The winning presentation by the University of Pennsylvania team

1. YOUR SEASON OF MAGIC
Macy's Undergraduate Challenge
Emily Cheng | Kenneth Ye | Teresa Xu | Shannon Zhan | Joseph Robillard
University of Pennsylvania

2. Gamifying the American holiday shopping experience
• The Your Season of Magic campaign modernizes Macy’s traditional
American shopping experience, with a focus on convenience,
customization and engagement to cater to millennial consumers.
• The campaign emphasizes streamlining Macy’s e-commerce platforms to
make info search and purchase more intuitive for busy holiday shoppers
• Leveraging existing positive affect from corporate social responsibility
holiday campaigns
• Surprising and delighting customers with personalized promotions to
drive them in-store and provide an interactive shopping experience
Making Macy’s magical for millennials
Executive Summary

3. Holiday Shopping Habits
The Millennial Consumer
Shopping preferences and attitudes during the holidays
Love to treat themselves
Find it difficult to shop for
parents and in-laws
Start shopping later but
spend more
Do the majority of their
holiday shopping online
60% of millennials love
Christmas shopping
(more than boomers
and Gen Xers)
Shopping experience preferences
Customization
Enjoy personalized experiences
tailored to own needs
Convenience
Millennials want what they want
when they want it
Socially Conscious
More likely to support retailers with
corporate social responsibility initiatives
Online
Use online and social channels to learn
about products and purchase

4. Data-Driven Insights
Based on primary research conducted with a millennial sample
Consumers associate
Macy's with their major
events and the holiday
season.
1 2 3
Macy’s 99% awareness,
stemming from holiday
ownership, indicates only
gradual shifts
Research Methodology
Qualitative Survey Distributed
Gains 40+ Responses
Demographic represents target market
World cloud (star) populated by:
“What words do you associate with the
Macy’s Brand? ”
Millennials view shopping as a
high effort decision, and
Millennials prefer experiential
shopping in-store

5. The Competitive Space
Retail market is analyzed by positioning and consumption method
Consumption
Method
Positioning
Experiential
Functional
Traditional Digital
Insights Gathered
Macy’s currently
positioned experientially,
but split between in-store
and online efforts
--
Digital space primarily
occupied by Amazon,
which is highly functional
in marketing efforts
(shipping time, pricing)
--
Opportunity exists in far
top-right and top-left
quadrants

6. Strengths Weaknesses
Strong associations with American
holidays and traditional experiences
such as the Thanksgiving Parade
(Miracle on 34th St)
Online and in-app shopping
experience is convoluted,
diminishing consumer affect at info
search and point of purchase
Existing “Believe” corporate social
responsibility campaign targeting
children creates positive brand affect
Associations are skewed towards
traditional brick-and-mortar
department store rather than e-
commerce
Online e-gifting service allows
personalization of chosen product
(color/size) by recipient
Overwhelming product portfolio
causes paradox of choice for
consumers
Targeted floor for millennials in the
flagship New York stores
Low awareness of the actual brands
offered by Macy's
Existing Offerings
Macy’s holiday shopping experience for millennials

7. Opportunities Threats
Leverage existing affect related to
the holidays and traditions, and
differentiate as a market leader for
seasonal purchases
Surge in use of other online
shopping competitors with more
streamlined interfaces and
shipping/return models (ie. Amazon)
Grow existing e-gifting service to
provided curated options (Birchbox
model) rather than mass variety
Increase in use of online platforms
across all consumers for browsing
and comparison shopping
Expand the targeted millennial
experience across channels (online)
Declining brand power within the
millennial market
Extend “Believe” CSR holiday
campaign to appeal to socially-
conscious millennials
Increase in consumer demand for
socially responsibly companies
Potential Offerings
Macy’s possible differentiators

8. Your Season of Magic
Strategy visualized in a campaign that expands across tactics

9. Streamline digital experience
Curated e-gifting service to ease the online shopping experience at info
search and point-of-purchase
Gamify purchase journey
In-store rewards app to add surprise and delight to the pre-purchase portion
of purchase journey and drive store visits
Encourage brand engagement and promotion
Rich media and social media promotion to encourage brand engagement
and interaction throughout the purchase journey
Appeal to consumers' sense of social responsibility
Sustain partnerships with charities as part of our corporate social
responsibility
Strategy and Tactics

10. Streamlining the Online Experience
Curated e-gifting service to ease info search and purchase
1 Personalized
- Narrows down Macy’s extensive product
portfolio with a style quiz which customizes
the choice set based on buyer/recipient’s
preferences on color, price range etc.
- Increase convenience and decrease stress for
last-minute millennial holiday shoppers
2 Socially Conscious
- Leverage partnership with Make-A-Wish
foundation and build off previous “Believe”
CSR holiday campaigns.
- A portion of profits from the customized gift
will be donated towards Christmas gifts for
children, to appeal to millennials’ sense of
social responsibility
X

11. Streamlining the Online Experience
Curated e-gifting service eases info search and purchase
Curated gift selections that customers can
create for their friends and family,
personalized by the recipients' preferences
and demographics
A selection of Macy's private
brands will be highlighted to
drive awareness and promote
brands into millennial consumers'
consideration sets

12. Omni-channel Implementation
Rewards app gamifies purchase journey and brings millennials in-store

13. Omni-channel Implementation
Rewards app gamifies purchase journey and brings millennials in-store
1 Customized
- Reach a wider audience than Macy's app
users by partnering with Shopkick or other
coupon apps
- Users input their preferences and app
randomly generates promotions and deals
for products that align with their choices
2 Push for In-Store Purchases
- Coupons are time-sensitive and for in-store
use only to further incentivize consumers to
experience the Macy’s brick-and-mortar
space
- Connects to the fact that millennials still like
experiential in-store shopping
Adding magic to shoppers' in-store experience
Leveraging Macy's existing beacon technology
and the element of surprise, the randomized
offers will bring the brand to shoppers' top of
mind
Surprise and Delight

14. Digital Promotion
Rich media campaign advertising promotes interaction and sharing
1 Interactive
- Holiday party-themed interactive video
advertising revamped e-gifting service,
featuring holiday products
- Choose Your Own Adventure model where
audience can choose the gifts given in the
video from two options (convey ability for
curation and customization in the e-gifting
service)
- Cater to millennials’ predilection for
personalization and promote engagement
2 Social
- Opportunity to share your customized video
on social media platforms
- Generate earned media and expand
customer base for Macy’s products

15. Digital Promotion
Branded geofilter and story drives digital and in-store engagement
1 Engagement and Conversion
- Macy's geofilters in-store advertise the
Your Season of Magic Campaign
- Allows shoppers to post branded
snaps and increase reach of campaign
- Discover tab leads to an abbreviated
shopping guide, promotions, and style
tips
- Gateway to website and Macy's app to
drive conversion rates

16. Implementation
1 Month before Thanksgiving Promote Your
Season of Magic with video advertising campaign
and social media advertising on Snapchat
2 Weeks before Thanksgiving Launch Macy's e-
gifting service and in-store rewards in time to
capture Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales
After Christmas Evaluate the campaign and
determine scalability
Media
Campaign
Phases
1 Introduction
2 Blitz
3 Refinement

17. jkj
Scalability
How Discover Your Magic can grow beyond the holiday season
Birthdays
Give loved ones or friends a
fully customized gift that will
show them how thoughtful
you are
Baby Showers
Macy's has everything from
clothes to strollers to toys for
all your baby shower needs
Anniversaries
Celebrate with Macy's
fabulous selection of jewelry,
shoes, beauty, handbags, and
clothing
Graduation
Get your special graduate a
memorable gift to
commemorate this once-in-a-
lifetime occasion
The personalized gift-giving aspect can be extended from the holiday
season to any significant occasion where gift-giving plays a part.

18. KPIs
M E TRI CS
Conversion Ratios
Coupon Usage
Click Through Rates
Ad-Based Sales Lift
Views & Impressions
Smart URL Tracking
App Downloads
In-Store Traffic
KP I s
Informed by data from metrics
Market Share
Buyer Preference
Retail Sales
Earned Media
Retention Rate
Performance
Evaluated Quarterly
High Performing
On Track
Below Target
Final recommendations
to adjust campaign or
continue will ensure
long term success

19. The Your Season of Magic campaign seeks to personalize and
simplify the holiday shopping experience through an omnichannel
methodology.
Summary
E-GIFTING EXPANSION IN-STORE REWARDS APPDIGITAL MARKETING