rei media plan
DESCRIPTION
This is a mock media plan I created for Intro to AdvertisingTRANSCRIPT
Simone` Page
April 13, 2016
Intro to Advertising
Understanding REI and its Running Customers
Target Segmentation Summary
● Target’s Psychographic Summary
○ Enjoys inspiring others
○ Enjoys working to raise money for charitable purposes
○ Enjoys traveling
○ Wants to stay in shape
○ Enjoys running
○ Runs half marathons
● Target’s Demographic Summary
○ Gender: Female
○ Marital Status: Married
○ Age Range: 25 to 44
○ HH Income: $75,000+
● Target’s Geographic Summary
○ Washington, D.C.
○ San Diego, CA
○ Salt Lake City, UT
Client Description
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● Company overview
Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI) is a cooperative that offers quality outdoor
gear. According to the REI website, Lloyd and Mary Anderson enjoyed climbing and
created the company in 1938 to share their experience with others, through outdoor gear
(Careers). The basis behind creating the cooperative was because there was lack of stores
supplying customers with options to rent recreational gear (Careers). REI is a consumer
cooperative which means that it was created for the benefit of the individuals that utilize
its services (About REI). REI takes what its customers want and uses their wants as the
basis of how it chooses to run the company. It has also been named the largest specialty
outdoor cooperative retailer (Careers).
The headquarters of REI is located in Kent, Washington, near Seattle (REI
employees). REI has 130 plus retail stores nationwide (Careers). Not only can customers
shop in store but the cooperative offers two online store services: rei.com and REI-
OUTLET.com and an REI mobile application (REI Overview). For those who prefer to
utilize the telephone and mail service, REI offers options for those customers too (REI
Overview).
In regards to stewardship, REI has taken an incredible amount of steps to help
create a better environment for the current generation and the generations to come. This
focus on environment safe practices allows the cooperative to participate in acts such as
recycling, minimizing, waste packaging, and green building practices. The cooperative
also is active in volunteer projects such as; cleaning beaches, building trails, and restoring
local habitats (REI Overview). REI releases an annual stewardship report to showcase the
action it takes to better the environment and its cooperative practices. In the 2014 report it
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discusses how they not only want to respect the environment but also its workers. The
company believes that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors
but also be able to work in a safe and fair environment (Stewardship Report). REI utilizes
other brands for its services and requires those brands to follow its Factory Code of
Conduct. In 2014 it also updated its Factory Code of Conduct and trained 13 of its largest
suppliers to support the updated version (Stewardship Report). REI also monetarily gives
back to the environment by donating a section of its operating profits for the restoration
and involvement in outdoor recreation (REI Overview). REI partakes in many more
practices to ensure it distributes the best to its customers while helping the environment
and encouraging workers.
Speaking of encouraging workers, REI was ranked number 26 on the 2016
Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for list. REI has more than 12,000 dedicated
employees who allowed them to achieve this 19th consecutive recognition on the top
employers list. REI conducted an anonymous survey that recorded 96 percent of its
employees take pride in their association with the cooperative (REI Employees) REI
takes care of its employees, offering health care benefits to part time workers who work
over 20 hours. This rank is a little over a quarter of an increase from the cooperatives
number 58 rank in 2015 (Recreational Equipment INC).
Recreational Equipment, Inc. is a continually growing company, it is the United
States’ largest cooperative. It has been in the news for several accomplishments. The
cooperative reached record sales in 2014, producing an increase of 9.9 percent from
2013. The $2.2 billion increase comes from the 945,000 new members as well as
customer purchases of active lifestyle trips and gear. REI is also giving back to its
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members by refunding them about $168 million. The cooperative is in a competitive
business and recovering like others from the recession. Another factor in the increase of
sales is the fact that REI opened seven new stores in Alaska, Tennessee, and Texas, to
name a few locations. There are several other factors that played a role in REI’s recent
sales success such as; REI’s travel program, REI Adventures gaining more business, the
REI Outdoor School classes grew in numbers, and the cooperative debuted its brand,
“REI Co-Op” which sold $1 million in merchandise in less than 20 day. REI still
struggles with online retailing but that does not seem to stop them from growing in size
and sales (REI Climbs).
● Client Offerings
REI is a company that specializes in outdoor retail and offers a wide selection of
high quality gear and apparel for recreational purposes but the focus for this research is
on running equipment. It also specializes in programs to better outdoor experiences. The
cooperative, as mentioned previously. Provides learning experiences at its REI Outdoor
School. The classes range from beginner to advance level with professional instructors
and customers have the opportunity to learn in store and online (REI Overview).
Learning online with Expert Advice is another service REI has for customers and
members. This feature has more than 350 articles and how-to videos to help instruct
customers on how to shop, what to shop for, and skills and techniques on how to use gear
(Learn). Many articles on tops such as running, cycling, and paddling can be found to
help customers (Expert Advice). REI also has been offering adventure travel trips to
inspire individuals to enjoy the great outdoors. The cooperative places members together
to embark on one of 150 trips across the globe to locations such as; Belize, Costa Rica,
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and Italy. It accommodates for members who would prefer an intense workout or those
who would rather enjoy something less vigorous (Why Travel with REI).
REI also offers membership opportunities to customers. As a member, individuals
have the advantage of having access to more features at the cooperative. It offers coupons
and discounts to everyone who utilizes its services but gives members special coupons
and offers year round. The exclusivity of being a member offers limited edition products,
events, and special pricing on classes and adventures. Being a member also has its
monetary benefits including, the opportunity to apply for an REI MasterCard and getting
a percentage back on eligible purchases which is a part of members REI annual member
dividend. Being a member cost only $20 and the benefits begin instantly (REI
Membership).
Because my target is “runners,” I will be focusing on product that REI offers to
runners and for running purposes. Categories REI offers for runners benefits include;
Men’s and Women’s running clothes and shoes, with deals on both, there is health and
safety and electronic gear, others runners accessories, and apparel and gear specifically
for triathlon runners. Expert advice and classes are also offered specifically for runners.
Men’s Running Clothes is a large portion of the run selection of REI.com. it
includes six categories featuring shirts, jackets, vests, pants and tights, shorts, and other
accessories. Running shirts have the most item choices. REI offers 13 features for Men’s
Running Clothes which include but are not limited to; quick drying, Made in USA, and
reflective. There are 17 different brands customers can choose from, it carries mostly
Nike apparel. Shirt style, fabric type, and sleeve length are also categories customers can
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choose from in deciding what piece of clothing best fits them. The price is reasonable for
any customer ranging from $10.00 to $499.99.
The majority of men’s running shoes REI offers are for trail running, most of the
categories for these types of shoes cater to the needs of trail runners. Brooks is the brand
the cooperative has the most of. Customer can choose the type of support they want the
shoe to have, for example motion control and stability. The categories even go to the
extent of having heel-to-toe drop options. The price of the men’s running shoes selection
ranges from $50.00 to $199.99. the same can be said for the Women’s Running Shoes
selection in regards to all the listed factors above. Fitness running is not something that is
a major category, with only one choice selection in Women’s Running Shoes and two in
Men’s.
Women’s Running Clothes has two more categories than the Men’s does. Women
are also given the options of running dresses and skirts and sports bras. Nike is the brand
with the most items once again and similar features such as insulated, moisture wicking,
and compression are listed as they were in the Men’s Running clothes. Pant rise is a
section that the women’s running clothes can call its own. The price range for the
women’s clothing starts at $10.00 like the men’s but the price stops at $199.99.
There is not many Health and Safety products for running. The categories include
compression leg sleeves, support braces, anti-chafing balm, and massagers. For each
category one to two items could be selected. “Men’s and “Unisex” are the only gender
types that can be selected and the brand with the most items is Pro-Tec Athletics. The
price range for these items fall into the $0.00 to $49.99. Most items could be found in the
$20.00 to $49.99 range.
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Runners have a selection of electronics to choose from at the REI. Categories
include but are not limited to; monitor accessories, running lights, activity trackers, and
GPS sports watches. It is important to runners that these accessories feature capabilities
such as; wireless sync, tracking distance, and tracking of calories burned. The items at
REI include those features and more. Nathan, Timex, and Garmin are the brands that
have the most selections of electronics. The electronics are predominantly gender neutral
and lightweight. The price range for these items are $10.00 to $749.99, with most items
falling into the category of $20.00 to $49.99.
The accessories REI provides falls into the electronics and health and safety
another category that it adds is strollers. All of the strollers are jogging strollers. Stroller
accessories like wind shields, rain covers, and sun covers are included in this category.
BOB and Thule are the only brands of strollers REI carries. In regards to the triathlon
portion of the “Run” section of REI, eight race belts are listed to assist customers in their
goals of competing in a triathlon. The belts are in three categories; women’s clothing,
men’s clothing, and race belts. The only feature is “Made in USA” and Amphipod has the
most items to offer. The price ranges from $10.00 to $49.99, with the most items being
listed in $20.00 to $49.99.
REI Target Audience: Runners
● Introduction
The appropriate target audience would be college educated women between the
ages of 25 and 44 that serious half marathoners. These women have down time to train
for marathons, as well as funds to maintain a serious marathon runner’s lifestyle. Many
have an image they want to maintain and also are concerned with healthy living.
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According to 2015 U.S Race Trends report there is a 61% female participation in half-
marathons (2015 State of the Sport). Although REI has a focus on trekking through the
great outdoors and bettering the environment, I feel as though women marathon runners
have similar goals in their reasons to run. In both cases there is an awareness that has a
need to be made. Marathon runners inspire others to overcome or do better, and REI
inspires people to get outside. Both feel the need to inspire people to take action.
● Psychographic Elements of Target Audience
In my opinion women within the age range of 25 and 44 run half-marathons for three
reasons, to inspire others, raise money and awareness for a cause, and travel. For females
the favorite race to run in was the half-marathon (Runner Demographics). Many of the
women that fall into this target want to inspire those around them. At one point they may
have went through a circumstance that they did not believe they could overcome.
Running a marathon motivates others to overcome obstacles that they may have never
thought they could get over (Janos, Karen). Many college educated women are
knowledgeable on causes in the community and around the world. This brings me to my
next reasoning behind the need and want for women marathoners to run, raising money
and awareness for a cause. According to active.com runners set goals for marathons to
help raise money causes and charity (Janos, Karen).
REI focuses a lot on traveling and getting out into the outdoors. This target
audience of half-marathon runners also enjoy traveling and have the means to do so.
There are many events that allow runners to do both, run, and travel there are several sites
such as marathontours.com, funtravel.com, and amazingrunningtours.com that help
individuals find information on how to run marathons and enjoy travel. “Travel” was
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ranked number five on runnersworld.com 52 Reasons to Run a Marathon (Rauschenberg,
Dane). Running a marathon gives the target audience a reason to do all of the above,
inspire others, raise money and awareness, and traveling can make the experience even
better.
There is also the major benefit in shape after running a few marathons. According
to runningguru.com 75.5% of women runner said the motivation to continue to keep
running was to stay in shape (Runner Demographics). The main goal of marathoners is
not for fitness initially, with only 25.3% saying the primary reason was for exercise
(Running Demographics). Running is an easy sport to participate in that can keep
individuals in shape but it has many benefits for the community and for one’s personal
need to experience the world.
● Demographic Elements of Target Audience
As previously stated the gender for this target audience is female, the age ranges
between 25 and 44, with an average of age 36 (2014 Running USA Annual). The
household income for these runners is around or little over $75,000 a year. Most of these
women are married (61.9%) with college education (78.7%) (Runner Demographics).
According to 2015 U.S Race Trends, 10.7 million females were recorded as marathon
finishers and the half-marathon amount of finishers has increased by 4% (2015 State of
the Sport).
● How Target Aligns with REI’s Offering
As stated previously Brooks is the brand with most items at REI for women’s running
shoes with 14 different shoes. According to the 2014 Running Industry Report, Brooks is
a brand that is leading the way in specialty running footwear (2014 State of the Sport).
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REI stores are located in some of the most prominent jogging/running areas in the United
States such as; Washington (11 stores), California (29 stores), and Texas (10 stores) to
name a few (Store Directory).
Another important product that aligns with my target’s interests is the fact that
REI offers travel opportunities to members. These adventure trips allow half-marathoners
who have the leisure time and financial stability to enjoy running and travel which is one
of their main desires. Tracking distances is important for half-marathon runners, REI
offers an array of different accessories to help the target audience achieve this. In order to
stay motivated many of these tracking devices allow individuals to log the information of
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their results onto their computers. This feature can help when half marathoners are raising
money for distances traveled.
Apparel is another large factor in marathon running. Comfortability is something
that is necessary because these runs are not exactly short. REI offers chafing prevention
important because it pulls sweat from the skin and helps it evaporate faster on the outside
of the fabric. REI offers 102 different items with moisture wicking features (REI
Women’s Clothing). All of these different features REI has to offer can help marathoners
comfortably inspire others while running.
Media Plan Targeted to Reach Runners Target Audience
● Introduction:
The main highlight of my media plan is magazines. The media plan focuses a lot
on magazine that help runners train so they can be better prepared to participate in half
marathons. I chose one running specific magazine because I felt as if it was the only one
that I felt reached the target audience. The other magazines also offered many amenities
that would better represent REI. The longevity of magazines is what also drew me to
choose the media vehicle as my priority type and why I spent the majority of the budget
towards magazines.
If the media plan was a hierarchy of media vehicles, radio was the second priority
on the list because of the fact that many runners do not spend a lot of time in a vehicle.
Driving to a training location or half marathon event is the main times runners would be
in the car during this time. For these reasons it was not my first priority. I spent the least
amount of money on Google AdWords based on the fact that the credibility of websites is
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often questioned because of spam and viruses. Magazines have a high level of
authenticity and credibility that draws audience members.
● Media Plan Schedule:
I chose to advertise in the months of March, April, and May. The reasoning
behind this choice was because according to Carissa Liebowitz, the best time for half
marathon runners to train is when weather will not deter them (Liebowitz, Carissa).
Spring is one of the many months that do not have a lot of inclement weather, with the
exception of rain. For the most part there is not extreme heat conditions or snow storms.
Another important factor in choosing these months is because Carissa Liebowitz states
that it is best to train in the season one plans to participate and sign up for half marathon
events (Liebowitz, Carissa). Spring is also the month that track and field begins for high
schools and colleges, it is because of the nice weather that this occurs,
Choosing the Spring season creates the best time, place, and circumstance
atmosphere to reach the target audience. During Spring runners are training and
participating in half marathons. The best time to reach runners are when they are thinking
about running but runners are not only thinking about running during the Spring season,
they are running. Below I have listed half marathon events in the target market locations
to better articulate these statements.
● Washington, D.C.
○ May 1, 2016: 13th Annual Potomac River Run Marathon & Half
○ April 30, 2016: Mercy 5K
○ May 8, 2016: Mother’s Day 8K
● San Diego, CA
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○ May 7, 2016: Girls on the Go
○ May 1-31, 2016: “Honoring Our Heroes” Race
○ April 1-30: “ImProve Your Selfies” Race
● Salt Lake City, UT
○ May 1-31, 2016: “Honoring Our Heroes” Race
○ April 1-30, 2016: “ImProve Your Selfies” Race
○ April 16, 2016: Salt Lake City Marathon
● Media Type Priority:
The media type priority I’ve chosen is magazines. Magazines are still an
important part of advertising in spite of the fact that many people believe print
advertising is old and outdated. Because runners are running and training it’s less likely
for them to be in their cars listening to the radio and online searching. Half marathon
runners are more likely to be training and see a newsstand with running magazines.
Magazines also have longevity as opposed to radio advertisements that come and
go. Off the top of my head I can’t remember a single radio advertisement, maybe if I
heard the advertisement again, but who knows when that would be. According to a
Forbes article titled “ Print is Dead? Not so Fast,” magazines are a physical piece of
information that stick around for awhile, internet ads are not always guaranteed to appear
every time a keyword or phrase is searched (Print is Dead). Another part of this article
that stuck out was the fact that there is the fear of being spammed and acquiring a virus
from the web because of all the popups and ads that appear. Magazines do not create that
same fear for readers. Magazines are also more targeted towards specific audiences. A
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company or brand does not want to reach audience members that do not care about what
it has to offer or what its message is. As more people move toward digital advertising,
there is still the tangibility, credibility, and specific targeting aspect that keeps readers
purchasing and subscribing to magazines.
It was important to choose media vehicles that would directly target the audience
I chose. Each media type focused on matching the demographic of the targeted audience.
The audience will be listening, watching, and searching for running. It was also important
to match the psychographics of the target audience because “enjoying running” is what
really counts.
● Specific Media Choices:
○ Magazine Choices:
Women's Health Magazine: I chose this magazine because of the explanation of
the psychographics that fit the the readers of Women’s Health Magazine. A few of
the psychographics that were similar to the psychographics of my target audience
were; adventure seeking, ambitious, leaders, focus on health and wellness,
participants in running events, and enjoys vacations. The magazine does not offer
the target audience demographic information, this is the reasoning behind only
having the ad take up one-third of a page, in full color. on the inside of the
magazine with one insertion in the month of March. I chose the month of March
when the training season begins and the target audience begins “seeking
adventure.” In each ad I selected I chose to display it in full colors so that readers
get the full experience of what REI has to offer.
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Health: What stood out to me the most about Health magazine is it doesn’t just
pertain to running, I mention in the psychographic summary that the target
audience wants to stay in shape. Health magazine says that 90 percent of its
audience is active in activities to help improve their fitness. I feel that these two
statements correlate. The magazine reaches 24 million consumers which is a
great entity but because only five percent of the magazine is made up of apparel
and accessories I only wanted to advertise one-third of a page, one time in the
month of March as well as in Women’s Health. Most people work to get fit and
healthy before that begin a vigorous running lifestyle. I chose to do the ad in full
color because 20 percent of the magazine contains fitness and I believe it is best
to display content in full color so that the target audience can receive the best
idea of what the product will look like.
Trail Runner: Trail Runner was not my first choice because of the name of the
magazine. Half marathon runners are road runners and that made me question
myself at first in choosing the magazine. After researching the magazine I found
that 77 percent of Trail Runners audience participates in road running events like
half marathons. I chose to advertise a spread in color during March and May
because 56 percent of its readers purchases the advertised merchandise and a
little over 40 percent buy more than two pairs of running shoes in a year. REI has
a lot to offer this target audience, especially in regards to shoes as mentioned
previously. Serious half marathon runners want the best shoes for running and
advertising in Trail Runner will help REI educate the target audience on the
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shoes they have to offer.
Fitness Magazine: I chose Fitness Magazine because the audience aligned with
the target audience I chose. The magazine is directed towards females. The
median age is 35.8, the median age I selected was 36. The marital status was 46
percent of readers. The list of target demographics fits in with this magazine.
Because the magazine is directed towards fitness is also correlates well with the
desire for the target audience to stay in shape. I chose a full color, one-half page
ad with one insert because of these statements above.
Experience Life: Regional: Experiencing life is exactly what the target
audience wants to do by raising money for charitable purposes, inspiring others,
and traveling they are doing just that. This is why I chose to advertise one page,
three times, in full color. The regional location is Washington, D.C., many half
marathon events are located in the area as well as there are many stores near that
location. Along with psychographics that meet the target audience. Experience
Life readers are mostly women and married.
Shape: Of each magazine chosen I believe that Shape magazine completely fits
the demographic of the target audience. Of the readers 61 percent are in the age
range of 25 to 49 years old, 49 percent household income is $75,000 +, and the
magazine is specifically directed toward women. The median age is also 39 years
old. I chose to advertise one-third of a page once in full color because the
magazine has a huge focus on sports and fitness.
Runner's World: This was the only running specific magazine I chose to
advertise in because I felt it was the only one that catered to the target audience
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and REI. The percentage of women that read the magazine is 54 percent, the
median age is 38.6 years old and 63.2 percent are married. The main
psychographic is that the target audience enjoys running. Runner’s World does a
great job at showcasing running accessories to equip half marathon runners with
was they need. I chose to advertise in full color because these accessories should
be advertised to its full potential but because Runner’s World is a huge
publication in the running world I chose to advertise it once as one-third of a
page because of cost efficiency.
Experience Life: National: I wanted to advertise a full page ad, in full color
once, nationally in Experience Life also because of the previous mentioned
reasons and also because it isn’t limited to Washington, D.C. There are many
newsstands in each target market location that readers can purchase the
magazine.
Source: Experience Life
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Source: Experience Life
Source: Experience Life
○ Radio Choices:
For each radio station below I used Contemporary Hit Radio as the format
because of the data from Katz Radio Group that shows this format best suits the
target audience I have chosen.
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I also chose to use the PM daypart because of data I discovered on Runner’s
World’s website stating that 10.7 percent (the highest percentage) of runners in the
United States run between 6:00 pm and 6:59 pm and the second highest percentage (10
percent) between 5:00 pm and 5:59 pm. These time periods are during the PM daypart. I
chose these times because when runners are going to the destination that they choose to
train and run in they will be in the car and possibly listening to the radio. They will be
thinking about running while going to run.
Insertions: I chose to advertise one time per hour for three hours and three days
a week for 3 months for the stations below. I chose 108 insertions because as I
mentioned earlier runners are running and they don’t tend to be in their cars often
while training and participating in events.
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WRQX-FM (Washington, D.C.)
XHTZ-FM (San Diego, CA)
KEGY-FM (San Diego, CA)
KUDD-FM (Salt Lake City, UT)
KUUU-FM (Salt Lake City, UT)
Insertions: For the station below I chose to advertise three times every two hours
two days a week for 12 weeks because it is a lower rated station so it will need
more insertions to reach the targeted audience.
WVBX-FM (Washington, D.C.)
○ Google Keywords:
I chose these keywords and keyphrases below because they all correlate
with what half marathon runners look for while searching. It is important to have
the proper attire and equipment to run a half marathon. I chose these words by
typing in words that relate to running. I also searched through the REI website
and looked for what it has to offer to the target audience. For example activity
trackers are important for runners while they are training. Runners enjoy beating
personal bests and also as previously mentioned sometimes the amount of miles
ran raises money for charity. Each keyword or keyphrase selected was selected
based on need. The amount of clicks is not high because as previously mentioned
runners are running and not online searching.
Running Lights
Running packs
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Running Shirts
Marathon accessories
Running shoes for half marathon
Running socks
Marathon gear
Activity trackers
Heart rate monitors
Clothing for runners
Energy food for runners
Half marathon runners
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