1

MKTG 5519 – Integrated Marketing

Communications

“ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH”

Topic: IMC campaign to redefine Brand Image

among Canadian Youth.

Client Name: Abercrombie and Fitch Co.

Agency Name: SMMRA Marketing and Communications

Account Coordinators:
Ankit Hastir N01210629
Misha Rawal N01200373
Meera Desai N01137132
Rachit Singh Dang N01196767
Sonakshi Sharma N01212037
Urmila Malla N01217703
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TABLE OF CONTENT

Page No.

1. Creative Exceution

1.1. Creative Approach-Video-------------------------------------------2

1.2. Creative Approach-Print Media-----------------------------------3

1.3. Creative Approach-Social Media-------------------------------5-6

1.4. Creative Approach –Experientail-------------------------------6-7

1.5. Creative Approach- Online/Mobile-------------------------------7

2. Media Planning

2.1. Media Objectives-------------------------------------------------------7

3. Budget Allocation

3.1. Print Media---------------------------------------------------------------8

3.2. Social Media-------------------------------------------------------------8

3.3. Video-----------------------------------------------------------------------9

3.4. Experiential--------------------------------------------------------------9

3.5. Web/online---------------------------------------------------------------9

3.6. Budget Charts----------------------------------------------------------9

4. Blocking Chart--------------------------------------------------------------------11

5. Appendices------------------------------------------------------------------------12

6. Refrences---------------------------------------------------------------------------18
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CREATIVE EXECUTION:

1. CREATIVE APPROACH -VIDEO

In order to achieve excellence in brand recognition , TV advertisements play a vital
role. It is the most effective medium because of its demonstrative visual
representation of a big idea which leaves an impact in the minds of the audience.
Since our aim to reach a wider audience, we have chosen to broadcast our
advertisements through Television, Youtube and Snapchat. Millennials being our
base target, is the reason why we have chosen social media applications as
mentioned above. As we know for a fact that these days the audience doesn’t get
attracted to ads which are presented in a traditional way but gets engaged through
interactive ways of advertising, one of which is our Snapchat filter that represents
our new campaign that is #BETHECHANGE.

Advertiser : Abercrombie and Fitch Co.

Agency : SMMRA Marketing and Communications
Product : Abercrombie and Fitch clothing ( Positive social appeal )
Title : Be the Change
Length : 40 seconds

(See Appendix A for Video story board)

2. Youtube

● For higher audience engagement and to eliminate the probability of it being

skipped by the viewers, it has been made sure by us that the length of the
advertisement remains relatively short , that is 40 seconds.
● The video will highlight the campaign “Be The Change” by showcasing the
latest trends and collections available with the brand.
● We will focus our advertisement mainly on fashion blog and review YouTube
channels as it will attract consumers who have a common interest and will
provide a platform for the reviews to be shared creating more awareness
about the brand.

3.Snapchat

● Snapchat will help to reach the consumers on a personal basis.

● We will use the same advertisement as our YouTube ad to maintain
consistency and do not deviate from our core campaign. Also snapchat will
showcase a new Filter #BETHECHANGE. (See Appendix B for filter
example)
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● We will limit the length of the ad to just 20 seconds because snapchat enables
the user to skip the ad at any moment, therefore by keeping it short and
simple users are less likely to skip the ad.
● With the number of snapchat users reaching 158 billion and devoting an
average of 25-30 minutes on the app everyday shows that it is a very good
platform to reach and educate the desired audience of the brand. [6]

2.CREATIVE APPROACH -PRINT MEDIA

Social media nonetheless is the fastest growing industry but astonishingly only 1.5
percent of online sales were emanated by the impact of advertisements on social
platforms like Facebook and YouTube because social commerce is a tough space
for brands to play in. So we don’t want to leave any stone unturned and choose to
offer advertisements in Magazines to stronger our brand credibility. [16]
Magazines :

1. LOULOU (now flare) :

● A trending fashion magazine in North America with a readership of .49 million
readers for English edition and .21 Million readers for French edition. [17]
● 46% of Loulou magazine readers lie in our target market bracket i.e.
millennials 18-34. [17]
● On an average an individual spends 11 minutes on the magazine’s digital
platform.[9], [21]
● Magazine is popular among both high household income users and middle
class household income users which is the target income bracket for A&F as
well.
● Since Abercrombie and Fitch is popular for showcasing its staff as brand
representatives and models, an exclusive editorial would be exhibited with a “
Be the change” campaign entailing real life heroes.

2. Fashion Magazine:
● A solid readership of 1.3 Million readers across Canada. [17]
● 37% of active readers for Fashion magazine are millennials, target audience
for our company. [17]
● Only a mere population of 24% readers are conscious about fashion budget
concluding that 76 % readers want to spend open handedly on clothes and
fashion apparels. [17]
● The magazine is popular among women readers, women being 85% among
the readers so our exclusive editorial would feature “Be the Change”
campaign. However, the main protagonists would be women who are fitness
experts who have outshined in their field. [17]
(See Appendix 3 for magazines)
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3.CREATIVE APPROACH - SOCIAL MEDIA

Advertising through Social Media has been one of the latest trends in Integrated
Media campaigns and perhaps has been the one of the most efficient ways to reach
the target audience. Marketing through social media is not about selling anymore, it
is about connecting and building relationships, trust and thus creating loyal
customers. It will be a very smart move for Abercrombie and Fitch to now step into
promoting through social media platforms for repositioning its brand.
We have selected the social media vehicles considering the target market being
males and females between the age of 16 to 34, majorly comprising of the millennial
population. Another reason for focusing on these two social media platforms is that
both are very popular among the millennials and it will be cost effective to include
Instagram and Snapchat as it mostly includes all features on other social media
platforms [10] .Apart from this even the major competitors like H&M and Tommy
Hilfiger have their major presence on these social media platforms. Through casual
promotional posts on both these platforms.Through casual promotional posts by
social influencers, Millennials are more likely to welcome advertising efforts as they
are skeptic of traditional methods.

1.INSTAGRAM –

Instagram has become one of the most essential ecommerce tools to promote
brands. It has the maximum engagement rate as compared to other social media
platforms. It is an excellent way to market through ads and shoppable tools. Not only
do the ads get seen, they get remembered. The average daily visitors are approx.
325,000 (comScore, December 2016). The global mobile ad revenues will reach to
approximately 2.8 billion by 2017. (eMarketer)

Instagram Influencer
● Until 2016, Instagram had approx. 500 million active users per month and
over 95 million posts shared per day. [15],[27]
● Marketers are extensively using Instagram to promote themselves. Almost
48.8% of brands use Instagram to promote themselves and this number is
estimated to increase to 70.7% by end of 2017. [15],[27]
● Connect with Instagram influencers who have over 10K followers/account and
are based in North America.
● Provide free merchandise to key influencers with option to select from latest
trends in A&F apparel and upload stories, photoshoots, videos, etc
● The posts by the influencers on their account will showcase the A&F
merchandise with A&F Instagram account tags and will use #Bethechange
hashtag.
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● The influencers across North America on Instagram will receive special

discount codes which will be given out to selected fans by the influencers
when they post pictures or videos using hashtag #Bethechange.
● The main focus of the whole idea is to create a positive image of the brand
and focus on repositioning it with a lifestyle appeal.
(See Appendix 4 for example on promotion on Insta and Appendix 5 for list of
Instagram influencers)

2.SNAPCHAT

Snapchat came into existence in 2011. it is a platform where one can take short
videos and share pictures. The average age group of people using snapchat is 12-
34 out of which 77% are college students. Thus, serving our existing target market.
Currently, Snapchat videos have greater views than Facebook’s’ and has more
users than Twitter. [13], ,[15], [6]
● 60% of North American users are Snapchatters. [26]
● Millennials account for 7 out of 10. users. (eMarketer, 2016) [26] ,[3]
● Average use of filters have been accounted for 41 million times/day by 29
million users. [10]
● Custom Filters will be created on Snapchat ( See Appendix 2 for filter )
● Snapchat will be used to showcase A&F’s presence at various events for
example, Veld Music festival on August 6, 2017 and Ovo Music festival
featuring Drake – August 7, 2017. There will be a snapchat filter created
featuring “sponsored by A&F” with the tagline “Be the change”.
● A&F Be the change filters will be made available at various geographical
locations in North America and an “Our story “will be created where
individuals and bloggers can post pictures and videos supporting the
campaign.

4.CREATIVE APPROACH -EXPERIENTIAL (EVENTS AND COLLABORATIONS)

1. Events-We have on the events that had witnessed good customer response in
the past.Following is the list of events that will be sponsored by A& F.
● Cavalcade of lights - November 25th Nathan phillips square
● Ovo Music festival featuring Drake - 7th august 2017 -Toronto's home boy
Drake, a huge fan base around the globe and a fashion icon for millennials
● Veld Music festival -August,6,2017
● A photo booth will be established within the various events to encourage the
customers to take photographs using A&F and “be the change” props .
(See Appendix 6 for events )
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2.Collaborations-A&F will be collaborating with various social media influencers

such as fitness models and fashion experts in order to promote their
products.(Appendix -List of influencers)

5.CREATIVE APPROACH-ONLINE/MOBILE

To be more userfriendly and attractive .It is essential that A&F must upgrade their
mobile app and onile presence through their website.
 Provide life chat services with A&F support,questions and concerns.
 Rebuild their mobile app and website and potray it in a trendy look.
 Establish rating and review feature.

MEDIA PLANNING :

Media objectives-The budget of the campaign is $5 million dollars throughout the

entire duration of the campaign (August,2017 to December,2017)

Who:
● The primary target market consists of millennials aged between 16-34. Target
market includes audience with mid to high household income levels.
● The advertisement is targeted on both males and females.

What :
● “Be The Change” is the slogan of our campaign which creates a different and
unique brand image in the minds of the consumers.
● The campaign is designed to reposition the A&f’s negative image by bringing
in the change and introducing it on various media vehicles with a positive and
lifestyle appeal.the change.
● We will be using Emotional appeal as our advertisements will focus on various
various issues that asks for people to change their perspective such as
accepting Homosexuality or helping homeless people.Our agenda will be to
motivate our targets to be with A&F and change the way they look at
something (bethechange)

When:
● The campaign will run from August,2017 to December,2017.
● Timeline of various promotional activities has been represented in the
blocking chart.
● Heavy promotions will be done around various public holidays like
Thanksgiving ,Christmas and New Year.

Where:
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● The exclusive editorial will be published in Loulou magazine and Fashion

Magazine and will be circulated across Canada.
● The advertisements will be targeting Ontario,British Columbia and Montreal in
Canada.
● Experiential marketing such as sponsoring events (Cavalcade of lights,Veld
Music festival and and Ovo Music festival featuring Drake ),collaboration with
social media influencers and billboard advertisements throughout
Ontario,British Columbia and Montreal will be done .

BUDGET ALLOCATION:

● For this plan , we have decided to allocate the 5 million dollar advertising
budget into the areas through which A&F can capture its targets the most as
well as on the areas where their major competitors like Tommy Hilfiger and
H&M are prevailing in the market.
● The funds have been allocated between social, video, print and event
marketing. This has been done on the basis of the World report published by
IBIS (See appendix 7) we have used these percentages as a base for
calculating our budget keeping in mind the target market of A& F that is
millennials.

Print Media :

● Advertisement on magazines that are LOULOU and FASHION and billboards

across Ontario and British Columbia.
● 20% of the budget has been allocated to print media as the main objective of
the campaign is to generate the involvement of its targets in the experiential
marketing activities.[30],[28],[25]
● Advertising in the selected magazines is relatively expensive because of their
huge popularity [17]

Social Media:

● 20% of the budget has been allocated to advertisements on Instagram and

Snapchat. The campaign will run on these platforms from August to
December.
● In order to post advertisement on Instagram user cookies will be considered
as the base that is the advertisements appearing on any Instagram account
depends on the fact that which Instagram accounts are followed by them.
● Example: People who are following Tommy hilfiger will be targeted for A&F
advertisements. The basic agenda behind doing this is to keep our focus to
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our target market only so that the budget is not wasted on the people who are
not the targets. [22]
● Cost for the snapchat filter will depend on geographic location size. Thus
A&F can easily control its spending on different locations.

Video:

● The sale of video advertisements on Snapchat is do0ne on the basis of the

count of views. Thus, A&F can control the amount of money spent on
Snapchat advertisements.
● An amount of $500,000 will be allocated to Snapchat video advertisements
[18]
● The budget for YouTube advertisements has been decided to be just 5 % of
the total budget as only 4% of the customer choose youtube to make a
purchase decision.The study shows that customers don't trust Youtube at all.
[23],[11]

Experiential (Events and Collaboration):

● The amount of budget that has been allocated to various events is 25% of the
total budget that is $17,50,000 which includes sponsorships and activities to
engage customers at these events.
● Collaboration with social media influencers will cost 10% of the total
budget.This will also include the A&F merchandise that these influencers will
use and will distribute among their followers as prizes or giveaways.
(Appendix 5 for social media influencers)

Web/Online:

● 10% of the total budget has been allocated to web or online marketing.This
includes updation of the website and mobile app as Vividata suggests that
more than half of the Canadians that is 59% of the population prefers to read
on digital devices and 70% of this readership is being done on mobile phones.
[8]
● Various additions and changes will be made such a 24*7 chat support feature
and a handle for customer reviews on various products where customers can
read or write the feedback. [8]
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Chart 1: Representing the budget allocation over the year 2017.

Chart2: Represnting the budget allocation across various media vehicles.

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BLOCKING CHART :

Media Blocking Chart 2017

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APPENDICES :

1.Appendix A :

As the advertisement starts, we see a husband

and wife, along with their son walking by the
street.

As they walk along they come across a homeless

person who is selling balloons for a dollar for his
living.

The boy insists his mother to get him a balloon so his

mother walks up to the homeless man and buys him
one.

But what happens next surprises his mother, the

boy walks up to the homeless man and hands him
over a shopping bag of Abercrombie and Fitch
which was originally his father’s.
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The advertisement comes to end with the homeless

man having a shopping bag in his hand and a
priceless smile on the boys face, which depicts he
was successful in bringing about a positive change
in the way people think.

2.Appendix B :
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Appendix 3 :

(Retrieved from Louloumagaine.com and fashionmagazine.com)

Appendix 4:

Appendix 5 :SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS:

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Fitness inspirational women who would feature in our exclusive editorial

@albertamountaingal

@camillelelbaz

@trainitright

@thebohochild
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APPENDIX 6 :
● Cavalcade of lights - November 25th Nathan phillips square

● Ovo Music festival featuring Drake - 7th august 2017

● Veld Music festival august 6 2017

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Appendix 7 : IBIS World Report

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