Engaging ISC Alumni: Revisiting Their Roots Matthew Brock Johnson University of Kentucky
Brand Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths ● The Department has access to existing media channels. ● Pre-existing events for students and ISC professionals to network. ● Good retention in ISC as well as many alumni that strive to stay connected. Opportunities ● The department can encourage 2-way communication through all platforms. ● The department can employ an alumni newsletter ● The expansion of all social media accounts, including Linkedin.
Weaknesses ● The department has a hard time putting plans into action. ● There is no central community for alumni to connect. ● The department lacks in advertising about the major. Threats ● The department had a small budget for advertisements. ● Large universities that are close to UK possess better alumni networking channels ● UK is close to other benchmark institutions.
Rationale I.
Strengths The Department of Integrated Strategic Communication has many platforms to
communicate to students, staff, and alumni. This is one of their biggest strengths because the department can communicate through facebook, twitter, and their listserv. This leads to their next strength, which is their pre-existing alumni professional network. The department can take advantage of the platforms to broadcast news to the alumni, or give updates on upcoming ISC
events. The events that the department has planned in the past have been quite successful and have received interest from all types of students. Lastly, the retention rate for the department is very good. The department has been doing an excellent job at recruiting students and keeping them in the college until they graduate. II.
Weaknesses Though the client has some significant strengths, it also has many weaknesses. One
weakness is the fact that the social media platforms don't have very many followers and communication on all are low. The department has a hard time connecting to the Alumni through those platforms and don’t have a central community to unify all alumni. Sometimes the staff posts about events or scholarships too late, therefore the alumni hear about that stuff when it has become too late to attend. Not only that, the department has a low budget so they don’t have the means for advertisements. The Department also has a hard time following through with tasks involving communication. III.
Opportunities The Department of Integrated Strategic Communication has the opportunity to expand
upon not only its strengths, but to challenge its weaknesses and threats. The largest opportunity that the client has is to improve its two-way communication between alumni and current students in the department on all platforms, whether it be through social media, networking events or through internship opportunities. Another opportunity that our client has is to develop an alumni newsletter, that not only networks among alumni of the department, but helps to unite the community and to bring in support for department events that showcase alumni and help to connect students with them. The third opportunity that our client has is the expansion of their
social media. Developing a following, as well as relevant information to share with alumni on a consistent schedule will help to address their problems. IV.
Threats The client has many threats against them that are supporting the key problems. One of
these threats is the small budget that the department has for advertising. Not having the appropriate funds to advertise your program can impact your recruitment and retainment numbers. Another threat that our client has against them is that the University of Kentucky is close to other benchmark institutions, such as The Ohio State University, that have similar programs. This threat is also combined with another threat of similar universities that have better alumni networking. These two threats combine to pose the larger issue of attracting alumni to other institutions for future coursework, student outreach and internship possibilities, taking away from the client. Positioning Statement For Alumni who want to maintain connection with their alma mater, the department of Integrated Strategic Communication at the University of Kentucky provides a networking community. Unlike other colleges and universities who also offer this kind of program, the University of Kentucky ignites a sense of belonging through two-way communication and continued involvement. Key problems: The key problems that the University of Kentucky Department of Integrated Strategic Communication faces are all connected to the lack of interaction between the college and alumni of the program. Specifically, there is no community where the alumni can congregate and
network. Many competing universities like Ohio State University have strong connections with their alumni and effective methods to keep them engaged, such as forums on which alumni can post jobs for students who are seeking employment and internship opportunities. (Ohio State University, n.d.). The Department of Integrated Strategic Communication at the University of Kentucky also struggles with advertising to its alumni. The department’s social media accounts do not have a strong following, so even when they post important alumni information, it does not have a far reach. Beyond this, the alumni listserv has not proven to be effective in sharing information. User Profile Target Audience The client provided the issue of a lack of consistency in communicating with alumni of the ISC department. While the range for alumni can be extensive, the target audience that is focused on in this specific campaign can be narrowed down to recent graduates of the program within five years removed from the program. These alumni more specifically being 22 to 27 years old. Graduates of the ISC department, these now ISC professionals are labelled as achievers and innovators, according to VALS (2018). A more detailed description gives way to a dedicated individual who values educated decisions as well as exposure to global content (VALS, 2018). The other VALS type, achievers, describes its members as career driven individuals that are anchors of their communities and are recognized professionals (VALS, 2018). Combining these VALS types leads to a committed young professional who has a drive in their chosen profession, making them an ideal candidate for alumni relations and network building, not just for the
department, but also for current students who are studying ISC. These alumni prove to be the most successful and the best equipped in inspiring and motivating current undergraduate students. Not only do these individuals provide a bridge for connecting students to the field, they also represent the department in a positive light in the field. These VALS types indicate a young professional who is more likely to re-engage with the department and to welcome the two-way communication that is a goal for this campaign. This proposed target audience is of the millennial generation, in its prime and still developing (Dimock, 2018, para. 5). Those of the millennial generation are still young enough to connect with students, not too far removed from the struggles of their college years, while experienced enough to begin going through important life milestones (Mintel, 2017, pg. 2). Not only is this target audience in tune with both the college environment and the professional workforce, these individuals stay connected heavily through social media and other online means (Mintel, 2017, pg. 4). Being easily accessible and well-connected makes this target audience ideal in maintaining communication and spreading the word concerning the department and department related events. Customer Journey Map The problem that was identified about the department of ISC is that communication across all platforms is lacking. The opportunity proposed is that a community will be created through LinkedIn. Alumni want a community that can be referred back to to get updates on the college. The college doesn’t have a LinkedIn account, but we feel it is necessary to have. The LinkedIn account will be a community that users can become a part of that posts information about the department. Alumni value LinkedIn to showcase their professional skills. A well
curated account can not only enhance the perception of the school, but it can also improve the image of the alumni. In a real world example, we think about recent alumni, what will they need to enhance their job skills as they are searching for a career? As they apply for jobs, ISC professionals will refer to linkedIn for more information and will see their level of professionality in the department of ISC. Based on this problem, a customer journey map was created to show the flow of how an alumni can search for information about an event. The information is not
easily accessible, so the alumni must search on several platforms for
information. Refer below for the journey map.
Connectors The media connectors for the department of Integrated Strategic Communication include any UKY website, or websites about the ISC department, News articles about the college or ISC,
media posts, mail, Linkedin, and email. The non-media connectors include PRSA, UKY Alumni association, ISC professionals, Advisors from other colleges at UK. When focusing exclusively on alumni, the media connectors that are important to note are Linkedin, Twitter, email, Facebook, and maybe ISC Trade Journals. The non-media connectors for the alumni include any other ISC alum or ISC professionals. Our connector list for this campaign focuses mainly on ISC professionals and important members at the University. The following were chosen because each can be likely to publicize the department of ISC. ISC alumni would be most likely to care about the following because they are important people in ISC and could be following them for professional reasons. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Person: Jay Blanton- Director of PR Person: Adam Kornblum- CEO of Ogilvy & Mather Person: Eli Capiluto- UKY president Person: Ashley Murphy - ISC alum and Non profit beneficiary Person: Mark Cornelison -PR photographer Jay Blanton, based in Lexington, KY, can be a very successful connector because of the
beat of his pieces. Being that Blanton works for the university, alumni can easily connect with his work. Blanton focuses mainly on the future of U.K., which include articles about future projects, future research, and other updates about the university. The audience for Blanton includes anyone who is associated with UK. This can include alumni, current students, staff, and ISC professionals. Our audience, Alumni, will be interested in his work because they will care about the future of the University. Alumni will want to stay in the loop about the whereabouts of the college. This will also influence alumni to become invested in future projects to come. One of the problems we identified was that the college doesn’t public enpugh about events in the
college as much as they should. This would be a big opportunity for the Department of ISC. The connector contacts are listed below: Adam Kornblum Title: CEO of Ogilvy & Mather LinkedIn: ​linkedin.com/in/adamkornblum Eli Capilouto Title: President Department: Office of the President Office: 101 Main Building 40506 email: ​elic@uky.edu phone: 859-257-1701 Jay Blanton Title: Public Relations/Marketing Executive Director Department: Public Relations Office: 102A Matthews BUilding 40506 Email: jay.blanton@uky.edu Phone: 859-257-6605 Mark Cornelison Title- Public Relations Photographer and Video Manager Department: Public Relations Office: 1D Matthews Building 40506 Email: mark.cornelison@uky.edu Phone: 859-257-5398 Ashley Murphy Phone: 203-668-2517 Email: ashley.murphy@uky.edu
MPR and Other ISCs The most important aspect of this campaign is creating and expanding awareness of opportunities that the ISC Department offers for it’s alumni. Because of this, this campaign relies heavily on spreading information by word-of-mouth through already established alumni. In order to create a strong network of alumni, it is also important for the department to utilize advertising through boosted posts on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram, since those are the main social media outlets the ISC Department is focusing on. It is also important to use the ISC Department’s owned media by creating engaging content to keep the followers they will continue to gain. Finally, it is necessary for the ISC Department to rely on non-media connectors, such as journalists, to publish information about all of the alumni opportunities the ISC Department has to offer, along with professors, to keep in touch with their past students and advisees and encourage them to maintain contact with the University. Objectives To increase the number of alumni followers, between the ages 22-27, on the ISC Department’s Twitter and Instagram by 50 percent in the next five months. To establish a LinkedIn profile for alumni of the ISC Department at the University of Kentucky by gaining 50 followers in the next five months. Key Message Keeping alumni of the ISC Department at the University of Kentucky is a key component to encouraging the development of the program. This campaign focuses on showcasing the revamped sense of community the ISC Department has to offer. Maintaining two-way connection is valuable to alumni because it allows them to see the endless opportunities for
networking and connection that the University of Kentucky provides. This campaign is valuable for connectors because the ISC program wants to stay in contact with the alumni.
Campaign Execution Tactics Event Revamping the alumni symposium will be a great way to make alumni feel like they are truly connected to the ISC Department. The most significant change that will be made is adjusting the second half of the symposium, following the guest panel session, to be a reception for students, faculty and alumni, to mingle and network. Alumni will even be given the opportunity to set up a booth detailing their business and spread word and make even deeper connections. This will give students and faculty the opportunity to get to know alumni, and it will also help alumni feel the impact of their presence at the University. The event will also be advertised specifically to alumni using direct channels such as LinkedIn, social media, and email. Finally, Jay Blanton, a journalist who specializes in the University of Kentucky, will be invited to the event and write an article about it. This will give the event exposure throughout the University of Kentucky community and inform people who could not attend the event about what happened as well as encourage alumni who did not attend to mark their calendars for the following year. In order to keep track of who attends the event as well as measure its success, students and alumni will swipe in using their university identification, and all other attendees will RSVP online.
Social Media In order to gain attention about this event, we will utilize social media. Our target audience, alumni, are already using many social media platforms and prefer to receive updates about the department that way. Advertisements will be posted on all of the social media accounts owned by the department of ISC. The main account that the department should focus on is LinkedIn. The reason for focusing mostly on LinkedIn is for the fact that it will be new and the department can use the opportunity to grow their following. When the account is live, the department can grow their connections by posting it on their pre-existing social media, Facebook and Twitter. When the account is well established the department can release information on how to sign up for the event. It would be wise to keep the sign up mainly through LinkedIn because that influences people associated with the department to connect before signing up. Not only that, but sometimes it can be hard to broadcast links on others accounts, like Twitter. The posts on all social media accounts will include graphics about how to sign up, who will be attending, and the topic of the event. After the event, the department can repost media that the alumni post about the event on all of the department's social media. This could include alumni who are on the panel, students who attend the event, and alumni who come to network. This can keep all followers connected with their social media accounts. When conducting the social media audit we found that interest stories about specific people associated with the department performed well, therefore engaging with the user generated content can be beneficial! Timeline
The timeline for this event ranges from 31-32 weeks depending on the delays for each stage. The timeline begins in either September/October and the event can be held in either March or April. The budget will depend on the scope of the event. This can include the amount of people who are attending, the type of catering they would like to provide, and the space they will be renting out for the event. Evaluation Two objectives were set to achieve for our clients. One revolving around gaining followers for the associated social media accounts with the ISC department and the other involving the establishment and growth of an associated LinkedIn profile for alumni of the department. The metrics attached to the objectives and the tactics used for this campaign help to measure and accomplish what the client’s overall goal was: to increase communication and retention with alumni of the ISC department.
Metrics assigned to each tactic are as followed: Events Metrics:​ We will measure how many people will attend the event by prompting them to sign up for the event before they attend. We will monitor the number of alumni and students attending the event. Social Media Metrics: ​We will monitor impressions, shares and clicks on the associated social media accounts to monitor the connections being made with alumni and students. Advertisement Metrics:​ We will measure how many clicks are registered from sharing ISC department advertisements and advertisements for ISC events. The use of the metrics will allow an accurate evaluation of the tactics utilized and provide an appropriate measure for each. Keeping track of clicks, follows and shares is an easy method for accurately keeping record of the improvement made from the campaign efforts. Using social media and LinkedIn to gain an increase in followings helps to promote the final tactic utilized by this campaign, the annual alumni symposium. The symposium puts the efforts of the social media and LinkedIn connections into action, inviting alumni to join the department for a celebration of professionals, connecting with current students and as a way to expand your knowledge and networks in the field, benefiting all the parties involved. The final evaluation for this campaign will be measured through the attendees of the alumni symposium. This lays ways for future growth in retaining alumni involvement as current students of the ISC department interact with alumni and see the benefits of keeping communication with their alma mater and respective department.
References Dimock, M. (2018). Defining generations: Where Millennials end and post-Millennials begin. Pew Research center. Retrieved from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/03/01/defining-generations-where-millennial s-end-and-post-millennials-begin/ Mintel Oxygen (2017). Marketing to Millennials US, June 2017. Mintel Oxygen. Retrieved from http://academic.mintel.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/display/793221/# Ohio State University. (n.d.). Communication. Retrieved from http://undergrad.osu.edu/majors-a nd-academics/majors/detail/36 VALS. (2018a). Achievers. Strategic Business Insights. Retrieved from http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/achievers.shtml VALS. (2018b). Innovators. Strategic Business Insights. Retrieved from http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes/innovators.shtml