Our Brand
Marka is a technology company that believes in accessibility and community building. Those that want to spend time on one of New Jersey’s beautiful beaches should be able to do so without the hassle and waste of a conventional beach tag while supporting the local town.
Personality
Never go “down the shore” without Marka. We know the best spots to eat, drink, have a good time, and most importantly, we know how to make sure you always have access to the beach. We’re the Jersey shore “lifer” that will know where to go, what to do, and always have extra beach tags for guests. Marka is fun and accessible and wants to make beach season great for everyone.
Visual Identity
The Marka logo is the bases of our visual identity. Our primary brand colors use greens and blues to emulate being in outdoors. The photography used should have an everyday look and feel. It should evoke the feeling of being seaside in New Jersey and enjoying the outdoors.
Marka has two marks. One is the logo with an “M” in a square and the other is the location pin with a heart in it. The M square should only be used as a mark with the logo is not present and the image needs an identifier. The location heart pin can be used with the M square or the logo as a visual element to point out a specific element in the graphic.
Driving Purpose
Marka will endeavor to fix the antiquated and wasteful beach tag system across the many towns that make up the “Jersey Shore” and, in addition, boost the economy of the NJ beach towns that are a staple of summer for countless visitors every year. The current process is overly inefficient due to the employee labor costs and cash only transactions that must be processed in person. Overall, the user experience is poor and the process is virtually impossible to track. Marka will help beachgoers because it will make the tag acquisition process easier and more convenient. We also know it will help NJ because the convenience will eliminate a key incentive that short-term visitors have to avoid purchasing beach tags and help recapture that revenue for the state.
Target Audiences
- Lifers – For this customer group, going to the beach is a family tradition and has been for a long time. Lifers own property (or have access to the owned property via family/friend networks) in NJ beach towns and they visit the Jersey shore every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day without fail. They also frequently host family, friends, and renters. Going to the beach, and therefore the tag process is part of Lifers’ identities. Therefore some, especially older demographics, may take pride in their beach tags and be hesitant to let go. This group’s buy-in will be crucial as they are our thought leaders and potential tastemakers. Their dollars may drive what municipalities choose to do in terms of beach policy.
- Vacationers – Vacationers do not own property but visit the Jersey Shore in varying degrees of frequency throughout the summer. They may rent from Saturday to Saturday once a year or make several (potentially long) weekend trips. They will most likely socialize or even stay with friends and family that belong to the Lifers group. Vacationers are key for Marka because they are likely to avoid purchasing a beach tag entirely or “borrow” tags purchased at cheaper, summer-long rates by Lifers. Marka’s easy process and friendly community-oriented branding will turn tourists from circumventing the process into loyal customers.
- Potential Home Buyers – Potential Home Buyers visit the Jersey Shore frequently like Vacationers but may potentially buy property of their own and become the Lifers of the future. This group is uniquely positioned to determine Marka’s long-term success. If they adopt Marka as their tag purchase tool of choice, then our app will become the standard and subsequent generations of beach-goers will do the same.
- Day-Trippers – Day-Trippers will drive to the shore, usually early in the morning on Saturday or Sunday, and stay for the day. This group is most likely looking to just spend a day at the beach with their family or a group of friends and will be gone by sundown. Day-Trippers are probably the least likely to purchase tags and may be largely disengaged from the local community. Marka will get this segment to “join the party” and help nurture them into higher revenue-generating vacationers through limited time offers and local partnerships.
- Local Businesses – Local Businesses are the shops, restaurants, bars, and clubs that make up almost the entire non-beach experience of a visit to the Shore. Some may be old community institutions like Margate’s Dairy Bar or new entrants to the market that are still in need of name recognition. Marka will partner with local businesses to help support the local economy. These companies would pay for advertising on our app and have the ability to quickly and easily communicate with the large, captive audience of beachgoers and weekend visitors. In addition, the data Marka collects on when people visit, in what numbers, and what weekends comprise summer’s peaks and troughs could prove invaluable to Local Businesses that need to make accurate staffing, inventory, and budgeting decisions every year.
Marketing Channels
Marka plans to use the following marketing channels to spread awareness of our brand and begin to build a customer base.
- Traditional media – Billboards and the ever-popular bi-plane banner ad typical of beach towns
- Targeted ads on smartphones via geofencing – “It looks like you’re in Ocean City, NJ. Take advantage of Ocean City’s amazing beach and stay up-to-date on offers at local bars/restaurants by checking the Marka app.”
- WOM – Word of Mouth
- Social media
- Inbound – Branded content like funny videos or informative blog posts could help get our brand name out there
- Gorilla Marketing – Advertise in local beach towns, and stores through fliers, magnets, and stickers.
- Co-Op Marketing – Partner with other advertisers for mutual benefit i.e. Advertising near the sunscreen section in order to promote download of the app.