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Marketing Problem: Myer, along with other stores in the retail industry, has seen struggle in the last five year. In 2019, the retail giant revealed a reduction in sales of 3.5%. In order to identify the problem areas relating to Myer’s overall decline of sales, primary research was conducted in the form of in-depth interviews. It was discovered that many consumers found Myer to be lacking coherence in relation to its target market and brand personality. Myer’s most prominent marketing problem has therefore been identified as a lack of understanding about its own brand identity. By attempting to appeal to both high end consumers (the previous target market),and value conscious consumers (through discounts), they have failed to successfully connect with either segment. In 2015, Myer attempted to narrow the focus onto females attracted to high end brands, however due to conflicting brand messages this also failed to resonate. This has led to negative consumer sentiment towards the in-store experience and overall perception of the Myer brand. As a result of Myer’s inability to hold a concise vision of self and communicate this from a topdown approach, previous ‘My Store’ campaigns have failed to successfully resonate with the target audience. Being unable to provide an enticing narrative structure and overall sense of purpose, Myer has been unsuccessful in developing the necessary relationships with customers and their self-concept. Primary research revealed negative customer reactions to this lack of resonance, involving a perception of disregard for target audience needs and lack of genuine connection. Another issue involves Myer’s failure to create brand distinction, relying on the iconicity of other brands to entice its customers. Primary research revealed that Myer has been unable to translate its brand energy into consumer purchasing actions due to a lack of emotional connection. According to Ding and Tseng (2015), hedonic emotions are foundational drivers of brand experience and brand loyalty. The interview responses indicated a deficiency in the provision of hedonic marketing cues which resulted in minimal impacts on consumers’ excitement and interest. This lack of personal relevance inherently affects consumer motivation and can be directly attributed to the client’s conflicting perceptions of which segment the marketing efforts should reflect. Consumer Behaviour Issues and Analysis Consumer behaviour theory is useful for understanding the impact of Myer’s Marketing efforts. There are several psychological core, consumer culture and decision making concepts which pertain to the causes of Myer’s current marketing problem and identify relevance of the proposed recommendations. Myer’s marketing problem is primarily related to the lack of attention directed towards the consumer’s psychological core, specifically relating to consumer motivation, attitudes and perception. Myer’s unsuccessful campaigns have also caused habituation, an attention problem where consumers fail to pay attention to marketing material. The recommendations provided in this report make use of consumer culture and decision making concepts. Using opinion leaders, affective decision making and consumer satisfaction theories will provide Myer with a successful marketing campaign. Myer should use the insights

offered through these theoretical lenses to learn from their past and improve their future marketing efforts . Motivation Interview research confirmed that consumers possess both the ability and opportunity to purchase from Myers, however, lack of motivation causes consumers to choose different stores. Motivation, defined as ‘goal-directed arousal; desire/ willingness to process brand information’. The influencing factors of motivation include personal relevance, values and needs. Myer’s previous campaigns have failed to relate to individuals personally. Consumers do not believe that Myer’s offerings align with their self concepts, specifically, how they view themselves. Personal relevance through self concepts are important because consumers then form emotional connections with what they buy, strengthening brand loyalty and reducing price sensitivity. Myer is advised to consider consumer’s self concepts when implementing the recommendations that follow. Additionally, consumers’ personal relevance is influenced by activated needs. These needs are a state of tension caused by the gap between a consumer’s ideal and actual states. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs suggests that individuals satisfy their needs in five ordered categories. Physiological needs are fulfilled first, followed by safety, social, egotistical and finally self actualisation news. Attitude According to Haughvedt (2008), it is the individuals who hold unfavourable attitudes towards a brand that are more likely to focus their attention on the negative qualities. The results of the interviews confirm the idea of attitudinal bias. Tested attitudes demonstrated a bias towards specific shopping behaviours of the interviewees. These attitudes included feelings of indifference and an assumption that Myer’s target market did not include them. Subsequently there was found to be a lack of relevance in previous campaigns. Perception Myer’s consumer emotional perceptions have been found through interviews to be quite negative. Feelings of anger, sadness, anxiety and shame have been linked to Myer’s consumer experience. Through the recommendations, Myers should attempt to shift this perception towards happiness, love pride and commitment to improve their campaigns. Opinion Leaders Opinion leaders are individuals who are admired by consumers and seen as role models. Companies can use opinion leaders to their advantage to attract consumers towards their products. However, the use of celebrities has become common and is often disregarded by viewers. It is recommended that Myer take a subtler approach by targeting a segment of the market, 20-25 year olds. These younger consumers, who have not started their professional

careers, look to their role models for cues on how to dress and behave. By targeting 25-35 year olds, Myers will attract not only the target group specifically mentioned but also those consumers who view young professionals as opinion leaders. Affective decision making model Myer’s consumer decision making models have been primarily cognitive, thought based. However, consumers’ identified the lack of emotional connection they share with the brand. Affective feelings have been shown to positively impact consumers’ purchasing choices more effectively than objective values. By appealing to the affective decision making model through the recommended marketing campaign, Myer will be able to improve consumer’s attitudes towards their offerings. Satisfaction According to Dovaliene et al, it is the commitment to customer satisfaction and enhancing relationships that determine successful performance in an environment saturated by competition. Lee et al (2016), supports this assumption, stating that a business must take into consideration that customers vary in their needs, preferences and purchase decisions. These social categories are constantly changing, therefore it is important to recognise that needs can never be completely satisfied. Satisfaction can be measured qualitatively, which Myer can utilise to be successful in retaining a loyal customer base. Familiarity with a customer’s needs and motivational factors will create a positive customer feeling of fulfillment in relation to Myers products and services. Recommendations Recommendations 1: New Target Market To provide a new direction for Myer, the first recommendation is to defice a specific target market to be the focus of their new marketing campaigns. Acknowledging that demographic profiles do not always remain constant, Myer needs to reflect flexibility in adapting to a specific market, rather than attempting to reach a broad audience with its advertising efforts. Even by focussing on a more specific profitable target market. Myer will still retain the existing customer base and will be able to communicate and deliver value to a responsive audience. Multiple multivariate profiles have been identified as new segments within the target market (refer to Appendix B). These new segments within the target market of young professionals are highly relevant as 73% of people aged 25-29 reside in capital cities (ABS 2014), near the centrally located Myer stores. Fromm & Garton (2013) identify the millennial market market as a participation economy, suggesting that they are ‘not willing to be passive consumers’ instead they want ‘to actively participate, co-create’ and partner with brands they love. Millennials represent a large percentage of Australian consumers and 44% of the Australian workforce (Alpha Beta Economics, 2019). These young professionals are ambitious and impressionable and have yet to be successfully accessed by department stores.

The values of individuals will be used to determine positioning based off the ‘means end' model as demonstrated by Herrmann and Huber (2000), as this more accurately reflects purchasing decision behaviour. Through the use of value segmentation, the possibility of overlap will be negated, allowing advertisements to resonate with each segment. The majority of the target market align with ‘achievers’ as described by the VALS model proving they are committed to their job and are peer conscious (Strategic Business Insights 2019). Achievers therefore will be more inclined to demonstrate success through the use of business clothing (refer to Appendix B). Regarding competitive positioning, there are companies such as ASOS, Forever New and the Iconic which have segmented the market in a similar way. These companies, however, are directed at female consumers and lack the variety Myer would be able to stock. Not only will Myer differentiate through their variety of products, they will also target males as well as the ‘up and coming’ younger consumers. These new segments will not only allow Myer to gain market share but also develop brand loyalty with a trickle-down effect. As opinion leaders of the younger segment, the millennials are presented as being ‘knowledgeable about products’ and have ‘an unequal amount of influence on the decision of others’ (Eastman et al. 2014). Therefore, as Myer begins to attract influential millennials, market growth will follow. Myer will benefit tremendously from these segments as the generation of young professionals are forecasted to grow by 17% over the next 10 years, to a total of 8.3 million (Fewtrell, 2016). Recommendation 2: Launch networking and career event As Myer develops and utilises the new segments. They will need to develop innovative and contemporary campaigns, going beyond conventional marketing strategies in an effort to redefine their brand. The new brand direction will require strong communication through its online website and social media channels. Such campaigns would aim to go beyond targeting merely consumption needs but also egotistical and self-actualisation needs as outline within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Thompson 2019). A networking event will be held at the commencement of the ‘New Myer, New Me’ rebranding. Millenials will be invited to the event which will facilitate connections between consumers and successful business leaders across a range of disciplines. Keynote speakers invited to the event will include start-up entrepreneur, Jane Lu, founder of online fashion retailer ShowPo. Although her business, ShowPo does not necessarily align with a professional image, Jane Lu is a leader in the Australian Start up scene and presents refreshingly transparent insight into the realities of starting and maintaining a successful business. Through connecting millennials with aspirational reference groups and opinion leaders, this campaign is designed to resonate with consumers self-concept (Pittard 2013). Landon (1974) suggests that purchase decisions are correlated with self-image, predominantly ideal self image. Therefore, by marketing to millennials through aspirational reference groups it is expected that brand retention will increase and Myer will successfully penetrate this newly defined market.

The goal of the networking campaign is to attract the millennial market, offering them a platform to achieve career related goals whilst associating the Myer rebranding strategy with success and innovation. As an extension of the networking event, the launch of a new, succinct yet evocative slogan of ‘New Myer, New Me,’ to align with the rebranding is strongly advised. In relation to previous campaigns, habituation was a prevalent issue. This was evidenced amongst interviewees’ remedial recollection of the ‘Myer, My Store’ campaign. Which failed to resonate with consumers. In order to rectify this problem, the new slogan endeavours to signal change and connect with millennials who find themselves situated in a transitional phase with a new set of needs. Myer’s new slogan is designed to activate consumers’ need for self-actualisation by awakening their desire for experiences and selffulfulment. By utilising carefully calculated language, associated with the individual’s transition period, the slogan entertains millennials inherent need for messages to be personal (Talbott 2012). This in turn promotes a positive link between consumers and viewing Myer as the path to their ideal state. Recommendation 3: Advertising Campaign In partnership with the networking event and release of a new slogan, a campaign launch focused on the new Myer is recommended. To highlight the importance of the ‘New Myer, New Me’ message, the campaign should commence in the 2020 new year. Advertising will be promoted across the brand’s Facebook and Instagram pages which will have been proven to be the most used, attractive platforms for millennials (Roque 2018). 86% of the target market value authenticity and transparency over content, therefore, it is recommended that Myer highlights moments captured from the networking event of young professionals engaging with Myer (stackla 2019). Millenials are also characteristically known to develop stronger relationships that previous generations, therefore advertising should reflect the community of young professionals (Nimon 2007). Featuring young professionals who shop at Myer this will attract potential new consumers by appealing to the strong influence of reference groups and values of authenticity (Pinto et al. 2000). Millennial consumers, who are highly preoccupied with their perceived status by peers, are extrinsically motivated towards the brand through the perception of positive association between Myer and their generational acquaintances (Bucuta 2015). By using millennials, who are seen as trendsetters amongst various industries (Schawbel 2015), as opinion leaders, the trickle-down effect will occur in which lower social classes of younger aspirational professionals will follow behind in trends, ensuring future success of Myer. As traditional media funnels are becoming irrelevant and 96% of millennials use social media, it is recommended that Myer shift their focus, as many organiations are currently doing, and enact a dynamic change of their current means of advertising distribution channels (Frady 2011, Yellow 2018). In order to reach the social media objective, utilising social media platforms e.g. Facebook, Instagram etc. will appeal to the newly specified target market of who 56% are more likely to discover brands through social networking as opposed to traditional search engines and

emails (Yellow 2018). Exponential growth of the digital revolution allows Myer to develop meaning ful consumer relationships cost-effectively, delivering a new consumer focused campaign. It is essential that Myer also adopt in active online presence as almost two-thirds of millennials report they are more inclined towards brands who interact with their consumers online (Schawbel 2015). THis online engagement can also aid in identifying trends and issues important to their target market. The launch of ‘New Myer, New Me’ will not only be presented as a campaign, but also focus on the post-purchase consumer experience which Paige O’Neill, Chief Marketing Officer of SDL, suggest helps in increasing brand loyalty, consequently promoting increased purchase retention and reducing post-buyer’s remorse (SDL 2018). In order to succeed, Myer should shift their focus towards the customer experience and stress the importance of social media visibility in order to create strong customer brand loyalty and longterm brand advocacy (Business Victoria 2018, SDL 2018). Conclusion Myer’s marketing problem stems from its failure to communicate a coherent brand identity to its customers. This has led to customer dissatisfaction and decreasing market share. In-depth analysis based on primary research and consumer behaviour theories has identified that by focussing on a more specific target market, future marketing campaigns will lead to success for Myer. It is recommended that millennials be targeted as a sustainable, profitable segment, a networking event be held and a new advertising campaign is launched under ‘New Myer, New Me’. Through these recommendations Myer has the foundations necessary to develop a successful future.

References

Appendix A: SWOT Analysis Through in-depth primary research it was identified that Myer possessed some evident brand strengths and also some weaknesses. Across the results it was clear that consumer believed that Myer had reasonable price points and attractive sales which often led them to the store. Consumers also identified that Myer had a diverse product range, which many perceived to be of great quality. However, Myer also possesses weaknesses such as the lack of a memorable customer experience and the underperformance of sales staff. Myer has failed to define a clear brand identity creating internal incoherence within the company and ultimately affecting success. Threats that Myer faces include the availability and accessibility of aggressive online retailers who draw consumers away from in-store shopping experiences. However, this creates an opportunity for Myer to create memorable shopping experiences which invite consumers to make repeat purchases and increase brand retention. There is an opportunity for Myer to develop themselves further and penetrate new markets in which they can redefine themselves. There also exists a deficit in the market for young, impressionable opinion leaders who represent a profitable market segment, which makes way for opportunity to take advantage of a

new market....