Online MA Prompt #1 – Storytelling Across Multiple Channels

Chloe Rambo

Semester: Fall 2016

Section I – Research & Profiling

· Audience Type: The average female college student — upperclassmen (21-23 year old) — more specifically, is moving into their first apartment with friends and is looking to create and decorate their first “real” space.

· Audience Awareness: Our student is familiar with Target from shopping for day-to-day needs, school supplies, and apparel, and knows the brands and styles associated with Target are a step up from typical department or big box stores.

· Goals, Needs & Motivations: The upper-classmen is looking to create a trendy and personalized space with limited budget. They want to see examples and inspirational photos of well-designed bathrooms and wash areas, including vanities, mirror décor and storage options. The student wants to use their budget as wisely as possible while creating a space that represents them and their preferences in color, texture, and accessory design.

· Challenges & Frustrations: The upper-classmen in a metropolitan city may not have a personal vehicle, and shopping while utilizing public transportation isn’t always easy (especially when purchasing larger items like bathroom rugs, towels, or bathroom scales.) Budget also, is an every-day obstacle and challenge to the average college student, as funds are typically divided between school expenses, food supplies, and bills. Not being able to express their design tastes or create the “space of their dreams” on a limited budget is a frustrating factor.

· Media Usage & Preferences:

· In Google, they’re searching for “inexpensive and trendy” décor items. They’re most likely searching Pinterest for design ideas, and their favorite luxury sites (Pottery Barn, Urban Outfitters, Free People, etc), to find styles that suit their tastes, and turning to less-expensive stores like Target to find similar styles.

· They’re motivated to decorate their space in a way that represents their style and suits their lifestyles. From living with family to moving to undergraduate housing, bathrooms are shared space and students don’t have the opportunity to redecorate. They’re motivated to have a stylish and well-designed space – a place that represents their personal style and fits their needs and passions.

· Our audience would click on content that featured low-cost DIYs to creating a well-designed bathroom space, as well as easy guides to designing the bathroom space you dreamed of. This content could include how to create extra storage with scrap wood or other basic supplies, or even describe how to make minor changes that will bring an older bathroom space (those found in lower-cost apartments or older apartment complexes geared toward college students) up to modern design styles.

· Contests or discounts would also be a great way to feature content geared to the average female upperclassmen. With a tight budget and limited income, finding ways to save money on bathroom décor would result in highly-clickable content. A great way to feature content would be in a Buzzfeed-style article, sponsored by Target. The medium is relatable to our demographic, and uses humor and pop culture references to integrate the sales pitch with typical content.

· Campaign Tone: The tone should be clean, casual, but also almost aloof — that of a fashion magazine or concept store. Many Pinterest designs captures this well. The campaign should be beautifully-designed, made with quality materials, and capture the highly-organized, successful, driven, stylish person our female upperclassman is. Video, photos, even a digital tour or a showroom would capture the tone well.

· Competitor: Considering the average budget for individuals in the target audience, Wal-Mart will be the primary competitor for sales in bathroom products and décor.

· Promotional Assets: Wal-Mart is a company with stable top of mind positioning within the college-aged audience, making them a top competitor with similar products.

· Perceivable Quality: Target stores have the reputation to be of higher quality than Wal-Mart stores, both in quality of product (how long the product will last), and of design (how aesthetically pleasing, unique, on-trend the product is.

Above, the photo from Business Insider, illustrates the differences in advertising costs from 2014 between Wal-Mart and Target stores. This budget item, as well as the number of stores in the country (Wal-Mart’s 4,588 versus Target’s 1,799.)

Section II – Message Development

Campaign Theme Idea: A collaboration with Career Girl Daily online publication, which is dedicated to women focused on higher education, gaining work/internship experience, and finding a foothold in the career world. The campaign would include sponsored content on CGD about the bathroom décor of established career women like Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, fashion editor Emanuelle Alt, blog writer Emily Shuman, and athlete Nikki Blacketter — wrapping back to Target’s similar products and accessories at great prices. It would also include a contest for a bathroom makeover including select items from Target’s bathroom line, as well as discount codes found and sourced through CGD social media channels.

Key Words and Phrases:

· Accessible – Target stores and shopping on Target.Com is easy-access to quality items

· Stylish – Target’s “Threshold” line is a popular and high-style choice

· Multi-use – Many items serve function as accessory pieces, as well as storage or practical use

· Cost-effective – With Target’s line, you’re purchasing high-quality unique items at a fraction of the cost of other décor stores

· From your favorite workout shirts to bathroom décor and everything in between, Target has the on-trend items and great prices you want.

· Target has the best names and brands of shops at affordable prices.

· Target’s website and online shopping experience is unparalleled, including customer service.

Product Features and Benefits:

Styles

Features

Benefits

Price Range

Towels

Stylish, neutral towels with trendy design

Use for decorative display or for every-day use

These towels have the best features of both needs – they’re beautiful enough for décor but their price point is perfect for daily use

$9.09 - $19.99

Curtains

A bright pop of color in an unexpected place – a shower curtain is a great place to be playful with design

Lightweight anti-bacteria fabric and button hold top design matches with any current rod hooks

You can bring together almost any bathroom décor with a bright curtain, and the price point makes it replaceable when needed

$11.89

Bath rugs

Another neutral and intricate design to bring in the grays from the hand towels and accessories

Grippy bottom to ensure non-slip on wet floors, absorbent weaving to leave less mess

A solid and strong design to withstand daily use and wet environments

$21.24

Bath accessories

Geo stone bath set and accessories

The stone is solid, provides clean lines and aesthetic appeal to ordinary products

The stone is an unexpected texture and material for the bathroom set – a great addition

$8.99

Bathroom mirrors

Threshold mirror

Classic mirror with an interesting and different shape

Mountable on walls or you can place in frames

$19.99

Bathroom scales

American Weight Scales bathroom scale

A surprising and surprising shape that serves as décor and function

$29.49

Campaign 5W’s:

· Who: The target audience is a single undergraduate female aged 21-23 and moving into their first apartment or personal space.

· What: Target’s line of bath products are so versatile, from brights and bolds to muted neutrals, there’s something for every taste at manageable price points.

· Where: Customers can purchase items both in-stores and online from http://www.target.com/c/bath-home/-/N-5xtvc#sn-50636213.

· When: Date range offers won’t be as successful with our target audience because their main time of shopping for bathroom décor will be in late July or August when they’re moving into their own place at the start of the academic year. Coupons and exclusive online offers, on the other hand, will be successful as the target demographic is hoping to save money while finding stylish items.

· Why: Incentive is to keep up with modern design and style while creating a space that is true to their personality and taste. Having a more “put-together” space is linked to greater self-confidence and success, and those feelings are well illustrated through space decoration.

· How: Through the campaign described, Career Girl Daily could run multiple features on the in-style design tactics, the psychological and career-based benefits of having a space you love, and the affordability of Target’s line. Social media outreach should be included.

Call to Action:

You finally have YOUR space – it’s time to decorate it! Check out the line of apartment and bathroom décor at Target.Com.

Section III – Content Creation

· Facebook Post: Check out what our College Stylists recommend for decorating your first apartment! Keep your eyes peeled – we might just be going #LIVE with our stylists to see how they’ll use Target’s new line. Use the code from this morning’s article on Career Girl Daily and save 25% on all bathroom décor!

· Twitter Post: Cute towels are a girls’ best’s friend. Check out Target’s new Apartment Collection in collaboration with @CareerGirlDaily.

· Bright and sunny mornings make for great days – go to Target.Com to see our new bath collection, and we know you’ll be walking on sunshine.

· Blog Post: Too good to be true: The best simple décor tips of the year

· It’s undeniable marble has been the look of the year. We’ve seen marble the smooth grey, black and white patterning everywhere – travelling from the traditional kitchen backsplash to iPhone cases, notebooks, manicures and more. Take a cue from timeless marble for bathroom décor. Blacks, whites and greys go together like butter to create a simple and clean area.

Target’s exclusive line of towels are the perfect addition to any space, but add just enough pizazz and class to your bathroom set-up. It’s incredibly chic – why stop there. Bathmats, mirrors and bathroom scales can complement the look. There’s no reason to believe marble stays in the kitchen. By utilizing the same colors and styles in the bathroom add a dose of unexpected style, at a great price point.

7 Rambo, Chloe