Majestic Kingdom Melodies Productions (MKMP) Final Media Plan

by Brittney Gathen
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Current Situation

Background of the Client

Majestic Kingdom Melodies Productions (MKMP) is a small, Mid-South based

production company that was established in 2007 by Memphis playwright/songwriter/musician,

T.L. Gathen. The company specializes in producing Christian/inspirational stage plays that are

performed primarily in Arkansas, specifically in the areas of West Memphis and Osceola,

although one recent play was performed in Memphis.

The mission statement of the company is: spreading the Kingdom message by

cultivating and promoting Kingdom Music & Entertainment. The companys motto is:

Kingdom Work, Kingdom ResultsKingdom Rewards. The company exists to provide quality

Christian entertainment to non-conservative, Christian, African-American theatre goers (ages 12

and up), playwrights and directors and to minister to and uplift this demographic.

Since its inception, the company has produced one Gospel CD and three stage plays, and

Gathen plans to produce more content in the future.

MKMP does not have employees that are on fixed salaries. Although the company pays

musicians that perform at the stage plays, actors that perform and the production team that works

behind the scenes often volunteer and occasionally receive stipends. Graphic designers are paid.

The number of people involved with MKMP ranges from 2535 people, depending on

the location and size of the show. This number includes 12 cast numbers, 3 singers, 8 backstage

assistants and crew members, 4 front office managers and a small number of graphic designers.
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Tickets sales for productions range from 250-700 tickets. Gathen said that he also gives

out around 50 complimentary tickets. Tickets prices range from $12-$25 depending on the

production.

Current Challenges

Some of the current challenges associated with the experiences that those who attend

MKMP stage play productions have are often venue-related. Some attendees complain about

some sound issues during the productions and at one particular venue in Memphis, there were

complaints about difficulty finding places to park and finding the correct entrance.

Gathen also said that its difficult to get sponsors for his productions.

Current Brand Position

The analyst for this companys future media plan knows from experience that MKMP

productions are usually well-received by the audiences. Audience members frequently remark

about the quality of the productions, and many of the audience members fit within the target

audience for MKMP productions.

Current Media Audit and Budget

Social Media & Online Presence

MKMPs website is http://mkmentertainment.com/ . The site gets approximately 20

visits per day, and the visits spike as high as 50 during ticket sales for shows.

MKMP does not really have its own social media presence. Gathen mostly utilizes his

own personal Facebook page to promote his company and productions, and he also uses
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Facebook to set up event pages for his productions. Although Gathen has a link on his page

titled Mkm Productions that takes visitors to a separate Facebook page by that name, there is

nothing on the page, except a general description of it being a company. Gathen has 659 friends

on Facebook. Gathen also has a Twitter page which he uses to promote his productions, but it

hasnt been used since 2012, and it only has 38 followers.

Community Engagement

Gathen frequently engages with members of the online community who express interest

in his productions on Facebook, particularly when productions are coming up, by answering any

questions or clarifying any details about tickets, increasing awareness about any rescheduled or

cancelled performances and liking or commenting on posts from people who have watched and

enjoyed his plays or who express excitement about seeing his plays.

Promotions and Advertising

Facebook, other internet sites and word of mouth are the primary forms of promotion that

MKMP utilizes. Productions are promoted on websites such as Eventbrite.com and

Eventful.com. T.L. Gathen promotes his productions by using his personal Facebook page, and

fellow MKMP members use their Facebook pages to promote productions as well. MKMP

members also sell tickets to and increase the awareness of productions among their various social

circles.

Gathen said that he has advertised his plays in the Osceola Times and the Blytheville

Courier News and that he also advertises using flyers. In the past, Gathen has paid a maximum of

$250 for small radio advertisements on 95. 7 Hallelujah FM in Memphis, as well a radio
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advertisement on a Sudbury Broadcasting Group station in Blytheville, Arkansas called 96.3

KHLS-FM Thunder Country.

Public Relations

In the past, Gathen has been able to do a free promotion on the Macedonia Baptist

Church broadcast in Wilson, AR. Gathen uses Facebook, email, Twitter and his websites as his

promotional/PR tools.

Gathen does not use any community events, etc. to promote his productions.

Overall Budget

MKMPs overall budget ranges from $100-$500, depending on the show. Fifty percent of

the budget is spent on print advertising (newspaper ads, flyers and printing tickets) and fifty

percent is spent on other traditional media, such as radio, depending on the show. Gathen is not

currently investing any money in digital advertising.

Target Audience

The companys target audience is non-conservative, Christian, African-American theatre

goers (ages 12 and up), playwrights and directors.

Marketing Objectives

The overall marketing objectives for MKMP are to: increase brand awareness, increase

ticket sales for stage play productions to the point where the particular venue is filled to capacity,

promote productions and to find ways to connect and collaborate with other playwrights and

directors.
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The marketing objectives for MKMP and how they can be achieved are outlined using

the AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action) model.

AAwareness

Create a stronger social media presence by creating MKMP Facebook and

Twitter pages that are separate from Gathens social media pages, which

will link to the MKMP website and feature interactive and informative

content about the MKMP brand and productions

Use Facebook and Twitter ads to run advertising campaigns that will

increase brand awareness of MKMP and its productions.

Improve the MKMP website to make it more interactive and engaging for

users.

IInterest

Engage audiences during MKMP productions by encouraging them to

tweet and post about their positive experiences using the hashtag #MKMP

or a hashtag with the name of the production so that their followers and

friends on Facebook can become aware of MKMP. Also encourage them

to like and follow MKMPs Facebook and Twitter pages.

Post testimonial videos on the MKMP from people who had positive

experiences after seeing MKMP plays.

Reach out to local pastors for help with promoting MKMP productions.

DDesire
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Offer incentives for early ticket purchases, such as offering an early bird

special discount on Eventbrite.

AAction

Use Facebook and Twitter ads to promote productions and encourage

ticket purchases.
Have a section on the MKMP website that contains content specifically

tailored toward playwrights and allows them to engage with MKMP and

seek and offer insight.

Tactical Recommendations

Create a Separate Social Media Presence for MKMP

MKMP needs to have its own Facebook and Twitter pages, separate from Gathens. This

will offer a more professional brand image, because people who are interested in what MKMP

has to offer can have access to pages that allow them to view content related to MKMPs

productions and endeavors, without having to be subject to Gathens personal posts that he may

share along with his professional posts.

MKMPs Facebook account should be a business page that links to the MKMP website

and features video content and photographs related to past and current MKMP productions, as

well as promotions for upcoming plays.

MKMPs Twitter page should also be a business page that also links to the MKMP

website and that features photographic and video content promoting MKMP and its productions.
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Facebook and Twitter were chosen because these are the social media platforms that

Gathen is already on, but that he is not fully utilizing as promotional and advertising tools. Also,

2016 Pew Research data found that Facebook remains the most popular social media platform;

79 percent of adult internet users use Facebook.

According 2015 Pew Research data, 67 percent of African-Americans use Facebook, and

27 percent of African-Americans use Twitter.

Advertise and Promote on Facebook

Facebook tools and ads should be used to increase ticket sales, promote upcoming stage

plays and increase brand awareness, among Facebook users.

Gathen should use Evenbrites Facebook ticket selling option to increase ticket sales and

promote his productions. Eventbrite has a partnership with Facebook that allows users to buy

tickets directly from Facebook, without ever having to leave the site. After Gathen publishes his

MKMP event (his play) listing on Eventbrite, hell go to the Manage page on the Evenbrite site

and hit the Add to Facebook tool to create the Facebook event and select the ticket types hed

like to sell.

Gathen already uses both Facebook and Eventbrite to promote his productions, but he

does not use the Facebook ticket selling option. As of now, users who visit his Facebook event

pages for his productions are prompted to visit the MKMP website, go to the Ticket/Sponsors

section and then click on the linked event flyer, which takes them to the Eventbrite website to

purchase tickets. The Facebook ticket selling option will simplify the purchase process by giving

users the option to purchase tickets using one platform. Attendees can also easily access their

tickets on Facebook, which could ease the admission process to MKMP productions.
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Using this ticket selling option could also expand MKMPs reach for potential ticket sales

and increase MKMP event awareness. According to eventbrite.com, events published to

Facebook through Eventbrites free tool get recommended more often in Facebook search and

news feed results. Ticket sales can be tracked on both the Eventbrite and Facebook reporting

dashboards, so that Gathen can track progress and ticket sales increases.

Also, Gathen should consider offering discounts for people who purchase tickets during

an early bird special period. After determining what the early bird period is, Gathen should

set a special discount that will encourage potential ticket buyers to go ahead and get their tickets.

Offering an incentive, such as a discount like this one, could lead to an increase in ticket sales.

To increase brand awareness for MKMP, Gathen should set one of the objectives of his

advertising campaign as Brand Awareness.

Gathen should take advantage of Facebooks targeting functions to advertise the MKMP

brand. Gathen should use interest targeting to target people who are interested in attending

gospel stage plays, urban gospel stage plays, Christian entertainment and related topics. He

should use demographics targeting to target African-Americans of both genders, ages 12 and up.

He should use location targeting to target people who live in or near the geographic locations

where his productions typically take place. This will help ensure that his ads are reaching

members of his target audience.

Gathens ads should briefly state what MKMP is and does, and they should include CTAs

(Calls to Action). Facebook offers a variety of different CTA options, but since one of Gathens

objectives is to increase brand awareness, he should set his CTA for his brand awareness
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campaign to Learn More so that people who see the ads will be directed toward the MKMP

Facebook page.

Advertising on Facebook to increase brand awareness should be done on a cost per

thousand impressions (CPM) basis. An impression is a measure of the number of times that an ad

is seen by audience members; on Facebook, this would be the number of times that an MKMP ad

comes up in someones Facebook feed or on the right column of the Facebook screen.

CPM is the cost to reach 1,000 people of a particular audience. So, if Gathen sets his

CPM at $1, hell only be charged $1 for every $1,000 people, which would be less expensive

than paying for cost per click, where hed have to pay for every single time someone clicked on

his ad.

Advertise on Twitter

Gathen should consider using the Promoted Account option for when he creates the

MKMP Twitter account. The Promoted Account option can be effective for driving follower

growth, which could help increase brand awareness. The follow offer targets users who have

been identified as most likely to have interests similar to the promoted account topic.

Gathen should use interest targeting and tailored audience targeting for his promoted

account campaign. Interest targeting targets users based on interest categories. Tailored audience

targeting defines audiences based on cookie IDs of recent website visits, email addresses, mobile

advertising IDs and other data.

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Gathen should use the maximum bidding option to pay for his promoted account

campaign. The maximum bidding option will allow him to specify the amount hes willing to pay

for an engagement that fits within his objective.

Improve MKMPs website.

The MKMP website needs to have social media integration and be more interactive and

engaging.

The site should contain linked icons to the companys Facebook and Twitter pages.

To increase brand awareness and engage more people, the site should be made more

interactive by featuring more video content that allows site visitors to learn more about MKMP.

Gathen may consider doing a short video that explains what MKMP is and does on the sites

home page. He should also consider posting any positive testimonial videos of people who have

enjoyed past MKMP productions on the site.

Gathen should also consider creating a page on the MKMP website that targets fellow

and aspiring playwrights, which would allow them to seek and input any advice regarding

different aspects of stage productions and inquire about collaborating or connecting with Gathen.

On this page, Gathen could also post any blog content about his experiences as a playwright, and

what he has learned so far.

Increase Social Media Engagement.

Gathen should find more creative ways for MKMP to engage with members of target

audiences on social media. For example, he should consider asking whomever the emcee is for

each production to encourage those who attend the production to tweet and post about their
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positive experiences and perceptions of the current production during the play (probably during

intermission or another time thats deemed acceptable).

Also, Gathen should have the emcee encourage attendees to like, follow, comment on,

etc. the MKMP Facebook and Twitter pages.

Doing these things could potentially increase the amount of followers that MKMP has on

its Facebook and Twitter pages and could also increase the amount of engagement (actions)

associated with the MKMP social media accounts.

Consider investing more in radio advertising, less in print advertising

Gathen should consider investing more money in advertising on radio stations such as

Memphis gospel radio station 95.7 Hallelujah FM, when his plays are in the Memphis area. 95.7

appeals to an African-American Christian audience in Memphis and West Memphis, which is

part of the same audience that Gathen is trying to target. Both local and national African-

American playwrights with plays featuring predominantly African-American casts have

advertised their productions on this station.

The station also appears to have a strong social media following. At last check, The 95.7

Hallelujah FM Facebook page had 58, 288 likes and 57, 135 followers. Its Twitter page had 2,

871 followers.

Also, since Gathen mentioned that getting sponsorships has been a challenge, he should

consider asking 95.7 if it would consider being a sponsor of any of his plays that would be in or

near the Memphis area. When requesting a sponsorship, Gathen should note that the target

audience for his productions appears to be the same as the target audience for 95.7 and that the
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desire to inspire people (95.7 identifies as Memphis Inspiration Station), is consistent with

MKMPs aim to uplift its audiences through Christian entertainment.

Gathen should continue to advertise on local Arkansas radio stations, such as the Thunder

Country Station.

Radio is a viable advertising option, because its a medium that can be consumed

practically anywhere, in multiple ways. People can listen in their cars, on their computers on

mobile apps on their electronic devices, etc., so Gathens advertising message has the potential to

reach a wide audience across various platforms.

Take Advantage of free local TV appearance opportunities

Gathen should try use possible free appearances on local TV to his advantage to promote

his productions and the MKMP brand.

Gathen should consider trying to book an appearance on the local Memphis TV show,

The Michael Adrian Davis Show on WTWV Channels 14 and 23, when he does any shows in

Memphis in the future. Davis is a former gospel radio personality from 95.7 Hallelujah FM, and

even though hes no longer on the radio, he still has ties to the African-American Christian

community in Memphis, and a decent following on social media. His Facebook page has 2,264

likes and 2,255 followers. On Twitter, Davis has 1,447 followers.

Episodes of his show are available on YouTube, and Davis frequently posts links to the

most recent episodes of his show on his Twitter page, so Gathens interview has the potential to

reach Daviss thousands of followers. He can also retweet the episode of the show that hes

featured on, on the MKMP Twitter account and encourage followers to watch the episode.
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Gathen would also be able to post the interview video, either in its entirety or with the

other elements of the show edited out, with Davis to the MKMP website and social media

platforms to help promote the MKMP brand.

Engage local faith leaders and communities

Gathen should consider reaching out to local pastors in the areas where he will be having

his plays and asking if they will let their congregations know about his productions (through

church announcements, church websites and social networks, etc.) in exchange for a minimum of

two discounted VIP tickets, as long as enough tickets are available.

Gathens company is located in the area of the U.S. known as the Bible Belt, where

Christianity, and therefore Christian institutions, can play an influential role in everyday life

decisions. Since Gathen is trying to target a segment of the Christian demographic in this area, it

would make sense for him to utilize the power that churches and pastors have, to increase

awareness of the MKMP brand and productions.

Evaluation and Measurement Recommendations

Facebook Ad Manager

The Facebook Ad Manager provides informative reports about how advertising

campaigns are performing. Under the Manage Your Ads section, Gathen can track impressions,

CPM and reach (total number of people included in an audience over the course of a certain

period of time during a campaign). Reports can also be narrowed down to specific time periods,
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so Gathen can compare the success of his different campaigns and see what has and hasnt been

effective.

Twitter Followers Dashboard

Gathen will be able to measure the success of his Twitter campaign by looking at the

Followers Dashboard, which will give him insight about follower growth and composition

demographics, consumer behavior, lifestyle type and mobile footprint.

Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress

Since the MKMP website is a WordPress site, Gathen could use the Google Analytics

Dashboard for WordPress to track activity on the site. This free plugin will use a tracking code to

allow Gathen to track things such as the number of visitors, and the reports will provide him with

insight about topics such as page views, search engine analytics reports, information about

website visit sessions and more.

Using this, Gathen will be able to better understand how visitors interact with the pages

and content on his site, and see which pages and content attract the most visitors.

Hootsuite Free

HootSuite is a social media platform manager. Using HootSuite, Gathen can use search

streams, which will allow him to track and monitor social media activity around keywords,

phrases and locations. He can use this platform to monitor the comments that people make and

have made during his productions while using the hashtag #MKMP or a hashtag that includes the

name of the production.

The HootSuite Free option will allow Gathen to monitor up to three social networks.
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Measuring Radio Effectiveness

To measure the effectiveness of the radio advertisements, Gathen can see if theres a

sharp increase in online and offline ticket sales and visits to the MKMP social media sites and

website, after the radio advertisements run.

Also,

Measuring TV Appearance Effectiveness

Gathen can measure the effectiveness of TV appearances by seeing if theres a sharp

increase in ticket sales or visits to the MKMP website and social media sites following the

appearance.

He can also examine the number of views the show that includes his interview gets on

YouTube, as well as the number of comments, shares, likes, etc. that he gets when he posts the

video of the interview on his social media networks.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Reaching out to Local Faith Leaders

Measuring how effective reaching out to local faith leaders is, could be as simple as

asking the emcee for a particular production to take inventory of whose in the crowd either

before the show or during intermission, by asking how many people are there from certain

churches.
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