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Integrated Marketing Plan: MeiXter

MEGA Marketing Company

Team Leader: Amy Johnson
Members: Megan Gall, Georgia Gallaway, Eleanor Joy

Situation Analysis

Before any recommendations and strategies are put in place, we have to understand the business environment (Phadermrod et al. 2016). Therefore, a SWOT (Appendix 5) and PESTLE (Appendix 4) analysis has been carried out on the company. The SWOT analysis indicates that MeiXter has a clear vision, an interactive and informative website that could attract an extensive array of users. However, there is a lack of user engagement, likely because there has been limited advertising. Furthermore, MeiXters’s decision to work with The Eden Project is a great way to further appeal to users due to the shift in user ethics when engaging. Therefore, for MeiXter to capitalise on this partnership, whilst also ensuring their app and concept get across they could appeal to ethically aware users.

Competitors

Competitor analysis identifies the companies that the brand is competing with, their strengths, weaknesses, behaviour and positioning in the market. This is key in the situational analysis due to the dynamic nature of digital marketing (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2019). 

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A perceptual map was constructed to determine the competitor’s positioning in the market concerning MeiXter, as shown in figure 1. MeiXter is offering high-quality services at a higher price, on average, than most of its competitors operating in the e-learning market. The perceptual map shows the direct competitors, offering similar, high quality and high price 

Market Segmentation and Targeting

When looking at the different types of market segmentation, we will be using a combination of segments, especially when considering the chosen target audience. The results showed that the target audience does interact with social media ads, as seen in our primary research survey results (appendix 11).

This will mainly be the use of demographic and psychographic segmentation

Demographic: For MeiXter, this would be between 18-25, as that is the primary age bracket that accompanies most students and teachers. This also includes the occupation or educational status of the target audience, which would be a significant factor when MeiXter considers its targeted advertisements.

Geographic: For MeiXter, this would be an audience in the UK. Which in the future could

services, and those indirect competitors. They may not be offering the same services as MeiXter but still satisfy consumer needs, such as YouTube and TikTok. Both of these competitors, along with Duolingo, Busuu and Coursea, offer free standard services with an additional option to subscribe to a premium package with extra features, for example, no ads. Thus, they are competing with their low prices.

Figure 2 Market Segments

Figure 1 Perceptual Map

expand to different countries, this could include Europe and the USA. When looking at marketing strategies, particularly in our proposed campaign, densely populated areas such as London should be targeted for the events.

Psychographic: As MeiXter is an app about learning new skills, we have included this hashtag for our campaign. Using psychographic segmentation will target our audience based on their hobbies and goals. Therefore this is a significant market segment for MeiXter to be targeting (see figure 2 for visual). For further analysis, see Figure 1 (Perceptual Competitive Analysis) Figure 2 (Identified Segments and Target groups appendix 8.

Data Strategy

 

Ideal Customer Persona Profile

As shown in figure 3, Sophie represents MeiXter's ideal student customer, and our campaign is designed to reach. Our persona has the pain points, touchpoints and preferred social media platforms that our campaign will use to help MeiXter target the student demographic. In addition, a buyer persona will help to guide our campaign from its brand voice to the social media channels used (McLachlan 2021). For a complete persona profile, please see appendix 1. In addition, we have AIDA Analysis We have created an AIDA analysis to "describe the four stages a consumer goes through before making a purchasing decision" (Sellers 2021). The four stages include; Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action. The framework helps us understand our target markets buying process and how we can influence their process into downloading the MeiXter app. To see the complete breakdown of the AIDA analysis, it can be found in appendix 7. A created a customer journey for Sophie to understand our customer's experiences and touchpoints. For the entire Customer Journey, see appendix 3. It is also essential to create an anti-persona to understand how not to target our demographics. For a complete anti-persona profile, please see appendix 2

Types of Data to be Collected

To ensure we hit all MeiXter’s chosen target audience, we can use different types of data which you can buy from companies such as Google Analytics etc. The different styles we will collect to target our ideal user will be through: See below to understand why these types of data have been selected. As we intend to purchase data as a company, we need to ensure that the data collection, processing and storing is ethical and align with the current European General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) (Gov 2021).

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Privacy Policy

For online businesses such as MeiXter, it is essential to have privacy policies for their data (Urban et al., 2018). Therefore, MeiXter needs to ensure its privacy policies for data collection and processes align with GDPR 13 and 15 (Gov 2021).

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Methods of Data Collection

HTTPS Cookies By adding first-party HTTP cookies to MeiXter’s website, they will collect data on potential users from both the app and their website. MeiXter will gain consent by installing a small notification on the bottom of the page to click on; users will be allowed to opt out of these cookies as per GDPR. Accumulating this data will be helpful for MeiXter as they will be able to create targeted marketing based on website clicks, user interests and past purchases, which gives MeiXter an insight into potential users (Stewart 2019). Third-Party Collection and Social Media Analytics We can learn more about our customers through pre-collected, descriptive data from social media sites, such as interests, occupations, and lifestyles. Social media sites are allowed to do this as individuals have allowed this within their privacy settings on their profiles, therefore meeting the requirements for GDPR (Torra 2017). MeiXter can use this data to help market its app towards individuals who align with the ideal buyer persona through paid adverts. Furthermore, by doing this, we will be able to target the right users for the app, build brand awareness and increase downloads, which will, in turn, achieve our KPIs.

The Big Idea

MEGA Marketing's campaign is designed to help drive sign-ups and increase MeiXter brand awareness. Our big idea slogan is 'New Year, New Skill', and we will be marketing MeiXter as a modern and interactive source for 1-to-1 tutoring. MeiXter is targeting 18–25-year-old students and teachers. Social media will increase MeiXter's brand awareness and engagement with the target audience to increase app downloads. We will focus on four leading social media platforms: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. Instagram will be used to reach our target audience because '46% of the UK population have an Instagram account', with the second-largest group of users being 18-24-year-olds (Social films 2021). We will also use YouTube because the platform is the second-largest social media site in the UK (Social movies 2021). MeiXter will use YouTube to create bi-weekly videos showing sample/taster lessons on specific skills led by their online teachers. These short videos will encourage viewers to click on the description direct them to the website or app. LinkedIn will target younger professionals who are most likely more experienced in different fields and are potentially looking for new opportunities to teach and learn. We will use LinkedIn with around 31.2 million users in the UK (Statistica 2021), with 15.6% of their users aged between 18 and 24. We are also going to create a Snapchat Geofilter for the university events. Please see appendix 8 for more. A hashtag has been completed and will be used across all four social media platforms: #MeiXterYourSkills. This means to master your skills as Meister is German for master. This hashtag will help MeiXter reach its target audience while also making it easier for users to find MeiXter's posts.

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The final part of MEGA Marketing's big idea is designing and creating a mascot, as seen in figure 4. The

mascot's design was inspired by the brand's design and space theme. The mascot is a gender-neutral

alien called Al, who is cheeky and inquisitive and has arrived on our planet eager to learn anything and

everything whilst he is here. The mascot aims to build MeiXter's brand identity and provide a visual

association with the brand, so the target market associates Al the alien with the MeiXter. The mascot will

be used in content creation across all social media platforms and offline promotion. This could eventually

become an opportunity for merchandising in the future

SMART Objectives

Primary Objective:

  • Build brand awareness by at least 15% by March 2022 - targeting over 18 year old's university students and teachers. 

Secondary Objectives: 

  • Increase the number of active downloads of the app by at least 10% by the end of the campaign in March 2022.

  • Grow social media platforms on Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and YouTube by 1000 followers on each by the end of the campaign.

Content Plan

Gantt Chart

We have created a Gantt Chart (Appendix 14) to organise and sequence the management of this project. The Gantt chart lays out all the relevant tasks that will be completed and allows us to track the progress of this project. The project timeline and Gantt chart begin on the 1st January 2022, which is the project start date and ends on the 31st March 2022.

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Content Distrbution Matrix

We have used a content distribution matrix shown in figure 6 to "review the effectiveness of different types of Paid, Owned and Earned media to promote or distribute content" (Chaffey 2020). We will create MeiXter, a Tik Tok and LinkedIn account. We will upload unpaid posts across all MeiXters social media platforms, which requires low investment and high ROI (return on investment). We will use our hashtag, slogan and mascot to create engagement. Whereas our paid media, including LinkedIn and Instagram adverts. This will result in high investment and low ROI as we are paying for the adverts to appear on people's feeds. Our social media adverts will be engaging as we will conduct A/B testing. The university events will result in high volume and low ROI. It requires increased investment to pay for the booth and activities; however, we believe it will effectively get students to sign up for the MeiXter app.

Online Promotion

As shown in appendix 14 (Gantt Chart) and appendix 9 (Action plan), the use of social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube are a critical part of this campaign. In addition, our key demographic is between the ages of 18-25, as they are the most significant users of social media (Statista 2020). Social media is a platform where users can share content, interact, and voice their opinions (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). Therefore, promoting across social media platforms and increasing online touchpoints will allow more significant exposure to consumers and encourage more purchases (Brandi 2019).

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Offline Promotion

Our offline promotion recommendation to MeiXter is to visit three heavily foot traffic universities located near Bournemouth and London. MeiXter will have pop-up stands and study skill booths at these events, with interactive activities. The chosen activities are football and basketball. In addition, this will allow MeiXter to chat with students and share the benefits of the app, using iPads as a visual way to show them how to download the app. Cupcakes will be designed and made for these events as an incentive and will be given out to those who have downloaded the app. Cupcakes will be created with the logo and the mascot to promote the brand, increase visual awareness and brand association. A banner will also be designed and used at the university events and can also be used beyond the 3- month campaign. According to BannerBuzz (2013), banners allow freedom of portraying the brand or product in a way that connects with the audience. Furthermore, they will notice the brand and logo and eventually start associating with it. To understand more about our recommendation, see appendix 9. 

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Integrated Promotion

Omnichannel marketing is about communicating with consumers through both digital and traditional channels (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2019). Refer to appendix 9 for more information on the integrated promotion plans.

Project Timeline and Budget

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Budget

While researching the relevant items and services detailed throughout our campaign, these have been listed and can be seen in the Budget (appendix 13) and for a snapshot of the Budget, see figure 8. When deciding on our marketing strategies and implementing these as part of a campaign, the Budget was kept in mind. The overview of the Budget includes all the digital marketing aspects detailed throughout the campaign, this being the Budget for social media platforms over the course of 3 months. We have also included a budget for YouTube content creation which will aid in the organic growth of the channel. The Budget that has been given for the advertisements (Instagram and LinkedIn) will be divided over the course of 3 months to ensure continual engagement and increased awareness.

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For the events, when looking at all the options available, it would ultimately be cheaper to buy the equipment outright than hire the equipment. Therefore, these have been included as a one time purchase that can be used for future events if needed. We have also looked at creating a Snapchat Geofilter, around £20 per event for one filter, for 8hrs.

Test and Learn Plan

Testing Social Media

We will conduct A/B testing to test our Instagram and LinkedIn adverts. We will conduct A/B testing at the beginning of January to determine which ad layout receives the highest level of engagement from our target market. According to Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick (2019), A/B testing “refers to testing two different versions of a page or page element”. We have decided to use A/B testing as, unlike multivariate testing, it focuses on significant formatting and not just specific elements to test multiple unique variations (Wainwright 2021). We will also conduct secondary research into optimal times to post on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube before testing, as shown in figure 9.

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We will create two different adverts one with a call to action (CTA) and one without. Advert layout one (figure 10) does not contain a call to action. Advert layout two (figure 11) contains a clear call to action. Success will be measured by the click-through rate (CTR) which is calculated by the number of clicks divided by the total number of views. Whichever layout receives the highest CTR is how we will measure the importance of including a CTA in our adverts.

Testing for YouTube

For the MeiXter YouTube channel, we will test two different thumbnails. Thumbnails are vital at grabbing the audience's attention and helping them decide whether to click on your video. We will measure which thumbnail is more successful by the number of clicks on the video. We are comparing two thumbnails in different colours for our campaign to test which colour attracts more people to click on the MeiXter YouTube video. Thumbnail one (figure 12) is in light blue whereas thumbnail two (figure 13) is in dark purple.

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We have created a test and learn template which contains information including the start and end date, hypothesis and success measure for each of our tactics. Please refer to appendix 12 for the test and learn template.

Appendicies

As shown in Figure 6, the RACE Marketing Framework has been used to show how the SMART objectives will be achieved throughout the 3-month MeiXter campaign. The first stage of the framework is Reach; this is about building brand awareness through online and offline channels (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2019) to reach the target audience (students and teachers between the ages of 18 and 25). To achieve objectives 1 and 3, through online channels, our recommendation to MeiXter is to share content on all social media platforms and use ads on Instagram and LinkedIn. Additionally, MeiXter will visit universities and attend events to increase brand awareness through offline channels. The Act stage of the framework will also help to achieve objective 1, engaging the audience with the brand on the website and other online platforms (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2019) with the aim for them to download the MeiXter app.

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A/B testing will test social media ads and YouTube thumbnails to see which will result in the most engagement. This can then be used later in future for MeiXter’s content creation. Also, through offline channels, attending the university events, with MeiXter’s banner, and engaging with students using fun and interactive activities (football and basketball). The third stage is Convert. MeiXter will use incentives to encourage students to download the app at these university events. Students will receive a free cupcake after downloading the app to increase 

the number of active downloads by at least 10% (objective 2). The final stage of the framework is engaging in building customer relationships (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick, 2019) and using marketing tools such as polls and contests to engage with current followers and attract new ones. Also, use emails of signed up app users and send them out promotional codes for discounts off the premium version for one week each month. This will help to create those customer relationships and loyalty

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