DUE DATE : 3.00 p.m. 16 March 2010

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1 Page 1 of 6 ASSIGNMENT 1 st SEMESTER : CREATIVE STRATEGY (CRE) STUDY UNITS COVERED : CHAPTERS 1-7 DUE DATE : 3.00 p.m. 16 March 2010 TOTAL MARKS : 100 INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES FOR COMPLETING AND SUBMITTING ASSIGNMENTS The complete 'Instructions to Students for Completing and Submitting Assignments' must be collected from any IMM GSM office, the relevant Student Support Centre or can be downloaded from the IMM GSM website. It is essential that the complete instructions be studied prior to commencing your assignment. The following points highlight only a few important notes. 1) You are required to submit ONE assignment per subject. 2) The assignment will contribute 20% towards the final examination mark, and the other 80% will be contributed by the examination, however, the examination papers will count out of 100%. 3) Although your assignment will contribute towards your final examination mark, you do not have to earn credits for admission to the examinations; you are automatically accepted on registering for the exam. 4) Number all the pages of your assignment (e.g. page 1 of 4) and write your name and surname, student number and subject at the top of each page. 5) The IMM GSM requires assignments to be presented in a typed format, on plain A4 paper. Unless otherwise specified, this assignment must be completed within a limit of 1500 words, excluding the bibliography. 6) A separate assignment cover, which is provided by the IMM GSM, must be attached to the front of each assignment. 7) Retain a copy of each assignment before submitting, in case the original does not reach the IMM GSM. 8) The assignment due date refers to the day up to which assignments will be accepted for marking purposes. The deadline is 3:00 p.m. on 16 March Late assignments will be accepted, but 25 marks will be deducted from the maximum mark if received after 3:00 p.m. on 16 March 2010 and up to 5:00 p.m. the following day, after which no assignments will be accepted. 9) If you fail to follow these instructions carefully, the IMM Graduate School of Marketing cannot accept responsibility for the return of the assignment. It may even result in your assignment not being marked. Results will be available on the IMM GSM website, on Friday, 7 May 2010.

2 Page 2 of 6 SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS Marks will NOT be awarded for definitions. The object is to test your understanding of these theoretical concepts. Marks will NOT be awarded for information or examples lifted from textbooks or study manuals provided by learning institutions. It is important that you think of your OWN applications. Marks will NOT be awarded for answers/examples provided by lecturers. (This becomes very apparent when all students from one centre are quoting the same examples!) Marks will not be awarded for copying/adapting answers in previous marking memoranda. 10 marks have been allocated to presentation. Please refer to your IMM GSM guidelines to ensure you comply with the necessary requirements. Please be reminded that PLAGIARISM is regarded as an extremely serious offence and you will be penalised accordingly. All references are from the prescribed text: Belch, G.E. & Belch, M.A. (2009) Advertising and Promotion: an Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. 8 th edition. Irwin: McGraw Hill. Read the HAVAIANAS CASE STUDY attached. You have been appointed as the Brand Manager for Havaianas in your home country (South Africa, Zimbabwe or Namibia, etc.) and wish to strengthen the brand and begin generating profit over the next 12-month period. Until now, the brand has been sold at a few exclusive shoe stores only and has received little marketing support. You are required to write an integrated marketing communications strategy for your brand under the following subheadings: QUESTION 1 [15] Target market (Chapter 2) You are to consider who your primary and secondary targets would be and to give detailed demographic and psychographic profiles. QUESTION 2 [25] Advertising and Media Agencies and Specialised Services (Chapter 3) You are required to discuss whether or not you would use advertising, media and other specialised agencies or services. Justify why. Also discuss how you would ensure positive and productive relationships with any companies you intend working with.

3 Page 3 of 6 QUESTION 3 [15] Communications Strategy (Chapter 5) Use the Foote Cone and Belding Model (p. 164) to explain which communications strategy you believe would be most appropriate for your brand. Fully justify your recommendations. QUESTION 4 [10] Communication Objectives (Chapter 7) Develop specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and time-related IMC objectives for the strategy to be implemented over the next year. QUESTION 5 [15] Message Appeals (Chapter 6) Discuss which message appeals you will use for the brand. Explain why you believe these appeals to be effective and how you could implement them creatively. QUESTION 6 [10] Celebrity Appeal (Chapter 6) It has been suggested that you use a local celebrity (or celebrities) to improve the awareness level and appeal of the brand in your country. Explain how you would choose an appropriate celebrity and give practical examples of your choice/s. PRESENTATION [10] ASSIGNMENT TOTAL: 100

4 Page 4 of 6 CASE STUDY Havaianas imprints by Barry Silverstein August 4, 2008 issue Some products are so ubiquitous consumers forget the original brand with which they are associated. This is particularly true in the fashion world. Jeans, for example, revolutionized the youth culture. While jeans were invented by Levi Strauss, few people who purchase jeans today remember or care that Levi s was the first manufacturer of jeans. Levi s still makes them, but so do many other competitors. The story of the Havaianas brand and flip-flops is equally compelling. Havaianas, was keen to differentiate itself from the perception of being a flip-flop brand. Flip-flops were considered cheap and shoddy. But time has changed all of that. Apparently, not even Havaianas could have predicted the extent to which the image of flipflops would change over the past few years. Somehow this non-shoe became a sensation, setting the footwear industry squarely on its head. The flip-flop enjoys such notoriety that it has become the center of promotional campaigns. In 2005, for example, Old Navy (an American clothing retailer) celebrated the switch to Daylight Savings as The First Official Day of Flip-Flops. At the same time, Old Navy kicked off its Top Flip-Flop Model Contest, a national search for America s most beautiful feet. The grand prize included 365 pairs of flip-flops. In April 2008, Air New Zealand launched a Flip My Flop campaign to promote its non-stop service from Los Angeles to London s Heathrow Airport. According to Roger Poulton, Air New Zealand s vice president, Americas, We are using the flip-flop as an iconic symbol that resonates among LA residents, but is just odd enough to keep Londoners on their feet. Plus, we re giving the popular footwear a little personality as only Air New Zealand can! The campaign included unique flip-flops created by celebrities and designers, as well as an ad showing a British guardsman wearing flip-flops instead of boots. The flip-flop has taken on a life of its own, becoming a kind of generic super-brand. Today s flip-flop-seeking consumer can buy everything from promotional flip-flops imprinted with company logos or university names, to FitFlops, the new UK fashion-fitness version, to PechPlatinum, exclusive flip-flops made of crocodile skin that sell for US$ 400 a pair. It s a wonder how any brand even begins to compete in this multi-faceted footwear category. But there is one brand that manages to stay on solid ground: Havaianas the Coca-Cola of flip-flops.

5 Page 5 of 6 Havaianas, which means Hawaiians in Portuguese, are manufactured by Brazilian company Sao Paulo Alpargatas S.A. In 1907, simple sandals called Alpargatas were worn by coffee farmers in Brazil. The company says its Havaianas were inspired by Japanese woven flip-flops known as zoris, but flip-flops technically a type of thong sandal are actually thousands of years old. In 1962, Alpargatas began to produce its version of zoris in quantity, using a secret rubber recipe. Since the product s introduction, 2.2 billion pairs of Havaianas have been produced and sold throughout the world, according to the company. If the sandals were laid end to end, they would encircle the globe 50 times. That s a lot of flip-flops. Today, despite the countless knock-offs and sustained popularity of flip-flops, Havaianas continues to dominate the worldwide market, with market share as high as 10 percent by some estimates. One reason is that Havaianas, unlike cheap competitors, are soft, comfortable, and durable. But just as important, Havaianas have developed what amounts to a cult following. When Alpargatas began exporting them in 2001, Havaianas popularity skyrocketed. While the United States is not the sole driver of footwear fashion, acceptance of a brand by American consumers and celebrities tends to fuel its growth. Happily for Alpargatas, that s exactly what happened with Havaianas. The sandals began showing up on the feet of movie stars and rock stars, then appearing on fashion runways. The company carefully cultivated the celebrity market by producing special edition Havaianas just for them. Oscar gift basket sandals were awarded to Oscar nominees during the Academy Awards. The flip-flops were handstitched and encrusted with Swarovski Crystal. Equally glitzy sandals were created as a backstage gift for stars who appeared at the Grammy Awards. Of course, success didn t happen overnight. In the mid- 1990s, hurt by a sales and profit downturn, Alpargatas introduced a new sandal called Havaianas TOP, which the beautiful people found appealing. A subsequent advertising campaign, positioning Havaianas as an elegant and unique product, gave the brand a needed boost. By 2000, some of the world s top celebrities were seen sporting the sandals, and the brand has been climbing ever since. Currently, about five pairs of Havaianas are produced each second. About 22 million pairs are exported each year. Still, Havaianas will always face competition, both from low-end copycats and from companies anxious to capitalize on the high-end flip-flop frenzy. The previously mentioned PechPlatinum crocodile flip-flops are the product of a company called PecheBlu, which says it is making sports flip-flops, more athletic sandals that are also stylish. The company calls its PechPlatinums the most expensive flip-flops in the world. But crocodile flip-flops are pretty tame, compared with the novel flip-flops created by Reef. This is a company that clearly believes flip-floppers are focused on having a good time. Reef offers a number of models just for fun, including one that has a built-in bottle opener in the

6 Page 6 of 6 sole, and another that features an encapsulated polyurethane canteen heel so you can take a swig from your flip-flop. There seems to be no end in sight to variations on the flip-flop theme. This is a journey Havaianas has taken, and will continue to take, one step at a time.