imc - la sous terre (the underground)

An Integrated Marketing Communications Plan for La Sous Terre

MKT 4450 University of Central Missouri

La Sous Terre (The Underground)- Integrated Marketing Communication Plan

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An Integrated Marketing Communication Plan for

aka

Submitted by:

Kelisha Bryant

McKenzie Burcham

Thor Burmeister

Kathleen Coleman

Adam Conley



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TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 6

Situation Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 6

Background ............................................................................................................................................... 6

Demographic and Psychographic Data - Warrensburg Market ................................................................ 6

Positioning ................................................................................................................................................ 7

Competitor Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 7

Fitters: ................................................................................................................................................... 8

Heroes Restaurant & Pub: .................................................................................................................... 8

Target Markets .......................................................................................................................................... 9

IMC Objectives ............................................................................................................................................ 10

Budget ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Integrated Marketing Communications ...................................................................................................... 11

Communication Mix ................................................................................................................................ 11

Advertising .......................................................................................................................................... 11

Media Planning and Purchase Calendar ............................................................................................. 14

Social Media Approach ........................................................................................................................... 16

Facebook ............................................................................................................................................. 16

Twitter ................................................................................................................................................. 17

Texting ................................................................................................................................................. 17

Traditional Media Plan ............................................................................................................................ 17

Consumer and Trade Sale Promotions ................................................................................................... 18

Personal Selling ....................................................................................................................................... 19

Sponsorship Programs ............................................................................................................................ 19

Database and Direct Response Marketing .............................................................................................. 20

Web ......................................................................................................................................................... 20

Publicity ................................................................................................................................................... 22

Message Strategy ........................................................................................................................................ 24



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Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................... 25

Recap of Campaign Objectives................................................................................................................ 25

Quantifiable Evaluation .......................................................................................................................... 25

Awareness Level Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 25

Media Coverage Evaluation .................................................................................................................... 25

Online and Social Media Evaluations ...................................................................................................... 26

Appendix A - The Underground Logo, Menu, and Business Card ............................................................... 27

Appendix B - Print Ad Warrensburg Daily Journal & MuleSkinner ............................................................. 28

Appendix C - Social Media Calendar ........................................................................................................... 30

Works Cited ................................................................................................................................................. 31



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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

La Sous Terre is a restaurant in the downtown district of Warrensburg, Missouri, located

on the infamous Pine Street. Though it has an excellent location on the corner of Pine and Holden

Street, not many know of La Sous Terre in the Warrensburg area. Open since 2009, La Sous Terre

has not yet engaged with the nearly 13,000 students attending the University of Central Missouri.

Primary competition includes: Heroes Restaurant & Pub and Fitter’s.

Random sampling of students around campus generated one of two responses when

asked if they had heard of La Sous Terre or if they had eaten there. The first response was usually,

“We have a French restaurant in Warrensburg?” followed immediately by, “Where is it located?

I’ve never seen it around town.” All of those sampled were surprised to find it was on the corner

of Holden and Pine Street. The second primary response from those sampled was, “Yeah I’ve

seen it, but it’s never open when I go down to Pine Street.” Overall, brand recognition is low

among students who attend the University of Central Missouri.

La Sous Terre does not have a logo or brand recognition in the community. The French

name of the restaurant does not make sense with some menu items, which are named after

classic movies featuring John Wayne and Steve McQueen, among others. In fact, the name “La

Sous Terre” literally means underground in French, so our team decided to just eliminate the

French name and go with “The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar.” The new name fits better

with the overall positioning of the restaurant as a quiet place to have a nice meal paired with a

cool glass of fine wine. Our subsequent IMC plan addresses rebranding and new target markets

the restaurant could capture.

There are two primary target audiences for this IMC plan. University of Central Missouri

Students, ages 21-24, are most likely to frequent this establishment as it is located on Pine Street.

The second primary target audience is young white-collar professionals, ages 25-39, who are the



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second largest demographic in Warrensburg. This demographic is most likely to frequent a wine

bar for drinks after work. Secondary target audiences include: out-of-town alumni returning to

Warrensburg, and individuals from surrounding communities who are looking for a unique dining

experience.

Objectives of this campaign are to redesign the restaurant name to better match the

menu, generate brand awareness with University of Central Missouri students and individuals

in/around Warrensburg, increase weekly number of student customers by 20%, increase

monetary intake by 10% during dinner hours of operation, obtain 20 new fans on the Facebook

page per month, 10 new followers on Twitter per month, and 10 unique visitors to the website

per week.

Objectives will be achieved through the creation of a corporate identity. This includes

logo design, business cards, new menu, a targeted public relations campaign, design and

implementation of a website, and social media initiatives. A strategic combination of these

promotional elements will yield measurable positive results for La Sous Terre (a.k.a. The

Underground.)

All aspects of this integrated marketing plan must be executed in connection with one

another to insure a cohesive brand identity as well as reboot the brand to a whole new

demographic. Developing a corporate identity is difficult, but can be accomplished. Restaurants

have succeeded and currently succeed in Warrensburg, and there is room for one more success

story. The following integrated marketing communications plan will yield exponentially higher

results than the sum of individual communications executed separately.



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INTRODUCTION

This paper is an integrated marketing communications plan for La Sous Terre restaurant.

The plan will cover a situational analysis of the restaurant, objectives for the plan, a

communications mix, and a message strategy.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

The situation analysis is an overview of what La Sous Terre faces. Being 1 of 33 other full-

service restaurants in the Warrensburg community who cater to college students means that you

need a phenomenal plan to attract customers. We will examine background, current positioning,

competitor analysis and target markets for the new branding.

Background La Sous Terre is located at 101 West Pine Street in downtown Warrensburg, Missouri. Art

Ozias Sr., owner, renovated the basement under Java Junction in 2003 and turned the then retail

space into a quaint restaurant. Since 2009, Robert Bowers has managed the restaurant for the

Ozia family with lunch hours Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday evenings

are wine tastings, featuring over 100 different labels, and Thursdays feature Spaghetti dinner

night. Dinner service on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday is by reservation only (24

hours in advance.) Dining times begin anywhere from 4:30 to 6:00 PM, depending on the day.

Demographic and Psychographic Data - Warrensburg Market According to an ESRI Marketing research study conducted on the retail market potential

in Warrensburg, 46.3 percent of those surveyed had dined out within the last 12 months, and

68.1 percent had attended a movie (LOIS). The majority of wine drinkers are female (Gallup) and

the female population in Warrensburg is currently sitting at 50.4 percent (LOIS.) These statistics

alone confirm that by positioning “The Underground” as a wine bar in Warrensburg to the female

demographic aged 21 - 24 our new IMC plan will be successful. Also, new research in a recent



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Reuters report stated Americans are drinking more wine than ever before, even surpassing the

French (Reuters.)

Positioning

The Underground Wine Bar and Bistro is located in the Warrensburg historic downtown

district. Its primary markets include approximately 13,000 students attending the University of

Central Missouri, and the 10,295 employees of the three largest employers in town; Whiteman

Air Force Base, UCM, and Western Missouri Medical Center. Most employees are in the 23 to 55

age group with moderate, upwardly mobile income levels. A large number of tourists and visitors

come annually to visit the historic sites around Warrensburg and attend events at the university.

The Underground is easily accessible and is on the corner of Holden, the main street through the

downtown district, and Pine Street. A growing nighttime market of affluent young professionals

and college students resides within the Warrensburg community which presents a great

opportunity to market business towards. The downtown district is also seeing more residents,

most of whom are young singles, professionals without children, or early empty-nesters. The

Underground offers a unique quiet atmosphere, a destination where one can have a decadent

meal paired with a fine wine. Young professionals can enjoy tasting wines from all over the world

while drinking away stresses of the work day. The Underground offers a large variety of

sandwiches, soups, and a specialized dinner menu, all beneath the bright lights of Pine Street.

Competitor Analysis

Restaurants that are competitors to La Sous Terre both in atmosphere and geographic

location primarily include Fitter’s and Heroes Restaurant & Pub. The strengths and weaknesses

of these competitors, along with their primary methods of effective communication methods,

are depicted below.



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Fitters:

Fitter’s is a bar located on Pine Street, just down the block from La Sous Terre, and was

established in 1996. Fitter’s strengths reside in its capability to offer a pub with abundant seating,

the largest import beer selection in town, a full kitchen featuring award-winning food, and several

weekly special events. This establishment prides itself on, “Setting the Standard for Good Times

and Good Food.” They have a full menu, open seven days a week, evening dinner and late-night

hours with special events year-round.

If one is looking for a nice quiet cozy spot to have dinner or a glass of wine, Fitter’s would

not be the place to provide this type of atmosphere. The noise level is high, neon signs cover the

walls, flat-screen televisions are constantly playing the latest sporting event, and large groups

regularly come in to celebrate the latest college rite of passage with loud whoops and hollers.

One is not inspired to have a meaningful conversation or unwind from the day’s events in an

atmosphere like this.

Fitter’s does a good job with Social Media by primarily using a Facebook page with 2,794

likes. They have a website that is utilitarian, but does the job. They do not, however, have a

Twitter account or other social media accounts to interact with customers and build their fan

base. Any print advertising is primarily geared to college students; advertising in the campus

newspaper and coupon books that are passed out in front of the union helps this promotion.

Heroes Restaurant & Pub:

Heroes Restaurant & Pub is also located on Pine Street and was established in 1981,

expanding over the years into 4 downtown storefronts, now seating over 175 people. This

establishment offers fresh food, famous drinks, and decor that provides a stroll down, “memory

lane.” Heroes excels in meeting the needs and demands of the primary target audience with



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daily food and drink specials, as well as, evening dinner hours catering to college students and

young white-collar professionals.

The only weakness, if Heroes has a weakness, would be that the restaurant is now in its

thirties with many of the same menu items from the eighties. Seeing them reboot their brand to

usher in a new generation of Heroes may draw in a younger crowd to enjoy an “Unknown Hero”

drink; a new twist to provide the icing on this already delicious cake.

Heroes uses a combination of outdoor billboard advertisements along Highway 50 and

along Business 50 entering into Warrensburg. Social media, through Facebook and Twitter,

drives traffic to their webpage for daily menu specials. In addition, they have a special VIP Club

to keep members updated on specials and deals for club members. Heroes is so well known in

the area, they really don’t need to do many print advertisements or coupons to bring in

customers to their establishment.

Target Markets La Sous Terre is not currently targeting the largest demographic in Warrensburg that is

literally on its doorstep; the over 12,000 students attending the University of Central Missouri.

The median age in Warrensburg for 2014 is projected to be 24.7.

There are two primary target audiences for this IMC plan, in town residents aged 21-39,

and out-of-town visitors. First of all, University of Central Missouri Students, aged 21-24, are the

most likely to frequent this establishment, as it is located on Pine Street. Next, young white-

collar professionals, aged 25-39, are the second largest demographic in Warrensburg, and most

likely to frequent a wine bar for a drink after work. The secondary target audiences are out-of-

town visitors/alumni returning to Warrensburg or individuals from surrounding communities

who are looking for a unique dining experience.



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IMC OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this campaign in 2015 are to redesign the restaurant name to better

match the restaurant menu, generate brand awareness within Warrensburg and the surrounding

communities, increase the weekly number of student customers by 20%, increase monetary

intake by 10% during dinner hours of operation, obtain 20 new fans on the Facebook page per

month, 10 new followers on Twitter per month, and 10 unique visitors to the website per week.

The objectives will be achieved through the creation of a corporate identity to include

logo design, business cards, a menu, a targeted public relations campaign, the design and

implementation of a website, and social media initiatives. A strategic combination of these

promotional elements will yield measurable positive results for La Sous Terre (a.k.a. The

Underground.)

BUDGET

Proposed Budget will run from January 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015

Print Ads - Newspaper (Mule Skinner & Daily Star Journal) $3,141

Direct Mail Mailer Inserts and Flyers $4,200

Sponsorships - UCM, The Underground & community events $6,700

Digital Media Ads $ 900

Social Media Ads $ 780

Outdoor Media Ad - Billboard $3,000

Printing Costs - Full Color $500



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INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

An integrated marketing campaign is imperative to smoothly transition from the current

restaurant name, La Sous Terre, to the proposed name of The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar.

The name change alone should generate renewed interest within the community at large. All

communications from the new restaurant should have the same look and feel which will translate

to the new brand image of being a hip place to have a glass of wine after work, or a hotspot for

college students. The main slogan will be, “Go underground and Let the Day’s Stresses Melt

Away.” The following integrated marketing communications mix will depict how higher results

can be achieved through the use of the sum of methods over any of the individual

communications executed separately.

Communication Mix

Advertising

Advertising for The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar will utilize some current methods

already in use by the restaurant, in addition to implementing methods which are brand new.

Print advertising to be employed will range from newspaper ads, to local billboard publications,

to flyers and direct mailers. More invasive advertising forms, such as radio ads and promotion

through social media, will also be heavily applied.

To most effectively reach our particular target markets through newspaper advertising,

we will need to make use of the local newspaper for the city of Warrensburg, the Daily Star

Journal, and the newspaper for the campus of the University of Central Missouri, the

Muleskinner. Covering both of these bases will ensure that both students of the university and

young, white-collar professionals (our primary target markets) will be exposed to The

Underground Bistro and Wine Bar when engaging in reading a local newspaper, no matter which

source they prefer. Both of these sources carry prestigious names that can provide clout all on



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their own, and are the only major newspaper publications produced within the city. As well, these

sources have their own social media, online, and mobile presence. Cost considerations

emphasizing the affordability of newspaper advertising, specifically within the Daily Star Journal,

are provided on the, “Appendix B” section of this IMC plan.

Billboard advertising will stay on a, “within city limits” basis, to better conserve funds for

allocation on all forms of advertising. This mode of advertising can be highly effective at reaching

the university students who are commuters and enter the city of Warrensburg through 13

highway or Business 50 highway (also called Young street) on a daily basis. Both of these major

roads contain billboards that already promote the likes of Heroes Restaurant & Pub and The

Roundabout Cafe, showing that this approach to advertising is not uncommon for the restaurant

industry. The reach that these billboards can provide to potential customers who are already out

of their homes and on the road, potentially searching for a place to eat, could be crucial to

developing future long-term relationships and repeat business.

Another mode of advertising that will reach out to people primarily already outside of

their homes is radio broadcasting. Ads on the radio are highly effective at reaching commuter

students driving to the university, as well as white-collar professionals who may be tuning in

while at work. Warrensburg, as a city, features an FM station, 98.5 the Bar, with an average

listener age between 25 - 54 and an audience potential of 187,261 listeners. In addition, 1450

KOKO, an AM station, has an average listener age of 30 plus, with a potential audience of 54,572

listeners. Both of these stations are heavily involved in broadcasting university athletic events,

local news, and other relevant local information.

Promotion through these outlets is extremely expensive and not within our budget.

However, by sponsoring community events (i.e. “Retro Movie at the Carmike” and “Jazz Night at



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Montserrat Vineyards”) The Underground will gain some unpaid air-time through community

calendar announcements.

Flyers and direct mailers will provide a push toward the local residents of Warrensburg

and the surrounding areas. With the population of Warrensburg totaling around 20,000 people,

and the university having an enrollment of an additional 12,000 students, issuing flyers and direct

mailers is a systematic way to ensure that The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar gets its name

out to as many of these 32,000 potential customers as possible. Although simply promoting the

store name and brand is the main idea of using mailers and flyers, we are proposing

implementing a basic coupon onto the mailer or flyer that will create a call-to-action, providing

a stronger potential return on investment. Along with the coupon, to make our mailer far more

unique and individualized, we will be using a scratch and sniff feature to promote one of our

staple dessert items, the vanilla bean cheesecake.

Cross promotional advertising through partnerships with local grocery and liquor stores

has powerful lucrative potential, as well. This advertising medium is the most advantageous, cost-

wise, because of the fact that if it proves to be mutually beneficial for The Underground and the

individual grocery/liquor store, then the two sides could choose to do trade-out advertising. To

set this mode of advertising up, we will have to promote, in-store, with local Warrensburg

businesses that carry the wines that we provide at our restaurant. Conversely, these businesses

will have to promote next to their wines that they are also available at The Underground. The

diverse wine selections at Bi Lo Country Mart, Woods, and both of the Discount Smokes & Liquor

locations, coupled with their high-traffic natures, make all four of these businesses prime

candidates for a cross promotional advertising opportunity.



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Media Planning and Purchase Calendar

Media CPM Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Muleskinner Print Ad 50.0

Warrensburg Daily Star Journal Print Ad

45.4

Muleskinner Digital Ad

1.26

Muleskinner Direct-Mail /Flyer Insert

50.0

Val-Pak Coupon Mailers

13.2

Sponsorship - UCM Spotlight

83.3

Sponsorship - UCM Performing Arts Series Silver Level

41.6

Sponsorship - “Retro Movie Night at Carmike”

42.1

Sponsorship - “Jazz Festival” at Montserrat Vineyards

52.6

Facebook 0.0

Twitter 0.0

Billboard 2.26

Website Blog 0.0



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Media Size, Cost, and Frequency Total Cost

Muleskinner Print Ad ¼ Page - $150 - Once a Month for 9 months Sept - May $1350

Warrensburg Daily Star Journal Print Ad

¼ Page - $199 - Once a Month for 9 months Sept - May $1791

Muleskinner Digital Ad 300 x 250 Pixels - $100 - Monthly for 9 Months Sept - May $900

Muleskinner Direct-Mail/Flyer Insert

Freestanding Ad Inserted into Newspaper - $150 - Once Monthly for 8 Months Aug - Nov and Feb - May

$1200

Val-Pak Coupon Mailers 3.66 x 8.5 Coupon Mailer insert - $250 for Warrensburg Mailers - Once a month

$3000

Sponsorship - UCM Spotlight Sponsor Spotlight Movie Night Event in Union - $1000 - Once in Spring and Once in Fall

$2000

Sponsorship - UCM Performing Arts Series Silver Membership

¼ Page Ad in Performing Arts Series Programs - $500 Silver Sponsorship for the 2015-2016 Season

$500

Sponsorship - “Retro Movie Night at the Carmike”

Movie Licensing Fee is $800 for a one-time showing $800

Sponsorship - “Dinner and a Song” Events

Musician Fee $200 - Once a Month for 12 months $2400

Sponsorship - “Jazz Festival” at Montserrat Vineyards

Sponsor a two-hour block during the Fall Jazz Festival at Montserrat Vineyards - $1000 Once a year

$1000

Facebook Daily Newsfeed posts are free Newsfeed Ad to increase fanbase - Cost is between $5 and $20 dollars weekly for 12 months

$780

Twitter Daily microblogging is free $0

Billboard 8’ x 16’ Billboard - $250 Monthly Rental - 12 Months $3000

Website - Blog Website hosted by Wordpress.org is free $0

Total Media Purchases Cost of all Media purchases for the year $18,721



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Social Media Approach Facebook, Twitter, and texting will be the primary outlets for The Underground’s social

media initiative. According to the Pew Research Internet Project, 71% of online adults use

Facebook, while 19% use Twitter. These are the two most popular social media sites available

today. In addition, we will be able to target our advertising to those individuals within our target

audiences. The Underground’s target audience coincides with the age group of Facebook and

Twitter’s largest users. Across all social media channels we will advertise daily menu items,

special events, promotions, coupon specials, and introduce new services such as “Bistro Car

Club”. To increase traffic to the restaurant and fan bases, we can institute social media contests

through all social media channels.

A social media scheduling calendar will be constructed to take the guess work out of what

items to post and when to post them. Also, each application has a scheduling tool and analytics

that can be utilized for better optimization of posts.

Facebook

La Sous Terre currently has a Facebook page with 624 likes. However, they do not post

to their page consistently. The major benefit from Facebook is the ability of fans to interact with

the brand. As The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar they will be able to post daily menu specials,

weekly and monthly promotions, as well as crowdsourcing to create the next sandwich

combination. Fans will become brand ambassadors spreading the message of fine wines on

Wednesdays, spaghetti dinner on Thursdays, and other bistro favorites to their friends

throughout the Warrensburg community. The more fans gained in our primary demographic,

the wider the reach among college students, thereby increasing the brand recognition within the

college community.



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Twitter

La Sous Terre currently has a Twitter Account, “@lasousterre” with 23 followers. As with

their Facebook account, tweets are not occurring on a frequent, consistent basis. The

Underground will tweet the daily soup, wines being featured during the Wednesday Wine

Tasting, and remind customers to make their dinner reservations for the following evening.

Texting

Customers that are signed up for “Bistro Car Club” service can receive text reminders of

weekly specials before their preferred dining night. This new car-side service would be

implemented through a pre-approved application process. A text message would be sent to a

special number and then the customer would simply pull up in front of The Underground. The

order is then brought out to the vehicle and payment is made via a mobile Square app on a smart

phone.

Traditional Media Plan Traditional media outlets are extremely important. They allow us to expand The

Underground through Television, Radio, Newspapers, Direct Mail, Yellow pages and Social Media.

Most consumers today are using more and more media channels to locate news and information.

We decided to run ads in the local Warrensburg Muleskinner, as well as the Warrensburg Daily

Star Journal each week. These ads will be located in the back section of the newspapers around

the coupon section advertising weekly specials and various wines of the week. Our focus is to

reach as many people as possible to let them know about The Underground and the menu items.

Also, we will have an e-newsletter that customers will be able to sign-up for on our

website. By collecting the email addresses of those who visit the restaurant website, we can send

out weekly emails on Tuesdays promoting specials throughout the week, as well as new entries

on the menu and wines.



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The Underground currently has a Twitter which is used to promote the restaurant. We

will utilize this to send out daily tweets promoting the soups of the day, as well as menu items.

Social media allows The Underground to reach a larger audience, and with The Underground

having more of a social media presence (and updating it more frequently,) it will gain more

followers, as well as potential customers. We will also gather from our Twitter feedback and offer

promotions for customers following the page.

An Instagram will be created and photos will be uploaded of every entree that is currently

on the menu. We will upload photos of new items, as well as entrees that we are trying to

promote. The more we publicize the restaurant using traditional media outlets, the more success

The Underground will see.

Consumer and Trade Sale Promotions Existing consumer promotions only consist of one method, which is available on business

cards that promote, “Buy 2 lunches, get one free. Drinks are not included.” This type of consumer

promotion is not targeting anyone specifically and has proved to not be enticing enough because

it does not draw in many customers.

Consumer promotions that would be smart to invest in include sampling, coupons

through Groupon, and sweepstakes. Sampling, either by employees going out into the

community, or through prominent display during festivals like BurgFest, “Thirsty Thursdays” on

Pine Street, or other related events, would help increase visibility and people’s awareness of the

restaurant.

Wine 101, located at 120 E Cooper Avenue in Warrensburg, would be an excellent

partner. Wine 101 could be the official sponsor of the Wednesday Night Wine Tasting at The

Underground. A Wine 101 sommelier would explain the intricate pairings of wine with each

course and explain why those pairings work. A Wine Tasting 101, if you will. Wine 101 will



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benefit as the wine featured will be those available for purchase in the store, and on Wednesday

nights, customers will be able to purchase a bottle of their favorite wine to drink at home later.

Personal Selling Personal Selling is usually considered the best form of marketing because it is the most

personal form of marketing communication and is a method that the restaurant has the most

control over. This form of marketing is genuine, face-to-face, and allows several opportunities for

building a customer database.

One of the best ways to utilize personal selling would be for the restaurant to take

advantage of the annual BurgFest festival that occurs every September. The restaurant could

greatly benefit by setting up a booth at the event to advertise via word-of-mouth about the

purpose, the location, and the special events offered. Another way to draw in customers would

be to host a wine sampling outside of the restaurant, or to direct the visitors of BurgFest down

to the establishment and entice them to come visit again.

Sponsorship Programs Due to the movie themed nature of The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar’s menu, many

film related sponsorship opportunities exist. Movie nights, which already occur frequently in the

UCM student union, can be sponsored by The Underground, as well as any movie oriented greek

life events on-campus. The local Carmike Theater, located on the north-side of Warrensburg,

could begin showing classic movies on week nights where the preface of the event could read,

“The Underground Bistro and Wine Bar presents: Retro Flicks at the Carmike.”

To reinforce the image that The Underground is a fun, entertaining place to spend an

evening, and not just a typical restaurant or bar, sponsoring a local music or jazz festival could be

an easy way to project this image to the general public. Montserrat Vineyards is a winery located



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roughly 10 miles east of Warrensburg, in Knob Noster. This winery holds events for the public,

year-round, and would be an ideal pairing for a location to sponsor a musical function.

Database and Direct Response Marketing Database and Direct Response Marketing are key to developing and retaining a new and

steady customer base. Key examples of data collected would include: contact information,

purchase history, records of any contacts, preferences and survey information, responses to any

promo offers, demographic and psychographic information.

By collecting this customer data in a database, you can easily tailor communications to

recognize special events (i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) and past purchase history. This

method also makes it exponentially easier to develop and implement a customer loyalty program

and an opt-in program to stay in touch with customers via email.

Direct Response programs, such as direct mail pieces with coupons and email marketing

using MailChimp, will only grow our budding business.

Web Websites are the backbone of any modern business. From Amazon to Yelp, sites offer

different experiences - but all serve customer needs. La Sous Terre does not have a website,

though it does have a Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Sous-

Terre/151833571510231) and has been reviewed on Yelp several times

(http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-sous-terre-warrensburg). La Sous Terre should have an

informational website. Menu, food, wines and location would be displayed. Here is a tentative

preview:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Sous-Terre/151833571510231

https://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Sous-Terre/151833571510231

http://www.yelp.com/biz/la-sous-terre-warrensburg



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We chose to put a

picture of the restaurant instead of food as the header

because it is the first thing viewed when clicking on a website.

Projecting a nice, relaxing environment is essential for a

restaurant such as La Sous Terre (i.e. The Underground) to

succeed. When a website is clicked, eyes are drawn naturally

to the top of the page and we want the website to reel visitors

in. Along with showing the dining area, we have included food.

It is essential for our website to have pictures of the

food because humans are such visual creatures. A picture is

worth a thousand words, and an image of perfectly cooked

soup will draw in customers more than any paragraph of

adjectives ever could.

Wine is also a huge part of La Sous Terre’s business,

and a category of wine would let customers know what there

is to order before arriving, potentially attracting more

business.

A simple, well thought out website would do wonders

for La Sous Terre’s business. The biggest problem La Sous Terre has is its somewhat hidden



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location; the second is lack of a website. Not only does a website give a professional impression

without physically stepping inside of the restaurant, it attracts new customers. If ‘wine

Warrensburg’ or other search terms that pertain to The Underground are Googled, the website

can show up first. The Underground brings in business, but with a little more effort and digital

media presence, the sky's the limit.

Publicity Publicity is a communication strategy that can be either positive or negative and gains

public awareness through strategic management. Focusing on this method being a positive

communicative outlet, word-of-mouth is everything in a town the size of Warrensburg.

The primary event that we suggest that would shed the most positive publicity on the

restaurant would be the event of, “Dinner and a Song.” In this event, a cover charge of $25 would

be paid by customers at the door. This cover charge would cover their dinner and entertainment

for the evening. The entertainment would either be an up-and-coming local band/musician or a

touring musician coming through the Warrensburg area. Performers appropriate for the

atmosphere would be selected for a one-time only performance to a select clientele. This unique,

intimate event would occur monthly at first, until a following is able to become established, upon

which the event could possibly occur weekly. A special monthly dinner special could also coincide

with the performance and would gain publicity for the restaurant. To help get the word out there

we would utilize local newspaper and radio resources by writing press releases and securing

coverage of the event. Also, events would be published on all social media channels.

Another event that may also draw attention from the media would be a type of themed

dinner, such as a Murder Mystery Party, where the waiter and waitresses are actors/actresses or

performers. Any event that is relative to the restaurant atmosphere could prove to be good

publicity; the key with securing publicity is to inform and actively pursue media coverage that is



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intrigued by the event and willing to freely publish information shedding a positive light on the

restaurant.



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MESSAGE STRATEGY



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EVALUATION

Recap of Campaign Objectives 1. Boost Monetary Intake during Dinner Hours of operation by 10%

2. Increase weekly number of Student Customers by 20%

3. Obtain 20 new fans on The Underground Facebook page per month

4. Obtain 10 new followers on The Underground Twitter account per month

5. Obtain 10 new unique visitors to the website per week

6. Increase awareness level among Students attending the University of Central Missouri

Quantifiable Evaluation In order to determine if the IMC plan is effective, it is necessary to have methods of

evaluation. The first five objectives are quantifiable and can be easily tracked by the restaurant

staff and manager. A daily assessment of cash intake and customer counts during the dinner

service will determine if we are reaching our target audience. A detailed report should be

compiled at the end of each month and compared to previous years’ revenues to determine our

success level.

Awareness Level Evaluation The awareness level of students toward The Underground can be measured through a

survey. By taking a random sample large enough to accurately represent the entire student

population, results can be evaluated for student awareness. A similar survey should be

conducted yearly to determine if awareness levels are increasing or slipping, as each new class

graduates and another new freshman class enters the university.

Media Coverage Evaluation To determine the success of print ads and direct-mail pieces we need only measure the

success of the advertised events relating to each piece. If there is an increase in attendance and



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reservations for dinner service, we should be able to tie that directly back to our print-ads

purchased.

Online and Social Media Evaluations Using Google Analytics, a free service, we will be able to collect statistics about The

Underground’s website. Google Analytics monitors traffic, where it is coming from, what content

is most popular and what visitors are typing into search engines to find The Underground’s

website. The compilation web analytics should be printed monthly and placed in a media binder

for future reference.

Social media success can easily be measured with each application’s analytics tracking

programs. Both Facebook and Twitter have their own measuring tools for site success. We will

be able to determine exactly how many new fans and followers to accurately measure our social

media campaign success.



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APPENDIX A - THE UNDERGROUND LOGO, MENU, AND BUSINESS CARD



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APPENDIX B - PRINT AD WARRENSBURG DAILY JOURNAL & MULESKINNER



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APPENDIX C - SOCIAL MEDIA CALENDAR



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WORKS CITED "LOIS Home Page." LOIS Home Page. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. <http://www2.locationone.com/>.

Population & Demographic Information for Warrensburg

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DP

DP1&prodType=table

http://www.city-data.com/city/Warrensburg-Missouri.html

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites

p://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/http://investorpl

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/

http://www.growjocomo.com/?page_id=552

http://www2.locationone.com/Reports/644a57c8-bb9d-4ce0-b965-2d6fedfd6bfa.pdf

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/13/us-wine-usa-france-idUSKBN0DT0YO20140513

http://www.statista.com/statistics/209169/wine-drinkers-in-the-us-by-education/

http://www.gallup.com/poll/156770/majority-drink-alcohol-averaging-four-drinks-week.aspx

http://muleskinner.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/mediakit_color_2014_2015.pdf

http://infoacrs.com/a/averagecmps.html

http://www2.locationone.com/

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodType=table

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DP_DPDP1&prodType=table

http://www.city-data.com/city/Warrensburg-Missouri.html

http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/social-networking-websites

http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/http:/investorpl

http://www.growjocomo.com/?page_id=552

http://www2.locationone.com/Reports/644a57c8-bb9d-4ce0-b965-2d6fedfd6bfa.pdf

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/13/us-wine-usa-france-idUSKBN0DT0YO20140513

http://www.statista.com/statistics/209169/wine-drinkers-in-the-us-by-education/

http://www.gallup.com/poll/156770/majority-drink-alcohol-averaging-four-drinks-week.aspx

http://muleskinner.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/mediakit_color_2014_2015.pdf

http://infoacrs.com/a/averagecmps.html

imc - la sous terre (the underground)

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