2012 marketing strategy for JCPenney

The 2012 launch of JCPenney's marketing strategy is turning heads. The American retail chain's new strategy is designed to boost sales and increase customer familiarity with JCP. JCPenney sells merchandise for the home, clothing and more. The company has over 1,000 stores across the 50 states and an active shopping website.

2010

JCPenney’s logo has changed multiple times since the company's first catalogue under the name of Penneys in 1963. The first JCPenney logo was used in 1971 and continued for a long time, until 2011. The logo was simple, with the company name as its focal point in solid lettering.

2011

In 2011, the company replaced the design with a more informal logo of all lowercase letters and adding in the side red box. The logo urged consumers to use the nickname of “jcp” for the company and was more casual than the previous one.

2012

The JCPenney logo unveiled in January 2012 is simple yet striking in design. The logo only uses the JCP initials rather than the full title of the previous logos. The colors conjure up images of the US flag. The squares embedded in the logo also fit into JCPenney’s “Fair and Square Pricing” tactics.

JCPenney has a new pricing initiative with the title “Fair and Square Pricing”. The company steps away using coupons in 2012 and instead focuses on providing fair prices each day for its items.

Besides the everyday prices, JCP offers prices that last for an entire month on particular products and discount prices on two Fridays of each month.

Ironically, JCP is paying out less for the 2012 marketing methods than in previous years. Greg Clark, senior Vice President of Creative Marketing for JC Penney, says,

• "Now, the media spend is more impactful, very aggressive and not spread so thin."

When JCP hired comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres as the official spokesperson, they likely did not foresee the negative reaction.

The group One Million Moms, part of the American Family Association, was upset by the new role of Ellen DeGeneres. The group said,

• "Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families…"

DeGeneres remains the spokesperson of the company. CEO Ron Johnson explains the decision to select her as the representative,

• "I think Ellen is someone we all trust. She's lovable, likable, honest, and funny, but at her soul, we trust her."

DeGeneres appears in television ads as well as advertising the company on her own TV show. DeGeneres is a former JCPenney employee.

JCPenney has a new approach to marketing. The new strategy includes changes to its corporate logo, pricing strategy and a new spokesperson. The new presentation of the company freshens up its image and provides honesty in pricing. Look for sales reports from JCP to show the level of effectiveness of the strategy.