First Name:
Carolyn
Last Name:
Blough
Major Department:
Marketing
Thesis Director:
Eva Hyatt
Date of Thesis:
May 2013
Bandana’s Bar-B-Que and Grill is an independent barbecue restaurant located in Boone, North Carolina. Bandana’s has been offering casual-dining and catering services to the Boone community for over 17 years. Bandana’s serves an estimated 240 customers each day, with about 45 percent of its business from locals, 45 percent from tourists, and only 10 percent from ASU students each year. It is the only barbecue restaurant in Boone. Bandana’s direct competitors are Woodlands Barbecue and Frontier Barbeque, located in Blowing Rock and Banner Elk, respectively. Its indirect competition consists of all other casual-dining restaurants in Boone. With a potential market of 17,000 students nearby at Appalachian State University (ASU), Bandana’s management would like to at least double its number of student patrons per week by the end of a one-year marketing plan.
There is clear room for growth: Research shows that overall student awareness of Bandana’s is low considering the restaurant’s 17 years in business and its location, one mile from campus. Also, of the students who have heard of Bandana’s, nearly half have never eaten there. Bandana’s low interactivity with student customers and lack of marketing directed toward the campus community have led to low awareness and lack of consumer conviction.
This integrated marketing communications plan is targeted solely toward ASU students. The goals of this plan are to double the amount of students who dine at Bandana’s each week (from 168 to 336) and to increase awareness by 20 percent. These goals will be met through specifically targeted advertising, interactive and social media, public relations, and sales promotions. Integrating all marketing communications will produce higher results than communications efforts that are executed independently.