Nicholas Graham\'s Place. What Types

¶ … Nicholas Graham's place. What types of long-term goals might you have for the company?

Joe Boxer is primarily a clothing company. It currently seeks to expand its brand identity into other aspects of retailing, including bedding, sportswear, and other accessories. Its long-term goals are to become a brand that transcends a single product, almost like the wildly popular icon 'Hello Kitty' or the 'Playboy Bunny.' However, it must also strive to stay afloat in the troubled economic environment. When individuals are pinching their pennies, as they currently are apt to do in today's recessionary environment, extraneous products such as clothing and 'fun' mouse pads are often the first items to be cut from a consumer's budget.

Joe Boxer must clearly define its core constituency, and make its brand an important part of the consumer's everyday life and buying habits. Instead of just one or two pairs of underwear, or a 'gag gift' Joe Boxer must craft an image of an ideal 'Joe Boxer' type of consumer for all of its product lines. At present, there is a danger that college boys and young men may buy a few Joe Boxer items, and then simply abandon the brand as they reach maturity. Making Joe Boxer accessories for women and children equally popular rather than simply 'niche items' seems essential, but the question then arises: who is a Joe Boxer woman or child?

Question 2: Which of Joe Boxer's strategies appear to be the strongest and most effective?

Joe Boxer's most successful strategy is to be found in its core product line's uniqueness. It offers reasonably high-quality items at affordable prices. These items have a distinctive appearance and convey a particular kind of user 'identity.' One of the quickest paths to product 'demise' is to becoming a mid-market product with no clear value added for the consumer. If a consumer wants to purchase a fun, colorful pair of underwear as a gift, or to make a statement with his or her own underwear 'look,' Joe Boxer is there. However, there are also many market competitors who create colorful and inexpensive underwear with product logos. That is why Joe Boxer has made such an effort to distinguish itself through clever 'experiential' marketing techniques.

Question 3: What other strategies would be important to a company such as Joe Boxer?

Joe Boxer must define some clear market segments, and create clearer and more targeted marketing campaigns. For example, one distinct consumer demand segment is that of male college students. Promoting Joe Boxer dorm room furniture, creating arrangements with universities to create Joe Boxer school paraphernalia (such as sports sweatshirts), Joe Boxer coffee travel mugs with university Joe Boxer logos, and Joe Boxer co-branded university shower caddies are all possible items to sell to this demographic. This could be called the 'Joe U' line and would tap into school pride as well as affection for the brand.