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Executive Summary

Steam Whistle beer is a high quality premium beer brewed in a micro brewery in

Toronto. It has set itself apart from the competition by brewing just one kind of beer. The

competition Steam Whistle faces is quite large and is composed mainly of imported premium

beers such as; Stella Artois, Heineken and Corona, all of which belong to multi-million dollar

companies. Of all the brands in the evoked set Steam Whistle holds the smallest market share

at (0.2%).

The strong competition, and decline in beer consumption are the main threats that Steam

Whistle faces. Its strongest weakness is lack of band awareness. Steam Whistle has

characteristics that appeal to high end consumers, such as its quality and the “home-made,

artistic” feel of its production.

The current communications plan aims to reposition Steam Whistle beer in the minds of the

consumers. Sales are considered within this plan however, the main focus is on changing the

perception, attitude and behavior towards the brand.

In order to take advantage of its strengths and the opportunities in the market, Steam Whistle

will be positioned as the beer for young successful people involved in the creation and

consumption of art. The brand will be linked with art in the same way most beers are

connected with sports. The target audience has been defined as males with high disposable

income involved in creative disciplines (design, advertising, music, visual arts) whether

mainstream or, mainly, underground; it includes students, up and coming artists and already

successful creators.

The creative strategy followed will consist of building a teaser campaign which showcases the

new positioning statement for Steam Whistle: Unique. The campaign will build with time by

showcasing artists and their creations without revealing who is behind it. Finally, the brand

will be revealed but emphasis will be kept on showcasing the artists. By creating a relationship

with the artistic scene without any evident sales attempt, Steam Whistle will position itself as a

brand that cares about artists and their creations as well as achieve a positive attitude which

can be transformed into brand loyalty.

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The communications campaign will be implemented by advertising, mainly through print media

in specialized magazines such as; Applied Arts, Canadian Art and Broken Pencil. Radio

advertising will be used to appeal to the target audience interested in music, the stations that

play indie and rock music in the GTA such as: Y108, Q107 and The Edge 102.1 will be used.

Out of home media such as; billboards and paintings on donated walls and in bars will be used

to attract attention. The heart of the campaign will be a new web site, unique.ca, that will

function as a forum for information on the artistic scene in the GTA, building a bond with the

target audience.

Sales promotions will be used without ever offering price rebates in order to help build brand

loyalty but without compromising the premium position of Steam Whistle.

Through sponsorship of existing art related events, such as Scotia bank’s Nuit Blanche and the

Toronto international Film Festival. Also, exclusive events such as the unsigned monthly

concerts and the Steam Whistle Student Awards will tie the brand directly to the art scene of

Toronto. Random artistic happenings will be carried out throughout the city to build awareness

and interest and confirm the brand’s position.

After implementing this communications plan it is expected that 80% of the target market will

be aware of Steam Whistle’s new position and directly relate the brand to the artistic scene;

50% of the target market will have a positive attitude towards the brand and brand loyalty will

see an increase of 10%; all of this will happen within one year of the beginning of the plan’s

implementation.

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[…]

4. Proposed Positioning, Communications Objectives and Strategies

a. Proposed Positioning

i. Steam Whistle beer will be positioned as “Unique”. Steam Whistle is a

unique beer, crafted in an old fashioned artistic way. It will be directly

related to the creation and appreciation of the arts, in the same way most

mass beers corporations are related to sports. The individuals that make

up the target market do so, because of the lives they lead and their view

of the world, “unique,” just like Steam Whistle.

b. Proposed Communications Objectives

i. Time period: One year

1. To generate awareness of Steam Whistle brand among 80% of the

target market.

2. To build a direct relationship between the artistic scene,

(underground or high profile) and Steam Whistle beer among 70%

of target market.

3. To create a positive feeling towards the brand among 50% of

target market.

4. Develop brand loyalty among 10% of target market.

c. Proposed Communications Strategies

i. Build brand awareness through a teaser campaign. Where advertising

will be done in specialized magazines, billboards, out of home media, and

radio advertising, that appeal directly to the target market.

ii. Bring to the attention of the public information related to various artistic

scenes, events, and creators who are up and coming.

iii. Create a bond between Canadian artists and Steam Whistle.

iv. Intense Public Relations efforts including:

1. Strong sponsorship and organization of events such as

exhibitions, concerts, and contests to help support the various

artistic scenes in the GTA.

2. Generation of publicity through news releases.

v. Once Steam Whistle has established a position, it will use reinforcement

advertising through magazines, radio and out of home media to ensure

that Steam Whistle will remain central in the consumer’s minds.

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vi. Use of promotions and point of purchase material to develop good will

and reinforce the core creative objective.

vii. Rely on the emotional attachment developed through advertising and

public relations efforts, as well as the personal events carried out in the

brewery and the brewery tours.

[…]

5. Proposed Creative Objectives and Strategies

Proposed Creative Objectives

a. Target Audiences

i. Creative people; photographers, designers, artists, students of these

disciplines and consumers of their productions.

ii. Music makers and enthusiasts

iii. High income, high ranked workers in urban areas

iv. Beer enthusiasts

b. Creative Objective

i. To transform the perception of Steam Whistle’s target market,

ensuring that they see Steam Whistle as the beer that knows, cares

about, and understands artists and their creations.

6. Creative Execution

a. Proposed Creative Execution

i. For all media:

1. The creative theme for the campaign will be “Unique.” This is

based on the unique selling proposition, which, for Steam

Whistle, is the fact that only one kind of beer is brewed by the

company. This is the unique aspect that sets it apart from all

the competition.

Brand Image will also be used as part of the creative theme. Use

of Steam Whistle’s unique colours which are present in all the

packaging, as well as the communication materials created so far,

will help to distinguish it from its competitors. As well as the

iconic sound (a steam whistle) which can be directly associated to

the brand.

2. Message appeal will be emotional for all communications,

aiming to build a bond between the brand and the consumer.

Information appeal will be used later on bringing support to

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the creative platform, but emphasis will be maintained in the

emotional aspect to the relationship between the brand and

the consumer. The communications campaign will follow the

“high involvement, feeling” (high involvement

transformational) model, fitting the “Feel, learn, do”,

structure.

3. The message will create a build-up of anticipation, first the

teaser campaign will encourage curiosity and then the actual

brand name itself will be mentioned. This principle will be

applied to the whole campaign. The campaign will run in the

following stages:

a. Teaser: a single word “unique” will be used to intrigue

the audience, with no evidence to what it means.

b. “Unique creations,” different artists will be showcased

without any mention or attachment to the Steam

Whistle brand.

c. “Unique beer,” the brand will finally be revealed while

continuing to showcase various local artists.

4. Steam Whistles audience will identify with the brand for

emotional reasons. Not only will they identify themselves with

the brand itself, but with featured artists that Steam Whistle

showcases. Overall this creates a strong bond between Steam

Whistle and its target audience.

[…]

7. Media Objectives and Strategies

Proposed Media Strategies

a. Media to be used and why

viii. Magazines: This medium provides huge selectivity, this holds true

because specialty magazines are the main source of information for the

target market when it comes to the artistic scene and productions. Thus

the best way to reach them and establish a direct connection between

Steam Whistle and the creative world.

Print media is an ideal medium to exploit imagery, which is fundamental

in addressing a target market interested and well versed in the visual

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arts, as well as to build an emotional response which is one of the

purposes of the communications plan.

The long life span of regular magazines is even longer for publications

devoted to the arts because they are used not only as reading material,

but also as reference and even collector’s items.

The magazines where advertising will be placed are all well respected

publications with a high image in the minds of the target audience, such

as:

Applied Arts

Black Flash

Border Crossing

Broken Pencil

C Magazine

Canadian Art

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ix. Outdoor media-

1. Steam Whistle will advertising using billboards because it allows

for precise geographic coverage of the GTA in areas which are

highly concentrated with Steam Whistles target audience.

2. It is a cost efficiency way to reach the greatest amount of people

and have the greatest impact based on frequency.

x. Web

1. Steam Whistles creation of unique.ca will be a cost efficient way

to advertise.

2. It will reach the target audience who is interests in the arts and

what Steam Whistle supports.

3. Web sites are good vehicles to build brand image, increase

awareness and to disseminate lengthy information (in our case

info on the artists and later on, on the beer)

[…]

a. Media NOT to be used and why

xi. Newspapers:

Steam Whistle will not advertise through this media because of the poor

production quality that newspapers provides. In order to appeal to the

target audience the ads must not only be appealing but should directly

relate to them. Showing advertisements with poorly produced images and

with limited colors would give the wrong impression to Steam Whistles

audience. Also, there is not a precise selectivity in terms of demographic

variables and even less so for psychographics, with Steam Whistle’s

target audience being so distinct, this would be a waste of resources.

xii. Television:

The absolute cost associated with advertising through television is very

high, even more so when one considers the fact that if some selectivity is

available through local or specialty channels the audience reached is

very broad and heterogeneous. Steam Whistle will not be able to reach a

precise target. Television in general terms portrays a negative image to

some audiences, some of which are target audiences of Steam Whistle.

[…]

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1. Public Relations Strategies

a. PR Strategies

i. Generate positive publicity around Steam Whistle and its sponsored

events thought media tours and press releases

ii. Sponsor existing artistic events such as “Nuit Blanche”, and “Toronto

International Film Festival”

iii. Promote exclusive sponsored events such as “UNSIGNED”

iv. Perform random art related events, such as concerts or street art

performances in Toronto to build publicity and a positive attitude

towards the brand

b. PR Programs

i. Unique moments:

1. Spontaneous actions in the streets of Toronto will be carried out

relating directly to Steam Whistle and the new position. These

unique moments will consist, mainly, of unannounced artists’

performances in public places by supported artists involved in

different media.

2. Impromptu concerts will be 20 minute session on major street

corners in downtown Toronto. They will consist of minimal set up.

Artists will pull up to a busy Toronto intersection, step out of the

van and start to play. The concert will stop as quickly as it started

as the artists hop into the van to play their next location

3. Local artists will spontaneously paint on the ground in various

areas of Toronto. They will do so with no warning, and leave upon

the completion of their piece. They will be restricted to the

colours; green, blue and white.