CAMPAIGN

2013/2014S A V A N N A , E L L I E , Z A C H , A U T U M N , Y I , M I R A N D A , N A N T O N G , S H U A I

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary.........................................................................................1

Product Evaluation...........................................................................................2 SWOT.........................................................................................................2 Problem........................................................................................................4

Research.............................................................................................................5 Target Market..............................................................................................6 ETSU Population........................................................................................6 Audience Opinions......................................................................................7

Big Idea........................................................................................................... .8

Strategy...............................................................................................................9 Informing Tactics......................................................................................10 Enticing Tactics.........................................................................................12 Interacting Tactics.....................................................................................14

Budget..............................................................................................................16

Calendar...........................................................................................................17

References........................................................................................................18 Index..........................................................................................................18 Sources.......................................................................................................19

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides an analysis, evaluation and promotional campaign for the East Tennessean newspaper. The goal was to analyze the audience and to uncover and obtain information on why or why not people are reading the ET. After evaluating the data, it was clear that readership was not the only real focus. Rather the data showed there should be a focus on how to make the ET the primary news source for all of the campus community. The realization of this lead into the concept for the big idea: “Talk New To Me.”

Making the ET the primary source for news on campus and around the community will involve this three step strategy based on our research. The first step was guided by primary data obtained from students’ answers to survey questions. The data gathered showed that the ET is stagnant when it comes to readership. Based on this primary research, it was also found that only 10 percent of students consistently read the paper, while 38 percent say they sometimes skimmed the pages. An extremely large segment, 50 percent, said they never read the ET.

From secondary sources, it was discovered that only 20 percent of students live on campus, leaving a large margin of 12,000 commuter students attending ETSU. Research also shows that there are significant differences between commuters and non-commuters when it comes to age, employment, and life responsibilities. Thus, commuter students’ attitudes toward involvement with institution-sponsored activities and events are different, as well as their attitudes toward how they receive news about the institution. This information leads us to the three-step strategy.

• Find a way to inform students about the ET as a news source.• Entice students on campus, but also find a way to get commuters students equally as interested.• Since hard-copy readership is dying, it is vital that students begin interacting with the ET through social

media and online.

The conclusion is that if we talk news to the students we can inform them, get them interested and even involved in the campus and community.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

PRODUCT EVALUATION

STRENGTHS

• Student driven• Ample budget• Social media rapidly growing• Long history and only campus

based print news source• Reaching a demographic that

most newspapers struggle with—the college student

WEAKNESSESS

•Losingreadership•Neweditoreveryyear•Lackofdiversity/worldnews coverage•Weakdistribution•Lackofcredibility

2 PRODUCT EVALUATION

THREATS

OPPO

RTUN

ITIE

S

WEA

KNES

SES

STRE

NGTH

S

Thre

ats

• New/Changingmedia• Audienceshifting/

Generational changes• JohnsonCityPress(main

competition)• Elizabethton Star

• Launchthefirstevercohesivecampaign

• Begin new website and grow mobile

• Moveoffcampus• Invest more students • Becomethesourceforcampus

news

OPPORTUNITIES

TheET’sopportunitiesfaroutweighitsweaknessess,strengthsandthreats.Thenewssourcehasplentyofoutsidepossibilitesthatitcancapitalizeontoincreaseitscurrentreadership,buttheseopportunitiescanalsodrasticallyboostreadershipoutsideofcampusandontheweb.

PRODUCT EVALUATION 3

PROBLEMTheEastTennesseanlikeallnationwidenewspapershasbegunto see an uninterested audience. In turn advertisers are unable to invest in newspapers. Many papers have merged together to stay afloat,whileothershavedisappearedcompletely.

4 PROBLEM

RESEARCH

The ET’s readership growth is stagnant. Based on primary research: only10percentofstudentsconsistentlyreadthepublication,38percentsaytheysometimesskimpages,andawhopping50percentsaytheyNEVERreadtheET.

RESEARCH 5

TARGET MARKETTheET’sprimarymarketistheETSUcommunity,butthenewssourcecouldalsopenetratethesurroundingcommunities.AccordingtotheETSUDepartmentofHousingandResidence,only20percentofstudentsliveoncampus,thereforeleavingalargemarginof12,000commuterstudentswhodrivetoandfromschooleachday.

Researchshowsthattherearesignificantdifferencesbetweencommutersandnon-commutersinsuchkeyareasasage,employment,andliferesponsibilities.Thedayofatypicalcommuterisusuallyroutine,butalsoquitebusy.Asfarasmarketinggoes,traditionaleventsandmarketingapproachesgomostlyunnoticedbybusycommuterswhoshuffletoandfromtheirclassesanddonotpartakeofthetraditionalstudentexperiences(Newbold,Mehta,&Forbus,2011).

6 TARGET MARKET

2 22

Whentheaudiencewasaskedwhattheiroverallopinionwasaboutthenewssource,itwasrevealedthat:

• Freshmenandsophomoreshadneverreallyreadthepaperenoughtoformacompleteopinion,somost said “ehh good.”

• JuniorsandSeniorssaidtheyenjoythepaperwhentheydoreadit,howevertheythinkitcouldbebettereditedandmoreinformativeandattractive.

AUDIENCE OPINIONS

AUDIENCE OPINIONS 7

STRATEGY

8 BIG IDEA

Thegoalofourcampaignisnotonlytoincreasereadershipofanewspaper,buttomaketheETthemain news sourceforallofthecampuscommunity.

Whilethecampaignistargetingtheentirecampusandsurroundingcommunity,ourprimaryaudienceistraditionalstudentsages18-24;somostofourtacticswill be directed at them.

Accordingtowhatwefoundandwhatwearetryingtoachieve,thefirstthingweneedtodoisincreaseawarenessoftheETorinotherwords,inform the audience.

Then we need to entice students to engage withallmediathattheEToffers.

By student interaction withtheET,thecommunitywillalsobeinvolvedwithallthingscomingfromthisnewssource.

Inform

Entice

Interact

BIG IDEA

TalkNewstoMeseemedtohavethemostmeritbecauseitencompassedallofwhatwearetryingtodo.Notonlydowewanttoincreasereadershipbutwewant our audience to connect with the ET and see it as a reliable and go to source fornewsoncampus.

Thislogowillbeoneveryflyer,stickerandstandsowhenpeopleseeittheyautomatically associate it with the ET.

STRATEGY 9

INFORMING TACTICS

10 INFORMING TACTICS

FromourprimaryresearchofETSUstudents,wefoundthatthemajorityofstudentsspendtheirtimeoff-campus.Thesecondchoiceforthemtospendtheirtimewasinthedorms,aplacethatneedstobehighlypopulatedwithourpapers,flyersandposterstoraiseawarenessoftheET.

TheETwillinformstudentsbyparticipatingineventssuchasWinterCruiseandtheETSUAdult,Commuter,andTransferServices’CommuterFair.

Bydesigningdisplays,brochures,andpostersforstudentsatthesefairs,traditionalandnon-traditionalstudents’awarenessandfamiliaritywiththeproductwillbeincreased.Thiswouldalsobeanopportunitytogainfeedbackfromstudentsandraisemoneyforthenewssource.

Where should you reach these students?

INFORMING TACTICS

INFORMING TACTICS 11

ThebestwaytoinformstudentsoftheETistostrategicallyplaceeye-catchingposters,flyersandbannersinareasvisitedmostlybyourtargetaudiencebasedon our research.

Flyers BUMPER STICKERS

Flyersshouldbedistributedthroughoutcampus,especiallyconcentrated around the dorms. The flyersshouldalsobestuckundereveryparkedcar’swindshieldwipertoinformcommutersoftheET.Bannersshouldbeplacedoutsideofthelibrary,CulpCenterandatanoff-campuslocationlikeCampusRidgeifcapable.

Banner

ENTICING TACTICS

Whenstudentswereaskedwhatwouldmakethempickupthenewspaper,theoverwhelmingresponses were:

• Coupons• Puzzles• More Color• Classifieds• Stories from around the community

Bysimplyaddingsomeofthesesuggestions,theETcanraisereadershipandenticereaderstoturntotheETasamajornewssourcethatoffersvalue.

PossibleconteststheETcouldhosttoenticereadersare:

• Comic contests• Story submission competitions• Photo of the Week competitions

12 ENTICING TACTICS

• Stands at on-campus Starbucks for students spending the majority of time on campus

• Standsatoff-campusStarbucksforoverwhelmingnumberofcommuters

• The ET already has an advertising agreement with AmericanCampussoputtingstandsattheofficewouldbe conveinent and increase readership among the residents. .

• Work out an agreement for specials which are only avalable online and in hard copy editions of the ET.

Sincestudentsspendalargemajorityoftimeoffcampus,aproposalshouldbeconsideredfortheETtopartnerwithbusinessesaroundthecommunitytoofferstudentsandfacultycoupons,promotionsandjoblistings.ItwouldnotonlyboosttheET,butsupportbusinessesaroundthearea.

Some examples would be:

ENTICING TACTICS 13

ENTICING TACTICS

ENTICING TACTICSNewsstands

Primaryresearchrevealedthatastaggering75percentofstudentshadtroublefindingahardcopyoftheETeasily.Onetactictosolvethisproblemistomakemoreenticingnewsstands.

TheETcouldpartnerwiththeETSUArtandDesignDepartmenttoconstructanddesigncolorful,largerandmoreappealingstandsthatwouldattracttheeyeofanyindividual.

Part-Time

Paperboy

The ET could also utilize some public relations strategiesforthiscampaigntogetup-closeandpersonalwithstudents.Oneofthesetacticsisguerillamarketing.

TheETwillassignonestaffmemberamonthtowalkaroundcampushandingouthard-copynewspapers and promoting the website... maybe evenina20thcenturypaperboyoutfittogarnersomeextraattention.

14 ENTICING TACTICS

INTERACTING TACTICS• ThefirststeptogettheET’saudienceinteractingwiththeproduct,especiallyinthedigitalform,

is to get them conneted to our website and social media web pages.

• Accordingtoourprimaryresearch,76percentofstudentssaidtheyeithergottheirETSUnewsfromtheonlineETSUwebsiteortheDesire2Learnhomepage.

• ThemostefficientwayfortheETtogetstudentstovisittheirpageistopluginanattractivelinkonbothofthesewebsitesinordertodirecttraffictoitshomepage.

• ThiscouldbeachievedbycontactingtheETSUOfficeofInformationTechnologyandsettingupapartnershiptoincludealargelogolinkontheETSUhomepageandDesire2Learnpage.

• Thistacticisacheapandeffectiveadvertisingtacticthatcouldhavealargeimpactonimprovingreadership.

INTERACTING TACTICS 15

BygettingETintenselyinvolvedwithdifferentsocialmediaoutlets,studentswillbecomemoreconnectedwiththe news source.

• Tagging students in pictures• Posting, tweeting, or blogging about events • Uploading pictures to Facebook, Pinterest, or Flickr• Students tagging their own photos for possible

publication in the paper• Students posting article ideas

The main problem with the ET website is it can’t control whatadsareuseful,thewebsiteisplain,and45percentofthepeoplesurveyeddidn’tknowitexisted.

Solookingatalltheissues,anewhostingsitethatwechosewasWeebly.com,orsomeothereasilyusedwebhostingsite because:

• User friendly• Staffcancontrolthecontentandadvertisements

easier. • Staffcangainprofitfromsellingadvertisements

without host taking large share. • Easier to navigate

-Following OUr

Blog

-Tweeting

about us

-Liking us

INTERACTING TACTICS

TheETcouldalsocoductinteractivesocialmediacontests.Thesecontestswouldconsistoffollowerslikingourpost,sharingourpageorpostingapictureofthemwithaneditionoftheETforachancetowinasignificantprize.

16 INTERACTING TACTICS

BUDGET

East Tennessean BudgetAdvertisingRevenue$1,000

Expenses Quantity __________________________Stickers 5,000 $79.87Posters 1,000 $142.884x8 Banners 2 $280.89Newsstandmaterials XX $350.00NewWebsite XX $79.56peryear____________________________________________________________Totalexpensesforcampaignyear=$933.20 Remainingallocatedforevents/contests=$566.80

TheEastTennesseangains$1,000inadvertisingrevenueeachyear.Spendingthatmoneywisely,theETneedstoinvestinpromotionalitemssuchasstickers,postersandbanners.Thenextpriorityisrevampingthenewstands.IftheETcanpartnerwiththeETSUArtandDesignDepartmentforhelpbuildingthesestands,theexpensewillshrink.Thelastexpenseisforanewwebsite.ThroughWeebly.com,theETcanlaunchafreshnewwebpagefor$79.56peryear.Doingthisshouldresultinevenmorerevenue,sincetheETcurrentlydoesnotgainonlineadvertisingrevenueduetothewebhostitiscurrentlyusing.ItwillalsogivetheETanoriginial,moreinteractivewebsiteinsteadofthegeneric one it currently has.

BUDGET 17

CALENDARTheweeklycampaigncalenderwillbeginonthefirstMondayofeachmonthwiththeEThostingasocialmediacontest.Whilethecontestswillgetstudentsinteracting,itisvitalfortheETtobeactiveonsocialmediaeverydaypromotingstories.BeginningoneachThursdayandthesecondfullweekofthemonth,theETstaffwillsendoutapaperboytoenticestudentstoreadtheET’snews.Finally,onthelastTuesdayandWedndesdayofeachmonththeETstaffwillhandoutswagconsistingofflyers,bumperstickersandt-shirts.

18 CALENDAR

SMC: SOCIAL MEDIA CONTEST

HOS: HAND OUT SWAG

PTP: PART TIME PAPERBOY

Themonthlycampaignschedulewillconsistofyear-roundtacticsaswellastacticsfocusedonthefallandspringsemesters.Displayingbannersandbeingactiveonsocialmediashouldbeconductedall12monthssostudentsareremindedofthenewssource,bothonandoffcampus.Handingoutflyers,swag and employing a paperboy needs to happen during the traditional school months to reach as many students as possible.

SOURCES PAGE

http://collegestats.org/college/east-tennessee-state-university/admissions

http://www.people-press.org/2012/09/27/in-changing-news-landscape-even-television-is-vulnerable/

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Technology/story?id=7070973&page=1

http://newspaperdeathwatch.com/

http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/newspapers-building-digital-revenues-proves-painfully-slow/

http://www.economist.com/node/7830218

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2008/08/whats_really_killing_newspapers.html

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/press_box/2008/12/the_digital_slayride.html

http://historyofjournalism.onmason.com/2011/12/07/death-of-the-newspaper-what-is-killing-it/

http://www.forbes.com/2008/04/28/newspapers-circulation-advertising-biz-media-cx_lh_0428newspapers.html

Monroe,A.(2006).Non-traditionaltransferstudentattrition.CommunityCollegeEnterprise,12(2),33-54.

Newbold,J.J.,Mehta,S.S.,&Forbus,P.(2011).Commuterstudents:Involvementandidentificationwithaninstitutionofhighereducation.AcademyofEducationalLeadershipJournal,15(2),141-153.