1. PRactical ADvantage Communications
Agency Open House featuring PR Speaker Panel
Campaign Book
Event Date: April 23, 2015
Jazmin Gutierrez (AE)
Rachel Allen
Maya Clark
Presented on: May 14, 2015
2. Table of Contents
Letter of Transmittal………..………………………………………………………….pg.1
Executive Summary…………...……………………………………………………….pg.2
Chapter 1……………………………………………………………………………….pg.3
Background
SWOT Analysis
Core Problem/Opportunity
Chapter 2………..……………………………………………...………………………pg.9
Goals and Objectives
Chapter 3………...……………………………………………...…………………….pg.11
Key Audiences, Publics, and Messages
Chapter 4………...……………………………………………...…………………… pg.14
Strategy, Tactics, and Tools
Chapter 5………...……………………………………………...…………………….pg.18
Budget
Timetable
Chapter 6………...……………………………………………...…………………….pg.26
Campaign Outcomes
Chapter 7………..……………………………………………...……………………..pg.29
Measurement and Evaluation
Recommendations
References………..……………………………………………...……………………pg.33
Appendix………….……………………………………………...……………...……pg.35
Appendix A: Event Survey
Appendix B: Survey Results
Appendix C: Comments from Attendees
Appendix D: Speaker Biographies
Appendix E: Public Service Announcement
Appendix F: Press Release
Appendix G: Letter to Professors
Appendix H: Fullerton Campus Flyer
Appendix I: Irvine Campus Flyer
Appendix J: TSU Marquee
Appendix K: Student Portal
Appendix L: Facebook Posts
Appendix M: Instagram Posts
Appendix N: Twitter Posts
Appendix O: Posting Locations
Appendix P: Primary Contacts
Appendix Q: Team Biographies
3. 1
May 7, 2015
Professor Douglas Swanson, Ed. D APR
Cal State Fullerton-Irvine Campus
3 Banting
Irvine, CA 92618
Dear Professor Swanson:
On behalf of the students of PRactical ADvantage Communications and California State
University, Fullerton, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to assist you in the
PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency Open House and Public Relations
Speaker Panel. We have enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful event and are honored
to provide you with information and recommendations moving forward.
We promoted the PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency Open House and PR
Speaker Panel to CSUF students, faculty, and industry-related guests. We used various
new and traditional media tactics to encourage attendance. We were privileged to feature
four diverse industry professionals for the PR Speaker Panel. The event provided guests
with great entertainment, delicious food, lively music, and an opportunity to network.
We have learned so much working on this event and we appreciate your time, advice, and
input. We look forward to applying what we have taken away from this assignment
towards our future. We thank you again and will surely use all of the knowledge gained
from this experience towards our personal careers following graduation.
Cordially,
Jazmin Gutierrez, Account Executive
Rachel Allen
Maya Clark
PRactical ADvantage Communications
California State University, Fullerton
Irvine Campus
3 Banting
Irvine, CA 92618
www.practicaldadvantagecomm.org
4. 2
Executive Summary
According to Smith (2005), “An executive summary- one- or two-page synopsis of a
strategic plan or other report intended as an overview for executives and others
who need general information but not details” (p. 341).
In spring 2015, PRactical ADvantage Communications held their annual Agency
Open House and this year incorporated a PR Speaker Panel. Our team executed the
planning of the event for our client, Dr. Douglas Swanson, Faculty Supervisor of
PRactical ADvantage Communications. The Agency Open House and PR Speaker Panel
took place on April 23, 2015 at the Cal State Fullerton main campus and simultaneously
at the Cal State Fullerton Irvine campus through the use of two-way screening room
technology. The event hosted four PR industry professionals who led an interactive
discussion dedicated to the public relations field as well as promoted the PRactical
ADvantage Communications agency to students at Cal State Fullerton, faculty, and
industry professionals.
The overall goal of the event was to increase awareness and increase attendance
from last year’s end result by 500% at 50 total guests.
Numerous new and traditional media tactics and tools were used to help promote
and encourage attendance. Traditional media utilized throughout the promotional stages
of the event included on-campus signage, a PSA on Titan Radio, two on-screen
promotion segments on Titan TV, various on-campus advertising, and pitching a news
release to two local press outlets. Further communication outreach consisted of sending
electronic and print invitations to professors and clubs along with directly reaching
students with tabling efforts.
New media included the use of social media including Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram to spread awareness of the event to the students of Cal State Fullerton.
Alliances made the COMM Week, PRactical ADvantage Communications, and CSUF
official social media teams were used in order to promote our messages to their built-in
audiences.
These promotional efforts generated an interest by students and a positive
outcome in attendance. The event succeeded a noticeable increase in attendance from the
previous year at over 60 guests total, amongst positive feedback.
6. 4
COMM Week Background
According to Bivins (2011), “A background is basic information pieces providing
background as an aid to reporters, editors, executives, employees, and
spokesperson” (p. 306).
PR Day is an event aimed at highlighting the public relations industry to guests and the
Agency Open House is an extension of PR Day, which highlights the PRactical
ADvantage Communications Agency to students. The event ultimately allows students
and guests the chance to explore the public relations industry, the public relations
concentration at CSUF, and expose them to the work put forth by the PRactical
ADvantage agency. The event will occur on Thursday, April 23, 2015. The event will
showcase a panel of speakers in the PR industry that will be broadcast from the Irvine
Campus to the Fullerton Campus. According to the Association for Psychological
Science, “a guest speaker conveys current, realistic information and a perspective on a
subject that is not available from textbooks” (Mullins, 2001). Therefore, these speakers
will give students valuable perspectives on the industry that goes beyond what they learn
in the classroom.
Since 1978, COMM Week has showcased thousands of speakers coming from diverse
backgrounds to provide students with an educational experience that ultimately enriches
their knowledge of communication-related topics and the communications industry. The
College of Communications assigns a Student Task Force Team and PRactical
ADvantage team to work alongside each other to strategize this event. This conference
explores the impact that communication plays in our daily lives and provides attendees
with knowledge that will benefit their future careers.
7. 5
PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency Background
The PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency Open House is an event that
highlights the public relations industry to students.
PRactical ADvantage Communications is the student-run advertising, entertainment
management, and public relations agency at California State University, Fullerton. Our
agency was developed in 2011 as collaboration between communication students and
faculty. Students in PR AD COMM earn credit for their capstone course in Advertising,
Entertainment & Tourism Communications, or Public Relations. The agency's purpose is
to offer students hands-on experience in a real-world setting, with the support from
faculty advisors. PRactical ADvantage Communications provides the opportunity for
students to develop and implement advertising campaigns, events, and/or public relations
activities for local businesses and non-profit organizations, as well as for programs and
student organizations at CSUF.
“Many scholars report that when students actively participate in curricular and curricular
events, they make friends, become oriented to campus quickly, get to know faculty
members, and make important gains in critical thinking” (Webber et al, 2013). As a
result, such collaboration between different groups allows participants to get hands on
experience with working with other individuals. This event will provide students with an
extracurricular outlet to gain insight and network with industry professionals.
8. 6
SWOT Analysis _
“SWOT Analysis is a useful technique for understanding your Strengths and
Weaknesses, and for identifying both the Opportunities open to you and the Threats
you face.”
Internal Analysis
Strengths
• The PR Speaker Panel gave students the chance to obtain valuable insight from
experienced professionals within the field
• It allowed students to engage in discussion with PR professionals
• Provided a spotlight on public relations
Challenges
• Last year’s attendance was not a desirable outcome
• The location at the Fullerton campus was separated from the rest of the COMM
Week events
• Appealing to Communication majors who are not in the PR concentration proved
to be difficult
• The Fullerton campus only had a broadcast version of the speaker panel, which
made it difficult for students to feel that they could engage with the panel (as
shown through lack of participation of at Fullerton campus)
External Analysis
Opportunities
• Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter were available to help
bring awareness to students
• Two locations offered students the option to attend at either the Fullerton or Irvine
campus
• Attendees had the opportunity to establish relationships with professionals from
the industry by bringing them to CSUF
• The event was during COMM Week, which gave us a built-in audience for
promotional efforts
• Faculty can offered extra credit opportunities for students to attend a COMM
Week event
• Faculty can used the event in place of a normal class session
• CSUF offered multiple media services to help promote the event
9. 7
Threats
• Attendance from students were hindered by their routine activities like work or
class due to the time and date of the scheduled event
• The Newport Beach Film Festival had its opening night on the same night, which
took away attention from our event from communications majors
10. 8
Core Problem/Opportunity
The core problem that was faced with this event was that there was a lack of prior
awareness amongst students, which relates directly to low attendance rates in the past.
CSUF provided a great opportunity to utilize the many facilities, services, and
organizations of the university. Also, social media was a powerful tool to generate
awareness, especially in the age group we were mainly targeting.
According to a study conducted by Nielsen, Facebook is the top used social media
platform while Twitter is second (Nielsen, 2012). This information provides a wonderful
opportunity to promote this event using these platforms. Platforms such as Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram were popular amongst our target audience. Services such as Titan
Radio, Titan TV and Reprographics also furthered our promotional efforts. Titan Radio
gave us a PSA shout-out during their regular radio slots. Titan TV gave us a platform to
broadcast our event to their viewers. We used the Digital Print Services (formerly known
as CSUF Reprographics).
12. 10
Goals & Objectives
According to Smith (2005), “Goals are a part of organizational strategy; statement
rooted in organizations mission or vision, acknowledging an issue and sketching out
how the organization hopes to settle it” (p. 342).
According to Smith (2005), “Objectives are a part of organizational strategy;
statement emerging form an organization’s goal, resented in clear and measurable
terms pointing toward particular levels of awareness, acceptance or action” (p. 345).
Goal:
The overall goal of the event is to not only promote awareness about the public relations
industry for Cal State Fullerton students, but also to successfully attract attendance
Objectives:
● Obtain an audience of at least 50 people on Fullerton campus (increase last year’s
attendance by approx. 500%)
We picked 50 people because it seemed like a reasonable, yet substantial increase from
last year’s attendance.
● Obtain an audience of at least 25 people on Irvine campus
We picked 25 because less students have classes at the Irvine campus.
● Obtain an 80% retention of our audience
The 80% retention represent how many students will stay for the entirety of the event. We
chose this number because we believed that we would have a successful event, but we
also took into account, the reality that people might not be able to stay for the whole
event due to external factors.
● Invite PRSSA and Lambda Pi Eta (communications honor society) to the event
We thought that inviting other PR-related clubs and organizations would increase,
promote, and engage a larger audience.
14. 12
Key audiences/ publics and messages
Target Audience
According to Smith (2005), “Key public is public with which an organization chooses
to engage in communication and relationship” (p. 349).
Our key audiences for PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency’s Open House
included:
• Students enrolled at CSUF
• Faculty members of CSUF
In regards to the students of Cal State Fullerton, we focused specifically on those that are
a part of the College of Communications. They are the ones that would be more likely to
attend due to the fact that they are currently aspiring to go into the communications field.
Faculty should attend because they can bring their students to attend and also gain
valuable information about the PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency.
According to collegeportaits.com, our target audience of communication students made
up 9% of all bachelor degrees awarded during the 2013-14 school year.
Key Message
The message that we broadcast through the Agency Open House for PRactical
ADvantage Communications is the importance of getting your foot in the door, as well as
taking the initiative to go out of your comfort zone. The opportunity here is a chance to
obtain raw insight on the industry. With that being said, those that are PR majors were
encouraged to attend an event that is tailored to their possible careers. This student
involvement with social networks can help “facilitate the development of confidence,
identity, transferable skills and, most importantly, offer students opportunities to
demonstrate that they have what is required for the cultural ‘fit’ within a particular
organization” (Stuart, 2011).
15. 13
Theme
“Gain the experience you need before you graduate”
This year’s theme for the event was, “gain the experience you need before you graduate.”
Through this theme, the team hoped to relay to potential attendees the benefits they
would receive by attending the event. The theme was able to relate to the PR speaker
panel as well as the Agency Open House that immediately followed.
17. 15
Strategy
According to Cameron (2011), “Strategy describes how and why campaign
components will achieve objectives. A strategy provides guidelines and key message
themes for the overall program, and also offers a rationale for the actions and
program components that are planned” (p.154).
As part of our strategy in reach our goals, we utilized students from public relations
classes as possible attendees of the event. We considered all possibilities and outlets
available to reach out to our target audience. We created an agreement with a professor
from the Irvine campus to take students to the event in place of lecture that day and
provide extra credit for attendance of the event.
To achieve of overall goal of increased attendance, we used social media such as
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and we also to advantage of the services Cal State
Fullerton offers. Reprographics was used to print our flyers. Titan TV and Titan Radio
were the media outlets used to further our promotion.
We reached out to clubs like PRSSA and Lambda Pi Eta (Honors Communications
Society) to encourage their members to attend our event.
Our team joined the COMM Week team and PRactical ADvantage team in regards to
tabling to students. We tabled for our event on four separate time slots during the two
weeks prior to the event.
Tactics _
According to Cameron (2011), “Tactics describe the specific activities that pout each
strategy into operation and help to achieved the stated objectives.” (p.156).
Social Media
As mentioned previously, Facebook and Twitter are the most used social media
platforms; therefore we utilized those mediums effectively to reach the intended target
audience and promote awareness for the event. Specifically, we collaborated with the
COMM Week and the PRactical ADvantage social media teams. In this collaboration, the
social media teams received copy from us to post on our behalf about the Agency Open
House onto their own Facebook page, as well as on Twitter.
18. 16
Our Facebook event page was housed under the Practical Advantage Facebook account
and was used for social media users to have a place to get more information and have the
opportunity to RSVP. This was also a way to reach out to students, notify them of the
event and send them an invitation.
To add to our social media promotion, we also engaged in Instagram. The PRactical
ADvantage, COMM Week, and even the CSUF Official Instagram account made posts to
increase promotion for the event. We also advertised on the CSUF student portal, which
is visible to every student at CSUF, to notify them about the event.
In addition, through social media, we reached out to anyone that has shown interest in the
COMM Week event by teaming up with the Titan Task Force to promote the event. We
also worked closely with the social media team from the PRactical ADvantage
Communications Agency to reach out to the audience they already have.
TV/Radio
We also reached our target audience through a short interview on OC News on Titan TV.
By promoting the Agency Open House and PR Speaker Panel on OC News, we were able
to visually promote our event to student viewers. According to the Titan TV website,
“Titan TV airs over channel 98 on Time Warner and AT&T U-Verse in Fullerton,
Placentia, Santa Ana, Buena Park, Seal Beach, and Newport Beach. In addition, other
cable stations throughout Orange County broadcast CSUF programming.”
Titan TV would be a beneficial platform to use because it geographically targets the
audience that would most likely attend our event because they are closest to our event
location. We made two different social media appearances on the Monday and
Wednesday before the event.
Additionally, we used CSUF Titan Radio to blast awareness on campus to students about
the Agency Open House. According to titaninternetradio.org, Titan Radio broadcasts
worldwide and reaches about 6,000 listeners per month (15,000 listeners per semester).
We reached out to the marketing manager of Titan Radio and requested a PSA feature
during the week leading up to the event. Our 30-second PSA aired throughout Monday
through Thursday.
19. 17
Print
We utilized CSUF Reprographics to print out eye-catching flyers that were displayed and
distributed throughout campus. We used 8.5 x 11” one-sided colored prints that costed
$.46 per print that was funded by our overall allotted budget.
In addition, we gained access to market the event using the digital marquee above the
TSU.
Tabling
We partnered with the PRactical ADvantage and COMM Week teams to promote the
event through tabling at the Fullerton main campus. When tabling, possible attendees
were educated and encouraged to attend the PR Speaker Panel.
Tools
Press Releases & Pitches
A press release was generated and sent to local news outlets such as The OC Register and
the Daily Titan to feature the event in their publications.
(See Appendix F)
Invitations
In order to reach out to professors, we used multiple strategies to promote awareness for
the event. The Administrative Support Coordinator from the Department of
Communications sent out a save the date mid-March. This allowed professors to receive
an initial announcement from a more “credible source.” A few weeks prior to the event,
we wrote a tailored business letter to the part-time and full-time faculty inviting them to
the event, with the hopes that they would encourage attendance from their students. We
also attached flyers in order to provide them with more information. Lastly, we emailed
individual professors that held class at the same time as our event (at both campuses), in
order to offer them the opportunity to bring their class.
21. 19
Budget
Expected Actual
Given Budget $300.00 $300.00
Donations $- $350.00
TOTAL BUDGET $300.00 $650.00
8.5x11 Printed flyers from Reprographics $20.80 $141.50
Balloons FREE FREE
Food (Irvine Campus) $125.00 $267.93
Food (Fullerton Campus) $75.00 $96.58
including sandwiches, muffins, water, gatorade, etc.
Thank you cards $4.99 $4.99
Camera Film $60.00 $66.00
TOTAL EXPENSES $285.79 $577.00
$14.21 $73.00
Our budget shows that we were expected to go under by $14.21. By the end of the event,
we went under budget by $73.00 with the help of a $200 donation from Professor
Evanow and a $150 donation from the Gutierrez family.
22. 20
TimeFox: Team Summaries
Date: 01/01/2015
to
05/14/2015
Client: COMM-
WK-PR-
DAY_SP1
5
Status: All
Project Type: All
Show: Personnel
Type: Summary
Personnel Hours
Allen, Rachel 46.00
Subtotal for Allen, Rachel 46.00
Clark, Maya 32.53
Subtotal for Clark, Maya 32.53
Gutierrez, Jazmin 41.80
Subtotal for Gutierrez, Jazmin 41.80
Total 131.58
Date: 02/09/2015 to
05/14/2015
Client: COMM-WK-PR-
DAY_SP15
Status: All
Project Type: All
Show: Clients,Projects
Type: Summary
Client Project Code Project Status Project
Type
Hours
COMM-WK-PR-
DAY_SP15
802 PR Day/Agency
Open House
Open Event 131.58
Total 131.58
23. 21
TimeFox: Individual Summaries
Date: 02/01/2015 to 05/14/2015
Personnel: Maya Clark
Show: Date
Type: Detail
Date Client Project Task Description Hours
05/14/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Campaign Book Finalization of Campaign Book 5.00
5.00
04/26/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Campaign Book Working on campaign book 2.00
2.00
04/25/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Campaign Book Working on campaign book 6.00
6.00
04/24/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Event Day Preparation Begin creating campaign book. Share
information with team members for campaign
book
5:47PM - 5:49PM
1.03
1.03
04/23/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Event Day Preparation Event day, picking up and transporting food,
setting up, event duration, breakdown
3.00
3.00
04/22/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Event Day Preparation Printing surveys, transporting food,
coordinating with team
2.00
2.00
04/10/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Editing press release Editing Press Release, editing blast to
teachers
1.00
1.00
04/09/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Editing press release Editing flyers and meeting with agency team 2.00
2.00
04/08/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Editing press release Getting flyers to printer with revisions 1.00
1.00
04/02/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Reaching out/booking speakers Reaching out to guests, vendors, and creating
a social media plan
1.00
1.00
03/12/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Meeting with Agency Team Meeting with Agency Team to discuss the
event and delegate tasks,
1.00
1.00
03/10/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Revising proposal Editing our proposal and using feedback
given during presentation
4.00
4.00
02/26/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Preparing proposal Preparing for the proposal presentation 2.00
02/26/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Preparing proposal Giving our presentation and taking notes on
feedback
0.50
2.50
02/19/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Technical run-through w/ IT's Went to field locations for event to do a walk
through of technical aspects and run-through
1.00
1.00
32.53
Subtotal for 03/10/2015
Subtotal for 02/26/2015
Subtotal for 02/19/2015
Total
Subtotal for 04/22/2015
Subtotal for 04/10/2015
Subtotal for 04/09/2015
Subtotal for 04/08/2015
Subtotal for 04/02/2015
Subtotal for 03/12/2015
Subtotal for 05/14/2015
Subtotal for 04/26/2015
Subtotal for 04/25/2015
Subtotal for 04/24/2015
Subtotal for 04/23/2015
24. 22
Date: 02/01/2015 to 05/14/2015
Personnel: Jazmin Gutierrez
Show: Date
Type: Detail
Date Client Project Task Description Hours
05/14/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Meeting with Agency Team Meeting between both groups in order
discuss the plan of action for the campaign
and create a timeline of things to do, as well
as assigned specific tasks to each person.
1.00
1.00
04/23/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Event Day This includes the duration of the PR Speaker
Panel and Agency Open House, as well as
the set up and clean up.
7.00
7.00
04/22/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Costco shopping trip Went to Costco to purchase what we needed
for the event taking place at the Fullerton
campus.
2.00
2.00
04/20/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Event Day Made an Appearance on OC News to promote
the event via Titan TV. A brief interview
concerning main details for the event to
further promote it.
0.25
0.25
04/19/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Email to Speakers Sent out a detailed email to all of the
speakers with information for the day of the
event.
1.00
1.00
04/16/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Tabling Passed out flyers on "Titan Walk" in order to
promote the PR Day Speaker Panel.
2.00
2.00
04/15/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Alex Bloom about the Parking Pass
situation and his role for the day of the event.
0.75
0.75
04/14/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Flyer pick up & Distribution Picked up flyers from Reprographics and then
went to distribute them to those tabling, as
well as the Agency Team.
0.75
04/14/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Letter to Professors Wrote a letter to all professors explaining the
event and to encourage student attendance.
They were then placed in each of their
mailboxes with attached flyers.
1.00
1.75
04/13/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Drafting press release Redrafted the press release and finalized it to
be sent to localized publications.
2.00
2.00
04/09/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Meeting with Agency Team Worked on altering the Flyers with correct
information.
2.00
2.00
04/08/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Meeting with Agency Team Met with Theresa in order to make some
changes on the Facebook event page, and I
invited over 500 Cal State Fullerton students.
0.50
0.50
04/01/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Meeting with Agency Team I met with two members of the Agency Team
(Jaynnie and Theresa) in order to consult with
them and create a uniform budget between
both teams. We also ensured that both teams
were on the same page in regards to various
aspects of the campaign.
3.00
3.00
03/28/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Sarah from the Agency Team in
order to ensure that she was up to date with
everything that we were doing for the
promotion and preparation of the event, as
well as any changes that were made. I
wanted to make sure that I could answer any
remaining questions that she may have had.
1.50
03/28/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Jaynnie from the Agency Team in
order to ensure that she was up to date with
everything that we were doing for the
promotion and preparation of the event, as
well as any changes that were made. I
wanted to make sure that I could answer any
remaining questions that she may have had.
1.25
03/28/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Theresa from the Agency Team in
order to ensure that she was up to date with
everything that we were doing for the
promotion and preparation of the event, as
well as any changes that were made. I
wanted to make sure that I could answer any
remaining questions that she may have had.
0.25
3.00
03/27/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Phone call with Bill Kolberg to discuss details
of the event and to confirm his participation in
the PR Speaker Panel.
0.50
0.50
03/19/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Brainstorm for proposal Met with La Tanya Jackson at main campus to
test out the room for the panel speak (LH-
322)
0.30
0.30
03/18/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Phone call with Anthony to discuss details of
the event and to confirm his participation in
the PR Speaker Panel.
0.50
0.50
03/17/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Bernis, PRAD liaison in order to
discuss how the event will play out and
establish a relationship between both teams,
as well as to answer any questions that either
of us had.
2.00
2.00
03/13/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Stephanie from the COMM Week
task team in order to discuss tabling
opportunities with COMM Week.
0.25
0.25
03/12/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Brainstorm for proposal Met with PRAD agency team to discuss
Agency Open House
1.00
1.00
03/10/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Preparing proposal Met with group in order to discuss strategies
and tactics we were going to propose for
future implementation.
3.50
3.50
03/04/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Research for proposal Performed research for what tactics and tools
to implement.
2.00
2.00
03/03/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Revising proposal Revised proposal according to the feedback
we received from Professor Georges.
Additionally, we altered the campaign to adapt
to external factors that were encountered after
the initial proposal.
2.00
2.00
02/20/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Phone Call Spoke to Erika, Account Executive of the
Agency team, in order to discuss the event
and collaborate for the expectation of it and
how it would play out.
1.00
1.00
02/19/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Technical run-through w/ IT's Campus and Irvine Campus that were going
to be utilized for the PR Day Speaker Panel.
We had a group member at the Fullerton
campus and the other two at the Irvine
campus in order to see how the two-way
interactive technological system would work
during the event.
0.50
0.50
02/09/2015 COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House Brainstorm for proposal Worked on establishing a goal, SWOT
analysis and identifying our key publics in
order to effectively create a strategic plan for
the promotion of the event.
2.00
2.00
41.80
Subtotal for 02/19/2015
Subtotal for 02/09/2015
Total
Subtotal for 03/13/2015
Subtotal for 03/12/2015
Subtotal for 03/10/2015
Subtotal for 03/04/2015
Subtotal for 03/03/2015
Subtotal for 02/20/2015
Subtotal for 04/01/2015
Subtotal for 03/28/2015
Subtotal for 03/27/2015
Subtotal for 03/19/2015
Subtotal for 03/18/2015
Subtotal for 03/17/2015
Subtotal for 04/16/2015
Subtotal for 04/15/2015
Subtotal for 04/14/2015
Subtotal for 04/13/2015
Subtotal for 04/09/2015
Subtotal for 04/08/2015
Subtotal for 05/14/2015
Subtotal for 04/23/2015
Subtotal for 04/22/2015
Subtotal for 04/20/2015
Subtotal for 04/19/2015
25. 23
Date: 02/01/2015 to 05/14/2015
Personnel: Rachel Allen
Show: Project
Type: Detail
Project Client Date Task Description Hours
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 05/11/2015 Writing and sending thank you notes Sent to PR panel speakers 1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 05/11/2015 Final version of campaign proposal 2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/23/2015 Event Day 7.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/22/2015 Costco shopping trip 2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/16/2015 Tabling Passed out flyers and spoke to students at
CSUF - Fullerton campus on "Titan Walk" in
order to promote awareness of event.
Specifically, the Fullerton speaker panel
broadcast.
2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/16/2015 Placed flyers on Irvine campus Placed signage around CSUF Irvine campus 1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/14/2015 Creating pitch and contacting the press Pitched the Daily Titan and OC Register to
cover event via email and followed up over the
phone.
2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/13/2015 Creating pitch and contacting the press Contacted public relations professors via
email to pitch their participation in our event,
specifically bringing their classes to speaker
event.
1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/13/2015 Editing press release Made further edits to the press release. 2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 04/06/2015 Flyer revision Spent time collaborating with other members
revising Fullerton and Irvine flyers.
1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/31/2015 Creating FB event cover image Created an "Agency Open House" promo
image for cover image on Facebook event
page.
1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/30/2015 Drafting press release Drafted a press release for promotional
efforts and press coverage. The press
release was sent to The OC Register and The
Daily Titan.
2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/30/2015 Meeting with Agency-updates Met with the agency team to discuss progress
and planned promotional efforts.
1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/23/2015 Drafting promotional items Filling out/filing TSU marquee request form
Drafting student portal ad message
Drafting Titan Radio promo script
Creating FB event/copy of event info
3.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/21/2015 Emailing CSUF promotions contacts Emailed contacts for tabling promotions, TSU
marquee promotion, CSUF student portal
promotion, and student housing flyer
distribution.
1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/21/2015 Meeting with Agency Team Met with Agency Team from Swanson's class
to discuss collaboration dynamics of event.
0.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/21/2015 Preparing list of to-do's with deadlines Prepared a final to-do list/timeline to event. 1.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/21/2015 Revising proposal research Revised prior research conducted on
proposal per Professor George's notes.
3.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/19/2015 Technical run-through w/ IT's Meeting with IT's from CSUF Fullerton & Irvine
campus to test out two-way projector.
0.50
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/05/2015 Reaching out/booking speakers Reached out/confirmed Bill Kolberg, Andrea
Capena, Erin Glover, and Anthony Magani.
2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/04/2015 Research for proposal Performed research regarding the success of
speakers at events and which promotional
tools would resonate with our targeted
audience.
4.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 03/03/2015 Revising proposal Revised proposal per Professor George's
advising notes.
2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 02/22/2015 Preparing proposal Preparing first draft of proposal for event. 0.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 02/19/2015 Technical run-through w/ IT's We did a technical run-through with the IT's of
both rooms (from the Fullerton main Campus
and Irvine Campus) that were going to be
utilized for the PR Day Speaker Panel. We had
a group member at the Fullerton campus and
the other two at the Irvine campus.
0.50
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 02/09/2015 Brainstorm for proposal Brainstormed goals for projects as well as
tactics and tools that are appropriate for event.
2.00
00802-PR Day/Agency Open House COMM-WK-PR-DAY_SP15 02/09/2015 Brainstorm for proposal Brainstormed ideas for promotional tactics
and tools for event
2.00
46.00
46.00
Subtotal for 00802-PR Day/Agency Open House
Total
29. 27
Campaign Outcomes
According to Smith (2005), “Campaign outcomes- measured results of the
implementation of tactics showing the level of achievement of goals and objectives”
(p. 339).
Promotion
We were very happy to have our event promoted on many outlets such as Titan Radio,
the PRactical ADvantage social media, the COMM Week social media, and it was even
mentioned on the CSUF Official Instagram account. We did not create our own Twitter
account, but rather utilized Twitter accounts already run by PRactical ADvantage and
COMM Week to promote the event.
Speakers
We were very pleased that all speakers arrived to the event on time and without any
issues. The speakers also had very positive feedback by the end of the event. They really
enjoyed the intimacy of the overall event and appreciated how interactive and semi-
informal it was.
Attendees
Between the Irvine and Fullerton campus, we had over 60+ attendees. This surpasses our
initial goal of at least 50 attendees. Overall, guests seemed to enjoy themselves and some
even left notes in the comment box. Also, most of Prof. Jeesun Kim’s class also attended
the event in placement of their regularly scheduled class. Many students even had a
chance to mingle with the speakers one-on-one after the panel was over.
Student Participation
9 groups of students provided displays of their client work for the open house attendees
to view.
Facebook Event Page
Through the Facebook event page created from the PRAD Facebook account, we sent out
event invites to over 500 Cal State Fullerton students. The page only resulted in 13
confirmed attendees. However, that number did not accurately reflect the actual
attendance, which was considerably larger.
30. 28
Goals
We omitted our objective to obtain an 80% retention rate for attendees at the Agency
Open House and PR Speaker Panel because it was difficult to measure because of the
flow of traffic from different rooms at the event.
Surveys and Sign-in Sheets
The surveys and sign-in sheets had a less than desirable outcome, but we were able to
gage a general headcount during the event. It was difficult to get everyone to sign-in at
the Irvine campus, which had most of the attendees. The flow of guests between several
rooms for the event made it difficult to encourage participation by everyone. Not all
attendees took the survey, which will cause the survey results to be skewed.
Clubs
Our efforts to engage with on-campus clubs and organizations produced a less than
desirable outcome. PRSSA executive board informed members of event and members
showed a lack of interest in involvement. Also, we reached out to Lambda Pi Eta and
they failed to respond to our initial email and follow-up email.
Press release pitch to news publications
After reaching out to two news publications with a pitch to cover our event, we did not
hear back from either publication for a news feature.
32. 30
Measurement and Evaluation
According to Cameron (2011), “Evaluation is the measurement of results against
established objectives set during the planning process” (p.190).
We measured the success of the PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency Open
House and PR Speaker Panel by student attendance. Although we did not meet our
expected outcome of 50 students at the Fullerton campus, we did exceed our goal of 25
attendees at the Irvine campus. In total, we accumulated over 60 guests between both
locations.
From the methods of measurement we implemented, we gathered quantitative data of
guest records through the use of sign-in sheets and surveys. The sign-in sheets recorded
that seven attendees signed into the Fullerton campus, 28 people signed into the Irvine
campus Agency Open House and 31 people signed into the Irvine campus PR Speaker
Panel. However, because of the changing flow between event rooms at the Irvine campus
it was difficult to record every guest who attended. A general headcount was conducted
for the Agency Open House and the PR Speaker Panel at the Irvine campus that resulted
in over 50 attendees.
According to John Wilson, “success of the event should include both quantitative
measures, such as the number of people in the audience and profit after expenses, and
qualitative measures, which include general response after the event; measuring the level
of excitement in the room, before and after comments by “key” people at the event; and
determining if people are looking forward to the next event.”
In order to further assess our efforts to promote the PR speaker panel in qualitative data,
we conducted a survey and provided a comment box to gain the perspective of attendees.
We handed out the survey to students as they left the event and encouraged participation
in the comment box, but as previously mentioned, not all attendees were able to partake.
Questions in the survey were focused on guests’ experience during the PR Speaker Panel
and the comment box was placed in the Agency Open House location and focused on
their experience at the Open House. Through the surveys that were completed, we were
able to analyze and evaluate the success of our event. (See Appendix B) In addition, the
comment box gave us valuable insight on the opinions of guests at the Agency Open
house.
33. 31
Recommendations
Professor Engagement
During COMM Week, Professors become very engaged with the event and love for
students to attend and learn from as many events offered as possible. We would
recommend continuing correspondence with professors to promote the event. Reach out
to professors that have a class time at the same time as the event. Also, reach out to
professors that may offer attending the event as extra credit. Strategically conduct
classroom visits for professors that offer extra credit to further entice students to come to
your specific event.
Keep a Running Contact List of Attendees
It may be beneficial to keep an updated sign-in sheet with guest names and emails so that
a contact list can be maintained. By keeping an updated contact list of those that attended
the event, you will have the means to invite previous attendees again for the next event.
You may also have a contact list to inform those interested in the agency about any future
news or announcements.
Setting Up
We would recommend expecting to start setting up for the event as early as 24 hours
prior. Making sure that the room is set up the day before will make setting up for the
event run much more smoothly. Creating an event day checklist and distributing to all
volunteers along with a contact list will also prove to be useful.
Sign-In Sheets
For this event, we planned to use laptops for guests to check-in. If you plan to do this as
well, having a hard copy as a backup would be useful just in case you are running low on
staff and are not able to setup your laptop in time.
Surveys
Have a designated volunteer to handle surveys would be beneficial. With all of the
commotion of the event, there should be one or two people distributing surveys to the
guests before they leave the speaker panel. Also, having the moderator kindly ask the
guests to participate in the survey will would also help.
Interacting with Guests
Make sure that you have ample volunteers with specific duties will allow more time for
guest interaction. Interact with the guests provide a pleasant atmosphere and is an
important consideration when planning an event.
34. 32
Facebook
If you choose to create a Facebook event page, make sure to have administrator access to
the account the page is posted on. This will give you some extra control on making sure
your event gets promoted the way you would like. This will also allow you to make
changes or addition to your scheduled posts at your own discretion. This same goes for
Twitter and Instagram, if used.
Flyers
The design for your flyers should be created 2 months in advance. Spaces for pending
information should be left blank and added in when information is known. Having your
flyer drafted early in advance will allow ample time to obtain the necessary approval
from faculty, posting approval from SORC, and printing.
36. 34
About TIR. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2015, from
http://www.titaninternetradio.org/about-tir/
Bivins, T. H. (2011). Public Relations Writing: The Essentials of Style and Format. New
York: McGraw Hill.
Cameron, G. T. & Wilcox, D. L. (2011). Public Relations: Strategies & Tactics. Boston:
Allyn & Bacon.
Mullins, P. (2011). Using Outside Speakers in the Classroom. Retrieved from
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/teaching/tips/tips_1001.cfm
Nielsen. (2002). State of the Media: The Social Media Report, 1-28. Retrieved from
https://postmediavancouversun.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/nielsen- social-
media-report-20122.pdf
Smith, R. D. (2005). Stategic Planning For Public Relations. New Jersey: Laurence
Erlbaum Associates.
Stuart, M., Lido, C., Morgan, J., & May, S. (2011, November 1). The impact of
engagement with extracurricular activities on the student experience and graduate
outcomes for widening participation populations. Retrieved March 12, 2015, from
http://alh.sagepub.com/content/12/3/203.abstract
Titan TV. (n.d.). Retrieved May 15, 2015, from
http://titancom.fullerton.edu/TitanTv/about.html
Webber, K. L. & Krylow, R. B. & Zhang, Q.(2013). Does Involvement Really Matter?
Indicators of College Student Success and Satisfaction. Journal of College
Student Development 54(6), 591-611. The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Retrieved March 12, 2015, from Project MUSE database.
Wilson, J. (2004) "Special events: defining goals, planning and measuring
success”, The Bottom Line, Vol. 17 Iss: 4, pp.150 - 151. Retrieved March 12,
2015, from http://www.emeraldinsight.com.lib-
39. 37
Appendix B: Survey Results
Please rate the speakers on the following expectations
Please rate the speakers on the following expectations
The survey shows that all except two respondents either “agree” or “strongly agree” to all
questions asked regarding the speakers. The second chart displays similar results by
showing that, again, all except two respondents chose either “agree” or “strongly agree.”
Overall, guests showed great interest in the event and their positive feedback is viewed as
a success.
Other guest demographics include that guests were 70% female and 30% male. Over 60%
of survey responders were in the age bracket of 21-24 and more than half of the
responders were seniors, with PR being the dominant major in attendance.
40. 38
Appendix C: Comments from Attendees
“Cool thanks for the food”
“Great informational and helpful for students who will take this course. Love this campus
too”
“Great idea”
“Had a great time, made some friends, ate some food”
“Event was fun, posters and team looked professional. Food was good!”
“Awesome food!”
“Great, coordinated, creative effort. Good job!”
“Learned a lot!”
“I enjoyed the event. Food was plentiful. Enjoyed the event overall”
“Loved the give app presentation, the ladies seemed very interested and excited to share
about what their clients app is all about”
“Great setup, great snacks/food, good music, arrived around 4pm (some students from
class could have been more attentive instead of chatting with each other)”
41. 39
Appendix D: Speaker Biographies
Bill Kolberg, with more than 30 years of agency
experience, most recently served as a partner and the
managing director for Porter Novelli’s three Southern
California offices—in Los Angeles, Irvine and San Diego.
In this position, he provided senior level counsel to clients,
while maintaining overall responsibility for strategic
direction, client service, fiscal vitality and talent
management.
Bill is a food specialist. His breadth of client relationships
have included quick serve institutions like Krispy Kreme
and Baskin-Robbins, retail grocers like Marketside and
Smart and Final, consumer package goods companies like
Dannon Waters of North America and Nature Made vitamins, and grower organizations
like Duda Farms and Farmer’s Best International. He also served as the CRL (client
relationship leader) for McDonald’s, one of the agency’s top 10 clients. In that capacity
he led the agency’s work with the golden arches in a first-ever national nutrition
influencer program, as well as their marketing cooperatives in two of the country’s
largest markets—Los Angeles and Chicago.
Bill joined Porter Novelli in 1994 and for many years led the local office’s consumer and
food/nutrition practice groups. He has also served the non-profit sector on behalf of
several community institutions.
He has worked with a host of major brands such as The Walt Disney Company, Wal-
Mart, GTE (now Verizon), Wells Fargo Bank, and Proctor and Gamble.
Prior to joining Porter Novelli, Bill held agency leadership positions with Bob Thomas &
Associates, Gelman & Gray Communications and Pacific West Communications—all in
Los Angeles. Previously, he served as assistant director of publicity for both the Los
Angeles Turf Club and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, and also was a published author and
spokesperson on the sport of thoroughbred racing.
42. 40
Andrea Carpena is the Client Services Coordinator at
Working Wardrobes, a Costa Mesa-based nonprofit
organization. Prior to her current position, she worked
at Edelman Public Relations in Los Angeles as an
Assistant Account Executive in the multicultural
department. She graduated from CSUF in 2012 with a
B.A. in communications with an emphasis in PR and a
minor in Spanish. During her time at CSUF, she was
heavily involved in PRSSA, holding the title of
Professional Development Director. In her spare time,
Andrea enjoys decorating (and redecorating) any room
she can get her hands on, hiking, spending time with her family and holds the title of
Vice President of Public Relations at her company’s Toastmasters club.
In her role as Social Media Director, Erin Glover
oversees all content for the Disneyland Resort and
Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, in Ko Olina,
Hawaii, on the official blog of Walt Disney Parks
and Resorts, DisneyParksBlog.com. She is also the
publicist in charge of relationships with online
media on behalf of the Disneyland Resort.
43. 41
As the current Showroom Director for West
Hollywood-based PR agency, Luxury Brand Group - a
full-service brand communications agency representing
designers, brands and companies within the fine jewelry
and luxury markets - Anthony Magani leads the
company’s achievements in stylist relations and
celebrity product placement; bringing a skillset based in
fashion, lifestyle and entertainment PR.
Prior to Luxury Brand Group, Anthony worked as the
PR Director for the Long Beach division of Hope and
Freedom Film Festival; assisted with stylist/celebrity/entertainment outreach for
numerous award show events including: Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, Academy
Awards; assisted the marketing department of lifestyle shoe brand, K-Swiss; and was
most recently Assistant Publicist at talent publicity agency, 42West.
Anthony has extensive experience and exceptional relationships with top tier fashion,
lifestyle, consumer and trade media, with an emphasis on celebrity stylists and
entertainment management organizations, garnering numerous placements with Jennifer
Lopez, Shakira, Lily Collins, Lana Del Rey and Charlize Theron, to name a few.
Magani entrenches himself within the fashion and jewelry industry, frequently assisting
the management of trade organization events such as one of the industries longest
running associations, 24 Karat Club.
Magani earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Studies from California
State University, Long Beach. He currently resides in Seal Beach, California.
44. 42
Appendix E: Public Service Announcement
Title: Agency Open House Featuring a PR Panel of Speakers
Client/Sponsor: PRactical ADvantage Communications
Length: 30 seconds
Air Dates: Monday-Thursday
ANNOUNCER: HEY TITANS! IT’S COMM WEEK AND THIS
THURSDAY, CSUF’S STUDENT-RUN PR
AND AD AGENCY, PRACTICAL
ADVANTAGE COMMUNICATIONS IS
HOSTING AN OPEN HOUSE!
COME TO CSUF IRVINE AT 2-5 PM IN RM.
219 TO ENGAGE WITH A PANEL OF PR
PROFESSIONALS.
LEARN WHAT STUDENTS FROM
PRACTICAL ADVANTAGE
COMMUNICATIONS ARE ACCOMPLISHING
WITH REAL WORLD CLIENTS!
CAN’T MAKE IT TO IRVINE? THERE WILL
BE A LIVE INTERACTIVE BROADCAST IN
LANGSDORF HALL 322 AT 2:30-3:45PM!
GAIN THE EXPERIENCE YOU NEED
BEFORE YOU GRADUATE! FOR MORE
INFORMATION, FOLLOW
@CSUFCOMMWEEK ON TWITTER &
FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES!
45. 43
Appendix F: Press Release
April 14, 2015
Contact:
Dr. Doug Swanson, APR
Professor of Communications
Supervisor, PRactical ADvantage Communications
www.practicaladvantagecomm.org
dswanson@fullerton.edu
CSUF Student-Run Agency Hosts Annual Open House
with a Public Relations Speaker Panel
FULLERTON, Calif., (April 14, 2015)- On Thursday, April 23, 2015, PRactical
ADvantage Communications, California State University, Fullerton’s only student-run
agency, will be hosting its second annual Agency Open House featuring a professional
PR speaker panel. The event will take place at the CSUF Irvine Campus on April 23 at
2:30 p.m. in room 209. The panel discussion will be broadcast to the Fullerton Campus in
Langsdorf Hall room 322. Students from both campuses will be given the opportunity to
ask questions and engage in conversation with professionals.
The theme of the panel will be gaining the professional knowledge you need before you
graduate, by encouraging students to seek greater PR-related work experiences. The
event is open to the public and its main purpose is to generate awareness for the PR
concentration, as well as the PRactical ADvantage Communications Agency. In
September 2013, PRactical ADvantage Communications was the only collegiate firm
honored as one of PR News Magazine's list of the nation's "Agency Elite."
“PRactical ADvantage Communications provides students the opportunity to learn
beyond the classroom setting. It’s as close to “real world” as possible. It allows them to
work in an agency-like environment with real clients, allowing them to gain experiences
that set them apart in the workforce after they graduate,” said Douglas Swanson, APR
and Supervisor, PRactical ADvantage Communications.
The main event is the Agency Open House, which will be directly after the panel at the
Irvine campus. The Agency Open House will showcase work that students have
implemented for real clients such as Mazda Motor Sports, The Growler Station, and Fit
Fix Studio. The Open House will also feature a Polaroid picture booth, as well as
complimentary food and drinks for those in attendance.
46. 44
The interactive speaker panel will spotlight PR Professionals: Erin Glover, Social Media
Coordinator for Disneyland Resort; Anthony Magani, Account Manager at Luxury Brand
Group; Andrea Carpena, Client Services Coordinator at Working Wardrobes and CSUF
Alumnus; and Bill Kolberg with over 25 years of experience as a partner at Porter
Novelli. The interactive discussion with these professionals will provide students with
tips and advice for starting their career path in public relations by supplying them with
professional insight and experiences on the industry.
PRactical ADvantage Communications was established in 2011 and is housed at the
CSUF campus in Irvine. The agency is a collaborative effort of students in capstone
courses in the three concentrations of advertising, public relations and entertainment and
tourism.The agency has also conducted over 65 successful campaigns for on- and off-
campus nonprofits and businesses. PRactical ADvantage Communications allows
students to develop and implement advertising and public relations campaigns and/or
events for local businesses, non-profit organizations, and student organizations at CSUF.
# # #
47. 45
Appendix G: Letter to Professors
Dear Communications Professor,
PRactical ADvantage Communications (PR AD Comm.), CSUF’s student-run public relations and
advertising agency, invites faculty and students to attend the Agency Open House and Public
Relations Speaker Panel that will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2015 at Cal State Fullerton’s
Irvine campus.
The Agency Open House will take place in IRVC-219 from 2-5 p.m. and will feature a speaker
panel at 2:30-3:45 p.m in IRVC-209. It will also be broadcast to the Fullerton campus in LH 322.
This broadcast will be interactive, and allows students to engage in conversations with the
speaker panel
The Public Relations Speaker Panel features:
● Bill Kolberg- Expert with more than 25 years of PR agency experience most recently as
Partner and Managing Director of Porter Novelli. His areas of specialization include crisis
communications, special events, branding, media relations and multicultural marketing.
● Anthony Magani- Showroom Manager and PR Account Executive at Luxury Brand
Group, a boutique agency. Magani collaborates with publicists and celebrities for jewelry
placements.
● Erin Glover- Social Media Director who oversees social media programs for the
Disneyland Resort, including Disney Parks Blog and @Disneyland on Twitter. Glover is
the lead publicist responsible for Disneyland's relationships with online media.
● Andrea Carpena- CSUF & PRSSA alumna who works for Working Wardrobes, a non-
profit organization. Upon graduation, Carpena previously worked for Edelman Public
Relations.
Additionally, PR AD Comm. will open its doors for the 4th Annual Open House. After its
establishment in 2011, PRactical ADvantage Communications has been nationally recognized as
a top PR firm and national leaders in community service.
PRactical ADvantage Communications allows students to:
● Acquire additional skills and knowledge from campaigns with “real-life” clients
● Gain the experience they need before they graduate
● Fulfill their Advertising, Entertainment and Tourism, and Public Relations capstone
requirement
● Network with industry professionals
This event presents a great opportunity for your students to obtain valuable industry insight, so
please encourage attendance. We will provide proof of attendance slips, if necessary.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jazmin Gutierrez, Account Executive for PR
Day/Open House at jazy1234@csu.fullerton.edu
57. 55
Appendix P: Primary Contacts
California State University, Fullerton
Beth Georges
Faculty Advisor
PRactical ADvantage Communications
657.278.7558
bgeorges@fullerton.edu
Peter Evanow
Faculty Advisor
PRactical ADvantage Communications
657.278.3156
pevanow@fullerton.edu
Douglas Swanson
Faculty Advisor & Vice Chair, Dept. of
Comm
PRactical ADvantage Communications
657.278.8607
dswanson@fullerton.edu
Titan Radio
657.278.5505
titanradio-marketing@fullerton.edu
Genevieve Amaro-Bussey
Administrative Support Coordinator
Dept. of Communications
657.278.3519
gamaro@exchange.fullerton.edu
Waleed Rashidi
Faculty Advisor
Titan Task Force
657.278.7402
wrashidi@fullerton.edu
Alfreda Hart
Facilities Support Assistant
Irvine Campus
657.278.1601
alhart@fullerton.edu
LaTanya Jackson
Instructional Support Assistant for IT
657.278.7308
lajackson@fullerton.edu
Reprographics
Digital Printing Service
657.278.3964
SORC
657.278.7622
sorc@fullertno.edu
printing@fullerton.edu
Elahe Amani
Student Affairs (Portal Posting)
Sa_portalmessage@fullerton.edu
Katie Meyers
ASI – Marketing & Public Relations
657.278.5870
Kmeyers@fullerton.edu
58. 54
Appendix Q: Team Biographies
Jazmin Gutierrez is finishing her final year at California State
University, Fullerton as a Communications major with a
concentration in public relations. After receiving her
bachelor’s degree in May 2015, she will continue her
education through Cal State Fullerton’s M.A Program in the
Department of Communications with a concentration in
professional communications. Throughout her collegiate
years, she was a member of PRactical ADvantage
Communications, Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Public Relations
Student Society of America, and Finish in Four. She has been recognized on the Dean’s
List four times, and received the Community Engagement medal in the spring of 2015.
She currently works as an on-site tutor through America Reads and Counts in order to
promote the importance of education to underprivileged youth. She hopes to aspire a
promising career in corporate public relations.
Rachel Allen is currently a student at California State
University, Fullerton majoring in Communications with an
emphasis in public relations and will graduate in spring 2015.
At this time, she is a student assistant in the VP office of
Human Resources at Cal State Fullerton and has past
experience in customer service related roles. Among her
accomplishments during her undergraduate studies, she has
been recognized on the Dean’s List and has received the Cal
State Fullerton Titan Bookstore Scholarship Award. In
addition, she has been involved as a member in organizations
such as Alpha Chi Omega Sorority and PRSSA and has devoted her time to projects such
as Cal State Fullerton's ASI Spring Concert as an event coordinator.
Maya Clark is currently in her fourth year at California State
University, Fullerton and is expected to graduate with a
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and
Communications in August 2015. Her concentration is
Marketing and Public Relations and is expected to begin her
career in Entertainment after graduation. She is currently an
intern at NBC Universal in the Integrated Sales Marketing
department for KNBC. She will continue her internship
through the summer while finishing her degree in aims to
one-day work in International Marketing or Film Publicity
