Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
Katie Funk September 23, 2010
IMC - Table of Contents 1.0
Executive Summary - 5
2.0
Promotion Opportunity Analysis - 7
2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
3.0
Corporate Strategies - 18
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
4.0
Integrated Marketing Communications Management - 26
4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4
5.0
IMC Objective One - Consumer - 33
5.1 5.2 5.3
Communication Analysis Competitive Analysis 2.2.1 Chart - Competitive Analysis Opportunity Analysis Target Market Analysis
Corporate Image Strategy Brand Development Strategy Brand Positioning Strategy Public Relations Strategy Evaluation
IMC Goals IMC Budget Agency Selection Internet Website 4.4.1 Site Map
Marketing Budget Consumer IMC Methodologies - Consumer 5.2.1 Advertising Goals & Objectives 5.2.1.1 Advertising Budget 5.2.1.2 Creative Brief 5.2.1.3 Advertising Design 5.2.2 Consumer Promotions 5.2.3 Personal Selling 5.2.4 Sponsorship Programs 5.2.5 Database Programs 5.2.6 Alternative Marketing Media Plan 5.3.1 Sample Media Schedules 2
6.0
IMC Objective Two - Distribution - 56
6.1 6.2 6.3
7.0
IMC Objective Three - Business to Business - 68
7.1 7.2 7.3
8.0
Strategic Plan - 79
8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 8.12
9.0
Digital Media Campaign - 98
9.1 9.2 9.3
Marketing Budget Distribution IMC Methodologies - Distribution 6.2.1 Advertising Goals & Objectives 6.2.1.1 Advertising Budget 6.2.1.2 Creative Brief 6.2.1.3 Advertising Design 6.2.2 Trade Promotions 6.2.3 Personal Selling Distribution Media Plan
Marketing Budget Business-to-Business IMC Methodologies - Business-to-Business 7.2.1 Advertising Goals & Objectives 7.2.1.1 Advertising Budget 7.2.1.2 Creative Brief 7.2.1.3 Advertising Design 7.2.2 Business-to-Business Personal Selling Business-to-Business Media Plan
Company Background Management Team Goals and Objectives Industry Research SWOT Analysis SWOT Matrix Marketing Mix Strategies Product Review 8.8.1 Sample Menu Positioning Strategy Product Positioning Map Location Analysis Projected Financials
Goals & Objectives Strategy Conclusions 3
10.0 Advertising Campaign Traditional & Non-Traditional Media - 108
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9
Corporate Identity Three Ad Series Television Commercial Radio Commercial Direct Mailer Web Banners Billboard Press Release Pitch Letter
4
1.0 Executive Summary
5
1.0 Executive Summary
This integrated marketing communications (IMC) plan is designed for Noodles &
Company. The plan includes a promotion opportunity analysis, corporate strategies, IMC objectives, plus all relevant advertising, promotion, personal selling, sponsorship, and database programs for consumers, distribution, and business-to-business. Finally, a media plan and methods of evaluating the success of the IMC plan are described.
Noodles & Company is a thriving niche restaurant that specializes in noodle
dishes inspired from America, Asia, and the Mediterranean with a quick-serve pace. It offers healthy and affordable food in convenient locations with a pleasant atmosphere. With Noodles & Company’s success in the consumer market, we have decided to expand with a new distribution line of sauces that will be sold in-store and a new catering and delivery services for business-to-business in three cities consisting of: Denver, Indianapolis, and Columbus. In total, 18 store locations will implement this new IMC plan.
Each of the different consumer, distribution, and business-to-business markets
will all have similar targets but they differ in some areas. The consumer market consists of young families and college students that have similar psychographics of living a healthy lifestyle and being busy. For distribution, the target will consist of the families who love the brand and will want to cook Noodles & Company food in their home. Lastly, the business-to-business market consists of small to medium firms that are close to Noodles & Company locations who needs catering or for walk-in lunches.
All of the creative executions will use a slice of life execution style with animation
of noodle characters that will be people. All of the creative executions will be consistent and will implement the strategies of being, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable.� The total budget for the overall IMC plan is $3,214,000 which means each of the 18 locations will receive roughly, $178,600.
6
2.0 Promotion Opportunity Analysis 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4
Promotion Opportunity Analysis - 8 Communication Analysis - 10 Competitive Analysis - 11 2.2.1 Chart - Competitive Analysis - 13 Opportunity Analysis - 14 Target Market Analysis - 15
7
2.0 Promotion Opportunity Analysis
Noodles & Company first opened up its doors in 1995 in Denver, Colorado. It has
now expanded the franchise into twenty states across America with over 200 restaurants. The company is doing extremely well with having an annual revenue of $130 million. Noodles & Company offers healthy noodle dishes with inspirations from Asia, the Mediterranean and America. The key to its success is offering the healthy option, at an affordable price, in a pleasant atmosphere with a quick-serve pace.
The primary marketing strategy is to create a strong branding campaign to insure
that the target audience understands the benefits that Noodles & Company has to offer. To accomplish this the resources that will be used in selling the products and services should go to individuals and businesses that enjoy healthy affordable meals. The objective is to create brand awareness, and top-of-mind consideration.
The IMC program must convey a sense of healthy quality ingredients at an
affordable price in a comfortable atmosphere. Noodles & Company needs to show the versatility of the restaurant and the fact that they have a meal for every taste bud. This can be accomplished by using a multitude of different medias.
The main product line is the Noodles & Company bowl lunches which has several
different versions; any customer is able to eat a vegan, vegetarian or a meal with chicken, beef, shrimp, meatballs or organic tofu. Customers can mix and match and create any meal that is desired using the available ingredients. Each meal is affordable and the customer has the ability to get multiple meals for a catering event or place individual or kids sized orders. There is a multitude of healthy options for the noodle dishes as well as sandwiches, salads, and soups.
The pricing strategy is at the low end of the restaurant industry. The food offered
is superior to fast food but has a smaller range than a typical medium sized restaurant.
8
The distribution strategy is to reach customers that are seeking healthy food
options, with a wide variety, at an affordable price. There are multiple Noodles & Company locations in the selected cities of Denver, Indianapolis, and Columbus which will all carry the new sauce line also, the products will be sold online on the updated website.
Noodles & Company’s promotions focuses on limited income households who
have an appreciation for a healthy lifestyle and are extremely busy. These individuals will purchase meals from Noodles & Company because of price and convenience. Primary target customers for Noodles & Company consist of families and college students. There is a secondary focus on the new sauce line for distribution and business-to-business relationships. All customers will be reached through a variety of media, including Internet, personal selling approaches , alternative marketing efforts which infuses the brand into the consumer’s life through different types of events, and various channel promotions.
9
2.1 Communications Analysis
There are many marketing communication strategies that are effective in the
restaurant industry. Yet, for smaller niche restaurants like Noodles & Company and their competitors, new technologies are the most widely used platform. Social networking sites, e-blasts and smart phone applications are being created to communicate with the target audience. Promotional contests and radio commercials are also main media tactics that are used for these restaurants. For larger chains, there are some local television ads but the majority of niche restaurants communicate through viral marketing, direct mailers and some out-of-home advertising.
Niche eateries target a young adult demographic that is more technology based
and consists of people who have a limited income. The target audience also enjoys a healthy lifestyle and is usually eco-friendly. A communication opportunity for Noodles & Company is to combine social networking advertising and promotional contests to help outpace the competition.
The following facts were discovered about the communication strategies for niche
restaurants: 1. Niche restaurants primary use social networking sites to communicate with the young adult market. 2. Larger restaurants with more media dollars spend on television spots. 3. Direct marketing occurs among specialized restaurants to target the young adult market based upon geographics.
10
2.2 Competitive Analysis
Noodles & Company is a niche eatery in the restaurant market. Its competitors do
not offer the healthy variety of noodle dishes in this market that is comparable to Noodles & Company. The direct competitors include: Chipotle, Panda Restaurant Group, and P.F. Chang’s which all specialize in one area of cuisine but Noodles & Company takes inspiration from the Mediterranean, Asian, and American styled meals. The following is a review of its main competitors.
Chipotle opened up its doors in 1993. This company is the number one competitor
because it is a specialized restaurant that offers fresh ingredients with healthy options in a quick service environment for burritos. Chipotle believes that food should have integrity so it attempts to make all of the ingredients natural and have its animals treated humanely. This restaurant also has a relaxed atmosphere that is family oriented which is very similar to Noodles & Company. Chipotle is a national company that is in 20 states. McDonalds is an advocate for Chipotle because it owns approximately 90% of the company. Less then 10% is left to franchising.
Panda Restaurant Group started in 1973 with Panda Inn, which is an upscale
restaurant that served Mandarin and Szechuan cuisine. The family run business then expanded into two new chains including Panda Express in 1983 and Hibachi-San in 1992. Panda Express is a quick serve restaurant that offers Asian cuisines and is located in 37 states and Puerto Rico. Hibachi-San is located in 13 states and offers Japanese grill favorites. This is another competitor because again, the restaurant is specialized in the gourmet Chinese food industry. Panda Restaurant Group’s Panda Express, is the most competitive of the chains since it offers healthy options in a quick environment with competitive prices.
P.F. Chang's opened its first restaurant in 1993. This restaurant is the third main
competitor because it is a specialized restaurant that uses high quality, fresh ingredients but it is in the Chinese bistro industry. This restaurant is one of the last major direct 11
competitors because of its atmosphere. P.F. Chang’s targets more of the high end of the demographic. It blends the ideas of American and Asian cuisines by offering Asian style dishes while still offering a few American favorites like steak and coffee.
The indirect competitors of Noodles & Company include fast food restaurants that
have some healthy meals on their menu but are of lower quality and price. The three main indirect competitors are: McDonalds, Taco Bell and KFC. These competitors are more cost effective and have healthy options: McDonalds offers salads and smoothies, Taco Bell has its Fresco or healthy menu and KFC has begun to offer grilled chicken. While these restaurants do hold some share of this target market, they are not major competitors because of Noodles & Company’s image, atmosphere, and healthy options. Noodles & Company’s goal is to strive to provide local consumers with healthy, quick, and delicious meals in a family environment.
12
Chart 2.2.1 - Competitive Analysis
The following table is a competitive analysis of the six major competitors. A score
of “5” indicates excellent where as a score of “1” equates to poor or inadequate.
#1 Competitor
Chipotle
Quality Selection Price Healthy Options
4 3 4 5
Traffic Appearance Visibility Convenience Factors
4 4 3 4
Pre and Post Sales Service Experience Expertise Reputation Image Stability Established Sales Channels Advertising Post-purchase Support Incentives Loyal Components TOTAL:
#2 #3 #4 #5 #6 Panda Restaurant P.F. Chang’s McDonalds Taco Bell KFC Group Product and/or Service 3 5 2 3 3 4 4 2 3 3 3 2 5 5 5 3 3 1 2 2 Location and Physical Appearance 5 4 5 4 4 4 5 2 2 2 4 3 4 4 3 5 3 5 5 5 Added Value Factors
5
4
5
3
3
3
4 4 5 4 5
4 4 3 4 5
5 2 4 2 5 3 5 3 5 5 Other Marketing Activities
2 2 2 3 5
2 2 3 3 5
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
4
4
4
5
4
5
2
2
2
3 4 77
2 3 70
3 3 76
4 4 62
4 2 61
4 2 61
13
2.3 Opportunity Analysis When analyzing the niche restaurant market there were several opportunities for Noodles & Company, based on the company’s strengths and weaknesses. The following opportunities for Noodles & Company could be pursued to enhance its sales.
Consumer: •
Increase sales and market share by creating a YouTube competition allowing consumers to interact with the brand
•
Reinforce purchase decisions by reconnecting with the target audience virtually
•
Develop more brand awareness and increase sales, host family cooking lessons once a month
Distribution: •
Develop brand awareness for the new sauce line by distributing the product in-store
•
Increase category demand for Noodle and Company’s new line of sauces
•
Increase purchase actions by giving away samples of the take home sauces
Business to Business: •
Develop brand awareness through social networking sites for catering and delivery services
•
Utilize guerilla marketing by having a Noodles & Company branded car to increase awareness
•
Increase category demand and change customer beliefs and attitudes about noodles for luncheons over sandwiches for small to mid-size businesses
14
2.4 Target Market Analysis A person in the target market is someone who enjoys healthy food but is on a budget and has a busy schedule. This individual also enjoys different types of noodle dishes from regions around the world. This person can be someone who works at a small to medium sized business, has just started a family, or a college student. The three main geographic cities that the target audience lives in consists of: Denver CO, Indianapolis IN, and Columbus OH. The common aspect for Noodles & Company is that it is a cost effective restaurant which serves healthy meals in a quick and relaxed environment.
The marketing campaign focuses on three major target segments: • Consumers: The consumer population breaks down into two categories consisting of families and college students.
The consumer market will be families in these regions. The
families that are targeted are 25-40 years old, have an annual income of $25,000-$40,000 and have children under the age of 10 years old. These families want to have a healthy diet but they are restrained from cost and time. According the the US Census Bureau, there are approximately 235,650 family households that have children under the age of 18 in Denver, Indianapolis and Columbus. The goal is to attempt to reach 15% of that market targeting families with younger children and fit our other constraints to total 35,350 families. The primary function for the consumer segment is to increase brand salience for Noodles & Company and increase the number of sales within this target.
Next, there are approximately 86 colleges in the three main
regions where Noodles & Company is the most concentrated. The college students that are targeted are between the ages of 18-25, have an annual income of $0-$25,000, and believe in living a healthy lifestyle without spending a lot of money. These students have active lifestyles,
15
enjoy relaxed environments and like quick service. The average population for 20-24 years-old college students in these cities makes up 8.7% of the population according to the US Census.
• Distribution: The main end-user for the new distribution channel for the sauces consist of the consumer market of families who already know Noodles & Company and love the brand. Sauces will be sold in-store in the three major cities: Denver, Indianapolis, and Columbus. Also, the sauces will be available to order online on the menu of the Noodles & Company locations in these areas. The rationale behind these channels is that the consumer target lacks time but still wants a healthy fast meal, which they will now be able to enjoy in their own home.
• Business-to-Business: The business population consists of small to medium sized businesses that either go out to lunch or want delivery service. The person with the purchasing power or the decision maker is generally the office managers or owners who are 25-40. A target business person would generally have an annual income of $30,000-$60,000, work at a firm, have an undergraduate or graduate degree, and someone who has to work long hours and is unable to leave their office for long periods of time. This person also works in an office that is in a three mile radius of a Noodles & Company store. For the catering and delivery service the office building would be in a ten mile radius. This person also desires to eat healthy but is extremely busy and budget conscious.
Based on a 2002 survey conducted by the Census Bureau there are
166,000 total number of firms in the three main cities. We are going to try to capture 20% of this market consisting of 33,200 firms with new advertising campaigns. The primary function for the business-to-business market is to increase awareness about delivery capabilities and to gain a larger share of the
16
business lunch crowd.
Currently, 18 locations in these three major cities (Denver, Indianapolis, Columbus)
will implement these target audience goals. Noodles & Company’s next long term goal would be a five year plan to expand the business-to-business and distribution efforts in five more cities (Minneapolis, Madison, Littleton, Colorado Springs, and Aurora) which consists of 20 restaurants. That could increase its business-to-business market share and distribution channels by 52.6% based upon an incremental growth of 10.5 percentage points annually for the next five years. This is assuming that about 53% of the targeted business and distribution market could be retained through the new promotional efforts.
17
3.0 Corporate Strategies
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5
Corporate Image Strategy - 20 Brand Development Strategy - 21 Brand Positioning Strategy - 22 Public Relations Strategy - 23 Evaluation - 24
18
3.0 Corporate Strategies
Noodles & Company’s image is based on perceptions that the company offers
healthy and delicious meals at a reasonable price. Noodles & Company’s products and service offers wisdom and pleasure by letting the consumer feel as if they are getting their money’s worth.
To build on and maintain this image, Noodles & Company will move forward by
developing new product lines, and opening up its doors to other opportunities such as catering. Efforts must also be made to attract customers in all potential markets and market segments. This will include a new emphasis on alternative marketing.
To support the corporate strategy, all marketing efforts will be integrated into the
overall IMC plan. This includes, advertising, promotions, sponsorships, and personal selling to maximize communication efforts. The goal is to make sure that each customer that comes in contact with Noodles & Company will receive the same experience and understand the benefits of the restaurant. In the restaurant industry it is important to provide consistent service and quality to make sure the consumers expectations are met and attempt to surpass them. This should help keep the consumers happy, create interest and eventually increase sales.
19
3.1 Corporate Image Strategy
Noodles & Company is perceived as a quick-serve styled restaurant that offers a
variety of pasta dishes, including healthy options, which are cost effective. Noodles & Company aspires to continue this perspective but desires a stronger brand salience among its current and potential customer base.
Consumers currently perceive Noodles & Company as a step up from fast food
and a good option from other small niche restaurants. In the consumers mind, Noodles & Company is also recognized as a good lunch spot. This is because it not only offers noodle dishes but the restaurant also offers: soups, salads, sandwiches, wine, and beer.
Noodles & Company strives to continuously create a strong brand image among
its current and new target markets while attempting to increase brand awareness. This is to reinforce the idea that food can be affordable, filling, and enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere.
A strong branding campaign will be developed to influence the corporate image
in the target audience’s mind, generating top-of-mind awareness, brand equity and helping decrease brand parity.
20
3.2 Brand Development Strategy
The brand name of Noodles & Company was selected based upon the immediate
reference to the main product, noodles. Noodles & Company’s name suggests enjoying a nice meal of noodles with “company” or friends. Noodles & Company’s consensual meaning of enjoying a dinner with family and friends has a high level of stimulus codability.
The brand name is visually presented inside of the logo. The iconic pan also
identifies the brand with noodles spilling over the top. The “&” symbol visually connects the words noodles and company to show that a connection with another person can be made over food.
The logo will be presented in all Noodles & Company visual aids. This will help
reinforce the brand name and create a message, which will help in recall and during the purchase decision-making process.
The brand, Noodles & Company, is relevant for the target market because it
shows that people can still get together to enjoy dinner and a conversation during this recession.
21
3.3 Brand Positioning Strategy
Noodles & Company positioning strategy is based upon a price/quality
relationship. Noodles & Company finds the perfect synergy of both for the target audience. With the low prices and high quality ingredients, Noodles & Company will be able to effectively fulfill this market’s need of a good meal at a reasonable price.
Noodles & Company provides a unique selling proposition by bringing together
three different noodle cuisines under one roof. They offer: American, Mediterranean, and Asian inspired meals to the target audience. Blending these three different styles differentiates Noodles & Company from its competitors. Despite the fact that all of their competitors target a similar audience, Noodles & Company is the only restaurant that specializes in healthy noodle dishes.
The customers at Noodles & Company are able to enjoy healthy high quality
noodle dishes from around the world at a reasonable price. Customers create their own dishes, a feature that the individualistic society of today enjoys.
22
3.4 Public Relations Strategy
Primarily in-house personnel will handle Noodles & Company’s public relations
efforts. They will monitor both internal and external publics. They will also be in charge of public relations events and sponsorship programs. A public relations executive will be present in all three cities but will all coordinate with each other to insure that Noodles & Company has one voice.
The main job for the public relations department it to insure that there is a positive
constant image of community involvement. As Noodles & Company grows and expands it can potentially take market share away from local businesses. To counter any negative publicity Noodles & Company will give back to the community by sponsoring local farmers market events to show community involvement and that fact that it isn’t just another franchised operation. Publicity for these events should be generated internally. People that will be asked to attend these events will live close to a Noodles & Company location.
Noodles & Company will also create annual sponsorship programs. An outside
public relations firm may be used to develop these programs. The theme of each year’s sponsorship program will be based events that will be planned in the three major cities. Each of the events will have a noodle theme. Many of these events will be targeted to the consumer market at local food tasting events and other local events.
23
3.5 Evaluation
Evaluations of the Noodles & Company’s IMC plan will be conducted internally and
by Ripcord. Our marketing objectives and methods of evaluation are summarized below.
Brand awareness will be evaluated during June by Ripcord. A random survey will
be conducted that hits the target audience. The awareness level will be measured and will be collected annually and will be compared to the previous data. If brand awareness has not increased with the current advertising approach, then it will allow time to modify the approach for the second half of the year.
The positioning analysis will be conducted in October. October was chosen
because it will allow for the campaign to set into the mind of the consumers and it will be more level because the summer rush will be over. If the position does not fit the projected position for the restaurant, it will allow Noodles & Company to modify the IMC campaign for the next calendar year.
The effectiveness of our consumer promotions will be measured during August
and September. The customer complaints will be measured and monitored on a continuous basis. All customer complaints will be forwarded to the marketing department for recording and analysis.
The direct marketing program will be evaluated during October and November.
This will allow time to see the impact of the direct marketing campaign. This evaluation will focus on the consumer, distribution, and business-to-business promotions. Ripcord will evaluate these programs to make sure that they are successful.
Ripcord will conduct an advertising impact study during the month of March.
This evaluation will provide information concerning how influential the advertising campaign has been. We will use recall, attitude and opinion tests to determine if the 24
slogan, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable� is effective and to see the overall view of the restaurant.
Evaluation of our consumer objective will be conducted internally and by Ripcord.
The evaluation will include: brand awareness, image analysis, positioning analysis, consumer promotions analysis, direct marketing analysis and advertising impact. Our consumer promotions will be evaluated in June and July by ripcord.
Evaluation for the distribution channel will occur during June and July and will be
conducted by Ripcord. The distribution evaluation will focus on the level of brand awareness and advertising impact. Since the product is going to be sold in-store, the evaluation will be conducted simultaneously with the consumer promotions. This analysis will also insure that the IMC objectives are hitting the goals and if not, then it will show what areas need to be readjusted.
Evaluation of the business-to-business objectives will be conducted by
Ripcord. Brand awareness will be evaluated during the month of May. Ripcord will conduct a random survey that will fit the small to medium sized firms that are in a tenmile radius to a Noodles & Company location. The awareness level will be compared to previous data. If brand awareness has not increased with the current advertising approach, then it will allow us time to modify the advertising approach for the second half of the year. Also, attitude and recognition tests will be conducted during the months of August and September by Ripcord. These tests will help measure the attitude as well as knowledge of Noodles & Company.
25
4.0 Integrated Marketing Communications Management 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4
IMC Goals - 28 IMC Budget - 29 Agency Selection - 30 Internet Website - 31 4.4.1 Site Map - 32
26
4.0 IMC Management
Past sales figures indicate that Noodles & Company have successfully reached
the consumer markets. Noodles & Company should plan to branch into the distribution and business-to-business market. With the expansion in these areas there is an expected success in the future by building the current market segments and supplement those efforts with a more aggressive alternative marketing programs.
The budget for the IMC program for next year will be $3,214,000. The $3,214,000
will be allocated as follows:
The largest percentage, 73.0%, of the IMC budget will be used to maintain and
increase the market share in the consumer market. The total budget for consumers is $2,345,000. There is intense competition in this market, which makes it vital to continue to emphasize this element of the IMC plan. Also, this is where Noodles & Company will make the majority of its sales.
The next segment is the distribution channel, which will have a total budget of
$565,000 or 17.6%. This is a new product launch that needs sufficient funding to make the new sauce line successful. To make the sauce line launch a success, a pull strategy will be implemented. This means that Noodles & Company will currently sell the sauce line in-store and once it is successful, then retailers like supermarkets will want to sell our products as well, therefore pulling them in.
The business-to-business market will be 9.5% of the overall budget or $304,000.
This money will go to increasing awareness and market share in this segment. Currently, sandwich shops heavily advertise in the business-to-business market and by creating an alternative like pasta dishes for businesspeople, Noodles and Company will have an opportunity to possibly take market share from the sandwich shops.
27
4.1 IMC Goals
Noodles & Company’s primary emphasis will be expanding the alternative
marketing techniques and to increase online interaction. By providing information to decision makers, Noodles & Company will be able to attract new customers. While the message theme will be modified for each of the markets, the underlying IMC theme continues to be “Fit, Fast, and Affordable.” From the competitive analysis performed, the three IMC objectives are: 1. Increase market share for the consumer market. Consumers should find out about Noodles & Company’s price, healthy food options, atmosphere, and an understanding of the quick-serve environment. This can increase sales, and build a stronger brand image. 2. Encourage repeat purchases in the consumer market through promotional efforts. 3. Build brand awareness for the new sauce line and catering services. This will be done through multiple techniques and will eventually increase category demand. 4. Inform the business-to-business market about the new services offered and to let the owners and managers understand Noodles & Company’s benefits of price and healthy food options.
28
4.2 IMC Budget
Noodles & Company advertising should focus on three main markets. Each
market will evenly divide the allocated budget across the 18 locations. First is the consumer group which consists of two market segments families and college students. The next market is the distribution channel for the sauce line and lastly is the businessto-business market consisting of small to medium firms. The total IMC budget is $3,214,000 and will be broken down as follows: •
IMC Objective 1 Consumer: $2,345,000 The established consumer market consists of families and college students. The potential exists to increase the market share therefore, 73% of the budget has been allocated to the consumer market.
•
IMC Objective 2 Distribution Channel: $565,000 The distribution channel consists of selling the sauce line in-store. The budget consists of 18% of the overall IMC budget.
•
IMC Objective 3 Business-to-Business: $304,000 The business-to-business market consists of small to medium sized firms. The market objectives should be covered with 9% of the overall IMC budget.
Budget Items Advertising Promotions Personal Selling Sponsorships Database Programs Website Alternative Marketing Evaluations Agency Fees Total: Budget Percentage
IMC Budget 5.1 6.1 Distribution 7.1 Business-toBudget Total Consumer Channel Business Percentage $1,100,000 $300,000 $130,000 $1,530,000 48% $300,000 $30,000 $30,000 $360,000 11% $15,000 $15,000 $9,000 $39,000 1% $30,000 $0 $0 $30,000 1% $300,000 $30,000 $15,000 $345,000 11% $350,000 $0 $0 $350,000 11% $90,000 $90,000 $30,000 $210,000 7% $30,000 $30,000 $30,000 $90,000 3% $130,000 $70,000 $60,000 $260,000 8% $2,345,000 $565,000 $304,000 $3,214,000 100% 73% 18% 9% 100% 29
4.3 Agency Selection
The agency selected to handle most of the integrated marketing communications
materials is Ripcord. Ripcord is a mid-sized advertising agency located in Denver, Colorado, which is where the majority of Noodles & Company’s are located. Ripcord offers a wide variety of services but specialize in brand strategy development for consumer and business markets. Other services offered are media planning and buying, communication planning and advertising in the following areas: online, social medias sites, direct mail, and print.
Ripcord’s clients include 212 Cafe, DeBourgh Manufacturing Co., Enhanced
Software Products, Lewis & Fowler, Maui Wowi Hawaiian, R. W. Beck, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, PowderCam, ProConnect and more. For 212 Cafe, the agency created a website, redesigned the menu, branded vehicles, and designed packages for hot sauce. For Maui Wowi Hawaiian, the agency created a brand book to better describe their business to potential franchise owners, and designed a new website, and three ad series. Ripcord used easy navigation, a fun look, and captured the target audience through their site.
For R. W. Beck, Ripcord created a campaign which consisted of: reinventing the
website, designing print ads, after conducting a brand visualization session with their client team and creating an annual report to better feature the company to other businesses. Ripcord’s experience of integrating advertising with websites, social media, direct marketing pieces, placing media buys and specializing in consumer and business marketing are the primary reasons for selecting them for Noodles & Company’s IMC Campaign .
Separate firms with more expertise will handle television ads and public relations
efforts. Public relations efforts will be handled by MGA Communications, which was started in 1987 but handled accounts from small start up businesses to national accounts. The television spots will be handled by The Media Team, which tailors to small and medium sized businesses. 30
4.4 Internet Website
Noodles & Company’s Web site serves two primary purposes. First, it is a place
where people can find out about the menu and the nutritious value of the meals and store locations. The Web site is flash based but also offers a non-flash alternative. The Web site also offers FAQ’s, a public relations section and links to social networking sties.
To increase the efficiency of the Web site Noodles & Company will be creating a
section for e-commerce where people will be able to order their food online. The catalog will consist of all the different menu options. Also, there will be another section for business consumers to set up catering functions for business events. This way, consumers will be able to easily use the site for pick-up, delivery, and catering. Another function will include an e-commerce location for the new sauce line. This is so that consumers can order their favorite sauces conveniently, online or on the new mobile application that can be downloaded from the site.
Along with Noodles & Company, ripcord will redesign the site to include these
functions. The new features will help increase sales and support the advertising campaign that will be currently running to maintain consistency. The domain for the site will remain the same, www.Noodles.com, and the updated site will become a key aspect of the communication strategy.
31
Quantity Discounts
Planning/ Scheduling
Cost
Shipping
4.4.1 Site Map
32
5.0 IMC Objective One: Consumer
5.1 5.2 5.3
Marketing Budget Consumer - 35 IMC Methodologies - Consumer - 37 5.2.1 Advertising Goals & Objectives - 38 5.2.1.1 Advertising Budget - 40 5.2.1.2 Creative Brief - 41 5.2.1.3 Advertising Design - 43 5.2.2 Consumer Promotions - 44 5.2.3 Personal Selling - 46 5.2.4 Sponsorship Programs - 47 5.2.5 Database Programs - 48 5.2.6 Alternative Marketing - 51 Media Plan - 53 5.3.1 Sample Media Schedules - 55
33
5.0 IMC Objective One (Consumer)
The objective for consumers consisting of families and college students is to
create awareness of Noodles & Company’s price, healthy food options, atmosphere, and an understanding of the quick-serve environment. This is so Noodles & Company can become part of the consumer’s evoked set and create brand salience.
To accomplish this objective, a combination of advertising, consumer promotions,
direct marketing via mail, sponsorship programs and alternative marketing will be used.
This target market is inundated with advertising so the use of alternative marketing
will be a new channel to contact these technology based consumers.
34
5.1 Consumer Marketing Budget
As the table indicates below, the consumer-marketing budget is $2,345,000. The
largest portion of the budget, 46.9% or $1,100,000 will be spent on advertising. To break that down further, each of the three major cities: Denver, Indianapolis, and Columbus will all have an advertising budget of roughly $366,700. In the consumer market, advertising is an effective way of creating awareness among the target audience. There will be a pulsating schedule for this campaign meaning that continuous ads would be running, with a different emphasis during certain times of the year.
Along with the advertising budget, the database program will be another key
aspect of the consumer budget. The database program consists of: gaining new customer lists, establishing a frequent shopper program through reward cards and implementing new direct marketing efforts. The database program will cost $300,000 and it will be able to help promotional events for the future. Each city will be allocated $100,000. This means that each store will receive about $16,700, which will cover the cost of creation and implementation of these programs. This will help achieve the main goal for the IMC for the consumers, which is to drive more people to the restaurant.
As indicated below the website will have a budget of $350,000 for redesigning and
creating the new order online option. The consumer promotions budget is $300,000 that will be used for FSI (Free Standing Inserts) coupons, free meals for kids, and contests and prizes.
The alternative marketing budget will consist of $90,000 for social networking
sites, guerilla and branded entertainment. We have allocated $30,000 for sponsorships for little league sports teams and exposes for colleges on health.
35
The personal selling budget will consist of $15,000 that will go to creating an
internal communications plan and tools to educate the staff. We will spend a total of $30,000 on evaluations and $130,000 for agency fees.
IMC Budget by Consumer Budget 2011 Advertising $1,100,000 Consumer Promotions $300,000 Personal Selling $15,000 Sponsorships $30,000 Database Programs $300,000 Website $350,000 Alternative Marketing $90,000 Evaluations $30,000 Agency Fees $130,000 Total: $2,345,000
36
5.2 Consumer IMC Methodologies
Reaching the consumer market (families and college students) requires a blended
approach. While advertising is a critical component, it will be supplemented with sponsorships, alternative marketing, promotions, and personal selling.
The primary role of advertising is to create brand salience and brand equity. The
consumer promotions main function is to encourage sales. The sponsorship programs are created to raise awareness about Noodles & Company while creating positive public relations by supporting local little league teams and sponsoring health events at the colleges.
The alternative marketing is geared to create brand equity by differentiating
Noodles & Company from the competitors through new technological advances. Also, the guerilla marketing of the Noodles & Company branded car will create awareness throughout the city.
The consumer promotions will also play a major role in the IMC. The promotions
will consist of coupons, direct mailers, contests, and free cooking lessons. This will bring brand awareness and create brand equity for Noodles & Company.
Lastly, the personal selling efforts created are to increase awareness of different
product combinations and to up-sell to increase sales to consumers. This will be done through an internal communications plan to educate the staff at each location.
37
5.2.1 Consumer Advertising Goals & Objectives
The goals of the IMC Plan for Noodles & Company is to create awareness
therefore advertising is essential. Frequency and reach are both important but there will be a stronger emphasis on frequency than reach due to the limited number of advertising outlets. A pulsating advertising schedule is important because people continuously go out to eat but during certain times of the year like the holidays they tend to go out more. The goal is to get into the evoked set and create top-of-mind awareness for Noodles & Company. The evoked set is where a consumer will consider the product or service, as a good option for purchase.
A secondary goal of the campaign is to drive consumers to the website. This will
help consumers find Noodles & Company more convenient by ordering online, find locations and to learn more about the brand. The website will be a component of every advertisement.
The majority of the advertisements will be online. Ads will be placed on different
social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube but also on different blogging sites. The consumer target is technology based so we want to put Noodles & Company on sites that are regularly seen by the target audience. Click-throughs will be evaluated to insure that the ads are placed on sites that have the greatest impact.
Another major aspect of the advertising campaign will be the direct mail, which will
be coupled by a promotional offer. The direct mail pieces will be geotargeted and sent out once a quarter. An evaluation of how well the direct marketing mail pieces work will be evaluated to make sure that it is efficient and effective.
The next area that Noodles & Company will be placed in is print advertisements.
College newspapers in the three major cities will run throughout the school year to reach the college market frequently. For families, advertisements will be placed in local magazines and newspapers that specifically hit the target audience to create brand 38
salience. Ads will be placed right before major holidays because more families are busy during this time period.
Television commercials will be created and they will be viewed on local news for
families and college channels for the students. The TV spots are more expensive but they will be able to hit the target audience effectively. Television spots also create a large reach among the target audience.
The main objective for the IMC plan for consumers is to increase the reach and
frequency for Noodles & Company and to achieve more total impressions over the next year by using multiple medias.
39
5.2.1.1 Advertising Budget by Consumer
Consumer advertising will be 46.9% or $1,100,000 out of the total budget of
$2,345,000.
Advertising Budget by Consumer Budget 2011 Television $300,000 Radio $90,000 Newspaper $250,000 Magazine $200,000 Internet $100,000 Direct Mail $160,000 Total $1,100,000
40
5.2.1.2 Consumer Creative Brief
Noodles & Company’s advertising focus will be, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable.” All
communication channels will focus on this theme to create brand salience and increase brand awareness. Objective: To increase brand awareness while creating brand salience. Target Audience Profile: The consumer market consists of two main segments including families and college students. The families that are targeted are 25-40 years old, have an annual income of $25,000-$40,000 and have children under the age of 10 years old. The college students that are targeted are between the ages of 18-25 and have an annual income of $0-$25,000. Both consumer groups lead busy lifestyles, have tight budgets, and want to eat healthy. Therefore, time, cost, healthy food, and a pleasant atmosphere, are key issues to families and college students. Message Theme: The primary theme is that Noodles & Company offers healthy, affordable meals in a relaxed environment and at a quick pace for consumers. The Support: Noodles & Company is known for having heart healthy dishes at a low cost. According to the National Restaurant Association, “73 percent of adults say they try to eat healthier now at restaurants than they did two years ago (2008).” Constraints: Not all options on the menu are healthy; the consumer must pick the nutritious option. Also, according to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, every menu must display the nutrition labeling by the end of September. In creating advertisements for Noodles & Company, the following means-end chain was developed: Unique Selling Point: Healthy, fast, and affordable. Product Benefit: Healthy, quick, filling, and cost-effective.
41
Personal Values: Wisdom, happiness, pleasure, and social acceptance. Leverage Point: The tagline, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable,� will be on all the different media throughout this campaign. The concept behind the leverage point obviously shows the product benefits to let the consumer know that Noodles & Company is a restaurant for them.
42
5.2.1.3 Advertising Design Creative Message Strategy: In developing print advertisements for consumers, Noodles & Company will use an emotional affective message. This means that the affective message strategy will invoke feelings and emotions that match Noodles & Company. The emotional appeal leads to product recall and consumers will be able to gain a connection with Noodles & Company. This way Noodles & Company will be linked to the emotions of happiness and pleasure and will convey the message of “Fit, Fast, and Affordable,� for consumers. Appeals: These ads will be conveyed through a humorous appeal. Funny messages not only attract attention but also help people remember the product. The ads will consist of humorous real life exaggerations to evoke positive emotions. Executional Framework: The ads will display a slice-of-life execution meaning that the ads will mimic real life and it will be accompanied by animations of noodles acting like humans. The encounter for college students will be from different scenarios of where a student may go; an example of this would be a dorm room. The dorm room is a complete mess and there is no food in the whole place (problem). Another student, which is a noodle suggests going to Noodles & Company and lists some of the restaurants attributes and benefits (interaction). The two students (or two noodles) go to Noodles & Company and enjoy a healthy meal at a good price and forget about the mess back at home (solution). Family scenarios would consist of humorous but extreme situations at a home.
43
5.2.2 Consumer Promotions
The budget for consumer promotions is $300,000. This means that each of the
major cities will receive $100,000 that will be distributed among the different restaurants. Consumer promotions will be a prominent part of our IMC plan, because our market is price sensitive. The consumer promotions will consist of coupons, direct mailers, contests, and free cooking lessons.
The first type of the consumer promotions will consist of coupons. These coupons
will be distributed in free-standing inserts (FSI) in college newspapers and local newspapers. The college newspapers will have a coupon for a dollar off of a meal and the local newspapers will have a coupon for one free kids meal. This is to cover both areas of the consumer market.
A direct mailer will be sent out to the families that have eaten at Noodles &
Company and perspective consumers that live in the same areas. The mailer will offer 2 free kids meal to help with repeat business. This promotional tool may also help encourage families to visit the restaurant.
Noodles & Company will host two different contests throughout the year. First will
be a video contest hosted on YouTube. The contest will let the consumers interact with the brand while building brand loyalty. The contest will run from January to March 2011. The prize for the contest will consist of a month of free meals and the winner’s picture hung in the local Noodles & Company store for 1 week. The contest may also lead to word-of-mouth communications when someone is working on the video.
The next contest will consist of kids creating art work out of noodles and submitting
to win a free kids party for 6 children. The contest will occur once a quarter. The contest winner will also have their artwork hang in the local Noodles & Company location. This contest will help create positive public relations while creating brand salience among families. 44
The last consumer promotion will be family cooking lessons that will happen once
a month. The lessons will teach families how to cook healthy meals with their children. There will be a limit of 20 people per cooking lesson. The lessons will take place in the local Noodles & Company locations. This is a cost-effective way to build positive public relations and create brand salience.
45
5.2.3 Consumer Personal Selling
The total budget for the consumer personal selling tools is $15,000. This money
would go into educating the sales staff on how to interact with customers and up-selling products. Each of the top three cities will receive $5,000 for the training which will be distributed to the stores that are located in those regions.
To insure that the sales staff at Noodles & Company understand their full
responsibilities and opportunities an internal communications plan will be created. This plan will start with managers talking to their employees once every two weeks about upselling and customer service. A document will hang in the back of all Noodles & Company’s restaurants explaining how a salesperson will interact with the consumers. A video will also be created to show new employees about up-selling, customer service, and Noodles & Company’s policies. The internal communications plan will also teach the employees how to explain the reward card system to consumers and how to distribute a card to each customer.
The sales staff needs to present themselves with a positive attitude ready for work
wearing a shirt with Noodles & Company’s logo on it. This uniform will help the customers clearly know who to turn to if they have any questions. Each salesperson should also be educated on how to answer the phones, Internet orders, and in-store questions and orders.
The employees will be compensated based upon a salary and tips that are made
off of the tip jar. All of the tips will be equally distributed to create an overall strong sales team. The philosophy of having a strong knowledge of the menu, having good customer service skills and the capability to up-sell can benefit Noodles & Company and is directly parallel to the overall IMC plan.
46
5.2.4 Consumer Sponsorship Programs
Noodles & Company will spend a total of $30,000 on sponsorship programs. First,
$15,000 will be spent to sponsor little league baseball games. This means that each of the three major cities: Denver, Indianapolis, and Columbus will all have $5,000 each to sponsor a team. The team will wear a shirt that will have Noodles & Company’s logo on the back. This will help target the consumer family market. This is because parents will feel a positive relationship with Noodles & Company for sponsoring a team.
The other $15,000 will be spent on sponsoring health seminars at a major college
in each of the three cities. This means that each city will receive $5,000 for the event at the following colleges: University of Colorado Denver, Ohio State University, and Indiana University - Purdue University. College students in their freshman year generally worry about the freshman 15, or in other words, gaining weight while in school. This event will teach students how to stay healthy while living in school and also will explain the benefits of Noodles & Company.
These two sponsorship programs will directly hit the target and will help the
target see how Noodles & Company cares about their community and health.
47
5.2.5 Database Programs
The database programs are important components of the consumer, distribution,
and business-to-business IMC plan. The total budget for the database programs is $345,000. The consumer market will have a budget of $300,000, distribution will be $30,000 and the business-to-business market will be allocated $15,000. Collect Data •
Consumers: The data that will be collected will focus on the type of meal purchased and when the transaction took place. This information will help establish the popular dishes and the best time to run sales and promotional activities. This information will be obtained through the company’s established database and through commercial data lists to find potential and current customers. The marketing team will handle the data lists and the store managers and franchise operators will have access to the information. The purchasing trends will help establish marketing knowledge for the future and will help obtain new customers.
•
Distribution: Data will be collected to learn who are the long-term customers and to increase marketing efforts for the promotional activities for the new line. The lists will be collected by analyzing who currently purchases carryout meals from Noodles & Company and through the purchasing of lists. The marketing team will handle the data lists and the store managers and franchise operators will have access to the information.
•
Business-to-business: Data lists will be bought to learn what businesses utilize catering services near the restaurant to learn who would most likely use this new service. The store managers and franchise operators will have access to the information. Each city will approximately receive $5,000 for the lists.
48
Data Warehouse
All of the different target markets will have a data warehouse for the marketing
team to establish direct-marketing efforts for each segment. •
Consumers: There will be a frequent shopper program that will be established and each time the card is swiped, the salespeople will be able to learn the customer’s personal preference profile to make suggestions to the consumer.
•
Business-to-business: When a business calls about an inquiry about catering services or delivery, an RFM (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) number will show on the call to help the sales person quantitatively know the value and status of this customer.
Direct Marketing
An email to the customers will also offer all of the same discount offers as the
direct mailer pieces for the consumers, distribution, and business-to-business segments. •
Consumers: A direct mailer offering a $10 gift card will be sent out to each of the consumers who have purchased Noodles & Company in the last year on their birthday. This is to remind consumers that Noodles & Company is there for the consumers and that this company wants to build a relationship with the consumers.
•
Distribution: A direct mailer offering a free sample of the sauce line will be sent to consumers that have previously purchased a meal from Noodles & Company in the last six months.
•
Business-to-business: A direct mailer will also be sent to the local businesses to offering a 15% discount on the first catering event from Noodles & Company. This will help entice businesses to try Noodles & Company and to start to create brand awareness for this segment of the market.
49
Permission Marketing
Permission marketing will be used in all segments of the marketing including the
consumers, the distribution channel, and business-to-business. When anyone from these markets order online they must provide their email address and home address. There will also be a box for the customers to click to receive special monthly offers and information about Noodles & Company. If the customer clicks this box then there name will go into a monthly drawing for a free family sized box meal. Since it is a monthly drawing, this will help encourage customers to click the box and will entice them to continually read their emails to see if they won. This will create reciprocity and empowerment among the consumers. The permission’s marketing will help create a relationship between the customers and Noodles & Company leveraging this tool. Frequent Shopper Program •
Consumers: The frequent shopper program for the consumers will consist of a rewards card. Whenever a consumer makes a purchase the consumer will hand the salesperson their card and for every 10 times they come the customer will receive a free regular sized bowl meal. This will entice customers to come back to the restaurant, which helps with repeat business.
•
Business-to-business: For the in-store lunch crowd, business people will be able to drop their business card into a fish bowl for a drawing for a free meal for two each week. This will help grow this segment of the market. The person’s business who won will be featured on Noodles & Company’s social networking pages.
50
5.2.6 Alternative Marketing
The total budget for the alternative market is $210,000 and it will be allocated as
followed: Consumer market will receive $90,000, the Distribution Channel will receive $90,000 and the Business-to-Business market will have $30,000.
Consumers: A variety of different alternative mediums will be used for
consumers. The different media will consist of utilizing: social networking sites, guerilla, and branded entertainment. First, young adults including families and college students regularly use social networking sites to communicate. Noodles & Company is going to capitalize on this by enhancing the company’s social networking presence. A YouTube contest will be created so that consumers can interact with the brand. Also, consumers will be able to order a meal directly off of Noodles & Company’s Facebook profile. A Twitter account will be created so that Noodles & Company can communicate with their consumers on another platform.
Guerilla advertisements will be used throughout the three major cities. These
advertisements will consist of “NoodleVille” themed dimensional spectaculars. This is to gain more awareness about the company. Lastly, branded entertainment will be used by creating a viral video game that will be featured on Noodles & Company’s website and Facebook profile. This will create another opportunity for the target to interact with the brand.
Distribution: The alternative marketing mediums for the distribution channels will
also consist of social networking sites, guerilla marketing tactics and point-of-purchase displays. Noodles & Company will use their current social networking sites and Twitter to gain awareness about the new product line. During consumer guerilla promotions, the new sauce line will also be advertised. Samples will be given out during these events to develop awareness for the product. At the 18 locations where Noodles & Company is launching the new sauce line, point-of-purchase displays will develop awareness and increase sales. 51
Business-to-Business: Lastly, business-to-business will use alternative media
in the form of blogs. Noodles & Company will go onto blog sites where there are discussions about luncheons and events for businesses and promote their catering services. When the catering services and deliveries are used they will be delivered in a car that is branded with Noodles and Company, “noodle characters� on the roof. This will car will also be used for the consumer market.
52
5.3 Consumer Media Plan
Our primary objective is to create awareness. To do so, frequency will be
important but reach is another important aspect. The goal is to create a top-of-mind awareness for Noodles & Company but first we need to get into the evoked set in the minds of consumers through repetitive advertising. We will also want to reach a larger audience and this will be accomplished by placing media buys on a wide variety of vehicles.
The Internet will be a large vehicle throughout this campaign. Noodles &
Company will increase their already strong presence online. They will further develop contests online such as a YouTube video contest where consumers can directly integrate themselves in the brand. Also, new technologies such as mobile applications, Facebook, and Twitter will also take a stronger presence with this market. While advertising online can be seen as cluttered, or invasive, cyberbait will help change this perspective by offering financial incentives such as discounts and specials. Also, an eblast will be sent to each consumer on their birthday to offer them a free meal at Noodles & Company to continue building brand salience for the consumer market.
The next medium that will be used is direct mail. The direct mail will be
geotargeted to our consumer market and the ads will contain a promotional offer to make the direct mail element effective. The mailer will be in the shape of the Noodles & Company logo to help it stand out against the clutter. This medium wouldn’t be sent out as often due to consumers getting overwhelmed with direct mail offers. Instead one ad will be sent out per quarter to increase reach and frequency with the consumer market.
Noodles and Company will run in a couple of different print publications to help
build brand salience with the consumer market. For families, local magazines will be chosen that focuses on health and family. Local newspapers will also run ads for Noodles & Company once a quarter offering a promotion in the Sunday paper. Another medium that will be used is college newspapers. While national newspapers do not get 53
read a lot by the college market, college newspapers usually have high readership and circulation. If the advertisement is coupled with a promotion, this could be a very effective vehicle for college students. These advertisements would run throughout the school year since they are very cost effective. Although many print publications are cluttered with advertising, Noodles & Company will be able to stand out by creating memorable creative ads that will be placed in mediums that specifically hit the target audience and continue to create brand salience among this target.
Noodles & Company will also air on television. Media buys will be place during
September, October, December, April and May. These months are when college students will be starting school, during Christmas break, or when they graduate. This is to gain awareness for this market. Also, families watch shows during these times due to the holidays and school starting and ending. The major television channels that Noodles & Company will use will be local news, which will be geared towards the families. The types of television stations for college students will be local university channels that will directly hit the audience. While these different channels can be expensive, they will be able to hit our audience directly to gain awareness.
Radio will be the last medium that Noodles & Company will use to increase their
share of voice. The radio advertisements will be placed during the same months as the television spots to increase frequency. The radio spots will be placed among morning talk shows and news spots for the family market and on popular radio stations among the college market. While radio is a great source for segmenting a target audience, a disadvantage is that there is low attention and consumers usually are saturated with information overload. However, if the media buys are placed effectively, Noodles & Company can continue to promote awareness.
54
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr 1 2 3 4
May 1 2 3 4
Jun 1 2 3 4
Jul 1 2 3 4
Aug 1 2 3 4
Sep 1 2 3 4
Oct 1 2 3 4
Nov 1 2 3 4
Dec 1 2 3 4
Total
$21,180
614
$19,800
Indy’s Child
$176,905
$18,560
Transworld Skateboarding
TOTAL:
$16,985
Transworld Snowboarding
National Magazines
$33,480
Indianapolis Woman
Local Magazines (Indianapolis)
$18,900
Columbus Parent
Local Magazines (Columbus)
$18,000
1 2 3 4
$30,000
1 2 3 4
5280
1 2 3 4
Mile High Sports
Local Magazines (Denver)
Week
Client: Noodles & Company Media: Magazines Cities: Denver, Indianapolis, Columbus
5.3.1 Sample Media Schedule
55
6.0 IMC Objective Two: Distribution
6.1 6.2 6.3
Marketing Budget Distribution - 58 IMC Methodologies - Distribution - 59 6.2.1 Advertising Goals & Objectives - 60 6.2.1.1 Advertising Budget - 61 6.2.1.2 Creative Brief - 62 6.2.1.3 Advertising Design - 64 6.2.2 Trade Promotions - 65 6.2.3 Personal Selling - 66 Media Plan - 67
56
6.0 IMC Objective Two (Distribution Channel)
Objective two is to create awareness of the new product line and use a pull
strategy to eventually end up in supermarkets. Noodles & Company will be the producer and the retailer to sell new sauce line. We recognize that this will be the most cost effective and efficient way to start the product launch. This is because the purchasers of the sauce line are already consumers at Noodles & Company and the sauce line is for consumers who already have the restaurant in their evoked set.
To effectively start the new distribution channel, Noodles & Company will start the
product launch in Denver, Indianapolis, and Columbus since this is where the restaurants are most concentrated. Eventually, all Noodles & Company’s franchised locations will carry the new sauce line and then new distribution channels will be contacted in the next five years.
57
6.1 Distribution Marketing Budget
The budget for next year’s distribution channel is $565,000. As shown in the
following table, $300,000 or 53.1% has been set aside for the advertising budget. That means each of the three major cities will receive $100,000 and each store will have a total budget of $16,700 to spend on advertising for the next year. There will be a pulsating advertising schedule with emphasis on holidays where people are busy and they don’t have as much time to cook.
We also have set aside $30,000 for a database program to be set up. This
database program would include purchasing lists to see who would be a good target for the sauce line. Each city will be allocated $10,000. The lists would then be distributed to each Noodles & Company location in the surrounding area.
Trade promotions will also be another way to contact potential customers and in
the future a way to contact other distribution channels. Each city, Denver, Indianapolis and Columbus will all receive $10,000 for a total trade promotions budget of $30,000 for trade contests and trade shows. The alternative market’s total budget is $90,000 each store will have a budget of $5,000 for POP displays and free samples of the sauce for guerilla events. The personal selling budget of $15,000 will be for bonuses for the sales staff. We will spend a total of $30,000 on evaluations and $70,000 for agency fees.
IMC Budget by Distribution Channel Budget 2011 Advertising $300,000 Trade Promotions $30,000 Personal Selling $15,000 Database Programs $30,000 Evaluations $30,000 Alternative Marketing $90,000 Agency Fees $70,000 Total: $565,000
58
6.2 Distribution IMC Methodologies
Advertising will be the major tool used in the distribution market. Currently,
Noodles & Company is starting the new product launch in-store and eventually they are going to branch out into grocery stores by using a pull method. Other programs such as alternative marketing, trade promotions, and personal selling will supplement the distribution market.
The alternative marketing will use guerilla techniques to create awareness for the
new line through point-of-purchase displays. Also, social networking sites will increase awareness of the new sauce line.
Trade promotions will be used to let other vendors and consumers become aware
of the new product launch through trade shows and trade contests. Another promotion will consist of an online recipe contest to create awareness of the new sauce line.
Lastly, personal selling will be an important aspect of the new launch because it
will be the most effective way to create awareness and product demand to make the sale through the last three feet method. Or in other words, the employee will be the person who will have the last chance to sell the product.
59
6.2.1 Distribution Advertising Goals & Objectives
The distribution-advertising goal is to create awareness. Frequency is more
important because people with Noodles & Company in their evoked set are more willing to buy the sauce line. A continuous schedule will run throughout the year.
A direct mailer will be used to send a coupon for a free sample of the new sauce
line. Then ads will be placed online. Then point-of-purchase displays will be set up inside the store to be the last defense for awareness. Eventually, advertisements will be placed in trade journals but currently Noodles & Company is going to implement a pull strategy.
The main distribution-advertising objective is to increase frequency and reach to
achieve more gross impressions. To insure that the advertising program is effective the cost per rating point (CPRP) will be implemented to measure the efficiency of a media vehicle relative to Noodles & Company’s target market.
60
6.2.1.1 Advertising Budget by Distribution Channel
Distribution channel advertising will be $300,000 or 53.1% out of the total budget
of $565,000.
Advertising Budget by Distribution Channel Budget 2011 Trade Journals $50,000 Direct Mail $125,000 Internet $50,000 POP Displays $75,000 Total $300,000
61
6.2.1.2 Distribution Creative Brief
Noodles & Company’s advertising focus will be, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable.” All
distribution channels will focus on this theme to create brand awareness and increase the number of inquiries form consumers. This is to maintain a consistency with consumer advertising. Objective: To create brand awareness and to develop inquiries from consumers. Target Audience Profile: The distribution market consists of the consumer market. The primary focus will consist of the families with a secondary focus on college students. The families that are targeted are 25-40 years old, have an annual income of $25,000-$40,000 and have children under the age of 10 years old. This target visits Noodles & Company on a regular basis. The key benefit of a take home sauce for families consists of: convenient, quick, delicious and healthy. Message Theme: The primary theme is that Noodles & Company offers convenient, quick, delicious and healthy sauces that anyone can make in the pleasure of their own home. The Support: Noodles & Company is already a well-known company and by utilizing the stores as the distribution channel they will be able to gain popularity with the new sauce line. Constraints: Since this a new product line, there is not yet a standard on the distribution of the sauce line. Therefore, restrictions may be placed with in-house policies. Also, that the tagline, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable” is to be used in all communications. In creating advertisements for Noodles & Company, the following means-end chain was developed: Unique Selling Point: Convenient, quick, and a taste of Noodles & Company in the consumer’s own home. 62
Product Benefit: Convenient, quick, and healthy. Personal Values: Wisdom, pleasure, happiness. Leverage Point: The tagline, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable,� will be on all the different media through out this campaign. This will stay consistent with the brand image strategy and the brand development strategy for the distribution channel.
63
6.2.1.3 Distribution Advertising Design Creative Message Strategy: The print advertisements for the distribution channel will follow the consumer print advertising imagery to ensure the consistency of the message. The same emotional affective message strategy will be used for this distribution channel. This means the affective message strategy will invoke feelings and emotions that match Noodles & Company. The emotional appeal leads to product recall and consumers will be able to gain a connection with Noodles & Company. This way Noodles & Company will be linked to the emotions of happiness and pleasure and will convey the message of “Fit, Fast, and Affordable,� for consumers. Appeals: These ads will once again be conveyed through a humorous appeal. Funny messages not only attract attention but also help people remember the product. The ads will consist of humorous real life exaggerations to evoke positive emotions. Executional Framework: Lastly, these advertisements will once again display a sliceof-life execution meaning that the ads will mimic real life. Once again, the people in the advertisements will be noodles and use an animation execution. The encounter, problem, interaction and solution will change from the consumer and focus on the sauce line. The ads will be tailored to families with only a small focus on college students. The situation would consist of a person cooking at home and using the new Noodles & Company’s sauces.
64
6.2.2 Distribution Trade Promotions
The $30,000 trade promotions budget will be used for trade contests, and trade
shows and an online contest. Each of the major cities will receive $30,000 that will be distributed among the different restaurants. We believe that these two trade promotions will help elevate the sauce line.
The trade contests will consist of contests between different Noodles & Company
locations that are selling the sauce line. A total budget of $5,000 will be allocated to each city for the trade contests. Prizes and cash bonuses will be offered to winners. The criteria for the first year’s trade contest will be the number of jars of sauce sold. The store that sells the most sauces will receive a $100 bonus per employee and the manager will receive a $300 bonus. This type of contest fits with our overall marketing goal of expanding the distribution channel. This will help increase distribution and create brand awareness for the product. The contest will run quarterly to encourage the employees to up-sell the new product line.
Trade Shows will also be used to create awareness for the product. The trade
shows that will be attended are local trade shows for homeowners that have a food section. Each store manager will attend one of these events per year to help increase the distribution of the sauce line to their consumers. During these trade shows, promotional items will be handed out to remind people about Noodles & Company. Noodles & Company will also create a trade show display that will be consistent in theme for the three major cities.
Lastly, an online recipe contest will be set up to help create awareness for the
new sauce line. Consumers will create 30 minute dishes out of the new sauces and post the recipes on the website or Facebook page. Once a month, a recipe will be chosen and it will be implemented in the 18 Noodles & Company store locations. The consumer who wins will be named after the recipe.
65
6.2.3 Distribution Personal Selling
The total budget for the distribution personal selling tools is $15,000. This money
will be allocated evenly to the top three cities. The money will go to the managers and employees with the best records of selling the sauce line.
The sauce line is being sold in-store so the salespeople will be the top people to
get the new product line in the hands of the consumers. The local managers will all attend a conference to learn how to speak to their employees about the introduction of the new sauce line. Each manager will also be in contact with a corporate representative to answer in questions about the new product launch.
The internal communications plan that lays out the consumer personal selling
techniques will also include the distribution personal selling tools. For the first three months of the product launch each store will compete to sell the most of the sauce line. Cash bonus will be provided to the store that sells the most. This is to motivate the salespeople and managers to actively sell the product.
66
6.3 Distribution Media Plan
In order to reach our distribution channel members, a continuous advertising
schedule will run through out the year. First, a direct mailer will be sent out to our local cliental offering a free sample of the new sauce line. This is to promote awareness about the product. Next, advertisements will be placed on the websites of the local stores that will be carrying the line. Point-of-purchase displays will also be seen in every restaurant that will carry the line. The sauce line is going to launch in January 2011, so the first four months will be heavily advertised to gain awareness for the product.
At some point, advertisements will be placed into trade journals because the
main target for the sauce line is consumers. Noodles & Company will be implementing a pull strategy where the sauce line becomes so popular that other stores will want to pick up the product. To be able to get to this point, other distributors need to be aware of the Noodles & Company product line.
67
7.0 IMC Objective Three: Business-to-Business 7.1 7.2 7.3
Marketing Budget Business-to-Business - 70 IMC Methodologies - Business-to-Business - 71 7.2.1 Advertising Goals & Objectives - 72 7.2.1.1 Advertising Budget - 73 7.2.1.2 Creative Brief - 74 7.2.1.3 Advertising Design - 76 7.2.2 Business-to-Business Personal Selling - 77 Media Plan - 78
68
7.0 IMC Objective Three (Business-to-Business)
Objective three is to inform and create awareness for managers and owners of
small to medium sized firms about Noodles & Company’s catering and delivery services of healthy food options at a reasonable price.
The business-to-business component of our IMC plan has a primary marketing
communications plan targeted to the decision makers. Decision makers are likely to be administrative assistants or business owners. Influencers will also be advertised to so they understand the benefits of Noodles & Company, but many times the influencer is not involved at all in the actual selection and purchase decision. The business owners and managers must be sold on the benefits of Noodles & Company.
69
7.1 Business-to-Business Marketing Budget
The total budget for the business-to-business marketing budget is $304,000 as
indicated below. The advertising budget will be the largest portion of the budget consisting of $130,000 or 42.8%. Once again, this is the largest portion of the budget because we believe that it is the most effective way to reach the targeted audience.
Another major aspect for the business-to-business marketing budget is the
database program. The database program’s budget is $15,000 which will be used to buy lists about businesses that use catering services and for the implementation of an RFM number system.
Personal selling is an important part of the business-to-business marketing tools
therefore the budget will be $9,000 which means that each city will receive $3,000 for the creation of internal sales force tools. For the business-to-business promotions the budget will be $30,000 for price-offs and bonus packs.
The alternative market’s total budget is $30,000 for blogs about luncheons and
business events. We will spend a total of $30,000 on evaluations and $60,000 for agency fees.
IMC Budget by Business-to-Business Budget 2011 Advertising $130,000 Business-to-Business Promotions $30,000 Personal Selling $9,000 Database Programs $15,000 Evaluations $30,000 Alternative Marketing $30,000 Agency Fees $60,000 Total: $304,000
70
7.2 Business-to-Business IMC Methodologies
To reach the business-to-business market, Noodles & Company will use multiple
marketing communication tools. The main focus will once again be advertising which will utilize the Internet, trade journals, and television to create awareness for the new service. To support the advertising efforts, promotions, personal selling, and alternative marketing efforts will be created.
The business-to-business promotions will help not only create awareness for
Noodles & Company but will also increase sales. Personal selling will also be helpful by providing information to businesses about the new catering service. Lastly, alternativemarketing efforts will increase awareness, and provide information on blogs and other Internet tools to create more sales.
Our goal in this market is to provide information to the members of these markets
about our products and increase awareness. This way the business-to-business markets will choose Noodles & Company.
71
7.2.1 Business-to-Business Advertising Goals & Objectives
The advertising main objective is to create awareness and to create the right
image in establishing an effective position with our business customers. Reach and frequency are both important in the business-to-business objectives.
The Internet will be the best place to advertise to business consumers. They will
be on business related sites and evaluated with a click through rate. The advertising program will also support the direct marketing program. This will be done through various mediums such as television and trade magazines.
The advertising for business-to-business mainly focuses on small to medium firms
owners or managers because they are the deciders. The ads will also create a want for more information; this is to also hit the influencers that might help the deciders pick Noodles & Company. The type of buy is a new task; therefore, Noodles & Company will provide information quickly to the business centers via the Internet.
72
7.2.1.1 Advertising Budget by Business-to-Business
Business-to-business advertising will be $130,000 or 42.8% out of the total budget
of $304,000.
Advertising Budget by Business-to-Business Budget 2011 Internet $25,000 Television $80,000 Trade Journal $25,000 Total $130,000
73
7.2.1.2 Business-to-Business Creative Brief
For small to medium sized business owners or mangers, the following creative
brief will be used. Objective: To generate inquires for more information, develop brand awareness and to help spur sales. Target Audience Profile: The small to medium sized business owners or mangers that are 25-40 years old and will be the decision makers on the delivery services and catering from Noodles & Company. A target business person for the catering service would generally have an annual income of $30,000-$60,000, work at a firm, have a undergraduate or graduate degree, and someone who has to work long hours and is unable to leave their office for long periods of time. The types of businesses that are the main focuses are different types of firms that are in a ten-mile radius of a Noodles & Company location. The two primary issues for owners, managers, and the general business people are time and taste. The primary businesspeople for the walk-in lunch crowd works in similar firms and is in a 3-mile radius of Noodles & Company. Message Theme: The primary theme is that Noodles & Company offers healthy, diverse, and cost efficient meals in a fast pace for the business crowd. The Support: Noodles & Company is already a well-known company and is recognized by the business crowd as a fast, healthy and affordable restaurant. Constraints: The tagline, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable� is to be used in all communications. Also, there are legal restrictions because some of the dishes use peanuts, which need to be advertised because of allergic reactions. In creating advertisements for Noodles & Company, the following means-end chain was developed: Unique Selling Point: Quick, diverse, healthy and cost effective. 74
Benefit: Convenient, quick, and healthy. Business Values: Wisdom, happiness, and pleasure. Leverage Point: The tagline, “Fit, Fast, and Affordable,� will be on all the different media throughout this campaign. This will stay consistent with the brand image strategy and the brand development strategy for small to mid-sized businesses.
75
7.2.1.3 Business-to-Business Advertising Design Creative Message Strategy: The advertisements for businesses will use a conative message strategy. A conative message strategy is designed to directly lead consumers to a response and in this case, lead businesses to the website. This is more effective than the affective strategy because a conative approach works very well with promotional efforts. The majority of the business-to-business relationship will be online with promotional offers and a conative strategy can help elicit a behavior from managers and owners. Appeals: These ads will once again be conveyed through a humorous appeal. Funny messages not only attract attention but can also help people remember the product. The ads will consist of humorous real life exaggerations to evoke positive emotions. Executional Framework: Two execution styles will be used simultaneously including slice-of-life and informative for business advertisements. The slice-of-life appeal will show scenarios of an office luncheon where the workers are tired of plain sandwiches. The advertisements will also incorporate animation where the humans are noodles. An example of this is that the boss is one screwy colored noodle and the rest of the employees are macaroni noodles to visually point out the boss. This is because the boss is the only one that will be different. The informative appeal will occur during the interaction of the advertisement. This is where another person attending the lunch will rattle off statistics about the trends in healthy eating while comparing them to Noodles & Company. The end result will be that Noodles & Company would, “save the day� by catering or delivering food to the workplace.
76
7.2.2 Business-to-Business Personal Selling
The total budget for the business-to-business personal selling tools is $9,000.
This is to create an internal sales force to handle income telemarketing and Internet inquires.
The internal sales force will help identify prospects, qualify them, and eventually
create the sales call and continue with a follow-up. These individuals are not supposed to sell the catering services but to ensure the customer has the information needed to the make the right decision. Once the account has been secured it will be turned over to the nearest Noodles & Company location.
Prospects lists containing information on businesses that have a need or want for
catering services will be collected. Then outbound telemarketing will occur from the internal sales force. To encourage each member of the internal sales force and the local sales staff to obtain new clients a package consisting of salary, commissions, and bonuses will be given to top salespeople. Approximately 80% of each salesperson’s income will be from the salary component. The other percentage will be based upon commissions. Bonuses will be allocated if the sales staff reaches certain quarter and annual goals.
Each store location will also have one person to directly work with the internal
sales force to continually build a business-to-business relationship from one particular location. This person will be aware of the upcoming promotions and services for business services along with the consumer and distribution lines.
It will be the
responsibility of the internal sales staff to decided which prospects should be given to the local lead sales staff person. This way the field agent will be able to hand the business via the Internet or telemarketing.
77
7.3 Business-to-Business Media Plan
The media plan will consist of television, trade magazines, and online sites to
reach our business customers. By utilizing different mediums Noodles & Company will create a media multiplier effect, which means using more than just one type of media will increase the impact of the advertisements.
The television ads will run on channels such as local CNN and FOX news stations
to help create brand awareness. The type of television stations will focus on news and financial programs. The ads will run the beginning of each quarter for two weeks in a row. This is to show that businesses can enlist Noodles & Company for catering or delivery.
The next medium that will be used is trade magazines. Noodles & Company will
be in magazines that businesspeople read such as Business Week and other local trade magazines.
Lastly, the Internet will run different advertisements to capture the attention the
business market. The type of websites that will be used in the media plan will consist of business sites rather than consumer sites. Other types of websites that will be used are financial, news, business catering sites, and other business sites to make this campaign effective.
78
8.0 Strategic Plan
8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 8.10 8.11 8.12
Company Background - 80 Management Team - 81 Goals and Objectives - 82 Industry Research - 85 SWOT Analysis - 89 SWOT Matrix - 90 Marketing Mix Strategies - 91 Product Review - 92 8.8.1 Sample Menu - 93 Positioning Strategy - 94 Product Positioning Map - 95 Location Analysis - 96 Projected Financials - 97
79
8.1 Company Background
Vision Statement: Our vision at Noodles & Company is to expand into all fifty states in the next decade and to continue to serve fresh pasta in a fast, relaxed environment. Mission Statement: At Noodles & Company we strive to fill local consumers with healthy, quick, and delicious meals in a family environment. Company History: Aaron Kennedy who was a former brand manager at PepsiCo founded Noodles and Company in 1995. The company has grown from its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado to having restaurants in 20 states with more than 200 franchises. The food that is offered is healthy styled pasta dishes ranging in American to Asian to Mediterranean styled dishes. The restaurant prides itself on having a pleasant atmosphere with healthy alternatives with a quick-service pace. Noodles and Company is expanding all of the time and is looking forward to opening restaurants in new locations. They are planning to open restaurants in major cities and locations that believe in healthy meals. Currently, Noodles and Company is a financially stable company that corporate-owns the majority of their restaurants with annual revenue of $130 million. Today, they are opening up their doors to franchising opportunities to help with growth.
80
8.2 Management Team President, Chairman & CEO - Kevin Reddy Kevin Reddy has been the president for the past five years. He has accomplished a lot so far in his career by helping Noodles and Company grow into 420 units in over 22 states. Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer - Keith Kinsey Keith Kinsey has also been with Noodles and Company for the past five years and he also serves on the board of directors. Kinsey is in charge with organizing the growth of Noodles and Company, and he manages the company’s finances and business model. Vice President of Franchise Initiatives - Wayne Humphrey Wayne Humphrey has been with Noodles and Company for the past eight years and he is now in charge of the franchises sales, development and operations. Chief Administrative Officer - Dawn Voss Dawn Voss’s key focus is helping Noodles and Company’s restaurant development, training, and helping manage the brand-building experience for the guest. Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary - Paul Strasen Paul Strasen is in charge of the legal department and strategies.
81
8.3 Goals and Objectives Overall Company Strategy:
Our strategy at Noodles and Company is to open up new locations by enhancing
our viral presence to gain more brand awareness and increase sales. Strategy: New Locations 1. Objective: Expand more in-depth into the Florida market by opening a restaurant in Miami, Florida in 2011 to produce an increase in market share of this state by 10%. a. Supporting Policies: i.
Researching the area and finding the best location for the restaurant.
ii. Recruit, train, and hire local employees that have an upbeat attitude that will compliment Noodles & Company’s brand. iii. Throw a NoodleFest to create awareness of the store’s opening. iv. “All stores must adhere to the uniform pricing guidelines set forth in the Company Handbook.” (This policy could help assure customers that the company offers a consistent product in terms of price and quality in all its stores.) Strategy: Brand Awareness 1. Objective: Gain a 20% increase of the market share of the business crowd. We will do this by offering a free box meal for businesses who order lunch from our website that is $20 or more. This will run for 6 months and will also be offered on our iPhone application. This is to hit the primary target audience of 25-35 and it will run from August 2010 until January 2011.
82
a.Supporting Policies: i.
“Each store will put in a fish bowl at their location for business workers to drop their card in to win a free box meal.” (When a business card is dropped an employee will ask them if they know where our website is and tell them to visit Noodles.com to order for business lunches)
ii. “Every person in the store who owns a smart phone will download the application.” (This is so people know how easy it is to use) iii. “All stores must support company advertising by contributing 3 percent of their total monthly revenue for this purpose.” (This policy could allow the company to better establish a national reputation) 2. Objective: Initiate a YouTube contest to create awareness, brand recognition, and brand loyalty. This contest will attain 15% more awareness of our restaurant brand, and to reach 500,000 different people to be actively involved in a YouTube competition for 6 months. This is to hit the secondary target audience of 18-25 and it will run from September 2010 until February 2011. a.Supporting Policies: i.
Run an ad campaign on the social networking sites that Noodles and Company currently has a presence to gain awareness of the competition. (The competition will run for 6 months where people will upload their own Noodles and Company themed videos.)
ii.
The prize will consist of winning a free month of meals sponsored by Noodles and Company. The viral video will also play on the Noodles and Company website and lastly, wherever the contest winner lives their picture will hang in their local Noodles and Company store.
iii. “Each store will enter one video into the competition.” (The video will
83
be shot in front of the store to bring awareness to the competition.) iv. “When anyone orders a meal, every person will also be handed a flyer about the competition.” (This is also to bring awareness to the competition) 3. Objective: To run a Facebook competition that would entail people creating their own dishes online. We would run the competition for four months to get a 17.5% growth on the Facebook page and hope to reach 50,000 fans. This is to hit the entire target audience of 18-35 and it will run from September 2010 until December 2010. a. Supporting Policies: i.
To advertise the competition Noodles and Company will use their social networking sites and their website to gain attraction.
ii.
People will have an application where they can create their own dishes and name them. The last month of the competition will go to voting for the favorite dish.
iii. The favorite dish will then be added to the menu across the nation. iv. “Each employee must vote for their favorite dish to drive the popularity.” (This will show on their own wall and bring more awareness to the competition) v.
“Each employee will join the Facebook fan page and invite at least 5 friends to become fans of the sites.” (This is to drive more people to the competition)
vi. “When anyone orders a meal every person will also be handed a flyer about the competition.” (This is also to bring awareness to the competition) 84
8.4 Industry Research
Fine Dining Trends • November predictions from global rating agency Fitch Ratings offer little hope that challenges including a declining U.S. economy, decreased consumer spending, and elevated food costs will let up in the near future. •
In fact, the report states they're likely to get worse (Hartford).
• Hardest hit will be the full-service dining sector, and especially the casual-dining segment •
Third year of negative same-store sales numbers (Hartford).
Quick-Serve Dining Trends • Almost perfect linear trend of “downward trading” among customers, with fine dining hit hardest and casual dining down across the board. •
The net benefit is going to quick-service restaurants with their increasing sales (Keller).
• People are starting to want more for their money when they are spending less (Keller). • Guests aren’t looking for the over-the-top, elaborate menus at this time with this economy. •
Guest decisions are driven more and more by price (Keller).
• More optimistic on the fortunes for quick-service restaurants (Hartford). • Segment’s value perception, lower-priced menu items, and the continuance of customer trade-down from full-service restaurants as factors acting in quickserves' favor, and indeed the industry has so far been able to leverage its position (Hartford).
85
• Almost half (48 percent) said they frequented fast-food establishments less often over the past three months compared with their typical usage •
Of those who said they were cutting back on fast food, the majority (84 percent) indicated that they were opting instead to eat at home to save money (Hartford).
• Another 35 percent said they were starting to take a lunch to work or school for the same reason to save money (Hartford). • People are trading down because of fear and price, but if you offer them a good value, they're going to come back (Hartford). • Quick-serves need to offer cheap options for consumers who might be on the fence when it comes to eating out (Hartford).
Marketing Suggestions • Marketing programs like ‘Free Cookie Monday’ and ‘Bring a Friend Thursday’ to drive more traffic into the restaurant (Keller). • Signage program lists all allergens and vegan/vegetarian items on our menu. •
Great guest-focused step that our customers are really excited about (Keller).
• Today’s operators are reconsidering staffing models and identifying technological innovations that can cut labor corners and reduce back-office time in favor of customer-facing time (Keller). • At this time, what companies should be doing is really promoting value menus (Hartford). • The Fitch report predicts casual dining will increasingly turn to promotions and discounting to keep customers coming through the door (Hartford).
86
• Quick serves, however, can counter by offering premium menu items in addition to value-priced options. Taylor cites Pizza Hut's Tuscani Pastas, Long John Silvers' Freshside Grilles, and Burger King's Steakhouse Burgers as examples • This is so there are alternative offers other than mid-scale casual diners (Hartford). • Tightly focused menus that serve a variation on a single theme are prospering and spreading (Goldman). • Quick-serve restaurants have to have the food ready in minutes because it is a volume business (Goldman). • The population density is very important where these types of restaurants operate (Goldman). • People might dismiss these places as a fleeting trend, but the good ones will survive if they do it right (Goldman). • Quick-serve ideas have to be scalable. It has to have mass appeal while not losing its individual appeal (Goldman). Effective Menus • Improving the quality of menu items is a huge factor of smaller quick-serve restaurants (Keller). • These styles of restaurants are also selling more comfort foods (Keller). • Return to the basics is a key way to keep the business thriving •
Having simple, made-from-scratch food and low prices is key (Keller).
• From cereal to peanut butter, rice pudding to gourmet dumplings, haute desserts to grilled cheese, restaurateurs are trying to cash in on comfort food (Goldman). • The niche restaurants that serve comfort food resonate with people (Goldman). • It's important to find something that marries mass appeal with novelty (Goldman). •
It needs to grab the customer's attention
87
•
You have to be offering something they want to eat a couple of times a week
Healthy Food Trends • Consumers also want to know what they are spending their money on is actually healthy for them (Keller). • Restaurants have recently become more responsive to the needs of those who are health, weight, and nutrition conscious (Keller). • Using locally grown and organic offerings is grabbing the attention of many cashstrapped patrons looking for a healthy yet affordable meal (Keller). Works Cited Goldman, Adam. "Niche restaurants attracting plenty of dining attention." Associated Press (2010): n. pag. Web. 12 Feb 2010. <www.smacnyc.com/docs/ AP.doc>. Hartford, Jamie. "Another Negative Year for Casual Dining." QSR Magazine (2009): n. pag. Web. 12 Feb 2010. <http://www.qsrmagazine.com/articles/exclusives/ 1108/economy-1.phtml>. Keller, Maura. "Eating Out in a Down Economy." Today’s Dietitian 12.No. 2 (2010): P. 12. Web. 12 Feb 2010. <http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/ 020810p12.shtml>.
88
8.5 SWOT Analysis
Strengths: • Healthy • Quick • Relaxed Atmosphere • Affordable • Family Environment • Enhanced Customer Relationships
Weaknesses: • Located only in a few states • Very niche oriented, may lose out on potential customers • Limited Menu • Availability of brand specific sourced foods
Opportunities: Threats: • To open new restaurants • Poor Economy • To position Noodles & Company as a • Not many people are going out to healthy affordable restaurant eat • Open up to a wider network through • Many competitors viral marketing
89
8.6 SWOT Matrix
Strengths – S 1. Healthy 2. Quick 3. Relaxed Atmosphere 4. Affordable 5. Family Environment 6. Enhanced Customer Relationships Opportunities – O 1. To open new restaurants 2. To position Noodles & Company as a healthy affordable restaurant 3. Open up to a wider network through viral marketing
SO Strategies 1. Ability to open up new restaurants to a niche audience. (S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, O1) 2. To become the number one quick serve healthy restaurant. (S1, S2, O2) 3. To obtain a larger networking through online mediums. (S6, O3)
Threats – T
ST Strategies
1. Poor Economy 2. Not many people are going out to eat
1. Advertise our specials online to drive traffic to Noodles and Company. (S4, S6, T1, T2)
3. Many competitors
2. Offer contests online to compete with competitors. (S6, T3)
Weaknesses – W 1. Located only in a few states 2. Very niche oriented, may lose out on potential customers • Limited Menu 3. Availability of brand specific sourced foods WO Strategies 1. To become positioned as a niche restaurant to drive brand loyalty and open up new venues. (W1, W2, O1, O2) 2. To start a viral competition to gain more brand awareness to our niche audience. (W1, W2, O1, O3) WT Strategies 1. Lower prices during the off-season. (W1, T1, T2) 2. Offering different specials when season food costs rise. (W1, T3)
90
8.7 Marketing Mix Strategies
1. Price: Our prices are competitive compared to our top competitors. Noodles and Company offers a variety of different meals ranging from $4 - $7. One of the aspects that we are focusing on is our price because people are able to receive an affordable filling meal without hitting the wallet too hard.
2. Product: Our product is also very niche oriented in the fact that we mainly sell noodle dishes. This is a unique selling proposition because Noodles and Company is not only selling a meal or an environment they are selling comfort food.
3. Place: We are located in 20 different states in the Midwest and we are expanding all across the country through franchising the restaurant from the East to the West. We are also expanding internationally to Europe.
4. Promotion: Another one of our key strategies is to focus on the promotional aspects of Noodles and Company. Currently, Noodles and Company is running a viral marketing campaign to gain interest in their stores. They are available to communicate on social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube and had just completed their first big viral contest for the Super Bowl. Noodles and Company is going to continue to expand themselves online and with contests to generate interest.
Overall, our two main strategies that Noodles and Company is focusing on are price and promotion.
91
8.8 Product Review
Noodles and Company believes that a meal here should be wholesome,
balanced, fresh and fast. They believe in using fresh ingredients and cooking on the spot for the ultimate experience. Noodles and Company cooks three main styles of cuisine including: Mediterranean, Asian, and American and all of these dishes also have healthy options.
All Dishes: •
•
•
•
Regular • $5.25 - $7.25 • With Chicken, Beef, Meatballs, Shrimp, or Tofu Small • $4.25 - $6.25 • With Chicken, Beef, Meatballs, Shrimp, or Tofu Extras: • Add a protein for $2.00 • More fresh veggies: $0.75 • Extra Cheese: $0.75 A trio: • $7.25 • Any small Noodles, Soup or Salad • With Chicken, Beef, Meatballs, Shrimp, or Tofu • Choose a side Caesar Salad, Green Salad, Tomato Basil Bisque, or Chicken Noodle Soup
Beverages: • • • • • • •
Fountain Drink: $1.45/$1.80 Kids Fountain Drink: $0.75 Freshly Brewed Iced Tea: $1.45/$1.80 Bottled Juices & Beverages: $1.60 - $2.15 Milk (plain or chocolate): $1.45 Beer domestic/premium: $2.95/$3.95 Wine glass/bottle: $5.00 - $17.00
92
8.8.1 Sample Menu Mediterranean •
•
•
Noodles • Penne Rosa • Pesto Cavatappi • Pasta Fresca • Whole Grain Tuscan Linguine Soup • Tomato Basil Bisque Salad • The Med Salad
Asian •
• •
Noodles • Japanese Pan Noodles • Pad Thai • Bangkok Curry • Indonesian Peanut Sauté Soup • Thai Curry Soup Salad • Chinese Chop Salad
American •Noodles • Wisconsin Mac & Cheese • Mushroom Stroganoff • Buttered Noodles • (Any size $0.50 less) • House Marinara • Spaghetti & Meatballs • $7.25/$6.25 • Available without Meatballs ($5.25/$4.25) •Soup • Chicken Noodle Soup •Salad • Caesar Salad
93
8.9 Positioning Strategy
Compared to its major competitors, Noodles and Company currently has a strong
position in the market by offering better quality for a lower price. To generate more revenue and expand market share, Noodles and Company is expanding through new locations strategically placed near college campuses and high traffic areas. Noodles and Company will implement a viral marketing campaign to generate brand awareness.
94
8.10 Product Positioning Map
95
8.11 Location Analysis
The type of area that Noodles and Company is looking to open up new
restaurants in is populated cities where people want a quick and healthy meal. The restaurant is usually placed in small shopping outlets where there are many options for different food choices. These shopping areas have other stores such as: Toy Stores, Grocery Stores, Furniture Stores, and College Campuses. The shopping centers that Noodles and Company are located in area also along main roads that receive a lot of traffic on a daily basis. The parking lots in these areas are very open so a lot of cars are able to visit the location. People who generally frequently visit these locations are on their lunch break or they are with their families shopping. This is also an area where college students frequently visit.
96
8.12 Projected Financials
97
9.0 Digital Media Campaign
9.1 Goals & Objectives - 99 9.2 Strategy - 102 9.3 Conclusions - 107
98
9.1 Goals and Objectives 1. Goal: Gain a 20% increase of the market share of the business crowd. This will be accomplished by offering a free box meal for businesses who order lunch from our website that is $20 or more. This will run for 6 months and will also be offered on our iPhone application. a.Objectives: i.
This is to hit the primary target audience of 25-35 and it will run from August 2010 till January 2011.
ii.
“Each store will put in a fish bowl at their location for business workers to drop their card in to win a free box meal.” (When a business card is dropped an employee will ask them if they know where our website is and tell them to visit www.Noodles.com to order for business lunches)
iii. “Every person in the store who owns a smart phone will download the application.” (This is so people know how easy it is to use) iv. “All stores must support company advertising by contributing 3 percent of their total monthly revenue for this purpose.” (This policy could allow the company to better establish a national reputation) 2. Goal: Initiate a YouTube contest to create awareness, brand recognition, and brand loyalty. This contest will attain 15% more awareness of our restaurant brand, and to reach 500,000 different people to be actively involved in a YouTube competition for 6 months. a.Objectives: i.
This is to hit the secondary target audience of 18-25 and it will run from September 2010 till February 2011. 99
ii.
Run an ad campaign on the social networking sites that Noodles and Company currently has a presence to gain awareness of the competition. (The competition will run for 6 months where people will upload their own Noodles and Company themed videos.)
iii. The prize will consist of winning a free month of meals sponsored by Noodles and Company. The viral video will also play on the Noodles and Company website and lastly, wherever the contest winner lives their picture will hang in their local Noodles and Company store. iv. “Each store will enter one video into the competition.” (The video will be shot in front of the store to bring awareness to the competition.) v.
“When anyone orders a meal, every person will also be handed a flyer about the competition.” (This is also to bring awareness to the competition)
3. Goal: To run a Facebook competition that would entail people creating their own dishes online. The competition would run for four months to get a 17.5% growth on the Facebook page and hope to reach 50,000 fans. a. Objectives: i.
This is to hit the entire target audience of 18-35 and it will run from September 2010 till December 2010.
ii.
To advertise the competition Noodles and Company will use their social networking sites and their website to gain attraction.
iii. People will have an application where they can create their own dishes and name them. The last month of the competition will go to voting for the favorite dish. 100
iv. The favorite dish will then be added to the menu across the nation. v.
“Each employee must vote for their favorite dish to drive the popularity.” (This will show on their own wall and bring more awareness to the competition)
vi. “Each employee will join the Facebook fan page and invite at least 5 friends to become fans of the sites.” (This is to drive more people to the competition) vii. “When anyone orders a meal every person will also be handed a flyer about the competition.” (This is also to bring awareness to the competition)
101
9.2 Strategy
Our strategy at Noodles and Company is to enhance our viral presence to gain
brand awareness and increase sales.
This will be accomplished by using multiple
social networking sites such as Facebook and YouTube. Through these sites, people will log on to the competitions and contests, which will boost brand awareness. Also, the iPhone application will help increase sales because of the accessibility for the business crowd.
Utilizing these social networking sites will directly affect our target market. First
of all, Facebook hits our target directly with the design a dish contest.
Facebook Users as of 01/04/2010 Age
Users
Percentage
Growth from 01/04/09
18-24
26,075,960
25.3%
51.7%
25-34
25,580,100
24.8%
127.3%
As clearly stated here, there are a lot of Facebook users in the target audience
and it is growing every day. Even more surprising is that US internet users are more likely to buy or recommend a brand since becoming a fan or follower on Facebook. This means that the Facebook competition will clearly drive more people to the site and will help increase sales.
102
US Internet Users Who Are More Likely to Buy/Recommend a Brand Since Becoming a Fan or Follower on Facebook (February 2010)
19% 19%
Yes, for many brands
32%
Yes, for a few brands
41% 34% 29%
No Don’t know
15% 12%
Buy
Recommend a friend
According to, ‘Social Fans More Likely to Buy’, one out of four people stated that
they follow a brand to receive discounts and promotions. The dish contest directly does this by offering a prize as a promotional tool for the restaurant. This is just one of the platforms that directly hit our target market.
The YouTube competition is also going to directly hit our target audience.
Age 3%
19% 35%
19% 23%
3-11
12-17
18-34
35-49
50+
103
Based upon an 2008 YouTube demographics study, 35% of the total audience is
18-34. Therefore, it is a perfect platform for the video competition. People upload over 10 hours of new videos every minute to YouTube. This is why creating a YouTube channel for the competition will be extremely effective and will bring awareness to the restaurant.
Lastly, the mobile application can help increase sales because of the accessibility
to the business crowd. The majority of the users of smartphones, including the iPhone, are people ranging from 25-34 which hits our target audience for the free box lunch promotion.
The new iPhone application and promotion will be successful because people in
this age group own a smartphone and they are utilizing it for personal and business usage. The new app will also allow people to jump to the front of the line to get their food when it is ready. Therefore, it is faster, more convenient, and cost effective for the
104
customers which appeals to this audience. This will boost sales and brand awareness.
Based upon a survey that was taken virtually on surveymonkey.com, people
believe that healthy eating is either important or very important (93%) to them and they utilize social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube either multiple times a day or daily. Viral marketing is becoming a huge industry where more and more people are going on to these sites for coupons, promotions, and supporting the brands that they like.
105
106
9.3 Conclusion
There are many benefits to utilizing this digital strategy. First of all, it is extremely
cost effective to run these campaigns and you are able to directly hit your target audience. This means that you will be able to reach more people efficiently. Driving consumers to become fans of these social networking sites, and downloading the mobile application will boost brand loyalty, brand awareness, and increase sales. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s society we live in a digital world and as marketers we need to capitalize upon this audience and with this digital media campaign it will directly accomplish that.
107
10.0 Advertising Campaign Traditional & Non-Traditional Media
10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9
Corporate Identity - 109 Three Ad Series - 111 Television Commercial - 114 Radio Commercial - 115 Direct Mailer - 116 Web Banners - 117 Billboard - 119 Press Release - 120 Pitch Letter - 122
108
10.1 Corporate Identity
Feed Your Noodle.
Front
954-830-1352 520 Zang Street, Suite D Broomfield, CO 80021
Katie Funk Public Relations Director Katielfunk@noodles.com
Back
520 Zang Street, Suite D Broomfield, CO 80021
Envelope
109
Letterhead
Feed Your Noodle.
954-830-1352 520 Zang Street, Suite D Broomfield, CO 80021 www.noodles.com
110
10.2 Three Ad Series
noodles.com
1737 East Evans Avenue Denver, CO 80210
111
112
113
10.3 Television Commercial
MAN: Humming Along
MAN: Humming Along
MAN: Humming Along
SFX: Music: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys
SFX: Music: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys
SFX: Music: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys
VIDEO: MS paning across the kitchen to Man cooking, with a big smile on his face
VIDEO: MS going to CU of the thought bubble
VIDEO: CU of happy family inside thought bubble
MAN: Humming Along
SFX: Music: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys. Music cuts out abruptly! Sound of food burning.
SFX: Music: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys. (Music fades out) Front Door Opening. Footsteps.
VIDEO: CU of bubble popping and filling up with smoke
VIDEO: MS from Man to burnt pot back up to Man, with a dumbfounded expression.
VIDEO: MS from Wife in the door back to Man in the kitchen, still with dumbfounded expression.
MAN: Uhhh. Noodles & Company?
Woman: (Slight laugh) “Oh Honey.”
VIDEO: MS from Man in the kitchen Back to Wife.
VIDEO: MS from Woman and cut to LS of family dining at Noodles & Company.
ANNCR: If all else fails, just “Feed Your Noodle.” To find a Noodles & Company by you just visit Noodles. com.
SFX: Music: Wouldn’t It Be Nice by the Beach Boys. Bubbles Popping.
VIDEO: CU of Logo and website.
114
10.4 Radio Commercial Characters: Both male characters are college students that want to avoid getting nagged and they use their “noodles” to get out of trouble. 30 Second Commercial: ______________________________________________________________________ MUSIC
“GOOD TIMES ROLE” THE CARS
MAN 1
(SARCASTICALLY) Dude, your dorm room really smells. What
does Angela think about this?
MAN 2
Dude, I got skills. She doesn’t come here and I don’t get nagged.
MAN 1
Are you kidding me? How did you pull that one off?
MAN 2
I take her to Noodles & Company. She gets a nice meal, my wallet
doesn’t get hurt, and I can avoid the whole, “you need to clean-up”
talk.
MAN 1
Sweet. But, it still really smells.
MAN 2
Wanna go to Noodles?
MAN 1
Yeah man...(SLIGHT LAUGH) Whatever. Let’s go.
ANNCR
Real men don’t need to deal with trouble. They use their Noodles.
(PAUSE) Have you fed your noodle today?
115
10.5 Direct Mailer
520 Zang Street, Suite D Broomfield, CO 80021
Katie Funk 8961 N. Lake Dasha Dr. Denver, CO 80021
Front
Feed Your Noodle.
1 Free Meal With Added: Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, Meatballs, or Organic Tofu P: 720-262-4451 Back
F: 303-367-1141
13700 East Colfax Aurora, CO 80011 noodles.com
Feed Your Noodle.
116
10.6 Web Banners
Example 1: Click Here
noodles.com
Feed Your Noodle.
Example 2 - Flash Animation:
Front
Feed Your Noodle.
Feed Your Noodle.
Feed Your Noodle.
Click Here
Click Here
Click Here
noodles.com
noodles.com
noodles.com
Back
117
Web Banners:
Example 3 - Flash Animation:
Feed Your Noodle.
Feed Your Noodle.
noodles.com
noodles.com
Click Here
Click Here
Feed Your Noodle.
Feed Your Noodle.
noodles.com
noodles.com
Click Here
Click Here
118
10.7 Billboard
Feed Your Noodle.
noodles.com
119
10.8 Press Release CONTACT: Katie Funk 954.830.1352 Katielfunk@noodles.com PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Noodles & Company Spices Up Stores New Sauce Line Launch Will Make Noodles & Company Saucy Denver, Colorado (June 9, 2010) – Noodles & Company is opening up a new line of sauces to be sold in 18 store locations. The initial launch will be in Denver Colorado, Columbus Ohio, and Indianapolis Indiana. In addition, these Noodles & Company locations will begin offering to catering services for local businesses in the area. The launch of both of these services will start in January 2011. Noodles & Company wants to provide nutritious low cost meals to their consumers not only at home but also at work. The new sauce line will first launch with three different types of sauces including the most popular Wisconsin Mac n’ Cheese, Penne Rosa, and Pad Thai. This is to sample from the three geographic regions with American, Asian, and Mediterranean cuisine. The catering service is going to spice up the business world! Noodles & Company is going to offer box lunches for any business need. Now businesspeople will have an alternative to the usual sandwiches and subs. Now they can “Feed their Noodles,” from Noodles & Company. For more information visit website. ###
120
Noodles & Company Aaron Kennedy who was a former brand manager at PepsiCo founded Noodles & Company in 1995. The company has grown from its first restaurant in Denver, Colorado to having restaurants in 20 states with more than 200 franchises. The food that is offered is healthy styled pasta dishes ranging in American to Asian to Mediterranean styled dishes. The restaurant prides itself on having a pleasant atmosphere with healthy alternatives with a quick-service pace. Noodles & Company is expanding all of the time and is looking forward to opening restaurants in new locations. Currently, Noodles & Company is a financially stable company that corporate-owns the majority of their restaurants with annual revenue of $130 million. Today, they are opening up their doors to franchising opportunities to help with growth. Currently, Noodles & Company has been awarded the 2007 recipient of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) Denver Chapter's Emerging Company Award and the ColoradoBiz Top Company Awards in 2008.
Biography President, Chairman & CEO - Kevin Reddy Kevin Reddy joined Noodles & Company as president in April 2005. With over 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry he has helped Noodles and Company grow into a large franchise. Today with more than 230 units in 18 states the company is growing by about 6 stores per year. Kevin gained a lot of his experience by working as Chipotle’s chief operating officer and working with McDonald’s international office where he learned real estate, marketing, and finance skills. Kevin believes in creating a relationship with guests and communities while maintaining high standards and disciplined execution. His dedication has led him to receive the Nation’s Restaurant News 2010, “Top 10 Who to Watch” executive. At the end of 2009, Kevin was awarded, “Entrepreneur of the Year,” by Restaurant Business Magazine for the ability to build a brand in a recession. Under Kevin’s direction Noodles & Company has been able to achieve many awards like the 2009 top family friendly restaurant by Parents magazine and one of America’s healthiest fast-food restaurant by Health magazine. Kevin looks forward to the future with Noodles & Company to continue to see the brand grow. ### 121
10.9 Pitch Letter The Denver Post 101 W. Colfax Ave. Denver, Colorado 80202-5177 September 23, 2010
Dear Jeanette Chavez:
Noodles & Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new sauce line and catering services are launching January 1, 2010. When choosing stories for the Denver Post in December, this topic could be very interesting to your readers. The holidays are coming up and people still want to look nice for the New Year and donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have time to cook and eat healthy. This story could inspire families to join together and eat a healthy meal or for the businessperson to eat right at work. We would love for you to write an article in the Business section under food and retail because we feel like this topic will directly hit your readers. I will call you soon to offer additional information. In the meantime, please call me at (954) 830-1352 if you have any questions. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Katie Funk Public Relations Director Katielfunk@noodles.com Noodles & Company 954-830-1352
122