2016 – 2017

AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION’S

Justin O'Donoghue
COLLEGIATE CASE COMPETITION

Ferris Student
Executive Summary
With the rapid growth of e-commerce and its popularity with Millennials, eBay looks to
reinvigorate itself as a leader of the marketplace. Both the age and the common conceptions of
eBay have given it a stigma of being an “old” and “outdated” company among Millennials and
Generation Z. In order to remain not only relevant, but a powerhouse within the e-commerce
marketplace, eBay needs to reintroduce itself to the younger generations as a pertinent first
stop to look for items when purchasing online.

To assist eBay in rebranding itself as a leader of the e-commerce marketplace a comprehensive

marketing plan has been produced through the use of both primary and secondary research.

Key Research Findings

● 81.5% of online shoppers within the target market surveyed say they shop online at least
once monthly.
● According to survey respondents, eBay averaged a 6 out of 10 consideration rating.
● The consideration gap between eBay and Amazon was the highest among ages 12-29.
● More than two-thirds of respondents have never used eBay’s “extra” services.
● On average, 48% of people who have used eBay’s “extra” services were satisfied or
highly satisfied.
● Millennials surveyed believed 43% of eBay’s listings were new.
● 60% of those surveyed were not aware of eBay’s “buy it now” option.
● Free shipping and speedy delivery were the highest considered e-commerce services.
● Focus groups participants had a negative perspective of eBay, viewing it as “outdated”
without knowing the capabilities of the website.
● 91% of Millennials are willing to switch to brands associated with a cause (Bhaiya,
2016).

Marketing Recommendations
● Utilize social media for both organic and paid reach toward the Millennial and Generation
Z cohorts.
● Bring focus to eBay’s charitable contributions by fully integrating it into the front of the
website. It is recommended that the charity program be named “eBay Impacts” to give
the push a memorable name.
● Redesign the website to give a user experience more directed toward Millennials.
● Redesign the mobile and app version of eBay to be consistent with the website.
● Integrate StubHub within eBay’s services and allow for cross-site interaction.
● Incentivize product reviews with eBay Bucks.
● Create an app that imports products from ones e-commerce site to eBay listings.

eBay can use marketing solutions to solve their problem with perception and low consideration
levels with Millennials. Many current Millennials have a negative perspective of eBay, viewing it
as “outdated” without knowing the capabilities of the website. With the integration of these
marketing suggestions eBay would boost both trial and consideration among the Millennial
and Generation Z cohorts, with an increase of 10 million more users by the end of June 2018.

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 Table of Contents

SITUATION ANALYSIS 1-6

INTERNAL ANALYSIS 1
PERFORMANCE 1
STRATEGIC DETERMINANTS 2
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 2
INDUSTRY 2
COMPETITORS 3
CUSTOMER 5
ENVIRONMENTAL 5
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OUTPUT 6

MARKETING RESEARCH 7-8

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES 7
SECONDARY RESEARCH 7
CONTENT ANALYSIS 7
SIMMONS ONEVIEW DATABASE 8
PRIMARY RESEARCH 8
FOCUS GROUPS 8
ONLINE SURVEY 8

RECOMMENDED MARKETING STRATEGY 10-15

EBAY’S “FIND YOURS” CAMPAIGN 10

POSITIONING STATEMENT 10
CONSUMER SEGMENTATION 10
PRIMARY MARKET: MILLENNIAL BUYERS 11
SECONDARY MARKET: GENERATION Z BUYERS 11
MARKETING OBJECTIVES 12
MARKETING TACTICS 12
WEBSITE LAYOUT 12
PRODUCT IMPORT APP 13
EBAY IMPACTS 13
STUBHUB INTEGRATION 14
EBAY BUCKS INCENTIVES 14

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IMC PLAN 15

ORGANIC SOLUTIONS 15
INSTAGRAM 15
TWITTER 15
FACEBOOK 16
BLOGS 16
PAID SOLUTIONS 16
ONLINE RADIO 16
SOCIAL MEDIA 17
ADWORDS 17

MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION 18

MARKETING OBJECTIVES 18
IMC PLAN 19

CONCLUSION 19

APPENDIX 20-39

A. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT BREAKDOWN 20

B. EXPANDED SWOT ANALYSIS 20
C. SECONDARY RESEARCH METHODS 22
D. PRIMARY RESEARCH METHODS 23
E. TARGET AUDIENCE ARCHETYPES 28
F. WEBSITE AUDIT AND PROPOSED NEW SITE 30
G. MARKETING TACTIC RATIONALE 32
H. IMC PLAN RATIONALE 33
I. BUDGET BREAKDOWN 34
J. IMC TIMELINE 35
K. SALES FORECAST 36
L. IMC MOCK-UPS 37
M. IMC CREATIVE SUGGESTIONS 39

REFERENCES 40+

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Introduction
eBay, one of the pioneers in e-commerce, has never faced as intense of competition as they
currently do. Their previous dominance in this market seems to get smaller every day and it is of
vital importance that they start to regain this once dominant nature.

Pierre Omidyar’s 21 year old company is facing perception problems as it is currently seen as
an “auction house” that sells used items. eBay allows anyone to find practically anything that
they could ever want. eBay has shifted from the perception of an “auction house” to where now
86% of eBay’s GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) is from fixed price sales and 80% of their
listed items are new.

eBay wants to specifically target the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts. They need to increase
trial and consideration among these generations to have continued success. Increasing trial
and consideration can be done by exploiting satisfying services, being more relevant to the
targeted markets, or increasing a brand’s equity. This plan intends to achieve all three of these.

If eBay can position itself in a way that appeals to the Millennial and Generation Z cohorts while
retaining its current customers, they will regain their status of being a credible place for buyers
to find a vast assortment of new products. Targeted consumers will find their reason to use
eBay through the following plan. Getting eBay to fit into Millennials’ lives in a convenient way will
be the key to success for this plan.

Situation Analysis
Internal Analysis
Performance
Currently, eBay generates $8.59 billion dollars in revenue and has 11,600 employees globally
(eBay Inc, 2015). The company now features 1 billion live listings, 164 million active buyers, and
326 million app downloads. eBay holds a profit margin of 20.29% in the E-Commerce and
Online Auctions industry (Ebay Profit Margin, 2016). The company’s success consists of
multiple businesses and partners including:

● eBay Classifieds Group: group that helps people find goods within their area, which
eliminates the need for packaging.
● Close5: A classifieds website and app that provides an easy and safe way to buy and sell
goods within five miles of your location.
● StubHub: The world’s largest marketplace for online tickets, which features a fast, safe, and
convenient place to buy and sell tickets to events, including sold-out events.
● Shyp: A shipping company that picks up and tracks items at the lowest price and easiest
way of shipment.
● eBay Valet: Selling experts who specialize in a free shipping service by taking photos, listing
items, and shipping for sellers.
● Half.com: A book, music, movie and video game marketplace directly linked to eBay.
● Shopping.com: Compares products, pricing and stores.

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Strategic Determinants
Problems:
● Market share: Steadily decreasing by 1% for the past three years, going from 11% to 9%.
● Image: eBay is still seen primarily as a used item online auction house.
● Competition: eBay is struggling to get back to their ‘once dominant nature’ against the likes
of Amazon and hundreds of other companies.
● Cohesiveness: eBay lacks a cohesive interface across all of their platforms, hurting their
brand image.
● Brand Value: eBay has seen a drop from #28 to #32 in global brand value rankings from
2014-2016.
Constraints:
● Advertising: eBay’s advertising budget is spread among all of their subsidiaries, meaning
less money towards their main brand. They also spend 2.4 times less on advertising than
their biggest competitor, Amazon (Morrison and Zumada, 2015).
● Shipping: eBay is subject to its sellers and what they offer for shipping speed and rates.
● Customer service: eBay is subjected to what its sellers can offer for customer service.
Strengths:
● Enables entrepreneurship: Sellers have the ability to sell as much or as little as they want.
● eBay owns StubHub, one of the world's largest ticket marketplaces.
● eBay is a consistent top 50 global brand.
● Dynamic marketplace: At any moment, eBay has 800 million listings and their sellers are
always looking to have relevant products.
● Entrepreneurial: eBay has acquired 35 businesses since 1995 and continues to invest in
businesses they think will be successful.
● Generally low prices: The low prices come from eBay’s low rate structure toward its sellers.
Weaknesses:
● Customer Satisfaction: eBay’s score for the American Customer Service Index (ACSI) was
75/100 Index Points in 2015 (their lowest satisfaction score as far back as 2000).
● Slower product listing process: “I can do about 60 listings per hour on Amazon and I’m lucky
if I can do 20 an hour on eBay”
Liabilities:
● eBay split with PayPal in 2015, meaning they do not have exclusivity anymore.
● Fraudulent items: Potential lack of strict regulation on items leads to fraudulent items being
sold and dissatisfied customers.

External Analysis

Industry
Consumers now have the ability to purchase virtually anything they need or want at any time
they want. The e-commerce and online auction industry has exploded over the past decade.
The total industry revenue is expected to increase from $294.6 billion to $366.2 billion in the
next 5 years. Revenue has continually increased from 2004, but not at a steady rate. The
revenue growth rate reached a high of 24.5% in 2005 and is now at 5.5%, while expected to
grow to 11.3% by the year 2021 (IBIS World, 2016).

According to IBIS World, the growing industry is due to the ease of ordering products directly
from home without ever stepping foot outdoors. The ability to rapidly compare prices and
reviews alongside the product allows the consumer to move through the decision making
process with more certainty. An increase in consumers choosing to shop online has decreased

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the number of products purchased in brick-and-mortar locations and via mail-order catalogs.
With the use of the Internet on cellphones and iPads, it has further facilitated growth by allowing
consumers to shop while on the go. There are approximately 138,523 companies in the e-
commerce industry. Barriers to entry are low for this industry because it is easy to create and
manage an online shopping platform. This industry is highly fragmented and is made up of
many smaller, independent companies. Due to the rise in the number of mobile Internet
connections over the past five years, total industry revenue is projected to significantly increase
by an annualized 10.1% from $294.6 billion to $366.2 billion for the next five years. (IBIS World,
2016)

There are four key success factors for the growing e-commerce industry. First, the ability to
quickly adapt to new technology is critical. With the ever-changing software systems,
warehouse technology and personal information security systems, companies need to
continually update to the most recent technology. Having stock on hand is also a key to
success. To profit on trends, operators need to be able to control stock on hand and ensure
there is an adequate number of popular items. Third, is the provision of superior after-sale
service. Operators of an e-commerce business should provide superior after-sale service that
includes detailed shipment tracking, refund and exchange policies, and establishing new
shopping platforms as technology evolves. Lastly, having a loyal customer is key to success.
With a loyal customer base, operators are able to attract and continue sales with repeating
buyers and build a relationship.

The e-commerce industry’s market share is currently broken up as such: Amazon 42%, eBay
9%, other 49% (Lazich, 2016). The past three years have shown a steady incremental gain of
5% for Amazon and a conversely steady 1% loss for eBay. This could be an effect from
Amazon’s $4.21 billion in advertising spending compared to eBay and StubHub’s $421 million in
spending.

Competitors
E-commerce is a boundless and growing way for businesses to make money. Companies are
getting more competitive trying to be the number one go-to site for consumer needs. eBay has
acknowledged their main competitors to be Amazon, Alibaba, and Etsy. eBay and its
subsidiaries compete in five distinct markets: Online Marketplaces, Brick-and-Mortar Online
Retailers, Online Classifieds, Ticket Retailers and Retail Website Creators. See Appendix A for
condensed competitive groupings. The following are analyses of each competitive grouping
eBay is a part of.

Online Marketplaces
To be a successful online marketplace targeting younger generations a business needs to have
a great online image, a seamless customer interface and great customer service (IBIS World,
2016). Competitors in this segment include Amazon, uBid, eBid, iOffer, Etsy, Jet, Alibaba and
eBay. Currently, Amazon has the dominant market share of this segment, due to their strength
in the key success factors. Except for Amazon, many of these sites do not maintain inventories
making great customer service difficult to accomplish for the buyers using their site. What the
companies can do is provide great customer service to the sellers that use their services, which
most try to accomplish. Good customer service means accommodating the customer in
assistance or advice, whether it's buyer or seller.

With Amazon’s dominance, many of the companies in this grouping are looking to find ways to
survive. The reputation that many of the auction website companies get is that of “the website

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my dad uses”. Newer players like Etsy and Jet have the benefit of being new creating a fresh
reputation for themselves while companies like eBay need to refresh their reputation to capture
the younger and more fruitful generations. According to Interbrand (2016), Amazon is the 8th
best brand globally and is also a top growing brand in 2016 making it increasingly tough to
compete with. Companies in this segment lack traditional storefronts and face-to-face customer
service, being a weakness to the companies for their customers who want a hands on
experience. Aside from Amazon, most competitors in this grouping lack their own branded
product making it that much more difficult to grab a loyal customer base.

Click-and-Mortars
Brick-and-Mortar retailers entering the online market range from retail stores such as
Nordstrom’s and Abercrombie to supercenters such as Wal-Mart. Many of these companies
have spent years building up their brand through traditional storefronts, deciding only recently to
put strong efforts towards breaking into the e-commerce market. These companies have a
competitive advantage in the unique products and brands that they sell, which may be
unobtainable elsewhere. The brick-and-mortar retailers also have the advantage of a physical
store where customers can touch the item before they purchase it and to have a more “real”
experience. The main difficulty brick-and-mortar retailers deal with is initial entry into the e-
commerce marketplace. However, highly capitalized companies such as Wal-Mart and Target
have spent billions of dollars to invest in their e-commerce outlets.

Online Classifieds
Online classifieds such as Craigslist are not a direct competitor to most of eBay’s services
except eBay’s classifieds. However, they can still steal some of the market share away from
users that would buy both new and used products from eBay. The consumer parties involved
handle all interactions such as shipping, handling, and payments. Weaknesses of buying and
selling using the classifieds are that the process is generally unmonitored by the company,
leading to possible dangers with payments, product transactions, and overall physical safety
during the exchanges.

Ticket Retailers
There are many online ticket retailer and reseller sites that have been entering the market in
recent years. However, eBay is fortunate enough to have a competitive foot in this market with
their purchase of StubHub in 2007. Although eBay has a prominent place in this growing
marketplace, they still face competition from various companies, with the main competitor being
Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster is the oldest and most well known event ticket site. They have joined
with Live Nation, making ‘Live Nation Entertainment’. With this, they have vertically integrated
ticket sales and event promotion. Smaller ticket selling platforms, such as Vivid Seats and Seat
Geek, are looking to take market share from the two largest players in this segment,
Ticketmaster and StubHub. eBay has an opportunity to vertically integrate with StubHub to
increase sales across both platforms.

Retail Website Creators

A small but substantially growing segment in the e-commerce market is the retail website
creators, who can directly compete with eBay’s services on a smaller scale. Retail website
creators such as Shopify and Squarespace allow for independent sellers and small businesses
to create their own personalized website. The ability for the seller to customize their site allows
them to create their own image and differentiate themselves from others in the marketplace.
Some websites, such as Shopify, have apps that allow the company selling a product to market
it through websites such as Amazon and Facebook. The applications on these sites are

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effective for small businesses to help them with distribution, inventory and customer service.
They also come with aids to help the seller through the shipping process itself. These sites may
be stealing potential small businesses that would normally deal through eBay. This does come
at a cost for the seller, as Shopify can charge between $29.99-$299.99 per month depending on
quantity and price of the product, while most other sites charge within the range of $17-$30 for
their services.

Customer
Customers of all ages shop online. The ones that do it the most often are Millennials, ages 18-
34. See Figure 1. This figure was created through the Simmons Oneview database, it gives
insight and reinforcement to possible primary target markets.

Online Shoppers in the Past Year

120
110
100
90
80
70
60
Age: 18 -34 Age: 35 - 54 Age: 55+

Figure 1 Likelihood of each age group shopping Figure 2 Product categories sought by
online in the past year (100 = Average) Simmons Millennials, Simmons Oneview database. 2013
Oneview database. 2013

Figure 2 shows the product categories that Millennials are looking for when shopping online.
These categories motivate the consumer to make a purchase and having these categories will
help an online retailer's relevancy. The most important of the group are accessories,
books/video/music, apparel for men and women and electronics.

It is important to note that sufficient data on Generation Z (ages 5-19) could not be generated
from secondary research. Further research on this segment has been conducted.

Environmental
Creating revenue in the e-commerce industry stems from the development, penetration,
efficiency and use of the Internet. Computer processors are continuing to decrease in price
while simultaneously increasing in efficiency. Because of this, consumers’ expectations toward
speed continue to increase. In order to keep up with this trend, firms have to invest in their
servers to make sure that the user’s experience is smooth. Firms in the e-commerce
environment also must invest in new and better analytical software to detect trends and patterns
among their customers and the competition. Doing this will help the companies that employ “big
data” to stay on top of the needs of their current and prospective customers. A technological
threat against any e-commerce company lies in system failures, security breaches, and theft.
These threats can cause a loss of consumer confidence, which can spread like wildfire through
social media.

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Being mobile friendly is simply not enough in today’s Internet environment. Firms must offer a
superior mobile buying experience. Consumers are increasingly using their mobile phones to
purchase items on the go, whether they are checking price comparisons in store or ordering an
item inside their car before they head to work or school. Consumers need an almost instant
experience. Companies in the e-commerce environment are investing in smart phone
applications and mobile responsiveness to their website in attempt to eliminate the chance of
being dismissed for having an unsatisfactory website (IBISWorld, 2016).

There have been attempts to impose regulations against auctions and the handling of property
by “secondhand dealers” or “pawnbrokers” by numerous states. These attempts can change the
way eBay and other auctions sites conduct their business. Another regulation being imposed in
the e-commerce environment is indirect sales tax--a complex and evolving issue. For online
marketplaces, the collective responsibility and additional costs associated with complex-use tax
collection, remittance and audit requirements would make selling via Internet less attractive.
Along with those, several proposals have been made at the U.S. state and local levels to
impose additional taxes on the sale of goods over the Internet. These regulations on the
governmental level will make selling online less attractive for companies, especially small and
medium-sized ones.

Situational Analysis Output (SWOT)

Following the analysis of the internal and external environment of eBay, a SWOT analysis was
developed. Table 1 provides a summary. eBay’s value lies in its vast product offerings, it’s
dynamic marketplace environment and the services it provides for buyers and sellers alike.
Internally, eBay’s app is dominating in downloads, their brand value is high (although it is
dropping), and they own many companies underneath them. Owning many companies means
competing in various markets and it also means that the budget has to accommodate all of
them. Customer satisfaction is at an all-time low for eBay. eBay has many opportunities within
their means as an organization that would be smart to utilize. Externally, eBay’s rival, Amazon,
is dominating in market share, PayPal is now an independent entity, and there are new entrants
growing in the online marketplace environment. If positioned correctly, eBay has a chance to
take back some of the market share that they have earned over the past twenty years. An
expanded SWOT analysis can found in Appendix B. Table 1 Shows a condensed version.

Table 1: Condensed SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

● Money Back Guarantee: Reduces ● Declining Brand Value.

Risk. ● Online Image: Seen as “dirty”.
● Many Subsidiaries: Cross-Sell. ● Lack of Branded Items: Brand Loyalty.
● Broad Product Assortment: One-stop ● Fraudulent Items: Increases Risk.
shop.

Opportunities Threats

● Integration: Subsidiaries. ● Strong Competition: From Multiple

● Customer Retention/Loyalty Programs. Sources.
● Branded Products. ● New Entrants.
● A More Personal User Experience. ● Liability Risk: Fraudulent sellers.

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Marketing Research
Developing the situational analysis involved the gathering and evaluation of secondary data.
The Simmons Oneview database, along with multiple online websites, filled in a portion of the
necessary information needed to make an actionable marketing strategy. The rest of the
needed information came from primary data collection in the form of mall-intercept surveys,
online surveys and focus groups. Seeing that eBay needs to increase trial and consideration,
consumer perceptions for online shopping, awareness of eBay’s services and the satisfaction of
eBay’s services need to be specifically explored. Appendix C and D show the methodology
used for the research gathered.

Research Objectives
● Measure awareness levels of eBay’s services.
● Measure satisfaction levels of eBay’s services.
● Identify Millennial’s preferences toward online shopping.
● Identify Millennial’s perceptions of eBay.

Secondary Research

Content Analysis: eBay vs. Amazon

From a buyer’s perspective, there are subtle differences between Amazon and eBay when it
comes to shopping online. The first difference is in their pricing. Generally, consumers can get
items slightly cheaper on eBay since their pricing structure for sellers is a lower percentage than
that of Amazon. Along with this, most items that qualify for free shipping on Amazon require
spending $35 or more on an item. Another subtle yet telling difference is what their reviews are
for; Amazon reviews are for their products while eBay reviews are for their sellers. The pros of
each of these are that Amazon’s product comparisons are very detailed and give the consumer
confidence in the product while eBay’s store reviews give the consumer confidence in the seller
they are buying from. eBay has taken steps in recent times to gather more product reviews. It is
still predominantly known that eBay is the place to go if looking for used items. It is also well
known that Amazon’s shipping outscores eBay seller's shipping almost every time. The
perceptions of the users who create these comparison articles are that both are good websites
and serve their own purpose.

Sellers, when comparing eBay to Amazon, seem to have an easier time listing their product on
Amazon. One quote from a frequent online seller who uses both Amazon and eBay states:

“I can do about 60 listings per hour on Amazon and I’m lucky if I can do 20 an
hour on eBay” - Michael Pierce, Online Sellers Unite 2015

For a business that uses eBay as an outlet, this equals more time and money spent on simply
listing products. For businesses that don’t use eBay but are considering it, this is a large barrier.

eBay and Amazon have applications on iOS and the Google Play store that allow users to
access their buying and selling features. On the iOS app store, eBay’s ratings are considerably
better than Amazon’s. eBay’s current version, as of November 7th, has 1,711 ratings at an
average of 4.5 stars out of 5, while Amazon’s current version app has 444 ratings at an average
of 2 stars out of five. On the Google Play store, eBay has nearly two million reviews with an
average of 4.2 stars, while Amazon has just over half a million reviews with an average of 4.3

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stars. This suggests a technical issue with Amazon’s app via iOS and that more people are
downloading eBay’s app (iOS app store, 2016) (Google Play store, 2016).

Simmons Oneview Database

Simmons database provides information on demographics and behavior of people around the
United States. This database was used for finding preferences and habits of people who shop
online. Some of the key information found was that Millennials are the most likely to have made
an online order in the past twelve months. Secondly, it was found that the top product
categories sought out by these individuals are apparel (32.4%), books/video/music (19.6%),
accessories (14.5%) and electronics (14.4%). These findings affirmed the given primary target
market.

Primary Research

Focus Groups
Eighteen focus groups were conducted to gather perceptions of eBay and online shopping
among participants aged 18-25. The first key finding is that participants consistently stated that
because they saw Amazon advertisements more often than eBay advertisements, participants
believed Amazon would be doing better. Consistently, participants stated that eBay should
advertise on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It was also
stated that they would like to see emotional advertisements about how eBay has made a
difference in people’s lives, such as success stories.

Besides advertising, participants said the website needs to be more streamlined. Most
participants haven’t used eBay recently and from their memory, the search was not very precise
and the website was cluttered and “dirty”. Finally, a key finding from the focus groups conducted
was that they felt uncertain about buying from individuals and that they would prefer to buy from
businesses on eBay. Based on their perceptions, there needs to be more established
businesses on eBay. The discussion guide for these focus groups can be found in Appendix D.

Online Survey Table 2: Satisfaction of eBay’s Services.

An online survey was conducted
surveying 1,047 participants. Of Service # Of respondents % Satisfied % Dissatisfied
those, 722 are in the primary that used or highly or highly
services satisfied dissatisfied
target market. The first finding
was that 81.5% of online eBay Valet 124 29% 9%
shoppers said that they shop at
least monthly. Of the extra eBay Bucks 125 31% 8%
services eBay has to offer, more
eBay 198 52% 6%
than two-thirds of the respondents
Classifieds
have not used them, specifically:
eBay Bucks (86%), Valet (86%), Money Back 315 67% 6%
Classifieds (78%), Collections Guarantee
(76%), Money Back Guarantee
Collections 217 50% 6%
(65%), and Daily Deals (72%). For
satisfaction levels, it was found Daily Deals 252 59% 4%
that of the people who have used

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eBay’s services, at least 29% of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied. See Table 2. This
suggests that the services are good but that there is a lack of trial in eBay’s services. The
research done has confirmed participant’s perceptions of the lack of awareness for new
products and the “buy it now” function for Millennials. Millennials stated on average that they
believed 43% of eBay’s products to be new and only 60% were aware of the “buy it now” option.

Table 3: Consideration Gaps Among Different Age Groups.

Another important finding was Age Groups Amazon eBay Difference

that across all age groups, only Ages 12-17 8.9217 6.0748 2.8470
5.49% of participants thought
eBay’s current home page Ages 18-23 9.3102 5.5479 ➔ 3.762
layout was the most appealing 2
when compared to two
Ages 24-29 9.4024 6.1000 ➔ 3.302
suggested home page
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wireframes. See Appendix D
page 26 for the comparison Ages 30-34 8.5500 5.7368 2.8132
picture. This suggests a large
problem for eBay’s appeal to all Ages 35+ 7.9821 5.6786 2.3036
ages. This also suggests that
modifications to eBay’s current website would be beneficial to their overall consideration. eBay
averaged a 6 out of 10 rating for consideration when stacked up against its competitors. The
only company that ousted eBay was Amazon with an average rating of 9 out of 10. The
difference in consideration between Amazon and eBay was significant among people aged 18-
29, confirming that eBay has the longest to go with this generation and a marketing plan should
be made toward them. See Table 3 for details.

The last key finding was that people aged 12-23 significantly rated personalized homepage
higher than any other age group. See Figure 3.

In summary, eBay has

satisfying services that are not
being fully used. Their website
does not do a sufficient job of
showcasing these services
and it would be beneficial for
eBay to do so. Millennials
have the largest gap of
consideration between
Amazon and eBay, meaning a
marketing strategy should be
put in place for them.
Members of the Millennial and
Generation Z cohorts
Figure 3 Compares the means of what people said when asked
consider personalized
about how much they consider personalized homepages
homepage higher than other
groups. Given eBay’s current
level of appeal, a renovation
is suggested.

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Recommended Marketing Strategy
eBay’s “Find Yours” Campaign
Given eBay’s decline in market share and brand value over the past few years, it is important for
them to get back on the incline. eBay has created an image for itself of being the best online
marketplace for used items and auctions, but now are aiming their focus on new item sales and
their “buy it now” function. The slogan “World’s Online Marketplace” and “When it’s on your
mind, it’s on eBay” give the most accurate depiction of what eBay really is, because of its
~800M listings. The slogan of “buy it new, buy it now” helps show that they have new products
but gives the perception that you can only buy new items via buy it now and vice versa, which
are both false. Their latest slogan of “New, Unique and Everything in Between.” Does a better
job of informing their audience about what eBay has to offer.

For the campaign running from July 2017 to June 2018, it is suggested to keep the slogan
“New, Unique and Everything in Between.” and to add the slogan “What will you find?” as
a trial and consideration driver. Asking the audience a question will help pique interest
assuming they already have awareness for the eBay brand. To get consumers to the trial and
consideration phase of the purchase funnel, there first needs to be interest and this tagline will
accomplish that. Keeping the slogan from before will not confuse anyone who is aware of the
brand and asking the audience a question will help push them to the site.

Since research has shown that 30% of people use both buying and selling on eBay, it is
important to increase trial and consideration for buyers and sellers. The strategies proposed
will consist of targeting three main groups; Millennial-owned small and medium sized
businesses, Millennial buyers, and Generation Z buyers. It will consist of two service-market
investments, one functional program, one internal synergy and an IMC plan. Connecting these
through an IMC plan will ensure an increase of trial and consideration for eBay.

Positioning Statement
“To the young generations looking for relevant deals on a vast assortment of items,
eBay provides a dynamic online marketplace that inspires entrepreneurship,
sustainability and accommodation towards businesses and consumers alike.”

eBay is an online marketplace for anyone, but positioning them as an opportunity for
entrepreneurship and sustainability will be important for Millennials. The Internet has made it
easier than ever to start your own business and eBay is one of those platforms that can inspire
a start-up. Being a dynamic online marketplace is appealing to these generations because they
are constantly looking for the next best thing and with eBay being a marketplace that is ever-
changing, they will come back to see what’s new. Product relevancy is also an important factor
for the innovative generations because if they cannot find what they are looking for quickly, they
will take their business elsewhere because they can.

Consumer Segmentation
The “Find Yours” campaign will be targeted primarily toward males and females ages 18-34,
Millennials, for an increase in trial and consideration. Along with this market, there is a

10
secondary market worth considering, ages 12-17 males and females, Generation Z. Archetypes
for the target markets proposed can be found in Appendix E.

Primary Market: Millennial Buyers

The premier audience for the “Find Yours” campaign is males and females between the ages of
18 and 34. These tech savvy individuals are often called Millennials or Generation Y. They are
the largest portion of United States population, accounting for 75.4 million people, or
approximately 23.3 percent of the population as of April 2016. Annually, they spend more than
$2,000 a year through e-commerce, making them the most valuable generation online in the
United States (Smith, 2015).

Farrington (2016) provides insight on the finances of Millennials and their ability to make
purchases. Millennials as a generation are still struggling with their economic situation, with the
average Millennial possessing $30,000 in student loan debt. However, since Millennials are now
past childhood and are either pursuing higher education and thereby a higher wage in the future
or are already a part of the workforce, the net worth of the average Millennial should continue to
increase as their student debt decreases. The older half of the Millennial generation are those
with more established careers that should see a drastic increase in personal net worth after the
age of 30. This increase from negative net worth caused by debt go to a positive, exponentially
growing average of $20,236 net worth by the age of 35. The recent graduating college classes
have also shown a strong positive trend in starting wages for Millennials, growing from the class
of 2003’s average $40,818 salary to the class of 2015’s $50,561. All the while, average student
loan need for the upcoming graduating Millennial is predicted to drop, with the class of 2020
predicted to have an average of only $9,293 in debt (Farrington, 2016).

Millennials are seen as more frequent online shoppers and have multiple defining
characteristics. When it comes to mobile devices, they are seen as mobile professionals and
social connectors with more than 85% being in possession of a smartphone. Millennials take
pride in being smart shoppers, with 89% of Millennials trusting word of mouth from peers and
colleagues over paid advertisements. Their psychographics towards technology adoption are
that they see the Internet as a means of getting information, buying products and personal
entertainment, however they are not subjected toward the newest technology at the moment.
They are early adopters who are sensitive to price (Simmons, 2013).

Millennials are more brand conscious than Generation Z and are spending more money online.
Online and mobile channels are important to Millennials, providing the information and insights
they need to find the best products and services. Many refine their shopping skills online by
checking the product ratings and reviews, as well as the feedback on retailers, to assure that
both the product and vendor are providing the best value and service.

Secondary Market: Generation Z Buyers

The secondary audience for the “Find Yours” campaign is males and females between the ages
of 12 and 17. This age range is known as Generation Z. They are the consumers of tomorrow,
and are the first generation to be born into a digital world. Currently there are 22.7 million
Generation Z youth aged 12-17, and that number is projected to grow until 2026 according to
the U.S. Census Bureau (2016). Within the next five years they will become the fastest growing
generation in the marketplace, accounting for approximately 40% of all consumers.

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Known as digital natives, teens in this age group are ever so technologically inclined. Laptops,
mobile phones, and tablets have surrounded them since a young age. As of 2012, 37% of teens
in this age group own a smartphone. This readily gives them access to online shopping and
product information. They identify themselves as deal hunters through the use of online
shopping. Their parents’ credit cards account for 43% of their source of payment for online
purchases.

Generation Z teens have grown up having social media as a prevalent factor in their lives.
Social media platforms such as Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram have had success with this
group by accommodating their well-known short attention span. They have the ability to filter out
new information in 4 to 8 seconds, and are better than any other generation at recognizing when
they are being advertised to. According to the Youth Marketing Handbook (Brown and Dhaliwal,
2011), the average American 15-year-old will have seen 75,000 marketing messages. Getting
them to filter “cluttered information” out and pay attention is important when advertising to them.
They prefer website platforms and advertisements that are easily navigable.

Teens in this generation shift towards product value rather than brand loyalty. Instant
gratification is important to this age group. They look for easier searches and faster information
when finding products that they want to buy. They do not want to wait for long shipping times
when purchasing products online. The majority of what this segment is looking to buy online are
accessories, apparel, books, videos, music, and electronics. The term “best bang for your buck”
applies to Generation Z because of their desire for product value. Price has a large impact on
their purchasing habits. They grew up witnessing economic slowdowns such as the stock
market crash of 2008 and high unemployment rates. Because of that they are more
economically cautious and do not like to overspend.

Education is important to Generation Z teens. It is projected that there will be more Generation
Z college attendees and graduates than any other older generation. This is important to future
web based shopping because when Generation Z is graduating from college, the previous
largest generation (Baby Boomers) will be exiting the workforce. High employment rates for
Generation Z out of college will mean higher purchasing capability for that age range.

Marketing Objectives
● Increase the number of people who have used eBay from 64% to 73%
● Increase eBay’s consideration from 6/10 to 7/10
● Increase active users by 10 million (164M to 174M) – approx. 6% increase
● Raise $150 million by the end of 2017 through eBay Impacts
● Create 5 million new users in the eBay Bucks program

Marketing Tactics

Website Layout
An audit of eBay’s current website revealed that they face problems with the overall layout and
design of their web page. See Figure 4. To solve this, a website revamp is suggested. The key
functions that will be different from eBay’s current layout include integrating their
charity.ebay.com site into everything eBay does (this will be talked about in the eBay Impacts
section following), creating a more personalized experience for users, creating more
standardized listings, and having a cohesive interface throughout all platforms (desktop, mobile,
application). This new layout will help increase trial and consideration among Millennials and

12
Generation Z due to its overall appeal. Primary research shows that only 5% of participants
preferred eBay’s current layout compared to suggested layouts, making it crucial to eBay’s
success to address that. A detailed version of the suggested website can be found in Appendix
F.

Figure 4 Shows eBay’s interfaces across four devices.

Product Import App

Creating an app to seamlessly import products from one’s e-commerce website to eBay would
be beneficial toward potential Millennial eBay sellers. The most popular e-commerce website
builder platform is Shopify. They currently have 230,815 users and that number is looking to
grow in the upcoming years due to the rise of e-commerce. This app will take one’s products
from their online store and directly import them to an eBay listing and help to create that
person’s “store” on eBay’s website, gathering information from the e-commerce platform. There
are currently third party apps that take a person’s eBay listings and turn them into listings on
their online store. Given this, there is an opportunity to flip that process and bring a person’s
online store to eBay. This app will be placed on e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, Wix
and Bigcommerce and will be free of charge to the user. Having this app be free of charge to
the user will be essential to the increase in trial for eBay sellers. The e-commerce platform will
be able to receive 1% of the sale in order for them to allow this app on their app store. Not only
will this app increase trial and consideration toward Millennial entrepreneurs, it will also
increase eBay’s dynamic marketplace and relevancy toward the Millennial and Generation Z
buyers.

eBay Impacts
In its lifetime, eBay’s charity program has helped raise over $650 million for its 30,000 charities.
This program is worthy of being more visible to eBay’s buyers as, currently, the website does
not even have an option to get to the “charity shop” from the home page. Since the charity
website is being incorporated into eBay.com it will have a name change to be reintroduced to

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eBay’s stakeholders. The new name gives a reason for people to choose to shop on eBay.
Instead of donating to charity, the user knows they are making an impact somewhere in the
world. Highlighting relevant charities to certain times of the year through blogs and on the
website will be the best way to increase users and raise money. This will help fulfill what is said
in eBay’s charity program “about us” section: “We believe that across eBay Inc., we have the
potential to be the leading platform for charitable giving around the world.”

Ninety-one percent of Millennials are willing to switch to brands associated with a cause
(Bhaiya, 2016). If Millennials were aware of eBay’s option for charitable donations, they may be
more inclined to consider eBay. To make this more known, the eBay Impacts program will be
highlighted on eBay’s homepage throughout the duration of this campaign and also exploited in
the IMC plan. Along with this, the “charity shop” will be integrated into everything eBay does
normally, so as not to separate the two. This will be important because a buyer who sees a
seller supporting a charity such as the American Cancer Society will be more interested in
buying from them as opposed to the seller with the same product that does not support a
charity. This should, in turn, influence more sellers to be involved in the eBay Impacts program,
increasing trial and consideration among all sellers. In order to help drive sales during the
back to school shopping period, the charities Kids in Need Foundation and Plan International
will be sponsored. Consumers who see that up to 100% of a seller’s revenue will be going
toward children in need of school supplies will be more apt to purchase through eBay.

When a new user signs up for an eBay account, they will be able to choose the charities they
want to be in their “My Charities” section of their profile. Pricing will not be changed. The seller
is still responsible for choosing the percentage at which they are donating. Placing the charities
first will not only help drive sales to eBay, it will also help give eBay and its sellers a positive
image.

StubHub Integration
The integration of StubHub and eBay would likely prove to be an extremely effective way of
promoting sales of event merchandise and boosting overall eBay sales through cross-selling.
With a simple feature such as a product recommendation from eBay’s website after a consumer
purchases a ticket through StubHub, sales for eBay would likely improve. Ticket consumers
looking to save money could purchase any event-related merchandise before the date of the
event. If StubHub were to push customers towards eBay with a simple event-related product
recommendation leading back to eBay’s website, it may lead not only to more sales within eBay
due to the merchandise sold, but also an increase in site traffic.

The increase in new consumers to the site will likely improve sales in other areas of eBay’s
marketplace as well due to the allure of other products within the site. With StubHub in eBay’s
possession, interaction between the two sites would be a fairly inexpensive endeavor. Boasting
the relationship between eBay and Stubhub would also help jettison eBay’s reputation as an
“old” website, as StubHub is a site widely used by both Millennials and Generation Z alike.

eBay Bucks Incentives

eBay has recently adopted the product review process and in order to have a solid foundation of
reviews, they need to provide some sort of incentive. Having a good amount of reviews is
important to today’s online shopper because they will be more apt to buy from a product that

14
has 150 ratings at 4 stars than a product with one rating at 4.5 stars. Even though the latter has
a higher rating, fewer people have spoken about it.

The eBay Bucks service will be used to provide product ratings incentives. For those who do not
have an eBay Bucks account, an email will be sent following a purchase that asks for a product
review. This email will also state that if a person leaves a completed review that they will receive
$5 in eBay Bucks. This is an opportunity to get people to leave product reviews and
simultaneously sign up for the eBay Bucks program. Eighty-four percent of participants
surveyed had not used the eBay Bucks service, but 92% of the ones who did were neutral to
very satisfied (Table 1). This suggests that more people could be using this service and
enjoying it. It is important for eBay to have more people using this service because it will help
create loyal customers. For users who have an eBay Bucks account, they will have the
opportunity to share the eBay Bucks service with family and friends and earn Bucks for every
person who signs up through them. Eighty-nine percent of Millennials trust recommendations
from family and friends over what a brand will tell them making the ability to share and earn vital
to the success of eBay Bucks (Pattel, 2014).

For more rationale on the marketing tactics please refer to Appendix G.

IMC Plan
The primary goal of this IMC campaign is to increase trial and consideration among the
Millennial and Generation Z markets. This IMC plan will successfully achieve the proposed
marketing objectives. Because the plan is entirely digital, it will be broken up into two sections;
organic and paid solutions. The organic solutions will provide the non-paid ways of
accomplishing the objectives and the paid solutions will effectively accomplish the same
objectives through use of advertisement. eBay’s social media team will be in charge of taking
these solutions and putting them into action.

Organic Solutions
After analyzing eBay’s current use of their organic outlets, it was found that they are not doing
enough to reach Millennials. eBay does not post frequently enough, and does not engage
enough with their social media following. Because of this, it is suggested for eBay to have a
“monthly plan” to help them stay focused in their social media efforts. Since 84% of Millennials
say that user generated content had some type of influence on their purchase decision, it is
important for eBay to stay relevant to their almost 11 million total followers across the following
platforms (Bazaarvoice, 2014).

Instagram
At least once a day; these posts will be of the “Deal of the Day” to promote the daily deals
feature along with any promotion or charity that eBay may be supporting on a particular day,
weekend or month. Posting frequently enough with a variety of products will promote relevance
to the consumer. Also, updating the link located on eBay’s Instagram biography to a featured
page on their website will be important to driving their followers to the website.

Twitter
At least twice a day/circumstantial; these posts will also be of the daily deals, but with the ability
to post more frequently and with quick response, this opens another outlet for consumer

15
response. This is another way that customer service may be provided to consumers who tweet
or message the company, which leads to tweeting by special circumstances such as to assess
consumer reviews.

Facebook
Once or twice a day; these posts will be the most important to monitor as they will be viewed by
a greater audience with the potential to become viral or shared amongst many target groups.
Utilizing the “Deal of the Day” and the “Daily Deals” will promote users to save money and
promote trial of the website. Opportunities for great PR come from creating public goals of
raising money for each “eBay Charity of the Month”. The goal of raising $150 million by the end
of 2017, if achieved, is an example of a PR opportunity.

Blogs
14 times per month; as a fundamental base of inbound marketing, creating an outlet for
education or knowledge for a consumer will promote trust and trial of the website. Creating
posts that are relevant to Millennials that informs them of either what to buy, when to buy, why
they should buy, “how to” videos using products found on eBay, and millions of other topics will
increase the amount of organic relevancy amongst consumers. These posts should make their
way onto each social media platform that is being used by eBay.

As one can see with how many opportunities there are for great posts, PR gains, and organic
relevancy, creating posts and original content is key to retain and gain trial amongst
consumers. These posts should stay relevant to the target market, but should include a variety
of deals, products, and information for everyone.

Paid Solutions
Using paid advertising is a more targeted approach to achieving the marketing objectives. The
advertising roadblock technique that uses the same ads simultaneously across multiple digital
platforms will be utilized because it is more effective at communicating the message to a higher
percentage of the target market than random advertisements. Social media outlets provide
extremely specific targeting tools with flexible pricing and communication styles. To see a
breakdown of the budget and timeline see Appendix I and J, respectively.

Online Radio
Pandora & Spotify
Pandora and Spotify will be used in the forefront of this campaign as an informative platform.
Listeners are forced to listen to ads on both platforms, unless they turn their volume down,
making it a good way to get information out. Information on eBay’s new items, money back
guarantee, and buy it now function will be the main focus of the advertisement. Radio stations
targeted will include Today’s Hits, Today’s Country, Today’s Hip Hop and Pop Hits, and Today’s
R&B and Hip Hop Hits based on popularity and potential reach. These ads will be used to help
break down perceptions that Millennials and Generation Z have toward eBay in hopes to
increase consideration and trial. The tagline “New, unique and everything in between. What
will you find?” will be used throughout these radio advertisements. See Appendix J for a detailed
timeline.

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Social Media
Facebook
Ninety percent of Millennials can be found on Facebook (Oetting, 2015). Utilizing this outlet will
be helpful when trying to get information out to the audience. Facebook allows for very specific
targeting and has a variety of ways to promote on their medium. What will be suggested for this
campaign is using Facebook advertisements for eBay videos and promoted posts. Showing
potential users what eBay has to offer through video will help them understand the benefits of
using eBay most efficiently. Also, promoting the quality content that eBay has to showcase will
help eBay’s relevance toward audience members outside of their current following. The videos,
placed in the back-to-school and holiday season parts of the timeline, will be placed across all
social media in order to have consistency and cohesiveness to the message. The tagline “New,
Unique and Everything in Between. What will you find?” will inform the audience about eBay’s
new products and drive the viewers to check out eBay’s website. For creative suggestions
regarding the videos being promoted see Appendix M.
Instagram
Facebook owns Instagram, which means they have the same advertising center, making it easy
to integrate the same exact advertisements across both. Instagram will be used for video
advertisements. This medium is being utilized because 48.2 million Millennials currently use it
(eMarketer, 2016).
Twitter
Twitter would prove to be a good source for improving app download counts through promoted
tweets. Twitter is a social media platform that is almost entirely accessed through smartphones,
with 80% of Millennials accessing Twitter from their phone at least once per day. Tweets
promoting the app would increase downloads, which would elevate exposure to eBay and the
products. Promoted tweets of the eBay advertisement videos would also serve to expose the
26% of Millennials that actively use Twitter (Creedon, 2016).
Snapchat
It is suggested to have a Snapchat filter created for the days that are largest for online shopping
to increase consideration. These days include Back to School Saturday, Cyber Monday and
Memorial Day. Having a Snapchat filter on these days will effectively increase eBay’s relevance
toward the Millennial and Generation Z cohort.

Adwords
Banner Ads
Utilizing banner ads will help eBay become relevant in the eyes of Millennials and Generation Z
members. Focus group participants said that they do not see any advertisements for eBay and
that if they did, they would be more inclined to try it. Because of this fact, it is suggested for
eBay to put banner advertisements across relevant websites. To capture the Millennial
audience, the banner ads will be placed in article websites such as Forbes, Buzzfeed, Elite
Daily, The Odyssey, ESPN and CBS Sports. These advertisements will be placed throughout
the campaign. To retarget people, Facebook Pixel will be activated in eBay’s Google Adwords
account to show items that people have recently viewed on their Facebook side banner to
increase sales.

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YouTube
Through the suggested production and use of YouTube videos, eBay would have a chance to
reinvigorate itself in the eyes of Millennials and Generation Z across not only YouTube, but all
other major social media platforms that eBay runs the advertising campaign through. With
YouTube reaching more people ages 18-49 than any T.V. or cable broadcast and with 50% of
these users turning to their mobile device first to watch the video, banner advertisements and
promotional videos pushing the eBay app should be contemplated. Enticing promotional videos
from YouTube may then be promoted to the other major social media platforms such as
Facebook and Twitter, bringing the video more views and promoting eBay to the Millennials and
Generation Z social media users (Hamedy, 2016). See Appendix M for video information.

Measurement and Evaluation

In order to have an effective marketing plan there needs to be metrics on which to base that
effectiveness. The “Find Yours” campaign will be easily measured due to its heavy use of digital
marketing. The use of these digital advertising solutions also makes the use of their analytical
tools. The data from the analytics will then be used to compare with the marketing objectives.
Website traffic, surveys, and user increases will measure the success of this campaign.

Marketing Objectives
● Increase the number of people who have used eBay from 64% to 73%
● Increase eBay’s consideration from 6/10 to 7/10
● Increase active users by 10 million (164M to 174M)
● Raise $150 million by the end of 2017 through eBay Impacts
● Create 5 million more users in the eBay Bucks program

1. Based on primary research through an online survey, 64% of respondents stated they had
used eBay. In order to determine if Marketing Objective 1 is successful, another online survey is
needed to see if the new marketing campaign is successful. With the conclusion of the new
marketing campaign, the goal is to have increased the target market’s use of eBay to 73%.

2. Also, from the online survey, it was discovered that when compared to competitors, eBay
was ranked as 6 out of 10 for consideration, with 10 being best. Through Marketing Objective
2, the goal of the campaign is to raise eBay’s ranking of consideration from 6/10 to 7/10. To
measure the success of this, another online survey will be conducted at the end of the
campaign.

3. The goal of Marketing Objective 3 is to raise the number of active users from 164 million to
174 million. In order to measure this, eBay will be able to see how many users have accounts
with them.

4. Objective 4 will be measured through the amount of money raised by the eBay Impacts
program. If there is $150 million raised, it will be a success.

5. eBay will be able to see internally if there is a 5 million user increase in eBay Bucks users.

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IMC Plan

Organic Tactics: Blogs, interactions over social media platforms

● Analyzing the effectiveness of the IMC campaign with organic interactions can be done
by observing the number of organic likes, posts, and shares any post by eBay receives.
It can also be tracked by observing the activity of blogs involving eBay. Adjustments as
needed can be made if the overall natural response proves to be negligible.
Online Radio: Pandora, Spotify
● Tracking the effectiveness of the ads on both Pandora and Spotify can be done by using
a landing page to check the number of click-through rates. Positive returns on the click-
through results in more exposure for eBay.
● Internal tools will be used to track the number of total listens for the eBay ad itself.
Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat
● The three major social media used in the IMC campaign all contain their own internal
analysis tools to measure the success of the attempted promotional efforts. These can
be used to monitor the success of a campaign over these and adjust accordingly as
needed.
Adwords
● Adwords also has its own internal analysis tools to measure the success of the
attempted promotional efforts by showing an ad’s click-through rate and the average
cost-per-click. The campaign over Adwords can be adjusted in attempts to increase the
click-through rate and decrease the average cost-per-click.

Conclusion
The problem eBay believes it faces with Millennials and Generation Z members is real. People
aged 18-29 have the largest consideration gap between eBay and its biggest rival, Amazon.
eBay’s declining brand value comes with the lack of attraction it’s getting from the most valuable
online consumer in the United States, Generation Y or Millennials (Smith, 2015). On top of that,
the e-commerce environment that eBay pioneered is now more valuable and competitive than it
ever has been. Knowing these facts, it’s easy to see that eBay should take that potentially
dramatic marketing action. Concentrating the $5 million budget on the back-to-school and
holiday seasons along with a website revamp should prove to be successful in attracting new
Millennial and Generation Z customers all the while retaining the older generation customers.

Brand image is the number one problem being addressed. Every action in this plan is for the
betterment of eBay’s brand image. A better brand image will equate to more users that trust
eBay and its sellers; more users equates to more revenue for eBay and its subsidiaries. Getting
Millennials and Generation Z members to consider eBay will be communicated digitally. The
integration of the eBay Impacts program, the website revamp and the IMC plan will improve
eBay’s brand image considerably.

The product import application and StubHub integration will drive an increase in trial for eBay
and its services. The eBay Bucks product rating incentives will invite infrequent eBay shoppers
to become loyal and frequent online shoppers. Implementing the “find yours” campaign a
crossed eBay will move eBay in the direction it needs to be heading.

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Appendix
A. Competitive Environment Breakdown
This table shows a breakdown of eBay’s main competitors in each grouping going from most
direct (the top) to the least (bottom).

Online Click and Online Classified Ticket Retailers Website Creators

Marketplaces Mortars

B. Expanded SWOT Analysis

Strengths
1. App presence: The eBay app has more downloads and positive reviews than that of
Amazon’s.
2. Brand Value: eBay is currently ranked 32nd in brand value globally.
3. Enables Entrepreneurship: eBay allows anyone to sell products easily. One can start by
selling things they do not need from around the house and then branch into an even
bigger business by buying items and selling them on their personal storefront.
4. Broad Product Assortment: with so many different people selling on eBay the products
one may find are endless and often adapting to the needs of consumers.
5. Passionate Customers: There is a sizeable loyal customer base for eBay.

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 6. Money Back Guarantee: Customers can get a refund if they do not receive purchased
item or if the item does not match the description.
7. High Assets: eBay generated $8.59 billion in revenue last year and owns many
companies.
8. Many Subsidiaries: eBay Inc. has many commerce brands such as; eBay classifieds,
Close5, StubHub, Shyp, shopping.com, and half.com. This allows eBay the opportunity
for integration and cross-selling.

Weaknesses
1. Declining brand value and Market Share: eBay has dropped from 28th to 32nd in brand
value from 2014 to 2016 (from #28 to #32 and dropping 1% per year 2014-2016).
2. Customer satisfaction at an all time low: Low customer satisfaction will limit the chance
of returning users to the site as well as new users.
3. Online Image: eBay lacks cohesive platforms, lowering brand image.
4. Lack of branded items: Branded items give customers a sense of trust. With a lack of
branded items, eBay lacks in connecting those customers with reliable and trustworthy
brands.
5. Lawsuits damage: eBay has had lawsuits brought against them, costing them money
they should not have to be spending.
6. Fraudulent items: With fraudulent items being sold on eBay, eBay’s reliability suffers.
Bad experiences with the website not monitoring fraud will cause consumers to refrain
from returning to the website.
7. Slow listing process: “I can do about 60 listings per hour on Amazon and I’m lucky if I
can do 20 an hour on eBay” - Michael Pierce, Founder of Online Sellers Unite.
8. Low consideration from Millennials.
9. Low consideration from Generation Z.

Opportunities
1. Integration: Utilizing subsidiaries like StubHub to increase cross-platform sales.
2. Customization: Create a more personal shopping experience by asking what a customer
is interested in the most when creating an account.
3. Website Creator Product Import app: There are third party options for importing products
from a website to eBay’s listings but eBay has an opportunity to have one app that works
flawlessly with all of the top website development companies.
4. Customer Retention and Loyalty: eBay can implement programs for frequent shoppers.
5. Brick and Mortar: eBay can provide lower fees to brick and mortar companies who are
looking to expand their product reach, giving eBay more credible sellers and the brick
and mortar companies more sales.
6. Branded Products: Although eBay advocates that they do not compete with their sellers
by not having branded items, they could implement a few products to increase brand
image and loyalty.

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Threats
1. Strong Competition: There are thousands of options for consumers to buy online.
2. Amazon Prime Shipping: One of the main reasons Amazon is their top competitor is
because of its shipping that it offers its Prime members.
3. PayPal Spin-Off: Competitors are now able to use PayPal
4. Fraudulent Sellers: eBay is susceptible to accounts selling fake products.
5. Brick & Mortar Investments: Brick and Mortar companies such as Wal-Mart and Target
have been investing in ecommerce selling.
6. Liability Risk: eBay is full of liability risks where a consumer of a product could potentially
sue a seller.
7. Possible Imposing Taxes: The possibility of having Internet sales tax can lead to fewer
businesses wanting to use e-commerce.
8. New Entrants: New competitors such as Jet.com and others are growing and gaining
more of the ecommerce market share.
9. eBay in Google Search: In 2014, eBay’s SEO was decreased in Google’s algorithm,
lowering viewership and website visits.
10. Systems Failures and Security Breaches: In 2014 eBay suffered a massive security
breach resulting in all active users being required to change their passwords.

C. Secondary Research Methods

Content Analysis eBay vs. Amazon

Target Demographic: People who have used both services.
Objective: To find differences in Amazon and eBay from a seller's perspective.
Research Method: Qualitative research through content analysis.
Respondent Characteristics: Sources were pulled from multiple blogs and articles relating the
pros and cons of using Amazon and eBay from both a buyer and seller’s perspective. Users
posted comparison videos and blogs. These users were experienced online shoppers and
sellers, which helped their credibility. Most of them were not owners of businesses; they sold
products individually.
Key Findings:
● eBay has slightly lower prices.
● Amazon’s listing process is much faster than eBay’s.
● eBay’s app is doing better in downloads and ratings than Amazon’s.

Simmons Oneview
Target Demographic: Individuals who shop online.
Objective: To find demographical and behavioral information on people who buy online.
Research Method: A consumer database that has samples from all over the United States.
Respondent Characteristics: Male and Female, ages 18-55+
Key Findings:
● People aged 18-34 are the most likely to have shopped online in the past year.
● The top product categories that these individuals are looking for are apparel (32.4%),
books/video/music (19.6%), accessories (14.5%) and electronics (14.4%)

22
 D. Primary Research Methods

Online Survey
Target Demographics: Males and females aged 12-34
Objective: Measure awareness levels of eBay’s services. Measure satisfaction levels of eBay’s
services. Identify Millennial’s preferences toward online shopping. Identify Millennial’s
perceptions of eBay.
Research Methods: An online survey was created in surveymonkey. This survey was created
in paper form as well as in form of a link that could be shared in various ways. There were
a total of fifteen questions; nine nominal, three ordinals, 1 ratio and two short responses.
Respondent Characteristics: A sample of 1,047 males and females ages 12-35+ was
gathered, 889 of which fell in the primary and secondary target markets. Most of the
respondents were college students.
Key Findings:
● More than two-thirds of respondents have never used eBay’s “extra” services.
● Most people who have used these products were neutral to highly satisfied.
● Millennials believed only 43% of eBay’s products were new.
● eBay averaged a consideration level of 6 out of 10, Amazon’s was 9.
● eBay’s current homepage was not appealing compared to two other suggestions. Only
5% were in favor of eBay’s current layout.
● People aged under 35 plus were not satisfied with eBay’s collections.
● Free shipping and speedy delivery were the highest considered e-commerce services.
● Males considered eBay higher than females.
● People were most satisfied with the “buy it now” function.
● The consideration gap between Amazon and eBay was the highest among people
aged 12-29.

23
 Online Survey Questions

Section l: Awareness
1. Do you shop online? (If no, go to Section IV)
Yes ☐ No ☐
2. If yes, how often do you shop online?
Daily ☐ Weekly ☐ Monthly ☐ Yearly ☐
3. Have you ever used eBay?
Yes ☐ No ☐
4. If yes, was it for buying, selling, or both?
Selling ☐ Buying ☐ Both ☐
5. Are you aware of the “buy it now” option on eBay?
Yes ☐ No ☐
6. What percentage of products listed on eBay do you believe to be new? __% (out of 100%)
Section ll: Current Services
7. Considering the services you have used, what is your level of satisfaction regarding these
services? If you have not used one of these services, indicate in the “Never Used” box.

Services Very Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Neutral Satisfied Very Satisfied Never Used

eBay Valet ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

eBay Bucks ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Selling items ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Buy it Now ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Auction ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

eBay Classified ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Search Filter ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Money Back ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Guarantee

Collections ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Daily Deals ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Section lll: Millennial’s Preferences toward Online Shopping

8. Give each of the following online marketplaces your ranking of consideration. (1 - least
considered, 10 - most considered)
Amazon ______ Alibaba ______ Craigslist ______

eBay ______ Etsy ______ Jet ______

24
Other (please also specify company name): _____ ___________________________
9. What is the first word(s) that comes to mind when you hear the word “Auction”?

10. Give each of these features/services a rating on a scale of 1 to 10. (1 = least important, 10
= most important)
Free Shipping ______
24/7 Customer Support ______
One Click Checkout ______
App Version of Site ______
Search Filters ______
Personalized Homepage/Item Recommendation ______
Speedy Delivery ______

11. Which homepage layout is the most appealing to you?

1. ☐ 2. ☐ 3. ☐
Section IV: Future Services
12. Are there any services that were not listed that you would like to see on eBay?
Section V: Demographic Characteristic
13. What is your gender?
☐ Male ☐ Female ☐ Prefer not to answer
14. What is your age?
☐ 12-17 ☐ 18-23 ☐ 24-29 ☐ 29-34 ☐ 35
15. What is your marital status?
☐ Married ☐ In a relationship ☐ Single

Focus Groups
Target Demographics: College Students
Objective: To gather perceptions toward online shopping, eBay and it’s services.
Research Method: Fourteen focus groups were gathered within a one-week timeframe. There
was a proctor, close observer, distant observer and recorder in each discussion.

25
Respondent Characteristics: Male and female, aged 18-25 across seven different majors on
campus.
Key Findings:
● eBay does not advertise enough.
● Since Amazon advertises more they think that they are doing better.
● They would like to see advertisements on social media and other online sources.
● eBay’s website search is not effective.

Discussion Guide

Online Shopping 5-7 min

● Do you shop online? If so, how often?
● What do you usually shop for online? Why?
● Do you prefer online shopping to in-store shopping? Why? How much of your total
shopping would you say you do online?
● How do you feel about shopping online in general?
● What do you consider when shopping online – what do you look for and expect from an
online retailer?
● What is the most important (to you) when shopping online?
○ Where (what websites) do you purchases from online?
○ Why – what attracted you to those online retailers?
● Some of you mentioned you use eBay – some of you did not. Let’s talk about eBay for a
moment to learn more about your understanding of eBay

eBay Usage (includes awareness and perceptions): 10-12

● First, let’s hear from those of you who haven’t used eBay before:
● Have you heard of eBay?
● (If no, ask the group to describe eBay’s services)
● If yes, what have you heard and how did you hear about it?
● For those of you who have heard of eBay but not used it, could you tell us why not?
● If you have used eBay, what was your experience like? How do you use eBay?
○ Could you describe a recent purchase?
○ What do you like most about shopping on eBay? Least?
○ What features of the site are most useful? Least?
● Because eBay offers both buying and selling, has anyone ever sold something on eBay?
○ What (kind of product) did you sell, and can you describe the experience for us?
● What kind of customer do you think eBay appeals to most? Least?
● Whether you bought or sold on eBay, would you use the site again?
○ Why or not?
● Does purchasing from an individual rather than from a business affect how you see the
eBay experience?

Competition: 10-12 min

● First, would you please name some other sites where you shop online?
○ Which do you frequently visit and why?
○ Do you have a favorite? Which one/s?
○ Why do you prefer this one (or these)? What makes it/them your favorite/s?
○ Do you feel any loyalty to a particular online retailer? Why/not
● If you have used eBay, how does eBay compare to this favorite site,
● Or to other online retailers in general?

26
 ● OR: what draws you to your favorite site (or any other online retailer) instead of eBay?
● What would make you buy from eBay over other online retailers?
● What does eBay lack compared to other online retailers?
● What would eBay need to do to become your favorite?
● If you have used eBay, is there anything they do better than other online retailers?
○ Auction vs. Buy Now?
● Have you used any other sites to sell items online?
● Which one/s, and would you describe the experience for us?
● If you haven’t used eBay before, do you think you would be likely to try it now that you’ve
heard more about it?

Advertising/Media Strategies: (5-7 minutes)

● First, let’s talk about advertising in general:
● What kind of advertisements or other promotional offers catch your interest?
● Where do you see or hear them?
● Who here has ever seen an advertisement for eBay? Where? How often?
○ What did the ad say, or present about eBay? What was your reaction to it?
● What about your other favorite online retailer?
○ Where have you seen/heard these and how often do you see/hear them
● Where would you expect to see an eBay advertisement?
● What would you want to see on an eBay advertisement? How to use it? What products
you can sell or buy?
○ OR: Where would it make the most sense to see an ad for eBay?
● If there were more eBay ads, do you think you would be more likely to use eBay? (Why
or why not)

Wrap-Up: 3-5 min

● If you were speaking directly with the top executives of eBay, what would you want to
say to them?
● What do you think they should know – whether positive or negative.
● What one piece of advice would you have for them,
● Any other additional comments or insights you would like to share?

27
 E. Target Audience Archetypes

Primary Target Market: Millennial Buyers

Liam, a 22 year old living in Ohio while attending his

sophomore year in college, is majoring in Business
Management with a minor in Advertising. He is an EDM
enthusiast, which led him to begin to being hired to DJ on the
weekends at the local clubs. When he isn’t playing on
weekends he likes go to music festivals with his fraternity
brothers. During the week when he’s not in class you can find
him at the school library or playing intramural sports with his
friends and brothers. Liam likes to have all of the latest and
greatest technology, and he is extremely loyal to Samsung.
He currently has the Samsung GS7 Edge, which he prefers
to buy straight from the online store as soon as they are
released. He also owns an Alienware laptop that he uses to
create new tracks for his weekend job. His most used social
media accounts are YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and
Spotify. Liam enjoys looking on eBay for all of his DJ
equipment which he likes to use the Buy It Now button for all
of his purchases and always pays for faster shipping.

Zoë is a 32 year old who owns a home decor business

located in Denver, Colorado. She sells most of her
merchandise through a website she made with Shopify. With
a current increase in business she has considered creating
an account on either Amazon or eBay to help her expand her
business. On the weekends she likes to take her 2012 Jeep
Rubicon out to the mountains to hike with her boyfriend and
take photos of the scenery. Zoë likes to collect vintage
cameras that she finds in classified and garage sales. When
they return from their usual hikes, they like to go bar hopping
and listening to local jazz bands downtown with their friends.
Zoë uses Facebook and Instagram to promote her business
as well as for leisure use. Later this year she and her fiancé
plan on moving in together before their wedding. Zoë enjoys
using eBay to online shop, finding parts for her cameras, and
plans to use it to sell for her business.

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Secondary Target Market: Generation Z Buyers

Michael Simmons is a 15-year-old freshman in high school.

He is from Tigard, Oregon and lives with his parents and 8-
year-old sister. The family has an average household income
of approximately $78,000. Michael is a B- average student
because he spends more time playing video games with his
small group of friends than he does studying. He takes part in
recreational soccer after school, and is also a trumpet player
in the marching band. It is very important to Michael that he
stay up to date with the newest technology and he is
constantly begging his parents to buy him the newest games
and technology. He owns an iPhone 6 and an Xbox one, and
also uses an iPad the high school provided for him. Michael
is moderately active on the four main social media vehicles,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. He scrolls
through the content on his newsfeeds but doesn’t post very
often. He often searches YouTube for game tips and tricks
while he is online, as well as trying to discover the most
current trends with great deals. He purchases video games
and accessories, and trumpet pieces through eBay because
it is typically cheaper.

Sierra Christianson is a 17-year-old junior in high school in

Chicago, Illinois. She is a very dedicated student to keep her
A- average, while working 30 hours a week at a local diner.
She is from a single-mom household with two younger
brothers, age 15 and 9, and a 6 year old sister. Their
combined household income is approximately $30,000.
Sierra doesn’t care to have the newest technology as long as
what she has still works for her. She is currently using an
iPhone 5s and a Dell laptop. Sierra is very active on the four
main social vehicles, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and
Snapchat. She posts and scrolls through the content on her
newsfeeds whenever she has downtime. Sierra has a hard
time saving her money because she spends it on shopping
and food. She feels the need to give back to others because
she knows that a lot of people who are worse off, and tries to
support as many charities as she can. She likes to
accessorize, but only buys the knockoff versions because
she can not afford the brand name products. Sierra really
enjoys going thrift shopping with her boyfriend, when she is
not at track practice or working at the diner. She bargain
shops online, using Google chrome, for the current apparel
and accessories and finds great deals through eBay, which
provides her the best resource.

29
F. Website Audit and Proposed New Site

30
31
 G. Marketing Tactic Rationale

Website Layout
The new layout for eBay’s website looks to highlight six features the first of which is
personalized categories. When a user signs up through eBay they will be asked a few questions
about what they like to gather a starting list of recommendations of products they may like. This
is being added to eBay’s site because Millennials expect more control of their user experience.
The second feature it will highlight is a prominent search bar. This is being used because
Millennials have a short attention span and need to find what they are looking for quickly. The
website looks to keep a consistent design across all platforms to reduce any confusion to multi-
screen users. This is important because 56% of eBay users are multi-screen users. Eliminating
“gimmicky” or “cheesy” listings that eBay currently has such as putting all caps on a listing or
many exclamation marks, this will eliminate some of the trust issues users have with eBay’s
current setup. Making product reviews prominent will be another feature highlighted in the new
layout. Since Millennials check reviews 73% of the time before purchasing, having the product
reviews prominently placed in the website will help a consumer’s confidence when purchasing
through eBay. Finally, the website will help showcase eBay’s social impact. By placing icons
next to sellers that are in the eBay Impacts program and showcasing a charity of the month, an
increase in usage should be seen for eBay. Developing this website change is budgeted with
the product import app for $650,000.

Product Import App

Creating this app will help increase trial among small and medium businesses that use website
creator companies for their e-commerce. Small and medium business owners are very busy and
are always looking for another way to make a profit. If they see this app, knowing that it will not
cost them any more than if they sold on their current website, they would be more willing to try
it. Once they have imported their products they will surely see an increase in sales, which
should retain them. Promoting the app on all website development companies app stores is part
of the $650,000 budget for the development of the app and website revamp.

eBay Impacts
Changing the name from eBay Giving Works to eBay Impacts will help portray what the program
actually achieves. This program will be featured on the site to increase awareness and sales.
Fifty percent of Millennials are willing to purchase through a company that they know is affiliated
with a charity so not only will this help eBay’s equity but also their sales. Spreading awareness
of this program across social media and blog posts will help increase trial and consideration
levels among Millennials.

StubHub Integration
Cross-selling with StubHub will be beneficial to eBay to increase sales. When a consumer buys
a ticket their next step may be to look for the attire they would want for it such as a football
jersey for a football game, a concert t-shirt for a show, or memorabilia associated with an event.
Integrating eBay and StubHub to cross-sell allows an opportunity to go immediately from buying
a ticket to having product suggestions that go along with the game, concert, or event.
Eliminating an additional step for the user will catch them before they decide to go to a
competitor's site.

32
eBay Bucks Incentives
Getting more people to write product reviews will help increase eBay’s credibility. Giving an
incentive to users will give them a reason to leave a complete review. Giving them an incentive
in the form of eBay Bucks will get more people using this service. Since most people who have
used eBay Bucks were satisfied, getting more people using it will be beneficial to eBay and their
sales.

H. IMC Plan Rationale

Organic Solutions
Social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook)
Regular posts on all social media platforms would likely prove useful for bringing to light the
deals found on eBay. Regular “Deal of the Day” posts would promote both the product and eBay
as a whole as a site that regularly has these deals. Quick responses to customers that ask
questions over these outlets would show the consumers that customer service is a priority. The
ability of posts on outlets such as Facebook going viral due to shares, further expands the
exposure of both the deals and eBay as a brand to its current followers on these social media
platforms. While social media involvement has improved recently, there are still massive
improvements that could be made in the realm of regular posts and relevant posts that eBay
should make. Regular posts that keep eBay at the forefront of Millennials’ minds when it comes
to online shopping it would likely help improve the 6 out of 10 consideration rating eBay was
given according the survey respondents.

Blogs
The development and posting of original, relevant content through blog posts will increase the
overall reach of eBay on all social media platforms. Inbound strategy is a breakthrough in
modern-day digital marketing with proven success in boosting search engine optimization rates
(SEO) as well as ensuring trust in a specific brand. When a consumer utilizes a search engine,
specific keywords link their search to a variety of posts on the Internet. Trust is developed when
a user gains knowledge through an educational opportunity created by a company, and it is
strengthened when it is relevant and leads to more useful posts. With more regular blog posts of
lists, product information/deals, relevant seasonal tips, etc., eBay will capture this trust and
opportunities for viral posts on social media which will lead to the consumer’s considering trial
for a trusted brand.

Paid Solutions
Online Radio
With 8 out of every 10 Millennials listening to online radio platforms such as Spotify and
Pandora, any association between eBay and these platforms would help increase exposure.
With the inability to skip the majority of the ads on these platforms any advertisements would
likely have a good retention rate among listeners. With the massive exposure to the younger
generations that online radio provides, eBay would be able to target the majority of each
generation with information about eBay that they may have not been exposed to before. The
ability to reach all types of demographics within the younger generations would also prevent
eBay from becoming a niche e-commerce marketplace among Millennials and Generation Z.

33
Social Media
The paid advertisements on all social media platforms would likely be beneficial especially when
performed alongside the organic posts, drawing new customers not only to eBay’s website itself
but also towards the accounts eBay holds on all of the social media platforms. The guaranteed
viewership through these paid ads should increase eBay’s consideration among viewers.

Adwords
Using Google Adwords in the form of banner ads and YouTube videos is an efficient way to
reach a large audience. Most of the budget is going toward YouTube advertisements because
they are unavoidable and only charge when a viewer watches the advertisement.

I. Budget Breakdown

$4,250,000 IMC
$650,000 Marketing Tactics
$100,000 unforeseen expenses

Budget
Media Estimated Subtotal
Facebook $875,000
Instagram $725,000
Twitter $150,000
Pandora $100,000
Spotify $100,000
Snapchat $200,000
Banner Ads $945,000
YouTube Ads $1,355,000
App/Website Development $650,000
Unexpected Expenses $100,000
Total Appropriation $5,000,000

34
 J. IMC Timeline

Key: Red - Back to School Campaign ~ $2,000,000

Blue - Seasonal/Holiday Campaign ~ $1,250,000

Yellow - Spring Campaign ~ $300,000

Green - Summer Campaign ~ $600,000

Orange - Valentine’s/President’s Day Campaign ~ $100,000

35
 K. Sales Forecast
eBay has held an average annual revenue increase of 9.59% over the past five years. The “Find
Yours” campaign will show an initial sales spike in the first year due to the increase of users
through eBay impacts and with the Integrated Marketing Communications plan. Granted eBay
typically uses a budget of ~$420 million to their general audience and this campaign is highly
focused on Millennials, the sales increase seen is from the extra efforts of the $5 million budget.
The sales increase from 2016 to 2017 will largely be due to advertisement focusing towards
back to school shopping and the holiday season using Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, and social
media. Approximately 7 million new Millennial buyers are expected in the 3rd and 4th quarters
of 2017. ~3 million new Millennial buyers will be seen in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2018. The
industry is projected to grow at a rate of 10.1% and if eBay continues targeting its marketing
efforts toward Millennials and Generation Z members, they will see above industry average
increases in revenue.

1st Year Ending 2nd Year Ending 3rd Year Ending 4th Year Ending 5th Year Ending
Current Revenue* Dec. 31 2017** Dec. 31 2018 Dec. 31 2019 Dec. 31 2020 Dec. 31 2021
Q1: $1.39 B Q1: $1.59 B
Q2: $2.30 B Q2: $2.57 B
Q3: $3.08 B Q3: $3.36 B
Q4: $3.75 B Q4: $4.13 B

$9.416 Billion T: $10.52 B T: $11.65 B $12.84 B $14.15 B $15.59 B

Sales Increase 11.7% 10.8% 10.2% 10.2% 10.2%

from Previous
(%)***

Sales Increase 1.10 Billion 1.13 Billion 1.19 Billion 1.31 Billion 1.44 Billion
from Previous ($)

Projected Market +. 13% +. 05% +. 02% +. 00% +. 01%

Share (+/- %)***

9.13% 9.18% 9.20% 9.20% 9.21%

*Calculated using average revenue percentage increase over previous 5 years excluding
PayPal’s yearly revenue (9.59%)
** Factoring in the 10 million new users and increased marketing efforts toward millennials and
Generation Z.
***Industry revenue projection for the next five years is a 10.1% increase.
****Calculated total market revenue using current market share reported on Business Insight
(9%) to get 104.622.

36
 L. IMC Mock-ups

Social Media
The following are suggestions for Instagram,
Facebook and Twitter image ads to inform eBay’s
audience.

37
Banner Ads
The following are suggestions for banner image advertisements. Having cohesiveness with the
social media advertisements will help solidify the message.

38
 M. IMC Creative Suggestions

YouTube Ads/Social Media Video Ad Campaigns

eBay Impacts Video

Video concentrates on bringing to focus the charity contributions that eBay puts effort into by
exercising a primarily informative video. The video will present interesting facts about eBay and
its contributions to various charities, revealing information to the viewer that they likely have not
seen before. The overall presentation, while informative, will have an upbeat feel that will look to
leave a positive emotional image on the viewer reflecting their new perspective of eBay. The
video/ad can be used year-round, however, it would be most effective during the holiday period
when charity contributions show a drastic increase.

Top 5 reasons to use eBay Video

Video concentrates on educating the viewers of five useful features that are new or features the
viewer would be unfamiliar with. The video would be informative, yet it will present the facts in
an interesting manner that showcases the ease of accessing these features within eBay. The ad
can be used year-round to attract new users or users that have spent long periods of time
without using eBay’s services.

Lost and Found On eBay Video

Video concentrates on evoking an emotional response in the viewer while subtly showing the
capabilities of eBay and its services. The scene would involve a man losing a gift given to him
by his romantic partner and turning to eBay to purchase a replacement that would get there
rapidly before their partner notices. The scene would finish with the man being seen wearing the
product and making their partner happy. The scene would evoke an emotional response with
the viewer by presenting a short romantic story for them to follow that would end on a high note
both for the character within the story and the viewer. As a secondary action it would familiarize
the viewers with eBay’s interface and its features by showing step by step (sped up for time) the
steps the man takes on the site in order to purchase the product.

The Next Big Thing Video

Video concentrates on evoking a humorous emotional response within the viewer that leaves a
memorable impact and attaches it to eBay’s name. The scene would involve a woman who sees
her neighbor getting something new every day. The woman tries to keep up with her neighbor
by going to the store and buying a new item, but every time she comes back to her house, her
neighbor has a new item that she must have. As the woman leaves for a third time in a rush to
buy the next hot item, it shifts scenes to the neighbor in her house sitting on her phone using the
eBay app, ordering a new item. This ad will leave viewers with a positive emotional memory
along with express both the ease of buying an item on eBay and how eBay can be used to buy
what is currently trending.

39
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