ShopAcrossTexas Regional Media Deck

Execu&ve Summary

Situa&on Analysis Brand Analysis

S.W.O.T. Analysis Geographic Analysis

Compe::ve Analysis

Target Market Media Vision

Media Objec&ves Recommenda&ons

Road Trip: Texas

College Suitcase General Media

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CONTENTS TABLE OF

Executive Summary ShopAcrossTexas is built on the belief that quality content drives traffic. Star:ng from this founda:on, CuNng Edge will bring ShopAcrossTexas to the next level by implemen:ng a fully integrated media effort emphasizing user interac:on. Through this, CuNng Edge will establish Shop Across Texas as the go-‐to stop for shopping for travelers.

The evolu:on of ShopAcrossTexas comes in several parts. First is a mobile applica:on known as RoadTrip: Texas, developed to provide travelers recommended stops and shops tailored to their trip based on des:na:on inputs. RoadTrip: Texas will feature reviews from SAT’s site, loca:on-‐based searching, content sharing, and more.

Next is a reassessment of ShopAcrossTexas’s blog strategy. CuNng edge has developed two alterna:ve paths: spread resources between CollegeSuitcase and Hither and Yonder in aYempt to segment audiences or consolidate efforts around an enhanced Hither and Yonder to serve as a strong, singular voice for the SAT brand.

However, the primary path on ShopAcrossTexas’s map to success is content expansion that will drive traffic to RoadTrip: Texas, a revamped blog, and the site itself. In order for ShopAcrossTexas to become a useful tool for travelers, it must incorporate a greater variety of local businesses, as well as user-‐generated content. While maintaining a focus on retail, including insights on local restaurants and other ac:vi:es will grow SAT’s audience appeal. In addi:on, user reviews should become a key component to the site, allowing visitors to give input and feel a part of the SAT community.

Finally, in order to spread the word about ShopAcrossTexas’s brand reforma:on, CuNng Edge has developed strategic media recommenda:ons. An increased digital presence as embodied by smarter SEO/SEM, stronger social integra:on, and placements on compe:tor sites and mobile apps will grab the aYen:on of our pre-‐planning primary target. To reach the more spontaneous secondary target on the road, ShopAcrossTexas will employ radio and OOH adver:sing to drive mobile traffic and cross-‐promote RoadTrip: Texas.

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? WHERE ARE WE

Abilene Allen Amarillo Shopping Arlington Austin Bandera College Beaumont Boerne Brownsville State Fair Bryan Canton College Station Local Corpus Christi Dallas Denton Shops El Paso Forney Fort Worth Discounts Fredericksburg Frisco Gal veston Bars Georgetown Granbury Grapevine Ha ren Hillsboro Houston Restaurants Hurst Jefferson Johnson Sweepstakes Kerrville Killeen Kingsville Laredo Lewisville Longview Guides Lubbock Mc Kinney Tours Mesquite Midland New Braunfels Odessa Plano Round Rock Gifts Round Top Salado San Angelo Road Trips San Antonio San Marcos Southlake Temple Tyler Waco Planner Waxahachie Weatherford West Wichita Falls Wimberley The

ShopAcrossTexas.com is a web resource for people who travel to shop in Texas. With over 74 par:cipa:ng Texas ci:es, SAT offers discounts to local shops, “best of” lists, advice on sights to see on a Texas road trip, and various giveaways and sweepstakes.

Every year, ShopAcrossTexas releases a survey to thousands of Texans asking them to submit hundreds of their favorite Texas stores. From those responses, ShopAcrossTexas releases their "Best Stores in Town" list detailing the top stores and their informa:on.

Sweepstakes, held monthly, offer people the chance to win a getaway to a Texas city. The bundled prize usually includes :ckets to aYrac:ons, paid hotel, and gi` cards to shops and restaurants.

Launched on June 18th, 2008, Hither and Yonder is a traveling/shopping blog recommending what to do this weekend, discussing travel topics and :ps, and featuring local stores. Bobbie Pen, launched July 12th, 2008, is a blog featuring reviews, ravings, and opinions on anything and everything gi`s, beauty, shopping and décor.

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Several cri:cal numbers stand out. First, 85% of visitors frequent ShopAcrossTexas once and never return, indica:ng that the site’s current content is neither useful or relevant enough to keep users coming back. In addi:on, 57% of visitors are viewing only one page before leaving, meaning that users either find the site architecture too frustra:ng or the content not relevant enough to explore. Together, this means there are a majority of visitors coming to ShopAcrossTexas.com, viewing the home page and then not further exploring or returning to the site.

Users are coming to ShopAcrossTexas through a healthy mix of search, referrals, and direct traffic clearly in search of something, but due to poor content, site architecture, or other factors, they are not finding it.

Traffic Sources Search Engine 17%

Referring Sites 41%

Direct Traffic 42%

•  Vast majority of traffic is coming from the DFW area •  Dallas has the most visitors at approximately 11k this month

•  Next most comes from Aus:n at approximately 2.5k this month

• Mobile •  About 3,000 visits a month come from mobile devices-‐-‐a majority of those devices being iPhones.

• Mobile visitors are nearly consistent with other visitors at 2.17 pages per visit with 1:29 on the site

Keywords: “Shopping Texas” 1. ShopAcrossTexas.com 2. GoTexas.about.com 3. CitySearch.com 4. TexasShopping.net 5. TouringTexas.com

Keywords: “Shopping Dallas” 1. VisitDallas.com 2. GalleriaDallas.com 3. Virtual Tourist.com 4. NorthParkCenter.com 31. ShopAcrossTexas.com (pg. 3)

Keywords: “Shopping Houston” 1. Virtual Tourist.com 2. VisitHoustonTexas.com 3. 10best.com 4. Simon.com (Galleria) 69. ShopAcrossTexas.com (pg. 6)

Keywords: “Shopping San Antonio” 1. VisitSanAntonio.com 2. SanAntonioTourist.com 3. SanAntonio.com 4. TheShopsAtLaCantera.com 70. ShopAcrossTexas.com (pg. 7)

The Search Situa&on

Source: Google Analy?cs 6

•  Views •  Average of 1:37 spent on the site •  56.34% bounce rate •  84% of visitors are new •  85% of visitors are visi:ng one :me only •  57% of visitors only visit one page, followed by almost 19% visi:ng two pages

Approximately 51k visits this month

S.W.O.T

•  Strong in Dallas market •  Hither and Yonder = popular content •  Strong shopping content; variety in shopping

•  Strong par:cipa:on in sweepstakes, contests, discounts

•  Lack of Dining, Ac:vi:es •  Too many “Best of” lists •  Weak presence outside Dallas •  Poor site architecture •  Sloppy links, technicali:es

•  Content expansion of eats and entertainment

•  Geographical expansion to IH-‐20 running East-‐West

•  Increased SEO/SEM presence •  Use niche content to steal share from generic compe:tors

•  Integrate reviews and user insights

•  Cultural intricacies among various markets

•  Struggling retailers in economy •  Changing technologies

Strengths Weaknesses

•  Style features could be sharper •  Many one-‐:me discount seekers

Opportunities Threats

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Strengths •  Presence in Dallas market -‐ High coverage on and par:cipa:on

from Dallas area •  Content -‐ Variety of stores in the retail market (bou:ques and

other kinds of shops) •  Gi` Guides •  Best of Lists •  Hither and Yonder •  “What to Do”

•  Sweepstakes and Discounts •  Promote different ci:es and towns and their local

stores (The Grapevine sweepstakes) •  Best of Lists -‐ visitors can vote on stores to include on

the lists •  State Fair Discounts are major draw

•  Narrow content •  No insight on Where to Eat or What to Do narrows

audience appeal and lessens site’s u:lity •  “Best” Lists

•  Too many, can become confusing •  Need more content variety

•  Loca:on •  Content and features are centered around Dallas and

its suburbs •  Alienates users from or traveling to other ci:es

•  Site Architecture •  Sloppy/dead links

•  Example: The blog links •  Not easy to navigate

•  Many of the pages are buried within different pages of the site

Weaknesses

•  Content expansion of eats and entertainment •  Keep shopping focus, extend content coverage to other

travel ac:vi:es •  Expand audience appeal and site u:lity

•  Geographical expansion to IH-‐20 running East-‐West •  Aèr improving content on IH-‐35 corridor, grow to

include travelers headed E-‐W •  Increased SEO/SEM presence •  Use niche content to steal share from generic compe:tors

•  Informa:on about smaller towns and those further away from the major ci:es

•  Integrate reviews and user insights •  Many of the seasons allow for travel

•  Summer :me travel 55-‐60% •  High involvement more in the summer at 67% •  Fall and Autumun 22-‐25%

Opportunities Threats •  Cultural intricacies among various markets

•  Many smaller towns and ci:es have a culture esoteric to outside visitors

•  Visitors may find some cultural transla:on difficult •  Struggling retailers in economy

•  Smaller businesses oèn are hurt before the larger na:onal chains

•  Smaller businesses are also prone to buy-‐ups by larger na:onal chains

•  Changing technologies •  So`ware and hardware is constantly changing and its

hard to keep updated •  Mul:ple plasorms makes it hard to produce one

cohesive product 8

Texas Urban Triangle

  Just under 70% of the state popula:on

  The stretch of I-‐35 alone has a popula:on 11,062,385 in its major metropolitan areas. (2009 census es:mates)

  A majority of Shop Across Texas ci:es lie along the I-‐35 corridor or nearby it

Texas has a large popula:on with business friendly policies, which gives Shop Across Texas an ideal environment to flourish. Specifically, with Shop Across Texas’ large presence on I-‐35 places it in a strong posi:on to u:lize the large popula:on along that corridor.

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

I-‐35

I-‐10

I-‐45

17 Mil l ion People

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Competitive Analysis

With so much informa:on at our finger:ps, shoppers on the road have infinite op:ons when searching for where to shop in a strange city. Some of these sites pose direct compe::on to ShopAcrossTexas and can be broken down into four categories: Texas Travel Guides, City Specialists, Review Reservoirs, and CVB Sites. 12

Texas Travel Guides

Strengths •  Interac:ve features •  Extensive database of ac:vity

•  Restaurants

City Specialists

Weakness •  A lot of ads •  Restricted content •  Bland design

Strengths •  Trip planner •  Tons of info •  Easy-‐to-‐use interface •  Events

Weakness •  Bad design •  LiYle local authority

Strengths •  Detailed ar:cle-‐based content

•  Strong events database •  Extensive menu op:ons

Weakness •  No city-‐specific op:ons

•  Crowded with ads •  Limited restaurant info

•  No hotel info

Strengths •  Expert on Dallas •  Extensive info on dining, shops, bars, events

•  Variety of blogs •  Quality copy/graphics •  Strong iPhone app

Weakness •  Covers DFW only •  Can be abstruse to travelers

•  Busy design

Strengths •  high local authority •  deep content inventory

•  strong local following

High-‐Affinity Sites •  texastribune.com •  aus:n360.com •  mysanantonio.com •  houstonpress.com •  statesman.com

High-‐Affinity Sites •  texastribune.com •  aus:n360.com •  mysanantonio.com •  houstonpress.com •  statesman.com

High-‐Affinity Sites •  guidelive.com •  dallascad.com •  dallas.citysearch.com •  pegasusnews.com •  dallas.bizjournals.com

Strengths •  high local authority •  extensive coverage of events, eats, and entertainment

•  definite local personality

Weakness •  layout busy at :mes

•  Some content esoteric to travelers

•  Obnoxious occasional ad takeovers

High-‐Affinity Sites •  do512.com •  statesman.com •  stubbsaus:n.com •  aus:ntexas.org •  news8aus:n.com

Weakness •  Boring and busy site design

•  emphasis on news over human interest

•  liYle traveler-‐relevant content

High-‐Affinity Sites •  citysearch.com •  sacurrent.com •  foxsanantonio.com •  ksat.com •  kens5.com

Uniques: 52K Visits/User: 3.9 Avg. Time: 5:30





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Review Sites

Strengths •  Strong local voice •  Ground level consumers = credibility •  Easy search •  Users build content •  Forums •  Hyper-‐local events •  Yelp Elite incen:ve •  Social aspect •  High-‐u:lity mobile app

Weakness •  Some poor user content •  Controversial adver:sing/revenue model •  Heavy on restaurants • Weaker in shopping, ac:vi:es, & services •  LiYle travel-‐relevant content

High-‐Affinity Sites •  citysearch.com •  menupages.com •  zagat.com •  urbanspoon.com •  menuism.com

Strengths •  Official contributor reviews •  “Best lists” content •  BeYer category balance than Yelp •  Easy-‐to-‐navigate design/info architecture •  Mobile app

Weakness •  Lacks local personality •  Lacks color •  Less audience-‐generated content

High-‐Affinity Sites •  business.intuit.com •  menuism.com •  yellowbot.com •  yelp.com •  insiderpages.com

Strengths •  Organic search presence

•  Engaging design •  iPhone app •  Searchability •  Deals and discounts •  Deep events database

Weakness •  Somewhat generic •  Lacks local business focus

•  More focused on connec:ng tourists with hotels

•  Rentals •  AYrac:ons •  Major shopping malls

High-‐Affinity Sites •  guidelive.com •  bigtex.com •  craigslist.org •  dallasnews.com •  hilton.com

CVB Sites


•  Database of largely local retailers

Weakness •  Unengaging design •  Lacks personality

High-‐Affinity Sites •  citysearch.com •  houstontx.gov •  houstonpress.com •  chron.com •  har.com


•  Strong city personality conveyed

•  Well-‐built list of local retailers

•  Varied lists of local eats, sites

•  Site usability

Weakness •  Some poor user content

•  Adver:sing/revenue model

•  Not targeted to travelers

•  Controversial prac:ces

High-‐Affinity Sites •  thesanantonioriverwalk.com

•  sanantonio.com •  citysearch.com •  seaworld.com •  mysanantonio.com

VisitSanAntonio

VisitHoutonTexas

Uniques: 11M Visits/User: 4.1 Avg. Time: 5:40

Uniques: 5.1M Visits/User: 3.2 Avg. Time: 3:10




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High These individuals are those who turn to films and books for background research. They are me:culous in their planning and tend to travel more than 250 miles on their vaca:ons.

High-‐Medium Travelers in this area of involvement do not use specific films and books for research. Instead, they use more generic resources to look up informa:on about towns and ci:es. They plan well in advance of their travel date and travel more than 250 miles away from their homes.

Medium-‐Low These travelers do not use any books or films, and rarely do any background research on their des:na:ons. They take less than 3 months to plan their vaca:ons.

Low These travelers oèn do not do any background research on their trips. They take less than 3 months to plan their trips and travel less than 250 miles away from their homes.

This segment includes lower income families, typically have 2-‐3 children in the family, and have 2 wage earners. Similarly, this group also includes young families that comprise of individuals whose careers are not professionally developed or at senior level posi:ons.

As the involvement level of the travelers increases, age, income, professional level increases, while the number of family members and wage earners decreases.

Four Categories of Travelers

HIGH HIGH MEDIUM

MEDIUM LOW LOW

Source: Tourism Management 15

For its flagship site and all suppor:ng media placements, ShopAcrossTexas should target women of all ages with a focus on working women ages 30 to 45 who have a college educa:on and moderate income. These women have older families who are gearing up for college, but s:ll live at home. Impromptu weekend trips to another city are not part of their agenda. Instead they plan, plan, plan. They do extensive research to gather informa:on on where they are going and where to stop along the way. Various resources are used during this process such as checking out local blogs and websites to look for reviews and recommenda:ons from the locals. These travelers are willing to spend more money during their trips and more likely to try new things in these ci:es.

Source: Tourism Management Source: MRI

SAT should aim for High -‐ Medium •  This group is less likely to take a plane everywhere on each trip and instead focuses on driving.

•  They are the ones going on trips to the city and tour and visit spas

•  High involvement means that people are more likely to rent cars out to use as well

•  They plan more oèn and are actually interested in tourism and explora:on

•  Smaller than some segments in popula:on size, but greater in economic poten:al

•  Type A Travelers consist of women ages 30 to 45 with a college educa:on who are employed earning a mid-‐level income and travel domes:cally 3 or more :mes a year •  Research shows that women are 21% more likely to go shopping on any form of trip •  Addi:onally, women are more likely to travel specifically to aYend a specific event, go shopping, and visit spas for relaxa:on •  The target market is made of researchers. They look for deals and read reviews and, through they are not likely to contribute a community type blog, Type A Travelers will seek out and consume the content if relevant. •  They are also ac:ve par:cipants on Facebook and TwiYer.

TYPE A TRAVELERS

ShopAcrossTexas should target…

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Type A Traveler Primary Target Profile

she is able to discover every city’s local charm and allure. When she returns from these trips, she immediately wants to find ways to bring her family back to these ci:es so that they can appreciate what Texas has to offer. She oèn starts her planning for these mini-‐vaca:ons by looking on the Internet for things to do and what to see in these ci:es with the help of her husband and her two kids. Aèr spending :me on the road, they immediately find local places to eat, but their favorite thing to do is to find hidden treasures of the city and enjoy being a local.

Karen Atwood is a 43 year-‐old married mother of two teenage boys. She lives in the Dallas area where her life revolves around her work as a commercial real estate agent, but she makes it a point to find :me away from the office to spend :me with her family. Every morning, she makes breakfast for her kids and husband before making her way through the Dallas rush-‐hour traffic to work.

Much of her work requires her to travel across Texas to scope out poten:al new loca:ons; It is through these travels that

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Casual Trekker

Expanding SAT’s outreach efforts to a wider audience, CuNng Edge has chosen a secondary target market in which we focus on younger consumers in their early 20s to early 30s. These Casual Trekkers consist of lower income ($30,000 -‐ $40,000 a year) individuals who have not yet established a professional career in the workplace. These families have a low-‐medium involvement in the research process where they take less than 3 months to research their vaca:on des:na:ons and usually travel closer to home. If they are not staying with family or friends, Casual Trekkers are staying at low-‐cost and budget friendly motels in order to make most out of their money for travel.

Julia Hearn is a college graduate in her late-‐20s from Ohio working in an entry level posi:on at a small Dallas adver:sing agency. She married her college sweetheart right out of college and they are enjoying living the life of young newlyweds. Her job keeps her busy, but she finds :me away from work to spend with her husband. Julia and her husband oèn love to wander around downtown Dallas, but are looking to explore more of Texas and what it has to offer. They oèn take liYle :me to plan these trips and usually find friends to stay with while they are visi:ng.

•  Low-‐medium involvement (<3 month planning, mass media sources, less than 250 mi traveled) •  Average age=22-‐29 •  One-‐income family •  Lowest income of segments (40% $30k+; 24% $40k) •  Stays in low-‐cost motels, with family/friends •  Travels by car •  Common trip types: close-‐to-‐home, city, outdoor

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Secondary Target Profile

? WHERE ARE WE GOING

While maintaining its focus on local retailers, ShopAcrossTexas must expand its site to include What to Do and Where to Eat so as to increase both u:lity and appeal for a wider audience, while also integra:ng User Generated Content (UGC) such as reviews and insights to foster site credibility, par:cipa:on, and community.

During content expansion, SAT must incorporate intensified search and social efforts as well as increase its ad weight on compe:tor sites and mobile apps to raise brand awareness and usage among our pre-‐planning core target. To reach the more spontaneous secondary target, ShopAcrossTexas will establish a presence on the road through strategic placements in OOH and radio during the spring and summer months.

Shop Across Texas will also engage consumers outside of its main site through two brand-‐boos:ng components: the revised blog strategy will incen:vize Texas travel through event coverage and short trip :ps, while the RoadTrip: Texas mobile app will provide users all the essen:al SAT insights on the go.

But, in whatever media endeavors the brand pursues, Shop Across Texas must never shi` focus from those it was created to support: homegrown businesses. In staying true to the Lone Star’s local shops, eats, and adventures, Shop Across Texas reaches beyond clichéd travel guides and :red tourist des:na:ons to draw a map by which travelers will find the true Texas.

Media Vision: The Roadmap

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Media Objectives Content 1.  Increase average :me spent on the site from 1 min 37 sec to 4 min. 2.  Increase visitor return rate from 15.7% to 40%. 3.  Increase mode page views from 1 to 5. 4.  Decrease bounce rate from 56% to 30%

Expect fun events like the popular GrapeStomp (get ready to channel I Love Lucy!), winery tas&ng room tours, the Central Market Culinary Pavillion, People’s Choice wine tas&ng and KidZone. But that’s not all–there will also be loads of live entertainment on 6 stages, ranging from rock to jazz to country, including Le Freak and Mark McKinney.

Digital Presence

1.  Appear in top 10 search results by Fall 2011. 2.  Achieve 3% CTR (Click-‐Through Rate) in all SEM campaigns. 3.  Achieve an ac:ve user rate of 20%..

Mobile Presence 1.  See a monthly 10% increase in mobile app downloads. 2.  From this, have a 30% of conversion with mobile coupon use to

develop a base to build up from. 3.  Achieve a 50% repeat user rate in comparison to total downloads

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MOBILE

APP MOBILE

APP MOBILE

RoadTrip: Texas The primary func:on of RoadTrip: Texas is to provide real u:lity and convenience for users to boost the ShopAcrossTexas brand and drive traffic to its main site. Since the app will be released as a free feature, RoadTrip: Texas should serve as a catalyst driving ac:ve, engaged users to SAT’s site and vice versa.

•  Aèr establishing a strong app founda:on along the IH-‐35 corridor, expand to include the rest of Texas.

•  Start with IH-‐20 and IH-‐45, as these two routes pick up a large number of other SAT ci:es. This will cover East to West Texas and Dallas to Houston.

•  By eventually including the en:rety of Texas, the RoadTrip:Texas increases its audience and usability.

•  Gives customized recommenda:ons for ci:es, shopping, and ea:ng based on input of des:na:on, preferred number of stops, city preferences, what kind of stop they are looking to make, and how much :me they have to spend traveling

•  Local stores and smaller ci:es are given priority so that users can feel they are geNng a truly different experience than their average IH-‐35 road trip

•  Suggested loca:on pages will include SAT user reviews

•  Provide GPS-‐based direc:ons to chosen stores, restaurants, sites

•  Integrate Facebook Connect so that user history and preferences may be stored to improve future recommenda:ons.

•  Enable user content crea:on •  Support review and sugges:on pos:ngs from the road •  Allow and encourage users to post trip progress to

Facebook, TwiYer, SAT homepage •  Facilitate media sharing: user-‐uploaded photos, videos,

and feedback

Recommend Social

Expand

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COLLEGE SUITCASE COLLEGE SUITCASE COLLEGE SUITCASE COLLEGE SUITCASE

College Suitcase The concept of CollegeSuitcase.com needs to be reworked. While an interes:ng endeavor, the blog is completely incompa:ble with the goals and the target market of SAT. SAT’s target market is middle-‐aged women with moderate incomes who travel oèn and have a disposable income to shop. CollegeSuitcase targets college students who neither have the :me nor the money to travel. Spending :me and resources on CollegeSuitcase will ul:mately result in spliNng up SAT’s focus. Currently, SAT boasts to blogs:

In an effort to accommodate both preferred objec:ves and changing consumer trends, CuNng Edge has established two alterna:ve approaches to the CollegeSuitcase blog. The first outlines suggested improvements to content and coverage in order to increase readership of and par:cipa:on in the current CollegeSuitcase, while the second recommends an increased focus on Hither and Yonder to build from its current success and capitalize on its even greater poten:al.

+  Incorporates trip and event sugges:ons

+ Focuses on products +  Incorporates discounts and savings

+ Heavily updated

− Poorly detailed event sugges:ons

− Expensive, high-‐end retail sugges:ons

Hither and Yonder

+ Personal Reviews + Focuses on products

− Unorganized −  Infrequently updated − Not a lot of content − Core market perspec:ve

Bobbie Pen

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Option A: College Suitcase Overhaul

To widen its audience appeal and increase readership, CollegeSuitcase should deploy a small army of interns to write from a younger viewpoint and provide insight for the secondary target market. Content should come from a mix of the State’s largest universi:es such as the University of Texas at Aus:n, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech as well as its largest metropolitan areas such as Dallas-‐Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston.

Small Army of Interns The blog should focus on trip and event informa:on with aYen:on to retail op:ons while traveling. Content can include product selec:ons and reviews, but should center around local events and ac:vi:es. Using fes:vals and concerts such as Aus:n City Limits Music Fes:val and the State Fair can drive traffic to the blog by offering sugges:ons as to where to shop, eat, and go while students are on the road.

Focus on Trips and Events

SAT’s ini:al op:on is to completely revamp the CollegeSuitcase blog. CS’s current situa:on consists of some pros, but heavy cons:

By providing this content, consumers will automa:cally think of the blog in the future and revisit for further informa:on. However, there are several reasons why we should not invest too heavily in this idea. College students simply do not fit in with ShopAcrossTexas’s target, and finding content that is both relevant to the readers and congruent with the SAT brand would be Sisyphean. Although a college blog seems promising, researchers show that teenagers and young adults steadily see less appeal in blogs. Conversely, adults aged 30 and older are increasingly blogging about different aspects of their lives.

+ Tips and tricks to saving money + Sugges:ons for surviving college + WriYen from a young, college perspec:ve

− Poorly wriYen − Infrequently updates − Narrowly targeted to shopaholic college females

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While siphoning :me and resources into CollegeSuitcase will water down ShopAcrossTexas’s efforts in both outlets, focusing full-‐force on Hither and Yonder will give the blog a stronger, more direct voice with which to support the SAT brand. We recommend that ShopAcrossTexas choose Op:on B due to the benefits of revamping the Hither and Yonder, which greatly outweigh that of overhauling of the CollegeSuitcase.

Option B: Revamp Hither and Yonder

Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project, “Social Media and Young Adults”, February 03, 2010

•  Hither and Yonder has an established readership and successful content, and ShopAcrossTexas can leverage H+Y’s current successes into future growth

•  Rather than split its focus between two separate readerships and content themes, SAT can concentrate efforts on a single blog and market it more effec:vely.

•  Readership of long-‐form blogs is decreasing among younger, college-‐aged consumers. However, older audiences-‐-‐including Type A Travelers-‐-‐are regular readers.

28%

14%

7% 11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

2006 2009

Blogging Over Time

Teens and Young Adults (12-‐29) Adults (30+)

Benefits to Honing in on Hither and Yonder

1.  Expand content coverage to include both Type A Traveler and Casual Trekker targets •  Bringing both targets together around the common theme of traveling local across Texas will boost readership and foster community

•  Increase media variety by including more video and interac:ve content to keep readers engaged 2.  Use events and other travel incen:ves as main topics and build content around homegrown retailers, eateries, and ac:vi:es

•  Give readers a reason to travel (shopping alone won’t do it) like a major city event, family holiday, or weekend getaway •  Then fill them in on the local shops and spots they cannot miss

3.  Dish out insider deals, but smartly and sparingly •  Pos:ng discounts in rapid fire only draws one-‐:me bargain visitors and cheapens the SAT brand •  Incorporate exclusive discounts intermiYently on H+Y to aYract ini:al visitors, but keep them coming back with compelling

content

Suggested Improvements to Hither and Yonder

Source: Tourism Management 28

GENERAL MEDIA GENERAL MEDIA

Content Expansion

1.   Build “Where to Eat” and “What to Do” categories •  Shopping is only part of a traveler’s story-‐-‐we must eat and explore, too •  Expanding into new categories draws new readers to shopping content •  SAT is now suppor:ng more local business outside of retail alone

2.   Implement user-‐generated reviews on the site. •  Begin with content from official ShopAcrossTexas contributors, followed by user reviews. •  User Reviews will start off with designated “elite users” from towns that can give the inside scoop on places that outsiders may not know about and build the founda:on for user-‐generated content. These reviews will help to give visitors a beYer idea of the businesses Shop Across Texas recommends.

3.   Carve out market in smaller travel hubs before taking on big ci&es •  Yelp, CitySearch, and local publica:ons have a strong hold on UGC sites in big ci:es •  Smaller towns like Waco, Abilene, and Fredericksburg have liYle informa:on on local treasures, and Yelp-‐dependent travelers from metro areas have no source to turn to when passing through

•  SAT will be the go-‐to-‐guide for review-‐reliant Type A Travelers and the younger, local-‐loving Casual Trekkers

To increase audience appeal and brand u:lity, ShopAcrossTexas will maintain a focus on retail but must expand its local content offerings.

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Strengthen Presence Online

1.   Content, content, content •  As discussed, give searchers a reason to find you by providing (and encouraging users to provide) unique, relevant content-‐-‐and lots of it.

•  Improving content inventory and site architecture will naturally result in some SEO boost. •  Increasing adver:sing with linked banners on the SAT website to publicize the blog will help produce more traffic throughout the website.

2.   Con&nue to form strategic digital partnerships •  Make more friends with brands such as VisitDallas.com •  Turn compe:tors like City Specialists and CVB sites into partners with whom SAT can mutually link

3.   SEM in the Spring&me •  Type A Travelers are planning summer and fall trips approximately 3 months ahead, so save your SEM budget while developing content to launch a heavy campaign in the early spring through summer months

•  Think narrow search queries such as “an:que store waco” or “Mexican restaurant Brownwood” as opposed to broad keywords like “shopping Texas”

•  Focusing keyword bids around search queries and search queries around text ad copy means your ads are highly relevant to all who see them and your PPC budget is not wasted

Search, Social, and Compe::ve

Search

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1.   Set Up A System •  Type A Travelers are the among the fastest growing segments in social media growing by 20% in 2009

•  Integrate SAT’s new UGC features with Facebook Connect and TwiYer by offering automa:c logins, tweets and wall posts to users’ profiles any:me they post a review on SAT

•  Incorporate RoadTrip: Texas by encouraging users to check-‐in at SAT favorites and post trip progress

•  Stream all social ac:vity on a homepage widget

2.   Leverage Social for SEO •  SAT posts repeat-‐worthy content-‐-‐that is, content that makes the re-‐poster look good-‐-‐to Facebook, TwiYer with direct site links aYached

•  Followers and fans re-‐post your content and link to permanent plasorms like blogs, forums, etc.

•  Social efforts and subsequent second order links have now become permanent SEO boosters

•  Any content posted on the blog will be posted and/or linked on other social media websites.

Be Social 1.   Steal Type A Travelers from Enemy Turf

•  Establish an ad presence on sites where Type A Traveler is researching to steal aYen:on and click-‐throughs

•  Possible vehicles include: •  Dmagazine.com •  Yelp.com •  Aus:n360.com •  TexasMonthly.com •  Expedia.com •  Travelocity.com

•  Employ retarge:ng ads based on user ac:vity within SAT’s site once she has moved to a compe:tor or other site in order to prolong engagement

2.   Meet Casual Trekkers on Mobile •  CTRs are 2x higher for mobile banner ads than for standard banner ads, especially among young adults such as Casual Trekkers

•  Find users on the road through banner ads and inters::al in compe:tor and high affinity mobile apps

•  Some ideal mobile app vehicles include: •  Foursquare •  Kayak •  The Weather Channel

Compe&tors’ Sites and Mobile Apps

Source: eMarkter 32

Radio and OOH While online recommenda:ons will focus heavily on the primary target, Radio and OOH efforts will be directed at the secondary Casual Trekkers during the summer and fall months. On-‐the-‐road placements will be a natural fit to cross-‐promote RoadTrip:Texas. These ads are meant to reach the target in the car. These consumers are less likely to have established planning sites, and plan trips with short no:ce.

Radio OOH •  Will broadcast from the major ci:es, which will also cover most of the major travel routes through Texas.

•  RoadTrip: Texas will be featured for it’s ability to locate the best shopping in these ci:es and in smaller towns throughout Texas.

•  Purchase Midday and Aèrnoon Drive dayparts, during which shopping ac:vity is greatest

•  Billboards will be placed along major travel routes (i.e.: IH-‐35) and the perimeters of major ci:es

•  Heavy coverage in smaller towns with liYle local insights available online and own those markets for travelers

•  Billboards will feature on-‐the-‐spot sugges:ons for retailers in the town that they are featured

•  In addi:on to promo:ng specific loca:ons, the ads will highlight the RoadTrip: Texas’s ability to deliver customized recommenda:ons.

•  These spots will appeals to both travelers and locals •  Low-‐Medium involvement travelers could use them as an opportunity to find something to do

•  Locals who are also low-‐medium involvement could plan short trips to nearby ci:es easily with informa:on provided

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CUTTING EDGE Hernandez Thao Le Kathryn Poh John Chapman Kate Click Manuel

Documents

ShopAcrossTexas Regional Media Deck