Who We Are
maverick (n.) One that refuses to abide by the dictates of or resists adherence to a group; a dissenter. (adj.) Being independent in thought and action or exhibiting such independence.
mavericks think outside of the norm and challenge the expectation.
Never settling for anything short of excellence. At maverick advertising group, we define ourselves by independent thinking and mastery in creative execution. we are non-conformists and free spirits. we revel in eccentricity. our work reflects our identity our identity reflects in our work. Not only do we have a knack for novelty, but we guarantee all our creative develops from sound research. we promise. so, fly with us. feel the air beneath your wings.
maverick advertising group. experience the unexpected.
The
Experiment
What: Staging a character dressed in Mario costume to walking around and converse with students in the UGL Where: Espresso Royale and 1st floor of Undergraduate Library When: Wednesday, December 4th, 2013 at 8:00 pm Prediction: The Mario costume will cause students to look up from their work or conversation and potentially engage or laugh with the character. Our hopes are that the students will consider this effort “buzzworthy” or social media worthy and utilize Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat to talk about the character. Notes: • People seemed amused by character • Many pointed to their friends or people they were with for them to see Mario • Espresso Royale workers found the costume entertaining and asked what it was about • A pair of boys in the UGL yelled “You’re awesome!” at the character • A few looked like they were taking pictures or snapchatting • Most looked up from their computers or conversations when the character walked by • Some tried to engage the character and ask it questions • Most people appeared to be on some form of social media (computer, phone, etc.) Findings/Suggestions: • We stand by our believes that a buzzworthy marketing strategy is what G-‐Mart needs in order to engage the customer and receive new business. • Our prediction was correct, people did find the character “buzzworthy” and would ask it questions and take pictures of the character. • This proved the basis of our strategy: Students are so focused on their own lives, that they need something “unordinary” to surprise and engage them into a new brand. • The presence of technology and social media sites were so prevalent with the students at the UGL, which is why this is the perfect way to reach them (GMan YouTube series, GMan “live tweets”, etc.).
Integration: Instagram
By utilizing Instagram, fans can snap photos of GMan on campus and further increase awareness of the GMart brand. This even opens the doors for contests that users can participate in to win GMart related prizes, (I.E. Who can find GMan first? Best pic of GMan, etc.)
Index
Meet the Team
Laura Marie Carroll President/CEO “Arrow”
Kelcie Woker
Head of Research “Wendy”
Stacey Kim
Account Director “Cougar”
Brad Rejniak
Digital Strategist “ Rake”
Molly Mara
Creative Director “XRay”
Jessica Nielsen Financial Coordinator “Longhorn”
Annie Rondone
Head Account Planner “Retro”
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The Target Our Target market consists of Millennials, specifically those from the ages of 18-25, currently attending the University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign. Although there exist many different subgroups within the U of I student body, based on our understanding of GMart’s brand development, we have concluded that to narrowly target only certain segments of the student population would be counterproductive
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This target market is known for their lack of attention and constant multitasking. They are constantly connected to their social media and cellular devices. Almost half of Millennials stay connected to their mobile device or computer/tablet while watching TV, (See right) showing how truly integrated multimedia is to this demographic.
Our Analysis. Brand Vision: Specialty store for anyone interested in comic books, gaming, collectors pieces, or adventures in general. Opportunity in the market: GMart has the opportunity to stand out as a novelty store for comic book retail. Going to GMart is an experience in itself. Consumers get personal help from comic experts, creating a memorable moment each time they step through the door Insights: Traditional media is not enough to engage the consumer that GMart is targeting. In order to gain attention, there needs more engagement through various buzz-‐worthy social media campaigns and guerilla marketing. Key Societal Trends: The popularity of shock marketing techniques and the consistent connectedness of the consumer to various social media outlets. The modern day consumer has a desire to share everything on these social media sites. Product Attributes: Variety, quality, customer service, novelty Functional Beliefs: Entertainment, learning, adding to collection, sampling Brand Essence: Discover the uncommon Brand Value: Quality, collection, individualism Brand Symbols: G-‐Man (the GMart hero), the “G” Logo Brand Personality: Fun, witty, independent-‐thinker, quirky, friends with all, fearless, adventurous, eccentric Brand Archetype: Everyman – G-‐Man is someone everyone gets along with. He is a relatable average Joe that’s fun to be around. Things we must strive to include: GMart is a relatable, accepting, quirky brand. Because of the personal help, each time you shop there is an experience in itself. Things we must never do: Despite its tricky location, we will never refer to this as a determinant to the company. We never want to segment the market in a way that will exclude a customer; anyone can enjoy GMart. We will never lose track of he brand essence of the company and the values it stands for. The consumer will remain key over the product.
The Social Media Connection “Generation Y” or “Millennials,” have the highest social media activity rates, with 80% logging into their accounts daily. With the constant bombardment of stimuli, this generation has grown desensitized to traditional media platforms and looks for interactivity and attention-‐worthy material. Although there exists the challenge of distraction, this generation’s connectedness can be an opportunity for advertisers. By integrating campaigns across all of these platforms, we can engage the consumer on a more personal level. By making the brand more human, consumers are more likely to interact and develop loyalties and relationships toward brands like GMart.
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The Problem GMart has come to our agency to help solve a problem, yet although the problem may seem like a lack of sales (which indeed is part of it,) the real problem resides in the lack of brand awareness to its target market. In order to draw customers in, they must first know the existence of the brand. Which based on our interviews with target consumers, is clearly an issue. Most students are unaware of GMart, so therefore even those who might be interested in a comic book store, GMart will not come to mind. The second problem we face in spreading awareness is the distracted nature of the Millennial consumer. Although spreading word across media platforms has never been faster, making it stick in the minds of this target market has never been more difficult.
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Our Research. Our most in-depth primary research to better understand the target market was through ethnography. This style of research involves us immersing ourselves in the culture of the consumer and observing their behaviors and trends. From our observations we were able to conclude that the target market is indeed constantly distracted with their technology and are not very aware of their environment. (See Appendix A for our in-depth observations from the analysis.)
Building
the Brand
Building brand awareness is the foundation of our strateg for GMart’s success.As previously mentioned, without knowledge of the brand, there is no way the consumers will step a foot into the store. By creating a memorable brand through our creative concept, the university students will better comprehend GMart’s purpose and the actual retail store, thus increasing sales and bringing in major traffic.
Strategy Goals: 1.Immediately recognize GMart without the advertisement directly stating it, because students will recognize the powerful GMan character 2. Instantly trust and desire GMart comic books because of the positive feelings toward GMart they have developed from previous experience 3. Convert their brand awareness mind to becoming super brand loyal GMart customers for their remaining collegiate years
Why? Brand awareness is essential not only because it brings customers to your business for the first time, it encourages them to keep coming back. People like to buy from names they trust and that they can identify with; when your logo and tagline are easy for them to remember, your brand comes to symbolize your company and it’s the first thing to come to the consumer’s mind when they’re ready to buy.
Hooking
the Consumer
In today’s digital age, if you want to increase any company presence, the best way is to utilize internet media. GMart needs to grab the attention of the consumer through shock media and following it up with the Youtube episodes and integrated Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Here are a few options below that can help you get started with our help: Make use of different social media platforms
Social networking platforms are effective commerce tools • Facebook leads the pack across the board in terms of shares, conversions and revenue per session
Why Social Media is Key
Facebook drives purchase intent 70% of users say Facebook is useful in influencing their purchase intent
Amongst US Social Network Users, Facebook is seeing the most growth YoY in terms of influencing Millennials use social media as part of their shopping habit • Females utilize social media more than men to receive the latest promotions, specials or
Appendix A
Ethnography Ethnography of University of Illinois Students Thursday, September 26, 2:30-3pm, clear blue skies, upper 70s - Coffee in hand when they walk - Drink of choice around campus. Are they buying it from Starbucks? Espresso Royale? Dunkin Donuts? Brewing their own? - Texting while walking, people looking down - Girl walking a dog - Not often see animals on campus, can remind students of home - 50/50 relaxing on quad vs. walking - Not during a passing period, so - Lots of people wearing orange and/or Illini clothing - School spirit present on campus - Many North Face backpacks used - Sports apparel - Are they coming from the gym? Going to the gym? Just want to be comfortable? - More guys than girls wearing hats - Guys wearing khaki shorts - Sperry’s, Nikes, TOMS, flip flops, tennis shoes, Converse - Girls in jeans, yoga pants, jean shorts and running shorts - Guys in button down shirts, t-shirts, polos - Girl reading on her back on the quad with her bike parked next to her - Girl holding drink and bag of food from a Walgreens - People walking with backpacks - ROTC in uniform - Girl walking with purse - One woman carrying her lunch bag - Mix of pants, shorts as well as t-shirts and sweatshirts - Many people using the diagonal crosswalks - Many people clustered and walking towards the Union, not as many by Foellinger - Not many benches around campus, a couple being used - Air conditioner/generator noises - Worker loudly dragging a dolly - Bikers with headphones on - So many looking down on their phones
- Don’t want to be bothered by others, more interested in technological communication - Bluth’s Banana Stand (Arrested Development) t-shirt (guy) - Older man walking in a suit with no tie, looking around the quad - White Sox shirt (guy) - Summer/fall clothing combination - Guy wearing greek letters on a tank top, roller blading, wearing sunglasses, looking at phone and carrying shoes in his other hand - Girl dragging her feet when walking - Guy Snapchatting while he walks - Very large group walking together wearing blue LAS shirts celebrating 100 years - A LAS 100 class of freshmen? - A couple people riding their bikes with lanyards visible - Seen as a “freshman” thing to do, convenient for others? - Most walking alone, occasionally with 1-2 friends - Not many large groups, easier to walk with those going the same way to class - Limited number of skateboarders - Many wearing sunglasses - If using headphones, most use earbuds, saw two wearing large over the ear headphones - Primarily using Apple headphones - Many more backpacks than those using cross-body messenger bags - Guy on bike slowly riding while talking to a girl who was walking - Bikers weaving in and out around people - Walking is the primary mode of transportation on the Quad - Minorities sticking together, not much intermingling - Girl riding on front of a bike, screams when she falls off - UPenn quarter zip sweatshirt - Some girls in dresses - Girl wearing a fleece and running shorts - White and Asian race demographics most common - People dressed more professional or nicer as the day gets later - 2:30-3pm is a little late to still be wearing pajamas -Squirrels are everywhere
Groups seen around campus and the quad: - Athletes - Special U of I backpack, wear Illini athletics clothing (Block I with a circle around it) - Greeks - Identified by wearing clothing with their letters - Frequent visitors at Kam’s, Red Lion - Men in fraternities are seen drinking on balconies during the day if the weather is nice - International students - Many seen smoking - Non-Greeks - Frequent Legend’s, Murphy, Brother’s, Firehaus - Bikers - Not aware, don’t mind running people over - Egomaniacs - Not uncommon to see PDAs on the quad - Longboarders - Slow Walkers - Want to take their time. Not in a hurry - The “Still Hungover Slobs” - Messy bun - Pajamas on campus - Well Dressed - Put a lot of effort into their own appearance - When going out: - Freshman going out go out in packs of 15, sophomores go about 8-10, but as the years go on, the maximum is 5
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- Tuesday, October 1st 2 pm - 70 degrees and sunny. - What we saw: - Equal amount of males and females - Age - undergrad/graduate age, very few people older or younger - Demographics - large African American group (seem to be in a club), fundraising for something. White, Asian, Black, Indian races all represented on porch of the Union - Hearing many different languages being spoken around us - Man being filmed by a reporter and camera operator - Windows 8 representatives - only one person talking to them, trying to get students to try their Windows products - Not an effective practice. The theory sounds good, but not many people will stop and interact with them. Will most likely just be sitting and waiting. - Looks like the round sign post has been cleared - not too many fliers on it
- Most people sitting on porch of the Union are in groups (drinking coffee, talking, working group projects) - very casual atmosphere - Illinois Football ticket booth is closed -There is a Coca-Cola truck filled with a ladder and tables in the back that is parked on the Quad -People from Grubhub handing out fortune cookies filled with discounts - Might be a more effective way to interact with students, but many have their hands full or do not want to take handout - Student group is charging $1 to get hugs from five members to fight cancer - What they are wearing - all look very casual (shirts, tee shirts, pants, sweatshirts, Illini either carrying
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Ethnography Photos
SWOT Analysis
Our team performed a SWOT analysis on G-‐Mart. While there are weaknesses and threats that the company must face, our team believes the strengths and opportunities will help bring brand awareness to G-‐Mart.
Strengths •
• • •
•
•
Play into the location: “It’s an adventure to find.” Build advertising and marketing strategies to target U of I students Develop a strong engagement strategy to build brand awareness
S W
Only large comic book store in the Champaign-‐Urbana area New offering weekly Offer a variety of comic books Various price ranges for all consumers
Opportunities •
O T
Weaknesses • • •
Difficult location to find Lack of presence where the target audience is Lack of advertising in both print and social media
Threats • •
Use of digital to read comic books Very niche consumer: Fan based
PEST Analysis
Political •
•
• •
•
Males, mid-‐20’s and older More time spent on various forms of media Consumers have shorter attention spans
P E
Consumer protection: Adult versus children comic books Consumers may associate violence with comics and comic book characters
Social
A PEST analysis of G-‐Mart was also completed as secondary research. The figure below shows the current areas that our team believes could impact G-‐Mart
S T
Economic •
Shifting economy: People buy less when their income decreases or prices for needed items rise
Technological •
Increase in the use of digital in consumers’ lives
References for PEST Analysis: http://www.ere.net/2013/02/05/social-media-and-short-attentionspans/
Consumer Personas Meet Jim: Gender: Male Age: Early 30s, recently engaged Occupation: Working professional, living in Champaign-Urbana Hobbies: Watching sports, video games, grilling and cooking with his fiancée, brewing his own craft beer, comic books Jim is the every-man. He is the kind of guy with whom everyone wants to be friends. He works full-time in an office, but enjoys what he does. He has a core group of guy friends who are in a fantasy football league together and play a pick-up game of basketball a couple times a month. Jim’s perfect weekend is maybe watching a game at his favorite bar, enjoying a couple beers and then a comic book to finish the night while sitting in his trust recliner. He enjoys watching comedies and having a good laugh. Originally interested in comics as a kid because of his love of superheroes, he has continued to read comics because he loves the adventure aspects and story developments. Jim also enjoys the detail and graphic work that the comics encompass. Currently, his favorite comic to read is The Walking Dead. His Wednesday routine consists of a trip to G-Mart on his lunch break or after work to check out the new releases and pick up his subscriptions. Before moving to Champaign-Urbana, Jim wanted to make sure that there was a
Consumer Personas Meet Jack: Gender: Male Age: 18-22, college-aged Occupation: Current University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student Hobbies: Video games, avoiding studying, hanging out at Murphy’s with his buddies, Chipotle, the ARC, Twitter, comic books Jack just heard about G-Mart Comics, it brings him back to his childhood days of reading under the covers when he was supposed to be sleeping. He takes the bus to Downtown Champaign a couple times a month to get off campus to work at Café Kopi. Jack recently went to G-Mart for a Thor comic book before the movie came out. He thought the atmosphere was pretty cool and had a good conversation with Colby. Jack goes to midnight premieres for large Hollywood blockbusters. He is active on various social media outlets, especially Twitter. He follows a lot of actors and brands that he likes. While Jack has only been to G-Mart a couple times, he wants to go back. He read a couple comic books when he was younger, but hasn’t since then. He’s heard good things about Dead Pool and wants to start getting into it.
Consumer Personas Understanding of G-Mart as a brand Our understanding of G-Mart as a brand is that currently, they do not do much to get their name out in the community. While their customer base is strong, weekly customers, they struggle with obtaining new customers. Free comic book days are their most popular events, but G-Mart seems to be underutilizing their $300/month advertising and marketing budget and does not appear to be trying new mediums to reach potential customers. As a brand, G-Mart is missing a huge opportunity to be the name ChampaignUrbana residents and U of I students think of when they hear “comic books.” G-Mart has amazing potential and is an incredible diamond in the rough of Downtown Champaign. As a brand, we want G-Mart to be the consumer’s best friend. We want them to feel comfortable in the store and that they are valued no matter if it’s their first time or 100th time at G-Mart. Going to G-Mart is an experience in itself and we want it to be recognized by the customers.
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Media Plan & Budget As for the monthly budget of G-Mart we feel that it would be wise to initially focus on increasing awareness on and around campus as well as instilling a sense of curiosity for those who are not familiar with G-Mart. To do so we have chosen to implement a few traditional strategies as well as some more modern techniques to appeal to our target market of University of Illinois Students. The first tactics we will utilize will be print ads in The Daily Illini as well as radio spots on WPGU 107.1 which are both sponsored and ran by the University of Illinois and its students. In addition to print and radio we would like to launch a YouTube series featuring G-Man to add an internet and social media friendly element to our media plan. Currently we have an initial monthly budget for G-Mart set at $750 but that price is flexible depending on how much or little each medium is used, rates for frequency and size of ad spaces will be discussed later in this section. Before going in depth as to what we propose the monthly budget be set at and its allocation we would like to provide some statistics to show just how effective and wide spread print sources such as the Daily Illini are on college campuses.
Print Ads
93% 69% 77% 86%
Of college students have read the print or online edition of their school paper Of college students who read the newspapers have read or looked at the print edition of their college newspaper within the last week. Of students agree with the statement “I usually read or glance at the ads when I page through the newspaper.” Of college students use coupons; 28% use coupons “frequently.”
SOURCE: refuel “College Newspaper Readership Study,” conducted in 2011, powered by Hall & Partners
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Illini Media Clearly placing advertisements for G-Mart in The Daily Illini (DI) has great potential to reach and be seen by a large majority of the student. In addition to those statistics there are a few more findings that continue to support our belief in the strength of print advertising as seen in the graphs and charts below.
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Print Rates Source: Illini Media kit 2013-‐2014 Rates and Information
Given that there is so much support for the effectiveness and reach of print mediums we propose that the largest portion of the budget be for space in the DI. • One column inch (CI) in the DI (approximately the size of a business card) is $18 • We would purchase 15 CIs which is approximately a 7 ½ x 3 ½ inch rectangle, which would be the perfect size for an ad or G-Man comic strip. • $270 for 15 CIs in the DI and you choose when you would like the ad to appear, preferably on or close to new release dates of comics or events at G-Mart Ads would be ran Bi-monthly totaling $540 a month The DI space will make up about 72% of the proposed budget, although the rate of $540 a month is completely variable based on the size and frequency in which you would like to place ads. We feel that a bi-monthly sizable ad like a 7 ½ x 3 ½ is a good starting point just to receive initial feedback on its success and exposure rate. After the first month more or less of the budget can be dedicated to DI placements based on prior results.
Radio Spots A much smaller portion of the monthly budget will be allocated to commercial spots on the radio but we do feel that it is necessary to at least fill a few spots on WPGU 107.1 which is the Alternative Radio station that is available throughout Champaign Urbana and the surrounding towns. WPGU is a great option simply because it is a station that is operated through the university and is staffed by current students, so the commercials be aired on a station many students listen to while driving to and from campus as well as around the town.
WPGU’s rates for air space
DAY PART 6am-‐12midnight 6am-‐10am
:60 seconds $18 $16
:30 seconds $10.80 $10
:15 seconds $8 $6
No one enjoys listening to a rambling commercial but we also want to allow enough time to convey our message concisely and clearly without leaving listeners confused so we feel that a 30 second spot would be the best length for a radio ad. Radio air-time accounts for 22% of the budget or approximately $167 a month • On average air space will cost $10.40 because we will rotate between the 6am-midnight slot and the 6am-10am slot • Ideally there will be four 30 second commercials a week every month • 16 total commercials a month Again this is another rate that can vary depending on what you feel is most appropriate and the rate will reflect changes made to commercial length and frequency. Radio is one medium we definitely want to bombard the first few months just because listenership fluctuates so greatly we want there to be as many opportunities for a listener to hear the G-Mart commercials so it is necessary to run the commercial on a somewhat frequent basis to insure a large reach of potential customers.
The
Adventures of GMan
The creation of a G-Man character and a YouTube series following his adventures around campus and G-mart is the least costly element of the proposed budget. Considering the materials need to create a G-Man costume are fairly inexpensive all together it may be a fixed expense no more than $30. • Bodysuit- $15 • Cape- $8 • “G” iron on letter- $5 • G-Man and camera crew- FREE The expenses to create the G-Man saga are very minimal. The costume makes up about 4% of the budget and a YouTube account is free to create and upload videos on. G-Man and the camera crew would be of no cost to G-Mart because we suggest that non paid interns are hired to execute these videos. G-Man and his camera crew could be any student in the theater or media department looking for an internship or just something to add to their portfolio. Students have the ability to rent video equipment from the school if they don’t already own their own, so camera costs would not something coming out of GMart’s budget. Aside from providing a G-Man costume this tactic is cost free; the student interns would act out, film, edit, upload and manage the YouTube account. By having these student interns produce G-Man that opens up a whole new world of opportunities for G-Mart. There is nothing that college students love more than social media and by having G-Man and his series on YouTube it is almost guaranteed to go viral between all the media platforms.
Mock Print Ad
Tray Tables Up. Our goal with this budget is to demonstrate that G-Mart doesn’t need an obscene monthly budget and that Maverick advertising can do a better job for less. We wanted to provide you with a reasonable budget that will be effective in increasing awareness on campus and among students while peaking their curiosity to learn more about G-Mart. All of the mediums we have chosen are either directly related to the University of Illinois student body or the students can be incorporated in some way. The best way to get people’s attention is to engage them and by engaging student participation on campus through the DI, WPGU or student interns the word will spread about G-Mart.
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The Integration: Facebook
With every superhero, comes his superfans! We plan to integrate a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account for GMan, where fans of GMan can communicate with him and the GMart brand, making the experience more interactive. The Facebook will primarily be clues to where you can find GMan next, or hints at the upcoming short for the YouTube adventure series. All posts by fans on the page will be responded to in the GMan tone of voice and character.
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The Integration:Twitter
The GMan Twitter page will continue to be an extension of the GMan character, except more conversational. The feed will be direct from the mind of GMan, documenting his daily thoughts and interacting with the consumer. Through “Live Tweeting,” GMan can keep his followers up to date on his latest adventures and continue to build the brand of GMart and it’s favorite superhero.
The Idea.
It all starts with the adventure. GMan becomes the face of GMart, fighting crime on the streets of campus. Fighting the evils of grouchy bar bouncers, the Joe’s dance floor and the mastermind behind the missing Alma Mater.
GMan will become a part of campus culture, disrupting the norm and drawing audience attention. Each adventure of Gman will be filmed for a YouTube short series titled, “The Adventures of GMan.”
Experience the Unexpected.
Thanks for Flying.