1. Media Plan Assignment Outline
Big 5 Sporting Goods and Campers in Los Angeles
Introduction
Target’s Psychographic Summary
This target audience likes to camp in the mountains.
Camp as a hobby
Hiking is a major activity for these campers
Cooking is a necessary activity while camping
Fishing is one of the major hobbies
During free time and vacation time are when people camp
Target’s Demographic Summary
Gender: Both male and female
Marital/Family Status: Married with children
Age Range: 25-45
HH Income: Less than or equal to between $50,000 and $100,000
Target’s Geographic Location: Los Angeles, CA
This media plan is to implement certain advertisements in Los Angeles in a way that only the
target audience will be able to see my ads. Advertisements have been bought through various
magazines, radio stations, google search ads and e-newsletters. Big 5 Sporting Goods offers all
of the products for a person wishing to camp in the mountains of Los Angeles that fits all of the
demographic information of the desired audience. The client, Big 5 Sporting Goods, has an
outdoor section that includes materials to buy camping, hiking and fishing gear, which are the
most desired product lists for camping. Spending a total of between $250,000 and $275,000 on
advertisements for Big 5 Sporting goods within the various advertising platforms can bring in
numerous amounts of increased customers looking for camping gear in Los Angeles.
2. Media Buy Overview
Media Vehicle
No. of
Ads
Total
Cost CPM
Magazines
Outside 2 $65,060 $11.62
LA Weekly 16 $15,000 $11.34
Magazine Totals/AVG 18 $145,060 $11.48
Radio
KCBS-FM 12 $61,651.20 $11.81
KFI-AM 12 $47,322.00 $10.43
All Radio Totals/AVG 24 108,973 $11.12
Google Ads No. of Clicks
2,500 $3,546.50 $2,341.00
Google AdsTotal/ AVG $2,500 $3,547 $2,341.00
E-Newsletters No. of Weeks
LA WeeklyMagazine (Entertainment) 12 $4,800.00 $62.34
E-NewslettersTotals/Averages 4,800 $62.34
TOTAL/AVERAGES
$262,380 $28.31
(TOTAL) (TOTAL) (AVG)
Target Audience: Mountain Campers in Los Angeles
Psychographic Elements of Campers
So why do campers camp? 45% of casual campers said, “camping is one of several ways I like to
spend my recreational time” (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 13). That 45% is the highest
percentage of campers, showing the majority of campers camp as a hobby. Some of the top
activities campers enjoy doing are hiking, cooking and fishing, while the main way to camp is
using a tent (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 24). For these activities, tents, sleeping gear,
flashlights, cooking gear and fishing poles are the main essential items, making outdoor stores a
3. vital part of purchasing, with tents being the most popular. Camping using tents is the most
popular option, with 71% of all campers choosing to go that route of camping (Outdoor
Foundation, 2017, pp. 17).
On top of all the other essential items that can be purchased in a camping store, the outdoor
section of stores is where campers tend to purchase a lot of items. This is because 88% of all
campers tend to partake in other outdoor activities outside of camping (Outdoor Foundation,
2017, pp. 14). Other activities inclue fishing, which 47% of all campers do, and hiking, with 45%
of all campers take part in (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 14).
The majority of campers tend to go camping during their free time and vacation days with
planning up to 25 days in advance (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 45). Other important factors
that determine when campers camp is the family wanting to go, the weather being nice and
campgrounds with luxuries.
First-time campers were almost all children (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 47). As people age,
the opportunity to go camping for the first time decreases and is not likely. Many families bring
their children along for their trips and open them to the world of camping, which they then pick
up as hobbies themselves, creating a cycle. This is why people keep camping.
Regarding first-time camping trips, flashlights and coolers are the most purchased first-timer
camping products.
Demographic Elements of Campers
The four key demographic elements of mountain campers are gender, marital/family status, age-
range and household income. There are 54% male and 46% female camping participants for
everyone aged six years old and up (Outdoor Foundation, 2018, pp. 8). These percentages are so
4. close to each other, it shows that females and males go camping about the same amount. The
demographic for activities done while camping shows a chart with very similar results for both
males and females. The only results that were different are outdoor activity interest has
decreased slightly in females (Outdoor Foundation, 2018, pp. 13). Due to this information found,
I have decided to target both females and males equally.
54% of campers said they choose to bring their spouse/significant other camping, which is the
highest percentage and 47% bring their kids (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 42). Those
percentages are the highest for both males and females and show that the majority of overall
campers go as a family. Supporting the family statement, the majority of first-time campers are
children aged 10 (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 47), which means they went with a guardian
since ten-year-olds are not known to camp alone. I have decided to target couples with children
due to the statistics showing the number of families that go camping together.
The age range for most campers is between 25-45, with 29% being aged 25-44 and 36% being
45+ years old (Outdoor Foundation, 2018, pp. 8). Overall, 65% of campers are aged 25 years old
and higher (Outdoor Foundation, 2018, pp. 8), creating the average age range for those who
camp the most to be between 25 and 45 years old.
5. Most campers tend to have higher household incomes and some college experience (Outdoor
Foundation, 2018, pp. 8). 32% of campers, the majority, make an average income of less than or
equal to $100,000 (Outdoor Foundation, 2018, pp. 8).
Geographic Target: Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles is the target for mountain campers for several reasons. The majority of campers
love to do their activities in the mountains. Los Angeles is home to the San Gabriel Mountains,
which holds endless campsites, allowing for mountain campers to be able to have their desired
elevated experience.
The average household income for Los Angeles is $55,909 (Romero, 2019, par. 11). Since the
majority of campers make up to $100,000 a year and the average household income for Los
Angeles residents is $55,909, this shows the majority of people in Los Angeles have the financial
ability to go camping and spend their extra money on the gear to do so. 57% of all campers are
employed and can make up to $100,000 per year, matching the income of the average person in
Los Angeles to the average camper in the United States.
Big 5 Sporting Goods Company Profile
Company Overview and History
Founded in 1955 in California, Big 5 Sporting Goods is one of America’s top-selling sporting
goods companies for name-brand items with 436 locations (“camping and tour,”). Big 5
originally got its name because there were originally only five of its stores. The chain began
selling WWII army surplus items (“camping and tour,”) until sporting goods became more
popular in 1963. The company’s purpose/mission is to maintain convenient shopping and low
prices (“camping and tour,”).
6. What makes Big 5 Sporting Goods special is their want to not only make consumers happy, but
their own employees as well. The CEO/chairman and President/Chief Operating Officer raised
$250 million dollars so each of the employees has a financial interest in the company (“camping
and tour,”). Big 5 is also unique for its purpose of creating lower prices on name-brand items for
customers. In 2002 Big 5 Sporting Goods saw their customer’s wants and raised $100,000 which
they put into building a one million square foot distribution center (“camping and tour,”). This
was done in order to please the public’s demand for their products to keep their customers happy.
The distribution center, as well as their 436 locations, are there to make sure their customers can
shop in their stores in person or online. Big 5 Sporting Goods is also unique for always seeing
their buyers’ wants and demands and finding ways to make sure they get what they want.
Big 5 Sporting Goods gets active in its community by being a part of many special events. These
events include Nike 3-on-3, Duke City Marathon, Santa Monica Classic, Los Angeles Cancer
Challenge, Hollenbeck Toy Drive, March of Dimes: March for Babies, Bay to Breakers and
three 5k marathons. During each of these events, Big 5 has been a huge part of providing
giveaway items, sponsorships and opportunities of purchases for the attenders.
Products
Big 5 Sporting Goods has a vast amount of products for a wide range of customers. The main
categories of items found in their stores and online are footwear, apparel, fitness, outdoors,
fishing/hunting, sports, games/toys and sales/deals. In terms of camping-related gear alone, Big 5
offers 1,702 items under the camping, hiking and outdoor gear section (“Camping, Hiking,”).
7. The topmost purchased item for campers is flashlights (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 40).
Under the flashlights category on Big 5’s website, there are 86 items available to be purchased,
providing customers with a good variety of options. Their flashlight prices range from $5.99 to
$59.99 (“camping and tour, ”). The majority of the flashlights are on the lower end, with just one
being in the higher price range. This gives customers a greater chance to find what they’re
looking for at an affordable cost. An example of one of their flashlight products is the Dorcy 125
lumen compact waterproof flashlight. This flashlight sells for $6.99 and has batteries included
and has a long list of accessories, as well as
warnings before buying. This provides
customers with proper knowledge over the items
they’re buying before actually purchasing.
Hibbett Sports is a major competitor of Big 5
Sporting Goods, yet when visiting their website, Hibbett Sporting Goods does not offer a single
camping-related item. This shows the variety of camping gear that Big 5 Sporting Goods has on
high-end retailers.
A tent is the third most-purchased item for camping (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 40). Big 5
Sporting Goods offers 30 tent-related items on their website. These tents range from $29.99 to
$359.99, but only one is above $200
(“camping and tour,”). In relation to Big
5 Sporting Goods, their lead competitor
is Dicks Sporting Goods (“Top
Sporting,”). Dicks offers 99 tent-related
items, but only one is less than $30 and
8. 61 of their items, the majority, range between $150-$500. This shows Big 5 Sporting Goods
offers some of the best prices on tents. An example of one of these tents Big 5 Sporting Goods
offers is the Golden Bear Wildwood 8x8 dome tent. This tent is $69.99 and a perfect example of
a tent for an average family of four.
Overall, Big 5 Sporting Goods offers both high-end and low-end items at lower costs than
competitors (“Top Sporting,”). With 1,702 outdoor items and 486 fishing items alone, the store
has high numbers of products for customers, not even including the other categories which have
many items in them as well.
Locations
According to Google, there are currently 420 Big 5 Sporting Goods stores in the United States.
The majority of the stores are found in its founding location, California. There are also stores in
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and
Wyoming. Under the store locator section of Big 5’s website, there are 11 stores within 10 miles
of Los Angeles and 100 stores within 20 miles or more of Los Angeles. That is a total of 111
stores in the general Los Angeles area for campers to shop at.
Why Campers are the Perfect Target for Big 5 Sporting Goods
9. Big 5 Sporting Goods offers a vast array of items for campers. The need for camping, hiking and
outdoor gear items that mountain campers will need in relation to the amount that Big 5 has
available, makes Big 5 Sporting Goods a significant resource for mountain campers. Among the
items most purchased by campers in 2016, Big 5 Sporting Goods sells every item on the list. For
example, flashlights, coolers, backpacks, tents and lanterns. Since Big 5 Sporting Goods is a
chain store, the availability to purchase things has to be done before camping. 67% of campers
purchased their items before camping, which puts Big 5 as a big target for mountain campers so
they can go to their store or order items online before going (Outdoor Foundation, 2017, pp. 32).
Since the San Gabriel mountains
bring in four million visitors
each year, the majority for
camping, and since these
mountains are located near Los
Angeles, Big 5 Sporting Goods
could bring in many new
customers. With all of the psychographic reasonings for why campers purchase what they do and
for how much they purchase, Big 5 is a perfect fit for the campers' budgets and is affordable in
relation to the average household income of less than or equal to $100,000. This could bring in a
larger crowd since their product prices fit into the income of campers.
Media Plan Recommendations
Magazine Recommendations
Magazine Name: Outdoor
10. Rationale: Outdoor magazine makes sense for this media plan because of the intended
audience it has. The audience is people who like the outdoors, obviously, specifically,
those who like to purchase outdoor items. The Outdoor magazine has a specific
psychographic interest match with the customers that Big 5 Sporting Goods wishes to
bring in. When purchasing advertisements in the Outdoor magazine, I decided two would
be a sufficient amount. Outdoor magazine is also a good magazine to use for the
products. Products sold inside Outdoor magazine includes camping gear, which will
ensure that more people will be looking at the magazine who are thinking about camping.
Since there will be three months worth of advertising for this magazine during the April,
May and June months, Outdoor magazine provides good information specifically that
campers will be interested in reading. For the month of May, Outdoor has a power of
nature, family travel and gear “theme”, while June has an adventure, fun, relaxation and
hiking theme. These two months will be great to draw in the targeted audience by their
interests.
Ad Size and Position: The ad is one-fourth of a page on the inside of the magazine. I
have recommended this because the pricing worked out to where it was cheaper to do two
advertisements inside of the magazine, versus one on a major piece of the magazine. This
magazine is very popular in terms of how much it costs to even insert one advertisement,
so doing two will ensure the advertisement is seen by the targeted audience, while not
breaking the budget with getting a front cover ad. With the audience being between 25-
45-year-olds, they are more likely to read through the entire magazine in order to view
the advertisement.
11. Ad Cost: The cost per ad is $32,530 and the overall total cost for three months of
Outdoor Magazine is $65,060.
CPM: The CPM is $11.62 for Outdoor magazine. In comparison to LA Weekly, the
other magazine being used for ads, the Outdoor magazine is 28 cents more expensive to
reach 1,000 people. The Outdoor magazine is cheaper than one of the radio
recommendations however. The cost for one is $11.81 and the other is $10.43 for the
radio recommendations.
Magazine Name: LA Weekly Magazine
Rationale: This magazine’s main point for being recommended is for the geographic
portion of the targeted audience. Since most of the campers who shop for Big 5
Sporting Goods are in Los Angeles, this magazine can easily reach that audience,
since it is distributed strictly to the people in LA. This means that the customers for
Big 5 Sporting Goods are more likely to see ads through LA Weekly since it is
geographically closer than the Outdoor magazine to the targeted audience. LA
Weekly does not have a specific theme it sticks to such as Outdoor, which sticks to
all outdoor related items. LA Weekly is a magazine that the targeted age range for
campers could be found reading, due to the magazine being meant for everyone to
read in LA. This can lead all of the LA campers that read the magazine to want to
camp after seeing the advertisement for Big 5 on the inside. As far as the gender
portion of the targeted audience, being both male and female, LA Weekly is a great
fit because the readers are 41% females and 59% males. The income of an average
LA Weekly reader also fits the targeted audience because the average income of an
12. LA Weekly magazine buyer is between $50,000 and $75,000 a year. Our targeted
audience makes on average between $50,000 to $100,000 per year.
Ad Size and Position: I have recommended a full advertisement page on the inside
of the LA Weekly magazine. I recommend this since not all of the readers of LA
Weekly are not going to specifically be people interested in the outdoors or Big 5
Sporting Goods. The full page on the inside will catch the eyes of the audience, and
once that is done, then the targeted audience will stick around to read it and find out
more, and those who are not interested in camping can move along through the
magazine.
Ad Cost: The cost per ad is only $5,000, with the total cost for three months of LA
Weekly magazine being $80,000.
CPM: The cost per 1,000 people for LA Weekly is $11.34, being cheaper than
Outdoor’s CPM, and ranging right in between the costs for the radio
recommendations I have.
13. Radio Recommendations
Radio Choices
Format: The format of the two radio stations I recommended are Adult Contemporary
and Talk. I chose these formats because they do not have crazy specific audience types.
Both of these formats tend to be listened to by adults in Los Angeles in general, which
could be a good platform for potential new customers interested in camping that might be
listening. The Adult Contemporary format will fit into the age range for the target
audience, being adults aged 25-45. The Talk format I recommend for the audience that
listens to the radio on their way to and from work (typically adults within the age range).
Since campers plan their trips up to 25 days in advance and most adults dread going to
work, they are most likely to hear this advertsisement during the beginning of planning
for a camping trip. Also, this will be heard when the targeted audience is most likely to
be feeling sick of working and wanting to get away for a weekend.
agazine Placements
Magazine
Name
Cost
Per Ad
Ad
Size
Ad
Position
Number
of
Insertions
Total
Campaign
Cost
Circulation
(000)
Pass-
along
Rate
Total
Audience
(000) CP
tside
$
32,530
1/4
page Inside 2 $ 65,060 2,800 $11
Weekly
gazine $5,000 1 page Inside 16 $80,000 441 $11
agazine
tals/AVG
$
37,530 16 $ 145,060 3,682 $11
14. Days and Daypart: The day of the week which these radio advertisements will be heard
is on Thursday. Thursday is close to the weekend when most people are wanting to do
something fun to escape for a bit. Hearing the advertisement on a Thursday will also
ensure that the listeners will be able to take action on shopping at Big 5 over the weekend
when they are free, or potentially on Friday after work on a payday. I have chosen AM
for one of the radio stations and PM for the other to ensure that advertisements will be
heard all throughout the day.
Insertions: One ad will be run per day for both of these radio stations. I made this choice
to cut back on the budget, and the majority of the target audience, due to the age range
and location of living, are most likely to either read a magazine or scroll through Google
than listen to the radio, which made the number of advertisements necessary go down.
Radio Insertion
Station:
KCBS-
FM
KFI-
AM
Daypart PM AM
Numberof hoursper daypart 1 1
Numberof ads perhour 1 1
Total number of ads per day 1 1
Days perweekadruns 1 1
Total numberof ad daysfor campaign 12 12
Total numberof insertionsforstation 12 12
Station No. 1
Name/call letters of the station and its format: The first radio station I recommend
is the KCBS-FM. This format is Adult Contemporary.
15. Reason: I chose this specific station because the format age range matches the target
audience’s age range. This also fits the geographic location for the audience, being
LA.
Cost per ad: The cost per ad will be $5,137.60. This was found by taking the number
of ratings from the Nielson page and multiplying it by the cost per point.
CPM: The CPM is $11.81 for this media vehicle, which is cheaper than the other
radio station. In comparison to the CPM for Outdoor magazine and LA Weekly, this
radio insertion is more expensive.
Station No. 2
Name/call letters of station, and its format: The second radio station is KFI-AM which
is a Talk format.
Reason: I chose this station so the people who listen early in the morning, specifically on
their way to work when they might be dreading the day will hear it. This radio station
being a Talk format will also most likely be heard by more people who like those types of
radio stations and listen to detail. They will be more likely to pay attention to the name of
the advertisement and what all it contains.
Cost per ad: The cost per ad will be $3,943.50 and this was found the same way the first
station, KCBS-FM was found.
CPM: The CPM for this media vehicle is $10.43, which is not only cheaper than the
other radio station but cheaper than the CPM of both of the magazines selected.
16. Google Keyword Recommendations
Keyword list:
camping near me
3 person tent
hiking trails near Los Angeles
flashlight
tent
outdoor
camp
camping in Los Angeles
Big 5 Sporting Goods
Fishing
Rationale: These words all have to do with the outdoors, specifically camping and
camping-related activities. Google ads recommended these words based on the
number of viewers who visit Google searching these terms.
Most expensive keyword: The most expensive keyword from the keyword search
list is “outdoor”, for $7.79. The least expensive is “three person tent”, being $0.59. I
believe the word “outdoor” is so expensive due to its broadness and the high amount
Radio Placements
Radio Station Format Day-Part Rating Rating (%)
Persons 12+ in
Market
Listeners of
Station (000)
Cost per
Point
(CPP)
Cost per :60
ad
No. of
Insertions Total Cost
CPM
(Listeners)
KCBS-FM AC PM 3.80 3.80% 11,469,700 435 $1,352.00 5,137.60$ 12 61,651.20$ $11.81
KFI-AM Talk AM 3.30 3.30% 11,469,700 378 $1,195.00 $3,943.50 12 $47,322.00 $10.43
Total 108,973.20$ $11.12
17. of people that click on the word. I bought more of the “three person tent” since it is so
cheap, and less of the “outdoor” due to its high pricing.
E-Newsletter Recommendations
Weekly NewsletterCategory: Entertainment
Ad Type: 729x90 Banner Ad
Weeks Purchased: I recommend running the ad for 12 weeks, which will cover
once a week for all three months of the campaign.
Newsletter Rationale: This newsletter makes sense for the campaign because
entertainment is a common category in general, so the guaranteed target audience
is most likely to receive the e-newsletter. The advertisement will stick to LA and
outdoor lovers are more likely to be interested in entertainement than the other
categories of interest, based off of the psychographic characteristics listed above.
E-Newsletter
Source Newsletter Type of Ad
Cost
Per
Ad
Number
of
Weeks
Total
Campaign
Cost Circulation CPM
Keywords/Keyphrases
Cost
per
Click
(CPC)
Total
clicks
per
mont
h
Numbe
r of
Months
Total
Clicks
Total
Cost CPM (CPC)
campingnearme $2.81 100 1 100 $281 $2,810
3 persontent $0.59 200 3 600 $354.00 $590
hikingtrailsnearLos
Angeles $2.00 500 1 500 $1,000 $2,000
flashlight $0.74 200 2 400 $296.00 $740.00
tent $0.71 200 2 400 $284.00 $710.00
outdoor $7.79 50 1 50 $389.50 $7,790.00
camp $3.33 100 1 100 $333.00 $3,330.00
campinginLos Angeles $2.00 100 1 100 $200.00 $2,000.00
Big 5 SportingGoods $1.30 150 1 150 $195.00 $1,300.00
fishing $2.14 100 1 100 $214.00 $2,140.00
Google Totals/Avg $2.34 1700 2500
$3,546.5
0 $2,341
18. LA WeeklyMagazine
(Entertainment) Entertainment
729x90 Banner
Ad $400 12 $4,800.00 77,000 $62.34
Totals/Averages $400 $4,800 $62.34
Strategy Thoughts
Budget & CPM: CPM is what it will cost the company to ensure its ads reach 1,000
people. See, the company is buying ads, but when its broken down, the company is really
buying its customers using those ads. The CPM is used to evaluate each media
recommendation because we see how much it will cost to reach 1,000 people using each
of the different platforms of advertising, and it helps to stick to a budget, while also
figuring out how many people we are truly going to be targeting with the advertisement.
Overall the magazines and radio cost cheaper, and are very similar in price to each other
with the CPM price. It is cheaper to reach an audience using older forms of
communication. As far as the online advertising, the google keywords are the most
expensive to reach the audience, going from $11.12 for the CPM of radio to $2,341. I
believe this is due to the fact that the internet has many more visitors daily then
magazines or radios, so the price to reach an audience of 1,000 shoots up because there is
more demand. The CPM for the e-newsletter is also pretty high, being $62.41, which is
three times more than for magazines and radio advertisements. The platform with the
“best bank for the buck” would be magazines, since the CPM is so low and there are
insertions being put in every week of every month to ensure increased advertising. The
magazines also reach a large network of people who are specifically buying that
magazine for a reason, so Big 5 would be paying a very reasonable price to reach 1,000
viewers who are most likely to be the specific audience targeted.
19. Media Benefits: From this paper, I have learned about the benefits of magazines versus
the benefits of radio and Google Ads. Each platform reaches a different specific
audience. Each platform is beneficial in its own way because each one individually
makes up the perfect fit to ensure a company reaches its specific target audience. Each of
the different platforms reaches a different aspect of people’s interests, creating a variety
of appeal to the target.
20. Works Cited
camping and tour reservation information. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.reservecalifornia.com/CaliforniaWebHome/Facilities/SearchViewUnitAvailabity.as
px.
Camping, Hiking & Outdoor Gear. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.big5sportinggoods.com/store/browse/outdoors/_/N-80e.
LA Weekly, “LA Weekly Rate Card and Media Kit 2019”
(n.d.). Retrieved from
https://tlr.nielsen.com/tlr/public/ratingsDisplay.do?method=loadRatingsForMarket.
Outdoor Foundation, The Coleman Company (2017) "2017 American Camper Report"
Outdoor Foundation, “Outdoor Participation Report 2018”
Outside, “Outside Media Kit 2019”
Romero, D., Trent, M., Callwood, B., Luciano-Adams, B., & Cooper, M. (2019, May 22). It Takes
Nearly $100,000 a Year in Income to Rent an Average L.A. House. Retrieved from
https://www.laweekly.com/it-takes-nearly-100000-a-year-in-income-to-rent-an-average-l-a-
house/.
San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fs.fed.us/visit/san-
gabriel-mountains-national-monument.
Top Sporting Goods Retailers for 2017: Realtree B2B. (2019, January 3). Retrieved from
https://business.realtree.com/business-blog/top-sporting-goods-retailers-2017.
Words by Discover Los Angeles. (2019, July 1). Eight Great Camping Sites Near Los Angeles.
Retrieved from https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/things-to-do/eight-great-camping-sites-
near-los-angeles.