Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity PR Toolkit Image & Reputation

Transcription

1 Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity PR Toolkit Image & Reputation Inspiring Women to Realize Their Potential

2 You ve been assigned to help an Alpha Xi Delta chapter overcome a challenge or improve their campus reputation or image. First, help the chapter understand what a reputation is, how it is developed, and then lastly, how they can help influence the reputation of their chapter and of Alpha Xi Delta on their campus. may be the only look they get of Alpha Xi Delta. Hence, that one moment will determine their opinion of Alpha Xi Delta and the chapter. What are the important groups that hold opinions contributing to our campus reputation? There are many groups on campus that hold opinions that contribute to a chapter s reputation:! Faculty and administrators! Community residents! Campus Greek community! Parents of members! Unaffiliated students! Members of your group at other chapters! Alumnae! The national officers, staff, and volunteers! Other campus organizations What is a reputation? Reputation is what people think about a person or an organization. Alpha Xi Delta s reputation is most often formed by the actions and behaviors of chapters and the individual members of those chapters. The value of the name Alpha Xi Delta often determines what a chapter can accomplish on a campus, including recruiting members and involvement on campus. How are reputations formed? How can reputations be influenced? One important step in knowing how to influence reputation is to find out exactly what the reputation is, and what groups hold what opinions. A reputation audit should be performed by the chapter. **PR Specialists: Please include a copy of any audit that you complete in your reports to the PR Support Team Leader in December and May. Former Surgeon General Koop emphasized how important a reputation is when he said: It takes years to build a reputation and just seconds to destroy it. How true this is people do make up their minds in only a moment. Chapters need to be encouraged to always consider what they do and say at all times as their actions and words will be observed by others. Members should remember that one single moment, positive or negative,

3 Chapter Reputation Audit External Reputation What is the reputation of the chapter with: campus officials? other Greek organizations? non-greek campus groups? Is there a particular incident that created these reputations? Internal Reputation How do you see yourselves as a chapter? Why do you see the chapter this way? (give specific reasons)

4 Desired Reputation What do you want your reputation to be? What are your chapter s key qualities? What key messages need to be communicated? To what groups do you need to communicate? Who or what can help to communicate these messages? How can these messages be communicated?

5 Changing Chapter Reputation Set goals What does the chapter want to accomplish? _ What changes does the chapter want to make in their reputation? _ Outline activities The activities that the chapter undertakes to change opinions depend on the group or groups that the chapter wishes to influence. Below are questions that should be considered when developing strategies and activities for different target groups. Faculty and administrators! What are issues of concern to faculty and administrators?! What activities does the chapter engage in that might be of interest to this public?! How can you involve faculty in chapter operations as advisors, retreat speakers, etc.?! What could the chapter do to intentionally cultivate better relations with faculty and administrators?! What chapter activities are likely to be of concern to this public? How might those concerns be addressed? General community! What types of relations do you have with your neighbors?! How do you proactively address likely neighbor concerns about noise, house appearance, etc.?! What are potential ways for the chapter to positively contribute to the overall neighborhood environment?! What are needs of the community and how can the chapter help address those needs through its volunteering and service efforts?! Does the chapter have a plan in place for responding to concerns or complaints of neighbors? Greek community! What does your chapter do to try and build good relations with all fraternities and sororities on your campus?! How does your chapter's participation in other chapters' social events and service projects affect your relations with them? Should your participation be modified at all?! How does your chapter respond to individual conflicts with their chapters?! How could your chapter use its strengths to help support other chapters that might be struggling?! What type of involvement does your chapter have in IFC or Panhellenic, and how can your participation be strengthened? Parents! What ongoing communication does your chapter have with parents of members?! What types of activities do you plan that involve parents in the chapter and the overall university experience?! Does your chapter have an active Mom's Club, Dad's Club, or Parent's Club? If not, how could you approach developing such organizations?! What special effort does your chapter make to reach out to parents of new members?! If there was a crisis in your chapter, how would you communicate with parents?! When parents visit the chapter, how are they received? What effort do chapter members make to positively interact with them? Non-Greek students! What opportunities does your chapter have to use its existing calendar of activities to reach out to unaffiliated students?! How does your chapter treat unaffiliated students who express interest in your chapter outside of the designated IFC recruitment time blocks?! What image does your chapter project to unaffiliated students who might be visiting the chapter to make announcements at dinner, to study with chapter members, to visit their friends?

6 ! What image might unaffiliated students get of your chapter from chapter members who live on their residence hall floor, in their apartment complex, etc.? Members of your chapter at other campuses! Does your chapter consider how its actions affect other chapter in your organization?! How can your chapter benefit from the ideas of others, as well as share your successes with other chapters of your organization?! How can your chapter better support other chapters through participation in convention, leadership school, regional conferences, and other programs of this type?! What does your chapter do to congratulate colonies that are installed as chapters?! How does your chapter communicate with members of your fraternity or sorority on other campuses?! How are members of your organization from other campuses treated when they visit your chapter?! How do you treat members of your organization on other campuses when you go and visit them? Alumnae! Do you have an active year-round schedule of communications and activities for alumnae?! How does your alumnae outreach program reflect the various generations (and their respective interests) represented in your alumnae?! Do you plan and promote alumnae activities far in advance to allow alumnae to clear their calendars?! Do you plan events that allow alumnae to involve their families?! Do your alumnae communications make an effort to share news of particular interest to alumni/age, or do they simply reflect an update on what's happening in the chapter?! How are the financial contributions of alumnae acknowledged by the chapter?! What type of outreach does the chapter engage in to involve alumnae as advisors, speakers at chapter events, etc.? How do you acknowledge their contributions?! How are alumnae who just "stop by" treated by members of the chapter? The national officers and staff! What type of relationship does your chapter have with regional and national volunteers and staff?! What effort does the chapter make to communicate with national leaders and to share news of chapter successes?! Is the chapter forthright with staff and officers when a chapter crisis has developed?! How do you treat officers or staff members visiting the chapter?! How does your chapter support and participate in regional and national programs and conferences?! How well does your chapter meet its financial obligations to the national organization?! How well does your chapter comply with national policies and procedures?! Other campus organizations! Are there any all-campus organizations or activities that Greeks dominate? What could Greeks do to involve other campus organizations and other students?! What chapter activities could you co-sponsor or collaborate on with other campus organizations?! What do your members who are involved in campus organizations do to build relationships with others and to project a positive image of your chapter?

7 Reputation Action Plan Targeted Public(s): Goal: Action Steps: Responsibilities and Timetable: Activity Assigned to Completed by Reputation Action Plan Evaluation Did the event fulfill its goals and objectives? Yes No Why or why not? Identify what worked and what needs fine-tuning. What was the reaction of targeted public(s)? What would have made communications more effective? Was informal and formal feedback to the plan activities positive?

8 Audience Specific Public Relations Ideas Greek community! Send cards on their Founder s Day.! Host an open house for other Greek organizations.! Co-sponsor a community service project or fundraising event with another chapter or chapters.! Sponsor a Greek tutoring program.! Send holiday cards, congratulatory or appreciation notes.! Create exchange dinners or roommates.! Organize study tables at the library with other chapters. Campus administrators and faculty! Send flowers or notes to administrators congratulating them on promotions, publications, grants or awards.! Send campus officials thanks for supporting the chapter.! Select an outstanding faculty member as a faculty advisor.! Volunteer to collect data for university research projects.! Sponsor a faculty appreciation day.! Serve as tour guides or orientation guides make sure to wear ΑΞ in some way.! Assist disabled students on campus. Alumnae! Send alumnae a copy of your chapter activity calendar.! Invite alumnae to present chapter programs on topics such as career development, date rape or health issues.! Hold a special dinner or reception for alumnae.! Invite alumnae to all chapter special occasions.! Communicate all alumnae volunteer opportunities available in your chapter.! Volunteer to provide hostesses for alumnae events/meetings.! Have alumnae association co-sponsor a Choose Children event.! Plan a homecoming or reunion weekend.! Name various chapter awards after alumni who excel in promoting the ideals of Alpha Xi Delta.! Recognize all alumnae volunteers. Greek advisors! Send copy of the chapter s calendar.! Invite to special occasions.! Send a special card, certificate, etc. to thank advisors for their support. Non-Greek students! Hold a program on academic excellence, alcohol awareness or another issue for all students.! Actively participate in campus activities.! Blood drive campus wide, perhaps during Greek Week.! Place personal ads in school newspaper to wish University teams a good game.! Assist with residential hall move-ins. (wear letters!)! Encourage each member to be involved in at least one non-greek organization.! Conduct a service project with a student group or residence hall.! Sponsor campus projects with student groups (student government). Community at large! Participate in Choose Children Initiative by tutoring local students in reading.! Keep chapter house neat, clean and in repair.! Be good neighbors especially help elderly neighbors with heavy items/repair work.! Give advance notice if a chapter event may interfere with the neighborhood, such as traffic congestion. Parents! Send a welcome letter to the parents of new members.! Mail holiday cards or greetings.! Send a copy of chapter newsletter.! Sponsor a Parent s day or weekend.! Distribute a newsletter or letter to parents each semester to inform them of chapter activities.! Invite parents to chapter meetings, award event or other special occasions. Media! Communicate chapter activities and accomplishments to local and campus media.! Invite them to visit your chapter house, or arrange an open house for campus and local media.! Send photos of chapter s campus and community activities.! Send announcements of upcoming events to be listed in the newspaper calendar.

9 Image/Reputation 101 Here are some pointers to offer a chapter dealing with image/reputation issues: Substance first image will follow. It is more important to do good, than to look good. When a chapter positively contributes in some way, others will notice. It won't always make the front page headlines, but it will contribute to the bank account of goodwill that the chapter can deposit into on a regular basis. When something goes wrong (and at some point it will), the chapter s established positive image will help them ride through difficult times. The power of the press isn t all powerful so don't respond to every "anti-greek" story. A lot of energy can be wasted trying to fight the press and they are likely to always win. The media takes notice of newsworthy events. If the chapter or a member has done something unsafe, risky or inappropriate, it will most likely get coverage. The best course of action? Remind the chapter that if they want to avoid negative publicity make sure that chapter members observe the rules of Alpha Xi Delta and the university. When should a response to a negative news story be considered? If information that is blatantly untrue is released, it may be in the best interest of the chapter to send a letter to the editor or request that a correction be issued by the media. These measures should not be used as a means to vent frustration at the publication of information that is not factual, but as a means of education. Use the letter to the editor or retraction as a vehicle to educate the media and its audience about Alpha Xi Delta facts. Get two for the price of one; combine events that impact more than one public. Most chapters already have an overly ambitious calendar of programs and activities. Advise that they maximize the reach they will have by planning events Can alumnae events such as Homecoming include a food or clothing drive culminating in a donation to a local shelter? Can chapter workshops be offered to non-affiliated students? Advise the chapter how to look at each and every chapter activity to get the most out of their efforts in terms of external relations. Help the chapter develop and plan a project to benefit the university and surrounding community. It is important to support Choose Children, our national philanthropy. When a chapter is dealing with image challenges, it can be very beneficial to support the local campus or community. Perhaps there is a popular campus event or activity at which the chapter could volunteer. The chapter may want to look at becoming involved with a visible community event that receives good local media coverage. Recognize that all of the good doesn t excuse bad behavior or a mistake. Even if the chapter has worked hard all year - doing extensive volunteer projects to benefit others and proactively reaching out to the community, parents, and alumni - it won t erase the bad behavior of chapter members. The positive contributions a chapter makes yearround should be taken into account when something negative happens. However, help the chapter realize that these good deeds won t erase the image that is created from a negative T-shirt or advertisement. See the example of an advertisement that caused ill will on one campus on page 13. Good deeds certainly won t mend the broken trust and the confidence shattered when policies are violated. Think about it. How many service hours does it take to make up for sending a potential new member to the hospital with an alcohol overdose? The system just doesn't work that way. Chapters should do good because it is the right thing to do. Help the chapter realize that when a mistake has been made, it is the best course of action is to take responsibility for their poor judgment and deal with the consequences.

10 The smallest efforts often earn the greatest rewards: master the fundamentals. Remind the chapter that the biggest, most expensive efforts may not return the greatest impact. There are simple, fundamental things the chapter should remember if they want to positively influence their image. Good neighbor: keep the chapter house in good clean order. Make sure that all chapter property is kept neat and clean. Consider how the actions of the chapter will affect neighbors. Good hostess: whether it is an alumnae, media representative, university official or a when you have guests. Good communicator: promptly thank those who help the chapter. Acknowledge alumnae contributions. Promptly and courteously answer the house phone. Small details can make a large difference. The effect of daily fundamentals on chapter image can be tremendous. A Chapter's Image Starts with Its Members "Whatever other people think you are, think you do, or think they know about you from the way you look or talk is image Image won't do everything for you But the right image will open doors and give you an edge and opportunities in a great many ways." Sharon Carter and Penny Van Dyne Coping With Your Image New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1985 class, does it have anything to do with the fact that they re Greek? Maybe or maybe not. But if the faculty member perceives that poor performance is attributed to Greek affiliation, then the truth doesn't really matter. In the eyes of the beholder, perception is truth. That's a challenging thought because we can't control how others perceive us. The College Fraternity Editor's Association says that public relations and our image is derived 90% from what we do and only 10% from what we say. Our actions really do speak louder than our words. While we can't really control how others will perceive what we say or do, we do have the ability to control what we say or do. That's why your chapter's image really does begin with you. Generating a positive image and good external relations is a responsibility for you as an individual and your chapter as an organization. If either party does not focus on the attitudes and behaviors that positively reflect individual and organizational values, good results are unlikely to be attained. However, through regular self-examination at both the individual and chapter level, as well as consistent personal and organizational goal setting, the desired image can be achieved. Make sure that chapter members understand that the image of their chapter is greatly influenced by they way they act and talk. As a member of Alpha Xi Delta what they say and what they do contributes to the reputation of the chapter and the national organization. If a member performs poorly in a

11 Chapter Image and Perceptions are Developed from Everything We Say and Do As stated earlier, perception is the truth. The chapter members who sponsored the self-defense workshop had only the best intentions, and wanted to provide a public service in helping young women protect themselves. Is there anything wrong with the poster at the left? The fact is everything must be considered carefully. Nothing may appear to be wrong from our viewpoint, but what about the viewpoint of others? Chapter members thought they were making necessary efforts to make sure that the drawing did not represent a particular ethnic group. Yet when the ad appeared in the university newspaper it was perceived to be racist. Read the following letter to the editor and the responding public apology that the chapter was forced to prepare and publish in the university newspaper. Could the chapter have avoided this situation? How? What are some alternatives? Chapters should be encouraged to think about how what they say and do from choosing slogans for chapter T-shirts to comments made about potential new members - everything we say and do affects our image and helps those observing us to develop their perceptions and opinions about Alpha Xi Delta.

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13 Marketing Support Fraternity Headquarters offers a variety of collateral material that chapters can use to improve their image on campus. Newspaper ads can be personalized to address certain issues and for each campus. Newspaper advertisements Postcards These four-color postcards can be personalized with campus-specific information (see exhibit C) and dates, locations and times of recruitment activities. Postcard A measures 4 ¼ wide x 6 high; B measures 6 wide x 4 ¼ high. Postcard D is a larger card, measuring 9 wide x 6 high. Postcard A Postcard B Exhibit C Postcard D

14 Posters Series of 8 four-color posters in both large vertical or horizontal formats measuring 12 ½ x 19 and small vertical formats measuring 8 ½ x 11. (Small posters are pictured below). Posters can be used to beef up recruitment efforts, to improve chapter image on campus and in general education efforts.

15 Brochure Four-color brochure can be used in recruitment efforts and in general education efforts. Media Relations Support Editing of news releases, assistance developing media statements, customized media lists by campus/city including names, addresses, s and phone and fax numbers.

16 Alpha Xi Delta Public Image Questionnaire The purpose of this questionnaire is to provide Alpha Xi Delta s public relations committee with an assessment of our image on campus. After the results are reviewed, we will set goals to help improve our image in the areas indicated. Thank you for completing this questionnaire. 1. I am a(n): Administrator Independent student Alpha Xi Delta advisor Local business owner Alpha Xi Delta alumna Member of a Greek organization Alpha Xi Delta family member Member of the media Campus employee Faculty member Other 2. My overall impression of the Alpha Xi Delta chapter is: Very good Good Average Poor 3. I know a member or members of the Alpha Xi Delta chapter: Very well Somewhat Not at all 4. On our campus, Alpha Xi Deltas are known for (check all that apply): Academic excellence Raising money for causes/organizations Participation in Greek events Snobbishness Average to poor students Student leadership Diversity Volunteer work Friendliness Wild parties Greek leadership They aren t known for anything Intramurals Participation in campus activities Women s athletics Other 5. Alpha Xi Delta s national philanthropy is: American Lung Association Choose Children Don t know Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

17 6. The Greek organizations on our campus benefit their members by providing: (Please rank in order of importance, with 1 being most important.) Friendships Worthwhile programs Academic support Scholarships Leadership development Experience in community Networking involvement Social events Alumnae support High moral standards Greek organizations have little or no value Other 7. Alpha Xi Delta could make a greater contribution to campus and be a more valuable organization if it would: 8. Other comments: Thank you for your participation!