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.