Media Planning Campaign, Altoids

ALTOIDS Media Plan for

CURIOUSLY STRONG MINTS

BY BLOOM MEDIA

ABOUT US When nurtured with plentiful water and sunlight, the lotus flower blooms more beautifully than the rest. At Bloom Media, we treat our clients much like we treat the lotus. Our soil is built on research and our organic ideas help our clients blossom.

Individually, we bring distinctive strengths to Bloom Media: an analytical approach, creative thinking, consumer-oriented strategy, and the ability to bridge the gap between media and creative. Our team of five creates innovative and memorable media plans that give clients the results they desire—the results that blossom change.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary........................................... 3 Situation Analysis............................................... 4

Brand Analysis..................................................... 5

Competitive Analysis...................................... 15

Target Audience Analysis.............................. 25

SWOT Analysis................................................... 33 Media Objectives and Strategies............... 35

The Big Idea....................................................... 36

Target Audience & Media Mix................... 37

Reach, Frequency, & GRPs.......................... 59

Geography.......................................................... 60

Budget.................................................................. 61

Scheduling & Timing...................................... 64 Creative Strategy............................................ 67 Appendix............................................................. 70

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Over the years, Altoids has established itself nationwide as a leading breath freshener in an iconic metal tin. What began in 1780 as a cure for stomach aches has now become the famous “Curiously Strong Mints� that are celebrated for their simple and effective flavors. Though the company has experimented with many different product types, the one that has stuck over the years is their classic breath mint, which comes in Cinnamon, Peppermint, Wintergreen, and Spearmint. Additionally, Altoids offers Altoids Smalls and Altoids Arctic.

Though the Altoids name is extremely well known, the brand is experiencing declining sales when compared to competitors. The crowded market category and high competitor share of voice means that Altoids needs the help of targeted marketing to regain some share of the market. Bloom Media plans to implement a year long national campaign with spot heavy ups to increase brand awareness and influence purchase behavior among the chosen target market, men and women ages 18-24.

Our campaign focuses on two groups, the Committed Trendsetter and the Fearless Wanderer, who look for products that help to support their unique image. Committed Trendsetters are young men who enjoy looking for the next best thing and who believe that their appearance is an important part of who they are. They look for products that make a statement to others. These men are wellversed in social media, have interests in music and video games, and tend to be very committed to brands that support their image.

The second group, the Fearless Wanderer, is the secondary audience of women. These women tend to be at an adventurous stage in their lives and look for products that demonstrate their spirit. Spending money makes them feel good and they have enough disposable money to treat themselves. They love to stay up-to-date on social media, celebrity news, and the latest trends.

Bloom Media wants to catch the attention of these Committed Trendsetters and Fearless Wanderers by creating an integrated campaign that includes advertisements on TV, magazines, digital, mobile, out of home, and paid social. Additionally, we will utilize sales promotions and sponsorships to increase brand awareness. This twelve-month long campaign will aim for a reach of 80, frequency of 5, and 400 GRPs during our peak months of November to February. During the rest of the year we will lower our reach to 70, frequency to 3.9, and 273 GRPs per month to compensate the previous peak months. We believe this national campaign will create brand awareness, increase sales, and allow Altoids to directly compete within the crowded market category.

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SITUATION ANALYSIS 4

BRAND ANALYSIS Altoids “Curiously Strong Mints” have been an American favorite for years. These breath fresheners, which were first introduced in London in 1780 by Smith Kendon, were originally marketed to relieve upset stomachs (Wrigley). It wasn’t until 1920 when the brand replaced its original cardboard packaging with its iconic metal tins we are all familiar with today. As a result of Altoids’ unconventional and quirky personality, the brand has earned a spot as a top-selling mint in the United States. Known for its classic flavors of Peppermint, Wintergreen, Cinnamon, and Spearmint, Altoids has positioned itself as a “classic” in the breath freshener category (Wrigley).

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CURRENT BRAND SITUATION In the United States, sales of Altoids were reported at $97,400,000 in 2015 (Statista), making it third in overall sales for breath freshener brands. According to the case study, sales for Altoids have been dropping over recent years. This could be due to sporadic ad spending, as Altoids is being vastly outspent by its competition. Currently, Altoids’ brand manager is proposing to “increase Altoids’ ad spending to $25 million for the coming calendar year” in order to better compete with other brands (Case Study).

In addition to classic Altoids mints, which are available in 4 flavors, the brand offers an Altoids Smalls Mint line that is available in a few of the original flavors. Altoids released its most recent product, Altoids Arctic, in 2014. These mints offer a cooler sensation and are sugar free, unlike the original mints (Wrigley.com). Although Altoids were originally developed in the UK, the majority of Altoids today are produced in Chattanooga, TN, USA, where the demand is much higher. This change occurred in 2005, shortly after Wrigley purchased the brand (Prepared Foods).

Over the years, Altoids has produced many products in the breath freshening category that are no longer on the market. In 2003, for example, Altoids released both sugar-free gum as well as breath strips. Neither of these products are still offered in the market today. Other Altoids’ products that have been discontinued are sours, chocolate dipped mints, and a variety of original mint flavors (Wrigley.com).

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CURRENT CATEGORY SITUATION Altoids competes in the breath freshener market category. This $658.4 million industry includes not only mints, but chewing gums, sprays, and other products that help consumers’ mouths feel clean. The breath fresheners market is vastly changing because chewing gum sales have declined steadily since 2010, while mint sales have risen since 2010. It is predicted that this trend will continue through 2020, and is likely caused by factors such as the reduction in smoking and an increase in snacking (Mintel). This offers an opportunity for Altoids and other mints in the category to fill in the space left behind by chewing gum.

The declining sales of chewing gum indicates an increase in variety within this market. Consumers now have more options than just gum: there are also mints, sprays, strips, and other creative bad breath remedies to suit a consumer’s specific needs. In fact, the amount of U.S. households who use 1-2 packages of breath mints, sprays, and strips per month has increased from 11% in 2014 to 12.8% in 2015 (Statista). This means that an increasing number of U.S. families are choosing to use mints, sprays, and strips over other breath freshening alternatives like gum. There are many societal and economic trends leading to these consumer decisions, which will be addressed later. Overall, the trend away from gum and the rise in mint sales offers an opportunity for Altoids and its competitors in the breath freshener industry.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: The 4 Cs 1) CONSUMER WANTS AND NEEDS The Altoids Product

Altoids original mints, which are available in 4 flavors: peppermint, wintergreen, cinnamon, and spearmint, are offered in 1.76 oz. durable, distinctive and portable tins. Each tin contains approximately 75 mints and has 10 calories per serving.

Altoid Smalls Mints are available in peppermint, wintergreen, and cinnamon and packaged in 0.37 ounce tins. These tiny square mints substitute sugar with sorbitol and sucralose and contain 0.5 calories per serving. They do not contain gelatin, therefore, they are suitable for vegans, vegetarians or those following a halal or kosher diet. All Altoids except for the Altoids Smalls Peppermint Mint are gluten free.

How Altoids Meets Consumer Wants and Needs

The Altoid consumer is generally someone who already uses mints heavily and appreciates the quality of the classic Altoids mint. Altoids’ consumers do not mind paying a little extra for superior quality mints that are known for long-lasting flavor. For example, the specially formulated peppermint lozenges are many times stronger than ordinary mints (Altoids. com, 2010). The different product offerings provide oral freshness, all while meeting consumer’s desire for diverse tastes and preferences.

The distinctive and easily portable tin cases in which Altoids mints are packaged are often reused for utility reasons.

Consumers have used them as containers that store household items such as bobby pins, paper clips, and coins. Altoids’ packaging goes above and beyond; the durable packaging meets consumers need for proper protection of their mints, and its unique usability features leaves them wanting to purchase more.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: The 4 Cs 2) COST Cost of Switching to Competitors

The cost of original Altoids is about $1.99 for 1.76 oz., and the cost of Altoids Smalls Mints is about $1.39 for .37 oz.

Altoids is generally the more costly option with the exception of Ice Breakers and Life Savers. A pack of Ice Breakers Mints is the generally the same price as original Altoids, however, the serving size is 0.26 oz. smaller, making it a lesser deal. Life Savers is also generally listed at $1.99, but has a much larger serving size of 6.25 oz. It is less costly to switch to Tic Tac, which is listed at 1.39 for 1 oz. and Breath Savers, which is listed at $0.99 for .75 oz.

Cost of Time in Acquiring Product

Like most of its competitors, the cost of time in acquiring Altoids is relatively low. Consumers can easily stumble upon Altoids’ products, as they are available in various locations throughout the U.S. such as convenience stores, supermarkets, office supply stores, and housing supply stores. Within these locations Altoids are most often displayed at checkout counters.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: The 4 Cs 3) COMMUNICATION Although Altoids does not have its own website, information about the brand can be found on its parent company’s website, Wrigley.com. The Altoids’ section on Wrigley’s site includes recipes, flavors, the company’s history, and links to Facebook and the Altoids’ store, which enables users to purchase Altoids’ online or find the nearest store location that sells Altoids.

The brand primarily uses Facebook to engage with loyal and devoted customers. Altoids uses this platform to promote its products, present material from ad campaigns, and to create excitement for its products. Since the classic product does not change often, the brand typically uses Facebook to remind people of the product and its benefits.

Altoids connects with its target audience by creating lifestyle posts, which reminds consumers how the brand can seamlessly become a part of their lives.

Altoids’ advertisements have always been surrounded around its slogan, “Curiously Strong Mints.” Since the creation of Altoids, the brand’s marketing strategy has consisted of simple designs and copy that allow the product to speak for itself. Altoids’ slogan has always been the main focus of the advertisements, which has lead to “Curiously Strong” becoming synonymous with the iconic mints. In 2013, Altoids’ resurrected an advertising campaign that previously ran in 1997. By using vintage advertisements Altoids was able to use the power of nostalgia to capture an older target market who may have previously identified with the brand. In 2014, Altoids took a more modern approach with its “Respectfully Cool” campaign to promote Arctic Altoids. Despite the modern makeup of the campaign, Altoids stayed true to its roots with clean, simple, and brand based advertising.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: The 4 Cs 4) CONVENIENCE Altoids can be found, but is not limited to the following retailers: Walmart, Target, Wegmans, CVS, Staples, Walgreens, Sam’s Club, Home Depot, Meijer, and Peapod. Although a many supermarkets, such as Meijer, are only located in some parts of the country, many other retailers that sell Altoids, like Walmart, are national chains. Overall, the brand enjoys excellent distribution across the United States, making it easy for consumers to find Altoids on a regular basis.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: Economic and Societal Trends As addressed in the current category situation, the breath fresheners category is seeing a decline in gum sales and a rise in mint sales. It is predicted that the decline in gum sales will at least continue to 2020 (Mintel). This decline is a clear economic change, but many societal factors influence it. According to Mintel.com, current societal stigmas against smoking are causing a decline in that category, which in turn has reduced the amount of people who chew gum. Additionally, there has been an increase in snacking, which keeps people from wanting gum because it lasts so long. Breath fresheners, on the other hand, can dissolve or be eaten much faster, leaving more time for snacking. This can be seen as an opportunity for Altoids because mint sales are predicted to grow 34.7% from 2010-2020 and Altoids may be able to capitalize on new consumers in the market (Mintel).

Another societal trend in the country today is the movement away from sugar free foods. Sugarless gums, mints, and other sweets often contain artificial sweeteners which can have very negative side effects. Side effects can include metabolic syndrome, heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain (Scutti). As more people become aware of these dangers, they purchase more real sugar snacks and candies. In fact, regular mints, sprays, and strips have experienced a steady increase from 21.4% in 2011 to 24.91% in 2015, while sugarless alternatives are down from 15.8% to 13.45% (Statista). Considering that the original Altoids mint is made with regular sugar, this trend could be very helpful for that portion of the brand. There are, however, sugar-free Altoids’ products, like Altoids Smalls Mint and Altoids Arctic, which could experience a decrease in sales due to this societal trend.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: Economic and Societal Trends An interesting economic trend in the U.S. today is the increase in average supermarket sales. Average sales have increased steadily from $16.26 million in 2011 to $17.08 million (Statista), meaning that people are buying more at supermarkets than they were a few years ago. This is likely correlated with the economy, which has been growing stronger since the recession in 2008. Now that people have more disposable income, they are able to spend more money on food at supermarkets. This means that breath fresheners, which are often on display at registers, will likely experience an increase in sales because shoppers have a more disposable income. While Altoids may also experience this increase, it is important to remember that competing breath fresheners will also have the advantage of more willing consumers.

A socioeconomic trend that impacts Altoids’ image is the rise in popularity of vintage clothing and products. Consumers, especially young ones, are seeking out products that were popular in past generations. This has changed consumers’ attitudes on what is trendy and in style. Altoids’, being a brand that was created in the 1780’s, is becoming popular again for its vintage style. According to research from the University of Huddersfield, changes in consumers’ perceptions on vintage products have made them respond favorably to products that emit this aesthetic. Altoids’ tin case fits in perfectly with this rising trend.

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BRAND ANALYSIS: Geographic Information Though originally founded in London, Altoids’ main production is now in Chattanooga, TN. The brand is sold nationally, but mainly focuses on the US market. Altoids is 100 years old and was bought by Wrigley, which owns brands that sell in more than 50 countries worldwide.

When choosing geographic markets we chose to focus on cities that measure high in Category Development Index (CDI). Since markets with the most potential consists of consumers who are 10% more likely than the average consumer to be heavy mint users, we have decided to focus on cities that have a high CDI due to their frequent tendencies to purchase mints. We believe that our media planning and marketing strategies have potential to effectively persuade our target within these geographic regions.

The west coast and central United States are the regions that hold the most potential for Altoids because consumers in these areas are heavy mint users who simultaneously tend to purchase Altoids over other brands. For example, consumers in Los Angeles, CA are 8% more likely to purchase mints than the average consumer (CDI 108) and 9% more likely to purchase Altoids (BDI 109). People living in Las Vegas, NV, Laredo, TX, Bakersfield, CA, and Phoenix, AZ are also likely to purchase both mints, and specifically, Altoids. While consumers in Las Vegas and Laredo are only 1% more likely than the average consumer to choose Altoids (BDI 101), they are relatively high mint purchasers. Las Vegas has a CDI of 112 and Laredo has a CDI of 117, meaning that people in that area are 12% and 17% more likely to purchase mints respectively. This demonstrates a good market potential for Altoids to expand. Bakersfield, CA has a very high CDI, 123, which means that consumers here are 23% more likely to buy mints than the average consumer. Finally, while consumers in Phoenix, AZ are 1% less likely to purchase Altoids than the average, they are 9% more likely to purchase mints. This means that it is a good market for Altoids to gain a greater share because people are already very interested in mints.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Our primary competitors for Altoids are Ice Breakers, Tic Tac, and Breath Savers. Secondary competitors include all breath freshening companies that our target audience may consider to have the same benefits as mints. We chose our primary competitors due to similar products, flavors, category loyalty, and the target audiences they attract. We analyzed and compared Altoids to all of our primary competitors. We took into consideration brand and product overview, each brand’s media mix, which includes media spending from 2014 on multiple platforms, and advertising strategies such as previous and current campaigns.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: OVERVIEW

Ice Breakers

Ice Breakers was first produced by Nabisco in 1996, then acquired by Hershey in 2000. It became the first brand to offer intense stick gum with revitalizing flavor crystals, and later expanded into the mint category. The brand’s products are typically white in color and speckled with other colors that indicate its flavor. Since 2000, the brand has grown to include many different flavors of mints and gum, including peppermint, wintergreen, cinnamon, the new iced-tea, fruit sours, berry sours, and tropical sours. In 2015, Ice Breakers released a line of Cool Blasts chews. These peppermint and spearmint flavored chews, which are not categorized as a gum or mint, give the consumer a breath freshening pick-me-up.

MEDIA MIX

The brand allocated the most amount of money on advertising in 2014, spending 531,449,000 million dollars, compared to 377,517,000 million dollars in 2015 and 327,774,000 million dollars in 2013. Ice Breakers relies heavily on syndicated TV. In fact, they have spent 53.3% of their advertising dollars on syndication. They also spend 7.5 % of their advertising dollars on Net TV and 38.1% on Cable TV. Ice Breakers does not sell specific seasonal flavors during certain seasons. The brand does, however, spend the most amount of its advertising dollars in December.

Ice Breakers has built a very strong brand following on Facebook and Twitter. The brand’s Facebook page is the strongest social media channel with more than 1,140,000 likes. It features tips that boost confidence, and humorous branded photos and videos that relate to relevant topics such as award programs and reality shows. Its Twitter has the next highest fan base with more than 7,000 followers. Instagram trails behind the other social media platforms with only 520 followers. The brand has a low number of followers on Instagram because it was recently created and has limited content; there are only 21 posts with its first post from April 15th, 2016. Pinterest is not a platform that Icebreakers has utilized.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Ice Breakers ADVERTISING STRATEGY

To scale up the audience for a new brand push, Ice Breakers’ new “Break Through” advertising campaign, which features a unicorn, leverages Twitter’s First View, sponsored Instagram content, a Tumblr page and television spots. On National Unicorn Day, Twitter users were served Ice Breakers’ new music video. The comedic video ramped up awareness for the television ads, which continues to push on social media with the hashtag, #UnicornMoments. The Ice Breaker unicorn represents unbridled confidence and a call to action for young people to “Break Through” life’s standard, everyday moments.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: OVERVIEW

Tic Tac

Tic Tac was introduced into U.S. markets in 1969 with the name, “Refreshing Mints.” They are produced by Ferrero, an Italian manufacturer, and are available globally. In the 1970’s Tic Tac expanded by creating new flavors like Cinnamon and Tangerine. As America started to become more health conscious in the 1980’s, Tic Tac adapted to the trend by making each mint 1½ calories.

Tic Tac has continued to create new and innovative flavors in the U.S. and around the world. Tic Tac can be purchased at most major retailers such as Target, Wal-Mart and Costco. Tic Tac is also available at most grocery and convenience stores.

MEDIA MIX

In 2014, Tic Tac spent $7,013,300 total on advertising. Tic Tac relied heavily on cable television spending $6,529,300 which resulted in 93% of their total advertising budget following with internet that made up 4%, B-to-B with 3%, and online video with a mere .03%. Tic Tac’s ad spending fluctuates month by month. Tic Tac spent the most on advertising in March, June and August. We can attribute increased spending in the summer due to the introduction of their Summer Ice Pop limited edition flavor. This limited edition flavor consists of red, white and blue Tic Tacs in celebration of the Fourth of July.

Tic Tac has created a well established presence on social media with 15,500,000 likes on Facebook, 865,600 followers on their global Twitter and 30,100 on their USA Twitter, and 206,000 followers on Instagram. Its facebook posts primarily introduce new product features, flavors, designs and limited time only products. Tic Tac encourages audience participation by creating interactive posts that promote the product while engaging followers in fun activities. Tic Tac uses its Instagram to attract users to its fun and innovative posts. By using colorful and dynamic graphics Tic Tac promotes its product in a playful way. The brand connects with its target audience by posting content that is relevant to current events. As a result, it receives a lot of feedback through likes. Tic Tac’s Twitter combines its tactics from both Facebook and Instagram by posting ads and tweeting about current events. Tic Tac strategically times the posting of its tweets to remind followers of its product without overwhelming them with an unnecessary abundance of posts.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Tic Tac

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

Tic Tac engaged its users with its 360 degree marketing campaign, “Shake It Up�. The campaign, which encouraged Millennials to explore unconventional ways of doing daily activities, introduced the new Tic Tac Viewer mobile application. Users could download this app to interact directly with outdoor and print ads that highlighted facts on daily routine activities. The app was downloaded over 10,000 times and the average playing time was 10 minutes. Within the first 5 weeks of the launch, the brand entered 4,300 Wal-Mart stores, attracted 250,000 new Facebook fans and increased overall sales by 9%.

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: OVERVIEW

Breath Savers

Breath Savers is a mint company manufactured by The Hershey Company. Breath Savers were first made in 1973 by the Life Savers Company in limited areas. At this time, it was a division of E.R. Squibb. In 1978, the brand became a national brand when it replaced sugar with saccharin in order to become sugar-free. Three years later, Nabisco bought the Life Savers Company from E.R. Squibb. In 2000, it sold its gum and breath mint business to Hershey. Breath Savers advertise that its products contain neutrazin, which is an ingredient that can temporarily eliminate bad breath. Breath Savers have also begun advertising that some of its mints contain sodium bicarbonate. This is an alkaline salt used in many personal hygiene products to stop the production of acid in the mouth and helps prevent infections.

MEDIA MIX

In 2014, Breath Savers spent a total of $521,200 on advertising. Breath Savers focused only on local radio and spent 100% of its funds towards this medium. For 2014, Breath Savers advertised solely on local radio stations in every month except for January, June, September and December. Breath Savers does not have a seasonal advertising strategy, but rather based spending around two main holidays. 31% of the budget was spent in May with $160,600. Breath Savers has not spent any money since 2014.

Breath Savers has a small social media presence. There are no verified Twitter or Instagram accounts. The main social media that Breath Savers uses is Facebook with 4,690 likes. Although the brand does not utilize Twitter or Instagram, the hashtag #breathsavers, is used on both platforms in reference to the mint. Breath Savers mainly posts advertisements on its Facebook page. The most recent campaign posted on the page is “The Overachieving Mint.�

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Breath Savers

ADVERTISING STRATEGY

Breath Savers’ current campaign on Facebook is “The Overachieving Mint.” This social media campaign uses images of the moon and outer space to show that Breath Savers is unique.

Some videos include a moon buggy that is scientifically proven to neutralize bad breath. A main point featured throughout the campaign is that “Mankind didn’t settle for a regular ‘buggy’. So you shouldn’t have to settle for mints that only cover up bad breath.”

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Seasonal Ad Spend

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Media Expenditures

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COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: Wrap Up

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR ALTOIDS?

To become a top-selling brand and threatening competitor within the breath freshener category, Altoids must jump over some major hurdles. Tic Tacs and Ice Breakers are the top competitors for Altoids, as they have the greatest market share in the category. Icebreakers also has the highest share of voice by far. In regards to social media, Altoids’ brand presence is limited. Tic Tacs and Ice Breakers, for example, utilize Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, whereas Altoids only has a Facebook account. In addition, the amount of likes on Altoids’ Facebook is significantly lower than its competitors, especially in comparison to Tic Tacs. This suggests the general overshadowing of Altoids by more popular brands in the market. Utilizing social media such as Twitter and Instagram, as well as other platforms like Pinterest and Tumblr gives Altoids the potential to stand out amongst competitors and increase share in market and overall voice.

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TARGET AUDIENCE SEGMENTATION

For Altoids, Bloom Media has chosen to specifically target consumers who are already heavy mint users. These users may already use Altoids, but not as much as other segments of the population. This means that these users are aware of Altoids as a brand and, as heavy users, appreciate the value that the brand has. For this target audience, we need to understand how they make their mint-purchasing decisions and what media is most effective for reaching them. Based off of MRI research, the demographic age group that over index for heavy mint use (110) as well as Altoids’ use (106) are 18-24 year-olds. Men in this age group offer more potential than women because men are 2% more likely to be heavy mint users while women are 2% less likely. Additionally, men in this age group index lower than women for Altoids use at 92, which means that they need to be targeted more specifically so that their use can increase. The 1824 year old male heavy mint user is the ideal target audience for this campaign because they offer the perfect balance of interest in the product category with the potential for increase in purchase of the brand. Because this target is relatively small, we have also added a secondary audience of women 18-24.

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TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH PRIMARY RESEARCH

To gather more information about the chosen target audience, we conducted an online survey. This survey was created in Google Forms and distributed over Facebook so that as many people as possible would have the opportunity to take it.

We received 170 responses, 140 of which were from females and 30 of which were from males. The majority of the respondents were in the target age range of 18-24, with 26 respondents being over 24 and only one being under 18. Though most of our respondents were female, the data still yielded relevant results because females 1824 are a secondary audience for this campaign. Additionally, the 30 male respondents provided us with insights about our primary audience.

The survey focused on the respondent’s media use, specifically social media. We chose to learn more about our target’s media use because we believe that this is an area where Altoids has tremendous potential for growth. As a brand who has historically focused on print advertising, Altoids has a lot of untapped potential in digital and social media markets.

It became clear through this survey that our target audience not only uses social media, but uses it with extreme frequency. 62.9% of respondents stated that they check social media every time they have the chance, and another 32.4% said they check it more than once a day. Additionally, 70% of the respondents stated that they follow brands on social media. This demonstrates an opportunity for Altoids to reach their target market through a medium that they use so frequently. According to the survey, the most popular sites to follow brands are Instagram and Facebook.

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TARGET AUDIENCE RESEARCH SECONDARY RESEARCH

Through the use of MRI data, we were able to determine the specific market that Altoids should target. The specific audience is men, ages 18-24, who are heavy mint users.

These men consider themselves trend-setters who love to remain involved and relevant. They put heavy value on their image and choose products that reflect the image they wish to convey. Additionally, the target likes to spend money because it makes them feel good. All of these insights were generated based on the high index numbers for heavy mint users. For example, this group indexed very high at 202 for staying connected with brands through social media sites. Other statements that indexed high and influenced our choice were the desire for high social status (168), buying based on quality, not price (115), being trendy (172), and making purchases that are consistent with their desired image (141).

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TARGET AUDIENCE: Consumer Insights Insight: This target seeks adventure and considers themselves to be thrill-seekers.

STRONGLY AGREE: I am adventurous (110 men, 138 women) STRONGLY AGREE: Video games are my main source of entertainment (359 men, *336 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I enjoy taking risks (188 men, 316 women) Buy/lease vehicle type-Motorcycle (228) Travel-Vacation abroad-Other (149) Others ask my advice about vacation travel (168) Willing to pay more for a flight on my favorite airline (161) Insight: This target likes to spend money because it makes them feel good.

STRONGLY AGREE: I enjoy shopping, even when I don’t purchase anything (106 men, 122 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I enjoy shopping at speciality stores, because they carry brands I like (134 men, 157 women) STRONGLY AGREE: Regardless of prices, it is important to have brand I like (134 men, 107 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I enjoy owning good quality things (106 men, 107 females) I prefer popular brand-name pharmaceutical drugs even if they cost more (185) I purchase most expensive model with all luxury options (188) I’m a spender rather than a saver (117) I buy based on quality not price (115) I’ll buy trendy clothes even if they’re not highest quality (151) *Please Note: Insights that begin with STRONGLY AGREE were found in Simmons OneView for males and women ages 18-24. Other insights were found using MRI Attitudes Data for Heavy Mint Users (3+ Pkgs Past 7 Days)

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TARGET AUDIENCE: Consumer Insights Insight: The target believes themselves to be a trend-setter.

STRONGLY AGREE: I like to stand out in a crowd (136 men, 212 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I like to try new things no one else has (151 men, 172 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I am usually the first among my friends to shop at a new store (221 men, 129 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I’m good at convincing others to try new things (172 men, 134 women) I consider my fashion style to be trendy (172) People often come to me for advice before making a purchase (141) Like to share opinions of products/services by posting online (171) I enjoy being the center of attention (160) Others ask my advice about vacation travel (168) Insight: This target likes to stay relevant and involved.

STRONGLY AGREE: Music is an important part of my life (110 men, 126 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I love to keep up with celebrity news and gossip (125 men, 128 women) STRONGLY AGREE: Social media user (133 men, 130 women) STRONGLY AGREE: Downloaded or Listened to Podcast in the Last 7 Days (*175 men, *226 women) I love keeping up with celebrity news and gossip (170) I expect the brands I buy to support social causes (157) Worked for a political party (123) I strive to achieve a high social status (168) Like to connect w/ brands thru social- networking sites (202)

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TARGET AUDIENCE: Consumer Insights Insight: This target values the way products influence their image.

STRONGLY AGREE: I am always the first among my friends to have the latest in electronic equipment (179 men, 229 women) STRONGLY AGREE: I love to buy new gadgets and appliances (142 men, 150 women) I am influenced by what’s hot and what’s not (190) Want others to say wow when they see my electronics (140) I like to change brands often for sake of variety & novelty (141) I’d pay more for a product that is consistent with the image I want to convey (141) A celeb endorsement may influence me to consider or buy a product (151)

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TARGET AUDIENCE PROFILES THE COMMITTED TRENDSETTER

The Committed Trendsetter is a group of men aged 18-24 who love staying relevant and being on top of the latest trends (172). These individuals fall into the subset of millennials that tend to embody a masculine, “nerdy”, “hipster” persona (172, 141, 151). A Committed Trendsetter is usually educated, either in college or a recent graduate. These men value brands for the way that they enhance the image that they want to convey (141). The Committed Trendsetter shows brand loyalty towards brands that coincide with their lifestyle and image.

This group shows an affinity for technology through the use of video games, social media (202), and the latest gadgets (140). In their spare time, you could find a Committed Trendsetter spending time with friends at music festivals and concerts.

MEET TYLER

Tyler is a 19 year old freshman attending Cal State Bakersfield in California. He has a strong interest in technology, which is leading him to pursue a degree in digital design. He is constantly keeping up with the latest developments in the technology industry (142). His friends would describe him as a trend-setter when it comes to technology, so they often ask him for advice on what to purchase (141). He is inclined to purchase brand name products, because he likes to maintain a trendy image and values products that are associated with prestige and high quality (106). Tyler is not only brand loyal with technology, but also with clothing. He has a few go to brands, like Urban Outfitters and American Apparel, that he always shops at (134). He values these brands because they are hip and of high quality. Tyler’s other passion is music (110). Over the summer he spends his time attending music festivals with friends. To stay up to date with the latest album releases he follows music blogs, so he is always the first to know when a record is released and what bands are on tour. Although he loves his computer he prefers listening to music on his record player. You can usually find Tyler in his dorm room listening to Mac DeMarco or Bon Iver on his record player with his friends.

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TARGET AUDIENCE PROFILES THE FEARLESS WANDERER

The Fearless Wanderer is a female between the ages of 18-24. She has entered the workforce and is doing what she loves.

This target likes to spend money because it makes them feel good and they have the income to do so. They believe that money can buy quality products and are willing to spend it on name brand products (185). This target likes to stay relevant and involved in their community. She keeps up with brands on social networking sites (202) and follows celebrity news (170).

The Fearless Wanderer is also conscious of social causes and purchases from brands that support similar causes (157). This target also enjoys traveling off the beaten path (149) and others seek their advice before purchasing products (141), travel tickets (168), and the latest electronics.

MEET RILEY

Riley is a 24 year old female from Los Angeles, California. She graduated college (146) and is currently doing what she loves: journalism(115). Riley is a spender rather than a saver (117); she believes that money can buy her high quality products and is willing to spend it on name brand products (185). Riley strives to achieve a high social status (168) and will pay more for a product that is consistent with the image she wants to convey (141).

Riley’s house (104) has the newest appliances and electronics (229), and her closet is full of trendy clothes (151). Although Riley is influenced by what’s hot and what’s not (190), she expects the brands she buys to support social causes (157). Riley likes to follow and connect with brands through social networking sites (202). She loves to keep up with celebrity news and gossip (128), and a celebrity endorsement may influence her decision to buy a product (151). Riley loves to take risks (316) and is always seeking adventure (138). On the weekends, you can find her going to bars and clubs (181) with her friends. Her friends describe her as outgoing, trendy, spontaneous, and someone they trust to give them good advice. They often come to her for advice on new purchases (134).

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SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths

• Established reputation; very recognizable • Strong parent organization (Wrigley and Mars) • Durable, lasting packaging allows a long product life cycle • 100% all natural

Opportunities

• • • • •

• Social media growth • “Hipster” and “vintage” fads are strong • Increasing trend away from artificial sweeteners • Increase in snacking over the years • Decline in gum sales and rise in mint sales in recent years • Increase in average supermarket sales; strengthening economy

Weaknesses

Viewed as an older brand Small market share Lack of product variety Declining sales in recent years Multiple discontinued products over the years

Threats

• Lots of competitors • Low media budget compared to competitors • Increased breadth of category (not just mints and gums: strips, sprays, etc.)

• Trend towards low calorie options • Steady decline in smoking among teens and adults

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KEY CHALLENGE The main challenge Altoids faces is that it is an older brand that is overpowered by competitors who have a larger media budget and greater variety of products. Altoids’ lack of advertising is causing them to fall by the wayside as more active competitors take over the younger market.

KEY INSIGHT Altoids is more than just a mint; it is a statement of individuality. Our target audience values their image and appreciates quality brands that support their personal image. They know about Altoids and use mints, but they have not realized how Altoids’ vintage-inspired image can complement their own style.

We have to make them aware that Altoids fulfills their desire for quality and uniqueness. Once Altoids becomes ingrained in the audience’s lifestyle, the popularity of Altoids in the younger population will spread through these trendsetters.

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MEDIA OBJECTIVES & STRATEGIES 35

THE BIG IDEA

STAY IN MINT CONDITION You know how to have good time. Whether you’re planning your next adventure, going out on on a Saturday night, or taking your date to a concert, Altoids hopes to tag along. Altoids compliments your lifestyle, making your best days even better.

We know your style is impeccable, your taste in music is flawless, so here’s a little something to keep you in Mint Condition.

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OBJECTIVE

MEDIA MIX

To create brand awareness for men and women ages 18-24, who are heavy mint users and know about Altoids but may choose other brands. We want to show this target market the benefits that Altoids can provide, and will reach them through a variety of media.

2.8%

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MEDIA MIX: TELEVISION STRATEGY & RATIONALE

We allocated a significant amount of our advertising budget to TV due to our target markets’ heavy consumption of television each day. According to Nielsen data, millennials spend an average of 4 hours watching TV through a combination of live TV and TV-connected devices. We also chose to utilize TV throughout the entirety of the campaign because of its ability to increase both reach and frequency. We chose to advertise nationally for cable and network shows. To increase the impact of our campaign our team added more cable TV spots within our DMAs. Each show was strategically chosen based on its popularity within our target audience. With high index numbers for each show, we are confident that our 5 show choices will reach our target audience. All of our ads will be :15 seconds to quickly yet effectively convey our message to Stay in Mint Condition. Since Altoids is such a recognizable brand with a simple message, we have decided to keep our ads short and concise.

AMERICAN DAD (CABLE)

American Dad is a sitcom that follows a CIA agent through his crazy adventures in work and balancing family life. Our target audience scored high for this show with an index of 292. Our primary audience considers themselves to be adventurous (110) and this sitcom allows them to follow the adventures of this ‘typical’ American family. Additionally, our secondary audience indexed at 316 for taking risks. Altoids can help our adventurous audiences Stay in Mint Condition.

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MEDIA MIX: TELEVISION IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA (CABLE)

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom. The series follows “The Gang”, a group of five self-centered friends who run the Irish bar Paddy’s Pub in South Philadelphia. Our target audience really enjoys this show as shown by the extremely high index number of 257. This tells us our target enjoys a good laugh and a more adventurous type of humor (138).

NBA REGULAR SEASON (CABLE)

NBA Regular Season is the time when the professional men’s National Basketball Association teams compete throughout North America. Our target audience often watches and enjoys the NBA regular season (153). In addition, these ads will compliment our other ads featured in ESPN Magazine and ESPN.com.

BOB’S BURGERS (NETWORK)

Bob’s Burgers is an animated television sitcom that centers around the Belcher family, who run a struggling burger restaurant in a seaside town. The show debuted in 2011 and has been named one of the top 60 animated shows of all time by TV Guide. This demonstrates great potential for increasing popularity of this show as it continues to experience success. Our target indexes high for this show at 213 and enjoys the adventurous, unique style of humor that this program presents, making it a great option for our media mix.

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MEDIA MIX: TELEVISION THE WALKING DEAD (CABLE)

The Walking Dead is a drama series that is based off of a comic book about life after the zombie apocalypse. With an index of 179, our target audience loves the combination of thriller and fantasy. In our consumer insights, we determined that heavy mint users use video games as a main source of entertainment (359). This audience is passionate about their games and becomes fully immersed in the fantasy world. The Walking Dead has a very similar audience of viewers who become extremely involved and excited about the show.

BUYING TELEVISION

Our team will be allocating 43% of our budget to television advertisements, which amounts to $10,748,480 of our total budget of $25 million. We chose to advertise heavily on television since it is a very popular medium amongst our target audience. Within that budget, $3,306,700 (14%), will be allocated to cable television programs, and $7,251,600 (29%) for network programs. We plan to use a total of 480 GRPs for network and cable combined with an equal distribution of 240 GRPs each.

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MEDIA MIX: MAGAZINES STRATEGY & RATIONALE

Magazines are an excellent medium to utilize during our Altoids’ campaign because they have a long shelf life, high pass along rate, and offer creative opportunities to reach niche markets. According to index numbers provided by Simmons, the Committed Trendsetter most often reads magazines that focus on topics such as gaming, current events, sports and fitness. This makes sense, as the Committed Trendsetter likes to stay up-to-date on the latest technologies and current events, and greatly cares about his image.

In addition, magazines enable audience involvement through a number of ways. By including coupons as well as other tie-ins to social media promotions, the reader can feel very involved with the brand. All magazine media buys will be full-color print ads to coincide with Altoids’ long history of print advertisements. As far as timing, magazine ads will be circulated through the entirety of the campaign.

WIRED MAGAZINE

Many men between the ages of 18-24 are first among their friends to have the latest electronic equipment (179), and want others to be impressed when they see their electronics (140). They look to credible sources, like Wired Magazine to inform themselves about emerging technologies. This magazine illuminates how technology changes every aspect of their lives—from culture to business, science to design. The breakthroughs and innovations in Wired Magazine lead the Committed Trendsetter to uncover unique ways of thinking and new connections to share with friends.

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Circulation: 851,823 Index: 172

MEDIA MIX: MAGAZINES OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE

Official Xbox Magazine is a must read for the Committed Trendsetter, who plays video games as a main source of entertainment (359). This magazine is the ultimate guide to Xbox gaming; in each issue, readers receive information about the latest games, news, in-depth reviews, and more gaming material. It is an outlet where our target reads articles and reviews of recent gaming trends to stay knowledgeable about the gaming/tech industry, enabling them to pass along the information to others. Compared to all technology magazines, Xbox magazine is indexed the highest.

Circulation: 615,000 Index: 136

MEN’S FITNESS

Committed Trendsetters like to feel their best by striving to achieve a high social status (168) and being involved in their community. But, they like to look their best too. Men’s Fitness fuels our style-conscious, body-conscious, and ambitious target audience with articles about what to eat, workout routines, as well as weight loss and training tips. Many Committed Trendsetters start their days with workout exercises they read from Men’s Fitness to help them look great and live great.

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Circulation: 425,000 Index: 342

MEDIA MIX: MAGAZINES ESPN MAGAZINE

Our target audience, who likes to stand out in a crowd (136) and be the center of attention (160), enjoys spending their down-time reading about superstars in the sports world. ESPN The Magazine covers stories on top athletes and sports like Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, college basketball, and college football. This magazine takes a more light-hearted and humorous approach to sporting news compared to its competitors like Sports Illustrated.

BUYING MAGAZINE

We will be distributing $2,802,540 which amounts to 11.2% of our budget to magazine advertisements. We will use magazine advertisements in all months to bring awareness to the brand and reinforce the message of our campaign. We have calculated 13 GRPs per month, with a total of 156 GRPs for the year.

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Circulation: 2,153,678 Index: 192

MEDIA MIX: SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY & RATIONALE

In terms of social media, we plan to utilize owned, earned and paid media. Our target audience are social media users (133) who relies heavily on social media to keep up with current events, trends and celebrity gossip (125). Currently, Altoids has very little presence in the world of social media and we plan to change that. In order to successfully engage our audience in our brand, we must take full advantage of popular social media platforms such as Snapchat, Tinder, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We must come up with strategic ways to engage our audience and make them interested in the Altoids brand. Since social media encourages consumer interaction, we plan to use this strength as a way to be creative. Listed below are a variety of ways in which Altoids will utilize owned social media throughout the entirety of the campaign: • Create an account on Twitter, as it does not currently exist • Promote consumer interaction through challenges, such as Instagramming what creative things consumers can do with an Altoids tin • Offer give-a-ways of Altoids via social media • Like, share, and comment on our consumer’s posts that are related to Altoids to connect with our audience on a personal level • Encourage users to use the hashtag “#StayInMintCondition” when posting on social media in hopes our campaign will trend • Encourage campaign partners to use relevant hashtags i.e., “TravelInMintCondition” for JetBlue partnership (further detailed on Sales Promotions page) • Emphasize special sales promotions on it’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, such as the Golden Ticket campaign (further detailed on Sales Promotions page)

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MEDIA MIX: SOCIAL MEDIA FACEBOOK (PAID)

Facebook is the most popular social media platform among our target audience (146). Facebook’s primary function is to connect users with each other and help them stay up-to-date on popular culture. Facebook sponsored posts are a great way to reach the right people because businesses can choose their audience based on demographics and behaviors. We will utilize sponsored posts because they are very eye-catching and easily get users attention. Also, tracking ads is simple and easy to comprehend. For these reasons, we are confident that Facebook will provide us with the results we are looking for—turning mint users into Altoids consumers and making sure our customers stay in mint condition. We plan to utilize sponsored posts on Facebook that will specifically target our audience. For timing, ads will be continuous throughout the year with spot heavyups during the months of November to February to increase reach and frequency.

SNAPCHAT (PAID)

Snapchat is an image messaging and multimedia mobile app that is continuously expanding its offerings. Snapchat has many features including: sharing :10s pictures and videos, a variety of filters, geotags and featured stories from magazines, TV shows and websites. Our ads will be 10-second clips that are presented on a few of Snapchat’s featured stories such as Comedy Central (160), MTV (276) and E! (133). We have chosen these three entertainment outlets due to their high index numbers. Snapchat is a great platform to utilize because, according to Nielsen Media Impact, each day Snapchat reaches 41% of all 18-24 year olds in the United States. Also, our target loves to keep up with celebrity news and gossip (125, 128), which is a perfect reason to advertise Altoids on this medium. For timing, ads will be continuous throughout the year with spot heavyups during the months of November to February to increase reach and frequency.

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MEDIA MIX: SOCIAL MEDIA TINDER (PAID)

Tinder is a location-based app that connects people together through mutual interests, allowing matches to chat with one another. The app is most commonly used as a dating service, however it has consistently added more services making it more of a typical social media platform, which our target market indexes high for using (133, 130). Tinder empowers users around the world to create new connections that otherwise might have never been possible (Tinder.com). Studies show that 52% of Tinder users are between the ages of 18-24 and according to the market research firm GlobalWeblndex, 62% of users of apps like Tinder are male. These statistics support our decision that advertising on this platform will easily reach our target audience. Tinder is the second paid social media platform that we will advertise on. Our ads will appear as normal profile pages, so when a user swipes right our ad will naturally show up and catch the attention of the user. We will also have “Tinder Takeovers� during the heavy-up months of our campagin. The takeover will consist of our logo appearing on every profile and we will have customized conversation starters for when two individuals match! For timing, ads will be continuous throughout the year with spot heavy-up during the months of November to February to coincide with cuffing season. Since we know individuals are looking for relationships at this time they will likely to turn to Tinder to find their special someone.

Along the way they will be exposed to Altoids ads and promotions.

BUYING SOCIAL (OWNED & PAID)

We will be allocating 5.95% of our budget to paid social media advertisements, which amounts to $1,488,000 of our total budget of $25 million. We spent the majority of the allocation on national advertisements, with the remaining amount going towards spot heavy advertising in our DMAs. We plan to use a total 648 GRPs for national and spot advertising in paid social platforms. To promote Altoids at a free cost, we plan to utilize owned social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram year-round. In addition to our daily social media posts, we plan to increase content during our heavy-up months.

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MEDIA MIX: INTERNET STREAMING STRATEGY & RATIONALE

It is no surprise that men and women ages 18-24 are more likely than average to use the Internet (111). Using the internet is a beneficial tool for the Altoids campaign because it allows the brand to reach a large audience that is heavily focused on our target market. More specifically, we chose to focus on the streaming aspect of the Internet as this is extremely popular among young adults (194), in addition to the more traditional Internet display ads. The types of advertisements that will be utilized on the Internet are pre-roll ads on Hulu, advertisements between songs on Spotify, and banner ads on EA.com, ESPN.com, and GameSpot.com. These Internet streaming and display ads will run continuously throughout the year with heavy-ups in our selected DMAs during the months of November through February to increase reach and frequency.

SPOTIFY

Spotify is an online music streaming service that provides subscribers with millions of songs and music collections. Not only is music considered to be an important part of our target’s lives, (110 men, 126 women), but men and women 18-24 index high for Spotify use at 124, making them a prime target through this medium. While there is a paid option which removes ads, 70 million of Spotify’s 100 million subscribers use the free version. This means that advertisements on Spotify are heard by a large majority of their audience. We will run 10-15s ads between songs on Spotify to effectively reach our music-loving demographic.

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MEDIA MIX: INTERNET STREAMING HULU

Hulu is an online streaming service for shows, movies, and original content. Hulu offers two subscription options, both of which are paid--limited commercials or no commercials. While both options are popular, the company pushes the cheaper limited commercials option, which bodes well for advertisers. The site reached 12 million subscribers last May, making it an effective medium to reach large audiences. In addition, men and women ages 18-24 index very high for Hulu use in the past 7 days (193), which suggests that this medium will effectively reach our target audience. We plan to utilize the pre-roll ad feature, as consumers must watch these ads to see their show. These advertisements will be 15 seconds so that they do not disrupt the viewing experience too much.

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MEDIA MIX: INTERNET DISPLAY

EA.com

EA.com delivers games, content and online services for Internet-connected consoles, personal computers, mobile phones and tablets. EA.com ranks high among 18-24 year old men (165), who use video games as their main source of entertainment (359). The site offers the most recent gaming news and enables our target to post their opinions online (171) by offering discussion forums in which they can share gaming tips and tricks.

Gamespot.com

ESPN.com

Gamespot.com provides reviews, discussion forums, news and information on the industry’s top video games. The website appeals to millennials and their passion for gaming by satisfying their desire to keep up to date on gaming news and culture (235). The interactive site allows people to blog their own reviews and join discussion forums on a plethora of gaming topics.

ESPN.com is one of the leading providers of sports on the Internet. The site provides our target with late-breaking news, statistics, schedules, and player updates, in addition to up-to-the minute sports news coverage, scores, highlights, and commentary for NFL, MLB NBA, NCAA Basketball and other live events so they can stay informed. This site will be a useful addition to our media mix because men and women 18-24 index high for ESPN.com use (123).

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MEDIA MIX: INTERNET BUYING INTERNET

In total we spent $5,584,160 (22.3%) on advertising and used 1,696 GRPs throughout the national and spot heavy-up digital campaign combined. For digital national advertisements, we will be budgeting $440,010 per month, totalling $5,280,120 for the duration of the campaign. We plan to use 86 GRPs per month with a total of 1,032 GRPs during our 12-month national campaign. Specifically, for our spot heavy-up months (November-February), we will be budgeting $76,010 per month throughout November-February with a total amount of $304,040 spot heavy-ups. Over the four month period, we plan to use 166 GRPs per month, totaling 664 GRPs. *Please note that we are including the mobile allocation within our digital spend.

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MEDIA MIX: PODCASTS STRATEGY & RATIONALE

Podcasts are gaining an increasing amount of popularity among people, especially young millennials (196). Similar to magazines, each podcast is unique, which allows us to specifically reach our target market. Podcasts are most frequently listened to on our mobile devices, which we know our target market regularly uses (126). Since millennials use podcasts for entertainment and knowledge seeking, we feel that our message will be regarded as trendy and influential. We will be sponsoring these three podcasts during the heavy travel months of November, December, June, and August. We chose to buy advertising space during travel months to go along with our Travel in Mint Condition campaign. Since our target market consists of frequent travelers, they are likely to listen to podcasts during their travels. For each podcast episode sponsored the host of the show read 10 seconds of copy from our advertisement before the show begins.

MILLENNIAL

Millennial is a podcast specifically made for our target market. Host and producer, Megan Tan creates podcast episodes that help guide millennials through their twenties. She gives wise advice on everything millennials face post-graduation from finding a job to finding love. Since our target market consists of college aged students and recent college graduates we thought this would be a perfect place to reach them.

STORYCORPS

StoryCorps is a podcast sponsored by the National Public Radio (NPR). Each episode consists of interviews recorded by ordinary people who share extraordinary stories. We know that our target market is adventurous and intelligent, so an NPR sponsored podcast about inspiring stories will allow us to effectively reach them.

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MEDIA MIX: PODCASTS THIS AMERICAN LIFE

This American Life is produced by WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. It is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, with 2.2 million listeners. Each episode consists of multiple stories relating to an overarching theme. The podcast has a wide variety of themes, from money to cars to love. This American Life’s popularity will help us not only reach our target market, but also reach consumers outside of it.

BUYING PODCASTS

To estimate the cost of advertising on podcasts, we looked at research which exhibited that typical podcast shows charge roughly $30 per 1,000 listeners. The popularity of This American Life and StoryCorps brought the cost to $75,000 each per month due to the millions of people who listen to these shows. Millennial, being a less popular show was the least expensive, costing $25,000 per month. This brings the total cost for each month advertised to $175,000.

Since we will be advertising for four months, we plan to spend a total of $700,000 (2.8%) on podcasts.

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MEDIA MIX: SPONSORSHIPS SPEED DATING STRATEGY & RATIONALE

According to Pew Research, “In the last two years, the percent of 18 to 24 year olds who used dating sites increased from five percent to 22 percent” (Meyer, 2016). In addition, research from Psychology Today claims that 8-10 male and female millennials say that true romance is “very important” (Beaton, 2015).

Factoring in this research, we encourage Altoids to team up with various speed dating companies in our targeted DMAs to sponsor dating events and singles nights so our primary and secondary target have the chance to intermingle in person.

Participants can sign up for the event and receive a complimentary Altoids upon arrival. Altoids will help participants Stay in Mint Condition and be their best self on their dates. These events will kick off our campaign and take place throughout cuffing season, which is during November to February. Specific companies for Altoids to sponsor in our targeted DMAs are: SpeedLA Dating, Speed Dallas Dating, and Pre-Dating. These events can be held at popular pubs, restaurants and bars.

BUYING SPEED DATING

Bloom Media has allotted a total of $20,000 (0.08%) for the months of November-February. This results in an equal distribution of $5,000 for each month. The estimated cost of these events were determined by the excess budget we had leftover from the $25,000,000 we were given.

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MEDIA MIX: OUT OF HOME STRATEGY & RATIONALE

For out-of-home advertising, our team plans to place ads within airports located in our spot markets. Our target audience consists of young men who enjoy vacationing abroad (149). Additionally, they like to give advice to others about vacation travel (168), so a focus on advertising within this public transportation will be effective in optimizing reach and frequency goals. Our strategy is to advertise in the Los Angeles airport (LAX), Las Vegas (LAS), and Phoenix (PHX) during NovemberFebruary. We chose these airports because they are located within three of our DMAs and also rank within the top 10 most populated airports across the nation, increasing both our reach and frequency. Our team choose these months to advertise for transit because they go along with our promotions and heavy ups. In addition, there is a 54% increase in airplane travel during Thanksgiving and 23% increase during Christmas and New Year holiday period.

We plan on wrapping charging stations throughout these airports, as our target always has new gadgets (142) that they will want to be charged during their time of travel. Our team is confident these advertisements will reach our target market, due to the fact that millennials use charging stations at airports at a greater rate than non-millennials.

The wrapped charging stations within the JetBlue gates will display the copy: “Travel in Mint Condition with Altoids”. We chose to partner with JetBlue, which is an American airline that flies to and from LAX, LAS and PHX DMA’s, as well as 96 other destinations in North, Central and South America. According to research from the Boston Consultant group, millennials prefer traveling with JetBlue Airways. This partnership will carry-over into our sales promotion campaign.

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MEDIA MIX: OUT OF HOME MEDIA BUY

We purchased advertisements for 15 wrapping stations for JetBlue gates throughout our pulsing months of NovemberFebruary. We chose to buy 15 wrapping stations in JetBlue gates, as there are roughly 2.5 charging stations per gate in PHX, 5.3 charging stations per gate in LAX, and 7.3 charging stations per gate in LAS. We decided to spend $488,979 for OOH in each of the months that we are making this buy, meaning that overall we spent $1,955,920 on transit which is 7.8% of our total budget.

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MEDIA MIX: SALES PROMOTIONS

STRATEGY & RATIONALE - JETBLUE PARTNERSHIP

Our target is adventurous (110) and enjoys traveling around the world to explore new places (149). We want Altoids consumers to travel in Mint Condition so they are confident and excited to embark on new adventures. Point-of-purchase displays will be set up near check-out lines within Target and Walmart locations throughout our DMAs (Phoenix, AZ, Los Angeles, CA, Laredo, TX, Las Vegas, NV, and Bakersfield, CA.), along with surrounding areas. We chose to set up point-of-purchase displays in Target and Walmart, as our target audience already purchases Altoids from these stores. There will be 2 point-of-purchase displays within each store. Each display will include the copy: “Travel in Mint Condition with Altoids,” along with sweepstake information and guidelines explaining the promotion. The 10 lucky winners who receive a “Golden Ticket”, which is a gold wrapper inside of the Altoids tin, receives a round-trip airfare ticket worth $2,000 with JetBlue; winners decide their destination of choice! We chose to partner with JetBlue to maintain consistency with our JetBlue partnership for the OOH campaign. Again, JetBlue is a smart choice in airlines because according to research from the Boston Consultant group, millennials prefer traveling with JetBlue Airways. In addition, our winners will have the luxury of choosing from a wide variety of locations since the airline flies from 96 destinations in North, Central and South America.

We found that JetBlue has a large social media following, with a total of 204k Instagram, 108.7k Twitter 1.2 M Facebook followers. In addition to Altoids posting about this campaign on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, we believe this would be a great opportunity for JetBlue to promote the Golden Ticket campaign to further spread the word. In turn, this could result in an increase in Altoids social media followers. We would also encourage winners to post photos of the places they traveled to, using the hashtag #TravelInMintCondition. This campaign will run during our heavy-up months of November through February. Based on research, this time frame consists of the most frequent traveling and people enjoy escaping to more favorable climates during the winter season.

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MEDIA MIX: SALES PROMOTIONS STRATEGY & RATIONALE - SXSW PARTNERSHIP

Our target audience considers music (110 men, 126 women), new gadgets and technology (142 men, 150 women) as an integral part of their life. This led us to the creation of our “Golden Ticket” South by Southwest (SXSW) campaign, which is a continuation of our “Golden Ticket” JetBlue campaign. There will be 100 lucky winners who will receive a “Golden Ticket”, which is a gold wrapper inside of the Altoids tin. These tickets will be placed in Altoids cans throughout the nation in Target and Wal-Mart stores. Each winner will receive one South by Southwest ticket valued at $170. SXSW is an interactive media, music, and film festival/conference held in Austin, Texas, United States. SXSW Interactive is focused on emerging technology, such as the newest gaming inventions. Since our target audience looks to video games as their main source of entertainment (359), we saw this as a great opportunity. Additionally, SXSW is the largest music festival of its kind in the world, with more than 2,000 acts as of 2014. Our music-loving target audience would especially enjoy its impressive and eclectic musical performances. With the festival taking place in mid-March, our campaign will run during the months of NovemberFebruary aligning with the JetBlue “Golden Ticket” giveaway. This campaign will be advertised on Spotify as a way to attract music lovers to go out and search for a winning golden ticket.

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MEDIA MIX: SALES PROMOTIONS MEDIA BUY - THE “GOLDEN TICKET” (JETBLUE)

The Golden Ticket JetBlue campaign is estimated to cost $1,684,000 which is 6.7% of our $25 million budget. This cost includes a total of $20,000 for airfare, as well as 1,664,000 for point of purchase displays and production cost during the months of November-January.

MEDIA BUY - THE “GOLDEN TICKET” (SXSW)

The Golden Ticket SXSW campaign is estimated to cost $17,000 during the months of November-January, which factors in the total of $170 per ticket. This cost is 0.07% of our $25 million budget.

Includes The Golden Ticket sponsorship for both JetBlue and SXSW.

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REACH, FREQUENCY, & GRPs OBJECTIVE

To execute a media plan that attains a reach of 80, frequency of 5, and 400 GRPs from November to February, which are our peak months. During the rest of the year we will lower our reach to 70, our frequency to 3.9, with a total of 273 GRPs per month to compensate the previous peak months.

STRATEGY & RATIONALE

To make an impactful first impression at the beginning of our campaign, we chose to increase our reach and frequency in order to reach 400 GRPs per month. Since Altoids is a strong and established brand with a simple advertising message we chose to emphasize reach over frequency. To coincide with our sponsorships we did however, increase the frequency to 5, so that our target market would be reminded of these exciting events. This increased reach and frequency will take place throughout November, December, January, and February. After the peak months of our advertising schedule we will lower our reach to 70 and our frequency to 3.9. We aim to achieve around 273 GRPs for the remainder of the campaign. With the help of the Ostrow Model we chose a frequency of 3.9, because while our advertising message is simple there are a lot of competitors in the marketplace.

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OBJECTIVE

GEOGRAPHY

To implement a national and spot media campaign. Our spot campaign will include DMAs mostly in the west, due to their high index numbers for mint sales and Altoids’ sales. We will focus specifically on the following spot markets: Phoenix, AZ, Los Angeles, CA, Laredo, TX, Las Vegas, NV, and Bakersfield, CA.

STRATEGY & RATIONALE

To implement a national and spot media campaign, we chose to heavy-up on certain DMAs based primarily on the BDI and CDI data provided to us through MRI. We focused on DMAs that had a particularly high CDI for mint use because it means that people are already purchasing mints in these areas, so convincing them to switch to Altoids would be easier than convincing a non-mint user. All of our chosen DMAs are located in the midwest/southwestern region of the US. Some of these markets are very metropolitan, such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas, while Bakersfield and Laredo are much more suburban. Though CDI was the primary factor, we also found that people within these particular spot markets also have high BDI, meaning that they are more likely to choose Altoids than the average person. This is helpful as well because that means that Altoids is not a completely unknown brand in these areas, so increasing sales will be easier as there is already awareness.

We plan to utilize these spot markets throughout our campaign by heavying up on local media in these areas, as the target market in these DMAs are more likely to purchase the product. Additionally, some of the media choices will be used solely in these DMAs, such as sponsorships.

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BUDGET OBJECTIVE

To execute a media plan with a $25 million budget, with at least 25% of that going towards digital media.

STRATEGY & RATIONALE

Bloom Media allocated media buys based on a $25 million budget set by the Altoids’ marketing team. Of this $25 million, $5 million was designed specifically to digital media. We chose to focus on a combined campaign which utilized both national and spot media.

Because we chose to use a pulsing media schedule, we allocated more of our budget to our heavy up months of November to February. The budget will remain constant in all months except for our heavy up months. This is due to the addition of sponsorships, out of home, spot cable TV, spot digital, and podcasts during the first four months of the campaign. By the end of the campaign, we will have spent $25,000,000, which is exactly on budget for the year-long campaign.

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BUDGET

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BUDGET

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SCHEDULING & TIMING OBJECTIVE

To create a twelve-month, pulsing schedule media campaign starting in November that will generate positive awareness about Altoids.

STRATEGY & RATIONALE

Our campaign will start in November to align with “cuffing season.” Cuffing season is an informal term used to describe the time of the year when single people yearn for relationships. This time of the year is relevant for our campaign, because it is when we will be sponsoring speed dating in our spot DMAs. We are also strategically starting in November to compensate for the lack of advertising from our competitors. Ice Breakers, our largest competitor, sharply declines their advertising spending in November, and Tic Tacs doesn’t advertise at all during the winter months. To take advantage of this period of low advertising on behalf of our competitors we will heavy up our spending starting at the beginning of campaign through February. We will continue to heavy up during the winter months due to Ice Breakers’ spike in advertising during December. These peak months will represent the bursting aspect of our pulsing scheduling. After February to the end of our campaign, our advertising will be continuous at a lower rate. The only other spike in advertising will be during the summer months of July and August for podcasts, as this is a very popular travel time and car listening will increase.

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SCHEDULING & TIMING

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SCHEDULING & TIMING

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CREATIVE STRATEGY 67

CREATIVE BRIEF

BACKGROUND

Altoids “Curiously Strong Mints” have been an American favorite for years. Known for its classic flavors of Peppermint, Wintergreen, Cinnamon and Spearmint, Altoids has positioned itself as a “classic” in the breath freshener category.

OBJECTIVE

To increase brand awareness among a younger target audience by the end of the twelve month campaign through an increase in strategic advertising, with a main focus on digital advertising.

TARGET AUDIENCE

The primary target audience for this campaign are men aged 18-24 who are on-top of the newest trends and current events.

The secondary target audience includes a trendy group of women aged 18-24 who are lively and adventurous. Our main challenge will be to convince this target to consider Altoids as their mint of choice.

KEY INSIGHT

Our target audience values individuality. They have not yet realized how Altoids’ vintage-inspired image can complement their own style. We have to make them aware that Altoids meets their need for purchasing unique products, so the popularity of Altoids in the younger population will spread through these trendsetters. Our target market’s friends look up to them for advice on travel, style, music, and new trends. By having our target market adopt Altoids as their favorite mint, the general population will follow.

BIG IDEA

Altoids is known for being the ‘Curiously Strong Mint’ but we want to expand the benefits that Altoids has to offer. The main message of the campaign will convey to our target audience that Altoids can be there at all the major moments in their lives.

The tagline will say “Stay in Mint Condition” in order to emphasize how Altoids can help our target audience be the best version of themselves.

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CREATIVE BRIEF WHAT WE WANT THE TARGET AUDIENCE TO DO Purchase Altoids mints over other brands.

TONE

Altoids is a sophisticated brand with a witty, tongue and cheeky message that will appeal to our young target market. Altoids is more than just a mint-- it is your most trusted sidekick and will travel alongside you throughout your wildest adventures.

BUDGET

The media plan will have a $25 million budget and dedicate at least 25% towards digital media.

DELIVERABLES

Television: 15 second commercial advertisements on one network and four cable shows Podcasts: 10 second pre-roll ads on Millennial, StoryCorps, and This American Life Magazines: Full-page ads in general interest plus men’s magazines Internet Radio: Spotify ads between songs played Internet: Pre-roll ads on Hulu, banner ads featured on EA.com, ESPN.com, and Gamespot.com Social Media: strong presence on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter Paid Social: 10 second advertisements featured on Snapchat, Tinder takeover, and sponsored ads on Facebook Outdoor: Charging station wrapped in Altoids advertisements in jetBlue terminals Events/Promotions: Speed dating/ Golden Ticket Winners

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APPENDIX 70

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A

http://www.wrigley.com/global/brands/altoids.aspx https://www.statista.com/statistics/262572/leading-us-breath-freshener-brands-based-on-sales/ http://www.preparedfoods.com/articles/104426-altoids-made-in-america http://store.mintel.com/gum-mints-and-breath-fresheners-us-september-2015 https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.ithaca.edu/statistics/283132/us-households-amounts-of-breath-mints--strips--sprays-usedtrend/ http://www.medicaldaily.com/4-dangerous-effects-artificial-sweeteners-your-health-247543 https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.ithaca.edu/statistics/283130/us-households-types-of-breath-mints--strips--sprays-usedtrend/ https://www-statista-com.ezproxy.ithaca.edu/statistics/240948/average-sales-per-store-of-us-supermarkets/ https://www.leaf.tv/articles/the-history-of-altoids/ https://godsofadvertising.wordpress.com/tag/altoids-advertising/ https://moat.com/advertiser/altoids?report_type=display http://www.vox.com/2014/4/14/5605418/nine-questions-about-tinder-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask https://www.spotify.com/us/about-us/contact/ https://9to5mac.com/2016/06/20/spotify-apple-music-users/ http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/04/media/hulu-subscribers-cable-bundle/ http://montanamatchmaker.com, https://www.speedladating.com/#home, https://www.speeddallasdating.com/#home, http:// www.pre-dating.com/las-vegas-speed-dating/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/02/college-aged-adults-are-now-the-most-likely-online-daters/462384/ http://www.vox.com/2014/4/14/5605418/nine-questions-about-tinder-you-were-too-embarrassed-to-ask https://www.gotinder.com/

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APPENDIX A REFERENCES

https://www.snapchat.com/ads http://amigobulls.com/articles/facebook-inc-is-still-the-most-popular-social-platform-among-millennials http://montanamatchmaker.com, https://www.speedladating.com/#home, https://www.speeddallasdating.com/#home, http:// www.pre-dating.com/las-vegas-speed-dating/ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/02/college-aged-adults-are-now-the-most-likely-online-daters/462384/ http://www.tvguide.com/news/greatest-cartoons-tv-guide-magazine-1071203/ http://adage.com/article/digital/tinder-launches-paid-ads-bud-light-s-usa/297906/ https://www.marketingweek.com/2015/11/04/tinder-set-for-major-ad-push-in-2016-as-facebook-warns-brand-security-is-topof-mind/ https://www.facebook.com/business/products/ads http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/america_on_the_go/us_holiday_travel/html/entire.html https://www.world-airport-codes.com/us-top-40-airports.html http://www.bcg.com/documents/file129974.pdf http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/why-so-many-podcasts-are-brought-to-you-by-squarespace/392840/ http://www.pcworld.com/article/246181/best_tech_friendly_airports_how_the_40_busiest_u_s_airports_stack_up.html http://www.adweek.com/news/television/how-millennials-consume-tv-depends-which-stage-life-theyre-170393 https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-gen-y-guide/201510/why-millennials-are-failing-shack http://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/cpb-breaks-through-with-a-helpful-unicorn-in-its-first-campaign-for-ice-breakers/106554 http://www.alexrgross.com/new-page-1/ http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/22355/ https://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015_WIRED_Media-Kit_1_15.pdf

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APPENDIX B SURVEY RESULTS

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SURVEY RESULTS

APPENDIX B

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MEET THE TEAM MAEGAN BULL

My name is Maegan Bull and I am from Chazy, New York. I am a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major. Through my course of study, I have developed skills that have taught me how to analyze data and use it to develop successful media and marketing campaigns. Looking forward, I hope to have a career in account or brand management! Both of these careers depend on developing relationships with either clients or target markets; two things I would really enjoy! My favorite flower is a sunflower.

KELLY ROGUS

ALANE SCHMELKIN

My name is Alane Schmelkin, and I am from Chicago, Illinois. I am a junior majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications and Psychology.

My combined studies allows me to analyze data and information very well. I especially enjoying analyzing target markets and their psychographic characteristics. In the future I hope to work in the field of consumer behavior.

I would love to learn more about how our cognitive processes affect our purchase behaviors. My favorite flower is a daisy.

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Hi! My name is Kelly Rogus. I am a Junior Integrated Marketing Communications major. I have a triple minor in Psychology, Sociology, and Communication Management and Design. I am from Toms River, New Jersey. I enjoy working with research and data in regards to consumer insights. My number one career goal is to work in the marketing department at Nine West Shoes. My favorite flower is a lily.

MEET THE TEAM ALI SMITH

My name is Alison Smith and I am from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

I am a senior Integrated Marketing Communications major. I enjoy meeting new people and seeking out every opportunity to explore the unique and exciting cultures of cities across the world. After spending semesters studying and interning in London and New York City, I learned that I would like to work in account management for an advertising agency. This position is fitting for me because I am a self-starter with strong interpersonal skills. My favorite flower is an orchid.

KELLY HAMILTON

My name is Kelly Hamilton and I am from Baltimore, Maryland. I am a junior Integrated Marketing Communications major with a double minor in Spanish and Honors. In my free time, I play rugby on Ithaca College’s women’s team, where I serve as President. In the future, I hope to work in account planning or media planning because I really enjoy analyzing research and finding important insights to create meaningful strategy. My favorite flower is a tulip.

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THANK YOU!

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