Marketing Management Report Business 1220E
KORRA DANCEWEAR
Student name: Jue OuYang
Student ID: 250826923
Date: 21 / 11 / 2014
Instructor: Danny Morrison
Section number: KUC 572
Executive summary:
The report is written for helping company Korra dancewear get into the market and raise its sales volume.
It includes the recommendations on how to improve its position in the market. The company is strongly recommended to keep the quality with a lower price than its competitors to get a market share from the market targeting competitive dancers; meanwhile, the company would develop two special product lines for children and senior female dancers with a special design. Using the mixed selling and promoting methods through the internet and real world events and stores is another recommendation for increasing the volume of sales and recognition. In addition, multi-financed financial structure is also helpful to keep the stability of the firm and to increase the potentials of successfully expanding its market share.
Moreover, the competitiveness of the company would be built up by its concentration on details. Not only because the company would set its product line for three different customer groups, but also because the new favor the company would add to the industry, such as the personal customized color choices offering on its webpage. In the meantime, its segmentation and the choices made to find the niche market are based on the thorough analysis on tracing customer shopping habits and foreseeing the potential trend in the future. In the perspective of its management, the company would continuously improve its performance as the team gets better. That being said, it is firmly convincing that the company would be considerably competitive in the future.
All in all, the company would get into the market and make the profit when it fully applies the suggestions on its marketing operations.
Introduction:
The major marketing challenge for this company is how to get a position in this dance wear market as a start-up company without a high recognition in the industry; on the other hand, this marketing report is written to analyze the situation the company is in and to give the applicable suggestions to the owner of the company, in order to achieve the owner’s goal on monthly revenue from making a better decision on the expansion. In summary, the report consists of internal & external analysis, the market target and its 4 Ps analysis, the analysis on its financial feasibility, and the executive summary.
Internal analysis:
Operation:
The company was solely operated by the owner of the company. On the one hand, it saved as much as possible on cost for the company; on the other hand, the company was not run efficiently. In the perspective of the volume of the business, the company was a start-up company with a $1,500 sales for 3-year period from 2010 to 2013. Should it continue being operated in this way, the company would be in a tro ...
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Marketing Management Report Business 1220EKORRA DANCEWEA.docx
1. Marketing Management Report Business 1220E
KORRA DANCEWEAR
Student name: Jue OuYang
Student ID: 250826923
Date: 21 / 11 / 2014
Instructor: Danny Morrison
Section number: KUC 572
Executive summary:
The report is written for helping company Korra dancewear get
into the market and raise its sales volume.
It includes the recommendations on how to improve its position
in the market. The company is strongly recommended to keep
2. the quality with a lower price than its competitors to get a
market share from the market targeting competitive dancers;
meanwhile, the company would develop two special product
lines for children and senior female dancers with a special
design. Using the mixed selling and promoting methods through
the internet and real world events and stores is another
recommendation for increasing the volume of sales and
recognition. In addition, multi-financed financial structure is
also helpful to keep the stability of the firm and to increase the
potentials of successfully expanding its market share.
Moreover, the competitiveness of the company would be built
up by its concentration on details. Not only because the
company would set its product line for three different customer
groups, but also because the new favor the company would add
to the industry, such as the personal customized color choices
offering on its webpage. In the meantime, its segmentation and
the choices made to find the niche market are based on the
thorough analysis on tracing customer shopping habits and
foreseeing the potential trend in the future. In the perspective of
its management, the company would continuously improve its
performance as the team gets better. That being said, it is firmly
convincing that the company would be considerably competitive
in the future.
All in all, the company would get into the market and make the
profit when it fully applies the suggestions on its marketing
operations.
Introduction:
The major marketing challenge for this company is how to get a
position in this dance wear market as a start-up company
without a high recognition in the industry; on the other hand,
this marketing report is written to analyze the situation the
company is in and to give the applicable suggestions to the
owner of the company, in order to achieve the owner’s goal on
monthly revenue from making a better decision on the
3. expansion. In summary, the report consists of internal &
external analysis, the market target and its 4 Ps analysis, the
analysis on its financial feasibility, and the executive summary.
Internal analysis:
Operation:
The company was solely operated by the owner of the company.
On the one hand, it saved as much as possible on cost for the
company; on the other hand, the company was not run
efficiently. In the perspective of the volume of the business, the
company was a start-up company with a $1,500 sales for 3-year
period from 2010 to 2013. Should it continue being operated in
this way, the company would be in a trouble to expand its sales
in the highly competitive market. On top of that, in order to get
a piece of cake, the company itself should boost its efficiency
on operation at first. It could get an operating group (this will
be explained in the HR part) to full charge the engine of the
company.
Finance:
The company was mainly relying on its owner, which was a
concern for its stability. To facilitate the performance, a multi-
funded financial structure is favored. Specifically, a multi-
funded structure means the company would be financed by
several shareholders, which is a good way to enlarge the size of
the business to compete with its competitors on market. In
details, the enlargement in finance will be the support for the
extension on products line, distribution method choices, and
better promotional options.
Marketing:
Due to the low-scale sales, inconsistent management, the sole-
online marketing strategy was not functional as expected. To
tackle with the marketing challenge, the company has to make
change on its original online selling method and make a step
forward to relocate its segmentation in this market. Generally
speaking, the company needs to divide its target market more
specifically by the standard of profession and age. Competitive
dancer and baby boomer groups (Exhibit 3&5) are the ideal
4. target market for the company as they are still “virgin land” in
the market.
Human resources:
The situation the company was in (not enough employees to
operate) was the main reason the company was not able to
maximize its revenue through last three years. In order to
change the situation, as stated in the operation section, the
company could have a group of 4 members to improve its
efficiency (One person for finance and marketing, and two for
operation) to generate its revenues.
P.E.S.T analysis:
The business environment for the company is on a good trend.
In perspective of the political, the interest rate taken by the
Bank of Canada’s Governing Council was kept at a low rate
(1%) through the year 2013 (Exhibit 4), and the trend would
likely continue in 2014; in other words, it is a good symbol the
government is stimulating the economy, which will promote
people to make more purchases since they get comparatively
more deposable income. Speaking of the economy, the economic
recover from the 2008 crisis across the whole province is
increasing the expenses on recreations, which means people are
spending more income on their hobbies. Socially, the public
awareness of a healthy lifestyle is increased (Exhibit 5), and it
is leading to a higher level of purchasing in this area. All in all,
the business environment is ready as a cornerstone for the
business to get into the market and get its market share.
Competitive analysis:
There are three major competitors in the owner’s inspection
(Alinsliewear, Mondor, and Blotch), which are much better
organized and developed through years. They have huge
advantages in the reputation and selling network; however,
these three companies have different drawbacks, which are not
produced in ON for the first and last ones, and high prices for
Mondor. That being said, the point of breaking into the market
would be building local business to establish an“Ontario
exclusive brand” in GTA area to get a market share (given
5. approximately 220,000 women dancers).
Consumer analysis:
Consumer were divided into three groups originally, which are
competitive dancers, children, and recreational dancers. To
stand out from its competitors in the market, the company has to
do things more differently. Not only do competitive consumers
are massively influenced by “words of mouth”, but they should
also be influenced by the price. It is the reason why there will
be a lower price for this group, which will be explained in the
price section. Children dancer and senior dancer apparels would
be specially designed in order to attract them. In addition, it is
necessary to point out those three customer groups actually are
the biggest existing and potential markets (Competitive, and
children & baby boomers respectively) for both financially and
populationwise (Exhibit 3).
Target Market:
The company needs to target at the female competitive group,
youth girl dancers, and female senior dancers in GTA area;
because the company is most familiar with the competitive
group, and the other two are newest markets which haven’t been
totally occupied.
Products:
There should be some changes on the products design. As stated
in the case, the product sold best on the product line is the Kai
bodysuit. For the competitive dancers market, it is the tip on the
“sharpest spear”. Should the company keep producing this
product, the company would shorten its product line and show a
concentration to the potential customers that we are
professional producer for bodysuits; on the other hand, the
company would gain the reputation it is pursuing by the Kai
bodysuit standing out for its high quality design. For the
children girl dancers, the product should be only a specific
model with a plenty of choices in color to attract more attention
from younger customers. For another, in consideration of the
body shape of senior dancers, the design for them should be a
bit looser. In addition, customized options should be provided
6. through online sale, which could even lead a marketing
revolution in dancewear industry. Above suggestion should be
effective to get attention from this customer group and then get
into the market.
Placement:
Online sale method should be combined with the retail stores in
GTA (Second Skin and Mirena's) at least in the first two years.
First of all, gaining the attention from the GTA is the first
priority for the company; relatively, retail stores become a great
way to show how good the quality of the products are to
customers; on the other hand, online sales, as known as the B2C
business, is the “amplifier” for this company to expand its
influence. Specifically, the suggested portion of these two
would be 40% and 60% respectively for retail stores and online
method because the company only has a limited fund in the near
future. All in all, the combined method has a bright future for
the company to get into the market because it provides the
company a doubled volume exposure to the potential customers.
Price:
There should be three different prices because products are
aiming at different customer groups. Firstly, for the competitive
dancers, a lower cost with a still competitive quality, even
though this group was not shown as a price-sensitive one;
therefore, the price should be kept around 5% to 10% lower than
that of competitors. Secondly, 5% to 10% higher in the price of
dancewear for children dancers will be a reasonable price to
make up the loss in WAUC for female adult competitive
dancers; because prices for children apparels are normally lower
than the adult ones, the increase in children apparels would not
influence the sales volume very much. Thirdly, prices for senior
dancer apparels would be higher compared to competitors for
two reasons. For one thing, this group of customers has more
deposable money to spend on recreations; for another, well-fit
design shows a good care on this customer group. Above are all
based on the income statistics (Exhibit 3), and it is the reason
for making different prices for the three groups. Moreover, it is
7. more important to point out the pricing strategy will only be
applied in the next two years. Lower prices are just the weapons
to break into the market; after building up the reputation, prices
should be divided into two categories, high-end & entry-level.
Promotion:
In order to penetrate into the niche market, promotions should
be a strong tool to help. Given three methods in case, which are
Facebook, Google online advertisements, and the LAC events. It
is obvious that these three promotion channels are valid ways to
increase the reputation level; however, the cost is still a
concern. Having considered that, a combined method should be
favored. 174 units is the sum of using all methods (Exhibit 2) at
the same time, which would not probably be the most efficient
way of doing this. Instead, the combination of Google
AdWords, website, and LAC events would be preferred.
Because it covers the situations in the real world and the online
space, and it does not cause an overlap (Google search engine
and Facebook ads.), because the company can put the Facebook
group page link on its webpage. More specifically, considering
the age variation among the target consumer groups, LAC
events can make it more adequate for senior potential
consumers, and online advertising can make it more popular
among younger consumers.
Conclusion:
Setting different prices for different consumer groups, special
designs and shortened product line, selling through both retail
and online channels, setting an advertising network through the
Google and redirected links on company webpage would work
together to reduce and keep the cost on one hand; on the other
hand, it would boost the sale scale to a higher level. Therefore,
the marketing strategy would help the company solve the
marketing challenge and achieve its goal.
Exhibit 1:
8. WUAC = $40*5% +$45*70% + $42*5% +
$15*5%+$12*5%+$32*5%+$37*5% =$40.55
Exhibit 2:
Website
Fixed Cost=$30[footnoteRef:1]*12=$360
Breakeven=360/40.55 = 9 units
[1: Refer to Case, the Website costs $30 per month
]
Face book Ads (annually)
Facebook ads
Cost per thousand time
Cost of a year
Per thousand time
$3
365 * $3 =$1,095
Fixed Cost =$1,500+$1,095= $2,595
Breakeven =$2,595/40.55=64 units
Google AdWords (Monthly)
Cost per hit
cost per day
Cost per year
$1.00
$10
$3,650
Fixed Cost=$300 Breakeven =$3,650/$40.55=91 units
Living Arts Centre
Apparels sold
Price
LAC Commission
Dance Studio
Event one
20
$60[footnoteRef:2] [2: It’s the roughly estimated selling price
9. of competitive dancer apparels]
15%
10%
Event two
20
$60
$100
0
Fixed Cost= (20*601*(15%+10%)) +100=$400
Breakeven =$400/$40.55=10 units (Canada)
Exhibit 3:
Average total income of women and men, by age group, 2008
People aged
Women
Men
dollars
Total age 16 and over
30,100
47,000
16 to 19
7,100
7,800
20 to 24
15,100
21,100
25 to 34
32,500
43,200
35 to 44
36,300
59,900
45 to 54
40,900
10. 63,700
55 to 64
29,400
53,400
65 and over
24,800
38,100
Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM table 202-0407.
This table indirectly shows the deposable income different age
groups can spend on hobbies, which, in other words, shows
competitive, children, and senior dancers are the most likely
right customer groups.
Exhibit 4:
In the perspective of economics, low rate will stimulate the
development of the economy.
Exhibit 5
Paddy & Nico (Competitors in Britain’s Got Talent) they
showed the increasing demand on fashion dancewear for female
baby boomer dancers (senior dancers).
2
列1Carmen BodysuitKai BodysuitKelly BodysuitKorra
shortsKorra sports braRobyn bodysuitTessa bodysuit
12. - The 4 Ps Plan: Product, Price,
Placement, Promotion
plan)
Internal Analysis - Marketing
Challenge
marketing challenge
als
do the owners want to achieve? Be sure to focus on
the main concerns
External Analysis - Consumer
Analysis & Implications
13. purchase motivators
behaviour of the different consumer groups
Who should the target market be?
External Analysis - Competitive
Analysis & Implications
they do well? What do they do poorly?
competitive advantage?
Internal Analysis - Corporate
14. Capabilities & Implications
areas of the business:
How will this impact your marketing mix decisions?
2
External Analysis - Industry Analysis
& Implications
the specific industry?
lysis: political, economic, social and
technological issues
15. decisions?
Marketing Decisions - Choosing a
Target Market
must choose a primary target market!
the competition that is aligned with your company’s
strengths?
meeting the needs and wants of this group -
therefore, defining this group is the first step
– do not be afraid to go beyond the information given
in the case
Marketing Mix - The 4Ps: Product
company is selling (and the package of
benefits…what are the customers REALLY buying)
positioned relative to the competition
customers?
16. f this product/service
choice. Why will it meet the needs and wants of the
target market?
Marketing Mix - The 4Ps: Placement
to the end consumer (distribution channels)
ho is the target consumer?
option(s)?
resources?
choice? Why does your choice FIT with the
target market?
Marketing Mix - The 4Ps: Price
consumer
-up demands of any of the players
in the
trade chain
17. tegy should FIT with what the customer is
willing to
pay, what the competition is charging and it should make sense
given
the cost structure of the company
determine
if you can make money given your price
perception of
the company
Marketing Mix - The 4Ps: Promotion
e sure to outline advertising and/or promotional
choices in great detail
18. MUST focus on the target market
3
Communications Strategy
be used to convey the message? Where
should the message be placed in each medium?
(Exhibits are useful here)
Marketing Decisions - Marketing
Math
your marketing plan
19. formulas:
project a SoE)
o not just give a numerical answer – explain the
meaning of the numbers and discuss the feasibility of
your plan
Marketing Math Report Tips
nd selling price the
consumers will have to pay when a distribution
chain has price impacts (and will they??)
analysis/decision making to determine if the plan
you’ve decided is the best way to go is feasible
20. breakeven/make a profit??
Breakeven Review
- $VC
price points, you can do several things…
1) Weighted averages for both SP and VC where
weighted avg is:
($item 1 X proportion of sales) +
($ item 2 X proportion of sales) + etc….
HOW TO WRITE A
MARKETING REPORT
Case Facts vs. Implications
pages!
f marks come from your
implications. Use your analysis to draw out
21. strong implications in order to create a
convincing marketing plan!
4
Contents of the Report
ry
The Executive Summary
ef of your report
-alone document
22. report,
what would it include?”
expanded upon in
the report proper
nformation should be included in the
Executive Summary
The Executive Summary
om your analysis
that supports/explains your recommendations
The Report Proper
constraints/considerations
23. is the FOCUS of your report)
relevant
analysis & implications for your recommendations to support
these decisions
-
arrange
case facts
– the 4Ps – in
DETAIL
MAKES
SENSE, AND THAT IT WILL WORK (AND WHY)
ize your decisions, demonstrate the financial
feasibility
of those decisions, and link the decisions back to the marketing
challenge(s) – be sure you’ve addressed the client’s main
issues.
The Report Proper
g report
24. is to present your 5 decisions (TM, 4Ps) and then
use the body of the report to fully explain and
support those decisions
SUPPORTED by your analysis (implications are
KEY) and must FIT with your chosen target
market
Exhibits
- not add to it
radio/tv commercial, etc.
–
this is “background work” – we care only about your
implications
from that analysis
fer to the exhibits in your report
25. 5
Writing Style
mark; this is
a professional report!
Poor grammar/spelling will negatively affect your mark
because it
makes it harder to understand your ideas
read, proofread, proofread!
and then
worry about grammar
mistake
26. Evaluation of the Marketing Report
(consumer, competitive, industry, corporate capabilities) to
support your decisions
marketing challenge identified
FIT between each element of the marketing mix and the FIT
with
your target market)
Evaluation of the Marketing Report
27. – 25-35%
from corporate capabilities, competitive analysis, consumer
analysis, and PEST
– 45%-55%
their FIT together.
– 15-20%
professionalism of the report
For More Report Writing Tips
– www.lib.uwo.ca
ness Writing
Marcia Layton
Turner
Management
29. tools you have learned in the marketing
unit
http://www.lib.uwo.ca/
http://www.lib.uwo.ca/business/writingforbusiness.html
Brescia Turnitin Instructions
1) You MUST save your work in ONE single file. Please ensure
your cover page is FIRST,
followed by your Executive Summary, followed by your report
"proper" and ending with your
exhibits and reference list.
Word (.doc, .docx), PostScript (.ps), PDF (.pdf),
HTML (.html), rich or plain text (.rtf, .txt).
2) Find the TURNITIN AREA button on the main left hand
menu area of our Bus 1220E OWL
site.
2) When you go to submit your work, add your file as an
attachment, the same way you would with
30. e-mail.
3) If you make any errors, you are able to resubmit your work.
4) You will be able to see the same report I do. Ensure you
submit WORK OF YOUR OWN, or
plagiarism processes and penalties may result.
KEEP A COPY OF YOUR SUBMISSION
RECEIPT!!!!!
IF anything “wonky” happens,
e-mail me your report as an attachment (MS WORD only).
[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]
WESTERN UNIVERSITY CANADA
IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL
BUSINESS 1220E
2015/16
31. MARKETING MANAGEMENT REPORT
ASSIGNED: Monday, November 16, 2015
DUE: Wednesday, December 9, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM: FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE
Assignment:
As a marketing consultant to Carrie Martin, do whatever
analysis you deem
necessary and develop a comprehensive marketing plan.
RULES FOR THE INDIVIDUAL MARKETING REPORT
32. 2015/16
1. All reports, including text and exhibits, must be completed
individually.
2. Maximum report length: 8 pages, plus a maximum of 3 pages
of exhibits. All pages in the report should be
formatted with one-inch margins on all sides, double-spaced,
Times New Roman, 12 pt font. The report
should be written in concise and complete sentences, and may
include bullets and headings.
• Page Penalty: Ten (10) marks (out of 100) per page will be
deducted from the final report grade for any
pages exceeding the stated page limit. If the report is not
formatted according to the guidelines, instructors
may choose to reformat the report and/or apply the appropriate
deduction.
3. Reports should include a one-page executive summary, which
will not be included in the stated page limit.
This summary should also be formatted with one-inch margins
on all sides, Times New Roman, 12 pt font.
The executive summary may be single-spaced. This summary
should appear at the beginning of the report
and should include a complete statement of the major issue(s) in
the case and a summary of major
recommendations from the report.
4. All reports must be typewritten. Lecturers reserve the right to
request an electronic copy of the report. The
33. preferred software for all soft copies requested is MS Word.
The student name, student number, instructor
name and section number must be clearly indicated on the front
of the report. The title page will not be
included in the stated page limit.
5. BRESCIA AND KING’S STUDENTS:
Students at Brescia University College and King’s University
College: CONSULT YOUR
INSTRUCTOR FOR REQUIRED SUBMISSION TIMES,
LOCATION AND APPLICABLE
PENALTIES.
STUDENTS AT MAIN CAMPUS (SOMERVILLE) AND
HURON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE:
The hard copy of the report must be deposited in the “Report
Box” inside Room 2315, Somerville House by
4:00 p.m. EST, Wednesday, December 9. Any hard copy
received after 4:00 p.m. EST will be penalized.
Five per cent will be deducted from the final report mark for
any hard copy received between 4:01 p.m. and
5:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 9. An additional 10 per cent
of the final report mark will be deducted for
any hard copy received after 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 9
and before 4:00 p.m., Thursday, December
10, 2015. Another ten marks will be deducted for each
additional 24-hour period. All reports must be
received and recorded by a lecturer or staff member to verify
submission times. Contact your lecturer if no
one is in the office to accept your report.
6. Turnitin.com –Each student must submit one electronic copy
34. of the report to turnitin.com by 11:59 p.m.,
Wednesday, December 9, 2015. Any reports submitted after this
time will be penalized. Please see
submission instructions on OWL.
Both the hard copy and the turnitin.com copy must be
submitted to receive a mark for the Marketing
report.
7. Plagiarism is the submission of work that is in whole or in
part someone else’s work, which you claim as
your own. Students must write their marketing reports in their
own words and use their own exhibits.
Whenever students take an idea or a passage from another
author, they must acknowledge their debt both by
using quotation marks where appropriate and by using proper
references such as footnotes or citations.
Plagiarism is a major academic offence (see Scholastic Offence
Policy in the Western Academic Calendar).
Refer to the Business 1220E Course Outline for a definition of
plagiarism and the course plagiarism policy.
Students may not pay for consultation or advice in the
preparation of the Marketing report.
8. This case contains all the information that the principals are
willing or able to disclose. For the purposes
of this report, DO NOT CONTACT ANY PERSONS RELATED
TO THE CASE OR INVOLVED WITH
THE COMPANY FOR ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
THIS WILL BE CONSIDERED AN
36. It was December 2014, and Carrie Martin had to make some
important decisions for fiscal 2015. As the
assistant vice-president of programs, events and commercial
services at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Martin was responsible for the
strategic direction of Friday Night Live, an
after-hours weekly social event that showcased the museum in a
unique and unconventional way.
As Martin gazed over the crystal-shaped exterior of the world-
renowned museum, she wondered whether
the event’s popularity could be sustained amid the mounting
competition from other venues in Toronto.
Which target market should the event focus on? What revisions
to the pricing, promotion and product
offering were necessary? Martin needed to maximize revenues
and profits as well as attract at least 3,500
visitors1 to Friday Night Live’s grand opening on October 9,
2015.
THE GREATER TORONTO AREA
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA)2 was Canada’s largest city,
with a population of over six million people
across an area of 1,749 square kilometres. The GTA was an
international and cosmopolitan city, with over
49 per cent of its population born outside Canada.3
Neighbourhoods in the city included Chinatown,
Greektown, Little Italy, Portugal Village and Little India among
others. See Exhibit 1 for a breakdown of
metropolitan Toronto’s population. Metropolitan Toronto
(Toronto) was also known as a global centre for
arts and culture, playing host to notable events such as the
37. Toronto International Film Festival, Caribana,
Pride Week and Nuit Blanche. Due to a provincial budget
deficit in excess of $10.5 billion, at the end of
2014, the Ontario government was expected to announce a
permanent 2 per cent cut in operating grants to
art and cultural institutions.4
1 Martin estimated that the museum had a standing capacity of
5,000 people.
2 The GTA was created in 1998 when East York, Etobicoke,
North York, Scarborough, York and other surrounding regions
were amalgamated with Metropolitan Toronto into a single
municipality.
3
http://web.archive.org/web/20070311043934/http://www.cic.gc.
ca/english/policy/fed-prov/can-ont-toronto-mou.html,
accessed January 2015.
4 http://arts.nationalpost.com/2012/03/28/we-knew-we-werent-
immune-to-cuts-luminato-ceo/, accessed January 2015.
F
o
r
u
se
o
n
ly
in
t
h
42. used mass-transit system in North America, behind New York
City and Mexico City.5 The TTC’s coverage
encompassed Toronto, comprising 149 bus routes, four rapid
transit lines and 11 streetcar routes.6 Other
parts of the GTA were either inaccessible through the TTC or
required an extra fare. Since 2010, the adult
cash fare for a single trip on the TTC was $3. Since 1990, fares
had increased at an annualized rate of 4.5
per cent.
THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM
Established in 1914, the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) was one
of the largest museums in North
America, attracting up to one million visitors every year. The
ROM held over six million objects in its
collection, showcasing art, archaeology and the natural
sciences. Notably, the museum was known for its
diverse galleries featuring dinosaurs, minerals and meteorites,
Near-Eastern and African art, art of East
Asia, European history and Canadian history.
The ROM’s official mission statement was “To be a world
leader in communicating our research and
collections to increase understanding of the interdependent
domains of cultural and natural diversity, their
relationships, significance and preservation.” The museum
attracted thousands of school group visits
annually, and it offered courses, lectures and special events to
students ranging from kindergarten to
secondary school.
As a public foundation,7 the ROM was exempt from income
taxes. In the previous fiscal year, museum
revenue comprised 51 per cent from government grants, 17 per
43. cent from ancillary operations and 15 per
cent from admissions fees (see Exhibit 2). In 2007, the museum
spent $270 million on expansion,
including the construction of a new exterior, the renovation of
15 galleries and the restoration of historic
architecture. While the majority of this funding came from the
private sector, the Government of Ontario
and the Government of Canada also contributed $42 million and
$30 million, respectively. The ROM’s
debt from the expansion project stood at $33 million. Post-
expansion, the museum’s annual attendance
increased from approximately 750,000 visitors pre-expansion to
a high of 1.1 million visitors in fiscal
20118 (see Exhibit 3).
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE
Friday Night Live (FNL) was an adults- (19 years of age and
over) only social gathering held between 7
p.m. and midnight (12 a.m.), beyond the ROM’s regular
operating hours. The event was conceptualized
and managed by Martin. There were two goals for the event: (1)
to increase exposure among the 19- to 34-
year-old demographic, who had traditionally made up only a
small portion of the museum’s visitors; and
(2) to generate revenue for the museum. Beyond the entrance
fee,9 the major source of revenue for FNL
derived from the sale of “ROM Bucks” – $6 vouchers that could
be purchased and exchanged for food and
drinks (see Exhibit 4).
5
www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2013/01/11/ttc_carried_record
_514_million_rides_last_year.html, accessed January 2015
44. 6 Metropolitan Toronto referred to the central city of Toronto
prior to creation of the GTA.
7 A public foundation is a legal categorization of non-profit
organizations that will typically provide funding for its own
charitable purposes.
8 www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/art-and-architecture/life-after-
the-controversial-crystal-so-whats-the-roms-next-
move/article10177986/, accessed January 2015.
9 Tickets were $12 for adults and $10 for students while patrons
with a ROM membership had unlimited free access.
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With the museum’s various galleries and exhibits as backdrops,
the events included food, drinks, a disc
jockey (DJ), live music and dancing. Each week typically
featured a different nightly theme, such as
“Fashion Global,” “Get Wild” and “Dinos, Dodos and Disco,”
allowing the museum to showcase its
various collections and research. While the dance area centred
around a main stage on the ground floor, the
event was organized throughout the building. Different
activities within the various galleries gave patrons
an opportunity to interact with exhibits, including several
designated “hot-spots” throughout the building
49. that featured live performances at different times during the
evening.
The ROM first tested the FNL concept in 2012, and the event
had since evolved to include an autumn
season and a spring season.10 The pilot season of FNL yielded
21,500 visitors, ranging from 19 to 55 years
in age (see Exhibit 5). The second season yielded in excess of
25,000 visitors.
THE COMPETITION
Martin identified the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ripley’s Aquarium
of Canada and the Ontario Science Centre
as FNL’s direct competition, and she identified the Toronto
Entertainment District as FNL’s indirect
competition.
Art Gallery of Ontario
The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) was one of North America’s
largest art museums and showcased over
80,000 works from Canadian, European and contemporary art
collections. Starting in October 2012, the
AGO celebrated the first Thursday of every month with a late-
night art event that featured a specific artist
and exhibition; anyone over 19 years of age could attend. In
addition to touring the gallery, visitors were
encouraged to enjoy art-making classes and live music, and they
could also purchase food and drinks.
General admission prices were $13 for AGO members and $15
for non-members, although tickets were
discounted if purchased in advance. Entry to the featured
exhibit cost an additional $10 for non-members,
50. but was free for AGO members. “First Thursdays” quickly
became popular, and the event sold out on a
regular basis.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
Located in downtown Toronto, Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada
(Ripley’s) was one of Toronto’s newest
tourist attractions. With over 16,000 marine animals, the
aquarium offered an interactive and unique
experience for visitors. In November 2014, Ripley’s introduced
“Friday Night Jazz,” an event where
visitors enjoyed live jazz music and refreshments while
wandering through the aquarium. By creating a
relaxing atmosphere where visitors could unwind, Ripley’s
marketed this event to Toronto’s working
population. Held on the second Friday of every month, Friday
Night Jazz ran from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and
enjoyed strong attendance through its first few months of
operations. Entry cost for Friday Night Jazz was
$25 for adults and $15 for youth (aged 6 to 13) and seniors.
10 Friday Night Live was set to span nine consecutive Fridays
in both spring and fall of 2015.
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The Ontario Science Centre
The Ontario Science Centre (Science Centre), one of the GTA’s
iconic attractions, provided visitors with
an educational and enriching experience through science and
technology. Although it was not located in
Toronto’s downtown core, the Science Centre’s wide variety of
exhibitions attracted over one million
visitors annually, of which 63 per cent came from the GTA. The
educational aspect of the Science Centre
attracted over 210,000 Ontario school students annually.
Admission to the Science Centre was $22 for
adults and $16 for youth (aged 13 to 17) and seniors. Now, and
for many years previously, the Science
Centre hosted a free Friday night event that targeted teenagers
(13 to 18). The Science Centre offered “Sci
Fri” events on select Fridays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and featured
a Battle of the Sexes game show, a live DJ
and refreshments.
The Toronto Entertainment District
The Toronto Entertainment District encompassed a significant
part of Toronto’s downtown core, making
it easily accessible to visitors. The area included many of
Toronto’s most popular attractions, such as the
CN Tower, Rogers Centre, Air Canada Centre, Roy Thomson
56. Hall, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the
Toronto International Film Festival and Steam Whistle Brewery.
Notably, the district was also home to
the majority of the city’s nightclubs.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE 2015 FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE
GRAND OPENING
Target Markets
While one of the original motivations for launching Friday
Night Live (FNL) was to broaden the
museum’s exposure to more 19 to 34 year olds, Martin
wondered whether FNL was accomplishing the
broader goals of furthering the museum’s mission statement and
decreasing its reliance on government
funding. For the grand opening, Martin considered the benefits
and drawbacks of targeting the following
markets: tourists, young working professionals, students and
older adults.
Tourists
The GTA was Canada’s leading tourist destination, welcoming
over 25 million visitors annually. While
only 38.7 per cent of visitors chose to stay overnight, this group
accounted for 77 per cent of tourism
spending in the city. Of these overnight visitors, 6.38 million
came from within Canada, 2.15 million came
from the United States, and 1.33 million came from overseas.11
With a desire to explore new locations,
these tourists typically pursued adventurous experiences and
were willing to spend money to do so. Martin
estimated that the average tourist attending an FNL event would
57. purchase two ROM Buck vouchers for
food and drinks. Martin wondered whether tourist revenues
were enough to sustain FNL in the long term.
11www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=580b6fe
8341da310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD&vgnextchannel=
401132d0b6d1e310VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD, accessed
January 2015.
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Young Working Professionals
Young working professionals (between 24 and 35 years in age)
currently represented FNL’s largest
customer group. With growth plans focused on residential and
office development in the downtown and
central waterfront areas, Toronto attracted a large working-age
population. In addition to being the
province’s capital city, Toronto was commonly referred to as
62. the country’s finance and business capital,
employing over 245,000 people in the financial services sector.
These business professionals often worked
anywhere from 50 to 100 hours a week and considered Friday
nights an opportunity to socialize with their
co-workers or friends. Early in their careers, these professionals
typically had few personal obligations
(e.g., family, mortgage payments, etc.) and considerable
disposable income. Martin estimated that the
average young working professional attending an FNL event
would purchase three ROM Buck vouchers
per visit. Would this demographic continue to prove loyal
through the third year of operations? Was it a
promising growth segment?
Students
The student market was identified as students between the ages
of 19 and 24 who were enrolled in either
college or university. The GTA was home to a number of post-
secondary institutions, including five
accredited universities and four publicly funded Ontario
colleges. Collectively, the GTA post-secondary
institutions enrolled 187,000 students.12 Due to recent shifts in
demographics, compared to, 2.9 per cent
fewer university students and 3.5 per cent fewer college
students were expected to enrol in post-secondary
education in 2015. Students typically sought excitement for
their Friday nights and were the most frequent
demographic to attend the Toronto Entertainment District and
clubbing districts. They were also the most
price-sensitive consumers; hence, Martin estimated that students
would purchase one ROM Buck voucher
per visit. Were students a promising target group? Would FNL
qualify as a viable “night out”?
63. Older Adults
Another target group to consider was older adults whom Martin
identified as between the ages of 35 and
64. Typically raising a family or nearing retirement, this
demographic had established careers. They were
less likely to plan their Friday nights, but they spent more
money per outing. They typically viewed
planned nights out as opportunities to enjoy a relaxing or
cultural activity. While this group was not
originally considered a major target consumer for FNL, Martin
was surprised to learn that 15 per cent of
FNL’s patrons last year came from this demographic and that
this figure was projected to grow. She
estimated an average purchase of four ROM Buck vouchers per
event. Was this consumer group a more
appropriate target for FNL events?
Event Themes
Martin had three nightly themes in mind for this year’s FNL’s
grand-opening night, and she wondered
which theme would best coincide with her choice of target
market.
12 www.cou.on.ca/applications-enrolment, accessed January
2015.
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Africa Alive
For the Africa Alive theme, the evening would focus on
celebrating African arts and culture. The gallery’s
main stage would feature DJ Magic Flowz, a Nigerian-born
artist specializing in hip-hop, afro-beat13and
reggae music, as well as a drum ensemble led by performers
from the Ivory Coast. The third floor of the
museum would feature Njacko Backo, a vocalist from Cameroon
who was skilled in replicating some of
the different melodies and rhythms from across the continent.
Other themed activities would include dance
lessons from performer Kwame Young and spoken-word poetry
from Mustafa, a Toronto-based artist who
touched on topics such as youth empowerment, politics,
immigration and the search for peace. The
museum would also feature African Cultures curator Dr. Silvia
Forni and showcase its extensive collection
of African fossils, textiles and Egyptian/Nubian artifacts.
Celestial Blast
The Celestial Blast evening would offer an adventure theme
with a focus on Earth, space and “everything
69. that shines.” The ROM’s first floor would feature a mobile
planetarium as well as a video-art installation
projecting live visual content onto the crystal walls of the
museum’s interior, taking viewers on a journey
through “space, sky and Earth.” The gallery’s main stage would
feature DJ Medley, who specialized in
rock music, and a large dance area highlighted by LED lights.
Installations in the museum would focus on
technology and creativity. Exhibits would include 20-minute
shows in the museum’s planetarium and a
display showcasing the ROM’s collection of meteorites.
Thanks Canada
The “Thanks Canada” evening would present a patriotic theme
and highlight the “home-grown bounty” of
Canada. The gallery’s main stage would feature Eric the Tutor
and Kings of the North, two well-known
Canadian artists based out of Montreal, Quebec, and Vancouver,
British Columbia, respectively. The
second and third floors of the museum would include
performances from the University of Toronto’s jazz
music program and the famous Canadian comedy troupe, Second
City. Gallery activities would include the
museum’s collection of First Nation artifacts, a Canadian bio-
diversity exhibit and a discussion on
Canadian culture through a 20th century commercial lens from
curator Dr. Arlene Gehmacher.
Food and Drinks
Martin’s role as the vice-president of programs, events and
commercial services gave her significant
control over the food and drink mix offered at the event. FNL
70. offered a variety of alcoholic beverages, but
Martin could control the availability of certain products.
Historically, beers, wines and mixed drinks (each
costing one ROM Buck voucher per serving) each accounted for
approximately one-third of beverage
sales. Martin wondered whether it would be beneficial to
promote one of the three drinks more
prominently on the menu.
Currently, the ROM promoted Peroni Nastro Azzuro as FNL’s
featured beer. As a light-lager,14 it was
described as clear, bright, accessible and easy to drink. Each
500 millilitre can (one serving) had a variable
13 Afrobeat was a combination of traditional Nigerian and
Ghanaian music, jazz, highlife, funk, and chanted vocals fused
with
percussion instruments.
14 A lager was a type of beer that was fermented and
conditioned at low temperatures.
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75. Nastro Azzuro was the 13th best-selling beer in the United
Kingdom and the No. 1 selling beer in Italy.15
Peroni was one of FNL’s event sponsors.16
The event also featured a selection of Ontario VGA17 approved
red and white wines on the current menu.
A red wine from the Niagara region was described as
“sophisticated, with red berry, vanilla and spice” as
its dominant flavours. Each one-litre bottle cost the ROM
approximately $20 and yielded four 250-
millilitre servings for FNL customers. The wine was served in a
shatterproof wine glass. ROM purchased a
package containing 100 of these wineglasses for $55.
Mixed drinks were prepared in-house and featured classic
combinations such as rum and Coke. These
drinks were designed to be colourful and more adventurous. The
variable costs of the ingredients averaged
20 per cent of each drink’s selling price, and the labour costs
amounted to $0.30 per drink. The drinks were
served in plastic cocktail glasses that cost $0.25 each.
Event Promotion
While the FNL events had grown primarily through word-of-
mouth exposure during the first two seasons,
Martin had allocated $15,000 for marketing this year’s grand
opening. While the ROM had also engaged in
marketing mediums, such as organic and paid search results,
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, she wanted
to assess the feasibility of four advertising options: the Toronto
Star, Pattison Outdoor, NOW Magazine,
and YouTube.
76. Toronto Star
The Toronto Star was the city’s most widely read daily
newspaper, with an average readership of 821,000
people on a weekday and 1,042,000 on a Saturday (see Exhibit
6). A one-eighth page advertisement in the
paper’s entertainment section would cost $8,756 a week; a
similar advertisement in the business section
would cost $5,273 a week.18 This option was expensive, but
Martin was intrigued by the paper’s wide
readership. She wondered what type of message a potential
advertisement should feature and whether this
option would be effective.
Pattison Outdoor
Martin also wanted to consider advertising on bus and transit
shelters. A single 1.7 by 1.2-metre, street-
level transit poster in Toronto’s downtown core would cost
$995 a week and included a one-time
production fee of $65. The advertising would be provided by
Pattison Outdoor, the company that produced
all the advertising materials for TTC’s bus and transit shelters.
The company was well established and had
recently completed advertising work for Samsung, Dove19 and
WIND Mobile. Martin wondered whether
this option would make sense. If so, what type of poster would
be most effective, and what street
intersections should she target?
15 Alcoholic Drinks: Euromonitor from trade sources/national
statistics.
16 Other sponsors included automaker Ford Canada.
17 As Ontario’s wine authority, VGA granted accreditation to
wines that met the highest quality standards.
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NOW Magazine
NOW Magazine was a free alternative weekly newspaper and
website in Toronto. NOW Magazine readers
could be described as “influencers and socially active
individuals.”20 The site and paper frequently
provided insight to questions such as “what to do, where to eat,
and what to see” in the GTA. The website
attracted 386,000 unique users every month.21 Approximately
35 per cent of the site’s traffic originated
from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Advertisements were charged on a cost-per-
impression (CPM) basis; hence, customers were charged for
every thousand impressions generated by their
advertisement.22 A banner advertisement at the bottom of each
online article would cost $13 per thousand
impressions, and a specially designed mobile banner for
82. smartphones would cost $20 per thousand
impressions.
YouTube
YouTube was a popular video-sharing website that boasted more
than a billion global users.23 Martin was
intrigued with the opportunity to advertise video content from
FNL on YouTube. YouTube charged
customers on a cost-per-view (CPV) basis, whereby the
customer was charged each time the entire
advertisement was watched. Martin was considering two
different advertising formats. An “in-display”
format would cost $0.10 per view, while an “in-stream” format
would cost $0.30 per view (see Exhibit 7).
If Martin chose the YouTube option, she wondered how much to
budget and on which YouTube videos to
advertise.
Admission Price
The admission price for FNL had not changed over the past two
seasons, and Martin was considering a $2
price increase. What effect would this price increase have on
profitability and customer attendance? Would
this increase affect Members and Patrons24 of the museum, who
were granted free admission (with a guest)
to FNL events? Martin noted that the ROM’s operating costs25
for hosting one FNL event had historically
averaged 65 per cent of the event’s gross profit.
CONCLUSION
83. While FNL had resulted in a surprising degree of success for the
ROM over the past two seasons, Martin
knew the program must continue to evolve and innovate in order
to attract new visitors. Martin was keen to
ensure the ROM’s place in the city’s history for the next
hundred years. Breaking her gaze from the crystal
exterior of the museum, she sat down to analyze her options.
20 www.blogto.com/blogto-mediakit.pdf, accessed January
2015.
21 https://nowtoronto.com/advertise, accessed January 2015.
22 Customers would specify how many impressions they were
seeking and pay accordingly.
23 www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html, accessed January
2015.
24 The ROM offered annual memberships to the museum,
ranging from $54 per year for a student to $626 per year for the
Director’s Circle membership (offering exclusive previews and
membership at other North American museums, among other
perks) to $1,800+ per year for Royal Patrons Circle membership
for the ultimate VIP experience.
25 These costs included wages, security, set-up fees and
cleaning services for each event.
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102. EXHIBIT 4: FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE ROM BUCK VOUCHER
ROM Buck: specifies the dates valid (all year) and that it is
valid for food/drink only.
Source: Company files.
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EXHIBIT 6: TORONTO STAR READER DEMOGRAPHICS
Source: Toronto Star,
http://mediakit.thestar.ca/demographics.html, accessed May 19,
2015.
EXHIBIT 7: EXAMPLES OF YOUTUBE ADVERTISING
FORMATS
Source: YouTube, accessed January 2015.
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