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1. Situation Analysis

1.1. Brand Introduction

Intemporal Deckout located in the vibrant heart of Edinburgh, specializes in offering and renting authentic vintage apparel and accessories span a wide range of eras, starting from the 1920s to the 1990s. The shop has a keen eye for quality and a passion for timeless fashion. The store focuses on French style vintage clothing and accessories, each piece tells a unique story and captivates customers with its nostalgic charm. For women, there are elegant dresses, blouses, skirts, and coats available, while men can choose from shirts, trousers, suits, jackets, and outwear. In addition, there is a wide range of vintage accessories that can be used for cross-selling, including necklaces, rings, earrings, and brooches. Moreover, there are bags, hats, shoes, scarves, and gloves that are perfect for staying warm and stylish. All of these elements are complementary and mutually reinforcing with the elegant French style vintage clothes.

1.2. Target Customer

We cater to middle to upper-middle-income earners, students, professionals, artists, and tourists who have disposable income to spend on fashion and personal style. Our target demographic spans a diverse age range, mainly females aged 17 to 35 years old, representing individuals from the Millennial and Gen Z cohorts. According to Statista, the cohort of millennial shoppers aged 27 to 42 emerged as the leading demographic buying clothing and shoes online, with 69 percent reporting predominantly online shopping for apparel during the second quarter of 2023. Following closely were Gen Z shoppers, with 47 percent primarily shopping online for their attire (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337816/online-fashion-shoppers-by-generation-uk/).

Based on the number of monthly visits, the leading online marketplaces in the United Kingdom are Amazon, eBay, ASOS, Wayfair, and Vinted (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1175768/most-popular-online-marketplaces-uk/). However, vintage lovers typically have special demands and a passion for finding unique items that match their aesthetic and philosophy. They often seek out platforms that specialize in vintage clothing. Vinted and ASOS, mentioned above for featuring a vintage clothing category, are worth investigating, especially Vinted, which had the highest number of downloads among fashion & beauty shopping apps in the UK in 2023. Other online marketplaces we should consider that feature vintage clothing are Depop and Etsy.

Additionally, according to Statista, TikTok emerged as the leading social media platform for Gen Z consumers to make purchases in the UK, while Facebook remained the favored option for over half of millennials. Moreover, millennials exhibited an equal affinity for TikTok and Instagram, with 45 percent of respondents reporting having shopped through each platform (https://www.statista.com/statistics/318980/social-media-accounts-platforms-uk/). Therefore, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram online marketplaces should all be taken into consideration, as they are where most of our target customers make purchases and where our content marketing takes place.

1.2.1. Target Audience Persona

1.3. Competition

In this competitive digital market environment, where customers value a unique shopping experience and a strong brand core concept, the storytelling and charisma of a brand are becoming increasingly important. It is vital for “Intemporal” to build its own website and social media accounts not only to convey the value and story of the brand but also to pursue more opportunities for collaborating with fashion blogs and influencers, improving search engine optimization, engaging in online communities and forums, and increasing exposure on visual search platforms to better reach and engage with its potential customers.

Our offerings focus on elegant, nostalgic, and noble French-style vintage apparel, differentiating us from more mainstream vintage styles prevalent today, such as hippie and punk, which feature denim and modern elements. Our flagship products are excellently crafted and lovingly cut dresses, ideal for proms, parties, swing dance nights, weddings, or any other special occasion. Our potential competitors include Dolly and Dotty and Scarlet Rage Vintage, which share similar features, brand positioning, and target customers as us.

Dolly and Dotty

1. Strengths/Threats:

• Good brand reputation: High customer satisfaction reviews on Google and Facebook, attributed to
  excellent customer service.
• Fresh and novel design: The design team regularly launches intriguing and fascinating new designs, fulfilling customers’ need for various unique styles.

2. Weaknesses:

• Lack of men’s wear: Only offers women’s apparel.
• Unsustainability: Products are retro-inspired new designs.

3. Our opportunities:

• Develop our brand presence on platforms they are not currently operating on: TikTok and YouTube
• Emphasizing the sustainability of our authentic vintage clothing.
• Address the demand for men’s products in our lineup.

Scarlet Rage Vintage

1. Strengths/Threats:

• Personalized customer service: Offers private appointment spaces for high-quality customer experiences.
• Exposure: Featured in prominent publications such as film and TV, VOGUE, GRAZIA, and TIME OUT.

2. Weaknesses:

• High prices: Relatively expensive, with dresses priced at over 120 pounds each.
• Lack of men’s wear: Only offers women’s apparel.
• Limited range of accessory options: Only offers bags and hats.
• Inactivity: Not proactive in social media marketing, potentially relying on loyal customers.

3. Our opportunities:

• Expand our brand presence to platforms not currently utilized: TikTok.
• Offer pricing options within a wider range, from 40 to 200 pounds per piece.
• Strengthen SEO and social media content creation efforts to increase visibility and engagement.

2. Digital Marketing Goal (SMART Goal)

2.1. Raise brand awareness:

S: Increase the company’s visibility and recognition among the target audience through social media marketing: advertising, content marketing, influencer marketing.

M: Aim to gain 20K followers on TikTok, 2K followers on Instagram, 1.5K followers on Facebook.

A: Number of followers is set accordingly, difficulty of gaining followers varies with each platform.

R: Approximately a quarter of UK consumers surveyed said their purchasing decisions were somewhat or entirely influenced by social media influencers, with Gen Z individuals being the most receptive, followed by millennials (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1395249/social-media-influence-purchase-uk-age/). The largest share of Instagram users were individuals aged between 25 and 34 years old, at 29.9 percent. This was followed by users within the 18 to 24 years old category (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1018012/instagram-users-united-kingdom/). Meta’s social media platforms were most popular with women between the ages of 25 to 34 years, who made up over 12 percent of Meta Platforms’ total user base (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1030055/facebook-users-united-kingdom/). TikTok is more popular among Gen Z and Millennials (https://www.statista.com/statistics/318980/social-media-accounts-platforms-uk/). Based on these statistics, we have decided to focus our digital marketing plan on these three social media platforms, as they align with our target customer demographic.

T: Within a year.

Using insight and data collection tools to measure reach.

2.2. Customer acquisition:

S: Attract potential customers and capture their contact information for conversion, utilize email marketing, the brand’s website, and forms.

M: Achieve a click-to-conversion rate above 7 percent. Measure the open rate, CTR and unsubscribe rate to optimize email. Utilize analytics tools to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.

A: According to Statista, there was a reasonable level of success in converting clicks into actual conversions, as evidenced by a 6.34 percent click-to-conversion rate for e-commerce campaign emails in 2022 (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1387717/e-commerce-e-mail-marketing-benchmarks-worldwide/). Achieving a 7 percent rate should be feasible.

R: To compete effectively in the vintage market, building a strong brand image and story is crucial. Having our own media is essential for competing with competitors who have exquisite company websites.

2.3. Strengthen Engagement and expand leads:

S: Enhance engagement and reach more potential leads by combining publicity events with digital channels, thereby building stronger relationships and online communities.

M: Measure ROI and referral reach and analyze feedback from attendees.

A: Opening registration earlier to confirm attendance numbers and event scale can avoid wasting venue fees and additional expenses on food and decoration.

R: If we create a space for them that feels like a journey through time, transporting them to a retro era they aspire, it would be an enticing event.

3. Digital Marketing Strategy (RACE Framework)

3.1. Reach

Building "Intemporal" brand website and social media accounts:

• Inbound Marketing: Vintage is not just a fashion style but a lifestyle. We aim to create content that convey the elegant and romantic retro lifestyle to attract potential customers. We shouldn’t just post pictures of our clothes but to tell the story behind each piece. From the origins of a delicate lace blouse to the journey of a timeless dress, our stories transport readers to a bygone era, infusing each garment with history and meaning. Creative copywriting and scripting of posts, videos and blogs on social media accounts and company website is the core ability needed for this strategy.
• Advertorial: Evaluate audience insights, CPE and interaction rates to select suitable KOL or KOC for advertorial campaigns. The persona of the influencers should align with our brand philosophy and be highly relevant to our products to maintain consistency. Examples of potential influencers include Maddie Close on TikTok and Paris Volsch on Instagram.
• Cross-promotion: Cross-promotion: Partner with influencers or creators who are relevant to our niche and whose followers are likely to engage with our content and follow our accounts. Create Instagram collab post which appears simultaneously on two users’ feeds or Reels, thereby enhancing engagement and discoverability.
• SEO: Leverage hashtags, blogs, and online social networks to generate organic traffic, thereby enhancing SEO.

3.2. Act/ Convert

Customer acquisition:

• Social media marketing: Display ads on social media and testing CTR of each venue such as feed, explore page, reel and story.
• Collaboration Posts: Combine shoppable posts with a collab to improve engagement and increase odds of converting visitors interacting with these posts into buyers.
• Bio: Place our account and website links across various platforms and the company website in social media bios to enhance accessibility, boost traffic, cater to customer preferences, facilitate cross-promotion, and gain SEO benefits.
• Landing Page: Place links of our landing pages (online marketplaces we operate in and website purchase page) on social media bio, advertisements, email content and automatic DM response.
• Email marketing: Subscriptions come with a discounted purchase or a one-time free rent. Use attention-grabbing subject lines, personalized greetings, and clear calls-to-action to encourage opens, clicks, and conversions. Include website and social media links in email.
• Email content tailor: Tailor subscription offers and content to specific segments of audience based on demographic, purchase behaviour, engagement levels.
• Testing and Optimization: Test different subject lines, email formats, and content types to determine what resonates best with each audience segment. Use A/B testing to experiment with various website and email offers, messaging and visuals to optimize engagement and conversion rates. Use analytics tools like Google Analytics and HubSpot track website traffic and CRM.
• Fast and automatic customer service: Survey found that customers spend 20-40% more with companies that respond to customer service requests on social media. Those who don’t get responses are less likely to recommend brands.

3.3. Engage

Strengthen Engagement and expand leads:

We will commence hosting live events to promote the brand after 8 months of awareness building session, featuring movie vintage-themed parties. These events will take place monthly at various venues, including historical hotels, banquet halls, castles, and retro bars, all of which are abundant in a historical city like Edinburgh. Each event will be themed around a different vintage movie from the 1920s to the 1990s, such as The Great Gatsby from the 1920s, Breakfast at Tiffany’s from the 1940s, Roman Holiday from the 1950s, and Annie Hall from the 1970s.

Customers can participate in their preferred movie-themed parties and select their desired attire from our collection on-site. They will have the option to rent or purchase the clothing. In line with the brand name “Intemporal Deck Out,” attendees are encouraged to dress in timeless clothing for these unique events to create unforgettable memories and experiences.

We will commence event promotion 3 to 4 months in advance, utilizing all the digital channels discussed before. Additionally, we will form partnerships with influencers or businesses relevant to the vintage theme, such as boutique shops, wine suppliers, and confectionary stores. Each event will be documented and shared on social media platforms using the #intemporalnight hashtag, featuring pictures and video clips to attract more potential customers.

To enhance advocacy, we will implement a referral strategy where customers can receive a small accessory or discounts on repurchases by posting and tagging our account on social media with the #intemporalnight hashtag. We will also design surveys to gather customer feedback, providing valuable data for future insights. Considering the potential for high spending, we may explore alternatives, such as partnering with vendors that specialise in organising parties, allowing us to focus solely the clothing service.

Reference Image of the Party Setup (Source: Pinterest)

Reference Image of the Party Setup (Source: Pinterest)

Reference Image of the Party Setup (Source: Pinterest)

Bibliography

Chaffey, D. and Chadwick, F. (2022) Digital marketing strategy, implementation and practice. Eighth Edition. Pearson Education.

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Klarna. (July 1, 2023). Share of shoppers buying clothing and shoes mostly online in the United Kingdom (UK) in the 2nd quarter 2023, by generational cohorts [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 21, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1337816/online-fashion-shoppers-by-generation-uk/

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