Creative Brief Project – The Bird Nest

Stephanie Munson, Julia Walker, Betsy Kalaora, Mariah Moran, & Michelle Valencia

MKT 233.02

Foundations of Integrated Marketing Communication

Dr. Hulda Black

December 12, 2018

Illinois State University

The Bird Nest Report ………………………………………………………...…………..……...4

Background of Client……………………………………….……..……………..……….…4

SWOT Analysis………………………………………………..……………….…….…...….4

Social Media Outlet………………………………………….……………………...………6

IMC Pyramid………………………………………………..……………...…………….…6

Target Audience……………………………………….………………......…….….………7

Demographics………………………………………….…………………..………….……7

Psychographics…………………………………………………………....…………….…7

Campaign Objective……………………………………………….……….….……….…8

Tone/Brand Voice…………………………………………………….……….….…….…8

Single-Minded Proposition…………………………..……..…………………..….……8

Reason Why/Consumer Insight………………………………….………………………9

Message Appeal……………………………………………..……………………………9

Creatives ………………………………………………………………………………………..11

References………………………………………………………………...……………………..21

Spark Page Link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/KE9dzQ7Lk0bG3/

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 Executive Summary
This creative brief was created for our client, The Bird Nest, a small business that

supplies custom made apparel for our target market: Illinois State University students that are

affiliated in a registered student organizations.

Our campaign objective was to create brand awareness among our target market.

We will achieve our objective by being actively present on our social media accounts and

getting more involved with the Illinois State University registered student organizations.

By integrating our single-minded proposition, “From Our Nest to Yours -- For a Price

You Can Afford! ‘cheep, cheap!’”, to all of our creatives we are trying to appeal to our target

market by approaching with humor.

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 The Bird Nest

Background of Client

The Bird Nest was a custom apparel retail shop located on Illinois State University’s campus

in Normal, Illinois. The company offers screen printing, vinyl application, decals, and graphic

designs for various types of apparel – catering to individuals and large groups. Although The

Bird Nest has great quality work, a convenient location, and reasonable prices, they do not have

a large clientele and compared to other campus apparel shops in the area, their conversion was

not as high. This would be the result due to the lack of awareness among their target audience.

Many people in the Bloomington-Normal community, including Illinois State’s campus, are

not aware of The Bird Nest because it is a new company and the brand does not market

themselves as well as they could.

SWOT Analysis

As an up-and-coming business, The Bird Nest has a lot of qualities that could contribute

to a profitable business – however, just like all businesses, there was always room for

improvement. After conducting a SWOT analysis, it was clear that The Bird Nest has several

strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that can determine the overall success of their

business.

Referring to the strengths of the company, they have reasonable prices, a large variety of

colors and services offered, a convenient location, and good quality work. Moreover, this

business also has an onsite graphic designer, which allows their customers to be a part of the

designing and customization process. Personally, this feature alone helps separate them from

other competitors because their process was more personable and interactive with their customer.

By providing these services and more to customers, it gives The Bird Nest a competitive

advantage over other campus apparel shops in the area.

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 As for weaknesses of the Bird Nest, observations conclude that they are struggling with

having a consistent and strong presence on social media and ISU’s campus. Additionally, their

lack of sales makes it hard for them to offer discounts or sales promotions. Furthermore, one of

the biggest weaknesses of the company was they do not have any partnerships with registered

student organizations at ISU or other surrounding colleges nor do they have partnerships with

any of the local businesses. Not having relationships (or trying to build any) with surrounding

institutions or their target market could be incredibly damaging to the brands’ success in the

long-run.

There are several opportunities that the company could take advantage of to increase

awareness of their brand. The company could increase their social media presence immensely

by using hashtags, tagging locations and people (vice versa), running campaigns, offering

raffles, referral discounts, and yelp reviews to introduce themselves, their products, and the

services they offer. Likewise, they could also develop business relationships by sponsoring one

or several of Illinois State’s RSO events and/or other local business events. It’s important to note

that although sponsorships are hard to measure from a sales perspective, the objective was to

increase awareness and the more people that become familiar with the brand the more likely

they are to explore their curiosity.

The main threat for The Bird Nest was their competitors. This was because other

businesses in the area have been here longer and are offering similar products and services.

Furthermore, The Bird Nest also has to compete with the internet and online custom apparel

shops, such as CustomInk, Teespring, Rush Order Tees, Campus Town Supply Inc., Varsity

Sportswear, and Fresh Prints Screen Printing. Online shops give the consumer a more convenient

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way to shop and some even offer group discounts. With that being said, these are some of the

most difficult threats to mitigate.

Social Media Audit

The Bird Nest has a Facebook Page, Instagram, Twitter, Google Plus, and website that they

use to market their company and its products.

The Facebook page was mostly used to advertise products and for customers to provide

reviews and recommendations based off their experiences. This page has 4,152 likes and 4,086

followers.

Their Instagram and Twitter pages are used to inform customers about different promotions

and products the business offers. Their Instagram currently has 320 followers, while their Twitter

only has 29 followers. Today, consumers rely on social media platforms to receive information.

Additionally, companies easily advertise through social media because it allows them to

narrowly promote to a specific target audience and it was one of the cheapest (and easiest)

forms of marketing. Knowing this, Instagram and Twitter are two of the most powerful social

media platforms The Bird Nest should be utilizing in order to be successful.

The Google Plus page currently has no content on it, so it was not effective in the pursuit to

efficiently market The Bird Nest.

IMC Pyramid

The target currently in the IMC Pyramid was awareness. This step was used to acquaint

people with the company, product, service, and brand. Awareness was the first step in the IMC

Pyramid and is most important for setting the foundation for the way customers understand and

perceive the business (Arens, 253).

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 Our team sought to increase brand awareness for The Bird Nest. We would like for sororities,

fraternities, and other RSOs at Illinois State to know that there is another option for custom

apparel that happens to be conveniently located close to campus at a price they can afford.

Target Audience

We feel that The Bird Nest would have better success with business if their target audience

was aimed towards ISU students who are affiliated with a registered student organization –

specifically looking at the entire organization as a whole. There are over 400 RSOs on ISU’s

campus and there are thousands of students here that are involved in organizations looking for

custom apparel for their events. The target audience can be continually extended through the

tactic of word-of-mouth. If The Bird Nest can get a group of people to wear their apparel and

promote it in a positive manner, then more individuals would want to become customers, and the

target market would be extended without any extra finances being added to advertising.

Demographics

Demographics for The Bird Nest’s target audience would include male and female students

affiliated with an RSO, age 18-25, some college education, and no exclusions for ethnicity or

religious backgrounds. Also, a majority of these students are employed either full-time or part-

time making $10,000 or less a year.

Psychographics

Students that are involved in RSOs on campus participate in activities such as studying,

social events, meetings, sporting events, and physical activities. The students that go above and

beyond academic requirements to get involved in organizations are typically the kind of students

that are self-motivated, active, social, hard workers, passionate, and challenge seekers. These

students value freedom, integrity, equality, self-respect, and creativity.

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 Some college students do not have a lot of disposable income, so they must purchase

products and services on a budget while other college students are still living off their parent’s

money. The stores that most college students typically shop at are Walmart, Target, Dollar

stores, TJ Maxx, Victoria’s Secret/PINK, American Eagle, Campus Town, and Custom Ink.

Campaign Objective

In order to build brand awareness with ISU students involved in RSO’s, we will draw

their attention by actively posting promotions on Instagram and Twitter that focus on products,

services, and deals The Bird Nest provides.

Our main objective was to increase awareness among The Bird Nest’s target market at

ISU. We chose this objective because The Bird Nest is fairly new at ISU and not many people

are aware of the great prices and services they offer. We will measure this objective by analyzing

the increases in amount of page visits (on all social media platforms), impressions, and company

mentions.

Tone/ Brand Voice

The Bird Nest’s tone should be inviting and friendly in order to attract its main target

market of RSOs. This company should also have a welcoming voice because they want their

customers to take advantage of the personable and unique services their business has to offer (i.e.

an available graphic designer who can help create ‘one-of-a-kind’ designs).

Single - Minded Proposition

Our single, most important thought we want members of the target audience to remember

is The Bird Nest has low prices and high-quality products. The SMP chosen for this campaign

was “From Our Nest to Yours – For a Price You Can Afford! [Sound effect] “cheep, cheap!’”

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Hashtags were also created to be use with the social media content to help grow awareness on a

broader spectrum. The hashtags are “#TheBirdNest” and “#FromOurNestToYours.”

The idea behind our SMP, “From Our Nest to Yours – For a Price You Can Afford,” is

we want the target audience to think of The Bird Nest’s products as something of higher quality

and customizable without the expensive cost. As for the “cheep, cheap!” sound effect, The Bird

Nest’s logo is a redbird in a nest. Typically, birds make a chirping sound. The thought process

was to get the target audience to think of The Bird Nest and their affordable prices every time

they heard a bird chirping around campus.

This SMP fits our target market well because most college students and registered student

organizations want great custom apparel, but they do not have a lot of money to spend on it.

With The Bird Nest’s great quality and ‘cheep, cheap!’ prices students are able to purchase

custom apparel that represents their organizations with class and pride.

Reasons Why / Consumer Insights

There are several different reasons why consumers should be willing to try the products

and services at The Bird Nest. The company has affordable prices for great quality product, a

variety of services and product offerings, and a convenient location close to campus. The

employees at The Bird Nest also provide excellent customer service, plus an in-store graphic

designer who will help with the creative designs of the customer’s apparel.

Message Appeal

The appeal that we chose to accompany our SMP is the humorous appeal. Humor best

fits this campaign because the “cheep, cheap!” component of the slogan created for The Bird

Nest brings forth a humorous play on words that relates the competitive advantage for the

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business to the consumer. This appeal fits with our target market of college students because it

has a relatable approach that fits into their lifestyle characteristics such as enjoying a good laugh.

This appeal compliments the tone of the campaign because humor is a memorable appeal

that will help students remember The Bird Nest and what they have to offer.

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 Creatives

Facebook Ad

For our Facebook Ad, we wanted to create an ad that was interactive with the viewers.

We created a contest for our target market, students affiliated with RSOs. We used the headline.

“REDBIRD T-SHIRT CONTEST!” in order to let the viewers know right away what the ad was

about.

Beneath the headlines are details about this contest in a different and smaller font so it

can be easily recognized and read. The details describe to the viewers in bullet points the

requirements they have to meet in order to qualify to win the contest.

Next to the description is an example of a plain, white t-shirt that the viewer can use for

the contest. If you look directly below the t-shirt, there is a footnote that reads, “*must be

following us to win*.” This acts as another requirement for the contest, as well as a way to gain

more awareness for The Bird Nest. Finally, we have the logo in the upper right hand corner like

we have on all of our creatives so that they are all consistent.

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Instagram Post

Instagram post description

This Instagram Post was created to grab the target market’s attention and share

information about the business. Instagram is known for being a platform where many people go

to find attractive entertainment, as well as receive updates on information and promotions.

Businesses also typically use Instagram to host online giveaways where they track interactions

with current and potential consumers. Typically, the consumer(s) with the most participation is

rewarded with free and/or discounted products and services.

On this post, there is a blank t-shirt with the hashtags “#TheBirdNest” and

“#FromOurNestToYours.” This was designed to allude to the fact that The Bird Nest will be

having a t-shirt design contest, and to get consumers excited and connected with the brand. There

is also a picture of a bird in the nest to keep the image of The Bird Nest prevalent in the eye of

current and potential viewers. This also ensure consumers can always identify the business. The

information about the giveaway is used as an incentive to get consumers to interact with the

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company by submitting their own custom designs and to help promote the business, brand, and

sales promotions with others. We want our customers to know that their creativity and

interaction with us is an essential part of the brand, so the t-shirt design contest will be a great

way to emphasize that and create awareness about the brand and the services they offer (i.e. an

in-store graphic designer).

Twitter Post

We chose Twitter as our third social media platform because it is a great space for

awareness to get people talking. Our post that we included states, “Retweet if you want us to

deliver coffee to you at the Milner Library!” When it’s finals week most of the ISU students go

to Milner Library to study. Therefore, we thought if we helped out by delivering coffee to our

target market, it would leave a positive impression on our brand and start conversations between

students.

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Billboard

When creating this billboard, we wanted to keep it simple and to the point. Billboards are

usually posted on the side of roads and read by people driving, so the message had to be short.

We decided to just put our slogan on the billboard to keep our theme consistent. By limiting the

billboard to just the slogan, it creates more brand relocation by people. This is because when they

read it they will think of The Bird Nest before even seeing the logo. We also include the logo and

company name, The Bird Nest, so the viewer can correctly identify who the advertisement is for.

Video/Story Board

When creating the concept for our video, we had to keep in mind who our target market

was. We decided to directly address the audience with questions such as, “Are you in an RSO?

Do you order your event shirts in bulk? How much do you pay?” We will then ask a question

that would help transition into informing the audience like, “Is the answer ‘way too much?’” and

finally we will ask them a question that will also inform them about The Bird Nest and what they

have to offer, “Did you know that you can get great quality apparel for a cheaper price?” The

next slide will then display our SMP on screen, “From Our Nest to Yours – For a Price You Can

Afford!” along with a slide show rapidly displaying pictures of RSO’s at Illinois State. The next

scene will then be a picture of the store front along with The Bird Nest’s social media handles.

The picture will also include the store’s address. This scene will allow the audience to follow the

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store’s social media accounts and increase brand awareness. The last scene will then display our

recognizable logo that is displayed across all content. The logo will be displayed along with an

added sound effect that will imitate a bird’s chirp. This will be a humorous way ending the video

that will also leave a lasting impression.

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Facebook Event Cover

We made our Facebook event cover informative, easy to read, and consistent with all of

our other creative pieces. Our first line informs the audience on where the experiential event will

take place. We chose Festival ISU because it is a great opportunity to connect with all RSO

affiliated students since a majority of them will be attending the event.

The second and the third line informs our target market what they can do at our event.

We want to give students a chance to experience our custom-made apparel for themselves.

Moreover, we will advise them about our deals and how to take action if they decide to visit our

store.

Lastly, we incorporated the social media platform, Snapchat, one of the most used

applications among college students. Participants will have a chance to interact with the brand by

taking a ‘snapchat’ of them wearing the apparel and sending it to us in order to be featured in our

Snapchat story.

Event Flyer

When creating a flyer, we wanted to focus on having the main elements that attract the

readers while delivering the message effectively. The first element was to have a headline: “Hey

Redbirds! Join us at Festival ISU and you could walk away with FREE apparel for you and your

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friends!” This lets the reader know why their attention is necessary and is the largest text on the

flyer. The “Hey Redbirds!” acts as the attention grabber for our target market and lets them know

that we are looking to work with them. The headline as a whole is a news/information headline

because it informs the reader about what we are marketing instantly. Beneath the headline is the

slogan, “From Our Nest to Yours – For a Price You Can Afford!” This is one concept we wanted

to keep consistent on most of our creatives, so it creates a brand recognition with our readers.

Under the slogan is a picture

of the event logo and contact

information for the reader.

This appears in the same

boldface font as the slogan so

it acts as a stepping stone.

Towards the bottom of the

flyer is the contact information

for The Bird Nest and also all

of their social media. This

gives the readers a way to take

action immediately after

seeing the flyer to research

The Bird Nest more and follow

them on social media.

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Event Instagram Post

The idea behind our event Instagram post was wanting to portray to students what The

Bird Nest has to offer at Festival ISU. Festival ISU is typically a very crowded event where

students are able to see what RSOs are available and other nearby companies have to offer to

make their college experience more enjoyable. As an added perk, if you attend this event you

will notice that almost every table there has free samples, contests, drawings, or give-a-ways.

As shown in the photo above, the red border with a white background in addition to part

of our SMP “From Our Nest to Yours… ‘cheep, cheap!’” was all incorporated as either a hashtag

or clip art to help keep the integration of the campaign consistent. Since Instagram has more of

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an artistic algorithm, we felt that it was best to showcase a group of people with all matching

shirts to infer our target market being ISU students affiliated with an RSO.

If you're wondering why we don’t specifically mention RSO affiliated students, it is

because we want to prevent other students from feeling excluded and dismissing our event

entirely - especially since this is a crucial time for freshman to learn about the opportunities

offered around campus. However, you will notice we mention in the description “you and your

friends” which is intended to send the message that multiple people (groups) are welcome to stop

by and check out The Bird Nest at Festival ISU. The plan is once students are at the table, The

Bird Nest representatives can go into further detail about how they can win this free apparel for

themselves and their friends.

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 References

Arens, William F. and Michael F Weigold. Contemporary Advertising and Integrated Marketing

Communications. 15 ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2018.

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