Overview
The goal of this project is to create a realistic marketing campaign for a product (music, service, business), related to your final project. Do not wait until the last minute to start your campaign, chip away at it a little bit at a time over the next few weeks.
Instructions
Please:
- Label each section clearly
- Use page numbers
- 12 point font, single-spaced
- Submit your campaign on Canvas as a PDF
You may use both prose and bullet points as long as your ideas are clearly communicated. You may also use charts/graphs at your discretion.
* Extra Credit may be giving to particularly excellent projects*
Template:
- Title Page (1 Page) (0.5 points)
- Table of Contents (1 Page) (0.5 points)
List each of the sections with corresponding page numbers
- Campaign Overview (1-2 pages) (2 points)
Provide a narrative overview of the campaign. Think of it like an extended elevator pitch. You should discuss the campaign’s:
- The product being released (can be anything related to music – an album or ep; service; new business; musical instrument or equipment; etc.)
- A description of the company, artist(s), and/or brand the campaign represents. This should include some indication of campaign scale.
- Personnel, who is going to work on the campaign? What is each role in the campaign and its corresponding responsibility?
- Goals and intended outcomes
- Target audience
- The general strategy and how it was informed by the target audience
- The budget, how you arrived at the total budget, and why the total budget is justified.
- Your platform-specific plan. This includes social media, other digital marketing (email, blogs, newsletters, etc.), and print/traditional sources. Explain which outlets you are prioritizing and why.
Note: If you choose, you may do your campaign overview in the format of a one-page Press Release for up to 2 points extra credit. In order to get the points it must be polished and clearly communicate the points above, but in the language of a press release. You may include a separate paragraph for any information that doesn’t make it into the release (for example about the budget, personnel, and general strategy).
- List Goals, Intended Outcomes, and Expected Challenges (1-2pages) (2 points)
Feel free to use bullet points. Try to think through every aspect of the campaign and timeline when thinking of the goals, etc. Your goals should be specific and easily measurable. How do you plan to keep track of your campaign and measure your goals? How will you know if your campaign is successful or not?
- Campaign Timeline (2 points)
Chart out the Start and End Dates. Within that time period, what are some big mile stones(e.g. the release of the product/service, the date of the first post online, the dates of radio/TV appearances, big tour dates, partnership features, promotional events/releases). What are other smaller markers (e.g. the schedule of marketing emails, social media posts, podcast episodes, blog posts, other campaign publicity, etc.)
- Campaign Budget (1-2 pages) (2 points)
Itemized Budget. Your budget should be realistic based on campaign scale, backed up by research of credible sources.
Please include 1-2 paragraphs with a narrative description justifying and explaining the items on the budget. This description should also make reference to the sources you used to calculate the budget. You should also speculate as to the areas of the budget that may require more or less funding throughout the campaign.
(Final Project) Budget Template (Links to an external site.)
- Market Research (1-2 pages) (3 points)
Identify your target audience(s). Be as specific as possible, while also being mindful that demographics, genres, and categories represent real people. Explain the methodology you used or will use to identify the target audience(s). Also indicate how you plan to adjust and home in on your target audience throughout the campaign (i.e. analytics and/or A/B testing).
You may include charts/graphs, etc.
- Campaign Strategy (3-6 pages) (5 points)
Begin with a paragraph or two explaining your overall strategy (it’s ok if it’s similar to your explanation in the opening essay.) When explaining and justifying your strategy in each of the following categories, it should be clear why you think the tactics you plan to employ will communicate your brand and reach your target audience. You may use a combination of paragraphs and bullet points.
The Product
Will the product be tailored at all to communicate your brand and reach your target audience? If so, how?
Social Media + Traditional Media (Break down by platform)
- Which platforms do you plan to use?
- How are you going to tailor content to each plan to tailor content to each platform? What kinds of posts will you make? How often will you post on each platform? Why? What informed these decisions, and how do you expect this kind of content will communicate your brand/product and land with your target audience?
- How will your social media strategy relate to your strategy in other media?
- What other tactics will you employ?
Promotions
Do you plan to use any promotions? What are they and why do you think they will be effective? Are you specifically utilizing one platform (or platforms) or another for the promotions? Why?
Publicity
What kind of publicity do you plan to get? How do you plan to obtain the publicity? Why do you think this kind of publicity will be successful?
Partnerships/Collaborations
If you are planning any partnerships, who with and why are they a strategic partner? What kind of agreement will you make (e.g. will you pay them a flat fee, give them free access to your service, etc.?)
Paid Advertising
If you plan to use any paid advertising, how much will you spend? Why is this advertising worth paying for? How will you use advertising strategically (e.g. using analytics, targeting certain markets) in ways that are not possible with non-paid material?
- Work Samples (Include 2-4 samples) (2 points)
Mock-ups of platform-specific social media posts, other promotional material, or paid advertisements. Clearly label each sample. The format (e.g. digital v. print v. merch) should be clear.
Spelling/Grammar/Overall Polished (1 point)
