Infinity Case Book

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GRAYSCALE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN

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TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 3 BUSINESS BACKGROUND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 4 CONSUMER MARKET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 8 CONSUMER PROFILES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 10 MARKETING PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 17 CREATIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 25 SUMMARY AND EVALUATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PG 29

SUMMARY OVERVIEW The Great Escape is Bowling Green, Kentucky’s primary source for the widest selection of used and vintage entertainment. Everyone enjoys finding those nostalgic items from their childhood and rediscovering a classic. The challenge of this campaign is to integrate The Great Escape with the college community. In order to create a personal relationship between the employees and consumers this business must reach out by getting more involved and making their presence recognizable and familiar.

WHAT THE AGENCY LEARNED Surrounded by college students, The Great Escape has the perfect opportunity to target a generation that is perfect for their products, with college students outspending every other generation on entertainment. Not to mention, they desire inexpensive products and consider low price to be one of their main purchasing considerations.

Through primary research the agency learned that not only were customers dissatisfied with customer service but they also desired even more; a community atmosphere where they can feel comfortable.

GRAYSCALE’S APPROACH Through creative strategies Grayscale strives to re-brand The Great Escape in order to give it a distinct identity.

The creative gives the brand a modern yet retro feel that represents every type of entertainment product supplied by the store, rather than one individual focus. This will help to draw the interests of more potential customers. The creative will also help to improve the store’s image from simply “thrift” to items of value.

Grayscale will recommend a welcoming staff that begin conversations and create relationships both in store and at events. Through community events, The Great Escape will gain recognition and create a connected store culture.

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BACKGROUND A..COMPANY BACKGROUND The Great Escape started in 1977 and claims to be the mid-South’s primary place to purchase, sell and trade used, new, collectible and out-of-print DVDs, CDs, records, comic books, and games.

The first store opened in Nashville, Tennessee, on Broadway and has been in business there for 33 years. The store’s success launched the openings of stores in other locations, including the Bowling Green store in 1987, the Madison store and the Louisville store. Recently they opened a superstore on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville.

The Louisville location is known for its comic book selection, and the Charlotte Avenue location is known for its vinyl collection. The Bowling Green location (along with the Madison location) is valuable to the community, but hasn’t found its claim to fame. The company’s mission is to provide dependable, affordable, and unique items for their mix of shoppers, collectors, music fanatics, and comic book fiends.

This local business has some very big opportunities for their brand. They have a mesh of interesting clientele that have very passionate interests. Collectors, Musicians, Movie Fanatics, “Nerds,” and Gamers are easy to work with because they already have the passion for the products being sold.

In addition, The Great Escape already has its own personality told through its items and its history. Their sister stores have a history of great success. Monster talents such as Bob Dylan, Taylor Swift, Johnny Cash, Elvis Costello, and Emmylou Harris have frequented their Nashville Broadway store.

We see the same potential for success in the Bowling Green store with just a bit of advertising help and big ideas.

B. COMPANY ANALYSIS Being located in close proximity to Western Kentucky University provides many opportunities for the company. They are not only surrounded by their target consumers, but they also have the ability to hold events that college students will likely attend, and have the opportunity to build relationships with these potential customers on campus.

The Great Escape specializes in collectibles – from toys from the 70s and 80s, to comics and old records, but they also stock sports memorabilia; comics; used CDs, DVDs, and video games.

Their targeted demographic is primarily 80% white males of all ages. The Great Escape hasn’t targeted college students in particular. While this is not a bad thing, it is a missed opportunity.

Their e-commerce presence consists of a website with links to an EBay page for shopping. Their social media presence consists of a Facebook page that is updated regularly with photos from their various events, including sidewalk sales.

INTANGIBLES The Great Escape appears to have a sense of “tradition,” “quirkiness,” and “nostalgia.” It’s not full of fancy signage, but many of the items speak for themselves. Their current customers like it because they feel that it is a place that they automatically belong in, just by walking through the door, because they are familiar with the products and share a deeper connection with them than most other products that they purchase. There are also many higher priced items for the collector, who connects on a more intimate level.

While the store and shopping experience are to a degree controlled by the business, a sense of community is an important intangible as well.

Many of the staff and lots of the clientele know these products very well. We want to improve the staff’s knowledge about these products and how they interact with and provide information to clientele.

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E. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

D..SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS

OPPORTUNITIES

WEAKNESSES

THREATS

• Provides a unique service • Appeals to young and old audiences • Provides a variety of products • Low prices • Can trade in and either keep the cash or use it buy something else • Small business – more personal • Staff are passionate about products • Carries a wide range of products • Can special order products • Sister stores that can provide merchandise and name recognition

• Not enough awareness • Poor website • Poor use of social media • Hidden Location • Overwhelming amount of items in store • Poor reviews of customer service • A lack of employee knowledge • An unwelcoming atmosphere

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• Can easily tap into a cult-like market • Can host events to draw in customers and get them engaged • Large college community (which is an ideal target market) to tap into • Offers used DVDs and Video games which appeal to college students • Can increase their reach by bringing their business to campus • Potential for strong, positive customer relations • Potential for loyal customers

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Barnes & Noble F.Y.E. CD Warehouse Wal-Mart BestBuy GameStop The Hobby Shop Hobby Crossing

The Great Escape struggles with competition. They offer the same types of products as popular places like BestBuy, Wal-Mart, Target, GameStop, FYE, and even Target, except their competitors’ products are brand new. These big name retailers are strong competitors because they are well known, easily identified, and benefit from national advertising, but they don’t have any personality, they aren’t able to give their customers personal attention, and they are selling new products which are much more expensive. The Great Escape also has less stock coming into the store and the stock they do get is mostly dependent on what they buy from customers or what they receive from their sister stores, so it isn’t always steady or reliable.

The competition does not, however, offer the same variety as The Great Escape. And with the more vintage and used products, prices tend to be much cheaper than a slightly used DVD or video game at a big retailer like GameStop or even a pawn shop, and The Great Escape usually has a larger and more varied selection as well. For example, a GameCube at GameStop is $30 and it is half the price at The Great Escape. Big retailers also are not able to offer the same amount of personal attention, something that we will push for in this campaign. But because of the newer selection offered by the competition, promotion can easily reach today’s youth, who often demand the newest, coolest product as soon as it comes out. Teens and children are more likely to desire new action figures, comics, and video games from national chain stores, so this audience will be the hardest to captivate in that respect.

But for those that want to buy used games or DVDS, competition also includes Family Video and GameStop. Both of these options offer used games at a lower price. These types of places offer a much more steady stream of used DVDs and games, but not necessarily a cheaper or better selection.

GameStop and pawnshops will be the largest competitors for selling used DVDs and games to our target market.

As for collectable comics and vinyls, The Great Escape corners most of the market in Bowling Green, but many still don’t know the name, especially the student population. Amazon and EBay will present the most competition, because collectors who are looking at specific items are likely to try searching online first.

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F. MARKET ANALYSIS Currently, there is a demand for the types of products that The Great Escape offers. Antique and vintage items are extremely popular right now, as consumers try to save money in a down economy. The “going green” idea also makes secondhand purchases attractive.

Since the Bowling Green location is in a college town, The Great Escape is exposed to the vintage/antique trend, and is familiar with bargain shoppers. The “used” option for shoppers meets their vintage/antique and bargain shopper needs.

The Great Escape offers a variety of products to buy, sell and trade. The market for movies (DVDs) and music (CDs, records, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes), video games, and action figures is considerably high, considering their location, since music, movies, and videos games are frequently watched, listened to, played with and purchased in general by consumers ages 18-25. The Great Escape should try to capitalize on this information, considering the amount of college students in their market area. There has also been a surge of interest in records for college students due to “hipster culture”. Both young and old consumers read comic books, but the market for them in general hasn’t been considerably high since the 1990’s.

The increasing use of the Internet as an outlet for music, movies and the selling of collectibles and comics has become a major threat to stores like The Great Escape. Companies like iTunes, eBay, Amazon, Netflix, Gamefly etc. are providing cheap, convenient and easily accessible products to The Great Escape’s target market. Our campaign will attempt to address this by using the Internet to let customers know about incoming products, and will suggest updating their website to offer a more accessible e-commerce platform.

Bowling Green is considered a small to medium sized market. The population size is 58,067, which includes 48.3% males and 51.7% females.

The median resident age in Bowling Green is 27.6 years, which is considerably younger than the median population age of the state, which is 41 years old. The estimated household income of Bowling Green is $34,105, which is lower than the state of Kentucky’s household income, which is $40,072.

Estimated per capita income in Bowling Green in 2009 was $18,635.

G. PRODUCT ANALYSIS More popular products (movies, music, and video games) and the fact that they can be not only bought, but sold and traded, needs to be emphasized to draw the target consumers to the store.

And then once the customers are at the store,

they need to be drawn to the other, less popular products offered (action figures, comics, and collectibles) depending on their interests. Employees can facilitate this by having knowledge of the products and communicating with the customers.

The Great Escape offers a mixture of used and collectible items, and hardly any new merchandise. In order to make this sound more appealing, we plan on focusing on the “vintage trend” currently popular with consumers ages 18-25, concentrating on how gently-used products are less expensive than new items, an important factor to this generation.

Since The Great Escape’s products are either brought in by distributors or by consumers wanting to trade/sell them, they have to be evaluated with different focuses, which can limit the products that they are able to provide.

Consumers who prefer new products and consumers who prefer used products can both have their needs met. For those who prefer new products, lower prices should be emphasized. For those who prefer used products, they are provided with a variety of items that are in good condition and priced well. The problem with this, though, lies in that a consumer may want a certain item in new condition but the store may only have it in used condition, or not have it at all. The store consistently offers a variety of items, but the items offered may not be consistent.

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CONSUMER ANALYSIS

CONSUMER MARKET CONSUMER ANALYSIS The typical gold custom- 2. Additionally, there are 1. ers of the Great Escape are silver customers who may be 18 to 24 males with household incomes less than $20,000, who spend a good deal of their income on entertainment. The group typically plays video games and reads comic books, listens to music, or does a combination, or all three. They listen to rock, classical, heavy metal, and alternative. They are generally very opinionated about what they like, and very knowledgeable as well. This group buys impulsively and tends to spend almost all of their income. They are interested in cheap cost, good quality, fast service, and an “experience” (they want to be entertained).

They outspend all previous generations: gaming, music, coffee, food, etc.

less specifically knowledgeable of the products, but have more disposable income, a household income of between $60,000 and $74,999. These customers fall into a broad category where pop culture meets geek culture, such as in hero adventure movies, horror flicks, and console video games. These customers are mainly older, between the ages of 25-54, and may have teenage or younger children.

3. A third category is fe-

male customers from each age group. This is a much smaller, though no less significant category, that can be used to eliminate advertising waste. Girls specifically are deeply motivated by TV, are good multi-taskers, get bored easily, and are not entertained

MRI RESULTS The main conclusions from these data will be that our target market will be ages 18-24, although ages 25-54 will not be forgotten. We see the opportunity in introducing The Great Escape to college students.

Because they have lower incomes, they will be interested in buying second hand items: video games, DVDs, and records. There has been a surge in interest among the college-aged population in vintage items, due to the popular hipster culture. We will use the information gathered about their interests and their media selections to better target The Great Escape’s merchandise towards them. We may even use these interests to suggest adding types of merchandise that they are most likely to purchase.

We would like to extend our efforts to female college students with similar music and gaming interests, to reduce advertising waste.

We will also target CDs and DVDs towards them, because they were more likely to buy those items than males. Some similar interests for both males and females appear to be in video games, video consoles, music, and shows like Adult Swim.

College students mostly listen to Alternative, Pop and Rock. We will use this information to encourage advertising those types of music towards them.

These results show that a niche market should try to be targeted, consisting of both male and female college students who have a “nerdy” side. This characteristic might leak into comic books, comic book figurines, and gaming cards, but will definitely be described by an interest for either video games or used and inexpensive items. The goal will to be to find this niche and target them directly, as they are the most likely to be interested in shopping at

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TARGETING GENERATION Y

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1983-2001 Techno savvy Coddled Optimistic

IN GENERAL They are known as millennials, iGeneration, and Generation Me. They want to experience the world for themselves and pass their own judgment. Technology is a major aspect of their lives, and they consider life before the Internet as “the Stone Age.” They are big on social networking and almost all of them are involved in at least one social networking site. They have little exposure to traditional network marketing. They are optimistic, team players, rule-followers, who were born into “child-centered” families where they were protected and overscheduled. For them, participation was frequently enough for a reward.

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Prone to abrupt shifts in taste Tough to pigeonhole Narcissistic Confident

MARKETING TO THEM They are interested in cheap cost, good quality, fast service, and an “experience” (they want to be entertained). They are less than likely to practice organized religion and they are more likely to be skeptical of religious institutions. They care about the earth and servicing their community. They are very selective about who they listen to. You are not likely to get results by just screaming at them. They care more about what their community says than what advertisers do, and they take each other and their network’s recommendations seriously. They desire a sense of authenticity. They outspend all previous generations: gaming, music, coffee, food, etc. They are the first generation that’s big enough to hurt a boomer brand by giving it the cold shoulder. Marketers have to learn to think like them, not their boomer parents. Girls specifically are deeply motivated by TV, are good multi-taskers, get bored easily, and are not entertained easily.

• • • •

Tolerant Sense of entitlement Rejects social conventions Largest generation in the US

IN THE WORKPLACE They are open to opportunities and they are looking for things that can help them achieve their goals.

Gen Y doesn’t want a linear job path and they will refuse to work a job that does not bring them a sense of joy.

They are open to the idea of multiple streams of income and of owning their own business. They want to be SHOWN, not TOLD, and mentors are critical, because they want structure and guidelines. They prefer to work for smaller firms that allow for more flexibility, an opportunity to embrace their entrepreneurial ambitions, and particularly the opportunity to use social networks at work without strict corporate guidelines. They have financial smarts and work-life balance. They like constant change and casual dress in the workplace.

Typically, they expect too much from the workplace, which will cause them to switch jobs frequently.

FAMILY Gen Y are the children of the Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. They are generally close to their parents. The US economic difficulties have led to dramatic increases in youth poverty, unemployment, and the numbers of young people living with their parents. They have a perceived penchant for delaying some rites of passage into adulthood. They have asserted their right to have all their heritages respected, counted and acknowledged. They have most likely never truly rebelled against their parents and they often enjoy the same music, movies and products as their parents, because they are very close to them. They have been raised to believe that they can do anything and be anything, and they generally believe this.

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CONSUMER PROFILES

KYLE IRVING BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A sophomore, math major from Bowling Green, Kentucky. Kyle likes to spend his free time playing sports and fantasy video games. He mainly plays Xbox 360 but also uses a PS2. He likes to hang out with his friends and they use these games together. He also likes to buy movie and band memorabilia. He used to play Magic in high school but doesn’t play much anymore, except when he goes home and plays with his younger brother.

TV AND INTERNET

He only has basic cable. He spends 6-8 hours on the Internet each night. He uses websites like ESPN, Fuel, and Xbox 360 gaming forums.

MAGAZINES AND RADIO

He receives Game Informer magazine because of his subscription to Xbox live.

He listens to the radio late at night and early in the morning mainly on weekends and weekdays between and 7am – 12am.

HOW IT APPLIES TO HIM

He will buy used video games and trade in his old video games at The Great Escape. He will also be interested in looking at their memorabilia. He likes movies like Edward Scissor Hands and will be interested in pins and stickers for some older bands.

KEY BENEFIT

The main benefit is that shopping at The Great Escape will save him money when he is buying used videogames, because he spends most of his time in class, he works very little and doesn’t have a lot of money to do what he want to with it.

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MELANIE JONES BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A young engaged senior art major from Oldham County. Melanie is interested in becoming a comic book creator. She likes to buy comic books, although recently she has been shopping at Hobby Crossing for those interests. She is a comic book collector who also has a massive DVD collection that she and her soon to be hubby like to show off. She mainly collects The Avengers and Spiderman, but she’ll buy anything with good illustrations.

MAGAZINES AND RADIO

Melanie is somewhat of a night owl and listens to the radio, including WKU’s radio station The Revolution on weekends and weekdays from 12 am - 6 am. She subscribes to some art magazines like Juxtapose and Communication Arts.

TV AND INTERNET

Melanie and her fiancé like to watch Comedy Central and Adult Swim.

Their favorite shows are Adventure Time and Robot Chicken. She spends a lot of time on the computer working on her illustrations and thus she also spends a lot of time on the Internet. Her most used websites are Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.

HOW IT APPLIES TO HER

She will use The Great Escape to build her DVD collection at a low price,and she will also like to look through their comics for illustration inspiration. She will want to be in the store for sometimes over an hour and will want to be able to order specific comics as need be.

KEY BENEFIT

The key benefit is that she will be able to satisfy more than one need in this store at once. Because there are only a few employees, she will be able to form relationships with them and get the specific items that she needs.

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TYLER REED BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A freshman, music major from Louisville, KY. Tyler is a hipster.

He’s really into bringing back vintage items. He just purchased a record player from a local consignment shop and he’s looking to start a collection. He’s mostly into Independent Music and Classic Rock. He wants music from very well known artists as well as others he can discover for himself, by looking through the records that The Great Escape has to offer. He also wants to start a project of framing vintage magazines to cover his bedroom walls.

MAGAZINES AND RADIO

Tyler doesn’t subscribe to any magazines, but he is constantly listening to music. He likes to listen to classic rock stations and The Revolution and uses Pandora Radio for all the time in between. He’s a major music buff and is very knowledgeable about his favorite bands.

TV and INTERNET

Tyler likes to watch CNN, The History Channel, Comedy Central and Adult Swim. He spends a lot of time on the Internet, on sites like Tumblr, Twitter, and Pandora. He likes to have music constantly buzzing and likes to follow his favorite bands on Twitter.

HOW IT APPLIES TO HIM

He will use the great escape to search through both their vinyls and their older magazines. He will appreciate the vintage aspect of the store and find its clutter homey.

Here he feels like he has found a store that is very original.

KEY BENEFIT

Tyler will be happy that there is a very large selection of vinyls and he will be very interested in going onto The Great Escape’s website to find even more specific artists. The Key benefit for him is that these vintage records are exactly what he’s looking for, at a price that he can afford.

And he might want to frame some of the cases while he’s at it.

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PRIMARY RESEARCH

FOCUS GROUP Attending • 5 participants • 3 attending WKU (2 from BG area, 1 not), • 2 recent graduates (1 in BG area, 1 in Nashville) • All 5 had been to the store

Experience at the store

Overall the experience was a negative one. All said they did not feel welcome when they walked in due to the lack of a warm greeting or assistance with products. When they did ask for help, they wouldn’t get a very personal answer, the staff would just do what they were asked without any conversation or explanation.

Some quotes the participants used were “I felt lost,” “I felt like I was the one greeting them, when it should have been the other way around,” and “I felt like I walked into someone’s house uninvited and wasn’t apart of their tight clique.”

It was agreed that this lack of customer service and small business treatment that kept some of them from going as much as they would like to.

The staff also seems very closed off in their

opinions about certain genres of music or games, and sometimes speak openly about it making customers uncomfortable in some cases. “The last place you should feel weird is a comic book store. That’s where you should feel at home.”

One participant had a couple of bad experiences at the store. They once asked them to order a product and waited a few weeks without hearing anything about it. They went in to the business a few weeks later to inquire about the product they had ordered, and the staff said they forgot to call when it came in and had already sold it. Another time the customer brought in a few CDs to ask how much they would pay for them. The staff told her to give them a few days to get a quote and they would call her when they knew. When she went back to check, they had already sold a few of the CDs and had never called her, but they did pay her when she asked about them.

It was said that the business has a responsibility to comic people since is part of their title.

They have to give people an incentive to choose their store over other superstores; this can be improved with conversation and contact, and helpful recommendations.

Purpose for going

Participants each went for different purposes varying between retro video games, vintage vinyls, action figures, comics and used CD’s. They all expressed appreciation for the wide selection and variety of products.

REASONS for not going

The business doesn’t have much reach or awareness in the community, especially the WKU community. It’s also a fairly long way from campus and where most people live. The lack of good/personal service is the main factor many customers are discouraged, mainly from returning after they have visited once.

“Their sales probably reflect attitude and they are losing out on a huge opportunity for revenue.

People aren’t there because they don’t want you there. I can guarantee you I’ve never even talked to a sales associate there” It wasn’t a memorable experience outside of the products, without both a business can’t beat their competition. It is expected of them to be excited about their products like the customers who go there are.

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FOCUS GROUP CONTINUED Advantages over competition

The store is more organized and offers more than a flea market, and the staff knows more about their products than individuals who sell at flea markets.

Competition advantages

Hobby Crossing, a local niche store, has much better customer service. They ask about what you want when you are looking around and if they don’t have it they order it for you, then call you when its in. They also reach out to the community more and even let a comic group meet there for free whereas The Great Escape just offered to put up a flyer in the window.

When searching for products

Many don’t think to go to The Great Escape at first thought. They instead look online (for the older, vintage stuff) or go to superstores (for the newer products) for the sake of ease.

Do you think people go for the culture and atmosphere?

Participants said yes, to tap into the community and create a specific culture. Customers want to be apart of that culture but don’t feel welcome to. The staff has to make the effort if they want to see results. Customers won’t make it happen, the sales associates are getting paid to do that.

Event Ideas

A campus sale – All participants thought that was a great idea because people who haven’t heard of the store could learn about it and gain interest. It would also increase sales among the customers who already go there but don’t always want to drive out to the permanent location.

Pillow fight, Events in the square: like the sidewalk sale or an open mic night, and Comic Book Days - local comic artists would come set up booths and draw free doodles and then talk about comic groups or comics in general. This would get more people involved and build a stronger culture and tighter community following.

Is there anything else that would bring you out there?

One suggestion was a setting up a reading area with just a couple of chairs or bean bags in a corner by taking out one big shelf of records.

They could have themed days: “Beatles day, Metallica day” to broaden perspective of music for customers.

Why is the service offensive?

Better service and attention is expected because of the scale. Walmart has everything general and people don’t expect human contact; they just want to get in and get out. At The Great Escape you expect it and want it, that’s why you

go there: to get personal help and service(s).

“Nerds are socially awkward and need a place to feel at home.”

How would you prefer to get information?

Social networking – Facebook could provide more news on products and sales, offer coupons and promotions, provide the option for preorders.

They definitely need a better and more involved presence on social media.

Their current website – “Do they even have one?” None of the participants had visited the website and said they probably wouldn’t think to go look as much as they do at common sites like social media sites.

Take away messages

-Customer service is a big issue; that should be their main draw and they don’t have it at all.

-They need more involvement in the community to create a better following.

-Include people more when they visit the store.

-Create a more inviting atmosphere with opportunities to get involved.

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6)Which of the following resources would be the best ways to keep you informed about The Great Escape Records and Comics?

ONLINE SURVEY 1) Are you male or female?

Male: 47.5% Female: 52.5% 2)What is your age?

18 to 24: 88% 25 to 30: 5% 30+: 7% 3) Have you ever heard of the Great Escape Records and Comics in Bowling Green, Kentucky?

Yes, and I have been: 62% Yes, but haven’t been: 16% No: 22% 4)The Great Escape Records and Comics is located on Scottsville Road in the Shopping Center with Kroger. Is this a convenient location for you?

Yes: 60.6% No: 39.4% 5) Do you currently attend college?

Yes: 74% No: 26%

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7) Do you currently purchase any of the following items?

Used Video Games:46 Used DVD’s: 57 Used CD’s: 25 New Video Games: 33 New CD’s: 34 New DVDs: 58 Vinyl Records: 34 8 Tracks/Cassettes: 3 Comic Books: 3

Action Figures: 12 Card Games: 6 Graphic Novels: 18 Role Playing Games: 6 Gaming Consoles: 24 TV Memorabilia: 31 Autographed Items: 6 Sports Memorabilia: 4

8) There has been a recent trend of purchasing vintage or used items. Does this apply to you?

Yes: 39% No: 61%

9) After reading this survey, how likely would you be to visit The Great Escape Records and Comics?

Not at all likely: 10% Less than likely: 19% Likely: 35% Very likely: 14% I will visit: 22%

In order to learn more about what the public thinks about Infinity Entertainment, as well as what type of products customers are looking for, Grayscale created and conducted an online survey using Survey Monkey. The link was shared via Facebook and email and gained 100 responses. The survey was made up of 10 questions, with the last question being an opportunity for the survey-taker to comment or make suggestions to Infinity Entertainment.

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MARKETING PLAN

THE CAMPAIGN

CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES

1

RAISE AWARENESS WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS

NAME CHANGE INFINITY ENTERTAINMENT

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STRATEGY

Reasoning: Their current name is very long. Our local movie theatres have the same name, which causes confusion.

Justification: They have an “infinite” amount/variety of products. We are pulling for a super hero theme and this name change will reference “to infinity and beyond.”

We will suggest that Infinity Entertainment make customer service a priority. We will ask that managers hold bimonthly meetings to encourage the staff to create a community with their customers. We will encourage that they also update the staff on items to push, depending on what the customer is looking for, by providing them with lists of new products and information about those products. We based much of this strategy on the results of our online survey and our focus group, where we saw that past customers were displeased with the amount of customer service they received.

2

CREATE A COMMUNITY ATMOSPHERE

key improvementS

More conversations between employees and consumers Better greetings More personable and approachable attitudes Better relationships with customers A more helpful/ responsive team Open to the benefits of all products and remove the close-minded aspect Further reach and more communication Create a computer database for all items to ensure that staff can find products for the customers quickly and efficiently.

More rotation of products within the store and with the other 2 stores Add a reading space.

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS

1. Adult Swim products for shows like Robot Chicken, Family Guy, The Boondocks, Super Jail, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force.

2. Adventure Time products

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CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES

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EVENTS

Super hero pillow fight Trade & Collection night Campus sale Movies in the Square: opportunity to sell products

GUERILLA MARKETING:

The following guerilla marketing techniques will help to create a buzz around campus about Infinity Entertainment.

Super hero posters Super hero’s flying signs leading to sales “Hi my name is” tags during campus events Dressing up employees as superheroes during campus events

PROMOTION:

E-mail newsletters with new products: weekly.

Create a blog Commercial for website

2

RAISE AWARENESS WITH COLLEGE STUDENTS

CREATE A COMMUNITY ATMOSPHERE

SOCIAL MEDIA:

Coupons and deals through Facebook and Twitter.

We suggest more involvement with followers and friends by posting trivia contests with giveaways and discounts, and posting pictures on FB of our four events and tagging those who were at the events, to draw attention from other FB users.

YouTube channel: series of mini commercials (3-4 per year) with a story line (super heroes in real life). This will be a competition to create your own superhero struggling to live in the real world.

Prizes will be awarded to winners.

-Invisible -Strength

-Read minds -Speed We will seek more involvement with followers and friends by posting trivia contests with giveaways and discounts; posting pictures on FB of our four events and tagging those who were at the events to draw attention from other FB users.

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CAMPAIGN BUDGET GUERILLA MARKETING $150 $50 $120 $150

$100

EVENTS $10 $39 $180 $65

500 Posters - Quote from Block Buster Print 1000 Tags - Quote from Staples 500 Buttons - Quote from Button Works Five Character Costumes to dress up employees for events and for YouTube Videos (One time fee) - Quote from Halloween Express Video Props Allotment

White Sheet - Quote from Walmart Projector Rental - Quote from Technology Beat Studios Three campus Sales- At $60 a day quote from WKU 1000 4X6 Event Flyers - Quote from 912 Graphics

PROMOTION

$500 $63 $300 $240

$880 $880

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Reading Corner - (One Time Fee) 500 Business Cards - Quote from Bethke Printing Four Herald Ads for each event and smaller ones for coupons 2000 Shopping Bags- quote from Freedom Plastic Bags only to be given away at events and campus sales 150 Prize/Giveaway shirts - Quote from BlueCotton 150 Shirt will pay for the giveaway shirts (priced at $10) - Quote from BlueCotton YouTube prizes – 1st prize= $100 gift card and tshirt

2nd prize= $50 gift card and tshirt

3rd prize= $25 gift card and tshirt

TOTAL $1,967

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TIMELINE

PRECAMPAIGN

A. Educate staff oF cuStomer service standards

B. Order Adult Swim and Adventure Time ProDucts

C. LOGO,,shirts, Cards, Buttons, AND Posters with New Identity

D. Set all eventS AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES

Concept: Make customer needs the first priority Rationale: This will ensure that all employees understand the change in advertising campaign. Educate staff of their new duties to ensure the happiness of consumers.

Anticipated Outcome: We expect that this will help to change the opinions for those that felt that the customer service was unsuccessful.

This will create a consistent interaction between customers and employees and help to create more of a community atmosphere for Infinity Entertainment.

Concept: Find and purchase popular products to add to the store before campaign launch date.

Rationale: Since we are appealing to a college crowd we wanted to consider what products they were interested in that could be an easy sell and also make them more interested in the company itself. During MRI research the use of Adult Swim was widespread among college students, both male and female. We are encouraging Infinity Entertainment to add the following types of products to their store.

Anticipated Outcome: These events will attempt to create a community atmosphere, where employees and the public are interacting and making emotional connections around Infinity’s products. We hope that holding these four events each year, and perhaps even increasing the number of events, will help to keep the community connected to the company.

Concept: Be ready to distribute new merchandise at events and campus sales and get the new name and brand out into the community Rationale: Because there is a name and brand identity change, we need to ensure that the new identity and name is at the forefront of the campaign, to raise awareness with both new and returning customers.

Anticipated Outcome: The name change will ensure that Infinity Entertainment retains its own clear and concise identity.

Concept: Have all dates set in order to maintain control of the advertising schedule Rationale: Having these dates set early will help Infinity entertainment to maintain a schedule where these events can reoccur yearly.

Anticipated Outcome: These events will attempt to create a community atmosphere, where employees and the public are interacting and making emotional connections around Infinity’s products. We hope that holding these four events each year, and perhaps even increasing the number of events, will help to keep the community connected to the company.

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PRECAMPAIGN E. CREATE A computer database Concept: create a database for all items to ensure that staff can find products for the customers quickly and efficiently.

Rationale: There is no way to look up items other than for the employees to go search for that item. This will help ensure quick and efficient customer service.

Anticipated Outcome: The database will help ensure customer satisfaction and will also help show employees new products because the product base changes so frequently. This will also assist with sending out email newsletters for new products.

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LAUNCH

a. LAunch all social media site activities F. ADD A reading space and new website

B. Hang posters AND DO GIVE AWAYS at Campus Sales

Concept: So we want to add a small reading space with a couple of comfortable chairs and a table for them to read or look over the products that they want to purchase.

Rationale: Adding a reading space will encourage the customers to feel comfortable enough to stay for a while.

Anticipate Outcome: Customer satisfaction and comfort within the store. It will help to create a longer period of time of interaction between them the store, the products, and the employees.

Concept: Dress up employees as superheroes and host WKU Campus Sales Rationale: This will help to connect Infinity Entertainment to campus life and help raise awareness with college students.

Anticipate Outcome: Help form a community with college students by coming to them. Engage college students and attract them to visit Infinity Entertainment. Create a buzz around campus with Guerilla Marketing techniques.

Concept: Allow college students to interacting with Infinity Entertainment in one of their comfort zones, the Internet.

Rationale: The new website and social media sites will create a fun creative community. With college students, social media is a must.

Our social media has to be interesting and aggressive, because college students, more so than with any generation, won’t be easily fooled. They know a good Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube account when they see one, and ours needs to be very interactive to keep them interested.

Anticipated Outcome: The added effort to our online presence will ensure that online interaction meets students’ expectations. Because college students spend so much time on the Internet, adding an online shopping area to the website is the easiest way to give them access to product information. The added interaction online with social media will help create a community atmosphere.

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LAUNCH

C. Hold all four events

D. Hold and Judge E. Send out email YouTube Video Contests newsletters

Concept: Dress up employees as superheroes and hand out event flyers on campus and downtown.

Announce the events on our online platform. Then hold these events to boost sales and involve the college community.

Rationale: In order to encourage a community type atmosphere and get both the staff and the potential customers interacting, we want to hold events where we can create deeper connections.

Anticipate Outcome: Help form a community with college students by holding events that are free for them. Engage college students and attract them to visit Infinity Entertainment. Create a buzz within the community about the events.

Concept: Create a series of mini commercials (3-4 per year) with a story line base on super heroes trying to live a normal life. Hold YouTube competition where viewers can upload their own videos by creating their own superheroes. Award prizes to contest winners.

Rationale: In order to engage consumers in our culture we will host YouTube Contests where they can be as creative as they want to.

Anticipate Outcome: Gain greater awareness by creating a YouTube presence with both our own videos and contest videos. Create a online buzz that will help send potential customers to our online presence.

Concept: Email newsletters with new products: weekly.

Rationale: These will be specific emails sent out to those who want emails about certain product categories. When new products are brought in, emails will be sent out to update customers and also to remind them about Infinity Entertainment.

Anticipate Outcome: Help ensure better customer satisfaction and encourage customers to return to the store frequently. Without an update about which products are coming in, customers may miss products that they are looking for, this will help ensure that this does not happen.

F. Start employee blog Concept: Create a blog to update customers with the latest news, new ideas/products that are hitting the market, and the staffs’ own personal ideas and product preferences.

Rationale: Help connect the employees to the products and share their own interests and expertise about their favorite products with the consumers.

Anticipated Outcome: By creating an outlet for employees to share their thoughts they will become more interested in the products sold and it will be easier for them to interact with customers.

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EVALUATION B. Redistribute the online survey

A. Evaluate effectiveness of online presencE

Concept: After 12 months has passed, the same online survey should be collected from 100 more participants to see if awareness or customer service views have changed.

Rationale: The ease of comparing numbers will show how much awareness and customer preference has changed after 12 months has passed.

Anticipated Outcome: This will help the program to know which areas have been successful and which have not. At this time they may make adjustments to the campaign and test out new strategies as needed.

Measurement: Compare the numbers and the positive responses from open-ended questions to gage effectiveness.

Concept: Count Facebook Likes and comments, Twitter Followers, Wordpress Analytics, and YouTube views to see which social media platforms have been the most successful.

Rationale: Evaluating the success of these sites may give more insight into which platforms and posts received the most responses, so that Infinity Entertainment may make changes as necessary.

Anticipated Outcome: Evaluating the success of these sites may give more insight into which platforms and posts received the most responses so that Infinity Entertainment may make changes as necessary. At this point, Infinity Entertainment can try to determine which of their social networks are the most popular and improve them or discontinue use of them.

Measurement: There are currently about 21,000 WKU Students and almost all of this audience is on Facebook. We want to connect with at least 30% of that audience online in the next 12 months. That would mean that the goal is set at: 6,300 Facebook Likes. About a fourth of that number on Twitter: 1,500 Followers. About an eight of that number in YouTube hits: 800 views.

We anticipate that these numbers will increase with continued use of social media.

C. Hold A Focus Group Concept: Hold a focus group of new participants and bring back in the previous focus group for follow-up questions.

Rationale: By holding a new focus group they can be sure to collect fresh ideas. By bringing back in the previous group they can gage how their opinions have changed due to the new campaign.

Anticipated Outcome: This will help the company gain deep insight into the customers mind and ask specific questions that can help them to improve in the future.

Measurement: By seeing how the customers responses and feelings towards the companies new identity, Infinity can decide what parts of the campaign have succeeded.

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CREATIVE

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Matt Pfefferkorn INFINITY ENTERTAINM

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2945 SCOTTSVILLE RD SUITES B17 AND B18 BOWLING GREEN, KY 42101

MANAGER INFINITY.ENT@GMAIL.COM 270-782-8092

SUPERHERO

PIllow Fight

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Dress as your favorite superhero or come as you are!

Just bring a pillow and join in on the fun!

Location: Field Behind PFT Time: 7:00 pm Cost: FREE!

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PINS

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SHIRTS FOR SALE

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SHIRTS TO GIVEAWAY

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GUERILLA MARKETING POSTERS

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FIND YOUR INNER

SUPERHERO

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FIND YOUR INNER

SUPERHERO

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FIND YOUR INNER

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Evaluation CONCLUSIONS Research conducted by Grayscale concludes that Infinity Entertainment is known among a portion of Bowling Green’s community, and that population knows about the variety of quality items the business has to offer. Infinity Entertainment must, however, accomplish a few goals before they can surpass their competition. These goal include reaching out to the community with events and local sales, creating and maintaining relationships with customers, providing a welcoming atmosphere, and promoting sales as well as incoming products more vigilantly on social media and through email.

Why Grayscales plan will work Infinity Entertainment can be a recognizable and desirable business in the Bowling Green area, as it’s branches in Nashville and Louisville are, in that there is a fairly strong following for the types of products they are selling.

Vintage and thrift items, video games, and comics have very close communities of fans. Once those communites along with the Western Kentucky University community are utilized, as we have discussed in our marketing plan, awareness will increase and more customers will be willing to travel to the store and consider Infinity Entertainment before the local competition. Customers need a place to feel welcome and feel included With our plan customers may no longer consider Infinity Entertainment as a store to quickly get in and get out like bigger superstores, but rather a home away from home; a hangout for people just like them.

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