Creative Brief Project

By: Kyle Caldwell, Sarah Hamby, Shelby Kretman,

Kristyn Lubas, Jake Massey, and Ashley Whiting

Table of Contents
Preliminary Pages
Team Biographies..............2
(Team)
Executive Summary.......4
(Team)
Section I: Target Audience Profile
Target Audience Profile.7
(Team)
Section II: Creative Platform
Core Message/Platform Description and Justification11
(Kretman, Massey)
Campaign Objectives...12
(Caldwell, Hamby)
Measurement Method and Time Frame...13
(Lubas, Whiting)
Section III: Creative Strategy
Overview of the IMC Plan...15
(Lubas)
Execution Principles of Creative Platform..........20
(Kretman)
Presentation of Logo, Layouts, and Analytical Critiques21
(Lubas, Massey, Whiting)
Appendices
Appendix A: In-Depth interview Method and Results27
(Whiting)
Appendix B: Copy Test Method and Results..32
(Hamby)
References......37

Team Biographies
Kyle Caldwell is a senior General Marketing major at Illinois State University. Kyle has
gained experience through developing and creating marketing plans for various
companies during his time at ISU. He has also spent time doing market research for the
Illinois Heart and Lung Foundation. Along with working with these companies he has
developed a wide range of skills while interning with First Site Leasing company. These
skills include customer relations, a strong understanding of leasing software, as well as
many others. He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and was a part of Students
Today Leaders Forever, an organization geared toward leadership qualities as well as
community service.
Sarah Hamby is currently pursuing a degree in General Marketing; she is a senior
graduating in May 2016 from Illinois State University. She has developed a wide range of
skills while working with other clients in marketing classes. In regards to market
research, she has experience with the creation of surveys, in-depth interviews, and
marketing analytics through a detailed project with the Garlic Press. In terms of
integrated marketing communications, Sarah has training in Adobe Illustrator and
Photoshop and the development and analysis of marketing campaigns. In the spring of
2015, she was a part of the marketing committee for the school newspaper, The Vidette.
The skills she adopted through this experience included social media management,
guerrilla marketing, and customer relations. Her second internship took place at Mutare
Software where she practiced sales and marketing communications.
Shelby Kretman is a senior at Illinois State University studying Integrated Marketing
Communications. Shelby currently interns with ISU Athletics as a Marketing and
Promotions intern. She has developed and successfully executed marketing plans for a
baseball game and a track and field meet. Shelby also works as a game day intern for
Mens and Womens basketball, baseball, and softball and helps run in-game promotions,
pregame and postgame events. She has also been trained in Adobe Illustrator and
Photoshop. With her position at Campus Recreation as a Member Services Associate, she
has gained leadership and customer relationship skills. Shelby has also had experience
working with local businesses in her marketing classes.
Kristyn Lubas is a student at Illinois State University, she is studying Integrated
Marketing Communications. Through various classes she has learned how to create
marketing plans for various companies and has experience doing marketing research for a
local business. Along with that she also had an internship over the summer that gave
allowed her to work with a parks and recreation department to plan their special events
and market those events to the community. She also had the opportunity to create a
sponsorship book for the department that included all of their events, parks, and
amenities that they provide to the community and the department has printed and uses
this new tool to raise money for improvements to the facilities and the community.

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Jake Massey is a senior at Illinois State University with a double major in MarketingIMC and Graphic Design. Jake has had various internships within his field of study, the
first of which was a graphic design and account executive internship with Progressive
Impressions International (PII). It was here that he gained experience with direct mail and
account management. He was then a Marketing Intern with Tryad Solutions, where he
gained experience in branding, logo design and web design as well as client service. Jake
also interned with Golin, an integrated public relations and advertising agency where he
gained experience in traditional and social media. Jake also served as the President of the
ISU chapter of the American Marketing Association for the 2014-15 academic year.
Ashley Whiting is a senior at Illinois State University. She is pursuing a major in
Marketing and a minor in Organizational Leadership. Ashley has gained experience
through an internship with Hines Supply in 2015. Here she was able to plan and budget a
grand opening for a new location, work company events such as golfing events and
presentations, and much more. She has also gained experience through an internship with
US LBM in 2016. With this she was able to work with a variety of companies and
promote them through social media. Throughout her college experience, Ashley was a
member of the Illinois State University official Dance team holding positions that further
gained her experience in leadership.

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Executive Summary
Merry Anns Diner is a staple to the Uptown-Normal area. The restaurant serves a wide
variety of food options, a family friendly environment, and the classic American culture
that customers value. As we have observed, Merry Anns Diner primarily needs
assistance with their marketing materials. Unfortunately, the company has a website, but
it is outdated and unorganized. In regards to social media, the Facebook and Instagram
posts generally are not food related. Merry Anns currently does not distribute coupons or
flyers, which provides multiple opportunities for improvement. Our team created a
variety of layouts that can be used for marketing materials, which will help Merry Anns
gain customers and recognition.
The proposed campaign primary target audience profile includes Illinois State University
students both male and female between the ages of 18 and 22. Many of these students are
within walking distance of Merry Anns and it is one of the few late night food options in
Uptown Normal. Many of these students do not have a car on campus, which makes
Merry Anns a very appealing food option for them. The overall restaurant environment
and variety of food that Merry Anns has is a perfect fit for what this primary target
audience is looking for.
The proposed campaign secondary target audience profile includes both male and female
residents of Normal between the ages of 35 and 54. Some of these residents may be
married or single and have a variety of occupations. This target audience is great to focus
on because they may be looking for a fun and unique atmosphere and quality food that
Merry Anns can provide them. The location of Merry Anns is right in Uptown Normal
where many of these residents can come and eat lunch during their work breaks or bring
their families for dinner or breakfast.
We split our campaign objectives into two categories, communication objectives and
sales/behavioral objectives. Our first communication objective is to increase awareness
that Merry Anns serves a variety of food ranging from breakfast to dessert. 9 of 11
respondents categorized Merry Anns as a breakfast restaurant, we hope to change that
number to 50% seeing Merry Anns as serving all three meals. Next we want to shift
perceptions that Merry Anns is unclean and serves poor quality food. We will monitor
Yelp reviews to see a change in customers perceptions of Merry Anns. Our final
communication objective is to increase awareness that Merry Anns is open 24/7. We
hope to see a 50% increase in awareness during our campaign tracking. Our First sales
and behavioral objective is to increase traffic to Merry Anns website. To track hits Merry
Anns can compare last years website traffic to hopefully see an increase of at least 75%.
Next is to increase the general traffic going into Merry Anns. Our third sales/behavioral
objective is to increase Merry Anns social media presence. We would like to see an
increase across all major social media platforms. Next we would like to see an annual
increase in sales. This can be tracked by comparing last years sales to new sales. Our
final objective is to increase promotional efforts. Creating coupons as well as other
promotions will bring more customers into Merry Anns. By tracking coupon
redemptions Merry Anns will be able to see the effect of coupons on increasing sales.

5
The proposed creative platform is composed of two goals. The first is to shift negative
perceptions people have of Merry Anns Diner. Through our in-depth interviews, we
found that consumers perceive that Merry Anns Diner lacks in cleanliness and quality.
Because of this, the campaign will focus on painting a more positive picture of the
restaurant by emphasizing many different measures. The secondary goal is to increase
sales from students and residents of Normal between 8am and 8pm. In all advertising and
promotional efforts, we want to emphasize the fact that the restaurant is open 24 hours.
The overall tone of the campaign will be friendly, informative, and transparent.
A reimagined logo was designed to be implemented for all branding purposes. The
redeveloped logo was designed to also help change the negative perception Merry Anns
Diner currently possesses. The logo still highlights the restaurant hours, being open
twenty-four hours. Along with that, a new and improved positioning statement was
included to showcase Merry Anns Diner as a family restaurant. The color scheme
includes red, white, and black, which helps to reinforce the diner feel of the restaurant.
Our team developed four layouts for Merry Anns Diner. All four layouts include the new
logo and color scheme to create a sense of consistency. Each of the four layouts reinforce
our campaign objects. Our team feels confident that our layouts will help to provide a
new positive perception of Merry Anns as well as gain awareness of their hours as well.
The four layouts:
Direct Mail
o Creative background with attached coupons
Rewards Card
o Punch card based on purchases
Coupon
o Buy one, get one free
Print
o Logo and visual on front, coupon on back
Based on our preference questions, copy testing revealed respondents preferred Layout A.
Respondents said that the photo in Layout B did not realistically represent what Merry
Anns diner looked like. Although Layout A was the winner, people recalled the message
more frequently in Layout B. Because people responded well to Layout B, we plan to
incorporate it into other layouts. All in all, we got positive responses on both, with
respondents citing that they liked the color schemes and the font was easy to read.
Based on the proposed creative platform and objectives, we hope to make a significant
impact in altering the perception of Merry Anns in the Normal community. Through our
efforts we hope to create a greater awareness of the restaurant hours and increase traffic
throughout the restaurant. Ultimately through these objectives we hope to see an increase
in Merry Anns revenue.

Section I: Target Audience Profile

7
Primary Target Audience
Merry Anns primary target audience is students of Illinois State University. Since Merry
Anns is located within walking distance of all university buildings and open twenty-four
hours, ISU students make a significant customer group. As indicated in Exhibit 1, the
proposed target audience for this campaign consists of 20,807 students between the ages
of 18 and 22 [1]. Of these 20,807 students, 18,247 are undergraduates and 2,380 are
graduates [1].
Normal, Illinois is a college town. This means during the nine-month span between
August and May students make up the majority of sales in Uptown. We are looking at
residents who are well educated, and are currently enrolled as a full-time and/or part-time
student. In addition to education, we are focusing on students who typically are employed
part-time with an income of less than $15,000.
Primary Target Audience Psychographics
The primary target of Merry Anns Diner shows an interest in cheap food that they are
able to access during late night hours. Merry Anns Diner is open 24 hours and provides a
variety of food at a reasonable price for the budget conscious Illinois State University
student, which makes it a great fit. The target audience also places an emphasis on easy
access because a majority of students do not have access to a car and have to rely on
public transportation to get around. Merry Anns Diner is located close to the main
campus of Illinois State University and is within walking distance of two major student
housing locations, which is convenient for a majority of the student population
Another characteristic of these students is that they enjoy spending time and socializing
with other students. This group values social interaction and engages in general nightlife
activities with friends and other students. They also like to grab a bite to eat after a night
of fun activities. With so few places around campus that offer late-night dining, Merry
Anns Diner offers this very social target audience a chance to do so. The target audience
also has a busy lifestyle that includes schoolwork, extracurricular activities, and social
activities so they put a large emphasis on a fast and convenient place where they can grab
a bite to eat that is not one of the dining halls on campus.

8
Exhibit 1 Target Audience Profile
Merry Anns Diner
Primary Target Market: Illinois State University Students
Total estimated target audience: 20,807 [1]
Demographics:
Age: 18-22
Gender: Male and Female
Education: Undergraduates, high school diploma, well-educated
Marital Status: Single
Total enrolled: 20,807
Undergraduate: 18,247
Graduate: 2,380
Occupation: Part-time
Income: Less than $15,000
Psychographics:
Interests: Late-night, cheap food, convenient location, entertainment, variety
Opinions: Enjoy spending time with other students, wants quality food for less
money
Activities: social interaction, general nightlife, late night restaurant visits, some
lack of transportation, spending time in group settings, busy lifestyle
Personality: Social, values convenience, enjoys entertainment
Secondary Target Market: Residents in the town of Normal, IL
Total estimated target audience: 9,819 [2]
Demographics:
Age: 35-54
Gender: Male and Female
Education: 95.8% high school graduate or higher
Marital Status: Married and Single
Housing: 20,957 units
Occupation: Variety
Income: $42,000+
Psychographics
Interests: Cheap food, Convenient location, Unique Atmosphere, accommodating
hours
Opinions: Enjoy spending time with families/ peers
Activities: busy lifestyle, lunch break location

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Secondary Target Audience
The secondary target audience for Merry Anns is the residents of Normal, IL between the
ages of 35 and 54 and consists of both genders. We subtracted the percentage of residents
in our age range from the entire population of Normal to find that our target audience is
9,819 people [2]. The reason we chose this specific age group is because of the
environment of Merry Anns. As mentioned earlier, due to the location of Merry Anns it
sees a majority of college age customers, so the environment is not as appealing to the
older population. This older population tends to enjoy locations that are not necessarily
located on campus with higher quality food for a higher price. While the location isnt
ideal for older residents, they can still enjoy Merry Anns during the months that are not
at school. Changing their perception of Merry Anns food quality will be a main focus to
increase sales during this time.
Even though our main focus is on the students at Illinois State University, these students
are only around during the school year. During the summer, our secondary target
audience accounts for the majority of sales, so it is important to focus on them as well. In
addition to age and gender, the Normal residents also have a high school degree or higher,
are both married and single, and consist of a variety of occupations with an income of
$42,000 and above, as shown in Exhibit 1.
Secondary Target Audience Psychographics
The secondary target audience is the residents of Normal, IL between the ages of 35 and
54 who are interested in cheap food and a unique atmosphere. As seen in Exhibit 1, these
individuals are seeking a local restaurant that is inexpensive and has a wide variety of
food to offer. This target audience also seeks a restaurant that has accommodating hours
for their schedules. These residents also enjoy spending quality time with family and
friends, especially while eating at a restaurant.
Some of these individuals seek a local breakfast, lunch, or dinner location to go to before,
during, or after work. A local, cheap restaurant will satisfy this target audience when they
are searching for a place to eat and socialize. Merry Anns Diner will provide this target
audience with a variety of food that is affordable and a great atmosphere to engage in.
Influencers
After analyzing the demographics and psychographics of both target audiences, we feel
that a social media presence will ultimately increase sales for Merry Anns Diner.
Offering deals and simply advertising their products will reach out to both segments
simultaneously. A restaurants use of social media can be very influential, especially
when targeting college-aged students.
Secondly, there are over 300 registered student organizations (RSOs) at Illinois State
University. By reaching out to leaders, advisors, or members of these organizations,
Merry Anns could easily spread the word about specials, deals, coupons, etc. Aside from
social media, we believe word of mouth will be a strong influencer. Merry Anns is a
unique place to eat and appeals to students as well as residents. Its a restaurant that
people talk about and would ultimately lead to new customers.

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Section II: Creative Platform

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Creative Platform
Our primary goal for this campaign is to shift negative perceptions people have of Merry
Anns Diner. Through our in-depth interviews, we found that consumers perceive Merry
Anns Diner as lacking in cleanliness and quality. Six out of 13 respondents in our indepth interviews noted the lack of cleanliness and quality of food at Merry Anns (refer to
Appendix A for the results of the in-depth interviews). Our campaign will focus on
painting a more positive picture of Merry Anns by emphasizing the measures the staff
takes to keep the restaurant clean, and the friendly employees that work there. Our goal is
to change this perception that people have of Merry Anns to ultimately bring in more
customers and spread a positive message of the restaurant.
Our secondary goal in this campaign is to increase sales from students and residents of
Normal between the hours of 8am-8pm. Our research shows that many perceive Merry
Anns as a late-night food option. By emphasizing that the restaurant is open 24 hours per
day in all advertising and promotional efforts, we plan to see an increase in traffic and
sales during these hours. We believe we should target the primary target market for this
goal because they would be the primary customers during these hours for business, while
students maintain the late-night traffic in the restaurant. Through our advertisements that
are appealing to students and the residents of Normal, we hope to increase customer
traffic in Merry Anns as well as food and beverage sales during the hours of 8am and
8pm.
Message Tone and Appeal
The overall tone of our campaign will be friendly, transparent, and informative. We will
use an informational approach to raise awareness of Merry Anns Diners hours and
emphasize variety and quality of food options. Through our in-depth interviews, we
found that customers feel that customer service and cleanliness at Merry Anns are poor.
To address these issues, our campaign will focus on enhancing the brands old time diner
personality and character to show that they really do care about their customers. Through
addressing these issues directly in our campaign, we will show that Merry Anns Diner is
clean, fun and friendly place to eat at all hours of the day.
Quantitative Benchmarks:
Communication Objectives:
1. Increase awareness that Merry Anns serves a variety of foods ranging from
breakfast to dinner to dessert.
o According to our in-depth interviews, 9 out of 11 respondents categorized
Merry Anns as a breakfast restaurant. We want our target audience to
view Merry Anns as a restaurant that serves all three meals.
o In campaign tracking we hope to see at least 50% of respondents describe
Merry Anns as serving a variety of meals from breakfast to dessert.
2. Shift perceptions of both cleanliness and quality.
o In the in-depth interviews, 6 out of 13 respondents had a negative
perception of Merry Anns Diner. These interviews showed that most
people feel that the customer service is poor, the environment is not clean,
and that food is not of good quality.

12
By monitoring Yelp reviews, we plan to see a shift in perceptions such that
in campaign tracking less than 25% describe negative perceptions.
3. Increase awareness of the fact that Merry Anns is open 24 hours.
o In the in-depth interviews, 7 out of 11 respondents said that they were not
aware that Merry Anns was open 24 hours per day.
o In campaign tracking at least 50% should be aware that Merry Anns is
open 24 hours.
o

Sales/Behavioral Objectives:
1. Increase web traffic on Merry Anns Diners website.
o Provide deals to customers who visit the website.
o To track these changes, Merry Anns could compare the website traffic to
previous years data and see an increase of at least 75%.
2. Increase general traffic.
o Increase number of visitors specifically college students
o Through this campaign, we hope to increase general traffic by at least
30%.
3. Gain a social media presence.
o Increase Facebook likes by at least 15%. Posts for Merry Anns gain
between 0-5 likes per post.
o Increase Twitter mentions by at least 15%. Merry Anns is currently
mentioned on twitter about 5 times per month.
o Increase followers on all forms of social media: Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, etc. by at least 15%.
4. Increase annual sales
o Increase sales by at least 20%.
o The restaurant can monitor these changes by comparing current sales to
the previous years sales.
5. Increase promotional efforts
o According to our in-depth interviews, 11 out of 13 respondents said they
would eat more frequently at Merry Anns if coupons were available. A
few stated that the coupon book would be beneficial, others stated that
having coupons delivered directly to them would be just as beneficial.
o By the end of the campaign, we hope to increase coupon redemption by at
least 100%.
o Start using social media giveaways in order to offer the discounts that
consumers want and increase awareness about the restaurant.

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Campaign Evaluation and Time Frame

Merry Anns Diner should plan to run our campaign for a period of nine months from
August through May. We plan to launch the campaign in August in order to increase
business from students. Due to the fact most respondents of our interviews had a negative
perception of Merry Anns we hope that running this campaign during the school year
will improve overall perceptions of the restaurant.
To evaluate the communication objectives for our campaign, Merry Anns should conduct
tracking surveys during the campaign every three months. By conducting these surveys, it
will allow Merry Anns to obtain a larger amount of feedback. We will also list a link at
the bottom of receipts that leads to a survey of the customers visit. There will be an
incentive for filling out this survey, which will be a free sandwich, etc. After each threemonth period, the surveys and feedback will be compared in order to see if Merry Anns
has improved.
To further evaluate the sales objectives, Merry Anns should use tools such as Google
Analytics to track activity on their social media and their website. This way, they can
compare the activity by days, weeks, or months. With this information, they can evaluate
how well their promotional efforts are working and they can accommodate accordingly.
Also, Merry Anns should track the sales daily in order to assess the benefits of our
marketing campaign. By doing so they will be able to get a clear idea of the amount of
traffic coming into the diner on a daily basis. In addition to this Merry Anns should keep
a daily track of coupons redeemed to evaluate their ability to bring in customers as well
as their overall effectiveness.

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Section III: Creative Strategy

15

IMC Overview
The purpose of the IMC plan is to shift the negative perceptions that Merry Anns is not
clean and is not a pleasurable dining experience for customers. This plan also aims to
increase the amount of general traffic that comes into the restaurant to dine on good
quality diner food. This campaign places an emphasis on welcome to the family to
show customers that Merry Anns has a friendly family feel to it, and to encourage people
to feel like they are part of the Merry Anns family when they come into the restaurant.
To do so, our creative pieces will show a variety of ways for Merry Anns to get the word
out about the restaurant and will also provide discounts and incentives to get more people
into the restaurant. Please refer to Exhibit 2 for an overview of the IMC plan.
Included in the IMC plan are many different layouts to increase the awareness of Merry
Anns as a clean family diner. The layouts include Social media giveaways, Flyers that be
placed around campus and dorms, direct mail sent out to students as well as handed out,
T-shirts to be given away, coupon in the coupon books that are distributed around
campus, radio spots to advertise the restaurant to the public, newspaper inserts in the
Pantagraph, reward cards to be given out to customers, eating challenges to peak interest
in the restaurant, and banner ads on the web to further spread the word about Merry
Anns.
The social media giveaways will be posted on a variety of social media platforms
including Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. These giveaways will be posted every
Monday during the months of August through April. Giveaways can include products like
T-shirts, coupons for free food, other items with the Merry Anns logo on them. The
purpose of the social media giveaways is to increase awareness of the restaurant while
encouraging people to interact with Merry Anns social media by liking the pages,
sending in pictures of their favorite food at Merry Anns, or trivia questions for the
customers to answer in order for them to win a prize. This will also help increase the
general traffic coming into the restaurant as a whole. The social media giveaways offer
Merry Anns a low cost way to promote the restaurant and increase traffic.
Flyers will be put up around the Illinois State campus and the surrounding areas. There
will be a focus on putting them up where the students will see them, so they will also be
put up in the dorm buildings and in student apartment buildings. The flyers will be an
effective way to get the word out about the restaurant as well as give the customers more
of an explanation of where to find the restaurant and what they offer. They will also
feature the new logo for Merry Anns with the Welcome to the family message to show
potential customers that Merry Anns is a welcoming, diner style restaurant. The flyers
will be distributed every month in order to make Merry Anns a top of the mind restaurant
when people are looking for a sit down restaurant that they will be able to go to 24 hours
a day.
Direct mail pieces will be sent out to the surrounding Bloomington Normal area as well
as to the dorms and student apartments. The purpose of the direct mail is to be able to

16
reach a more specific audience that is likely to eat at Merry Anns it also gives the
restaurant the ability to reach more people directly and offer more information about the
restaurant. The direct mail will offer incentives for people to come eat at Merry Anns by
featuring coupons for free food, discounts on items, and free items. The eye catching
picture on the front of the card will show consumers that Merry Anns in an inviting place
to eat that offers an old-school diner feel.
T-shirts offer a new way for Merry Anns to get the word out about the restaurant without
having to do as much work. The T-shirts are meant to spark awareness of the restaurant
when they are being worn around campus and around the town. These shirts will be given
out sporadically throughout the year and can also double as a giveaway through social
media platforms. The shirt features a clean and fresh look to give off the perception the
Merry Anns is a clean and friendly place for people to eat at.
The coupons in the coupon books are meant to drive new traffic into the restaurant by
focusing on the student population. The coupons will be put into the coupon books that
are distributed on campus throughout the year. The coupons will offer either a discount to
the restaurant or a free item to get more people to come in and eat. The coupons will also
feature the logo for Merry Anns to increase the recognition of the brand and create a
strong customer base.
Radio stops can be purchased for stations like 103.0 WZND and other local stations to
reach a wider variety of customers that include people that live in town and not just
students. These ads will feature the welcome to the family line to communicate the
family feel to the restaurant and also have the location of the restaurant so that the
customer can find it. the radio ads will run the last two weeks in August to also appeal to
the incoming students during the first two weeks of school.
Newspaper inserts offer merry Anns another way to further get the word out about the
restaurant to the community as a whole. The inserts would be put in the Pantagragh once
a month starting in August. These inserts would also offer the reader a coupon for the
restaurant that would include a discount or a free item when they come in. The main
purpose is to increase the awareness and increase the amount of people coming into the
restaurant.
Rewards cards are given out to encourage the customer to keep returning to the
restaurant. This will also help Merry Anns gain a loyal customer base which is very
important for the success of the business. The cards are to be given out to the individual
customers at the time of their purchase and will be stamped each time the customer
makes a purchase up until they have 10 stamps and at that time will receive a free menu
item.
Eating challenges are a fun and exciting way to gain customers especially with the
student population. These challenges would help bring people to the restaurant and would
be a fun and easy marketing tool. These contests could be held throughout the year at
different times so spark community involvement and interest in the restaurant. The will

17
also be able to sell food at this event as well as hand out some print advertisements and
coupons to the public.
Banner ads for the web is another way to widen the reach of Merry Anns. These banner
ads would be placed in local websites like GoRedbirds.com, ThePantagraph.com, and
WZND.com. The ads are meant to get the word out even more about the restaurant and
increase the number of people that will be coming in. They will run sporadically
throughout the year so that the consumer is not overwhelmed by the amount of ads Merry
Anns has but will also become top of mind when customers are looking for a place to
eat.

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Exhibit 2-Overview of IMC Campaign
Merry Anns Diner
Type of
Layout

Time Frame

Media Placement

Purpose

1. Social
Media
Giveaway

Every Monday
(August through
April)

Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat

To create excitement and draw

customers to the restaurant at a
small cost to Merry Anns.

2. Flyer

Every other month

Distributed in student dorms,

apartments, and residential homes

To stay at the top-of-the-mind

of students and BloomingtonNormal residents.

3. Direct
Mail

Once a month

Distributed throughout all social

media platforms, in student dorms,
apartment, included in coupon
books, and given away at university
events such as Festival ISU.

To create awareness, but also

get more students to eat here.

4. T-shirt

Sporadically
throughout the
year, but also give
away one once a
month.

Distributed as prizes for contests on

all social media platforms, given out
randomly, and distributed as
incentives to eat here.

To have a walking
advertisement, gain awareness,
allow for interaction with
customers, and ultimately
change the perception with a
fresh look to the shirt.

5. Coupon in
Coupon
Book

One in every
coupon book given
out around
campus.

Distributed all over campus

throughout the year.

To create awareness of the

restaurant and give students a
reason to eat there.

6. Radio
Spot

Last two weeks in

August

103.3 WZND

To create awareness of Merry

Anns to students during the
first two weeks of school.

7.
Newspaper
Insert

Once a month
starting in August

The Pantagraph

To create awareness of Merry

Anns to the student population
and residents of BloomingtonNormal, IL, also provide a
coupon to bring the target
market to Merry Anns

8. Rewards
Card

Always

Merry Anns

To encourage repeat customers

and create a positive image

9. Eating
Challenge

Always

Merry Anns

To create a word of mouth buzz

about the diner and to bring in
college students

10. Banner
ads for web

Sporadically
throughout the
year

ThePanatgraph.com,
GoRedbirds.com, WBWN.com,
WBNQ.com, WZND.com,
VidetteOnline.com

To generate awareness of Merry

Anns through getting new look
in front of local consumers

19

Execution Principles of the Creative Platform

Creative Platform
The primary goal of the creative platform is to shift negative perceptions about Merry
Anns and emphasize its cleanliness and friendliness of workers. We want to creative a
positive picture of Merry Anns. The secondary goal of the creative platform is to
increase sales from students and Normal residents between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm.
We plan to execute this goal by emphasizing that Merry Anns is open twenty-four hours.
Appeal
The main appeal of our executions will be an informative and clear approach to express
our main objectives. Our executions will be inviting to the eye, clean, and simple to
express the positive and friendly image of Merry Anns. We want to express the
cleanliness of Merry Anns through visuals in our executions. The overall appeal of our
creative platform will be to inform the target markets of our objectives in a rational and
organized manner.
Core Message and Theme
The main message of our executions is to express the main objectives of our creative
platform. We want to inform the target markets that Merry Anns is open twenty-four
hours. Since this is expressed in our logo, we want to make sure the logo is clear and big
enough for the target audience to see and recognize. For our other main objective, we
want to express the cleanliness and friendliness of Merry Anns through visuals used in
our executions. For our core message and theme, we hope to reinvent Merry Anns brand
personality to show that they care about their customers and that it is a fun and delicious
place to eat at all times of the day. In our logo, it says Welcome to the Family in the
lower right hand corner. We want the audience to connect this copy point to be the main
message and theme of Merry Anns.
Visuals
The visuals in our executions will show a clean, fun, and old fashioned diner. The people
in the visuals will be college students or families eating delicious food offered by Merry
Anns. The visuals will be inviting and appealing to improve the perception of Merry
Anns. The color scheme of the executions will mainly be red, black, and white to
connect with the logo as well as maintain and old fashioned diner look. The fonts will be
clear to read and appropriately sized in the executions to express the most important parts
of the layouts.
Justification of Creative Platform
Based on our in-depth interview results, seven out of thirteen students did not know
Merry Anns was open twenty-four hours. We want to heavily stress that Merry Anns is
open twenty-four hours in all of our executions. We also want to show the logo in all
executions so that it is big enough to read and see the 24-hour diner in the left hand
corner. In addition, we want to show that Merry Anns is a fun and clean place to eat at
through visuals that show this. We hope to alter the negative perception that people have

20
of Merry Anns through our overall core message that Merry Anns cares about their
customers and provides quality food and service. To achieve this, our executions will be
simple, clear, and easy to understand.
Analytical Critique of Logo and Layouts
The campaign we are proposing for Merry Anns Diner is aimed to change the negative
perception the diner currently has as well as raise awareness to the store hours. Our
campaign includes a reimagined logo, direct mail pieces, a rewards card, a coupon, and a
print piece. Below is a critique of each creative piece to be implemented throughout the
course of the campaign.
Logo
The idea for the overall aesthetic of the logo came from the desire to create a classic diner
feel. The wings in the logo that serve as the logo form are reminiscent of the 50s
design style that is common in classic diner logos. The tagline welcome to the family is
directly influenced by our research on consumers perceptions of Merry Anns. Our
creative platform is built around changing negative perceptions that Merry Anns food is
low quality and that their facilities are unclean. The idea behind the family concept is
to invoke a perception of trust and quality. Refer to Exhibit 3 for an example of the
reimagined logo.
Exhibit 4-Logo

Direct Mail
The direct mail piece was designed to be a way to increase traffic in the store. Refer to
Exhibit 5 for an example of the direct mail piece. Our in-depth interviews showed that the
majority of our target audience would eat at Merry Anns if there were coupons available.
The overall concept for this piece was to inform customers of the variety of products
Merry Anns provides through the discounts and coupons, as well as stressing the fact
that they are open twenty-four hours and that they are active on Facebook. We also tried
to persuade the perception of Merry Anns through the use of the newly refined logo and
the use of the logo colors.

21

At the top of the direct mailer, one can see the newly designed logo with the reverse type
on the red to compliment aesthetic of an old diner feel. The colors also seemed to catch
the eyes of the respondents during the copy test. The picture included under the newly
designed logo shows the inside of the diner. Based off of our copy test the majority of our
respondents preferred the actual picture because it showed a realistic picture of Merry
Anns Diner. The coupons that were included at the bottom of the page were chosen
specifically to showcase the variety of foods Merry Anns offers. These items range from
burgers, to milkshakes, to sides. Also, the discounts varied from free items to a specific
percentage off as well as a specific dollar amount off. The reimagined logo is
incorporated on each coupon so if the customer tears apart the coupon they can still see
where the coupons are good at. Last, at the bottom of the page we included the address as
well as Facebook URL. The reason behind this was so that our target market could see
that Merry Anns is changing their perception by becoming more active on Facebook.
Our direct mail responded quite well to our copy test. The majority of our respondents
were able to recall the main message our layout was trying to portray. There was not
anything in particular the respondents thought we should change in this ad. When
respondents were asked what they like and dislike about the ad, only two of six
respondents had a suggestion of something they did not like. The other five respondents
said that the colors catch their eye, that the picture is realistic, and that it is simple.
Overall, the direct mail accomplishes the campaign objectives because it helps to change
the negative perception of Merry Anns as well as increasing awareness of the hours.

22

Exhibit 5- Direct Mail

23

Rewards Card
ThisrewardcardforMerryAnnsDinerismeanttokeepcustomersreturningtothe
restaurantbyofferingthemarewardforcomingintoMerryAnns10timesand
purchasingfood.RefertoExhibit6foranexampleoftherewardscard.Customerswill
beencouragedtoreturnwiththeincentiveofafreemenuitem.Thiscardhasbeenkept
verysimpleandalsofeaturesaveryboldredcolortocatchtheeyeoftheconsumerwhen
thecardisinthecustomer'swallet.Thefrontoftherewardcardfeaturesthenewlogoof
MerryAnnstoreinforcethebrandandclearlysendsthemessagetotheconsumerthatit
isarewardcard.Thelogoitselfisisolatedbythewhitebackgroundandblackoutlineso
thatthecustomerseyeisdrawntothelogo.Thebackofthecardiskeptsimpleagain
withsomemorecoloronthebordersothatitismoreappealingtotheeye.Themessage
onthecardtellingthecustomerthattheycanreceiveafreemenuitemifthemcomein
andmakeapurchase10times.Themessageislargeandinthemiddleofthecardtothat
themessageisclearlynoticed.Thenumbersonthebackarelargeandclearlyseenbythe
outlineoftheredboxessothatthecustomercantrackhowmanytimestheyhave
purchasedanitemeasily.

Exhibit6RewardsCard

24

Coupon
The coupon layout for Merry Anns was designed to be appealing to our primary target
audience as well as simple and easy to read. Refer to Exhibit 7 for an example of the
coupon. The new logo was used again as well as color scheme to keep up with
consistency throughout the whole campaign. Because our in-depth interview revealed
that our primary target audience was interested in coupons we decided to create a layout
that was appealing to them. The word free is highlighted in red to draw attention to the
idea of a BOGO offer. This will help to separate this coupon from all the other coupons
that could potentially be presented at the same time as this one. The offer is only valid
during a specific month as well as the inclusion of a sentence saying that it is a limitedtime savings which gives the audience the idea that they need to act now. This will
ultimately increase traffic during this month. The way Merry Anns can continue with this
coupon is by providing a different discount during each month. The image of the burger
and fries and drink was included to help with visual appeal as well as showcase that
Merry Anns provides a variety of food items and not just breakfast. Overall, this layout
will help to achieve our campaign objectives by using the consistency of the new color
scheme as well as new logo, and reminders of Merry Anns being open twenty-four hours
as well as the variety of food they provide.

25

Exhibit 7- Coupon

Print
This postcard would be distributed around campus and specifically aims to increase
traffic between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm, which is the secondary goal of our campaign.
Refer to Exhibit 8 for an example of the print piece. The visual on the front is a group of
young people (college students) sitting around a table enjoying breakfast together. This is
intended to help change perceptions students have of Merry Anns as only a late night
food option, and to start associating Merry Anns with breakfast. The overall lightness
of the image is also meant to convey a feeling of cleanliness, or freshness, to address
negative perceptions of Merry Anns. The offer on the back is meant to increase traffic
between the hours of 8 am and 8 pm, as the offer is only valid during these times.
Additionally, the photos on the back are meant to show breakfast, lunch and dinner, also
to help consumers see Merry Anns as an option for every meal of the day. The verbiage
of come in and join us is meant to also tie into the family feel, which ties it back to
the tagline, instead of just saying get 25% off your next meal. The red bar on the
bottom is meant to be a simple way to add visual appeal to the piece, and the Merry
Anns logo appears again in this space, to reinforce the brand before the consumer puts
the piece down.
Exhibit 8-Print Piece
Front

26

Back

27

Appendix A
In-depth Interview Method and Results

In-depth Interview Method

Our group conducted in-depth interviews with thirteen members from our primary target
audience. We did this in order to begin the creative planning process. Respondents
provided insight to the current perception, awareness levels, and preferences in means of
Merry Anns Diner. Refer to Exhibit A-1 for the interview script.

28
The purpose of these interviews was to gain insight into the minds of our primary target
audience. Overall, we found that Merry Anns Diner currently has a negative perception
when it comes to cleanliness and quality of food. We also found that there is little
awareness in regards to Merry Anns Diner being open twenty-four hours. There is an
opportunity in the market for Merry Anns Diner to position themselves as a late-night
restaurant that has great customer experience, quality food, affordable food options, and
as one of few restaurants in the area that is open twenty-four hours.

In-Depth Interview Results

What is the awareness level among the target audience?
After conducting in-depth interviews, only five out of thirteen people mentioned Merry
Anns Diner as a top of mind choice for a late-night restaurant. When respondents were
handed a list of local, late-night restaurants and asked to indicate which of the restaurants
they were familiar with, all of the respondents indicated that they were aware of Merry
Anns Diner. Respondents were also asked if they knew the hours of Merry Anns as well
as if they knew the kinds of food Merry Anns provides. Eleven of thirteen respondents
answered the question regarding the hours. From those eleven people, seven responded
that they were unaware that Merry Anns is open twenty-four hours. We also had eleven
of thirteen respondents answer the question regarding the types of food Merry Anns
provides. From this question, nine respondents stated that breakfast was the primary food
option. In conclusion, it is clear that Merry Anns is a well-known restaurant. However,
when it comes to awareness of what they do and specifics regarding their restaurant,
people are not aware.
What is important to our target audience when choosing a late-night restaurant?
After analyzing our in-depth interviews, it was clear that our respondents share common
beliefs regarding characteristics they look for when choosing a late-night restaurant.
When the interviewees were asked what criteria they use to choose a late-night restaurant,
we found that quality of food, location, hours, and price were the most important factors.
After respondents listed criteria they use, they were also asked to rank each item. Of the
four most important factors listed above, eleven of the thirteen respondents mentioned at
least one of the factors in the top two. Furthermore, the two that occurred most frequently
were quality of food and price.
How does the target audience view Merry Anns Diner?
When the target audience was asked to indicate which of the following late-night
restaurants they are aware of in this area, they were also asked to describe their
impressions of each restaurant they were aware of. As mentioned above, all of our
respondents indicated that they were aware of Merry Anns Diner. What differed was the
perception each respondent had of Merry Anns. Six out of thirteen respondents answered
the question by listing that Merry Anns Diner is lacking in cleanliness and quality but
also provides cheap late-night food. The results from this question are what guided our
decision of working to change the negative perception Merry Anns currently has to our
target market.

29
What should Merry Anns Diner do to gain awareness and ultimately increase sales?
After analyzing our in-depth interviews, it was clear that the majority of our target
audience hears about restaurants in Normal, IL from word-of-mouth. Specifically, eleven
of the thirteen noted that they hear about restaurants from friends and/or word-of-mouth.
Respondents were also asked what Merry Anns should do specifically to gain new
customers. Eight of thirteen respondents said that Merry Anns should use promotional
efforts including coupons, deals, or sales. Respondents were then asked if they use
coupons from local coupon books. Eleven of thirteen respondents said they either use the
coupons or would use them if they were available to them. All of these responses show
that the target audience would respond to positive word-of-mouth, coupons, and deals to
increase both awareness and sales.

Exhibit A-1: Interview Script

Introduction
Hello. My name is [first name only]. I am an ISU student working on a class project.
We are interviewing [consumers/students] to get a better understanding of their
preferences. This interview includes just a few questions and only takes about 5 minutes.
Your name or any other identifying information will not be recorded and the results will

30
be aggregated or summarized for the group not reported individually. We really
appreciate your help with this. Do you have a few minutes to talk?
Screener Questions (If Necessary)
Are you a college student? Do you attend Illinois State University?
Do you live in Normal?
Awareness I (Top of Mind)
Please list all of the local restaurants in Normal that are open late at night that come to
mind:
Behavior I & Preferences (Measuring Salient Attributes)
Of the local restaurants listed above in Normal, IL, which is your favorite?
Now that youve thought about your late-night restaurant in Normal, what about it stands
out that makes it special to you? Why did you go there in the first place?
How do you normally get to these restaurants in Normal? -walk, drive, bus?
Please list the factors/criteria you use to choose a late night restaurant? Now please rank
order your list in terms of importance. (1 being the most important)
What do you normally order late at night?
How many times do you go out to eat per week?
Approximately what time do you normally go out to eat?
Do you typically go out to eat by yourself or with friends/ family?
Awareness II (Client Prompt & Perceptions)
Please indicate which of the following late-night restaurants you are aware of:
Dennys
D.P. Dough
Insomnia Cookies
La Bamba
IHOP
Jimmy Johns
Wendys
Taco Bell
Dominos
Pizza Hut
McDonalds
Steak n Shake
Merry Anns
Crepe Geeks
Windy City Wieners
Buffalo Wild Wings
Papa Johns

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For each that you are aware of, what do you think of them? - what is your impression of
them?
Brief description of client: Merry Anns Diner is a local restaurant, located on Illinois
State University Campus in Uptown Normal. They are home of the World Famous Diner
Stack, which is a breakfast classic combination. Merry Anns is open twenty-four hours,
and serves all types of food items ranging from breakfast options to dinner options to a
variety of desserts. Merry Anns Diner also provides affordable services with items on the
menu being priced under ten dollars.
If you were not previously aware of Merry Anns, how likely would you be to go there?
Why or why not?
Behavior II (Media & Other Target Behavior)
How do you most commonly hear about restaurants in Normal?
What do you think is the most effective way for a restaurant to gain new customers?
What should Merry Anns specifically do to gain new customers?
Did you know that Merry Anns is open 24 hours?
What kinds of food does Merry Anns serve?
Is it important for a company to be advertised in a local coupon book? Do you use
coupons from the local coupons books?

32

Appendix B
Copy Test Method and Results

Copy Test Method

The copy test for the direct mail layout for Merry Anns was administered to determine
the effect of visuals and colors on consumers recall. The objective of this copy test was
to assure that the brand, core message, and restaurant hours were recalled effectively by
our target market. More specifically, the direct mailers objective was to evaluate the
target markets preference of visuals, colors, and layouts on an advertisement.

33

The layouts tested had similar content, but included changes to the background visual,
and the color and placement of the Merry Anns logo/ positioning statement (please refer
to Exhibits B-1 and B-2 for the copy test layouts). Layout A had a red background color
on the top half with the logo in reverse, white type. Below the logo was a photograph of
the inside of the diner. The bottom half consisted of six coupons within black, dotted
outlines. Each had a different deal and the diners logo at the top. The very bottom of the
layout was the restaurants location and Facebook page information. Layout B had a
picture of six friendly people who were smiling into the camera with food in front of
them. The Merry Anns logo was in the center of the layout in red type. The bottom half
of each layout remained exactly the same.
Overall, twelve individuals who fit the target market were copy tested: six people were
shown Layout A first and the other six were shown Layout B first. Each individual was
given a few minutes to review the advertisement. The ad was then taken away and the
participants were asked to answer the first eight questions on the survey regarding the ad
we just showed them (please refer to Exhibit B-3 for a Copy Test Script). After the first
eight questions were answered, we returned the original layout and they were asked to
answer question nine. The second layout was then shown to the participants (B was
shown to those who saw A first, and vice versa). From there, they were asked to answer
the last two questions.

Exhibit B-1
Copy Test Direct Layout A

34

Exhibit B-2
Copy Test Layout B

35

Layout Copy Test Results

36
Our copy test results showed that participants were able to most accurately recall the
brand name, the background visuals, and the store hours. For Layout A, 5/6 recalled
Merry Anns as the brand name, while all six recalled the brand name in Layout B. The
main message of direct mail layouts was to encourage more visits with the use of
coupons and a friendly environment. 3/6 described the main message as the use of
coupons and discounts for Layout A, while 3/6 described the same message for Layout B.
Also, two of Layout As participants described the main message as Merry Anns being a
family diner, while 3/6 Layout B participants had the impression that Merry Anns was a
family atmosphere.
In both layouts, students recalled background colors, visuals, and coupons. There were
positive responses concerning the color schemes and font choices for both direct mail
pieces. A few pointed out that the font was easy to read, which aided their recall. Based
on preference questions, people preferred the picture of the inside of the diner (Layout A)
because they felt the picture of the people (Layout B) was not realistic based on their
perception of Merry Anns. However, copy test responses lead us to believe that people
recalled our messages more frequently in Layout B. Most participants responded well to
the picture of the happy group of people, so we will be incorporating that visual in other
layouts. We chose to use Layout A for the first campaign due to positive responses of the
visuals and color scheme.

Exhibit B-3

37
Copy Test Script
[Show Direct Mailer A, allow a few minutes. If testing B, show B first.]
1. Please write down everything you can recall about this ad:
2. Please list the company the ad was for:
3. Please describe the main message of this ad:
4. What are the restaurant hours?
5. What is your impression of Merry Anns?
6. What stood out the most to you in this advertisement?
7. What was the most appealing coupon?
8. After viewing this ad are you more interested in eating at Merry Anns Diner?
[Show Direct Mailer A again.]
9. What did you like/dislike about the ad? What would you change?
[Show Direct Mailer B, allow a few minutes. Show A now if testing B.]
10. Is this advertisement more eye catching?
11. Which ad do you prefer? Why?

38
Merry Anns Target Audience Profile References
[1] "Illinois State University." Illinois State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2016.
[2] "Your Geography Selections." American FactFinder. N.p., 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.