ABC CA$H

integrated

Digital Marketing Plan

Prepared by: Joey Barker

August 17, 2011

OVERVIEW: Facts & Findings

• U.S. Payday Loan Marketo Perpetually declining store count, loan volume, and revenue – since 2009o Internet payday loans now an estimated 10% of overall market – and climbingo Stephens Annual Payday Loan Industry Report

“…internet will eventually cannibalize store borrowers.”

• ABC Casho Web-centric service providero Strong sales growth in 2010

• Customers (versus competition): o Less likely to be married, but more children on averageo Fewer financial alternatives / resources, very little (if any) brand loyaltyo 50% of Loans = “New Addition to the Family”

OBJECTIVES

1. Capture a larger share of the organically growing online market than currently owned by ABC Cash

1. Penetrate the larger offline market and drive those consumers to ABC Cash online product

AUDIENCE

• “ALICE” Market Segmento (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, yet Employed)o Over 65% ages 25 – 64 (Majority = Increasingly web-savvy, e-Commerce users)

• Primary Loan Focuso Housing, Child Care, Transportation, Health Care

COMPETITION: Key Players

• Brick & Mortar

• Online Competitors

Competitive Summary

• VERY transactional-basedo Messaging, identity, voice, design, transactional offers with no incentives or conversation

• Competitor Strengthso The Big “Brick-houses”

Brand recognition, store convenience, robust offerings, geographic penetrationo The E-Loaners

Ease of use, convenience appeal

• Traditional Online Extensiono Advance America, Check into Cash and others adding online loans (Walmart strategy)o Same competitors now also digging deep into Social Media

• Opportunitieso Behavioral commerce & relationship-building, loyalty incentives, educational content, first-

hand community involvement, bundling of common service needso No competitor offers applications as social media app, nor incentives to joino Also have yet to offer clear mobile presence, with exception of location-based mapping

THE ABC GAME PLAN: Think Strengths, Not Weaknesses

• Focus on web-savvy and e-Commerce adept 65%o Pinpoint those who already buy most often, and earn their loyaltyo Those over age 65 can then be influenced in the long-term by word-of-mouth

• “Niche-to-industry standard” Approach

• Maintain digital focus. And build on it.o Active Social Media presenceo Mobile applications & browsingo Online community to inform and interact with the target audience

Key Strategic Actions for Positioning

1. Redefine Yourselfo Community-focused and relationship basedo Design, colors, visual vocabulary, iconography, tone, voice, overall identity

compass (not “system” – that word does not fit into new relationship lexicon)

2. Shy Away from Traditional Trappingso Dollar signs in logo, transactional fonts and language, old-school “biz” phrases,

and the likeo Be yourself.

3. Use Each Encounter to Create a Positive Brand Experience

4. Stay on the Offenseo Define the others for a change – transactional, fee fighters, etc.o Challenge the competition after defining yourself

Relationships, tell a story, empathy, incentives, mobile / social integration, etc.

Content Strategy Overview

MESSAGING: Behavioral Commerce

Web Promotion & Loyalty Incentives

• ABC Building Blockso Lower significantly the acceptance qualifications with proof of intent to purchase (or

down payment toward) of housing, child care, transportation, or health careo Partner with bodies like GMAC, hospitals, day cares, car dealerships – enabling

ABC to pay directly to community service providerso Regional Twitter-based (or even direct referral) contest awarding a loan up to

$1,000 family loan each month for most retweets, mentions, #FFs, etc.

• ABC Parenthoodo Reduced APR on school or child care-related loans

• “The ABCs of Living Debt Free”o Lifestyle blog and discussion community, promoting debt-free life through financial

tips, APRs and rates, industry and competitor exploits, interactive feedback, etc.

User Purchase Process

Purchase

Experience

Experiences

After-The-Sale

Brand Loyalty & Evangelism

Enters the Market

Searches for Information

Evaluates Alternatives

Buyer Decision

Market Entry &After-the-Sale

Buzz-Watch

• Description: o Monitor online social media, analyze and report findings to ABC

• Goal: o Improve reputation online, spot emerging trends, and proactively deal with issues

• Timeline: Ongoing

• Owner: PR | Xchange Digital

• Resources: o Xchange Buzz-Watch monitoring; ABC eMarketing, Service, and PR involvement

Market Entry & Brand Loyalty

Social Media Communication

• Description: o Build a Facebook page that includes an app where users can apply onlineo ABC personnel responding to online media mentions and issues

• Goal: o Improve ABC’s reputation online, proactively deal with service issues

• Timeline: Ongoing

• Owner: Client PR | Xchange Digital

• Resources: o Dedicated person at ABC and/or agency contract; training from Xchange; input

from Buzz-watch; ABC Service and PR involvement

Enters the Market

Leveraging Online Media

• Description: o Leverage external online interactive content placements, financial partnerships,

cross-promotion and ads

• Goal: o Increase visibility of brand online, maximize value from online media placements

• Timeline: Ongoing; 4-8 weeks per placement

• Owner: Xchange

• Resources: o Client PR; digital strategy input from Xchange; rich media creative & production o Media TBD; Strategy input

Enters the Market

Widgets | Gadgets

• Description: o Create interactive widgets/gadgets (ex: recipe box) to distribute via appropriate

popular external networks (ex: iGoogle, My Yahoo!, etc.)

• Goal: o Increase visibility of ABC brand online

• Timeline: 1 -2 months per placement

• Owner: Xchange

• Resources: o Xchange eMarketing, digital strategy and development

Enters the Market

Podcasts• Description:

o Create podcasts for communicating product and marketing messaging to younger segments and employees

o Community and financial trends, advice, FAQ responses, promotion awareness, etc.

• Goal: o Increase visibility of brand, facilitate education, maintain consistency of brand

messaging

• Timeline: Ongoing

• Owner: Xchange / PR

• Resources: o ABC eMarketing; PR; Sales; Product Management

Information Gathering

Enhance Internal Search• Description:

o Improve search functionality on consumer site. Expand properties indexed; filtering and categorization of search results

• Goal: o Enrich consumer experience online, shorten time needed to find relevant products,

increase conversions

• Timeline: 2 months

• Owner: Client eMarketing/Xchange

• Resources: o Agency development, eMarketing content management

Information Gathering

Organic SEO & Paid Search

• Description: o Make website content more search-friendly and optimize for organic searcho Reconstruct ABC Paid Search campaigns to effectively promote the brand online

• Goal: o Increase web visibility, generate leads, capture market share, protect brand online

• Timeline: 4-6 weeks initial audit; ongoing

• Owner: ABC eMarketing / Direct Marketing / Xchange

• Resources: o Xchange content audit; ABC content management

Information Gathering &Brand Evangelism

Mobile Device Support• Description:

o Optimize website for users with mobile devices, creating a special version of the site that caters to the special needs of mobile browsing

o Develop application (iPhone and Android) allowing users to gather info or apply for a loan using their mobile device

• Goal: o Generate new leads, facilitate consumer conversations, increase visits to dealers

• Timeline: 6 –8 months

• Owner: Agency & ABC eMarketing / development team

• Resources: o Xchange development and digital strategy input

Information Search & Evaluates Alternatives

Site-lets and Landing Pages• Description:

o Landing pages and mini-sites to support new product/service introductions and key promotional messages

o Fed via Email Marketing or Paid Search Campaigns

• Goal: o Generate new leads, increase awareness of new offerings, boost website visits

• Timeline: 2 – 4 months

• Owner: eMarketing / Xchange

• Resources: o eMarketing, Advertising o Agency, digital strategy and development

Evaluates Alternatives

Guided Selling• Description:

o Provide support tool selection based on user preferences and priorities, making the process of selection easier and more efficient

• Goal: o Streamline purchasing process, increase customer satisfaction.

• Timeline: 3 –4 months

• Owner: ABC eMarketing/Xchange

• Resources: o Agency digital strategy and production; product marketing subject matter expert

Evaluates Alternatives

Product Ratings & Reviews• Description:

o Allow users to have a voice by implementing ratings and reviews throughout the website, blog, and Facebook page

• Goal: o Increase customer engagement, satisfaction and conversion rates

• Timeline: 3 –4 months

• Owner: ABC eMarketing/ Xchange

• Resources: o BazaarVoice ratings toolo Xchange digital strategy and production; ABC PR support

Evaluates AlternativesBlog & Lifestyle Content

(w/ open interaction, comments & real-time feedback)

• Description: o Convert existing lifestyle/info/cause-related internal site content to blog formato Add financial tips along with an ABCs of Living Debt Free Q&A section

• Goal: o Increase customer engagement, showcase extensive lifestyle content more

effectively, improve overall perception of the ABC brand

• Timeline: 3 –4 months

• Owner: Client eMarketing/Xchange

• Resources: o Xchange strategy and production; product marketing subject matter expert; content

providers; eMarketing content management; ABC PR

Evaluates Alternatives

Customer Stories & Testimonials• Description:

o Enliven content on website, blogosphere, and social media by soliciting and including customer stories and testimonials

• Goal: o Increase customer engagement, embrace user-generated content, improve overall

perception of the brand

• Timeline: 3 –4 months

• Owner: Client eMarketing/Xchange

• Resources: o BazaarVoice testimonials toolo Xchange digital strategy and production; client PR support

Evaluates Alternatives & Purchase Experience

User feedback program/surveys• Description:

o Establish user feedback program with ongoing surveys and other poll metrics

• Goal: o Improve purchasing process, decrease confusion, improve overall perception of

the brand, increase conversions

• Timeline: 4 weeks initial, ongoing

• Owner: ABC Direct Marketing/Xchange

• Resources: o Agency UX & Usability direction; Client eMarketing, Service and PR supporto Ongoing rating / survey tool TBD

Evaluates Alternatives

Rich Media & Video Differentiators• Description:

o Integrated rich media / online video focused on illustrating community outreach, promotions, incentives, forum and podcast features, differentiators, etc.

o Online demos showcasing ease of application (internal & external - YouTube, etc.)

• Goal: o Entice consumers, improve overall perception of the brand, increase conversions.

• Timeline: Ongoing; 4 -8 weeks per piece

• Owner: Client Advertising / Xchange

• Resources: o Client PR; digital input from Xchange; rich media creative and production

Evaluates Alternatives

Enhance The ABC story• Description:

o Enhance brand story (ex: customer experience commitment storieso Interactive tools such as media bins (3 maximum), APR/rate/fee calculator, etc.o Financial tips, life-planning - Virtual tour of financial plans o “Employee” blog (copywriter edited, or ghost-written)

• Goal: o Improve overall brand perception, highlight key portions of the ABC story,

differentiate brand from key competitors

• Timeline: 3 -4 months; ongoing

• Owner: Client eMarketing / Xchange

• Resources: o Agency, production, content providers; web content management; Client PR

PURCHASE DECISION | EXPERIENCE

Regional Pricing Online• Description:

o Place regionalized APR / Rates / Fees online for ABC major loan segments

• Goal: o Fulfill an oft-identified need, speed purchasing process, qualify potential

leads

• Timeline: 6 weeks

• Owner: Client eMarketing/Xchange

• Resources: o Xchange digital strategy and production; ABC distributors

PURCHASE EXPERIENCE

Loan Bundling• Description:

o Offer reduced fees and interest rates for multiple incentive loan applicationso (Ex. Home down payment + Child Care, Transportation + Health Care, etc.)

• Goalo Encourage positive word-of-mouth, boost awareness, gain favorable brand

recognition, and repeat business in each community

• Timeline: Immediate

• Owner: Client marketing

• Resources:o Agency-client synthesis to determine feasibility & profitability of each bundle

After-the-Sale

Registration Follow-Up Email• Description:

o Automatic email inviting clients to explore blog and other ABC social channels. Functionality could also be used for other automatic mailings.

• Goal: o Engage with users, convert offline customers to online, establish direct line of

communication, improve customer service, increase overall brand perception.

• Timeline: 6 –8 weeks

• Owner: ABC Direct Marketing/Xchange

• Resources: o Xchange digital strategy and productiono Client Direct Marketing support; ExactTarget

After-the-Sale

Click-to-Chat Customer Service

• Description: o Implement click-to-chat customer service on the ABC consumer site.

• Goal: o Engage with the consumer, increase customer satisfaction, increase quality of

service, increase overall perception of the brand and services provided.

• Timeline: 3 -4 months; ongoing

• Owner: ABC eMarketing & Service / Agency

• Resources: o Chat tool TBDo Xchange digital strategy and production; ABC Customer Service support