GRAY MEDIA

PR PLAN FOR GRAY MAGAZINE

April 10, 2015
Prepared by: Laura Aguilera-Flemming
Prepared for: Jaime Gillin
CONFIDENTIAL: FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
Executive Summary
The purpose for this PR effort is to create awareness and increase readership for the hot spot
December/January issue of GRAY magazine. GRAY magazine focuses on design and features
stories related to innovative architecture, interior inspiration and upcoming fashion designers.
GRAY was launched in December of 2011 based on the Pacific Northwest region, which
includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia. The magazine offers a bi-weekly
subscription, available in online and print editions.
Timeframe
This plan covers the dates from May 2015 to January 2016 to prepare for our feature issue.
Situation Analysis
Due to increasing innovation in design in the Pacific Northwest area, GRAY magazine serves a
niche market interested in all aspects of design. As the market continues to grow GRAY
magazine will be the news source and inspiration for multiple industry professionals, as well
individuals interested in learning more about design. Each edition gives subscribers insider
access to up and coming commercial and residential projects and offers information on news
related events focused in the Pacific Northwest area.
Currently GRAY magazine has a growing social media presence, with around 3,100 Facebook
likes, about 2,500 followers on Twitter, and almost 5,000 followers on Instagram. Our goal is to
create a social media campaign in order to create awareness for GRAY magazine and double our
numbers in social media followers by the release of the December/January hot spot issue.
By creating awareness for the magazine, we plan to promote the social media presence of GRAY
and establish a loyal customer base. We will keep our customers up to date with constant updates
through our blog and social media outlets. According to Hubspot, 92% of marketers in 2014
claimed that social media marketing was important for their business, with 80% indicating their
efforts increased traffic to their websites (Forbes). Our proposed social media marketing

campaign will lead to an increase in brand recognition and improve brand loyalty. A study
published by Convince&Convert found that 53% of Americans who follow brands in social
media are more loyal to those brands (Forbes). Our campaign will also lead to increased traffic to
the GRAY website and blog by involving constant communication and updates with current and
future subscribers and followers. GRAY magazine is the only design based publication focused
on design elements in the Pacific Northwest, which sets it apart from other local publications.
Goal
The goal of this public relations effort is to create higher brand recognition and a larger social
media following for GRAY magazine, as well as encourage a higher readership among design
enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest.
Objectives

Create social media campaign promoting GRAY magazine to architecture, interior and
fashion industry professionals before the December/ January 2016 issue is released

Double our social media followers by the release of GRAY magazines

December/January 2016 issue

Increase number of subscriptions for GRAY magazine by January 2016

Target Market
GRAY magazine covers the Pacific Northwest region, which includes Washington, Oregon,
Montana, Idaho, and Vancouver, BC. GRAY is target towards a premium market interested in
local luxury design. A magazine designed specifically for design connoisseurs with interest in
the Pacific Northwest as a creative region (GRAY).
The market for modern local design continues to grow in the Pacific Northwest. For example,
large architectural companies such as ELM, who opened an office in the Seattle area, and SERA
architects, based out of Portland and growing nationally, are proof of continued growth in the
local design of the Pacific Northwest. According to Puget Sound Business Journals in 2012 the
top two architecture firms in the Pacific Northwest, both based out of Seattle, had revenues of
$98.67 million and $78.02 million. According to the American Institute of Architects, only 16
percent of AIA membership is female, so the field is very male dominated. We plan to market
towards the 24 to 49 year old demographic of all design fields.
Among 43 of the well-known interior design firms in Seattle many have had national
recognition, including Thomas Pheasant, Jos Sols Betancourt, David Mitchell, and Mona Hajj
(Washingtonian). According to the Interior Design 2014 Outlook and State of the Industry, a
positive economic growth for residential interior design was predicted. As the report states,
Unemployment rates are reaching pre-January 2008 numbers; housing starts are continuing to
improve; and consumers and commercial developers are once again spending on renovation,
remodeling and new construction. Total industry sales have continued to increase: up 2 percent in
2013, with an additional 6 percent increase forecast for 2014.

As the economy continues to improve the design industry will continue to grow. This means
GRAY magazine has a bigger opportunity to reach their demographic of design industry
professionals. Considering that GRAY magazine is the only local design focused industry news
source for the Pacific Northwest, there are limited avenues for design industry professionals to
find local design information. Based on demographic research GRAY magazine plans to target
three subscriber profiles:

Architecture industry local architects and architectural firms to the Pacific Northwest
between the ages of 24 to 49; mostly male dominated, and interested in current
competition, industry news, and new innovative techniques
Interior design industry local interior designers or interior design firms to the Pacific
Northwest between the ages of 24 to 49 interested in product information, local
competition and industry news
Fashion design local fashion designers and design companies interested in luxury
fashion news and competition

Key Messages

GRAY magazine covers local design industry news and information for architects,
interior designers, and fashion professionals in the Pacific Northwest

GRAY magazine covers all Pacific Northwest design including Washington, Oregon,
Idaho, Montana, and Vancouver, BC in print and online subscription versions

GRAY magazine keeps local design industry professionals up to date with news and
events, industry professional interviews, and product information specific to the Pacific
Northwest, which is featured on the GRAY blog website or through social media avenues

Strategies
Even though GRAY magazine already has a strong social media presence and a growing
awareness in the community, we plan to increase the number of subscriptions and social media
followers by the time of the release of the hot spot December/January issue. By focusing on a
specific theme for our campaign we expect to convey to the public what GRAY magazine has to
offer for design industry professionals through social media, print media, and community event
sponsorship strategies. Visual tactics will be the most compelling for our target market because
they are design industry professionals comfortable with images and visuals.

Social media contest and campaign Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Print media promotion local magazine publications, newspapers, and student
publications

Sponsor Design Community Events local design themed discussion panels, design
conferences, and architectural, interior or fashion related events

Tactics

The marketing tactics are further explained in the three categories below:

Creation of a new social media contest and campaign based on GRAY Insiders:
We plan to create an advertising campaign and contest through our social media avenues
in order to encourage current and new subscribers to get excited about what GRAY
magazine has to offer. Our new campaign will involve both new and current GRAY
magazine subscribers the opportunity to become GRAY Insiders. A GRAY Insider
will have the chance to find out exclusive information about current design news before
the release of the next upcoming issue. This will provide subscribers with tidbits of fun
and relevant design information before the release of the full story in the upcoming issue
of GRAY magazine. By creating a contest and social media campaign for the new
promotional incentive GRAY Insiders, our subscription numbers will likely increase due
to the exclusivity of the information being provided and the constant updates regarding
local design news. The social media contest will encourage current subscribers to get
rewarded for their recommendations to GRAY magazine. The recommendations will
tracked when new subscribers sign up to be a GRAY Insider through GRAY social
media avenues and will ask the new subscriber who recommended them to GRAY
magazine. The subscriber with the most recommended new subscriptions to GRAY
magazine will win a $10,000 living room makeover by Seattle interior design firm, K &
L Interiors.
o Deadline: The GRAY Insiders social media contest and campaign will begin as of
June 2015 and end announcing the social media contest winner on December 15,
2015.
o Budget: $10,000 for living room makeover contest prize $5,000 for social media
promotions and constant social media coverage (involves promoting an employee
and they get a pay raise).

Advertising campaign for local print media: A press packet will be prepared and sent
out to the local media publications media or PR contacts regarding the new GRAY
Insider campaign. The press kit will include a news release regarding the launch of
GRAY Insiders, a fact sheet, a backgrounder on GRAY magazine, current issues of
GRAY magazine, and a 20% coupon for a two-year subscription to GRAY magazine.
o Deadline: The press kit will be prepared and sent out to local media publications
including Seattle magazine, Seattle Met magazine, The Seattle Times newspaper,
Portland Monthly magazine, The Portland Tribune newspaper, Vancouver
magazine, Vancouver Sun newspaper, Architect magazine, Arcade magazine, and
Luxe magazine by May 15, 2015 to create a partnership and get awareness for
GRAY magazine. We plan for this date to promote the GRAY Insiders
campaign before the launch and social media contest beginning June 1, 2015.
o Budget: $200 for each press release; $2,000 for all press release kits

Sponsorship of design related community events: GRAY magazine plans to sponsor

architectural, interior and design related events leading up to the hot spot

December/January issue with the intention to get involved in the community and promote
awareness for GRAY magazine. One event GRAY plan to sponsor is Seattle Fashion
Week, which is held June 11 June 13, in order to promote GRAY to a broader target
market, fashion designers. We plan to promote Seattle Fashion Week through our social
media avenues and also feature it in our upcoming issue of GRAY magazine. Invitations
will created to invite our GRAY Insiders to come to Seattle Fashion Week. We will also
give away free current issues of GRAY magazine at the event. GRAY magazine will
continue to sponsor local design community events in order to promote GRAY magazine
to the community and encourage an increase in readership and subscriptions.
o Deadline: Get involved with Seattle Fashion Week by May 2015 and gather
current issues for the event by June 2015. Invitations will be sent out to GRAY
Insiders by May 15, 2015.
o Budget: $5,000 for sponsorship and $5,000 for press, invitations, and free
magazine issues at Seattle Fashion Week
Promotional Incentives
As part of the GRAY Insiders promotion, new GRAY subscribers who sign up between the
months of June 2015 and December 2015 will receive 20% off a two year subscription to GRAY
magazine. This will make the original two-year subscription price of $50 decrease to $40 for 12
bi-monthly issues of GRAY magazine. This will encourage an increase in new subscriptions as
well as promote the new GRAY Insiders campaign.
The other promotional incentive for current and new GRAY subscribers is the social media
recommendation contest. The subscriber with the most recommended new subscriptions to
GRAY magazine will win a $10,000 living room makeover by Seattle interior design firm, K &
L Interiors.
Budget
The total budget for this PR plan is $27,000.
Measurement
After the release of our December/January hot spot issue of GRAY magazine we will begin to
monitor the success of our campaign based on the increase in social media involvement and the
amount of subscriptions purchased within the recent 6 month period in comparison with the
previous 6 months (before the campaign was launched). This will be easily tracked through each
of our social media pages, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram based on the amount of
likes, followers, retweets and hashtags GRAY magazine experiences within the time period the
campaign was launched and compared with the previous 6 month period. We plan to monitor and
respond to feedback and recommendations on our social media pages in order to create a positive
brand image by the first week of January 2016. In addition to social media involvement we will
track the amount of subscriptions purchased within our campaign to compare the results with

previous time frames. Our measurement will be based on the specific time frame of the GRAY
Insider campaign, beginning June 2015 and ending December 2015 and will be completed by
the first week of January 2016. Using our measurement tools we will be able to track how
successful our campaign was and plan for a new promotional campaign based on the results.
Conclusion
The proposed PR plan for GRAY magazine will not only increase brand awareness for the
company, but will also bring on new subscribers and expand our target market to a larger
audience. As technology and social media continues to grow we plan to use our social media
avenues to our benefit by creating a social media based campaign, as well as involve ourselves in
the community by sponsoring local events such as Seattle Fashion Week. Encouraging current
and new subscribers with a contest featuring a living room makeover will create buzz about our
magazine and get designers talking about it. Our new GRAY Insider campaign is likely to be
successful because it will give our target audience a behind-the-scenes look into design based
secrets soon to be released in our upcoming issue. Our subscribers will appreciate the special
treatment they are allotted by being a GRAY Insider and enjoy the opportunity to find out
design information before the rest of the public does when the new issue is released.
If our plan is successful we will continue to create social media contests and promotions and
become more involved within the Pacific Northwest community by sponsoring and hosting more
design related events. An increase in subscribers will allow GRAY magazine a larger budget to
continue growing the magazine and broaden our design based network within the community.
Eventually GRAY magazine could potentially afford to become a monthly publication rather
than only a bi-monthly publication.

Works Cited
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DeMers, Jayson. "The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing." Forbes. Forbes Magazine,
11 Aug. 2014. Web. 11 Apr. 2015.
"ELM Announces Growth, Opens Pacific Northwest Office." Business Wire. Business Wire, 09
June 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Romero, Melissa. "Interior Designers in Washington: 43 of the Best." Washingtonian.
Washington Magazine INC, 17 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
"SERA Architects Expands Presence in the Bay Area." SERA. SERA Architects, 15 Jan. 2015.
Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Van Bronkhorst, Erin. "The List: Top 5 Architecture Firms in Puget Sound Area." Puget Sound
Business Journal. American City of Business Journals, 24 June 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.