Monae Khorvash

BA – 325
Jarvez Hall
02.05.2018

Online Marketing at Big Skinny – Case #1

Section one: Summary of the Case

Write a synopsis of the case highlighting key elements of the case
(Minimum 200 Words)

Online marketing and capturing an audience is challenging. The

wallet company Big Skinny learned that the hard way. With so many
options, they didn’t know where to begin to gain a following online.
Research lead them to multiple options such as Algorithmic Search, Display
Ads, Sponsored Search and Social Media. However, the struggle for the
brand was the fact that all of their previous marketing was based on
interaction and presentation to their customers and future customers at
the local fair. This interaction allowed them to gain attention of the fair
goers and show them exactly what they would be getting from changing
over to a Big Skinny Wallet. This was difficult to replicate online. It is
difficult to gain attention of anyone online let alone someone who doesn’t
even realize they are in need of a new skinnier wallet. Because the brand
has a loyal existing customer base, they try to leverage this but sharing on
their social media and on their website testimonies of their current
customers raving about the wallets. However, people only see these
testimonies if they are already currently on their website and or their social
media pages. So there dilemma is how to initially capture the potential new
consumer.

Section two: Case Questions

1. What should Kiril focus on next? What should be his lowest

priority? Why? (Minimum 150 words)

I would suggest focusing on how to obtain new customers and gain

more traffic to his website. Even if people aren’t looking to be at
wallet at that particular time, having the brand recognition to then be
able to have people think of them first when they need to buy a
wallet for themselves or for someone else in their life, will be very
beneficial for them. As a consumer, I find it very annoying when
companies blow up my email or obviously are showing me their paid

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 advertisements along the edge of my search engine. Because
customers are aware of the fact that companies are doing these
types of advertisements more and more, they are one, becoming
more immune to you, and two, they are becoming less loyal to those
annoying persistent companies. The companies that will continue to
thrive are the companies that gain followings by proving to be
consistent and worth it. They aren’t trying to squeeze every dollar out
of their customer, they are simply trying to fulfill a need.

2. Evaluate Big Skinny’s sponsored search strategy. Are their

search keywords for which you would encourage Big Skinny to
increase its bid? To Lower its bid? (Minimum 200 words)

I think that the words chosen are a great start for the company. They
obviously thrive themselves in being a thin wallet so having the
highest bid possibly for the keywords “thin wallet” are perfect.
Another option would be just generic “wallets”. Even though I am
sure there are a number of companies who bid on that word, Big
Skinny is a new concept, a new innovative idea and creation that
people need to know about. In order to get the word out there, they
will need to be an ad that pops up on a generic search for simply
“Wallets”, especially since most wallet companies don’t just sell
wallets. They will most likely sell purses or are big companies that
host a variety of brands of purses and wallets and are hard to shop
online because of their vast, unparticular range of products.
Personally, I don’t believe that the search for “nylon wallet” will be
very worthwhile. Most people don’t even know that there are options
for nylon wallets on the market, so the likelihood that someone would
put that in a search query is very low. Something like “durable wallet”
or “long lasting wallet” would be more affective.

3. How effectively is Big Skinny using social media to sell its

wallets? (Minimum 150 words)

Big Skinny isn’t utilizing social media the way they could be in order
to get the most out of it. Social media has revolutionized shopping
and what it means to look at what your peers are doing and using
and wearing to help purchasing patterns. Big Skinny could utilize paid
advertisements on Instagram that could pop up after someone shops
online for any wallet or on a purse/wallet website. Another way they
could utilize Social media more is by using promoters to show off
their products. Subscriptions are HUGE right now, everyone has a

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 subscription to something and every YouTube or Instagram famous
promoter shares what they get in these subscriptions or what they
get as PR in general. If Big Skinny were to utilize this and find people
who they believe would share their product in a way that could help
them, this would automatically increase their brand awareness. I
know that for myself, if I see a cool product on Instagram, whether I
need it or not, I’m going to check out the website or wherever the link
takes me. This will in turn make me remember them when I actually
need whatever their item is.

4. Should Big Skinny expand its partnerships with online

distributors? Why or Why not? (Minimum 100 words)

I think expanding to online distributors is risky because the idea around

Amazon is that your product isn’t the most premium if it is available on
Amazon. People could take it as less quality because it is being sold on
Amazon. However, I also believe that expanding with online distributors is
a great idea. I think it’s a good idea because everyone shops on Amazon
now a day. Having that presence on their website will naturally create more
sales, especially if the landing page is very informative and you get
existing customers who obviously love the product to leave amazon
reviews and photos to prove that yes, they are actually that thin, and yes,
they are good quality and worth the investment.

Section three: Takeaways

What are your takeaways from this case? How can you use the
takeaways from this case as you prepare to move forward in your
career? (Minimum 100 Words)

I actually very much liked this case. Being able to think about such a high-
level problem and think about how I would actually fix it if I were in this
situation was very informative. I think about the company and the position
that I am in now, and how we can gain a better online presence. It is
something we have struggled with for much longer than I have been around
at the company. Trying to get a fan base to follow our social media pages and
then post about their experiences when they come to our games to then gain
more fans and students to come to games is always a challenge, especially
at PSU. But I think about some of the suggestions I made above and think
that some of those things could potentially work for us.

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