Public Relations Campaign Proposal

Background:

The communication and theatre department claims students “will gain a broad range of analytical and practical knowledge in the communication and theatre arts.” In order to do this, students must select one of two majors, communication or convergent media, as well as seven minors. Four faculty members lead approximately 25 communication and theatre students. The department hopes to double the number of students within the majors, as well as increase the number of students who declare one or more of the available minors. Another goal for the department is to continue to grow and develop the new curriculum changes that were finalized last spring. The communication and theatre department would like to further challenge students with the level of academic rigor incorporated into the classes.

 

Scope:

This report will address the ways the department can accomplish its stated goals. These objectives and tactics are cost-effective and easily attainable if the proper amount of attention is given to each, and if they are done in a timely manner. For the purposes of this campaign, the publics’ taken into consideration will be current and prospective students.

 

Objectives:

• Increase on-campus student awareness of the communication and theatre department program offerings

  • The main goal noted by the department was to increase the number of students who had a major or minor as an addition to one they already possessed from within or from another department. This objective will allow the department to be seen as an option for students who haven’t considered it before. Gaining visibility and building a connection with them will attract current students to the department for a variety of reasons.

• Double the current number of students enrolled in the department within five years

  • The department currently has approximately 25 students enrolled in one or more of the program offerings. Doubling this number would make the department more profitable, competitive and successful.

• Increase content published by The Witmarsum

  • The Witmarsum provides a unique opportunity for students to have published pieces in their portfolios before graduation. Most of the pieces published by The Witmarsum are written by students in convergent media-focused classes.

 

Tactics:

Increase on-campus student awareness

• Establish social media presence on Facebook and Twitter to promote program offerings and engage with current students

  • The creation of a social media presence should occur before the start of the next semester. It would be beneficial for the department to set up the social media and develop the content for the first few weeks or months over the summer but wait to launch the accounts until a week or two before the semester starts. This will allow the department to properly prepare and it will help promote interest in Bluffton and the department going into the start of a new semester.

• Create and distribute posters about adding a major(s) or minor(s) in the department

  • The communication audit proved that creating and distributing an infographic or attractive flyer would be another cost-effective avenue of communication that could increase the number of students enrolled in the program. Though the department could benefit from other methods of advertisement and promotion, the traditional print media option is often successful on Bluffton’s campus. These posters should distinctly depict and promote the department’s unique enthusiasm and would be most beneficial if hung towards the end of the fall semester, prior to registration.

• Use The Witmarsum’s advertising and promotional capabilities to increase visibility to students on- and off-campus

  • The Witmarsum is a valuable asset within the department with the capability to help promote the other departments’ events and activities on campus. The Wit builds relationships with a variety of students, faculty, and staff involved in different clubs and organizations on campus by creating their own liners and promotional audio clips for their events. These advertisements should happen throughout the semester and be ready for publication at the start of the next semester.

 

Double current number of students

• Encourage prospective student campus visits to promote the department’s enticing qualities

  • The communication and theatre department has many enticing qualities including the faculty and staff. Students may assume Bluffton’s communication and theatre department is like any other; however, once students are able to meet with and sit in on one of the professors’ classes, they will find that this department is quite unique and more lively than others. This can be accomplished by providing a more entertaining and lively campus visit experience that gives a more accurate taste of what it is like to be a student in the department.

• Offer a competition for prospective students in which the winner earns a position on The Witmarsum staff

  • This competition is academically focused; prospective students can submit portfolio pieces showing their capabilities in any of the following categories: writing, videography, photography, graphic design and radio and video broadcasting. Students who are guaranteed an income in a field they are interested in may be more likely to matriculate. This competition should be announced during the spring semester with entries accepted through the summer. This tactic could also be beneficial in the completion of the objective “increase content published by The Witmarsum.”

• Update the emails sent to prospective students to better represent the atmosphere and environment of the department

  • Four versions of emails directed toward prospective students are available to send depending on a survey/questionnaire that is filled out. This serves as a cost-efficient way to tell about current students and opportunities they could have as future Bluffton students.

  • The emails examined in the communication audit showed that the copy was written too technically to interest high school or prospective students. Currently, all four versions come from the chair of the department. It could be beneficial to have one or two come from a current student to seem more appealing to the recipient.

• Position the department as lively, energetic and ambitious by improving the campus visit experience for prospective students

  • The department has a unique opportunity to show off the enthusiastic faculty and staff, as well as the competitive nature of the programs. Campus visits can be enhanced by allowing prospective students to interact with faculty, staff and students in classes and in informal settings. They should demonstrate the life of a communication and theatre department student in and out of class.

 

Increase content published by The Witmarsum

• Require students from classes focused on communication theory to contribute two pieces a semester

  • Students who don’t have a focus on convergent media will have more impactful portfolios with the inclusion of published articles. The Witmarsum could also benefit from publishing more content created and developed by a wider variety of students.

 

Budget:

Many of the tactics introduced are extremely cost-effective and have impactful ways to grow and develop the department. The highest expense for this campaign is the cost of staff time. Student workers who are trained and educated in convergent media and general communication have a greater ability to produce and publish effective content than students from outside the department.

Utilizing a student worker’s entire contract for the campaign could be beneficial, but collaboration with The Witmarsum to create a split contract is a more cost-efficient way to accomplish the department’s goal.

 

Another way to save time and money is to start the campaign on a smaller scale and build up each year. It may be inconceivable for the department to invest a student worker’s entire contract to the campaign in its first year. However, this campaign could prove to have a more positive outcome with full invest from the start.

 

Conclusion:

This campaign addressed some of the main goals of the department and ways to accomplish them. The objectives and tactics stated are extremely cost-effective and easily attainable if the proper amount of attention is given to each and are done in a timely manner. Establishing a social media presence, enhancing the print media distributed on campus and promoting the department’s unique atmosphere are just a few ways to improve and achieve the stated goals.