This public relations campaign aims to increase awareness of Dropbox's products and services among U.S. consumers and increase Dropbox's paid users in the U.S. market within 8 months. The campaign will target college students ages 17-30 through on-campus events, social media, commercials, and promotional booths. Tactics include offering Dropbox trials, sponsoring on-campus events, running ads on YouTube and social media, and setting up promotional booths. The campaign will be evaluated based on the number of new paid U.S. users and increased usage of a new Dropbox search engine.

1. 1
Communication Plan
PUR 4100
Asia Mckenzie

2. 2
Executive Summary

3. 3
Executive Summary
The purpose of this public relations campaign is to raise awareness of the products and
services of Dropbox among U.S consumers. This campaign will also increase Dropbox’s paid
users within the U.S. market. Dropbox is one of the largest cloud services with more than 500
million users. Unfortunately, these registered users are not translating into paying users.
Dropbox registered users need a reason to pay additional money. One way for Dropbox to
achieve this is to add a describable service. The service in question should be a search engine. A
search engine can give Dropbox a secondary source of income. It also would allow IPhone users
the ability to search for music and directly download their songs directly to Dropbox’s cloud.
Currently, IPhone users are limited on how they can directly download music without the ITunes
store.
Dropbox also can increase its visibility among one of its targeted audiences, college
students, by hosting on-campus events and giving out merchandise to students. Dropbox also can
reach this audience by using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and
YouTube.

4. 4
Situation Analysis

5. 5
Situation Analysis
Background
Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers its users personal cloud storage, file
synchronization and other software products. Dropbox was founded in 2007 by MIT students
Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi. Dropbox was founded after Houston kept forgetting his USB.
In 2010 Dropbox signed a deal with Japanese mobile service providers, Softbank and Sony
Ericcson. The deal allowed Dropbox software to be preloaded in all of Softbank and Sony
Ericcson cellphones. This deal lead to a larger number of Dropbox users being located in Japan
which stood at 20 million as of 2016 (Smith, 2016).
As of 2016, Dropbox has 500 million users signed up for its services. Of those 500 million
Dropbox has eight million business users. Dropbox has users in 200 different countries and is
translated in 20 languages.
Dropbox has continued to be popular with millennials who are more likely to use it on their
mobile devices. This campaign will allow Dropbox to turn its unpaid users into paid users as well
as increase awareness of its services among U.S. consumers.

6. 6
Goals, Objectives & Strategies

7. 7
Goals, Objectives & Strategies
Goal
To increase Dropbox’s paid customers within eight months, specifically within the U.S.
Rationale:
Dropbox to date has about 500 million registered users of which only 150,000 are paid (Smith,
2016). For Dropbox to become profitable it will have to increase its paid users. For this to happen
it must separate itself from its competitors. Dropbox also must give consumers a reason to want to
sign up for its paid services. Seventy-five percent of Dropbox users are located outside of the U.S.
(Smith, 2016). This means that there is an opportunity to expand its services within the U.S.
Objective 1.1
To increase Dropbox’s paid U.S. users by 30 percent within the eight months.
Strategy 1.1 Offer consumers a reason to sign up for a paid subscription
Rationale: Although Dropbox has over 500 million users it has yet to make half of them into paid
subscribers. If Dropbox were to create a search engine that would allow IPhone users for example
would be able to directly download music from their browser to the Dropbox cloud which would
give them a reason to continue to be a Dropbox customer. Much like Google’s customers enjoy its
search engine and sign up for other Google services.

8. 8
Objective 2.1
To increase awareness of Dropbox’s users within the U.S. by 20 percent within the eight months
among U.S. college students age 17-30 years old.
Strategy 2.2. Inform U.S college students about Dropbox’s product(s).
Rationale: Because Dropbox has 75 percent of its users outside of the U.S. there is untapped
market in the U.S for its services. Also students are more likely to sign up for Dropbox services
because they are technologically advance. Students also would appreciate its mobile access and
simple design.

9. 9
Tactics

10. 10
Tactic 1.1.1 Offer trials of Dropbox’s full services for a limited time. This will give customers a
risk-free way of trying the product and not having to commit before they know if they like it or
not.
Tactic 1.1.2 Use social media to inform target public about the trial offering. Some of the social
media platforms which would be used would be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Tactic 2.2.1 Sponsor on-campus events aimed at raising awareness of Dropbox services. The best
way to access the target age group is to go where they are. Giving away free t-shirts at these
events would offer Dropbox a way of spreading its message through advertising when the
students wear their Dropbox merchandise. Also sponsoring events such as Gator Growl would
raise the profile of Dropbox among college students.
Tactic 2.2.2 Run commercials and ads for back-to-school deal. The target audiences in question
spend a lot of time online and on YouTube so running ads on YouTube can be an effective way to
reach the target publics.
Tactic 2.2.3 Set up promotional booths in back-to-school areas at college bookstores, Walmart,
Target, etc. Setting up promotional booth during the time of back-to-school shopping will help
reinforce Dropbox’s message and remind students to buy its products. It will also inform students
who have not seen or heard about Dropbox of its products.

11. 11
Target Audiences

12. 12
Primary Audience for Objective 1.1
Owners of cellphones would be one of the primary audiences of this campaign. Just among
android users the Dropbox application has been downloaded 500 million times (Smith, 2016).
The increase of mobile and tablet sales there has also been a drop in personal computer sales
(Alba, 2015). Most users of Dropbox are accessing the application from their mobile devices.
Secondary Audience for Objective 1.1
Owners of IPhones would be a secondary audience of this campaign. Because of the limited space
that comes with IPhone its users will be interested in cloud space. Also the Apple users’ inability
to download music directly from the internet would make Dropbox attractive. With Dropbox
users can download music to their accounts and then download the app to play it. Also IPhone
users are more likely to be higher wage earners and have college degrees (Goldman, 2015).
Because of their higher income IPhone users would more willing to pay for storage and features
that they cannot get from Apple’s ICloud.
Primary Audiences for Objective 2.1
College students, ages 18-30, would be a primary audience for the second objective because
college students would use file storage device for their assignments. These students also are most
likely to be more technologically advance than the older generations. A recent Carbonite survey
shows that 71 percent of millennials have deployed backup solutions versus only 52 percent of
Boomers (O'Brien, 2016). College students are also more likely to have a smartphone. According
to a Nielsen study more than 85 percent of people in the Millennial Generation have smartphones
and use them about 45 times every day (Dimick, 2016). This would mean that college students
would appreciate an application that allows them access to their documents on any device. This

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audience can be reached through social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. This
audience also can be reached though on-campus events such as concerts and orientation.
Secondary Audience for Objective 2.1
College professors are a secondary audience for the second objective. College professor can be a
medium between Dropbox and college students. Dropbox can offer professor deals to use its
service in the class room. The deals can include either merchandise or even a free full trial for a
year. Also professor can inform students about Dropbox events on-campus.

14. 14
Budget

15. 15
Budget
Out of Pocket Expenses
Media Kit
Item Quality Cost per
Item
Total
Media Releases 300 $1.00 $300
Media Advisory 300 $1.00 $300
Backgrounder 300 $1.00 $300
Fact Sheet 300 $1.00 $300
Folder
Customized
300 $5.50 $1650
Brochures 300 $2.50 $750
8 Bios 300 $1.50 $450
Photos 300 $2.50 $750
Social Media
Upkeep
Social
Media for 8
months
Platform Cost Total
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram and
YouTube
$50,000 $50,000
Commercials/ Ads
Item Cost Totals
Google Ads $50,000 $50,000
YouTube Ads $10,000 $10,000
Print Ads $10,000 $10,000
Tv Placement $10,000 $10,000
Gator Growl Event
Item Cost Total
Sponsorship $100,000 100,000
$4,800
$80,000
$100,000

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Promotional Materials
Item Quality Cost Total
T-Shirt 20,000 $15.00 300,000
Hats 20,000 $10.00 200,000
Pencils 20,000 $3.00 60,000
Water Bottles 60,000 $4.00 240,000
Professional Service Fees
Staff
Members
Hours/Week Cost/Hour Total
Associate 1 12hr/32 weeks $200.00 $76,800
Associate 2 12hr/32 weeks $200.00 $76,800
Associate 3 12hr/32 weeks $200.00 $76,800
Associate 4 12hr/32 weeks $200.00 $76,800
Executive 1 20hr/32 weeks $250.00 $160,000
Photographer 8hr/ 10weeks $100.00 $8,000
Graphic Designer 8hr/ 10 weeks $175.00 $14,000
Budget Total: $1,440,800
10% Contingency $144,080
$800,000
$486,000
$1,584,880

17. 17
SWOT Analysis

18. 18
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Drobox has several strengths including its own servers, popularity among consumers and a large
potential customer base. Dropbox has about 10,000 servers (Smith). Also Dropbox is extremely
popular in the business community. Ninety-seven percent of Fortune 500 companies have
Dropbox (Smith). Dropbox also has eight million paying and non-paying business customers.
Dropbox’s simplify is considered a strength as well. Users can easily navigate its application
therefore making it user friendly.
Weaknesses
Dropbox’s weaknesses are its small number of paid users. As of March 2016 Dropbox has about
150,000 paid users (Smith). In order for Dropbox to become profitable it will have to increase its
paid users. Dropbox needs give users a reason to convert from free users to paid users. Another
weakness that Dropbox has is that it depends on its revenue from its cloud services as its sole
source of income. Adding an additional stream of revenue can help Dropbox financially.
Opportunities
Dropbox has several opportunities. One of these opportunities are that Dropbox has 400 million
users more than any other cloud service (Darrow). If Dropbox can convert a fraction of these
users to paid users this will help with Dropbox’s profitability. It will also can help with attracting
more investors. Also the fact that cloud technology is becoming more popular because of the
communication properties, efficiency, music storage and private storage, is also an opportunity
for Dropbox (Reyes). By the year 2020 cloud computing will be a 191 billion dollar market

19. 19
(Metz). Only 25 percent of Dropbox users are located in the United States (Smith). Dropbox can
increase its presence in the U.S. market.
Threats
Large tech companies Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft do not depend on cloud as their sole
source of profit. These companies have several revenue streams. Amazon made 2.4 billion dollars
in revenue from its cloud services last year (Ovide). Unlike its competitors, Dropbox is a privately
held company that cannot raise funds by issuing stock. Being a privately held company limits
investment options as well. Also investors may be more hesitant to invest in a private company.
Recently the mutuality fund Fidelity downgraded Dropbox’s valuation (Winkler).

20. 20
Timeline

21. 21
Timeline
Date Task Responsible Party
January 12 Contact University administrators
to get permission to host on-campus
events
Jane,Account Associate
January 12 Contact stores to get agreement
about promtional deal
Jane,Account Associate
January 15 Plan out event activities Laura, Account Associate
January 18 Get launch date of Search
Engine with Dropbox engineers
Annie, Account Executive
February 5 Plan promotional deals that will
be offered to professors
Entire team
February 10 Offer professors Dropbox
promotion deal
Holly, Account Associate
March 12 Plan out promotion items: t-
Shirts,hats and brochures
Entire team
March 20 Order promotional ítems Jean,Account Associate
April 5 Send brochures to students and
parents
Anne, Account Executive
April 10 Start social media campaigns
on Twitter and Facebook
Jean,Account Associate
May 12 Plan YouTube commercial &
ads to promote back-to-school
deal
Entire team
June 20 Run commercial and ads for
target publics
Jean,Account Associate
June 24 Send promotional to stores for
setup
Annie, Account Executive
July 5- August 10 Attend freshmen orientation
hand out promotions
Holly,Account Associate
Annie, Account Executive
Septmeber 20 Host Gator Growl Entire team
October 31 Review pr plan and see if goals
were met
Entire team

22. 22
Evaluation

23. 23
Evaluation
New Paid U.S. Users
The number of new users can be measured at the end of this campaign and it should be an
increase of Dropbox’s paid users within the U.S. Also method in which the users came to be
informed about Dropbox can be measured by asking the new signee where they heard about the
product that they are buying. This would measure the methods that were used to inform the target
audiences.
Number of users of new search engine
The success of the Dropbox search engine can be measured by the new of users that use the
service. Also it can be measured though the ad revenue that is generated from the search engine.
There should be an increase of ad revenue because companies would want to pay for advisements
on a platform with lots of users. Because Dropbox has 500 million users registered it is expected
that some of them will use Dropbox’s search engine.
SocialMedia
Social media success can be measured with metrics from its social media platform. For example
Facebook’s Insights measures likes, and the engagement of different post. Also the number of
followers these social media platforms will demonstrate an increase of awareness of Dropbox’s
services. Also the number of views of the YouTube commercials will demonstrate how much the
ads resonated with the viewer.

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References
Alba, D. (2015, June 10). The Death of the PC Has Not Been Greatly Exaggerated. Retrieved
from Wired: http://www.wired.com/2015/07/death-pc-not-greatly-exaggerated/
Darrow, B. (March, 7 2016). Dropbox Claims Half a Billion Users. Retrieved July 5, 2016
Dimick, P. (2016, April 14). Living in the Cloud: Millennials And the Changing Nature of Work.
Retrieved from Dazeinfo: http://dazeinfo.com/2016/04/14/living-cloud-millennials-
changing-nature-work/
Goldman, D. (2015, January 22). Smarter people use iPhones - study. Retrieved from CNN
Money: http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/22/technology/mobile/iphone-smart-study/
Metz, C. (2016, March 14). Epic Story Dropbox's ExodusAmazon Cloud Empire. Retrieved July
11, 2016
O'Brien, E. (2016, March 25). Millennials vs. Boomers: Attitudes toward cloud computing
revealed. Retrieved from Carbonite: https://www.carbonite.com/en/carbonite-
blog/millennials-vs-boomers-attitudes-toward-cloud-computing-revealed/
Ovide, S. (2016, March 24). Amazon's Lofty Profits Open Cloud to Rivals Like Google. Retrieved
July 5, 2016
Reyes, E. (n.d.). Why Cloud Storage is Growing in Use and Popularity. Retrieved July 5, 2016
Smith, C. (2016, May 23). By The Numbers:17 Staggering Dropbox Statistics . Retrieved July 5,
2016
Winkler, R. (2016, March 30). Fidelity Marks Down Startups Including Dropbox, Zenefits.
Retrieved July 5, 2016