Silk Almondmilk Non-Traditional Media Plan

Finish With Silk

Summary
Implement Finish With Silk from January 2017 to November 2017 by sponsoring highly attended
marathons across the United States: New York City, NY; Chicago, IL; Orlando, FL; San Francisco,
CA; and Houston, TX (Veling, 2014). Silk Almondmilk is encouraging runners to finish strong by
providing samples of protein smoothies, made with Silk Almondmilk and MRM Veggie Elite protein
powder (Veggie Elite, 2015).

Target Audience
Silk Almondmilk is targeting fit and healthy 25-34 year olds. Health-conscious and active consumers
are likely to be interested in organic products such as Silk Almondmilk and participate or attend
marathons. According to a report from Running USA in 2013, marathons attracted 35% 25-34 year old
females and 25% 25-34 year old males (Harshbarger, 2014).
2013 Annual Marathon Report Age Group Breakdown (Harshbarger, 2014)

Partnering with Veggie Elite

Participants and spectators in each marathon have the opportunity to try a protein smoothie made with
Silk Almondmilk and MRM Veggie Elite at the booths set up near the vicinity of the start and finish
lines. To increase brand awareness among active and fit consumers Silk Almondmilk is providing
protein smoothie samples. Silk Almondmilk will partner with MRM Veggie Elite protein powder,
which uses plant-based ingredients similar to Silk Almondmilk (Veggie Elite, 2015). Consumers who
drink non-dairy milk are more concerned with the harmful effects of artificial ingredients and are
looking for natural products (Mintel-NDM, 2016). MRM Veggie Elite has no artificial flavors, colors,
or sweeteners (Veggie Elite, 2015).

Location/Date
To spread awareness nationally sponsor marathons using booths to pass out samples, coupons, and
raise awareness in these five cities from January to November.
Date

Location

Marathon

January 4- January 8

Orlando, FL

Walt Disney World Marathon

January 13- January 15

Houston, TX

Chevron Houston Marathon

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco Marathon

Chicago, IL

Chicago Marathon

New York City, NY

TCS New York City Marathon

July 21- July 23

October 9
November 4- November 6

Orlando: The Walt Disney World Marathon is the sixth largest marathon in the United States with
over 163,000 participants every year (Walt Disney World Marathon, 2016) In Orlando 48,685 25-34
year olds live (Population Demographics for Orlando, 2016).
Houston: In 2016 the Chevron Houston Marathon attracted over 250,000 participants, spectators, and
volunteers, making it the most attended sporting event in Houston (Chevron Houston Marathon,

2016). In Houston 366,420 25-34 year olds reside in Houston (Population Demographics for Houston,
2016).
San Francisco: In 2016 the San Francisco Marathon reached its largest year yet with over 27,000
participants (San Francisco Marathon, 2016). San Francisco ranks 5th on the healthiest cities in the
U.S. report (Calbay, 2011). 165,130 25-34 year olds live in San Francisco (Population Demographics
for San Francisco, 2016).
Chicago: The Chicago Marathon acquires 45,000 registered entrants with a record of 1.5 million
spectators (Bank of America Chicago Marathon, 2014). Among 37,000 finishers, 33% were 25-34
year olds (Britt, 2013). Silk Almondmilk will receive exposure among a large portion of our target
market with 508,779 25-34 year olds living in Chicago (Population Demographics for Chicago, 2016).

New York City: With 50,000 runners in the New York City Marathon it is the most attended marathon
in the United States (Veling, 2014). Most finishers are 25-34 year olds (Aisch, 2015).

Supporting In-Store Media

Whole Foods Markets located in each of the marathons cities will place Silk Almondmilk
advertisements on shopping carts. The advertisements will include information about the local
marathon, Silk Almondmilks logo and marathon hashtag, #FinishWithSilk. During the weeks leading
up to the marathon all local Whole Food Markets will display an advertisement promoting Silk
Almondmilk above the non-dairy section. Consumers who shop in natural grocery stores are more
likely to purchase Silk Almondmilk.
Supporting Social Media
To create buzz via social media, Silk Almondmilk will host an Instagram contest on the day of each
marathon. To enter the contest participants, spectators, and volunteers will post photos from the
marathon on their personal Instagram accounts using the hashtag #FinishWithSilk. One participant
from each marathon will be chosen to receive one years worth of Silk Almondmilk. This will get the
word out among our target audience and spread awareness on social media. The winner of the contest
will win a years worth of Silk Almondmilk. Instagram is the one of the most popular social media
outlets among 25 - 34 years olds (Becker, 2015).

Create a Snapchat filter that will be accessible surrounding the location of the marathon and be
available to the public, participants, volunteers, and viewers during the event. The filters will be
controlled by location so the runners can post their milemarker, time of race and #FinishWithSilk.
Snapchat is also popular among 25-34 year olds who use social media (Becker, 2015).
Traditional Media
The traditional media used to promote Silk Almondmilk to affluent consumers include; magazines,
billboards, and online advertising. To reach the target market Silk Almondmilk will purchase one full,
full color magazine ad in each of the these magazines from January- November: Shape and Fitness
Issue (MRI 329), Runners World Issue (MRI 320), Weight Watchers Issue (MRI 368). The magazine
ads will include the hashtag #FinishWithSilk to encourage runners during the marathon. Online
advertising revenues are growing more quickly than traditional media revenues but out of house
advertisement remains important. According to consumers and marketers, traditional sources are the
best outlets for marketing and advertising, well ahead other digital media outlets (MarketingCharts
staff).
Billboards will be placed at the most congested street in each city. In New York City, a billboard will
be placed near Lincoln Tunnel between 10th Ave and John F. Kennedy Blvd, one of the biggest sit still
traffic spots in the area in order to expose consumers to the message for a longer time (abc7ny). In
Houston, the ad will be placed near Richmond at Weslayan interaction (Intersections in Houston). In
Chicago, the ad will be placed along the Kennedy Expressway (Chicago Tribune) another very
congested area reaching more consumers. In Orlando, a billboard will be put up in the East Colonial
Drive area (Busiest Streets in Orlando in Florida) and in San Francisco, the billboard ad will be placed
on Castro Street (Double Impact).

Evaluation
To measure the effectiveness of the plan:

Evaluate how many people are switching to Silk Almondmilk by measuring in-store sales before,
during, and after the events.

Evaluate the amount of comments, likes, and follows on Twitter and FaceBook.

Evaluate the amount of contest entries on Instagram.

Evaluate the number of coupons provided at the marathons that are used.

References
Aisch, G. (2015) New York City Marathon in Six Charts. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/30/sports/new-york-marathon-in-six-charts.html?_r=0
Balke, J. (2016). The Most Congested, Confusing and Hated Intersections in Houston. Retrieved from
http://www.houstonpress.com/news/the-most-congested-confusing-and-hated-intersections-in-houston8266928
Bank of America Chicago Marathon. (2014.) Retrieved from http://www.adventure-marathon.com/ChicagoMarathon.aspx

Becker, T. (2015). The 9 Major Social Networks Broken Down By Age - Social Media Week. Retrieved from
https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2015/04/9-major-social-networks-age/
Britt, R. (2013). Chicago Marathon: Racing Advice, Pace Charts, Results Analysis, Comparisons, Photos and
More. Retrieved from http://www.racechicago.org/
Busiest Streets in Orlando in Florida, United States of America. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.gomapper.com/travel/busiest-streets-in/orlando.html
Calbay, C. (2011) The 10 Healthiest Cities in America. Retrieved from
http://running.competitor.com/2011/06/news/the-10-healthiest-cities-in-america-2_30716
Chevron Houston Marathon. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/
Chicago Marathon. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.chicagomarathon.com/participant-information/raceresults/
Harshbarger, R. (2014). Annual Marathon Report. Retrieved from http://www.runningusa.org/index.cfm?
fuseaction=news.details&ArticleId=332
MarketingCharts staff. (2013). Out-of-Home Ads Get High Response Rates From Urban Europeans.
Retrieved from http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/out-of-home-ads-get-high-response-ratesfrom-urban-europeans-28074/
MarketingCharts staff. (2012). Consumers and Marketers Alike Say Traditional Media Best for Advertising.
Retrieved October 06, 2016, from http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/consumers-andmarketers-alike-say-traditional-media-best-for-advertising-24282/
Population Demographics for Orlando, Florida in 2016 and 2015. (2016). Retrieved from
https://suburbanstats.org/population/florida/how-many-people-live-in-orlando
Population Demographics for Houston, Texas in 2016 and 2015. Retrieved from
https://suburbanstats.org/population/texas/how-many-people-live-in-houston
Population Demographics for Chicago, Illinois in 2016 and 2015. (2016). Retrieved from
https://suburbanstats.org/population/illinois/how-many-people-live-in-chicago
Population Demographics for San Francisco, California in 2016 and 2015. (2016). Retrieved from
https://suburbanstats.org/population/california/how-many-people-live-in-san-francisco

Reisman, W. (2012). Double impact: S.F.'s busiest streets as dangerous as ever. Retrieved from
http://archives.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/double-impact-sfs-busiest-streets-as-dangerous-asever/Content?oid=2197643
San Francisco Marathon. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.thesfmarathon.com/
TCS New York City Marathon. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.tcsnycmarathon.org/
Veggie Elite. (2015). Retrieved from http://mrm-usa.com/shop/protein/veggie-elite/
Veling, J. (2014). The Biggest Marathons in the US. Retrieved from
http://www.active.com/running/articles/the-biggest-marathons-in-the-u-s
Walt Disney World Marathon. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.rundisney.com/disneyworld-marathon/

Wronski, R. (2016). Kennedy Expressway tops new list of nation's most congested highways. Retrieved from
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-kennedy-congestion-met-20151123-story.html
9 of the nation's worst bottlenecks are right here! (2015). Retrieved from http://abc7ny.com/traffic/9-of-thenations-worst-bottlenecks-are-right-here/1095908/