2. ANALYZING THE SITUATION
TACTICS REPORT
ANALYZING THE ORGANIZATION
ANALYZING THE PUBLICS
NEWS MEDIA MATERIALS
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
ORGANIZATIONAL MEDIA MATERIALS
10
16
24
3
8
12
4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
18
ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONAL
MATERIALS
14
Grey Matter Consultants - #RideTheBus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BIOGRAPHIES
DEVELOPING MESSAGE STRATEGY
ACTION & RESPONSE STRATEGIES
INTERPERSONAL TACTICS
33
30
27
20
REFERENCES34
3. Organization Background
Grey Matter Consultants is a non-profit public relations agency
founded in 2015. The organization,in conjunction with the
American School Bus Council,aims to achieve a more in-depth
awareness of the school bus safety facts that exist,to
millennials on college campuses.
KeyPublics
Most college students have little knowledge on school bus
safety.so a public relations campaign was crafted with the
intent to raise awareness among these millennials.
Campaign Message
The campaign aims to spread school bus safety awareness with a strategic plan and use of multiple platforms of media
(print,television,and social media).The intent is to spread awareness of the facts regarding school bus safety to
millennials on college campuses.
Analyzing Publics
In order to understand what message needed to be conveyed to the public,analyzing the public was in order. Interviews of
all four grade levels at the University of Oklahoma were conducted.This gained a better understanding of how college
students not only perceive school buses,but also how they respond to advertisements. The data obtained helps to
decipher the best way to communicate the message to the public.
Goalsand Objectives
Awareness and attitudinal objectives have been designed to bring awareness of school bus safety to the public and modify
the attitudes towards putting children on the school bus.To achieve this,the following objectives have been designed:
- To increase awareness of the public about the safety of school buses and how its alternatives affect the lives of the
students being transported to school.
- To change the attitudes of millennials about riding the school bus,so that they may take the information provided with
them in beginning their own families.
Strategies
The strategies to achieve these objectives require educating the public about school bus safety.In addition,the media must
be used to promote events that further help brand the message strategy.
Tactics
The tactics crafted to achieve the campaigns goals help to spread awareness to millennials and create more positive
attitude about school bus safety within the community.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
3
5. getting the money they need to be a safe,reliable means of
transportation for students (Amarum,2013).
In North Carolina,over 13,000 school buses travel to and
from school each morning,transporting around 80,000 kids.
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction cites
that school buses keep 17.3 million cars off the roads
surrounding schools each morning-saving over $6 billion
annually.Because the senate is cutting the budget used
towards school bus replacements (which are usually done
around 200,000 miles),the safety of school buses cannot be
improved.Newer buses have many safety improvements
including,higher seat heights,advanced mirror systems,LED
lights,and reflecting tape.According to the article,newer
buses are also easier on the environment,because of
improvements made to the engine and emissions systems
(?Senate Budget?).
The article,?Palm Beach County School Board Blames
State Funding Issues for Bus Breakdown?,reviews the issues
surrounding the maintenance of school busses in need of
repair,and the budget allotted for said repairs.The report
presents issues with the lack of action taken to maintain
proper maintenance of school busses in Jupiter,Fla.The
ultimate issue was found to be that there was a 25 percent
decrease in funding for the year.The district?s loss of
funding led to a lack of proper maintenance of its busses.
While the proper funding is needed to transport the
students to school,additional funds would be in order to
maintain proper maintenance of the school busses to ensure
public safety (Strathman,2014).
School districts in Indiana are in the midst of an
important decision on how allocate money.One thought has
been cutting out public transportation would help cut out a
significant portion of the debt mounting on schools.On one
hand,it would be a good idea to cut transportation opposed
to cutting anything from the actual learning environment.If
transportation were not cut out then something else would
have to be cut like technology or the salaries of teachers.
However,the other other side argues that cutting out
transportation would be a mistake from an economic
standpoint because it would deter people to move into
school districts that cannot guarantee public transportation
for their children (Davis,2014).
Before developing a campaign for the American School
Bus Association,it was necessary to research the topic of
school bus transportation and understand the variety of
issues.This includes looking into the positive and negative
effects school buses have on a community,the safety of the
buses,how people generally feel about them and how the
government funds them.These articles provides examples
of how lawmakers are funding school bus transportation,
parent?s attitudes regarding school buses,guides to school
bus safety and other topics that will act as a foundation to
future public relations campaigns.
The 2011 Safe Routes to School Local Policy Guide aims
to assist communities and schools create and put into
action policies that support healthy community
environments in which children feel safe participating in
physical activities.The argument made in this document
suggests that the rise in childhood obesity has a direct
correlation with the decrease in the number of children
who walk or bicycle to school.
This guide outlines policy changes that have been made,
as well as some potential changes,that will create a
healthier life for children through safely walking to school.
The policy changes that are suggested and explained follow
what is called the ?The Seven P?s?of policy change,
including those in power,partnership and promotion.A
second issue this guide discusses is implementing any
policy changes equally between high and low-income
communities,as the latter has a higher percentage of
children that walk or bicycle to school.This guide brought
up important points to consider when dealing with the
client,most importantly being creating a safe community
where children feel comfortable traveling to school without
a parent (Safe Routes,2011).
The Transportation Review details the safety measures
that are necessary in order to ensure that students arrive to
school safely.The National Highway Transportation Safety
Association claims that students are much more likely to be
safe riding in a school bus rather than a friend?s car,seeing
as only 24 children are killed each year in school
bus-related accidents.Instead,children are at the highest
risk when entering or leaving the bus or walking around the
bus.Educating the public on school bus laws and safety
concerns is important to save the lives of children.The
review gives suggestions to make younger generations
aware of the importance and safety implications of school
buses (Cook & Shinkle,2012).
The article, ?Washington State Legislature May Consider
Funding School Buses?,announces that Washington State
legislatures have until 2018 to fill a $4 billion dollar gap in
the funding of basic education.According to some though,
school buses cannot be added to the regular
?transportation?budget because it would just be putting
?one problem on top of another.?By adding the buses to the
general transportation budget,it would mean school buses
would be competing with other huge projects for funding.
Many legislatures fear that this would lead to buses not
ANALYZING THE SITUATION
5
6. school because of transportation issues,then as a result the
state will provide less funding to schools that have more
absences.The argument for cutting school bus funding
suggests it is better to cut transportation costs rather than
cut costs of what happens inside the classroom (Slaby,
2013).
A bill proposed by the state of California hopes to give a
more equal opportunity for not only urban students but also
rural area students to use school bus transportation. Recent
cuts have caused there to be a sense of inequality for rural
area students to use school bus transportation.A second bill
hopes to reimburse schools better for the use of school bus
transportation.The current system shows the school bus
transportation is very unequal amongst California school
districts.The author points out how significant of a positive
would be if either one of these bills passed.It is also
mentioned in the article that the safety of school bus
transportation is of the upmost importance.The potential
increase in funding should help with the 800 million dollar
budget deficit the school inherited the year before (Beltran,
2014).
The article,?Incidence and Characteristics of School Bus
Crashes and Injuries?,explains through studies,data,and
graphs how safe school bus transportation and because of
that how important it is to utilize school buses.School
buses that are involved in accidents have a much lower rate
of death and or injury than any other vehicle.Not only are
school buses safer when involved in a crash but the rate of
a school bus being involved in a crash is much lower than
that of a 15-18 year old driving to school during the
morning or afternoon hours.Overall this article highlights
how important school bus education is and how important
it is for school districts to make school bus transportation as
available as possible to students (Yang,Peek-Asa,Chane,
Heiden,Falb & Ramirez,2008).
The article,?The Relative Risks of School Travel?,
describes the different modes students?use to travel to
school and the relative risks of each.In regard to school bus
safety the information gathered by its studies showed that
school bus travel is safe and that the transportation of
students in a two-person vehicle is the most dangerous.
According to data gathered school bus transportation
amounts to about 25 percent of all students?transportation
to school.Only 2 percent of injuries and 4 percent of deaths
during school transportation hours occur on a bus during a
year.The article says that each and every school district,
state,county,etc.should study the data that this article did
in their own area to determine risk management programs
to use (?The Relative Risk?,2002).
In December 2012,the Center for Transportation Research
and Education at Iowa State University filed their final
report in a study about school bus safety and Kadyn?s Law.
The secondary research findings reviewed the use of
cameras to reduce Stop-Arm violations,the feasibility of
requiring home side loading,and driver training curriculum.
The study found that the camera?s mounted on the stop
arms of busses had little value without a supporting
process that resulted in violations for those who broke the
law.However,the growing number of cameras within the
state led to a growing concern that a violations process
would no longer be feasible.Additionally,processing
violators is the responsibility of the bus drivers to note each
stop-arm violation.The school district must then isolate the
images and provide this to the local law enforcement
agency.Law enforcement then has to verify and deliver the
violation to the motorist.The research suggests that until a
third party enforcement plan is instated stop-arm cameras
have little to no value.
The findings showed that the enforcement of violations
captured by stop arm cameras is the key component of the
research conducted.With proper third party enforcement,
the safety for children loading and unloading the buses will
increase.The insight provided by this article gives a better
examination for the internal aspect of school bus safety.It
not only reviews the publics behaviors of drivers during bus
stops,it focuses on the elements within the control of the
organization,and how it can improve safety from their
perspective (Center,2012).
The state of Illinois?Governor Quinn has presented a
proposal in which to make a significant budget cut to
school transportation in order to not have to make any
more classroom budget cuts.An effort to cut transportation
funding has already been made by some school districts by
having students meet at bus stops instead of having the
buses go from door to door to retrieve students.The biggest
issue that the massive transportation cut presents to a state
like Illinois is that it has a significant rural area where kids
need the transportation.If kids begin to not attend as much
ANALYZING THE SITUATION
6
7. regards to environmental safety hazards,illegal passing of
stopped buses by other vehicles as well as inattentive or
distracted drivers.People are also concerned with the
behavior of students on the bus and their behavior is
distracting,causing a risk to safety.
In the conclusion,the article suggests some ways to help
improve these potential safety hazards.These suggestions
include increasing driver pay to help reduce turnover rate,
require a bus monitor/aide to improve safety and take duties
away from the driver,more police attention and
enforcement of laws surrounding school bus safety,
educating people of the laws involving school busses,
support from school administration and parents when it
comes to punishments,and make safety a priority to
everyone (Williams,p.1-11,2010).
The ?School Bus Safety?article is a write up of research
conducted in New Zealand over how to improve safety
around school busses.The results allowed for researchers to
recommend a number of ways to aid in improving safety
regarding school busses,?including road engineering
improvements around bus stops,bus-mounted warning
signs that are activated when children may be crossing,
enforcement,educational/information campaigns,and bus
design/management improvements?(Baas & Charlton,1).
This article primarily focuses on improving bus routes and
bus-mounted warning signs.
The first section of this article dives into how safety can
be ensured by improving bus routes.The proposed solutions
are to eliminate the need for children to cross the road,
prevent children from running heedlessly across the road,
and minimizing the consequences by slowing down traffic
when children are crossing.To eliminate the need for
children to cross the road it is suggested that bus routes be
rearranged.It is also suggested that bus stops need to be
improved.To help prevent children from running aimlessly
into the road it is suggested for adults to help younger
children cross the road,make sure children know how to
safely cross the road,and make sure they are aware of the
dangers involved.To help minimize the consequences by
slowing down traffic when children are crossing it is
suggested to evaluate school bus signs to see how helpful
the different signs are and the effects they have on the
surrounding traffic.It was found that a sign with the
appropriate speed and flashing lights caused the greatest
decrease in traffic speed.
In addition to the suggestions the researched,the article
recommends that the New Zealand law enforce punishment
for violators of school bus safety.?Punishment can be more
effective than awareness-raising campaigns and education
in changing behavior?(Baas & Charlton,13).This could be
one of the best ways to increase safety simply because
people are more likely to change their poor driving habit if
the threat of getting in trouble is present (Baas & Charlton,
2011).
The article,?Special Safety Concerns of the School Bus
Industry?,suggests one of the biggest concerns within the
industry is driver hiring and retention,not only the quantity
but also the quality of individuals available to drive school
busses.Bus drivers must be able to safely operate the bus
all while attend to school age children and the potential of
issues and controversies involving school districts,parents,
students,and employers.
The second concern discussed in the article is that school
bus safety involves the surrounding driving environment,
including illegal passing of stopped busses,passengers
when crossing the street,student behavior on the bus,and
passengers with disabilities.A focus group and surveys were
conducted in order to get a better perception from the
outside community in regards to school bus safety.Based
from these analyses,people tend to believe that the
greatest safety issue involves the rate of driver turnover.In
ANALYZING THE SITUATION
7
9. The Safe Riders website
is an informational website
to raise awareness
regarding snowmobile
safety.The site is very
organized and applied
some of the five principles
very well:
- Good functionality of the
website.
-There are no external
links to lead visitors away
from the website.
-Quizzes add a great
multimedia feature to the
website and increases user
awareness
The only flaws in this
website are:
-Website is lacking in
resourceful information
-Contacting the
organization is not optimal
for two-way
communication or user
retention.
The Ready for Wildfire
includes important
information on how
California residents can be
prepared for wildfires.It
shares examples of family
communication plans,
evacuation plans and
shares contact information
for important fire-related
resources.The successful
aspects of this site include:
- Embedded Twitter
account on the homepage.
- Infographs and other
forms of multimedia,like
YouTube videos.
- Well-organized and easy
to use.
Ready for Wildfire does
not have any ?contact us?
information or a place for
people to share their
opinions and ideas.This is
important,as viewers like
to have their views heard,
especially on issues of
safety like wildfire.
The ATVSafety website is
not as successful as the
prior sites.Not only does it
lack creativity and
attention-catching graphics,
the website does not
include:
-An option for users to ask
questions to the
organization.
-Easy to navigate screens
due to small fonts sizes.
-Organization,creating a
cluttered feel.
-A search bar to easily find
information.
The American School Bus
Council website allowed
the public to contact the
organization but the tab a
user would click to contact
was in small font and at
the bottom of the home
page that is not visible.A
user would not be able to
see the contact tab unless
he or she scrolled down all
the way to the bottom.
There is no interactivity
with users and the website
is not engaging. This
website did a great job at
- not driving publics to
external site for
information.
- using great graphics
and multimedia to
share statistics of
school bus safety with
users.
Before suggesting tactics or strategies on how to raise awareness,it is essential to analyze the organization and its
possible competitors.For this research,Grey Matter studied the strong and weak points of the organization?s website in
comparison to other public relations websites.The criteria used examined five principles that are attributed to successful
American School Bus
Council
Safe Riders ReadyFor Wildfire ATV Safety
ANALYZING THE ORGANIZATION
A website should enable the publics to ask the organization specific questions that may not already be a part of the site.
A website should contain information not only useful to the organization,but to all publics as well.
A website should contain information that gives the public an incentive to return again.
A website should not direct users to any external websites, keeping users primarily on the site of the original organization that
is being visited.
A website should be user-friendly and easy to navigate.
9
11. How Our Number One Selling Product is Doing
PRODUCT IN FORM AT ION
ANALYZING THE PUBLICS
Conducting interviews as a part of primary research is one
of the most important tools in order to fully understand the
message that needs to be conveyed to the targeted publics.
A freshman,a sophomore,a junior and three seniors from
the University of Oklahoma were interviewed in an effort to
better understand millennials.Interviewing these students
allowed for a more thorough understanding of how college
students not only perceive school buses and what they
know in regards to school bus safety,but also how they
respond to advertisements.The data obtained will help to
decide the best way to communicate the message to the
public.
The students indicated that they don't pay attention to
advertisements on buses or flyers handed to them on
campus and that social media is the best way to distribute
information.The specific social media applications
commonly mentioned by the interview participants were
Twitter,Facebook and Instagram.Of the students who use
social media,all of them check it multiple times a day.All
but one of the students interviewed said that social media
was the best way to reach them.
Aside from social media,the students believe that the best
place to advertise to someone their age is by going into
classrooms or other meetings and having an interactive
presentation with the students.
The students did not know all that much in regards to
general school bus safety.Two students mentioned that the
lack of seat belts concerns them for bus riders' safety.Many
of the students were taken aback when told some of the
laws in place to help insure school bus safety and all
students believe that their age group is not well aware of
school bus driving laws.
As a whole,the interviews revealed that millennials know
very little about school bus safety.The information acquired
helped pave the way for this campaign and aided in the
development of goals and objectives.
11
13. In partnership with the American School Bus Council,Grey Matter Consultants has created a campaign,#RideTheBus,that
will raise awareness to the value of school buses to the community,as well as emphasize their safety.To achieve this goal,
the emphasis is being placed on millennials,who will soon be parents and forced to decide whether or not their child will
ride a school bus.Specifically,the campaign targets students currently enrolled at The University of Oklahoma that are a
part of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.This target audience represents the demographic most
likely to communicate messages to broad audiences.By targeting Gaylord students,the message can continuously be
spread to other students and fellow millennials.
The #RideTheBus campaign has three main objectives to drive the message and ultimately help to achieve the campaign
goal.
1.To have an effect on the target audience?s awareness regarding the safety of school buses.Specifically,the
campaign needs to increase the understanding that a school bus is the safest way to commute to school.
2.To emphasize to the audience that school buses positively influence the environment in which they raise their
children.Specifically,by sending their children on the school bus,less cars will be on the roads,thus less fuel
emissions will be present.
3.To inform the audience of the benefits to the community that riding the school bus can bring.Specifically,the
decrease of dependency on foreign oil that riding the school bus can bring to the community.
The objectives set forth by the council will be administered by holding an event to raise awareness of school bus safety.
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
13
15. When considering the strategies to take in order to conduct the awareness campaign for the
American School Bus Association,emphasis has been placed on specific strategies that will
help create awareness on school bus safety.
Strategies
Transparent communication
- Most crucial basis of this campaign
- College students are not aware of American School Bus Council and its mission
(seen from interviewing students)
- Communicate transparently and make the mission of the American School Bus
Council apparent to the target audience.
Grey Matter Consultant Group understands that publicity is a huge component of an
awareness campaign.The best way to publicize the mission objectives of the
American School Bus Council to college students would be by creating awareness through
interpersonal communication.
Publicity
Create an event on campus will encourage discussion throughout campus,bringing media
attention to the council.
By using transparent communication,audience participation,publicity and activism as
strategies will lead us through a successful campaign.These strategies will help to achieve
the ultimate goal of raising awareness of the value and safety of school buses throughout
the community.
ACTION AND RESPONSE STRATEGIES
15
17. The campaign?s key message is to inform and raise awareness of the value and safety of school buses to the community.
This message could be carried through the use of pamphlets or power points containing statistics,evidence and other
testimonies promoting school buses at the event.The emotional appeal that will be used at the event will be fear and love.
There is not an inherent need to be using humor,sex or guilt as emotional appeals in the message because they are
appropriate for the message.
DEVELOPING MESSAGE STRATEGY
Due to the issues of school bus safety,the use
of fear can persuade the source to gain
information and awareness on this particular
topic.It is relevant and appropriate to this
audience and topic.When trying to relay
messages of safety it is important to emphasize
the dangers.The use of fear will help to meet the
objective of increasing the awareness of the
safety and value of school buses.By using the
statistics,testimonies and physical evidence the
American School Bus Council provides,the
message should instill a fear in the target
audience to make them more aware of the value
of school buses.Specifically,one statistic that will
reinforce the message is that that students are
about 50 times more likely to arrive at school
alive if they take the bus than if they drive
themselves or ride with friends.This fact will
resonate with the target audience.
Love will be used as an emotional appeal n an
attempt to make the message more personal for
the audience.By explaining how students are safer
when they ride school buses and emphasize that
students can perform better when they take the
bus,the audience can take that information and
apply it to when they have their own kids.
Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication
The message will use verbal communication throughout the event.There will be pamphlets and a photobooth that will
serve as non-verbal communication for the students to take home with them.The message presents one point of view:
that school buses are one of the safest forms of transportation and are of great value to the community.By reiterating the
main idea the message presents the conclusion for children to ride the school bus.Planned for the event,a photobooth
will be available so that students can take which they can upload to social media with the hashtag #RideTheBus.The
students will be encouraged to either share a memory of when they rode the bus or a safety tip they learned the event on
social media and tag the ASBC.Once they post to social media,free food will be provided.
17
19. How Our Number One Selling Product is Doing
PRODUCT IN FORM AT ION
TACTICS REPORT
There are four types of communication tactic categories
that need to be put to use for a successful public relations
campaign: interpersonal,organizational media,news media
and advertising,and promotional media.Interpersonal
media offers face-to-face opportunities for personal
involvement and interaction.Organizational media are
published or produced by the organization,which controls
the message.News media and advertising media provide
opportunities for the credible representation of messages
to large audiences.For the purposes of this campaign,
specific methods from each tactic will be used to achieve
the awareness goals for the American School Bus Council.
Interpersonal Tactics
-Special event
-Educational gathering
These two can essentially be combined into one event.A
special event will help to interact with the desired target
audience and educate them on the value of school buses to
the community.The plan is to have a photo booth that
students can take which they can upload to social media
with the hashtag #RideTheBus and receive free food.The
level of impact this special event/educational gathering will
have can be significant as it will be entertaining and
interactive and will advance the campaign towards its
awareness objectives.The event?s main advantage is that it
is interactive and will stick with a millennial longer than
just a flyer handed to them on the south oval.The only
disadvantage would be the time it takes to set up and
communicate with vendor.
Organizational Media Tactics
-Flyer
-Social Media
-Fact Sheet
While interpersonal tactics might resonate with the target
audience for longer,millennials need something to take home
with them to remind them what they learned at the event.The
students will receive the flyer at the event and be encouraged
to follow the different social media websites for the ASBC.
By utilizing social media, the campaign can present the
message to a new audience.Moreover,the fact sheet will easily
present the information so news outlets can write about the
campaign.
These tactics are inexpensive and work together to advance
the awareness campaign.However,students may throw away
the flyer after they receive it without reading the information.
Also,simply having a presence on social media does not
guarantee that the target audience will visit the platform and
have interactions.All of the organizational media will be
created in-house in order to cut costs.
NewsMedia Tactics
-News Release
-Feature Release
-Video B-Roll
By utilizing the media,the organization will be able to publicize
the campaign outside of the college.The newsrelease will serve
as an announcement to the media about the campaign?s
inaugural special event,highlighting its value for the community.
The feature release and video B-Roll will be used as a way to
promote the campaign?s event and give me information on event
details.This will further the awareness objectives and will
spread the message of the campaign past the college campus
and out into the community.
These tactics are all free and easy to implement.It is important
that the campaign and event information is made newsworthy in
order to attract attention to the purpose of the campaign.While
other tactics focused on target public members on college
campuses,these tactics will broaden our reach to the target
public.
Advertising and Promotional Tactics
-Newspaper Ad
-Signage
Advertising is not a primary focus of this campaign,however it is
helpful to implement these tactics to reach a broader audience.
The signage and advertisement will publicize the campaign and
the special event his tactic will make people aware of the event
and the ASBC.The only disadvantages of these tactics is the cost
and the outsourcing that will be required.
However,if a budget has the funds to supply the campaign with
effective signage and advertisements,those tactics could be
used to reach a broader audience.
19
21. Will Saxon
Campaign Coordinator
Grey Matter Consultants
William.p.saxon-1@ou.edu
FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
Grey Matter to host ?Stuff the School Bus?on University of Oklahoma campus
(NORMAN,OK,April 6)- Grey Matter Consultants,in conjunction with the American School Bus Council will be hosting the
inaugural ?Stuff the School Bus?event on the University of Oklahoma?s campus on April 18 from 12 to 4 p.m.on the south
oval.The organization will present students with the opportunity to raise their awareness of school bus safety with their
campaign ?#RideTheBus.?
The inaugural event will promote the safety of the riders,the community,and the environment associated with riding the
bus over the leading alternatives.Additionally,there will be free food provided,as well as a photo booth and additional
party favors.Students will have the opportunity to interact with each other and gain insightful knowledge about the safety
of school busses.
The goal of the campaign is to present students with facts regarding school bus safety.According to the American School
Bus Council students are 50 times more likely to arrive at school safely if they take the bus than if they were driven by their
parents,or drove themselves.?It really is vital for students of this age to learn how safe it is for kids to be riding the school
bus,?said Kelsey Ishmael,event planner for Grey Matter.?These students can carry this information with them when starting
their own families,and eventually sending them off to school.?
MORE
Grey Matter Consultants is a non-profit organization founded in 2015.The organization is dedicated to the education
school bus safety awareness and the advancement of a more informed public in the United States.
For more information about ?Stuff the School Bus,?or for inquiries about Grey Matter Consultants,contact Will Saxon at
405-201-5175,or by email at: William.p.saxon-1@ou.edu
###
NEWS MEDIA MATERIALS
News Release
21
22. Will Saxon
Campaign Coordinator
Grey Matter Consultants
William.p.saxon-1@ou.edu
FORIMMEDIATERELEASE
How to Safe a Life
NORMAN,OK,April 12) You can save a life everyday,and
you do not have to be a doctor,firefighter or superman to
do it.What if I told you that you could potentially save a
life,save gas,and better your community every day with
little to no effort?All you have to do is ride a school bus.
On April 18th,the first annual ?Stuff the School Bus?event
is coming to the University of Oklahoma to share with
students just how important school buses are to
communities.
When the employees Grey Matter Consultants were
younger,they each had their own great experiences riding
the bus to and from school.They made friends,got to
school safely everyday and performed well in school.When they realized that parents were not putting children on school
buses because they felt that the buses are not safe,they knew something had to be done.The six public relations
professionals joined forces and founded their own firm with the ambition of providing public relations consulting to
non-profit agencies.Their current goal is to give everyone the opportunity to raise their awareness of school bus safety
and give future generations the chance to have the same awesome experience with school buses they had.
The ?Stuff the Bus?event will combine food,fun and insightful knowledge about the value of school buses to their
community.
?It really is vital for students of this age to learn how safe it is for kids to be riding the school bus,?said Kelsey Ishmael,
event planner for Grey Matter.?These students can carry this information with them when starting their own families,and
eventually sending them off to school.?
There will be free food,a photo booth,music,part favors and friends on the South Oval.You could save a life just by
showing up and learning about the benefits of riding a school bus at the inaugural ?Stuff the Bus?event.Save a Life,Ride
the Bus.
###
NEWS MEDIA MATERIALS
Feature Release
22
23. NEWS MEDIA MATERIALS
Public Service Announcement
23
In order to increase visibility and raise awareness to the campaign,a public
service announcement was created.The message targets the campaign?s three goals of
increasing awareness to the benefits of riding the school bus,such as safety,community,
and the environmental advantages of riding the bus.
SCHOOLBUSSAFETY PUBLICSERVICEANNOUNCEMENT
25. Numbers At A Glance
36 cars
off the road by one school bus
2.3 billion
gallons of fuel saved by using school buses
14 children?slives
per state every year saved by school bus
ridership
1% of student fatalities
occurred when a student rode the school bus
23% of student fatalities
occurred when traveling via adults
American School Bus Council
Campaign Information
What isRide the Bus?
Ride the Bus is a tagline and campaign by Grey Matter Consultant
Group in partnership with the American School Bus Council.
What isthe message of Ride the Bus?
The purpose of Ride the Bus is to raise awareness on the value
school buses have to surrounding communities, as well as raise
awareness on school bus safety concerns. With this tagline, the
benefit of riding the school bus will be made apparent to the target
public, ultimately increasing the number of children that arrive at
school via school bus.
What doesthe Ride the Buscampaign include?
Ride the Bus is a multidimensional campaign. Signage will transmit
the message of the campaign and advertise a special event that will
be hosted by Grey Matter Consultants. At the event, guests will be
encouraged to post pictures to their social media accounts. Also, a
newspaper advertisement, press release and feature release will be
sent out to make the public aware of the campaign.
Who isthe target public?
The target public of this campaign is Millennials, specifically those
attending college. These individuals have experience in riding the
bus to and from school and will be the decision-makers in whether
or not their future children ride the bus.
Who isinvolved with Ride the Bus?
The Public Relations firm Grey Matter Consultant Group created
Ride the Bus in January 2015. This PRgroup consists of five
members: Will Saxon, Kiana Moridi, Scott Michael, Kelsey Ishmael,
Meagan Lewellyn and Kristen Torring. Moreover, Grey Matter
Consultants worked closely with the American School Bus Council.
Grey Matter Consultant Group
Fact Sheet | Spring 2015
Organizational and Social Media Materials
Fact Sheet
25
31. Name of Event
12:00 p.m.to 4:00 p.m.
Stuff The Bus
Time of Event
April 18,2015Date of Event
Location of Event University of Oklahoma South Oval
The event will be open to all students at
the University of Oklahoma but is
specifically targeted towards the students
in the Gaylord College of Journalism and
Mass Communication.
Target Audience
Who is this promotion targeted at?
What does the audience need to know?
What will hold their interest?
Kelsey IshmaelEvent Coordinator
Message
What do you want to say to the audience?
What do you want them to know?
The event will promote the safety of the
riders and the value of school buses to the
community and the environment associated
with riding the bus over leading
alternatives.
Objectives
What does this event hope to achieve?
The purpose of the event is to increase the
awareness towards the value of school
buses to the community,as well as
emphasize their safety.
The event will resonate with students and
we hope in the future they will choose the
bus as the main form of transportation for
their children to get to school safely.
Description of Event Special event with focus on education
Event Planning Template
31
32. Risk Assessment
What are the possible risks and strategies to minimize
them?
-Weather (monitor forecasts and move
indoors,if necessary)
-No guests (set up on the South Oval during
a busy passing period)
How will you evaluate the success of the
event?
What were our aims/objectives?
Did we achieve what was set out to do?
We will measure the success of the event
based on the social media buzz created.We
will be bale to see how many impacts were
made.The more buzz,online conversations
and positive feedback,the more successful
the event.
Action
EarlyEvent Planning Checklist
Person Responsible Date to be completed
Talent
Catering
Invitations
Protocol
Budget
Advertising
Signage
Program/Running
Sheets/Speeches
Value Added for Guests
Security
source identified and sponsorship
Meagan L-Account Executive
Kelsey I. Event Coordinator
American School Bus Association
Will SCampaign Coordinator
Kristen T. Marketing Specialist
Kiana M. Media Specialist
Scott M. Media Director
Scott M. Media Director
Kelsey I. Event Coordinator
University Approval
Mailing List, Invitations, Designed, RSVP
Cost per head, food, hot or
cold,equipment, menu
Press, radio, TV, media release
1 month before
6-8 weeks before
3 weeks before
2 weeks before
3 weeks before
Week of
Week of
1 week before
Week of
Week of
Kelsey I. Event Coordinator
Book and Brief, Rehearsals
organize signs, check signage to see it
compllies with University
finalize schedule, speakers fully briefed,
speeches written
gifts, programs, catalogues,
competitions, prizes
security alerted, occupational health,
welfare and safety concerns
Ambience
Hospitality and Guest Comfort
Grey Matter Consultants
Grey Matter Consultants
arrangements and background music
welcoming and inviting atmosphere,
easily accessible
Day of
Day of
32
33. Kelsey Ishmael is the
event planner for Grey
Matter Consultants.
Clients will appreciate
Kelsey?s calm
demeanor while she
works feverishly to
create the perfect event that makes a statement and
stays with the guests.Born and raised an Okie,Kelsey is
a Tulsan at heart but has found Oklahoma City to be her
home,and she can be found exploring gems of the city.
Meagan Lewellyn is the
account executive for Grey
Matter Consultants.She
uses her love for public
relations and results-driven
attitude to create
campaigns that tailor
exactly to what every client
wants and needs. Born and raised in McKinney,TX,Meagan will
always love her home state more than most.
Grey Matter Consultants - #RideTheBus
BIOGRAPHIES
Kiana Moridi is the Social Media Specialist for
Grey Matter Consultants.Prior to joining Grey
Matter,Kiana graduated from the University of
Oklahoma with a Bachelor?s Degree in Public
Relations. Kiana?s strategic and creative social
media posts ranging from Twitter to Facebook
allow her to create a strong and positive image
for the client at hand. When Kiana is not posting to social media outlets,you can
find her in the great outdoors,riding her bike or hiking to good music.
Scott Michael is the media
director for Grey Matter
Consultants.He is
goal-oriented,using an
astute attention to detail to
create successful public
relations campaigns for his
clients.Prior to joining Grey Matter Consultants,Scott graduated
from the University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor?s of Arts in
Journalism.He was born and raised in Moore,OK,and currently
resides in Oklahoma City.He is passionate about sports and his
English bulldog,Blanche.
Will Saxon is the campaign coordinator for Grey
Matter Consultants.He graduated from the
University of Oklahoma with a degree in Public
Relations before his addition to the staff at Grey
Matter Consultants.Will?s experience in the field
has allowed for him to produce creative
campaigns that communicate the immeasurable
value of school bus safety to a wide range of
audiences. Born and raised in beautiful Norman,Oklahoma,has made Will
a die hard Sooners fan and a lover of the famous Mont cheese fries.
Kristen Torring is the strategic marketing
specialist for Grey Matter Consultants.She
employs her make-things-happen attitude to
manage social media strategy and public
relations initiatives.As a public relations
graduate from the University of Oklahoma,she
came to Grey Matter Consultants with a lot of
marketing experience.She combines her PRand
marketing skills to communicate the value of school buses to different
audiences.Hailing from San Antonio,Texas,she has an extreme passion
for tacos and the San Antonio Spurs.
33
35. Amarum,A.(2013).Washington state legislature may consider funding
school buses from transportation budget to free up money for basic
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www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2013/01/
washington_state_legislature_m.html
Baas,P.,& Charlton,S.(2011).School bus safety. IPENZ Transportation
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Beltran,K.(2014).Bipartisan effort to restore school bus funding. Boyland,L.,& Bourke,W.(2012).Eliminating K-12 public
school student
Transportation as a cost-saving measure.Center for Transportation Research and Education (2012).School bus safety
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Cook,C.,& Shinkle,D.(2012). School bus safety. Transportation Review, 1-6.
Davis,A.(2014).New state law might idle bus fleets.
http://www.ibj.com/articles/print/45627-new-state-law-might-idle- school-bus-fleets
Henderson,B.B.(2009).The school bus: A neglected children?s environment.Journal of Community Psychology E,
12.
Senate budget slashes funding for school bus replacement.(n.d.). Retrieved February 9,2015, from
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eplacement/
Slaby,C.(2013).Gov.Quinn calls for large cuts for school bus funding.
https://will.illinois.edu/news/story/gov.-quinn-calls-for-large-cuts-for-school-bus-funding
Strathman,J.(2014).Palm Beach County School Board blames state funding issues for bus breakdowns.West Palm
Beach Television. Retrieved from http://www.wptv.com/money/consumer/parents-
want-bus-problem-fixed-but-pbc-school-board-blames-state- funding-issues-for-bus-breakdowns
Swartz,M.K.,& Reilly,E.A.(1995).School bus safety: Issues and controversy.Journal of Pediatric Health Care,
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