-american tradition campaign- final

Running head: “AMERICAN TRADITION CAMPAIGN” 1

Pabst Blue Ribbon, “American Tradition Campaign”

Derek Arguello

Grand Valley State University

“AMERICAN TRADITION CAMPAIGN” 2

Abstract

Today, brewing giants such as: Miller, Coors, and Anheuser-Busch control over half of the entire

market for malt beverages. With such heavy opposition, Pabst Brewing Company has personally

witnessed their staple product: Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) dwindles in sales. As an introduction to

the Fundamentals of Advertising, this campaign will re-determine a target market of an audience

built upon twenty-one to twenty-four year old male college students in the Lafayette, Indiana

direct marketing area (DMA). To effectively appeal to this new audience, PBR will be positioned

as a traditional, American beer for an affordable price. Accordingly, a new advertising objective

of increasing the market share for Pabst Brewing Company will serve as the approach to

effectively advertise. Included in the creative segment are advertisements for outdoor, magazine,

and a radio script. Moreover, this advertising campaign will include cost of running in each

respective form of media.


Pabst Blue Ribbon, “American Tradition Campaign”

Given the assignment of; creating, researching, and executing a successful advertising

campaign, it became required to select a specific product produced by a company’s brand. The

product of which that has been selected to create this hypothetical campaign is, Pabst Blue

Ribbon Beer. Pabst Brewing Company, the maker of the beer, was originally founded in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1844 (The Whole History, 2012). However, the brewery currently

reside their headquarters out of Los Angeles, California.

In its infant stages, the beer was first named, “Best Select,” shortly following up with the

name, “Pabst Select” (The Whole History, 2012). It wasn’t until the beer entered an era of

dominance that it finally received its name as it still is today. During such time the beer received

recognition for winning its first gold medal at the Centennial Celebration in 1876 (The Whole

History, 2012). Shortly following, Pabst claimed another award by winning, “America’s Best

Beer,” at the World’s Colombian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 (The Whole History, 2012).

Following its win in Chicago, the beer gained public popularity by winning further awards

nationally as well as internationally. To market their brew’s award winning qualities, Pabst

Brewing Company began tying a ribbon around the neck of every bottle distributed, thus the blue

ribbon. In 1889 the name stuck, and the company officially adopted the name, Pabst Blue Ribbon

(The Whole History, 2012).

After years of dominance, sales of the beer steadily climbed. Peaking at just over

eighteen million barrels in 1977 (The Whole History, 2012). However, shortly following its rise

to the top, Pabst Blue Ribbon began to rapidly drop below other domestic companies such as

Miller-Coors and Anheuser Busch. The company witnessed an all-time low in sales, barely

reaching one million barrels, in 2001.


Motivation of Campaign

Pabst Brewing Company offers an affordable beer with PBR, without sacrificing good

taste. Being a college student on a limited budget, the beer has become a go-to first choice to

enjoy on a weekend off from class. Thus allowing the spark to motivate this campaign; creating

an advertising campaign for Pabst Brewing Company that would allow PBR to once again

become the dominant choice of beer. After experiencing such decrease in sales, as well as being

a personal favorite, the beer offers an opportunity to revive its award award-winning name. By

incorporating an effective advertising campaign, PBR will be rewarded the benefits of increased

sales. Additionally, being such a historic brand, it is important to preserve the tradition of which

Pabst Blue Ribbon has earned its name. Yet, positioning and revitalizing it in such a way that

will allow the beer to reclaim its first place title.

Point of Departure

In order to achieve such desired ideals, it must first be asked, “How can PBR be brought

back on top without sacrificing its already well-established qualities?” Pabst Blue Ribbon began

in the mid 1800’s, was awarded, “America’s Best,” survived prohibition, and is still being sold

today (The Whole History, 2012). To creatively stamp PBR, this campaign will emphasizes its

everlasting establishment; implementing the slogan, “American Tradition,” to demonstrate its

prestigious past. The goal of this campaign will be to emphasize the history that PBR has shared

with society throughout the duration of American Culture. Thus, illustrating the product in such a

way to be perceived just as traditional as the values of which America was founded upon. Values

which every American share and possess. Ultimately leading to the creation of the idea that,

Pabst Blue ribbon has been established with Americans since the beginning, stamping itself as an

American past time. Concluding that this one single brew is an American tradition. Moreover,


this creative stamp will include the tagline, “You don’t get a blue ribbon for second place,” at the

end of every advertisement carried out. Further emphasizing the award winning taste of a beer

that has been around for one hundred and sixty-eight years and counting.

Target Audience, DMA, and Timing of Campaign

A proper target audience, DMA, and timing of the campaign must next be selected in

order to effectively reach out to the consumers most likely to purchase Pabst Blue Ribbon. These

consumers, whom shall be identified, will acknowledge and relate to this creative stamp more

closely, and begin to desire to be tied and connect with the brand.

Geographically, a campaign such as this will ideally be carried out in major college cities

across the United States. College males, ages twenty-one through twenty-four will be highlighted

as the emphasis demographically. As a psychographic description, this campaign is targeting

new voters. Inventing the image that said audience wants to illustrate their American Pride by

drinking a traditional, American beer. After further research through, SRDS Media Solutions,

this selected target market psychographically; avoids television commercials, listens to more

Internet radio opposed to regular radio, and also participates in activities such as sports or

exercise at least once a week. From a behavioristic description, these selected consumers will

most likely be on a tighter budget financially considering they will be in college. As a result, it is

important to understand that this selected market behavioristically tends to purchase cheaper,

more affordable beer. It then becomes necessary to convince said audience that Pabst Blue

Ribbon is clearly the better choice in beer by having an affordable price without the sacrifice of

taste.

To reach such desired consumers, it then must be addressed a suitable timing for the

campaign that will capture the attention of the selected audience. In achieve an ideal timing, the


newly developed creative stamps for PBR must be taken into consideration, “American

Tradition,” “You don’t get a blue ribbon for second place,” as well as the affordability of the

product. This may be further dissected as, “A domestic beer, that taste great and is affordable.”

Hence, July 1, 2014 through September 1, 2014 has been selected as a timing of the campaign.

By doing so, the product will target buyers whom will consider Pabst Blue Ribbon for their

upcoming Fourth of July Festivities. Furthermore, such date runs while most college students

move back to school, thus, targeting students who wish to meet up and have a few beers with

their friends they haven’t seen all summer.

After researching and determining these variables, this campaign will select Lafayette,

Indiana as a desired DMA. The Lafayette DMA is home to the University of Purdue, the

Boilermakers. This city is predominantly college oriented, made up by a majority of students. It

includes many events and an atmosphere perfect to target the selected college audience. Even

more, the Lafayette DMA holds the largest market index of males ages twenty-one through

twenty-four. With an index of two hundred and forty-five according to SRDS Media Solutions,

this DMA proves to have the most potential buyers.

Positioning Strategy

In summary, the positional strategy will be to pitch Pabst Blue Ribbon as a traditional,

American beer of which college students can stamp their civic ideology simply by drinking it. In

order to do this, PBR will advertise through Internet radio commercials which can be found

through sites and apps such as; Pandora, Spotify, and 8Tracks. Thus, an initial contact with the

target audience will be made in order to make them consider drinking PBR. Moreover, this initial

contact broadens further out to the selected audience because of the tendency to listen to such

Internet radio stations while working out, running the track, or preparing for a sporting event,


offering even more exposure. A large portion of the audience often works out before they go out

for the night, so the initial contact will be still in the back of their thought. As a result, the next

step of the campaign will include outdoor advertisements featuring Pabst Blue Ribbon near

stores whose primary income is from sales in beer. Ultimately, the target consumer will hear the

commercial broadcasted through Internet radio as a medium while working out on a Friday

afternoon. This first contact will stay with them in their thoughts for the evening. After getting

ready to go out for the night, they will most likely need to purchase a case of beer, they will then

see the outdoor advertising, remember the internet radio commercial, and walk out of the store

with Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Creative Segment

The advertising objective of the Pabst Blue Ribbon, “American Tradition Campaign,”

will be to influence an increase in the market share for the beer. The Integrated Marketing

Communication (IMO) source will be a planned message. Typically consumers view planned

messages as self-serving for the brand (Arens, W.F., Schaefer, D.H., & Weigold, M.F, 2012).

However, to combat this belief and to increase the impact of the campaign, the following tactics

has been determined:

Encourage brand switching; converting consumers from a competitor’s beer to Pabst

Blue Ribbon.

Create steady customers out of occasional consumers.

Reinvent consumer’s beliefs and attitudes about PBR.

As a result of effectively accomplishing these tactics, sales of Pabst Blue Ribbon will ultimately

rise, thus, achieving the final advertising objective.


According to Market Share Reporter, Pabst Brewing Company only controls a small segment

of the beer market. The report gives the top beer companies by shipment volume in 2010, of

which shows (Gale Directory Library, 2013):

1. Anheuser-Busch, 47.9%.

2. MillerCoors, 28.9%.

3. Crown Imports, 5.35%.

4. Heineken NV, 4%.

5. Pabst Brewing Co., 2.7%.

Consequently, Pabst has only a small portion of the market. The goal of this campaign will be to

raise Pabst Brewing Co. into the fourth position of this market. As a measurement method, Pabst

Blue Ribbon will compare their total shipment volume against the top brands of beer. To

understand the effectiveness of the campaign, the total shipment volume will be measured the

first day of the campaign, the last day, six months after, and one year following. After, the

volume will be compared to the top beer companies of the market. Accordingly if the,

“American Tradition Campaign,” proves to be effective; Pabst Blue Ribbon will jump to the

fourth or higher position.

Copy Platform

Again, this campaign will target college males, ages twenty-one through twenty-four.

This selected target audience has a psychographic attitude that: (1) avoids television

commercials, (2) listens to more internet radio opposed to traditional radio; and (3) participates

in actives such as sports or physical exercise at least once a week (SRDS Media Solutions,

2014). Behavioristically, this audience tends to spend less due to being on a college budget.


Comparatively, PBR doesn’t stack up in sales against larger brands such as Anheuser-

Busch or MillerCoors. With annual sales for Anheuser-Busch reported at $36,297,000,000

(Redbooks, 2013), Pabst Brewing Company cannot compete head to head with such a power

house in beer. Hence, a more achievable goal has been set to acquire the fourth position in the

market. However, Pabst Blue Ribbon does have a comparative advantage against the top beers: a

long established tradition. This will be used as the emphasis of the entire campaign.

The, “American Traditions Campaign,” will emphasize three key features of Pabst Blue

Ribbon beer in order to achieve its objective. By adhering to each previously mentioned tactic, it

will allow for the campaign to further increase the impact to the target audience; ultimately

achieving the final objective of increased sales. In addition, accompanying each feature will be a

corresponding benefit for choosing PBR instead of competitors.

The first feature that must be illustrated in the creative segment is the beer’s reasonably

low price as compared to other beers. The Liquor Mart in Boulder, Colorado list on their website

a thirty count case of Pabst Blue Ribbon for $17.49 (Liquor Mart, 2013). Comparatively, a thirty

pack of Anheuser-Busch’s Busch Light sells for $20.99 (Liquor Mart, 2013). Although a

difference of $3.50 is not relatively large for a single purchase; over the duration of one year

when a consumer purchases one case of beer per week, they would save a total of $182.00.

Hence, as a benefit of PBR’s efficient price: the consumer would save an exponential amount of

money over time. Thus, applying the first two tactics of this campaign. As a result of featuring

affordability, consumers begin purchasing Pabst Blue Ribbon instead of a competitor’s more

expensive beer. This additionally encourages consumers to establish themselves as frequent

purchasers of PBR in order to save money over time.


In order to begin coordinating the positional strategy that this campaign will implement

with the actual advertisements; the second feature that will be emphasized is the beer’s tradition.

Established in 1844 (The Whole History, 2012), Pabst Blue Ribbon has witnessed many

important events in American History. To portray the brand’s everlasting establishment and

feature this quality; the slogan, “American Tradition,” will be used to sub-headline all print and

electronic media advertisements. This slogan will influence the psychographic qualities of the

target audience to further persuade customers to purchase. By featuring a traditional, American

beer, purchasers will benefit psychologically with a pride of belonging (patriotism). Thus,

creating an instilled sense of satisfaction achieved by drinking a beer that fulfills their

psychological criteria. By implementing, “American Tradition,” the campaign thus begins to

address the third advertising tactic: reinvent consumer’s beliefs and attitudes towards PBR.

Lastly the, “American Tradition Campaign,” will emphasize the beer’s award winning

taste as a feature. By adding the slogan, “You don’t get a blue ribbon for second place,” it will

illustrate to the buyers that as a benefit of PBR, they get to experience its award winning taste.

This feature ties the two previous features all together. Not only does the buyer get affordability

from the brand; they get to experience an award winning, traditional American beer at a great

price.

Hence, each feature paves the foundation to establish a tone of the campaign. Correlating

the tone together with each feature only further emphasizes the next piece of the creative: “The

One Thing.” Taking into consideration the three features that will be portrayed in the, “American

Tradition Campaign,” it is important to abide to a tone which will allow for further impact of the

overall campaign. Accordingly, this campaign will undergo a patriotic tone. Furthermore, it will

use key events throughout American history as a visual aid to relate the features to the tone. “The


One Thing,” that this campaign emphasizes is the sense of belonging, the feeling of patriotism

that the consumer receives as a result by drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

Lastly, the big idea of this entire campaign will be incorporating all three features with

the tone; using its advantages as a company to capture the attention of the target audience. All

three features as well as the tone will interwork together to allow for a whole concept, the big

idea. This idea being: Pabst Blue Ribbon, “An American Tradition,” all for an affordable price;

hence the title of the campaign. By portraying PBR in such a way, it allows to fully appeal to the

selected target audience.

Creative Discussion

Given the advertising objective of increasing the market share for PBR, each creative

piece will follow a similar theme. Each individual piece will be able to stand alone, however,

when together unifying with the big idea of the campaign. Furthermore, each creative will

address the principles of design correlating with the AIDA Theory of advertising to increase

impact. By adding an image of important American events in history to each visual form of

media, it allows the campaign to take a conceptual approach. This concept being the big idea of

the campaign: a traditional, American beer for an affordable price.

The outdoor advertisement (see Appendix A for outdoor advertisement) begins with a

provocative headline type reading, “You don’t get a blue ribbon for second place,” (see

Appendix A). The role of this headline is to intrigue reader’s attention to further continue

examining the piece. “To learn more, the readers must read the body copy,” (Arens et al., 2012).

The visual focus is a non-traditional style, of which shows the launching of Apollo 11 to the

moon (see Appendix A), instead of focusing on the specific product. By using the historic image


of this rocket launch, the purpose of the visual is to capture the audience’s attention as well as

conceptualizing to the big idea stated in the copy platform.

To capture the tone of the overall campaign, the typography chosen is of a bold sans-serif

font also with a reduced opacity. As a result, the reader is allowed to simply flow their attention

through the advertisement without the text creating a distraction: adhering to the movement

principle of design. The ad is not symmetrical, hence establishing an informal balance of design.

The copy is minimum, proportional to the white space allowed by the visual. Contrast is used

only in the logo as to not distract from the visual, however, letting the viewer remember the very

last piece to the ad: the PBR logo. Clarity and simplicity may be seen in the copy throughout the

piece, this is fulfilled by only addressing the three features as given in the copy platform. To

achieve the principle of unity, the copy’s opacity is reduced in order to not take away from the

visual image of the rocket. Lastly, continuity is established within the piece by maintaining the

same headline, sub head, slogan, and logo throughout the, “American Tradition Campaign.”

The visual uses a contrast between warm and cool colors that guides the viewer’s

movement throughout the ad. The warm of the red and orange coming from the flame of the

rocket smoothly transitions to the cool blue of the sky (see Appendix A). Overall, the entire piece

is viewed as a poster layout style, which invites the viewer into the ad through a provocative

headline and intriguing image. To address the AIDA Theory of design (see Appendix A):

Attention is captured by the single image of the Apollo 11 launch.

Interest is created through the use of a provocative headline.

Desire is influenced by a portraying the big idea of the campaign.

Action may be called by illustrating the affordable price.


Now addressing the magazine advertisement, the same styles of design were used to capture

continuity of the campaign. However, the magazine advertisement uses a different approach in

contrast respective to the principles of design. This is accomplished by using an entire black and

white image, as well as copy, as a visual. The image used is the raising of the American flag at

Iwo Jima. Yet, ending the advertisement, a full color logo for Pabst Blue Ribbon is placed in the

bottom right hand corner (see Appendix B for magazine advertisement). This style impacts the

viewer with a lasting impression of the Pabst Blue Ribbon. A key principle addressed by this

advertisement is the use of movement. The entire ad may be transitioned through following the

flagpole seen in the photo. The viewer is welcomed into the ad through the headline, follows the

pole to see the copy, continues down the flag pole to view the price, and finishes with the logo

(see Appendix B).

The body copy style used in the magazine advertisement is a picture-caption style.

“Sometimes it’s easier to tell a story with illustrations and captions,” (Arens et al., 2012). This is

the case with the image chosen for the ad. By allowing the image of Iwo Jima to be the primary

focus, the viewer’s attention is more easily captured (see Appendix B). In order to not take

attention away from the image, a non-traditional approach to body copy formatting is used,

hence following irregular body copy guidelines. In doing so, the body copy is formatted only

with a, “Lead-in paragraph,” (Arens et al., 2012). Thus, the copy is used to bridge the gap

between the heading and the image to the closing of the advertisement. By omitting the

following three paragraph formats of copy, the impact of the visual is not detracted from while

still addressing a call to purchase. Although not a regular approach, the body copy effectiveness

is not distracting; this is done by maintaining a minimalist style to allow the reader to quickly


move throughout the advertisement (see Appendix B). Hence, the reader does not become bored

with the advertisement and finishes addressing the ad in its entirety.

The last creative piece is the radio script. The radio advertisement is used to remind the

target audience to consider the purchase of Pabst Blue Ribbon after viewing all visual ads. It is

the last creative to reach out to the audience and persuade them to purchase the beer. Again,

continuity is important to maintain the big idea of the campaign; hence, the radio script follows

the patriotic tone as stated in the copy platform. The same slogan, “You don’t get a blue ribbon

for second place,” is used as well as the headline, “American Tradition,” to end the script. The

format of the radio script is presented in a lifestyle format, that is, “to present the user, rather

than the product,” (Arens et al., 2012).

In order to contribute to the radio copy effectiveness, “America the Beautiful,” performed

by Ray Charles is softly played in the background as a narrator address the audience (see

Appendix C for radio script). This is done in order to create an emotional appeal to the audience,

sparking a thought provoking process. When hearing the song, the listener’s attention is instantly

captured due to being performed by a musical icon. Even more, the song further ties the

correlation between Pabst Blue Ribbon and the big idea that PBR is a traditional, American beer.

To provoke the audience to continue listening, the narrator does not instantly state whom the

commercial is advertising for. Thus, the script creates curiosity until the narrator closes with,

“Pabst Blue Ribbon is an American Tradition,” (see Appendix C).

Media Planning

The new, “American Tradition Campaign,” for Pabst Blue Ribbon beer will utilize a

pulsing media scheduling technique. Geographically, the campaign will partake in the Lafayette,

Indiana direct marketing area (DMA). However, primary focus will concentrate on the DMA’s


local college, Purdue University. By centralizing focus on the university, the campaign will be

better exposed to its primary target audience: college males, ages 21-24. The, “American

Tradition Campaign,” will be introduced July 1, 2014 and will continue to run until September 1,

2014.

Broadcast radio advertising will be scheduled continuously throughout this two-month

duration. Advertisements will play two days a week on Tuesday and Thursday for each week of

the campaign. Broadcast time will be segmented into three parts; morning drive, daytime, and

afternoon drive. During each segment, the broadcast will be played a total of three times for each

day the advertisement is being aired, see Table 1 for frequency of broadcast times. These days

are chosen to create continuity within the campaign as a result of newspaper advertising being

run on Monday and Wednesday. Ideally, the target audience will be exposed to the advertising

message on a continuous basis: Monday and Wednesday through the newspaper media vehicle,

and Tuesday and Thursday through radio.

The Lafayette, Indiana DMA is composed of only one metro-market (SRDS Media

Solutions, 2014); hence, only stations broadcasted in this metro-market were selected to air the

advertisement. When selecting stations, it must be taken into consideration the format of which

the target audience would most likely listen to to. As a result, stations which target an older

demographic were not selected. However, the radio format for each respective station varies and

is composed of; sports talk, top 40, country, and rock. Each station’s primary demographic are

listeners between the ages 18-40 (SRDS Media Solutions, 2014), which suites the target

audience of this campaign.

Cost for radio advertising is based on when the advertisement is being broadcasted, as

well as cost per rating point (CPP) for the selected DMA. See Table 1 for CPP in the Lafayette,


Indiana DMA during their respective times. Typically, the average rating for a radio broadcast is

two. In order to calculate the cost per ad (CPA); the rating point is multiplied by the CPP. See

Table 1 for the CPA of each selected daypart in the campaigns chosen DMA. Accordingly, the

CPA is then multiplied by the number of ads per day in its respective segment; the sum is then

multiplied by the number of stations, resulting in the total cost of advertising for that specific

daypart. Lastly, the total for each selected segment is then added, which then provides the

complete total cost for radio advertising. The complete cost for this campaign in the Lafayette

DMA is seen in Table 1. In order to calculate the reach for radio as a media vehicle, ratings for

each daypart must be totaled together. For this campaign, advertisements will run in three

different dayparts; hence, the total rating percentage is 6%. The number of stations that the

broadcast is advertising on, in this case, six, then multiplies this total. As a result, this campaign

has a reach of 36%.

The outdoor creative will be run simultaneously throughout the entire duration of the

campaign. Being a permanent structure, this media vehicle is scheduled continuously for the

two-month period. The goal of investing in an outdoor media vehicle is to further emphasize

continuity. It is hoped that with all advertisements working concurrently, the target audience will

receive continuous reminders of the new, “American Tradition Campaign.” The services of

Lamar Advertising will provide the outdoor media vehicles. Of which, a full rate card has been

provided in order to determine the; total cost, reach, frequency, and the cost per thousand, (CPM)

for advertising in the Lafayette, Indiana DMA. These figures are shown in Table 2.

Unlike radio and outdoors, newspaper advertising will adhere to a pulsing media

scheduling technique. Advertisements will be placed in Lafayette’s local newspaper the Journal

& Courier (SRDS Media Solutions, 2014). To better capture the target audience, advertisements


will also be placed in the Purdue Exponent: the university’s student newspaper. To begin,

advertisements will only be run twice a week within each newspaper during the month of July

and the beginning of August. Placement will be once on Monday, and once on Wednesday.

Respectively, these two days are based on the summer circulation schedule of the Purdue

Exponent (Purdue Exponent, 2014).

The peak of this media vehicle will begin when students return to Purdue University from

summer vacation. With welcome back week being the third week of August, (Purdue Exponent,

2014) the number of advertisements will increase in both papers to one advertisement each day

for the entire week. After this week has concluded, each paper will again reduce the number of

advertisements back to twice a week until the campaign’s end. Additionally, Sunday

advertisements will also be used to promote the campaign. Although the Purdue Exponent does

not circulate on Sundays (Purdue Exponent, 2014), advertisements will still be placed in the

Journal & Courier each week over the two-month duration.

Newspaper advertising cost is based upon its circulation, as well as the size of the

advertisement being placed. On average, a newspaper’s audience is double the circulation. This

is due to the fact that two members of the household receiving the paper typically view it.

Accordingly, newspapers adjust their cost per inch (CPI) based on the size of their audience. For

this campaign, these figures are shown in Table 3A. The newspaper’s CPI is then multiplied by

the number of inches of the advertisement being placed; hence, providing the CPA. Table 3A

provides the CPA for printing in both newspapers for this campaign. Considering that it cost

more to print color advertisements, newspapers charge an additional rate. Both the Journal &

Courier and the Purdue Exponent add this additional fee to the CPA; cost to print color with

these two papers is shown in Table 3A. After this fee has been added, the number of


advertisements being printed throughout the entire campaign then multiplies the cost. This final

result expresses the total cost to advertise for each respective paper.

Next, it becomes necessary to determine the CPM and the reach for newspaper as a media

vehicle. To do so, the single CPA in each individual paper is summed together. This is also done

with each audience. Accordingly, the total adult population for the DMA is divided by the total

audience of all papers, which expresses the reach. The CPM is a determined by totaling the

single CPA for each newspaper, then dividing by the total newspaper audience expressed in

thousands. The reach and CPM for newspaper advertising in the, “American Tradition

Campaign,” is expressed in Table 3B. Same process was used in order to determine cost for

advertising in Sunday newspapers which can be seen in Table 4A and 4B.

Magazine advertising will serve as the last media vehicle for this campaign. On average,

magazines circulate monthly; so only a limited number of advertisements will be printed

throughout the duration of the campaign. See Table 5 for the frequency of magazine

advertisements. Considering the target audience, the formats chosen are classified under,

“Mens,” and, “College,” (SRDS Media Solutions, 2014). Since the selected magazines are

published at the national level, a total of four publications were chosen to increase the

advertisements reach to the audience in the Lafayette DMA. These chosen magazines are shown

in Table 5.

Cost for magazine advertising is based off the circulation of the publication, as well as the

size of the advertisements, see circulation in Table 5. The size of the advertisements being

printed is one full page. Accordingly, the cost for a full-page color print is shown in Table 5 for

each respective magazine. This full-page cost was then multiplied by the total number of

advertisements being printed; resulting in the total cost for each magazine. See Table 5 for


magazine advertising cost. Reach for advertising is expressed dividing the total audience for all

magazines by the total population of the United States. Reach for magazine as a media vehicle is

calculated by dividing the total audience of each publication by the population of the United

States. The U.S Census Bureau records that the U.S has a population of 316,148,990 (U.S

Census Bureau, 2014). The total audience of each magazine is 15,062,000 resulting in a reach of

5%. Gross rating point (GRP) is then calculated by multiplying the reach by the frequency.

Frequency is the totaled by adding the number of ads for each magazine; hence, a frequency of 8.

The sum of the GRP is then 2.88%.

Although each media vehicle will coordinate together to form continuity throughout the

duration of the campaign, advertising alone will not suffice to fully reach the target consumer.

Hence, it then becomes necessary to apply integrating marketing communication elements (IMC)

along with the campaign. With the growing use of social media becoming nationally recognized,

the IMC plan will be to apply public relations to social media websites such as; Twitter,

Facebook, and Instagram. According to Pew Research, 90% of 18-29 year olds use social media

(Pew Research, 2013). By integrating social media public relations into the, “American Tradition

Campaign;” it will allow the target audience to become actively involved with Pabst Blue

Ribbon.

Total advertising expenditure for Pabst Brewing Company is currently believed to be

around $500,000 (RedBooks, 2013). However, this number represents the entire brewing

company; Pabst Blue Ribbon currently does not advertise, even more, it is said that, “PBR didn't

register any measured media spending during the first half of 2009,” (Mullman, 2009). It is clear

that PBR promotes their beer through other means such as public relations. As a result, this

campaign’s total advertising expenditure is significantly higher: $2,106,498, which cannot be


compared to Pabst Brewing Company total advertising expenditure because their largest

distributed beer does not advertise.


References

Arens, W.F., Schaefer, D.H., & Weigold, M.F. (2012) M Advertising. New York, NY: McGraw-

Hill

Gale Directory Library. (2013). Top beer companies by volume, 2010. Business Rankings

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prodl=GDL

Liquor Mart. (2013). Busch Light – cans. Shop Beer. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from

http://www.liquormart.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=busch

Liquor Mart. (2013). Pabst blue ribbon 30-pack cans. Shop Beer. Retrieved March 9, 2014, from

http://www.liquormart.com/pabst-blue-ribbon-30pack-cans-00503.html

Mullman, J. (2009, September 16). Advertising age. Conspicuous (Downgrade) Consumption:

Pabst Sees 25% Sales Growth. Retrieved April 17, 2014 from

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Table 1

Radio Advertising Pricing

Metro Market Day Part CPP Rating CPA #Ads Per Day

#Days #Stations Total

Lafayette, IN AMDAYPM

212621

222

425242

333

202020

6a

66

15,12018,72015,120

Note. CPP=cost per rating point. CPA=cost per ad. all cost rounded to nearest U.S. dollar

aStations include: WASK-AM 1450, WKHY-FM 93.5, WKOA-FM 105.3, WSHP-FM 95.7, & WSHY-AM 1410


Table 2

Outdoor Advertising Pricing

Location #Weeks 4 Week Reach 4 Week Frequency CPM 4 Week CostLafayette, IN 4 35a 11.4 7 4,500

Note. CPM=cost per thousand. all cost rounded to nearest U.S. dollar

aPercentage of 18+ population of DMA


Table 3A

Daily Newspaper Advertising Pricing

Paper Circulation Audience CPI Size CPA Color #Ads TotalPurdue Exponent 14,000 28,000 17 30 510 780a 20 15,600Journal & Courier 24,774 49,548 36 30 1,080 1,511a 20 30,220

Note. CPI=cost per column inch. SIZE=quarter size page. CPA-cost per ad. #ADS=number of ads. All cost rounded to the nearest U.S. dollar

aBlack and white rate, plus additional color printing cost

Table 3B

Total Expenditure for Daily Newspaper Advertising

Grand Total Total Audience

18+ Population

Reach Total CPA CPM

45,820 77,548 148,900 52 1,590 20Note. CPM = Cost per thousand


Table 4A

Sunday Newspaper Advertising Pricing

Paper Circulation Audience CPI Size CPA Color #Ads TotalPurdue Exponent N/Ab N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/AJournal & Courier 33,103 66,206 46 30 1,380 1,837a 8 14,698

Note. CPI=cost per column inch. SIZE=quarter size page. CPA-cost per ad. #ADS=number of ads. All cost rounded to the nearest U.S. dollar

aBlack and white rate, plus additional color printing cost bNo Sunday paper printed

Table 4B

Total Expenditure for Sunday Newspaper Advertising

Grand Total Total Audience

18+ Population

Reach Total CPA CPM

14,698 66,206 148,900 46 1,380 21Note. CPM = Cost per thousand


Table 5

Magazine Advertising Pricing

Magazine Circulation(000)

Size Color #Ads Total CPM

Athlon Sports 9,315 1 390,150 2 780,300 84Sports Illustrated 3,023 1 268,200 2 536,400 177Playboy 1,255 1 81,330 2 162,660 130Rolling Stones 1,469 1 211,580 2 423,160 288Note. Circulation (000) = expressed in thousands. Size = 1 full page; Color = cost for full color ad


Appendix A

Outdoor Advertisement

(following 1 page)


Appendix B

Magazine Advertisement

(following 1 page)


Appendix C

Radio Script

(following 1 page)


Pabst Blue RibbonAmerican Tradition CampaignAmerica the Beautiful

SFX: “America the Beautiful” by Ray Charles.

[Let play for ten seconds before announcer begins

speaking, song plays throughout entire commercial]

Announcer: We may not be the king of beer, [pause]

and may not be the most interesting in the world. [pause]

We don’t have blue cold indicators or vented holes for

drinking. [pause]

Yet, established in 1844, we’ve been there for it all.

We didn’t stop during the prohibition era,

and we didn’t settle with just landing on the moon.

We watched as the flag was raised at Iwo Jima

and we were there as the twin towers fell.

Pabst Blue Ribbon has been with us since the beginning.

For an award winning great taste, at an affordable price:

Pabst Blue Ribbon is an American traditional

beer; you don’t get a blue ribbon for second place,

and always, please enjoy responsibly.

-american tradition campaign- final

Documents

pabst blue ribbon beer

american beer

pabst blue ribbon pbr

hypothetical campaign

affordable beer

americas best beer

entire market

market share