Fran s School of Dance: The Dancing through Life Campaign

Fran s School of Dance: The Dancing through Life Campaign Proposal Submitted By: Katie Bennett Duquesne University Pittsburgh, PA E-mail: bennettk@duq.edu Phone: 412-551-5819 Home Phone: 412-461-2578

Table of Contents I. Executive summary....3 II. III. IV. Fran s School of Dance 4 Need and Needs Analysis..5 Target Audience...6 V. Creative strategy: The Dancing through Life Campaign..7 VI. VII. Project implementation 12 A. Phase I: Phase B. Phase II: Design Phase C. Phase III: Prototype Phase D. Phase IV: Production Phase E. Phase V: Reproduction F. Calendar Budget...18 P a g e 2

I. Executive Summary The Dancing through Life campaign is a multimedia project for Fran s School of Dance, a privately-owned dance studio located in a Munhall, Pennsylvania. Over the last five to ten years, attendance at the studio has been steadily declining. This is likely due to a number of factors, most significantly that Fran s does not employ any type of marketing strategy. Instead, the studio relies heavily on the word-of-mouth paradigm to interest new students. Therefore, the specific goal of this campaign is to attract a new influx of students to the studio. Instead of focusing solely on the typical dance student demographic (young girls, ages 5-15), this media campaign intends to attract a wider variety of clients by appealing to dancers of all ages. It is important for potential clients to see dance lessons as something that could be enjoyable and rewarding in every phase of life, not just childhood and adolescence. Therefore, the Dancing through Life campaign is aimed to make commentary on the impact that dance can have in all stages of life. The main theme of this campaign is to appeal to potential clients of all ages, not just children and teenagers. In order to achieve this, the campaign will utilize the Dancing through Life motif to exhibit that Fran s offers classes not only to youth, but also to mature clientele as well. This project should inspire audiences to seek information about the types of dance offered at the studio and allow them to make the ultimate decision to become students, regardless of age or experience. Key information that the campaign will provide includes, but is not limited to, the types and levels of dance offered at the studio, rates, location, and a description of the Dance Recital, the annual end-of-year event that showcases the talent acquired throughout the course of that year s instruction. This information will be provided through the use of a company logo, brochure, website, and commercial. P a g e 3

II. Fran s School of Dance The goal of Fran s School of Dance has, for the past 32 years of its existence, been about providing a quality education to anyone seeking instruction in dance. The studio is located at 3622 Main St., Munhall, Pa. Owned and operated by Miss Fran Savolskis, Fran s offers instruction in 11 types of dance: ballet, jazz, acrobatics, tap, baton, hip-hop, modern, lyrical, musical theater, ballroom, and Hawaiian/Tahitian. In addition to group classes, Fran s also provides private lessons upon request. Classes are offered to all ages from 2+ and at all levels from beginner to advanced. Classes start at $40/month for one student, but different cost arrangements can be made based on the number of students attending and the number of classes taken. These deals are made on an individual basis between Miss Fran and the client. Each year, the studio showcases its talent in the Annual Dance Recital. Every recital has a different theme and exhibits at least one dance from every class. The dance recital typically takes place in June at the local high school, Steel Valley. Miss Fran also choreographs the numbers for Steel Valley Drama Club s musicals. Miss Fran opened the studio in 1979 after acquiring her dance education from Maryen Lorrain. The studio is and always has been a family affair, with Fran s two children Marty and Margie teaching classes alongside their mother. Beyond the scope of the studio itself, Marty and Margie s qualifications include college educations in the arts. Marty, 32, received his undergraduate degree in theater design from Clarion University and his master s degree in scenic design from Ohio State University. He currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, but remains largely involved in the studio by choreographing different numbers for each recital. Margie, 29, principle teacher, also received her undergraduate degree from Clarion University and offers some real world experience to her students- Margie went on the National Care Bears Tour in 2006 as a principle dancer. Miss Fran s husband, Gerry, also helps out during the recital season by acting as a stagehand during the show. Family friend Amy Varga also helps out as an assistant teacher. P a g e 4

III. Needs and Needs Analysis Over the last five to ten years, attendance at Fran s School of Dance has been steadily declining. This may be due to several reasons. First and foremost, the economy has made dance lessons seem like a frivolity that must be eliminated to save an extra couple bucks every month. Second, the dance studio is in an area that is highly populated with competitors. While it is unclear whether or not the competition has taken students away from Fran s, the possibility is certainly likely. Third, Fran s does not have any means of reaching its targeted market. Though this has not necessarily directly contributed to the decline in students, it has prevented new students from being aware of the services that Fran s has to offer. Currently, there is no media that provides information about the studio to potential customers. Fran s typically relies on word-of-mouth recommendations throughout the community. Interested clients usually stop by the studio and inquire about the types of lessons offered. Once a client has expressed interest, Miss Fran provides a list of possible class options available given age and experience level. Miss Fran does not advertise in any local publications, nor does she utilize any form of electronic media such as the web or television. Generally speaking, clients come into the dance studio out of interest independent of any marketing influences. Therefore, Fran s School of Dance would likely benefit from the employment of a marketing campaign. This would allow Fran s to increase the interest of potential customers outside of the word-of-mouth paradigm. In order to increase attendance to the school, a campaign designed to attract clients needs to be implemented. This campaign would aim to put information about the types and levels of dance, rates, and other pertinent details out into the community to attract potential customers. The best way to provide this information would be through the use of multiple media outlets. Utilizing a formal company logo, brochure, commercial, and website, would dispense pertinent details necessary to the growth of the studio s student base. P a g e 5

IV. Target Audience Because of the nature of an enterprise like a dance studio, as with any business, there are several target audiences important to its existence. One such audience would be potential students. Given that Fran s offers so many distinct classes at varying levels of intensity, this audience is very broad, ranging anywhere in age and experience. A sub-audience in this broad, overarching category would be financially-dependent students. This audience includes students who rely on their parents or other sources to pay for their lessons. Typically, this audience would range in age from 2-18, including both males and females. While all potential students are important to the success of Fran s, the larger issue focuses on the people paying for the lessons. The targeted audience of this campaign would best be described as the group that the financially-dependent students rely on for their source of capital. The providers of the money necessary to take lessons at Fran s, or the patrons, as they will henceforth be called, are a typically older audience, ranging in age from 18+, including both males and females. They do not necessarily have any experience in the field of dance, though it is expected that some of them may. These are the people that are paying for the lessons at the dance studio, whether they are actually the students themselves or not. This targeted audience once again breaks down into two more sub-categories- those paying for their own lessons ( Patron Students ) and those paying for someone else s lessons ( Patron Benefactors ). It is important to note that a significant portion of the Patron Benefactors audience, if not the whole thing, will be parents of students ranging in age from 2-18. This media campaign will aim to attract clients from the Patron Student and Patron Benefactor subcategories. The targeted platform of this campaign will have three components in correlation with the three media outlets: web, cable, and print. Based on the targeted audiences, the environment for the web component is a home computer. Likewise, the environment for the commercial section would be a home television set. Any electronic basis of this campaign aims to reach the Patron Students and Patron Benefactors in the comfort of their homes. The message of the campaign will be brought to the audiences; they will not have to seek it. Though the primary portions of this campaign will require the aforementioned audiences to have access to the internet and cable television, it is not necessary, that they have any type of electronic capabilities for the campaign to still be successful. In order to provide information to those lacking access to computers or televisions, a brochure will exist as the printed form of the important information expressed in the other media. This brochure will be available at the dance studio as well as, with their permission, other local establishments. It is necessary for this targeted Patron Audience to see lessons at Fran s not as a frivolity, but as an investment. In order to achieve this goal, the Dancing through Life campaign will be initiated. P a g e 6

V. Creative Strategy: The Dancing through Life Campaign The decided direction of this media campaign is Dancing through Life, a commentary on the value of dance for all people in all stages of their existence. The main goal of the Dancing through Life campaign is the categorizing of the dance studio s classes into three main elements: children, adolescents, and adults. By incorporating all stages of life, classes at the studio will appeal to a larger range of potential clients. This angle aims to attract not only the parents of younger students, but also adult students themselves. The campaign is designed to be friendly in order to appeal to the targeted audiences. Because of the nature of a dance studio, the campaign will forgo a corporate approach and focus more on the fun and flavor that being a student at Fran s School of Dance can add to a person s life. Based on past t-shirt designs worn by the students of the school, the project will incorporate a blue and purple color scheme similar to the following: Figure 1: Color Scheme Prototype Logo: All components of the campaign will utilize this color scheme. A rough design for the logo is in the early stages of development. The logo prototype utilizes a single circle as a border for three figures. Inside of the circular border, the prototype calls for the depiction of three dancers. The circular border will likely be developed into a music note pattern with the words Fran s School of Dance existing around the border. The three dancers inside the border will be in silhouette, with each utilizing a different color of the designated scheme and all representing a stage of life. On the left side of the logo, the suggested figure is a small child. On the right side of the logo, the suggested figure is an adolescent or teenager. The middle and dominant silhouette is an adult. Each of the three silhouettes will be in some sort of relevant dance position. Ideally, no two silhouettes will exhibit the same type of dance. The three types of dance represented will likely be ballet, tap, and modern/acrobatic, as these are the three most popular kinds of dance offered at the studio. The decision as to which type of dance will represent each stage of life is still in development. This is just a rough design in the beginning stages of development. It is likely to be altered as development progresses. P a g e 7

Below is the projected structure of the logo. It is an extremely rough estimate, only projecting the ideal location of the silhouettes and overall shape. Figure 2: Logo Shape Projection Child Silhouette Border Adult Silhouette The Fran s School of Dance Text will fit in four locations around the border as indicated by the red arrows Adolescent Silhouette NOTE: This is a very rough estimate of the shape of the logo. It will be altered as development continues. Brochure: For the brochure portion of this campaign, the paper design will be three fold, allowing for six panels for information. The front most cover will display the finished logo and general information about the studio including the owner, address, and telephone number. On the three inside panels, class information will be listed by age group, or by stage of life in accordance with the theme of the campaign. Classes for children and beginners will be listed on the far-left panel, adolescent and intermediate classes will be listed on the middle panel, and classes for adults and all advanced dancers will be shown on the far-right panel. On each panel, the corresponding silhouette from the logo will be depicted in order to incorporate the Dancing through Life theme. The back-center panel will include a small history of the dance studio and a brief introduction to each of the teachers. It will also state the goal of the dance studio. Finally, the last remaining panel will include rates, information about private lessons, extra classes that don t belong in any of the other three categories, and recital information. The brochure will follow the same blue color scheme as the rest of the campaign brochure: The following is a design layout for the P a g e 8

Figure 3: Brochure Design Layout outside Panels Panel 1: Logo Fran s School of Dance Dancing through Life Owner: Miss Fran Savolskis Address Telephone Number Panel 2: Aim/Goal of the Dance Studio Brief history of the dance studio Brief introduction of teachers Panel 3: Rates Information about Recital Extra classes not included in the first three panels Information about Private Lessons Figure 4: Brochure Design Layout inside Panels Inside of Panel 1: Beginner Classes Classes for Children Each class will have its own description Child Silhouette from the logo will be included Inside of Panel 2: Intermediate Classes Classes for Adolescents/Teenagers Each class will have its own description Adolescent silhouette from the logo will be included Inside of Panel 3: Advanced Classes Classes for Adults Each class will have its own description Adult silhouette from the logo will be included P a g e 9

: The website for the Dancing through Life campaign will utilize the aforementioned color scheme. The banner image for each page will be the Dancing through Life logo with the title Fran s School of Dance. It is essential that the page be easy to use, so the left hand side will include a navigation panel and layout similar to the example provided below. Figure 5: Layout Example The banner will be located where it says Web Assignment Forms in this example. The navigation panel will also be located in the same position, along the left hand side of the page. The navigation panel will provide links to various pages with more information. The projected pages that will be included on the website, in order of appearance on the navigation bar, are: Home page, Classes (separated into the three groups), Rates, Teachers, Recital Information, pictures/media, and a form for interested clients to fill out. Home Page: The information on the home page will correspond to the center back panel of the brochure. It will briefly tell about the history and goals of the dance studio, as well as the address, telephone number, and a picture of the studio. Classes: The classes page will be separated into three parts in order to categorize the beginner/children, intermediate/adolescent, and advanced/adult classes. Each class will have its own description. The top of the page will begin with the children s classes and the classes will increase in difficulty as the user moves further down the page. At the bottom of the page will be information about private lessons and any classes that do not necessarily fall into any of the aforementioned age categories. Once again, the dancer silhouettes from the logo will be utilized. P a g e 10

Rates: This page will list all the rates for different classes, recital fees, and any other information necessary to paying for classes. Teachers: The teachers page will include a brief biography about each of the four as well as a picture. This is just to give any potential client an idea of who they will be taking classes from and what their qualifications as dance teachers are. Recital Information: This page will briefly discuss what the dance recital is and its purpose. As information about the recital becomes available, this page will serve as a location where it can all be viewed at once. The theme, music, and costumes will all be listed, as well as the dates and times for the actual show itself. This page will consistently be a work-in-progress and is going to change every year. Its purpose is to keep students and potential students up to date about pertinent recital information. Pictures/Media: This page will include photographs from past performances and, hopefully, videos of previous dances. This page is still under heavy development, as it is still unknown what the studio will be able to provide. The purpose of this page is to give potential students an idea of the types of dances the studio offers as well as the quality of that dance education. Web Form: The web form will allow any interested student send in contact information in order to set up an appointment with Miss Fran and discuss the potential of joining a class. The form is projected to ask for first and last name, phone number, email address, age, whether or not the person filling out the form is the student, classes interested in, experience, and any other additional comments. : The commercial is the final piece of the Dancing through Life campaign and is still largely under development. Once again, the final contents of the commercial depend upon the information that the studio is able to provide. The commercial will be no longer than sixty seconds. It is projected to include clips of past recital performances and photographs with a voice-over commentary. The commentary will likely discuss the goal of the studio and information about classes and how to express interest in becoming a student. The ending frame will include the logo, telephone number and address of the studio, and the website s address. P a g e 11

VI. Project Implementation Note: The information contained in the following paragraphs is represented visually through a calendar provided on pages 15-17 of this proposal. A. Phase I: Phase: The project planning and analysis phase is already largely underway. Discussions with Fran s School of Dance have already begun and information regarding the types of classes and rates has been collected. However, there is still a lot of planning to be done. The campaign development is likely to span over three months, from mid-october until mid-december. Project implementation will begin on 11 October, 2011 and the campaign is projected to go public 11 December, 2011. Each component of the campaign will have its own planning phase. The planning of the logo is projected to take two hours, the planning of the brochure is projected to take three hours, the planning of the website is projected to take seven hours, and the planning of the commercial is also projected to take seven hours. During these hours, the information necessary to be conveyed in each component will be gathered through communication with Fran s School of Dance. Projected dates for the beginning and ending of each planning phase are indicated on the calendar on pages 15-17 of this proposal. B. Phase II: Design Phase: Throughout the project, each component will receive its own design phase upon completion of the previous component. The design of each piece of the campaign is projected to take a specific amount of time. The logo is projected to take six hours for development, the brochure is projected to take eight hours of development, and the website and commercial are each projected to take thirteen hours for development, twenty-six hours in total. These hours will be utilized to make the pieces of the campaign. Here is a further breakdown of the design phase for the campaign components. Logo: of this portion of the campaign is likely to take place over a span of six hours. Projected dates are located on the calendar on pages 15-17 of this proposal. Brochure: The information necessary for this component will have already been collected by the beginning of the design phase. Therefore, the projected eight hours will be split into two portions. The content of the brochure is projected to take two hours to complete and the design and layout is projected to take six hours. Projected dates are located on the calendar on pages 15-17 of this proposal. P a g e 12

: For this portion of the campaign, thirteen hours has been devoted to development. Because the graphics will be pieces of the logo, there is no need to indicate when these will be completed because they will already have been finished prior to beginning work on the website. The information and pictures needed for the website will also have been collected in the planning phase. All of this information will be acquired through conversation with the dance studio. The web documents will be completed in the first six hours of the design phase. Actually creating the web pages and making sure that everything is functional will take place throughout the last seven hours. The projected dates that this development will take place is available on the calendar located on pages 15-17 of this proposal. : The footage and pictures necessary to make this commercial will be obtained during the allotted seven hours of the planning phase of this component. The first six hours of the design phase will be editing the footage into the correct sequence of events. The next two hours will be spent incorporating the voice-over. The last five hours will be devoted to including the logo and any other graphic information at the end of the commercial. The projected dates for this development are available on the calendar located on pages 15-17 of this proposal. C. Phase III: Prototype Phase Once all four pieces of the campaign have been designed and developed, a one-day project review will occur. During this time, each component of the campaign will be evaluated to be sure that it fulfills its specific purpose. If there are problems, this is when they will be addressed and corrected. Conversation with Fran s will take place significantly over this span of time in order to be sure that they are happy with the completed project. D. Phase IV: Production Phase: The production phase is a two-day period of time when the campaign will be put together. This will take place immediately after the prototype phase, once all the pieces have been deemed worthy of submission to the public. At this point, the campaign is essentially completed. The time allotted here will be for finishing touches and evaluation. This is when the website will go live, the brochures will go to print, and the commercial will be provided to the cable company. P a g e 13

E. Phase V: Reproduction: The reproduction phase of this campaign is beyond the scope of planning. If the campaign is successful, then the reproduction phase will last at least one year. If the campaign is not successful, a new approach will be taken in order to be sure that everything is done to help Fran s School of Dance improve its client base. F. Calendar: The calendar on the following three pages is a physical representation of the information included in the aforementioned information. The calendar indicates the projected dates and increments of time for phases of the campaign s development. will be denoted in blue, design/development will be denoted in green, prototype review will be denoted in brown, and the production period will be denoted in purple. Dates when a piece of the campaign is projected to be completed are red. P a g e 14

Figure 6: Calendar with projected dates October 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Project Implementation 16 17 Logo 23 24 Brochure 1 hours 30 31 18 Logo 2 Hours 25 Brochure 12 13 Logo 1 hour 19 Logo 2 Hours 26 Brochure 14 Logo 1 hour 20 21 Approximate Date for Logo Completion 27 Brochure 28 Brochure 15 22 Brochure 29 Approximate Date for Brochure Completion P a g e 15

November 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Hours 2 3 1 hour 4 2 Hours 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 hour 17 Approximate Date for Completion 18 19 20 21 22 23 1 hour 24 HOLIDAY 25 26 27 28 29 30 P a g e 16

December 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 4 5 1 hour 11 Approximate Date for Campaign Completion 6 Approximate Date for Completion 7 Project Review 1 8 Project Review 2 9 Project Production 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 3 10 Project Production 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 *Note: All of these are projected dates and approximated time increments. It is likely that the calendar will need to be altered as development proceeds. P a g e 17

VII. Budget Based on the agreed salary of $75.00/hour, the following is the projected cost for the entire project. The budget factors in the time for planning and developing each aspect of the campaign: Logo, Brochure,, and. The Production phase, which includes four days of review and assembly, will be a flat fee of $750.00 regardless of the number of hours it takes. This is to ensure that the project reaches its full potential in an appropriate amount of time without the pressures of salary. Tasks Time Costs Logo: $150.00 Logo: 6 hours $450.00 Brochure: 3 hours $225.00 Brochure: 8 hours $600.00 : 7 hours $525.00 : 13 hours $975.00 : 7 hours $525.00 : 13 hours $975.00 Production Flat Rate $750.00 Total Cost: $5175.00 P a g e 18