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Prepared by: Meagan Simonis

Media Plan for Scheels

April 10, 2013

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Cyclists as a Target Group for Scheels

Cyclists Bullet-List Summary Target Psychographic Summary: Cycling Maintaining health and fitness is a priority Enjoy outdoors Form social groups around hobby Participate in multiple outdoor activities

Target Demographic Summary: Male 53% married / 47% unmarried Age range: 45-54

Target Geographic Summary: Metro priority No. 1: Sparks, Nevada Metro priority No. 2: Sandy, Utah Metro priority No. 3: St. Cloud, Minnesota

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Client Description Company Overview: Frederick Scheels, a German immigrant, opened a hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minnesota in 1902. In 1954, the store added sporting goods and by 1989 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Scheels was exclusively a sporting goods store (Peisner). Through four generations, Scheels is a family business and is very private with an extensive employee training program this ensures that every employee can assist customers effectively. Scheels only opens their massive stores in locations that experience all four distinct seasons, giving them access to a wide variety of people with extensive outdoor hobbies (Jacobsen). Scheels has become a travel destination for many people because of the attractions built inside of the stores: theres a bowling alley in Springfield, Illinois, an archery range in Grand Forks, North Dakota and a live maple tree in St. Cloud, Minnesota (Peisner). The Ferris wheel at the Omaha, Nebraska location was named one of the Top Ten Ferris wheels in the country by AOL travel (Jacobsen). Client Offerings: Scheels offers many of the things a traditional sporting goods store would offer, a wide variety of apparel for men and women, athletic shoes, hunting boots, hunting accessories, fishing supplies, camping equipment, exercise equipment, golf supplies, and cycling gear. Scheels carries all or some of the similar brands a traditional store would carry: Nike, Under Armour, The North Face, and Columbia (Scheels). What sets Scheels apart is the presentation and experience of shopping in one of their stores. Shopping in Scheels really is an experience, with the Ferris wheels, the 16,000 gallon fish tanks (Peisner). Scheels has become the attractions and experience, and they have embraced it. They now offer Stay and Play Packages at hotels and other local attractions around their stores. The package includes discounts at hotels, gift cards, gas cards and Ferris wheel tokens (Jacobsen).

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Target Audience: Cyclists Introduction: In the past two decades, cycling has dramatically increased over 60% from
1990 to 2009. This spike in numbers is especially prevalent in major cities like Chicago, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Portland where local governments have actively supported cycling through efforts such as bicycle lanes and trails (Coalition). As more people begin to get more involved in being healthy, leading healthy lifestyles and going green, cycling becomes an attractive means of travel and a recreation activity. Cycling is more popular in the western United States than in the east and most popular in those cities with bicycle lanes and paths, rather than one or the other being utilized more often (Pucher). Psychographic Elements of Cyclists: Many people use their bikes to get to work, but other opportunities include in skate parks, mountain biking, exploring, racing, or a casual ride through a park on a trail. A common trait among cyclists is the desire to be fit and healthy, they enjoy the outdoors and fresh air and exercise that cycling provides; they often participate in more than one outdoor activity. Once people start cycling as a hobby, they tend to continue for many years. Cyclists rate their heart rate fifteen percent higher than non-active people (Foundation). Cyclists are also social, they often form groups formed around their chosen style of cycling (O'Connor). Cyclists enjoy recreational activities, being physically active and competition. Cyclists like adventure and exploring (LaChausse). Cycling is a very casual activity; most of the people who ride bikes regularly dont identify themselves as cyclists (Borecki). There are a high percentage of bicycle riders who do not own a car (Pucher). Demographic Elements of Cyclists: The majority of cyclists are boys, ages 5-15, but the fastest growing segment of cyclists are men, ages 16-24. The number of bicycle riders in this age group has almost doubled between 1995 and 2009. Most cycling occurs in the western United States, during spring and summer when the weather permits (Pucher). The number of Americans who ride bicycles is higher than skiing, golfing, and tennis combined. Men who bicycle tend to have advanced degrees and salaries between $40,000 and $79,000. Fifty-three percent of cyclists are married (Foundation).

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Geographic Choice
Priority City No. 1: Reno, Nevada I chose Reno, Nevada because it is a short eight to ten minute drive to a Scheels location in Sparks. A high percentage of people in Reno are cyclists. The city of Reno is very active in promoting cycling with a list of support organizations, events and safety tips on the citys website. Because cycling is more popular in the western United States, Nevada this city would make an excellent metro priority. Priority City No. 2: Sandy, Utah I think that the Scheels location in Sandy, Utah would be a great target market because it is close to the capital of the state, Salt Lake City. Utah is very active in supporting cycling there are several cycling clubs and a lot of bike trails in the area. Like Nevada, Utah is located in the western United States where cycling is more popular. Priority City No. 3: Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota I chose Minneapolis-St. Paul as a target because Minnesota is number two out of fifty states in terms of cycling to work. These two cities are close to the St. Cloud Scheels location. Minnesota has the most bike trail miles out of all fifty states as well as a high percentage of cyclists between the two cities. The proximity to Minneapolis would make the St. Cloud location a very successful target. Minneapolis-St. Paul is the largest of the three priority areas Ive chosen.

Scheels Media Plan

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Introduction: This media plan is constructed to target and reach the cyclist populations of three chosen priority areas near a Scheels location. Cycling is a hobby that is almost exclusively done during the warmer months of spring and summer, so Ive chosen to focus on March through June. In March, the weather begins to get warmer and people pull the things they need for spring out from basements, closets and garages. My goal with this media plan is to spread the placements of the advertisements out in order to reach as many people as possible. Planting Scheels offerings in the minds of these consumers while theyre preparing for the warmer months will allow the target to be reached efficiently. Ive chosen to place the most emphasis on radio, when people are driving to and from work. Media Type Priorities: My first media priority type is radio because many people listen to the radio when traveling to and from work. Radio is fairly targeted to a selected demographic. I chose classic rock stations because when I thought the psychographic and demographic elements of my chosen target, my gut instinct was to choose classic rock. When I think about my target market, I think of people my parents ages or similar so a lot of my gut instincts come from my experiences with my parents or their friends. Radio also has a fairly inexpensive cost per thousand people, which worked well with the assigned budget. My second media priority type is TV because people only watch TV shows that they are interested in. I am placing ads in TV shows that are about cycling so it will be efficient and easy to engage with my target audience. TV as a media type is pretty well targeted to reach specific targets. Specific Media Choices: Magazines: My target audience likes to spend a lot of time outdoors and often has more than one outdoor hobby. My target likes to form social groups and clubs and will enjoy reading

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about the latest cycling information and equipment through magazine subscriptions. Furthermore, they will likely share these magazines with their friends or fellow group members, so this is a fairly important media type. Ive chosen four magazines to place an advertisement in, starting with one called Bicycling. I chose this magazine because it has a simple, direct title and I feel that my target will be attracted to that. This ad will be one full page on the inside of the magazine. The second magazine I chose to advertise in is called simply, Bike. I chose this magazine for the same reason that I chose the first one I feel that my target will be drawn to the simplicity and directness the title offers. This ad will also be one page on the back cover of the magazine. The fourth cover, or back cover, is the most expensive and most viewed ad in a magazine. I will advertise in Triathlete Magazine because cycling is part of a triathlon, so this magazine promotes Scheels offerings to a larger group of people, people who do not necessarily focus exclusively on cycling. This advertisement will be one page on the inside of the magazine. The fourth and last magazine I chose to advertise in is called Mountain Biking. This magazine is very specialized to a specific type of cyclist who may not be interested in the other types of bicycles and cycling. This ad is one full page on the inside of the magazine. Newspapers: My target is a middle-aged man with a well-paying job and probably reads the newspaper in the morning before work. This would be my first chance to reach him on a given day. I chose to advertise in the entertainment section of the Sunday newspaper in all three of my priority areas this is because the Sunday newspaper is the most popular. I chose to place ads in the Sparks Tribune as well as the Reno Gazette-Journal in order to reach a larger audience with my message. The ad in the Sparks Tribune is 20 column inches whereas the ad in the Reno Gazette-Journal is 30 inches. This difference is because the Scheels store is located in Sparks and I felt like people who receive the Sparks newspaper would already be more familiar with Scheels

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and its offerings. In Minneapolis, I chose to advertise in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in the area. Because more people live in these two cities, more people will see the ad. This ad, at sixty three column inches will run once a month in order to maintain effectiveness and keep costs low. In Sandy/Salt Lake City, Utah, I chose to advertise in the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret Morning News, which are two separate newspapers run by the same company. There is a bigger possible audience and a discounted rate when advertising in both publications. Radio: Radio advertising placements are my main priority with this advertising campaign. Because tons of people listen to their car radios during their commutes to and from work, reaching a target audience is fairly simple and inexpensive. I chose both Reno-area classic rock stations because my goal is to reach the maximum number of people. Even though more people listen to KOZZ than KURK, it is important to reach the most people possible with the Scheels location so nearby. These ads will be played during the afternoon commute and be inserted 400 times. In Minneapolis-St. Paul, I chose to advertise on KQRS, which is a classic rock station. This station has a fairly high rating and so lots of people will be exposed to the message in the ad. The ad will be inserted 400 times and be played during the morning commute. In Utah, I chose to insert the ad on both classic rock stations as well. Neither of the stations has a particularly high rating, so I felt that to reach the most effective target audience I needed to advertise on both KBER and KJMY. Television: The TV shows I chose are called Super Bikes!, Pedal America, and Mountain Bike Chronicles. These shows would attract my target market because TV shows about cycling are uncommon and all have to do with biking, which I think would attract my target. These TV shows will run in each of my three chosen cites, Sparks/Reno, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and

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Sandy/Salt Lake City. In an effort to maximize efficiency and keep costs low, the ad will be inserted into Super Bikes! in the Sparks and Sandy metro areas sixty-four times each, but only fifty times in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The ad in Pedal America will be inserted fifty times in each location. The advertisement during Mountain Bike Chronicles will be inserted 50 times in Sparks, 45 times in Sandy, and 40 times in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Web Sites: The internet has become a fabulous place to advertise because consumers express interest in a product and get online to search for ways to access information about it. The first ad will be on Bicycling.com on the training and nutrition page. This is a good place to advertise because one of the many reasons my target uses their bicycle is to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. Cyclicio.us, ecovelo.com and bikehugger.com are similar web sites, containing tons of information about the benefits of cycling as well as product information regarding developing a healthy lifestyle. Ads on these sites will run every other week. I chose four more web sites for their information on products and a sportier emphasis. These web sites are bikeradar.com, mountainbike.com, mbaction.com, and roadbikereview.com. These web sites place more of an emphasis on the sporting benefits of cycling, rather than the health and lifestyle aspects. These ads will also run every other week, alternating with the health-based sites. Google Keywords: Because Google allows advertisers to put a message in front of a target, someone who has specifically asked Google about a product, for free until the ad is clicked, this form of advertising has become very important. To reach my target, I chose to use keywords like mountain bike equipment, bicycle gear, mountain bike apparel, mountain biking, bike accessories, and mountain bike gear. All of these key words describe a product that Scheels can offer these prospective clients.

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Media Plan Schedule: The four consecutive months Ive chosen are March, April, May and June. I chose these months because bicycling is the most popular in warmer months such as spring and summer. In March, most people are starting to pull out their spring time items and put away their winter coats and sleds. I feel that this will be the best time to begin putting the message in front of the target because March marks the line between cold winters and spring time, when people start going outside and enjoying outdoor activities again. Justification of Money Spent: My recommendation for the successful implementation of this media plan for Scheels is that $1,331,433 will need to be spent. This amount is efficient because it is less than the allocated budget of $2,000,000, but is still a significant amount that allows the message to be spread throughout the target audience in three metropolitan areas.

Simonis 11 Works Cited Jacobsen, Michael and Tim Sitek. "The Power 12: The Major Retailers in Sporting Goods." Sports Insight March/April 2012: 40-41. LaChausse, Robert G. "Motives of Competitive and Non-Competitive Cyclists." Journal of Sport Behavior (2006). O'Connor, Justen P and Trent D. Brown. "Real Cyclists Don't Race: Informal Affiliations of the Weekend Warrior." International Review for the Sociology of Sport (2007): 83-97. Peisner, Lynn. "Scheels: Conservative Company, Wild Ride." Shopping Center Business 31 May 2012. Scheels, Sports. Scheels Catalog. 2012. February 2013.