The Chicago Lighthouse Marketing Plan for A New Line of Braille Cards! Kimberly Biggane, Alyssa Orozco and Lareka Reed - May 5, 2014
! !
!
1
TABLE OF CONTENTS!
! EXECUTIVE SUMMARY!
3!
MARKET INDUSTRY TRENDS!
4!
RESEARCH!
9!
STRATEGY AND MESSAGE!
12!
BRAND POSITIONING STRATEGY!
13!
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR!
15!
TARGET AUDIENCE!
16!
MEDIA STRATEGY!
17!
SCHEDULE AND TIMELINE!
18!
BUDGET!
19!
ROI!
20!
CREATIVE STRATEGIES!
21!
OUR LONG-TERM GOALS!
25!
CONCLUSION!
26!
BIOS AND CONTACT INFO!
27!
APPENDIX!
28
2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY!
! ! ! DO WE SELL BRAILLE GREETING CARDS ! HOW ! TO!THE GENERAL AUDIENCE?! ! WE NEED ! TO SELL THE CAUSE AND NOT JUST THE CARD. When people see Braille, they associate it to the blind. Some! people that have no relation to a blind or a disabled person may be uncomfortable talking about the subject or be around it. Therefore, we have the opportunity to sell the message within the inBraille greeting ! cards so it can relate to everyone, but specifically target the people who are heavily involved with charities. ! ! THE BIG QUESTION:!
PROBLEM This plan will recognize and combat the 3 main barriers of entry into the (Braille) greeting card market Since 2007, greeting card sales has significantly declined and are consistently declining each year. There is not enough interest in buying greeting cards amongst the millennials. People think Braille is solely for blind/visually impaired. With the increase in technology, the blind and visually impaired do not have an interest in learning Braille.
!
SOLUTION: The solutions listed will become the center of this plan Create an effective social media campaign to raise awareness of inBraille cards and The Chicago Lighthouse. Make people want to buy a Chicago Lighthouse Braille greeting card by making it look unique and pop out compared to the competing cards. Take away the stigma of Braille being only for blind and visually impaired people. Make known that each product purchased is going towards a great cause
OPPORTUNITY: Our biggest opportunity will be the use of the cause marketing by marketing the mission statement of the Chicago Lighthouse which is listed on each card Corporation collaboration Building a new audience for the organization and cards. Make buying Braille greeting cards a trend Take away the stigma of purchasing a Braille greeting card. Selling the cards separately and raising the prices of each card
Short Term Goals: • • • •
•
Make the option to sell individually or in bulk.! Increase sales and the price of the cards! Raise awareness of the organization through social media ! Create a mobile site for The Chicago Lighthouse for easy access to make donations and purchase products online.! Extend the variety with new holiday cards
Long Term Goals • • • • • •
Selling cards inside retail stores such as Walgreens.! Selling cards at art museums, Navy Pier and Chicago Oasis stops on the highways! Raising enough money to improve the quality of the card! Move production in-house! Remove the stigma of Braille ! Be the go-to card in the blind and visually impaired industry
3
MARKET INDUSTRY TRENDS! THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED ORGANIZATIONS! According to the National Federation of the Blind, there are approximately 6, 636, 900 people in the U.S living with a visual disability. Illinois ranks as one of the highest visually impaired populations in the U.S with just over 220,000 people. Nationally, over 1 million people of the visually disabled population live below the property line, and just over 4 million people do not have a high school diploma or an equivalent. Based on the mission of the Chicago Lighthouse they have an awesome opportunity to continue their practice of financially and educationally empowering the visually disable as well as expanding on a national platform. The induction of the greeting has the potential to create employment opportunities locally for the Illinois visually impaired community, as well as inducting braille back into the education system for the visually impaired.!
! 6,636,900 people in the U.S. are visually disability and Illinois is the highest with 220,000 people. !
!!
70% of the visually disabled are unemployed.!
!! !
ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY!
JOE SARKANY, who is visually
FOR THE BLIND:! The use of Braille is slowing deceasing due to an increase in technology that is voice animated. Not many visually impaired people are learning Braille due to the fact that people prefer the technology that is voice animated. Braille is a skill that needs to be learned, it is not a language. Voice speech software and programs that are able to zoom in the text. There is technology that uses voice animations for telephones, computers, medicine containers and more to complete everyday activities.!
!!
!
FOR THE NON PROFITS:! Nonprofits, as well as other organizations, are going mobile. ! According to a web article found on Nonprofit Tech for Good, nonprofits are going mobile to reach their audience better by creating a mobile website, enhancing social media, and even creating Mobile Wallets. According to the article, as of September 2013, 63% of American adults now access the Mobile Web daily through mobile browsers and smartphone/tablet apps. They use their smartphones and tablets to access anything online such as social media, websites and email. Another fact, in 2012 online donations via email dropped 21% due to donate pages not being mobile compatible. A new feature, Google Wallet, is being used to allow users to automatically transfer money from their Google Wallet account to organizations who have this feature on their webpage. ! TRENDS FOR GREETING CARDS! The interest in greeting cards is declining.! According to Google Trends, the interest in searching for greeting cards has declined. This could be because of the increase in technology that our generation is using. With Facebook and smartphones, people are remembering birthdays but are sending messages through Facebook or text messages. ! People that buy greeting cards are purchasing more luxurious cards for popular occasions.! Even though the interest in greeting cards are declining, certain occasions and holidays are still popular for buying cards. When people purchase the luxurious cards with 3D material or sound, the card is viewed as the gift itself. Sound cards feature popular music, TV shows, cartoon characters and personalized cards that appeals to two senses: sight and sound. According to the Greeting Card Association, Americans purchase approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards each year. Annual retail sales of greeting cards are between $7 and $8 billion. !
impaired says that based on his experience, people prefer braille if they cannot hear and are multi disabled with hearing and vision loss.!
Braille is considered a skill and not a language.!
!
63%
September 2013, of American adults now access the Mobile Web daily through mobile browsers and smartphone/tablet apps.!
!! !!
in 2012 online donations via email
21%
dropped due to donate pages not being mobile compatible.!
!! !! Birthdays are the most popular cards to purchase. !! !
The most popular Seasonal cards are: ! • • • • •
Christmas cards, with some 1.6 billion units purchased (including boxed cards).! Valentine’s Day (145 million units),! Mother’s Day (133 million units), ! Father’s Day (90 million units),! Graduation (67 million units).
4
! SWOT Analysis for The Chicago Lighthouse
!
!
Opportunities: ! • Corporation collaboration for events, products, or awareness! • They have a store located at their office and a souvenir shop at Navy Pier. They have partnered with local Chicago business to raise awareness with hosting events. Part of the proceeds go to the foundation. ! • Rich history and strong foundation--perfect for growth (extend outreach programs)! • Growing room for a National foundation! • Build a strong social media presence to increase awareness! • Raise awareness of the challenges the visually impaired community is facing.! • Current, no one is leading in the Braille greeting card market.!
Threats: ! • There are many other non for profit organizations in Chicago such as Make A Wish, Ronald McDonald Foundation and American Heart Association in Chicago. ! • Other organizations for the Blind are The American Foundation for the Blind and the National Association for the Blind. The AFB is known as Hellen Keller one of the people that started the organization. ! • The two foundations for the blind work with the government to protect the rights and allow equal opportunity for the blind, which is similar to what The Chicago Lighthouse does.! • The decline in sales in the greeting card marketing
Strengths: ! • The Chicago Lighthouse is the leading foundation that help the blind and the visually impaired and is the only Chicago agency for the visually impaired.! • Has already established reputation of being an advocate and leader in the visually impaired community (100 yrs +)! • They have contracts set up with the government to be the sole provider of office wall clocks to federal offices, post offices and military offices.! • Variety of accommodations: legal clinic, educations for blind, job relocation/ career services, clock factory
Weaknesses: ! • The technology on the online store is very expensive, especially if they know that about 70% of the visually impaired are unemployed. ! • Besides clients, other people are probably not buying off their website.! • Majority of their funding is from the government.! • Possibility of too many programs that not enough time is spent for every single one or is difficult for clients to become aware of what would best suit them.
PEST Analysis for the Chicago Lighthouse Political:! • Contracts area set up with the government to be the provider of office wall clocks to federal, post and military offices. ! • Chicago’s mayor, Richard M. Daley has called the Lighthouse the most comprehensive social service agency in the US. President Obama and Congressman Danny Davis has supported this foundation.! • Many other political figures have visited and supported The Chicago Lighthouse.! • Job programs such as Lighthouse Retail programs employs visually impaired people at their retail locations such Midway Airport, Rush Hospital and Navy Pier.! • High admisitraive spending compared to other non profits. ! • Donors are more concerned about efficiency o money in the programs.
Economical:! • Unemployment rate among the blind is 70%.! • Their total revenue from 2012 is over $14 million while their expenses is $15 million. Their deficit for the year is $-689,227.! • In 2012, 61.9% of their revenue are contributions while 30.1% is government grants. ! • They spend about 76.4% of their expenses on their programs. 17% on administrative and 6.6% on fundraising. ! • Their primary revenue growth is up 0.5% and program expend growth is up 0.7%.
Social:! • It is America’s most comprehensive social services including job training and counseling. They have programs that help employ visually impaired people as well as aid them in taxes. ! • Their variety of programs offers education, counseling, independent living, and job training for toddlers to seniors.! • They help combat discrimination in the work force.! • Very small social media base.! • The population is constantly growing.
Technology:! • The Low Vision Clinic is always up to date with the latest technology in treating patients and everyday living. ! • The Low Vision clinic refer patients to their online website, Tools for Living Retail Store to purchase products. ! • The Chicago Lighthouse Adaptive Technology Center offers adaptive devices, computer hardware and software to help individuals meet the challenges of a visual impairment.! • Social Media surge could create awareness.
5
! SWOT Analysis for Braille Greeting Cards for the Chicago Lighthouse Strengths:!
! • • •
The markets include the visually impaired and the general public.! The braille is incorporated into the visual design.! The Chicago Lighthouse logo and message is stated on the back of the card.!
! Weaknesses:! ! • • • •
The design is very limited.! The message inside the card is limited.! The cards are being produced outside the company.! People are not aware or do not see a reason to buy Braille greeting cards
Opportunities:!
! • • • •
If the cards are produced in-house, it can eliminate the production costs and gain new jobs.! There is no one that own the braille greeting card market.! The cards can heighten the curiosity to learn Braille ! The Chicago Lighthouse can partner with other Chicago tourist sites.
Threats:!
! • • •
Reading Braille is a skill that not many people can read.! Hallmark is beginning to introduce Braille greeting cards.! There are some production companies that are listed on the American Foundation of the Blind’s website on where to purchase Braille greeting cards.!
6
Competitiors
Hallmark
cafepress.com
Etsy
braillecards.com
Product
Product line of braille greeting cards include: ! Anniversary, Wedding, General Wish Baby Congratulations, Thank You, Thinking of You, Get Well, General Wish Birthday Juvenile, Sympathy, Compliment Birthday, General Wish Birthday.
They have a variety of Braille greeting cards that are not just for holidays or special occasions. These cards are images that relate to Braille and are random greeting cards. There is a total of 91 Braille designed images that are available on 197 products.
Etsy Braille greeting cards include Birthday, Sentiments, Wedding, Spring Holidays, Summer Holidays, Winter Holidays, Religious Cards and Multiple Occasion Cards.
Braille cards include:! Anniversary, Birthday, Christmas, Easter, Father’s day, Get Well, Graduation, Mother’s Day, New Baby, Religious, Sympathy, Teacher Appreciation, Thank you, Thinking of you, Valentine’s day, Wedding.
Message
Their vision:! We will be the company that creates a more emotionally connected world by making a genuine difference in every life, every day.
“We create unique custom products that speak to customers on an emotional level. To us, that means shipping delight in every box.” -Bob Marino, CEO
Their mission is to “reimage commerence in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world. People around the world buy and sell unique goods through this website.
Braille Cards wants to provide a selection of braille greeting cards so that the blind or visually impaired can more readily participate and enjoy communicating with the sighted public.
Price
Greeting cards vary from $1.99 to $7.00.! When customers buy products from UNICEF, 15% of net whole sales goes back to the foundation.! For the Susan G. Coman foundation, $2 from sales of ornaments goes back to the foundation. They also receive special donation envelopes from the foundation that can be mailed by customers.
Individual greeting cards are sold for as little as $4.00 and the most expensive bundles are a pack of 20 for $34.50. There are promotions on the website.
All Braille cards are sold online for $5.00.!
Each card is $3.00 and you can add a personal message (130 characters) for additional $3.00.!
Hallmark began in the early 1900s. The brand wants to create gifts and special moments between relationships .The Hallmark Gold Crown stores are across the country and they hope their TV programs will make you laugh and cry. The brand is about the consumer and their relationships.
By CafePress Inc., they are the company that expresses what people feel and puts the message on unique products. Themes include, pop culture, activities, interests, political scandals, hobbies, and more.
The designer of their Braille cards is Amber Morison form New York who does art in her free time and sells it through Etsy..
Brand Story
!
These cards are unique in design that is 3D and have a lot of shapes.
!
Box of 10 assorted cards are $30.00.! Box of 10 Thank You cards are $18.00.
Our mission is to serve the community by providing materials necessary to communicate between the sighted and sightless. We understand the value of communicating between friends, families, and even in the working/leisure environments.
7
Competitiors
Hallmark
cafepress.com
Etsy
braillecards.com
Strengths
Cards are sold in stores and online. They have a variety of collections such as Hallmark Signature collection, Hallmark Business Collection, Hallmark’s Shoebox cards, Fresh Ink, Tree of Life, Hallmark Mahogany, Hallmark Sinceramente, Nature’s Sketchbook, DaySpring, Sunrise Greetings, Make a Difference with UNICEF and Susan G. Komen, and other new and innovate cards with lights and sounds from favorite movies, music and TV shows. ! They have the most extensive line of greeting cards and have cards available in 30 languages.! Foundations they support:! UNICEF (15% of sales go back to UNICEF)! Susan G. Komen for the Cure (portion of the proceeds from go back to the foundation)
They have a wide variety of designs that are in Braille.! There are lots of pricing options to choose from. ! The designs are visually appealing and they relate to the blind and visually impaired lifestyle.
These cards are hand made and are very different from traditional cards. A visually impaired person could tell what is on the card.
These cards are intended to be purchased and received for the blind and visually impaired.! Cards include both Braille and English. ! The shapes are and pictures are outlined in Braille.
Hallmark’s cards are expensive due to the high quality in paper and material used.! Braille cards are located in selected retail stores only.
Some cards have Braille printed on the cards but they are not 3D. ! They do not seem to be intended for blind people.! These cards are not specific to any occasions.
The cards are not written in Braille and are not specific to an occasion.
The design is very basic and appears to only be targeted to the visually impaired.
Weaknesses
American Foundation for the Blind:!
!
! As a competitor for a blind and visually impaired nonprofit, they have similar services as the Chicago Lighthouse, but they post on their website organization that make Braille greeting cards. These organizations include: American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., Braille Transcription Project of Santa Clara County, Inc., Creative Adaptations for Learning, Hadley School for the Blind and Shadows in the Dark. Their mission is to remove barriers, create solutions, and expand possibilities to people with vision loss to achieve their full potential. They envision a world where people with vision loss have equal opportunities.
8
RESEARCH! SURVEYS! GOAL: Gain insight on purchasing behavior of consumers when buying greeting cards.
85.33%
14.67%
! ! !
! ! !
!
64% of the respondents say the message inside the card is most
-Even though 47% of the surveyors are between the ages of 18-24, it is suggested to keep the target audience for all ages since the data shows people buy cards for the same occasions and they have similar purchasing behavior.
! ! ! ! !! !! ! !! !! !! ! !! ! ! ! ! !
important factor when purchasing a card. The second most important characteristic is the design, and then the price is the least favorable. Therefore, by enhancing the message and design element, the inBraille greeting cards are able to raise the price.
Top occasions to PURCHASE greeting cards BIRTHDAYS 94.67% MOTHER’S DAY 41.33% CHRISTMAS 40% VALENTINE’S DAY 36%
Do you prefer online or Physical Greeting Cards? Physical Online
97.33% 2.76%
Top Occasions people RECIEVE greeting cards BIRTHDAY 98.67%
It is clearly shown that the respondents favor to
CHRISTMAS 73.33% VALENTINE’S DAY 34. 67% THANK YOU 28%
As one of the objectives is to find out what other occasions to extend the inBraille cards, it was asked to pick the top three occasions people purchase and receive greeting cards. 94.67% of the respondents purchase Birthday cards and 98.67% receive them, which means Birthday cards are able to sell to anyone. Other top occasions were Mother’s Day, Christmas and Valentine’s Day that are sold most between males and females. Thank You cards are also a consideration to add to the inBraille greeting card line since 28% respondents chose they receive them and because they are a general card that anyone can use.
Based on data, we want to be able to have the option to sell cards online individually.
9
! The average amount of time spent of choosing a card is about 4-5 minutes. Some even spend more than 6 minutes.
! ! !
Men only buy for limited occasions, such as the top occasions listed. They buy about 1-5 cards a year. Women’s purchases varies from 1-51+ cards purchased in the past year! How much would you spend on a greeting card?
Additional Gifts Purchased with Greeting Cards • • • •
Money Gift Cards Candy Flowers
• Birthday Presents • Other gifts that are specific to a special occasion
!
Top Locations to Purchase Greeting Cards 1. 2. 3. 4.
Walgreens Target Hallmark Walmart
73.33% 65.33% 60% 48%
What I found here in addition to the online survey answers is that there is a disconnection between generations, as well as those with a visual disability and without. Most of the survey takers were under 30 and the majority of them purchase under 10 cards a year, spending less than $5 on a single card, purchasing from a convenient drug store. My interview results also let me know that the younger generation of 30 and under are probably more likely to invest in digital cards rather than traditional greeting card, and almost none of the survey takers, interviewees, and the unmentioned individuals I may have asked randomly does not personally know anyone who can read braille or make use of the braille greeting cards, however people would be more inclined to purchase a braille greeting card to support charity.
List of Other Charities Surveyors Have Donated • • • • • • • •
Goodwill Charity Runs Children’s Hospitals Red Cross Special Olympics El Valor Leukemia Veteran agencies
• • • • • • • •
Amvet Make a Wish St. Jude’s Autism Speaks PAWS Church Easter Seals Misericordia
• • • • • • •
Susan G. Komen Foundation American Cancer Association American Heart Association Humane Society/animal shelters Feed My Starving Children Reeve Foundation Boys and Girls Club
On the graph to the right, majority of the price willingly to pay for a greeting card is between $3.01-$4.00. When asked what price are they willing to pay if proceeds are going towards charity, people are willingly to pay a luxurious price. An average price for a traditional card is between $3.00-$4.00, but for charities, 95% of men and women would spend up to $10 and a few would go up to $20.00.
How much would you spend on a greeting card if proceeds were to go to charity?
The Chicago Lighthouse has the right price set for individual cards, but they have the charity and the design element to back them up, so they are able to raise the price. This proves that inBraille Greeting Cards can increase their price, but they must enhance the design or message to compete with other luxurious cards.
10
Interviews!
THE GENERAL AUDIENCE: The main insight from our interviews is that the general audience does not see the need to purchase Braille Cards. However, people who give to charities are more likely to buy. Based on interviews of family and friends, we noticed that people are not aware of The Chicago Lighthouse. The only people that are aware is if they personally know someone that attends The Chicago Lighthouse’s programs or is close to someone blind or visually impaired.
!
change from this perspective… !
JOE SARKANY, is a visually impaired student
!
who works for a nonprofit in the Czech Republic for the blind and visually impaired. According to Joe, he does not purchase greeting cards PATRICIA BIGGANE, ! “I feel like it would be because he prefers contact with people. If he a senior citizen who is visually disrespectful of me to buy a were to buy a greeting card, he would buy in impaired due to old age. She braille card for a person who is not store and most likely would buy gifts cards as has never seen braille blind because it just doesn’t make any a present. Some suggestions he made to cards before and said sense. I am sure its for a great cause but improve the Braille greeting cards is to even if she would see no matter what the cause was for I incorporate more than one sense such as braille cards she would sight, hearing and touch. He believes that wouldn’t buy it, because like I said it overlook them because she using Braille to create shapes and use a just doesn’t make sense.” ! doesn’t know people who are specific type of paper would benefit the visually -Patricia Biggane 100% blind and would need a impaired and create better awareness for people card like that. to buy the cards.!
!
! !! …
TO THIS PERSPECTIVE!
What do you think about the inBraille greeting cards?
“Love the idea of inBraille cards. I love ,! bringing awareness when possible. I would like to give them to children to teach is in his late forties and is multi and expose them to diversity.”-Rose disabled. He is diagnosed with Mitchell, supporter of local charities. down syndrome and recently lost his vision in one eye. He Would also like to see Birthdays and currently attends El Valor and Christmas and plans on purchasing participates in Special Olympics, them if they are available.
GERARDO TORRES
Left to Right: ! Dave, founder of El Valor, Gerardo Torres, and Rose Mitchell
and is about to attend The Chicago Lighthouse because of his vision loss. According to Rose Mitchell, his sister, adjusting to his vision loss has not seemed to impact him as much. He still keeps the same personality and is able to get around by memory, feeling the walls while walking, and looking at big print and images. Rose’s main concern with him is how can they prepare him for when he completely loses his vision and how can the family help him as well.! 11
STRATEGY AND MESSAGE!
!! !! !! !! !
inBraille What Love Feels Like Braille Charity
!
!! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! !! ! !! !! If we!targeted more women like Rose Mitchell and her !! they will understand this message and the family, meaning behind the card, rather than seeing a card for The purpose of a greeting card is to build an emotional connection between two people by using words and pictures on a piece of paper. With the inBraille greeting cards, it does the exact same thing but adds touch as an element. When a person purchases an inBraille greeting card, we want them to have the sense of self-rewarding because not only are they about to give a gift to someone, but there is meaning and purpose behind the card of giving back to The Chicago Lighthouse. When thinking about the Chicago Lighthouse, terms such as hope, opportunity and chance comes to mind, and we want this spoken through the greeting cards as well. !
!
We want consumers to become aware of the need for braille and how it is directly connected to literacy for the visually impaired. In doing this, we change the tagline of the inBraille greeting card to “What Love Feels Like,” because it expresses the caring message from the card through touch. Also, we want the brand of the lighthouse to be communicated through the braille greeting cards by changing the color of the logo to orange instead of pink. We are creating a campaign that would properly position the card to be easily identified by consumers. We want to create a loyalty with our consumer so The Chicago Lighthouse becomes the ‘to go’ source for braille greeting cards and to support the visually impaired.!
Love
Family Friendships Gifts
Relationships! Helping Donating Holidays Special
Memorable
“Blinded by Love” Happy Bold Creating Feeling Emotions
Contributing
Touch
Communicating Hope
Diversity
Warmth
Overcoming Beautiful
Giving
Blind people.
12
BRAND POSITIONING STRATEGY
The Chicago Lighthouse is a community of hard working wonderful people who all have one goal: To help the visually impaired by creating jobs that represent their unique talents and making a community of respect for everyone that is involved in the organization.
The Chicago Lighthouse shines a light on the visually impaired. In which it proves that no matter what disability a person has, you can succeed with just a little help and motivation from great people.
One of the goals stated in within the executive summary is the preconceived notions of the subject of Braille. With this known we want to capitalize off this fact by positioning this card not only within the charity sector but against the competition of plain word greeting cards, creating the Braille greeting cards to be easily identified to our consumers. There is no company as of now that owns the market for Braille greeting cards. Our opportunity lies within creating a completely new market for Braille industry and introducing these cards as the most unique of its kind. The cards raise awareness of The Chicago Lighthouse and its mission. We are utilizing “emotional marketing” by keeping the mission of the Chicago Lighthouse on every Braille card printed especially in the introduction stages where our strategies lies in selling the charitable organization rather than the need of the card. The Chicago Lighthouse’s goal is to be perceived as “the leader in delivering programs that opens the doors of opportunity for the people who are blind or visually impaired” by stating that all the proceeds of these cards go directly to their programs.
•
!
The Chicago Lighthouse uses holiday cards to pursue the opportunity to:!
~Raise awareness of Braille and the visually impaired by incorporating Braille in the design and message.!
! !
~Promote The Chicago Lighthouse foundation.! ~Extend employment opportunities to people who are blind and visually impaired to the packaging and distribution process.!
!
~Embrace the self-satisfaction of giving a gift to another while giving back.!
!
~Be the new cool card to buy
13
Product!
!
Packaging!
Some considerations to improve the quality and functionality of the card is to have the images on the cover 3D it can create an appealing design that differentiates from other cards. By creating a Braille card, it only makes sense to have the cards in 3D to emphasize touch. In our long term goal, when we reach to Walgreens to sell the cards, the cards should be sold individually and everything should be in 3D. Here is an example of what the packaging will look like for the cards. There is clear plastic covering to protect the card as well as the bow tie with the logo attached. It creates a nice brand identity with the card and it shows the work The Chicago Lighthouse workers has done to create these cards specially made for you!
After discovering that in most cases consumers choose to buy greeting cards individually we’ve decided to “un-bulk” them and sale individual cards. The packaging will be simple and convenient for the quick buy customer. Each card will come wrapped in a clear plastic covering for the protection of the card from any stocking damages. Each card will also have a small envelope that loosely fits the cards to be given as a gift after purchasing. ! Although we plan to now sale the cards individually we will still offer the bulk option during major holidays. Each package of four cards will come in a thin yet sturdy two piece square card board box that can be easy for storage or (if chose) wrapped and given as a gift. We believe the box can multipurpose design and is a much more safe option than the current band package.!
Price!
Distribution
During the early stages of re-developing the Braille cards we have decided to increase the cost of each card by less than one dollar pricing each individual card at $4.29, and the bulk of 4 cards for $16.00, eliminating the bulk of 6 entirely. Increasing prices will help alleviate some of the labor cost if we have to make and buy slightly less, and price slightly higher until we begin to sale consistently and/or produce in house where the labor and packaging cost will be significantly less.
Our future/long term goal is to distribute them out to multiple big-chain convenient stores such as CVS and Walmart, so the branding and advertising campaigns we create now is crucial to future of the Chicago Lighthouse competing against the plain word greeting cards. The long term goal the Lighthouse should keep in mind is having the term “braille greeting cards” synonymous with the Chicago Lighthouse, eventually owning the market for the braille greeting card industry.
14
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR In our research, we noticed that people like to have a physical product in their hand before buying, as we said that about 97% prefers physical cards because buying a card is a quick, one time or a last minute purchase that people buy before attending a special occasion, so they need the card now. On average, our surveyors spend 4-5 minutes on choosing a card so that means other cards are competing with their deign and message within a short time.
For purchasing a greeting card, emotions play the role in why people make that ultimate decision of a card. The card has a purpose and significance to the buyer with an attention to get a reaction from the receiver. Again, the inBraille greeting cards expresses its purpose by exposing the public to a cause while also spreading love through touch.
The visual design of a greeting card is first to capture a customer’s attention, but the words will make the sale. More than three-fourths of card purchasers base their selection on a card’s text and the special meto-you connection that those words create. Greeting card writing is a unique writing style that in some ways is more competitive than freelancing artwork to greeting card publishers. With this information and in research, the messages
Why do you buy greeting cards?
“To be polite. It is also nice to put with a gift. My mom has taught me that greeting cards are a nice gesture,” - Jessica Giles, age 20, purchases greeting cards frequently with gifts.
What do you look for in a card?
“The words express what I would like to say. I love receiving them too. I read the cards and choose the perfect one that expresses my feelings or thoughts about the person I am giving the card too, if it is a funny card I want to make the person laugh or smile,"-Susan Canino, family of four.
15
TARGET AUDIENCE Target Audience #1:!
!
The main target audience would be women between the ages of 25-64 years. They are middle class with an average of $40,000 income and live in the Chicagoland area. They are married, have kids, and possibly grandchildren. !
!
These women are very involved with the community, they donate to charities, volunteer, and are very family oriented.
Target Audience #2:!
!
The second type of consumers we are targeting are men between the ages of 35-64 years old. They are middle class with at least a $40,000 income and live in the Chicagoland area. They are married, have kids, and possible grandchildren.!
!
They are married with kids. Very family oriented and has relations to charities. Lives in city and suburban areas.
IDEAL PERSONA Married stay at home mother of three in their late 30’s early 40’s. The women watch a lot of Lifetime movies and read Parents magazine. On weekends they spend it at mom and tots classes in the neighboring Gymboree. Being a busy mom with a hectic schedule she buys greeting cards at the supermarket while getting the groceries for the weekly meals if there is a special occasion nearby. She doesn’t spend more than $3 on cards but charities are very important to her and she donates as much as she can to local charities and would consider paying more for a greeting card if it were for a great cause.
16
MEDIA STRATEGY!
! ! ! ! !
Mobile Website In the age of the smart phone, people want to search and learn quickly, so the mobile site will be most beneficial to The Chicago Lighthouse. By creating a mobile website for The Chicago Lighthouse, it allows users with smart phones and tablets to have easy access to their site. We are aiming for simplicity In the mobile website, the link to the inBraille cards would be easier to find. This will increase the opportunity for The Chicago Lighthouse to increase sales in the cards and in ! on their site. donations
It will cost $15.20 per month for exactly one year.!
!
In total the Mobile Website will cost $182.40 for the year.
!
!
WGN Radio 720AM! advertisements have been successful in the past and we want to keep The radio doing them. Rose Mitchell learned about the inBraille greeting cards that was advertised on WBBM-AM 780. WGN-AM 720 will reach out to a new set of audience ages 35+ interested in news, talk, and sports. It focuses more on the target audience in addition to currently using WBBM-AM 780. During Mother’s Day, a major greeting card holiday, we want to reach a larger and broader audience. Social Media! We found that the social media interaction is quite scarce so a brand new campaign and revamp of the Facebook and Twitter pages is crucially necessary. Facebook allows for paid promotion and we plan to run the ads before a major holiday to remind users to purchase their cards. Since Facebook uses ‘Birthdays’ we can partner with them to make a suggestion to ‘Give a Gift’ of inBraille Greeting cards when Facebook announces whose birthday it is and have the opportunity to “Like” The Chicago Lighthouse’s Facebook page as well. The ads will be seen to our target audience, especially anyone who Likes charities. This gives The Chicago Lighthouse to reach more people in their target audience and possibly increase the purchases out of state.
OOH Advertising:! We have come up with the idea to create a campaign that would engage the public and spark curiosity. Pop up ads can sometimes be a simple symbol located in random areas can be tremendously effective. We want to simply build 3 white boards with a braille message and the Chicago Lighthouse website, something that could be created cheaply within the Chicago lighthouse. These 3 boards would be placed in various places of the South Loop hoping to draw attention driving people to the website to find out more about Braille and the greeting cards they’re seeing in the city and who’s attached to it.
Seeing What’s Possible Annual Dinner! There is an opportunity to create awareness and sales for the Seeing What’s Possible Annual Dinner every year with the inBraille Greeting Cards. As a thank you to your sponsors, donators, and attendees, we will include a bundle of cards for each guest. Since it is a lot of cards to give out, the ticket price will be raised to include the labor and printing costs of the cards by $20.
Radio ads will play twice a day at about $362 dollars per 30 second spot. We will run this ad for about two weeks prior to Mother’s Day.!
!
The grand total of radio will be $10,136.
We will purchase at least 90 of the paid promotion packages per month at $20.!
!
In total will be $1,800 for the year, in addition to the costs of employees running the social media campaign.
We estimated that the boards shouldn’t cost more than $200 to build, with 3 boards we see about a $600 investment as well as the $25 city permit to legally advertise in the park, street, etc.!
!
The total to create these ads will be $675 for the month of April.
Ticket price $370 or $3,700 for table of ten (to cover charge of bundle) Premier ticket price $520 or $5,200 for table of ten (to cover charge of bundle)
! !
Number of attendees: 200 Number of Cards: 800 Total Cost to make cards: $1,120 17
SCHEDULE AND TIMELINE! Create Mobile Friendly Website Facebook Advertising (These will continue for the year.)
Begin Social Media Campaign
Seeing What’s Possible Annual Dinner
!
JAN FEB
Radio Ad for WGN AM 720 (First 2 weeks of February for Valentine’s Day)
APR
Continued Social Media Campaign Place various OOH Advertisements in the Loop
MAR
MAY
JUN JUL AUG
Timeline of Media/Advertising Execution •
This Timeline will be based in the beginning to start off the new year and continue to the Spring season.
•
There are 3 major holidays within this time period great for the greeting card market: Valentine’s day, Easter, & Mother’s Day. We shouldn’t forget Birthdays and Thank You cards that can be used during this time.
•
•
We’ve decided to incorporate Out of Home, Radio, Mobile, Web, and the Annual Dinner to reach the target audience and get them to purchase for the major holidays for this season Note: The mobile site and Facebook Advertisements will run for the entire year.
SEP OCT NOV DEC 18
BUDGET 
Estimated Quantity
Category
Estimated Cost per Unit
Estimated Subtotal
Communications City Permit to advertise
3
$25.00
$75.00
Social Media
90
$20.00
$1,800.00
Radio
28
$362.00
$10,136.00
Mobile web
12
$15.20
$182.40
Misc.
3
$200.00
$600.00
Communications Costs Total
$12,793.40
Labor Cost Printing Per Card
6,000
$1.40
$8,400.00
Labor Cost
6,000
$0.18
$1,080.00
Networking Costs Total
$9,480.00
Seeing What’s Possible Annual Dinner Number of attendees
200
Number of Cards per bundle Cards in total
4 800
$
1.40
$1,120.00
Ticket price $370 or $3,700 for table of ten (to cover charge of bundle) Premier ticket price $520 or $5,200 for table of ten (to cover charge of bundle) ESTIMATED MARKETING GRAND TOTAL
$23,393.40
19
ROI!
!
Our total investment for everything (that includes our media, labor and production, plus the event) totals an estimated investment of $23,393.40. To calculate our ROI we will assume that we will sale 6800 cards (6000 in sales and 800 for the Annual Dinner) within the six months our new marketing plan will run. That is approximately 500 per month for the year and then 800 going towards the annual dinner. Each card will be sold at $4.29 and note that bundles of four reduces the price to $4 per card. This will equal a return or net profit of: ! !
6,800 cards x $4.29 per card =
$29,172
! ! ! Our return on investment – our initial investment/our investment*100!
($29,172-$23,393.40 =$5,778.60) ! $23,393.40
= 0.25 *100 =
25%
! The Chicago Light house has an 25% Return on the Invest.!
If we want to break even, we need to sell 5,454 individual cards for an ROI of 1.82%
! 20
CREATIVE STRATEGIES! MOBILE WEBSITE  INDEX HOMEPAGE
Home About Programs Events Careers
The homepage of the mobile site will highlight the feature story of The Chicago Lighthouse to make it visually appealing. !
!
Followed by the feature story, will be the links at the bottom that were on the side of the website. That way, the mobile homepage will be visually appealing on a small screen to mobile users.
Home About Programs & Services Events Careers Contact Us
!
inBraille See What’s Possible Vision Rehabilitation Clinic Shop Online VA Login Chicago Lighthouse Industries
inBraille What Love Feels Like
INBRAILLE
Throughout the mobile website, it will have this head line of The Chicago Lighthouse logo and a link to donate. On the regular site, you have to scroll down to click on the donate button. By having it on the top it catches viewers attention and the organization does not miss the opportunity of a donation.
When users click on the index navigator, it will bring up a menu of each links to find things easier on a mobile phone.
4 cards/package $16 single cards $4.29
! !! !! !! !
PURCHASE NOW
PRESS COVERAGE
This is how the page for the inBraille cards will look. What is different is that people will have the option to select an individual or a pack of cards.
The reason to create a mobile website is to increase online traffic to the inBraille store since it now is easier to find and navigate online. 63% of adults carry a mobile device and 21% of donations have dropped for non profits in 2013 because of organizations not being mobile friendly.
21
RADIO! ! This radio advertisement will run for exactly 30 seconds with the goal of raising awareness of the Chicago lighthouse as well as the Valentine’s Day Braille greeting cards. This professionally spoken ad will be expressed as a public service announcement rather than a skit with just one individual speaking. We chose this idea because we want the awareness of this ad to be strictly informational especially for the introduction of this product.
!
“Since 8 years old my mother has lived legal blind, but it has never stopped her from living a normal life. With all that she’s accomplished I know that the visually impaired and other disabled citizens of this country are some of the most valuable members of our society.” !
!
“The Chicago Lighthouse sees the potential which is why they are one of the oldest and most beneficial organizations in the Chicagoland area, providing mutual, emotional, and financial support to the visually impaired citizens of the city.”!
This is the copy of the 30 second radio ad. !
!
To be spoken in a Women’s voice, age 35-40 years old.
!
“Their new Braille greeting cards are a great way to tell someone you love them this Valentine’s Day. With all of the proceeds going towards building jobs, and better futures for our visually impaired friends, you’ll feel good about your donation. And just like my mom, tremendous success with a disability of any sort only shows tremendous strength.”!
!
“For more information on the Chicago lighthouse or the Braille Greeting Cards please visit www.Chicagolighthouse.org”
SOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISING First, we need to establish a strong online presence and get more Likes and Followers. Facebook Wish Alyssa a Happy Birthday!
inBraille greeting card
What you may also like.
The Chicago Lighthouse! Non-Profit Organization!
There will also need to be someone responsible for updating the social media content as well as the website content. We will purchase up to 90 Facebook mass shares monthly.
Facebook allows for promoted/ sponsored ads that will share the page. With Facebook advertising, we can target people who already like other Non Profit Organizations and get them to buy inBraille cards or Like the Facebook page. Since many people are unaware of The Chicago Lighthouse and the online presence is low, advertising would be a great opportunity create awareness. This is a low cost and effective way to utilize our social media optimization. And build our audience interaction.
22
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN WITH OOH ADVERTISING !
! ! !! !! !! !! !
This is our message to you. Decode this and show us where you can also find Braille.!
!
#WhatLoveFeelsLike
!! ! ! ! !! !! !!
chicagolighthouse.org
Examples of Short Messages: “Love is Blind.” “You and I” ! “XOXO” “Share your vision” “love is life” “I feel you” “See what’s possible” “What if you had to learn Braille?” (insert holiday of “Happy the season)!”
!! ! !! !! ! !
Goal: ! To increase awareness of the Chicago Lighthouse and inBraille cards! To increase online traffic to social media websites and The Chicago Lighthouse’s website! To gain more likes and followers in social media! To gain immediate sales of the inBraille cards!
In the loop area, there will be a message in Braille on a black board with the Braille written in white. The advertisements will be posted on the sidewalks. On the bottom corner of the board, have the link to The Chicago Lighthouse’s website so people can learn more. The purpose of this is to engage curiosity, interaction and awareness of Chicago pedestrians. The people will have to decode the message by posting their guesses on The Lighthouse’s social media with the #WhatLoveFeelsLike”. The Chicago Lighthouse will continuously make announcements on social media about where the advertisements are, give hints on what it says (an opportunity to advertise the inBraille cards because they give out the same message too!) After every week, they will reveal one message at a time until the quarter is up. The purpose is so people can see this from far away and run into the sign, just like how the blind and visually impaired see things everyday with contrasting colors. The loop also gets a lot of traffic and the ads near the corners of the street will stop and catch peoples attention.
How we interact with these OOH Ads
!!
The Chicago Lighthouse @ChiLighthouse May 5
!
The Chicago Lighthouse @ChiLighthouse May 5
Find anything new in the Loop? Check out State St. and Jackson! #WhatLoveFeelsLike
Find our messages throughout the Loop. You may need to this to help you out! #WhatLoveFeelsLike
23
The “SELFIE” CAMPAIGN! ! Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can be used to interact with people in our
! !
social media campaign, “What Love Feels Like” since it is a very interactive and visual campaign. When people guess what the advertisements say, we want them to include #WhatLoveFeelsLike, which is the inBraille’s tagline, and tag The Chicago Lighthouse when using these three sites. These are the top three social media sites that people are using now so it is important to have a strong online presence since we are a major organization.!
!
The purpose is to get people familiar with braille and to educate them that it is everywhere and a part of the visually impaired’s everyday life. It gets people to wonder these questions: What if you had to learn braille? What if you had to walk in a visually impaired shoe’s? With Instagram, The Chicago Lighthouse has an opportunity to be involved with the new “selfie” trend with our social media campaign since Instagram is known for “selfies”. When we tell people to show us where you can also find braille on our OOH advertisements, they can post picture of themselves next to a braille sign and tell us where the sign is at. There is also an opportunity for CLH to create an Instagram because they can post pictures of their events and program on here as well.
The main goal for Facebook is for people to upload a status of something that has Braille on it. There are many OOH advertisements that create curiosity when people walk outside. People post and share random quotes, stories, and things all the time on Facebook and Instagram. Our OOH is very unique and it will stand out on the sidewalk, so people will take a picture and wonder what it says.
The main goal for twitter is to get people to guess what our OOH advertisements will say. They must use the hashtag, #WhatLoveFeelsLike which is the inBraille tagline. Also, with the “selfie” campaign, people will comment about what they see. Twitter is not much of a visual social media site, therefore people that post pictures of themselves or braille will link it to their Twitter page. We want to encourage the #WhatLoveFeelsLike and #Braille hashtags and send a direct tweet to @ChiLighthouse to create conversations and build awareness.
24
OUR LONG-TERM GOALS! Selling cards inside retail stores such as Walgreens would be a great leap for inBraille greeting cards, because it is something unique and interesting. Walgreens is the go-to place for greeting cards and all the cards look similar and there are few that truly stand out but with inBraille greeting cards it would be the one card that people would not only be giving to a great charity but they would have a greeting card that could be hung up on the refrigerator and keeping people want to understand more about Braille. !
Lets make Braille cool and get rid of the stigma that has been a huge issue for anything Braille because its only associated with the visually impaired. By putting it in the art design of the cards and making it almost a mystery to someone that doesn’t have vision issues or know anyone with vision loss it is an interesting aspect to a greeting card. !
!
!
Facebook as a great option when its someones birthday you can buy them anything from a “Starbucks gift card,” to a “greeting card.” By making inBraille able to be bought via social media this will make people interested in purchasing the card because most people always willing to donate to a great cause.!
The most unique and some of the most beautiful art on greeting cards are found at art museums, Navy Pier and Chicago Oasis stops. These are places where a ton of tourists go to when traveling to the city and I think they would be most interested in exploring what Chicago offers if the card looks beautiful. !
!
!
The greeting cards are very nicely made right now but like everything else there could always be room for improvement. The card should be a bit thicker and not so flimsy when picking it up, just think about how many cards people can otherwise choose - we want our greeting cards to be the only choice when choosing a greeting card for all occasions. !
The ultimate long-term goal is to become the go-to greeting card for each occasion and we can make it happen with the power of social media, taking away the stigma of Braille being only for people who are visually impaired and making it easily accessible via cell phone, computer, Walgreens ect.
!
The factory room in which the clocks are being produced is huge, there is enough room to make the inBraille greeting cards part of that factory. This would cut the cost of getting the card design and printing from another place in the long-run. This would also generate a new job for the visually impaired workers. !
!
25
CONCLUSION!
! Greeting cards are still relevant in today’s society and because of that the InBraille greeting cards can become the next big trend in the greeting card industry with just a little help. With the suggested areas of marketing the greeting cards can become the next “I have to buy card” for the next major holiday without hesitation.! !
Here are the solutions to achieve success in the greeting card industry:!
! ❖
The Social Media campaign #WhatLoveFeelsLike will create awareness to The Chicago Lighthouse, gain social media presence, and increase sales in the inBraille cards. !
❖
Include inBraille bundles for each person attending the Seeing What’s Possible Annual Dinner by raising the prices of the tickets as well as feature the cards and have the option to be sold during the event.!
❖
Create a mobile website for The Chicago Lighthouse to increase online traffic and have easy access for mobile users. !
❖
Have the option to sell greeting cards individually or in bulk since people are more inclined to by individual cards for certain occasions.!
❖
The Chicago Lighthouse can make the price higher if they concentrate on the design and message. Right now, their strength for the inBraille cards is the design element. Both men and women prefer the message over design. Out of all three indicators of purchase decisions, price is the least concern and we are able to higher the price in the long run. !
❖
Other occasions to extend the inBraille greeting card line are Birthdays, Mother’s Day, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Thank You Cards to have in retail stores.!
!
26
BIOS AND CONTACT INFO!  
Kimberly Biggane! kimberly.biggane@loop.colum.edu!
!
I am a last semester marketing communications major. I love everything marketing related but my favorite thing in the field is researching and branding. I am a very creative but also rational a thinker. !
!
When I am not spending my time doing classwork, I am spending time with my family but always thinking of creative new ideas - my brain never gets out of marketing mode.
Alyssa Orozco! aorozco0105@gmail.com!
! !
I am a Marketing student with a minor in Latino and Latin American Studies whose interest is branding, event planning, and strategy and planning. I consider myself creative but more of a strategic thinker. !
!
Besides Marketing, I spend most of my time with family and close friends.
Lareka Reed! lareka.reed@loop.colum.edu!
!
Lareka is a final semester senior with a dual major in Marketing Communications and Media Management. She is most interested in diversity and proper cultural presentation in American Media.
27
APPENDIX! Survey! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.
What is your age?! What is your approximate household income?! Where do you live?! Are you male or female?! What is your occupational status?! What are the top three occasions you purchase greeting cards for?! What are the top three occasions you receive greeting cards?! Do you prefer physical or electronic greeting cards?! Which of the following stores or services have you shopped at to purchase greeting cards?! Do you purchase greeting cards in a pack or individually?! How much time does it take for you to pick out a greeting card to buy?! What is the most important characteristic of a greeting card that makes you want to buy it?! On average, how many greeting cards have you purchased in the past year?! Do you purchase additional gifts with greeting cards? Please give an example of when you would purchase an additional gift and which occasion it would be for.! How much, on average, would you spend for (a) greeting card(s)?! How much would you spend on a greeting card if proceeds are going to a charity?! Do you contribute to any charities? If so, please explain.!
!
28