I.

Situation Analysis:
College is a crucial time when young adults are encouraged to discover who they
are and what they want to become, and travel is a key factor in this self growth. Having the
opportunity to see other regions, historic sites, and universities allows for learn ing
experiences and relationship building that cannot be obtained on one single college
campus. So, the population between the ages of 18-28 are constantly told to travel while
they are young. However, arranging travel opportunities while living on campus is not an
easy task. College students are faced with obstacles including access to a car, cost of
driving a car or buying a plane or bus ticket, timing, and safety. These issues collectively
create a need for a form of transportation that accommodates specifically to the monetary,
time, and safety needs of on-campus college students that wish to gain the experience of
traveling to other universities in the country. The most logical way of achieving this would
be a luxury bus system running throughout the Midwest and East Coast with locations
either directly on campuses or nearby that caters specifically to the college student
population. Provided below are summaries of primary research collected in the form of an
online survey sent to college students throughout the Midwest and East Coast regions.
Respondents attend universities including John Carroll University, The Ohio State
University, Ohio University, and Duquesne University and were asked questions pertaining
to their access to cars, importance of travel, importance of cost, and the importance of
safety. Also included is secondary research that analyzes the prices of competing bus lines
such as Greyhound.
The first area that identifies the potential success of this college bound bus line is
the importance of traveling to other universities. In the survey designed and analyzed by
this IMC team it was found that of the 41 respondents, 56.10% said that traveling to other
Universities was somewhat important. However, of the same respondents, 87.88% foun d it
very difficult or somewhat difficult to travel to other campuses. The struggle that
accompanies traveling to other campuses leads to 70.73% of the respondents traveling
only a few times during the semester. This concludes that there is a clear desire to college
students to travel but transportation limitations are an inhibiting factor.
Another component that leads to the current struggle of college students traveling to
other campuses is student access to a car. The online questionnaire found that of the 41
respondents, 48.78% said that they did not have access to a car. Respondents that identified
as not having access to a car were also asked what alternative mode of transportation they
would take to leave campus and visit other universities and 66.67% said that they would
take a bus system. This therefore indicates a growing support for bus transportation among
college age individuals.
The growing popularity of bus transportation is supported further through a study
conducted at DePaul University from October 2013- January 2014 that found that bus
transportation now has a cool factor that has been attracting millennials through its
incorporation of amenities such as wifi, outlet plugs, and room to move around

(Raygorodskaya). This study also discovered the phenomenon that people now prefer to
take the bus even if they have cars at their disposal (Schwieterman). This research makes
clear that the market for bus transportation, specifically among millennials, is currently
very popular and is increasing over time.
College is a time where money is slim, and current bus lines are well aware of this
when it comes to appealing to the college demographic. One of the greatest areas of
competition between a new and established line is the ticket price. Greyhoun d is a thriving
bus line in the Midwest to the East Coast that would act as Coastal Travels largest
competition in price. When asked about the importance of cost when traveling to other
universities, 76.92% of the respondents from the primary survey said that cost was very
important. Participants were then asked where they would be traveling and 60.00% said the
Midwest while 51.43% said the East Coast ( students were allowed to choose multiple
places of travel for this question). In correspondence to distance, students were asked how
much they would be willing to pay for a round trip ticket to visit another university and
42.50% said anywhere between $20.00 and $50.00, while 20.00% said anywhere between
$50.00-$75.00. Cost is clearly an important factor in the traveling ability of college
students. Through calculating prices on the Greyhound website, it was discovered that for a
roundtrip weekend ticket from Friday to Sunday (the general travel days for college
students) for students to travel to universities in Ohio would cost between $20.00 and
$100.00 depending on the travel distance. However, to travel to areas such as Chicago,
New York, Pittsburgh, or Boston, students will be paying anywhere from $100.00 to
$210.00. According to the study from DePaul University, traveling by bus, even when
buying a ticket the day before departure, resulted in a 30.9% cheaper rate than driving a car
(Schwieterman). The cost of traveling is clearly an prominent factor the traveling habits of
college students. They find an importance in saving money but do not want the issue of
expenses to inhibit their ability to gain experiences outside of their own campus. This
therefore enhances the appeal of inexpensive luxury bus travel among millennials.
The final component in the situation analysis is the safety of traveling to other
universities. Generally, most college students and do not feel comfortable driving long
distances in the car, nor do they feel comfortable traveling on a bus alone. Their parents
generally feel the same way. When asked in the primary survey if a student would feel
comfortable taking a bus by him or herself to another university 36.11% of the 36
respondents said that they would not feel comfortable. It then became necessary to
determine why students felt uncomfortable and it was discovered that of the 30 respondents
that have taken a bus in the past, 10 of them reported that the age and lifestyle of the other
passengers were usually mixed. The students then indicated if they would feel more
comfortable traveling on a bus with people of a similar age and lifestyle and of the 36
respondents, 75.00% said that they would feel much more comfortable taking a bus with
people similar to them in both age and lifestyle. This therefore supports the various
benefits of having a college oriented bus line. Parents would be assured that their children

are safe both from danger of other passengers who may be of different ages and
backgrounds and also from the risk of being behind the wheel for long distances. Students,
on the other hand, will also be in a safe environment while being exposed to individuals
from other universities that are traveling on the bus line.
College students today are facing an overwhelming desire and pressure to travel
throughout the country but have a multitude of obstacles that restrict them from doing so.
Through the primary analysis of issues including the importance of travel, student access to
cars, importance of cost, and importance of safety, from students of various universities
within the region as well as secondary resources solidifying the growing popularity and
desirability of bus transportation, it is evident that the market for luxury bus travel among
millennials, specifically college students, is growing stronger. This creates a prime
opportunity to launch a new revolution in bus transportation that is aimed explicitly at
providing college students the ability to travel to other universities between the Midwest
and East Coast with the guarantee of accommodation, affordability, and safety.
To view further detail regarding the primary survey questions check Appendix A.
To view further information regarding the cost of Greyhound traveling check Appendix B.
To view further information regarding the survey results check Appendix C.
II. Objectives
There are a series of goals that will need to be accomplished to gain overall succ ess
for Coastal Travels. These objectives will work cohesively to promote the brand by
creating consumer awareness based on a strong social media platform, educating parents on
safety benefits through an emotional connection to the protection of ones newborn, and
gaining long term support of the colleges where this service will run which will through on
campus promotions,which, in turn, will create positivity and a general awareness of this
service.
The first objective to ensure the success of this company is to create consumer
awareness about this luxury bus line. To achieve this, we must target the millennials who
will be using this service to travel to and from other colleges. This will require a strong
social media platform through forms including Twitter notifications that include discounts
and hashtags, Instagram posts from both the bus line itself and from those who use the
transportation. Coastal Travels will also feature a driver of the week, create its own
Snapchat geo-filter, and harness the power of the internet through a creative lip-dub video,
posted to Youtube, to the tune of a popular road trip song that will generate a feeling of
fun, relaxation, and enjoyment when traveling on this bus line.
The next objective is to educate parents of millennials on the safety benefits
associated with this bus system. It is clear that parents are cautious of the safety of their
children while traveling alone, especially with the recent spike in traffic related accidents
over the last two decades. However, through the marketing of informative videos posted

and shared to facebook, as well as publicity and sponsorships of local news stations,
newspapers, and magazine articles, parents will be educated on the outstanding safety
benefits that are associated with this bus line. We plan to appeal to parents through these
specific media outlets; however, the message Coastal Travels will portray is one of
protecting a newborn, which all parents can and will continue to relate to as they watch
their children grow and explore the world. Therefore, when a child says that they wish to
travel to another campus, parents will feel comfortable allowing their child to travel with
this bus line, and will promote it among other parents of millennials.
The final objective of this plan is to gain the support and publicity of local colleges.
This business targets college students and will be driving directly to and from various
universities throughout the Midwest and East Coast. Therefore, it would be effe ctive for
both Coastal Travels and the universities to have mutual support. Universities could list
this bus line as one of the offered amenities that comes with their education which would
enhance the appeal to the university and would, in turn, enhance the publicity and overall
support of this business to both the millennial generation and parents of the millennials.
The ways in which the connection between universities and coastal travels can be made are
through food trucks that can be placed at collegiate sporting events and open houses, that
serve food directly from a renovated Coastal Travels bus. Therefore, those associated with
universities in the region will form a connection to this luxury bus service.
The objectives outlined above will create a strong foundation for creating general
awareness of the business amongst the millennial generation, as well as appealing to and
gaining the support and publicity from parents and universities throughout the Midwest and
East Coast.
III. Audience
A. Millennials
Millennials are driving every market in current times. They are the main consumers;
therefore, they are the main target group we are focusing our campaign on. Millennials are
people born in the early 80s to about the early 2000s. They are the upcoming generation
born at the turn of the century. Millennials, also referred to as Generation Y are the most
spontaneous travelers, according to a survey conducted by Chase Card Services. Not only
are they the most spontaneous travelers, but they are encouraged to travel as much as
possible when they are in their 20s and 30s, or college-aged.
Millennials in college want to experience travel, but that is hard to do when they are
not financially capable. The first aspect we will emphasis in drawing them in, is the
affordability of the bus line. In promotions and advertisements we will show that we are
cheaper than our competitors. We will state that we have set our travel prices just for
you, making the ads personal and making the millennials feel special. Millennials also
love free stuff. Another aspect of the bus line we will promote is all of the free amenities
that come with the ticket they purchase. Throughout this campaign, we will show the

amenities that the bus line has installed to accommodate college students. Free television,
Wi-Fi, outlet sockets, and charging stations are some of the amenities offered.
Often times, millennials dont want to travel via bus because they may encounter
sketchy people. Our next task will be to inform and persuade them that the bus line is
secure and that the people they will see while travelling are just like them. In
advertisements we will make sure those seen look college-aged and have the appearances
of college students. We will also use real college students in a few advertisements and offer
discounts for their participation.
B. Parents
Parents attach themselves to their children no matter how old they are. So, along
with targeting millennials, we must appeal to their parents and loved ones as well. With
this audience our emphasis will be on the safety aspects of our bus line. Giving parents a
sense of security within themselves will allow them to open up and that is when we can use
advertising tactics to draw them in. Parents will always see their children as children.
Recently, many car commercials have been using toddlers and adolescents to demonstrate
this fact. We will do the same. On the websites and in advertisements we will emphasize
how the line is only for college-aged students. We will also mention that the buses have
seatbelts and the newest safety technology. Parents also appreciate affordability. Parents
and loved ones tend to encourage their children to travel and frequently assist them in the
financial department so that they are able to. When advertising the prices, we will
emphasize how our prices are lower than our competitors and also how much safer we are.
Parents are an important target group because they can be great persuaders.
Millennials rely on their parents advice when it comes to making decisions in areas where
they dont have much expertise. Parents may also be the people buying travel tickets for
the millennials. Targeting the parents will potentially help boost sales because they can
spread awareness of the line through word-of-mouth.
C. Universities
Universities are the last target audience. Universities are always looking for new
ways to accommodate their current students and draw in potential students. When targeting
universities we will convince them that our bus line is the safest and best way for their
students to travel. Once an alliance is made, we can identify the universities as partner
schools. With that alliance with universities, we could construct a plan to have shuttles
take students from campus to the bus line stations as a free amenity for attending a partner
school.
Partnering with universities connects us with them, but it also provides a way for
universities to connect with each other. When promoting the company to universities we
may emphasize that a connection with our company is a connection with each other.
Students are always trying to visit their friends at nearby universities, but o ften time have

no way to get there. The bus line is that missing link. We will inform universities of this
issue and insist that partnering with the bus line makes them more of a university that
satisfies and accommodates their students. Universities are important. They provide the
brand with ample space for advertisement and they have a great consumer base. They can
also help be the deciding factor, persuading parents and students to use the brand.

IV. Strategies
Strategies help us accomplish our goals or objectives. They outline what actions we
will take in order to translate our message our services to our audiences. Our objectives for
our campaign are to create consumer awareness, enforce safety benefits and gain support of
publicity from other colleges.
Creating consumer awareness will help us be able to communicate with our
stakeholders and address certain areas of our company Coastal Travels. One strategy we
will use is social media. We want to create accounts for Twitter, Face Instagra m and
possibly Pinterest. Social media will be a great resource for us to receive immediate
feedback from our audience and as well an efficient, easy way to interact with them. In
addition to our social media platforms, we want to create our own hashtag.
For example, the majority of the universities we will be taking our customers to our
big, public schools. Sports are a huge aspect of these colleges and we would like to reach
out to those students participating in those events. We want to create the hashtag
#ReadySetCoast that students can use when at a colleges game day for football, basketball
and other sports. Using the hashtag, we want to see where our customers are going and
from the pictures or posts using #ReadySetCoast, we will pick a winner with the best, most
spirited picture and feature it on our social media accounts. The individual we pick will
receive a prize such as coupon for their next trip with Coastal Travels.
In addition to sporting events, we want to have a bus renovated for tailgates that
will travel to a different university in our list of schools we visit each week. It will include
food, luxury seating and other amenities for the perfect tailgate. We also want have a blog
which will feature a story from a student that used Coastal Travels and their experience.
Going off of students sharing their stories, we hope to create a Snapchat account that will
have our own geofilter. We want to show where other students are traveling by using the
geofilter and have them show their trip with Coastal Travels.
As we continue to target our audiences, our main goal is to depict how important
and useful Coastal Travels is for any average college student. Besides social media, we
want to create a lip dub commercial telling a story of students using Coastal Travels. We
also will create postcards to send to students/parents explaining who we are and what we
do.
Safety is another issue we realize our customers want to be addressed. We will create a
safety plan that outlines our goals to make sure our Coastal Travels users are safe. We

want to use a creative wording to relay our message such as customizing the words
Coastal to our best advantage.
As an example, C stands for comfort, O stands for offers amenities, A stands for
accommodating, and so on. We will also use testimonials to our best advantage like
posting them on our website or have press releases written about users experience. We
also want our press releases to strengthen the safety of Coastal Travels and how they
compare better to other bus companies.
Our final goal was to gain support from colleges. We want to create a campaign
where we travel to local colleges and build awareness for our business. In order to
accomplish this we can set up a campus event, which will have free food, coupons, a
contest and other gear to give to students. This will be able to speak with our potential
customers and spread the word about Coastal Travels. Our company is also considering
creating a free internship program that has campus ambassadors. They can repost our
social media to their accounts, create on campus events at their schools and help us in
marketing Coastal Travels.
V. Tactics
For our tactics, there are specific activities that will need to be put into operation in
order to achieve our objectives. For our social media, we hope to post at least twice a day
on each platform with content related to travel such as pictures, quotes, fun facts, contests
and more. A website will also be part of our tactics which includes our story, amenities
and links to social media accounts.
We hope to update our website at least 3 times a year. On our website, we will have
a tab that will have a calendar of our schedule for students to easily use. With an idea as a
one stop shop they can complete their scheduled trip and pay in one place by going to
our website. We may also create an app more even more easy access.
In addition to our campus ambassadors, we hope to create signage and banners to
hang up around universities. Our ambassadors can also represent us over college radio and
tv stations. Referring back to our mention of a lip dub commercial, we want to find
college, volunteer participants that will help us create the video and in return we can offer
them a free year of at least 5 rides with Coastal Travels. We want to feature the
commercial on younger generation focused channels such as MTV and cable stations to
reach our audiences.

VI. Planning Calendar

We have designed this plan to be implemented and completed in ten weeks. Below is a
detailed schedule for each week of the process.
Week One
Research
The research we conduct will be primary and secondary research. During this week we will
conduct primary research online and face-to-face. Online, surveys will be randomly
distributed to the people of our target audience on the east coast. The same methods will
apply in the selection processes in the face-to-face discussion. The secondary research will
be comprised of information we gather on the bus lines competitors, such as Greyhound
and MegaBus.
Week Two
Logo Creation and Website Designing
This week we will sit down with our creative consultants and develop a layout for the
brands website and create a logo for the brand. Everything from the color scheme to the
font will be decided during this week.
Week Three
Constructing Promotional Materials
During this week all of the promotional commercials and videos will be shot and sent to
post-production. In the post production stages, the videos will be edited in various forms so
that they are the perfect lengths for television, social media, radio, and the bus screens.
Setting Up Social Media Platforms
Using the logos and brand photos we designed in the previous week, we will begin setting
up social media accounts for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Week Four
University Outreach
We will send publicists out to different universities along the coast to obtain partnerships.
Partnering up with universities along the east coast will be the first step in the process of
gaining a consumer base.
Launch of Social Media Platform
On the social media platforms, little clips, clues, and pictures will be posted building the
anticipation for the brand launching. We will begin to connect to our target audiences
through page invitations and sponsored posts.

Week Five
Brand and Website Launching
This is the week the brand goes live! The website will go live, allowing customers to begin
purchasing tickets right in time for spring break.
Week Six
Social Media Contests Begin
During this week and the week to follow, the public will be able to participate in a contest
to win one of fifty pairs of surround sound headphones for those long bus rides. The
contest will take place through email subscriptions and our social media platforms. 50
people will be selected randomly as the winners.
Week Seven
Writing of Press Releases
The press releases that will be sent out to newspapers and television news stations will be
constructed and reviewed to make sure that every important detail is included. The press
releases will include information about the brand and the upcoming events we have
planned to raise brand awareness.
Week Eight
Event Touring
The food/travel bus will begin touring targeted cities on the east coast. The bus will be
posted at major spring festivals in predesignated cities. There representatives will distribute
free promotional items, encourage people to search our brand, and spread information
about the brand.
Distribution of Press Releases
The press releases will be sent out to the newspapers and television new s stations. The goal
is to be in headlines the following week as we get closer to our target date (Spring Break).
Week Nine
Event Touring
The food/travel bus will continue to travel along the east coast. To keep our audiences
engaged we will begin to encourage people to post a picture of themselves with the travel
bus in order to be recognized on our page and see how far the bus has gone.

Week Ten
Promotional Outreach through Sales
As spring break approaches we will begin to offer deals to consumers through our website
and social media. Discounts may be offered to students who attend universities that we are
partnered with.
For specific dates, view Appendix D.

VII. Budget
There are four main areas that we are focusing this budget on: research, promotional
events, general promotions, and advertisement. The budget is $50,000 and we have ten
weeks to complete the campaign. Research requires 2% of the budget. We used different
forms of research to gather as much information about college students and their travels as
possible. We want to make sure that our promotional videos and events are relatable to our
target audience. Within the 2% participants are likely to get paid for the information they
contribute to our research.
52% of the budget will be used for outreach and promotional events. We have
combined with Subway and have created a food bus that is designed in the style of the
buses the students would travel in. We plan on taking the truck to a few major festivals on
the east coast. At these events we will have a DJ and a screen with promotional videos
playing continuously. The food will draw more people to the truck, which will lead them to
asking about the brand logo.
General promotions requires another 3% of the budget. Within our promotions we
plan on giving away surround sound headphones that are $15 each. We plan on having this
giveaway through our social media platforms and 50 people will win this prize. Also, to
start gaining recognition we plan on giving away lanyards, sunglasses, and bracelets for
free at public events along the east coast. Giving away these free items will begin to put the
brands name and logo out there.
The final 43% of the budget will be used for advertisement purposes. With the
remainder of the budget, we will try to reach our target audiences through social media,
radio, television, newspapers, internet ads, and a website. Our main target audience is
constantly using social media and the internet to retrieve their intel. However, parents and
older adults might consume marketing advertisements through newspapers, television, and
the radio. We want to cover all media mediums and reach everyone within our target
audience.
For further information, check Appendix E.

Campaign Budget Plan

Category

Estimated
Quantity

Research
Web research
On location research
Other research

1
2
2

Research Costs Total

Event
Number of Attendees

$500.00
$100.00
$25.00

Estimated
Subtotal
$500.00
$200.00
$50.00

250
$8.50
$2,125.00
1
2
2
2
1

$800.00
$0.00
$500.00
$650.00
$600.00

$800.00
$0.00
$1,000.00
$1,300.00
$600.00
$3,700.00

1
35
3

$15,000.00
$80.00
$500.00

$15,000.00
$2,800.00
$1,500.00

Additional Costs Total

$19,300.00

Event Costs Total

Promotions
Giveaways
Lanyards
Sunglasses
Bracelets

$25,125.00
50
500
250
500

Promotions Costs Total

Advertising
Direct Mailings
(printing and postal costs)
Newspapers
Social Media
Signs
Radio
Television
Website
Promotional Video Production

Notes

$750.00

Meal (Sandwiches, Chips, and Soda)

Food & Beverages (including taxes)

Meals Costs Subtotal

Audio/Visual Services
Sound System
Microphones
Screens
Labor and AV technicians
DJ
Audio/Visual Services Subtotal
Additional Costs
Food/Travel Truck Renovation
Gas
Food Truck Workers

Estimated Cost
per Unit

$15.00
$0.79
$1.25
$0.23

$750.00
$395.00
$313.00
$115.00
$1,573.00

5,000
0
5
3
500
6
2
1
3

Advertising Costs Total

Estimated Grand Total

$1.00
$1.00
$225.00
$360.00
$15.00
$300.00
$900.00
$1,000.00
$500.00

$5,000.00
$0.00
$1,125.00
$1,080.00
$7,500.00
$1,800.00
$1,800.00
$1,000.00
$1,500.00
$20,805.00

$48,253.00

Included in sound system

Includes custom design & labor costs

VIII. Measurement
In order to evaluate the progress of our marketing plan, we must measure the
success of our objectives. Our first objective was creating consumer awareness of our
brand. Using tools such as HootSuite or Spout Social that measure the analytics of how
much our audience engaged with our social media (views, favorites, likes, repin and more)
improve our plan depending on the results. We also can create groups that focus on a
certain areas of our marketing plan and ask for their feedback on how well they beli eve
their tactics have worked. Statistical programs will be implemented into the creation of our
website so we can be aware of how many people are clicking and viewing.
For example, if there is a team that is solely dedicated to the social media of our
company, they can create a compilation of our posts and accounts and give an overview of
the number of followers we have, likes on Facebook and other important details. Another
way to assess our plan is to compare our results after a 6-month period. Typically, this will
give us enough time to observe what strengths and weaknesses our marketing strategies
have.
When analyzing the safeness of our company we can send out surveys to our
customers who have used Coastal Travels. We can list questions that focus on the
atmosphere, amenities and changes or improvements that they would want to be made (if
any). Something can always be done better. The surveys can have individuals rate their
experience explain their favorite and least favorite part of a Coastal Travels trip. This will
allow us to make any adjustments for future campaigns.