Get Prepared Public Relations Strategy Plan

Get Prepared PR Strategy Plan 1

Get Prepared272 Rigby Hall • Rexburg, ID • 83460-4500 • Phone: (208) 496- 2393

G E T P R E P A R E D

P U B L I C R E L A T I O N S P L A N

S P R I N G 2 0 1 0



Executive Summary Background Situation Analysis Objectives Target Audience Research Survey Strategy & Tactics Advertising Press Release Budget Calendar Evaluation Conclusion

A Public Relations Plan by:Xanthe Aintablian, Heidi Carlson, Devin Graves, Jennifer McNabb,

& Sammi Naef

Sources:Get Prepared Council Handbook

Allen Jones, Get Prepared ManagerDevin Graves, Get Prepared Communications Manager

Table of Contents

234567 89

10-1112-13

14151617



Get Prepared is a student-led organization at Brigham Young University-Ida-ho. It was started in the fall of 1999 when BYU-Idaho was Ricks College. Its focus is on welcoming new students to campus and orienting them with what is offered at BYU-Idaho. Get Prepared hosts both Get Connected and I-Night Extravaganza, and is in the process of implementing its newest program, I-Prepare.

The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness amongst the student body about Get Prepared. Although it is a well-established program, there is con-fusion because the name of the organization has changed recently and not many students are aware of this change. Because they are not aware of this change, they do not associate Get Prepared with the activities it provides.

Enrollment at BYU-Idaho is expected to increase, creating a need for more volunteers to help with the program. Get Prepared also hopes to gain more volun-teers to accommodate the higher number of students that will potentially partici-pate in Get Connected.

Many actions will be taken to implement this public relations plan among the student body. With the main goal being to raise awareness, plans to advertise in multiple forms on campus as well as to have an end-of-the semester cookout will aid in these efforts. Surveys will also be administered prior to events to see what current awareness is. After the event, surveys will also be conducted to mea-sure the increased awareness of the program and its volunteers, and also to see what can be improved on. With the new name and direction Get Prepared is tak-ing, it is the hope of this campaign to involve the maximum number of students possible and help them realize that “Get Prepared is YOU.”

Executive Summ

ary



Get Prepared is a student-led organization that reaches out to new stu-dents. It originated in the fall of 1999, originally called Orientation, when BYU-Idaho was Ricks College. Its overview is, “It is important to reflect upon our past so that we may be grateful and know where our future lies. Get Prepared is the recipient of a rich legacy that has been guided by the hand of the Lord from its inception.”

Allen Jones was hired as part-time Orientation and part-time Safety Coordi-nator in the fall of 1999 and now oversees Get Prepared. Orientation was created in winter 2000 with eight student volunteers. They volunteered for 10 months and were given $500 scholarships. This organization’s purposes have varied over the years, from planning I-Night Extravaganza, helping with Homecoming/Spirit week, planning Grad Night and Grad Fair, and most recently the “Gather for Devo-tional” campaign.

The summer of 2000 was a great milestone for Orientation. It presented a pre-campus online orientation to the Church Board of Education, including the First Presidency. In fall 2001, the first I-night Extravaganza was held; R-Team changed its name to Y-Team (later changed to I-team) with transition of the school from Ricks College to BYU-Idaho. In fall 2002, the Orientation team put the first Grad Night together. The name changed for a brief period in winter 2007 to Student Spirit Events. One of the major accomplishments during this period was that it held the first Spirit Week.

In the winter of 2010 Student Spirit Events was changed to Get Prepared. The organization runs Get Connected. Last spring semester, it had the greatest number of volunteers for that event, with 180 I-team leaders, 120 I-reps and 100-plus I-night staff. Get Prepared is implementing I-Prepare, a peer mentoring pro-gram that helps students prepare for their arrival on the BYU-Idaho campus once they are admitted.

Background

Executive Summ

ary



Because of the increase of new students at BYU-Idaho, the Get Prepared program will need to increase the number of current volunteers, which is 180, by 45 percent. Each semester, Get Prepared has hosted a “Kick-off Party” to acquire volunteers, but with the dramatic increase of needed volunteers, the organization will have to restructure its recruitment. In a recent survey of BYU-Idaho students, only 10 percent even knew what Get Prepared is. We need to build awareness to increase volunteers and participation.

Strengths:• Familiarizes new students with BYU-Idaho• Well established structure of organization• Volunteer amount has met needs in the past• Easily recognizable uniform• Well organized events• Good enthusiasm and care shown from the volunteers• Great leadership opportunities

Weaknesses:• Advertising• Lack of awareness among the student body• Changing names causes confusion• Volunteers change each semester

Opportunities:• The Organization is growing• Has the potential to attract more volunteers and participants and therefore ful-fill its purpose.• Environment in which everyone can make friends

Threats:• Competition with other on-campus organizations• Lack of awareness among the student body• Busy schedules of students who could volunteer

Situation Analysis



• Increase the awareness of Get Prepared by 50%. • Due to the fact that the Get Prepared organization has changed its name

twice, the understanding of what the organization is to the student population is low. The awareness needs to increase so that students have an understand-ing of what volunteer opportunities are available, and what events they can attend and participate in.

• Increase the student populations understanding of the workings of the commit-tee by 50%. • When questioned, the majority of students are not aware of the program

and the workings of the committee. The understanding needs to increase so that students are more willing and eager to volunteer.

• Increase the coming semesters participation in events and leadership positions by 45%. • With the enrollment of BYU-Idaho increasing, the organization must also

increase its volunteer numbers. For fall semester, the volunteer base will need to grow from the current 180 volunteers, to 300.

Objectives

Situation Analysis



Target Audiences:

• Current Get Prepared Volunteers • Great resource of students who are already involved in the organization to keep participating and increase awareness by word of mouth. • Other Student Leaders • Leaders in other student organizations provide resources that will benefit the expansion of the Get Prepared organizations.• Communication Major Students • Part of the expansion of Get Prepared includes the expansion of the com-munications division, where 12 specialized student volunteers will work on mar-keting, PR and online media.• General Student Body • Every student at BYU-Idaho has the potential to be a student leader as well as to bring innovation and creativity to the Get Prepared organization.

Target Audiences



It is important to do research on a campaign to have some way of measur-ing the outcomes of stated objectives and to see where the proposed plans can be implemented. Surveys will be conducted to measure awareness of the Get Prepared organization among the student body.

Results of the survey will give an approximate number of how many stu-dents are aware of Get Prepared and how many actually know what it is and what its functions are. By using this number, it will be possible to better predict a target goal of how to increase the awareness percentage. Results from a sample survey are shown here.

Research

Target Audiences

Yes

10%

No

90%

Get Prepared Awareness



Get Prepared Survey- (Circle the applicable response, or write in the answer)

1. Have you heard of Get Prepared? Yes No

2. Where/how did you hear about it? a. School webpage b. Flyer c. Word of mouth d. Signs on campus e. Other ________________________

3. Have you heard of Student Spirit Events? Yes No

4. Are you aware of the change from Student Spirit Events to Get Prepared? Yes No

5. What events, if any, have you attended that Get Prepared sponsors? a. I-Night b. Get Connected

6. Have you ever volunteered with Get Connected as an I-Team Leader or I-Rep? Yes No

7. Would you be interested in volunteering with Get Prepared? Yes No

8. How may we contact you if you would like to volunteer? a. Phone:__________________ Text/Call b. E-mail:_________________________

Survey



Strategy: To reach the objectives, a series of surveys, advertisements, social media, press releases and events will be implemented. These items can be found on the following pages.

Tactics: Because of a younger audience (college students) a use of social media, mainly Facebook, will be implemented to attract volunteers and gain awareness. Screensavers, e-mails, and online banner ads will also be used to target a more technologically savvy audience.

Olympic sized banners will also be used to draw attention, as well as the use of flyers in high-traffic areas around the BYU-Idaho campus. A one minute com-mercial will run during BYU-Idahos Guitars Unplugged as a way to generate buzz about upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

Press releases will be given to the Scroll staff for them to run as a way to increase awareness of the Get Prepared organization. The Scroll may also be a way to advertise for the End of Semester Cook-out. The cook-out is a way to bring in potential volunteers by allowing them to socialize and also meet current volun-teers.

Strategy & Tactics



Advertising

BYU-Idaho Screensaver

BYU-Idaho Banner Ad



Advertising

Advertising

E-mail

Get Prepared | CLICK FOR MORE INFO>> How would you like to help plan I-Night Extravaganza, volunteer with Get Con-nected or become an I-Team Leader or I-Rep? Join Get Prepared today!

Guitars Unplugged CommercialProduction of a one-minute commercial for BYU-Idahos Guitars Unplugged

Facebook

Olympic Sized Banners Flyers



NEWS RELEASE

April 20, 2010 Contact Information:FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Allen Jones, Manager 208.496.2393 [email protected]

STUDENT SPIRIT EVENTS DIVIDES AND CREATES NEW ORGANIZATIONA New Student Organization Has Been Created After Division of SSE

REXBURG, IDAHO – In the process of becoming a new organization, Student Spirit Events has been divided by school administration. Get Prepared will now be the new name associated with the bright orange and blue polo’s worn by I-Reps and I-Team Leaders across campus during Get Connected. This change comes from the administration of Brigham Young University-Idaho, as a way to improve the communication between the university and new students. Because of the new and innovative ideas connected with the new Get Prepared organization, changes will not all take place at once, but rather over the next few semesters. One thing that has changed already though, is the dissolving of Student Spirit Events. Devotional Outreach and Spirit Week now belong to the activities pro-gram run on campus, and Get Connected and I-Night will become part of the newly created Get Prepared. Allen Jones, who is the advisor over Get Prepared, is ready to face the chal-lenges of creating a new organization. “There are a lot of changes that will be made, and it’s a process. But it’s exciting,” remarked Jones. For more information, please contact Allen Jones at 208.496.2393 or by email at [email protected]. With the changes that are expected, none will be as drastic as the move that Get Prepared will undergo within the next few semesters. The options right now vary from the newly remodeled M.C. to the Kimball Student and administrative Ser-vices Building. Get Prepared, when fully structured, will assist all new students from the time they are accepted to BYU-Idaho, from registration to Get Connected. There will be direct contact via email to all new students and parents as well as newly created modules to track the progress each new student is making prior to their arrival in Rexburg. The mission of Get Prepared is to ensure that each new student arrive on campus prepared for his or her experience in a Disciple Preparation Center.

Press Release



NEWS RELEASE

May 3, 2010 Contact Information:HOLD FOR RELEASE UNTIL May 3, 2010 Allen Jones, Manager 208.496.2393 [email protected]

GET PREPARED ORGANIZATION LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERSCampus Organization Needs Volunteers to Fill Slots for Next Semester’s Activities

REXBURG, ID – Leaders of Get Prepared, an organization at Brigham Young Universi-ty-Idaho, are in need of 300 new volunteers for fall semester. Get Prepared is a group that helps new students become familiar with BYU-Idaho and how to get involved in order to have a successful time while they are here. Volunteers help and participate in activities such as I-Night, a school party at the beginning of each semester, designed to help new and old students befriend each other through games, dancing, music, etc. Being a volunteer for Get Prepared can be rewarding. Junior Rick Roper, a vol-unteer for Get Prepared says, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to serve and meet new people.” Since the new influx of students on campus, Get Prepared is in need of more student volunteers. The usual quota for volunteers is around 180 each semester. This coming semester, because of the much larger population of students, as many as 300 volunteers are needed. Students are encouraged to get involved in Get Prepared. It is a volunteer experience that will benefit those you are helping, as well as yourself. This kind of opportunity is one of many that contribute to the special atmosphere found at BYU–Idaho. For more information or questions, contact [email protected] or check out the website at www.byui.edu/spiritevents.

Press Release



Because Get Prepared will achieve its main objectives through advertising, this budget is an estimated calculation of what it would cost to promote the organization on the Brigham Young University-Idaho campus, and in the city of Rexburg. Much of our advertising will take the form of email, web page banners and screen savers, which are free and effective. Therefore, our budget will be kept to a minimal cost.

Get Prepared Banners• Olympic-sized banners that are placed in high-traffic areas around campus will catch the attention of many passing students. • These will be bright, bold and interesting to the eye. It will create the idea and send the general message that Get Prepared is a fun organization looking for volunteers. • These will be ordered and purchased from the University Press.

ITEM: Four olympic size banners COST: ($63 ea.) $252.00

Get Prepared Flyers• These flyers will be 4 ¼” x 5 ½” (1/4 of a normal printing page), with bright colors and information on what Get Prepared needs, and the benefits of being a volunteer. • They will be distributed to apartments around the university, posted on bulletin boards in school buildings and handed out at high-traffic buildings like the Manwaring Center. • The distributors will be volunteer-based and will be comprised of students already involved with the organization. • These will be ordered and purchased from University Press.

ITEM: COST:1,000 fliers ($0.10 ea.) $100.00

End of Semester Cook-out• Food budget is approximated at $1,000, but due to the re-organization of the Food Services Website, the pricing is unavailable.

Contingencies • Contingencies will account for 10% of the budget, $130.

TOTAL BUDGET: $1482.00

Budget



Budget Launch Campaign (April 16)

• Launch Facebook site, inviting anyone to join• Implement screen saver and my.byui web banner• Include events in University Student Update

• Send out e-mail to students

Get Connected (April 16-19)• New freshmen are organized into I-teams led by current Get Prepared members• These groups are introduced to the campus and campus activities• Have participants fill out pre-event surveys

I-Night (April 20)• Organize an introduction I-Night event at the beginning of each semester• Students will participate in various fun activities that allow students to get to-gether and meet new people• April 16-19 advertising with olympic-size banners and hand out flyers• Have students fill out post-event surveys

End of Semester Cook-out (July 9)• Advertising June 28-July 9 with banners and flyers• An event that invites all students to come and enjoy food and fun• Get Prepared volunteers will explain the program and recruit possible future volunteers

Calendar



With this new public relations campaign, an important aspect is discover-ing what is currently known about the organization. By doing this it is possible to track these same elements after the campaign has been implemented. The best way to find this out is by conducting surveys. Student volunteers involved with Get Prepared will assist in dispersing and collecting these surveys. The results will be compiled and analyzed to determine how to proceed with the campaign as far as student awareness and increasing volunteers.

At the close of each event, another survey will be conducted, this time involving the students who participated with I-Night or Get Connected. It seems as though people would be more apt to volunteer for future Get Prepared events, or give useful input immediately after an event takes place. Once these results are compiled and analyzed, it will be possible to determine the effectiveness of the campaign and how it can be improved. An additional evaluation can be done by the advisors of Get Prepared. The advisors have more experience and oversee the entire program. They would be able to observe all aspects of the program, taking note of what was effective and what could be changed. Throughout the entire campaign, they will be in close contact with the student advisors, and after the events will have an opportunity to discuss and share their findings. Any and all input to improve Get Prepared will be taken into consideration and used accordingly.

Evaluation



Evaluation

• Get Prepared will be able to create a bigger and better image of itself for the public due to the new public relations approach. Because of the new strategy, the staff will be more aware of public opinion and knowledge, and more likely to frequently gather information and stay informed.

• Get Prepared staff will be able to conduct surveys every semester, to better indi-cate the proper measures to take regarding advertising and activities to plan. Each semester, there will be more and more students. The organization will be able to handle and approach these numbers more easily.

• Surveys have proved useful and will prove to be one of the most useful forms of gathering information for future Get Prepared timelines. If the organization keeps updated with how informed the public is about the group, they will be able to keep up with successful forms of advertising and events to gather support and volunteers.

• One of the most important pieces of the new strategy for Get Prepared will be to evaluate the results of the campaign afterwards. Furthermore, in every initia-tion of new forms of advertising, surveying, etc. there will need to be thorough evaluation of the results. These will help the group to know how successful their endeavors were, and what to do better or the same the next time around.

Conclusion

Documents

Get Prepared Public Relations Strategy Plan