Urban Dish Final Paper

©Urban Dish - Confidential For evaluation purposes only - Not to be shared with 3rd parties without written consent

Aaron Lyons|John Hale|Courtney Eder|Megan Turner

May 2, 2011


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1. situational analysis

Eating habits have changed. Consumers are becoming more aware of what they eat and more

deliberate about their food choices. The inability to find high quality food that is fresh, convenient, fast,

and inexpensive is a pain millions of people experience every day. An enormous opportunity exists to

cater to these people in a way that is currently unavailable on a large scale.

The fast casual restaurant segment represents a $25 billion sub-segment of the $600 billion

foodservice industry, and is the most effective means of meeting this

consumer demand for food quality, service and atmosphere. Looking

forward, Mintel forecasts that the fast casual segment will continue to

grow at 5% through 2014. Visits to fast casual restaurants grew 17%

over the last three years while the rest of the industry experienced its

steepest traffic declines in decades. The increase in consumer demand for fast casual offerings

exceeded the unit growth of leading fast casual chains, according to a study by foodservice market

research firm The NPD Group.

Urban Dish is a fast casual restaurant concept offering a simple, customizable menu for patrons who

appreciate a modern sustainable approach to traditional food but also place a high priority on time and

convenience. Our menu provides unique combinations through a build-your-own (BYO) approach

consisting of premium meats, fresh vegetables, and starches at a $10 price point. Our food, service, and

ambiance provides the perfect experience for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a quick snack in between.

Let’s be clear about one thing, Urban Dish is NOT a healthy restaurant. We refuse to market it as

such. While it’s true people, in particular our customer, say they want more “healthy” options, what

they really want is great tasting food that isn’t as bad for them as a burger and fries. There’s a stigma

attached to healthy food that it’s bland and flavorless. People can say they want healthy options all day

long, but if it doesn’t taste good they’re not going to order it, period. That’s why Urban Dish provides


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awesome, high quality, great tasting, flavorful food, that also happens to be better for you. We focus on

taste and flavor first – health second. Urban Dish will have a higher perception of being healthy because

of the high quality of our ingredients, giving us that “health halo,” which is all that’s really important.

Urban Dish will target and attract a heavy lunch crowd, which we expect to represent 60% of sales.

According to our survey, 71% of consumers eat out for lunch more than any other meal. The total

market for lunches purchased away from home is estimated at $84 billion, up 25% in current dollars

from 2003, and is forecasted to grow at 9% through 2014.

Urban Dish is targeting a January 2012 launch in Austin, Texas. Austin has a high concentration of

our target market, extensive history of supporting local eating establishments, and a prospering

restaurant industry. Forbes ranks Austin as the 2nd fastest growing city center and #1 large urban area

for jobs in the United States. As of 2008 The Austin Chamber of Commerce reported $3.2 B in

restaurant sales.

According to Census projections, there are 67,000 employees who work in the downtown area of

Austin and approximately 5,400 residents. There are another 90,000 employees within a one-mile

radius of 6th Street and Congress Avenue and 150,000 people living within 3 miles. Using these figures

we can approximate the market size for Austin metro to be 250,000 people. With the National

Restaurant Association reporting $1,500 annual spend per person in metro areas on food away from

home, downtown Austin represents a $400 million market. Assuming half of those 250,000 people eat

out at least once a day, you’re left with 125,000 hungry mouths to feed in the downtown vicinity every

day. This does not include heavy traffic from UT sporting events, SXSW, ACL, and other conventions

and activities.

The fast casual segment of the restaurant industry is highly fragmented and competitive. Fast casual

restaurants not only compete amongst one another, but also against other segments of the restaurant


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industry. The main criteria on which these restaurants compete include: taste, quality, speed, value,

brand recognition, location, service and ambiance. We consider fast casual restaurants with a $7-$15

price point, high quality ingredients, and convenient locations as our main competition. Existing players

catering to the needs of our target market only focus on a single primary flavor profile (Chipotle =

Mexican, Mama Fu’s = Asian).

Chipotle, Whole Foods, Panera Bread, and various local establishments that cater to our target

customer’s tastes and behaviors are the most popular. Recently, there has been an influx of pre-

packaged healthy meal offerings sold through kiosks or small retail outlets such as My Fit Foods, Snap

Kitchen, and Freshii. Although none of these offer a dining experience, they are still a popular option

with our customer, who is less likely to frequent a grocery store or prepare their own meals at home.

2. target market analysis

Urban Dish’s primary market consists of 25-50 year old educated, professionals who live, work, or

play in urban areas and are predominately female. They are very conscious and deliberate about their

eating choices, value quality and convenience, and are willing to pay more for them. This consumer

group is particularly attractive given that it demonstrates “an increased willingness to pay more for

healthier items,” is among the most likely to dine out (particularly for lunch), and over-index in its use of

fast casual restaurants. Our target market eats 7.3 meals a week, or one a day, away from home and

spends more than $9 when doing so. Additional research shows that quality, value, and “better-for-

you” choices are key drivers for restaurant patronage, and that demand for all natural and sustainable

products is highest among younger adults in this range (Mintel).

To better illustrate our customer, we’ve created Jennifer, a persona that we feel really

embodies our target demographic. We will build an incredibly strong relationship with Jennifer

by constantly talking to her and observing her behavior. Every decision made at Urban Dish

will be made with Jennifer in mind. Jennifer is a college educated 30 year old advertising


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account manager at a mid-size firm downtown earning $80k a year. She’s married, but doesn’t have

kids yet. She lives with her husband in a large one bedroom apartment downtown. She eats out at least

once a day, usually for lunch or dinner. She enjoys yoga a couple of times a week, and participates in

the breast cancer awareness 5k every year, but isn’t a workout fanatic. You can find her on the couch

with her husband watching Grey’s Anatomy and drinking a modest bottle of wine on Thursday nights.

She meets up with “her girls” once a week for a happy hour and will go out occasionally on the

weekends. She reads the Austin Business Journal, but also subscribes to US Weekly. She shops at

Nordstrom because she enjoys nice things, but also shops at Target because she’s practical. She rarely

cooks and has limited groceries at any given time. Quality, convenience, and reviews are the most

important factors when deciding where to eat. She’s not obsessed with eating healthy, but makes wise

decisions when available. Currently, Jennifer eats at Chipotle, Zen, and Whole Foods, but will also order

the occasional pizza from Home Slice.

3. Positioning strategy

People go to restaurants because they’re hungry and want food. What if we can give them more?

Let’s entertain them and send them out with that idea and energy to power through their day with a

smile on their face. Coming to Urban Dish is bigger than just getting something to eat; it’s a mood

boosting refreshing, recharging experience. Urban Dish will deliver its offerings in ways that make the

brand more significant to the customer. This is why we will be successful and set the bar in fast casual.

Urban Dish will own the position “revitalizing eating experience” in the fast casual dining segment.

Virtually all competitors in the fast-casual segment emphasize the freshness or ethical impact

associated with their fast-premium offerings; none, however, own the position of the most-invigorating

experience and high quality ingredients. Given our target market’s focus on health and willingness to

pay a small premium, this positioning will give Urban Dish a unique, good-for-you, up-market identity

without turning Urban Dish into a diet or “health food” offering. Furthermore, the focus on the


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energizing impact brings out the feeling and refreshing sensation of Urban Dish’s unique, social,

comfortable experience.

Competition: Café Express pursues the position “freshness and flavor” and Chipotle owns “food with

integrity,” Urban Dish customers will not only trust in the quality and taste of every Urban Dish

ingredient, but also a revitalizing experience that leaves you feeling satisfied and ready to take on the

rest of your day.

Urban Dish’s “revitalizing eating experience” positioning is appropriate for three reasons. First, the

other positions most appropriate for this brand – “healthy,” “fresh” and “ethical” – are overrepresented

and undifferentiated among current competitors. Second, Urban Dish’s target customer is paying a

small premium over other fast lunch options – a price position that aligns well with a premium brand

position like “revitalizing” opposed to value. Third, this positioning reflects what is unique about both

the food and experience at Urban Dish. In terms of eating, Urban Dish meals will be made with high-

quality ingredients that give patrons a refreshed satisfied feeling immediately after eating, as well as

two hours later, not the sluggish feeling you get eating fast food. In terms of the experience, the

ambiance and deeper interaction Urban Dish offers will have a similar effect. The music will be relevant

and slightly louder than other restaurants, other patrons will resemble those in your social circle, and

the vibe will be similar to walking into the lobby of the W Hotel.

In summary, Urban Dish’s “revitalizing eating experience” position turns a strength that the food and

experience share – an energizing, revitalizing quality – into a unique message to the market. No

competitors offer the combination of dine-in and dine-out experiences for the conscious and

discriminating eater, with an array of global tastes – all in a fast-casual environment. Urban Dish is

uniquely aligned to become our patrons’ “third place” because they can come in for breakfast or coffee

in the morning, lunch or a snack in the afternoon, meet friends for a glass of wine or beer after work, or


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grab dinner for two to go in the evening. This experience and brand interaction will truly revitalize the

customers.

4. Message strategy

Because reception is the most challenging component of central-route information processing, we

plan to use an advertising approach that employs multiple affect-generating strategies. The Urban

Dish team will grab consumer’s attention by appealing to our target consumer’s values, presenting a

solution to a consumer need state, which is satisfying our consumer’s hunger through an engaging,

revitalizing, and modern experience. The values we’ll engage are convenience, fun, trendy and

energizing. To generate reception, we will follow this attention-getting with an emotional appeal. The

emotional appeal will tie these values and hedonic benefits to the customer’s core identity.

Furthermore, it will be reinforced by the positive affect we create through consumer’s satisfaction with

the Urban Dish experience. We’ll bolster this reception through simple messaging and

repeating/reinforcing it in multiple ad spots.

The message strategy is most likely to generate central route processing. By appealing to core

values and present need state, this strategy will garner real consideration from this target market. This

is a good match for this product and market because restaurant choice is a high-involvement decision

for this group, one involving social, status and hedonic pleasure elements for them. Communicating

based on values and need state will connect in a meaningful way that will drive specific consideration

from the market. Following this connection with an emotional appeal will build the strong emotional

connection that these customers desire with their regular eatery.

Urban Dish’s core attitude change strategy is to elicit positive emotions that will drive consumers to

develop an ongoing trust relationship with Urban Dish. Because the fast casual category is so

competitive, the strategy will also incorporate dramatic involvement in a way that reflects our brand’s


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personality. Urban Dish’s messaging aims to be transformational advertising, “[tying the] brand to

feelings the consumer will experience when using the brand” (Hoyer). Toward these emotional and

dramatic ends, the strategy will employ dramatic storytelling, humor, and music.

Eliciting positive emotions is an appropriate focus because restaurant choices are heavily emotional.

Incorporating drama is appropriate because the values and social experiences restaurants offer are

often as important to patrons as the food. Storytelling, humor and music are appropriate components

because they align with the cultural symbols with which this age group identifies.

5. Media Strategy

With our main communicative message centering around a revitalizing eating experience, Urban

Dish will utilize a multitude of low-cost, high-impact marketing channels as well as numerous edgy and

innovative non-traditional marketing tactics that will create brandable moments by engaging the

customer and make noise in a crowded marketplace. Furthermore, we will use several unique tactics in

efforts to keep people engaged and coming back to Urban Dish, as well as to further differentiate

ourselves from the competition.

Online Internet Channels

Social media - Social media outlets, including as Facebook and Twitter, will be used to drive awareness

and active participation with the brand by engaging customers through various campaigns, contests,

updates and events. Besides our targeted demographic heavily participating in social media activities,

the active sharing provided by these communication channels allows for a two-way dialog between the

brand and the customer, which will help in generating and strengthening the relationship customers

have with Urban Dish.

Internet video – We will use two internet videos that can be accessed via our corporate website and

social media channels in order to drive awareness, illustrate our brand message, and portray the

energetic and entertaining personality of our brand. Our videos will have a humorous undertone that


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will feature our targeted demographic of young adult professionals during their mundane work day and

will highlight the difference eating typical fast-food “garbage” and eating the fresh, quality food that

Urban Dish offers. Background music will align with the trendy, edgy atmosphere of Urban Dish and will

convey the feeling of revitalization and energy that Urban Dish provides its patrons. This strategy

encourages individuals to pass on our marketing message to others, which subsequently allows for the

exponential growth of exposure and influence. Furthermore, this approach has the potential to

stimulate WOM communication amongst consumers, which has been found to be more influential on

consumer attitudes than traditional marketing communications, especially with our target

demographic.

Corporate website - The Urban Dish website will serve primarily as a branded source of information for

our customers that features general information about the company, our sustainability efforts, our

menu, location(s), hours, employment opportunities, links to our social media channels, and other

relevant information about Urban Dish. Our website can also be used to establish and promote our

brand image, position the Urban Dish brand, offer customers promotions, and drive sales by allowing

customers to place orders online.

Local dot-com media guides - Yelp and local dot-com media guides will be used to proactively build

credibility and introduce our brand to the local community. Not only are these channels relatively

inexpensive, but they will also allow customer ratings to drive the trusting relationship Urban Dish

wants with its regulars.

Our online and web communication strategies will serve as methods intended on reaching a

maximum number of potential customers at a given time. Not only will these efforts help drive active

participation and customer engagement with the brand, but they will also assist in our efforts of

creating broad level awareness of Urban Dish within the community and portraying the brand as a

revitalizing eating experience.


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Traditional print media

Newspapers and Magazines-- Our traditional print media efforts will focus primarily on advertisements

in local magazines and newspapers, including Austin Magazine, Austin Fit Magazine, Tribeza Magazine,

Austin Business Journal, and the Austin American Statesman. Besides proactively introducing our brand

to the local community, these ads will portray the idea that Urban Dish is a revitalizing and modern

eating experience that is changing the way people eat. By placing ads in a variety of print media outlets,

this communication strategy will represent a reach maximization approach, that spreads across non-

overlapping media channels and gets our message out to a maximum number of people. Through this

effort, we will create broad level awareness of Urban Dish and introduce the brand and our unique

message of changing the way people eat to the community.

Direct Mailers – Our early direct mailer advertisements will introduce and leverage Urban Dish amongst

a high concentration of our target customers that reside in downtown Austin and within blocks of the

restaurants location. These ads will create suspense and excitement about the grand opening of Urban

Dish and they will inform potential customers that Urban Dish will soon be a viable eating option that

changes the will change the way they eat. These visually appealing and emotionally compelling efforts

will be used to generate awareness about Urban Dish, its location, and its unique experiential benefits.

It will also serve to drive traffic to our website and social media channels, and eventually lead to trial.

Our print media efforts will represent our frequency maximization approach to reaching our

targeted audience within our overall integrated marketing plan. By concentrating on the same media

outlets repeatedly and by distributing communication messages in a condensed, single area, the

average number of times an individual in our targeted audience will be exposed to our communications

is likely to increase. This is an appropriate strategy in the highly competitive casual-dining market and it

is also an appropriate method for introducing a new campaign through relatively cluttered media

vehicles.


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Non-traditional media - Our primary non-traditional media strategy will center around the Urban Dish

mobile application. With the focus of turning casual customers into regular and loyal customers, Urban

Dish will use the branded application as a vehicle that provides customized offers to each customer

based on specific demographics and interests obtained from data about the app user. Similar to our

print media strategies, this application will also serve as a method of maximizing the frequency in which

the customer comes into contact with the brand and it will serve as an effective platform for

introducing sales promotions, coupons, and special offerings to a targeted audience.

6. Sales promotion

In-Restaurant Promotions - Select plates and bowls will display a printed message that says “you just

got dished,” which can be redeemed at the register for a future coupon or Urban Dish merchandise. If

you get a “dish it out” message, you get to pick someone in line to receive a free meal. The objective of

this campaign is brand building and to generate buzz both in and outside of the restaurant. Think about

that experience for a second. Whether you’re the person dishing it out, getting dished, or someone in

the restaurant witnessing it all, you’re going to talk about it. You’re going to go back to the office and

tell your coworkers and maybe even tweet or facebook about it. Regardless, it will stay in your mind

and create separation from other restaurants. This is an example of turning what could be an ordinary

experience into something extraordinary, and how we will use promotions to not only build equity in

our brand but also differentiate from the competition. The key strength of in-restaurant promotions is

that they reinforce the connection a consumer has made through the meal experience. By tying a meal

at Urban Dish to the same kinds of feelings one feels when winning in a casino, Urban Dish stands to

build reinforcement of even more hedonic pleasure feelings than the typical eating experience offers.

Dish Loyalty - A 2010 study by CaptureCode, found that restaurant goers increased the amount of food

and drink they purchased by 21% when incentivized through loyalty programs. Our loyalty program will


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resemble that of major airlines and hotel chains with tiered levels and increased engagement at each

level resulting in a better understanding of the buying behaviors of our customers and increased

customer frequency and retention. There will be no punch cards or gimmicks, but rather a mobile app

or key chain tag that customers will swipe when they get to the register. Their information will appear

on the POS system to allow our team member to greet them by name and see their ordering

preferences. Information gathered will enable us to monitor overall trends among our customers as

well as individual buying patterns so that we can provide individualized incentives and rewards, solicit

feedback, and test new products and promotions. The sophistication, tailoring, and randomness of our

loyalty rewards program, as opposed to a predictable free meal on the 10th visit, keeps customers

engaged, builds the brand, and is more effective than competitor offerings. It’s the bottle of wine you

receive on your birthday signed by the team. It’s the invitation to come taste a new dessert we’re

thinking of adding to the menu. That’s powerful. That’s going to keep you coming back. The key

strength of the loyalty program is to draw that potential returning customer to Urban Dish in the

moment when they are thoughtfully considering it. The central-route cognitive processing which the

loyalty rewards drive, along with the continuity that is built through them, will serve to hard-wire

regular Urban Dish visits into the consumer’s normal life. The loyalty program is strong because it

reaches the consumer at the most crucial edge of the gap – at the moment when they are considering

where to eat.

Sampling - Periodically, especially leading up to and after launch, we will use our street team to hand

out breakfast tacos with coupons wrapped around them at red lights downtown and as people walk to

their offices. We will also execute “drop ins,” where we’ll deliver food, menus, snacks, and urban energy

drinks to businesses around downtown to induce trial and build awareness. Developing these

relationships will be crucial, especially for building our catering business. In addition to businesses, we’ll

also provide similar “drop ins” to high rise residences and hotels. While this tactic doesn’t capture the


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flexibility of the menu, we’ll creatively execute the food tastings and will supplement them with

promotional flyers that simply and effectively communicate the myriad of menu options customers can

create at Urban Dish. Samples have strength for Urban Dish because the restaurant’s focus on quality

fare is so high – the taste and variety of food offered is a crucial differentiator for it. Trial is surely one of

the hardest things for a new restaurant – how to get customers to break their usual habits and try new

things? Samples will hit potential customers centrally and cognitively, allowing them to try the food

and consider it with no risk. Samples are strong as they build a first central contact with the brand.

Of Urban Dish’s $25K first year marketing budget, we plan to spend approximately 50% on grand

opening activities, which will include sampling events (sales promotion). We estimate each sampling

event to cost approximately $1,200. Additionally, the loyalty program will have a negligible impact on

our SG&A, however the associated development costs of the mobile app that will run the loyalty

program will cost approximately $10-20K.

7. Public relations

Dish it Back Day - Urban Dish will demonstrate a strong commitment to the community and

sustainability. We will participate in a company-wide day of giving where we will close all locations and

invite our customers to spend the day with us helping others (dishing it back), which will further

strengthen the emotional bond our customers feel towards us. According to the National Restaurant

Association, 57 % of adults say they are likely to make a restaurant choice based on how much a

restaurant supports charitable activities and the local community. We feel our target demographic is

more aware and involved with these types of activities. By aligning our brand with philanthropic efforts,

we will build brand equity and customer loyalty. Creating a “Dish it out” community giving day will

provide peripheral affective impact. The impact will be peripheral because the core tenets/features of

the Urban Dish value proposition will not even be discussed. The impact will be affective because a

great charity or cause will be the centerpiece for the event, tying consumers’ emotional attachment to


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that cause with Urban Dish. Dish it out day’s strength is that it will build the relationship customers

have with the brand. Urban Dish is working to become a central part of its customers’ lives – a “third

place” for them. Leading community service opportunities will allow customers to get to know the

brand in a deeper way. Furthermore, it will associate the affection customers have for their

neighborhood to Urban Dish.

Grand opening & ongoing PR - This includes a heavy social media and PR push to generate

considerable media coverage, with publications writing favorably about our food, restaurant concept

and business before and after we open. Traditional media coverage from Austin American Statesman,

Austin Business Journal, and Austin Monthly Magazine, along with foodie bloggers, and review sites

such as Yelp, will introduce and validate our brand with a consumer base that puts tremendous value on

credible reviews. This will generate central-route processing both cognitively and affectively. It will be

central route because the exposure will be a direct, “meet Urban Dish” experience that drives direct

consideration. The lion’s share of the processing generated will be via culturally-relevant connection

with the target customer – affective connection will be the bottom line. But a cognitive match of the

customer’s own needs with Urban Dish’s offerings will also be very important. The strength of the

grand opening is that it allows potential customers to voluntarily engage the Urban Dish brand and

experience. This presents a direct, active engagement opportunity for Urban Dish, one in which both

the alignment with customer culture and unique ability to meet customer needs can be presented. The

grand opening will also allow multiple media connection opportunities to drive further buzz.

Sponsorship: “The Great Urban Race” - Sponsoring the Great Urban Race will generate central-route

processing affectively. The processing will be central–route as long as the core race features tie directly

to Urban Dish’s own core values. The processing will be affective because media and participation in

the race will not focus deeply on the actual restaurant experience but rather, on an emotional


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connection that will be fostered through a tie with target customers’ core values. The strength of “The

Great Urban Race” is that it’s a direct reflection of the Urban Dish personality. It’s a fun, social

adventure that engages thousands of people among Urban Dish’s target demographic. Sponsorship of

this event is a great way to generate awareness of UD and is appropriate because both UD and the

Great Urban Race are lifestyle events.

8. Direct marketing

Direct Mail - A direct mail campaign introducing Urban Dish will leverage a high concentration of our

target customers in high-end residences within blocks of our location. This campaign will have three

objectives. First and foremost, it will seek to generate awareness of Urban Dish, its location and unique

experiential benefits. Rather than an in-depth, informational letter, it will be a visually appealing,

emotionally compelling piece that drives the consumer to consider a relationship with the eatery. This

leads to the second objective of the campaign – driving awareness, traffic to the website and social

media channels, and eventually trial. People will be able to follow us on twitter and Facebook, receive

updates on the opening and events and we’ll be able to measure the impact of this effort through site

traffic and number of social media followers. A buy one get one free promotion will be included that the

customer can redeem at the restaurant. Buy one get one forces the customer to bring in a friend,

furthering our reach and exposure through a credible source. This offer redemption, in turn, will drive

the third objective this campaign will pursue – the creation of a targeted direct marketing database. By

building a database of truly-interested customers, this campaign will allow us to build our dedicated

base of fans even further. The greatest advantage of the direct mail campaign over some of the other

channels is the specificity and ability to narrowly reach our target market. Our campaign will be

powerfully simple, consistent with our brand, and intentionally vague in an attempt to build suspense

and anticipation while driving recipients to our website and social media channels. The biggest

disadvantage of this campaign is cost. There are approximately 3,000 residents across 10 higher profile


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residences in the downtown vicinity. At $.50 per piece across three initiatives the total cost of this effort

equals $4,500 for the awareness campaign, which is about half of the grand opening marketing budget.

This could mitigate by sending out two mailers instead of three, which would negatively impact the

mere exposure effect. This also doesn’t include the cost of the free meal, which is something that needs

to be considered as well.

Mobile app - We will create a mobile app targeted at the list of dedicated customers we collect through

our direct mail efforts. With specific demographic and interest data about the user of the app, we will

use this app to provide customized offers to each user. The primary objective of the app is turning

casual customers into regular customers. Sales promotions like the loyalty program will be integrated,

allowing us to know the user’s purchase history and provide customized “you got dished”-style offers

that directly drive response from this particular user. The app will allow customers to pay via app, pre-

order based on past orders, track the Urban Dish food truck and receive customized deal alerts will

make UD feel like their own place and make eating at UD the easiest, most pleasurable choice. Imagine

the pleasure you would feel when you received a real-time “your urban favorite” message, offering you

a friend-eats-free offer the next time you order your favorite meal. The stickiness created by the

tailored nature of the offer will build the conversion of casual customers to UD regulars. Furthermore,

the tracking capabilities will allow UD to know the ROI of each effort. The advantages of having an app

is that it creates an additional connection between the customer and the brand and ads ease to the

ordering process. Also, research shows that consumers who order online or through mobile channels

order more frequently and spend more on average than those who use traditional means. Given our

target demographics’ value of time and convenience and technological aptitude, this channel is

absolutely necessary. A disadvantage is obviously cost. Initial estimates put the development cost at

$10k - $20k. This might be something we start to do after opening rather than before to ease the

financial impact.


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Other direct vehicles - In addition to the mobile app and the direct mailers mentioned above, we also

intend to leverage online channels such as Groupon and Living Social to drive Urban Dish awareness

and jump start trial. Additionally, we’ll use Yelp and other dot.com media to proactively introduce our

brand to the local community. They’re inexpensive and will allow customer ratings to drive the trusting

relationship Urban Dish wants with its repeat diners. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter will be

used to drive active participation with the brand engaging customers through various campaigns and

contests. We will also utilize sampling and drop branded promotional items containing coupons

throughout the area immediately surrounding the restaurant. These are all appropriate direct

marketing tools for Urban Dish because they reflect the fun cultural tone of Urban Dish and because

local foot traffic will make up a large majority of our business.

9. Integration

Perhaps the most critical element of this marketing communication plan is how the various

strategies and media are brought together. We have identified our target customer. We have crafted a

brand position that gives us unique place in this customer’s mind. We have also identified the media,

messaging and attitude change strategies we will use to communicate. Exhibit 1 shows how all of these

factors are integrated for optimal shared effect.

Exhibit 1: Integrated Marketing Communications Plan

Central Ad SP PR DM Peripheral Ad SP PR DM

- Sidewalk sampling at mealtime

- Special events - Review communities

- Critics - Crowd

ratings/reviews (Yelp/Citysrch/etc)

Attention & Awareness

- Guerilla “spot” advertising - Viral Facebook online ad

campaigns - Direct Mail to locals - Community involvement

- Service events - Grand opening - “The Great Urban Race”


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This class has given us three dimensions in which to understand the importance of the integration

between these channels:

Stage of Processing (from Attention to Repeat Purchase and Loyalty)

Route to Learning (Central Route vs. Peripheral Route)

Intended Impact (Cognitive vs. Affective)

As such, an integrated marketing plan can be understood as a cube with salient factors in three

dimensions. The degree to which these three dimensions match the target customer’s dimensions

dictates the expected success of the plan.

Dimension 1: Stage of Processing

In terms of processing stages, our plan focuses most on the beginning- and end-stages of

processing. At one end of the spectrum, awareness and reception are key to us because so many

substitutes and competitive options are available. For lunch, for example, our customer is bombarded

with options: they can make their own lunch, they can buy pre-prepared meals at the grocery store,

and they can just go downstairs to the deli in their office building – not to mention the dozens of other

Reception, Knowledge & Positioning

Belief/Attitude (Cognitive) OR Strong Emotions (Affective)

Attitude toward ad/ Sit. involvement

Trial - Coupons

Purchase

- Coupons - Invitation-only events

- Dish Loyalty program - Social media & App

- Customized deals - Pre-ordering

- In-store – “Get Dished”, “Dish It Out”

Repeat Purchase & Loyalty

- Social media & App - Customized deals - Tailored engagement

- Community involvement - Service events - Grand opening


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restaurants they can visit should they bypass these. What reason does a customer have to actively

search for other options? For this reason, Urban Dish must be extremely active in getting our existence

as the best option to potential customers who may not be looking for us. At the other end of the

spectrum, repeat purchase and loyalty are key to us because our target market is very locally-

restrained. Tomorrow’s potential customers are by and large the same ones we have today; a lunch

offering won’t succeed unless a core set of customers returns over and over. For these reasons, the bulk

of our marketing communications are targeted at the awareness/reception and repeat/loyalty stages of

processing.

Dimension 2: Route to Learning (Central vs. Peripheral)

As described above, we consider central route impact to be the most effective way for us to reach

customers – when they are ready to eat. Rarely, however, will someone leave their office at midday

and wander, looking with central attention for a restaurant that fits their taste profile. We will be

present on local search sites like Yelp to be ready for online central-route searching when it occurs. We

will also do sidewalk and office-building sampling at lunchtime, reaching hungry office workers when

they are centrally-motivated to find great food. However, we do not expect central-route, full-

attention communication to be our primary initial outreach mechanism. Rather, we expect that the

peripheral awareness of Urban Dish we can generate through guerilla tactics, social media, sponsored

local events and coupons to peripherally prepare potential customers for the moment when lunch

becomes a central-route consideration for them. At this point, our central-route communications will

have effect.

Dimension 3: Intended Impact (Cognitive vs. Affective)

The final aspect of consideration is whether our integrated communications plan uses cognitive or

affective impact to reach our target customer – and whether this aligns with how customers engage.

As described above, our plan primarily targets an affective messaging strategy, building a deep,


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emotional relationship with customers once they’ve come to know us. Triggers such as personally-

tailored deals will both deepen this affect and provide practical reasons for the relationship to deepen.

This strategy aligns with our target customer because the choice to regularly frequent a restaurant is

both practical (quality and value considerations) and emotional (identity and comfort considerations).

10. Communication Effectiveness

Measuring communication effectiveness is a critical element for any company to implement

allowing it to focus its energy and resources on crafting more effective and efficient campaigns that will

generate the most ROI. Measuring effectiveness also allows companies to avoid costly mistakes,

evaluate alternative strategies, increase the effectiveness of its advertising, and determine whether or

not initial objectives were achieved.

Effectiveness of Online Communications – As previously mentioned, a majority of our

communication and messaging efforts will be focused primarily on online platforms, including social

media channels, corporate websites, online video clips, and other local dot-com sites. In general, the

three key measures we will use to assess the effectiveness of these strategies are the number of: 1) Hits

and page impressions, or the number of views and/or elements requested from the web page; 2) Click-

through rates, or the number of requests for information from ad; and 3) Users, or the number of

different users requesting a site. Because the number of hits may be inflated and inaccurate due to the

amount of graphics on a given website, the most useful and effective measurement for measuring

online advertising and traffic is through observing quantifying click-through rates. Other methods for

assessing the effectiveness of our online communication strategies will include tracking the number of

online orders placed via our corporate website and the number “friends,” “followers,” or “tweets”

generated through our social media channels, primarily Facebook and Twitter. A final method for

measuring the effectiveness of our online communication strategies will be to engage in internet


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testing (i.e., an iTest assessment), which can identify quantitative measures important to us, such as

likeability, brand associations, brand appropriateness and information completeness.

Effectiveness of traditional print media ads via local newspapers and magazines – Although we will

employ both pretests and posttests for our traditional print media strategies, we will focus more heavily

on pretests and concept testing, through which we will directly interact with our target audience

though focus group sessions. This is arguably the most important single method that we will use to test

the advertising campaign for Urban Dish, as getting the messaging and brand differentiator across to

the core consumer is vital, especially since the fast-casual restaurant space is a highly competitive

market. Concept testing would allow us to explore the target consumers’ response to and evaluation of

multiple advertising alternatives. More specifically, through the easily obtained, directly observable,

and immediate results afforded by the conduction of focus groups, we would be able to test our

positioning strategy, copy and headlines for our online videos, social media headlines/copy and other

online advertising copy. Also leveraging the focus group setting, we will want to engage in

comprehension and reaction tests to assure our ad spots convey the meaning intended (the modern,

dining experience that changes the way people eat and think about casual-dining). In regards to post-

testing, we would employ recall tests to measure consumer’s recall of ads/messages or possibly a

tracking study to better understand the effectiveness of our online ad spots to track the effects of the

campaign over time, i.e. did it lead to a boost in restaurant traffic or sales.

Effectiveness of Sales Promotions and Direct Marketing tactics – Because many sales promotion and

direct marketing techniques provide very direct forms of measurement, we will determine effectiveness

based on two factors: tracking methods (literally counting responses) and pretests measured through

focus groups and point-of-sale data. We will begin effectiveness measurement before each promotion

was released, using focus groups to understand whether the promotion drives awareness and would be


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expected to stimulate trial. Following this pretesting, we would execute these efforts as special offers

that are only communicated outside the restaurant, allowing us to literally track the number of

responses to each sales promotion. Point-of-sale data can be used to understand response to these

promotions, and additionally allow us to provide different, targeted offers to different groups (different

office buildings, for example) in order to compare the effectiveness of each. In terms of sampling,

measures such as MarketSource’s breakeven rate studies would be ideal but too expensive given slim

restaurant margins. Therefore, external sampling should also be tied to special promotional offers that

drive trackable purchases within the restaurant. Finally, the effectiveness of the Urban Dish mobile app

can be measured by the number of users who download the application, as well as their usage rate.

Effectiveness of Sponsorships and Public Relation tactics – Sponsorships, such as the annual “Great

Urban Race,” can be measured using both tracking measures and a specifically-tailored exposure

methods approach. In terms of tracking measures for a local event, for example, we will perform

surveys as event participants are leaving the event to find out how much awareness and likeliness of

trial was driven by involvement in the event. This would be paired with follow-up offers, similar to the

free offers restaurants offer at sporting events when the supported team scores a certain number of

points. Both of these measures would be specifically trackable for impact. Given that general

awareness is a key outcome of sponsorships – often more than driving specific purchase – we would

pair this with an exposure methods approach that ties to a demographic study of the restaurant. Given

limited budget, this approach would involve studying the demographics that come into the restaurant

both before and after the event and look for increases in the demographics which were strongly

represented at the sponsored event.


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Exhibit 2: Print Media

Exhibit 3: Mobile App


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Exhibit 4: Direct Mail

Exhibit 5: Online Channels

Documents

Urban Dish Final Paper