Marketing Plan

Research thus far


Executive Summary
Ascend Inc. is a design firm located in New York City. We specialize in destination branding catering to the greater NYC area where the firm is stationed, also including cities and countries around the world. Projected profits encompass existing travel, hospitality and tourism clientele who seek a greater outreach. Ascend Inc. is committed to engaging travel businesses in attaining more clientele themselves while retaining a fresh image.

A succinct summary: such as target market size, financial goals and funding.
For a standard business plan, the first paragraph of the executive summary should generally include:

* Business name
* Business location
* What product or service you sell
* Purpose of the plan

-->Another paragraph should highlight important points, such as projected sales and profits, unit sales, profitability and keys to success. Include the news you don’t want anyone to miss. This is a good place to put a highlights chart, a bar chart that shows sales, gross margin, and profits before interest and taxes for the next three years. You should also cite and explain those numbers in the text.

Brand Name & Service Positioning
(The one slogan or sentence the company is known)
Ascend Inc. “The next level”

Situational Analysis
SWOT

Segmentation & Target Market
(What the need is)
*see target market 10.25.09

Objectives & Goals

Marketing Tactics

Implementation Plan & Action plan

Budget (Financial plans: include projections and historical data)

Controls

Market Analysis (include industry analysis, target market and competition)
Our target market: Ascend Inc. proposes to design solutions within the travel, tourism and hospitality industries. We will utilize corporate identity, marketing, advertising, packaging, and exhibition design.

Through promotion and advertising, we will target customers in the NYC area. We also take clients from around the world as our team is well traveled and is able to meet with clients outside the NYC area. Ascend Inc. is unique given its team, its varied backgrounds and expansive knowledge of the travel and hospitality industry. Within Ascend, we speak numerous languages and therefore out win similar firms within the NYC area that do not have the vast language proficiency.

Service Analysis
Ascend Inc represent clients in three main areas of branding: those who need an identity, those that are interested in re-branding and keeping their image current, and those that would like it to improve.

•Efforts directed at several highly defined groups of prospects.
•Maintaining close contact with customers and prospects with known buying preferences, habits and activities.

Invest in test market analysis through a specialty firm.
Image marketing
Niche marketing
Relationship marketing
Lifestyle marketing
Target marketing

Marketing Goals
*See data for Market Research

Marketing Message
From 10.25.09

Revised Target Market
* Groups that do not have strong identities
* Countries that do not have a well defined or strong tourism board. They may need help enticing people to visit their countries.
* Hotels within these countries that want a more luxurious, funky, fresh, etc. look
* Transportation such as planes, cruise ships, or buses
* Travel agencies - online such as Expedia, or local groups

Refined Target Market, as agreed upon last meeting (Oct. 27)
Organizations within the travel, tourism, hospitality industries, and destinations that
1) Do not have a brand identity
2) Have an existing brand identity that is weak or ineffective (bad)
3) Require design executions that further complement/supplement an existing strong identity.

Ascend, Inc. has the capacity to
1) Create a brand identity for the organization, which will be
2) Strong, memorable, and impactful
3) Representing the value of the organization in all its possible executions



Information
Small business plans typically include the following section titles and descriptive details:
1. Cover Page: include name, brand identity, version number and date that plan was prepared.
2. Table of Contents.
3. Executive Summary: include succinct snapshot of small business such as target market size, financial goals and funding (if needed).
4. Company summary: include company specific information such as goals and missions.
5. Market analysis: include industry analysis, target market and competition.
6. Product or service descriptions: include product or service that will be offered to customers.
7. Marketing and sales plans: elaborate on marketing and sales strategy.
8. Operations and management plans: include inventory and fulfillment plans.
9. Financial plans: include projections and historical data.
10. Appendix: include any supporting documentation.


7 Controllable Variables That Affect Customer Motivation And Behavior.
Nicknamed The “7 P’s”

• Price: What we charge our customers.
• Place: Where and how a service of product is sold or offered (Another way of saying distribution)
• Promotion: Advertising & Promotion, PR, direct marketing, word of mouth, websites, and any and every way to get noticed.
Product: What we sell - the goods, the services and everything in between (be aware that there are very few products that are purely goods or purely service). Here we need to consider everything that makes up our product or product range, from the core benefits to the add-ons and variations.
• People: Everybody involved in transactions - principally, the customers and the front-line staff. Particularly important for services, e.g., the quality of a haircut (as a service) is determined largely by the person doing the cutting

• Physical Evidence: The napkins at the restaurant table, the reports consultants provide and the uniforms of the airplane flight attendants all give us clues about the service we are consuming. The bits of “evidence” that we give a customer help overcome the intangible nature of services and give them a true appreciation of the value of the service being provided.

Process: The processes used to make and deliver a product. Again, particularly important for services where the product is produced and consumed at the same time