Living Social Mock IMC Plan

Integrated Marketing Communications Plan
Michelle D. Lach • Roosevelt University • MSIMC 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 14

Has Anyone Used LivingSocial?
Product/Service or Activity/Adventure?

What’s Going On With LivingSocial?
Cons
• Highly competitive market
• Increasingly difﬁcult to make a proﬁt
with high competition
Pros
• Highly recognized brand in the
category
• 25% of the DDS category marketshare
LivingSocial is in the Daily Deal Sites (DDS) category

What’s Going On With LivingSocial?
Recent Tactics
• Everything to everybody
• Email blast current members extensively
• No major push to gain new customers
• High focus on the low cost daily deals
LivingSocial is in the Daily Deal Sites (DDS) category

So What’s The Problem?
Daily Deal Sites Category Structure
High Points
of Parity
Low Barriers
of Entry
Low Brand
Preference
High Focus on Low Price

High Focus on Low Price
When this happens, the category tends to draw in a low-spend
target market, attracting a consumer that begins the purchase
process by wanting to spend the lowest amount of money possible.
So What’s The Problem?

So How Do We Fix It?
Shoot the gap!
LivingSocial needs to create a niche by focusing on their main, higher-ticket, point
of difference (their Escapes), and shoot for the gap between the lower priced
Daily Deal Sites (DDS) and the higher-priced, less-organized vacation sites.

Strategic Decisions:
Marketing Objective
Increase sales of Escapes by targeting higher-spend, time-crunched, ﬁnancially savvy
individuals who don't have the resources (i.e. time, patience, etc.) to plan the lifestyle they
want.
Communications Objective
Convince the target audience that the lifestyle they desire is within reach, without sacriﬁcing
their retirement or work commitments.
Rationale
To “shoot the gap” LivingSocial must remember that, though the target is willing to spend
larger amounts of money on a purchase, they are still searching for discounts. Financial
acumen remains a large factor in their decision, otherwise they would be drawn by any
random vacation site.

Target Market
• The Bridled Grinder is a 30-40 year old, career-oriented, daily-grind professional,
• Raised by the money conscious, middle-class, baby boomers.They have grown up
experiencing their parents “going out, socializing and “living life,” while maintaining careers
that lead them to a comfortable retirement.
• They work long hours and rarely take time to research and plan activities in their social
life (time outside of work).
• They crave a well-rounded lifestyle that will make them feel like they are succeeding in all
aspects of life, both professionally and socially.
• They need experiences to be ready-made, at a reasonable price, and worth the
expenditure of their limited free time.

Target Market Rationale
• This group spends almost as much on travel and leisure as the older cusp of their
generation, but have not reached the height of their careers with regard to net income.
• They are saving for retirement, but have yet to feel the pinch of time closing in on their
nest egg.
• They still feel that they can spend a little less frugally on convenience for the ability to
experience life, while keeping a keen grasp on their ﬁnancial goals and future.
• They task themselves with maintaining no less than the lifestyle they were raised with,
even though it took their parents a lifetime to build.


Value Proposition
Functional Benefits (“I can”):
I can afford and enjoy a social side to round out my lifestyle, because LivingSocial has
ready-made experiences created by trend-savvy experts at affordable prices.
Emotional Benefits (“I feel”):
I feel like I am living a more fulfilled life, because I am able to participate in more social
experiences. Note: emotion (limbic system) can’t process affordability or financial savvy.
Self-Expressive (“I am”):
I am successful, savvy, and live a well-rounded life.


Customer Relationship
Customers are busy, ﬁnancially savvy lifestyle seekers who trust LivingSocial to take care
of the details for the social side of their well-rounded lifestyle.
Convince the Bridled Grinder that the lifestyle they desire is within reach, because
LivingSocial will manage the time and planning of their social experiences to help make
their life more about living, not planning to live.
Basic Strategy
Rounded out lifestyles, within range.
Key Proposition

Message Strategy
Brand Personality
LivingSocial will act as the target market’s Escape Concierge, anticipating the adventures
and activities that they want and planning them to an extent that they appreciate.

Message Strategy
Promotion Theme:
Escape The Daily Grind.

Message Strategy
Print Promotion
Ad #1

Message Strategy
Print Promotion
Ad #2

Message Strategy
Print Promotion
Ad #3

Message Strategy
Print Promotion Rationale:
Purpose of print promotion is to increase the size and number of Escapes purchased by
focusing on narrow segments of the target, while maintaining complete control over the
message.The promotion is brief and clean, with the headlines focusing on saving time.

Message Strategy
Facebook Promotion:
• Facebook application that calculates the users previous likes, shares and frequently used
words regarding anything travel/adventure/vacation/activity/experience speciﬁc, and matches
it with the most compatible Escape available for them.
• User can choose to customize the experience further with additional questions to
generate more valuable and accurate results.
• They can view their results by creating a free Escapee Account, and will earn a $25 credit
on their account by sharing their results, allowed only once.
• Each time they like or share unique individual results with #EscapeHatch, they will receive a
$1 credit to their account. Users can bank up to $500 dollars credit that can be used
toward purchase of Escapes, up to 10% off of their total Escape purchase price.
•Promotion Dates: May 1, 2014 - June 30, 2014

Message Strategy
Twitter Promotion:
Introduction / Launch
Open the hatch! Escape the grind and earn up to $500 toward an adventure of your choice. Let us plan your Escape.
#EscapeHatch bit.ly/1fuRLivin (Lands on Facebook App Page, button labeled “Escape Hatch”)
During
Where DoYou Wanna Be? If you’ve used our App you already know! Open the hatch and start earning your $500!
During / Follow-up
Over XXXX have “Opened the Hatch” Earn your $500 before the deal ends. #EscapeHatch bit.ly/1fuRLivin
(Lands on Facebook App Page, button labeled “Escape Hatch”)
Wrapping Up / Final Push
Escapees wanted! Escape the grind and earn up to $500 toward on a adventure of your choice. Let us plan your Escape.
End
We can bust you out, but you have to “Open the Hatch”! Offer ends June 30, 2014 #EscapeHatch bit.ly/1fuRLivin
(Lands on Facebook App Page, button labeled “Escape Hatch”)
•Promotion Dates: May 1, 2014 - June 30, 2014

Message Strategy
Email Promotion:
Subject:
The Escape Hatch Awaits!

Message Strategy
Email Promotion:
Header:
For a limited time, you can pull the hatch and earn $500
toward your personalized Escape.

Message Strategy
Email Promotion:

Message Strategy
Email Promotion
Rationale:
No time to plan an escape?
Pick it with you in mind...
And package it to boot!
We’ll help you pay...

Message Strategy
Ambient Promotion
Location:
Street lights in heavily populated, high trafﬁc areas in cities.
Media:
Banners that attach to the sides of street lights. Large,
arching banners that resemble palm leaves would be
attached to the light pole and reach out from all four sides
- giving the illusion that the pole was a palm tree.
Additional round banners resembling coconuts would hold
different messages throughout the city.
Example Messages:

Escape The Grind
The Escape Hatch Awaits
Out of Range,Within Range
Escapees Wanted

Message Strategy
Ambient Promotion Rationale
Many of the target market will need to be
reached outside of social networking and
membership emails.The palm banners will
serve to make the target aware of the the
promotion and continue to reinforce brand
recognition while they are more ofﬂine.
(i.e. driving, walking, etc.)

Questions?

Living Social Mock IMC Plan

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (14)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (20)

Similar to Living Social Mock IMC Plan

Similar to Living Social Mock IMC Plan (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Living Social Mock IMC Plan