The Miami Herald Imc Plan Essay, Research Paper

TABLE OF CONTENTS

THE IMC PLAN

1. The IMC Mission 1

2. The IMC Objectives 1

3. The Situation Analysis 2

4. Budget 3

THE PRODUCT

1. Seasonality 5

2. Purchase Cycle 6

TARGET MARKET 6

ADVERTISING

1. Objectives 7

2. Strategy 7

SALES PROMOTIONS

1. Product 12

2. Pricing 12

3. Distribution 12

PERSONAL SELLING

1. Objectives 13

2. Selling strategy 13

PUBLIC RELATIONS

1. Objectives 15

2. Strategies 15

FRINGE MARKETING

1. Objectives 18

2. Strategies 18

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PLAN 20

APPENDICES

THE IMC PLAN

1. The IMC Mission

To position the Miami Herald as a competitive alternative for readers in Broward, South Palm and Monroe counties. The object is to attract existing readers and consumers of other media products in these areas and to solidify the base of current Miami Herald readers and compete effectively with other publications and media outlets. We want to attract advertisers, from areas other than Miami-Dade. Customer awareness and interest must be built to levels that lead to product trial. Establish the Herald as being an alternate paper to loyal readers of other publications.

2. The IMC Objectives

a. Increase market share in Broward and South Palm Beach counties by 5%.

b. Consolidate and increase share in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties by

2%.

c. Establish the Herald as being the best source of news for all four counties with a result of 30% increase in total sales.

d. Increase The Miami Herald subscription base by 10%.

e. Increase advertising revenue in areas other than Miami-Dade by 40%.

f. Expand distribution to Monroe and Palm Beach Counties by 60%.

3. The Situation Analysis-SWOT Analysis

Strengths

? The Herald’s Classifieds section reaches three of the five counties that are projected to have the biggest job growth through 2010. These three counties include Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach.

? The geographical distribution shows that The Miami Herald has its main market in Miami-Dade County, which holds 65% of the circulation sales.

? The Miami Herald has a good reputation with readers and non-readers alike and therefore.

Weaknesses

? A large percentage of newspaper readers in Palm Beach County feel that the Herald fails to cover news pertaining to their local community.

? More than half of the newspaper readers from Palm Beach County report that the Herald is not readily accessible in their area.

? The Miami Herald name alone has a negative impact on consumers in Palm Beach County.

? Monroe County is not effectively covered by any of the newspapers.

? The Sun Sentinel has higher total revenue than The Miami Herald. The $20 million difference comes from higher advertising revenue. Although the specific numbers are not provided, the circulation figures in Appendix B show that the Sun Sentinel has a lower total circulation than The Miami Herald.

Opportunities

? A local edition of the Miami Herald has a potential for growth, since The Miami Herald has a good reputation with readers and non-readers.

? To expand distribution in Palm Beach county by establishing strong relationships with local businesses and vendors.

? Alter the product name (e.g. The Herald: Palm Beach edition).

? The Miami Herald would have the greatest sales potential, in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties but would also profit from other markets. Therefore, we must keep and increase our current reader base in the Miami-Dade and Monroe areas, while attempting to attract Palm Beach and Broward county residents.

? The population figures show that Broward and Palm Beach are the counties with greatest potential, since they have a greater population than Monroe. The advertising campaign should be aimed to get the Sun-Sentinel and The Palm Beach Post readers to switch to The Miami Herald.

Threats

? Its main competitor, the Sun-Sentinel, focuses its sales in Broward County, while The Palm Beach Post has its major market in Palm Beach County.

? The analysis of the competitive sales points at the problem of getting advertisers for The Miami Herald new local editions in those counties where the Sun Sentinel controls the market.

? The general decline in newspaper readership.

4. Budget

Total Budget ————————————————$2,500,000

? Promotion————————————————$1,000,000

o Advertising———————–$650,000

o Public Relations——————$250,000

o Personal Selling——————-$200,000

? Product—————————————————$300,000

? Pricing—————————————————-$0

? Distribution———————————————-$1,000,000

? Contingency———————————————$500,000

Rationale:

We want to induce trial. In order to accomplish this objective, we need high levels of reach. The effective reach calls for a better distribution network. We also need to advertise so that prospectives become aware of the changes in The Miami Herald. Now, The Herald covers their communities.

THE PRODUCT

1. Seasonality

Not considering special events or news stories with above average importance, newspapers are sold almost equally in every week of the year.

2. Purchase Cycle

Newspapers are purchased either on a daily basis or weekly (meaning the Sunday edition). However, factors such as family coupons on certain days of the week may opt readers to purchase the newspaper.

Subscription standard rate:

? 4 days Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday: $25.91

? 3 days Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: $21.91

? Sundays Only for 13 weeks for $14.19

Promotional prices:

? 3 month subscriptions $24.12

? 4 days $13.64

? Sundays only for $7.17

? 1 year for $109.60

? 26 weeks for everyday delivery $54.84

TARGET MARKET

Demographics

The primary target market of The Miami Herald is white non-Hispanic men and women over the age of 65 that have a yearly household income above $50K. The secondary target market is Hispanic men and women between the ages of 35 and 54 that have $35K+ yearly household incomes (Note: See Appendix A). Readership consists mostly of middle to middle-upper socioeconomic class. Most readers have some college experience and work in a professional or managerial job. Also, 73% of Sunday readers are from Miami-Dade County.

Psychographics

The Miami-Ft. Lauderdale audience is more likely to attend cultural/arts events; take cruise ship vacations; engage in foreign travel; and enjoy gourmet cooking & health foods. In addition, our audience has a high interest in current events/politics, self-improvement, and career-oriented activities.

ADVERTISING

1. Objectives

To establish The Miami Herald as the newspaper providing the most accurate and useful information for the readers in Broward and South Palm Beach, while maintaining the newspaper’s position in Miami-Dade County.

a. Creative objective

- To establish The Miami Herald as the newspaper that provides the most accurate and useful local and national information on Broward, South Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties.

b. Media objective

- To deliver advertising to men and women 18 to 44 primarily (our target market).

- To advertise throughout the Broward , South Palm Beach, and Dade counties with an additional support in Broward and South Palm Beach.

- Increase print advertising in local areas.

2. Strategy

a. Marketing mix:

- Outdoor advertising

- Radio

- Television

- Local Magazines

b. Media:

- Outdoor advertising: Billboards, and posters for bus stops.

- Radio: Morning and evening drive.

- Television: Morning and Sports in spot cable.

- Local Magazines: Full page color ads.

c. Reach/Frequency

We want to achieve a reach of 95 with a frequency level of 4. The resulting GRPs will be 380. A reach of 95 will help The Herald in increasing market share and awareness. A frequency of 4 will make consumers to choose The Herald over its competitors The Sun Sentinel and The South Palm Beach.

d. Scheduling:

Advertising will start on September and run throughout the whole year by using continuity strategy.

Outdoor

? Billboards:

Dark background with glow in the dark lettering to gain thea ttention of viewers at both morning and evening time.

Billboards of bigger size will be placed on the side of buildings in the downtown area of each county to show how we appreciate their support.

? Posters:

Same creative as billboards.

The Miami Herald

TV Ad

: 60

AUDIO

Man: Honey, where is my morning paper?

Wife: Oh, I’ll get it right now

Man: Ok honey (in the background)

Wife: (screaming) Ouch!

ANNCR: The Herald, Today’s Newspaper for Today’s reader

VIDEO

CS: A couple wakes up from an alarm clock going off. The man gets up and rubs his eyes. The, he heads to the bathroom. His wife gets up and goes to the kitchen.

CS: Wife is preparing breakfast as he walks in dressed for work. He sits down and starts looking around for his paper. MS: Door opens and the shot show the wife holding cup of coffee. A newspaper comes flying in from the air and hits her in smack in the head.

LS: Husband comes running to the door and sees The Herald hit his wife.

CS: On newspaper: The Herald, Today’s Newspaper for Today’s reader.

The Herald

Radio Ad

:30

SFX: VOICES, PLATES, NOISE OF STEPS HEARD IN THE BACKGROUND OF A RESTAURANT.

Man 1: Hello!!

Man 2: Late as always, huh?! LAUGHS

Man 1: Stop complaining…LAUGHS

Man 2: I’ve already ordered and read more than half of the newspaper.

Man 1: What did your wife put to much starch in your shirt?

Man 2: What are you talking about?

Man 1: You are reading the Miami Herald and you’re not even living in that county.

Man 2: Your mind is as slow as your timing. The Miami Herald now has editions in Broward and South Palm Beach counties.

Man 1: Really?!

Man 2: Yeah! The Miami Herald is now also my Herald.

ANNCR: The Herald is now covering specific news that relate to only to you and your county. All the experience and years of news coverage of The Miami Herald is now available to you. Buy your Herald now!! The Herald, , Today’s Paper for Today’s Reader.

SALES PROMOTIONS

Door-to-door sampling

? Deliver a free introductory trail of the paper to different area code for one month in order to encourage trying the Miami Herald in the Palm Beach and Monroe area.

Sweepstakes

? Enter a drawing to win a Royal Caribbean weekend cruise. This sales promotion will help generate potential customer information.

Event Marketing

? Setup tents, such as in the Broward County Fair, and other local events. Give away hats, tee shirts, sports bottles and other goodies w/Herald logo.

Trade Shows

? Introduce the Herald to Monroe and Palm Beach to customers and local retailers.

? Gather customer and competitive information. Follow-up through sales calls or direct marketing.

? Identity new prospects

PERSONAL SELLING

1. Objectives

As part of our personal selling campaign we will use several person-to-person strategies in order to assist, persuade or even make perspective buyers aware of the product and eventually purchase The Herald over other newspapers.

- The first step in developing customer relationships is locating perspective customers through the purchase of a list of customer with similar characteristics to those that read, or even those who don’t read other newspapers in the Palm Beach area.

- We will focus on satisfying customer needs and emphasize on customer service in order to develop long-term relationships, which in the long run, will evolve into brand loyalty.

- We will create awareness of The Herald through telephone sales, and set-up stands outside local stores with sales people promoting The Herald. We will focus on initiating trial and getting the order.

2. Selling Strategy

Our selling strategy will focus mainly on positioning The Herald as fulfilling our customers’ needs and expectations by providing the most accurate and useful information to them.

- We will offer free trials that will allow people to view The Herald and judge for themselves if the paper is worth subscribing to.

- Our selling strategy will also focus on providing our customer with outstanding customer service. In the Miami area we will focus on sustaining the existing market share. Where as in Broward County we will focus on increasing our market share.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

1. Objective

The main focus of our public relations strategies is to develop and carry out a communications program designed to bring about public understanding and acceptance. In order to develop the best overall image possible for The Herald, in the fastest way possible, we will work hand-to-hand with the advertising/marketing departments. This way, the public will regard The Herald as a newspaper who cares about the community’s well being.

3. Strategies

Press Releases

Press releases will be mailed out to the media, announcing important information pertaining to that media vehicle or the community in general.

- Press releases will be forwarded to local channels informing them and in turn inform the public about local events of importance to the community.

Community Involvement:

The Herald will focus on becoming involved with the community by participating in and putting together special events to create goodwill among the community while at the same time promoting the company’s image.

- The Herald will sponsor job fairs at Universities in Broward and Palm Beach County. In order to create additional appeals towards the products image-the link between academics/intellect and choosing the Herald.

- The Herald will sponsor fund-raisers of local charities such as The Children’s Home Society of Florida, among others.

- The Herald will partake in trade shows, where we will gather customer information by motivating them to participate in sweepstakes in order to expand our customer base.

Sports Marketing:

The events sponsored by The Herald match with the audience we are targeting.

- Sponsorship of a golf tournament in West Palm Beach would be an effective sponsorship event.

- In addition, in order to involve the community at large, The Herald will organize a tri-county charity race from Palm Beach to Miami that would benefit local charities.

Internet:

With today’s increasing available Internet access it is important to take advantage of the opportunities the Internet offers.

- The Herald web site will provide the media and the public with instant access to additional sources of information on an issue at hand. For instance, during the election we may provide up-to-date information about each candidate running for presidency.

- The Herald will also provide special links to local places of interest such as a list of restaurants, local events, and places to visit.

FRINGE MARKETING

1. Objectives

? To keep customers from Miami-Dade County.

? To build a positive image in Broward county in order to get readers of competitors newspapers to switch to the Miami Herald.

? To introduce The Herald in South Palm Beach in order to increase distribution in that county.

2. Strategies

Merchandising

? Retailers of Miami-Dade, Broward, and South Palm Beach will obtain incentives to make The Herald more visible to consumers.

? Free packaged items will be given away outside of Publix when subscribing to the Miami Herald in Broward and South Palm Beach.

? Free subscription for one month will be given to new customers of local cable companies in South Palm Beach.

Sponsorship of events

In the sponsorship of events, we will work in conjunction with the Public Relations department.

? Sponsorship to enhance The Miami Herald’s image. It is important that the events we sponsor match with the audience we are trying to target. For example, sponsoring a golf tournament in West Palm Beach would serve our purpose.

? Sponsor job fairs at Universities in Broward and Palm Beach County. We want to this to create an additional appeal towards the products image-the link between academics/intellect and choosing the Herald.

Packaging

? Altering the product to create local editions for Broward and South Palm Beach counties by customizing the daily supply of information printed.

? Every county will have its own edition with its own newspaper format. The line Broward edition, South Palm Beach edition and Broward edition will appear below the name of the newspaper “The Herald”.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PLAN

We will evaluate results on the basis of the following changes in The Herald produced as a result of out campaign:

? Increase in circulation in South Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

? Increase in subscriptions in South Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

? Increase in advertising revenues in Miami-Dade, South Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

? Awareness and positive image developed in South Palm Beach and Broward Counties over competitors. This information will be collected by sending surveys to subscribers in those areas.

? Number of times The Herald appears in the media as related to the events carried out.