Marketing of JCPenny - Essay Example

The marketers should have defined their objectives, what they hoped to accomplish from their ad.  Was their objective to change their image from a conservative clothing store to a more fashion-updated store?  Did they want to reposition their products?  Are they willing to sacrifice their conservative market just to tap another segment of the market?  These are essential questions that should have been addressed before deciding to come up with the ad. 

            Another important aspect that Penny might have overlooked is the pre-testing stage of the advertisement.  They should have randomly picked out a “consumer jury” who will view the ad and see how they would react to the ad.   The “jury” should be representative of their target market, to include their present consumers and the market which they want to tap.  Had they done this process, they could have gotten outright feedback on the impact of their ad.

How could Penney use public relations strategies to counteract the bad publicity it received as a result of the ad and the t-shirts?
 As a result of its television commercial entitled “Attitude Adjustment”, Penny suffered from bad publicity.  Their customers reacted negatively.  This same problem was encountered by Penny when they came out with a T-shirt design with the slogan “Home Skooled”.  To counter the negative publicity that they experienced from these instances, I think Penny should try to redeem itself and beef up its reputation again.  The first thing is to realize that they have to address the issue directly and not just hope that it will go away by itself.  Apologizing publicly through a company spokesperson is the first step that the company can make.  People react favorably to companies that accept their mistakes. If this is done the consumers, as well as the general public, will have the perception that they take their business seriously and that they are doing something to remedy the situation.  This was done by Penny when it pulled out its advertisement and the T-shirt as soon as it realized its negative impact.  Second, Penny must be ready to answer all media questions and explain the circumstances behind the advertisement.  Answering with “no comment” should be avoided.  A written statement in major newspapers may also be done to give a clearer picture.  Penny should also try to maintain a sound corporate social responsibility program.  Bad publicity can be countered by good publicity by generating good public relations.