your beauty is our mission

I. Executive Summary ............................................................. 2

II. Situation Anaylsis and Marketing Strategy ....................4

III. Media Objective, Strategy and Tactics..........................15

IV. Creative Strategy ................................................................21

V. Promotion Strategy and IMC Efforts ..............................28

VI. Copy Test/ Evaluation of the Plan ................................31

VII. References .........................................................................33

Table Of Contents

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executive summary

The Krazy Ones has devised a plan for Mary Kay to achieve the brand’s three

key objectives of increasing awareness, increasing positive

perception and increasing product consideration for purchase among

the target audience of 18 to 25-year- old females.

Mary Kay’s marketing problem stands firmly in the direct selling market.

Currently, Avon and Amway take the top two spots, respectively, with Mary

Kay at number six. Our target audience is not familiar with direct

selling and needs to be informed and persuaded that Mary

Kay’s personalization with Independent Beauty Consultants is a better alternative to their current

beauty regimen.

After examining regionality, SWOT analysis for primary and secondary

competitors, target audience demographics and psychographics, our agency has determined that our strategy’s marketing objective is to

increase market share among Gen Y consumers ages 18 to 25 by five

percent. The advertising objectives for our strategy feature a four

percent increase in brand awareness, a 28 percent increase in

positive perception and a 19 percent increase in product

purchase consideration.

Executive Summary

In order to achieve these objectives, we chose media vehicles and budgets

that would reach our target audience in their preferred mediums. Our traditional

advertising outlets include television, magazines and Internet

advertisements. Our IMC efforts and other vehicles will include social media interaction with our target

audience, a coordinated series of air drops in music festivals and a

sponsorship donation. All advertisements will tie into our

chosen strategy entitled: “Your Beauty is Our Mission.”

Our creative strategy was chosen after extensive creative concept testing

through surveying and interviewing our target audience. The

knowledge we gathered ultimately drove us to a strategy that will be interactive so that the target audience will have Mary Kay at the forefront of their thought process

when considering makeup choices.

Finally, we plan to do an evaluation of our campaign throughout our

February 2015 to February 2016 time period. At the beginning, middle and end of our campign, we will examine

the effectiveness of our tagline, communication efforts,

chosen media and memorability.

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Situation Analysis and Marketing Strategy

M a r k e t i n g P r o b l e m

Even though Mary Kay’s sales have risen over the past few years3, the com-pany’s primary problem is their market share in the direct selling arena.

Their position in the makeup market is less of an issue because, without an in-store location, it would be too difficult for Mary Kay to compete with their

secondary competitors. As Table A shows, Mary Kay is one of the top 100 direct selling companies in the world, ranking at number six3. However, companies like Avon and Amway take the number one and number two

slots, respectively3. Similarly, Mary Kay has the third highest market share in the direct selling industry but still falls behind Avon and Amway as shown in

Graph A4. So ultimately, Mary Kay needs to find a way to increase their market share in the direct selling industry.

Situation Analysis and Marketing Strategy

Table AGraph A

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Since 1963, Mary Kay has been enriching women’s lives with over 200 premium products that are carefully researched to promote quality and safety10. The company also emphasizes social responsibility through programs like “Pink Changing Lives” and Pink Doing Green”10.

Mary Kay’s brand is more popular in the South and West census regions of the United States while the category of makeup performs well in all four regions, particularly the West15, as shown in Tables B and C. Research suggests that makeup does not have a specified seasonality. The majority of consumers tend to buy the product as it is needed. However, they do buy for special occasions, during sales or specials, and, even more rarely, when something new comes out or they feel a need for change. Additionally, in the past, Mary Kay spent approximately $13.8 million on advertising with the majority of the budget going towards magazines and spot and syndication television9.

Product/Brand Analysis

Table B

Table C 6

Currently, the direct-selling industry market size is approximately $31.63 billion2. Mary Kay’s primary competitors, Avon and Amway are also part of this direct-selling market. As mentioned in the marketing problem, both companies currently possess a larger market share than Mary Kay (see Graph A).

Additionally, Mary Kay faces threats from secondary competitors in the makeup industry, which currently generates about $35 billion dollars a year and rising14. This industry includes face, eye, nail and lip makeup. Two of Mary Kay’s most threatening competitors in this industry are CoverGirl and MAC.

These primary and secondary competitors spend their ad dollars primarily in cable and network television and magazines9.

Competitors’ Analysis

Table D shows the BDI for Mary Kay’s primary and secondary competitors in four makeup categories: eye, foundation/concealer, lip and mascara15.

Table D

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Brand loyalty Company values Worldwide presence Multiple product lines

Mary Kay SWOT

Not sold in stores Low market share Brand perception Lack of social media presence

Younger demographic Appealing business model Personal selling model Promotion of social responsibility

In-store locations of secondary competitors Age of core consumer base increasing Negative publicity Increases in online shopping

Weaknesses

Opportunities

Threats

Strengths

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Strengthso Lead position in direct selling marketo Worldwide presenceo Long-lasting companyo Strong brand equityWeaknesseso Dependence on third party suppliero Declining North American operationsOpportunitieso Ability to rebrand lines as necessaryThreatso Lower costs of competitors

Strengthso Lower priceo Easy to findo Celebrity endorsemento Strong partnershipsWeaknesseso Sold in lower quality storesOpportunitieso Young imageo Social media presenceThreatso Clutter due to excessive celebrity endorsementso Threat of damage to the brand from negative celebrity endorser activities

Competitors’ SWOT

Strengthso Worldwide presenceo Award-winningo Multiple product categoriesWeaknesseso Costly productso Lack of advertisingOpportunitieso Large range of consumersThreatso Not market leadero Lack of social media presence

Strengthso High brand equityo High quality of productso Vibrant color schemeWeaknesseso ExpensiveOpportunitieso Philanthropyo Strong social media presenceThreatso Threat of substitutes from cheaper alternatives in a highly competitive market

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(Feb. 2015 to Feb. 2016)Increase market share among a core segment of Gen Y (Millennials) consumers, females 18-25 years old by five percent.

Marketing and Advertising Objectives

Marketing Objectives

Advertising Objectives

(Feb. 2015 to Feb. 2016)Increase current brand awareness among female consumers 18-25 by four percent (from 88 percent to 92 percent).

Increase positive perception among female consumers 18-25 by 28 percent (from 22 percent to 50 percent).

Increase consideration for product purchase and the Mary Kay business opportunity among female consumers ages 18-25 by 19 percent (from 31 percent to 50 percent).

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For this campaign, Mary Kay’s target audience is females 18 to 25. Typically, Mary Kay’s strengths lie with an older female audience. However, capturing a new audience is necessary to promote the longevity of Mary Kay as a company.

The trouble with having an older audience is the fact that they will continue to age. As they continue to do so, their need and desire for beauty products dwindles until they no longer buy the products or become unable to buy the products. This will cause Mary Kay’s sales to decline, damaging the company’s revenue stream. Thus, it is crucial that Mary Kay find a new audience from which to draw their revenue. Table E and F outline demographic, psychographic and media consumption information for the young female au-dience. The percentages provide information from primary research on the target audience while index numbers provide secondary research from Choices3.

Target Audience and Profile

Table E

Table F

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Also, these young females are also avid social media users. Graph C shows the popularity of various social media outlets.

These young females use a wide variety of media including: Internet, television, movies, radio, books and magazines. As seen in Graph B, the most popular of these media, by a large, margin are Internet and television. They read magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, People and Us Weekly, and they watch TV shows, such as Pretty Little Liars, Once Upon A Time, Modern Family, Revenge, Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy, The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory.

Target Audience and Profile

Graph B

Graph C

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The following statements come from primary research conducted for this campaign.

The makeup brands used most often by the respondents include: CoverGirl, MAC and Maybelline.

67 percent of respondents are familiar with any makeup advertisements.

58 percent of respondents have never purchased makeup from a direct selling company.

88 percent of respondent are familiar with Mary Kay Cosmetics.

18 percent of respondents use Mary Kay.

No respondents could recall any advertisements for Mary Kay though they could for many other makeup brands.

Target Audience and Makeup

42 percent of respondents have purchased makeup from a direct selling company.

53 percent of respondents have purchased from Mary Kay while 58% have purchased from Avon.

89 percent of respondents prefer to buy makeup from the store.

52 percent of respondents say someone else affects their makeup purchases with the friend and the mother being the two most influential people.

53 percent of respondents are indifferent about the Mary Kay brand.

Why? They don’t know much about the brand, don’t care or see Mary Kay as an older generation’s brand.

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Table G briefly outlines the target profiles for Mary Kay’s competitors. Index numbers were averaged between several makeup categories (eye, foundation, lips and mascara) except Amway whose categories consisted of facial cleansers, lip care and moisturizers.

Competitors’ Target Audience

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Table G

Media Objective, Strategy and Tactics

Overall Target Coverage (Reach and Frequency Goals) Regionality/Seasonality Weighting and Scheduling

Mary Kay’s brand is the strongest in the West and South regions15. Though the brand is already strong in these regions, there is a great deal of opportunity here for capturing the new and younger female audience. Therefore, the ad weight will be heavier in these regions. However, since makeup is a strong category in all regions15, it is important not to ignore these regions as there is opportunity for the brand to grow here as well. Graph D depicts the specific reach, frequency and regionality weighting goals of the campaign.

60% Reach2 frequency 15% of budget

60% Reach2 frequency 15% of budget

75% Reach3 frequency 35% of budget

75% Reach3 frequency 35% of budget

Seasonality

The majority of consumers purchase makeup as needed. However, there are other occasions, such as special occasions and during sales or specials when they also purchase makeup. Most advertising will occur throughout the year. However, special promotions will occur during specific periods of the year for this campaign.

media objective

Scheduling

Since makeup is not a seasonal product, a typical scheduling strategy would call for continuity scheduling, but in this case, a pulsing schedule is best so that Mary Kay can capitalize on the possible increase in sales during special promotion periods and advertising opportunities.

Graph D

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This campaign utilizes three traditional advertising outlets: television, magazines and Internet. This section outlines the rationales for choosing these media in addition to specific vehicles used by the target.

TelevisionWhy? Increases reach, which promotes brand awareness among a larger audience Geographically flexible since regionality varies Dynamic nature of imagery for creative purposes Survey research: 83 percent of primary research respondents use television, and 46 percent say they use this medium the most Quintiles (1-5) 15 Prime Time: 52, 89, 86, 106, 166 All Day: 71, 75, 79, 105, 171

Vehicles: Grey’s Anatomy 14.6 percent of primary research respondents watch this show Index: 85 for network and 120 for syndication15 Pretty Little Liars 12.2 percent of primary research respondents watch this show Index: 39915

Scandal 12.2 percent of primary research respondents watch this show

86th Academy Awards Kickoff for television ads 85th Academy Awards (2013) 1 40.3 million viewers Adult 18-34 viewership increased by 20 percent (year over year)

Media Strategy and Tactics Media MIx

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Magazines Why? Easily target a specific audience Long shelf-life Pass-along readers Strong creative concept for print 44 percent of primary research respondents said they use magazines Vehicles: Cosmopolitan 32 percent of primary research respondents read this magazine Index (read in past six months): 25815 People 32 percent of primary research respondents read this magazine Index (read in past six months): 11215 Us Weekly Eight percent of primary research respondents read this magazine Index (read in past six months): 15715

Internet Why? 95 percent of primary research respondents use the Internet, and 86 percent say they use this medium the most Quintiles (1-5): 160, 99, 88, 90, 13215 Vehicles Pandora Increases frequency to persuade consumers Our target considers music to be a common interest Pandora is currently a popular Internet source for music.

Media Mix

Media Strategy and Tactics

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Media (Classes/Vehicle) Selection and Media Mix

The budget for this campaign is $10 million. Graph E depicts the media mix for the campaign while Table H includes specified dollar amounts.

Media Strategy and Tactics

Graph E

Table H

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Table I outlines the advertising flowchart for this cam

paign.

Ad

vertisin

g Flo

wc

hart

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Table I

Creative Strategy

Based on previous research, three creative concepts were generated for Mary Kay’s new campaign and its cor-responding advertising objectives. To determine the potential effectiveness of each idea, concept testing was conducted among the target audience. The three concepts with the most potential are listed below.

Concept HeadlineEveryone deserves a makeover.

Concept ExplanationThough Mary Kay is a well-known brand, younger consumers aren’t engaged by its current brand image. With this concept, Mary Kay will be reinventing itself as a brand while reassuring younger consumers that they too can reinvent themselves with Mary Kay cosmetics.

Concept HeadlineDon’t Sweat It (We’ve got your back). Reasons you should use the right make-up. Don’t be that girl.

Concept ExplanationFinding the right products and applying them correctly isn’t always easy. Mary Kay’s network of Independent Beauty Consultants (IBCs) is there so women won’t have to worry about choosing the wrong makeup or applying their makeup the wrong way. Mary Kay is always there to make sure you don’t end up in that situation.

Creative Strategy

Creative Concepts: What to Say

Concept 1

Concept 2

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Concept HeadlineShift gears with Mary Kay.Concept ExplanationIt’s easy to fall into a rut and become complacent in your makeup purchases. Break your routine with Mary Kay, and try something new.

During concept testing, respondents were asked to vote for a favorite concept and rate each concept on a scale of one to ten based on factors, such as believability, relevance and uniqueness. Table J depicts the results of this testing.

As Table J shows, Concept 2 performed better than all other concepts and, subsequently, was chosen as the creative concept for this campaign. However, it had to be modified as respondents did not feel strongly about the tagline. Subsequent testing in the campaign evaluation stage will determine the effectiveness of the new tagline.

Creative Strategy

Concept 4

Table J

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ExecutionDue to an ever-increasing, beauty-conscious society, women are fighting harder than ever to put their best face forward. Mary Kay’s IBCs are on the frontline of this battle. The main theme of this campaign focuses on the IBCs’ ability to provide young female consumers with the arsenal they need to make the best choices to further enhance their natural beauty.

Print AdsThese print ads are meant to convey in a more humorous tone that Mary Kay is there to take care of the consumers and help them avoid making costly errors when choosing or applying makeup.

TV AdThese television ads will place a spotlight on the military makeover IMC effort. These one-min-ute ads will feature the journey of a woman in the military from her station, to the makeover and home.

Internet AdsThese ads on Pandora will feature a more informational approach about finding IBC in your area. Video ads will explain how to contact local IBCs to purchase products.

Creative Concepts: How To Say

Creative Strategy

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Objectives (Feb. 2015 to Feb. 2016)Increase current brand awareness among female consumers 18-25 by four percent (from 88 percent to 92 percent).Increase positive perception among female consumers 18-25 by 28 percent (from 22 percent to 50 percent).Increase consideration for product purchase and the Mary Kay business opportunity among female consumers ages 18-25 by 19 percent (from 31 percent to 50 percent).

Why?Mary Kay’s core consumer base is aging. Soon, they will become non-users of the brand, and Mary Kay needs to develop relationships with a younger audience that can sustain and grow the company.

Who?The target audience is females ages 18 to 25.

What do they think?They see Mary Kay as an older woman’s brand and don’t find appeal in the direct selling model. They’d rather purchase products in-store.

What would we like them to think?Mary Kay can be a younger woman’s makeup, and the direct selling model can provide benefits in-store locations cannot.

Message Proposition/Big IdeaYour beauty is our mission.

Creative Brief

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Creative ExecutionThree print adsEach print ad depicts a young woman in the midst of a makeup crisis. Each ad copy contains crisis, phrased so that IBC is an appropriate acronym (i.e. Insane Blush Crisis, Incredibly Bad Concealer, Intense Bronze Color). Then, each ad contains copy that presents Mary Kay’s IBCs as the solution to the problem in addition to the tagline.Cost full page, four color: Cosmopolitan $2891105; People $32440016; Us Weekly $17800011Where: NationalWhen: Monthly (3 magazine rotation every quarter)

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StoryboardThis television ad storyboard depicts a makeover of a woman in the military coming home to her family, including sequences of her makeover and finally greeting her family.Cost: $200000 per show8Where: National

Creative Execution

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This sample Internet ad includes the copy for a more informational ad, offering infor-mation for buying Mary Kay’s makeup and contacting an IBC.Cost: $14-$20 (CPM) 7Where: NationalWhen: Continuously

SFX: Girl screaming, stuff crashing

SFX: Door creaks open

ADD IN: Calming upbeat score begins to play

Girl 1: What happened?

Girl 2: I’m just dealing with this…insane blush crisis

Girl 1: you should take that IBC problem to an IBC professional

Narrator: A Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant can assist you with any make up problem. Let there exper-tise guide you toward your desired look. Mary Kay, your beauty is our mission.

Promotion Strategy and IMC Efforts

Battle for Beauty

Our IMC efforts are drawn directly from our campaign tagline “Your beauty is our mission.” We have chosen to go to the women fighting on the frontlines for our country in an effort to make their homecoming as spectacular as they are. We will meet these extraordinary women once they reach home base and give them a full Mary Kay makeover before they are reunited with their loved ones. We will film the entire welcome home celebration with our IBCs as the spokespersons throughout the filming.

After the reunion has taken place, we plan to use the footage in 10 one-minute TV spots that direct viewers to get more on the stories at MaryKay.com. We believe that by utilizing our owned media via the Internet we will gain earned media due to the transcendence of the idea of giving back to the people that have already given so much to their country.

Beyond the Battle

Mary Kay wants to continue its goal of giving women the opportunity to better their lives. In a partnership with the GI Bill, Mary Kay has chosen to donate $1000000 to women who are now looking to make a career for themselves within the civilian realm. This IMC effort coincides perfectly with Mary Kay’s fundamental core values to enable women to be the best they can be. We will publicize this donation via two TV spots.

In addition to our tuition, Mary Kay will also donate 10 percent of every foundation purchase toward the GI Bill. These women helped keep the foundation of our way of life save with their own lives. We believe it’s time to help build their new platform.

Promotion Strategy and IMC Efforts

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Consumer Frontline

As an extension of our mission, we plan to utilize airdrops of Mary Kay samples at 50 outdoor music festivals. The airdrops will consist of mock military crates that will include a free sample product, lipstick bullet, coupon and IBC contact information. We will work with event coordinators in order for our infiltration to be seen in a positive light rather than a strange marketing ploy that has had no prior planning.

IBC IMC Extensions: The Look

Our IBC will be our mission leaders throughout our IMC efforts. Each IBC will be a part of the Independent Beauty Coalition working tirelessly on their mission to help every young women put her best face forward. The IBC’s will have a uniform when working specific publicity events that will include a Mary Kay camouflage in addition to their own badge. We believe that involving our IBCs in our IMC efforts will bring the entire concept full circle and allow the brand to be relevant to our target audience.

Social Media Extensions of IMC and Print Ads

We plan to share our military makeover stories via our own owned social media channels where consumers can find extended versions of the television ads. However, we also plan to have an extension of our print ads. Consumers will be able to share their own version of the IBC play-on-words via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These interactions will boost our social media presence and bring attention to the current Mary Kay Virtual Makeover App. This strategy will help bring our mission to our target audience’s preferred media channels.

Promotion Strategy and IMC Efforts

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Copy Test/ Evaluation of the Plan

When• Before campaign is run, halfway through the campaign, after the end of the campaign

Where• Testing in all four regions where a there is a significant presence of the targets female 18 to 25.

Copy Testing• Taglineo Due to concept testing feedback, the original tagline underwent a change. It is important to find out whether the new tagline is effective or not. It is also important to find of whether or not the tagline make sense in the context of the ad.• Communicationo Testing must be done to determine if the ad communicates the desired message or something different?• TV Adso Testing should determine if one minute too long of an ad.o Also, it is important to consider if they like the humorous aspects of the print ad.• Memorabilityo How well do they remember the ad?• Does the tone of the ads contradict one another too much?

Copy Test/ Evaluation of the Plan

Pretest and posttest Brand awareness Brand recall Brand perception Purchase intention Number of followers on social media outlets Website Traffic

Tangible products Number of business cards distributed Number of products given away Consumers who follow through and make a purchase Number of new IBCs in the target audience

Market share researchConduct research on market shares to see if Mary Kay’s market share increased.

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References

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