Tiffany & Co. Brand Plan

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Introduction
Tiffany & Co. ("T&C") is a well-renowned name amongst global luxury brands, with its iconic Tiffany Blue Box® that exudes style, sophistication, elegance, and exclusivity. The trademarked Tiffany Blue® was chosen for its boxes and catalogues to symbolize quality and craftsmanship and was established in 1837, the same year the company was founded. The company has since become a part of history with its long American heritage.
However, the Tiffany brand currently runs the risk of losing its identity as a luxury brand as the company is perceived to be catering to two different segments. While the brand still has many attributes that reaffirm its position as a luxury brand, there is confusion behind the Tiffany brand as the company also attempts to cater to a more accessible market with its line of silver jewelry. Can the Tiffany brand successfully target two markets and maintain its position as a global luxury brand?
In this paper, T&C's brand environment, brand objectives, key competitors, brand positioning and brand identity will be discussed. Recommendations will be made based on the analysis of the key issues and opportunities that T&C's is currently facing. Finally, the risks and contingencies, implementation strategy and the steps for brand evaluation will be considered. Although T&C engages in a variety of business lines, its jewelry business will be the focus of this paper.
Brand Analysis
To ensure the optimal recommendation is made for the future of the Tiffany brand, it is important to understand key elements of the brand by analyzing the company, the competitive landscape, and the brand positioning. The following section discusses T&C's key strengths and weaknesses that would affect the feasibility of the recommendations. For a detailed discussion of these points, and for the full SWOT analysis, please see Appendix 1.
Strengths & Weaknesses
T&C is a brand that consumers associate with elegance, luxury, and timeless jewelry, which allows it to command massive premiums on its products. With a history of innovation (e.g. the first to set the diamond away from a band) and a commitment to quality (e.g. diamonds are evaluated on the 4C's and T&C's own metric "presence"), it is not surprising that T&C is the brand of debutantes and socialites alike.
T&C's jewelry segment has experienced a growth rate of 13.3% annually from 2003 to 2007, with steady sales or growth in each of its major jewelry categories in the last three fiscal years. This may be indicative of a strong product offering and opportunities for growth in all its segments. A major challenge this paper will attempt to address for T&C is the possible brand confusion caused by the disparate retail prices and the obvious differences in aesthetics of the products. As a result, it is difficult to define the current positioning strategy of the company. Appendix 1 displays several jewelry products currently available, and the difference in styling is evident. The price points of the jewelry can range from $100 to over $50,000. The average price of non-engagement gemstone jewelry sold in 2007 was $3,400, and the average price of non-gemstone sterling silver jewelry sold was $200. The former category made up the largest percentage of sales in 2007 at 32%, and the latter was the second largest at 29%. These major differences could dilute the luxury associations of the brand.
Company Objectives: Short-Term and Long-Term
In the short-term, as T&C continues to face an economic downtown, the company has decided to scale down its new store openings and focus primarily on opening new stores in locations that have the best opportunity to thrive (Datamonitor, 2009). The company is also looking to leverage a smaller store format to expand its consumer reach through an increased number of smaller stores (Datamonitor, 2009).
As indicated in its 2007 Annual Report, in the short-term and long-term, T&C intends to maintain its brand and image through its "Brand Stewardship" initiatives to ensure the brand is associated with exclusivity and quality, as well as the highest level of in-store experience (Tiffany & Co., 2008).
T&C's long-term objectives include focusing on its growth in Europe and establishing the brand as a globally recognized and distributed lifestyle brand through brand extensions into other product categories (Datamonitor, 2009). For example, T&C partnered with The Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaker, in December 2007 to create a full line of T&C branded watches.
Tiffany & Co.'s Current Marketing Mix
Product
The T&C product line consists of both jewelry and accessories. In the 1990s, T&C introduced more sterling silver into its product portfolio to attract new customer segments in an attempt to become a brand with mass appeal. All of T&C's 3,500 products are differentiated on product design and premium quality.
Place
Although T&C sales channels include its mail order catalogue and website, the retail channel remains the main driver of its sales. Prior to 1963, T&C retail outlets were restricted only to New York City. Today, there are over 70 retail locations in the U.S. (the New York store on Fifth Ave. represents approximately 20% of all U.S. sales) and 114 international stores (Datamonitor, 2009). Company stores are always located in luxury areas of urban centres to remain consistent with the luxury brand image.
Price
Products range in price from $100 to $1.85 million. Recent additions to the product line show an increased product offering in the lower range of the pricing spectrum with additional silver lines and "affordable" (pieces under $250) product lines. In 2004, the average sale produced $254 in revenue. However, all of T&C products earn premium revenue within its own respective product categories.
Promotion
T&C's most recognizable brand promotional elements are its trademarked Tiffany Blue Box® and Tiffany Blue®. T&C reinvests 6% of total revenues for advertising media spend, which includes magazine, television, and newspaper. Traditionally, the majority of the advertising communications promoted one-time expensive purchases through emotional and aspirational appeals. The core message around the brand was premium quality and service. Recently, T&C has been advertising less expensive product lines to attract younger and less affluent customers in an attempt to become a more mass market brand. Recent advertising has included pricing to educate new potential customers of the affordability of T&C products.
People
Similar to many premium brands, T&C places a large emphasis ...