LuluLemon

Public Relations Proposal

Lauren Eckstrom, Ingrid Frahm, Ashley Linsz
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Table of Contents
Page 2: Situational Analysis
Page 2: Statement of Purpose
Page 2: Goals
Page 3: Targeted Publics
Page 4: Objectives
Page 5: Messages
Page 5: Strategies
Page 6: Tactics
Page 8. Team Bio
Page 9: Appendix
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Situational Analysis
Lululemon Athletica Inc is a designer and retailer of technical athletic apparel that operates primarily in North America
and Australia. The company specializes in yoga-inspired apparel, and marketed under the Lululemon Athletica brand
name. The company sells a variety of performance apparel and accessories for women, men and youth. The apparel
consists of an assortment of ftness pants, shorts, tops and jackets, designed for healthy lifestyle activities such as yoga,
running and general ftness. Lululemon also carries ftness-related accessories, including bags, socks, underwear, yoga
mats, instructional yoga DVDs and water bottles
After numerous customer complaints about the quality of Lululemons popular luon yoga pants, the company faced a
tremendous amount of backlash that questioned its standard of quality and reputation. In response to customer dissat-
isfaction, former CEO Chip Newman defended Lululemon in an interview with Bloomberg, stating, Frankly some womens
bodies just actually dont work for [wearing Lululemon pants] its really about the rubbing through the thighs, how much
pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it. Many customers took offense to Wilsons statement, feeling
as though his comments were insensitive to a wide variety of his clientele. As a result, Lululemons stock has dropped nearly
17% in the past year, with a loss in revenue of nearly 40% since last June. In order to reestablish Lululemons proftability
and customer satisfaction, the company must work to rebuild its brand reputation and standard of excellence.
Statement of Purpose & Goal
Our goal is to restore our brand image and increase our customer base and satisfaction, after Lululemon suffered due
to comments made by the former CEO in November 2013. This proposal will outline the various campaigns, events and
strategies to rebuild Lululemons brand reputation for quality and customer satisfaction.
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Targeted Publics
1. Investors
In order to recover from Lululemons loss of proft, it is important to restore investor confdence in Lululemons brand and
success.
2. Young Women (ages 15-29) (sizes 0-12)
By utilizing tendencies of a younger generation, repair damages to the brands reputation, it is vital to reach out to both
latent and aware women in this targeted age and size bracket in order to create confdence in brand quality. In addi-
tion, in order to insure brand loyalty with existing customers, it is important to reassure confdence in the brands quality,
and values as an organization.
3. Middle Aged Women (ages 30-45) (sizes 0-12)
By utilizing tendencies of an older generation, repair damages to the brands reputation, it is vital to reach out to both
latent and aware women in this targeted age and size bracket in order to create confdence in brand quality. In addi-
tion, in order to insure brand loyalty with existing customers, it is important to reassure confdence in the brands quality,
and values as an organization.
4. North Americans
To increase Lululemons clientele and restore its public image it is important to raise awareness of Lululemons brand and
commitment to quality to all members of the public.
5. Employees
In order to insure employee loyalty and satisfaction, it is important to establish open lines of communication between the
employees of Lululemon and the executives. To establish a commitment, the employees should have full knowledge of how
the organization plans to repair and restore its brand image to encourage the continued success of the company.
6. Fashion Media(Magazines/ Bloggers) and News Media
After months of negative media coverage it is vital to continue to promote Lululemons product and brand. The organi-
zation must reach out and maintain a relationship with key media outlets to promote a positive image of Lululemon in the
media. The media has the ability to infuence how the public perceives the organization as well as refect its reputation. In
order to combat the previous negative press, Lululemon must work to infuence the media to report positive and notewor-
thy information.
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The Proposal
Objectives
Objective 1: Investor Relations
To restore and increase stock prices by 5 percent by 2014.
Objective 2: Consumer Relations
Increase clientele and amount of purchasing, by women between ages 15 and 45 sizes 0-12, measured by a 10%
increase in revenue by 2014.
Objective 3: National Reputation
Improve public opinion of Lululemons quality and values (commitment to mutual respect, transparency, exercise and
health), measured through surveys of publics in various locations around North America before and after previously stat-
ed advertising campaign.
Objective 4: Employee Affairs
Confrm employees of Lululemons success as a brand and ensure their professionalism and positive attitude as an em-
ployee of Lululemon through annual feedback surveys to promote open lines of internal communication and decrease
employee complaints by 20%
Objective 5: Media Presence
To increase Lululemons prominence in news medias to promote Lululemons improvements and brand awareness by the
end of 2014
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Messages
Lululemon strives to create a mutually benefcial relationship between the brand and consumers by provid-
ing comfortable, high-quality products that promote healthy living and lifestyles.
Lululemon encourages its publics and consumers to celebrate their individuality, originality and creativity.
Lululemon aims to inspire consumers to establish a healthy lifestyle and live life to the fullest.
Lululemon encourages consumers to maintain a positive mental outlook on life that insures happiness and
confdence in oneself.
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Strategies
Strategy 1: Investor Relations
Restore investor confdence in Lululemons brand and success by sharing pertinent information about the changes being
made to move in a positive direction.
Strategy 2: Consumer Relations
Reach out to latent and aware publics to create confdence in brand quality and reputation, as well as reassure conf-
dence in brand reputation to active customers.
We will use various media techniques to specifcally target two of our major publics with this campaign: Young Women
(ages 15-29) (sizes 0-12) and Middle Aged Women (ages 30-45) (sizes 0-12). More social media techniques will be
used for the young women and more print media advertisements will be used for middle aged women
Strategy 3: National Reputation
Increase awareness of Lululemons brand and commitment to quality to all members of the public with the use of local and
national news and fashion media to promote the new campaign Love the Healthy You.
Strategy 4: Employee Affairs
Create open lines of communication between employees to ensure professionalism and company commitment by imple-
menting consistent forms of communications and creating employee centralized events.
Strategy 5: Media Presence
Reach out to specifc news outlets to promote a positive image of Lululemon by providing media kits and news releases.
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Tactics
Tactic 1: Investor Relations
It is recommended to present monthly newsletters to investors to update them on the fnancial status of the com-
pany, and how specifc issues are being solved.
To restore confdence in investors, it is recommended to hold investor conferences that address specifc issues
and how we are working to improve. This will also be an opportunity to promote positive face to face interaction with
investors
Tactic 2: Consumer Relations
The frst campaign suggested to reach this targeted audience is called Love the Healthy You, which would aim
to promote Lululemons health and ftness values. With various social media, local news outlets, and advertising tactics, the
campaign would help to encourage Young-Middle Aged Women to be active and love their bodies. (See Appendix 1)
The aim is to revamp the pre-existing #thesweatlife into a campaign that not only promotes a healthy lifestyle,
but also promotes healthy body image and self confdence.
In addition, the organization could sponsor free yoga classes taught by Lululemon educators in targeted com
munities to encourage exercise and ftness. (See Appendix 2)
At various events and local ftness studies, it is encouraged to hold trunk shows with Lululemons merchandise to reach out
to individuals who already enjoy being active.
There will be an emphasis on social media to target the young women and an emphasis of print advertisements
will be used to target the middle aged women.
Tactics 3: National Reputation
To reach a more general public and restore the overall image of the company, it is suggested to create a
general advertising campaign, using Love the Healthy You, that promotes healthy body image and ftness goals. To do
so, the organization should create Video News Releases that can be sent to high profle, national, mass media outlets
to reach a large public audience in all of North America (See Appendix 3). The videos would feature customers wearing
the brands comfortable, high performance active wear in their everyday lives to feature the haute casual trend from
gym to casual wear.
The brand would beneft from increasing its print advertisements in a variety of magazines and newspapers to
reach a wide target audience. The advertisement would feature new products, as well as represent its commitment to
healthy and active lifestyles.
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Tactics
Tactics 4: Employee Affairs
A suggested way of communication to employees is weekly newsletters through the companys intranet server.
Along with company updates, employees would have the ability to fll out anonymous, annual surveys about their job
satisfaction and corporate environment.(see appendix 4)
Weekly staff meetings and fun employee events would also encourage open communication between all em-
ployee members. Various events and workshops would help promote employee interaction, as well as face to face
updates on how the company is improving overall, with a focus on decreasing complaints about employees.

Tactics 5: Media Presence
To establish this relationship the organization should send emails and media kits to specifc media outlets, including fash-
ion magazines, fashion bloggers, and news media to reach its targeted audience. To maintain open communication, it is
be important to schedule phone calls as well as frequent emails and newsletters to keep the media updated. In order to
ensure a successful positive image, the organization must control its media messages and the information that is put forth
to the public. (see Appendix 5)
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Lauren maintains strong relationships with prominent media outlets in the communi-
cations industry. She manages client social media accounts and strives to increase
brand awareness through various technology platforms. To compile this proposal,
Lauren researched information to determine Lululemons strengths and weakness-
es to create components of the SWOT analysis. She also researched Lululemons
background to add to the SWOT analysis as well. Lauren helped her teammates to
create Lululemons public relations plan, and contributed different campaign ideas
and strategies to promote brand awareness and increase brand image. Lauren is
a sophomore strategic communications major, and business administration minor at
Elon University. She has had experience in the communications feld working as an
intern for Thomson Reuters, BeConcise, and Rent the Runway. She is also an account
executive at Live Oak Communications where she manages client All that Jas.
Lauren Eckstrom
Ingrid Frahm
Ashley Linsz
Ingrid manages the creation of the various graphic materials, for print and digital
uses, for the Lululemon PR campaigns. Within this proposal, Ingrid focused creating
on the opportunities section of her PR teams SWOT analysis, and met with the group
to create the brainstorming grid as well as the PR plan. She researched the client
Lululemon to contribute to creating a successful public relations plan with her team
for improving the brand. Ingrid is a sophomore strategic communications and art
double major at Elon University. She has had experience in the feld of communica-
tions, including two internships with Novartis International AG, within their Corporate
Communications and External Communications departments. She is also a creative
coordinator and Live Oak Communications, where she has learned skills working with
various digital publishing and design programs.
Ashley Linsz creates ideas to help restore hurt brand image. Ashley Linsz researched
information that focused on the strengths of Lululemon and the threats that it fac-
es. After determining what was relevant according to our PR problem, she added
into the strengths section that Lauren and Ingrid contributed to and Ashley wrote
up the threats section. Ashley helped create brainstorming grid with team members.
Team members met up and created PR Plan together. Each team member, including
Ashley, contributed ideas for the PR plan. Ashley is a sophomore Accounting major
with a Communications minor at Elon University. She has experience with retail after
working as a sales associate for Madewell seasonally.
Team Biography
Team Name Description: A.L.I. Communications was created as a combination of the teams last initials.
Media Relations Director
Graphic Director
Brand Marketing Director
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Appendix
Appendix 1: Love the Healthy you print advertisement
Appendix 2: Invitation to yoga classes
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Appendix 3: Video Advertisment
This video will feature individuals doing yoga and other athletic activities: running, etc, and it will discuss
Lululemons encouragement of healthy lifestyles
Appendix 4: Newsletter to employees
Appendix
Embrace life. Embrace you. Embrace Lulu.
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Appendix
Appendix 5: Lululemon fashion magazine print advertisement
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