The marketing and communications plan aims to position Metro College as a flexible and affordable option for working adults in Alberta to further their education without sacrificing family time. The plan has three main goals: 1) Increase awareness among working adults about Metro College and intention to enroll; 2) Position Metro College to partner with employers for employee training; 3) Establish Metro College as committed to lifelong learning solutions. Key tactics include advertising Metro College's work-life balance benefits, hosting open houses, developing educational videos and partnering with media outlets to communicate Metro College's message and complement established institutions. The budget is $52,590 over 8.5 months starting in January 2017.

1. Martin Dixon
Marketing and Communications Plan for Metro College
I. Need/Opportunity
Internal Factors
Metro College doesn't have the personnel to compete with highly-regarded post-secondary
schools in Alberta, mainly because they don't have the experience and/or qualifications
other teachers and instructors have.
However, the services they provide (80% of courses are taught online) are indeed
appealing to many young adults entering the work force, as well as professionals and
family-oriented individuals who wish to enhance their academic credentials without having
to spend much time away from their loved ones. Metro College may not have the pedigree
other Universities or Colleges have, but they do offer a viable and alluring option for busy
individuals.
Online education is a niche that has become very popular over the years, so there's
an opportunity for Metro College to attract individuals who wish to further their education,
by differentiating themselves as a school that understands their hectic schedules and that is
trying to help them overcome the barriers that have been set up by their own busy lives.
External factors
From an external point of view, recent polls have shown that education has overthrown
health as the most important priority among Albertans regarding their future. A better
education will be the catalyst the province needs in order to improve other aspects of
society. That's why it's important for Metro College to be noticed by the provincial
Government in terms of coming up with creative and up-to-standards programs of study to
position themselves as a strong organization within the industry.
Furthermore, additional research has suggested that 79% of new jobs in Alberta will
require a post-secondary education over the next 10 years. Given that 62% of Albertans
already have higher-education credentials, there will be even more demand for post-
secondary titles in the future.
That being said, there is a big opportunity for Metro College to capitalize from this
new scenario that has taken over the province by positioning themselves as a top option for
Albertans looking to continue their education and acquire new work skills.
Additionally, there is a pivotal need for Metro College to let people know their
intention is not to compete with highly-regarded institutions like the University of Alberta
or the University of Calgary, but to complement and enhance what they have learned in
these organizations.
Finally, many employers are signing up their employees into continuing education
programs to enhance their work skills, so there is an additional opportunity for Metro
College to forge partnerships with these companies in order to receive additional students
or even hire graduates from Metro College itself.
Business Need
Given Metro College is a fairly new institution in Alberta, the obvious need would be to
attract and convince prospective students to enroll in the different courses the institution is
offering. Consequently, more financial earnings, as well as developing a higher reputation,
could lead to an expansion; starting new programs of study and hiring new instructors.

2. Why a MarComm plan is needed
With the continuing emergence of new online educational programs for adult learners,
some of them from prestigious institutions and others known as "fast food education"
because of their questionable background, it is imperative for Metro College to
communicate their mission to their audience to help them understand they are here to help.
They want to let people know they are affordable, they are flexible and they are reputable.
A MarComm plan will therefore allow Metro College to communicate their
intentions of becoming a facilitator for adults looking to further their education and that
they will give them more options for those looking for balance in the work-life equation. If
not, Metro College risks being seen as just another low-profile college that's trying to make
a profit but that can't be taken seriously due to its lack of tradition, thus losing ground to
more well-known colleges and Universities across Alberta. That's another issue a
MarComm plan will address. Metro College doesn't want to compete with those colleges,
but to give Albertans easier access to education by complementing what they learned in
previous years at other schools.
II. Key Publics and Stakeholders
Target Audience
1. Working Adults in Alberta
The main audience this MarComm plan will try to engage is working adults. Metro
College's most important need is to attract more students into their programs so this
audience will be the primary focus of our plan.
These individuals are middle to upper class, young adults and middle-aged as well,
men and women alike, ages 27 to 50, who are either in the starting phases of their careers or
who feel like they have plateaued over the past years. They can also be characterized as:
- Family-oriented: They may or may not have families of their own (spouse,
children), but they deeply value their families and their loved ones and want to
spend as much time as possible with them and are not willing to sacrifice their
family time unless it's strictly necessary.
- Well-educated, working professionals with above average incomes.
- Ambitious: They feel like they have the potential to contribute in a bigger way to
society, so they are constantly looking for ways to improve and further their skills in
order to achieve their goals.
- Skeptical: They have been bombarded with ads and flyers throughout the years
and they won't be sold on an idea unless they have first-hand experience with the
product or service being offered.
- Goal-oriented: Outcomes outweigh processes in their opinion. They do value
hard-work, however, but even more if that translates into the goal they expected.
That being said, messaging must motivate this segment by helping them understand they
will learn new skills to succeed in the future without having to cut their family time.
Key Messages
- Further your education without stepping away from your loved ones at Metro College.
- Metro College: Flexible, affordable and reliable.
- Enhance and improve what you have learned at Metro College.
- Sign up at Metro College and accomplish your professional goals.
- Metro College: Education of the future for the working professional.

3. 2. Albertan Employers (special emphasis on Accounting, IT and Business Administration)
Metro College offers degree programs in Accounting, Business Administration and
Information Systems. That being said, an additional audience to target would be employers
who need their employees to improve their skills in any of those three areas, particularly
businesses who specialize in accounting and IT services.
These organizations are located in the urban areas of Calgary and Edmonton, have
above average earnings, given they are able to subsidize their employees' studies, and are
medium-to-large in terms of the size of the organization (around 50 employees and above).
Similarly to the previous target audience, these employers feel like they are not performing
as effectively as they want, hence the need for their workforce to specialize in one of the
three areas mentioned before. These employers can also be portrayed as:
- They like to be on top of the current trends in their respective departments.
They feel like it's a pivotal feature in order to sustain their respective businesses,
otherwise it could potentially lead to the demise of their companies.
- Given the areas the targeted companies work at, they value practical skills over
theoretical notions, especially if the latter doesn't lead to the former.
- They are creative and innovative as well and they are constantly looking for new
ways to solve problems and address new challenges.
- Just like the previous target audience, these are goal-oriented companies looking to
maximize customer service experience.
- They are ambitious and have high-standard goals that require hard-work and effort
from all actors across the organization.
Messaging should tackle the fact that curriculums in Metro College are constantly being
updated, in addition to schedule flexibility. It should also mention they emphasize real-
world applications in their courses.
Key Messages
- Metro College: Flexible, affordable and reliable.
- Maximize and update your skills at Metro College.
- Metro College will move you closer to your company goals.
- Practical skills for the modern professional at Metro College.
- Metro College: Education of the future for the working professional.
3. Government of Alberta – Ministry of Advanced Education
As previous government-polling research has noted, access to post-secondary education is
one of the issues that has gotten more attention among Albertans, to the point it has passed
health-care as the most burning topic within the province. Subsequently, it is important the
Provincial Government becomes aware of the message Metro College is communicating to
working adults in Alberta, which is why the Ministry of Advanced Education would be the
intended target audience.
The Ministry is responsible for "providing quality advanced learning opportunities
for all Albertans and developing ways for students to easily transition within the advanced
education system"1
. Since they are also in charge of funding and giving away licenses and
certificates to education providers, as well as providing scholarships to eligible students,
1
Alberta Advanced Education - http://www.iae.alberta.ca/ministry/about.aspx

4. their significance for this MarComm plan cannot be ignored. Additional characteristics of
this Government department are as follows:
-They believe that "Education unlocks the potential in our society"2
.
- They care about the people, as Government agencies should: They want to ensure
all Albertans have the necessary tools to succeed in a post-secondary education
environment.
- They also believe education is pivotal for Alberta in order to remain competitive in
today's globalized society.
- They are ambitious, in terms of the high standards they set for the programs of
study they expect to asses from each post-secondary institution looking to earn a
certification from the Provincial Government.
Key Messages
- Metro College is committed to providing life-learning solutions for Albertans.
- Metro College will help Albertans stay on top of the current education trends.
- Investing in Metro College, is investing for the future of Alberta.
- Maximize what you have already learned at Metro College.
- Metro College: Education of the future for the working professional in Alberta.
Messaging for this particular audience should underscore Metro College’s intention of
becoming a solution for Albertans seeking to improve their qualifications, thus contributing
to the province’s objective of committing to educate the population.
Stakeholders
Media
The media is arguably one of the most important stakeholders for this MarComm plan as
they will play an important role in spreading the news about the emergence of Metro
College. The key components of this plan (goal, objectives and strategies) will involve
reaching the main target audiences but the news media will be actively involved in the
execution (tactics) as far as the communications side of it goes.
Young undergraduate students
This MarComm plan is mainly aimed towards working, mature adults who have established
lives and wish to further their careers. However, it has to be taken into consideration the
fact that the adults of tomorrow, young students coursing undergraduate programs, are
likely to become Metro College’s target audience in the foreseeable future, so it’s important
for them to be aware of the benefits the institution could give them once they have entered
the workforce.
Metro College Instructors
Given this is a new organization that it's trying to settle into Alberta, the instructors that
were hired may feel they are taking a big risk by signing up for this project. Thus, if they
feel like Metro College is doing its best to reach as much prospective students as possible,
while communicating their intentions to help Albertans improve their education, they will
probably feel more confident and enthusiastic about their jobs, and it will increase the
possibility of them referring Metro College to other students or colleagues.
2
Alberta Advanced Education - http://www.iae.alberta.ca/ministry/about.aspx

5. Established post-secondary schools in Alberta
Metro College has made it clear that its intentions are not to compete with high-profile,
post-secondary schools in Alberta, but rather to complement their offerings.
That being said, they should be a stakeholder rather than a target audience because
most established post-secondary schools already have their own programs for working
adults, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to forge partnerships with other educational
institutions. However, once this MarComm plan starts its course, there is an additional
opportunity to help these organizations understand they don’t need to feel threatened by the
emergence of Metro College and that each one of them can tranquilly work on their
respective lanes without the fear of losing potential customers.
III. Goals
1. Working adults in Alberta are moved past a level of awareness about the existence of
Metro College, to the intention of actually signing up for one of its programs.
2. The organization is positioned for further success and profitability after Albertan
employers are seeking Metro College out about the possibility of establishing strategic
partnerships to train/hire current employees and/or future graduates.
3. Metro College is recognized as an institution that’s willing to help and further Alberta’s
lifelong learning solution by both working adults in Alberta and Provincial Government
executives alike.
IV. Objectives
1. 1 month after the campaign, 40% of working adults in Alberta exposed to the campaign
will recognize Metro College as an appropriate institution to further their education.
2. 1 month after the campaign, 45% of working adults in Alberta exposed to the campaign
will identify the connection between a healthy work-life balance and studying at Metro
College.
3. Establish a benchmark for the impact of customer service and appointment calls from
Albertan working adults/employers during the campaign.
4. Establish a benchmark for the impact on rate of appointments booked from Albertan
employers/working adults with college executives during the campaign.
5. Help increase satisfaction levels among Metro College students and instructors by 75%
to set the table to start new Government-approved programs of study, 1 month after the
campaign.
V.i Strategy 1
Educate target audiences by letting them know that all programs in Metro College would
have an immediate impact, in a positive way, at their respective workplaces due to its
applied approach to learning and constant curriculum updating.
Supporting Tactics
 Prepare brochures to be sent to target Albertan employers communicating key messages,
CEO Q&A, programs of study offered and contact information.
 Develop a direct marketing campaign targeting employers and working adults alike,
containing key messages. Database construction will be done alongside a research
agency.

6.  Establish partnerships with specialized media outlets to write “advertorials” by Metro
College program directors, communicating key messages and highlighting the teaching
approaches used in Metro College.
 Develop a digital advertising campaign on the college’s social media channels:
o Create videos with testimonials from instructors and the teaching methods they
use in Metro College.
o Utilize additional testimonials from employers already working at Metro College
to further enhance messaging.
 Host open houses across the province with instructors and program directors serving as
guest speakers.
 Contact communications specialists from target employers to set up meetings with
company managers and deliver key messages.
V.ii Strategy 2
Help working adults in Alberta understand that Metro College provides them with an
opportunity to further their education by letting them know they can do it without having to
sacrifice or reduce the time they spend with their families.
Supporting Tactics
 Develop an advertising campaign, in partnership with an agency, in order to emphasize
the connection between work-life balance and studying at Metro College:
o Create banners communicating key messages to be placed on bus stops and
public transportation services in Alberta (LRT and BRT).
o Messaging must highlight that family, work and education can co-exist
without having to sacrifice one of the three aspects.
o Shoot a TV commercial communicating the same key messages used for
banners.
 Work alongside a research agency to build a database of prospective customers and later
deliver key messages both in an online and physical format, as part of a direct marketing
campaign.
 Participate in high-profile public events and set up a Metro College stand to deliver
handouts and answer inquiries from the public.
 Host open houses across the province with instructors and program directors serving as
guest speakers.
 Develop online videos to be posted on the college’s social media channels with
testimonials from students and Q&A from the CEO of the organization.
V.iii Strategy 3
Help Albertans understand that Metro College doesn’t intend to compete with high-profile
institutions but to become an alternative way, in terms of granting easy access to education
to busy working professionals who otherwise would have not had the time to pursue a post-
secondary degree or certification.
Supporting Tactics
 Develop online videos to be posted on Metro College’s social media channels
containing key messages and Q&A from program directors.

7. o Messaging must highlight the benefits working adults would have in their
busy lives if they were to sign up for a Metro College program.
 Develop Media kits including a news release, videos with Q&A from CEO and
program directors, pictures of the facilities and an invitation to attend public forums
(forum dates will change depending on the city in which the targeted media is
located).
 Organize public forums in Metro College schools across Alberta with the company
CEO and program directors serving as guest speakers. Invitations will be extended
to Government executives from the Ministry of Advanced Education of Alberta.
o CEO and college executives will be trained and prepared as spokespersons
to answer questions from the media both on and off the press podium.
 Establish fluid communication channels with Provincial Government executives,
extending additional invitations to open houses and regular class days for them to
check out the facilities and to become more acquainted with Metro College overall.
 Prepare pitches to Provincial Government executives about potential future
programs of study.
 Establish strategic partnerships with Media outlets and have CEO write columns in
editorial boards communicating their commitment with providing access to
education to Albertans.
VI. Budget and Timeline
Total Budget: $52.590
The campaign will start in January 2017 and will last for 8 and a half months, just in time
for the start of the following fiscal year.
Almost half of the estimated timeframe will be destined to research and planning,
gathering information from target audiences and planning the strategies to execute them
afterwards. The campaign will start around May with open houses being hosted throughout
the province. Both the advertising and social media campaigns will begin in the summer, in
June and will last until the very end of the scheduled timeframe. Contacts with the
Provincial Government and prospective partner companies will begin in June as well. On
the other hand, direct marketing tactics will not be implemented until July.
The most aggressive campaign, however, will begin around August, by the end of
the summer, when people are outlining plans for their regular work year. Media kits will be
forwarded during this month and forums will be held in August too, as well as forging
relationships with media outlets for editorials and advertorials.
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
Research X
Planning X X X
Open House X X X X
Social Media and Advertising X X X
Direct Marketing X X
Government and Stakeholder Relations X X X
Media Kits, Forums and Media Relations X
Evaluation X

8. VII. Evaluation
1. Objective: 1 month after the campaign, 40% of working adults in Alberta exposed to the
campaign will recognize Metro College as an appropriate institution to further their
education.
Measurement: In association with a research agency, Metro College will carry out a
research through surveys and polls (online, by phone and in-person close to every Metro
College location) to measure whether working adults in Alberta regard Metro College as an
appropriate institution to further their education.
2. Objective: 1 month after the campaign, 45% of working adults in Alberta exposed to the
campaign will identify the connection between a healthy work-life balance and studying at
Metro College.
Measurement: In association with a research agency, Metro College will carry out a
research through surveys and polls (online, by phone and in-person close to every Metro
College location) to measure whether working adults in Alberta associate work-life balance
with studying at Metro College.
3. Objective: Establish a benchmark for the impact of customer service and appointment
calls from Albertan working adults/employers during the campaign.
Measurement: A database will be elaborated based on incoming calls from May to August,
during the start of the campaign, compared to the timeframe between January and April.
4. Objective: Establish a benchmark for the impact on rate of appointments booked from
Albertan employers/working adults with college executives during the campaign.
Measurement: A database will be elaborated based on incoming calls resulting exclusively
in booked appointments from June to August, as soon as the stakeholder relations tactic is
implemented, compared to the timeframe between January and May.
5. Objective: Help increase satisfaction levels among Metro College students and
instructors by 75% to set the table to start new Government-approved programs of study, 1
month after the campaign.
Measurement: College research will be carried out through surveys and polls throughout
the duration of the campaign, from May to August, to measure levels of satisfaction among
students and instructors. Results will be compared to the period between January and April.
Given it's more difficult to measure satisfaction among Government officials through polls
and surveys, anecdotal feedback from these executives during pitch meetings and public
forums will be used to further measure successfulness of this objective.
References
 Government of Alberta. Alberta Advanced Education - About Us [Internet]. [Cited
2016, Mar. 22]. Available from: http://www.iae.alberta.ca/ministry/about.aspx