This communications plan aims to increase awareness of DISFIYU, a new cosmetics company, through a targeted national campaign until December 2015. DISFIYU creates natural skin care products and needs to boost its visibility and trust as a sole proprietor with limited resources. Initial research will identify key audiences and their needs/perceptions through surveys, focus groups and content analysis of competitors' media coverage. The plan will determine goals, strategies and tactics to reach audiences through the most effective channels like social media, bloggers and product demonstrations. Evaluation metrics will track engagement and an allocated budget supports the objectives.

1.
Communications
Plan
Created
by
Amanda
Burnett
For
DISFIYU
13
September
2015

2.
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1
Table
of
Contents
Executive
Summary
2
Research
3
Target
Audiences/Publics
4
Goals
&
Objectives
5
Strategies
6
Tactics
&
Activities
7
Evaluation
9
Budget
10

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2
Executive
Summary
(Background
and
Situation
Analysis)
DISFIYU
is
a
new
cosmetic
company
founded
by
Maxine
Cuff
in
2013.
The
company
has
a
sole-­‐
proprietor,
and
a
limited
budget,
so
funding
for
marketing
campaigns
are
limited.
As
it
is
a
new
company
it
needs
to
increase
its
media
visibility
and
product
awareness.
The
organization
wants
to
increase
public
awareness
of
the
company’s
existence
and
the
products
provided.
The
communications
plan
should
also
increase
trust
in
the
quality
of
products
and
services
provided.
DISFIYU
creates
skin
care
products
for
men,
women
and
teens.
Products
are
effective
on
persons
from
all
racial
and
ethnic
backgrounds
and
there
are
products
for
persons
with
dry,
normal
or
oily
skin
types.
Products
are
sold
only
online
and
by
delivery.
DISFIYU
prides
itself
on
using
all
natural
and
chemical-­‐free
products.
Product
samples
are
also
available.
The
location
of
the
business
takes
place
in
a
private
home.
The
only
employee
of
the
company
is
the
creator/
owner.
Current
branding
and
marketing
tools
include
a
logo,
banner,
a
website,
Facebook
page
and
some
photography
of
the
products.
The
current
website
looks
outdated
and
could
use
some
modern
web-­‐
development
tools
or
platforms
such
as
WordPress.
The
communications
campaign
would
be
targeting
a
national
audience.
This
plan
should
be
initiated
immediately
and
be
in
effect
until
December
31,
2015.

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3
Research
Initial
research
should
attempt
to
gather
the
following
information:
• Who
do
we
want
to
reach?
Which
publics
should
the
organization
target?
• How
do
these
publics
want
to
be
reached?
• What
are
our
public’s
initial
assumptions
about
the
company
and
current
branding?
• What
are
our
public’s
assumptions
about
our
most
similar
competitors?
• What
do
we
want
our
publics
to
do?
• How
many
page
views,
“followers”
and
“likes”
would
we
need
for
this
communications
campaign
to
be
effective?
• What
product
samples
do
our
publics
most
likely
want
to
try
and
be
most
willing
to
try?
• What
are
our
public’s
most
common
ailments
or
skin
condition
in
which
our
company
can
offer
a
product
for?
• Which
products
are
most
suitable
for
live
product
demonstrations?
Which
products
are
most
suitable
to
television
or
YouTube
product
demonstrations
or
reviews?
• What
media
(bloggers,
journalists
or
influencers)
would
be
most
friendly
to
our
products
and
beneficial
to
increasing
its
awareness?
Primary
research
regarding
the
wants
and
needs
of
our
potential
client
base
should
be
conducted
through:
• Focus
groups,
online
surveys,
and
in
person
surveys
of
friends,
family
and
other
supporters.
Online
surveys
can
be
disseminated
through
Facebook,
email
and
also
posted
on
the
DISFIYU
website
in
the
form
of
polls.
The
focus
groups
will
provide
qualitative
data.
Qualitative
data
could
also
be
retrieved
from
customer
comments
in
emails,
or
posts
on
product
reviews
etc.
Quantitative
data
will
be
obtained
from
online
and
in-­‐person
surveys.
Secondary
research
should
be
conducted:
• Content
analysis:
Content
and
coverage
can
be
monitored
and
evaluated
by
looking
at
the
tone
of
journalists
and
media
which
covered
and
reviewed
other
skin-­‐care
products
and
the
products
of
our
competitors.
A
content
analysis
can
also
be
performed
to
see
how
much
and
how
frequently
these
products
were
discussed
and
reviewed
in
the
media.
A
content
analysis
can
also
be
performed
to
see
how
much
and
how
frequently
cosmetic
brands
are
discussed
in
the
media
(whether
through
PR,
journalism,
or
influencer
reviews).
• Secondary
research
can
also
be
conducted
through
academic
sources
for
finding
information
regarding
some
of
our
research
questions.
Academic
sources
such
as
journals
or
books
could
indicate
what
some
of
the
most
prevailing
skin
ailments
are.
Thus
answering
what
the
largest
demand
is
for
a
potential
customer
base.
This
information
can
be
used
to
create
new
products,
re-­‐brand
existing
products,
or
change
marketing
tactics
and
priorities.

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4
Research
Considerations:
Due
to
the
low
budget,
and
the
fact
that
the
company
only
has
one
employee,
the
sample
size
is
likely
to
be
small
and
limited.
Therefore,
the
data
collected
will
only
be
used
internally.
In
the
future,
if
resources
permit,
a
larger
sample
size
can
be
gathered
to
give
a
more
accurate
assessment
of
target
populations.
Interesting
data
could
be
used
in
news
releases
and
story
ideas
pitched
to
the
media
to
help
promote
our
products.
Results
and
responses
from
digital
surveys,
in-­‐person
surveys
and
focus
groups
will
all
be
coded
digitally.
Target
Audiences/
Publics
• Customers
(existing
and
new)
o Male
and
female
o Teens
to
seniors
o All
ethnic
groups
• Influencers
o Social
media
o Instagram
influencers
o Bloggers
o YouTube
beauty
video-­‐bloggers
• Media
o Local
media
o The
Toronto
Star
and
Metro
o Elle
and
Flare
magazine
o Share
and
Pride
newspapers

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5
Goals
(broad)
• To
become
a
recognized
leader
in
the
Canadian
cosmetology
market
• To
have
products
distributed
in
popular
drugstores
• To
receive
positive
reviews
from
journalists,
bloggers
and
other
influencers
• To
increase
company
presence
on
a
wider
variety
of
social
media
platforms
• To
increase
the
number
of
people
who
become
curious
or
interested
in
knowing
more
about
DISFIYU’s
products.
Interest
can
be
tracked
through
page
views,
social
media
followers,
Facebook
and
Instagram
“likes”
and
emails
to
the
company
• To
increase
customer
trust
of
the
brand
Objectives
(specific)
• To
increase
the
number
of
weekly
website
views
by
500%
in
the
next
three
months.
Aim
for
100
visitors
a
week
by
December
31,
2015
• To
create
a
YouTube
channel
that
assists
in
creating
trust,
brand
awareness
and
product
awareness
among
key
publics.
Also,
within
three
months
have
accumulated
at
least
10
000
views
• To
get
10
social
media
influencers
who
have
over
1000
followers
on
Instagram
to
promote
products
on
their
Instagram
pages
by
December
31,
2015
• To
get
public
relations
coverage
by
Pride
and
Share
newspapers
in
the
form
of
an
article
or
a
product
review,
or
a
story
on
the
owner
Maxine
Cuff
and
entrepreneurship
by
December
31,
2015
• To
get
coverage
by
3
online
bloggers
or
online
formats
of
magazines
such
as
Elle,
Hustlegrl
and
another
beauty
blogger
• To
get
at
least
10
online
testimonials
by
customers
who
have
tried
the
product,
testimonials
can
be
placed
on
the
website
by
December
2015
• To
get
product
coverage
in
at
least
one
national
magazine
by
December
31,
2015
• To
have
at
least
one
new
blog
posting
per
week
on
the
website

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6
Strategies
Media
relations:
• To
use
a
variety
of
tactics
and
tools
to
get
media
coverage
in
print,
and
on-­‐line,
in
the
form
of
articles/stories
about
the
brand,
creator,
entrepreneurship,
skin-­‐care
help
or
product
reviews.
This
media
coverage
should
hopefully
increase
awareness
of
the
DISFIYU
brand,
products
and
increase
public
trust.
Third-­‐party
endorsements:
• Third-­‐party
endorsements
can
assist
with
attracting
customers,
social
media
influencers
and
bloggers
to
endorse
products
manufactured
by
DISFIYU,
to
bring
awareness
to
the
brand
and
increase
public
trust.
The
organization
can
also
get
help
from
dermatologists
to
promote
the
products
or
to
discuss
why
the
ingredients
included
in
the
products
are
great
for
specific
skin
conditions
or
skin
ailments.
Public
engagement:
• To
get
customers
engaged
through
product
sampling,
live
demonstrations
and
contests.
• Increase
SEO
marketing
that
will
hopefully
drive
more
visitors
to
the
website
Digital
and
Social
Media
Marketing:
• Increase
social
media
presence
through
the
creation
of
an
Instagram
account,
Twitter,
LinkedIn
for
Maxine
Cuff
and
blogging
for
the
purpose
of
increasing
two-­‐way
communication
and
customer
engagement,
trust
and
awareness
of
the
brand
• The
social
media
accounts
can
assist
in
bringing
more
traffic
to
the
website,
supplement
and
increase
SEO
opportunities
and
increase
revenue
opportunities.
Our
influencers
will
also
be
able
to
link
to
other
social
media
accounts
and
platforms

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7
Tactics/
Activities
Media
Relations:
• Pitch
journalist
at
Share
newspaper
for
an
article
about
an
issue
regarding
black
skin
care.
The
target
audience
of
the
newspaper
are
Caribbean
immigrants
in
Canada.
A
topic
could
be
in-­‐
grown
hairs
supplemented
by
a
quote
from
a
dermatologist.
The
dermatologist
can
also
provide
a
DISFIYU
product
in
the
article
which
can
help
with
the
ailment.
• Pitch
media
at
Pride
newspaper
about
a
female
entrepreneur
from
the
Caribbean
community
who
created
her
own
skin
care
line.
Pride
newspaper
focuses
on
issues
in
the
Caribbean
community
in
Canada.
The
paper
is
widely
distributed
in
the
GTA
region
• Offer
a
story
idea
to
blogger
Hustlegrl
to
interview
the
creator
of
DISFIYU
Maxine
Cuff
to
discuss
the
brand,
products,
or
entrepreneurship
• Send
product
samples
to
beauty
editors
at
Elle
and
Flare
magazine
and
ask
for
product
reviews
for
their
online
or
print
outlets
• Invite
local
media
such
as
journalists
from
the
Toronto
Star
and
Metro
to
cover
the
free
public
engagement
events
Third
party
endorsements:
• Get
beauty
influencers,
such
as
Destiny
Godley,
to
feature
some
of
DISFIYU’s
products
in
their
YouTube
tutorial
videos
and
ask
them
to
provide
links
to
the
DISFIYU
website
and
Facebook
when
recommending
the
product
• Send
product
samples
to
10
IG
influencers
and
ask
them
to
photograph
themselves
with
the
product
and
to
write
a
brand-­‐friendly
caption
underneath.
Ask
them
each
to
add
the
#DISFIYU
hashtag
and
the
@DISFIYU
signature
to
each
product
sample
photo
Public
engagements:
• To
create
at
least
ten
product
demonstration
videos
that
will
be
posted
directly
on
YouTube
by
the
DISFIYU
account.
In
each
video
ask
viewers
to
“like”
the
video
and
“subscribe”
to
the
channel
• Product
tester
events
in
local
malls
• Create
an
event
for
International
Women’s
Day
and
an
event
for
Movember
where
the
DISFIYU
will
offer
free
facials
or
other
beauty
services
provided
that
participants
donate
to
a
charitable
organization.
Create
media
kits
and
invite
the
media
to
cover
the
event
• Create
an
event
for
women
of
marginalized
communities
where
free
facials
are
offered.
Invite
the
media
to
cover
the
event.
Invite
Patricia
Jaggernaut
or
Nneka
Elliot
from
CP24
to
cover
the
event.
• Provide
samples
for
free
hand
cream
lotion
in
the
mall.
Ask
patrons
to
provide
their
email
when
taking
samples
therefore
we
can
create
a
mailing
list
for
future
email-­‐marketing
campaigns.

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8
• Create
a
contest
where
someone
can
win
free
skin-­‐care
and
free
makeup
if
they
fill
out
a
survey
that
helps
the
organization
collect
primary
data
and
fulfill
the
company’s
research
objectives
Digital
and
Social
Media
Marketing:
• Increase
SEO
opportunities
by
creating
a
blog
with
a
variety
of
skin
care
ailments,
blog
entries
will
suggest
products
and
ingredients
which
alleviate
symptoms
of
the
ailment
• Increase
SEO
opportunities
through
brand
and
topic
linkage,
and
through
buying
more
than
one
domain
name.
For
example
purchase
the
.com,
.ca,
.biz,
and
thisisforyou.ca
URL’s
• Revamp
website
with
a
more
modern
website
layout
and
colouring
• Create
social
media
linkage
on
all
pages
of
website.
There
should
be
a
link
to
the
Facebook,
Instagram,
YouTube
and
Twitter
• Keep
blog
relevant
by
adding
at
least
one
new
blog
entry
per
week.
Blog
postings
can
be
written
in
several
different
forms
• The
blog
can
consist
of
interviews
with
the
creator-­‐
Maxine
Cuff,
the
blog
can
have
entries
from
health
care
professionals,
the
blog
can
have
entries
from
other
celebrities
about
how
they
treat
their
skin,
the
blog
can
have
articles
about
tips
and
tricks
about
how
to
keep
your
skin
healthy
• Invite
50
persons
per
week
to
“like”
the
Facebook
page
• Create
a
Twitter
account
where
all
blog
posts,
new
product
announcements,
and
photos
are
placed,
as
well
as
links
from
testimonials
• Follow
2000
people
on
Twitter
a
month
and
hopefully
some
of
those
followers
will
“follow
back”
and
it
translates
into
an
increase
in
followers
for
DISFIYU
• Have
a
minimum
of
one
tweet,
one
repost,
and
one
favourite
post
per
day

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9
Evaluation
Evaluation
will
be
assisted
by
social
media
tools
such
as
Hootsuite
and
content
analysis.
Evaluations
for
this
communications
plan
will
consist
of
information
gathered
before
January
1st
,
2016
How
many
of
our
objectives
were
we
able
to
fulfill?
How
many
people
on
our
mailing
list
participated
in
our
survey?
How
many
people
who
visited
the
website
answered
the
poll?
Of
the
people
surveyed
after
December
2015
how
many
said
that
they
trust
the
products
from
DISFIYU?
Were
we
able
to
meet
or
surpass
goals
for
the
number
of
followers
we
wanted
on
our
Instagram
page?
Were
we
able
to
meet
and
surpass
goal
of
having
10
000
page
views
on
our
YouTube
channel
by
December
31,
2015?
How
many
new
“subscribers”
did
we
get
on
our
YouTube
channel
by
December
31,
2015?
How
many
of
the
YouTube
page
viewers
were
we
able
to
convert
into
subscribers?
How
many
persons
who
took
a
product
sample
from
us
at
the
mall
left
behind
their
email
address
or
agreed
to
join
our
mailing
list?
Were
we
able
to
consistently
create
a
new
blog
post
every
week?
Are
we
getting
more
unique
visitors
to
our
website
from
week
to
week?
Has
there
been
an
increase
to
the
number
of
“Likes”
that
we
have
on
our
Facebook
page?
Have
we
been
able
to
consistently
invite
50
people
a
week
to
“like”
our
Facebook
page
and
how
many
of
those
people
have
we
converted
into
“Likes”?
How
many
persons
attended
our
free
public
engagement
and
charitable
events?
Were
we
able
to
get
the
media
to
write
follow-­‐up
stories
about
our
events?
How
many
followers
have
we
retained
by
December
2016?
Has
there
been
an
increase
of
new
followers
in
comparison
to
the
preceding
month?
Were
we
able
to
get
any
bloggers
to
provide
coverage
of
our
brand
or
products?
How
many?
And
was
the
promotion
favourable?

11.
No
Sweat
Public
Relations
⋅
Toronto
⋅
(416)
899-­‐3056
⋅
www.nspr.ca
10
Budget
Costs
for
the
production
of
samples
to
be
given
to
media,
influencers
and
customers
$300
Packaging
$100
Website
Development
&
SEO
adjustments
$100
Creation
of
Twitter,
Instagram,
Facebook,
YouTube
platforms
Free
Payment
to
influencers
(max
cost)
$200
Renting
of
the
space
to
hold
the
events
(unless
we
get
a
free
space)
$300
Miscellaneous
$100
Total:
$1100