Tag Archives: branding

by | Wednesday, August 9, 2023 · 7:32 am

H&M Adds Home and Beauty Products and Stores   

Once a high-flyer in the area of fast fashion, H&M has come under increasing pressure from China’s Shein and other retailers. Swedish company H&M sales growth has stalled in recent years, forcing the company to examine its strategy and product mix. The company’s revenue in 2022 is relatively unchanged from revenue six years ago. Not good news.  

To counter this revenue decline, the global retailer is now expanding beyond its core fashion business and into new areas of home and beauty products. Although H&M has had to close some of its fashion stores, it is now adding new, stand-alone stores focused on beauty and home products.  

There are now 32 H&M Home-branded stores that sell products from sofas to linens to kitchen products. The company has also added homeware sections to 399 of its regular stores as well as on the its website.  

The company has also opened two flagship H&M Beauty-branded stores in Norway, selling products such as nail polish, body wash, makeup, and razors. Some of the products are also sold in regular H&M stores and online.  

And, in yet another move, H&M has also added other brands to its stores and now offers more than 70 other brands. In addition, H&M has grown its own private-label brands, which have sold at double the rate of the overall company.   Why the changes? According to H&M, “we see that customers spend more time with us if we offer a broader range of products.”   Shall we check it out?      

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Discuss the four primary marketing strategies: Market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification.
  2. Poll students: Who has shopped at H&M? What have they purchased?
  3. Which strategy is H&M employing for the new stores? For the new product lines?
  4. Divide students into teams. Have each team select one of the four primary strategies for H&M and develop a marketing mix for it.
  5. View H&M website: https://www2.hm.com/en_us/index.html
  6. View H&M home products website: https://www2.hm.com/en_gb/home.html
  7. And H&M beauty products website: https://www2.hm.com/en_us/beauty.html

Source: Moss, T. (15 July 2023). H&M now wants to sell you makeup, sofas, and crocs. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Tuesday, August 1, 2023 · 12:06 pm

Meta launches ‘Threads’

X (previously known as Twitter) is under attack from Meta’s new app called ‘Threads.’ In less than a week after its launch in July, Threads signed up more than 100 million users. (It’s even a trending topic on X/Twitter.) While this level of new users is good news for Meta, the key will be getting people to use Threads long-term.   What is Threads? Threads is a social media app and microblogging tool. While it isn’t taking advertising placement – yet – it has access to all Facebook’s users plus Instagram and WhatsApp users. Threads allows users to log in using their Instagram or Facebook accounts, making the sign up process fast and easy. So easy that it signed up 30 million users in the first 24-hours of launch.   As a direct competitor to X, X’s lawyers immediately alleged that Meta hired X employees to help build Threads. X is used to controversy and, with recent limits on posts viewed daily and content moderation, no stranger to users ire at it. The biggest problem though is X’s loss of advertisers.   Threads is similar to X in many areas, including posts up to 500 text characters, reposting others’ threads, and posting photos and videos up to five minutes long. Threads is also free compared to users paying $8.00 per month for a X Blue subscription. Another allure of Threads is its quick connection to all your friends on Instagram. However, Threads does not have direct messaging yet, which keeps all posts in the public domain.   Time will tell how the marketplace, and eventually advertisers, bonds with Threads.   What do you think?      Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has used Threads? Why? What is the experience?
  2. Show information about Threads: https://about.fb.com/news/2023/07/introducing-threads-new-app-text-sharing/
  3. View video about Threads: https://youtu.be/hbMJSn5GyOE  (there are many other videos also).
  4. What will move users to Threads from X/Twitter? What will move advertisers?
  5. Who are the competitors for Threads? (ex: BlueSky and Mastodon)
  6. Review key aspects of developing a product positioning map, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  7. How should Threads position itself to beat out competitors?
  8. Divide students into teams and have each team develop a positioning map for Threads.

 Source: Chen, B., and Issac, M. (12 July 2023). Threads review: How Meta’s new app stacks up against Twitter. New York Times; Jackson, K., and Aguilar, N. (14 July 2023). Threads keeps growing, and new updates have arrived: What you need to know. CNET; Rodriguez, S., and Haggin, P. (6 July 2023). Meta’s Threads app see early success, drawing advertiser interest and Twitter’s ire. Wall Street Journal; Rodriguez, S. (6 July 2023). Day after Threads launches, Twitter accuses Meta of using its trade secrets. Wall Street Journal; other news sources.

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by | Thursday, July 13, 2023 · 7:10 am

The Barbie Brand Goes Big

In my modest opinion as a marketer, nobody does branding better than ‘Barbie’ from Mattel It takes toys and keeps them relevant over decades. Case in point: Barbie dolls. While Barbie has had some ups-and-downs over the years, she is still a powerful brand icon. And this summer she gets her own movie!

The iconic doll has been a staple in American kids’ lives since the 1950s and it shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon. Barbie is now 64 years old (but doesn’t look a day over 19) and she has finely honed her marketing skills over the years.

This summer’s Barbie movie has more than 100 Barbie merchandise collaborations including an Airbnb stay at the Malibu Dream House (hosted by Ken). Other merchandise includes:

  • Barbie-themed Xbox Series S
  • Barbie roller skates from Impala
  • Barbie ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery
  • Pink-colored clothing at Gap
  • Hot Wheels Barbie Corvette
  • Barbie sneakers from Superga
  • Barbie pool floats at Target and Amazon
  • And much more…

The movie is a strong play from Mattel to increase growth by making Barbie a trending, pop culture sensation. To expand the potential sales, Mattel has partnered with other companies for even more pink Barbie-0branded products. Some agreements pay Mattel a flat licensing fee; others may be giving Mattel a percentage of the sales.

Think pink!

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Who has played with a Barbie doll in their youth – or now?
  2. Why did Mattel want a Barbie movie?
  3. Discuss the four primary marketing strategies: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification.
  4. Which strategy is being used for this product? Why?
  5. Divide students into teams. Have each team select one of the four different strategies and explain why that strategy could be used to market Barbie.
  6. Show the movie clip: https://www.barbie-themovie.net/
  7. View the Malibu beach house rental: https://news.airbnb.com/barbies-malibu-dreamhouse-is-back-on-airbnb-but-this-time-kens-hosting/
  8. Show Mattel’s Barbie website: https://shop.mattel.com/pages/barbie
  9. Optional: Have students search for Barbie-branded merchandise and collaborators.

Source: Lieber, C. (29 June 2023). The summer of ‘Barbie’ has only just begun. Wall Street Journal; Vega, N. (29 June 2023). ‘Barbie’ roller skates, Hot Wheels and dog toys: Brands are going all in on merch for summer’s hottest movie. CNBC.

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