Homecoming Dance 2016

A Night in Paris
IMC Plan

Madeline Darby, Katherine Devine, Derek Sullivan

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Situation Analysis:

The primary research done for this project was done through a survey to gauge both the

students interest in the Homecoming dance and if they would like to see the implementation of

an online ticket option. Both surveys were done in person and had a yes or no answer, but also

were asked why they chose that answer. For the first survey the student was asked was if they

have or intend to go to a home coming dance at John Carroll. Of the 23 students questioned: 12

said they had gone to or intend to go to a homecoming dance before and 11 said they had not

gone and do not intend to go. The main theme that emerged from the 12 positive answers were

that they went because their friends were going or that they went because they had a significant

other. The 11 that answered negativity had a common theme in thinking that the homecoming

would not be fun.

Surprisingly, two of the eleven students stated that the inconvenience of how you bought

tickets was a factor in their decision to not go to homecoming. This ties in directly to the solution

this group has put forward to help market the JCU homecoming. The second survey question

asked was whether the implementation of online ticket sales would make them more likely to go

to the next John Carroll homecoming. Overwhelmingly, 21 of the 23 students surveyed said that

this would increase their chances of going to the next homecoming. The only two that said no

felt this way because they had absolutely no desire to attend an event like homecoming. A main

theme of the 21 that said yes was that they hated having to go to a specific place at a specific

time to get the tickets they wanted. In addition, the factors of waiting in line and the possibility

of being able to use their credit cards to pay for the tickets was addressed. Through the results of

this primary research, the implementation of online ticket sales would make the students more

likely to go to the next homecoming at John Carroll University.

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 The secondary research for this project was done by looking at how the ticket sales of

other universities sold their homecoming tickets. I contacted people at Notre Dame College, a

college that is close to John Carroll, and discovered that they also do not have an online ticket

selling system in place for their homecoming events. When I contacted Case Western Reserve

University about their homecoming dance I was surprised to find out that they do not have a

homecoming dance at all. Case Western Reserve University only hosts a homecoming football

game, free food, and a myriad of alumni related events with a few Greek Life events, but no

homecoming dance. The fact that neither of these two colleges have tried an online ticket

purchasing option shows that we can be innovative and ahead of the curve to become what other

colleges base their homecoming events off of.

The implementation of online ticket sales received a very positive reaction from the

students surveyed at John Carroll because it makes the process one step easier and that is what

college students seek out. The convenience of being able to buy the tickets at any time and

anywhere is highly appealing, especially when you factor in the amount of people who prefer to

pay with a credit card, instead of cash. This tied in with our plan to hold a raffle for the first 100

people to purchase their tickets online. This will further entice students to purchase tickets and

hopefully, make the dance even more successful. Also, if we become the "golden standard" of

homecomings by continuously implementing more ideas like this into our homecoming functions

it will increase retention rates, ticket sales, and the overall popularity of the homecoming dance

at John Carroll university.

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Objective 1: Increase in ticket sales by 10%

Objective 2: Increase awareness of dance by 30%

Objective 3: Have 70% retention rate for dance

Audience:

The three key audiences we have chosen are freshman, seniors and misc. Student body. If we

focus on marking to a specific type of student that will increase sales for the dance but also make

it more popular or cool again.

The freshman at John Carroll are one of the easier targets to focus on to get to go to the

homecoming dance. Homecoming dances, at most high schools, are every year for the four years

they attended that school so these students are familiar with the idea of a dance. It would be a

place where they could meet new friends especially since the timing of the dance is after the first

month of school. This is why we would make the RAs of the freshman dorms go door to door

handing out the poster we created. Posters will be hung on the bathroom doors as well because I

remember when I was a freshman those were some of the posters I actually paid attention to

when I was getting ready. Also, the location of the dance may spark interest with the freshman

because most of them dont have cars and are unable to explore what Cleveland has to offer.

Since transportation is offered, this will make them want to go as well. The social media aspect

will also allow the freshman to see who is attending the dance and ask any questions they want.

The idea of having an online ticket purchasing system is also a way to market to them because

some freshman dont know where certain buildings are or where we would have ticket sales. If

we get the buzz of the homecoming dance going this will increase the amount of freshman that

go to the dance. Friends will want to go with friends and people can even bring dates.

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 The seniors would be our next target. As their final year approaches and as my group are

all upcoming seniors, this dance will be marketed as the last dance we will have an opportunity

to go to before we enter the real world. One of the things that the dance has is the date. Friday

nights are John Carroll are notorious for being uneventful. This will give the students something

to do rather than sit around. Also, senior that will off campus arent exposed to a lot of the

marketing around campus such as in the dorms like we plan on doing to target the freshmen. This

is when the online popup ad on canvas comes into play. Canvas is used by all John Carroll

students and is used almost everyday. The popup ad will be the main source of marketing that is

targeted towards the seniors. It will be a short and sweet, attractive ad that will take the consumer

right to the John Carroll website which is where tickets can be purchased. Also, since seniors

mostly live off campus and online ticket purchase will be easier. Most of the time students dont

walk around with a wallet let alone cash to purchase the tickets with. If they are at home or with

friends on their computers they are more likely to purchase a ticket.

Our final audience is titled as miscellaneous student body. Through some of our research we did

find some students that enjoy going to the dance or are interested in attending. These students we

want to keep as customers and have them continue to purchase tickets both online and on

campus. The media and ads we used will keep them interested but also will show them how

much has changed with the way the homecoming weekend and dance itself has changed. This

will make them want to go more and even tell their friends to go, because if the marketing is

improving for the dance more people will go, more money will be raised, and therefor the dance

itself will become better.

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Objective 1: Increase in ticket sales by 10%

Strategies:

1. Online ticket option

2. More strategic planning of where tickets are sold

3. Raffle

Tactics:

1. Create link on John Carroll website that has link to purchasing online tickets

-Throughout the day, students are typically very busy and stopping to purchase a ticket may not

be on the forefront of their mind. In addition, not all students always have money with them that

would allow them to buy a ticket. Another problem with on campus ticket selling is that tickets

are only sold during limited hours that might not be a convenient time for student. By offering an

online ticket purchasing option, students will be able to buy a ticket whenever they please and

can easily enter in a credit card number. This avoids the hassle of having to find the time to buy a

ticket on campus.

2. Have ticket selling booths in very high-traffic areas, such as the atrium and library. Students

are frequently in these locations, so they will constantly see the booth and be reminded of the

dance.

3. Name put into raffle for Chipotle gift card for first 100 students who purchase a ticket online

-A weakness of last years dance was students waiting until the last minute to purchase tickets.

The possibility of winning a gift card if purchasing your ticket online will provide an incentive

for students to quickly purchase their tickets. This should also help to increase overall ticket

sales.

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Objective 2: Increase awareness of dance by 20%

Strategies:

1. Create more awareness through social and traditional media

2. Brand the dance in a way that will target our audiences

Tactics:

1. Create Facebook social media account

-Social media is very popular among college students, so by creating a Facebook page, people

will be more likely to become aware of the dance. In addition, Facebook allows you to view who

has RSVPd to go. By possibly seeing some of their friends attending, they might be more

enticed to attend, as well.

2. Hang up posters advertising the dance

-Since we are mostly targeting freshmen and seniors, we would strategically place the posters to

maximize how many people see them. We would hang them in freshmen dorms, on sorority and

fraternity floors, and in high-traffic areas, such as the atrium, library, and cafeteria.

3. Post banner ad on Canvas

-Since a lot of seniors live off campus, traditional media advertising on campus, might not be as

effective. Therefore, we would create a banner ad for the dance on Canvas, as students are

frequently checking this for schoolwork.

Objective 3: Have 70% retention rate for dance

Strategies:

1. Give attendees enjoyable, memorable experience

2. Give away free merchandise

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Tactics:

1. Photo Booth

Stationing a photo booth at the dance will allow students to document the night and enable them

to have a keepsake from their memorable night. We would also supply Paris related props, such

as a beret, and Eiffel Tower, and a mustache to make the photos even more special.

2. Additional raffle at dance

Along with our raffle being offered to the first 100 students who purchase their tickets online, an

additional raffle will be held for all students at the dance. This will give attendees something to

look forward to while at the dance and create an even more exciting experience.

3. Homecoming dance t-shirts

-Individuals really appreciate the idea of free merchandise so providing students with limited

number of homecoming dance t-shirts will add to the overall experience and allow students to

have an item to always remember the dance by.

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Measurements:

Objective 1: Increase ticket sales by 10%

-In order to measure the success of this goal, we will compare the number of tickets sold last

year in comparison to this years dance to determine whether there was in increase in sales.

Objective 2: Increase awareness of dance by 20%

-In order to measure the success of this goal, we will survey students before we begin advertising

and ask them questions about their knowledge of the dance. In the days prior to the dance, we

will survey students again to see if their awareness of the dance increased.

Objective 3: Have retention rate for dance be 70%

-In order to measure the success of this goal, we will survey a group of students who attended the

dance last year and then tell them about our ideas for this years dance. Following this, we will

then ask these students if these ideas would make them want to attend the dance again.

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Planning Calendar:

Week of Week of Week of Week of Week of

9/9/16 9/16/16 9/23/16 9/30/16 9/7/16

Objective Increase in
ticket sales
by 10%

Tactics Online ticket

purchasing x x x x
website link

Have ticket
selling
booths in x x
very high-
traffic areas
Chipotle gift x
card raffle

Objective Increase
awareness
of dance by
20%

Tactics Create x x x
Facebook
account

Hang up x x
posters

Banner ad x x
on Canvas

Objective Have 30%

retention
rate for
dance

Tactics Photo booth x

Raffle at x
dance

T-shirts x

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Budget:

Item Cost

Food (Fruit and Cheese Platter) $1200

2 Chipotle gift cards $100

Photo Booth $400

T-shirts $1,250

Total $2950

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Appendix:

Question 1: Did you go to the homecoming dance that happened earlier this year if not,
are you intending on going to the next one?

Question 2: Would you be more likely to go to the homecoming if you could buy your
tickets online?

Student 1:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because he wanted to go with his friends.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 2:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 3:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 4:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because they had a significant other to take.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 5:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: No I do not intend on going to a homecoming at all.

Student 6:

1: Intends on going to the homecoming because they had a significant other to take.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 7:

1: Said no to both because does not like to dance in public.

2: No I do not intend on going to a homecoming at all.

Student 8:

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1: Have gone to the homecoming because he wanted to go with his friends.

2: Yes, convenience.

Student 9:

1: Said no to both because thought it would be stupid.

2: Yes, because it is a cool idea.

Student 10:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because he wanted to go with his friends.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 11:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because he wanted to go with his friends.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 12:

1: Intends on going to the homecoming because they had a significant other to take.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 13:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because they had a significant other to take.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 14:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 15:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because he wanted to go with his friends.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 16:

1: Have gone to the homecoming because had nothing better to do.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 17:

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1: Have gone to the homecoming because he wanted to go with his friends.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 18:

1: Said no to both because did not have time to buy tickets.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 19:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 20:

1: Said no to both because never has cash on them and does not feel like going out of his way to
get the appropriate funds.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 21:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

Student 22:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes because I mainly pay in credit cards.

Student 23:

1: Said no to both because does not seem like fun.

2: Yes, the convenience of it makes it easier and in-turn more likely to go.

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