AAF 2008 AIM Plans book

2008 NSAC AIM Campaigns Book

Southern Illinois University CarbondaleSouthern Illinois University Carbondale 2008 NSAC AIM Campaign Book

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The Great Sphinx in Egypt is carved out of rock. It has the head of a Pharaoh and the body of a lion, representing wisdom and strength.

Carbondale is the heart of “little Egypt” in Southern Illinois. It is the home to Southern Illinois University, the Salukis, and Sphinx Advertising.

Sphinx measures and defines success by building relationships with clients and providing innovative solutions to their challenges.

In the spirit of our namesake, we believe that the best ideas come from a synergistic blend of integrated marketing communications.

Brains and brawn. Youthfulness and yearning. Intelligence and instinct. Learning and living. It is our belief that each of these elements

is fundamental in creating an invigorating and successful campaign.

Delivering strong results and powerful ideas, we are Sphinx Advertising--an Integrated Marketing Agency.

Table of Contents

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Executive Summary The case study provided by AOL directed us to develop a recommendation for the implementation of an advertising plan targeted at men and women, ages 18-24. Emphasis is placed on nontraditional marketing vehicles and a creative strategy that will make AIM top of mind among our target audience. The budget for the campaign is $25 million.

The objectives addressed by this campaign are;

1) to increase trial and drive usage of AIM products by 15%,

2) to bridge the gap between AIM Messaging and AIM Social Media, and

3) to increase AIM brand awareness.

To ensure that the campaign resonates with our target market, Sphinx Advertising undertook extensive primary research. We initiated an online survey and conducted a focus group to understand the buying habits, media usage, and attitudes about online communication of those in our target audience.

The information presented by the client and our primary research led Sphinx Advertising to the following conclusion: In order to increase the audience size of AIM, we need to enhance the product with certain features that would serve as drivers for usage. These features are designed to provide convenience and expedience by using a social networking framework. This led to the conception of AIM Flash, a portable drive programmed with already existing AIM products. This device capsulates many of AIM’s best products, and it is the primary element of our campaign.

Other features include a new dynamic interface, synchronization of the Xdrive with the USB storage device, and AIM Tunes.

We chose to name our brand strategy 20/20because it reflects a plan that not only addresses the problems of today, but plans for the long-term future of AIM. This plan will bring the AIM brand out of its current myopia and provide perfect 20/20 vision for AIM and its users.

In order to execute this strategy, Sphinx Advertising conceived tactics that adopt a 360° touch-point approach. The approach expands upon AIM’s role in social media and online communication. One of our tactics involves a nationwide college promotional event to publicize and distribute AIM Flash drives to our target audience members. Another tactic involves AIM Chats, in which users can have their questions answered by various celebrities. These tactics, along with others, are designed to engage the audience in interaction with the brand while providing them a unique brand experience.

The recommended media strategy reflects the media consumption of our target market and emphasizes nontraditional marketing vehicles to efficiently reach its members. The budgetary allocation for the media mix is well balanced and uses different IMC elements such as traditional media, the Internet, promotional events, and other non-traditional and ambient media. The campaign will be evaluated at different stages to gauge its effectiveness and corrective actions will be taken if necessary.

About Sphinx 2

Executive Summary 3

Situation Analysis 4-11

Company analysis 5

Competitive Analysis 5

Consumer Analysis 6-7

Market Trends 8

Product Analysis 9

Brand Analysis 10

SWOT/ Problems and opportunities 11

Brand Strategy 12-13

Creative Executions 14-21

Media Strategy 22-26

References 27

Acknowledgments 28

Situation Analysis

As a part of the digital generation, the executives at Sphinx Advertising have been active users of online communication for several years. Growing up in this technological era has given us the opportunity to fully explore the past and create the future of AOL Instant Messenger. This campaign has proven to be a challenge as the advances in instant messenger services and social networking sites are becoming increasingly innovative and ever changing.

We will be introducing you to our primary research findings throughout the Situation Analysis. The methodology used in our primary research consisted of an online survey and a focus group discussion. We surveyed over 400 college students across universities in the Midwest, and our results indicate that AIM greatly exceeds its competition in likeability and everyday usage when compared to other messenger services.

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Company Analysis AOL LLC. is an Internet service and media company that is owned by Time Warner and based in New York City. The company began in 1985 as an Internet Service Provider known as Quantum Computer Services, and later changed its name to America Online in 1989. By 2000, AOL usage exceeded 30 million and its stock value reached $226 billion. Since its merger with Time Warner, however, AOL has seen a significant plummet in its value and subscription rates, and is now barely worth $20 billion with less than 13 million subscribers.

Currently, Time Warner is trying to spin off AOL as two separate businesses:

1) an Internet Service Provider 2) a Content Provider.

As an ISP, AOL is attempting to reposition itself as a free open Internet content provider similar to Yahoo!, rather than offering a closed set of services to subscribers. AOL’s revised mission, as of mid-2006, is “to serve the world’s largest and most engaged community,” looking to push the company forward. Among AOL’s brands and services are Quigo, Tacoda, Netscape, Moviefone, Mapquest, Truveo, Goowy, and Weblogs, and the company is also partnered with the antivirus software provider, McAfee (AOL.com).

As a Content Provider, AOL was the first Internet service to integrate a web browser into content, and the company also introduced the Buddy List in order to leverage instant messaging. In May of 1997, AOL released AOL Instant Messenger, a free instant messaging application that now allows users to communicate over the Internet via text messaging, voice, and video.

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Competitive Analysis AOL Instant Messenger is a social media product that allows users to chat and share content free of charge. It has positioned itself as the national leader in usage among the messaging market. However, it remains in stiff competition with Yahoo! Messenger and MSN Messenger as well as third parties Trillion and ICQ both nationally and worldwide. As opposed to in the United States, AIM ranks 4th in usage in the worldwide market. Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Google Talk are AIM’s chief contenders, but Yahoo! and newcomer Skype are looking to incorporate video and voice chat into their instant messengers as well, creating even tougher competition for AIM (AIM Case Study).

Instant messaging services such as AIM have begun to see a slow decline in users due to the rising popularity of free, ad supported, social networing sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Bebo. Due to their increasing usage, these sites are seen as competitors to AIM Pages, People Connection, and

Userplane. AIM Pages also falls behind Blogger and Myspace Blogs in posting comments on other users’ pages. In the same realm, AOL Groups ranks last in average monthly unique visits, with Yahoo! Groups at the top of the list. In mobile usage, however, AOL’s mobile Web site receives more traffic in the U.S. than that of Google, MSN, and Yahoo! (Hitwise).

According to our primary research, the most popular email service used is the School Account (30%), followed by Yahoo! (21.3%), Hotmail (19.2%), Gmail (11.2%), & AOL (5.3%). About 60% say they do not have their own website or blog, but 96% say they do have a profile page on a social network. 58% of respondents are on Facebook, 38% are on Myspace, and1.8% use another social networking site. Only 76% responded that they used instant messaging regularly. AIM is the most frequently used messaging service with 82%, followed by MSN Messenger with 27% of respondents and Yahoo! Messenger with 7%.

Brand

Yahoo! Messenger

Windows Live Messenger

ICQ

Skype

Google Talk

Myspace

Facebook

Unique selling point and features

Has 17.7 million users. Offers conferencing and is supported by advertising. Partnerships include Micrsoft, Lotus, and Reuters Communication Services. Currently #2 in messaging.

Has 14.6 million users. Formerly known as MSN Messenger. Their current advertising slogan is “I’m Making a difference. You IM. We give.” Promotions are currently with Cause and Effect by mtvU called “The I’m Inititave.” It is also incorporated with Xbox Live.

Has 29 millions users. Current slogan is “Everybody, Everywhere.” Some of its features are greeting cards, mobile, video chat, groups, and forums.

3.3 million users. Known mostly for their use of PC phone calling and is incorporated with Sony PSP.

12.6 million users. It is a IM system that is bundled with Gmail and has been growing in popularity in the last two years.

A social networking site that offers IM, TV, Mobile, and is based around profiles. It is also advertising-supported. It is currently the 5th most popular website in the U.S.

An advertising-supported social networking site. It offers games and applications, and is also based around profiles. Started as a site exclusively for college students and largely popular among 18-24 year olds.

Consumer Analysis

Demographics Consumers ages 13-28 make up the second largest generation known as the Millennials, or sometimes called Generation Y or Eco Boomers. As of 2006, this generation totalled over 75 million people, with a growing market value of over $100 billion. Approximately 37.3% of 18-24 year olds are full time college students. They are also more ethnically diverse than other generations, with 61% White, 17% Hispanic, 15% Black and 4% Asian. According to Deloitte Development LTC. 2006, “38% of Millennials identify themselves as ‘non-white.’” Also, another study presented by Teenage Research Unlimited in Northbrook, IL concluded that 6 out of every 10 teens said that “their friends included members of diverse racial backgrounds.” Our audience communicates face to face mostly with classmates, co-workers, and friends. With acquaintances, our age group prefers to use social networking to get in contact with them. The phone is used mostly to communicate with family members.

Our data shows that our audience spends 3-4 hours either hanging out with friends or on the Internet. Most spend 1-2 hours watching TV, reading the newspaper, or listening to the radio.

Purchasing behavior Not only are Millennials a large market but they also have a spending power of around $400 a month. The average adult consumer spends 80% of their before-tax income, whereas under-25 consumers spend 108% of their before-tax income, which is over the index by 28! These figures are expected to continue to grow, reaching a 14.6% increase and total income of $555 billion by 2009. Teens and adults13-24 years old have an aggregate income of $335 billion and they are characterized as having excessive spending habits. They spend more on things like clothes and entertainment than they

do on food (Research Wikis). However, the purchase of cell phones, digital audio players, and hand-held computer devices threaten the hold of the apparel industry, as well as the spending priorities of this age group. Among college students, 41% own digital audio players and 90% own cell phones. These cell phone users are more likely to use their phones for text messaging and Internet use, making 18-24 year olds the “leading market” in text messaging (Research Wikis).

PsychographicsKey characteristics of Millennials are:

• Tech savvy• Optimistic• Diverse• Open-minded• Impatient• Connected 24/7• Independent• Lifestyle-centered • Seek to make a difference • Comfortable with change

This generation has grown up around the Internet and has a more advanced way of seeking out information. They want instant gratification and look at information as simply being a “click away.” They also hold a strong sense of individualism, self-assurance, and freedom.

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Media and Technology ideas and usage

Millennials want and expect to have control over their media experiences through technology. Teens do not see technology such as DVRs, instant messaging, and wireless phones as anything “new.” Instead, they are considered fundamental extensions of their consciousness. According to Simmons, 15.5% of 18-24 year olds agree that the Internet changed the way that they obtain information, compared to 19.7% that disagreed. Clearly, rather than seeing technologies like the Internet as innovations, Millennials view them as a way of life.

The 18-24 year old age group is the “leading market” in

text messaging.

White

Hispanic

African American

Asian

61%

17%

15%

4%

Ethnicity Breakdown

Deloitte Development LTC

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Age

13-2516-1819-2021-24

Internethrs/week17.417.316.215.5

TVhrs/week15.0121213.7

Radiohrs/week14.411.393610.9

Phone/cellhrs/week8.17.66.87.5

Yahoo! and Carat Interactive, 2003

Traditional media Males in this generation tend to read the traditional male magazines such as Maxim and Playboy, and Gamepro remains popular with the younger male segment. Females tend to read the same magazines as the younger females with the addition of Cosmopolitan to the mix. Popular magazines for females focus on lifestyles and celebrities such as Seventeen, People, and YM.

According to Nielsen’s Media Research, American Idol is among the Top 10 television shows in teen homes. Generally, there are a higher number of TV addicts among 18-24 year olds, yet they watch one-third less television programming than 13-17 year olds.

Internet and Social media Internet has become a vital part of the teen consumer’s everyday life. Approximately 88.7% of 18-24 year olds are using the Internet, compared to 77.3% of the adult population. Millennials are also very likely to purchase items online, such as computer products, travel services, and tickets to entertainment events. Overall, about 51% of females and 43.3% of males are active online buyers. Among college students, 97.7 million males and 98.8 million females use the Internet, and 27.8% of men and 18% of female Internet users are considered to be heavy users. Furthermore, 49.4% of 18-24 year old Internet users say that they are less likely to use television, magazines, newspapers, and radio due to the prevalence of the Internet (Pew Internet, 2004).

Teens are also now known as “content creators.” More than half of online teens say they create content through a variety of sources such as blogs, social networking sites, or personal websites. They also take existing content on the Internet and make it their own by remixing it, and they often share content that they have created with their friends. Creating content on the Internet empowers teens to express themselves and be heard in ways never before imagined. According to a Pew Internet study, 39% of teens share their own artistic creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, and videos, while another 51% say they currently download music and 31% download videos. Teen downloaders get their music from multiple sources, either paying for it through services like iTunes and BuyMusic.com or using peer-to-peer websites.

Advertising views Young women are said to pay great attention to celebrity endorsements and movie theater advertisements. Among 18-24 year old women, 27.6% enjoy reading magazine advertisements, compared to

only 19.5% of adults as a whole. About 25% of college students receive cell phone ads, but only 5% of the recipients can recall the advertiser and a mere 1% responded to the ads. Of these recipients, 92% say that the ads are annoying, and 67% are less likely to purchase a product that uses text message advertising (U.S. Youth Market Study 2005).

AIM Users

Of the 22 million AIM users, 20.7% are between the ages of 18 and 24, over indexing total AIM users by 77. An overwhelming 10.7% of those users are students, with an index number of 299! Among users, 75% log onto AIM every day, and the same percentage has sent instant messages in the past 30 days. According to the same study, 21% of AIM users have published blogs and 34.8% have visited someone else’s blog in the same time period. With the increase in popularity of cell phones, 28.1% of AIM users download content to their cellular devices, and 47.5% have sent or received text messages in the past month (AIM Case Study).

12%

22%

37%

29%

Entertainment

Communication

Work

Other

Top Websites Visited

Sphinx Advertising Primary Research

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Market Trends• Use of online video and advertising - marketers spent an estimated $225 million on Internet video advertisements in 2005, and that amount is said to exceed $1.5 billion by 2009, according to eMarketer

• Mobile advertising - text messaging, Web mobile, content (i.e. viral videos, music videos, commercial messages) - spending in U.S. on mobile ads exceeded $421 million in 2006 is expected to reach $5 billion by 2011, according to research by eMarketer.

• The main form of communication most frequently used is the cell phone, followed closely by face-to-face interaction. Social networking on a day-to-day basis ranked last as the most frequent form of communication.

• 37% of the target audience spends 3-4 hours on the Internet per day, which account for both personal and work related usage. About 26% spend 5-6 hours on the Internet a day, and 3% of students spend more than 10 hours a day browsing the Web.

• 99.2% have a cell phone, so mobile alerts would be a very effective way to reach our audience..

• Social networking - eMarketer projects that advertisers will spend over $1.3 billion on social networking sites by the end of 2008.

• Blogging - Blog advertising accounted for 81.4%, or $16.6 million, of total spending on user-generated online media in 2005, but blog ads will comprise only 39.7%, or $300.4 million, of overall spending in 2010, according to the Center for Media Research.

• Virtual worlds - Parks Associates estimated in June 2007 that $15 million was spent advertising in virtual worlds in the United States in 2006 and projected that it would rise tenfold to $150 million in 2012 (eMarketer).

• Video game advertising - 2005 spending on in-game advertising was $56 million, and this figure is estimated to grow to $1.8 billion by 2010 according to Massive Incorporated, although Yankee Group gives a lower estimate at $732 million

• Within instant messaging: offline messaging, video chat & voice chat - will they become more widely used?

Forms Of Communication most frequently used


“All new technology comes from old technology, and is going somewhere else, and leaves a trail of terminology, ideas and techniques in its wake. Change is inevitable; preparedness for change can spell the difference between survival and extinction.”

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Face to Face

Instant Message

Social Networking

Text Messaging

Email

Phone

20 40 60 80 100

-David Lance Goines

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Product Analysis

AOL Instant Messenger, dubbed AIM, is an ad-supported instant messaging program that is free to registered users under certain copyrights and terms of use. Overall, current awareness of AIM is above 80% and has a market share of about 70% (AIM Case Study). The majority of current AIM users are now college students entering the job market. AIM became extremely popular among this generation throughout middle and high school. However, today’s teens are more likely to use social networking sites as a means for online messaging, leaving them even less likely to sign up for AIM once they graduate high school and head to college. Targeting college-age AIM users in marketing AIM Social Media is ideal, and there are certainly ways to appeal to a younger audience as well.

According to our survey, 54% of more than 400 respondents said that their IM was not constantly logged in on their computer. Nearly 40% of those surveyed have more than 100 friends on their Buddy List. 65% say they exchange more than 10 messages in a typical conversation. 46% of the responses used IM during the times of 5pm-10pm.

Mobile capabilities make AIM even more universally appealing, giving users the option to have IM’s forwarded to their mobile devices, send an IM from your computer to a friend’s phone, change your away message or status by sending a text message to your AIM, or make a phone call to a mobile phone or land line directly from your AIM. Along with mobile messaging, AIM provides users with several other driving features

AIM Tunes allows users to create their own playlists with music files on their own computers as well as stream music from that of buddies on their Buddy List.

AIM MusicLink detects what song users are currently listening to through various media players and displays the song or video title as the current status as it appears on the Buddy List and in the Buddy Info (AIM.com).

Xdrive provides 5GB of free file storage through the web and accessible on any computer with the use of your AIM screenname as the log-in.

AIM bots provide an interesting medium by which AIM users may receive information or post updates. These special screennames may be sent messages in order to receive search engine-like results or have some specific action taken on your behalf.

AIM WIMZI is a downloadable widget that may be placed on a personal blog or webpage to allow instant message capabilities while keeping a user’s screenname anonymous.

AIM Whimsicals use lines of HTML to place similar applications on web pages (AIM.com).

AIM Pro, powered by WebEx, was developed specifically for corporate usage. AIM Pro allows business professionals to communicate via instant message, video conferencing and online meetings, and desktop and file sharing (AIM Pro.com).

AIM Pages, a free service to all AIM users, enables the creation of a personal social networking page that may be shared with friends. An individual’s AIM Pages can include photos, videos, music, and news, and skins. AIM’s other social media products include People Connection, Userplane, Groups, Comments, and Polls.

People Connection is a hub that allows users to connect to each other through message boards, blogs, photo uploads, chat rooms, and profile searches (peopleconnection.aim.com).

Userplane is an open-widget communication platform for online communities widely used by companies that have a strong web base (userplane.com).

Social Media Blog, informing users of the latest AIM updates and developments. The site links to several other blogging sites, such as the popular gossip blog TMZ, as well as AIM’s charity website, AIM for Good.

All of these products and features are available via links on the AIM Dashboard, or AIM Today, the live welcome page that pops up upon user sign-in.

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2040

6080

100

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AIM Features Used


11%

18%

19%

Ease of Use

File Transfer

Chatting

Buddy Info

Customization

Accessibility

Privacy Setting

Notifications

None

10%

8%

9%

9%

11%

5%

Most Important Features


0

Video Chat

Audio Chat

Text Chat

Mobile

IM Forwarding (to cell phone)

Aim Page

Universial Address book by Plaxo

Group Chat

Emotions/Buddy Icons

20 40 60 80 100 120

Brand Analysis

The AOL/AIM brand has maintained a high level of awareness among those in our target market throughout its transition from an Internet service provider to content provider. However, the AIM brand does not hold a top of mind position among these users when compared to the competition. This is due to less public relations efforts on behalf of the AIM brand, and a lack of marketing the new and innovating products AIM offers.

There appears to be a sense of confusion among the users of AIM products. Although AIM and AOL Social Media have features that are popular among the target audience, it is becoming increasingly difficult to explore these features due to the inconsistent strategy currently being implemented by AIM. AIM appears to have spread itself thin by offering too many features, each with its own design and web presence. In order to effectively reach new and existing users, AIM should implement and create a cohesive web presence highlighting the features that will continue to drive the brand.

This graph illustrates the positioning of AIM in relation to other online brands. AIM is well known and close to the top of the target market’s minds, but also perceived as unexciting. AIM’s familiarity stems from its long run as the most popular instant messenger, but AIM’s unfamiliar array of products overwhelms users, which leads to dullness and disengagement in the minds of the target market. Other sites, such as Google, Ebay, MSN, and Youtube, offer users exciting, relevant content, while competing social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace are closer to the top of the target market’s minds. AIM needs to increase its level of excitement, and brand awareness will surely follow.

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Perceptual Map

Exciting

Not So Exciting

Top of MindBottom of Mind

X Twitter

X Imeem

X Pandora

X Xanga

X Blogger

X Wikipedia

X AIM

X Microsoft

X Google

X You Tube

X Facebook

X Myspace

X Yahoo

X MSN

X ebay

Problems & Opportunities

Problem: “Dominance of Facebook and Myspace in social networking.”

Opportunity: We have a chance to gain a whole new audience from our successes with instant messaging while gaining new ground with AIM Pages.

Problem: “Clutter on the website and other various applications from AIM.”

Opportunity: We have a chance to build a cohesive website and fully integrate all of AIM applications into an easy-to-navigate website.

Problem: “The decreased usage of AIM and AIM products to the rise of other popular social networks.”

Opportunity: We have a chance to create a place where all aspects of social networking can be found within AIM and its many products.

Problem: “The Younger generation does not know about AIM and its many applications.”

Opportunity: Existing users will serve as an influence on new users who are unfamiliar with what AIM and its applications have to offer.

SWOT

strengths

Weaknesses

Oppor tunities

Threats

• Strong recognizable global brand• Potential synergies with Time Warner properties• Dominant share of instant messaging market• Established presence in mobile media• Wide range of online applications offered

• Decreasing popularity, usage, and growth• Poorly organized, inconsistent, and helter-skelter web presence • Lack of focus on core businesses• Low key advertising & promotions resulting in low awareness• Lacking online presence / buzz / innovations when compared to peers

• Abundance of features available• Exponential growth in mobile web usage• Fickle and constantly shifting loyalties among target audience• Existing users as influencers of product• Amount of time spent online by target audience

• Popularity of social networking applications• Text messaging on phones over instant messaging• Development of IM applications within social networking sites• Uncertain company future due to corporate upheaval• A new generation of web users who did not grow up with AIM

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Brand Strategy

The 20/20 Campaign

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Brand StrategyObjectives:1) Increase trial/usage by 15%

Primary Communication Objective: Promote trial and usage among college students/target audience members through consumer promotions and innovations.

2) Bridge the gap between AIM messaging and AIM social media.

Primary Communication Objective: Encourageexisting and new users to explore different features incorporated within AIM.

3) Brand Awareness

Primary Communication Objective: Through the use of traditional and non-traditional media, make AIM once again a top of mind brand.

Key Selling Idea Key Selling Idea: The goal of the 20/20Campaign is to create a clean, integrated, and navigable online presence for the AIM brand. The20/20Campaign will bring clarity and a futuristic vision to the brand as well as focus on the essentials to make the brand usable and stand out among the competition. We will identify the unique features and drivers of the AIM brand and utilize these features to create an innovative and top of mind product.

Target Audence The primary target for this campaign will be 18-24 year olds, with a heavy focus on full-time college students in the United States. These tech-savvy, trendsetting individuals are connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and have grown up with the Internet involved in their daily lives. The online world is ever changing, and this age group is comfortable with adapting to change.

13-17yearolds will be the focus for the secondary target. This younger group is the future of our brand and will soon become online influencers, so attention to this younger market is essential.

Support In order to provide an innovative online portal, we have emphasized the strengths of AIM to expand on its popularity. We will appeal to the target market by making AIM the gateway to the Internet through the promotion of AIM Flash. The elements of the 20/20Campaign link existing AIM products and innovations together through the use of online collaborations and event marketing. Through both traditional and non-traditional advertising, we will promote the elements of the 20/20Campaign and encourage user participation. Both the AIM brand and today’s youth place a high emphasis on social media, hence making the 20/20 campaign the best fit for AIM in gearing towards the future.

Tone The tone of our creative executions is energetic yet pragmatic, and it emphasizes the importance of AIM in the day-to-day lives of our target audience. This campaign gives members of our target audience a chance to strengthen and develop a relationship with AIM, thus achieving the established objectives.

Touchpoints We have identified four main categories of touchpoints that AIM has with the target audience. We have created and executed our branding strategy based on these touchpoints.

1) Advertising and promotions

2) Interaction between users and AIM client

3) Direct contact between user and AIM personnel

4) Unexpected contact which includes chatter among users and target audience influencers such as bloggers.

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Creative Executions

Product Intergration

AIM Flash The portable drive itself is a bracelet designed for a comfortable, light fit. It is easy to carry and can be worn anywhere at anytime, making it a device that teens will be less likely to lose compared to other flash drives. AIM Flash will prompt a browser that manages your personal settings, and it may be used at any computer with an available USB port and Internet connection.

The bracelet design consists of a solid color with the AIM logo, with the color being at the discretion of the consumer. University logos, names, and colors will be used for AIM Flash drives available at various college bookstores across the United States.

Browser The browser will contain a scroll of icons representing customized applications for personal use. These icons will link up to AIM products and other chosen widgets. We plan to give away a free 512MB AIM Flash at our special events, and 1GB and 2GB AIM Flash drives will be for sale at university bookstores. The space will be available to store any files in addition to the 5G of space on the Xdrive with which your AIM Flash will link.

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AIM Flash

AIM Flash Login Screen

The Browser Window Anatomy

Once a user plugs in the AIM Flash, a browser window will appear, prompting users to log in with their AIM screenname and password. Upon log-in, the user is to click on the AIM logo at the top left, dropping a list of icons linking to different AIM products and other user-customized features. As shown, when an icon is scrolled over with the mouse, the icon enlarges and the application name appears. The arrow button is used to continuously scroll through a user’s customized list, and clicking on an icon will prompt the corresponding application.

Customization

The links across the bottom of the browser window are used to edit various features of the AIM Flash device and all AIM products. As demonstrated in the illustrations, the AIM Flash browser may be personalized with multiple colors and typefaces. These features will allow users to interact with various AIM products on a more personal level, and the AIM Flash may be used as a universal tool for organization.

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Brand Experience

Promotional Events AIM Flash will set up shop at concerts on and around 50 college campuses nationwide. This promotional event will focus on larger schools and those with a high concentration of 18-24 year olds in the surrounding areas. Free 512MG AIM Flash drives will be handed out to students at booths, and AIM Ambassadors will demonstrate to students how AIM Flash works. This provides consumers with one-on-one customer service and immediately employs interaction with the product.

AIM Ambassadors will be paid for identifying which concerts to sponsor, setting up the booths at each concert, handing out AIM Flash wristbands, and demonstrating product usage. Each ambassador will be trained on how to use and customize AIM Flash and will be equipped with knowledge of the various AIM products associated with it. It will also be their responsibility to implement several marketing efforts for the concert and scavenger hunt, and to facilitate the scavenger hunt that is taking place on their designated campus. The number of ambassadors will be determined by the size of the campus and the anticipated concert attendance.

AIM Flash will provide promotional funding for the event in order to attach the brand and product name. “Rock Your Campus,” the AIM Flash promotional event, will increase awareness of

AIM and AIM Flash and engage consumers in using the products.

Mall and Poster Advertisements To promote the “Rock Your Campus” concert, 11X17 inch posters will be displayed in shopping malls and on the designated college campuses. The poster is bold and eye-catching in order to attract out target audience’s attention and a grungy, youthful theme is used. The “Rock Your Campus” logo is placed boldly in white over a blue background at the top of the page. The date and AIM sponsorship is also in white, and is placed below the logo in a complementing font. The featured Warner Bros. Records band, Green Day, is placed in a large, sans serif font in the center of the page. The blue rays of the background draw the eye in to focus on the band name. AIM’s logo is placed in the lower right corner nest to a button, which when pushed, plays a MIDI file of the band.

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Event Poster

Event Booth

Scavenger Hunt

The “Rock your Campus” viral campaign will be a mixture of Internet, mobile, and instant messaging. The brand ambassadors will facilitate and organize a viral scavenger hunt on each individual campus on which these concerts will be held. One month before each concert date, marketing efforts for the scavenger hunt will commence, encouraging students and community youth to become involved. The advertisements will explain that contestants need to log into AIM and go to the “Rock Your Campus” microsite. A demonstration video and instructions will appear on the web page, and contestants will be asked to enter their screennames and cell phone numbers. Soon after, they will receive an instant message from an AIM bot. The message will contain a picture and a Rock and Roll riddle, and it will be the user’s task to walk around campus and follow the clues. Users can solve the riddle by taking a digital picture of the object and submitting it through the AIM bot or a mobile phone. If the correct image is submitted, the user will receive the next clue. This will continue until there are only four contestants left. Winners of the contest will receive numerous prizes as well as the chance to go back stage at the concert and meet the band.

This promotion will not only generate excitement, but will also engage users in use of AIM bots, AIM File Share, and AIM mobile capabilities. In addition, the AIM brand will resonate with our target audience by being associated with a fun event, a popular band, and awesome prizes.

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Newspaper Insert

Brand Interaction

PS3 Integration AIM will implement a new downloadable version of its software specially designed for the Playstation 3. Currently, Playstation allows users to add friends and chat via the Playstation 3 Network, but we find this limiting. By incorporating AIM into the PS3, Sphinx wants to allow gamers to chat in between sessions with other friends on AIM, and to stay connected with AIM buddies as well as friends on the PS3 Network. Incorporating AIM into the PS3 Network will also allow users to message AIM buddies who might not be on PS3, and invite them to join you online to play a certain video game. Since the PS3 also has Bluetooth capability, users will have better quality voice chat and video chat. Not only that, but by providing a more unified chatting system on PS3, AIM will be expanding its network.

In addition, working with Playstation and its upcoming project HOME, a virtual world much like Second Life, AIM has another foothold in the virtual world. Within HOME, AIM will purchase multiple advertising media and create small shops and virtual games.

Mobile After conducting research on the latest advertising trends, it became apparent that there should be much emphasis in the mobile spectrum. Our team wanted to incorporate new ideas, as well as integrate mobile with other advertising media. To accomplish this without being intrusive, we feel it would be effective for AIM to combine mobile with the scavenger hunt. AIM users registered for the scavenger hunt would receive the latest clues via text message. This feature is exclusively for AIM users, in hopes that AIM will acquire new users through participation in this event.

In addition, we have also devised a program called “My AIM Updates.” This feature gives AIM users the option to receive text messages on their cellphones about content they are interested in. Upon logging into their AIM accounts, users can choose from a list of possible features such as horoscopes, sports, news, weather predictions, and the like. The chosen features will then be texted to the AIM user’s cell phone on a daily basis until the user opts-out. Furthermore, AIM users would also be able to change their status, info, and photo by sending a text or picture message to their screenname.

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Chats AIM Chats will allow users to submit questions to celebrities that are deemed popular and respected by the members of our target market. AIM Bots will relay these questions to the chosen celebrities, such as Perez Hilton or Rihanna, who will then read them and respond to questions they choose to answer. The celebrities’ responses will be sent back to the users who asked the questions via the same AIM Bot. This promotion will appeal teens and young adults who look to admirable celebrities for trends within multiple facets of life. This will attract new users as well as encourage current AIM users to more frequently use instant messaging.

Internet Advertising Our Internet advertising will comprise of banners and skins that incorporate the same design elements as the AIM Flash browser window. The banner ads will promote AIM Flash, “Rock Your Campus,” the scavenger hunt, and the 6.5K Charity Run. Throughout the year, the banner ads will change to correspond with each promotion.

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Banner AdsMyspace Skins

In Store Ads Point of Purchase displays featuring AIM Flash will be assembled in college campus bookstores across the United States. The displays will exhibit the 1GB an 2GB flash drives and their prices. The in-store displays will remain consistent with the overall theme of the campaign and its design elements. In addition, $50,000 of the profits from AIM Flash wristbands sold will go to a non-profit organization featured on the AIM for Good website.

Charity Run AIM for Good will partner up with one of its featured charities and holding a 6.5k run, sponsored by AIM 6.5. Participants will receive free 512MB AIM Flash wristband, which will be co-branded with the featured charity. The run will take place in cities across the nation with high concentrations of 18-24 year olds.

LED Billboards Our 18-24 year old target frequently uses text messaging throughout the day, every day. AIM will take this popular, growing form of communication to a larger level by placing large, LED billboards featuring 30-character text messages at college sports arenas and outdoor stadiums. These electronic billboards will be sponsored by AIM and encased in AIM’s signature red speech bubble. They will allow game spectators to send their text message to a server, which will then be displayed on the large screen.

Large-scale sports stadiums, such as Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, MO, charge $2.99 for each text message that is published on the LED screen. This $2.99 cost is a bit steep for our 18-24 year old target audience, so a cheaper $0.99 fee will be charged per message. The revenue for these messages will benefit one of the charities sponsored by AIM for Good.

The LED billboards are a great way for users to merge text messaging with a social cause, while incorporating a fun way to publish a simple “I love you” or “Happy Birthday” message at a live sports event.

Your Text Here

AIM

. Send Your Text To #5555 .. Max. 30 Characters . $0.99 Per Message .

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Banner Ad

Web Redesign As mentioned, some of the major problems facing AIM are the vast amount of websites, inconsistent navigation, and low awareness of certain products. Sphinx Advertising has developed a list of Web suggestions to minimize these setbacks in order for AIM to become a front-runner in the social media category, while also becoming more attractive to new and current users.

AIM Homepage Sphinx suggests that the AIM homepage, Buddy List, AIM email, and AIM Pages all be integrated into AIM Dashboard. This would create a seamless product encompassing all of what AIM has to offer. Consequently, this will eliminate the large number of AIM web pages that currently exist, making it much easier for users to navigate and locate various AIM products and affiliates.

Customization From the AIM Dashboard, also known as AIM Today, users can access their email account, AIM Page, and the various blogs and links on the current website. User and software updates will also be available and may be customized. Furthermore, the homepage will be a dynamic interface that allows users to arrange features however they so choose.

Widgets and Applications The latest widgets and AIM Plug-ins will be available for download by AIM users through the homepage. These may also be customized to a user’s liking and may be added or removed from the AIM Dashboard at any time.

Social Networking Since AIM has one of the largest instant messaging networks, it needs to utilize its current user base to develop the groundwork for a social network. This network could start off as an independent entity and then be integrated with Bebo at a later stage. By doing this, AIM can break free from a one-dimensional messaging service to that of a multi-pronged networking system.

IM Window and AIM Page

We also suggest that AIM integrate a mini AIM Page into the IM window, while still allowing users to manage their tabs as they chat with multiple buddies. Users can customize their mini AIM Page, and all users will have a link their AIM Page and their AIM Tunes. This will make both AIM Pages and AIM Tunes more visible to AIM users, and we feel that more users will utilize these social networking tools with this integration.

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Media Strategy

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Media Strategy

Media Objectives1) Create national awareness of AIM and its products among 18-24 year olds.

2) Target advertising to 18-24 year old college students because of the influencer effect.

3) Reach 60% of target audience an average of 3 times and 40% of target audience an average of 5 times during the campaign.

4) Increase overall registration for AIM by 15% by the end of the campaign year.

Media Plan The execution of this campaign will concentrate in 50 United States cities that Sphinx Advertising has identified as cities with a growing population of 18-24 year old college students. Internet advertising and product placement will supplement these efforts and reach members of the target audience who do not reside in these pre-determined cities.

Media Strategy Sphinx Advertising will use traditional as well as non-traditional media. The message will be visually placed in front of a captive target audience via the web, print, mall displays, and video games. The message will be carried through popular, influential disk jockeys, creating a positive image for the brand. Product placement will allow AIM Flash to t be integrated into situations that reflect how pervasive AIM has become in our daily communication needs.

Budget

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Target Markets: Top 50 Universities in the United States

Item Budget % Amount SpentMedia Buying 58% $14,500,000AIM Flash Production 10% $2,500,000Charity Promotions 10% $2,500,000P.O.P. Displays 8% $2,000,000Celebrity Chats 8% $2,000,000Ambassador Salaries 2% $500,000Contingency 4% $1,000,000

100% $25,000,000

Media Tactics

Website Ad Type Reach % Unique Imp. (1000s) Frequency CPM Gross Imp. (1000s) Total $YouTube Banner Ads 64% 36,500 3 $8 109,500 875,000MySpace Banner Ads/Skin 68% 36,500 3 $8 109,500 875,000Perez Hilton Banner Ads/Skin 42% 15,000 6 $5 90,000 450,000ESPN Banner Ads 26% 18,750 3 $8 56,250 450,000CNN Banner Ads 16% 20,000 4 $3 80,000 240,000Digg Banner Ads 10% 7,300 8 $3 58,400 175,000IMDB Banner Ads/Skin 18% 10,800 6 $4 64,800 260,000IGN Banner Ads 15% 7,300 8 $3 58,400 175,000Pandora Banner Ads 15% 5,000 10 $1 50,000 50,000E! Online Banner Ads 25% 8,750 8 $5 70,000 350,000Career Builder Banner Ads 14% 6,250 8 $2 50,000 100,000

4,000,000

Google Keywords 500,000Yahoo! Keywords 500,000

1,000,000

••

••

••

••

••

Internet: Banner Ads, Skins, Keywords Internet advertising will be focused on websites that are popular with the target audience to increase brand presence. Banner ads will be placed on YouTube, MySpace, Perez Hilton, ESPN, CNN, Digg, IMDB, IGN, Pandora, E! Online, and Career Builder. In addition, AIM Flash skins will be placed on MySpace, Perez Hilton, and IMDB. Internet advertising will take place throughout the year, focusing on promotions and events that are occurring during the current month.

As of March 2008, the competition is not taking advantage of search engine marketing. Relevant keywords and names of competitors will be bid on through Google Adsense and Yahoo! Search Engine Marketing.

Facebook Facebook is one of the most popular websites among the members of our target audience. Frequent visits to Facebook will allow for increased ad exposure and help drive our promotional efforts for the scavenger hunt and “Rock Your Campus.” Ads and News Feeds will give event information as well as scavenger hunt updates and will be catered to each school’s network.

PS3 In Game Ads Gamers are able to recall about 25-30% of brands in the short-term, and their attitudes toward product placement in video games is generally positive. In-game advertising is a profit-heavy endeavor that will generate millions for AIM in terms of reach. Both males and females in our target market are heavily into playing video games. 18-24 year olds are gaming approximately 8 hours a week. The market for hardcore gamers, who play 15 hours or more a week, will grow 40% to 17 million this year. AIM will tap into this medium by advertising in the virtual arenas and playing fields of the hottest sports games titles through companies such as Double Fusion, IGA, and Adscape.

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Video Game Type of Ad CostNCAA March Madness Billboard $500,000Madden NFL Billboard $500,000

$1,000,000

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Product Placement Sphinx has chosen three television programs that have a large reach among our primary and secondary target audiences - The Office, Gossip Girl, and American Idol. These programs will be used as a vessel to broaden the awareness of AIM through product placement. Not only is this a more cost efficient way to penetrate televised media, but it is also more positively viewed than television commercials among our target audience members.

Mall Displays To promote “Rock Your Campus,” Sphinx will advertise through the use of mall displays. Shopping centers are a commonplace frequently visited by the target audience, not only to make purchases but also to socialize.

Newspaper Insert Full color inserts will be placed in campus newspapers at the 50 colleges at which AIM will be holding promotional events. Color inserts have greater visibility and exposure than a standard newspaper ad of similar size. Also, these newspapers are a niche media directed specifically to our target market.

Radio Live Liners Members of the target audience are active consumers of radio. Popular disk jockeys in the selected college towns will announce live liners to further promote “Rock Your Campus” and remind listeners of the event. Local disk jockeys are key influencers to the target audience and will allow for a familiar and local tone.

Sidewalk Chalk Sidewalk chalk is an affordable way to get information out on college campuses. Chalking will be done in high traffic areas that are frequented by students on the average school day. This will create awareness of “Rock Your Campus” and will also serve as reminder advertising.

EvaluationMarketing Objectives

Objective: Increase trial and usage of AIM products by 15%Evaluation: Examine registration data available from AIM to determine if objective was met.

Objective: Bridge the gap between AIM Messaging and AIM Social MediaEvaluation: Incorporate tactics that will encourage existing and new users of AIM to supplement their messaging activities with social networking capabilities.

Objective: Increase AIM brand awarenessEvaluation: Conduct brand performance studies in comparison with other similar brands to gauge top of mind perception.

Creative Execution

Creative executions will be evaluated by copy testing various creative elements in order to ensure its effectiveness among the target audience. These evaluative tests will be used for likeability, interactivity, and persuasive ability.

Media

Objective: Create national awareness of AIM and its products among 18-24 year olds. Evaluation: Conduct brand performance studies in comparison with other similar brands to gauge top of mind perception.

Objective: Target advertising to 18-24 year old college students because of the influencer effect. Evaluation: Examine profile data of new members to determine the increase in registration among 18-24 year olds who are not college students.

Objective: Reach 60% of target audience an average of 3 times and 40% of target audience an average of 5 times during the campaign. Evaluation: Use web metrics and newspaper readership as well as radio listenership data to evaluate set goals.

Objective: Increase overall registration for AIM by 15% by the end of the campaign year.Evaluation: Examine registration data available from AIM to determine if objective was met.

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Media Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec % of Budg. Cost

14% 3,500,000Radio Live Liners 7% 1,750,000Mall Displays 5.60% 1,400,000Posters 1.40% 350,000

4% 1,000,000Newspaper Inserts 2.20% 560,000Facebook 1.20% 300,000Ambient 0.60% 140,000

8% 2,000,000The Office 4% 1,000,000Gossip Girl 2.50% 600,000Dirt 1.60% 400,000

32% 8,000,000Internet 20% 5,000,000Playstation 3 4% 1,000,000In-Game 4% 1,000,000Arena Texting Billboards 4% 1,000,000

58% 14,500,000

Promotional Event

Scavenger Hunt

Product Placement

Other

Flow Chart

References

AOL Instant Messenger Home Page http://www.aol.com/aim/home.html

Sphinx advertising primary research

Syndicated research studies and software

US Youth Market Study 2005US Census Bureau 2006Teen Attitudes 2003Ingameadvertising.com 2007Simmons Media ResearchSRDSMarketresearch.comwww.teenresearch.comMassive IncorporatedYankee Group

Trade publicationsAdvertising AgeBrand WeekAd WeekMedia Life magazineMedia Post

Academic and Scholarly publicationsAmy Voida Wendy C. Newstetter , Elizabeth D. Mynatt, When conventions collide: the tensions of instant messaging attributed, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems: Changing our world, changing ourselves, April 20-25, 2002

CEO Refresher 2003, MRI Twelve Plus 2003, Projected US census 2006ComScore, 2007a. “New Year’s Resolutions Reflected in January U.S. Web Traffic,” at http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1214, accessed 16 February 2007.

David Lance Goines, A brief history of Electronic printing.

Grinter, R. E. and Palen, L. 2002. Instant messaging in teen life. In Proceedings of the 2002 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work

Hitwise, 2007. “MySpace The Top US Search Term in 2006 Among All Websites,” at http://www.hitwise.com/press-center/hitwiseHS2004/2006-top-search-terms.php, accessed 15 February 2007.

McFarlane, D. Coordinating the interruption of people in human-computer interaction. In Proceedings of INTERACT’99. IOS Press, Inc., 295--303.Millennials Rising, Neil Howe and William Strauss (Vintage Books, 2000)

MRI Teenmark, 2003, 2003-1 Roper Youth Report NOP World Company (Feb. 2003)

Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://www.pewinternet.org/.

Sara A. Bly , Steve R. Harrison , Susan Irwin, Media spaces: bringing people together in a video, audio, and computing environment, Communications of the ACM, v.36 n.1, p.28-46, Jan. 1993

Steve Whittaker, Rethinking video as a technology for interpersonal communications: theory and design implications, International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, v.42 n.5, p.501-529, May 1995

Sweeney, 1999 C. Sweeney, A chat room you can be NE1, New York Times Magazine (1999, October 17), pp. 66–68.

Walsh, D. A. (1998). 1998 Video and computer game report card. Minneapolis, MN: National Institute on Media and the Family.

Woodward, E. H., & Gridina, N. (2000). Media in the home 2000: the fifth annual survey of parents and children (Survey Series No. 7). Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Yahoo (2003). Yahoo! and Carat unveil research results showing teens are truly born to be wired”. Retrieved fromhttp://docs.yahoo.com/docs/pr/release1107.html.

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Acknowledgements

This campaign was a true collaborative effort involving numerous departments across campus, including:

School of Journalism, Department of Cinema and Photography, Department of Radio and Television, Department of SpeechCommunication, American Marketing Association, Saluki Advertising Agency, and Public Relations Student Society of America.

We are extremely grateful to Prof. William Freivogel, Ms. Karen Waldron, and Ms. Sherida Evans at the School of Journalism for theirhelp in organizing our trip and representing Southern Illinois University Carbondale at NSAC. We would like to thank our professors in the

School of Journalism for laying a strong foundation towards our future careers in advertising.

We would like to extend a special thanks to Professor Linda Correll, Dean Gary Kolb, Ron Graves, and Clare Mitchell

AAF Officers

President: Erin KoelkebeckVice President: Jenny Methling

Media Director: Nathan BrendalSecretary: Ashley Henna

Fundraising Director: Sara Ingold

Presentation Team

Jacob FeasbySara Ingold

Cole SingletonKaryn GrahamAdrian Ortiz

Thanks to the Following AAF Members:

Kelly McCarty, Jenna Smith, Erin Kressner, Dwight Jae Williams, Daniela Burgos, Robert Yancey, Stephen Hardnett, Bryan Haupt, Meredith Hanson,Tiphani Lenoir, Bridgett Moran, Whitney Priebe, Laura Hackstadt, Scott Kinkelaar

Special thanks to our faculty advisor Prof. Narayanan Iyer

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AAF 2008 AIM Plans book

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