Make it Yours

Mariana Espiritu
Melissa Warren
Liza Pugsley
Davis Hilton
So Hyun Lee

Table of Contents

p. 3

Executive Summary

p. 4

Situational Analysis

p. 7

Advertising Plan

p. 10

Advertising Strategy

p. 14

Creative Plan

p. 16

Media Plan

p. 22

IMC

Executive Summary
Our objective is to stay loyal to our brand ambassadors, while opening the market to reach
new consumers. We will show the uniqueness of each Herschel backpack and demonstrate
how it will increase the consumers overall confidence and style. We introduceE our Make
It Yours campaign, because a backpack should show off the individual. Our campaign will
increase awareness of Herschel, while helping the consumer understand exactly how they
can personalize their backpacks. This campaign will be targeted towards 18-25 year olds
with various interests. To promote our campaign, we created a contest with corSesponding
app, that will allow our audience to design their own backpack with a template. The winner
will receive their own personalized backpack. Our campaign will focus on POMJOF
advertising, mainly through music streaming websites to diversify our audience.

Situation Analysis
Category and Brand background
Herschel Supply Co. has taken its rightful place as a major competitor in the backpack
industry. Founded in 2009 by brothers Lyndon and Jamie Cormack, Herschel was
named in tribute to past generations of their family who lived in a small town: Herschel,
Saskatchewan, Canada.
Herschel Supply Co. features high quality backpacks, bags, travel goods, and accessories.
Over the past six years, they have expanded from a small startup company to a brand
known worldwide. Their bags are now featured in many retail stores that are carefully
selected . Herschel has separated
their product lines to appeal to many
diverse groups, without alienating their
pioneers.
Herschel has taken a strong approach
to advertising, emphasizing the
importance of their target market.
They have recognized the popularity of
traveling, creating their #WellTraveled
campaign through Instagram. Herschel
harnesses the effectiveness of social
media, advertising almost completely
online. This powerful approach is the
success of their company.

SWOT Analysis
S TRENGTHS
Advertising through the social media
Highly engaged community
Stylish
Affordable
Durable
Relations with other profitable companies

W EAKNESSES
Lean marketing team
Similar advertising campaign
Repetitious advertising
Limited accessibility to target market

O PPORTUNITIES

Going abroad
Advertising through other mediums
Giveaways through social media sites
Customization

THREATS

Competing brands with similar styles

Hipster trend going out of style

Brand Evaluation

The brand resembles the town whose name it carries; it is unique, shows traditional
values, and appeals to the people who do not want to be mainstream. The Cormack
brothers sought to create something that allowed consumers to feel like they discovered
the brand. Each backpack carries vintage qualities, but incorporates a modern touch.
Herschel boasts a backpack that is functional in design, and fashionable in style. Herschel
carries the balance of keeping their target market while still reaching a mass audience.

Problem Statement
Young adults are unaware of what Herschel has to offer, namely their
affordable line of durable fashion backpacks that suit everyones needs.

Advertising Plan
Advertising Objective
Our objective is to continue to appeal to our brand ambassadors, but open
up the market to new customers. We will use new mediums and techniques to
reach audiences that havent previously been aware of Herschel.

Product Position
Herschel backpacks are fine quality and detailed. They are specifically targeted
toward adventurers and travelers, who believe their backpack will endure
a variety of activities. We intend to inform our market how individualized
and unique each of our backpacks are. We want to show our target market
what a Herschel backpack can do for them and how it can improve their own
confidence with trendsetting style.

Target Market Analysis

DEMOGRAPHICS 

Young adults ages 18-25

PSYCHOGRAPHICS:
Individuals want to stand out in their appearance. These explorers value style, setting the
trends, and looking good. Herschel users want to be fashionable without spending a fortune.
They indulge themselves in fine detail and quality, which Herschel backpacks exhibit. These
people are seeking adventure in their everyday choices.

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BUYING BEHAVIOR:
Herschel backpacks are more expensive than a typical bag. College students are
therefore thoughtful about their purchase and will use the backpack for a long period
of time. They buy because they feel like the brand is their very own, different from the
crowd. Nine out of ten consumers will continue to invest in Herschel products.

GEOGRAPHICS:
Colleges nationwide

Competitive Summary
Direct Competitor(s):
The direct competitors of Herschel are Fjallraven, Cotopaxi, Patagonia, The North Face,
DaKine, Eastpak, Ogio, and Kipling. Most of these brands have rucksacks that are similar
to Herschels design.
Indirect Competitors:
Retailers such as H&M, Forever 21, JCPenney, Nike, Adidas, Target and Walmart carry
backpacks that are cheaper and somewhat similar to a Herschel design, but backpacks
lack quality materials.

10

Strategy Statement
For classy trail blazers in search of a unique style, Herschel
provides functional backpacks, with USFOE
TFUUJOH design that
amps their personal confidence and swagger.

11

Research
Brand Insights:
Herschel avoids mass advertising because they want their target market to feel like they
discovered the brand on their own
Herschel has used social media in an extremely positive way to promote their brand
Herschel tries to sell adventure, and the feeling that you can really do anything and go
anywhere you want
Worldwide specific audience
Consumer Insights:
Typically become brand loyal
Put a lot of consideration into purchases
Typically have an education or in the process of obtaining one

What do customers
want in a backpack?

12

Who owns a Herschel Backpack?

With a Herschel I...

13

Creative Plan
Creative Strategy
This campaign is to show the unique style of Herschel backpacks and
demonstrate how they will amp the consumers own confidence. That strategy
lead to the creation of Make it Yours. This slogan will change the mindset of
consumers, bringing them to the realization that Herschel can be theirs. It will
prove that Herschel backpacks are not just for the select few. Through built
advertising, the campaign concentrates on Herschels ability to provide swagger
and confidence to potential buyers. The struggle to find a backpack that truly
defines you has been eliminated through Herschel.

14

Creative Executions
SUBWAYS AND BUS STATIONS are ideal places to put
ads for Herschel. The posters will display #MakeitYours
with an icon for people to search the hashtag on Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and other social media websites. There will
be a QR code next to the ad, which will lead consumers to the
app store, to download the Make It Yours app. These will be
distributed across the country in different locations.

ONLINE ADVERTISING is our biggest investment for

the campaign. Herschel has done a wonderful job of doing
word of mouth campaigns through social media websites.
Although those are wonderful ways to promote Herschel,
we are going to branch out on the web and produce
advertisements on online radio stations such as Pandora and
Spotify in order to reach our target audience.

PROMOTIONAL advertising will be done through a creative app that

will allow users to design their own backpack and submit the design as an
entry. There will be a QR code that allows users to find the website and app
on their smart phones. We are also going to buy a promotional hashtag
space on Twitter for the #MakeitYours campaign. This campaign will run
Make it Yours App
between July and August prior to the start of the school year.

15

Media Plan
Media Strategy
The media strategies used for the Make it Yours campaign
will mainly occur through online advertising. Our objective
is to continue reaching our target audience on social
media websites, but with a creative twist. By advertising to
music websites such as Pandora, Spotify, and Soundcloud,
we will be able to reach our target audience. Our
campaign will also be broadcasted on YouTube and our
hashtag #MakeitYours will be promoted on Twitter.

$2,000,0

$500,00

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$1,000,

Broadca
$2,000,

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YouTub
e $1,50
Univers
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ity Boo
kStores
$500,00
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Online
16

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Other: $1,000,000

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$50

00

$5,000,000

Out-of-home
$1,500,000
Bus stations and subways
nationwide

Schedule
July January Pandora ad (Month), Magazine (Month)

#MakeitYours campaign begins, Out-of-Home (Year)
August April Pandora ad (Month),Twitter (First Week)
Pandora ad (Month),YouTube (Month)

May September Spotify and Soundcloud ads (Month)
Twitter Ad (First Week)
June December Spotify and Sound cloud ads (Month)
End of Campaign

17

Pandora
Pandora is an ideal
website for online
advertising. Herschel
will still be advertising
without becoming
mainstream. Herschel
will make a custom playlist with a backgrounds that advertise the #MakeitYours
campaign. There will be ad banners on the website to display examples of our
individualized backpacks.

Spotify
Spotify offers seven different ad formats: audio ads, display ads, billboard
ads, homepage takeovers, branded playlists, lightbox, and an advertiser
page. Each one of these ads will aid the campaign for Herschel because
the demographics of Spotify users fit under the demographics of Herschel.
Spotify is fairly new and extremely popular, which appeals to young
adults. Its service reaches 60 million users. We want the spotify user to feel
like their new Herschel backpack will be as personal as their playlist.

18

Video Spot

People with Herschel bags spend

their Saturday relaxing by a
quiet lake.

A college student who carries a

Herschel walks on school
campus.

A young woman hikes into a

lush, green forest, a Herschel
backpack on her back.

Two friends travel on a serene,

beaten path with their Herschel
backpacks.

Make it Yours
A happy woman smiles with her
Herschel bag on the beach.

The Herschel logo appears with

Make it Yours featured as the
slogan.

19

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Print
$100,000
$50,000 per Magazine

Tone and Manner of Advertisements

Herschel advertisements are sleek, clean, simple, modern, innovative, and appeal to the
trendsetters. Ads will be positioned to make the viewer believe they discovered the brand.
It will appeal to adventurous personalities with a stylish look. The strategy will come to life
by using unique approaches such as allowing consumers to design their own personalized
backpack. We will give the campaign an adventurous feel, to help the users feel like they may
find adventure anywhere with a Herschel on their back. Ad positioning is the key to success.

20

Camping is my thing.
Im a designer, and the mountains inspire me in my creative work.

Im Autumn.

21

#MakeItYours

Integrated Market
Sales Promotion
Our promotion is a contest that will allow users to design their own
backpack on a template. The template will be found on Herschels
Make it Yours App, where users can design their dream backpack.
This design will be submitted to Herschel when shared through
social media sites, with the hashtag #MakeitYours. The winner of
this contest will have their designed backpack manufactured
and given to them. Runner ups will receive a Herschel
backpack of their choice. The key to this promotion
is for designers to use the hashtag and spread the
campaign, making it a popular event through social
media. This will draw in the target audience and help
people feel like they discovered Herschel on their own.

Promotional Website
$1,500,000
App Creation
$1,500,000

22

Communication

urs App
o
Y
t
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k
Ma

App

$500,00

We will buy cellphone banner ads to

promote the #MakeitYours app for other
free apps, such as Pandora, Spotify, and
Soundcloud which will help raise awareness
of our campaign.

23

Property of Critical Reality