Jrnl406 aldi imc

JRNL 406 Advertising Campaigns

Elizabeth Zinchuck Robert Niedzwiecki Tyler Roray Robin Komie

Table of Contents I. Aldi History and Research Aldi History Page 3 Vision and Mission Page 4 Aldi Exclusive Brands Page 5-6

Current Marketing & Advertising Page 7-8 Competitors Page 9 SWOT Analysis Page 10 II. Consumer Research Research Results Pages 12-14 Target Audience Page 15

Consumer Profile

Page 16 III. Creative Objectives & Strategies Intro Page 18 Objectives Page 19 Radio Ad Page 20 Billboards Page 21 Promotions Page 22 Social Media Page 23 Guerilla Page 24 Events Page 25-28 IV. Media Plan Objectives & Strategies Budget Allocation Page 31-32 Media Plan Page 33

V. Evaluation

Evaluation Page 35

Appendix

Page 36

I. Company History & Research

History

Vision & Mission Aldi is one of the world’s largest privately owned companies in both Europe and the United States. Based in Germany, brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht bought their father’s grocery store and created Aldi. By the 1960s, Aldi had flourished and grown to 300 stores. The brothers split their company and became two separate entities, Aldi Nord which owns Trader Joe’s and Aldi Süd which is the Aldi most Americans and Europeans know.

Abroad, Aldi Nord can be found in Denmark, France, the Benelux countries, the Iberian Peninsula, and Poland. Aldi Süd operates in Ireland, United Kingdom, Hungary, Switzerland, Australia, Austria and Slovenia. There are over 1,300 Aldi stores in the United states and 4,000 Aldi stores nationwide.

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Aldi’s mission is to offer a unique experience to it’s customers. This entails quality, efficiency, and value. Aldi’s brand focuses on simplicity and minimalism in order to offer an end result unlike any other grocery chain. The stores offer over 1,400 commonly purchased grocery and household products “in a smaller, more manageable environment designed with sustainable, long-term savings in mind.”

At its core, Aldi as a brand promotes the mission of consumers paying less for high quality products. Because they can cut out high operational costs and concentrated their buying power and savings through cutting out the middle man, Aldi’s claims to price their groceries at up to 50 percent less than other national brands.

“Our unique business model enables us to provide the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices. This value stems from the numerous efficiencies and innovations we’ve instituted at every level of our operation.”

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Aldi Exclusive Brands Aldi is best known their discounted, high quality products. Known primarily for being a grocery store, Aldi also sells household items and home decor. Because they are a discounted store, Aldi carries their own branded merchandise. A few of their brands are displayed below.

Two newer Aldi brands that are gaining popularity amongst health nuts is SimplyNature, Aldi’s answer to 100% Organic living and LiveGFree, gluten free products at a discounted price.

Current Marketing & Advertising

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Aldi can be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and other social media platforms.

The “Like Brand� campaign focuses on a particular Aldi product like Milk, Eggs, or a specialty item. Aldi will then match that product with a similar, more expensive brand and use them as a side by side comparision of how much money a customer might save with the Aldi brand. This showcases not only the Aldi product, but the price and quality of the product as well.

Aldi releases a circular every week with new specials and brand announcements. These advertisements can be found in local newspapers.

Competitors

Schnuck’s has a focus on Organic produce and products, higher end merchandise, and they sell Alcoholwhile Kroger has a club membership, special coupons, free items, organic products, and a gas station with points from purchases. Wal-Mart offers a full scale store which includes both grocery and home goods, organic produce/products, and in some cases, Alcohol. Even though Wal-Mart is a full service store, they have been blasted in the media for controversial business practices and the way they treat their employees.

SWOT Analysis

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Focus Group

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Our group focused on their feelings towards Aldi as a brand and store. Overall, our respondents’ feeliungs towards Aldi as a whole were positive. Every respondent knew of and had shopped at Aldi at least once. Our single respondents were brand loyal to other stores while our married couple were brand loyal to Aldi. After hearing other views, one of our non-loyal respondents was interested in visiting Aldi.

II. Consumer Research

“If someone goes to a dinner party now, they’ll go to Aldi and hit that one section with dips and cheeses and wine because it’s affordable and a little fancy. They sell goat cheese… Why spend the extra money to go to Kroger or Schnucks when you can get the same stuff, if not better, at Aldi? I feel like they have a wide demographic, all walks of life.”

Demographics Men - 2 Women - 2 Caucasian - 3 Latino - 1 Student - 2 Non-Student - 2 Maried Couple - 1 Single - 2 Aged 21-35

“...Aldi is cheap and they have interesting stuff. You can get really decent quality cheeses and snacks, organic products that are affordable, and alcohol. Aldi makes it affordable to eat healthier with their organic and gluten free stuff. Their produce and snacks are on the healthy side, like with Fit and Active.”

Survey

Most of our respondents shop at Jewel, a popular grocery store chain in the Chicagoland area.

This would be comparable to Schnuck’s or Kroger in Central and Southern Illinois. Even though Jewel is the winner overall, most of our respondents are very familiar with Aldi and have shopped there. Most even recognize Aldi store brands.

Out of 76 respondents, only one shops at Aldi. Further research found the bulk of Chicago Aldi’s were located on the North side of the city and the suburbs. Because a little under half of our respondents stated they grocery shop once a week, which suggests they work within a budget.

When thinking of Aldi, about half of our respondents saw Aldi as a store with very affordable merchandise and mediocre quality. They believed the shopping environment was simple, which could be due to Aldi promise of simple setups. The overall feelings towards Aldi stated by our respondents is that the store is lackluster in appearance and shopping experience. When asked why they shop at Aldi, our respondents answered it was due to low, affordable prices and quarter shopping carts.

Most believed that Aldi wants to save their customers money which shows our respondents trust the Aldi brand and might fall into brand loyalty after some use.

As far as Aldi’s being socially and environmentally conscious, our respondents aren’t sure if they see a conscious brand, even though they are aware Aldi offers organic and gluten free foods.

For entertainment, our respondents spend most of their time on the internet and using their cell phones. They also use Facebook the most out of various social media platforms. Their time is spent going out to the movies, enjoying live music, and going to professional sports games.

Reddit Survey 76 respondents. Posted to: r/SampleSize, r/Chicago, r/ChicagoFood, r/ChicagoSuburbs

Survey Findings

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Target Audience Primary Demographic Males and females from the ages of 18-34, from middle class families with an estimated household income of $25,000 - $50,000, living on the Northside of Chicago.

Primary Psychographic People who want to save money on groceries, while still buying quality products.

Like many millennials, people who shop at Aldi enjoy eating out and experiencing what the world has to offer through their own eyes. Saving money for these meaningful life experience is an underlying priority.

Secondary Demographic Males and Females aged 35-65+, who are lower to middle class. Location and race are fairly ambiguous, targeting customers who live within a 15 mile radius of the store.

Secondary Psychographic Penny pinchers and coupon cutters, who need to make the most out of their dollar.

Like many baby boomers and middle class families, these smart shoppers understand that life isn’t cheap and pride themselves on getting the most quality prod-

Consumer Profile

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Andy lives in Wrigleyville, a north side neighborhood of Chicago.

Because Andy is a white, millennial male, he fits right in. Andy loves sports and is interested in attending cubs games as he lives down the street. Even though he makes about $25,000 a year, he is able to afford his apartment because he most likely lives with a partner or a roommate.

Because Andy doesn’t have children, he is able to enjoy going to the movies and indulging in concerts.

When Andy needs to grocery shop, which he does once a week because he follows a budget, he is most likely to visit Jewel, a Chicago grocery chain with brand loyalty and a strong following. He has visited Aldi’s before and is aware of their brand Fit and Active. Having not truly shopped at Aldi’s, Andy’s outlook on the brand is mediocre at best. He knows they offer organic and gluten free foods, but doesn’t think the shopping experience is worth the trip. Because Andy is familiar with Aldi and is not entirely negative towards the brand, targeting his age and socio-economic group would be smart.

Creative

III. Creative

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Aldi provides grocery consumers with a win-win situation. Not only are they getting high quality food that exceeds most industry standards but they also are getting the food a cheaper face than any of their competitors. From our findings, we found that most people associate Aldi with the discount aspect of the brand, but do not always associate the brand with quality. Eat Well, Eat Smart is our big idea that reinforces the idea that the consumer is eating better quality food for a lower price.

Radio Ad

Objectives In 2017, we will raise Aldi awareness and perceptions amongst male and female millennials in the Chicagoland area. We aim to also push the Aldi Fit N Active, SimplyNature, and LiveGFree brands to position Aldi as a contender in the organic/healthy foods market.

Strategies We will place Aldi branding in high traffic areas in the Chicagoland area, including billboards, bags in the park, food trucks, and farmer’s markets. We will also push Aldi on social media year round with boosted posts and partner with Planet Fitness to showcase the Fit N Active.

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30-Second Radio Spot to be played on 670 WSCR AM during Cubs games. $362/play. Will run July-October.

ANNCR: “Heyyy Cubs fans!

Didn’t get tickets to the game?

Not a big deal, lace your kicks and head to Aldi.

Aldi has the food you need for a great time out on the grill

Our all beef hotdogs, game day grillers, and organic produce section is a 5-4-3 triple play

And hey, don’t be the guy who forgets the charcoal

Eat Well. Eat. Smart.

Aldi”

Billboard

Promotions

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Display Ad Banner: $3,000/1 month Two Impression tiers: 100,000 or 150,000 Clickable Ad - links to Chicago store specials Chicago Tribune- Web, Mobile, Tablet Placement

Downtown Chicago $4,5000 + $150 for installation fees, 2 month run = $9,150 Impressions: 25,000/day, 75,000 people/day 3 Locations around downtown Chicago 30 sheet post, 23’ x 11’

Planet Fitness Vending Machine Rental machines: $124/month with a 48 month commitment Lease of space = donation of 15 - 33% of profits Aldi keeps 100% of profits from machines Sell Fit N Active “Gatorade” and other healthy drinks

Social Media

Guerilla

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• Facebook boosting 12 month period: $2,900

• Giant showcase of reusable bag: $1,000

• $200 per month, 2 retarget ads per month

• Attain brand awareness

• $500 gift card given to winner of #EatWellEatSmart contest

• Placed in Grant Park, downtown Chicago

• #EatWellEatSmart contest: Use hashtag to be entered into yearly drawing. Drawing occurs every December for the Holidays

• Post selfies with bag with the hashtag #AldisInThePark

Events

Taste of Chicago: Aldi Food Truck • Aldi Taste of Chicago Food Truck • 5 days, $100/day, plus a 21% commission on gross sales after taxes.

• $1000 deposit must be submitted with application. Deposit will be returned at redemption following participation in the event.

• $500 for event, $1000 refundable deposit

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Chicago Farmer’s Market: Lincoln Park, Daley Plaza, West Humboldt Park • Farmers market in Chicago is a perfect venue for Aldi to showcase it’s fresh food varieties • Weekly for three months: $15,000 • Locations:

- Daley Plaza (May 14 - Oct 29, Thursdays)

- Lincoln Park (Jun 6 - Oct 31, Saturdays)

- West Humboldt Park (Jun 27 - Sept 26, Saturdays)

Objectives

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To reach out target audience by way of Traditonal and Non-Tradional methods. We will utilize 12 months of the year, but focus on the Spring and Summer months as this is peak times for outdoor activies and awareness of healthy food brands.

Strategies

IV.

Media Plan

We will allocate $42,550 to our Traditional advertising where we will focus on pushing our Eat Well. Eat Smart. campaign across social media, print and mobile display ads, billboards, and radio ads during Cub’s games. We will focus on high volume areas in the Chicagoland area.

We will allocate $20,500 to our Non-Traditional advertising where we will focus on outdoor events like the Taste of Chicago Food Truck and the Chicago Farmer’s Market. We will also place a giant sized Aldi reusable bag in Grant Park where people can take pictures and use the hashtage #AldisInThePark to win reusable bags. We will partner with Planet Fitness with our Fit N Active workout drink vending machines as well.

Budget Allocation

Budget Allocation

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Media Plan

V.

Evaluations & Appendix

Evaluations

Our Aldi Eat Well. Eat Smart. campaign will reach over 10 million people throughout the course of the 2017 fiscal year. This will be accomplished by utilizing both traditional and non-traditional advertising mediums in Chicago.

We will allocate $42,550 to our Traditional advertising where we will focus on pushing our Eat Well. Eat Smart. campaign across social media, print and mobile display ads, billboards, and radio ads during Cub’s games. We will focus on high volume areas in the Chicagoland area.

We will allocate $20,500 to our Non-Traditional advertising where we will focus on outdoor events like the Taste of Chicago Food Truck and the Chicago Farmer’s Market. We will also place a giant sized Aldi reusable bag in Grant Park where people can take pictures and use the hashtage #AldisInThePark to win reusable bags. We will partner with Planet Fitness with our Fit N Active workout drink vending machines as well.

We will evaluate our Eat Well. Eat Smart. campaign by tracking the sales for the entire 2017 fiscal year.

We will raise Aldi Fit N Active, SimplyNature and LiveGFree brand awareness amongst male and female millennialls who live in the Chicagoland area by utilizing high traffic, hip areas of Chicago.

Evaluations will be done by a pre-test and post-test survey and focus group amongst our target audience. Media will be evaluated by analyzing the overall impressions of our billboards, display ads, radio ads, and social media presence. We will also track the amount of food sold at the Taste of Chicago and headcount how many people visited our tent. We will track the profits of our Fit N Active vending machine as well.

Appendix: Sources

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http://www.vendingsolutions.com/vending-machines-sales-and-leasing/ (vending machine)

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/enter-vending-machine-business-2275.html (vending machine) http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/farmers_market.html (Farmer’s Market) http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/taste_of_chicago.html/ (Taste of Chicago) https://www.facebook.com/business/help/344177172342419 (Facebook Boosting) http://placeanad.chicagotribune.com/chicagotribune-com-run-of-channel-roc-sports-channel (display ad) http://www.gaebler.com/WSCR-AM-IL-Radio-Advertising-Costs++23968 (radio ad) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/shopping-and-consumer-news/11473701/One-in-three-Aldi-and-Lidlshoppers-is-upper-or-middle-class.html https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/aldi-starts-taking-credit-cards/ http://www.businessinsider.com/massive-share-of-us-millennials-stream-video-on-netflix-and-youtube-201511?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=webfeeds http://aldiuscareers.com/about-aldi/historyhttp://aldiuscareers.com/about-aldi/history http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-2437616/Aldi-reveal-double-annual-profits-40-6-salesjump.html http://www.businessinsider.com/aldi-vs-walmart-grocery-prices-2015-12 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11632767/Aldis-brand-is-now-worthmore-than-Tescos.html

Eat well. Eat smart.