Splore

Marketing Plan
PRT 3211
Jani Holder Katrina Smith
George Rodney Colter Christensen

Table of Contents
Executive Summary

Company

Climate

12

Competitors

14

Consumers

17

SWOT Analysis

18

Segment

19

Target

21

Positioning Statement

23

Marketing Objectives

23

Product

24

Price

26

Place

28

Promotions

29

Evaluation

31

Citation

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Executive Summary


Splore is a non-profit organization that provides adaptive outdoor recreation trips
in an attempt to make the outdoors accessible for everyone.
We are proposing designing an overnight rock climbing trip to Moab. Our target
market for this trip is 12-18 year olds. We will market it as a fun and exciting
adventure, and use primarily social media and e-mail to promote it. We will use
strategies that encourage participants to bring along friends to make it a social
event and use the participants themselves to market future events through social
media.

Company

Splore is a not for profit organization which obtained 501 (3) (c) classification in
2007. Splore was started by Martha Ham in the 70s after she experienced a similar
program in California and wanted to bring the same opportunities to the people of
Utah. Sense then Splore has continued to grow offering all sorts of new and exciting
trips. Splore was originally an acronym, but as it became less socially acceptable to
refer to people with disabilities as Special Populations, they changed it to simply a
word. Splore is believed to be Scottish slang that basically means frolic, which
seems to still support their purpose. Splore believes that everyone, regardless of
ability or life circumstance, deserves the opportunity to live life to the fullest.
Splores mission statement is Splore changes lives by challenging and expanding
ones notion of ability through meaningful outdoor adventure. Many
organizations have values, but instead, Splore has adopted three core tenants. They
value the spirit of connectedness, by giving people a shared experience and
providing opportunities for social interaction and teamwork, but also by giving their
clients a chance to feel connected to nature. The second tenant is the dignity of risk,
which is especially important to the organization. Caring for a person with a
disability tends to mean sheltering them. Splore gets to challenge that, by exposing
them to a healthy level of risk. The final tenant is the magic of the outdoors, which
sometimes is obtained automatically by going out to beautiful locations on these
trips, but can also be increased by teaching the participants snippets of information
about their environment during the trips.


The method they use to provide this opportunity is adventure trips. Splore
adventures are uniquely suited to challenge preconceived ideas of what is possible,
both for participants and their loved ones. Historically, it was thought that to care
for someone with a disability meant sheltering them from the world. Risk-taking
was feared and avoided. At Splore, we believe that there is dignity in risk-taking and
that it is an inherent part of living a full and robust life. We manage the risk of our
adventures, so that every Splore participant feels empowered and dignified. Splore
trips leave participants with an expanded sense of what they can accomplish both
individually and as a family. Many have described this transformation as
magical. During the winter season, Splore offers trips for snowshoeing, cross
country skiing in the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains, and indoor rock climbing at
Momentum Climbing Gym. Their repertoire changes to include canoeing at
Jordanelle and the Jordan River, outdoor rock climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon
as well as City of Rocks Idaho, and whitewater rafting on the Green and Colorado
rivers for the summer season. For all of these trips gear is provided for the
participant. On each trip there are one to fiveteen participants involved with a staff
ratio of one to four staff. There are two locations for Splore, one in Salt Lake City,
and one in Moab. Both of these office locations have easy access to mountains and
rivers in which to run their trips.

The organization of the company:

The stakeholders:
Administrative
Staff

Arrange for staff, transportation, gear, participants and

schedules

Guides

Lead the trips, are the face of the organization for the
participants

Participants

People who would not otherwise be able to participate in

adventure activities

Caregivers

The people providing for the participants needs and enabling

them to participate

Donors

People and organizations who provide the funding for

scholarships, gear, transportation, etc.

Volunteers

People who give their time to assist the guides in leading trips

Past marketing efforts:
Most of Splores marketing efforts have been done online. They favor videos that
include footage of trips, and testimonials from clients, volunteers, donors and
employees, all of which are posted on social media including Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, RSS feeds and the Splore website. Other marketing efforts include
testimonials posted online and on social media, as well as pictures. Splore also is
involved in the Outdoor Retailer Show as well as other events where people can
come and get information from their tent.

One testimonial from the Splore website is from a Veteran Participant who went
climbing at age 75: I got to the top of the climb and I cried. Im 75 years old and
I didnt know I could still do that.

Here is a screenshot of Splores website:

One of the goals of Splores marketing imagery seems to be including mobility
assistance and adaptive gear in front of the subject activity.

Splores Facebook Page:

It has 1,854 people following, as well as ranked 5 out of 5 stars.

Splores Instagram page:

282 Followers, 89 Posts, Posts average about 20 likes.

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Financial status and goals:
Details to be inserted before final report.

Company Image:

Splore has a reputation of being an open-minded organization, which is emphasized
by their slogan, open for adventure. This implies open-mindedness in their
adventure trips, as well as being open to people. Splore seems to want to keep their
image intact and the goal is simply to expose more people to that image.

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Climate:

Industry Analysis:
As there is an increase in the belief that people of all ability levels should have
access to programs, a larger variety of trips and programs have become necessary to
support these people and their wants and needs. Organizations that have been
around since the 60s, 70s, and 80s, are having to change their programs prices as
well as increase the number and variety of trips offered in order to keep of with the
competition. These new and more specialized trips are being created to give the
community more access to recreational programs and for a lower cost. As the
outdoor recreation industry continues to grow, in order for organizations to be
competitive, their prices must be competitive, and their trips must be fun,
informative, and unique.

Global Analysis:
Political: Disability Rights Laws, Utah is looking at extending disability laws to
people below the poverty line. These people have been neglected from care and
resources such as adaptive outdoor recreation.
Economic: Recession, disposable income of consumers. People who were affected
negatively by the recession are less likely to spend their money on outdoor
recreation, having cheaper alternatives makes it easier for people to buy into the
product.

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Social & Cultural: Safety concerns, having a trained Wilderness First Responder staff
on hand, ages of participants. People view outdoor programming as risky, having
information for people not well informed will put people at ease.
Technological: New equipment is constantly being developed for people with
disabilities. Having equipment that is safer as well as easier to use for people of all
abilities is key for programing.
Environmental: Weather, Fishing Conflicts, Trail Conflicts. The Wasatch Mountains
are a very high use area, being able to make the smallest impact possible is
important, and being aware of trail use and group size to minimize impact.
Legal: Certifications, discrimination laws, health and safety laws, tax-deductions

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Competitors

Direct Competitors
Splore has four direct competitors. They are TRAILS: Therapeutic Recreation &
Independent Lifestyle, National Ability Center, and Wasatch Adaptive Sports, and
Camp Kostopolus.

TRAILS: Therapeutic Recreation & Independent Lifestyle is a year around
organization that serves people with spinal cord injuries. Like Splore, TRAILS target
market is people with disabilities seeking organized recreation programs. Unlike
Splore, TRAILS offers a broader range of activities, specifically indoor ones. Where
Splore only offers outdoor rock climbing, TRAILS offers a variety of indoor
recreation programs.TRAILS: Therapeutic Recreation & Independent Lifestyle offers
activities such as spinning, hand cycling, kayaking, canoeing, downhill skiing, cross-
country skiing, swimming, sailing, wheelchair tennis and a variety of other activities
year around. They also have a Spinal Cord Injury Forum and TRAILS talk. The Spinal
Cord Injury Forum is an 8-week educational program for people with spinal cord
injuries, personal care providers, peers, and health-care professionals. TRAILS talk
is a monthly spinal cord injury focused on learning and social opportunity. TRAILS
offer an equipment loaner program for people with spinal cord injuries to able rent
adaptive equipment. Prices are unknown at this time and are not located on the
website.

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The National Ability Center operates year around and serves individuals with
physical and/or cognitive disabilities and their families.Summer camp prices range
from $200-$400 depending on the activity and length of camp. Prices for the other
activities they offer are as follows: Alpine Downhill Skiing $190-$275, Nordic Cross
Country Skiing $20, Archery $120-$200, Cycling $120-$200 Horseback riding
(Equestrian) $45, Wall Climbing $15, Sled Hockey $25, Water Skiing $190-$275,
Snowboarding $190-$275, Biathlon $75, Snowshoeing $25. The National Ability
Center has multiple facilities that include the Bronfman Family Recreation Center &
Ranch, Richard E. Marriott Program Services Building, Questar Pavilion, Perry
Scowcroft Equestrian Center and the Easton Family Archery Range.

Wasatch Adaptive Sports operates year around and serves children, veterans, and
adults with special needs. They offer summer activities including nature hikes,
fishing, adaptive mountain and road biking, activities at Snowbird, adaptive
horseback riding, and bowling. Winter activities offered by Wasatch Adaptive
Sports are adaptive, alpine and Nordic skiing and snowboarding, snowshoeing, and
bowling. Wasatch Adaptive Sports uses the facilities of Primary Childrens Medical
Center, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Rehabilitation Center at University of Utah
Health Care, the VA Medical Center, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of the greater Salt
Lake Area, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Alta Ski Area and Sundance Mountain
Resort. There is no initial fee to join Wasatch Adaptive Sports and prices vary
depending on the activity. There are scholarships available to families who cannot
pay out of pocket.

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Another direct competitor of Splore is Camp Kostopolus. Camp K is a program for

youths as well as adults with physical disabilities. Similar to Splore, Camp K offers a
number of different outdoor recreation programs. Like Splore Camp K offers a few
rock climbing and hiking trips. However, unlike Splore, Camp K offers low ropes
courses, high ropes courses, horseback riding, and fishing trips. The fees vary for
Camp K vary depending on what type of activity the participant is interested in.
Camp K also offers community based programming during the winter and spring to
facilitate programs during the off season.

Indirect Competitors:

Indirect competitors of Splore are all local non-adaptive recreation organizations

such as ski-resorts, climbing gyms, White Pine touring, and other companies which
offer either outdoor recreation equipment for purchase or rental as well as any
organization which offers guided outdoor recreation trips. We considered these
indirect competitors because they offer similar outdoor recreation programs, but
they do not cater specifically to people with disabilities.

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Consumers

Splores consumers consist of trip participants who would otherwise not be able to
be a part of the trip activity. This includes low-income groups, as well as people with
cognitive, physical, and emotional disabilities. Due to the amount of funding
provided by donation, Splore prides itself on rarely having to turn someone away
due to lack of funds. The participation fees are low and scholarships are readily
available. Splore provides adaptive gear for all activities, making them accessible to
most.

Participants come to Splore looking for many things, some of which include fun,
adventure, socialization, physical activity, and spending time outside.

Customer satisfaction seems to be high, judging from the testimonials and responses
on social media. The problem seems to be people knowing about the opportunities
Splore presents, because they have a hard time keeping their trips filled, and having
large enough groups to make trips cost effective.

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SWOT Analysis:

Strengths

Weaknesses

Activities for a large age range

Low staff number doesnt allow for

more than 2 trips at once

Year round activities

High staff turnover rate

Financial aid funding for participants

(95% of costs offset)

Rely on unpaid staff who are less

experienced

Low guide to participant ratio

Not as many activities offered as

competition

All equipment is provided

Staff and volunteers go through

training each season
Gained accreditation in 2014 as an
Adventure Program through the
Association of Experiential Education

Opportunities

Threats

New indoor climbing gym in

Millcreek (close proximity)

Decreasing snowfall (down 36% since

1995)

Funding opportunities such as Love

UT, Give UT and Support Local

Overuse (and vandalism) of terrain

Depleting water levels

Open for Adventure Breakfast raised

$18,000 the first time; chance to
make it an annual event

More competition for limited number of

permits and can only submit permit
applications three months ahead of time

Gas prices rising

Liability requirements could change

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Segment

The segmentation approach we chose was to separate the potential participants by
age group. This approach seemed the best to us because we can reach separate
groups by advertising with different methods. We divided the potential participants
into the following groups: 0-5, 5-10, 11-18, 19-30, 31-50, 51-65, 66+. Each of these
groups has different characteristics, goals, and priorities. Some of the notable ones
for each group are as follows. Children younger than five years old are not allowed
on Splore trips for safety reasons. For ages 5-10 the primary concern is fun and
safety, especially considering most of the decisions are made by parents in this case.
For ages 11-18, priorities lie in excitement of trips and transportation concerns,
since many of this age group cannot drive themselves to activities. Time of activity is
a primary aspect for ages 19-30 because of work and school schedules. Ages 31-50
focus on family oriented times and activities. For ages 51-65, priorities are safety
and physical activity. Seniors ages 66+ participate in part for the socialization
opportunities.

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Possible Segmentation Approaches:

Disability Type

cognitive
physical
emotional
none

Travel Distance

0-10 miles
11-20 miles
21-30 miles
31+ miles

Age Group

5-10
11-18
19-30
31-50
51-65
66+

Gender

Girl
Boy
Non-binary

Activity Interest

Cross-country Skiing
Whitewater rafting
Indoor Climbing
Outdoor Climbing
Hiking
Snowshoeing
canoeing
overnight trips

Availability

Weekend morning
Weekend afternoon
Weekend evening
Weekday morning
Weekday afternoon
Weekday evening

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Target

Our primary target is ages 11-18 year olds and our secondary target is 5-10 year
olds. We chose these groups as our targets because they are the most likely
candidates to participate in the programs that Splore offers. Marketing directly to
these students would help gain more participants as well as spread the word about
Splore. Since most of the activities are group based, focusing on 11-18 year olds
mean they also will want their friends to be involved. This will draw more people
into splore and also get more parents aware of the organization as a whole. As for
targeting children, 5-10 year olds will be future older participants in Splore. Getting
them involved at a young age in the program will grow the program and provide a
future participant base for Splore.

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This perceptual map looks at what would interest our target market, teens 11-18
years old in salt lake city. We decided that teens would be most interested in
activities that were high on excitement level. We ranked activities 1- 10 based on
how exciting they are and the rush that they provide. We also decided that for teens
travel distance would be an important thing to consider while deciding on
programming.

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Positioning Statement

For participants ages 11 to 18, Splore offers accessible outdoor programming for
participants with many different disabilities, Splore is in close proximity from Salt
Lake City, and provides exciting adventures.

Marketing Objectives:

To increase number of participants 30% 2017 by promoting Splore local

schools around and in Salt Lake County.

To increase staffing by 20% by 2016 to accommodate for growing programs

by having hiring events and promoting Splore on Utah college campuses, and
moving three volunteer positions to paid positions.

To gain new knowledge of what activities teens would like to see splore
implement into their program, and begin implementing 3 new activities by
2017.

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Product
Among other activities, Splore offers Rock Climbing trips to its customers. We offer a
number of trips, giving participants the choice between various trip lengths and
locations around Utah and Idaho. Trips ranging from 4 to 6 hours are offered at
locations around Salt Lake City in Ferguson Canyon, Big Cottonwood Canyon, and
Little Cottonwood Canyon. Overnight trips are offered to City of Rocks National
Reserve in Southern Idaho. These trips are offered to group sizes of anywhere
between 1 and 14 participants. Vans are offered for our overnight trips to Idaho and
to locations around Salt Lake City for day trips. Splore does provide all necessary
climbing gear for our participants, as well as a 1:4 instructor to participant ratio. All
trips are lead by at least 1 full time guide along with a number of intern guides
determined by the level of participation. Splore trips are designed to be as safe,
instructive/informative, and fun as possible.

We recommend expanding the current list of Rock Climbing activities to include
overnight trips to areas such as Moab and its surrounding National Parks in
Southern Utah. These trips will include gear and transportation from Salt Lake City
if desired. These trips will have to cost a bit more but the expected positive outcome
should yield net profits and increased loyalty in our organizations and its programs.
By expanding our rock climbing program with more trips, we will have control of a
market that is virtually untouched, overnight adaptive rock climbing trips in
Southern Utah are virtually non existent. This should gain us, as stated above,
increased loyalty as well as new customers. As the Adaptive rock climbing programs

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industry seems to be becoming more and more popular, parallel to the rock
climbing industry as a whole, we feel that by increasing our number of rock climbing
programs we have a sure fire way of increasing our appeal to our target audience.

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Price

Our objective for our pricing is to break even so we can continue providing
programs and allow for company growth. The variables the company uses history
and cost of the organization. The company determines the price by comparing it to
past years and operational costs of the organization. Some of the companys
operational cost will include staffing, equipment, and permit fees. Most of the staff
for trips are volunteers and helps the company save money by having to spend less
money on staff. A day trip to little cottonwood canyon for 1 person currently costs
$180. The cost of the trip is based off of staffing fees, equipment fees and
transportation fees. The company does offer bundling on trips. If you have more
than one person participating in the trip, the price per person will be cheaper as
shown below.
Number of persons on trip Price Per Person
1

$180

$120

$90

$70

5 or more

$60

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The price scale for an overnight climbing trip is as follows:

Number of people

Price per person

$360

$240

$180

$140

$120

Like all trips, there will be scholarships available to offset these costs, as well as a
discount if the participants will be providing their own transportation from Salt
Lake City to Moab.

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Place
Locations for trips from the Salt Lake office include: East Canyon, Millcreek Canyon,
Solitude Nordic Center, Momentum Millcreek, Momentum Sandy, Big Cottonwood
Canyon, Little Cottonwood Canyon, City of Rocks in Idaho, and the Uintas. Locations
for trips from the Moab office include: Fisher Towers, Westwater Canyon, Cataract
Canyon, Labyrinth Canyon, Gates of Lodore, and Ruby/Horsethief Canyon. Other
places the Splore team may interact with customers include the Outdoor Retailer
show, fundraisers, and events relevant to terrain access.

The Moab area provides many opportunities for climbing and camping. We
recommend using the crag known as Ice Cream Parlor for the proposed overnight
trips because of its close proximity to a road and camping. While there may be some
difficulties for mobility on the way from the road to the crag, we believe these are
manageable with a low guide to participant ratio. Ice Cream Parlor is down Kane
Creek Road which comes right out of downtown Moab. It is in a beautiful desert
canyon that will inspire the participants.
Contact methods:
Website

http://splore.org/

E-mail

info@splore.org

Telephone 801-484-4128
Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/gosplore?fref=ts

Instagram @sploreutah

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Promotions
In order to drive up interest in our new rock climbing trip we will be running a
number of promotional strategies. These strategies have been created to make our
customers more aware of our new program and give them incentive to sign up for it,
as well as telling their peers about the new program as well as our organization as a
whole. It is our hope that with these strategies in place we will not only fill up our
first trip but create a serious demand for more, bot with returning loyal customers
and new prospecting ones.
1) 10% off sign up code for our new overnight moab rock climbing trip, will be sent
out by email to all participants of our day rock climbing trips during the 4 months
leading up to the first overnight rock climbing trip this September. This promotion
will only be redeemable for this trips September 2015 maiden voyage.
2) Anyone who has participated in any Splore program in the past 5 years will get a
10% discount on our new overnight rock climbing trip fee if they get a friend, new to
the program, to sign up with the mention of their name. Limited to 20% discount
per person. This promotion will only be redeemable for this trips September 2015
maiden voyage.
3) Overnight rock climbing trip Instagram contest- Participants of the overnight
rock climbing trip will be able to enter an Instagram contest for a chance to receive a
Splore prize basket which includes a Splore base layer t-shirt (not cotton), a
Splore/leave no trace Nalgene water bottle, and finally a 50% off coupon for any of
our day trip classes (must be used within one year of winning). Participants can

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enter by posting photos they get during the trip and hashtagging them #sploreutah.
The photo with the most likes by the following Friday will be the winner.
4) This flyer will be e-mailed to previous trip participants as well as posted on
Facebook and Instagram. It will also be on the trip page on the Splore website. The
e-mails and social media posts will encourage the recipients to forward or share the
flyer with people who may also be interested.

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5) This coupon will be posted on the Splore Facebook, Instagram, and website. It
will also be e-mailed out to all past participants who fall into the age category.

Evaluation
We will evaluate our marketing efforts by tracking how many codes and coupons
are used, and by including the following question on end of trip surveys given to
participants:
How did you hear about this trip?
____ Facebook
____ Instagram
____ E-mail
We will also track the number of likes on the photos in the Instagram contest, and
look into the number of followers each contestant has.

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Citations
Alta Snowfall by Month. Utah Avalanche Center. N.p, 2015. Web. 23 July 2015.
<https://utahavalanchecenter.org/alta-monthly-snowfall>.
"Splore -." Splore RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 July 2015. <http://splore.org/>.

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