EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Facebook is home to 1.01 billion active daily users on average, recorded in September 2015

(Company Info, 2015).  This is a great platform for advertising and allows businesses to

spread awareness about their company and products to their current customers.  “Let

Facebook do the work for you” campaign offers a fun and entertaining way to create

awareness of Facebook Custom Audiences, a program which lets you reach customers you

already know through advertisements on Facebook.  We recommend that Facebook targets

enterprise businesses, specifically those in the sports industry that involve athletic apparel

and equipment.  Through the successful use of integrated marketing communications

exhibited through the strategic summary chart, we believe that Facebook will be able

spread awareness to the 1,052 businesses listed in our target market.  

The major idea of the plan is centered around how Facebook can positively affect a

business’s retargeting efforts by creating awareness and consideration.  The campaign for

Facebook Custom Audiences should generate awareness and consideration through the use

of many media outlets. We recommend using direct mail, emails, a landing page, print ad,

Facebook banners, a Twitter profile, and a YouTube online video to create recognition for

Facebook Custom Audiences.  “Let Facebook do the work for you” is a catchy and short

slogan that should continuously generate recognition after catching viewers’ eyes multiple

times.  For this reason, we recommend making it the centerpiece of many of the various

marketing communications. The use of website links in most of the forms of

communications should help drive traffic to the Facebook Custom Audiences landing page

in order to learn more.

MARKETING STRATEGY

Campaign Goal

The campaign goal is to make enterprise businesses aware of Facebook Custom Audiences

and the benefits that it should provide for their companies.  We understand that these

businesses are currently in the process of retargeting in order to increase their sales and

overall profits, and increase their current customer base.  Facebook Custom Audiences can

help to achieve this goal because it “allows advertisers to target their ads to a specific set of

people with whom they have already established a relationship on/off Facebook” (Custom

Audience targeting - Documentation - Facebook for Developers, 2015). Currently,

Facebook is using Custom Audiences successfully by placing advertisements on user’s

webpages based on their previous browsing history. This reminds customers of the

products they have previously looked at or searched for, which will likely increase the

probability of a future sale. With a market increase in the use of Custom Audiences,

Facebook should also continue to grow and strengthen their competitive position as more

users will be using the feature.  In other words, investing $5 million to get more businesses

to use this targeting option would be a wise or Facebook in order to increase their user

database.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis revealed that most of Facebook Custom Audiences holds a

competitive advantage over its direct competitors, Twitter’s Tailored Audiences,

LinkedIn’s Lead Accelerator, and the Google Display Network, due to the fact that

Facebook is the most popular platform of social media (Sareah, 2015).  Facebook Custom

Audiences can be created through Ads Manager, Ad creation, and Power Editor of

Analytics for Apps.  One of the benefits of Facebook Custom Audiences is that it can

amplify email marketing.  Facebook can reach users who never open their emails by

uploading a list and targeting them through Facebook to make sure they are reached (How

to use Facebook Custom Audiences, 2015).  They can also target separate lists of people

that have purchased from their companies in the past and their existing customers (How to

use Facebook Custom Audiences, 2015).  This will help engage with customers because

instead of generic ads, users will be in contact with ads that deliver a specific message to

them.  Also by knowing what your customers have bought, companies can offer similar

products and generate more income.  Along with trying to target existing customers,

companies can also target new customers with the use of Facebook Custom Audiences.

Companies have the option of excluding existing customers, which provides them with the

opportunity to target their ads to specific prospects (How to use Facebook Custom

Audiences, 2015).  Facebook Custom Audiences main competitors consist of Twitter’s

Tailored Audiences, LinkedIn’s Lead Accelerator, and the Google Display Network.  

Twitter’s Tailored Audience uses lists to target specific users and then can either upload a

list of email addresses or tweet directly at people to make the market aware (Tailored

Audiences | Twitter for Business, 2015). They also target the people that have recently

viewed the company’s website.   IN addition, Twitter’s Tailored Audiences reaches groups

of people that have taken a specific action in their Twitter app (i.e., app installation or sign

up) (Tailored Audiences | Twitter for Business, 2015).  They use conversion tracking to

collect data on who uses their app (Tailored Audiences | Twitter for Business, 2015).

LinkedIn’s Lead Accelerator allows you to deliver premium leads to your sales teams by

engaging prospects anywhere online with significant ads and content (LinkedIn Lead

Accelerator, 2015).  After sequencing ads and content based on who your prospects are,

LinkedIn’s Lead Accelerator allows you to reach known contacts beyond email by

integrating your marketing automation systems (LinkedIn Lead Accelerator, 2015). This

program allows you to nurture prospects until they are ready to buy, reaching prospects

anonymous and known (LinkedIn Lead Accelerator, 2015).  LinkedIn’s Lead Accelerator

is great for Business to Business (B2B) marketing because it drives more website

conversions, engages prospects who do not open their email inbox, and understands the

impact of their programs at every stage of the buy process.

Google Display Network allows users to create all types of ads such as text, image,

interactive and video ads (Display Network, 2015).  Google Display Network allows the ads

to be placed on websites that are relevant to what companies are selling (Display Network,

2015).  Users can also show these ads to people who would most likely be interested in

purchasing or learning more about their product.  Google Display Network also allows you

to manage and track your budget, campaign and results as you go (Display Network, 2015).

See Appendix A for further detail on the competitive analysis.

Target Marketing

Your target audience for this plan should be business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing

decision makers.  We recommend targeting the segment of enterprise businesses which are

defined as businesses with greater than 1,000 employees (Marketing EDGE). These

marketing decision makers should consist of the Chief Marketing Officers (CMO’s), Vice

Presidents of Marketing, Agency Vice Presidents, Brand Managers, etc. whom determine

their company’s advertising budget and how it will be spent in order to reach their

consumer base (Marketing EDGE).  Under the segment of enterprise businesses, we

recommend focusing on major sports and athletic businesses for this plan.  We recommend

this because the sports industry is very popular which makes it extremely marketable. It is

also in a state of constant annual growth and shows no signs of slowing down (IBISWorld).

Because of its marketability, we believe that the major sports and athletic businesses we

recommend you target can benefit greatly by being exposed to the benefits of Facebook

Custom Audiences.  Specifically in the sports industry, the focus should be on two related

industries that involve athletic apparel and equipment. These two industries are the Sports

Apparel Store and Athletic & Sporting Goods Industries. We recommend the focus be on

these two industries because they represent the major enterprise businesses in the sports

and athletic industry we are suggesting you target. These two industries should be used as

sub-segments because they represent a smaller segment under the businesses enterprises

segment. See Appendix B for the sub-segment profiles of the two industries.  Also see

Appendix C and D for a descriptive image of the target market personas for these decision

makers.   Each profile provides information about the industries that gives insight into how

that information can be used to better understand and reach the target audience.

According to IBISWorld, the estimated size of the target market is 1,052 enterprises

(IBISWorld).  Some initial examples of the major companies we recommend you should be

targeting are as follows: Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sports Authority, Foot Locker, Modell’s

Sporting Goods, etc.  The enterprises you should be targeting are already using Facebook

advertising.  The companies you should be targeting in these sub-segments deserve most of

the focus, budget, and resources for the this plan because they hold a large majority of the

market share in their industries based on the estimated size of the target market.  The

marketing strategies for the companies you should be targeting (mentioned above) will

serve as a benchmark for the other companies you should be targeting whom have less

market share than the major players in the enterprise segment.

IMC Objectives

Awareness Objectives: To create awareness of the Facebook Custom Audiences brand name among 894

businesses of the target market by November 30. To create awareness of the benefits of Facebook Custom Audiences to 894

businesses of the target market by November 30.Consideration Objective

To persuade 789 businesses within the target market to begin considering how Facebook Custom Audiences could meet their organization’s needs by November 30.

CREATIVE STRATEGY

Major Selling Idea

The major selling idea should describe and show how Facebook Custom Audiences can

positively affect a business’s retargeting efforts by creating awareness & generating

consideration.  The overall theme for this plan is to convince the businesses in our target

market that Facebook Custom Audiences will provide them with an easy way to retarget

while saving them time and effort.  The communication pieces are both informative and

persuasive, tying into the ultimate goal of making these businesses aware of Facebook

Custom Audiences.

Slogan and Calls-to-Action

The proposed slogan for your campaign is “Let Facebook do the work for you”.  This

simple statement should portray the ease of use of Facebook Custom Audiences, as well as

show that it will save these businesses time by letting Facebook perform the retargeting

actions for them.  There are various calls-to-actions on your communication pieces.  Some

of the most common ones are “Click here to learn more”, “Start using Facebook Custom

Audiences today”, and “Click here to create your ad”.  By clicking the link provided with

the calls-to-action and visiting the Facebook Custom Audiences landing page, the

businesses in your target market should be able to learn more about what the service offers

and how it could be beneficial to their organization.

Creative Rationale

All of your marketing communications should share the same type of look and feel in order

to keep everything consistent with the brand image.  The blue color associated with

Facebook’s logo is found on every piece of marketing communication distributed, as is the

Facebook Custom Audiences logo.  Rational appeals (feature and competitive) and the

emotional appeal of achievement and accomplishment are used to speak to the needs, wants

and interests of the  target market and show what will happen if they use Facebook Custom

Audiences.  The executions of demonstration, comparison, and straight-sell/factual are

used to portray your message.  The messages are both product-driven and image-driven.

MEDIA PLANNING

Promotional Mix Strategy

        Your media plan should include various forms of marketing communications: a

direct mail piece, emails, an online video, a landing page, a Facebook page, a Twitter page,

and a print ad.  Each of these forms of communication should convey to the customer the

function that Facebook Custom Audiences performs and how it could benefit their

businesses.  These marcom pieces should also have various touchpoints that lead the

customer to the next touchpoint or lead them to perform a certain action.  The direct mail

piece, the emails, the Facebook page, and the online video should all start at the same time,

on August 16.  The print ad, the Twitter page, and the website, which should be a landing

page, should run consistently.  The slogan, “Let Facebook do the work for you” should be

consistently displayed and present on the print ad, the emails, the landing page, in the

online video, and in the social media platforms.

Direct Mail

The direct mail piece should be illustrated in the form of an 8-½” x 11” self-mailer (Folded

Sail-Mailer, 2014).  An infographic depicting a direct comparison between Facebook

Custom Audiences and Twitter Tailored Audiences should be on one side of the self-mailer

(see Appendix E).  It should emphasize the positives of Facebook Custom Audiences in

comparison to the negatives of one of its direct competitors.  The intent of the self-mailer is

to increase awareness of Facebook Custom Audiences and potentially generate

consideration of these targeted business to business companies.  The other side of the self-

mailer should be the envelope, where the Facebook logo should be prominent and the link

to the landing page should also be included (see Appendix F).  Using direct mail to

communicate with your audience enables you to have a selective reach, where you can send

personalized messages to the various segments within your target market.  We recommend

that you send out a self-mailer to every customer in your target market three times during

the time period indicated in Appendix Q, which would cost you $3,282.24 total. This

provides you with the ability to have control over the frequency, reach, and timing of your

direct mail communication.

Email

Informative emails should be sent to all 1,052 businesses in your target market at least

three times each during the two and a half month time span that they are run.  These

emails should describe what Facebook Custom Audiences is and how it could benefit your

customer’s business.  The pictures associated with the emails should be sports-related, so

that it relates to the customers in your target market.  There should be a link provided in

the text that encourages your customers to visit the landing page.  The slogan, “Let

Facebook do the work for you” should also be present.  The first email should have a

picture of children playing soccer at the top, and a soccer ball in the bottom left corner.

The colors should be bright and vibrant in order to catch the reader’s attention once the

email is opened.  (See Appendix G).  The second email should have colors similar to the

blue color found in the Facebook logo.  It should have a picture of a football player scoring

a touchdown which relates to the email title, “Score Big with Facebook Custom

Audiences”.  Underneath the Facebook logo, we recommend putting the URL for your

landing page so that customers have a means of finding out more information about

Facebook Custom Audiences. (See Appendix H)

Online Video

        The online video should speak to the emotional appeal of achievement and

accomplishment.  It should be an engaging video that demonstrates the advantages that

current customers have received from using Facebook Custom Audiences. It should

portray how Facebook Custom Audiences is a thought leader and how the target market

can prosper from the benefits of it. We suggest that you use YouTube to distribute the

video to your target market by using this link (insert YouTube link here) as over 70% of

marketers have indicated that they prefer to use YouTube to distribute B2B content

(Marshall, 2014).  The cost to advertise through this channel is $0.30 per view per ad,

amounting to a total of $2,703,000 (Alleger, 2014).  It should take place in an office setting

and have a structured, yet entertaining feel.  The main speaker should introduce the

viewers to the various current clients, who will then briefly explain their experience with

Facebook Custom Audiences.  The cost of film production should equal $6,000 total (How-

To Figure Out Video Production Cost - T60 Productions, 2014).  See Appendix I for the

suggested storyboard for the online video.

Landing Page

        The landing page should run consistently so that customers are always able to find

facts and information about Facebook Custom Audiences.  We’ve noticed that your

current landing page does a good job of creating general buzz and awareness about

Facebook Custom Audiences, but we suggest creating a landing page that is much simpler.

The new landing page should include a general description of Facebook Custom Audiences

and contain two links that give the customer the option to either create a custom audience

or to learn more.  It should also include a video similar to the one that you currently have

on your landing page to provide a visual for customers (See Appendix J).  We recommend

that the new URL be facebook.com/ca.  We suggest that you use LeadPages to create the

website, which will cost you $37 per month, totaling to $148.00 for the entire four months it

will be run (Ueland, 2014).

Print Ad

        A print ad should be circulated through four different magazines that are

commonly read by marketing decision makers.  We suggest using Advertising Age, Direct

Marketing News, Harvard Business Review and Forbes.  Since these are some of the most

frequently read magazines in the industry, your print ad should reach at least half of your

target market.  The total cost to advertise in these magazines would amount to $1,033,004.

Full page ads are encouraged in order to capture the reader’s attention.  Like the other

forms of marketing communications, this ad should provide customers with a brief

description of what Facebook Custom Audiences is and does.  The picture should be

related to the slogan, “Let Facebook do the work for you”.  (See Appendix K)

Social Media

        The two social media platforms that should be utilized are Facebook and Twitter.

We recommend having four Facebook banners, with a $2,000 per day budget with 106

days.  The total cost for this type of advertisement should be $848,000, and it should run

for three and a half months.  Each banner should have the Facebook logo, as well as calls-

to-action that will lead customers to the landing page. (See Appendix L and Appendix M).

These banners will contribute to awareness and rotate between the four different ads.  Also

by having Facebook banners, we can measure the performance that each banner has

contributed.

The Twitter page should run consistently and should be updated frequently to keep

customers abreast of new information, offers, and changes.  We suggest that tweets be

interesting and informative, and encourage customers to visit your Facebook Custom

Audiences landing page.  Also we encourage customers to favorite, retweet and follow the

account.  This form of advertising should increase awareness and word-of-mouth amongst

your target market. See Appendix N and Appendix O for recommended examples of your

Twitter homepage and tweets.

Integration Map

        All of the suggested marketing communication pieces are integrated in some way in

order to maintain and create a consistent message.  The print ad, email, online video, and

the direct mail piece should all have calls-to-action that lead the customer to the landing

page, and ultimately to creating their own audience with Facebook Custom Audiences. (See

Integration Map in Appendix P)

Media Plan Timeline

        The media plan timeline should reflect the changes in seasonal sports and the

demand for sporting goods and apparel.  The website should run constantly so that

customers can always have a way of learning more about Facebook Custom Audiences.

The other marcom pieces should run intermittently as portrayed in the Media Plan

Timeline (See media plan timeline in Appendix Q).

BUDGETING AND FORECASTING

Please visit Appendix R for the Budget and Appendix S for the Forecast.

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