Running head: JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
JC Penney IMC Plan
Team Penney Pinchers (JCP 1)
April Alexander, Daniel Ritchie, Tracy Weispfenning
MKTG-343 – Integrated Marketing Communications
Metropolitan State University
Katryna Johnson, PhD.
1
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Executive Summary
“With JC Penney, you can have it all.” The premise of our IMC plan is the great value
that all customers, of any age can benefit from by shopping at JC Penney. Customers can find
quality products that won’t bankrupt them, and instead will leave them with a little extra money
that they can spend on enjoying a quality life.
With the wide variety of products sold at JC Penney, the target market is very broad in
terms of age. Instead, our target market is made up of consumers with an average household
income of $30,000 to $60,000 USD. This speaks to the consumers that make up our target
market because they have limited income, but still want to be able to afford other things that
make life more enjoyable.
Using various types of media, JCP will launch a multi-generational campaign that will
appeal to each age group of our target market while maintaining a consistent look and message
using different broadcast media, sales promotions and outdoor media. The message will
communicate the fact that buying apparel and home goods at JC Penney will not only result in
quality (trendy, comfortable, etc. depending on the age group the ad is targeting) products, but
will save the consumer enough money to spend on something they enjoy (i.e. a concert, vacation,
throwing an impressive dinner party, etc.). The campaign will also include the heavy use of
coupons (both print and mobile) and online and mobile shopping.
JCP will evaluate our promotions, by using various types of social media use as well as
surveys customers will receive on their receipts for a coupon upon completion of the survey that
rewards our customers for their time and feedback. Using social media will help determine our
promotional status via the most popular social media sites. We will determine our message
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popularity based on comments, likes, and shares that are JCP social media site followers post
about our promotions/company.
Situation Analysis
In recent years, leading retail giant, JC Penney, has been losing market share to its
competitors due to radical changes to the marketing strategy, implemented by former CEO, Ron
Johnson. This situation analysis attempts to provide the foundation for a new integrated
marketing communications plan, consisting of analyses of the industry, the company’s
competitors and core customers, and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as well
as a brief company history and description of the product and brand. The paper ends with an
evaluation of past and current promotion programs.
Industry Analysis
In the retail industry, advanced technology has become a major trend and the dynamic
nature of technology has also make the retail industry far more competitive than ever before.
Brick and mortar retailers are finding it more difficult to compete in the market and will need to
adapt to less brick and mortars and focus more on e-commerce in order to stay afloat (“Retail
Industry 2020,” 2012). With the invention of smart phones, consumers are practicing a tactic
known as “show-rooming” in which they compare prices via their smart phones. Retailers must
be able to offer a price matching deal or provide other incentives for the consumer to purchase
their products. Other focuses in the retail industries rely on current trends and examining what
their consumers want. Retailers must listen to the voice of the customer and focus on data
mining and collection in order to analyze certain demographics that will be profitable to their
stores. As demographics such as income levels, regions, age and gender between shopper
segments become wider, retailers must not focus on a one size fits all approach, but rather offer
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more unconventional shopper experiences and niche product offerings that will differentiate
from the other competitors (“Retail Industry 2020,” 2012).
Globalization and emerging markets also plays a major role in retail. In order to increase
future growth, retailers must elect to distribute their products on a global level while still
operating locally (“Retail Industry 2020,” 2012). Macro-environmental factors shape how
companies do business because these companies cannot influence these massive factors
(Treadwell, n.d.). Some of these factors include technology, as explained above, is a major
influence on how well companies do within the retail industry because of bar-coding, P.O.S.
systems, and overall convenience for the consumers to shop online. Other factors include the
government and how certain policies can affect the industry because of government loans and
incentives they offer to businesses which can lower prices and increase the amounts of retail
businesses. The economic factors and how much disposable/discretionary income consumers
have to spend. And, social factors that include selling environmentally safe products, going
green, and major trends within the industry (Treadwell, n.d.).
Company Background
James Cash Penney, along with two partners, started The Golden Rule in 1902 in
Kemmerer, Wyoming as a dry goods retailer. The company’s original mission statement was
based on the principle of the Golden Rule, “Do unto others what you would have done unto you”
(JC Penney Company, Inc., 2014). In 1907, Penney bought out the partners and in 1913
incorporated the store as J.C. Penney Company, Inc. In 1917, the company had 175 stores, $14
million USD in sales, and Penney became chairman of the board (Pederson, 2007, para. 6).
According to the company’s 2010 investor fact book, JC Penney was listed on the New
York Stock Exchange in 1929. JC Penney pioneered the credit sales in the 1950’s and reached
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$1 billion in sales for the first time. 1963 brought the introduction of the catalog to consumers
and its sales surpassed $1 billion USD in 1979. In 1972, the company ran its first national
television advertisement. E-commerce was introduced in 1994 in the form of jcp.com and by
2005 online sales exceeded $1 billion (JC Penney Company, Inc., 2014, p. 2).
Mike Ullman joined JC Penney in 2004 as chief executive officer and by 2010, the
company was operating over 1,100 stores nationwide. That same year, the company enhanced
their digital presence by introducing the mobile site m.jcp.com, mobile coupons, rewards for
checking in on Facebook, and mobile access to loyalty program rewards (JC Penney Company,
Inc., 2014, p. 2).
In November 2011, Ron Johnson was hired as chief executive officer and began making
radical changes to the company’s marketing strategy. He initiated the redesign of the company
logo and introduced everyday low prices in place of discounts and coupons. The company’s
revenues dropped rapidly and Ron Johnson was fired in April 2013. Mike Ullman returned to
the company as Johnson’s replacement and immediately introduced a turnaround strategy. He
reintroduced discounts and coupons and focused on regaining the company’s loyal customers
with apologetic advertisements.
JC Penney’s market share was calculated using 2012 data at 7.1 percent. The company
experienced a 24.8 percent loss in revenue for the fiscal year that ended in February of 2013 (JC
Penney Company, Inc., 2013a, p. 19). According to the company’s 2012 annual report, total net
sales are as follows:
Year
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
Total Net Sales
$12.99 B
$17.26 B
$17.76 B
$17.56 B
$18.49
Percent
Increase/Decrease
(24.8)%
(2.8)%
1.2%
(5.0)%
(6.9)%
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(JC Penney Company, Inc., 2013a, p. 19)
Product/Brand Information
JC Penney offers a wide variety of products including apparel, footwear, and accessories
for the entire family, home furnishings and décor, and jewelry. The company also provides
services such as styling salon, optical, portrait photography, and decorating. The company’s
merchandise mix of total net sales in 2013 was family apparel and accessories with 69 percent,
home with 12 percent, footwear and fine jewelry with seven percent each, and services with five
percent (JC Penney Company, Inc., 2013a, p. 3).
JC Penney sells well-known national brands such as Lee, KitchenAid, and Dockers,
exclusive brands like Liz Claiborne and Bisou Bisou, and private brands like St. John’s Bay and
JCP home. The company has also opened up “shops within a shop” for brands like Levi’s, The
Original Arizona Jean Company, Disney, and Sephora (JC Penney Company, Inc., 2013a).
JC Penney offers its customers the benefit of a one-stop shop with not only a wide variety
of products, but also a diverse selection of brand names. Shoppers can find products for the
entire family, the home, and make use of the services in one convenient location. As a benefit to
the company, different types of consumers are drawn into the store. Once these consumers are
inside, the company hopes that accidental exposure to the array of product offerings will increase
the average dollar amount of sales (JC Penney Company, Inc., 2014b).
Another key benefit of shopping at JC Penney is its ability to cater to customers of
different income levels by stocking a multitude of brands. The company is able to offer similar
products at different price points, attracting a broader customer base (JC Penney Company, Inc.,
2014b).
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JC Penney is currently engaging in rebuilding its brand, but with no clear strategy,
customers are confused as to what the brand represents. Advertising is focused on
apologizing to alienated customers and asking them to come back and give the company
another chance. The move back to the company’s former strategy has once again left
customers confused, and the company with an ill-defined brand image (Stone, 2013).
Customer Analysis
JC Penney’s customer base is nearly outdated and over half of their consumers includes
older women around the ages of 55 and older and consumers with a smaller annual income of
$35,000 (Stock, 2013). This is a problem for JC Penney because as their customers get older
their revenue will decrease unless they attract younger consumers. Only about 20 percent of
JCP’s consumers are 35 years of age or younger (Stock, 2013). Data from JC Penney’s 2012
annual report (2013a) suggests that the majority of the company’s customers are women
with 36 percent of total net sales from women’s apparel and accessories. One reason for this
current customer base is because of what brands and styles JCP sells such as St. John’s Bay,
Arizona, Dockers, Liz Claiborne, Gloria Vanderbilt, and an array of home products that tailor to
mostly women focusing on their homes, among many other products. Because of these brands,
JCP’s customers are usually brand loyalists and make their purchase decision based on this
criterion. One important fact is that the customers of JC Penney are very loyal and don’t like
change.
In the recent hire and fire of CEO Ron Johnson, this stirred a controversy with the loyal
customers of JC Penney. After doing away with coupons and coming up with a campaign of
“everyday low prices” JC Penney was losing customers drastically, but recently JCP has been
taking steps to fix their mistakes and focus on their customers by apologizing and reissuing the
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coupons (Gillian, 2013). This example shows the importance of which JCP’s customers are and
illustrates that they are loyal, but bull-headed when it comes to change. JCP customers are also
very sensitive to price and this coincides with income level of the target market (Stock, 2013).
The current customers don’t realize that new techniques need to happen in order to stay afloat,
but the main focus is to incorporate new styles with old styles in order to keep both sets of genres
happy and keep coming back.
Competition
According to a MarketLine report (2013c), top direct competitors for J.C. Penney are
Sears, Roebuck and Co., and Kohl’s Corporation (p. 25). The company also indirectly competes
with discount department stores Target Corporation and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the high-end
retailers Macy’s and Bloomingdales, and the electronics and small appliance retailer, Best Buy
Co, Inc. (MarketLine, 2013c, p. 25).
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation
with a similar product offering as that of JC Penney, as well as other home and garden tools,
equipment, and appliances. The company reported total revenues of $20,977 million USD in
2013, down 3.1% from 2011 (MarketLine, 2013b, p. 17). With total industry sales of $174.7
billion USD in 2013 (Asaeda, n.d.), Sears’s market share is 12%.
Sears’s core customers have traditionally consisted of older working-class shoppers
(Olson, 2012, para. 13), but the company has been shifting the focus to younger, trendy
consumers. This has resulted in the introduction of clothing lines such as the Kardashian
Kollection, participation in the popular concert Jingle Ball, and the heavy use of online and
mobile shopping.
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In an effort to reposition the company as a leading “integrated retailer,” current marketing
strategies are focused on integrating technology into the retail experience in order to seamlessly
bring the in-store, online, and mobile experiences together (“Sears' digital,” 2013). The
objective is to keep up with changing consumer shopping habits and “boost sales by letting
customers shop whenever, wherever and however they want” (Sweeney, 2013, para. 4).
Sears employs a variety of promotional tools including, advertising via traditional media,
with the “This is Sears” campaign; sales promotions through their loyalty program, Shop Your
Way that “offers exclusive rewards, personalized deals, product reviews, and member coupons”
(“Get rewarded,” 2014, para. 11); and direct marketing utilizing circulars, targeted emails, and
the company’s website. Public relations efforts include volunteerism, charitable donations,
and programs that allow customers to redeemed points for merchandise in stores and
online at Sears and Kmart (“Get rewarded,” 2014).
Kohl’s Corporation
Kohl’s Corporation is a department store operating in the U.S. with similar offerings to
those of JC Penney. The company reported revenues of $18,804 million USD in 2012, up 2.2%
from 2011 (MarketLine, 2012a, p. 16). Kohl’s has not yet reported revenues for 2013, but 2012
data gives Kohl’s a market share of 10.3%.
According to a 2012 consumer survey performed by BIGInsights (Carmichael, 2012), the
average Kohl’s customer is a married woman, between the ages of 35 and 54, with an average
household income of $50,000 to $74,999 USD. Kohl’s strives to position itself as a “familyfocused, value-oriented specialty department store” (Kohl’s Corporation, n.d., Mission
Statement). Current marketing efforts are focused on creating an omni-channel experience
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through a strong online and mobile presence, and delivering a broader, less targeted message
about value and savings for all customers (Zmuda, 2013).
Promotional plans for advertising include “significantly increasing TV and digital
investment, while focusing on targeting moms, particularly in the 35- to 54-year-old age group”
(Zmuda, 2013, para. 2). Sales promotions include periodic events during which customers earn
Kohl’s Cash that can be spent at a later date, discounted prices throughout the store, and
exclusive discounts offered to Kohl’s credit cardholders. The company’s direct marketing
efforts consist of circulars, email notifications, and the company’s website. Public relations
efforts are focused on children’s health, education, breast cancer awareness, and environmental
causes through the Kohl’s Cares initiative.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths


Differentiation through private brands
Well-recognized name
Opportunities



S&P Positive 2014 forecast
Increased online shopping activity
Increased desire for integrated retail
experiences
Weaknesses


Confusing pricing strategy
Alienated customers through dramatic
changes
Threats


Intense competition
Competitors’ promotional activities
Strengths
JC Penney has introduced several well-recognized private brands, such as Liz Claiborne,
The Original Arizona Jean Company, and St. John’s Bay in apparel, and JC Penney Home
Collection in home décor. These brands, found exclusively at JC Penney, enable the company to
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distinguish itself from its competitors, while maintaining a core customer base that seeks out the
private brands.
JC Penney has been a retailer for over 100 years and, despite its recent financial trouble,
is a well-known brand. (Business, 2014)
Weaknesses
In an attempt to boost sales, the company changed its pricing strategy. Doing away with
coupons and implementing “fair and square” pricing confused the company’s core customers,
alienating a large number of them. (Olenski, 2014)
The company has reintroduced the use of coupons and deep discounts, but with so many
recent changes, customers are still confused about the brand’s image.
Opportunities
Standard & Poor’s outlook is neutral for the department store industry, but does expect
some improvement for 2014 due to an improving labor market and increased wealth (Asaeda,
2014).
Increased online shopping activity gives retailers with a strong online and mobile
presence an advantage over those without. Customers are increasingly expecting a fully
integrated shopping experience with little to no distinction between online, mobile, and in-store
shopping. Introducing technology to the in-store experience, offering a ship-to-store option, and
maintaining a user-friendly website and mobile experience can give stores a competitive
advantage over traditional brick-and-mortar stores and online-only retailers.
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Threats
The retail industry is fiercely competitive, with the top advertisers spending hundreds of
millions of dollars. JC Penney does not have the financial resources some of its competitors do,
limiting the extent of the company’s promotional activity. (Olenski, 2014)
Current/Past Promotion Programs
Under former CEO Ron Johnson, the company moved away from the heavy use of
discounts and coupons to “Fair and Square” pricing with three kinds of pricing: everyday low
prices, month-long values, and best price Fridays that featured the lowest prices on the first and
third Fridays of the month.
To pave the way for the new pricing strategy, JC Penney launched the “Enough is
Enough” campaign. The company ran commercials depicting frustrated shoppers screaming at
coupons, door-buster sales, and other sales gimmicks. An invitation for viewers to visit the
company on Facebook to measure their level of frustration followed the tag line “Enough is
Enough.” (Olenski, 2014)
In February 2012, JC Penney launched the “Fair and Square” advertising campaign.
(Olenski, 2014) The ads were intended to educate customers on the new pricing strategy. Print
ads detailed the different kinds of pricing and Ellen DeGeneres was brought on as spokeswoman.
The comedian was featured in humorous television commercials making fun of the 99-cent
pricing, coupons, and return policies that were part of the company’s past strategy. The
campaign confused and alienated JC Penney’s core customers. A survey by Morgan Stanley
(Olenski, 2012) reported, “JCP shoppers find ‘Best Prices’ hard to understand, difficult to
compare to other prices (both non-sale and deal), and low value for money” (para. 9).
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With the return of Mike Ullman came the return of sales and coupons. The company ran
television commercials that admitted to mistakes made and lessons learned, and told customers
that JC Penney was listening to them and asked them to come back.
In October 2013, JC Penney announced that it partnered with Shopkick, a popular
shopping app that rewards customers for walking into stores (JC Penney, 2013b). According to
the press release, the app also gives customers the capability to:

Browse look books with links to the items at jcp.com

“Like” favorite items and receive reminders for these items when walking into the
store

Save items in personalized look books

Connect with other members with similar tastes and browse their look books (JC
Penney, 2013b)
Partnering with Shopkick was a strategic move to technologically enhance the in-store
experience, while increasing the store’s foot-traffic.
JC Penney recently launched a public relations campaign to help raise money for the U.S.
Olympic Committee by encouraging customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar.
The commercial promoting the campaign features C. Black from Blackstreet performing a
remake of the group’s song “No Diggity” as “Go Ligety” for Ted Ligety, the U.S. alpine skier.
The spot was well received and an article in Adweek called it an “extremely random but also
sort-of-genius concept” (Bazilian, 2014, para. 2).
The current campaign employs the slogan “JC Penney. When it fits, you feel it.” The
commercial features men and women of different ages, races, and body shapes looking happy
and confident in their JC Penney clothing. The ad alludes to the quality of the clothing with the
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voice-over, “When it feels so right you wear it again and again and again” (as cited in Zmuda,
2014, para. 5). The ad is said to be part of a larger campaign that will be revealed this spring.
As a direct marketing effort, JC Penney sends daily e-mails with information about sales
promotions and exclusive deals to customers that have “opted-in” to this service. The e-mails
often promote multiple sales in each department, as well as current storewide sales.
JC Penney’s strategy remains unclear. The message, “When it fits, you feel it,” could be
said about any of the company’s competitors and does not effectively communicate a unique
sales proposition. The vague tagline and cluttered e-mails with an unnecessary amount of sales
promotions, serve to further confuse customers and fail at communicating a clear message.
Integrating technology into the in-store experience through the use of Shopkick is a step
in the right direction. However, JC Penney does little to promote the partnership.
Positioning and the Big Idea
JC Penney has been criticized a lot lately for the changes that the company has been
making in order to attract a younger, more trendy customer base. Popular brands were cut from
inventory to make way for new, trendy (yet unknown) brands. The pricing strategy that JC
Penney always employed (heavy use of coupons) was done away with and the “Fair and Square”
pricing strategy of everyday low prices was introduced.
The company’s core customer base, made up primarily of Baby Boomers, was confused
about the new pricing strategy and outraged over the elimination of coupons and favorite brands.
JC Penney is restocking some of these favorite brands and has reintroduced coupons to the
pricing strategy in an attempt to woo lost customers back to the store. However, the company
cannot rely solely on an aging customer base with, on average, a low household income.
According to Bloomberg Businessweek (2013), 29% of JC Penney’s customers make less than
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$35,000 USD. And almost half of all JC Penney customers are over 55, with only 20% under
the age of 35. JC Penney must find a way to retain (or regain) its loyal customers, while
attracting new, young consumers that will form the company’s future customer base, ensuring a
brighter future. JC Penney must focus on the positioning statement of: for the savvy, stylish
shoppers of any age looking for affordable apparel, shoes, accessories and home goods, JC
Penney is a customer-focused, forward-thinking retailer that delivers quality products, the latest
trends, and superior customer service.
Our Big Idea is, “With JC Penney, you can have it all.” The premise of our Big Idea is
the great value that all customers, of any age can benefit from by shopping at JC Penney.
Customers can find quality products that won’t bankrupt them, and instead will leave them with
a little extra money that they can spend on enjoying a quality life.
With the wide variety of products sold at JC Penney, the target market is very broad in
terms of age. Instead, our target market is made up of consumers with an average household
income of $30,000 to $60,000 USD. This speaks to the consumers that make up our target
market because they have limited income, but still want to be able to afford other things that
make life more enjoyable.
Our plan is to launch a multi-generational campaign that will appeal to each age group of
our target market while maintaining a consistent look and message. The message will
communicate the fact that buying apparel and home goods at JC Penney will not only result in
quality (trendy, comfortable, etc. depending on the age group the ad is targeting) products, but
will save the consumer enough money to spend on something they enjoy (i.e. a concert, vacation,
throwing an impressive dinner party, etc.). The campaign will also include the heavy use of
coupons (both print and mobile) and online and mobile shopping. The print coupons will appeal
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to the older, loyal customers that were enraged over their elimination from the pricing strategy.
The mobile coupons and ease of online and mobile shopping will appeal to the new, younger
consumers the company hopes to attract with this campaign.
Brief/Copy Platform
Advertising and Communication Objectives
The advertising and communication objectives for our JC Penney IMC plan is to redraw
attention to our stores and to engage new and existing customers that they can have it all when
they shop at JCP with a vas variety of different brands and styles, but most importantly at an
affordable price to suit the whole family and home.
Target Market
With the wide variety of products sold at JC Penney, the target market that we are going
to focus on is very broad in terms of age. Instead, our target market is made up of customers with
an average household income of $30,000 to $60,000 USD. We are appealing to the savvy
consumers with limited disposable income who want to have and enjoy products that will
improve their quality of life.
Advertising Strategy
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The strategy of our advertising is to reinvent the brand image of JC Penney that is related
to our customers. We will use advertising to show how the family and the home can have a total
makeover, but at an affordable price. “Having it all” means customers can purchase almost
anything for the family and the home with money saving coupons, rebates and sales that set us
apart from our competitors. Our Advertising it designed to show the “New” JCP and showcase
our modern and stylish products that are available in store or online at JCP.com.
Advertising Appeals
The appeal of our advertising is to showcase the wide variety of products that JCP offers
at an affordable price to engage our customers to shop at JCP. Since we offer many different
products in our stores for the family and the home, our advertising would make it clear that
shopping at JCP will be the best bet, because of our prices and availability of products in our
stores compared to our competitors. Having it all in the same place at the right price will ensure
that our customers are shopping at the right place and getting the best deal in town.
Execution Format
Our advertising would consist of many different advertising techniques which would
include, placing free standing inserts in Sunday newspapers. The insert would contain six pages
of individual ads, each depicting different people enjoying their purchases as well as whatever
they were able to buy with their savings (i.e. a young man at a concert). The center spread would
contain a picture of all of the models from the individual ads at a party. They would all be
dressed in JCP clothing and they would be surrounded by JCP décor and kitchenware. Ads will
also be placed in popular magazines such as People, Home Décor, and many others to attract to
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all the customers from our target market while reading their favorite magazine. We would also
use social media as ways to help advertise JCP. We would have contests of who has the best
Instagram photo, best vine video and best Pinterest boards relating to JCP and the top winner
would win gift cards for their creativity. We would also have special coupons for liking our
Facebook and Twitter pages that attracts customer to stay connected with JCP in their favorite
social media sites.
Promotional Mix
Broadcast
The objective of this campaign is to achieve a reach of 84 and a frequency level of 5 with
the proposed advertisement. The advertisement will run both on cable and network television
during primetime and daytime programing, with the advertisement being shown more heavily
during the primetime hours. In doing this, the advertisement will reach the target market of
customers with an average household income of $30,000 to $60,000 USD. Dollars spent on
television advertisements still have the most impact on what a consumer will buy with 53%.
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(Staff, 2012)
The national campaign spots featuring how the family and the home can “With JC
Penney, you can have it all.” The featured spot below shows with the money saved at JC Penney
the kids are able to play soccer and the parents are elated with their savings.
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Direct Marketing and Print Media
JCP will use multiple forms of direct marketing. We will use direct mailings, electronic
mailings, print media, and catalogs. Since JCP is targeting a wide variety of ages to shop in our
stores, we will use direct mailings to send coupons that are tailored to your previous purchases
and interests. These mailings will be also use to display current offers, such as sales and rebate
available and will be colorful to catch the eye to them appealing to avoid be tossed aside. Email
blasts will also be sent to our customers and future customers with coupon offers similar to the
direct mailings, because using email is just another way for our customers to gain access to
current deals and promotions at JCP and using coupons to reward our customers for shopping
online or in our stores.
We will also be using print media by placing free standing inserts in Sunday newspapers.
The insert would contain six pages of individual ads, each depicting different people enjoying
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their purchases as well as whatever they were able to buy with their savings (i.e. a young man at
a concert). The center spread would contain a picture of all of the models from the individual ads
at a party. They would all be dressed in JCP clothing and they would be surrounded by JCP
décor and kitchenware. Lastly we will send out catalogs that showcase the new products that are
available for purchase at JCP. The catalogs will also display different ways to decorate the home
and the season’s latest fashion. Below is an example of a print ad that would appear in magazines
like Good House Keeping, Home & Garden, Family Fun, and Parents.
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Support and Outdoor Media
JCP will be using support and Outdoor media in very traditional ways. We will be using
billboards (mobile and fixed), transit advertising, Airplane Banners, and bench advertising. We
will also use product integration and placement in popular shows and movies. JCP will create
billboards that draw attention and display the cost effectiveness of shopping at JCP and showing
they can “Have it All”. With these billboards both Mobile and fixed signs, we will also integrate
favorite celebrities wearing their favorite products form JCP and showing that the products are
high quality for the low prices. Using transit advertising, we will wrap busses and light rail cars,
with the big red logo and fun designs with “Have it All” very bold and noticeable. A more fun
and creative way to advertising is JCP will be using Airplane banners with the slogan and
company logo to make it very simple for customers to view in the sky. We will be flying these
banners in larger cities like Chicago, New York, and L.A., also over major sporting events.
Using bus benches as ways to display our logo is another way to get attention from the
customers. We will wrap the entire benches with fun designs and JCP logos.
JCP will use product placement in popular shows and movies in the near future. Having
Characters carrying JCP shopping bags and having products with JCP price tags on them
throughout the show and showing all the new stuff they purchased. Also in those shows and
movies, using product integration, we will sponsor the show and have them shopping at a local
mall and showing them wanting to go into JC Penney to shop and also purchasing items there.
These are ways to help display that JCP does have it all and everyone can shop there, because of
the low prices we offer.
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Sales Promotion – Consumer
JC Penny will be using a variety of sales promotion tools from coupons (both print and
mobile), contests, loss leaders, point-of-purchase displays, and online and mobile shopping. The
target audience of $30,000 - $60,000 objective will be measured in increased consumer demand
through increased purchase size and improved product availability. The sales promotions will
create a call-to-action for the consumers, build brand loyalty, and prompt market demand
growth. (Attribution-ShareAlike, 2014)
The combined use of a push and pull strategies will generate demand for new and
existing products. An example of a pull strategy is making customers aware of new products
introduced through point-of purchases displays and availability of coupons for those products.
An example of a push strategy is making use of the sales team and promotional tools to create
demand for a certain product like KitchenAid mixers.
Internet/Interactive promotion
Apps:
JCP application that can offer deals with a UPC scan code that one could use on their
smartphones.
 This app can offer great deals such as 10% off of anything
 We could generate a “game” within this application where it will be like a scratch-off
lottery ticket and it will be sent to your phone once a month and the consumer will be
able to choose 1 out of 3 boxes, it will make a “scratching” sound and will reveal the
prize of the month.
o These deals can include a discounted price of an item
o A buy one get one free
o Or cash back rewards
o Also this will enter you in an even bigger drawing at the end of the year
 This will promote the consumer to enter the store or go online to use their discount and
will promote an interactive connection with JCP. Once online or in stores, the consumer
will see other interactive marketing to draw their attention into a possible repeat
purchase.
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Separate Website other than JCP Home
 This website will include a way in which you can dress yourself electronically
 You can upload a picture of yourself and/or an avatar like you and your body. You can
click on the clothes offered by JCP in order to see what looks good on you.
 There will be an interactive button that you can click in order to get help on certain
trends, how to layer, or what you shouldn’t wear. You can talk to a live person or look in
the database for information
 If you want a stylist, they are also available on this interactive website for a fee and they
will be able to meet you in stores to help you dress.
 This website and the others will be link to the Facebook and Twitter pages.
Social Media
Intention:
In our plan, JCP’s primary market has a household income range of $30000-$60000 and
a focus on the more tech savvy generations who use social media. With social media sites, such
as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Vine, JCP is going to use these sites as a way to
communicate with the customers and provide deals and promotions. We will properly examine
how well these ads are working in terms of reach, coverage, and frequency by measuring their
effectiveness and using analytics provided by these sites.
Facebook:
With over 1.23 billion users that currently use Facebook (Smith G, 2014); Facebook is
the king of the social media site world. JCP will offer special discounts to Facebook users that
include daily and weekly promotions on JCP’s page and will also publish deals on the newsfeed
to make sure the customers can easily view these incentives. Other promotional discounts such
as a 10% off coupon will be sent directly to the customer by “liking” the JCP Facebook page.
Studying the effectiveness of our Facebook ads will be based off of the outcomes or our ads
posted and, we will also get help from Facebook itself. In order to track the overall effectiveness
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of these promotions via Facebook, we will be able to view how many “likes” JCP has and try to
increase this number daily. We will also analyze how many 10% coupons are being used within
our stores. We can also track comments (good or bad) and act appropriately in order to increase
customer satisfaction. Facebook has an application called Facebook Ad Manager that companies
can use to track data and measure effectiveness. JCP will also use Goggle Analytics to track the
number of referrals from Facebook. You can generate a report for the ad that is based on
advertising performance, responder demographics and conversions by impression time (Power,
2011).
Twitter:
Since Twitter has over 243 million monthly active users, it will be very important to run
ads and promotions on the news feed page (Smith G, 2014). JCP will develop the hash tag of
"#JCPHaveitall" to make it a more fun and interactive way for customers to shop and share their
experiences at JCP. With the hash tag "#JCPHaveitall" customers can tweet the hash tag to
receive tweets about current promotions and coupons available at JCP.com or in store. Coupons
can be directly downloaded to your phone to enable the customers to have instant access to the
coupons. With Twitter, we will study the effectiveness of how many followers, retweets and
favorites the page has. Software will be added at the registers to track where the customers have
gotten their coupons from. These ways provide the most effective use of Twitter by using the
Twitter community to spread the message of “#JCPHaveitall.”
Instagram:
With over 150 million users, Instagram is a very fun and creative way for customers to
show off their new purchases from JCP to their followers and also to post on Facebook and
Twitter (Smith G, 2014). JCP will display daily pictures of products and cool and unusual ways
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to use the products available at JCP. These pictures can include photos such as clothing for all
ages and genders, kitchen décor and accessories, jewelry and other products JCP provides. JCP
will also hold a contest of the top 10 best Instagram photos from customers who have purchased
items from JCP (with proof of receipt). With the same hash tag as Twitter (#JCPHaveitall)
customer can show off their items that they purchased from JCP and show the creative ways they
put outfits together or how they transformed their kitchens, bedrooms, etc. The top 10 winners
will win a $500 gift card to JCP to purchase more of their favorite affordable products, and they
will be featured on our all of our social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and
Vine). We will study the Instagram effectiveness by the number of followers our Instagram page
has and the number of likes our photos receive. We will also use the contest by how many entries
we receive from our Instagram followers.
Pinterest:
Pinterest has more than 70 million active users and also connects to Facebook. This
gives JCP a broader platform to gain customers to follow JCP on Pinterest (Smith C, 2014)
Customers will have access to ideas of how to style clothing and outfits, as well as ideas on how
to decorate their homes. JCP would use this to have customers pin creative ways that they have
used the products to show others their favorite brands, products and styles of accessories. JCP
can track and generate more website page views and increase brand awareness through repins.
Vine:
With over 40 million users and climbing fast, JCP will use Vine as a way for their
followers to uniquely display what JCP stands for them in their minds (Smith G, 2014). Vine is
an up and coming social media site that allows users to post 6 second videos pieced together in
an unlimited period of time. JCP will post 6 second videos of commercials, promotions, slogans
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
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(Have it all!) and design ideas for their followers to view. JCP will hold a contest for customers
who can make the best 6 second commercial. These commercials must include, JCP products
they have purchased (with proof of receipt) and incorporate the JCP logo within the video to
display what JCP means to them. Some of the images will be used in store promotions like in
store banner displays with the slogan “Have it all!” The top 10 Vine videos will receive a $500
gift cards and the commercials will be featured in some of our television ads, and featured on our
other social media pages to be viewed by the consumers. We will study the effectiveness of Vine
by the number of followers the JCP Vine page receives, the number of likes that our videos get
and the number of revines. We will also use the contest by the number of entries and likes and
revines of the entered videos.
Public Relations
For public relations, JCP will be using our social media sites to help release the new
information about products and sponsorships. We will track the effectiveness, by the number of
followers like or share the information we post and release. We will be partnering with Popular
talk show hosts, such as Ellen DeGeneres, Rachael Ray, and Dr. Oz to help fund their charity
foundations and give away gift cards and other items to those families in need that come on the
Ellen show, along with products that can help someone’s health or special needs that appear on
the Dr. Oz show and cooking needs and families in need of new/working kitchen products on the
Rachael Ray show. In partnering with these celebrities, it will help get the JCP name out there as
a company that is trying to help. Currently we use Ellen to help families with the costs of living,
but we want to expand more on this and use other talk shows to help more families and people
with different needs. With the overall experience and needs in the Ellen show, to the cooking and
kitchen needs on Rachael Ray, and the health needs on Dr. Oz, we want to be able to help
anyone with any need, because at JCP, we have it all!
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Charities: Building playgrounds and park clean up – Community involvement

Accept donations for customers at the checkout

JCP matches each dollar that the customer’s donate for the building of playgrounds
campaign and plus donates 50% of total donation once a goal of $500,000 is reach in
customer donations

Send out Twitter and Facebook blasts to get volunteers to come help build playgrounds
for kids in need and for park clean up with the #JCPHaveitall. And #JCPCares

Have a volunteer sign up on website 1 month before park clean up and building of
playgrounds begin – offer 10% discount on certain items for being a volunteer at these
events.

JCP with other sponsors/vendors like Nike, Carters, and OshKosh B'Gosh donate all the
tools and equipment used to build the playgrounds and for the park clean ups

Get JCP employees to volunteer their time to help build the playgrounds and clean up the
community parks

This will provide a positive image to our target market that are predominately women.
Monthly volunteer opportunities available for both employees and customers at JCP.com and
via social media sites like Facebook and Twitter
The American Heart Association – NEW CAMPAIGN – not already used. / CauseRelated marketing

The American Heart Association needs JCP’s help. With the Go Red for Women charity,
hits out target market of women and would have a positive impact in raising awareness
for this charity and disease. (American Heart Assoc. 2014).
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31
We will again, receive any donations at the check-out counters for this and possibly even
at the kiosks. On the Facebook/Twitter page we will schedule events of the American
Heart Association Heart Walk. This event is very large and we can promote this within
our stores when the walk is happening.

Customers can buy hearts and put their names on it around Valentine’s Day and we will
display these hearts all around JCP stores.
As a reference to how important charities are to JCP in the past, an article states, and “Each
month since July 2012, JCP cares has supported a new cause and invited customers to round up
their purchases to the nearest dollar to share in our fundraising efforts. Collectively, we've raised
and contributed over $23.5 million to causes that benefited communities across the country
where we all live, work and play” (JC Penney, 2014).
The use of MPR – Celebrity appearance

Create in store events to meet celebrities
o
Provide food and drink to customers
o
Meet and greet opportunities with customers and celebrity
o
Promote brand awareness with the celebrity, example Racheal Ray promoting her
cookware line, Martha Stewart or even Ellen would bring a positive image to JCP
o
Give away coupons towards purchasing the products endorsed by the celebrity
o
Have samples and product demos during the event
o
Promote events via social media blasts, in store banners, web site, word of mouth
from customers and fans of celebrity, celebrity promoting event on their own
website, social media, etc.
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Video New Release

In order to gain awareness to these particular charities and JCP’s involvement, we could
have Fox Business News air a clip in which customers can receive discounts for their
efforts to help these charities. This can bring a brighter and more comforting image of
JCP and promote a more positive brand.
Personal Selling
Training for associates will include personal selling techniques of greeting the customer
warmly and asking if the associate can direct the customer to a certain product, if the customer
wants to look on their own the associate can tell the customer where to find it. The associate will
be trained to ask qualifying questions to the customer to build customer confidence in the
associate by determining the customer’s problem and need and provide a solution. The associate
will reinforce the benefits and features of the product the consumer is looking for and handle any
objections. In the case of buying a KitchenAid mixer, the customer may object to the price and
the associate can point out that the item is on sale and can be even at a deep discount by using a
coupon. If the customer does not have a coupon the associate can excuse themselves and get the
customer the coupon that applies to that product. In closing the sale the associate can
recommend additional item that can be used with the KitchenAid mixer.
Campaign Evaluation
Advertising Media
We will study the effectiveness of our print, radio and broadcast media, by the survey
that our customers will receive on their receipt that they can take to get 5% off their next
purchase at JCP. This survey will include what/where has the customer most often seen or heard
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
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about JCP while during their daily activities, where they spend the most time, and comments of
how we are doing with our image and how we can help improve. This will also be effective for
us to determine what works best and what we should focus on more or less of. The straight
forward feedback will also help us manage our advertising in ways that is most effective for the
customer.
Support and Outdoor Media
We will study the effectiveness of our support and outdoor media by using social media
and other surveys the customers receive while shopping at JCP. We will also have customers
take pictures of their favorite advertising that JCP offers either, support (product integration, etc.)
and different types of our outdoor media to see what the most effective way customers are
noticing our promotions and advertisements. Also finding out of what we can focus more on and
less of, this will help make the customers happy and make it fun for them to receive a
discount/coupon for those picture submissions.
Social Media/ Sales promotions
We will determine the effectiveness of our social media use, by the number of likes,
shares, followers, retweets, revines, and pins our various social media sites get. Within those
sites, we will also review which specific posts receive the most of the following ways to track the
effectiveness and determine what the customers like best when it comes to different posts within
each social media site. We will also be using promotion tracking tools that can be found on the
social media sites such as Facebook. This is a great way to generate reports of actual information
about our page and posts. As far as sales promotions, we will be using the survey strategy to
really specify actual feedback from the customers and rewarding them for their feedback. We
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
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will simply ask them what promotions they have found most effective personal to them that
made them shop at JCP and what could we do to improve.
Public relations
Using public relations, we will determine the effectiveness by using our social media
sites and studying what about JCP are trending/ most popular when releasing promotions and
information about the company. Using our social media sites will help determine if our public
relations are working and effective towards the customers as well as seeing comments and
feedback from the customers. There will also be a question in our receipt survey about public
relations and how we are doing on displaying information to the public and how we are helping
those in need.
Conclusion
JC Penney needs to develop a consistent message that can be delivered across a variety of
promotional platforms. The message needs to be more clear and concise than the existing one,
and communicate a unique sales proposition. The company also needs to utilize all of its
marketing tools to promote the company’s interactive marketing efforts, such as mobile coupons,
social media, and the use of apps like Shopkick. The purpose of this plan is to develop a
promotional program that serves to effectively communicate the benefits and values customers
can expect to achieve by shopping at JC Penney.
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Appendices
Industry and Market Data
J.C. Penney Co. Inc.
NYSE: JCP
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Company Description
J. C. Penney Co., Inc. operates department stores, which consist of selling merchandise and services to consumers through its
department stores and through the Internet website at jcp.com. The company sells family apparel and footwear, accessories, fine
and fashion jewelry, beauty products through S...
Valuation
P/E Current
-1.38
P/E Ratio (with extraordinary items)
-1.69
Price to Sales Ratio
0.12
Price to Book Ratio
0.58
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
43
Enterprise Value to EBITDA
-8.95
Enterprise Value to Sales
0.57
Total Debt to Enterprise Value
1.01
Efficiency
Revenue/Employee
0.10
Income Per Employee
-0.01
Receivables Turnover
388.82
Total Asset Turnover
1.10
Liquidity
Current Ratio
1.70
Quick Ratio
0.67
Cash Ratio
0.53
Profitability
Gross Margin
23.22
Operating Margin
-11.47
Pretax Margin
-15.90
Net Margin
-11.70
Return on Assets
-12.86
Return on Equity
-44.36
Return on Total Capital
-18.70
Return on Invested Capital
-19.67
Capital Structure
Total Debt to Total Equity
181.44
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
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Total Debt to Total Capital
64.47
Total Debt to Total Assets
47.46
Long-Term Debt to Equity
158.76
Long-Term Debt to Total Capital
56.41
Officers and Executives
Name
Age
Officer Since
Title
Mr. Thomas J. Engibous
61
1999
Chairman
Mr. Myron E. Ullman
67
2004
Executive Chairman
Mr. Edward J. Record
46
2014
Chief Financial Officer & Executive Vice President
Mr. David Scott Laverty
54
-
Chief Information Officer & Executive VP
Ms. Kristen E. Blum
48
2012
Chief Technology Officer & Executive VP
Insider Actions
– PURCHASE– SALE1– NUMBER OF TRANSACTIONS
15
10
5
0
Sep
Oct
Nov
14
Feb
Mar
Apr
At a Glance
J. C. Penney Co., Inc.
6501 Legacy Drive
Plano, Texas 75024-3698
Phone
1 9724311000
Industry
Broad line Retailers
Sector
Consumer Services
Fiscal Year-end
01/2015
View SEC Filings
Revenue
$11.86B
Net Income
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
45
$-1.39B
Employees
117,000
Annual Report for JCP
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Key Competitors
COMPANY
LAST
Stage Stores Inc.
21.70
-0.50%
Bon-Ton Stores
Inc.
10.33
-1.62%
Nordstrom Inc.
60.46
-1.72%
Kohl's Corp.
53.53
-1.89%
Dillard's Inc.
89.95
-2.49%
Sears Holdings
Corp.
32.62
-5.17%
Sears Hometown
& Outlet Stores
Inc.
20.43
-5.98%
J.C. Penney Co.
Inc.
7.70
-9.62%
(MarketWatch, 2014)
% CHANGE
JC PENNEY IMC PLAN
Competitors’ Advertisements
Kohl’s
(Kohl's Illinois, 2014)
Sears
(Sears Brands, 2014)
46