gabb final plan

Tenleytown with a Millennial Accent

4400 Massachusetts Ave NWWashington, DC 20016

Phone: 202885100 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: gabbconsultants.com

G A B B C o n s u l t a n t s 2

Executive Summary

The American University Public Relations Research Class of Spring 2015 conducted a study of Tenleytown and American University student’s perception of the area. The purpose of the study was to reveal any patterns in the student’s perception of Tenleytown in order to better define the area and offer recommendations that would elevate the neighborhood’s standing in the District of Columbia. For our primary research, we prepared a web survey with 100 respondents, a focus group, and five interviews. We also used secondary research such as the census to produce our conclusions.

Our objectives were as follows: Understand how American University students perceive Tenleytown Understand what type of people are living in Tenleytown Compare Tenleytown to other prominent D.C. neighborhoods Suggest improvements to the Tenleytown area that will elevate it’s reputation in the

District of Columbia

Meet Our TeamIn 2014, four inspired Communications students who come from all over the country and from all walks of life founded GABB Consultants. After spending a number of years in the Washington D.C. area, GABB noticed some changes that needed to be made. They took the initiative to tackle some of the biggest rebranding efforts in the DMV area and continue the legacy by rearranging the character of an area close to their heart: Tenleytown- American University Park.


Table of ContentsExecu t i ve Summary .............................................................................2I N T R O D U C T I O N & R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S ...............................................4L I T E R A T U R E R E V I E W ...............................................................................6R E S E A R C H M E T H O D O L O G Y .....................................................................8R E S E A R C H L I M I T A T I O N S ......................................................................11C O M P E T I T I V E L A N D S C A P E A N D E T H N O G R A P H I E S ...........................12C O M M U N I C A T I O N A U D I T .......................................................................14C E N S U S R E S E A R C H ................................................................................15O V E R A L L F I N D I N G S ...............................................................................16C O M M U N I C A T I O N S T R A T E G Y D O C U M E N T ..........................................17C O N C L U S I O N ...........................................................................................20I N F O G R P A H I C ..........................................................................................21Personas ................................................................................................22P R E S S R E L E A S E ......................................................................................25W O R K S C I T E D .........................................................................................27


INTRODUCTION & RECOMMENDATIONS

Here are our recommendations on how to achieve Tenleytown with a millennial accent: Keep it suburban

o Recognizing that the majority of the people here are not students and have higher disposable incomes, we do not want to turn Tenleytown into a bar scene that you would find in areas such as Dupont Circle or Foggy Bottom.

Expand Tenleytown’s social media engagement and appeal to the younger demographic that feels underrepresented in the area

Bring in stores that will appeal to the wide range of audiences that we have

Our recommendations take the actual demographics of Tenleytown into account to suggest realistic improvements that will enhance the area’s overall resident satisfaction and reputation. We want to embrace its suburban feel that has drawn the higher income families into the area, while still intertwining the city feel that many of the other D.C. neighborhoods can claim.

The American University Spring 2015 PR Research class, under the auspice of GABB Consultants, conducted this study for the Tenleytown Association. The purpose of this survey was to understand how Tenleytown is perceived by American University students, to gain insights into how it is positioned against other District of Columbia neighborhoods, and suggest improvements to make it appealing to the demographics that reside in the area. The study was prepared utilizing primary and secondary research.

Through our research we found that the majority of American University students are dissatisfied with the Tenleytown area. Originally, GABB consultants assumed that to enhance Tenleytown we would need to make it more appealing to the younger demographic that resides here; however, through further research our original hypothesis was proven incorrect. Utilizing census research and ethnographies, we analyzed other areas in the District of Columbia in hopes of finding ways that Tenleytown could emulate those neighborhoods.

After gathering all of our research for the Tenleytown area, we realized that the majority of people residing in this area were not AU students. In fact, the majorities of people living in Tenleytown are of a higher age group and have a higher disposable income. We also realized through our ethnographies that we would never be able to recreate the environment and culture of places like Foggy Bottom or Dupont, and therefore should try to enhance Tenleytown’s own brand rather than trying to replicate another neighborhood’s.


Our overall goal is to rebrand the area as Tenleytown with a millennial accent. This means that we want to keep the suburban and family-feel that Tenleytown has established while still making the area appealing to a younger demographic to enhance its overall reputation to all age groups.

1. Targeta. Cheaper prices and convenience appeals to college students; however, it also is

able to bring in families with higher disposable incomes who would like to do more of their shopping in one place.

2. Restaurant with a bar feel, i.e. Buffalo Wild Wings or Hootersa. We want this type of restaurant to add to the number of sit down eating

establishments in the area. b. A restaurant with a bar feel will not shock the older residents but will also appeal

to the younger demographic. 3. 24/7 Diner

a. We need late night places to combat the idea that the neighborhood shuts down by 10pm; however, we don’t want the more influential neighbors to get angry about the changes that we are suggesting. Therefore, a cheaper diner option that has a well-planned theme will be versatile enough to attract drunken college students in the wee hours of the morning, but will also appeal to families with children during the day.

4. Coffee shopa. Students noted that they needed more social areas in the neighborhood. Some

students need to travel to other DC neighborhoods to visit coffee shops where they can be social and still fulfill their roles as students.

b. We suggest a coffee shop such as Tryst, which offers a different atmosphere than Starbucks.

5. Enhance Tenleytown’s social environment through minor aesthetic changesa. By channeling the feel of downtown Bethesda we will upgrade Tenleytown with

more benches and quainter lighting to give the area a warmer feel at night and creating a more social environment that will make people want to spend time at the new places we have brought into the area.


L ITERATURE REVIEW

Most of the literature available on this topic was a summary of the Tenleytown area development. This included the history of settlement and transportation upgrades over the years that allowed residents to access the downtown area with ease. This literature allowed us to analyze Tenleytown’s previous path of growth in order to decide the best way to take Tenleytown’s future.

In a few cases, non-scholarly articles referenced the experience of students living here for a few years and how they felt about the Tenleytown area, describing the neighborhood as observers. In an article from a previous American University student, he describes how hard it is for many lower income students to live affordably in the Tenleytown, American University Park area (Allyn 2009). He wrote about feeling like an outsider amongst his privileged classmates who did not have a problem paying for housing in the surrounding American University area or other living expenses such as groceries. He also mentioned hoe he feels that the area is whitewashed and upper class with little diversity (Allyn 2009).

In a scholarly report describing the modernization of Washington’s neighborhoods, Jones (2012) quotes an anthropologist named Katheryn Schneider Smith when she wrote that “neighborhoods [in Washington DC] are organic, not official, and their boundaries and even their names change over time. The differing boundaries of civic and citizens associations, advisory commissions, school districts, and census tracts can be confusing” (Jones 2012). This description of neighborhoods really helped solidify our issues with defining Tenleytown. Without concrete borders, it was hard for us to decide which areas needed the most attention or improvement (Jones 2012). However this article really helped us realize that neighborhoods are living things. They grow and shrink and change over time, and there were only little pieces we could add to help make any of these changes permanent or affective in our objectives (Jones 2012).

Jones also mentions in his repot that Smith references other examples of areas that disappear and re-emerge such as Pleasant Plains and Columbia Heights, which merged with Cardozo in the mid 20th century, only to most recently re-emerge as Pleasant Plains and Columbia Heights (Jones 2012). Smith also points out “Tenleytown disappeared for much of the 20th century, but came back on a new Metrorail station in the 1980s” (Jones 2012). It seems that Tenleytown was given a rebirth as the neighborhood became more accessible to the downtown commuters. Smith also gives examples of neighborhoods created by third parties, such as Shaw, which was labeled by city officials, and of North Cleveland Park, which was created by real estate agents (Jones 2012). With continued development and demographic changes, the boundaries and identities of neighborhoods will continue to evolve, as will the residents and structures they contain.

The Tenleytown Historical Society, the entity responsible for the many educating plaques around the area, describe Tenleytown as “D.C.'s second oldest village, which was originally part of a sizable tract of land called "Friendship," named in recognition of the amicable relationship between the two grantees (Tenleytown Historical Society 2015). A 1791


survey of River Road shows Tennally's Tavern at the intersection of River Road and what is today Wisconsin Avenue (Tenleytown Historical Society 2015). This popular tavern in the heart of the area is what gave Tenleytown its name. However, people mispronounced the name of the tavern so often that the name of the neighborhood quickly changed to Tenley. Overtime, the village of Tenleytown grew around this major intersection.

The Civil War brought many troops to the Tenleytown area and the construction of Fort Reno. As the highest natural point in the District, 411 feet above sea level, Fort Reno was an essential part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington (Tenleytown Historical Society 2015). After the war had ended, Tenleytown reverted to a rural village. Both whites and free blacks stayed behind and resided in Tenleytown, as well as the entry of German immigrants responding to advertisements for cheap land (Tenleytown Historical Society 2015). This began Tenleytown’s transition into a more populous community, with many more changes on the way.

The remains of the neighborhood were wiped out when several schools, such as Woodrow Wilson, were built in order to being urban renewal. Fort Reno was demolished and the reservoir was built on its site. Electric streetcars arrived in 1890 providing easier access to downtown, but it was only in the second and third decades of the 20th century that residential development led to the densely populated area we experience today (Shannon 2010). The area became a commercial center in 1941, when Sears opened a huge store, shown in the photo below. The Sears was later redeveloped and now houses the Best Buy and Container Store (Shannon 2010). The area developed throughout the twentieth century with the help of the streetcar and its proximity to American University, which admitted its first class in 1914. In 1984 the Metro opened and brought the Tenleytown-AU metro stop, making downtown once again very accessible to the suburban residents (Shannon 2010).

P i c t u r e d a b o v e i s t h e l a r g e S e a r s s u p e r s t o r e t h a t s i t s o n t h e c o r n e r o f W i s c o n s i n a n d A l b e m a r l e , w h e r e t h e B e s t B u y i s n o w l o c a t e d .


RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

We compiled extensive quantitative and qualitative research over the course of two months. Our quantitative research involved a survey distributed to 100 American University students and U.S. census research. Our qualitative research involves a focus group panel and Man on the Street interviews. We also conducted ethnographies of the Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom neighborhoods to gain insights on what they were doing well and what we could potentially incorporate into the Tenleytown area. Below is our analysis of our research methods:

T h e m a j o r i t y o f s t u d e n t s s u r v e y e d a r e d i s s a t i s fi e d w i t h T e n l e y t o w n .

W h i l e 5 6 % w e r e d i s s a t i s fi e d , o n l y 3 1 % r e s p o n d e d t h a t t h e y w e r e s a t i s fi e d w i t h t h e a r e a . 1 3 % w e r e n e u t r a l .

B a s e d o n t h i s s u r v e y , w e c a n n o t c o n c l u d e w h e t h e r o r n o t g e n d e r o r l i v i n g o n c a m p u s i m p a c t s s t u d e n t s ’ b e l i e f s . W h i l e a n o v e r v i e w o f t h e r e s u l t s s h o w t h a t o ff -c a m p u s s t u d e n t s a r e s l i g h t l y m o r e s a t i s fi e d w i t h t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d , i t i s n o t s t a t i s t i c a l l y s i g n i fi c a n t e n o u g h t o m a k e a n y c o n c l u s i o n s .


Survey AnalysisSatisfaction:The survey results clearly show that American University students do not enjoy the Tenleytown area. While only 31% of respondents said that they were satisfied with Tenleytown, 56% said that they were dissatisfied. Based on our cross-tabulation analysis of our survey results, American University students’ opinions of Tenleytown do not seem to be affected by whether or not they live on campus. Similarly, there is no major difference among male and female respondents on this question.

Retail:An extremely small proportion of the respondents agree that Tenleytown has a good variety of retail while 83% of them think that Tenleytown does not have a good variety of retail. In terms of shopping, men are evenly split about whether or not they like to shop in Tenleytown. Women, however, were not as evenly split. 55% of women responded that they enjoy shopping in Tenleytown while 45% said that they do not. This suggests that women are not able to meet their shopping needs in the area as much as men. During a content analysis of the free-response portion of the survey that asked what students thought were missing from Tenleytown, “retail” and its synonyms were mentioned 37 times, more than anything else. About 15 of those involved the word “clothing” and its synonyms.

Restaurants:Students are not as critical of Tenleytown’s dining options as they are their retail options. 48% of students agree that Tenleytown has a good variety of restaurants. Only 27% disagree. In fact, 66% of respondents named dining locations as their favorite location in Tenleytown. The other third responded a retail location. Amongst these dining locations, Cava and Chipotle were the most popular, suggesting that students prefer cheaper dining options than more expensive restaurants.

Entertainment:

W h e n a s k e d w h e t h e r o r n o t t h e y a g r e e “ T e n l e y t o w n h a s a g o o d v a r i e t y o f _ _ _ _ _ , ” s t u d e n t s r e s p o n d e d o v e r w h e l m i n g t h a t t h e y d o n o t b e l i e v e T e n l e y t o w n h a s a g o o d v a r i e t y o f r e t a i l o r e n t e r t a i n m e n t . T h e y w e r e m o r e s p l i t w h e n i t c a m e t o r e s t a u r a n t s , w i t h 4 8 % o f s t u d e n t s b e l i e v i n g t h a t t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d h a s g o o d r e s t a u r a n t s .

G A B B C o n s u l t a n t s 1 0

Our survey respondents agreed most on the topic of entertainment. When asked whether or not they agree that Tenleytown has a good variety of entertainment, only 2% of respondents agreed. An astonishing 94% of respondents say they disagree on some level. Our findings were similar when we asked what was missing from Tenleytown. During our content analysis of these open-ended results, we learned that “nightlife” and “entertainment”, as well as their synonyms, were mentioned a total of 25 times throughout the open-ended response. Among these were bars, clubs, and movie theatres. More generally, the word “fun” was mentioned ten times.

Focus Group Analysis

Our focus group participants were aligned with most of the suggestion and areas of need in Tenleytown. Most of these ideas highlighted the very millennial desires that we have recommended. These include coffee shops, bars, retail stores, and more sit down dining options.

Other areas covered in our focus group were defining the Tenleytown region. Most of our participants had a different idea in mind when they thought of Tenleytown. A few agreed it was the particularly well-known strip surrounding the metro stop. Others defined Tenleytown as all of Wisconsin Ave area up to the Maryland border and all of the included residential areas of the American University Park vicinity. We came to the conclusion here that the area of Tenleytown is hard to define and could mean different things to people depending on where they live within Tenleytown. Participants agreed that Tenleytown needs more evening hangouts, activities, and overall better nightlife. Tenleytown is pretty much closed after 10:00 P.M. even on the weekends. This is why we suggested a few more late night options to satisfy the student group of our demographics.

Overall, Tenleytown has many satisfying factors for the residents, because at this point it has all of the necessities, but there is currently nothing special that is attracting residents for more than just errands or a casual dinner out.

Man on the Street Analysis

Using content analysis, we transcribed our Man on the Street interviews to review areas of overlap, patterns, and repeated suggestions. Restaurant as the most repeated word in the interviews, but sometimes it was referred to as something Tenleytown has a lot of, but what also attracted them to other neighborhoods in DC. Dupont Circle was most frequently mentioned as an area that they like to visit in their free time. This is what led us to select Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom as our ethnography studied areas.

RESEARCH L IMITATIONS

Due to limited resources, GABB consultants focused our research on American University students. We were unable to survey or talk to other residents of the Tenleytown area. This


limits our survey results because we had to make assumptions that they were happy with Tenleytown due to the fact that they decided to establish permanent residence here.

Our research also lacked business input from the existing business owners. We assumed that they are doing well in the area and focused our research on building off the existing structure and reputation this neighborhood already has.

Some of our limitations started from the very basis of our quantitative research. Our man on the street research was limited to only American University students. We were also limited in our focus group as our sample size was only females under the age of 21. Although this is an accurate representation of the School of Communications, it may not be the best sample size to generate balanced perceptions and ideas about the Tenleytown area. Overall, our male voice is lacking in our research, which represents another limitation of our survey, especially since our cross-tab analysis suggests that there may be a difference in how men and women perceive retail in Tenleytown.

An important limitation that must be noted is that our survey research was not a random sample and cannot truly be representative of the American University population. However, due to our background knowledge of the area we assume that the results are accurate enough for us to draw our conclusions and recommendations from.


COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE AND ETHNOGRAPHIES

Through our research, we compare neighborhoods with similar assets to Tenleytown to see if we can gather information about how to make Tenleytown more versatile.

The most obvious choice was a comparative analysis with Foggy Bottom, due to the fact that it houses George Washington University, which makes it similar to Tenleytown with American University.

Through an analysis of stores, organizations, and businesses within three blocks of the Foggy Bottom metro, it was revealed that there are a much wider variety of options than the three-block radius from the Tenleytown metro station. While it must be noted that Foggy Bottom and Tenleytown are completely different environments with Foggy Bottom having a downtown vibe while Tenleytown is a more suburban area, it is important to note Foggy Bottom’s qualities that are working well if Tenleytown wants to emulate some of those characteristics.

Important similarities to note between Foggy Bottom and Tenleytown as a whole include the fact that both areas house major executive departments with Foggy Bottom having the State Department and Tenleytown having Homeland Security. Both areas have hospitals with Foggy Bottoms George Washington University Hospital and Tenleytown housing Sibley Medical Center. Furthermore, the similar environments with the universities indicate that there are many of the same type of people who are entering this area for things such as education and work.

Here is a sample of the list of places within three blocks of the Foggy Bottom Metro station:

· GW University Hospital· The Shops at 2000 Penn· Kaz Sushi Bistro· Miriam’s Kitchen· GW· Whole Foods· TGI Fridays· Founding Farmers· Capitol Grounds Coffee· CIRCA at Foggy Bottom

· Citibank ATM· Burger Tap and Shake· Devon & Blakely· District Commons· Panda café· Auntie Anne’s Pretzels· 7-11· sweetgreen· roti

Through our qualitative research and speaking to the people in interviews and focus groups many seemed to think highly of Dupont Circle. Through our competitive landscape we found that Dupont is a bustling area with a wide variety of businesses and offices. The diversity of bars and restaurants in a very condensed space also makes it a popular spot for nightlife in DC due to the convenience of the neighborhood. This area has a wide variety of people coming in during the day for work and coming in at night for the nightlife, and this area fulfills all of their needs due to its wide array of options. s.


Through a review of Yelp, it revealed that many people noted the large circle in the center of Dupont Circle as a great place to sit and socialize. Many people in our interviews noted that Tenleytown lacked a social gathering area. They also noted Dupont for its bustling nightlife, which may be harder to emulate in Tenleytown due to its suburban atmosphere, but still possible to take some of those qualities to upgrade the area a bit to appeal to a younger demographic.

We also conducted a comparative analysis looking at up and coming areas of the District of Columbia including the Brookland neighborhood. We wanted to see what this neighborhood in particular was attempting to do to improve the area in order to see if we could gain any ideas for Tenleytown.

Through our analysis of Foggy Bottom, Dupont, and Brookland we really saw that Tenleytown will never be those neighborhoods. For Foggy Bottom and Dupont, the structure of the area with the urban feel helps to contribute to the high quantity of places with a large variety. For Brookland, they are trying to establish a reputation from an area that was once not as well known. Tenleytown does not fit into any of these boxes. In fact, Tenleytown has an established reputation and that is its suburbs in the city environment.

This research helped us pivot from our original hypothesis of what we would recommend after realizing that we would never be able to create a similar atmosphere due to the established structure in Tenleytown and that is okay. Instead, we set out to create a millennial accent drawing from some of the ideas in these other areas but still promoting and supporting the suburban feel of the area.

The Foggy Bottom atmosphere with sit down restaurants with a bar feel really helped to spark the idea of a place like Buffalo Wild Wings for Tenleytown. GABB consultants felt that this would attract a younger demographic without shocking the older people who have established permanent residence in the area. Dupont and the Yelp comments regarding their love for the benches in the circle, helped us realize that a downtown Bethesda feel would work really well on the main strip of Tenleytown to pull all of our recommendations together and aesthetically enhance the area.

Finally the important realization came from our analysis of Brookland that was fighting to establish itself as an up and coming neighborhood. This analysis made us realize that Tenleytown has a personality and that we don’t need to change that. This area has a high-income bracket with a strong suburban feel. While our survey takers were adamant about their dissatisfaction with the area, they do not make up the entire demographic, and we saw that the suburban feel attracts many people. Overall, in order to please the younger demographic that felt dissatisfied we realized we just need to add millennial accents to make this neighborhood better rounded.


COMMUNICATION AUDIT

Currently, the DC BID Council has nine districts. Founded in 2005, the closest BID to Tenleytown is Adams Morgan. This one in particular is geared towards cleaning up the neighborhood and keeping illegal activity off the street in order to promote the dining and entertainment venues in the Adams Morgan neighborhood (Adams Morgan Online 2015). The Golden Triangle, an area made up of three of the busiest six metro stops in the city, is an example of how successful BIDs can be (DCEP 2015). The Golden Triangle BID focused mainly on ensuring the neighborhood is clean and pleasant to be in and look at (DCEP 2015). This includes assuring the streets remain clean and enhancing their parks, including three national parks (DCEP 2015). Since it is in the downtown area, a lot of the improvements have been targeted to attract businesses and tourists. This includes making the area accessible to visitors who do not speak English or are deaf or visually impaired (DCEP 2015). According to DC BID, it is not an easy task creating a BID. It takes local property owners, tenants, and other interested stakeholders to get one up and running (DC BID Council 2011). Early stages involve establishing an exploratory committee, fundraising, and establishing a BID as a nonprofit (DC BID Council 2011). It must then be submitted to the mayor and approved (DC BID Council 2011).

Tenleytown does not have a BID (DCEP 2015). Tenleytown does have a Wordpress website and Twitter page that is updated frequently. These updates truly range, from specials and promotions Tenleytown restaurants are having to minutes from the Woodrow Wilson high school board meetings. There’s does not seem to be a specific, intended audience for Tenleytown’s online media. A stay at home mother of two is probably not interested in Tenley Pub’s happy hour specials in the same way an AU student is not interested in the Wilson school debate notes. In order to more effectively target its various demographics, Tenleytown should consider more than one twitter feed.

Tenleytown’s twitter (Twitter.com/Tenleytown_DC) is unique for a DC neighborhood Twitter in that it is really only the only Twitter account devoted to the neighborhood. Other neighborhoods such as Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle have several twitter feeds dedicated to them; it is hard to tell which the neighborhood association officially runs. Tenleytown can use this to its advantage, as they will have better control over the message. But because there is only one feed that must be used to target various demographics, it is important to have a healthy balance between important updates for residents and more exciting news about events and promotions. Tenleytown is part of ANC 3E, one of the 37 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions in Washington (ANC 3E 2015). While ANC 3E also has a Twitter page (Twitter.com/tenleyanc), it is mainly dedicated to news alerts such as crime and traffic advisories.


CENSUS RESEARCH

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2008-2012 American Community SurveyAmerican Community Survey 2013 - Census Bureau

We gathered our census data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008-2012 American Community Survey. By using this data from our focus neighborhood (Foggy Bottom and Dupont Circle), we were able to create comparisons that would help us improve the Tenleytown area. Foggy Bottom is our first comparison as it replicates a local college area in D.C., and Dupont Circle is our second due to its popular nightlife. A strong reason for Tenleytown’s differentiation is its population. The population is slightly over 34,000 people, while Foggy Bottom is only slightly over 14,000, and Dupont Circle is at 5,000. Tenleytown displays its distinction with huge age discrepancies and a median age of 37.8. Foggy Bottom is at a median of 27.5; and Dupont Circle’s median age is at 31. Clearly Tenleytown is skewing at a higher age range, even with the entirety of American University.

There are more adults between 35 to 74 years old than college aged students; these adults have the higher disposable income. The mean household income in Tenleytown, $185,768, is higher than both Foggy Bottom’s ($134,002) and Dupont Circle ($97,947). The age ranges go up and down in the ACS census but the largest bracket in Tenleytown is 45 to 54 years old. Tenleytown has the most people and 14,877 housing units whereas Foggy Bottom only has 6,667 housing units. Tenleytown is also considered a white suburban area with the largest white population between the three neighborhoods at 83.2%. From the census research and ethnography GABB consultants established two key demographics within Tenleytown. The first group is wealthy influential, couples, and prestigious families. The second group is younger, urban edge singles, which have low disposable incomes.

Median Age

Population White Asian African American

Hispanic or Latino

Mean household

income

Unemployed

Tenleytown 37.8 years

34,114 83.2% 5.9% 5.3% 8.5% $185,768 831

Dupont Circle

31 years

5,207 73.7% 11.2% 5.1% 7.1% $97,947 152

Foggy Bottom

27.5 years

14,502 74.6% 12.5% 7.8% 8.4% $134,002 392

The above chart illustrates the differences between the three neighborhoods in terms of median age, population size, racial makeup, and economic status.


OVERALL F INDINGS

With in-depth qualitative research we have discovered our Key Findings of the Tenleytown case. This suburban area of Washington DC has many

influential residents that increase the mean household income to $185,768 and the median age to 37.8. Overall in our survey we have seen the

dissatisfaction from college aged demographic in Tenleytown. In fact, 56% of students are dissatisfied with Tenleytown. Satisfaction was higher when

asked about the variety of restaurants in the area, but the numbers proved high dissatisfaction in the area of entertainment and retail.

The majority of Tenleytown residents are not American University students and therefore we cannot narrowly appeal to only their age bracket. The goal is to continue to establish this suburban area for the Tenleytown majority, yet add comprisable millennial options. This older majority has higher disposable incomes than the comparative neighborhoods like Foggy Bottom and Dupont

Circle. Therefore, these findings shaped our recommendations to create holistic ideas that would be sustainable in an established suburban area.


COMMUNICATION STRATEGY DOCUMENT

Current Situations/Background

GABB consultants set out to gather primary and secondary research that would provide key insights into the perception of Tenleytown and reveal areas that could be improved.

A variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to gain a better understanding of American University students’ perception of Tenleytown. These results suggested that there is a deep dissatisfaction with the neighborhood. In fact, 56% of students surveyed were dissatisfied with Tenleytown whereas only 31% were satisfied. Based on our focus panel and interviews, we determined that there was dissatisfaction regarding Tenleytown’s retail, restaurants, and entertainment. The survey backed this up, especially the dissatisfaction towards retail and entertainment. When asked if they agree with the statement that “Tenleytown has a good variety of retail” and “Tenleytown has a good variety of entertainment,” students responded strongly with 83% and 94% disagreeing, respectively.

Tenleytown has an established reputation of being the suburb within the city. People recognize Tenleytown for its normal houses with fences, while most other areas in the District of Columbia feature townhouses or apartment complexes. This area has brought people in who want to have more property and have a suburban feel to come home to without giving up their DC address. Previous communications establishing Tenleytown has this quiet retreat from the bustling city has been successful; however, we feel that it has kept Tenleytown from making necessary upgrades and improvements to appeal to a wider demographic.

Overall Project Objectives

Our objectives were as follows: Understand how American University students perceive Tenleytown Understand what type of people are living in Tenleytown Compare Tenleytown to other prominent DC neighborhoods Suggest improvements to the Tenleytown area that will elevate it’s reputation in the

District of ColumbiaCommunications Objectives

As a result of our communications research we hope to make necessary changes that will add a millennial accent to the already established suburban atmosphere of Tenleytown. Our communication activities can help achieve our project targets listed above by recommending


enhancements that will promote a stronger and more cohesive brand for the neighborhood based on our research. Then, we can promote those changes via traditional and new media channels to elevate the neighborhood’s overall reputation within the District of Columbia.

We recognize that bringing in new businesses will take a longer time frame, larger budget, and more resources; however, our recommendations simply build off of an existing structure established in the neighborhood and will gradually occur to shift the perception of Tenleytown.

We want to add the millennial accent to the area and then build awareness of the project among a wide group of audiences that are familiar with DC neighborhoods.

We want to satisfy existing residents and college students by recommending businesses that will strike a reasonable compromise and benefit the wide array of people living here.

Encourage engagement via social media channels to reach a larger network and draw consumers into the neighborhood to boost the area’s economy.

Target Audience

The target audience of our communications strategy includes: Existing Tenleytown residents who have established permanent residence in the area

o We want to reach them through community newsletters to highlight the changes and justify the reasoning

o Assure them that we are not looking to recreate Tenleytown or bring a “party” feel to the environment

American University studentso We want to communicate with them via social media channels where we can

drive engagement and reach a large network of younger people o We want to showcase the new improvements that we have made specifically to

appeal to themo Create a sense of pride in the area

Potential homeowners o We want to draw in new homeowners by showcasing the suburban feel of the

area o Highlight the new improvements that will drive the overall popularity of the area

Business ownerso We want them to create open and transparent communication channels with

existing business owners Make them feel comfortable with the changes that are going on around

them Encourage them to make improvements within their business to enhance

overall environment Potential new business owners

o Showcase the large demographics that Tenleytown has the ability to appeal too Showcase the higher disposable income that is available in the area


Secondary audiences Media Outlets

o Pitch news stories that highlight our embrace of our suburban atmosphere and highlight the millennial accents that we are bringing to the area

o Elevate Tenleytown’s overall reputation to emphasize its suburb within the city atmosphere and reposition it as a high end neighborhood with flare

City Officials o Promote our changes to bring city officials into the neighborhood and reinvigorate

Tenleytown pride

Communications Mix

External Communications Mix Press Press release Radio Opinion editorial Features

Online Newsletter Facebook Twitter Instagram

In order to highlight the millennial accent we are looking to revamp Tenleytown’s digital strategy. Also, with a stronger social media presence we will be able to establish a stronger relationship with the area and the younger demographic that our research revealed feels underrepresented.

Some of our digital strategy includes the following tactics: #TBT

o Every Thursday we will post a #tbt (photo from the past) on our social channels to highlight Tenleytown history.

o Through highlighting historical statistics we hope to create a sense of pride in the area with our followers.

Deal of the Dayo Each post we will feature a special deal or discount happening at a store in

Tenleytown to drive businesso This will help highlight some of the new additions we hope to bring to the area.

Market Tenleytown as a suburb in the cityo Utilize posts that will showcase the new, young, & fresh atmosphere.

We will also include more traditional, controlled-media techniques. This includes news features on local television channels, including American University’s own TV network, AUATV. We will


also include advertising on newspaper print, radio broadcasts, brochures, and posters. We will seek to gain endorsements from well-known city officials and hold at least one event every three months to spread awareness of Tenleytown’s new campaign and the steps it is taking to rebrand it.

CONCLUSION

GABB consultants conducted a survey to understand how American University students perceive Tenleytown and to determine how it measures up to the competition of other District of Columbia neighborhoods. Using primary and secondary research, we sought to suggest practical, achievable recommendations to make Tenleytown attractive and fulfill the needs of the demographics that reside in the area.

The research conducted helped us determine our original hypothesis of emulating a neighborhood such as Foggy Bottom is never what we would recommend for Tenleytown. We would not be able to create a similar atmosphere due to the established structure in Tenleytown, and that is perfectly okay. Instead, we set out to create a millennial accent onto the suburban environment. Still drawing some ideas from other neighboring areas such as Bethesda, Brookland, Foggy Bottom, and Dupont Circle.

American University students are dissatisfied with the Tenleytown area and with efforts to appease both older and younger demographics we need to make realistic improvements. In fact, the majorities of people living in Tenleytown are of a higher age group and have a higher disposable income. Therefore, taking this into account for the satisfaction of all residents, and suggesting this overall millennial re-branding of suburbia. This involves bringing in stores that appeal to a wide range of audiences (such as Target), social media engagement, enhancing the restaurant scene with a sports bar/restaurant atmosphere, and a 24/7 diner to combat the early closure of this neighborhood. Keeping the suburban feel we just want to add a millennial accent to Tenleytown.


INFOGRPAHIC


Personas

Hyona Kim is a 20-year-old woman. She was born and raised in Korea, but is currently studying international relations in Washington, D.C. Not only is she new to D.C., but also she is new to America, as she has only spent one year in the U.S. prior to attending college. Hyona is introverted and shy, but she was able to make a lot of friends in the dorms during her freshman year. Hyona moved off campus for her sophomore year in order to save money since she helps pay for her education along with her parents, but is still struggling to pay bills. She cooks

most of her meals for this same reason and is always looking for the latest sales at the grocery store and attends weekly street markets for fresher and cheaper ingredients.

She is incredibly bright and impresses many of her professors with her critical thinking and passion for global human rights. She hopes to become a diplomat, focusing on improvised nations southern Asia. She hopes to remain in D.C. to pursue a master degree, but fears she is not going to be able to afford rent after graduation without a fulltime job.

She needs affordable rent that will allow her to pursue her education after she graduates. She also needs a variety of food vendors that offer affordable yet healthy foods and ingredients to enable her to cook. Finally, she desires public transportation to get her to school and work.

Michael Whims is a 22-year-old man. He is wrapping up his undergraduate career is and is ready to enter the real world. He plans to stay in D.C. and intern in a law firm for a year while studying for the LSATs and applying to law school. Michael is fortunate enough to have full financial support from his parents, who are fairly well off. So, he is not too concerned about finding affordable housing. He spends most nights traveling the city looking for new and unique places to dine, but he prefers not to travel too far.

Michael is very loud, but kindhearted. His energy fills the room, especially when he goes out drinking with friends on the weekends. He loves trying different breweries but is disappointed in how few D.C. has.

Looking forward, Michael does not plan to stay in Washington, D.C. too long. He plans on going to law school on the West Coast or somewhere warmer. While he appreciates the resources D.C. has to offer, he does not enjoy the seriousness of the city.


The Perrin FamilyThe Perrins live in the surrounding area behind American University and have lived there for a couple of years. Mother, Sandra Perrin, is a successful nonprofit lawyer who works in Georgetown full time. Father, David Perrin, works at Homeland Security as an

analyst right around the corner from their four-bedroom home. Sandra and David have two children, Emily, six, and Maxwell, 4.

Both children attend a well-known preparatory school in the area, and are taken care of by their German au pair. The children both participate in league sports in the neighborhood with other children their age. Mom and Dad both drive luxury cars to work, David in a BMW, Sandra in an Audi. The family recently added another member to their family, Zoe, a chocolate lab puppy.

The Perrin’s do most of their grocery shopping at stores that focus on healthy, organic options such as Trader Joes and Whole Foods. The cost is worth the value in Sandra’s mind, because she wants her kids eating the best food they can provide. Sandra reads many influential parenting magazines that help her keep up to date on what foods are the best for her two growing children, and any foods or products to avoid in the market. David plays golf in the wealthier parts of Maryland such as Potomac with his coworkers and neighbors. Sandra often plays tennis and attends pilates at their local gym. The family will often go for long walks in the neighborhood or through Battery Park.


Rose Wilson is 74-years-old woman living in with her daughter in the Tenleytown area. Also within the household are Rose’s three grandchildren and son-in-law. All three children attend Janey Elementary School, where Rose will often pick them up after school. Rose’s daughter and son-in-law work downtown with government agencies. Rose volunteers most of her free time at the St. Anne’s Catholic Church on Wisconsin Ave. Rose appreciates the proximity and convenience of the Tenleytown retail

stores, which makes it easy for her to grocery shop with her family but still retain some independence when she wishes to carry out errands on her own.

Rose has several friends in the area that live in apartment residential buildings. Rose can often be found in the Tenleytown/Friendship Public Library just a few blocks from her house. She uses much of her free time reading books for herself and to her grandchildren. They usually go to Panera every Wednesday afternoon to catch up, but she often feels that the environment is too overridden with middle schoolers during the afternoon rush in addition to rude college students. Rose doesn’t want to leave the Tenleytown area because she enjoys being close to the city and living with her family, but many aspects of Tenleytown have her seeking a more retiree-friendly area.

Kevin Thomas is a 19-year-old male business school student. He is currently sending out applications to transfer to a different school. While he enjoys the strong business program Kogod has to offer, he feels like his school is very boring and lacks social life outside of the AU Campus environment.

While the Greek Life community is thriving, Kevin likes to use his free time exploring the city via its nightlife. However, this is hard to do even within the general vicinity of his college campus. Tenleytown does not currently offer many bar or club options for undergraduate students. The most well known bar is pretty upscale even when offering good deals during happy hour, and wants something a little less formal to do with his fraternity brothers. Kevin hears

from his high school friends that attend George Washington and Georgetown University that their classmates leave campus as often as possible to attend national league basketball, hockey, and baseball games. This aspect of being in the city is very appealing to Kevin, but he is torn because he likes the campus feel of attending American University.


PRESS RELEASE

GABB Consultants Contact Info:4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW Andrew SerratoWashington, D.C. Partner at GABB Consultants

[email protected] January 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

American University Students Dissatisfied With Tenleytown NeighborhoodWASHINGTON, D.C.

A new public opinion poll from GABB Consultants found American University students are dissatisfied with their school’s neighborhood. The results found that only 31% of Americans University students are satisfied with the Tenleytown neighborhood. There was no statistical significance of gender or whether or not the student lived on campus playing a role in these beliefs.

These students also disagreed in very high proportions that Tenleytown had a good variety of retail and entertainment. On the contrary, 48% of students agreed that Tenleytown had a good variety of restaurants, whereas only 28% disagreed. Students expressed further that there is a need for more retail and entertainment in the Tenleytown neighborhood. When asked what should be added to the neighborhood, respondents mentioned “entertainment” and its synonyms 25 times and “retail” and its synonyms 37 times.


These survey results are part of a larger research project that aimed to determine how millennials felt about the Tenleytown area and how it can be improved to better satisfy this demographic. Other research methods that were conducted include census research. According to the 2013 American Community Survey, the largest proportion of Tenleytown residents is 45-54 years old and that they outnumber the millennial residents. Further, Tenleytown residents have a much bigger disposable income than other areas with high proportions of young people, such as Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom. The mean income in Tenleytown is $185,768. This research about American University students and the people who live in their surrounding neighborhood led to the conclusion that the Tenleytown neighborhood must be able to accommodate both demographics. GABB Consultants has therefore proposed that Tenleytown be branded as the upper class, suburban neighborhood that it is but that it has features that appeal especially to college students, creating an accent of millennialism for the neighborhood. The Qualtrics survey was taken online by American University undergrad and graduate students during the months of March and April 2015. It was distributed online through social media and email. The survey used network sampling. There were 100 respondents to the survey.

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