Spark Academy Presentation

08.01.14

Spark Academy Public Relations Proposal

Our Team

Aaliyah SingletonNorth Carolina State UniversityBusiness Administration- Marketing

Courtney ClaytonUniversity of North FloridaCommunications- Public Relations, Community Leadership

E. Jade HudsonUniversity of North Carolina- CharlotteCommunications- Public Relations, Sociology

● Enhance the Spark brand as well as increase overall brand awareness● Leave a strong footprint across various social media platforms thus making

Spark more accessible to the masses● Obtain a constant pool of applicants each semester available to intern with

Spark● Amplify efforts to attract young talented individuals● Cement relationships with North Carolina colleges and universities,

particularly those in the communications and business departments in order to gain traction with students and administrators

● Showcase the unique experience that is interning at a full-service agency, Spark

Overall Program Goals

Research

1. What is your age range?17 or younger 0

18-24 68

25 or older 1

Total 69

Research

2. Which Facebook tab design do you prefer?

Image 1 Image 2

Research

3. What website do you or would you use to search for an internship?

Google search, Intenships.com, Company’s site, InternQueen.com, SimplyHired.com Friend or family, PRSSA’, Twitter, Craigslist

Research

4. How far of a distance are you willing to travel for an internship?

Research

5. What is the biggest incentive to an unpaid internship?

Hands-on and real life experience, “If it was a nonprofit I cared about”,Training Program, knowledge

Program Snapshot

Launchpad Ideas● Spark Academy website● Spark Academy internship project

Social Media● Facebook● Twitter● LinkedIn● Optional sites

Engagement and Thought Leadership● Communications and Marketing

Departments● Student organizations

Strategic Approach

Engagement and Thought Leadership

Social Media Launchpad Ideas

Goal

Strategy

Increase overall brand awareness

Program Elements

Generate social media coverage/ thought leadership and engagement of new branding among targeted audience.

Engagement and Thought Leadership

In order to increase awareness, Spark must● take advantage of North Carolina schools

○ build relationships with internship coordinators and professors

● Secure speaking engagements with student and professional organizations

● Conduct agency tours

Targeted Universities

Communications and Marketing Departments

● Get in contact with the targeted schools and institutions

● Post listing to the school sanctioned job portal● Inquire about attending career and internship fairs at

each institution and any additional costs that might be associated with attendance

● Identify former alumni and utilize connections as a means to of networking within the departments

Making Relationships

Spark can increase awareness by utilizing campus influencers● internship coordinators, professors, counselors/

advisers● PRSSA and PRSA chapters

Social Media

● Social Media should be utilized in order to stay current within public relations. We suggest using social media in order to inform schools of internship opportunities and the process of applying. By using these social media outlets and strategies we can reach a broader spectrum of applicants.

Facebook: ● Over 86% of our targeted audience uses Facebook daily according to

marketing.com.● By utilizing Facebook we can reach a broad and limited audience through posts

about interns and also privately messaging student organizations or PRSSA chapters informing them of internship openings.(Examples on Social Media Calendar)

● We suggest using a graphic designer in order to create a Facebook tab that matches Spark as a brand.

Twitter: ● This social media channel can be used to reach universities on a personal level

about internship opportunities. ● Will make students who see posts about Spark be aware of Spark as a company

even they aren’t looking for an internship.

Facebook & Twitter

LinkedIn

LinkedIn: ● Free to post for internship posting.● According to our survey most found internships through

LinkedIn. ● “Students are LinkedIn's fastest growing and most engaged

segment.”● Beneficial because it will add to the quality of applicants and

number of applicants.

InternMatch.com & Internships.com

InternMatch.Com: ● Free to post for internships. ● 18 people who answered our survey said they check

InternMatch.com for internship opportunities. ● Will increase our traffic from local and regional applicants

who visit the website.

Internships.com● Free to post for internships. ● The worlds largest internship marketplace. ● By posting internships it will also increase the number of

applicants.

Launchpad Ideas

● Spark Academy website● Spark Academy semesterly internship project

Spark Academy Website

● Separate website from sparksi.com○ sparkacademyintern.com○ sparkinternship.com○ sparkintern.com

● Targets audience with modern design● Provides information on Spark, Spark

Academy, past interns and application to apply

Website Creative

Spark Academy Internship Project

● Semesterly project for all interns to complete as a team, present at end of semester

● Provides hands-on and valuable experience ● Keeps Spark Academy relevant and fresh

Short Term Objectives

The following short-term goals will function as a starting point for the Spark Academy program:

•Increase website traffic to over 15 hits a week between October and December•Increase number of internship related calls/callbacks by 25%•Post internship listings across selected schools and other websites before Columbus Day—Oct 13•Garner an applicant pool of between 10-50 applicants for Spring 2015 semester•Select 1-4 quality interns and notify each of their acceptance by December 8•Current interns receive between 1-3 correspondence interactions in regards to intern experience at Spark

Contact

Aaliyah Singleton704-808-1979

aisingle@ncsu.edu

Courtney Clayton904-207-0860

courtney.clayton@unf.edu

E. Jade Hudson704-000-0000

ehudso10@uncc.edu

ignite@sparksi.com