The document provides details about a marketing campaign for the Girls Empowerment Network (GEN) created by a group of students. It includes a situation analysis, SWOT analysis, goals and objectives, target audience, strategy, messages, channels, and logistics. The campaign aims to promote GEN's new "She Belongs Here" initiative and increase attendance at their annual conference through a promotional video. It will target parents of 8-12 year old girls on social media and the GEN website to raise awareness of GEN's mission to empower young women.

1. Ali Gellepes, Kara Adkins, Madison Comstock, Defne
Comlek and Ali Flowers
Campaign: June 3, 2016 – August 6, 2016
May 6, 2016: Spring Semester

2. Table of Contents
◦ Situation………………………………………………………………………1
◦ SWOT……………………………………………………………………2
◦ Goals and Objectives…………………………………………………………3
◦ Target audience………………………………………………………………4
◦ Strategy………………………………………………………………………5
◦ Messages……………………………………………………………6
◦ Channels………………………………………………………………………7
◦ Video Process………………………………………………………………….8
◦ Logistics – Calendar………………………………………………9
◦ Logistics – resources & measurements…………………………………….10
◦ Appendix
◦ Advocacy Story 1……………………………………………………….11
◦ Advocacy Story 2……………………………………………………….12

3. Situation
Girls empowerment Network’s mission is to support and guide girls to make wise choices as
they navigate the unique pressures of girlhood. Our goal for this video is to aid the new GEN
campaign, “She Belongs Here,” where young girls are encouraged to enter professional
realms that are primarily dominated by men.
Through the interviewing process we met with a large majority of the GEN staff and found that
most of the women in the organization have a close tie with the cause and really believe in the
work that GEN does for young girls. We learned that GEN was founded by a group of twelve
mothers who decided that young women face a lot of real world problems at a time when they
have zero life experience to help them make good decisions. Since GEN was founded 20
years ago, it has expanded beyond Austin into Houston and Dallas and now holds yearly
conferences to unite all the young women of GEN every summer. With all that they have
accomplished in the past 20 years, as a group, we feel strongly that this organization will grow
exponentially in the coming years and reach a wider span of Texas.
Our current target market is mothers of girls ages 8-12 in Austin, Houston, and Dallas. We
selected this primarily because it takes parent enrollment to join the program and our video will
likely be posted on media outlets that children will not come in contact with. We plan for our
video to appear on all major social media platforms as well as on the GEN website, and in
their company newsletter that is sent to both employees and parents. We want to really
promote the video and the GEN page on Facebook because our target market has a higher
propensity to use this social media platform over any other. GEN looks to aid any girls of any
background, but currently the demographic of their attendees are primarily from low
socioeconomic households.
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4. SWOT
Weaknesses: Because GEN does
so much for young girls, it’s can
become challenging to pinpoint just
one way GEN benefits the lives of
young girls when speaking with
parents or donors. Additionally,
GEN’s wide reach and desire to
offer professional and emotional
support to young girls can be an
expensive endeavor.
Strengths: GEN has a solid mission
whose year-round tactics are
unmatched by any other non-profit
who’s seeking to aid young girls. Most
organizations of this kind either focus
on professional or emotionall
development, and GEN is able to
offer both forms.
Opportunities: Their new campaign
offers an opportunity for some
rebranding and better defining of
their mission and what they offer to
young girls. This clarification could
result in an increase in attendance
and donations.
Threats: There are other nonprofits
that seek to do the same thing as
GEN. For example, Girls Rock
Austin has similar goals of making
girls feel included and like they
belong. However, they operate in a
very different way from GEN.
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5. Goals & Objectives
When creating our video, we had three main goals in mind. First, we anticipated for our
video to bring awareness to our target audience. Next, we aimed to introduce GEN’s new
campaign. Lastly, we wanted the general public to gain a better understanding of what GEN
does as an organization.
★ Beginning with our first goal, our main objective was to identify the target audience for
our cause. GEN’s main focus is to provide guidance to young girls and we felt the best way
to help them in achieving this goal was to target parents. With that being said, our primary
intention was to create a video that would effectively influence parents to seek out GEN for
their daughters.
★ Shortly after meeting with the directors of GEN, we were introduced to the organization’s
new campaign concept. With a plan to ensure that young girls believe that they have the
opportunity to pursue any career of their choosing, GEN created the “She belongs here,”
campaign. The campaign acknowledges that more women deserve “a seat at the table,”
meaning there is a significant need for a stronger female presence in the work force. Hoping
to shield young girls from discouragement and doubt, GEN works with their youth members
to build confidence and ambition.
★ Lastly, we wanted to ensure that after viewing our video, the general audience would
gain an accurate and clear understanding of what GEN does as an organization. Our
objectives were to highlight and select the right causes, and to implement the right amount
of pathos and logos in our visual presentation. 3

6. Target Audience
One of the most unique aspects of GEN is that the
organization was founded by a group of mothers
who were concerned for their adolescent girls
growing up in Austin, Texas. With their mission in
mind, we were able to distinguish the target
audience for our video as parents or guardians of
young girls. In an effort to raise awareness of GEN,
we believe it’s essential to reach concerned
mothers and fathers who will do anything to ensure
their daughters have the fundamental support they
need.
4

7. Strategy
Our strategy was to convey all the passion we felt
from working with GEN into our video. After visiting
the office and multiple clubs, it was clear that GEN is
positively impacting the lives of young girls, and that
the women who make GEN possible are empowered
by the way they help these girls. We wanted to
incorporate this strength and love of the organization
into the video. Our strategy was to make the viewers
feel empowered to be women and feel how GEN can
strengthen the lives of so many girls. We hope that
any parents who watch this video and have concerns
about the pressures their daughters face will feel like
GEN is a safe place where young girls can build their
confidence. The video will appeal to parents because
it shows that the women who will be looking after
their daughters are aware of the struggles these kids
face each day, and that they’re doing something to
change those struggles.
5

8. Messages
Our video will help explain what it is that GEN
does, demonstrate the passion of the women that
work for GEN, and show some examples of girls
interacting with GEN and benefiting from their
mission. Through the interviews of the GEN
employees, the video will convey how much the
ladies that work there love and believe in what
they do what they do. We want anyone who
watches our video to understand that when these
young girls interact with GEN, they are in the
hands of women who truly try and help the girls
gain from being a part of the organization. With
interviews like Caroline’s who gives three words
to describe GEN, it is clear that she believes this
non-profit is benefiting anyone who participates in
it. From the employees, to the volunteers to the
young girls, the video shows that the “E” in GEN
is being fulfilled. The video shows that they
empower girls through a network of support, and
this was our intention with the video from the
start. One of the main ideas behind GEN is that
girls deserve a seat at the table, and we believe
our video helps get that message across.
6

9. Channels
Our video will be used to reach parents, especially mothers, who want to
find a resource to empower their young daughters. This will be done by
GEN sharing the video on their Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. About
4,500 people like their Facebook page, and we are hoping for parents who
like the page to share the video on their own personal Facebooks, so it
permeates social media more. It will also be shared on YouTube, where
there are similar videos of empowerment. GEN will tweet the YouTube link,
and put stills from the video on their Instagram to coincide with the “She
Belongs Here” campaign. Also, the video will be embedded on the
nonprofit’s website. There are several videos embedded on the homepage
already, so this one will not look out of place. As the “She Belongs Here”
campaign takes flight, having the video prominently displayed on the
homepage will provide consistency. The video will also be broadcasted at
the We Are Girls conferences, where the theme this year is “Find Your
Power,” and almost 3,000 girls and adults attend.
7

10. Our Video Process
As a team we decided that we really wanted to show the
importance of GEN and what it instills in its participants.
We began the brainstorming process by creating a story
board so that our team could be on the same page.
From there we decided the most important factors to
include in our video would be showing parents what
GEN provides and also to advertise their current
campaign, “She Belongs Here”. We think this campaign
really embodies what GEN is about, empowering young
women to pursue any occupation they desire, and for
that reason it was a heavy focus of ours to show this in
our video. We went in to the main office twice to have
interviews with eight GEN employees and also attended
two GEN after school programs in order to speak to the
girls and get B-roll. If we could go back the only thing we
could have done differently is possibly include more B-
roll of the girls in different GEN classes and also put
some emphasis on the fact it is GEN’s 20th year
anniversary.
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11. Logistics-calendar
A. Since we want to grow attendance at the “We Are Girls Conference” that GEN hosts, we want to show
the video heavily right before this event takes place in the fall. We also want to have at least 20 new
girls join GEN because of our video. For this reason we want to focus on showcasing the video a lot
during the summer months before girls enter school for the fall and need a program like this to help with
any sort of transitions and to promote the ”We Are Girls Conference”.
X
Premiere the video on
Facebook, YouTube,
LinkedIn, and Twitter. Also,
encourage followers to
share the video with their
personal GEN stories.
X
X
X
Promote signing up for the “We
Are Girls Conference” with early
bird special and link to our
video. Include photos from last
years conference on social
media (include Instagram this
time.)
Last social media push for
fall conference tickets and
mention school being right
around the corner.
Emphasize how GEN can
be beneficial for young
women.
Link video on
Facebook,
Twitter and
Instagram and
push school only
being a couple of
weeks away.
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12. Logistics-resources &
measurements
B. Resources to execute this plan include all social media outlets. Luckily, GEN
is already active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. They
should post the video on all platforms and also encourage followers to share the
video on their own social media platforms.
C. We can evaluate and measure the outcome of our plan by tracking
attendance to this year’s conference. Last year there were 2,752 registrants.
Out of these, 2,071 were in Austin and 681 were in Houston. We are looking for
at least a 10 percent growth in attendance because of our video so we are
aiming to have around 3,027 girls and mothers participate this year. We also
can measure our results for showing the video in summer months by seeing
how many new attendees join GEN in the fall and by tracking video views,
shares and likes on social media platforms.
10

13. Appendix – Advocacy Story 1
Girls Helping Girls
11
By Madison Comstock
The day I went to one of the Girls Empowerment Network’s after-school clubs opened my eyes to the way the
nonprofit works wonders in empowering young girls. As a student volunteer for the Public Relations
Techniques class at The Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations, my partner and I had
traveled to Eden Park Academy to get video footage of the club in action for the marketing video we were
producing for GEN.
The middle-school aged girls in the club all sat around a small rectangular table with their mentor Sydney, and
began sharing their “thumbs-up thumbs-downs” of the week where they went around the table, explaining
something good and something bad that had happened to them since their last club. They started out simple,
with one girl saying how she was excited to be directing the school play, but it was stressing her out that
people didn’t know their lines. But the topics grew more serious as the exercise continued. They culminated
with one girl saying that her thumbs-down of the week was that her parents had grounded her for a week
because she had self-harmed. It was a terrible story that was hard to hear from someone so young, and I
thought it would ruin the mood of the group and stop the rest of the exercise.
However, immediately and without prompting from the mentor, the other girls began to comfort her. They
also offered her resources, saying that she should talk to the school counselor, a therapist, or even them
about her depression and self-harming. It was amazing to see the mission of GEN so clearly being executed in
the lives of girls they serve right in front of me. It aspires to empower girls, and these girls stepped in to make
their friend feel safe, loved, and that she had people who cared.
The bittersweet experience has stuck with me as I contemplate how much a GEN club would have helped me
in my formative years as I struggled with body image, the drama of middle school, and self esteem. By
empowering these girls to be proud of who they are and providing people to talk to about the struggles of
girlhood, they are making a difference in the next generation of women. As one woman we interviewed
stated, “GEN is love.”

14. Appendix – Advocacy Story 2
Surviving girlhood: Why the women of GEN
believe in their mission
12
By: Ali Gellepes
I first learned about GEN and what they do when my friend Savannah started interning with them. “Ali, you would fit
in perfectly at GEN,” Savannah said to me one day. “They’re all about women empowerment and equality, and you’d
love working there.” And she was right. Any nonprofit that helps to encourage young girls and is making a positive
impact on their lives is one I’d love to be a part of. My entire life I’ve been subject to sexism, objectification and just
generally been thought of as less than any of the men around me. I’ve felt like I wasn’t worth it, or like I didn’t have
the right body to fit in with my peers. The women of GEN not only have experienced this as well, but they work each
day to help young girls overcome the daily challenges of being a girl.
I didn’t think I’d really ever get the chance to work with these women, but I’ve now had the privilege of being a
student volunteer helping to create a video for a project in Public Relations Techniques, a class in the Stan Richards
School of Advertising and Public Relations at The University of Texas at Austin. My group started out getting footage
for our video by interviewing the women who worked for GEN. We asked them a variety of questions that garnered
different responses, but the question that continuously received the most passionate answer was when we asked
them why they believed in the cause that GEN works towards. Time and time again, every employee at GEN had her
own story to tell of why GEN meant so much to her. They each talked about how they struggled when they were
growing up and how much GEN would have helped them while they were becoming adult women. Whether it was
low self-esteem, body image issues or bullying, each woman explained that GEN provides an honest space for girls to
get through girlhood together, and encourages them to have their own seat at the table. Like all the women we talked
to, I wish that I had GEN in my life to help get me through each difficulty that came with being a young girl, and I’m
extremely grateful these women are helping girls become more confident each day.
After a few weeks working with GEN, I told Savannah that she was right, I do fit in perfectly with these women. But I
know I’m not the only one who would fit in with this organization. Anyone who believes women deserve a seat at a
table, will fit in perfectly with GEN. I’ve loved getting to see why these women love what they do, and I’ve truly seen
how they are making a difference in lives of girls in Austin, Texas.