Running head: NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 1

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1 Running head: NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 1 Not Your Mother s Campaign: An Advertising Campaign for the Not Your Mother s Brand Kay-Lynn Chartier Grand Valley State University

2 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 2 Not Your Mother s Campaign: An Advertising Campaign for the Not Your Mother s Brand The Not Your Mother s (NYM) advertising campaign was developed as an assignment for a CAP 210 Fundamentals in Advertising class at Grand Valley State University. The project was designed to give students a broad perspective on the process, planning, preparation, and placement of advertising. The hypothetical campaign outlines the elements of target audience, brand advantages/ disadvantages, positioning, objectives, message strategy, tone, and spending plans and descriptions for both broadcast and newspaper advertising efforts. I chose the Not Your Mother s brand as a subject for this project because I am a consumer of their hair care products. Not Your Mother s unique brand name provided me with creative inspiration, while the brand s lack notable advertising efforts motivated me to develop new ways in which one of my favorite brands could better reach passionate consumers within their target audience. Target Audience Analysis Not Your Mother s brand of hair care products strives to attract a target audience that includes young women between the ages of 18 and 34 who are trend-savvy (B. Padley, personal communication, January 18, 2013). Consumers of hair care products are typically concerned with convenience and accessibility. This is described by Delia Flores in the Private Label Buyer journal when she asserts that women are concerned with products being in an easy to use container that fits in a shower, bathtub, etc., provide protection for their hair, and that the product has not been tested on animals (2011). Each of these desired qualities is expressed to the target audience through the Not Your Mother s brand. Members of the targeted audience desire to have healthy hair as well as confidence in their style. These young women are also seeking excitement and versatility from their hair care

3 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 3 products (Not Your Mother s, 2013). The Not Your Mother s brand offers top-performing, salon quality products with an innovative approach at an affordable price point (B. Padley, personal communication, January 18, 2013). Users of the Not Your Mother s brand expect to see results from the use of their products based on their specific hair needs. They also seek benefits in the form of approval or acceptance from other people. Young women are also actively involved in social media. An online article from CNN reports that, 89% of online women from years old are on the sites and 69% of them say they tend to log onto social media every day (Gross, 2011). These findings coincide with the target audience s desire to be expressive, creative, and independent. Features and Benefits NYM s brand features products that offer effective, stylish, gluten free hair care options for those who currently participate gluten dieting. Statistics from CBS News show that living a gluten free lifestyle is increasing in popularity; about 1.6 million people in the U.S. are on a gluten-free diet (CBS, 2012). Another feature of Not Your Mother s products is that [t]here are no animal ingredients or animal byproducts in NYM products EXCEPT Smooth Moves Frizz Control Hair Cream ( About Us, 2013). Although their products are not entirely organic, environmentally conscious consumers can be confident that the brand does not test their products on animals or support animal testing ( About Us, 2013). Not Your Mother s brand appeals to their budget-conscious target audience by making their products affordably priced and available in popular stores such as Wal-Mart and CVS. In addition to comparable prices, the company also features discount opportunities for consumers on their website and social media outlets. This allows shoppers to feel as though they have

4 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 4 benefitted from receiving a good deal. NYM products are also offered online so consumers can shop comfortably at their convenience. On the Not Your Mother s website, consumers can find links to resources such as the brand s media placement, photos, and the NYM YouTube channel. These outlets give the audience an opportunity to see product reviews, events that the brand has participated in, and the company s multitude of endorsers. Having access to further information about Not Your Mother s products gives consumers confidence and satisfaction in their purchases. Not Your Mother s bright packaging featuring clever descriptions using trendy language appeals to the young women targeted by the brand. The high contrast variety of colors upon a white bottle stand out on store shelves when compared to traditional styling products. The uniqueness reflected on the packaging is consistent with the brand s statement urging women to [s]tand out, be different, and embrace your style with Not Your Mother s ( About Us, 2013). Edgy and trendy looking products allow consumers to feel self-expressive, glamorous, and hip as well as confident in the products ability to produce quality results. Comparative Advantages/Disadvantages and Positioning Potential competitors of the Not Your Mother s brand offer similar products within the same general price range. However, comparable sulfate free and gluten free organic products are priced much higher than those of NYM. A study conducted by Hee Yeon Kim and Fae-Eun Chung out of Ohio State University found that retailers might try to change consumers perceptions of higher prices to affordable prices [by] using marketing strategies which would make consumers believe that they are capable to buy organic personal care products (2011). Not Your Mother s already low price point is advantageous because the brand does not have to

5 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 5 change their marketing strategy in order to appeal to customers who seek value as well as natural products. Competing hair care brands also have a wider variety of shampoo and conditioner types in comparison to Not Your Mother s, but NYM s limited products are very stylish, consistent, and unique. Many of the competing brands are well established in multiple countries and well known by NYM s target audience. Although this can be viewed a disadvantage to the newer Not Your Mother s company, it could prove to be beneficial because consumers are always looking for different, exciting products to try. According to an article written by Delia Flores in the journal Private Label Buyer women are conditioned to switch shampoos. This built in drive to eschew brand loyalty means that private label makers and sellers need to focus on something different to attract and retain their consumers (2011). Much of the brand s competition lacks an appeal unique audience s psychographic traits such as independence, uniqueness, and trendiness. Not Your Mother s offers consumers these emotional benefits along with the feelings of confidence, and individuality by purchasing a product that is not typically found within their consideration set ( About Us, 2013). Traditionally, competitors of the NYM brand use solid colored bottles with black or white text to display their products. In contrast, Not Your Mother s product packaging consists of vibrant colors on a white bottle which stands out to consumers on store shelves. Based on the strengths and weaknesses of the Not Your Mother s brand, it is appropriate to apply a benefit positioning theme throughout the advertising campaign. This would be effective in allowing the target audience to understand the different features of the product while making a connection with users that they will remember when looking to purchase hair care products. The campaign will specifically highlight the emotional benefits that consumers can

6 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 6 receive such as feelings of independence, expressiveness and high self-esteem. Positioning efforts will strive to promise confidence and a stylish look. The NYM campaign will also display the functional benefits of the product including easy accessibility at drug stores and its gluten free ingredients. Representing the target audience by using distinctive images and personalities will help users develop an identity with the brand. The Not Your Mother s brand advertising campaign will incorporate desired images and personalities that they wish to see in their target audience. Using a self-expressive positioning technique will allow consumers to assign meaning to the brand and associate it with feelings of confidence, quality, and style. Objectives and Measurement The objective of this advertising campaign is to increase consumer awareness of and curiosity about the brand. Current awareness levels are difficult to estimate for the Not Your Mother s brand because it is a relatively new company. Based on NYM s lack of television commercials and heavy reliance on print and social media advertisements as well as the numerous dominating brand names in the hair care product industry, a fair estimation of their target audience s existing awareness level is around 5%. Advertising campaign efforts will strive to increase consumer awareness and curiosity about the Not Your Mother s brand from about 5% to 8 to 10%. Proof of an increase in awareness will be shown by greater activity on the brand s social media outlets and collecting poll data from segments of the target audience before and after the campaign regarding attitudes towards and awareness of the brand. The first poll will be distributed to participants in April Quantitative data collected from these polls will aid the campaign in establishing a more reliable benchmark from which to measure the campaign s

7 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 7 success. Social media activity will also be measured at this time (i.e. the number of likes on Facebook, the number of followers on Twitter, and the number of views on YouTube). The second poll will be distributed in September 2013 following the conclusion of the Not Your Mother s advertising campaign in August Data from social media websites will also be accounted for. Comparing the results from these sources to the data retrieved in April 2013 will determine whether the campaign was successful in reaching its objective to increase awareness and curiosity about the brand. The final poll will be taken four months after the second poll in January 2014 and will further measure the campaigns effectiveness by asking segments of the target audience to participate in both print ad recognition tests as well as television ad recall tests for the brand. In total, advertising campaign efforts will be in effect from April 2013 to January Within this time frame, advertisements will be run for audiences during the months of May 2013 and August Message Strategy, One Thing, and Tone Implementing an image ad message strategy will promote the feelings of glamour, confidence, and self-expression. Related to the campaign s overall objective to increase consumer awareness and curiosity about the brand, image ads will help NYM distinguish themselves by projecting the feelings and emotions that the audience desires to have about hair care products. The use of specific colors, tones, and images, will allow the brand name to not only be remembered for the advertised product, but also for the feelings that the ad conveys. Advertisements within the Not Your Mother s campaign will represent a glamorous, stylish, desirable, modern, unique, trendy, and expressive tone. These attitudes were chosen for the campaign because it is important that the advertisements maintain a tone that is similar to the

8 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 8 feelings that the target audience wishes to attain from their hair care products. This tone also displays the emotional benefits associated with the brand. The one thing that the target audience should take away from the advertisements produced within the Not Your Mother s campaign are the feelings of confidence, uniqueness, and self-expression in relation to the brand name. This allows consumers to recognize the emotional attributes unique to NYM. By using image ads to define the brand socially for women, and establishing a tone relative to what Not Your Mother s target audience desires within a hair care product, the advertising campaign will generate curiosity and awareness among potential consumers. Newspaper Advertisement Discussion A common theme that is expressed throughout the Not Your Mother s newspaper advertisement is the creative use of the brand name (see Appendix A). It is first displayed in the headline which reads, This is Not Your Mother s Sale. Although it is effective in mentioning the brand name, readers do not need to be familiar with the brand to understand the headline or be interested in the ad. The subhead, Coupon clipping is a thing of the past, and with Not Your Mother s, your tired hair style can become history too, reinforces the headline and provides further information regarding the sale and products. From this statement, readers become aware that the phrase Not Your Mother s, listed in the heading, is the brand name. They are also able to assume that the sale is not going to involve traditional coupon clipping. Mentioning the words hair style within the subhead aids readers in understanding what types of products are being advertised. The subhead also communicates that the product will help young women make their tired hair

9 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 9 style history. This phrase advertises key selling points, and emotional benefits that the target audience is likely to connect with. The heading, subhead, and brand name work together to support the type of coupon being offered by the brand. As the advertisement explains, instead of clipping out a coupon in a traditional fashion, readers instead text NYM50 to 4433 to receive a coupon on their smartphone that they can present at any of the retailers listed on the advertisement. This mobile aspect appeals to the brand s target audience of young women who are trend savvy and further demonstrates that by using the brand, you are breaking away from out-of-date products and embracing something new and unique. The body copy within the NYM newspaper advertisement effectively describes emotional benefits that the consumer can receive from using Not Your Mother s products. The use of active verbs and familiar phrases in a present tense also allow the audience to easily understand the sale and make connections with the brand. The body copy names unique features offered by NYM such as gluten and sulfate free products. Presented in two paragraphs of information, the advertisement copy separates the content related to the brand and the details about the sale promotion. Instructions on how to retrieve the text coupon are clarified and the benefit of doing so is also expressed. Through the use of intriguing and relevant visuals, the advertisement attracts attention and allows readers to make deeper connections with the copy. The NYM products that are displayed on the ad are vibrant examples of what the consumer will purchase. The iphone exemplifies the medium through which the coupon is attained and is a popular smartphone among the target audience. Using a black and white watermarked image of traditional coupons for the background of the ad contrasts the texting method of coupon retrieval being used by

10 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 10 NYM. The informal balance of text and images encourages movement from the headline to the body copy across the page. Typefaces used for the heading and subheading reflect that of the brand s logo and the sans-serif body copy is sleek and modern. The pink and black color scheme serves to attract the target audience of young women and provide high contrast. Newspaper Spending Plan The advertising campaign will run a total of 60 newspaper advertisements over the course of 5 weeks. The Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas, designated market area has the highest population of people meeting Not Your Mother s target audience of women ages 18 to 34. The top four newspapers within the area were chosen and data was compiled regarding the weekday and Sunday costs for advertising (see tables 1 and 2). The NYM s 30 column inch advertisement is scheduled to run twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays in each paper over the 5 week campaign (see Table 1). Mid-week advertisements will resonate with the target audience because it will stimulate awareness about the brand and provide women with a valuable coupon before they do their weekend shopping. Not Your Mother s advertisements are also organized to print every Sunday of the 5 week campaign (see Table 2). Sunday newspapers are most often read and many people are in search of coupons. Members of the target audience will be attracted to the Not Your Mother s advertisement above others because of its creativity and method of coupon redemption.

11 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 11 Table 1 Weekday (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) Newspaper Advertisement Spending Plan Newspaper CPI Size Cost # of Ads Total The Eagle , ,205 Killeen Daily Herald , ,928 Temple Daily Telegram , ,901 Waco Tribune-Herald , ,001 Grand total 82,035 Note. The newspapers listed are distributed within the Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX designated marketing area. CPI data represents the cost per full color column inch. The column labeled Size describes the size of the advertisement in column inches. The Cost is equal to the CPI multiplied by the size of the advertisement. The # of Ads column lists the number of weekday advertisements that will be run within the paper over the course of the advertising campaign. The Grand Total row is equal to the sum of each newspaper s total weekday advertising cost. CPI, Cost, Total, and Grand total are represented in United States dollars.

12 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 12 Table 2 Sunday Newspaper Advertisement Spending Plan Newspaper CPI Size Cost # of Ads Total The Eagle , , Killeen Daily Herald , ,141 Temple Daily Telegram , , Waco Tribune-Herald , , Grand total 43, Note. The newspapers listed are distributed within the Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX designated marketing area. CPI data represents the cost per full color column inch. The column labeled Size describes the size of the advertisement in column inches. The Cost is equal to the CPI multiplied by the size of the advertisement. The # of Ads column lists the number of Sunday advertisements that will be run within the paper over the course of the advertising campaign. The Grand Total row is equal to the sum of each newspaper s total Sunday advertising cost. CPI, Cost, Total, and Grand total are represented in United States dollars. Broadcast Advertisement Discussion The Not Your Mother s broadcast advertisement serves to attract a target audience of young women between the ages of 18 and 34 who are trend-savvy by exhibiting the brand s intended benefits. The storyboard outlines a television commercial in which a young, confident woman walking along the beach attracts attention from people around her because of her hair and style (see Appendix B). The Not Your Mother s Beach Babe product is named by a narrator at the end of the commercial and it is stated that with NYM you can get the confidence you need to make waves with your hairstyle this summer. This phrase coincides with the outdoor advertisement developed for the brand which creates consistency and increases the likelihood of brand recall

13 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 13 (see Appendix C). Advertising the same Beach Babe NYM product throughout the campaign encourages product association. The 30 second broadcast advertisement explains both the intended emotional and actual benefits of the product in a narrative format that is not intrusive to the viewer. Sex-appeal, humor, and image message strategies capture attention and give the Not Your Mother s brand meaning in a social context. A reflection of the brand s personality and image is clearly shown in the advertisement through the young woman s confidence. Her carefree and independent character promotes the feelings of glamour, and self-expression. The humorous expressions of envy, jealousy, and astonishment among people at the beach who look at the woman using the NYM s Beach Babe product are entertaining, but also effective in selling the product. The song California Gurls by Katy Perry is an upbeat popular song among the target audience. Its lyrics describe a warm, wet, and wild place and the women you would find there. California Gurls playing as background music while the woman walks along the beach implies that she is trendy. The audience can then assume this characteristic about the brand. Reducing the volume of the music during the narrator s dialogue reduces confusion for the viewer. Involving the audience in the advertisement by stating that they can make waves with [their] hairstyle this summer and encouraging them to imagine people thinking [that] [they] just left the beach causes viewers to personally relate to the brand s benefits. The Not Your Mother s broadcast advertisement will be successful in meeting the campaign s objective to increase consumer awareness of and curiosity about the brand through product demonstration, implied emotional benefits, active thinking, humor, and specific appeals to the target audience. Broadcast Spending Plan

14 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 14 The Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas, DMA was selected for advertising efforts because it has the highest population of people within the Not Your Mother s target audience of women ages 18 to 34. The 30 second commercial is scheduled to air 24 times a week during the following prime time shows: Jerseylicious (Style), What Not to Wear (TLC), Say Yes to the Dress (TLC), and Something Borrowed, Something New (TLC), Ready for Love (NBC) and also during two weekly episodes of The Voice (NBC). The advertising campaign will take place over the course of five weeks bringing the total number of television advertisement spots to 120 (see Table 3). Jerseylicious, What Not to Wear, Say Yes to the Dress, and Something Borrowed, Something new all target fashion forward women interested in new trends. A large portion of the target audience is also reached through advertisement placements during popular new shows. The new season of The Voice and a new dating show Ready for Love were chosen for this reason. All of the selected programs air during the most popular prime time television slot (see Table 3). Table 3 Television Advertisement Spending Plan within the Waco-Temple-Bryan, TX DMA Daypart Rating CPR CPA # of Ads Total Prime time , ,000 Note. DMA stands for designated marketing area. Daypart defines the time frame that advertisements are scheduled to run and also determines the rating number. The rating column is equal to the average rating percentage during the prime time television daypart. CPR equals the cost per rating point. CPA represents the cost per advertisement and is determined by multiplying the CPR by the rating amount. The total column expresses the CPA multiplied by # of Ads. The Total column is equal to the total television advertising cost and is represented in United States dollars. Discussion Overall, the Not Your Mother s advertising campaign was successful in creating synergy between the outdoor and broadcast advertisements, but the newspaper advertisement did not connect as well with the theme of the campaign. Despite its lack of continuity, the newspaper

15 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 15 advertisement will still resonate with the audience because of the text coupon that it offers. It also creatively implements the brand name within the headline which assists readers in associating the brand to the advertisement. All advertising efforts were effective in capturing the essence of the brand and accurately describing the emotional and physical benefits of Not Your Mother s products. The designated marketing area was smaller than anticipated, so further campaign expansion is necessary to attract a higher number of people within the target market. Implementing a benefit positioning theme based on audience research will allow the campaign to better connect with target consumers and meet the campaign s objective. Although the Not Your Mother s advertising campaign was developed hypothetically, there are certain elements of it that the brand may benefit from utilizing. For example, developing a text coupon and promoting it in ways other than a newspaper advertisement would be an effective way to attract members of the target audience. Throughout the campaign, I use the brand name to appeal to the target audience in ways that are creative and attention grabbing. The company should consider developing advertisements focused on setting new trends and being stylish while using NYM s products by emphasizing that it is not like traditional hair care products. From a learning standpoint, the development of this advertising campaign has allowed me to expand upon my interest in the field of advertising. I was also able to uncover a passion for copywriting and advertisement design. I now have a fundamental knowledge and new perspective on the advertising industry. My inexperience within the advertising field limited the quality and depth of the Not Your Mother s advertising campaign. Although I have moderate knowledge of Adobe software, I am not capable of designing high quality documents. Campaign efforts were also limited by the assignment s 5 week time frame and newspaper advertisement requirement. Without restrictions,

16 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 16 campaign advertisements would have been scheduled to run over the course of 3 months so that repetition could increase brand recall among the target audience. Many women within the brand s target audience would not be active newspaper readers. It would have been more effective to implement an online or social media tactic instead. Campaign expansion should begin by increasing the length of time that the campaign will be run. Next it would be useful to omit the newspaper advertisement element and replace it with an online or social media tactic. I also recommend developing a second television commercial or a radio advertisement. Collecting further research regarding the target audience would allow for the development of even more specific advertising. I would also recommend revising the objective to ensure that it is a proper goal for the brand.

17 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 17 References About Us. (2013). Not Your Mother s. Retrieved January 23, 2013 from CBS News Staff. (2012, July 31). Gluten-free diet fad: are celiac disease rates actually rising? CBS News. Retrieved January 23, 2013, from Chung, F., & Kim, Y. H. (2011). Consumer purchase intention for organic personal care products. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 28(1), Retrieved February 7, 2013, from PsychINFO database. Flores, D. (2011). Hair Today. Private Label Buyer, 25(10), Retrieved January 17, 2013, from ProQuest Business Collection database. Gross, D. (2011, August 26). Report: young women are power users of social media sites. CNN. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from Not Your Mother s. (2013). Not Your Mother s. Retrieved January 17, 2013, from

18 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 18 Appendix A Newspaper Advertisement (following 1 page)

19 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 19 Appendix B Broadcast Advertisement (following 1 page)

20 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 20 Appendix C Outdoor Advertisement (following 1 page)

21 NOT YOUR MOTHER S: ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN 21