PrairieSun

1. PrairieSun Sarah Pieper, Jessa Waters, Lana McCoy, Jerry Palleschi, and Travis Biederman

2. Marketing Challenge Product Awareness Limited Marketing Budget Identifying the Wellness Client Expansion Brand Awareness

3. Unique Selling Proposition • Only store in the region that focuses on organic products. • Organic foods are free of hormones and chemicals, giving consumers a healthier option. • Stress that the products are organic and locally grown. • Support a local business

4. SWOT Analysis • Strengths • PrairieSun Organics is the only specific Organic foods store in Vermillion and the surrounding area. • PrairieSun Organics has high quality products and can validate the freshness and production of their products. • Locally owned business. • Opportunities • College students are a huge wellness consumer public that would be willing to invest in living an organic lifestyle. • Vermillion is a very family oriented community, and PrairieSun Organics has perfect products for this family. • Weaknesses • Very little brand awareness around the region. • PrairieSun Organics does very little advertising/marketing around Vermillion. • Threats • Hy-Vee, Jones and Wal-Mart organic food sections. • Down economic times threaten consumer’s disposable income.

5. Key Publics • Most Important Public • Men • Vermillion community • 25- 35 • College Education • Fitness Consumer • Media: Television and Word of Mouth • The male public may perceive organic food as “chick food” or food for “hippies.” • Latent Public • Women with children • Vermillion community • 25-40 • College Education • Wellness Consumer • Media: Television, Coupons, and Word of Mouth • The female public can network for PrairieSun.

6. Overall Goal PrairieSunOrganic’s overall goal is to increase sales, wholesale by 30% and retail by 50%. Her goal is to also be the premier Organic Foods store in the region and to provide consumers with quality farm grown products.

7. Smart Objectives • REACHABLE • Our objective is to make PrairieSun the number one organic distributor in the Midwest region. • DEADLINE • Our objective is to be in 20 different stores within a 125 mile radius of Vermillion by the year of 2012. This objective would make PrairieSun’s goals a reality. We could set a specific timeline to accomplish this objective. • ACHEIVABLE • Increase the general sales by 15% that extends in both in-store and wholesale.

8. Informal Opinion Leaders: Nikki and Gregg Peters • Owners of Jones Food Center • Vermillion, South Dakota • Well respected throughout the community • Vermillion citizens are likely to support local businesses • Business Connections

9. Formal Opinion Leader: Senator John Thune • Senator Thune has roots in Vermillion considering he received his master’s degree at the University of South Dakota. • Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee • Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee • Potential to promote organic funding through future public policy

10. Trigger Event • Informational Trigger Event • Talk about various organic products PrairieSun sells and the background on how those products are made. • Eagle's Club • Samples of beef, chicken, and pork • Survey • Flyers • Obtain contact information through the survey

11. Strategic Partnership • An alliance with Jones’ Food Center in Vermillion, SD would benefit both PrairieSun and Jones’. • Both stores are marketed towards the local community and Jones’ has a good reputation in Vermillion.  • Considering that Jones’ already sells PrairieSun products, so a slight partnership already exists.  • Jones’ would benefit by being able to market themselves by being the grocery store aimed towards your health, while PrairieSun would benefit because of their product being used.

12. Bumper Stickers Appeals to Virtue Appeals to Something People Love • Keep it local, support PrairieSun Organics. • PrairieSun provides nature’s perfect food.

13. New Look

14. Specific Reporter • Christina Ferrare • O, The Oprah Magazine. • Christina Ferrare is an accomplished author and television talent. • She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, dazzling audiences with her cooking demonstrations and delicious recipes. Ferrare stresses that families can prep • are more delicious and affordable meals by avoiding prepackaged foods. • She could explain why organic foods are an easy alternative to prepackaged foods.

15. Gantt Chart

16. Budget Strategy: Percent of Sales • PrairieSun should use percent of sales in order to budget for publicity. • The company does make an income, however, is restricted because of start up costs. This limits the amount of money she can devote to advertising. • Therefore, percent of sales is the best because PrairieSun can put aside a certain amount of its income in order to advertise. • That way advertising increases with income and PrairieSun does not lose money.

17. Facebook Page • Tip #4: Keep It Fresh • Gives customers a reason to continually check facebook page. • More times they check the page, more recognition the store will receive. • Tip #5- We Have a Winner! • People are motivated by games of some sort, and coming to a page in order to get a coupon or to enter into a contest, is incentive for fans to become familiar with the products offered, and become fans of these products as well. • Tip #6: Comments Spur Conversations • In the food business, especially the organic food business, exchange of ideas and recipes are essential to build rapport with customers. • Tip #9: Start a Conversation! • PrairieSun wants to be the igniter of a conversation, and that way they can guide conversation, and develop opinion leaders and webs of communicators in the community.

18. Media Buys: Radio • We would advertise through the radio out of Sioux Falls. • Mix 97.3 FM, a Cumulus Media station. • Mix 97.3 FM is aimed at older adults who like to listen to a variety of music. • We would place the ads during the Ben and Patty Morning show – which is the most popular morning show on radio in South Dakota.

19. Media Buys: Keloland • Keloland TV’s 6:00 PM newscast during the workweek • This newscast typically has the Healthbeat segment during the show, which the ads running after it will catch the health consumers watching. • Keloland news at 6:00 reaches the entire state of South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota.

20. Media Buys: Billboard • 3 billboards • 129 North: 5 miles from the Vermillion exit • 129 South: 5 miles from the Vermillion exit • Highway 50: on the way into Vermillion • The billboards would include a message that “organic foods and healthier eating is only an exit away.”

21. Media Buys: Equalizer • Health Section • The Equalizer reaches out to families in the Vermillion area. • This newspaper reaches every house in Vermillion and is a free publication to the recipients. • Also makes sense financially as the advertising rates are cheap.

22. Single Most Important Thing You will Measure • Our group will measure the impact of the marketing strategy by observing overall sales.

23. The Best Solution Clearly Identified PrairieSun’s Target Public Accomplishing Big Ideas through Creative Means • Local Business • Wellness Consumer • USD Community • Strategic Partnerships • Social Media • Promotional Events • Informational Events • Strategic Partnerships