FINALassignment

S P A R K
PR Agency
The Spark of an Idea
Group 9
Aparna Sivasankaran
Krystol Smith
Qianyu Sun
Julia Szumny
Advertising 410
Dr. Oh
Communication Plan
December 5, 2016
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Table of Contents:
I. Executive Summary…………………..………………………………................................3
II. Agency Team…………………..…………………………………………….………........6
III. Background and Situation Analysis……..…………………………………..….………..8
IV. Target Public(s)……..………....……………………………………………………......10
V. Primary Research……...…………………………………………….…….......................11
VI. Social Media Analysis………....……………………………………………………….17
VII. Campaign Goals and Objectives……………………………………....………………23
VIII. Strategies and Tactics………………………………………………………………....24
IX. Implementation Logistics (Timeline)..............................................................................26
X. Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………....….28
XI. Appendices…………………………………………………………………………......29
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I. Executive Summary:
● Client: The Women’s Resources Center at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign
● Challenge/Opportunity:
○ Lack of awareness in UIUC community (only 2,246 likes on facebook compared
to 44,087 students)
■ Opportunity to increase awareness in the UIUC community through
launching an effective PR campaign
○ Lack of attendance to events (according to Facebook “events” page, less than 10
attendees per event)
■ Opportunity to increase attendance to events through launching an
effective PR campaign
● Target Public(s):
○ UIUC Undergraduate Female Students
■ Non-Public: non-UIUC Students
■ Latent Public: UIUC Students
■ Apathetic Public: UIUC Male Students
■ Aware Public: UIUC Female Students
■ Active Public: students who regularly take advantage of the Women’s
Resources Center, undergraduate female students
● Preliminary ideas:
○ One of the key issues that our research focuses on is the relatively low awareness
of the organization within its target publics, which are UIUC undergraduate
female students, and the low attendance to their events (according to facebook,
less than 10 attendees per event).
○ Our research focuses on how to reach out to those in our target public who are not
aware of the organization and also to find out how to increase the participation.
○ This is to compare the reasons as to why some female students chose to utilize the
services while others do not.
○ Once we conducted all research, we developed two “big” communication plan
ideas to address the results of our research and to provide the Women’s Resources
Center with a way to gain more student participation.
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● Research Methods:
○ Interviewed students who regularly take advantage of the Women’s Resources
Center.
○ Surveyed a variety of students to gain insight into their level of awareness of the
Women’s Resources Center.
○ Attempted to interview the staff members, however never received a response
after several follow ups.
● Research Findings:
○ We conducted a survey via Facebook targeting UIUC students to gain a general
opinion about WRC that they may have. We also interviewed students who
regularly utilize the resources offered by the WRC and attempted to interview
faculty who work at the WRC to get more details.
○ Facebook is the most commonly used information source of our key public, which
also indicates it is the most effective channel for us to reach our key public.
○ In addition to facebook, we found our key public finds in-class announcements
and giveaways as effective ways of reaching them as well.
○ We found that our key public has low awareness about the WRC and the events
they hold.
○ Our key public has a misunderstanding of the reasons as to why they should
attend workshops at the WRC and people tend to believe that they could only visit
WRC when encounting big issues.
● Analysis of Social Media:
○ Mainly focused on analyzing WRC’s presence on Facebook
○ Relative low exposure to the key public on Facebook (low number of likes and
followers)
■ Posts about recent events of WRC are updated frequently but not much
response
■ Lack of interaction with people who respond to posts
■ Not enough effort to get feedback from the key public and reach out to
them
○ Content of Facebook posts
■ Mainly used to inform the public about events and activities
■ Did not get enough attention
● Campaign Goals and Objectives:
○ Goal: The goal of Spark PR is to increase awareness of the Women’s Resource
Center among undergraduate female UIUC students.
○ Objective: To increase awareness about the WRC among undergraduate female
UIUC students by 50% in a six month period as measured by attendance to
events.
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● Strategies and Tactics:
○ Strategy: Develop a PR campaign that interacts with the target audience on a
weekly basis by educating them about the WRC and encouraging them to attend
events.
■ Tactic #1: Spark PR will launch a social media contest on facebook at the
very start of the campaign and continue it on a weekly basis throughout
the six month duration of the campaign.
■ Tactic #2: Spark PR and the WRC will create care packages that are given
away for free on the quad to UIUC students once a month throughout the
six month duration of the campaign.
■ Tactic #3: Spark PR will have the WRC give in-class announcements once
a week in ten different classrooms each time throughout the six month
duration of the campaign.
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II. Agency Team
● Mission and Value Statement
○ Provide clients with effective and innovative solutions for their organizational
needs
○ Come up with “sparks” of ideas that are then turned into creative PR campaigns
○ Value honesty and transparency between our agency and our clients
○ Use creative and original ways to fulfill our client's’ needs and provide timely and
considerate service to our customers
● Aparna Sivasankaran - Strategist
○ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Junior
○ Major: Advertising - Minor: Public Relations
■ On campus, I am involved in the production committee of the American
Advertising Federation and the marketing committee of the Illini Union
Board. I’m currently a brand ambassador for Volume and work with the
CEO to promote the app on campus. I have also helped market for brands
such as Push for Pizza, ShoutOut, and Reverb. This required me to think
ingeniously to make sure we not only met, but exceeded their
expectations. It also prepared me to work well under pressure. This
experience will be invaluable to my role as strategist for Spark.
● Krystol Smith - Communicator and Contact Person
○ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Senior
○ Major: Communication - Minor: Public Relations
■ I have worked in the PR field focusing on image management,
promotions, and social media presence. As a Marketing and Social Media
Intern at Collide Agency in Chicago, I developed skills in order to
effectively persuade and draw in desired publics using creative
communication plans and revamping social media accounts. As the Head
Communicator of Spark, I plan to use my out-of-the-box creativity to
foster new ideas and ways of thinking for our clients.
● Julia Szumny - Analyst
○ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Junior
○ Major: Advertising - Minor: Public Relations and Communication
■ My professional experience consists of interning at Alyce Paris Designs in
the Marketing Department and interning at Fendi America in the PR &
Communication Department. On campus I am the Treasurer of the
Zagloba Polish Club and the VP of AAF’s Community Outreach. Having
professional and on-campus experience in PR, I am excited for the
opportunity to work as an Analyst for Spark.
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● Qianyu Sun - Researcher
○ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Senior
○ Major: Communication - Minor: Public Relations
■ Last summer I worked at a local newspaper and interned as editor and
journalist. This experience promotes my writing abilities and provides me
with news reporting skills. News writing allows me to explore in-depth
research behind stories and keeps me motivated to learn new things. As
the researcher of Spark, I would do best to conduct thorough research and
pursue the best interest for my clients.
● Communicator: Krystol
○ Works closely with clients and addresses all their concerns by always being
available to speak with them via email or phone. She then brings client feedback
into Spark’s team meetings to ensure we are on the right track.
● Strategist: Aparna
○ Works with the Spark team to come up with an effective strategy unique to the
clients. She then sets strict deadlines for the team to confirm the work is
completed in a timely manner for the client.
● Researcher: Qianyu
○ Works with the Spark team to brainstorm the most effective research methods to
gather information for the client. She then conducts critical research to figure out
the issue within our target organization.
● Analyst: Julia
○ Works with the Spark team to bring the final product to life by analyzing all client
feedback, strategies, and research to have a deliverable prepared for the client.
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III. Background and Situation Analysis
● The reason why we chose the UIUC Women’s Resource Center is because as an agency
founded by women, we believe empowering and promoting healthy lifestyles and goals
for women is important. Many students are unaware of the programs and services
provided by the Women’s Resource Center, a problem Spark PR hopes to change
quickly. When coming up with a Public Relations strategy, Spark will find creative and
unique ways to target our main public of all undergraduate female UIUC students.
● Client Mission:
○ UIUC Women’s Resource Center
○ According to the Women’s Resources Website, their mission is to be a fun and
active center on campus that is open to all students.
○ The Resources Center provides them with a safe place to learn from and confide
in professionals and volunteers who are dedicated to helping them grow and
overcome any obstacles they may be facing.
○ They provide students with skill learning workshops, offer treats, hold arts and
crafts events, and hold discussions to discuss various topics.
○ Women’s Resource Center helps students from different cultural backgrounds to
get more involved and lead them to gradually adapt to campus life.
● Target Public:
○ UIUC undergraduate female students (primarily 18-22 years old)
● Strengths:
○ Has a variety of events organized: keynote speakers, open mic night, workshops,
film festivals, yoga, dance workshops, discussions
○ Provides assistance to students going through a variety of life stages
○ Has different focuses every month to highlight the resources available for
different traumatizing life events
○ Clear goals and objectives (advocacy, support, educate community)
○ Offers counseling (sexual assault/ sexual abuse/rape, abuse in intimate
relationships, stalking and street harassment, unplanned pregnancy, gender
harassment, sexual harassment, sexual identity issues, unequal treatment based on
gender, child care access and support, safety on campus, eating disorders and
treatment, body image/body politics, single parenting, financial issues, health &
fitness concerns, sexuality and, reproductive health, women returning to college)
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● Weaknesses:
○ Low awareness among students (what they do, where they’re located, etc.)
○ Low social media presence (only 2,215 likes on Facebook, only 869 followers on
Twitter)
○ Lack of methods to reach out to its potential public (currently relying on social
media and bulletin boards)
○ Not taking active means to increase the use of the center by students
● Opportunities:
○ Chance to increase awareness
○ Chance to increase attendance to events
○ Educate more students on important issues
○ Utilize social media and The UIUC Quad to increase publicity (key public is
actively engaged in social media and regularly walks through the quad)
● Threats:
○ McKinley is a threat because it offers a Women’s Clinic where women are
offered some similar health-related services such as sexual assault and unplanned
pregnancy.
○ LGBT Resource Center labels itself as a center for “LGBT” instead of “women”
which attracts all gendered students and students with different sexual
orientations, and they could potentially feel more comfortable using its resources
and services.
○ Counseling Center offers workshops that also deal with similar topics and also
provide a variety of services that help deal with problems and pressure that
students face.
● Problem Statement:
○ Not many people are aware of the events that they offer
○ Not many people are aware that any student can attend the events
● Public Relations Issue:
○ The Women’s Resources Center does not have many students taking advantage of
the resources offered
○ The Women’s Resources Center does not have high attendance for event
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IV. Target Public(s):
● Target Publics: UIUC Undergraduate Female Students
○ Non-Public: non-UIUC Students
○ Latent Public: UIUC Students
○ Apathetic Public: UIUC Male Students
○ Aware Public: UIUC Female Students
○ Active Public: students who regularly take advantage of the Women’s Resources
Center, undergraduate female students
● Target Public: UIUC undergraduate female students (primarily 18-22 years old)
○ We chose undergraduate female UIUC students as our key public because most of
the services offered by the Women’s Resources Center are geared towards
women. We are focusing specifically on undergraduate female students because
many are in need of help transitioning from high school to being on their own
even if they may not realize it.
○ Before conducting primary research, we knew that the services offered by the
WRC are primarily targeted at and directed towards women. We knew that some
women on campus do take advantage of the services offered by the WRC and
others do not. This key public is an important focus for the organization’s goal
because majority of their services are targeted toward UIUC undergraduate
female students. However, the PR challenge is that the attendance to events is low
and many students are not aware about the resources being offered.
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V. Primary Research
● Research Goals:
○ Why some students utilize the resources the Women’s Resources Center offers,
while others do not.
○ Who is the resource center primarily targeting? (not clear in mission statment)
○ Who is actually coming to the Women’s Resources Center? Is it the same group
they are targeting?
○ What are they currently doing to market themselves?
○ How do the key publics obtain information about the center?
○ What information channels are most effective towards reaching our key public?
● Research Method & Procedure:
○ #1 Interview:
■ Interviewed 2 students who utilize the resources offered by the center.
■ We believed we could gain more in depth information since each person
had different experiences, beliefs and attitudes.
■ Logistics:
● Selected 2 random students who utilize the center and conducted
an interview with predetermined questions.
● Took place in person at a campus library.
● The team members recorded the interviewee’s answers digitally, as
well as recorded the interview, receiving consent, for later
listening.
○ #2 Survey:
■ We wanted to gain responses from a variety of students.
■ Posted a survey on social media and encouraged students to take it.
■ Survey was anonymous to gain true responses.
■ Logistics:
■ Each team member posted the confidential survey on their personal
social media and within UIUC Facebook groups.
■ Our team collected the data and findings from 67 respondents.
○ #3 Interview:
■ Those who work at the Women’s Resources Center
■ Logistics:
● We emailed five staff members asking if we could conduct an
interview.
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● Received responses from only one staff member willing to be
interviewed. However, she then stopped replying to our emails
before we could conduct the interview.
● One group member called the WRC and asked if we could
interview anyone. The staff member assured she would find us
someone, however, after us following up three times we continued
not to receive a response.
● Advantages, Limitations, and Rationale:
○ Survey Advantages:
■ A large sample coming from a variety of students.
■ A large sample allowed us to gain responses from a variety of students and
a variety of perspectives and backgrounds.
○ Survey Limitations:
■ We were not be able to gain in-depth responses with reasoning.
○ Survey Rationale:
■ Determined the level of awareness students have toward the center.
■ Received responses from unlimited students with a variety of
backgrounds.
○ Interview Advantages:
■ Gained direct insight from students who utilize the resources offered by
the center.
○ Interview Limitations:
■ Not able to conduct an interview with the WRC due to them being very
unresponsive.
■ Not able to talk to all students about their experiences within the center.
○ Interview Rationale:
■ Gained perspectives from students who utilize the services offered by the
center which is beneficial for us to analyze the center from an insider’s
perspective.
● Overall Strengths and Limitations of Research Approach:
○ The methods we used were valuable to us because we had a large sample of
surveyors which gave us some insight into who uses the WRC and why. The
interviews further gave us insight into how students that use the center feel about i
○ The biggest limitation to our research method was that we did not always get
timely feedback. We were not able to interview the staff at the WRC because they
did not respond to our emails, even after we followed up with them. This
restricted us from gaining insight from the staff.
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● Key Finding #1:
○ Visual:
○ Meaning: According to the survey conducted, the majority of respondents (n=65,
97%) receive their news about campus events through Facebook. In regards to a
public relations campaign plan, our team can use this finding to revamp the WRC
Facebook page. Because Facebook proves to be the main source of campus event
information for undergraduate students, the WRC Facebook page should be active
in gaining “likes” on their page and promoting upcoming events. Also important
to note are the findings on physical means of gathering information for campus
events. Respondents favored bulletin boards (n=20, 29%), flyers (n=29, 43%),
and in-class announcements (n=33, 49%). This finding encourages our team to
develop a PR strategy in which bulletin boards and physical flyers are
continuously distributed around campus. Our team will also look into having
representatives from the WRC visit classes to make announcements on upcoming
events. Also, our team will develop ideas to launch contests and PR campaigns on
the WRC Facebook page in order to draw more attention to it.
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● Key Finding #2:
○ Visual:
○ Meaning: A fair amount of respondents do not utilize services from the WRC or
not at all (n=48,72%). The most common reason that holds them back from
utilizing resources from the WRC is lack of awareness (n=20, 42%). They either
do not about the location or existence of the WRC or do not have much
information about what kind of services that the organization is offering. Others
feel that it is not necessary for them to use the service because they believe that
they must have issues to solve by using services from the WRC (n=14, 29%).
Time is another factor that prevents students from using the services (n=7, 15%).
We also receive four respondents saying that they did want to go to the WRC
because they are male. Therefore our main job is to raise the awareness of our
organization among students and further promote activities the WRC hold to
inform the public that they could utilize services for fun and improvement instead
of solving certain issues. Our team will look into interactive ways to inform
students about the WRC, such as events on the quad. Also, we will utilize
Facebook in order to ensure students are aware of all the events and services
being offered.
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● Key Finding #3:
○ Visual:
■ “It’s a center that connects women with other oppressed groups on campus
and provides a much-needed safe space for them. The target audience is
actually everyone. Although it’s called the Women’s Resource Center,
there are ‘Man Talks,’ queer support groups and events, diversity
workshops, and much more. They also specially cater to women who
have experienced trauma of some sort.”
■ “The Women's Resource Center is a very open and comfortable
environment. It is a place to relax and rejuvenate. I think the target
audience is college students because it is on campus. I would also say it is
meant for men and women because they have events where all genders are
invited to attend like open mic and free lunches.”
○ Meaning: According to these interviews from UIUC undergraduate female
students, we found that they have had a positive response to the services and
events that the WRC provides. They have been satisfied with the events offered
and say that the majority of those who utilize the services are undergraduate
female students. They clarified that it was a safe place for people of all genders
and sexualities to go to, whether it was to receive assistance with a specific
situation, find support, or just to learn. They receive most of their information
about events through Facebook, friends, and through their classes. The key
finding is that those who do attend the WRC have a positive evaluation of the
events and services offered. With regards to PR campaign planning, this shows us
that we have to show students that the events are fun and worth attending through
student testimonials or social media visuals.
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● Key Finding Summary:
● The first big idea is that many students do not go to the Women’s Resources
Center because they believe they can only attend if they have a problem or need
help. This, in fact, is not true because the center is open to all students and they
can attend the events regardless of if they are going through a tough time or not.
This could be fixed by promoting the awareness of the Women’s Resource Center
as a whole, while addressing its programs and events targeted at all UIUC
undergraduate female students.
○ This big idea is worth pursuing because according to interviews of
students who regularly attend events hosted by the WRC, they believed
that the events were beneficial and satisfying even when they did not have
any problems or needed help. They described it as a fun center with a
comfortable atmosphere.
● The second big idea is that the Women’s Resources Center does not publicize
what they do in a very effective manner. They have a multitude of free programs
and volunteer opportunities open to UIUC students but they do not advertise these
well. In order to fix this, the WRC would have to utilize ways to attract more
students. Possible ways include increasing social media presence, giving in class
presentations, and giveaways on the quad.
○ This big idea is worth pursuing because most participants of our survey
receive information from social media and mainly Facebook. The
Women’s Resource Center has relative low followers and likes on its
Facebook page, which indicates key public has low awareness of the
organization. Therefore it is crucial for the organization to effectively
publicize itself especially on Facebook to raise awareness and further
increase events attendance.
● The key findings from surveys and interviews emphasize that we should focus on
promoting The Women’s Resource Center through social media. Since key public
mostly gain information from Facebook, we should help our client on increasing
followers on Facebook and explore different ways to reach out to the target
audience. Also, we found that students have a lack of knowledge about the WRC
and they feel that it is unnecessary for them to attend events since they do not
have any problems. This is holding many students back from attending the events.
This shows us that we should focus on changing these perceptions in order to
show the target audience that the events are worth attending.
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VI. Social Media Analysis
● Identifying Social Media Presence
● Online presence on: Website, Facebook, Twitter
○ The Women’s Resources Center has a section on the UIUC Office of
Inclusion and Intercultural Relations website. Their specific section can be
located under the “Our Cultural and Resource Centers” tab or found at
https://oiir.illinois.edu/womens-center. The WRC is also active on Twitter
and Facebook, both under the handle @IllinoisWRC.
● Focal Point:
○ Facebook: According to our primary research, most UIUC students get
their information via Facebook which is why we are analyzing their
Facebook presence. Running this social media site is beneficial for the
WRC’s PR efforts since most students receive their information about
events on campus via Facebook and they are most active on this site. This
would be the best way to increase attendance to events and to raise overall
awareness of the WRC among UIUC undergraduate female students.
● Data Analysis/Important numbers:
● Exposure rate:
○ The Women’s Resources Center Facebook page (@IllinoisWRC) has a
total of 2,315 likes, which can interchangeably be called followers. Upon
analyzing this data on 11/07/16, we found that the number of likes has
increased by 0.3% since last week’s numbers were calculated.
○ Since last week, the WRC Facebook page has gained 8 new likes.
Compared to last week’s numbers, this is a decrease of 46.7%.
● Engagement rate:
● Applause rate:
○ 2,315 overall likes (followers) of the @IllinoisWRC Facebook
page
○ 214 people have checked in here overall
○ 15 shares total in the past month
● Amplication rate:
○ 108 posts total in the past month
○ 15 shares total in the past month (Oct. 5th - Nov. 5th)
○ 393 likes total in the past month (Oct. 5th - Nov. 5th)
○ Average share per post: 0.14 shares
○ Average like per post: 3.64 likes
● Conversation rate:
○ 68 people talking about this on Facebook
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○ Out of 108 posts in the past month, there have only been 5
comments
● Influence rate:
○ There is a lack of engagement on their Facebook page. There are
very little shares and comments on the posts. For this reason we
cannot determine how positive or negative the engagement is.
● Qualitative Data Analysis
● Message: On The Women’s Resource Center’s Facebook homepage, there is not
an overarching message, instead upcoming events and dates, time and topics of
those events are on the top of its Facebook homepage. However, we believe the
message they are trying to send is mainly about their events and getting people to
attend the events
● Presentation: The WRC tries to present itself as an organization that serve to
people of all-gender and concern topics about sex, domestic violence, sexual
harassment, etc. It also provides information about events about these topics
holding on campus.
● However, most of its posts have really low likes and shares, which indicates that it
does not attract enough attention on its Facebook page and among those who
viewed their posts on Facebook, very little people demonstrate interest in its
activities.
● Consistency: For the frequency of posting, it has on average 2-3 posts per day and
promotes different activity 2 to 3 times per week. However, the number of likes
and shares those posts receive vary for different types of events.
● Our client is using Facebook mainly to promote their events. However, their
events are not getting much attention or attendees. They also use Facebook to post
information that may be of interest to their followers, such as articles and
inspirations photos. However, these are also not getting much attention.
● The main goal of Facebook is to inform the public about their events. The
information the center mainly provides is event information and posts of articles
they find interesting and related to topics they advocate for.
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● Ratings:
○ Overall online presence:
■ Rating: 3
■ The WRC puts a great amount of effort in their online presence. They are
active on Facebook by posting posts each day, even multiple posts on
some days. However, they could still improve on engaging with their
target audience.
○ Message Clarity:
■ Rating: 3
■ The main message the WRC tries to send is about the events they host.
They often post posts about them and reshare the event page. It is clear
that the message is to attend events, however it is not clear as to why one
should attend the events and what one would benefit from attending an
event.
○ Extent of two-way communication:
■ Rating: 1
■ There is no visible two-way communication between the WRC and their
followers. Whenever anyone comments on their posts, the WRC does not
respond.
○ Interaction with target audience
■ Rating: 1
■ When a follower comments on a WRC post, no reply is given back. On
their event pages, the WRC is not actively sending out invites to their
events or encouraging discussion.
● Doing well: They are posting every single day. They post a variety of posts including
events, what is trending, and a variety of articles.
● Not doing so well: They have very little engagement on their posts. Also, if someone
does share or comment, the WRC does not engage back with them.
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● Key Findings:
● 1) Only averaged 3.64 likes per post over the past month on their 108 posts
○ Meaning: The WRC is only averaging a little bit over 3 and a half likes
per post on their Facebook page. They have posted 108 times in the past
month (Oct. 5th - Nov. 5th). This shows that although 2,315 people have
liked their page, barely any of them are engaging with their posts. This
could be from a lack of interest in the topics that the WRC posts about or
because their posts just aren’t catching people’s attention.
● 2) Only averaged .14 shares per post over the past month on their 108 posts
○ Meaning: The WRC is only averaging .14 shares per post on their
Facebook page. They have posted 108 times in the past month (Oct. 5th -
Nov. 5th). This is an extremely low number which is a cause for concern
for the WRC. This may be because people aren’t interested in the events
that the WRC puts on and don’t plan on going themselves.
● 3) One qualitative finding researched is that the WRC uses Facebook as a way to
spread information about their talks, to promote their events, and share relevant
articles. However, they don’t get very many likes, comments, or shares on these
posts. They need to engage more with their followers and promote conversation to
keep them interested and interacting with the center. If they responded to the
comments they received, they might see a higher return rate because people will
continue the conversation and more people would join in on the thread to share
their opinions. They should start some of their talks online and ask their followers
questions to get people interested in going to check out their talks and other
events in person.
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● Implications and Suggestions
○ In order to improve their social media presence, the WRC should be more active
in interacting with their key public on Facebook. They should interact with
followers by replying to their comments and giving them feedback. A way of
interacting could include asking about the public’s thoughts on a certain issue or
topic and they could find out what type of topics/issues the key public is actually
interested in. Instead of simply providing information, the WRC should use social
media as a way to gain feedback and comments from their key public.
○ Based on our primary research, the way most students receive their information is
through Facebook. Also, based on primary research, the main reason students do
not attend the events hosted by the WRC is because they do not have a lot of
information about the events and organization.
○ Based on our secondary research, we found that the WRC center is actively
posting on Facebook, but they are not engaging with their followers. Many people
do not comment on their posts, do not share the posts, and overall the attendance
to events is low, according to Facebook.
○ We can link the findings from this analysis to make suggestions and implications
for the WRC because we have identified the key issues with their social media
presence. Knowing these key issues, we are able to design our PR campaign
based on addressing the key issues.
○ Findings from our primary and secondary research are consistent because they
both indicate a relatively low awareness of the organization and its services. From
the survey, we found relatively low attendance and from the social media audit,
its Facebook page does not receive much likes and sharings.
○ Since our findings are all consistent, for our campaign design this means that we
know exactly what issues we have to address and exactly where to address them.
We have to develop a way to gain more awareness for the WRC on Facebook, and
find a way to draw more attendance to their events.
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● Effective PR Campaigns:
● 1) An effective PR campaign for the WRC, based on research and this analysis
would be one to launch on Facebook. The campaign would have to be very
interactive and encourage the key public to interact with them. An example would
be a weekly prize give-away for those who answer a question the WRC may post,
or by re-sharing an event. This would draw attention because students enjoy
winning contests, and the WRC would receive more shares and likes this way.
This way, while students are trying to win the contest, they will also be drawn to
read more information about the WRC and this would lead them to becoming
more aware about the center and what it has to offer.
● 2) Another effective PR campaign for the WRC would be free care package
giveaways on the quad. This is a good area to target students because there is a
large population of them passing by between classes. These can be held anytime
during the semester but may be most effective during finals season. The care
packages can include things that will help students survive finals such as pens,
pencils, candy, tissues, ramen, and other little things that would be helpful to
them. They would also include information directly relevant to the WRC and the
events/workshops they are holding. The care packages would attract a lot of
attention to the WRC because students love free things, especially when they are
things that can help them out during finals when they are stressed. The
information about this would be posted on their Facebook to let students know
that this is going on since that is how they get most of their information according
to our research.
● 3) The last effective PR campaign for the WRC would be in class announcements
with giveaways and fliers. Our target audience, UIUC undergraduate female
students are taking courses at UIUC, therefore they go to class each day.
Therefore, it would be effective to go to those classes and have the staff at the
WRC hand out fliers, give background information about the center, and hand out
giveaways. The giveaways could consist of pencils, pens, and erasers since those
are things most students use on a daily basis. The fliers would consist of the
facebook page and they would encourage students to like them on facebook. This
would also be a great way to inform the target audience of the facebook campaign
contest and the care package giveaways on the quad.
22

VII. Campaign Goals and Objectives
● Goal: The goal of Spark PR is to increase awareness of the Women’s Resource Center
among undergraduate female UIUC students.
● Objective: To increase awareness about the WRC among undergraduate female UIUC
students by 50% in a six month period as measured by attendance to events.
23

VIII. Strategies and Tactics
● Strategy: Develop a PR campaign that interacts with the target audience on a weekly
basis by educating them about the WRC and encouraging them to attend events.
○ Tactic #1: Spark PR will launch a social media contest on facebook at the very
start of the campaign and continue it on a weekly basis throughout the six month
■ Reasoning: We are holding the social media contest on Facebook because
Facebook is our key public’s primary information source. Our key public
spends most of their time on social media so it is the most effective way
for us to get their attention.
○ Tactic #2: Spark PR and the WRC will create care packages that are given away
for free on the quad to UIUC students once a month throughout the six month
■ Reasoning: Free care packages increase the attractiveness of our message
since people love free stuff. We are able to deliver more relative
information about WRC such as location and workshops of the center.
○ Tactic #3: Spark PR will have the WRC give in-class announcements once a week
in ten different classrooms each time throughout the six month duration of the
campaign.
■ Reasoning: We will have in-class announcements every week in different
classrooms since we know our target public, undergraduate female UIUC
students will be in those classrooms. This way we will know they hear our
message.
● Themes and Key Messages:
○ Our campaign focuses on targeting different high traffic areas of our key public
which is undergraduate female students at UIUC. According to our statistics, their
main source of information comes from Facebook and their second main source
of information comes from in-class announcements and quad events, hence why
we decided to incorporate these heavily into our campaign. Our hope is that this
will attract their attention.
24

● Effective Channels:
○ Facebook: According to our primary research, most of our target public get
information through facebook. For this reason, facebook will be effective in
reaching our target since we know they are active on the site.
○ Quad: Holding free giveaways on the quad will be effective because it will easily
draw attention from all students and this way there would be buzz about it. With
this buzz, we know our target public will hear about the giveaways.
○ Classrooms: These will be effective in reaching our target public because we
know that undergraduate female UIUC students are taking courses and attending
class on a daily basis. By attending these classrooms we will know members of
our target public will hear the message.
25

IX. Implementation Logistics (Timeline)
Our campaign is to begin in January 2017 and run for a six month time period throughout the
Spring 2017 semester.
January 17 Initial client meeting to brainstorm and select topics, events, and ideas to
focus on for campaign.
January 18 - 22 Create social media contest trivia questions.
January 23 Second client meeting to present social media contest. Plan each week’s giveaways for
contest winners and identify staff member in charge of weekly social media postings.
Plan and organize in-class announcement presentation and materials. Identify which staff
members will present.
January 27 Date presentation handouts and materials should be completed.
January 30 Meeting with selected in-class announcement speakers to rehearse and assign
presentation classroom locations and times.
February 1 First round of In-class Announcements (Communication Department).
February 6 Launch social media contest on Facebook.
February 8 In-Class Announcements (Early Childhood Education Department).
February 13 Post new Social Media Contest content. Third meeting with client to plan Quad booths
and giveaways. Identify which staff will be present during booth days.
February 15 In-Class Announcements (Animal Sciences Department).
February 20 Social Media Contest posting.
February 22 In-Class Announcements (Music Department). First Quad Booth day.
February 27 Social Media Contest posting.
March 1 In-Class Announcements (Dance Department).
March 6 Social Media Contest posting.
March 8 In-Class Announcements (Advertising Department).
March 15 In-Class Announcements (Gender and Women’s Studies Department).
March 29 In-Class Announcements (Journalism Department). Quad Booth Day.
April 3 Social Media Contest posting. Meeting with client to discuss halfway
26

point rate of success (based on attendance rates, increase in visibility, ect.). Discuss and
plan any new changes in campaign tactics.
April 5 In-Class Announcements (Nursing Department).
April 7 Date new changes to campaign tactics, if any, should be solidified and ready for
implementation.
April 10 Social Media Contest posting.
April 12 In-Class Announcements (Marketing Department).
April 19 In-Class Announcements (Psychology Department). Quad Booth Day.
April 26 In-Class Announcements (Social Work Department).
May 1 Social Media Contest posting.
May 8 Social Media Contest posting.
May 15 Final follow-up meeting with client to discuss and evaluate efficacy of campaign.
27

X. Evaluation
● The campaign will be evaluated based on attendance to events. Currently there is low
attendance to all of the events being offered by the WRC. Throughout the course of the
six month campaign, the goal of all the events is to increase awareness that will be
measured through the event attendance. This will be measure through facebook and at the
actual events. Through facebook, we will be able to see how many students actually
RSVP to the events and then we can compare those numbers to how many students
actually show up to the events. It is important for us to use both channels when
measuring attendance because not everyone may be comfortable to press “going” on
facebook. Based on how many more students begin attending the events will show us if
our methods of raising awareness have worked or not. We will also release a survey at
the end of this six month campaign to compare student’s thoughts and experiences with
the WRC before the campaign and after the campaign.
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XI. Appendices
5 sample Facebook posts (set in second semester of the school year - 2017):
29

Interview Cover Letter:
Hi my name is _____, I am in ADV 410, which is Advanced Public Relations. This semester, we
are conducting our semester-long project on the Women’s Resources Center. This interview will be used
to help us gain insights into the Women’s Resources Center. Thank you for your time in advance.
Interview Questions: (those who utilize resources center)
1) How did know about Women’s Resources Center? (ex) flyer, email, website, facebook)
2) In your own words, please describe the Women’s Resources Center
3) What is your favorite part about the center?
4) What is your least favorite part of the center?
5) What types of students do you most often see utilizing the resources offered?
6) If you could change anything about the center, what would it be?
7) What aspects of the Women’s Resource Center have you utilized? Are they helpful?
8) What events have you attended? Is there anything you would change about these events?
9) How did you hear about the events you attended? (facebook, class, website, etc?)
10) In general, how satisfied with you are with service offered by Women’s Resource Center?
Interview Questions: (resources center staff)
1) Please describe some of your day to day responsibilities.
2) What is your favorite part about working at the center?
3) What are the most popular events/activities/resources?
4) What is attendance like at the events?
5) How do you publicize the events?
6) What types of students do you see coming in most often?
7) Who is your main target audience?
8) What is the reason of naming the center as the “Women’s Resources Center”?
9) Do you think that your services are helpful/have an impact on the students that come?
10) Are you satisfied with the state of the center at this moment?
Survey Cover Letter:
Hi everyone! I am in ADV 410 this semester, which is Advanced Public Relations. This semester
we are conducting a semester long project on the Women’s Resources Center. We would appreciate if you
could take this survey to help us gain insights on the center. Your responses will be anonymous and
confidential. Thank you in advance!
Survey Questions: (all UIUC students) - See attached survey
1) Have you ever been to the Women’s Resources Center? 1. Yes 2. No
2) What is your main source of getting information of events on/around campus? (open response)
3) Are you aware that people of any gender are welcome to use the Women’s Resource Center? Yes
or No
4) Do you know where the center is located? Yes or No
5) What other student service centers have you visited? 1. Counseling Center 2. The Career Center
3. McKinley Health Center 4.LGBT Center 5. Other________
32

6) If you have attended any WRC events, how did you hear about them? (facebook/twitter, friend,
class, website, other_____?)
7) If you have any events by the center, what event(s) did you attend? Check all that apply: keynote
speakers, open mic night, workshops, film festivals, yoga, dance workshops, discussions,
other________
8) Do you find the event(s) helpful? Yes or No
9) Do you find the event(s) enjoyable? Yes or No
10) What services have you taken advantage of (sexual assault/ sexual abuse/rape, abuse in intimate
relationships, stalking and street harassment, unplanned pregnancy, gender harassment, sexual
harassment, sexual identity issues, unequal treatment based on gender, child care access and
support, safety on campus, eating disorders and treatment, body image/body politics, single
parenting, financial issues, health & fitness concerns, sexuality and, reproductive health, women
returning to college, other____)
11) What services would you like to take advantage of? (sexual assault/ sexual abuse/rape, abuse in
intimate relationships, stalking and street harassment, unplanned pregnancy, gender harassment,
sexual harassment, sexual identity issues, unequal treatment based on gender, child care access
and support, safety on campus, eating disorders and treatment, body image/body politics, single
parenting, financial issues, health & fitness concerns, sexuality, reproductive health, women
returning to college, other______)
12) Would you like to participate in other activities at the Women’s Resources Center (keynote
speakers, open mic night, workshops, film festivals, yoga, dance workshops, discussions, etc)?
13) What type of services do you wish the WRC offered? (open response)
14) Would you feel comfortable attending the events or using the services the Women’s Resource
Center has to offer? Yes or No
15) What grade are you in? (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, grad student, other___)
16) How old are you? (1-16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25+)
17) What gender do you identify with? (female, male, other____)
References:
● Storm, R. L. (n.d.). University of Illinois Women's Resources Center. Retrieved
September 21, 2016, from https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisWRC/
● University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2016, from
http://illinois.edu/about/facts.html
● University of Illinois Women's Resources Center. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2016,
from https://www.facebook.com/IllinoisWRC/?fref=ts
● Women's Resources Center. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21, 2016, from
https://oiir.illinois.edu/womens-center
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