ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT Essay

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example ......................... 5.0 Distribution/channel strategy................................................................................ 6.0 Promotional strategy............................................................................................. 7.0 Pricing strategy...................................................................................................... References EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marks and Spencer is not doing an appropriate job of gaining target market interest in the brand and continues to cater to the older demographic. The company has built a rather old-fashioned and stuffy brand that caters to wealthy High Street consumers in the over-55 age bracket. This prevents the business from building a more contemporary brand personality that would attract younger and trendier fashion consumers. To better position the company, the business needs to utilise psychographics rather than demographic segmentation and focus less on quality and more on price and fashion -forwardness. Improvements to fashion procurement, utilisation of the Internet for online purchases, social media for promotion, and lifestyle-related advertisement will improve the brand competitiveness in this highly saturated and dynamic competitive environment. Marketing analysis: Marks and Spencer 1.0 Current market segments Marks and Spencer continues to attempt to attract younger consumer segments through the introduction of more contemporary fashion merchandise with edgy and trendy designs. The business, in an effort to appeal to the twenty something markets, recruited models Lily Cole and Lizzie Jagger to serve as celebrity endorsers that would be aspirational to the youth, female markets (Wood and Finch 2009). However, this strategy failed to rouse interest in the M&S brand and clothing sales to the over-55 female segment rose by 10 percent (Wood and Finch 2009). The problem at Marks and Spencer is that the business continues to segment based on demographics. As a high str eet fashion business, the business maintains a premium pricing model on the majority of its fashion merchandise, thus making clothing more affordable to the older demographic. Premium fashion products are segmented just below luxury brands and therefore usually carry a higher price tag (Hameide 2011). The average age of the business’ customers are between 35 and 54 who maintain the high level of financial resources necessary to afford a high price (Ayub 2010). The brand has been defined according to the demographic characteristics and purchasing behaviours of existing consumers, affluent middle-aged women living in wealthy regions who are the major revenue producers for the company. The business, in an effort to attract desirable target markets, recruited the 1970s model Twiggy to promote a new clothing line launch. This strategy did not appeal to the younger consumer market segments and seemed to reinforce a lifestyle connection with the aging consumer target market. Joanna Lumley, from the Absolutely Fabulous craze, was also recruited to appear in and perform voiceovers for advertisements, yet another older celebrity figure which continued to appeal to the existing, greying market (Chislett 2009). Hence, by focusing on demographic segmentation in order to identify target consumers, Marks and Spencer is limiting its ability to boost revenue production by not utilising other segmentation strategies. The company continues to utilise strategic marketing strategies that are more relevant to the lifestyles and income demographics of older