PRactical ADvantage Plans Book- CSUF PRAD

PRACTICAL
ADVANTAGE COMMUNICATIONS
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PRADplansbookFINAL.pdf 1 5/9/18 9:23 AM

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Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Situation Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Company Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
SWOT Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Competitor Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Consumer Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Research Breakdown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Creative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Promotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Media Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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The challenges that we face are the lack of PRAD’s brand recognition and knowledge. We also face the challenge of increasing PRAD’s
enrollment numbers without bringing harm to other capstone classes at Cal State Fullerton. We want to get PRAD on the map and help the
agency become something that cannot be ignored- something that must be talked about.
PRAD (PRactical ADvantage) is a capstone course at California State University, Fullerton that is applicable for both communications
and marketing majors. This course is taught at CSUF’s Irvine campus and students have the capability to take this course up to two
semesters. PRAD is a fast growing student-run agency that provides students with real-world work and experience that is beneficial
to their futures and careers.
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When asked about PRAD and/or CSUF having an Irvine campus, quite a few students did not even know that the agency or campus existed.
We then decided that our mission is to get the word out to students about both PRAD and its location- CSUF Irvine campus. We execute this
idea by creating content for social media platforms that PRAD can post, as well as creating video testimonials and ads that can be shown to
students in other communications courses who will soon need to be enrolling in their capstone course. Another aspect to our solution is
increasing the buzz around PRAD by physically going to classrooms and talking in front of our peers about PRAD, what it is all about, and all
of its benefits.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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SITUATION ANALYSIS
After performing a careful review of our client’s case study, social media and website presence, as well as available competitor
information, the following key data points were used to drive additional research.
• Students (primarily undergraduate students at CSUF)
• 22-25 years old
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• PRAD students typically live in Fullerton and commute
to CSUF’s Irvine campus
• Some reside in other parts of Orange County
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PRAD students are motivated, hard-working and creative. They are
eager to work and willing to stay after hours to over deliver. They
are comfortable working in groups and stepping out of their
comfort zones in order to learn new skills. PRAD students consider
themselves ‘out-of-the-box’ thinkers and always bring new
perspectives to the table.
• Other student-run agencies
• Word of mouth
• Testimonial videos
• Social media
• Flyers on campus
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The current audience - students - is consumed by digital
media and happen to be extremely digitally savvy, comfortable
with cord-cutting (consuming digital video across multiple
screens), adept on mobile (uses for particular methods and
for fun); highly active and influential on social channels.
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PRactical ADvantage Communications provides innovative communication and branding services for
local businesses and nonprofits through strategic planning and communication. By strengthening
the knowledge, vision, and creativity of our students, we bridge the gap between the classroom and
professional world while helping students build strong portfolios and business practices.
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Our advertising efforts are targeted towards increasing overall student awareness of PRactical
ADvantage at Cal State Fullerton, as well as boosting enrollment for PRAD’s capstone course. We are
also aiming to increase awareness of PRAD to transfer students and potential clients throughout the
Orange County area.
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COMPANY OVERVIEW
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SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT ANALYSIS
WWWeaknesses
TTThreats
SSStrengths
OOOpportunities
• Students lack previous
real-world experience
• Website does not properly
display past students work
for clients and lacks video
deliverables
• Lack of work with large or
high profile clients
• Lack of awards compared to
the competition
• Limited budget
• Limited student awareness
• Faculty support and
administrative limitations
of brand direction and
expansion
• Increase client interest
without overexposure
and exploitation of
students
• Competition of other local
student-run agencies like
Chapman and UCSD
• Seasonality: students are
only enrolled in the
agency for one semester
• Located amongst numerous
junior colleges that can be
recruited from
• Enter more client work into
advertising competitions
• Expansion by moving across
the street to 1 Banting,
giving PRAD its own indepen-
dent work space
• Build a strong brand that
clients and students find
desirable to work with
• Access to a lot valuable
resources such as video
equipment, cameras, and
computer programs
• Low-cost, high-quality work
for students
• Experienced professors
that have successful
backgrounds in the
advertising industry and
act as mentors
• Unique hybrid of academic
and business environment
that offers students real-
life experience
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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Understanding students’ attitudes, behaviors and trends will help
us identify potential opportunities PRAD can leverage to increase
awareness.
HIGH PERFORMANCE
Household ClientsLocal Clients
LOW PERFORMANCE
PRactical ADvantage is in the perfect position
to grow. PRAD is located in Orange County
and surrounded by junior colleges that we can
recruit potential creative geniuses from. PRAD
must focus first on building its brand image
and awareness in order to attract the talent
that will win awards and recognition. In order
to determine the direction that PRAD should
go, we evaluated our top three competitors:
Brigham Young University’s AdLab, University
of California, San Diego’s Adwave, and Chap-
man University’s Circle Advertising.
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COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
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Circle Advertising is Chapman University’s National Student Advertising Competition team. Students can apply to be part
of Circle Advertising for two semesters in which they compete in the NSAC. The agency has thus far lived up to their
slogan “in it to win it”, as they have claimed nine Addys for their work on Tai Pei in 2018. Circle Advertising is more
limited than other student-run agencies such as CSUF or BYU because students work on one project for two semesters.
The main weakness of Circle Advertising is the inability for students to work with multiple clients because of the
competitive setting. The agency’s website is characterized by bright colors and a simple page layout, however, it lacks
personality and does not display any past student work.
Adwave is the University of California, San Diego’s National Student Advertising Competition team and student-run
agency. Adwave allows students to compete in the American Advertising Association’s student competition in which they
produce work for clients like Tai Pei and Ocean Spray. Adwave students also have the opportunity to work with smaller
startup companies to gain a variety of experiences. The Adwave website is simple, yet appealing, and easy to navigate.
Adwave positions their brand well within the beach community of San Diego using the slogan “go against the tide.”
Adwave’s main weakness is the agency’s lack of awards from competing in the NSAC.
Brigham Young University started BYU AdLab in 2003, making it one of the oldest and most established student-run
agencies in the country. BYU AdLab allows undergraduates to join the agency for multiple semesters in which they can
work on a variety of projects. BYU AdLab has produced work for a variety of household names such as Nike and
Adobe. Their strength lies within its creativity and ability to produce high-quality content for a variety of mediums. The
agency has received industry recognition in the form of countless Addy Awards over the years. The AdLab brand is
quirky, dynamic and creative, which is encompassed in their slogan, “peculiar people, peculiar ideas.” The AdLab
website makes great use of transitions, gifs, and videos that create a fun and engaging website.C
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M��B��s
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
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S��D��
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T��F��-T��
S��e�� T��U��g��d
Jacob is a 22-year-old male about to
graduate from Cal State Fullerton. As he
is in his last semester, he begins
applying for jobs in his area of focus-
communications. With no previous
experience working in his field, his
resume is bland and he isn’t landing any
interviews. Jacob wants to be able to
gain real-life experience to add to his
resume, as well as be able to provide an
impressive portfolio of his best work.
CONSUMER PROFILE
T��S��l
��e��
Amanda is a 21-year-old student in
her junior year at Cal State Fullerton.
She loves social media- Instagram,
Twitter, Facebook, etc.- and is
currently following CSUF on all social
platforms. When she isn’t posting on
her own accounts, she is creating
content for various brands. She sees
the potential of CSUF’s social media
platforms and wants to get involved in
increasing traffic and engagement.
Charlie is a 23-year-old undergrad and
is transferring to Cal State Fullerton
from Fullerton Community College. He’s
going into graphic design and plans to
minor in communications. He wants to
network and put his design skills to
use. Interested in starting his own
business one day, he wants the
knowledge and experience of how to
brand his own company and work with
other creative individuals.
CONSUMER PROFILES
T��C��i��
Jessica is an 18-year-old full-time
student at Cal State Fullerton and
currently lives in the dorms. She
would love the opportunity to network
and meet new people. Her major is
currently undeclared; however, she is
strongly considering communications.
Curious about what COMM WEEK at
CSUF has to offer, she is interested in
attending the event in the spring.
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RESEARCH BREAKDOWN
Having identified the key challenge facing PRAD, a research process was conducted to find solutions. This process began with
secondary research about the agency and competing agencies. With this understanding, the target audience was identified and
primary research was conducted to form a hypothesis.
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The purpose of this research is to find out information about
student awareness of PRactical ADvantage, cultivate insights, and
learn how to reach students efficiently and effectively.
The goal of our research is to ultimately increase
student awareness of PRactical ADvantage.
T��G��
O��c��
T��e��d��n��
• College students throughout Orange County
- 61% female, 38% male
• Ambitious creatives looking to build their portfolio and
work with real clients to produce professional work.
We are going to conduct an anonymous online survey
consisting of 15-20 questions. The questions will start out
broad and become more narrow as the survey goes on.
We will incorporate different types of questions:
close-ended, open-ended, multiple choice, rating scale,
likert scale, etc. The questions will be tailored to discover
the knowledge, behaviors and attitudes of students in
relation to PRAD.
We will distribute this online survey to respondents via
intercepts and anonymous online links during February
27, 2018 - March 6, 2018.
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RESEARCH BREAKDOWN
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K��F��n��
Q: Are you currently enrolled in college?
Q: Would you rather take a class course
that is lecture-style or hands-on style?
Q: Have you ever heard of PRactical ADvantage Communications?
73% of respondents either have NOT heard of
PRAD or are unsure.
Q10. Are you interested in working with real clients?
66%of respondents are interested in working
with real clients.
R�� m��a��s
17-20
21-25
26+
A��
18%
74%
8%
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Male
Female
39%
61%
RESEARCH BREAKDOWN
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BRAND ESSENCESTRATEGY
“I enjoy courses with labs
where you actually produce
work.”
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The mission of PRactical ADvantage Communications is to provide
students with a unique learning environment that is a hybrid between
classroom and agency, giving them professional experience and
portfolio work. PRAD is more than just a communication capstone
course; it is a legitimate advertising agency that is run by students. By
enrolling in the PRAD course, students become a part of a fully func-
tioning agency that produces real work for clients under contract.
According to our research, 87% of college students desire a hands-on
style class that will give them the tools to land a job after graduation.
PRAD will position itself as the answer to college students’ desire for
resume and portfolio building. The agency provides an opportunity to
gain real-world experience and produce professional level portfolio
work. Acting as a mentorship, PRAD will help students stand out from
other applicants in the job market. “I want less textbook learning and
more industry experience, portfolio
building and presentations.”
“I prefer a hands-on style
course; I'm more artistic in
that type of setting.”
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CREATIVE RATIONALECREATIVE
T��B��d��
PRactical ADvantage wants to communicate to
students that it is much more than a typical college
course- it is a valuable experience. PRAD provides
students with the tools and guidance to navigate the
business world, produce portfolio work, and set
themselves apart from their peers. Participants of
PRAD are eager to be the “elephant in the room.”
Typically, the elephant in the room refers to a taboo
topic that people want to talk about, yet do not.
PRactical ADvantage challenges this metaphor by
shaping young Titans into undeniable forces, which in
return, allows them to stand out from their peers like
the elephant in the room.
Copy Strategy
PRactical ADvantage
provides students with a
mentorship to transition
into professionals.
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CREATIVE
W��a��p��n�? The elephant is the mascot of CSUF, the home of
PRactical ADvantage Communications. The PRAD logo
aligns itself with the University, proudly featuring an
elephant and the school colors of orange and blue.
Elephants are strong and intelligent creatures, so why
should being the elephant in the room be a bad thing?
Students are looking to stand out amongst their peers
in order to land a job after graduating. The elephant is
not only a symbol of the agency’s school pride but also
a symbol of leadership. Our advertising efforts will show
that PRAD can provide students with the portfolio work
and experience to stand out with Titan pride.
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CREATIVE
C��t��R��o��d��s
The PRactical ADvantage brand is now
seven years old and needs an updated
image that will attract current students
and clients. As a student-run agency, it is
important that PRAD reflects the modern,
fresh ideas of the young adults who run it.
Currently, the overall look and feel of
PRAD lacks personality. We recommend
implementing our ‘elephant in the room’
concept across all media platforms in
order to build brand image.
We recommend that PRAD updates the color scheme and layout of the website. The
website is currently mostly white space and copy with little visual. Future PRAD semesters
should prepare web banners, gifs, transitions and click-throughs that can be incorporated
into the website. AdLab’s website makes great use of engaging and sometimes unusual
visuals that serve to shape the brands identity. The website should also include a page that
showcases past student work. The inclusion of an online portfolio will show students and
client what the PRAD agency is capable of and encourage people to join.
S��a��d��
C��r��
Social media is one of the most effective platforms to reach our target audience- college
students ages 21-25. Because PRAD is student-run, their social media efforts should be
marketed towards potential students. Each semester, one PRAD class should be assigned
the task of managing PRAD’s Instagram account. The PRAD Instagram should showcase
student work in order to show potential students the possibilities of what they can do in
this course. The video deliverables we produced should be posted on all social media
accounts in order to communicate the potential of PRAD to college students.
Future PRAD students should put together a presentation that can be used every semester
for classroom visits. During our research, we discovered that many students become aware
about campus organizations through classroom presentations and/or announcements. The
presentation should include a short PowerPoint and informational flyers, as well as the
video deliverables that we prepared for the brand. Future PRAD students will visit classes
that are relevant to communication courses in order to increase awareness to our target
audience.
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CREATIVE
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PROMOTIONS
Our promotional efforts will primarily consist of guerrilla marketing, PR campaigns, public relations campaigns, partnerships,
deliverables, social media contests and consumer generated content.
Guerrilla Marketing will allow PRAD to increase brand awareness while remaining budget friendly. Our goal of guerrilla marketing will be to increase
brand recognition amongst Cal State Fullerton students. We will put our creative ad flyers around campus to create buzz around the agency and get
our name out in the open. We will also verbally promote the course to other colleges and junior colleges in their classrooms. We recommend that future
semesters plan and organize an on-campus publicity stunt at an event, such as a school concert. An example of this type of stunt would be AdLab’s
“Valentine’s Day Beating Heart.” In order to increase awareness of AdLab to BYU students, the agency made a giant heart-shaped piñata that
students could literally beat on Valentine’s Day. The stunt itself was unrelated to AdLab or advertising but served to create awareness of the brand on
campus. According to our research, Spring Concert and Discoverfest rank highest in attendance for on-campus events amongst Cal State Fullerton
students; therefore, these would be two practical events to execute guerrilla marketing at,
In order to generate positive publicity for the agency, we propose that PRactical ADvantage partner with the World Wildlife Fund in order to raise money
to save the elephants. The elephant is part of PRAD’s brand identity and choosing a charity that benefits our school mascot flows seamlessly with our
“be the elephant in the room” campaign. Creating content for a charitable fund like WWF is a perfect, focused assignment that students could easily
execute within a semester. The World Wildlife Fund has worked with BYU’s AdLab on their award winning campaign “Emoji Extinction.” Creating a
philanthropic public relations campaign will generate publicity for PRAD and help shape the brand identity.
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PROMOTIONSPROMOTIONS
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We will create content, i.e. images and video testimonials, for various social media platforms, as well as for the Practical
Advantage website.
Part of our campaign is to make past PRAD student testimonials for the brand. These videos will be formatted to
re-post/share on all social media platforms. The videos will make the PRAD social media student focused. We will also create a
cute viral image of a golden retriever dressed up as a elephant that students will instantly “aw” and be eager to share. We will
include the PRAD logo, which includes the text ‘PRactical ADvantage” to get PRAD’s name out in the public. This image will use
ethos to persuade users to share and talk about the photo and at the same time, draw attention to PRAD.
V��a��l��e��
S��a��d�� e��
We will host an Instagram contest where entrants will be required to re-post an image of our choice on their personal
Instagram page with the hash tag #PRADcomm. In the caption, entrants must explain what PRAD means to them. Two
participants will be chosen at random to receive a gift card to the student store.
PRactical ADvantage could benefit by partnering with other on-campus organizations in order to generate awareness and
brand identity. We recommend that future PRAD semesters partner with on-campus organizations such as Ad Club and the
AAF course in order to create a stronger and more unified undergraduate advertising program. The strength of PRAD is that
students have more freedom to choose their projects and time commitment; however, the brand lacks a portfolio. Other
student-run agencies, such as BYU’s AdLab, allow students to participate for multiple semesters, take part in the AAF
competition and work with other clients. We recommend that PRAD includes the Cal State Fullerton AAF class in its agency and
incorporates it into their brand.
P��n��i��
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MEDIA PLANMEDIA PLAN
O��O��t��e
We are going to utilize different media platforms to create
brand awareness for PRAD and drive to students to enroll
in the course.
The strategy of our media plan will implement all of the
available resources CSUF can offer us. With little to no
budget, we plan on using various social media platforms,
the school’s newspaper- Daily Titan, and on-campus
efforts to create student-awareness.
O��S��e��
T��e��m��r��i��
G��r��c��o��i�
G��e�
A��
E��a��
Male/Female
18-24
Transfer students and
CSUF students
Orange County, CSUF main
campus and Irvine campus
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S��a��d�� D��y��a�
I�-C�� e��a��
F��r�
We have a strong emphasis on social
media to create brand awareness and
get students interested in what PRAD
has to offer. Creating visually pleasing
and creative content will drive current
students and transfer students to join
PRAD. We will create videos that initiate
conversation and get more students
interested in what PRAD does and how
they can benefit from it along with
creating buzz about the student-run
agency.
Buying a space in CSUF’s Daily Titan will
give PRAD the coverage and recognition
it desires. Although the Daily Titan isn’t
commonly read amongst students, we
could let communication professors know
that there’s a section decided to PRAD
and to share that information with
students. The Daily Titian will showcase
what and how students could get involved
in PRAD. The section will mostly consist of
copy and will run Fall 2018 over the
course of 3 months.
One of the strongest findings in our research was discovering that
students are more likely to enroll in a class that is recommended to them
from a friend, former student, family member, etc. By preparing in-class
presentations, we can guest speak in classes and inform students of
PRAD. We can prepare a slideshow presentation to help visualize what
we’ve done.
We can pass out flyers to our target audience and write information on the
flyers that will appeal to their needs, which in return, will hopefully drive them
to enroll in PRAD. We want to create flyers that can be distributed at tabling
events and in-class presentations to provide prospective students with
information regarding PRAD. We want to also provide counselors with flyers to
give to students who are not aware of the PRAD capstone class.
MEDIA PLAN
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MEDIA PLAN
P��t�� v��a��l��c��t
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CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION
PRactical ADvantage offers a unique learning environment that has everything
students want: networking opportunities, resume enhancement and portfolio
building. We have built a fun and interactive campaign based off of carefully
researched insights that we believe will reach the Cal State Fullerton student
body as well as the community. Our campaign is based off of achievable goals
that future semesters can implement and execute within a semester.
We must first build the PRAD brand within before we dream big. The “elephant
in the room” campaign offers a student-centered solution to the enrollment
issue facing PRAD. Our campaign will show students that PRactical ADvantage
will do more than fulfill a course requirement; it will mentor and shape them
into employable adults.
W��I��k�
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SOURCES
Avery, J. (2016). Advertising campaign planning: Developing
An Advertising-Based Marketing Plan
Jacobsen, S. A., Minthorn, D., & Froke, P. (2015). Associated
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Basic Books.
Keller, Kevin Lane. (2002) Strategic Brand Management.
Prentice Hall.
Marsh, C., Guth, D. W., & Short, B. P. (2017). Strategic
Writing Multimedia Writing for Public Relations, Advertising
and More. Milton: Taylor and Francis.
Wilcox, D. L., Cameron, G. T., & Reber, B. H. (2016). Public
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https://blogs.chapman.edu/dodge/2018/04/04/advertis-
ing-team-wins-addy-gold/
https://www.chapmannsac.com/
https://comms.byu.edu/byu-advertising-stu-
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https://www.deseretnews.com/article/700047397/Pro-qual-
ity-ad-campaigns-flowing-out-of-BYUs-AdLab.html
https://www.independent.com/news/2008/-
jun/24/ucsb-ad-agency-large/
https://ldsmag.com/byu-adlab-helps-hospi-
tal-bound-kids-play-pokemon-go/
https://www.ucsdadwave.org/blog
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