Carrie Skuzeski

MSCM 485

Senior Capstone

3-2-15

Project Proposal: Second Draft

Abstract

I will create a standing social media plan for the International Pinot Noir Celebration, an

event showcasing the excellent Pinot noir harvested and made in Oregon. The plan I create will

include a situation analysis of the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) and an audit of its

current social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. The plan will detail the following

aspects of IPNC’s social media presence: tone and brand image, types of messages, types of

content, which social media site is best suited for various types of content, scheduling of posts,

etc. It will describe our target audience and strategies we will use to reach them. It will explain

the campaigns, hashtags, content, etc. incorporated in the plan. A portion of the plan will be

dedicated to attracting younger attendees to a lower-priced event within IPNC called Passport To

Pinot, an important goal IPNC hopes to achieve through social media efforts. I will gather and

create content such as infographics to post on the accounts. I will also write a social media policy

that explains who can manage the social media accounts, how to respond to comments, etc.

Description

My project will be a work of strategic communication. More specifically, it will be a

social media plan for the International Pinot Noir Celebration, an annual event that will be reach

its 29th year July 24-26 at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. I learned that the International

Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) staff wants to boost its social media presence through working for

Rob and Maria Stuart at R. Stuart & Co., a winery located in McMinnville. Maria is IPNC’s

current president and, therefore, due to the connections I have with IPNC and the Oregon wine

industry, I’m confident that I’ll have adequate resources and support to create an excellent plan

within the parameters of the senior project assignment. Although the IPNC staff aims to improve

their social media presence, they are not going to use my social media plan for this year’s

celebration. I spoke about this with Amy Wesselman, a member of IPNC’s staff, who said she

would still be willing to meet with me to discuss social media and offer any other help she can

for my project.

Examples

There are many examples of successful strategic communication plans in the wine

industry. One example is a social media public relations campaign for a wine company named

KRIS carried out by Benson Marketing Group (http://kriswine.com/). Benson managed KRIS’

social media, and after browsing its Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, I was inspired by how

consistent and effective in garnering two-way communication their social media presence was.

Looking at their accounts also gave me ideas for what types of messages, visual content,

campaign or hashtag ideas and the overall tone and language to incorporate in the social media

campaigns that are part of my overall plan.

Although this is not an example of a social media plan specifically, the Visit Bend

website has been useful to me (http://www.visitbend.com/). It is visually appealing, fairly easy to

navigate and bursting with information that aims to attract visitors to Bend. The website gave me

ideas on what types of information and content has been successfully drawing people to that

destination. It promotes a variety of activities, events, locations, etc. in creative ways, which

helps me envision how I can best promote IPNC.

Constellation Brands (http://brandcenter.cbrands.com/), one of the world’s largest

producers of wine and other alcoholic beverages, sets a high standard for wineries that

incorporate social media into their marketing strategies. Constellation is careful about which of

its many brands should be featured on which social media platform. It saw a lot of success by

posting coupons and other online promotions for its followers. It also had a partnership with an

app called ShopKick through which it placed ads to reach cell phone users. Constellation

attributes a $41 million increase in sales to its strategic use of social media (Thach & Kolb,

2013).

My project will fit into the social-networking-sites sector of the media landscape. More

specifically, I will use Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. IPNC already has accounts on

Facebook and Twitter, but Instagram should be created to reach a larger percentage of the target

audience and to capitalize on the creative, unique opportunities Instagram offers for posting

content. I will not actually implement the plan, so no special access or funding will be needed to

complete my project.

Audience

The majority of my target audience is made up of past IPNC attendees. The event started

in 1987, and has since accumulated a following of fans. A lot of these fans are wine enthusiasts

between the ages of 35 and 70, many of whom live in Oregon. A significant number of attendees,

though, travel from other states and countries. They are already following IPNC on Facebook

and Twitter and will likely follow them on Instagram once they have the opportunity. They are

likely to be part of the middle to upper socioeconomic classes, and therefore have the time and

money to take part in an expensive event (the full-weekend ticket costs $1,195).

This campaign will aim to target people who haven’t attended the event before. These

individuals will also likely be wine enthusiasts. They will share characteristics of past attendees,

such as being fans of wine and, in particular, Pinot noir. In addition to its normal target audience,

IPNC would like to focus on targeting a younger audience in order to convince them to attend

Passport To Pinot, a condensed version of IPNC’s full weekend that happens on Sunday.

Passport To Pinot gives guests the opportunity to taste a variety of wines, eat excellent food and

learn from spokespeople and other professionals at the event. Those who only go to the Passport

To Pinot event usually don’t have enough time or money to attend the whole IPNC weekend and

are looking for a more affordable way to enjoy the event. Passport To Pinot tickets cost $125.

The younger target audience will be between the ages of 21 and 35. Many of them will live in

Oregon, but it would useful to reach people within that age range who live in other popular wine

regions in the U.S., such as California. The entire target audience is comprised of people who

love wine, food and social outings. They appreciate the finer things in life, but also appreciate

the relaxed, unpretentious environment that can be found in Oregon wine country. They are

likely well educated and have pursued higher education. If not, they are curious by nature and

eager to learn about a rich subject like Oregon wine.

Another important segment of the target audience is made up of winemakers, sommeliers,

chefs and speakers. Since the beginning of IPNC, countless professionals have worked with or

have become connected to IPNC in some form or another. By targeting professionals who have

worked with IPNC in the past or are doing so currently, we’ll solidify our connections with them

and tap into their social networks to create new relationships and attract new attendees. This will

also help IPNC in finding renowned professionals to work with for years to come.

Logistics

Here I will describe the main phases of my project. First, I will conduct a situation

analysis of IPNC and its target audience and conduct an audit of IPNC’s current social media

presence. Second, I will research IPNC, its history and general information about Pinot noir.

Then I will write the social media plan that will incorporate a social media policy. Next I will

gather photos that will be used in some of the content I create. Although IPNC will not

implement my plan, I will create content and include it in my final project to demonstrate the

types of content I would post as part of my plan if it were implemented. I would post if IPNC

implements my plan. The plan itself will consist of three important phases: before the event,

during the event and after the event. The objectives, strategies, tactics and evaluation for each of

those phases will be unique.

Schedule

March 19-29: I will speak with Maria further about the event to better understand the

goals IPNC would want to achieve with a social media plan. I will do a lot of research using

books, articles and online research databases. I will gather information about IPNC, social media

strategies for events, how to write the most effective social media policy, etc.

March 29-April 5: I will continue to conduct research about social media strategies for

events. I plan on being finished with at least half of IPNC’s situation analysis, social media audit

and social media policy. I will distribute a survey to young people who work in the wine industry

to supplement research I will use to create a strategy to attract younger guests to Passport To

Pinot.

April 6-12: By this week, I should be at least 50 percent finished with my project. This

means I will have written IPNC’s situation analysis, social media audit and social media policy. I

will have started writing my plan, and will focus on finishing a first draft this week. I will start

brainstorming and creating innovative ideas for content that will resonate with our target

audience.

April 13-19: I will have nearly 75 percent of my project complete. I will have finished

writing the plan, but will continue to thoroughly edit and refine it. I will have detailed plans of

the types of messages, types of content, which social media site is suited for various types of

content, frequency of posts, etc. This week I’ll focus on finishing a strategy that will be used to

attract the younger target audience to Passport To Pinot. I will start designing and gathering other

content I’ll include as examples in my project.

April 20-26: The situation analysis, social media audit and social media policy should be

polished and nearly ready to be submitted. I will continue to work on editing the plan. I will try

to meet with Amy Wesselman this week to receive her feedback on my plan. I would also like to

share the plan and content I’ve created with people who have expertise in the areas of social

media strategy, marketing, design, etc. This way I can gather constructive criticism and bounce

creative ideas off of these people.

April 27-May 14: The last weeks of the semester will be dedicated to preparing my

project for presentation. I will continue to edit written portions of my plan and ensure the content

I create is of the best possible quality. The presentation for my project is scheduled for May 14,

so I must have my project complete by that date.

May 15-May 28: I will make any necessary revisions to my project based on feedback

given to me by the professors and peers who watch my presentation.

Research

In order to create the most effective strategy for IPNC’s social media plan, I will need to

conduct a lot of research. I need to gather all information available about IPNC and its target

audience. I will research the Oregon wine industry in general and uncover important

demographic and psychographic data about Oregon wine consumers. I would like to distribute a

survey to past IPNC attendees to better understand them and to learn ways to better promote

IPNC using social media. I will find information about how to create the best social media policy

and plan, and how to best use social media to promote events. I will also do a lot of research

about what types of messages and content will be most effective for my plan, and how to best

construct and deliver those messages and content. I will monitor the promotion of other wine

events and popular social media accounts related to the wine industry to gain inspiration for my

plan.

Resources

Since I have connections to IPNC and other aspects of the Oregon wine industry, I will

have access to a lot of resources, materials and contacts. I will be able to do research on my

computer or by using the Linfield Libraries resources. I plan on exploring the Oregon Wine

History Archives at Linfield and speaking with anyone from Linfield who is connected to IPNC

and could be a potential asset to my project. I have Adobe Creative Suite on my laptop and,

therefore, will be able to create a lot of content for the social media campaign. The IPNC staff is

the only entity involved with my plan and, if necessary, I will also seek assistance and support

from the IPNC staff, other individuals I’ve connected with in the wine industry, professors in the

Mass Communication Department and Chris Miles, who is a graphic design and branding

professional I have worked with in McMinnville.

A lot of coursework I’ve completed during my college career will assist me in creating

this project. Nearly all of the classes I took in the Mass Communication Department taught me to

think strategically when selecting target audiences, appropriate types of messages and content

and distribution channels. Intro to Media Writing, Newspaper Practices, Information Gathering

and working as a reporter for the Linfield Review and News-Register have given me the skills

necessary to gather information effectively and to write well. I took Principles of Public

Relations and am currently enrolled in Public Relations Writing. These classes have helped me

to think and plan strategically and have equipped me with skills and knowledge required to

create a successful public relations plan. I took a Social Media Theory and Practice course that

covered a wide breadth of information about social media. I learned how social media sites work,

which platforms should be used in certain scenarios, how to use measurement and analytics

software, how to conduct a social media audit, how to write a social media plan and much more.

I am also the social media coordinator for the Linfield Office of Sustainability and created our

social media plan. Therefore, I think I’m adequately prepared to create a social media plan for

IPNC. Also, I took the graphic design course taught by Chris Miles and have continued to work

with him on graphic design since, so I feel equipped with the skills and resources necessary to

produce quality graphic design content.

Evaluation

I would like my project to be evaluated based on Learning Goal 1 and Learning Goal 3.

Learning Goal 1 should be weighted at 70% and Learning Goal 3 should be weighted at 30%. I

decided that Learning Goal 1 should be weighted at 70% because I will be creating a significant

amount of informative and persuasive content for my campaign. By the time I finish the project,

I will have had to think strategically about my target audience and what message/content should

be delivered to them through which medium. I will have spent a lot of time ensuring that the

information I gathered and am using in the content I create is completely accurate. My writing,

layouts and other design materials will be edited profusely to ensure they are production-ready

and helpful in achieving the campaign’s overall goals. I will have considered all of the contextual

factors of the Willamette Valley and Oregon in order to produce useful content and select

appropriate distribution channels for that content.

Learning Goal 3 should be weighted at 30% in the evaluation for my project because, in

order for my campaign to achieve its goals, I will need to understand the effects social media

have on likely followers of IPNC’s social media. These followers are likely fans of the Oregon

wine industry as well as the wine industry on a global scale. I need to understand how the

mediated communication I deliver, via posting to social media sites, will have an effect on the

audiences that sees it. Furthermore, I need to consider what posts will convince followers to take

the action we want them to (i.e. attend IPNC).