

shopped at M&S. (See fig. 1 for results)

Fig. 1 - A presented table of the results of my investigation from the focus group and individual

customer questionnaires (Authors Own 2011)

Results from the focus group conducted at University, found that none of the

students questioned, shopped at M&S. The most common reasons given were

they found M&S clothing unfashionable, and both the food and clothing

expensive to purchase. Some class members did state there mothers and

grandmothers shop at M&S, and as a result they may also do so when older.

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Main Body / Findings / Discussion

CHAPTER 1 - What is advertising?

Moriarty et al (2009) cites “Advertising is paid persuasive communication that

uses non personal mass media as well as other forms of interactive

communication to reach broad audiences to connect an identified sponsor with a

target audience”. Advertising should evoke an emotion; it needs to touch people

in order to truly make that connection. George Lois states “Advertising is poison

gas, it should tear you up, choke you, you should get the chills when you watch

it.” (Pray 2009) In a world surrounded by so many messages, advertising needs

to have an impact, to stand out in the crowd. “If you want to move someone

you have to connect with them. Its' a challenge to say the right thing, the right

way, to get a person to do something you want them to do and you can and will

have a lot of effect in a lot of people at one time”. (Pray 2009)

From the above definitions we see that advertising can be defined in various

ways. O’Barr cites ”[Advertising] defies any simple or single definition” (2006).

However, within those varied definitions there are key words that reoccur, those

being the idea of connecting or engaging with people, evoking emotions,

bringing something to life and causing people to act.

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Chapter 2 - Advertising Industry/Structure – Process/Communication/Principles

Advertising has various platforms/media options used for communication, some

of which are listed below:

(Burtenshaw et al 2006)

Each have their own pro's and con's depending on their target audience.

Research into the target audience is imperative. When effective research has

been undertaken, informed judgment of the best media option(s) to use can be

made in order to reach the identified target audience.

The advertising process has four fundamental elements: strategy; creative ideas;

execution, and media (Fig 2). The structure of the agency is generally split into

4 departments, consisting of: market research; a creative team; a media

planning/buying department, and account handlers. Through these elements

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effective advertising will function in building awareness of products and brands;

create a brand image; provide product and brand information; persuade people;

provide incentives to take action; provide brand reminders; and reinforce past

purchases and past brand experiences. (Moriety et al 2009)

Fig. 2 – Effective Advertising (Author's own 2011)

80% of Advertising is produced by four global holding companies. (Pray 2009)

(Fig. 3) Omnicom, WPP, Interpublic and Publicis Groupe, each of whom control a

huge number of different agency brands spread all over the globe. The

remaining 20% is produced by independent agencies.

There are three types of traditional advertising agencies. The most important of

these are the 14 plus worldwide networks, such as BBDO, McCann Erickson, Leo

Burnett or Saatchi & Saatchi. Each of these operate a global network, comprising

of local branded offices in as many as 100 or more different countries. Worldwide

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Networks tend to specialise in what is called above-the-line marketing: ads which

address a mass market through the four major media of television, print, radio

and outdoor (posters). However, the explosion of digital marketing, often

considered one of the below-the-line disciplines, has changed the nature of the

traditional advertising agency.

Fig. 3 - The Structure of the Advertising Industry (Author's Own 2011)

There is no doubt of the power of advertising, millions are spent on it annually,

worldwide (see appendix 1 for some Statistics). A significant amount of work

goes into their planning and delivery. The principle of message planning works in

parallel with the Media planning strategy, to produce an effective advertising

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campaign, and deliver Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). (Fig 4 & 5)

Fig. 4 - Media and Message Strategy Work in Parallel (Moriarty et al, 2012)

Within agencies there is a department known as “traffic' or progress, these are

control departments that ensure deadlines are being met. They supervise

different stages of the production and media processes. The account handler

liaises with the client on behalf of the agency. (Moriarty et al 2012) The agency's

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accounts planning team is responsible for getting under the skin of the target

audience, to empathise with them to such a degree that they begin to think like

the consumer does. (Burtenshaw et al 2006)

Fig. 5 – Principles of Advertising (Moriarty et al 2012)

The Creative department consists of the copywriter and the art director, who

usually work as a team. Art directors come up with the visual ideas for a

campaign. The Copywriter writes the 'copy' for the advertising and marketing

materials. They are both managed by the Creative Director.

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At the heart of every successful advertising campaign is the creative concept;

this is in the hands of the creative team within an advertising agency (Fig 6).

Their aim is to not just produce original ideas, but to produce lots of them.

Whether the ethos is “Brutal Simplicity” like Rich Silverstein of Goodby,

Silverstein & Partners, or “Seemingly Outrageous” like George Lois (Art & Copy

2009), the principle is the same, to engage people and move them to act.

Fig. 6 – Advertising Agency Structure

The Creative Brief

The Creative department work to a creative Brief. A creative brief is the first and

most important step, towards a successful communications campaign. The Brief

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should be very clear and succinct in the brand-positioning goal; should provide

useful and interesting background information and contain some inspiring

ingredients which can help to make the difference, between a good and a great

campaign. The Brief should contain the background; the goal of the ad; who the

audience is; the rational and/or emotional reasons why the audience should act

or believe in a certain way in their response to the campaign; have useful

information and insights; a schedule to include timescales and deadlines, and a

client service checklist to ensure everything has been covered.

Chapter 3 – Marks & Spencer (M&S)

M&S are a beacon when it comes to using Advertising as a source of

engagement with their target audience. They have gained their existing clientele

over the years primarily through this medium and as a result, combined with the

quality of their food and clothing, have generally managed to sustain growth

even through financial crisis. Their food ads in particular, have been labeled

“Food Porn” as the seductive voice over tempts you to the product with a

combination of great copy and visuals, a great example of the Copywriter and Art

Director partnership, when it works well they compliment each other. “Great

advertising makes food taste better” quotes Lee Clow (Pray 2009)

M&S have however, over the past 10 years experienced extreme highs and lows,

as outlined in the presentation linked to this report. Qualitative Consumer 14

research undertaken in 2003, found that customers viewed M&S clothing as

“beige, frumpy and old” (see appendix 2). Not only was there pressure from lack

of sales, but there was also a decline in reputation, as shareholders, the media

and consumers lost confidence in M&S (Thompson et al 2003)

They had been caught in a vicious public relations cycle (Thompson et al 2006)

(Fig. 7) and considered Sir Philip Green's £9 billion takeover bid in 2004 . M&S

Fig. 7 – M&S PR Vicious Cycle (Author's Own 2011)

needed to make some changes with their branding strategy, and in doing so aim

to reconnect with their conventional target audience as well as engage a wider

target audience. In 2004 new Chief Executive Stuart Rose decided to rebrand

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under the 'Your M&S' label, with the aim of giving M&S back to the consumer, the

shareholder, the media and the employees. Rose enlisted the help of Steve

Sharp a marketing and brand development expert, (Bevan 2007) who designed

the logo with a young and contemporary feel to it, which was the direction the

company was aiming for.

Chapter 4 – Raine, Kelly, Campbell, Roalfe (Y&R) Advertising Agency & M&S

Fig 8 - Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R Agency, London (grapplica.blogspot.com 2009)

Also on board were M&S' advertising agency, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R

(Fig 8). They are a hugely successful Advertising Agency, ranked 7 in the top

agencies in the UK during 2008. (Fig 8) They have created advertising across all

media including, digital platforms, staged events, content, viral marketing,

internal as well as TV, poster, print, radio and sponsorship.

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Fig. 9 - Top 10 UK Advertising Agencies (Biggerplate the mind map library, 2008)

Y&R lead the launch of a high profile poster campaign, which featured M&S

clothing and food products, (Fig. 10) with the hope of persuading their core

demographic to return, and attract new ones. The campaign was quickly

followed by other media platforms such as television and print. M&S saw their

food in particular, as high in quality in comparison with supermarkets, so they

used the following copy for their rebranding “Not Just Food M&S Food”. This

campaign, used a unique selling point (USP) of 'quality', and gave consumers a

new reason to buy. “Great advertising always starts with something true” (Pray

2009)

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Fig. 10 – x3 Your M&S High Profile Campaign Posters (Thompson et al 2006)

Two years later M&S had recovered. It was believed to be a reflection of what

can happen when an organisation takes a long look at itself, researches ways it

can turn itself around, through its product, store design and customer services;

and puts faith in the power of advertising to reconnect with its core audience.

Campaign magazine cited “It is a measure of how far M&S's voyage of

rediscovery has progressed that its advertising, spearheaded by Rainey Kelly

Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, took the Grand Prix at the 2006 IPA Effectiveness Awards.

According to the judges, the "stunning" recovery at M&S was communicated by

advertising, which had caused products to "fly off the shelves". (Not least M&S

chocolate puddings, whose sales have increased by 3,500 per cent!) This year

was proof positive that the "Your M&S" campaign has real sustainability,

particularly because of its ability to bring M&S to life across all areas of its

activity, from food and kidswear, to financial services”. (2006)

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Chapter 5 - Current Condition of M&S

M&S have experienced continuous fluctuation in success over the past 10yrs (Fig.

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Fig. 11 - M&S in Graphs from 2001 - 2010 (Telegragh 2011)

Today, figures have shown that M&S have taken a dive once again. John Lewis

are increasingly becoming strong competitors, they share the same USP as M&S,

that being “Quality”. Their advantages are, they offer a broader range of

clothing and some would argue that they now have a stronger advertising

campaign. Waitrose are acquiring more of M&S' customers in the food

department, as well as other supermarkets i.e. Tesco and Asda.

In recent years M&S have employed some new strategies to engage with a wider

audience, those audiences being young people and the working class, whilst

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trying to keep their core demographic. This has been on occasions quite a

difficult balance to achieve. The dilemma of M&S lies with how to move forward

and communicate effectively with their audience . They need to consider, how

they can engage a new and younger demographic without alienating their

current customers. In 2008 Plunging necklines were blamed for plunging sales,

as M&S chiefs came under fire from lady shareholders , as they tried to engage a

younger target audience (Fig. 12). Executives faced complaints from some that

its fashions are too young, showing too much cleavage for its loyal older

customers. (Poulter & Borland 2008)

Fig. 12 – Younger, fresher M&S “plunging necklines” (DailyMail Online 2008)

New chief executive Marc Bolland has now axed the famous M&S adverts starring

Danni Minnogue, Twiggy and Lisa Snowdon. Reports suggest the decision came

after media criticism of the retailer, accusing M&S of forgetting about its core

older customer and focusing too much on the young glossy stars in the

campaigns. (Thompson et al 2006) The advert that was launched in April 2011

for the Spring campaign led by a 50-second commercial, saw the five women

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playing around at a marina in Miami, was suggested by critics that it didn't relate

to recession-hit shoppers or its older customers. This was reiterated in a case

study undertaken by The Telegraph who reported “Pam Wood, aged 78, left the

shop [M&S] empty-handed. She said of the clothes: "They just didn't do it for

me.” (2011)

Fig 13 – Glossy M&S ad's axed (Thompson et al 2006)

M&S had also introduced a value range in 2005 (Fig 14), but this appeared not to

last long as this year Marc Bolland admitted that the company failed to offer

enough cheaply-priced clothes as the retailer reported an 8pc fall in half-year

profits. Bolland said “customers were being "more careful than ever" about what

they bought, and were reluctant to splash out on big purchases. Although some

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customers looking for quality, purchased M&S' premium clothes lines such as

Autograph and Collezione, the company did not offer enough basic, cheaply

priced clothes to attract shoppers looking for discounts, Mr Bolland said. "We

were not strong enough; its [the basic ranges] always under pressure from these

price promotions”. (Hall 2011)

Fig. 14 - M&S Value range (Thompson et al 2006)

There was also speculation as to whether the store refurbishment programme

was a successful endeavour. Mr Bolland said, it had failed to inspire shoppers.

He stated "While the last store modernisation programme improved the core

infrastructure of our stores, it has not delivered an inspirational shopping

environment for our customers." (Reece 2011)

Fig 15 – Twiggy (Thompson et al 2006) Fig 16 – New M&S Store

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Chapter 6 - M&S and Young People

M&S have engaged in Social Media and sponsorships with youth orientated

programmes i.e. X-Factor as outlined in the presentation. The “Do Your Thing”

campaign, in particular, the author feels, is a very exciting concept, primarily for

the copy as young people often say “I'm just doing my thing”. The idea is young

people enter a competition and the winner is used in an advertisement, this is a

great concept to optimise experience for the user. However where it falls short,

according to the adverts seen thus far, the hobbies chosen have been those of a

boy who plays the violin, and a girl who is aiming to be a professional ice skater,

which are not quite the hobbies of the average 12 year old. (Appendices 3 & 4)

Conclusion

In conclusion, based on the primary research undertaken by the author and the

secondary research mentioned in this report, (Appendix 2) one can conclude that

M&S have been ineffective in engaging with wider demographics outside their

core, as mentioned in the proposed question. This is shown as those

demographics still make a conscious decision not to shop at M&S, despite M&S'

rebranding efforts. It appears M&S are still struggling to get over the stigma of

being a store for 'middle aged and middle class people'. The author proposes

that in order for engagement with these wider audiences, there needs to be a

radical change in the product, as well as the communications used for

engagement. This is evident with the X-Factor sponsorship, as although there 23

are young people in the adverts, the clothing still looks older, they were young

people dressed old. Other celebrities chosen by M&S i.e. Twiggy, Myleene Klass

and Dani Minogue did not engage young people because they were not relate-

able, as they are older than the young demographic being targeted, and would

generally be considered middle class. With regards to the 'Do Your Thing'

advertising campaign, which had great potential, the children successful tended

not to be children with regular hobbies, but ones, generally speaking, children

from middle class families would engage in, as the identified hobbies were

expensive to undertake.

M&S needs to show its future is in retail, as currently they appear confused

about their identity. (Reece 2011) To effectively compete they need to be better

at food than supermarkets and better at clothes and general merchandise than

department stores, and to do this it needs to make some radical changes. Are

they going to reach out to those wider/significant demographics in order to save

itself, as they hold the future of consumerism in their hands. If the answer is

“Yes”, then M&S need a rebranding 'revolution', as opposed to an evolution. The

creation of an independent brand is what this author recommends. This brand

should be given separate outlets, (as do M&S food stores) that have a young and

contemporary feel like H&M or Top Shop, which is reflected in it's prices, and

should also consider student discounts. This may be the solution for the future

of M&S.24

References/Bibliography

ADBRANDS.NET. 2010. Structure of the Advertising Industry: Updatedhttp://www.adbrands.net/advertising_industry_structure.htm (accessed 20.11.2011)

PRAY, D. 2009. Art & Copy. Art & Industry, Granite Pass, The One Club. Seventh Art Releasing, PBS Distribution, PBS International. USA.

BEVAN, J. 2007. The Rise & Fall of Marks & Spencer... And How It Rose Again. Surrey. Bookmarque. ISBN-13: 978 1 86197 898 1

BIGGERPLATE THE MIND MAP LIBRARY. 2008. Top 10 UK Advertising Agencies http://www.biggerplate.com/mindmaps/h344144/top-10-uk-advertising-agencies (accessed 24.11.2011)

BRIERLEY, S. 2004. The Advertising Handbook 2nd Edition. London. Routledge

BURTENSHAW, K. MAHON, N. BARFOOT, C. 2006. The Fundamentals of Creative Advertising. AVA Publishing SA. Switzrland. ISBN: 2-940373-18-3 and 978-2-940373-18-5

CAMPAGN. 2006. Advertiser of the Year – Marks & Spencer. Brand Republic. http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/609744/

HALL. J. 2011. £2bn Marks & Spencer Makeover 'Less Than Inspiring'. Telegraph Online [accessed 28.11.2011] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8534666/2bn-Marks-and-Spencer-makeover-less-than-inspiring.html

MORIARTY, S. MITCHELL, N. WELLS, W. 2012. Advertising & IMC. Principles and

Practice. 9th Edition. Pearson Education Limited. Essex

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NEATE, R. 2010. X-Factor final is ITV’s Superbowl Moment. The Telegraph Online http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8196376/X-Factor-final-is-ITVs-25m-Super-Bowl-moment.html[accessed 20.11.2011]

O'BARR, W. M. 2005. What Is Advertising?. Advertising & Society Review Advertising Educational Foundation. E-ISSN 1154 7311 http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v006/6.3unit01.html

POULTER, S. & BORLAND, S. 2008. Plunging necklines blamed for plunging sales by female M&S shareholders. Mail Online. [acessed 28.11.2011]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1033811/Plunging-necklines-blamed-plunging-sales-female-M-S-shareholders.html#ixzz1ar1S9Npi

REECE, D. 2011. Marks & Spencer need to show its future is in retail. Telegraph Online [accessed 28.11.2011]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/damianreece/8534681/Marks-and-Spencer-needs-to-show-its-future-is-in-retail.html

SCHWARTZ, P. 2008. What does a Copywriter do? bettercopywriting.com http://www.bettercopywriting.com/whatdoesacopywriterdo.html [accessed 24.11.2011]

THOMPSON, M. NEAL, J. THREADGOULD, S. TRILLO, S. L. 2006. This is not Just Advertising, This is Your M&S Advertising http://www.adamranson.plus.com/M&SCampaign.pdf [Accessed 15.10.2011]

TELEGRAPH ONLINE. 2010. Marks and Spencer: In-graphshttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/n ewsbysector/retailandconsumer/8532900/M arks-and-Spencer-in-graphs.html?image=3

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Appendices

Statistics Appendix 1

Qualitative Research (2003) Appendix 2

Do You Thing Advert 1 Appendix 3

Do Your Thing Advert 2 Appendix 4

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Appendix 1

Statistics

Global Advertising will exceed $544 billion in 2010

44% of satellites launched are for commercial communications

Ad's come from Satellites and Satellites come from Ads – 75% of Global Satellite services revenue comes from TV and 70% of US TV Broadcasting revenue comes from Ad's

The average city dweller receives over 5000 advertising messages daily

Food companies spend $32 billion on advertising

Car companies spend $15 billion

Political Advertising $2.6 billion

A 30 second ad in Superbowl costs $2.7 million

Art & Copy (2009)

During the 2010 x-factor final, ITV collected £25million in advertising charging £250,000 for a 30 second adverts

Neate (2010)

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Appendix 2Qualitative Research (2003)

(Thompson et al 2006)

“continual sales declines and a lack of radical impetus for change, suggest that M&S may continue to disappoint on earnings”

Bruce Hubbard, Citigroup April 2004 In the run up to Green’s 2004 bid, it was clear that analysts, journalists and customers alike had lost confidence in M&S.

Analyst: “continual sales declines and a lack of radical impetus for change, suggest that M&S

may continue to disappoint on earnings” Bruce Hubbard, Citigroup April 2004

Journalist: “fears of further bad news from M&S – one of the worst performing FTSE 100

companies last year – increased last Monday when the retailer launched a mid season sale that included discounts of up to 50%.... Roger Holmes is understood to have

privately concluded that the recovery has run its course” Richard Fletcher, The Telegraph April 2004

Customer: Wearing Marks & Spencer I feel…….. Beige, frumpy, old

Others think….Well you certainly have reached “middle age” Plain, boring, safe

Those who did continue to visit M&S did so wearing the wrong glasses: they expected to be disappointed: Worse still, qualitative research amongst core customers at the close of 2003 found:

“I’ll go to M&S as a last resort, I just think of racks of navy blue and fawn” Core customer, Qualitative Research, 2003

“certain levels of social embarrassment towards being seen to wear M&S clothing and resultant under claiming”

Kirsty Fuller, Flamingo Research 2003

It was like the papers got hold of a bit of bad news about M&S and they just ran and ran with it. They just wouldn’t let things go”

Core Customer, Qualitative Research 2003

This negative news flow was exacerbating the public’s loss of confidence, and trapping M&S in a vicious circle.

Due to the bad press, I’d be less likely to go into M&S there is too much of a stigma” Core Customer, Qualitative Research 2003

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Appendix 3

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Appendix 4

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