Coastal Travels

Media Kit

TaShaun Dorsey

Chloe Slavin

Megan Stechler

I. Situation Analysis:
College is a crucial time when young adults are encouraged to discover who they are and
what they want to become, and travel is a key factor in this self growth. Having the opportunity
to see other regions, historic sites, and universities allows for learning experiences and
relationship building that cannot be obtained on one single college campus. So, the population
between the ages of 18-28 are constantly told to travel while they are young. However, arranging
travel opportunities while living on campus is not an easy task. College students are faced with
obstacles including access to a car, cost of driving a car or buying a plane or bus ticket, timing,
and safety. These issues collectively create a need for a form of transportation that
accommodates specifically to the monetary, time, and safety needs of on-campus college
students that wish to gain the experience of traveling to other universities in the country. The
most logical way of achieving this would be a luxury bus system running throughout the
Midwest and East Coast with locations either directly on campuses or nearby that caters
specifically to the college student population. Provided below are summaries of primary research
collected in the form of an online survey sent to college students throughout the Midwest and
East Coast regions. Respondents attend universities including John Carroll University, The Ohio
State University, Ohio University, and Duquesne University and were asked questions pertaining
to their access to cars, importance of travel, importance of cost, and the importance of safety.
Also included is secondary research that analyzes the prices of competing bus lines such as
Greyhound.
The first area that identifies the potential success of this college bound bus line is the
importance of traveling to other universities. In the survey designed and analyzed by this IMC
team it was found that of the 41 respondents, 56.10% said that traveling to other Universities was
somewhat important. However, of the same respondents, 87.88% found it very difficult or
somewhat difficult to travel to other campuses. The struggle that accompanies traveling to other
campuses leads to 70.73% of the respondents traveling only a few times during the semester.
This concludes that there is a clear desire to college students to travel but transportation
limitations are an inhibiting factor.
Another component that leads to the current struggle of college students traveling to other
campuses is student access to a car. The online questionnaire found that of the 41 respondents,
48.78% said that they did not have access to a car. Respondents that identified as not having
access to a car were also asked what alternative mode of transportation they would take to leave
campus and visit other universities and 66.67% said that they would take a bus system. This
therefore indicates a growing support for bus transportation among college age individuals.
The growing popularity of bus transportation is supported further through a study
conducted at DePaul University from October 2013- January 2014 that found that bus
transportation now has a cool factor that has been attracting millennials through its incorporation
of amenities such as wifi, outlet plugs, and room to move around (Raygorodskaya). This study

also discovered the phenomenon that people now prefer to take the bus even if they have cars at
their disposal (Schwieterman). This research makes clear that the market for bus transportation,
specifically among millennials, is currently very popular and is increasing over time.
College is a time where money is slim, and current bus lines are well aware of this when
it comes to appealing to the college demographic. One of the greatest areas of competition
between a new and established line is the ticket price. Greyhound is a thriving bus line in the
Midwest to the East Coast that would act as Coastal Travels largest competition in price. When
asked about the importance of cost when traveling to other universities, 76.92% of the
respondents from the primary survey said that cost was very important. Participants were then
asked where they would be traveling and 60.00% said the Midwest while 51.43% said the East
Coast ( students were allowed to choose multiple places of travel for this question). In
correspondence to distance, students were asked how much they would be willing to pay for a
round trip ticket to visit another university and 42.50% said anywhere between $20.00 and
$50.00, while 20.00% said anywhere between $50.00-$75.00. Cost is clearly an important factor
in the traveling ability of college students. Through calculating prices on the Greyhound website,
it was discovered that for a roundtrip weekend ticket from Friday to Sunday (the general travel
days for college students) for students to travel to universities in Ohio would cost between
$20.00 and $100.00 depending on the travel distance. However, to travel to areas such as
Chicago, New York, Pittsburgh, or Boston, students will be paying anywhere from $100.00 to
$210.00. According to the study from DePaul University, traveling by bus, even when buying a
ticket the day before departure, resulted in a 30.9% cheaper rate than driving a car
(Schwieterman). The cost of traveling is clearly an prominent factor the traveling habits of
college students. They find an importance in saving money but do not want the issue of expenses
to inhibit their ability to gain experiences outside of their own campus. This therefore enhances
the appeal of inexpensive luxury bus travel among millennials.
The final component in the situation analysis is the safety of traveling to other
universities. Generally, most college students and do not feel comfortable driving long distances
in the car, nor do they feel comfortable traveling on a bus alone. Their parents generally feel the
same way. When asked in the primary survey if a student would feel comfortable taking a bus by
him or herself to another university 36.11% of the 36 respondents said that they would not feel
comfortable. It then became necessary to determine why students felt uncomfortable and it was
discovered that of the 30 respondents that have taken a bus in the past, 10 of them reported that
the age and lifestyle of the other passengers were usually mixed. The students then indicated if
they would feel more comfortable traveling on a bus with people of a similar age and lifestyle
and of the 36 respondents, 75.00% said that they would feel much more comfortable taking a bus
with people similar to them in both age and lifestyle. This therefore supports the various benefits
of having a college oriented bus line. Parents would be assured that their children are safe both
from danger of other passengers who may be of different ages and backgrounds and also from
the risk of being behind the wheel for long distances. Students, on the other hand, will also be in
a safe environment while being exposed to individuals from other universities that are traveling
on the bus line.

College students today are facing an overwhelming desire and pressure to travel
throughout the country but have a multitude of obstacles that restrict them from doing so.
Through the primary analysis of issues including the importance of travel, student access to cars,
importance of cost, and importance of safety, from students of various universities within the
region as well as secondary resources solidifying the growing popularity and desirability of bus
transportation, it is evident that the market for luxury bus travel among millennials, specifically
college students, is growing stronger. This creates a prime opportunity to launch a new
revolution in bus transportation that is aimed explicitly at providing college students the ability
to travel to other universities between the Midwest and East Coast with the guarantee of
accommodation, affordability, and safety.
To view further detail regarding the primary survey questions check Appendix A.
To view further information regarding the cost of Greyhound traveling check Appendix B.
To view further information regarding the survey results check Appendix C.
II. Objectives
There are a series of goals that will need to be accomplished to gain overall success for
Coastal Travels. These objectives will work cohesively to promote the brand by creating
consumer awareness based on a strong social media platform, educating parents on safety
benefits through an emotional connection to the protection of ones newborn, and gaining long
term support of the colleges where this service will run which will through on campus
promotions,which, in turn, will create positivity and a general awareness of this service.
The first objective to ensure the success of this company is to create consumer awareness
about this luxury bus line. To achieve this, we must target the millennials who will be using this
service to travel to and from other colleges. This will require a strong social media platform
through forms including Twitter notifications that include discounts and hashtags, Instagram
posts from both the bus line itself and from those who use the transportation. Coastal Travels will
also feature a driver of the week, create its own Snapchat geo-filter, and harness the power of the
internet through a creative lip-dub video, posted to Youtube, to the tune of a popular road trip
song that will generate a feeling of fun, relaxation, and enjoyment when traveling on this bus
line.
The next objective is to educate parents of millennials on the safety benefits associated
with this bus system. It is clear that parents are cautious of the safety of their children while
traveling alone, especially with the recent spike in traffic related accidents over the last two
decades. However, through the marketing of informative videos posted and shared to facebook,
as well as publicity and sponsorships of local news stations, newspapers, and magazine articles,
parents will be educated on the outstanding safety benefits that are associated with this bus line.
We plan to appeal to parents through these specific media outlets; however, the message Coastal
Travels will portray is one of protecting a newborn, which all parents can and will continue to
relate to as they watch their children grow and explore the world. Therefore, when a child says

that they wish to travel to another campus, parents will feel comfortable allowing their child to
travel with this bus line, and will promote it among other parents of millennials.
The final objective of this plan is to gain the support and publicity of local colleges. This
business targets college students and will be driving directly to and from various universities
throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Therefore, it would be effective for both Coastal Travels
and the universities to have mutual support. Universities could list this bus line as one of the
offered amenities that comes with their education which would enhance the appeal to the
university and would, in turn, enhance the publicity and overall support of this business to both
the millennial generation and parents of the millennials. The ways in which the connection
between universities and coastal travels can be made are through food trucks that can be placed
at collegiate sporting events and open houses, that serve food directly from a renovated Coastal
Travels bus. Therefore, those associated with universities in the region will form a connection to
this luxury bus service.
The objectives outlined above will create a strong foundation for creating general
awareness of the business amongst the millennial generation, as well as appealing to and gaining
the support and publicity from parents and universities throughout the Midwest and East Coast.
III. Audience
A. Millennials
Millennials are driving every market in current times. They are the main consumers;
therefore, they are the main target group we are focusing our campaign on. Millennials are
people born in the early 80s to about the early 2000s. They are the upcoming generation born at
the turn of the century. Millennials, also referred to as Generation Y are the most spontaneous
travelers, according to a survey conducted by Chase Card Services. Not only are they the most
spontaneous travelers, but they are encouraged to travel as much as possible when they are in
their 20s and 30s, or college-aged.
Millennials in college want to experience travel, but that is hard to do when they are not
financially capable. The first aspect we will emphasis in drawing them in, is the affordability of
the bus line. In promotions and advertisements we will show that we are cheaper than our
competitors. We will state that we have set our travel prices just for you, making the ads
personal and making the millennials feel special. Millennials also love free stuff. Another aspect
of the bus line we will promote is all of the free amenities that come with the ticket they
purchase. Throughout this campaign, we will show the amenities that the bus line has installed to
accommodate college students. Free television, Wi-Fi, outlet sockets, and charging stations are
some of the amenities offered.
Often times, millennials dont want to travel via bus because they may encounter
sketchy people. Our next task will be to inform and persuade them that the bus line is secure
and that the people they will see while travelling are just like them. In advertisements we will
make sure those seen look college-aged and have the appearances of college students. We will
also use real college students in a few advertisements and offer discounts for their participation.

B. Parents
Parents attach themselves to their children no matter how old they are. So, along with
targeting millennials, we must appeal to their parents and loved ones as well. With this audience
our emphasis will be on the safety aspects of our bus line. Giving parents a sense of security
within themselves will allow them to open up and that is when we can use advertising tactics to
draw them in. Parents will always see their children as children. Recently, many car commercials
have been using toddlers and adolescents to demonstrate this fact. We will do the same. On the
websites and in advertisements we will emphasize how the line is only for college-aged students.
We will also mention that the buses have seatbelts and the newest safety technology. Parents also
appreciate affordability. Parents and loved ones tend to encourage their children to travel and
frequently assist them in the financial department so that they are able to. When advertising the
prices, we will emphasize how our prices are lower than our competitors and also how much
safer we are.
Parents are an important target group because they can be great persuaders. Millennials
rely on their parents advice when it comes to making decisions in areas where they dont have
much expertise. Parents may also be the people buying travel tickets for the millennials.
Targeting the parents will potentially help boost sales because they can spread awareness of the
line through word-of-mouth.
C. Universities
Universities are the last target audience. Universities are always looking for new ways to
accommodate their current students and draw in potential students. When targeting universities
we will convince them that our bus line is the safest and best way for their students to travel.
Once an alliance is made, we can identify the universities as partner schools. With that alliance
with universities, we could construct a plan to have shuttles take students from campus to the bus
line stations as a free amenity for attending a partner school.
Partnering with universities connects us with them, but it also provides a way for
universities to connect with each other. When promoting the company to universities we may
emphasize that a connection with our company is a connection with each other. Students are
always trying to visit their friends at nearby universities, but often time have no way to get there.
The bus line is that missing link. We will inform universities of this issue and insist that
partnering with the bus line makes them more of a university that satisfies and accommodates
their students. Universities are important. They provide the brand with ample space for
advertisement and they have a great consumer base. They can also help be the deciding factor,
persuading parents and students to use the brand.

IV. Strategies
Strategies help us accomplish our goals or objectives. They outline what actions we will
take in order to translate our message our services to our audiences. Our objectives for our

campaign are to create consumer awareness, enforce safety benefits and gain support of publicity
from other colleges.
Creating consumer awareness will help us be able to communicate with our stakeholders
and address certain areas of our company Coastal Travels. One strategy we will use is social
media. We want to create accounts for Twitter, Face Instagram and possibly Pinterest. Social
media will be a great resource for us to receive immediate feedback from our audience and as
well an efficient, easy way to interact with them. In addition to our social media platforms, we
want to create our own hashtag.
For example, the majority of the universities we will be taking our customers to our big,
public schools. Sports are a huge aspect of these colleges and we would like to reach out to
those students participating in those events. We want to create the hashtag #ReadySetCoast that
students can use when at a colleges game day for football, basketball and other sports. Using
the hashtag, we want to see where our customers are going and from the pictures or posts using
#ReadySetCoast, we will pick a winner with the best, most spirited picture and feature it on our
social media accounts. The individual we pick will receive a prize such as coupon for their next
trip with Coastal Travels.
In addition to sporting events, we want to have a bus renovated for tailgates that will
travel to a different university in our list of schools we visit each week. It will include food,
luxury seating and other amenities for the perfect tailgate. We also want have a blog which will
feature a story from a student that used Coastal Travels and their experience. Going off of
students sharing their stories, we hope to create a Snapchat account that will have our own
geofilter. We want to show where other students are traveling by using the geofilter and have
them show their trip with Coastal Travels.
As we continue to target our audiences, our main goal is to depict how important and
useful Coastal Travels is for any average college student. Besides social media, we want to
create a lip dub commercial telling a story of students using Coastal Travels. We also will create
postcards to send to students/parents explaining who we are and what we do.
Safety is another issue we realize our customers want to be addressed. We will create a safety
plan that outlines our goals to make sure our Coastal Travels users are safe. We want to use a
creative wording to relay our message such as customizing the words Coastal to our best
advantage.
As an example, C stands for comfort, O stands for offers amenities, A stands for
accommodating, and so on. We will also use testimonials to our best advantage like posting
them on our website or have press releases written about users experience. We also want our
press releases to strengthen the safety of Coastal Travels and how they compare better to other
bus companies.
Our final goal was to gain support from colleges. We want to create a campaign where
we travel to local colleges and build awareness for our business. In order to accomplish this we
can set up a campus event, which will have free food, coupons, a contest and other gear to give
to students. This will be able to speak with our potential customers and spread the word about
Coastal Travels. Our company is also considering creating a free internship program that has

campus ambassadors. They can repost our social media to their accounts, create on campus
events at their schools and help us in marketing Coastal Travels.
V. Tactics
For our tactics, there are specific activities that will need to be put into operation in order
to achieve our objectives. For our social media, we hope to post at least twice a day on each
platform with content related to travel such as pictures, quotes, fun facts, contests and more. A
website will also be part of our tactics which includes our story, amenities and links to social
media accounts.
We hope to update our website at least 3 times a year. On our website, we will have a tab
that will have a calendar of our schedule for students to easily use. With an idea as a one stop
shop they can complete their scheduled trip and pay in one place by going to our website. We
may also create an app more even more easy access.
In addition to our campus ambassadors, we hope to create signage and banners to hang up
around universities. Our ambassadors can also represent us over college radio and tv stations.
Referring back to our mention of a lip dub commercial, we want to find college, volunteer
participants that will help us create the video and in return we can offer them a free year of at
least 5 rides with Coastal Travels. We want to feature the commercial on younger generation
focused channels such as MTV and cable stations to reach our audiences.
VI. Planning Calendar
We have designed this plan to be implemented and completed in ten weeks. Below is a detailed
schedule for each week of the process.
Week One
Research
The research we conduct will be primary and secondary research. During this week we will
conduct primary research online and face-to-face. Online, surveys will be randomly distributed
to the people of our target audience on the east coast. The same methods will apply in the
selection processes in the face-to-face discussion. The secondary research will be comprised of
information we gather on the bus lines competitors, such as Greyhound and MegaBus.

Week Two
Logo Creation and Website Designing
This week we will sit down with our creative consultants and develop a layout for the brands
website and create a logo for the brand. Everything from the color scheme to the font will be
decided during this week.

Week Three
Constructing Promotional Materials
During this week all of the promotional commercials and videos will be shot and sent to postproduction. In the post production stages, the videos will be edited in various forms so that they
are the perfect lengths for television, social media, radio, and the bus screens.
Setting Up Social Media Platforms
Using the logos and brand photos we designed in the previous week, we will begin setting up
social media accounts for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Week Four
University Outreach
We will send publicists out to different universities along the coast to obtain partnerships.
Partnering up with universities along the east coast will be the first step in the process of gaining
a consumer base.
Launch of Social Media Platform
On the social media platforms, little clips, clues, and pictures will be posted building the
anticipation for the brand launching. We will begin to connect to our target audiences through
page invitations and sponsored posts.
Week Five
Brand and Website Launching
This is the week the brand goes live! The website will go live, allowing customers to begin
purchasing tickets right in time for spring break.
Week Six
Social Media Contests Begin
During this week and the week to follow, the public will be able to participate in a contest to win
one of fifty pairs of surround sound headphones for those long bus rides. The contest will take
place through email subscriptions and our social media platforms. 50 people will be selected
randomly as the winners.
Week Seven
Writing of Press Releases
The press releases that will be sent out to newspapers and television news stations will be
constructed and reviewed to make sure that every important detail is included. The press releases
will include information about the brand and the upcoming events we have planned to raise
brand awareness.
Week Eight

Event Touring
The food/travel bus will begin touring targeted cities on the east coast. The bus will be posted at
major spring festivals in predesignated cities. There representatives will distribute free
promotional items, encourage people to search our brand, and spread information about the
brand.
Distribution of Press Releases
The press releases will be sent out to the newspapers and television news stations. The goal is to
be in headlines the following week as we get closer to our target date (Spring Break).
Week Nine
Event Touring
The food/travel bus will continue to travel along the east coast. To keep our audiences engaged
we will begin to encourage people to post a picture of themselves with the travel bus in order to
be recognized on our page and see how far the bus has gone.
Week Ten
Promotional Outreach through Sales
As spring break approaches we will begin to offer deals to consumers through our website and
social media. Discounts may be offered to students who attend universities that we are partnered
with.
For specific dates, view Appendix D.

VII. Budget
There are four main areas that we are focusing this budget on: research, promotional
events, general promotions, and advertisement. The budget is $50,000 and we have ten weeks to
complete the campaign. Research requires 2% of the budget. We used different forms of research
to gather as much information about college students and their travels as possible. We want to
make sure that our promotional videos and events are relatable to our target audience. Within the
2% participants are likely to get paid for the information they contribute to our research.
52% of the budget will be used for outreach and promotional events. We have combined
with Subway and have created a food bus that is designed in the style of the buses the students
would travel in. We plan on taking the truck to a few major festivals on the east coast. At these
events we will have a DJ and a screen with promotional videos playing continuously. The food
will draw more people to the truck, which will lead them to asking about the brand logo.
General promotions requires another 3% of the budget. Within our promotions we plan
on giving away surround sound headphones that are $15 each. We plan on having this giveaway
through our social media platforms and 50 people will win this prize. Also, to start gaining
recognition we plan on giving away lanyards, sunglasses, and bracelets for free at public events

along the east coast. Giving away these free items will begin to put the brands name and logo
out there.
The final 43% of the budget will be used for advertisement purposes. With the remainder
of the budget, we will try to reach our target audiences through social media, radio, television,
newspapers, internet ads, and a website. Our main target audience is constantly using social
media and the internet to retrieve their intel. However, parents and older adults might consume
marketing advertisements through newspapers, television, and the radio. We want to cover all
media mediums and reach everyone within our target audience.
For further information, check Appendix E.

VIII. Measurement
In order to evaluate the progress of our marketing plan, we must measure the success of
our objectives. Our first objective was creating consumer awareness of our brand. Using tools
such as HootSuite or Spout Social that measure the analytics of how much our audience engaged
with our social media (views, favorites, likes, repin and more) improve our plan depending on
the results. We also can create groups that focus on a certain areas of our marketing plan and ask
for their feedback on how well they believe their tactics have worked. Statistical programs will
be implemented into the creation of our website so we can be aware of how many people are
clicking and viewing.
For example, if there is a team that is solely dedicated to the social media of our
company, they can create a compilation of our posts and accounts and give an overview of the
number of followers we have, likes on Facebook and other important details. Another way to
assess our plan is to compare our results after a 6-month period. Typically, this will give us
enough time to observe what strengths and weaknesses our marketing strategies have.
When analyzing the safeness of our company we can send out surveys to our customers
who have used Coastal Travels. We can list questions that focus on the atmosphere, amenities
and changes or improvements that they would want to be made (if any). Something can always
be done better. The surveys can have individuals rate their experience explain their favorite and
least favorite part of a Coastal Travels trip. This will allow us to make any adjustments for future
campaigns.