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2016 Advertising Campaigns book

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Table of Contents

Meet our Team............................................................................3 Excutive SummaryProblem StatementCampaign Objectives

Competitors.................................................................................6

Situational Analysis......................................................................8

Media Plan..................................................................................12PrintOutdoorRadioOnlineTrade Shows

Public Relations..........................................................................24Website RestructureBrand EnhancementPublic Relations Tools

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Meet our TeamEmma Gilmore - Account Executive

Kelsey Randolph - Assistant Account Executive

Mason Vowels - Head Copy Writer & Pitch Coordinator

Juantaya’ Arch - Creative Director

Alex Scira - Chief Strategist & Account Planner

Greghen Taylor - Director of Digital Design

Mason Vowels is the Copy Editor and Pitch Coordinator for Tri-Connections. His time work-ing in theatre has provided him with the skills and experience to present and perform for large and small audiences. Vowels’ drive and dedication to excellence has made him an integral part of the Tri- Connections team.

Kelsey Randolph is the Assistant Account Executive for Tri-Connections. Her time as a Sports Editor at The Murray State News as well as her experience with multiple internships shows her leadership attitude and willingness to lend a hand in whatever department she can. Randolph’s drive to help and put forth effort no matter how hard the job makes her a great assistant to everyone on the team.

Emma Gilmore is the Account Executive of Tri-Connections. Her previous industry experi-ence as an Account Manager for two consecutive summers at an Omnicom Group advertising agency and time spent as a captain of her university’s track team has equipped her with the knowledge and experience to lead the team in this campaign. Gilmore’s passion for advertising and sound leadership skills have significantly contributed to the success of this team.

Alex Scira is the Chief Strategist and Account Planner for Tri-Connections. His experiences within Ads Club and as a Business Ambassador have provided him with the skills to contrib-ute to the big idea found in your winning strategy. Scira’s creative collaboration within the Tri-Connections team has made him a strong asset.

Juantaya’ Arch is the Creative Director for Tri-Connections. Her role as the Marketing Com-munications Intern for Annie Malone Children & Family Service Center has helped to nourish her creative vision, and bring to life the creative ideas of the team. With her incredible direc-tion, Juantaya’ has become one of Tri-Connection’s most valued treasures.

Greghen Taylor is the Director of Digital Design for Tri-Connections. Her familiarity with the trending digital world qualifies her for this position.

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Executive Summary

How our business will help sell your business.

Since 2010, Tri-Connections has been offering companies solutions to their complex business problems. With team members that specialize in different areas of marketing communications, we are able to pin-point and evaluate vital advertising and public relations matters. Being that we are currently in the Digital Age, Tri-Connections believes in using innovative communication techniques to reach each one of a com-pany’s unique and diverse publics.

When assessing DEVsource’s current communication techniques, we found that there are particular ar-eas that can be strategically altered to make a significant difference in the outcome of return on invest-ment. These include the transition from the use of latent traditional media to a more fast paced, digital and direct approach. For a business to business market such as information technology, reaching your target audience becomes extremely difficult and expensive when using traditional media. There is no way to sig-nificantly narrow down and define your audience because you are paying to reach the masses. This would be an expensive mistake that would only lower your potential ROI.

Tri-Connections has found the solution to DEVsource’s goals of retaining new recurring contracts, at-tracting new and prospective clients, and doubling the current annual revenue. We believe that advertising on radio and magazines will allow you to reach a narrow audience that is comprised of businesspersons and HR directors. Further, we believe that enhancing your digital and social media presence will attract new cli-ents while maintaining the relationships with your current ones. Believing in our ability to help you reach your target audiences while building new relationships will allow DEVsource to acquire long-term financial benefits.

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Problem Statement

How our business will help sell your business.

DEVsource is a professional, credible IT solutions company serving Western Kentucky, but they are significantly unnoticed by their target market as a key player in the industry. Despite being experts in the digital field, they currently lack a personable online presence as well as any substantial advertising efforts. This is proving problematic for the company’s ability to maintain a consistent stream of new business.

Campaign Objectives• To educate DEVsource’s target public about their services offered and

company values while aligning their brand voice with these attributes.

• To double DEVsource’s annual revenue in one calendar year.

• To create and maintain new and existing relationship that will influence brand awareness and reocurring monthly accounts.

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Competitors

Service ClientsData Records Management Services

Data records keeping, virus scanning, computer

solving problems

Murray State University

Henley Computer Solutions

Bluegrass Computer Systems

The Computer Guy

Hardware and software problems, fixes printers,

laptops, desktop

Local students and residents

Their mission is to fix any technical issue and no job has ever been too big or

too small

They reach for large business but also focus on small-medium sized

businesses.

Businesses that need IT systems to work in order to be able to serve customers.

Repair services, phone problems and security

systems.

College students and small to medium-szied

businesses

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Pro ConLarge client Located in Paducah

Caters to software

Located on S. 12th Street in MurrayPositive reviews on Google

Good Search Engine Optimization

No websiteCaters to small projects

User friendly websiteVery approachable, easy to look through

Larger business focusNo clear direction of what service is offered

Uncomplicated and efficient website that’s easy to use with available pricing

Open long hoursGood customer satisfaction

Reviews of Microsoft software friendly but not for Apple computers

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SituationalAnalysis

and SWOT

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Information Technology is be-coming an industry with a fast growing career outlook. This can be said for IT industries all over the United States, but is especially true for the Western Kentucky-North-east Tennessee area. With a number of colleges and universities in the area offering degrees in Informa-tion Technology, the number of IT specialists is growing at a faster rate than anticipated by researchers.

Due to this influx, in addition to the increased consumer use of technology, the number of tech companies in the Western Ken-tucky-Northeast Tennessee area has greatly increased as well. This makes the field very competitive, leaving a company as talented and reliable as DEVsource exposed to skepticism, criticism and under ac-

knowledgement. Tech companies in the area that have become house-hold names among businesses, such as Data Records Management Ser-vices, Bluegrass Computer Systems and Henley Computer Solutions, are the “go to” IT guys merely because they are the most talked about.

Although DEVsource has achieved projected goals for annual revenue and contracts, you have yet to become one of this area’s house-hold names. Based on the reliability of the services and the company’s professionalism, there is no reason that you should not already be a “go to” company amongst local busi-nesses.

However, we found that there are many opportunities for this to occur. Upon evaluation, one of the best ways to become more than

just another tech company is to en-hance your social media presence. In a business world that is primarily run through social media and hav-ing a digital presence, this would be the best time to make your mark. The “Tech Tuesday” videos that you host are very informational and great for audience engagement, but we want engagement to lead to a consistent revenue stream.

Having a website as informative and visual as yours is very helpful in gaining new customers and con-tracts, but it is not easy to navigate. After a referral or seeing an ad, the website is the first place poten-tial clients will go to find out more about Dev Source. The website has to be impactful and make a good impression. The testimonials from your previous and present clients

Situational Analysis

Strengths Weakness• Various testimonials on its website from

clientele who promote their services.• Ample opportunities to build their already

existing social presence to make a bigger impact on social media.

• Staff are technology experts therefore have the capabilities to capitalize on an impactful marketing platform.

• Current website is not effective in communicating to viewers the function or success of their business. It needs remodelling.

• Overall lack of advertising which has led to its audiences being unaware of their services and expertise which in effect is limiting clientele and the success of the company.

• Lack of knowledge of competitors which prevents the company from consistently staying ahead of its competitors.

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will have a positive effect on the po-tential client. It gives your company credibility and allows the prospect to become a bit more confident in their choice of selecting you. After questioning some people, we found that they perceived the website as arrogant and repetitive. Using a negative tone does not reflect well on Dev Source.

We feel it would be better to use a more positive voice that promotes the quality of Dev Source’s services and allows visitors to get to know the company better.

Reaching out to business owners and decision makers is necessary to increase Dev Source’s awareness. Referral and word of mouth has worked well for you, but if you want to double your annual revenue and have more recurring monthly con-

tracts there has to be more adver-tising. Lack of advertising has been one of the main reasons DEVsource is not a household name. Through research, advertisers have found that for an ad to be effective or re-membered, the consumer has to see or hear it at least 3-5 times. If one of your clients refers someone to you, the referral will only hear your name once, making them more like-ly to forget it. This in turn results in losing a client.

Being in a growing, fast paced industry is difficult but very re-warding. You will often times have to change some of your practices to adapt to changes in the industry. When larger mobile phones became a trend, and Samsung’s profits near-ly doubled, Apple noticed this trend and adapted it. They started to make

phones similar to the size of Sam-sung’s, and iPhone users flocked to stores to buy the new and improved devices. The rest of the tech indus-try works in much the same way.

Successful tech companies such as Bluegrass Computer Systems, one of your competitors, have the slogan “No job is too big or too small.” Based on the size of DEV-source, we feel that not just looking at the number of computers a busi-ness has, but also annual net reve-nue would be very beneficial to our goal of turning your company from a $1.5 million dollar business to a $3 million business. Our goal is to double your annual profit, increase your number of monthly recurring contracts and make DEVsource a household name in the Information Technology industry.

Opprotunities Threats• More than eight businesses with 10+

computers in surrounding areas for DEVsource to capitalize on.

• Since the technology industry is thriving and a continual necessity for nearly 100 percent of all businesses in 2016. Their services are there for a requirement for businesses.

• Ignorance in their market; serving an audience who does not realize they need the company’s services until their computer system is completely down.

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Media Plan

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9 different billboards over 1 year.45-w

eek IMC and social m

edia plan resulting in a combined 275 ad

placements and a recurring PR cam

paign.

72 traditional advertisements over the course of 6 m

onths.

7 different trade shows for different industries.

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Phase I

Phase IIPeriod II also will continue to rely on the year-round billboard advertising and social media, but will

rely less on radio. In October, November and January, DEVsource will be introduced into local trade shows. This is a new implementation that DEVsource will need to take into consideration. Trade shows will provide an outlet where multiple business owners or liaison’s will be in one place at one time. These trade shows will be localized and can provide a large display of their business and what they can offer to these local businesses.

Phase IIIIn period III DEVsource will continue their billboard campaign in local areas and will seize print ad-

vertising. Radio ads will pick back up in the beginning of the period as well as driving consumers to the website through social media. Trade shows will be the heaviest during this quarter as it is the beginning of the year before the end of the fiscal year. DEVsource should once again provide reasons to the con-sumers about why they should spend money at the beginning of the fiscal year on IT, network security an data backup.

In period I we are focusing on beginning the outdoor billboard running several quarter page ads in local magazines and heavily providing a social media presence. Our goal in period I is to push other businesses online. The end of the fiscal year is the middle of the summer months, and budgets for the following fiscal year has been distributed. Businesses will then have a rejuvenated budget and may be more apt to spend money during the first few months on repairs and retainer. If DEVsource can provide viable reasons to their consumers as to why they need to spend money first on their computer and net-work systems, they will bring in more revenue.

Media Plan

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Print

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$17,000 is to be spent on print advertising, such as magazines and newspaper inserts.

Using different print publications to advertise has many long-term benefits. One of the greatest advantages of magazines is their long shelf life. When going into a doctor’s office or a meeting of any kind, there tends to be a waiting period. Businesses are aware of this unavoidable wait, so they make sure to keep the client or customer busy, elongating their patience. They provide the client reading material such as magazines and current local newspapers. During this “down time”, customers have time to not just skim through, but read the copy in magazines.

This allows for the information that is read to be transferred and kept in long term memory. It is often times written down and saved for a later time since the reader is unable to take the publication with them.

As your advertising agency, we are suggesting that you place advertisements in both local maga-zines and newspapers. Due to the longevity of magazines, we are confident that spending a large por-tion of the proposed budget on this medium will produce a greater long term ROI than other media. Newspaper inserts will reach local business persons via the Sunday paper and other popular publi-cation days. The relationships that you build personally using direct marketing and social media will be the gateway to creating long term relationships. It is best to introduce print advertising during the months of August and September because they will help with putting a face to the name that will have been introduced on radio. It will also help close the gap that will be present for consumers who don’t typically drive the interstates and highways that billboard ads will placed on.

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Outdoor

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$12,000 is to be spent on outdoor advertising on billboards between Paducah and Murray.

Out-of-Home (OOH) billboards are one of the most impactful and effective advertising tools available because of their ability to reach target audiences on the go. Passers-by can view these advertisements while in their vehicles or travelling on foot. OOH allows for advertisers to present creatively customed advertisements that have heightened visibility due to their size and presence.

Tri-Connection believes these billboards are imperative to our plan for DEVsource due to the afford-ability and potential to reach key business owners. Billboards placed in the suggested locations will allow DEVsource to reach business owners and employees who are commuting or just traveling through Murray and its surrounding areas.

The creative concept behind our billboards are aligned with that of our other platform’s, but fo-cuses on the necessity of hiring a professional like DEVsource to provide IT solutions. We suggest a light-hearted comparison of a highly complex computer part to a child’s toy accompanied by the notion that “this isn’t child’s play” and neither is your business.

Given this medium will only demand 20% of our allocated budget, it is a powerful but inexpensive platform to advertise the expertise of DEVsource to its desired audience.

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Radio

$1,500 is to be spent on radio spots both 15 and 30 seconds long on local stations in

Murray and Paducah.

Radio is a traditional media that many businesses look over. However, it is a great way to get out your message in the local community. Radio advertisements are effective because people already are paying attention. For many people, the radio makes their drives to and from work bearable. This gives us an opportunity to tell our message to an audience that is already listening. Radio will help our audience to make connections to the print and out-of-home ads. We will coordinate what ads play when so that they match up with the ads that will printed in magazines, newspapers, and billboards.

For the price, radio is one of the best traditional media. For a low cost we can cover the airwaves with our message on multiple stations throughout the day. Because of the price, we are able to spend very little on radio and still be able to afford to put a large amount of spots on as well as allocate money to areas that tend to cost more.

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15 Second AdSFX:

Male voice (audience is hearing thoughts)

SFX:

Male voice:

Male voice:

Sound of children’s toy in background.

I wish my computers ran as simple as my children’s toys.

Sound of car driving on highway.

DEVsource? ... Your business isn’t child’s play ... Let our business help yours.

Looks like I’m calling DEVsource.

30 Second AdSFX:

Woman’s voice:

Sound of faint typing in the background.

DEVsource offers a variety of computer and IT fixes. DEVsource doesn’t just fix your problems, we prevent them.

Whether you have ten computers or fifty, DEVsource can provide data backup, server protection, security and more. Your business isn’t child’s play.

DEVsource, let our business help your bussiness.

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Online

$10,000 is to be spent on online advertising such as Facebook, YouTube, Biznik and LinkedIn

Living in the Digital Age has proven to have huge advantages not only for the dissemination of informa-tion, but also for influencing and tracking consumer behavior. Researchers have found that traditional media channels are slowly becoming a thing of the past, and being replaced with more modern forms of communi-cation. These modern forms are being used on a more frequent basis, and have become the “go to” for con-sumers of millions of today’s products and services. Because of the transference of media power, Tri-Con-nections is suggesting that you replace your traditional advertising with online advertising. Placing banner ads on websites that local business owners frequently visit, such as Google and the Paducah Sun, will allow for a greater reach. Promoting ads on social media pages will also allow for a more narrowed target audience.

Tri-Connections also recognizes the lack of recurring monthly contracts for DEVSource, and are cate-gorizing this as a public relations issue. We understand that monthly contracts aren’t just about price and internal problems for your clients, it’s also about the relationships that you build. Your incredible reputation with your current clients proves their happiness, but our goal is to showcase your reputation to prospective clients. We plan to do this through an interactive social media campaign using the leading social networks: Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn and Biznik. Promoting different posts during your campaign will allow you to target specific demographics of your choosing, and you can also control the amount of money you spend for a promoted ad or post per day. Each post will tell you your reach, which allows you to keep track of how many people see it as well as ROI. We will also use hashtags that are specific to DEVSource and the IT trade.

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Banner Ads:

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Trade Shows

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Trade shows allow for a business to showcase their latest products, services and meet with oth-er industry professionals as well as potential clients and consumers. We are suggesting DEVsource take part in trade shows as a form of its campaign because it will allow the firm to reach businesses they might not otherwise meet. We chose trade shows based off of the last year’s attendance, the demographic of attendees, other exhibitors and the cost. The biggest advantage for attending trade shows is for DEVsource to see other competitors, what those competitors are offering, and to directly receive with feedback on what DEVSoure is doing successful and vice versa.

Tri-Connections isuggests DEVsource spend the most money out of their budget on trade shows because we feel it will be the most valuable. This allows the company to see new technology that might affect their space or industry and by looking at new trends DEVsource can look at ways to adapt them to their business model and save money or streamline processes. DEVsource also can see different ideas in one location and are not subjected to pitches in the work place or people disrupting their day-to-day operation. DEVsource can walk away from vendors with the idea of doing follow up for technology or programs.

$20,000 spent on trade shows in Paducah, Ken-tucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee.

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Public Relations

Tools

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Welcome packageNetworking and making contact with new and prospective clients will prove useless if there is no

effort to build and maintain a relationship. As an integrated marketing communications firm, Tri-Con-nections recognizes this as an issue that needs to be corrected. Therefore, we suggest that DEVsource offers a complementary welcome package for all new businesses who commit to a recurring monthly contract. This will help the client remember their initial first impression with DEVsource’s team, and their willingness to become a part of the client’s corporate family.

The package itself will include the following: a hand written welcome letter, business cards, branded materials such as:

• Pens• Water bottles• USB ports• Mousepads• Notepads• Calendar to keep track of monthly visits.

Public Relations

Given that DEVsource already offers most of these items, the creation of this package will be both cost and time efficient. The purpose of the package is to welcome new customers and thank them for trusting DEVsource to help protect their company. Showing that you are invested in this relationship shows the client that DEVsource is a long-term partner in their success.

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Infomational packageThe first impression when making new connections is a critical point of contact. This initial meeting

between individuals allows a person less than one minute to sell their product or service through a well-rehearsed pitch. DEVsource has mastered this pitch, and have props to help assist with the fos-tering in new relationships. The informational packet that the Sr. Account Executive Jeremy Blackford uses offers information regarding DEVsource’s services, partners and promotional material. The pam-phlets and brochures are very helpful in assisting the client with knowledge about their physical gains, but the packet lacks a proper introduction of who DEVsource is.

In our efforts to build relationships with prospective clients, Tri-Connections believes that it is in your best interest to restructure the informational packet, and also add both a fact sheet and meet the team sheet. The materials in the left pocket of the folder should go in the following order: overview of DEVsource (fact sheet), description of service tiers, promotional offers, a meet the team sheet, and any other info strictly regarding DEVsource. On the right side of the folder should be the information about partners, services used and any certificates DEVsource employees hold. The Sr. Account Executive’s business card should remain in the card holder. Behind it should be the card of one of the IT specialists who responds to calls. The information in this packet will be converted to a pdf formatted media kit for the website, and placed on the news releases page.

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We don’t just fix problems.We prevent them.

Sarah LovettPractice Administrator

Primary Care Medical Center

“DEVsource stands out among the best in the nation...”

Doug LawsonPresident/CEO

The Kingdom Turst Company

“A committed group of professionals...”

Mike CowenCEO

Sportable Scoreboards

“Their technicians are highly skilled...”

About us How we work Our promises

About us

SEARCH

Meet out teamPartners & certificationsPress releasesContact usSupport centerWe’re here to help you work with ease.

DEVsource was founded in 2001 to help small businesses in Murray, Paducah and Benton get the most out of their business technology. Over the years we’ve helped many small businesses relieve their technology worries so that they can concentrate on growing their businesses and realizing their goals.

DEVsource’s services are focused on providing the business tools that small businesses need to compete, provid-ing affordable technology designs based on business requirements. Our technology solutions cut costs and put your company in a position to prosper.

“Quote about something amazing that Hopkins wants to stand out about his compant... We want to be part of your family...”

SEARCH

Meet out teamPartners & certificationsPress releasesContact usSupport center

How we workCloud computing

Disaster recovery

Network security

Email protection

Phone security

IT Protection

Server support

Data backup

Website Restructure

Tri-Connections decided to restructure the DEVsource website to be user-friendly and positive, as well as aligning with the advertising campaign.

DEVsource’s homepage should feature photos of employees in the work place with the slogan that is used in the advertisements. There is no need for a drawn out explanation for each testimony. Something short and to the point will attract viewers.

The “About Us” page should be a reflection of Dev Source’s values as a company, introduce a few key people, and briefly explain why business owners should choose the company. Mike Hopkins’ quote needs to reflect the positive aspects of the company rather than putting down the competition.

Continuing, DEVsource’s “How We Work” page needs to provide explanation of each service they provide. In addition to linking each page to an explanation, DEVsource should include their PR package with standard rates and services.

Dev-Source.com

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