Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Orscheln Media Plan
Orscheln Media Plan
Orscheln Media Plan
Client Description
Company Overview
With the headquarters of Orscheln Farm & Home located in Moberly, Missouri the
Orscheln family continues to provide supplies and services to consumers all across the
Midwest. With their wide range of goods, Orscheln Farm & Home is there to help
consumers who need products in departments like automotives, pets, gardening and
clothing. These are just a few of the categories that Orscheln Farm & Home will provide
goods for. The store first opened in November of 1960 in Sedalia, Missouri by W.C.
Orscheln. Their goal and slogan is to have “answers and low prices down every aisle.”
Orscheln Farm & Home has taken their business not just to their retail stores, but also
into the online world with their online catalog. The Orscheln Farm & Home website
offers tips and do-it yourself guides as well as project checklists to keep up on. Though
customers can’t purchase items online, they can research products and prices before
going to an actual store. They also have entered the social media world by allowing
consumers and employees the ability to follow them and get updates via Twitter.
Orscheln Farm & Home offers 15 different item categories to fit the needs of consumers.
Those product lines include automotive, fencing, livestock, bird and wildlife care, home
and toys, pet care, clothing and footwear, home improvements, power equipment, equine,
hunting, tires and batteries, farm and ranch, lawn and garden and tools and welding. The
products in each of these categories range all across the board and in high numbers. You
can shop for concrete, blinds and toys all under the same roof. Each of the main
categories has their own sub-categories as well. For example, the tools and welding areas
are broken down in to power tools, hand tools, tool boxes, welding, wood cutting and
work shop aids. The clothing department gives you a variety of options too. When you
click on belts, jewelry, and accessories you can look at bracelets and necklaces for
women that all are reasonably priced at under $100. Belt buckles are available for both
men and women and are separated in their own categories. Each of them has pictures so
the customers can see what it is they want. The prices of the belt buckles vary from a
price range of &19.99-$109.99. Many of the subcategories that are listed then go into
even more detailed categories. If you’re looking in the subcategory of outdoor cooking,
you’ll then be brought to a page with new categories from charcoal grills, gas grills and
even parts and accessories. A cool feature when you’re searching for a specific item is the
ability to compare two items. So if you’re trying to decide on a bird house, you can click
two that are offered and then click the compare button and you get descriptions and
Product Focus:
The product focus will be on the pet care area of Orscheln Farm & Home’s products. In
this area they have dog food in a number of different brands. IAMS, Purina and Science
Diet are just a few of the dog food brands that they carry. The IAMS food brands run for
$36.99 for bigger bags (44lbs) to $12.99 for small bags (8lbs). Science Diet is a little
more expensive for bigger bags (30lbs) at a price of $48.00. For a smaller bag (4.5lbs),
the price is $10.99. They also have dog beds that are heated, leashes, grooming tools,
health products for things like ticks and worms and training accessories for dogs. The
regular dog bed they offer runs for $25.99 and is 30’’ by 40’’ in size. If you want a
heated dog bed you can go with a Lectro Soft or Farm Innovator brands. The prices range
as you go up in size from $44.99 to $99.99. Orscheln Farm & Home also have a wide
arrangement of pet kennels from small pet carriers to large outdoor caged kennels. If you
are looking for a steel fence then you can choose from ten different sizes made by
Stephens Pipe & Steel. The prices vary from $43.99 to $101.99. They even have seven
different types of electric fencing for pets. They don’t just cater to dogs at Orscheln Farm
& Home; they also have products for cats, rabbits and other small animals. Things like
cat food, cat beds, toys and cat litter. All of these items are available at Orscheln Farm &
The target audiences I will be targeting are the people who own a dog. In research done
by Nancy Birch, she determined that people who own dogs many times focus more on
making sure their dogs eat healthy than they do themselves. She also noticed that
consumers who buy for their dogs don’t pay as much attention to price like they do when
they shop for their own food (Tesfom). Orscheln Farm & Home has over 20 different
brands of dog foods, all ranging in a variety of health factors and flavors for dogs.
Orscheln Farm & Home also offer a wide variety of dog kennels and dog beds. The target
audience also finds it very important to keep their dog healthy and fit. Giving them
suitable dog beds to sleep on can be good for a dog’s body instead of sleeping on
concrete. Purchasing special shampoos and grooming products will keep their dog’s skin
from becoming irritated and prevent their fur from knotting. Health products for dogs can
be quite expensive regardless of what store you get them from. Frontline’s flea and tick
control for example costs $40 at Orscheln, but as it appears, dog owners are very
interested in the health of their pets. The average dog owner spends about $225 on
veterinary visits a year (Humane Society). All of these products will aim directly towards
For my three choices below I referenced the lifestyle profiles sheets of dog owners that
we were given in class to help determine suitable locations to advertise in. As I went through the
lifestyle profile handout it provided household statistics for dog owners. I made a list of states
that I felt were important to advertise in based on population of dog owners in certain cities. I
then coordinated this information with states that had an Orscheln Farm & Home in or around
highly populated cities. I then listed each city in those states and wrote down the household
number and percentages that were given in the handout. That gave me about three to six cities to
choose from for each state. I then multiplied the dog owner household’s number by the
percentage for each city to get some higher ranked cities. I took the three highest numbers from
each state and put them on their own list. The list consisted of about 15 cities that spanned all
across the Midwest. I put them all into a spreadsheet and listed their total number of households
of dog owners and zip codes. From there I then searched each zip code on the Orscheln website
to locate nearby stores. Each of the 15 cities I searched came up with five results each. To
narrow this search down, I then went into MapQuest and searched how close each store was in
proximity to the given city. My results varied from nine minutes to 238 minutes away. I then
decided to stay within about a 45 minute drive. Any drive that would be more than 45 minutes
away may push the consumer to just go to a different store. So when I set a filter of 45 minutes,
it eliminated six possibilities. I also checked the population of households of dog owners in each
city. If a city had a much smaller population of dog owners in a household and a very far
distance to drive, it eliminated them fairly easily from the running. My final step was to look at
the time of travel to the population. Some cities had a very short drive, but a very small
population of dog owners in a household. I wanted to make sure the city had a high number of
total dog owners in a household, but also kept the distance to drive in mind. What I came to are
For my first priority I chose Indianapolis, Indiana. Their total number of households of dog
owners was 186,107. This was the second largest population of the 15 cities I originally
chose. When I researched the nearest Orscheln Farm & Home store I found that it was only
38 minutes away in Shelbyville, IN. I also considered that if there were five other stores in
the search results for Indianapolis, then customers may have a better way of getting a product
if one store doesn’t have them in stock. Another store may be able to ship it to that store
sooner. For example, if they need a certain brand of dog food, maybe one store can order it
from another nearby store and get it sooner. So I felt that with this city having the highest
population of dog owners and being under 45 minutes away it would be the best choice for
my main priority.
Kansas City is my second priority choice. This was actually the location with the closest
store proximity which was located in Raymore, Missouri which is just about nine minutes
away from Kansas City. Kansas City had a dog owner household population of 164,487
which made it the third largest dog owner population of my chosen cities. With this I felt that
it was a top choice. It was a tough decision between Kansas City and Indianapolis as the top
spot since they are only separated by about 22,000 dog owner households. I felt that was a
large enough difference to give Indianapolis the top pickings. Kansas City was also offered
five different choices of stores to choose from, but the one in Raymore was the closest to
Kansas City.
Louisville, Kentucky is my final choice of my three priority metro areas. They had the six
highest dog owner population at 126,226, but it had the third shortest travel time. That was
what prevented the higher totaled dog owner households from being chosen, their travel time
was well over 45 minutes. Louisville’s nearest store is the one in Charleston, Indiana at only
27 minutes away. There is also one about 40 minutes away. The reason I didn’t choose
Louisville as my first choice was the smaller population compared to the other two locations.
I think with their stores being close, mixed with higher dog owner populations, they would
o Interested in dogs
o Enjoy companionship
Introduction: My media plan is focusing on dog owners and will run during the
summertime. I chose ads to run in a variety of media types including radio, television,
websites, magazines, newspapers and Google keywords. I focused on three main cities to
focused on Internet and radio as my two priorities. I finished up spending about 1.6
Media Type Priorities: My first priority will be the Internet, because I think that is a far
more target market than any other media type. People who go to the website I chose are
specifically looking for information or products about dogs. I chose nine different sites to
advertise on and totaled about 3700 banner insertions. I didn’t spend the most on internet, but I
did plan on more emphasis in the media type with a lot more media vehicles. My second media
type priority is country radio stations. I locked in on four different stations, two that are in my
highest priority city, Indianapolis. This is where I spent the most money, but not because it was
my top priority, but just because of the cost of radio advertisements versus internet. I will have
Magazine Choices:
be the cheapest cost per thousands but also had the highest total
- AKC Gazette: The cost per thousands of the AKC Gazette was the
second most expensive of my six choices, and the total audience was
the second lowest, but the total campaign cost came out cheap as well
- Bark: This magazine almost sold me from the name, it’s definitely
thousands.
- Dog Fancy: Dog Fancy was the most cost/ad price, but having dog in
owners. It also had the second largest total audience and the largest
circulation number at 248,000. The price per thousand was also the
audience of my choices as the highest cost per thousand, but with the
cost/ad being more on the cheaper side than AKC Family Dog and
Dog Fancy I decided to include it, also having the word dog in the title
- Dogs USA: Dogs USA was another one of the most expensive choices
when going by the cost/ad column, but its total audience was pretty
decent and the circulation was the second highest at 193,000 so I felt it
Newspaper Choices:
Indianapolis Star fits right into the region perfectly as it’s the city’s
because it’s the most relevant of any of the sections in the newspaper
- The Kansas City Star: The Kansas City Star is the largest newspaper
priority city I wanted to find the top newspaper in Kansas City. The
KC Star is the second most expensive in the cost per thousand at
$11.59, but they also have the second largest audience at 4, 514, 00.
- The Courier Times: The Courier Times fits my third priority city
section as I think that was the best section for dog owners to read out
publications above.
Radio Choices:
wanted to go more than just one radio station in each city. Again my
the AM during the morning commute. It’s also a country station which
I think will best target dog owners over any other music genre. I don’t
want to be stereotypical, but many times people talk about the country
and cowboys as having their dogs and their pickup truck. That’s not
opinion I thought it would work. This was the second most expensive
cost per thousands coming in at $6.41 but it also had the most
147,213.
- WLHK – Indianapolis: I chose WLHK in Indianapolis as my second
but Indianapolis also has two country stations. This allows me to run
one set of ads in the morning on my primary station, and then go in the
number at 54,163, but surprisingly it had the highest cost per thousand
this city as well, as they had the second highest number of listeners of
my four choices with 86,805. The total cost for the ads came in at
listeners, and it was the cheapest total cost of all of my radio stations at
$70,470. Its rating was actually fairly high too at 8.1. WFMS, my first
power in Louisville.
TV Choices:
television and that I was going to cover dog owners, this show came to
mind. It’s directed specifically at dog owners and may be one of the
most popular shows about dogs on television. The total cost of the
television show choice, but it also does not run as often as my other
choice.
show I had to do a little research on. I hadn’t actually ever seen the
show, but after looking at it, I realized it would definitely fit dog
owners as it puts people with dogs in direct viewing. The price for the
it’s more expensive because new episodes are still coming on and they
large banner area and also have a few other shows featuring dogs on
their website. I ran the most impression on this site as I felt it to be the
month.
to dogs from names, pictures and articles. They also offer banner
and everything dogs. They have dog care, dog breeds, dog breeders
etc. For a store that sells a lot of the items they probably mention on
with its simple name and fairly common domain, it would be a sure
fire website for dog owners to check out. Advertising will be ideal for
and even dog breeds. Again just looking at the website you will know
research in the SRDS books. A few of them actually had AKC in their title,
and when I looked at the website itself I found that it stands for the
American Kennel Club. This is specifically for dog owners, where they can
register their dogs see future dog events and even get dog breeder
well which will cost me $8,000 a month and a total of $32,000 similar to
dogs.about.com.
the title. After investigating the site though I realized it was a great
source for information for not only dog owners, but those looking to
maybe eventually adopt a dog. They have a list of breeds, dogs for sale
and dogs for rescue. Advertising on this site would reach those who
may already have a dog or who are in the process of adopting and will
need supplies to fit their newly adopted dog. I still didn’t place a ton of
impression on the site, only 50,000 a month which totaled out $8,000.
dogs, if somebody visits the site, they are looking for a specific kind,
but they also offer at the top dog training and nutrition, which I found
was important to dog owners. They want their dog to be healthy and
shopping for healthy dog food will be important for dog owners.
strictly dog breeds. Within the site there are sections about dog
behavior, raising a puppy along with a ton of other topics. This would
be a great resource for new dog owners or current dog owners, and
Google Keywords:
- Small breed dog food: these keywords actually came up with a strong
number of total clicks with 14,000. The total cost is the highest of any
of my keywords at $16,240 but I feel it’s one of the more popular
search results since dog foods come in specific styles. Small dogs can’t
always eat food meant for larger dogs so finding specific types of dog
- Large breed dog food: These keywords are very similar to the small
breed dog food keywords. In the sense that dog owners may be
looking for specific styles of dog food to fit their dog’s size. The total
- Outdoor dog kennels: The outdoor dog kennels CPC came in at $1.51
$1,680. The total cost would be $4,832. I think these keywords are
important for dog owners because many don’t allow their dogs in the
- Healthy dog food: These keywords were very easy to decide on since
dog owners care a lot about the health of their dog. With Orscheln
offering so many styles and brands of dog food like Science Diet, I
think dog owners will benefit from finding results that very
specifically relate to the keywords they search for. This was the second
preventing dogs from getting ticks and fleas seems like a common
concern for dog owners, as I thought about it though not all dog
- Electric dog fence: The electric dog fence keywords came in with the
keyword search numbers. It also resulted in the third highest total cost
and better so the keywords may grow even in the next few years. This
investment.
and was very cheap compared to some of the other in total cost. It
owners care a lot about their dogs and are caring people in general so
they may pay that extra bit of money for the insulation.
- Large breed dog collars: These keywords are similar to the dog food
in the fact that they are size specific and not every product will fit
every dog. Larger dogs need thicker collars. The cost/click is $.75 and
- Long dog leash: the keyword long dog leashes came in at $0.92 and a
thought it would be. It is still cheap in regards to the rest of the other
keywords, but still ranked higher than tick guard or large breed dog
collars. The CPM for long dog leashes is $920 and would have a total
Media Plan Schedule: For my media plan I have chosen the four consecutive months
that coincide with summer. Those months are May, June, July and August. I finished with
August because after doing a little research I found that August 26th is actually National Dog
Day, so I will do heavy advertising just prior to that. I feel that even though in the mainstream
this day may not be known, but to dog owners, I think it may be a familiar date. Advertising just
prior will help hype it and people will be in the mood perhaps to purchase dog supplies.
plan is $1,603,770. Most of that is going towards radio and newspapers because of the high cost
associated with them. I feel this is efficient because I was able to stay within the budget of $2
million dollars while still making sure I secured 25 media vehicles to advertise in.
Bibliography
Lieber, A. (n.d.). Are You The Average Pet Owner? Retrieved February 10, 2011, from PetPlace:
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/are-you-the-average-pet-owner/page1.aspx
Tesfom, G. (2010). Do they buy for their dogs the way they buy for themselves? Psychology &
Marketing.
U.S. Pet Ownership Statitistics. (2009, December 30). Retrieved February 10, 2011, from
Humane Society:
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.
html
Warner, D (1991). FYI; Survey provides proof of US Passion for pets. The Orange County
Register.