Situation

The new owners at the Breakers Café in Bodega Bay needed customers. Surveys showed a majority of summer tourism came from Sacramento. They were getting some tourists spill from Lucas Wharf and The Tides, but, unlike these concerns that offer a range of goods and services, the Breakers Cafe was all about dining. 

Problem

The success model for most restaurants is good food, ambiance, and local color. Tourists are on tour, and they tell others when they talk about places they've visited. 
   The Breakers Cafe needed to establish its own identity within its own community, which it planned on doing largely by word-of-mouth over the long term after an initial announcement in newspapers and radio. It also needed to increase its share of tourist traffic from the collective tourist throughput. 
   Located up the hill on the western rim of the Pelican Plaza shopping center with a handful of other retail shops, it held the high ground in Bodega Bay for sunsets and good, affordable breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.
   But, the owners felt most tourists who made it to Bodega Bay never actually discovered Pelican Plaza, much less the Breakers Café in Pelican Plaza. They concluded it was essential to begin reaching people in Sacramento before they set out on tour for the more temperate coastal attractions in the summer months. But, they had not budgeted anything for advertising,  had no idea what they should do, and had no idea what media might cost.

The Heart of Bodega Bay Campaign:  Agencies generally don't do retail well. But, here was a clear case of  “location neglect.”  It wasn't just the Breakers, but all the retailers in Pelican Plaza who were suffering.
   Thirty-second radio spots generally cost about 85% of sixties. So, it makes much more sense to buy sixty second spots than thirties, even if you have to lay off some of that time to others in a :30/:30 split, or in a :30/:15/:15 split.
   Breakers Cafe was set on radio.  It also needed newspaper and outdoor, but it couldn't afford to do anything well on its own. Realizing that it would be better to do at least one thing noticeably well, the agency devised a campaign strategy that would serve as a benchmark for other media integration over the long haul.
   To have a shot at optimizing a radio investment, you generally need to maintain minimum spot loads of 18-24 spots a week on schedules of at least 8 to 13 weeks. So, on the agency's recommendation, Breakers convinced four other Pelican Plaza retailers to participate in a shared 13 week TAP schedule rotation of 18 spots a week. These spots aired on four dominant stations (under one ownership) in the Santa Rosa and Sacramento ADIs. Each :60 second spot was split, prorated and rotated as a :30/:15/:15. To graphically tie in with radio, "putting a face" to this word-of-mouth campaign that began and ended in tourist caravans to and from Sacramento, a bright red heart and pelican decal was created to give customers for rear window placement.