MARKETING PLAN

Marketing Plan

Marketing plan

Executive summary

Created by two avid surfers, Billabong is a brand designed by surfers, for surfers. In 1973, Billabong offered little more than a small range of surf wear: mainly surfboards and board shorts. But today, Billabong is a brand that encompasses the Australian surf culture by offering products that cater not only for the surfer inside many of us, but for fashion and lifestyle needs.

Situational Analysis

Billabong is a brand that offers numerous products designed to accommodate numerous lifestyles. Included in their extensive range are products designed for surfers, general beach goers, skateboarders and the fashion conscious. Comprehensive characteristics of this market are difficult to pinpoint, however, it is the assumption that the majority of consumers are males and females aged between 12 and 35 years of age.

Consumer Need: Social Image Need - the most important need satisfied by Billabong

Currently Sold

In the mid 1980's, just over ten years since the birth of Billabong, the successes of the small Australian brand were being recognised world wide and Billabong products were in high demand. This led to the export of Billabong products to the global market with countries such as the USA, Japan, New Zealand and Europe first in line. Today, the product range available extends as far as 2200 lines in Australia, 1300 lines in the US and many more in over 60 other countries. It is not unusual that the greatest distribution of Billabong products is to coastal destinations. However, countries locked by land are given the opportunity to live the Billabong experience with products available on-line and in assorted stores around the world.

Price Range

Billabong products appear at the higher end of the price spectrum for the overall market, and are moderately to high priced as compared to their surf brand competitors. Some examples of how Billabong measure in the market are illustrated below:

Product

Billabong Prices

Competitors Prices

Girls Thongs: $17.95

Mermaid Sister - $19.95

Target $4.00

Men's Jeans:

$120.00

Quiksilver $139.95

Jeanswest $65.00

Beach Towel:

$69.95

Aztec Rose - $39.95

Bonds $29.95

Product Extension

Billabong Skinwear: a Skin-care range including sunscreen, lip-balm and after sun-gel. This range meets the highest Australian standards in sun protection whilst also providing the essential style that Australians have come to know and expect from Billabong products.

The target audience for any given product or service is the group of people that advertisers wish to attract through their marketing activities. The process of identifying and defining an audience leads to assessing priorities. For instance, a firm may identify a sizably large group or market to be potential consumers. However, it is likely to be financially unsound to attempt to target all consumers within the group. A target audience may be established by asking questions such as:

Which audience is large enough to be a significant target?

Which audience is a priority in terms of the brand's product?

Which audience is the target of the product's attributes and benefits?

A target audience may be defined by their age, gender, family status, lifestyle, interests or a combination of these ...