2014 INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

West Virginia University, IMC 610 Submitted by Renee Watkins

1

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2012, Kmart’s revenue decreased from $718 million to $14.6 million. In one year alone, Kmart lost

703.6 million dollars! It’s time to turn Kmart around to the profitable discount retailer it once was.

Kmart can and will achieve this goal through the adaptation of the integrated marketing communication

plan listed in this proposal.

The integrated marketing communication plan strategically reviews Kmart’s history, as well as its

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in today’s market place. Derived from the SWOT

analysis findings, the integrated marketing communications plan will define a new target audience for

Kmart – an audience made up of urban minorities. The integrated marketing communications plan will

suggest that Kmart concentrate its resources on promoting Kmart’s exclusive celebrity product lines,

gaining additional Shop Your Way members, increasing online sales, and building upon its social media

networks.

The integrated marketing communications campaign will go into great depth on what communication

channels will be used to accomplish this goal, how they will be used, as well as how the plan will be

measured and evaluated for success.

The proposed integrated marketing communications plan will achieve its goals through a mix of digital

media, traditional media, social media, public relations, direct marketing, and sales promotions. This

integrated mix of marketing communication channels will convey a strong, unified brand message to

Kmart’s target audience. The proposed integrated marketing communications plan will help Kmart

become a relevant, profitable company once again.

2

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1

Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 2

Background Information ............................................................................................................................... 3

Target Audience .......................................................................................................................................... 13

SWOT Analysis............................................................................................................................................. 15

Marketing Objectives and Strategies .......................................................................................................... 18

Integrated Creative Strategy Statement, Creative Brief, and Creative Execution ...................................... 19

Media/Social Media/Digital Objectives, Strategies, Tactics, & Flow Chart ................................................ 22

Public Relations Objectives & Tactics ......................................................................................................... 26

Direct Marketing Ideas ................................................................................................................................ 28

Sales Promotions Ideas ............................................................................................................................... 30

Measurement and Evaluation Plan ............................................................................................................. 32

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 34

References .................................................................................................................................................. 35

3

3 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

HISTORY

Kmart has endured a long history of both triumphs and

losses. Kmart, which was formally known as S.S. Kresge

Company, first opened its doors in 1899 as a five-and-dime

store located in Detroit, Michigan. This five-and-dime

store would be the first of many discounted, open-display

chain-stores which sold costume jewelry, housewares, and

personal grooming aids in high-traffic, convenient

locations. This strategy was so popular with its consumers

that by 1929, there was 597 S.S. Kresge stores in the United States and Canada that together yielded

$156.3 million in sales. (Reference for Business).

During the Great Depression, the stock market plunged the price of Kresge stock from $57.50 a share to

a low of $5.50. Competition increased and Kresge was forced to broaden its inventory as well as its

price ceiling. Consumers began moving to suburbs, causing retailers like Kresge to follow. By 1940,

there were a total of 682 Kresge stores, which produced a total of $158.7 million in sales. (Reference for

Business).

By the 1950’s Kresge was ran by an operating committee of 16 executives that were appointed by the

board of directors. To provide better selection and more efficient service, the committee began

combining smaller stores in high-volume areas. Many of these stores began featuring modern

conveniences such as air conditioning, self-serve displays, and shopping baskets. Kresge began offering

private-label products and a variety of brand-name electronics such as appliances, radios, and

lawnmowers. By the late 1950’s, food grew into the largest Kresge department, causing at least one

new or remodeled delicatessen counter to open in a Kresge store each week. At this time Kresge also

introduced layaway, which allowed consumers to save for more expensive items. However many

competitors began luring customers away from Kresge by offering credit, which was against Kresge

company policy. (Reference for Business).

In 1962, the company opened its first Kmart. Unlike Kresge stores, Kmarts were

built alone in plazas to avoid internal competition and provide ample parking. Each

store featured pleasant décor and aimed for 8 inventory turnovers per year. The

Kmart stores were an instant success. By 1963 there were 63 Kmart stores, 51 of

which provided automotive services. Three years later, the number of Kmarts

increased to 122. In 1965, Kmart began to diversify – a practice that would later

attribute to the fall of the retail giant. In 1966, the famous “Blue Light Special” was

invented by a Kmart manager located in Fort Wayne, IN who was looking for a way

to make it easy for consumers to find the Christmas wrapping paper he was clearing. The Blue Light

Special was adopted chain-wide and became an American icon. By the end of the 1960’s, Kmart sold

4

their Mount Clemens Pottery line, entered a joint venture with G.J. Coles & Coy, and acquired Dunhams

Sports Corporation and Holly Stores. (Reference for Business).

The 1970’s and 1980’s brought difficult times to Kmart. Inventory turnover dropped from 8 to only 3.8

times annually. Utility bills, wages, and overhead costs soared due to inflation and new competitors

made Kmart stores look run down. Kmart responded once again by diversification. Kmart invested in a

fast food drive-in chain called Kmart Chef, ran a costly credit card operation utilized by a mere 9% of its

customers, and purchased Plan Marketing Associates – an insurance company that would later be

renamed to Kmart Insurance Services. Kmart purchased 44% interest in a Mexican discount chain,

purchased warehouse stores that would later be renamed to Builder’s Square, bought Walden Book

Company, and an Oregon based drugstore called Payless. Kmart also entered a partnership with a food

retailer called Bruno’s Inc., purchased 51% ownership interest in Makro warehouses, acquired PACE

Membership Warehouse Inc., entered a joint venture with Japan’s biggest retailer The Daiei, and

opened Sports Giant. (Reference for Business).

By the 1990’s, Wal-Mart overtook Kmart in sales and market share. Still believing diversification was the

answer, Kmart opened its first ever Super Kmart in Medina, Ohio. The company purchased 90% interest

in OfficeMax, bought 13 of the Czech Republic and Slovakia’s Maj department store chains, bought

Borders books, and Intelligent Electronics Bizmart chain. Kmart later closed 214 Czech, Slovak, and

Singapore properties. Kmart sold off its interest in Payless, the Mexican joint venture, and Builder’s

square. Kmart leased out some of its parking lots and refinanced its debt. (Reference for Business).

Kmart updated its logo and began a 6 year, $750 million remodeling overhaul to Kmart stores which

included cleaner, brighter aisle space, adding a consumable goods section near the front of the stores,

and increase emphasis on the children and home furnishing departments. Kmart centered its

merchandise on brands, consumables, convenience, and culture. Kmart expanded its brand-name and

private label lines, partnered with comedian Rosie O’Donnell for advertising campaigns, and entered the

growing e-commerce space. (Reference for Business).

Unfortunately, Kmart’s success was shortly lived. By the 2000’s, Kmart’s financial performance was once

again sliding into the red. A new CEO, Charles Conaway came in, shook up senior management, closed

72 underperforming stores, and launched a $1.7 billion program to improve Kmart’s supply chain. He

hoped this would solve Kmart’s intensifying troubles of keeping items in stock. Kmart expanded its

Martha Stewart Everyday line and signed a deal with Disney. (Reference for Business).

In 2001, Kmart made two very poor marketing decisions which would later come back to haunt the

company. Kmart’s first mistake was drastically slashing prices in hopes of drawing consumers away from

Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart quickly responded by matching and/or undercutting Kmart’s new prices. Kmart’s

second mistake was cutting back on the distribution of advertising circulars. Consumers who used these

circulars stopped shopping at Kmart.

On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Kmart was the largest retailer to

ever do so. Kmart also closed 284 underperforming stores and eliminated 22,000 jobs. (Reference for

Business). Today, Kmart is striving to find their niche. In a company press release, Kmart’s Senior

Marketing Vice President stated that Kmart will look to rebuild an emotional bond with the consumer by

reestablishing the role Kmart plays in its shopper’s lives. (Reference for Business).

5

As of February 2, 2013, there was a total of 1,221 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and

the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most Kmart stores consist of a single floor with free standing units that carry a

wide variety of products across many different merchandise categories such as electronics, major

appliances, seasonal merchandise, toys, consumables, and apparel. A total of 896 Kmart stores still

operate an in-house pharmacies and 21 Kmart stores have an operating Sears Auto Center. Kmart

continues to offer a layaway program and ecommerce site. (2012 Annual Report).

KMART’S MISSION STATEMENT

Kmart is committed to improving the lives of our customers by providing quality services, products and

solutions that earn their trust and build lifetime relationships.

The Five Key Pillars of Kmart’s strategy:

1. Creating lasting relationships with customers by empowering them to manage their lives

2. Attaining best in class productivity and efficiency

3. Building our brands

4. Reinventing the company continuously through technology and innovation

5. Reinforcing “The Sears Holding Corporation Way” by living our values every day

6

FINANCIALS

Kmart’s results and key statistics for 2012, 2011 and 2010 are summarized as follows:

Shown in millions, except number of stores 2012 2011 2010

REVENUES

Merchandise sales and services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $14, 567 $15,285 $15,593

COSTS AND EXPENSES

Comparable store sales % . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3.7)% (1.4)% 0.8%

Cost of sales, buying and occupancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,158 11,818 11,757

Gross margin dollars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,409 3,467 3,836

Gross margin rate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.4% 22.7% 24.6%

Selling and administrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,284 3,371 3,341

Selling and administrative expense as a percentage of revenues. . . . . 22.5% 22.1% 21.4%

Depreciation and amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 149 149

Impairment charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 15 —

Gain on sales of assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (37) (34) (7)__

Total costs and expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,562 15,319 15,240

Operating income (loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ($5) ($34) $353

Adjusted EBITDA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $201 $172 $508

Total Kmart stores . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,221 1,305 1,307

In 2012, Kmart’s revenue decreased from $718 million to $14.6 million. The decrease in revenue was

due to the impact of Kmart having fewer stores in operation during the 2012 year. However, declines

were also offset by $190 million in revenue because there was 53 weeks in the 2012 year. The decrease

in comparable store sales of 3.7% reflects a majority of Kmart categories, especially the consumer

electronics and pharmacy sales. Kmart attributes this to the market shift away from digital cameras,

GPS devices, MP3 players, camcorders, and games as well as the conversion to generic drugs. Kmart’s

gross margin rate is mainly due to improvements in apparel, pharmacy, and toys category but was offset

due to the decline in the electronics category. Kmart also decreased selling and administrative expenses

by $87 million because of the decrease in payroll and advertising expenses. (Sears Holdings Corporation

Annual Report, 2012).

7

COMPANY PRODUCTS

Kmart has an inventory of over 65 million products. Kmart breaks departments up by the following

categories:

Appliances and Vacuums

Automotive

Baby and Kinds

Beauty and Health

Bed and Bath

Books and Magazines

Clothing

DIY and Tools

Electronics, TVs, and Office

Fitness and Sports

For the home

Furniture and Mattresses

Gaming, Music, and Movies

Grocery and Pet

Jewelry and Watches

Lawn and Garden

Outdoor Living and Patio

Pharmacy and Health

Shoes

Toys and games

Clearance

Kmart also has a large variety of brand name products including Kenmore, Serta, Joe Boxer, and

Craftsman. In addition, Kmart carries a large variety of celebrity clothing lines such as Adam Levine,

Nicki Minaj, Selena Gomez, John Cena, and Sophia Vergara. To date, Kmart’s celebrity clothing lines

have been met with great success.

8

COMPETITORS AND PRICING

Kmart’s largest competitors are Wal-Mart and Target. (Hoovers).

Wal-Mart

Kmart’s biggest competitor, Wal-Mart, first opened its doors in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas. Wal-Mart

was founded on Sam Walton’s mission to help customers and communities save money and live better.

Staying true to its mission, Wal-Mart quickly expanded. In 2013, Wal-Mart had 11,000 stores in 27

countries and an e-commerce website in 10 countries. Wal-Mart’s fiscal year sales were approximately

$466 billion and Wal-Mart employed over 2.2 million associates worldwide. (Wal-Mart About Us, n.d.).

Wal-Mart’s Every Day Low Price has always been the cornerstone of its marketing strategy. However, in

2014, Wal-Mart will strive to create more engaging and compelling content. The focus will be on better

storytelling through conversational tools such as social sharing, a blog, and popular cultural sites. Wal-

Mart will also use paid media and sponsored content as a priority. (Pollitt, 2014). Wal-Mart will also

continue to participate in more traditional forms of media such as television commercials and direct

mail pieces such as catalogues.

Overall, Wal-Mart will closely align their marketing communications strategy with its overall mission.

Wal-Mart will use this to solidify the Wal-Mart brand and the values its founder established over 50

years ago. (Pollitt, 2014).

Target

Target first opened its doors in 1962 in Roseville, Minnesota, with a focus on convenient shopping at

competitive discount prices. Target is committed to providing a one-stop shopping experience for

guests by delivering differentiated merchandise and outstanding value with its Expect More. Pay Less.®

brand promise. (Target, n.d.). Target is currently the second largest general merchandise retailer in

American with Target.com consistently being ranked as one of the most-visited retail websites. Target

has 1,1793 stores in the United States, 124 stores in Canada, 37 distribution centers, and 361,000 team

members world-wide. (Target, n.d.).

Target successfully marriages traditional and digital marketing. Target utilizes television ads, weekly

circulars, print ads, radio, billboards, its website, mobile marketing, and social media sites such as

facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and twitter to convey a consistent brand image. (Christman, 2013).

Target has been so successful at conveying its brand across all mediums that consumers can identify a

Target marketing piece, even if the word “Target” was nowhere to be found on it! (Christman, 2013).

9

Kmart’s Competitive Edge

In the past, Kmart has tried to competitively position itself in the market by offering the lowest prices.

However, according to a price study conducted by Bloomberg Magazine’s authors Townsend and Welch,

Kmart’s prices were higher than Target and Wal-Mart by 23 percentage points. Meaning that for every

dollar you spend at Target or Wal-Mart, you can expect to spend an additional 23 cents at Kmart.

This price difference was echoed when Raechel Conover, author for Cheapism.com, did an independent

review on the three retailers. Conover placed 30 identical and like items in a virtual shopping cart on

Kmart, Target, and Wal-Mart websites. Kmart’s total was $2,092.82. This was $300 above Wal-Mart

and $230 above Target.

Kmart needs to reposition its branding messaging from being the “lowest discount retailer” to a “cost-

effective discount retailer.”

Shopping Experience

Many consumers have rated Kmart’s in-store shopping experience as “poor.” (Conover, 2012). In fact,

an informal poll of shoppers described Kmart’s physical facilities as dirty, unorganized, and under-

stocked. They viewed the staff as indifferent and/or unwilling to answer questions. Consumers found

the store prices to be high. (Conover, 2012). Consumers also pointed out there were a lack of shopping

carts, wipes, and sanitizer at the store entrance. They said that many items were out of place, signage

was missing, the shelves looked bare, and choices within each shopping category were very limited.

(Conover, 2012).

The Business Insider echoed Conover’s findings through a series of photographs they took on a recent

Kmart visit.

Corrosion on the floor Dusty packaging, exhibiting extensive shelf life

10

Dirty, unsafe displays Dirty, unorganized departments

Lack of inventory Old, slow technology

11

Random product placement and ripped carpeting

KMART MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

Kmart is currently utilizing a large amount of marketing communication channels in hopes of better

marketing its product. These communication channels include television ads, social media, email

marketing, the weekly circular, and the Shop Your Way member rewards, loyalty program.

Television Ads

Kmart’s television ads take a different approach from its other marketing initiatives, which primarily

focus on low price offerings. Kmart’s two most recent television advertisements, The Joe Boxer and Ship

My Pants commercials took a humorous approach that flirted with the line of risky behavior.

These memorable commercials generated both positive and negative remarks on Kmart’s facebook

pages. However, an article in USA Today reminds us that whenever a retailor takes a chance with a

move that is so far out of character, they are taking a large risk. USA Today further reminds us that a

single ad will not increase sales.

Facebook

Kmart effectively uses facebook to promote different products, engage with consumers, and provide a

positive customer experience. Kmart responds to negative consumer posts in a quick and timely

manner. Consumers who inquire about different products are provided with additional, outside

resources.

Email Marketing

Almost daily, Kmart sends consumers an email that promotes Kmart’s price savings. These emails

consist of the Kmart logo in the upper right hand corner, pictures of the merchandise Kmart is pushing,

as well as the original and sale price. Email marketing promotions are targeted by gender and past

internet searches.

12

Weekly Circular

In response to expensive advertising costs, the weekly circular is now provided in an electronic format to

Kmart customers. These weekly circulars are delivered to everyone’s email boxes on Sundays. The

weekly circular greatly mirrors the daily emails sent to the consumers by Kmart. The only difference is

the weekly circular is a list of all promotional products on sales.

Loyalty Program

Kmart’s member loyalty program, better known as the Shop Your Way membership rewards program, is

a free membership program that provides members with the following benefits:

early access to sales promotions

free gifts

member exclusive sales

daily sweepstakes

community advice

ability to read reviews on different products before they buy

ability to earn and redeem points during every purchase

Member points can be used at both Kmart and Sear’s locations. Kmart is using this initiative to track

consumer buying and spending habits, engage the consumer, and provide members with additional

benefits.

13

4 TARGET AUDIENCE

DEMOGRAPHICS

Kmart should focus on the following demographic and psychographic groups:

Gender and Age Range

Kmart’s products appeal to almost any gender and age group. However, Kmart should concentrate on

both male and female consumers between the ages of 18 – 55.

Income and Region

Kmart will focus on those in low and middle class income brackets.

Education

Education will primarily be those who completed high school, associates, or bachelor level education.

Marital Status

Consumers will be single, married, or divorced.

Race

Kmart will focus on those individuals with an ethnic background, primarily the Hispanic and African-

American cultures.

PSYCHOGRAPHICS

The average Kmart shopper is African American and Hispanic shoppers who reside in urban areas, within

a 15 mile radius of Kmart’s brick-and-mortar stores. They are very mobile, social, upwardly thinking

individuals with vibrant personalities. They have both strong opinions and faith. They embrace their

respective culture, the meaning of family, sports, and associate themselves with brand names.

The average Kmart shopper’s education level are those with a high-school, associates, and/or bachelor’s

degree. They fall into the low and middle income class and more than likely hold blue collared jobs in

the food, retail, and service industries. They are hard-working individuals who are trying to make the

most out of what they got while they strive to earn more. The Kmart shopper will be comprised both

men and women who are primarily a single parent with 1 to 3 children, or residing with a roommate.

Both groups will rent their living accommodations and take public transportation to get where they

need to go.

Kmart shoppers will primarily receive their information from word-of-mouth, television ads, print ads,

social media outlets, and websites.

14

An average Kmart shopper’s store experience will consist of the shopper taking public transportation to

the nearest Kmart store. He/she will enter through the doors, grab a shopping cart, and go directly for

the aisle that contains the products, which spurred the shopping trip. The average Kmart shopper will

briefly cruse through other aisles to see if anything stands out to them but will then head directly to the

check-out line. Because the shopper will need to take public transportation back home, their bags will

usually consist of 15 items or less and greatly be dependent on the size and weight of each item. When

the Kmart shopper returns home, he/she will be glad they shopped at a discount retailer like Kmart

because it saves them time and money, and they are able to do more of what they love.

15

5 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

Kmart owns a largely recognizable brand in the discount chain retailer business.

Kmart has a diverse, product portfolio that consists of over 65 million products. (Sanburn, 2013).

Store location in an important factor. Kmart stores are largely placed in easy, assessable, urban

locations. Kmart’s two largest competitors, Wal-Mart and Target are located mainly in the

suburbs.

Kmart appeals to the multi-cultural urban youth, primarily Hispanics and African Americans.

(Marsh, 2003).

Kmart owns multiple, popular celebrity product lines.

Kmart offers free layaway year round.

Kmart has a strong, growing web presence. The website is very clean and easy to use. Their

website offers free, in-store pick up, electronic receipts, downloadable coupons, and online

layaway. The website allows you to speak with customer service representatives through an

online chat, email, or toll free hotline.

Kmart’s social media pages provide excellent customer service.

Kmart offers a Shop Your Way membership rewards program.

WEAKNESS

Kmart stores are often viewed as dirty, unorganized, and under-stocked. Kmart invests the

lowest percentage of its total revenue into its stores than any other retailer. (Sanburn, 2013).

Kmart is viewed as low quality.

Kmart has received a lot of negative publicity from the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filings and

conditions of stores.

Kmart filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

Kmart has old, inefficient operating technology.

Kmart has not found its market niche.

Kmart promotes itself to have the lowest cost. However, Kmart’s products are more expensive

than those offered by the competition.

Kmart struggles with inefficient ordering and supply chain management, causing products to

cost more and arrive later than its competitors. (Bogenrief, 2012)

16

Kmart is viewed to have poor in-store customer service.

OPPORTUNITIES

E-commerce is expected to grow 25% by 2017. (Retail Ecommerce Set to Keep a Strong Pace

Through 2017, 2013).

Digital forms of marketing provides Kmart with opportunities to reconnect and engage with its

consumers, provide better customer service, better identify consumer preferences, and deliver

personalized marketing messages.

Kmart’s exclusive celebrity products lines are gaining strength.

Kmart has opportunities to market to urban, multicultural consumers. 40% of their current

customer base are minorities. (Marsh, 2003). Hispanics are the second fastest growing race at

17% a year. (Asians Fastest-Growing Race or Ethnic Group in 2012, Census Bureau Reports,

2013).

Kmart has the opportunity to renovate stores to be cleaner, brighter, more organized, more

appealing, and better stocked.

THREATS

Kmart is part of a highly competitive industry.

Consumer demands and trends are rapidly changing as pricing pressure increases. Kmart must

be able to meet consumer needs and wants.

Kmart has a high dependency on foreign suppliers.

Wal-Mart and Target offer lower prices on the same or comparable merchandise as Kmart.

Wal-Mart is opening Wal-Mart Express’ in urban areas.

Wal-Mart is testing same day shipping. Wal-Mart is also shipping out of physical stores rather

than regional warehouses. (Bogenrief, 2012).

17

KEY SWOT FINDINGS

As a company, Kmart has many strengths. Kmart’s top 5 strengths are its strong web presence,

exclusive celebrity product lines, Shop Your Way membership rewards program, free layaway, and

ability to appeal to the urban, multicultural youth. Kmart’s weakness lies in the fact that they have

struggled to find their market niche and is viewed as low quality. Kmart promotes themselves as having

the lowest cost. However inefficient ordering and supply chain management cause products to cost

more and arrive later than their competitors.

Despite these weaknesses, Kmart has multiple market opportunities that can be fully utilized. The first,

most important opportunity is that e-commerce is expected to grow by 25% by 2017. Kmart’s online

sales grew 25% in the fourth quarter of 2012, proving this is a strategy worth capitalizing on. (Sanburn,

2013). Moreover, digital forms of marketing will allow Kmart the opportunity to reconnect and engage

with its consumers, provide better customer service, better identify consumer preferences, and deliver

personalized marketing messages. Kmart’s exclusive, celebrity clothing lines are doing well and should

be one of its focus points. In fact, Adam Levine’s men’s clothing line is doing so well that he will be

releasing a women’s line April 2014. (Huffington Post, 2013). Also, Kmart’s urban locations allow open

Kmart the opportunity to market to the Hispanic and African-American population. 40% of its current

customer base are minorities. (Marsh, 2003). The Hispanic population is currently growing at 17% a year,

further expanding the opportunity to market to a larger group of consumers. However, there are

several threats Kmart needs to be aware of. Consumer demands are rapidly changing and pricing

pressure is increasing. Kmart must be able to meet consumer needs and wants. In addition, Kmart is

part of a highly competitive industry. Wal-Mart and Target offer lower prices on same or comparable

merchandise as Kmart. Kmart cannot continue to market themselves as the lowest priced retail chain if

they cannot fulfill that niche. Wal-Mart is also opening Wal-Mart Express’ in urban areas. Therefore,

Kmart will begin seeing additional competition outside its door.

18

6 MARKETING OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES

Marketing Objectives and Strategies

Marketing Objective: Increase kmart.com sales by 25% annually

o Strategy: Increase Kmart website visibility by placing it on all forms of marketing

communication channels used, including television advertisements, social media outlets,

shopping bags, print advertisements, social media advertisements, and the bottom of all

company press releases. Optimize search engine optimization for keywords people are

most likely to search for. Invest in pay per click marketing and retargeting

advertisements.

o Strategy: Drive consumers to Kmart’s website through email marketing as well as social

media advertisements that hyperlink back to Kmart’s website.

Marketing Objective: Increase facebook likes by 15% annually

o Strategy: Increase Kmart’s social media visibility by placing it on all forms of marketing

communication channels used, including television advertisements, shareable videos,

shopping bags, print advertisements, and marketing emails.

o Strategy: Create promotional giveaways, contests, and special savings that are only

available to those who are a member of Kmart’s social media community. Advertise

these promotional giveaways, contests, and special savings through email marketing,

print advertising, and television advertisements.

o Strategy: Have Kmart product line celebrities ask their fans to join Kmart’s social media

community through print and television advertisements.

Marketing Objective: Increase purchases of exclusive celebrity products by 15% annually

o Strategy: Have celebrities endorse and promote their favorite items in their product

lines through their social media pages, television advertisements, print advertisements,

shareable videos, email marketing, and Pinterest.

o Strategy: Have consumers share how they styled or used their favorite celebrity

product line brands on Kmart’s social media page.

Marketing Objective: Gain an additional 732,600 Shop Your Way members by year end. This

equals out to 50 new members a month per operating store.

o Strategy: Offer Shop Your Way members special promotional discounts, giveaways, and

opportunities to buy high demand items days before non-members can. Promote these

special program benefits on Kmart website, email marketing efforts, and social media

community pages. They should be able to easily and quickly be able to sign up through

those mediums.

19

Shop Your Way

Membership Rewards

Cost-effective

Convenience

Diverse portfolio of over

65 million products

Free layaway

Free shipping

Popular, exclusive

celebrity lines

Easy to use, customer-

centric website

7 INTEGRATED CREATIVE STRATEGY STATEMENT, CREATIVE BRIEF, AND

CREATIVE EXECUTION

INTEGRATED CREATIVE STRATEGY STATEMENT

Rational Benefits (Product Related) Emotional Benefits (Customer Oriented)

Draft Statements:

Kmart members save more money on the things they need, so they can spend more doing what

they enjoy

Kmart members save time and money on the things they need

Kmart, where members spend less time and money on the things they need so they can spend

more on the things they love

Spend less time and money doing what you need

Kmart, helping members make the most of their time and money

Kmart, where members save time and money

Kmart- saving you time and money

Kmart – where members do more and spend less

Do more. Spend less.

Achieve more. Spend less.

Accomplish more. Spend less.

Get more. Spend Less.

Integrated creative strategy statement: Kmart: value, style, and convenience at an affordable price.

Brand loyalty

Serving families for

generations

Meet needs of an entire

family

Not just a consumer, but

a member who isn’t

charge me a membership

fee to save

Save money on things I

need so I can do more of

what I enjoy

20

CREATIVE BRIEF

CREATIVE BRIEF

Client: Kmart

Date: February 1, 2014

Type: Six – color, full page magazine ad

Why are we advertising?

Main priority is to increase sales of the Adam Levine clothing line for men. Second priority is to bring

awareness to Adam Levine’s clothing line for women that will be launching April 2014.

Whom are we talking to?

Stylish, upwardly mobile urban males and females, ages 15 – 25, who enjoy a basic, simple, and timeless

cleaned-up but contemporary look. They are currently enrolled in high-school, college, or are recent

graduates and make under $30,000 a year. Even though money is tight, their image is important to

them.

What do they currently think?

For stylish clothes, they need to spend top dollar at local malls.

What would we like them to think?

By shopping Adam Levine’s collection at Kmart, they can get more of the stylish clothes they want at

prices they can afford.

What is the single most persuasive idea we can convey?

When you shop Kmart’s Adam Levine’s clothing line collection, you not only look great but still have

money for the other things you enjoy.

Why should they believe it?

Adam Levine’s clothing line is one of the most popular celebrity clothing lines to hit the market. All

items are under $40.00.

Are there any creative guidelines?

Six – color, full page magazine ad. 30 second TV ad. Facebook ad. Vertical banner ads. Pinterest ads.

21

CREATIVE EXECUTION

Above is the copy for a six-color, full page magazine ad. The image depicts Adam Levine in his car. The

car door is open for a beautiful, dark haired Latino girl to jump in. Adam looks comfortable, relaxed, and

stylish in his Kmart exclusive celebrity clothing line. The girl is stunning enough to stop People

Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” dead in his tracks.

As you can see, Adam’s clothing line product names are predominately displayed as well as the price.

Next to the woman, we see a teaser making the public aware that he has a women’s clothing line that

will be hitting stores in April 2014. The Kmart tagline is predominately displayed across the bottom,

reminding consumers that Kmart provides them with value, style, and convenience at an affordable

price. The Kmart website URL is placed on the bottom, center of the page so consumers know where

they can go to find more products from Adam Levine’s clothing line.

22

8 MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, TACTICS, & FLOW

CHART

MEDIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, TACTICS Media Objective: Generate 25,000 new kmart.com website visits a month. Media Strategies and Tactics:

Media Strategy: Place Kmart.com website at the bottom of all print advertisements o Media Tactic: Predominately place the text “www.Kmart.com” at the bottom of every

print advertisement Kmart runs, starting with the six-color Adam Levine product line spread depicted in the creative execution.

o Rational: Since Kmart will already be paying for print advertising space, Kmart should optimize the space it is paying for. By placing the kmart.com website at the bottom of every ad space, it allows consumers to easily locate Kmart’s website and search for additional information and products.

Media Strategy: Purchase facebook ads aimed at the 18 – 55 year old demographic, located in urban geographical areas across the United States.

o Media Tactic: The headline of Kmart’s facebook ad should be Kmart’s tag line, “Kmart: value, style and convenience at an affordable price.” The font of this headline is predetermined by facebook standards. The Kmart logo will be the facebook ad’s image. Below the image, the text should read, “Let us change your perception. Visit Kmart.com to see our selection.” Kmart should target their market to the 18 – 55 age group, both male and female users, who live in urban geographical zip codes.

o Rational: Facebook advertising does not require a lot of time or money. Businesses can set a budget for how much they are willing to spend over a set period and often clicks cost less than a $1 each. Facebook advertising allows you to directly target your market by age, gender, interests, and locations. (Blum, 2012). Also, by advertising on facebook, you know that all your target audience engages on the platform you are trying to promote.

Media Strategy: Purchase paid search marketing o Media Tactic: Determine top 50 keyword searches that relate to the different products

Kmart.com hosts on their website. Invest in these keywords for a 6 month time period. At the end of the 6 months, again, determine top 50 keyword searches for the next 6 months. This will make sure Kmart is targeting the correct keywords as audience preferences change.

o Rational: Search now constitutes for over 45% of all online spending. Pay per click advertisements will put Kmart’s website at the top of the web page. It is believed that the higher a site appears on the search results list, the more visitors it will receive. (Belch, 2012).

23

Media Objective: Increase facebook followers by 5% the first two quarters of the year, increasing to 10% the second to quarters of the year. Media Strategies and Tactics:

Media Strategy: Purchase facebook ads aimed at the 18 – 55 year old demographic, located in urban geographical areas across the United States.

o Media Tactic: The headline of Kmart’s facebook ad should be Kmart’s tag line, “Kmart: value, style and convenience at an affordable price.” The font of this headline is predetermined by facebook standards. The Kmart logo will be the facebook ad’s image. Below the image, the text should read, “Join Kmart’s facebook community for exclusive Kmart news, latest product offerings, and special savings.” Kmart should target their market to the 18 – 55 age group, both male and female users, who live in urban geographical zip codes.

o Rational: Facebook advertising does not require a lot of time or money. Businesses can set a budget for how much they are willing to spend over a set period and often clicks cost less than a $1 each. Facebook advertising allows you to directly target the market by age, gender, interests, and locations. (Blum, 2012). Also, by advertising on facebook, it’s known that the target audience engages on the platform you are trying to promote.

Media Strategy: Place the facebook fan page icon (as well as other Kmart social media platforms) on all forms of print media.

o Media Tactic: Clearly display facebook (as well as other active Kmart social sites) icons at the bottom right hand corner of every print media piece Kmart utilizes. Above the social icons, in a bold, Arial, contrasting font, the text “Join Kmart’s social communities for the latest news, product offerings, and special savings.”

o Rational: By displaying the social media icons, more particularly the facebook icon, and its benefits on all print advertisements, you are creating awareness for Kmart’s social media platforms and how they benefit the consumer. In addition, by placing this benefit on all forms of print advertisements, the consumer will be exposed to the message repeatedly.

Media Objective: Develop a total of 3,000 billboards that promote Kmart’s Adam Levine and Nicki Minaj clothing lines. Billboards will have a goal of 50 showings. Kmart will target 50% of budget towards the Adam Levine clothing line billboard and the other 50% towards the Nicki Minaj clothing line billboard. These billboards will be in place for 1 year.

Media Strategy: Develop 1,500 billboards that promote Kmart’s Adam Levine’s clothing line and an additional 1,500 billboards that promote the Nicki Minaj clothing line. Each billboard should be placed in high traffic, urban areas across the United States. Because Kmart’s target audience is low to middle income, placement should strive to be on bus lines. This will also increase the number of consumer exposures on a daily basis.

o Media Tactic: There will be 2 billboards. The first billboard will advertise Adam Levine’s clothing line. The second billboard will advertise Nicki Minaj’s clothing line. Resources will be allocated evenly between the 2 clothing lines. Billboards should be lighted, and placed in high traffic, urban areas, primarily those on bus lines. Billboards should be placed nationwide, but primarily focused in locations that host a Kmart store. The Adam

24

Levine billboard will feature Adam Levine sitting in an older, classic, silver vehicle with the door open. Adam will be wearing a V-neck shirt from his clothing line as well as a straight-leg, relaxed fit jean. Next to each clothing item, the official product name and price will be clearly displayed in an Arial font – communicating to consumers the quality, style, and affordable prices of Adam’s clothing line. Outside of the vehicle, there will be a beautiful, Latino female with long dark, wavy hair. Her hand will strategically be placed on the top of the vehicle as if she was just about to get inside Adam’s car. To the right of the women the text will read, “Adam Levine’s women’s clothing line. Coming April 2014.” At the bottom left hand side of the billboard, in bold red font, will be the Kmart logo. In contrasting, bold Arial font, bottom center will be www.kmart.com. To the right will be the social media icons along with the corresponding verbiage, “Join Kmart’s social communities for the latest news, product offerings, and special savings.” The Nicki Minaj billboard will feature Nicki Minaj as well as 2 other, attractive Latino and African American females in their early 20’s. Nicki Minaj will be placed in the center with 1 model on each side. The models will be slightly angled in a V-shape. Each model will have a confident, beautiful expression on their face as if they know every guy is looking at them. Much like the Adam Levine clothing line, each piece the models are wearing will have the official product name and price next to it in a contrasting, bold Arial font. At the bottom left hand side of the billboard, in bold red font, will be the Kmart logo. In contrasting, bold Arial font, bottom center will be www.kmart.com. To the right will be the social media icons along with the corresponding verbiage, “Join Kmart’s social communities for the latest news, product offerings, and special savings.”

o Rational: Kmart’s target audience is low to middle income, African Americans and Latinos who live urban geographical locations. As discussed earlier, one of Kmart’s marketing objectives is to increase Kmart’s exclusive, celebrity brand product sales. By placing a billboard featuring two of today’s hottest celebrities in such high traffic areas it is sure to grab attention. Models are to be of African American and Latino race to better appeal to the target market. Billboard locations were chosen to proximity of target market and on bus lines to maximize exposure. Also, by focusing in urban areas, Kmart is increasing brand awareness – which will be critical as Wal-Mart Express begins to open stores in these locations.

25

FLOW CHART

Campaign January February March April May June July August Septemeber October November December

Kmart Website

Place www.kmart.com at the bottom of Adam Levine's print ad

Purchase facebook ads linking back to Kmart.com

Purchase Paid Search

Facebook Campaign

Facebook Ads

Print Media

Billboards

Adam Levine Clothing Line

Nicki Minaj Clothing Line

26

9 PUBLIC RELATIONS OBJECTIVES & TACTICS

Public Relations Objective: Increase brand awareness of Adam Levine’s women’s clothing line by 15%

annually

Public Relations Strategies and Tactics:

Public Relation Strategy: Create and publish a press release announcing Adam Levine’s

women’s clothing line

o Public Relation Tactic: Develop and publish a press release announcing Adam Levine’s

women’s clothing line. Press release should be sent to PR Newswire, PR Buzz, celebrity

news channels such as E! and The Insider as well local news channels within a 50 mile

radius of the Kmart brick stores. The press release should also be published on the

Kmart’s website, social media channels, and blog. Prior to releasing the press release,

Adam Levine should also send out a teaser on his social media network saying he has a

big announcement to make later in the week.

Public Relation Strategy: Set up exclusive interviews between Adam Levine and leading

women’s fashion magazines

o Public Relation Tactic: Set up exclusive interviews between

Adam Levine and leading women’s fashion magazines such

as People Style Watch, Cosmopolitan, VOGUE, InStyle,

Glamour, and Elle. Kmart should provide the women’s

fashion magazines with any information, images, or

assistance they need in order to publish the stories. The

backdrop behind Adam Levine will consist of clean, white

backdrop with the red Kmart logo printed on it multiple

times.

Public Relation Strategy: Set up an exclusive behind the scenes

photo shoot between Adam Levine and E!

o Public Relation Tactic: Invite E! to an exclusive, behind the scenes photo shoot for

Adam Levine’s women’s clothing line. Adam Levine will be on site to further discuss his

clothing line, the inspiration behind it, and take photos with E! correspondents. In

exchange for air time, E! will receive the first glance the final print ad that Kmart will

release in major women’s fashion magazines later that week. The Kmart logo should be

strategically placed on the wall. Adam Levine will be instructed to give all interviews

against this wall.

Public Relations Objective: Increase favorable opinion of the Kmart brand by 20% annually by

positioning Kmart as an active member of the community.

Public Relations Strategies and Tactics:

Public Relation Strategy: Kmart will become more involved in the local communities in which

its store locations reside

27

o Public Relation Tactic: Annually, Kmart will offer a $5,000 scholarship for 1 high school

senior within a 25 mile radius of each of its store locations. The student should have an

average GPA of 3.0 or higher, come from a family whose total income is less than

$55,000 a year, and be involved in the community. Students must apply for the

scholarship by submitting an essay to Kmart stating where they wish to go to college,

what they want to pursue, what they wish to do once they complete college, and how

the Kmart scholarship will help them pursue their dreams. The scholarship will be

advertised in local newspapers, one page flyers that will be handed out at the schools,

and placed on local radio broadcasts. Once a winner is selected, it will be announced on

Kmart’s social media pages and website. The social media pages will link to the website,

where the winning essay will be displayed. Kmart will also congratulate the winner by

holding a school assembly for each winner. Kmart’s CEO will present the student with a

plaque and the scholarship money at the dedicated assembly. The local news stations

will be invited to cover the dedicated assembly.

o Public Relation Tactic: Kmart will put 3% of their annual sales back into local school

district’s education programs. Kmart will submit this these checks in January of each

year. The final donation amount will be released in a press release that will be

distributed to all local news channels. The press release will also be published on

Kmart.com, Kmart’s social media channels, and blog. Kmart will also advertise the total

amount contributed by placing a large, hanging, red banner inside the entrance of every

Kmart store.

o Public Relation Tactic: Bi-annually Kmart will hold a food drive outside of its brick stores

to help fulfill the needs of the local food banks. Kmart will ask consumers to contribute

canned goods in the outside bins. During check-out, Kmart associates will ask every

customer if they would want to donate $1 to support the local food bank. Kmart will

match the total dollar amount contributed and donate it to the local food banks. Once a

year, Kmart will add the total amount donated between all of its stores and release the

information in a press release. Kmart will place this press release on the Kmart website,

social media channels, and blog.

Public Relation Strategy: Position Kmart as a great place to work in the community

o Public Relation Tactic: Kmart will pay $2,000 a year towards each employee’s tuition.

To take advantage of this offer, the Kmart employee must continue to work 20 hours a

week at Kmart and produce a final grade of a C or better. Kmart will announce this new

service offering through the Kmart website and social media outlets. Kmart will also

promote this by developing a 4-color, window decal it will place on the Kmart windows.

28

10 DIRECT MARKETING IDEAS

Direct Marketing Objective: Have a minimum of 3,000 sales per month stemming from catalog by

including a promotional code in the mailer.

Direct Marketing Strategies and Tactics:

Direct Marketing Strategy: Create and distribute a colorful, 10 page direct mail catalogue to

every household within a 15 mile radius of all Kmart stores.

o Direct Marketing Tactic: Create and distribute a colorful, 10 page direct mail catalogue

to everyone within a 15 mile radius of all Kmart stores. Each catalog will have a

promotion code inside the mailer. To receive the promotional sale price, Kmart

customers must provide the promotion code upon check-out. Kmart will get the

addresses from the United States Postal Service list. The catalogue will have Kmart’s

logo and tag line predominately displayed on the lower left hand corner of the cover

page. The catalogue will feature Kmart’s weekly specials. The catalogue will display

pictures of each item Kmart is currently promoting, the name of the product, and the

sale price. The catalogue will be distributed to each household on Saturdays. The sale

prices will be effective Sunday to Saturday of each week. The weekly catalogue will also

be made available Kmart.com’s home page. Every Saturday, Kmart will also post on its

facebook and twitter feed the URL for the upcoming week’s catalogue. This will also

help drive traffic to Kmart’s website.

Direct Marketing Objective: Have a minimum 20% of Shop Your Way member postcards redeemed for

sales using the coupons and promotion codes enclosed in the mailer.

Direct Marketing Strategies and Tactics:

Direct Marketing Strategy: Create an oversized, 6X9 postcard that

will be delivered to Shop Your Way Members on a quarterly basis.

o Direct Marketing Tactic: Create an oversized, 6X9 colorful

postcard that will be delivered to Shop Your Way members

on a quarterly basis. Kmart will pull the recipient’s name,

address, and spend information from their CRM system.

These post cards will be printed on both sides. The front side will feature the Kmart

logo and tag line along with pictures of a family wearing and/or utilizing Kmart products.

On the back of the postcard, there will be verbiage that thanks the Shop Your Way

member for their business. It will show the Shop Your Way member their total savings

for the 6 month period. On the right side of the postcard will be 2 coupons for future

use. One of the coupons will be a tiered-based coupon. The more the Shop Your Way

member spent during the 6th month period, the higher the coupon rate will be. In order

to help increase Kmart’s web traffic, the second coupon will be free shipping. The total

dollar amount that Kmart’s Shop Your Way members saved each year will be published

annually on the Kmart website, social media pages, billboards, print ads, and broadcast

29

media. Anytime the total amount saved is publish, Kmart will also advertise where

others can sign up for the Shop Your Way membership rewards program.

Direct Marketing Strategy: Create a 6X9 oversized, bi-fold, seasonal postcard that will be

delivered to Shop Your Way members 1 week before Black Friday.

o Direct Marketing Tactic: Create a 6X9 oversized, bi-fold, seasonal postcard that will be

delivered to Shop Your Way members 1 week before Black Friday. Again, the recipient’s

information will be pulled from Kmart’s in-house CRM system. The direct mail piece will

have a seasonal theme on the front, a special thank you for your business on the back,

and present Shop Your Way members with a special savings amount of $5, $10, or $25

off their next in-store or online purchase. One lucky Kmart shopper will receive $500 off

their next in-store or online purchase. The promotional coupon expires December 25th.

Shop Your Way members can discover their secret reward amount by taking their direct

mail piece to any Kmart or by entering the promotion code on Kmart’s website. On

November 1, Kmart will email Shop Your Way members a reminder to keep checking

their mail for the special promotional offer. Kmart will also post this reminder on its

social media sites. Kmart will post a URL on its social media sites that allow other

customers to sign up for its Shop Your Way membership rewards program. The URL will

link to a landing page that is hosted on Kmart’s website. The landing page will capture

the new Shop Your Way member’s contact information and enroll them in the current

Shop Your Way members marketing program. On the landing page, Kmart customers

will have the option to opt-in to mobile marketing offers from Kmart.

30

11 SALES PROMOTIONS IDEAS

Sales Promotion Objective: Have at least 25,000 contestants enter for a chance to fly to NY, attend a

Maroon 5 concert, and meet Adam Levine.

Sales Promotion Strategies and Tactics:

Sales Promotion Strategy: Create a promotional contest where consumers compete for a

chance to meet Adam Levine and attend a Maroon 5 concert.

o Sales Promotion Tactic: In order to increase sales and better promote Adam Levine’s

clothing line, Kmart will host a promotional contest where consumers are encouraged to

upload a picture of themselves wearing Adam Levine’s clothing line items to Kmart’s

website. The idea is to show how they style his products. Adam Levine himself will pick

the top 10 entries. The top 10 will then be published on Kmart’s website and facebook

page. A URL will be available where consumers can login and vote for their favorite

style. The picture with the most votes wins. Kmart will then contact the winner and

present them with tickets for 4 to fly to New York, stay in a luxury hotel, have a meet

and greet with Adam Levine, and attend a Maroon 5 concert. The winner will be

encouraged to take photos of his/her experience and share them on Kmart’s facebook

page. Kmart will advertise this contest on its social media pages, website, weekly

catalogues, and broadcast radio stations. Adam Levine will also help promote the

contest through his social media pages.

Sales Promotion Objective: Have at least 10,000 buy-one-get-one-half-off redemptions on Adam

Levine’s clothing annually.

Sales Promotion Strategies and Tactics:

Sales Promotion Strategy: At the end of every season, Kmart will develop a buy-one-get-one-

half-off promotional special on Adam Levine’s clothing line.

o Sales Promotion Tactic: At the end of every season, Kmart will develop a buy-one-get-

one half-off promotional special on Adam Levine’s clothing line. This will help Kmart

reduce inventory and make room for new, seasonal items. Kmart will advertise this

promotional special on the homepage of its website, social media pages, and in the

weekly catalogue. Kmart’s homepage and social media pages will link back to a special

landing page on Kmart’s website. This landing page will host all of Adam Levine’s

products.

Sales Promotion Objective: Have a minimum of 10% of the Kmart exclusive, celebrity brand product

promotion coupons redeemed for sales.

Sales Promotion Strategies and Tactics:

31

Sales Promotion Strategy: At the beginning of each quarter, every Kmart customer who

purchases an exclusive, Kmart celebrity brand product will receive a promotional coupon for

15% off their next Kmart exclusive celebrity brand product purchase.

o Sales Promotion Tactic: During the first month of each quarter, every Kmart customer

who purchases an exclusive, Kmart celebrity brand product will receive a promotion

coupon for 15% off their next Kmart exclusive, celebrity brand product purchase within

a 30 day time period. The coupon will be stapled to the original receipt and must be

redeemed in-stores by presenting the coupon and receipt within a 30 day time period.

Kmart will track consumers through the Shop Your Way membership rewards program.

If the customer is a member, they will receive an email 7 days before the expiration of

their coupon reminding them that their promotion coupon will soon expire. The email

will provide a link to a landing page on the Kmart website that will contain all of the

exclusive, Kmart celebrity brands. The consumer can then click through the different

brands and see the product offerings. If the customer is not a Shop Your Way member,

the Kmart associate will ask the customer if they would like to join the program during

check-out. If they decline, the Kmart associate will then ask if they would like to enter

their email address to receive the promotional coupon expiration reminder email.

Kmart will advertise the start of the quarterly promotion through weekly circulars, the

Kmart website, email marketing, and social media pages.

32

12 MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION PLAN

To determine the success of the proposed integrated marketing communications program, Kmart will

measure consumer’s brand awareness and image of Adam Levine’s clothing line, the growth of Kmart’s

Shop Your Way membership rewards program, the growth of online sales, and the effectiveness of

Kmart’s sales promotions.

Measurable objective: Increase brand awareness of Adam Levine’s clothing line by 25% annually

Measurement and evaluation plan: Before starting the IMC program, Kmart will develop a

tracking study to determine brand awareness of Adam Levine’s clothing line. Kmart will call 500

consumers in 3 different cities where Kmart owns a brick-and-mortar store. Kmart will ask

consumers if they are aware of Adam Levine’s clothing line. If so, how did they become aware

of it? Have they sought out additional information on it? Have they purchased any items from

it? If so, would they make a repeat purchase? What is their overall impression and attitude

towards Adam Levine’s clothing line? Are there any additions or changes they would

recommend? One year, after the implementation of the IMC program, Kmart will call 500

consumers in 3 different cities where Kmart placed a billboard and ask the same questions listed

above. Kmart will compare the results. If the brand awareness and/or purchases is significantly

higher in the second survey than the first, Kmart will deem the campaign a success.

Measurement and evaluation plan: In order to make sure Kmart is going to market with a print

ad that will catch consumer’s attention, Kmart will conduct copy testing on the Adam Levine

print advertisement. Kmart will put together a focus group of 10 people and discuss the current

print ad. Kmart will determine if the print ad is eye-catching, is met with a positive perception

from the viewers, and that the message is easily conveyed to the viewers. The focus group will

also have the opportunity to offer suggestions that will help Kmart make the ad more impactful.

If the Kmart ad is met with a positive response from the focus group, Kmart will take the ad to

print.

Measurable objective: Gain 732,600 Shop Your Way members by year end. This equals out to 50 new

members a month per operating store.

Measurement and evaluation plan: Determine the total amount of Shop Your Way members

from the previous year, including the number each store was responsible for acquiring. At a 6

month period, determine the number of current Shop Your Way members compared to the

number at the end of the last year. If Kmart is not heading in the right direction, Kmart will look

at each store’s new acquisitions per month and will develop a plan to get memberships back on

track before year end. End of year, Kmart will gather the total number of Shop Your Way

members and subtract it from last year’s total to determine if Kmart met its goal. Kmart will

deem the campaign a success if Kmart has acquired 732,600 new Shop Your Way members by

year end.

33

Measurable objective: Increase Kmart.com sales by 25% annually

Measurement and evaluation plan: Determine the total dollar amount of products sold on

Kmart.com the previous year. 6 months into the current campaigns, run a report that will let

Kmart discover the total amount consumers have spent on Kmart.com to date. This will give

Kmart time to adjust any campaigns they deem necessary at that time. At the one year point,

pull a report that shows the dollar amount of products sold on Kmart.com. Kmart will compare

the results from this year to the year prior. Kmart will deem the campaign a success if online

sales increased by 25%.

Measurable objective: The proposed IMC program called for multiple sales promotions. These sales

promotions goals included gathering 25,000 contestants for Adam Levine meet-and-greet contest,

selling 10,000 BOGO’s, and having 10% of the celebrity brand promotional coupons redeemed.

Measurement and evaluation plan: Kmart will count the number of contestants, BOGOs sold,

and number of promotional coupons redeemed. If the Adam Levine promotional contest had

25,000 contestants or more, the contest will be deemed a success. If Kmart sold over 10,000

BOGO’s and over 10% of the promotional coupons redeemed, the respective sales promotions

will also be deemed a success.

If Kmart achieves success in 4 out of the 6 measurable objectives listed above, Kmart will deem the

proposed IMC program a success.

34

13 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, integrated marketing communications is a process of marketing strategies and creative

campaigns that are integrated together to deliver one, consistent brand message to the consumer.

Integrated marketing communications leverages the strengths of each communication channel to have a

greater impact on the end result. Using an integrated marketing communications plan helps marketers

not only leverage the different communication channels for their message, but also helps reduce any of

the different communication channel’s shortfalls.

The proposed integrated marketing communications plan will be successful when it comes to creating

brand awareness around Kmart’s exclusive celebrity product lines, growing the Shop Your Way

membership rewards program, increasing online sales, positioning Kmart as a member of the

community, and effectively utilizing the different communication channel to provide and promote one,

unified brand message.

The proposed integrated marketing communications plan was developed and largely based off of

market research that identified Kmart’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the market

place. The proposed plan shines a spotlight on Kmart’s strengths, capitalizes on current opportunities,

strengthens Kmart’s weaknesses, and strategically braces and navigates Kmart around the threats that

lie ahead.

Kmart shouldn’t try to steal consumers away from Wal-Mart and/or Target through cutting prices or

imitating the look and feel of their marketing advertisements. Instead, Kmart needs to concentrate on

its strengths, opportunities, and the things that makes Kmart unique. Kmart should concentrate on the

newly define, urban minority target market, for not only is it one of the fastest growing markets out

there, but also one of the least targeted by discount retailers. Once Kmart appeals to the urban market,

Kmart may then inadvertently steal consumers away from Wal-Mart and Target. After all, doesn’t most

trends start in the city?

35

14 REFERENCES

2012 Annual Report. (n.d.). Retrieved from Sears Holding Corporation:

http://www.searsholdings.com/invest/docs/SHC_2012_Form_10-

K.pdf#pagemode=thumbs&page=1&zoom=100,0,0

Asians Fastest-Growing Race or Ethnic Group in 2012, Census Bureau Reports. (2013, June 13). Retrieved

from United States Census Bureau:

http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb13-112.html

Belch, B. &. (2012). Advertising and promotion: An integrated marketing communations perspective.

New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Blum, J. a. (2012, December 3). 10 Quick Steps to Creating a Facebook Ad Campaign. Retrieved from

Entrepreneur: http://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/225120

Bogenrief, M. (2012, January 19). Three things that kmart needs to fix if it wants to survive. Retrieved

from Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/is-it-blue-lights-out-for-kmart-2012-1

Christman, C. (2013, November 14). Target’s perfect marriage of traditional and digital marketing.

Retrieved from Main Street Host Blog: http://blog.mainstreethost.com/targets-perfect-

marriage-traditional-digital-marketing#.UxVMkfmwJul

Conover, R. (2012, November 8). Kmart Review. Retrieved from Cheapism:

http://www.cheapism.com/walmart-target-kmart/1563_kmart_review

Dolor, S. (2013, June 25). How brands can choose the right social media platforms for their goals.

Retrieved from Social Barrel: http://socialbarrel.com/how-brands-can-choose-the-right-social-

media-platforms-for-their-goals-infographic/52084/

Hoovers. (n.d.). Kmart Company Profile. Retrieved from Hoovers: http://www.hoovers.com/company-

information/cs/company-profile.Kmart_Corporation.cbd1cb49b4162039.html

Huffington Post. (2013, October 31). Adam Levine Is The Calvin Klein Of Kmart, Apparently. Retrieved

from Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/31/adam-levine-

kmart_n_4182179.html

Marsh, L. (2003, February 4). Kmart's new ‘direct’ ad inserts target urban minority shoppers. Retrieved

from NY Post: http://nypost.com/2003/02/04/kmarts-new-direct-ad-inserts-target-urban-

minority-shoppers/

Pollitt, C. (2014, January 27). An Inside View of Walmart's Digital Communications Strategy. Retrieved

from Social Media Today: http://socialmediatoday.com/cpollittiu/2110376/inside-view-

walmart-s-digital-communications-strategy

Reference for Business. (n.d.). Kmart Corporation - Company Profile, Information, Business Description,

History, Background Information on Kmart Corporation. Retrieved from Reference for Business:

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/36/Kmart-Corporation.html

36

Retail Ecommerce Set to Keep a Strong Pace Through 2017. (2013, April 24). Retrieved from eMarketer:

http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Retail-Ecommerce-Set-Keep-Strong-Pace-Through-

2017/1009836

Sanburn, J. (2013, April 19). Does Kmart’s Hilarious New Ad Acknowledge That Kmart Stores Are

Hopeless? Retrieved from Business Time: http://business.time.com/2013/04/19/does-kmarts-

hilarious-new-ad-acknowledge-that-kmart-stores-are-hopeless/

Target. (n.d.). Corporate fact sheet. Retrieved from Target: http://pressroom.target.com/corporate

Wal-Mart About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from Walmart: http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/

Wishpond. (n.d.). Online Marketing for Small Business. Retrieved from Wishpond Blog:

http://blog.wishpond.com/post/52815764009/7-ways-to-increase-your-facebook-likes-guide