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Gator MBA Gear
Mark Feiman Katie Meyer
Ken Miller Lisa Mahoney

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Gator MBA Gear
Client
 Gator MBA Gear
 Gator MBA Gear is a student-run non-profit organization that strives to serve
UF|MBA students and alumni by providing the finest apparel and merchandise.
 Indirect client: UF MBA Program Office
 Relatively new company - within the last five years
 Sales Outlets: The website serves as a virtual storefront.
 Web - 70% (majority of sales online are for diploma frames - these items are
not available for in person purchase.)
 Tabling (Hough Hall & Tailgates) – 30%
 Products Available
 Embroidered Polos  Diploma Frames
 T-shirts  Baseball Caps
 Koozies  Gym Shorts

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Gator MBA Gear
Situation Analysis
 Competitors
 There are no direct competitors to Gator MBA Gear in terms of sales of UF MBA branded
merchandise. Possible competitors may be sellers of UF branded merchandise.
 Political/Regulatory Issues
 Gator MBA Gear must avoid using copyrighted materials that belong to UF. Marketing
should be consistent with UF’s policies and be appropriate for all audiences.
 Consumer Trends
 The greater the number of MBA students and alumni, the more sales will be expected over
time. Demand for specific merchandise will vary between current students and alumni
preferences.
 Opportunities/Threats
 Opportunities - increased marketing efforts to make potential buyers aware of MBA
Gator Gear products, more targeted product offerings
 Threats - low brand awareness, lack economies of scale due to its small
company size

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Gator MBA Gear
General Marketing Strategy
 Consumer Market
 Targeting:
 Consumers unaware of Gator MBA Gear
 UF MBA Students (Current/Prospective Students)
 UF MBA Alumni
 Secondary:
 Friends and family of MBA students and alumni
 Due to the specific nature of the product, there are not many other consumers
that would be interested in purchasing
 Positioning/Selling Points
 Non-profit that supports the UF MBA Association
 #1 provider of UF MBA branded apparel
 Advertise availability

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Search Advertising Campaign
Objective
Objective
 Raise Brand Awareness of Gator MBA Gear
Campaign Goals
 Drive traffic to website
 Drive traffic to the Gator MBA Gear Booth
 Click through will hopefully lead to “Direct type-in visits” next time
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
 Impressions (among relevant searchers)
 Increase in website visits

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Search Advertising Campaign
Keyword Strategy
High Bids- these consumers are Low Bids - these consumers are
not specifically looking for MBA gear already searching for our product
but the products may still be relevant
to them
Top 3 placement Appear on the first page side bar
 Generic  Branded
 uf mba  uf mba gear
 gator mba  gator mba gear
 Consumer Market  Product Specific
 uf mba alumni  uf mba apparel
 florida mba alumni  uf mba shirt

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Search Advertising Campaign
Pre-Campaign Strategy
Unique Selling Points
 #1 source for Gator MBA Gear
 Buy online or at game day tailgate
Increase the effectiveness of the campaign?
 Tailor ad copy for different target markets, events & products

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Search Advertising Campaign
Top Keywords - Impressions
Student
Alumni
florida alumni uf elearning
uf mba university of florida merchandise
uf alumni e learning uf
Customers
Diploma
New
florida mba florida diploma frame
uf business school florida mba diploma
university of florida mba

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Search Advertising Campaign
Ads

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Search Advertising Campaign
Results
 Impressions – 86,701  Average Position – 2.6
 Clicks – 49  CPC - $2.05

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Search Advertising Campaign
Results (continued)
Display Networks Game Day

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Search Advertising Campaign
Key Learning
 Actively update bids
 Eligible & Low Quality – top page bid est.
 Low Search Volume – first page bid est.
 Include Display network
 Tailor ad copy around timely events (football game) to create
more compelling ads
 Analytic tracking for website

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Social Media Campaign
Objective
What does Gator MBA Gear aim to do with Social Media?
 Raise Brand Awareness of Gator MBA Gear
 Build Goodwill
 Create Buzz & Energize
 Engage Alumni & Off-campus Students
Survey
 Out of 200 people only 45% had heard of Gator MBA Gear
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
 Number of Views

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Social Media Campaign
Message & Media
Target Audience Message
 Students (Current & Prospective)  Cool, Fun
 Alumni, Faculty & Staff  Leaps & bounds above the competition
Perceptions (survey findings) Social Media Platforms
 YouTube
 Overall satisfied with their
purchase of MBA Gear  Facebook
 Selection was limited  Twitter
 Some merchandise is expensive  LinkedIn
 97% plan to purchase in the  And more
future

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Social Media Campaign
Strategy
Strategy
 Count on strong ties with the university for support and sharing
 Optimize the video for sharing and search
 Keywords in title and description of the video
 Interesting content
Key Performance Indicators (KPI)
 Expected Number of Views – 1,500+
How will you achieve the goals?
 Seeding
 Encourage sharing
 Secure endorsement from key members of target audience

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Social Media Campaign
Seeding
 Gator MBA Gear Social Media Properties
 UF MBA Social Media Properties
 University of Florida Facebook Page
 LinkedIn GatorMBA Groups
 StumbleUpon
 Personal Facebook and Twitter profiles of
group members
 UF Reddit

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Social Media Campaign
Endorsements & Sharing
Endorsements & Sharing from Credible Sources
 UF basketball player re-tweet
 Christine Wilson, Coordinator of Alumni Relations of UF MBA
Program, comment
 Alex Sevilla, Assistant Dean & Director, UF MBA
Programs, liked the video
 MBA program
 Fellow MBA students shared

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Social Media Campaign
Video
 Launched September 26, 2012

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Social Media Campaign
Results
 Live for 7 days
 KPI - Views

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Social Media Campaign
Results – YouTube Analytics

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Social Media Campaign
Results – YouTube Analytics

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Social Media Campaign
Results – YouTube Analytics

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Social Media Campaign
Results – YouTube Analytics

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Social Media Campaign
Results – YouTube Analytics

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Social Media Campaign
Key Learning
 Difficult to maintain interest and keeping it top of mind
 Finding balance between seeding and shouting
 Using mediums where seeder credibility was low was
ineffective (Reddit)
 Key is to have strong network and community already in place
 Videos intended to be viral are unpredictable and expectations
should be set accordingly

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Search & Social Media Campaign
Summary
Our Takeaway
 Significant hurdles
 Lack of website analytics
 Antiquated website
 Difficulty running campaign for a new business
 Constant attention and monitoring
Client Takeaway
 Recommend adding analytics to website
 Build social media community
 Initiate and maintain conversation

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Questions?