Oakville Grocery's Communication Plan

Last summer I had the privelege of interning for the Richards Partners. During my time there, myself and six others interns created a communications plan for Oakville Grocery, a new grocery store from Oakville, California coming into the heart of Victory Park.

Our complete plan consisted of the following: background information, situation, public relations objective, target audiences, competitors, communications research, communications plan, media targets, pre-launch teaser, VIP store launch, grand opening and future recommendations.

Instead of writing out our whole communications plan, I am going to provide you with the situation we were faced with in order to create the communication plan.

Situation:

From its humble beginnings as a "little country store" in the Napa Valley region of California, Oakville Grocery has transformed from a general store offering daily essentials into a sophisticated specialty food store - all while maintaining a small-town charm. Along with this transformation comes expansion. With the highly anticipated development of Victory Park area in dowtown Dallas, Oakville Grocery will seize the opportunity to bring its sophistication and impressive customer service to a revitalized urban area.

By opening its first store outside California, Oakville Grocery will be launching its largest expansion effort to date. Oakville will move into a 7,000 square-foot space with a 1,600 square-foot patio in The House by Starck and Yoo, a 28-story residential building with 30,000 square-feet of retail, which is scheduled for completion in 2008. The opening of the store promises to bring downtown a new specialty grocery store experience that will be distinctive compared with that of any competitor. Oakville Grocery's newly established informal restaurant concept, diverse wine selection and specialty market quality will capture the character of trendy urban living in the Victory Park area.

Oakville is famous for maintaining its focus on Northern California and regional products. However, it will be necessary for the store to incorporate Southwestern influences into its products and marketing while bringing a large piece of California to the Lone Star State.

Stores such as Eatzi's, Whole Foods Market, Urban Market and Central Market have catered to specialty grocery shoppers in the Dallas area. However, unlike each of these stores, Oakville Grocery is unique in that its origins are on the West Coast. This gives the store an exclusive opportunity to provide the area with a new perspective on the specialty grocery store experience.

The summer 2006 Richards Partners interns will illustrate how Oakville Grocery can successfully establish and sustain a strong, matchless presence in the fast-growing Victory Park area while staying true to its Napa Valley values and traditions.