November 10,

2016

Communication Plan: Kylie Cosmetics

Chelsea Stromfeld
Smartphone Application
Executive Summary

Kylie Jenner launched the widely known cosmetics company, Kylie Cosmetics, on April
1, 2016. In a short four months, the company approximated $20.5 million. In addition to its
staggering profits, the company has massive backing on many social media platforms with 9.1
million Instagram followers, 2,823,412 Facebook likers and 453,000 Twitter followers. This
highly recognizable cosmetics line, which has generated an overwhelming number of loyal
customers, is among many competitors in the highly sought-after cosmetics market. To
differentiate this line from every competitor, we propose that Kylie Cosmetics launch a
smartphone application for Androids and IPhones.
The application would give Jenner the chance to engage with her customers in a way she
never has before. The application will be an all-inclusive spot for customers to look through and
purchase Kylie Cosmetics products but will also have recorded makeup tutorials conducted by
Kylie Jenner herself. By including this element in the application, competitors in the industry
could not compete. By exploiting the pure loyalty Jenner gains because of her fame, the
company will take over the market and everyone within it.
The Kylie Cosmetics corporation’s strengths include strong brand name and reputation,
positive customer relationships and responsiveness to customer complaints. Weaknesses include
higher cost than that of competitors and little stock. The fact that Kylie Cosmetics products are
exclusively sold at the company’s website is not something we often suggest, but the launch of
the smartphone application will make threats like this insignificant.
The goal of the Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application is to improve customer-to
company interactions. We plan to reach our goal by giving customers a new and personal way to
connect with the brand, by offering customers who download the application particular benefits
and by allowing customers to get direct makeup advice and lessons from the makeup guru
herself.
The timeline for this project from the beginning of the application-development phase
(November) through the implementation phase to the evaluation phase (May) is six months.
Kylie Cosmetics’ financial team will then regroup to gather final product sales and application
downloads three months later in August to see if the company met its goals and objectives.
Budgetary allocations are at an estimated $336,072. This is including the 10%
contingency fee of $30,552.

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 Table of Contents

Situation Analysis 4-5

Goals and Objectives 5-6

Target Audiences 6-7

Strategies 7-8

Tactics 8

Timeline 9-12

Budget 12

Evaluation 13-14

References 14-15

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Situation Analysis

Kylie Jenner, a 19-year-old millionaire, was born into fame. Since her childhood as a

member of a reality show, “Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” about her family and her

teenage years as a model and partner to Pacsun, Jenner has always been in the spotlight. After

developing her dream cosmetics company for two years, Jenner officially released the Kylie

Cosmetics line on April 1, 2016 (Kylie Cosmetics, 2016). The company’s inventory has grown

drastically since its release. This past August, it was reported that the company had generated

approximately $20.5 million (Gerencer, 2016). Whereas the company originally only sold the

popular Kylie Lip Kit, it now offers matte, gloss and metal lipsticks, lip liners, eyeliners, and eye

shadows. For the short life the company has had so far, it is astounding how valued the Kylie

Cosmetics products have become. KylieCosmetics.com is the exclusive destination for Kylie

Cosmetics products, and launch dates and restock details are exclusively announced on the Kylie

Jenner App. The company’s 9.1 million Instagram followers, 2,823,412 Facebook likers and

453,000 Twitter followers are a testament to the company’s quickly developed success.

The major conflict Kylie Cosmetics is facing is the pure abundance of competing

cosmetic companies and makeup tutorials in the market at the moment. The cosmetics industry is

booming overall and makeup is trending, so if there is a time to vamp the company up, it is now,

which is why Kylie Cosmetics should launch a smartphone application for Androids and

IPhones.

The rapid growth of the Kylie Cosmetics corporation as well as the Jenner/Kardashians'

past feats in creating and launching smartphone applications, make this new product proposal a

sure success. This product is more than just a solution to outdoing competing brands; it is a

chance for CEO Kylie Jenner to engage with her customers in a way she has never before. The

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smartphone application will be an all-inclusive place for customers to browse through and

purchase Kylie Cosmetics products, and more importantly, to watch makeup tutorials conducted

by Kylie Jenner herself. Yes, any company can post makeup tutorials, and yes, there are other

products similar to Kylie Cosmetics products that are more affordable, but the mere fame of

Kylie Jenner is something only her company can exploit. By having the leader of this brand be

the face of the makeup tutorials for her products, competitors would not stand a chance and

customer loyalty would sky rocket. The personal connection costumers can make with Jenner

will be the leading force in the success of the app.

Strengths Weaknesses
• Strong brand name/recognition • Costs higher than that of competitors
• Positive customer relationships • Makeup tutorials only provided on
• Creative and successful marketing company Instagram
strategy • Too little stock
• Products are not tested on animals, all • All sales are final
vegan products • Orders are limited to three products per
• Responsiveness to customer complaints person

Opportunities
• High desire of customers for products
related to Kylie Jenner
• Products similar in the market do not
have the same brand recognition
• Loyal customers
• Trending product
• Trending hashtag #KylieCosmetics
Threats
• Abundance of competitors in the
market
• Recent altercation with Better Business
Bureau rating
• Kylie Cosmetics not sold at other
retailers, only on KylieCosmetics.com

Goals

The goal of the Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application involves relationship

management and is to improve customer-to-company interactions.

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Objectives

The objectives of this plan are broken up into informational and motivational objectives.

The informational objectives:

• To generate awareness about Kylie Cosmetics products through an easily accessible

smartphone application

• To tell people that Jenner is concerned with communicating with her customers

• To inform customers about the ways Jenner applies her cosmetic products

The motivational objectives:

• To increase the sales of Kylie Cosmetics products

• To improve customers’ attitudes towards the Kylie Cosmetics brand

• To increase customers’ make-up skills

Target Audiences

The target audiences for the Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application can be defined

according to demographics, geography and psychographics. Demographically, the target

audiences are younger populations like millennials, ages 18-36. Based on a Forbes article, which

analyzed Kylie Cosmetics’ sales, the people most attracted to the products are “teenagers, like

Jenner” (Forbes, 2016). Considering millennials use about 90 hours per month on smartphone

applications alone, this is the ideal target demographic for a new application (Dogtown Media,

2016). Kylie Cosmetics’ social media accounts and advertisements primarily feature women, so

the target audience is also female-driven.

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 Geographically, the Kylie Cosmetics application’s target audience is multi-national and

diverse. Because the company ships to most countries worldwide, the brand connects to

international customers often. Through different special days like “free international shipping

day,” Jenner is taking strides to interact with international customers (Kylie Cosmetics, 2016).

Lastly, according to psychographics, the habits and hobbies of the audiences, the target

audience for the application is people who engage in online shopping and smartphone

applications, are interested in cosmetics and appearance, and like the idea of Kylie Jenner

products (A Beginners Guide, 2016).

Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application’s target audiences can be further divided. The

primary audience is female make-up wearing millennials who live within the United States; the

secondary audience is female make-up wearing millennials who live in international countries;

and the tertiary audience is middle-aged make-up wearing females throughout the world.

Although men are also within the brand’s target audience, they do not fall within the top target

audiences based on their minor representation on the brand’s online platforms and

advertisements. By having these primary, secondary and tertiary audiences in place, Kylie

Cosmetics will be able to appropriately advertise to successfully launch the development of a

smartphone application.

Strategies

The key strategies for the Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application are:

• To utilize a smartphone application to engage with make-up wearers worldwide

• To give customers a place to easily and quickly buy products and watch tutorials

• To build upon an already well-known brand

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Other strategies include:

• To give customers a new way to connect with the Kylie Cosmetics brand

• To tell customers about Kylie Cosmetics products through an smartphone platform

• To engage with users in the cosmetics industry

• To have days for product giveaways and free shipping to attract customers

Tactics

In order to keep with the strategies and accomplish the objectives for the Kylie Cosmetics

smartphone application, the tactics for this product are:

• To create an all-encompassing Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application for customers to

watch CEO Kylie Jenner conduct makeup tutorials

• To create an accessible Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application where customers can

browse through every product and shade and then purchase products on the go

• To advertise the smartphone application on Kylie Jenner’s social media platforms, Kylie

Cosmetics’ social media platforms and “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” to spread

awareness before it launches and keep people hyped once it does launch

• To give Kylie Cosmetics customers the opportunity to get special giveaways and deals

solely by downloading the smartphone application

• To give loyal Kylie Cosmetics customers a one-stop spot to get exclusive Kylie

Cosmetics updates without having to sort through the Kylie Jenner app

• To encourage customers who download the app to post positive reviews about the app on

their social media pages and to give Kylie Cosmetics feedback about how to improve the

app

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Timeline

The following timeline covers the overall time frame of the creation and implementation

of this product/service as well as the post-launch.

November 1: Kylie Cosmetics team will meet with application-development team to get a clear

understanding of Kylie Cosmetics’ vision, brainstorm ideas regarding the smartphone application

and rule out any features that would not benefit the company.

November 8: Kylie Cosmetics team will meet with application-development team to go over

potential layouts for the smartphone application.

November 15: Application-development team will present the first sketch of what the

smartphone application will look like. Application-development team will specify what buttons

go where and the functionality of the application. Kylie Cosmetics team will make revisions to

the overall appearance and smaller details of the application.

November 22: The financial team and application-development team will discuss estimated cost

to create and launch the application.

November 29: Application-development team will begin developing and testing the smartphone

application. The team at this point will include analysts, designers, developers, and testers. The

team will be communicative with the Kylie Cosmetics team.

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December 19: Application-development team will present a first mock version of the application

with functioning buttons. Kylie Cosmetics team will evaluate and give feedback to the

application-development team about the application’s look and feel, navigation, layout, and

actual functionality. Application-development team will be clear on what changes need to be

made.

December 26: Application-development team will continue developing and testing the

application while being communicative with the Kylie Cosmetics team.

January 2: Application-development team will present a second demo version of the application.

Kylie Cosmetics will evaluate and give feedback.

January 9: Public relations team will conduct a focus group of 10 participants and present the

Kylie Cosmetics application to them, including all of its features. Their thoughts and criticisms

will be noted.

January 16: Application-development team will present a final version of the smartphone

application to the Kylie Cosmetics team. Kylie Cosmetics will review the final version for

approval. Final revisions and testing for the smartphone application will be made post-meeting.

January 17: Public relations team will decide where to promote the new smartphone application.

Advertising team will brainstorm advertisement ideas.

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January 23: Public relations team and advertising team will promote and advertise the new

smartphone application’s release date. Application-development team will communicate with the

Apple App Store to ensure the launch will run smoothly.

January 30: Public relations team will continue to engage with customers to build excitement for

the launch of the smartphone application.

February 6: The Apple App Store will approve the application for public download. The

smartphone application will launch.

February 13: For three months, the public relations team will measure the production and

distribution of the app and will continue to promote the smartphone application for the remainder

of the year. Public relations team will also upload a voluntary survey to the app so customers can

easily note feedback and small things they’d like to see improved. The team will also evaluate

the tone of incoming correspondences from customers and respond accordingly, keep a close tab

on the app’s analytics and the analytics of the company’s numerous social media platforms.

May 8: Public relations team will send out a survey to all Kylie Cosmetics customers through e-

mail to get feedback on overall opinion of the app. The finance team will look at the Kylie

Cosmetics sales figures for an increase in sales from before the app launched into three months

after it launched. The application-development team and the public relations team will make

adjustments to the app accordingly.

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 August 1: Financial team will gather product sales and smartphone application downloads and

compare them to competitors. Financial team and public relations team will evaluate if Kylie

Cosmetics met its goals and objectives with the smartphone application.

Budget

Item: Price: Quantity: Total:

Media Kit:
Media Releases $0.50 500 $250
Media Advisory $0.50 500 $250
Backgrounder $0.50 500 $250
Fact Sheet $0.50 500 $250
Custom Folders $1.50 500 $750
Photos $0.20 500 $100

Commercial/Advertising:
Kylie Cosmetics Consultation $200/ hour 5 hours $1,000
TV Placement $30,000 $30,000

Development:
Software Development Team $100/ hour (5 developers) 80 hours $40,000
Apple iOS and Android Compatible $16,000 $16,000
In-app Purchases Compatible $6,000 $6,000
Application Programming Interface $10,000 $10,000
Custom Buttons and Transitions $26,800 $26,800
App Icon $2,000 $2,000

Professional Service Fees:

Staff member: Hours Cost/Hour Total
Principal 7 hours/week, 17 weeks $225 to $350/ hour $41,650
Associate I 10 hours/week, 17 weeks $180/ hour $30,600
Associate II 12 hours/week, 17 weeks $150/ hour $30,600
Associate III 15 hours/week, 17 weeks $100/ hour $25,500
Associate IV 17 hours/week, 17 weeks $ 80/ hour $23,120
Staff 20 hours/week, 17 weeks $ 60/ hour $20,400

Budget Total: $305,520

10% Contingency Fee: $30,552
Overall Total: $336,072

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Evaluation

To measure and evaluate the success of the Kylie Cosmetics smartphone application, we

will use a mix of measurement methods and tools.

To measure the production/distribution of the app, we will implement an elementary

method of evaluation. By using this method through systematic tracking, monitoring the Internet

with Google Analytics and media impressions, we will be able to tabulate details about news

coverage, media exposure and audience awareness. We will find out how many news releases,

feature stories and photos about the app were produced in a given time period, what audiences

were exposed to the news about the app and what audiences actually viewed the app.

To measure changes in audience attitude, we will take a record of telephone calls and e-

mails received from customers. We will analyze the tone of incoming correspondence, and

respond to telephone calls and e-mails accordingly to maintain positive customer affairs. We will

also have a voluntary survey available on the smartphone application where customers will have

a quick and easy way to give Kylie Cosmetics constructive feedback that will be critically

reviewed. After a few months of this, we will send out a survey to all Kylie Cosmetics customers

through e-mail to get feedback from more customers.

Lastly, to measure audience action, we will look at Kylie Cosmetics sales figures. We

will look for an increase in sales from before the app was launched into three months after the

app is launched. Most importantly, we will keep close tabs on app’s analytics. We will measure

how often the app is being downloaded, who is downloading it and downloading patterns (if it is

downloaded more when there is a deal, a new product, etc.). Additionally, we will use social

media platform analytics to gather evaluative metrics like new Instagram followers, Facebook

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likers and Twitter followers to ensure Kylie Cosmetics brand is remaining popular among our

target audiences.

Nine months after the application launch, on August 1, we will evaluate if Kylie

Cosmetics met its goals and objectives with the smartphone application based on our

measurements throughout.

References

"About." Kylie Cosmetics℠. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2d6LSoH>.

@alisammeredith. "How to Use Psychographics in Your Marketing: A Beginner's Guide." How

to Use Psychographics in Your Marketing: A Beginner's Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
<http://bit.ly/1bszLEI>.

Crew. "How Much to Make an App." How Much to Make an App. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2016.
<http://howmuchtomakeanapp.com/>.
"FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS." Kylie Cosmetics℠. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
<http://bit.ly/2cTE7Ay>.

Frue, Kiesha. "Why Business Environment Analysis Is the Foundation of Every Business."
PESTLE Analysis. N.p., 20 June 2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2cUcE03>.

Gerencer, Tom. "Kylie Jenner Net Worth: A Lip Kit Empire." Money Nation. N.p., 12 Aug.
2016. Web. 09 Nov. 2016. <http://moneynation.com/kylie-jenner-net-worth/>.

"How Long Does It Take to Build a Mobile Application?" Segue Technologies. N.p., 24 June
2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2e5Aipa>.

Hsu, Carolyn. "Beauty Blogger Reveals Kylie Jenner Lip Kit Is the Same as This $6
One." NewBeauty. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2d3QjgM>.

John Houghton. "MobileCast Media." How to Build a Mobile App Development Team
Comments. Web. 3 Jan. 2014. 26 Oct. 2016.
<https://www.mobilecastmedia.com/2014/01/building-a-mobile-app-development-team/>.

"Kylie Cosmetics℠." Bitly. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/1WBudUR>.

"Kylie Cosmetics." Review. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://go.bbb.org/2d2v00J>.

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"Kylie Cosmetics by Kylie Jenner."ULTRABRAND. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.
<http://bit.ly/2duLvQq>.

"Kylie Jenner Cosmetics Receives ‘F’ Rating from the Better Business Bureau, But That
Probably Won’t Stop People from Buying Lip Kits."PEOPLEcom. N.p., 05 July 2016. Web. 13
Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2dmfOfK>.

"Kylie Jenner's Lip Kits, Social Status, And The Economics Of Scarcity."Forbes. N.p., 03 Mar.
2016. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2cCAX0c>.

"Research Shows Huge Growth in Millennial Use of Mobile Apps." Dogtown Media. N.p., n.d.
Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2cWYvOw>.

"SHIPPING POLICY." Kylie Cosmetics℠. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016.

<http://bit.ly/2cWWZvO>.

Willingham, Jessica. "9 Kylie Jenner Koko K Lip Kit Alternatives To Shop If You Missed Out
On The Real Thing." N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://bit.ly/2cwbQPW>.

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