BOARDGARDENIMC

PLAN

PLAN

NING

CREW

CLAREMASON

KRISTINASILLA

BRANDONMYERS

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

RESEARCH COORDINATOR

ACCOUNT COORDINATOR

PLAN EFFECTIVE JUNE 2013-JUNE 2014

TABL

E OF

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE SHOPRESEARCH

CURRENT SITUATIONCOMPETITIONTARGET AUDIENCE

PLAN OVERVIEWGOAL OF PLANPOSITIONING STATEMENTSTRATEGYAUDIENCE&TECHNOLOGYTACTICS

WEBSITEABOUT PAGEEVENTSSOCIAL MEDIASKATE TEAMPHOTOS/VIDEOS

CUSTOMER LOYALTYSOCIAL MEDIA

FACEBOOKTWITTERINSTAGRAMYOUTUBEPOST SUGGESTIONS

CALENDARBUDGETEVALUATIONCONCLUSION

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28

ABOU

T TH

E

SHOP

Boardgarden was established in1993 in Napa, California. The shop is currently owned and operated by Kevin O'Brien

and offers a variety of boards as well as apparel. Currently, it is the only dedicated board shop within 25 miles

and offers competitive prices and an expansive selection. It is located across the street from Napa High

School at 2740 Jefferson Street.

1

CURR

ENT

SITUATION

Boardgarden does not currently have an operating website or a coherent social media presence. Boargarden also does not have a current business tracking method in which the shop's sales can be followed.

Boardgarden participates in local events in the Napa area in addition to holding skate camps in the sum-mer. In addition, O'Brien is also involved in the plans for the new skate park that is currently under construction in Napa.

2

In the last 10 years, four out of seven local skate shops (within a 50 mile radius of

Boardgarden) have closed, while Boardgarden has remained open.

COMP

ETIT

ION

Boardgarden's indirect competition is other Bay Area skate shops such as Metro Skate shop and Wheels in Motion as they are very similar to Boardgarden in terms of operations and inventory.

Boardgarden's most direct competition is the chain retailer, Zumiez. Zumiez sells mostly apparel as well as a small selection of skateboards. There are more than 30 Zumiez locations in the Bay Area. The closest Zumiez location is 7 miles away from Boardgarden.

3

Boardgarden also competes with online retailers that sell skate apparel and/or boards.

LOCALS  

TOURISTS  

Unlike much of its competition, Boardgarden offers one of the largest selections skateboard decks in Northern California

TARG

ET

AUDIENCELOCALS  

TOURISTS  

Kevin attributes about 95% of his business to Napa and Solano county locals and about 5% to tourism.

4

Boardgarden's primary audience is skateboarders between the ages of 6 & 24. The secondary audience is

the parents of the younger skateboarders between the

ages of 6 & 14.

GOAL

5

CREATEWEBSITE

ORGANIZESOCIALMEDIA

BUSINESSTRACKING

SKATETEAM

Reestablish shop's online presence

Establish social media coherence and organization

Establish a way to better understand business

Organize, advertise and solidify current skate team

Through the use of technology and the resources available through the internet, Boardgarden will be able to better understand its audience and use strategies to bring in

MORE BUSINESS.

STRATEGIES OUTCOME

STATEMENT

6

BOARDGARDEN IS THE

ONLY EXPERT LOCAL

BOARD SHOP.

POSI

TION

ING

STRA

TEGY

7

With the use of technology, Boardgarden will be able to better connect with and understand its

audience through a variety of social media platforms.

Specific timing, methodical social media posts, as well as an online hub for information will give Boardgarden an advantage in its operations,

in addition to being a source of information and connection to its audience.

AUDI

ENCE

TECHNOLOGY

8

Because Boardgarden’s audience largely consists of individuals in their teens, we believe technology is the most direct way to reach the target.

A study done in 2012 by Blackboard, an education technology organization, showed that nearly half of all high school students own or use a smartphone.

According to a study done by common sense media, 90% of teens admit to participating on social media sites.

TACT

ICS

9

By establishing coherence between social media and the shop website, Boardgarden will be able to better

connect with its audience and create a conversation.

By the installment of a customer loyalty/business tracking system, Boardgarden can

understand its audience to a higher degree and establish better connections.

WEBSITE

The website will allow Boardgarden's

audience to stay updated on current events,

promote the skate team, and provide

shop information to potential

shoppers.

10

A domain name has been saved and a layout has been chosen (image above) for Boardgarden through Wordpresscom. The website can be made into a commercial sitewith a yearly fee.

ABOU

T

PAGE11

The "About" page features background info and history of the shop, as well as basic information such as location, store hours, phone number,

etc.

Featuring an “About” page will allow Boardgarden’s audience to understand the shop on both a personal and promotional level as well as provide information for tourists to locate and visit the shop.

The page will also include a testimonial video featuring the skate team and what the shop

means to them.

UPCO

MING

EVENTS

12

The webiste will also have a regularly updated page that talks about upcoming events

Boardgarden will be hosting or attending. This will keep its followers informed and up to date on

what Boardgarden is up to.

SOCI

AL

MEDIA13

The website will also feature links to all of Boardgarden's social media sites.

SKAT

E

TEAM

14

The website's skate team page will feature profiles of all of the members of the skate team with links to their own professional facebook profile. This will help promote the team and make connections between skaters and their sponsors.

PHOT

OS

VIDEOS15

Regularly updated videos and photos will also be featured on the webiste to keep the audience up to date with the latest tricks and popular videos. The photos will feature the skate team or skate camps and the videos will be informative (teach-ing skate tricks) or entertaining skate videos.

CONS

UMER

LOYALTY

16

Boardgarden should use the “Stampt” application. The app is a virtual “punch card” system that is designed to reward your business’s returning customers. Shoppers who use the app will be

offered designated deals that can be found right on their Apple or Android smart phones.

The app will also allow Boardgarden to track its business and better understand

its audience.

SOCI

AL

MEDIA17

Organization of Boardgarden's social media sites is vital to create and maintain regular communication. Regular postings on each site as well as strategic timing of posts will help Boardgarden optimize its chances of reaching its target audience effectively.

A balance of conversational and promotional posts will keep Boardgarden

relateable and avoid sounding overwhelmingly sales-oriented towards an audience that doesn’t like

to be marketed to.

70 30CO

NVER

SATI

ONAL

PROMOTIONAL

% %

Boardgarden will have its own designated social media sites apart from personal pages.

FACEBOOK

18

Boardgarden will post to its Facebook page three times per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). The timing of the posts should also be strategic.

8:00AM Morning posts are generally more effective as they are seen for longer periods of time throughout the day.

12:00PM Facebook sees the most user interaction around 3pm Eastern time.

5:00PM Evening posts are generally the last posts that Facebook users see, leaving a lasting impression from the day and the business.

** WEDNESDAY IS SITED

AS THE BUSIEST DAY ON

FACEBOOK**

TWIT

TER

FEED19

Boardgarden's Twitter feed should be linked to its Facebook page to reach its target audience.

EXAMPLES OF POSTS:

Maintaining a conversational tone throughout both Facebook

and Twitter will keep the audience interested and keep

Boardgarden relateable.

INSTAGRAM

20

Instagram posts should be done at least twice weekly. Posts can be done by Boardgarden itself or with help from others who take "Boardgarden related" pictures and tag the shop.

Instagram should be used primarily to promote the shop's skate team. Photos of the team skating or participating in events will be posted. The team should be wearing Boardgarden gear that clearly promotes the shop's logo. Instagram can also be used to promote sales sparingly.

YOUT

UBE

CHANNEL21

Boardgarden should have its own Youtube channel. Vid-eos will be posted of the skate team and other skaters in the area. People can also submit skate videos to Board-garden to be posted.

Skate trick tutorial videos, as well as promotional skate videos will be posted to

promote the skate team, promote the shop, and to help in skill advancement for current skaters.

22

SUGGESTIONSThe following are suggested examples of questions for Boardgarden’s social media

SKATE WAKE SNOW•Where is your favorite place to skate?•If you could skate anywhere on earth, where would you go?•Check out these cool skate parks! Which one do you want to skate? (Provide link)•Where did you skate today?•If you could skate with any pro skater who would it be?

•Lake season is coming up, where’s your favorite place to wakeboard?•What brand of wake-board are you using this year?•What tricks are you trying to learn on your wakeboard this year?•Anyone doing any competitions this season?•It’s going to be (degrees). Who’s headed out to wake-board?

•Where’s the best snow?•What’s your dream snowboard?•Big storm coming in to Tahoe, where are you headed?•Winter sports competition- Xgames related? Who’s watching? Who do you want to win?•Where’s your dream mountain?

23

SUGG

ESTI

ONS The following are suggested examples

of quotes for Boardgarden’s social media

o “Life is a lot like skateboarding” – Lil Wayne

o “Skateboarding teaches you how to take a fall properly. If you try to kickflip down some staris, it might take you thirty tries—and you just learn how to take a tumble out of it without getting hurt”-Bam Margera

o “I personally think skateboarding is harder because it has so many moving parts. With snowboarding, your feet are strapped to your board.”- Shaun White

o Sure things are going to get sketchy, but when your having the time of your life what’s sketchy? – Rob Dyrdek

o “I just do me. I don’t care what people think or say. I snowboard how I want to snowboard, I live how I want to live, and I do what I want to do.” – Louie Vito

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SUGGESTIONS

The following are miscellaneous example suggestions for Boardgarden’s social media

posts.PHOTOS/VIDEOS PROMOTIONAL SHARED

o Upload a store or skate team produced video once a month.

o Share pictures from the Boardgarden Instagram

o Pictures of customers in the shop or skating

o Have a picture of the week contest; have kids send you their pictures from the week and post on a shared post day.

o Local events

o New gear

o Skate team

o Skate park

o Sales

o Share skate team videos/pictures

o Share local kid’s pictures and videos

o Share videos and pictures found on the internet or other blogs

DISCLAIMER: MAKE SURE TO GET

PERMISSION TO POST PEOPLE’S

PICTURES'VIDEOS AND GIVE CREDIT.

25

CALE

NDAR

BUDGETSTAMPTAPP

WORDPRESS $99 annual commercial subscription

$99 monthly charge (premium membership)

SOCIALMEDIASITES FREE **Maintenance of all social media sites will require time**

TOTALPRICE(YEAR)

$1,287

26

EVAL

UATI

ON

The Boardgarden IMC plan's success can be evaluated by an increase in likes, comments, and shares on its Instagram,

Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. The Stampt app will show Boardgarden how often returning customers visit the shop as

well as give a better understanding of who the audience is geographically. The overall results will come slowly as

followers and online activy increases over time.

Boardgarden Skate Shop2740 Je�erson St. Napa, CA 95448

Buy 10 Skateboards, Get 1 FREE

27

An increase of sales will prove this plan’s overall success

CONCLUSION

28

The addition of the Stampt application can give customers an incentive to return as well as providing Boardgarden with a way to track its customers and adapt to their needs.

The Boardgarden website will bring everything together and showcase information to potential customers and bring in

MORE BUSINESS!

Boardgarden's social media, with the right posts at the right times, can become more than a way to advertise; posts can

become a conversation between the shop and its customers. Boardgarden's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will become a community, with its users engaging and sharing in a discussion

about their hobbies, likes, wants and needs.

HOW WILL THIS PLAN HELP BOARDGARDEN?

BOAR

DGAR

DEN

NAPA