2. 2
Background:
Founded by Clifton Keith Hillegass in 1918, CliffsNotes is the original (and most widely
imitated) study guide. With print, online, and mobile formats, it aims its products at high
school and college students to make the study of difficult subjects simpler. Along with guides
to the most commonly assigned works of literature at the high school and college levels,
CliffsNotes also provides resources for AP subjects, SAT prep, as well as guides to foreign
languages, math, and science.
CliffsNotes is challenged by its direct competitor, SparkNotes, who offers comparable
services to students. Both brands use print, online, and mobile media to reach their
audience, but CliffsNotes hopes to differentiate itself as being the best and most accessible
option for students.
CliffsNotes, Inc. was recently acquired into Houghton Mifflin Harcourt family, and aims to
re-launch the brand under their own name.
3. 3
Research Objectives:
CliffsNotes was faced with the following challenges:
• CliffsNotes has trouble appealing to the college market as a valuable resource.
• CliffsNotes must compete with free online resources that claim to offer the same
information but from a less credible source.
• CliffNotes wants to convince students that it is worth paying a little extra money for a
credible source that will help them excel in a challenging subject.
• CliffNotes wants to understand its target audience and how they can better reach them
through an effective guerilla marketing and advertising campaign.
• CliffsNotes would like suggestions on possible guerilla marketing campaigns and/or
college market advertising for potential execution on BU’s campus.
In order to find a solution to these challenges, this research plan was developed:
• Gain insight on the target audiences’ knowledge of CliffsNotes and its competitor
(SparkNotes).
• Gather feedback on why students use or do not use study resources such as CliffsNotes.
• Understand what the target audience expects to gain from CliffsNotes, and how much
they are willing to spend to use it.
• Determine the best method to reach the target audience through digital media,
especially social media.
• Research and develop guerilla marketing and college market advertising campaign
ideas for potential execution on BU’s campus.
4. 4
Research Methodology:
Qualitative Research:
• The Account Planner conducted one focus group on April 6th, 2013 with four
participants.
o Focus group participants were men and women ages 18-22, and current
college students.
• The Account Planner conducted two in-person interviews.
o Interview one was conducted with Ryan, age 20 on April 1st, 2013.
! Ryan is a Boston University student studying in the field of
communications.
o Interview two was conducted with Megan, age 21, on April 2nd, 2013.
! Megan is a Boston University student studying in the field of elementary
education.
Quantitative Research:
• The Account Planner conducted a survey via www.surveymonkey.com
o The survey was distributed via Facebook and email to high school and college
students ages 14-22.
o Survey received 94 completed responses.
• The survey was created to uncover key insights about target audiences knowledge of
CliffsNotes products and how the perceive CliffsNotes in relation to its competitors.
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Target Audience Description:
• The target audience for CliffsNotes includes the following demographics:
o Middle-class to upper middle class students
! High school (ages 14-18)
! College (ages 18-22)
o Both men and women
• The target audience for CliffsNotes includes the follow psychographics:
o Hardworking, intelligent individuals who strive to perform well
academically.
o Competitively driven by their peers.
o Enough disposable income to spend on supplemental study resources.
6. 6
Key Findings:
1. The variety and benefits of CliffsNotes’ study resources is not well known by consumers, and its
competitor (Spark Notes) is chosen more often.
• Of 94 students surveyed, 26% had never used CliffsNotes.
• Of 94 students surveyed, 90% had chosen Spark Notes over CliffsNotes.
o When asked why, respondents of both surveys and interviews replied with the
follow explanations:
! “Its Better”.
! “The website is easier to navigate.”
! “It comes up first on Google searches.”
! “It is more well known”.
! “It has more variety.”
! “Never heard of CliffsNotes”.
! “It was more detailed”.
! “It was more convenient”.
o Although some of these responses reflect negligent attitudes or mis-information
about the quality of CliffsNotes’ products, 3 of these insights are crucial to the
success of the CliffsNotes brand:
! “The website is easier to navigate.”
• When interviewed, Ryan discussed how important the online
interface is with this sort of product: “Because most of your users
are online, you have to make sure that your website is absolutely
impeccable. If we get to the page and can’t find what we’re
looking for within a few minutes, we’ll try somewhere else. Students
have a short attention span in the digital age.”
! “It comes up first on Google searches.”
• More often than not, a student will be led to your page through a
search engine. Search engine optimization (SEO) may be a
component to the success of CliffsNotes over its competitors.
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•
• “Never heard of CliffsNotes”
o This is certainly a cause of concern and should be an eye-opener of
CliffsNotes. Brand recognition and brand knowledge is key to the
success of CliffsNotes. Because there are so many other online
resources students can be accessing, the name “CliffsNotes” needs to
be the first thing that comes to mind when they think study resource,
book summary, etc.
2. Students use CliffsNotes’ online resources significantly more than its print resources.
• Of 94 students surveyed, more than 4x as many students reported using CliffsNotes’
online resources rather than its print resources.
• Easily accessible information on the Internet leads students to use CliffNotes’
online resources rather than print resources.
• CliffsNotes should focus their energies on their website, social media, and
mobile applications in order to reach the target audience.
• MRI+ media habits are summarized on the following page:
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*Internet usage information unavailable for teens
High School Student Magazine Usage (15-18) College/University Student Magazine Usage
High School TV Usage (15-18) College/University Student TV Usage
*Percentage discrepancies between high school and college represent a significantly smaller sample in the high school
survey.
Teen Vogue 24.1%
Seventeen 21.5%
MacWorld 20.6%
Psychology Today 20.6%
Allure 18.7%
Game Informer 18.6%
OK! 18.6%
Cosmopolitan 18.3%
Vogue 58.6%
Teen Vogue 51.2%
ESPN The Magazine 50.3%
Rolling Stone 49.7%
Cosmopolitan 49.0%
Guide 48.6%
Allure 46.9%
Entertainment Weekly 46.2%
Adult Swim 20.5%
Teen Nick 18.3%
MTV2 17.7%
Fuse 17.3%
VH1 16.4%
Fuse 50.3%
MTV Tr3s 47.9%
ESPN Classic 46.3%
ESPNU 45.4%
VH1 45.2%
*Data does not
include use on
mobile devices.
9. 9
• MRI+ data insights:
o College students are 92 times more likely to be heavy users of the Internet
than other adults.
o College students are 34 times more likely to be heavy users of magazines than
other adults.
o College students are 39 times less likely to be heavy users of television than
other adults.
3. The target audience is unaware of CliffNotes’ downloadable apps.
• When surveyed, 96.8% of students reported that they were unaware of CliffNotes’
downloadable apps for iPhone and iPad.
o The CliffsNotes study apps are advertised at the bottom of the home page of
CliffNotes.com.
o Because all of the information a student needs is organized at the top of the
CliffNotes.com page, it is unlikely that students will scroll down to see this
advertisement.
o For maximum impact, place advertisements near search bar.
• When surveyed, 78% of students said they would use CliffsNotes’ downloadable apps if
they were free, while 20% said they would not consider using them.
• According to MRI+, adults who used an “app” in the last 30 days, often frequently visit:
o Pandora.com
o CNET.com
o IMBd.com
o Moviefone.com
o Hulu.com
o eHow.com
o Groupon.com
o iTunes.com
o gmail.com
4. “No Fear Shakespeare” is the most commonly used SparkNotes resource.
• Users of SparkNotes’ “No Fear Shakespeare” are passionate about the product.
10. 10
o “Very helpful resource especially when struggling through a difficult book! I used it
all the time back in High School when we read Shakespeare because that was
something I had trouble understanding. The old fashion literature was too difficult
for me to comprehend. I haven't used it recently but that is just because I haven't
needed to. If I was struggling with a book today, I would use it in a heartbeat!”
(Female, college student, age 21-24).
• “No Fear Shakespeare” are the only print books respondents had ever bought.
o Megan, interview respondent, claims:
! “I remember using “No Fear Shakespeare” in high school. It was awesome
because it had the real literature on one side and the “modern English”
translation on the other. I don’t think I would have gotten through
Shakespeare without it.”
5. Price and accessibility are of key concern to the target audience.
• From the above information and research, I have found that the price of the resource, as
well as how easily accessible and organized the information is, is the main concern of
students.
6. An on-campus brand representative program would be the best way to reach the target
market.
• According to Youth Marketing Connection, LLC, brand-representative programs are on
the rise for marketers.
• Please see the “Recommendations” section for further explanation.
11. 11
Creative Brief:
I. What is the purpose of this communications effort?
o Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has just recently acquired CliffsNotes – a study resource
aimed at high school and college students. They want to rebrand CliffsNotes and
re-launch it under their name, including more insight into whom their advertising
should be reaching and what that audience wants to see from CliffsNotes.
II. Who are we talking to, and what is there mindset?
o We are talking to college and high school aged students who are smart, want to
do well, but are busy and crunched on time. These are tech-savvy individuals who
want their CliffsNotes in multiple forms – print, mobile, and online. These students are
of upper middle class and have the disposable income to spend on additional
study materials in order to get ahead of their peers.
III. What problem, need, or desire does this communication effort need to address?
o The company wants the target audience to realize that CliffsNotes is not outdated.
The old print booklet has been changing with the times and the trends, and should
be a resource all students want to use.
o Consumers should feel that CliffsNotes provides reliable and in-depth study
materials that will help boost their test scores and understanding of concepts.
IV. What is the single, essential point the audience is supposed to take away from the
communication?
o To tech savvy, smart, sophisticated students, CliffsNotes is the easy-to-use print,
digital, and mobile study resource created by real teachers and professors for use
in all subjects and tests.
V. What makes this believable?
o Students think that they can find better, cheaper resources online. However, the
resources they are using are not credible. CliffsNotes is the credible source at a fair
price that students can trust.
o The tangible benefits are higher grades and a better understanding of material.
Students will feel smarter in and out of the classroom.
VI. What is the desired personality of the brand?
o CliffsNotes is busy, but dedicated. They want the most important information up
front – and the least important can be saved for someone who has time for it. They
are smart and sophisticated, but they are not naiive. They will not spend 2 hours
doing something that can be done in 30 minutes. They want to exceed, but they
don’t want to waste time.
VII. What are the exceptional considerations?
o SparkNotes, the competitor, is the leader in study guides such as these. However,
SparkNotes is much more unfocused. They have more of a “social” website – which
is confusing and indirect.
o CliffsNotes is for serious students. It’s the original. It’s the best.
o Many students do not know the variety of resources Cliff Notes provides. College
students think of it as more for high school students who don’t want to read novels
for their English class.
o CliffsNotes has many college subjects as well as standardized test prep.
o Mobile apps (both free and paid) are mostly unknown.
12. 12
Limitations:
• Survey respondents were limited.
o Survey respondents were mostly of the Boston University Community and of
Garnet Valley High School in Glen Mills, PA. This limited base may be grounds for
skewed data, and survey data should only be taken as an example of the target
market, rather than a picture of the target market as a whole.
• Interviews were limited to Boston University students.
o Although the insights given by interviewees were both insightful and helpful, they
may not reflect the target market as a whole.
• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt originally asked for a guerilla marketing campaign ideas for
Boston University, including posters and flyers on campus.
o Boston University does not allow un-affiliated third parties to distribute posters and
flyers on campus grounds. The Account Planner developed alternative methods
to reach the desired target audience.
13. 13
Recommendations:
General Recommendations
• Compete directly with SparkNotes.
o Make content better, website more navigable, downloadable apps more
relevant, and price more competitive.
• Focus your energies on web and mobile.
o Print is out, and web is in. By making your website more navigable and your
mobile apps more well-known, you can meet the target market where they are.
o Use social media.
! 90% of your target market is on social media – a comprehensive social
media campaign is crucial to advertising this brand.
o Advertise mobile apps on website, social media, etc.
• Utilize search engine optimization.
o As stated, the competitor – SparkNotes – currently holds the first spot in Google
searches. A comprehensive SEO strategy will help to optimize your online
resources and lead more people to your website.
On-Campus Marketing Recommendations
MBTA Bus Shelters
• Contact: Brian Molk – Cemusa Inc.
! bmolk@cemusainc.com
! 617-596-9267
o “Lean ons” have 4 panels each – there are 4 near BU east = so 16 panels in total
to choose from.
o National corporation rates are about $1620 per panel for a 4-week period.
o Generally charge $800 – $1,000 for local clients.
o The more you buy, the less each panel will cost. They often make a buy 2 get the
3rd free deal.
• Challenges: Expensive
• Benefits: Easy, reaches large market
Peer-to-Peer On Campus Program
• Execute an on-campus program using student campus reps to raise awareness about
Cliff Notes and the ways it can be used.
o Campus hunts
14. 14
o Promotional online contests
o On-campus events
o Promotional items
• Benefits:
o A semester long program will have better impact on students
o Create buzz throughout the semester
o Students are more likely to listen to their peers.
o Get the product in the hands of the consumer
o Program can be customized to your needs
o Duration, Number of schools, number of reps, etc.
• Challenges:
o Expensive.
o Takes time to manage from client’s end.
Can be handled in house or by outside agency – Youth Marketing Connection
www.youthmarketingconnection.com
On-Campus Guerilla Marketing Event
o One time event executed by Houghton Mifflin Staff on campus. Ideas include:
• “Back to school” event with promo items, contests, etc.
o Challenges:
! Lots of “red tape” to get the OK from Boston University.
o Benefits:
! Large reach.
! Could create genuine buzz.
! Easily executed.
! “One and done”.
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Summary:
The biggest challenge CliffsNotes faces is convincing students that CliffsNotes
resources are not passé, and that it should be their first destination for help in
literature, math, foreign language, science, writing, and test prep. Many students
are unaware of the numerous resources the CliffsNotes provides, especially
Generation Y friendly ones – like free online resources and affordable downloadable
mobile applications. The content of CliffsNotes resources is already impeccable –
their challenge is therefore reaching out and convincing their target market of what
they already know.
In order to convince the target market, CliffsNotes needs to utilize social
media, search engine optimization, and a comprehensive peer-to-peer or guerilla
marketing campaign. Although these will certainly catapult CliffsNotes into the
study-resource space, it is important to note that its main competitor, SparkNotes, is
also on the target market’s horizon, as well as other lesser-known online resources
Competing directly with Sparknotes and these other online resources is crucial to the
success of the CliffsNotes brand.
