The VPs main focus was recommending few new segmentation and positioning strategy for TFC
Recent addition to TFC and was eager to create an impression
Company needed to strengthen its competitive position in the market
The company was ready to spend $60M in 2007 which was an increase of 33.33% from 2006
TFC Background
A very famous and successful TV network – dedicated solely to fashion
24/7
Founded in 1994 by 2 entrepreneurs. Steady revenue and profit growth since the beginning
Reached around 80M viewers. Women between 35-54 were the its most avid viewers
They did not have any specific target segment
Its management believed in the ‘Fashion for Everyone’ concept and wanted to reach as many people as possible and cover most grounds
By 2006 it was clear to TFC that there are a lot of networks like them which are coming and area potential competition to them
A new marketing strategy and future growth were the need of the hour. This also meant more focus and investment in marketing and advertising
Resistance
There were few in the company who were against any change in the marketing strategy including Thomas who wanted to resist the change as much as possible and was a bit skeptical
Wheeler’s Plan
Frazier clearly mentioned that networks like CNN were slowly capturing a small portion of the market, giving the TFC viewers an option to choose from
Wheeler knew that she needs to market the channel to the critical mass and at the same time were attractive to the advertisers as well
Identifying the right chunk of target segment was key here and at the same time giving a good mix to the advertisers was also important (as compared to the competitors)
Not upsetting the cable subscribers also had to be taken care of. So she could not afford too many changes
She wanted to focus on a new segmentation and focus advertising towards it. Internet advertising, PR, promotions were also of primary focus. She also knew that time was of essence