Planet

Honda

Public Relations Plan

Contacts
Allie Dethmers adethme1@ithaca.edu
Steven Gilburne sgilburne@ithac.edu
Trevor LaRose tlarose@ithaca.edu
Leah Sachs lsachs1@ithaca.edu
Colleen Maher cmaher1@ithaca.edu
Tyler Nevill tnevill1@ithaca.edu

Table of Contents
Executive Summary...3
Situation Analysis (SWOT)...5 - 7
Goals and Objectives...8
Target Audience...9 - 11
Strategies...12
Tactics...13 - 18
Measurement & Evaluation...19
Timetable...20 - 23
Budget...24 - 25
Meet Top Tier....26 -28
Appendix/Supplements:..29

Executive Summary

Planet Honda is located in Union
New Jersey off of Route 22. The dealership provides consumers with leading technology for fuel efficient and
safe vehicles. The primary issues that
Planet Honda has encountered are a
lack of enthusiastic employees, poor
customer service, and high employee
turn over rates. Planet Honda wants
Top Tiers public relations proposal is built to correct
to also widen their consumer base to customer service issues and employ new customer service
the Hispanic communities.

tactics to ultimately increase sales of the Honda Accord.

Through multiple media outlets, we will solidify a larger
Hispanic customer base as well as raise general Planet
Honda awareness within a 20-mile radius. Involvement
with local charities will allow us to brand Planet Honda
with a positive and helpful reputation.

Top Tier Public Relations Agency would like to thank
Planet Honda and Michael Fillare for the opportunity to create
this proposal.

Situation Analysis (SWOT)

Top Tier PR Agency reviewed Planet
Hondas website, Facebook, and reviews on
Yelp. The team also studied the surrounding
demographic of Planet Honda specifically
within a 20-mile radius. All sources led us to
various strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats.

Our strengths at Planet Honda are our loyal
customer base and our strong and reputable brand
name. Honda offers fantastic fuel-efficient models
at extremely fair prices. Planet Man and Honda Boy
are two great characters that allow the consumers
to remember their Planet Honda experience. With
the new Planet Honda renovations, we know we will
capture the consumers attention. Our top of the
line facilities ensures the consumer they are getting
a top of the line product.

Strengths

Situation Analysis (SWOT)

Weaknesses

Our weakness at Planet

Honda is the poor customer
service that is reflected upon on
the companies Facebook and word
of mouth. Online reviews show
unsatisfied customers, mainly due
to unenthused employees that
deter customers.

Opportunities

Opportunities at Planet Honda
through the Top Tier proposal consist of
widening the Planet Honda consumer base
and raising awareness of Planet Honda
within a 20-mile radius. Building
relationships between employees is
another opportunity for Planet Honda that
will make customers feel welcomed,
increasing customer satisfaction and brand
loyalty. This, ultimately, will increase
revenue and overall sales.

Situation Analysis (SWOT)

Threats

Threats at Planet Honda are our neighboring rival car dealers in the area.
Companies like Nissan, Hyundai, Toyota and other competing Honda
dealerships such as: -Madison Honda ( 8 miles away)

-Staten Island Honda (12 miles away)

-VIP Honda (6 miles away)

-Garden State Honda ( 18 miles away)

-Open Road Honda( 16 miles away)

-Metro Honda(15 miles away)

-DCH Academy( 16 miles away)
are threatening Planet Hondas customer base within the 20 mile radius. It is
important that Planet Honda ensures customers that they are getting a
better deal then they could at competing dealerships. Another threat to
Planet Honda would be consumers brand loyalty to competing car
manufacturers. Non-cooperative and unenthusiastic employees are one of
the largest threats for Planet Honda because of the effects on Planet Hondas
reputation.

Goals & Objectives

Our ultimate goal at Top Tier Public Relations Agency is to increase overall sales
by 15% through the following three core objectives.
1. Enhancing customer services has shown to be necessary due to the poor
reviews that Planet Honda has gotten.
2. Reaching the Hispanic community within a twenty-mile radius is important,
as many of the consumers that purchase from Planet Honda are not Hispanic.
Reaching the Hispanic community will add a multitude of business.
3. Lastly, increasing Planet Hondas overall awareness in a 20-mile radius will
ultimately bring in the remaining population that are loyal to other car brands,
or those who are currently in the vehicle search process.

Target Audience
Our target audiences include the
following groups:
Vehicle consumers within a 20mile radius.Those that are financially stable enough to purchase or
lease a new or used vehicle. Since
they are within a 20-mile radius this
audience is part of the local
community. They may be part of
the social community behind
Planet Honda and may have built
interpersonal relationships
between employees, without the
business aspect.

Target Audience
Audience between the ages of
24 and 54.
This age range is generally a
community that drives sportier
vehicles such as the Honda Pilot
because they do not want to compromise the sleek aesthetic look
to support a large family. Moms
between these ages tend to want
to drive a sportier vehicle that
isnt the typical soccer mom car.
The Honda Pilot provides them
with the ability to fit five comfortably and any surprises along the
way.

Target Audience
Hispanic consumers

Hispanics are heavily
populated within Union City,
NJ, which is within the 20-mile
radius of Planet Honda.
Research shows that
Hispanics tend to have
larger families that require one
or more vehicles. By reaching
out to this demographic the
Hispanic community will use
word of mouth to increase
their customer base.

11

Strategies
Top Tier will use several strategies throughout the campaign:
1.Issue an employee customer service class will improve employees personable
skills.
2. Hiring Hispanic & Spanish speaking employees to bring a sense of connection
for the Hispanic community purchasing from Planet Honda.
3. Increase awareness through several media outlets.
4. Helping local charities.

Tactics
1. Employee Customer Service Education

To improve customer service and employee morale, the CEO and President of
Planet Honda will develop an Employee Customer Service class. This will help
employees learn to deal with frustrated customers and still be able to close
a deal. This course will last for the duration of one week. It will help enhance
customer service skills for all employees.

2. New Telephone Sales Tactics

Generally, consumers contact the dealership via telephone prior to visiting

face-to-face. It is critical to employ new over-the-phone sales tactics because consumers today want to build a relationship over the phone before
they come in. The customer wants to know they are getting the best possible
deal while spending the least amount of time at the car dealership. It is not
enjoyable to play the salesmens game and wait while they speak with the
sales manager for overly exaggerated period of time. By negotiating over the
phone, the consumer is primed and ready to purchase once they meet faceto-face at the dealership. Solidifying a deal over the phone usually promises a
sale when the consumer walks into Planet Honda.

13

Tactics
3.

Charity Events
Planet Honda will rally up their employees to get engaged in their local community. Employees will take time out of their day to make rounds to local charities
such as: The Womens Fund of New Jersey (WFNJ) - The Womens Fund of New
Jersey is a comprehensive and innovative fundraising source for organizations
dedicated to improving the lives of women, AIDS Resource Foundation for Children - The AIDS Resource Foundation for Children (ARFC), founded in 1985, is a
community-based non-profit organization committed to providing cost-effective,
family-centered services to children coping with the impact of HIV/AIDS, and Central NJ Maternal and Child Health Consortium - The mission of CNJMCHC, a non
profit organization, acting as advocates and catalysts, is to improve the health of
infants, children, and women of childbearing age in the region, utilizing the resources of private, public, governmental and community based organizations, and
consumers. The Top Tier Public Relations Agency plan intends to have pamphlet
incentives handed out at each of these charities.

Tactics

4. Employee Relationship-Building Events

In Planet Hondas past, there have been communication challenges amongst employees, managers, and departments. Top Tier plans to install an employee relationship-building event that will consist of three activities: Bowling, Golf, and a
casual get together at Park Avenue Bar and Grill. These activities will occur once a
month every other month for the length of the entire campaign. All activities will
be expensed to the company. Top Tier plans to build long lasting relationships
among Planet Honda that will create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for
everyone.
Bowling
Bowl-write Lanes bowling rates per person $4 a game Saturday and Sunday
Golf
Galloping Hill $80 w/ cart
Suburban Golf Club
Ash Brook Golf Course
Casual Get together at Park Avenue Bar and Grill

15

Tactics
5. Social Media Enhancements

Top Tier plans to increase awareness

through social media by consistently
updating and monitoring the Facebook page, posting incentives and
upcoming events while highlighting
Planet Honda Characters. There is
much negativity in the consumers
posts, which Planet Honda will address by apologizing for the consumers inconvenience. They will then
offer a free incentive such as a car
wash to compensate for the customers previously poor experience. In
addition, Top Tier will create a Twitter dialogue to allow Planet Honda
to reach out to a larger number of
consumers.

Tactics
6. Television Advertising

Television being the largest source of feedback for Planet Honda, we recommend
airing incentives during Hispanic Heritage Month on local news channels and Telemundo, which will bring much needed awareness. The ad will being with Hispanic
family of four with one on the way shopping at the Planet Honda dealeship. The Children will see an imaginary Planet Man and Honda Boy who will convince them to beg
their mother for the sporty and spacious Honda Pilot. After the mother drives off the
lot with the vehicle, she will talk to the camera and expresses her love for her Honda,
and how her family would never have the easy and convenient transportation that
Honda vehicles offer while providing a safe and fuel-efficient ride.

17

7. Promotional Incentives

Tactics

Other online incentives like fliers, promotions and printable coupons will continue to
bring more traffic through Planet Honda. The coupons will focus on the newest incentive being offered by Planet Honda. The Advertisement will focus on whichever car
needs to be needs to be moved off the lot. The advertisement will be crisp, clear, precise, and to the point. Consumers do not want to deal with fine print and misleading
offers. Planet Honda will ensure clarity in their incentives.

Measurement &
Evaluation
The following activities will help to measure and
evaluate the success of this campaign:
1. When people come in, employees will find out
how they became aware of Planet Honda.
-The television
- Word of Mouth
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Feedback from Charities

4. To measure the effectiveness of the employee customer service classes, results will
be tallied by e-mailed surveys to the consumer after purchase. Employees will be rewarded for their improvement.

5. To measure how effective our Hispanic

outreach was, Planet Honda would record
2. Increase activity on Facebook get more likes the amount of vehicles purchased by the
Hispanic community as well as the returning
and followers on Twitter.
Hispanic customers.
3. To measure the increase in sales of Honda Vehicles, the annual sales reports will need to be compared and contrasted.

19

Timetable

Timetable

21

Timetable
New Employee Sales Tactics:

New sales tactics will be employed and practiced for the entire duration of the campaign
beginning in June 2014 and ending June 2015.
Charity Events:

Charity events will take place during the first and last three months of the campaign
(June-August 2014 & April-June 2015). Each month will focus on one charity to give them each
Planet Hondas individual attention.
Employee Relationship Building Event:

These events will take place every other month, once a month. All costs will be expensed
to the company.

Timetable
Social Media Enhancements:

Social media enhancements will take place for the entire duration of our campaign,
starting immediately. The social media pages will be updated daily.
Employee Customer Service Education:

The customer service education will happen once in the beginning of the campaign
in June, and again in December to solidify what has been learned.
Television Commercial:

Television commercials will begin to air September 15th and end October 15th. The
television commercials will last for the same duration as Hispanic Heritage month.
Promotion Incentives:

Promotions and Incentives will last for the entire duration of the campaign. Promotions will always be available online, and will be updated depending on which vehicles
Planet Honda needs to move off the lot.

23

Budget
Television Commercials:
- Approx. $1,000.00 Per 30-Second Commercial.
- 80 Total aired commercials.
o TOTAL: Approx. $80,000.00
Flyers:
- 500 Flyers at Approx. $1.54 per print.
- 500 Flyers per 6 months
o TOTAL $650.00
Golf:
- Approx $80.00 Per game.
- 2 total matches.
o TOTAL: Depends on number of employees.
Bowling:
- $4.00 per game per person (Saturdays & Sundays).
- 2 total games
o TOTAL: Depends on number of employees.

Budget
Park Avenue Bar and Grill:
- Limit $25.00 bar tab plus a meal (Approx. $15.00) per person.
- 3 total meets
o TOTAL: Depends on number of employees.
TOTAL BUDGET COST: $82,650.00

25

Meet the Team

Allie Dethmers

Trevor LaRose

is a sophomore Integrated Marketing Communications major. He drove a Honda Accord for two
years and it remains as his favorite Honda model to
this day. He really enjoys both playing and writing
music in his free time for guitar, vocals, or piano. As
a future career choice, he would love to find a way
to blend his passion and creativity with music to
his love for both advertising and PR work.

is a sophomore Integrated Marketing
and Communications major with a minor
in Funtivities 16. Her favorite Honda car
is the Honda Pilot 2014. Her passions
include: singing, dancing, eating, Beyonce,
and playing the French Horn. Some day
she would love to be part of a marketing
and event planning team which involves
world traveling.

Meet the Team

Leah Sachs

is a sophomore IMC major. Her
favorite Honda model is the Honda
NSX. Her interests include traveling,
watching live music, going on outdoor
adventures, and hanging out with
friends. Leahs future goal is to throw
music events for a cause.

Steven Gilburne

is a Sophomore Integrated Marketing Communications Major at Ithaca College in the Roy H. Park
School of Communications. Born in New York, he
grew up Sarasota, Florida. His favorite Honda is the
Honda s2000 due to its unmatched handling, sleek
aesthetics, and aggressive stance. In his spare
time he either does market research on the latest
and greatest new vehicles, find himself in the gym, or
spends his leisure time with close friends.

27

Meet the Team

Tyler Nevill

Colleen Maher

is a sophomore Sport Media major.
His favorite Honda car is the 2014 Civic
Coupe. His main passions include playing/ watching any major sport, making
memories with friends, visiting Canada,
and freestyling. In the future his dream
job would involve being the head of
media relations for a National Hockey
League team.

is a junior Music Major with an Integrated
Marketing Communications minor. Her interests
include playing the oboe, going to music shows,
dancing, and spontaneous adventures. Her future
career goal is to do marketing research for a classical music performance group in New York City. After
being hit by an 18 wheeler and totaling her car, her

favorite car is definitely a

Honda Accord, primarily

for the safety reasons.

Appendix/Supplements

Honda released their first automobile in 1963 with the release
of its first sports car, the S500. Now Honda has become a world-renowned name. Today, Honda has become of the leaders in the car
industry for safe, fuel-efficient, and stylish vehicles for people of all
ages.

Planet Honda is one of the leading branches of Honda for new
and used car dealerships in the Union, New Jersey area located off of
route 22. Planet Honda offers many incentives upon the purchase of
a new vehicle such as, A $1,000 additional trade-in value guarantee,
72-Hour exchange policy, 30 Day lemon-free pledge, and the Planet
Hondas best value guarantee.
2285 US 22
Union, NJ 07083
SALES:(877) 411-8066
SERVICE:(908) 851-5597
PARTS:(908) 964-8411
FAX US:(908) 851-5906

29