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The Fashion Channel

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WENDY STAHL

The Fashion Channel
Introduction

Dana Wheeler, senior vice president of marketing for The Fashion Channel (TFC), sat in her Chicago office and scrolled through the email messages in her inbox. Thankfully, none required an urgent reply. She toggled over to her calendar: no meetings for the rest of the day. Finally, she could focus her thoughts on reviewing her recommendations for TFC’s new segmentation and positioning strategy. Wheeler believed that she had prepared a solid analysis; she felt confident about the strategy she was proposing. But next week’s senior management meeting would mark her first big presentation to the company’s leaders since she had joined TFC, and, she admitted to herself, she was eager to gain the support of her colleagues. There was a lot riding on the outcome of this meeting, both for Wheeler and for the channel. If founder and CEO Jared Thomas and his team liked what they heard, Wheeler would move forward to implement her recommendations. The company needed to strengthen its competitive position and would be spending more than $60 million in all national and affiliate advertising, promotion, and public relations in 2007, based on these recommendations. This would be an increase of $15 million over 2006 spending.

Do

No

Background

TFC was a successful cable TV network– and the only network dedicated solely to fashion, with up-to-date and entertaining features and information broadcast 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Founded in 1996 by two entrepreneurs, it had experienced constant revenue and profit growth above the industry average almost since the beginning. Revenues for 2006 were forecast at $310.6 million, marking another steady upswing.

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Wendy Stahl prepared this case solely as a basis for

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