Monday, August 9, 2010

Abeos' Marketing Plan

This group project (created by Kristin Liebers, Catherine Moore, Emilie Moseley, Meredith Rountree, Jenny Scholl, Preston Snow and me) was our baby. During the Spring of 2009, we spent countless nights laboring over each and every word of this business plan. Our professor gave us free rein to come up with an idea/product and then to write an entire plan for it, from the design of the shoe to how it would be marketed.

SEO skeleton for NYC Dog Walk

Below is my content for NYC Dog Walk.

The live website with the final version (labored over by my editor and company manager): http://www.nycdogwalk.com/

SEO skeleton for Land Rover Bahamas

During my 2008 summer internship at EIC, LLC, a web design firm in NYC, I wrote over 20 content skeletons for SEO and client websites. My first two weeks on the job was to read. A LOT. I learned about search engine optimization quickly. The last two months of my internship was spent writing websites for the firm and for clients. One of my last projects before I left was to create the skeleton content for Land Rover Bahamas. Below is the version that I wrote. The live website with the final version (labored over by my editor and company manager): http://www.landr.info/index.html.

Kang & Lee Media Presentation

Summer 2009 internship with Kang & Lee, a Young & Rubicam agency that specializes in marketing to Asian-American consumers.

My task was to determine the emerging trends in social media usage among college graduates and young professionals. I gathered and analyzed website traffic data from various sources, such as Alexa.com, Google Ad Planner, Quantcast.com, and choose the top websites for communicating with the desired market. Findings:

1. Before incorporating the use of social media into your campaign, find out how your market interacts with that particular website.

2. Widgets have long-term communications potential.

3. Social platforms have different staying power. Decide where it is you want to be and create your communication pieces accordingly.

BRMA Marketing Communications Plan

This was my first group project for my Advertising Campaigns course in Fall 2008. Our professor pulled in a real client, which was Blue Ribbon Mentor-Advocate, for us to work with. At the core of its operations, BRMA (http://www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectionid=5127) is a group that connects students with mentors. Our project was to develop a campaign for BRMA to help expand its numbers (in both student sign-ups and mentor volunteers).

This was a challenging project, given the scope of the project and the limited time frame (the project was to be finished by the semester). We ran surveys, researched on the internet and spent many nights brainstorming in the student lounge until midnight. Throughout this time, we met with our professor for progress reports. This is our final book after almost four months of work:

Media Plan for class project

Walls' Homes and Gardens is a fictitious business. The project was to come up with a media plan to help the company increase sales. The focus of the medium was newspapers (Time-News).

Class: Advertising Sales, Fall 2008

Monday, August 2, 2010

class project for selling outdoor grills

campaign strategy: “See the world deliciously”

The overarching creative idea is that grillers complete the picture. When people are grilling, people gather around the griller to get food. Hispanics already know that grilling is fun (they love to grill for friends and family, but not on a frequent basis). Therefore, we need to convince them to use the grill more. Out of this came: “see the world deliciously” where we’re looking at the world through a griller’s eyes. The message reinforces the idea that when you’re a griller, you see the world a little differently. This encourages our target consumer to think about grilling in new ways as they’re going through their daily routines.

TV ad 1: This takes a humorous approach of how grillers might “see the world deliciously”—instead of identifying people with their names, the griller would identify them with their dishes. More importantly, this ad only features six people, which is not a huge group by any means. This introduces the idea that Hispanics, even if they’re just entertaining two couples, can socialize over the grill.

TV ad 2: This takes a more heartfelt approach as to how grillers might “see the world deliciously”—instead of colors, grillers see spices. Research indicated that the number one reason people grilled was because they wanted to cook for their families. This ad introduces the idea that you don’t have to even be celebrating a special occasion or entertaining; grilling can be done anytime with anyone.

Print 1: The page usage is to demonstrate that grillers see and treat food differently. The body copy invites the target consumer to think about what it means to be a griller and how he sees the world as he stands by his grill. The imagery is to contrast the griller’s love for spices and flavor against who isn’t a griller. The ad is to connect with grillers as well as to interest others as to how grillers see the world.

Print 2: Again, the page usage is to demonstrate that grillers see and treat food differently. The body copy subtly points to the healthy advantages of grilling; you don’t have to sacrifice taste for calories because grillers are all about delicious food.

Chicken wrapper: While steak and burgers are the primary meat when it comes to grilling, chicken is most popular with Hispanics. The message here is that when you’re looking at a piece of chicken, the best way to cook it is to grill it.

Blinds: The number one reason people cited for not owning a grill was that their residences (condo/apartments) wouldn’t allow for such an appliance. By partnering with architects, real estate agencies, and home owners who are looking to sell, we can really push the idea that every home looks better with a grill. Since Hispanics are becoming the backbone of the population, they will play an important role as homeowners. By reaching them early, we can increase chances of them buying grills (and trading up for the future).

All the media connects back to the idea that grillers see things “deliciously,” and we are inviting our target consumer to share in this view.

Outdoor Grills
View more presentations from applie100.
The research was based on Mintel reports.

The Market for Grills:

In 2006, the market for outdoor barbecue reached $2.9 billion. General trends that have led to this include higher interest and spending on outdoor living spaces, innovations by grill manufacturers (new features have trickled down the line of grills, making it more affordable for new owners to enter the market and for old ones to trade up), the growth of higher-income families and a host of other factors that have made grills more accessible and convenient to use. The main ownership group is within the 35-64 age range; especially promising is the Baby Boomers (aged 45-64) who are more affluent than previous generations and are willing to invest in more luxurious lifestyle choices. However, companies are slowly recognizing that women are also a viable segment to target due to the empowering influence of cook books, food channels and grilling classes.

State of the Economy and How It Will Affect the Market:

Aside from the fact that the market is highly competitive, the economy is in a slump. Families are cutting back on spending, especially on what they consider to be “luxurious” products. The current emphasis is on finding value and bargains. High-quality grills cannot compete on price; instead, grills must positioned as a valuable familial and social lubricant that let men be the host/life of the party. In the past, people aged 45-54 were the prime buying years for grills. But as the population decreases, there will be a smaller group entering into this demographic, so the campaign will push towards younger men to spend more now and continue trading up in the future. As such, our key consumer will be married Hispanic* men aged 35-44 who earn $75,000+.

*Hispanics represent a growing section of the population. The challenge here is that those who can afford outdoor grills don’t use it as an everyday appliance. This decreases the chances of them trading up (to a gas grill); less usage also means fewer chances for replacement products.

Grill Ownership and Attitudes:

Of the people who own a grill, a majority of them use it year-round (housing innovations has made it easier for people to grill even in bad/cold weather). This is especially true for white males; in comparison, non-white groups use the grill for more special occasions. When grilling, men are also more likely to experiment with flavors and spices, indicating that they are more receptive to new food experiences, techniques and products. Helping this trend along are shows that teach people how to grill, restaurants that expose their clientele to exotic grilled foods, innovative accessories that makes it possible to grill different items easier and supermarkets that are packaging food in a grill-friendly style. This means that it will be easier to connect with the Hispanic consumer and convey that outdoor grilling can be an everyday occurrence.

Grillers are also becoming more health conscious. According to a Mintel research, the percentage of people who grilled vegetables increased from 25% to 44% from 2005-07. Grillers are also using more lean meats (chicken and turkey) as well as experimenting with alternative products such as vegetable burgers and fish. Again, this provides another advantage with which to present to the target market: grilling can also be good for those who are watching what they are eating.