Benetton’s: “We On Death Row” Campaign
Michael Grissett & Guillaume Sarthou
December 8, 2000
Advertising & Promotion Management
Ms. Ellen P. Daniels
Table Of Contents
Introduction
I. Summary of Benetton’s “We On Death Row” advertising Campaign
II. SWOT analysis of Benetton
III. Advertising Recommendations for Benetton
IV. Focus Group Summary
V. Executive Summary
VI. Conclusion
VII. Appendix
Introduction
The company that we have chosen to examine is Benetton. Benetton is not only a family started company, but also a unique global group. They combine both a know-how in textile-clothing and a strong identity and image of some of the worlds leading brands (Playlife, Nordica, Prince, Rollerblade, and killer Loop). Benetton manufactures clothing, sports equipment, footwear, bags, and accessories. They offer clothing for men, women and children. Their clothing line is manufactured and distributed out of Treviso, Italy and include both casual and sportswear. They produce over 100 million garments annually at one of the most technically advanced industrial complexes in the world (Castrette). Their overall turnover before retailing reaches roughly 187.2 million a year in retail sales. Due to the company’s success, profits per share have risen over the past five years, and this has enabled them to implement a clear-cut policy of distributing dividends to shareholders. Benetton is present in over 120 countries, and they have around 7,000 retail outlets. (appendix 1)
The “United Color of Benetton” advertising campaigns began in 1984. Benetton’s advertising has not only been a means for communication but also an expression of our time, characterizing universal themes. They have created universal impacting ads that have succeeded in attracting the attention of the public and in standing out amid the current clutter of images (appendix 12). Some of the topics they have dealt with include AIDS, racism, child labor, war, and the environment (appendix 4). While Benetton’s campaigns have gained awards and acclaim in all the countries in which the Group is present, they have also aroused strong reactions. The reactions range from the ferocious to curiosity. Benetton’s ads have generated their own media frenzy in both America and Europe. Through television networks and thousands of articles in newspapers and magazines they have always been the focal point of discussion and of confrontational ideas. (appendix 1)
I. The Summary of Their Advertising Campaign
The same holds true for their current advertising campaign (appendix 10 & 11). This campaign uses 26 convicted killers (who together are responsible for 46 murders (appendix 2)) and awaiting execution. The campaign began in January 2000, and is titled “We, On Death Row.” It reveals the real faces of the prisoners in the advertisements. “Whether they are young or old, white or black, arrogant or anguished, fat or thin, remorseful or unrepentant, smiling or sad, healthy or ill, they are all guilty in the eyes of human law.”
The man behind the advertisements is Oliviero Toscani. Toscani worked for two years to do portraits of the death row inmates, in which he visited death rows in several American prisons. The advertisements are for print and billboards (execution), and constitute the dramatic visual images for Benetton’s new advertising campaign and their Spring-Summer 2000 worldwide communication campaign. The ads will appear on billboards in Europe, America, and Asia. The ads appeared in magazines such as Talk, Vanity Fair, and Tina Brown’s Magazine. The images are also available over the Internet on Benetton’s website (Benneton.com). (appendix 1)
Benetton has targeted the age groups of 18 to 45 with these advertisements or anyone that may have an opinion about the death penalty. Benetton’s strategy for this campaign was to increase brand awareness and increase interest about this social issue. Benetton wants the focus of the campaign to be on the death penalty itself and not on the specific inmates. Benetton hopes that you will leave aside any social, political, judicial or moral considerations. They believe the focus of the ads is to show the public the reality of capital punishment, so that no one around the world will consider the death penalty neither as a distant problem nor as just news. Toscani hopes that these images will give back a human face to the prisoners on death row, and remind everyone that thinks that they are so sure they are right, that the debate concerns men and women in flesh and blood. (appendix 1)
While Benetton is use to controversy and discussion of its ads in the press and among the public, their new campaign is receiving even more controversy. They are being attacked by the families of the victims, victims’ advocacy groups, Sears, and the state of Missouri (appendix 3). These groups are not only upset about the actual advertisements, but also a 100-page supplement that was released (appendix 5). In the 100-page supplement (that Benetton released and packaged in February with international Talk magazine) there is no mention of any of the crimes that the death row inmates committed. One journalist calls the interviews fan-magazine puff pieces. The interviews consist of a variety of other questions such as, “Did you ever want to travel,” and “Who are your favorite boxers?” (appendix 2) Benetton also released that they paid seven inmates $1,000 dollars each for appearing in the ads. Benetton said that European law forced the company to compensate anyone pictured in an advertisement (appendix 3).
The families of the victims and many victim advocacy groups are outraged and accusing Benetton of “taking convicted killers and romanticizing them while ignoring the suffering of the victims and their survivors”, and “using the killers to sell sweaters at their expense.” The groups and the families of the victims have a great deal to say about the travesty Benetton has committed in their eyes (appendix 6). They are also calling for a boycott on all Benetton products. (appendix 2)
Sears, Roebuck & Company ended a contract with Benetton in February. It was due to threats for a boycott, threats of a grant withdraw for 13 million, and the outrage of Sears chairman Arthur C. Martinez. Martinez has decided to ban the new Benetton USA clothing line. The contract signed in 1998 was for multiple-years, and carried Benetton products in their 400 stores. The reason the contract was signed was because Benetton was not doing well in America. Sears also said that the advertising campaign was inconsistent with what Sears has come to represent and is inconsistent with the customer base they serve. The loss of Sears contract to Benetton is estimated at around 100 million dollars (appendix 9). Since then Benetton has offered Sears the power to review and approve any future adds, but Sears still declined the renewal of the contract. (appendix 8)
Missouri filed a lawsuit against Benetton February 9th. They are suing Benetton for one count of fraudulent misrepresentation, one count of trespass by deceit and one count of trespass by exceeding the scope of consent. Benetton did all this by cutting through the red tape in order to photograph and interview the inmates (four of which are in Missouri). Benetton lied to officials and said they were from Newsweek, and that they were sponsored by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Benetton kept the details about the campaign project hidden. (appendix 3)
There are also a number of Benetton hate sites that give you the real low down on what these death-row inmates did. One such site goes through ten pages describing the horrific crimes the inmates have committed. They do not pull any punches when it comes to giving you the facts and not fluff (unlike Benetton). Due to all the negative backlash of their death row campaign it is obvious that it was not effective in achieving their goals. (appendix 7)
II. The SWOT analysis
Strengths:
· Benetton Group is a world leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of distinctive casual apparel for men, women, and children.
· Benetton is well known around the world; it has a good image and a good reputation through the 120 countries they are selling in. The Group's commercial network of 7,000 retail outlets around the world is increasingly focused on large floor-space mega stores offering high quality customer services.
· Benetton is traditionally known for knitwear and casual clothing in a wide array of colors, featuring fashionable Italian design and projecting a youthful image.
· Benetton clothes are high quality products usually made of wool.
· Benetton is active in the sportswear and sports equipment sector with brands such as Prince, Rollerblade, Nordica, Kästle, Killer Loop and Ektelon.
· Benetton licenses its trademarks for products manufactured and sold by others, including fragrances and cosmetics, watches, sunglasses and other fashion accessories, which complement its product lines.
· After competing for more than 10 years in the Formula One championship, Benetton decided to pull out in March of a sport now dominated by the large car manufacturers. Benetton had entered the costly Formula One sport to promote its clothes in the world market. But it felt the costs of competing in Formula One were no longer justified in terms of the marketing value for the group. Benetton made a net gain of $82.4 million that represents a 147 percent rise in first-half net profits.
· Benetton has its own communication research and development center: Fabrica.
It has a pluralistic view on things that is guaranteed by the mix of young people
from countries with different languages, cultures, and attitudes. They work on
projects that include fashion, interiors, industrial design, and cinema.
· Colors is a bimonthly magazine that talks to young people all around the world, and is in 50 countries. They have seven editions published in eight languages, and a Internet site that has won a record number of hits and critical acclaim.
Weaknesses:
· Because of its controversial way to advertise, Benetton retailers may terminate their contract anytime because they don’t want to lose customers.
· In the United States, Benetton is only retailed by Sears who is not very well know for the quality of its products, so people associate Benetton with low quality products.
· In Europe, Benetton products are expensive which gives opportunities to many competitors who provide lower prices for the same quality.
· Benetton, as it’s spread all over the world, doesn’t have a new geographical market to get in, except the United States.
Opportunities:
· Benetton does not have a lot of market shares in the United States, so it can improve its position in that market.
· As Benetton is diversifying, it allows the company to compete on several markets and it makes Benetton less sensitive in regards of the fluctuating economy.
Threats:
· The clothing market is getting saturated and the competition is getting tougher and tougher (GAP, Old Navy, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hillfiger, Calvin Klein, Nautica, Abercrombie…).
Benetton with that campaign claims to fight the death penalty using its reputation to make people think about that issue. They’re not promoting any product, they just want people to talk about the death penalty but they also want people to think that Benetton is a brand that speaks its mind (as they put the United Colors of Benetton logo on the ads) instead of focusing on selling there product. They are actually focusing on one of their strength: In the world market they are world-known and people know about Benetton’s social involvement.
III. Advertising Recommendations for Benetton
The best thing for Benetton to do is to stop using the death row advertisements in the United States altogether. The ads could still be used in Europe since their past and current campaigns have for the most part been successful, but they need to create more product-based ads for the American market. The purpose of their ads is to create brand awareness, but they have not any much success at that in the U.S. The problem is that no one knows what they are selling, especially when the only advertisements they produce have nothing to do with their products.
Benetton should start by choosing television commercials and magazine print ads to get their name not only recognized, but also an understanding of what products and services they offer as a company. They should target the 16-35 age group for starters. They can do this by advertising during shows like Friends, Dawson’s Creek, and on stations like MTV and NBC. The magazines they should look at to place print ads in are: Maxium, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, GQ, and Details.
Their message should be product focused. They should stress Italian quality and show the kind of clothes or product they want consumers to buy. This will allow their brand to be recognized and for people to associate clothing and accessories with Benetton rather than just simply wondering what is it they are trying to sell.
The best way to execute this new campaign is to target a set age group, find out what is culturally acceptable or expected from the competition and the design advertisements to spark curiosity and interest in their products. The goal is to take as many consumers and their money away from the competition as possible and increase awareness of their global brand name and product offered.
If Benetton would like to make a social impact or fight what they view as injustices in other countries (like the death penalty), they should donate to nonprofit organizations or find a more acceptable and/or creative way of supporting their beliefs. This way they are not throwing all their eggs in one basket. They would not be risking consumers for political views.