Media Plan

Kim Porter! ! � of � !1 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan

Campers as a Target Group for Gander Mountain!!• Target Bullet-List Summary

Target’s Psychographic Summary

• Enjoy camping

• Family campers need more essentials for trip

• Prefer to buy items before leaving for trip

Target Demographic Summary

• Gender: Males and females roughly 50/50

• Marital Status: Married

• Age Range: Average age is 33

• HH Income: roughly 23% range from $25,000 to $74,999

• Parents with young children

Target Geographic summary

• Metro Priority No. 1: Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

• Metro Priority No. 2: Indianapolis, IN

• Metro Priority No. 3: Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

Client Description

• Company Overview:

Gander Mountain started in 1960 by Robert Sturgis in the small town of Wilmot,

Wisconsin. Sturgis and his friends were upset that finding high quality hunting equipment was

nearly impossible, so they decided to open a small store in Wilmont that would make and sell

this equipment (Business Insights).

Kim Porter! ! � of � !2 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan Soon, Sturgis began to mail catalogs to his consumers and by 1965, he was able to build a

strong reputation of the company in the Midwest (Business Insights).

The mail catalogs were a huge success where he was able to market many more products

than just hunting equipment. Sturgis was able to market rifles, cartridges for the rifles, and

archery equipment. As the success of the catalogs grew, Sturgis was able to open a retail store in

Wilmont to tend to the needs of local hunters. After opening in Wilmont in 1968, U.S Congresses

passed legislation that forbid the sale of firearms through a mail catalog such as the one Gander

Mountain was producing. Gander Mountain was forced to expand their product line and add

more products to their catalog such as fishing and camping and get rid of any hunting rifles, or

firearms that were featured in their catalogs. At the time, this was a huge downfall for the

company because most of their revenue and sales came from selling firearms and rifles in their

catalogs (Business Insights).

Though it was a huge downfall at the time, looking back on the law enforced now may

have helped Gander Mountain become the company that it is today. It was because of the law

enforced that the company began to direct their sales and promotions towards outdoor recreation.

They really began gearing their products towards fishing and camping instead of strictly hunting.

They began selling items such as bait, nets, lures, tents, stoves, sleeping bags, etc (Business

Insights).

It took the company a while to begin to adjust to the product changes and for almost a

decade they found themselves growing deeper and deeper in debt. Finally by the 1980’s, the

company began to see a transition and growth period. Gander Mountain filed for bankruptcy and

in 1984 was purchased by an entrepreneur named Ralph Freitag. Under Freitag’s new

management, the company began to make a few moves toward bettering the company and it’s

Kim Porter! ! � of � !3 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planrevenue. The first move made was to make the company public in order to raise money. The

second move was to expand its mail-order catalog business (Business Insights).

By 1987, the company offered it’s first offsite retail store and started a plan for opening

more offsite retail stores from Wisconsin to north central Illinois. The company then did some

research to find out their target markets. They found out that the average customer was a male

ranging from 40 to 45 years old with an average income and was considered a “hard-core

outdoor sportsman” meaning that they were constantly hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, etc.

The company began to target these men with the “hard-core outdoor sportsman” attitudes

because they were the ones who cared most about the hobbies that they were participating in.

After targeting this new market of men, the company was able to reach $112 million in sales by

1989 (Business Insights).

From 1990 to 1992, analysts of the company say that this is the best years that the

company had experienced. The company was still doing very well in catalog sales. Nearly 82

percent of the total sales came from catalog orders and each order amounted to about $80

(Business Insights).

Unfortunately, from 1993 to 1996, the company began to see sales decrease and was

starting to fall back into debt. Luckily, in 1997, Gander Mountain was saved by the executive

team from Holiday Companies—a company that worked closely with Sturgis when Gander

Mountain was being created. Steve Watson with Target Corporation was asked to become the

new president and CEO of Gander Mountain. The new company no longer had a catalog and

operated off of a chain of retail stores in the Midwest. The new company placed it’s headquarters

in Minnesota and by 1998 had $60 million in sales from 25 stores (Business Insights).

Kim Porter! ! � of � !4 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan By the 2000’s, the company had grown from 26 retail stores into 38 stores across seven

states; Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, and Pennsylvania and eventually

expanded even further moving into Illinois. By 2002, Gander Mountain had expanded to 55

stores. While expanding to Illinois, the company also hired Home Depot, executive vice-

president and chief operating officer, Mark Baker to become the company’s new CEO (Business

Insights).

The company continued to grow from 2002 on. By 2005, Gander Mountain was buying

other companies such as travel companies to offer their promotions and products internationally.

They named this company Outdoor Expeditions. By 2007, Gander mountain maintained 108

stores in a span of 22 states and had agreements with other large companies such as Tracker

Marine to continue to raise their revenue and sales (Business Insights).

As of today, in 2014, Gander Mountain stands as “the nation’s largest retail network of

outdoor specialty stores for shooting sports, hunting, fishing, camping, marine, apparel, footwear

and outdoor lifestyle.” Much like its competitors (Bass Pro Shops, Scheels, Cabela’s) the

company serves many speciality brands such as The North Face, Under Armour, Columbia,

Guide Eries, GSX, Carhartt, Merrell, Keen, New Balance, Reebok, Rocky, etc. The company has

a large amount of history behind it and has both failed and succeeded to become the company

that many people know it as today. Though the company has both failed, succeeded, and changed

management many times, the purpose of the company has not changed over the years (Business

Insights).

The purpose of Gander Mountain has always been to provide its consumers with the best

gear, the best value, and the best service. This is why it is no surprise that the companies slogan

Kim Porter! ! � of � !5 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planis “Better Gear. Better Performance. Better Service. Better Value. All at Gander Mountain. We

Live Outdoors.” (Business Insights)

Types of Products Offered

Gander Mountain sells a vast array of products from tents and riffles, to ATV accessories

and boat lifts. The companies online website has specific area of product separated into tabs. The

tabs included are apparel, footwear, guns, shooting, hunting, archery, camping, fishing, boating,

auto & ATV, and home & gifts. Just by looking at the site, you can see how much the company

has advanced over the years. For example, when Sturgis started the company in Wisconsin, it

was probably not in his vision that his company would ever be selling athletic running shoes or

snowmobile accessories. The company also offers many services to it’s consumers that have

advanced over the years. They include many customer service guarantee’s and policies that tend

to the consumers needs. For example, it is stated that all branded Gander Mountain products

have the same guarantee for one year and if the consumer does not feel complete satisfaction,

they may return it and it can be replaced. They also offer many services for their consumers such

as a Gander Mountain rewards card, FREE apparel and footwear returns, returns by mail or in

store, a sizing chart for online purchases, and a live web chat for instant help.

The Gander Mountain rewards card is a credit card that members can apply for to receive

rewards for their purchases. With every purchase in Gander Mountain, a member will receive 3

points per dollar. For every purchase on gas or groceries, a member will receive 2 points per

dollar and for every purchase made at a location that accepts MasterCard with the Gander

Mountain card, a member will receive 1 point per dollar. Once each member has receive 2,000

points, they will receive a $20 reward certificate to Gander Mountain.

Kim Porter! ! � of � !6 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan Apparel and footwear returns can be made at Gander Mountain s within 90 days of

purchase for a full refund and the consumer will not be charged the return shipping fee on the

purchase. All returns are offered both online and in the store.

A sizing chart for all purchases is offered for online shoppers to be able to know their size

without physically having to be in the store to try on the product. This is beneficial because it

may help reduce the amount of returns made to the store or online.

Customers may log on to this and speak with a representative from the company and

express and issues, concerns, or positive feedback that could help the company grow and gain

success.

Lastly, an important service that Gander Mountain offers is donations. Gander Mountain

feels that it is important to give back to the communities that they do business in. The company

gives generous donations at local, regional, and national levels to many organizations that

request donations.

• My Target Audience Choice: Campers

Introduction

The target of choice is campers. Though camping is not as popular as it has been in the past,

many people are still doing it for leisure (Business Insights). In particular, the target is family

campers. Family and camping go hand and hand and Gander Mountain tends to the needs of

these families and their camping activities.

Gander Mountain not only tends to the needs and wants of the target, but they also look at

statistics and numbers to help them find out who exactly is their largest target of campers. This

means Gander Mountain takes a loo at age, gender, ethnicity marital status, geography of

Kim Porter! ! � of � !7 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plancampers, etc. By looking at these numbers, Gander Mountain is able to better reach their target

market of campers.

Psychographic Elements of Campers

“Nearly more than 50 percent of campers are motivated to go on a camping trip simply

because they enjoy the act of camping.” When going camping, a budget is necessary to provide

the needs and wants of the camper for the trip. (Business Insights)

Family campers may need more essentials (food, cookware, gear, shelter, etc.) while

camping because they not only have their own needs to tend to but their children's needs as well.

Children who camp with their families when they are younger are more likely to want to

continue camping as they grow in age. According to the American Camper Report, in 2013,

around sixty percent of current adult campers participated in outdoor activities between the ages

of six and 12, compared to just 25 percent of non-campers. (2013 American Camper Report, 2).

Statistics show that nearly half of all campers do not buy items for camping unless they

are for themselves and most of the campers prefer to buy their camping items at home before

leaving for their trips. The budgeted expenses may include food, cookware, gear, sometimes

shelter (RV), etc. For example, last year, propane and liquid fuel was the most popular purchase

among campers. (2013 American Camper Report, 2). Buying these items prior to their trips may

be extremely beneficial to campers who have families and children attending the trips with them

Kim Porter! ! � of � !8 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planbecause they will have to purchase more items than if they were buying these items for just

themselves.

The American Camper Report shows that camping has dropped slightly over the past

year. However, roughly 13 percent of the U.S population over the age of six said that they

enjoyed camping.The most cited reason for the reduced number in camping trips is due to work

and family commitments. (2013 American Camper Report, 2).

Demographic Elements of Campers

For the most part, the gender demographics for campers are fairly even. Roughly 47% of females

above the age of six and 53% of males above the age of 6 camp. As far as age goes, ages 6 to 12

and ages 25 to 34 are the ages have the most amount of people that enjoy going camping and

regularly attend camping trips. The median age for campers in 2013 was roughly 33 years old

(2013 American Camper Report, 9). About 23% of campers make an income ranging from

$25,000 to $74,000 and almost 50% of all frequent campers have finished or have had some

college education. Of this 50% of frequent campers, at least 1-3 years of college have been

completed, or the camper has fully graduated. There is a massive gap in the ethnicity of those

who camp—82% of campers are Caucasian or white while African American, Blacks, Asian/

Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, and other races combined make up a small 18% of campers. (2013

American Camper Report, 8). Married campers make up about 53% of campers. (2013 American

Camper Report, 10). This could be because many more married couples have children than the

25% of single campers that may not have children. In terms of geography, the Pacific and

Mountain regions of the United States has the highest percent of camping participants while the

Kim Porter! ! � of � !9 41Intro to Media advertising!Media PlanMiddle Atlantic and New England regions have the lowest percent. (2013 American Camper

Report, 8).

How Target Aligns with Gander’s Offerings

The chosen target is campers. Gander offers many products to tend to campers needs. Tents and

shelters including screen rooms, canopies, portable gazebo’s, propane heaters, family camping

care kits, etc. These all align with the target because many of them hit the things that the target

wants, needs, and loves. For example, by selling family camping care kits, a target of campers

that have children may be very interested in the products that are directly advertised towards

families.

Gander Mountain also offers a large amount of equipment for camping which are

essential for camping needs. Air beds, cots, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads are sold for campers

who like to sleep in tents. Packs, bags, and luggage is offered for campers who love to hike, and

do on-the-go camping. Those campers who like more of an outdoor experience can also find

kayaks, boats, canoes, life vests, and boat accessories at Gander Mountain.

While Gander sells products geared towards camping in tents, they also gear a lot of their

products towards campers who use RV’s and trailers. A lot of furniture such as outdoor chairs,

fireplaces, etc. are sold on their website. These would be good for someone who uses an RV or

trailer because they would still give the camper an outdoor experience even though they are

sleeping indoors.

Since food is a big item for campers to buy, and most campers buy their food prior to

their trips, it is extremely beneficial that Gander Mountain offers cooking appliances, food

preparation, and outdoor cooking products. Grills and grill accessories, smokers and accessories,

deep fryers and steamers, and stoves and ovens can be found under cooking appliances on

Kim Porter! ! � of � !10 41Intro to Media advertising!Media PlanGander Mountain’s website. Under food preparation, seasonings and sauces, snacks, jerky and

meat can be purchased. By being able to purchase this online, campers visiting Gander

Mountain’s website are able to plan ahead and budget for their trips. Lastly, cookware is

available to buy at Gander such as cast iron cookware and campfire cookware. This makes it

possible for the campers to not only plan ahead and budget for food, but also figure out how they

are going to cook their food prior to the trip.

When talking about a more specific target of families who camp, many of the products

listed above would be beneficial. Selling items such as backpacks, snacks, tents, canopies,

sleeping bags, and air cots would all tend to the needs of those with families. For example,

backpacks, sleeping bags, tents, and air cots would all be great for families with children. If the

family was sleeping in a tent, many children may not want to sleep on the ground, so air cots

would be beneficial. Sleeping bags would be great for children because it can often be cold when

sleeping outside in a tent at night. Backpacks would be great for children when hiking on

camping trips, or even for the children to pack some snacks and favorite toys in as well. Gander

Mountain offering all of these things really helps tend to the needs of families who camp.

• Geographic Choice Explanation

Metro area priority No.1: Minneapolis, St. Paul

The number one area for Gander Mountain to advertise in is the Minneapolis-St Paul metro

area. This area has over 500,000 families that are active campers and each family in the area

had an average of 4 members. If there are 500,000 families in this area with around 4

members in each family, roughly 2 million people are going to be reached in the target

market. This is also a good area to advertise to because there are at least 5 stores nearby.

Typically, people do not like to have to travel a far distance to shop at a store, so having this


many stores nearby the Minneapolis St. Paul area will make it convenient for people to only

have to travel a short distance to shop at Gander Mountain. According the American camper

report, campers on average will travel up to 200 miles away to go camping. If they are already

traveling so far to get to their destinations, they are going to want somewhere close to get

their supplies for their trips.

Metro area priority No. 2: Indianapolis, IN

The chosen metro area priority number 2 is Indianapolis, IN. Indianapolis has around 278,000

homes with families who camp. This means that Gander Mountain could reach over 1,000,000

campers with supplies. There are 5 cities around Indianapolis on the store locator on the website.

This is extremely beneficial because if a camper is traveling, they may be able to stop at one of

the nearby stores on their way to their destination to get the supplies that are needed for their trip.

Metro area priority No. 3: Dallas Ft. Worth, TX

The chosen metro area priority number 3 is Dallas Ft. Worth, TX. There are approximately

500,000 families that go camping in this area. With such a high number of families, there is also

going to be a high demand for supplies for the camping trips. Around this area, are 4 store

locations. As previously stated, having locations close to the campers homes is crucial. With 4

locations nearby, Gander Mountain should advertise to these areas because there are going to be

many options for where people can go to get their supplies. They will be able to choose the store

that is closets to them, or if there is a product that is not in stock at one store, there are 3 other

stores nearby for a campers needs to be filled.

Gander Mountain Media Plan

Kim Porter! ! � of � !12 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan• Introduction:

There are many highlights of this media plan. Three top cities were each chosen as a good

place for Gander Mountain to advertise in. For each city, a media type was chosen for Gander

Mountain to advertise in and costs were added up in order to get a good idea of how much

Gander Mountain should spend advertising with each media vehicle. Some media vehicles spent

a large portion of the $2 million budget, while others spent hardly any money as they were not

seen as important to the target. Each media vehicle was carefully selected based off of the 3

cities, demographic and psychographics, and cost that best suits the target of campers.

• Media Type Priorities:

My top priority media type chosen radio. The secondary media priority is newspaper. There are

many reasons that I chose radio to be my top media type to advertise for Gander Mountain.

According to the American camper report, 82% of campers drive to their destination while the

other 18% either backpacked or camped out in their own backyards. If more than half of campers

drive to their destination, they are more than likely not going to be watching TV or surfing the

internet while driving because they may not have a portable TV in the car and they may not have

wifi access to the internet or do not own a device that has access to the internet. This is why radio

is such a good way to advertise to these campers because they can listen to the radio the entire

drive. I believe that advertising on the radio will also be best because it is my belief that most

campers leave for trips early in the mornings. By running advertisements repeatedly in the

mornings, campers may be reminded to get the products that they need from Gander Mountain

for their trips or get products that they may have forgotten about. It is my full belief that radio is

the best way for Gander Mountain to reach it’s target market for campers.

Kim Porter! ! � of � !13 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan My secondary media priority was newspaper. I chose for this to be my secondary priority

because it is offered all days of the week. I think it is good for Gander Mountain to be able to

have a choice when they want to run their ads and how long they want them to run. Whereas

with other media types such as TV or magazines, they may be limited to certain days depending

on what day of the week a program airs or how often a magazine is printed (once a month,

weekly, etc.). I strongly believe that these two media vehicles are the best for Gander Mountain

to use to reach their target of campers and my media buys were aligned directly with this belief.

• Specific Media Choices:

Magazine Choices:

The magazines that I chose for Gander Mountain to advertise in were Coast to Coast

Magazine, Camping Life, and AAA Campbook Guides. The first magazine, Coast to Coast was

chosen for a few reasons. In the description of the magazine in the SRDS book stated that Coast

to Coast Magazine “informs, educated and entertains Coast to Coast Resort members with

features such as tests of the newest models and equipment, technical articles, and advice, travel

features, descriptions of scenic drives and destination, RV related news, and how-to tips.” I think

that it is important for Gander Mountain to advertise in Coast to Coast magazine because the

reason that they are purchasing or subscribing to this magazine in the first place is obviously

because they like to camp or reading about camping. If they see a Gander Mountain ad in the

magazine, they may want to go look at the products that Gander Mountain has in order to go

camping. I decided to run a 1/2 page ad size because the 4 color full page price was rather pricey

at $11,235 per ad. Since magazines are not my top media type priority, I did not want to spend a

large amount of money on every single magazine that I chose to run an ad in. Advertisements in

a magazine are most valuable when on the back cover and because this is not my priority media

Kim Porter! ! � of � !14 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planchoice, I decided to run every ad on the inside page of the magazines. The total cost for Coast to

Coast magazine ended up being around $17,000 with a circulation of 100,000 people, and around

700,000 people who would see this ad (total audience). The cost to reach every 1,000 people by

advertising in Coast to Coast magazine would be $11.84.

The next magazine that I chose to advertise in was Camping Life magazine. I chose this

magazine because when reading about it, the description stated that it “provides readers with

informative articles about interesting destinations, products and activities to enhance their

outdoor lifestyle.” I believe that this is a good place for Gander Mountain to advertise in because

they can read about products that enhance outdoor lifestyle and then see an ad for Gander

Mountain and go there online or in the store and purchase these products. I again decided to run

a 1/2 page ad on the inside page and I chose to run only a small number of insertions (2) for each

magazine chosen because magazines are again, not my priority media choice. The total campaign

cost for Camping Life Magazine was much lower than the rest of the magazines chosen at only

around $10,0000. The circulation of this magazine is also much smaller at only around 68,000.

The total audience for this magazine was 476,000 which means that if Gander Mountain chose to

advertise in this magazine, they would only be paying $10.55 to reach every 1,000 people.

Lastly, the last magazine that was chosen for Gander Mountain to advertise in was AAA

Campbook Guidebook. This magazine is a “regional magazine guidebook of travel information

edited for AAA member campers.” This magazine is a good magazine for Gander Mountain to

advertise in because it is a very credited magazine that has extremely high circulation or number

of magazines printed. It also had avery high number of number of people who would see the ad

at around 8,001,000. I chose to run a full page ad in this magazine because it had the highest

number of people who would actually see the ad out of all of the other magazines I looked up

Kim Porter! ! � of � !15 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planand the cost of a full page ad in this magazine was actually cheaper than 1/2 a page in Coast to

Coast magazine. The cost per ad for one full page for AAA Campbook Guidelines cost $6670 per

ad while a half page for $8290. Though AAA Campbook Guidelines had a cheaper price and

higher total audience, I still chose to run the ad on the inside page and still only run 2 insertions

because magazines were not the top media priority for campers for Gander Mountain. AAA

Campbook Guidelines had a rather high circulation number of 1,143,000 which means that

Gander Mountain would spend a total campaign cost of $13,340 or $0.83 to reach every 1,000

people.

The average cost per ad of magazine ad’s for Gander Mountain would be $6,660 with a total of

6 insertions, a total campaign cost of $39,960, a total circulation of 1,311, a total audience of

9,177,000 and an average cost of $7.74 to reach every 1,000 people.

Newspaper Choices:

Newspapers were my second priority media type, therefore I felt that I needed to have more

than just two or three. I decided that having four different newspapers would be a good idea

because Gander Mountain could advertise in two different newspapers in one city. I chose for

Gander Mountain to advertise in two different newspapers in the Minneapolis St. Paul area

because it was my number one priority city.

The two newspapers that I chose to run Gander Mountains ads in, in the Minneapolis St. Paul

area are the Star Tribune and the Pioneer Press. I chose to run Gander Mountains ad in the Star

Tribune on Sunday because it had the highest circulation meaning that it was printing the most

papers out of all of the other papers that I found, which also meant that it had the highest number

of total audience. The total audience for the Star Tribune was about 746,000 and the total

circulation or number of papers being printed was 373,000. I chose to run a 12 inch ad because

Kim Porter! ! � of � !16 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planthe cost per ad was fairly expensive and the cost per inch was also expensive at $490. The cost

per ad was about $5,580, meaning that if I chose for Gander Mountain to run a larger ad size, the

price would skyrocket. Since this was my secondary priority type, I did not want to spend more

money on it than I was going to on radio. I chose for this ad to run in the travel section of the

newspaper because according to the American Camping Report of 2013, campers travel up to

200 miles to get to a destination. Therefore, having this in the travel section of the newspaper

would make the most sense. I decided to do a smaller number of insertions for the Star Tribune

and only do 25 insertions because otherwise the total cost would have skyrocketed. The total cost

ended up being $147,000 which means that Gander Mountain would be able to only spend $7.00

to reach every 1,000 people.

The next newspaper I chose for Gander Mountain to advertise in was the Pioneer Press. I also

chose this newspaper because it reaches the complete Twin Cities market meaning that it reaches

a larger audience. I chose to run Gander Mountains ad in the Pioneer Press on Tuesday through

Friday because it was a cheaper option. Similar to the Star Tribune, I chose to run Gander

mountains ad in the Pioneer Press in the travel section because it makes the most sense. When

looking at the prices for Tuesday’s through Friday’s in the Pioneer Press, I noticed that the price

was very cheap at only $174.90 per column inch. This is why I decided to run a larger ad size or

more column inches and chose to run this ad to be 30 column inches. For this same reason, I also

chose to add a higher number of insertions. Instead of running 25 insertions as I did in the Star

Tribune, I decided to run 45 insertions. The cost per ad was fairly high still because I ran a larger

number of insertions and was $5247. Since the cost per ad was rather high, the total cost ended

up being higher than the Star Tribune. The cost of the Star Tribune was about $147,000 and the

total cost for the Pioneer Press ended up being about $236,115. Though the cost was more, the

Kim Porter! ! � of � !17 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plannumber of newspapers being printed (circulation) was much lower than the Star Tribune as it was

around 184,000. The total audience for the Pioneer Press was much lower than the Star Tribune

as well, which is why I felt it was best to run the ad on days during the week rather than a

Sunday because a Sunday ad would cost more since it is the most popular day for newspapers.

Basically, Gander Mountain would be paying extra money for a smaller amount of people to see

their ad. The cost to reach every 1,000 people was a tad bit higher for the Pioneer Press than it

was for the Star Tribune by almost roughly $7 more.

The next newspaper that I chose was in my number 2 priority city, Indianapolis. I chose the

Indianapolis Star because it was the number one newspaper in Indianapolis. Since it was

basically the only newspaper that was run in this area, I knew that Gander Mountain would not

be able to run a large amount of advertisements in it because it was going to be expensive. I

chose for the ad’s to run Tuesday through Friday in the travel section of the newspaper because

this section makes the most sense and running a Sunday ad would be far too expensive as the ad

cost was close to $400 per column inch. I decided to run a 25 column inch ad because if I chose

too many more, the cost per ad would have been very high. The cost per column inch was still

almost $300, therefore the more column inches I would have added, the more the pricing would

have gone up and the final cost per ad price was already about 7,400 with only 25 column inches.

I decided to run 30 insertions as I felt it was still important for a lot of people to see Gander

Mountains ad because the Indianapolis Star was one of the only newspapers in the area and the

circulation of the newspaper was fairly high at 259,000 and the total audience was high as well at

about 518,000 people. For Gander Mountain to advertise in The Indianapolis Star, it would cost

them around $14.29 for every 1,000 people to see their ad. The total cost of this ad was the

Kim Porter! ! � of � !18 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plansecond highest in price out of all of the newspaper placements chosen as it was roughly a

$222,000 total cost.

Lastly, the final newspaper placement I chose was in the Focus Daily News newspaper in

Dallas Ft. Worth, TX. I chose this newspaper because it offered some of the cheapest prices in

the area for cost per column inch at only $23.00. Since the cost per column inch was extremely

low, I chose to have a larger column inch size and ran a 45 column inch ad. With a 45 column

inch ad and a $23 cost per column inch price, the cost per ad for Gander Mountain to advertise in

the Focus Daily News ended up only being around $1,035—which was the cheapest out of all of

the other placements chosen. Again, I chose to run the advertisements in this newspaper on

Tuesday through Friday in the Travel section as it was the cheapest option and I did not want to

spend more money than my priority media type, radio. I decided to run 45 insertions of this ad

because since it was cheap, running more insertions did not make a large difference when

figuring the total cost of the ads. The total cost for the Focus Daily News ended up only being

around $46,000 which made it the smallest price out of all of the placements chosen for Gander

Mountain to advertise in. The circulation of the Focus Daily News is rather small at only 31,000

and the total audience is only 62,000 people. Since the total audience number was low, the CPM

or the cost per 1,000 people to see the ad was really high at around $16.

Radio Choices:

Radio was my priority media type. I ended up spending a large amount (roughly 675,000) of

my $2 million budget on Radio as I felt it was the most important media type to reach Gander

Mountain’s camper target. I chose one radio station in each of my three cities, all of which I

chose to be in a country format and aired in the AM. I chose these all to be played on a country

format because it is my belief that this is the radio type that the most campers will listen to. I

Kim Porter! ! � of � !19 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planchose for Gander Mountain’s advertisements to be aired on the radio in the AM because I believe

that adults will hear these advertisements in the morning on their way to work and may get the

idea in their head of what products they might need from Gander Mountain that they can pick up

on their way home from work in the PM. I also feel it was beneficial to air these ads in the

morning because I believe that many people who leave for camping trips, do not leave at night

they leave in the morning. This may remind them that they forgot a certain item that they need on

their trip and remind them to go and get it from Gander Mountain before leaving.

The first station I chose was KEEY-FM in Minneapolis St. Paul. I chose this station because it

had the highest ratings int the area at 5.5 for the country format. The total number of listeners of

this station was about 140,000 and the cost per point was around $397. I decided to air this ad

100 times (insertions) because I felt that it should be played quite often as it is my priority media

type. The total cost of KEEY-FM ended up being around $218,300 which means that it would

cost Gander Mountain $15.56 to reach every 1,000 listeners.

The next station that I chose was WLHK-FM in Indianapolis. I chose this station because

similar to KEEY-FM in the Minneapolis St. Paul area, it had the highest rating of every country

format station with a rating of 7.3. The number of listeners for this station was about 93,257 and

the cost per point was again around $397. I still wanted to run a lot of insertions as this was my

top media vehicle choice, which is why I chose to still run 75 insertions. I chose 75 instead of

100 because the cost per 60 second ad ended up being over $2,800, which meant that the total

cost would go up a lot if more insertions or air times were added. The total cost for WLHK-FM

ended up being $217,350. Since the total cost was so high and the number of listeners was fairly

low, the CPM for this station was also very low. It would only cost Gander Mountain $4.26 to

reach every 1,000 listeners with their radio advertisement.

Kim Porter! ! � of � !20 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan The last station that I chose was KSCS-FM in Dallas Ft. Worth, TX. Similar to the past two

stations, I chose this station because it had some of the best ratings for country format stations in

the area. The rating for this station was 5.7. The number of listeners for this station was higher

than any of the 3 station placements chosen as it was about 260,000 listeners. The cost per point

was much lower for this station at only 105, which made the cost per 60 second ad much lower

than the other two. The cost for a 60 second ad for WLHK-FM ended up only being around

$600. Since the cost per 60 second ad was only $600 I decided to run a high number of insertions

again and run 75. By running 75 insertions, I was able to spend a little bit more of the budget of

$2 million and make sure that the ad was run often so that listeners would remember it. The total

cost of advertisements for KSCS-FM was $239,600 which meant that the CPM or price per

1,000 listeners for Gander Mountain would be very small at $2.30.

TV Choices:

I chose 3 different shows for television placements for Gander Mountain. I chose 3 because I

feel that even though TV is not my main media vehicle, it is still important because so many

people watch it. I used TV Guide’s website to find shows about camping as well as information

about each show.

The first program that I chose was “Camping Life.” I chose this show because the description

of the show stated that it was about camping gear, destinations and lifestyles, all of which I felt

Gander Mountain could benefit from airing advertisements during because the advertisements

(particularly camping gear) would pertain to the program. I ran the show in each of my 3 priority

cities.

In Minneapolis St. Paul, the rating for the show was 1.8%. The number of TV’s in this market

was 1,707,500. Based off of the ratings, about 25,000 households are viewing the program. This

Kim Porter! ! � of � !21 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planmeans that there was only around 64,000 viewers of Camping Life in this area. The average cost

per point for the show in this areas was $527, which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during

the show was around $948. I chose to run only 7 insertions because TV is not a top media

vehicle for Gander Mountain for campers, therefore I did not want to spend a lot of money. The

total cost of the ad in the Minneapolis St. Paul area was around $6,640. This meant that for

Gander Mountain to reach every 1,000 viewers in this area, it would cost them around $14.82.

In Indianapolis, the rating for the show was 1.8%. The number of TV’s in this market was

1,075,000. Based off of the ratings, about 16,125 households are viewing the program. This

means that there was only around 40,000 viewers of Camping Life in this area, which is much

lower than the Minneapolis St. Paul area. The average cost per point for the show in this areas

was $109, which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during the show was extremely low and

was around $196. Though the price per ad was extremely low, I chose to run a few more

insertions than I did in Minneapolis, but since the ratings were still low, I still only chose to run

10 insertions.The total cost of the ad in the Indianapolis area was around $1,962. This meant that

for Gander Mountain to reach every 1,000 viewers in this area, it would cost them around $4.91,

which is much cheaper than in the Minneapolis area.

In Dallas, Ft. Worth, the rating for the show was 1.8%. The number of TV’s in this market was

much higher than the other two cities at 2,413,500. Based off of the ratings, about 36,203

households are viewing the program. This means that there was a higher number of viewers at

around 91,000 viewing Camping Life in this area, which is much higher than the Minneapolis St.

Paul and Indianapolis areas. The average cost per point for the show in this areas was $604,

which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during the show was extremely hight and was around

$1,087. Since the price per ad was extremely high, I chose to run less insertions than I did in

Kim Porter! ! � of � !22 41Intro to Media advertising!Media PlanMinneapolis and Indianapolis and only ran 5 insertions. The total cost of the ad in the

Indianapolis area was around $5,436. This meant that for Gander Mountain to reach every 1,000

viewers in this area, it would cost them around $11.95.

The total cost for Camping Life was around $14,000 and the average cost per 1,000 viewers

was $10.56.

The next TV program that I chose was Family Camping. I chose this show because the

description of the show stated that it was an educational show for family campers. I felt as

though this was the perfect show for Gander Mountain to have advertisements run during

because many families camp. I ran the ad in each of my three cities.

In Minneapolis St. Paul, the rating for the show was 1.5%. The number of TV’s in this market


means that there was only around 64,000 viewers of Camping Life in this area. The average cost


the show was extremely low and was around $790. Though the price per ad was extremely low, I

chose to run a few more insertions than I did in Minneapolis, but since the ratings were still low,

I still only chose to run 10 insertions as it was again, not a main priority media type. The total

cost of the ad in the Minneapolis St Paul area was around $7,905. This meant that for Gander

Mountain to reach every 1,000 viewers in this area, it would cost them around $12.35, which is

fairly pricey.




lower than the Minneapolis St. Paul area. The average cost per point for the show in this area

Kim Porter! ! � of � !23 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planwas $109, which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during the show was extremely low and






In Dallas Ft. Worth, the rating for the show was 1.5%. The number of TV’s in this market was




was $604, which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during the show was extremely high and

was around $906. Since the price per ad was extremely high I chose to run less insertions than I

did in Minneapolis and Indianapolis areas and only ran 5 insertions. The total cost of the ad in

the Dallas Ft. Worth area was around $4,530. This meant that for Gander Mountain to reach

every 1,000 viewers in this area, it would cost them around $10.

The total cost for Family Camping was around $14,000 and the average cost per 1,000

viewers was $8.80.

The last TV show that I chose was “Let’s Go Camping.” I chose this show because the

description said it was “a series devoted to the world of camping, including places to visit and

cooking tips for campers. I felt that this was a good place for Gander Mountain to place ads

because they would have the supplies sold at their store that are shown on the show and could

advertise some of those supplies while the show is on. I ran the ad in each of my three cities.

Kim Porter! ! � of � !24 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan In Minneapolis St. Paul, the rating for the show was 1.5%. The number of TV’s in this market


means that there was only around 64,000 viewers of Camping Life in this area. The average cost


the show was around $790. I chose to run only 5 insertions because TV is not a top media

vehicle for Gander Mountain for campers, therefore I did not want to spend a lot of money. The

total cost of the ad in the Minneapolis St. Paul area was around $3,952. This meant that for

Gander Mountain to reach every 1,000 viewers in this area, it would cost them around $12.35.




lower than the Minneapolis St. Paul area. The average cost per point for the show in this area

was $109, which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during the show was extremely low and






In Dallas Ft. Worth, the rating for the show was 1.5%. The number of TV’s in this market




was $604, which meant that the cost per 30 second ad during the show was extremely high and

Kim Porter! ! � of � !25 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planwas around $906. Since the price per ad was extremely high I chose to run less insertions than I

did in Minneapolis and Indianapolis areas and only ran 5 insertions. The total cost of the ad in

the Dallas Ft. Worth area was around $4,530. This meant that for Gander Mountain to reach

every 1,000 viewers in this area, it would cost them around $9.96.

Web Site Choices:

Each website was chosen for a specific reason. The first website chosen was

reserveamerica.com. I chose this website first because it was the top website on the Google

search I did which means it is a credited site by Google. This means that it must have good

traffic, good ratings, and credible sources and information. After looking at the website, I noticed

that the site was for helping campers plan their trips. This would be a perfect place for Gander

Mountain to put their advertisements because it is a site that someone is going to in order to plan

their trip—what better way to plan your trip than to buy supplies for your trip at Gander

Mountain. After looking the site up on compete.com my indications were right: the site had a

very high number of visitors a month at about 921,000. This means that even though the total

cost per month for an advertisement on this page will be $771, it will be extremely cheap to

target per 1,000 people ($.084). I chose to run 300 impressions per month because the site is so

popular, so running more ads more often will be beneficial to Gander Mountain.

The next website that I came across is camping.com. This website was the second site that I

found when doing a Google search for “camping.” When looking at camping.com I noticed that

viewers could do a range of things from “find a campsite” to “write a review” on a site that they

had already visited. I believe that this is a good site for Gander Mountain to advertise at because

most of it’s ads are “above the fold” or placed above the middle of the page meaning that

everyone that opens the page will see the ad first. The site had a fair number of unique visitors a

Kim Porter! ! � of � !26 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planmonth at 248,000 and the total cost per month of the ads would cost around $642.50 per month,

which is relatively cheap. I chose to run 250 insertions on camping.com because that means that

Gander Mountain would be able to reach their camping target for $2.59 per 1,000 people.

The next site that I found was gocampingamerica.com. I chose to run a small amount of

impressions (25) on this website because it offered the same information as camping.com and

reserveamerica.com, however the amount of unique visitors was much lower at only about

20,000 per month. Though compete.com shows that gocampingamerica.com has a low number

of unique site visitors a month, it is still one of the first links that appears on the page when

searching “camping” into the Google search bar and it would only cost Gander Mountain about

$64.25 a month to advertise there. It is my belief that even though it has a lower number of

unique visitors a month, it still would be beneficial for Gander Mountain to advertise at because

it is one of the first links offered when someone types in a “camping” keyword into a Google

search bar. This means that even if gocampingamerica.com isn't the page that someone was

looking for, it may be one of the first pages that they look at because it is one of their first 5 or 6

link options. Even if someone goes to gocampingamerica.com and does not stay on the page

long, advertising here could be beneficial because camping gear may have been what they were

looking for when they searching “camping” into the search bar. I think that by having an ad here,

visitors could be able to click the ad and be re-directed from gocampingamerica.com to Gander

Mountain’s website.

The next site chosen was campingworld.com. Though it was not one of the very first sites that

appeared when I typed in “camping” into the search bar, it had the highest number of unique

visitors a month out of all of the websites chosen at around 1,347,000 unique visitors a month.

For this reason, I chose to run a high number of impressions on this site at 350. Running 350

Kim Porter! ! � of � !27 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planimpressions to campingworld.com added up to be around $900 per month for Gander Mountain

which means Gander Mountain would be able to reach every 1,000 people (CPM) for only $0.67.

The next website that I chose for Gander Mountain to us was CNN. When thinking of a well-

known website one of the first sites that came to my mind was CNN. After searching CNN

camping in Google, I was redirected to CNN’s camping portion of their website at

travel.CNN.come/tags/camping. I chose this site because it was a well-known site that could be

easily found even on accident. If a camper was searching for news on CNN they may come

across the camping section. What I liked most about this site was that it was different than the

past sites I had found—it did not offer specific information about camping and travel information

and guides but rather offered stories that campers would like to read. If a camper is really into

camping, they may love to read all about it and this would be a good place for Gander Mountain

to place an ad because while they are finding a story to read about, they may see the ad and go

and look at camping supplies on Gander Mountain’s website instead. CNN’s website had about

185,000 unique visitors a moth which is a fairly average number, which is why I chose to only

run 25 impressions. The CPM for this site is only $.037 and the total cost per month is only

$68.75. Gander Mountain could advertise on an extremely well-known website for a very low

price. They will get their money’s worth for the ad’s that they are putting on this site.

The next site chosen was recreation.gov. I chose this site because it helps campers find

recreational areas to camp and since it is a .gov site, I figured it would have a lot of traffic. After

using compete.com, I found that my conclusions were correct as this site had nearly 420,000

unique visitors month. Though it had a lot of unique visitors, I chose to only run 25 impressions

as the internet is not a top priority media vehicle for Gander Mountain. The total cost per month

for this ad was $64.25, which meant that since the total number of impression over the span of 3

Kim Porter! ! � of � !28 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planmonths was 75, the total cost for Gander Mountain to place an advertisement here would be

$192.75. This means that Gander Mountain could reach every 1,000 site visitors for only $0.15.

The last site that I chose to run Gander Mountains advertisements on was campgrounds.com. I

chose this site because I felt that a large amount of people in the target would be using this

website to find where their destination could be. When they see an ad for Gander Mountain on

the side, they may be more inclined to check it out or go to Gander Mountain’s website if they

need products any of the products advertised for their trip that they are searching for on

campgrounds.com. The number of unique visitors for this site was fairly good at 250,000 per

month. Since the number of unique visitors was not extremely high, I chose to only run 25

impressions per month because otherwise Gander Mountain may be paying for advertisements

that aren’t being seen. The total cost for the month for this site was $64.25 and with only 75 total

impressions, the total cost was extremely low at only $192.75. This means that Gander Mountain

would be able to reach every 1,000 unique visitors for only $0.26.

Google Keywords:

I searched on Gander Mountain’s website and looked through the camping section and glanced

at items that I felt most campers would be looking for when they go to Gander Mountain or what

kind of items they may search in the Google search bar that would re-direct them to Gander

Mountain’s website. I chose a few items that I felt were the most important and I then used

Google’s CPC to figure out which of these words and key phrases had the most traffic. The

keywords that I chose were, “tent, backpack, first aid kit, lantern, cot, flashlight, family tent, and

pocket knife.” The first word I chose was tent because when I personally think of camping, that

is the first thing that pops into my mind. If a camper is going to camp outdoors, they are more

than likely going to want to have a tent. This keyword had a total of about 5,000 clicks per

Kim Porter! ! � of � !29 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planmonth and would cost $530 per 1,000 clicks for a number of 3 months. The next keyword that I

chose was backpack. As stated in the American Camper Report, nearly 82% of campers drive to

their destination, however around 18% of campers backpack meaning that they carry all of their

items with them and walk to their destinations. These 18% of “backpackers” are going to need a

backpack. I chose for this keyword to have 750 clicks per month. The cost per click was

reasonably high compared to the other keywords at $1.28 per click. Since the CPC was fairly

high, the cost per 1,000 clicks was about $1,280. The next keyword that I chose was first aid kit.

I felt that it is essential for all campers to have one of these while on a trip because you never

know what kind of accidents may happen. I chose for this keyword to have the second highest

number of clicks out of all of the keywords chosen at 1,000 clicks per month. The cost per click

for this keyword was the highest out of all of the other keyword searches at $3.61 per click

which made the CPM or cost for each 1,000 clicks about $3,610. The next keyword chosen was

lantern. This keyword was chosen because if campers are going to be outside and are not

camping in a cabin or an RV, they are going to need some source of light during the night time. I

chose for this keyword to only have about 600 clicks per month as I felt only the percentage of

tent campers would be searching for this. The cost per click for “lantern” was only $0.60 and the

cost per 1,000 clicks (CPM) was only $600 which meant that it would only code around $1,400

total for this keyword. The next keyword chosen was cot. I chose this keyword because though

some people may enjoy camping outside in tents instead of RV’s, they may not enjoy sleeping on

the ground. I chose to only run 300 clicks per month with this search as I felt that most—not all,

but most people who choose to sleep in a tent, choose to sleep on the ground. The cost per click

for “cot” was only $0.80 which made the total cost extremely cheap at only $480 and the cost per

1,000 clicks cheap as well at only $800. The next keyword chosen was flashlight. I chose this

Kim Porter! ! � of � !30 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planbecause thought it is similar to a lantern, it is probably something that every camper desires to

have with them if they are going to be camping in a tent. I chose to only run 200 clicks per

month here as I felt that “lantern” would be a higher searched item in Google. This keyword only

cost $0.42 per click and only $420 per 1,000 clicks. The next keyword I chose is family tent. My

target for Gander Mountain is campers but specifically, families who camp. If a family has a

large amount of people in it, they are going to need a family sized tent. I chose to only run 200

clicks per month for this keyword as I felt that it was very similar to “tent” and could be found

by searching “tent.” The cost per click for family tent was $0.63 and the total cost was $252.

Lastly, the final keyword that I chose was pocket knife. As I was searching Gander Mountain’s

website, I noticed that there were a large number of pocket knifes displayed in the camping

section of their site. I think that this is an essential tool to have on a camping trip that many

campers would seek for before heading off on a camping trip. I chose to only run 200 clicks per

month for this as I feel that many places sell pocket knifes, so it would be hard to run a lot of

advertisements because so many places have them. The cost per click for “pocket knife” was

$0.85 and the total cost was $340.

Each of the google keywords had an average number of monthly searches and the level of

competition that they had. Each of these average numbers of monthly searches and level of

competition they have are posted below.

!!!!


Media Plan Schedule:

The consecutive months that I have chosen for the media plan schedule are June, July, and

August. I chose these months for many reasons. According to the American Camper Report in

2013, camping trips tend to be longer in the Summer months than they are in any other months.

In fact, the average number of days for a camping trip in the Summer month was 2.8 days while

the Fall was only 1.9, the Winter was 1.7, and the Spring was 2.5. It is my belief that this is due

to the campers not wanting to camp outdoors in inclement weather. If trips are longer during

these 3 months, it would be most beneficial for Gander Mountain to run ads at this time. It would

be most beneficial because the longer the trip, the more supplies campers will need to get them

through the trip. If Gander Mountain is advertising through multiple media vehicles during these

3 consecutive months, their target of campers will be more likely to see/hear the advertisements

and actually listen to or watch them whereas if these advertisements were run during the winter

Kim Porter! ! � of � !32 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Planmonths, the target would be less likely to want to purchase anything being advertised because

they are not going to use it as much at that time. Having Gander Mountain run their

advertisements during June, July, and August will be the most effective way for them to reach

their target of campers.

Justification of Money Spent:

The overall budget for this plan was $2 million. I am suggesting that Gander Mountain spend

most of the budget with a total of about $1,406,270. I feel that this is efficient because Gander

Mountain will be able to target campers using all of the necessary media vehicles. There are 7

internet, 4 newspaper, 3 magazine, 3 radio, and 3 television media vehicles. This is a good range

of vehicles used so that Gander Mountain may get their message out in all effective ways. For

the target of campers, the most money spent on radio and newspaper.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kim Porter! ! � of � !33 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan!

MediaPlan Spreadsheets • Summary Sheet:

Kim Porter! ! � of � !34 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan!!• Magazine

Kim Porter! ! � of � !35 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan!• Newspapers !

Kim Porter! ! � of � !36 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan• Television:

Kim Porter! ! � of � !37 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan• Radio

Kim Porter! ! � of � !38 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan• Internet

Kim Porter! ! � of � !39 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan• Google Keywords: !!

Kim Porter! ! � of � !40 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan• Schedule Spreadsheet

Kim Porter! ! � of � !41 41Intro to Media advertising!Media Plan!

Bibliography: "Gander Mountain Company." International Directory of Company Histories. Ed. Tina Grant. Vol. 90. Detroit: St. James Press, 2008. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. !The Outdoor Foundation, and The Coleman Company, INC. 2013 American Camper Report. Wichita, KS: n.p., 2013. PDF !United States. Census Bureau. U.S Department of Commerce. American FactFinder - Community Facts. U.S Census Bureau, n.d. Web. 05 Oct. 2014. <http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml>. !

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