Silverback marketing solutions boxed 2019 mk11

Silverback – Get it BOXED 1
Marketing Edge
Collegiate ECHO Marketing Challenge 2019
Get it BOXED
Campaign Presented by
Silverback Marketing Solutions
Scott Finn • Brittany Johnson • Thomas Matu • Kelsey Reyes

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
Project Description:
Alignment to Strategic Objectives:
Strategic Objective Measures
Introduction
Situation Analysis
Table A
Marketing Objectives
Target Market
Marketing Strategy
The marketing strategy for Boxed will be focused on the organic
discovery of the unique value proposition they offer through
social media interaction with the brand. It will be paramount to
create continuous content across multiple platforms that gently
nudges consumers towards discovering this for themselves. The
primary focus for communication will be Twitter and Facebook
due to the platforms being favored by the targeted customer
demographic. The hashtags #GetItBoxed and #SavedMy will act
as twin campaigns that compliment one another and cross
pollinate.
Extending the brand persona into helpful home making and child rearing blogs will flesh
out the persona, add credibility, and support organic growth of the following. We intend to
greatly increase not only the number of followers for each of Boxed’s social media account, but

the interactions via shares and retweets. Via embedded calls to action in the form of soft nudges
this will greatly increase traffic to the www.boxed.com website for investigation by many new
potential customers. The value proposition presented by Boxed coupled with the social currency
created by the persona that led them there will help to convert sales, grow the customer base, and
give Boxed a large return on their investment in SMM.
Appendix – Marketing Strategy is below and available via clicking the link.
Strategic Summary Chart
Get it BOXED
Creative Brief
Experience Strategy
Activation
Measurement
Appendix – SWOT Analysis
Appendix – Marketing Strategy
Appendix – Sample Social Media Posts
Appendix – Budget
Appendix – Budget
Monthly Expenses Amount Total

Staff:
$620
Salaries $600
Insurance/Benefits $20
Office Space:
$300
Rent $200
Tax $50
Maintenance $50
Utilities:
$195
Electric bill $50
Water bill $25
Phone bill $60
Cable/internet $60
Social Media
$100Paid media $50
Other Expenses $50
Total Monthly Expenses $1,215

References
Executive Summary: Get it BOXED
Project Description:
BOXED is the premier online wholesale priced retail outlet with consumer traffic and
name recognition that does not match their capabilities. We will launch a campaign to correct
those issues that will target affluent families in the greater San Diego-Carlsbad, California
metropolitan area. The campaign’s primary target will be the mothers in this community. These
women are consummately overcommitted and often maintain a professional career while also
managing the household. Customers in this segment tend to spend less time between orders and
linger when building their cart. Research from SOMETHING (2018) indicates the segment
highly favors BOXED’s Prince & Spring private label. The consumers in this segment tend to
maintain tight nit relationships both in person and through their digital personas. Consequently,
they enjoy influencer status amongst their peers, have a huge referral impact, and are highly
likely to refer new clients on the heels of a positive experienced.

Alignment to Strategic Objectives:
The primary objective of the campaign is to increase Boxed’s site traffic and overall
sales. We will increase both through a comprehensive SMM campaign with special emphasis on
the segment’s two favored social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. Success will be measured
via increased followers, mentions, and social media reach.
Strategic Objective Measures
Introduction
Silverback Marketing Solutions recognizes that the value proposition that Boxed
Wholesale offer customers through their digital marketplace is excellent. The business model is
sound, the site simply needs to experience more traffic to convert more customers and increase
revenue. We are proposing a low budget targeted social media marketing campaign focusing on
the most lucrative and socially influential customer base that receives the greatest overall benefit
from utilizing Boxed Wholesale; the over stretched mothers of San Diego.

Situation Analysis
Boxed’s strengths reside in its convenience and cost savings. Weaknesses exist primary
as a side effect of the business model practices Boxed employs. Boxed’s opportunities lie in
scope and scale increase through partnerships and capturing larger market share. Threats to
Boxed are mostly similar to other online retailers with special competitive forces being driven by
direct competitor Jet.com.
Table A below is a visual representation of the SWOT analysis for Boxed. Following the
link below the table will take you to the SWOT Appendix where the Situational Analysis of
Boxed is fully discussed.

Table A
Appendix – SWOT Analysis is below and available via clicking the link.
Marketing Objectives
The primary objective of the campaign is to increase traffic to the Boxed Wholesale
website. We want customers to arrive there with a transference of emotions from the Boxed
persona organically grown and culminated across all social media platforms. To track the plan,

we will monitor Twitter followers, Facebook community members, social media mentions, and
social media reach. Mentions will focus on the twin hashtag campaigns #GetItBoxed and
#SavedMy. Increases to mentions of the Boxed name brand will also be tracked and
measurement can be achieved through monitoring site click through traffic.
Target Market
Touted as the “Best Place to Launch a Startup,” (City of San Diego, 2018) San Diego is
the eighth largest city in the United States with a population of nearly 1.4 million. The
population is projected to grow to 1.54 million by 2020 and 1.95 million by 2050 (City of San

Diego, 2018). According to the 2017 ESRI Demographic and Income Profile, San Diego has
304,652 families with an average household size of 2.61 (ESRI, 2018). ESRI (2018) also
informs that San Diego has 516,766 households with an almost even split between home
ownership and rental. The average household income is $98,210 and is projected to grow to
$112,294 by 2022 (ESRI, 2018). San Diego’s median age is 33.9 with 13.6% of the population
between the ages of 20 and 44 (City of San Diego, 2018). San Diego middle and upper class
combined make 70% of the population with the majority being middle class.
Boxed’s value proposition includes saving time, money, gas, and avoiding traffic. This
directly appeals to anyone residing in a metropolitan area. Currently, San Diego gas price
averages $3.676 per gallon (AAA, 2018). San Diego traffic causes an average of 54 hours per
year spent waiting in traffic for each of the 68 million vehicle users (Hribar, 2018). Boxed
allows San Diego residents to save time, money and avoid dreaded crowds and traffic.
From our extensive research, Silverback Marketing has determined the most opportune
target audience for Boxed to be middle class mothers in the San Diego metro area. If given the
opportunity, a full 33% of women in the 18-34 demographic would conduct all of their retail
business online (nChannel, 2018). Further, 60% of U.S. adults prefer online shopping to avoid
the crowds and believe ecommerce offers better prices (nChannel, 2018). Boxed’s value
proposition perfectly match the sociological and physical demographics of San Diego.
Marketing Strategy
The marketing strategy for Boxed will be focused on the organic discovery of the unique
value proposition they offer through social media interaction with the brand. It will be
paramount to create continuous content across multiple platforms that gently nudges consumers
towards discovering this for themselves. The primary focus for communication will be Twitter

and Facebook due to the platforms being favored by the targeted customer demographic. The
hashtags #GetItBoxed and #SavedMy will act as twin campaigns that compliment one another
and cross pollinate.
Extending the brand persona into helpful home making and child rearing blogs will flesh
out the persona, add credibility, and support organic growth of the following. We intend to
greatly increase not only the number of followers for each of Boxed’s social media account, but
the interactions via shares and retweets. Via embedded calls to action in the form of soft nudges
this will greatly increase traffic to the www.boxed.com website for investigation by many new
potential customers. The value proposition presented by Boxed coupled with the social currency
created by the persona that led them there will help to convert sales, grow the customer base, and
give Boxed a large return on their investment in SMM.
Appendix – Marketing Strategy is below and available via clicking the link.

Strategic Summary Chart

Get it BOXED
Creative Brief
The overall theme of the 2019 social media marketing (SMM) campaign will be ‘Get it
BOXED.’ This is a campaign slogan and strategy that encompasses the entire BOXED value
proposition to our targeted market while exploiting our competitive advantage. ‘Get it BOXED’
will not only be the solution to our customer’s problems, but the foundation of the experience
BOXED consumers will participate in across all channels of our social media community.
The obvious value proposition that BOXED offers customers is bulk warehouse pricing
via digital convenience. This is an excellent proposition, but to align with our strategic
marketing objectives, we must reach more consumers with this value proposition to grow our
customer base. An organization offering to save a consumer money via the bulk wholesale
proposition is one of many. Traditional brick & mortar, digital, and mixed model organizations
are vying for the same market (Gamble, Peteraf, & Thompson, 2018). To stand apart and
become recognized as the preferred provider of this service we will focus the customers to the
intangible value proposition BOXED is offering. When you ‘Get it BOXED’ you are saving
money and time certainly, but also energy, sanity, and any number of alternative activities that
are much more valuable to our target market than the simply stated savings.
This will be the nature of the brand voice we implement offering ideas of what you truly
save when you ‘Get it BOXED’ across all channels. Further, consumers will to grow the social
community around the ‘Get it BOXED’ campaign and will be asked to share their #SAVEDMY
stories and why they typically #GETITBOXED. The strong association of these hashtags will
drive participation, recognition, and promote the intrinsic value proposition. It will be the seed
in all SMM efforts across all channels.

Experience Strategy
The Boxed experience strategy will be accomplished through the Boxed persona’s
purpose; to be a helpful friend (Sable & Jones, 2018). Through a strong and consistent brand
voice across all platforms, the Boxed persona will match the culture or the community, listen and
learn participant’s concerns, and contribute to the general knowledge base and well being of the
group (Seiter, 2012). The Boxed persona will be one of the overtasked, hyper committed
mothers that we seek to serve.
This will create an organically grown following full of users on the same path with the
same needs and the same jobs to be done (Ulwick, 2018). Boxed will be able to fill the role of
problem solver, like many retailers. However, unlike many Boxed will also save additional time,
money, and hassle over traditional brick and mortar stores. This will be the primary value
presented through the SMM communications of the persona. Certainly, there is direct value, but
the intrinsic value of the Boxed experience will be seen just as valuable as the intrinsic value of
the helpful tips and suggestions the Boxed persona offers. It will be a circle of transference.
Transferring one’s own image to the Boxed persona, who then transfers ‘her’ image to the Boxed
website.
Activation
Activation will begin with the development of content that delivers the greatest value to
the community (Tuten & Solomon, 2018). This content will not necessarily deliver a linear path
to utilizing Boxed.com services with every interaction, nor should it. The basis for our social
capital and trust will be honest, good advice (Tuten & Solomon, 2018). If the customer cannot
receive the best answer to their dilemma via Boxed, then the Boxed persona should not claim
they can. The ecommerce transaction hangs by a thread of trust that is easily torn and difficult to
mend (Suresh, 2017). Stunts and misdirection to drive one-time customer traffic are not only of

little value but have the opposite effect of what the campaign wishes to accomplish (Tuten &
Solomon, 2018). We want to discover and capture a larger portion of the consumer base that
will be best served by the Boxed value proposition. That will only happen if trust is established
and diligently maintained.
The conversion of the SMM efforts from just another set of paid advertisements to a
valued social interaction source will be this genuine persona. The helpful tips coupled with the
hashtag shared stories and punctuated with coupon placement in the messaging will be the
winning combination to grow the social community and drive sales.
Measurement
The expected increases in Twitter followers, Facebook community members, social
media mentions, and social media reach will be accomplished through Brand24.com metrics.
Additionally, internal IT measures on the Boxed website will track origin of click through to
reveal the metrics as well as lead to better future targeting. Further, upon approval of Boxed
management, coupon codes attached to the hashtags will be tracked for the added metric of direct
social mention to sales conversion statistic. We suggest percentage discounts of 5-10% off an
order with the coupons GetItBoxed5 or SavedMy5 as examples. They can be allowed to be used
either only separately or combined. Segregating the mentions of the coupons on specific
platforms will create a web matrix where we can view the typical path of a social media
follower. Again, a revelation of Boxed’s return on investment into social media and a greater
targeting in upcoming campaigns will be accomplished through these measures.

Appendix – SWOT Analysis
Below is the full dissemination of the SWOT analysis for the Boxed campaign.
Strengths:
Boxed is a company with many strengths. Once named FORBES’ “one of the 5 Next
Billion-Dollar Startups,” Boxed has set a great example for online wholesalers (Feldman, 2016).
Features of Boxed that work to attract customers include a lack of membership fees, two-day
shipping, and bonus free samples in each order (Money Buffalo, 2017). Not only do they offer
these amazing features, but they also have their own value focused signature brand. Prince &
Spring provides everyday household items to Boxed consumers at additional savings adding
appeal to the company. Prince & Spring “accounts for about 20% of Boxed $100 million in
sales” (Konrad, 2018) for 2018. Boxed is an appealing, modern online wholesale store with
nowhere to go but up.
Weaknesses:
Like all brands, Boxed has its share of weaknesses. Boxed offers no perishable items
leaving customers no choice but to leave the website and go to a brick and mortar competitor
This can tip the value proposition away from Boxed as the brick and mortar one stop shopping
experience is traditionally appealing. Similarly, Boxed maintains a limited variety of the
products they stock. One article explains that “they only have a handful of offerings for each
product type,” (Money Buffalo, 2017). Finally, the cart price threshold to qualify for free
shipping is high compared to other online retailers. Consumers must spend $49 to qualify for
free shipping. This discourages customers from utilizing Boxed for small orders.

Opportunities:
The opportunities for Boxed are vast. The CEO hints at the presence of brick and mortar
stores in the future, questioning “will the online folks like us figure out brick-and-mortar retailer
faster than the brick and mortar retailers figure out online?” (Stern 2018). Boxed is experiencing
industry buzz at the moment and has a variety of companies courting them for partnership.
Kroger was one of many companies to make an offer to Boxed, although Boxed mentioned they
expect “to receive takeover offers from other retailers besides Kroger” (CNBC, 2018). With the
expansion of fulfillment centers, possibility of brick and mortar stores, and the attention of big
companies such as Kroger, Boxed is looking into a bright future of market expansion.
Threats:
Jet can easily be considered Boxed’s biggest direct competitor. Jet is another online
wholesaler however they offer both perishable and nonperishable items. Jet has several
advantages over Boxed including a wide variety of items, a free shipping threshold set at $35,
and a variety of options for customer to drop the prices on items while simultaneously adding
them to the cart (Money Buffalo, 2017). Jet also has a fulfillment center in California, which
may offer efficiencies that allow pricing to be more attractive to our San Diego target market.
Another threat for Boxed that they share with all online retailers is the issue of cart
abandonment. According to Shopify (2013), “67.45% of online shopping carts are abandoned.”
Online retailers must work that much harder to retain customers and continue making the sales.

Appendix – Marketing Strategy
BOXED has positioned itself to be a highly competitive participant in the lucrative
wholesale priced bulk warehouse model of retail stores from a completely digital position
(Boxed.com, 2018). It is true that Costco, Sam’s and BJ’s have a virtual oligarchy in the
national brick and mortar wholesale warehouse market, but there is opportunity to capture
market share (Gamble, Peteraf, & Thompson, 2018). The general target market, middle class
mothers, represent upwards of $2 billion of retail purchasing power, are a highly connected
segment of the population, and tend to interact with brands via social media platforms (Millward
Brown Digital, 2016). These are the shoppers that made Costco and Amazon, and we are going
to convert them into Boxed shoppers.
To do this, we are going to pursue a best-cost provider strategy and enlist social media to
invite participation from the middle-class mom community to discover and share our precise
value proposition (Tuten & Solomon, 2018). The Boxed best-cost provider strategy depends not
only on direct cost of goods sold, but also intangible savings that the other warehouse clubs
cannot match (Gamble et. al., 2018). The average American travels for 15 minutes one way to
gain access to groceries, sundries, and products that Boxed offers (Hamrick & Hopkins, 2012).
The average cost of gasoline in San Diego over the last 12 months hovered around $4.00 per
gallon most of the year (AAA, 2018). That is 30 minutes of travel, plus shopping time, plus the
cost of the fuel and other expenses and depreciation to the vehicle that the consumer must incur
before buying anything at our brick and mortar competitors. Item for item, even on products
where the direct charges may be a few cents above competitors, Boxed offers the best value
proposition for the customer with all expenses included (Boxed, 2018).

We get this reality across to the customers via a jobs-to-be-done SMM positioning
through all platforms (Ulwick, 2018). The hashtags #SAVEDMY and #GETITBOXED express
the strategy completely. Across Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms we will launch and
promote the #SAVEDMY hashtag as a promotion of what intangible moments utilizing Boxed
online platform saved for our customers. As in examples above, #SAVEDMY sanity,
#SAVEDMY doctor’s appointment, and #SAVEDMY commute can be initiated by the brand’s
SMM accounts to encourage sharing and participation while promoting organic growth in the
community (Tuten & Solomon, 2018). Similarly, the tag line and hashtag #GETITBOXED can
act as a stand-alone mention to promote product line variety or in conjunction with #SAVEDMY
for a deeper effect so long as the voice authenticity is maintained (Seiter, 2012). Again,
reviewable in the sample section a Tweet from @BoxedWholesale stating #SAVEDMY evening
ordering school supplies online #GETITBOXED. The hashtag itself is a call to action and the
incorporated link to the Boxed homepage will drive traffic and increase market share as the value
proposition is fully realized.

Appendix – Sample Social Media Posts
http://www.boxed.com/m/onsale
Hosting the family for the holidays? #GetItBoxed and enjoy
more time with your family. #SavedMy perfect meal!

Traffic is so last year. Stay away from that danger, stay out of
that mess, and just #GetItBoxed instead. Retweet for a
special coupon worth 15% off your next order at
www.Boxed.com
https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Fatal-15-San-Diegos-Most-
Dangerous-Intersections-479442153.html
We’ve all been there. Advice from workingmother.com
#SavedMy health & sanity many times. Check out this
great article for all you overarching Mommies out
there!
https://www.workingmother.com/to-working-mother-who-is-too-
tired-to-read-this

Appendix – Budget
Monthly Expenses Amount Total
Staff:
$620
Salaries $600
Insurance/Benefits $20
Office Space:
$300
Rent $200
Tax $50
Maintenance $50
Utilities:
$195
Electric bill $50
Water bill $25
Phone bill $60
Cable/internet $60
Social Media
$100Paid media $50
Other Expenses $50
Total Monthly Expenses $1,215

References
AAA. (2018). Gas Prices: California. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from
https://gasprices.aaa.com/?state=CA
Boxed Wholesale Confirmed. (2018). Boxed. Retrieved November 20, 2018, from
https://www.facebook.com/BoxedWholesale
Boxed Wholesale Verified. (2018, November 20). Boxed Wholesale (@BoxedWholesale).
Retrieved November 17, 2018, from https://twitter.com/BoxedWholesale
Brand24.com. (2018, November 21). Boxed Wholesale SMM mentions & reach. Retrieved
November 21, 2018, from
https://app.brand24.com/panel/results/?sid=240647898#d1=2018-10-22&d2=2018-11-
21&dr=4&va=1&cdt=days&or=0&p=1
City of San Diego. (2018). Doing Business. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from
https://www.sandiego.gov/doing-business
CNBC. (2018, January 12). Kroger Is Said to Consider Buying Online Wholesaler Boxed for Up
To $500 Million. Retrieved November 13, 2018 from CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/12/kroger-is-said-to-consider-buying-online-wholesaler-
boxed-for-up-to-500-million.html
ESRI. (2018). ESRI Demographics Global Coverage - A story map presented by Esri. Retrieved
November 12, 2018, from https://doc.arcgis.com/webapps/demographics-global-
coverage/
Feldman, A. (2016, October 19). Costco For Millennials: How Chieh Huang Built Boxed, A
Mobile Juggernaut With $100M+ In Revenue. Retrieved November 13, 2018 from

Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2016/10/19/costco-for-millennials-
how-chieh-huang-built-boxed-a-mobile-juggernaut-with-100m-in-
revenue/#2a9106c22adb
Hribar, N. (2018). CARLSBAD AND AVIARA REAL ESTATE. Retrieved November 12,
2018, from http://hribar.com/
Konrad, A. (2018, January 12). Kroger And Rivals in Talks to Buy Wholesale Startup Boxed for
Up To $500 Million. Retrieved November 13, 2018 from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2018/01/12/big-retailers-look-to-buy-
ecommerce-startup-boxed/#56de80411916
Millward Brown Digital. (2016). The Digital Life of Moms (Rep.). Retrieved November 10,
2018, from Millward Brown Digital website: https://bb9.tamucc.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-
2936188-dt-content-rid-
36273929_1/courses/74327.201809/Millward_Brown_The_Digital_Life_of_Moms.pdf
Money Buffalo. (2017, January 21). Jet Vs Boxed. Retrieved November 13, 2018 from Money
Buffalo: https://moneybuffalo.com/jet-vs-boxed
nChannel. (2018). Why We're Here. Retrieved November 5, 2018, from
https://www.nchannel.com/overview/
Shopify. (2013, August 6). Why Online Retailers Are Losing 67.45% of Sales and What to Do
About It. Retrieved November 13, 2018 from Shopify:
https://www.shopify.com/blog/8484093-why-online-retailers-are-losing-67-45-of-sales-
and-what-to-do-about-it

Sable, D., & Jones, L. (2018). Purpose 2020: Igniting Purpose-Led Growth (Rep.). Retrieved
November 1, 2018, from Kantar Consulting website: https://consulting.kantar.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/07/Real-Initiative-for-Growth-Purpose-2020.pdf
Seiter, C. (2012, August 21). 20 Great Social Media Voices (And How to Develop Your Own).
Retrieved October 31, 2018, from https://marketingland.com/20-great-social-media-
voices-and-how-to-develop-your-own-18057
Stern, M. (2018, January 24). Boxed CEO ‘Definitely’ Sees Physical Stores in Its Future.
Retrieved November 13, 2018 from Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2018/01/24/boxed-ceo-definitely-sees-physical-
stores-in-its-future/#737d6f687cf3
Suresh, S. (2017, March 03). Role of Trust in eCommerce and Actionable Tips. Retrieved
November 6, 2018, from https://vwo.com/blog/trust-in-ecommerce/
Tuten, T. L., & Solomon, M. R. (2018). Social media marketing (3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA:
Sage.
Ulwick, A. W. (2018). Jobs-To-Be-Done | Theory, Approach and ODI. Retrieved October 17,
2018, from https://strategyn.com/jobs-to-be-done/

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