!

PLANS BOOK

Britt Todisco

Lauren Bell

Laura Maddox

Megan Handerhan

Executive Summary ………………………………………… 1

Overview

Industry Overview ……………………………………… 2

Company Overview …………………………………… 4

SWOT Analysis ……………………………………… 6

Research

Assumptions About Potential Consumers …………………… 7

Methods & Key Findings ………………………………… 8

Marketing & Advertising Strategies

Marketing Communication Goals ………………………… 9

Creative Strategy ……………………………………… 10

Media Strategy ………………………………………… 11

Below the Line Plans ……………………………………… 11

Budget Breakdown ………………………………………… 13

Evaluation

Plans to Evaluate ………………………………………… 16

Closing ………………………………………………… 17

Appendix …………………………………………………… 18!

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The Sharpie Brand

Sharpie is artistic, loud, and fun. Its immense variety of colors and the ability to mark any

surface makes it the #1 permanent marker in the US. Sharpie has always encouraged

creative and self expression in their past advertising campaigns, and the brand itself has a

fun and exciting personality.

Creative Lifestyle Defined

Inspiration. Innovation. Originality. Creativity.

The creative lifestyle is one that cannot be confined to one specific definition. Creativity is

a seed that takes root in every individual, though in different forms. It is a personality trait

that has the ability to completely define an individual. So who lives the “Creative Lifestyle?”

The artist. The writer. The thrifty mom. The “on a budget” bride. Everyone. The ability to

turn imagination into reality? That’s creativity.

Sharpie Meets the Creative Lifestyle

With over 40 colors and 15 different products, Sharpie is the quintessence of every creative’s

Xanadu. This campaign reaches out and grabs the creative spirit in every consumer, and

connects them directly to their perfect creative outlet: Sharpie.

Creative Execution

Our creative executions epitomize the creative lifestyle. With an emphasis on the

unstoppable sweep of “Do it Yourself” projects flooding the lives of every consumer, the vivid

and inspirational imagery used, and a number of exciting and unique promotions and

partnerships, this Sharpie campaign embraces the already-loyal consumers and encourages

the remaining individuals to discover and learn to express their own creative spirit.

Results

“Write Here. Write Now. ” Our positioning is unmistakable. We are directing our campaign

towards the aspiring creative consumer. By celebrating the artistic, loud, and fun nature of

Sharpie’s past and marrying it with the needs of the aspiring creatives, Sharpie can break

down the wall of preconceived notions and expand its market share to include more than

#"

just consumers labeling moving boxes, and teenagers drawing on their shoes. Sharpie is

more than that old black permanent marker, it’s the key to creative expression.

$"

What we know about the industry:

Office supply manufacturing is an industry that deals with the production of pens, pencils, felt-

tip markers, crayons, chalk, pencil sharpeners, staplers, hand-operated stamps, modeling clay,

and inked ribbons. The end consumers are usually retailers, consumers, businesses, and

office-supply retailers.

The profit margin of this industry is diminishing due to various external factors. The main

economic drivers in this industry are the demand from office-supply retail stores, the number of

K-12 students, the percentage of services conducted online and the national unemployment

rate. According to IBIS World industry analyst Kevin Boyland, the demand for office supplies

is decreasing due to electronic communication and low-cost imports. This decline is cutting

into the manufactures’ bottom lines, increasing the costs to create their products. Because of

this, firms have had to cut staff numbers, lower production levels, and in some cases even exit

the industry.

Overall, the industry is in the declining stage of its life cycle due to the increased presence of

technology in offices and education systems. Annual growth from 2007-2012 was -2.6% and

the outlook for the next four years looks to be the same with -2.7% growth (Boyland, 2012).

The outlook for the Art and Office Supply Manufacturing industry looks discouraging with

strong competition from imports that will hurt domestic demand. This will hurt overall industry

revenue.

However, people are still using Art and Office supplies. The industry may have to face strong

competition from imports but if they build their brand to target consumers’ specific needs, the

industry may thrive.

Trending

In the industry:

Electronic communication and the recession are taking big tolls on the office and art supply

manufacturing industry. Just last year, revenue decreased 3.3%, according to an IBIS World

report. Within the next five years, falling demand and a decrease in production will be harsh

on the industry’s growth prospects. “The US office supply stores industry includes about 9,500

%"

establishments with a combined annual revenue of $20 billion. Large companies include

Office Depot, Staples, and OfficeMax. The industry is concentrated; the 50 largest

companies account for more than 80 percent of industry revenue” (hoovers. com). The

writing utensil industry alone makes over $4 billion in sales each year from pens, pencils,

markers, erasers and other similar components.

In the economy:

The recession that started in 2008 is taking a toll on how people spend their disposable

income. According to an IBIS World report, consumer spending dropped 1.9% during 2009,

which led to less purchases of office and art supplies.

Among consumers:

Since launching the “Uncap What’s Inside” print and digital campaign, Sharpie gained 1.8

million Facebook fans. Consumers are looking for a “steal” rather than a “splurge. ” They aren’t

buying their go-to office supplies anymore because they need to be smart about how

they’re spending their money. According to the NY Times (2011), office supply sales were

down 32% in 2012. In order for Sharpie to remain relevant among consumers, they need to

be high quality and cheap.

&"

What we know about Sharpie:

Newell Rubbermaid, which specializes in housewares, hardware, home furnishings, baby

products, hair products, and office item, owns Sharpie. Sharpie was first created in 1857 by

Frederick W. Redington and William H. Sanford, Jr. in Worcester Massachusetts. Redington

and Sanford created Sharpie’s parent company, Sanford Manufacturing Company with ink

and glue being the business’s main focus. The company’s biggest success came with the

creation of the Sharpie marker in 1964. The Sharpie Fine Point black marker was the first pen-

style permanent marker. Johnny Carson and Jack Parr contributed to Sharpie’s early success

with their celebrity endorsements. Throughout the 1990’s Sharpie’s popularity grew

exponentially due to the $5 billion memorabilia industry. During the early 2000s, Sharpie

introduced six new product lines and introducing twelve new colors. This growth in the

product line establishes a loyal customer base and the company still thrives today.

What we know about Sharpie’s brand:

The Sharpie brand is loud, exciting, and fun. The personality it embraces encourages

creative expression and individuality. In the office supply industry, computer software,

computer hardware, office paper and stationery are the top selling products, and not writing

utensils. With office paper and stationery, though, comes the purchase of writing utensils such

as Sharpie. Because of the endurance of Sharpies, consumers don’t purchase them on a

regular basis. Sharpies become something you buy during “Back to School” shopping.

Unless you run out, the brand isn’t turned to many times throughout the year.

Sharpie’s current positioning and messaging:

“What we’re really about is putting fans at the center of our story. It’s not about ambushing

an audience with an ad; it’s about taking the passion within our community and amplifying

that. ” - Ryan Rouse, Global Director of Marketing for Sharpie

The last time Sharpie really had anything to say to its consumers through a consistent

campaign was in 2009. The Campaign “Uncap What’s Inside” and “Write Out Loud” ran

that year, focusing on telling the consumer to release their inner creativity. David Beckham

was added to the team as a celebrity endorser. Also drawings, handwriting, and doodles

were a common theme during these campaigns, and actually always has been with Sharpie.

'"

Sharpie already has amazing products. The push for a campaign, and along with that a

brand image, is just not there. Since Sharpie’s last synergized campaign was in 2009; It is

time for some brand awareness, image, and loyalty that will come with a successful

advertising campaign.

A website is in place, but the consumer really has no reason to visit the Sharpie site, and they

aren’t receiving the message that they should go to the site because Sharpie has not

advertised effectively. Sharpie has an inspiring message, but the consumer has no way of

hearing them because the consumer cannot find them.

("

Strengths

! Sharpie offers a wide range of quality products

! Sharpie’s product distribution is geographically diverse

! Because of a strong social media presence, Sharpie has accumulated a large fan base

! Sharpie has an incredibly strong brand image

! The brand has already established effective positioning as the permanent marker brand.

Weaknesses

! Sharpie resides in a mature market

! Because of the previous successful positioning, sharpie is already known as ‘goto’ for

permanent markers but the company offers a variety of other products. Thus consumers

tend to bypass the rest of the product line when associating thoughts with Sharpie.

Opportunities

! Sharpie is already considered the “the band aid” of permanent markers, and it’s already

well positioned, so by using those strengths the company can

! expand their marketing goals to include the plethora of other products

! Sharpie’s products are already widely used for many different things, the fact that

celebrities frequently use them because they’ll write on anything, is an interesting direction

to take and an opportunity to reach out to possibly a wider fan-base.

Threats

! The market Sharpie is a part of has tons of competition

! Sharpie has almost boxed itself in as the permanent marker company

! The ever-evolving digital age is rendering actual writing less and less popular. More

consumers type their notes then jot them down with a pen.

)"

Sharpie’s target market has usually been men and women between the ages of 15 to 60 years old (Julig,

2013). It is exciting to understand that the potential Sharpie consumer is very broad in range. Many

types of people and personalities can be targeted through advertising. Because of the large range of

people, personality types, and ages of Sharpie consumers, potential customer targeting could go many

different routes.

Sharpie products are perfect for the creative enthusiast, someone who craves self-expression. More

specifically, women as a particular demographic would have a wide range of potential for different

directions and specifics when it comes to determining a target market. For example, the event planner:

every woman at some point in her life is an event planner. The mom planning her child’s birthday parties,

the maid of honor planning the bridal shower. The male demographic would purchase Sharpie as the

business manager, or the single dad. Other target markets non-specific to gender are: the artist/creative,

the student, the young professional.

Sharpie’s continuous flow of new products is the main factor that creates huge potential brand success.

Consumers already choose Sharpie as their go-to writing utensil, the main problem is that they don’t

consciously realize it. Sharpie has the opportunity to maximize brand loyalty, and overall brand image.

When consumers realize how much they love Sharpie as a product, combined with the company’s brand

image created through this campaign, they will not be able to get enough of Sharpie.

A cohesive ad campaign that matches the image of the website with the overall brand image, while also

directing people to the website, (which should be the central hub of the entire operation) will successfully

come together to create brand loyalty and a large following. . Think of a brand like Nike. Consumers

love it, and they know they love it. They buy it, but the key is that they also repeatedly share how much

they love it. They follow it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. They communicate and express it to

everyone they know! This is what Sharpie is missing.

As of right now, the only voice they hear from Sharpie is what sits on the shelf on the School Supplies isle;

the products offered. People are buying, but they are not sharing or expressing their love for the

product or the brand. And they also have no way of knowing what to go out and buy until they are

already in the store. There is major potential for a call to action, especially when new products are

offered. Consumer’s should hear about the new product, and then run to the store to buy it.

*"

!+"

Methods and Sample Sizes

By conducting our survey, we wanted to find out if consumers know about Sharpie’s other products

and if they use them regularly. Consumers think of a black permanent marker when they think of

Sharpie, but we wanted to know if they know the brand is way more than just a black permanent

marker. We also wanted to assess their brand loyalty when it comes to pens and writing utensils and

if there are any sentimental feelings toward the Sharpie brand.

! Range

o We sampled a large variety of consumers both inside and outside of our

target market

!Cost

o Because of the flexibility, ease of creation, and ease of administration the

costs of performing a survey are minimal.

!Variability

o From our samples we drew conclusions about which characteristics fit our

population of interest.

Our secondary research was a varied collection of prior research, conducted by numerous

sources, regarding Sharpie. We took note of market trends for the writing supply industry

within the United States and the other key competitors directly opposing Sharpie.

Key Findings

!Most people use Sharpies for organization purposes and DIY projects which gives us

insight into what our target market should be.

!When shopping for writing utensils, people look for the type of tip and how reliable it is.

This is a positive research finding for the Sharpie brand because it is already associated

with reliable writing utensils and a variety of tips.

!When thinking about purchasing a writing utensil, Bic comes to mind first, then Sharpie, then

Pilot. This is an opportunity to build brand awareness for Sharpie.

!Out of our 100 responses, 99 people say that they currently own a Sharpie product and

one person said they owned a Sharpie product in the past. People are buying Sharpie,

it’s up to us to expand the usage of the product.

!!"

!#"

Target Audience

Due to our findings and realization that people do not view Sharpie as a specific writing

utensil, but instead view Sharpie as a reliable permanent marking tool, we decided to target

women and men 20-35 who are determined and motivated to get a job done, as well as

intrigued by the notion that everyone has a creative side waiting to be discovered.

Sales Opportunities

Sales opportunities we came across is to build sales in the general writing purposes category.

We will build Sharpie’s brand image as an everyday writing utensil as well as a write on any

surface utensil.

Message Strategy

Message strategies we will utilize is a positioning statement and theme that centers Sharpie

around the go-to tool for creativity and organization. Write here. Write now. We will use a

strategic foundation to our communication style and approach and communicate Sharpie’s

unifying idea to our target market: women 18-35. The big, unifying idea for this campaign is

to position Sharpie in the minds of consumers as the “go-to” tool for life’s projects. We expect

to see an increase in sales within three months of starting the campaign and we will run the

campaign for 14 months.

We here at BLOOMcreative feel that Sharpie has a tremendous opportunity to reach past

the limited market of young teenagers and into the enormous pool of aspiring creative. All

that needs to be done is a little tweaking of the current advertising message, and a

broadening of the media mix in use. Sharpie brand screams to be recognized, and it

deserves a campaign that screams just as loud!

!$"

Objectives

The creative objectives and strategies for the campaign include seeking out new ways to

market the Sharpie brand while reaching the largest amount of out target market possible in

a variety of different geographic markets.

Our theme consists of formulating a creative strategy that speaks to our target audience and

instills in them the motivation, inspiration, and passion to accomplish their dreams. . . and it all

starts with Sharpie.

Elements of the campaign

Tone

The ads our agency will create will include a tonality of creativity, inspiration, accomplishment,

and motivation. Our advertisements will use these tones to communicate that possibilities are

endless when Sharpie products are used for all types of projects. Our advertisements will

spark motivation to create and work hard to achieve goals.

Big Idea

When we want to accomplish a goal or realize a dream, where do we begin? We begin with

an idea, scribbled on a piece of paper or doodled in a journal, we begin with a marker and

a post-it note, and a lot of hope. Life is a journey, and everything starts by writing it down.

All of our ambitions, visions, and desires begins with a plan. Jot it down with a Sharpie, and

then make it happen. “WRITE HERE. WRITE NOW. ”

Special moments in life: Weddings, starting your own business, planning parties. . . these things

all start with a plan, a to do list, a calendar, or a shopping list. Life’s most important moments

are started by Sharpie, and are sparked by the simple act of writing it down. Accomplish

your goals, dreams; spark it. Do what you’ve always wanted to do: Write here. Write Now.

Special Spokespersons

In order to reach our most important demographic, we will focus on prominent DIYers and

Bloggers in the digital space as our spokespeople. For example, Erica Domesek of P. S. I

!%"

made this would be a great person to endorse our Sharpie campaign because she’s known

for her DIY projects and has used Sharpies (permanent markers) in multiple projects.

!&"

Our Media Strategy goal is to reach 80% of men and women between the ages of 20-35

each month by the end of the campaign. The timing and scheduling objectives for this

campaign consist of a pulsing schedule from July 2013 to September 2014 with higher

frequency two months prior to school starting and the Holiday season.

The frequency objectives of the plan include having a higher reach during the months with

the highest sales - those being the months before the school year starts: July-September.

Television

Because of our small advertising budget, we plan to stay with network television advertising

to get a widespread reach. We want to have our 30-second spots every other week over

NBC.

Print

We are focusing heavily on magazine advertisements due to the artistic freedom and ability

to show Sharpie at work. We plan to advertise heavily in craft magazines to appeal to the

do-it-yourself market.

Promotions

A promotion we’d like to focus on would be the creation of a free Sharpie mobile app. This

mobile app would transform any photograph, taken through the app or chosen from your

photo library, and sketch it into a drawing by Sharpie. The app would be similar to Instagram,

with a range of different filters, colors, and a variety of Sharpie writing utensils to choose from.

After the photo is created the app would link you to the Sharpie website and show you

which utensil could be used to create the drawing in real life. The app would then link to

social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for sharing among friends

and followers.

!'"

Merchandising & Point of Sale Ideas

Our goal is to make the word Sharpie synonymous with “marker” or “pen” in the mind of the

consumer. With Sharpie in the picture, other brands and competitors will not even cross the

consumer’s mind. Their favorite writing tool is Sharpie, and it’s the only brand they turn to

when shopping for writing utensils. Sharpie is an image of color, art, and organization, and

Sharpie will host and sponsor a number of events that fit that description.

Events

Trade shows are the first step in merchandising and selling to other businesses. With an eye-

catching booth that will draw consumers in and a look and feel that corresponds with the

Sharpie brand image, other business will not be able to walk past without stopping.

Sponsoring the 2014 Color Run will be Sharpie’s largest event of the year. This 5k is known

for it’s vibrant color, and bright hues, and who knows color better than sharpie? Sponsoring

this event will be targeting the demographic we plan to focus on, (young, energetic, life-

enthusiasts) and partnering with such a trending event will solidify Sharpie in the minds of the

consumer.

Aside from the large events a few times during the year, Sharpie will host group crafts all

throughout the year. These group crafts will be held at stores like Staples, Michael’s, A. C.

Moore, Hobby Lobby and other specialty craft stores. Publicizing these events on social

media will bring consumers into stores that sell Sharpie, and instruct them on new and fun ways

to use all the different kinds of Sharpie’s. They will come for the free craft, but they won’t

leave without purchasing a brand new pack of Sharpie’s.

Sharpie also has the opportunity to pair up with stores known for their eye-catching design

and window displays, such as Anthropologie or Free People. These stores are known to host

crafty events that teach consumers how to make their own window-display-like creations,

flower headbands, and other chic, hip, and DIY pieces. These stores will involve Sharpie in

their design workshops and send consumers home with their own Sharpies to finish the projects

in their own space.

At local art galleries, Sharpie will hire an artist to live-draw at an event with food and music.

The artist will live-draw only using the many types of Sharpie’s, while the crowd watches and

!("

enjoys. The professional artist could also live-draw in any crowded area (a park, mall, etc.)

using all the types and colors of Sharpie.

Another art-focused endeavor will include an outdoor whitewashed wall in an urban area,

where people will be given Sharpie’s to write down their hopes, dreams, goals - with words or

drawings. This will follow along with the campaigns theme of “Write here, write now”; every

defining moment in life starts with writing it down.

!)"

Based on the past advertising budgets of Sanford L. P. we, at BLOOMcreative, are

proposing an exciting advertising campaign that will run from July 2013 until September 2014.

For this we are requesting a budget of $5,000,000 and below you can find the breakdown

of how we will allocate that sum.

Budget Breakdown

! Television – Total of $3,140,000

o Production Costs - $200,000

! One 30-second spot

o Network - $2,940,000

! NBC - One 30-second spot costs $70,000

! 30-second spot from 8-10PM

• July 1, 2013 - December 20, 2013 every other week.

!*"

• Total of 14 weeks - 1 spot to run each day on Monday,

Wednesday, Friday

! Print – Total of $1,310,400

o NY Times

! Every Sunday in the months of August, September, December, February

(First two Weeks Only), August, and September.

! 24 Days @ 29,009 a day, 1/4th page color ad = $696,215

o The Knot

! Run in issues: September, March, April, May, and September

! 5 Issues @ 22,932. 15, 1 page color = $114,660.

o Do It Yourself

! Run in Issues: October, November, December, February, and March

! 5 Issues @ $38,777. 00, 1/3rd page color = $193,885

o Wired

! Run in Issues: October, December, June, and July

! 4 Issues @ $64,084. 90, 1/2 page color = $256,340

o Inked

! Run in issues: August, September, October, and September

! 4 Issues @ $12,325. 00, 1 Page b&w ad = $49,300

! Social Media – Total of $125,000

o Theoretically free source of marketing, but to cover any various costs and fees

that may arise, we’ve decided to allocate a small percentage of the budget to

Social Media

o Facebook

! Spend a small percentage on Facebook advertising

• With a reach of roughly 75 million, the price averages at about

$1. 25 Per click with an allotted daily budget of $235

• Plan to run the full length of campaign - 425 Days

• Estimated total of $100,000

o Instagram

! Become more prevalent.

#+"

! Focus more on DIY and less on random doodles.

! Sales Promotion – Total of $700

o Email marketing promotions

! 5,000 people monthly with icontact.com

! August 2013 - September 2014

! $50/month = $700

!Out of Home – Total of $30,000

o Graffiti Murals (new media) $30,000

! NY, NY May-July 2014

• $5,000/month

! Long Beach, CA May-July 2014

• $5,000/month

! Trade shows – Total of $5,000

o The School Equipment Show - San Antonio, Texas

! 4-6 December 2013

!Cross marketing Promotions – Total of $100,000

o Sponsor the Color Run May 1, 2014 - Austin, Texas

!Opportunity Buys / Contingency – Total of $289,000

o Remainder of budget set aside, roughly 5%

#!"

Campaign Objective

BLOOMcreative’s advertising strategy is to reach 80% of men and women between the ages

of 20-35 by the end of the campaign in 2014. The following chart details how performance

of our campaign will be measured.

Approach Evaluation

Free Press & Publicity

Increase Web Traffic to Website

Define the Sharpie Brand Image

Increase Brand Awareness

Establish Brand Preference

Increase Sales

Measure free press generated from

promotions. !

Track website traffic during campaign. !

Measure the reception by focus groups

and surveys. !

Measure through focus groups and

surveys. !

Solidify Sharpie as the favorite and only

option when compared to competition in

consumer’s mind. !

Measure Sale changes in stores and on

website during campaign. !

##"

BLOOMcreative began plans for this campaign through pertinent research. We found that

Sharpie was focusing too heavily on their young target market and completely overlooking

the goldmine of aspiring creative consumers just waiting to be told that they too claim

creativity, they just have to discover it! This demographic was embraced with a colorful,

exciting, and conscious strategy.

BLOOMcreative provides creative executions that exhilarate and inspire with just a hint of

edge to attract the newly proposed target market. They were created with the aspiring

creative individual in mind while still representing the core brand personality that is Sharpie.

With the ingenuity and determined drive that we at BLOOMcreative exude, coupled with

your inspiring product and lively brand personality, Sharpie will be exciting the inner creative

spirit of every consumer, and capturing corners of the market that other companies haven’t

even heard of.

#$"

Works Cited

Boyland, K. (2012). IBISWorld Industry Report 33994. Art & Office Supply Manufacturing in

the US. Retrieved February 21, 2013 from IBISWorld database.

Julig, L. (2013, January 31). 3 ways sharpie is engaging teens with social media. Retrieved

from http://www.socialmediaexaminer. com/connect-with-teens-on-social-media-

sharpie-case-study/

Levere, J. L. (2011, July 26). A sharpie campaign, aimed at teenagers, urges self-expression.

New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.

com/2011/07/27/business/media/sharpie-aims-a-new-campaign-at-teenagers.

html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Media Calendar:

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Pertinent Survey Responses Graphed