G4 Public Relations - MDA Campaign by chelseagrunden

G4 PUBLIC RELATIONS

“THROW AWAY THE

KEY” Prepared for

West Texas Muscular Dystrophy Association

Lubbock Lock-Up 2018

FIRSTLY

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING US

Dec. 13, 2017

Mr. Perez,

D.J. Perez 8212 Ithica Ave. Lubbock, TX 79423

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to create this campaign plan for the Lubbock chapter of West Texas Muscular Dystrophy Association. Throughout the process - all the way from analyzing the current situation to creating usable implementation materials - this semester has been as much fun as it has been a learning experience. Our team has enjoyed the privilege to work on behalf of such an incredible organization. We know that if any of our campaign book is put to use by MDA, it will be used to ultimately help people. G4 Public Relations has the goal to increase the amount of donations for the 2018 Lock-Up to $20,000 while also increasing the number of jailbirds and overall reach a larger audience within the Lubbock community. We believe our campaign will help achieve all of WTMDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goals for next yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lock-Up and different strategies provided can be used for many years in the future. If you have any questions about this book that you are unable to express during our presentation, please feel free to contact me in the future at 832-657-5423 or chelsea.grunden@ttu.edu.

Chelsea Grunden

Account Manager

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CONTENT MEET G4 PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN SUMMARY

SITUATION ANALYSIS Analyzing where the organization is right now and where we should go

RESEARCH REPORT A plan and evaluation for all of the research for the campaign

CAMPAIGN PLAN The exact steps we plan to do leading up to the 2018 Lock-Up

IMPLEMENTATION MATERIAL Mock social media posts, press releases, and scripts for pitches

REFERENCES All the sources we used to complete our research and tactics.

APPENDICES & REFERENCES All appendices and references can be found online at http://bit.ly/CkIk93.

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With an average height of 5â&#x20AC;&#x2122;1â&#x20AC;?, G4 Public Relations may be small, but no other team can measure up to us when it comes to campaign planning. As a woman-owned company, we aim higher with a mission to build an empire and leave a legacy. Our secret is simple: we put in the work, do not take no for an answer, and hustle.

MEET OUR TEAM

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Chelsea Grunden account manager

Enjoying all aspects of PR, she currently works as a PR and marketing assistant for the Rawls College of Business. Actively seeking a career with a nonprofit or educational organization, this vigorous writer will blow you away with her skills. Obsessed with Rey, her Dalmatian mix named after a character in Star Wars, she will happily show off pictures of her whether you ask for it or not. Meet Chelsea.

Victoria McGee

copywriting director Having a passion for telling clients’ stories, this social media guru is soon to begin her next chapter working on Consumer Brand Accounts for Golin in Los Angeles. She will also be freelancing for Landtroop Strategies, a local firm she has been interning with throughout her undergraduate career. If you don’t see her executing social media campaigns, she’s probably fulfilling her coffee and Target addiction. Meet Victoria.

Abby Christopher creative director

Eager to get out of the Lone Star State and actively hunting down the perfect position to jump start her career, she is looking to further her skills in the corporate sector or with an agency. A lover of adventure and a selfdiagnosed coffee addict, you can find this creative little fireball on Pinterest in her spare time gathering inspiration for her next project. Meet Abby.

Gaby Juarez

media director With a passion for external communications and a love for her home town, she will be moving back to Dallas after graduation. After working with Victoria’s Secret and FC Dallas, this dedicated young woman has accepted an offer to work with Strauss PR this spring. A self proclaimed terrible movie enthusiast and lover of food, you can find her at Chipotle during the lunch hour. Meet Gaby.

Emma Gaona

research director

After studying a semester in Barcelona, this world traveler aspires to begin a career in international public relations. She will be moving to Dallas after graduation to actively seek a position with a PR firm holding a variety of international connections to satisfy her interest and passion for adventure. If you can’t get ahold of her, she is probably backpacking across any country she can get to. Meet Emma.

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CAMPAIGN SUMMARY

Over the course of the semester, G4 Public Relations has worked to help D.J. Perez,

director of the West Texas Muscular Dystrophy Association (WTMDA) Lubbock chapter, to enhance the execution of the 2018 Lock-Up event. In this book, there are three main sections: the situation analysis, research report, and campaign plan. From what we gathered throughout those sections, we were able to create implementation materials - within MDA’s guidelines - that are readily available for WTMDA to use. In our situation analysis, we cover the overarching goals that WTMDA hopes to achieve. We provide a SWOT analysis, which determines the internal and external factors the organization faces, including the organization’s competition and its current situation. The overall goal WTMDA has for the 2018 Lock-Up event is to raise $20,000 in donations while also increasing the number of participating jailbirds to 200 and reaching a larger audience.

After reviewing the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, G4

Public Relations has compiled a short review of each one: • Strengths: WTMDA is the only organization in the Lubbock area that specifically helps families dealing with muscular dystrophy, which makes it the only competitor in this field. The second strength is that the fraternity Kappa Alpha (KA) has a local chapter whose philanthropy is MDA. Having this connection will allow WTMDA an outlet to reach out to college students. Another key strength is that MDA’s website is easy to navigate, making it desirable to audiences looking for more information. • Weaknesses: WTMDA’s Lubbock branch has just become active again after two years of inactivity, so it may run across issues with awareness and visibility within the community. Another weakness G4 Public Relations encountered was that the local chapter is not active on social media platforms when compared to the national chapter. • Opportunities: Overall, WTMDA has many opportunities to help advance its goals. Taking advantage of the free social media platforms and budget-friendly advertising boosters, MDA can

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overcome many of the challenges it faces. • Threats: A major threat WTMDA faces is all the other charities in Lubbock. Although WTMDA serves a different purpose than other nonprofits in Lubbock, people in the community may only want to donate a certain amount of time and/or money to charities, so it is important for WTMDA to stand make itself stand out.

The second part of the book covers the research process and findings. Before we began

conducting our research, we developed four research questions to help design not only how we conducted the research, but also how we created the campaign plan.

• What types of nonprofit organizations do people find important?

• What motivates the community to donate their time and money?

• Which social media platform is the community most active on?

• What are people’s current opinions on MDA and its events?

Based on the needs outlined by the organization, we set out to target three main audiences:

college students ages 18-24, young professionals ages 25-34, and established professionals ages 35+. We hope to target college students to help them start to develop a relationship with MDA so, even if they are not able to give money while in school, they can donate their time through volunteering. We also want to target ages 25+ to gain the attention and support of those with a higher disposable income.

With the target audiences and research questions guiding us, G4 Public Relations conducted

primary research through an online survey, two focus groups, and two in-depth interviews. We used three different research methods in order to reach our three different target audiences. Our survey, which had 22 questions, was distributed through social media and garnered 150 responses, specifically successful in reaching the an audience older than 35. The focus groups hosted a total of 11 college students. The in-depth interviews had three participants, hitting our target demographic of ages 25-34.

The first major finding in our research efforts was that people want a personal connection to

a nonprofit organization before they volunteer or donate money. The second helpful finding is that our respondents want organizations to be active on social media. Another finding was that an overwhelming amount of participants had not heard of WTMDA at all. By knowing these factors, G4 Public Relations created a campaign plan that aims to alleviate these issues and bring more success not only to the 2018 Lock-Up event, but also to the organization itself.

G4 PUBLIC RELATIONS

We developed a theme for the 2018 Lock-Up that ties in with the existing jailbird concept

and helps create an emotional connection with the Lubbock community. The theme, “Throw Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy,” symbolizes the idea of someone locking up something that holds them back. The intended goal of this theme is to capture the attention of all targeted audiences so they feel connected and want to be involved with the organization and event. Even if someone is not familiar with who WTMDA helps, they can still connect to the idea of getting rid of what holds them back.

Our campaign plan touches on the goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics we set to

achieve the client’s initial goals. We also include a realistic budget and timeline to prove the campaign is possible before the 2018 Lock-Up and can be achieved at a reasonable cost. G4 Public Relations has one overall goal for the campaign: to raise awareness and funds for the 2018 Lock-Up event. There are three objectives that derive from the research questions: we want to increase WTMDA’s social media engagement, increase the total donations of the event, and increase the number of jailbirds. Within the objectives, we have created more specific strategies and tactics to help the plan come together. In this book, we have included different implementation materials from our tactics, which include sample social media posts, press releases, and scripts for pitches. G4 Public Relations wants to help WTMDA become even more successful in its 2018 and future Lock-Up events. We created a campaign plan that provides solutions to the challenges that the organization faces that were brought to light from the situation analysis and the primary research.

While designing the “Throw Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy” campaign plan,

G4 Public Relations started by generating messages fit for all three audiences. We included informative messages about who MDA is and what the organization does for the local community, educational messages about the effects of muscular dystrophy, and messages to reassure the audience of where their money would go if they donated to WTMDA.

Our first tactic is to have WTMDA create two social media projects. Lubbock residents are

encouraged to post pictures of themselves with a lock they decorated chained to a fence using the hashtag #ThrowAwayTheKey. G4 Public Relations also wants to make contacts with the City of Lubbock office that hosts the First Friday Art Trail to be able to set up a small fence in the area and set up a booth at the monthly events. We will provide locks and decoration materials so event 10

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participants can decorate their own locks, chain them to the fence, and post a picture to social media with the designated hashtag. Other tactics include using incentives and different ways to say thank you to those who donate and volunteer.

If WTMDA decides to use some of the social media-related tactics we provide, the best way to

evaluate success is to use the analytics and insights provided from each social media platform. We also suggest for the organization to keep an Excel spreadsheet of who wrote the thank you letters and who received them. Throughout the campaign, we also consider stewardship and sending donors, volunteers, and stakeholders photos, letters, and notes from patients and families helped by the organization.

In order to make the “Throw Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy” campaign a success, we

constructed a campaign budget of $2,000. The budget includes costs of publicity leading up to the event, such as the fence and locks ($320 altogether), and costs of the Lock-Up itself, such as hiring police officers to “arrest” the jailbirds ($900 altogether). We constructed a timeline of what needs to be done leading up to the Lock-Up event. Beginning in early January, we recommend that WTMDA recruits two unpaid interns to assist in social media management and activity monitoring. In June, recruitment for the jailbirds should begin. In July, we will begin promoting the #ThrowAwayTheKey campaign by building a fence for the personalized lock project. Jailbirds will begin their fundraising in August, and the Lock-up event takes place in September. Following a set timeline will keep the campaign organized and on the path to success.

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SITUATION ANALYSIS

Developing a complete problem statement requires formative research to flesh out the details, known as the situation analysis. Within our situation analysis, you will notice detailed explanations of the opportunities and challenges that exist within the West Texas MDA and its environment.

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SITUATION ANALYSIS Executive Summary

MDA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families suffering from the harm

of muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence, and life. Among its many local chapters across the country is WTMDA, which is headquartered in Midland and serves “83 counties in the Permian Basin, West Texas, Texas Panhandle, Concho Valley, Southern Oklahoma, and Eastern New Mexico” (WTMDA, n.d.). Specifically, the Lubbock area of WTMDA serves 168 families dealing with medical and travel costs associated with muscular dystrophy and related diseases. As there are no specialized doctors for muscular dystrophy housed in Lubbock, these families travel to larger cities in the state, adding up more money spent on medical costs (DJ Perez, 2017).

G4 Public Relations has been contacted to create a campaign for the 2018 Lubbock Lock-

Up event, in which many local community members are symbolically “arrested” and given a $2,000 bail in order to “get out of jail.” As the event completely revolves around participation from the community, we need to get as much exposure as we can. The goal of the campaign is to generate more awareness, branching out to a younger (college student) audience, which will ultimately lead to more donations. Specifically, WTMDA has achievable objectives for the event: to recruit 200 jailbirds, who will each have a goal to raise $2,000 and promote the event on their own social media pages, and to raise a total of $20,000 at the event. We believe these goals are achievable through implementing a strategic public relations campaign. In order to create the most effective research, we will need to gather information on the organization as a whole, the Lubbock market, and the specific target markets WTMDA wants to reach.

WTMDA has the strength of a large centralized organization backing it; MDA as a whole

has a large following with loyal supporters. It has a large, organized website that makes it easy for potential donors to gain information and ultimately donate. With that being said, a weakness

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is the lack of freedom we will have with this campaign because of the organizational structure; although we have a unique market, we will need to structure all our work by the larger organization’s guidelines. Given that we are trying to market to a younger audience, Lubbock being home to Texas Tech University provides us a great opportunity to grow and find new ways to promote our brand.

Problem Statement

There are 168 families affected by muscular dystrophy in the Lubbock area. MDA helps families

suffering from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS, and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence, and life (MDA, n.d.). There are no specific muscular dystrophy doctors in Lubbock, so families travel to cities like Dallas and Houston for their medical needs. WTMDA raises money to help families cover the medical and travel costs related to their disease, as well as to help send children with muscular dystrophy to camp (DJ Perez, 2017).

The Lubbock chapter of WTMDA has recently returned after two years of inactivity. The

organization needs to raise awareness of its cause and how giving money to WTMDA can benefit people in the Lubbock community. The organization may face problems with gaining awareness and raising money. Through public relations efforts, WTMDA can increase its visibility in the community, bringing in more advocates, volunteers, and eventually, more money raised for MDA families.

Situation Analysis

According to Austin and Pinkleton, a situation analysis is “an impartial, often third-party

assessment of the public relations and/or public affairs problems, or opportunities, that an organization may be facing at a given point in time” (p. 24). This analysis includes a look into the organization’s internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). Looking into how the organization runs, as well as other competing factors, will help get a full look at the public relations efforts needed for the campaign.

Internal Factors Mission, Vision, Values • Mission: “We save and improve lives of people fighting muscle disease as we find treatments and cures, support families and rally communities” (MDA, n.d.). 15

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• Values: “We’re fighting to free individuals-and the families who love them-from the harmful effects of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related” (MDA, n.d.).

MDA is focused and committed to helping children and adults who are suffering from

muscular dystrophy. According to its website, families are at the heart of MDA’s mission. MDA starts each day with the goal to create results and raise hope for families living with muscular dystrophy. By 2020, MDA hopes double research investments on drug development and clinical trials, provide care and support for 50,000 more families, and fund 20,000 kids at MDA summer camp (MDA, n.d.).

Organizational History

For more than 65 years, MDA has been committed to saving and improving the lives of

people living with muscular dystrophy. In 1950, MDA received its first research grant for $1,500. From the beginning, one of MDA’s first goals was to get celebrities to advocate for and promote the newly opened MDA. With the help of some of biggest names in show business, MDA’s Labor Day broadcasted telethon became legendary, expanding from one location to many. Jerry Lewis hosted the event from 1956 to 2011, when he announced his retirement. In 2015 MDA decided to end the historic telethon tradition, evolving with times and creating new ways to gain support through social media and other digital channels (MDA, n.d.).

The Lock-Up event is a six-week long event in which many local community members are

“arrested” and given a $2,000 bail in order to “get out of jail.” The jailbirds are given six weeks to promote the cause and accept donations to the cause over social media and in person. At the end of the six weeks, the actual Lock-Up event occurs; members of law enforcement pick jailbirds up from their homes and places of employment and bring them to the meeting place (e.g. Texas Roadhouse).

Organizational Structure

MDA supports 150 research projects worldwide and receives nearly 50,000 visits a year. It

raises more than $26 million each year; running at a national level and accepting donations for the organization as a whole, funds are donated to both research and dispersed to the local level.

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Funding

Contributions raise 18% of all funds for MDA, while 81% raised are from special events, and the

remaining 1% is from other revenue. MDA as a whole had $94,246,000 in assets for 2015, according to the 2015 Annual Report (MDA, n.d.). We do not have exact numbers for the WTMDA branch, or even more specifically, the Lubbock area. According to Charity Navigator, 73.5% of the money MDA raises goes toward the services it provides to MDA families and research (n.d.). Administrative costs, such as payroll takes up 9.8% of the funds raised; 16.5% goes to fundraising expenses, such as purchasing advertising and promotional items.

For the purpose of our campaign, any money we would need to use in producing promotional

materials, purchasing advertising, paying law enforcement, etc. would have to come out of our final donation goal. For example, if we have $1,000 in costs and our goal is $20,000, our goal would need to be $21,000.

External Factors Relevant Environmental Trends/Issues • Social media campaigns – Social media is an increasingly effective strategy for nonprofit organizations to reach supporters. According to theguardian.com, 80% of 18- to 24-year-olds and 73% of 25- to 34-year-olds use Facebook and Twitter (n.d.). Social media also helps increase interaction between an organization and its publics, allowing them an easy platform to talk to the organization and give feedback. Social media platforms give MDA the opportunity to not only to personalize its messages, but also for supporters to feel heard and more involved. • KA - Kappa Alpha Order is a fraternity at Texas Tech University whose primary philanthropic organization is MDA. Getting members of the organization involved with the Lubbock Lock-Up event could really help promote and grow the event. The Lock-Up event could provide members with a way to fulfill service hours required by the fraternity, which would raise the number of participants in the event, ultimately raising more money for the event.

Competing Forces/Competitors

Lubbock is one of the biggest cities in West Texas, so there are many competing charities in the

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area. Many people have organizations that they donate to regularly, so a challenge for WTMDA would be how to make its organization seem more important than – or at least equally as important as – their target audiences’ favorite charities. Through our focus groups, we gained insight into college students’ donation patterns. These students expressed that they want to donate to organizations they have a personal connection to or organizations their friends are involved in. It is important for WTMDA to realize what competing organizations students donate to in order to understand the audience and understand how to increase donations. In order to compete, WTMDA needs to create social media campaigns (specifically photos and videos) that highlight an emotional appeal about how one individual’s donation can help someone’s life.

Challenges

Client representative DJ Perez made it apparent he wanted to introduce more college

students to the WTMDA Lubbock Lock-Up event. College students are a great way to spread the word fast and to get more people involved. Students are very social media savvy and record and broadcast events they attend. If students post about the lockout event on their social media, we are more likely to have an increase in volunteers at the next lockout event. A challenge that arises with wanting to get students involved is the fact that they are students first. Although they may have interest in the charity or the Lock-Up event, events in the past has occurred on a weekday during regular class times. Although a student may be interested in attending the event, the student may not think it is worth missing class or another obligation to attend.

Another target audience the organization mentioned was young professionals. Although

this demographic may not have classes they need to attend, they may not be willing to sacrifice their work for a charity event. Young professionals may have more energy and more time available to donate, but they do not have as much disposable income. Base salaries for entry-level jobs do not always leave enough excess for big donations. Many young professionals are also paying off student loans, accounting for a large portion of their income. When targeting this group, it will be important to point out they are not responsible for donating all of the money themselves. Their time is what is most important along with spreading the word on how other people help as well.

Many treatments MDA patients need are not available in Lubbock and require travel to

Dallas and Houston, which is another expense most people do not account for (DJ Perez, 2017). 18

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Mention of this could help bring in more donations and remind people that living with muscular dystrophy is much more it seems.

Relevant Stakeholders

Looking at the key stakeholders for the MDA, it is important to keep in mind the organizations that

donate to the national headquarters, because those funds get filtered down into the different chapters across the country, including WTMDA. The International Fire Fighters Association, CITGO, Lowe’s, and Harley-Davidson Motor Co. are all Elite Partners who raise more than $5 million annually. Lubbock is one of the larger cities in the West Texas region with a population of just over 300,000 (US Census Bureau, n.d.). Texas Tech University is one of the largest universities in Texas, with more than 36,00 students enrolled in 2016 (TTU, n.d.). The large young population provides a lot of potential for MDA to target to a younger target audience, specifically students involved within relevant organizations on campus.

When it comes to raising awareness for the WTMDA, several key publics in addition to current

stakeholders stand out within the Lubbock area, specifically for the Lubbock Lock-Up event. Among these important local stakeholders are Lubbock firefighters, local restaurants and attractions, Texas Tech student organizations, and the Gamma Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity.

Local firefighters within the Lubbock area play a key component within the National and WTMDA.

Nationally, they generally contribute to the signature “Fill the Boot Program.” Inviting Lubbock firefighters to create teams for each fire station and have at least one representative from each station at the LockUp would be a great way for them to have a friendly competition while also raising money. We could have a special prize for the station who raises the most money along with other prizes for the other stations for their participation and help with the Lock-Up. This would also provide more of a photo opportunity for news sources.

A few restaurants that have volunteered to help with this year’s Lock-Up include Texas

Roadhouse, Cotton Patch Cafe, and Applebee’s. While still keeping good relationships with current involved restaurants, it would also be a great idea to consider more local popular restaurants to donate their time, money or gift cards and other incentives for jailbirds. A lot of people, especially in West Texas, love to see the community come together for a good cause and keeping it all local. Contacting a few other local shops and attractions to donate gift cards and/or products would also be great to gather as 19

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incentives. This gives the opportunity for these businesses to advertise on social media and instore while giving back to the community at the same time.

As previously stated, Texas Tech is one of the largest universities in the state, also

attracting bordering states who have students who attend the university. With hundreds of organizations on Texas Tech campus, there are many that help raise awareness for different types of causes, including Neuromuscular disease. Specifically, Kappa Alpha Order fraternity makes donations to the MDA, nationally and locally (KA, n.d.). Each year, the Gamma Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity hosts an event called Kalf Fry every Spring semester; all of the money raised is donated to the WTMDA. Reaching out to Kappa Alpha Order on campus to put together a team of jailbirds, would get a lot of engagement with the Lubbock and Texas Tech student communities altogether.

An important stakeholder to keep in mind is the 168 families affected by muscular

dystrophy in the Lubbock area. The money raised at the Lock-Up event goes into treatment and other financial obligations for these patients, so they are obviously very involved in the organization. It is important to maintain a good relationship with these families because it is MDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s goal to help them. It is also important to involve them in any events or community fundraising activities. These families are the face of the organization and they can help provide an emotional, personal connection with many Lubbock residents.

SWOT Analysis Strengths

WTMDA and the Lubbock Lock-Up have several strengths, all of which help to raise

awareness and aid families affected by Muscular Dystrophy. One strength of WTMDA is that it is the only official organization in all of West Texas dedicated to Muscular Dystrophy. This gives WTMDA a huge competitive advantage because there are no other organizations dedicated to Muscular Dystrophy in the West Texas area, which means anyone wanting to donate to this specific cause only has one option.

Another major strength of WTMDA is that Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, has

a fraternity, Kappa Alpha, with philanthropy for Muscular Dystrophy (KA, n.d.). This is beneficial in demographics because it makes it easier for WTMDA to reach college students. 20

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Another strength of WTMDA is their user-friendly website. Through the WTMDA it is easy to

navigate and find what you are looking for. Most websites can be overwhelming and have too much going on. The WTMDA website keeps it simple and to the point. The website features a section titled “Nearby Events,” where it lists all upcoming events in West Texas for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Contact information and a map for the Midland office are also located on the home page. The website features several sections that provide information about the neuromuscular disease and MDA services. The top of the page features a big yellow tab labeled “DONATE,” making it easy for viewers to see.

A strength specific to the Lubbock Lock-Up has is that it works with key stakeholders that make

it easier to raise money for the cause. The Lubbock Lock-Up worked with Texas Roadhouse this year for their event. Texas Roadhouse is a common and popular restaurant in Lubbock. According to the client representative, Texas Roadhouse partnered with WTMDA to provide a location for the Lock-Up event as well as complementary food to all the jailbirds. Texas Roadhouse provided a recognizable name to associate with the Lock-Up event as well as food for an incentive to participate.

Weaknesses

Although WTMDA and the Lubbock Lock-Up have several strengths, the organization also has a

few weaknesses that can easily be overcome with a well thought-out public relations campaign.

The main weakness of WTMDA is that the organization does not reach a wide enough audience,

according to our survey and focus group respondents. The Lubbock chapter of WTMDA was less active for two years because they lacked a director specific to Lubbock, and it just recently returned. Lubbock is now trying to gain awareness and get the word out to the community after being inactive. This is a weakness for the Lubbock Lock-Up because people may not be aware of the Lubbock branch of WTMDA or the Lock-Up event specifically. With a strategic public relations campaign, we can overcome this obstacle and reach a wider audience in the Lubbock and surrounding West Texas area.

Another weakness of WTMDA is their lack of social media presence. The national MDA

organization has Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, all of which are fairly active. The WTMDA has an Instagram, however, very infrequent use of it. The Twitter account (@mdawesttx) last posted on July 2. Social media is a prime way to reach a larger demographic audience, especially a younger audience, and being consistent in posting material is key to gaining followers.

G4 Public Relations believes another weakness is that the Lubbock chapter for WTMDA did not 21

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use as effective of marketing and advertising materials as they could have for the 2017 Lubbock Lock-Up, based on the organization’s social media activity. The event could have been advertised more through the proper use of social media and marketing. Gaining insight from the 2017 Lubbock Lock-Up will help us create a better communication strategy to be more effective in 2018.

Opportunities

WTMDA has several opportunities that they can take advantage of in order to reach their

goal of targeting a wider audience. One of these opportunities is the use of social media. As mentioned before, social media is huge in the daily lives of many people, especially a younger audience. WTMDA has the tools to effectively use social media. Social media could be a very costefficient way to get a message across and it has the opportunity to reach many audiences.

WTMDA also has the opportunity to reach college students through Texas Tech and

other surrounding colleges in West Texas. This can easily be done through free-speech areas on campus, college newspapers, daily announcements such as “Tech Announce,” and through college radio stations.

Another opportunity WTMDA can take advantage of is reaching extended family members

of college students from Texas Tech who suffer from muscular dystrophy. These extended family members might feel more compelled to donate to the cause.

The Lubbock Lock-Up has the opportunity to partner with small businesses such as

restaurants, retail establishments, and food trucks to spread the word and raise money.

Threats WTMDA and the Lubbock Lock-Up face a few threats that can affect the organization’s outreach. Although WTMDA is the only Muscular Dystrophy organization in the area, there are several other competing charities in West Texas. This is a potential threat for WTMDA because it gives the population a variety of options of who to donate money too. In addition, other charities and organizations hold events in Lubbock that could affect the outreach of the Lubbock Lock-Up. It would also be important to carefully decide the date of the 2018 Lubbock Lock-Up so it does not conflict with any other events, such as other charity events, concerts, or Texas Tech football.

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Current Situation Development

MDA as a national organization uses adequate public relations tools that make information

easy to access. While offering an email newsletter sign-up, MDA also offers their own magazine, Quest, that is sent quarterly. They also use social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest to reach their audiences. During the informal interview with the client representative, the client explained how little public relations efforts are being made for the 2017 Lubbock Lock-Up. The promotional tools WTMDA has used for the 2017 Lubbock Lock-Up are limited; jailbirds get their message across to people primarily through social media platforms and email. Another effort being made is calling key public figures and asking if they would like to volunteer to be a jailbird, which has proven unsuccessful for this year’s event. The client confirmed that one representative from a news outlet would be attending the event to take photos of the jailbirds trying to “escape from jail.” It is unclear whether WTMDA had a media relations effort in inviting different members from the media, or if the media contacted the organization about the event. It would be beneficial to see what sort of media relations effort the organization has in order to see how it could be approved.

Current Position

The WTMDA currently serves about 168 families in Lubbock alone. After closing its office for

two years, the Lubbock chapter of WTMDA has recently appointed a new director, DJ Perez. One of the organization’s primary goals is to rebuild the chapter and build back an awareness among the Lubbock audience. When compared to other nonprofit organizations serving the West Texas area, the organization has a strong follower base, but it is lacking in updating social media content. Since WTMDA is currently in a rebuilding period for the Lubbock branch, it is doing well on its public relations efforts given the situation; however, there is room for improvement and there are many ways an effective public relations campaign can help build the branch stronger.

Direction

The vision we have for the WTMDA’s 2018 Lubbock Lock-Up is to use the next year to increase

awareness among the public and better help better prepare for getting jailbirds for the event, providing

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them better resources to communicate with their connections, and ultimately raise more money than we did in the 2017 event. The organization wants to reach more audiences with disposable income and college students, all while keeping in contact with their existing donors and volunteers. Smaller issues that will be addressed during the campaign will involve producing a social media plan in order to make consistent content, creating local media connections, and giving praise to those who volunteer to fundraise for the organization. The overall desired goal for this campaign is to increase awareness and get more audiences involved in hopes of having 200 jailbirds (trying to raise/donate $2,000 each) and a total goal of $20,000.

Obstacles

Challenges that can occur during our campaign are financial issues, lack of interest or

commitment, and other events during the same time. Financial issues include budgeting, and needing to raise more than the initial goal to account for any of the campaignâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s costs. We believe the biggest obstacle for this campaign will be getting and maintaining the attention of various target audiences. With that challenge comes the issue of commitment. Currently the number of jailbirds has decreased over time, which is losing the potential amount of $2,000 each in donations. Another obstacle for this campaign is timing of the event. Since Lubbock is home to Texas Tech University, school events can easily become a priority for not only students but the local community as well. Dealing with these three factors will drive how we design and execute our entire campaign idea.

What does it all mean? After looking into all of the internal and external factors WTMDA faces with the 2018 Lubbock Lock-Up event, it is apparent that we will face some challenges in overcoming fundamental problems with target audiences, such as competing for attention from other charities and events. Optimistically, though, the Lubbock market provides a great opportunity with growth in a younger audience, and improvement of the underutilized WTMDA social media pages could help better reach that specific audience. This campaign will need to focus on all types of media to maximize the brand recognition and help people understand the importance of helping out Lubbock community members with muscular dystrophy. 24

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RESEARCH REPORT

To create a valid campaign plan, we conducted primary research of our target audiences. In this section, you will find the plans for our research, how we conducted it, the results, and the evaluation of those results.

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RESEARCH REPORT Executive Summary

Prior to developing a campaign plan, G4 Public Relations conducted primary and

secondary research to better understand the perception of WTMDA within the Lubbock area. The findings and interpretations gathered will improve the public relations efforts for the annual Lubbock Lock-Up event. We looked into who the target audiences are, how WTMDA can best reach them, and what would incentivize them to help the cause. Our research goal and questions were focused around finding the most effective way to gain support from the Lubbock audience.

We implemented both qualitative and quantitative research methods: we disseminated

a survey that received more than 150 responses, conducted two focus groups with five and six people each, and conducted in-depth interviews with three people. Using these different research methods, we were able to effectively gain different viewpoints and more detailed information for all target audience segments.

Through our research, we discovered that our older target demographic had more neutral

to positive attitudes toward MDA as a whole and would be the most likely to participate as a jailbird. Our younger target demographics had more neutral to negative attitudes, specifically with the Lock-Up, noting they would only participate if they were part of a large group or organizational setting.

After we gathered all responses and analyzed the data, we highlighted and brought

together common themes and key points for interpretations. This will help our campaign plan and continues to point us in the right direction to help improve the WTMDA Lubbock Lock-Up event.

Introduction

In order to have a better understanding of WTMDA, research is the most important step.

The research conducted will help G4 Public Relations understand what WTMDA has done in the

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past and methods it can employ to succeed in the future. From October 9 to October 21, we conducted several research studies and analyzed the results closely. We gathered our results by using focus groups, in-depth interviews, and an online survey. Through these studies we were able to get a better understanding of what our audience thinks of and knows about WTMDA, as well as their opinions on the Lock-Up event specifically.

Based on the nature of the organization, our target audience needed to consist of residents in

West Texas, and specifically in Lubbock. After discussing the direction WTMDA wanted to go, we split the ages into three target demographics: young adults (college students, ages 18 to 24), residents ages 25 to 34, and residents with a high disposable income (age 35+).

We held two focus groups with undergraduate students at Texas Tech University, with five and

six participants in each group. The online surveys were distributed on social media platforms, receiving more than 150 responses, mainly from an audience over the age of 35. We conducted in-depth interviews with three Lubbock residents between the ages of 25 and 34. Every research method we used covered a different target population for the campaign.

Primary Research Research Goal • To research the presence of the WTMDA throughout the Lubbock community, more specifically, the Lubbock Lock-Up.

Research Objectives • To conduct two focus groups gathering data from six-to-eight college students by October 14, 2017. • To survey at least 100 people within our three target demographics between October 9 and October 20. • To conduct at least three in-depth interviews with members of the Lubbock community aged between 25 and 34 before October 20, 2017.

Methodology Population • Texas Tech University undergraduate students • Members of the Lubbock community aged 25 to 34 29

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• Members of the Lubbock community aged 35 and up, with a high disposable income Sample & Sampling Technique • We conducted a focus group of an equally diverse population of six-to-eight undergraduate students from Texas Tech University, recruited through friends and organizations, and provided incentives, including food and soft drinks. • We composed a survey questionnaire using Qualtrics that was dispersed through various social media and communication platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.). • We conducted our in-depth interviews with three members of the Lubbock community, aged 25 to 34. These interviews included questions from our survey and a few personal questions.

Instruments

The focus group lasted a maximum of one hour with a variety of questions and topics

that were built into the moderator’s guide. We created the guide to help the flow of the students’ conversations and opinions, aiming to smoothly transition from one question to another. The audio of the focus group was recorded and later transcribed.

Our online survey, created on Qualtrics, contained 23 questions that addressed our three

research questions and basic demographic questions. These questions were asked in several different formats, mostly using the Likert-type scale and multiple-choice answers.

Our in-depth interviews were held face-to-face, informally with members of the Lubbock

community aged 25-34. The audio was recorded and later transcribed. The interviews contained open-ended questions that addressed our three research questions along with a few personal questions.

Data Collection & Procedures

Qualtrics recorded the participants’ responses to the survey questions, which helped us

easily divide and analyze the information. During the focus group, we recorded the conversation via voice recorder and later transcribed each focus group. The in-depths interviews also featured audio recordings that were later transcribed by the interviewer. We conducted our survey with the goal of reaching an older demographic, our focus groups a college demographic, and our indepth interviews a young professional demographic. The three different research methods helped 30

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us gain relevant information from different audiences that will help us target our campaign plan. Our appendices - which include a copy of our survey, a moderator’s guide for our focus group, and transcripts from our focus groups and interviews - can be found online at http://bit.ly/CkIk93.

Data Analysis

Our survey closed on October 21 to begin our data analysis. After we closed the survey, we

ran reports for each specific questions. We grouped all of the survey questions by the main research question they fit into. RQ1, what type of nonprofit organizations do people find important, contained survey questions 1 through 4. RQ2, what motivates the community to donate their time and money, contained survey questions 5 and 16. RQ3, which social media platform is the community most active on, contained survey question 17 and 18. RQ4, what are people’s current opinions on MDA and its events, contained 6-15.

Once we finished transcribing the focus groups and interviews, we analyzed them and looked for

common themes. We read through each transcript, highlighted, and grouped key points that discussed all strengths and weaknesses. Once we were able to understand what the target audience was looking for, we formed ideas that could make a correct path toward our campaign goal.

Findings & Interpretations – Survey Findings for demographics:

Of our survey respondents, 28.07% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 3.51% were between 25

and 29, 6.14% were between 30 and 39, 28.07% were between 40 and 49, and 34.21% were 50 or older. Of our respondents, 89.29% were white, 0.89% were black, 1.79% were Asian, and 8.04% answered “other.” 92.92% of our respondents were female and 7.08% were male.

When asked for their annual household income, 10.58% of our respondents said less than

$10,000, 3.85% said between $20,000 and $29,999, 2.88% said between $30,000 and $39,999, 5.77% said between $40,000 and $49,999, 7.69% said between $50,000 and $59,999, 5.77% said between $60,000 and $69,999, 3.85% said between $70,000 and $79,999, 3.85% said between $80,000 and $89,999, 6.73% said between $90,000 and $99,999, 19.23% said between $100,000 and $149,999, and 25.96% said more than $150,000.

Of our respondents, 16.81% currently live in Lubbock, 0.88% live in another area of West Texas, 31

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73.34% live in another area of Texas, and 8.97% live outside of Texas. When asked to specify where outside of Texas, two of our respondents said Indiana, and one person said each of the following: Nevada, Michigan, Sweden, Louisiana, Australia, Oklahoma, and Colorado.

Findings for RQ1: Do people find nonprofit organizations important; if so, what type of organizations?

Of the people surveyed, most (43.42%) said they donate to nonprofit organizations

sometimes. As for the remaining participants, 7.89% of people said they never donate, 19.08% rarely donate, 19.74% said they donate often, and 9.87% responded that they always donate to nonprofit organizations. When asked how much money people donate to nonprofit organizations, respondentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; answers were evenly spread out; the margins between the different categories was not large. 29.13% of the people surveyed said they donate less than $50 annually, 15.75% donate $50-$99, 29.92% donate $100-$500, and 25.50% said they donate more than $500 to nonprofit organizations.

According to our data, most of our respondents are willing to volunteer. Of the people

surveyed, 67.65% said they volunteer with nonprofit organizations regularly and 32.35% do not. Our group of respondents enjoy volunteering with religious organizations more than anything. When asked what type of organizations; 41.90% of respondents said religious, 17.14% said they donate to other types of nonprofits, 12.38% said educational, 12.38% said child, 5.71% said animal, and 1.9% said scientific. Among other responses people wrote in included; museum and symphony, community, fire department, public safety, military, reconstruction, scouts, and medical. Interpretations for RQ1:

The responses to our survey showed that people have a willingness to donate, but

donating is not necessarily their top priority. Donating is a cultural norm that most people feel everyone should participate in; there is always someone in need, so people who have the means feel they should help out. Most of the people surveyed said they volunteer, so WTMDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s issue is not in finding people willing to volunteer, but in creating more of an emotional connection with people to make them want to volunteer with this organization specifically. A majority of the surveyors said they volunteer through their church, an organization they already have a strong 32

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relationship with and trust. As many of our respondents said that volunteering within their religious communities was important, it may be useful for WTMDA to make affiliations with local churches and religious groups.

Findings for RQ2: What motivates the community to donate their time and money?

Respondents who answered they were not likely to donate to the Lock-Up events were asked to

explain why, providing further detail. Of these respondents; 34.04% had no disposable income to donate, 29.79% would rather donate to another charity, 27.66% felt they had no personal connection to the charity, and 5.32% had no interest to donate at all. Other reasons provided were, “I would not want to be a jailbird,” and, “We focus our donations in two areas: Christian and Type 1 Diabetes.”

When asked what makes them want to donate to a certain nonprofit organization, the majority

of the participants would be more compelled to donate to a nonprofit if they had a personal connection (46.93%). 22.37% would donate if they were emotionally moved by a story in the form of a testimonial of someone affected by the organization. Of our respondents, 16.67% donated to feel like a good person and 10.96% donated for a tax deduction. Among other responses included, “to help,” “shared belief or purpose,” “to support my local church and their mission.” About 10% of our respondents mentioned their church being important to them in their response. Interpretations for RQ2:

Although the strongest reason behind donating is having a personal connection to the

organization, being able to provide a connection from the standpoint of a nonprofit organization can be very difficult. We suggest that WTMDA puts out testimonials of specific families that it has helped over the years. By doing this, it will help humanize the nonprofit to those who are looking to donate to a worthy cause. Bridging the gap between no personal connection and being emotionally invested could increase the amount of donations. To help with the participants that have no disposable income, MDA could reassure and let that audience know that any donation amount - even $1 - is accepted and is helpful.

Findings for RQ3: Which social media platform is the community most active on?

When asked what social media platforms they use to keep up with organizations, respondents

were able to check any of the options available. Of the respondents, 42% said Facebook, 20% said Instagram, 13.2% said Twitter, 9.2% said Snapchat, 8% said Pinterest, and 6.8% said LinkedIn. Other 33

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responses provided were “none,” and “I attend church.” When asked which social platform they used most, 60.26% of respondents said Facebook, 16.67% said Instagram, 11.54% said Snapchat, 5.77% said Pinterest, 4.49% said Twitter, and 1.28% said LinkedIn. Interpretations for RQ3:

The majority of our respondents said they used Facebook more than any other social

media. This is important because WTMDA is active on its Facebook page, and they can use this platform to reach a wide audience. Since we know this is the most popular, WTMDA can definitely spend more time and effort on their Facebook campaigns. The second most popular social media among our respondents was Instagram. WTMDA only has four pictures on its Instagram page and - at the time we began this research - had not posted an update since July 2. This shows that WTMDA has a huge opportunity for growth just by using the free platform they already have. In addition, in order to gain more followers/likes, they can run ads on Facebook and Instagram to reach the target audiences.

Findings for RQ4: What are people’s current opinions on MDA and its events?

An overwhelming amount of participants (83.94%) said they had not heard of MDA. The

majority of respondents (40.71%) had a neutral view toward MDA. Of our participants, 57.52% said they had a positive opinion of the organization, 30.97% said they liked it a great deal, 26.55% somewhat liked it, and 1.77% of respondents said they somewhat disliked the organization.

Of our respondents, 85.19% said they had not heard of MDA’s local Lock-Up events.

When asked if they had participated in or donated to a Lock-Up event, almost 94% said no. The respondents who had not heard of the event were given a short description of it. After the description; 43.86% said they felt positively toward it, 54.39% felt neutral, and only 1.75% somewhat disliked it.

The majority of participants had little-to-no interest in participating as a jailbird in a Lock-

Up event. Of respondents, 67.54% were uninterested, 25.44% were neutral, and 7.01% were either somewhat interested or interested. When asked how they viewed the Lock-Up; 42.06% view it as moderately important, 41.12% view is as very important, 9.35% viewed this event as extremely important, 5.61% view it as slightly important, and 1.87% view the event as not at all important. 34

When asked what would incentivize them to be a jailbird, our respondents were given a

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list to check all that apply; 40.68% said thank you letters from a child and/or family helped, 24.58% said promotional items (i.e. t-shirt or water bottle), 20.34% said gift cards would motivate them, 8.47% said other reasons, and 5.93% said recognition of some sort (i.e. plaque). Among the other reasons provided was, “I would rather give a certain amount and not be obligated to fund raise” and seven respondents said they would not need any incentives.

Most people are somewhat likely to donate to a jailbird in the lock-up event. 42.98% said they

were somewhat likely, 30.70% said they were neither likely or unlikely, 12.28% said they are somewhat unlikely, 7.89% said they are extremely unlike to donate to a jailbird, and 6.14% said they are extremely likely to donate to a jailbird. Interpretations for RQ4:

Overall, we suggest that the WTMDA should put more effort into making its name more common,

which can be achieved both through mail items or social media platforms. WTMDA should continue to maintain relationships with those who have a positive attitude toward the organization, while also trying to persuade those who feel neutrally that it is a genuine organization. Since there are only a few events a year that WTMDA has dedicated to fundraising, the organization should put more publicity behind the Lock-Up event. The organization should emphasize how important it really is to get donations of any amount to reach its goal.

Some survey participants found the theme of the event uninteresting and unimportant; our

suggestion is to rework the event to make it more appealing to different age groups in the target audience, the media, and the general public. WTMDA could also strengthen its promotional efforts of the event, spending more money, and effort on PR and advertising campaigns. A popular idea among our respondents was receiving a thank you letter from children or families as an incentive for donating their time or money. Other options included gift cards and free items such as shirts or water bottles. This shows that WTMDA does not need to go out of its way to try to give its event participants expensive gifts, such as hotel stays or spa days; people mainly want to donate to help and feel like they have helped.

Findings & Interpretations – Focus group

We hosted two focus groups with undergraduate students from Texas Tech University with five

and six students. The first focus group took place on October 10, , and the second focus group took place on October 18. Within the two focus groups, participants discussed nonprofit organizations in general as 35

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well as MDA and the Lubbock Lock-Up specifically.

As an ice-breaker to lead into the discussion about nonprofits, participants in the first

focus group were asked to state who their favorite or least favorite nonprofit organization was and why. Only two of the participants provided an answer and both had negative views stating that certain nonprofit organizations put the money raised into the executives’ pockets. In the second focus group, participants were asked what type of nonprofit organization they would start if they could. Many answers referred to helping children in some way, while other answers involved helping the community and the environment.

The moderator asked participants how often they donated to or volunteered with a

nonprofit organization, and if so, how often and what type of nonprofits. While all participants mentioned that they donate, they mentioned different motives behind their donations. In the first focus group, one participant mentioned how he preferred to donate to “charities that I know where it’s going … there’s a lot of places in Lubbock that you can give your money to, you know it’s going to help and you know where it’s going. You know the community and the people involved with it. That’s what I donate to and what I give my time to” (Focus Group, October 10, 2017).

A participant mentioned in the second focus group that they enjoy attending events where

the money is going toward a charity. The entire group at the table agreed with the statement and it struck up a conversation. “Sometimes I’ll go to fraternity events that go towards an organization and I’ll donate or take toys and whatnot, and I guess it’s just sometimes being with your friends that makes it fun and it makes you feel good to help others” (Focus Group, October 18, 2017). Many of the participants in the second focus group also mentioned how they would volunteer with their college-affiliated groups, such as sororities, clubs, and other extra-curricular activities.

The moderator asked all participants if they knew about MDA prior to the focus group, and

a majority of the participants did not. The moderator explained what the MDA is and what it does for the community. The moderators asked all participants if they had ever heard of the Lubbock Lock-Up event, and everyone said they had not. After a brief explanation, all participants in both focus groups became confused and asked quite a bit of questions. One participant mentioned how the event doesn’t seem to have much of a fun appeal to it, “Right now it sounds like, hey I nominated you, go find two grand” (Focus Group, October 10, 2017). 36

When asked if they would volunteer to be a jailbird for the event, many of the participants

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were hesitant to answer. All participants had a mutual agreement that if they had an emotional connection to the organization or knew someone who had suffered from a muscle-debilitating disease, they would be more inclined to become a jailbird and donate more money. After having nothing much more to say about volunteering to be a jailbird, the moderator asked what they would change about the event and this is where the conversation began to pick back up.

In the first focus group, all participants agreed that they would change the event completely,

even stating, “I just think the whole jailbird thing isn’t working. If they had a bigger event, where it was broadcasted where they did advertising for it where they said like ‘hey come down to this event where we have games for kids and stuff, come down there’s a place to donate,’ so much as cold calling people for money” (Focus Group, October 10, 2017). Another participant noted how they thought the Lock-Up meant MDA was going to “lock those people in a room for like a night or something like that, like those high school things they did” (Focus Group, October 10, 2017). While the conversation among the participants sounded negative toward the event, it solidifies why college students as a demographic has been difficult for WTMDA to recruit as jailbirds in the past. The age group does not see the appeal as much as the older demographics, demanding more fun and group-involved events they can participate in with their friends. Since the event may not be appealing to them, WTMDA can focus more efforts on recruiting donations from this population than recruiting jailbirds.

In the second focus group, all participants asked specific details about the event like where it was,

what time, what day of the week, etc. One participant stated that “if it was on a weekend, I think more adults might go,” rather than if it was on a weekday during lunch hour (Focus Group, October 18, 2017). Nobody in the room mentioned anything they would necessarily change about the event, but all would like to see the event, and the MDA be promoted on social media.

Social media is very popular among the millennial generation, especially college students, when it

comes to keeping up with the latest news and trends. Moderators asked both groups what type of social media platforms the participants mostly use and which platforms they follow nonprofit organizations on. All participants in both focus groups mentioned Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat being the platforms they use nearly everyday. When it came to following nonprofit organizations on social media; however, Facebook and Twitter were the main sources.

When asked how the Lock-Up should be promoted, Facebook Events were brought up and a

participant mentioned the social aspect of agreeing to go to an event on Facebook; the site will show a 37

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person’s friend if he/she has expressed interest in an event, so it will bring more attention to the event’s page. A participant added, “through Facebook you already are connected through that organization, you know MDA, and it will be easier to spread the word through people who already know the organization. You already have a wider spread through that” (Focus Group, October 10, 2017). On Twitter, participants mentioned that they liked to see little snippets of information every so often rather than just giant paragraphs about events. Also, adding visuals is said to be more appealing where it would grasp their attention, especially “when they post a video and it starts playing, it makes you stop and watch it” (Focus Group, October 18, 2017).

The moderator asked if there was any year-round content the participants would like to

see from MDA, rather than just specific to an event. All participants in each focus group agreed that they enjoy seeing nonprofit organizations post updates and photos about what they have been doing with who they are helping. One participant noted it would be fun to see a timeline or montage of pictures and videos that shows what happens with the money after it is donated.

College students enjoy attending well-known events that many student organizations

across campus hold year-round. For example, KA throws an event called Kalf Fry every year, where the money raised is donated to their philanthropy, WTMDA. Prior to the focus groups being held, one of the moderators contacted a former president of the Kappa Alpha Order Fraternity asking, “For Kalf Fry, do the proceeds go to the WTMDA or the National MDA organization?” with his response being “West Texas” (Text Message, October 10, 2017).

Having this information confirmed, during the focus group, the moderator asked if anyone

had ever attended this event and all participants responded that they have. The moderator then asked if they knew the proceeds went to the WTMDA, and only one participant knew this information. One participant said “I think that they could advertise more with Kalf Fry. I’ve seen advertisements for Kalf Fry, but I haven’t seen anything about their philanthropy” and other participants said Kalf Fry should put the MDA logo on the t-shirts so there is more awareness (Focus Group, October 18, 2017).

Findings & Interpretations – In-depth interviews

Our group held in-depth interviews with three individuals: two college graduates and one

current Texas Tech student, all between the ages of 25 and 34. The interviews took place on 38

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October 20, 2017. Throughout the in-depth interviews, participants were asked about their knowledge on MDA, experience with other nonprofit organizations, and their opinions on the Lock-Up event.

When asked what kind of organizations they were most willing to donate to, participants

mentioned nonprofits dealing with animals, children, and veterans. The participants mentioned they do not volunteer or donate frequently – each limited to about once a year – for a variety of reasons, including lack of motivation and forgetfulness. All three participants said there are no physical incentives that would necessarily motivate them to get involved; they would rather get involved to help out than to receive anything. While they did not want any gifts for participating, our interviewees mentioned that receiving a letter from a child or family member affected by their donation would motivate them to participate or donate to the event. One participant mentioned that she would like updates on where the money went after her donation.

We asked participants if they had ever heard of MDA’s Lock-Up events. All three participants had

never heard of the event. After explaining the Lock-Up event to our participants, we asked what they think of the event. One participant said that it did not really make sense to her. She did not like the event because she doesn’t like the idea of the jailbirds calling and asking for money. Another participant said she liked the event because you get a free meal out of it; however, when another participant mentioned that he didn’t like the idea of the jailbirds calling and asking for money, she changed her response and agreed with him. “It does feel a little bit manipulative” (In-depth interview, October 20, 2017).

Participants were then asked how likely they would be to participate as a jailbird. Two

participants said they were not at all likely to participate and one, on a scale of one to ten (unlikely to likely, respectively), said his likeliness is a four. We asked them if they would donate if someone that they knew were a jailbird and all three participants said they would probably donate in this case. Following this question, we asked if there was anything they would change about this event. One participant said that she would make it less about calling and asking for donations and more of an event that would give people an incentive to donate. Another participant said that she would also put less emphasis on calling for donations, such as “if it were something like it costs $200 to get your friend arrested, it would be more fun of an event” (Interview, 2017). Another participant said that he would not change anything about the event; however, it just wasn’t the type of event that he would be interested in.

The participants were then informed that social media is how the jailbirds in the Lock-Up event

help create awareness and collect donations. We asked them which social media platforms they follow 39

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nonprofit organizations on. Two participants mentioned Facebook, and the other participant said that he doesn’t follow nonprofits on anything because he doesn’t use social media. We wanted to know what organizations can do that would capture their attention and interests most on social media. One participant said that running ads and boosting posts online would get her attention. Another participant said that hearing people’s stories and testimonies would entice her more to want to support them.

Research Errors

After we received all of our data, we noticed there were some research errors and some

ways we could have conducted our research better. First, Question 4 on the survey (If you volunteer with nonprofit organizations, what type of organizations?) should have featured a “check all that apply” option, rather than making our participants choose which one they like the best. We could have also reworded the question to state “If you volunteer with nonprofit organizations, which type do you spend the most time participating with?” By designing Question 4 as a onechoice response, we limit the participant to only choosing one between multiple answers while there are some participants who volunteer with multiple organizations.

When building the online survey, there was a small flaw in allowing survey takers to skip

answers, leaving them unanswered. This could have affected our overall percentages on each question. By forcing the survey taker to answer each question at the best of their ability, it could have possibly given us more accurate percentages.

In Question 20 of the survey, we asked each participant to let us know what ethnicity they

identified with and, after we closed the survey, we realized we left out an option for the Hispanic population. There was an answer choice labeled ‘Other’ but did not give the option to fill in their own ethnicity. We can partially assume that the 8% that chose the answer ‘Other’ could have been Hispanic due to the fact all other major ethnicities were represented.

Conclusion

We gained good insight from all of the participants in our survey, focus groups, and in-

depth interviews. Overall, the participants stressed that having an emotional connection to the organization is the most important thing to them when choosing to participate with nonprofits. 40

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Many participants had positive thoughts surrounding MDA and the Lock-Up event, but they did not feel the need to participate because they did not have an emotional or personal connection to muscular dystrophy. Because of this, we believe WTMDA should publish more testimonials - real experiences from real people affected by muscular dystrophy and MDA - to their social media. This is a relatively costeffective way to get stories out there, further creating positive attitudes in the community.

Based on the responses, MDA should aim to be more active on social media to get word of

their cause more publicized. The organization should focus on building relationships with the public and on grabbing people’s attention with emotional testimonials. Generally, people will not want to donate to an organization if they do not feel connected to it on a personal level; if they do not have a family member with muscular dystrophy, it is important to show them strong images that will leave a memorable impression in their mind and make them want to donate. The organization should also utilize what different social media platforms have to offer, such as Facebook Events (one of our focus group participants said he/she is likely to go to an event if one of his/her friends is going), Facebook advertisements, Instagram advertisements, and opportunities to donate straight from the social media page rather than going to a different web page.

MDA needs emphasize to its audience that any amount of donation or volunteering time is better

than nothing. They should emphasize how grateful they are for all amounts, even if it’s just $1. Our participants, particularly the college focus group members, stressed that the Lock-Up event should be more appealing to all age groups, rather than just an older population. They would enjoy including more activities for families, rather than just adults, so people with children would feel more inclined to go.

Although it seems like there was some unfavorable feedback, there are a lot of opportunities for

growth. WTMDA has a great chance to develop more positive connections with people and, eventually, raise more money for people with muscular dystrophy who need it.

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CAMPAIGN PLAN

Our campaign plan is laid out with detailed steps to achieve a successful 2018 Lubbock Lock-Up event. This plan is organized and broken down through goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics.

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CAMPAIGN PLAN Executive Summary

WTMDA will host its annual Lubbock Lock-Up event in September 2018 with a goal to

double the money raised in 2017. G4 Public Relations created a campaign plan to target a wide audience and get enough people participating in order to enable WTMDA to reach their fundraising goal. The campaign “Throw Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy” plays on the concept of the event - locking up jailbirds - while also creating an emotional connection with the Lubbock community. The theme urges each person to symbolically lock up something that holds them back, just as someone with muscular dystrophy should with their debilitation.

We began our campaign by establishing the target publics necessary to reach for the plan

to be successful; our target publics range across three age groups, with the main target being working professionals over the age of 35. We want to reach this age group because they tend to be more connected to the community and have more disposable income to spend. In addition to working professionals over the age of 35, we also want to reach young professionals ages 25 to 34 and college students age 18 to 24. Opening up our target audience to three large populations will help us keep the organization relevant across a wider population and bring in a larger amount of donations.

We set an overall goal to attract more awareness and funds for the Lubbock Lock-Up

event. Under that overarching goal, we have specific objectives that include increasing social media engagement, increasing donations, and increasing the number of jailbirds. These objectives will require a wide range of strategies and tactics to ensure the project’s success. These tactics include both new media and traditional media coverage, which will be integrated with a physical promotion strategy to tie the idea together.

To make sure our objectives have been implemented correctly and are effective, we also

set up evaluation methods for each objective. G4 Public Relations has set up detailed stewardship

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efforts to ensure that any target publics and participants feel appreciated, creating organization loyalty and encouraging them to participate again. In order to make sure our plan is possible by the 2018 LockUp event in September, we created a realistic timeline for WTMDA to follow. We also created a detailed budget to make sure the organization is spending money on the event efficiently. Our plan provides WTMDA a clear path to achieving the fundraising goal set for the 2018 Lock-Up event.

Introduction

The Muscular Dystrophy Association of West Texas shared with G4 Public Relations issues

it is facing with community involvement and raising funds. To better understand these problems, we conducted research in the Lubbock area and discovered what impressions people had of WTMDA. Our research showed that people generally had positive views of the organization, but there was room for improvement in terms of reaching a wider audience and creating loyal relationships with publics. Our research showed 83.94% of the people surveyed had heard of MDA, but only 14.81% had heard of their Lock-Up event, with only 6.14% have ever donated or participated with the event.

Based on the responses, MDA should aim to be more active on social media and gain more

attention for its cause. MDA needs to focus on building relationships with the public and on gaining the public’s attention with emotional testimonials. People are not as willing to donate to an organization if they do not feel connected to it on a personal level; if they do not have know someone with muscular dystrophy, it is important to show strong images that will leave a memorable impression in their mind and make them want to donate. MDA also needs to utilize social media platforms, with more use of free tactics such as posts and Facebook events and methods that cost money, such as Facebook and Instagram ads.

For this campaign, we have developed messages surrounding the idea of “Throwing Away

the Key” that will help educate the public on muscular dystrophy and those who are affected by neuromuscular disorders. To implement these improvements, we recommend posting on social media on a regular basis, finding available interns who can really connect to the audience, and scheduling automated posts to make them more frequent. There should be a minimum of three Facebook post per week, five to ten tweets per day, and three to five times a week on Instagram. Every post should include the hashtag #ThrowAwayTheKey to promote the message and to gain a following.

We plan on using the same hashtag, #ThrowAwayTheKey, to gain community physical 45

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involvement as well. We plan on painting on a wall above a fence in Lubbock’s cultural district, where people can pose for photos underneath, as well as attaching a personalized lock to the chain linked fence, making an opportunity for people to “throwing away the key”. Hopefully this will lead further social involvement as well, with people sharing their experience of throwing away the key.

This campaign includes a method of taking its success according to the timeline. The

timeline will help determine the campaign’s success. The campaign is scheduled to run from January 2018 to September 2018.

Target Publics

G4 Public Relations identified key target audiences for WTMDA’s Lock-Up event. The

demographics we want to target are college students (ages 18 to 24), young professionals in Lubbock (ages 25-34), and older professionals (ages 35+).

WTMDA’s primary target is older Lubbock residents with disposable income. This

demographic is generally the most willing to contribute to donations and is the most accepting for the current MDA model, whereas a younger audience struggled to connect with the organization in the past, according to our research. For this campaign, there are two secondary target audiences: college students and young professionals. According to our research, young professionals are more willing to donate and have more of a disposable income than college students. Young professionals are also more connected to the community, because they have typically established a career and home here. Whether they just moved to Lubbock or have been here for years, it is their permanent residence and they are more likely to contribute to a community-based organization locally than someone who will soon graduate from a university in the area and most likely leave town.

The next target is college students. We found that they are willing and able to volunteer

their time as long as it is publicized well enough to reach them, their friends are involved, and the event sounds fun to them. Our focus groups with this demographic brought up many suggestions on how to make the event more enjoyable, including paying their donation at the beginning of the event to get a friend arrested. Many of the participants in our focus group had either attended or had at least heard of the Kappa Alpha Fraternity event Kalf Fry, from which proceeds go to 46

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WTMDA. Although they had awareness of the event, the majority of participants had never heard of WTMDA, so they unknowingly contributed to the local Lubbock organization. This is positive because Kalf Fry has brought in more donations, but it would be useful for WTMDA and KA to publicize where the donations go and how the donors are helping specifically.

In our campaign for WTMDA, we will focus on these three demographics for donations and

volunteers. To allow this organization’s event to succeed and to grow annually, it is necessary to make a connection with the Lubbock community by getting the word out.

Campaign Plan

The “Throw Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy” campaign will address awareness, donation,

and participation goals. This campaign will be ready to be implemented at the beginning of the 2018 calendar year and has been developed to target the audiences listed above. After our research findings, G4 Public Relations has created key messages, goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics to help make this campaign a success.

Theme

The “Throw Away the Key” theme symbolizes not only the idea of locking up jailbirds, but

symbolically locking up the disease and not looking back. The theme is simple and features an emotional appeal, which will gain attention and connect with the general public.

By saying “locking up the disease and not looking back,” we want to create a sincere connection

with the families dealing with muscular dystrophy as well as the people who want to volunteer to help the cause. We want to emphasize that the money truly goes to helping the cause: it will make an impact through research on different diseases, caring for kids and adults, and empowering families with services and support. This is the main impact and overall big picture ideas that MDA promotes through all of its initiatives.

Our campaign theme, “Throwing Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy,” will capture the hearts

and attention of our intended audience through the emotional connection of the campaign, as well as the way the campaign name rhymes. It will grab the audience’s attention, hopefully making them want to learn more about the event and about muscular dystrophy, and ultimately make them want to participate in one way or another. The theme will increase public interest in the yearly Lubbock Lock-Up event. 47

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Key and Supporting Messages

For the Throw Away the Key campaign, we have developed messages that will inform the

target publics of the Lock-Up event. • Our first set of messages will be information for all intended publics about MDA and how the organization provides for the community.

• Muscular dystrophy is a group of diseases that cause progressive weakness and loss of

muscle mass.

• Although muscular dystrophy cannot be cured, MDA is currently funding about 150

research projects to find a new and innovative treatment to fight.

• MDA supports and fights for kids, adults, and their families who are living with muscular

dystrophy.

• MDA cares for kids and adults by providing them with the best care possible.

• MDA educates and builds a support system for families through educational seminars,

medical assistance, and summer camp for kids.

• MDA provides 340 educational activities for families to help with the process of living

with muscular dystrophy.

• Our second set of messages will to be in effort to educate our targeted publics about those who are affected directly by muscular dystrophy.

• Kids who are diagnosed with muscular dystrophy gradually lose the ability to simple

things like walk, sit up straight, and breath with ease. They also lose movement in their

arms and hands.

• Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy affects children between the ages of eight and 15, and

eventually causes them to be in a wheelchair by the time they are adults.

• One in every 3,000 kids are born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is the most

common form of this disease (Health24.com).

• In 2016: 3,8000 kids attend one of the 75 week-long MDA summer camp that was

designed specifically for them (MDA Annual Report).

• MDA has helped more than 100,000 kids, adults, and families register to receive care,

services, and support.

• Our last set of messages will be to reassure the targeted publics where donations and proceeds 48

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to the MDA are distributed to.

• MDA has been awarded nearly $7 million in grant funding to help support MDA Care Centers.

• In 2016, MDA Lock-Up event raised $10.4 million nationwide, which provided funds for research

and supporting kids, adults, and families.

Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics

G4 Public Relations created an overall goal that will help the WTMDA continue on with their

success in their future endeavors as they continue to host the Lubbock Lock-Up event. Several objectives, strategies, and tactics have been set up in order to help achieve this goal. Within this guidance information, the Throw Away the Key to Muscular Dystrophy Campaign will be an overall success. Overall Goal: To raise awareness and funds for the Lubbock Lock-Up event. Objective 1: To increase social media engagement, directed at all target audiences, by 50% by September 2018. Strategy 1: With the help of one or two interns, the WTMDA will post content regularly to all social media platforms, specifically Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

It is essential to understand the “language and personality” of each social media platform and the

users that engage with them. Facebook is used by all of our target audiences, as we found out from the age demographics from our survey, and is considered one of the most used social media platforms. As stated in our focus groups, Twitter and Instagram were the second most used social media platforms to keep up with nonprofit organizations. We recommend an increased number of posts so WTMDA will increase visibility within its audience. Tactic 1A: WTMDA’s Facebook page should have at least three postings per week and an event page set up specifically for the Lubbock Lock-Up event. A few examples include:

• Post photos, highlighting a family or individual who benefits from the help of the WTMDA each

week. This can include a quote or an update on how the patient is doing and how MDA is helping

him/her. Example on page 59.

• Create a Facebook event titled, “Lubbock Lock-Up: Throw Away the Key to Muscular Dystrophy,”

on the WTMDA page, where the organization can share details about the event regularly, notifying

those who plan on attending or want to stay informed. Example on page 58.

Tactic 1B: Twitter should have around three-to-five tweets per day, this could include retweets from other 49

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organizations such as the national MDA Twitter page, along tweeting about any trending topics by using relevant hashtags. A few examples include:

• Tweet providing updates on the Lock-Up event and other programs the WTMDA offers to

engage existing supporters and attract new ones. Example on page 62.

• Retweet and engage with other MDA chapters across the nation, especially those hosting

a Lock-Up event.

• Twitter allows each account to “pin” a tweet to the top of its page. It is the first thing that

shows up when anyone visits the page. WTMDA’s pinned tweet should be something

regarding the Lubbock Lock-Up, and include an eye-catching photo and a link to the

Facebook event or the event page on MDA’s website.

Tactic 1C: Instagram can be used to display powerful photos. Although primarily dominant among the younger target audience, it can be just as effective as Facebook if it is used strategically. WTMDA should post at least two times per week during the off-season to keep the account active and three-to-five times per week as the Lock-Up event gradually draws closer. A few examples include:

• Post a photo of a child actively playing a sport or doing something they can enjoy even

through the difficulty of their disease. This shares an uplifting story as proof that the

Lubbock Lock-Up helps make a difference and thanks donors for their support and

contributions. Example on page 60.

• Encourage Instagram followers to post a photo of a lock that they have attached to a

fence in Lubbock, which we will set up in the Art District where the First Friday Art Trail

takes place. People are encouraged to decorate a lock with something they wish to throw

away, someone they want to dedicate it to, or any personal design they want. They are

encouraged to take a picture with their lock or with the fence full of locks (similar to the

Love Bridge in Paris) and use the hashtag #ThrowAwayTheKey. We also hope to set

up a booth at every First Friday Art Trail from June to September. We will purchase locks

and paint pens and allow participants to pay $1 to decorate their own lock and attach it to

the fence. Example on page 61.

Evaluation: This objective can be measured through social media analytics and insights. To monitor each social media platform, the WTMDA should not only make sure that their accounts 50

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are business accounts, but have the “analytics,” “insights,” or “metrics,” tool turned on and looked into every day. Having a business account on social media platforms and taking advantage of these free tools that are offered is the best way to measure the short-term outcomes. Using Google Analytics to monitor the number of impressions the website receives and which social media platform is mostly driving people to the website would be useful. This shows more in-depth insights on tracking activity and performance compared to in-house analytics. By building the big picture, connecting insights for results, and working with data, Google Analytics is the best way to measure for long-term outcomes.

Objective 2: To increase total donations to $22,000 for the Lubbock Lock-Up event by September 2018. Strategy 2: Reach out to Lubbock local businesses informing them of the Lock-Up event ahead of time while driving them to our social media platforms. This will include listing out opportunities to become involved and ways to donate. We will provide our audience with reminders and messages to make them want to donate and help them know that the donation process is quick and simple. Tactic 2A: Several tactics have been created to help achieve this strategy:

• Make personal phone calls and visit local businesses in Lubbock and the surrounding areas to

find companies who are willing to donate to the event. Example script on page 67.

• Create small “Thank You” baskets with cards from families who will directly benefit from the

money raised in the Lock-Up.

Strategy 3: Advertise to Lubbock citizens through traditional media sparking interest and generating awareness in the Lock-Up event and the WTMDA. In order to communicate our message effectively and motivate the community to participate and donate to the Lock-Up, we need to be personal, informative, and give a call-to-action. Tactic 3A: Several tactics have been created to help achieve this strategy:

• Draft, produce, purchase, and place an advertisement through local radio stations,

Pandora, and Spotify. Example advertisement script on page 65.

• Draft and send a media advisory and press release to local news stations via email. Examples

on pages 64 and 65.

• Email once a month to loyal supporters and partners giving frequent updates, sharing

news, etc.

Evaluation: This objective can be measured through the outputs and resources used. While reaching out 51

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to local businesses, it is important to keep a spreadsheet of which businesses agree to donate and what exactly they do donate. This will be critical when the children are sending “thank you” baskets after the Lock-Up event. Using another tab within the same spreadsheet will also be useful to keep track of which channels certain messages are being communicated and distributed to.

Objective 3: To increase the total number jailbirds involved with the Lock-Up event to 250 by July 2017. Strategy 4: Maintain positive relationships with current and previous WTMDA jailbirds and volunteers. All contact with these individuals must be as personal as possible in order to effectively maintain these relationships. Tactic 4A: Several tactics have been created to help achieve this strategy:

• Call individuals who have previously or currently been jailbirds and volunteers with the

WTMDA. Example script on page 66.

• Let a child and/or family who has benefit from the help of WTMDA send a letter to a

jailbird and/or volunteer thanking them for their help and how it has helped them.

Strategy 5: WTMDA will offer incentives to previous and new jailbirds who participate, with three different levels: first, second, and third place awards, along with other incentives for the other jailbirds who have participated to show our appreciation. All incentives being offered will be donated and/or bought prior to the Lock-Up. Tactic 5A: Offer incentives of gift cards the local businesses donate.

• The jailbird who raises the most money will receive the highest value gift card, followed

by two gift cards of lesser value for the second and third highest-raising jailbird. The

amount on the gift cards will depend on what local businesses donate to us, but for

example, the first place can receive $100, followed by $50 and $25.

Evaluation: This objective can be measured quantitatively and qualitatively. First, keeping a head count of how many jailbirds have actively participated in the past Lock-Up events as well as jailbirds that actively participated this past year. As soon as there is a final number, creating a post-event survey tailored to jailbirds, asking how likely they would be to volunteer once again, would be distributed. Gathering feedback from a volunteer’s point-of-view would be beneficial in 52

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how to incentivize and increase the amount of jailbirds for each year.

Stewardship

WTMDA will need to not only attract people’s attention for donations or to participate in the event,

but aim to maintain those relationships and create long-lasting organization loyalty.

We will send a thank you card to all of our jailbirds. This card will include a picture of a child with

muscular dystrophy and a handwritten letter from him/her describing how funds raised at the Lock-Up event will help him/her succeed, such as how excited he/she is to get a chance to go to MDA camp. There will also be a personal card from WTMDA personnel expressing our gratitude for the help. This will make the jailbirds feel good about helping the organization, but also will hopefully encourage them to participate in the event again.

In order to show its appreciation, WTMDA will need to utilize stewardship policies – including

both handwritten and digital thank you messages – with all participants in the Lubbock Lock-Up event, including jailbirds, volunteers, families with muscular dystrophy, donors, corporate sponsors, media personnel, and any other stakeholders.

Implementation, Timeline, and Budget Timeline January - May 2018 • Late December/early January: recruit two unpaid interns to help with social media content and monitoring. Look into promoting to PR students from the College of Media and Communication at Texas Tech. Kim Bergan, the PR advisor, is willing to forward recruitment emails to current students. • Between January 1 and June 30, with help from interns, implement new social media tactics on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Post more frequently based on the recommendations above. June 2018 • Recruit jailbirds through phone calls and emails with people in the Lubbock community. • Recruit jailbirds through social media • Contact local restaurants for sponsorship (where to host the event) as well as local companies to donate materials for the jailbirds to win (i.e. promotional materials, gift cards). • Make connection with the City of Lubbock (who runs the First Friday Art Trail) to set up a booth. 53

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• Make connections with local businesses near the First Friday Art Trail to be able to put a fence in the area. July 2018 • July 1: build fence (4 feet tall and about 10 feet long) near the Art District with a poster on top of it reading #ThrowAwayTheKey. • Promote #ThrowAwayTheKey lock campaign across social media, challenging people to decorate their own lock, attach it to the fence, and take a photo with the fence to post on social media with the campaign hashtag. • First Fridays in July through September, promote the Lock campaign at the First Friday Art Trail, giving participants supplies to decorate their own locks for $1 per lock, which will be donated to WTMDA (paying back cost of lock). • Finalize all plans for jailbirds and corporate sponsors. August 2018 • Aug. 1: jailbirds begin fundraising on their own social media accounts for the six weeks leading up to the Lock-Up event. WTMDA will need to provide jailbirds with graphics and templates they can use to post. • Aug. 13: send media advisory to local news networks about the promotional process and how the jailbirds are fundraising and helping local families. Run radio advertisements about the event, describing how people can donate and get involved. September 2018 • Sept. 6: send press release to local news networks announcing the event, how people are being “locked up” by police officers, and how people who are not jailbirds can participate. • Week of Sept. 9 to 13: send multiple reminders (via social media and email list) of the upcoming event. • Sept. 13: host Lubbock Lock-Up at a restaurant. Jailbirds will use this last day to finish fundraising via social media and phone calls. • Sept. 15-20: evaluate campaign and event effectiveness.

Budget: $2,000 • Social media advertising budget: $200 54

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• Interns: $0 • Traditional media advertising budget: $900 • Police officers as escorts: $600 ($20/hour, 10 officers, 3 hours) • Rent Texas Roadhouse (or another restaurant): $0 • “#ThrowAwayTheKey” fence: $57 from Lowe’s • Fencing post (4): $52 from Lowe’s • #ThrowAwayTheKey poster on top of sign: $50 • Locks: $141 from Amazon • Paint pens for locks: $20 from Amazon • Printing flyers: $0 (in-house)

Conclusion

We ultimately want WTMDA and the Lubbock Lock-up to succeed and be a popular event within

the community. In order to do this, our precise strategies and tactics are geared toward attaining this goal. After conducting research and defining our target publics, our campaign, “Throw Away the Key on Muscular Dystrophy”, is centered on implementing strategies and tactics that will ultimately attract a wider audience in the Lubbock community.

In order to make the campaign a success, we constructed a campaign budget of $2,000. If

WTMDA is able to increase its budget at all, we recommend placing more money into the traditional media advertising. We are trying to keep the budget as low as possible to help out WTMDA, but if they believe more than $2,000 is a reasonable budget, we highly recommend more advertising efforts because according to our research, many people would like to see more advertising for the Lock-up event.

Finally, we constructed a timeline that the campaign will take place. Beginning in early January,

we recommend that WTMDA recruits two unpaid interns to assist in social media management and activity monitoring. In June, recruitment for the jailbirds should begin. In July, we will begin promoting the #ThrowAwayTheKey campaign by building a fence for the personalize a lock event. Jailbirds will begin their fundraising in August, and the Lock-up event takes place in September. Following a set timeline will keep the campaign organized and on the path to success.

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IMPLEMENTATION MATERIAL

To give a better explanation of our strategies and tactics, our team implemented a few visual materials of mock social media posts, press releases, and scripts for potential pitches.

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FACEBOOK EVENT

We created a Facebook event surrounding the Lock-Up. WTMDA can use this Facebook event to invite people to join and to share details about the event, to notify anyone who plans to attend or wants to stay informed. Through our research, we found people are likely to attend an event if they agree to go on Facebook. People can also see events their friends have agreed to, which will encourage them to click on the event and learn more about it. 58

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FACEBOOK POST

This Facebook post is an example of what WTMDA should post throughout the year. It is timeless content that highlights a family and/or individual who benefits from the help of WTMDA. These posts can also include a quote or an update on how the patient is doing and how exactly MDA is helping him/her. 59

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INSTAGRAM POST

This is an example of an Instagram post WTMDA should post throughout the year. The organization could post powerful, attention-grabbing photos of children participating in events and having fun with the help of the organization. This shares an uplifting story as proof that the Lubbock Lock-Up helps make a difference and thanks donors for their supports and contributions.

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INSTAGRAM POST

This sample Instagram post gets at the heart of our #ThrowAwayTheKey social media challenge. Lubbock residents are encouraged to decorate a lock with either something they want to “throw away,” a name of someone they want to dedicate it to, or any design they want. This social media project is a fun campaign to encourage Lubbock residents to get involved with WTMDA. It increases visibility of the organization and the Lock-Up event in general. It is a fun way to tie a challenge to the Lock-Up event, so even people who are not jailbirds or volunteers can participate and help get the organization more visibility.

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These sample tweets are examples of how WTMDA should keep its Twitter audience updated on the Lock-Up event. The first tweet should be sent out the beginning of August, when jailbirds begin fundraising and promoting the event on their own social media platforms. The second tweet should be sent out at the beginning of September, reminding the audience of the event and providing them with ways to help out. Throughout August and September, WTMDA should continue to post to Twitter (including retweets) around three times a day, increasing its visibility and interaction with its audience.

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RADIO ADVERTISEMENT Lubbock Lock-Up 2018 Script Radio Advertisement: 30 sec Sound element: Jail cell closing (2 sec.) Voiceover: DO YOU WANT TO SEE PROMINENT LUBBOCK BUSINESSMEN, YOUR FAMILY, AND FRIENDS GET LOCKED UP? WEST TEXAS MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION IS PUTTING LUBBOCK BEHIND BARS IN ITS 2018 LOCK-UP EVENT SEPTEMBER 13. ALL 22 JAILBIRDS ARE TRYING TO RAISE A BAIL OF $2,000 TO GUARANTEE THEIR RELEASE. TO SEE A FULL LIST OF JAILBIRDS AND TO DONATE, VISIT WWW.MDALOCKUP.ORG/LUBBOCK2018.

This is an advertisement to be disseminated on local radio stations. This will go out Aug. 13, exactly a month before the event. This advertisement is meant to get the audience’s attention with a strong opening, and then provides further detail on the event. It includes a call-to-action encouraging the audience to go to the website to view the jailbirds and to donate.

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MEDIA ADVISORY The media advisory (left) will be sent to local media on Aug. 13, exactly a month before the event. It will raise awareness on the event, and hopefully generate media coverage on the activities the organization and jailbirds participate in the month leading into the Lock-Up itself. The press release (right) is to be sent out Sept. 6, exactly a week before the event. The press release will remind media personnel of the event and add a personal connection to it with the quotes from a jailbird.

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: D.J. Perez, (806) 793-3176, lubbock@mdausa.org

West Texas MDA Puts Lubbock Behind Bars The 2018 Lock-Up event will take place Sept. 13 at Cotton Patch Café MDA Lock-Up is a fun and inspiring community event that unites business leaders to raise funds and awareness to help kids and adults break free from the harm of muscledebilitating diseases. Business leaders join forces with MDA by agreeing to be “locked up” while they raise money for their “bail,” which helps bring more everyday freedoms to kids and adults with muscular dystrophy, ALS and related diseases that take away physical strength and mobility. Jailbirds network with other elite executives and show their community how much they care.

WHO:

West Texas Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), along with 22 jailbirds from the Lubbock community.

WHAT:

Participating jailbirds from the Lubbock community will be “arrested” and taken to the restaurant by local law enforcement personnel. At the restaurant, they each have an hour to call as many people as they can to get last-minute donations. Jailbirds have been raising money on their own for the last six weeks, and this event is their last opportunity to reach their personal goals of $2,000 each.

WHEN:

Thursday, Sept. 13

WHERE:

Cotton Patch Café, 6810 Slide Rd, Lubbock, TX

WHY:

To raise our goal of $20,000, which will help West Texas families with muscular dystrophy in medical costs, summer camp and more.

INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES: Jailbirds, law enforcement and MDA volunteers will be available for photographs and interviews before and during the event.

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PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: D.J. Perez Director of the West Texas MDA Lubbock chapter (806) 793-3176 lubbock@mdausa.org

Lubbock Residents Locked Up for Charity MDA hosts its annual Lock-Up event Sept. 13 at Cotton Patch Café Lubbock, Texas – More than 20 Lubbock residents will be escorted away from their jobs by law enforcement on Thursday. In participation with the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s (MDA) annual Lock-Up fundraiser, participating Lubbock residents are raising “bail” in support of the fight against neuromuscular diseases. They hope to inspire others to donate to this worthy cause. On Thursday, Sept. 13, 22 Lubbock residents will be handcuffed and “locked up” in MDA’s “Maximum Appreciation” mock jail facility at Cotton Patch Café. Family, friends and associates must donate a minimum goal of $2,000 in “bail” money in order to guarantee their release. Jailbirds, including local business owner John Smith, have raised money for their bail individually for six weeks. The Lock-Up is their last opportunity to meet their minimum bail. “I am so excited to participate in this unique event,” Smith said. “MDA is close to my heart and I’m glad, if I have to be arrested, it’s to help out such an amazing organization. I know the money I raise will be put to good use.” To help raise John’s “bail” in support of the MDA, please visit http://www.mdalockup.org/lubbock2018, click “Support a Jailbird” and type John Smith in the search fields. All donations are tax deductible. Jailbirds, volunteers and law enforcement personnel will be available for photographs and interviews before, during and after the Lock-Up. About the Muscular Dystrophy Association: MDA is leading the fight to free individuals — and the families who love them — from the harm of muscular dystrophy, ALS and related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life. We use our collective strength to help kids and adults live longer and grow stronger by finding research breakthroughs across diseases; caring for individuals from day one; and empowering families with services and support in hometowns across America. Learn how you can fund cures, find care and champion the cause at mda.org.

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RECRUITING JAILBIRDS Intro Hello Mr(s)._________ my name is ____________ and I’m calling from West Texas Muscular Dystrophy Association. I was hoping I could take a minute of your time to tell you about West Texas MDA and an upcoming event you have the opportunity to participate in to help find a cure and further research. Who we are West Texas MDA, an organization dedicated to freeing individuals, and those who love them, from the harm of muscular dystrophy and all related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life. MDA helps kids and adults live longer and stronger lives through research breakthroughs, caring for individuals from day one, and empowering families with services and support in hometowns across America. What we’re doing The West Texas MDA will host its annual Lubbock Lock-Up event in September 2018 with a goal to double the money raised in 2017. About the event The Lock-Up event is a fundraiser to help families raise money to break free from muscular dystrophy and related diseases. People in the surrounding community, so that’s like the West Texas MDA, specifically does it for the different cities, they can nominate themselves or a friend to be what they call a “jailbird,” a member of MDA will get in touch and find an event near you to get you registered and when you’re signed up to be a jailbird you will get tools, resources and an online fundraising webpage to start raising funds and awareness. Typically the goal for jailbirds is to raise $2,000 each, but there is no minimum or maximum for fundraising. You just ask your friends through in person and through social media to donate to you. Please Join us You have the opportunity to join us and become a jailbird yourself. The money you help raise will go towards finding a cure helping those suffering from the disease.

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ASKING FOR DONATIONS Intro Hello Mr(s)._________ my name is ____________ and I’m calling from West Texas Muscular Dystrophy Association. I was hoping I could take a minute of your time to tell you about West Texas MDA and an upcoming event you have the opportunity to participate in to help find a cure and further research. Who we are West Texas MDA, an organization dedicated to freeing individuals, and those who love them, from the harm of muscular dystrophy and all related muscle-debilitating diseases that take away physical strength, independence and life. MDA helps kids and adults live longer and stronger lives through research breakthroughs, caring for individuals from day one, and empowering families with services and support in hometowns across America. What we’re doing I am calling you today on behalf of all of those suffering from this disease and those in search of a cure, to ask you to please donate to this well deserving cause. What the money goes to MDA uses every dollar raised to ensure it has the biggest impact for the families we serve. For every dollar raised, 74 cents goes directly to research, services and education. The remaining funds are dedicated to our incredible staff and our events that make the work we do for families possible. You can read more details in our MDA Annual Report online, including a complete financial report. Please donate Please donate today to help easy the suffering of those affected and to get closer to finding a cure.

G4 PUBLIC RELATIONS

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Mini Brass Lock 12-Piece Set -. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.amazon. com/20mm-Appx-Mini-Brass-12- Piece/dp/B00N22NCV2/ref=sr_1_16?s=hard ware&ie=UTF8&qid=1510006809&sr=1-16&keywords=locks Muscular Dystrophy Association: For Strength, Independence & Life. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.charitynavigator.org/ Muscular Dystrophy Association. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www.mda. org/ Nonprofit Organizations. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from http://www.lubbockcham ber.com/list/category/non-profit-organizations-292 Signs, Banners & Posters. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.staples.com/ sbd/content/copyandprint/banners.html Silver Steel Line Post. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.lowes.com/pd/ Common-1-66-in-x-6-ft-Actual-1-66-in-x-6-ft-Silver-Steel-Line-Post/999989222 State of Texas and Texas Tech University. (n.d.). Fall Enrollment Since 1925. Retrieved Septem ber 10, 2017, from https://www.depts.ttu.edu/irim/ARCHIVE/ENR/FALLENRL.php The Best Social Media Platforms for Nonprofits. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www.classy.org/blog/social-media-success-nonprofits/ Ty Meyers, President 2016 - 2017, Kappa Alpha Order - Gamma Chi Chapter U.S. Art Supply 18 Color Set of Fine Point Tip Oil Based Paint Pen Markers - Permanent Ink that Works on Most Surfaces Glass, Wood, Metal, Rubber, Rocks, Stone, Arts, Crafts & Tools: Arts, Crafts & Sewing. (n.d.). Retrieved November 06, 2017, from https://www. amazon.com/Art-Supply-Color-Point-Markers/dp/B01N5IDQKX/ref=sr_1_9?s=arts-crafts &ie=UTF8&qid=1510007034&sr=1-9&keywords=paint%2Bpens%2Bfor%2Bart U.S. Census Bureau: Lubbock County. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from https://www. census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/lubbockcountytexas/POP060210 Weintraub Austin, E., & Pinkleton, B. E. (2015). Strategic Public Relations Management: Planning and Managing Effective Communication Programs (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.