Product Requirements Document: The Carrot Landing Page

Date: 2026-03-18 Status: Draft v1 Project Type: One-page marketing and lead capture site Owner: Benson High School Design & Construction Academy / advisory stakeholders

1. Overview

The Carrot is a student-designed Benson business directory produced by graphic design students at Benson High School in Omaha, Nebraska. The current ad-sales workflow relies on a PDF flyer, which explains the offering but does not clearly communicate the value of advertising or provide a simple conversion path.

This project will create a one-page landing site that gives prospective advertisers a clearer reason to participate and an easy way to submit an inquiry. The page will be used as the destination for QR codes, social links, and direct outreach.

2. Problem Statement

The current PDF flyer tells businesses what The Carrot is, but it does not do enough to:

• explain why advertising is valuable
• convert interest into inquiries
• give organizers a shareable, up-to-date destination
• collect structured lead information from interested businesses

As a result, businesses may understand the ad menu but still lack enough context or motivation to respond.

3. Goal

Launch a simple, trustworthy, community-oriented landing page that helps local businesses understand the value of advertising in The Carrot and submit an ad inquiry with minimal friction.

4. Success Metrics

Primary success metrics:

• Number of ad inquiries submitted
• Number of ads sold for the 2026 issue
• Ad inventory fill rate before the ad deadline

Secondary success metrics:

• Percentage of outreach traffic that reaches the inquiry form
• Number of businesses selecting a specific ad size
• Reduction in back-and-forth required to qualify advertiser interest

5. Target Audience

Primary audience:

• Benson neighborhood businesses
• Restaurants, bars, coffee shops, retailers, and local service providers

Secondary audience:

• Community supporters
• Advisory board members or staff sharing the opportunity
• Businesses discovering the opportunity via social media or QR code

6. Core Value Proposition

Advertising in The Carrot gives businesses a way to:

• support Benson High students and student creative work
• reach people who live in, visit, and care about the Benson neighborhood
• align their brand with a local, student-produced community publication

The emotional and persuasive hook is community support, not traditional media performance marketing.

7. Product Scope

In scope for MVP:

• Single landing page
• Clear explanation of what The Carrot is
• Stronger articulation of why businesses should advertise
• Ad pricing and dimensions
• Key dates and deadlines
• Contact / inquiry form
• Mobile-friendly responsive layout
• Deployable React + TypeScript implementation suitable for Vercel

Out of scope for MVP:

• Online payments
• Self-serve ad purchase checkout
• User accounts or dashboards
• Multi-page CMS-driven website
• Full artwork upload and proofing workflow
• Analytics-heavy admin tooling

8. User Stories

• As a local business owner, I want to quickly understand what The Carrot is so I can decide whether it is relevant to my business.
• As a prospective advertiser, I want to know why advertising helps both my business and the school so I feel motivated to inquire.
• As a business contact, I want to see ad sizes, pricing, and deadlines in one place so I can choose an option quickly.
• As an interested advertiser, I want to submit my contact information and ad interest in a simple form so someone can follow up with me.
• As a project organizer, I want inquiries to arrive in a structured way so follow-up is easier and nothing gets lost.

9. Functional Requirements

9.1 Page Content

The page must include:

• Hero section with headline, short supporting copy, and primary CTA
• Section explaining what The Carrot is
• Section explaining why businesses should advertise
• Ad options with pricing and dimensions
• Key timeline section with ad deadline and publication availability
• Section reinforcing student and community impact
• Inquiry form
• Contact information for a fallback manual contact path

9.2 Inquiry Form

The form must capture:

• Contact name
• Business name
• Email
• Phone number
• Ad interest or ad size selection
• Message or questions

Recommended ad-interest options:

• Logo only
• Quarter page horizontal
• Quarter page vertical
• Half page horizontal
• Half page vertical
• Full page
• I have questions / not sure yet

Required behavior:

• Validate required fields before submission
• Provide clear success and error states
• Route submissions to the designated recipient
• Preserve selected ad interest in the submission payload

9.3 Technical Requirements

• Built with React and TypeScript
• Suitable for deployment on Vercel
• Fast-loading and mobile responsive
• Accessible baseline with semantic structure, usable form labels, and sufficient color contrast
• Easy to update copy, dates, and pricing without major code changes

10. Content Requirements

The page should communicate the following facts already present in source materials:

• The Carrot is student-designed and produced by Benson High graphic design students
• This is the third edition
• Ad revenue helps cover printing so the directory can remain free
• Distribution begins May 1, 2026
• Ad deadline is April 1, 2026
• Contact is Annie Butler at annie@bffomaha.org

Current pricing:

• Logo only: $100
• Quarter page horizontal: $250, 6in x 3in
• Quarter page vertical: $250, 3in x 4.5in
• Half page horizontal: $500, 6in x 4.5in
• Half page vertical: $500, 3in x 9in
• Full page: $1,000, 6in x 9in

11. Recommended Page Structure

1. Hero
2. What Is The Carrot
3. Why Advertise
4. Distribution / local reach
5. Ad options and specs
6. Timeline
7. About the students / community impact
8. Inquiry form
9. Footer with contact details

12. UX Requirements

• The page should feel community-centered, student-forward, and approachable rather than corporate.
• The primary CTA should be visible above the fold on desktop and near the top on mobile.
• Pricing and ad options should be easy to scan.
• The form should be short enough to complete in under two minutes.
• The page should work well as a destination from a QR code on a printed flyer.

13. Non-Functional Requirements

• Responsive across common mobile and desktop breakpoints
• Reliable form delivery
• Simple maintainability for a small volunteer-run project
• Reasonable performance for users coming from social apps or QR scans

14. Assumptions

This draft PRD assumes the following:

• The landing page is primarily a lead-capture page, not a transactional checkout flow.
• Form submissions should route to Annie Butler unless stakeholders specify otherwise.
• Businesses are expressing interest first and completing payment later through a separate process.
• The current flyer pricing and dates are accurate for the 2026 issue.
• A single-page site is sufficient for launch.

15. Open Questions

The following items should be confirmed before final implementation:

• What is the exact print run or estimated circulation?
• Where exactly will copies be distributed?
• Is there a confirmed street dispenser location?
• Is The Carrot annual, quarterly, or on another cadence?
• Do businesses supply finished artwork, or do students assist with ad design?
• How are advertisers invoiced or otherwise asked to pay?
• Who should receive form submissions?
• Are there limits on ad inventory by size?
• Is there a preferred domain for the landing page?
• Are there approved photos, student quotes, or prior issue previews available?

16. Risks

• Without circulation or distribution specifics, the value proposition may feel emotionally strong but practically vague.
• If the inquiry routing is not finalized, submissions could be delayed or lost.
• If ad availability is limited but not communicated clearly, businesses may inquire for sold-out placements.
• If the form asks for too much information, completion rate may suffer.

17. MVP Acceptance Criteria

• A visitor can understand the purpose of The Carrot within the first screen and a half of scrolling.
• A visitor can see ad options, pricing, and key dates without opening a PDF.
• A visitor can submit an inquiry with contact info and ad interest from desktop or mobile.
• A stakeholder can receive and review submitted inquiries in a consistent format.
• The page is deployable to Vercel and usable on current mobile and desktop browsers.

18. Suggested Next Steps

1. Confirm the open questions that affect copy accuracy, especially distribution, circulation, and form routing.
2. Approve this PRD as the MVP scope.
3. Turn the approved sections into final page copy and a design pass.
4. Implement the React + TypeScript landing page and connect the form submission flow.