Executive Summary Billabong is an iconic Australian brand in the retail surf-ware market founded in 1973 by Gordon and Rena Merchant. The brands original marketing plan was to get well known surfers to wear and promote the brand with Billabong sponsoring surfing contests and special events. It is a global business distributing its products to over 100 countries. However in recent years the company has underperformed and is in danger of a complete collapse. To overcome this new transformation strategy has been developed in its attempt to reinvent itself. This report shall: 1. Describe the key influences on marketing at billabong 2. Analyze two marketing strategies implemented by billabong 1.0 Influences on Marketing Key influences on marketing include factors influencing customer choice, consumer laws and ethical considerations. This section of the report will discuss influences in which customer choice has had on marketing at Billabong. A fundamental marketing objective for billabong is to increase their market share and maximize customer satisfaction. In order for Billabong to be successful they have acknowledged that all marketing must be customer centric and established that successful marketing begins with understanding how and why customers behave as they do. Customer choice refers to the decisions and actions of customers when they search for, evaluate, select and purchase goods and services and can be effected by government, socio-cultural, economic and psychological influences. Two factors which have influenced marketing at Billabong include: Economic influences Psychological influences 1.1 Economic Influences Economic forces influence a business’s capacity to compete, and a customer’s willingness and ability to spend, the two aspects of economic influences are a boom and recession. The global financial (GFC) crisis of 2008 saw unemployment levels rise and therefore consumer spending within the business of Billabong decrease. Billabong is a leisure brand and therefore its products are not a necessity in a time of financial downfall. As of August 2013 market analysts valued Billabong’s brand at zero in comparison with its value of $252m in 2012. The influence of the consumer downturn in the USA, Japan and Europe has reduced the labels ability to generate cash and is why the brand is now worthless. At this time Billabong should have stressed the importance of products that are both of value and usefulness with a marketing plan concentrating on maintaining existing market share. However as Billabong did not implement such strategies they have since fallen into accumulated losses of $1.2b since 2011. The influence that external economic forces had on the business have been immense and account for Billabong’s losses as of 2011-2013. 1.2 Psychological Influences Psychological influences are influences within an individual that affect his or her buying behavior. Billabong targets their products at young sporty individuals who want to obtain a product that reflects their personality and lifestyle. Billabong has experienced influence on their