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Social Change Training Manual
MERCHANDISING
Presenter: Anna Bounds
Workshop Aim:
To provide an indication of the issues involved in fundraising for large groups through the use of enterprises and merchandising.
1. Objectives:
- Participants will increase awareness of the issues
- Participants will understand the importance of planning
- Participants will have worked through the issues in one product development exercise.
Brainstorm:
- Identify organisations that fundraise
- What enterprises, activities, types of merchandising are undertaken?
- Evaluate what works/doesn't work and why
- How do we measure what is working?
- Link to evaluation workshop/initial objectives
- What has changed in the '70s, '80s and '90s?
- Fringe, mainstream, "it's OK now" - no need for further activity
2. Issues for Discussion:
- How to establish merchandising
- What link, if any, should exist between the organisation's mission and the enterprise activity?
- What are the pitfalls of merchandising?
- trendy disasters
- appeal
- popularity
- Approaches to:
- design
- distribution
- capital
- administration - infrastructure
- staff - needs - annual/seasonal
- Centralisation
Confronting issues
- Should an environment organisation be promoting consumerism?
- What's more important - money or the cause?
- Where have organisations sold out?
- Are any products ethical?
- Is Merchandising campaigning?
- Wilderness not woodchips!
- Wilderness no compromise!
Profit margins - Products have different margins, eg:
- calendars
- posters/cards
- clothing
3. Analysis
It is essential to properly analyse the product and the market:
- Promotion avenues
- Membership considerations
- Copyright
- Strategic Alliances
- Value of the name of the organisation
- Pilot testing
- Energy -vs- $'s outlay
- What are the products that make money?
- What might work well as a pre-Christmas item?
To answer these questions it is important to go through the steps of the planning process. A design proforma can be valuable AND market testing is a necessity.
4. Planning
Ask yourself the following questions:
- What is the market?
- What outlets will be used?
- How will the product be marketed - At a wholesale/retail/mail order level?
- Will the product have a multi-purpose of making money, promoting the cause and educating the public, or a single purpose?
- How much money is available for investment?
- What sort of return do you expect on the dollar?
- Can anything be obtained free through donation or at a reduced cost? (Ensure there are no strings attached).
- What quantity of the item will you produce?
- What is the break even point?
- When will you start making a profit?
- Is it realistic that the number of items will sell?
- When is the best time to market the product?
When considering your products it is useful to draw up a proforma so that you are sure you have taken into account all possible issues and variables that might be relevant, including:
- Item
- Quantity
- Clothing
- Colours
- Sizes
- Dimension
- Type Face
- Wording
- Measurements
Prepare a brief for designers and manufacturers:
- Ensure quotes are obtained in writing
- Ensure they match your specifications
- Is free promotion or advertising available?
NOTE: - Cards and stickers are good to begin with and joint products with other organisations means costs and worry are shared.
5. Case studies
5.1. Strategic Alliances
Every now and again, great opportunities present themselves.
In 1989, recycled paper was new and rustic brown paper stationery was expensive. Two innovative marketers with one of the leading environment organisations, saw the trend breaking and sourced a huge quantity of extremely cheap brown paper stock. They had the knowledge, the product concept, the materials and the market, but they didn't have the capital or the machinery needed for production.
Brainstorm options they could have taken to launch the product.
5.2. Who is the Competition?
One prominent environment organisation runs a chain of very successful shops, however, they also have a wholesale/mail order arm that both provides and competes with the stores.
The environment calendar is one of the key profit items for the stores, but it is also a big money spinner for the wholesaler, especially if the large department stores buy the calendar in bulk.
What are the possible consequences of large wholesale sales to department stores?
5.3. Making a Profit - at any cost
We are an environmentally friendly company that makes t-shirts for a wide range of highly successful companies - MGM, Coca Cola etc. and high profile events - Grand Prix, Bathurst. We'd like to make t-shirts for you in exchange for the right to use your name - the return will be enormous.
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