Marketing Plan for Polo Ralph Lauren - Research Paper Example

Luxury goods companies like Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) know the value of advertising in lifestyle magazines even if many who read it are not buying from exclusive advertisers. These so-called non-users of the luxury products advertised represent a key audience who may not be able to buy the product now, but would at least know what it is and feels aspirational towards it, so that those who buy know that others think very positively about it. The role of promotions is along similar lines: it helps increase awareness of the product image among key customers and non-customers alike.

If sufficiently attractive in the form of sales discounts through alternative distribution and selling channels, promotions can drive increased traffic through the stores, so that those who could not afford the product may be able to do try it out, which accelerates an increase in the brand's aspirational value that may lead to higher sales in the future.2 Developing an integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan for RL's fragrances is a strategic and dynamic process3 that requires knowing the corporate and brand mission, values, and needs to "create resonance and consonance in terms of brand identity".

4 Knowledge of the corporate and brand strategies is crucial to establish the solid foundations on which the IMC plan must stand to "deliver clarity, consistency, and maximum impact".5 Polo Ralph Lauren's over-all brand strategies, missions, values, and needs are. These ten keywords and phrases summarize the brand boundaries for the IMC plan being drafted for fragrances, which is the object of this report. In addition, the following strategies7 and the competitive analysis (see Tables 1 to 3) summarized in the next section provide key information for developing the IMC plan:1.

Grow share of fragrances from 8.32% (2006) to 10% of revenues in 2007 by generating sales of $604 million, up from $441 million.2. Drive traffic to new stores by targeting the youth and under-40 markets in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. to maintain at least 15% contribution to total revenues from this growing market.3. Grow European (14% of total) and Asian (13% of total) markets by 14% in 2007.4. Increase traffic to award-winning8 e-commerce site Polo.com by 14% from 1.6 million visitors monthly and 800,000 buying customers annually in 2006.

Fragrance is an emotion. It is more than toothpaste, more than breakfast cereal. It must be advertised to bring out passion and emotion.The advertising and promotion plans should be consistent with these corporate and brand strategies and reflect Message and Planning Integration.9 Communication messages must use the same tone, product benefits, brand character, logo, theme line, etc. across all channels of communications. Communication efficiency must be maximized by integrating the messages and the multiple marketing communications channels used to deliver them.

An integrated advertising and promotional campaign makes the purchase decision process easier if based on a deep understanding of aspirational needs and wants as consumers put these messages together and form