Final Project Final Project (Week 8) 25% of Final Grade This project is designed

Final Project
Final Project (Week 8) 25% of Final Grade
This project is designed to give you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of marketing communications in both an innovative and realistic way. I encourage you to be creative in your solutions, use a variety of promotional tools and tactics, and include specific details and a solid rationale for your recommendations. It is important to note that your project will be graded using the ADVT 1940 Final Project Grading Form and everything that you need to know about the project is discussed below.
Your plan should cover each part below in detail. Use terminology from class when appropriate. Your paper should follow this format with the proper headings and subheads. Please double space your work. Not following the 7-part format detailed in this plan will result in heavy penalties or a failing grade. Spelling, punctuation, grammar, and organization are also factors in determining your grade.
The premise of this project is: You are opening a NEW Kakao Chocolate retail store in the location of your choice! Choose a location you are familiar with. (Just make sure your Kakao store is not too close to existing Kakao stores.) Keep the “look & feel” of the store and the brand the same. Don’t change the business concept.
PART I – MARKET SITUATION
The headings below should go into this section: (I’m including lots of notes to help you.)
Client Overview: Identify client and describe the range of products/services offered. Give any background information you think is relevant. Cover pricing. (You can say “premium” pricing, but note—the ingredients are expensive, etc.) Also, give a description of the retail environment.
Define the Brand: Tell what you think the Kakao brand stands for in consumers’ minds. (Consider your own perception and what you learned from the videos.) This should be a focused statement not a long list of things. Try to capture the essence of the Kakao brand. This statement should set Kakao apart from others. (A few lines are fine.)
Distribution: Identify the locations of present Kakao retail stores and list other retail stores that sell Kakao Chocolate. Give Kakao’s website URL. Identify the location for your new Kakao chocolate store. Include a rationale for your decision. (Advice: Choose a geographic location you are familiar with. It can be outside the USA. Remember, you will have to identify media choices. This is a local plan.
Competitive Analysis: List the names of specific competitors in the area of your store. (Don’t worry about online competitors.) List direct and indirect competitors. (Direct competitors have a retail chocolate store within the area. A direct competitor also might be a local brand that is similar and sold in retail stores.) Indirect competitors are businesses that fill the same need. For example, a local ice-cream store or bakery might be indirect competitors.
Trends: Talk about general trends that are relevant to your client’s business. This might have something to do with the economy—trends in gifts, food, dining, health, lifestyles, etc. (Note: 17 trends are covered in this article, 17 Trends According to Faith Popcorn, and at least one of them applies to Kakao)
PART II – TARGET AUDIENCE
The headings below should go into this section: (I’m including lots of notes to help you.)
Primary Target Audience Characteristics: Describe your primary target audience using the following terms: demographics, geographics, psychographics, and purchase behavior. Use headings, bullet points, and clear descriptions. (Note: Be specific. A target audience is not anyone who could possibly buy the product. It is group with similar characteristics that will be the focus of your promotional activities. ALSO: If you choose more than one target, you will need promotional activities for all of your targets.)
PART III – OBJECTIVES
For this section, I am acting as the client and giving you a list of objectives below that your plan needs to accomplish. If you want to add objectives to my list, please include them after my objectives. (Remember, your promotional activities in Part IV should accomplish these objectives.)
The time period for your plan is a total of FIVE months.* (See more below.) The objectives of your marketing communications plan are:
Create awareness of the Grand Opening of a new Kakao Chocolate store in the location of your choice.
Build brand image and establish a distinct position in the marketplace.
Increase product knowledge.
Stimulate a first visit, first purchase, and repeat purchase at your new store.
Motivate visitors to engage in Kakao’s social media activities.
*The total plan will address FIVE months. This means one month of Grand Opening activities and your choice of four additional months. (Total = Five Months) See more in PART IV.
For this section, I am acting as the client and giving you objectives that your plan needs to accomplish. (I should see promotional activities and related media choices in Part IV.) If you want to add objectives, include them after my points below in your final paper. Note: PART III – Objectives should appear in your final project as it is here, but without the above paragraph.
In ONE year, objectives of this marketing communications plan include:
Create awareness of the Grand Opening of a Kakao Chocolate in your city.
Build brand image and establish a distinct position in the marketplace.
Increase product knowledge.
Stimulate first visit, first purchase, and repeat visit to new store in your city.
Motivate visitors to engage in Kakao’s social media activities.
PART IV — PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND MEDIA
In this section, you will identify a combination of promotional tools and tactics that will accomplish your objectives. (Use the tools discussed in class, including: advertising, sales promotions, event sponsorship, direct mail, web marketing, and POP.) The first section under Part IV must have the following heading:
Grand Opening Activities: In this section, you need to identify the tools and tactics that will let your audience know the new Kakao store is open. You can also accomplish some -of the other objectives listed in Part III.
Here is a sample of how the Grand Opening section in Part IV is structured. (I’m putting it in a box to set it off from the rest of the outline. You don’t have to put it in a box.
PART IV – PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES AND MEDIA
Grand Opening Activities
These activities will take place for one month. Identify the month. NOTE: There is not a specific budget, but be reasonable. See examples below. Use headings.
Advertising: Print Media
Example: To promote the grand opening of the new Kakao store, the Howald agency recommends placing ads in XYZ newspaper and ABC magazine.
Rationale: Tell me why this is a good idea and why your choices are effective.
Other headings during grand opening might include:
Advertising: Broadcast Media
Example: To reach the target audience who commutes to work, we recommend buying radio commercials on two stations. They are: XXX and YYY.
Rationale: Tell me why this is a good idea and why these media choices are effective.
Event Sponsorship
(Include a specific idea that will bring your target audience into the store during grand opening. Give details. Include your rationale.)
Sales Promotions
(It’s a good idea to have some type of offer(s) to launch this new store. Contests are always a good idea. Give your specific idea for a contest and identify the prize. As always, give your rationale. )
Social Media Activities … and any other tactics that you think you can afford during Grand Opening. NOTE: “Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.” are not ideas. They are social media channels. Identify a specific activity that will take place on a social media site or you will not get credit. If you want to use social media to inform your target audience about a new product, event or contest – give details and your rationale.
Keep going. Use headings for each tactic, be specific about what you want to do and include your rationale.
When Grand Opening events are over, this heading comes next:
After Grand Opening
Continue with headings for tools and tactics that will be used after Grand Opening—such as advertising, sales promotions, web marketing, event sponsorship etc. Don’t forget about seasonal promotions and events. Also—it’s possible to team up with other brands for more promotional power.
NOTE: For this plan, Grand Opening activities are the most important. For your “After Grand Opening” — you might continue some of your tactics – however, I want to see at least 8 brand new tactics that will take place during one year.
Notes for Part IV:
Be sure to include your rational. Why are you choosing these tools and tactics? Develop real ideas to “wow” your client. Be specific. (Don’t just say “contest.” Give the contest a name, tell how it works, and identify the prize.) Use headings for each promotional tool. This should be the longest and most creative part of your project.
Regarding Media Choices for Part IV: For radio—identify a radio station and if possible a specific show. You can also request to buy AM drive or PM drive. If you can’t find the name of the station, describe the format. Examples include: news and sports, talk radio, alternative rock, easy listening, Christian radio, Contemporary Country Western, etc.)
For TV: Identify specific television programs you will buy. (For a local client like Kakao, using TV would be rare. If you do use TV, only use it during Grand Opening—and very sparingly.
You will need to be creative with low budget tactics and social media. Study what Kakao has already done. You’ll get a sense of what has worked, but you’ll need your own ideas.
PART V – MESSAGES: (This section asks two questions.)
What is the overall key message you want your target audience to take away from your communications? (Make it brief: one sentence.) What creative technique will you use to deliver your key message?
NOTE: This is the section to talk about “what you want to say…and how you want to say it.” Consider: What is the most important thing your target audience needs to know? Also, talk about the creative technique(s )you will use. Go back and look at all the examples of creative techniques in Week 6. What type of creative technique(s) do you think will be the most effective and why? Consider: You might use one approach during Grand Opening and a different approach later.
PART VI – SCHEDULE
What is the schedule for your plan? What tools will be used during each month? Start this section with a paragraph which gives an overview of your schedule. What month will you start and why? When will you be spending the largest part of your budget?
After this opening paragraph, you can create a calendar for when activities take place. Here is a sample:
April
May
June
July
Kakao Grand Opening Activities
XXX
Mother’s Day Promotion
XX
E-newsletter
XX
XX
XX
XX
Heavy schedule = XXX
Medium schedule = XX
Light schedule = X
Do you get the idea? Your chart gives me a picture of your main tactics (on the left) and tells me if you have a heavy, medium, or light promotional schedule. That’s it!
PART VII – EVALUATION
How will you evaluate the success of your program? How will you obtain feedback? Consider all the tactics you have used that are measurable. (For example, you can check coupon redemption to measure if a sales promotion was successful.) What else can be tracked? List all the tactics you have used that can be measured.
Note: Look back at your objectives. Have you accomplished them?
with details, pictures , and personable