Barnacles Digital Reach Campaign

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Executive Summary

The overall goal for Barnacles is to drive new customers into the restaurant and keep them coming back through the use of digital solutions. Our team is employing the use of multiple online platforms including: PPC placements (via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google AdWords), social media relevant advertising (Instagram, YouTube’s Brand Channel, and Foursquare) and an in-depth E-mail and newsletter campaign.

As advertising moves to the digital realm, companies need to move online in order to communicate and connect with consumers. Our team wants to give Barnacles the opportunity to take advantage of the new digital tools available to them in order to make a closer and more meaningful connection to their customers. 

These are the objectives our team will accomplish with this digital media campaign:

Situational Analysis

Brand Understanding

Customer Understanding 

The primary customer demographic for Barnacles is 25-44 year old male sports enthusiasts with a mid-high household income. Our secondary customer demographic is local families with a mid-high household income that live within a 15-mile radius of the restaurant.  

By using Forrester’s Social Technographics Profile, our team can better strategize how Barnacles’ customers interact with each other and the brand online. Based off our understanding of the target audience, we can give a rough estimate of where they fall within the profile. According to our analysis, we estimate that Barnacles’ customers fall primarily within the Joiners (willing to join and sign up with online content) and Spectators (lurks social media but does not actively participate) groups, while a very small percentage of the audience are Critics (voicing their opinions online) and content Creators. The rest of the customer base are Inactives and do not engage in any form of digital media. The chart below gives our estimation of where we believe Barnacles’ audience falls within the profile.

Competitive Analysis

Barnacles faces several major disadvantages, the most critical one being the presence of numerous competitors in the Brandon, FL region. This has caused the market to become oversaturated: there are far too many sports bars in the region. Barnacles has become stagnant as a result of this vast competition, and even the presence of local NFL players visiting the restaurant to meet with customers failed to result in increased turnout. Barnacles’ advantage over the competition (457 televisions) no longer has any relevance in this day and age. With so many small CRT monitors that people could barely see, it becomes noise and disrupts the atmosphere. 

World of Beers

World of Beer was founded in 2007 by Scott Zepp and Matthew LaFon. Zepp originally co-owned a world-class beer retail store selling imports from all over the globe. Recognizing the growing popularity of import beers, he partnered with Matthew L. LaFon, who has been in the wine, liquor and beer industry for years. In a press release dated two months ago, World of Beer opened its 19th store in Miami, across from Dadeland Mall. They have nine more locations planned. They do not serve food.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Buffalo Wild Wings is perhaps Barnacles’ largest competitor. Both companies are located off the Crosstown Expressway within a half-mile of each other. The menu, business model and overall atmosphere of this is very similar to Barnacles. The company was founded in 1982 in Buffalo, NY. According to BizJournal, Buffalo Wild Wings was the 7th fastest growing chain in 2010.

Ker’s Winghouse

Ker’s Winghouse is another competitor drawing business away from Barnacles. Winghouse uses a similar provocative approach to Hooters with their female servers and hostesses. This makes it a major competitor because they are targeting the same demographic as Barnacles (men ages 25-45). Winghouse also has more locations in the Brandon area than Barnacles. There are two locations in Brandon: near the Fairgrounds and another approximately 2.2 miles away from Barnacles.  

O’Brien’s

O’Brien’s is an Irish Pub located in the Brandon, FL area with numerous craft beers including: Fox Barrel Pear Cider, Shock Top, Blue Moon and Cigar City Jai-Alai IPA. O’Brien’s has a much smaller selection of food than Barnacles, which is perhaps the result of Barnacles trying to branch out slowly and establish a new identity. The bar connects with a sense of Irish pride; in fact the bar’s full name is O’Brien’s Irish Pub Family Restaurant. 

Brandon Ale House

Brandon Ale House is affiliated with a multi-regional chain of restaurants known as Miller’s Ale Houses and competes with Barnacles and the other restaurants in the Brandon area. With 34 beers on tap  (more depending on the location) and 24 beers in the bottle, their beer selection is quite extensive.  

Digital Solutions

Campaign Integration

In order to make the most of the online space, the Barnacles’ digital campaign must integrate its social media components in a way that is meaningful to its customers. With a heavy push towards mobile friendly applications (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, E-mail/Newsletter) customers will have an asynchronous interaction with the Barnacles brand that they are able to carry with them both in and out of the restaurant. “Joiner” customers who engage the most with these applications will be rewarded with fun and quirky incentives like exclusive deals on food/beverages, promotions and sweepstakes opportunities. The goal is to convert loyal consumers into energized brand evangelists, and create a strong buzz that differentiates Barnacles from other run-of-the-mill sports bars. Online ad placements will send out a call-to-action to promote Barnacles’ social media presence and be the glue the holds the campaign together.

Online Channels

With over 800 million people regularly using Facebook, it is the most relevant social media network for the Barnacles’ campaign. Because of its ability to target consumers on a specific, granular level, our PPC ads will have a high potential of generating impressions and conversions among the primary demographic. It also gives a clear window into what types of consumers are interacting with the brand. Keeping track of consumer feedback via wall posts, comments, likes and shares on Barnacles’ Facebook brand page will give us the insights we need to advertise more effectively.

Sample Facebook redesign:

Twitter has quickly risen from a niche social media platform to a mainstream success. Today, there are over 21 million active user accounts, making it one of the most popular online social networks ever. The appeal of Twitter is both its simplicity and its real-time stream-of-conscious timeline. It is also possibly the most direct way for a brand to interact with its target audience.

Our campaign uses Twitter as an advertising platform by participating in the “promoted tweets” program. This will allow the brand to stand out from the clutter and gain a large number of impressions. We will also use it as a means to inform followers of exclusive promotions and events that will help energize and generate buzz among our most active followers. Finally, Barnacles will use the service to keep tabs on the digital conversation relevant to Barnacles. Customer service responses, sports related re-tweets and fun Twitpics will help to make the brand more accessible and stick out in our customers’ minds.

Sample Twitter redesign:

E-Mail marketing is one of the best ways to target and engage the consumer on a wide level. It can directly and easily inform the customer about what is new with the brand, directly drive sales and engagement, and support any other affiliated media channels via links and click-throughs. E-Mail marketing can also drive actionable data that can provide immediate results in sales, promotions, awareness and customer engagement. 

Our team will use a high-volume tier service from MailChimp. This will enable us to reach the highest possible list size for the most affordable price without sacrificing in quality. MailChimp’s most affordable plan offers a database from 50,000 – 75,000 addresses and a send limit of 450,000 messages a month. They also have great looking newsletter designs and integrate social media features.

Sample E-Mail design:

Google AdWords is one of the best, most affordable PPC solutions on the Internet. It allows brands to instantly create meaningful and nuanced targeted campaigns that can result in more traffic and sales immediately upon launch. Having worked with AdWords before with the Barnacles brand, our team has the experience and confidence to create an effective PPC AdWords campaign for Barnacles at a low cost.

Foursquare is a great way to drive promotions and track useful customer data that can help raise awareness and build brand equity. Its contextual and location based nature allows customers to easily share their experiences among their friends. Its also intertwined with the most popular social media platforms allowing for more customer feedback. We will also use promotions as a means to encourage check-ins and drive customer traffic on the network.

YouTube is easy to integrate into an AdWords campaign to create relevant PPC click banner ads on popular videos. YouTube can also be used as a means to engage the target audience. By creating a free custom “Brand Channel” for Barnacles, we will create content that entertains and encourages customers to interact with other social media networks. Featured videos promoting content that appeals to sports fans will be a big part of this channel. Videos such as exclusive interviews, highlights from fans watching games in-store, prizes and promotions, and guest appearances by local superstar athletes will make up the content of the channel.

Sample Youtube design:

Instagram is the one of the hottest new apps around and can be used in favor of the Barnacles brand. While there is no way to advertise directly to consumers using Instagram, it offers a fun way for customers to share their experiences through photos directly on their smartphones. We will promote the app by placing tabletop flyers in the restaurant that encourages instagram photos with the hashtag #Barnacles. Those who participate will be rewarded with free appetizers and other special promotions.

Budget Rationale

The maximum budget we are giving to the campaign is $1,500 for all online advertising spending. The majority of the budget will be distributed to our various PPC advertising channels. These will include: Facebook ads, Twitter promoted tweets, Google AdWords campaigns and YouTube display ads. The rest of the budget will be allocated towards E-Mail marketing with Mailchimp and our newsletter. In addition to these paid channels, we will take advantage of free online media networks like blogging, Instagram, Foursquare and a YouTube Brand Channel. 

Due to the large user-base and targeting features that Facebook offers, the largest portion of our budget will be allocated towards Facebook PPC ads and banners. We will also reserve a large amount for the E-Mail/Newsletter part of the campaign. In order to achieve our brand’s objectives, a high-volume E-Mail campaign of about 450,000 impressions targeted to Brandon and the surrounding Tampa Bay area must be utilized. The rest of the budget will be distributed fairly closely among the remaining media channels.

Budget Breakdown

Budget: $1,500 per month in advertising spending.

Digital PPC Budget Allocation

Campaign Execution

Look & Feel

While Barnacles is employing a variety of advanced social media technologies for its digital campaign, the look and feel of all advertising and marketing materials should not be too “high tech”. The ambience and tone of this campaign should reflect the dine-in experience customers expect by choosing Barnacles. It is a family-friendly restaurant where parents can bring their families, no matter the size, and enjoy a great meal while watching their favorite sports teams. 

Website Redesign

While the current Barnacles website does a decent job of portraying the ambiance and tone of the brand, we feel that the UI and structure is lacking. Due to website’s design, which consists entirely of image maps, there is no searchable text. Because of this, the navigation bar jumps from the top of the website to the side, and each page does not offer any cohesiveness or unity of the brand. This reflects poorly on the brand as an overall bad user experience. For these reasons, we recommend a complete website overhaul. It will feature links to all related social media channels, a sports calendar, live discussion forum, menu, contact information, and promotions. It will also introduce a mobile friendly version of the site that allows customers to browse the page from their smartphones more efficiently.

Sample website redesigns:

Marketing Strategy & Launch

Timeline 

The following is the projected timeline of our advertising goals:

Marketing Strategy

To introduce and implement our digital media strategy, we must obtain a mailing list. We will offer incentives, including half-off appetizers, for consumers registering online to receive Barnacles’ monthly newsletter. In order to reach additional consumers in the Tampa Bay Area, we will be teaming up with WDAE 620 Ray’s Radio Network.

Based on our previous experience marketing Barnacles’ PPC ads, we will utilize all hours of the day with our online ad placements that extend out to Facebook, Twitter and Google AdWords. Our brand channel will be uploading weekly theme-based videos, with a higher frequency for larger sports events. We want our consumers to think of Barnacles when they are searching for a family-friendly, fun atmosphere. Barnacles’ customers can come in and enjoy a diverse menu as they watch the game.

To increase in-store traffic, we will use a promotional campaign titled “Special Treatment.” This campaign will reward loyal consumers who actively engage in Barnacles’ digital and social media channels. By participating, following, liking, posting, tweeting, etc. in all of Barnacles’ various online platforms, customers will receive free food, drinks, prizes and chances to win sweepstakes. The written copy for this campaign will be fun, quirky and sports-related. The idea is to make the customer feel “special” for participating and engaging with the brand online.

For instance, every time the Rays hit a home run, re-tweeting @BarnaclesBR will make you eligible for a free order of nachos. Additional promotions could be added in the future.

Communication Strategy

Our communication objective is to build a relationship that extends beyond the Brandon location and into the digital space. We want Barnacles’ consumers to create interactive posts about sports, reviews on the food, drinks and other services. In order to retain a high percentage of consumer activity, we will send out a monthly newsletter. This newsletter will keep an open form of communication to our consumers on what is going on at Barnacles. The content will include upcoming sports events, food and drink specials, new menu items, links to social media channels, and promote the “Special Treatment” campaign. Our social media strategy will allow Barnacles to talk to its consumers and vice-versa, as well as communicating among themselves. This communication loop will help promote Barnacles as well as give valuable feedback to improve the overall customer experience. 

Results & Recommendations

Campaign Accomplishments

The goal of this digital campaign is to launch the Barnacles brand into the 21st century by utilizing smart integration of social media applications and Web 2.0 elements that make sense for the company and its customer base. Our objective is to reach and energize an excited fan base for the brand and to get people talking about it as a place to experience and choose over the competition. Customers should want to connect, share and interact with each other and view Barnacles as the de facto choice for family-friendly sports entertainment and an overall great dining experience.

Measurable Results

Digital Recommendations 

Due budget constraints, our digital options a limited. We believe that with additional resources and a larger budget, we can achieve a deeper relationship with the target demographic. By funding an official Barnacles mobile app, we could further integrate all social media platforms and promotions into one seamless experience. The user could receive notifications, have instant access to the Barnacles’ menu and interact with other sports fans. We would also like to incorporate an easier way for customers and Barnacles to track rewards point for the Special Treatment campaign as well as feedback. Points could be awarded to customers for completing tasks and interacting with the Barnacles’ brand (checking in, posting, tweeting, re-tweeting, replying to newsletters, being involved in the events, etc.) all within the app.

Appendix

On this campaign I worked with Jaime Spector, Benjamin Browder, Stephanie Acevedo, Luke Graniero, Michael Becerra, and Jennifer Hill.

Contact Information:
Lucia Alexander
Art Director
Tampa, Fl.


Copyright © 2012, Lucia Alexander. All rights reserved.