Julie Basque Brief

Portfolio

Spring 2011Prof. Kim Sheehan

Agency Account Management

Dannon

Dannon is a producer of yogurt and other health products and is part of the Danone global brand. Danone, and through Dannon, has been doing CSR in many ways since it’s inception. But, since the brand has never used the business mission to advance sales, consumers might view Dannon as jumping on the CSR bandwagon and view the messages, even though true and with deeps roots, as disingenuous.

Target Audience: Women, 25-54, who care about their bodies. Yogurt has gained popularity with these women because of the health benefits that can be applied not only to them, but also to their families. With a higher income than most families, these women care more about the benefits of breakfast foods than the overall price. These ladies are also swayed by a brand’s social responsibility, and if conveyed correctly, the women will become very loyal to any brand promoting childhood nutrition and environmental sustainability. Finding a product that does both isn’t hard in this day and age of bombarding CSR messages, but these women seek truth and research further after hearing about a brand’s social mission.

Objective: To inform our target audience of the health benefits of Dannon yogurt, while also brining to light the brand’s social mission roots and current CSR plan without bragging or seeming disingenuous.

CSR in Brand Messages: In each advertisement, we will encourage our audience to visit the Dannon website where they will discover all of the CSR that Dannon is currently doing and that Danone has been committed to since its inception. There, consumers will be able to read the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Overview and see what and how much Dannon donates to each year. Dannon isn’t shying away from the fact that is does so much CSR, but it isn’t bombarding the consumer either.

Current Thought: I don’t really like yogurt that much and I don’t necessarily believe every brand that lists off all of the positive things it’s doing as a company because I feel like they are just jumping on the do-good bragging bandwagon.

Desired Thought: Dannon is a healthy yogurt that I enjoy buying because the brand doesn’t brag about its corporate responsibility; it just continues to be committed to the brand’s social mission.

SMIT: Dannon it is a healthy, nutritious choice that is humble about its CSR actions.

Support: There is a definite need for brands to be more responsible, but there have been some consumer backlash on companies that over promise and under deliver. “Greenwashing” and “pinkwashing” will immediately hurt a brand and in all of the clutter, brands that actually contribute to positive social programs get clumped with the others. Dannon as a company stands for health, nutrition, and social well being in all the communities it’s involved in. Those goals are what align Dannon’s business with its social mission and why not bragging about their continued CSR, Dannon will attract their target audience and be truly awarded for their good deeds.

Springfield Nor’easters

The Springfield Nor’easters are a minor league baseball team based in Springfield, Massachusetts. The placement makes them about 2 hours from Boston and Springfield just recently lost its other semi-professional team, hockey, due to lack of ticket sales. Ticket prices need to be perfect for the Springfield Nor’easters to break even on their investment in the minor league team, but also not too high as to turn people away to driving to Boston for their sports fix.

Tickets: There should be an emphasis on season tickets, but the price should definitely be high enough to encourage fans to attend every game. Individual tickets should be priced at $15 per adult, $6 for kids but with a season or group ticket purchased at a 40% discount. There would also be deals with clubs and school to encourage kids attendance.

Target Audience: 35-45-year-old males with young children between the ages of 4-16. These Dads want to be known for their excellent knowledge and sports skill, while also being able to entertain not only his own rascals, but also an entire team. Sports analogies litter his language, but he isn’t a sports snob and loves attending games because that’s where he feels at home. Granted, he does make the three trips a season to Boston to watch his favor team, the Red Soxs, but his small household budget does not allow for such often extravagancies. He would definitely support a local team based off of its entertainment value and cheapness of tickets. If the price were right, he would attend every game and bring his broad of fellow sports fans.

Objective: Gain enough revenue through ticket sales, game attendance, and concessions sales that the Springfield Nor’easters will become an established, family outing in the Springfield area.

Current Thought: There is no baseball team worth seeing here in Springfield, it is worth it driving to Boston to see the Rex Sox even in crappy seats.

Desired Thought: Springfield Nor’easters games are not only fun for the whole family packed with entertainment, but they are affordable and worth the money spent.

SMIT: Springfield Nor’easter games are worth the money spent because they are what make family outings memories.

Rational: Families are the most important targets for the Nor’easters because they will bring in the most people and be the most willing to purchase concessions. Targeting fathers will prompt these dads to start a tradition of taking their families out for a day at the ballpark. Since they are in the surrounding area of Boston, Springfield’s athletics need to be cheap enough that patrons see the advantage of not driving and seeing other teams. But, to make the most money on concessions, tickets need to be valued enough and priced high enough, to bring patrons to every game they purchase.

Saxonville Sausage

Saxonville Sausage is an Ohio based company known for its bratwurst sausages. The brand is popular in the Midwest, but doesn’t have the same brand loyalty on the East coast that it would like. Saxonville isn’t necessarily a known Italian sausage brand, therefore must compete with other local and family based real Italian sausage companies in the Northeast. Saxonville needs to be recognized as a brand that provides more than just the occasional bratwurst. The problem for the brand will be getting families to buy the product as their reliable Italian sausage used for weekday meals.

Name: Primo Italian Sausage. Primo ranked high among test markets, which is an important way to show Italian influence, and you can allude to the fact that Saxonville is a family company in other areas than in the name of the product.

Promotional Tactics: • In-Store Samples /Displays– allowing potential customers to try sausage and interact with brand in a type of display showcasing an easy family meal along with motherly promotional team.• Recipe Contest – On packages, in-store, and in advertisements a recipe contest encouraging families to send in their favorite recipes using Primo Italian Sausage, winner gets a family style prize and recipe printed on future sausage packages.• Coupons – available in newspaper inserts and online for $2 off a family sized package of Primo Italian Sausage encouraging family meals together and makes customer think about a family, sit-down, gourmet meal together.

Objective: Make Primo Italian Sausage the first thought when Supermoms think of making an easy yet gourmet meal for their family.

Target Audience: Moms, 30-40, are always on the go. Seeking to please the entire family is their objective and where else to garner her families happy smiles than the dinning room table. She needs meals to be easy, but also that please everyone’s taste buds. If there is such a thing as easy gourmet, she constantly seeks it. Aiming to please is in her DNA as Supermom, but mainly having time to make a memory with her family is what really drives her “do it all” philosophy.

Current Thought: I don’t necessarily view Saxonville as a producer of true Italian sausage.

Desired Thought: I am glad that Primo Italian Sausage makes it easy for me to make gourmet meals for my family, allowing me to make memories and savor the moments I don’t have to slave over a stove.

SMIT: Primo Italian Sausage makes time around the dinning room table special because it’s gourmet made easy for Supermoms.

Rational: “Family Connection” ranked highest in test positioning with audiences, which means that moms value their time with family. Not only what the family eats, but how much time moms get to spend with their family and the memories they make. Moms will choose Primo Italian Sausage because they feel it is gourmet but is also easy to make, leaving them time to enjoy their family.

Mountain Man Brewing Company

Mountain Man Brewing Company (MMBC) is a small regional brewery that is stepped with tradition. Their product is part of a community culture of coal miners in West Virginia, not just any six-pack you pick up on a Friday night. But MMBC might lose their loyal customer base of lager drinkers by introducing a new lite beer. Even though this is a risky choice, without new product possibilities, the company may continue to experience decline in sales and be yet another regional brewery to close.

Objective: MMBC needs to expand past their current brand staple of Mountain Man Lager by introducing a new lighter beer to attract a new younger audience and adapt to recent beer drinking trends.

Target Audience: Women, of any age, are not the targets of many beer commercials. Yet, there is an untapped market of young women beer drinkers seeking for their perfect pint. These women, 23-32, break the mold at bars preferring the maltier and hoppier taste of a brew, bypassing the frills of an apple-tini. Even though she can hang with the boys, she still holds her feminine flare and isn’t necessarily a tomboy. She desires a drink that fits her tastes, a lighter beer that won’t weigh her down, but that still has brew flavor. Fewer calories aren’t her main concern, but some brews are just too strong for her tastes. She enjoys independent brewing companies and some may say she’s a beer snob, but to her that’s a compliment.

Current Thought: Mountain Man doesn’t make anything beside the heavy lager, and if I stepped outside my independent brewery realm, I have many light beer options.

Desired Thought: I only buy the independent brew Mountain Man Lite because it fills my beer snob desires and it’s the only light beer up to my standards.

SMIT: Mountain Men Lite is a beer that appreciates women beer snobs.

Rational: Beer snobs are notorious for picking independent and regional brews over domestic and large-scale national breweries. Women typically enjoy a lighter beer due to decrease in calorie content and since they don’t want beer bellies like their counterparts. An independent beer company offering a light beer will appeal to these women beer snobs looking for a lighter option but that still has superior flavor only available in an independent brew.

The Fashion Channel

The Fashion Channel is a brand offering 24-hour access and dedication not only to fashion segments but an entire channel for the fashion obsessed. Recently, The Fashion Channel has seen an increase of competitive cable networks now offering fashion segments. These segments take away The Fashion Channel’s attention and focus of customs, along with contributing advertisers.

Target Audience: Women age 18-34 who carefully craft every outfit they wear and are highly conscious of trends and styles. To fashionistas, fashion is more than just what they have in their closet, their whole lives revolve around it. Dedicated to their trend spotting media, fashionistas are always seeking new outfits and anticipating each new clothing season. All fashion information is soaked up, completely wrapping and engulfing the fashionistas’ thoughts, desires, and television viewing.

Objective: Our objective is to inform our target audience that The Fashion Channel is the only place to find 24 hour/7 days a week fashion programming tailored to the fashionistas lifestyle, simultaneously showing advertisers that TFC is the best and only place to reach our fashion oriented audience. Even thought both groups may see other fashion segments on different networks, we aim to convince that TFC is far better at presenting and covering fashion because it is the only dedicated channel.

Current Thought: I always can find fashion, regardless of what channel on television.

Desired Thought: The Fashion Channel is the only place for me to keep my fashion obsession at bay and get all of my information on trends. It is the only channel I watch for my fashion fix.

SMIT: The Fashion Channel is the only network as obsessed with fashion as fashionistas are.

Rational: Even though fashionistas only make up 15% of the households watching TFC, gathering the support and loyalty of die hard fans of fashion will gain TFC constant viewers and purchasers.

Culinarian

Culinarian is a premium performance cookware valued for its durability and quality. Sold at upscale stores, Culinarian has a range of cookware sets for different skill levels. Cookware in general has a very long shelf life and isn’t thought of as an item that is bought weekly, monthly, or even yearly. Culinarian has a problem because the company is wary to do sales promotion because of past loss in sales and gift promotion is too risky for retailers. Culinarian needs to be able to convince their customers to make frequent repeat purchases by attracting them with promotions.

Target Audience: Women, 35-45, who are resident chefs in their own upper class homes. To their families, every meal is carefully crafted and planned. Any ingredient can be turn from drab to fab by this stay-at-home mom because cooking is her passion. It’s not about just providing food for her family, she creates works of edible art with help from her exquisite cookware collection. Always looking to improve her skills, cooking shows, cooking books, and hours upon hours of crafting recipes consume her life.

Objective: Increase purchasing behavior among target audience by convincing them those Culinarian cookware products are for professionals and are used by target audience like professionals. Therefore, our objective is to showcase that professionals are the best equipped in the kitchen and how our audience is equipped with Culinarian cookware.

Promotion: Start the promotion in November 2007 for the holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Years. Run price discounts leading up to Mother’s Day in May 2008 too, so that anytime a Mom could be appreciated for her cooking skills or might have a certain reason to cook her specialties. There would be a 20% discount on The Advanced Chef Collection and the Professional Grade Collection. These two collections are the most expensive, but also the highest-grade cookware and are perfect for the target audience to purchase or a collection that might be purchased for our target as a gift. These sales will be offered at upscale stores like Bloomingdales, Nieman Marcus, Williams Sonoma, and smaller local specialty stores.

Current Thought: I own many professional cookware products, but am not partial to one specific brand nor do I feel the need to purchase new cookware very regularly.

Desired Thought: Culinarian cookware fits my needs as a dedicated at-home chef because it’s professional grade. In fact, all of my cookware is Culinarian and I will continue to purchase them to accommodate my cooking addiction.

SMIT: Culinarian cookware assists Chef Mom in her beyond-the-ordinary-meatloaf cooking needs.

Support: Majority of cookware buyers are women, and professional mom chefs with enough income to afford high-end cookware like Culinarian are typically in older stages of life. These women are influenced by the cooking shows they watch and want to be able to cook just like the professionals. Also, 30% of households in the study were motivated to buy cookware if it was discounted. By advertising these promotions during gift giving periods and big food occasions, Culinarian will be able to access targets even if they weren’t thinking of updating their cookware.

MetabicalMetabical is a drug produced by Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) and promoted a weight loss drug, but offering something different. To accomadate the daily pill, Metabical will have support groups teaching healthy lifestyles and helping patients stay motivated. America has a weight problem, but any weight-loss medication can be automatically placed in a “fad diet” category. Doctors and overweight audiences alike could doubt Metabical even though it is FDA approved and has a support program for patients. Objective: Show to audiences and medical professionals alike that Metabical is one of the only weight-loss pills that is approved by the FDA and has a comprehensive support program. Our objective is to convince overweight individuals and doctors that this weight-loss pill helps establish a healthy lifestyle and isn’t just a “fad diet.”

Target Audience:- Overweight to severely obese individuals that view losing weight has too difficult. The battle to improve their health seems too daunting, while exercise and eating healthy hasn’t provided as many results as they would like. These individuals need support and just a little assistance. They are open to weight-loss pills, but none that are associated with “fad diets” and seek FDA reassurance of a product. - Medical professionals know how to weed through the “fad diet” weight-loss pills, but they do accept that a lot of their overweight and unhealthy patients need help. They would never recommend a medicine that wasn’t FDA approved and even then, doctors are sometime skeptical of the long-term healthy lifestyle of losing weight with a pill. These professionals want their patient to be healthy for life and not lose weight to just gain it back. To be truly convinced of a weight-loss pill regime the professionals would have to see that there was more than just pill taking in the plan.

Current Thought: - Weight-loss pills don’t actually work and it makes me nervous that they aren’t even endorsed by the FDA. - Even if I even considered recommending an FDA weight-loss pill, my patients wouldn’t keep it off and a pill doesn’t promote a healthy, long-lasting lifestyle.

Desired Thought: - Metabical makes it easy for me to lose weight and the support program teaches me healthy lifestyle changes to keep me healthy.- Metabical is the only weight-loss pill I would recommend to patients because the FDA endorses it and it has a comprehensive support plan that will help my patients loss weight and learn how to live a healthy lifestyle.

SMIT: - Metabical helps overweight individuals conquer their weight issues by helping them establish healthy lifestyles leading them to a happier, longer life. - Health professionals recommend Metabical because it has the FDA approved support program that assists overweight patients in making healthier choices and living a healthier lifestyle.

Rational: Medical professionals and overweight individuals seek a weight-loss pill that will assist in their weight-loss but don’t want to be fooled by “fad diet” pills. People want to lose weight and keep it off, but the weight issue battle is difficult and people are looking for help. By providing a comprehensive support program along with pill, Metabical is establishing a healthy routine for people and making a healthy lifestyle and they can carry throughout their entire life, even after their 12-week pill program.

Dove

Under the giant brand umbrella of Unilever, Dove is one of the leaders in the health and beauty product sector. In 2007, the brand launched Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty. This moved Dove beyond just branding and started public discussion raising concerns that this “beauty” category has flaws and lose customers. The problem is that Dove may become a brand that is for the “unattractive” instead of the masses that aspire to look more beautiful.

Campaign Shift: Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty can be shifted from one age demographic towards mothers of young daughters. This will enable the women already interested in the brand feel connected to the campaign because Dove is recommitting itself for the next generation. Dove seeks to improve the world that these daughters are entering, and making sure that the differences between them don’t make them beautiful.

Target Audience: Mothers, 25-45, with daughters from 2 to 13-years-old. These women don’t dwell on their own appearance, but actually appreciate their “flaws” and embraces them. Granted, she may have been swept up in beauty improving products when she was younger, but when she had her daughter, she sought a better world for little girls. She believes she has to set a good example for her daughter that beauty isn’t skin deep; it goes beyond your appearance. Instead of getting lipo something or caking on the make-up, these women choose to age gracefully. This mom supports companies that support her own personal message and really identifies with brands that help her promote this message.

Objective: Shift the focus of the Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty from adults to their children. Our objective is to gather support of moms and then their daughters while on their mission to unearth beauty stereotypes and accept all forms of beauty.

Current Thought: Beauty products promote only skin-deep beauty, but I don’t want my daughter caught up in imagining concerns. That is why I just don’t buy “beauty” products.

Desired Thought: Dove isn’t a beauty product, it is a movement and I am happy to share with my daughter Dove products because the brand promotes self-love.

SMIT: Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is a movement that will allow mothers to feel that their daughter will grow up in a world where everyone is considered beautiful.

Support: This campaign did exactly what most brands aim to do with advertising, start a movement. The positive movement engaged consumers in discussions, garnered media across all forms, and even became part of pop culture. Our target appreciated Dove for the refreshingly new take on advertising beauty products, but sees past the soaps and wants to support the brand for it’s identity. Mom’s want their daughters to feel beautiful and Dove is helping make that happen. By shifting the focus of the campaign from just women to mothers of young daughters, Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty can be sustained through several generations.

TruEarth

TruEarth produces healthier gourmet pastas and sauces made with superior ingredients. With a regional following, TruEarth is looking to expand further into the Italian foods category by offering a healthier, refrigerated pizza. Americans love pizza, but there has been a recent decline or desire to purchase pizzas because of health concerns and diet trends. Sadly, there are not very many fresh and/or convenient healthy pizza options available.

Objective: Highlight TruEarth’s commitment to health, freshness and quality in their products. This will showcase refrigerated pizza as both a healthy and convenient dinner option for busy households.

Target Audience: Affluent, health-conscience households affected by time poverty. Since the family has both parents working, time is precious. With little time for preparing meals, dinner needs to fast and easy. Health is important but sometimes is neglected in a time crunch. Both parents are capable of making dinner and both are sensitive to the amount of time spent on preparing meals away from their family. Dinners are swooped up right after work before heading home, so dinner options that are appealing in the store grab both parent’s eyes and kid friendly options are best for finicky-eaters. Moms and Dads seek to please the whole family with tasty and fast meals, simultaneously providing ease-of-mind healthy nutrients that are good for their family.

Current Thought: Pizza, in any form, is convenient but is not a healthy option for my family.

Desired Thought: TruEarth’s pizza is not only made with healthy ingredients and offered as a freshly refrigerated option, it is a convenient choice for my short-on-time dinner choices for my family.

Single Most Important Thought: Picking a convenient refrigerated pizza does not mean you have sacrifice healthy choices for your family.

Rational: Audience wants to make healthy dietary decisions while also pleasing their families’ need for taste and their own need for convenience.

Burberry

Founded in 1856, Burberry is a classic English brand. Know for their “Burberry check pattern,” Burberry grew from the humble beginnings of their army trench to being the “IT” luxury label. As the epitome of the proper English, the brand has a solid image and has expanded all around the globe. Burberry has the opportunity to extend into other product categories in the luxury market, but this could pose a problem with the brand’s original customer base.

Objective: Inform our current audience that Burberry is still the classic it always has been, but while also extending to our new audience by introducing new products. This needs to be done without diminishing Burberry’s brand identity or isolating their current loyal customer base. Keep Burberry growing, but while also keeping the luxury brand exclusive.

Target Audience: 25-34-year-olds influenced by English trends that seek luxury items and with an expendable income. Fashion and label oriented. Appreciate exclusivity of high-end brands, along with aristocratic feel of expensive brands. European style influenced by classics but allow room in wardrobes for contemporary items of their favorite brands.

Current Thought: “Burberry makes only trench coats for my mum or grandparents for their outdoor chores.”

Desired Thought: “Burberry is a classic for English-influenced fashionistas and now offers contemporary lines that are much more than just trench coats.”

Single Most Important Thought: Burberry is a classic luxury brand that allows for current consumers to enjoy fashionable items that make them feel exclusive.

Rational: Audience wants luxury items that are contemporary and fashion oriented but that are also steeped with history and aristocratic feel. Products need to be authentic and by introducing the “subtle Burberry check”, customers will be differentiated between the real Burberry (luxury) and the fake (knock-offs) of others.