East Coast Lifestyle

Alex MacLean started East Coast Lifestyle, a line of casual clothing and accessories, as a project for his entrepreneurship course while at Acadia University (in Nova Scotia). His ideas for the business started as a hunch that east coasters would get behind a brand meant to show off their regional pride, especially if it promised to give back to the community. Alex did some research and found that there wasn't a clothing line specifically aimed at the east coast market...yet.

Product development involved selecting core products as well as developing a logo. The brand's stylized anchor logo, which MacLean designed on a flight home from a family vacation, evokes memories of summer days spent on the water. "The brand stands for more than just a logo, more than just a company. It represents where we're from. If you wear it, you wear it proudly if you're a Maritimer," explains MacLean.

Alex borrowed $800 from his father to produce the first 30 hoodies. While waiting for them to arrive, he prepped his social media channels and posted East Coast Lifestyle stickers all around campus to create some buzz. The first 30 hoodies were sold mostly to friends, but the next orders sold swiftly to strangers. Photos of Sidney Crosby (professional hockey player) and Ed Sheeran (musician) wearing the brand have been posted on Instagram, giving East Coast Lifestyle the type of publicity that usually costs big money. The company isn't all about sailing and surfing, though -it's about giving back, too. Alex has donated money to Acadia's S.M.I.L.E. foundation (Sensory Motor Instructional Leadership Experience for people with disabilities) and to support shelters for the homeless.

Now a graduate, Alex is devoting all his time to the business and is looking for ways to increase sales. What marketing recommendations do you have for East Coast Lifestyle?Your recommendations should consider concepts from the chapter, including attracting new markets, creating line extensions, and /or adopting new marketing mix strategies. (Tuckwell & Jaffey, 2019, p. 214)

Please provide answers to the following questions

1. Take the information provided in the case and classify the information using a SWOT analysis. Identify the company's strengths and weaknesses. Identify the opportunities and threats that the company faces.

2.How has the company positioned East Coast Lifestyle products? What image is the company trying to project?

Alexwantsto increase sales of his East Coast Lifestyle products.

3. Consider options with respect to managing current products: product modification, product mix expansion, and packaging and brand design decisions. Briefly discuss all options before explaining your recommended option. What would you suggest? Explain.

4. Consider options with respect to generic marketing strategies: penetration, market development, and product development. Briefly discuss all options before explaining your recommended option. What would you suggest? Explain.

Remember you will want to bring in concepts/ideas from your textbook or another outside sources. Whenyou do, you will need to include in-text citations and references