Marketing Plan Report : the UBC Free Store
Creators: name: Carten, Jacquie
name: Hawley, Alex
name: McEachran, Patrick
name: Smith, Mark
name: Wang, Amber Xiyi
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2017

description: The UBC Free Store (UBC FS) is a student volunteer initiative that operates in a permanent location in the basement of the old UBC Student Union Building. The UBC FS S exists to challenge the status quo of a consumerism[based economy. Their key objective is to promote an ethic that is rooted in sustainable and environmentally friendly activities. They do this by creating a pathway for unwanted goods to re[circulate, find a new use and owner, and avoid the landfill. The UBC FS organizers wish to enable and normalize the circular[economy on UBC campus. Currently, the UBC FS is striving to become an established and recognized component of the UBC economy. It takes in donations, which are then made available to the UBC population for free. This unique operating model poses a number of challenges for the UBS FS. Donations are the sole determinate of product selection and without frequent and quality donations, it is challenging for the UBS FS to gain traction. The FS’s organizers are passionate about the environmental mission of the FS and without higher awareness and engagement; their ability to promote this mission is limited. The primary objective of the UBC FS is to increase donations. Once this is achieved, higher consumption, awareness and engagement can be addressed. Both primary and secondary research has been gathered to form the basis of this marketing plan’s recommendations. An online survey was distributed to gain a sound understanding of the ways in which members of the UBC population interact with their favourite brands, as well as their interest in environmentally beneficial activities. Through this analysis, a target segment and proposed positioning statement has been developed. This plan’s recommendations are primarily directed at three core elements. Strategies and tactics have been developed in order to increase the frequency and quality of donations, increase consumption of goods from the UBC FS, and eliminate any unnecessary landfilling of waste. By achieving these three objectives, the UBC FS has the potential to become a major hub of environmentally friendly activity and impact many individuals. The report makes some recommendations that are not free to implement; however, all suggested activities serve a purpose in the collective goals of the UBC FS and opportunities to obtain funding are available. A detailed breakdown of the budgeted costs indicates the total cost of implementation to be $9,526. However, there are many opportunities within each of the proposed activity to mitigate costs and this figure represents the upper bound of potential costs. An implementation plan for the recommended strategies and tactics is broken down into three phases over the next year and monitors and controls are carefully outlined in order to ensure that success is achievable and measurable. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”