Huffer Case Study: Evaluating & Developing a Digital Marketing Plan

This case study delves into the digital and offline marketing strategies employed by Huffer, a New Zealand-based street ware company. It begins by outlining various online and offline marketing strategies, such as cold calls, print advertising, networking, social media, blogs, and email marketing. The analysis includes an overview of Huffer, its competitors, and the specific online and offline media used by the company, focusing on hoardings and social media. The study identifies potential issues in digital marketing that Huffer might face, including audience issues, ineffective landing pages, and mixed messaging. It also defines the company's target segments, highlights the latest trends in digital marketing like video on demand and chat boxes, examines the advantages and disadvantages of Huffer's chosen strategies, and proposes a communication strategy with budgeting and tracking mechanisms. The study concludes with recommendations for integrating digital and offline marketing efforts to enhance Huffer's overall media schedule and market presence. Desklib provides access to this document along with a wealth of other study resources.

Running head: DIGITAL MARKETING
Digital Marketing
Name of Student
Name of University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Different online-offline marketing strategies.............................................................................2
Information about the company and its competitors..................................................................4
Online-offline media used by the company...............................................................................4
Issues in digital marketing faced by the company.....................................................................5
Target segments of the company................................................................................................6
Latest trend in digital marketing................................................................................................7
Examining the offline and digital marketing strategy of the organisation.................................7
Identifying a segment from the audience...................................................................................8
Analysing and evaluating different types of digital medium.....................................................8
Developing a communication strategy.......................................................................................9
Budgeting and selecting digital media mix..............................................................................10
Campaign insight.....................................................................................................................10
Tracking and goal set up..........................................................................................................10
Integration into overall media schedule...................................................................................11
Linking digital marketing with offline marketing....................................................................11
Recommendation......................................................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
The assignment focuses on the application of digital marketing in the modern world
and the manner in which organisations can implement the technical factor for its advantage in
the competitive market. The assignment researches on the application of digital marketing in
a fashion company in New Zealand. The focus is on the implementation of digital marketing
and offline marketing techniques that are adopted by Huffer, an iconic street ware company
in the country (Huffer.co.nz, 2018). The different online and offline marketing strategies are
discussed that can help the company to promote its products and ensure that the popularity
increases.
At the same time the possible issues that the company may face is also provided so
that recommendations can be suggested for the company. As stated by Ryan (2016) digital
marketing is a new trend in the modern world and it is essential for companies to cope up
with the changes. Thereby the trends followed in the recent times are also discussed in the
assignment. A communication strategy based on the implementation of the digital marketing
is provided for the success of the company.
Different online-offline marketing strategies
According to Leeflang et al. (2014), every organisation uses online and offline
strategy that can help it to maintain its composure in the market and at the same time attract
the customers. The strategies help in the development of a proper advertising campaign that
provides an advantage for the companies to improve its brand and be recognised in the
market. Tiago and Veríssimo (2014) are of the opinion that offline marketing provides
support to online brand of a company. Therefore, some of the online-offline strategies
include:

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Offline strategies
Cold calls: Cold calls can help in informing customers about the changes or new
products that has been brought about by an organisation. Calls over the phone are made by
the sales department of an organisation to convince the customers about the need to purchase
a product and its effectiveness. However, this form offline strategy does not guarantee
success as people frequently ignore the calls made.
Print advertising: The print advertising is the most traditional form of offline
marketing strategy (Stephen, 2016). In this form, the organisations use the print media such
as the newspaper or hand out brochures to passers-by about the type of services or products
that are provided by the organisation. Its effectiveness can have mixed results as the people
view the newspapers but other sources such as the brochures are ignored.
Networking: This form of marketing refers to the face-to-face connections with the
customers. This form can be considered as the most trustworthy form of offline marketing as
a face can be put to the brand and the value of the organisation can be measured based on the
face-to-face integration with the sales person of a company.
Online strategies
Social media: As observed by Kannan (2017) in the modern world social media can
help in reaching out to a number of people. This can help in the growth of the companies as
popularity can increase and at the same time advertising of products and services can be done
in an easier manner.
Blogs: Blogs are the feedback that is provided by the customers after availing a
particular service or purchasing a product. The blogs either help in improving the image of an

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organisation or tarnish it. Therefore, this form can be considered as the most powerful and
influential form of online marketing strategy that are adopted by organisations.
Email: The email is used in the modern marketing strategy mainly to remain in
contact with the customers. The email is used to provide update to the customers about any
latest changes that have been adopted. At the same time, response to feedback sent from this
source can be provided which can help in the development of the organisations (Järvinen &
Karjaluoto, 2015).
Figure 1: Usage of digital marketing strategies
(Source: Created by author)
Information about the company and its competitors
Huffer was set up in 1997 and since then has settled firmly in the market of New
Zealand. It is considered as one of the most popular and iconic street ware brand that inspires
innovation as well as style among the people. It delivers seasonal collection of outwear that
can be used to create a fashion statement in the market (Huffer.co.nz, 2018). The company

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has experience in the clothing sector, which includes involving wholesalers in the regions of
Australia as well.
It also has ten flagship retail stores, which provides generation of income in the
companies. The people of New Zealand and the world inspire the existence of the company
(Huffer.co.nz, 2018). The competitors of Huffer include Trelise Cooper, Company of
Strangers, Zambesi, Karen Walker and many more. These companies also provide similar
fashion statements in the market and pose serious threat to Huffer mainly because of the
variety of collections that exist and the longevity in the business.
Online-offline media used by the company
As stated earlier, the offline and online marketing strategies support one another for
the development of a company. The different forms of online and offline marketing strategies
can help in the development of products and for the promotion of the company in general
(Karjaluoto, Mustonen & Ulkuniemi, 2015). However, in the case of Huffer the application
of a single offline and online strategy can help in bringing about changes in the company and
ensure that a mass number of people can be reached for the promotion of its activities and
products. In this case, one strategy from each of the forms can be taken into consideration.
The offline marketing strategy that can be used by Huffer can be the hoardings. This
is mainly because the hoardings provide an opportunity for the people to get a better view of
the services provided by the organisation as it is displayed in a large manner. At the same
time installation of hoardings in the streets can guarantee a success rate of 70% as people
frequently, travelling from the places may get to see the advertisement displayed. Hence, the
implementation of hoarding as an offline marketing strategy can be used.

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The online marketing strategy to be used by Huffer can be the social media. As stated
by Taiminen and Karjaluoto (2015) social media can help in reaching out to large number of
people in the market. At the same time, opportunities for gaining feedback from the
customers by the use of social media can be done by Huffer. Social media is also considered
as a way for the development and popularity of the official website as people can gain
knowledge about the name of the product before visiting the website. Hence, for Huffer the
implementation of social media can help in the development of its market.
Issues in digital marketing faced by the company
Some of the issues that may be faced by Huffer while trying to implement the digital
marketing strategies include:
Audience issues: Audience can be a common occurrence in the digital marketing as
Huffer may be targeting the wrong audience group. As pointed by Royle and Laing (2014)
audience issues mainly arise as the website or digital information is available for every
customer and it may become difficult for Huffer to keep a record of the people that have
visited the website or have viewed the advertisement. Hence, this can be considered as one of
the major issues faced by Huffer.
Ineffective landing pages: This requires effective designing of the website or the
advertisement. It is necessary that the website or advertisements provide adequate
information to the people so that they can understand the company along with the products
and services offered. However, if the pages are not attractive then interested candidates may
not make further enquiries about the organisation and its product.
Mixed messaging: As stated by Stone and Woodcock (2014) it is essential for
organisations to ensure that the messages provided at the website match the expectations of

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the customers. In the case of Huffer, this can be an issue, as the company need enough
resources and capabilities to continue to meet the expectations of the customers. Hence, it is
necessary that tactics based on matching the expected and perceived level be matched at a
proper level.
Target segments of the company
As stated by Baltes (2015) target market is necessary for the development of a
company and the manner in which it can narrow down the business activities that exist in the
companies. The target segments of Huffer are the people residing across the country that are
interested in the latest street wares. In this regard, it can be said that the company can target
the young audience, as they are most likely to acknowledge the street wares that are sold by
the company. Huffer can target the people aged between 16-25 years so that the designs made
by the company can be made popular in the market. The reason for targeting this type of
people across the country is mainly because New Zealand is a small country and therefore,
merely targeting one area of the country may cause Huffer to suffer from loss.
Latest trend in digital marketing
In the modern world, digital marketing plays an important role for the development
and shaping of an organisation. Hence, it is necessary for an organisation like Huffer to
research the latest trend that digital marketing can offer for the development of the company.
Some of the trends include:
Video on demand: The one aspect of social media that usually catches the eyes of the
public is the videos. Viewers of youtube, Facebook and Twitter users view the content of the
videos at an average rate of 75% per day. As observed by Taiminen (2016) about 65% of the
success rate of promotion is attained with the use of video as a means of digital marketing.

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Hence, this can be considered as a latest and effective trend that Huffer can use for promoting
its fashion statement.
Chat boxes: Zettelmeyer and Merkley (2017) have made an argument that chat boxes
has been in effect for a long time in the market. However, with the development of the social
media and an increased need to communicate with people on an everyday basis, have
increased the popularity of the chat boxes. Huffer can use the chat boxes to interact with the
customers and gain feedback about their thoughts. It has been seen that about 61% of the chat
box interactions are related to the customer service questions. It is also estimated that the
customer interactions may increase to 85% within 2020.
Examining the offline and digital marketing strategy of the organisation
As seen earlier, Huffer uses two different digital marketing strategies so that it can
continue its dominance in the business market. The offline and online digital marketing of the
company includes the effective use of hoarding and social media. Thereby a critical analysis
of the advantages and disadvantages of the strategies can be conducted.
As stated by De Pelsmacker, van Tilburg and Holthof (2018) applying hoarding as a
method of offline marketing strategy can help Huffer to attract the attention of the customers
particularly during their time of travelling. However, Yadav, Joshi and Rahman (2015) are of
the opinion that installation of hoarding in the streets requires excessive finances and
identification of convenient areas so that customers can be attracted.
On the other hand, the application of the social media can help in the popularity of the
brand and reach a huge mass of customers. At the same time, the problem with the social
media is the fact that target audience cannot be narrowed down. Lovelock and Patterson
(2015) also stated that the feedback in the social media is like an open forum and negative

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comments can cause doubts in the minds of the people that have not availed the services of
Huffer. Hence, loss of potential customers becomes a risk factor in the application of social
media. In the modern day, due to the advancement of social media, the shift from television
has become imperative and customers tend to follow the campaign that is brought about by
the advancement in the social media. Hence, it can be said that the shift can help in the
progress of online media in the market (De Pelsmacker, van Tilburg and Holthof 2018).
Identifying a segment from the audience
As stated earlier, the segment that Huffer needs to target is the young generation of
people. The age of the target audience is estimated to be between 16-25 years so that the new
trends in fashion can be adopted. However, at times it may attract the audience below or
above the age limit. The reason for targeting this type of audience is the fact that since the
company specialises in manufacturing street wares, it can be effective if the younger audience
keen for gaining social attention were the target. This can help Huffer to improve its
reputation in the business and at the same time improve the profitability of the organisation.
Customer attention decrease with the monotonous type of products that are normally offered
by the companies. Thereby it is important that a proper trust be developed between the brands
so that it can provide customers with the satisfaction required for remaining loyal to the
company.

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Figure 2: Effectiveness of target segments
(Source: Created by author)
Analysing and evaluating different types of digital medium
The analysis has showed that in order to gain importance in the market and improve
the reputation, Huffer uses the application of online digital marketing strategy so that it can
attract the attention of the audience. The techniques used include social media, emails and
blogs. The reason behind the selection of these media is the fact that it can help in reaching
the audience. With the advancement in the application of video and blogs, a two-way
communication can be present between the company as well as its target customers.
Moreover, it is seen that the target audience of Huffer is the teenagers that constantly use
social media and the internet. Hence, the decision to implement these digital marketing
strategies is justified for Huffer.
Developing a communication strategy
Objectives To promote the advertising of the street wares
so that it can attract the audience