A Strategic Communications Plan McMaster University’s Faculty of Humanities

Submitted by: Melissa Meyer, Kassandra Lenters,

Julie Truong, Holly Unruh

2012 StratComm Competition, McMaster University April 2, 2012

TABLE OF CONTENTS Situation Analysis……………………………………………………...1

Communications Goals……………………………………………….2

Communications Objectives………………………………………...2

Target Audience………………………………………………………..3

Strategies & Tactics…………………………………………..…….4-6

Timeline………………………………………………………………….7

Budget…………………………………………………………………….8

Messaging………………………………………………………………..8

Evaluation………………………………………………………………..9

Works Cited……………………………………………………………10

Appendices

A: Contest…………………………………………………………...10-11

B: SWOT Analysis……………………………………………………….12

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SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS History Thousands have graduated from the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University, since its establishment in 1887. It has nine departments with over 3,000 undergraduate, masters and doctorate students. McMaster Humanities aims to give students the necessary critical thinking, communication and reasoning skills for success in today’s “global knwoeldge society” (Costa, 2012). The Faculty strives to balance a traditional humanities education with new form of knowledge emerging “within and at the intersections of disciplines” (“Faculty of Humanities Mission Statement,” 2012). Current Situation The Faculty of Humanities at McMaster University has seen a decrease in enrollment over the past few years. Issues There’s a stigma attached to a Bachelors of Arts degree; it doesn’t provide students with the practical skills required in the working world. Arts degrees are publicly perceived to be less valuable than a science or engineering degree, simply because they don’t lead to specific career paths. McMaster’s reputation thrives on its prestigious science and engineering departments, so little attention is paid to the Arts. However, the Faculty of Humanities does provide students with many opportunities to gain practical experience, such as research award grants & internships and Teaching Assistant positions. Unfortunately, many students, parents and high school guidance counsellors are unaware of these opportunities. There lacks communication and awareness about these opportunities for students once enrolled in the Faculty of Humanities. The Arts prides itself on equipping students with critical thinking and reasoning skills. Because these are classified as “soft” skills, students and parents will underappreciate their value in favour of hands-on, “hard” skills.

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COMMUNICATIONS GOALS We propose the following communication goals: 1. Reputation Management Manage the perception of McMaster’s Faculty of Humanities as seen by students, parents and high school guidance counsellors. This is essential in boosting admissions as the University must build a prestigious brand around the faculty.

2. Relationship Management Build stronger relationships between potential students and the Faculty of Humanities. It must connect with potential students in order to persuade them to choose McMaster for their studies. The focus must be on two-way, symmetrical communications between the Faculty and potential students, parents and guidance counsellors. This means building a mutually beneficial relationship, where McMaster benefits from enrollment and students benefit from a high quality education as they enter their careers. COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES For the first year class, McMaster Faculty of Humanities targets 555 students (“McMaster Admission Requirements,” n.d) To reach this enrollment number, the communications objectives are awareness, acceptance, and action. Awareness To increase the number of potential students who are aware of the McMaster Faculty of Humanities by 20% by the end of January 2013 within the province of Ontario. Acceptance To position McMaster’s Faculty of Humanities as a prestigious institution offering transferable skills into the working world. We hope to increase student interest by 15% by May 2013 within the province of Ontario. Action To increase the number of students who enroll in the McMaster Faculty of Humanities by 8% by the end of June 2013, followed by another 7% by May 2014 within the province of Ontario.

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TARGET AUDIENCE Primary Audience

● Ontario High School senior applicants for the 2013/2014 school year Secondary Audience

● Guidance Counsellors ● Parents of students

● Peers of senior applicants

Tertiary Audience

● Principals ● Teachers Characteristics of our Primary Audience They’re high school students in their final year (grade 12), applying to post secondary schools. Guidance counsellors, peers, and parents make information credible to them. Their advice and recommendations influence the awareness, acceptance, and action of our primary audience. Along with principals and teachers, they have the power to motivate the students and influence the post secondary school and program they choose. Also, this group falls under the category of 18-34 year-olds, which, according to Ipsos Reid’s Social Media Study (2011), are “by far the heaviest users of Social Media in Canada.” According to the study, 86% of this age group actively participates in social networking (Faber, 2011).

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STRATEGIES Organizational Performance To help meet our communications objective of awareness, we’ll highlight the Faculty’s strong performance to build our reputation. It’s necessary to inform students of the opportunities available to them, so they can gain experience in their field. The Faculty of Humanities does equip students with practical skills, however, many aren’t aware of the opportunities available such as, Undergraduate Research Awards (USRA), internships, Teaching Assistant positions. To inform future students, parents, and guidance counsellors, our TACTICS include: 1. Updating “Future Students” Page Updates are necessary to reflect all available practical opportunities. Currently, this information does not appear online. 2. Conducting seminars during March Break Tours March Break tours give potential students insight into programs while they explore the campus. The faculty already conducts informational seminars, but they don’t capture the practical opportunities available or how an Arts degree can lead to a viable career path. The seminar must be reworked to express these opportunities and keep students and their parents aware and educated. 3. Social Media Through Facebook & Twitter, students who’ve participated in practical opportunities such as URSA and internships tweet/post on the Faculty’s Facebook page to encourage awareness and discussion. Social media is commonly used by our primary audience. Audience Participation To help meet the communications objective of action, the Faculty must build a stronger relationship with future students. To do so, the Faculty needs to interact with future students and encourage them to participate via social media so they are more inclined to come to McMaster. To encourage their participation via social media our TACTIC is as follows: 1. Contest via Social Media To encourage students to accept their offer from The Faculty of Humanities, we propose that the Faculty host a social media contest. During the time where students are deciding whether to choose McMaster, there will be a contest via Facebook and Twitter.

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Once students decide to come to McMaster for Humanities, they can post “I’m going to McMaster for Humanities!” via Facebook and/or Twitter over the course of five weeks. This contest will encourage students to choose McMaster and choose it early. For every week that they post, they’ll receive a ballot, one for their Facebook post and/or one for their Twitter post, and will be entered into a draw where they can win $100 from Titles, McMaster’s Bookstore. Every week the winners will be announced in the respected social mediums. Students will receive the contest rules and details attached to their LifeCards (see Partnerships/Sponsorships). In addition, there will be a survey included with the LifeCard directing them to an Online Questionnaire. The questions will ask students’ feedback on whether they like the LifeCards. If they fill it out, they can receive an extra ballot for the contest. The contest will also generate awareness to other students who see their friends posting and tweeting. For further contest details and ethical considerations, refer to Appendix A. Partnerships/Sponsorships To increase our communication objective of acceptance, we propose a partnership with LifeCards because their resources will set McMaster University apart from other universities. As the University prides itself on welcoming students and making them feel at home, we strongly believe that this feeling is fundamental in helping with a student’s decision in choosing McMaster Humanities. 1. Partnership with LifeCards The partnership between the Faculty of Humanities and LifeCards will be mutually beneficial. Lifecards will gain exposure as McMaster brands itself as an innovative university. LifeCards is a creative innovation that will make “people remember you” (LifeCards, 2012). LifeCards is the “cool new upscale way to get your message out and make sure it’s heard– literally” (LifeCards, 2012). These cards have a recordable sound module built into them. As a result, the potential student will receive a McMaster University Humanities LifeCard with their Letter of Acceptance. When the student plays their LifeCard, they will be greeted with a congratulatory applause and a “Congratulations! Welcome to McMaster Humanities!” This partnership will show potential students that McMaster is the leading school in new ideas and that we want them because we care. To help meet our communications objective of awareness, acceptance and action, we want to build and strengthen the Faculty’s relationships with not only incoming students, but also with humanities-based organizations in the Hamilton area. Beyond that, such relationships will aid in

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bridging the gap seen between humanities programs and its employment opportunities in the future. To complete such objectives, our main TACTIC is the following: 2. Scholarship Sponsorships To further the reputability of McMaster Humanities, we propose that the faculty creates sponsorship relationships with humanities-based organizations in the creation of scholarships. Making a small investment into a student’s future, McMaster University will be greatly rewarded with a student’s enrollment into the university. In order to create awareness of these scholarships, we propose that they be promoted on the “Future Students” page of the McMaster Humanities website, within their acceptance packages and on their Facebook page. Through these multiple communication channels, students will be made aware of the many scholarship opportunities that McMaster has to offer. To increase both acceptance and action, McMaster Humanities will be building an exceptional reputation by forging relationships with already reputable humanities-based organizations. These are workplaces that students can potentially see themselves working in and that will aid in the reputation management of McMaster Humanities.

● Some Sponsorships that we would be viable to pursue: ○ Art Gallery of Hamilton (Fine Arts) ○ The Hamilton Spectator (Communications, Multimedia, English, Cultural

Studies) ○ Dundurn Castle (History, Art History) ○ Hamilton Theatre Incorporated (Theatre & Film)

● Disclaimer: these scholarships are not inseparable from these specific departments within Humanities, it is just to show the diversity in which the scholarships can cover to reach the most students

Risks There’s a chance that students will use Facebook and Twitter as a platform to express discontent. The risk is low, but we must be prepared for some element of backlash. Another risk to the contest is that rule breaking may occur (i.e multiple tweets or Facebook mentions). In the event that a rule is broken, the user’s ballot for that respective week will be invalid. Please see Appendix A for elaboration on the Contest Rules.

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TIMELIN

E

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BUDGET TACTIC EXPENSES

Acceptance Card ● Card ● Shipping (via UPS)

$5,000.00 $482.68

Scholarships (8 x $500.00) $4,000.00

Social Media (Facebook/Twitter/3rd Party Application) -- 3 months x 29.99

$89.97

Titles Gift Card (10 x $100) $1000.00

Evaluation $5,000.00

Miscellaneous Costs $3,000.00

TOTAL: $18, 572.65 MESSAGING Overall slogan: for who you are, and who you’re going to be Audience: Potential Students

● MacHumanities gives you skills for today that are transferable for tomorrow ○ Facebook and website ○ Card

● MacHumanities works with you because we care

○ Facebook

● MacHumanities: come join our community! ○ Facebook and Twitter Page (Hashtags)

Audience: Potential Students, Guidance Counsellors, Parents

● MacHumanities offers practical opportunities ○ List these on the channels: USRA, Internship, study abroad ○ Facebook, website, packages, university fair, sponsorship

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EVALUATION To measure the success of our plan, we must evaluate whether we’ve met our objectives. Awareness To measure the objective of awareness:

● How many students inquired about the Humanities at the University Fair in comparison to the previous year.

● Measure the number of “hits” the “Future Students” page has on the Humanities website has before the plan beings.

○ After January 2013 determine how many more “hits” the page has ● How many more high school students attended the Humanities seminar during the

March Break tours in comparison to the year before Acceptance To measure the objective of acceptance:

● Survey students online about whether they liked the LifeCards, contest, and scholarships to evaluate whether it impacted their decision to choose the the McMaster Faculty of Humanities

○ Those who receive their acceptance letter will be asked to fill out the online survey ■ The instructions will be found on the business card attached to the

LifeCard with all the other contest details ○ For filling out the survey they will receive an extra ballot for the social media

contest as an incentive Action To measure whether there is an increase in enrollment:

● Evaluate whether the number of students has increased by 8% in comparison to the previous year.

● Determine whether the next year, enrollment has increased by 7% to achieve an overall enrollment increase of 15% over two years.

To further measure strengths and weaknesses of the overall plan, the Faculty needs to conduct several focus groups of first year students of the 2013/2014 cohorts. This will gain further insight into the successes of the plan, as well as areas for improvement. The focus groups will allow the Faculty to evaluate why students ended up choosing the Faculty of Humanities at McMaster, as well as feedback on the LifeCards, contest and scholarships. Furthermore, we want to assess from this focus group whether the students have a better understanding of the practical opportunities offered through the Faculty and see the value of critical thinking and reasoning skills.

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WORKS CITED Costa, S. (2012). About Humanities. Retrieved from <http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca

/about/index.html> Faber, J. (2011).Canadian Social Media Statistics 2011. Retrieved from

<http://www.webfuel.ca/canada-social-media-statistics-2011/>. LifeCards (2012). About--LifeCards. Retrieved from <http://www.lifecards.me/about/> McMaster Faculty of Humanities (2012). Faculty of Humanities Vision Statement. Retrieved

from <http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/about/vision.html> McMaster University (n.d). McMaster Admission Requirements. Retrieved from

<http://future.mcmaster.ca/admission/admission-requirements/> APPENDICES Appendix A: Contest: The LifeCards and the Facebook and Twitter Admissions Contest are the main tactics we will implement to help increase audience participation and public awareness. Although the acceptance cards will be a costly venture, we believe that these cards are vital in improving acceptances to McMaster Humanities. These cards have a recordable sound module built into the card. There will be a prerecorded message available that will be used to program the cards. The Faculty of Humanities may hire people or have volunteers program the cards by pressing the record button on the LifeCard as the prerecorded message is playing.The maroon LifeCard will have the McMaster University Humanities Logo on the front of the card. On the back of the card, there is a slot where we will attach a business card outlining the rules for the Facebook and Twitter Admissions Contest. The cost of this contest will be $1000; however, the money will be going back to the university as the $1000 is divided up into ten $100 Titles McMaster University Bookstore Gift Cards. In addition, the use of social media will not only allow audience participation and raise public awareness, the use of Facebook and Twitter is free publicity for the Faculty of Humanities. The contest will take place over five weeks starting from April 21st 2013-May 26th 2013. Each week, if the student wants to be entered into the draw for two $100 Titles McMaster University Bookstore Gift Card they are to update their status with “I’m going to McMaster University for Humanities in 2013!" @McMasterHumanities and/or tweet the same message #MacHumanitiesContest. Each status update and/or tweet will give the student one ballot towards the draw.

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We will use Random.org to determine the winners randomly (CONFIRM THIS). One winner from Facebook and one winner from Twitter will each be awarded the $100 Titles card and will receive recognition each week. This contest is not only a great tactic in increasing audience participation and in creating free publicity for McMaster Humanities, it will also encourage the student to be proud in accepting McMaster Humanities. As hosting contests directly through Facebook does not abide by their promotion and contest guidelines and policies, we will host a contest through a third party application, North Social, through Facebook so that we abide by Facebook’s rules and regulations. We have made the appropriate ethical considerations by honouring section 2, 5, 7c of Facebook policy:

● 2. You must not use Facebook features or functionality as a promotion’s registration or entry mechanism. For example, the act of liking a Page or checking in to a Place cannot automatically register or enter a promotion participant.

● 5. You must not notify winners through Facebook, such as through Facebook messages,

chat, or posts on profiles (timelines) or Pages.

● 7c. By “contest” or “competition” we mean a promotion that includes a prize of monetary value and a winner determined on the basis of skill (i.e., through judging based on specific criteria).

Despite the ease and efficiency of the Contest and the reach of our target audience, we have decided that ethics and moral codes should be upheld. Therefore, using (KASSANDRA) For the Twitter Acceptance Contest, we have implemented some rules for fair play.

1. People are only allowed to tweet #McMasterHumanitiesContest once a week. 2. People are discouraged from making/using multiple accounts to apply more than once a

week. We have consulted Best Practices for Twitter and any rule breaking will result in having their ballot withdrawn from the contest.

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SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats)

Strengths Weaknesses

● The faculty offers USRA, exchanges, internships

● High emphasis and development of critical thinking skills

● Relatively small faculty so there is a chance to build relationships between professors & students

● Not enough practical experience (no co-ops) offered

● People do not know all the opportunities available to them (USRA, internships)

● Perception that the degree will not lead to a job/career

● Undervaluing soft skills such as: critical thinking, writing, analytical skills

Opportunities Threats

● To gain skills essential in our knowledge society

● To educate potential students to decrease stigma

● Educate parents/guidance counsellors to elevate stigma

● A lack of funding resulting in less courses and opportunities

● Stigma attached to Arts degrees as less useful than other degrees

● Competing Universities/colleges ● Competing faculties at McMaster