Executive Summary
Morris DigitalWorks launched their Spotted® program in January 2012. This program uses our local community to socially network events and activities. Through the Spotted® program we will launch our new service, Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com. Some prospects are local businesses, schools, colleges, civic centers, leagues, and clubs/bars. All these are considered due to the large number of attendance and exposure they will give to Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com name and logo. This component of the Spotted® program veers to encouraging the participation of our community and spark interest of those who may not live in our community, such as teachers, employers/employees, or visiting patrons. The success of Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com lean solely on our Spotted® Champion, who recruits and manage the program, the number of events covered, and the photographers who are volunteers and interns.
Within a year’s time we expect for the site to have grown tremendously not only in volunteers from the community but also with outsiders supporting the program as well. Advertising online, radio, and print sales for The People Sentinel, is expected to increase by at least 40% from our sales in 2011, through our marketing of Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com.
1. Situation Analysis
Support and volunteers are the most critical to the success of
Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com. The program is based on user-contributions from of our local community, in general. If our marketing plan doesn’t appeal to the consumer our program will cease to exist. Once the program is started our Spotted® Champion at The People Sentinel would do as much as he/she can but the program is based on volunteer and intern photographers. The photographers are essential to the success of the program. Our community is very small therefore we use other networking services to gain exposure such as our company face book page, www.facebook.com/Thepeople-sentinel and www.thepeoplesentinel.com to attract our audience, as well as getting a head start on prospective photographers.
2.1 Market Summary
The market for launching Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com is statewide. With our schools excelling in sports and other extra curriculum activities place our newspaper at an advantage. Also the Morris Group expands well over the east coast, Canada, some central and western states as well as abroad. All our affiliates are encouraged to create a business plan for their own division of the Spotted® program. To prove the success of
Our Spotted® program is a few of our affiliate newspapers who started their own Spotted® program: Herald Tribune-185, 340 photos, Athens-415,184 photos, and Lubbock-169,510. This is a social networking trend that is expanding quickly. Facebook and Youtube use the same time of media to bring folks together sharing photos and videos of their communities and life styles.
2. SWOT Analysis
Weaknesses
Without the proper manpower to analyze and research different components of the program or even get a statistical value of the benefits of Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com, could dissolve internally for lack of know how. We decided in creating our business plan we are joined with teams like Athens, Lubbock, and Herald Tribune to assist our office with marketing Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com.
Strengths
Our reporters are skilled in researching material for their articles as well as photo shooting of events, past and present. They are the beginning source of the first photos with Spotted.ThePeopleSentinel.com. They are knowledgeable of their work and environment. Most of us grew up in this community and have a solid relationship with them. This helps us tremendously in marketing our service.
Opportunities
• Increased participation and involvement in our local community: This program is designed to have the input of the consumers, the spectators, and nonsubscribers. There is always a great outcome at social events which means
