Target Customers for Social Media Marketing Trends

! 1
Target Customer for Social Media Trends
Social media trends have emerged as a prime service for many
businesses around the
world. The use of its various forms, including influencers, has
emerged as a great marketing
tool for many businesses around the country and even globally.
Social media marketing has
become an industry with a target market and a need in the
modern marketplace. The target
customer of social media marketing and trends will be
discussed.
The target customer for social media trends is businesses
seeking to appeal to the
mass public. Though every age group currently makes use of
social media, the age group that
mostly uses social media is the 18 – 29 age group. Research
shows that in 2021, 84% of
individuals in the age group used at least one social media
platform globally. Individuals
closely followed them in the 30 – 49 age group with 81%, 50 –

64 with 71%, and only 45%
of individuals older than 65 used social media. The number of
users in the 18-29 and 30 - 49
age brackets is relatively high (Pew Research Center, 2022).
Considering these statistics, any business that wishes to market
to these individuals
can use social media marketing trends. Businesses in the
modern era are also pursuing a
competitive edge to woe over clientele. With this decrease in
print and visual media
viewership, many businesses are seeking alternative ways to
reach out to their target market.
Social media marketing trends are an efficient tool for
organizations whose target market is
between 18-65, a large group in the market. Social media
marketing trends are effective for
all genders, races, and other demographics. This is because
social media is used across the
demographics. Social media companies also collect user
information and use sophisticated
algorithms to perform targeted marketing. In social media
marketing, targeted marketing is
defined as reaching out straight to the targeted consumer of a
particular product. For example,

a business that sells skincare products targeting men aged 18 –
24 who are African American
TARGET CUSTOMER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS
!2
and living in Illinois can use social media marketing to target
this particular audience. The
social media company will select this audience and market
directly to them. This is what
makes social media marketing so versatile and easy to use.
One of the factors that attract businesses towards social media
marketing trends is that
it is cheap compared to other advertising forms. For example, it
is cheaper to advertise your
product on Facebook and Instagram than to advertise your
product in a newspaper or on
television. When the business wishes to use targeted marketing,
which social media
companies charge a small price for, it is cheaper when
compared to advertising using
television or print media. Another reason businesses should use
social media is that they can
reach higher numbers. The number of social media users has

seen a drastic rise over the
years, with old forms of media experiencing a slow decline.
Using social media marketing
grants businesses access to a wider pool, which has made
marketing easier for businesses (SI,
2015).
Social media trends also ensure the continuity of a busines s.
Businesses that refuse to
adopt technology into their operations have eventually become
obsolete in the digital age. By
taking part in social media trends, businesses find rejuvenation,
and this makes sure that their
continuity is ensured. Social media trends also play a predictive
role for businesses.
Companies such as Meta use predictive algorithms on the
massive amounts of data to assist
businesses with information concerning the future of their
business. When businesses invest
in using social media trends, they are able to take advantage of
social media's predictive
abilities, which helps businesses adapt easier to the constant
changes that happen in the
market (SI, 2015).

Social media trends are also very helpful for international
businesses. Social media
has a global presence. Social media is used by everyone in the
entire world, with social media
!3
platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitter
having high international
numbers and fanbases. Businesses that wish to branch out
internationally can use social
media to ensure that they reach out to their target customers
internationally. Social media
trends are strong catalysts for international business. For
example, Tik Tok trends are global,
and when an organization uses its trends, they can be seen by
every Tik Tok user
internationally, which will increase the publicity of the
organization internationally (Zhu &
Chen, 2015).
Social media trends are effective for every business. Due to its
diversity in use, it is
recommended that every business use social media platforms to
ensure that they reach as

much of their fanbase as possible.
!4
References
Pew Research Center. (2022, January 11). Social Media Fact
Sheet. Pew Research Center:
Internet, Science & Tech.
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-
media/
SI, S. (2015). Social Media and Its Role in Marketing. Business
and Economics Journal,
07(01). https://doi.org/10.4172/2151-6219.1000203
Zhu, Y. Q., & Chen, H. G. (2015). Social media and human
need satisfaction: Implications
for social media marketing. Business Horizons, 58(3), 335–345.
https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.bushor.2015.01.006
1

In the current market industry, there have been significant
strides by big retailers and
wholesalers in the area of marketing. This is because while a
business may be equipped to
effectively serve any given market, it is only through the
marketing approaches used that the said
business can stay competitive. Based on the fact that there has
been a continuous development of
social media platforms, there have to be new and better ways
that retail businesses can use to
stay trendy and maintain significance in the sense of whether
people are talking about them or
not. A retailer in the fashion industry would mostly stand to
gain in this aspect since marketing
done on such platforms can target specific community segments,
which is very important in such
a business.
Influencers are those people whose opinions are highly sorted
out by people in the sense
of what they wear or what they eat. Such people will tend to
have a kind of appeal centered on
what is new and what works. For this reason, most retailers
have paid such individuals to post

their products on their social media platforms. Since this has
been the case for most businesses,
there is the need to go an extra mile in the said marketing
approach, and this is done through the
new trend of organizing influencer meet-ups where the
influencers show up adorned in clothes
made by different brands (Li et al. 2021). This trend fills the
gap of staying relevant to the public
since these shows have live coverage by the influencers
themselves. Therefore, by showing up
with the retailer's design, the influencers build up enough
excitement from the public to a
position where the retailer can target newer markets without the
limitation of boundaries.
! 2
The new trend would benefit customers since they would be
able to choose the fashion
they want to be associated with based on what the influencer
they have a liking to is wearing. In
most cases, many people follow influencers because of the idea
that these people have aspects
that they would like to have, such as clothing or even their

bodies. Therefore, based on this idea,
it would be logical to expect that the approach would inspire
more purchases as things would be
judged based on how good the clothes being presented are and
how cool the influencers think
they are. The retailer in such a capacity would be the one who
stands to gain the most benefit
since one such event could put their products on the forefront of
the desired commodities by
consumers.
The idea of using social media as a marketing strategy removes
the limitation of
geographical location. Social media platforms are worldwide,
meaning people will have access
to the idea of the existence of the product from different parts
of the world as long as they have
access to the said platforms. For instance, Instagram can be
used on a global scale because it is
widely used by many users in different parts of the world.
Additionally, it is worth mentioning
that influencers will not necessarily cause an effect on people
from their own countries alone. In
most cases, one influencer will have fans from different
countries and continents, and it is based

on this concept, the retailer should capitalize on their approach.
Finally, it is worth considering
that the trend also fills the gap of ensuring a specific target
audience during marketing and
advertisement (Arrigo, 2018). This is because before the retailer
can decide on using influencers
whose message directly applies to their product. For example, in
the case of religion, the best
influencer would be one who has followers due to their stand on
the same.
! 3
References
Arrigo, E. (2018). Social media marketing in luxury brands: A
systematic literature review and
implications for management research. Management Research
Review.
Li, F., Larimo, J., & Leonidou, L. C. (2021). Social media
marketing strategy: definition,
conceptualization, taxonomy, validation, and plan. Journal of
the Academy of Marketing

Science, 49(1), 51-70.
There are many ways in which businesses accomplish the task
of branding and
marketing. Almost all of the time, the method used by
organizations is dependent on what
they are attempting to achieve; in conjunction with other
criteria like market positioning,
market dynamics, and also target clients-; just to name but a
few (Woschnick, 2021).
Whenever a business picks a suitable method, it is likely to
have a beneficial impact on
its progress and expansion while guaranteeing to establish a
competitive edge over its
rivals. This paper will discuss the marketing and branding
strategies for a product.
Advertisers use the phrase "marketing strategy" to allude to a
business's
comprehensive approach to acquiring new customers and
transforming them into paying
subscribers for its goods or services. Social media marketing is
one of the marketing
strategies that a business may use to promote its product

(Woschnick, 2021). Providing
individuals with content that they find valuable and would be
willing to share across their
social media platforms is the purpose of social media
marketing, which usually
culminates in more publicity and more website views and visits.
Additionally, social
media shares of content, videos, and images impact SEO
strategies by regularly
increasing relevancy in search results on social media platforms
like Facebook and
Twitter, as well as search engines like Google and Yahoo.
The second marketing strategy is content marketing. The focus
of content
marketing is on educating instead of selling whenever it comes
to influencing consumer
purchasing behavior. When using this strategic marketing
method, the ultimate goal is to
create and distribute information that is pertinent to clients'
needs to entice people who
are most suited to your product or service and are therefore the
most likely to purchase

your product or service (Woschnick, 2021). With continuing
communications, content
may be modified to reflect the facts businesses learn about
clients over time. It can take
on a range of formats, including visualizations and web pages as
well as podcasting or
film production.
Lastly, a referral program is also a marketing strategy that
applies to a product. A
referral program is a term that refers to a systematic technique
that businesses employ to
incentivize customers to inform others about their merchandise
(Woschnick, 2021).
Incorporating particular affiliate initiatives, client referral
programs, as well as partner
initiatives as part of the promotional strategy structure is
intended to offer existing clients
instant credibility, allowing them to help build a business' client
base. The terms "referral
programs" and "referral marketing" are constantly used
interchangeably.
In branding, a logo is a visual representation of a brand's
identity and ambitions
in able to link with a customer's expectations and aspirations.

Logos are crucial to a
brand's reputation in marketing. A strong logo might mean the
difference between a
memorable brand and an ordinary one. In this case, where a
graphic t-shirt is a product an
abstract logo would be appropriate. As with brand markings, an
abstract logo is simply a
symbol, but one that is unique to an individual. This style of
graphic does not have to be a
representation of an actual object; instead, it is a one-of-a-kind
logo that expresses
something distinctive about a brand (Meagher, 2022).
Combination marks are another
logo that can be used in branding. Although the name implies
otherwise, combination
logos integrate and mix both graphics and text within their
design. Combination mark
logos can be created using any arrangement of words and
pictures; a person can match a
letterform with a caricature, and nameplate with an abstract
picture, or any arrangement
that appeals to most consumers.

Taking an example of a Graphic t-shirt as a product a business
producing it can
employ the above marketing and branding strategy to reach its
target clients. The target
market for Graphic t-shirts is the millennial generation as well
as the young generation.
These individuals like wearing clothes with graphics/drawings
hence they are the best
market for this product. It is also easier to reach them by the
use of the above marketing
approaches discussed above. For instance, social media
marketing is very effective since
a majority of these people spend a good portion of their time
online. Also using product
branding which is attractive and appealing may entice them to
take note of the product
and also influence them to make a purchase. However, there are
challenges associated
with these types of marketing and branding.
Creating content that aligns with the target market can be
sometimes challenging.
The needs of young people keep on changing and it is difficult
to trace what they want.
This poses a challenge to marketers since they do not know the

type of content to use
when marketing (Jbrown, 2021). Promoting brand recognition is
probably the most
difficult aspect of marketing and branding, as one would not be
attempting to create leads
if they were not attempting to raise brand awareness. While
raising brand awareness is
not difficult in and of itself, doing so efficiently can be tricky.
While building brand
awareness is not difficult, developing meaningful brand
awareness material might be
difficult if someone does not have a huge amount of
information, to begin with (Jbrown,
2021). There are opportunities when using the pinpointed
strategies. For example, there is
using social media there is an opportunity that a large number
of customers will be
reached. Additionally, the millennial generation is easy to
approach. Therefore the
company can rely on referrals and word of mouth to convince
other customers about their
products.

References
Jbrown. (2021, August 23). The 10 biggest digital marketing
challenges facing small
businesses (and how to overcome them). DPi Graphics.
Retrieved April 6, 2022,
from https://dpigraphics.net/biggest-digital-marketing-
challenges-facing-small-
business/
Meagher, G. (2022, January 9). The 9 types of Logos & How to
use them. Tailor Brands.
Retrieved April 6, 2022, from
https://www.tailorbrands.com/logo-maker/types-of-
https://dpigraphics.net/biggest-digital-marketing-challenges-
facing-small-business/
https://www.tailorbrands.com/logo-maker/types-of-logos
logos
Woschnick, V. (2021, August 11). Top 10 most effective
marketing strategies for B2B
and B2C. Top 10 Most Effective Marketing Strategies for B2B
and B2C. Retrieved
April 6, 2022, from https://www.weidert.com/blog/top-10-most-
effective-

marketing-strategies
https://www.weidert.com/blog/top-10-most-effective-marketing-
strategies
strategies
Running head: MARKETING AND BRANDING 1
There are many ways in which businesses accomplish the task
of branding and
marketing. Almost all of the time, the method used by
organizations is dependent on what
they are attempting to achieve; in conjunction to other criteria
like market positioning, market
dynamics, and also target clients-; just to name but a few
(Woschnick, 2021). Whenever a
business picks the suitable method, it is likely to have a
beneficial impact on its progress and
expansion while guaranteeing to establish a competitive edge
over its rivals. This paper will
discuss the marketing and branding strategies for a product.
Advertisers use the phrase "marketing strategy" to allude to a
business's

comprehensive approach to acquiring new customers and
transforming them into paying
subscribers for its goods or services. Social media marketing is
one of the marketing
strategies that a business may use to promote its product
(Woschnick, 2021). Providing
individuals with content that they find valuable and would be
willing to share across their
social media platforms is the purpose of social media
marketing, which usually culminates in
more publicity and more website views and visits. Additionally,
social media shares of
content, videos, and images impact SEO strategies by regularly
increasing relevancy in
search results on social media platforms like Facebook and
Twitter, as well as search engines
like Google and Yahoo.
The second marketing strategy is content marketing. The focus
of content marketing
is on educating instead of selling whenever it comes to
influencing consumer purchasing
behaviour. When using this strategic marketing method, the
ultimate goal is to create and

distribute information that is pertinent to clients' needs in order
to entice people who are most
suited with your product or service and are therefore the most
likely to purchase your product
MARKETING AND BRANDING ! 2
or service (Woschnick, 2021). With continuing communications,
content may be modified to
reflect the facts businesses learn about clients over time. It can
take on a range of formats,
including visualizations and webpages as well as podcasting or
film production.
Lastly referral program is also a marketing strategy that is
applicable for a product.
Referral program is a term that refers to a systematic technique
that businesses employ to
incentivize customers to inform others about their merchandise
(Woschnick, 2021).
Incorporating particular affiliate initiative, client referral
programs, as well as partner
initiatives as part of the promotional strategy structure is
intended to offer existing clients
with instant credibility, allowing them to help build a business'
client base. The terms

"referral programs" and "referral marketing" are constantly used
interchangeably.
In branding, a logo is a visual representation of a brand's
identity and ambitions in
able to link with a customer's expectations and aspirations.
Logos are crucial to a brand's
reputation in marketing. A strong logo might mean the
difference between a memorable brand
and an ordinary one. In this case where a graphic t-shirt is the
product an abstract logo would
be appropriate. As with brand markings, an abstract logo is
simply a symbol, but one that is
unique to an individual. This style of graphic does not have to
be a representation of an actual
object; instead, it is a one-of-a-kind logo that expresses
something distinctive about a brand
(Meagher, 2022). Combination marks is another logo that can be
used in branding. Although
the name implies otherwise, combination logos integrate and
mix both graphics and text
within their design. Combination mark logos can be created
using any arrangement of words
and pictures; a person can match a letterform with a caricature,
and nameplate with an

abstract picture, or any arrangement that appeals to the most
consumers.
Taking an example of a Graphic t-shirt as a product a business
producing it can
employ the above marketing and branding strategy to reach to
its target clients. The target
market for Graphic t-shirts are the millennial generation as well
as the young generation.
These individuals like wearing clothes with graphics/drawings
hence they are the best market
for this product. It is also easier to reach them by the use of the
above marketing approaches
discussed above. For instance social media marketing is very
effective since majority of these
people spend a good portion of their time online. Also by using
product branding which is
attractive and appealing may entice them to take note of the
product and also influence them
to make a purchase. However there are challenges associated
with these types of marketing
and branding.

Creating the content that aligns with the target market can be
sometimes challenges.
The needs of young people keeps on changing and it is difficult
to trace what they want. This
poses a challenge to marketers since they really do not know the
type of content to use when
marketing (Jbrown, 2021). Promoting brand recognition is
probably the most difficult aspect
of marketing and branding, as one would not be attempting to
create leads if they were not
attempting to raise brand awareness. While raising brand
awareness is not difficult in and of
itself, doing so efficiently can be tricky. While building brand
awareness is not difficult,
developing meaningful brand awareness material might be
difficult if someone does not have
a huge amount of information to begin with (Jbrown, 2021).
There are opportunities when
using the pinpointed strategies. For example there is using
social media there is an
opportunity that a large number of customers will be reached.
Additionally millennial
generation are easy to approach. Therefore the company can
rely on referrals and word of

mouth to convince other customers about their products.
References
Jbrown. (2021, August 23). The 10 biggest digital marketing
challenges facing small business
(and how to overcome them). DPi Graphics. Retrieved April 6,
2022, from https://
dpigraphics.net/biggest-digital-marketing-challenges-facing-
small-business/
Meagher, G. (2022, January 9). The 9 types of Logos & How to
use them. Tailor Brands.
Retrieved April 6, 2022, from
Woschnick, V. (2021, August 11). Top 10 most effective
marketing strategies for B2B and
B2C. Top 10 Most Effective Marketing Strategies for B2B and
B2C. Retrieved April 6,
2022, from https://www.weidert.com/blog/top-10-most-
effective-marketing-strategies

strategies
1
Nearly every business is usually affected by their competitors
positively or negatively,
which in turn affects the decisions made by those businesses.
On the other hand, competition can
be good for consumers since it means that businesses have to
provide high-quality products and
services at the right price. It also implies that for businesses to
remain competitive in the market,
they must keep on updating and bringing out new products and
services through innovation.
Some of the major competitors already existing and operating in
the fashion industry
include Nike, American eagle, Urban Outfitters, and Forever 21.
According to studies, Nike has

surpassed former mainstays such as Fitch and Gap to become a
favorite retailer amongst
teenagers. This brand has always invested more, mainly in
women who are paying off in their
business. This has enabled it to secure more young women as
lifetime customers (Teng, 2020).
Forever 21 has been considered the epitome of fast fashion
because it is quickly offering
affordable products and looks that resemble those seen on the
runway. One of the brands that
might be a potential competitor in the near future is Adidas due
to its distribution network that
ships goods across various regions in the world.
The steps that might be taken to prevent customers from buying
from the competitors
include fully understanding the customers, knowing
competitors, and incentivizing customers in
exchange for action. The approach of incentivizing customers in
exchange for action helps a
business to accomplish various things, such as preventing
consumers from defecting by giving
them something tangible. This approach also helps a business to
prevent customers from

defecting by creating buy-in and adding more customers through
the marketing efforts of the
! 2
existing consumers. Incentivizing involves rewarding customers
in various ways, such as
offering discounts, coupons, or cash (Neumann & Gutt, 2019).
A business having adequate
knowledge about their customers helps them to know who they
are dealing with. Understanding
customers' persona can significantly help because it helps
define how to continue attracting them
and serving them well. A business' persona must be
comprehensive enough to show the
consumers' motivation and other characteristics that might
affect the selling process.
Other ways of preventing customers from purchasing from the
competition include
getting sales representatives to service present clients with
helpful advice, ensuring products
reflect current market demand and making customers aware of
the business's entire product
range. Most customers normally decide to abandon a given

supplier in favor of another because
the products or services provided no longer meet the market
demand. For instance, there has
been an increasing demand for eco-friendly products,
particularly amongst millennial purchasers.
There has also been a decreasing demand for products deemed
to be ethically unappealing and
environmentally damaging; hence a business has to ensure that
its products reflect the current
market demand. A common factor that makes customers avoid
purchasing from a certain seller is
due to their lack of awareness of the complete product range on
offer. This might lead to
customers buying some commodities from a competitor, and
once this occurs, the competitor
acquires a chance to offer discounts on bundled goods hence
establishing a new relationship with
the customer.
Businesses should ensure that attention and customers are
attracted away from the
competition by building their reputation, bundling their
products with services, developing

! 3
unique products, and finding new markets. Businesses need to
find out where they stand on
pricing compared to other businesses in the industry. It is
necessary for a business to offer unique
products and services because when competitors hold sales, they
would not be forced to cut their
prices since their offering cannot be price-compared.
! 4
References
Neumann, J., & Gutt, D. (2019). Money Makes the Reviewer Go
Round–Ambivalent Effects of
Online Review Elicitation in B2B Markets.
Teng, J. (2020, December). Analysis of Female Marketing—
Taking Nike as an example. In 2020
3rd International Conference on Humanities Education and
Social Sciences (ICHESS
2020) (pp. 286-291). Atlantis Press.

! 1
The biggest challenge associated with selling the use of social
media trends as a
product is identifying the specific target market for the trends
and the right product that suits
them. In a product such as clothes, it is relatively easy to
determine the target market.
However, social media trends present a much more complicated
task. Once a client has been
identified, the first step is to identify the target market for that
specific client. For example,
suppose a massage parlor wishes to acquire the service trend as
a service. The first step
would be for this massage parlor to identify its target market.
The next step is figuring out
which social media site best reaches the targeted market. This
varies on many variables such
as the country, location, age group, and internet access. For
example, in the Philippines,
Facebook is predominantly used by the youth, while in the
United States, Instagram and
Snapchat are the most preferred among the youths. Identifying

the right target approach for
the target market is essential to ensuring the success of the
approach. The next step for the
massage parlor is implementing the plan and recognizing that
market trends can change at
any time, which may affect the trends (Moreno-Munoz et al.,
2016).
Failing to perform these steps may make social media trends
ineffective and may lead
to losses for the client using them (Moreno-Munoz et al., 2016).
To acquire knowledge of the
target market, the best social media platform to use to access
the target market, and the best
strategy to access this market can become costly as it involves a
lot of market research. This
has been a major detractor for many organizations because
failing to perform these steps
usually leads to the ineffective use of social media trends.
To address this challenge, the best option for organizations i s
to invest in market
research. To avoid using social media ineffectively, the best
option for organizations is to
research their target market and determine more about them. In
marketing, understanding

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
TRENDS
!2
more about the client is the first step toward making the sale.
Since social media trends as a
product are a marketing tool, the best way for organizations to
effectively use social media
trends is to investigate their target markets and determine their
preferred social media sites.
After this, they can draw up a plan for action that will make the
use of social media trends
work well for them (McKie & Ryan, 2012).
In the use of social media trends, there is also the challenge of
copyright
infringement. The use of digital content for which you have no
authorization from the creator
on a social media platform can cause issues while using social
media trends. Social media
sites have been very strict on the issue, usually taking down
posts guilty of copyright
infringement. This might cause embarrassment to an
organization and affect the effective use

of social media trends. To avoid this, organizations that make
use of social media trends
usually have teams dedicated to creating content for their brand.
This helps them create a
unique and easily identifiable trend, which markets the brand.
For example, Nike has a
dedicated team of content creators who analyze current social
media trends in their use and is
constantly creating content for their brand. This is why the
company has a very strong social
media presence as part of its advertising (Kelly, 2018).
The first step to ensure that digital content is copyrighted is to
register with the US
copyright office. Under the law, digital copyright protects
digital material in the same way as
print material (Kelly, 2018). Having your content copyright
protects your use of social media
trends from unwarranted parties. This protects your social
media trends from misuse and also
makes your brand unique, which helps to better use social media
trends.
CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
TRENDS

!3
References
Kelly, E. J. (2018). Rights instruction for undergraduate
students: Needs, trends, and
resources. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 25(1), 1-16.
McKie, L., & Ryan, L. (2012). Exploring trends and challenges
in sociological
research. Sociology, 46(6), 1-7.
Moreno-Munoz, A., Bellido-Outeirino, F. J., Siano, P., &
Gomez-Nieto, M. A. (2016). Mobile
social media for smart grids customer engagement: Emerging
trends and
challenges. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 53,
1611-1616.

FMM 457: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide
Overview
The final project for this course is the creation of a marketing
plan for a trend or product (to present to a retailer for
adoption). In Module Two, you will identify a
trend or product to present to a retailer, based on establishing a
need in the marketplace. In Module Three, you will describe a
target customer and why he or
she would want the trend or product, and define the impact on
local and global industries. In Module Four, you will assess
major competition and draft solutions
to attract target customers. In Module Five, you will analyze
any potential challenges in bringing this trend to the market, as
well as opportunities. In Module Six,
you will define how to market and brand this trend or product.
By Module Seven, bring everything together in a five- to seven-
page final paper (using APA
citations) and create a marketing plan that summarizes
coursework up to this point by identifying the specific details of
the plan (branding, social media,
traditional media), how these details will help make a trend or
product appeal to a target customer, and what can be done to get
a trend or product recognized.
The final product represents an authentic demonstration of
competency because it presents the student work in an original
marketing plan for a trend or
product. The project is divided into six milestones, which will
be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold

learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules
Two, Three, Four, Five, and Six. The final marketing plan will
be submitted in Module Seven.
Outcomes
The marketing plan helps students to meet the following course
outcomes:
1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the importance
of designing qualitative and quantitative studies to address
management issues or to
examine business opportunities in the fashion-merchandising
arena.
2. Students will understand the difficulties involved in
developing new trends in the fashion industry.
3. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the difficulty
involved in developing a sustainable and efficient supply chain
system in the fashion
industry.
Guidelines
Milestone One: Identify a Trend or Product
In task 2-3, you will submit two to three pages that identify a
trend or product to be presented for adoption to a retailer. First,
describe the trend or product in
detail as well as the opportunity gap currently present in the
fashion marketplace. Then, answer the following questions: Is
there anything else currently in the
local market similar to the trend or product you have identified?
Who would benefit from the new trend or product? Can the
identified trend or product be
adopted globally or only in a specific locale or region? To
complete this task, be sure to refer to and integrate all of the

ideas and concepts learned thus far from
the resources and discussions in Modules One and Two. The
milestone should be submitted as a Word document with APA
citations. The task will be graded
with the Trend or Product Rubric.
Milestone Two: Describe a Target Customer
In task 3-3, you will submit two to three pages that illustrate,
describe, and define the target customer for the trend or product
identified in Module Two. Clearly
illustrate who your target customer is and describe why he or
she would want to buy your trend or product. Also, define the
need for your trend or product in the
local marketplace. Make sure you include information on how it
could be used in the global marketplace. The milestone should

be submitted as a Word
document with APA citations. The task will be graded with the
Target Customer Rubric.
Milestone Three: Assess Major Competition
In task 4-3, you will submit two to three pages that, while
keeping the target customer in mind, will define and assess the
major competition for the trend or
product identified in Module Two. Who are the major
competitors already existing and operating in the marketplace?
Who might be a potential competitor in
the near future? What, if anything, would be done to deter
consumers from purchasing from the competition? How could
attention, customers, and business be
attracted away from the competition? This milestone should be
submitted as a Word document with APA citations. The task
will be graded with the Major
Competition Rubric.
Milestone Four: Analyze Potential Challenges
In task 5-3, you will submit two to three pages that analyze
what is believed to be the biggest potential challenges when
bringing to market the trend or product
identified in Module Two. Describe in detail how to address
these challenges for the target customer as well as how to
handle challenges from the competition.
In addition, describe how to overcome these challenges and
potentially use them to the trend’s or product’s benefit. Identify
any copyright or trademark issues
that might be encountered and ways to effectively deal with
such issues. Lastly, how can it be ensured that someone else’s
copyright or trademark is not being
used during the design of a trend or product? The milestone
should be submitted as a Word document with APA citations.
The task will be graded with the
Potential Challenges Rubric.

Milestone Five: Define Marketing and Branding
In task 6-3, you will submit two to three pages that define how
to market and brand a trend or product. Draft out a minimum of
three key marketing and
branding strategies. If there are symbols or logos to be used to
market or brand the trend or product, define what they are.
Summarize marketing or branding
strategies by pinpointing the trend or product, the target
customer, the challenges, and the opportunities. This milestone
should be submitted as a Word
document with APA citations. The task will be graded with the
Marketing and Branding Rubric.
A Marketing Plan for a T rend or Product (to Present to a
Retailer for Adoption)
In task 7-3, you will submit five to seven pages that represent a
marketing plan for a trend or product (to present to a retailer for
adoption). The marketing plan
identifies, describes, evaluates, and analyzes the impor tant
points that must be addressed to bring a trend or product idea to
market. This final paper should
incorporate everything from Milestones One through Five,
revised and streamlined into five to seven pages for the final
marketing plan.
he trend or product: Does the trend or product idea
fulfill a need within the local marketplace and the global
marketplace as well? Describe the
target customer: What makes the trend or product desirable to
this target customer?
tion: How will the trend or product win
over clients and business from the competition?

challenges of bringing the trend or product to market, and how
can the trend or product overcome
these challenges? Create and describe a marketing plan: What
are the specific details of the marketing plan (branding, social
media, traditional media),
how will these details help make a trend or product appeal to a
target customer, and what can be done to get a trend or product
recognized?
This final research paper, the marketing plan for a trend or
product (to present to a retailer for adoption), should be
submitted as a Word document with APA
citations. The task will be graded with the Final Product Rubric.
Deliverable Milestones
Milestone Deliverables Module Due Grading
1 Identify a Trend or Product Two Graded separately; Trend or

Product Rubric
2 Describe a Target Customer Three Graded separately; Target
Customer Rubric
3 Assess Major Competition Four Graded separately; Major
Competition Rubric
4 Analyze Potential Challenges Five Graded separately;
Potential Challenges Rubric
5 Define Marketing and Branding Six Graded separately;
Marketing and Branding Rubric
6 Final Paper: A Marketing Plan for a
Trend or Product
Seven Graded separately; Final Product Rubric

Trend or Product Rubric (Milestone One)
Requirements of submission: Written components of project
must follow these formatting guidelines when applicable:
double spacing, 12-point Times New
Roman font, 1-inch margins, and discipline-appropriate
citations. This paper should be two to three pages in length.
Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs
Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value
Description of Trend
or Product and
Opportunity Gap
Provides a detailed and
insightful description of the
trend or product and
opportunity gap for the trend or
product
Provides a detailed description
of the trend or product and the
opportunity gap for the trend or
product
Provides a minimal description
of the trend or product and the
opportunity gap with few
details

Does not describe the trend or
product or opportunity gap
30
Marketability
Analysis
Demonstrates a comprehensive
and thoughtful exploration of
issues and ideas when analyzing
the marketability of the trend
and answers all of the questions
posed in the task description
Demonstrates a thoughtful
exploration of issues and ideas
when analyzing the
marketability of the trend and
answers most of the questions
posed in the task description
Attempts an exploration of
issues and ideas when analyzing
the marketability of the trend
and answers some of the
questions posed in the task
description
Does not explore issues and
ideas when analyzing the
marketability of the trend; does
not answer the questions in the
task description

30
Course Concept
Integration
Effectively incorporates the
majority of relevant course
concepts and ideas, applying
the information to the trend
description and analysis
Incorporates numerous course
concepts and ideas, applying
the information to the trend
Incorporates a few course
concepts and ideas, minimally
applying the information to the
trend description and analysis
Does not incorporate course
concepts and ideas; does not
apply information to the trend
30
Writing
(Mechanics)
No errors related to
organization, grammar, and
style
Minor errors related to

style
Some errors related to
style
Major errors related to
style
10
Earned Total 100%
Target Customer Rubric (Milestone Two)

Target Customer
Illustration
Provides a highly detailed,
effective illustration of the
target customer, including
extensive demographic and
psychosocial characteristics
Provides a detailed illustration
of the target customer,
including numerous
demographic and psychosocial
characteristics
Provides a minimal illustration
of the target customer,
including only a few
demographic and psychosocial
characteristics
Does not illustrate the target
customer
30
Trend or Product
Description
Coherent and well-thought-out
description of why the target
customer would buy the trend

or product
Coherent description of why the
target customer would buy the
trend or product
Attempts and struggles to
coherently describe why the
trend or product
Does not describe why the
trend or product
30
Definition of
Marketplace Need
Clearly and insightfully defines
the need for the trend or
product in marketplaces both
local and global
Clearly defines the need for the
trend or product in
marketplaces both local and
global
Attempts to define the need for
the trend or product in
marketplaces both local and
global
Does not define the need for

the trend in any marketplace
30
Writing
(Mechanics)
style
style
style
style
10
Earned Total 100%

Major Competition Rubric (Milestone Three)
Major Competition
Definition
Identifies the major
competition in detail,
insightfully defining and
assessing who they are in the
present marketplace, who they
might be in the near future, and
why they are perceived as such
Identifies the major
competition in detail, defining
and assessing who they are in
the present marketplace, who
they might be in the near
future, and why they are
perceived as such

Minimally identifies the major
competition, attempting to
define and assess who they are,
who they might be, and why
they are perceived as such
Does not identify your major
competition; does not define or
assess who they are
30
Description of
Deterrence
Effectively describes what
would be done to deter
consumers from purchasing
from the competition
Describes what would be done
to deter consumers from
purchasing from the
competition
Minimally describes what would
be done to deter consumers
from purchasing from the
competition
Does not describe what would
done to deter consumers from
purchasing from the
competition
30

Attracting Attention
Explanation
Comprehensively explains how
to attract attention, customers,
and business away from the
competition, expressing
multiple ideas and enticements
for and to the target customer
Explains how to attract
attention, customers, and
business away from the
competition, expressing some
ideas and enticements for and
to the target customer
Minimally explains how to
attract attention, customers,
and business away from the
competition, expressing very
few ideas and enticements for
and to the target customer
Does not explain how to attract
attention, customers, and
business away from the
competition; does not express
any ideas and enticements for
and to the target customer
30
Writing
(Mechanics)

style
style
style
style
10
Earned Total 100%

Potential Challenges Rubric (Milestone Four)
Analysis of Potential
Challenges
Comprehensively analyzes both
the challenges for bringing a
trend or product to a target
customer and the challenges
from competition, using specific
details
Analyzes both the challenges
for bringing a trend or product
to a target customer and the
challenges from competition,
using some details
Minimally analyzes the
challenges for bringing a trend
or product to a target customer
and the challenges from
competition

Does not analyze challenges 30
Addressing
Challenges
Description
Insightfully describes what to
do to overcome challenges and
potentially use them to the
benefit of a trend or product
Describes what to do to
overcome challenges and
Minimally describes what to do
to overcome challenges and
Does not describe what to do to
overcome challenges and use
them to the benefit of a trend
or product
30
Copyright and
Trademark Analysis
Effectively analyzes any
copyright or trademark issues
that might be encountered and
conclusively details how to deal
with them

Analyzes any copyright or
trademark issues that might be
encountered and details how to
deal with them
Attempts but struggles to
analyze any copyright or
trademark issues that might be
encountered and struggles to
logically detail how to deal with
them
Does not analyze any copyright
or trademark issues; does not
detail how to deal with them
30
Writing
(Mechanics)
style
style
style

style
10
Earned Total 100%
Marketing and Branding Rubric (Milestone Five)
Requirements of submission: Written components of projects

Draft of Marketing
and Branding
Strategies
Comprehensively drafts a
minimum of three key
marketing or branding
strategies for the trend or
product using specific details
Drafts a minimum of three key
product using some details
Attempts but struggles to draft
a minimum of three key
product
Does not draft a minimum of
three key marketing or branding
product
30
Definition of
Symbols or Logos
Creatively and accurately
defines symbols or logos to be
used to help market or brand a
trend or product

Accurately defines symbols or
logos to be used to help market
or brand a trend or product
Minimally and/or inaccurately
defines symbols or logos to be
used to help market or brand a
trend or product
Does not define symbols or
logos to be used to help market
or brand a trend or product
30
Summary of
Marketing or
Branding Strategies
Comprehensively summarizes
strategies by clearly pinpointing
the trend or product, target
customer, challenges, and
opportunities
Summarizes marketing or
branding strategies by
pinpointing the trend or
product, target customer,
challenges, and opportunities
Minimally summarizes

strategies
Does not summarize marketing
or branding strategies
30
Writing
(Mechanics)
style
style
style
style
10
Earned Total 100%

Final Product Rubric
Format: Written components of projects must follow these
formatting guidelines when applicable: double spacing, 12-point
Times New Roman font, 1-inch

margins, and discipline-appropriate citations. This paper should
be five to seven pages in length.
Identification of a
Trend or Product
Insightfully identifies a trend or
product and how the trend or
product fulfills a need within
both the local and the global
marketplace using specific
details
Identifies a trend or product
and how the trend or product
fulfills a need within both the
local and the global
marketplace using some
Minimally identifies a trend or
marketplace
Does not identify a trend or
marketplace
15

Description of the
Target Customer
Effectively and thoroughly
describes the target customer
and what makes the trend or
product desirable to this
customer
Thoroughly describes the target
customer and what makes the
trend or product desirable to
this customer
Inconclusively describes the
target customer and what
makes the trend or product
desirable to this customer
Does not describe the target
customer and what makes the
trend or product desirable to
this customer
15
Assessment of Major
Competition
Accurately and
comprehensively assesses the
competition and how the trend
or product will win over clients
and business from this
competition

Comprehensively assesses the
competition
Minimally and/or inaccurately
assesses the competition and
how the trend or product will
win over clients and business
from this competition
Does not assess the
competition
15
Analysis of Potential
Challenges
Conclusively analyzes the
challenges of bringing the trend
or product to market and how
such challenges can be
overcome
Analyzes the challenges of
bringing the trend or product to
market and how such
challenges can be overcome
Inconclusively analyzes the
challenges of bringing the trend

or product to market and how
such challenges can be
overcome
Does not conclusively analyze
the challenges of bringing the
trend or product to market and
how such challenges can be
overcome
15
Definition of
Marketing and
Branding
Effectively defines how to
market and brand the trend or
product with a minimum of
three strategies and supports a
recommendation for the best
strategy
Defines how to market and
brand the trend or product with
a minimum of three strategies
and supports a
strategy
Ineffectively defines how to
market and brand the trend or
product with a minimum of
three strategies and does not
sufficiently support a

strategy
Does not define how to market
and brand the trend or product
with a minimum of three
strategies and does not
recommend a strategy
15
Identification of
Marketing Details
and Recognition
Strategy

Effectively identifies how the
marketing plan will make a
trend or product appeal to a
strategy or strategies can be
employed to get a trend or
product recognized
Identifies how the marketing
plan will make a trend or
product appeal to a target
customer and what strategy or
strategies can be employed to
get a trend or product
recognized
Minimally identifies how the
product recognized
Does not identify how the
product recognized
15
Control of Syntax and

Mechanics
Adheres to the conventions of
grammar, punctuation, spelling,
mechanics, and usage with no
errors
grammar, punctuation,
mechanics, and usage with few
errors
mechanics, and usage with
some errors
mechanics, and usage with
many errors
10
Earned Total 100%
FMM 457: Final Project Guidelines and Grading Guide
Overview Outcomes Guidelines Milestone One: Identify a Trend
or Product Milestone Two: Describe a Target Customer
Milestone Three: Assess Major Competition Milestone Four:
Analyze Potential Challenges Milestone Five: Define
Marketing and Branding A Marketing Plan for a T rend or
Product (to Present to a Retailer for Adoption) Deliverable
Milestones Trend or Product Rubric (Milestone One) Target
Customer Rubric (Milestone Two) Major Competition Rubric
(Milestone Three) Potential Challenges Rubric (Milestone Four)
Marketing and Branding Rubric (Milestone Five) Final Product

Target Customers for Social Media Marketing Trends

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