NSAC CASE - Villanova University

2005 National Student
Advertising Competition
sponsored by
Case study/
policy and procedures statement
2005 National Student
Advertising Competition
sponsored by
case study
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
I. Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
II. Corporate Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
A. History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
B. Yahoo! Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
1. Messenger
2. Launch
3. Games
4. Movies
5. Search
6. Mail
7. Mobile
C. 2004 Yahoo! Brand Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
III. Teen Consumer/Competitive Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
A. Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
B. Market Size/Online Penetration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
C. Online Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
D. Disposable Income/Online Shopping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
E. Brand Perceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
F. Brand: Reach & Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
G. Teen Sites: AOL/Microsoft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
IV. Assignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
A. Campaign Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
V. Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
A. Y! Buzz Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
1
I. E XECUTIVE S UMMARY
Objective
By the end of the first year, show the following changes among teens 13-17:
1) Drive registered* Yahoo! users up 50%
2) Increase “average time spent” on Yahoo! by 25%
3) Grow use of Yahoo! products by one on average **
4) Increase “Differentiation” measure for Yahoo! by 10% (Brand Asset Valuator)
* Registered user=individual who has signed up for a particular service (e.g., registered for Yahoo! Messenger)
** Products are things like Mail, Messenger, Launch
Target Market
Teens age 13 – 17 years
Campaign Period
August 1, 2005 – July 31, 2006
Budget
$10 million
Campaign Coverage
National
2
II. CORPORATE BACKGROUND
Yahoo! Corporate History/Values
A. History of Yahoo! – How It All Started
Yahoo! began as a student hobby and evolved into a global brand that has changed the way people communicate with
each other, find and access information and purchase things. The two founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang,
Ph.D., candidates in electrical engineering at Stanford University, started their guide in a campus trailer in February 1994
as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Before long they were spending more time on their
home-brewed lists of favorite links than on their doctoral dissertations. Eventually, Jerry and David's lists became too
long and unwieldy, and they broke them out into categories. When the categories became too full, they developed
subcategories ... and the core concept behind Yahoo! was born.
The Web site started out as "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web" but eventually received a new moniker with the help
of a dictionary. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle," but Filo and Yang
insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth."
Yahoo! itself first resided on Yang's student workstation, "Akebono," while the software was lodged on Filo's computer,
"Konishiki" — both named after legendary sumo wrestlers.
Jerry and David soon found they were not alone in wanting a single place to find useful Web sites. Before long, hundreds
of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. Word spread from friends to what quickly
became a significant, loyal audience throughout the closely-knit Internet community. Yahoo! celebrated its first millionhit day in the fall of 1994, which translated to almost 100 thousand unique visitors.
Due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential
business on their hands. In March 1995, the pair incorporated the business and met with dozens of Silicon Valley venture
capitalists. They eventually came across Sequoia Capital, the well-regarded firm whose most successful investments
included Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems. They agreed to fund Yahoo! in April 1995 with an initial
investment of nearly $2 million.
Figure 1. Yahoo Core Values
3
Realizing their new company had the potential to grow quickly, Jerry and David began to shop for a management team.
They hired Tim Koogle, a veteran of Motorola and an alumnus of the Stanford engineering department, as chief
executive officer and Jeffrey Mallett, founder of Novell's WordPerfect consumer division, as chief operating officer. They
secured a second round of funding in fall 1995 from investors Reuters Ltd. and Softbank. Yahoo! launched a highly
successful IPO in April 1996 with 49 employees.
Today, Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a
comprehensive branded network of services to more than 232 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first
online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, householdand business-user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The
company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of
Yahoo!'s clients.
These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming;
store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 25 world
properties. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and
the United States.
B. Yahoo! Products
Yahoo! has a huge number of products available, and they are displayed on the front page of Yahoo! at www.yahoo.com.
They range from music services, games and sports to small business solutions and payment systems. A subset of products
is very relevant to and already popular among teens. Yahoo’s challenge is to ensure that these are showcased in order to
encourage engagement, sharing and adoption among this key audience to drive loyalty.
1. Yahoo! Messenger
Instant Messaging is used by almost 60% of Internet-using 12-17-year-olds, but AOL is the leader by a long shot.
Graph 1. Instant Message Services Use by Age--2003
4
Yahoo! Messenger is an instant messaging service that lets
people chat real-time on a PC or mobile phone. On the PC,
people can not only chat, but also play and share music, play
games, create avatars (online personalities) for themselves,
and send fun audibles and emoticons to express the mood
they’re in. They can load “IMVironments,” which create fun
back-drops to their conversations.
On a mobile phone, they can access their friends list, see
who’s online, and get all their IM’s forwarded to their phones
so they never miss an IM. They can also send IM’s back again
and have online chats with their friends as though they were
at the PC. Tens of millions of people use Yahoo! Messenger
every day. To understand more and check it out, go to
http://mobile.yahoo.com/messenger.
Figure 2. Yahoo! Mobile Messaging
To get familiar with Y! Messenger and understand the communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go to
http://messenger.yahoo.com and download the latest and greatest Messenger (6.0). Try adding your study group to your
friends list — you can even choose the Search IMVironment so that you can search together when researching this
specific assignment. If you have a mobile phone, try logging in to Messenger on your phone. Just click on the
“Messenger” drop-down, and choose “Sign in to mobile device.”
2. Music
Yahoo!’s movie property, LAUNCH, reaches more teens age 12-17 than other music sites, but all are growing vs. a year
ago. Of note, iTunes launched in November 2003, and the site is already reaching 342,000 teens
Graph 2. Music sites: Unique Audience (000); Age 12-17 (Source: Nielsen NetRatings)
5
LAUNCH is the leading online music provider in the U.S.
People can access a huge library of artist information, gossip,
news, updates, tour details and more. They can stream fulllength music videos and create personalized radio stations
that constantly learn their music preferences so that users hear
only the music they’re into. Because so many different genres
of music are available, users can create different radio stations
to mirror the mood they’re in, such as “Heavy Rock,”
“Partying” and “Chilled Out.” People can choose their
favorite artists and songs and download them as ring tones to
their mobile phone.
Hundreds of millions of video streams happen every month,
more than half of which are viewed by people under age 25.
Figure 3. LAUNCH
To get familiar with LAUNCH, and to understand the
communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go to http://launch.yahoo.com, and try creating and
customizing your radio station and streaming your favorite music videos.
3. Games
Yahoo! is the leader in the online games category, but GamesSpot and MSN Games are growing rapidly among teens age
12-17. (Source: Nielsen NetRatings)
Graph 3. Games sites: Unique Audience (000); Age 12-17 (Source: Nielsen NetRatings)
Yahoo! Games offers the largest range of games available on the Web and is the leading online games site. They range
from casual games like Lemonade Tycoon to hardcore games like Hitman, which users have been known to play for days
at a time (without sleep!). People also use Yahoo! Games as a
resource for information on upcoming games, game reviews
and other information, such as hints, tips and cheats for wellknown games. Tens of millions of people use Yahoo! Games
every month.
Users who love games so much that they can’t get enough can
get Yahoo! Games on their mobile phone. You can see which
games work for your phone by clicking on
http://mobile.yahoo.com/fungames.
To get familiar with Yahoo! Games, and to understand the
communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go
to http://games.yahoo.com and try playing casual games,
downloadable games, etc.
6
Figure 4. Yahoo! Games
4. Movies
Yahoo! Movies offers a huge range of
services from movie reviews, trailers and
film clips, to movie tickets, show times,
user ratings and critics’ reports.
The site often includes exclusive previews
of major upcoming movies that users can’t
find anywhere else on the Web. Major
movie studios often partner with Yahoo!
Movies to launch a new movie. Innovative
advertising deals are structured in which
Yahoo! channels its huge user base to the
specific movie in return for the studio
featuring Yahoo! Movies in their offline ads
for the movie.
People who are out and about can check
local movie show times and previews on
their phone by accessing Yahoo! and going
to “Local” on the home page. For specific
instructions on how to do this, go to
http://mobile.yahoo.com and choose “Info
on the go.”
Figure 5. Yahoo! Movies
Yahoo! has a strong relationship with many movie studios. Yahoo! CEO Terry Semel was formerly the CEO of Warner
Brothers, and many opportunities exist in this area. Consider this when developing marketing programs for the teen
audience.
To get familiar with Yahoo! Movies and to understand the communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go
to http://movies.yahoo.com and try watching movies trailers, reading reviews, etc.
5. Search
While Yahoo! Search is growing among teens, Google has significantly more unique users age 12-17 than Yahoo! Search,
and has witnessed significantly higher growth in the past year.
Graph 4: Search Sites: Unique Audience (000); Age 12-17
(Source: Nielsen NetRatings. Google Reach Includes Google Brand and Image Search)
7
Yahoo! Search is used for billions of
searches a month by people of all ages and
all walks of life. People use it to help run
their businesses, find local listings, search
trivia, find Web sites they don’t know the
URL for, find movie information (as
pictured in Figure 6) and much more.
Indeed, Search is used literally to find
information on anything in the world.
Young people use it for homework research,
and they can even use the Yahoo!
Messenger Search IMVironment to search
together when collaborating on homework
assignments.
Yahoo! Search lists “Inside Yahoo!” search
results but only when Yahoo! has something
relevant to offer. Sponsored search results
are from advertisers who have something
relevant to offer (pictured in Figure 6 is
Wal-Mart Toys), and general Web search
results are listed based on the most popular
Web sites that have the most traffic on a given topic.
Figure 6. Yahoo! Search
Yahoo! Search lets you hone your searches further by letting you search in specific categories (e.g., Images, Yellow Pages,
News, Products).
To get familiar with Yahoo! Search, and to understand the communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go
to www.yahoo.com and try searching on a topic. Try the different search categories available to help you hone your
search.
6. E-Mail
Yahoo! Mail saw a significant increase in Unique Audience among teens 12-17 versus last year — at AOL’s expense.
Gmail (Google’s e-mail product) was just launched in June 2004 and could pose a big threat, particularly since Google
Search is very strong among teens.
Graph 5. E-mail Sites: Unique Audience (000); Teens Age 12-17 (Source: Nielsen NetRatings)
8
Yahoo! Mail, originally launched in 1997, is one of the Web’s
largest, most popular free e-mail providers. The new and
improved product (launched in May 2004) offers 100MB of
free storage, advanced spam guard features, address autocomplete and e-mail alerts. Photo attachments to e-mails can
be automatically downloaded straight to the user’s Yahoo!
Photos album, which has unlimited storage.
Users who need access to their e-mail at any time can access
their mail on their phone for free — they pay only their
carrier charges for wireless data use.
To get familiar with Yahoo! Mail, and to understand the
communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go
to http://mail.yahoo.com to get a free account. Check out the
integrated Calendar. Stay connected and manage your busy
life at the same time.
Figure 7. Yahoo! Mail
7. Mobile
Yahoo! now has millions of people (most of whom are under
25) accessing Yahoo! on their mobile phones. They are
getting their IM’s on their phones from Yahoo! Messenger,
they’re playing games on their phones from Yahoo! Games,
they’re getting ring tones on their phones from LAUNCH,
they’re reading their Yahoo! Mail on their phones, they’re
getting directory listings and driving directions and much
more.
Younger people are typically more mobile, more tuned into
real-time communication, and much more open to new
technologies and new ways of doing things. Yahoo! is
extremely interested in your thoughts on how the mobile
story is woven into its overall advertising message to the teen
Figure 8. Yahoo! Mobile
audience. For example, why should real-time, 24x7 access to
Yahoo! matter? Does it actually matter at all? How should it
be communicated? Where? When you consider this, think about the fact that mobile enables people to respond to
Yahoo! advertising messages, sweepstakes and competitions when they are offline. Think about innovative marketing
strategies and tactics that will leverage this 24x7 communications channel, but in ways that respect the customer.
To get familiar with Yahoo! Mobile and to understand the communication and advertising opportunities it represents, go
to http://mobile.yahoo.com and try registering your phone to see what you can do on Yahoo! when you’re away from a
desktop.
9
More people access Yahoo! from their phones than many other leading sites (Source: Telephia)
Graph 6. Most Often Visited Sites by Data Users Surveyed Base: Data Users (N=1046)
(Note: Not Teen Specific Information — but Teens Represent 10-15% of Data Users)
1.35 million Yahoo! U.S. users access Yahoo! on their phones today, and almost 12% are teens.
Graph 7. Demographics of Yahoo! Mobile U.S. Users (2003)
10
C. 2004 Yahoo! Brand Marketing
Brand Positioning
April 2004 marked the launch of a new
marketing campaign and brand positioning
for Yahoo!:
Yahoo! is not just a search engine.
Yahoo! is a life engine.
A life engine is a place you go to run your
life. A life engine allows you to reach out
into the world and expand your horizons.
It lets you be in touch with people and
communities to express and share ideas.
And a life engine is powerful and efficient,
as if it were an extension of your will,
which, it is.
Figure 9: “Life Engine” Advertising Microsite
Your life engine reflects you, mirroring your interests, your friends, your ideas and your dreams. Your life engine echoes
your inner voice: honest, supportive and ever optimistic. This is the voice that tells you not to give up. It is the voice that
tells it like it is, that encourages you to speak your mind and applauds you when you do.
Yahoo! is your Life Engine.
”Life Engine” brand campaign advertising can be viewed at: http://promotions.yahoo.com/life-engine
Brand Personality
These characteristics will help guide you as criteria against which promotion, sponsorship, and marketing opportunities
can be measured. Generally, whatever the opportunity or program, you should reflect certain core characteristic values:
Human: Yahoo! is about people, not about machines; we’re friendly, not aloof.
Fun: It’s always better to have a sense of humor, especially about ourselves. But we try not to have fun at someone else’s
expense.
Irreverent: In a serious and fast-paced business, Yahoo! should always be a breath of fresh air.
Simple: We take chaos and make sense of it.
Approachable: The game is invitation, not intimidation. We avoid appearing competitive, arrogant or sarcastic.
Trustworthy: Credibility counts.
Striving: Yahoo! is not “techie” but savvy. We are nimble and constantly working to improve the user experience.
11
Creative Execution
”Life Engine” brand campaign advertising can be viewed at: http://promotions.yahoo.com/life-engine
Figure 10: “Life Engine” Advertising Snapshots
Media Highlights
National media support in 2004 targets a broad 18-49 demographic. Television (cable) is the primary medium used to
launch the new Life Engine campaign. This is being supplemented by magazines, online advertising and other nontraditional vehicles (buzz marketing) throughout the year.
12
III. TEEN CONSUMER /COMPETITIVE
E NVIRONMENT
A. Overview
The target group of confident, empowered and optimistic teenagers share traditional values and wield plenty of power in
the home and marketplace. They are deeply involved in family purchases, from groceries to cars. Thanks to over
indulgence and part-time jobs, they have much disposable income. They are encouraged by their parents to be
independent and free thinking. This allows them to choose what they want to own and to buy it themselves. The very
nature of youth is change, and therefore their tastes are fickle and frenzied.
Far from being isolating, Internet usage is a seamlessly integrated component of their social lives. Studies show that boys
are more likely to have a computer in their rooms, while girls are more likely to have cell phones. Boys use computers to
surf the Web for information and to play games; girls use their computers to communicate with friends. They view
technology as background, as taken for granted as air or electricity.
This over-scheduled generation greatly values their free time. Their highest priority is spending time with friends. For
teenagers, the most monumental right of passage is the driver's license, which provides mobility and freedom and creates
a need for communication and scheduling tools to keep in touch. They often seek the latest, greatest thing, and they are
more influenced by their peers and “hallway buzz” (which can be disseminated very quickly via the Internet) than by
national marketing campaigns. Source: The “Liberteens” by Nicki Gondell, CEO Trendhouse
Pop Culture
Comes Before Brand Familiarity or Benefits/Features
Teens closely follow and emulate pop culture. They are more interested in and motivated by what the music icons are
singing about (Rolex) and wearing (FUBU) than what advertisers are peddling to them in TV commercials, as is
evidenced by recent phenomena:
• 12-17-year-olds say “the car they would like to own is a Cadillac Escalade”— most likely due to its popularity
amongst rap stars like Ludacris.
• 50 Cent’s clothing line/urban hip hop inspired clothing in general is all the rage with teens.
Marketing efforts must leverage teens’ immersion in pop culture and weave in Yahoo!’s products and services is a
relevant but unobtrusive way to encourage open-mindedness, trial and discoverability. To sum it up in their words:
“Show me, don’t just tell me.”
Figure 11: Pop Culture/Brand Images
Source: Zandl Hotsheet, December 2003 and February 2004
B. Market Size and Online Penetration
There are 25 million teens between the ages of 12 and 17 in the U.S. today. Of those, 78% are already online, but
audience size continues to grow.
(Sources: TRU, Jupiter Research 2003, Born to Be Wired: The Role of New Media for a Digital Generation, Harris
Interactive YouthPulse 9/03 & TRU, July 2003, Age Group: 13-17)
13
By 2007, 86% of teens will be online. The Internet has now become the medium of choice — eclipsing even television.
Graph 8. Penetration of Teens Online
Figure 12. Media Usage by Teenagers (Hours per Week). Source: “Born to Be Wired” 2003
14
C. Online Activities
Teens love to be entertained. Communications, movies, TV and particularly music are clear winners for capturing their
interest.
Graph 9. Top Online Activities Among Teens. Source: TeenMark Survey 2002
Graph 10. Top Searched Categories by Teens Age 13-17
Source: Yahoo! Buzz Index; 30 Days Ending 2/24/04
15
D. Disposable Income/Online Shopping
Teens aged 13-19 spend more than any youth segment — $94.7 billion annually — 15% of which is done online.
Musicians’ names as well as various consumer electronics products regularly surface as top-searched words in Yahoo!
shopping — indicating purchase interest.
Graph 11. Annual Spending by Age Group
Rank
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Search Term
usher
slipknot
britney spears
cell phones
prom dresses
swimwear
d-12
digital camera
louis vuitton
lloyd banks
Graph 12. Top 10 Keywords@ Y! Shopping:
Source: Yahoo! Buzz Index Among Teens (30 Days Ending June 5, 2004)
16
E. Brand Perceptions
Yahoo! brand differentiation is slipping among the youth audience (particularly among teen girls).
Figure 13. Brand Perceptions Among All Teen Internet Users & Female Teen Internet Users
(Source: Brand Asset Valuator)
Yahoo! imagery over the past year remained relatively the same, but “valued identity” and “fun” measures weakened
slightly.
Figure 14. Yahoo! Brand Imagery Among Teenagers, 2002 vs. 2003
Source: Brand Asset Valuator
17
F. Brand: Reach & Composition
Reach
While Yahoo! leads in terms of unique teen users (and is relatively on par with AOL and MSN), Google and Ebay are
gaining serious ground — particularly since last summer.
Figure 15. Unique Users: Age 12-17 (000)
Source: Nielsen/Netratings, January 2003-January 2004
Composition
Yahoo! is 19% above average for composition among teens; however, a higher concentration of teens is more likely to be
found on AOL and Google (i.e., Teens are more likely to use AOL and Google than other demographic groups compared
to on Y!).
Figure 16. Composition: Teens Age 12-17 (000)
Source: Nielsen/Netratings, January 2003-January 2004
18
G. Teen Sites-AOL/Microsoft
Key competitors are making huge investments in the teen segment.
AOL
AOL introduced an improved mail product that integrates IM — which is a clear nod to teens. Additionally, their new
service targeting teens, called RED, launched in 2004. Reach of this teen destination is already 1.2% with 2.5 million
unique users. (Source: Nielsen Netratings-May ‘04)
Figure 17. AOL RED Site
MSN
threedegrees (now in beta test) combines elements of IM, groups and P2P sharing. Designed to appeal to the youth
market, Microsoft is hoping to realize a network effect of youth wanting to “do things together in a whole new way,”
such as listening to music in musicmix rooms, chatting and sharing photos. There is also a library of “winks,” group
icons and backgrounds to enable kids to express themselves/personalize their threedegrees experience.
Figure 18. MSN: threedegrees Site
19
IV. ASSIGNMENT
Building on the Yahoo! brand positioning, develop a $10 million national communications plan for 2005 targeting the
youth audience (teens age 13-17). This budget must include all costs for research, media, creative development,
production and promotions (including prize fulfillment).
The primary objective of the marketing program is to engage teens and encourage trial/adoption and sharing of Yahoo!’s
youth-relevant product offerings as follows. These are priority ranked, but the top five must be included in the plan:
1) Messenger
2) Mobile
3) Music (LAUNCH)
4) Search
5) Mail
6)Entertainment
7) TV
8) Movies
9) Games
http://messenger.yahoo.com
http://mobile.yahoo.com
http://launch.yahoo.com
http://search.yahoo.com
http://mail.yahoo.com
http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com
http://tv.yahoo.com
http://movies.yahoo.com
http://games.yahoo.com
An integral part of the assignment (secondary objective) includes immersion into the aforementioned Y! products to
provide feedback on the user experience and recommend how to enhance product offerings to better serve the target
audience’s lifestyle/needs/usage. (e.g., set up a Yahoo! E-mail account; get Yahoo! on a mobile phone, make Yahoo! the
preferred homepage using My Yahoo!).
All recommended marketing programs should be SMART
Specific: Be specific in terms of exactly what's being promoted. Outline specific marketing strategies and tactics, and the
rationale associated with them.
Measurable: Define exactly how the success of the recommended strategies and tactics will be measured. Outline research
studies, metrics and other tools that define how to measure success. Most importantly, define what success means. What
are the specific measurable goals that you are going to aim for with the campaign?
Attainable: Make sure the success metrics and targets you define are actually feasible. There's nothing wrong with being
ambitious and aggressive in terms of the impact you want to make, but you have to take all factors into account. For
example, you might consider factors such as competition, marketing budget, time of year — basically anything that
affects the outcome of your campaign. Be realistic.
Relevant: Make sure your recommended strategies and tactics take into account the target market. Ensure that the
recommended media plan, messaging, value proposition, etc., are in line with the desires, needs and wants of the target
market. Make sure also that your recommendations are aligned with the overall Yahoo! brand.
Time-Bound: Make sure your recommendations and targets have specific dates associated with them. Be clear on how
long your programs will run, and by when you expect to be able to achieve the desired outcomes.
Avoid forcing the sense of fun. By living with our brand name everyday, we often forget how fun it is all by itself, and we
end up trying to add to its light nature. This can result in a heavy-handed form of humor that is not true to our brand
identity. So never try to be “wacky” or “kooky,” particularly in spoofing the name. Remember, our target audience is
everyone in the world who wants to part of the Yahoo! community on the Web. By being too edgy, we risk alienating the
mainstream audience. If you are trying to be funny in a marketing project, then you probably are pushing it too hard.
Remember that people often derive a great sense of fun by simply seeing the Yahoo! brand anywhere offline, because it is
unexpected.
20
A. Campaign Components
a. Advertising
Creative: Be creative in both strategy and tactics.
1. Explain your communication strategy.
2. Demonstrate your creative execution: There are no limitations on creative size or unit length.
3. Utilize the “Life Engine” tagline.
Media:
There is no “seasonality” per se regarding Y! usage, but back-to-school timing should be the first
priority for media planning.
1. Utilize traditional, broad-reaching media vehicles coupled with guerilla and grass-roots approaches
to generate buzz. Viral components to the plan are a big plus.
2. Consider leveraging relationships with other media companies for more integrated opportunities
(e.g., product placement).
a. TV Networks (particularly FOX and CBS).
b. Movie Studios (e.g., Universal and DreamWorks).
c. Record Labels (e.g., Warner Brothers).
3. Consider programs that reach teens where they spend a lot of time (e.g., in-school) and where they
socialize (e.g., malls, cinema, arcades, etc.).
4. Include a direct marketing component and an on-going customer contact strategy.
b. Promotions
Include at least two big promotional concepts (which include prizing ideas) — one of which ties to the back-to-school
time period, beginning August 2005.
c. Product
Provide recommendations on the best way to aggregate Yahoo! product offerings to suit this teen audience. This could be
“tweaks” to existing product lineup, new product ideas altogether or a teen “destination” site. Also important is to
identify gaps/what’s missing in product offerings that would be critical to engage this audience.
21
V. APPENDIX:. YAHOO! B UZZ I NDEX
To aid in more comprehensive understanding on what teens are searching for during the year, we’ve set up an account for
you to access the Yahoo! Search Buzz Index:
ID:
Password:
NSAC
buzzindex
To look up information specific to the 13-17-year-old demographic, click on the “Custom” link and then select
“Gender/Age.”
Figure19. Yahoo! Buzz Index
22
2005 National Student
Advertising Competition
sponsored by
policy and procedures statement
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
2005 NSAC Policies & Procedures
Preface .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Suggestions for Writing a Powerful Plans Book .................................................................................... 4
Contacting Us........................................................................................................................................ 4
Purpose ................................................................................................................................................ 5
Competition Rules, Penalties and Procedures ........................................................................................ 5
Part I: Disqualifying Rules .................................................................................................................... 5
Part II: Penalties .................................................................................................................................... 6
Part III: Competition Structure .............................................................................................................. 6
Part IV: Competition Eligibility ............................................................................................................ 6
Part V: Outside Sources ........................................................................................................................ 7
Part VI: The Campaign Plans Book ...................................................................................................... 7
Part VII: Campaign Presentation .......................................................................................................... 7
Part VIII: Question-and-Answer Session................................................................................................ 8
Part IX: Equipment .............................................................................................................................. 8
Part X: Scoring ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Part XI: Protests, Penalties and Interpretations .................................................................................... 9
Part XII: Awards and Compensation Release...................................................................................... 10
Information About Judges .................................................................................................................. 10
Intent to Participate and Acknowledgement of Policies and Procedures ............................................ 11
3
NSAC POLICIES & P ROCEDURES
Preface
In addition to hands-on advertising experience, the AAF National Student Advertising Competition (NSAC) gives you an
opportunity to relate your strong, personal values to your chosen career. When you enter the NSAC, you become part of a
select group of faculty and students who are fiercely competitive but aspire to the highest principles of conduct.
Ethics
Ethics — those high principles — are more than rules. These high principles tell each of us what we should or should not do.
For example, the NSAC rules say that all concepts must be the work of students. Although the judges might never know you
broke this rule, your own sense of right and wrong tells you that you should not borrow someone else’s idea and represent it as
your own. It is a matter of personal integrity. The competition relies on participants for a deep commitment to what is right.
That commitment to fair play is essential in preparing the campaign and in presenting it, and it is just as important after the
scores are tallied and the winners are announced. Adherence to high principles is imperative in the classroom and later in the
advertising marketplace. The NSAC puts you in competition with talented students from colleges and universities across the
United States and abroad. But, just as important, the National Student Advertising Competition puts you on your honor.
Additionally, because each client is a separate competition, please do not list in your plans book or mention in your presentation
at district and nationals any of your outstanding graduates or past NSAC accomplishments.
Suggestions for Writing a Powerful Plans Book
•
•
•
•
Keep long sentences to a minimum. Remember advertising/marketing reports are usually written in a bulleted format.
Avoid using a small typeface. Avoid anything that makes your plans book difficult to read.
Avoid repeating major sections of information from the case study and avoid repeating previously stated ideas.
Remember that strategic thinking is critical. Avoid writing only about tactics, as good tactics flow from strong strategies.
Contacting Us
AAF Education Services
1101 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005-6306
1-800-999-2231
[email protected]
www.aaf.org
4
Purpose
This competition provides undergraduate advertising students with a realistic problem that can be solved through team effort,
knowledge and creativity. It is intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of advertising education. The purpose of this Policies
and Procedures Statement is to ensure, to the greatest extent possible, a fair and equal competition experience for all students.
Competition Rules, Penalties and Procedures
These rules, penalties and procedures cover the 2005 competition. Any rules, penalties and procedures from previous years do
not necessarily apply. Changes have been printed in italics. Please Note: This book has been completely reorganized from
previous years.
Part 1: Disqualifying Rules
1.01:
Graduate students or students who already have a four-year college degree in any discipline must not work on this
project unless they are enrolled in an undergraduate class using the project as a class assignment.
1.02:
At both the district and national competitions, each presentation team must have no more than five undergraduate
students who are enrolled in school as of February 1, 2005. Only a member of your student presentation team may
speak, operate audio or visual equipment or handle displays during the campaign presentation. Even if a student does
nothing except operate equipment or handle displays, that student must be counted as one of the five presentation
team members. Students who have earned a four-year degree of any kind must not be members of your presentation
team.
1.03:
Students must be a dues-paid 2004-2005 AAF college chapter members to be on a presentation team. AAF student
memberships are not transferable.
1.04
Students must not contact the sponsoring company and its advertising agencies.
1.05:
All concepts must be the work of students. You must not receive advice, critiques or additional assistance in the
development of the project or the presentation from any professional. All layouts, storyboards, sales promotion
pieces, public relations pieces, retail displays, package designs, television commercials, radio commercials, print
advertisements and other creative work must be conceptualized, designed and executed by students. Students may use
any existing client creative in the creative part of their presentation. Students may also use any existing professional
clip art, music, photos and video in any part of their presentation, including the creative section.
1.06:
The plans book covers can be up to 9 x 12 inches, but fold-out, half sheets, or odd-sized covers are prohibited.
1.07:
Plans book page size must be 8 1/2 x 11 inches. Fold-out, half-sheet or odd-size pages are not allowed. No items may
be included in the plans book except the pages themselves (e.g., no CDs, promotional items, plans book boxes, or
3-D items of any kind).
1.08
One copy of your plans book and a CD that includes a copy of your plans book in a PDF format must be sent to the
AAF SVP-education services at AAF headquarters in Washington, D.C. Fifteen copies must be sent to your district
coordinator. All 16 books and the CD must be received via courier service by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2005, OR
date stamped by an overnight delivery service no later than Thursday, March 31, 2005, to arrive by 5:00 p.m. Friday,
April 1, 2005. No exceptions. Hand deliveries will only be accepted from commercial delivery services.
1.09:
In districts having 12 or more teams, the team placing second will be eligible for a wild card position. Those secondplace teams will have their plans books scored by a set of judges different from district and national judges using the
NSAC plans book score sheet. The team receiving the highest score in this wild card judging will advance to
nationals. Only the wild card team(s) going to national must produce six additional books. These extra books must
be sent to the AAF SVP-education services within five working days of having been notified. These copies must be
identical to the ones sent to your district coordinator and to the AAF SVP-education services.
1.10:
All presenters must use microphones at the national competition.
5
Part 2: Penalties
2.01:
Your plans book should be limited to 32 sides of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. (e.g., 32 pages one side, 16 pages both sides
or any mix of no more than 32 sides). Any pages beyond the allotted 32 will be removed. Please number all inside
pages. Please see plans book score sheet for suggested content, including an executive summary.
Part III: Competition Structure
3.01:
Each AAF district holds a competition among the schools in its area, and the judges choose a first-place team to
compete in the national finals. Your team must compete at the district level to be eligible for national competition. If
a district only has one team that intends to compete, no district competition will be held, and that team will be
eligible for a Wild Card position. [See 1.09]
3.02:
At district competitions each team provides its own transportation, food and lodging expenses. Local AAF clubs or
federations are encouraged to help.
3.03:
The national finals will be held in Nashville, Tenn., as part of the AAF National Conference 2005. Teams must
present on the specified competition days.
3.04:
If a team wins at district, AAF distributes funds from the client grant to subsidize round-trip transportation and hotel
expenses for the national finals for each student member of the presentation team and one faculty adviser. The client
grant provides free registration to all conference events for each member of the presentation team plus one adviser.
3.05:
One faculty person, who will be your adviser of record, must accompany your team to the district and, if you win at
district, to the national competition.
Part IV: Competition Eligibility
4.01:
Each university or college entering the competition must have an AAF college chapter. To facilitate the district
competitions, teams should declare their intention to participate by faxing, or postmarking and mailing, the “Intent
to Participate and Acknowledgement of Policies and Procedures Statement Form” to AAF headquarters by
March 1, 2005.
4.02:
Only one team from each school may enter. If your university has two or more campuses, teams from all campuses
can compete as long as their campuses have separate student bodies, faculties, geographic locations and separate AAF
college chapters.
4.03:
Students who are not members of your AAF college chapter, but are enrolled for credit at your school, may work on
the project. It can be a college chapter project, a class project, or the project of a group of students who get together
to work on it.
6
Part V: Outside Sources
5.01:
You may do any primary research anywhere you wish. However, you should adhere to your University’s guidelines
regarding conducting primary research with human subjects.
5.02:
Mechanical reproduction or use of copyrights and trademarks of AAF, NSAC, and client logos is permissible.
Students and advisers are encouraged to become familiar with copyright laws and avoid any infractions.
5.03:
You may use any music (live, recorded, original songs, jingles, etc.) you wish in any part of your presentation.
5.04:
If you need non-music sound effects for your presentation or advertising, you may use any prerecorded material.
5.05:
Any part of your presentation may be video or audiotaped. You may use any recording and A/V engineering
facilities you wish.
Part VI: The Campaign Plans Book
6.01:
Please use a front and back cover with your school’s identify and the NSAC logo on the front cover. AAF will
provide the NSAC and the client’s logos. You may put anything you want on the inside and outside of the front and
back covers. Covers do not count as part of the 32-page limit. Clear acetate protective covers are permissible and
also do not count as part of the 32-page limit. You may bind your plans book any way, but if you use a ring binder,
please use one that has a spine that is no more than one-inch wide.
6.02:
The plans book can be prepared and copied by any method. Color may be used with any available process for color
reproduction. Remember that your book may be further duplicated on black and white copier to be read by others.
Therefore, select colors and designs in your book wisely, especially for charts and graphs, so that they communicate
clearly in a black a white reproduction.
Part VII: Campaign Presentation
7.01:
You may make a computer-generated presentation or one with charts, graphs, layouts and other hand-held designs
displayed on easels. See the equipment list [9.01]
7.02:
At district and national competitions, each school may provide eight copies of a reminder sheet for the judges. This
reminder sheet should be flat and one-sided, 8 1/2 x 11 inches. The reminder sheet may include the NSAC team’s
tagline, salient points of the campaign, photo of the presentation team and name of the team. The reminder sheets
should be given to the NSAC district or national coordinator before the competition. Do not give the judges your
reminder sheets before, during or after your presentation. The district coordinator or AAF SVP-education services
will give the judges the team’s reminder sheets.
7.03:
Presentations at both district and national competitions will be limited to exactly 20 minutes. Timers at both district
and national competitions will start the timing when music begins, when the first slide (other than a logo) appears, or
when a presenter begins speaking and will stop you when you reach the 20-minute mark, no matter where you are in
your presentation. Team members may request the timekeeper to give them a one- or two-minute warning. The
timekeeper is the only person who may signal the time remaining during the presentation. Time lost for medical
reasons or during repair of any equipment failure will not be charged against your team. This applies whether it is
your equipment or equipment furnished at district or national. Only a member of the presentation team may call a
time-out and only for equipment failure or a medical emergency. The limit for time outs will be 15 minutes, after
which time the presentation may be rescheduled as long as it still occurs within the course of the current competition
being held.
7.04:
Your faculty adviser or any student from your team may assist you in setting up before your presentation. At both
district and national, professional suppliers may help set up equipment, but they cannot operate the equipment
during your presentation. During a called time-out due to audiovisual failure, anyone may assist the professional A/V
technician if s/he wishes.
7
7.05:
Depending on audience size, you may be required to use microphones for your presentation at district.
7.06:
If you hand anything to the judges during your presentation, you should collect it after your question answer session.
7.07:
Anyone may observe the presentations at both district and national. However, they should remain silent throughout
the presentation. No one, except for audiovisual technicians, may enter the competition room once the doors have
been closed for the presentation to begin.
7.08:
No video or audio recording or still photography of presentations will be permitted during district or national
competitions unless the district, AAF or the client is taping the presentation.
7.09:
Prior to your district competition, no presentation of any aspect of the campaign may be made to any group or
individual other than your own school’s faculty and students.
7.10:
If you win at district, you may make presentations to AAF groups and other organizations. However, before you
make any presentation, you should notify the AAF SVP-education services in writing or by e-mail. Please include the
date and place of your presentation, the name of the organization to which you are presenting and indicate that you
will neither seek nor accept any advice. [See 1.05] If you do not win at district, you may make presentations to
any organizations.
Part VIII: Question-and-Answer Session
8:01:
After your presentation at both district and national competitions, there will be a 10-minute question-and-answer
session. Timers at both district and national competitions will stop you at the 10-minute mark. During the questionand-answer period, only the presenting team members and the judges may enter the discussion; however, all team
members may move in front of the judges during question and answer session. The five presenters may call on other
team members to answer questions if necessary, but only students may answer questions. No one should signal any
student or assist in answering the questions. At the discretion of your team’s faculty adviser and the district
coordinator, anyone connected to the school of the team being questioned and corporate and agency recruiters may
sit in on the question-and-answer session but may not participate in any way. All other teams must leave the room.
You may audiotape your question-and-answer session if you so desire.
Part IX: Equipment
9.01:
At district, you will be provided with the following:
1.
One front-projection screen
2.
VCR (VHS-format only) with two monitors and remote control
3.
Lecterns
4.
Tables and chairs
5.
Six easels
Computer projection equipment and interface cables
6.
7.
One CD player
8. One DVD player
At district, students will have to bring their own computer equipment (hardware and software). You may use your
own computer projection equipment and interface cables.
9.02:
8
At nationals, you will be provided with the following:
1.
One front-projection screen
VCR (VHS-format only) with two monitors and remote control
2.
3.
Lecterns
4.
Tables and chairs
Six easels
5.
6.
Computer projection equipment and interface cables
7.
One CD player
8. One DVD player
9. Five microphones
At nationals, students will have to bring their own computer equipment (hardware and software). AAF will provide
one computer projection device that will be Macintosh and IBM compatible given a standard video port. All teams
will be alerted to the model and make of the projector prior to the competition. However, you may use your own
computer projection equipment and interface cables.
Part X: Scoring
10.01: When considering the areas to develop in your campaign, read the case study and score sheets carefully for specific
guidance. The case assignment will be clearly reflected in the score sheets.
10.02: Score sheets for the competition are prepared by the AAF Academic Committee in consultation with the client and
are distributed by the AAF SVP-education services. You should refer to the score sheets for guidance on how the
different parts of your campaign will be weighted.
10.03: At national and district competitions, points awarded each campaign are based on a combination of plans book,
presentation and question and answer.
10.04: Within one week of the day of presentation, competition coordinators at both district and national will return a copy
of your team’s score sheets, as marked by the judges, to your faculty adviser. At that time, your adviser will be
informed of your team’s ranking and will also be told the total number of points awarded the other competing teams.
Districts are encouraged to supply the individual scores for all schools for all judges.
Part XI: Protests, Penalties and Interpretations
11.01: By entering the competition, you agree to accept the competence of judges and assume an unbiased contest. Only a
district coordinator, in consultation with the AAF SVP-education services, may disqualify a team at district. Only the
SVP-education services may disqualify a team at nationals.
11.02: Before or during a district or national competition, a protest to disqualify a team may be made only (1) in writing,
citing the rule infraction, (2) to the district coordinator for a district competition or to the SVP-education services for
the national competition, (3) by a faculty adviser, (4) on the basis of a clear and distinct violation of the disqualifying
rules, and (5) prior to the announcement of a district winner or one hour after the last presentation, whichever comes
first. Decisions of the district coordinator will be final for the purposes of conducting the award presentations.
11.03: Once a district or national winner is announced, an appeal of a coordinator’s ruling may be made only in writing,
within three working days, to the AAF SVP-education services. The SVP-education services will render a decision
within three working days. This decision will be final, and there will be no appeal.
11.04: No questions regarding the conduct of the competition may be directed at any time to any judge, to any member of
the sponsoring company or its agencies or to any local, district or national AAF officer other than the NSAC district
coordinator or the AAF SVP-education services, except at an official judges’ debriefing conducted by the district or
at nationals.
11.05: Competition coordinators at district and national assume that teams and advisers have read the Policies and
Procedures and that presentations are within the guidelines. Decisions regarding disqualification rest with the district
coordinator at the district competition and with the AAF SVP-education services.
11.06: Disqualification at national can only occurs based on a team’s presentation because plans books will have previously
been checked for Policies & Procedures violations. Protests at nationals must be made within one hour of the
last presentation.
11.07: During the preparation of the campaign, if you have questions of any nature about the rules or about the case study,
direct them to the SVP-education services. All questions regarding the case study may be via e-mail. Telephone calls
will not be accepted. Clarification memos will be distributed periodically to address written questions submitted by
schools and will only address questions concerning the case study. The deadline for receipt of questions for the last
clarification memo is Feb. 1, 2005. Questions regarding policies and procedures will be handled directly with the
9
individual school. No school official or any AAF district or local official may make a rules or case study
interpretation to apply on the local, district or national level.
Part XII: Awards and Compensation Release
12.01: At district competitions, all students will receive certificates for participation and may receive plaques or other prizes
(e.g., first- through fourth-place teams).
12.02: Following the national competition, first, second, third and fourth-place teams are announced. These four teams
receive awards for their schools. All participating students receive certificates and all participating teams receive a
cash award: first-place $3,500, second-place $2,500, third-place $2,000, fourth-place $1,000, and all other
teams $500.
12.03: Additional prizes and awards may be given at the discretion of the sponsoring company.
12.04: By entering a district or national competition, all participants, students and advisers agree that all ideas expressed in
written or presentation form become the property of the sponsoring company for any use whatsoever, without
compensation of any sort to any person.
12.05
If your team is going to nationals, you should bring a CD with a copy of your presentation materials burnt onto it.
CDs will be collected during the student orientation. AAF headquarters does not need any other materials.
Information About Judges
Practitioners in advertising, other disciplines in marketing, media, research, or some combination will judge district and
national competitions. No person whose basic occupation is in education will judge. Individuals from the sponsoring
company may also judge the district and national competitions. District judges will be chosen, when possible, from outside
the district. In no case will a district judge have a tie, past or present, or any relationship that could be construed as a tie with
any competing school. No individual will be invited to judge the same district competition two years in succession. For the
national competition, a minimum of five judges will be selected. During the judges’ caucus, the panel considers the final plans
book and presentation score sheets, reflects on the work of all of the teams and determines first through fourth-place winners.
10
NATIONAL STUDENT ADVERTISING COMPETITION
INTENT TO PARTICIPATE & ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
THIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT FORM IS TO BE COMPLETED BY THE FACULTY ADVISER AND RETURNED NO
LATER THAN MARCH 1, 2005.
The college chapter I advise intends to participate in the 2005 National Student Advertising Competition.
I have read and understand the Policies and Procedures of the 2005 National Student Advertising Competition, and
understand they govern both the district and national competitions. I understand that as a faculty adviser, I may file a
protest to have a team disqualified only on the basis of a clear and distinct violation of a disqualifying rule and that the
protest must be in writing.
I understand that I may request, in writing, interpretations or rulings concerning the 2005 case study made to the AAF
SVP-education services at AAF headquarters in Washington, D.C.
I WILL SEND THIS SIGNED STATEMENT, WHICH CONFIRMS MY STUDENTS WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE
2005 NSAC, TO THE AAF SVP-EDUCATION SERVICES NO LATER THAN MARCH 1, 2005.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
University/college
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adviser’s name (please print)
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adviser’s e-mail
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Adviser’s signature
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Date
Mail or fax by March 1, 2005, to:
AAF Education Services
1101 Vermont Ave., NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Fax: (202) 898-0159
11
Headquarters
1101 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005-6306
Phone: (202) 898-0089 Fax: (202) 898-0159
www.aaf.org