Final Media Plan Book Matthew Brock Johnson University of Kentucky ISC 451
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Founded by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery, Buffalo Wild Wings is THE destination for all occasions. Disbrow and Lowery found themselves wanting wings, but not just any wings. The two wanted authentic Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings. Disbrow and Lowery could either drive all the way to New York or they could start their own restaurant. Starting with a small restaurant in Columbus, OH this wing joint grew and grew. With 21 select wing flavors and a plethora of menu options, Buffalo Wild Wings caters to everyone. BWW has the ability to capitalize on one thing: celebration. The reason why Buffalo Wild Wings has become so successful is because it’s the best restaurant to watch the big game or even grab a quick bite before the game. Buffalo Wild Wings not only offers wings, but it also offers burgers, fries, and Beer! All the game day essentials. The problem is though, BWW really only becomes busy during key sporting events. The decreasing need for sit-down restaurants has really harmed the success of this chain recently. Thankfully, BWW has one thing that sets them above its competitors: loyal users. When consumers think of wings, they think of Buffalo Wild Wings. To combat the flighting consumption of wings, our group decided to target Mothers and their children. Mother’s aren’t typically considered to be the biggest consumers of Buffalo Wild Wings, and we want to change that. For our campaign, we have created #MessesMakeMemories, to encourage Mothers to bring their children in for wings after their recreation games. Kids love to get messy, and Mothers love to see their kids happy. With a budget of $30 million, our executions feature ads out of the home, on television, in magazines, and on social media.
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SITUATION ANALYSIS Product and Brand Profile From the very start of Buffalo Wild Wings, the main products pushed were buffalo wings and beer. As time passed, Buffalo Wild Wings has integrated a variety of different items on their menu such as sandwiches, salads, fries and more. They have also expanded their selection of beers on tap and have created 21 different flavors for their wings. Though they offer a vast selection of products, buffalo wings prevail as the original and most important thing on the menu (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2018). The reigning promotion for Buffalo Wild Wings is “Boneless Thursdays.” Customers can get boneless wings for just 65 cents all day on Thursday. Other current promotions include limited edition sauce flavors and cocktails in addition to happy hour. The franchise also offers $5 “beer of the month” on tap (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2018). In their new advertising initiative, Buffalo Wild Wings has partnered with DraftKings to cultivate a fantasy football experience within the restaurant. This partnership is responsible for the company’s new digital app for customers. The app engages customers and allows them to win things like points and gift cards or a grand prize of free wings for a year (Romeo, 2018). The sizing and pricing for wings lands on a wide spectrum. Since Buffalo Wild Wings offers a variety of wings and other menu items, the prices can be anywhere from $2.99 to over $20.00. For traditional wings, a snack size is $6.79, while a large is $19.99. Boneless wings are less expensive than traditional, with an eight count ringing in at $8.49. Other menu items, such as appetizers and desserts, range from $4.99 to $13.49 (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2018).
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According to Bob Ruhland, the VP of Marketing for the company, ads should not interrupt what people are interested in, but be what people are interested in. When someone says “Buffalo Wild Wings” the first thing that comes to mind are beer, wings and sports. This is the brand image that Buffalo Wild Wings has created and one that they want to perpetuate. The company has positioned themselves as a go-to sports bar for the superfan (Dua, 2015). On their website, the first thing that pops up is “Buffalo Wild Wings is the ultimate place to get together with your friends, watch sports, drink beer and eat wings (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2018).” This idea of an iconic sports bar is one that they want to hold on to and perpetuate. At Buffalo Wild Wings, they emphasize the experience that one has at their restaurants, which is what sets themselves apart from direct competitors (Dua, 2015). Market and Industry Profile Buffalo Wild Wings is known for its famous boneless and traditional wings. They have 16 different and five different seasonings (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2018). Buffalo Wild Wings targets all ages and has something for everyone. People come into Buffalo Wild Wings for their traditional wings, or boneless wings, but they have other menu options (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2018). Buffalo Wild Wings’ have a wide variety of consumers. People come in to enjoy wings after sports games, to meet up with friends, to watch a big sporting event game, or multiple games at once, along with families. The downfall to Buffalo Wild Wings is that it relies heavily on sporting events. There are months where there are only one or two sports going on at a time and they are not as big as football season or March Madness. Sports seasons incline people to go to Buffalo Wild Wings, they get to see multiple games while enjoying food. This is going to increase food consumption along with adult beverages. Moreover, some consumers do not think
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Buffalo Wild Wings is always affordable (Carman, 2017). Consumers are drawn to wings on special deal nights because they are at a discounted price. If the economy is doing poorly, and a lot of people are being laid off, or do not have the money to spend by going out to eat, then Buffalo Wild Wings is affected. The physical product uses are for consumption from consumers. Social factors that make their products more sellable are football season, the Super Bowl, March Madness and other big sporting events. There are also promotional wing nights that have people coming in more for the discounted wings which gives consumers an incentive to come in and eat their products. Some of the government guidelines that Buffalo Wild Wings has to follow are enforced by the FDA which is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Their food has to be safe for consumers to eat, it also has to be prepared in a safe and uncontaminated area (FDA, 2018). This is critical for food businesses to follow these laws in order to stay open to the public. They also have to make sure they are not serving alcohol to minors. They have to make sure they check everyone’s IDs to ensure they are selling alcohol to the right age. If they fail to do so, they could get their liquor license taken away, thus, hurting the idea of “wings and beer” which is one of the big concepts Buffalo Wild Wings uses. Competitive Spending Profile To gather information for the spending profiles of Buffalo Wild Wings and its competitor, the database Advertising Redbooks was used. The media expenditure table displays how much both brands spend on their media. From there, the Media Mix and share of voice were calculated to determine the total budget for both brands and the allocation for each channel.
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When Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. is compared to its competitor, Hooters, Inc., it appears that BWW spends a considerable amount more for each medium. Of the list of media channels, Buffalo Wild Wings allocated most of the company's budget to Network television (46.4 percent) and Cable television (29.5 percent). The total media expenditure for Buffalo Wild Wings was $73,791,361, which was approximately 75 percent more than the $10,361,343 that Hooters had to spend. Although Buffalo Wild Wings had a larger media budget, Hooters, Inc. beat out Buffalo Wild Wings in Newspaper advertising. The share of voice states Hooters lead with a percentage of 78.4 percent. It is evident through the media mix that both brands allocated most of the media budgets to Network Television, with BWW spending 46.40 percent and Hooters, Inc. spending 43.40 percent. The media mix also shows that Hooters distributes its spending evenly through most channels, unlike Buffalo Wild Wings who spends most on only two media channels. Media Expenditure
Media Mix
Share of Voice
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Who We Want To Target Buffalo Wild Wings would like to shift some of their marketing to a new target audience of mothers ages 25-34. Current Target Market Buffalo Wild Wings has a current target audience of African American males ages 18-24 because they have an index score of 106 which means they are more likely to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings. These men have attended college, have careers in sales and office positions and make a household income of $75,000-149,999 (MRI, 2018). SWOT Analysis & Rationale Strengths ● Over 1000+ locations in the United States ● Sauces and seasoning unique to the company ● Customer experience with not only food but, an electric sports atmosphere
Weaknesses ● Low focus on menu and more focus on customer experience ● Menu choices are high in fat and not very healthy ● High reliance on sports events
Opportunities Threats ● New and improved website design. ● Americans are eating out less. ● New tabletop Technology. ● The demand for healthier, more ● The demand for wings is rising and organic items is growing. the wing market in the United States is ● Wingstop is seeing rapid growth and expanding. domination in the wing market.
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Strengths Buffalo Wild Wings was founded in 1982 by Jim Disbrow and Scott Lowery. They were two business partners in Columbus, Ohio determined by hunger to find their favorite Buffalo, New York style chicken wings (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2017). Since then Buffalo Wild Wings has been able to expand tremendously with 1,230 restaurants both nationally and internationally. With a large number of locations the company has the ability to make an impact on numerous communities. This also helps build strong customer loyalty when everytime someone looks around they see Buffalo Wild Wings. Not only is the company known for its New York style wings, it is known for its unique sauces and rubs. With 21 different sauces and dry rubs customers are able to find the right taste for them (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2017). This large amount of flavors puts Buffalo Wild Wings in its own category when it comes to flavors against other chains with similar food styles. Aside from its choice of meals Buffalo Wild Wings offers a unique atmosphere to customers seeking a sports concentrated environment. Each restaurant provides TVs and surround systems that create an atmosphere like no other which amplifies the average sports fan’s. Weaknesses Though Buffalo Wild Wings has many strengths, it does have some things that the company can work on. One main weakness is the focus that the company has on customer experience rather than the food. At the end of the day Buffalo Wild Wings is a restaurant with a partial emphasis on sports fans meaning food comes first. Another problem that the company faces is their reliance on chicken because it leaves scarce choices for customers who are vegetarian or do not like wings. With a reliance on boneless wings the company does their best
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to make great wings but don't focus on bettering the other dishes (Delish). Aside from the food aspect the company has a huge reliance on sports which can lose them money. When sports events aren't happening sports bars do not receive the same amount of traffic. This makes the company seasonal in a sense and that does not benefit the company. Opportunities Buffalo Wild Wings has created a new website layout that makes for a more personalized experience for each individual customer. The new website has a simplified visual that displays sections clearly for viewers to see, making it easier for web orders. Not only is the website easier to navigate but it has a menu with a picture of every item Buffalo Wild Wings offers. The addition of this website could boost future online orders for the business (Buffalo Wild Wings, 2017). As well as a new website, Buffalo Wild Wings has added new table top tablets that have simplified the ordering and payment process. The tablets also allow customers to purchase games while they dine. This new addition will simplify the waiters job and allow for a more efficient dining experience (Symington, 2015). Aside from technological improvements Buffalo Wild Wings has an opportunity to grow within its own market due to the rapid growth of the demand for wings. Wing prices in some areas have seen as much as a 40% increase in price due to high demand. Chicken processors have reported a shortage of chicken on some days due to the growing popularity of chicken wings (Bloomberg, 2017). Threats Due to different factors such as the competitive grocery market, online food realtors such as amazon, and meal kit providers all being cheaper options, many restaurants are seeing a decline in the numbers of visitors. According to an opinion poll taken in January, 4,200 U.S
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adults reported that they were eating out less than they were three months ago ( Reuters, 2017). Not only are Americans wanting to eat in more but the desire for healthier food options is rising. According to Nielsen’s Global Health and Wellness survey, 88% of Americans reported that they are willing to pay more for healthier non processed items and that they have a growing desire for functional items that would benefit their overall health (Gagliardi, 2015). Aside from customer decisions as potential threats, one of Buffalo Wild Wings largest threats is the rising popularity of competitor Wingstop. WIngstop has made changes like international development, digital expansion, as well as delivery which has put them at the top of the wing race (Klein, 2018). Buffalo Wild Wings has gained success for its electric atmosphere, unique flavor offerings, and it’s convenience (with 1.000 locations nationwide). Its electric sports atmosphere has attracted customers for years. But with America’s shifted interest in nutritional health, and immense competition from competitors like Wingstop, changes like a new website design alone aren’t enough to generate sales for the wing restaurant. 2. CREATIVE BRIEF Brand Position Although the GFK MRI data suggests that most of the Buffalo Wild Wings consumers are African American males, it would be wise to target other groups of people. The research also states the key problem for Buffalo Wild Wings is that users aren’t constantly going to eat at this restaurant. It appears that consumers are mostly going to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings during sports seasons. To combat this problem, we have devised a campaign to encourage mothers to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings for all events, specifically their child’s recreation sports games. Buffalo Wild Wings’ brand identity is centered around celebration and being with good company. By
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focusing on mothers, Buffalo Wild Wings will be able to create a consistent celebratory environment. Brand Promise Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar is a unique and exciting concept. Everything from the entertainment to the atmosphere is original, interesting and fun. Having 14 sauce choices and countless menu options allow the brand to avoid one thing: being bland. While the restaurant provides a healthy dose of fun with every entree, it serves as a celebratory environment for all ages. This no-holds-barred grill and bar provides a place to hang out for the big game or after making the winning goal. Slogan/Tagline Slogan for this campaign is based on the hashtag “Messes make memories,” to call for consumers to share their messiest memories. Mothers like to ensure that their children create memories that will last a lifetime. Kids who are involved in recreation sports leagues often have 2 or 3 practices and/or games a week. This means that their mothers may be looking for an alternative to cooking a full healthy meal. During a sporting event, a child can get messy. While eating wings at Buffalo Wild Wings, a child can get messy as well. The hashtag pushes mothers to let loose, take their children out to eat, and get messy! The celebratory atmosphere will help to form long-lasting memories.
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3. GEOGRAPHICAL TARGET MARKET SELECTION Atlanta, GA—2,335,143 Billboards are huge in Atlanta along with building plaster ads. A lot of people travel to Atlanta and billboards are a good way to catch the attention of tourists and commuters. Atlanta also has an NFL team, NBA team, and MLB team. Washington DC-MD—2,334,804 DC has many tourists since there is so much history in the city. DC has many bus tours, and mobile advertising. Billboards are also all around the city which would be the most beneficial. A lot of families travel there to see the city and learn the history, thus bringing in a lot of middle-aged women. Boston, MA/NH—2,417,120 Boston is another city in which many people travel to. The Boston Marathon takes place there, which brings in thousands of people, also Boston is a big city to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in. Billboards for Buffalo Wild Wings around that time would be beneficial. Boston is a huge sports city. It is one of the only cities who have major league sports on the east coast. Chicago, IL—3,515,299 Chicago has a big population, and thus a lot of potential markets. The L is one of the biggest used transportation systems in the city. Many people use the L every day as transportation to work. Bus tours, and cabs are still big in Chicago, thus having the potential for more mobile marketing. Chicago also has O’Hare and Midway airports, which are two of the biggest international airports in the U.S. Also, sports are huge in Chicago. They have two MLB teams, an NBA team, a WNBA team, an NHL team and many more.
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Cleveland, OH—1,546,114 Cleveland Ohio does not have a huge population, but Cleveland is a popular city to travel to. It has an NFL team, NBA team and MLB team. Which would bring in a good amount of people during sports seasons. Billboards and TV ads would be best reaching Cleveland’s community. Detroit, MI—1,936,592 Since Michigan is the Motor City of America, the main focus would be on billboards in Michigan because so many commute to work using cars. Also, the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, is a big airport that brings in many people. So airport ads would be a big target for our marketing. Houston, TX—2,078,638 Houston is another location where the weather is almost at least 60 degrees all year long. This gives kids the opportunity to play sports all the time outside. Thus, gives families more opportunity to come in after their recreational sports. Houston is a big city and has a diverse population. Houston also has an NFL team, NBA team and MLB team Los Angeles, CA—5,759,523 LAX is a huge airport and huge international airport. Many people fly into it, and it is a good celebrity airport. Airport advertisements would be best. They also have an MLB team, an NHL team, an NBA team and NFL team. Which would bring in a lot of people into Buffalo Wild Wings for different sporting events. New York, NY—7,554,817 New York is one of the biggest cities in the US. For New York the main focus would be on transit advertising on taxis, and the subways. Also, an electronic billboard in Times Square. New York has an NHL team, NBA team, and two MLB teams to bring people into Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the games.
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Philadelphia, PA—2,967,638 Philadelphia would benefit most from billboard and building ads. They also have an NFL team, NBA team, and NHL team which would bring in people for the sports seasons. San Francisco, CA—2,529,617 Trams are huge in San Francisco right in the city. Not only do people who live in the city use them, but they are big for tourism. Tram advertising would be best in San Francisco. They also have a MLB team and NFL team for sports seasons to bring in people. Tampa, FL—1,807,482 Even though Tampa has a lower population, the weather is warm for the majority of the year, thus kids can play sports outside all year long. This gives us a better population with our target audience which is middle-aged women. They are more likely to have kids that play sports all year long. Also, with the weather being so nice, it is a big vacation spot for families. Advertising on cruise ships with so many cruises leaving Florida would be a good way to catch attention. 4. MEDIA OBJECTIVES To increase the reach of the target audience, middle-aged mothers, by 25 percent between January 1, 2019 and June 30, 2019, exposing them to campaign ads four times a week.
Month
Reach
Frequency
GRPs
January
50
2.5
125
February
55
3
165
March
65
5
325
April
65
5
325
May
70
6
420
June
75
6
450
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Digital & Social Media Objectives Current Follower Base: Facebook followers: 11,957,098 Facebook likes: 12,494,938 Twitter followers: 685.3k Instagram followers: 302k Objectives To reach 700k Twitter followers between January 1 and June 30, 2019. To reach 350k Instagram followers between January 1 and June 30, 2019. To solidify Buffalo Wild Wings Facebook following by reaching 12,200,000 followers by June 30, 2019. To increase website traffic by 25 percent between January 1 and June 30, 2019
5. MEDIA MIX STRATEGIES Cable Television Cable TV will be used to reach our target audience of mothers ages 25-34 with a household income of $75,000-149,999. Ads will run on networks such as HGTV, FOOD Network, and Freeform. The target audience has an Index of 108, which means that they are 8 percent more likely to watch HGTV. Displaying ads during shows like HGTV’s “House Hunters” will appeal to our target audience. They also have an index of 107 for both FOOD Network, and Freeform which means they are 7 percent more likely to use these networks as well. Utilizing the 30 second ad time for cable TV commercials during the mornings and evenings accompanied with other media strategies will be sufficient in reaching our target audience.
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Social media With social media being so prevalent in today’s society, we have chosen to use Twitter and Facebook to reach our target audience of mothers ages 25-34 with a household income of $75,000-149,999. Due to the fact that we can measure media metrics more on social media, we want to focus on social media most. With this age group of women, Twitter will allow us to connect with them in an easy way while they can continue their everyday lives as mothers. We will tweet more in the mornings and evenings while the mothers have some “down time” and are more likely to be on their phones. Ads on Facebook are fairly consistent, so this will allow us to reach the target audience who aren’t on Twitter. Using a flight media plan on Twitter and a steady media plan on Facebook, we can create an overall pulsing media plan. Out of Home Media We will use out of home media to reach our target audience of mothers who are between the ages of 25-34 who have a household income of $75,000-149,999. With this group of women we plan to use large billboards and wall advertisements to draw their attention to the company. This will effectively reach the mothers because they will be reached in the car while driving going through their everyday lives whether its taking a child to practice or going to the grocery store. This use of media will be most effective in the large cities that we have chosen to promote the brand because of the amount of locations that can be used for advertisement. For large cities, we can place ads in spots at transit stations, specifically bus stops. That way people who don’t have access to a vehicle can see the ads as well. 6. BUDGET ALLOCATION Page 17
Social Media
Broadcast Media
Print Media
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Out of Home
7. FLOW CHART
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8. FINAL REMARKS The impact of sports, family, and community has been a large one for Buffalo Wild Wings. Utilizing these values, coupled with Technology and modern day marketing techniques, we believe that we can pitch the #MessesMakeMemories campaign and reach the Buffalo Wild WIngs target audience. With a budget of 30 million, we will use a combination of social media, out of home media, network television, cable television, magazines, and other advertisements to reach our audience. Our goal is to expand on the idea that Buffalo Wild Wings is not just a restaurant that caters to sports fans and sporting events, but one that allows memories to be made with your family. By applying all of these aspects of our campaign we believe that we will expand Buffalo Wild Wings reach.
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References Bloomberg. (2017). Americans Are Eating So Many Chicken Wings it’s Driving Prices Through the Roof. Fortune. Retrieved from:http://fortune.com/2017/08/24/chicken-wingssanderson-farms-inc/. Buffalo Wild Wings. (2018). Buffalo Wild Wings Menu. Retrieved from Buffalo Wild Wings: https://www.buffalowildwings.com/en/food/ Buffalo Wild Wings. (2017). Buffalo WIld Wings Makes Ordering takeout Easier With New Website. Buffalo Wild Wings. Retrieved from:http://ir.buffalowildwings.com/newsreleases/news-release-details/buffalo-wild-wingsr-makes-ordering-takeout-easier-new-we bsite. Carman, T. (2017, July 31). With prices rising, cheap chicken wings may be a thing of the past. Retrieved from Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ food/wp/2017/07/31/with-prices-rising-cheap-chicken-wings-may-be-a-thing-of-the-past/ ?noredirect=on&utm_term=.443bb7b6b184. Doolin, Hannah. “11 Things You Need To Know Before You Eat At Buffalo Wild Wings.” Delish, Delish, 1 May 2018,www.delish.com/food-news/a46988/things-you-needto-know-before-eating-at-buffalo-wild-wings/. Dua, T. (2015, August 04). The Buffalo Wild Wings recipe for the 'ultimate sports experience'. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/marketing/buffalo-wild-wings-recipe-ultimatesports-experience/. Gagliardi, N. (2015) Consumers Want healthy Foods- And WIll Pay More For Them. Forbes. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancygagliardi/2015/02/18/ consumers-want-healthy-foods-and-will-pay-more-for-them/#39378c0475c5. Klein, D. (2018) Wingstop Soars on Tech Innovations, Continued Growth. QSR. Retrieved From: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/finance/wingstop-soars-tech-innovationscontinued-growth. MRI. (2018). Spring 2017 product report: Leisure/sports. Category: Family restaurants and steakhouses. Base: Adults. Target: Used in last 6 months. Buffalo Wild Wings.
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N/A. (2018, September 18). FDA. Retrieved from U.S. Food and Drug Administration : https://www.fda.gov. Reuters (2017). Americans are Eating out a Lot Less and it’s Hurting restaurants. Fortune. Retrieved from: http://fortune.com/2017/02/22/restaurants-eating-out-americans/. Romeo, P. (2018, August 29). Buffalo Wild Wings reveals a big step in its turnaround plan-a new marketing campaign. Retrieved from https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/marketing/buffalo-wild-wings-reveals-big-ste p-its-turnaround-plan-new-marketing-campaign. Symington, S. (2015). 5 Ways Buffalo Wild WIngs Differentiates Itself. The Motley Fool. Retrieved From: https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/09/16/5-ways-buffalowild-wings-differentiates-itself.aspx Taylor, K. (2017, July 27). Buffalo Wild Wings is killing one of customers' favorite deals. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/buffalo-wild-wingskills-half-price-wing-tuesday-2017-7.
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