Ploughcroft Case Study

The Ploughcroft Tea Room Case Study

Gwenyth Gunderson

Table of Contents

Part 1: Market Research: 1

Section 1: . . . . 2

Background of The Ploughcroft Tea Room:2

Mission Statement: 3

Demographics & Audience: 4

Competitors: 5

Unique Selling Points: 6

Strengths and Weaknesses: 7

Visual Summary: 8

Section 2: . . . . 9

Visual Analysis of Ploughcroft: 9

Target Audience: 10

Strategy (Challenges, Goals): 10 Tactics:11

Successes:12

Failures: 12

Analysis/Critique of Content:12

Visual Audit of Tea Room Competitors:13

Competitor Target Audience:14

Competitor Strategy (challenges, goals):14

Competitor Tactics:14

Table of Contents

Competitor Analysis Series Critique:15

Part 2: Project

Proposal: 16

Project Brief / Proposal:16

Purpose of Identity Update & Campaign: 17

Tone, Message, & Style:17

Concept Ideas:18

Concept Idea #1:18

Campaign Deliverables: 20

Sample Ads: 21

Campaign Locations: 22

Moodboard: 23

Part 3: Final Solution: 24

Branding Audit: 25

Logo Thumbnails: 26

Logo Rough Draft Sketches: 27

Logo Comps: 28

Final Logo: 29

Deliverable Thumbnails: 30

Deliverable Rough Draft Sketches: 31

Deliverable 1: First Draft: 32

Deliverable 1: Refined Draft: 33

Table of Contents

Deliverable 1: Final Draft: 34

Deliverable 2: First Draft: 35

Deliverable 2: Refined Draft: 36

Deliverable 2: Final Draft: 37

Deliverable 3: First Draft: 38

Deliverable 3: Refined Draft: 39

Deliverable 3: Final Draft: 40

Mockups: 41

Part 1: Market Research

Section 1:

Background of The Ploughcroft Tea Room

The Ploughcroft Tea Room, founded by Patricia Hutto, is a place for Lynchburg locals to get a taste of her hometown in Virginia. Hutto was born and raised in England. In England, she lived in the Ploughcroft house with her family, hence where the name of the tea room comes from. When Hutto moved to the United States as a young adult, she wanted to bring a taste of England with her. Her first tea room opened in Virginia Beach, VA, leading to more partnerships with “British-themed restaurants” in Virginia. Due to her love for the mountains and area of Lynchburg, Hutto sold her business in Virginia Beach to be able to start a new one in Lynchburg in the early 90s. The Ploughcroft Tea Room offers authentic British tea and food to help create an “authentic British atmosphere and socializing that comes with a tea room.” Up 30 people can be seated in the tea room while open Tuesday through Saturday. (Ploughcroft Tea Room)

Photo taken from The Ploughcraft Tea Room

Mission Statement

The mission of the Ploughcroft Tea Room is to bring “the Olde Country England to the heart of Lynchburg, Virginia.” This business values authenticity and tradition through offering British teas and treats that the owner grew up with in England.

(Ploughcroft Tea Room)

Photo taken from The Ploughcroft Tea Room

Demographics & Audience

Lynchbrug, Virginia

Population : 79,009

Age :

5.9% under 5-years-old

19% under 18-years-old

14.3% 65 years & over

Median age: 27.3

Sex : 53.3% women 46.7% men

Race : 62.7% white

27.6% black/African American

4.7% Hispanic/Latino

2.2% Asian

Households : 33,832 housing units

2.37 persons per household

Median income: $56,243

Marital

Non-religious

Education : 90.3% high school graduate or higher 38% Bachelor’s degree or higher 10.2% less than high school

Social Activites:

Lynchburg Grows

Virginia Theater Association

Freedom 4/24

Miriam’s House

Job Status: 17.5% persons in poverty

employment rate

Competitors

Local Lynchburg Coffee Shops

- Mission House Coffee

- 5th Street Grind

- Loving Co.

All three coffee shops are located in the heart of downtwon Lynchburg, only minutes away from Ploughcroft. These coffee shops offer a variety of teas and coffee options, along with bakery items and some food options.

My Dog Duke’s diner

Located at the heart of downtwon Lynchburg, only two minutes down the road from The Ploughcroft Tea Room. Here they offer breakfast and brunch items, along with coffee and juice.

Virginian Tea Rooms

- Crest Hill Tearoom

- The Queen’s Library Tearoom

- Aurora Tearoom

Although these tea rooms are not close in distance to Ploughcroft, they are close in selection. They offer similar options to Ploughcroft and attract tea room finders.

Unique Selling Points The Ploughcroft Tea Room

The Ploughcroft Tea Room stands out from its competitors because it is the only tea room local to Lynchburg, making it stand out from other tea rooms in Virginia to Lynchburg locals. Another unique selling point is that the tea room was founded by a woman who is originally from England, making it a more trustworhty tea room. To go along with this, the tea room is made more authentic by the origin in which it was found. In addition, unlike the coffee shops and surrounding brunch restaurants surrounding the tea room in downtwon Lynchburg, Ploughcroft specializes in tea, whereas the coffee shops do not specialize in their tea options.

(The Ploughcroft Tea Room)

Photo taken from The Ploughcroft Tea Room

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths:

The Ploughcroft Tea Room’s strengths include its authentic and unique tea and British lunch options. Since the owner is from England, she is bringing a taste of another country to Lynchburg. The tea options bring Lynchburg a taste and experience that no other place can bring. Another strength of the business is their Facebook following. On Facebook, they

Weaknesses:

The Ploughcroft Tea Room’s weaknesses include its media presence and website design. As for their media presence, they have little to no activity on social media (except for Facebook). There is much room for growth in consistency on their social media platforms. Another weakness is their overall website design. The Ploughcroft website needs major updates and has obviously not been updated for

have a total following of 5.2K, making their reach of people very large. Lastly, another strength of theirs is their partnerships and event planning. Although there events are few, they make an effort to partner with other companies to create promotional events with free products, like their 2023 Valentine’s Day event for example.

months. There are unfinished tabs and the content is not designed well or easy to process. Due to the lack of social media presence and website design, the overall brand awareness of the tearoom is lacking. Not many people in Lynchburg, especially young adults, know about the tea rooom. This can easily be improved by creating a larger media presence and keeping up with updates on the website.

(The Ploughcroft Tea Room)

(@ploughcrofttearoom Instagram)

Visual Summary

Section 2: Visual Analysis of Ploughcroft

Advertising and promotional tactics used by The Ploughcroft Tea Room:

1. Social Media Marketing

Ploughcroft posts on Instagram, Facebook, and also encourage feedback on Yelp.

2. Free Sample Marketing

On Valentine’s Day, Ploughcroft gave out free “Melting Moments” heart-shaped cookies which were served during the afternoon at 2pm.

3. News Interviews on Lynchburg News

The owner of Ploughcroft, Patricia Hutto, was recently inter viewed on Princess Kate’s cancer diagnosis on WSET ABC 13.

Photo taken from The Ploughcroft Tea Room

Target Audience

The target audience is middle aged women, ages 35-45, in Lynchburg, Virginia. This is because tea rooms have been historically known in America as a space for women to gather. Women are not only the ideal tea room customers, but nearly all tea rooms were owned by women. (Strickland, 2019).

In addition, the target is anyone, specifically middle-aged women, seeking relaxation, new experiences, and a cozy

atmosphere to build relationships. Along with anyone who loves authentic British culture or tea.

The Ploughcroft Tea Room also targets people looking to host a party (engagement party, bridal showers, baby showers, birthday parties, retirement parties, holiday parties, and much more).

Strategy (Challenges, Goals)

The Ploughcroft Tea Room does not use a consistent strategy. The last time they posted on Instagram was in 2016, and they have not updated their website since 2023.

Some good goals that they could use would include: influencer marketing, content marketing, affiliate marketing, promotional events, and email marketing.

Tactics (Media Used and Visuals Implemented)

These photos, taken from Ploughcroft’s Instagram, are primarily photos of the tearoom, edited. There are no videos, only photos.

They post all the time on Facebook, containing content that are mostly reposts of a variety of tea accounts and tea quotes.

Successes:

The sucesses of Ploughcroft are getting featured on Great Tea Rooms of America. Another success is gaining 600 followers on Instagram with an additional 5.2K followers on Facebook.

Failures:

The main failure of Ploughcroft is their inefficient marketing. Their social media presence is almost nonexistent and their website needs major updating. This has caused them to miss out on major brand awareness opportunities and new customers.

Analysis/Critique of Content:

Ploughcroft is very inconsistent in posting on Instagram. The photos are not the best quality, and they did not include engagement techniques, like reposting influencers or responding to comments for example.

Their website is very outdated and unorganized. The menu section does not actually show the menu. Their Valentine’s Day advertisements from last year are still up. They also did not utilize many photos on their website.

Visual Audit of Tea Room Competitors in VA:

Competitors:

- Crest Hill Tearoom

- The Queen’s Library Tearoom

- Aurora Tearoom

Tactics Used by Competitors:

These photos are primarily taken from social media advertising.

Competitor Target Audience:

Women, ages between 40-70 years old

Competitor Strategy (challenges, goals):

Social media, local marketing, Yelp

Competitor Tactics:

Photography on the elements that are used. Food and tea provided at the select tea rooms. Each of these tearooms are sought out as a unique opportunity to be transported back to England and experience all that one can experience.

Competitor Successes & Failures:

Each of these tearooms have a hard time marketing on social media. The Queen’s Tearoom offers special events to get people to invest in the company. They have pretty good social media so that they can advertise their events. Tearooms are sought out for their experience, when websites and social media displays what the experience will be you will be able to draw more customers in. Overall, failure can be found in social media presence, but success can be found in event marketing.

Competitor Analysis Series Critique

Photos taken from The Queen’s Tearoom

Analysis/critique of the series:

Many of these tearooms do not offer series on their social media. This post series comes from The Queen’s Library Tearoom. They hosted a ball and posted photos from the event. This is a series of photos advertising their event. I think more effort and detail could have been put into the series, specifically color correction on the photos and graphic design elements. Possibbly overlapping words over the pictures could help explain what is happening and what the pictures are specifically showing.

Part 2:

Project Brief / Proposal

Part 2: Project Proposal

Purpose of Identity Update & Campaign

After 20 years of being in the Lynchburg area, we want an identity update to highlight the Ploughcroft Tearoom to Lynchburg locals, and let customers know they are still their favorite cozy resting spot and tea house. Ploughcroft is always updating their services, menus and atmosphere, but their core values of bringing an authentic British tea house experience always stay the same. We want to do a promotional event to thank the community and give back, while also showcasing new and improved marketing tactics.

Tone, Message, & Style

The tone of this campaign will maintain a formal, elegant tone.The overall message will consist of inviting people to the tearoom and thanking them for 20 years of support. This campaign will remind our target audience of what Ploughcroft Tea Room offers as far as food, tea, and environment. A vintage style will be showcased with pastel colors and florals. Great Britain and the history of tea rooms within the style will also be highlighted across the campaign as a whole.

Concept Ideas

Concept Idea #1:

Promotional Event Poster Series : 20 Teas for 20 Years. This event would be an event focused on celebrating the 20 years that the Ploughcroft Tea Room has been apart of the Lynchburg community. This event will be focused on featuring a variety of 20 teas to represent the 20 years. The poster series would focus on the three most popular or unique teas, and show the ingredients that go into the cup. Another idea could be featuring all 20 teas across the three posters. The tagline would be “20 Teas for 20 Years” and the call to action would be for the Lynchburg community to come “Taste the Tea.”

Concept Idea #2:

Point of Purchase Packaging Design Series : Tea Bags. This concept would focus on redesigning the packaging of the three most popular teas over the past 20 years. The redesigned packages for these teas would feature a special “Top Tea for 20 Years” tagline and a fun design that represents Ploughcroft’s brand identity. Both tea containers and tags on the tea bags would be redesigned so that they could be sold to the public. The three redesigned teas would be made for the purpose of celebrating Ploughcroft’s 20 years and bringing the community to the tearoom.

Concept Idea #3:

Instagram Series : Where We Started…Where We Are Now. This Instagram post series would feature photos or facts about the history of Ploughcroft and would then end on where the tearoom is now. Throughout the posts, the public would be invited to the tea room to celebrate 20 years of being in Lynchburg. The tagline for this would be “20 Years of Tea Time” or “Back in Time to Tea Time.” The call to action would be for the community to come out and celebrate 20 years with Ploughcroft.

Concept Idea #4:

Promotional Event for Mother’s Day Tea on Mother’s Day : This concept would focus on promoting free samples of lemon squares. The designs would be focused around a garden party theme (florals & vintage). A photobooth would be included at the event as well, and would be incorporated into the design.. As for the ad series, it would feature three conceptual website advertisements because they would be on their website and they don’t have any advertisements on websites yet.

Concept Idea #5:

Concept Idea #6:

Instagram Series : This series would focus on highlighting each flavor of authentic tea in a series. Each post would have a color theme and mixed media in the background with ideas related to that tea flavor. A promotional event that offers free tea samples of Ploughcroft’s new flavors on Saturday afternoon would also be advertised through this series. This is conceptual because of new packaging that would go along with it.

Mailing item : This promotional tactic would feature a little teapot-shaped card with Ploughcroft’s advertising on front, sent out to past customers. There would be a promotional idea on the card to get people to host an event or come and try tea. Also included is a few free tea bag samples and chocolates in cute packaging to give back and say thanks to customers. This would be conceptual because it represents how they want to host events (more than just a tea room).

Concept Idea #7:

Downtown Abby Ballroom Dance Event : This is an event that plays on our tone and message by creating an experience that begins to show off who Ploughcroft is. The event will have their tea and food catered to the event. This will be marketed and advertised through poster that will go along with our new branding, The posters would be designed and hung up around Lynchburg community.

Concept Idea #8:

Concept Idea #9:

Cookbook : These cookbooks are all unique to Ploughcroft and can be purchased at the tearoom and local Lynchburg shops. This will show the new rebranding and have their own unique recipes. The cover and photos would be from their kitchen and within their own tearoom. This would show off the recipies that they use and tell what tea it pairs well with that they can buy. People can host their own tea parties from the comfort of their home.

Podcast : This podcast would be called ‘Tea Time With Patricia.’ This would include weekly podcasts that would be done with the owner. She would tell her own stories about what it would be like growing up in England and her experience in Virginia. Topics woulf focus on why she created the tearoom and why she loves tea so much. There would be guest speakers and she would give life advice with her tea. This would be promoted on social media wih differnt social media graphics, showing off the cover and covers for the new podcast episodes..

Campaign Deliverables

Deliverable #1: Tea Bag Packaging Design Series

This first deliverable has been chosen because it is the best, most unique way to help Ploughcroft rebrand. Not only will the redesigned tea bags go along with the company rebrand, they will also be available for purchase in the tearoom itself. In addition to this, the tea bags will be used for giveaways at events and via social media to help increase brand awareness and interaction. As for the teas being rebranded, the top three most popular teas over the past 20 years will get featured a new look. The tags of the teas will feautre a tagline such as “Top Tea for 20 Years” to celebrate the tearoom being in Lynchburg for 20 years.

Deliverable #2: Ploughcroft Cookbook

This second deliverable has been chosen because it is another unique marketing and rebranding idea for Ploughcroft. Ploughcroft’s cookbook will feature a unique cover page that represents its brand identity well, and the pages inside will be full of tea and sandwich recipes unique to Ploughcroft’s original menu. Not only will this book be sold in the tearoom as a point of purchase and advertisement, it will also bring the tearoom to people’s homes in the local Lynchburg community. This cookbook will take Ploughcroft’s brand out of Downtown Lynchburg and expand its reach into locals’ homes and communities.

Deliverable #3: Mother’s Day Tea Event Social Media Series

This third deliverable has been chosen because it is a practical way to increase Ploughcroft’s brand awareness through an event. At this event, free samples of lemon squares and tea will be provided. A garden party theme will be present thorughout the event as well, incorporating the rebrand of Ploughcroft. Lastly, a main centerpiece of the event will be a floral photobooth, which will be incorporated into the final advertisement design. As for advertising the event, the most efficient and practical way to do so is through a social media series. Therefore, anyone who is not local to Downtown Lynchburg will be made aware of the event thorugh a digital advertisement, increasing the amount of people that can be reached and invited.

Sample Ads

This picture shows the only ad Ploughcroft Tea Room has incorporated into their marketing, besides their social media which has already been mentioned previously in this document. Our new campaign will stand out against this ad because it will feature Ploughcroft in a way that maintains its British roots while also making it elegant and inviting in a unique way. Our campaign will focus on specific aspects of Ploughcroft and its character, instead of only focusing on the hours of the tearoom. Lasstly, our campaign will feature more than just paper aspects, it will incorporate digital marketing as well.

This picture showcases an advertisement for ‘Tea Break’ at The Queen’s Library Tea Room. Our campaign will stand out against this ad by adding more unique design elements and advertising more than just basic event information. Our campaign will use design elements to not only showcase important details about Ploughcroft, but also incorporate more brand identity and character into it as well. The new campaign’s character and graphics will make it stand out from The Queen’s Library Tea Room the most.

Campaign Locations

The campaign will be displayed through a variety of locations, the first location being social media, specifically Facebook and Instagram. The media has become a large way to reach vast amounts of people, making it an important advertising aspect of our campaign. Social media allows us to reach our target audience and the Lynchburg community who may not prioritize spending time downtown. This location of advertising gives us access to a new group of people in a digital way that can reach them anywhere. Specifically, the social media posts will advertise a Mother’s Day event taking place at the tearoom.

Another location deliverables/ads will be displayed are in a cookbook. The cookbook will be an opportunity to feature recipes from the tearoom to encourage customers to make their recipes at home. The cookbook will also advertise the recipes to the Lynchburg community and bring a piece of Britain to the community’s homes. Furthermore, the cookbook will uniquely bring our campaign into people’s homes through fun, unique recipes from the tearoom.

The last location where our deliverables will be displayed is at The Ploughcroft Tea Room and the Lynchburg Community Market, specifically through redesigned tea bags available for purchase. These tea bags will be made for sale at both of these locations. Selling the tea bags at the market will bring Ploughcroft a great amount of brand exposure from locals who may not make it over to Ploughcroft’s side of town regularly. People show up to the Lynchburg Market open to seeing and buying new products, which is just the right mindset needed when reaching new and old customers.

Moodboard Moodboard

Part 3: Final Solution

Branding Audit

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Black & White Logo

Colored Logo

Logo Thumbnails

These thumbnails pictures show the beginning of the logo design process.

Logo Rough Draft Sketches

These pictures show our favorite thumbnails with more detail added to them. These sketches helped us further to decide which logo we liked best.

Logo Comps

These are the favorite logo sketches placed in the computer.

Final Logo

This is the finalized logo for Ploughcroft’s rebrand.

Deliverable Thumbnails

These thumbnails pictures show the beginning of the deliverable design process.

Deliverable 1

Deliverable 2

Deliverable 3

Deliverable Rough Draft Sketches

These pictures show our favorite thumbnails with more detail added to them. These sketches helped us further to decide which logo we liked best.

Deliverable 1

Deliverable 2

Deliverable 3

Deliverable 1: First Draft

This is a first draft of the first deliverable. This is the first time to design was put into the computer, left with much room for improvement.

Deliverable 1: Refined Draft

These are the further designed drafts of the first deliverable. They are one step closer to the final product. With critique and feedback, these designs will be improved.

Deliverable 1: Final Draft

This is the final draft of the first deliverable. Taking the ciritque and edits to create the final design.

Yorkshire Tea

Earl Grey Tea

English Breakfast

Ploughcroft

Ploughcroft

Ploughcroft

Deliverable 2: First Draft

This is a first draft of the second deliverable. This is the first time to design was put into the computer, left with much room for improvement.

Deliverable 2: Refined Draft

These are the further designed drafts of the second deliverable. They are one step closer to the final product. With critique and feedback, these designs will be improved.

Deliverable 2: Final Draft

This is the final draft of the second deliverable. Taking the ciritque and edits to create the final design.

Deliverable 3: First Draft

This is a first draft of the third deliverable. This is the first time to design was put into the computer, left with much room for improvement.

Deliverable 3: Refined Draft

These are the further designed drafts of the third deliverable. They are one step closer to the final product. With critique and feedback, these designs will be improved.

Deliverable 3: Final Draft

This is the final draft of the third deliverable. Taking the ciritque and edits to create the final design.

Mockups

These mockups show what the deliverables could possibly look like in real life.

Deliverable 3

Deliverable 1

Deliverable 2

References

Crest Hill Tea Room | Crest Hill Tea Room, https://www.cresthillantiques.com.

“Aurora Tea Time - Home.” Aurora Tea Time, https://aurorateatime.com.

“Explore the Community Dynamics of Lynch burg.” Dwellics, 18 September 2023, https://dwellics.com/state/virginia/ community-in-lynchburg.

https://www.pinterest.com/gwenythgunderson/ ploughcroft-tea-room-moodboard/

“Lynchburg city, Virginia.” Census Bureau, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/ fact/table/lynchburgcityvirginia/ INC110222.

“Lynchburg city, Virginia - Census Bureau Profile.” Census Data, https:// data.census.gov/profile/Lynchburg_ city,_Virginia?g=050XX00US51680.

“Lynchburg, VA Nonprofits and Charities | Donate, Volunteer, Review | GreatNonprofits.” Great Nonprofits, https://greatnonprofits.org/city/lynch burg/VA.

“Ploughcroft Tea Room.” Facebook, https:// www.facebook.com/PloughcroftTea Room/.

“Ploughcroft Tea Room - Home.” Ploughcroft Tea Room, https://www.plough crofttearoom.com.

“The Queen’s Library Tea Room.” Home — The Queen’s Library Tea Room, https://www.queenslibrarytea room.com.

Strickland, Cara. “The Top-Secret Feminist History of Tea Rooms.” JSTOR Daily, 6 March 2019, https://daily.jstor.org/ the-top-secret-feminist-history-of-tearooms/.