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Angel Animal Hospital Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
June-December 2016
San Diego State University
MKTG 472, Section 1, Professor Peter
Briana Albertson Hillary Mortellaro
Arianna Rybkowski Paige Nulliner
April 27, 2016
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 1
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.............................4
Industry Background.......................6
Company Background.................................8
Marketing Mix.............................9
Service..................................9
Price...10
Place...........................12
Promotion...........................12
Service Review and Buyer Analysis..14
Market Share Sales and Growth14
SWOT Analysis.................14
Brand Benefits and Image......................18
Current Target Market.......19
Current Clients...............19
Prospective Clients.................20
Unique Selling Proposition....................20
Competitive Review...................21
Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning............25
Urban Achievers25
Urban Elders..27
American Dreams..28
Overall IMC Objective..30
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 2 Communication Objectives30
Creative Strategy............33
IMC Mix....35
Website..35
Yelp........................38
Facebook................................40
Instagram43
Mobile Marketing......45
Newspaper......................46
Direct Mail & Flyers..........46
Referral Program....47
Events.....................48
IMC Timeline.49
Budget Allocation..............................51
Evaluation Program...................................56
Conclusion.............................59
Appendix................................61
References..............................68
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 3
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Number of American Pets, 2006-2020....6
Figure 2: Bodhi Veterinary Clinic....21
Figure 3: B-Street Veterinary Hospital.22
Figure 4: Kensington Veterinary Clinic23
Figure 5: Brad and dog, Hercules.25
Figure 6: Judy and cat, Clawdia27
Figure 7: The Fernandez Family and dog, Kibbles..28
Figure 8: DAGMAR Model..31
Figure 9: VCA Websites...36
Figure 10: Blog Examples37
Figure 11: Yelp Sign and Sticker..39
Figure 12: VCA Angel Animal Hospital Mock Facebook Advertisement...41
Figure 13: VCA Angel Animal Hospital Mock Facebook Post...42
Figure 14: VCA Angel Animal Hospital Mock Instagram Account....44
Figure 15: EZ Texting Appointment Reminder45
Figure 16: Example Flyers47
Figure 17: Incentive Reward Card48
Figure 18: Scheduling Plan for June to December 2016..49
Figure 19: Scheduling Methods50
Figure 20: 2016 Budget Breakdown.51
Figure 21: 2016 Budget Allocation..52
Figure 22: Budget Allocation according to Objectives53
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 4 Executive Summary
As consultants for VCA Angel Animal Hospital (AAH), the following report will
describe a recommended Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan for June 2016
through December 2016. This plan will explore possible marketing opportunities for AAH to
utilize through the use of several communication campaigns: digital, traditional, and
promotional.
Beginning with a situation analysis, AAH is described through its current competitive
standpoint. An industry and company analysis is conducted with secondary research on VCA
corporate, AAH, and the veterinary industry. The marketing mix describes AAHs current
services, prices, place, and promotions, and the service review and buyer analysis will go further
in depth on the involvement consumers have on AAHs services. A SWOT analysis is included
that explores current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for AAH, as well as a
competitive analysis. Furthermore, traits of current clients and prospective clients are described
in order to then form audience segmentation for the IMC Plan: Urban Achievers, Urban Elders,
and American Dreams.
After exploring the current state of AAH, marketing strategies are formed. The overall
IMC Objective is:
To maintain an active relationship with current clients and foster new relationships with
surrounding North Park pet owners to increase awareness of and desire for VCA Angel
Animal Hospitals homelike atmosphere and medical capabilities.
Also, specific communication objectives in order to set a foundation for this plan are the
following:
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 5
Increase awareness of VCA Angel Animal Hospital among North Park pet-owners by 60
percent by the end of 2016, establish comprehension in North Park pet-owners of VCA
Angel Animal Hospital services by 40 percent by the end of 2016, increase desire to
pursue trial within North Park pet-owners by 30 percent by the end of 2016, and increase
clients of North Park pet-owners by 25 percent by the end of 2016.
Next, each objective will be supported by specific IMC tools we recommend for
implementing the plan, which will be broken into digital, traditional, and promotional
campaigns. The tools that this report will include are: the VCA Angel Animal Hospital website,
blogging, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, mobile marketing, newspaper advertising, direct mail and
flyers, a referral program, and event promotions. Each tool will be specifically described in how
it will benefit the overall plan as well fit within a $1400 monthly budget. A timeline in order to
outline these tools as well as an evaluation program of these outlets will be included to conclude
the report.
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 6 Industry Background
VCA Angel Animal Hospital is a part of the veterinary care industry, a $36.4 billion
industry in the United States. Currently, this industry is witnessing a significant growth cycle,
with an anticipated growth rate of 6.5 percent from 2016 until 2021 (Turk, 2016). More
specifically, veterinary care is in the quality growth stage, signifying that there is an increase in
higher quality veterinary clinics offering more specialized services instead of the increase in
quantity. During the quality growth stage, weaker companies shut down and thriving businesses
develop new technologies and services (Turk, 2016). A contributing factor to this growth rate
could be the steady, positive trend in the number of pets owned in the United States, namely cats
and dogs, since 2010 (Turk, 2016). With an increase in pets, there is a need for more veterinary
clinics. This expected growth rate is demonstrated in Figure 1, below (Turk, 2016). In areas that
may previously have had only enough pets to occupy one or two local veterinarians, may now
have enough pets to occupy four veterinary clinics.
Figure 1: Number of American Pets, 2006-2020
The amount of disposable income per capita and the unemployment rate are key external
factors driving the veterinary industry. Changes in household disposable income affect demand
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 7 and consumers' willingness to pay for industry services, particularly high-cost, value-added
services or surgical procedures (Turk, 2016). Due to the expected rise in disposable income, it is
predicted that the growth of this industry will only continue throughout 2016. In addition, when
there is an increase in the unemployment rate pet owners may curb their visits to the
veterinarian for routine care and limit their purchases of the industry's ancillary products, such as
vitamins and pet treats (Turk, 2016). With the healing of the U.S. economy, the unemployment
rate will continue to decrease and, therefore, aid in the growth of this industry. As the industry
has continued to grow, veterinarians have adapted to this new market by specializing in a
particular field of medicine, such as internal medicine or surgery (Turk, 2016). Since
veterinarians are now able to charge more for these specialized services, industry revenues have
increased over the last five years and are expected to continue to grow. For more visuals on this
industry data, refer to Appendix C.
VCA ANGEL ANIMAL HOSPITAL IMC PLAN 8 Company Background
VCA Angel Animal Hospital was founded in 1981 as a single doctor practice in the
central San Diego neighborhood of North Park. The same veterinarian, Dr. Diane Defenbaugh,
served clients of AAH until s
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