team b | san antonio book festival case assignment | mm
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The San Antonio Book Festival Case Study Assignment
Trinity University
MKTG 4381 Marketing Management
Millennials: Who are they? According to the Pew Research Center, a “Millennial” is someone born after 1980 and
before 1997 (roughly 18- to 33-year-olds). This generation is known for being highly connected
online (75% of them, according to the Pew study), less religious than their elders, and are on
track to become the most educated generation in American history. They are also the most
racially diverse generation yet. 1
Millennial Quick Reference : 2
Millennials may be reading more than older adults, and
are as likely to use libraries as their elders, but they assign
less value to them.
Least overtly religious
American generation in modern times, but not
belonging does not mean not believing: Millennials pray as
much as their elders did in their own youth.
More than half (54%) have
some sort of college education, and they are more likely to complete high school when
compared to other generations at the same age.
Distrustful of people. Some academic researchers suggest
this is a result of changing values over the last two
decades.
Optimistic about the future, but generally not happy with
current economic circumstances. 88% believe
that they will be able to earn enough money in the future .
About 75% have never been
married. However, when asked to rank in order of importance,
“being a good parent” and “having a successful marriage”
were the top two results .
1 “ Millennials: Confident. Connected. Open to Change, Executive Summary,” http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/02/24/millennials-confident-connected-open-to-change/ 2 Information courtesy of the Pew Research Center’s series on Millennials: http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/millennials/
However, they’re not all the same. Boston Consulting Group segments millennials into six distinct groups. They include: 3
29% Hip-ennials
Heavy social media user , but
does not contribute content.
Female dominated and below
average employment Primarily
students. Globally aware , cautious consumer and is
hungry for knowledge.
22% Millennial Mom
Older and has the highest income of millennials. Hungry for knowledge and very social. Family oriented, confident, tech savvy with a high online intensity.
16% Anti-Millennials
Not interested in buying eco-friendly products or services and is very conservative . Prefers comfort zone over change. Slightly more female and from the Western part of The U.S.
10% Old School Millennial
Not connected online, cautious consumer and charitable . Spends a lot of time reading, and spends very little time online. Older, confident, independent, and self-directed.
10% Clean and Green Millennial
Impressionable , healthy, green, positive and cause-driven . Greatest contributor of content, usually cause-related. Male dominated, youngest and a full-time student.
13% Gadget Guru
Successful, wired, confident and free-spirited. Male dominated, above average income and single. Greatest device ownership and offers most content.
Content: What are they attracted to? In a study conducted by IDG Group , tech industry Millennials were asked what type of 4
content they engage with, and what attributes attract them to a website. Their findings can be
applied to any entity utilizing any online medium. Among participants, the study found that:
Desired content: ● 75% of Millennials wanted news ● 59% of Millennials wanted information
about travel ● 62% were interested in food
Attractive attributes: ● 59% of Millennials said their favorite
websites use amazing graphics ● 57% of Millennials said their favorite
websites have brief, well-written content
● 58% of Millennials said best websites have engaged communities of fans
● 76% of Millennials said their favorite websites have content that is easy to understand
3 “The Millennial Consumer,”
https://www.bcgperspectives.com/content/articles/consumer_insight_marketing_millennial_consumer/#chapter1 4 “Here’s What Drives Millennials to Their Favourite Websites,”
https://www.postplanner.com/howtoreachthemillennialgenerationwithsocialmedia/
Peer Review: What can be learned from others? Here are some tactics other book fairs are using to target Millennials:
Texas Book Festival ● Website: has its own domain name ; easier to discern SEO statistics ● Entertainment: live bands and other forms of entertainment
Tucson Festival of Books ● Social Media: there is a live twitter feed on the homepage, visitors tweet about
the TFOB using identifiers like @TFOB and #TFOB ● Education: authors are available for school visits around Arizona; engaging with
students who might want to learn more about the TFOB
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books ● Theme/Tagline : “Music. Food. Culture. Art. Fun.” Simple, effective, and
attention-grabbing ● Shopping: vendors, booksellers, and non-profit organizations provide
opportunities for purchases ● Festival After Dark: night time component
Printer’s Row Lit Fest ● Audience: large variety of genres and authors; attract a wide range of consumers ● Tribbooks App: consumers can download two free e-books each week; allows
access to Printer’s Row book reviews
Brooklyn Book Festival ● Children’s Day: a specific day before the festival dedicated to children with
events, authors of children’s books, and vendors who accommodate children ● Location: no restrictions ; move from place-to-place throughout the week to
clubs, parks, libraries, bookstores and many other venues in New York City
Miami Book Fair ● Target Audience: multiple target markets; breadth of genres, depth in ages. ● Live Stream: three possible ways to do so
These events all employ different, but similar tactics to engage all audiences: strong
online components to their events, whether a separate website or well-visited social media
portals; strong location content that appeals to a variety of potential attendees and transfers
well to online portals; and something unique , like free e-books, live streaming, and more. We
believe it is a combination of these tactics that generates a desire to attend.
San Antonio is no stranger to festivals: cultural, seasonal, and regional. However, many
of these festivals have an inherent theme. Whether that be tamales, beer, halloween, or
anything else, a successful festival is almost undeniably recognizable and memorable because
of its theme .
Steps to Take: Adopting a New Approach to Interaction
Consider this question from the point of view of a potential attendee: “What can I gain from engaging with you online and/or attending your event?”
Think of this question without the intention of marketing to Millennials first; many
generations are interacting with the San Antonio Book Festival online. What will be done with these relationships (however they may be measured: likes, follows, retweets, etc.) once they are made? What will be done to maintain these connections, and why? A hallmark of a good social media strategy is purpose . Within purpose is where segmenting and targeting for Millennials will take root and bear fruit.
A Closer Look: Social Media Analysis
(1,876 likes)
(745 followers)
(216 followers)
Pros ● Largest audience ● Focus seems to be on
authors, upcoming books, and author-related events; children and the older audience
● Videos feature activities, have upbeat music, and are relatively short
Pros ● Visuals: consistent colour
scheme across all platforms; hashtags and highlighted content in pink pop
● Engagement in the form of retweeting authors and local library events
Pros ● Great quality images ● Links: to the festival's
homepage in biography and in each individual post
Cons ● Content on wall is a
mixture between eye-catching and uninspiring, which is a hindrance to successful engagement
Cons ● Content: weak; posting
only 3 times a month; seems inconsistent in terms of authors featured, links, etc.
● Lacks concise, easily discernible message
Cons ● Sparse , inconsistent
posting ● Author-focused ● Wordy captions
YouTube (2 Subscribers) We omitted YouTube in this analysis because it can serve as an aggregate for all audiences and be a source of post- or share-worthy content as opposed to a platform benefitting from a tailored strategy.
Keep it Simple: Suggestions for Social Media The focus is on Millennials, yes, but we believe that all audiences will benefit from:
High-Quality Images Remove pixelated images, and only accept crisp, clear, and vibrant high-quality images; they imply high-quality .
Concise Copy
Remove cluttered hashtags, clunky quotes, or content that doesn’t add to the mission and purpose of the San Antonio Book Festival. Strive for simplicity.
Video Content High-quality and very short (maximum of 30 seconds); data is expensive. Strive for intriguing, emotional, and different. Utilize YouTube as a 5
foundation for such content.
Relevant Information Question every idea for a potential post. Does this
link/photo/etc. truly fit with the mission and purpose of the
San Antonio Book Festival?
Emphasized Themes Within the main theme of a book festival, emphasize a
smaller theme , or many : such as food, social issues, green
living, and more.
Beautiful, Consistent Content Don’t be afraid of bold colours, rich textures, and loud fonts. They’re eye-catching. Post frequently and thoughtfully. Be consistent, both with timing and message.
The Trouble With Hashtags They’re a popular, go-to marketing mechanism. If done well, they could prove to be worthwhile. The magic is in choosing something simple, relevant, and, most importantly, providing a reason for someone to use it. Every inch of the festival should prove to be a photo-worthy moment if promoting a hashtag is of interest because it’s unpredictable to know exactly where attendees, not just Millennials, will take photos promoting their presence at the Book Festival.
We’ve refrained from being precise in our recommendations (stating to post 3 times a
week on Instagram, for example) because we feel that our suggestions form a model that can
be applied to any platform used by the San Antonio Book Festival. Furthermore, metrics such as
frequency should not be determined by us, but by purpose, message, and intentions. Consider
creating a short questionnaire or survey for attendees to fill out to ask them exactly how they
want to be engaged. With the amount of information that is available online, the constant
bombardment of advertisements, and intense competition in forming relationships with
users/attendees, it would be wise to contemplate where the social media platforms of the San
Antonio Book Festival would fit best.
5 Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm0gnSPF72E
Staying Ahead of the Curve: Our Tips for Maintaining Your Edge
In this final section, we reference ways to maintain prior suggestions but also long-term ideas
for the festival as a whole.
In terms of Festival content: ● Expand the list of genres to appeal to Millennials: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Action &
Adventure, Travel, Food, and controversial authors and their books just to name a few ○ Popular authors and series to use as references: John Green, the Divergent Series,
the Hunger Games , and YouTube authors ○ Potential author to reach out to: L.C. Hamilton, author/playwright of Fatal Heir
● Focus on making the Festival an event that attendees plan for in advance . Work towards integrating more of San Antonio and its cultural hubs near the event space into the Festival
● When marketing the Festival, be sarcastic and have fun with what’s going on. For example, a Buzzfeed article was recently posted about Trinity University 6
● Consult out-of-the-box references on what topics are trending for Millennials 7
In terms of the website: ● Consider creating a unique, individual
website independent of the San Antonio Public Library; adds to the perception that the San Antonio Book Festival is a stand-alone event
● An independent site would allow for more fluid information searches with less distracting, irrelevant information
● Links to the San Antonio Book Festival’s social media sites should be included as opposed to those of the San Antonio Public Library
● An independent site would also provide a basis for SEO marketing, Google Analytics and its associated metrics, and a data-backed assessment of the San Antonio Book Festival’s online presence
In terms of Social Media strategy: ● Featuring different demographics (age,
gender, sexual orientation, race, etc.) may contribute to a more welcoming identity for the San Antonio Book Festival that Millennials might respond positively to
● Consider creating a long-term research strategy aimed at understanding all attendees and their online habits, what they’d like out of a connection to the San Antonio Book Festival online, and how often they’d like to see content
● As for graphics, there are a slew of resources to consult: Pantone for the 8
latest trends in colour; COLOURlovers 9
for colour combinations; even doing a search for “Graphic Design” on Pinterest will conjure up trending and innovate practices; lastly, look to new book jackets for more ideas
● Search local terms (“San Antonio”) on social media sites to gauge relevance of local hashtags and trending topics (especially frequency)
6 “16 Reasons Why Trinity University Is A Terrible Place To Go To School,” http://www.buzzfeed.com/theandyace/16-reasons-why-trinity-university-is-a-terrible-pl-1tcm9 7 “13 Book Club Books For Millennials, Because, Yes, We Read,” http://www.bustle.com/articles/83722-13-book-club-books-for-millennials-because-yes-we-read 8 http://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year?from=topNav 9 “Explore Over a Million Color Palettes,” http://www.colourlovers.com/palettes