N i c h o l s o n School of Communications

Courtney Flowers Juliette Lauer Andres Marmol Romina Polo Katie Stewart

TABLE OF CONTENTs
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website

Table of Contents...............................................................................1 Research............................................................................................2 Strategic Goals..................................................................................3 Target Audience.................................................................................4 Online Components...........................................................................6 Twitter..............................................................................................7 Facebook...........................................................................................8 Blog..................................................................................................9

Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Website............................................................................................10 Events and Branding Components...................................................11 Comm Week....................................................................................12 Intern Pursuit and Inductgion Event...............................................13 Promotional Items and Viral Campaign...........................................14 Public Engagement..........................................................................15 Media Components..........................................................................16 Media Relations...............................................................................17

rESEARCH
Table of Contents Research Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

The Nicholson School of Communication is in need of an overall brand and communication strategy overhaul. The school wants to appeal in a way that would be more relevant to current students, for increased participation, and future students for increased awareness and consideration when looking for the right communications program. Our team was tasked with analyzing internal and external factor. Students filled out surveys with questions about the Nicholson School culture and things they believe need improvement. Also, research was conducted about other universities and the strategies used to better market their communications programs through their site and social media.

Student Surveys
All five group members sent out a survey to five current Nicholson School students with the following questions: 1. Why did you choose a communications major? 2. What do you like most about your program? 3. What do you like least about your program? 4. Do you identify yourself with the Nicholson School? 5. What would allow you to identify yourself better? 6. Do you feel a sense of pride at the Nicholson School? 7. Do you think there is a culture within the Nicholson School? How would you define it? 8. How do you feel about the faculty and staff? 9. You know youre a communications major when They key questions in the survey that were used to build our strategies on were numbers two through seven. The results varied a lot depending on which program you were a part of in the communications school. Most students really liked their programs and some Advertising and Public Relations majors felt the major should be split in two in order to go more in depth within each field. In reference to the fourth question, students felt that they related more to the university as a whole rather than to the actual school. They felt the school did not have a defined culture and that the four majors in the school did not really interact with each other which helped when responding question seven. Students that did define a culture felt that it was a fun school with a lot of outgoing students.

Program Research
Other programs were researched when trying to come up with a more appealing marketing perspective when reaching out to communication students and future or pending students. Top schools across the nation and the state, such as the University of Miami and the University of Florida, were researched through their social media pages and main website.

sTRATEGIC gOALS
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

1. To establish a multi-level campaign that utilizes various media platforms to promote the new brand identity of the Nicholson School of Communications to targeted audiences. Campaign will aim to increase brand recognition. 2. To provide targets with information about the values, principles and beliefs of the Nicholson school to encourage dedication and loyalty to the established Nicholson culture. 3. To create networking opportunities that will allow Nicholson students to connect with classmates, peers, potential employers and alumni. Networking events will allow students to build lasting relationships with those that can influence their future.

tARGET AUDIENCE
Current Nicholson School Students
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

o Both upper and underclassmen will be targeted. o Specific types of this category include those students who currently have pending applications to get into their communication major of choice as well as students who have recently been accepted into their chosen program. These students will typically be underclassmen (freshman to sophomore status) that are still taking the introductory, lower-level classes, including gen-eds. These students are in the exploratory phase and are highly influenceable, meaning they may be susceptible to a change in major. It is important to establish a connection with these students early on in order to maximize interaction and culture identification. These students may also have more time to dedicate to extracurricular activities because they are not working or interning yet; they may be more likely to join clubs and participate in school-sponsored events. o This category also includes those students that are well within their programs studies. These are the upperclassmen that are in their higher-level studies. Time is crucial for these students because they tend to juggle work and internships along with school, other obligations may factor into their time management as well. These students are more concerned with networking and building connections that will be helpful after graduation. It is important to convince these students that NSC and UCF are their foundations for success, we want them to be advocates for NSC and we want them to take pride in their education.

University of Central Florida Undergraduates

o This category includes all other students, majors and colleges at UCF outside of the NSC. These students may have classes in the Nicholson building and that may be their only interaction with the school. Some may consider pairing a communication-based degree with their current major, like psychology, business or English majors. Some may consider picking up a communication-based minor. o Most students in this category have very low to no interaction with NSC. We want to increase their awareness of the school so that they know what programs are within NSC, current and upcoming events sponsored by NSC and other relevant information.

tARGET AUDIENCE
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding

High School Juniors and Seniors

o This category includes high school upperclassmen that will be joining university undergraduate programs after graduation. Desirable targets are already in a communication-based program or club at their high school, like journalism, ad club news staff, yearbook staff, broadcasting etc. These students are mostly concerned with finding and getting into the best undergraduate programs. They may feel anxious when presented with the pressure of making a life-changing decision like choosing what university to attend. These students need to be reassured and feel confident that choosing NSC would be the most beneficial decision for the long run. o This category will also include high school counselors and advisors. These are the people that influence and guide students in decision-making. They keep students in the know about what programs will fit their needs best, so we need to keep them updated and knowledgeable about Nicholson School programs.

Communications Students at Other Universities

Community Media Relations Public Relations

o This category includes students in communication programs, departments, schools and majors at other public universities in the US. These students should be aware of UCFs communication school and they should know how it compares to their current program. Some of these students may be considering transferring to other schools with more beneficial programs, so its important to keep NSC on their radar.

Components
Social Media and Website
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Objectives
o To increase target participation and interaction with NSC through social media platforms. After six months of campaign implementation, NSC should have at least 800 Twitter followers and Facebook likes. After a year, NSC should have more than 1,200 followers and 1,000 likes.

Strategy
o Utilize various social media platforms to increase NSC engagement with target audiences.

Tactics
o Twitter o Facebook. o Blog o NSC Website

Social media
Twitter
Activities:
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social media Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Host monthly tweet chats based on industry related news or new intriguing findings andinformation. Example: NSC recently tweeted an article about the laws around internships. There was no interaction or feedback from that tweet. This would have been a great topic to discuss with current interns and employers. Due to low traffic to our Twitter and FB accounts, this interesting topic did not receive the conversation it could have generated. By increasing our Twitter and FB following, we will be able to engage in more conversations with targets. A simple line within the tweet that says, Give us your feedback or What do you think about this could have initiated more conversation on the topic. Also, if it is known that we host a set monthly chat, at the same time every month, more people will know to respond to articles or topics like these. Tweet chat topics o Superbowl Ads o Trends occurring within the industry of communications o Resume tips o Interview Tips o Monthly tweet chats hosted by various professors on a topic of their expertise Increase the amount of Twitter followers o By posting at least three times daily o Live Twitter feeds will be included on all social media platforms to encourage interaction and drive traffic to the Twitter page o Posts will be communication industry related and will engage, inform and entertain followers Example tweets: o A lesson from Nascar on how to gain 100,000 followers in 1 night. What do you think? http://mashable.com/2012/02/28/keselowski-nascar-twitter/ o Check out this weeks blog written by NSC student @Katie__Stew about her awesome internship @MasseyCommunications www.blog.ucf.nsc #Internship oYou know youre a communications student when math is a foreign language to you #NSC Increase the amount of people the NSC twitter follows. o NSC is currently following 45 people. In order to drive more traffic to our twitter, we need to engage with others and increase the amount of people we follow. It is our hope that they will follow us in return. o When someone responds to our tweets or begins to follow us we need to consider following them back. NSC should be following at least 300 people after six months of campaign initiation. NSC should follow major industry representatives such as Mashable, AAAAs, FPRA, PRSA and Journalism Daily.

Social media
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social media Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Facebook
Activities:

Will be linked to blog and Twitter feed Upgrade FB page to timeline format to stay current with best uses. Post on industry related articles to increase discussion and idea free-flow. For example, monthly tweet chats will be mirrored on the FB page to increase exposure, discussion and interaction on the chosen topic. Pictures will be posted of school events like Intern Pursuit, COMM Week, club field trips (ad club is going to Chicago- the FB should follow their time there) and campus tours. Fliers for corresponding events should be posted as well. Update followers on deadlines and general news

Social media
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social media Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Blog
Activities:

The NSC website will include a link named student blog that will lead to the schools blog. Blog entries will be posted at least two times a month. Faculty members will run the day-to-day administration of the blog. They will be in charge of coming up with blog-entry topics and accumulating student work to post to the blog. For example, the administration can use the Twitter page to let students know what the topic is for blog entries. Students can then submit their entries to the administration and they will decide which works to post to the blog. The blog will also serve as a platform to feature and highlight student and alumni achievements such as getting published, receiving an award or scholarship and landing an internship or job with a prominent company. Professors will encourage students to respond to current industry topics to earn a feature on the blog.

Website
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media website Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Website
Activities:

Website will serve as a landing spot for all social media outlets related to the school (Twitter, FB, blog) Dedicate a section of the website to current events. Dedicate a section of the website to examples of student work. This is important for visitors to the website to gain an understanding of how the curriculum is applied in NSC. By including student interviews on their experience at NSC, future and current students can gain a better understanding of what to expect and the culture of NSC. By pairing biographies and fun facts on teachers, students can establish a more personal relationship with professors. By providing a virtual tour of the Radio-Television newsroom, visitors can view our state of the art facility.

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Components
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website events/branding Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Events and Branding

Objectives:
1. To increase participation in NSC events by improving marketing efforts around key events. After promotion of events through social media, classroom discussion and advertising material, 50 percent of NSC students will participate in an event per semester. 2. Strategy: Signature events will be held throughout each semester to keep NSC students connected and participating with the school.

Tactics
COMM Week Intern Pursuit Major Induction Event Branding Public Engagement

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Events
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website

COMM Week
Activities:
NSCs signature COMM Day will now be COMM Week in order to increase unity among all majors in NSC. Each day will highlight an NSC major to inform students in other majors about what their peers are learning. Each major will showcase accomplishments and student work. oMonday: Radio-Television oTuesday: Advertising/Public Relations

events/branding Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

oWednesday: Interpersonal Organizational Communication and Journalism oThursday: Networking Barbecue at Lake Claire Provide free food/drinks (non-alcoholic), music Needs to run at least five hours (allows more people to attend) One each semester Gives students the opportunity to learn more about what their peers are studying and to create relationships to bring into their future careers oFriday: COMM Day Signature yearly event Keynote speaker will be Donna Mirus-Bates, Senior VP of Brand for Universal Orlando. Shes an alumna and on the Board of Visitors. Event will include a sit down lunch, Hall of Fame inductions, key note speaker and seminars.

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Events
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website events/branding Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Intern Pursuit and Induction Event

Activities:
Intern Pursuit
oExplore how to better market event o We will highlight the importance of interning throughout the months of March and October to encourage students to attend Intern Pursuit During those months, social media platforms will be dedicated to interning. This will include student testimonials and success stories.

Induction Event
o Hold a small ceremony or simple gathering to recognize those accepted into their programs o Invite parents and friends of inductees o Provide food/drinks o Give out some commemorative item (e.g. school pin, fancy portfolio binder with NSC logo) o Gives the opportunity for students to meet with new classmates

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Branding
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website events/branding Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations

Promotional Items and Campus Viral Campaign

Activities:
Promotional items
o Create items that are useful to students already in their program (Ad/PR, Journalism, radio/TV) that have the NCS logo on them (binding folders for campaign projects, Cd and tape cases, binders, jump drives, folders, notepads) o Produce promotional items for college fairs at high schools and major fairs at UCF that will promote the Nicholson School of Communication (t-shirts, pens, pamphlets, key chains, highlighters, erasers, kosies, plastic cups, wrist bands, bracelets, hats, visors, bumper stickers etc.) o Provide shirts that are reflective of our culture: You know youre a Communications major when... that students can wear around campus and on NSC related events like COMM day

Campus Electro-Viral Campaign (semester-long continuation)

o All campus television and computer screens will show visuals that will spark curiosity and drive students to the NSC Twitter page by providing the Twitter handle on the visual. This will be achieved through a campus wide screen take over that will last 10 seconds. o Utilizes the mystique trigger

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community
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Community Media Relations Public Relations

Public Engagement
Activities:
In an effort to become more engaged with the community, NSC will involve students of extracurricular clubs in a school wide community project. Each semester, students will focus on a social issue affecting the Central Florida community and each major will be responsible for a different part of the project. Each student organization will use their unique abilities to contribute to the overall goal of the project. For example, cyber bullying has become an issue that is taking its toll on young students across the country. By getting behind this issue, NSC will be seen as a leader not only for UCF, but for other schools as well. Ad/PR students will take on crafting newsworthy stories and developing social media strategies to support the issue. Journalism students will write stories pertaining to cyber bullying based on pitches from Ad/PR students. Interpersonal Organization Communication students will be responsible for research and other internal tasks and Radio-Television students will make videos to draw attention to cyber bullying. By immersing themselves in the community, NSC students will be seen as role models and this project will allow them to apply their curriculum. Because the University of Central Florida is the second largest school in the nation it is important for them to be seen as a staple in the community. NSC representatives will attend high school college fairs in key market areas including Jacksonville. South Florida, Tampa, Orlando and Tallahassee. This will inform and persuade students who are questioning life after high school and grow the interest in NSC. Examples of student work and accomplishments as well as testimonials will be included in the college fairs.

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Components
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community media relations Media Relations Public Relations

Media Relations
Tactics
Press Releases Media Advisory Pitches Biography

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Media
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations relations

Media Relations
Press Releases o Press releases will be distributed to appropriate media outlets based on target audiences about all NSC events and accomplishments. For example, a press release has been provided for Intern Pursuit. Media Advisory o Media Advisories will be distributed appropriate media outlets based on target audiences as follow ups to press releases about events. They will highlight key visual components to encourage media attendance. For example, a media advisory has been provided that will accompany the Intern Pursuit press release. Pitches o We will pitch Ryan Sheehy as a branding expert offering advice to students on how to brand themselves professionally on social media. o We will pitch this story to the Central Florida Future because it reaches UCF students who seek information about campus life and student success. Bios o A biography about Ryan Sheehy will accompany the above media pitch. It will highlight her experience to show expertise.

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creative
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations relations

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creative
Table of Contents Research Strategic Goals Target Audience Online Social Media Website Events/Branding Community Media Relations Public Relations relations

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