Digital Portfolio Brief

Client background:

RACQ is an iconic Queensland company, established in 1905. It's a mutual owned by members, not shareholders. The organisation provides a range of products servicing the needs of members. The products are aligned to 3 key pillars; Insurance, Assistance and Banking (RACQ merged with QT Mutual Bank in late 2016).

As a mutual the organisation's focus is delivering value to members through the products/services/member benefits it provides.

In addition to the above, RACQ also provides support to members through education programs and advocacy. Proactively advocating on behalf of members and the broader Queensland community on a range of topics.

The free2go program provides support aligned to key life events and access to exclusive offers.

Program Background:

RACQ's free2go program is designed for 16 to 19 year old Queenslanders to help take on life's adventures. The purpose of the program is to provide information, tips and tools about gaining a licence, buying your first car, and tips/support travelling in Australia and abroad. In addition, members of the free2go program can access exclusive offers and discounts.

The free2go program provides an opportunity for RACQ to build a relationship with youth, supporting and assisting them through key life events. The program provides not only information, tips and tools but also product offers and discounts aligned to each life event e.g. One year of free Roadside Assistance, 20% off travel insurance etc.

There is a steady base of approximately 130,000 students who currently participate in the program. There is no cost to join the program.

- Tips and information to assist in preparing youth for their Learners Licence, moving onto a Provisional Licence and then Open Licence
- Access to a Learners Practices test to help you get your L's and an app to log your 100hr
Learner Driver hours
- Driver skills YouTube clips to help both the Learner and Supervisor with step by step instruction

Advice buying a car
- Everything you need to know about buying a car and keeping it on the road including a car buyer's checklist, car reviews, information on car maintenance and the cost of owning a car
- Access to a car broker service at no charge
- Information on fair fuel prices
- Access to an approved repairer network
- Discounted vehicle inspections and car history checks
- Information to help you understand the different types of car loans and interest
- Support to help navigate insurance terminology (what the different types of insurances mean)
- A range of product and service offers (1 year of free Roadside Assistance at 17yrs, and half price Roadside Assistance at 18 and 19 years), discounted Car Insurance, discounts at Repco etc.

Travel tips and assistance
- Information to help make preparing your trip easy; helpful guides and information on budgeting, checklists, advice on travelling safely and travel deals
- Access to Aussie Assist at no cost
- Access to International Referral Assistance at no cost
- Travel tips YouTube clips
- 20% discount on travel insurance
- Access to accommodation discounts
- Discounted international driving permit photo
Discounts and Savings
- Movie tickets, theme park tickets
- Gym discount at Goodlife Health Clubs
- Retail discounts; Baskin Robbins, AMF Bowling, Jeanswest and more
- RACQ member discounts
The program commenced in 2001. While it is primarily a digital program supported on line with a website and Facebook page, the key benefits are also delivered through a school program. RACQ has a team of five Project Officers who visit over 300 schools per annum across Queensland. The in- school program focusses primarily on how to gain a licence, being road safe and what youth need to be aware of when buying a car.

Student Challenge:

(a) How can RACQ increase engagement with youth aged 16-19 years (grades 10-12). What new benefits/program content should be considered and how should social media be leveraged? This should align to RACQ's brand and values.
(b) In addition to the free2go program what education support should RACQ provide for students in grades 7-10? What content should be included and how should social/other channels be leveraged to engage with this segment?
Note: Consideration should be given to the needs and wants of Generation Z, the changing social and employment landscape

Marketing and Advertising challenges:
RACQ seeks to engage with youth and help them with the key life events.
The audience for Free2go are digital natives but it is difficult to get cut through in these channels. The audience typically have a short attention span and are careful about the content they associate themselves with, they are protective of their personal brands with their friends.
When a 16-19 year old joins the program they receive a Free2go membership card and brochure explaining the program and the benefits they can now access.

Traditional media use :
Typically campaigns for Free2go have used search, social media, email and direct mail.

Target audience/s:
(a) Queensland youth aged 16 - 19 years. Current social trends indicate this segment are living at home and studying (high school/vocational education or university) with a percentage undertaking part time employment. This segment is seeking to take their first steps into independence (gaining a licence, buying a car, travelling independently).
Other key characteristics of this audience include:
- Content creators
- Attracted to images and video
- Trust influencers
- Short attention span
- Not especially brand loyal.

(b) Queensland high school students in years 7 - 10 (approx. 12-15 years). These children are living at home and attending high school. Parents of these children are key influencers and should also be considered the target market.
(refer Section 5, Student Challenge section b)

Main competitors for this target audience

Alternatives for this audience include:

- Digital - the plethora of information available on-line (not always reliable or accurate)
- Using government developed resources to learn to drive i.e. The Queensland Learner Logbook app
- Discounts providers like Groupon, Scoopon, discounts from influencers they follow on social media

You are to develop a Search strategy for the client and justify the recommendations.

The assessment consists of the following elements Justification of a search strategy (400-500words).

Consider your client for this semester and the information that you learned through doing the Digital Audit and Target Audience analysis.

Think about what your target audience would be searching for on Google, and how your client can best match those needs.

What specific terms (keywords) would your target audience be using? Would they be using broad terms, or very specific ones?

What is your budget, and how long is the campaign?

Which links to your client's site do you intend to highlight in your campaign - what type of message is approach for each link?

Search Justification

Shows you understand the theory behind SEM, as well as your critical reasoning in your justification

Keyword Research

Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the product and product market

Search Volume Estimates and Budget Breakdown

Demonstrates a thorough understanding of budget management, and how to get the most out of your SEM campaign

Ad Copy, Sitelinks, and Ad Group Relevance

Shows you understand the client and their online presence, as well as the target market, and how an SEM ad should be structured.

Overall Clarity and Persuasion of Search Campaign

Demonstrates a strong understanding of SEM, and the interconnectedness of your client, strategy, keywords, and ad copy.

You will need to set up an Adwords Account
Using the Keyword Planner, enter the type of product and targeting information (e.g. Country and Language) and search for keyword suggestions.

Go to Keywords Ideas tab and add relevant keywords to your tab.

You will need 100 keywords. Once complete, export the plan into Excel, and group into Campaigns and Ad Groups.

Next you'll need to head back to the Keyword Planner tools and use "Get traffic estimates for a list of keywords".

Use this to work out how many clicks and impressions your keywords are going to get on a daily basis.

Make sure you add an initial bid up the top and a maximum daily spend (i.e. divide you budget by the number of days in your campaign)

You can then slide the bar and up and down to adjust bid prices and see how many more (or less) clicks you would receive.

You should try to use as much of your specified budget as possible, so if your graph doesn't turn grey at the end add more keywords that will trigger your ads.

You will need to create at least one ad for each Ad Group you have created, which has a connection between keyword, ad group theme, ad copy, and landing page.

You will also need to create sitelinks, which will occasionally show alongside your ads. For the sitelinks, find four areas of your client's website that offer different kinds of value (i.e. Store Locator, Terms and Conditions, Similar Products, etc.).

Overall, your search campaign should be cohesive, and have a strong connection to the brand, their online presence and behaviour, and their target audience. You should build a strong connection with your strategy throughout your keyword selection, and your ad copy, and your choices and structure should all be justified in your justification document.

Keyword Research Search Volume Estimates and budget breakdown - the budget is $10,000 for one month Ad Copy, Sitelinks and Ad Group Relevance Overall clarity and persuasion of Search Campaign

Search Volume Estimates and Budget Breakdown

Once you have completed your keyword list, and grouped them into campaigns and ad groups, you will need to return to the Keyword Planner tool and use the "Get traffic estimates for a list of keywords" feature.

This tool will look back over the past few weeks of Google's data and show you how often your chosen keywords will have been searched, and what metrics you might expect off the back of that.

Ad Copy, Sitelinks, and Ad Group Relevance
Your last step will be actually writing the ads and sitelinks.
In your Excel workbook, go to the ‘Ads' sheet, and write your ads in the table provided. You don't need to fill them all, but you do need to have at least one ad for every ad group in your account. Without an ad in that ad group, those keywords won't be able to match to any searches! There are strict character limits, so keep a close eye on the character length boxes, which will turn red if you have exceeded the length. The destination URL is the actual page the ad will click-through to and the display URL is a shorter, neater version you create yourself. You will need to create a strong connection between the ad group, the keywords in that ad group, the copy in the ad, and the landing page. All of this ladders up to a good ad, which is relevant to the customer's search.

Overall Clarity and Persuasion of Search Campaign
Overall, your search campaign should be cohesive, and have a strong connection to the brand, their online presence and behaviour, and their target audience. You should build a strong connection with your strategy throughout your keyword selection, and your ad copy, and your choices and structure should all be justified in your justification document.

Attachment:- Assessment Guide.zip