TABLE OF CONTENTS

Market Research ........................................................................................ 2

Secondary Research Findings .................................................................... 2
Primary Research Findings ......................................................................... 4
Economic Impact ........................................................................................ 4
Position ..................................................................................................... 13
Offer ......................................................................................................... 13
Creative Concept ...................................................................................... 14
Communication Plan ................................................................................. 16
Media Mix Table ....................................................................................... 17
Message and Media Explanation .............................................................. 18
Explanation for Creative Execution ........................................................... 22
Creative Execution Materials .................................................................... 27
Budget ...................................................................................................... 37
Budget Explanation ................................................................................... 37
Budget Table ............................................................................................ 39
ROAI ......................................................................................................... 40
Campaign Reach ...................................................................................... 40
Reach Table ............................................................................................. 42
Determining Price and Costs .................................................................... 42
Profit Projections....................................................................................... 43
References ............................................................................................... 46
Presentation Slides ................................................................................... 47

MARKET RESEARCH

Market Research
Primary data was found using a variety of methods. For the participant survey, emails
were sent to those on the participant list with relevant information and the incentive offer to
encourage them to respond. A reminder email was sent out to the participants a week after the
original email. The original email had an open rate of 35.2% and a click rate of 11.3%. The
reminder email had an open rate of 31.4% and a click rate of 5.8%. The total response rate for
the survey was 11.6%. All emails were recorded as delivered creating a bounce rate of 0%.
For the nonparticipant survey, several different groups were targeted to ensure that the data
included runners in varying geographic locations. Emails were sent to various running groups,
track clubs, and individual runners in states along the east coast or the eastern half of the
country. It was hypothesized that they would be most likely to travel for a marathon in Newport
News due to its close proximity. The email to nonparticipants also included the incentive. A
reminder was not needed for the nonparticipants because the number of responses received
was sufficient. A response rate cannot be calculated for nonparticipants as some respondents
shared this survey with others and therefore the number of people who received the survey
cannot be tracked.
Secondary data was collected on marathons or special events in Virginia, Maryland, and
North Carolina within the months of February and March as these were determined to be the
most likely to directly compete with the One City Marathon (OCM). Competing events were
identified and analyzed.
Secondary Research Findings
Below is an overview of competing marathons in North Carolina, Virginia, and DC during
March 2016 (Race Menu, 2015). These events could be used as sources for ideas and ways to
differentiate the OCM. A brief description of the races and corresponding events is discussed
as well as a price comparison to the OCM.
North Carolina
The Umstead Trail Marathon is located in Raleigh North Carolina on March 5, 2016.
This race is not a Boston Qualifier. This event only offers a full marathon and is marketed as a
trail race. This event only allows 200 participants and costs $70, which is slightly less
expensive than the lowest OCM registration fee. There does not appear to be any coinciding
activities and alcohol is not allowed in the park where the race takes place (Umstead Trail
Marathon, 2015). Due to the lack of events, singular race type, and the disallowance of alcohol,
this event is unlikely to compete with the OCM.
The Ellerbe Marathon takes place in Ellerbe, North Carolina on March 12, 2016. This
event is limited to 100 runners and is only offered as a full marathon. There is a pasta dinner,
which runners can pay to attend as well as a post-race meal. The early registration fee is $65,
which is less expensive than the OCM. Something interesting about this race though is that the
proceeds from both meals go towards a charity (Ellerbe Marathon, 2015). This race is small in
scale and the events associated with it are unlikely to attract a large crowd. Therefore, this race
is not likely be much competition for the OCM.

The Wrightsville Beach Marathon is located in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina and
takes place on March 20, 2016. There are several different races offered including a full
marathon, half marathon, relay marathon, 5K, and one-mile fun run. There is also a pasta
dinner the night before the race. The full marathon costs $100, which is slightly more expensive
than the OCMs highest registration fee (Wrightsville Beach Marathon Madness, 2015). This
event could be some competition for the OCM because it has a wide selection of races though
there is only one additional event.
Virginia/DC
The Rock n Roll Marathon takes place in Washington DC on March 12, 2016. There
are three races: 5K, half marathon, and full marathon. This event is a Boston Qualifier. The
event features live entertainment on the course, a concert at the finish line, and a
complimentary post-race beer. On the Thursday and Friday before the race, there is a health
and fitness expo. The DC marathon is part of a series of marathons across the globe.
Participants have the option to gain extra medals by participating in multiple cities. The current
marathon entry fee is $105, which is $10 more expensive than the highest OCM registration fee
with the possibility that the DC fee may increase as the race approaches (Rock 'n' Roll
Marathon Series, 2015). This race does not offer any particular benefits in terms of outside
events or registration packet gifts. The race in DC could compete with the OCM but it is
doubtful that the tour across different cities would pose a threat to the OCM as that attracts a
much more travel oriented marathon runner than the OCM likely would.
The Virginia Creeper Marathon is located in Abington, Virginia. The 18th annual race will
take place March 20, 2016 as a full marathon only. This event is run on the Virginia Creeper
Trail and the entry fee is $15, which is significantly lower than the OCM fee. While this event is
a Boston Qualifier, it does not have many amenities and there appear to be no outside events.
No medals or t-shirts are given. The event has a participant cap at 100 runners (Virginia
Creeper Marathon, 2015). This event is in a rural area, has no correlating events, and can only
handle a small number of people. It is unlikely that this event would directly compete with the
OCM.
The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach will take place March 20, 2016.
This event offers several different race types including a full and half marathon, an 8k, and a
childrens one mile run. This event is a Boston Qualifier. There is also a student challenge for
the 8K where students age 5-18 will receive a reduced price registration. There are also
multiple adult challenges which involve completing different combinations of races throughout
the weekend. Last year 30,000 runners participated. The weekend event included a two-day
sports and fitness expo, post-race bands, and course entertainment. The cheapest marathon
registration is $110, which is $15 more expensive than the OCMs most expensive marathon
registration (The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon 2016, 2015). This event attracts a large
quantity of people to what is already a significant tourist attraction. The Shamrock Marathon is
strong competition for the OCM.

Primary Research Findings

Participants
The survey was sent out to 190 past marathon participants and yielded 22 responses for
a response rate of 11.6%. There was a fairly even distribution between men and women and
among the age ranges. The vast majority of respondents were Caucasian and earned more
than $50,000 a year. Sixty-two percent of respondents have a masters degree or
higher. Almost 86% of participants traveled fewer than 50 miles for the marathon and 84% did
not spend a single night in Newport News. This value is likely due to the fact that 90% reported
living locally. The zip codes reported by respondents illustrated a fairly even disbursement of
participants with the zip codes 23602 and 23608 having a slightly higher percentage. Both of
these zip codes are within Newport News. Sixty percent of respondents participated in the 8K
race, 35% ran in the full marathon, and 5% completed the Nautical Mile. Most respondents
found out about the OCM through friends/family, Facebook, and press releases. All other
channels had little to no effect in reaching potential participants. The average overall
experience rating for the event was 8.6 out of 10. All aspects were rated on average a seven or
higher except for the price, timing, and criteria related to the pasta dinner and speaker. The
speaker, dinner, food quality, timing, and price all had an average rating of approximately three.
The sections which had the lowest ratings also had a noticeably lower response rate and were
located towards the end of the survey which could mean that those who were most dissatisfied
chose to respond while others who were more ambivalent may have skipped these questions
resulting in inaccurate findings .
Nonparticipants
Sixty people responded to the nonparticipant survey and after removing those who
reported that they were not runners there were 58 usable responses. Most respondents were
female and the most popular age was over 50. More than half of the respondents reported
earning over $50,000. The most popular option for favorite race distance was the half marathon
followed by the 5K then the full marathon. Sixty five percent of respondents were out of state
residents and over 96% said they would travel to attend a race.
What attracted people to races most was location followed by race type, local
attractions, and then pre/post-race events. The most effective methods for communicating race
information were digital (social media, email, websites/online), select print media (magazines
and mail), and, preeminently, word of mouth. Approximately 35% of the nonparticipant
respondents had heard of the OCM.
Economic Impact
Geographic Dispersion
Ninety five percent of respondents were from the state of Virginia and 55% were from
Newport News. Overall, two states (Virginia and North Carolina), and 14 different zip codes
were represented.

Figure 1: Participant Location by In State vs. Out of State

Figure 2: Participant Location by City

LOCAL IMPACT BY ZIP CODE

23690
23176
5%
23185 5%
5%
23661
5%
23601
5%
23188
5%
28314
4%
23114
4%
23607
4% 23693
5%

23608
19%

23602
14%

23666
10%

23606
10%

Figure 3: Participant Location by Zip Code

Income and Education

Approximately 80% of respondents earned $50,000 or more annually. Ninety percent
had obtained some form of college degree with the largest percentage having obtained a
master's degree.

Figure 4: Participant Income

Figure 5: Participant Education Level

Miles Traveled and Length of Stay
The large majority of respondents traveled under 50 miles to attend the race with just
10% having traveled between 51 and 100 miles and 5% having travelled 201-500 miles. No
runners reported traveling between 101 and 200 miles.

Figure 6: Number of Miles Traveled To Attend OCM

Sixteen percent of runners stayed the night with two runners staying for one night and
one runner staying for three nights. This makes sense as the majority of runners lived in the
area and did not travel far to attend the race.
7

Figure 7: Number of Nights Stayed in Newport News

Figure 8: Percent of Participants Who Stayed Overnight vs. Making a Day Trip
Average Expenditures
The day-trip visitors average expenditures were measured by calculating the average in
each spending category (lodging, dining, gasoline, retail purchases, and admissions to local
attractions). The lodging category is not applicable as day-trip visitors did not spend the night.
The most money on average was spent on dining at $9.50, followed by gasoline at $5.20.

Figure 9: Average Travel Party Expenditure for Day-Trip Visitors

Figure 10: Average Travel Party Expenditure for Day-Trip Visitors

The overnight visitors average expenditure was calculated in the same way but the
dollar amount reflects the average spent per day. For this group the largest spending category
on average was retail purchases, followed by dining, then gasoline, then lodging. Runners
spent on average $75 on retail purchases.

Figure 11: Average Travel Party Expenditure per Day for Overnight Visitors

Figure 12: Average Travel Party Expenditure per Day for Overnight Visitors

The average spending for each category was found by multiplying the number of day trip
visitors by the average spend per visitor listed in Figure 9. It is important to note that for day-trip
and overnight visitors this number was calculated using the number of people who responded to
the question about spending, not the number of people who responded to the survey. These
numbers reflect what should have been spent based on the average amount spent per person
and the number of runners. On average $95 should have been spent on dining by day-trip
visitors and $260 by overnight visitors. For both segments, this should have been the highest or
one of the highest categories of spending.

10

Figure 13: Total Average Travel Party Expenditures for

Day-Trip and Overnight Visitors
Direct Impact
The direct impact was calculated by adding the real expenditures of participants and
reflects the actual dollars spent during the OCM on the various spending categories. For daytrip visitors the most money was spent on dining at $95. Dining was the second highest
expense for overnight visitors at $520 and the highest category overall at $615. The actual
numbers for day-trip visitors are the same because the averages were calculated per day and
they spent only one day. The actual spending for overnight visitors was calculated by
multiplying the average daily spend per overnight visitor times the number of nights spent in
total by all the overnight visitors. The total dollars spent overall was $2,072.

Figure 14: Actual Expenditure by Each Segment and in Total

11

POSITION, OFFERS &

CREATIVE CONCEPT

12

Position
Target Audience
Primary - The Out-of-Towners (non-local marathon runners and relay runners)
College graduate, upper middle to upscale social class, income ranging between $70,000
- $100,000, employed in management level occupation, ages 35-54, mostly homeowners with
kids, mix of white, Asian, Hispanic, rewards member at GNC, subscribes to Forbes
Secondary - The Energizer Bunnies (local marathon runners)
Some college, middle to upper middle social class, income ranging between $50,000 $80,000, employed in white collar administrative occupation or mid-ranking military service, ages
25-44, mostly homeowners with kids, mix of white, black, Asian, Hispanic, shops at Dicks
Sporting Goods, subscribes to Runners World, listens to podcasts
Secondary - The Average Bears (local 8K runners and fun runners)
Some college, lower middle to middle social class, income ranging between $35,000 $60,000, employed in working class or military service, ages 25-44, mix of homeowners and
renters with kids, mix of white, black, Hispanic, holds a YMCA membership, frequents Water
Country USA
Positioning Statements
The Out-of Towners: To the traveling marathon runner, the Newport News One City Marathon is
the challenge you need with the community you want.
The Energizer Bunnies: To the local marathon runner, the Newport News One City Marathon is
the challenge you need with the community you love.
The Average Bears: To the local beginner/moderate runner, the Newport News One City
Marathon is a weekend focused on health, family, and fun.
Offer
The offer objective is to motivate people to register for the Newport News One City
Marathon. Offers extended to the non-local marathon and relay runners should emphasize the
benefits of the destination and the event itself. Some of the main features, which make the event
attractive to consumers, are listed below. These will be highlighted and converted to benefits
throughout the campaign.
Benefit Support:
Boston-qualifier
2nd annual event
Hosted by the city of Newport News, presented by NNTV
Sponsored by several local businesses
Volunteers from local schools and other community-based organizations will be stationed
throughout the course
Marathon layout incorporates all parts of the city

13

 Supports charities that will impact the community - Fear 2 Freedom, The Center for
Sexual Assault Survivors and Transitions Family Violence Services
These target consumers will need to travel to ultimately participate in this race so they
need to see what makes Newport News a great place to run and leisurely enjoy. Offers
extended to marathon runners, whether local or not, should convert the features of the race into
direct benefits for the consumer. In order to reduce the risk of accepting the offer by registering
some sort of compensation such as a free trial or money back guarantee would have to be
given. While these are options, they would ultimately not be beneficial in creating a profitable
campaign and therefore were not incorporated.
The offers creative appeal is emotional. These events can be physically demanding
and require training prior to participation. The offer prompts the consumer to enjoy the
challenge of the race and the celebration with the town. The offer challenges the consumer to
develop his or her self, complete this challenge, and enjoy this support.
In executing the offer, the strategy of cross-selling will be implemented. The goal is for
more than a single individual to register. The offer should inspire the runner to register herself
for the marathon, her husband for the 8K and her child for the Nautical Mile. This strategy will
result in a higher number of registrants at a lower cost to the Newport News One City Marathon
team because the campaign will achieve multiple registrations in catering to one highly-targeted
consumer.
Creative Concept
This campaign directly challenges the consumer to register for a Newport News One
City Marathon race with the tagline, RUN ONE. The brands big idea is Unity. Although the
event involves a race competition, it is perceived as more of a mutually beneficial means of
raising each other to new heights as one driving force, as one city. The Newport News One City
Marathon is more than just a race; it is an entire weekend full of events that celebrate a vibrant
community. The tone of materials is forthright and animated while the look and feel is structured
chaos mixing sleek lines and solid fonts with free flowing images. All marketing materials in
this campaign are designed with the big idea in mind and contain the tagline. This consistent
branding is done to ensure a cohesive campaign that persuasively communicates the offer.

14

MESSAGE & MEDIA

15

Communication Plan

16

Media Mix Table

Criteria
Media Mix

Objectives

Response
Mechanisms

Out-of-Towners
Postcard Series
Email
Magazine
Social Media
Pandora

Energizer Bunnies
Average Bears
Postcard Series
Postcard Series
Email
Email
Magazine
Magazine
Newspaper
Newspaper
Social Media
Social Media
TV
TV
Radio
Radio
Pandora
Pandora
In-Person
In-Person
th
4 of July Postcard: Holiday inspired, distributed to all segments at the
end of June
Halloween Postcard: Holiday inspired, distributed to all segments at midOctober
New Years Postcard: Holiday inspired, distributed to all segments at the
end of December
Email: Personalized, bi-monthly emails to all segments to motivate
inquiries/registration
Magazine: Multiple ads in a variety of national magazines to gain out-oftown and local awareness and participation
Newspaper: Local newspaper ads in the Daily Press to gain local
awareness and participation
Social Media: Facebook and Twitter ad campaigns to gain attention,
inquiries and registration of online social media users
Google Adwords: Cost per click advertisements that pop up every time a
google user searches a certain word. Words used will include but are
not limited to: marathon Newport News runner
TV Commercial: Locally aired television ads to reinforce other mediums
to local potential participants
Radio: Local radio station advertisements to reinforce other mediums;
Pandora: Targeted Pandora internet radio advertisements to gain local
and non-local attention and participation. Segmented by demographics
in the targeted segments.
In-Person: Local expo booth visits, Daily Press Womens Show to reach
the in-person market (those who have not seen the ads in other
mediums)
Postcard Series: All postcards will have calls to action to ignite response
rates and registration
Email: All outbound personalized emails will have links to registration
and information on races and events
Magazine: Magazine ads will have calls to action to increase out of town
as well as local response rates
Social Media: All online advertisements will have direct calls to action to
register and learn more about the One City Marathon
In-Person: Expo booths at multiple events will have the ability to register
on the spot, or visit the website to register/learn more

17

Message and Media Explanation

The costs of each creative marketing piece take into account all production materials,
printing, and labor costs. Postage and shipping are included in the final budget.
Magazine Ads
Four magazine ads will be placed in Endurance Magazine, US Airways Magazine,
Runners World, and Competitor Magazine. Endurance Magazine ($640/ad) will have one
advertisement placed in their annual Fall Shoe & Runner Resource Guide edition in October.
Runners World ($6,870/ad) will have the following months advertisement in November. This
leaves US Airways ($7,000/ad) and Competitor Magazine ($7,800/ad) to December. Due to
high travel rates in December for the holidays, many readers will see the ad in US Airways
Magazine. The purpose for the magazine advertisements is to gain non-local awareness and
participation in the Newport News One City Marathon. Market research demonstrates select
print media was one of the most effective methods for communicating race information. The
total cost of magazine advertisements is $22,310.
Social Media (Facebook and Twitter)
A Facebook and Twitter social media ad campaign will be held starting in August and
ending in January of 2016. Because of the relatively low price per engagement for Twitter ($2),
the campaign budget can be allocated per day/week/month based on client preference. Twitter
is an excellent source of advertisement. Sponsored tweets pop up at the top of the targeted
segments Twitter Feed for maximum exposure. Charges are only incurred if a response is
generated, thus making it cost effective and useful. Facebook charges per thousand
impressions ($5). Both mediums are able to target the pre-determined segments by age,
gender, and interests. These mediums within the social media campaign will provide a reach of
over 500,000. Market research illustrates the most effective methods for communicating race
information were digital. The total budget for the Social Media campaign is $3,500.
Google Adwords
Google Adwords will be placed on the internet five times throughout the marketing
campaign. Adwords works in a bidding format in which the marketer determines the amount of
money willing to be spent per day. The most effective method for the campaign is cost per click,
which is $2 per click. A competitive bid will allow the advertisement to be seen when words like
marathon and Newport News and running are searched on Google. This medium is similar
to Facebook and Twitter, yet the Google user targets themselves for the marketer. By
searching a word like marathon, he/she will be immediately exposed to the advertisement on
the right side of the search window. Non-participant survey data demonstrates digital mediums
were most effective in communicating race information. Google Adwords will give the campaign
the ability to reach over 150,000 people over the course of the marketing campaign. The total
budgeted amount for Google Adwords is $6,000.

18

Email
An email will be sent out to a rented list of addresses bi-monthly from May 2015 through
February 2016. This will come to total of six emails throughout the campaign. The market
research explains that digital marketing is one of the most effective mediums for communicating
race information. Email is an extremely cheap source of advertising and list rental will be able
to fit the target segments. List rental comes to a cost of $300 per thousand. Tracking and
management of the emails will be $75/month. The total for email advertising is $2,700 giving
the campaign a reach of 5,000 people.
In-Person
Four in-person events will be attended and an expo booth will be set up at each. The
Daily Press Womens show held annually in January will cost $500. The remaining three expo
booths will be set up at the Rock N Roll Half Marathon in Virginia beach in August, the Crawlin
Crab Half Marathon in Hampton in November, and the Richmond Marathon also in November.
Survey data of non-participants exposed word of mouth marketing as an effective medium for
communicating race information. A total of 10,000 flyers will be printed to bring and hand out
during the events. The three race expo booths will cost $1,175 per event for a total in-person
marketing budget of $4,026.
Direct Mail Postcard Series
Three post cards will be sent out in a series linked with a major holiday over the
marketing campaign. The first postcard for July 4th will be sent out in late June. Many marathon
runner sign up far in advance for a race and July is far enough after the previous Newport News
One City Marathon to send an advertisement. Halloween is the next postcard in the series. It
will be sent out in mid-October; Halloween was chosen because it is the start of the major
holiday season. The postcards are sent on holidays to create a family connection, as there are
races for all ages and runner levels. The postcard is designed to put people in a position to stay
motivated throughout the cold fall and winter months. The final post card will be sent in late
December for arrival around New Years. Many people make New Years resolutions and The
Newport News One City Marathon is a perfect event to keep the target segments on track.
Market research showed direct mail as one of the top marketing mediums for communicating
race information. The total cost for the postcard series is $594.
Newspaper Advertisement
The newspaper ad will be featured in the Daily Press local newspaper to gain local
attention and participation. At $500 per ad, the marketing team budgeted for eight
advertisements. The advertisement will be one quarter of a page. Each ad will run in eight
different weeks over the months of November 15 through February 16. It was decided that the
ad be placed in the Feature section on either Wednesday or Friday as that is the second most
read section and those are the second most read days. This marketing medium was used in

19

the previous years marketing campaign and will be used again in the 2016 campaign. The total
cost for the newspaper advertisement series is $4,000.
Pandora Radio Advertisement
Pandora online radio hosts ads to their free listener base. An advertisement is played
about every 10 songs and is between 15 and 30 seconds long. The cost per advertisement is
$10 per thousand, so the ad will be hitting 1,000 screens every time an ad is purchased.
Pandora also allows for targeted segmentation of the listener audience. A total of 250
advertisements will be purchased over the course of the marketing campaign for a total cost of
$2,500.
30 Second TV Advertisement
One, 30-second, TV ad produced by WTKR will be aired 25 times over the course of the
advertising campaign. Ten ads will be aired on the Sunday CBS Morning News, leaving 15 ads
for the nightly evening news. With the allotted budget, the most impact the campaign can make
on viewers will be at the times listed because those are the two most watched news times. The
evening news is $50 more expensive per ad, but will offer more viewership than the Sunday
morning news. This medium was also used in last years marketing campaign and will be
repeated in the proposed campaign. A total reach of 1.2 million viewers will allow more
exposure. Ten ads per week are being used to maximize exposure.
30 Second Radio Advertisement
One, 30-second, radio ad produced by Sinclair Communications will be aired 48 times
over the course of the marketing campaign. 93.7 BOB FM has a listenership within the target
segment and will be aired in the morning drive-time between six and nine a.m. 106.1 is a
country music station, which will also have the advertisements aired during the morning drivetime. The morning drive time will hit the maximum reach, which has been calculated to around
740,000 listeners per week. The reach number was calculated from the average percentage of
the market of radio listeners in the Hampton Roads area in a quarter hour. It was then
multiplied by the number of radio advertisements aired per week. This marketing medium was
used in the previous years campaign and has been selected again for the 2016 marketing
campaign. The total cost of radio advertising is $4,060.

20

CREATIVE EXECUTIONS

21

Explanation for Creative Execution

Each creative deliverable features the campaigns big idea, similar design elements, and
multiple calls to action with the registration link. Sponsors and charity partners receive full
recognition in each of the creative print items, helping to validate the brand by associating it with
brands familiar to the target market.
Postcard Series
In order to connect with families in the local area, the postcard series will support the
brand by keeping the Newport News One City Marathon relevant throughout the year. This
campaigns postcards will be themed and distributed slightly before three major holidays: July
4th, Halloween, and New Years.
Postcard 1: July 4th
This design highlights the 4 races in 1 weekend,
effectively communicating the offer to the consumer of more
than just a race, but a full series of events. The first in its
series, this card emphasizes celebration, unity, and
community to the Energizer Bunnies and Average Bears.

Postcard 2: Halloween
With its playful Halloween features and fun-filled
copy, this card communicates to the consumer that the
Newport News One City Marathon has something for
everyone. It is a fun challenge for which the consumer must
rush to register.

Postcard 3: New Years

A full series of events centered on health and fitness
as a community should capitalize on the popular New Years
resolution time frame. This campaign proposes the
dispersal of a New Years themed postcard, which links that
motivation to this event. The consumer has a problem and
registering for the Newport News One City Marathon is the
solution.

22

Poster
This campaigns poster features the names of the different races, vivid imagery, but also,
imagery to maintain campaign consistency, summary schedule, the primary brand logo, and the
campaigns big idea. Several creative execution items, such as the poster, contain a QR code,
which, if scanned, takes the consumer directly to the registration page.

23

Outbound Email
Using much of the layout from an earlier space ad, this email provides an example of
how the other creative execution pieces can be presented on various platforms. This email
holds multiple calls to action, contains links to several parts of onecitymarathon.com, and
connects the recipient to One City Marathons social media channels. Buttons and sections
break up the information in digestible chunks for the consumer and a personalized header
serves as a simple way to differentiate the offer to the consumer.
Since email will be used throughout the campaign, modified versions of the body copy
for this layout will be utilized depending on the time of year and urgency of registration. This
creative execution offers the full package of a weekend of events focused on uniting the
consumer with the Newport News community.

24

Space Advertisements
The space ads draw attention to the weekend of events and
highlight a strong call to action along with the key information: event
name, date, summary schedule, and link to register. Two space ads
were designed for this campaign: one for a 1/3 page ad and one for a
1/4 page. The same information is communicated but the size and
layout have been adjusted for typical ad specifications.

Radio Advertisement
This creative execution is designed to put the listener in the runner mindsetto place
them in the race experience and simulate what it is like to be a part of the Newport News One
City Marathon. This ad primarily targets Energizer Bunnies and secondarily targets Average
Bears. Energizer Bunnies want a challenge and this ad prompts those listeners to take on the
challenge they have been searching for by registering for the Newport News One City
Marathon.

Pandora Advertisement
Using the attention-grabbing radio ad as the audio
for this creative execution, this campaigns Pandora ad
visually provides the key information for the event in
addition to emphasizing the weekend of events rather than
a single race. The only difference in the audio between the
radio ad and the Pandora ad is the addition of a brief
instructing statement at the end of the ad: Click the ad to
register now!

25

Google Advertisement
Linking to OneCityMarathon.com, this ad calls upon
the target consumer to register for the weekend of events
in a clean and well-organized format. This creative
execution represents an adaptation of aforementioned
materials customized to the size and specifications Google
requires for their ads.
Twitter
Limited to 140 characters, tweets must
communicate the key points of the brand message in a very short amount of space. This
creative execution calls the reader to action, prompting him or her to register for one of four
events. A shortened URL takes the reader to the registration page.

Facebook
The combination of both an image (space
ad) and a well-crafted call-to-action effectively
communicate the brand message to the consumer.
#1City, #RUNONE and #NNOCM associate the
post directly with the event and link this post to any
reference with those hashtags. This campaign does
not recommend long Facebook captions (3 lines of
text or more) but keeping captions between 1 and 3
lines should work well. In addition, this campaign
will only feature Facebook posts with a combination
of photo and text as every post without a photo
suffers a substantial opportunity cost.

26

Creative Execution Materials

Postcard 1

27

Postcard 2

28

Postcard 3

29

Poster

30

Outbound Email

31

Space Advertisements
One-Third Page

Quarter Page

32

Radio Script for FM and Pandora

Pandora Graphic

33

Online Advertisements
Google Ad

Twitter

34

Facebook

35

BUDGET AND ROAI

36

Budget
Budget decisions were made based on which mediums were most effective according to
the primary research data along with what mediums served to maximize reach while managing
costs. The cost of different media type was determined through outside research or data
provided by the client.
Budget Explanation
Magazine
The rates for Competitor and US Airways were provided for the client. The rates for
Endurance and Runners World were found on their respective websites (2016 Advertising
Rates, 2015) (Advertise, 2015). It was determined that one ad per publication would be most
effective within the maximum spending limit.
Digital
Twitter offers a service of Promoted Tweets, which are priced, based on bidding for
keywords at cost per engagement. There is the option to set a budget cap, which can be
modified at any point during the campaign (Ads Pricing, 2015). For the proposed campaign, the
cap is set at $2 per engagement to ensure 500 engagements.
Facebook operates on a similar biding system with a spending cap except the pricing is
on a cost per thousand basis. The average CPM for the right column ads of the proposed
campaign is $4.622 (eMarketer, 2013) and therefore the budget estimates a CPM of $5.
Google AdWords prices based on cost per click with the option to set a daily budget.
The range of average cost per click is $1-$2 (How Much Does Google AdWords Cost?, n.d.).
The proposed campaign conservatively estimates the cost per click to be $2.
The cost of email had to take into account the list rental as well as tracking emails and
managing the email database. To manage the emails a service would need to be purchased.
The proposed campaign employs Mail Chimp at $75 a month for unlimited emails with 580110,000 subscribers. This service allows for automation to time emails, targeting, and data
tracking (Pricing, 2015). The list rental itself is approximately $300 per thousand (Marketing
Sherpa, 2007).
In-Person
The budget for In-Person events was based on client provided data regarding the cost of
participating in these events the previous year. All rates for the printing and shipping of
marketing materials to be handed out at events are based on VistaPrint (VistaPrint, 2015). The
number of flyers to be printed was determined based on the number of flyers printed the
previous year for similar events as provided by the client.

37

Other Print
Direct mail postcard cost was determined through VistaPrint (VistaPrint, 2015) at well us
the United States Postal Office websites (Postal Price Calculator, 2015). The number of
postcards to be mailed was determined based on what percent of the budget was reasonable to
allocate towards direct mail based on the mediums effectiveness according to primary research
data.
The rates for advertising in the Daily Press as well as information about their readership
was provided by the Daily Press advertising sales department. This allows the proposed
campaign to place 8 advertisements in the Daily Press.
Radio/TV
Information about radio and television rates, excluding Pandora, was provided by the
client based on last years data. Within the confines of the budget, it was determined that 24
FM radio ads could be purchased on both 93.7 and 106.1 resulting in 48 total radio
advertisements. For television, 25, 30-second advertisements will run across two different time
slots. Costs for Pandora are calculated as a cost per thousand (Pandora Advertising CPM
Rate, 2014).

38

Budget Table
Category
Magazine
Endurance Magazine
US Airways Magazine
Runners World
Competitor Magazine

Cost/Unit

Number of Units

Total Cost

$640 per ad
$7000 per ad
$6,870 per ad
$7800 per ad

1
1
1
1

$
$
$
$

640.00
7,000.00
6,870.00
7,800.00

$2 per engagement
$5 per thousand
$2 per click

500
500
3,000

$1,000
$2,500
6,000.00

$300 per thousand

$75 per month

6
12

$
$

1,800.00
900.00

$500 per event

500.00

$1,175 per event

3,526.00

$0.0475 per flyer

10,000

$
$

475.00
13.00

$0.037 per postcard

15,000

$0.35 per postcard

$500 per ad

15,000
8

$
$
$
$

555.00
39.00
5,250.00
4,000.00

250

2,500.00

10
15

$
$

1,500.00
3,000.00

24
24

$
$

2,040.00
2,040.00

Digital
Social Media
Twitter
Facebook
Google Adwords
Email
List Rental
Tracking and Management
In-Person
Daily Press Womens Show
Expo Booths (Rock N Roll
Virginia Beach, Crawlin
Crab Hampton, Richmond
Marathon)
Flyers
Printing
Shipping
Other Print
Direct Mail Postcards
Printing
Shipping
Postage
Daily Press

Radio/TV
Pandora
$10 per thousand
WTKR
Sunday CBS Morning News $150 per 30 second ad
Evening News $200 per 30 second ad
Sinclair
93.7 $85 per 30 second ad
106.1 $85 per 30 second ad

Total

59,948.00
39

ROAI
Campaign Reach
In order to project return on marketing investment (ROAI), the total campaign reach must
be established. The different media types were researched to determine their individual reach
thus resulting in a total campaign reach.
Magazines
Endurance magazine has a readership of 120,000 per month (Advertise, 2015). US
Airways Magazine reaches 1.4 million passengers per month (Inflight Advertising, n.d.).
Research shows that 80 percent of frequent flyers have read or looked through their airlines
inflight magazine in the past month resulting in a reach of 1.12 million for the proposed campaign
(Transport: Rates for In-flight Magazine Adertising, 2008, p. 33). Runners World magazine has
a reach of 2.75 million (2016 Advertising Rates, 2015) and Competitor magazine has a reach of
1.25 million (Competitor, 2015).
Digital
Spending on digital media was broken into three categories each with their own reach.
For social media reach was calculated through Twitter and Facebook reach. On Twitter,
advertising is priced at cost per engagement for Promoted Tweets (Ads Pricing, 2015). To
estimate the reach, the number of engagements was calculated at 500 engagements based on
the $1000 budget and the $2 cost per engagement. Research reveals that the average
engagement rate is 2% (Social Times, 2014) and by dividing 500 engagements by 2% the reach
of the proposed Twitter campaign would be approximately 25,000.
Facebook prices are based on viewed impressions so the number of impressions paid for
directly correlates to the reach for this medium (Ads Basics, 2015). Based on the allocated budget
and the pricing structure of cost per thousand, the reach for Facebook is 500,000. This value
brings the total reach for social media to 525,000.
Google Adwords operates on a cost per click payment structure, which under the
proposed budget results in 3,000 clicks. The average click through rate is 2% (Average CTR,
n.d.), gaining a possible reach of 150,000 impressions.
For email, a list of 5,000 is being rented which combined with the clients current database,
is estimated to consist of 2,500 emails based on last years registration amount. Acknowledging
the reality that some emails will bounce back or be filtered out as spam, this proposal
conservatively estimates that one third of the emails sent will not be factored into the reach
resulting in a total email reach of 5,000.
In-Person
The reach for various in-person activities was provided by the client as an estimate based
on the event participation from the previous campaign. For the Daily Press Womens Show there
was a reach of approximately 2,000 and for the three other expos attended (Rock N Roll Virginia

40

Beach, Crawlin Crab Hampton, and Richmond Marathon), there was a total approximate reach of
25,000. These numbers are estimates based on engagements and the number of materials
handed out.
Other Print
The direct mail postcard series will be sent to 5,000 addresses based on what is budgeted
for their creation and postage costs. The Daily Press provided information about their reach and
stated that they have a weekly readership of 54,000 people.
TV/Radio
WTKR television viewership was provided by the client for the previous year as being 1.22
million over 61 commercials, which equates to 20,000 per commercial. As the proposed
campaign calls for 25 commercials, the reach for the television component would be 500,000.
Pandora is priced per thousand and therefore reach is directly correlated to dollars spent, as the
budget allocates $2,500 for Pandora advertisements, the reach for this media is 25,000.
For FM radio, the research demonstrates that the average quarter-hour persons (AQH
Share) for rock and country stations, similar to the ones proposed in this campaign, in the Virginia
Beach and Norfolk area is 6.2 (Norfolk-Virginia Beach, 2015). AQH Share is the average number
of people listening to a station for at least five minutes during a quarter hour expressed as a
percent of the total listener base. The total listener base for the surrounding area is conservatively
estimated at 1 million which when multiplied by the 6.2 AQH provides a reach of 62,000 per radio
station. This number was then multiplied by the number of advertisements being run per week
(12) resulting in a reach of 744,000 per radio station and a total reach of 1.488 million for FM radio
as a whole within the proposed campaign.
Total
The total reach for the proposed campaign, combining all individual media elements, is
8,019,000. This number is used to calculate the number of responses necessary to break even
as well as achieve different levels of profitability. A line item breakdown of each media and its
corresponding reach can be found on the next page.

41

Reach Table
Category

Reach

Magazine
Endurance Magazine
US Airways Magazine
Runner's World
Competitor Magazine

120,000
1,120,000
2,750,000
1,250,000

Digital
Social Media
Twitter
Facebook
Google Adwords
Email

25,000
500,000
150,000
5,000

In-Person
Daily Press Womens Show
Expo Booths (Rock N Roll Virginia Beach, Crawlin Crab Hampton, Richmond
Marathon)

25,000

Other Print
Direct Mail Postcards
Daily Press

5,000
54,000

Radio/TV
Pandora
WTKR
Sinclair

25,000
500,000
93.7
106.1

Total

2,000

744,000
744,000

8,019,000

Determining Price and Costs

ROAI was calculated by determining the profit earned at varying levels of response.
Several calculations were made to establish the assumptions needed to find ROAI. First, the
average registration price was calculated by averaging the registration price for all races at all
price levels, including the military discount. Next, the average variable cost was calculated by
averaging the variable cost for each race type. The fixed cost was determined by the total dollar
amount spent on the proposed campaign.

42

These assumptions were then used to calculate the unit contribution per registration,
which was found by subtracting the variable cost from the average registration price. The unit
contribution is how much profit is made on average per registration.

Using the unit contribution and the fixed costs, the breakeven point can be found. The
breakeven point is the number of race registrations needed in order to break even on the initial
outlay expressed in the fixed costs. Breakeven is calculated by dividing the fixed costs by the
unit contribution.

Profit Projections
Profit projections can be found for various levels of response rates by first calculating the
number of registrations that would be achieved at various response rates. This is done by
multiplying the response rate by the total campaign reach, which is stated above as over 8
million. The number of registrations is then multiplied by the unit contribution to achieve the
projected profit at that response rate.
For the proposed campaign, three levels of response were determined and profits were
forecasted based on these rates. The low level of response, 0.025% was chosen because it is
just over the breakeven point and results in a profitable campaign even at such a relatively low
response rate. The medium level of response is 0.035%, which results in over 2,800
registrations. This number is appropriate because it allows the marathon to grow from last year
without setting an unreasonable goal. The high level of response is 0.045%, which would result
in a large increase in registrations from the previous year, but not an impossible one. This level
of response would be a best-case scenario.
Response Rates

Return on Advertising Investment (ROAI)

43

At all response rates, the proposed campaign is profitable. Such low response rates are
needed in order to not only make the campaign profitable but also quite successful because of
the wide reach of the proposed media channels. As expected, the cost per response goes
down as the number of responses increases because the fixed costs of the proposed campaign
are spread out over a larger number of people.
Cost Per Response

44

REFERENCES

45

References
(2015). Retrieved from VistaPrint: http://www.vistaprint.com/
2016 Advertising Rates. (2015). Retrieved from Runner's World:
http://www.mediakit.runnersworld.com/
Ads Basics. (2015). Retrieved from Facebook for Business:
https://www.facebook.com/business/help/220734457954046
Ads Pricing. (2015). Retrieved from Twitter Business: https://business.twitter.com/help/adspricing
Advertise. (2015). Retrieved from Endurance Magazine:
http://www.endurancemag.com/advertise/
Average CTR. (n.d.). Retrieved from Word Stream: http://www.wordstream.com/average-ctr
Competitor. (2015). Retrieved from Competitor Group:
http://competitorgroup.com/media/competitor/
Ellerbe Marathon. (2015). Retrieved from Ellerbe Marathon:
http://www.etinternet.net/~runrbike/esmfront.htm
eMarketer. (2013, June 20). Facebook's Ad Offerings Show Wide Variation in Price,
Performance. Retrieved from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Facebooks-Ad-OfferingsShow-Wide-Variation-Price-Performance/1009987
How Much Does Google AdWords Cost? (n.d.). Retrieved from WordStream:
http://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2015/05/21/how-much-does-adwords-cost
Inflight Advertising. (n.d.). Retrieved from IMM International: http://www.imminternational.com/us-airways-inflight-advertising/
Marketing Sherpa. (2007). Retrieved from Renting Email Lists:
https://www.marketingsherpa.com/article/how-to/renting-email-lists-costs-deliverability
Norfolk-Virginia Beach. (2015). Retrieved from Radio Online: http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgibin/rol.exe/arb109
Pandora Advertising CPM Rate. (2014). Retrieved from Site Ad Wiki:
http://www.siteadwiki.com/2014/03/pandora-advertising-cpm-rate.html
Postal Price Calculator. (2015). Retrieved from Unitd States Postal Service:
http://postcalc.usps.com/Postcards.aspx?m=8&dpb=0&mdt=2015/11/18%2013:00
Pricing. (2015). Retrieved from MailChimp: http://mailchimp.com/pricing/
Race Menu. (2015). Retrieved from Running in the USA: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/
Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series. (2015). Retrieved from Run Rock n Roll:
http://www.runrocknroll.com/dc/
Social Times. (2014). Retrieved from Ad Week: http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/twittertailored-audiences/498837
The Yuengling Shamrock Marathon 2016. (2015). Retrieved from Shamrock Marathon:
http://www.shamrockmarathon.com
Transport: Rates for In-flight Magazine Adertising. (2008, April). Retrieved from TourismReview.com.
Umstead Trail Marathon. (2015). Retrieved from Umstead Marathon:
http://www.umsteadmarathon.com//
Virginia Creeper Marathon. (2015). Retrieved from State of Franklin Track Club:
http://www.runtricities.org/creepermarathon/

46

Wrightsville Beach Marathon Madness. (2015). Retrieved from Wrightsville Beach Marathon:
http://www.wrightsvillebeachmarathon.com/plan-for-your-event/pasta-dinner/

PRESENTATION SLIDES
Presentation Slides

47

48