Old Navy attempts re-positioning
According to Ad-age's interview with VP of marketing, Michael Cape, about revamping Old-Navy's image. While many people, myself included, enjoyed their previous "family friendly,"often campy campaigns, it's easy to notice that they may not have been reaching out to the right audience. Over half of the clothing in old navy is geared towards young women, so advertising to everyone could be seen as a bit of a waste.
So, while Old-Navy continues to court parents via circulars, radio, and direct mail, this spring their Television and online advertising will be aimed directly at twenty-somethings. When the campaign begins of February 14th, they will reveal a new logo and a new, "sexier" image. Cape claims that this new campaign will be fully integrated, meaning it will be seen in-store as well as in television and print.
Mr. Cape had this to say about their previous tactics, "We were trying to be all things to all people before," he said. "We really need to resonate with who we're going after." While this is true, I believe Old-Navy is taking quite a risk by changing their tactics. I've never shopped at Old Navy much. Besides the fact that their pants never fit me and seem tailor made for Amazon women who are eight feet tall, the clothes are simply more conservative than what I would wear. Their image does not equate to "fashionable." It is, however, synonymous with "affordable," at least in my mind. It's clear they're trying to seem more fashion-forward to try and capture a larger part of the market. But if their new customers are slow in recognizing this, and they lose the "family" aspect by focusing too much on sex-appeal, they could end up doing real damage.
here's the link: http://adage.com/article?article_id=124924
Labels: advertising, old-navy, re-positioning
posted by cynthia @ 6:20 PM
5 Comments
5 Comments:
I agree that it is a risk for Old navy to take on a new "trendy" approach, but I think that it could have positive results. While it's true that they aren't seen as a very fashion forward clothing company, they are positioned in my mind as a place to go for the basics. Simple and affordable. But those qualities can only get you so far. Target is also a more affordable place to buy clothing but yet they have trendier options along with the basics to fill any woman's closet. Old Navy could be sexifying their image a bit to compete with Target's Isaac Mizrahi, GO Designers and Liz Lange clothing lines that directly appeal to those twenty-somethings. I think it might be time for Old Navy to try a more fashionable approach. Who knows! They might hit right on target.
It is a big risk for Old Navy. But then again it wasn't a sudden change. They had been incorporating more and more business type clothing into the women's section over the past months or ever year or two. But I think they are doing this to keep up with everyone else. They are going where the market seems to be heading. This does make sense because us 20 something women will soon be looking for that life-long career or just started and need to look the part. This is where those trendier stores have the edge on Old Navy.
This could be a very risky step for Old Navy. The extent to which Old Navy is adding sex appeal their image may be too extreme. They've added completely new sections to the website which directly compete with the sex appeal of sites such as Abercrombie&Fitch's. Even though Old Navy is trying to target a younger and more trendy audience, I feel like their new approach will turn away a lot of their loyal customers. Old Navy is known as a great place for both family clothing and fun, colorful summer wear. This new approach may both turn away families due to their more seductive image, and turn away the young adults who chose Old Navy because they do not have a traditional trendy image. This new way of branding Old Navy might pay off in the end, but it could also prove to be too risky a move for the company.
As I have gotten older, the less I have been inclined to shop at Old Navy. I can say I have recognized that over the last couple of years their style has began to slowly change, and shift toward a younger, "sexier" style. Unfortunately, I do know that a lot of parents would shop for their children's clothing because of the unbeatable price and wide selection. I cannot complain because if they are going to shirt their audience to the young woman, I may begin to shop there again. On the downside, they probably are losing out on business because of the wide selection they used to have for everyone in the family. Who knows maybe they will increase their sales rather than lose out.
Just this week I started seeing the new ads for the "revamped" Old Navy. And while I notice the more "trendy" apparel featured in the commercial, it wasn't very appealing to me because it just seemed too dull. There wasn't any WOW factor to the new style.
I just wonder if they have any other plans to draw new and old customers in.
I, myself used to shop there in the beginning of high school but gradually found myself shopping in other stores. I also asked my friend, another one time shopper, what he thought about the new look and styles and he said that he wasn't sure what he thought. He too said that he "grew out of" the styles they used to offer but didn't know what to make of the new campaigns because there was no real pull. I think it may take more time and creative energy on the company's part to really spread the word and reel people in.
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