PUBLIC RELATIONS
CONSULTING PROJECT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
II. AUDIENCES/STAKEHOLDERS/KEY MESSAGES/PR OBJECTIVES/STRATEGIES
III. ACTION PLAN
IV. EVALUATION
ROBYN STATUM
CLELIA RIVERA
BRAD RHEES
NICKOLAS RUST
I.
SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS
Situational Analysis
History:
Utaku USU was formed on Sept. 30, 2010 with 10 members in attendance. So far we have had two meetings with an average of about 20 members at each meeting. Our club has appeal because we are multi-faceted in Japanese Pop Culture. We tailor our activities that include anime, manga, and cosplay. Anime is Japanese animation, which is mainly known for Sailor Moon and Pokémon. “Bleach” and “Naruto” are two extremely popular Japanese graphic novels and are also known as manga. Cosplay is role-playing as a character from a movie, book, anime, etc.
Vision:
To bring people together while utilizing our talents to study and make various projects surrounding Japanese animation, cosplay, graphic novels, and American comic books.
Products & Services:
We offer a variety of products and services such as: anime, manga, costume design & creation, and American comic books. We also have mentors for each product.
Customers:
Our main customers are USU students and our sponsors. We also have customers that are off-campus who are interested in our products and services.
Competitive Situation:
There is no current “competition” per se. Much of what Utaku USU does works closely with Japan Club. However Utaku USU is trying to establish an identity for itself, separate from Japan Club, so they could be seen as a competitor of sorts.
Stakeholders:
Stakeholders include our committee members, club officers, and general membership.
Partners:
- USU Access and Diversity
- Utah State University
- Japan Club
Goals:
§ Create Northern Utah Anime Convention by Spring 2012
§ Obtain $200 of sponsorship support.
§ Increase club activity internally 50% by Spring 2011
§ Increase membership 30% by Spring 2011
Current Utaku USU standing:
§ President- Hsin Fang Wang
§ Vice-President- Clelia Rivera
§ Secretary: Senait Anbesse
§ Treasurer- Natalie Sheppard
§ Officers: 8
§ Sponsors: 0
§ Funding: None
§ Membership: 45
§ Regularly participating members: 20
Research/Surveys
Internal Survey - Club members were surveyed on the following questions:
1. How did you hear about Utaku USU?
2. How interested are you in Utaku USU?
3. Which Social Media Outlet would be best for contact?
4. What activities would interest you the most?
External Survey – Club members aided in surveying (100) random students on campus the following questions:
1. Have you heard of Utaku USU?
2. If so, how did you hear of Utaku USU?
3. Do you know anyone who is part of Utaku USU?
4. How interested would you be in learning more about Utaku USU?
II.
AUDIENCES/STAKEHOLDERS/
KEY MESSAGES/
PR OBJECTIVES/STRATEGIES
Audiences/Stakeholders
Audiences- Our main publics include current members of the Utaku club, Japan club members, and USU students in general. The club is also open to local high school students in the valley who are interested in anime (who are 14 years and older). We also would consider prospective sponsors as an audience.
Stakeholders- Those whom we would consider stakeholders would include: current Utaku club members, Utaku club officers, Japan club, and Utah State University.
Key Messages:
• Anime refers to Japanese animation. The audience is anywhere from young children to middle-age, older people. It has a large audience both in Japan and the world in general.
• Anime is not just cartoons, they are a way to describe issues that are hard to voice.
• Manga refers to Japanese comics. Like anime, they are a way to describe a situation and invoke certain feelings from the audience.
• Cosplay is a performance art. The participants wear costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea.
• Utaku USU is a place where anyone is welcome.
• Utaku USU is a place you can discuss your favorite characters or shows in an open environment.
• The club is a place where you can use collective knowledge to learn more about anime, manga, and cosplay.
• People can create new costumes, or redo an older one, with help from other cosplayers.
• You can watch anime, discuss art styles, and the issues they present with others.
• You can learn about the work involved in created one manga, the different drawing styles, and story creation with others.
• Meet once every two weeks to present ideas, continue creation, and have fun.
• Ask others who a specialized in certain areas (i.e. costume design, prop making) to create certain items.
• Find out meeting times and other information on Facebook.
• Sign up and join the email list to get updates on club information.
• Club members can participate in fun and unique events.
PR Objectives:
-INFORMATIONAL
-Increase campus awareness to 10%
- Right now there is hardly any awareness about the Utaku USU. Our objective is to raise overall campus awareness of the existence of the club to 1 in 10 students on campus.
-BEHAVIORAL
-Increase membership by 30%
- Right now there are 40 members in the Utaku club. Our objective is to help raise club membership to 52 (30% increase).
-Increase regular club activity by 50%
-Currently there are only about 8-12 members to attend regular meetings. Our objective is to help raise regular club activity to about 20-25 members.
Strategies:
Strategies to increase campus awareness:
-To have Utaku club hold campus activities to catch the attention of the student body.
-Use print media to inform students about the formation of the club and its purpose.
-Use social media outlets to increase exposure.
Strategies to increase club membership:
- Boost club accessibility to prospective members by posting meeting times and activities through print and electronic announcements.
Strategies to increase regular club activity:
- Communicate times/locations of meetings to current members through the use of social media.
III.
ACTION PLAN
Action Plan (STRATEGIES AND TACTICS)
Strategy: Use print media to inform students about the formation of the club and its purpose.
Tactics: Get an article placed in the Utah Statesman
-Date: (1/15/11)
-Task: Approach Utah Statesman newspaper about getting an article placed in the paper. It will inform its readers about the club’s formation and purposes.
Responsibilities: Clelia Rivera will contact the Utah Statesman to get
a writer interested in writing the article.
Tactics: Use flyers to advertise club’s existence/meeting information.
-Date: (1/15/11)
-Task: Create and print flyers and then post them at strategic locations on campus to get a high volume of exposure.
-Responsibilities: Working with club members, the PR team will design flyers and print out 250 copies. Robyn Statum and Brad Rhees will then be responsible for posting the flyers at the points on campus that have already been scouted by Nick Rust.
Tactics: Use the Utah Statesman to post events on the event calendar.
-Date: Week before club events.
-Task: Contact the Utah Statesman newspaper and inform them about club events that are open to the public in enough time to have it mentioned in four newspapers.
-Responsibilities: Clelia Rivera will maintain contact with club members to receive information about events early. She will then contact the Utah Statesman with a press release about the event.
Tactics: Creation of monthly newsletter to pass out in club meetings.
-Date: Monthly
-Task: Create a monthly newsletter detailing monthly meetings, activities, fundraisers etc. It will also spotlight a specific activity that benefited the community or club in some way.
-Responsibilities: Robyn Statum will create a committee within the club and instruct them on how to best create the newsletter. Then the committee is responsible for creating the newsletter once a month.
Strategy: Communicate times/locations of meetings to current members through the use of social media.
Tactics: Use of social media targeted to current members communicating the times/locations of club meetings and activities.
-Date: TBD
Task 1: Create an official Twitter account of the Utaku USU club and invite those who are current twitter subscribers to follow it. Invite those who have not yet subscribed to Twitter to do so. Use Twitter account as desired to inform members of meetings, activities, announcements, and other relevant information.
- Responsibilities: Brad Rhees will set up the account with one of the leaders of the Utaku club and if needed will instruct him/her on its use.
-Task 2: For those who don’t have Twitter and aren’t likely to get an account, a Facebook account will be created with more detailed information on its page than is available on Twitter’s format. The page will have all of the information of the club’s origin, purpose, and current activities. Updates will be posted easily and conveniently to both the Twitter account and the Facebook account through a Tweetdeck account that will also be created.
-Responsibilities: Clelia Rivera will create both the Facebook and Tweetdeck accounts and will then turn its maintenance over to the previously designated club leader, training him/her on its use as needed.
Tactic: Create Utaku USU web page.
-Date: TBD
-Task: Create a club web page that can showcase work done by club members. It will have a link to the Facebook and Twitter account. It will allow members to see what is happening and how other members have been doing certain activities.
Responsibilities: Nick Rust will contact the web master of the club and instruct them on the content and layout of the web page. The web master is then responsible for completion and maintenance of the web page.
Strategy: Increase club awareness on campus through events and activities.
Tactic: Transformers PR Event.
-Date: March/April
-Task: Club members will be dressed as Transformers in their disguise form and placed around the Quad. When the clock rings at a designated time, the club member will rise out of the disguised forms to show the robot version. They will then wander around the Quad and answer any questions the public might have about the event and the club.
-Responsibilities: Utaku USU club members are expected to create their own Transformer costume out of any materials they may have. It must have a robot form and a disguise form. Brad Rhees will find a date and time where the Quad is not being used, as well as a time where a lot of people will be out on the Quad.
Tactic: Service Event.
-Date: TBD
-Task: A service event will be held that will be open to students not associated with the club. Fliers will be posted as to the place, the time, and how other people can be involved. It will help visibility on campus, as well as in the community.
-Responsibilities: Robyn Statum will contact places in the community that are in need of service. After research, she will bring the results to the club president. The club president will discuss it with the club and decide which place will be the best to help. Robyn will then contact the place and set up a date. Clelia Rivera and other club members will create fliers and place them in strategic places around campus.
Tactic: Pokemon Scavenger Hunt
-Date: April
-Task: Club members will dress as Pokemon and stand in certain spots around campus. A booth will be set up near the TSC. Participants can go to the booth and learn information on the game. They will be handed a pamphlet that will give clues as to where club members are stationed. When a participant finds a club member dressed as a Pokemon, the club member will stamp the pamphlet. The participant that can find all the Pokemon within a set amount of time will win a prize.
-Responsibilities: Club members are expected to create a Pokemon costume, help create the booth, and help create the pamphlet. Clelia Rivera will talk with club advisor to approve the event. Nick Rust will find strategic spots on campus that people can be stationed at. Brad Rhees will place flyers in strategic spots around campus. Robyn Statum will contact the Utah Statesman to announce the event.
IV.
EVAULATION
Evaluation
§ Goal 1: Increase campus awareness of Utaku USU by 10%. We will know if we have succeeded by taking a follow-up campus survey of 300 students and reaching a 10% increase in awareness of our club’s existence and independence from the Japan Club. If we do not meet this goal, we will explore more effective ways of communicating on a large scale to the campus as a whole.
§ Goal 2: Increase club membership by 30%. This will be easy enough to track, but to give our strategies and tactics time to work we will gage this over a month long span after we have implemented our plan. If our goal is not met, we will implement an incentive-based program to have club-members invite friends to join.
§ Goal 3: Increase regular club activity by 50%. We will know if we have succeeded by taking a roll call of those in attendance for the first three meetings after we have begun to use our strategies and tactics designed to increase activity. If we do not succeed, we will evaluate what methods of communication would be more effective to remind club members about activities and implement them.
