Chocolates for Mom

Micaela Famiglietti
Michele Sneddon
Cas Carbaugh
Lenaya Bradshaw
Hannah Mclaughlin
Jen Simpson

Slippery Rock University
























Executive Summary
Shannons Kandy Kitchen, located in Slippery Rock and Mercer, PA, has been satisfying
the local areas need for chocolate for more than 45 years. The opportunity we have brought to
light is the lack of brand/product awareness among Slippery Rock students. We hope by
holding this event that more students will become aware of Shannons Kandy Kitchen. The
event will bring a more vast audience and more foot traffic into the store.
Our event, Chocolates for Mom, will be held May 10, 2013, two days before Mothers
Day, in the Robert M. Smith Student Center. The group chose to work with Shannons Kandy
Kitchen; we seized the opportunity to persuade people to buy chocolates instead of flowers for
their mothers. This persuasion assessment discusses the exact theories and methods we used
to persuade students and residents in the immediate area of Slippery Rock, PA, to buy
chocolates from our event for their mothers. A secondary public of the event will be students on
campus that are stressed about final projects and finals week.
While planning the event, the group met with the owner of Shannons Kandy Kitchen
multiple times and have been in constant contact with her through email and phone for other
questions and approval of event materials, such as flyers and press releases that were made.
To prepare for the event, two group members met with the owner one week prior to the event to
finalize details such as how much chocolate to bring to the event, when to pick it up, and special
touches; such as tissue paper and flowers to give the table a more appealing look to potential
customers. The day before the event, the chocolate was picked up at Shannons Kitchen Kandy
along with all of the other necessary materials for the event.
At the conclusion of Chocolates for Mom, we found that our persuasion efforts were
successful in our goal for customers, bringing more awareness of a local business to the
Slippery Rock University campus, and making Shannons Kandy Kitchen over $160 in profit
over a time span of two and a half hours of the event at the Student Center May 10.
Event
The reserved table for the Student Center was on the second floor at the top of the stairs
in an area where students would pass it when going to the CSIL office or to Rockys. The
chocolates were set out in tissue paper lined baskets on the table and on top of a box that was
covered in a pink sheet to make it appear more appealing. Free samples were also set out in
the center to draw students in.
During the event everything went smoothly. We set our goal at having 25 customers,
and our final count was 29 customers. This totalled about $160 in sales, within two and a half
hours. While sitting at the table selling these candies, persuasion tactics were used on
everyone who passed by the event table. Guilt was used on students who walked by because
we would ask them if they had already purchased a gift for their mother for Mothers Day, most
peoples responses were no. In result of their responses our group would guilt trip them into
buying some of our low priced chocolates, telling them that any person would love chocolates.
The low prices on the chocolates we were selling were another persuasion tactic we used,
because who could pass up such low prices?
We would change some things if we were able to do the event all over again. One such
thing would be to have the event on a Tuesday or Thursday during common hour. Being that
the event was held on a Friday afternoon the Student Center was not busy, therefore we feel
that if the event were held on a Tuesday or Thursday we would have gotten more foot traffic.
We chose Friday however since it was the last class day before Mothers Day. We could also
have held the event over a course of days so we would have more students to persuade to buy
Shannons candies.
To advertise for the event in the Student Center and the campus dorms, we ran into
problems with the wording on our fliers since it is a business that will make a profit. We were
told to add a line onto them that expressed that the event was strictly for a class project.
Description of product & details
After meeting with Debbie Shannon multiple times, we agreed on an amount of inventory
to bring to the event. The selection had a price range from items that were $1 up to items that
sold for $6.50. There was an array of individually wrapped chocolates as well as boxes of
assortments. The inventory that we decided upon with Debbie Shannon was:
Single Oreos, 25, $1
Large chocolate pretzel, 22, $1
Chocolate lips, 15, $1
Turtles, 15, $1
Chocolate Mothers Day Card, 15, $1.50
Smores, 10, $2
Chocolate Flip Flops, 14, $2
Assortments of candies such as jelly beans, $2.50
Chocolate covered Teddy Grahams, 5, $3
4 piece wrapped assortment, 12, $3
4 piece Oreo Box, 10, $4
Chocolate covered potato chips, 4, $5
24 piece mini chocolate covered pretzels, 4, $5.50
Purse assortment of chocolates, 3, $6
9 piece chocolate box with chocolate Mothers Day Card, 5, $6.50
See appendix for visual images of the above products that were available at the Chocolates for
Mom event.


Goals and Behavioral Objectives

Short Term Goals
Brand Awareness: By selling Shannons Kandy Kitchen products at the event,
Chocolates for Mom, we hoped that this would raise awareness of Shannons brand
within the Slippery Rock University community.
Customer Satisfaction: Purchasing the items sold at the event should result in
customer satisfaction. Shannons chocolates are homemade with a high degree of
quality. We hoped the customer has no second thoughts or regrets following their
purchase.
Expectation of customers: Through our observation of 15 Facebook attendees, flyers,
press releases, and radio readers, we expected at least 25 people to make an
appearance at the event in support of the business. We also hoped that these customers
will make purchases.
Profit from customer purchases: In the end we hope to make $100.00 minimum for
Shannons Kandy Kitchen, through the purchases sold at the event. All items for sale at
the event were under $10.00.
Build a friendly relationship with customers: We strived to be apart of aiding the
customer in picking out a special gift for their mother. We also planned to be as nice as
possible to customers and make them feel comfortable while shopping for their gifts, so
they would in return feel comfortable going to Shannons Kandy Kitchen in the future and
making purchases.


Long Term Goals
Increasing the support of a local business: Through this event we hope that Slippery
Rock University students will be satisfied with their purchases and in return they will
support the local business. We hope students become loyal customers outside of the
event based on proximity to the University and customer satisfaction.
More foot traffic within Shannons Kandy Kitchen: With the help of the campaign,
Chocolates For Mom, Shannons Kandy Kitchen will gain more customers and
awareness that the business is there among students.
Consult with Debbie Shannon about creating relationships with the community and
students for better awareness of events and products in the future. We hoped that we
counseled the business from a positive point of view on how to build and retain
relationships with the student audience, especially with the use of social media.

Audience/Market Analysis
Mothers Day is quickly approaching. This means many college students should buy a
gift for their mother or any other special woman in their lives. Because students are paying to
receive a Rock Solid Education, most college students dont have much money to spend on
expensive things for Mothers Day. Chocolates from Shannons Kandy Kitchen are a perfect gift
because all chocolate will be under $10. We chose to target college students because our
event was held on campus the weekend before Mothers Day, we thought it would be easy for
them to stop by the Student Center to pick up a last minute gift before they go home for the
weekend. We also targeted college students because not a lot of students know about
Shannons Kandy Kitchen. With this campaign on campus we would be bringing awareness to
students and faculty who did not previously know about the business. While college students
are our main target, through our use of advertising, we hoped to encourage those who live in
the community as well as faculty or staff to come to our event as well and support a local
business.


Publics the Campaign Will Target
Primary
Primary publics that we targeted were college students in the Slippery Rock
Area. These students probably did not want to spend a lot of money but would
still like to get their mother something nice that she would enjoy for Mothers Day.
This is why we advertised that all items will be under $10 to appeal to them (all
items ended up under $7 at the event). We also suspect that our public may
have forgotten to get their mothers a gift since they would be busy with finals and
the end of the semester. In this way, we advertised to them that we are coming
to the rescue for them to treat their mothers with something she will enjoy.
Secondary
A secondary public that we suspected would be college students on campus who
enjoy chocolate themselves and want to have some around for finals week due
to stress. We advertised this message mostly on social media and in person at
the event to persuade students to buy the chocolate.
Tertiary
A final public would be the staff and faculty at Slippery Rock. Some might want
to support a local business, others may want to support because it was a
student-run project, and others may just want to enjoy chocolate during their
workday.

Persuasive Messages and Media
Messages: The overall message of the campaign is that students dont have to have a lot of
money in order to purchase a nice gift for their mothers on Mothers Day. To a mother it doesnt
matter how much the gift was, all that matters is that in the end the customer purchased the gift
out of the goodness of their heart. Also, as displayed on the flyers and media we used, we want
students to treat their mothers to something nice for their special day. We also wanted
students, even those in college, to show their mothers how much they care for them. Another
message that was used for the event is that students should support a local business in Slippery
Rock. As stated before, awareness of Shannons Kandy Kitchen in Slippery Rock is low, so we
hope that students become aware and are supportive in the future as Shannons builds
relationships with this important public. All elements of our media can be found in the appendix.




Types of media used:
A radio reader was written and given to a member of the WSRU station to be announced
during the students shows from May 1 through May 10th. The radio reader was written
for a thirty-second time period and called attention to the fact that some students may
have forgotten about Mothers Day. The phrasing caught the attention of listeners,
especially those in this situation, and persuaded them to listen. It then gave details
about the event and encouraged students to support a local business and to also show
their mothers how much they care.
Fliers for the event were created and posted in the campus dorms, put in the
Communication faculty mailboxes, CSIL mailboxes for organization leaders on campus,
and posted in the library. Aside from event details, the fliers included lines telling the
students to show their mothers that they care by treating her to chocolate as sweet as
she is. There was also a sentence on some of the posters that this event was a
campaign project for a Communication course because we were required to note (by
Residence Life and the Student Center) that it was a project and that we do not receive
any profits for ourselves.
A press release for the event was written and given to staff at The Rocket to place in the
Rock Notes section of the May 3 paper. The press release notes the details of the event
as well as noting the hours and location of Shannons Kandy Kitchen the boilerplate of
the release.
Details about the event were written on chalkboards in Eisenberg Classrooms
throughout the Building. These postings will help to remind students about Chocolates
for Mom up until the day of the event because those who attend classes in Eisenberg
will see the postings often.
An email was sent to the Communication Department secretary, Marilyn Garczynski, to
forward to all of the Communication majors. The email included a brief description and
an attachment of the flyer. The email was sent out on May 7, 2013 around 3:00 pm.
Word of mouth was used simply by announcing the event in our classes the week of the
event. We also told our friends and they passed on details of the event as well.
Our flyer that was created was put on a slide and sent to the Student Center to run on
their digital screen near the Starbucks in the Student Union from May 6, 2013 until May
10, 2013.
Various platforms of social media were used to reach our publics. Prior to and during
our event, our group posted reminders and images regarding the event on social media
sites for their followers to see.
A Facebook event page was created and was made public so anyone could
attend or view the event. We invited all Slippery Rock students on our friends
lists and encouraged them to invite others. The Facebook page also displays a
photo of Shannons Kandy as the cover photo. Some members of our group
made an image of our event details as their cover photo on their Facebook page
as well.
Twitter was used to post the information about our event, the link to our
Facebook event, post reminders regarding the event, and to post the image of
our event flier.
Instagram was also used by group members to post a copy of the flyers for the
event for their followers to see. The flyer had details about the event on it, but
members of the group also posted captions along with these photos that
consisted of details regarding the event as well.
Vine, a relatively new social media platform that uses short video clips, was used
by one group member by posting two videos about asking her mother if she
enjoys chocolate and that she should attend Chocolates for Mom. We hope
that by using this new platform we also gain more recognition since it is
something that our audience checks and posts on often. A Vine video was also
posted during the event showcasing the chocolates that were set out to entice
students to come to the event.

Persuasion Tactics/Theories/Principles
Credibility
We successfully persuaded Debbie Shannon and her husband to work with us on
our campaign.She had never worked with a group in Persuasion or any other
class through Slippery Rock University previous to this. She has worked with the
community in fundraising events through the High School but nothing quite like
this. This was a learning experience for both of us.
Our own credibility also worked in our favor. We pitched the idea to Debbie
Shannon with a planned overview of our campaign. Because we presented
ourselves in a collectively professional manner with a plan this increased our
credibility.
Because we used the credibility of our professor and Slippery Rock University we
persuaded Debbie to work with us.
Motivational Appeals
Gass & Seiter (2011) stated that it may not be possible to raise money without
using pity or guilt and that using this tactic can urge people to comply with the
message. College students will feel bad if they did not get their mother
something for Mothers Day and we hope that they will come and purchase
chocolates.
Foot In The Door
Gass & Seiter (2011) explain that there are seven conditions that are required in
order for this tactic to be effective. First, the size of the initial request must be at
a middle ground between small and large. We advertised that the chocolates
were selling are all going to be under $10. This is something students can
afford, but its not so inexpensive that it seems like its cheap. After all, students
want the best for their mothers. Next, Gass & Seiter (2011) state that the request
needs to be geared toward society rather than self-serving interests. Our
campaign is based off of doing good for students mothers rather than trying to
persuade them to purchase a product for themselves. While we dont have any
physical external incentives to comply, which is the third condition, we tried to
give students an emotional incentive to comply by persuading them to make their
mothers happy with chocolate for Mothers Day. The fourth condition that Gass
& Seiter describe states that initial and follow-up requests must be made and that
it doesnt have to be by the same person. We used multiple methods of
advertising in our campaign that are requests made by different persons. We
utilized radio, print, and electronic advertising that will insure that more than one
request is made. Labeling is the next condition that the authors describe and this
is the one condition for the foot in the door theory that we have not
demonstrated. Gass & Seiter (2011) state that with this tactic, people have a
preference for consistency. We wanted to use this condition to influence
students not only to purchase chocolates for Mothers Day, but to go back to
Shannons Kandy Kitchen and purchase more product for other events or
holidays. The last concept described in the text is that people with higher self-
concept clarity are more likely to comply and change their self-concept, thus see
themselves are more helpful. The people who come to our event will most likely
want to be helpful in the idea that they need to make their mother feel
appreciated and will be more likely to purchase chocolate.
Visual Persuasion
Advertising is undoubtedly the most pervasive form for persuasion in our society
(Gass & Sieter 2011). According to the authors of the text, the images used in
advertisement determine how effective the ad will be. In our campaign we
created a flyer that hopefully caught peoples eye in order to persuade them to
come to our event. We also took pictures of the chocolate that was going to be
sold rather than just talking about it.
The table for the event was set up in an aesthetically pleasing way to best attract
customers. Tissue papers near the chocolates were pink to remind them of their
mothers. Also purple and white flowers were placed in the center to look more
inviting.
It is no surprise that students love things that are free. The owner of Shannons
prepared samples for us to have at the table so students were able to try before
they buy or to simply entice students to come over to the table.
Elaboration Likelihood Model - Peripheral Processing
In each bag that students were given with their purchases in it, they would find a
business card and a small flyer telling them about the chocolate covered
strawberries that Shannons had at the store for Mothers Day. We hoped that
this take away message would remind the students of the business in the future
or for further purchases. These messages could possibly be sent to the
customer peripherally because as they take out and read the card, they dont
suspect that we are trying to get them to buy something right at that moment.
Guilt
In a way we guilted people into purchasing the chocolate for their mothers.
Students are very last minute and we figured that holding an event which sells
cheap gifts for mothers can count as their last minute gift purchase. We also
reminded the students last minute. Then later when students realized that they
had forgotten to purchase a gift for their mothers they would in return feel guilty
and have to attend the event to grab a quick gift.








































References:

Gass, H. G., Seiter, S. J. (2011). Persuasion social influence and compliance gaining. New
York: Allyn & Bacon