The document provides an executive summary and situational analysis for a proposed mobile app called VanillaQuill. It aims to be an integrated news, information and entertainment platform covering a wide range of topics. It will allow users to not only consume content but also contribute their own articles, stories, etc. The target market is college students and young professionals aged 18-40 who are looking for quality content on their smartphones. The goal is to achieve at least 1.5 million daily page views and $125,000 in monthly revenue within 3 years. The strategy involves sourcing content from various publishers and contributors as well as monetizing through ads and in-app purchases.

2. 1.
Executive
Summary

3. According to researchers at BBDO and
AOL, Smartphone users’ most common
activity is “me time”

4. At the same time, increasing number of these
users are becoming information and
knowledge-hungry by each passing day

5. Introducing, VanillaQuill- a one of a kind
integrated news, information and entertainment
platform comprising of articles, blog-posts, poetry,
news reports, essays and stories, covering a vast
range of topics

6. Offering a unique value proposition to its
users, it provides them with an opportunity to
contribute to the content too

7. It aims to deliver an enjoyable as well as an
informative digital reading experience to its
users

8. It further aspires to boost reading and writing
skills among its user-base, and play an integral
part in the rapidly changing online content
landscape

9. 2.
Situational
Analysis

10. 2.1
Company
Overview

11.  Excellent Customer Relationship Management practices
 Adoption of latest data analytics techniques
 Implementation of SEO and ASO
 Tie up with reputed publishing houses and editors of leading
journals
 Diverse content, reliable sources and an impressive number of
sharing options

12.  All the members of the Strategic Business Unit
 The expected large user-base
 In-app advertisements, that’ll generate revenue
 In-app purchases, in keeping with the Freemium model
 Communication partners

13.  Topics covered: Economics, business, finance, culture, politics,
lifestyle, humour, environment and many more that’ll attract
sufficient number of users
 Types of pieces featured: Articles, blog-posts, poetry, news
reports, essays and stories

14. VanillaQuill will be positioned as the favoured destination for
college students and young professionals in the age group of 18-
40, who are looking for quality content and/or sources of light
reading on their Smartphones. Aim is not to compete with existing
content apps but to fill the market gap created by them. The app
hopes to garner a respectable market share in the highly
competitive online content industry.

15. 2.2
Market
Overview

16. 54
32
12 2
College Students
Young professionals
Middle-aged
Others

17. Mobile App Analysis
Parameter Scoopwhoop Storypick Scroll.in
Rating 4.2 3.0 4.3
Downloads 50 thousand 50 10 thousand
Website Analysis
Parameter Scoopwhoop Storypick Scroll.in
Country rank 178 423 384
Total visits 17.20 million 7.70 million 4.20 million
Average visit duration 00:02:20 00:01:47 00:03:26
Pages per visit 1.96 1.45 6.20

18. Explosion of
information
Changing
Smartphone use
dynamics
More and more
youngsters pursuing
writing as a hobby
Lesser reliance
on print media
Easy accessibility to Internet
and presence of expandable
storage leading to a greater
number of regularly used apps

19. Cut-throat competition
in online content
industry
Threat of new entrants
since there are no
barriers to entry in this
industry
Global players like
BuzzFeed and Flipboard
cementing their market
position and increasing
their market share
Not being able to
get enough
publishers and
editors on board
Perceived lack of
originality and innovation
by the users

20. 2.3
Target
Customers

21. Age Income Occupation Education Generation
18-40 Middle Self-employed Graduate Gen X
Upper Middle Businessmen Post-graduate Gen Y
High Industrialists
College Students

22. Thus target customers that emerge
are college students and young
professionals in the age group of 18-
40

23. 1. Measurable: Size, purchasing power and characteristics can be
measured
2. Substantial: Large and profitable enough to serve
3. Accessible: Can be effectively reached and served
4. Differentiable: Responds differently to different marketing mix
elements
5. Actionable: Effective programs can be formulated to attract it
and serve it

24. 3.
Goal
(3 years)

25.  At least 1.5 million
page views daily
 Valuation of a
minimum of $3
million USD
according to visitor
traffic
 Estimated monthly
revenue of $125,000

26. 4.
Strategy

27. 4.1
Target Market

28. Customer Needs
 Staying updated with
current affairs
 A necessary dose of
humour and cheer
amidst the banality of
day-to-day routine
 A platform for self-
expression
 A channel for
showcasing literary
talents

29. Customer Wants
 A constant desire to gain
knowledge, learn new
things, explore different
offerings and hunt for
interesting stuff to refresh
the mind
 An opportunity to develop
a regular reading habit,
improve vocabulary and
broaden the mind
 An incentive for
developing/reinvigorating
writing skills

30. Distinguishing characteristics of
customers
 Use Smartphones
regularly, and do a
lot of extensive
reading online
 Eager to absorb new
knowledge
 Have strong opinions
on a multitude of
issues
 Are enterprising and
information-hungry

32.  Open sources like Wikipedia, Quora,
Facebook and the like
 Government sources like Press Trust
of India, Doordarshan and NSSO
 International sources like Reuters,
ANI and Associated Press among
others
 Paid sources that include newspapers,
magazines, journals, blogs, content
websites etc.
 Writers, bloggers, poets, authors and
the like who are part of the content
creation team
 The contributors from the targeted
consumer base

33. 1. Mobile Organic Search: Responsive websites that auto-detect the
visitor’s device and tailor the content accordingly, Mobile search data
segment in Google Webmasters tools
2. Google Keyword Tool that allows for mobile device segmentation
which can provide keyword research insights
3. Mobile App Stores: Google Play Store, Apple App Store, Nokia’s Ovi
Store, Windows Phone Marketplace, Amazon’s forthcoming Android
App Store and many more

34.  Social media sites like Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn,
Whatsapp via which the content of
the app will be consumed
 Brands/companies who’ll sponsor the
app or advertise their products/services
through display ads, sponsored posts and
advertorials on the app

35. Goals of Suppliers
• Recognition and
credit for their
sources
• Promotion of the
agency/website
/blog/newspaper/ma
gazine
• Alternative revenue
stream
Goals of Channel
Members
• Expected payment
for the services
rendered
• Positive feedback
and increased
referrals
Goals of
Communication
Partners
• To target as large and
diverse a consumer
base as possible
• To attract new
customers toward
their product/service
• Build brand image,
strengthen brand
awareness and drive
brand equity

36. Company’s Strategic Business Unit
1. App Development team: Coders, developers, software
engineers
2. Content Creation team: Editors, writers, curators,
compilers
3. Content Collection team: Surveyors, on-field reporters,
sourcers
4. Business Development team: Growth hackers,
strategists, negotiators, networkers, planners
5. Marketing team: Promotions, communications and
distribution team
6. Data Analysis team: Analysts, statisticians, online
trends trackers
7. Finance and Accountancy team
8. Public Relations team: Employee relations and Investor
relations team
9. Customer team: Customer care department, CRM team

38. The App’s Points-of-Parity
1. Information-intensive; no area
left untouched
2. Instant and in-depth
information portal
3. Easy, seamless and unlimited
access to articles, stories etc.
No requirement of
subscriptions or registrations
4. Option of sharing any piece
that the reader liked on social
media

39. The App’s Points-of-Difference
1. An introduction of a new
category i.e. poetry
2. No filter or quality restriction on
the contributions as these shall
be clubbed into a different
category
3. Instead of relying on a content
creation team, content shall be
sourced too from a vast array of
reliable sources
4. The app will be based on a
Freemium model

40. Economic Context
 Digital content industry
growing at a fast pace;
expected to reach INR 20
billion by 2020 with digital ad
spend expected to grow at 23-
28%
 The Internet related
contribution to GDP at
present is an encouraging
3.2%

41. Technological Context
 There are 167 million Smartphone
users and 352 million Internet
subscribers as of 2015
 By 2017, India will have more than
250 million Smartphones
 Inexpensive Smartphones and
rollout of 3G and 4G broadband
infrastructure are rapidly coming
together to democratise online access

42. Socio-cultural Context
 Content consumption patterns have
changed-People are increasingly
using their Smartphones during
breakfast, lunch, commute, work and
dinner as well, deepening digital
content penetration
 Rural consumers are gaining access
to low-cost Smartphones and low
rates of data-plans, broadening the
industry’s target segment

43. Regulatory Context
 No stringent or impinging regulations exist in the
digital content industry
 Adequate freedom of expression to guarantee
generation and consumption of diverse and so-called
controversial content

44. 4.2
Positioning
Strategy

45. Employ emotional branding, cultural branding and brand journalism
Create buzz and a loyal app community
Develop POPs and PODs
Identify and analyse competitors
Conduct a low-cost market research
For Customers

46. Differentiate the app from millions of other similar apps
through any one of: Employee , Channel or Image
differentiation
Develop a list of take-aways for them
Analyse the needs and wants and goals of the collaborators
For Collaborators

47. Effectively communicate the same to the investors and win their trust
Build and maintain a clean financial and legal image
Effectively communicate to the employees the same and remove all
ambiguities pertaining to their role in the organisation
Clearly outline the basic structure and functions and develop a cogent
brand mantra for the app
For Company

48. 4.3
Value
Proposition

49. To Customers
• Read interesting articles
and contribute yours too
• With an upgrade, stand a
chance to get your work
extensively promoted
and published in leading
publications
• The app will leave you
more knowledgeable
than before, at the same
time refreshing your
mind
To Collaborators
• A well-managed, rapidly
growing app with new
downloads everyday
• Successfully competing
with other major players
in the industry
• A large and diverse
user-base
To Company
• To employees:-Positive
work environment, good
pay, growth potential,
opportunity to pursue
interests, job security
• To investors:- Regular
filing of returns, future
growth potential,
financial stability, clean
image, profitable and
loyal user-base, high
ROI

50. 5.
Tactics

51. 5.1
Product

52. 1. Access to engaging and intriguing articles, essays, stories, blog posts,
poetry and news reports, gathered from reliable sources
2. Option of sharing any piece that the reader liked on social media and
through mail or saving it on the device
3. Bookmarking of pieces, customising them chronologically or topic-wise
or letting them appear at random
4. A search option that lets the reader search for any specific piece or pieces
related to a specific topic
5. An option of rating each piece and posting comments
6. A "Contribute" section in which the reader can post his/her own article,
essay, story, poem or a blog/link to his/her blog post, as many as he/she
desires
7. The pieces of the "Contribute" section will be clubbed under a different
category titled "Open Section"

53. 1. An opportunity to have one's pieces included under the main
categories instead of just under the "Open section". The final
decision shall be taken on the basis of whether the piece fulfils a
certain quality-standard
2. If one's piece hits a certain number of views, garners a positive
review or receives favourable comments, it will be promoted
extensively across all channels
3. If the piece receives appreciation overall or it is perceived as being
rich in quality, then, with the consent of the author/poet, it will be
forwarded to publishers and editors of local newspapers as well as
reputed international journals

54. 5.2
Brand

55. • VanillaQuill
• “Enlighten Yourself”
Name and
Slogan
• Vanilla means ordinary or standard,
signifying the simplicity, completeness
and comprehensibility of the content in
the app
Meaning
• Quality, variety, lucidity,
homogeneity and universal appealAttributes

56. 5.3
Price

57. Selecting the pricing objective
Determining Demand
Estimating Costs
Analyzing Competitors’ Costs,
Prices, and Offers
Selecting a pricing method and
setting the final price
Following Steps are followed in Setting a Pricing
Policy-:

58. Freemium pricing strategy will be adopted, in which the app itself will be
free, but with in-app purchase opportunities/upgrades.
The premium version of the app will be priced at $14.99 per month. Reason
behind this being, the additional features will benefit the users immensely as
they'll stand a chance to actually get their work published, which, genuinely
requires a sufficient expenditure of resources. Also, even if some users
become reluctant to upgrade due to the high price, it won't affect the app's
popularity or its customer base as it'll still get the same number of visits. So,
customer retention won't be affected.

59. 5.4
Communication

60. Initial Promotional Steps assuming Zero Budget
1. Word-of-mouth marketing to family members, friends,
neighbours and acquaintances
2. Launching of Facebook page and Twitter handle to capitalise on
the influential social community
3. Subtly featuring the app in all e-mails, messages and posts to
indirectly increase its online presence
4. Uploading of a promo video on YouTube which will cogently
and visually explain the functionality and benefits of the app
5. Joining developers/entrepreneurs groups on LinkedIn
6. Coming up with an Announcement Blog for the app , followed
by a Summary Guide, Press Release, Design Collateral and App
Screenshots
7. Leveraging the power of SEO(Search Engine Optimisation) and
ASO( App Store Optimisation) to optimise searches and yield
greater results

61. Later Stage Promotional Steps
1. Featuring app in official blogs which have an extensive
readership and are considered credible
2. Participating in app awards as they can give tons of press,
exposure, reviews, and plenty of downloads
3. Getting featured on Mobile App Review Sites
4. Recruiting users locally by organising meet-ups, events
and conferences
5. Commenting on relevant blogs by providing valuable
insight and linking to the app download link
6. Utilising Pinterest’s new feature called App Pin that allows
people to download iOS apps directly
7. Creating a contest within the app which will incentivize
users to download the app and keep it for the remainder of
the contest

62. 5.5
Distribution

63.  Tapping App Stores across all
categories such as non-Apple
platforms, independent app stores,
carrier app stores, device app stores,
tablet app stores and more
 Tapping App Recommendation
Sites such as Appoke- a new combo
Android App Store and social
network, iApps.in- a forthcoming
semantic search engine for apps

64. Apps pre-installed on a
handset are usually only
one of 8 to 10 apps on
that channel, so even if
the app is only a demo
version,
conversion rates are high

65. Getting listed the app in
such sites in which a
recommendation- driven
promotion engine rewards
users with virtual goods or
virtual currency in one app
for installing and trying
another app

66. 6.
Implementation

67. 6.1
Infrastructure

68. Organisational Structure
(Departmentalization by Function)
CEO
Content
Department
Technology
Department
Marketing
Department
Business Development
Department
Finance
Department
Public Relations
Department
Customer
Department
Content
Creation
Head
Content
Collection
Head
App Development
Head
Analytics
Head
Promotions
Head
Distribution
Head
BD Head
Finance
Head
Employee
Relations Head
Investor
Relations Head
Customer Care
Head
CRM
Head

69. Relationship with Collaborators
(a) Suppliers
Small teams of 2-3 persons will be appointed to cater to
each supplier. Their functions will be explicitly defined and
clearly demarcated to avoid overlap of duties. The Content
Department will be responsible for this area.
(b) Channel Members
Each channel member will have a dedicated team, which
will fully utilise its service. The Technology Department
will be responsible for this area.
(c) Communication Partners
This will be the area of expertise of the Marketing
Department. They will be required to formulate clever
strategies and implement them effectively.

70. 6.2
Processes

71. Processes involved in implementing the strategy and tactics are:-
Managing a holistic Marketing Organisation for the long run
Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Communications
Designing and Managing Integrated Marketing Channels
Developing Pricing Strategies and Programs
Setting Product Strategy
Setting up Strategic Business Unit
Identifying Market segments and targets and crafting the Market Positioning
Defining the Android App’s mission: Identifying core competencies and choosing value
Analysing Business Markets
Analysing Consumer Markets
Scanning the Marketing Environment, Forecasting Demand, and Conducting Marketing Research

72. 6.3
Schedule

73. Task Lead Time
Market Research 2 months
Analysis of Consumer and Business
Markets
1 .5 months
Crafting Market Positioning 3 weeks
Setting up Strategic Business Unit 3 months
Setting Product Strategy 2.5 weeks
Developing Pricing Strategies 2 weeks
Designing Integrated Marketing
Channels
2 weeks
Designing Integrated
Communication Channels
2 weeks

74. CREDITS
1. http://readwrite.com/2010/11/17/10-distribution-channels-for-mobile-
apps/
2. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239038
3. http://buildfire.com/free-app-promotion/
4. http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-future-of-digital-january-
2016/$FILE/ey-future-of-digital-january-2016.pdf
5. photo credit: <a
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/91029339@N00/3156437303">In
the beginning, 1 January 2009</a> via <a
href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a
href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>
6. photo credit: <a
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/52766811@N06/27918824411">Rea
dy</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a
href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(license)</a>

76. DISCLAIMER
Created by Vinshu Jain, NSIT, during a marketing
internship by Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow