Crash Course Campaigns

Alana B. Couture
Crisis Campaign/“Fashion in ACTion”
Private Industry Sector
Sharon Hadden
Event: Press Conference Date: April 22, 2011

Schedule for: Saturday, April 30, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Page: 1 of 1

Date
Item Delegate Req’d
No. Required Action: Description d Comp
to
1 Coordinate media relations training with
Alana Britt.
Coordinate and issue Britt’s release
statement and announce the tentative press
conference.
2 Research animal rights groups in the
Columbia, S.C. area as well as prominent
fashion and animal rights bloggers to invite
to the conference.
3 Identify media outlets best suited to convey
the campaign message to the primary and
secondary audience.
4 Draft an event budget to include personnel,
program/production and administrative
costs.
5 Develop contingency plan.
6 Identify and reserve press conference
location.
7 Announce official date, time and attendees
for the press conference.
8 Develop and distribute news materials to
the appropriate local/statewide and national
media outlets.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact: Sharon L. Hadden

(864) 371 9903 (mobile)

sharon@crashcourse.com

Model and animal rights activist upset over runway outfit; designer, Alana B. Couture to issue an
immediate apology.

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Alana B. Couture issues an apology after

model and animal rights activist, Shelly Neal, discovered her
cat-suit (pictured left) was crafted from elephant hide. After
Neal’s runway walk, fabric company RAWhide told the model
the elephant hide her designer piece was made from made her
skin shimmer like blood diamonds.

Neal, long-time friend of the owner said, “I had never known

Alana to be careless with the selection of her fabric. I’m an
animal lover, and I loved her designs because they were always
guaranteed to be animal cruelty free.”

RAWhide, a fabric company known for its exotic materials says

that Alana B. Couture is a recent client but would have known
Shelly Neal in the elephant hide
cat-suit at the Alana B. Couture the material of the fabric it was purchasing.
Fashion Fair.
Although the incident did not cause any problems during the
fashion show, Alana Britt, owner/fashion designer, issued an
apology to her modeling cast saying,

“I wanted to put on a great show for everyone. I wanted it to be innovative, fun and flashy, but
not at the expense of the people that made this event possible.” Britt

Britt later announced a tentative press conference will be scheduled to address the incident;
discuss her disposition on animal cruelty; and discuss a campaign regarding her fashion line’s
future for anti-animal cruelty advocacy.

###
 Alana B. Couture
Situational Analysis

MISSION:
Alana B. Couture’s mission is to deliver unique, quality designer pieces to make the everyday
woman feel, breathe and know that she is beautiful. Owner/fashion designer, Alana Britt’s
motto is, "You were created an original, so why wear a copy." Alana B. Couture lives by this
statement, designing custom made garments for any age or body type.

CURRENT CONDITION:

Alana B. Couture is a minority, woman-owned sole-proprietorship business. Its official launch

of a spring/summer collection was in 2009 during a local Columbia, S.C. fashion showcase.
The company has a web presence via its company website, social networking sites and a few
web articles. The company is currently based in Columbia, S.C., also the hometown of Britt.

MARKET ANALYSIS:

The target audience for Alana B. Couture is women of any age or body type, as displayed in
the mission statement of the company. The designer collection is full of life, color and
imagination. The collection includes formal wear for prom, pageantry and weddings, so it is
inferred that the pieces are best suited for women ages 16-36.

WHERE ARE WE GOING?

Alana B. Couture is currently sold by request only. Britt hopes to establish an Alana B. Couture
boutique in Columbia, S.C., as well as begin distributing the collection in local and international
boutiques. Britt hopes that with this level of exposure, the collection will become ample
competition for prominent designers like Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs.

HOW ARE WE GETTING THERE?

The company will achieve its goals by continuing to produce unique, quality designer pieces.
Two collections have already been showcased to the public. Alana B. Couture will continue to
breathe life and beauty into the hearts of fashion designers and lovers everywhere by staying
true to Britt’s motto, “You were created an original, so why wear a copy”.

SWOT
Strengths

 Each piece in an Alana B. Couture collection is an original.

 The fashion industry is growing, so there is opportunity in the future growth and
development of the company.

Weaknesses

 Britt is currently the sole-designer for the company.

 Alana B. Couture is not making a statement in the fashion industry.

Opportunities

The fashion industry is constantly growing. If Britt can learn to champion marketing and public
relations strategies, Alana B. Couture has the potential to make a global footprint in the fashion
world.

Threats

As stated above, Britt is currently the sole-designer for the company. If plans to expand locally
and internationally are to be a success; Britt will need to make plans to support this expansion.
Also, Alana B. Couture has only been showcased at two events. In order to take advantage of
the growing opportunities in the fashion industry the company will need to increase the number
of showcases it attends to gain exposure.

GOALS

The goal of this crisis campaign is to reassure the public that Alana B. Couture is an animal
friendly designer fashion line.
OBJECTIVES

 Minimize gossip from the crisis situation.

 Sustain support for the company in both the fashion industry and animal rights
organizations.

AUDIENCE

The target audience for this campaign will be animal rights organizations, animal lovers and
avid fashion lovers. The primary audience will be animal rights organizations and animal lovers
in Columbia, S.C. as well as statewide and the national level. The secondary audience will be
avid fashion lovers.

The primary audience will take interest in this campaign because the crisis situation arose in
Columbia, S.C. The statewide and national groups will take interest because they represent
the local animal rights organizations and animal lovers on a larger scale. The local audience
will have top priority because it is Britt’s hometown and the headquarters of the company’s
operations. By addressing both the local/statewide and national audience, the campaign will be
able to rectify its transgression to the offended group as a collective.

The secondary audience will take interest because they represent the people Alana B.
Couture is marketing to. Fashion lovers in the Columbia, S.C. area, particularly in the age
group of 23-36, will need to be addressed in an effort to sustain support for the Columbia
based company and its collections. This age group was chosen because they have the least
outside influence over their buying power.

STRATEGY

The strategy for this crisis campaign is to appeal to each audience on a personal level.
The campaign will communicate messages that the company is pro-animal rights and anti-
animal cruelty. The messages intended for the primary audience will contain underlying
messages to the secondary audience: fashion lovers. This will be done to ensure fashion
lovers that Alana B. Couture is not only interested in its clothing designs and sales, but it is
also dedicated to crucial social issues such as animal rights.

PROGRAM PLANNING/ IMPLEMENTATION

 The strategy will begin being executed with a series of pre-interviews. This will include
radio interviews and a television feature story on WXLT with Alana Britt to discuss and clarify
the crisis situation.

After the pre-interview phase, a formal press conference will be held in Columbia, S.C.
to apologize to local, statewide and national animal rights organizations. (NAME
ORGANIZATIONS) The press conference will also include the announcement of Alana B.
Couture’s “Fashion in ACTion” campaign.

The “Fashion in ACTion” campaign will be designed to promote anti-animal cruelty and
animal rights within the fashion industry. With its start, the crisis campaign will begin repairing
the reputation and credibility of Alana B. Couture.

CRISIS RESOULUTION

The crisis resolution will include media briefing for Alana Britt and Alana B. Couture
models. Britt’s family, modeling cast and hair/make-up artistry team will be instructed not to
issue statements to the public. They will be briefed on the crisis situation and asked to express
their thoughts to the community through their contributing effort to the campaign.

Media statements and news releases will be drafted for Britt; she will be the
spokesperson of the campaign. Prior to a formal press release, an awareness campaign will
be drafted regarding anti-animal cruelty within the fashion industry. This campaign will allow
Alana B. Couture to regain its credibility as a premiere designer fashion line and prove that is
dedicated to helping improve social and environmental issues.

MESSAGE ACTION PLAN

Key messages:

 Alana B. Couture is a premiere designer fashion line, dedicated to helping

improve social and environmental issues.
 Alana B. Couture apologizes for its careless error in fabric selection during its
2011 Fashion Fair.
  Alana Britt, owner/fashion designer of Alana B. Couture is a woman of exemplary
moral character.
These messages will be put into action using the program planning and implementation
steps outlined above. The media targets that were previously outlined will be used to
communicate these messages with the primary and secondary audience of this campaign.

CONTINGENCY

In the event that the media targets identified are not interested in pre-interviews
with Alana Britt, the company is prepared to launch its own video podcast to discuss the
incident and Britt’s disposition regarding animal rights. The press conference will be hosted by
the USC Communications department. The students have agreed to execute the press
conference in exchange for school credit. However, in the event that something does not go as
planned, Britt and several other members of the Alana B. Couture team will be briefed on the
conference agenda and prepared to delegate the conference activities.

EVALUATION

The success of the crisis campaign will be gauged by the quality of media and social
networking reviews the company receives. Articles and reviews written immediately after the
crisis situation will be collected as well as articles and reviews written during the pre-phase of
the campaign; after the formal press release; and one month after the launch of the “Fashion in
ACTion” campaign. The content of each document will be evaluated using the following
criteria:

1. Is the review positive or negative?

2. What is the main concern of the document?
3. What was the writer’s intended audience?
4. Where was the document found?
These questions will help in assessing whether or not the
actions taken during the crisis campaign were effective or not.

Alana Britt is the owner and fashion designer of Alana B.

Couture. She is a creative fashion designer originally from
 Columbia, S.C. with five plus years of experience in designing clothing. Britt received her
fashion degree at The Arts Academy of Fashion Merchandising in 2006. She expanded her
knowledge of the visual and merchandising aspect of the fashion industry by working in retail
management.

The debut Spring/Summer 2010 collection from Alana B. Couture was launched in 2009 during
a public fashion show in Columbia, S.C. Britt then went on to showcase her Spring/Summer
2011 collection during the Charlotte, N.C. Fashion Week in 2010. There, her collection
symbolized the everyday woman’s body type by showcasing pieces that were full of color, life
and imagination.

Alana B.
Spring/Summer Couture
2011 specializes in original couture, evening, wedding, prom and pageantry attire.
collection

Britt’s desire is to allow the everyday woman to feel, breathe and

know that she is beautiful. Spring/Summer 2011 collection

“My motto is, you were created an

original, so why wear a copy,” Britt says.

Britt hopes to expand her collection and begin distributing her

designs in local and international boutiques, as well as establishing
a chain of boutiques dedicated to Alana B. Couture. She also hopes
to see her collections modeled on the runway amongst the ranks of
prestigious designers like Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs.

April 23, 2011

Marybeth Jacoby, News Director

WLTX-TV

6027 Garners Ferry Road

Columbia, SC 29209-1304

Dear Marybeth Jacoby,

In recent news, Alana B. Couture was accused of being pro-animal cruelty after its
debut Fashion Fair in Columbia, S.C. In an effort to resolve the controversy surrounding both
the company and owner/fashion designer, Alana Britt, the company is consenting to preview
interviews prior to a formal press release.

Britt is available for interviews on weekdays from 9:00 a.m.-6 p.m. by appointment only.
During these interviews, Britt has agreed to discuss the accusations made against her
designer clothing line and take questions regarding her disposition on animal rights and animal
cruelty. The formal press release will invite media, animal rights activists, and prominent
animal rights and fashion bloggers to speak with Britt about a new company campaign
dedicated to anti-animal cruelty advocacy.

For more information regarding Alana B. Couture or to schedule an interview, please do

not hesitate to call me at (864) 371-9903 or contact me via e-mail at
sharon@crashcourse.com.

Kindest regards,

Sharon L. Hadden

Public Relations Specialist

(864) 371- 9903 (mobile) sharon@crashcourse.com

MEDIA TARGETS

The following radio stations would be used to communicate the messages of the campaign:

WUSC 90.5 FM, WLTR 91.3 FM, WHXT 103.9 FM, and WNOK 104.7 FM.
 WUSC has been chosen because it is a college campus in the hometown of the

company, which is also where the crisis situation occurred. The students there are potential or

already established clients of Alana B. Couture. This station can be used to communicate the

crisis campaign message as well as the company’s marketing messages. WLTR is the local

National Public Radio station. This station will provide an outlet for contacting the more mature

audience, as well as S.C. statewide and the nation. WHXT provides hip hop radio content and

WNOK provides top 40 radio content. These two stations were chosen to give the company a

broad spectrum of listeners to explain and rectify the crisis situation.

News Channel 7 in Greenville/Spartanburg has a feature story called “7 on your side”

where someone in the community is highlighted, defended, or their story is simply told. WLTX,

a Columbia based news station provides a similar service. This will allow Alana to tell her story

for viewers in Columbia, as well as via Internet through podcasts from the news station. It

would also be wise to communicate messages using The State, Times & Democrat, and The

Greenville News. These print publications also have the potential to communicate campaign

messages to a more mature, or news savvy audience.