Magazine Trade Fair in The Roblin Centre Atrium

Submitted to Kenton LarsenPublic Relations Instructor Red River College The Roblin Centre 160 Princess Street R2B 1K9 Winnipeg, MB

Submitted by Sabrina SimonicRed River College The Roblin Centre 160 Princess Street R2B 1K9 Winnipeg, MB

March 12, 2015

Hot Water Magazine LaunchTea Time in The Prairies

Hot Water is a magazine produced in Winnipeg, by Chynna Hildebrandt, Matt Dyck, Michelle Perron, Maegan Chartrand, and me, Sabrina Simonic. This magazine is tailored to tea lovers and drinkers in Manitoba, educating them on different types of tea, the health benefits of drinking tea, and promoting local businesses that sell tea. There is no other magazine in the market on this topic in Manitoba.

This magazine will be distributed on a controlled circulation basis to places like teahouses, tea retailers, Moksha Yoga, and grocery stores in Manitoba. Our revenue will come from advertisers who pay to advertise in our magazine.

During the Trade Fair on Thursday April 2, Tea Story Caf will be providing 3 different tea samples at our booth. We will also have macaroons, cupcakes and cookies available for visitors. We plan to interact with our customers further by putting on a photo contest at our booth. Winners will be announced the next day via Instagram. We will continue interacting with our audience after the launch through social media, engaging them to be a part of the creation of upcoming issues, and continuing contests on their behalf.

This trade show will draw in media, students, workers, and industry professionals, presenting us with an opportunity to gain recognition and readership. The launch allows us to develop relationships and sponsorships with local businesses.

We plan on targeting our audiences by giving out promotional material and free tea samples, putting on a free yoga night at the college, holding a Trade Fair, and throwing contests. Social media will be used to reach out to our audiences during the trade show pre-launch, launch, and post-launch.

We will evaluate success by the number of followers, retweets, mentions, tags, and posts we receive through social media; how many visitors show up to the launch; how many people enter the contests; and selling 50 magazine at the event.

Executive Summary

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary i

Purpose Statement 1

The Situation Analysis 2 Target Audience, Analysis, and Desired Outcomes 3

Strategy: Action, Communication, and Rationale 5

Budget 8

Evaluation 9

Hot Water promotional poster 10

Table of Contents

The purpose of this social media/launch plan is to generate as much publicity, notoriety, and momentum for our magazine as possible, leading up to and including a successful Magazine Trade Fair on Thursday, April 2.

1) Put Hot Water at the forefront of my target audiences minds and create brand interest. 2) Get people talking about Hot Water and encourage my target audiences readership to grow (since the magazine is free) 3) Include a way to build a database of people who are interested in Hot Water and a plan to convert them into readers later. 4) Harness new and traditional media, PR and publicity to reach potential readers. 5) Get people talking about the magazine by giving them a stated or implied invitation to participate online and at the Trade Fair. 6) Be fun!

Purpose Statement

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Introduction:Hot Water is a new local magazine based on tea drinking in Manitoba, for anyone who loves or wants to know more about tea. The Trade Fair is targeted towards Yogis and health-conscious students, and business people in The Exchange District. Matt Dyck, Chynna Hildebrandt, Maegan Chartrand, Michelle Perron, and me, Sabrina Simonic, are the creators of this magazine, producing all of the advertisements, articles, and photos. As the team behind Hot Water, we dedicate ourselves to following the trends and lifestyles of tea drinking, educating our local market on the different types of tea and its health benefits, and turning readers into sophisticated connoisseurs of the tea-drinking world.

Strengths:Hot Water is the only magazine of its kind in Manitoba. Our booth will feature three kinds of loose-leaf tea provided by Tea Story Caf, accompanied with free cupcakes, macaroons and cookies. Every magazine sold will have a complimentary tea of the month that will continue in upcoming issues. Visitors will gain more knowledge about the different kinds of teas, while entering contests to win prizes.

Weaknesses: This is the first time the group members have worked on a magazine or a Trade Fair. Our inexperience may show through, especially under the time limit and budget. Some of us feel a little unprepared as the Trade Fair is fast approaching and there is still so much left to do.

Opportunities: We hope to attract industry professionals and advertisers, network with employers, and develop a professional relationship with different businesses. The Trade Fair will showcase our talents to professionals, friends, family, and instructors, expanding our readership. We will gain experience through working in a group setting and launching a magazine from scratch. The magazine will be widely circulated, gaining readership around Manitoba within the following months of the Trade Fair.

Threats:Weather, construction, and parking could be a factor in preventing people from coming to the Trade Fair. Other local magazines are being generated simultaneously creating competition in the market.

Situation Analysis

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Hot Water Target Audience

1) Primary Target: Yogis and health-conscious Students This audience is made up of 18 to 28 year-old women, for whom doing yoga and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are top priorities. This target audience consists of students who attend Red River College. Their busy lives turn to chaos during school, and nothing says, relaxing to them more than sitting on the sofa with their favourite cup of tea, or drinking tea after a yoga class. These women are avid tea-drinkers due to the many health benefits and detoxes some teas provide. Since there is no informational magazine about tea in Manitoba, they would be drawn in to check out our booth at the Trade Fair.

ProfileName: Ari Age: 23 Description: Ari is a student at Red River Colleges Paterson Global Foods Institute. She practices holistic nutrition and is a vegan who attends Moksha Yoga four times a week. Although she is a vegan, cooking meat at the institute doesnt bother her. Ari looks forward to the Winnipeg Folk Festival held every in July at Birds Hill Provincial Park, where she volunteers in the fresh food area. You will often see her holding a thermos full of Matcha Green Tea everywhere she goes. Loves: Matcha Green Tea, White Oolong Tea, tofu, and vegan smoothies Favourite bands: Bon Iver, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic ZerosFavourite Food: Vegetarian Sushi

2) Secondary Target: The Exchange District HipstersThis crowd doesnt like anything mainstream or conventional. They drink tea because everybody else drinks coffee. This audience consists of men and women ages 18 to 30 who work in The Exchange District or attend Red River College. They are always looking to visit and check out new places or events around the city (restaurants, pubs, retail stores) and would be curious about the Creative Communications Magazine Trade Fair. This is the only student-based event during this time of year that displays students creative talents, open to the public for free. This event causes anticipation for people who are regularly in the area. The attraction for this audience is the feeling of originality and creativity conveyed through the event, supporting local work and talent in the community.

Target Audience, Analysis, and Desired Outcomes

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Profile Name: Jack Age: 26

Description: Jack is a CreComm grad who works at Fusion Advertising in The Exchange District as a graphic designer. He is a foodie and loves exploring all the different restaurants in the area. Jacks only transportation is riding his bike, even in the winter.

He has a black cat named Jasper and keeps pictures of him in his wallet. His girlfriend works at DAVIDsTEA and gets Jack his supply of Buttered Rum Black Tea. Jack hides his secret stash of loose-leaf teas in his cupboard at work; he cant go a morning without it.

Loves: art, loose-leaf teas, riding his bike, and old vintage booksFavourite restaurant: Boon Burger Caf, and Blufish Favourite bar: The Good Will Social Club

Hot Water Desired Outcomes

1) Yogis and health-conscious Students We want to feature Hot Water in Red River College, the University of Winnipeg, and at different health locations such as gyms, Moksha Yoga, and organic food stores. We believe this magazine will be sure to reach our primary target audience if we extend our magazine to other places other than just tearooms and retail outlets. We aim to educate this audience with features on detox teas and the health benefits of teas, and show different yoga positions in articles about healthy living. We want this audience to view our magazine as not only entertaining, but also as a reference guide or handbook to their lifestyle. They can interact with us through social media, telling us what they want to know more about when it comes to the health benefits of tea. Awareness and interest are the primary focus because this magazine is free to our readers. Expanding availability of the magazine from retail stores, to grocery stores, to gyms, will help expand reach among our audience.

2) The Exchange District Hipsters We want to feature Hot Water in tea stores, cafs, and restaurants in The Exchange District, reaching our secondary target audience. We not only want their awareness, but we also want them to be active, engaging readers, opening the dialogue between editors and audiences through social media. We want to hear our readers input while satisfying them with articles covering the newest and hippest tearooms, the trendiest teas, and ads about Winnipeg culture. Because this magazine is free, we are pushing for a wide reach, focusing more

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To ensure the success of Hot Waters magazine launch, my team members and I will be brainstorming, planning, and executing ideas that will help promote our magazine during the launching process. Through a pre-launch, launch, and post-launch, we will be able to reach our target audiences.

1) Action: Where Its Always Tea Time in The Prairies We will focus activities towards the health benefits of tea, highlighting feature teas, and promoting tea establishments in urban and rural areas. Our goal is to better peoples lifestyle by introducing the importance of tea, and gain full engagement with every page turned.

Our action begins during pre-launch. This includes: Planning a yoga night held in The Red River College Atrium. Being active on social media. Handing out free tea samples to businesses and post-secondary students. Handing out promotional material. These activities will help us create awareness among our primary and secondary target audiences, putting the magazine at the forefront of our target audiences minds.

Where will the action take place? Most of our pre-launch activities will take place in The Exchange District, and at both Red River College Campuses. Our launch will take place at The Roblin Centre on April 2, from noon 4:00 p.m. in the colleges atrium. Our post-launch will take place via social media, carrying out promos.

Whos involved in the action? Hot Water consists of five members: Chynna Hildrebrandt, Michelle Perron, Maegan Chartrand, Matt Dyck, and me. We will also team up with businesses like Tea Story Caf, DAVIDsTEA, Exquisite Taste, and Moksha Yoga who will sponsor Hot Water during the launch and advertise in our magazine. We will be working together as a team to implement each activity of the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch.

When will these activities happen? Our pre-launch will begin a month before our launch on April 2, starting Monday, March 2. Our strategy will commence on launch day and during the post-launch.

What will happen? Phase 1: For the first three weeks of our pre-launch, we will be at both Red River College Campuses, the University of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba, and at local businesses in The Exchange District, handing out promotional business cards attached to our feature loose-leaf tea of the month, courtesy of Tea Story Caf.

Strategy and Rationale

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Phase 2: In the third week of our pre-launch, we will a host a yoga night in the atrium at The Roblin Centre. The event will take place in the evening and be taught by two Moksha Yoga Instructors. The yoga night is free, promoting the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Afterward, the owners from Exquisite Taste will open their booth for free samples of their herbal and wellness teas, with a chance to purchase the teas on-site.

Phase 3: During our launch, we will have a photo shoot contest at Hot Waters booth, allowing visitors to be goofy and interact with our magazine. Visitors can use #hotwatermagcontest on their Instagram posts for a chance to win a prize.

Phase 4: Our monitoring and evaluation will commence after the launch. We will continue to interact with our customers, get them involved with the magazine and, most importantly, hold contests associated with Hot Water.

RecognitionDuring the evaluation process, we plan to send out handwritten thank-you cards along with a copy of Hot Water to all businesses that contributed to our pre-launch and launch.

ResponsibilitiesGroup members will be present during these events and hand out promotional materials to as many people as possible in the designated areas mentioned above. During the Trade Fair, Michelle and I will be in the aisle holding out our magazines. We will be promoting our booth by telling people about our free tea, food samples, and contests.

This will grab peoples attention and bring them over to visit our booth. Chynna and Maegan will be standing behind the booth pouring tea for visitors and serving them. Matt will interact with the visitors and tell them about the contests and promos we have going on. Visitors are then encouraged to fill out ballots and follow us on social media.

2) Communication: Where Its Always Tea Time in the Prairies We plan to promote ourselves in the weeks leading up to our launch through social media platforms, traditional advertising, and throwing events in the hopes of creating word of mouth/buzz. Communicating to our audiences through action will ensure interest, anticipation, and support for Hot Waters launch on April 2.

Communication during the Pre-launchWe will hand out promotional business cards with Hot Waters logo and details of the trade fair when visiting businesses in The Exchange District, both Red River College campuses, and the universities. Being friendly, giving out complimentary tea, and telling people about the magazine will help create interest. Telling them about our free samples and contests at the Trade Fair will encourage them to come out and support our magazine.

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Through hosting a yoga night with instructors from Moksha Yoga, we hope to reach yoga enthusiasts, people who are interested in living a healthy lifestyle, and people who drink tea. Moksha Yoga is very popular in and around Winnipeg, and providing a free yoga class in The Red River College Atrium would persuade newcomers, tea-lovers, and yoga enthusiasts to come out. Exquisite Taste will also have a booth set up for free samples of tea after the yoga class, featuring their very own Yoga Tea, a perfect way to end off the evening. People will also get a chance to purchase teas at the booth. As everyone is leaving, we will be giving out magazines with an invitation to the Trade Fair. Not only does this tactic bring them out to the event, but also it keeps them there longer.

Media AwarenessA week before the launch, we plan to write a news release detailing the time and location of the upcoming Magazine Trade Show and the content in Hot Water. We plan on distributing a news release to radio stations like 103.1 Virgin Radio and Energy 106.1, broadcast stations like Global News, Shaw TV, and CTV News, and newspapers like The Winnipeg Free Press, The Sun, and The Metro. We believe that by bringing the magazine to medias attention, it will ensure coverage of the event, cause anticipation for the launch, and establish a successful Trade Fair.

Theme and Communication during the launch:The theme for our booth at the trade show will be High Tea, serving cupcakes, macaroons, cookies, and tea of course! A tea set will be on display, which visitors can win after filling out a ballot at our booth. We will reach the winner through Twitter after they follow us on social media. Visitors can also win a $50 gift card to DAVIDsTEA in a separate promo. In order to enter the contest, visitors are encouraged to post a picture of themselves at our booth. After visitors have uploaded their photos on Instagram, we will choose the best picture and announce the winner by reposting their picture the day after.

Communication during evaluation: During the evaluation process, we will continue to interact with people through social media with #hotwatermag, asking them to tweet or tag us in photos for a chance to win certain contests. We also want to hear their feedback of our magazine. All feedback is graciously welcomed, and considered for upcoming issues.

Rationale: We believe that interaction is key to drawing awareness and staying relevant. By repeatedly popping up where our target audiences are located, we bring Hot Water to the forefront of our targets minds.

Through handing out free tea bags and hosting a yoga class, we are showing that health and wellness matter to us. The photo shoot session at our booth allows us to show our audience that we are all about creating a fun and positive atmosphere, in which they are rewarded for being loyal customers through contests and promos. We will continue interaction with our readers through having monthly promos and contests, showing them that we appreciate their support. We will develop positive relationships with businesses that sponsored us by sending out handwritten thank-you cards and a copy of our magazine.

We hope that this action maintains partnerships with these businesses while creating new ones for the future. This strategy will aid in the success of our launch at the Trade Fair.

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BudgetBelow is a table for Hot Waters budget during the pre-launch, launch, and post-launch activities.

Magazine Launch - Budget Pre-launch activitiesGas Money

Promotional Material (business cards & posters)

250 mini samples of bagged loose-leaf

Moksha Yoga Night at RRC Atrium/Exquisite Taste Booth

Pre-launch Activities subtotal Launch ActivitiesTable cloth, table runner, banner

Backdrop

Ballot box and ballots

50 print magazines

Five t-shirts for Hot Water team

Three dozen macaroons

Three dozen cupcakes

Three types of loose-leaf teas from Tea Story Cafe

$20.00

$50.00

$100.00

$150.00

$320.00

$60.00

$85.00

$50.00

$400.00

$65.00

$70.00

$75.00

$75.00

Launch Activities subtotal $880.00

Post-launch Activities $300.00

Twitter and Facebook Advertising $300.00

Post-launch Activities subtotal $300.00TOTAL MAGAZINE LAUNCH $1,500.00

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Evaluation

We will be evaluating the outcomes of our magazine before, during, and after the Trade Fair.

1) Preparation: We will measure pre-launch success by: Giving away 250 bags of tea in total, attached to promotional material (business card) that details the time and location of the Trade Fair. Putting on a free yoga event at The Red River College Atrium, with 75 attendees. Interpreting our targets response through social media by getting 50 retweets and 40 hashtags on Twitter, and 200 likes on Facebook within two weeks of pre-launch events. Gaining 200 followers on Instagram and Twitter, and 400 Facebook likes once the pre-launch is done and launch are done.

2) Implementation:During the Trade Fair, we will evaluate how successful our trade show is through the number of visitors our booth receives, how frequently people hashtag, tag, or post about us, how much media coverage we receive, and how much readership is gained. We will achieve success if we meet the following goals: Encouraging 100 people to visit our booth during the Trade Fair. Giving away 50 magazines to new readers at our booth. Running out of free tea samples, macaroons, cupcakes and cake-pops. Gaining five minutes of media coverage from whatever media outlet is covering the event. Receiving 50 retweets and 40 hashtags on Twitter, 40 posts with hashtags on Instagram, and 100 or more likes on Facebook. Interacting and engaging with visitors at our booth by their responses, reactions, and attitudes.

3) Impact: After the Trade Fair, we plan on evaluating our success by determining the impact of our magazine and the event had on our readers. Although we understand that this evaluation stage is the longest, it will give us to time to measure our success while continuing to build our readership. We will achieve success if we meet the following goals: Gaining 100 more followers and friends on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook each within the following month. Encouraging people to participate in our online contests involving 30 retweets, 20 hashtags, and 20 posts that will create buzz and be at the top of readers minds. Encouraging people to interact with us through social media, telling us what they want to see, and even featuring our fans and businesses in upcoming issues.

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