In order to ensure that advertising efforts and dollars are focused correctly, we must understand our target market for each campaign.

Transcription

1 Executive Summary In July 2010 Wiregrass Georgia Technical College formed from the merger of East Central Technical College and Valdosta Technical College. The two separate colleges have long histories in the communities they have served for decades. Each college saw record growth in enrollment during the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years which added to the publicity of the merger. The merger of the colleges was not done without some hesitation and resistance from the communities involved and this marketing plan is being put into place in an effort to ease the transition and aid the marketing and public relations department as well as the new college in rebranding as Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. Taking into consideration each community affected and the historic relationships between the communities and the individual colleges; a marketing plan that builds upon each college s strengths and the benefits of merging those strengths will be put in to place for the fiscal year The following pages outline the foundations of which the marketing plan is built, addresses specific groups of potential students and ways to market to them, details the organization of public relations and marketing across all campuses and counties served, and lays out the overall image building campaign that will be put into place to promote WGTC. College Overview Situational Analysis Based upon input from the leadership team of WGTC, the following situational analysis was put together to assist in uncovering areas where marketing and public relations will play a vital role in Strengths: Weaknesses: Opportunities: Threats: Target Markets In order to ensure that advertising efforts and dollars are focused correctly, we must understand our target market for each campaign. The current demographics of the student population include (the information below is from data collected for East Central Technical College and Valdosta Technical during fall quarter 2009): 1. Enrollment by Race a. American Indian 23 (ECTC 3 and VTC 20) Page 1

2 b. Asian 36 (ECTC 6 and VTC 30) c. Black 2109 (ECTC 701 or 39.9% and VTC 1408 or 39.5%) d. Hispanic 353 (ECTC 28 and VTC 35) e. Native Hawaiin 7 (ECTC 3 and VTC 4) f. White 2917 (ECTC 1002 or 57% and VTC 1915 or 53.8%) g. Unknown 158 (ECTC 15 or.9% and VTC 143 or 4%) 2. Enrollment by Age a. Under (ECTC 457 or 26% and VTC 937 or 26.3%) b. Ages 21 to (ECTC 368 or 20.9% and VTC 935 or 26.2%) c. Ages 26 to (ECTC 266 or 15.1% and VTC 544 or 15.3%) d. Ages 31to (ECTC 190 or 10.8% and VTC 341 or 9.6%) e. Ages 36 to (ECTC 142 or 8.1% and VTC 247 or 6.9%) f. Ages Over (ECTC 335 or 19.1% and VTC 558 or 15.7%) 3. Enrollment by Gender a. Male 1937 (ECTC 657 or 34% and VTC 1277 or 35.9%) b. Female 3386 (ECTC 1101 or 62.6% and VTC 2285 or 64.1%) The target markets to be focused on for advertising efforts and dollars includes but is not limited to: 1. High school age students 2. Males and disabled individuals (these two markets currently have low numbers in enrollment) 3. Individuals aging from 18 to 40+ years with little or no post secondary education 4. College leavers and career change aged individuals 5. Key influencers such as parents, teachers, counselors, graduation coaches, school administrators, media, business leaders and political leaders 6. Multicultural individuals living in the 11 county service areas Page 2

3 Marketing Strategies and Implementation Quarterly Advertising There will be a quarterly advertising campaign created to begin no less than 8 weeks out from the start of the coming quarter. All advertising created for the quarterly campaign will center around an agreed upon image and theme for that quarter. The campaign will include the following: 1. New and updated class schedule printed and distributed on campus locations, in local businesses and on the web. 2. Posters with important dates printed and placed in high student traffic areas. 3. Updated information on all website locations: i.e. WGTC website, Facebook, MySpace, Valdosta Daily Times ad and other locations. 4. Newspaper advertisements in all county and city papers, area shoppers and other print material distributed community wide. 5. Radio spots on multiple stations. 6. Television commercials on multiple broadcast and cable stations. 7. Direct mail pieces targeting specific groups (i.e. high school students, returning students), promoting specific dates (i.e. new student orientation dates), and any new or in need programs. 8. Events including admissions day event and other open house type events that can be coordinated to promote a specific quarter. Rebranding Ad Campaign for WGTC Understanding that the newly formed Wiregrass Georgia Technical College is replacing the names and images of two unique and well known colleges creates a new need to rebrand the college. The communities served by the former ECTC and VTC colleges are aware of their previous identities. The goal of the marketing and public relations staff will be to successfully create a brand awareness campaign for Wiregrass Georgia Tech. This campaign will run the course of the FY11 year to ensure that the target audiences know, remember and think about WGTC as a top choice for furthering or beginning their education. The rebranding campaign will run simultaneously with quarterly advertising and fill in during times when there is no quarterly advertising running. 1. Use of billboards in each county served. 2. Constant radio spots and regular visits to local radio stations. 3. Consistent rotation of new commercials created to boost the image of the new college. Page 3

4 4. Larger buys in local newspapers, area shoppers and magazines to gain attention. 5. Creative use of news stories to get the attention of news media in reporting more on WGTC successes. 6. New social networking sites and constant promotion of those sites. 7. Release and constant mention of the new WGTC website 8. Broad reach direct mail campaigns done twice during the FY11 year to promote merger. 9. Kickoff event held in July to officially mark the beginning of WGTC. 10. Annual media appreciation events held to promote and thank the local news media. 11. Use of new promotional products in recruiting visits to local high schools, career fairs, department of labor visits, and chamber events. Ad Campaigns by Specific Groups At times throughout the year, a need may arise where a specific group of people can be targeted to increase enrollment. Examples include promoting new programs to previous graduates in related fields or running a specific campaign to boost enrollment numbers in a current program. These campaigns will need to be very specific to the targeted group and may include a number of advertising methods. Below lists some of the campaigns that may begin or be carried over from the previous years. 1. High School age students a. Advertising campaigns using media seen by high school seniors will be used to promote the HOPE Grant and transferability of academic core classes. b. Different methods including social networking, high school advisory peer groups, tours, visits to local high schools, direct mail pieces and events will be used to promote early enrollment options for sophomore, junior and seniors. 2. Males and disable individuals a. These two groups make up a small percentage of our current student population. A campaign will be created using males and disabled individuals in more ads and success stories to promote their enrollment into non-traditional programs. 3. Individuals over 18 with little or no post secondary education a. Advertising will include information about the ease of returning to college and the options for financially affording to go to school while working, raising a family or overcoming some other obstacle. 4. College leavers and career changing individuals Page 4

5 a. Promotion of the ability to earn back the HOPE Scholarship, transferability of classes to other colleges and universities, cooperation between local universities and 4 year colleges for specific programs such as industrial electrical, clinical lab and dental. b. Promote programs with high career placement rates and short completion times. 5. Key influencers such as parents, teachers, counselors, graduation coaches, school administrators, media, business leaders and political leaders a. Parents: Direct mail campaigns, local talk radio visits by programs instructors, involvement in parent bootcamps at locals schools will aid in promoting WGTC as a viable option b. More marketing material including information on the HOPE Grant option, scholarships, new programs and programs in high demand will be created and distributed to key influencers. c. Constant contact with local news media outlets will serve as a method for getting out true life successes on each campus and real time news that appeals to the local market d. Involvement of the marketing and public relations staff in local chambers, non-profit organizations and on industry committees will give insight in how to best present WGTC to those groups. 6. Multicultural individuals living in the 11 county service areas a. Increase the number of marketing pieces translated into various languages of use in the community b. Work with ESL instructors to provide any needed marketing materials for recruiting students into the classes in all counties. Page 5

6 Organization of the Marketing and Public Relations Offices The marketing and public relations office includes the executive director of public relations, the director of public relations and marketing on the Valdosta Campus, and the webmaster located on the Ben Hill- Irwin Campus. It is the hopes of the department that an additional person will be added before the end of the FY11 year on the northern end of the college service area to ensure equal and appropriate attention is given to all campus locations in terms of media and marketing. The department will work closely with all other departments of the college in order to provide the public with current news, create marketing campaigns to increase enrollment college wide as well as in individual programs, coordinate events and positively represent the college in the community. The webmaster will work closely with each department and individual that has input into the website to ensure that information is always up to date, that the website is user friendly and stays in compliance with various oversight organizations. The director of public relations and marketing and the executive director will share responsibilities of media relations and marketing campaign development. Quarterly ad campaigns, annual reports, new program campaigns, etc will be coordinated jointly. The director of public relations will be the main person responsible for news releases to the media and for postings to the college s social networking sites. Events will be handled on a case by case basis and will depend greatly on location of event and size of event. There will be several committees established to aid in several areas including events, review of publications, website overview committees and general marketing. Page 6

7 Budget Total Estimated Budget Needs= $420,000 Budget breakdown and explanations: Budgeted Items Total Year Investment Black Crow Media Current Investment includes: radio spots per month on Hot (WXHT) radio station with largest listening base of our target market. 2. Morning show sponsorship for Hot (WXHT) 200 name mentions per month. 3. Website direct link to 4. Morning show sponsorship on Talk The Morning Drive 5. Internet Marketing on WWRQ, WSTI, WKAA, WQPW- will request special links to new website as well as more frequent mentions in electronic newsletters 6. Quarterly Advertising for registration: a. Live remotes by Hot (WXHT) held during spring quarter and during GeekFest b. blasts to listeners of WXHT, WWRQ, WSTI, WKAA, WQPW c. 200 commercials to air on Rock 108, Star 105.3, Hot 102.7, 95.7 The Mix, 99.5 Kix Country Scott James Sponsorship- VSU Athletics and Morning show Current investment includes 10 month sponsorship of VSU baseball, football and basketball games as well as every other week on his morning talk show plus additional spots to run during June/July during break from sports programming. Below stations: Run quarterly advertising at below rates WLYX 96.7 (Hip Hop) Valdosta (VTC budget) $1600 WRDO 96.9 FM (adult contemporary) Fitz, Ocilla, Wilcox (ECTC budget) $2000 WDMG 97.9 FM (country) Douglas, Atkinson (ECTC budget) $1000 WOKA FM (country) 100,000 watt station in Douglas (ECTC budget) $2000 WBYZ 94.5 FM (country) 100,000 watt over in Baxley (ECTC budget) $2000 WPNG 101.9FM (new and old favorites) Douglas, Atkinson (ECTC budget) $1000 Newspaper Advertisement: Investment includes: a. Quarterly registration advertising in all service area papers estimated to be $40,000 for year. Page 7

8 b. Classifieds placed for employment. c. WGTC Button and Banner ad for year $4800 d. Miscellaneous advertising in all service area papers (tabloids, special sections, events) $44,000 Adel News (VTC) Atkinson County Citizen (ECTC) Berrien Press (VTC) Clinch County News (run sporadically) (VTC) Douglas Enterprise (ECTC) Echols County Echo (VTC) only a monthly Fitzgerald Herald (ECTC) Lanier County News (VTC) Moody Volunteer (VTC) Ocilla Star (ECTC) Quitman Press (VTC) Valdosta Daily Times (VTC) VSU Spectator (only run until April/May) (VTC) Glass Onion (VTC) Shoppers: Run full and half page advertisements to promote both quarterly registration information and the merger beginning in July. Adel Advertiser (VTC) Barwick News (Brooks County) (VTC) Ben Hill Irwin (ECTC) Classified Marketplace (VTC) Direct To You (Berrien/Lanier) (VTC) Douglas Shopper (ECTC) Wilcox Marketer (VTC) Television Advertisement: Divide the budgeted amount to run spots on the below stations. a. WALB/NBC- Includes spots to run on Today in GA, 6pm news, a prime rotation from 8-11pm (VTC) b. Comcast Commercial spots- Includes spots to run on A&E, BET, FX, TLC, MTV, CMT, Discovery, ESPN, VH1, and TBS (VTC) includes Valdosta, Lake Park and Moody markets c. WTLH Fox 49 (covers area from Tallahassee up to Valdosta including Brooks County and the Madison area) annual contract to run spots 5 weeks prior to quarter registrations (VTC) d. WFXL Fox 31 (covers northern part of counties we serve) $900 per month beginning in April for 20 thirty second commercials, free production of 2 thirty second commercials, and web ad. (VTC) Page 8

9 e. WCTV (VTC) f. On Media A&E, BET, FX, TLC, MTV, TBS, CMT, Discovery, ESPN, and VHI/ includes 660 monthly commercials plus free add ons for psa announcements about Adult Education monthly investment of $5040 per month April, May and June- includes Fitzgerald, Douglas and Tifton markets (ECTC) g. Douglas TV- (ECTC) h. Fun Channel 60second spots are $7 per spot and 30 second spots are $5 per spot- covers Wilcox, Ben Hill, Tift, Lowndes, Brooks and Atkinson counties if on Mediacom cable. (Both VTC/ECTC) i. Cordele very little buy (ECTC) Online Advertisements VDT website, city of Valdosta website, TweenTribune, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Valdostaconnect.com, HeyYawl.com, BlackCrow media websites, Fitzgerald newspaper website Printed Marketing Materials: 1. Economic Development class schedule/information 2. Postcards to all current high school seniors in? 3. Postcards to all current high school sophomore and juniors in? 4. Postcards to all high school parents in? 5. Postcards to all adult education students in? 6. Direct mail piece to all current students about coming changes and then maybe a letter? 7. Posters, flyers, table tent cards to be distributed in quarterly to all campus locations and local restaurants, libraries, etc 8. New posters for all high schools to be given out over the summer for the coming fall print 6000 total (must outsource) 9. Program card printing 10. Student Calendars printed and distributed in April/May/June 11. Printing of College View Book to be used for recruiting 5000 to 7500 to start (must outsource) 12. New admissions folders ( use Colson s if we can) new design x12 banners for Fitzgerald and Ocilla (Howard to handle) 14. Trayliners for Wendy s and Chickfila 15. Student Services Quarterly Postcard printing/financial Aid Postcards/Registration Postcards = $ 16. Recruiting cost for printing of direct mail pieces, flyers, brochures, etc = $ 17. Other printing cost for program/services direct mail outs, brochures, Work Ethics Folders, posters, etc = $ 18. Annual Report Printing = $ Rack card printing = $ 20. Student Calendars = paid for by SGA 21. Admissions folders for each area ( Moody AFB, CWFDC, Adult ED, General Admissions, T&I, Cont. Ed, Business Education, & Allied Health) = 11,000 (500 each) 22. Printing of College View Book to be used for recruiting = Page 9

10 Postage * For direct mail pieces quarterly postcards, class schedules * For direct mail pieces for specific programs or services Billboards Magazines Billboards strategically placed in all service areas based on high traffic and visibility to be up for pre-merger ads from April to June and then changed in July for after merger. Total cost= $4400 per month Locations: Fitzgerald (1) across from Walmart Ocilla (1) route 129 between BenHill/Irwin Douglas (2) one on bypass at Walmart and one by high school Adel (2) by new high school and on elm street Quitman Nashville Valdosta 5 total w/ 1 being a digital Direct Mail Pieces see printing Coffee Magazine Georgia Trend South Georgia Business magazine- ad in May edition half page at $455 Valdosta Lowndes Chamber Progress Valdosta Magazine- ads running in March, June and September Valdosta Scene Magazine run ½ page ads full color $455 per ad) goes to home with incomes over $65000 annually VDT Health Matters run allied health ad ( ½ page ads at $446 per ad full color) reaches 11,500 people in area. Flyers/Handouts/Table Tent Cards/Posters see printing High School Specific Events/Visits WGTC s recruiting department makes monthly visits to local high schools and sets up a table during lunch hours. During the year, we will provide them with marketing materials and promotional items to hand out about the coming college as well as create a banner to be used at the table. Also, we will provide a copy of the merger video and a laptop so that they can show the video during the visits. Visiting Dates: Page 10

11 WGTC works closely with local school systems, boys and girls clubs and other non-profit organizations through sponsorships of events, sporting events, yearbooks, etc As these request come in we will make sure that each ad, promotion reflects the new image of the college and the coming year. At this time there are too many to list and we do not know which new ones will come in over the next few months. Events GeekFest Media Day Faculty/Staff events Student Activities events Merger kickoff event on each campus in July Subscriptions * service area newspaper subscriptions * area magazine subscriptions Other Miscellaneous: Valdosta Greeting Service FYI Guide full page ad used in all Lowndes, Cook, Berrien and Lanier counties $900 Valdosta Mall Smartlite Ad mall display renews in April so a new ad will go up $2250 South Georgia MotorSports Park programs- front of program full page- already done Moody AFB 2010/2011 Directory- two full page ads- already done Department of Labor visits by WGTC Recruiting Department Valdosta Greeting Service $340Smartlite Ad mall display $2250 Valdosta Magazine ad (1/2 page ads in 4 editions) $2800 Area school sponsorships (yearbooks, athletics) $800 Event Sponsorships (booth rentals, entry fees, registration) $2748 Valdosta Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce book (back page ad) $ Progress Magazine 3 ½ pg ads throughout coming year $1350 Promotional Items and Marketing cost for new Alumni organization $10,000 Additional Promotional Item orders to replenish throughout year (CWFDC & Adult Ed) $5,000 4 Intern Stipends( 500 each) $2000 Events (general fund to pull from for school wide events) grand openings, open houses, etc $5000 Office Supplies/Materials (includes cloth cleaning, miscellaneous for school events, office supplies) $3000 Travel and Association Memberships $2500 Page 11

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