pink pr

Kendall Thomas, Account Executive Gretchen Gordin, Copy Director Marika Lendl, Research Director Kristin Lopopolo, Media/ Programming Director Claire Baecher, Co-Creative Director Brooke Kelly, Co-Creative Director PUR4800 Ji Young Kim April 19, 2012
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction.................................................................................................................5 2. Member Profiles..........................................................................................................6 3. Executive Summary....................................................................................................8 4. Secondary Research....................................................................................................10 4.1 Organizational Background...........................................................................12 Objectives...................................................................................................13 Composition...............................................................................................13 Relevant Publics........................................................................................13 Funding......................................................................................................13 Competitive Frame....................................................................................14 Indirect Competition.................................................................................14 Industry Situation.....................................................................................15 Interpretation & Analysis.........................................................................15 4.2 Communication Analysis...............................................................................15 Visual Image..............................................................................................16 Exposure.................................................................................................... 16 Communication with Publics....................................................................16 Social Media...............................................................................................16 Blog............................................................................................................ 16 Communication Conclusion......................................................................17 4.3 Current Situation...........................................................................................18 Key Issues..................................................................................................18 Company Vision.........................................................................................18 4.4 Preliminary Identification of Target Publics................................................19 Primary Target Publics.............................................................................19 Secondary Target Publics..........................................................................19 5. Primary Research....................................................................................................... 20 5.1 Overview.........................................................................................................22 5.2 Statement of Problem.................................................................................... 22 5.3 Research Questions........................................................................................22 5.4 Method............................................................................................................24 In-depth Interviews...................................................................................24 Survey.........................................................................................................24 5.5 Participants....................................................................................................25 In-depth Interviews...................................................................................25 Survey.........................................................................................................25 5.6 Findings..........................................................................................................26 Wedding Planning.....................................................................................26 Social Media...............................................................................................26 Social Interaction...................................................................................... 27

Credibility.................................................................................................. 27 Budget........................................................................................................28 Factors........................................................................................................28 Wedding Websites......................................................................................28 Unusual Findings......................................................................................29 Issues......................................................................................................... 29 5.7 Interpretation & Analysis..............................................................................30 Implications...............................................................................................30 Mistakes in Research................................................................................30 6. Key Publics..................................................................................................................32 6.1 Overview.........................................................................................................34 6.2 Primary Publics..............................................................................................34 6.3 Secondary Publics.......................................................................................... 35 7. Goals and Objectives...................................................................................................36 7.1 Statement of Problems...................................................................................38 7.2 Goals............................................................................................................... 38 7.3 Purpose...........................................................................................................38 7.4 Objectives........................................................................................................39 8. Strategic Programming.............................................................................................. 40 8.1 Strategy...........................................................................................................42 8.2 Theory............................................................................................................. 42 Attribution Theory.....................................................................................42 Relationship Management Theory............................................................42 8.3 Messages.........................................................................................................42 8.4 Tactics.............................................................................................................43 Tactic One..................................................................................................43 Tactic Two.................................................................................................. 44 Tactic Three...............................................................................................44 Potential Obstacles....................................................................................45 8.5 Timetable........................................................................................................46 8.6 Budget.............................................................................................................47 8.7 Resources........................................................................................................47 8.8 Staffing............................................................................................................47 8.9 Evaluation....................................................................................................... 48 Evaluation Criteria................................................................................... 48 Method....................................................................................................... 49 Analysis......................................................................................................49 8.10 Snapshot.......................................................................................................50 9. References................................................................................................................... 51 10. Appendix....................................................................................................................52 3

1. Introduction
Pink PR was created in the spring of 2012 to develop a campaign for Love Wedd, a wedding planning boutique in Gainesville, Fla. In an effort to boost the awareness of, attitudes toward and participation in Love Wedds workshops, Pink PR conducted secondary and primary research to better understand the target publics of Love Wedd. As a result of content analysis, analysis of social media usage, meetings with Love Wedds founder, in-depth interviews with current and past brides and an online survey, Pink PR has developed a campaign to enhance Love Wedd. From objectives aiming to raise awareness, interest and action, to strategies focusing on two-way symmetric communication and the creation of tactics specifically tailored to feedback from primary research, Pink PR has worked diligently to provide a realistic and creative campaign for Love Wedd. This campaign provides an all-encompassing plan to brand a company lost within a saturated wedding industry.

Mission
The mission of the Pink PR is to offer results-oriented public relations efforts designed to meet our clients specific objectives by providing effective strategic communications concepts and excelling at customer service. We are committed to delivering up-to-date, social-media oriented public relations services based on our superior knowledge of the growing industry, a true understanding of our clients needs and a genuine interest in helping our client achieve their goals. We measure our success by the satisfaction of our clients through increased awareness, sales or other criteria mutually agreed upon between the partnership of us and our clients. Our aim is to be a trusted extension of our clients company that produces fast results that directly and positively affect our clients business objectives. Pink PR is a team of six enthusiastic, innovative and honest individuals who are passionate about public relations and about helping our clients business grow.

pink pr
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2. Meet the Pink PR Team

Kendall Thomas serves as the Account Executive for Pink PR. Kendall is a public relations major with a business concentration and a background in fashion and online communications. While pursuing her degree at the University of Florida, she has been active in many student organizations including Gator Growl, UF IMAGE, Student Senate, and holding an executive position in her sorority. Before joining Pink PR, her experience included internships at Burberry Corporate, RenttheRunway.com and Conference Catalysts, LLC. Thomas is American, but has been living outside of London, UK since she was 15. In her spare time she likes to scuba dive, travel and spend time with friends. Gretchen Gordin serves as the Copy Director for Pink PR. She is a senior at the University of Florida graduating in May with her degree in public relations and a minor in education. Raised in Lakeland, Fla., Gordin always knew she wanted to be a Florida Gator. In her four years of college, she has been active in her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, has served as an Admissions Volunteer Ambassador at the UF Office of Admissions, volunteered at the local Ronald McDonald House and elementary schools and has held three different internships with health care and nonprofit organizations in Gainesville. After graduation, Gordin plans to pursue a career in the education or health care field. Marika Lendl serves as the Research Director for Pink PR. She is a senior at the University of Florida studying public relations with a focus in sport marketing. Lendl played for the Varsity Womens Golf team for the University of Florida her entire college career. In the past two years, she has done research on TOMS One Day Without Shoes campaign as well as the National Football Leagues reputation stemming from the NFL lockout. Her passion for sports led Lendl to complete an internship with the University Athletic Association Marketing and Promotions department at UF for the past two years, and this past year, she was handed the reins to the Gator Birthday Club.

Kristin Lopopolo serves as the Media/ Programming Director for Pink PR. Lopopolo is currently finishing her bachelors degree in public relations with a concentration in education at the University of Florida. Strategic communication is in Lopopolos blood. She is the only left-handed girl with curly light brown and green eyes in an Italian family the size of a small country. Once she overcame the fact that she was the black sheep of her family, she shined in the world of strategic thinking and communicating. And thus, entered began practicing public relations at the age of 5. Her strong desire to communicate with publics through social media platforms drives the force for the campaigns she dabbles in. Claire Baecher serves as the Co-Creative Director for Pink PR. She is currently a senior at the University of Florida completing her bachelors degree in public relations with an outside concentration in business administration. A clown without the suit, shes been juggling education, involvement and part-time work since the turn of the millennium when she pioneered her first start-up, a neighborhood dog sitting service. Programmed for efficiency, shes developed the ability to adapt and deliver results quickly in new environments. A self-proclaimed social media addict, Claire prides herself on being passionate for interactive communication and using it as a driving force in her professional endeavors. Brooke Kelly serves as the Co-Creative Director for Pink PR. She is in love with all things pretty and pink-hued and loves white space. Kelly is currently a senior at the University of Florida completing her bachelors degree in public relations with an outside concentration in sport management. Born and raised in West Palm Beach, Fla., she is in love with suburbia and the South. Obsessed with weddings since seeing J. Lo star in The Wedding Planner, she just came back from an internship with the Holy Grail of the wedding industry, The Knot. After graduation, Brooke will be working to close the achievement gap with Teach for America as a Detroit Corp Member.

3. Executive Summary
Research Synopsis
Love Wedd is a wedding planning boutique that opened in October 2010. Originally, the owners had the vacant office space that they wanted to rent out to wedding vendors, but nobody was willing to rent because of the large overhead and the fact that a lot of wedding vendors work from home. They then came up with the idea of using the space that could be shared with wedding vendors as a display area and conference center between vendors and clients. The vendors currently pay a monthly membership rate and are able to use the space to display their products, meet with clients and can also participate in events and share advertising. The boutique boasts more than 15 members and aims to help brides with design ideas, planning tips and exclusive promotions. Brides can sign up for Bride Elite, which is a VIP planning service that provides all of the services Love Wedd provides as well as exclusive promotions and discounts from vendors in the Gainesville area. Love Wedds vendors range from catering to videography and everything in between, with each vendor being experts in their area. to run, manage and grow the company. Recently, the third partner quit without notice and left the other two partners in a difficult situation.

Situation Analysis
The central issue in the campaign is to keep the Love Wedd business thriving and growing despite a recent change in the company structure from transitioning to in-store to entirely online. The only fulltime employee of Love Wedd left so there is no one to dedicate the time and attention the company needs. Also, Love Wedd cannot afford to pay for its current office space.

Audiences
Brides in Gainesville area, aged 20 to 30 years old Brides who do the majority of the wedding planning online Members of the bridal party Mothers of the Bride

Goals
1. To increase brand awareness of Love Wedd 2. To increase two-way communication and interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms. 1. To increase brand awareness amongst the 149 brides in the Gainesville area to 30 percent by October 2012- Love Wedds 2nd Anniversary. 2. To increase followers and likes on Pinterest and Facebook by 50 percent by October 2012.

Program Summary

The boutique would like to grow its business on the Internet, and potentially become a national organization through the Internet. It wants to make the bridal experience as fun, stress-free and informational as possible. The goal of Bride Elite (the VIP service) is to create the illusion of an elite bride experience that every bride wants to have. The organization originally had three founders, two of which provided the capitol and would work part-time and the third person who did not provide any capitol but was supposed to work full-time 8

Objectives

3. To increase social interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms by 100 percent by October 2012. 4. To increase bride turnout at Love Wedds workshops by 30 percent by October 2012.

Strategies
The strategy we mainly used in our campaign was two-way communication with our target public of brides planning their weddings in the Gainesville area. This is executed via social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the Love Wedd blog. We also relied on the Attribution and Relationship Management theories.

Tactics
1. Continue social media initiative currently run by interns and studio manager, but increase the frequency of posts, tweets, etc. 2. A Love Affair event in July 2012 3. Sponsor The Florida Bridal Expo

Timeline
Pink PR will begin their tactics in April 2012. It will take six months to implement all the campaign tactics. Evaluations about the success of the campaign will begin after September 2012 and immediately after each event outlined in the tactics.

Evaluation
The effectiveness of the Pink PR campaign will be evaluated through quantitative and qualitative data. Pink PR will utilize social media feedback, surveys and attendance at events to gather the campaigns efficiency.

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secondary research

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4. Secondary Research

4.1 Organizational Background

Love Wedd, a wedding planning boutique, opened in October 2010. The concept came to the owners, Kristin and Paul Privette of Footstone Photography, because they had a vacant office space, which they wanted to rent out to a wedding vendor. However, nobody was willing to rent because of the large overhead and the fact that a lot of wedding vendors work from home. They came up with the idea of using the space as something that could be shared with wedding vendors as a display area and a conference center between vendors and clients. The boutique has more than 15 members and aims to educate and empower todays bride. Love Wedds vendors range from caterers to videographers and everything in between, with each vendor being experts in their area. The vendors currently pay a monthly membership rate and are able to use the space to display their products, meet with clients and share advertising costs. Love Wedd boasts that its members are the best in the area, having won awards like The Knots Best of and Wedding Wires Brides Choice. Love Wedds main services include hosting monthly workshops to educate brides as well as a bridal incentive program, Bride Elite. Through Bride Elite, a VIP bridal service, brides are provided with exclusive promotions and discounts from vendors in the Gainesville area. For example, brides can get discounts with Love Wedd members like a free DVD from Platinum Digital Video or with affiliate members like 10 percent off on alterations at A-1 Alterations. 12

Objectives
Love Wedd aims to incorporate the bridal community into a small town. The organizations good reputation is especially important, and the branding of Love Wedd and its parent organization, Footstone Photography is crucial. The boutique would like to grow its business on the Internet, and potentially become a national organization through the Internet. Its goal is to make the bridal experience as fun, stress-free and informational as possible. The goal of Bride Elite (the VIP service) is to create the illusion of an elite bride experience that every bride wants to have.

Funding
Love Wedds funding comes from members monthly dues of $125, which cover overhead; and Footstone Photography which covers the rest of the costs. Another source of funding for Love Wedd comes from the Bride Elite program, where brides pay a $300 fee for a Very Important Bride card, which provides them with incentives and discounts from Love Wedd members and affiliate members.

Past and Present Members

ADORE Events Bay Laurel Cupcake Vintage Pin-ups Event Divas Footstone Photography Footstone Ink G-NYS Entertainment The Grande Event Image Insight Jolie Events Keith Watson Productions MasterPiece Weddings Olive You! Catering The Plant Shoppe Platinum Digital Video Posh Pastry Sabore Salon 5402 Solutions Bridal Sunny Video Productions Sweetwater Branch Inn

Composition

The organization had three founders, two of which provided the capitol and work part-time, and the third person who did not provide any capitol, but was supposed to work full-time to run, manage and grow the company. Recently, the third partner quit without notice. Currently, the two owners, one part-time employee and three interns run the boutique.

Relevant Publics

Love Wedds target publics are brides and their bridal parties between the ages of 20 and 30 years old in Gainesville and the surrounding areas, who do a majority of their wedding planning online. According to the Florida Bridal Expos Spring lead list, there are currently 149 brides in the Gainesville area. Mothers of the brides are also a target public as well as wedding vendors in the area who want to increase their business by associating themselves with other prestigious wedding vendors, who have won awards from The Knot and Wedding Wire. 13

4. Secondary Research
Strengths Strong relationships with brides because of small business environment Only wedding planning boutique in North Central Florida Offers free monthly workshops Members are winners of awards from The Knot and Wedding Wire Up keeps blog daily Bridal incentive program Opportunities Growth of online businesses No overhead cost More exposure to current wedding trends via TV and online
SWOT analysis

Weaknesses Poor member relations Doesnt upkeep social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter Low walk-in traffic Losing storefront

Threats Oversaturated market More established online wedding websites like The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings

Competitive Frame

Love Wedd has an opportunity most wedding vendors do not havethey have no direct competition within the area. They are a unique company offering something no one else in the area offers, which is the convenience of having 16 of the top wedding vendors in the Gainesville area all in one place, offering their knowledge for free at Love Wedds monthly workshops. Love Wedds closest competition is The Wedding Party located in Jacksonville, Fla. However, according to its who are we web page, it only have eight members and do not offer many of the services that Love Wedd does such as monthly workshops or a bridal rewards program. (See Table 1.A for competition analysis.) Also, because Love Wedd is transitioning from a storefront to exclusively online, its competition is now mega wedding websites like The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings, who garner big visitor numbers. Love Wedd currently has 541 likes on Facebook while The Knot has 134,237 14

likes (See Table 1.B). Also, when it comes to content, Love Wedd offers more wedding planning ideas than anything else while other wedding websites such as Style Me Pretty showcase real weddings, wedding products and DIY projects.

Indirect Competition

As for indirect competition, Love Wedds 16 members are competing against other wedding vendors within the area and like most cities, the wedding industry is a saturated market (Stevens, 2011). Love Wedd also competes indirectly with the four wedding expos held in Gainesville each year. Because it holds workshops for free, some brides may opt out of paying for an expo and see what Love Wedd has to offer instead. (For SWOT Analysis, refer above or Table 1.C)

Industry Situation
Nationally, the wedding industry is a $74 billion industry (The Knot, 2010). It is a very saturated market both locally and nationally. Specifically in Gainesville, there is not just one photographer; there are 20 (GainesvilleWeddingVendors. com). Thus, by presenting Love Wedds members as the top-awarded professionals in the Gainesville area, Love Wedd is attempting to make brides see that by booking one of its 16 members, they are getting the best the area has to offer. Also, by presenting Love Wedd as a collective group of wedding vendors in the area, it simplifies the brides wedding planning process as she tries to navigate the wedding industry in Gainesville. As for the national wedding planning boutique industry, there are approximately nine other wedding planning boutiques according to Love Wedds Competition Stats. It is still a fairly new trend and market, and most boutiques that open are part of a chain like Bridal Bar that has storefronts in San Diego, Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Interpretation & Application

Because of the uniqueness of Love Wedd, it is at a great advantage because there are no other similar businesses in the local market. It is able to capitalize on an opportunity and an idea that no one in the area has developed or implemented. However, it also puts it at some disadvantages. Most wedding planning boutiques are located in very metro, populated cities where brides may have a harder time narrowing down their vendor options; whereas in Gainesville, the wedding vendor pool is smaller and a simple Google search may suffice. Also, the wedding planning boutique is still a new concept (Bridal Bar launched in 2004) so many brides in the Gainesville area dont know of the concept or can fully appreciate the services Love Wedd can provide (Hansmann & Walton, 2009). Thus, the campaign must be tailored to a specific bridea modern bride one who understands and uses technology often and wants a simple wedding planning process.

4.2 Communication Analysis

Love Wedd is well known locally in the bridal industry, but it lacks a distinguished reputation nationally. Kristin, one of the owners, said she is very proud of the image that both of her companies have established in the community. Since Footstone Photography was created before Love Wedd, Privette said she set high branding standards for the wedding planning boutique, just like she has for Footstone Photography. 15

4. Secondary Research
Visual Image
As far as the boutiques visual image goes, the words love and wedd are black text with a pink heart in between them. The image pictured on the previous page represents how a couple falls in love, and then plans a wedding to express their commitment to one another. The logo (refer to page 15) is found on the boutiques storefront, brochures, website and social media platforms. Its simple, memorable and easy to associate with the Love Wedd brand. 15), series of five links. A potential client can view an About page and a Contact page that lists the stores hours and location. The website also directs the brides to the other forms of social media that are used by the store.

Social Media
The three other forms of communication that the company utilizes to connect with brides are Facebook, Twitter page, Pinterest and the stores blog. Kristin said that the Facebook page is the main social media platform that she uses to update clients and potential brides. The page is liked by 550 people. It also has six photo albums that showcase different events Love Wedd has been a part of. The stores Twitter page is being followed by 153 people and has more than 533 tweets.

Exposure
To expose the company on a broader scale, the boutique attends three to four local expos a year. These bridal expos function as a common meeting ground for wedding vendors to come together and present their products and services. Love Wedd recently attended the Florida Bridal Expo, which occurs twice every year in Gainesville. To connect with the brides, Love Wedd had a photo booth set up where brides could take pictures with their bridesmaids, mothers or future husbands. It provided props like boas and signs that said Future Trophy Wife, Bride-Zilla and Bride-To-Be.

Blog
Love Wedds blog (http://lovewedd.com/ category/blog/) is an extremely detailed collection of bridal trends and styles that brides can incorporate into their own weddings. It covers all aspects of weddings, such as food trends, floral arrangements, dresses, alters and drinks. The blog is updated on a daily basis and has three years worth of archived messages. The messages being sent to readers are aimed to help their weddings and how to budget properly. Love Wedd reassures its clients that it can help a bride plan an exquisite wedding on a budget. The company also connects with its clients by hosting a series of workshops to showcase examples of wedding plans from other couples. Kristin involves her business in as many local events as she can in order to establish a better community relationship. 16

Communication with Publics

In order to communicate with potential brides, the boutique relies heavily on social media. Kristin said Love Wedd communicates mostly through online communication because it is cost-effective and easy to maintain. The stores website is the primary communication portal, which brides can visit to find out more information about the store. The home page features the business logo (see page

Screen shot of website home page

Communication Conclusion

Samples of Love Wedds workshop logos

Since the client already has a strong following on social media platforms, our campaign will also rely heavily on social media sites to connect with clients. Though the pages do have more than 500 followers, our campaign can focus on strengthening the output messages the company sends to potential clients. Our team can build credibility on the pages by posting all the awards and accomplishments the store has achieved. When a bride sees that her wedding planner has credibility in the community, it may make her feel like she is planning her wedding with the right company.

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4. Secondary Research
4.3 Current Situation
The central issue in the campaign is to keep Love Wedd growing, despite a recent change in the company structure from a storefront to exclusively online. This must be done without a full-time employee who is able to operate the company. Kristin doesnt want customers and members to think the company is closing down and lose any momentum after she rents out the business space to someone else on April 1. With wedding season in the area quickly approaching (March-May), this is a crucial time for a successful restructure of the company and to keep the clients and brides coming. The company was launched more than a year ago, and today it maintains 16 vendors who are members. It is now composed of one less founder, but it hopes to still maintain strength and growth. The company maintains connection solely with its target audience through social media, advertising and its physical storefront. Love Wedd also participates in local and regional expos.

Key Issues
The key issue is the company moving from physical to online, without losing any momentum. The entire transition has to happen online without tarnishing Love Wedds reputation. The company is based on a joyful experience that is heightened by attention to customer service and connection to the brides and bridal parties themselves. The transition online might create a large void between the clients and the company. Love Wedds largest concern is losing its momentum in this move and missing the opportunity that is available right now through the evergrowing interest in social media and weddings in general.

and advertisements as a group. Another goal for the company is to become nationally known instead of just locally known, which our campaign will help accomplish. By maintaining and updating the website and social media pages, there will be no extra costs for the company, but instead create lots of benefits. By keeping costs low, creating and improving social media pages, the company will get rid of the overhead they currently have and will be able to afford to keep the company alive. The main pitfalls and problems with this communication effort are driving the traffic of the target audiences to resources such as the Love Wedd website, blog and social media devices. Another pitfall is getting the current members to remain loyal to the business, as well as to transition from the in-house business they are accustomed, to a completely online business. To counter these problems, Kristin plans to get on the phone with all of the current members herself and get them excited about the upcoming plans and changes, and reassure them the business is not closing down or going to suffer. 18

Company Vision
The vision Kristin has for Love Wedd is operating the business completely online and establishing a yearly membership fee for vendors instead of the current monthly fee of $125. Getting rid of break-ups of payments will serve to simplify the system. She also wants to have a bigger presence online and add incentives to join Bride Elite and participate in events

4.4 Preliminary Identification of Target Publics

When choosing the target publics for our campaign, we identified four preliminary constituencies: potential brides, members of the bridal party, current vendors and members and potential vendors and members. For our campaign, we chose potential brides ages 20-30 who did/are doing a majority of their wedding planning online as our primary public because they are Love Wedds target public. Members of the bridal party are the secondary public because they also are a major contributor to the wedding planning process.

Primary Target Publics

Potential brides are external constituencies. They consist of Love Wedds immediate community and consumers. Love Wedds target bride is between the age of 20-27. They radiate a unique pride and passion about their relationship, engagement and the wedding planning process. Their boastful mannerisms are driven by their happiness with their situation. They strive to be labeled as a unique, successful bride. In addition to the ring on their finger, they showcase monogrammed wedding planning books and bridal magazines. However, brides will be stressed and overwhelmed about the realities of planning a wedding, including expenses and time commitment, which is where Love Wedd can help. Since we are building a digital brand for Love Wedd, the majority of our efforts will rely on social media. The nature of potential brides will be the driving force of this campaign. The key to effective social media marketing is creating two-way interaction. The pillars of these tactics are sharing useful information and responding in a timely manner. Brides will instinctively share and react on these channels. Love Wedd aims to make the company the solution to brides anxieties and problems.

Secondary Target Publics

Our secondary public will be members of the bridal party, including bridesmaids and mothers of the bride. This public would also be an external constituency. In order to maintain a positive relationship with its primary publics, Love Wedd must maintain a good relationship with its secondary publics. This public will be assisting the bride or delegating tasks on their own, so their relationship with Love Wedd may be direct or indirect. Kristin said she has noticed a trend in brides prioritizing tasks and assigning them among the bridal party. For example, a brides sister contacted her recently about flowers for the occasion.

his secondary public is extremely broad.

Building relationships with these two publics will build an online persona, generate more Love Wedd brides and create a domino effect of influence, spiraling into other audiences such as potential vendors and current vendors.

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primary research

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5. Primary Research
5.1 Overview
Love Wedds situation is that it is going from a storefront to exclusively online and throughout the transition it needs to maintain (or increase) its members and bridal following. Love Wedd is also worried about maintaining and building new relationships within the bridal community, and increasing its brand awareness with this change. In order to address these problems, we conducted primary research consisting of a survey and in-depth interviews.

5.2 Statement of Problem

What: Difficulty in relationship building with bridal community How: Due to the transition from storefront to online business Who: Love Wedd and its members (current and potential) Where: Gainesville and surrounding areas When: Love Wedd will be exclusively online starting April 1, 2012 Why: Online only business might cause low brand awareness and member turnover The problem is a bit complex, and needs to be handled immediately. The idea that trust needs to be built between members and Love Wedd through the Internet only may cause a problem and our team needs to come up with a solution fast. The element we are most concerned with is social media, and how to build unique relationships with users.

5.3 Research Questions

RQ1: What information are brides looking for online when planning their wedding? 1. Online Do brides use social media, blogs, wedding planning websites, etc.? What is the most popular form of social media brides use when planning the wedding? When you plan your wedding, which sites have you used most often? For what information?

Wedding Websites/ Internet

I prefer to visit a wedding planning website and Facebook page rather than a store. I trust the stores in the community to have all the wedding needs. I read wedding magazines. I read wedding blogs. Meeting face-to-face is very important to me. Communication during the wedding process is important. I prefer to go to a physical location to plan the wedding. What amount of wedding planning would you want to do online? What social media platforms do you use? Do you use social media to get ideas for planning the wedding?

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RQ2: What is the best way to increase social interaction between brides and vendors through social media during their wedding planning? 1. Social Interaction What kind of social interaction do wedding websites do now? What kind of social interaction do brides want to have with wedding websites? Does social interaction through social media lead to continued (offline) relationships among vendors and brides? 2. Social Media What platforms have the most social interaction between brides and vendors? What social media platforms have you used when planning your wedding? RQ3: Does being an online exclusive company lower their credibility? 1. Credibility Why do brides trust certain wedding websites like The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings over others? What source of information would you consider more reliable? (or credible)? (statistics or poll results, word-of-mouth from my peers and family, or word-of-mouth online) RQ4: What are the most important factors that affect brides online/social media use for searching wedding information? 1. Factors Do younger brides use the Internet more often to plan their wedding?

Factors
Have you been in a wedding party in the past two years? What was your role in the wedding? Are you engaged to be married? How much will be/was spent on the wedding? How many wedding expos or workshops have you attended? What wedding workshops would you be interested if they were offered for free? What wedding workshops would you be interested if they were offered for a fee? Please rate your interest in the following types of workshops from 1-6 If you had to make a choice would you rather attend a series of wedding workshops or a bridal expo? Brand names are important to me. I am aware of the current wedding trends. My schedule is too busy to meet with a wedding planner. I will dedicate a lot of time to planning the wedding. What is your wedding style? If you had to make a choice would you rather attend a series of wedding workshops or a bridal expo? I prefer to plan the wedding with a wedding planner. I prefer to plan the wedding on my own. What season is/was the wedding? What is your age?

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5. Primary Research
RQ5: Does budget relate to Internet use when planning the wedding? 1. Budget Is the amount of budget related to the amount of Internet usage when planning the wedding? How much do you agree that the Internet helps plan the wedding?

5.4 Method
In-depth Interviews
In order to answer our more involved research questions, we conducted in-depth interviews. Nonprobability quota sampling as well as convenient sampling was used to conduct our in-depth interviews and help answer our research questions. We conducted the interviews in-person and via Skype from Feb. 28 to Mar. 9, 2012.

Survey
We used Qualtrics to conduct our survey. We used both snowball and convenience sampling. We chose these two techniques, because the bridal population in Gainesville is small and specific and this was the most cost effective and efficient way to get the data we need. To maximize survey results, we posted a link to the survey on our social media accounts as well as e-mailing it out to PR Pinks personal contacts. Data collection was from Feb. 16 29, 2012.

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Demographics of in-depth interview participants

5.5 Participants
In-depth Interviews
For the in-depth interviews, we prescreened 13 brides who have been married within the past year or who will be married in the next year. Then, we placed nine of the brides in sub-groups based on the cost of the wedding: Low Below $20,000 Average within $20,000 High- Above $27,000 Brides ranged from 20 to 32 years old and all have 2011-2013 weddings; six are engaged and three were married.

Survey
We collected responses from 101 participants in our survey. Twenty-one percent of these participants are engaged (see Table 1.H), while 82 percent responded that they had been in a bridal party within the last two years (see Table 2.H). We found that the average age of the brides who took the survey was 24 or younger (52 percent), and that 94 percent of the brides were 30 years old or younger (see Table 6.H). A total of 38 participants were bridesmaids in their respective wedding parties. Eighty-five percent of the participants said that they were the bride, bridesmaid or maid of honor in the wedding (see Table 3.H). 25

5. Primary Research
5.6 Findings
Wedding Planning
A majority of our participants did not or are not planning on using a wedding planner. Its not because they are too busy, but because according to High A, Im a one-stop party shop planner. And when it comes to planning, a majority of the participants listed the location as the first thing they researched/ planned for after the engagement. Therefore, Love Wedd should key in on that via SEO. Also, participants mentioned photography as a primary concern for budgeting, so Love Wedd should focus on members visual appeal on the blog.

Wedding Planner Use

Social Media
Our first research question asked, What information are brides looking for online when planning their wedding? Specifically, we wanted to know, what is the most popular form of social media used by brides and bridal parties, and what is the most popular form of social media brides use when planning the wedding. Social media use varied among respondents. Below is a breakdown of social media use by website: 64 percent of participants answered that they use social media for planning the wedding (see Table 12.H). When asked what social media sites they used to plan the wedding the participants answered as follows in the table below: 53 percent of participants said they did some wedding planning online, while only 12 percent said they did none online, and 11 percent said they did most or the entire wedding planning online (see Table 15.H). Only 33 percent of respondents said they employed the help of a wedding planner (see Table 10.H). 26

Social Media Use

Social Interaction Activity (Y/N)

Source Credibility

Social Interaction
Our second research question asked, What is the best way to increase social interaction between brides and vendors through social media during their wedding planning? We wanted to find out what kind of social interaction brides and bridal parties want to have with wedding websites, as well as if social interaction, through social media, leads to continued (offline) relationships among vendors and brides. When asked if they had been part of a wedding related giveaway or discussion on a social media platform, only 18 respondents answered yes (see Table 14.H). Another research question asked, What are the most important factors that affect brides online/social media use when searching for wedding information? According to our results, a lot of respondents said that they were either too busy to meet with a wedding planner, or preferred to visit a wedding website or Facebook page rather than a store (see Table 22.H), as a main reason they preferred to do the wedding planning online. 27

Credibility
One of Love Wedds most pressing problems with its move to being exclusively online is that the owners are worried about losing credibility (RQ3) with brides and this will indeed be a problem for Love Wedd. All participants preferred face-toface interaction with their vendors and all stressed the importance of building relationships with them. It makes a huge difference if you can tell the vendor is genuinely interested in you and booking your event rather than someone who, right off the bat, you can tell is just after your money, said Average C. However, there is a way around losing credibility. A majority of the participants said when it came to booking their wedding vendors, the most credible information is via word-of-mouth from peers and family. Therefore, if Love Wedd is able to impress brides at its workshops or through social media and the brides pass on its name, Love Wedd will be OK. One public Love Wedd isnt currently targeting is brides families, more specifically mothers, who were the most commonly mentioned when asked, Who helped you plan your wedding the most?

5. Primary Research
Budget
After conducting our in-depth interviews, our most significant finding was that the budget of a brides wedding is unrelated to the amount of online usage (See Table 1.F). Thus, our research question, Does budget relate to Internet use when planning the wedding? was answered and our conclusion was no, budget is unrelated to a brides Internet usage while planning her wedding. Our participants budgets ranged from $12,000 to an unlimited amount and every participant used the Internet to help plan her wedding in the same way. Some used it more than others, however, it did not correlate to the budget, which is good for Love Wedd because it features a wide range of wedding topics on its blog. For example, participant High C, who had an unlimited budget, mentioned her usage of the Internet, which ended up being most of the participants. In fact, we learned that all of the participants stated that the Internet is a significant part of wedding planning. You can see real weddings and get ideas. Many of the ideas are fresh and what is popular now. There are many ideas available for anything you are thinking and wanting, said High C.

Budgets

Site Activity

Factors
The most important factor to brides in both the survey and in-depth interviews was the location of the wedding.

Websites
Other significant findings included: Pinterest and The Knot were the most commonly mentioned websites used to help participants plan their weddings because they offer a wide range of inspiration for brides from wedding to-do lists to dcor ideas (RQ1). 28

Unusual Findings
Some unusual findings we had after conducting our in-depth interviews were that our average bride in the Gainesville area is nothing like the national or local average bride, as described in The Knots 2010 Real Weddings Survey. For example, our average bride was 23.6 years old, whereas the national average bride is 28.7; our brides wedding cost $23,778, whereas the national average wedding cost $26,984; 44 percent of the weddings occurred in the spring, whereas most brides (41 percent) have their wedding in the summer. Another finding of our indepth interviews was that we expected that because our participants were younger than the average brides, they would be more tech-savvy and therefore more engaged on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. However, none of the brides mentioned Facebook or Twitter as a place where they sought out wedding information or inspiration, and very few of the brides partook in any social interaction on these platforms. The Knot forums was the only platform mentioned.

Issues
Because our target public is a more specific, and thus a smaller population, our original plan of conducting two focus groups was not possible due to our location and resources finding the 149 brides in the Gainesville area (Solutions, 2012). Also, we realized money is a sensitive subject. Some participants were hesitant to disclose the budget of their wedding. Another mistake that was made was the wording of the questions. Because we used convenience sampling, our team knew the participants, and so they gave us feedback after and told us some questions were confusing. Another issue was some questions were too vague. For example, What blogs do you read? was asked in the interviews and most said none. Thus, we should have specified wedding websites. Another mistake in interviewing was that we should have asked exactly how many hours the brides used the Internet a week to plan their weddings because we had to generalize our findings on budget and Internet usage correlation.

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5. Primary Research
5.6 Interpretation & Application
Implications of Findings
The implications of the information that we gathered from the survey and indepth interviews are that the wedding industry is definitely moving toward being reliant on the Internet. More brides and bridal parties are using social media to plan or get ideas for their weddings, in at least some form. They might not do all of their planning online, but they definitely employ the Internet to help them. This makes it more important for wedding companies and vendors to have a strong online presence. Thus, brides are growing to trust them through their social media use and websites. When thinking about planning our campaign, we must take all of this information into account. The campaign is going to need to focus strongly on social media, especially Pinterest and Facebook. In order to direct traffic to the Love Wedd website, we will need to draw brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the bride in through these social media sites. While the use of traditional media can still be used in our campaign, the survey results clearly indicate that in order to be successful, the campaign is going to have to be very involved in social media and the Internet. The answers given to the question about social media use indicates that while Facebook is the most popular social media site used by our participants, Pinterest is the go-to website for social media when planning a wedding. The fact that only 33 percent of participants employed a wedding planner indicates that the use of the Internet to plan weddings is 30 becoming more prevalent. Finally, the fact that only 18 people had participated in giveaways and discussions on social media platforms indicate, that while brides and bridesmaids like to use social media to get ideas, they may still be reluctant to engage in two-way communication through the Internet. Brides might rather have face-to-face interactions with wedding vendors, planners, etc.

Mistakes in Research
We made a couple mistakes when designing the survey. First of all, the survey questions didnt answer two of our research questions: Does being an online exclusive company lower their credibility? and Does budget relate to Internet use while planning the wedding? While these questions may have somewhat been answered secondhand through the answers our participants gave, they were not specified in the survey, which they definitely should have been. However, this did not influence the findings greatly because they were answered through the in-depth interviews.

he wedding industry is definitely moving toward being reliant on the Internet.

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key publics

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6. Key Publics
6.1 Overview
When choosing the primary audiences for our campaign, we identified four preliminary constituencies: potential brides, members of the bridal party, current vendors and members and potential vendors and members. For our campaign, we chose potential brides aged 20-30 who did a majority of their wedding planning online as our primary public because they are Love Wedds target public. The members of the bridal party as well as mothers of the bride are our secondary public because through our primary and secondary research, we found that they also are a major contributor to the wedding-planning process.

6.2 Primary Publics

Potential brides are the target public for our campaign. They consist of Love Wedds immediate community and consumers. Brides are engaged women with an indefinite age range. They radiate a unique pride and passion about their relationship, engagement and the wedding planning process. They strive to be labeled as a unique bride. In addition to the diamond on their finger, they showcase monogrammed wedding planning books and bridal magazines. However, brides will be stressed and overwhelmed about the realities of a wedding, including expenses and time commitment. Since we are building a digital brand for Love Wedd, the majority of our efforts will rely on social media. The nature of potential brides will be the driving force of this campaign. The key to effective social media marketing is two-way interaction. The pillars of these tactics are sharing information and responding quickly. Brides will instinctively share and react on these channels. Our goal is that brides will find Love Wedd as the solution to their anxieties and problems. 34

6.3 Secondary Publics

Our secondary public is members of the bridal party including bridesmaids and family members. In order to maintain a positive relationship with its primary subjects, Love Wedd must maintain a good relationship with this audience. They will be assisting the bride or delegating tasks on their own, so their relationship with Love Wedd may be direct or indirect. Our client said she has noticed a trend in brides prioritizing tasks and assigning them among the bridal party. For example, a brides sister contacted her recently about flowers for the occasion. This secondary public is extremely broad. Its marital status could be single, engaged, married or divorced. Although the members of this public are generally female, they could also be male. Its relationship is with the bride and/or the groom as opposed to the entire relationship, engagement and wedding. If engaged, married, or divorced, it may have experience planning a wedding and generate stronger opinions and influence on the bride. If single, they may be lost in the process and be more open to assistance and guidance.

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36

goals & objectives

37

7. Goals & Objectives

7.1 Statement of Problem
What: Difficulty in relationship building with bridal community How: Due to the transition from storefront to online business Who: Love Wedd and its members (current and potential) Where: Gainesville and surrounding areas When: Love Wedd will be exclusively online starting April 1, 2012 Why: Online only business might cause low brand awareness and member turnover The problem our campaign is focusing on is Love Wedds transition from a storefront to exclusively online and throughout the conversion, it needs to maintain (or increase) its members and bridal following. The company is also worried about maintaining and building new relationships within the bridal community, and increasing its brand awareness with this change.

7.2 Goals
1. To increase brand awareness of Love Wedd 2. To increase two-way communication and interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms

7.3 Purpose
Love Wedd aims to incorporate the bridal community in a small town. The organizations good reputation is especially important, and the branding of Love Wedd and its parent organization, Footstone Photography, is crucial. The boutique would like to grow its business on the Internet, and potentially become a national organization through the Internet. It wants to make the bridal experience as fun, stress-free and informational as possible. The goal of Bride Elite (the VIP service) is to create the illusion of an elite bride experience that every bride wants to have. Since the client already has a strong following on social media platforms, our campaign will also rely heavily on social media sites to connect with clients. Though the pages do have more than 500 followers, our campaign can focus on strengthening the output messages the company gives to potential clients. Our team can build credibility on the pages by posting all the awards and accomplishments the store has achieved. When a bride sees that her wedding planner has credibility in the community, it may make her feel like she is planning her wedding with the right company.

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Objectives
Impact Objectives
Informational
To increase brand awareness amongst the 149 brides in the Gainesville area to 30 percent by October 2012- Love Wedds 2nd Anniversary.

Past Love Wedd Workshops

Behavioralal

To increase followers repins and likes on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook by 50 percent by October 2012. To increase bride turnout at Love Wedds workshops by 30 percent by October 2012.

Output Objectives
Message Distribution
To increase social interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms by 100 percent by October 2012.

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strategic programming

41

8. Strategic Programming
8.1 Strategy
The strategy we will use in our campaign will be to establish two-way communication with our target public of brides planning their weddings in the Gainesville area by reaching out and interacting with them on online social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the Love Wedd blog. We chose to focus on online communication because it allows us to receive feedback from our target public. It also establishes a platform for discussion between Love Wedd and brides in the Gainesville area who are all going through a similar process of wedding planning.

8.2 Theory
Attribution Theory
In the development of our campaign, we used the attribution theory because from our results, we found that brides most reliable or credible source was word-ofmouth. The attribution theory emphasizes that learners are strongly motivated by the pleasant outcome of being able to feel good about themselves. Therefore, brides who use Love Wedds services to help plan their weddings who are happy with everything on their wedding day are more likely to spread the good word about Love Wedd and recommend the services it offers to other brides.

Relationship Management Theory

8.3 Message

We also used the relationship management theory when developing our campaign, because for the wedding planning industry especially, establishing a positive relationship with the customer and working together effectively is important to ensure the customers satisfaction with the services she receives. It is important to build a relationship with the client in order to achieve organizational effectiveness and have her be pleased with what Love Wedd provided for her. Then, she in turn, recommends Love Wedd to other brides.

Our main message of the campaign will be to comfort and ensure brides that Love Wedd is here to help during this time of stress and planning and it wants to make their wedding day exactly the way the brides have always dreamed of. We want to emphasize that Love Wedd is here to help reduce the stress by recommending services it already knows are good so brides wont have to find out by trial and error. By generating positive messages, getting brides talking about Love Wedd and by discussing their individual weddings, we will get the buzz going about Love Wedd and the services it offers to make wedding planning a fun and smooth process.

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8.4 Tactics
Pink PR is suggesting the following tactics for Love Wedd to achieve the following campaign objectives: 1. To increase brand awareness amongst the 149 brides in the Gainesville area to 30 percent by October 2012- Love Wedds 2nd Anniversary. 2. To increase followers repins and likes on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook by 50 percent by October 2012. 3. To increase social interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms by 100 percent by October 2012. 4. To increase bride turnout at Love Wedds workshops by 30 percent by October 2012. For Objective One, we suggest a planned event and continuing sponsorship of a local wedding expo because it focuses on Gainesville, and thus, will expose local brides to Love Wedds name. For Objectives Two and Three, all three suggested tactics showed be employed in order to ensure both local and national brides are exposed to the Love Wedd name. Finally, for Objective Four, all three tactics should be utilized because not only will Love Wedd be able to pass out fliers for upcoming events at the expo, but also be able to post about the events on social media.

Tactic One
The easiest tactic for Love Wedd to maintain will be the continuation of its social media initiative run by Love Wedds interns and studio manager. Its the most cost-effective tactic and has the most potential to reach all of Love Wedds target publics: brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the bride. However, we do have some suggestions in order achieve three of Love Wedds objectives. Currently, Love Wedd has a variety of social media accounts, but it is not using the platforms to its full advantage. Mainly, it does not have enough social interaction on its Facebook and Twitter accounts. On its Pinterest and Lover. ly accounts, Love Wedd is doing fine on these outlets because its constantly uploading content for its followers. So for Facebook, Love Wedd needs to increase its daily posts. We suggest that it contin43 ues to post a link to its blog every day, in addition to posting either a trend of the day, a link to a wedding idea or a wedding-related question or poll (See Appendix J). As for Love Wedds Twitter account, it has been neglected. Twitter is very popular at the moment and needs to be utilized to the fullest. Thus, Love Wedd needs to interact more on the platform. Be it by at-replying others within the industry, retweeting things that seem fit for the company or posting new ideas, Love Wedd needs to become more engaging on a platform that has more than 1 billion users. According to

8. Strategic Programming
The Knots 2011 Real Weddings Survey, about 15 percent of brides keep in contact with vendors via Twitter. Also, on Twitter, Love Wedd should utilize hashtags. This way others searching for certain terms on Twitter can come across Love Wedds account and can engage in a conversation with the company. For example, a commonly utilized hashtag for wedding professionals and brides is #WeddingWednesday, which allows anyone to engage in conversation about everything weddings. We think by implementing this new social media schedule, Love Wedd will garner the likes and followers the company needs and wants to successfully expand online (See Appendix I). for Love Wedd to lower costs by hosting events on a Sunday during the day, at one of the members locations. We also think the studio manager should gain some of the same sponsors for the event like Mojuba and Palomas Nest while also gaining new partnerships. To advertise the event, we think Love Wedd should give fliers and posters to members to pass out as well as branded post-its as a promotional item (See Appendix M) . Also, when the event draws closer, we think Love Wedd should place branded garage sale signs with the event info around Gainesville (See Appendix L).

Tactic Three
The last tactic we are suggesting is for Love Wedd to continue sponsoring the The Florida Bridal Expo hosted by Love Wedd member, Solutions Bridal. Again this tactic reaches all of Love Wedds targeted publics as well as grooms. Although this is the priciest tactic, we think it is the best way to increase brand awareness amongst the 149 brides in the Gainesville area to 30 percent by October 2012- Love Wedds 2nd Anniversary, as well as the other three objectives. Also, this allows Love Wedd to collect the bride lead lists for not only its members but for its newsletters that announce its workshops, and thus, allows Love Wedd, to increase bride turnout at Love Wedds workshops by 30 percent by October 2012. Although it is difficult to have an actual booth at the expo, we are suggesting that Love Wedd hands out tote bags when brides enter the event (See Appendix N). This way, Love Wedd is not only one the first company brides and guests see, but the tote is something that they will actually use after the expo, and thus see the Love Wedd name constantly. 44

Tactic Two
The next tactic is hosting an event called, A Love Affair in July (See Appendix K for logo). The last time Love Wedd hosted the event it had around 120 attendees, which was a larger attendance than one of the local wedding expos. A Love Affair has the potential to reach not only brides, bridesmaids and mothers of the brides, but also a non-targeted public: grooms (especially if the bride decides to make the event a date of sorts.) It will also help achieve all four of the objectives. We are suggesting that Kristin and the studio manager plan the event for July because it is between the January and September wedding expos in the area and thus, no wedding related events are going on at that time or in the area so its competition is nonexistent. For the event, we suggest that Love Wedd charges admission this time at approximately $5 for each bride and $2 for each guest. This way, the costs of the event arent coming out-of-pocket. Another suggestion

Sample of Twitter programming

Potential Obstacles
Problems Love Wedd could encounter include: no increase in interaction with brides on the social media platforms, loss of money and logistics of A Love Affair not occurring. Although we hope for more interaction with brides on social media, as concluded in our primary research, a majority of brides did not engage in any interaction nor did they have any suggestions to how they would interact with vendors. Thus, it is possible that even though Love Wedd would become more prevalent on social media, brides wouldnt care, ignore it or just unfollow the accounts. However, to avoid this obstacle we suggest a limit to the amount of posts on Facebook and Twitter Love Wedd does in order to prevent becoming annoying or cluttering up space on newsfeeds and timelines, which is a main reason people stop following accounts. 45 Love Wedd could also lose money on these expenditures. Whether it be low ROI or none at all. The probability of Love Wedds efforts going unnoticed is possible if not executed effectively. However, Love Wedd should make sure members dues are enough to cover printing and promotional item costs since rent is no longer an issue. Another obstacle is that the logistics of A Love Affair may not be feasible. From collecting money for the promotional items from members to finding members to donate time and resources to the event, the event could not happen as planned. However, because these vendors are in the wedding industry certain things were planned as such to avoid them. For example, we suggested the event be held on a Sunday because not only would the vendors most likely be available on that day, but its also a weekend so brides should be too.

8. Strategic Programming
8.5 Timetable
April Events: Expo Planning Expo A Love Affair Promo Items: Tote bag Post-it notes Social Media: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Blog Lover.ly May June July August September

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8.6 Budget
Printed materials Fliers Posters Garage sale signs Expo sponsor Promotional items LA item Tote bags Salaries Interns Studio manager Subtotal Contingency TOTAL $55.00 $14 $11 $30 $800 $279 $150 $129 $3,000 $0 $3,000/ 6 months $4,134 $413 $4,547

8.7 Resources
In order to implement our tactics, Love Wedd will need the following: promotional items and access to a printer and the Internet.

8.8 Staffing
The owner, studio manager and three interns will be needed to implement the suggested tactics. Also, the members of Love Wedd will need to be on board for A Love Affair. Love Wedd does not need to outsource any work except the printing.

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8. Strategic Programming
8.9 Evaluation
In order to evaluate the success of the campaign we will use the objectives themselves as criteria. We will first establish if each objective was reached and then further investigate the success of each tactic used to achieve them. Our objectives are as follows: 1. To increase brand awareness amongst the 149 brides in the Gainesville area to 30 percent by October 2012- Love Wedds 2nd Anniversary. 2. To increase followers and likes on Pinterest and Facebook by 50 percent by October 2012. 3. To increase social interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms by 100 percent by October 2012. 4. To increase bride turnout at Love Wedds workshops by 30 percent by October 2012.

Evaluation Criteria
We will begin our evaluation in November 2012. Objectives Two and Three will be evaluated via the social media platforms we used. That will be explained later in the analysis of each objective. Objective Four will be easily tracked at the next Love Wedd workshop. We will simply compare the turnouts of past workshops to the ones after the campaign. We will also ask the participating brides and bridal parties how they became interested in the workshop, thus further identifying if any part of the campaign inspired their attendance. Objective One will be the most difficult to track because of its expansive reach. For this, we propose to conduct a survey at the Bridal expo of the 139 brides in Gainesville. Since we will have access to the attendees information, we will be able to administer a survey to ask them about their familiarity with Love Wedd. Tracking the social media, attendance at events and new memberships will also help calculate the increase in awareness of the company. We will use these criteria because they will accurately and effectively establish the success of the campaign. In addition, the social media is 48 free and requires not money or man-hours to calculate. In order to evaluate the success of our campaign in regards to objectives Two and Three, we will use the social media itself. Most social media outlets provide ways to track progress. For instance, Facebook provides statistics, graphs and user tracking through its insights feature on Facebook Pages. This will enable us to track the exact reach of the page, frequency and user activity (See Appendix O). For other social media platforms like the blog and Twitter, we can access how many people follow, re-tweet or view the content. Records are saved on the servers of these websites and as users we can access them and record the information. From this information we can create graphs, statistics, etc. of the most successful posts, tweets, etc. This also provides the opportunity for feedback so we can see what the followers want to see more or less of. In order to track the success of the A Love Affair event, we can track the increase or decrease in customer memberships from the event. We will have guests

information after they and brides have attended the event and will be able to compare it to the future memberships. If the new member simply heard of the event from friend who attended the event, we will also be able to track that. The participation of the event will be a clear indicator of the success of the advertising of the event as well. When future applicants apply for membership with Love Wedd, we can ask them how they heard about us so we can see how many new applicants heard about Love Wedd from The Florida Bridal Expo.

Analysis

Once the data is collected we will determine which tactics were successful and what changes need to made. With the exception of Tactic Two, all our tactics can be easily implemented into Love Wedds daily tactics outside of the campaign. If all tactics are unsuccessful then they can be ruled out in favor of others. The data collected should be directly compared to the objectives and goals of the campaign and company in order to address its true success.

Method
The survey to be administered at The Florida Bridal Expo will be released to all participating brides and bridal parties in our focused area of Gainesville. We will be able to contact all brides seeking help, guidance, etc for their weddings (all potential customers). The survey will be administered upon registration for the expo. It will be a simple four-question survey conducted on Qualtrics (See Appendix P). As an incentive, all participating in the survey will be entered into a raffle for a discounted Love Wedd service, a raffle that will be done at the expo. Not only will this help to identify the awareness of the company amongst our target public directly, but it will also be a way to spread awareness to those who do not know about the company.

Social media evaluation tools

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8. Strategic Programming
8.10 Snapshot
Secondary Research Findings Primary Research There are 139 brides in Gainesville. Average age of bride is 27 and the average wedding cost $27,000. (TK) The Knot and Martha Stewart Weddings have most visitors Finding 1: Budget is not correlated to Internet usage. Finding 2: Mothers of the bride were mentioned as biggest helpers Finding 3: Pinterest, Facebook and The Knot are the most commonly used websites for wedding planning Finding 4: Face-to-face and word of mouth are most credible Brides in Gainesville area, aged 20-30 years old Brides who do the majority of the wedding planning online Members of the bridal party Mother of the Bride Goals: 1. To increase brand awareness of Love Wedd 2. To increase two-way communication and interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms Objectives: 1. To increase brand awareness amongst the 139 brides in the Gainesville area to 30 percent by October 2012- Love Wedds 2nd Anniversary. 2. To increase followers and likes on Pinterest and Facebook by 50 percent by October 2012. 3. To increase social interaction on Love Wedds social media platforms by 100 percent by October 2012. 4. To increase bride turnout at Love Wedds workshops by 30 percent by October 2012.

Key Publics Goals/ Objectives

Messages Tactics

Timing/ Budget Evaluation

Our main message of the campaign will be to comfort and ensure brides that Love Wedd is here to help during this time of stress and planning, and it wants to make their wedding day exactly the way they have always dreamed of. 1. Continue social media initiative 2. A Love Affair event in July 2012 3. Sponsor The Florida Bridal Expo The campaign runs from April 2012 to October 2012. The estimated budget is $4,647.50 The effectiveness of the Pink PR campaign will be evaluated through quantitative and qualitative data. Pink PR will utilize social media feedback, surveys and attendance at events to gather the campaigns efficiency, as well as reviews and comments on social media platforms.

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9. References
Gainesville Wedding Vendors. (n.d.) Photographers. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.gainesvilleweddingvendors.com/vendors/8/Photographers Hansmann, R., & Walton, H. (2009). Celebrity event gallery the bridal bar launches in Atlanta. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.prweb.com/re leases/2009/06/prweb2497724.htm Solutions Bridal (2012). Bride contact list spring 2012. Splendid Insights (2012). Love at first pin [an infographic]. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://www.splendidinsights.com/2012/03/press-and-at-glance-stats.html Stevens, Liene (2011). Industry insider: featuring liene stevens: part 1. Retrieved March 12, 2012, from http://donebrilliantly.com/2011/06/industry-insiderfeaturing-liene-stevens-part-1 The Knot. (2012). 2011 Real weddings survey. The Knot. (2011). 2010 Real weddings survey. The Wedding Party. (2012). Who we are. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://your weddingstartshere.com/html_ver/text_section.php?multi_id=1&active_btn=2

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appendix

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Appendix A
Table 1.A: Competition Analysis
The Wedding Party Facebook Number of FB Likes Twitter Twitter Followers 336 49

Table 2.A: Love Wedd Analysis

Love Wedd Facebook Number of FB Likes Twitter Twitter Followers 550 153

**data collected April 16, 2012

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Appendix B
Table 1.B: Website Analysis
Website The Knot Martha Stewart Weddings Style Me Pretty
** data collected April 1, 2012

Unique Visitors 1,282,057 451,101 153,629

Facebook Likes 137,338 29,592 87,436

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Appendix C
Table 1.C: SWOT Analysis
Strengths Strong relationships with brides because of small business environment Only wedding planning boutique in North Central Florida Offers free monthly workshops Members are winners of awards from The Knot and Wedding Wire Up keeps blog daily Bridal incentive program Opportunities Growth of online businesses No overhead cost More exposure to weddings via TV and online Weaknesses Poor member relations Doesnt upkeep social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter Low walk-in traffic Losing storefront

Threats Oversaturated market More established online wedding websites like The Knot or Martha Stewart Weddings

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Appendix D
Pre-screen Questionnaire
Name
Low A: Layne Low B: Kristin Low C: Brooke Average A: Amanda Average B: Kourtney Average C: Janie High A: Kristen High B: Remy High C: Erica

Wedding Date

Low A: May 12, 2012 Low B: March 5, 2011 Low C: October 14, 2011 Average A: January 4, 2014 Average B: 2013 Average C: December 15, 2012 High A: Jan. Apr. 2013 High B: April 2, 2011 High C: July 7, 2012

Age when married

Low A: 23 Low B: 22 Low C: 20

Season: Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Low A: Spring Low B: Spring Low C: Fall

Average A: 23 Average B: 23 Average C: 20 High A: 24 High B: 24 High C: 32

Average A: Winter Average B: Winter Average C: Winter High A: Spring High B: Spring High C: Summer

Job

Low A: Development Coordinator Low B: Secretary & Program Assistant Low C: Hairstylist Average A: Student Average B: Student Average C: Student High A: Healthcare Management High B: Executive Jet Consultant High C: Teacher

Location

Low A: Orlando, FL Low B: Gainesville, FL Low C: Wellington, FL Average A: Tarpon Springs, FL Average B: St. Petersburg, FL Average C: Cross City, FL High A: Fort Lauderdale, FL High B: Jupiter, FL High C: Clearwater, FL

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Style: Classic/Modern/Vintage/Alternative
Low A: Classic Low B: Vintage Low C: Classic

Average A: Classic Average B: Vintage Average C: Classic High A: Classic High B: Modern High C: Classic

Budget

Low A: $15,000 Low B: $12,000 Low C: $12,000 Average A: $20,000 Average B: $25,000 Average C: $20,000 High A: $30,000 High B: $50,000 High C: Unlimited

Guest Count
Low A: 260 Low B: 215 Low C: 125

Average A: 240 Average B: 200 Average C: 350 High A: 180-200 High B: 150 High C: 200

58

Appendix EE Appendix
1. Can you tell me the engagement story? Low A: Family vacation to Highlands, NC Bride mentioned to her fianc that she wanted to catch fireflies on the golf course one night while in the mountains He played off the idea There were 24 candles placed into the shape of a heart with a blanket and picnic basket right in the middle After an hour, he finally proposed and tears were shed Low B: High school sweethearts Fianc mentioned going to a fancy restaurant, which she found odd since they only get dressed up for special occasions He popped the question right before we were hopping into his truck to leave that night. Bride responded: Are you serious? Low C: Proposed to me in the airport when I came home from rehab Average A: Celebrate an early Valentines Day Fianc went to bathroom Returned and looked over and was on one knee Restaurant clapped Average B: Matthew and I have been dating since high school but long distance throughout college One weekend returned to hotel in St. Pete beach, same hotel we spent a lot of time during high school When we walked into the room, Matthew wrote Marry me? in rose petals on the bed There were flowers everywhere as well as chocolate covered strawberries and champagne It was sentimental Average C: He had ordered her a pair of Costas Sunglasses for Christmas Kept asking her to open them and make sure they were the right ones Told him that it could wait till Christmas Day Kept asking me over and Finally, opened the case for the sunglasses He had tied the ring to the inside of them Mouth dropped and he simply said, Sowill you marry me? High A: Beautiful Sunday in December, Nick planned action-packed day brunch on Las Olas, appetizers, and Christmas Tree Light Show at the Gulfstream 8 p.m. romantic date on the water at Westin Diplomat Resort Propose in an intimate one-on-one setting by serene intercostal water OMG-NO-ME?! YES! WHOA WERE GETTING MARRIED!!!!! After, surprise champagne toast at Kristens home with his and her families All sisters waiting in the drive way squealing 59

In-Depth Interview Questions

Appendix E
High B: In hometown of Jupiter for Bryans family reunion Suggested climb the lighthouse in Jupiter always wanted to do At the top, he proposed High C: FL vs. GA game last year Where we first met and started dating 9 years ago Walking down Jacksonville Beach when he stopped, dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him 2. How long was/will the engagement be? Low A: 10 months Low B: Just over 2 years Low C: 3 years Average A: 23 months Average B: Since both students, engagement could be anywhere from 3-4 years Completing masters programs in 2013, so we want to either marry at the end of 2013 or 2014 Want winter marriage Average C: One year High A: 15 months High B: 2 years High C: 8 months 3. What was the first thing you did wedding planning wise after getting engaged? Low A Set a date Venue hunting Low B: Bought bridal magazines Researched flowers Low C: Picked location Average A: Guest list Average B: Since our wedding is so far out, we have not planned anything Average C: Price scouting potential vendors Wants best deal 60

Appendix E
High A: Venue hunting High B: Decided we wanted the wedding in Jupiter at my church Decided we wanted to get married in April (not sure what year 2010 or 2011) High C: Photography 4. Who is paying for the wedding? Low A: Brides parents Low B: Groom and bride did with help from her grandparents. Low C: Bride parents did Average A: Brides and grooms parents Average B: We are paying without help from out parents Average C: Bride and grooms parents High A: Majority brides parents Groom parents some and rehearsal dinner Bride and Groom covering music/videographer & photography High B: My parents paid for mostly everything His parents contributed $10,000 High C: My parents 5. How was your budget established? Low A: Her sisters are getting married soon too Low B: We created an itemized list of all expenses. Low C: Based on what my parents could afford in this economy Off the location price was everything included Average A: casual conversations, but nothing is set in stone Average B: Have no established budget Average C: Considered how much their siblings had spent on weddings What was most important to them Then try to fit everything else into a certain budget 61

Appendix E
High A: Brides parents saving money since brides birth Budget stemmed from savings in wedding account High B: I made an excel spreadsheet with the averages of prices of each specific service/vendor in our area, and figured out what parts of the wedding were most important to us High C: Dont have one Parents didnt give one 6. What have you budgeted the most for? Why that? Low A: Band Food Low B: The tent rental because it was an outdoor wedding Low C: Location for ceremony and reception Wanted the same venue from everything to be included together like catering and rentals for tables, chairs, staff, and alcohol Average A: Catering Average B: N/A Average C: Photography because pictures are most important part of your day Food because want guests to be satisfied High A: Venue Food Drinks Set-up High B: Rentals had reception at private residence and had to bring everything in High C: Since I dont have a budget, I dont have this problem 7. Did you use/do you plan on using a wedding planner? Why or why not? Low A: No A great family friend who loves to plan parties offered to help Low B: Yes Used one upon recommendation from our photographer Bride tends to stress easily

62

Appendix E
Low C: No Mom and I did all the wedding planning as a way to bond Wanted to experience everything I mean you only get married once! Used the knot a lot to help Average A: No Has mother and mother in-law Wants to be the most involved and everything to be hands on Average B: Dont plan on using a wedding planner Sister and current roommate both plan to go into the wedding business, so hope for their free assistance as practice for them and help for me Average C: No, shes a perfectionist High A: Heck no Im a one-stop party shop planner! High B: Yes, best decision ever! Reception at husbands grandfathers home and had to create reception area from scratch Also, I was living in NY and wedding was in FL needed help with the long distance planning High C: Not planning on using one Have a day-of planner Dont think its something Ill need but may be wrong Everything seems to be going smoothly right now 8. (If she says no planner, ask if her schedule is just too busy to meet with one? How many hours do you work a week?) Low A Schedule is busy, but not too busy to meet with a wedding coordinator Usually 50 hours a week with nights and weekends Low B: N/A Low C: Had time to plan the wedding Made time every night where we could work on it Average A: Yes, busy with school Average B: Wont be using a wedding planner based on financial reasons Would love the free help of my friend and sister Average C: Too busy to meet with one In school 63

Appendix E
High A: Work 50 hours a week School 9 hours a week Difficult to meet unless Sunday High B: N/A High C: Schedule is too busy to meet with one Work Monday Friday 7:30 am 3:30 p.m. Just didnt think I need one 9. How are you doing a majority of your wedding planning? Low A: Help of my mom and family friend wedding coordinator Low B: Help of wedding planner Low C: Online and with books Average A: Internet Email Average B: Havent started yet Average C: Any free time Mostly Mondays and Fridays when not in class Mostly via e-mail High A: Solo! Practice planning events at UF Been a bridesmaid 10 times High B: From home 3-4 weekends down in Florida that planner helped coordinate to meeting vendors, etc. High C: Online Help of mother handling vendors since live out of town 10. When do you do a majority of your planning? Low A Nights and weekends Low B: Nights, weekends and lunch breaks. Low C: Nights and weekends Average A: At night 64

Appendix E
Average B: I would imagine when I have a full-time job and will be planning that I will plan on weekends Average C: Whenever she can Last night was up at 12:45 am e-mailing vendors High A: Nights and weekends High B: Working retail at the time could do it days, nights, and weekends Depended on daily schedule High C: Anytime I have a moment to take care of things Mostly at night 11. What has been the worst part of wedding planning? Low A Getting in touch with vendors Low B: Guest list Low C: Table arrangements Hard sitting guests together and making sure they all liked and knew each other Average A: Picking a date Average B: Dont know yet Average C: Balancing everyones opinion High A: Venue negotiating Picking bridesmaids High B: Insane cost of wedding Family drama High C: Blending what we want with what my mother has envisioned for me 12. The best? Low A Seeing everything come together Working with vendors who care Low B: Husband helping her The future Low C: Dress shopping and food tasting 65

Appendix E
Average A: All the family shes gaining Average B: Dont know yet Average C: At end of day, and despite disasters, marrying man of her dreams Im just going to be happy that Im walking down the aisle to the person Im spending the rest of my life with and there is not anything that could make that an unhappy day. High A: Continuously imagining whats at the finish line marriage to nick! High B: Planning the whole event from scratch and seeing it come to fruition High C: Thinking about it all coming together for the big day. I can actually vision it now! 13. Who is helping you plan the wedding the most? Low A Mom and family friend Low B: Wedding planner Low C: Dad and mom Uncle and grandma Average A: Mother-in-law Average B: I would imagine my mother and sister will be the most helpful Average C: No one High A: My mom High B: My mom High C: My mother and sister 14. What are they doing specifically? Low A: Calling vendors Picking out linens Decorations Low B: She corresponded with our vendors, Made sure we stayed on track during the planning process Asked questions to get an idea of what type of event we imagined

66

Appendix E
Low C: Everything Uncle directing us to go everywhere on the day of the wedding Grandma addressing envelopes Mom did it all with me Dad opinions Average A: Researching info and contacting vendors Average B: Dont know yet Average C: N/A High A: Scout out venues Negotiate prices Give lots of support High B: I would run all my ideas past her and she gave input High C: Mother calling vendors and speaking about details (management side) Sister giving suggestions for dcor and accessories 15. Whats your weddings theme, colors, and inspiration? Low A: Shabby chic, comfortable, southern. Azure blue, white, sage green, and tan Lots of burlap Low B: Southern Elegance Canary yellow, light pinks, light grey and ivory to go with the spring season. Some elegance with a casual vibe. Wanted the family property in its natural state Low C: Teal, black or brown, and white Loved the colors together it was really pretty Average A: Taupe, champagne, white and bling Average B: I would love a vintage wedding with black and white theme. Could possibly change Love black and love classic feeling it brings Average C: Colors are red, black, and white with the damask pattern Romantic and soft High A: Ivory and deep blue (lively green flower bouquets) Theme not announced yet! 67

Appendix E
High B: Tropical theme Different shades of turquoise/aqua with whites and sands Coral/tangerine as accent colors High C: No theme Colors purple and teal with pops of magnetic and lime green to brighten it A peacock was my inspiration 16. How would you describe your wedding? Low A: Southern, family, and fun! Low B: Relaxed Really fun Comfortable Low C: Very stress free Perfect atmosphere Great ceremony and reception Class but crazy! Average A: Very simple and chic Loves earth tones and sparkle. Very traditional Greek Orthodox with a little modern twist to tie in brides tastes Average B: Want it to be classic, elegant but still simple Wedding to celebrate our love not brag about the beauty of the event Average C: Beautiful but nothing too fancy High A: Focused around the most important thing in Nick and Is life: family and friends Classic theme with modern touch Reception in a room overlooking Ft. Lauderdales amazing intercostal waterways High B: Modern, relaxed event High C: Traditional with style Im a Dallas girl so I like the bling! 17. Where did you get the inspiration for your wedding? Low A: Southern weddings magazine and Style Me Pretty Low B: Vintage and southern weddings she admired in bridal magazines Low C: Mostly from magazines liked a very clean look, very tasteful. Nothing over the top

68

Appendix E
Average A: Pinterest weddingwire.com Average B: Black has always been my favorite color Gotten many ideas and visions from Pinterest Average C: Pinterest, of course! High A: Ivory inspiration from Delta Gamma preferential round! I think long ivory gowns are STUNNING on women. Class theme but I wanted a power color to liven it up royal blue and vibrant green bouquets High B: Blogs High C: Pinterest Saw lots of pictures using my colors and liked what I saw Had other color combos in mind, but spoke to a florist about both and she suggest purple and teal 18. Did you buy any magazines to help? Which ones? How often? Low A: Yes Southern Weddings Magazine, The Knot, Real Simple Low B: Tons of magazines purchased Brides, The Knot, Southern Weddings, and Martha Stewart Weddings Once a week Low C: Only twice bought Martha Stewart Wedding and The Knot Average A: Yes, once. Martha Stewart Weddings Average B: No Average C: No High A: Got one sent by an aunt Fun to read, not much help High B: Bought The Knot and Martha Stewart Wedding every once in a while High C: Monthly subscription to Brides

69

Appendix E
19. What blogs do you read? Low A: Style Me Pretty Southern Weddings 100 layer cake Low B: Style Me Pretty lindseyreganthorne.com. Low C: None Average A: None Average B: I love Pinterest and blogs I have found through that but I do not regularly read any par ticular blogs. Average C: None, just TheKnot.com High A: I dont High B: More than I can list! I found local Floridian photographers blogs the most helpful, but I also used Style Me Pretty to get ideas. High C: Style Me Pretty 20. Why those blogs? Low A: Great ideas, resources, and pictures Low B: Style Me Pretty features a lot of southern weddings and even offers DIY projects, which are helpful for generating decorating ideas. Lindseys blog has the best beauty tips and she loved viewing the photo shoots that dis played her work (styling, makeup, hair, etc.) for more ideas Low C: N/A Average A: N/A Average B: N/A Average C: N/A High A: N/A High B: They would relate most closely to the style I was looking for High C: Great ideas that look like my style 70

Appendix E
20. What social media platforms are you using? Low A: None Low B: Facebook Low C: Facebook and The Knot Average A: Facebook and Pinterest Average B: Pinterest Average C: Pinterest High A: Pinterest and Facebook High B: I use Pinterest now Didnt know about it/didnt exist for most of my wedding planning High C: Pinterest 22. Have you entered any giveaways on social media? Low A: No Havent thought to do that! Low B: No Low C: None online, but I did one at Davids Bridal Average A: Yes, on Facebook Average B: Nothing in my area Seen giveaways for other states, particularly in New York for whatever reason Average C: None online, but one at a wedding expo High A: No High B: No High C: No 23. Do you partake in any wedding social media? Low A: Yes, sometimes post on Southern Weddings Magazine blog posts Low B: Yes, liked things on Facebook 71

Appendix E
Low C: No Average A: Just repinning on Pinterest Average B: No Average C: No High A: No High B: No High C: No, just re-pin on Pinterest 24. What kind of social interaction do you want to have with wedding websites? 24. What kind of social interaction do you want to have with wedding websites? Low A: I do everything on TheKnot.com. To-do lists Low B: Forums Create a wedding website on The Knot Low C: I loved The Knot! Able to make whole website of my husband and I for everyone to see Average A: Not sure Average B: Enjoy TheKnot.com, but barely go on the site Hard to say now because I have not begun the planning process Average C: Dont know High A: None High B: Used theknot.coms local community message board Incredibly helpful finding vendors and getting ideas High C: None really 25. Do you think that the Internet helps plan the wedding? Why/why not? Low A: Yes, The Knot app is amazing Low B: Yes, its easily accessible Low C: Yes, Internet is everything. 72

Appendix E
Average A: Yes, it gives you ideas no matter what your budget. It visualizes what you have going on in your head. Average B: Dont know yet, but I would imagine it would Average C: Definitely! It has given me so many great ideas that I would have never thought of on my own. High A: Search engines make is very easy to find contact information for venues. Also, I use the Internet to help me compare pricing across the board. High B: Definitely! So many ideas online Can type in exactly what you are trying to visualize and find pictures within a few sec onds High C: Yes, you can see real weddings and get ideas. Many of the ideas are fresh and what is popular now. There are many ideas available for anything you are thinking and waiting. 26. How did you come to book your vendors? Low A: The Knot Word of mouth Friends Low B: Wedding expos Referrals from wedding vendors Low C: Word-of-mouth and recommendations Average A: Word of mouth online WeddingWire.com Average B: Have not booked vendors Average C: Word of mouth Family Wedding expo High A: Word-of-mouth and location High B: TheKnot.coms South Florida message board Helped find pretty much every vendor used High C: Most are people I know Other caterers, bakery and DJ) recommendations from the venue 73

Appendix E
27. What source of information would you consider more reliable/credible? Low A: Word of mouth Online reviews Low B: Word-of-mouth from peers and family Stays away from trusting reviews online unless they come directly from a vendors web site and are credited to the reviewer Low C: Word-of-mouth from my family and friends Average A: Statistics Average B: Word-of-mouth from peers or family or even the internet Average C: Word of mouth from online and peers and family High A: Word-of-mouth from my peers and family High B: Word-of-mouth from my peers most reliable/credible But first of friends to get married used word-of-mouth online and still beneficial High C: Word-of-mouth recommendations Know someone may have a bath experience, but I look to all reviews as a whole 28. Do you prefer face-to-face meeting or phone interviews with your vendors? Low A Face-to-face Low B: Face-to-face Low C: Face-to-face Average A: Face-to-face Average B: Prefer face-to-face Average C: Does everything via e-mail, however, meets in person at least once High A: Face-to-face for the first meeting everything else can be on the phone High B: Face-to-face High C: So far all of my meetings have been on the phone since I like out of town

74

Appendix E
29. Are relationships with your vendors important to you? Why? Low A: Yes, you want them to take pride in their work and work hard to make your wedding exactly what you want it to be! Low B: Yes, because it was important for them to know what we were envisioning, things we liked and didnt like Wanted vendors to be just as happy to work with us as we were with them! Low C: Yes, your wedding is the most important day of your life, so your vendors have to be reliable and able to be on time with everything right to have everything run smoothly. Average A: Yes, I think rapport and trust is really important. If you do not trust the vendor, you are going to be stressed out thinking they are not going to do the job right. Average B: I would imagine they would be Average C: Yes, want to be comfortable with them. It makes a huge difference if you can tell the vendor is genuinely interested in you and booking your event than someone who right off the bat, you can tell is just after your money. High A: YES a good relationship with your vendors makes a bride confident that her big day will be perfect! High B: Completely! I want them to understand my vision. High C: Yes, more some than others 30. Did you go to a wedding expo? How many? Low A: One, and it wasnt helpful Low B: Yes, one. Low C: No Average A: No Average B: Not yet Average C: Yes, one. High A: No High B: No High C: Yes, just one. 75

Appendix E
31. Would you be interested in attending bridal workshops? Why or why not? Low A Yes. New ideas and fun workshops always help! Low B: No Low C: No, just doesnt sound like my thing Average A: Would go to anything that had to do with planning a wedding Average B: Possibly but it depends on the time Average C: Sure, if it was during summer when wasnt in school High A: Yes, if the vendors offered special discounts for attending the workshops High B: Possibly would have been but nothing caught my eye High C: Maybe, it would depend on the topics being presented 32. If you had to make a choice would you rather attend a series of wedding workshops or a bridal expo? Low A: Probably Bridal expo due to lack of time, but if the series was worthwhile, I would definitely make time and effort to attend. Low B: Bridal expo Low C: Bridal Expo Average A: Bridal expo Average B: Bridal expo Believe they are on weekends and would work well with work schedule Average C: Wedding expo High A: No High B: Maybe an expo because it would take less time High C: Workshop would be better more tailored to your needs as opposed to trying to sell you a service

76

Appendix E
33. What types of bridal events would you like to go to if they offered? Low A: Tastings Samples of linens Pictures Bands Flowers Low B: Expos because all information is in one place at one time Low C: Something involving dresses, fashion Average A: Dont know Average B: I dont know Average C: A type of event that offered reviews of vendors and then one on one time with vendors for questioning. High A: Wedding expos where local, private businesses advertise their talents Ex. Private cupcake bakeries, specialty paper companies, dress boutiques, etc. High B: Maybe one about makeup/hair High C: Decorations and flowers 34. What factors do you consider when deciding whether to attend a workshop? Low A: Price, location, who/what will be attending Low B: Price, location and vendors featured Low C: Content Average A: Price and location Average B: Price and date would be important Average C: Time High A: Price, location, time High B: Time, location, price High C: Location

77

Appendix E
35. Would you be interested in a bridal incentive program for a fee? Low A: Depends on incentives Low B: No Low C: No Average A: Sure, depends on if it would benefit her though Average B: Possibly Average C: No High A: Depends on the incentive If the program offered discounts and creative ways to save money then perhaps High B: No I dont think so High C: No

78

Appendix FF Appendix E Appendix

Table 1.F: In-depth Interview Demographics

Graph 1.F: Websites Mentioned in Interviews

79

Appendix FF E Appendix
Graph 2.F: Most Reliable Source of Information from Interviews

Graph 3.F: Wedding Planner Use in Survey and Interviews

80

Appendix FF E Appendix
Graph 4.F: Social Media Use from Survey

Graph 5.F: Social Media Use in Wedding Planning from Survey

81

Appendix G E Appendix G
Survey Questions
Have you been in a wedding party in the past two years? What was your role in the wedding? Are you engaged to be married? How much will be/was spent on the wedding? How many wedding expos or workshops have you attended? What wedding workshops would you be interested if they were offered for free? What wedding workshops would you be interested if they were offered for a fee? Please rate your interest in the following types of workshops from 1-6 If you had to make a choice would you rather attend a series of wedding workshops or a bridal expo? Brand names are important to me. I am aware of the current wedding trends. My schedule is too busy to meet with a wedding planner. I will dedicate a lot of time to planning the wedding. What is your wedding style? If you had to make a choice would you rather attend a series of wedding workshops or a bridal expo? I prefer to plan the wedding with a wedding planner. I prefer to plan the wedding on my own. What season is/was the wedding? What is your age? I prefer to visit a wedding planning website and Facebook page rather than a store. I trust the stores in the community to have all the wedding needs. I read wedding magazines. I read wedding blogs. Meeting face-to-face is very important to me. Communication during the wedding process is important. I prefer to go to a physical location to plan the wedding. What amount of wedding planning would you want to do online? What social media platforms do you use? Do you use social media to get ideas for planning the wedding?

82

Appendix EH Appendix
Table 1.H: Engagement Statistics
# 1 Answer Yes No Total Response 21 77 98 % 21% 79% 100% 2

Table 2.H: Wedding Involvement (past 2 years)

# 1 Answer Yes No Total Response 80 18 98 % 82% 18% 100%

Table 3.H: Role in Wedding

# 1 2 3 4 Answer Bride Mother of the bride Bridesmaid Maid of honor Other Total Response 22 1 38 17 13 91 % 24% 1% 42% 19% 14% 100%

Table 4.H: Wedding Style

# 1 2 3 4 Answer Classic Modern Vintage Alternative Elope Total Response 58 18 13 1 0 90 % 64% 20% 14% 1% 0% 100%

83

Appendix EH Appendix
Table 5.H: Wedding Season
# 1 2 3 Answer Winter Spring Summer Fall Total Response 19 20 38 14 91 % 21% 22% 42% 15% 100%

Table 6.H: Age of Bride

# 1 2 3 Answer 24 and under 25-30 31-36 37 and older Total Response 47 38 4 2 91 % 52% 42% 4% 2% 100%

Table 7.H: Wedding Budget

# 1 2 3 Answer $10,001$20,000 $20,001$30,000 $30,001$40,000 $40,001 + Total Response 36 28 15 10 89 % 40% 31% 17% 11% 100%

Table 8.H: Signifigance of Budget

# 1 Answer Yes. The budget was set in stone. No. The budget was flexible. Budget was not a factor. Total Response 42 % 47%

2 3

43 5 90

48% 6% 100%

84

Appendix HH E Appendix
Table 9.H: Most Important Part of Wedding
# 1 2 3 Answer Budget Location Size Theme Total Response 27 37 11 15 90 % 30% 41% 12% 17% 100%

Table 10.H: Wedding Planner (Y/N)

# 1 Answer Yes No Total Response 30 60 90 % 33% 67% 100%

Table 11.H: General Social Media Use

# Question Use Don't Use Responses Mean

1 2 3

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Blogs YouTube

47 93 69 34 62

43 3 21 53 28

90 96 90 87 90

1.48 1.03 1.23 1.61 1.31

Table 12.H: Inspired through Social Media

# 1 Answer Yes No Total Response 61 34 95 % 64% 36% 100%

4 5

Table 13.H: Social Media Use in Planning

# Question Used Did Not Use Responses Mean

1 2 3 4 5

Twitter Facebook Pinterest Blogs YouTube

5 42 50 39 13

72 44 36 43 65

77 86 86 82 78

1.94 1.51 1.42 1.52 1.83

85

Appendix EH Appendix
Table 14.H: Wedding Giveaways and Social Discussion Activity
# 1 Answer Yes No Total Response 18 78 96 % 19% 81% 100%

Table 15.H: Wedding Planning Online

# 1 2 3 4 Answer None Some Half Most All Total Response 11 49 22 9 1 92 % 12% 53% 24% 10% 1% 100%

Table 16.H: Frequency of Internet Use in Wedding Planning

# 1 2 3 4 5 Answer Less than Once a Month Once a Month 2-3 Times a Month Once a Week 2-3 Times a Week Daily Total Response 7 4 10 19 25 26 91 % 8% 4% 11% 21% 27% 29% 100%

86

E Appendix HH Appendix
Table 17.H: Social Media Use
# Question Agree Somewhat Agree Disagree Responses Mean

I use social media on a regular basis. I use social media to plan events. I would use social media to plan my wedding.

90

98

1.10

53

35

10

98

1.56

Table 18.H: Wedding Expo Attendance

# 1 2 3 Answer 0-3 4-6 More than 7 Total Response 92 2 0 94 % 98% 2% 0% 100%

48

36

14

98

1.65

Table 19.H: Wedding Workshop Topics (Rated)

# Answer 1 2 3 4 5 6 Responses

1 2 3 4 5 6

Trends Hair and Makeup Dancing Cake tasting Bride mixer Boot camp Total

26 31 7 12 4 12 92

22 29 11 21 5 9 97

24 14 20 17 8 11 94

8 9 25 24 15 11 92

11 8 22 10 31 14 96

3 3 9 10 31 37 93

94 94 94 94 94 94 -

87

Appendix EH Appendix
Table 20.H: Wedding Workshop Topics (Y/N)
# Question Interested Not Interested Responses Mean

1 2 3 4

Trends Hair and Makeup Dancing Cake tasting Bride mixer Boot camp

74 81 64 77 44 63

16 9 24 12 39 22

90 90 88 89 83 85

1.18 1.10 1.27 1.13 1.47 1.26

Table 21.H: Wedding Workshop vs. Bridal Expo

# 1 2 Answer I'd rather attend workshops. I'd rather attend expos. Total Response 30 66 96 % 31% 69% 100%

5 6

88

Appendix HH E Appendix
Table 22.H
# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Answer I will dedicate a lot of time to planning the wedding. I prefer to plan the wedding with a wedding planner. Mean 5.04 Standard Deviation 1.27 Responses (N=101) 97

I prefer to plan the wedding on my own.

3.62 3.33 3.81 2.52 5.10 4.09 4.82

1.80 1.98 1.69 1.68 1.29 1.66 1.35

94 90 93 89 96 92 94

Budget was the most important part of planning the wedding. Communication with vendors during the wedding process is important. I prefer to go to a physical location to plan the wedding. Brand names are important to me

Meeting face- to-face is very important to me.

89

Appendix HH E Appendix
Table 22.H (continued)
# 9 Answer The Internet helped me plan the wedding. The Internet was a valuable part of the wedding planning process. I am aware of the current wedding trends. I read wedding blogs. Mean 2.86 Standard Deviation 1.79 2.04 Responses (N=101) 92 85

10 11 12 13 14

4.01

4.23 3.71

1.66 1.85

92 91

I read wedding magazines.

15

My schedule is too busy to meet with a wedding planner.

3.92

1.83

89

16

I prefer to visit a wedding website or Facebook page rather than a store.

I trust the stores in the community to have all the wedding needs.

2.39

1.39

84

2.57

1.60

87

1.73

1.22

82

90

Appendix EI Appendix
Sample of Twitter programming

91

Appendix J
Sample of Facebook programming

92

Appendix K
A Love Affair logo

93

Appendix L
A Love Affair advertising

94

Appendix M
A Love Affair promotion item

95

Appendix N
Florida Bridal Expo promo item

96

Appendix O
Sample of Evaluation tool

97

Appendix P
Thank you for coming the Florida Bridal Expo sponsored by Love Wedd! Please take a few minutes to fill out this survey to help us. Thank you! 1. Do you live in the Gainesville area? Yes / No 2. Do you know about Love Wedd? Yes/ No 3. Have you ever attended a Love Wedd event? If so, which one?

Bridal Expo Survey

4. What social media platform do you use most often for wedding ideas? (check all that apply) Facebook Twitter Pinterest Blogs Thank you for taking the time to take our survey! We hope to see you at future Love Wedd events!

98

99

100