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Public Relations Principles

Assignment 3- Communications Plan
Stephen Murdoch

Domenic Graziani
October 18th, 2017

Situation Analysis
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Shoppers Drug Mart is a Canadian retail pharmacy chain based out of Toronto,
Ontario. It comprises of over 1,253 different locations throughout nine provinces and two
territories. Shoppers Drug Mart is one of Canadas most successful and prominent
corporations to date. From the beginning, they have been able to buy out their smaller
competition and distinguish themselves as the top pharmaceutical chain in Canada.

Shoppers Drug Marts strengths include their Optimum loyalty program, their easy
accessibility, the presence of their private level brands, and their unique approach to
cosmetic retailing (Beauty Boutique). Shoppers Optimum card is a customer loyalty
program that was introduced to reward loyal customers. By signing up with Optimum,
users receive in store points from purchases, discounts for seniors, savings off specialty
items, and the entrance of frequent draws for prizes and points. Shoppers Drug Mart is
also very accessible for customers, their 1,200+ locations throughout the country gives
the majority of citizens easy access to their stores. Shoppers Drug Mart has brands unique
to their store, which separates them and their products from competition. Lastly, Their
Beauty Boutique cosmetic line is unique because of its open-sell display and unbiased
approach to customer service in prestige cosmetic retailing.

Weaknesses of Shoppers Drug Mart are their domestic limitations, their target
audience/ image, and local competitors. Having all of their business done inside Canada,
their standards and limited and they have a ceiling that they are approaching when it
comes to their growth. Having incentives such as a senior discount can also act as a
weakness. That inclusivity can demotivate younger generations from becoming frequent
customers. Although Shoppers is a very successful chain, they are mindful of their
competition such as Rexall, Loblaws, and Walmart. These alternative retailers compete
on the front of price, product quality, and customer service.
Shoppers Drug Mart has many opportunities to take advantage of. Being located in
Canada, there is a high demand for pharmaceutical products because of our governmental
aid. They have opportunities to grow globally, and have the opportunity of leveraging
brand equity and making product extensions that would better fit their global growth
(country specific products). A big opportunity that Shoppers has is the existing brand
recognition to start campaigns.
Research
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To identify methods of solution, it is crucial that research is done in order to properly

identify what actions to take. In the case of improving Shoppers Drug Marts online
presence, it would first have to be disclosed how many shoppers use social media, and if
they do, whether or not they follow Shoppers on those platforms. That will be done by an
incentive survey. Customers could fill out a quick online survey, with the details clearly
printed at the bottom of their last purchase receipt, and in doing so can save 10% on their
next purchase. This will be enough to get a large portion of customers to take part in
taking the survey. When completing the survey, customers will be asked their age,
location, if and how much they use social media, if they follow shoppers drug mart on
social media, and those who dont, describe the benefits of following them. Research
within the social media platforms would also have to be completed on Shoppers behalf.
Within the 960,000 Facebook likes and 73,000 Twitter followers, the actual impressions
(likes/shares) should be recorded on a monthly basis to see the percentage of people
actually being active on those pages.

Research that will also have to be completed is the product sales in relation to
Shoppers Drug Marts social media posts. These numbers will show which product sales
get spiked based off of the social media posts and ultimately show what demographics
are active on their social media accounts. When the research is completed, the necessary
steps can be taken to increase Shoppers Drug Marts online presence.

Target Audiences

The target audience in the case of Shoppers Drug Mart, is the millennial generation
(generation Y). They need to reach this demographic for two main reasons; they are the
most social media savvy, and they use social media as their number one tool for shopping
information. An article written by Peter Gasca had 5000 Millennials surveyed and all of
the results suggested that smartphones are the dominant method of connection to the web
for Millennials. The study also found that the traditional methods of advertising,
television (six) and print media (seven) both fall behind other digital advertising methods
such as social media. For Shoppers Drug Mart to grow their social media presence, they
need to target those who most frequently use it. Pushing products geared more towards
this generation would be beneficial.
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Shoppers Drug Marts current focus is programs targeted towards womens health.
Their new commitment to womens health was founded on the belief that when Canadian
women are healthy and well, Canada is also healthy and well. They could keep funding
these woman support organizations, but it would be beneficial to broaden this focus by
supporting programs that help with Canadas troubled and less fortunate youth as well.

Goals

The goals of this campaign are simple; to increase Shoppers Drug Marts online
presence on social media and to gain Canadas youth as loyal and consistent customers.
Part of the goal is to attract more fans on social media and to offer something unique,
more than just being a portal for information on products. Part of their new online
presence would want to provide an experience for their subscribers. Because their Beauty
Boutique is a large part of their product line, doing things like consumer makeup tutorials
and product reviews over social media can give people the chance of getting personal
recognition while spreading new ideas and techniques to use the products. This would fit
into the current online makeup tutorial trend and give Shoppers Drug Mart an opportunity
to gain brand recognition. Research from a study done by Val Maloney in March or 2017,
showed that Shoppers Drug Mart is associated as much with pharmacy products as it is
for beauty. Knowing that, a part of their overall goal should be to perhaps put forth more
effort on their products that can differentiate them from their competitors such as Rexall
and Walmart.

Objectives
To know whether or not we have reached the goals we set out, we will have
indicators to know statistically if/when our goals are reached. The first goal set out by
Shoppers Drug Marts CEO wanting to increase the number of Facebook likes from
960,000 to 1.1 million likes, and an increase in the number of followers on Twitter from
the current 73,000 followers to 80,000 by the end of this season. By reaching their new
target audience, a new wave of people will be drawn to their account using recent trends
and youth friendly social media posts and campaigns. Another objective that is
quantifiable is the sales of products geared more towards the new target audience
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(makeup, body care products, etc.) When sales in the sought out products increase by
20% we will consider that to be the goal reached. To properly measure the success of the
sales, we would have to specifically identify the products that Shoppers will be
promoting in their new social media campaign.

Strategies & Tactics

Strategy #1
The first strategy of the campaign will be having Canadian social media influencer/
beauty phenomenon Farah Dhukai post content advertising for Shoppers Drug Mart
beauty products. Her beauty tips and advice have earned her more than 1.8 million
YouTube subscribers, 4.2 million Facebook likes and 37, 000 Twitter followers to date.
She has credibility in the field of makeup and cosmetics as she earned a diploma from
Aveda Institute of Cosmetology Science. For this strategy the main focus will be getting
her viewers to switch from the products they currently use, to products on the Beauty
Boutique line. Today, it is very evident that social media serves as the main tool for
young people to get information about shopping and what products best fit them. By
having Farah posting her videos on Facebook and Twitter, it would direct attention from
the millions of viewers to the Shoppers Drug Mart page by having her tag their accounts.

Tactic #1
To have someone of her status post content promoting the Shoppers brand, there
would be incentives such as free products to make the video, including a payment of
2,000 dollars per post. This is a very affordable price, and it is realistic. The videos would
be shown to people who are interested in purchasing the products used, rather than just
the general public though television or print, which often costs much more. Any new
products in the Beauty Boutique line could also be released early just to her to get people
informed and anticipating the release. Having a recognisable face to associate with the
line will be an effective way of gaining a better social media presence.

Strategy #2
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Shoppers Drug Mart currently has a section of their online site dedicated to their
Gentlemans Club. This is a section of mens care products attached to the slogan
Theres plenty at Shoppers for men as well. No need to use her flowery body wash, we
have a line-up of manly scents, shaving supplies, skin care and hair care just for him.
The first thing that will be changed is the name from Gentlemans Club to Shoppers
for Him. The term Gentlemans Club has a questionable connotation, so classing up this
section of their website will be beneficial for Shoppers Drug Marts overall image. To
boost online activity, we would have The Toronto Blue Jays release a photo tweet of one
of their players after a game using a facial or body product (i.e. after shave, body spray)
with the hashtag #shoppersforhim and tag the Shoppers Drug Mart Twitter account. The
Blue Jays Twitter account currently has over 2 million followers. This one time tweet
alone could increase their following substantially.

Tactic #2
Incentives for them to post this tweet will be sponsoring the teams locker room for a
full season with all of their mens care products. Having something the simplicity of a
tweet would be cost effective and tie in aspects of patriotism in supporting Canadas
baseball team. This quick and easy plan strategy would likely surpass the increase of
7,000 followers simply due to the number of people that would see the post. In terms of
the continual growth of Shoppers online presence and success in general, keeping a
relationship with the Blue Jays marketing team would be highly valuable.

Strategy #3
A strategy that would be beneficial to reaching the target demographic would be
implementing a student discount. By giving students (Canadian high school and college
only) a discount, this would increase sales dramatically, which would increase their
online presence. A study done by the Pew Research Centre discovered that 83% of
people between the ages 18-29 are active on social media, where only 32% of people 60+
are active on forms of social media. To reach the set out goals, it is vital that they make a
clear effort towards getting a younger clientele. Existing promotions such as their
opportunity to win a $20 gift card when spending over $75 in store could be altered to
apply better to students. They could also have online advertisements that pertain to the
beginning of semesters for students living away from home; showing things like savings,
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product quality, and their integration to the student life style. Shoppers Drug Mart could
also donate small bursaries for students going from high school to post secondary school
in Canada. This would further show their involvement and priority of young students.
The bursaries could be as small as 200 dollars each and offered at selected Canadian post
secondary institutions.

Tactic #3
The logistics of this strategy are simple. Creating a rewards system for students along
with a student discount of 15% dollars in store would create an increase of young
shoppers, which would result in that demographic showing interest to Shoppers Drug
Marts social media platforms. Biannual deals placed at the times of semesters starting
(September and January) of when students spend over $80, get 10 dollars off their next in
store purchase. Changing their social media content towards being more student-friendly
would attract and maintain followers. To make the dramatic leap of 140,000 Facebook
followers in a short amount of time, Shoppers will also give a $50 gift card out at random
to four people who like their page in the following week of the announcement. This small
cash award would cost Shoppers Drug Mart very little and gain a lot of followers in a
short amount of time.

Strategy #4
The final strategy would be incorporating the goal of making the online platforms
unique, above just product information. Once the first three strategies have taken place,
the next concern would be keeping people satisfied and excited about the content that
Shoppers Drug Marts platforms put out. Shoppers Drug Mart is currently involved with
womens health. Something that can really enhance the personal online experience on
social media could be a weekly segment where women who have been helped and
affected by the foundations Shoppers Drug Mart funds could share their stories. Things
like successful illness battles, addiction conquers, and other success stories can be shared
on weekly basis to inspire and motivate men and women across the country. This would
be a very simple campaign to run because Shoppers Drug Mart is already sponsoring
these programs, but are not yet sharing the stories of the women they are affecting. We
want to show that Shoppers Drug Mart has a moral compass above what is apparent to
the average Canadian citizen.
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Tactic #4
We dont want to over saturate their current structure of posting product and
promotional content. To have the right amount of these stories posted on their social
media, the Shoppers Drug Mart social media director will be responsible for selecting one
story per week and release a post/tweet on both Facebook and Twitter every Monday as it
will blend in smoothly to the current #MondayMotivation social media trend. People
interested in sharing a picture/blurb of their story will direct message the Shoppers Drug
Mart account. People chosen by our social media director will also be given an in-store
gift card of 25 dollars as an incentive to share their inspirational stories. All participants
must be a part of a foundation that Shoppers Drug Mart is affiliated with and all content
must be appropriate for all viewers.

Key Messages
1. Shoppers Drug Mart is a diversified retailer that has high quality products for
affordable and competitive prices for all demographics.
2. Shoppers Drug Mart has a high ethical standard and continues to improve the
lives of thousands of Canadian Women.
3. Shoppers Drug Mart has a strong online presence and offers an experience above
being a portal for information on products.

Evaluation
When this communications plan is applied, measuring the success of the changes
made will be important. A lot of what this plan offers is designed with hopes of making a
prompt impact on the company and their social media presence. On the surface, we plan
on increasing the number of Facebook likes from 960,000 to 1.1 million likes and the
number of followers on Twitter from the current 73,000 followers to 80,000 by the end of
this season. Those are tangible numbers that we can measure and gage to see if and when
these goals are met. When this plan is put into action we will implement the four
strategies, then do weekly checks on both accounts to see how quickly we our online
presence is growing. The cutoff date will be exactly 6 months from when we put the
communications plan into place. If the numbers arent on pace to reach equal to or greater
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than the goals set out by the CEO, then well will make adjustments. Examples of possible
adjustments could be an increase of material we are putting out or an increase of
incentives we are offering. We can also have surveys done in store at checkouts asking
customers whether or not they are aware of Shoppers Drug Mart online platforms and
their benefits from following set accounts. We are confident that the plan will not require
additional upkeep and changes, but measuring the growth on a micro level will ensure
that we are on track to meet our expectations.