SEVEN Designs Business Plan

Business Plan

Page 2 of 17

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................3 II. Company Description ..................................................................................................................3 III. Industry analysis and trends.............................................................................................6 IV. Target market analysis ..........................................................................................................8 V. The Competition ........................................................................................................................... 10 VI. Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy .......................................................................... 11 VII. Operations and management ........................................................................................ 12 VIII. Startup Expenses and Capitalization .................................................................... 15 IX. Appendices ........................................................................................................................................ 17

Page 3 of 17

I.

Executive Summary

SEVEN is a media and design studio that creates stunning, engaging, and inspiring digital experiences. We are dedicated to making the world a better place by helping purpose-driven brands establish their digital footprint so that they can make a greater impact in the world.

We are entering the digital advertising market. Through in-house capabilities or subcontracting, we strategize, develop, and execute media strategies to help companies promote their products and services across several digital media outlets. We provide brand communications, visual/web design services, social media and content strategy. We wish to serve conscious and purpose driven companies that are working towards creating a better world, in any way, shape or form. These are mindful companies and entrepreneurs who are socially and environmentally responsible and believe in global sustainability, women’s economic empowerment and food and nutrition initiatives.

II.

Company Description

SEVEN is a media and design studio that creates stunning, engaging, and inspiring digital experiences. We are dedicated to making the world a better place by helping purpose-driven brands establish their digital footprint so that they can make a greater impact in the world.

Mission Statement Our mission is to inspire humanity, challenge the status quo, and most importantly, promote the collective well-being. We do so by helping purposedriven social brands find their voice and establish their digital footprint. With the ability to work across all media platforms, we are able to maintain our client’s brand message with a consistency that truly maximizes their impact.

We believe the media is a powerful tool for change, so we blend creativity, communication and technology to develop values driven strategies that are

Page 4 of 17

aligned with a brand’s mission, vision, and values. We create brain-based digital strategies that inspire and targets consumers as whole human beings, with a mind, a heart, and a spirit, therefore helping inspiring founders build and grow their businesses into change-effecting enterprises.

Our business and products are inspired by our 7 core beliefs: • • • • • • •

Humanity Environment Higher Consciousness Well-being Culture Arts Loving Acts of Kindness

Products and services We provide companies the following services:

Page 5 of 17

WEB DESIGN – The web creates the greatest opportunity for a positive consumer experience. We develop optimized user-friendly websites with users in mind to create an insightful and engaging digital experience for users.

BRANDING/GRAPHIC DESIGN: We craft highly distinctive brand guidelines, graphic materials, ad campaigns, magazines, packaging, and books. We help companies develop and design the face of their brand. The ultimate result is a powerful, consistent identity.

SOCIAL MEDIA: It’s not just about telling a brand’s story; it’s about joining the conversation where it’s already happening. We create and curate content in social media that helps, informs, entertains, engages, educates and inspires customers to create positive brand awareness, build advocates and drive sales.

CONTENT MARKETING: Developing great content is both art and science.

Customers want to be talked to, not sold to. Whether it’s an email blast, website, social media campaign, video or blog, we create user engagement by delivering meaningful content that speaks to customers core values.

The services are tailored to a client’s needs/budgets, therefore cost of projects will vary.

Page 6 of 17

III. Industry analysis and trends SEVEN Designs is in a great place in the market due to the increasing needs of companies to have a digital place they can call “home”. Ways that they can tell their company’s story and enchant their audiences through beautiful branding and storytelling.

Today’s digital natives consumers are well informed, media savvy and mobile.

They are constantly connected to their devices and this brings great opportunities for companies to speak to their audience through different media outlets by engaging in conversations, being thought-leaders, being bold in their use of branding and design, and creative in their storytelling.

There has been a shift in marketing where today's consumers are actively craving content that is relevant to them and the beliefs they hold. They are no longer only looking for functional and emotional fulfillment when choosing what to buy and who to buy from. They’re also looking for human spirit fulfillment in their decisions. This is called Marketing 3.0 - where consumers are regarded as whole human beings. According to Stephen Covey, a whole human has four basic components: a physical body, a mind capable of independent thought and analysis, a heart which can feel emotion, and a spirit—your soul or philosophical center.

The majority of people believe that brands should play a role in improving the quality of lives and well-being. 71% of consumers say they would help a brand promote their products or services if there is a good cause behind them. As internet usage grows and users crave for relevant content, companies must adapt to new marketing trends, humanize themselves and have responsibility towards society if they wish to survive.

Industry Overview Studies have shown that the profitability of companies depends on technical

Page 7 of 17

and creative skills as well as customer relationship. Companies have a great competitive advantage if they have a digital presence in place that is specifically designed for their target audience.

The media is a powerful tool for change considering its reach and usage. It’s been estimated that by 2015, the average American will spend 15.5 hours a day consuming media. This creates a massive opportunity for companies to connect to their audience and tell their story, reach the masses, and make a greater impact in the world.

Looking ahead, it has been predicted that there will be a positive shift toward high-quality content. (Jinal Shah, Global Digital Strategy Director, J. Walter Thompson). Brands are so increasingly in need of not just content, but content that comes with impact alongside of it, both from a consumer level and from a point of influence level.

Page 8 of 17

IV. Target market analysis It has been estimated that 87% of global consumers believe that business needs to place at least equal weight on society’s interests as on business’ interest.

Marketing 3.0 will be won by those who become purpose-driven social brands, and to do so, all communication effort must be aligned to bring a cohesive brand story to life. It’s no longer good enough to just “have a social media presence”, a company must provide value to their audience’s digital experiences through multi-media and powerful content.

It has been predicted that in 2015 companies will go deeper into overall media strategies when it comes to marketing and will start embracing it as an ecosystem. This will then attract, engage, and retain new and existing customers through the use aesthetically pleasing, relevant, media efforts.

Market Size and Trends According to Ad Age DataCenter, creative digital work accounted for more than a third — 35.3% — of U.S. agency revenue in 2013 and this number continues to grow. U.S. digital-media employment last year jumped 12.5% and now stands at a record level (149,100 jobs), according to figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Media agencies generated big revenue gains from digital work, reflected in Agency Report’s 13.8% digital growth. IBISWorld’s Digital Advertising Agencies market research report projects that Internet and mobile traffic will grow in 2015, therefore increasing the demand for digital advertising services.

In the age of “infobesity”, as Ekaterina Walter describes, and increasing digital noise, visual storytelling will continue to emerge as a channel for nurturing and growing vibrant and engaged communities. The ability to craft visual stories that inspire emotion, speak their values and spark the movement will help

Page 9 of 17

companies get noticed and amplify their message throughout those communities.

Market Readiness As technology continues to grow and expand, more people will continue to consume digital content and media. Statista shows that as of 2014, the number of internet users worldwide was 2.92 billion, up from 2.71 billion in the previous year. Earlier this year, Reputation Institute, a private global consulting firm based in New York, did study and found that 42% of how people feel about a company is based on their perceptions of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Strategic Opportunities Our biggest advantage is that help purpose-driven companies, organizations, and individuals succeed. Current marketing trends have been shown to be flunctuating towards a more hollistic approach. Consumers want self fulfilment as well as personal empowerement when choosing what to buy/consume and who to buy/consume from.

Page 10 of 17

V.

The Competition

SEVEN’s competitors are the following; 1. Snask is a creative agency that provides branding, design, and video work to different types of companies. My advantage is that I also provide content development and social media strategies combined with design services. SEVEN Designs’ differentiation is that we have a sustainable business model as we promote global consciousness by serving purpose-driven brands. This is a competitive advantage in regards to audience expectations and need shared values. Snack is innovative, forward thinking and use the latest technology to keep up with current trends. My mission will be to remain creative while tailoring the message to specific audiences and telling a brand’s story in a compelling way that speaks to their target market.

2. Marketing 3.0 is an agency that develops digital marketing strategies that include social media, paid media, search, content marketing, email, design and branding, web, mobile and video development. They also provide analytical services to measure the success of campaigns and media efforts. SEVEN’s competitive advantage is its niche market as well as bold approach to its branding and client communications. Marketing 3.0 provides a more “traditional” look and feel to their work. A possible barrier that SEVEN could face with Marketing 3.0 is their track records of successful media campaigns as well as their focus on client results and analytics.

3. Conscious Creative is dedicated to serving the needs of green businesses, public agencies, nonprofits and artists that are doing good in the world. They are also among the first creative agencies to practice green methods for all of their work, be it print or digital; photo, video or otherwise.

Page 11 of 17

VI. Marketing Plan and Sales Strategy We will promote SEVEN’s services, beliefs, and values in the following ways to attract like-minded companies and brands:

Social Media We will promote our services and engage with our audience through powerful social media campaigns. The social media platforms that will be used are: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn as we have found that there is where most of our audiences are.

Online Marketing We will create ad campaigns (PPP) to capture users who are looking for media strategy/design work and will also leverage our website that will be highly search engine optimized.

Content Marketing/SEO Our website will be curated with relevant conversations which will attract likeminded visitors and turn them into paying customers. The blog content will be interconnected with the remaining communication throughout social platforms.

It will feature

Page 12 of 17

VII. Operations and management The breakdown of the company will be as follows:

Page 13 of 17

Juliana Neves – Owner/Creative Director Juliana multi-passionate entrepreneur with a design background and experience in the advertising and marketing industry. She has worked 5 years as a project manager and digital producer in award-winning ad agencies in Brazil and the US. She is driven by her life’s purpose to create a better world in every way, shape and form, while inspiring others to do the same.

Social Media Strategist (to be selected) The Social Media Strategist will be an expert at using content to drive engagement though social media networks and referral traffic to website. They will be responsible for managing all forms social media communication for assigned clients. Duties include tracking social media influence measurements, creating graphics for social media posts, partnering with other departments to ensure proper online messaging and relevancy, preparing reports to update staff on usage statistics, and continuous monitoring/coverage of all sites.

Content Developer (to be selected) The Content Developer role will contribute to creating imaginative, compelling and articulate copy. Mediums include: articles, blog postings, web content, display ad content (web and mobile), newsletters, email communications, press releases, marketing campaign materials and social media content (Facebook, Twitter, etc).

Page 14 of 17

Multimedia Designer (to be selected) Participate in development, design, and revision of design solutions. Responsible for executing solid designs that speak to creative and art direction provided.

Assists with implementing marketing campaigns across various media channels such as print, direct mail, email marketing, and online advertising.

Producer (to be selected) Budgets, timeline, project scope, client relationship, traffic. Implement and oversee agency wide traffic and production operations processes. Collaborate with team to report workflow of current & upcoming projects in order to allocate staff properly. Assist in writing proposals and attending business pitches for potential clients.

SEO specialist (to be selected) Responsible for improving a company’s organic search results. Creates and launches SEO campaigns, identifies areas of improvement, runs PPC campaigns, and attempts to improve the clients’ sites’ rankings in major search engines.

Page 15 of 17

VIII. Startup Expenses and Capitalization

I. Facilities Creative Studio Rental $3,000 Improvements $5,000

2. Equipment Furniture $7,000 Computers/Software $10,000 Technology (Servers, domain name, domain hosting): $200

3. Materials/Supplies Office Supplies $1500 Stationary/Business Cards $500

4. Fees and Professional Services Initial move-in Fees $7,000 Accountants $200 Virtual Assistant $2,000 Copyrighter/Content Developer $2,500

Page 16 of 17

Social Media Strategist $2,000 Multimedia Designer $3,000 SEO Specialist $3.500 Digital Project Manager $3,700

Total Funds Required: $51,200

Page 17 of 17

IX. Appendices

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maryjuetten/2014/08/21/jobs-act-and-crowdfundingwill-they-finally-releasetherules/ http://www.investopedia.com/university/small-business/financing-yourbusiness.asp http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/159522