Brief Marketing Plan

I.

Executive Overview
A. The Ladies of the Little Red Dress is a group fitness program for pre and postmenopausal women who are at risk for heart disease at the YMCA
1. The agency is known as The Little Red Dress and is based in Lynchburg, VA
2. At the YMCA there are instructors qualified to work in group fitness settings,
they provide plenty of space, and equipment in a comfortable environment
3. They are also paired up with the American Heart Association, who provides
funding and research into heart disease
B. There is a need for this intervention because post-menopausal women are at the
highest risk for heart disease then other populations
1. Post- menopausal women go through a lack of physical inactivity after going
through menopause
2. Their metabolism slows down, and weight gain happens as a result which is
also another risk factor for heart disease
3. To help with increased energy, get them more physically active, and to reduce
the risks of heart disease there will be group fitness classes specifically
designed for women of this age range
4. It is also important to reach out and offer the program to pre-menopausal
women so to stop a problem before it happens
C. Explanations of the intended intervention
1. BEHAVE
a. Who? Post-menopausal women at risk for heart disease
b. What? Aerobic and anaerobic exercises within group fitness classes
c. Benefits and Barriers: the women will benefit from an increased amount
of energy, reduce their risks, and meet other women in the same position
as them. Barriers would be, exercising in front of others, and hitting a
plateau in the workouts
d. Activities: Cardiovascular exercises such as Zumba or step, as well as
light strength training with weights. These will be women only classes and
taught only by female instructors

2. Objectives
a. By the end of the program 75% of the participants will have increased
their physical activity, as measured by the American Heart Association
Standards
b. By the end of the program 25% of the participants will have a reduction in
risk factors, as measured by a pre and post- test
c. By the end of the program 50% of the participants will know the
difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise, as measured by the
group fitness instructors
3. An overview of the project that contains the intervention is that the agency is
continuously working with this group of women to meet their specific health
needs through group fitness classes
4. Project outcomes of the intervention
a. Short term: increased knowledge of heart disease, knowledge on benefits
of exercise, and attitudes towards change
b. Long term: behavior change itself through lifestyle modifications such as
II.

daily or weekly physical activity

The Customers (Market Review)
A. Detailed description of target audience
1. Behavioral: Post-menopausal women who are not physically active and that
are looking to change their habits and better their lifestyle. They are ready to
learn and make a change
2. Cultural: Targeting mostly African American women followed by Caucasian
since they have the highest rates of heart disease
3. Demographic: Will target those with highly stressful jobs, and low education
as stress is a risk factor and low education indicated lack in awareness about
the disease
4. Physical: The target is women, mostly at the pre and post-menopausal stages
in life. This is when risk for heart disease increases. It is important to get to
those in the pre stage before they may have any risk factors and then it is just

as important to get to those at the post stage because if there are risk factors
we can reduce and modify them
5. Psychographic: Target those who will and can increase self-efficacy. Once the
program is done we want the participants to continue to be successful, so we
want them to gain as many skills as possible while being fully self-confident
that they can do them on their own without the help of the program
B. Intended secondary audience
1. This will be spouses and children of the women, they have a major impact on
III.

the decisions that the women make and their behaviors

The Product (Product Review)
A. The product or service being provided
1. What it is: Group fitness classes formulated specifically for pre and postmenopausal women
2. What it offers: Education on and the chances of their risks for heart disease, as
well time to socialize and be physically active in a fitness setting
3. How it compares to others: It compares to others by it being located in a
traditional gym and offering familiar equipment that can be found anywhere
B. Unique characteristics
1. This product is unique because it is designed for women, taught by women,
and gives personal pre and post results that most gyms will not provide

IV.

without fees
Strategies
A. Position
1. Imaging: Going along with our partner the American Heart Association the
logo and image of the program will be a lady running in her little red dress
2. Distinctiveness: The unique selling point of this program is that the dress in
the logo shows this is a womens program and the red shows the prevention of
what disease. It was also important that the woman be in motion as the
program is an exercise program
B. Product

1. Features: The program will feature personal one on one pre and post- testing
with the certified instructors. There will also be support throughout during the
exercise portion of the program
2. Necessity: Post-menopausal women and women in general do not even know
the risks of heart disease, so they may not even know that they themselves
carry a risk factor for the disease until they sign up and participate in this
program
C. Price
1. Price: Since you have to be a member of the YMCA to use the facility the
program will be free to members, but we want to give the opportunity to all
women who are willing to participate so there will be a non-member fee for
the program of $30
2. Value: The non-members will pay this fee since members are already paying a
monthly rate, this way non-members will have access to the facility during the
duration of the program and it will hopefully encourage them to join by the
end. The $30 dollars covers basically a two month membership for the
women.
a. The American Heart Association is providing most of the funding and
since the program is being run out of the YMCA, and most instructors
or staff are either employed or volunteers.
D. Promotion
1. Selling Points: The advertisements for the program will have a variety of

V.

information on them about heart disease and how it affects women specifically
a. Such as the number of women affected every year
b. The risk factors
c. How exercise will help
2. Promotional places: the program will be promoted throughout Lynchburg
a. Posters around the YMCA
b. PSAs on the radio
c. Brochures in churches, health departments, and doctors offices
Budget

A. Suggested one year projection coasts

1. Itemize with unit costs
a. Advertising: $200 for 30 second PSA, $85 100 Posters, $245.91 for
250 brochures. Total= $530.91
b. Pre and post-testing: $50 for 2 Glucose test kit, includes 100 lancets
with each kit and two meters with each as well
c. Salary of certified instructors: $800 for the whole program
2. Offer subtotals and total costs
a. Total cost of program: $1,380.91
B. Justify budget
1. The program fairly runs itself. By having it at the YMCA most everything is
there. The gym space, equipment, and instructors. The YMCA even has
equipment to do all of the pre and post-testing except for the glucose testing.
Most of the money will be put forth advertising and then followed by paying
the group fitness instructors.

References
1. Brochure and flyer making on a budget. PsPrint a deluxe company website.
https://www.psprint.com/resources/brochure-flyer-marketing-budget/. Accessed June 28,
2015.