This document provides a diagnosis, guiding policy, and action plan for the Drinks & Digital networking event. It summarizes consumer research finding college students would be more likely to attend if the event offered skills workshops with professionals and free food/drinks. The action plan proposes a two-pronged approach: 1) Forming relationships with colleges to better market the event to students and 2) Highlighting the event's skills-based conversations, free food/drinks, and comfortable environment. The document concludes the plan is cost-effective, simple, and based on evidence that could help achieve the goal of increasing student involvement by 10 participants.

1. Drinks & Digital:
Diagnosis, Guiding Policy, Coherent Action Plan
Kirstin Anderson, David Hallam, Ellie McLaren

2. Diagnosis
Here’s what we see:
1. There’s an opportunity to raise awareness of the event among college
students
2. There’s an opportunity to better market Drinks & Digital in a way
that highlights its points of difference

3. Guiding Policy
Target Market: digital marketing professionals
college-aged aspiring digital marketing professionals
Category: a new type of networking event
Points of Difference: skill development
guided conversation
comfortable, casual environment

4. Objective
Increase student involvement in West Michigan events, specifically within
Holland, by ten participants during the first quarter of 2018.

5. Consumer Research
We surveyed 40 Hope College students on the topic of Drinks & Digital and
networking events in general in order to gauge their thoughts and feelings.
Here’s what we found out.

6. Consumer Research
If a networking event in your field offered an opportunity to workshop
industry-related skills alongside professionals, would you be more likely to attend?

7. Consumer Research
If a networking event offered free food or free drinks, would it
increase your likeliness of attending?

8. Consumer Research
Have you ever heard of an event called Drinks & Digital?

9. AIDA Model - Opportunities

10. Strategy
Product: Drinks & Digital
Place: New Holland Brewery
Promotion: Professionals
No change - this is being done excellently
Students
Opportunity for improvement within Coherent Action Plan

11. Coherent Action Plan
Symposia Labs should focus on a two-pronged Coherent Action Plan that
involves:
1. A shift in how Drinks & Digital is marketed toward college students
that garners more attention than previous approaches
2. A shift in the way Drinks & Digital is marketed that focuses more on
points of difference

12. Prong #1: Reaching Students
Symposia has a unique opportunity to reach student participants where
they are. Symposia should:
● Form relationships with college (MSU case study)
● Email marketing strategies geared toward students
● Utilize Hope/Holland community integration

13. Prong #2: Marketing Accuracy
Drinks & Digital has an opportunity to better market its points of
difference. Symposia should highlight Drinks & Digital’s:
● Curated, skills-based conversations
● Free food and drink
● Comfortable, laid-back environment

14. Prong #2: An Example

15. In Summary
This action plan is:
● Cost effective
● Simple
● Based on consumer evidence and proven models
And we believe it will effectively assist Drinks & Digital in achieving the
stated objective.

16. Questions

17. Appendix

18. Red Ocean Canvas

19. Blue Ocean Canvas

20. Multi-Attribute Table
Importance Ranking Drinks & Digital Hope Career Fair
Informality 6 7 4
Curated Conversation 7 8 6
Skill Development 8 9 7

21. Validation Research
https://docs.google.com/a/hope.edu/forms/d/1h3HMFOQAfN-iSahrMtd9-DtU__aR_JyVAkI8GAQ-hXw/
edit?usp=sharing