Date of Defense

4-18-2019

Date of Graduation

4-2019

Department

Marketing

First Advisor

Karen Lancendorfer

Second Advisor

Greg Gerfen

Abstract

Wienerschnitzel, a quick service restaurant specializing in hot dogs, asked advertising students across the nation to complete an integrated marketing campaign for the NSAC American Advertising Federation Case Competition held in April 2019. The client provided teams with background information on the company, competitor names, objectives they wished to be achieved from the campaign, target audiences, and a $25 million budget. Our team, senior Advertising and Promotion students led by Dr. Karen Lancendorfer at Western Michigan University, researched, strategized, and designed a full integrated marketing campaign for the client to implement.

The first step in the creation of the campaign was the collection of an abundance of primary and secondary research to understand how people overall felt about hot dogs and Wienerschnitzel. Next, we identified our target audience: men 25-34 years old and adults 35-44 years old. Through this research, we came across an underlying idea in our target audience: people love to eat hot dogs in social situations, and those situations lead to happiness. Thus, developing the slogan, “Happy Moments are Hot Dog Moments.”

After developing the big idea of “Happy Moments are Hot Dog Moments,” the team put together a national media schedule with heavy-up spot buys using designated channels to reach our target audience. This includes: programmatic tv, streaming video, programmatic streaming radio, social media, paid search/SEO, programmatic in-app, native advertising, and more. These media channels featured creative executions that our Creative Team developed using Adobe software. With research completed, the big idea formed, and creative produced, the Production Team created the Plansbook, a 21-page document to feature our insights and creative executions for the “Happy Moments are Hot Dog Moments” campaign. As the Plansbook was finished, team members aided in the development of a script and slide deck that aligned with the tone of the campaign in preparation for the 20 minute presentation to be given on the day of the competition.

My role in the creation of the “Happy Moments are Hot Dog Moments” campaign was as an Account Executive along with three of my peers. In this role, I oversaw all efforts including: initial strategy, concept creation, and the final proposal. Proofing the Plansbook, scripts, and presentation for accuracy and completion was our main focus. Organizing schedules and maintaining checkpoints for Media, Creative, Production, and Strategy teams aided in the process flow of the campaign. As the competition neared, it was my job to organize students to the competition site and ensure the presenters had the help and rehearsal time they needed on the day of the competition.

On April 12, 2019 our team of Advertising and Promotion students competed in the NSAC American Advertising Federation Case Competition in South Bend, Indiana. We placed third in our district.

Access Setting

Honors Thesis-Restricted

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