Student Services, Inc.
PROPOSAL: MARKETING SERVICES FOR CHICK-FIL-A AT MILLERSVILLE UNIVERSITY
2. Case Studies
• USGA 2024 US Women’s Open Championship
7-10 • Lancaster Distilleries
Challenges to Consider
Action Plan
Budget
11-13 • Meadia Heights Golf Club
• Long’s Park Amphitheater Foundation.
14-15
16-17
Alpha Dog Advertising is a strategic brand positioning and marketing communications firm. Since 2009, we’ve helped a diverse roster of clients — from equestrian builders and distillers to the USGA and community nonprofits — build their brands, expand their reach, and increase their revenue opportunities.
At Alpha Dog, we get to know your organization and its challenges. We dig in and discover its strengths, weaknesses, and where its opportunities lie. We identify what sets you apart from the competition. We get to know your audiences and uncover the messages that will resonate with them.
In short, we identify your brand’s unique position in today’s crowded marketplace — and then create effective strategies and engaging campaigns to communicate it to the world.
Alpha Dog is a full-service marketing firm. Whether it’s an entirely new brand or just a little fine-tuning, a clever ad campaign, or a new website, our team is dedicated to making sure you get the marketing and creative services you need, when you need them.
• Brand Creation & Positioning
• Strategic Marketing
• Identity Packages
• Consumer & Trade Print Advertising
• Media Planning & Buying
• In-Store Merchandising/POP
• Interior Branding
• Print/Production Management
• Trade Shows
• Social Media
• Digital Marketing
• Web Design & Development
• Public Relations
• Video Productions
The Alpha Dog team includes 12 marketing specialists and creatives who work collaboratively to serve our clients. The following is the agency’s leadership team, who will be closely involved in all of your projects.
Craig Trout | OWNER & PRESIDENT
With a head for strategy and an eye for creative, Craig represents a new style of agency leadership. Ask anyone who’s worked with him, and they’ll tell you his positive, upbeat attitude has a way of turning the toughest situations into a well-organized attack that delivers results time and again. He credits this to his 25+ years of experience in communications and marketing in both corporate and agency settings. Craig’s laughter and wit can be heard often throughout the agency, and his smile can brighten just about anyone’s day.
Kristen Berndt | ART DIRECTOR
Kristen brings fresh perspective and innovative ideas to Alpha Dog’s marketing strategies. During nearly a decade in Brooklyn, New York, she earned a BFA in communications design / graphic design from Pratt Institute and worked as a designer in the world of fashion and music editorial marketing and events. She then returned to Lancaster and spent five years as creative director for a local B2B company, where she spearheaded an expansive brand and marketing overhaul. Kristen remains a perpetual student, constantly seeking new horizons in the creative world and life itself. Outside the office, you’ll find her tackling DIY projects, immersing herself in podcasts, and keeping pace with her energetic husky-Samoyed.
Clayton Margerum | CONTENT DIRECTOR
Clayton started his advertising career in the third-shift trenches of a nationwide coupon magazine. Over the years, he moved into daylight hours, ascended the corporate ladder, switched to copywriting, and supervised teams of creatives. He’s worked in B2C and B2B agencies, and now applies his wide range of experience to his role as content director.
On the side, he’s been a touring musician, a Robert Burns performer, judge of elections in his Lancaster precinct, and scrapple advocate. His height is often marveled at, as is his karaoke prowess. When not working, Clayton tries to keep up with his teenage sons and prevent his 19th-century home from falling apart further.
Alpha Dog Advertising is a proud member of the Lancaster County business community and of the Lancaster-YorkHarrisburg region as a whole.
Though we may be considered a boutique agency, we’ve worked with some enormous clients and regularly compete with “big city” agencies for their work. However, our small-town roots also give us the unique ability to address our neighbors and communicate with effective messaging that speaks directly to them.
We’re excited by Student Services Inc.’s decision to open a Chick-fil-A in Millersville and believe our capabilities mesh perfectly with the scope of your business goals.
Chick-fil-A is renowned for quality food, extraordinary service, and a positive community presence. We’re confident we can promote Chick-fil-A to the Millersville community, utilizing digital and traditional marketing strategies.
Over the last 15 years, we’ve been fortunate to work with a variety of local organizations by building their brands; maintaining their social media; creating websites, print advertising, online ads, videos, and experiential marketing; and driving their public relations efforts. These clients include:
• The USGA
• Lancaster Distilleries
• Meadia Heights Golf Club
• Long’s Park Amphitheater
Within this proposal, we have included case studies to illustrate our work with these organizations. OUR STRENGTHS &
Case
CHALLENGE
Elevate the USGA brand and increase awareness for the 2024 US Women’s Open Championship to increase ticket sales over the record-setting 2015 event.
SUMMARY
150,000 fans descended on LCC, beating the existing record by 15,000 tickets.
Since 1946, the US Women’s Open Championship has been a showcase for the greatest female golfing talent in the world. When the tournament came to Lancaster Country Club for the first time in 2015, it drew an estimated 135,000 fans over six days, far and away the largest crowd ever to attend the event. The Open was scheduled to return to LCC in 2024. To promote the event and garner even higher ticket sales and attendance, the USGA sought a local agency with media, PR, experiential, and digital marketing expertise to draw interest from the surrounding East Coast metro areas.
OUR SOLUTION
Drawing upon our experience with regional traditional media and our relationships with online influencers, as well as our inherent knowledge of the local marketing landscape, Alpha Dog devised a multi-pronged approach. The beautiful Harton S. Semple Trophy became the touchstone of in-person events at various sporting events, including NBA, AHL, minor-league baseball, and others. A photo booth captured pics of fans with the trophy while also capturing their email info, and a chance to win premium tickets was offered at each event.
Other events were conceived to spur interest, including a long-drive contest at an indoor golf simulator, and a “hidden ball” challenge to find 18 special US Women’s Open golf balls at retail, restaurant, and golf facilities in the tri-county region, the latter drawing coverage from all nearby major TV stations.
In conjunction with local beer makers Spring House Brewing Co., Alpha Dog developed Championship Pale Ale, an American-style pale designed to be crisp and satisfying both on and off the course. The label featured commissioned work by a local artist, further cementing the event’s ties to Lancaster. The beer quickly sold out at the US Open and retailers, with many cans snapped up by collectors.
As the event drew nearer, ticket sales skyrocketed. In the end, 150,000 fans descended on LCC, beating the existing record by 15,000 tickets and garnering praise from the USGA, LCC, local media, and the spectators who attended the six days of competition.
Case Studies
USGA 2024 US WOMEN’S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
SERVICES PROVIDED
• Event Activations (Trophy Tour)
• Beer Creation & Promotion
• Social Media
• Regional Media Outreach
• Strategic Marketing
• Hidden Ball Challenge
• Media Planning & Placement
CHAMPIONSHIP PALE ALE
LAUNCH PARTY FRIDAY, MAY 10TH 5-8PM
Case Studies
Case Studies
USGA 2024 US WOMEN’S OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Case Studies
CHALLENGE
Develop a position, vision, and brand promise for Lancaster Distilleries to help them stand out in the marketplace.
SUMMARY
Lancaster Distilleries entered the craft distilling scene in 2018, along with Zoetropolis cinema and restaurant (together known as Zoetropolis Cinema Stillhouse). They grew quickly during their first year, but were critically affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. During lockdown, the distillery became the company’s main focus due to the fact that the product could be sold online and didn’t need to involve in-person/sit-down service. Amid all this activity, the brand never got the chance to slow down and take a holistic look at who they are and how to best position themselves with a viable marketing strategy.
OUR SOLUTION
In order to determine the best course of action to increase awareness and sales, a deep look at their competition was undertaken to analyze where Lancaster Distilleries fit into the burgeoning boutique liquor scene — and what made them stand out. An extensive SWOT review was performed, brand personas were identified, an audience message map was created, and the brand voice and tone were developed.
Google Analytics and Shopify data revealed average order values, the amount of site traffic to lancasterdistilleries.com by month, the cities from which those visits originated, and which third-party sites that traffic came from. Furthermore, a customer survey was conducted to take the pulse of their consumers. Seventy-five responders disclosed their buying habits, their preferences, and their impressions of the company.
From these data points, print and digital advertising opportunities were identified. Alpha Dog made recommendations for social media, SEO, print collateral (brochures, direct mailers, etc.), public relations, and influencer marketing. The overall goal was to create a purposeful, coherent, and consistent marketing push, one that hadn’t been developed previously; the distillery, restaurant, and cinema had operated only as loosely related parts.
A brand video was conceived by Alpha Dog, speaking to the distillery’s identified audiences directly with lifestyle imagery and themes that would resonate. A brand position was proposed and a brand tagline created to further tell the story of Lancaster Distilleries. These tactics are still under consideration by the client.
Case Studies
LANCASTER DISTILLERIES
SERVICES PROVIDED
• Brand Audit
• Voice & Tone Development
• Customer Survey
• Brand Positioning & Tagline
• Video Creation
Case Studies
LANCASTER DISTILLERIES
Case Studies
When Alpha Dog took over the account, there were 67 Full Golf members; there are now nearly 250.
CHALLENGE
Approaching its 100-year anniversary, Meadia Heights Golf Course sought to reverse declining membership and fix its ineffective online presence.
SUMMARY
Founded in 1922, Meadia Heights promoted itself as a home away from home for golfers and their families to dine, unwind, and enjoy top-tier golfing on a private course. Its 145 acres straddle the leafy suburbs of the City of Lancaster and Lancaster County Central Park, with the county’s famous rolling fields providing a backdrop in the distance. An aging member base and shaky economy created a difficult situation for the club, one they sought to fix by boosting their marketing efforts.
OUR SOLUTION
Alpha Dog was tapped to bring new life into Meadia Heights’ online and traditional marketing presence. We created brochures touting the club’s amenities, as well as sell sheets promoting their events, tournaments, and upcoming 100th anniversary celebration. We also started a digital awareness campaign and took a new approach to social media, especially on the club’s Facebook page.
To entice more interest for lapsed members, a magazine called Bump & Run was created, which provided 16 pages of interviews, short articles, interesting updates, social event reminders, and
pertinent advertising. Now published quarterly, Bump & Run has become a staple among members to read about their fellow golfers and keep up with happenings in and around the clubhouse.
To celebrate the club’s centennial, Alpha Dog designed and produced its Gala Program, highlighting momentous dates from the club’s past, its legendary members, and illustrating where the club is heading in its next 100 years.
Alpha Dog also created an entirely new website, replacing an old site that had lived on past its effectiveness. New copy was written, new photos placed, and a new user experience designed to make navigating pleasant and logical.
Membership has now risen to the point where the club can’t take on any more members in many of its tiers. For example, when Alpha Dog took over the account, there were 67 Full Golf members; there are now nearly 250. An initiation fee has also been added to temper the influx of new members. Social events are now booming, tournaments are sold out in just a few hours, and the club is once again a destination for exciting play and renowned hospitality.
Case
• New Website
• Magazine Creation & Publishing
• General Brochure
• Social Media Campaigns
• Tournament Promotions
• Direct Mail
• Billboards
• Marketing & Collateral Support
Case Studies
LONG’S PARK AMPHITHEATER FOUNDATION
CHALLENGE
Refine an established brand’s messaging and visual identity to create awareness of its missions and goals and to increase its events’ attendance and sponsorships.
SUMMARY
The mission of the Long’s Park Amphitheater Foundation (LPAF) is to provide cultural programming at the Long’s Park Amphitheater for the benefit of the general public. The nonprofit relies on more than 200 volunteers, as well as donors and sponsors, to present its Summer Music Series and Art Festival each summer. The foundation came to Alpha Dog looking for a marketing partner to help them present a clear, consistent visual identity and message to its audiences.
OUR SOLUTION
We worked with LPAF to create a brand standards guide for their existing logo, color palette, and fonts. We then created a new look for their Art Festival and Summer Music Series materials, which we then carried out in advertisements, social media, and print collateral.
Alpha Dog also created media plans to promote artist recruitment for the Art Festival, as well as advertise the festival itself to its wide Mid-Atlantic audience. In addition to print media, we created a digital media strategy, including a combination of paid ads and organic social media.
We also worked with LPAF to secure sponsorships that brought valuable services and increased exposure to the festival. In advertising and public relations communications, we highlighted the high caliber of work on display, as well as the festival’s consistent high ranking among art shows across the nation. For the local audience, we underlined this messaging with the fact that proceeds from the Art Festival support the free Summer Music Series, attended by thousands of Lancaster-area residents each year. This helped position the Art Festival as not just a standalone event, but one that contributes to ongoing cultural programming benefiting the community as a whole.
Case Studies
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Challenges to Consider
OUR OBSERVATIONS & SUGGESTIONS
Our Observations Our Suggestions
In studying the location of Chick-fil-A within the Millersville Student Memorial Center, we have recognized several challenges we believe we can help solve creatively.
Lack of Parking
To attract a customer base outside of the Millersville University community, we will market to the wider populace in the surrounding townships that make up west and southwest Lancaster County. Travel for this population is almost entirely by automobile, with public transport making up a small percentage. Facilitating those cars will be a challenge.
No Visibility from the Street
The heavy traffic that drives through the intersection of Frederick and George Streets has a very limited view of the Student Memorial Center. Additionally, the lot between the center and the intersection is wooded, making signage for Chick-fil-A difficult to place.
DoorDash Expense
Ordering through a delivery service such as DoorDash is very costly, often adding double the amount of a single order for fees. As parking will be an issue and delivery is the seemingly viable option to overcome parking, this may annoy customers.
No Access to the Chick-fil-A App
As this location will be under the auspices of Student Services, Inc., we understand the Chickfil-A app will not be applicable, and therefore loyalty points will not be accrued via orders from this location.
To overcome the challenges of the restaurant’s location and app access based on what we know, we propose the following:
Create a traffic loop along Shenks Lane with a kiosk/ concierge for pickup.
Place feather flags along South George and West Frederick Streets, leading to the Student Memorial Center.
Chick-fil-A might compensate customers in other ways instead of points accrual, such as giveaways that pertain solely to this location.
Chick-fil-A might offer free or discounted delivery during the launch phase.
Action Plan
TIMING
Alpha Dog Advertising proposes a 12-month engagement plan with meetings and concepts beginning in January 2025 to prepare materials for release immediately upon the restaurant’s opening in or around March 2025.
OUR TARGETED AREA
As shown on the map at right, our digital, print, and outdoor marketing focus will be directed at the townships/ZIP codes highlighted.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
As this location of Chick-fil-A will be uniquely positioned inside the Millervsille University Student Memorial Center, Alpha Dog will undertake a campaign within the marketing materials to explain how the general public will find and best patronize this store. As noted in the Observations section, this would entail driving and parking directions, delivery options, and advisement on gaining access to the Student Memorial Center.
The goal will be complete and clear understanding followed by the creation of habitual behavior by the general public.
In approaching this marketing partnership, the Alpha Dog process will be one of research, discovery, intelligent strategy development, and execution of services to include:
DISCOVERY MEETING & BRAINSTORM SESSION
Alpha Dog will hold a kickoff meeting with key stakeholders of Student Services, Inc. to learn more about the organization and its overall business goals. During this time, we will dig into the leadership team’s knowledge of the brand’s:
• Perceived position in the marketplace
• Audience(s)
• Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• Previous marketing tactics and results
We will also discuss your overall goals and what a successful outcome would look like. This information will guide the next steps of the process and help to ensure we deliver a marketing program that will be effective.
The discovery phase meeting is typically one to two hours long and is an essential starting point for any client/agency relationship.
MARKETING & STRATEGIC SUPPORT
Alpha Dog will provide six hours per month of support for incidentals that may arise. This is often a preferred choice for our clients because it avoids the need for a new proposal every time a small task materializes outside the scope of our agreed contract. Support for Chick-fil-A corporate initiatives/goals, such as 2025 education initiatives, would fall under this retainer fee.
SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY & ACCOUNT SETUP
Social media has become an important avenue for creating brand awareness and attracting potential new customers. Brands are utilizing the space to educate, inform, and interact with clients and customers.
We strongly recommend developing a social media strategy to ensure that Chick-fil-A Millersville establishes the right channels for its brand. It will be used as a roadmap to ensure the social media presence is consistent with the established branding and marketing tactics. In addition, for social media to be effective, it is crucial to implement both organic and paid tactics.
In addition to setting up any necessary accounts, we will also review and report on how your brand compares to the competition and what they are doing in the social media space.
ORGANIC SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRAM
Alpha Dog will create content for Chick-fil-A Millersville’s social media platforms to keep brand messaging and presence consistent and to engage the audience as well as client-specific industries. At this time, we recommend posting organically on approved platforms — suggested to be Instagram and Facebook — 8-to-12 times per month.
The program includes graphic design, image manipulation and modification, minor copywriting, outside links, and hashtag research. Also included is social listening but no commenting. If commenting on the client’s behalf is required, this will be estimated separately based on the client’s business, frequency of commenting, and nature of comments.
If two channels are managed, an 18% discount is applied, and if three or more channels are managed, a 25% discount is applied.
Action Plan
STUDENT SERVICES, INC.
GEOTARGETED PAID SOCIAL MEDIA ADS
A paid social media campaign helps with targeting audiences and driving sales, just as organic social media does. The advantages of paying for this type of value are speed to market, campaign sustainability, and good old-fashioned message frequency.
Organic social media traffic can take days to build due to the algorithms at work behind the scenes of the most popular social media sites. If you’re running a short campaign, the ramp-up time can cost you visibility and leads. With paid social media, your campaign can get started with an extra boost at a speed that organic posts can’t match.
The price reflected in this proposal includes the suggested ad spend cost plus our campaign setup and management fee, which is 50% of the ad spend or $500.00, whichever is greater.
This is based on paid Facebook campaigns but can be easily swapped out for Instagram.
LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS/SPONSORSHIPS
Alpha Dog will brainstorm a strategy to engage local community organizations and to participate in community events such as the Millersville Halloween parade.
The price includes the agency brainstorm and strategy, but execution would be left to Student Services, Inc. Alpha Dog will participate in the execution of the resulting ideas, charged at our hourly rate of $175.00 per participating Alpha Dog employee.
Possible ideas include:
• A partnership with Crossgates Golf Club to provide giveaways for prepaying a certain number of rounds or range balls.
• A partnership with the Millersville VFW, or sponsorship of one of their events, with giveaways.
• Giveaways could include coupons, Chick-fil-A branded promotional items, freebies, and/or other rewards.
Action Plan
STUDENT SERVICES, INC.
COUPONS
Advertise in local mailers including, but not limited to, Clipp (formerly Clipper Magazine) and The Advertiser. The price includes the copy and design of the ad by Alpha Dog. Additional costs will be incurred by the periodicals for ad placement; a fee of 15% applies to these placement costs.
OUTDOOR ADVERTISING
Several outdoor advertising opportunities exist in and surrounding Millersville. Alpha Dog proposes engaging with billboard companies to erect signage within a 5-10 mile radius. Feather flags along George and Frederick Streets in Millersville would guide drivers toward the Student Memorial Center, and signs could be added to the fencing in at Biemesderfer Stadium, Comet Field, and other athletic venues around the university and the town.
Advertising as a vinyl wrap could be placed on the RRTA Route 16/ Millersville bus, further driving awareness.
Engagement is subject to the terms of outdoor advertising hosts. Pricing will be determined pending third-party costs.
DIRECT MAIL
Direct mail postcards to nearby ZIP codes can be an effective way to drive awareness and traffic to the restaurant. We suggest adding a coupon or giveaway incentive to further entice local interest. Pricing to be determined pending third-party costs, but also includes two sends: one as the store opens and a later reminder to the same addresses in the summer.
VIDEO
Create a short video explaining how to use GetApp when ordering from this Chick-fil-A location. Step-by-step instructions will describe the process to the general public in an animated, easy-to-understand form. The video will be found on the Millersville Chick-fil-A social media pages.
STUDENT SERVICES, INC.
SCOTT REIS
Meadia Heights Golf Club
scott@meadiaheights.com
717.393.9761 x5
SAM EBERSOL
Mid-Atlantic Timberframes
samuel.ebersol@matfllc.com
717.288.2460 x200
JESSICA DAUD
Penn State Health
jdaud@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
717.531.4706
A Clear Partnership
Alpha Dog Advertising aims to be your business partner, not just a creative one. We value the trust our clients place in us. In return, we’re committed to practicing the following:
• We respect your role in the process.
• We keep an open dialogue with you every step of the way — no surprises.
• We work as efficiently and effectively as possible.
• We take our work seriously, not ourselves.
• Our pragmatic, down-to-earth team strives to be both approachable and professional in all of our interactions.
Now that you have a better understanding of the value and expertise we bring to brands, let’s have a conversation about how we can help yours.
CRAIG E. TROUT President
ctrout@alphadogadv.com
17.517.9944 x101
info@alphadogadv.com
22 East Vine Street Lancaster, PA 17602