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PART 1: IDENTIFYING CLIENT

TYPES OF CAMPAIGNS:

1. Political Campaign: A campaign that is candidate or issue oriented. An example would bedoing a PR campaign for Ian Parkinsons run for sheriff of San Luis Obispo County.

2. Commercial Campaign:Promotes a companys new product or service. An examplewould be if a downtown restaurant decided to start opening in the morning and selling

breakfast instead of just lunch and dinner. They would use a PR campaign to promote this

new service so that they can inform their publics.

3. Reputation Campaign:Image campaign aimed at improving how a company ornonprofit organization is perceived by the publics. After the Gulf Coast oil spill, BP

mobilized a reputation campaign consisting of social media, commercials, print ads, and

other actions to boost their sullied image.

4. Educational or Public Awareness Campaign: Conducted by nonprofit organization oradvocacy group. An example would be a campaign such as ours, where the nonprofit is in

need of more volunteers and community involvement.

5. Social Action Campaign: Advocate a social issue or cause. An example would be a PRcampaign for HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, including a free benefit concert, etc.

6. What type or types best describes your groups PR Campaign:

Our groups campaign for the Cal Poly Cat Program is primarily an Educational and Public

Awareness Campaign, but also has some aspects that make it a Reputation Campaign and

on a certain level, a Social Action Campaign as well. The Cal Poly Cat Program is a non-

profit organization that has a shelter located on Cal Polys campus but services the

community as well as the University. Many students and community members are not

aware that the shelter, or the program for that matter, even exists. This is partially

because the programs resources and man-power is stretched so thin just maintaining the

shelter - keeping the rescued cats healthy and happy and seeking homes for those that

are considered adoptable that they have not been able to allocate time or money to

publicity. The goal of our campaign is to raise awareness both on campus and in the

greater San Luis Obispo community; we want to educate the various publics about the

various services the Cal poly Cat Program offers. We also want to urge people to supportthe cause of rescuing, spaying/neutering cats and finding them good homes, by

supporting the Program and donating either time as a volunteer or money for supplies

and medical bills. Finally, we want to improve the image of the Program. Since it is

primarily run by two older women, some have dismissed their efforts thinking they are

merely crazy cat ladies, when in reality they have made, and continue to make, a

positive impact on the lives of cats, their owners and the community as a whole.

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PR CAMPAIGN PLANNING:

A. Background research

1. Campaign Client: Cal Poly Cat Program2. Contact Person/Title:

-Edie Griffin-Shaw-- Title: Cal Poly Cat Program Co-Executive Director

Contact Info: egriffin@calpoly.edu, work- (805) 756-5220, cell- (805) 441-5293

-Ellen Notermann-- Title: Cal Poly Cat Program Co-Executive Director

Contact Info: enoterma@calpoly.edu, work- (805) 756-1325, cell- (805) 459-7724

3. Mission Statement:The 3 Rs: Rescue, Recovery, and Release. We take in sick orinjured cats, get them the medical attention they need, and release them into the

community or find them a good home. We also take in cats if their owners can no

longer care for them, and find them a home.

Program goals: To spay and neuter all stray cats on campus so that there is a

healthy population of cats, and to have as many people as possible get involved

and take care of them. To assist the community and help people find the

resources they need to get their animals fixed. Educate students and community

members about the importance of spaying and neutering.

4. Perceived Needs of Company: The perceived needs of the company are improvingfundraising for the cat program, finding more volunteers, and acquiring morefoster homes for the cats.

5. Perceived Publics: The Public that we wish to target during our awareness andreputation campaign are Cal Poly Students and the San Luis Obispo community

who have a desire to volunteer helping to upkeep the facilities and also assist with

funding the Cat Shelter so it is able to maintain the supplies that are needed

monthly. More specifically the publics we are addressing are primary, active, and

latent publics.

6. Perceived Needs of Publics: Our publics include Cal Poly students and animal-loving community members who might be able to donate time and/or money and

would likely want to be kept updated on the goings-on of the shelter. They could

be contacted through a consistently published newsletter or up-to-date social

media outlets. The publics would also need convenient ways to make donations.

Students and community members need an outlet to ease their stress and what is

any better way than playing with animals. In addition, the publics may need a

place to temporarily house and take care of their cat if circumstances prevent

them from being able to do so.

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PR CAMPAIGN PROPOSAL:

SECTION 1:

A. IntroductionTwenty or so years ago one of Cal Polys students decided to do his senior project oncontrolling the rat problem here on campus. They started out bringing in four hundred

cats to control the growing issue. Bringing this many cats on to campus caused complaints

over the first few years and what was once a pest control program, quickly turned into a

cat shelter for unwanted felines. Edie, the co-executive director came along and lent a

helping hand. For the past fifteen years she has dedicated thousands of hours and money

out of her own pocket to give these cats a place to call home. Cal Poly has provided space

to house these animals but funding for food and other supplies have been raised by

events held on and off campus. By accepting the Educational or Public Awareness

Campaign and Reputation Campaign for the Cal Poly Cat Program we will be able to help

Edie and her team spread the positive words of this program. We will not only provide

new and creative ideas on fundraising, but we will also help execute some of these

planned events. In addition, the Cal Poly Cat Program needs to build a base of reliable and

consistent volunteers that can help out at the shelter. We aim to do all that we can to

help the program succeed and see the results that they desire.

B. Foreseeable complicationsIf the Cal Poly Cat Program does not receive enough donations, they will have to accept

fewer cats in to the program and have to make cutbacks on any add-on supply costs. In

addition, if they do not receive enough volunteers that come on a regular basis they will

have to accept fewer cats and be extremely short-staffed. They may not be able to

maintain the shelter in the best condition if they are not given more assistance in thenear future. If there are not enough people to assist the two women with the shelter,

they may have to close in the future due to the lack of assistance that is needed to care

for 50 cats. Another complication that has been happening is due to the fact that they

have multiple websites and do not frequently update or use social media tools to their

advantage. If the program continues to neglect social media tools they will eventually lose

what little web presence they have established today and have to start from the bottom

up again.

SECTION 2:

A. DiscussionOur Public Relations campaign aims to increase the publics awareness, on and off

campus, of the Cat Program here at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. We also plan to come up

with new ideas for possible fundraising and further help shape the reputation of the

program to highlight how great it truly is.

1. RequirementsThere is a clear call for both volunteers and money, and thus the challenge is

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creating a cohesive campaign that addresses both requirements. As a university

entity, the CPCP's target market is predominantly students who can volunteer at

the shelter. Those living in on-campus housing appear to be a particularly

receptive market due to their proximity to the shelter and ability to donate time.

A more challenging portion of the target market is San Luis Obispo community

members. While they may be less likely to physically volunteer at the shelter, thisportion of the population is more able to provide monetary support and material

donations. Thus, we have an opportunity to craft a two-pronged campaign and

raise awareness in both markets. Research may be conducted by email surveys to

students and focus groups conducted in the larger community.

2. Detailed AnalysisThe steps required to complete the project include meeting at the Cat Shelter next

week (week of April 18th

22nd

) to further immerse our group in the Cal Poly Cat

Programs atmosphere. Then, we will plan and implement a budget for a

fundraiser or PR campaign. Next, we will re-do their brochure, and to think of a

way to get the word out to the public about the Program. Lastly, it might be

possible to increase fundraising by selling more BBQ Food tickets for their Laguna

Lake Golf Tournament fundraiser. Alternative approaches include changing the

budget as needed and focusing on publicizing the PetSmart Charities Adopt a Cat

program more than what is currently being done. Other shelter programs do not

work with as many Cal Poly students, since this program is affiliated with Cal Poly,

it will increase awareness to students that volunteers and foster homes are

needed. The Cal Poly pet program is looking for a way to get the word out that

they need volunteers, donations, and people are who are willing to adopt a pet to

Cal Poly students and the community. Our group is focusing on these needs by

publicizing this program and increasing awareness and funds through proactivefundraising. The approach previously mentioned will help illustrate that cats can

be easily adopted and are needed around the Cal Poly campus since rats are biting

into electrical cords on campus. It will show that cats need a home and that they

are not bothersome animals.

3. ApproachOur public relations campaign focuses on attracting Cal Polys student body as well

as members of the community to get involved in a number of ways, a couple being

volunteering their time to work at the shelter, but also to adopt, and help get the

word out about this non-profit organization. We are also focusing on increasing

funding for this organization and one of the biggest ways that we are planning to

do this is by creating flyers and other ads that will help create awareness about

the program on campus and in the community. We believe that many people are

unaware of this organization or misinformed, but with this campaign approach;

pet lovers and other caring individuals will gain perspective and feel motivated to

get involved.

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SECTION 3:

A. Outline the proposed projectThe two crucial aspects of this campaign for the Cal Poly Cat Program are increasing

fundraising and revenue, and increasing participation of existing volunteers as well as

recruitment of new volunteers and staff members. In order to accomplish these goals,we have decided that we will need to work with the student volunteer currently

managing all fundraising activities in order to improve upon them and publicize them

to raise the money that the shelter desperately needs. Upcoming events this year

include a small golf tournament at Laguna Lake (which is normally publicized only

through word of mouth) that will take place on May 21st

. Before then, we would like

to come up with ways to advertise the event because although the participant tickets

have already sold out, anyone can buy tickets for the barbeque lunch and raffle, which

presents an opportunity for even more fundraising. Also we would like to work to

promote the weekend of April 29-May 1st as two big events are scheduled to occur

then. On April 29th

, the Program will host Cats in the Atrium at the Cal Poly library

they bring cats to the library atrium so that students can take a study break and play

with them as they do each quarter. This event needs more promotion as it spreads

awareness of the Program and its shelter on campus and usually inspires students to

learn more or volunteer. That same weekend is National Adoption Week and for

every cat that the Cal Poly Cat Program adopts through PetSmart (the two have a

partnership and since August 2010 have found homes for over 150 cats), they will get

$35 back to benefit the shelter and purchase necessary food, litter and medical

supplies needed to keep the cats happy and healthy. We do not have a detailed

timeline currently but will get started with the promotional efforts (including ad

creation and placement, flyer design and printing, creation and maintenance of

Facebook page/event specific groups) for these three events effective immediately.Depending on how much money is raised through the golf tournament and the

National Adoption Week, we may plan either a fundraiser through a local restaurant

or just an awareness/volunteer recruitment event in June.

SECTION 4:

A. Review qualifications and experience of project staff(See Resume section of Appendix)

Lindsey Serna: Lindsey is a third year Recreation, Parks and Tourism

Administration major with a concentration in Tourism Management. She has

been involved in numerous fundraising events; most recently raising $53,000 for

the youth in my community with the 2009 Elks Rodeo of Santa Maria. Lindsey

has dealt with coordinating events as well as actually being in charge of the

actual day of events. She considers herself creative when it comes to coming up

with new ideas about getting peoples attention as well as convincing them to

get involved. Lindsey feels that her people skills and past experience will bring a

lot to our group and the Cal Poly Cat Program.

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Amelia Chucholowski: Amelia is a third year Recreation, Parks and Tourism

Administration major with a concentration in Tourism Management. She is really

interested in traveling and the tourism industry specifically managing hotels. She

had a chance to work for various hotels from Bed & Breakfast to midsized

Courtyard by Marriot to a large 5-star hotel in Germany. In addition, Amelia has

also planned the second annual Senior Prom benefiting the AlzheimersAssociation and Special Olympics dance for athletes. She enjoys working and

interacting with people and get great satisfaction from seeing other people happy,

which is a perfect fit for Public Relations.

Ryan H. Nodal: Ryan is a 4th

year in the College of Business with a concentration in

Accounting. He has worked for the past six years coaching kids from ages 5 to 12

teaching them how to swim. The experience he brings to his Public Relations

team is from his senior project, where he served as the Vice President of

Communications for the 16th

Annual International Career Conference put on by

the College of Business. As the Vice President his duties were handling

advertisement and getting awareness out to the student body, as well as

contributing to the overall logistics of the conference.

Kelsey Hollenbeck: Kelsey is a 2nd

year Journalism student with a concentration in

Public Relations. Although this is her first PR class, Kelsey has honed her writing

and communication skills through her undergraduate Journalism courses and

current job as Web Content Writer for Cal Poly STRIDE. She has also collaborated

with co-workers to implement integrated marketing and social media campaigns

for her summer retail job. After attending the PRSSA National Assembly this year,

she learned even more about the importance of social media and is excited to

apply this knowledge to this campaign project. A self-proclaimed cat lover,Kelsey has been a part-time volunteer for the Cal Poly Cat Program for the past

two years and is familiar with the program's history and mission, and cannot wait

to help this wonderful non-profit gain much-needed funds and recognition both

on campus and in the community.

Kristin Kenney: is 2nd year journalism major concentrating in public relations. She

has assisted with fundraising events and public relations work in the past, and

enjoy applying these skills to nonprofit organizations. Her strong background in

writing also helps with composing press releases and networking with local media.

Kristin will certainly be an asset to our group and the Cal Poly Cat Program

because of all the skills she has learned with her past experiences.

Chelsea Kitta: is a 2nd

year Public Relations Journalism student. She has excellent

social media skills, having taken multiple multimedia production classes for the

web. Chelsea maintains several blogs, two twitter accounts, a Facebook and a

Youtube account and she is very tech savvy. Chelsea is also a dedicated member

of the Cal Poly Public Relations Student Society of America. In addition, she has

worked at Jamba Juice for almost a year, so she has a great deal of experience in

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customer relations as well as a great understanding of a clients needs. Chelsea

understands how important money is for non-profits and knows a multitude of

strategies to approach a wide age demographic of people to build the most

revenue. In addition she has developed very effective and efficient

communication skills through her experience at Jamba Juice and has learned the

best ways to approach people to see results for the business/program. She is wellqualified to serve as part of a public relations team because of her compilation of

unique and diverse skills.

SECTION 5:

A. EvaluationTo determine the success of the project we will examine the average numbers of people

who attended the events that the program puts on and compare it to the results we will

analyze after we implement our campaign. We will also compare the average donation

amount that the program receives per month and compare it to the numbers that we will

obtain after pitching our campaign for the public. In addition we will also track social

media and track the number of hits or likes a page receives after implementing our

campaign throughout the quarter. In addition, we could post a survey online for students

and community members to take to get their opinion on whether they feel like they are

more informed about the Cal Poly Cat Program than they were in the past. Once we

compile all of data from the different facets of our campaign as we progress through the

project, we will be able to make a solid judgment call on whether our campaign efforts

are successful and what needs work. In addition, if we also maintain a strong

communication connection between our group and the program directors we will be able

to fix minor flaws through their analysis and input.

SECTION 6:

A. Outline the budgetBudget Outline: As the CPCP already has proven fundraising events planned, we

propose a targeted marketing plan within the agreed-upon budget of $200.

Item Cost

1. New Times Advertisement..................$53.60 (1/32 classified box, nonprofit discount)

-Pet section classified will promote featured adoptable cats2. Mustang Daily Classified....................Free

-Call for student volunteers

3. Flyers..................................................$40 (400 at $0.10)

-Placed in dorms, campus centers, local pet stores

4. CPCP Logo Stickers...........................$80 (100 4x4" circle stickers)

-Handed out at events to raise awareness/solicit volunteers and donations

Total Proposed Budget Amount: $173.60

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PART 2: NEEDS ASSESSMENT

CLEAR PR CAMPAIGN GOAL:

We hope to achieve two things through the creation and implementation of this public relations

campaign for the Cal Poly Cat Program. We would like to increase revenue and fundraisingopportunities, as well as encourage participation of existing volunteers and recruit new

volunteers and staff members to help the program and shelter run smoothly and efficiently.

TARGET AUDIENCES, CONCERNS, VALUES AND INTERESTS:

Our target audience consists of people who are interested in potentially adopting, who care

about the health and well being of cats, and people who have extra time to volunteer, money to

donate and resources to help the shelter as a whole. They must also have an interest in felines in

general. Concerns that these people may have are the health of older felines, how they will adapt

in their homes and if they will find the right cat for their family.

MAIN CHALLENGES IN PR CAMPAIGN:

One of the main challenges for our PR campaign of the Cat Shelter will be getting the word out to

our desired publics about the shelter in general. We feel that the majority of faculty, students,

and the rest of the general public arent aware that a Cat Shelter exists on Cal Polys campus.

Once people are given the knowledge that a cat shelter does exist then advertising and special

fundraising events will get people excited to spread the word. Also, building a strong reputation

through the publics eye is another important factor to being successful in this PR campaign. We

need to have people bypass the thought process that this is just for crazy cat lovers and have

people focus more on the benefits of the shelter and the great effect it can have on the

community. Finally, funding will be a major challenge in building a positive campaign for the

shelter. The cat shelter is currently being funded primarily by the two Co-Executive Directors.

With so much of their money already being devoted to the shelter, choosing good low cost

options will be essential.

SWOT ANALYSIS:

STRENGTHS:

People: Edie Griffin-Shaw, co-executive director; Chelsea Rose, fundraising director,

members of 312 team.

Resources: Petsmart adoption program, existing fundraising events.

Innovation & Ideas: Cats in the library stress-buster event, possible dorm poster campaign togather student volunteers.

PR: 312 PR campaign.

Marketing: Facebook page, posters in library promoting event, brochures at Petsmart.

Operations: CPCP has a fully functioning cat shelter and feeding stations on campus. They

have three established fundraising events that occur throughout the year.

Budget: While the budget is quite low, the shelter Co-Directors are willing to put their own

money into promotion in order to increase awareness and donations.

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Ways to exploit: CPCPs strengths can be used to bolster efforts involved in putting on

existing fundraisers. The adoption program at Petsmart is an excellent way to get animals

into homes and raise public awareness for the shelter. On-campus events can reach the

student population and gather volunteers.

WEAKNESSES:People: Lack of volunteers.

Resources: CPCP needs funds and donations of food and supplies for the cats both in the

shelter and on campus.

Innovation & Ideas: Limited promotion methods and materials.

PR: Lack of PR guidance within CPCP.

Marketing: Lack of posters around campus asking for volunteers, Facebook page could be

more interactive and should include calls to action.

Operations: Lack of unity/cohesion of CPCP functions and positions.

Budget: The current budget is small (essentially all out-of-pocket) and will only cover the bare

minimum of promotional materials.

Ways to exploit: By creating a PR or communications position and tightening up

organizational cohesiveness throughout CPCP, existing resources can be used to better direct

messages at key publics and achieve goals.

OPPORTUNITIES:

Several opportunities exist for students and community members to get involved with the

CPCP. A golf tournament has already sold out and will draw in community members and

much-needed funds. Established awareness events such as the library day and movie night

will attract students and ideally net both donations and volunteers. Collaboration with PAWS

on the movie night will attract additional interest and increase credibility and event

attendance. Currently, cats are available for adoption at a local Petsmart location, whichincreases awareness of CPCP and can drive people to the shelter. Media outlets such as KCPR,

Mustang Daily, and the Cal Poly Portal announcements can be used to disseminate press

releases and event details.

THREATS:

Some students may be pressed for time or participate in existing volunteer opportunities. The

student population also tends to lack enough income to donate sizable amounts to charities

and organizations. Likewise, community members often lack time to volunteer. Students

often are unable to keep pets in their housing and are thus unable to adopt. Other events on-

campus and in the community may conflict with CPCP fundraisers.

STRATEGIC SWOT ANALYSIS:

WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS:

In regards to strengths we have a great team of people to work with who are willing to help

us with any plans that we conceive for them. We also have a great pool of resources to pull

from for additional support and to bolster as well as legitimize our campaign. For example,

PetSmart is a large corporation that can add a great deal of legitimacy for our promotion of

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the programs adoption services. We also have a lot of freedom to think of as creative ideas

as possible to promote the program and we have thought of a multitude of options because

the operators are so flexible. Our group has a great deal of social media experience and we

can use this to our advantage to promote all of the options and events that the shelter would

like to put on. We also have a great deal of design skills that we can use to our advantage to

modernize their literature and marketing materials. In addition they have an establishedprogram and all we have to do is focus on working with what is in place and ways in which to

improve their relationship with their publics. Improving something is a much more

manageable task than trying to start from scratch. A great advantage we have is that the

woman who is in charge of the program is willing to let us use $200 towards our campaign,

which is more than enough money to execute a dynamic campaign.

Addressing our weaknesses, one of the biggest issues is that we have a very small base of

people to work with and lack of volunteers. It will be a large challenge for us to get the word

out with a small team with about ten members in total. In addition, if we wanted to perhaps

produce a lot of marketing materials and fundraisers we may not have enough money to

execute the campaign we wish. Also, the program has very little literature and marketing

materials that they have used in the past so we have to start from scratch to produce these

materials for them. We also have to make sure we work very closely with them in designing

them so that we are producing the product and message that they specifically seek to release

to the public. The program directors do not have very much guidance in regards to PR

experience so we are producing their first PR campaign, so they have no true grasp on the

idea of what to expect from us until we actual show them. The program also has a very loose

structure of organization and it is difficult for us to reach people and to figure out who is in

charge of what aspect of the shelter. Figuring out how to try to organize them as effectively

as possible and trying to establish a dedicated media director will be a difficult challenge due

to their loose structure.

OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS:

The opportunities that we can exploit include the publicity portion of the Cal Poly Cat

Program Movie Night. With the ASI portal ad, the bulletin ad at Campus Market, flyers, and a

Facebook event page we can gain more interest and spread the word. Another important

opportunity is the fact that we have qualified members who know how to design a flyer, post

ads on the Cal Poly portal and make a Facebook page since our group is comprised of

Journalism, Tourism/Event, and Business majors. Also, the movie night was done last year; so

we the public remembers the event from last year and it can become another great hit!

While the rest of the events such as the Golf Tournament was a great success and is already

sold out this year, proving to possible target guests that the movie night will be a big hit for

both the CPCP and guests.

Some threats include the day of the event, since Mothers day falls on Sunday, May 8th

, 2011

a lot of students might go home for the weekend and not attend the event. The other thing is

that the event is not on campus, so a lot of freshman and sophomores might not have

transportation to get there or they are too lazy to drive out there since transportation is not

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provided for the event. Lastly, students might not feel they have the necessary funds to even

consider a small donation and just use to movie night as a freebie.

CLIENT INTERVIEW:

We were fortunate enough to meet in person with the Co-Executive Director of the Cal Poly CatProgram, Edie Griffin-Shaw. Additionally, we conducted an email interview with a long-time

student volunteer, Chelsea Rose, who is also in charge of fundraising for the program. The

general consensus was that the non-profit program desperately needs money to maintain the

shelter and keep all of the cats healthy and happy. Currently, the Co-Executive Directors pay for

most expenses, including food, litter and veterinary bills, and hope to get reimbursed when

money comes in from their occasional fundraisers. Edie and Chelsea both agreed that it would be

beneficial to create a designated fundraising committee. Currently they do not have the enough

dedicated volunteers and on top of all of their daily responsibilities (cleaning, feeding,

administering medication, trips to the veterinarian, adoptions every afternoon at Petsmart) they

do not realistically have the time to organize very many events to bring in money or potential

volunteers.

During the interviews, we were able to get a sense of the few existing annual fundraising events

that the program is able to sponsor each year. Twice a year (once in the fall and another in the

spring) the Cal Poly Cat Program conducts a raffle; participants buy tickets in the hopes of

winning some of the donated prizes, including gift cards and cat-lover memorabilia. This spring

the program will also be hosting their third annual Golf Tournament. Each quarter, CPCP teams

up with Poly Paws to put on a Movie Night at the Shelter. This event is free to Cal poly students

and although only get a few donations, it is a great way to get students to check out the shelter

and potentially volunteer their time there in the future. The program also teams up with the

Kennedy Library for the quarterly Cats in the Atrium event. Since many students are not evenaware that the program or shelter exists, events like these help them to get publicity and

recognition on campus.

In addition to our discussion of the campaign goals increasing fundraising and volunteers we

brainstormed ways to meet our goals. We decided that their current word-of-mouth publicity

strategy was not nearly as effective at spreading their message as they had hoped it might be.

We proposed that it would be best to start small, because they have such a tight budget to work

with. Our team will be working to better promote their existing events, specifically the Movie

Night at the Shelter on May 13th

and the Golf Tournament on May 21st

. We will be utilizing the

MyCalPoly Portal, ASI Marquee and Cal Poly Cat Program Facebook page to spread the word

about these events. We are currently working with Poly Paws to design and distribute posters for

the Movie Night as well. If all goes well, we discussed the possibility of putting together another

event, potentially an ice cream social at the shelter. Edie and Chelsea were both very excited

about this idea and were appreciative that we chose to help their non-profit! We plan to

regularly update and check in with Edie to notify her of our progress and receive feedback so that

our campaign is mutually beneficial.

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ARCHIVAL RESEARCH:

The CP Cat Program originally began twenty years ago with a senior project that was done in

order to control the rat population here on campus. With the release of four hundred cats

complaints began to flood in. What was once a pest control program quickly turned into a cat

shelter for unwanted felines. Edie Griffin-Shaw and Ellen Notermann are both co-executivedirectors here at the shelter. For the past fifteen years both these women have dedicated

thousands of hours and money out of their own pocket to give these cats a place to call home.

Cal Poly has provided space to house these animals but funding for food and other supplies have

been raised by events held on and off campus. The program spays and neuters all stray cats on

campus and attempts to get as many people involved as possible. This program also assists the

community and helps people find resources they need to get their animals fixed. The program

also helps to educate students and members of the community about the importance of spaying

and neutering and protecting their feline friends. Daily they strive to find permanent, stable

homes for these furry friends who only need a little love.

MASS MEDIA SOURCES:

Mass Media sources that will be involved with this project include The Mustang Daily, MyCalPoly

Portal, Facebook, The Cat Shelter Website, Fundraising events, blogs, press releases, and word of

mouth.

IDENTIFY DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS:

Generation X & Y:

The primary groups we want to reach are members of Generations X and Y, who are most

likely to be students on the Cal Poly campus. This group typically has easy access to theshelter and has more time to volunteer. Students living on-campus are an especially

receptive market to volunteer efforts, while those residing off-campus may be able to

adopt and would benefit from adoption-related messages.

Seniors, Babyboomers, & Midlifers:

Secondary audiences we want to reach are seniors, baby boomers, and, to a lesser extent,

midlifers. Older groups may have more free time to volunteer and typically have more

funds to donate to the shelter. Baby boomers and midlifers with families may also be

willing to donate money or supplies, and may also be able to adopt cats. Community

support from these groups will be valuable for raising awareness of CPCP and generating

further support.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

Consumer Habits and Purchasing Decisions:

We will be targeting the Baby Boomers, Generation X and Y. Baby Boomers will have the

most money and make up a large percentage of the San Luis Obispo population. They

have the money to make high-end purchases and to donate to charities. Generation X has

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been hit by the economy because most are in the work force right now and many have

been laid off from jobs. They are not making many purchases or donations at this time.

Generation Y has money in their pockets but need motivation to buy items with good

marketing, advertising, and deals.

Media Habits:Baby Boomers are very new to the Internet and a small percentage of them use it on a

regular basis. Most are not up to date on current social media and do not update

frequently if they do have some sort of online account. Generation X has just hopped on

the social media bandwagon and are eager to learn more about social media but are not

very educated about how to use it efficiently. Generation Y has a lot of experience with

social media and are very educated about all of the different forms of media. In addition,

they are very easy to reach through the Internet and can be easily found through the use

of SEO techniques on social media sites.

Attitudes, Beliefs, and Opinions:

Baby Boomers are across the board much more conservative compared to all of the other

groups. They believe in charity and service and look to support local charities through

donations. Generation X is still fairly conservative but has more liberal individuals than

the previous generation. They want to help local charities and programs but it needs to

be simple enough because they have a family and career to balance at the same time.

Generation Y is the self-satisfying generation that is more focused on themselves. They

eager to buy certain items to look cool with their peers and they love to broadcast their

lives on the Internet.

Existing Knowledge:

We will target Baby Boomers for financial assistance and to create a steady source ofmoney for the program. We know that most are retired and have the money and are

more inclined to donate to something that is charitable. In addition there are many

elderly that love animals, especially cats, so we have an advantage in that aspect. We do

not expect this group to donate their time at the shelter due to the high demands of the

jobs. Generation X has many pets in their households, so they have a personal connection

to pets so they will be more inclined to possibly donate some of their time to work at the

shelter. Generation Y have the money and the time to donate to the shelter if they feel

like it will benefit them in some way. In addition, if we can make the program look cool

and modernized they will be more inclined to participate because they seek the next big

thing. They are always searching for whats next and we can make this program appear

to be one of the coolest things you can do with your spare time and a great cause to give

up your spare change to. This group is also a lot more inclined to spend their money so

we will use this to our advantage by giving them as many opportunities to donate through

different outlets online.

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QUALITATIVE RESEARCH:

Focus groups:

The Focus groups included the Cal Poly Cat Program Co-Executive Director who

was interviewed and questioned regarding the cat program. Then we picked ten random

students on campus and asked them if they would be interested in attending the cat

program and what would make them attend and how they would most likely hear aboutthe event. Out of the ten students interviewed, most students were interested in

attending the Movie Night on May 6th

, 2011 benefitting the Cal Poly Cat Program. They

recommended pizza, soda, and/or ice cream, and of course they would donate a few

dollars if the event were free. The way they would most likely hear and remember the

event would be through Facebook and then a flyer.

Field Observation:

The field observation we completed was going to the cat shelter on campus to

see the cats for ourselves. The realization that the cats need funds to be cared for

properly (food, medicine, supplies) and volunteers finally sunk in. This lead us to focus on

publicizing the movie night event, so that funds can be raised, volunteers can sign up to

help the cats, and general awareness of the Cal Poly Cat Program can take place!

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH:

Our team will create a survey using www.surveymoneky.com to reach our primary target

audience, Cal Poly students. We will use the Cal Poly Cat Program Facebook page to

distribute the survey, in addition to asking all our friends at Cal Poly to take the survey.

Ideally this will give us a better sense of what sorts of events students would be most

likely to attend. We also want to know how many students actually know about the

program and shelter so that we can compare this data with an exit survey. The hope isthat we will have increased the number of students who are at least aware of the Cal Poly

Cat Program.

http://www.surveymoneky.com/http://www.surveymoneky.com/

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PART 3: PROGRAM PLAN

WHAT IS TO BE DONE? WHY? HOW WILL WE ACCOMPLISH IT?

We as a group have decided to direct our PR campaign toward the Publics described earlier and

to do this by first and foremost educating them that Cal Poly has a Cat Shelter on campus and has

had one for some time. It is our hopes to gain students and San Luis Obispo Residents interest inwanting to make a difference in this non-profit by getting the word out. Their contributions can

vary from helping out at the shelter clean and keep the cats company a couple hours of their day,

to donating money for the up keep and necessary supplies. The shelter is fully funded by the two

founders, with no outside help. It is our hope that we can through our PR plan help take off

some of the burden of expensive costs. We are planning on accomplishing this by creating

fundraisers and advertising through different networks to educate and gain public interest. We

helped advertise the Cat Movie Night that happened this past Saturday and have helped organize

a golf Fundraiser at Laguna Lakes Golf Club where people can form teams and spend the

afternoon playing a little golf with some of the proceeds going to the shelter. If golfing isnt an

interest or dont have time, there will be a lunch barbeque there as well where the proceeds willgo directly to the Cat Shelter.

THE BIG PICTURE:

The Big Picture is to run a successful PR campaign that will inform our publics about the shelter

and how they can get involved and help. To be considered successful we would like to have not

only the student body but also faculty and residents donate their time and any financial help they

wish so we can create a shelter that was stronger and running more efficient then when we

decided to undertake this mission.

SITUATION:

Over the past years, Cal Poly Cat Program directors have noticed a progressive decline in

consistent volunteers and donations. Directors, Edie Griffin-Shaw and Ellen Notermann realized

that they needed to take action as soon as possible to re-build their connection with the San Luis

Obispo community to keep the program running. This is where it was established that they

clearly needed a Public Relations team to help them build relationships, create awareness, and

expand growth. The program has put on a Movie Night Out event every year for multiple years

but have received little to nothing turnout because there isnt enough awareness that the event,

much less the program, exists. Notermann and Griffin-Shaw do not employ social media tools

such as Facebook, Twitter, or Blogger to their advantage, and miss out on many opportunities to

reach one of the target markets, students. The program directors house fifty cats and do not

have enough volunteers on a regular basis to give the cats all of the attention they need, whichhad become a large issue. In addition, all of the operating costs to house the cats are being paid

for by the program directors because they do not receive enough donations to run the shelter

otherwise. Due to the multiple issues that the program is facing and the urgency of the situation,

we find it beneficial and essential that the program uses a public relations campaign to build

success for the future.

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GOAL:

The goal is to build relationships with Cal Poly students and the San Luis Obispo community in

order to create awareness, build a strong volunteer base, and increase monetary donations. We

are especially concerned about promoting their Movie Night Out to help meet multiple needs in

all three areas of deficit. In order to track that our goal is met, we are conducting surveys from

surverymonkey.com before and after the event to see how awareness about the shelter haschanged.

OBJECTIVES:

The information objectives our group wishes for the public to be aware about the Cal Poly Cat

Program is their Movie Night Out with Poly Paws. We want them to know what is exactly

happening at the event and why. Our goal is to let students know that there is an outlet on

campus to have fun in a stress-free and exciting atmosphere. One of our main points is that the

event is completely free and is solely an opportunity for students to socialize and connect with

Cal Poly in a new and unique way.

In addition, we want students to know that there will be a showing of a newly released movie,

Tangled, as well as free pizza and dessert. The event is on Friday, May 13 from 6:45-9:15 pm at

the Cal Poly Cat Shelter. Everyone who attends will be given the opportunity to play with the cats

and help at the shelter.

We want students to leave the event with a newfound appreciation and connection with the cats

and people involved in the shelter. Our hope is that Cal Poly students will feel inspired to take

action and get involved by either donating their time or money to the cause. Even if a handful of

students attend, they can make a large impact in the future for the shelter through word-of-

mouth marketing communications. By gaining more recognition from the Cal Poly community,

the shelter will develop stronger ties with students, allowing the program to house more cats,get better supplies, and help the shelter expand in the future.

AUDIENCE:

The PR campaign for the Cal Poly Cat Program Movie Night was directed towards the Cal Poly

student population. The flyers, Facebook page, Portal Ad, and Running Banner at Campus Market

all targeted the student population.

STRATEGY:

The Cal Poly Cat Program Movie Night will be done through various publicity and marketing

tactics during the week of May 9th

to May 13th

. Flyers, the Facebook page, the Portal Ad, and the

Running Banner at Campus Market will be implemented during that week. Each team member

will hang up 10 flyers around campus, which will help improve the Cal Poly students awareness

of the Cal Poly Cat Program, the movie night attendance, and fundraising.

The Facebook group will also be created by Monday, May 9th

in order to reach students who are

avid social media users. It will also help spread the word of the event to friends of theirs.

The Portal Ad will be posted on Wednesday, May 11th

for those students who go on the portal to

have this be the first thing they see on their portal page and they keep the event fresh in their

memory for Friday, May 13th

.

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Lastly, the Running banner ad, will be running across the screen by campus market in order to

get the poly canyon student interested who walk by campus market on their way to class. This

population will want free pizza, socialize by watching a movie, have some free time, and most

likely have a car available to get to the Cat Shelter on Bishops Road.

KEY MESSAGES & THEMES:

Messages: The basic message that the audience will remember from these forms of

communication are that the Cal Poly Cat Program exists, its location on campus, and that

there is a movie night that students can go to for free to support the Cat program.

Themes: The overarching ideas that apply to all the audiences is that there is a Cat Program

that is located on campus and run by Cal Poly, and that they need volunteers and donations

to survive.

TACTICS:

1) Face-to-face interview with Edie-Griffin-Shaw to understand the needs of the shelter and ways

that our PR campaign can benefit them.

2) Distribution of flyers on campus for the Friday May 13th

s movie night.

3) Utilized the ASI Marque and My Cal Poly Portal to spread the word about movie night.

4) Survey was created for the Cal Poly Cat Programs Facebook page that asked students and

people who like the page about their knowledge of the shelter. It also asked about interest in

animals, willingness to volunteer and advertisement that they are most likely to respond to.

5) Keeping up to date information on the Facebook page. Items such as: announcements on

future events, pictures from recent events and picture of the furry creatures that are looking for

a place to call home.

6) In two weeks we will meet up with Edie and Ellen to see if any of our efforts and suggestions

have made a change or had an impact on the shelter.

TIMETABLE:

The main event our team assisted CPCP with was the movie night at the shelter on Friday, May

13, 2011. Planning began a few months ago, and we were able to help with the final push to raise

awareness for the event. While it would have been optimal to have more time before the event

occurred to meet with the CPCP fundraising team and craft a cohesive campaign, we did what we

could in the short timeframe and worked with some of the promotional efforts already in place.

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March

Meet with event co-hosts, Poly Paws.

Set date of event.

April

Select movie.

Begin promotion through CPCP Facebook page.312 team meeting with CPCP.

Form PR campaign; select target audiences and brainstorm promotion ideas.

Create SurveyMonkey.com survey & evaluate results.

May 1-6

Ensure food & drinks are ordered.

Submit MyCalPortal and ASI Marquee announcements.

Create and approve event posters.

May 7-12

Run MyCalPortal and ASI Marquee announcements.

Print and post/distribute event posters.

Final Facebook event push through CPCP page.

May 13

Day of event.

312 team members present to take photos, speak with participants, and gauge

campaign effectiveness.

May-June

Create SurveyMonkey.com exit survey & evaluate results.

Meet with CPCP staff to evaluate the events success, examine net donations,

and discuss survey results.

Consult with client about future events and PR plans.

BUDGET:

Initially, we were given a $200 budget from the Cat Program Director Edie Griffin-Shaw. That

being said, we recognize that given their current situation, that money would be coming out of

Griffin-Shaws own pocket, so we wanted to keep the PR related costs as low as possible. We

focused primarily on promoting the Movie Night at the Shelter that was put together in

conjunction with Poly Paws. Poly Paws was in charge of bringing most all of the food and

equipment so the cost was next to nothing for the Cat Program. In order to get the word out

about this event we utilized several media options on campus. We made sure the event had an

event on their Facebook page and we got the message on the ASI Marquee near Campus Market

both of these promotional measures were free. We offered to submit a MyCalPoly Portal

announcement as well, but Poly Paws had already done so. The only money we have spent on

this campaign this far had been $6.50 to print out the informational flyers so we could post them

all around campus prior to the event. This budget may increase as we continue on with this

campaign.

Facebook Event/Promotion Free

ASI Marquee AnnouncementFree

MyCalPoly Portal AnnouncementFree

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60 black and white flyers - $6.50

Tape (for flyers) Free (donated by team member Chelsea)

EVALUATION:

Generally speaking, we want to increase awareness about the Cal Poly Cat Program and shelter

on the Cal Poly campus. More specifically, we want to publicize the Movie Night at the Shelter

event on Friday May 13th

from 6:45 to 9:15 p.m. featuring Tangled; this is our informational

objective. We designed a survey on surveymonkey.com and administered it to 39 Cal Poly

students via Facebook. We asked the following questions in order to see what, if anything,

students already knew about the program and if they would be interested in attending such an

event:

1. What is your class standing at Cal Poly?2. Have you heard about the Cal Poly Cat Program?3. Did you know there is a cat shelter on Cal Polys campus?4. If you have heard of it, do you know where the shelter is located?5. Have you ever visited the Cal Poly Cat Shelter?6. Would you consider yourself a friend?7. If in fact you are an animal lover, would you be willing to volunteer to help the Cal Poly

shelter run smoothly?

8. If so, would you be more likely to donate your time or money?9. Would you attend a free movie night at the Cal Poly Cat Shelter (there will be free pizza,

drinks and snacks)? How about an ice cream social?

10.Which form of advertising on campus are you most likely to respond to? Check all that apply.The results of this survey revealed that while a majority of those surveyed (61.5%) had actually

heard of CPCP, only 56.4% knew there was a shelter. Even less (32.4%) knew where the shelter

was located. Only 7 had visited the shelter. A clear majority considered themselves to be animallovers and 52.6% said they would be willing to volunteer: 67.6% would donate time, 8.8% would

donate money and 23.5% would volunteer neither time nor money. The majority of those

surveyed said they would maybe attend movie night. The top three advertising modes were

Facebook events, posters/flyers and word-of-mouth. We intend to compose and distribute an

exit survey after our campaign to see if awareness increased. Additionally, we plan to get the

exact number of how many students actually attend the event to determine whether or not it

was a success.

As far as our motivational objective goes, we would like students and community members to

recognize that the Cal Poly Cat Program is a worthy cause and is in need of some help both

financially and around the shelter volunteering. We hope that as a result of our promotionalefforts, people will attend the Movie Night event and leave with a better understanding of the

program and be motivated and inspired to help! We feel that our existing survey (see above) also

addresses our motivational goals. This goal is tougher to measure, but we plan on having a final

meeting with Edie Griffin-Shaw and we will ask her if there has been any sort of increase in

volunteers or donations since the Movie Night event. If so, the Movie Night served as a means of

meeting our motivational objective and our overall goal of the campaign.

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PART 4: IMPLEMENTATION

MEDIA RELATIONS: Our group contacted Cal Poly ASI after deciding that their media outlets

would be our best tools for promoting Movie Night, since we predominantly targeted students.

Our campaign was on a very tight budget (all expenses came from shelter Co-Directors pockets)

so we agreed to utilize the free options available on campus to advertise this event. We posted aMyCalPoly portal announcement and created an electronic message for the ASI Marque near

Campus Market. However, once the theoretically campaign budget expands in the future, we will

expand media relations to incorporate the following contacts in order to reach San Luis Obispo

community members.

MEDIA LISTS & CONTACTS:

News Print:

1. TribuneExecutive Editor, Sandy Duerrnewsroom@thetribunenews.com

sduerr@thetribunenews.com

(805) 781-7902

2. Cal Poly ReportLeah Kolt

polynews@calpoly.edu

lkolt@calpoly.edu

(805) 756-1511

3. Mustang Daily*See their website for appropriate contact person/email

www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu

(805) 756-1796

4. New TimesTracy Scuri

tscuri@newtimesslo.com

Christy Herom (Calendar Editor)

calendar@newtimesslo.com

(805) 546-8208

Radio Stations:

1. Radio Central Coast (Wild 106.1 FM, The Beach 95.3 FM, KPIG94.9,100.5 FM, KYNS 1340 AM)

Brooke (805) 786-2570

Non-Profit Airtime Request:calendar@radiocentralcoast.com

2. KCBX Public Radio (90 FM)Neal, General Manager

neal@kcbx.org

Con-Profit Airtime Request:paul@kcbx.org

mailto:newsroom@thetribunenews.commailto:newsroom@thetribunenews.commailto:sduerr@thetribunenews.commailto:sduerr@thetribunenews.commailto:polynews@calpoly.edumailto:polynews@calpoly.edumailto:lkolt@calpoly.edumailto:lkolt@calpoly.eduhttp://www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu/http://www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu/mailto:tscuri@newtimesslo.commailto:tscuri@newtimesslo.commailto:calendar@newtimesslo.commailto:calendar@newtimesslo.commailto:calendar@radiocentralcoast.commailto:calendar@radiocentralcoast.commailto:calendar@radiocentralcoast.commailto:neal@kcbx.orgmailto:neal@kcbx.orgmailto:paul@kcbx.orgmailto:paul@kcbx.orgmailto:paul@kcbx.orgmailto:paul@kcbx.orgmailto:neal@kcbx.orgmailto:calendar@radiocentralcoast.commailto:calendar@newtimesslo.commailto:tscuri@newtimesslo.comhttp://www.mustangdaily.calpoly.edu/mailto:lkolt@calpoly.edumailto:polynews@calpoly.edumailto:sduerr@thetribunenews.commailto:newsroom@thetribunenews.com

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(805) 549-8855

3. KCPR (Cal Poly 91.3 FM)

kcprpromotions@gmail.com

(805) 756-5277

Television Stations:1. KSBY TV 6 (NBC), Cable 4

Madeline Palaszewki

mpalazewki@ksby.com

(805) 541-6666

2. KCOY News 12

John Zuchelli, News Director

johnzuchelli@kcoy.com

MEDIA SUPPORTIVES: (see Appendix)

Press Kit:

Photos

Brochure

Fact sheet

Review samples

Media Tracking:

ASI Marquee announcement

MyCalPoly portal announcement

PRESS RELEASE: (see Appendix)

MARKETING ACTIVITIES:

Marketing for the Cat Shelter was extremely important since there are such a low number

of students, faculty, and residents who are unaware that Cal Poly is home to a Cat

Shelter. To help get the word out and make it appealing to individuals we created flyers

for the movie night that was held in the library, where people could go and play with the

cats while watching a movie. Also, with Facebook becoming such a large part of the

populations life in the last couple years we decided to set up a Facebook page for the Cat

Program where San Luis Obispo residents could get easy access to events, fundraisers,

updates, and how to get involved with the shelter. To further get the word out to our

target audiences about the movie night we submitted an ad to MyCalPoly Portal and

made ASI Marquee announcements.

EVENT ACTIVITIES:

Our main event that we worked on was the Cat Program movie night, which was held

May 21st

in the Robert Kennedy Library. For this event all San Luis Obispo residents were

invited to share a nice cozy evening watching a movie and playing with a variety of

mailto:kcprpromotions@gmail.commailto:kcprpromotions@gmail.commailto:mpalazewki@ksby.commailto:mpalazewki@ksby.commailto:johnzuchelli@kcoy.commailto:johnzuchelli@kcoy.commailto:johnzuchelli@kcoy.commailto:mpalazewki@ksby.commailto:kcprpromotions@gmail.com

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Spokesperson: Ideally, the public relations committee member would direct all of

CPCPs communications and monitor the shelters operations to adequately plan

for future campaigns. In the event of a crisis, the spokesperson would be able to

quickly and thoughtfully address the situation and begin the communication

chain.

Monitoring: During or after a crisis, the spokesperson would monitor media

attention with three goals in mind. First, they would ensure that communications

originating from CPCP were picked up by the media and that effective, positive

stories are published as a result of their efforts. Second, they would deal with any

negative media with controlled responses that both address the issues and direct

further media attempts to positive talking points. Lastly, the spokesperson would

gauge the publics reception to any media and produce further content that

answers questions or speaks to any concerns.

PRCAMPAIGN EVALUATION

1. ONGOING EVALUATION:

The survey that we created online through surveymoneky.com and distributed to 40 Cal

Poly students via Facebook proved to be very helpful in terms of making necessary

adjustments to our strategies throughout the course of the campaign. For example, the

survey results revealed that while 57.5% of students knew that there was a cat shelter

somewhere on campus, only 31.6% actually knew where it was located. This allowed us to

focus on describing the location of the shelter on the Facebook page and event flyers so

that people knew where to go for Movie Night. Also, the survey showed that 68.6% of

those who reported being willing to volunteer, would be more likely to donate time asopposed to money. This affirmed our initial assumption that the event would be more

successful in terms of attendance and awareness if it were free of charge. Finally, we

were able to determine that the top three most effective means of advertising to Cal Poly

students were through a Facebook event, posters/flyers and word-of-mouth. Because the

surveyed students reported that they would be most responsive to these methods, we

utilized all three to promote our Movie Night event. We feel that this survey was our

most valuable tool as it provided us with relevant information about one of our target

publics - college students. We were able to contrast our assumptions and ideas with this

feedback and ultimately make modifications to increase our chance of creating a

successful campaign strategy.

2. SUMMATIVE EVALUATION:

An exit interview with Co-Director Edie Griffin-Shaw should help us to determine whether

or not our campaign was successful in increasing awareness, volunteering and funding for

the Cal Poly Cat Program. We will be able to assess short-term success once we receive

the final headcount from the Movie Night Event, from Poly Paws. If the turnout was

decent, our promotional efforts were effective. Determining long-term benefits of our

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campaign is a bit trickier, especially since a majority of students are about to leave San

Luis Obispo for the summer. However, we will be asking Edie whether anyone signed up

to volunteer or donated money during or after the Movie Night event. If even a few

attendees become volunteers, this will certainly be a long-term benefit to the program,

since they are in desperate need of volunteers to help maintain the shelter, feed and

medicate the cats and help with adoptions. These volunteers, both existing and new, mayalso be able to continue our promotional efforts; we plan to give Edie a copy of our final

project so that she can modify and adapt our strategies to fit the programs future needs.

3. WAS THE ACTIVITY ADEQUATELY PLANNED?

The promotion of this event was a very planned-out and cooperative process; our team

worked closely with Poly Paws and the CPCP shelter directors to determine a timeline and

what we needed to be doing to help spread the word. Based on this timeline, we printed

and hung the flyers around campus a few days before the event was taking place. We also

submitted the MyCalPoly portal announcement and ASI Marquee message requests in a

timely manner, allowing both to be displayed the week leading up to the event.

4. DID THE RECIPIENTS OF THE MESSAGE UNDERSTAND IT?

Based on the relatively full-shelter during the event, we have concluded that the students

we targeted understood our message. We made all of the important details clear on all

media announcements (ASI Marquee, MyCalPoly portal, Facebook page, flyers) so that

students would be adequately informed. It was immediately obvious what the event was,

which movie would be shown, what date and time the event would take place, where to

go and that it was free and food would be provided.

5. HOW COULD THE PROGRAM STRATEGY HAVE BEEN MORE EFFECTIVE?

The program strategy could have been more effective in terms of using more diversemedia sources to expand our targeted publics and include SLO community members.

Though the event is generally student-focused, it is appropriate for children and adults of

all ages and would have been a great way to introduce these people to the CPCP.

Unfortunately, due to our extremely low budget, we were unable to afford to run ads in

any local papers or on the radio. Assuming we would be building a more realistic budget

in the future, this would certainly be something to consider.

6. WERE ALL PRIMARY AND SECONDARY AUDIENCES REACHED?

Our primary audience, Cal Poly students, was most definitely reached. We covered all of

the bases in terms of student media and it was particularly effective because we utilized

the methods that actual students suggested in our survey. That being said, we were

unable to reach our secondary audiences (community members) to the same degree.

Unless community members were also professors, or at least on campus the week before

the event took place, the only way they may have heard about it would be through the

Facebook page. We realize that some of the older cat-lovers and volunteers may not be

on Facebook and will take this into account in the future.

7. WAS THE DESIRED GOAL ACHIEVED?

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Our goal of promoting the CPCP Movie Night was achieved. Though we do not yet have a

final headcount or donation/volunteer sign-up figures, the event had a great turnout. We

believe that it brought much-needed donations to the program, in addition to increasing

awareness about the program and shelter and hopefully recruiting a stronger volunteer

base.

8. WERE THE INSTRUCTIONAL/INFORMATIONAL GOALS ACHIEVED?

The informational objective of effectively communicating the details of the movie night

around campus for Cal Poly students the week prior event was achieved. Through our

posters and online announcements, we were able to communicate the following

information: CPCP and Poly Paws will put on a Movie Night at the shelter on May 13th

at

6:45 p.m. They will show the film Tangled and while the event is free, food will be

available and donations are appreciated.

9. WERE THE MOTIVATIONAL OBJECTIVES ACHIEVED?

We also met our motivational objective of convincing students and community members

that CPCP is a worthy cause in need of help both financially and through volunteering.

We successfully promoted this event, which we hope encouraged donations and people

to sign up for volunteer positions.

10. WHAT UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES FFECTED THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM?

Since we did not have a budget to work with we could only utilize free services such as

the ASI Marquee, Facebook, and the survey also on Facebook. If we would have had a

budget we could have taken an ad out in the Mustang Daily and other local newspapers.

The money that was used to produce the flyers that were posted on campus came out of

our own pocket.

11. DID THE PROGRAM FALL WITHIN THE BUDGET SET FOR IT?

Yes, there was no budget and we held to that minus the costs of the flyers.

12. FORMATIVE EVALUATION:

Although we did not have a budget we felt as though the publicity that we put out was

informative and reached a large number of people. We also felt that because we created

and implemented this PR proposal for the Cat Program at Cal Poly the future looks bright

for up and coming events. Because we introduced the Cat Program to the wonderful

world of new/free technology they can utilize these services to inform the public what is

really going on at the shelter. Letting Cal Poly students and the community members

informed about the shelter and what animals are looking for a home there can definitely

be an increase in adaption rates and donations.

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APPENDIX

MEDIA SUPPORTIVES (PRESS KIT)

Photo Sheet/Cover

Event Flyer

Brochure

Fact Sheet

Press Release

ASI Marquee Announcement

Facebook Page

SURVEY RESULTS

POWERPOINT SLIDES

TEAM RESUMES

REFERENCES