MEMO

TO: Lewis L. Bird III, CEO, Chairman of the Board, President

FROM: Austin Gick, Head of Market Research
DATE: January 31, 2019
SUBJECT: Advised Improvements to Summer 2019’s Advertising Campaign

This memo advises that At Home retail should refocus its advertising campaign from print
advertisements to cable TV news advertisements in response to a shift in the consumption of news
media.

You tasked our team with analyzing the current consumption of news media and determining where it
would be best to focus our advertisements featuring our new line of summer outdoor furniture. Data
obtained from Pew Research Center’s State of News Media 2018 report that we must refine our
advertisement strategy to meet media trends. Details on what changes are recommended can be found
below.

Newspaper Advertising
While our target audience may consist of homeowners, Pew’s report suggests that many people shift to
other forms of news media consumption. Pew News indicates this within the 2018 “Newspapers Fact
Sheet” where a decline of 11% was recorded in newspaper circulation from 2016-2017. In turn, any
advertisements inserted in newsprint reach fewer people each year.

Being a home décor and furniture superstore, our advertisements benefit from having a visual aid
representing products. Audiences may then visualize products within their own home increasing sales
potential. While newspapers may have been an effective tool for accomplishing prior advertisements,
shifting our focus to media with consistent traffic may result in benefit.

Digital News Advertising

Pew News’s 2018 “Digital News Fact Sheet” shows that roughly nine-in-10 adults (93%) get some sort
of news from online. Around 22 million unique visitors visited a primary domain of a news site in 2017
with an average visit time of 2-4 minutes. While declining from the 2016 unique visitor number of 23
million (5%), the visit time remains consistent. With a shift of focus from newsprint to digital news
advertisement, we will have a more sustainable audience base.

In summary, visual aid advertises our merchandise in an effective and efficient manner. With the shift
in focus from a media base in decline to a more stable base, the sustainability of our audience may be
increased. We would increase our exposure while also securing longer relevance. By analyzing trends
within news media, we can accurately predict where traffic will be and how to maximize our exposure
and longevity.