Careers through Culinary Arts Program : C-CAP IMC plan

Abstract

Careers through Culinary Arts Programs (C-CAP) have been at the forefront of producing opportunities for inner-city youths throughout New York City since 1990. They have installed a culinary-based program that educates high school teenagers about the foundation and structure of the culinary industry. They are a new form of an education system following in the footprints of influential leaders who conducted revolutionary change throughout the history. Furthermore, they have been the first non-profit charity in NYC to establish a unique business model that continues to strive while remaining ahead of any competitor. The brand C-CAP is repositioning their services to meet the needs of their alumni audience through a program called the "Alumni Association". The focus of this Integrated Marketing Communications Plan is broken into two sections first the situation analysis and second the different objectives, strategies, and activities implemented into this exclusive marketing dissertation. The situation analysis provides an overall of the industry in which C-CAP competes in, along with background information on the organization, target market, competitors, CCAP and alumni consumer behaviour tendencies, and environmental factors which have aided them in constructing their marketing mix. The information gathered in this research is based off of journals, articles and C-CAP databases. The contents found in this situation analysis will provide assistance in putting together a functional and comprehensive marketing plan for C-CAP m order to maintain their competitive advantage. The second portion of this integrated marketing communication plans, flushes out in details the multiple designed activities broken into advertising, direct marketing/personal selling, interactive/Internet marketing and sale promotion. Every designed activity services a different marketing approach, although their abilities have been created not only to stand on its own, but also to operate across the additional marketing platforms. Original qualitative research in the form of a focus group along with individual interviews among alumni had been conducted for the development of activities and strategies. The communication objective is to expand the number of C-CAP active alumni members, starting with their New York City location. Concluding the overall communication objective consists of two additional, subordinate objectives, followed by their strategies. There are as followed: • Sub-Objective 1: Alternating the perceptions of inactive and active alumni, to view C-CAP as a wider and diverse organization. • Strategy 1: Customizing direct marketing, advertising, and promotions to cater towards Alumni decision-making qualifications. • Sub- Objective 2: The expansion of the relationship strength that C-CAP has with alumni for long term alumni participants • Strategy 2: Allowing alumni voices to be positioned first throughout each marketing campaign. Also, installing the perception of personal gain within the minds of alumni by responding and acting to the changes and enhancements they perceived as most effective.