Marketing In the News- JCPenney

  

     I chose this article because I grew up shopping at JCPenney and I found it extremely interesting how they were planning to change their brand in order to be more appealing to younger generations such as Gen Z. After reading through the article, I also found their strategy to be interesting as well. 

    JCPenney was a very popular department store, however in the last decade or so their sales decreased significantly and caused them to declare bankruptcy in 2020.  In the Marketing Dive article  How JCPenney’s new brand positioning is subverting consumer expectations | Marketing Dive discusses how the company wants to do an entire brand refresh. They are hoping that they can appeal to more consumers by using “anonymous ads” which were created by the creative agency Mischief. They are meant to surprise customers when they find out the product was from JCPenney. The main point of this brand refresh is to remind people of JCPenney and all they have to offer. The article goes into specific marketing strategies that they will use to remind consumers of their value proposition, which is “to provide affordable and stylish products” according to the Pitchgrade article “J.C. Penney; Business Model, SWOT Analysis, and Competitors” published in January of 2024 by Luciano Colos (J. C. Penney: Business Model, SWOT Analysis, and Competitors 2024 - PitchGrade ).

     The marketing relevance that is mentioned in this article is an entire brand refresh. They are planning on using “anonymous ads” to remind people about the products they carry and that they are trendy. The idea of these ads is to not have any affiliation with JCPenney until the consumer scans the barcode to find out where the products are from, which it then reveals to that consumer that they are from JCPenney. Another strategy that JCPenney is planning on implementing is having commercials run during Jimmy Kimmel Live. A costar on the show will reveal a new deal every Thursday, in hopes of getting to more consumers and showing them what JCPenny has to offer. The point of these new sales and marketing campaigns is to help remind consumers of everything they have to offer and increase sales. Before this brand refresh JCPenny was not doing well financially, some loyal customers were still shopping there but the number of consumers not shopping there far outweighed the loyal customers. Another reason JCPenney is acting on this billion dollar brand refresh is because of the growing renewed support for malls. The revived support of shopping malls is vital to this refresh. With the new marketing strategies that JCPenney is implementing, they are hoping to reach younger consumers and remind them of JCPenney and the products and prices they offer. 

    The challenge that JCPenney is facing with this is that there are many established companies that most people think of and go to when looking for certain things. JCPenney must successfully remind people that they offer quality products and they are fresh and up-to-date with the trends. In my opinion before reading this article I thought of the JCPenney from my childhood, nostalgic but not current with trends. I think the biggest challenge for them is competing with these brands that are current, stay current, and are already established with younger generations. Another aspect of this that JCPenney must keep in mind is social media. Many companies have established loyal customers in person, but they also reach new customers online through social media advertising and collaborations with popular social media influencers. This is not something that JCPenney has experience in, however I think if they can also create a successful social media platform it will help connect to younger generations and remind consumers of the brand and products they carry. I think it is very possible for JCPenney to overcome these challenges and achieve their goals they have for this brand refresh. 

    Their marketing strategy is unique and different from other marketing strategies companies use. I think their idea of trying to surprise consumers with ads that contain trendy items and having the fact that it is a JCPenney ad be revealed after the person scans a QR code is a good way to show what they carry is a good way of helping people realize that JCPenney isn’t outdated. This also would be a good way to reach younger generations and consumers that follow trends. However, I don’t think using TV commercials and shoutouts on TV shows is the best strategy to reach younger audiences. Most consumers in younger generations use social media and watch TV shows on a streaming platform, not cable TV. I think this could be helpful in targeting older audiences that may have forgotten about JCPenney. Since JCPenney is attempting to target younger audiences, they should consider having a stronger social media presence and try to work with influencers to promote the brand.

     I think the main issue is that they aren’t focusing on a certain demographic or buyer persona, it seems as though they are trying to reach anyone and everyone they can. I think having a specific target audience they are trying to appeal to and market towards would be helpful. In most cases you cannot market to absolutely everyone and it seems that is what they are attempting to do. Of course JCPenney does carry a large variety of products that appeal to many, it does not appeal to everyone. In the article it mentions that they want to market towards younger generations like Gen Z. I think to do this they have to utilize social media. Younger people are most likely going to have social media and that is where they consume the most. I think incorporating a social media presence will help them reach the younger generations like they want to do. I think other than that their ideas are good and seem like they would be successful in attracting people to JCPenney. I especially like the “anonymous ads” idea, I think it is a really good way to get people to understand that they have trendy products. 

    I learned different strategies companies use to refresh their brand and try to attract new customers. It also reinforced that companies must take risks in order to succeed and get new opportunities. Thank you for reading!