DONNA VINCI

MZ Inc. Uses Public Relations as an Integrated Marketing Strategy to Communicate the Selling Points of the Donna Vinci Brands

View the website:www.DonnaVinci.com

CHALLENGE
Donna Vinci, a leading clothing manufacturer that designs special occasion clothing for African American women, had serious dilemmas in marketing its brands, Donna Vinci, DVC, and Lisa Rene.  An increasing number of brands were entering the special occasion clothing category and  marketing to African American women, thus taking away market share from DV.  Along with the increase in competition, DV had budget constraints that did not allow them to explore traditional venues of marketing, like advertising.  DV needed to find a way to set itself apart from the competition and market its products without using any sort of advertising.

SOLUTION
In order to set DV apart from its competitors, MZ Inc. conducted extensive research on DV’s products and top customers to determine what the unique selling points were for the DV brands. (Insert Link to Donna Vinci Marketing Research Case Study) Based on those findings, MZ Inc. cleverly used PR as a marketing vehicle to convey the brands’ selling points to the target segment.  PR was carried out through postcards, magazines, PR Kits, and the DV website.  The campaign was organized as follows:    

Postcards
Postcards showing an image of a model dressed in Donna Vinci clothing, along with the contact information of the company and exhibit number, were used to publicize the Donna Vinci brand at the MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas.  The MAGIC Marketplace is a trade show where over 3,000 clothing manufacturers can showcase their past season’s products to various buyers, view competitors’ products, and advertise new product lines.  These postcards notified buyers about the location of the Donna Vinci exhibit and gave reasons why buyers should choose Donna Vinci over other similar brands.      

Magazines
From the top 25 African American women’s magazines, we selected 11 magazines, which we thought would be the magazines most likely to publicize DV’s products or mention the product line in an article.  The selected magazines were re-evaluated to determine the audience, the circulation size, and the overall message of the magazine.  Based on this information, press releases promoting DV brands and their products were written with content specifically tailored to each magazine.  For example, the press release sent to Brides Noir would advocate how the mother of the bride or a wedding guest would look stunning in the clothing from the retailer.    

PR Kits
In order to reach a large amount of DV consumers, we determined that mailing PR materials to boutiques that carry the DV product line was best because boutiques would use the PR materials to promote and market DV products to their customers.  The distribution of PR materials ensures that consumers are directly exposed to the Donna Vinci brand and its product line, and it gives Donna Vinci more control over its image to the consumer base.  We developed a PR kit, which included a folder that contained press releases and inserts.  One of the press releases documented an interview with the official spokeswoman of the DV brands, gospel singer Dottie Peoples.  In the interview, Peoples praises DV clothing on its slimming cut and recommends DV clothing for any special occasion.  Other press releases announced dressing tips by the designer of the DV brands, Danny Golshan, or commended DV clothing for making curvier women look two sizes smaller. The PR kits were then mailed to 101 of Donna Vinci’s top buyers from boutiques around the country.

Website
We improved the Donna Vinci website by adding an Online Press Room section, which displays links to press releases and downloadable press releases specifically for journalists.  Fourteen press releases have been posted since the launch of the Online Press Room.  The press releases ranged from announcements of the new fall product line to a series of dress tips from the designer of Donna Vinci, Danny Golshan.  The downloadable feature for press releases on the Press Room page allows any fashion journalist or editor to have quick and unlimited access to the online press releases 24 hours a day.

RESULTS
The campaign resulted in a tremendous increase in brand awareness.  Magazines like Gospel Today and Kuji printed the article documenting the interview with Donna Vinci spokeswoman, Dottie Peoples.  The PR kits helped Donna Vinci spread positive news about its fall line directly to consumers since the boutiques that carry the Donna Vinci line used the PR kits to publicize the brand to their customers.  In a feedback study conducted after the PR kits were mailed to boutiques, most of the boutiques that received these kits found the PR materials to be useful and had already implemented them in some way.  

The campaign also opened new international and global markets.  Prospective buyers from Switzerland and Africa have contacted Donna Vinci to set up business relationships with Donna Vinci.  Finally, the PR campaign caused an increase in sales, at both the boutiques which buy from Donna Vinci, and at Donna Vinci itself.  One boutique owner was quoted as stating that the postcard campaign drastically increased his sales volume.  Donna Vinci’s online sales volume has also increased dramatically since the onset of the campaign.  Overall, the results of the campaign clearly illustrated that implementing PR as a marketing strategy is effective in promoting the selling points of the DV brands.