Situation
AsokaUSA seeks to increase consumer interest in home plug-in networking by stimulating media interest prior to the Las Vegas Comdex show in November, 2002. The Catch-22 is that the media prefer to run stories of interest to viewers/readers/listeners, who are largely unaware of home plug-in networking. In other words, average consumers don’t know about home plug in networking, which can enhance their computing experience and save them money, so news media are unlikely to run stories without creative stimulation. Our job is to interest media outlets in the concept so they run stories on home plug-in networking, stimulating interest from consumers, leading to more media interest and so on.

In order to stir media interest initially, we plan to capitalize on the recent certification of AsokaUSA products by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance as well as FCC and United Laboratories approvals. As the campaign goes on we have two events we will leverage to retain media attention.

Objectives
Our primary objective is to stimulate various media to run a total of 30 stories nationwide on AsokaUSA and home plug-in networking in general in order to stimulate consumer interest. These stories will include local general interest print news stories which can then be picked up via wire services nationwide, plus stories in a spectrum of electronic, gaming and technology media.

Our secondary objective is, through the media attention, to generate consumer interest, stimulating greater news media attention, and ideally attracting the attention of consumer electronics manufacturers and retailers.

Goal
Our ultimate goal is to increase amount and quality of foot traffic at the AsokaUSA booth at Comdex to the degree that computer manufacturers and retail buyers show interest in the product.

Audience
We are aiming at two main audiences, one of which feeds off the other. Since it is outside budget constraints to advertise at a national level, we must use free media channels to drum up interest in home and small office plug-in networking. Therefore, we have two audiences: media and consumers.

Media
We will focus our attention both on general news media and on a range of technical and gaming media reporters. Since this product is for home and small office use, there is potential for news stories in the general media, especially in technology oriented regions such as the San Francisco, Raleigh-Durham and Boston areas, where there are large technology communities. Most sizable newspapers have some form of technology reporting, even if it is only a regular reporter who has an interest in technology. In addition to newspapers, we intend to contact more specialized media such as consumer electronic magazines, gaming publications, technology-oriented television shows, Internet news media and home improvement publications.

Consumers
Specifically, we are targeting small office managers with between two and ten computers in the same suite of offices, and decision makers in families with more than two computers in the home. Although these audiences seem general, they define themselves by the fact that they are using computers, thus fall into some general demographic categories of need, income and technical interest. It may be possible to break down the audiences by other characteristics, such as racial background, region and income, however, for our purposes we seek to attract the attention of anyone seeking an easy-to-use, relatively inexpensive network in a limited physical space.

Small office managers: Plug-in networking should appeal to those who use computers as a business support tool, that is, whose primary business is not directly tied to information technology. Examples may be a large auto repair shop, or modest architectural, design and legal organizations. DSL or Ethernet networks normally require a substantial investment in infrastructure improvements in order to network computers properly. Those types of networks are costly and have associated maintenance costs. Configuring those networks is outside the normal range of knowledge of the average office manager. Plug-in networking offers an inexpensive, very easy to use alternative to "laying cable" throughout an office, and we will capitalize on those advantages.

Family decision makers: Home plug-in networking should appeal to heads of families with children, who wish to avoid purchasing duplicate hardware such as printers and scanners, and who wish to monitor children’s computer use. Home plug in networking offers the only viable means of networking a home, as running cable is far too much trouble and a wireless network would require more compatibility in age and configuration of computers than usually exists in a home. Again, Plug-in networking offers an inexpensive, very easy to use network.

Audience Objectives
The ideal reactions we desire are varied by specific audience.

Media Objectives
We expect our publicity campaign to stimulate reporters to produce stories with in-depth discussions of the advantages and alternatives to plug-in networking, which would lead to consumer interest. As noted above, we intend to keep reporters interested by providing a series of newsworthy events and milestones in home and small office plug-in networking between May 1 and November 1.

Consumer Objectives
Home decision makers: Ideally, stories seen and heard will stimulate calls to consumer electronic companies such as Good Guys and Best Buy by consumers who believe home plug-in networking is a good alternative to having two or more printers and scanners in their home. In addition, with luck, consumers will contact reporters and provide immediate feedback stories, stimulating the reporter to include more references to home plug-in networking in future stories.

Small office managers: Ideally, managers of small offices will recognize the value of plug-in networking in terms of cost and simplicity, and will make inquiries with their IT contractors or retail outlets, who will, in turn make inquiries with AsokaUSA and other networking appliance suppliers. As small businesses constitute a large segment of business in the United States, IT industry suppliers, service providers and watchers constitute an important segment of the target audience. As these groups make inquiries, various media will note the groundswell of commercial interest, generating more media interest in the AsokaUSA solution.

Strategy
There are two key messages that should be in every story: Plug-in networking is relatively inexpensive and it is very easy to use. The home and small office consumers are interested in controlling costs and having a reliable and easy to use and maintain network. The two key messages are internally supported. For example, a plug-in network will save the cost of a second printer and scanner, and since there are fewer pieces of hardware required, will also save IT overhead and maintenance costs. Press releases should be in the inverted pyramid form, starting with key messages, followed by supporting points. Each phone call should be thought out in advance and the key messages hammered home.

Tactics
1. Demonstration environments to provide media fodder and real-world feedback

2. Press releases related to the demonstration environment

3. Press releases on advances in standards and technology as they develop

4. Media event: press party at the end of the demo environment period

5. Give away units (in pairs, of course) to carefully screened media or other personalities

6. Charity gaming marathon media event

7. Press releases related to the charity marathon

8. Phone campaign to specific reporters or editors to stimulate interest.

Calendar/Timetable
May 1, Wednesday, Press releases to all local media contacts introducing plug-in networking, the demo environments and seeking help finding demo environment hosts.

May 7-8, Tues-Wed., Follow up calls to all who received the first press release.

May 21, Tuesday, deadline for locating and qualifying demo hosts and charity organization.

June 3, Monday, Press releases to all media contacts announcing the demo environment kick-off on July 1.

June 18, Tuesday, General press release on home networking with AsokaUSA mentioned, but not pushed.

June 25, Tuesday, follow up calls to local media on demo environment kick off.

July 1, Monday, Installation of demo environments with accompanying press releases to all media outlets.

July 1. Contact charities, local universities, Electronic Arts and Hewlett Packard for space, participants, game software and hardware for the charity gaming marathon project.

August 1, Thursday, First press release on demo environments going to all media.

August 15, Thursday, Second press release on demo environments inviting media to visit/call hosts of demo environments and announcing Wrap Party. Firm up location, sponsors and participants for charity gaming marathon

September 2, Monday, First press release on charity gaming marathon announcing the charity, partners, sponsors, game software and hardware suppliers and dollar amounts we expect to raise.

September 16, Monday, Third press release on demo environments

September 27, Friday, Wrap party for demo environment event. Follow up calls to local media on charity gaming marathon.

October 12, Saturday, Charity gaming event takes place all day with media party in the afternoon.

October 21, Monday Full assessment of campaign

Budget
Our budget of $3000 will be spent on three items: $1400 on printing and mailing of press releases; $600 for the free printers for demo environment hosts; two media parties, each about $500. All hardware and software for the charity gaming marathon will be solicited from HomePlug Powerline Alliance sponsors.

Evaluation
As our goal is 30 stories published or broadcast nationwide between May 1 and November 1, and we have no budget for a clipping service, we will presume two wire pick ups for every local newspaper story. For our purposes any electronic broadcast or national/technology magazine story will count as three newspapers stories, due to larger and more focused audience these media have.

As noted above, we aim for an aggregate of 30 media hits. An ideal story mix might look something like this: seven stories in the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times (counts as 21 stories: 7 originals + 14 pick-ups); three stories in electronic media or in a nationally distributed magazine (counts as 9 stories by virtue of audience size and focus).

We think that these goals are conservative and, with assiduous follow up calls, the numbers could nearly be doubled.