Molly Brown

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10/19/2016

FIVE-YEAR MARKETING PLAN

DIFF Eyewear

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Description
DIFF Eyewear was started by co-founders Zachary Gordon and Chad Jernigan and now
has a group of seven employees. The purpose of this company is to provide high quality,
handmade sunglasses at an affordable price. DIFF Eyewear believes that everyone should be
able to look stylish without having to spend a fortune.
DIFF Eyewear has decided to make a difference around the world by partnering with
Eyes on Africaa non-profit, non-religious organization that distributes reading glasses to areas
in rural Africa that are unable to get basic eye care. For every pair of DIFF sunglasses bought, a
pair of reading glasses is donated to the non-profit organization, Eyes on Africa. The reading
glasses are then sent to underprivileged villages in Africa where access to eyewear is difficult.
In rural areas in Africa, it is important for the local people to be able to see in order to perform
essential tasks, such as sewing and weaving to make an income to support their families.
DIFF Eyewear believes that a trendy look should be affordable as well as stressing the
importance of what it means to give back to the community and to people less fortunate around
the world.

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3. Strategic Focus and Plan

Mission
At DIFF Eyewear, we will strive to provide customers with the highest quality sunglasses
at an affordable price as well as to give back to the community and to people less fortunate
around the world. Exceptional shades are no longer just for the wealthy.
Goals
For the upcoming five years, DIFF Eyewear will attempt to accomplish the following
goals:

Nonfinancial goals:

1. To maintain the companies charitable image and raise awareness for Eyes of Africa
through sunglass sales.
2. To partner with other non-profit organizations in order to distribute eyewear to ten
more countries in Rural Africa.
3. To add a line of childrens sunglass by January 2017.
4. To be offered at retail stores, such as Sunglass Hut, and shopping malls across the
United States within five years.

Financial goals:

1. To increase sales by 15% by 2018.

2. To maximize a return on equity by 45% by 2021.
3. To maintain sales costs at an affordable price to stay parallel with the mission
statement.

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Competitive Advantage
DIFF Eyewear seeks to achieve a dueling
ability to (1) provide consumers with stylish, hand made,
designer-like sunglasses at more than half the retail price of
typical designer sunglasses as well as (2) provide less
fortunate countries with reading glasses with the help of the
non-profit organization, Eyes on Africa.
4. Situational Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Internal Factors
Management
Offerings
Marketing

Personnel
Finance

Manufacturing

External Factors

Consumer/Social

Competitive

SWOT Analysis for DIFF Eyewear

Strengths

Weaknesses

Passionate, skilled
entrepreneurs
High-quality, hand-made,
charitable sunglasses
Use of celebrities/charities;
consumers can earn money by
introducing friends
Excellent return for how little
workforce is
Decreased prices for
sunglasses cause more of a
desire for consumers
High-quality, handmade- low
resale price

Only two CEOs and seven

total employees
Limited sales return may be
negative compared to
competitors
Low retail price- how high of
quality is the material?

Opportunities

Threats

Charitable incentive, make

money/credit for introducing
DIFF to friends

Getting the word out about

DIFF to the public, lowering
the demand for name brand
sunglasses
DIFF is paired with Eyes on
Africa and does not have its
own Nonprofit- if anything
happens to nonprofit then
charitable incentive goes
down as well

Pair of reading glasses

donated with every pair of
sunglasses purchasedCharitable sunglasses

Only seven employees

More well-known, desired
competitors
Limited awareness over the
country/ limited advertising

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Technological

Economic

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New technology allows
consumers to see the website
for the nonprofit and enables
them to do research about
Eyes on Africa
Trendiness is important to
millennials, higher income in
younger population

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Competitors have been around
for about seventy years and
know more about the
technological aspect
Since income is higher,
purchase of name brand
sunglasses, such as Rayban, is
more accessible

In DIFF Eyewears favor, the company prides itself on its strengths- low priced, highquality, designer-like sunglasses. A favorable external factor that benefits DIFF Eyewear that is
also one of its strengths and one of the most special things about the company is the charitable
aspect that it provides to its customers. They have paired with Eyes on Africa and a pair of
reading glasses is donated to rural Africa every time a pair of DIFF sunglasses is purchased.
The main weakness that brings down DIFF Eyewear is the awareness of the company and
its benefits around the world. Due to limited resources, DIFF Eyewears name is not marketed
how it should be which is hurting the company in the end. Threats include only being paired with
Eyes on Africaif anything ever happened to the nonprofit, the charitable aspect would go
down for DIFF Eyewear as well.
Industry Analysis: Trends in Expensive and Name-brand Sunglasses
Expensive Sunglasses/ Name-brand Sunglasses. According to How Stuff Works when a
person purchases a pair of cheap, the quality of the lens is what is put together poorly and do not
protect the eye from harmful ultraviolet rays that can ultimately damage the iris if overexposed.
Often times the quality of the sunglasses ties in with the name on the brand. Also, cheap
sunglasses do not have the scratch proof lens that higher quality sunglasses do posses.

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The average price of a pair of sunglasses in the United States as of 2015 is $125 and the
number of actual sunglasses sold is 95,900,000 in that year as well.
5. Market-Product Focus
Marketing and Product Objectives
DIFF Eyewears marketing intent is to exceed the potential that the sunglasses market has
provided while the company is also spreading awareness about the nonprofit that DIFF has
partnered with, Eyes on Africa. These tasks will be done in the ways listed below:

Current Markets: Current markets will be expanded by stretching the market past social
media and word of mouth within five years. Consumers are now offered a chance to earn
in store credit by sending information to family and friends about DIFF Eyewear. In
return, customers will begin to purchase more than one pair of DIFF Eyewear over a
period of time.

New Markets: DIFF Eyewear will be featured in well-known sunglass retail store, such as
Sunglass Hut by January 2017. Within this year, DIFF Eyewear will be featured in 15
major city markets in the United States. Within five years, DIFF Eyewear will be featured
in 30 markets across the United States, both high populated and suburban, as well as in
several countries in Europe. These new markets will be reached by publicity on social
media.

Sunglasses Industry: Sunglass industry sales will reach $1 million total in sales revenue
within the first year and $1.9 million by the beginning of year 5.

New Products: DIFF Eyewear will also launch new childrens sunglasses line by January
2021

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Target Markets
The primary target market for DIFF Eyewear is young adults, both
men and women, who are looking for stylish, designer-like sunglasses
that are sold at an affordable price. These individuals, more than likely,
will be either be still in college, recently graduated, or just starting their
new life as a young adult. The target audience will be making less than
$50,000 a year and will not have the finances to be able to spend an
unreasonable amount of money on luxuries. As of now, these target audiences are being reached
via social media through famous television stars becoming ambassadors for DIFF Eyewear.
Points of Difference
The points of difference that make DIFF Eyewear different from any other sunglasses
company fall into the following three categories:

Stylish: DIFF Eyewear has a unique style that is unlike any other designer sunglass
company. The handmade frames have a stainless steel hinges that hold the frames to arms
of the sunglasses. Some of the frames also have designs or are a plain color. The lenses of
the sunglasses have several polarized, scratch-proof layers that are made up of at least
five different colors to give each pair a unique style and color. DIFF Eyewear offers
several different styles that have catchy names such as Dime, Kota, Riley, and Milo.

Affordable: Since DIFF Eyewears message is exceptional shades are no longer just for
the wealthy, the company strives to keep their sunglasses at least half of the price that
name-brand sunglasses are selling for. Most of their sunglasses range from a price of $50
to $75.

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Charitable: Why not make a difference while wearing stylish sunglasses? DIFF Eyewear
has paired up with the charity, Eyes on Africa, in order to make a difference around the
world. For every pair of sunglasses that are sold, a pair of reading glasses is donated to
rural Africa in areas that are not fortunate enough to have reading glasses in order to
perform daily tasks that are needed for income such as sewing and weaving.
6. Marketing Program

Product Strategy
DIFF Eyewear line contains charitable, up-scale, designer-styled sunglasses at an
affordable cost for a target audience that is contained of young adults.
Product line- DIFF Eyewear, retailing for around $75 (plus shipping) per pair of
sunglasses, is available in several different styles including DIME, KOTA, RILEY, MILO, and
several other stylish looks. DIFF Eyewear offers a mens and womens line that contain several
different styles of frames and colors for both the lens and the frame. DIFF Eyewear also offers a
one year warranty on all pairs of sunglasses.
Unique Product Quality- The attribute that makes DIFF Eyewear different from any other
sunglass company is the charitable factor that comes into play every time a pair of sunglasses is
bought from DIFF Eyewear. Not only are you purchasing a designer-like pair of sunglasses for
almost half the cost of most popular brands, but you are also giving back to the community.
DIFF Eyewear has paired with the nonprofit Eyes on Africa. This nonprofit donates reading
glasses to a less-fortunate village in rural Africa where eyecare is not provided.
Packaging- Reflecting on the cutting edge marketing strategy, DIFF Eyewear mostly
advertises its product on the internet, and it is sent out in a simple black box that features the
brand logo on the top of the box. It also includes a card describing facts about the nonprofit that

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the company is paired with, Eyes on Africa. This allows consumers to gain a better knowledge
about the benefits of purchasing sunglasses from DIFF Eyewear and not another corporation
sunglass company.
Price Strategy
At $50.00-$75.00 for a pair of trendy sunglasses, DIFF Eyewear is priced remarkably
under its name brand competitors but is also marked higher than off-brand sunglass companies.
With its retail price being right in the middle of the scale for sunglasses, the company is doing
very well marketing to its target audience. Features such as the sunglasses being unisex, having a
nonprofit, CR39 lenses, DIFF Eyewear has significant advantages over its competitors.
Promotion Strategy
Key promotion programs feature demonstrations and booths set up at music festivals
across the United States, coupons for frequent online shoppers, and style tips on social media.
Demonstration booths- Music festivals are continuous throughout the year and several
locations across the United States. The type of crowd that music festivals attract falls directly
targets the target audience- young adults. These booths will allow consumers to try on different
styles of DIFF Eyewear sunglasses on site, as well as provide coupons to make the sunglasses
more affordable than they already are. These demos will be held continuously throughout the
year at all major music festivals and several less popular festivals.
Coupons- DIFF Eyewear offers their coupons via
diffeyewear.com. They call for consumers to help make a
difference by offering $20.00 off when a consumer refers
a friend to DIFF Eyewears website. When a friend is
referred, that friend will receive a 20% off coupon for a

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pair of sunglasses. Free shipping is offered for all orders that are over $75.00. Finally, DIFF
Eyewear offers a 25% off coupon when a customer becomes an ambassador and shares their
code on social media with their friends. The way that this works in favor of the ambassador is
that every time the coupon code that the ambassadors is given is used successfully on
diffeyewear.com they receive two points towards their cart. Each point can be converted into
$1.50 towards any sunglasses purchased off of diffeyewear.com. In order to use these points, the
ambassador must receive 20 points total and these points will not expire.
Style Tips- DIFF Eyewear has reached out to well known contestants that were competing
on shows such as the ABCs The Bachelor and The Bachelorette and have convinced these
celebrities to become ambassadors for the company. These people, Amanda Stanton and Becca
Tilley, advertise and help market to desired target audiences and also offer style tips that several
young adults admire and look up to.
Place (Distribution) Strategy
DIFF Eyewear is distributed out of a single warehouse that is located in California. The
distributor buys the products needed to create the sunglasses, assembles the sunglasses together,
and then packages and ships the sunglasses directly out to consumers who have purchased the
product. As sales continue to rise, DIFF Eyewear strives to have their sunglasses featured in well
known sunglass retail stores across the United States. DIFF Eyewear will still only have one
warehouse, which is one feature that DIFF Eyewear is proud of and makes them unique from
their competitors. An advantage in the future moving shipping from just the warehouse and
shipping to retail stores will help market DIFF Eyewear to a larger population.

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7. Financial Data and Projections

Past Sales Revenues
Recently, DIFF Eyewear has had more of an increase in sales as more awareness has
been brought to peoples attention via social media since its creation in 2012. Due to knew
promotion strategies and the use of well known men and women to become ambassadors, DIFF
Eyewears sales have shot up remarkably over the past two years. These recordings of sales
revenue will be spotlighted in Figure 1.
Five-Year Projections
The five-year projections for DIFF Eyewear are featured in the table below. These
projections reflect the continuous growth and expansion for the company over the next fiveyears. DIFF Eyewear is projecting and expecting to drastically increase their sales between years
2-4.

Financial Element
Sunglasses sold (000s)
Net sales ($000s)
Gross profit ($000s)
Operating profit ($000s)

Actual
2016
456
$34,200
$26,789
$895

Projections (000s)
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
2017
2018
2019
689
713
824
$56,700 $78,943 $84,700
$34,905 $54,600 $75,400
$905
$1,560 $2,456

Year 4 Year 5
2020
2021
895
905
$92,120 $95,689
$79,040 $82,120
$3,460 $5,608

8. Organization
DIFF Eyewears present organization appears in the graph featured below. It shows the
flow of the command chain from the President/CEO of DIFF Eyewear down to the ambassadors
that help spread the word across the targeted audience.
Founders and CEOZachary Gordon and Chad
Jernigan

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Seven employees
Eyes on Africanonprofit
Ambassadors for DIFF Eyewear

As of June 12, 2016, DIFF Eyewear fully operates with seven employees in one
warehouse in California. At this warehouse, all creation, packaging, and distribution of
sunglasses takes place. Ambassadors, costumers who volunteer for this position, are an essential
part in making DIFF Eyewear a newly well-known charitable sunglass company.

9. Implementation Plan

Introducing DIFF Eyewear to metropolitan markets will be a difficult, but reachable, task
given its limited consumer awareness and the fact that DIFF Eyewear only operates out of one
wearhouse in California. Over the next five years, DIFF Eyewear will expand from one
wearhouse to four in different regions around the United States and be a featured brand in 20
metropolitan markets, mainly in major cities. By 2021, DIFF Eyewear will be in the top 20
percent of the top middle class markets in major cities. This rollout schedule is described and
listed below.
Rollout Schedule to Enter New Markets

Year
Today
(2016)
Year 1
(2017)
Year 2

New Markets
Added Each Year
2

Cumulative Markets

Cumulative Percentage

3%

5%

7%

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(2018)
Year 3
(2019)
Year 4
(2020)
Year 5
(2021)

12

9%

15

13%

20

20%

New trends will be monitored via social media and magazines to assess whether or not
changes need to be made to any of the products or lines in order to reach the goal of being
featured in the top middle class markets in major cities.

10. Evaluation
Monthly sales reports will be set in place in all major cities and metropolitan areas to
monitor the target sales. Actual sales that do happen will be directly compared to the tactics that
are set in place in each of the selected areas.