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Caples Awards

Entry Kit 2013For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013 Sponsored by:

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

2

Contents3 Introduction

4 The assignment and challenge

7 Official rules

8 Five tips to win

My CampaignMy StrategyMy CreativityMy Win

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

3

Do you have what it takes to develop a Caples Student Campaign of the Year?Test your direct marketing and creative skills by entering our contest, sponsored by ASL Marketing. Your group could win $5,000, an internship, a trip to New York and bragging rights.

What can I win?The winning individual or group will receive a generous $5,000 cash prize. In addition, the winning individual or group will receive an internship at ASL Marketing and a paid trip to the annual Caples Awards in New York in November of 2013. One runner-up individual or team will receive a $1,000 cash prize.

What do I have to do?Design a marketing campaign for IKEA. You will need to use your creativity and ability to think strategi-cally and analytically to create a campaign that ensures the client achieves its desired objective.

When is the deadline?The entry deadline is October 4, 2013

Who can enter?Whether a major in graphic design, marketing, communications or chem-istry, any individual or group can enter as long as all members involved were enrolled as undergraduate students at a U.S. college or university between November 14, 2012 – October 4, 2013.

A past winning team

assisted the client, Pentel, in converting

their idea to a live campaign. View this

campaign at spinthepen.com

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

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BackgroundKnown the world over for

its affordable and practical self-assembly furnishings, global juggernaut IKEA has a broad target market and offers a wide range of products designed to appeal to everyone from toddlers to retirees regard-less of sex or geographic location. But two of its most vocal and loyal demographic segments are college-age students and twenty-something college grads kitting out their dorms and first apartments.

IKEA’s global revenue was nearly $28 billion in 2012, $2.9 billion of which came from the U.S. market. As of 2012, its opt-in email database included 3.6 million people and the distribution of its annual print catalog was at 20 million in the U.S. alone.

IKEA USA takes an integrated, direct-to-consumer approach with its marketing, including email, direct mail, print, social me-dia, and a new loyalty program launched in March 2012.

In addition to brick-and-mortar retail locations throughout Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, and Canada, the privately held Dutch company—IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943 and bought by a Netherlands-based holding company in 2012—has 38 store locations in 21 U.S. states, but only one location in

Massachusetts, a state well-known for the number of colleges and universities within its borders.

While there are more than 20 institutions of higher learning in the Boston area, including Brandeis University, Boston University, Wellesley College, Tufts, Northeastern, and MIT, the only IKEA location in the state is in Stoughton, a full 30-minute drive away from the center of Boston.

That’s why the brand is opening a new (fictitious; for the purposes of this assignment) location in Waltham, Massachu-setts in August 2014. A wide-scale campaign with a specific focus on younger consumers will soon be underway.

Target Audience The market for IKEA home furnishing includes:n College students (ages 18 – 21)n Recent college graduates and grad students (ages 22 – 25)n Parents of these students, as some will reach out to their

parents for financing and style opinions on potential purchases

Marketing ProblemIKEA USA is opening a new location in Waltham, MA, in close proximity to a large numbers of colleges. Many students graduate college and remain in the Boston area.

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

5

Seventeen percent of the population of Boston is between the ages of 18 and 24, while 25% is between 25 and 34.

There is no branding or awareness issue here—but there is a timing factor. The new location is opening in August 2014 to coincide with the beginning of the collegiate academic year. Students and parents will be converging on Boston and its environs throughout that month and into September, and IKEA needs to reach them before they buy furniture and accessories to deck out dorm rooms and apartments.

But students aren’t the only focus. The messaging and outreach needs to appeal to the dorm room set and to grad students, without alienating other potential customers in the process.

With a marketing budget of $5 million, IKEA needs to spread the word about its new location—and its many offers and deals—and drive record foot traffic to the Waltham store. There will be special internal bonuses attached to in-store sales, mobile and social engagement, and loyalty program sign-ups for members of the IKEA USA marketing team throughout August and September.

The Assignment1. Your goal is to drive awareness of IKEA’s new Waltham location among students, grad students, and parents, while ensuring that brand perception is elevated based on our broad array of products and focus on customer service. Decide how to target these demographic sets, on or off campus, using any media possible. Try to use what is already available in IKEA’s arsenal—especially its loyalty program—but branch out if the cost justifies it.2. Conduct research (interviews, focus groups, observation, etc.) with members of your defined target audience to gather key insights on their perceptions of IKEA, competitive brands, their current purchase processes for the category, media habits, and any other topics you need to understand to justify your decisions and recommendation. Be creative in how you get into the minds of your defined target audience—and remember that in the case of students and parents, you need to get in touch with them before they arrange furniture purchases for dorm rooms, which might happen earlier than IKEA Waltham’s official open date.3. You are a top marketing leader at IKEA. Think about the brand, prices, products, and marketing vehicles—anything you think could help achieve IKEA’s goal. Write a creative

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

6

brief to serve as a guide for the message and creative development.4. Using the insights about the market and your creative brief, create a comprehensive integrated marketing com-munications plan for IKEA’s launch program.n Describe all plan elements, justify each element, and

explain how each one will achieve the objectives set forth in the creative brief.

n Provide samples or concepts of the creative execution for each type of media included in the plan.

n The plan should incorporate all media deemed relevant and efficient in reaching the chosen segment(s). You should consider the following types of media even if not all of them are used for strategic or budget reasons:

• Direct mail (potentially discounts and coupons) • Email • Mobile/geolocation • Campus reps • Digital, including Web, search, mobile • Social networks • Events and promotionsBe as creative as possible in considering any and all other ideas on how to reach the selected segment(s).

5. Allocate percentages to chosen media against your bud-get. (Costs of specific vehicles, such as an ad on Facebook, are not required.) Justify your budget decisions based on target audience insights and expected reach.6. The success of your plan will be measured by the following:n Online click-through rates prior to and during the first

three months of the new store openingn Revenue attributable to the campaign in the first three months of the new store openingn IKEA loyalty program sign-ups in-store at the new location during the first three months, as well as attributable online sign-upsn Social followers on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest attributed to the store launch campaignn Overall sales and profitability for the first three months of the new store 7. Strength of strategy, targeting, creative, and design, as well as the professionalism of the submission will be evaluated.

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

7

Standard campaignCampaign Write-Up. Students are required to fill out theonline entry form, which is separated into the followingsections: objectives, research and planning, budget, strat-egy, tactics, and evaluation/measurement of success. There is a 500-word limit per section.Campaign Creative (copy and design). For all forms of media used to promote IKEA, students should keep the following in mind:n Make sure your creative concept solves the

Market Problem, has a strong call to action and the ability to measure a result

n Creative should use IKEA brandingn Art and copy should be creative, original, and

appropriate for the target audiencen Concepts and designs should be executed as

professionally and as real as possible Official rules All entries must be submitted online. Once your entry is complete, visit caples.org/students.n Entries must be from undergraduate students enrolled

at a U.S. college or university.

n Entries must be received online by October 4, 2013. Late entries will not be accepted.

n The Caples Awards, Haymarket Media Inc., and ASL Marketing reserve the right to disqualify any entry deemed unsuitable for any reason, not limited to, but including: failure to meet any of the previously stated rules; plagiarism or unattributed use of copyrighted material or images; excessive use of profanity, nudity, or violence; any content that advocates and supports racial, cultural, religious, or gender bias.

n The leading individual or two lead members of the group with the top entry will travel to the Caples Awards in November 2013, including airfare and standard hotel room expenses to be paid for by the sponsor.

n The winning individual or group member of the Student Campaign of the Year Award will receive $5,000 and an internship with ASL Marketing (for a period of time to be determined).

n One runner-up for the Student Campaign of the Year Award will receive $1,000.

n The judges of the Student Campaign of the Year contest will include representatives from ASL Marketing, the Caples Awards, IKEA, and Direct Marketing News.

Sponsored by:

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

8

n The winning student(s) agree to permit their like-nesses and campaign elements to be used by the Caples Awards, Haymarket Media Inc. and/or ASL Marketing for advertising or promotion.

n All entry materials become the property of the sponsor-ing organizations and will not be returned.

n Immediate family members of employees of ASL Marketing or Haymarket Media Inc. (Direct Marketing News) are not eligible to enter.

n By submitting your entry for the Caples’ Student Campaign of the Year Award, you agree to the rules and regulations listed above.

2012 winners: Shannon Craig and Chelsea Francis from Liberty University with Andy Belth, President of ASL Marketing

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

9

5 tips to win a Caples Student Campaign of the Year awardA few things to keep in mind when trying to win the Caples Student Competition

1 ResearchThere’s no way you’ll be able to come up with a well thought out

campaign without doing some re-search. You should be able to answer questions like these:n What advantages do competitor’s

have?n What are IKEA’s weaknesses?n What promotions are competitors

running?n What are competitors doing to

market themselves?n What media channels are the com-

petitors using? Ads? On campus media? YouTube? Social media?

Be sure to research what kinds of media students are accessing. What is their purchase criterion (price, features, reputation, etc.)? How do you do this? It could be as simple as running a survey at your school and nearby schools or even seeking infor-mation from marketing publications. Ask your professors for help. They may know where you might be able to find this information. Leverage your professors all throughout your process as they are people with answers who can help you develop a strong, professional entry.

2 Find helpn You don’t have to be the jack-of-all-trades. Sometimes

you need help to perfect the parts where you are not as strong.n If you are not an illustrator or

photographer and your idea needs a good piece of art, ask friends and classmates who have these skills to help you.

n Work with your marketing professor (or find one) to review your write-up. The stronger your write-up is, the better the judges will understand your marketing campaign.

Visit caples.org/

students to view the video from

last year’s winning entry.

Caples Awards

Sponsored by ASL Marketing

For more information and to enter, visit caples.org/students Entry deadline is October 4, 2013

10

5 tips to win a Caples Student Campaign of the Year awardA few things to keep in mind when trying to win the Caples Student Competition

n Form a team—you don’t have to do this alone. One of you might be great at layouts while the other great at developing Flash and inter-active elements.

3 Don’t forget the direct marketingCaples is about creative solu-

tions to tough marketing problems—and about direct response. How will people respond to your marketing and how will you track and measure it? That’s what makes direct market-ing so powerful. Each element is measured by how it performs. Your

pieces should have the ability to cap-ture names and contact information, measure sales against each compo-nent, and determine the success of the campaign overall.

4 Build a budgetNot that we want you to be an accountant, but keep in mind,

in broad stokes, what the cost of your campaign will be. If you can, put bud-get numbers in your write-up. If your campaign costs $100,000 and you project $50,000 in sales, you’ll need to rethink your marketing program.

5 Be creativeLook at past Caples winners (visit caples.org/winners)

and see how creative the solutions were. Remember that we are looking for creative solutions to tough market-ing problems. Reviewing past winners is an excellent way to also spur your own creativity, as well as understand what wins a Caples award. Include a story board or mock up that illustrates your marketing program. This will help judges visualize the campaign elements.