Kohl’s Corporation INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS PLAN December 11, 2019

Group E Jacinda Myre & 3 Group Members Eastern Michigan University IMC 606 Fall 2019 Instructor Koschmann

Table of Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 2 2.0 Company Background and Situation 2 3.0 Marketplace Opportunity Analysis and Strategy 3 3.1 SWOT Analysis 3 4.0 IMC Campaign Objectives 6 5.0 Audience Segmentation 6 6.0 Creative Brief 7 7.0 Media Strategy 10 7.1 Media Budget 16 8.0 Campaign Measurement and Evaluation 16 9.0. Proposed IMC Recommendations 17 10.0 Conclusion 18 References 19 Appendix A 22

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1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In an age where chain store closings are common-place, Kohl’s Corporation has been an anomaly. Rather than closing stores, they have taken steps to ensure their doors will remain open by downsizing and utilizing spaces within their stores in new ways. Now, with the millennial demographic’s annual purchasing power around $600 billion in the United States, it’s time to win over the millennial market (Lexington Law, 2019). Kohl’s typically invests over $900 million towards marketing efforts annually. In an effort to tap into that $600 billion market, Kohl’s will dedicate $200 million of their marketing budget towards the millennials ages 24 through 36 who reside within the US. About $130 million of that budget will be allocated towards their media budget, which integrates print, television, and social. The remaining $70 million will be designated towards celebrity endorsements and updating store layouts in an effort to lessen or eliminate the “cluttered” environment.

2.0 COMPANY BACKGROUND AND SITUATION

Kohl’s department store was founded in the town of Brookfield, Wisconsin in 1962. After thirty years, Kohl’s went public and established 76 stores in the Midwest. In 2001, their online store was launched in response to the rise in e-commerce. In 2006, their growth continued with the expansion of their brick-and-mortar locations nationwide. Kohl’s currently has over 1,100 stores throughout the United States and continues to utilize their e-commerce site, Kohls.com. Kohl’s is an omnichannel retailer that primarily focuses on fulfilling the needs of the standard American home. Though a large part of their sales are generated from private labels, they also sell well-known, high-quality products in apparel, bedding, and kitchen appliances from brands such as Nike, Vera Wang, and KitchenAid. To maintain an advantage over competitors, Kohl’s offers several alternatives to purchase products. Their pillars have helped sustain their strong presence throughout the years.These pillars include selling amazing products, providing an easy experience, personalizing connections, incredible savings and staffing winning teams (https://corporate.kohls.com/).

The most glaring threat that all traditional retailers are facing, Kohl’s included, is in the continuous rise of e-commerce. Kohl’s recognized the need to compete with e-commerce conglomerates and has focused more on building e-commerce options for consumers in an effort to maintain or increase market share. There are many other problems that may be hurting the sales of Kohl’s products such as their store layout and cluttered space with too much to choose from which can leave shoppers feeling overwhelmed. Also, Kohl’s over relies on private labels accounting for 53% of sales in 2012 (Stock Dmitry, 2014). This does have a positive side, but their lack of well-known brands pushes consumers into the open arms of competitors.

Kohl’s has done well to build brand equity among consumers for their retail department store category. They are aware of and respond to new consumer trends by routinely designing new marketing strategies and implementing strategic tactics in an effort to maintain the brand equity that has been built and continue to be a leader within the retail industry. Evidence of their strong brand equity can be observed in the Harris Poll of 2015 in which Kohl’s was named “Brand of

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the Year” for the retail department store category. The Harris Poll conducts the EquiTrend Brand ​ Equity Index study every year which analyzes brand equity among a wide variety of American brands based on the three factors of Familiarity, Quality and Consideration (Harris Poll, 2015). ​ Kohl’s is relatively new to the retail department store category as department stores have been in America since the 1800s. However, this goes to show its strength within their category as they are comparable to the department store powerhouse, Macy’s, in regards to brand equity. While Kohl’s was named “Brand of the Year” in 2015, Macy’s displaced Kohl’s the following year earning the “Brand of the Year” title in in 2016 (Howland, 2016). Though it is a widely expressed concern that consumers are visiting brick-and-mortar department stores less and less frequently in favor of e-commerce options, a recent Statista survey showed contradictory findings. In 2017, 213 million U.S. consumers reported that they had shopped at a department store within the last 30 days which was up from 191 million in 2010 (O’Connell, 2019).

3.0 MARKETPLACE OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY

3.1 SWOT Analysis

SWOT Summary Table Positive Negative

Internal Factors Strengths Weaknesses 1. Partnerships 1. Resources 2. Competitive Advantages 2. Store Layout 3. Processes/Systems 3. Rewards Program 4. Accreditations 4. Limited global presence

External Factors Opportunities Threats 1. New Markets 1. Competitor Intentions 2. Technology Development 2. Loss of Key Staff 3. Environmental Effects 3. Organized Retail Crime 4. More visibility via social media.

STRENGTHS: ● Partnerships ○ Kohl’s has entered what hopes to be a mutually beneficial partnership with e-commerce powerhouse, Amazon. By stocking select locations with exclusive Amazon products and providing free Amazon return services, Kohl’s anticipates an increase in foot traffic from Amazon consumers (Howland, 2017). They have also began a partnership with Aldi and Planet Fitness by leasing space within select retail stores in an effort to offer a wider variety of products and services to

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their consumers (Meyersohn, 2019). This tactic also allows Kohl’s to downsize ​ ​ without closing stores. ● Competitive Advantages - Kohl’s Rewards and Pricing ○ Kohl’s is well known by its loyal consumers its successful rewards programs. Previously there were three programs in which consumers were encouraged to take advantage of: Kohl’s Charge, Kohl’s Cash, and Yes2You Rewards. Kohl’s has simplified the rewards program process for consumers by taking all three and unifying them under one program called Kohl’s Rewards (Pearson, 2018). Kohl’s also offers a price match guarantee in stores and online to maintain competitive pricing strategies. ● Processes/Systems - Omnichannel Business Model ○ To become more accessible to consumers an omnichannel business model is a beneficial approach. This business model allows consumers to shop at Kohl’s in store, online, or over the phone. ● Accreditations ○ Kohl’s has announced sustainability goals that focus on climate action, waste and ​ recycling. Their initiatives have put them on Barron’s list of Top 100 Sustainable Companies in 2019 and they have been accredited as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Institute in 2019 (Stein, 2019).

WEAKNESSES: ● Resources ○ Retailers alike have been experiencing an increased turnover rate from 76% in 2017 to 81% in 2018 (Howland, 2018). ● Store Layout ○ Kohl’s store layouts tend to be cluttered with a wide array of products. This can hinder the consumer shopping experiences by leaving them with a feeling of being overwhelmed (Lutz, 2013). Store layout has a strong influence on consumer purchase decisions. One small example can be observed through the space beside a retail store’s POS system. This space only takes up about 1% of store space, however 27% of consumers make additional purchases at the checkout counter which could account for 7% of a retailer’s annual sales (Nicasio, 2019). ● Rewards Program ○ Though they have unified all three rewards programs, this luxury is not yet available in every market. A majority of their consumers are still experiencing confusion on managing each program separately as the new Kohl’s Rewards program has only been launched in eight geographical markets (Pearson, 2018). ■ This situation is a bit unique as the Kohl’s Rewards program is a strength because the single, unified rewards program is only available in select

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markets at this time (only 18). There are still thousands of locations that are still using the three separate rewards programs which is hindering consumer experience. ● Limited Global Presence ○ Kohl’s has not taken steps towards expanding globally which limits them to the U.S. Market only.

OPPORTUNITIES: ● New Markets - Gen Y & Gen Z ○ Between 33% and 35% of Baby Boomers and Generation Xers have identified as being Kohl’s shoppers compared to around 22% of Millennials (Peterson, 2016). There is potential to attract more millennial shoppers to Kohl’s stores. It would also be beneficial to observe Generation Z as they are aging and will begin shopping for themselves in the coming years. ● Technologies ○ One of the more recent advancements in technologies harnesses the power of voice. It is called the Amazon Echo Dot. This is a technology that could be beneficial to the retail industry as, once enabled, consumers could have the capability to make purchases from retailers from the comfort of their homes just by using their voice. Kohl’s may have the first opportunity to utilize this feature as they have recently entered a partnership with Amazon. ● Environmental Effects ○ The changes in seasons each year allow for a refreshment of stock from shorts and sandals in the summer to sweaters and boots in the winter. The changes in consumer demands that come with the changes in season allow for the opportunity to regularly freshen up the in-store displays to maximize sales (Strutt & Parker, 2015). ● Social Media Presence ○ To further reach the millennial market, Kohls needs to update and increase their social media presence. “All the major social media networks are actively ​ ​ improving their analytics to allow for better personalization of advertising and content.” This includes their Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Snapchat. “80 ​ percent of social media time is spent on a mobile device.” It’s time to pull away ​ from traditional methods of marketing and embrace what the larger markets are viewing (Contreras, 2017).

THREATS: ● Competitor Intentions

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○ Kohl’s has many competitors which include Amazon, Macy’s, Target, and JCPenney. The most imminent threat could come from Kohl’s new partnership with Amazon. This partnership in concerning due to a look at past companies that partnered with Amazon, specifically Borders and Toys R Us who have both since permanently closed their doors (Howland, 2017). ● Loss of Key Staff ○ The loss of key associate can have many negative effects for a decrease in morale and productivity to even a loss in revenue if the change has an affect on loyal consumers (integraSoft Blog, 2017). ● Organized Retail Crime (ORC) ○ Kohl’s faces the threat of theft every day from consumers to employees which may lead to a loss in revenue and lengthy lawsuits. ORC costs the retail industry ​ around $30 billion each year (Tyree, 2019).

4.0 IMC CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES

1. In order to optimize brand awareness of our primary target, we aim to reach 80% of millennials, four times per quarter. A target of 1,280 TRPs. Awareness among millennials right now is approximately 24%. 2. Reach 60% of Millennial men, four times per week prior to a televised major sporting event such as an NHL or NFL game. 3. In an effort to reach more of targeted millennial consumers, an ongoing media plan objective will be to increase social media following on each platform by 25% each fiscal year. Currently Kohl’s has nearly 12 million Facebook likes. One of their largest competitors, Target, has 24 million. Our goal is to increase awareness through promotion on Facebook by 100% over the course of three years.

5.0 AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

Our overall target market has been determined to consist of millennials between the ages of 24-36 who reside within the United States. The target audience has been segmented further by demographics, psychographics, and behavior below.

Demographic & Geographic - The demographic Kohl’s would like to tap into is the millennial ​ market. One segment of the millennial market they have already reached are the Mavens, which are the millennial moms, women in their 30s that “tend to be high-income earners with a baby in tow”. In addition, another important millennial market consists of those known as the Trendsetters. Our Trendsetters are basically a younger version of our Mavens, with the most crucial difference being that they are more likely to start or try new trends (Interbrand Design Forum, 2015).

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Psychographic - Research has shown that the top three drivers for millennials decision in ​ selecting a brand or retailer are 1) being trustworthy, 2) high quality, and 3) low price (Interbrand Design Forum, 2015).

Behavioral - Millennials tend to gravitate toward purchases that are an expression of their ​ ​ personality and place value on experiences. It has also been found that millennials are more likely to share their purchases on social media.While millennials like to try new things, they like to hear the experiences of their peers with a product or service and place more weight on word of mouth over company-generated advertisements (Woo, 2018).

6.0 CREATIVE BRIEF

Question 1: What is our challenge? Positioning the Kohl’s brand that will attract the millennial target market, specifically the Trendsetters. They keep up with the latest entertainment gossip and have large social networks to stay connected. Trendsetters also seem to purchase across the widest variety of brands the most often” (Interbrand Design Forum, 2015). It would be most beneficial for Kohl’s to attract this segment of millennials as they may be key to reaching other segmentations of the millennial market. Question 2: Who is the target audience? It has been determined that our target audience are millennials who reside within the United States and are between the ages of 24-36. Direct marketing tactics will be aimed towards those that live within a 20-mile radius of any Kohl’s store location throughout the nation. Question 3: What does the audience currently think about the brand? The layout and size of Kohl’s locations makes for a very time-consuming shopping trip. Shoppers in a focus group expressed that they struggled to find what they want in their nearly 900,000 sq. ft. stores and had trouble matching clothes that were spread out all throughout the store (Meyersohn, 2019). Question 4: What would we like the target to think and feel?

The Kohl’s brand wants millennials to look forward to visiting their stores and be apart of something bigger than themselves. That Kohl’s can provide “exciting store experiences, and ​ quick and easy solutions for their wardrobe challenges” (Meyersohn, 2019). Kohl’s implemented a store layout section inspired by Pinterest to emblemize the motto “Life is short. Get the outfit” and has Instagram appeals. This setup was to make their target feel like its an easier decision, fun, colorful, fast, and accessible (Meyersohn, 2019).

Question 5: Which facts, evidence, or thoughts will assist in this change of thinking? How can we support our proposition? Kohl’s for the past three years has been working on giving back to their customers and has currently given $2 billion back. This appeals to the millennial market since they are loyal

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consumers and care more about the brand than the price. Creating a loyalty program benefits to the unique target, the brand, and plays into the millennial customer key motivators (Pearl, 2018). By shopping with a brand that rewards them for it, like Kohl’s, helps drives these factors home. This allows for Kohl’s to interact on a personal level using tools like KPI’s, customer-centricity, speed, and technology (Pearl, 2018). All of these, will help change their shopping experiences into a fun, exciting, and easy process, as well as, personalize every consumer interaction. Question 6: What is the brand essence? Kohl’s = Rewards

Kohl’s can be categorized as a power brand, meaning that they have established a high level of awareness and are differentiated from their competitors. Kohl’s branding is easily recognized by consumers when exposed to advertising campaigns. Kohl’s Rewards can be considered a business approach, however it has become so ingrained in every aspect of their business model that it has become what consumers associate most with the brand. There are many savings opportunities that consumers are encouraged to take advantage of — Kohl’s Cash, Kohl’s Charge, Yes2You Rewards Points, Power Hours, email alerts, Kohl’s App, use Kohl’s Wi-Fi while shopping and you could get a $5 or $10 discount at check-out, multiple coupons at checkout are accepted, Price Match, Kohl’s shoppers aged 55+ receive 15% off on Wednesdays, heavily discounted clearance items, Night Owl & Early Bird Specials, and many in-store discounts (Niedt, 2016; Skirboll, 2019).

Question 7: What is the key emotion that will build a relationship with the core audience? It is essential for Kohl’s to create a customer connection to the latest trends in a convenient, time saving atmosphere. In 2019 Kohls began implementing an “outfit bar,” to provide a one-stop-shop for customers to quickly assemble an outfit without having to navigate a 900,000 sq. ft store (Lesk, 2019). We want the working millennials to have a sense of sophistication and professionalism when shopping at Kohl's without compromising their budget. Question 8: What media will best facilitate our goal? ● Social Media ○ Instagram ○ Facebook ○ Youtube ● Out-of-Home ○ Billboards ● Print ○ Direct mail ○ Catalog ● Television ● In-Store ○ “Outfit Bar” ● Mobile Apps ● Internet Radio

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Question 9: What are the most critical elements? What is the budget? It is critical that Kohl’s continues to encourage the use of its omnichannel shopping experiences. Online shopping, additional relevant brands, and a budding partnership with Amazon are key ingredients for Kohl’s to survive the retail apocalypse. Kohl’s has also begun to restructure some of its stores to accommodate brick and mortar tenants like gym Planet Fitness and grocery store Aldi (Meyersohn, 2019). These changes will invite more quality foot traffic within close enough proximity to increase customers (Meyersohn, 2019). Kohl’s annual marketing budget has hovered around $990 million for the past 5 years (Statista, 2019).

Critical Elements Most Likely Best Case Media Worst Case Media Budget Budget Budget

Updating store layouts to $50,000,000 $60,000,000 $60,000,000 lessen or eliminate the “cluttered” environment

Billboards/Out-of home $22,000,000 $22,000,000 $25,000,000

Social media and App $2,000,000 $2,000,000 $3,000,000 updates and maintenance

Millennial celebrity $10,000,000 $10,000,000 $20,000,000 endorsements

Television $79,400,000 $80,000,000 $85,000,000

Print $25,180,800 $26,000,000 $27,000,000

Total $188,580,800 $200 million $220 million

Question 10: What is the single most important takeaway? The most important takeaway is for Kohl's to continue to listen to their customers and find strategic ways to stay afloat. During a struggling retail landscape, Kohl’s has created their own opportunities to survive. Using shrewd and strategic business practices to stay relevant, Kohl’s aspires to continue empowering communities and families with great saving and quality products handled with immaculate customer service (Meyersohn, 2019). Question 11: What do we want the audience to do? We want Kohl’s target market to fully embrace the omnichannel environment that Kohl’s put forth. As that occurs, our target audience will download the Kohl’s app and apply for a Kohl’s

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credit card to take advantage of all the savings available to cardmembers. This will encourage repeat shopping and loyal customers. By accepting Kohl’s branded programs, customers will be much more in tune with the voice of Kohl’s and will be much more receptive to messaging than if they only experienced Kohl’s marketing through traditional media.

7.0 MEDIA STRATEGY

Online media, television and print are the primary sources of advertisement we will use to our target market - millennials, male and female, between the ages of 24 and 36. Facebook and YouTube are the most popular channels of online media and offer advertising at very minimal cost while capturing the attention of our target multiple times per day. We allocated 1% of our budget, totalling the costs to $2 million, to run advertisements daily on social media. We will use 12.9% of our budget to cover televised advertisement airing Kohl’s commercials during prime time viewing of popular millennial shows, specifically The Voice and This Is Us. Lastly, Kohl’s ​ ​ ​ ​ will continue to be promoted via print ads. Customers will receive postcards and catalogs by mail and outdoor signage will be displayed on billboards along high traffic areas. We will be using approximately 8% of our budget towards print ads and 11% on out-of-home.

Media 1 - Online

“In a study about Millennial personal finance, 57% of Millennials reported making an unplanned purchase based on something they saw on their social media feed. 55% said that they had experienced ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out) via friends’ social feeds.” (The 10 Millennial ​ Marketing Statistics Every CMO Must Know, 2019)

According to the statistics below (figure 1), Facebook and YouTube are the highest forms of online media that millennials view. These two, as well as Instagram are essential vehicles for Kohl’s to utilize in marketing to this target (FB messenger and Whatsapp are instant messaging

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apps).

(Figure 1- Davis, n.d.)

Facebook and Instagram Kohl’s saves an enormous amount of money by having a business Facebook page because it costs minimal to do so. Facebook incorporates a “Call to Action” feature that companies can use to assist customers with shopping, services or questions (How do I add a call-to-action button to ​ my Facebook Page?: Facebook Help Center. n.d.) Facebook also has options to run ads daily at varying costs. We chose a budget of $1,440,00 to cover the expenses of advertising via these vehicles.

YouTube “A typical video ad runs between $.10 and $.30 per view, depending on your video quality, your targeting, and your overall goal.” (How Much Does YouTube Advertising Cost?, 2019) Kohl’s wants to provide their viewers with the highest quality of advertising to reflect the superior value of their products and brand. They can do this by promoting their products thus attracting more customers via YouTube commercials.

Table 2: Online Media Spend Breakout

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CPM (Cost per thousand)= [$4,000 (ad cost per day) x 1000] / 37,000,000 (prospects reached) = $ .11

(1,440,000 / 3,770,000) = CPM $39

CPM (Cost per thousand)=[$ 1,555 (ad cost per day) x 1000] / 5,183 (prospects reached) = $300.02 / 1000 = $.3002

(560,000 / 5,183) = CPM $108,046

Media 2 - Television We propose Kohl’s introduce a new television campaign to market themselves to the relevant millennial audience. Kohl’s will present their ongoing sales and special promotions to their target demographic at the most relevant times, through the most relevant channels. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/oyop/kohls-activewear-and-free-amazon-returns#

Content

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Kohl’s brand voice is bright and cheery and conveys the message of convenience and savings. As shown in the linked commercial above, Kohl’s is excited to remind viewers of the savings events happening at their stores and announce updates to their company. The Kohl’s and Amazon Returns collaboration has brought higher foot traffic and increased sales to their physical locations (Soper & Holman, 2019). This is the invaluable information that needs to be passed along to qualified potential customers for Kohl’s to continue to reap the benefits of their partnership and price cutting.

Costs and Ratings The cost of running a 30-second commercial during a popular tv show or sports game can cost anywhere between $100,000 and $600,000 (Poggi, 2018). For example, the popular show running on NBC, This Is Us, averages $400,000 per 30-second spot. This is a coveted show to ​ ​ run ads during because of the very high viewership and the advertiser-friendly demographics range of ages 18-49 (Katz, 2019). Our plan proposes running advertisements for Kohl’s promotion during premier shows like This Is Us, as well as other heavy hitters on NBC such as ​ ​ The Voice (Poggi, 2018). These shows have Nielsen ratings of 2.01 and 1.95 respectively ("The ​ Voice NBC TV Show: Ratings (Cancel or Renew Season 17?)", 2019). These are decent ratings for daily television ("The Voice NBC TV Show: Ratings (Cancel or Renew Season 17?)", 2019). This Is US is one of NBC’s most watched shows with 8.3 million viewers for Season 3 (Katz, ​ 2019).

Frequency It is recommended that television advertisers aim for 12-15 exposures over the lifetime of a commercial campaign (Neff, 2018). TV viewers don’t pay as much attention to on air commercials as much as they do compared to a mobile advertisements (Neff, 2018). Optimally, TV ad exposure frequency should be around three times per week (Neff, 2018). We will plan for our Kohl’s commercials to run one per each episode of This Is Us and The Voice. ​ ​ ​ ​ Table 3: Television Media Spend Breakout

Show Cost per 30- Spots per Viewers Episodes per CPM for Total Cost second spot Episode Season Target Across Season Market

This Is Us $400,000 3 8 million 18 $50 $21,600,000

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The Voice $200,000 3 7.6 million 7 $26.3 $4,200,000

Sunday $660,000 4 16 million 31 $40.61 $53,600,000 Night Football

TOTAL $79,400,000

Kohl’s will focus on seasons running during important quarters. The third and fourth quarter is especially critical for all retailers because it encompasses preparation for and execution of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and holiday shopping (IA, 2018). Customers are thinking during this time, more than any other time of the year, about spending money at retailers (IA, 2018). Customer’s need to be made aware of the hours that stores are open, the deals that are happening at Kohl’s, and the savings that are available to them. Historically Kohl’s has had it’s highest sales in the fourth quarter ("Kohl's Revenue 2006-2019: KSS").

Media 3 - Print/Out-of-Home Within the arena of print media, direct mailers and catalogs mediums have been identified as the best options for reaching our target market. Print works because it’s more memorable as it tends to stir the senses and creates trust among consumers. And trust creates an engaged audience (Fletcher, 2018).

Table 4: Print Media Spend Breakout

Target Size: 74 million Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Total

Media Vehicle Audience Cost $ CPM

Direct Mail Postcard 11,590,000 3,245,200 $280 1 1 1 1 $12,980,800 ($0.28 a piece)

Catalog Kohl’s 23,180,000 12,053,600 $520 - - - 1 $12,200,000 Seasonal ($0.52 a Catalog piece)

Out-of-Home Billboards ~463,600,000 1,738,500/ $3.75 1,159 1,159 1,159 1,159 $22,000,000 impressions month per month

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TOTAL $47,180,800

Direct Mailers Databases consisting of households containing women ages 24-36, residing within a 10-mile radius of each of Kohl’s’ 1,159 locations, and capped at 10,000 would be ideal for the utilization of the specific media vehicle in the form of a 8.5” x 5.5” postcards. These postcards will be personalized to each recipient and mailed out quarterly. This strategy allows a direct target market reach of up to 11,590,000 four times throughout a calendar year. The CPM for this strategy is about $280 totalling $12,980,800 for the year.

A survey conducted by USPS in 2016 found that about 54% of Millennials preferred to receive information by direct mail as opposed to telemarketing or email. They also discovered that “23% of Millennials surveyed bought or ordered something as a result of receiving direct mail in the past 12 months” (Fletcher. 2018).

Catalogs An 8.5” x 11” Kohl’s Holiday Catalog should be mailed once annually to households containing women ages 24-36, residing within a 15-mile radius of each of Kohl’s’ 1,159 locations, and capped at 20,000. This strategy would allow a direct target market reach of up to 23,180,000 each year preparing these consumers for the holiday season. The CPM for this method is about $520 totalling $12,200,000 annually.

Many studies show that Millennials are gravitating toward direct mail messages and away from digital media. Money Mailer reports that 87% of respondents ages 24-34 like receiving retail information and offers in the mail; and ExactTarget’s 2012 Channel Preference Study showed that 57% of the same demographic have made purchases as a result of a direct mail offer (IWCODirect, p. 6).

Out-of-Home

Billboards Permitting each of the 1,159 Kohl’s locations a $1,500 monthly budget to rent a billboard space on a freeway or high-traffic area within three miles of their location and allowing for a new printed vinyl once per quarter (four times) will yield great exposure. Vinyl print costs can be estimated at an average of $189 each.

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CPM (Cost per thousand)= [$1,500 (ad cost per month) x 1000] / 400,000 (prospects reached) = $ 3.75 The average adult is exposed to 40 outdoor messages per day. Women between the ages of 18-34 have the highest rate of exposure to outdoor messages among all other female groups with 39 exposures per day (Fletcher, 2018).

7.1 Media Budget

8.0 CAMPAIGN MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION

Should our primary media for our flighting and pulsing advertising Kohl’s brand messages fail, our Plan B will be to move ad spending to digital resources. Paid online advertising reminding social media users of promotions going on in our stores and email marketing to existing clients about personalized coupons. These strategies should recoup losses that might be lost in our initial advertising attempts.

We can plan to spend money online with social media as continuous advertising, but if the out-of-home and print media promotions are not proving successful, it is our strategy to flood the online digital advertising space instead.

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9.0. PROPOSED IMC RECOMMENDATIONS

● Target millennials ages 24-36 through television, social media platforms, and direct marketing to increase brand awareness, enhance consumer experience, and become the preferred retailer among consumers. ○ Millennials have immense purchasing power with $600 billion spent in the United States each year (Lexington Law, 209). Kohl’s has done well to target Gen X. Now is high-time to switch gears and target the millennial market. ● Continue to grow their Omnichannel business model ○ The current Omnichannel business model allows consumers to shop at Kohl’s in store, online, or over the phone. To appeal to the millennial market, Kohl’s should expand upon their omnichannel business model to include ordering through social media platforms or by voice. ● One complaint is the cluttered and overwhelming layout. ○ Kohl’s should design a new layout for each brick-and-mortar location and incorporate with strong internal marketing to increase organization and enhance the overall customer experience by guiding their in-store purchase decisions. ● Introduce more well-known brands ○ Rather than relying heavily on private labels, Kohl’s should introduce more well-known brands that will appeal to the millennial market. Advertise these additions through mediums that appeal to the target market (Social Media, special events, internet radio) and drive new sales. ● Continue to foster its partnership with Amazon ○ Their current partnership with Amazon allows Amazon customers to return their Amazon purchases at participating Kohl’s stores. To expand upon that relationship, Kohl’s should utilize the Alexa technology to provide customers with the option to order Kohl’s products by voice. ● Simplify its Store Loyalty Program ○ To target younger generations, providing easier and convenient methods of obtaining rewards and discounts is essential.

10.0 CONCLUSION

Based on our research and assessment of our target market, our integrated media plan provides various forms of media outlets and approaches to increase brand awareness among millennials ages 24 through 36. Our focus is to showcase brands relevant to millennials giving them the feeling of style and sophistication while providing them quality products at an affordable price. Our goal is to build a transparent, loyal, relationship with this specific target market. To do this we will present the Kohl’s brand through relevant commercial advertising, a streamlined

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convenient app, and attractive new store layouts. Overall, this plan will rejuvenate Kohl’s current marketing approach and enhance their mission through multiple media channels.

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References

Contreras, C. (2017). 7 Ways to engage millennials and gen z on social media in 2018 [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2017/12/7-ways-engage-millennials-gen-z-social-media -2018/.

Harris Poll. (2015). Enduring brands top 2015 Harris Poll EquiTrend® list [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://theharrispoll.com/enduring-brands-top-2015-harris-poll-equitrend-list/

Howland, D. (2016). Macy's topples Kohl's in Harris Poll brand equity study [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.retaildive.com/news/macys-topples-kohls-in-harris-poll-brand-equity-study/ 417857/

Howland, D. (2017). Did Kohl’s make a deal with the devil? [Blog post]. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://www.retaildive.com/news/did-kohls-make-a-deal-with-the-devil/505641/

Howland, D. (2018). Retailers are seeing high employee turnover [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.retaildive.com/news/retailers-are-seeing-high-employee-turnover/542396/

IntegraSoft Blog. (2017). The loss of a key employee can have a devastating effect on your company [Blog post]. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://integrasoft.com/loss-key-employee-can-devastating-effect-company/

Interbrand Design Forum. (2015). A new perspective on millennials: Segmenting a generation ​ for actionable insights for consumer goods companies and retailers. Retrieved from ​ http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/consumer/interbrand-cg-retail-cx-wp-2400662.pdf Keenan, J. (2019, February 22). Kohl's drives growth via focus on personalization [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.mytotalretail.com/article/kohls-drives-growth-through-focus-on-customer-en gagement-personalization/.

Kohl’s. (2018). Kohl’s Factbook 2018. Retrieved from https://corporate.kohls.com/content/dam/kohlscorp/investors/landing-page/72188%20-% 20Fact%20Book%2018_Fact%20Book%20Fiscal%2018_V7_r15_FIN_AssocStrCountR emvd%201.pdf

Kohl's Company Research Report. (2019). Vision, mission, & stakeholders. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://kohlscompanyresearchreport.weebly.com/vision-mission--stakeholders.html Lesk, Sari. (2019, March 5). Kohl’s to test outfit bar at attract millennials [Blog post]. Retrieved from

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https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2019/03/05/kohls-to-test-outfit-bar-to-attr act-millennials.html

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Meyersohn, N. (2019, April 30). Kohl’s won over moms. Now it’s going after millennials [Blog post]. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/30/business/kohls-outfit-bar-millennials/index.html Net marketing expenditure of the Kohl's Corporation 2015-2018. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/444931/marketing-expenditure-of-kohls/ Nicasio, F. (2019). 10 Retail design tips to help you boost sales [Blog post]. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://www.vendhq.com/blog/retail-design/ O’Connell, L. (2019). Net marketing expenses of the Kohl's Corporation from 2015 to 2018 (in ​ million U.S. dollars). Retrieved from ​ https://www.statista.com/statistics/444931/marketing-expenditure-of-kohls/#targetText=I n%202018%2C%20the%20Kohl's%20Corporation,U.S.%20dollars%20of%20marketing %20costs

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Pearson, B. (2018). Kohl's launches new rewards program, combining 3 elements: What shoppers can expect [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanpearson/2018/05/16/kohls-launches-new-rewards-pro gram-combining-3-elements-what-shoppers-can-expect/#5657f737408c

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Purpose & Values. (n.d.) Retrieved from https://corporate.kohls.com/company/purpose-and-values

Stein, S. (2019). Kohl’s survivalist moves and the discount department store wars [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/sanfordstein/2019/09/11/kohls-survivalist-moves-and-the-d iscount-department-store-wars/#62b846332c28

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Tyree, W. (2019, October 2). 33 Shocking retail loss prevention and violent crime statistics for 2019 [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.facefirst.com/blog/retail-loss-prevention-and-violent-crime-statistics/

Woo, A. (2018, June 4). Understanding the research on millennial shopping behaviors [Blog post]. Retrieved from ​ ​ https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/06/04/understanding-the-researc h-on-millennial-shopping-behaviors/#91147a85f7ab

Appendix A

Kohl’s Media Flowchart:

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