2. Ann-Marie Adams, CEO/Director
Lab17
Department of Strategic Communication
Roy H. Park School of Communications
Ithaca College
950 Danby Road
Ithaca, New York 14850
December 4, 2017
Christine O’Donnell
76 Schraalenburgh Road
Harrington Park, NJ 07640
RE: LAB17 Strategic Public Relations Proposal
Dear Christine O’Donnell,
It is my pleasure to endorse the effort by the student-run public relations agency Lab17 in developing
this strategic proposal for your review and potential implementation to establish Sukha Arts Center’s
position in the market among competitors and benchmarks.
The content of this document is intended to inform, educate and guide Sukha Arts Center in making
future decisions that will directly benefit your business by increasing your customer base.
The strategic consulting experience of Lab17’s 18 staff members created a transformational learning
environment for the students enrolled in this senior capstone course. It also provided each student
with a rich learning opportunity to integrate theory with practice while making real-time strategic
communication decisions. Your agreement to bring Sukha Arts Center forward as a client in simulation
ensures that these students have the requisite knowledge and skills to enter the workforce upon
graduation.
Please feel free to contact me via email at aadams4@ithaca.edu or cellular telephone at
843.321.0430 should you need any additional information pertaining to this proposal or the work of
Lab17. I will be in touch in the next seven days via email to solicit your participation in a short survey
of your “client” experience.
Thank you for placing your confidence in the professional skill sets of these remarkable young people.
Sincerely,
Ann-Marie Adams, CEO/Director
Adjunct Professor, IC PRLAB “Lab17”
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Sukha Arts Center was invited to participate as a client during the Fall 2017 semester by the
Department of Strategic Communication’s Public Relations Lab “Lab17”. Lab17 is a senior capstone
course in the Roy H. Park School of Communications designed to operate as a real world public
relations agency to enhance learning in an experiential setting.
Alison Teadore, Account Manager at Lab17, was tasked with designing and developing strategic
initiatives that establish Sukha’s position in the market among its competitors and benchmarks and
enhance its social media presence. As such, the agency has designed a campaign to differentiate
Sukha from its competitors and increase its social media presence and effectiveness.
We believe that Sukha currently lacks a clear brand awareness strategy and that a strategic
branding campaign is necessary for its short-term success and, ultimately, to increase their client
base and longevity. Sukha Arts Center must utilize its social media channels and densely populated
surroundings to stand out among its competitors and create a unique name for itself.
The strategic initiatives suggested in this proposal will allow Sukha Arts Center to increase its brand
awareness online and offline through the use of social media, planning, in-house events, community
events and other channels.
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4. 3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Situational Analysis
Competitor Analysis
SWOT Analysis
Target Audience
Objectives & Key Messages
Objective 1 & Tactics
Objective 2 & Tactics
Measurement & Evaluation
Timetable
Estimated Fees
About the Agency
Appendices
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D/E
Appendix F
Appendix G
Appendix H
Appendix I
Appendix J
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6. 5
Sukha Arts Center is a dance, yoga and aerial studio in Harrington Park, New Jersey. It was founded in
2010 by local resident, Christine O’Donnell. Over the last seven years, Sukha has grown from a single
studio offering a few yoga and kids dance classes to occupying half of their building with five studios
and offering over 30 adult yoga and aerial classes and over 30 kids dance classes. In addition to these
classes, they also provide birthday parties, studio rentals, private lessons, special workshops, summer
camps, a dance competition team, retail and yoga and aerial teacher training programs. Throughout
their seven years, they have also offered art classes and massage and wellness sessions.
YOUTH DANCE: The youth dance program starts at age three with creative movement
classes and continues all the way through high school. Class genres range from ballet to
jazz to contemporary to tap, theater jazz, modern, acro and breakdancing. While they do
have a dance competition team in its fourth season, they pride themselves on having a non-
competitive environment that, “instead, inspires their students to reach their full potential
through motivational dialogue and constructive criticism.”
ADULT YOGA AND FITNESS: The adult yoga and fitness classes have recently been
revamped and expanded to add new classes and new instructors. Yoga classes are offered
at all levels throughout the week as well as family yoga the first Sunday of every month.
Fitness classes include cardio jabs, Pilates Sculpt, At the Barre, Yoga Pilates Fusion, Pilates
and Pilates Fit. Class are offered as early as 8:30 am and as late as 8pm. They have also
hosted yoga workshops including Beer Yoga, Vino and Vinyasa and Glowga.
AERIAL: The most recently added program is the aerial classes which are also offered several
times throughout the week as early as 9am and as late as 7:15pm. Classes include Candlelit
Aerial Yoga, Aerial Yoga, Aerial Barre Fusion, Aerial Dance Fitness, and Aerial Yogalates.
They also offer aerial workshops throughout the year including Floating Aroma Meditation
and Lyra (aerial hoop). They pride themselves on the high standard they have set for this
program. All aerial staff are certified in teaching aerial, basic first aid and CPR and must attend
staff meetings to review safety measures. The equipment is inspected daily based on the
inspectional log and they complete quarterly comprehensive equipment inspections.
OTHER: Sukha Arts Center offers many other services and programs in addition to the three
listed above. They offer kids birthday parties and Ladies Night Out events in dance, yoga and
aerial spaces. Also, any of the studio spaces can be rented out by people in the community
to use. Private lessons are also available and most frequently consist of the dance students
trying to better their technique but private and semi-private lessons for aerial can be booked as
well. In addition, they also offer teacher training for both yoga and aerial to become a certified
instructor which provides a large margin of profit for the company.
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MISSION
Their current mission is: It is our mission to provide a space that gives our community the opportunity
to experience Sukha – “supreme bliss, happiness, wellbeing, sweetness, ease.” In addition to this
mission, their core values include, heart centered, respect, excellence, grace, professionalism and
safe to provide a place for expression, exploration and risk taking.
THE OWNER
Christine O’Donnell, owner of Sukha Arts Center, has studied dance for more than 20 years in various
disciplines, including ballet, jazz, modern, hip-hop, and contemporary. She graduated magna cum
laude from New York University with a Concentration in Social and Psychological Construction of Mind
and Body. She has completed her 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher Certification and Aerial Teacher
Certification. Christine is currently working towards her 500-hour advanced training and yoga therapy
certification.
STAFFING
When Sukha opened in 2010, they had about 6 instructors across the dance and yoga classes. Now,
they have over 25 different instructors across all facets of their business, several of which teach across
multiple of Sukha’s programming from dance to yoga to aerial. Many of the instructors have also known
each other since childhood, which creates a warm family feel as soon as you step in the door.
AWARDS
Year after year, beginning in 2013 Sukha Arts Center has been voted Best of Bergen by local
residents. They have been awarded the following superlatives: Best Yoga Studio, Best Birthday Party,
Best Kids Dance Studio and more. In addition, since starting its youth dance competition team they
have won several awards at local competitions for group routines and solos in tap, jazz, acro, modern
and musical theater.
WEBSITE
Sukha recently released a brand new, redesigned website. The new website is sleeker and more
user friendly which is important for the increasing the time that long-time and prospective customers
will use and interact with it. Primarily, clients will find detailed information about youth dance classes
around recital time. Most other customers use the website to see the schedule of classes and sign-up
to reserve their spot ahead of time as well as buy class packages.
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FINANCE & PRICING
When Sukha was born in 2010, it began “The Yoga Experiment” where all yoga classes were by
donation. There was a suggested donation of $10 per class but all clients could donate whatever
they could. They have since moved away from that model and created class packages and unlimited
monthly memberships as well as new customer specials that can be used across all yoga, fitness and
aerial classes.
Client Objective: In the adult programming they are looking for a 50%-70% increase in revenue
growth and a 30-50% growth in revenue in the youth dance program.
MEDIA
Currently, Sukha Arts Center has placed its efforts throughout paid, owned and earned media
(Appendix A).
PAID: In the past, they have paid for advertisements in print media, specifically local
magazines like Bergen Magazine but saw little return. They are also currently paying for a
30 second commercial to be shown on cable channels like Food Network, Bravo, HGTV and
TLC. This deal also has an online component and runs from August to November.
OWNED: Sukha has a lot of owned media. Their website and mobile app are central
components for information, class sign-up, and payment. The front desk and lobby is also
home to a retail space where they also place many brochures and flyers detailing their
programs.
EARNED: Sukha Arts Center is primarily active on Facebook and Instagram as social media
platforms. They also have a Twitter account that is not updated as frequently as the other two
platforms. There is some word of mouth earnings but there is a lot more potential in the area
to spread the Sukha name.
Facebook Followers: 1,944
Instagram Followers: 1,294
Twitter: 387
10. 9
There is no other business in the immediate area that offers that same combination of dance, yoga,
fitness and aerial which makes Sukha unique. However, there are local competitors to each of those
individual ventures.
AERIAL
SOUL FLYTE: Just over the border in Nyack, New York, Soul Flyte is a boutique Antigravity
yoga and fitness studio. While the majority of their class offerings are aerial, they also offer
yoga and fitness classes such as barre, barre cardio, flow yoga and free meditation. They have
two studios, one with 5 hammocks and one with 11 hammocks. Their per class package and
new student pricing options are on par with the pricing that Sukha has: $20 for a single class,
$59 for new students unlimited month, $180 for ten classes, $135 unlimited monthly (4-month
commitment), $157 unlimited month (no commitment). They also offer some private sessions
and kids classes. Their website is informative and used for clients to sign up for classes. They
are very active on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram making their brand image consistent and
clear. Facebook: 1,651 | Instagram: 8,115 | Twitter: 1,126
DANCE
ANITA EHRLER’S DANCE EXTENSIONS: Anita Ehrler’s has been situated in Park Ridge, New
Jersey for over 30 years. The cater solely to youth through their dance, theater, music and
voice programs. They offer classes in jazz, tap, hip hop, lyrical/contemporary, ballet and
creative movement. Anita Ehrler’s also hosts summer camps and birthday parties. The
primary draw to this studio is the high intensity and highly competitive competition company
that many of the Sukha dance instructors were once a part of. The have a website but it’s not
very informative and looks outdated and cluttered. Their social media presence is very much
the same, posting on their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts approximately once a
month. Facebook: 910 | Instagram: 593 | Twitter: 246
NORTHERN VALLEY DANCE ACADEMY: NVDA is located a mere six minutes down the street
in Norwood, New Jersey. They strictly offer youth dance programs and several competition
teams. The schedule does offer a newly added adult fitness class called Barre several times
throughout the week. NVDA’s website is minimal, informational and clean. They are fairly active
on their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Facebook: 431 | Instagram: 297
PERPETUAL MOTION DANCE STUDIO: Right down the street, in River Vale, New Jersey,
Perpetual Motion opened its doors a mere three years ago. They offer children’s dance, yoga
and gymnastic instruction as well as birthday parties and private lessons. Perpetual Motion also
has a group of dance companies. Their website is informative and simple but their Facebook
page is updated very frequently with photos of students and useful information. Facebook: 389
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YOGA AND FITNESS
LIFE TIME: A Life Time gym, a luxury gym with amenities, a spa and café, opened in Montvale,
New Jersey in 2013. Their memberships include a fully functioning gym, yoga, Pilates, and
group fitness classes, a café, a spa, a sauna, and several pools. Because this gym is part of a
larger chain of gyms, Life Time has a sleekly designed and very informative and user-friendly
website. There is an “all in one” appeal to this gym that might pull people toward this option.
The overarching corporation, Life Time, runs a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram page with
successful content using influencers and professional images.
Facebook: 532,044 | Instagram: 69.3K | Twitter: 63.9K
FIRE SHAPER: Fire Shaper is a hot yoga studio with locations in Westwood and Tenafly, New
Jersey and more. They offer a wide array of hot yoga classes from Burn to Shape to Ignite
to Flow to kids and prenatal classes. In addition, they have workshops like the Release, the
Quantum 4-day immersion experience as well as the 200 hour hot yoga training and the 40
hour bridging course. Pricing is on track with what Sukha is currently offering: $25 single
class, $35 introductory week unlimited, $89 introductory month unlimited as well as 5,10, 25
and 50 class packages and memberships. They offer classes as early as 6:15 am and as
late at 7:30pm. Fire Shaper is also an international brand, with studios located in Australia.
Their Tenafly location is owned by world renowned singer, Jay Sean and his wife, Thara.
They have an informative website with videos and photos as well as a blog page, however,
its overall design seems cluttered. Some blog topics include “Dos and Don’ts of healthy
holidays”, Team Profiles and “When You Fall off Track of Your Goals…”. They are also active
on Facebook and Instagram but posting could be more frequent and content driven. They are
much more engaged on their Twitter account.
Facebook: 5,379 | Instagram: 1,439 | Twitter: 1,957
COOL HOT YOGA: Cool Hot Yoga is an aerial, yoga, and hot yoga studio with two locations
in Cresskill, New Jersey. They offer Antigravity yoga/fitness, antigravity restore, stretch
and decompress, pilates, piloxing, tower class, booty barre, coolbarre, Vinyasa flow yoga,
Warm vinyasa yoga and hot vinyasa yoga. There are also Antigravity fitness classes for Mini
(5-7 year olds) and Teen (12-15 year olds). In addition, they have infrared sauna session
that are meant for detoxification, weight loss, relaxation, pain relief, improved circulation,
skin purification and improved immune system. Cool Hot Yoga also has local and facial
cryotherapy treatments. Pricing for classes is similar to Sukha’s: New client package $99
for unlimited month, single yoga and fitness classes are $20, Antigravity and tower classes
are $25 each, 5 and 10 class packages ($95 and $180, respectively) and monthly unlimited
memberships. Their website is simple yet informative. Classes can be signed up for by using
the website. They post fairly frequently on Facebook and Instagram with pictures and class
information. Facebook: 2,138 | Instagram: 1,616
13. STRENGTHS
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WEAKNESSES
• Location is not easily seen from the road/
easy to find
• Potential identity crisis with so many
business ventures
• Frequency of social media posts
• Under promoting smaller business
ventures: birthday parties, studio rentals,
private sessions, teacher trainings,
workshops
• Limited number of hammocks for aerial
and limited space for yoga
• Disconnect with the four separate spaces
OPPORTUNITIES
• Societal trends toward healthy lifestyle
and exercising
• Owner and staff have ties to community,
high school and middle school dance
teams
• Local events in surrounding towns
THREATS
• High concentration of competitors in the
area
• Extracurricular activities through school
and town
• Unique mix of class offerings: dance,
yoga, aerial
• Friendly, welcoming environment
• Good customer service
• Steady expansion
• Despite new pricing seems to be on the
cheaper end
• Qualified and diversified staff
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PRIMARY AUDIENCE
WOMEN AGES 25-44
Sukha Arts Center’s primary audience is women ages 25-44. This demographic has a lot of potential
for this business. Not only are they prime participants for the aerial, yoga and fitness classes
but if they have children, and many in this target do, they can also sign their kids up for dance.
Convenience can be a major selling point in this set up, “I’ll take my aerial barre class upstairs while
my daughter takes her combo ballet/hip-hop class downstairs.” The target audience is likely within a
five mile or 20-25 minute drive the studio in surrounding towns like River Vale, Hillsdale, Westwood,
Emerson, Harrington Park, Northvale, Old Tappan, Norwood, Closter, Oradell, Hawthorn, Demarest,
Park Ridge, Woodcliff Lake, Montvale, Paramus, Ridgewood, and Cresskill. There are approximately
939,151 people in Bergen County, New Jersey, 51.5% of which are women. The majority of people
living in the towns surrounding the studio are married with children, white, and have an income of
$150,000+. Not only are women usually the decision makers in the household, but they also have
money to spend. Based on Claritas segmentation data by Nielsen, this area is comprised of “Upper
Crust”, “Networked Neighbors”, “Movers and Shakers”, “Winner’s Circle”, “Middleburg Managers” and
“Gray Power” (Appendix B).
UPPER CRUST: Wealthy Mature w/o Kids- The nation’s most exclusive address, Upper
Crust is a haven for wealthy empty-nesting couples over the age of 65. This segment
has a high concentration of residents earning over $100,000 a year and many possess
a postgraduate degree. They have an opulent standard of living - driving expensive cars
and frequently eating out and traveling. Typically shops at Chico’s, listens to the news and
watches Fox Business.
NETWORKED NEIGHBORS: Wealthy Middle Age Mostly w/ Kids - Networked Neighbors is
a family portrait of suburban wealth, a place of million-dollar homes and manicured lawns,
high-end cars and exclusive private clubs. This lifestyle is characterized by married couples
with children, high technology use, graduate degrees, and six-figure incomes earned by
business executives, managers, and professionals.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Wealthy Older Mostly w/o Kids - Movers & Shakers is home to
America’s business class, a wealthy suburban world of dual-income couples who are highly
educated, typically between the ages of 45 and 64. Given its high percentage of executives
and white-collar professionals, there’s a decided business bent to this segment as they
enjoy reading business publications and visits to business oriented websites. Shops at the
Container store, Listens to the News, uses Angie’s List.
Winner’s Circle: Wealthy Middle Age Mostly w/ Kids - Among the wealthy suburban
lifestyles, Winner’s Circle is the youngest, a collection of mostly 35- to 54-year-old couples
with large families in new-money subdivisions. Surrounding their homes are the signs of
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upscale living - recreational parks, golf courses, and upscale malls. With a median income
over $100,000, Winner’s Circle residents are big spenders who like to travel, ski, go out to
eat, shop at clothing boutiques, and take in a show. Shops at Old Navy, Uses Yelp.
MIDDLEBURG MANAGERS: Upscale Middle Age Family Mix - Middleburg Managers arose
when empty nesters settled in satellite communities, which offered a lower cost of living and
more relaxed pace. Today, segment residents tend to be middle class with solid white-collar
jobs or comfortable retirements. In their older homes, they enjoy reading and needlecrafts,
while time outside the home is spent at club activities and cultural events
GRAY POWER: Wealthy Older Mostly w/o Kids - Gray Power consists of upscale older
couples typically living just beyond the nation’s beltways. This segment is a haven for white-
collar professionals drawn to comfortable homes and apartments within a manageable
commute to downtown jobs, restaurants, and entertainment. They enjoy traveling and
watching golf on television.
MEDIA CONSUMPTION
To reach this target, we have to take a look at their media consumption habits. According to Nielsen,
local news is key to reaching the modern-day mom. For working moms, we want to focus on early
morning and late news and for stay at home moms we want to use more mid-day and early evening
news (Appendix C). In addition, a Neilsen study, found that internet use among these working moms
is very strong especially for women in the 35-44 age category. It’s also important to note that women
are cogno-emotionally placial meaning that they want a product or service that will work today,
tomorrow and for years to come.
According to Pew Research, the use of social media is increasing rapidly among all age groups. As of
November 2016, 86% of adults 18-29 use at least one social media site and 80% of adults 30-49 use
at least one social media site. Over this last year, these percentages could only have grown. Similarly,
72% of women use at least one social media site and 66% of men use at least one social media site
(Appendix C). Clearly, social media is an important part of this audience’s media consumption habits.
Women also tend to place a “higher value” on links sent by friends because they are trusted sources.
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SECONDARY AUDIENCES
CHILDREN AGES 5-12
The children in the 5-12 age group will be key to the youth dance program. At this particular age
range, they are impressionable and still looking to find their niche and develop their interests. First of
all, if you can grab their attention and peak their interest, they can communicate that to their parents.
This can be a very persuasive relationship. For the same reason toy stores and grocery stores put the
best products on the lower shelves just at a child’s eye level, you want to be visible to them as well.
They see you and are attracted to what you have to offer, they will communicate that to their parent.
Also, this demographic likes to travel in numbers so utilizing the strengths of friend groups can help
bring groups of children or friends of current students in to the studio.
WOMEN AGES 45-64
Women 45-64 are also a secondary target audience for Sukha Arts Center because of what they can
add to the yoga, fitness and aerial programs. Based on the demographic information from Claritas
many of the people in Harrington Park and ithe surrounding towns fit this description. Many women
in the surrounding area have the money to spend on these classes and enjoy the social atmosphere
that fitness and yoga classes offer. With a social trend toward fitness and health growing, despite their
age, their still in shape and active.
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CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
The following strategic initiatives are recommended by Lab17 to increase the brand awareness of
Sukha Arts Center:
Establish the business’ position in the market among competitors and benchmarks.
Enhance social media presence across all current platforms.
Furthermore, the agency believes the objectives listed above directly support the following
organizational priorities:
Bringing more attention to under promoted programs.
Gaining momentum in local areas among highly concentration of competitors.
Increasing registration for popular and profitable youth dance program.
KEY MESSAGES
In order for Sukha Arts Center to establish itself as a trustworthy brand with a unique and publicly
responsible service, this campaign would communicate the following key messages in conjunction
with this campaign:
Sukha Arts Center has a unique mix of programs that no other business in a five mile radius or
20-25 minute driving radius offer.
The atmosphere of Sukha’s studio is a warm, friendly and professional environment that
focuses heavily on its core values.
The creative space at Sukha Arts Center allows individuals to grow their practice, whether it be
in dance, yoga, or aerial.
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OBJECTIVE 1:
Establish business’ position in the market among competitors and benchmarks
Strategy 1: Craft key messages and a mission statement
It’s clear that you have a vision for Sukha, now you have to put it in writing and communicate it to
all of your current customers and potential clients. By crafting and sharing this mission and these
messages with your target audience, there will be no doubt in their mind who you are and your
position in the market.
MISSION STATEMENT: It is our mission to provide a space for expression, exploration and
risk taking that gives our community the opportunity to experience Sukha – “supreme bliss,
happiness, wellbeing, sweetness, ease.” At Sukha Arts Center, we strive to achieve this
through our core values of respect, excellence, grace, professionalism, heart, and safety
among our dance, yoga, and aerial programs and beyond.
KEY MESSAGES: See page 18
Strategy 2: Increase brand awareness through visibility
All of the surrounding towns near Sukha Arts Center is a highly concentrated residential area,
creating a lot of potential for new clients. You want to provide them with every opportunity to find
you even offline and even by accident. Tactics that support this strategy include:
SIGNAGE: Being more visible from the street will be key. From personal experience, I know
that people new to the studio can sometimes have a hard time finding it because of how the
building is positioned in relation to the street. In the same regard, there is little possibility for
unsuspecting people to stumble on Sukha Arts Center and what it has to offer. Sukha should
explore ways to incorporate visible and attention-grabbing signage on the street to invite new
clients in (Appendix E).
DIRECT MAIL: Sukha Arts Center should consider venturing into direct mail as a paid advertising
method. There are some really innovative direct mail packages that other brands have created
and distributed. With a little creativity and securing a list of address in the target from surrounding
towns, Sukha can grown its client base significantly. It can include a “coupon” that shows the new
student packages. This direct mail piece will likely feature the aerial, yoga and fitness classes but
can make reference to youth dance programs as well (Appendix G).
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Strategy 3: Publicize under-promoted programs
There is so much that Sukha Arts Center has to offer to the surrounding community and its target
audience. You want to let them know that. The main focus of Sukha’s current advertising and
publicity is the youth dance program but it’s important to also include not only the yoga and aerial
programs but also the workshops, teacher training programs and birthday parties. Tactics that
support this strategy include:
BLOG: Starting a blog hosted on your website and shared through social media. Each week or
so, the topic of the post can differ to encompass some of the different things that Sukha offers.
To even further define your position in the market, having different staff members write the blog
posts would give them a chance to foster a personal connection with potential clients through
their words. Finally, your reach into the local dance, yoga, fitness community is great and
having them guest write some posts could further increase Sukha’s credibility.
HELP A REPORTER OUT: Search HARO (Help a Reporter Out) to find reporters in need of
sources for their articles. Using this site, you can offer Sukha Arts Center as a source for
journalists in applicable articles. Once you sign up, you will get emails three times a day. You
will want to be on the look out for source requests that are relevant to Sukha and the industries
that it encompasses. A pitch reply to the email will put you on their radar as a source. This will
be a great way to get Sukha’s brand out into the world (Appendix D).
IN-HOUSE EVENTS WORKSHOPS: Develop in-house events and workshops that focus on these
programs like beer yoga, wine yoga and glowga, which have been huge successes, Sukha can
host and promote several other unique events that highlight other programs once each quarter.
These individual events can be a great gateway for new customers to get acclimated to Sukha.
COMMUNITY EVENTS: Increase promotion of these programs at community events and town
days. Typically, the focus at these events are the youth dance programs. Only recently has
Sukha introduced aerial demonstrations at these events. For the audience that attends these
events, they are more likely to be interested in the adult yoga, fitness and aerial classes. You
can incorporate a 15 minute yoga session on the field, where performances are usually done
at these events. You can also talk about birthday parties and yoga teacher training for people
who show a connection. Training your staff to recognize this and become a salesperson for
your brand is key here. In addition, many people at these events attend for free giveaways.
You can raffle off Sukha apparel or free classes to people who like and follow you on social
media (See objective 2 for more on social media).
YOGA MOUNTAIN DATABASE: Leverage the yoga mountain database to promote additional
yoga teacher training at Sukha and even suggest that they further their practice into aerial
“yoga” teacher training. You can target the people who completed the 200 hour to entice them
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into completing the 500 hour certification. In further expanding their practice, either group could
be interested in venturing into the aerial space.
Strategy 4: Amp up promotion for the youth dance program
One of the most popular aspects of Sukha Arts Center is its youth dance program. With
expanding studio spaces and leveraging children’s relationships, there is endless potential
for growth in this program. Sukha has run several promotions in this program, which with little
adjustments can be helpful in reaching this group. Tactics that support this strategy include:
BRING YOU FRIEND TO CLASS: Reworking bring your friend to class week/month with support
from social media promotion can help to introduce outside kids from the local community who
may be interested in dance to Sukha. October or November would be the ideal months to carry
this out each year. At this time, your enrolled students have settled into their classes and it’s
right before the new year when certain extra curriculars are ending. At that point, they have the
opportunity to enroll in January. You can even increase the incentive for the students to bring
a friend to create the most potential for new customers. Bring a friend and get 10% off retail. If
your friend from class enrolls at Sukha, get a free teen/tween aerial class or get a discount in
registration next year. The key is to let people know its happening by promoting it in class, in
flyers and on social media.
EXTRA-CURRICULARS: Combat extra curricular activities is key to gaining new students. These
days kids are involved in everything, soccer, art class, cheerleading, gymnastics, softball etc.
This may be Sukha’s biggest competitor in this industry, however, what many of the parents
of these children don’t know is that Sukha allows enrollment through January. This option has
been severely under promoted. Let people know that they don’t have to start in September, the
price will be prorated and they won’t miss out on learning the recital dance. This can be done
on several platforms: on your website, through social media, emails, and flyers (Appendix F).
IN-HOUSE EVENTS AND WORKSHOPS: Incorporating special in-house workshops will draw
more attention from outsiders to this program. The “Tutus and Teddies” program seems to
have been the most successful with leading to enrollment. This is the best place to leverage
the pre-schools in the surrounding area. Sukha should invest in building up this workshop and
even consider holding it twice a year: once around the time school is ending to promote signing
up for Princess Camp and one towards the end of the summer for September class enrollment.
There is also an option for one in January/February to create a second wave of enrollments.
Hand delivering flyers to pre-schools in the area and asking the pre-school to promote it on
their social media or share your posts will help bring awareness to this event. This even can
have different iterations as well like “Ballerinas and Barbies” or “Move and Shake” with a
similar class concept under a new name. On top of that, there are other special events that can
be scheduled to target other age groups or interests.
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OBJECTIVE 2:
Enhance social media presence across all active social platforms
Strategy 1: Hire an intern or employee
Hiring someone who can dedicate the time to developing your social media will, in turn, grow
your following and eventually, your clientele. This person, whether an intern or employee, would
be available to gather content at all events and various classes and maintain a social media
calendar. Tactics that support this strategy include:
APPROVAL PROCESS: All posts can be approved by Christine in order to ensure the Sukha vision
is being carried out.
STYLE GUIDE: A brand/social media style guide can also be created to continue the vision.
RESPONSIBILITIES: They can be responsible for updating and maintaining the social media
calendar, Help a Reporter Out, the blog and Hootsuite.
SLACK: Using Slack, instructors can also gather content from their classes to easily pass along
to the social media coordinator, among the many other benefits to incorporating Slack.
Strategy 2: Create and update a publicity calendar
To maximize the promotional output that Sukha uses to publicize itself, Sukha should use a
calendar to prepare and plan all of its promotional efforts. This will be a working document,
adding new ideas and changing what’s already on the schedule. Timing is also important in social
media which a calendar can help with (Appendix J). Tactics that support this strategy include:
PUBLICITY CALENDAR: Utilize google calendars, slack or some other application to organize the
calendar. This will include the date of the post, the time of the post, and a description of what it
will be and say.
HOOTSUITE: Invest in a Hootsuite account. Hootsuite is a platform dedicated to social media
management and includes elements of scheduling, content curation, analytics and monitoring
for all of your social media accounts (Appendix H).
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Strategy 3: Increase variation of content
The current content posted on Sukha’s social media accounts is strong, however, there can
be additional posts that serve to gain new clients. This is especially true for Instagram, where
the only people who can see your post are the people that follow you (Appendix F). Tactics that
support this strategy include:
GIVEAWAY POSTS: Incorporate giveaway posts on Facebook and Instagram. It can be done
periodically throughout the year, during lower traffic months and at community events. For
example: Post a picture of your favorite yoga, aerial or fitness pose at Sukha Arts center and
tag us for a chance to win a free class (or a free Sukha shirt) etc. Another approach could be to
post about a new workshop or class and say “like this post and comment below with two “new
to Sukha” friends who you would being with you for a chance to go for free” (or 30% of Sukha
apparel). This way the reach of your posts can grown exponentially.
INSTRUCTOR SPOTLIGHTS: Introduce instructor spotlights. Have each instructor across every
program answer a few questions about themselves. It can include factual questions and fun
questions. You can further create the family feel that Sukha strives to achieve because it will
develop a relationship between instructors and current and potential customers. It may even
convince current customers to try new classes. In addition, the instructors can share their
spotlight with their networks, casting a wider net for potential new customers.
COMMERCIAL SHOOT: Leverage the commercial shoot to gather additional social media
content. Not everything you shoot will be used in the commercial, why let it go to waste? Since
you will have students and teachers in the same place at the same time take advantage of
that to gather a lot of stock photos that can be used on social media when you don’t have time
to grab content or there isn’t much going on at the studio. Also, you can take extra footage to
make social media exclusive content for variation.
TARGETED FACEBOOK ADS: Use Facebook to create core audiences and targeted ads.
With this feature, you have the ability to target a specific group of people based on location,
demographics, interests, and behaviors. Once this group is identified you can create an ad that
Facebook will serve to your specified audience (Appendix I).
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OBJECTIVE 1:
Establish business’ position in the market among competitors and benchmarks
MINDBODY ANALYTICS: MindBody provides a lot of great features for business analytics. You
will want to examine the changes in attendance and addition of new clients since implementing
the plan. With this measurement, you won’t be able to draw a direct correlation but a significant
change will suggest that these efforts boosted your client base.
SURVEY: When new clients register or when current clients register for special events you
can ask them how they heard about the event and what made them want to attend. With this
information, you can create graphs and charts that track how people responded. Not only is
this a measurement of how the plan worked but you can also gain great insights into how to
move forward. This feature already exists in your new customer registration process but it will
be important to pay very close attention to how people respond to it.
OBJECTIVE 2:
Enhance social media presence across all active social platforms
SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS: Social Media platforms will be monitored and evaluated through
tracking an increase in followers, engagement, and impressions. Specific posts will be
monitored for engagement leading to a purchase. Facebook’s tools and analytics as well as
weekly reports will be used to gain a lot of these insights. From these analytics, a monthly
social media report will be generated to determine what posts performed well and what didn’t.
If you choose to utilize Hootsuite to manage your social media they also provide analytics and
insights into your platforms and posts.
FACEBOOK AD TARGETING: To ensure that your primary audience is reached, you can
also invest in targeted sponsored ads on Facebook. You can also use analytics to gather
information on the performance and reach of that particular ad.
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TO BEGIN IMMEDIATELY:
• Create publicity calendar
• General amp of social media frequency
• Develop style guide
• Key messages and mission statement
DECEMBER:
• Extra curricular announcement
JANUARY-JULY:
• Increase social media presence with slowing
traffic
• Introduce Instructor spotlights
JANUARY:
• Add account to Hootsuite
• Targeted Facebook Ads
• Gather yoga mountain database
• In-house workshop/event
FEBRUARY:
• Tutus and teddys
MARCH:
• Commercial shoot
• Begin Blog posting
• Giveaway to up slow months
MAY:
• Hire Intern/employee
• Create Slack channels
• Sign up for HARO
• In-house workshop/event
• Evaluate Success mid plan
JUNE:
• Develop signage
• Giveaway post- mid month
JULY:
• Compile and send direct mail
AUGUST:
• Tutus and teddys
• In-house workshop/event
SEPTEMBER:
• Second round of targeted Facebook ads
OCTOBER:
• Bring your friend to class event
NOVEMBER:
• In-house workshop/event
• Giveaway post (end of the month)
• Evaluate success
YEAR ONE
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TIMETABLE
Dec. Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov.
Social Media Calendar
Develop Style Guide
Extra-curricular post
Instructor Spotlights
In-house workshop/
event
Acquire Yoga
Mountain Database
Hootsuite
Tutus and Teddys
Commercial Shoot
Blog
Giveaway
Signage
Direct Mail
Evaluate Success
Bring your Friend to
Class Event
Targeted Facebook Ads
Increase social media
presence
Key Messages and
Mission Statement
Increase frequency
of posting
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ESTIMATED FEES
Total: $0-$14,555
Publicity Fees:
Blog: $0
Help a Reporter Out: $0-$19 per month subscription ($0-$228 per year)
In-house events/workshops: $0-$50 on supplies
250 New Student pricing “coupon” card: $10-$20
Signage: $200-$300
Direct Mail: $50 (1000 addresses) + $100-$200 (1000 jumbo postcards)
Social Media Fees:
Hiring an intern/employee: $10 per hour (5-8 hours per week)
Slack: $0
Google Calendar: $0
Hootsuite: $19 per month ($228 per year)
Commercial shoot: $1000
Targeted Facebook ads: Budget set by you
Agency Fees:
Consultant Fees: $165 per hour (40 hours) $6,600
Consulting with CEO Fees: $250 per hour (4 hours) $1,000
Professional Development (Research, Proposal Development) $165 per hour (27 hours) $4,455
Total cost of development, design and delivery of proposal = $12,055
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ABOUT THE AGENCY
This strategic consulting experience creates a transformational learning environment for the
students enrolled in this senior capstone course (PRLAB ~ Lab17) in the Department of Strategic
Communication at Ithaca College.
The agency simulation of Lab17 allows for situated cognition – or learning in context – a concept
at the forefront of contemporary educational reform. As higher education moves away from strictly
content-laden curricula to curricula that emphasizes experiential learning, it is critical that strategic
communication majors have the requisite knowledge and skills to use simulation as an apprenticeship
that leads directly to securing employment.
Lab17 operations consist of a set of activities that naturally overlay a business setting with a focus on
three elements: business coaching, executive briefings and longitudinal assessment. The instructor
assumes the role of a strategic consulting coach while mentoring students through a series of
executive briefings. These briefings enable the instructor to evaluate students according to a rubric
designed after Bloom’s revised hierarchy of learning. As well, an element of learner self-reflection is
core to the success of this simulation.
Lab17 provides a rich learning opportunity for students to integrate theory with practice while making
real-time strategic communication decisions in an environment that embraces failure as much as it
applauds success.
Alison Teadore
Account Manager
Alison Teadore is a senior Integrated Marketing Communications
major with a Communication, Management and Design minor at
Ithaca College. She currently resides in River Vale, NJ but recently
spent a semester in Los Angeles where she was a PR and Marketing
Intern for The Academy of Country Music. When she is not working
as an Account Manager for Lab17, she is the director of publicity for
Ithaca College Television and the Co-president of the Ithaca College
Tap Club. After graduation, she plans to start her communications
career in New York City. “Life is not always a matter of holding good
cards, but sometimes playing a poor hand well. - Jack London
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APPENDIX C
Target Consumption Habits
Source: Pew Research Center
Source: Pew Research Center
86% of adults 18-29 use
at least one social media
site (Nov. 2016)
80% of adults 30-49 use
at least one social media
site (Nov. 2016)
72% of women use at
least one social media
site (Nov. 2016)
66% of men use at least
one social media site
(Nov. 2016)
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APPENDIX D
Help a Reporter Out
APPENDIX E
Sukha Signage
HOW IT WORKS
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