“As You Wish”

Rachelle Gillard
Becca Perry
Marissa Pawlak
Samantha Meyer
 Kathleen Sperling
 Originated in Harrisburg, IL then expanded to
Carterville, IL
 Store Offerings
 Bridal gowns
 Bridesmaid/Floral girl attire
 Shoes
 Accessories
 Men’s tuxedo
 Prom dresses & accessories
 The Problem
 Lack of awareness of Prom dresses

 Kathleen’s Competitors

 Joyce’s Bridal Boutique

 Christine’s Bridal

 Mr. Tuxedo & Bridal

 S.W.O.T. Analysis

 Strengths
 Full service bridal boutique
(dresses, hair, & nails)
 Reasonably priced prom dresses
 Only bridal boutique in Southern Illinois that carry
David Tutera gowns
 Weaknesses
 Don’t offer in store alterations (referrals)
 Small selection compared to other bridal boutiques
 Don’t offer in store alterations (referrals)
 S.W.O.T. Analysis
 Opportunities
 Upcoming Prom season
 Expand selection of prom dresses
 Move store to populated location
(suggestion: near a mall)

 Threats
 Other bridal boutiques with greater selections:

 Joyce’s Boutique
 Mr. Tuxedo
 Macy’s
 Dillard’s
 Objective
 Goal
 To raise awareness and traffic flow of the Prom
department at Kathleen’s Bridal in Carterville, IL.
 Benchmark
 The prom department is currently slow, during last
prom season, only 153 dresses total were sold.
 Timeframe
 Since Prom is seasonal, time is crucial, December 1st
2012-May 1st 2013.
 Target Market
 Aimed towards teenage girls ages 15-18

 Promote Kathleen’s Bridal to the general public

 Students’ Parents
 They are the ones willing to spend the appropriate
amount of money on prom dresses and/or
accessories

 Focused on reaching high school girls around

Jackson and Williamson County
 Mainly the towns of Carterville and Carbondale, Illinois
as well as other surrounding towns.
Age 18 18 17 18 17 18
Long or Short
Dresses
Long Long Long Long Short Short
Friends have impact
on where to
No No No No Yes Yes
purchase dress
Prom dress price
range
<$300 None <$500 <$400 <$400 <$350
Shop locally or out
Locally Online Both Both Out of town Out of town
of town

None Online None Anne’s Bridal Mr. Tuxedo Joyce’s

Favorite prom store
Wanting local shops
to market their
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
stores more
Interested in sales
alerts
Yes Yes Yes No No Yes
Attention grabbers
of stores
Ads Ads Images Images Images Ads/images

Big or small store

Either Either Big Big Either Either
No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Interested in pre-
prom promotional
events

Regular or sale price

Regular Sale Sale Regular Sale Sale
Order dress or buy
in store
Order Order In store Both In store In store
Multiple Multiple Multiple Multiple One store multiple
Purchasing dress &
accessories in one
store or multiple
 Purchasing Habits
 According to Seventeen Magazine’s Spending Survey in
2009, teens are spending money on products to look
good
 Nearly three-quarters are spending the same or more this
year on either:
 cosmetics (70%)
 clothing (72%)
 hair products (71%)
 skin care (74%)

 Demographics
 These next two charts show what percentage of the
population is our target market for Carbondale and
Carterville, of which both are prime locations
Age:
Carbondale, IL
% of Males % of All % of Females % of All % of All

0-9 years 10.2% 5.2% 10.4% 5.1% 10.3%

10-19 years 11.8% 6.1% 11.8% 5.7% 11.8%

Age: Carterville, IL

% of Males % of All % of Females % of All % of All

0-9 years 13.7% 6.6% 12.9% 6.6% 13.3%

10-19 years 15.3% 7.4% 14.1% 7.3% 14.7%

 Current Resources Available used by Kathleen
 Promotional Website
 Store : http://www.kathleensbridal.net/
 Radio Air
 Receive air time one weekend, once a month
 $325/30 Ads
 Newspaper
 Kathleen has 1 article every month through Mt. Vernon
Publishing
 Price: $160/month
 E-mailing list to current clientele
 The mailing list is for both prospective & current
customers
 Customers who make a purchase at Kathleen’s have
the option of getting on the Mailing List for future
updates of sales
 Package/Branding
1. Custom “Kathleen’s” shirt give away with dress
purchase (Colorful, Kathleen’s shop name and address
printed on the back)

2. “Kathleen's” pens to give away in store/events

3. Update online website to make it more
appealing and eye catching (attract new customers
and keep existing customers aware of new dresses and
accessories)
4. Hire a local photographer to take professional
photos to include on website as well as Flickr
and Tumblr accounts
 Sales Promotion
1. Create your own Referral Program by offering a
discount or coupon to any prom customers that
recommend their friends to order as well
2. Create mobile promotions (send mass texts to current
customers with latest sales)
3. Have a Mother/Daughter prom sale
4. Work with a local tanning salon to offer a 10%
discount on dresses
5. Align a sales event with a local charity
6. Have scratch off giveaways for 5, 10, 15 or 20%
off
 Public Relations

1. Network with other businesses to do work (Ex:

Collaborate with thrift stores such as “Used Not Abused”)
2. Booth at Herrinfest/Apple Festival
3. Put promotional flyers on cars at high school
games
4. Encourage customers to either email or post on
a Facebook page feedback about their shopping
experience
 Advertising
1. Work with CIL FM Radio Station to promote
Kathleen’s during the upcoming prom season

2. Create magnetic car detailing

3. Create a Southern Illinois TV commercial

4. Make a LinkedIn account

5. Have a float in local parades

 “As You Wish” came up with promotional ideas
that aim towards our target market of high
school girls and their parents

 Since there is not much revenue currently being

made during prom season, we used ideas that
were very cost efficient while helping the
promotion process of Kathleen’s Bridal

 An inspiration for these ideas was to get

Kathleen’s more involved in local
events/functions and to get the stores name
more recognized