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Mike Ostrowski, Jake Lechelt, Maureen Lepke, Shannon O’Connell, Brad Wojcik

November 10, 2014

Aurora Dental Group IMC Campaign

Marketing 330 Promotional Strategy

Fall 2014

Dr. Nona Jones

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Aurora Dental Group

1352 W Galena Blvd, Aurora, IL 60506

(630) 896-7354

agloriosodds@sbcglobal.net

-Presented by Mike Ostrowski, Jake Lechelt, Maureen Lepke, Shannon O’Connell, and

Brad Wojcik-Table of Contents

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1.0 Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.0 Promotion Opportunity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.1 Communications Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

2.1.1 Competitive Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

2.1.2 Opportunity Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...7

2.1.3 Target Market Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

2.1.4 Customer Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..8

2.2 Market Segmentation Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

3.0 Corporate Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …...9

3.1 Corporate Image Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

3.2 Brand Development Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..11

3.3Brand Positioning Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..11

3.4 Public Relations Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

3.5 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

4.0 IMC Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

4.1 IMC Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

4.2 IMC Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.3 Internet Website . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

5.0 IMC Objective One (Consumer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

5.1 Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

5.2 IMC Methodologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

5.2.1 Advertising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

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5.2.1.1 Advertising Budget. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5.2.1.2 Creative Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5.2.1.3 Advertising Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

5.2.2 Consumer Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

5.2.3 Personal Selling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

5.2.4 Sponsorship Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

5.2.5 Database Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

5.3 Media Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.4 Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Exhibit 1…………………………………………………………………………………………26

Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………..27

1.0 Executive Summary

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The following integrating marketing communications plan is for Aurora Dental Group to

increase brand awareness and increase revenue. Aurora Dental Group is located in the large,

Chicago suburb of Aurora, with a population of over 199,000 (suburbanstats.org).  Aurora is a

prime location for Dr. Anthony Glorioso to conduct and promote his business due to the large

population and the small number of dental services located in the general area.  As well as

maintaining positive customer relationships, it will be up to Aurora Dental Group to stay on top

of promotions and to make sure they are getting their name effectively into the target market of

Aurora, Illinois.

Methodologies that are recommended in this report are an increase in sponsorship of high

school teams and an expansion of park district teams in the area, specifically the Fox Valley Park

District. The prime source of direct marketing will be through the t-shirts and mouth guards that

are distributed to the sponsored teams. A budget for these efforts is examined as well. The

advertisement brief and framework is examined and a sample advertisement is included in the

appendix.

The overall goals for this integrated marketing communications plan are to:

Gain overall market awareness for Aurora Dental Group in the Aurora area

Establish a new tagline and logo for consumers to identify with.

Prepare an advertisement to be placed in park districts, park benches, and newspapers

Create evaluation methods to properly determine the effectiveness of branding and image

2.0 Promotion Opportunity Analysis

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Aurora Dental Group is a dental services provider located in Aurora, Illinois.  Dr.

Glorioso and his staff have been practicing professional family dentistry in the Chicagoland area

for over 14 years.  They offer a variety of dental services, professional quality, and a clean,

family-friendly environment.  They are looking to expand their clientele by reaching out to more

people in the Aurora Community.  

Aurora Dental Group is one of 3 major competing dental groups in the greater Aurora

area.  However, due to the large population of Aurora, this is a great opportunity to expand the

overall customer base, as well as expand the customer-pull radius.  Targeting the Latino

community will be a crucial step in expansion, as well as improving overall brand experience

through a new tagline and logo.  

2.1 Communications Market Analysis

        The viable target market for this service is majority of residents in the city of Aurora.

More specifically, since most women make household decisions for dentistry, Aurora women

aged 35-50 are the most likely target.   There are many characteristics to this large target market,

with one common benefit that people are trying to achieve; a fresh and clean smile. There are

currently two other dental offices in Aurora that pose a threat.  They might have some of the

same services to offer, but the experience at Aurora Dental Group is like none other.  Aurora

Dental Group differentiates itself from these other businesses by offering professional dental

services to variety of different customers.  Aurora Dental Group is big on creating relationships

with its patients.  As a company, Aurora Dental Group is seeking to promote its services to the

great community of Aurora.  Dr. Glorioso is looking to create more customer relationships and

provide a fresh smile to the citizens of Aurora.

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2.1.1 Competitive Analysis

        Aurora Dental Group has two major competitors: Aurora Dental Arts and Fairview

Dental.  His competitors live in Aurora, while Dr. Anthony Glorioso does not, therefore, they are

more familiar with the Aurora area.  As a result of this, his competitors pose a serious threat to

the future of Aurora Dental Group.  Dr. Glorioso will need to attract new customers, all the while

keeping his current loyal patients.  He needs to promote his business so people looking for new

dental services will choose his over his two competitors.  

Fairview Dental is a major competitor for Aurora Dental Group. Their webpage appears

to be far more interactive and inviting. Fairview Dental has a section on their website labeled

“Meet the Doctors”. This makes the webpage feel more humble and personal, rather than cold

and sterile.  The colors and layout seem far more eye-catching and inviting, which is definitely

something that is beneficial to finding new patients. They also have a slideshow of pictures of

their dental practice, sort of like a virtual tour.

The other local competitor, Aurora Dental Arts, actually seems to have some branding

issues.  They lack a web presence, due to the fact that they do not have their own website, not

their own Facebook page.  Having a web presence these days is generally a practice that

companies with strong branding implement.  The fact that Aurora Dental Group has their own

web presence already gives them an advantage over Aurora Dental Arts.

2.1.2 Opportunity Analysis

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        Aurora is a large city that lies right outside of Chicago.  It has a population of over

199,000 and is considered to be one of the fastest growing cities in the Chicagoland area.  Aurora

has a diverse population with 59% being Caucasian and 41% Latino (suburbanstats.org).  With

population on the rise, there will be an increase in people needing dental services, so it will be

necessary for Aurora Dental Group to have a sufficient staff available to help out.  Also, many of

the residents of Aurora who are Latino only speak Spanish.  It would be very advantageous to

have associates who work at Aurora Dental Group that are fluent in English and Spanish.  This

would open up the doors to a whole new target market for Aurora Dental Group.  Going forward,

advertisements should be printed in Spanish for the large Latino speaking population of Aurora.  

2.1.3 Target Market Analysis

        Everyone needs their teeth cleaned, on average of two times per year.  Patients range in

age from young children to older adults. The target market of Aurora has 199,000 residents, with

a variety of demographics, age groups, and income levels.  Dental care and hygiene should be

available to everyone no matter where they live or in what income level they fall.  In the diverse

community of Aurora, there are many different kinds of patients who will be coming into Aurora

Dental Group for services.  Families with young children tend to be very up to date with keeping

their kids and families teeth clean, so it will be important to make special scheduling for families

who want to all get in at once.  Besides families, there will be men and women from ages 18-

65+, some of whom will be single and some couples.  It will be easier to get singles or doubles in

for teeth cleaning because it doesn’t take much time.  Scheduling should be performed in a

manner that is as easy and convenient to the patient as possible.

2.1.4 Customer Analysis

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        The city of Aurora has a variety of citizens from different demographic groups.  The

important thing is that everyone needs their teeth cleaned no matter if they are young or old,

male or female; dental hygiene is important.  There will be different types of customers who all

have a busy schedule, so ease and convenience are definitely beneficial.  Families who come in

for teeth cleaning like to have all the examinations done at the same time so that they don’t have

to come back in day after day, therefore, it will be vital to make scheduling convenient for

families in those situations.  Besides families, there will be many other different kinds of people

in need of teeth cleaning services.  They are looking for a place that is professional, friendly, and

efficient.  Keeping the customer happy should always be employed no matter what the situation.

It is important to maintain repeat customers as well as getting first time customers.

2.2 Market Segmentation Strategy

        With such a large market, it will be vital to maintain a presence in the consumers mind

when it comes to dental services.  Aurora Dental Group will be known for the excellence they

provide to the community as well as the great smile they create and maintain on a daily basis.

They will live out their image and strategy on a daily basis, and maintain a professional friendly

environment to adhere to the large target market that Aurora has to offer.

3.0 Corporate Strategies

  The overall goals of the Aurora Dental Group are to promote the idea of a family-friendly

dental practice, along with being the most recognized dental group in the Aurora area.  As a

company, they will work to enhance their corporate image, and position their dental practice as

more superior in comparison to their competition: Aurora Dental Arts and Fairview Dental.  The

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company will also focus on their public relations strategy and will begin sponsorships with local

teams to promote their company and get the name Aurora Dental Group out in the market

3.1 Corporate Image Strategies

        Aurora Dental Group should come up with a clever tagline that can be associated with the

company. It should be simple and to the point.  They should adopt the tagline “Smile”.  This

tagline follows a minimalistic approach, and leaves a very pleasant, positive image in the eye of

the beholder.  Working almost two-fold, the tagline states a simple goal: to make every patient

smile.

Aurora Dental Group is a dental group that is family oriented, and it has been around for

a significant number of years to gain some credibility.  On the website for Aurora Dental Group,

there is an “About Us” feature.  Its central message is that their mission is to provide the best

dental care around with advanced technology and caring dentists and employees.  While these

two highlights about the company are important, Aurora Dental Group should expand upon this

and speak to the needs of providing care for families and young children. That is not mentioned

that in the “About Us” feature.

        Along with a tagline, the company should also redesign their image.  They can come up

with a new logo that will catch a potential client’s eye.  Their present logo is very generic.

While simplicity can be beneficial in some cases, in this case, the logo is very bland, forgettable,

and seems to have a vibe that reminds people of “the doctor’s office”.  The font is basic and is

accompanied by what appears to be a smile. Aurora Dental Group might want to think about

enhancing their brand logo, and they might be able to cleverly use images of teeth and a different

font to make their logo stand out.  The company might want to think about using this strategy as

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this logo stands out more.  The logo would then be more than just words and a smile, and might

cause potential clients to remember the name Aurora Dental Group because of it.

3.2 Brand Development Strategy

        In addition to abiding by the general ethics that Aurora Dental Group was built upon,

they will continually try to develop the brand known as Aurora Dental Group.  This will be done

by providing the best dental services possible while finding new ways to build Aurora Dental

Group and maintaining a positive customer relationship.  Customer feedback and input will be

vital to keeping patients happy, and Aurora Dental Group will rely upon their feedback to make

important decisions that will improve integrity of the business.  Brand development is vital to

staying on top of the ever-changing market, and the changing desires and needs of the consumer.

To help develop the brand further, they can build upon their mission statement of providing

state-of-the-art dentistry with only the newest technology available to date.  They can develop a

stronger image for their company that goes along with what they stand for by catering to the

needs of families and children, as well as all other dental patients who need regular dental

checkups.

3.3 Brand Positioning Strategy

        In relation to their competition, Aurora Dental Group will position themselves as a family

friendly dental practice that also uses state-of-the-art technology.  Aurora Dental Group believes

in treating each patient like they are family.  They’ve been practicing family dentistry for over 14

years using the same principles they abide by on a daily basis.  Aurora Dental Group believes in

using only the highest quality materials and practices that are approved to date.

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3.4 Public Relations Strategy

        Aurora Dental Group should form sponsorships with local high schools and park district

programs.  This will allow Aurora Dental Group to advertise and put their logo on the team’s

uniforms and t-shirts.  Families will see the logo on the team’s uniforms, so they might be more

inclined to give the Aurora Dental Group a visit.  The dentist office can also showcase pictures

of the teams they sponsor in their waiting room, which promotes the family friendly aspect of the

company.  Clients will feel more comfortable and will get the sense that Aurora Dental Group is

concerned with making their practice a family friendly environment.  They want to be seen as

having a caring staff, and this might also help get people in who are afraid of going to the dentist.

3.5 Evaluation

        Aurora Dental Group needs to focus on all these areas as a company.  They might need to

redesign their corporate image a bit to stand out more among their competitors.  The company

should focus on their family friendly promotional aspect, because families need to have a good

dentist, and Aurora Dental Group will gain these customers for the long term if the families

determine that Aurora Dental Group provides them with the best dental care they could receive.

In order to actually evaluate the success of the aforementioned development programs, an

annual questionnaire will be given out to regular patients.  It will be sent via mail, and will

include questions that relate to the logo, tagline, and the atmosphere of the office.  This will help

Aurora Dental Group to determine what needs to be changed, or improved upon.  Doing this in

the long term, Aurora Dental Group may experience significant changes over time, but every

little change will be a direct help to the overall branding.

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4.0 Integrated Marketing Communications Management

Aurora Dental Group is focused on providing affordable, family-friendly dental care to

its customers.  In order to fulfill that desire to its fullest, Aurora Dental Group needs to increase

its brand awareness, generate new sales, retain current customers, and increase the amount of

traffic on its social media sites.  To accomplish this, Aurora Dental Group needs to focus its

efforts on spreading the word about the brand to the community in which it is located.  If Aurora

Dental Group can successfully promote itself to the community, the customer base will increase

and the practice will have the potential to become a leader in dental care for the Aurora area.   

4.1 IMC Objectives

There are four objectives that we suggest Aurora Dental Group focus on, which include

increasing brand awareness, generating sales, reinforcing repeat customers, and increasing social

media traffic.  Increasing brand awareness and generating sales will be a major objective for

Aurora Dental Group.  This can be achieved through advertising with local high schools and park

districts.  The idea behind this would be to use t-shirts and mouth guards with Aurora Dental

Group’s logo imprinted on them as walking billboards to get the business’s name out to the

community.  The reinforcing of repeat purchases from customers ties in with the increasing

social media traffic because customers will be given information regarding Aurora Dental

Group’s social media sites which offers discounts and coupons for future visits and certain

treatment options.  To increase social media traffic in general, search engine optimization

through natural emergence is suggested.  Though this process requires a lot of time and effort to

predict the algorithms used by different search engines, the long term benefits show that web

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traffic can increase anywhere from six to tenfold, which, in turn, means that sales are likely to

increase up to 42% (Clow and Baack, 2014).

4.2 IMC Budget

Objective and task based budgeting would be the best route for Aurora Dental Group.

Due to the low budget of Aurora Dental Group, this method allows for prioritization of tasks that

need to be handled.  Prioritization will be determined by a specific task’s overall contribution to

advertising.  The first part of the budget is for social media and a customer referral system and

would cost around $5,000 to implement.  The major portion of these costs would be for the $50-

100 gift cards given to customers who refer Aurora Dental Group to somebody who comes in for

any of Aurora Dental Group’s offered services.  The rest of the money from that $5,000 would

come from current employees receiving training in specific aspects of social media marketing.  

The second part of the budget covers increasing brand awareness and generating sales

and involves providing t-shirts and mouth guards to the local park district, high school, and

possibly middle school sports teams.  It would cost an estimated $3,500-4,000 to provide high

school sports teams with t-shirts and mouth guards for up to 120 student-athletes and an

additional $1,000 to provide the t-shirts and mouth guards to a park district or middle school

sport teams (Under Armour, 2014)  (Boomer T’s, 2014).

4.3 Internet Website

The website for Aurora Dental Group when first loaded appears to be very clean and

organized.  The site operates smoothly and has an ease of use that isn’t always present with

smaller websites.  With that being said, the site is sort of bland in appearance and lacks any eye

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popping images that could potentially draw consumers to stay on the page or navigate further

through the drop down menus provided.  The site could use an updated color scheme with softer

colors.  The website could also use more pictures and images of the building, both the outside

and inside.  By adding pictures of the waiting room and reception desk area, it would give an

inviting and more welcoming feel to both the webpage and the dental office.  The website should

also contain more detailed or lively pages describing the services and products offered at the

practice, and interactive images/pages to occupy the minds of younger consumers.  

5.0 IMC Consumer Objective

The main goal for marketing to consumers is to increase their awareness of the Aurora

Dental Group brand.  In order to do so efficiently, Aurora Dental Group should increase the

number of schools it works with and reach out to sponsor park district leagues.

5.1 Budget

The ideal budget type for this project is an itemized objective and task budget for

website, t-shirts for park district leagues, mouth guards.  The budget for the t-shirts and the

mouth guards is listed above in section 4.2.  Overall, a $9,000 budget is recommend for this

project.

5.2 IMC Methodologies

Aurora Dental Group will focus on reaching its target market through direct marketing.

By sponsoring local area high schools and park district teams, Aurora Dental Group will be able

to generate a higher level of brand awareness and more buzz.  Teams to focus on are the football

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and soccer teams as they have opposite seasons that could help to increase six month

appointments during those times of the year.  

Updating the website is a vital part of increasing awareness as well.  Allowing current

and potential customers to interact on the website would help both customers and Aurora Dental

Group to become more familiar with services offered, and services being sought.

5.2.1 Advertising

Advertising is a key part of increasing brand awareness, and the best way for Aurora

Dental Group to effectively convey their message is through an advertising management

program.  This is the process of preparing and integrating a company's advertising efforts that

convey the overall IMC message.  The most important thing for Aurora Dental Group to do in

this process is to state a clear message and to remain consistent with that message during the

entire duration of the IMC plan.  Aurora Dental Group’s message is that it is a family oriented

dental practice that uses the most up to date and advanced technologies.

The use of the t-shirts will be integral in conveying this message. The sponsorship of high

school teams and also a team through the Fox Valley Park District, will help to promote this

message to a wider number of people in the Aurora area.

5.2.1.1 Advertising Budget

An object and task budget will be used to itemize the options for Aurora Dental Group’s

advertising efforts.  As seen above, it will cost approximately $ 3,500 to $4,000 to outfit

sponsored teams with t-shirts and mouth guards, where applicable.  This will be coupled with the

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advertising budget of $5,000 to cover gift cards for the ‘Share the Care’ program and training

such as webinars for current staff to learn effective social media techniques. The advertisement

seen in exhibit one will also come out of this budget and will be run in local newspapers.

5.2.1.2 Creative Brief

The Objective: Increase awareness of Aurora Dental Group to members of the Aurora

community.

The Target Audience: Families in the Aurora area, specifically parents in the 30 to 50 age

range.

The Message Theme: The overall message theme is very positive.  It’s to make the viewer of

the ad campaign smile for 2 different reasons: because they just witnessed the positive message

in the advertisement, and because they will have a smile to show off after visiting the dentist.

The Support: Aurora Dental is a family friendly environment with services that demonstrate the

commitment to stay up to date on the latest procedures.   

The Constraints: Copyrighting of the logo will need to be addressed.

5.2.1.3 Advertising Design

Aurora Dental Group should structure its advertising with respect to the following means-

end chain:

Attributes: Affordable, family-friendly dental care.  A very professional environment

that makes the patient feel at home.

Benefit: Improved quality of life, better dental hygiene, increased aesthetic appearance,

improving the overall health of each family member.

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Personal Value: A comfortable, and improved life, self-respect, and a sense of social

acceptance.

Leverage Point: The tagline “Smile” is simplistic and presents an overall positive

message that Aurora Dental Group wants to portray.  Smiling is considered a very positive thing

and usually is the result of something good that happened.  Aurora Dental Group wants to

portray the image that each patient leaves smiling and that every smile will be treated with the

best dental care imaginable.

Executional Framework: The executional framework used will be a simplistic

advertising design that portrays a positive environment, affordable dental care, and a family-

friendly approach to health.  It will contain vibrant, clean-looking colors that engage the viewer

and immediately give them a positive feeling.

The specific advertisement that will be produced in newspapers will follow the simplistic

tagline, “Smile”.  It will feature a very large canvas size with the word, “SMILE” directly in the

middle.  This is meant to draw complete attention to the word itself, and immediately give

viewers a positive reaction when they see the advertisement.  Directly under the word “SMILE”

will be the words “Aurora Dental Group”, along with the address.  This part will be in a

different, contrasting color than the “SMILE” tagline.

Bordering the entire advertisement will be the many attributes of Aurora Dental Group,

such as family-friendly, affordable, healthy, and other words that may give the viewer a positive

feeling.  This border is not meant to be seen from a far, but rather subliminally as the consumer

approaches the advertisement.

For advertisements on the back of jerseys for use at park districts, the approach will be

slightly different.  Considering that there’s a much smaller canvas to utilize, Aurora Dental

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Group will have to make changes accordingly.  The newly-made logo will be used on the back of

these jerseys.  The “SMILE” part of the logo will be made slightly bigger.  This is so more

people see the “SMILE” tagline and eventually begin to associate Aurora Dental Group with that

positive word.  Underneath will be “Aurora Dental Group” so consumers know where the

advertisement is coming from.  A sample of this advertisement can be found in Exhibit 1 (pg.

26).

5.2.2 Consumer Promotions

At this stage in the life of Aurora Dental Group, consumer promotions should begin to

play an incredibly large role in growing the business and expanding customer base.  However,

the budget for consumer promotions does not need to be large.  A small budget of approximately

$5,000 should be allocated for consumer promotions.  The goal in these promotions is to increase

Aurora Dental’s post-visit interaction with patients, as well as to gain new patients.

The first of many of these promotions should be the “Share the Care” referral program.

A regular patient could be awarded a $50 credit to his or her account for referral of a new patient

to Aurora Dental Group.  This credit could then be used for co-pays, whitening services, or even

dental products (toothbrushes, floss, or other items) that Aurora Dental Group may offer in their

office.  

A new promotion that will be implemented will be the “Share-a-Smile” program.

Patients will be encouraged to take a picture of their newly-cleaned teeth after they visit Aurora

Dental Group.  The patients will then post the picture of their “Smile” on their Facebook page,

and then tag “Aurora Dental Group” in the caption.  Once they do this, they will be entered into a

raffle for a chance to win a $50 gift card.  Drawings will occur monthly, and winners may choose

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from a number of different gift cards which may include local businesses, restaurants, and gas

stations.

5.2.3 Personal Selling

Being a dental service, Aurora Dental Group will not have to rely heavily upon personal

selling.  That being said, however, Aurora Dental Group should begin to establish relationships

with local businesses in the area, particularly businesses that specialize in health, such as health

clubs, supplement retailers, park districts, and perhaps even local restaurants.  One business in

particular should be VCA Aurora Animal Hospital, as pet owners that care about their pet’s

health will likely care about their own dental health.  Promotional material can be passed out at

these local businesses, and in turn, Aurora Dental Group can hand out promotional material from

these businesses.  Therefore, cross-promotion with these local businesses will be mutually-

beneficial, as both parties will share in the wealth.

That being said, each dental hygienist should be carefully trained in what they say to

patients in regards to other services that Aurora Dental Group may offer, such as whitening and

cancer screening.  Since they likely spend the most time with the patient, the hygienists should

be able to organically mention these other services in conversation, without sounding too pushy

or aggressive.  Interaction with patients during their appointments should follow a script that will

include main points, such as other services that are offered.  The script should also include dialog

that would ensure the patient comes back in 6 months. Though scripted, these conversations

should still allow for free-flowing dialog to take place, so the patient feels more comfortable and

welcomed in the dental office environment.  

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5.2.4 Sponsorship Programs

The Aurora area is home to numerous schools and sports organizations which

sponsorship would be lucrative.  While Aurora Dental Group currently provides mouth guards to

the football team at West Aurora High School, there are several other establishments in the area

that should be considered for sponsorship.  Jefferson Middle School, McCleery Elementary

School, and Aurora University are all schools within close proximity to Aurora Dental Group.

Aurora University, in particular, has a large commuter base that is from the town of Aurora.

Aurora Dental Group should consider paying for sponsorship of other sports teams within these

additional schools.  This will allow for a greater consumer base, and targeting elementary

schools and middle schools will get patients coming in at a younger age, which will be beneficial

in the long run.

Though it may be a bit of a drive, Fox Valley Park District is another very large

organization that deals with children of all ages, and thus, their parents.  While the actual park

district itself is about 11 miles away from Aurora Dental Group, it services people within a very

large radius, and it is highly likely that many park district patrons are located within close

proximity to Aurora Dental.  Sponsorship of youth sports through the park district should be a

priority to Aurora Dental Group.  Mouth guards can be provided, courtesy of Aurora Dental

Group.  In doing so, Aurora Dental Group should get their business name and information placed

on future promotional material handed out by Fox Valley Park District.  Doing this will yield a

greater consumer base, and will seek to attract patients.

5.2.5 Database Programs

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Database collection by Aurora Dental Group should only be done with the intention of

improving the overall patient experience.  When a patient visits the practice for the first time,

their age should be noted.  Depending on their age, the dental hygienist should make a variety of

different “small-talk” conversations related to the patient’s occupation, schooling, life ambitions,

and general interests.  This specific information should then be stored in Aurora Dental Group’s

patient database, and should be recalled every time each specific patient makes a return visit.  

The information will be recalled before a returning patient visits so that the dental

hygienists (and more specifically, Dr. Glorioso himself) can make the patient feel more at home

and important.  As general human interaction will have it, people tend to feel good about

themselves when people remember specific information about them, and this makes for building

better relationships in the long run.  This will lead to more future visits, better word-of-mouth

marketing, and a better public image for Aurora Dental Group.  

5.3 Media Plan

Since the consumer base is roughly within a 5 mile radius of Aurora Dental Group, most

media plans will be entirely locally-based.  To begin with, Aurora Dental Group should place ads

in the local newspaper, the Beacon News.  This is published through the Chicago Sun Times and

caters entirely to the Aurora community.  

Furthermore, every school that Aurora Dental Group sponsors will have advertisements

placed at athletic events, by whatever means is utilized by each specific school.  If allowed,

advertisements should be placed on scoreboards on the athletic fields, as well as on banner ads

that may be displayed at games.  This will allow the Aurora Dental Group name and image to be

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spread and ingrained in the minds of people in the local area, whether they are future patients, or

not.  In some cases, simply being aware of a company’s existence is enough to boost sales.  

Aurora Dental Group should discontinue the placement of advertisements on grocery

store bags.  These get thrown away and discarded by the consumer.  In addition, most large-

chain grocery stores are responsible for the majority of grocery sales, and commonly do not

allow any outside advertisements on their bags.  Instead, Aurora Dental Group should place ads

on 20 park benches within a 5 mile radius of the practice.  Unlike bags, these advertisements are

permanent, and often engage consumers for a longer period time.  These park benches cater more

to a specific target market, and that is active individuals that will be out-and-about.  These

individuals more than likely care about their overall health, and therefore would probably seek

dental care.

5.4 Evaluation

The overall objective for the Aurora Dental Group is to increase awareness of the

practice, and attract driving new patients.  While this may be a slow process, careful utilization

of this media plan should drive future business for Aurora Dental Group for years to come.  

There will be a number of ways that plan utilization will be measured.  First and

foremost, new patients will fill out a questionnaire that will include necessary medical

information, as well as information regarding advertising awareness.  Questions such as “how

did you hear about us?”, and “what brings you in today?” will be included to gather more

specific information about what advertisements are actually working, and which ones could

possibly be eliminated in the future.  Based on the results, this will allow for heavier

advertisement in certain successful areas, and less intense advertisement in weaker areas.  

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In addition to this, Yelp and Google reviews will be strongly encouraged.  Consumers

can give their honest opinions of the practice in general, and this will offer insight into the

overall brand image that Aurora Dental Group portrays.  A large number of positive reviews will

indicate that branding is strong and that patients enjoyed their time receiving dental work.  An

overwhelming number of negative reviews could indicate that changes need to be made, and

oftentimes, fixing a brand image is a great way to start.  

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Exhibit 1

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Works Cited

Clow, K., & Baack, D. (2014). Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing

Communications (Sixth ed.). Pearson.

Current Aurora, Illinois Population, Demographics and stats in 2014, 2013. (n.d.).

Retrieved November 8, 2014, from https://suburbanstats.org/population/illinois/how-many-

people-live-in-aurora

Custom Screen Print Pricing. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2014, from

http://www.boomerts.com/screenprinting.html

UA ArmourBite Mouth guard | Under Armour US. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2014,

from https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/ua-armourbite-mouthguard/pid1246637